166 research outputs found
Is copyright blind to the visual?
This article argues that, with respect to the copyright protection of works of visual art, the general uneasiness that has always pervaded the relationship between copyright law and concepts of creativity produces three anomalous results. One of these is that copyright lacks much in the way of a central concept of 'visual art' and, to the extent that it embraces any concept of the 'visual', it is rooted in the rhetorical discourse of the Renaissance. This means that copyright is poorly equipped to deal with modern developments in the visual arts. Secondly, the pervasive effect of rhetorical discourse appears to have made it particularly difficult for copyright law to strike a meaningful balance between protecting creativity and permitting its use in further creative works. Thirdly, just when rhetorical discourse might have been useful in identifying the significance and materiality of the unique one-off work of visual art, copyright law chooses to ignore its implications
Rethinking the social impacts of the arts
The paper presents a critical discussion of the current debate over the social impacts of the arts in the UK. It argues that the accepted understanding of the terms of the debate is rooted in a number of assumptions and beliefs that are rarely questioned. The paper goes on to present the interim findings of a threeâyear research project, which aims to rethink the social impact of the arts, with a view to determining how these impacts might be better understood. The desirability of a historical approach is articulated, and a classification of the claims made within the Western intellectual tradition for what the arts âdoâ to people is presented and discussed
Large-scale production of cellulose-binding domains : adsorption studies using CBD-FITC conjugates
A method for the gram-scale production of cellulose-binding domains (CBD) through the proteolytic digestion of a commercial nzymatic preparation (Celluclast) was developed. The CBD obtained, isolated
from Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I, is highly pure and heavily glycosylated. The purified peptide has a molecular weight of 8.43 kDa, comprising the binding module, a part of the linker, and about 30%
glycosidic moiety. Its properties may thus be different from recombinant ones expressed in bacteria. CBDfluorescein isothiocyanate conjugates were used to study the CBD-cellulose interaction. The presence of
fluorescent peptides adsorbed on crystalline and amorphous cellulose fibers suggests that amorphous regions have a higher concentration of binding sites. The adsorption is reversible, but desorption is a very
slow process.Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologia (FCT
MDA-5 Recognition of a Murine Norovirus
Noroviruses are important human pathogens responsible for most cases of viral epidemic gastroenteritis worldwide. Murine norovirus-1 (MNV-1) is one of several murine noroviruses isolated from research mouse facilities and has been used as a model of human norovirus infection. MNV-1 infection has been shown to require components of innate and adaptive immunity for clearance; however, the initial host protein that recognizes MNV-1 infection is unknown. Because noroviruses are RNA viruses, we investigated whether MDA5 and TLR3, cellular sensors that recognize dsRNA, are important for the host response to MNV-1. We demonstrate that MDA5â/â dendritic cells(DC) have a defect in cytokine response to MNV-1. In addition, MNV-1 replicates to higher levels in MDA5â/â DCs as well as in MDA5â/â mice in vivo. Interestingly, TLR3â/â DCs do not have a defect in vitro, but TLR3â/â mice have a slight increase in viral titers. This is the first demonstration of an innate immune sensor for norovirus and shows that MDA5 is required for the control of MNV-1 infection. Knowledge of the host response to MNV-1 may provide keys for prevention and treatment of the human disease
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