Research 2.0: Evolving Support for the Research Landscape

4th International Conference on Open RepositoriesThis presentation was part of the session : Conference PresentationsDate: 2009-06-04 10:30 AM – 12:00 PMDate: 2009-06-04 10:30 AM – 12:00 PMWith the advance of big science and cyberinfrastructure, academic institutions are faced with the issue of how to support not just well funded initiatives, but all research projects on campus. The University of PEI Library has developed a robust framework in terms of strategy, policy, education and the development of a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) in providing support for research. UPEI is a small academic institution with undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and generates close to $20 million in research funding annually. The recently produced Research Strategic Plan includes a number of recommendations for the provision of research infrastructure, a key to the development of the Library's role in providing the services and resources in this area. This is combined with a flexible approach to funding a centralized research infrastructure and the ongoing development of an open source research platform. The platform uses a Drupal/Fedora data repository and collaborative web environment that can accommodate a wide range of research requirements and also allow research groups to get up and running with as minimal or extensive an environment as appropriate. The session will includes examples of research groups from a range of disciplines using the VRE as well as next steps for the continued support of the research enterprise

Islandora: a Drupal/Fedora Repository System

4th International Conference on Open RepositoriesThis presentation was part of the session : Fedora User Group PresentationsDate: 2009-05-20 03:30 PM – 05:00 PMIslandora is an open source Drupal 6/Fedora 3 module produced by the University of Prince Edward Island Library. Islandora provides a flexible collaboratve environment for the stewardship of digital resources. The Islandora 1.0 release includes content models and sample collections in all three major areas of the academic enterprise: administration, research, learning. The session will provide a detailed overview of the Islandora architecture, functionality, the growing community of collaborators as well as examples of production systems in all three major use areas

RDC National Data Services Framework Summit

Introduction to the all-day event to discuss opportunities and next steps for building a national data services framework in Canada

Activity-directed expansion of a series of antibacterial agents

The feasibility of using activity-directed synthesis to drive antibacterial discovery was investigated. An array of 220 Pd-catalysed microscale reactions was executed, and the crude product mixtures were evaluated for activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Scale-up of the hit reactions, purification and evaluation, enabled expansion of a class of antibacterial quinazolinones. The novel antibacterials had MICs from 0.016 μg mL−1 (i.e. 38 nM) to 2–4 μg mL−1 against S. aureus ATCC29213

Activity‐directed synthesis: A flexible approach for lead generation

Activity‐directed synthesis (ADS) is a structure‐blind, functional‐driven molecular discovery approach. In this Concept, four case studies highlight the general applicability of ADS and showcase its flexibility to support different medicinal chemistry strategies. ADS deliberately harnesses reactions with multiple possible outcomes, and allows many chemotypes to be evaluated in parallel. Resources are focused on bioactive molecules which emerge in tandem with associated synthetic routes. Some of the future challenges for ADS are highlighted, including the realisation of an autonomous molecular discovery platform. The prospects for ADS to become a mainstream lead generation approach are discussed

Come to Daddy? Claiming Chris Cunningham for British Art Cinema

Twenty years after he came to prominence via a series of provocative, ground-breaking music videos, Chris Cunningham remains a troubling, elusive figure within British visual culture. His output – which includes short films, advertisements, art gallery commissions, installations, music production and a touring multi-screen live performance – is relatively slim, and his seemingly slow work rate (and tendency to leave projects uncompleted or unreleased) has been a frustration for fans and commentators, particularly those who hoped he would channel his interests and talents into a full-length ‘feature’ film project. There has been a diverse critical response to his musical sensitivity, his associations with UK electronica culture – and the Warp label in particular – his working relationship with Aphex Twin, his importance within the history of the pop video and his deployment of transgressive, suggestive imagery involving mutated, traumatised or robotic bodies. However, this article makes a claim for placing Cunningham within discourses of British art cinema. It proposes that the many contradictions that define and animate Cunningham's work – narrative versus abstraction, political engagement versus surrealism, sincerity versus provocation, commerce versus experimentation, art versus craft, a ‘British’ sensibility versus a transnational one – are also those that typify a particular terrain of British film culture that falls awkwardly between populism and experimentalism

Algorithm-driven activity-directed expansion of a series of antibacterial quinazolinones

Activity-directed synthesis (ADS) is a structure-blind, function driven approach that can drive the discovery of bioactive small molecules. In ADS, arrays of reactions are designed and executed, and the crude product mixtures are then directly screened to identify reactions that yield bioactive products. The design of subsequent reaction arrays is then informed by the hit reactions that are discovered. In this study, algorithms for reaction array design were developed in which the reactions to be executed were selected from a large set of virtual reactions; the reactions were selected on the basis of similarity to reactions known to yield bioactive products. The algorithms were harnessed to design arrays of photoredox-catalysed alkylation reactions whose crude products were then screened for inhibition of growth of S. aureus ATCC29213. It was demonstrated that the approach enabled expansion of a series of antibacterial quinazolinones. It is envisaged that such algorithms could ultimately enable fully autonomous activity-directed molecular discovery

Efficient Approaches for the Synthesis of Diverse α-Diazo Amides

Metal-catalysed carbenoid chemistry can be exploited for the synthesis of diverse ranges of small molecules from α-diazo carbonyl compounds. In this paper, three synthetic approaches to α-diazo amides are described, and their scope and limitations are determined. On the basis of these synthetic studies, recommendations are provided to assist the selection of the most appropriate approach for specific classes of product. The availability of practical and efficient syntheses of diverse α-diazo acetamides is expected to facilitate the discovery of many different classes of bioactive small molecules

Working Title Films and Universal : The Integration of a British Production Company into a Hollywood Studio

Working Title Films is arguably the most successful and well-known production company in Britain today. For over 30 years, it has produced a diverse range of critically and commercially successful British films including romantic comedies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), family films like Bean (1997) and Nanny McPhee (2005) and dramas including Atonement (2007) and The Theory of Everything (2014). For the majority of its history, however, Working Title has been defined in business terms by its status as a subsidiary of one of two multinational media conglomerates, PolyGram (1992–8) and Universal (1998–present). The transition between the two began when PolyGram, and its film studio, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (PFE), was sold to Seagram, the parent company of Universal. This article examines Working Title’s integration into Universal and the evolving media ecology which shaped the processes of development, green-lighting, production, marketing and distribution at play within and between both companies between 1998 and 2006. In these respects, Working Title’s transition between parent companies is a narrative of both continuity and change. Significantly, three key stages of gatekeeping remained common to both the PFE and Universal eras: development, green-lighting and distribution. The institutional perimeters within which these points of decision-making occurred, however, changed considerably. The article concludes by considering the impact of such structures and processes on the films which Working Title produced, particularly their various representations of Britain and ‘Britishness’

The impacts of environmental warming on Odonata: a review

Climate change brings with it unprecedented rates of increase in environmental temperature, which will have major consequences for the earth's flora and fauna. The Odonata represent a taxon that has many strong links to this abiotic factor due to its tropical evolutionary history and adaptations to temperate climates. Temperature is known to affect odonate physiology including life-history traits such as developmental rate, phenology and seasonal regulation as well as immune function and the production of pigment for thermoregulation. A range of behaviours are likely to be affected which will, in turn, influence other parts of the aquatic ecosystem, primarily through trophic interactions. Temperature may influence changes in geographical distributions, through a shifting of species' fundamental niches, changes in the distribution of suitable habitat and variation in the dispersal ability of species. Finally, such a rapid change in the environment results in a strong selective pressure towards adaptation to cope and the inevitable loss of some populations and, potentially, species. Where data are lacking for odonates, studies on other invertebrate groups will be considered. Finally, directions for research are suggested, particularly laboratory studies that investigate underlying causes of climate-driven macroecological patterns