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Culture and Community

<span class=heading><b>The Barras Project</b> by Anna Cydzik (Marketing)</span><br /><p class=int>The image consists of  50 pictures taken at the Glasgow Barras as a part of data collected for my Phd research. The images suggest visual narratives for some of the major concepts related to public space, modes of consumption and social interactions. The pictures organized in horizontal lines illustrate the concepts of design, space, modes of display, representations of body and information signs. However, each image contains a story of its own illustrating the abundant, no-predictable, self-organizing and constantly negotiated social space. Colours and shapes mingle giving the viewer an opportunity to look at the images from any position imagined. The viewer can create their own modes of narration depending on their personal body of  historical, cultural and emotional knowledge. The image makes the viewer to self-organize the pictures and their meanings just like the Barras space elements are being constantly re-organized and structured by its participants.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Anna Cydzik</span>
<span class=heading><b>Nostalgia at the Riverside Museum</b> by Babak Taheri (Marketing)</span><br /><p class=int>As part of our ongoing research, this image reflects visitors’ engagement in the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. The Riverside is a successful enterprise that connects with the public and socio-culturally sits in the heart of society. It is an inevitable part of Glasgow’s identity, one that constantly narrates Glasgow’s history of transport and development. It is a platform for visitors on which to engage with exhibits, stretch their wings of imagination, and (re)tell their narratives of their past, present, and future. The Riverside relates itself to people’s contemporary life and creating value, not simply for them, but with them. Such value is the outcome of seeing visitors as ‘collaborator’ in the co-creation of ‘knowledge’ and multiple forms of ‘experience’ in the museum. Our research offers practical implications to the museum towards enhancing its value propositions and improving visitors’ experience.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Babak Taheri</span>.  <span class=small>Dr. Aliakbar Jafari ( aliakbar.jafari@strath.ac.uk )</span>
<span class=heading><b>Searching for a Revolution</b> by David Green (Humanities)</span><br /><p class=int>My PhD research re-examines the 1989 anti-Communist revolution in the former Czechoslovakia. The poster reflects both the historical nature and the current political significance of my studies. The plaque on the wall commemorates the date and place in Prague where, on 17 November 1989, student marchers were beaten by the police—the event which marked the start of the ‘Velvet’ revolution. Today, however, the anniversary is a combination of commemoration (laying of wreaths, flowers and candles), and conflict through political protests about public policy and democracy. The meaning and significance of the revolution remains a politically sensitive and contested topic in both the modern-day Czech and Slovak republics. My research—the first English-language, scholarly study of the revolution—will not just revise many previous assumptions made by historians about the revolution, but will also affect these wider, contemporary debates about the Communist era and the political changes since then</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 David Green</span>
<span class=heading><b>Writing vivid faces</b> by Elspeth Jajdelska (English)</span><br /><p class=int>Vividness in verbal description has been valued since ancient times. In more recent times psychologists have begun to understand more about what makes a face memorable and recognisable. But until very recently there has been no attempt to put literary analysis and the science of perception, imagination and recognition together. Our research draws on the flourishing field of face perception and recognition in psychology to ask a literary question: what makes a literary description of a face vivid? The answer, we hypothesise, is a description which does not split the face up into an itemised list, but a holistic account drawing on motion, emotion and change. We contrast a folk model of verbal description, as a list of visual details reassembled in the mind, with a model that fits better with the evidence, a model where the description evokes an experience of seeing a face rather than identifying every particular of it. We hope to move this hypothesis soon to the experimental stage. Our findings have the potential to produce more accurate research in literary studies and initiate new approaches in psychology to the relationship between language and imagination. They are also have more immediate potential for advertising copywriters and therapists who use verbal description and imaging techniques.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Elspeth Jajdelska</span>.  <span class=small>Dr Steve Kelly (Psychology)</span>

<span class=heading><b>The Practices of the Vintage Collective: ‘Granny Would be Proud’</b> by Katherine Duffy (Marketing)</span><br /><p class=int>Vintage consumption can be seen as changing the retail and consumption landscape, both through the rise in popularity and its accessibility in the marketplace. Twice a month in Glasgow’s west-end, in Hillhead Bookclub, a vintage marketplace unfolds that attracts consumers young and old, Granny Would Be Proud. This communal gathering of consumers represents a new conception of community within the consumption context, demonstrating consumers joining together to assert their unique preferences. <br /><br />Using this context of the Glasgow vintage collective, this research asserts that vintage consumption is conceptualised as a form of practice, examining the active role of consumers as practitioners in constituting and reproducing the marketplace they desire. From this ethnographic research vintage can be seen as a practice of togetherness and of transformation. It can be seen as a form of cultural politics, as a way of negotiating contemporary consumer culture with a sensibility to the past.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Katherine Duffy</span>
<span class=heading><b>Arts and Minds</b> by Lee Knifton (Applied Social Science)</span><br /><p class=int>This image is taken from The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. Lee Knifton and Neil Quinn founded this festival in 2007 with the belief that the arts can engage the wider public emotionally as well as intellectually, in debate about creating a mentally healthy nation. Strathclyde University have been the lead research partner over the 5 years. The festival has grown from a grassroots initiative to become the largest global anti-stigma event. Hundreds of partners form the government, through to iconic arts organisations and community groups have put on over 1000 events to over 50,000 people each October (www.mhfestival.com). A series of papers have appeared in health and arts journals showing that the arts and film reach diverse sections of our community, can reduce stigma amongst audiences, and help those with mental healthy issues develop positive identities. Lee and Neil are helping a range of countries to develop cultural health festivals based upon this model</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Lee Knifton</span>
<span class=heading><b>Giving a voice to the Afghan Civil Society</b> by Lucia Berdondini (School of Psychological Sciences & Health)</span><br /><p class=int>This 3 years project, in collaboration with the University of Herat (Afghanistan) and the Italian NGO PeaceWaves International Network has the aim to collect the Afghan Civil Society’s voice about women’s empowerment and children’s education in their country. A questionnaire and some focus groups have been developed to investigate these two topics. A group of young Afghan researchers have been trained in research methodologies. They have been collecting data among the Afghan Civil Society across 6 Afghan Provinces. Through this project the University of Herat is developing a research laboratory with the aim of extending international collaborations and contributing to the growth of the Afghan HE system. Through the direct engagement of men and women in Afghanistan, using the questionnaire and focus groups, the impact of this research is mainly to enhance Afghan Civil Society’s awareness and empowerment regarding possible solutions that could contribute to the reconstruction of their country.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Lucia Berdondini</span>
<span class=heading><b>Derelict</b> by Mary McDonough-Clark (Creative Writing (English studies))</span><br /><p class=int>I am trying to enhance our collective understanding of what the loss of heavy industry in Scotland has meant to the people who engaged in it (miners, weavers, automobile manufacturers, welders, shipwrights), and what the loss of those ways of life and the language associated with them have meant to the people who no longer view themselves as having a role or a place in which they fit. I am talking to retired people and using these first-person accounts to salvage what I can of their stories, to preserve them so that we (and they) have access to them. Hearing other peoples’ stories also helps me to make sense of mine, and this sparks my creative process. What writers need most in order to write is input, a felt connection between what they are writing about and the writing itself.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Martyn Jonathan Owen Clark</span>

<span class=heading><b>Community Involvement and Place Transformation</b> by Matthew Alexander (Marketing)</span><br /><p class=int>“A railway station mirrors the soul of the place where it is located” (Kopperud, 1998) <br /><br />Our research explored ‘Adopt A Station’, a partnership between First ScotRail and groups who ‘adopt’ local railway stations. The scheme allows community members to utilize unused station spaces to provide services or facility improvements that benefit the community. Over 100 stations have been adopted with projects including gardening, charity bookshops, cafes, galleries and heritage centres. <br /><br />Our study included station visits, interviews and observation and offers a contrast to notions of placelessness by highlighting how placefullness can be achieved through community involvement. Through community involvement and passion redundant spaces are resurrected and imbued with new meaning. The financial crisis saw a decline to the high street with shops and other community places forced to close. Our research highlights the impact of consumers when they demonstrate resilience to market forces, regaining control of their community from within.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Matthew Alexander</span>.  <span class=small>Kathy Hamilton</span>
<span class=heading><b>Dance Lesson in Havana</b> by Rebecca Gordon-Nesbit (Geography and Sociology)</span><br /><p class=int>In the years following the 1959 Cuban Revolution, culture was placed at the heart of society on the understanding that aesthetic experience could contribute to human happiness. For a PhD project examining the cultural policy developed in Cuba between the 1950s and the 1970s, Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt spent five months conducting fieldwork in Havana. It was there that her eye was caught by a group of primary school students having a dance lesson in a sunny playground. This image captures the centrality of colour in Cuba, the vibrant leotards of the dancers standing out against the faded blue colonial façade of their school and the burgundy uniforms of their contemporaries in a scene encircled by rainbow paper chains. In the process, the joy of the dancing children conveys the effect of prioritising social understandings of culture. Rebecca’s research – which was recently awarded a doctorate – contributes to our understanding of this process.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Rebecca Gordon-Nesbit</span>


Economy

<span class=heading><b>Glasgow, the West and the rest: Economic interdependencies between a city and its host region</b> by Kirstinn Hermannssonn (Economics / Fraser of Allander Institute)</span><br /><p class=int>This diagram shows the economic output of Glasgow City in relation to its wider metropolitan area in the rest of the Strathclyde region and the rest of Scotland. Each square represents £1bn of economic output. Add them up and you get the total economic output of Scotland (£191bn). Furthermore, the diagram illustrates the economic interdependency between those three sub-regions. The arrows are scaled to reflect commuter-flows. The biggest single flow is from the rest of Strathclyde into Glasgow, where 167,322 FTE jobs, or approximately 40%, are manned by in-commuters. Commuter flows are indicative of wage flows, but their corollary is consumption flows. More consumption expenditures take place in Glasgow than can be supported by the indigenous population; the balance is made up mostly by households elsewhere in the Strathclyde region. The implication is that the impact of local economic development policies should be gauged on a Strathclyde-wide basis</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Kirstinn Hermannssonn</span>
<span class=heading><b>Consuming Cathedrals</b> by Leighanne Higgins (Marketing)</span><br /><p class=int>Assertions of living in a society controlled by consumer culture has led to the popular belief in “Cathedrals of Consumption” (Ritzer, 2005), which denote that consumption spaces, such as malls are attributed today with the deity status of Cathedrals. However, given that approximately a third of the world population are Christian, this consumer research recognises that although malls have become for many Cathedrals of consumption, Christianity and religion equally hold importance in many lives and that the Christian Cathedral is still heavily consumed. Thus this consumer research provides a positive contribution through its investigation of the tangible aspects of consuming Christianity, (in particular Catholicism). The image aptly illustrates this research, with the merging Cathedral and commercial consumer culture exemplifying that for many, consumption sites like malls have indeed become cathedrals of consumption, but for many individuals an important part of their 21st century life revolves around ‘Consuming Cathedrals’.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Leighanne Higgins</span>
<span class=heading><b>Concurrent Delay Analysis in Public Works Construction Projects: A cross-jurisdictional study</b> by Sheriff Abdallal (Law)</span><br /><p class=int>This PhD research project aims to address how concurrent delay problems have been dealt with in courts (in Scotland, England & Egypt) as well as the standard forms of construction contracts and the protocol of the “Society of Construction Law” in public works construction projects & how this can be improved across common and civil law jurisdictions</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Sheriff Abdallal</span>


Environment and Nature

<span class=heading><b>Divide and Inspect</b> by Charles MacLeod (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)</span><br /><p class=int>With a concerted and growing emphasis on human safety and the environment, greater information is required on the current state and condition of the world infrastructure. Higher operational demands coupled to reduced capital investment in replacement designs, has exerted greater stress and strain on numerous components critically affecting their condition and safe working lifetime. Quantitative information on the state of the parts under test allow suitable skilled personnel to make decisions on remaining lifetime, ensuring maximum asset value, efficiency and safety.  <br /><br />Areas requiring attention and detailed surveying on large scale structures such as those found in the nuclear and energy sectors are often not only very difficult to access, but also hazardous to human beings. This fundamental problem has driven research and development in miniature Remote Sensing Agents (RSA) capable of remotely accessing challenging structures and upon entry commencing detailed inspection using a variety of specialised sensors and payloads.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Charles MacLeod</span>
<span class=heading><b>Robots to the rescue</b> by Gordon Dobie (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)</span><br /><p class=int>The modern world is full of major structural assets that need to be periodically inspected to prevent unscheduled and costly outages or catastrophic failures which can lead to environmental disasters and large scale loss of life.  These structural assets range across a wide number of industries, including energy production, public and private transportation, national infrastructure, and commercial manufacture.  Safety, economic and legislative factors are all driving a growth in structural inspection which has been estimated at $1.8 billion in the US alone.  Manual inspection expensive, inaccurate and potentially dangerous. <br /><br />Wireless miniature robots are well suited to structural inspection; their small size and novel traction makes them particularly useful for areas with limited access. It allows them to crawl over the surface of a structure, along pipes, and into small spaces. Moreover, the concept can be extended to a fleet which improves the functionality, reliability and flexibility of the system.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Gordon Dobie</span>
<span class=heading><b>Glass Cuvettes for Science on the Nano-Scale</b> by Jens Sutter (Physics)</span><br /><p class=int>Optical resolution and imaging techniques now allow us to investigate the folding and unfolding of single molecules, the binding of two single proteins or the aggregation of small ensembles. Understanding the function and interaction of proteins and molecules on such resolution allows great advances in understanding human diseases and designing treatment. <br /><br />For these techniques we need materials to encapsulate single molecules on a scale of 10-9 meters (‘nano-meters’). We investigate porous glasses as a ‘nano-sized cuvette’ for imaging single molecules. While investigating the drying pattern of a solidifying silica glass under the microscope we took a picture of a glass sheet breaking up under internal tension. The different diffraction of two laser sources - red and green - in the glass lead to a piece of literally modern art. <br /><br />Besides development and progress there is also beauty in science.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Jens Sutter</span>
<span class=heading><b>Forest of Glowing Nanotrees</b> by Jochen Bruckbauer (Physics)</span><br /><p class=int>Incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient in transforming energy into light. Since about 20% of Earth’s total power consumption is used for lighting a new and more efficient light source has to be developed. One solution is solid-state lighting, which employs light-emitting diodes (LEDs) made from semiconducting materials. My research is focused on nanostructures based on nitride semiconductors, which are a key component for bright white LEDs. Despite their commercial availability, there are still remaining problems to be solved regarding their efficiency. My main investigation technique is cathodoluminescence (CL), where an electron beam excites the sample and the emitted light from the sample is recorded. The image shows a CL map, where each pixel corresponds to the intensity of the emitted light excited by the electron beam. This technique enables us to understand the origin and optical properties of nanostructures, which lie at the heart of future highly efficient white light sources.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Jochen Bruckbauer</span>.  <span class=small>Paul R. Edwards, Jie Bai, Tao Wang, Robert W. Martin</span>

<span class=heading><b>Artisanal gold miner, Marmato, Colombia.</b> by Keith Torrance (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering)</span><br /><p class=int>Artisanal gold mining in Colombia is a major source of environmental pollution that impacts the health of people living in Marmato and the surrounding region, through the contamination of river water and drinking water. Gold-bearing ore is processed in the numerous  local mills, called “entables”, which discharge a dark slurry of sulphide-rich rock slurry into the mountain streams. This renders the water unsuitable for agriculture and contributes to the toxic metal load of the Rio Cauca. As the entables use sodium cyanide to recover fine-grained gold bound within sulphide minerals in the ore, water quality is further compromised.  <br /><br />Working with a Colombian mining company, my research assessed the level and speciation of toxic metals in surface water draining the mine workings, as part of an initiative to develop sustainable, efficient gold recovery processes that will benefit artisanal miners in the region, while reducing pollution.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Keith Torrance</span>
<span class=heading><b>InGaN/GaN Nano-pyramids – Promising Building Blocks of Future Solid State Lighting</b> by Krishnan Jagadamma Lethy (Physics)</span><br /><p class=int>Solid state lighting- direct conversion of electricity to visible white light using semiconductor materials- has the potential to replace today’s inefficient incandescent and CFLs lighting systems. Though SSL has ~55 % conversion efficiency compared to 5-25 % of the latter, it is not yet fully matured to rein the general lighting applications. However, each incremental improvement in efficiency opens door to replace less efficient light sources. According to reports, an improvement in luminous efficiency by 1% can save 2 billion dollars per year and avoid mega tonnes of CO2 exhaust to environment. InGaN QWs on nano-patterned GaN nanopyramids are characterised by increased light emitting efficiency, light emitting area, light extraction efficiency, ability to white light generation and improved, all that contributing towards high luminous efficiency. Figure 1 shows the light emission from an array of InGaN/GaN nanopyramids acquired using cathodoluminescence hyperspectral imaging. These blue light emitting nanopyramids are promising for white light SSL applications.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Krishnan Jagadamma Lethy</span>
<span class=heading><b>Clouds of Change</b> by Marcin Zielinkski (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering)</span><br /><p class=int>The picture presents the flood embankment located along river Humber in North-East of England, East Airshire. It was taken during geophysical survey which was looking at the desiccation crack detection in flood protection structures. The picture shows the perfect match between the dramatic dark clouds which are the source of rain causing flooding, and the shiny embankment which protects against flooding. Will embankments protect us ?</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Marcin Zielinkski</span>
<span class=heading><b>Dislocations- Discotheque</b> by Naresh Kumar Gunasekar (Physics)</span><br /><p class=int>The availability of a simple, non-destructive technique to rapidly detect and identify defects in semiconductors would represent a real step forward for the development of new devices such as UV LEDs, high power green laser diodes, high power transistors and potentially, semiconductor-based ferromagnets. Such devices have applications as diverse as air and water purification, lighting, data processing, data storage and energy conservation and distribution. Recently we have developed a method which allows the unambiguous identification of the most common defects in semiconductors (e.g., GaN, ZnO and SiC), namely threading dislocations. This new method reduces the time required to obtain quantitative and statistically significant information on dislocations compared to presently available techniques. The presented image is a scanning electron microscope - electron channeling contrast image acquired from a GaN thin film showing individual dislocations and atomic steps. An artistic impression of the channeling electrons has been generated by combining displacement mapping, three dimensional rendering and two dimensional compositing techniques.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Naresh Kumar Gunasekar</span>.  <span class=small>Paul Edwards, Benjamin Hourahine and Carol Trager-Cowan</span>

<span class=heading><b>Integrated Wireless Sensing Technology for Surveillance and Monitoring of Scour at Hydraulic & Marine Structures</b> by Panagiotis Michalis (Department of Civil Engineering)</span><br /><p class=int>Severe and frequent flooding incidents, attributed to climate change, have put structures over waterways at high risk of failure due to scour. Scour is the result of the erosion of stream/sea bed and has caused the sudden collapse of several bridges without prior warning leading to loss of lives, significant economic losses and traffic disruption. Additionally, it is considered one of the main complications in the design and operation of offshore wind turbines. Several efforts have been made to develop scour monitoring techniques but they are not being used due to numerous technical and cost issues. This research project introduces a new monitoring technology to measure scour activity at hydraulic and marine structures. The investigations carried out indicate that the proposed technique has considerable potential for field applications and will contribute to improving the resilience and sustainability of civil infrastructure systems.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Panagiotis Michalis</span>.  <span class=small>Dr Mohammed Saafi</span>
<span class=heading><b>To Infinity and Beyond</b> by Rahul Summan (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)</span><br /><p class=int>Ageing infrastructure worldwide requires periodic inspection, often in-situ, in order to ensure continued safe and economic operations as well as adherence to stringent quality and performance requirements. Industries such as oil and gas, nuclear and automotive are sources of particular difficulties, often presenting inspection sites occupying inaccessible areas or where environmental conditions are hazardous for human operators working at height, exposed to radioactivity and proximity to high temperatures. In-service automated inspection where feasible, is highly attractive, and potentially allows inspection of operational plant.  <br /><br />The objective of this research is to create robotic platforms to deliver specialised sensors directly to the target site and subsequently carry out automated inspections. Many such robotics platforms working in tandem could rapidly interrogate suspect areas and report their findings back to human operators for data analysis. This has major benefits with respect to the safety, environmental and financial aspects of inspection activities.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Rahul Summan</span>
<span class=heading><b>Hearing the World</b> by Shira Gordon (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)</span><br /><p class=int>Animals hear to communicate and avoid predators.  This image shows the location of the locust ear on a female, in a pair of mating locusts.  The inside of the ear is displayed below.  The black arrow indicates where the neurons attach to the tympanal membrane.  <br /><br />Insect ears have evolved at least seven independent times.  I study insect ears, focusing on the locust, including how the ear physically moves (i.e., sound hits the membrane creating a travelling wave), behavioural differences between groups of animals (e.g., sex, solitary vs gregarious phases, age), and neurophysiological responses.  My work impacts not only biologists leading to many different types of insights (e.g., evolutionary, behavioural, physiological) but, helps engineers create sensory devices.  If insects can hear with ears that are less than a few mm in size, we should be able to mimic them in sensors.  The smallest directional microphone is based on an insect ear.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Shira Gordon</span>
<span class=heading><b>Disparities across UK Towns in the Impact of Crises on Wages: Lessons from the 19th Century</b> by Silvia Palombi (Economics)</span><br /><p class=int>This research investigates the impact, as reflected in slumps on wage levels or slowdown in wage growth, of economic crises on UK towns, drawing on evidence from the 1879, 1886, 1894 and 1904 depressions. The image is a graph of wage growth rates in engineering trades, and shows the contrast between South and North of Britain. The fact that wage growth in London and Midlands towns (the South) has remained above zero means that wages in these regions have been resilient to the crises and continued to increase. By contrast, the main towns of the North were relatively severely affected by the crises, as it is evident from the marked dip in wage growth at each trough year. Today’s policymakers can greatly benefit from understanding the factors which helped sustain wage growth in the South and those responsible for the deterioration of labour market conditions in the North.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Silvia Palombi</span>



Health and Wellbeing

<span class=heading><b>Microstructures hleping defeat Europe’s killer number one</b> by Jorn Lungershausen (DMEM)</span><br /><p class=int>Heart and circularity system diseases account for more than half of all the deaths in Europe every year making cardiovascular diseases the biggest killer in Europe.  Main reasons are heart attacks when the blood flow becomes restricted due to plaque build-up which is formed from fat, cholesterol and other substances contained in the blood.  To restore normal blood flow; stents (small mesh tubes) can be inserted into arteries enlarging them and restoring normal circulation.  Unfortunately, this revolutionary system can be a temporary solution as arteries often narrow again during the healing process when new tissue grows over the inserted stents.  <br /><br />A new innovative solution using microstructure patterns on the inner surface of the stents could increase the healing time by approximately 50%, thus minimizing tissue build-up and in turn re-narrowing.  The micro-patterns (smallest realized topographies measured only 0.0004 mm) are being manufactured by means of laser and micro forming technology.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Jorn Lungershausen</span>.  <span class=small>Stumpp, Armin (University of Applied Science & Arts, North Western Switzerland, School of Engineering)</span>
<span class=heading><b>Running out of breath</b> by Jordan Covvey (SIPBS)</span><br /><p class=int>The British Lung Foundation estimates that 8 million people in the UK are affected by lung disease, many involving the use of tobacco. This accounts for one out of every five deaths in the UK – a rate nearly double the European average.1 While smoking rates have decreased, 20% of the population still smoke, making the long-term outlook unfortunately grim.2 The treatment of lung diseases, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), involves an array of inhaled medicines, education and involvement from physicians and pharmacists. Despite these efforts, patients can be overwhelmed with the multiple medicines needed to keep them healthy. Our research at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences aims to evaluate the treatment of lung disease in Scotland, and to make efforts towards improvement. With this research, we hope to better the quality of life for those people living – and breathing – lung disease every day.<br /><br />1. British Lung Foundation. Facts about respiratory disease. [Online] Available at: <http://www.lunguk.org/campaigns/media-centre/lung-stats-and-facts/factsaboutrespiratorydisease> [accessed 1 Apr 2012].<br />2. Cancer Research UK. Smoking – statistics. [Online] Available at: <http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/smoking/lung-cancer-and-smoking-statistics> [accessed 1 Apr 2012].</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Jordan Covvey</span>
<span class=heading><b>Get "Wiggy" with it!</b> by Karena Moore-Millar (DMEM)</span><br /><p class=int>The University of Strathclyde are “ahead of the game” in developing ground-breaking research into wigs for long term medical hair loss sufferers; such as Alopecians. A multi-disciplinary team from engineering, material and fibre science, and psychology are examining wig technology to improve user experience. The study is looking at pragmatic ways to improve the wig user experience through engineering and scientific product development. This includes adoption of technologies from different fields to enhance current wig design specifications by introducing novel polymeric fibres. This is achieved by identifying and addressing the priorities for each stakeholder; including the end user, suppliers, manufacturers and healthcare providers of wigs. Comfort, durability, functionality and aesthetics are important factors when producing a wig; these ultimately affect user satisfaction cost, quality and manufacturability. This research aims to identify key user requirements and understand how quality assurance through design and technology can improve the wig users’ experience.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Karena Moore-Millar</span>.  <span class=small>Dr John Liggatt, Dr Avril Thomson, Dr Simon Shilton</span>
<span class=heading><b>Expert Knowledge</b> by Katie Hunter (School of Education)</span><br /><p class=int>The percentage of young people from Glasgow’s poorest areas that succeed in entering higher education is extremely low. This attainment gap represents a waste of young people’s talent, contributes to a persistent lack of social mobility and highlights the social and economic disparities of the city.  A range of research now indicates that volunteer mentoring, particularly with supportive older adults can have a positive impact on young people. Over the past two years a school in North Glasgow has worked in partnership with researchers from the University of Strathclyde to develop and deliver one to one adult mentoring to pupils interested in entering higher education. The project has supported young people as they plan their futures, facilitating access to expert knowledge and advice which could enhance their chances further.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Katie Hunter</span>.  <span class=small>Alastair Wilson, Anna Beesley, Richard Todd (Illustrator)</span>

<span class=heading><b>Processing and Characterisation of Medical Polymers for Cardiovascular Applications</b> by Kit Mei Tan (Bioengineering)</span><br /><p class=int>Nearly half of all deaths in Europe is attributable to atherosclerosis, where fatty deposits build up and harden in arteries leading to serious complications such as heart attacks and strokes. Stent deployment is a minimally invasive treatment option that is currently performed for 1 in 100 people in Europe, this procedure however still require improvements in clinical outcomes. Success rates for the treatment can be achieved through further research into the cellular and molecular processes involved and how the materials from which these devices are made are processed. The project aims to construct a physiological model of the blood-vessel wall to study cell-material interactions within a controlled environment, using the technique of electrostatic spinning to produce 3D fibres that mimic the natural fibres found within the blood vessel wall. The proposed model will find application in research programmes for arterial stent design and deployment, drug delivery and pharmaceuticals testing.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Kit Mei Tan</span>
<span class=heading><b>More precious than gold…</b> by Lisa McIntosh (SIPBS)</span><br /><p class=int>Gold may seem an odd starting point to develop advanced surface coatings which may provide the next generation of tissue engineering substrates. Although gold alone does not support cell adhesion, its special chemistry facilitates specific orientations of protein ligands which can then mimic more closely the extracellular matrix required for the organisation of tissues. Our image shows human fibroblast cells attached to an entirely synthetic extracellular matrix which, uniquely, has been conformationally defined at the surface by neutron reflectivity. We can now begin to tease apart the importance of ligand orientation, clustering and surface conformation on the extent of cell attachment. Controlling the cellular environment and cellular response has many applications, primarily in tissue engineering and improving the compatibility of implanted medical devices with host tissue. This image is the first step in confirming that entirely synthetic extracellular matrix may function as intended.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Lisa McIntosh</span>.  <span class=small>Christine Whitelaw, Michaela Kreiner, David Blatchford, Chris van der Walle</span>
<span class=heading><b>Water Works</b> by Louise Mather (Marketing)</span><br /><p class=int>The World Health Organization predicts that by 2050 up to four billion people (nearly two-thirds of the world’s present population) will face fresh water shortages. Drinking water scarcity is already posing major problems for more than a billion people, mostly in arid developing countries. As climate change continues to redistribute global rainfall patterns such conditions will become increasingly common. <br /><br />Reverse osmosis, the most common method to supplement fresh water requires high pressure and thus energy. However, research taking place within Strathclyde may provide an alternative, recent molecular dynamics simulations indicate that dense arrays of carbon nano tubes (CNT) could be used as a nano-filtration membrane. Simulations suggest that nano-filtration membranes could transform the cost/benefit analysis for large-scale desalination and other water purification projects.  <br /><br />Our research aims to connect this research will forward thinking innovative companies to help mitigate this devastating eventuality.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Louise Mather</span>
<span class=heading><b>Cardiac Biomarker Detection </b> by Lynn Denanny</span><br /><p class=int>When the heart muscle is under stress or strain, it produces specific biomarkers. My research focuses on the detection of these biomarkers (cardiac Troponin I (TNI) and CRP) which may aid the diagnosis of myocardial infarction within the emergency room. The detection of these biomarkers within whole blood allows for rapid testing and new technique systems are needed to perform this analysis. Most approaches are time consuming due to the necessity for isolation and extraction of the specific biomarker dramatically limiting the development of point-of-care devices. The novel materials I am developing produce light signals upon interaction with the biomarkers within a controlled system but without the need for extraction. Therefore, we hope to develop an electrochemical system which can overcome these problems and aim to create novel materials and sensors capable of this.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Lynn Denanny</span>

<span class=heading><b>Social anxiety: look towards the source of your fear</b> by Mel McKendrick (School of Psychological Sciences & Health)</span><br /><p class=int>Dispositional social anxiety can have a debilitating effect leading to social withdrawal and isolation. Yet chronic situational anxiety from high pressure social situations can result in harmful physiological responses that may adversely affect long term health and wellbeing. During my PhD I researched how people view and interpret their audience during public speaking tasks. My findings suggest that anxiety can disrupt attention, leading at times to avoidance of socially threatening facial features. Yet brief attention to negatively perceived faces is enough to produce negative self-oriented feelings. However threatening interpretations can be reduced by challenging how individuals think about their audience. My current research aims are to develop a technology based training system to encourage people to attend to seemingly threatening and to self-affirming social cues whilst helping them to alter their thought processes. This could have wide reaching implications for health and wellbeing in a variety of diverse social contexts.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Mel McKendrick</span>
<span class=heading><b>Drug loaded hydrogels in the treatment of cancer</b> by Rabbab Oun (SIPBS)</span><br /><p class=int>These hydrogel implants are currently under investigation as drug delivery systems, they are made from natural polymers and can be formulated into a variety of sizes and shapes.  <br /><br />Cancer patients that undergo chemotherapy endure long hours of intravenous hydration before drugs such as the anticancer drug cisplatin is administered. Drug administration is a long procedure and can take between 2-8 hours over a number of days weekly.  This method of administration results in 90% of cisplatin not reaching its target site and this causes toxic side effects.  <br /><br />A hydrogel implant can act as a slow drug delivery system and can be tuned to release drugs over hours, days or weeks. Therefore patients will no longer need to spend long hours at the hospital. Also a slower drug release mechanism may ensure that more drug reaches the tumour. Other advantages of hydrogels include good biocompatibility and degradation of the gel into non toxic by products. </p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Rabbab Oun</span>
<span class=heading><b>A natural grasp on artifical materials</b> by Rein Ulijn (Pure and Applied Chemistry)</span><br /><p class=int>Enzymes are nature’s controlling agents that direct important mechanisms in the daily operations of the human body and the curing of injuries and diseases. Modern medicine relies on artificial materials such as implants and drug delivery particles to aid the body in its healing processes. The interaction between the body’s natural components and the artificial materials used in medicine is poorly controlled and mostly focused on preventing rejection of the material by the body by suppressing inflammation and promoting cell growth on the material. We have designed materials that not just coexist with living tissue, they respond to it using natures own language: enzymes. The enzymes are able to change the surface of our material. We have thus created a material that actively interacts with living tissue and can dynamically adapt to the natural environment. This artificial material is able to become an integrated part of natural systems.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Rein Ulijn</span>.  <span class=small>Mischa Zelzer</span>
<span class=heading><b>Mesolens: first 3D images</b> by Rumelo Amor (SIPBS)</span><br /><p class=int>UK. Glasgow. 2012. Gail McConnell and Brad Amos look on as the laser-scanning Mesolens produces its first three-dimensional fluorescence image of a whole mouse embryo with detail up to the cellular level.  <br /><br />The Mesolens is a giant lens developed to address a big drawback in existing microscopes: the area being imaged is only a fifth of a millimetre across. With a field of view six millimetres in diameter, the lens can image a whole mouse embryo or a wide expanse of the surface of the brain. The work being done at Strathclyde has enabled the Mesolens to be used for laser scanning microscopy: it now produces three-dimensional images showing the whole organism with detail up to the cellular level. The enormous amount of information available in a single Mesolens image will speed up the process of drug discovery and delivery and make a crucial contribution to the fight against disease.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Rumelo Amor</span>.  <span class=small>William Bradshaw Amos, Gail McConnell, John Dempster</span>

<span class=heading><b>The truth about the prevalence of adolescent self-harm </b> by Susan Rasmussen (School of Psychological Sciences & Health)</span><br /><p class=int>Research from the UK has shown that approximately 12-15% of 15-16 year olds self-harm, whilst a further 20% have thought about self-harming. Consequently, there is a great need to help young people tackle the issues they may face. Research has highlighted that adolescent help-seeking is complex, and that around 50% of young people do not seek help to deal with their problems. However, importantly, those adolescents who do seek help, are most likely to confide in a peer rather than an adult, and it is therefore of great importance that we educate not just parents, but also adolescents on how to best help friends experiencing problems. This photo is based on a large scale research project conducted in Scotland, and was included in a photo exhibition which went on display in schools/colleges/universities in Glasgow to tackle myths about self-harm, and to promote dialogue about self-harm.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Douglas Cunningham</span>.  <span class=small>Mr Dougie Cunningham (Photographer), Professor Rory O’Connor (University of Stirling)</span>
<span class=heading><b>Short peptide hydrogels for cell culture </b> by Vineetha Jayawarna (Pure and Applied Chemistry)</span><br /><p class=int>Aromatic short peptide derivatives, i.e. peptides modified with aromatic groups such as 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc), can self-assemble into self-supporting hydrogels. These hydrogels have some similarities to extracellular matrices due to their high hydration, relative stiffness and nanofibrous architecture [1]. Our research indicates that these short peptide derivatives can be used successfully in 2D and 3D cell culture for different cell types (Chondrocytes, Human dermal Fibroblasts, 3T3, Hepatocytes) and that cell responses can be influenced by chemical and mechanical stimuli [2, 3]. More recently we show that the combined use of thermodynamic and kinetic controlled assembly allows for formation of stable gels with identical chemical building blocks and chemical composition but variable molecular organization, expressing distinctly different morphological and elastic properties. The gels can be differentially assembled to control mesenchymal stem cell fate towards hard (bone) or soft (neural-like, adipose) cell phenotypes in the absence of differentiation media, matrix proteins or bioactive motifs.<br />1. V. Jayawarna et al., (2006) Adv. Mater. 18, 611–614<br />2. V. Jayawarna et al., (2009) Acta Biomaterialia. 9, 5, 934-943.<br />3. M. Zhou et al., (2009) Biomaterials, 2009, 30, 2523-2530.</p><span class=small>Image: © 2012 Vineetha Jayawarna</span>.  <span class=small>Prof. Rein V Ulijn </span>