34575 research outputs found
Sort by
Guided ultrasound acquisition for nonrigid image registration using reinforcement learning
No full textWe propose a guided registration method for spatially aligning a fixed preoperative image and untracked ultrasound image slices. We exploit the unique interactive and spatially heterogeneous nature of this application to develop a registration algorithm that interactively suggests and acquires ultrasound images at optimised locations (with respect to registration performance). Our framework is based on two trainable functions: (1) a deep hyper-network-based registration function, which is generalisable over varying location and deformation, and adaptable at test-time; (2) a reinforcement learning function for producing test-time estimates of image acquisition locations and adapted deformation regularisation (the latter is required due to varying acquisition locations). We evaluate our proposed method with real preoperative patient data, and simulated intraoperative data with variable field-of-view. In addition to simulation of intraoperative data, we simulate global alignment based on previous work for efficient training, and investigate probe-level guidance towards an improved deformable registration. The evaluation in a simulated environment shows statistically significant improvements in overall registration performance across a variety of metrics for our proposed method, compared to registration without acquisition guidance or adaptable deformation regularisation, and to commonly used classical iterative methods and learning-based registration. For the first time, efficacy of proactive image acquisition is demonstrated in a simulated surgical interventional registration, in contrast to most existing work addressing registration post-data-acquisition, one of the reasons we argue may have led to previously under-constrained nonrigid registration in such applications. Code: https://github.com/s-sd/rl_guided_registration
Cut from a Different Cloth: Tailoring, Tradition, and Transition
No full textThis exhibition traces Alexander McQueen’s evolving relationship with tailoring, from his formative work in Milan for Romeo Gigli, through his early London-based menswear, to a new generation of Westminster-trained designers responding to that legacy.
It begins with six tailored womenswear garments from Gigli’s Spring/Summer 1991 collection, produced during McQueen’s time at the house. A recently unearthed letter confirms his direct involvement in these garments, revealing a pivotal period in which McQueen absorbed Italian tailoring methods while navigating the personal and financial pressures of entering the industry.
From there, the exhibition presents ten early Alexander McQueen menswear garments from the Westminster Menswear Archive. Designed in London between 1996 and 2000 but manufactured in Italy, they reflect the tension and interplay between British cutting traditions and Italian production techniques.
Completing the exhibition are new tailored garments created by this year’s MA Menswear graduates at the University of Westminster. Developed through forensic archival research and shaped by tutorials and feedback from the current Alexander McQueen design team, these garments respond to McQueen’s legacy not through replication, but through critical reinterpretation.
Together, the exhibition explores how tailoring knowledge crosses borders and generations; how designers come of age by working through others, and how garments hold the lines of influence that run between them
Curcumin Nanocarriers in the Protection Against Iron- and Alcohol-Induced Oxidative Stress in a Cellular Model of Liver Disease
No full textDuring chronic alcohol misuse, hepatic iron overload occurs, leading to exacerbated oxidative stress and liver injury. The aim was to study formulations encapsulated with the antioxidant curcumin to assess their ability protect against oxidative stress in a model of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) combined with iron. HepG2 (VL-17A) cells were treated with iron (50 µM) alone or with alcohol (200 to 350 mM) over 72 h and markers of oxidative damage, cell death, and mitochondrial function were assessed. Nanoformulations encapsulating curcumin were also studied. VL-17A cells treated with both ethanol and iron showed significant decreases in cell viability (64%, p < 0.0001) when compared to control, and a 56% decrease (p = 0.0279) when compared to iron-only treatment. Iron-alone treatment caused a 115% increase (p < 0.0001) in ROS at 48 h as well as increases of up to 118% when treated with 200 mM ethanol + 50 μM iron (p < 0.0001), compared to control DMEM. The study found that 10 µM curcumin DSPE-PEG increased cell viability by 17% and 41% when compared to control and iron treatment alone, respectively. Formulations reduced ROS by 36% (p = 0.0015) when compared to iron-alone treatment. In summary, encapsulated curcumin provided antioxidant capacity and reduced oxidative stress, demonstrating the therapeutic potential for curcumin formulations in ALD combined with iron dysregulatio
Introduction - Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Cultural and Creative Industries: Why a Focus on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12?
No full textIn this Introduction, the two co-editors provide an overview and structure for the first volume of this book on ‘Responsible Consumption and Production in the Cultural and Creative Industries’. This book explores the intersection of sustainability and the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), particularly within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12): Responsible Consumption and Production. The CCIs, thanks to their unique creativity, skills and talent, which can be transferred to other industrial sectors and individuals through the production of positive knowledge externalities and social innovation, are increasingly recognized for their potential to contribute to a more sustainable future. However, the academic literature on how these industries integrate sustainability into their own practice, especially in terms of responsible production and consumption, remains underdeveloped. This book aims to address this gap by offering empirical studies that highlight the role of CCIs in advancing SDG 12, through innovative practices, policies, and case studies across different cultural and geographical contexts. The first volume is organised in three sections: the first explores the involvement of funding bodies, institutional actors, and policies in promoting sustainable practices; the second looks at the contribution of CCIs to sustainable tourism development; and the third section explores the adoption of circular economy models within creative production and consumption
How is “wokeness” constructed in newspaper articles about British heritage institutions move to be more diverse?
No full textIncreasing use of the term “wokeness” in the UK has arisen from the Black Lives Matter movement that challenges anti-Black racism from police. BLM has led to the challenging of decision-making around how heritage is presented such as the toppling of the Colston statue. British heritage organisations have reinterpreted their role to orient towards a more inclusive representation of history and heritage in public spaces. However, the term ‘woke’ is used to critique moves to construct heritage more diversely and challenge changes by heritage organisations. A discursive psychological analysis was conducted on 100 UK newspaper articles covering the move by National Trust and English Heritage to be more diverse and where ‘wokeness’ was discussed as a controversy. We present three discourses: 1) heritage organisations being constructed as custodians, 2) heritage as a place of refuge, 3) organisations’ aim to be apolitical. These discussions of identity and physical space showcase both the notion that identities are specific to a physical space, and how this can be used to negotiate an aspect of British heritage that harmed global majority people. Our approach is interdisciplinary, combining discursive psychology and heritage/town planning to highlight the contested nature of interpreting history, public space and identity
Tourism and the Impacts on Local Communities and the Environment
No full textInvited panel speaker at an online public event organised by Flight Free UK on the impacts of tourism on local communities and the environment, following publication of my article in The Guardian (September 2025) on Sun, sex, but no sangria? The Balearics’ booze crackdown might just save their tourist industry- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/03/balearic-islands-sun-sex-alcohol-tourist-industry-europ
Living in Limbo: Existential Concerns Among Greek Young Adults
No full textExistential concerns are particularly salient during emerging adulthood—a period marked by identity exploration, uncertainty, and developmental transitions. This qualitative study explores the existential anxieties of Greek young adults within the unique sociocultural context of prolonged economic instability and shifting generational expectations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen participants aged 18–30, and thematic analysis was employed to identify key patterns. The findings reveal that concerns about meaning, death, identity, and isolation were central to participants’ experiences, and were often intensified by financial insecurity, intergenerational pressures, and sociopolitical stagnation. Participants employed a range of coping strategies, including introspection, therapy, and spiritual exploration; however, some also turned to maladaptive behaviors such as substance use and compulsive actions (e.g., trichotillomania) to manage distress. These results underscore the complex interplay between individual existential struggles and broader structural conditions. By situating existential anxiety within the lived experiences of Greek youth, this study offers novel insight into culturally situated meaning-making and contributes to the growing discourse on existential well-being in emerging adulthood
Book review by Krystallia Kamvasinou – The Landscape Project (2022). Richard J. Weller and Tatum L. Hands
No full textDesigning, building, and inventing with Dante Bini
No full textDante Bini is recognised through his incredible invention of the Binishell (1964) – A thin-shell reinforced concrete dome, which uniquely employs pressurised air, to not only form, but also lift the heavy mass of wet concrete into place. Without witnessing or hearing Dante Bini describe this process, it is almost impossible to imagine and Bini jokes of critics and commentators who fail to understand how Binishells can be made with such a small amount of air pressure. Dante Bini is increasingly defined for one very particular Binishell, the Villa Antonioni (Costa Paradiso, Sardinia) that he designed and built for the film director Michelangelo Antonioni and the actress Monica Vitti. With its recent rediscovery, it seems that finally, the fraternity of architectural historians and critics have awoken and found a project with which to celebrate the work of architect Dante Bini and what a work. Sprinkled by the crushed local rock of the Sardinian coast, a terrazzo floor seeded with fragrant chamomile, an oculus to capture the light and sound of the sea and the ‘tuned’ stone steps, cleaved from rock which Antonioni made Bini inhale to understand and feel the history of the world. So, the villa at Costa Paradiso is certainly a compelling story, but not one that should end there
The art of the public: cultural economy and cultural policy
No full textThis three-part intervention asks what bridges might be built between the broad interdisciplinary tradition of cultural economy, as characterised in the pages of this journal, and cultural policy, as a field of governance. Contributors offer some possible approaches to the urgent problematic of what interventions in the field of culture might be encouraged, not only by the state (or what is left of it) but a wide range of public actors. Mariana Mazzucato draws together various pieces of work that she and colleagues have carried out in relation to arts and media institutions in the UK. She argues that any new economic mission requires more dynamic methods of valuing and supporting these activities as public goods. Justin O'Connor wants to recognise the need to carve off public 'goods' from public 'bads'. He urges greater focus on the issues of infrastructure and the Foundational Economy that were a focal concern of some of the debates surrounding the creation of this journal. Finally, Toby Bennett reflects on the field of cultural economics as a discipline under pressure from changing material circumstances - and asks what kind of dialogical public ‘platform’ cultural economy might offer in response