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Vertical Vibes: Designing Degrees That Flow
Get PDFIn Day 10, Leighann and Claire share some very interesting insights about the importance of vertical alignment in teaching and assessment, to ensure great outcomes for graduates
Foster an ecosystem for deep tech start-ups
No full textThis would require patient, risk-seeking capital, greater industry-academia engagement and identifying areas where India has strong expertise
The big growth reset of 2025: How political discourse irrevocably reshaped UK competition policy
No full textNo abstract available
The BERA Guide to Outdoor Learning: Place-responsive Pedagogy in Educational Research and Practice
No full textThe BERA Guide to Outdoor Learning: Place-responsive Pedagogy in Educational Research and Practice reignites an educational focus on the role of place in outdoor learning. The book offers a timely and relevant response to contemporary societal, environmental, and educational issues, alongside an increasing demand to renew children and young people's relationships with the world around them. Anchored in the core principles of place-responsive pedagogy, this book offers educators a breath of fresh air amidst increased curriculum demands and performance metrics in a post-pandemic neoliberal landscape. Insights emerge from a rich convergence of theory, practical application, and lived experience. Authors make a compelling case for outdoor learning as a means of fostering world-resonance, resilience, creativity, and a sense of belonging, as well as highlighting inclusive pathways for place-responsive education
Nanoparticle characterisation via 2D classification using single particle averaging
Get PDFCharacterising the size and morphology of nanoparticles (NPs), especially in complex systems like core–shell particles and nanocapsules, remains a significant challenge due to limitations in resolution and applicability of traditional methods. Here, we explore a novel approach to image-based NP characterisation using 2D class averaging (2D-CA) techniques used in single particle analysis. By leveraging well-established software originally developed in structural biology, our method provides detailed size distribution analysis for diverse NP systems, including bimodal particle size distributions, nanocapsules and nanorods. To validate the efficacy and accuracy of this technique, we conduct a comparative study against established characterisation methods, highlighting the potential of 2D-CA to enhance the analysis of challenging NP systems that are otherwise inaccessible using conventional methods, such as highly agglomerated NPs. Our results indicate that single particle averaging techniques offer a sound statistical basis for NP size distribution determination, coupled with a streamlined workflow that utilises established software. This method facilitates the processing of large numbers of micrographs, yielding statistically robust results with minimal human bias through automated particle identification
Developing Student Confidence in Communication and Teamwork
No full textTeaching skills is a key component of any Higher Education Degree. This presentation assesses the efficacy of the Physics Communication Project (PCP) – an exercise designed to develop teamwork and communication skills in level 1 physics students (though the exercise would work equally well in any discipline), by getting students to develop an outreach poster that would encourage school pupils to take physics on to degree level. We looked at how the PCP bolstered students’ confidence in teamwork skills and presentation abilities. The study delves into the PCP’s influence on student perceptions and experiences and by evaluation survey and interviews. Findings revealed that students were initially apprehensive about public speaking, but there was a significant improvement in students’ confidence levels in teamwork and presentations following participation in the PCP, with qualitative data emphasising the benefits of teamwork enhancements. Additionally, it was found that the PCP fosters community among participants, enhancing their academic journey beyond mere skill acquisition. Moreover, the PCP is vital in addressing gender disparities in confidence levels, particularly in presentations. Initially, women displayed notably lower confidence than men, but post-project, their confidence aligned with that of men, indicating substantial growth among female participants. This presentation will detail the PCP itself so that it could be employed by others, as well as explore the evaluation data in detail
Evaluating privacy loss in differential privacy based federated learning
No full textFederated learning (FL) trains a global model by aggregating local training gradients, but private information can be leaked from these gradients. To enhance privacy, differential privacy (DP) is often used by adding artificial noise. However, this approach reduces accuracy compared to noise-free learning. Balancing privacy protection and model accuracy remains a key challenge for DP-based FL. Additionally, current methods use theoretical bounds to measure privacy loss, lacking an intuitive assessment. In this paper, we first propose an evaluation method for privacy leakage in the FL by utilizing reconstruction attacks to analyze the difference between the original images and reconstructed ones. We then formulate the problems of investigating DP’s effect on the reconstruction attack, where we study the accumulative privacy loss under two different reconstruction attack settings and prove that anonymous local clients can decrease the probability of privacy leakage. Next, we study the effects of different clipping methods, including fixed constants and the median value of the unclipped gradients’ norm, on privacy protection and learning performance. Furthermore, we derive the theoretical convergence analysis for the cosine similarity and l2-norm-based reconstruction attack under DP noise. We conduct extensive simulations to show how DP settings affect privacy leakage and characterize the trade-off between privacy protection and learning accuracy
Progress in contactless 3D printing and 2D material integration for next-generation electrochemical sensing applications
Get PDFThe convergence of two- dimensional (2D) nanomaterials and additive manufacturing has emerged as a transformative frontier in materials science and advanced fabrication techniques. This review systematically examines the integration of 2D materials, such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, and MXenes, with 3D printing technologies, highlighting their synergistic potential in functional applications. We assessed the structural, electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of 2D materials that render them ideal for engineered inks, along with key three- dimensional (3D) printing approaches (inkjet, extrusion, and stereolithography) optimized for processing these nanomaterials. Critical challenges in ink design, including rheological control, interfacial engineering, and parameter optimization, were analyzed to bridge synthesis strategies with scalable fabrication. State- of- the- art applications in energy storage, flexible electronics, sensing, and high- performance composites have demonstrated the versatility of 3D- printed 2D architectures. Emerging opportunities in multimaterial printing, algorithmic- driven manufacturing, and sustainable production are outlined to address the current limitations in resolution, scalability, and functional integration. By integrating the progress and prospects across disciplines, this review provides a roadmap for the advancement of 2D material- enabled 3D printing in next- generation technologies
Cell loss disrupts mechanical homeostasis to drive retinal pigment epithelium ageing-like phenotype in vitro
Get PDFTissue homeostasis relies on mechanical feedback loops balanced by cell loss and proliferation. However, maintaining this balance becomes particularly challenging in postmitotic tissues, where alternative mechanisms replace compensatory proliferation. In the postmitotic retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), these mechanisms include significant structural adaptations over time. Yet, how these adaptations relate to epithelial mechanical homeostasis and age-associated functional decline remains poorly understood. To establish the relationship between structural changes, mechanical homeostasis and function, we developed an in vitro reductionistic model mimicking age-related reduction in RPE cell density. Inducing large-scale apoptosis in postmitotic stem cell-derived RPE monolayers recapitulates structural hallmarks of aged tissue, such as reduced cell height, shortened microvilli and cytoskeletal reorganisation. This new structure acquires a new mechanical equilibrium, evidenced by tissue stiffening and enhanced junctional contractility. Functionally, the monolayers display impaired vision-supporting phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments. Mechanistically, modulation of actin nucleators, Arp2/3 and formins, demonstrates that apicolateral monolayer deformation is critical for phagocytosis and may be compromised in aged RPE. Our findings suggest that a shift in mechanical homeostasis due to cell loss is a major driver of age-related RPE functional decline. Importantly, we show that structural remodelling in ageing alone can compromise tissue function, independent of other stressors
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