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Beyond Legalisation : The Overlooked Challenges of Implementing Assisted Dying in the UK
No full textThe content of the Terminally Adults (End of Life) Bill (hereafter TIAB) and the model of assisted dying that it would legalise are at risk of being overshadowed by the continuing uncertainty regarding its fate. However, whilst the increasing likelihood of the TIAB falling in the House of Lords before the end of the current parliamentary session looms large due to the sheer, unprecedented volume of amendments at committee stage, the question of how assisted dying (AD) would be provided in a publicly funded health care system is still pressing. Lord Falcolner’s amendments at Committee Stage in the House of Lords would impose a duty on integrated care boards, NHS England or the Secretary of State to arrange for the provision of voluntary assisted dying services, allowing for these services to be commissioned, and requiring them to be regulated by either or both the Care Quality Commission and NHS England (amendments 749B and C). However, how these services will be provided remains absent from the TIAB
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on end-of-life care in LTCFs in England : A qualitative study of LTCF staff experiences
No full textBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the number of deaths within long-term care facilities (LTCFs) globally. Restrictions around visitation and social distancing were common; however, research conducted during the pandemic demonstrates that these policies impacted the ways in which end-of-life care was delivered in LTCFs. Aim: This paper aims to explore the experiences of LTCF staff members in England in providing end-of-life care in the context of policies issued by the government at the time. Methods: Secondary analysis of data collected from qualitative, semi-structured interviews conducted with 24 LTCF staff working across eight LTCFs in the north-west of England were analysed. Interviews were conducted with LTCF staff members, exploring their experiences of working in adult social care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Themes related to providing end-of-life care during this time were identified and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Thematic analysis identified four key themes including: discrepancies in following COVID-19 UK government guidelines including visitation at end of life as an exception; the influence of staffing on delivering end-of-life care; utilising technology to substitute physical presence at end-of-life visits; and the emotional impact of delivering end-of-life care under COVID-19 restrictions. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate the numerous challenges LTCF staff experienced when delivering end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the practicalities of managing resident deaths, facilitating visitation, and the associated impact on emotional well-being. Ensuring that all LTCF staff are trained to recognise end-of-life care, in the event of a future pandemic, will better equip LTCFs in providing high-quality care. It is paramount that guidance on managing family contact at end of life is consistent, while considering the impact of implementing such guidance on the mental and emotional well-being of LTCF staff members
SAM-Zero3D : Extending Segment Anything to Zero Shot 3D Scene Segmentation via Iterative Global–Local Interaction
No full textLifting multi-view 2D masks generated by the Segment Anything Model (SAM) into 3D space offers a promising direction for zero-shot 3D scene segmentation, but view-dependent occlusions and limited fields of view often cause incomplete observations and cross-view inconsistencies, resulting in fragmented semantics and geometric misalignment. To address this, we propose SAM-Zero3D, which extends SAM to the 3D domain through a structured fusion pipeline with two complementary branches. The global anchor point-guided branch projects 3D anchors into multi-view masks to construct a cross-view affinity graph, identifies consistent mask groups via connected component analysis, and assigns 3D masks via majority voting and nearest-neighbor propagation. The local geometry-driven branch partitions the point cloud into fine-grained regions, estimates region-level semantic similarity from aggregated mask distributions, and progressively merges similar regions through a multi-stage merging strategy. An iterative global–local interaction further refines both branches by aligning global semantic priors with local geometric cues. Extensive experiments on ShapeNetPart, ScanNetV2, and ScanNet200 show that SAM-Zero3D significantly outperforms existing zero-shot baselines, achieving accurate and structure-aware segmentation without any 3D training or supervision
K-shell X-ray intensity ratios : Compilation of experimental data, semi-empirical modeling, and MCDF calculations for 13 ≤ Z ≤ 99
No full textAn assessment of the influences on Undergraduate Law Course Design : A Bernstein perspective
No full textThis thesis investigates the influences evident in the design of the undergraduate law courses, and the impact of those influences from the perspective of the course designers. The investigation is taking place at a time of change in legal education, and this will enable an assessment of both the context in which legal course design falls and the potential for change in that design. The literature on course design, legal education and students’ learning is bought together to identify an appropriate conceptual mechanism in Bernstein’s pedagogic theory and framework. Interviews with course designers from a diverse group of twenty-two law schools were conducted and analysed to identify what external and internal forces there were on the disciplinary and non-disciplinary elements of design in degrees. Bernstein’s theory provided the framework to interrogate the way in which knowledge structures operated in this process. The thesis concludes that the spheres of influence and hierarchies are changing. The recontextualisation of knowledge in law at the point of course design remains a site of struggle and whilst the changes might present the designers and their teams with more autonomy and control, the shifts within the power and control structures create uncertainties that may prevent law schools from developing more integrated and holistic designs. The thesis applies Bernstein’s theory to legal education at a specific point in time and utilises it to interrogate the approaches that are being adopted at a point of uncertainty, suggesting that course design in law is deserving of more interrogation
Ionic gating of a meta-connected molecular junction achieves a 10 5 ON/OFF ratio
No full textMolecular architectures featuring stable radical centres and tunable π-conjugated backbones are well-established platforms for investigating charge transport at the single-molecule level. In this study, we examine the transport characteristics of three established connectivities para-connected, ortho-connected, and doubly π-bridged ortho based on bis(triarylamine) organic analogues, in the presence of counter-ions positioned at various locations around the molecular framework. These systems provide a platform for assessing how structural connectivity governs quantum interference and how local electrostatic perturbations influence the transmission spectrum. Building on these benchmarks, a new meta-connected variant is proposed and its behaviour in the presence of counter ions is evaluated. In contrast to the para and ortho arrangements, which display only modest variations under ionic perturbation, the meta configuration exhibits a markedly enhanced response. Depending on the ion's position, the transmission is either significantly suppressed or strongly modulated by nearly five orders of magnitude producing an ON/OFF ratio of ∼105. This pronounced switching arises from the destructive interference inherent to meta connectivity and its susceptibility to local electrostatic fields. Overall, the results demonstrate that meta-engineered molecular junctions offer a highly sensitive route for ion gated control of charge transport, with promising implications for molecular scale electronic switching and sensing technologies
Understanding calm in the context of smart toys
No full textSmart toys, which integrate sensing, processing, physical movement, sounds, and even internet connectivity, offer a range of new play opportunities. However, compared to traditional toys, current smart toy products can be limiting in the play they support, and they have received criticism for a range of reasons with calm being a potentially valuable design feature for smart toys. This work explores the application of a revised set of calm design principles applied in the context of currently available smart toy products in an expert evaluation inspection study. The specific focus of this paper is on understanding the challenges encountered by the evaluators in the study. This paper contributes four key recommendations valuable to researchers and practitioners conducting similar studies. These relate to the challenge of simulating play experience, the diversity of play context, the interpretation and understanding of principles, and the consideration of design intent vs. play experience. We propose “calm smart toys” as a strong concept that can potentially assist others interested in designing calm smart toys
Home secretary says asylum overhaul is rooted in ‘Labour values’ – what are those values?
No full textObsidian forms by slow cooling
No full textObsidian is a natural glass that is a common product of silicic volcanic eruptions. It has been prized throughout human history for its glassy nature, finding use in tools, weapons and ornaments, and in ritual and spiritual practice. The absence of large crystals in obsidian has led to the widespread view that it is formed by rapid cooling of lava, preventing crystal nucleation and growth. Here we show that, on the contrary, the absence of vesicles in obsidian requires relatively slow cooling - on the order of 10 to 10 °C/s - to enable the resorption of remnant bubbles. Our bubble-resorption model for obsidian formation is supported by in-situ X-ray computed tomography at magmatic temperatures that reveals bubble shrinkage during resorption on cooling. We validate a numerical model for growth and resorption of bubbles against these results, then apply the model to explore the conditions under which obsidian can form in nature. Our findings revise the accepted thermal histories of obsidian-forming systems, overturning conventional wisdom for the formation of this culturally, archaeologically, and volcanologically important material
A systematic literature review of methodologies used in economic evaluations of combination vaccines
No full textBackground Combination vaccines offer simultaneous protection against different diseases or strains of the same pathogen. They could improve vaccine coverage and health outcomes while reducing healthcare visits and injection costs. This systematic literature review (CRD420251135227) aimed to characterise methodologies employed in full economic evaluations of combination vaccines targeting multiple diseases. Methods Searches were performed in August 2025 in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, CEA Registry, International HTA Database, and the NHS Economic Evaluation Database. Studies included cost-utility (CUA), cost-effectiveness (CEA) or cost-benefit analyses (CBA) evaluating all the diseases covered by combination vaccines. Given the qualitative research question, findings were narratively synthesised. Quality assessment used CHEERS and the WHO framework for Immunisation Programmes. Results Seven studies (3 CUAs; 4 CEAs) were included. They targeted five different combination vaccines across four countries and ∼20 years (1999–2019). All employed static models and compared with single vaccines (n = 3) or no vaccination (n = 5). Two studies adopted a societal perspective, three a healthcare perspective, and two adopted both. Four targeted paediatrics, three targeted adults. The efficacy of combination vaccines was assumed to be equivalent to single vaccines, and value was modelled as the incremental reduction in burden and costs of the additional disease covered, or due to higher coverage and fewer visits. There was variation in assessment of severe and long-term outcomes, adverse events, and productivity loss. Cross-disease data integration (e.g. co-infection, interference) was not considered. All studies generally supported cost-effectiveness of the assessed combination vaccines, but these results largely reflected the choice of comparator and modelling assumptions. Methodological and reporting quality varied widely. Conclusions Economic evaluations of combination vaccines targeting multiple diseases remain scarce, outdated, and simplistic, highlighting opportunities to explore dynamic transmission models, broader societal perspectives, comparisons to single vaccines and extensive sensitivity analyses