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Music, money, and the Metaverse: how Avenged Sevenfold, Steve Aoki, and Daniel Allan navigate Web3
Get PDFPreventing suicides on the railways: learning from lived and living experiences
Get PDFBackground: Despite increasing recognition of the crucial role of lived/ing experience in shaping suicide prevention policy and practice, the perspectives of people who have considered or attempted suicide by train are seldom captured in analyses of what could reduce suicides on the railways. The aim of this study was to explore lived/ing experience perceptions of what types of approaches are effective or ineffective in this context, and why.
Methods: We carried out 1) in-depth qualitative interviews with 34 individuals who had attempted or contemplated suicide on the railways; 2) an online survey investigating lived/ing experiences of suicidality at rail locations (N=269); 3) an online ethnography of content relating to train/rail suicide from different online spaces including ‘pro-choice’ forums and reddit (254 posts and 1228 associated comments)
Results: Several measures to prevent suicide on the railways were identified - and critiqued - in lived/ing experience accounts. These included strategies to challenge dominant cultural narratives around railway-suicide (e.g. by shifting the focus from the lethality of this method to its impact on train drivers and others); environmental measures to restrict access to means and/or create a safer and more positive atmosphere; and increasing opportunities for help-seeking and ‘helpful’ third-party interventions. However, considering what works for whom, and when, emerged as crucial. The challenges of preventing rail suicides against a backdrop of severely stretched mental health services were also repeatedly highlighted.
Conclusions: The perspectives of people with lived/ing experiences, whilst far from homogenous, provide crucial insights into the potential value and unintended consequences of difference strategies to prevent suicides on the railways. Our findings reiterate the need for comprehensive suicide prevention strategies, targeting different stages of the suicidal process
Smart Segway: an IoT-driven towards autonomous vehicle with optimized design for urban navigation
Get PDFAs cities grow and gated communities thrive, the need for smart, practical transport solutions becomes ever more pressing. Current Segways, with their low ground clearance, bulky designs, and lack of connectivity, often struggle to keep up with modern demands. Our paper presents a fresh take on the Segway, designed to tackle these issues head-on. It features a raised platform for better navigation over rough terrain, a novel lightweight honeycomb chassis built for strength and efficiency and a foldable shaft for easy storage. With IoT technology, it offers real-time tracking through an inertial measurement (IMU) unit, GPS, and obstacle detection using Time-of-Flight (ToF), ultrasonic, and proximity sensors. Powered by an ESP32 S3 microcontroller and Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) algorithms, its semi-autonomous navigation adapts smoothly to different environments. Testing shows the chassis handles heavy loads well, while IoT features support pothole detection, obstacle avoidance and vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This user-friendly, connected design is perfect for bustling cities and gated communities like campuses and neighborhoods, making mobility safer and smarter
Neighbourhood belonging, social cohesion, and mental wellbeing of children and parents in an ethnically diverse community sample in England
Get PDFBackground
Neighbourhood cohesion is considered an important and modifiable determinant of mental health that interacts with factors such as deprivation and ethnicity in complex ways. UK studies adequately representing ethnic minority groups are however scarce. We examined associations between neighbourhood belonging, social cohesion, and mental wellbeing of children and parents in an ethnically diverse community sample in England.
Methods
We analysed cross-sectional baseline data from the TOGETHER study, a randomised controlled trial testing the effectiveness of the ‘Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities’ parenting programme developed to reach ethnic minority and other marginalised families living in England (ISRCTN: 15194500). Outcomes were parental mental wellbeing (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, WEMWBS) and child socio-emotional difficulties (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ). Neighbourhood belonging and social cohesion were assessed using the adapted Buckner scale. Multiple linear regression models were run, adjusted for sociodemographic factors including age, gender and ethnicity of the parent (for WEMWBS) or child (for SDQ); family socio-economic position; and family structure. Models assessing child socio-emotional difficulties additionally adjusted for parental mental wellbeing.
Results
The analysis sample included 638 participants with complete data, of whom 62% were from an ethnic minority background. Higher neighbourhood belonging and social cohesion were associated with higher parental mental wellbeing (higher WEMWBS scores) in fully adjusted models (β for neighbourhood belonging = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.40, p < 0.001; β for social cohesion = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.61, p < 0.001). Associations with WEMWBS were not moderated by ethnic group. Neighbourhood belonging was unrelated to child socio-emotional difficulties after adjustment for child and family characteristics. Higher social cohesion was associated with lower child socio-emotional difficulties after adjustment for covariates (β = -0.10, 95% CI: -0.20 to -0.01, p < 0.033), this association was fully attenuated after additional adjustment for parental mental wellbeing (β = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.07 to 0.12, p = 0.612).
Conclusions
In this diverse community sample, neighbourhood belonging and social cohesion were strongly related to parental mental health. Controlling for parental mental health explained the association between social cohesion and child socio-emotional difficulties. Fostering neighbourhood belonging and social cohesion may hold promise for efforts to improve both parent and child mental wellbeing
The phenomenon of the psychotherapist’s self-appearing: a Heideggerian perspective
Get PDFThis thesis explores how experienced humanistically-informed psychotherapists experience their self-appearing during therapeutic practice, using Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology. By contrasting the phenomenon of the self-appearing with the dominant paradigm of self-awareness in psychotherapy, the study illuminates previously unexplored dimensions of therapists’ lived experiences.
In the first phase of a two-phase sequential study, 12 experienced humanistically-informed psychotherapists were interviewed using a micro-phenomenologically-informed approach to explore concrete experiences of noticing themselves appearing in their therapeutic work. Through hermeneutic phenomenological thematic analysis, the study elucidates three key dimensions of the self-appearing process: being-in-convention, being-in-disruption, and being-in-transformation. Being-in-convention reflects therapists’ average everyday way of being, where pre-reflective conventions shape their practice. Being-in-disruption occurs when therapists experience challenges that disrupt their habitual practices, initially leading to a felt sense of vulnerability and resistant attunement to their experience. Being-in-transformation emerges as therapists move toward receptive attunement, holding their vulnerability with openness, enabling a deeper understanding of their conventions and an opportunity to accept or transform them.
In the second phase, a phenomenological discussion group with four experienced supervisors explored the significance of these findings for supervision. The thematic analysis uncovered four themes: holding a phenomenological attitude in supervision, allowing supervisees’ disruptions to be present, exploring disruptions experientially, and modelling working with disruption within the supervision space.
This research makes a unique contribution by shifting focus from therapists’ “use of self” to understanding how therapists experience themselves appearing through a Heideggerian perspective. It demonstrates a pathway for growth in therapeutic wisdom that occurs not through theories or cognitive strategies but through the lived experience of working through disruption. The insights gained have implications for psychotherapy training, supervision, and continuing professional development, offering a lived experience approach to therapist growth that honours the complexities of the therapists’ experiences in the therapeutic context. This research underscores the importance of acknowledging and exploring the phenomenon of the self-appearing at all stages of psychotherapist development
Advances in U-Net and image processing: a path to early cancer diagnosis
Get PDFEarly and accurate diagnosis is the most critical step in the successful treatment of cancer. In contemporary medical image analysis, combining image processing methods with the U-Net deep learning model offers robust assistance to clinicians. Pre-processing methods such as contrast enhancement, noise reduction, and colour normalisation significantly increase the quality of medical images, such as histopathology scans, providing a more reliable foundation for analysis. The U-Net model, a robust deep learning algorithm for medical image segmentation, can more effectively delineate tumor boundaries when trained on this enhanced data. This synergistic approach, where improved data quality boosts U-Net’s segmentation accuracy, enables the clearer detection of cancerous tissues. This review examines how combining these methodologies provides more accurate and reliable results, ultimately contributing to improved early diagnosis, effective treatment planning, and extended life expectancy for cancer patients. Therefore, this approach could be used to revolutionize early cancer detection and manage cancer treatment more effectively
How can children and young people have a voice in urban treescapes?
Get PDFScientific understanding of climate change has, to date, failed to result in sufficient action. This paper proposes that a deficit model of top-down learning and dissemination in relation to public engagement with science may be part of the problem, particularly when considering the attitudes, values and empowerment of children and young people.
Drawing on two cross-university projects funded by the Future of UK Treescapes programme, in which children and young people took the lead in developing ideas about future treescapes, we interrogate assumptions and practices underpinning why and how scientists engage children and young people. Whilst there is widespread recognition that children and young people have a fundamental role to play in climate change responses, there is no clear framework that codifies best practice in enabling this.
Adopting a transdisciplinary approach, drawing together scientists with social scientists and humanities researchers with expertise on researching with children, our research provides a critical lens in relation to what ‘research’ with children could or should look like.
We present examples from our empirical work with a range of children and young people of different ages to highlight the contribution of ethnographic, situated, arts-based and practice-based approaches for disrupting power imbalances and enabling researchers to ‘listen’ to children in a different way. This expansive reconceptualisation of ‘listening’ involves sound, movement, relations and the more-than-human.
Too much work on climate change communication engagement remains situated within disciplinary silos. This paper advocates for a transdisciplinary approach suitable for responding more effectively to challenges of climate change and making space for children's voice in relation to this. We offer six guiding principles to inform best practice in gathering and embedding authentic voices of children and young people in development and consultation for environmental policymaking, planning and implementation purposes
Histological assessment of inflammatory infiltrates in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS): a comparative study of mast cell quantification techniques
No full textIntroduction
Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a chronic disease of unknown aetiology that affects the normal pathophysiology of urinary bladder.1 Given the complex nature of pathogenesis, there are no universally accepted clinical or histological diagnostic criteria for IC/BPS. The central role of urothelial inflammation and mast cell activation in the detrusor muscle have been histologically confirmed in IC/BPS cases.2,3 However, there is no standardised diagnostic technique for evaluating, interpreting and reporting histopathological findings, such as inflammatory markers, in IC/BPS. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to assess inflammatory cell infiltrate to better understand the role of inflammation to provide diagnostic value in histopathology reports for improved patient treatment and to compare histochemical and immunohistochemical stains for efficiency and sensitivity in detection and quantification of mast cells in detrusor muscle.
Methods
This retrospective study analysed 26 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded bladder biopsies/tissues with confirmed IC/BPS. Inflammation was graded as acute, chronic or mix based on present inflammatory cells using Haematoxylin and Eosin staining. Eosinophils were recorded as present or absent. Mast cells were detected using three techniques: Toluidine Blue, Artisan Giemsa, and anti-CD117 immunohistochemistry. A four-point grading system (0: 20 mast cells/high-power field) was applied. Sensitivity was calculated based on positive mast cell detection. Lymphocyte subsets were assessed using anti-CD3 (T lymphocytes) and anti-CD20 (B lymphocytes) antibodies, and predominance was recorded in cases with moderate-to-severe inflammation.
Results
Chronic inflammation was observed in 96.2% of cases, with eosinophilic infiltration present in 76.9% (Fig 1). CD117 immunohistochemistry demonstrated the highest sensitivity for mast cell detection (73.1%) compared with Toluidine Blue (50%) and Artisan Giemsa (26.9%) (p=0.002) (Fig 2). Definite mast cell infiltration was found in 46.2% of cases, all of which were eosinophil-positive. Among these, 83.3% showed T lymphocyte predominance within the detrusor muscle. These results suggest that eosinophils and T-lymphocytes may have a synergistic role in chronic bladder inflammation.
Conclusion
This study confirmed the importance of inflammatory cell infiltrates, particularly lymphoplasmacytic, eosinophilic and mast cell components, in the histological evaluation of IC/BPS, consistent with published studies.1–5 Anti-CD117 staining was the most sensitive and reproducible method for detecting mast cells, supporting its inclusion in routine histopathological assessment. The observed T lymphocyte predominance in mast cell-positive, eosinophil-rich cases suggests a potential immunological pattern that may inform future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Standardising the evaluation of inflammatory infiltrates and including mast cell and lymphocyte profiling in pathology reports could enhance diagnostic precision and guide patient management in IC/BPS
Biological effects of synthetic biomolecules that may either mimic or antagonise the function of hCG in the development of cancer and autoimmune disease
No full textHuman chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone critical for successful pregnancy, partly by promoting maternal immune tolerance to fetal antigens. It achieves this by expanding immunoregulatory cells such as tolerogenic dendritic cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), and regulatory B cells (Bregs). Interestingly, hCG is also secreted by certain tumours, helping them evade immune detection by creating a tolerogenic environment.
This project aimed to design and synthesize small oligopeptide aptamers that specifically bind to the Beta and Alpha-helix regions of the hCG receptor, modulating its signalling. Peptide aptamers are a novel class of molecules with high binding specificity and can function as either agonists or antagonists.
Naïve CD4+ T cells and B cells were isolated from PBMCs and cultured with these aptamers, both in the presence and absence of hCG. Flow cytometry was used to assess the expansion of Treg and Breg populations, and ELISA was employed to measure IL-10 secretion, a hallmark cytokine of immunoregulatory function.
Two aptamers demonstrated distinct mechanisms of action. Aptamer A1 mimicked hCG signalling, promoting Treg and Breg differentiation and increased IL-10 secretion, indicating strong receptor binding and downstream activation. In contrast, Aptamer A2 inhibited these effects, acting as an antagonist by preventing receptor activation and suppressing regulatory cell expansion and IL-10 production.
These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of hCG receptor-targeting aptamers. Agonistic aptamers like A1 could enhance immune tolerance, offering applications in treating autoimmune diseases. Conversely, antagonistic aptamers like A2 may block hCG-mediated immune suppression, providing a novel approach to treating hCG-secreting tumours by reactivating anti-tumour immunity
Semiotics as a mode of popular music analysis and interpretation
No full textSemiotics is a powerful and influential concept in the analysis of music (both sound and notation), lyrics and visual images alike, making it particularly useful for popular music. Because of its concern with meaning as well as means, it is also an important tool for approaches such as those informed by feminist and queer theory. It links general cultural concepts and methodologies to the unique specificity of music. This chapter gives an overview of the field, followed by original illustrations of different applications of semiotic analysis to popular music.
Acknowledgment is given to the foundational work of Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Pierce. The influence of music semiologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez is recognised through his model of poiesis – trace – esthesis and the paradigmatic analyses of musical structures. Along with Kofi Agawu’s combination of this approach with topic theory, I make it relatable to popular music. Within popular music semiotics I examine the pioneering work of Philip Tagg, through his concept of ‘musemes’ and interpretation of topics as musical codes.
The chapter concludes with a semiotic reading of Sandi Thom’s ‘I wish I were a punk rocker with flowers in my hair’. The theoretical frame is derived from Nattiez, with methods of Agawu and Tagg used for introversive and extroversive semiosis. The latter leads to a wider contextualisation within the Britpop inheritance, using songs by The Feeling and The Divine Comedy for comparison in considering the hermeneutic significance of the dactylic rhythm