Broadening Exposure to Socio-Political Opinions via a Pushy Smart Home Device

Motivated by the effects of the filter bubble and echo chamber phenomena on social media, we developed a smart home device, Spkr, that unpredictably “pushes” socio-political discussion topics into the home. The device utilised trending Twitter discussions, categorised by their socio-political alignment, to present people with a purposefully assorted range of viewpoints. We deployed Spkr in 10 homes for 28 days with a diverse range of participants and interviewed them about their experiences. Our results show that Spkr presents a novel means of combating selective exposure to socio-political issues, providing participants with identifiably diverse viewpoints. Moreover, Spkr acted as a conversational prompt for discussion within the home, initiating collective processes and engaging those who would not often be involved in political discussions. We demonstrate how smart home assistants can be used as a catalyst for provocation by altering and pluralising political discussions within households

The conservative Party representatives study 2002 : A multi-focus, quantitative analysis of the beliefs, behaviour and background of Conservative Party Politicians in 2002

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Corneal and scleral collagens—a microscopist’s perspective.

This paper reviews our existing understanding of the distribution and organisation of collagen types within the corneal and scleral stroma from a microscopical perspective. The contribution of various types of light microscopy, electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to this field are separately discussed. Light microscopy was used in the earliest studies of the cornea and lead to the first description of the lamellar structure of the stroma. More recently polarised light microscopy has been used to obtain specific information on fibril orientation within individual lamellae. Light microscope immunolabelling techniques have been utilised to determine the distribution of several collagen types within the cornea and sclera, while recent developments in confocal microscopy have allowed detailed observations to be made on live cornea. Scanning electron microscopy has proved useful in determining the 3D organisation of lamellae within both corneal and scleral stroma. The transmission electron microscope was responsible for first revealing the regular diameter and high degree of order of the collagen fibrils present in the corneal stroma and contrasting this with the irregular diameter of fibrils present in sclera. This finding lead directly to the formulation of a theory of corneal transparency based on the uniformity of fibril diameter and packing. The use of specialised stains such as cuprolinic blue allowed direct observation of the glycosaminoglycan chains on proteoglycan molecules in cornea and sclera. These images allowed the binding sites of the proteoglycans along the collagen fibrils to be identified and provided convincing evidence for the importance of the proteoglycan molecules in collagen fibril organisation. Immunogold labelling has been used to map the distribution of several collagen types within the corneal and scleral stroma at the ultrastructural level and provided critical evidence for the role of type V collagen in the regulation of fibril diameter within the cornea. Specialised freezing–etching techniques have revealed the surface features of the collagen fibrils in corneal stroma, indicating clearly the presence of crossbridge structures between fibrils. The technique of rotary shadowing has been used to determine the conformation of several collagen types. In more recent years atomic force microscopy has been applied to the study of the corneal stroma. It has largely confirmed the observations made by the transmission electron microscope and provided independent evidence of crossbridge structures between the collagen fibres in cornea and sclera. The full potential of this technique has yet to be realised

An Ultrastructural, Time-resolved Study of Freezing in the Corneal Stroma.

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction was used to monitor the changes occurring in the extracellular matrix of the corneal stroma as a result of freezing and thawing. The parameters monitored were the lateral centre-to-centre spacing between the collagen molecules within the fibrils (intramolecular spacing) and the centre-to-centre spacing between the collagen fibrils (interfibrillar spacing). Our findings suggest that, while frozen, the fibrils are reduced in diameter and are forced into close association with each other. The data also suggest that the extrafibrillar components of the cornea may become concentrated around the fibrils during freezing. However, X-ray patterns of thawed corneas show normal interfibrillar and intermolecular spacings. Time-resolved data show that, as thawing takes place, the fibrils gradually separate and regain their normal spacing while at the same time regaining their normal diameter. It seems probable that the mechanism which allows the fibrils to regain their normal arrangement after thawing involves charge interactions between the proteoglycans associated with the fibrils. However, unlike corneas at physiological hydration, certain regions of the stroma of swollen corneas do suffer irreversible damage as a result of freezing. It is possible that this ice damage may occur in regions of abnormal fibril arrangement called "lakes", which are reported to occur in swollen cornea

A comparative study of the mouse and human corneal elastic system [Abstract]

Purpose : To characterise and compare the elastic fibre system of mouse and human posterior cornea. Methods : 4 adult human corneas were obtained from a UK eye bank and 20 corneas taken from 3 month old C5BL/6 mice which had been euthanized. The samples were examined using Serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The corneas were fixed and processed for SBF-SEM through a series of staining solutions prior to embedding and polymerization in epoxy resin blocks. The sample blocks were trimmed and transferred to a Zeiss Sigma VP FEG scanning electron microscope equipped with a Gatan 3View system, where data sets of up to 1000 images were acquired of the block surface every 50nm through automated sectioning. Selected serial image sequences were extracted and 3D reconstructions were generated using Amira 6.4 software. For electron microscopy ultrathin sections were prepared and examined in a JEOL 1010 TEM. The corneas were also examined using immunofluorescence labelling of elastin and fibrillin-1. Results : Immunofluorescence revealed an extensive fibrillin-1-rich microfibril system running throughout the mouse corneal stroma. Human corneas were also positive for fibrillin-1 within the posterior cornea, but in addition exhibited positive elastin staining confined to the posterior peripheral cornea. TEM confirmed the presence of true elastic fibres containing an amorphous elastin core in peripheral human corneas, which were absent within the mouse microfibrils. Clear structural differences at the convergence of the trabecular meshwork (TM) into the elastic fibre system were also observed between mouse and human cornea using SBF-SEM. In mouse cornea the TM merged directly with Descemet’s membrane whereas in human cornea the TM inserted into the elastic fibre system anterior to Descemet’s. Conclusions : Clear differences exist between the elastic fibre system and TM anatomy of mouse and human cornea. These differences suggest the fibre system of mouse and human have different biomechanical properties and function

A comparative study of the mouse and human corneal elastic system [Abstract]

Purpose : To characterise and compare the elastic fibre system of mouse and human posterior cornea. Methods : 4 adult human corneas were obtained from a UK eye bank and 20 corneas taken from 3 month old C5BL/6 mice which had been euthanized. The samples were examined using Serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The corneas were fixed and processed for SBF-SEM through a series of staining solutions prior to embedding and polymerization in epoxy resin blocks. The sample blocks were trimmed and transferred to a Zeiss Sigma VP FEG scanning electron microscope equipped with a Gatan 3View system, where data sets of up to 1000 images were acquired of the block surface every 50nm through automated sectioning. Selected serial image sequences were extracted and 3D reconstructions were generated using Amira 6.4 software. For electron microscopy ultrathin sections were prepared and examined in a JEOL 1010 TEM. The corneas were also examined using immunofluorescence labelling of elastin and fibrillin-1. Results : Immunofluorescence revealed an extensive fibrillin-1-rich microfibril system running throughout the mouse corneal stroma. Human corneas were also positive for fibrillin-1 within the posterior cornea, but in addition exhibited positive elastin staining confined to the posterior peripheral cornea. TEM confirmed the presence of true elastic fibres containing an amorphous elastin core in peripheral human corneas, which were absent within the mouse microfibrils. Clear structural differences at the convergence of the trabecular meshwork (TM) into the elastic fibre system were also observed between mouse and human cornea using SBF-SEM. In mouse cornea the TM merged directly with Descemet’s membrane whereas in human cornea the TM inserted into the elastic fibre system anterior to Descemet’s. Conclusions : Clear differences exist between the elastic fibre system and TM anatomy of mouse and human cornea. These differences suggest the fibre system of mouse and human have different biomechanical properties and function

Long-term heathland restoration on former grassland: The results of a 17-year experiment

European lowland heaths have declined by up to 80% due to land use change and lack of management. There has been considerable research into the restoration of this threatened habitat. However, long-term outcomes of restoration are poorly understood, especially in situations where past agricultural land use imposes severe constraints on community re-assembly. In 1989 a large-scale experiment was established to examine the effectiveness of five treatments to restore heathland on formerly productive grassland: (i) natural regeneration; (ii) herbicide application to facilitate regeneration; (iii) cultivation and application of seed-rich heathland vegetation; (iv) soil removal and incorporation of heathland topsoil; and (v) heathland translocation. After 17 years the pH of the unamended agricultural soil remained significantly higher than that of the adjacent heathland. All treatments showed different trajectories of vegetation change in the long-term. Natural colonisation by heathland species was slow due to seed limitation, resulting in formation of an acid grassland community. Heathland community assembly was not facilitated by destruction of the initial grassland with herbicide. Incorporation of topsoil had an intermediate effect on pH reduction. This may explain the subsequent failure of the plant community to assemble in the anticipated proportions, and the dominance of leguminous scrub species (Ulex spp.). Turf translocation was effective in reducing pH to the required range and restoring the heathland community in the long-term. However, this technique should only be considered as a means of ‘rescue’ when habitat destruction is otherwise unavoidable. The only practical and sustainable means of increasing heathland extent on former farmland is the application of seed-bearing vegetation cut as part of routine management. However, this technique needs refining in order to establish the full range of characteristic heathland species

Cement-in-cement femoral component revision : a comparison of two different taper-slip designs with medium-term follow up

Aims Cement-in-cement revision of the femoral component represents a widely practised technique for a variety of indications in revision total hip arthroplasty. In this study, we compare the clinical and radiological outcomes of two polished tapered femoral components. Methods From our prospectively collated database, we identified all patients undergoing cement-in-cement revision from January 2005 to January 2013 who had a minimum of two years' follow-up. All cases were performed by the senior author using either an Exeter short revision stem or the C-Stem AMT high offset No. 1 prosthesis. Patients were followed-up annually with clinical and radiological assessment. Results A total of 97 patients matched the inclusion criteria (50 Exeter and 47 C-Stem AMT components). There were no significant differences between the patient demographic data in either group. Mean follow-up was 9.7 years. A significant improvement in Oxford Hip Score (OHS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and 12-item Short-Form Survey (SF-12) scores was observed in both cohorts. Leg lengths were significantly shorter in the Exeter group, with a mean of -4 mm in this cohort compared with 0 mm in the C-Stem AMT group. One patient in the Exeter group had early evidence of radiological loosening. In total, 16 patients (15%) underwent further revision of the femoral component (seven in the C-Stem AMT group and nine in the Exeter group). No femoral components were revised for aseptic loosening. There were two cases of femoral component fracture in the Exeter group. Conclusion Our series shows promising mid-term outcomes for the cement-in-cement revision technique using either the Exeter or C-Stem AMT components. These results demonstrate that cement-in-cement revision using a double or triple taper-slip design is a safe and reliable technique when used for the correct indications. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(7):1215?1221