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Nicholas Hall

Bio: Nicholas Hall is an academic researcher from University of Oxford. The author has contributed to research in topics: Adaptive optics & Wavefront. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 16 publications receiving 46 citations. Previous affiliations of Nicholas Hall include Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work presents the first implementation of wavefront-sensorless adaptive optics for a laser-free, aperture correlation, spinning disk microscope, which provides confocal-like optical sectioning through use of a patterned disk in the illumination and detection paths.
Abstract: Adaptive optics is being applied widely to a range of microscopies in order to improve imaging quality in the presence of specimen-induced aberrations. We present here the first implementation of wavefront-sensorless adaptive optics for a laser-free, aperture correlation, spinning disk microscope. This widefield method provides confocal-like optical sectioning through use of a patterned disk in the illumination and detection paths. Like other high-resolution microscopes, its operation is compromised by aberrations due to refractive index mismatch and variations within the specimen. Correction of such aberrations shows improved signal level, contrast and resolution.

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the author explores how the British journalist Gareth Jones sought a particular truth of events during collectivisation in the Soviet Union by examining the experiences of the Soviet peasantry.
Abstract: This article explores how the British journalist Gareth Jones sought a particular truth of events during collectivisation in the Soviet Union by examining the experiences of the Soviet peasantry. His conclusions ran counter to certain narratives of Soviet progress that ignored or diminished the importance of collectivisation’s costs to the peasantry. Jones described to his readers what he considered to be the ‘Real Russia’, a place found beyond a veil of deception, which is referred to here by the term ‘Potemkinism’ (meaning the regime-managed representation of the Soviet Union to external and internal audiences), and clashed with those who thought his reports to be false. In looking at Jones’s example, we can consider how the peasantry appeared to a foreigner in their midst at a time of intense social stress, and in particular how certain observers framed their understandings of Soviet affairs.

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Microscope-AOtools offers a robust, easy-to-use implementation of the essential methods for set-up and use of adaptive optics elements, wavefront sensing techniques and sensorless AO correction methods, leading to a streamlined pipeline for new AO technology and techniques to be adopted by the wider microscopy community.
Abstract: Aberrations arising from sources such as sample heterogeneity and refractive index mismatches are constant problems in biological imaging. These aberrations reduce image quality and the achievable depth of imaging, particularly in super-resolution microscopy techniques. Adaptive optics (AO) technology has been proven to be effective in correcting for these aberrations, thereby improving the image quality. However, it has not been widely adopted by the biological imaging community due, in part, to difficulty in set-up and operation of AO. The methods for doing so are not novel or unknown, but new users often waste time and effort reimplementing existing methods for their specific set-ups, hardware, sample types, etc. Microscope-AOtools offers a robust, easy-to-use implementation of the essential methods for set-up and use of AO elements and techniques. These methods are constructed in a generalised manner that can utilise a range of adaptive optics elements, wavefront sensing techniques and sensorless AO correction methods. Furthermore, the methods are designed to be easily extensible as new techniques arise, leading to a streamlined pipeline for new AO technology and techniques to be adopted by the wider microscopy community.

8 citations

Posted ContentDOI
19 Jan 2021-bioRxiv
TL;DR: Cockpit as mentioned in this paper is a highly adaptable open source user-friendly Python-based GUI environment for precision control of both simple and elaborate bespoke microscopy systems, which allows next-generation near-instantaneous navigation of the entire slide landscape for efficient selection of specimens of interest and automated acquisition without the use of eyepieces.
Abstract: We have developed "Microscope-Cockpit" (Cockpit), a highly adaptable open source user-friendly Python-based GUI environment for precision control of both simple and elaborate bespoke microscope systems. The user environment allows next-generation near-instantaneous navigation of the entire slide landscape for efficient selection of specimens of interest and automated acquisition without the use of eyepieces. Cockpit uses "Python-Microscope" (Microscope) for high-performance coordinated control of a wide range of hardware devices using open source software. Microscope also controls complex hardware devices such as deformable mirrors for aberration correction and spatial light modulators for structured illumination via abstracted device models. We demonstrate the advantages of the Cockpit platform using several bespoke microscopes, including a simple widefield system and a complex system with adaptive optics and structured illumination. A key strength of Cockpit is its use of Python, which means that any microscope built with Cockpit is ready for future customisation by simply adding new libraries, for example machine learning algorithms to enable automated microscopy decision making while imaging. HighlightsO_LIUser-friendly setup and use for simple to complex bespoke microscopes. C_LIO_LIFacilitates collaborations between biomedical scientists and microscope technologists. C_LIO_LITouchscreen for near-instantaneous navigation of specimen landscape. C_LIO_LIUses Python-Microscope, for abstracted open source hardware device control. C_LIO_LIWell-suited for user training of AI-algorithms for automated microscopy. C_LI

7 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
08 Apr 2021
TL;DR: Cockpit, a highly adaptable open source user-friendly Python-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) environment for precision control of both simple and elaborate bespoke microscope systems, demonstrates the advantages of the Cockpit platform using several bespoke microscopes.
Abstract: We have developed “Microscope-Cockpit” (Cockpit), a highly adaptable open source user-friendly Python-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) environment for precision control of both simple and elaborate bespoke microscope systems. The user environment allows next-generation near instantaneous navigation of the entire slide landscape for efficient selection of specimens of interest and automated acquisition without the use of eyepieces. Cockpit uses “Python-Microscope” (Microscope) for high-performance coordinated control of a wide range of hardware devices using open source software. Microscope also controls complex hardware devices such as deformable mirrors for aberration correction and spatial light modulators for structured illumination via abstracted device models. We demonstrate the advantages of the Cockpit platform using several bespoke microscopes, including a simple widefield system and a complex system with adaptive optics and structured illumination. A key strength of Cockpit is its use of Python, which means that any microscope built with Cockpit is ready for future customisation by simply adding new libraries, for example machine learning algorithms to enable automated microscopy decision making while imaging.

7 citations


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Proceedings ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Applications of adaptive optics in the related areas of optical data storage, optical tweezers and micro/nanofabrication are reviewed, particularly in confocal and two-photon microscopes.
Abstract: Confocal microscopes unlike their conventional counterparts have the ability to optically ‘section’ thick specimens. However the resolution and optical sectioning can be severely degraded by system or specimen-induced aberrations. The use of high aperture lenses further exacerbates the difficulties. We will describe an adaptive optics solution to this fundamental problem.

213 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Tiemeyer as mentioned in this paper explores the influence of HIV-AIDS on male flight attendants in the early 1980s and concludes Plane Queer with attention to airlines' increasing efforts at gay friendliness.
Abstract: Cold War–era tensions cast further doubt on the propriety of men in domestic occupations, and such sentiments contributed to a decline in the employment of male flight attendants. Amid the civil rights fervor of the 1960s, however, stewards channeled their employment grievances into legal action, serving as central players in court cases such as Diaz v. Pan Am, which held it unlawful to deny jobs to male flight attendants on grounds of their sex. The emergence of HIV-AIDS undermined these advances, and Tiemeyer explores the epidemic’s influence on male flight attendants in the early 1980s. He writes of G€ar Traynor, a steward who successfully fought United Airlines’ decision to place him on leave following his AIDS diagnosis. Tiemeyer juxtaposes Traynor with Ga€etan Dugas, also known as “Patient Zero,” the flight attendant falsely believed to have brought AIDS to the United States. Tiemeyer debunks this mischaracterization of Dugas—spread primarily through Randy Shilts’s bestselling 1987 book And the Band Played On—in an effort to underscore the homophobic antagonism that stewards faced in the early AIDS era. Such hostility faded throughout the 1990s, and Tiemeyer concludes Plane Queer with attention to airlines’ increasing efforts at gay friendliness. Though he acknowledges the material benefits of new programs such as health insurance for domestic partners, Tiemeyer also notes their limitations amid ever-shrinking salaries, layoffs, and antiunion activity. His attention to these economic barriers reminds readers that the decline of overt sexism and homophobia has been insufficient to grant flight attendants a steady standard of living. Tiemeyer’s exploration of the roadblocks to economic justice in a neoliberal age marks one of Plane Queer’s vital contributions. In introducing readers to this unfamiliar set of workers, Tiemeyer adds new dimensions to a surprising array of historical subfields—among them, queer history; the history of sexuality; and labor, legal, cultural, and economic history. As Tiemeyer reveals, male flight attendants have long stood at the forefront of battles against sexism and homophobia. His ability to display stewards’ centrality to these social and political movements is a testament to his skill as a researcher. His diverse source materials—including comic strips, advertisements, steward uniforms, oral histories, and legal records—add color and variety to his writing. At times, however, the book’s wide methodological scope detracts from the clarity of its argument. Each chapter incorporates a new approach, and Tiemeyer’s abrupt stylistic shifts can muddle his narrative. The division of the chapters into multiple sections and Tiemeyer’s tendency to provide a long introduction for each new topic also diminish the book’s cohesiveness. Furthermore, some sections of Plane Queer lack contextual depth. For instance, in his detailed assessment of the Diaz case, Tiemeyer presents the 1960s civil rights movement as “a multipronged struggle, combating not only racism and sexism but also homophobia” (108). This is a compelling point, but Tiemeyer does little to support it. By limiting his discussion of the civil rights era to a narrow set of court cases, Tiemeyer neglects to illustrate the ways in which stewards’ legal activism has fit into broader civil rights discourse, or to contemplate how historians might put scholarship on queer activism into conversation with work on the African American freedom struggle. Ultimately, these critiques speak to the ambition of Tiemeyer’s study. If Plane Queer lacks focus and depth in places, it is because Tiemeyer has identified an exciting historical subject and is eager to explore its many rich components. This is a complex and highly readable narrative that brings a new cast of characters into numerous historiographical conversations. It will appeal to scholars, students, and general audiences alike.

28 citations

21 Aug 2019
TL;DR: In this article, the authors use the 2018 World Cup in Russia to engage with the processes of neoliberal restructuring and the conception of soft power, and explore the impacts on host city residents through an attention to the micro level of everyday life.
Abstract: This thesis uses the 2018 World Cup in Russia to engage with the processes of neoliberal restructuring and the conception of soft power. Based on a comparison of the host cities of Ekaterinburg and Volgograd, it unpacks the World Cup at multiple scales of analysis and offers a light and revisable framework for understanding mega-events. Grounded in primary qualitative and secondary documentary data, the thesis demonstrates multiple dimensions of Potemkinism in the articulation of this World Cup. Inspired by but moving beyond traditional post-colonial thought, it attempts to make good on the premise of theorizing from anywhere, making a case for the relatively invisible cities of the Global East in a landscape of urban theory dominated by the hegemonic North or the subaltern South. This ambition represents the overall frame for the thesis, while the work itself focuses more specifically on the planning and impacts of hosting the World Cup. This work is composed of two central thrusts. Within an understanding of mega-events as fundamentally urban events, the first thrust explores hosting as the vanguard of neoliberal restructuring, one of the traditional means of making sense of mega-events. In this view, bidding and hosting are seen as a strategy for inter-urban competition and a ploy to attract increased flows of tourists and capital. This is understood as one of the markers of a shift to a more entrepreneurial mode of urban governance and is part of wider global political economic restructuring that de-emphasizes the national in favor of regional or municipal scales. Using Neil Brenner’s conceptualization of rescaled competition state regimes, this part of the thesis explores how rescaling worked on the ground in Russia and demonstrates that these processes of neoliberalization are not as easily understood as they might first appear. Instead, what is revealed in the articulation of the Russian World Cup is a seemingly paradoxical combination of national state-led projects to develop the peripheries in regionally and municipally specific ways, for the purposes of interurban differentiation and competition. The thesis proposes the notion of Potemkin neoliberalism to make sense of these seeming paradoxes and, further, traces some of the uneven developments within the host cities. This is framed within an emphasis on the superficial rather than the substantive, meaning an attention towards aesthetics and appearance rather than on structural reforms and durable infrastructural improvements. The second thrust investigates Joseph Nye’s notion of soft power, which is another traditional way of understanding the rationales for hosting mega-events. Soft power analyses typically frame hosting through the lens of foreign policy, a view that tends to ignore the domestic component entirely. Separate from this, some mega-event studies focus on hosting as a strategy for nation- or identity building, but typically these do not situate this domestic concern within the conceptual apparatus of soft power. Combining these two approaches, this thesis takes the Russian World Cup as a primarily domestic affair, both to develop the urban peripheries (as demonstrated in the first thrust), and to inculcate certain soft power narratives within the domestic population. Conceptualizing the narrative project as soft power allows a tracing of each element in the soft power equation: narrative generation, the mechanisms of distribution, and the reception (or lack thereof) among host city residents. This is presented as discursive Potemkinism, whereby a certain set narratives were promoted as the official way to understand the mega-event, though with little attention to the realities underneath. Finally, the thesis explores the final element in the soft power equation – the impacts on host city residents – through an attention to the micro level of everyday life. In this, it engages with de Certeau and Lefebvre to create a spectrum of tactics employed by residents to disalienate themselves by various degrees from World Cup developments. The thesis emphasizes the individual and the quotidian to offer a more nuanced, human level approach to understanding mega-event-led urban development. Situated in a relational comparative urbanism that valorizes the Global East, these two thrusts represent the core contributions of this monograph. Overall, the thesis presents an investigation of the 2018 men’s Football World Cup that takes stock of global political economic processes, Russian national state spatial strategies, uneven municipal developments, the creation and distribution of soft power narratives to the domestic audience, and the adoption, reworking, or outright refusal of those narratives among host city residents.

26 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 May 2007

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Lynne Viola, Peasant Rebels under Stalin: Collectivization and the Culture of Peasant Resistance as mentioned in this paper, 1996, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Abstract: Lynne Viola, Peasant Rebels under Stalin: Collectivization and the Culture of Peasant Resistance. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp.xii + 312; notes; glossary; bibliography; index. £45. ISBN 0 19 510197 9

16 citations