Search Results (9)

Background and Objectives: Many diagnostic methods exist for identifying thyroid malignancy, but most of them resemble an odyssey, as the journey from palpating a nodule to receiving a definitive diagnose is often long and costly. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of Sestamibi scintigraphy in the characterization of cytological indeterminate thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods: A focused literature review was conducted, emphasizing the comparison between Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB), the main diagnostic method for thyroid cancer, and Sestamibi. Results: It is widely accepted that Sestamibi is the primary alternative for patients with non-diagnostic FNAB. As shown in the literature, Sestamibi has a high negative predictive value in excluding thyroid malignancy. Conclusions: Much like Odysseus’ adventurous 10-year journey returning to Ithaca, the path to diagnosing thyroid cancer is not straightforward. Molecular imaging with 99mTc-Sestamibi may serve as a valuable adjunct in evaluating thyroid nodules with inconclusive cytological findings. Full article

Human–Robot Collaboration (HRC) has been a significant research topic within the Industry 4.0 movement over the past decade. The interest in HRC research has continued on with the dawn of Industry 5.0 focusing on worker experience. Within the study of HRC, the collaboration approach of Speed and Separation Monitoring (SSM) has been implemented through various architectures. The different configuration strategies involve different perception-sensing modalities, mounting strategies, data filtration, computational platforms, and calibration methods. This paper explores the evolution of the perception architectures used to perform SSM, and highlights innovations in sensing and processing technologies that can open up the door to significant advancements in this sector of HRC research. Full article

In the Odyssey, Homer’s Penelope and Circe have fundamentally important roles in ensuring the progression and success of the hero’s, Odysseus, journey home. Their actions in the Odyssey invite complex readings of the two women. Despite this, onscreen Penelope is often depicted as the “good, faithful” wife, and Circe as the “temptress”. Whilst these interpretations are not wrong, they are limited, cultivating a diminutive cultural understanding about Homer’s women. In this article I will use The Simpsons episode ‘Tales from the Public Domain’ as the foundation of my analysis, whereby I argue that screen adaptations perpetuate these gendered tropes further by relying on what is “known” about these women, instead of investigating their roles in ways that are significantly more complex. To achieve this, I will analyse how gender roles are presented in The Simpsons’ adaptation of the Odyssey, with a special focus on Penelope’s and Circe’s interaction with, and relationship to, the story’s hero, Odysseus. I will compare these representations to examples from other screen adaptations from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Mario Camerini’s Ulysses, Andrei Konchalovsky’s The Odyssey, and Joel and Ethan Coen’s O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Full article

Late type 1a endoleaks (T1aELs) after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) are hazardous complications which should be avoided. This study investigated the evolution of the shortest apposition length (SAL) post-EVAR and hypothesised that a declining apposition during follow-up may be an indicator of T1aEL development. Patients with a late T1aEL were selected from a consecutive multicentre database. For each T1aEL patient, the preoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA), first postoperative CTA, and pre-endoleak CTA were analysed. T1aEL patients were matched 1:1 to uncomplicated controls, based on endograft type and follow-up duration. Anatomical characteristics and endograft dimensions, including the post-EVAR SAL, were measured. Included were 28 patients with a late T1aEL and 28 matched controls. The SAL decreased from 11.2 mm (5.6–20.6 mm) to 3.9 mm (0.0–11.4 mm) in the T1aEL group (p = 0.006), whereas an increase in SAL was seen in the control group from 21.3 mm (14.1–25.8 mm) to 25.4 mm (19.0–36.2 mm; p = 0.015). On the pre-endoleak CTA, 18 patients (64%) in the T1aEL group had a SAL < 10 mm, and one (4%) patient in the control group had a SAL < 10 mm on the matched CTAs. Moreover, three mechanisms of decreasing sealing zone were identified, which might be used to determine optimal imaging or reintervention strategies. Diminishing SAL < 10 mm is an indicator for T1aEL during follow-up, it is imperative to include apposition analysis during follow-up. Full article

This article addresses the use of Latin accounts of Homer’s archetypal sorceress, Circe, in visual narratives constructed to embellish quattrocento marriage chests (cassoni). I argue that Apollonio di Giovanni employed the writings of both ancient (Virgil) and late medieval (Boccaccio) Latin authors to construct a characterization of Circe that rendered her power to transform men into beasts relevant to the functioning of Early Renaissance homes and societies. Full article

Bacterial cancer therapy is a promising next-generation modality to treat cancer that often uses tumor-colonizing bacteria to deliver cytotoxic anticancer proteins. However, the expression of cytotoxic anticancer proteins in bacteria that accumulate in the nontumoral reticuloendothelial system (RES), mainly the liver and spleen, is considered detrimental. This study examined the fate of the Escherichia coli strain MG1655 and an attenuated strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum (S. Gallinarum) with defective ppGpp synthesis after intravenous injection into tumor-bearing mice (~10⁸ colony forming units/animal). Approximately 10% of the injected bacteria were detected initially in the RES, whereas approximately 0.01% were in tumor tissues. The bacteria in the tumor tissue proliferated vigorously to up to 10⁹ colony forming units/g tissue, whereas those in the RES died off. RNA analysis revealed that tumor-associated E. coli activated rrnB operon genes encoding the rRNA building block of ribosome needed most during the exponential stage of growth, whereas those in the RES expressed substantially decreased levels of this gene and were cleared soon presumably by innate immune systems. Based on this finding, we engineered ΔppGpp S. Gallinarum to express constitutively a recombinant immunotoxin comprising TGFα and the Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE38) using a constitutive exponential phase promoter, the ribosomal RNA promoter rrnB P1. The construct exerted anticancer effects on mice grafted with mouse colon (CT26) or breast (4T1) tumor cells without any notable adverse effects, suggesting that constitutive expression of cytotoxic anticancer protein from rrnB P1 occurred only in tumor tissue. Full article

Cell-based biosensors appear to be an attractive tool for the rapid, simple, and cheap monitoring of chemotherapy effects at a very early stage. In this study, electrochemical measurements using a four-point probe method were evaluated for suspensions of four cancer cell lines of different tissue origins: SK–N–SH, HeLa, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, all for two different population densities: 50 K and 100 K cells/500 μL. The anticancer agent doxorubicin was applied for each cell type in order to investigate whether the proposed technique was able to determine specific differences in cell responses before and after drug treatment. The proposed methodology can offer valuable insight into the frequency-dependent bioelectrical responses of various cellular systems using a low frequency range and without necessitating lengthy cell culture treatment. The further development of this biosensor assembly with the integration of specially designed cell/electronic interfaces can lead to novel diagnostic biosensors and therapeutic bioelectronics. Full article

The contamination of aquatic environments by microplastics has been largely documented in the last years, especially in oceans, rivers, and lakes, but their occurrence in remote mountain lakes has been scarcely considered. This work aims to investigate the presence and abundance of microplastics and fibres in a remote, alpine, and uninhabited lake in Switzerland (Sassolo). In this study, the water column as well as the sediments were analysed. The isolation of microplastics and fibres from the samples of the sediment was achieved with a digestion process using H₂O₂ and a density separation technique with NaI. Classification of microparticles (from 5 mm to 125 μm) was first developed with an optical microscope. Infrared spectroscopy was then used to identify and characterize the chemical nature of the microplastics and fibres. On average, 2.6 microplastics and 4.4 fibres per litre were identified in the water column. On the other hand, the results of the sediment samples revealed significant fibre concentrations compared to plastic microparticles (514 fibres and 33 microplastics per kilogram). The most abundant types of microplastic identified in the samples were composed of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). Microplastic and fibre sources were not determined, but it is likely that the number of human activities in this area as well as aerial deposition are contributing to contaminate this remote environment with microplastics and fibres. Full article

Recent scholarship addressing access to Homer’s epics during the Italian Renaissance has illuminated the unique importance of visual narratives for the dissemination and interpretation of material associated with the Trojan War and its heroes. This article looks at early fifteenth-century images deriving from the Odyssey that were painted for marriage chests (cassoni) in the popular Florentine workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni. Focusing on Apollonio’s subnarrative of Odysseus’ clash with the Cyclops Polyphemus (the Cyclopeia), I argue that Apollonio showcased this archetypal tale of a failed guest–host relationship to explore contemporary anxieties associated with marriage, an institution that figured prominently in the political and economic ambitions of fifteenth-century patriarchal families. Full article