Real-time virtual sonography in gynecology & obstetrics. literature's analysis and case series

Fusion Imaging is a latest generation diagnostic technique, designed to combine ultrasonography with a second-tier technique such as magnetic resonance imaging and computer tomography. It has been mainly used until now in urology and hepatology. Concerning gynecology and obstetrics, the studies mostly focus on the diagnosis of prenatal disease, benign pathology and cervical cancer. We provided a systematic review of the literature with the latest publications regarding the role of Fusion technology in gynecological and obstetrics fields and we also described a case series of six emblematic patients enrolled from Gynecology Department of Sant ‘Andrea Hospital, “la Sapienza”, Rome, evaluated with Esaote Virtual Navigator equipment. We consider that Fusion Imaging could add values at the diagnosis of various gynecological and obstetrics conditions, but further studies are needed to better define and improve the role of this fascinating diagnostic tool

Detection and classification of man-made objects for the autonomy of underwater robots

Recent developments in marine technologies allow underwater vehicles to perform survey missions for data collection in an automatic way. The scientific community is now focusing on endowing these vehicles with strong perception capabilities, aiming at full autonomy and decision-making skills. Such abilities would bring benefits to a wide range of field applications, e.g. Inspection and Maintenance (I&M) of man-made structures, port security, and marine rescue. Indeed, most of these tasks are currently carried out employing remotely operated vehicles, making the presence of humans in water necessary. Projects like Metrological Evaluation and Testing of Robots in International CompetitionS (METRICS), funded by the European Commission, are promoting research on this field by organising events such as the Robotics for Asset Maintenance and Inspection (RAMI) competition. In particular, this competition requires participants to develop perception techniques capable of identifying a set of specific targets. Within such context, this paper presents an algorithm able to detect and classify Objects of Potential Interest (OPIs) in underwater camera images. First, the proposed solution compensates for the quality degradation of underwater images by applying color enhancement and restoration procedures. Then, it exploits deep-learning techniques, as well as color and shape based methods, to recognize and correctly label the predefined OPIs. Preliminary results of the implemented neural network using restored images are provided, and a mean Average Precision (mAP) of about 92% was achieved on the dataset provided to the RAMI competition participating teams by the NATO Science and Technology Organization Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (STO CMRE)

Piecewise planar underwater mosaicing

A commonly ignored problem in planar mosaics, yet often present in practice, is the selection of a reference homography reprojection frame where to attach the successive image frames of the mosaic. A bad choice for the reference frame can lead to severe distortions in the mosaic and can degenerate in incorrect configurations after some sequential frame concatenations. This problem is accentuated in uncontrolled underwater acquisition setups as those provided by AUVs or ROVs due to both the noisy trajectory of the acquisition vehicle - with roll and pitch shakes - and to the non-flat nature of the seabed which tends to break the planarity assumption implicit in the mosaic construction. These scenarios can also introduce other undesired effects, such as light variations between successive frames, scattering and attenuation, vignetting, flickering and noise. This paper proposes a novel mosaicing pipeline, also including a strategy to select the best reference homography in planar mosaics from video sequences which minimizes the distortions induced on each image by the mosaic homography itself. Moreover, a new non-linear color correction scheme is incorporated to handle strong color and luminosity variations among the mosaic frames. Experimental evaluation of the proposed method on real, challenging underwater video sequences shows the validity of the approach, providing clear and visually appealing mosaic

Asistencia Preventiva a potenciales victimas de acoso moral y síndrome del quemado en el ámbito laboral

Este programa de extensión universitaria, se propone implementar estrategias de prevención de la salud mental, haciendo hincapié en el acoso moral (mobbing) y el síndrome del quemado (burn out).El proyecto está sustentado en la perspectiva formulada por Quintanilla y ha sido enriquecido con aportes de autores como Dejours y Savidon.Asimismo, han sido referencias invalorables, la experiencia del centro de atención a la víctima de mobbing desarrollada por la UBA, investigaciones como las de Fillipi y Ferrari o las que se han llevado adelante durante los últimos años desde la cátedra de Psicología Laboral (UNLP) de la cual formamos parte.Por ser uno de los ámbitos donde se evidencia un encuadre laboral preocupante para la salud mental y por las condiciones de proximidad y factibilidad de implementación,las intervenciones están dirigidas al personal del sector público,siendo muy importante la colaboración recibida desde los gremios: ATULP, ATE, UPCN y LA BANCARIA, quienes han facilitado vías de acceso a este grupo poblacional. Entendemos que la intervención no puede ni debe situarse a nivel del individuo exclusivamente, puesto que el origen de este tipo de psicopatologías, sufridas por el individuo mediatizado por una situación de insatisfacción, frustración y conflicto, se encuentra en las mismas condiciones y medio ambiente de la organización. En función de esto, apuntamos a propiciar ámbitos de profundización del conocimiento sobre las causas y los efectos de la violencia laboral y sobre la incidencia de las diferencias individuales y características de afrontamiento de las víctimas en las situaciones del acoso. Esto vuelve fundamental poder identificar posibles elementos organizacionales facilitadores del hostigamiento, por medio de acciones diagnosticas a nivel organizacional, actividades preventivas y de asistencia, asesoramiento técnico y orientación psicológica laboral. Apuntamos por medio del proyecto a optimizar las capacidades de empleabilidad y velar por la salud mental de los trabajadores; así como también mejorar las condiciones emocionales de aquellos que están expuestos a condiciones laborales potencialmente generadoras de acoso moral o síndrome del quemado; de manera que puedan afrontar apropiadamente la situación y sus consecuencias. Pretendemos facilitar la creación de recursos que permitan esclarecer situaciones de violencia psicolaboral, concientizar acerca de los riesgos de estar sometido a situaciones de estrés crónico, e  instrumentar intervenciones organizacionales para mejorar la prevención en sus distintos niveles. En este momento, nos encontramos culminando la etapa de diagnostico organizacional. En breve daremos inicio a las actividades de difusión y luego desarrollaremos los talleres y la atención en los consultorios clínico laborales.  

The Clinical and Pathological Profile of BRCA1 Gene Methylated Breast Cancer Women. A Meta-Analysis

Background: DNA aberrant hypermethylation is the major cause of transcriptional silencing of the breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) gene in sporadic breast cancer patients. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to analyze all available studies reporting clinical characteristics of BRCA1 gene hypermethylated breast cancer in women, and to pool the results to provide a unique clinical profile of this cancer population. Methods: On September 2020, a systematic literature search was performed. Data were retrieved from PubMed, MEDLINE, and Scopus by searching the terms: “BRCA*” AND “methyl*” AND “breast”. All studies evaluating the association between BRCA1 methylation status and breast cancer patients’ clinicopathological features were considered for inclusion. Results: 465 studies were retrieved. Thirty (6.4%) studies including 3985 patients met all selection criteria. The pooled analysis data revealed a significant correlation between BRCA1 gene hypermethylation and advanced breast cancer disease stage (OR = 0.75: 95% CI: 0.58–0.97; p = 0.03, fixed effects model), lymph nodes involvement (OR = 1.22: 95% CI: 1.01–1.48; p = 0.04, fixed effects model), and pre-menopausal status (OR = 1.34: 95% CI: 1.08–1.66; p = 0.008, fixed effects model). No association could be found between BRCA1 hypermethylation and tumor histology (OR = 0.78: 95% CI: 0.59–1.03; p = 0.08, fixed effects model), tumor grading (OR = 0.78: 95% CI: 0.46–1.32; p = 0.36, fixed effects model), and breast cancer molecular classification (OR = 1.59: 95% CI: 0.68–3.72; p = 0.29, random effects model). Conclusions: hypermethylation of the BRCA1 gene significantly correlates with advanced breast cancer disease, lymph nodes involvement, and pre-menopausal cancer onset

Reticulon1-C modulates protein disulphide isomerase function

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the primary site for the synthesis and folding of secreted and membrane-bound proteins. Accumulation of unfolded and misfolded proteins in ER underlies a wide range of human neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, molecules regulating the ER stress response represent potential candidates as drug targets for tackling these diseases. Protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) is a chaperone involved in ER stress pathway, its activity being an important cellular defense against protein misfolding. Here, we demonstrate that human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells overexpressing the reticulon protein 1-C (RTN1-C) reticulon family member show a PDI punctuate subcellular distribution identified as ER vesicles. This represents an event associated with a significant increase of PDI enzymatic activity. We provide evidence that the modulation of PDI localization and activity does not only rely upon ER stress induction or upregulation of its synthesis, but tightly correlates to an alteration in its nitrosylation status. By using different RTN1-C mutants, we demonstrate that the observed effects depend on RTN1-C N-terminal region and on the integrity of the microtubule network. Overall, our results indicate that RTN1-C induces PDI redistribution in ER vesicles, and concomitantly modulates its activity by decreasing the levels of its S-nitrosylated form. Thus RTN1-C represents a promising candidate to modulate PDI function

An unscented Kalman filter based navigation algorithm for autonomous underwater vehicles

Robust and performing navigation systems for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) play a discriminant role towards the success of complex underwater missions involving one or more AUVs. The quality of the filtering algorithm for the estimation of the AUV navigation state strongly affects the performance of the overall system. In this paper, the authors present a comparison between the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) approach, classically used in the field of underwater robotics and an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). The comparison results to be significant as the two strategies of filtering are based on the same process and sensors models. The UKF-based approach, here adapted to the AUV case, demonstrates to be a good trade-off between estimation accuracy and computational load. UKF has not yet been extensively used in practical underwater applications, even if it turns out to be quite promising. The proposed results rely on the data acquired during a sea mission performed by one of the two Typhoon class vehicles involved in the NATO CommsNet13 experiment (held in September 2013). As ground truth for performance evaluation and comparison, performed offline, position measurements obtained through Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) fixes are used. The result analysis leads to identify both the strategies as effective for the purpose of being included in the control loop of an AUV. The UKF approach demonstrates higher performance encouraging its implementation as a more suitable navigation algorithm even if, up to now, it is still not used much in this field

Biological Impact of Unilateral Oophorectomy. Does the Number of Ovaries Really Matter? [Biologische auswirkungen der einseitigen ovarektomie: Kommt es wirklich auf die anzahl der eierstöcke an?]

Although unilateral oophorectomies are performed more often than bilateral ones in women of reproductive age, their clinical consequences have been less intensively investigated. Experimental models in animals have shown that compensa- tory mechanisms occur after a unilateral oophorectomy (UO). This review aims to summarize the available evidence on the biological effects of unilateral oophorectomy on wom- en. Evaluated outcomes include age at onset of menopause, risk of cardiovascular and neurological disease, risk of mortal- ity and fertility outcome after spontaneous conception or in vitro fertilization (IVF). Results were compared with findings reported after bilateral oophorectomy and/or ovarian excision and/or women with intact ovaries. An electronic database search was performed using PubMed and Scopus, followed by a manual search to identify controlled studies that com- pared women after UO with women with two intact ovaries. In particular, a systematic review of fertility outcomes after IVF was performed, and the data were summarized in a table. Women who underwent UO had a similar age at menopause and similar clinical pregnancy rate compared to women with two ovaries. However, decreased ovarian reserve affecting the quantity but not the quality of the ovarian pool after IVF was observed in the UO group. Furthermore, an increased risk of neurological disease and even an increased risk of mortality was observed in women with single ovary. These data need to be confirmed by further studies, and a plausible mecha- nism of action must be identified. At present, patients who undergo UO can be reassured with regard to their reproduc- tive potential and their age at onset of menopause

Adenosine receptor agonists: Synthesis and binding affinity of 2-(aryl)alkylthioadenosine derivatives

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Response of Foraminifera to Anthropogenic Nicotine Pollution of Cigarette Butts: An Experimental Approach

The most often dispersed environmental pollutants that are released both directly and indirectly into the environment that may eventually reach aquatic ecosystems and contaminate aquatic biomes are cigarette butts (CBs). Toxicants such as nicotine, dangerous metals, total particulate matter, and recognized carcinogens can be introduced and transported via CBs into aquatic ecosystems. The examination of the effects of synthetic nicotine on three different species of cultured benthic foraminifera was the focus of this study. Three foraminiferal species from three distinct biomineralization pathways were specifically examined for viability and cellular ultrastructure, including the calcareous perforate Rosalina globularis, the calcareous imperforate Quinqueloculina spp., and the agglutinated Textularia agglutinans. The survival rate, cellular stress, and decalcification were used to assess the toxicological effects of synthetic nicotine. We were able to analyze the reaction of major macromolecules and calcium carbonate to this pollutant using FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectroscopy. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) study was performed to increase our understanding of nicotine bioavailability in the medium culture. Different acute experiments were performed at different dates, and all indicated that synthetic nicotine is acutely hazardous to all three cultured foraminiferal taxa at lethal and sublethal concentrations. Each species responded differently depending on the type of shell biomineralization. Synthetic nicotine enhances shell decalcification and affects the composition of cytoplasmic macromolecules such as lipids and proteins, according to the FTIR spectroscopy investigations. The lipid content rose at lethal concentrations, possibly due to the creation of vesicles. The proteins signal evidences general cellular dyshomeostasis. The integration among the acute toxicity assay, synchrotron, and chemical HPLC analyses provided a valuable approach for the assessment of nicotine as a biomarker of exposure to the toxicants associated with smoking and the impact of this emerging and hazardous material on calcifying marine species