Paleolandscape reconstruction at the lake-dwelling site of Dispilio, Northwestern Greece: A geoarchaeological approach

Kars, H. [Promotor]Pavlopoulos, K. [Copromotor]Karkanas, T. [Copromotor

Gratitude for compliance: A developmental study on the speech act of thanking

This study investigates the production of the speech act of thanking by L2 learners of Greek from three different proficiency levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) and seeks to examine the effect of proficiency on the learners’ competence to express gratitude in symmetrical and asymmetrical situations. The quantitative analysis of the results indicates that no significant development is achieved with proficiency and that, irrespective of their proficiency, learners lag far behind native speakers in regard to expressing gratitude adequately and appropriately. It is maintained here that no aspect of pragmatic development should be taken for granted and that pedagogical intervention is indispensable for the learners’ development of pragmatic competence. © 2022 Elsevier B.V

Development and characterization of a recombinant silk network for 3D culture of immortalized and fresh tumor-derived breast cancer cells

Traditional cancer models rely on 2D cell cultures or 3D spheroids, which fail to recapitulate cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions, a key element of tumor development. Existing hydrogel-based 3D alternatives lack mechanical support for cell growth and often suffer from low reproducibility. Here we report a novel strategy to make 3D models of breast cancer using a tissue-like, well-defined network environment based on recombinant spider silk, functionalized with a cell adhesion motif from fibronectin (FN-silk). With this approach, the canonical cancer cells SK-BR-3, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231, maintain their characteristic expression of markers (i.e., ERα, HER2, and PGR) while developing distinct morphology. Transcriptomic analyses demonstrate how culture in the FN-silk networks modulates the biological processes of cell adhesion and migration while affecting physiological events involved in malignancy, such as inflammation, remodeling of the ECM, and resistance to anticancer drugs. Finally, we show that integration in FN-silk networks promotes the viability of cells obtained from the superficial scraping of patients' breast tumors.</p

Tracing the missing fragments of Cycladic architecture: a geo-ethnoarchaeological study on the degradable architectural elements of the Cyclades

Cycladic architecture has been the focus of archaeological, ethnographic and architectural studies, which have produced significant knowledge about the islands’ built environment. Despite the number of published studies, there is little archaeological evidence related to the parts of buildings, such as roofs and second storeys made of degradable materials (i.e. sediments and organic materials), which are nowadays lost or poorly preserved. On the other hand, ethnographic and architectural studies lack the details of local variabilities regarding the construction of the fragile architectural components. This geo-ethnoarchaeological study applied a high-resolution analysis including soil micromorphology and phytoliths to the roofs of abandoned traditional farmsteads (mitata) on two islands, Kato Kouphonisi and Naxos in the Cyclades, supplemented by oral testimonies from elderly residents and published ethnographic information. This was combined with comparable microstratigraphic analysis conducted on sediments from the nearby Early Bronze Age site of Dhaskalio, Keros. The analysis of abandoned farmsteads generated a high-resolution dataset of micro-characteristics linked to known practices and materials of traditional roof construction. These were then traced into our archaeological samples to detect similar features and ultimately improve on contextual interpretation beyond field observations. We therefore suggest that this geo-ethnoarchaeological approach is useful in the identification of roof sediments in archaeological deposits, enhancing the ability to recognise such events in the field and demonstrating that a signature of collapse events can be defined. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Corona Virus Disease 2019 in situ arterial and venous thrombosis in critically ill patients: a case series

Background Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonitis associated with severe respiratory failure carries a high mortality. Coagulopathy has emerged as a significant contributor to thrombotic complications. Case summary We describe two cases of severe COVID-19 pneumonitis refractory to conventional mechanical ventilation and proning position, transferred to our specialist centre for cardiorespiratory failure. Cross-sectional imaging demonstrated concurrent venous and aortic thrombosis with end-organ ischaemic changes. One patient received thrombolysis with a partial response. This could not be offered to the other patient due to a recent haemorrhagic event. Both patients died of multi-organ failure in the hospital. Discussion Concurrent aortic and venous thromboses are rare. This finding in COVID-19 cases, who were both critically ill patients, likely reflects the strongly thrombogenic nature of this illness which ultimately contributed to poor outcomes. The absence of deep vein thrombosis or a potential systemic source of embolism suggests in situ thrombosis. Further, the management of anticoagulation and thrombolysis is challenging in patients where an attendant bleeding risk exists