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Classics and Cyber Security: How Homer and Hesiod can teach us more about cyber security than you might have thought
No full textA High-Level Discrete Model for the Analysis of Robotic Assembly of Large-Scale Structures
No full textAs the size and mass of orbital structures increase, recent research into the testing and development of technology for assembling these large structures has led to the development of novel techniques. One such method involves walking robots and strategically placed logistical depots. This paper describes the development of a high-level discrete model with two distribution algorithms for the logistical depots and two competing assembly sequence planning strategies. The results show that the alteration of different variables and assembly strategies significantly influences assembly efficiency, with some assembly strategies specifically suiting certain metrics. It also appears that depot distribution has a more complex relationship with the optimisation of the assembly process
DRESS:Distributed Robotic Enhanced Soft System for Non-Uniform Object Transportation
No full textWhile robots excel at transporting small, uniform, and well-structured items, irregular or delicate objects remain challenging, and moving large objects typically requires lots of infrastructure. This limits their application in domains such as logistics, manufacturing, agriculture, and disaster response, where such requirements are common. To address these limitations, we propose combining the advantages of soft and swarm robotics inside a unified system: swarm cooperation enables the transport of large objects without heavy infrastructure, while soft actuators enable the safe handling of irregular and delicate items. This paper presents the Distributed Robotic Enhanced Soft System (DRESS), a proof-of-concept platform that integrates soft inflatable actuation with a mobile ground based swarm to explore cooperative transport of varied object types. DRESS enhances the existing DOTS swarm platform by incorporating three soft actuator modules: a top pillow that secures items, a bottom doughnut that mitigates collision impact, and a soft lifter that provides compliant lifting and adapts to the shape of the object being carried. Preliminary experiments with diverse payloads demonstrate the system’s potential for safe manipulation and decentralised coordination. The results demonstrate the feasibility of hybrid soft–swarm systems and highlight future directions for adaptive, infrastructure-free object transport
'A Thousand Futures':Galen on Prediction and Prognōsis
No full textMedical prediction was a central concept of Galenic medicine. Scholars usually examine it through Galen’s On Prognosis, which narrates a series of case studies from his time in Rome, culminating in a cure for the emperor Marcus Aurelius. In this article, I show that we can know significantly more about Galen’s theory of medical prediction if we read On Prognosis in parallel with his commentaries, particularly Commentary on Hippocrates’ Prognostic and Commentary on Hippocrates’ Prorrhetic. Doing so allows us to see how Galen expanded Hippocratic notions of prediction. Unlike the Hippocratics, Galen referred to medical prediction consistently as prognōsis, a technical term that designated it as a science (technē). Although prognōsis could be compared to other forms of future-prediction including divination, Galen believed that it stood out in that crowded field because its empirical footing and logical-deductive method securely grounded its epistemic claims. Galenic prognōsis also claimed a new level of precision: predictions were often made down to the hour, which had become technically feasible since the Hippocratic period due to the spread of water-clocks and sundials. Correspondingly, an increased popular attention to hourly timekeeping meant that predictions at this level of precision were desirable and persuasive to patients. Despite Galen’s claims that his concepts of medical prediction had their roots in Hippocratic medicine, his prognōsis represents a significant departure
Long-term outcomes of cribriform-positive and cribriform-negative prostate cancer treated with surgery in the ProtecT trial
No full textObjectives: To retrospectively analyse the results of the ProtecT trial to establish the association between cribriform-positive and cribriform-negative PCa and 15-year risk of metastasis or death from prostate cancer in patients who underwent radical prostatectomy. Patients and Methods: Between 1999 and 2009, the ProtecT phase 3 clinical trial enrolled 1643 men with clinically localized PCa who were randomised to receive active monitoring, surgery, or radiotherapy. In this secondary analysis of the trial, a centralised histopathologic review was conducted on available surgical pathology slides to classify patients as cribriform-positive if they had invasive cribriform carcinoma and/or intraductal carcinoma. The primary outcome was a composite of progression to metastatic disease or death from PCa. Exposures included age, PSA density, surgical grade group (GG), pathological stage (pT), and cribriform status. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models assessed 15-year risk. Cumulative incidence curves were compared using the Gray test. Results: Of 480 men with surgical specimens reviewed, 143 (30%) had cribriform-positive disease and 337 (70%) had cribriform-negative disease. All 21 metastatic or lethal events occurred exclusively in the cribriform-positive group (15-year cumulative incidence, 14%). Within the cribriform-positive cohort, risk was concentrated in patients with pT3b stage and/or GG3 or higher (15-year cumulative incidence, 27%). In multivariable analysis of cribriform-positive patients, pT3b stage (hazard ratio [HR], 8.19 [95% CI, 2.39-28.10]; P < .001) and GG3 disease (HR, 5.12 [95% CI, 1.59-16.40]; P = .006) were independent predictors of adverse outcomes. Conversely, cribriform-positive patients with GG2 and ≤pT3a had a 15-year event rate of only 3%.Conclusion: In the ProtecT trial, the 15-year risk of metastasis or death after surgery was a binary outcome defined by cribriform status. The concentration of risk in men with cribriform-positive, high-grade and/or pT3b tumours identifies a target population for adjuvant therapy trials, while supporting management de-escalation for most surgical patients
The Problem of Legal Knowledge:Kant’s Practical Postulates and Contemporary Legal Theory
No full textThe purpose of Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of law is generally misunderstood by contemporary philosophers and legal theorists. In this article we explain why various common approaches are mistaken. In their place, we present his legal philosophy as a theory of legal knowledge based on a sequence of practical postulates. Kant is interested above all in how morality reveals the world of human relations to have legal significance. We then turn to consider the relationship between Kant’s legal philosophy and two contemporary legal theorists who have been deeply influenced by Kant: Robert Alexy and Jürgen Habermas. We argue that Alexy offers an elegant synthesis of contemporary misreadings which still overlooks Kant’s core claim about the conditions for the possibility of legal knowledge. Habermas, by contrast, understands the role of practical postulates in our knowledge of law, but re-presents these in a social constructivist mode. Neither ultimately succeeds in defending Kant’s core insight that facts about law can only be known to be law if they are treated as a reflection of an underlying moral idea
Experiences and Management of People With a Failing Kidney Transplant: Findings From the IN-FAKT Study
No full textRationale & Objective:Transplant failure is associated with a morbidity burden, increased mortality, and poor quality of life. We have a limited understanding of how patients prepare for transplant failure, when they do so, and what experiences and priorities are relevant to clinical management decisions when transplants are failing. This study investigated the experiences of living with and managing kidney transplant failure among patients, families and friends, and healthcare professionals (HCPs).Study Design:Qualitative semi-structured interview study.Setting & Participants:Three groups of adults sampled from 3 UK hospitals:i)People with a failing kidney transplant or one that had failed in the last year. ii)Family/friends of group i).iii)Kidney transplant HCPsAnalytical Approach:Inductive analysis based in constructivist grounded theory.Results:41 participants were interviewed (15 people with failing/failed transplants, 9 family/friends, 17 HCPs). We identified 8 theoretical categories under 3 headings: First, the experience of waiting: 1) A constant threat: anticipation of failure; 2) Lack of preparedness; 3) Liminality: an indeterminate and in-between state.Second, shaping conversations about failing transplants: 4) Navigating uncertainty; 5) Responsibility and control; 6) Failing to acknowledge failure: ‘the elephant in the room’. Third, the focus on the failing transplant: 7) Maximising mileage and missed opportunities; 8) The ripple effect of failure and family suffering.‘Duality’ emerged as the core category describing findings which appeared to be in opposition, but which were experienced or delivered simultaneously. Patients experienced failure as an inevitability and a surprise, and felt both responsible for and a lack of control over the transplant outcome. HCPs identified a need for parallel planning; simultaneously prolonging transplant survival and planning post-transplant treatment. Limitations:Adult participants only. Conclusions:Our study identified targets for improving the experiences of people with transplant failure, related to explicit communication, navigating uncertainty, and parallel planning.</div
Synthesis and structural characterization of Zn(II)–chrysin-phen complexes with tunable coordination architectures and notable antitumor activity
No full textThree new Zn(II) coordination compounds derived from chrysin and 1,10 phenanthroline were synthesized using microwave assisted methodology: a mononuclear complex (1), a two dimensional coordination polymer (2), and a tetranuclear cluster (3). Fine tuning of reaction parameters enabled selective access to these distinct architectures, with single crystal X ray diffraction confirming the structures of 1 and 3. Positive ion nanospray mass spectrometry showed that complexes 1 and 2 predominantly generate well defined mononuclear Zn–chry–phen units upon ionization, a behavior consistent with the formation of such units under the experimental conditions, whereas cluster 3 undergoes extensive fragmentation into Zn–phen based dicationic species, limiting biological evaluation to complexes 1 and 2. Both compounds displayed enhanced, though moderate, radical scavenging activity relative to free chrysin, consistent with electronic modulation and stabilization of phenoxyl radicals upon metal coordination. Their anticancer properties were assessed in vitro against human melanoma (A375), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), and non tumoral keratinocyte (HaCaT) cell lines. Complexes 1 and 2 exhibited pronounced time and dose dependent cytotoxicity, with IC50 values in A375 and HepG2 markedly lower than those of free chrysin and comparable to phen. Cytotoxicity in HaCaT keratinocytes occurred within the same micromolar range, indicating modest selectivity while still providing meaningful insight into the biological behaviour of Zn(II)–chrysin–phen systems. Mechanistic studies indicated S phase cell cycle arrest and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, suggesting oxidative stress as a key contributor to cytotoxicity against the tumor cell-lines. Overall, these findings highlight the versatility of microwave assisted synthesis for generating structurally diverse Zn(II)–flavonoid architectures and advance understanding of their coordination chemistry and structure–activity relationships
