A monstrous appendage : British Library MS Harley 2799, f. 243 and the illustrated De portentis

O presente artigo pretende analisar e contextualizar a galeria de espécimes monstruosos que preenche o fólio 243 do segundo volume do códice vulgarmente denominado Bíblia de Arnstein. Este manuscrito (Londres, Biblioteca Britânica, MS Harley 2799) foi produzido na Renânia durante a década de 1170 e enquadra o material que nos concerne no âmbito de uma série de apêndices 'marginais' de temática geográfica, cosmológica e computística congregados no início e no fim do volume. Através de uma comparação entre este reportório e os programas iconográficos que acompanham o tratado De portentis na tradição Isidoro-Rabaniana -nomeadamente nos códices Casiniensis 132 da Biblioteca Abacial de Montecassino e Pal. lat. 291 da Biblioteca Apostólica Vaticana- procurar-se-á demonstrar que o material isolado no último fólio da Bíblia de Arnstein não configura uma criação ad hoc, e muito menos uma curiosidade ociosa, mas enquadra-se numa velha e venerável genealogia textual e pictórica com firmes raízes no imaginário medieval. Concomitantemente, procurar-se-á explorar as condições e motivações que explicam o reenquadramento deste corpus na periferia de um texto alógeno, e esboçar algumas das razões que podem ter atendido à sua 'reinvenção'neste contexto específico.This paper seeks to explore and contextualise the gallery of monstrous peoples occurring in f. 243 of London, British Library MS Harley 2799 (the second volume of the so-called Arnstein Bible, produced in the Rhineland around 1170 and comprising several addenda of geographical, cosmological and computistical interest). A comparison between these drawings and the pictorial programmes accompanying section VII.7 of Hrabanus Maurus' De universo (the tract independently known as De portentis) reveals that the material isolated in the Harley manuscript is not an ad hoc creation, but part of a far-reaching and deeply-rooted genealogy of texts and images. Careful analysis of this material in light of the pictorial evidence afforded by the two extant examples of Hrabanus' De universo -Montecassino Abbey Library Cod. Casiniensis 132 and Rome, Biblioteca Vaticana Cod. Pal. lat. 291- can thus shed new light on both the Harley composition and the illustration of the corresponding Isidorian-Hrabanian tract. Concomitantly, it will be argued, its re-contextualisation on the 'outer edges' of a Bible manuscript is in itself a significant testimony to the versatility of this legendary, and to its enduring grasp on the medieval imagination

Computer analysis of maternal–fetal heart rate recordings during labor in relation with maternal–fetal attachment and prediction of newborn acidemia

Abstract Objective: To assess combined maternal (MHR) and fetal heart rate (FHR) recordings during labor, in relation with maternal–fetal attachment and prediction of newborn acidemia.Study design: Fifty-nine simultaneous MHR and FHR recordings were acquired in the final minutes of labor. Computer analysis followed the FIGO guidelines with estimation of MHR and FHR baselines, accelerations, decelerations, short- (STV) and long-term variabilities. MHR and FHR characteristics, their differences and correlations were assessed in relation to labor progression and to newborn umbilical artery blood (UAB) pH lower than 7.15 and 7.20. To assess prediction of acidemia, areas under ROC curves (auROC) were calculated.Results: Progression of labor was associated with a significant increase in MHR accelerations and FHR decelerations both in the non-acidemic and acidemic fetuses (p50.01). At the same time there was an increase in MHR–FHR correlations and differences in accelerations and decelerations in acidemic fetuses. The auROC ranged between 0.50 for FHR accelerations and 0.77 for MHR baseline plus FHR STV. Conclusions: MHR and FHR respond differently during labor with signs of increased maternal– fetal attachment during labor progression in acidemic fetuses. Combined MHR–FHR analysis may help to improve prediction of newborn acidemia compared with FHR analysis alone.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

External Uterine Contractions Signal Analysis

Labor dystocia is a major cause of operative delivery, which is associated with ncreased risks for both mother and fetus. We assessed linear and non-linear dynamics of external uterine contraction signals, in relation to labor progression and dystocia. Linear time domain, spectral and entropy methods were used to analyze external uterine contraction recordings obtained during the last two hours of labor, in 28 cases with normal and 27 cases with operative deliveries (forceps, vacuum or caesarean). Progression of labor was associated with a statistically significant increase in most linear time domain and spectral indices, both in normal and operative deliveries, whereas most entropy indices increased in normal deliveries, but did not change in operative deliveries. On the other hand, when compared with normal births, operative deliveries were associated with significantly increased entropy indices before the last hour of labor and significantly decreased (a probably associated) sympatho-vagal balance in the last hour of labor. Linear and non-linear analysis of external uterine contraction recordings may provide useful physiopathological and clinical information on the progression of labor and the diagnosis of dystocia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Study of Alpha-Sigma Phase Transformation in Mechanically Alloyed Fe-Cr-Sn Alloys

The solubility of tin is significantly extended by mechanical alloying in near equiatomic Fe-Cr alloys. The influences of Sn concentration and of grain size on the kinetics of formation of the sigma-phase have been studied using different techniques. The sigma-phase formation is much faster for as-milled alloys than it is for conventional alloys. The sigma-phase formation rate decreases with the increase of Sn concentration in alloys with nanometer-sized grains as it does in coarse-grained alloys. The mechanisms which are responsible for the slowing-down of the alpha-sigma transformation are different in both kinds of alloys