Sophrosyne and simulacra: probing the nature of a constructed self-image

This essay resulted from an analysis of an artwork where the artist was motivated to construct a representation of herself. A social semiotic analysis of the self-image indicates interchangeability and tension among artistic elements with assumed, dialectically opposed meanings. Discussion with regards to the nature of the selfportrait touches on philosophically influenced interpretations that pose the image as a cyborg and the cyborg as a simulacrum. Upon reflection, the self-image can be interpreted as having the qualities of a simulacrum (a reproduction that is selfcontained and autonomous) more so than of an authentic expression of representation. This essay hopes to contribute to the continued critical examination of individual visual representations in order to help enrich the growing knowledge base from which we derive a fuller understanding of our surrounding culture and ourselves

Chronic migraine plus medication overuse headache: two entities or not?

Chronic migraine (CM) represents migraine natural evolution from its episodic form. It is realized through a chronicization phase that may require months or years and varies from patient to patient. The transition to more frequent attacks pattern is influenced by lifestyle, life events, comorbid conditions and personal genetic terrain, and it often leads to acute drugs overuse. Medication overuse headache (MOH) may complicate every type of headache and all the drugs employed for headache treatment can cause MOH. The first step in the management of CM complicated by medication overuse must be the withdrawal of the overused drugs and a detoxification treatment. The goal is not only to detoxify the patient and stop the chronic headache but also to improve responsiveness to acute or prophylactic drugs. Different methods have been suggested: gradual or abrupt withdrawal; home treatment, hospitalization, or a day-hospital setting; re-prophylaxes performed immediately or at the end of the wash-out period. Up to now, only topiramate and local injection of onabotulinumtoxinA have shown efficacy as therapeutic agents for re-prophylaxis after detoxification in patients with CM with and without medication overuse. Although the two treatments showed similar efficacy, onabotulinumtoxinA is associated with a better adverse events profile. Recently, the Phase III Research Evaluating Migraine Prophylaxis Therapy (PREEMPT) clinical program proved that patients with CM, even those with MOH, are the ones most likely to benefit from onabotulinumtoxinA treatment. Furthermore, it provided an injection paradigm that can be used as a guide for a correct administration of onabotulinumtoxinA

Izloženost genotoksičnim agensima iz životnog okoliša tijekom prenatalnog razvoja i djetinjstva

Health disorders and diseases related to environmental exposure in children such as cancer and immunologic disturbances (asthma, allergies) are on the rise. However, complex transplacental and prepubertal genotoxicology is given very limited consideration, even though intrauterine development and early childhood may be critical for elucidating the cancer aetiology. The foetus is transplacentally exposed to contaminants in food and environment such as various chemicals, drugs, radiochemically contaminated water and air. Target organs of xenobiotic action may differ between the mother and the foetus due to specific stage of developmental physiology and enzyme distribution. This in turn may lead to different levels of clastogenic and aneugenic metabolites of the same xenobiotic in the mother and the foetus. Adult’s protective behaviour is not sufficient to isolate children from radioisotopes, pesticides, toxic metals and metalloids, environmental tobacco smoke, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and various food contaminants, which are just a part of the stressors present in a polluted environment. In order to improve legislation related to foetus and child exposure to genotoxic and possibly carcinogenic agents, oncologists, paediatricians, environmental health specialists, and genotoxicologists should work together much more closely to make a more effective use of accumulated scientific data, with the final aim to lower cancer incidence and mortality.Unatoč velikim naporima da se smanji okolišna izloženost u djece se dalje bilježi trend porasta pojavnosti karcinoma i imunosnih poremećaja (astma, alergije). Premda su intrauterini razvoj i rano djetinjstvo kritično razdoblje za tumačenje etiologije nastanka karcinoma, transplacentalna i prepubertetna genotoksikologija do danas su slabo istražene. Fetus je transplacentalno izložen brojnim fizikalnim i kemijskim čimbenicima: kontaminantima iz hrane i okoliša, radiokemijski kontaminiranoj vodi, zraku te lijekovima. Ciljna tkiva za djelovanje ksenobiotika mogu biti različita u majke i fetusa zbog različitosti u razvojnoj fiziologiji i distribuciji enzima. Zbog toga u organizmu majke i fetusa mogu nastati različite razine klastogenih i aneugenih metabolita istog ksenobiotika. Zaštitna uloga odraslih u namjeri da spriječe negativne utjecaje onečišćenog okoliša na djetetovo zdravlje često je ograničena jer su radioizotopi, olovo, PCB, pasivno pušenje, živa, endokrino aktivne tvari, pesticidi i kontaminanti prisutni u svim životnim područjima tijekom razvoja i rasta djeteta. Kako bi se poboljšalo zakonodavstvo vezano uz izloženost djece genotoksičnim i vjerojatno kancerogenim tvarima, tijekom razvoja potrebna je bolja suradnja onkologa, pedijatara, stručnjaka zdravstvene ekologije i genotoksikologa. Na taj način ostvarilo bi se uspješnije iskorištavanje postojećih znanstvenih podataka u cilju smanjenja incidencije karcinoma i mortaliteta

Humanities for the Future: a new European Agenda

FGW – Publications not associated with a particular research are

Thermophysiological models and their applications: a review

The human body's heat exchange and its interaction with the surrounding environment has in the past years been the research focus of a number of disciplines. As a result, a number of human thermoregulation models have been developed since the first was developed in 1970. The aim of this paper is to conduct a review of existing thermophysiological models for the whole body and isolated body segments. The course of the development from simple to more complex models is shown, and most recognized thermal models such as Fiala, Berkeley Comfort Model, Tanabe, and ThermoSem model are concisely described. Furthermore, possible applications of the models in various research disciplines are introduced. In the built environment, the developed models are used as part of the methodology for modelling thermal comfort in buildings

Modelling hand skin temperature in relation to body composition

Skin temperature is a challenging parameter to predict due to the complex interaction of physical and physiological variations. Previous studies concerning the correlation of regional physiological characteristics and body composition showed that obese people have higher hand skin temperature compared to the normal weight people. To predict hand skin temperature in a different environment, a two-node hand thermophysiological model was developed and validated with published experimental data. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed which showed that the variations in skin blood flow and blood temperature are most influential on hand skin temperature. The hand model was applied to simulate the hand skin temperature of the obese and normal weight subgroup in different ambient conditions. Higher skin blood flow and blood temperature were used in the simulation of obese people. The results showed a good agreement with experimental data from the literature, with the maximum difference of 0.31 °C. If the difference between blood flow and blood temperature of obese and normal weight people was not taken into account, the hand skin temperature of obese people was predicted with an average deviation of 1.42 °C. In conclusion, when modelling hand skin temperatures, it should be considered that regional skin temperature distribution differs in obese and normal weight people

GERD prevalence in migraine patients and the implication for acute migraine treatment

The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and heartburn in migraine patients and examine their use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or aspirin-containing medications when treating acute migraine attacks. Responses from a web-based survey of migraine patients were matched to the same patient’s responses on a general health survey. A total of 1,832 migraineurs (92.0%) were successfully matched. A total of 403 migraineurs (22.0%) reported having diagnosed GERD, 212 (11.6%) reported diagnosed heartburn, and 290 (15.8%) reported reflux symptoms but were undiagnosed. The most common prescription drugs used to treat migraines were triptans. First-line NSAID/aspirin medication use was 10.0% among diagnosed GERD and heartburn patients, 17.8% among undiagnosed patients, and 11.8% among GERD/heartburn-free migraineurs. In conclusion, almost half of migraineurs reported physician-diagnosed GERD and heartburn or symptoms of these conditions. Use of NSAID medications for migraine is fairly common among diagnosed GERD patients and more so for those with undiagnosed GERD symptoms. Physicians should minimize prescribing NSAIDs or NSAID-containing acute migraine medications in this population