Spectroscopic characterization of Phoenician-Punic coins

Sardinia hosted many Phoenician and Punic communities, as integrated forms of pacific cohabitation with the Lebanese merchants or actual colonies for the exploitation of the rich mines and wealthy coastal emporia under the Carthaginians (750-250 B.C.). One of their most important settlements is that of Mount Sirai, in the south west of the island, whose excavation revealed a complex structure of the site and allowed the discovery of excellent finds, as steles, everyday-life objects and tools, grave goods, amulets and coins. Punic coins were made by gold, electrum or, more commonly, by bronze. The first coin mintage from Carthage dates back to the IV century B.C. Whether the mintage was exclusive to Carthage or permitted outside the city too is still a matter of debate. There is the possibility that mintages were allowed in Sardinia (320-238 B.C. as well as in 216), in Spain (237-209 B.C.) and Southern Italy (216-203 B.C.). We have analyzed ten of these bronze coins (Fig. 1) to unveil the secrets of their mintage, origins and inner structure. Some traditional spectroscopic techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and fluorescence (XRF) have been used for this purpose, allowing us to learn about their mineral content (XRD) and elemental composition (XRF) [1,2]. Here we report about these findings

emergent hybrid external fixation for tibial pilon fractures in adults

Abstract Objective To investigate that if the hybrid external fixation is the definitive treatment and management of tibial extra articular and intra-articular pilon fractures of the adult in emergency. Methods We treated 237 cases of pilon fractures using hybrid external fixation with or without minimal osteosynthesis from February 1999 to December 2014. All fractures were classified according to the Association for the Study of Internal Fixation. The three groups were represented by 108 patients (45.5%) for the Type A; 75 patients (31.8%) for Type B and 54 patients (22.7%) for Type C. Road accidents [118 patients (50.0%)] were the most common cause of tibial pilon fractures. Results According to a mean follow-up of 7.3 years we had bone healing after 4.8 months from surgery in the 61.18% of the patients. The results were subjectively excellent, while the 54.00% were objectively excellent according to Ovadia and Beals score, and the results showed 29 complications. Conlusions From our data hybrid external fixation with or without minimal fixation is a good surgical method to treat pilon fractures

Treating and management in acute Laugier's fracture: a case report

Abstract Laugier's fractures are rare because they are located deep in the elbow joint and are thus protected from any direct trauma. Laugier's fractures have been insufficiently described in the literature. Surgical treatment does not have an alternative, and timely diagnosis and surgical and physical therapy. We presented a case report of a 23 years' old man, sustained a Laugier's fracture in June 2012 after falling from motocycle (low energy trauma) and hit with his flexed elbow against the street

Immigrazione ed esperienza migratoria nel racconto dei cittadini stranieri residenti a Cádiz

Il saggio muovendo dal racconto e dalla diretta voce dei cittadini stranieri residenti nella città di Cadìz ricostruisce e analizza alcuni aspetti delle dinamiche migratorie che attraversano la città. In particolare si sofferma, da un lato, su come il bagaglio socio-culturale e l’insieme delle esperienze di vita passata influenza la vita dei cittadini migranti in Spagna, dall’altro, sul racconto dell’esperienza del lavoro nella nuova società. Un esperienza spesso sofferta che condizione larga parte della vita dei cittadini stranieri. La scelta di riflettere su queste tematiche a partire dal racconto fatto direttamente dai migranti è una scelta al contempo metodologica e politica. Una scelta che consente di riflettere su porzioni significative di realtà e che allo stesso tempo permette di ridare la voce a chi spesso, nelle società contemporanee, è privato di voce e riconoscimento.Pp. 1-25

The treatment of intertrochanteric fracture: a survey on the preferred treatment used by orthopedic surgeons in Campania

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The orthopedic damage control in pelvic ring fractures: when and why-a multicenter experience of 10 years' treatment

Abstract Objectives To report our experience of regional referral center for the pelvis. Methods We treated 526 pelvic fractures from January 2004 to December 2014 in three regional reference centers for pelvic trauma. Men were 480 and women were 46 and ages ranged from 16 to 93 years old. Car (65%) and farm (20%) crashes were the most frequent causes of pelvis fractures. Injury severity scores ranged from 9.0 to 75.0, with a mean of 37.5. A defined algorithm for fracture management has been in place and employed to assure adequate resuscitation and fracture care. Results There were 24 deaths in total (4.56%). Sixty three (11.98%) patients underwent angio-embolization for control of bleeding (12 deaths). The average amount of blood transfused was 8.3 IU. Hospital lengths of stay ranged between 1-35 days. Among the 502 alive patients, 55.98% were able to be discharged at home while the remaining 44.02% being transferred to various rehabilitation facilities or extended care facilities. Conclusions The goal of initial management is to restore vital indicators, urinary excretion function and protect the patient from infectious complications. An emergency decisional algorithm helps manage hemodynamic instability. Initial bone and ligament procedures should reduce displacement and make it possible for the patient to wait until his condition is stable enough for definitive surgical fixation

Dynamic corset versus three-point brace in the treatment of osteoporotic compression fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine: a prospective, comparative study

Background: The three-point orthosis is the most commonly used brace in the conservative treatment of osteoporotic vertebral fractures. The Spinomed® dynamic orthosis represents an alternative. Aims: We compared efficacy and safety of these two types of brace in treating osteoporotic vertebral fractures. Methods: One hundred forty patients, aged 65–93 years, sustaining osteoporotic vertebral fracture were consecutively recruited and divided into two groups, and treated with either three-point orthosis or dynamic corset. Patients were evaluated with Visual Analogue Scale, Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire, and measurement of forced expiratory volume in the first second. Regional kyphosis angle, Delmas Index, and height of the fractured vertebral body were also measured on full-spine X-rays. Follow-up intervals were 1, 3, and 6 months after trauma. The complications encountered during the 6-month follow-up were recorded. Results: At the 3- and 6-month follow-ups, there was a significant difference (p 0.05) in all the radiological parameters between groups. Complications were reported for 28 patients in the three-point orthosis group, and for eight patients in the dynamic corset group (p < 0.05). Discussion: Biofeedback activation of back muscles is probably a key factor in improving functional outcome with dynamic orthosis. Conclusions: Compared to three-point orthosis, patients treated with dynamic orthosis had a greater reduction in pain and a greater improvement in quality of life and respiratory function, with equal effectiveness in stabilizing the fracture, and fewer complications

Questionário de crenças irracionais e escala de crenças irracionais: propriedades psicométricas

São estimadas e comparadas as propriedades psicométricas de versões em português de duas medidas de auto-relato para crenças irracionais: Questionário de Crenças Irracionais (QCI) e Escala de Crenças Irracionais (ECI). Oitocentos e quarenta e nove universitários completaram os instrumentos, além do Questionário de Saúde Geral de Goldberg (QSG) usado como critério externo da validade discriminante. Os resultados mostram que os dois instrumentos têm boa consistência interna e fidedignidade de teste e reteste, mas nenhum deles correlaciona-se significantemente com o QSG. Análise do componente principal da ECI indica estrutura de fator único com 16 dos 20 itens da escala apresentando altas cargas num mesmo fator para ao menos um dos sexos e a amostra geral. Os demais itens necessitarão ser adaptados ou modificados. Recomenda-se que a ECI seja preferida ao QCI na avaliação de crenças irracionais de sujeitos brasileiros e que novas pesquisas de validade sejam realizadas.<br>The study aimed to estimate and compare the psychometric properties of the Portuguese versions of two irrational-beliefs self-report measures: the Irrational Belief Questionnaire (IBQ) and the Irrational Belief Scale (IBS). Eight hundred fourty nine college students completed both instruments besides the Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), used as external criterion of the discriminant validity. Results show that both instruments have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, but none of them correlated significantly with the GHQ. The IBS principal component analysis points to a single-factor structure with 16 out of the 20 scale's items high loading on the same factor in at least one of the groups according to the sex and the general sample. It is suggested that the IBS should be preferred to the IBQ for assessing irrational beliefs of Brazilians subjects and that further research on validity should be carried out

On The Importance Of Remote Sensing Data To Validate A Distributed Dynamic Vegetation Model Applied To A Semi-Arid Basin

Efforts to better understand the components of catchments’ water balance have traditionally been one of the objectives of the hydrological community. Very few hydrological models incorporate vegetation development as state variable. This is beginning to change with the recognition by the hydrological community that biological processes play a key role in catchment’s water balance. In addition, some studies confirm that vegetation density controls most of hydrological processes in semi-arid regions. However, the most of the dynamic vegetation models are too complex to be coupled with hydrological models and they incorporate variables and inputs which are difficult to be estimated across space and through time. For this reason, we have focused on a parsimonious and robust dynamic vegetation model based on the Light Use Efficiency index (LUE), to be coupled with a hydrological model in a semi-arid basin (La Hunde, East of Spain) predominantly covered by Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis). This model needs to be implemented, i.e. calibrated and validated. Satellite-based remote sensing data are the main source of information employed for this task. In this work, vegetation-related satellite products are analyzed in order to assess their relation with vegetation state at catchment scale. NDVI shows a strong dependence on soil moisture and leaf water content, explainable by the impact of water-stress on chlorophyll content in Aleppo Pine leaves. The EVI proves to be strongly related to biomass dynamics and to LAI in particular

A rare case of isolated trapezium fracture in motorcycle polytrauma patient in emergency department

Abstract Medical staff hardly recognize fractures of trapezium due to the small size and the complex anatomy of the wrist and the hand. Seventy percent of all carpal fractures are scaphoid's fractures. Only 0.4% of all carpal injuries are trapezial fractures. In this paper, we presented a case of a high speed trauma where there were only trapezial fractures. Origin, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment and complications are evaluated and described