Healing Bodies: the ancient origins of massages and Roman practices

The practice of body manipulation with therapeutic aims has been used in the Western world since the origins of Hippocratic medicine. By retracing the therapeutic use of massage as a therapeutic, preventive and educational practice, the authors attempt to highlight the concepts, techniques and methods of massage and the manipulation of the body in order to offer a valuable and useful historical reconstruction concerning ancient medicine. The study on the relationship between culture, diseases and medicine constitute a significant part of the historical medical research carried out within the Research Project of National Interest PRIN entitled ‘Disease, health and lifestyles in Rome: from the Empire to the early Middle Ages’ funded by the Ministry of Education, MIUR University Research in 201

BACCIO BALDINI (1517-1589), PROTOMEDICO ALLA CORTE MEDICEA TRA UMANESIMO E SPERIMENTALISMO

The article aims to shed light on some particular aspects of the activity and the scientific thought of Baccio Baldini, Director of the Laurentian Library and Court physician of the Medici family in Florence. The analysis of his work as a humanist and the recovery of some unpublished documents enable to define the figure of Baldini as a paradigmatic example of the court physicians of modern age in Italy, highlighting the complementarity between humanism and experimentalism in the Renaissance medicine

Electrotherapy in the treatment of patients affected by rabies: Experiments conducted at the maggiore hospital of Milan in 1865,Elektroterapija u lijeenju pacijenata zaraenih bjesnoom: Pokusi provoeni u bolnici maggiore u milanu tijekom 1865. godine

During the nineteenth century, the scientific context of rabies treatment was weak due to the lack of the literature on specific nosology of the rabies disease, and unspecific and ineffective therapy approaches. Electrotherapy already represented an important therapeutic approach for nervous system diseases, although not specifically for rabies. In the present paper, the authors discuss the use of electrotherapy in the treatment of humans affected by rabies in an experimental study conducted at the Maggiore Hospital of Milan, with the aim of establishing the discovery of a possible specific therapy. By analyzing the printed scientific sources available in the Braidense Library of Milan, the authors describe four experiments conducted on patients of different ages. Symptoms and effects both during and after the electrotherapy are also highlighted. The experiments demonstrated that electricity is not an effective therapy in the treatment of rabies, being rather able to cause serious functional and organic alterations in all the patients. Analyzing the Milanese experiments, the authors reported specific Italian history of a scientific and medical approach to rabies at the end of the 18th century, which led to the promotion of health education, reinforced prevention strategies and opened the way to the vaccination era

QUENCH PROTECTION AND DESIGN OF HIGH-FIELD SUPERCONDUCTING ACCELERATOR MAGNETS: THE ROLE OF DYNAMIC EFFECTS ON THE DIFFERENTIAL INDUCTANCE

Quench protection is one of the most challenging aspects during the design of high-field superconducting accelerator magnets. Quench is the superconducting-to-resistive transition of a superconducting magnet, during which the large stored energy is dissipated into heat in a small region, which warms up. Quench cannot be avoided, therefore each superconducting magnet needs a quench protection system.The inductance plays an important role during a quench: it is important to discharge the current flowing within the coils of the magnet as soon as possible, in order to reduce the temperature. In order to perform a reliable protection study, it is therefore important to model the inductance in the correct way. This work shows how the inductance in superconducting magnets is connected to transient effects typical of the superconductivity. An electromagnetic model is presented, and compared with experimental data. Moreover, the quench protection and the design of accelerator magnets is reported, with emphasis on the role of the inductance.This work is an important further step for the protection study of superconducting magnets, because it allows to understand some experimental evidences which could not be explained before. It is one of the first attempts of considering the inductance as a dynamic quantity during a quench, and it allows performing more reliable and realistic protection studies

Restablecimiento de una nueva normalidad biomecánica en las graves deformidades de la rodilla

En las graves alteraciones morfo-estructurales de la rodilla, con inestabilidad en varusvalgus, las prótesis vinculadas a bisagra simple, tendían a fallar. El presente trabajo se propone evidenciar que, en tales situaciones, la prótesis vinculada a rotación representa la solución más idónea para el restablecimiento de una nueva normalidad. 18 pacientes (13 mujeres y 5 hombres) con edad media de 68 años han sido sometidos a intervención para colocar prótesis de rodilla. Ha sido utilizado el implante Endo-Model® de Waldemar Link®, prótesis vinculada a rotación. El follow-up medio es de 19 meses con controles a 2, 3, 6 y 12 meses y después anuales. Los resultados han sido: óptimo para 17 pacientes y bueno para 1 paciente, en el cual se ha verificado la ruptura post-operatoria del tendón cuadricipital. Nuestra casuística muestra resultados comparables a los de otros autores. No hemos tenido movilizaciones asépticas o sépticas, ni complicaciones médicas intraoperatorias y post-operatorias. Consideramos que, en presencia de la correcta indicación clínica, la utilización de la prótesis vinculada a rotación es preferible a la de deslizamiento porque disminuye el riesgo de una movilización precoz del implante y del desgaste anormal de los componentes protésicos, restableciendo una nueva normalidad biomecánica.Peer Reviewe

The art of rhinoplasty: researching technical and cultural foundations of western world rhinosurgery, from the middle ages to the renaissance

The analysis of the written sources allowed to follow the gradual development of every new technique in the field of rhinoplasty but also to understand the value of this surgery in those ancient times, highlighting a deep connection between traumatologic surgery of the nose and the development of modern ‘‘aesthetic and reconstructive’’ Rhinosurgery. Specifically, we analyzed the techniques described by less known surgeons to emphasize their cultural and surgical value. As a matter of fact, the descriptions offered by these authors clearly show the importance of rhinoplasty as a cardinal and autonomous practice since Antiquity, also clarifying the persistence and development of specific techniques for this surgical practice in the History of medicine. In the manuscript, the contributions of the Italian surgeons, such as Brancas and Vianeos families, are highlighted, demonstrating their influence on the progress of this surgical specialty in the Early Modern Age. Finally, we deepen the description of Gaspare Tagliacozzi’s work, pointing out the topics and controversial debates arising from his techniques and innovations in ‘‘rhinosurgery’’ and also in the field of tissue transplantation, laying the foundations of modern Plastic Surgery. Level of Evidence V This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine Ratings, please refer to Table of Contents or online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266

The use of mercury against pediculosis in the Renaissance: tha case of Ferdinand of Aragon, King of Naples (1467-1496)

Pediculosis seems to have afflicted humans since the most ancient times and lice have been found in several ancient human remains. Examination of the head hair and pubic hair of the artificial mummy of Ferdinand II of Aragon (1467-1496), King of Naples, revealed a double infestation with two different species of lice, Pediculus capitis, the head louse, and Pthirus pubis, the pubic louse. The hair samples were also positive for the presence of mercury, probably applied as an anti-pediculosis therapy. This is the first time that these parasites have been found in the hair of a king, demonstrating that even members of the wealthy classes in the Renaissance were subject to louse infestation

Diagnostic value of presepsin for bacterial infection in cirrhosis: a pilot study

Introduction: Presepsin (or sCD14) has been identified as a protein whose levels increase specifically in the blood of patients with bacterial infections. In this study, we evaluated the clinical performance of sCD14 and its usefulness in the early diagnosis of bacterial infection in decompensated cirrhotic patients. Materials: Seventy patients were enrolled in this study. The mean age of patients was 49.5 years, and 21 were women and 49 men. The heparinized whole blood for the PATHFAST test was used in the evaluation of bacterial infection (T0). The test was repeated after 48 hours (T1); at 96 hours (T2); at 144 hours (T3); then at 15 days (T4) to monitor the clinical responses to therapeutic interventions. Results: Forty-nine patients tested positive for sCD14. The mean sCD14 level was 1854 ± 1744 pg/mL. Microbiological findings confirmed the presence of bacterial infections within 84 ± 4.8 h from enrollment in all 49 positive patients. Thirty-eight patients were considered responders to empirical antibiotic therapy with a decrease of presepsin at the different time points, while an increased level of sCD14 was highlighted in 11 patients. When the test was performed, 45% of the patients showed no signs or symptoms of bacterial infection. At 30 days of follow-up 43 patients survived, and 6 patients died from septic shock. Conclusions: The PATHFAST test highlighted the presence of infection in a very short time (15 minutes), and the presepsin could be considered an early biomarker in patients with cirrhosis. A greater number of patients are necessary to confirm these data

Muscle Oxygen Delivery in the Forearm and in the Vastus Lateralis Muscles in Response to Resistance Exercise: A Comparison Between Nepalese Porters and Italian Trekkers

Altitude ascending represents an intriguing experimental model reproducing physiological and pathophysiological conditions sharing hypoxemia as the denominator. The aim of the present study was to investigate fractional oxygen extraction and blood dynamics in response to hypobaric hypoxia and to acute resistance exercises, taking into account several factors including different ethnic origin and muscle groups. As part of the “Kanchenjunga Exploration & Physiology” project, six Italian trekkers and six Nepalese porters took part in a high altitude trek in the Himalayas. The measurements were carried out at low (1,450 m) and high altitude (HA; 4,780 m). Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-derived parameters, i.e., Tot-Hb and tissue saturation index (TSI), were gathered at rest and after bouts of 3-min resistive exercise, both in the quadriceps and in the forearm muscles. TSI decreased with altitude, particularly in forearm muscles (from 66.9 to 57.3%), whereas the decrement was less in the quadriceps (from 62.5 to 57.2%); Nepalese porters were characterized by greater values in thigh TSI than Italian trekkers. Tot-Hb was increased after exercise. At altitude, such increase appeared to be higher in the quadriceps. This effect might be a consequence of the long-term adaptive memory due to the frequent exposures to altitude. Although speculative, we suggest a long-term adaptation of the Nepalese porters due to improved oxygenation of muscles frequently undergoing hypoxic exercise. Muscle structure, individual factors, and altitude exposure time should be taken into account to move on the knowledge of oxygen delivery and utilization at altitude