This work is based on the study of 150 majolica vases dated back to the mid XVII century that once preserved medicinal remedies prepared in the ancient Pharmacy annexed to the Ospedale Maggiore Ca’ ...Granda in Milan (Lombardy, Italy). The Hortus simplicium was created in 1641 as a source of plant-based ingredients for those remedies. The main objective of the present work is to lay the knowledge base for the restoration of the ancient Garden for educational and informative purposes. Therefore, the following complementary phases were carried out: (i) the analysis of the inscriptions on the jars, along with the survey on historical medical texts, allowing for the positive identification of the plant ingredients of the remedies and their ancient use as medicines; (ii) the bibliographic research in modern pharmacological literature in order to validate or refute the historical uses; (iii) the realization of the checklist of plants potentially present in cultivation at the ancient Garden, concurrently with the comparison with the results of a previous in situ archaeobotanical study concerning pollen grains. For the species selection, considerations were made also regarding drug amounts in the remedies and pedoclimatic conditions of the study area. Out of the 150 vases, 108 contained plant-based remedies, corresponding to 148 taxa. The remedies mainly treated gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders. At least one of the medicinal uses was validated in scientific literature for 112 out of the 148 examined species. Finally, a checklist of 40 taxa, presumably hosted in the Hortus simplicium, was assembled.
The Corona Virus 19 (COVID 19) epidemic is an infectious disease which was declared as a pandemic and hit all the Countries, all over the world, from the beginning of the year 2020. There are many ...similarities between the COVID 19 epidemic and the Spanish flu epidemic. We considered some preventive measures which do not change in the two epidemics.
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•We prove the sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy to snow micro and nanostructure.•By first principles MD we model the surface vibrations of single crystal ice.•Raman spectra of fresh ...snow are insensitive to UV-A radiation.
We investigated if the Raman spectrum of snow is affected by the highly differentiated snow morphology. The latter is subjected to continuous changes driven by the variation of ambient parameters, mainly temperature and humidity as snow progresses from freshly deposited, to compact, to icy. We measured the Raman spectrum of snow grains of different size and morphology on the temperature interval between −5.5 °C and −0.5 °C approaching the melting point. We found systematic differences with respect to bulk ice Ih in the OH-stretching band of snows with different histories. We attribute the observed spectral differences to the change of the molecular arrangement of water molecules between bulk and surface sites. We investigate this characteristic via molecular dynamics DFT simulations of bulk ice and of three thin slabs cut along specific surfaces. We analysed the simulated Raman spectra and compared their distinguishing features to those of experimental spectra of snow. The Raman features of the OH-stretching band allow to distinguish among layers inside a snowpack, each layer being characterized by a different specific surface area. This is relevant to estimate the mechanical stability of the snowpack itself. The influence of UV-A irradiation on snow is discussed.
To investigate the local outcome of patients after accelerated partial breast irradiation with intraoperative electrons (IORT) for invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) compared with invasive ductal ...carcinoma (IDC).
From 1999 to 2007, 2173 patients were treated with breast-conserving surgery and IORT (21 Gy/1 fraction) as the sole local treatment: 252 patients with ILC (11.6%) were compared with 1921 patients with IDC in terms of local control.
Compared with the IDC subgroup, patients with ILC had a low-risk profile and were more hormone responsive. The 5- and 10-year in-breast tumor reappearance (IBTR) rates were 5.5% and 14.4%, respectively, for the IDC group and 7.5% and 21.8%, respectively, for the ILC group (log-rank P=.03). The excess risk of IBTR associated with ILC was particularly high for small tumors (≤1 cm: hazard ratio HR, 2.24; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.03-4.85), elderly patients (60-69 years: HR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.11-4.63; ≥70 years: HR, 3.28; 95% CI, 1.08-10.0), low-grade tumors (grade 1: HR, 3.50; 95% CI, 1.05-11.7), and luminal A molecular subtype (HR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.49-6.77). Among the ILC histologic variants, no difference between classic and nonclassic subgroups was observed, although the signet ring cell and solid variants had the worst local control.
Despite a favorable tumor profile, accelerated partial breast irradiation with IORT led to a higher incidence of IBTRs in patients with ILC compared with those with IDC. Our institutional experience emphasized the importance of the size of the irradiation field, pointing to the use of larger collimators, even when dealing with small tumors, to improve local control.
This essay shows the uncommon occurrence of collections developed in a Hospital. In the past centuries the obstetrical gynaecological (since 18th Century) and anatomical collections (since 1829) were ...oriented to medical education, while the Pharmacy had a rich equipment. In the first half of 20th century, a Museum open to the public was planned, but the second World War and the absence of interest induce the loss of a large part of the materials. Since 2002 we had censed, collected, and listed the historical instruments, and in 2005 we realized a permanent exhibition. The collections combine about 1500 items. We have especial care to save also modern objects and equipments, after they are disused. At last we hope to realize a real Museum, and we search to assume peculiarities, goals, strength, potentials users, custom.
Tre pergamene del secolo XV, conservate presso l'Archivio dell'Ospedale Maggiore di Milano, contengono scritti a cui è attribuibile un carattere profilattico — terapeutico (si tratta quindi ...propriamente di talismani); in esse sono riportati testi apocrifi come la corrispondenza tra Cristo e il re Abgar, o la missiva trasmessa da papa Leone III a Carlomagno, nucleo originario dell'Enchiridion Leonis papae, insieme a liste di nomi divini, orazioni, preghiere, pericopi evangeliche.
The authors analyze Attilio Maggia's method of corpse conservation. His method was based on development of formaline vapours and preservation of corpse into a hermetically closed coffin (U.S.Patent ...1150688 - Aug. 17, 1915). The corpses preserved could also be hardened after the treatment, exposing them to the air. Attilio Maggia (1864-1945) treated the corpse of italian writer Giovanni Verga (1840-1922). Some Maggia's preparations were preserved into obstetrical museum at Milan University: they are lost, but some records remain (an old inventory register) and attest us the industry of this physician.
Virgo is designed to detect gravitational waves of both astrophysical and cosmological origin in the frequency range from a few Hz to a few kHz. After the end of the first science run, partially ...overlapped with the LIGO fifth science run, the detector underwent several upgrades to improve its sensitivity. The second Virgo science run started at the beginning of July 2009 in coincidence with LIGO. A further upgrade is planned at beginning of 2010 with the installation of new suspensions for the test masses and of new mirrors. This will lead to a considerable improvement in the sensitivity and represents an intermediate step toward the development of the advanced detectors.
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