Dyspepsia in the middle ages: a reference in Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron (14th century AD)?

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Leonardo Da Vinci, investigador anatomista, a 500 años de su muerte (1452-1519) / Leonardo Da Vinci, anatomist researcher, 500 years after his death (1452-1519)

Leonardo Da Vinci fue autor de ilustraciones científicas. Se lo considera un pionero en el estudio de la anatomía humana en el siglo XV. Sus dibujos elevan la disección al nivel de una obra de arte. (AU)

Leonardo was author of scientific illustrates. He was a Pioneer in anatomy human study in the XV century. His drawing elevated the dissection to a level of art work. (AU)

Historia de la seguridad del paciente. Hitos principales, desde los albores de la civilización hasta los primeros retos globales y el estudio IBEAS / History of patient's Safety. From the dawn of civilization to the WHO Global Patient Safety Challenges and IBEAS study

Se realiza una breve historia de la seguridad del paciente en la atención médica, desde los albores de las civilizaciones hasta los primeros retos Globales de la OMS y el Estudio IBEAS. (AU)

A brief history of patient safety is made in the medical attention, from the dawn of civilizations up to the first Global challenges of the WHO and the IBEAS Study. (AU)

[Another profession in the Ottoman period dealing with pharmaceutics: surgery]. / Osmanli'da eczacilikla ugrasan bir diger meslek cerrahlik.

We have realized in many documents that in the Ottoman period surgeons were involved in pharmaceutics as much as physicians and herbalists. Surgeons employed by the state ordered more drugs than physicians, and it is interesting that in their order list there were mostly singular drugs instead of ready-made ones. In addition to drugs used by surgeons in preparing ointments and plasters, pans and filters were utilized in the process of production, and earthenware pots, tin and wooden boxes with various kinds of paper were ordered for the purpose of packaging. We have determined that most of the single drugs placed onto the lists of surgeons were "ointment of rust" that dries the pus, and "red ointment" that is good for all kinds of pus. The preparation of the ointments were specified in detail in books of surgery (Cerrahnames)We have observed that parallel to the Regulation of 1826, surgeons were given the title of pharmacist when they were appointed to military bodies. 100 kurus (piaster) were paid to surgeons for performing surgery and 50 kurus for preparing drugs, which is another important document indicating that surgeons were more responsible than physicians in preparing drugs.

Dog distemper: imported into Europe from South America?.

According to Charles Frédéric Heusinger (1853), dog distemper had been imported from Peru into Spain in the course of the 17th century. The disease was well described in 1746 by Ulloa in his work Relación histórica del viaje a la América meridional. During the course of the 1760s, the disease was reported in Spain, followed by England, Italy (1764) and Russia (1770). In 1763, 900 dogs died in a single day in Madrid. In 1844, Karle succeeded in the first experimental transmission of the disease by brushing the lips of young dogs with the discharge from sick animals. The causal agent of the disease was only discovered in 1905, when the virus was isolated by Henri Carré. In the meantime, Edward Jenner, who thought that the disease was a pox-like affection, claimed that it could be prevented by inoculation of the vaccinia virus.

Diosgenin, a steroid saponin of Trigonella foenum graecum (Fenugreek), inhibits azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci formation in F344 rats and induces apoptosis in HT-29 human colon cancer cells.

Trigonella foenum graecum (fenugreek) is traditionally used to treat disorders such as diabetes, high cholesterol, wounds, inflammation, and gastrointestinal ailments. Recent studies suggest that fenugreek and its active constituents may possess anticarcinogenic potential. We evaluated the preventive efficacy of dietary fenugreek seed and its major steroidal saponin constituent, diosgenin, on azoxymethane-induced rat colon carcinogenesis during initiation and promotion stages. Preneoplastic colonic lesions or aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were chosen as end points. In addition, we assessed the mechanism of tumor growth inhibition of diosgenin in HT-29 human colon cancer cells. To evaluate the effect of the test agent during the initiation and postinitiation stages, 7-week-old male F344 rats were fed experimental diets containing 0% or 1% fenugreek seed powder (FSP) or 0.05% or 0.1% diosgenin for 1 week and were injected with azoxymethane (15 mg/kg body weight). Effects during the promotional stage were studied by feeding 1% FSP or 0.1% diosgenin 4 weeks after the azoxymethane injections. Rats were sacrificed 8 weeks after azoxymethane injection, and their colons were evaluated for ACF. We found that, by comparison with control, continuous feeding of 1% FSP and 0.05% and 0.1% diosgenin suppressed total colonic ACF up to 32%, 24%, and 42%, respectively (P < or = 0.001 to 0.0001). Dietary FSP at 1% and diosgenin at 0.1% fed only during the promotional stage also inhibited total ACF up to 33% (P < or = 0.001) and 39% (P < or = 0.0001), respectively. Importantly, continuous feeding of 1% FSP or 0.05% or 0.1% diosgenin reduced the number of multicrypt foci by 38%, 20%, and 36% by comparison with the control assay (P < or = 0.001). In addition, 1% FSP or 0.1% diosgenin fed during the promotional stage caused a significant reduction (P < or = 0.001) of multicrypt foci compared with control. Dietary diosgenin at 0.1% and 0.05% inhibited total colonic ACF and multicrypt foci formation in a dose-dependent manner. Results from the in vitro experiments indicated that diosgenin inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis in the HT-29 human colon cancer cell line in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, diosgenin induced apoptosis in HT-29 cells at least in part by inhibition of bcl-2 and by induction of caspase-3 protein expression. On the basis of these findings, the fenugreek constituent diosgenin seems to have potential as a novel colon cancer preventive agent.

The Lido as Venice's refuse tip: Dalmatian sheep and the 1819 elephant.

The Lido of Venice is an island twelve kilometers long and between a hundred and one thousand meters wide. The citizans of Venice and many turists can't imagine today, what Lido was some centuries ago Initially totally sandy, it was fertilized by means of a continuous supply of Venice's garbage (the "scoasse"). In addition to the "scoasse", damaged foodstuffs and the waste of the vegetable market were also sent to the Lido. Other fertilisers originated from the dung of the cattle and sheep arriving by ship from Dalmatia, which were landed on the Lido, where they could pasture before slaughter to regain weight lost during their voyage. The sheep dung, especially, was important for the proto-industrial production of saltpetre, a material of the greatest strategic importance, like uranium at the present time. Saltpetre is the most important component of gun powder, which was the only explosive known up to the second half of 19th century. There were plans to establish an "artificial nitriary" in the Lido, making use of the garbage and of the animal waste. In all probability, the most bulky item ever buried in the Lido is the corpse of an enraged elephant, which escaped from its cage on the Riva degli Schiavoni where it was performing during the 1819 carnival, and was killed by a cannon shot in a church where it took refuge. The original title of the paper, published in Italian is: V. Giormani, II Lido di Venezia "scoassera" della città. I montoni dalmati e l'elefante del 1819, in Atti del III Convegno nazionale di storia della medicina veterinaria, Lastra a Signa (Firenze), 23-24 settembre 2000, a cura di Alba Veggetti, Brescia, 2001, pp. 333-339. Other information has been added in order to facilitate non-italians readers and articles appearing after the publication of the Proceedings of the Third National Congress for the History of Veterinary Medicine, Lastra a Signa, (Florence), Italy, have also been used. I am deeply grateful to Mrs. Mary Moors for the translation from Italian and for editorial assistance in the production of this article.

Drinking, family relations, and authority in early modern Germany.

The ideal of orderly family life in early modern Germany did not exclude drinking. In fact, drinks shared at the family table were closely tied to early modern notions of the marital bond and were also a necessary component of normal work relations. Drinking became a problem only when it threatened the stability of the household. The amount of alcohol involved in such cases might be as little as one drink if the circumstances were unsuitable. On the other hand, drinking that would by our standards be viewed as excessive or chronic could be considered acceptable . Even during and immediately after the period of Reformation, when polemical and prescriptive literature addressing the household was dominated by the problem of sin, drunkenness was rarely treated as a spiritual issues. The primary concern of both authorities and populace was not to protect the health or the rights of individuals but to protect the sanctity of the household and the stability of the community.