Firenze University Press: E-Journals
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Ammon congenital protrusion – case report
Get PDFThe authors present a rare ocular malformation, accidentally discovered in a male of 54 year
Complete situs inversus: A variation in left-right asymmetry during embryogenesis
Get PDFComplete situs inversus is a very rare anomaly featured with the total inversion of all abdominal and thoracic organs. During the normal embryonic development laterality (left-right-sidedness) is featured by a cascade of signal molecules and genes. Any disturbance in the establishment of normal anatomical left- right asymmetry during this period results in left-right axis malformations which may express as complete situs inversus, incomplete situs inversus or situs ambiguous. A cadaver was detected with complete situs inversus during the routine dissection in the Anatomy Department of G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The anomaly is very rare and may not be diagnosed until later in life when people seek medical attention because of unrelated medical problem and undergo radiographic investigation. The cadaver was carefully dissected. The literature was reviewed concerning the underlying cause of the anomaly during the embryonic period and the clinical implications of the condition. Special emphasis was given to the genetic cause of the condition. A literature search was performed in Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases, including studies published up to March 2016, with no lower data limit
Early exposure of laparoscopic anatomy to first year medical undergraduate students: is it necessary?
Get PDFThe teaching of undergraduate anatomy is particularly based on cadaveric dissection. Currently, medical curriculum is continually evolving and focusing on clinical application, especially for first year medical undergraduate students. Recently, surgical educators defined a role for laparoscopy in teaching anatomy. This study was conducted to know the opinion by first year medical undergraduate students, of current teaching practices and which teaching modalities should be emphasized. In this study a total of 200 first-year medical undergraduate students were exposed to a Diagnostic Laparoscopy with appendectomy video, with explanation/commentary by a laparoscopic surgeon. A pre-test and a post-test questionnaire were given before and after exposure to the video. The objective of the study was to collect students’ opinion by answering the questions in the questionnaire. All pre-test and post-test questionnaire results were analysed. The results were quantified in terms of percentage. The knowledge of anatomy of abdominal wall and peritoneal cavity improved from 62% to 91% of students after exposure to surgical video. Similarly, knowledge regarding laparoscopy improved from 37% to 85% and awareness about surgical video as an additional method of learning improved from 46% to 89%. Almost 93% of students were able to appreciate the organs and structures within intraperitoneal cavity. Hence, the clinicians/surgeons need to try their best and put in their maximum efforts to make the training of future medical graduates more efficient and knowledgeable in anatomy subject, by creating interest in learning of the subject by using such additional method (surgical videos) learning tool
Environmental design strategies in different-density-urban contexts
No full textThe paper deals with the dichotomy between the horizontal and vertical development of the built environment in urban contexts while taking into consideration different densities and settlement logics by following the specific approach of environmental and technological design. The research focuses on two well-known environmental parameters, wind and sun, identifying specific performance indicators related to natural ventilation (pressure coefficient and wind speed profile) and envelope-related energy needs (percentage of openings, shape and orientation of a spatial unit). For each indicator, a sensitivity analysis was carried out taking into consideration density and building height variations to evaluate the design choices from early-design phases
Mirrored images but not silicone models trigger aggressive responses in male Common wall lizards
No full textDisentangling the effects of single releasers in animal communication is a demanding task because a releaser often consists of a combination of different key stimuli. Territorial communication in reptiles usually depends on visual, chemical, and acoustic stimuli, but the role of each of them depends on phylogeny. Lacertids are modern lizards that rely mainly on chemical cues for their communication, but they also use aggressive displays based on visual recognition. We experimentally tested the visual stimuli that release an aggressive response in the males of a typical lacertid, the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), testing the effects of silicone models and mirrored images in captivity. The response to models and control (a blank sheet) was not significantly different and these stimuli did not release any aggressive behaviour. On the contrary, the reflected image in a mirror caused overt aggression (i.e., bites against it) in 63% of tested individuals. The results clearly demonstrate the role of visual stimuli in territorial communication, but only as a combined effect of shape and motion, differently from other lizard families for which shape is enough to stimulate aggressive responses. Mirrors can be useful tools to investigate aggression related to physiological and morphological aspects in lacertid lizards
When did the Irish-American Diaspora Make a Difference? Influencing US Diplomacy toward Northern Ireland
Get PDFThis article explains the changing relationship between Irish leaders, the Irish-American diaspora, Irish-American political elites, and American diplomacy. Specifically, we explore the transnational advocacy networks (TANSs) associated with the Irish diaspora and their impact on American diplomacy. In the early twentieth century, de Valera failed to mobilize Irish-America to convince President Wilson to recognize the Irish Republic. By the late twentieth century Irish-Americans became effective foreign policy entrepreneurs in Congress re-orienting US diplomacy toward Northern Ireland. Irish political elites utilized both the diaspora and their elite connections to transform the American policy of deference to its Cold War ally to an engaged diplomacy mediating and promoting peace
Like a Scattering from a Fixed Point: Austerity Fiction and the Inequalities of Elsewhere
Get PDFAfter the financial collapse of 2008, Ireland imposed a program of fiscal consolidation that was designed to address the debt concerns of the nation. The implementation of austerity measures became the inverse to the high-flying years of the Celtic Tiger. Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones and Mary Morrissy’s Prosperity Drive represent examples of post-austerity literature in how they engage with ideas of austerity as an inverted capitalist narrative of success. Their books examine a post-austerity Ireland where the influence of global capitalism has resulted in a disruption of local communities. Both McCormack and Morrissy critique post-austerity Ireland to show the psychological, emotional, and human cost of the nation’s transformation into a post-austerity country
«Piecemeal, incremental, ad hoc»: ‘Beccarian’ experiments in law enforcement in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century England
Get PDFIn the course of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century a series of measures were introduced into the practice of law enforcement in England which, though «piecemeal, incremental, ad hoc» were, J.M. Beattie claims, driven by a common belief in the need for more effective ways of dealing with a perceived dramatic rise in urban property crime...These included preventative measures such as improvements in street lighting and gradual recognition of the need for professional policing, measures – such as statutory rewards to informers – designed to encourage prosecutions and raise conviction rates, and state-funded transportation, which provided a punishment more appropriate to petty crime than the death penalty. Though many of these measures, diverged sharply from Beccarian principles, Beattie is right in claiming that in general terms they «anticipated some of the arguments that would be made by the reformers of the late 18th century». If this has not been noticed previously it is because scholars have focused on the history of ideas at the expense of changes in practice the resulting from thousands of individual decisions by made by ordinary people, and even by apparently powerless
