1,721,153 research outputs found
Putridaria e pratiche di scolatura dei corpi. Antropologia della morte in epoca moderna
Full text linkIn Northern Italy there are some particular structures funeral, denominated in the critical literature “putridaria” (strainer room), associated with particular funeral practices diffused in Italy in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. These structures, which are normally placed in crypts beneath the churches, allowed to intervene in the processes of decomposition and were functional to the prolonged treatment of the corpses. After death the bodies were placed in these environments, on particular seats, called strainers, (used to desiccate the bodies, eliminating the body fluid), where they stayed until the body was completely skeletonized and free from soft tissue. Following its complete drying the body underwent a second burial, often accompanied by a new funeral. The purpose of this research is to give an interpretation of the intended use of these structures facilities and the universe ritual, ethics and religion to which they responded, through the examination of archival sources and anthropological investigation of the remains. These types of structures were also found in other Italian regions, especially in southern Italy, where, however, the practice was intended to mummify instead of skeletonizing the bodies. These buildings reflect the concept of death in terms of duration and second burial, developed by Hertz [1994] and Van Geenep[1981]. Concepts that seemed to have been eradicated from the Catholic Church and instead have stood in the heart of Modern Europe. There is also reason to believe that such structures, although a critical literature about it is missing, spread to other areas of the Mediterranean, indeed, the Spanish monarchs still use for their burials in the Escorial monastery structures identical to putridaria identified in Italy
Accuracy of Contrast Agent Quantification in MRI: A Comparison Between Two k-space Sampling Schemes
No full textDynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE MRI) plays an important role in many applications, such as perfusion imaging in oncology. Several aspects of data acquisition should be taken into account when developing protocols for DCE MRI both to facilitate integration of results from multiple institutions and to ensure that the data reflect the underlying physiology as accurately as possible.In this study we focused on the trade-off between accurate contrast agent (CA) quantification ad temporal resolution. The commonly used spoiled gradient-echo k-space scheme known as Fast Low Angle SHot (FLASH) can suffer from low temporal resolution if a large field of view must be scanned. Recently, a k-space under-sampling and data-sharing method known as Time-resolved angiography With Stochastic Trajectories (TWIST) has been proposed to obtain high temporal resolution without sacrificing the spatial resolution. However, the losses in CA quantification have not been analyzed yet.The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of TWIST CA quantification with respect to FLASH.Seven vials containing different Gd-DTPA solutions were prepared. Images were acquired using breast coils and several combinations of the different parameters of the two schemes analyzed. Quantification accuracy has been evaluated in terms of relative error and standard deviation. Also the repeatability for both sequence was evaluated on ten measures.The accuracy of CA quantification with both sequences depends on the specific amount of Gd-DTPA present in the prepared solutions.However, our results show that FLASH and TWIST give comparable accurac
A comparison of fitting algorithms for diffusion-weighted MRI data analysis using an intravoxel incoherent motion model
No full textResoconti
Full text linkContributi di Davide Di Falco, Marco Maggiore, Giovanna Bencivenga, Giacomo Morbiato, Giacomo Micheletti, Francesca Fusco, Roberta Cella e Giuseppe Andrea Liberti.Contributions by Davide Di Falco, Marco Maggiore, Giovanna Bencivenga, Giacomo Morbiato, Giacomo Micheletti, Francesca Fusco, Roberta Cella and Giuseppe Andrea Liberti
Science and Religion: Enemies for life?
Full text linkThe article published by Prof. Antonio Neviani in 1896 offered us an interesting opportunity to discuss about the teaching of human evolution in schools today. Already at the end of the nineteenth century, Neviani complained about the fact that the teaching of the theory of evolution was not present in schools. Here, we present the thought of Neviani and we invite to reflect on the prohibition, still present in some countries, of the teaching of Darwin's theory. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Multi-planar 3D Breast Segmentation in MRI via Deep Convolutional Neural Networks
No full textNowadays, Dynamic Contrast Enhanced-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) has demonstrated to be a valid complementary diagnostic tool for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. However, without a CAD (Computer Aided Detection) system, manual DCE-MRI examination can be difficult and error-prone. The early stage of breast tissue segmentation, in a typical CAD, is crucial to increase reliability and reduce the computational effort by reducing the number of voxels to analyze and removing foreign tissues and air. In recent years, the deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) enabled a sensible improvement in many visual tasks automation, such as image classification and object recognition. These advances also involved radiomics, enabling high-throughput extraction of quantitative features, resulting in a strong improvement in automatic diagnosis through medical imaging. However, machine learning and, in particular, deep learning approaches are gaining popularity in the radiomics field for tissue segmentation. This work aims to accurately segment breast parenchyma from the air and other tissues (such as chest-wall) by applying an ensemble of deep CNNs on 3D MR data. The novelty, besides applying cutting-edge techniques in the radiomics field, is a multi-planar combination of U-Net CNNs by a suitable projection-fusing approach, enabling multi-protocol applications. The proposed approach has been validated over two different datasets for a total of 109 DCE-MRI studies with histopathologically proven lesions and two different acquisition protocols. The median dice similarity index for both the datasets is 96.60 % (±0.30 %) and 95.78 % (±0.51 %) respectively with p < 0.05, and 100% of neoplastic lesion coverage
Calcified uterine leiomyoma from an 18th-century nunnery in North Italy
Full text linkObjective: To develop a differential diagnosis of a mass retrieved alongside skeletal remains in the crypt of the church of Santissima Annunziata of Valenza (Province of Alessandria, Northern Italy). Material: A calcified mass measuring 40 × 39 mm and 17.62 × 16.3817.62 × 16.38 mm. Method: The analysis utilized macroscopic assessment and histologic examination (including histochemical and immunohistochemical analyses). Results: Morphological traits include an irregular and spongy external surface. Holes of different sizes lead toward the inner part of the object. A section of the mass shows an “intertwined bundle” pattern, confirmed by microscopic examination. Conclusions: Differential diagnosis determined the mass to be consistent with calcified leiomyoma. Significance: Identifying uterine leiomyoma adds to the paucity of paleopathological literature on the condition and to calcified tumors more broadly. It also allows for an important discussion of women's gynecological health in the past and potentially among nulliparous women. Limitations: Neither histochemical staining nor immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated the certain muscular nature of the specimens due to the rehydration and decalcification processes, for which there are no gold standards. Suggestions for further research: Calcified masses are common in the clinical literature but remain rare in paleopathological literature. Careful excavation and improved recognition of apparently calcified masses are necessary to improve recognition, diagnosis, and interpretation
The “cruel abandonment” in medicine. The struggle against doctors’ inaction in cases of sudden death in the 18th century
No full textIn 1755, the medical field in Milan was characterized by a worrying reluctance of surgeons to intervene in cases of sudden death. This hesitancy, based on an alleged certainty of death founded on unreliable signs, caused considerable concern among local authorities and medical professionals. In an unpublished document, Doctor Guglielmo Parini, eminent member of the Illustrious Tribunal of Holiness of Milan, an institution responsible for supervising the health of citizens, expressed his dismay at the “cruel abandonment” of individuals considered dead without a thorough examination. His observations were based on numerous cases of presumed corpses, in which many individuals believed dead were actually alive, with their lives sacrificed due to misdiagnosis. Parini cites some of these cases of apparent death, taken from the dissertation of the famous anatomist Winslow, published eleven years earlier, in which the uncertainty of the signs of death was discussed.
Through the analysis of a text dated to 1775, we try to bring to light an aspect that characterized 18th century forensic medicine
An expectation-maximisation approach for simultaneous pixel classification and tracer kinetic modelling in dynamic contrast enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging
No full textTraditionally, tracer kinetic modelling and pixel classification of DCE-MRI studies are accomplished separately, although they could greatly benefit from each other. In this article, we propose an expectation-maximisation scheme for simultaneous pixel classification and compartmental modelling of DCE-MRI studies. The key point in the proposed scheme is the estimation of the kinetic parameters (K trans and K ep) of the two-compartmental model. Typically, they are estimated via nonlinear least-squares fitting. In our scheme, by exploiting the iterative nature of the EM algorithm, we use instead a Taylor expansion of the modelling equation. We developed the theoretical framework for the particular case of two classes and evaluated the performances of the algorithm by means of simulations. Results indicate that the accuracy of the proposed method supersedes the traditional pixel-by-pixel scheme and approaches the theoretical lower bound imposed by the Cramer–Rao theorem. Preliminary results on real data were also reported
- …
