1,721,035 research outputs found
Francesco M. Galassi and Hutan Ashrafian: Julius Caesar's disease: a new diagnosis
Full text link‘‘We don’t die because we get sick,but we get sick because basically we have to die’’ Michel Foucault (1926–1984
Quadri paleopatologici e tracce di spiritualità dai registri dei morti e nati di Roccapelago: il significato della morte ed il senso della vita
No full textA likely case of goiter in the Madonna col Bambino dormiente (1465/1470) by Andrea Mantegna (1431--1506)
Full text linkA common theme of the Italian Renaissance, the Madonna with child was often studied and represented by Mantegna throughout his life. In comparison to previous representations characterised by a stiff and awkward rendering of shapes, this is a more intimate and private interpretation of the divine duo with a softer pictorial and more harmonious compositional quality. The particular attention paid to representing reality reveals that the Virgin Mary shows an enlarged neck, with a protruding ovoidal mass
Three cases of developmental dysplasia of the hip on partially mummified human remains (Roccapelago, Modena, 18th Century): a study of palaeopathological indicators through direct analysis and 3D virtual models
No full textDevelopmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is caused by a delay in the development of the acetabular cavity, leading to an anomaly in the angle of the acetabular roof. As a result, the femoral head and the acetabular cavity do not interact normally. The identification of three cases of DDH among the remains discovered in the most recent unit from the crypt at Roccapelago (Modena, Italy) enabled us to discuss the presence of DDH in this region during the 18th century. All three cases are bilateral and Dunn class I, two have been identified as male and one as female. These DDH cases are very likely mainly due to mechanical factors such as the breech position of the foetus, perhaps associated with birth order. But given their overall similarity, they may also have resulted from the practice of swaddling new-borns. In addition, current data from the Italian Ministry of Health suggests that the incidence of DDH has remained stable in this region from the 18th century to the present. The ongoing study of remains from earlier units should bring a better understanding of the particular prevalence of DDH at Roccapelago
Notizie preliminari delle indagini archeologiche nella chiesa di San Paolo di Roccapelago nell'Appennino modenese
Full text linkStrontium Isotope MC-ICP-MS Analysis of Hair Strands from Human Mummies: Transhumance Pastoralism of Early-Modern Individuals between Northern and Central Italy
No full textMammal hair is formed by a scleroprotein, namely
keratin, composed by some major elements (C, N, H, O, S),
but including also trace elements such as Sr, Pb, Fe, K, Na
and Ca. The latter are fixed through diet and exposure to
exogenous sources, mainly water and air. Given that the
average human scalp hair growth is ~1 cm/month, timeresolved
hair sampling yields information about a specific
period, reflecting the elemental and isotopic composition of
the diet and environment at that time. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio of
mammal tissues is generally directly correlated to the local
bioavailable strontium, providing the chance to reconstruct
the individual movements in a given time interval.
In this work, we developed our protocol to analyse low-Sr
concentration mammal hairs for their 87Sr/86Sr ratio by
Neptune MC-ICP-MS. We tested the method on a modern
individual who traveled cyclically between Italy and Brazil.
Hair strands were sampled with a time resolution of 1 to 2
months, yielding time resolved isotopic variations from the
highest radiogenic ratios of the São Paulo area to the lower
ones of Modena waters. Thus, the Sr analysis of hair has been
applied to human mummies (Roccapelago, Modena, 16th-18th
cent.). Hair strands were cut in several sub-samples with
different length (time-resolution) in relation to the amount of
available material. The best achieved time-resolution was of 3
months in a 12-cm-long strand. These samples revealed
cyclical human movements from Roccapelago to the high
radiogenic area of the Tuscan Magmatic Province. Historical
documents attest a high frequency of human seasonal travels
to Tuscany, up to the Grosseto area, likely linked to the
exploitation of transhumance pastoralism
The "Lost Caravaggio": a probable case of goiter in seventeenth-century Italy
No full textMost human cancers, including myeloma, are preceded by a precursor state. There is an unmet need for in vivo models to study the interaction of human preneoplastic cells in the bone marrow microenvironment with non-malignant cells. Here, we genetically humanized mice to permit the growth of primary human preneoplastic and malignant plasma cells together with non-malignant cells in vivo. Growth was largely restricted to the bone marrow, mirroring the pattern in patients with myeloma. Xenografts captured the genomic complexity of parental tumors and revealed additional somatic changes. Moreover, xenografts from patients with preneoplastic gammopathy showed progressive growth, suggesting that the clinical stability of these lesions may in part be due to growth controls extrinsic to tumor cells. These data demonstrate a new approach to investigate the entire spectrum of human plasma cell neoplasia and illustrate the utility of humanized models for understanding the functional diversity of human tumors
Paleopathological analysis of a probable case of Jarcho-Levin Syndrome from the 18th century northern Italy
No full textThis case report examines the differential diagnosis of an unusually fused chest belonging to a perinatal human remain retrieved in the crypt of Roccapelago (Italy). This specimen, which dated back to the final 18th century, showed a severe synostosis of the costovertebral articulations and posterior arches. The specimen was examined macroscopically and radiologically for the purpose of identify differences in mineral density. It also underwent computed tomography scan in order to create a 3D digital model and virtually reposition in anatomical position. The radiological trophism, size, and osteological maturity of the specimen are compatible with a perinate. The chest structure shows a characteristic crab like morphology, with the costovertebral articulations and some posterior arches completely fused. Accordingly, a diagnosis of Jarcho-Levin Syndrome has been suggested. This case appears to be the first report, to the knowledge of the authors, of a probable Jarcho-Levin syndrome, which dated before Jarcho and Levin codified this pathology in the scientific literature
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