Reproduction and longevity among the British peerage: the effect of frailty and health selection.
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Whether a cost of reproduction exists among humans is still questionable. A major study of aristocratic British families finds a significant positive correlation between parity and late-life mortality, which indicates a trade-off between reproduction and longevity. This result is supported by four other studies, while earlier studies have not found a relationship or came to the opposite conclusion. We show that in natural fertility populations the relationship between fertility and late-life mortality cannot be studied correctly without considering the effects of differences in health and of mortality selection during childbearing ages because these two effects lead to a dampening of the true relationship. If these effects are controlled in Hollingsworth's genealogy of the British peerage a significant trade-off between reproduction and longevity exists for females but not for males. (+info)
The interchange of disease and health between the Old and New Worlds.
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A review of the five centuries since Columbus discovered America helps us understand the mutual contributions of the Old and the New Worlds to the history of diseases and their treatment. It also shows the consequences of this "mutual discovery" as they are currently emerging in the fields of health, culture, and the environment. To evaluate the multiple aspects of the interchange between the Old and New Worlds, this paper discusses the following: the causes of the rapid decline of the original American populations; the diffusion of communicable diseases between the two civilizations; the health consequences of nutritional changes on both sides of the Atlantic; drug addictions, as they developed through the centuries and as they exist today; the ways diseases were and are evaluated, prevented, diagnosed, and treated; and the mutual impact of different models of health services. Arguing that a major global change following the discovery of America was the transition from isolation of the two worlds to communication, and, more recently, to global interdependence, the paper also discusses some problems of bioethical relevance and the possible impact of new epidemics. Finally, it suggests that a critical analysis of the past may help stimulate future cooperation and solidarity. (+info)
CT manifestations and features of solid cystic tumors of the pancreas.
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OBJECTIVE: To study retrospectively the manifestations and characteristics of solid cystic tumor of the pancreas(SCTP)on CT. METHODS: Nine patients with solid cystic tumor of the pancreas underwent resection with pathological and immunohistochemical confirmation. All the patients were female, aged 27.7 years on average at onset of the disease. CT scan was performed in patients with or without intravenous injection of contrast medium; it was also performed in the arterial phase in 4 patients. RESULTS: Solid and cystic structures were observed in tumors of the pancreas. Solid structure demonstrated low or iso-density on unenhanced CT, poor enhancement in the arterial phase and marked enhancement in the portal venous phase on contrast material-enhanced CT. Cystic structure showed low density on both pre- and pro-contrast views. The CT findings of tumors with predominantly cystic or equal proportion of solid and cystic structure: mural nodules for solid structure, "floating cloud" signs, or solid and cystic crossing distributions. Cystic structure of tumors predominately solid presenting as a beading appearance under capsule. In round, oval and completely encapsulated tumors in the pancreas, the greater vessel enhanced with well-defined margins on pro-contrast images. No dilatation was observed of the common bile and pancreatic ducts. CONCLUSION: The characteristics of solid cystic tumor of the pancreas revealed by CT could confirm the diagnosis of the disease in combination with onset age and sex of patients. (+info)
"Labor improbus omnia vincit"; Ambroise Pare and sixteenth century child care.
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Ambroise Pare (1510-1590) is regarded as one of the greatest surgeons who ever lived. In the sixteenth century, through his example and his writings, Pare did more than anybody else to raise the previously poor reputation of surgery "to one of dignity and esteem." He significantly influenced the surgical management of wounds, especially those produced by gunshot. However, he wrote widely on other areas as well. Although Pare's writings on obstetrics and infant feeding have been previously described, there has been little attention given to the other paediatric cases described in his case notes, which this review now addresses. (+info)
Gunther von Hagens and Body Worlds Part 1: the anatomist as prosektor and proplastiker.
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Recent calls to reintegrate the sciences and humanities are challenged by the contemporary work of anatomist Gunther von Hagens and his Body Worlds exhibits of plastinated cadavers. The anatomical quest to understand our physical interior has long been in tension both with aesthetic ideals and religious sensitivities regarding the metaphysical significance of the human body. Part I of this two-part Historical Note examines tensions epitomized by Goethe's figures of the prosektor and proplastiker. The former, driven by scientific curiosity, is willing to destroy, even desecrate, the human form to obtain knowledge. The latter demurs at such mutilation of our physical body, wondrous even in death--seeking instead to rejoin what the prosektor has pulled apart, to restore human dignity. In the confrontation between prosektor and proplastiker, roles disturbingly fused in the person of von Hagens himself, questions arise regarding the authenticity of models as well as the appropriate recipients of such mediated yet intimate anatomical knowledge. Part II will focus on religious perspectives on the human body, variously interpreted as God's handiwork, habitation for the soul, and vehicle of resurrection. Consideration also is given to the role of anatomist as priest, prophet, and Promethean creator, roles self-consciously embraced by von Hagens. (+info)
The role of the fifth digit in music: discussion paper.
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The increasing digital skill made manifest in the development of instrumental music is reviewed and supports the hypothesis that the fifth digit was belatedly used even when a suitable instrument had already become established. With notable exceptions, such as the harp, it appears that progressive improvements in instrument design was influenced by the need to utilize the fifth digits. Its greater use was accomplished in overlapping stages of increasing dexterity, of which the highest is exemplified by the left hand of the violinist. The apparent evolutional background of these observations is discussed. It is proposed that man has an inherent atavistic tendency to ignore the fifth digit and this view agrees with its neglect in gesture and sign language. (+info)
Louise Bourgeois (1563-1636): royal midwife of France.
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Louise Bourgeois was the first practicing midwife to write of her experience of childbirth and of women's problems. She did much to enhance the respect in which her craft was held. For 26 years she was midwife to the royal court. (+info)
Founder mutations among the Dutch.
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Many genetic disorders demonstrate mutations that can be traced to a founder, sometimes a person who can be identified. These founder mutations have generated considerable interest, because they facilitate studies of prevalence and penetrance and can be used to quantify the degree of homogeneity within a population. This paper reports on founder mutations among the Dutch and relates their occurrence to the history and demography of the Netherlands. International migration, regional and religious endogamy, and rapid population growth played key roles in shaping the Dutch population. In the first millenniums BC and AD, the Netherlands were invaded by Celts, Romans, Huns, and Germans. In more recent times, large numbers of Huguenots and Germans migrated into the Netherlands. Population growth within the Netherlands was slow until the 19th century, when a period of rapid population growth started. Today, the Dutch population numbers 16 million inhabitants. Several different classes of founder mutations have been identified among the Dutch. Some mutations occur among people who represent genetic isolates within this country. These include mutations for benign familial cholestasis, diabetes mellitus, type I, infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, L-DOPA responsive dystonia, and triphalangeal thumb. Although not related to a specific isolate, other founder mutations were identified only within the Netherlands, including those predisposing for hereditary breast-ovarian cancer, familial hypercholesterolemia, frontotemporal dementia, hereditary paragangliomas, juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, malignant melanoma, protein C deficiency, and San Filippo disease. Many of these show a regional distribution, suggesting dissemination from a founder. Some mutations that occur among the Dutch are shared with other European populations and others have been transmitted by Dutch emigres to their descendents in North America and South Africa. The occurrence of short chromosomal regions that have remained identical by descent has resulted in relatively limited genetic heterogeneity for many genetic conditions among the Dutch. These observations demonstrate the opportunity for gene discovery for other diseases and traits in the Netherlands. (+info)