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This research analyses the circulation of a rumour in Cameroonian media, namely the fake news about the death of Paul Biya, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, who did not appear publicly at the start of the Covid19 pandemic, casting doubt on his state of health. We propose to use the biological model of virality to interpret the rumour as an expression of the immunity of the ‘social body’ that resists the ‘political body’, which has enjoyed absolute immunity since 2008. The Head of State is heavily criticised, among other things, for the armed repression that has been going on since 2017 in the country’s English-speaking minority territories. Therefore, this rumour seems to be paving the way for the visibility of an event unknown to international public opinion. While the spreaders of the rumour use enunciative erasure to protect themselves, the Head of State pursues his ‘strategy of silence’ by expressing himself by proxy.

This article explores the importance of narrative medicine in physiotherapy, using the story of Daniele and Marina to illustrate the complexity of the interaction between disease and illness. It highlights how Marina’s clavicle fracture is not just a physical problem (disease) but an event that profoundly affects her personal and family life (illness). The article emphasizes the importance of an empathetic and narrative approach in clinical practice, capable of integrating the temporal dimensions of disease and illness and addressing related ethical dilemmas. Narrative medicine emerges as an essential tool to enhance the therapeutic relationship, supporting the patient not only physically but also emotionally, and helping them re-establish a new balance in their life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medical profession is going through a crisis influenced by social and political factors, and internal factors such as medical language. Terms such as “discomfort” and “disorder” are replacing “disease” in communication, influencing media and population. This language change reflects a discrepancy between theoretical knowledge and medical practice and does not improve specialized language. Inaccurate language can deteriorate diagnostic and methodological quality. In addition, historically and culturally, the medical profession has very often avoided naming diseases directly for various reasons, including fear of negative reactions. The trend toward inclusive and nondiscriminatory language in medicine ties in with a pluralistic and deflationary epistemology, raising questions about the validity and usefulness of diagnosis in contemporary medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illicit or non-normative sentimental relationships appear repeatedly in many of the short stories that comprise James Joyce’s Dubliners (1914). This type of emotional link did not have any room in end-of-century Catholic Ireland, and any unorthodox relationship was regarded or punished as sinful and socially unacceptable, following the strict morality of the times. In this article, I intend to analyse some of the most significant stories in Dubliners, in order to dissect the ways in which late nineteenth-century Dublin’s double standards punished any subject steering away from established social norms concerning marriage and acceptable relationships, either by forcing the reclusion of the subjects to the domestic/private sphere or by imposing a normative marriage on them, or even by pushing them to the brink of madness, alcoholism, or suicide.

The Old Bulgarian hagiographical collection of miracle stories, named A Tale of the Iron Cross, is relatively well known among the scholars, but a sufficient number of its details still has not been studied properly. In fact, such a peculiarity seems somehow strange, especially if we take into consideration that the mixture of translated and original strata in the present Tale’s version does not hinder its significance as a valuable primary source of historical information. There can be no doubt that the religious aspect in the hagiographical collection in question is the leading one in the foreground. On the other hand, however, the records of the daily life activities should not be underestimated either. Their presence within the frames of the Tale helps a lot in the scholars’ attempts to reconstruct the knowledge, skills, habits or principles of social behaviour in the Bulgarian society in the late 9th – early 10th century.

Selected Lectures of the Course “Take care of children, 5th Edition. Inflammation between wellbeing and disease in Pediatrics” and the Meeting “Artificial intelligence in Medicine”; Cagliari (Italy); October 21, 2023 The Course “Take care of children, 5th Edition. Inflammation between wellbeing and disease in Pediatrics” and the Meeting “Artificial intelligence in Medicine” are Satellite Meetings of the 19th International Workshop on Neonatology and Pediatrics, Cagliari (Italy), October 18th-21st, 2023. LECT 1. INFLAMMATION AND THE GUT • A. Staiano (Naples, Italy) LECT 2. UNDERSTANDING NEUROINFLAMMATION • D. Fanni (Cagliari, Italy) LECT 3. GUT DYSBIOSIS AND INFLAMMATION IN AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS • M. Mussap (Cagliari, Italy) LECT 4. INFLAMMATION, NEUROINFLAMMATION AND IMMUNITY IN CHILDHOOD • O. Al Jamal (Cagliari, Italy) LECT 5. INFANT ATOPIC DERMATITIS AND NUTRITION: CAN LIPIDOMICS AND METABOLOMICS EXPLAIN THIS RELATIONSHIP? • A. Dessì, R. Pintus, A. Bosco, V. Fanos (Cagliari, Italy) LECT 6. PROBIOTICS AND PFAPA: RATIONALE FOR A PRECISION CHOICE • M. Matera (Grosseto, Italy) LECT 7. INFLAMMATION AND PREVENTION OF METABOLIC SYNDROME THROUGH NUTRACEUTICALS IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE • G. Trapani (Sanremo, Italy) LECT 8. REAL WORLD PRACTICE EXPERIENCES IN THE LOW DOSE APPROACH TO SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDERS (ASDs). EVIDENCE FROM A RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY • C. Supino (Itri, Italy) LECT 9. ANTI-MENINGOCOCCAL VACCINATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BOOSTER IN ADOLESCENTS • P. Castiglia (Sassari, Italy) LECT 10. MICROBIOMICS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE • C. Marzetti (Bologna, Italy) LECT 11. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MEDICINE • V. Fanos (Cagliari, Italy) LECT 12. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MEDICINE: APPLICATION EXAMPLES • K.K. Kopeć (Cagliari, Italy) LECT 13. THE IMPERFECT BEAUTY • F. Velardi (Rome, Italy) LECT 14. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: FROM POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION TO EXPOSOMICS • A. Colangelo (Trento, Italy)

Copyright of Summa, Animali da Compagnia is the property of Point Veterinaire Italie s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The topic of the article Anatomical states – between pathology and visual expressiveness may be further approached from several perspectives: the disease itself, transposed into images in various works of art as a symbol of human suffering, from the perspective of medical illustration or the rendition of medical acts, but also from the perspective of the suffering artists, who depicted their physical or mental traumas in their own paintings. In art, there are several recurring themes centred on the human body, such as: the death of the body versus the immortality of the soul, the young body as a symbol of beauty versus the aged body, the ability to control one’s own body, self-preservation and survival instincts, the fight against disease, addictions and their impact on a person’s health and state of mind. The article discusses facets of the disease as well as visions of the human body captured in the visual arts, from the theme of the Danse Macabre in the Middle Ages to Dr. Tulp’s Anatomy Lesson by Rembrandt or the aesthetic vision of Egon Schiele. Another topic approached is the correlation between emotional states and body attitudes or visual metaphors, by using art as a way to exorcise inner demons, in the conception of Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo or Käthe Kollwitz, or to test the limits of the human body, like in the works of Marina Abramovic.

Suffering and pain are part of every human life, despite the fact that modern science has made enormous efforts to eliminate them. In this paper, we deal with the mystery of suffering from a philosophical and biblical point of view. We pay special attention to the thought message of P. Strauss, a Slovak doctor and convert, according to which pain is a part of the concept of life. The second part presents the practical-pastoral aspects of care for the sick and suffering. The Christian understanding of this care is about the realization of Christ’s power and love. At the same time, it is important to maintain sensitivity to the inner attitudes of the suffering person, his value equipment and religious beliefs.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The main goal of this article is to try to recognize the importance of spirituality in the process of dealing with SMA described on the patient’s blog. PROBLEM AND RESEARCH METHODS: We searched for answers to questions about the importance of spirituality in the context of struggling with the disease, religious coping strategies, and the way of growing in faith shown on the blog. A research approach was used, embedded in an interpretative paradigm, aimed at understanding and discovering the meanings given by the author of the narrative. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The introduction contains a description of the SMA, characterizes the blog as a research source and outlines the subject of the text. In the next section, the categories of spirituality and religious strategies for coping with disease are characterized, and research on the relationship between spirituality and health is reviewed. The presentation describes the methods used and the results of own research. In conclusion, an attempt was made to define the meaning of spirituality in the patient’s life in the context of his life with the disease. The implications for pedagogical practice include reflections on the role of accompaniment in illness in the context of spiritual growth. RESEARCH RESULTS: Spirituality is an important part of the author’s life – he searched for answers regarding the meaning of suffering. He most often used a religious coping strategy through positive reevaluation (Harrison et al., 2001). The main motive for writing about transcendence seems to be the need to give a testimony. The blog is an illustration of the process of growing in faith. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS: The blog is a source of knowledge about patients’ experiences, helpful for specialists. Accompanying the sick person and listening to their history can be of educational value for both parties.

Following the progressive rationalization of hospital care in France, progress in cancer care over the past several decades has led to a significant improvement in patient survival but has also favored the centralization of care in specialized facilities. Based on hospital data, we offer a geographical analysis of the evolution of spatial accessibility of cancer care and surgical activity. The average time to access the nearest surgical center increased by 5 minutes between 2005 and 2018, with 2.1 % of the French population affected by an increase of more than 30 minutes. While cancer surgery activity between 2005 and 2012 increased by 9.1 % in urban areas equipped with a University Hospital or Cancer Center, it decreased very slightly (-0.3 %) in other French municipalities. This strong dynamic of spatial concentration of cancer surgery activity since the beginning of the 2000s confirms the hypothesis of a metropolization of cancer care, since the largest urban areas in metropolitan France now provide the instruction and expertise functions specific to metropolitan areas in the case of cancer care. These results also reflect the increasing use of specialized centers, of which the effects on patients and their home territories should be more widely evaluated.

Manuel González Prada is one of the most important Latin American authors. He used the biological metaphor to criticize Peruvian society in the late nineteenth century. The metaphor of disease, animal and plant are three kinds of analog procedures that González Prada uses according to a naturalistic vision, heiress of Spencer's evolutionism. González Prada questions the imitation and lack of stylistic precision of writers in the nineteenth century, as well as conceiving that Peru is a sick organism.

The main aim of this paper is to present two different forms of human life extension. On the one hand there is dysthanasia, i.e. therapeutic persistence in the provision of life-sustaining measures to terminally ill patients, and on the other hand, transhumanism as a philosophical viewpoint which in its core strives towards unlimited extension of human life with the fundamental desire to eliminate disease, ageing and death. By putting them in correlation with the healthcare practice, the paper points to implications in clinical practice and draws attention to ethical and anthropological issues in connection with life extension.

Copyright of Summa, Animali da Reddito is the property of Point Veterinaire Italie s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The late-fourth century work called On the Destruction of Jerusalem (De Excidio Hierosolymitano), or “Pseudo-Hegesippus”, records the history of the Roman-Jewish War (66-73 CE) and particularly the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. As a Christian version of this history based largely upon Flavius Josephus’ earlier Jewish War, De Excidio understands himself to be telling the story of the effective death of the Jews in history. One major aspect of this narrative, I argue, is a discourse of Jewish disease, wherein Ps-Hegesippus portrays the Jews as “sick” with the plague of civil insurrection and sedition. But this discourse goes much further as well, cutting to the very core of De Excidio’s narrative logic. Here I argue that this discourse of Jewish disease finds its most powerful expression in one particular chapter of the work, Book 5, Chapter 2. I show that De Excidio 5.2 epitomizes the work’s rhetoric of Jewish contagion, which can nevertheless be traced throughout the entirety of the work.

When we examine the Latin origin of the word ‘contagion’ as referred to the transmission of diseases, we discover that the primary referent of the term is the most corporeal thing one could imagine: the physical act of touching, contact, and therefore also the sense of touch. Being thus suspended between physical contact and immaterial influence, the term ‘contagion’ entails a disturbing tangle of meanings in which body, emotion and imagination are intertwined. This idea of contagion was studied in all its possible facets by the Flemish physician Jan Baptista van Helmont (1579-1644) – indeed, it could be said that the phenomenon of contagion is the basis of his medical-philosophical speculations.

As of July 15th, 2020, at least 3,483,832 and 136,938 confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths have been reported respectively in the U.S.A., posing unprecedented socioeconomic and health challenges to the country. Existing empirical evidence examining the spatial association between contextual factors and COVID-19 death rates, however, remains sparse and ambiguous. The objective of this research is to examine the spatial relationship between COVID-19 death rates and contextual characteristics at the county subdivision level in the State of Connecticut, U.S.A. The analysis shows that explanatory variables, such as income, race, age, type of housing, and underlying medical condition indicators, are associated with COVID-19 death rates in the state. Most importantly, the association between COVID-19 death rates and the explanatory variables in our analysis significantly varies over space, highlighting the need for local and context-specific COVID-19 prevention and intervention programs.

In the shadow cast over society by the contemporary social crisis, it is possible to trace the outline of a figure with the peculiar characteristics of adolescent subjectivity in the current era of radical change. Doing so means turning our gaze on forms of existential distress given by changes in the contexts in which today’s adolescents materially live out their experience. Exploring time, space, and bodies, their mutual relations and how they are evolving in the midst of social, economic, political, cultural, and hence also existential, change, can produce valuable insights into the pscyhopathological phenomena of our contemporary era. Against the current backdrop of change in the social and school contexts, and the effects of these changes on the experience of adolescents, there may also observe changes in how adolescent subjects relate to the structural dimensions of existence themselves.

This essay aims to enlighten the motive of exile in Heinrich Heine's Die Götter im Exil from both a historical-political and a psychological perspective. Heine's essay offers an uncanny, yet satirical, scenario in which the author identifies with figures of fallen Greek-Roman gods, thus outlining a sort of polytheistic self-portrait. After considering the fall of his political ideals and the onset of his disease, each exiled god is analysed as a symbol of Heine's inner laceration, whereas their exile eventually represents a performative act of leaving or dying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illness and Imagery. Desease as a sign of election to a new form of moralization. An analysis from the point of view of sociology of culture. The ways and forms in which evil is represented and perceived in a human community are the result of a complex social construction. Relevant meaning shifts can occur if only the reference imagery changes. E. g., the entire symbolic system of the never-ending struggle between good and evil becomes a mine of meanings where men of all time can find moral values that give sense to their existences (Alexander, 2006). Within this peculiar narrative, a prime role is played by the different universes of meaning that inform the relationship between man and disease (see Fleck 1983; Foucault, 1969 and 1992). The ways in which different social configurations contrast « eschatological anxiety » (Kermode, 1972: 113) caused by the illness are valid indicators of the broader changes in the imagery: disease as a sign of election (premodern society), or as an enemy to be defeated (modern society), to illness as a new form of moralization (contemporary society) (Camorrino, 2015a). The aim of this paper is to investigate this gradual and complex process.

A disease is defined as rare when it affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people. Kawasaki disease is a rare disease. It is the leading cause of heart disease affecting young children in developed countries. Understanding how this disease is triggered is crucial to anticipate epidemic times and alert doctors. Since the 60’s, the number of cases has been increasing around the world and despite intensive researches, its etiology remains unknown. Recent findings suggest that the trigger of the disease may be an environmental component. Several hypotheses exist regarding the nature of this etiological element, ranging from a desert aerosol, to a pollenor or even a microscopic mushroom. Common climatic variables such as air temperatures, precipitations or wind are also significantly related to the variability of the disease. They are supposed to play, respectively, a role of catalyst and vector of the etiological agent so sought. This work is an opportunity to present a summary of the main results obtained since the 80’s, as well as ongoing research on this topic at the environment-climate-human health interfaces.

The essay develops some reflections about the diseases that seem to characterize the existence, the life and the work of the individuals in the context of the global age. Just considering the theories proposed by eminent results of critical sociology, the aim is to understand the ambivalence of various social behaviours present in contemporary culture. We can so read this situation as a "sociopathology" of the global age, strictly connected with the evolutions and extremization of elements, processes, ideas promoved by Modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cato the Elder on Human and Animal Diseases and Medicines for Them – According to the Treatise on "Agriculture" Cato the Elder was a great speaker, respected politician, military commander and writer. His treatise De agri cultura (On Agriculture) contains not only numerous passages on farm management, but also cooking recipes, religious principles, advice on how to obtain supplies, and very specific medical advice and medicinal recipes. Cato heals many different diseases of humans and quadrupeds (especially oxen). He knows how these medicines, various types of wines and cabbage dishes, should be concocted. His recipes are detailed and appear to indicate that the author knows them well. Cato does not neglect the religious and magical elements in his medical advice. Therefore, his treatise is an interesting source of Roman spells. First of all Cato’s manual on agriculture is a significant testimony of Roman medicinal and veterinary knowledge of the time, but also of the importance of these issues for the elite of the Roman Republic.

TRPV1 (Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1) channel receptors are widely espressed in small sensory C and Ad fiber. They have also been observed in the Central Nervous System and in physiological membranes of several tissues. TRPV1 have also been observed in many organs and their increased expression contributes to development and perception of the somatic and visceral pain. TRPV1 channels might be a potential therapeutic target for chronic and neuropathic pain management.

In folklore, evil has always been represented by monsters in various shapes and sizes. Through cultures, the demonic world has been the fearsome counterpart of the good, the two worlds coexisting in a constant struggle. In folklore, many fairy tales, tales and other narratives speak of this battle between good and bad. It does not come as a surprise that this motif also appears in advertisements, which shape our everyday way of life. This article addresses the issue of how advertisements use monsters to represent various fears, i.e. disease or bacteria, and the advertised product as an instant, magic means to overcome it.

Copyright of Medicina e Morale is the property of PAGEPress and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Without neglecting some suggestions coming from philosophy and physics, this review aims to illustrate the discussion on pain research and its management. Substantial progress has been made in pharmacology and in technological innovations in response to neuropathic, chronic and cancer pain, with considerable repercussions on the prospects of care, clinical pathways and on the status of elderly patients. Two promising programmatic lines are emerging, concerning regenerative medicine and bioengineering applications.

The chronicles by Pedro Lemebel configure a cartography of the suburbs of Santiago. It lights up those areas excluded from the “official” map of the city. In the case of Loco afán. Crónicas de sidario, the narrator runs through transvesti, prostitution and AIDS, linking gender and sexuality with other variables, such as ethinicity, language and social status, all involved in the construction of a Latinamerican homossexual subjectivity, which is pictured in these texts as an instance of resistance, towards the dominant identity models.

According to this paper, the Nietzschean notion of force actually consists of a number of paradoxes, which I seek to formulate through the philosophical problems they pose. These paradoxes revolve around this fundamental paradox: on the one hand, force is able to rise and fall, but precisely how could such an increase and such a decrease be designed, as far as only what is given once for all can accept quantitative determinations? I come to draw two methods to answer this question (contrariety between two positive forces, reactivity of one force against the other), which suggest two ways of posing the biological and medical problems today, related to the notions of health and disease, in the scope of which Nietzsche has encountered it.

This work deals with the relationships which are established between patient and doctor, especially in clinical situations characterized by serious pathologies with uncertain outcomes. Both those who treat and those who are treated create "disease stories", but each one pursues different goals and often uses not mutually intelligible languages, thus increasing the patient's feeling of solitude and abandonment. Despite the success of biomedicine and evidence-based medicine, aiming to cure the disease, it is remarked the little attention to how the disease is perceived may lead patients to narrate their illness experience. Somewhere else, through different ways of communication, this narrative is welcomed and shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of health care, recovery, and pain management, more and more interest is being shown in the development of a patient-centred medicine able to overcome several of the obvious limitations of the predominant medical conception of the ars medendi. Over the last few decades, professionals and health agencies have refocused their attention on the original humanistic vocation of Western medicine, making use of the analysis tools of the Medical Humanities, as well as the actual results of their use in clinical practice. Drawing on the ongoing debate of the last few decades in English-speaking countries, the paper deals with two main issues. In view of a treatment strategy and more effective shared caring, the first part underlines the need for healthcare personnel to increase their propensity to listen empathetically and appreciate the patient’s story of his/her suffering. This will be followed by an in-depth examination of, on the one hand, the main structures involved in the illness experience and on the other, the ontological metamorphosis and the new order and set of values that such an experience generates. The paper ends with reference to the polymorphic and polycentric nature of the Medical Humanities and the holistic epistemology that characterizes them.