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Among the cross currents of social and intellectual life in the early modern era, wonder, utility, and playfulness combined to inspire curiosity and to give value to novel alchemical procedures and chemical remedies. One of the most skilful alchemical and medical performers, who brought theatrical techniques to bear upon an economy of alchemical secrets and magic, was the self-trained Paracelsian physician, mining expert, and alchemical adept, Leonhard Thurneisser zum Thurn (1531-1596). In creatively designed and illustrated books produced for a luxury market, he constructed, in words and images, theatres of procedure, instrumentation, and chemical curiosity based in traditions of Renaissance magic and Paracelsian natural philosophy. Thurneisser's books combined strategies of spectacle and performance within the context of chemical analysis, and in one text especially brought the dramatic technique of "making strange" to bear upon promoting alchemical procedures for purposes of exposing the hidden powers within plants. In staging analytical spectacles involving measurement, instrumentation, and distillation as part of the analysis of minerals, waters, and plants, Thurneisser brought together laboratory-based procedures and theoretically grounded performances within the alchemical marketplace and engaged the agency of readers in establishing the credibility of the philosophy of nature that underscored the products he produced and sold.

Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) is a hematological, genetic, and chronic disease that often requires hospitalizations and constant outpatient care. This study aims to describe the steps in the elaboration of a book with the purpose of encouraging conversations with children with AF about the disease, explaining its functioning, symptomatology, and limitations it entails in daily life. The following steps were followed: a) preparation of the project, b) selection of content, through a literature review on symptoms and limitations arising from SCA; c) development of the story: choice of the school as the setting and of the character Amanda, a black girl, as the protagonist of the book; d) development of the pilot book; e) review and validation by experts: the material was analyzed by psychologists and doctors with experience in the subject and children without clinical diagnosis; f) adequacy of language and contents: the suggested adaptations were made; g) new submission of the material to the experts; h) finalization of the book: the material was illustrated, cataloged and printed. The main topics addressed in the story were: the need for eventual school absences, school physical activity restrictions, definitions of the disease, crisis, symptoms, and treatment. The storyline ends with the possibility of inserting the patient with SCA in an adapted routine at school and with tips for parents and teachers. The material produced can be used in various contexts, such as health care and school. Besides the educational character, the book can be used as an intermediary material facilitator for the affective expression of children with SCA who identify themselves with the experience of the character Amanda. (Support: Programa Unificado de Bolsas da Universidade de São Paulo - PUB-USP). La Anemia de Células Falciformes (ACS) es una enfermedad hematológica, genética y crónica que suele requerir hospitalizaciones y exige una atención ambulatoria constante. Este estúdio tiene por objetivo describir los pasos en la elaboración de un libro con el fin de fomentar las conversaciones con niños con ACS sobre la enfermedad, explicando su funcionamiento, los síntomas y las limitaciones que conlleva en la vida cotidiana. Se siguieron los siguientes pasos: a) elaboración del proyecto, b) selección de contenidos, a través de una revisión de la literatura sobre los síntomas y las limitaciones derivadas de la ACS; c) elaboración de la historia: elección de la escuela como escenario y del personaje Amanda, una niña negra, como protagonista del libro; d) elaboración del libro piloto; e) revisión y validación por parte de especialistas: el material fue analizado por psicólogos y médicos con experiencia en el tema y niños sin diagnóstico clínico; f) adecuación del lenguaje y de los contenidos: se realizaron las adaptaciones sugeridas; g) nueva presentación del material a los expertos; h) finalización del libro: el material fue ilustrado, catalogado e impreso. Los principales temas abordados en el relato fueron: la necesidad de eventuales ausencias escolares, las restricciones de las actividades físicas en la escuela, las definiciones de la enfermedad, la crisis, los síntomas y el tratamiento. La historia se cierra con la posibilidad de insertar al paciente con ACS en una rutina adaptada en la escuela y con consejos para padres y profesores. El material producido puede utilizarse en diversos contextos, como la salud y la escuela. Además de su carácter educativo, el libro puede utilizarse como material intermedio para facilitar la expresión afectiva de los niños con ACS que se identifican con la experiencia del personaje Amanda. (Apoyo: Programa Unificado de Bolsas da Universidade de São Paulo - PUB-USP). Anemia Falciforme (AF) é uma doença hematológica, genética e crônica, que muitas vezes requer hospitalizações e exige atendimento ambulatorial constante. O objetivo deste estudo é descrever as etapas de elaboração de um livro com o propósito de encorajar conversas com crianças com AF sobre a doença, explicando seu funcionamento, sintomatologia e limitações acarretadas no cotidiano. Foram seguidas as seguintes etapas: a) elaboração do projeto, b) seleção de conteúdos, por meio de revisão da literatura sobre sintomatologia e limitações decorrentes da AF; c) elaboração da história: escolha da escola como cenário e da personagem Amanda, uma menina preta, como protagonista do livro; d) elaboração do livro piloto; e) revisão e validação por especialistas: o material foi analisado por psicólogos e médicos com experiência no assunto e crianças sem diagnóstico clínico; f) adequação da linguagem e conteúdos: foram realizadas as adaptações sugeridas; g) nova submissão do material aos especialistas; h) finalização do livro: o material foi ilustrado, catalogado e impresso. Os principais tópicos abordados na história foram: necessidade de eventuais faltas na escola, restrições de atividades físicas escolares, definições da doença, crise, sintomas e tratamento. O enredo encerra com a possibilidade de inserir o paciente com AF em uma rotina adaptada na escola e com dicas para pais e professores. O material produzido poderá ser utilizado em diversos contextos, como na saúde e na escola. Além do caráter educativo, o livro poderá ser usado como material intermediário facilitador para a expressão afetiva das crianças com AF que se identificaram com a vivência da personagem Amanda. (Apoio: Programa Unificado de Bolsas da Universidade de São Paulo - PUB-USP).

A manuscript from 1748 in Rhaeto-Romanic language is discussed. It's an unfinished translation of a publication in German language from 1715 which contains elements from the standard work on household and agriculture by Johannes Coler, 1645. By comparing the manuscript with 15 contemporary publications and manuscripts from Switzerland, textual similarities were found in three publications. The manuscript contains 62 therapy instructions for cattle diseases and 7 for pig diseases. Remedies of plant origin, food of animal origin and faeces are applied. Various interventions lead to painful injuries of the animals. Most therapies have to be considered as irrational.Ein Manuskript aus dem Jahr 1748 in rätoromanischer Sprache wird besprochen. Es handelt sich um eine unvollendete Übersetzung einer Publikation in deutscher Sprache aus dem Jahr 1715. Diese enthält Elemente aus dem Standardwerk über Haushalt und Landwirtschaft von Johannes Coler, 1645. Ein Vergleich mit 15 zeitgenössischen Publikationen und Manuskripten aus der Schweiz zeigt bei drei Publikationen textliche Übereinstimmungen. Der Text enthält 62 Therapieanweisungen für Krankheiten des Rindes und sieben für Krankheiten des Schweines. Es werden Heilmittel pflanzlicher Herkunft, Lebensmittel tierischer Herkunft und Fäkalien verwendet. Verschiedene Eingriffe führen zu schmerzhaften Verletzungen der Tiere und viele Therapien müssen als irrational bezeichnet werden.On présente un manuscrit en langue romanche datant de l’année 1748. Il s’agit d’une traduction inachevée d’une publication en allemand de 1715. Il contient des éléments de l’ouvrage standard de Johannes Coler, 1645, consacré à la gestion du ménage et à l’agriculture. Une comparaison avec 15 publications et manuscrits contemporains de Suisse montre dans trois publications des similitudes textuelles. Le texte contient 62 instructions thérapeutiques pour les maladies des bovins et sept pour les maladies des porcs. Des remèdes d’origine végétale, des aliments d’origine animale et des matières fécales sont utilisés. Diverses procédures entraînent des blessures douloureuses chez les animaux et de nombreux traitements doivent être décrits comme irrationnels.Questo manoscritto in romancio del 1748 è una traduzione incompleta di una pubblicazione in tedesco del 1715. Il testo contiene elementi provenienti da un’opera generale sulla casa e l’agricoltura di Johannes Coler, 1645. Un confronto con altre 15 pubblicazioni e manoscritti svizzeri dell’epoca ha rilevato somiglianze testuali in tre pubblicazioni. Il testo contiene 62 indicazioni terapeutiche per delle malattie dei bovini e sette per delle malattie dei suini. Vengono utilizzati rimedi di origine vegetale, alimenti di provenienza animale e feci. Diversi interventi hanno portato a lesioni dolorose negli animali e molte terapie devono essere considerate irrazionali.

Background Most children eat fewer vegetables than recommended. Storybooks and sensory play may increase vegetable intake. Objective This study tested the effects on intake of learning about an unfamiliar vegetable (celeriac) through storybooks and sensory play. It was predicted that an illustrated, congruent storybook would increase intake of celeriac compared to an incongruent storybook (carrot); and that adding congruent sensory play with celeriac to the storybook would produce a synergistic effect on intake of celeriac. Design Children from 12 UK preschools were randomly assigned by clusters to four intervention conditions using a 2×2 factorial design. The factors were vegetable congruency (sensory play and/or storybook were congruent, or incongruent [carrot] with celeriac) and intervention type (storybook only or storybook combined with sensory play). Participants/setting Three hundred and thirty-seven children aged 2 to 5 years were recruited to take part in November 2017. Intervention Over a 2-week period, children in all four conditions were read a vegetable storybook featuring celeriac or carrot. In addition, two conditions received sensory play with either carrot or celeriac added to the storybook method. Main outcome measures Intake of the unfamiliar vegetable (celeriac) was measured at baseline and after the 2-week intervention. Statistical analysis performed Complex samples logistic regression and general linear modeling were performed to examine group differences at post-intervention. Results Children receiving the congruent (celeriac) storybook had higher odds of eating celeriac compared to children who received the incongruent (carrot) storybook. Receiving congruent sensory play increased the odds of eating celeriac, whereas receiving incongruent sensory play did not. From the 267 children who completed both baseline and post-intervention assessments, 85 ate no celeriac at baseline and were classed as non-eaters. Sensory play (congruent or incongruent) increased the odds of eating some celeriac in non-eaters compared to storybook only conditions. Conclusions Congruency between storybook and vegetable increased intake; sensory play with celeriac increased the likelihood of eating celeriac. Storybooks and sensory play are simple interventions to increase willingness to try an unfamiliar vegetable.

In this paper, we present a scenario approach and apply it to the Simonshaven case. We offer an outline in which we spell out the core notions of the scenario approach. Next, we give a summing up of criteria to assess and compare scenarios. We use examples of the Simonshaven case to illustrate how the scenario‐approach works. The last section contains a discussion of the main strengths and weaknesses of the scenario approach and a brief comparison with argumentation‐based and probabilistic approaches., Van Koppen and Mackor offer a scenario‐approach analysis of the case. They first explicate their approach, linking it to inference to the best explanation and theories of explanatory coherence. An important distinction in their analysis is between explaining known facts and predicting novel facts. They claim that their approach is cognitively feasible and stays close to descriptive theories of evidential reasoning. They want to keep it informal, so that legal professionals can apply it.

We provide an example of representation of thyroid swelling in the artwork of Ulrich Boner’s Der Edelstein Codices Palatini Germanici 794.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents begin reading to their children soon after birth, and limits on screen-based media. Benefits of traditional book-sharing are well documented in children, while cited deleterious effects of animated content on narrative processing are controversial. The influence of story format on underlying functional brain networks has not previously been studied. Thirty-three healthy children were recruited for this study via advertisement at an academic medical center, which involved functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at a single visit. Twenty-seven of them completed fMRI (82%; 15 boys, 12 girls; mean 58 ± 8 months old). The fMRI protocol involved the presentation of 3 similar, unrhymed stories by the same author lasting 5 min each in audio, illustrated, and animated format during separate runs, followed by a test of factual recall. Within- and between-network functional connectivity (FC) was compared across formats involving five functional networks, which were defined via literature review and refined via a data-driven parcellation method: visual perception, visual imagery, language, Default Mode (DMN), and cerebellar association. For illustration relative to audio, FC was decreased within the language network and increased between visual, DMN, and cerebellar networks, suggesting decreased strain on the language network afforded by pictures and visual imagery. Between-network connectivity was decreased for all networks for animation relative to the other formats, particularly illustration, suggesting a bias towards visual perception at the expense of network integration. These findings suggest substantial differences in functional brain network connectivity for animated and more traditional story formats in preschool-age children, reinforcing the appeal of illustrated storybooks at this age to provide efficient scaffolding for language, and suggesting novel neurobiological correlates of how functional networks may contribute to this process.

Ethnopharmacological relevanceFrom 1640–1796, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) occupied the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Several VOC officers had a keen interest in the medicinal application of the local flora. The Leiden University Library holds a two-piece codexentitled: Icones Plantarum Malabaricarum, adscriptis nominibus et viribus, Vol. I. & II. (Illustrations of Plants from the Malabar, assigned names and strength). This manuscript contains 262 watercolour drawings of medicinal plants from Sri Lanka, with handwritten descriptions of local names, habitus, medicinal properties and therapeutic applications. This anonymous document had never been studied previously.Aim of the studyTo identify all depicted plant specimens, decipher the text, trace the author, and analyse the scientific relevance of this manuscript as well as its importance for Sri Lankan ethnobotany.Materials and methodsWe digitised the entire manuscript, transcribed and translated the handwritten Dutch texts and identified the depicted species using historic and modern literature, herbarium vouchers, online databases on Sri Lankan herbal medicine and 41 botanical drawings by the same artist in the Artis library, Amsterdam. We traced the origin of the manuscript by means of watermark analysis and historical literature. We compared the historic Sinhalese and Tamil names in the manuscript to recent plant names in ethnobotanical references from Sri Lanka and southern India. We published the entire manuscript online with translations and identifications.ResultsThe watermarks indicate that the paper was made between 1694 and 1718. The handwriting is of a VOC scribe. In total, ca. 252 taxa are depicted, of which we could identify 221 to species level. The drawings represent mainly native species, including Sri Lankan endemics, but also introduced medicinal and ornamental plants. Lamiaceae, Zingiberaceae and Leguminosae were the best-represented families. Frequently mentioned applications were to purify the blood and to treat gastro-intestinal problems, fever and snakebites. Many plants are characterised by their humoral properties, of which ‘warming’ is the most prevalent. Plant species were mostly used for their roots (28%), bark (16%) or leaves (11%). More Tamil names (260) were documented than Sinhalese (208). More than half of the Tamil names and 36% of the Sinhalese names are still used today. The author was probably a VOC surgeon based in northern Sri Lanka, who travelled around the island to document medicinal plant use. Less than half of the species were previously documented from Ceylon by the famous VOC doctor and botanist Paul Hermann in the 1670s. Further archival research is needed to identify the maker of this manuscript.ConclusionsAlthough the maker of this early 18th century manuscript remains unknown, the detailed, 300-year-old information on medicinal plant use in the Icones Plantarum Malabaricarum represents an important ethnobotanical treasure for Sri Lanka, which offers ample opportunities to study changes and continuation of medicinal plant names and practices over time.

Background Although it is well established that family-centered education is critical to managing childhood asthma, the information needs of parents of children with asthma are not being met through current educational approaches. Patient-driven educational materials that leverage the power of the storytelling and the arts show promise in communicating health information and assisting in illness self-management. However, such arts-based knowledge translation approaches are in their infancy, and little is known about how to develop such tools for parents. This paper reports on the development of “My Asthma Diary” – an innovative knowledge translation tool based on rigorous research evidence and tailored to parents’ asthma-related information needs. Methods We used a multi-stage process to develop four eBook prototypes of “My Asthma Diary.” We conducted formative research on parents’ information needs and identified high quality research evidence on childhood asthma, and used these data to inform the development of the asthma eBooks. We established interdisciplinary consulting teams with health researchers, practitioners, and artists to help iteratively create the knowledge translation tools. Results We describe the iterative, transdisciplinary process of developing asthma eBooks which incorporates: (I) parents’ preferences and information needs on childhood asthma, (II) quality evidence on childhood asthma and its management, and (III) the engaging and informative powers of storytelling and visual art as methods to communicate complex health information to parents. We identified four dominant methodological and procedural challenges encountered during this process: (I) working within an inter-disciplinary team, (II) quantity and ordering of information, (III) creating a composite narrative, and (IV) balancing actual and ideal management scenarios. Conclusions We describe a replicable and rigorous multi-staged approach to developing a patient-driven, creative knowledge translation tool, which can be adapted for use with different populations and contexts. We identified specific procedural and methodological challenges that others conducting comparable work should consider, particularly as creative, patient-driven knowledge translation strategies continue to emerge across health disciplines.

The representations of physicians and medical practice found in comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels throughout the past century reflect broader representational trends in popular visual media. Drawing on examples including Winsor McCay's Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, the superhero comics character Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange, and contemporary graphic medicine, this article outlines the shifting models for depicting physicians and medical ethics in comics. It concludes that contemporary representations are often more realistic and nuanced, although gender and racial diversity along with diversity in medical specializations remains problematic.

There have been long-standing calls to better educate the public at large on risks of drowning; yet limited evaluation has taken place on current resources in circulation. The purpose of this qualitative research is to develop an understanding of the content in currently circulated drowning prevention resources in the United States. Data points (n = 451) consisting of specific content within 25 different drowning prevention educational resources were analyzed using document analysis methods; a grounded theory approach was employed to allow for categorical development and indexing of the data. Results revealed six emerging categories, including safety precautions (n = 152), supervision (n = 109), preventing access (n = 57), safety equipment (n = 46), emergency procedures (n = 46), and aquatic education (n = 41). Results provide an initial insight into the composition of drowning prevention resources in the United States and provide a foundation for future research.

Picture activity schedules consist of a sequence of images representing the order of tasks for a person to complete. Although, picture activity schedules have traditionally been presented in a book format, recently picture activity schedules have been evaluated on technological devices such as an iPod™ touch. The present study compared the efficiency of picture activity schedule acquisition on book- and tablet-based modalities. In addition, participant preference for each modality was assessed. Three boys aged below 5 years with a diagnosis of autism participated. Participants were taught to follow the schedules using both modalities. Following mastery of each modality of picture activity schedule, a concurrent-chains preference assessment was conducted to evaluate participant preference for each modality. Differences in acquisition rates across the two modalities were marginal. Preference for book- or tablet-based schedules was idiosyncratic across participants.

The biography of Colonel Hermann Schwyter, equine surgeon of the Swiss Army from 1928 to 1937, and the history of training of farriers in Switzerland since the 18th century are presented. Hermann Schwyters dissertation examined the changes of equine hoof confirmation as a result of standing and gait in approximately 2,000 horses and numerous anatomical specimens. He defines the foot placement, describes possible variations, their causes and effects. Significant is also his study of the compression pathology in horses and mules. His recommendations are still valid today. The present article refers to his authored textbook "The Swiss military farrier" and to his established journal, which is bearing the same title.Die Biographie von Oberst Hermann Schwyter, Oberpferdarzt der Schweizer Armee von 1928 bis 1937, und die Geschichte der Ausbildung der Hufschmiede in der Schweiz seit dem 18. Jahrhundert werden dargestellt. Hermann Schwyter hat in seiner Dissertation die Gestaltsveränderung des Pferdefusses infolge Stellung und Gangart bei rund 2000 Pferden und anhand zahlreicher Präparate untersucht. Er definiert die Normalstellung des Fusses, beschreibt die Abweichungen, deren Ursachen und die Auswirkungen. Bedeutsam ist auch seine Studie über die Druckschäden bei Pferden und Maultieren. Seine Empfehlungen sind noch heute gültig. Es wird ferner auf sein Lehrbuch «Der Schweizerische Militärhufschmied » und auf die den gleichen Titel tragende, von ihm begründete Zeitschrift hingewiesen.On présente la biographie du colonel Hermann Schwyter, vétérinaire en chef de l’armée suisse de 1928 à 1937 et l’historique de la formation des maréchaux en Suisse depuis le XVIIIe siècle. Dans sa thèse, Hermann Schwyter a examiné l’évolution de la forme du pied du cheval en fonction des aplombs et des allures sur environ 2000 chevaux et de nombreuses préparations. Il a défini la position normale du pied, décrit les déviations, leurs causes et leurs effets. Il faut également souligner son étude sur les dommages dus aux pressions chez les chevaux et les mulets. Ses recommandations sont toujours valables aujourd’hui. Il est également fait référence à son ouvrage «Le maréchal-ferrant militaire suisse» ainsi qu’au journal portant le même titre qu’il avait créé.Vengono qui presentate la biografia del colonnello Hermann Schwyter, capo clinica equini dell’esercito svizzero dal 1928 al 1937 e la storia della preparazione dei maniscalchi in Svizzera nel XVIII secolo. Nella sua tesi di laurea, Hermann Schwyter ha esaminato il cambiamento di forma del piede del cavallo risultato dalla posizione e dall’andatura di circa 2000 cavalli con l’uso di molte preparazioni. Egli ha definito la posizione normale del piede e descritto le deviazioni con le loro cause e i loro effetti. Di particolare importanza sono pure i suoi studi sui danni da pressione nei cavalli e nei muli. Le sue raccomandazioni sono tutt’oggi valide. Inoltre si segnala il suo libro di testo „Der Schweizerische Militärhufschmied“ (Il maniscalco militare svizzero) e la rivista omonima fondata da lui.

CMAJ will soon begin publishing graphic medicine articles in its Humanities section. Graphic medicine is a form of visual storytelling that explores narratives of the body, health care, healing and disability. This burgeoning area of medical humanities is part of growing popular interest in graphic

This study analyses the effect of pictures in reading materials on the viewing patterns of dyslexic adults. By analysing viewing patterns using eye-tracking, we captured differences in eye movements between young adults with dyslexia and controls based on the influence of reading skill as a continuous variable of the total sample. Both types of participants were assigned randomly to view either text-only or a text + picture stimuli. The results show that the controls made an early global overview of the material and (when a picture was present) rapid transitions between text and picture. Having text illustrated with a picture decreased scores on questions about the learning material among participants with dyslexia. Controls spent 1.7% and dyslexic participants 1% of their time on the picture. Controls had 24% fewer total fixations; however, 29% more of the control group's fixations than the dyslexic group's fixations were on the picture. We also looked for effects of different types of pictures. Dyslexic subjects exhibited a comparable viewing pattern to controls when scenes were complex, but fewer fixations when scenes were neutral/simple. Individual scan paths are presented as examples of atypical viewing patterns for individuals with dyslexia as compared with controls. © 2016 The Authors. Dyslexia published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

As the interest in graphic medicine grows, health communicators have started engaging readers with compelling visual and textual accounts of health and illness, including via comic books. One context where comics have shown promise is cancer communication. This brief report presents an early example of graphic medicine developed by the American Cancer Society. "Ladies … Wouldn't It Be Better to Know?" is a comic book produced in the 1960s to provide the public with lay information about the Pap test for cervical cancer prevention and detection. An analysis of a key narrative attribute, plot development, illustrates the central role that perceived barriers played in this midcentury public health message, a component that remains a consideration of cancer communication design today. This case study of an early graphic narrative identifies promising cancer message features that can be used to address and refute barriers to cervical cancer screening and connects contemporary research with historical efforts in public health communication.

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of a comic education module in the Emergency Department setting. A convenience sample of 50 injured children and their caregivers were enrolled. The comic was found to be likeable, easy to read, and provided important information to both children and their caregivers. Total time to read the comic was three minutes (SD 1.4, range 1.4-7.1). Most children (60%) read the comic independently, including all children over age 14 years. At 72-hour phone follow-up, 86% of caregivers had accurate recall of all three comic teaching points. This innovative comic educational module is feasible for use for children ages 4-18 years in the Emergency Department. Though this comic was intended to educate children, caregivers recalled all three teaching points 72 hours after discharge.

The manuscript Atlas de Historia Natural, known as the Pomar Codex, in the University Library of Valencia contains more than a hundred images that are practically identical to those found in the Tavole acquerellate in the collection of Ulisse Aldrovandi in the University Library of Bologna. I will argue that the overwhelming presence of images belonging to Ulisse Aldrovandi’s collection in the Pomar Codex indicates that future research on this text should be based on trying to understand possible methods of exchange between Italy and the Iberian Peninsula. This case study will enable us to better understand the mechanisms of communication and exchange among early modern members of the Republic of Letters.

Background and aims Summer squash, the young fruits of Cucurbita pepo, are a common, high-value fruit vegetable. Of the summer squash, the zucchini, C. pepo subsp. pepo Zucchini Group, is by far the most cosmopolitan. The zucchini is easily distinguished from other summer squash by its uniformly cylindrical shape and intense colour. The zucchini is a relatively new cultivar-group of C. pepo, the earliest known evidence for its existence having been a description in a book on horticulture published in Milan in 1901. For this study, Italian-language books on agriculture and cookery dating from the 16th to 19th centuries have been collected and searched in an effort to follow the horticultural development and culinary use of young Cucurbita fruits in Italy. Findings The results indicate that Cucurbita fruits, both young and mature, entered Italian kitchens by the mid-16th century. A half-century later, round and elongate young fruits of C. pepo were addressed as separate cookery items and the latter had largely replaced the centuries-old culinary use of young, elongate bottle gourds, Lagenaria siceraria Allusion to a particular, extant cultivar of the longest fruited C. pepo, the Cocozelle Group, dates to 1811 and derives from the environs of Naples. The Italian diminutive word zucchini arose by the beginning of the 19th century in Tuscany and referred to small, mature, desiccated bottle gourds used as containers to store tobacco. By the 1840s, the Tuscan word zucchini was appropriated to young, primarily elongate fruits of C. pepo The Zucchini Group traces its origins to the environs of Milan, perhaps as early as 1850. The word zucchini and the horticultural product zucchini arose contemporaneously but independently. The results confirm that the Zucchini Group is the youngest of the four cultivar-groups of C. pepo subsp. pepo but it emerged approximately a half-century earlier than previously known.

This article addresses the development of visual practices in early modern Botanyby focusing on the diverse strategies of graphic representation of plant species. Naturalis Biodiversity Center holds a historic herbarium of 169 sheets with specimens of Mediterranean plants collected by the Sicilian Botanist Paolo Boccone (1633–1704). Part of Boccone's dried specimens served as model for the etchings published in his Icones et descriptiones rariorum plantarum (1674) and part of them were used as matrix for at least one album of botanical autoprints kept in Paris. The exceptional survival of the three collections: the original dried specimens, their autoprint impressions and the etched illustrations of the book, offers a unique insight in the material and intellectual issues addressed in the process of visual representation of plants in early modern Botany. Here we present the first scientific comparison of these three valuable 17th century botanical collections. Visual comparison revealed that the Leiden collection provided 64 specimens to Icones,while 44 specimens show a perfect matching with the autoprint impressions. In nine cases the Leiden specimens appear both in the autoprints and in the Icones,thus showing the complete process of visual translation of the plant preliminary to its wider circulation in the scientific community.

Cultures around the world are replete with images of women as the epitome of love, kindness, patience, and similar virtues, owing to their ability to give birth. Consequently, those who cannot give birth due to medical conditions are stigmatized and made to feel inadequate and deviant. Although infertility is a gender-neutral health predicament, it is women who encounter severe abjuration. Cultural scripts that glorify childbearing and stigmatize infertility impact the afflicted adversely as they destabilize their identity and aggravate their suffering as a patient. Graphic medical narratives on infertility, such as Paula Knight's The Facts of Life (2017), Emily Steinberg's Broken Eggs (2014), and Phoebe Potts's Good Eggs (2010), reflect on these issues and, in the process, illuminate how infertility fractures women's identity in a pronatalist society. This essay explores three graphic pathographies on infertility through three major themes: pronatalism and the social construction of motherhood, the absolutism of science, and alternatives to motherhood. The essay argues that the use of comics and graphic medicine, by combining visual and conceptual modes, presents the social, personal, and medical features of infertility with new force and urgency.

International audience; In 1703 two articles appeared in the Transactions of the Royal Society, authored by an unnamed gentleman. The articles, with deference to Leeuwenhoeck, described recent observations made with a microscope. Clifford Dobell, in his biography of Leeuwenhoeck, remarked at length on the extraordinary quality of the illustrations and descriptions of “animalcules”. He declared the anonymous author to be the scion and master draughtsman of Leeuwenhoeck’s followers. Still today, one of the illustrations is credited with being the first unambiguous depiction of a diatom. Here I present evidence that the anonymous author was Charles King of Staffordshire and evidence of his talent. John Hill is often credited for the first naming and illustrating Paramecium and other ciliates in his 1752 book, but it has been claimed repeatedly that he copied the anonymous 1703 illustrations without attribution. Here, the illustrations from 1703 and 1752 are given, and casual examination suffices to show not only that the illustrations were copied, but also that the 1703 illustrations (and text descriptions) of Charles King are of a far higher quality than those of John Hill. Although very little is known about Charles King, he deserves recognition as a pioneer of protistology.

Sir Alexander Morison's The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases and the original art work that formed the basis of the book have not had the scholarly attention they deserve. The published book and the commissioned portraits have not been studied in any detail. Historians have tended to offer cursory assessments that have reflected their own preconceived ideas rather than properly engaging with the material. This is a pity because Morison's work is a rich source that tells us much about the history of psychiatry. The pictures and text give us a glimpse into the world of the asylum and that of the patient. Although we see the patient through the eyes of the artist and Dr Morison, they do emerge as individuals. The accompanying texts reflect the psychiatric approach of the time and reveal contemporary notions of diagnosis, aetiology and treatment. Morison's work can also be located in the history of ideas about physiognomy. He himself was particularly influenced by Jean-Étienne-Dominique Esquirol, and Morison's work, in turn, influenced WAF Browne. These papers will outline Morison's career and consider in detail his book on The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases.

Past studies have shown that multimodal presentation of story can improve story-retelling performance in the first language. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether similar multimedia effects can be observed in second language learning and graphic novel reading. A total of 51 Chinese elementary school children, aged 7–8, who were learning English as a second language were recruited. They were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions that differed in the format of story presentation: English text, English text with pictorial illustrations or graphic novel. After reading the same story, the children retold the story in English. The narratives produced were then rated by two independent raters. The results of group comparison showed that children from the three experimental groups had similar performance, indicating that multimedia presentation may not always facilitate narrative production in English as a second language. Within-subject comparison further showed that the children were relatively strong in language skills and capturing the main ideas of the story, while showing weakness in story structure awareness, elaboration, as well as local and global cohesion. Suggestions for the application of multimodal presentation of narrative texts are discussed.

Abstract Sir Alexander Morison's The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases and the original art work that formed the basis of the book have not had the scholarly attention they deserve. The published book and the commissioned portraits have not been studied in any detail. Historians have tended to offer cursory assessments that have reflected their own preconceived ideas rather than properly engaging with the material. This is a pity because Morison's work is a rich source that tells us much about the history of psychiatry. The pictures and text give us a glimpse into the world of the asylum and that of the patient. Although we see the patient through the eyes of the artist and Dr Morison, they do emerge as individuals. The accompanying texts reflect the psychiatric approach of the time and reveal contemporary notions of diagnosis, aetiology and treatment. Morison's work can also be located in the history of ideas about physiognomy. He himself was particularly influenced by Jean-Étienne-Dominique Esquirol, and Morison's work, in turn, influenced WAF Browne. These papers will outline Morison's career and consider in detail his book on The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases.

In the 1970's, whilst working as a school dental officer, it became apparent that there were very few books available for young children giving information about teeth. This paper describes how the Ladybird books on teeth came into existence.

Objective: to validate the content and appearance of a serial album for children aged from 7 to 10 years addressing the topic of prevention and control of body weight. Method: methodological study with descriptive nature. The validation process was attended by 33 specialists in educational technologies and/or in excess of infantile weight. The agreement index of 80% was the minimum considered to guarantee the validation of the material. Results: most of the specialists had a doctoral degree and a graduate degree in nursing. Regarding content, illustrations, layout and relevance, all items were validated and 69.7% of the experts considered the album as great. The overall agreement validation index for the educational technology was 0.88. Only the script-sheet 3 did not reach the cutoff point of the content validation index. Changes were made to the material, such as title change, inclusion of the school context and insertion of nutritionist and physical educator in the story narrated in the album. Conclusion: the proposed serial album was considered valid by experts regarding content and appearance, suggesting that this technology has the potential to contribute in health education by promoting healthy weight in the age group of 7 to 10 years. RESUMO Objetivo: validar o conteúdo e a aparência de álbum seriado para crianças de 7 a 10 anos abordando o tema prevenção e controle do peso corporal. Método: estudo metodológico, de natureza descritiva. O processo de validação teve participação de 33 especialistas em tecnologias educativas e/ou em excesso de peso infantil. Foi considerado o índice de concordância de no mínimo 80% para se garantir a validação do material. Resultados: a maioria dos especialistas tinha doutorado e era graduada em enfermagem. Quanto ao conteúdo, ilustrações, layout e relevância, todos os itens foram validados e 69,7% dos especialistas consideraram o álbum como ótimo. O índice de validação de concordância global da tecnologia educativa foi 0,88. Apenas a ficha-roteiro 3 não atingiu o ponto de corte do índice de validação do conteúdo. Foram realizadas alterações no material, tais como mudança do título, inclusão do contexto escolar e inserção de nutricionista e educador físico na estória narrada no álbum. Conclusão: o álbum seriado proposto foi considerado válido por especialistas quanto ao conteúdo e aparência, sugerindo que esta tecnologia tem potencial para contribuir na educação em saúde sobre promoção do peso saudável na faixa etária de 7 a 10 anos. RESUMEN Objetivo: validar el contenido y la apariencia del álbum seriado para niños de 7 a 10 años, abordando el tema prevención y control del peso corporal. Método: estudio metodológico, de naturaleza descriptiva. El proceso de validez tuvo la participación de 33 especialistas en tecnologías educativas y/o en exceso de peso infantil. Fue considerado el índice de concordancia de lo mínimo 80% para garantizar la validez del material. Resultados: la mayoría de los especialistas tenía doctorado y era graduado en enfermería. Sobre al contenido, ilustraciones, layout y relevancia, todos los ítems fueron validados y 69,7% de los especialistas consideraron el álbum como óptimo. El índice de validez de concordancia global de la tecnología educativa fue 0,88. Apenas la ficha-guía 3 no consiguió el punto de cohorte del índice de validez del contenido. Fueron realizadas alteraciones en el material, tales como: cambio del título, inclusión del contexto escolar e inserción de nutricionista y educador físico en la historia narrada en el álbum. Conclusión: el álbum seriado propuesto fue considerado válido por especialistas sobre el contenido y apariencia, sugiriendo que esta tecnología tiene potencial para contribuir en la educación en salud sobre promoción del peso sano en el grupo de edad de 7 a 10 años.

The catalogue of the College of Pharmacy Library, written in 1780, mentioned two books printed in Strasburg during the 16th century. The first one was a Latin edition of PΠερι Υλης Ιατριχης of Dioscorides. The drop caps are enriched by the figuration of episodes from the Bible. The principal interest of this book comes from the identity of his donator, Ioannes Du Boys, apothecary of the Duke of Alençon, the brother of King Henry III. This apothecary was also the author of a pharmacopoeia entitled Methodus Miscendorum Medicamentorum. The second one was a compendium of various titles, which had, most of them, in common to have been written by Valerius Cordus. It contains many illustrations and some of them are especially expressive. Its main interest is nevertheless to be a part of a gift made by a group of Parisian apothecaries, in 1570. This gift is considered as the birth of apothecaries’ library, the direct ancestor of actual “BIU Santé pole Pharmacy”. The presence of these two books in the library constitutes a testimony of the importance of printers from Strasburg in history.

Matthew P. McAllister wrote: "Comic books can and have contributed positively to the discourse about AIDS: images that encourage true education, understanding and compassion can help cope with a biomedical condition which has more than a biomedical relevance" [1]. With this in mind, I combined a 23-narrator oral history and my personal memoir about an inpatient Chicago AIDS hospital unit in my book, Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371. In doing so, I built upon the existing rich history of HIV/AIDS in comics, which this article will briefly describe. Although not a comprehensive review of the intersection of AIDS and comics, the book is a tour through influences that proved useful to me. In addition, in making my book, I faced a distinct ethical issue with regard to representing patient experiences with HIV/AIDS, and I describe here how I addressed it.

Physicians who recommend patient education comics should consider that some patients might question the appropriateness of this format, especially in the US, where a dominant cultural view of comics is that they are juvenile and intended to be funny. In this case, Dr. S might have approached communication with Mrs. T differently, even without knowing her attitude toward comics as a format for delivering health information. Dr. S could acknowledge that though some people might not expect useful medical information in a comic format, it has unique aspects and new research on patient education comics shows that even adults are finding this medium to be effective, educational, and engaging. Offering comics to patients, however, does potentially require patient educators to invest additional time to review and assess their accuracy and relevance.

Purpose Many well-accepted systems for determining difficulty level exist for books children read independently, but few are available for determining the wide range of difficulty levels of storybooks read aloud to preschoolers. Also, the available tools list book characteristics only on the basis of parents' or authors' opinions. We created an empirically derived difficulty-level system on the basis of 22 speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) judgments of specific storybooks used in preschooler read-alouds. Method SLPs sorted 11 storybooks into ranked stacks on the basis of how difficult they thought the storybooks would be for preschoolers to understand when read aloud. SLPs described each stack globally as well as why they assigned each storybook to a particular stack. From transcriptions of the explanations, we derived a glossary of book characteristics using content analysis. We created a difficulty-level scale using a multivariate analysis technique that simultaneously analyzed book sorts and glossary terms. Results The book selection system includes a glossary of book characteristics, a 4-level difficulty scale, and exemplar books for each level. Conclusion This empirically derived difficulty-level system created for storybooks read aloud to preschoolers represents a step toward filling a gap in the read-aloud literature.

Attitudes towards diagrammatic reasoning and visualization in mathematics were seldom spelled out in texts from pre-modern China, although illustrations figure prominently in mathematical literature since the eleventh century. Taking the sums of finite series and their combinatorial interpretation as a case study, this article investigates the epistemological function of illustrations from the eleventh to the nineteenth century that encode either the mathematical objects themselves or represent their related algorithms. It particularly focuses on the two illustrations given in Wang Lai’s (1768–1813) Mathematical Principles of Sequential Combinations, arguing that they reflect a specific mode of nineteenth-century mathematical argumentative practice and served as a heuristic model for later authors.

Background: Children who enter school with limited vocabulary knowledge are at risk for reading failure. This study investigated the efficacy of an interactive e-book, implemented as a mobile application, to facilitate vocabulary learning in Grade 1 isiXhosa-speaking children ( n = 65). Objective: The purpose was to measure if an e-book intervention, specifically developed for use in the South African context, could facilitate the acquisition and retention of new words at different levels of lexical representation. Method: A randomised pre-test and/or post-test between-subject design was used where an experimental group that received the e-book intervention was compared to a control group before the control group received a delayed intervention. Follow-up testing was performed to measure retention of the new vocabulary after eight weeks. Mixed-model repeated-measure Analysis of Variance (ANOVAs) were used to determine differences between the participants in the experimental and control groups. Results: The short-term e-book intervention not only facilitated fast-mapping of new words but enabled participants to develop more robust lexical representations of the newly acquired words. Follow-up assessment showed that they retained their newly acquired word knowledge. Conclusion: Multimedia technology can be used to provide explicit and embedded vocabulary training to young children at risk for academic failure. These findings are particularly relevant for South African environments where there is limited parental support and lack of educational resources to promote vocabulary learning in young children.

Autobiographical remembering and future imagining overlap in their underlying psychological and neurological mechanisms. The hippocampus and surrounding regions within the medial temporal lobes (MTL), known for their role in forming and maintaining autobiographical episodic memories, are also thought to play an essential role in fictitious and future constructions. Amnesic individuals with bilateral hippocampal damage cannot reconstruct their past personal experiences and also have severe deficits in the ability to construct coherent fictitious or future narratives. However, it is not known whether this impairment reflects a failure to generate details from autobiographical episodic memory to populate personal narratives or an inability to bind such details into coherent narratives. We show that four individuals with hippocampal damage and episodic amnesia can construct narratives when the relevant details of the story are provided in a picture book and that their narratives maintain overall coherence on several measures. These findings indicate that individuals with hippocampal damage can bind details into coherent narratives when details are available to them. We conclude that the hippocampal system instead likely plays a role in the generation of details from which narratives are constructed. This work was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research ( CIHR ) Grant MOP 93535 to RSR. We thank Steven Baker for help collecting control data and testing some individuals with amnesia and the amnesic participants for their participation. Appendix A

The aim of this study was to determine whether video or text was more effective at knowledge transfer and retention. In this study, knowledge transfer with video and text was similar, and text consumed fewer resources to create.

The time interval from the 9th to the 13th century remained known as the “Golden period of the Arab science”, and a significant place among the taught sciences are occupied by Medicine and Pharmacy. In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine, also known as Arabic medicine, refers to the science of medicine developed in the Islamic Golden Age, and written in Arabic Arabs were able to use their cultural and natural resources and trade links to contribute to the strong development of pharmacy. After the collapse of the Arab rule, the Arab territorial expanses and cultural heritage were taken over by the Turks. Although scientific progress in the Turkish period slowed down due to numerous unfavorable political-economic and other circumstances, thanks to the Turks, Arab culture and useful Islamic principles expanded to the territory of our homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Significant role in the transfer of Arabic medical and pharmaceutical knowledge was also attributed to the Sephardic Jews who, with their arrival, continued to perform their attar activities, which were largely based on Arab achievements. However, insufficiently elaborated, rich funds of oriental medical and pharmaceutical handwriting testify that Oriental science has nurtured in these areas as well, and that the Arab component in a specific way was intertwined with other cultures and traditions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Few moments in mankind’s history have seen such an impressive cultural revolution as the one that occurred during the Renaissance. An entirely new concept of man emerged, and the philosophical principles of Humanism overcame the old ideas and ideals of the Medieval period. Besides the well-celebrated achievements in the fields of architecture, figurative arts, literature, and philosophy, science also presented important innovations, particularly in medical studies, which were strengthened by the Renaissance concepts of the centrality of humanity and the rejection of dogmatic knowledge. Medical schools had been flourishing throughout Europe since the 11th century, and a new figure was acquiring social and cultural relevance: The surgeon. In previous centuries, surgeons were considered lower level practitioners, since their profession was regarded as a form of craft. The emerging knowledge about human anatomy, partially due to the studies of enlightened artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, brought a new awareness about the role of surgical treatments. One of the most fascinating aspects of surgery during those times was the fact that it was performed by people representing the Renaissance ideal of polymath— people not only interested in one specific field, but endowed with a creative and inquisitive spirit so powerful that they were often also poets, artists, mathematicians, naturalists, and more. Although surgery had ascended beyond a mere craft, the profession still needed to find its own voice, and the invention of printing offered the chance to spread this new knowledge. The illustrations contained in those precious books made them works of art. As such, surgical knowledge was conveyed through art during the Renaissance. Today, these documents are admired as artwork, but they also can help us reconstruct Renaissance everyday life and trace the evolution of surgical techniques through time. In this column, we focus on one of these amazing books, Grossen Chirurgie (Great Surgery), by the German surgeon Walther Hermann Ryff. The book is considered both a masterpiece of Renaissance printing and among the most accurate sources to understand current concepts of traumatology during the Renaissance.

Children's reasoning about the afterlife emerges naturally as a developmental regularity. Although a biological understanding of death increases in accordance with cognitive development, biological and supernatural explanations of death may coexist in a complementary manner, being deeply imbedded in cultural contexts. This study conducted a content analysis of 40 children's death-themed picture books in Western Europe and East Asia. It can be inferred that causality and non-functionality are highly integrated with the naturalistic and supernatural understanding of death in Western Europe, whereas the literature in East Asia seems to rely on naturalistic aspects of death and focuses on causal explanations.

As surgical education changes, an instructive need arises to complement the complexity of hands-on manual and visuospatial skills acquired as a result of apprenticing in the operating room (OR) and adjusting to new technologies and robotics. Novel and innovative methods must be employed, not to replace the OR experience but rather to enhance it. Here, we present a fine arts merger with surgical education in the genre of the comic book and graphic novel to address visuospatial skills, motor skills (practice-based learning and improvement), and the narrative, humanistic component (patient care) necessary for a well-rounded surgical education. We examine the important goals of training residents with the development of an "experimental" comic book on the thryoidectomy procedure to enhance textbook and lecture material, where residents and nurses are introduced to technique, narrative, and medical illustration skills (interpersonal communication skills) to assist them in anticipating, reflecting, and potentially facilitating the very proficiency necessary to be successful in the OR while remaining curious and engaged in their craft.

Note from the Editor-in-Chief: I am pleased to introduce our latest Art in Science column, written by Francine Mary Netter and Gary Friedlaender. Francine Mary Netter is the author of Medicine’s Michelangelo: The Life & Art of Frank H. Netter, MD, a biography of her father, the renowned medical illustrator. Gary Friedlaender is the Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Yale School of Medicine. Together, they will share observations from a fascinating vantage point: the interface of art and medicine. The authors certify that they or any member of their immediate families have no funding or commercial associations (eg, legal, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request. The opinions expressed are those of the writers, and do not reflect the opinion or policy of CORR ® or the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons®.

Adaptation by natural selection is a core mechanism of evolution. It is also one of the most widely misunderstood scientific processes. Misconceptions are rooted in cognitive biases found in preschoolers, yet concerns about complexity mean that adaptation by natural selection is generally not comprehensively taught until adolescence. This is long after untutored theoretical misunderstandings are likely to have become entrenched. In a novel approach, we explored 5- to 8-year-olds’ capacities to learn a basic but theoretically coherent mechanistic explanation of adaptation through a custom storybook intervention. Experiment 1 showed that children understood the population-based logic of natural selection and also generalized it. Furthermore, learning endured 3 months later. Experiment 2 replicated these results and showed that children understood and applied an even more nuanced mechanistic causal explanation. The findings demonstrate that, contrary to conventional educational wisdom, basic natural selection is teachable in early childhood. Theory-driven interventions using picture storybooks with rich explanatory structure are beneficial.

Though graphic narratives (or comics) now permeate popular culture, address every conceivable topic including illness and dying, and are used in educational settings from grade school through university, they have not typically been integrated into the medical school curriculum. This paper describes a popular and innovative course on comics and medicine for 4th-year medical students. In this course, students learn to critically read book length comics as well as create their own stories using the comics format. The rationale for the course, its general content and format, and methods for teaching are described. Finally, the author offers some reflections on why this medium resonates so powerfully with medical student learners.

This paper examines the relationship between two extraordinary artists, father and son--N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) and Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)--and their art. N.C. Wyeth, the father, the most famous illustrator of his day, painted scenes full of drama and action, often of men engaged in violent life and death struggles. N.C. was unable to separate from his powerful mother and yearned for his iconic father. He thought himself an artistic failure and dedicated himself to raising his children to be geniuses. The youngest son, Andrew Wyeth, who lived a "secret life," painted scenes often characterized by pathos: bleak and barren landscapes, leaden skies, tire tracks, gray framed houses, desiccated fields, and circling buzzards. In the father-son relationship, we often seen three themes perpetuated developmentally: (1) the son's identification with the innermost conflicts of his father; (2) the yearning for the iconic father of his youth; and (3) a continuation and disavowal of his father's life. These themes are played out in the relationship between Andrew Wyeth and his father.