Surprisingly, an utterly imaginative “portrait” has become synonymous with Maimonides forever. How and when did this particular portrait become associated with Maimonides? This and many other intriguing questions regarding this portrait are systematically addressed, and its origins, possible inspiration, and hidden objectives are revealed.
Moritz Schiff was one of the pioneers of modern experimental physiology. His involvement in the liberal movement forced him out of Germany, and, because of his adherence to proper physiological research, he had to flee Italy, his first refuge. The number and importance of his contributions are outstanding. The aim of this paper is to raise interest in his biography and to present a yet unreported field of research that is regarded as the root of functional imaging of the brain.
The work presented in this review describes the use of large cortical networks developing ex-vivo, in a culture dish, to study principles underlying synchronization, adaptation, learning, and representation in neuronal assemblies. The motivation to study neuronal networks ex-vivo is outlined together with a short description of recent results in this field. Following a short description of the experimental system, a set of basic results will be presented that concern self-organization of activity, dynamical and functional properties of neurons, and networks in response to external stimulation. This short review ends with an outline of future questions and research directions.
The physician-scientist represents the medical-scientific version of the “triple threat” athlete. Yet, in medicine as in sports, specialization and business are ever more in the forefront. As the field of medicine evolves, it is likely that the role of the physician, the scientist, and the physician-scientist will continue to change. Whether this is for the good or bad will only be known in hindsight.
Results of clinical studies are often contradictory in real time, and in other instances therapies may be adopted due to information from clinical studies where the data may be premature or resulting from small studies. Much of the data may have inherent selection biases, and their interpretation may be confusing and difficult. The hematological literature is full of such examples, and this review will describe some such instances in the hope of introducing both a cautionary note and encouraging more precise description of study conditions as well as an appreciation of the importance of allowing data from clinical studies to mature. Several examples will be drawn from clinical studies in lymphomas, leukemia, and bone marrow transplantation.
The first Jewish medical graduates at the University of Padua qualified in the fifteenth century. Indeed, Padua was the only medical school in for most of the medieval period in Europe where Jewish students could study freely. Though Jewish students came to Padua from many parts of Europe the main geographical sources of its Jewish students were from the Venetian lands. However, the virtual Padua monopoly on Jewish medical education came to an end during the seventeenth century as the reputation of the Dutch medical school in Leiden grew. For Jews seeking to enter the medical profession aspiring medieval Jewish physicians Padua was, for around three hundred years, the first, simplest and usually the only choice.
Medicine in the Middle Ages was, and ever since remained, one of the main preoccupations of the professionally restricted Jews. One of the medical dynasties on the Iberian peninsula was the Bueno (Bonus) family. Following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and their spread in Europe, these Iberian physicians became successful everywhere—just as the Buenos were in the Netherlands.
The Cox maze procedure developed originally in 1987 by Dr James Cox has evolved from a “cut and sew” surgical procedure, where the maze was applied using multiple surgical cuts, to an extensive use of surgical ablation technology where ablation lesions are placed with alternative energy sources (radiofrequency, cryothermy, microwave, and high-frequency ultrasound). Furthermore, the procedure has changed from a median sternotomy approach only to one that can be performed minimally invasively and robotically. The purpose of this paper is to review the current available technology for the ablation of atrial fibrillation as well as the different procedural approaches for the surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation.
Coronary artery disease remains the leading cause of death in developed countries. Major recent studies such as SYNTAX and FREEDOM have confirmed that coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains the gold standard treatment in terms of survival and freedom from myocardial infarction and the need for repeat revascularization. The current review explores the use of new technologies and future directions in coronary artery surgery, through 1) stressing the importance of multiple arterial conduits and especially the use of bilateral mammary artery; 2) discussing the advantages and disadvantages of off-pump coronary artery bypass; 3) presenting additional techniques, e.g. minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting, hybrid, and robotic-assisted CABG; and, finally, 4) debating a novel external stenting technique for saphenous vein grafts
The current review addresses contemporary technological answers toadvances in cardiac surgery performed on octogenarian patients, namely off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), proximal anastomosis device, routine use of intraoperative epiaortic ultrasound, proximal anastomosis without clamping, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), and brain protection during cardiac surgery.
