scholarly journals History of penicillin

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Kholhring Lalchhandama

The history of penicillin was shaped by the contributions of numerous scientists. The ultimate result was the discovery of the mould Penicillium's antibacterial activity and the subsequent development of penicillins, the most widely used antibiotics. Following an accidental discovery of the mould, later identified as Penicillium rubens, as the source of the antibacterial principle (1928) and the production of a pure compound (1942), penicillin became the first naturally derived antibiotic. There is anecdotal evidence of ancient societies using moulds to treat infections and of awareness that various moulds inhibited bacterial growth. However, it is not clear if Penicillium species were the species traditionally used or if the antimicrobial substances produced were penicillin. In 1928, Alexander Fleming was the first to discover the antibacterial substance secreted by the Penicillium mould and concentrate the active substance involved, giving it the name penicillin. His success in treating Harry Lambert's streptococcal meningitis, an infection until then fatal, proved to be a critical moment in the medical use of penicillin. Many later scientists were involved in the stabilisation and mass production of penicillin and in the search for more productive strains of Penicillium. Among the most important were Ernst Chain and Howard Florey, who shared with Fleming the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Author(s):  
Ted Geier

Considers mass readership and the ‘tastes’ it produces. Maps the history of criminals and execution spectacles, particularly as addressed by the London ‘public’ voices of Defoe and Dickens. Connects these mass events to the new mass print culture and circulation forms, such as the penny dreadfuls and their Newgate novel precursor. This shows the development of the public’s ‘taste for blood’, anxieties at an encroaching nonhumanity, and an infatuation with the inhuman from Jack Sheppard to Sweeney Todd and Dracula.


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 380
Author(s):  
Deepak K. Ozhathil ◽  
Michael W. Tay ◽  
Steven E. Wolf ◽  
Ludwik K. Branski

Thermal injuries have been a phenomenon intertwined with the human condition since the dawn of our species. Autologous skin translocation, also known as skin grafting, has played an important role in burn wound management and has a rich history of its own. In fact, some of the oldest known medical texts describe ancient methods of skin translocation. In this article, we examine how skin grafting has evolved from its origins of necessity in the ancient world to the well-calibrated tool utilized in modern medicine. The popularity of skin grafting has ebbed and flowed multiple times throughout history, often suppressed for cultural, religious, pseudo-scientific, or anecdotal reasons. It was not until the 1800s, that skin grafting was widely accepted as a safe and effective treatment for wound management, and shortly thereafter for burn injuries. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries skin grafting advanced considerably, accelerated by exponential medical progress and the occurrence of man-made disasters and global warfare. The introduction of surgical instruments specifically designed for skin grafting gave surgeons more control over the depth and consistency of harvested tissues, vastly improving outcomes. The invention of powered surgical instruments, such as the electric dermatome, reduced technical barriers for many surgeons, allowing the practice of skin grafting to be extended ubiquitously from a small group of technically gifted reconstructive surgeons to nearly all interested sub-specialists. The subsequent development of biologic and synthetic skin substitutes have been spurred onward by the clinical challenges unique to burn care: recurrent graft failure, microbial wound colonization, and limited donor site availability. These improvements have laid the framework for more advanced forms of tissue engineering including micrografts, cultured skin grafts, aerosolized skin cell application, and stem-cell impregnated dermal matrices. In this article, we will explore the convoluted journey that modern skin grafting has taken and potential future directions the procedure may yet go.


1928 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 83-115
Author(s):  
Gladys A. Thornton

Clare is situated in the south-west corner of Suffolk, in the valley of the Stour River. At the present day it is only a village, for its market is no longer held; yet its history shows that in earlier times it was of considerable importance, especially during the medieval period, when it was a favourite residence of the Clare lords. The town then had a busy market and a flourishing cloth-making industry; and at one time it seemed possible that Clare might attain full development as a borough, possessing as it did some burghal characteristics. In the following pages it is proposed to study in detail the history of Clare as a seignorial borough during the Middle Ages, and its subsequent development.


2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Carnevali

Narratives of flexible specialization as an alternative to mass production are largely absent from the industrial history of twentieth-century Britain. In this article, I challenge the notion that we should relegate small firms and industrial districts to a marginal place in the historiography of this period. Drawing from a range of sources, I explore the history of Birmingham's jewelry makers to show how they adapted the traditional productive system of the district to respond in a dynamic way to the challenges of rapid product market differentiation. As jewelry increasingly became a commodity for mass consumption, the firms in the Birmingham district used a combination of specialty and mass production as a strategy to both satisfy and create demand.


2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry McMullin

In the late 1940s John von Neumann began to work on what he intended as a comprehensive “theory of [complex] automata.” He started to develop a book length manuscript on the subject in 1952. However, he put it aside in 1953, apparently due to pressure of other work. Due to his tragically early death in 1957, he was never to return to it. The draft manuscript was eventually edited, and combined for publication with some related lecture transcripts, by Burks in 1966. It is clear from the time and effort that von Neumann invested in it that he considered this to be a very significant and substantial piece of work. However, subsequent commentators (beginning even with Burks) have found it surprisingly difficult to articulate this substance. Indeed, it has since been suggested that von Neumann's results in this area either are trivial, or, at the very least, could have been achieved by much simpler means. It is an enigma. In this paper I review the history of this debate (briefly) and then present my own attempt at resolving the issue by focusing on an analysis of von Neumann's problem situation. I claim that this reveals the true depth of von Neumann's achievement and influence on the subsequent development of this field, and further that it generates a whole family of new consequent problems, which can still serve to inform—if not actually define—the field of artificial life for many years to come.


Author(s):  
James A. Palmer

The humanist perception of fourteenth-century Rome as a slumbering ruin awaiting the Renaissance and the return of papal power has cast a long shadow on the historiography of the city. Challenging the view, this book argues that Roman political culture underwent dramatic changes in the late Middle Ages, with profound and lasting implications for the city's subsequent development. The book examines the transformation of Rome's governing elites as a result of changes in the city's economic, political, and spiritual landscape. It explores this shift through the history of Roman political society, its identity as an urban commune, and its once-and-future role as the spiritual capital of Latin Christendom. Tracing the contours of everyday Roman politics, the book reframes the reestablishment of papal sovereignty in Rome as the product of synergy between papal ambitions and local political culture. More broadly, it emphasizes Rome's distinct role in evolution of medieval Italy's city-communes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Areen Abdulelah Murshid ◽  
Hatim Q. Al-Maghraby

Desmoid tumors (deep fibromatosis) of the mesentery are rare mesenchymal tumors. They are often misdiagnosed, especially with a previous history of resection for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Immunohistochemistry can help differentiate between these two tumors. In this article, we present a case we had encountered: a Desmoid tumor developing in a patient with a history of GIST 3 years ago. It is the first case of GIST with subsequent development of Desmoid tumor to be reported in Saudi Arabia. We discuss the two entities of Desmoid tumor and GIST by comparing their definitions, clinical presentations, histological features, immunohistochemistry stains, molecular pathogenesis, prognosis, and treatment. We also discuss the relationship between GIST and the subsequent development of Desmoid tumors and compare our case with case reports in literature.


Author(s):  
Аleksandr А. Ermichev ◽  

The article analyzes a little-known episode in the history of Russian philoso­phy – the polemic of the editor of the journal “Questions of Philosophy and Psy­chology” N.Ya. Grot and the outstanding publicist of the conservative newspaper “Moskovskie Vedomosti” Yu.N. Govorukha-a boy who spoke under the pseudo­nym Yu. Nikolaev. The controversy took place in the first year of the magazine’s existence, when the principle and direction of the editorial policy were deter­mined. Yu.N. Govorukha-Otrok, sharing together with N.Ya. Grotto hope that the journal will lead to the formation of Russian national philosophy, insisted on the conscious circulation of the publication to the Slavophile tradition, defining the end goal of philosophical search for the creation of the Orthodox meta­physics meet the needs of aboriginal people's lives. His opponent, N.Ya. Grot, was a typical representative of the liberalism of the 80s of the XIX century, which was undecided in its socio-political preferences. Being a neophyte of meta­physics, the editor of “Questions” proceeded from an understanding of the ratio­nal nature of philosophical knowledge and justified the variety of directions of philosophical searches. He gave the pages of his magazine to the positivist authors from the liberal populist camp, which was completely unacceptable to his opponent. Thus, the circumstances of public life complicated the nature of the polemic on the issues of theoretical content and introduced social-evaluative judgments into it. Talker-Boy considered the polemic as an episode of the world-historical struggle of Christianity with the eudaemonistic idea of progress. The article claims that the subsequent development of Russian philosophy in the early twentieth century confirmed the correctness of the editorial line of the journal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 235-247
Author(s):  
Filip Bojović

Characteristics of diplomatic relations between Montenegro and the Republic of Albania In this article, the author describes modern diplomatic relations between Montenegro and Albania. In order to present the close ties between the two countries, will be shown the common history of both nations, which influenced the subsequent development of diplomatic relations. Attention will be focused primarily on the main branches of cooperation and on joint initiatives in the field of protection of national minorities.


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