Memory and Memories: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Only humans seem to have the ability to project themselves into their past or future. This mental phenomenon, called autonoetic consciousness, proves the interrelation of memory, imagination, emotion, intelligence and consciousness as a way of creating self-images. The current paper constitutes an integrative study on memory from a theoretical perspective. The first part presents the most known neuroscientific viewpoints on the memory process, along with the pathological case of patient HM, who lost his memory following the removal of his hippocampus. The second part provides a humanistic perspective on recollection to demonstrate its compatibility with the neurological processes of storing information and forming memories. The final part conveys the phenomenon of recollection from the perspective of identity crisis in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels, as a case study in memory literature. According to memory theories to date, identity cannot exist outside the process of recording and recalling past experiences. Despite the fallible nature of recollection, human beings return to their past in order to give a healthy meaning to their present.

Single-Center Clinico-Pathological Case Study of 19 Patients with Cutaneous Adverse Reactions Following COVID-19 Vaccines

(1) Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are currently employed on a population-wide scale in most countries worldwide. Data about unusual cutaneous adverse drug reactions (ADR) are scant, though. (2) Methods: We retrospectively analyzed moderate to severe vaccine-related ADR in the Department of Dermatology and Allergy of the University Hospital Bonn between May to June 2021 and analyzed related skin biopsies. (3) Results: As a specialized dermatological academic center, we encountered a total of n = 19 clinically and pathologically heterogeneous cutaneous ADR with a female predominance. Delayed cutaneous ADR occurred as late as 30 days after vaccination. The majority of ADR were mild, though a few patients required systemic treatment (antihistamines, glucocorticosteroids). (4) Conclusions: The clinico-pathological spectrum of cutaneous side effects with COVID-19 vaccines is wide; however, the benefits outweigh the risks by far. More dermatopathological studies on cutaneous ADR not limited to COVID-19 vaccines are desirable to enable a better understanding of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.

Plantar load transfer in children: a descriptive study with two pathological case studies

Background Typical gait is often considered to be highly symmetrical, with gait asymmetries typically associated with pathological gait. Whilst gait symmetry is often expressed in symmetry ratios, measures of symmetry do not provide insight into how these asymmetries affect gait variables. To fully understand changes caused by gait asymmetry, we must first develop a normative database for comparison. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe normative reference values of regional plantar load and present comparisons with two pathological case studies. Methods A descriptive study of the load transfer of plantar pressures in typically developed children was conducted to develop a baseline for comparison of the effects of gait asymmetry in paediatric clinical populations. Plantar load and 3D kinematic data was collected for 17 typically developed participants with a mean age of 9.4 ± 4.0 years. Two case studies were also included; a 10-year-old male with clubfoot and an 8-year-old female with a flatfoot deformity. Data was analysed using a kinematics-pressure integration technique for anatomical masking into 5 regions of interest; medial and lateral forefoot, midfoot, and medial and lateral hindfoot. Results Clear differences between the two case studies and the typical dataset were seen for the load transfer phase of gait. For case study one, lateral bias was seen in the forefoot of the trailing foot across all variables, as well as increases in contact area, force and mean pressure in the lateral hindfoot of the leading foot. For case study two, the forefoot of the trailing foot produced results very similar to the typical dataset across all variables. In the hindfoot of the leading foot, medial bias presents most notably in the force and mean pressure graphs. Conclusions This study highlights the clinical significance of the load transfer phase of gait, providing meaningful information for intervention planning.

Cruveilhier’s Unrecognized Case (c1831) of Dyke-Davidoff-Masson Syndrome

In his serially published atlas of pathology, <i>Anatomie Pathologique du Corps Humain</i> (1829–1842), French anatomist and pathologist Jean Cruveilhier (1791–1874) provided an early clinical-pathologic description of Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome. Cruveilhier’s case was initially published around 1830, more than a century before the clinical and radiologic report of Dyke and colleagues in 1933 based on a series of patients studied with pneumoencephalography. Although Dyke and colleagues were apparently unaware of Cruveilhier’s prior description, Cruveilhier’s case manifested all of the key osseous and neuropathological features of Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome as later elaborated by Dyke and colleagues: (1) cerebral hemiatrophy with <i>ex vacuo</i> dilation of the lateral ventricle, (2) ipsilateral thickening of the diploe of the skull, and (3) ipsilateral hyper-pneumatization of the frontal sinuses. In addition, Cruveilhier noted crossed cerebral-cerebellar atrophy in his case and correctly inferred a “crossed effect” between the involved cerebral hemisphere and the contralateral cerebellum. Cruveilhier’s pathological case from 1830 clearly anticipated both the cases reported more than a century later by Dyke and colleagues based on pneumoencephalography and the more recent case reports recognized with computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

CRITICAL REFLECTION ON PATHOLOGICAL PORTRAYAL OF HOLY PROPHET (PBUH) WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO D. B. MACDONALD

Nineteenth century in the western theological literary circles, has been proved to be the age of shifting over the academic paradigms from theological debates to introducing Muslim studies particularly. In this perspective, one of the prolific and legendary orientalists Duncan Black MacDonald (d.1943 A.D.) played a pivotal role in transmitting and establishing chairs for Arabic and Islamic learnings at Hartford Seminary. He himself portrayed the image of Islam through his writings and lectures. He authored several books on different matters belonging from the Western thought, ideology, culture and perspective to the Muslim rituals and creeds. His major writings regarding Islam and its fundamental belief focusing Muslim cultural, social, religious and historical foundations got widespread recognition in the western academia. While delivering his famous series of lectures “Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and Constitutional Theory”; “Religious Attitude and Life in Islam” and “Aspects of Islam” have a remarkable impression of presenting the image of Islam in an absurd way. In particular, he proclaimed Prophet of Islam as a pathological case. In the first phase of the article, D.B. MacDonald’s life sketch has been penned down, while in the second part of the article, his portrayal of Prophet of Islam (PBUH) as a sick person has been described while in the last part of the article, this assertion has been critically reviewed.

A Novel Procedure to Design a Positionable and Stable Drilling Template for Spine Surgery

Spine surgery is based, nowadays, on the use of cutting-edge instruments that optimize the intervention processes in the operating room, with advantages that affect the patient himself. Among these, rapid prototyping is configured as a first-rate tool, thanks to its ability to detail the diagnostic treatment according to the specific pathological case under examination. An example of this technology is represented by the generation of a drilling template, to assist the surgeon in identifying the optimal direction of insertion of the pedicle screws, capable of significantly reduce intervention times, in addition to the inevitable exposure of the patient to ionizing radiation, to which he is subjected during a normal arthrodesis intervention procedure. The design of a drilling guide requires, however, a particular attention in identifying the undercuts present on the vertebral surface, those areas of the spinous process which, reported inside the cavity of the template, involve complications at the time of extraction. In parallel, it is vitally important to carry out an evaluation of its stability during its use. In this article, starting from the analysis of the interferences present during the insertion of the template, a semi-automatic correction model is proposed for the generation of a new profile of the same, which facilitates its extraction without causing injury to the vertebral regions involved from the contact with the mask.

A Fuzzy-Based Customisation of Healthcare Knowledge to Support Clinical Domestic Decisions for Chronically Ill Patients

The development of customised healthcare systems is becoming an important issue in the healthcare industry due to the rapid increase in the number of chronically ill patients. These systems aim to deliver effective care to patients having chronic diseases through customised services. However, knowledge bases need also to be customised since systems are confronted with huge amount of personalised and imprecise medical knowledge. Therefore, we propose in this paper a new system to customise medical knowledge according to progressive disease phases and pathological cases. A rule management process first customises rules according to the specificities of every disease phase, and then matches a private knowledge base with each enrolled patient. This base contains only the patient’s customised knowledge. After reasoning, another customisation process is carried out by the component, Result Manager, which ensures the validation of the system outcomes by the pathological case experts, before being recommended. This will better ensure the recommendation of the generated results to the non-professional users. In addition, Result Manager offers fuzzy semantic queries to the experts. In conclusion, our new decision support system makes medical aid decisions not only addressed to physicians, but also to chronically ill patients and persons regarded as caregivers.