Handy Tables Research Articles

An Arabic-Greek Codex of Ptolemy’s Handy Tables from the Eighth Century

Abstract A Greek copy of Ptolemy’s Handy Tables and an Arabic translation of Theon’s Short Commentary on them survive as undertexts in the palimpsest manuscript Vat. sir. 623. pt. 2. The parchment leaves containing these texts were recycled into a new codex at the Monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai in the late ninth century, but they belonged to the same original manuscript and are considered the only surviving witnesses to the project of translating Greek thought into Arabic at the so-called “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad during the second half of the eighth century. In order to show the importance of this startling discovery made in the Vatican Library, the article not only includes an historical, codicological, and paleographical examination of the erased texts and repurposed folios, but also presents an astronomical explanation of the theories and calculations they contain. The article highlights the list of Greek-Arabic winds and its link to Ptolemy’s Horizon Diagram, as well as stresses the continued applicability of Ptolemy and Theon’s presentations. It further argues for a reconsideration of the meaning of an ancient theory of the “inclinations” that the Sun and the Moon (or the Moon and the Earth’s shadow) create during eclipses, the phenomenon which is called prosneusis.

From the House of Wisdom to Expo 2020 Dubai

Abstract This short note recounts the challenges and processes followed to display the oldest surviving Arabic scientific text at Expo 2020 Dubai in the Holy See Pavilion. This palimpsest manuscript, Vat. sir. 623. pt. 2, contains a translation from the Greek of Theon of Alexandria’s introduction to Ptolemy’s Handy Tables, undertaken in the 8th/9th century at the so-called “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad.

Review: Art and Material Culture in the Byzantine and Islamic Worlds: Studies in Honour of Erica Cruikshank Dodd, edited by Evanthia Baboula and Lesley Jessop

Review: <i>Art and Material Culture in the Byzantine and Islamic Worlds: Studies in Honour of Erica Cruikshank Dodd</i>, edited by Evanthia Baboula and Lesley Jessop

Potential of propolis antifungal activity for clinical applications.

The high incidence of skin diseases of microbial origin along with the widespread increase of microbial resistance demand for therapeutic alternatives. Research on natural compounds has been opening new perspectives for the development of new therapies with health-positive impacts. Propolis, a resinous mixture produced by honeybees from plant exudates, is widely used as a natural medicine since ancient times, mainly due to its antimicrobial properties. More recently, antioxidant, anti-tumour, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory activities were also reported for this natural product, highlighting its high potential pharmacological interest. In the present work, an extensive review of the main fungi causing skin diseases as well as the effects of natural compounds, particularly propolis, against such disease-causing micro-organisms was organized and compiled in concise handy tables. This information allows to conclude that propolis is a highly effective antimicrobial agent suggesting that it could be used as an alternative skin treatment against pathogenic micro-organisms and also as a cosmeceutical component or as a source of bioactive ingredients.

Distance Domination in Vertex Partitioned Graphs

We treat a variation of graph domination which involves a partition (V 1, V 2,..., Vk) of the vertex set of a graph G and domination of each partition class V i over distance d where all vertices and edges of G may be used in the domination process. Strict upper bounds and extremal graphs are presented; the results are collected in three handy tables. Further, we compare a high number of partition classes and the number of dominators needed.

A Thirteenth-Century Latin List of Ptolemaic Coordinates

This article makes the argument that a Latin table of geographic coordinates, copied in Italy in the second half of the thirteenth century (MS Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Ashburnham 211, fol. 260r), is derived from a list excerpted from a Greek manuscript of the Κανὼν πόλεων ἐπισήμων (« Table of important cities ») in Ptolemy’s Handy Tables. Other sources that appear to bear witness to a thirteenth-century dissemination in Italy of geographic data from the Κανὼν include the Summa de astris of Gerard of Feltre (1264/65) and some later coordinate lists contained in fourteenth-century manuscripts.

Write an exercise Rx to improve patients' cardiorespiratory fitness.

Assessing physical activity is an opportunity to encourage lifestyle-based tactics for reducing cardiovascular risk. These handy tables serve as practical guides.

Vitamin supplementation in healthy patients: What does the evidence support?

This review, with handy tables, summarizes which vitamins offer proven benefits-and which don't.

Review on Real Time Background Extraction: Models, Applications, Environments, Challenges and Evaluation Approaches

&lt;p&gt;In the computer vision, background extraction is a promising technique. It is characterized by being applied in many different real time applications in diverse environments and with variety of challenges. Background extraction is the most popular technique employed in the domain of detecting moving foreground objects taken by stationary surveillance cameras. Achieving high performance is required with many perspectives and demands. Choosing the suitable background extraction model plays the major role in affecting the performance matrices of time, memory, and accuracy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this article we present an extensive review on background extraction in which we attempt to cover all the related topics. We list the four process stages of background extraction and we consider several well-known models starting with the conventional models and ending up with the state-of-the art models. This review also focuses on the model environments whether it is human activities, Nature or sport environments and illuminates on some of the real time applications where background extraction method is adopted. Many challenges are addressed in respect to environment, camera, foreground objects, background, and computation time. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In addition, this article provides handy tables containing different common datasets and libraries used in the field of background extraction experiments. Eventually, we illustrate the performance evaluation with a table of the set performance metrics to measure the robustness of the background extraction model against other models in terms of time, accurate performance and required memory.&lt;/p&gt;

How should we do colon capsule endoscopy reading: a practical guide.

In this article, we aim to provide general principles as well as personal views for colonic capsule endoscopy. To allow an in-depth understanding of the recommendations, we also present basic technological characteristics and specifications, with emphasis on the current as well as the previous version of colonic capsule endoscopy and relevant software. To date, there is no scientific proof to support the optimal way of reading a colonic capsule endoscopy video, or any standards or guidelines exist. Hence, any advice is a mixture of recommendations by the capsule manufacturer and experts’ opinion. Furthermore, there is a paucity of data regarding the use of term(s) (pre-reader/reader-validator) in colonic capsule endoscopy. We also include a couple of handy tables in order to get info at a glance.

Simplicius et la rotation des astres : histoire d’une scolie du Petit Commentaire de Théon d’Alexandrie

Theon of Alexandria’s Little Commentary to Ptolemy’s Handy Tables, written in the 4th century, was a very successful astronomical treatise during Late Antiquity and the whole Byzantine era, as one can see from the numerous scholia from different periods found in the Greek manuscripts from the 14th to the 16th century. One of these scholia has a very original history : it is a reshaped excerpt from Simplicius’ commentary to Aristotle’s De caelo, in which the author mentions Ptolemy’s “ tables” and deals with the question of the rotation of celestial bodies. Relying on the main manuscript witnesses, this scholion is here edited for the first time. Moreover, its complete textual history will be considered, from its redaction by Simplicius and its transfer to the margins of Theon’s commentary – which may have been an initiative of Stephanus of Alexandria (6th c.) – until the different textual versions found in the Greek astronomical manuscripts until the Renaissance.

Le diagramme des horizons et les prosneuses des éclipses dans l'astronomie de Ptolémée

This paper analyses the horizon diagram in Ptolemy's Almagest and in the Handy Tables. In both works this diagram is used only for the calculation of the prosneusis in an eclipse. The aim of such a calculation is not clear : one has suggested some astrological purpose, or ancient meteorological theory. The paper examines the prosneusis calculations given by Theon of Alexandria and by some Byzantine authors : Stephanos, Barlaam, Nicephorus Gregoras, Theodorus Meliteniotes. For each calculation a figure is drawn showing the angles obtained for the prosneusis and the positions of Sun and Moon at the different moments of the eclipse. In each case this figure is very similar to a modern diagram showing the scheme of the eclipse, but inverted, as seen in a reflecting surface such as a basin full of some liquid. So one can suggest that the prosneusis calculation was intended to give a precise account of the phases of the eclipse, perhaps with help of a figure reproducing the phenomenon as seen by the observer.

Recommended Native Landscape Plants for Florida’s Treasure Coast

This 17-page fact sheet provides useful resources and handy tables for information on the function, form, and landscape use of proven native performers of the Florida Treasure Coast (Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties). Written by Sandra B. Wilson, Judith A. Gersony, Keona L. Nolan, Janice C. Broda, and Edward A. Skvarch, Jr., and published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, March 2013.&#x0D; http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep348

Essay Review: Astronomical Tables in the Middle Ages: A Survey of European Astronomical Tables in the Late Middle Ages

ASTRONOMICAL TABLES IN THE MIDDLE AGES A Survey of European Astronomical Tables in the Late Middle Ages. Jose Chabas and Bernard R. Goldstein (Brill, Leiden, 2012). Pp. xx + 250. euro107. ISBN 97890-04-23058-3.In 1956 E. S. Kennedy published A survey of Islamic astronomical tables which, for more than fifty years, has guided historians of Islamic astronomy in following the evolution of the type of astronomical sources called zijes. Nothing similar has appeared for the parallel history of European astronomical tables; hence, are delighted by the publication of the present book which is most useful survey of Latin and Hebrew astronomical tables produced from the twelfth the beginning of the sixteenth century. Arabic zijes are not treated specifically although they are present everywhere because, after all, the development of European tables during this period is the result of the assimilation of Arabic materials which circulated in alAndalus (Muslim Spain) and which were, therefore, available medieval translators. This is something that the authors have made clear: we emphasize that the Iberian Peninsula was generally the locus from which astronomical knowledge flowed other parts of Europe ... (p. xviii). The clear conclusion one can extract from this book is that the European astronomical tables of the late Middle Ages are the result of an Andalusian influence and this affects the Parisian Alfonsine Tables which appeared after 1320. Originality appears in only few cases, including especially Levi ben Gerson (d. 1344).Two main traditions make their way into the Latin West. The Indian tradition is represented by al-Khwarizmfs ztj in the adaptation prepared by Maslama al-Majriti (d. 1070) and translated into Latin by Adelard of Bath (fl. 1116-50), probably in England using materials brought him from the Iberian Peninsula by Petrus Alfonsi (fl. 1 106). This tradition is also found in sources like the Tabulae Jahen of Ibn Mu'adh (d. 1093) and in the Muqtabas of Ibn al-Kammad (fl. 1116). Both of these latter zijes are extant in Latin translation (only the canons in Ibn Mu'adh's case). The Ptolemaic tradition, as result of the direct influence of the Almagest (the Handy tables seem have been known only indirectly through al-Battâni's zij), entered al-Andalus in the second half of the tenth century. Surprisingly the Preceptum canonis Ptolomei, work directly connected with the Handy tables that seems have circulated in Catalonia in the tenth century, apparently exerted little influence. To this must add the echoes of the Toledan Tables (c. 1065), in which there is confluence of al-Khwârizmi and al-Battâni, and of the extremely popular Alfonsine Tables (c. 1272), in which al-Battanfs influence predominates.The existence of this double tradition suggests the existence of Ptolemaic tables that calculate tropical planetary longitudes; those tables that follow, directly or indirectly, the tradition of al-Khwârizmi give sidereal longitudes which usually can be transformed into tropical longitudes by trepidation tables. When one considers the examples given by Chabas and Goldstein in their analysis of mean motion parameters (pp. 54-9) the obvious conclusion is that the Ptolemaic tradition predominates as result of the success of the Alphonsine Tables from the fourteenth century onward.The purpose of the book, as the authors state, is to classify and illustrate the numerous astronomical tables... (p. xviii) and present a survey of these astronomical tables, not history of (p. xix). Although general draft of such history is presented in pp. 1-10, many readers would be grateful for more detailed treatment of this topic that would allow them not get lost in the great mass of information given in the book which contains classification and many excerpts of the tables studied (see the list in pp. ix-xiv), based mainly on the research of an enormous number of Latin and Hebrew manuscripts (see pp. …

Color-bounded hypergraphs, VI: Structural and functional jumps in complexity

A stably bounded hypergraph H is a hypergraph together with four color-bound functions s, t, a and b, each assigning positive integers to the edges. A vertex coloring of H is considered proper if each edge E has at least s(E) and at most t(E) different colors assigned to its vertices, moreover each color occurs on at most b(E) vertices of E, and there exists a color which is repeated at least a(E) times inside E. The lower and the upper chromatic number of H is the minimum and the maximum possible number of colors, respectively, over all proper colorings. An interval hypergraph is a hypergraph whose vertex set allows a linear ordering such that each edge is a set of consecutive vertices in this order.We study the time complexity of testing colorability and determining the lower and upper chromatic numbers. A complete solution is presented for interval hypergraphs without overlapping edges. Complexity depends both on problem type and on the combination of color-bound functions applied, except that all the three coloring problems are NP-hard for the function pair a,b and its extensions. For the tractable classes, linear-time algorithms are designed. It also depends on problem type and function set whether complexity jumps from polynomial to NP-hard if the instance is allowed to contain overlapping intervals. Comparison is facilitated with three handy tables which also include further structure classes.

Book Review: Ptolemy in Perspective: Ptolemy in Perspective: Use and Criticism of His Work from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century

PTOLEMY IN PERSPECTIVE Ptolemy in Perspective: Use and Criticism of his Work from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century. Edited by Alexander Jones Archimedes, xxiii; Springer, Berlin, 2010). Pp. xvi + 229. $189. ISBN 978-90-481-2787-0.Here we have a collection of research articles by eight authors, all well known professionals. The subject is Ptolemy and his legacy in astronomy, geography and astrology. One theme that runs through a number of articles is the way in which Ptolemy's so-called observations of the equinoxes posed insoluble problems for all the later theories of precession.The volume opens with a report by Anne Tihon of a newly discovered and exciting text, written by an anonymous contemporary of Ptolemy. This is a report of work in progress, as we await with great interest the eventual edition by Tihon and her colleague, the papyrologist Jean-Luc Fournet. The text presents not only a calculation of the Sun in A.D. 130 according to both sidereal and tropical theories, but also testifies to a hitherto unknown observation by Hipparchus of the summer solstice of -157 June 26. Although brief and disturbed by some lacunae, the text is fairly clear and deepens our understanding of tropical and sidereal coordinates and precession, since we are given precise values for the sidereal and tropical motions of the Sun, as well as an implied apogee of the Sun in the sidereal frame.The second study in the collection, by Alexander Jones, is an ambitious study of the use of sidereal coordinates in a number of Greek horoscopes and other Greek texts. A famous passage in Theon's Small commentary on the Handy tables presents a model of precession used by astrologers of his time. Jones compares the solar andlunar longitudes in a good number of horoscopes (mainly those gathered by Neugebauer and van Hoesen) from which he subtracts the Ptolemaic tropical longitude. In spite of the inevitable scatter in the values he finds a fair clustering around Theon's precession, and concludes that the majority of astrologers obtained sidereal coordinates in this way. This is however a purely statistical argument, based on horoscopes where positions are given in degrees only, without minutes. Those horoscopes where the minutes are given are so close to the year 483, when that precession vanishes, that they add little to the argument; Jones argues in any case that after about the year 350 astrologers no longer corrected for precession. This is not the first time that this point has been made about such calculations in the Greek horoscopes, not least by Jones himself, but here the context of the discussion is much wider and includes the Standard Model of the Moon, Vettius Valens, and the Stobart tablets (not that the latter two add anything very convincing to the argument). As to the Standard Model, it is shown here that the mean moon differed from that of the Handy tables by precisely Theon's precession. The difficulty with these horoscopes is that recalculation from Ptolemy's parameters never yields complete agreement with the text, and this makes it hard to be sure whether the Almagest or the Handy tables had been used, since these yield practically the same results. Beyond such questions bearing on the usage of the sidereal frame there is the as yet unanswered question as to just what is 'sidereal' about the sidereal longitude, that is, How is it anchored to the fixed stars? Jones is content to remark that the astrologers who used sidereal rather than tropical longitudes were hardly aware of the scientific distinction, but surely there is more to it than that.Florian Mittenhuber discusses the origin of the maps in Ptolemy's Geography. The earliest extant maps are of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and it has been argued that these were reconstructed from the text by Planudes in the thirteenth century. Now Mittenhuber, who was one of the team in Switzerland who produced the new edition of the Geography (Basel, 2006), argues that the maps designated U, K, F (Vatican, Istanbul, Copenhagen) have a hypothetical common ancestor in a group designed ? …

Experimenting with Paper Instruments in Fifteenth-and Sixteenth-Century Astronomy: Computing Syzygies with Isotemporal Lines and Salt Dishes

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)This a story of an astronomical or figure - both names appear in the accompanying texts - that lived from about 1430 until 1550. Exemplars can be found on paper, parchment and thin cardboard, always bound in codices; I do not know whether the device ever appeared in brass. Although the conceptual structure of the remained largely stable over its lifetime, its mathematical and graphical features refused to solidify into a standard form. In its variant versions, the exemplifies, I will suggest, a spirit of innovation and experimentation in practical astronomy in a century not especially known for such virtues. The also exemplifies the attempt, not uncommon in this time, to replace astronomical tables and the tedium of interpolation with instruments of circles, lines, threads and rules. Yet despite the gestures of experimentation and efficiency exemplified by this it would not survive into the second half of the sixteenth After 1550, printed tables and ephemerides and new requirements of precision apparently rendered the superfluous.Unlike such well-known astronomical instruments as the astrolabe, quadrant, Ptolemaic ruler and torquetum, our would never achieve a fixed nomenclature. Most texts refer to it simply as an instrument ... for finding the true conjunction and opposition of the Sun and Moon. Its peculiar shape, early on, evoked several names. A Latin text from the 1440s names the device a Rauchfudalium, a strangely composite German-Latin term perhaps referring to a censer (Rauchturabuluml) with chains forming a trapezoid shape similar to our instrument. Another text in this same manuscript reports that the commonly called a dish [salzuas]. A German manuscript, originating in Nuremberg around 1460, describes the as a dish or measure [saltzuas oder kuffel]. Peculiarly shaped salt dishes, combining triangular and circular forms not unlike our produced by Nuremberg goldsmiths may have prompted this name. Early printed texts call the an instrumentum astrologicum, emphasizing its clientele, or an equatoria, linking it to the long-established tradition of using rotating disks or vovelles to represent geometrical models of planetary theory.1 Although in this article I shall simply call the device a syzygy instrument, accentuating function rather than shape, we must not forget the visual appeal apparently exerted by its unique physical design during its early years.The Context: Computing in Mathematical AstronomyMedieval and early modern astronomers computed. They calculated positions of the planets, dates and times of eclipses and new and full moons (syzygies), changing lengths of day and night throughout the year, the direction of Mecca, dates of Easter and other moveable feasts in the Christian calendar, divisions of the Zodiac into the twelve houses of the horoscope, and much more. Following procedures established by Ptolemy, including his practice of working to a precision of arc minutes, many of these astronomers devised elaborate tables - rows and columns of numbers - to enable such computations to be done with minimal recourse to sexagesimal multiplication or spherical trigonometry. Casting a horoscope might require literally hundreds of individual computational steps, and astronomers tried to keep the labour limited to sexagesimal addition and subtraction and interpolation of tabular values. Tablemaking was thus essential in this computational culture, and tables soon circulated widely, ranging from Ptolemy's Handy Tables and more than 100 Arabic zijes to the Alfonsine Tables by the 1270s. As J. D. North has aptly noted, the history of the dissemination and use of these latter tables is almost coextensive with the history of European astronomy as a whole, at least until the sixteenth century. …

Negotiating Managed Care: A Manual for Clinicians

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewsFull AccessNegotiating Managed Care: A Manual for CliniciansJay M. Pomerantz, M.D.Jay M. PomerantzSearch for more papers by this author, M.D.Published Online:1 May 2004https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.55.5.595-aAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Michael Fauman's little book is a pleasant surprise. It presents a realistic and balanced view of managed behavioral health care from the perspective of an insider, currently the medical director and vice-president for medical services of Magellan Behavioral of Michigan, Inc. Although I approached the book with hesitation—fearing that my clinician self was about to be lectured on how to dance to managed care's tune—that did not happen. Instead, I found a series of patient vignettes that served to illustrate the proper roles of clinician and reviewer in today's managed behavioral health world.According to Fauman, rancor between reviewers and clinicians is avoidable, provided that each is respectful of the other's legitimate function. Mental health practitioners should be able to conceptualize, present, and document clinical care so that the necessity and cost-effectiveness of that care are readily apparent to reviewers. The reviewer's job is to use the information presented to evaluate the patient's need for help and to make sure that it is matched with treatment intensity.Both practitioners and reviewers need to understand where the other is coming from. The key is the proper sharing and documentation of appropriate information in a concise, articulate fashion. Many examples of how to present different kinds of patients—such as inpatients, partial hospital patients, substance abusers, and outpatients—take up most of the book. Clear thinking leads not only to economically sustainable treatment but to better treatment, Fauman argues. A chart that is well documented to allow for the possibility of a retrospective utilization review would also help in any malpractice defense, should there be a bad clinical outcome.As the author makes clear, one of the book's fundamental assumptions is that many of the disagreements between reviewers and providers are caused by honest differences in clinical judgment about the severity of a patient's illness and the type of care the patient needs. Yet Fauman acknowledges that the possibility exists for unethical reviews by reviewers working for managed care companies who have underbid the contract or otherwise need to save money by curtailing needed care. Recognizing such a situation from the nature of the review and knowing how to deal with that situation is one of the best pieces of information imparted by this book.Another thing that won me over to this book was the short but frank discussion of the unequal malpractice liability situation that prevails because of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). This federal law provides de facto legal immunity for managed care reviewers. That makes for an unequal liability situation, because the courts generally find that a provider's clinical obligations to a patient supersede financial considerations.Although it is addressed to clinicians, this book will also be a good primer for managed care reviewers. Proper and improper reviewer responses to clinicians are illustrated and discussed. Interspersed with the cases are handy tables that outline the generally accepted medical necessity criteria that apply at different levels of care.Overall, this short book is worth the two hours or so that it takes to read.Dr. Pomerantz practices psychiatry in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and is assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston.by Michael A. Fauman, Ph.D., M.D.; Washington, D.C., American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 2002, 128 pages, $26.95 softcover FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byNone Volume 55Issue 5 May 2004Pages 595-a-596 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 May 2004 Published in print 1 May 2004

An astrologer's map: A relic of late antiquity

A Greek map of the world, which includes a windrose, zones, places in and around Egypt, and hell, is studied in reference to its context: an anonymous astrological miscellany. Other examples of this map have been found in a second context, among anonymous scholia to Theon of Alexandria's commentary on Ptolemy's Handy Tables (Procheiroi kanones), which were also of use to astrologers. The selection of Egyptian place‐names found on the map provides some clue to its possible origin, while the omission of the Mediterranean as well as the port of Alexandria is significant. Evidence suggests that the original map (known today only through later copies) is of an earlier date than the texts surrounding it, and that it may be one of the earliest world maps preserved from Late Antiquity.

Verification of Parallax in Ptolemy's Handy Tables

Verification of Parallax in Ptolemy's <i>Handy Tables</i>