Ein Fund in der Museumssammlung. Ein Heiliger Jakobus aus Kalkstein in der Sammlung behauener Steine des Tallinner (Revaler) Stadtmuseums

The Collection of Ashlars at the Tallinn City Museum includes a sculpture that stands 52.5 cm tall and is hewn from Lasnamägi limestone (Abb. 1). It depicts a slender man in a long robe, with a staff and travel bag around his neck. The statue has been seriously damaged. In addition to the broken front, its head is also missing – all that has survived is part of its beard. The goal of the article is to more closely examine the sculpture, which has not received any attention to date, in order to determine who it depicts, where it could be been located, and examine the surviving traces of paint. The primary motivation for writing the article is the fact that very few medieval three-dimensional stone sculptures have survived in Estonia. Also, this figure has not been dealt with or even mentioned in earlier writings. It can be said that, regardless of the damage it has suffered, the sculpture is complete enough to determine who is depicted. As stated above, the man has a walking stick or staff in his right hand and, based on the surviving fragments, a book in his right hand. On the partially surviving bag, we see the image of a scallop (Abb. 2). The staff and scallop tell us that this is a figure of St James. The sculpture is gothic in style, and based thereon, it can be dated back to the 15th or early 16th century. The sculptural material – Lasnamägi limestone – arouses attention. Where was this sculpture to be placed? We cannot dismiss the fact that the figure of the saint comes from a sacral building, but there could also have been saints in residential buildings, for example, on exterior facades or somewhere indoors. In summary, one must admit that the original location of the sculpture can only be speculated upon and definite answers are not possible. However, what is certain is that this is the work of a skilled master. Regardless of the fact that Lasnamägi limestone is not the best sculptural material, the work is finely hewn and well-proportioned. The sculpture is now on display in the new Estonian National Museum building

Why Is There a Trefoil Motif From Karja Church in Pikk Street in Tallinn? Based on the Example of the Restoration of the In-Situ Gothic Portal in Pikk Street 7, How Medieval Is the Medieval Architecture of Tallinn Old Town?

Although Tallinn is known for its authentic medieval architecture,the closer to details we delve, to view the medieval buildings fromthe perspective of particulars, or the history of things, following themethod of its apologist Ivan Gaskell, and take one concrete artefact asa starting point and basis, the more variegated the picture becomes.The portal of the medieval building in Pikk Street 7 contains someof the more interesting restoration questions. This article here looks atthe story of the restoration of a Gothic portal of a medieval residencein Tallinn. When we stand on Pikk Street today and take a cursorylook at the portal of the house number 7, with the masonry windowson either side of it, it may seem that this medieval portal ensemble has survived as well as the one in Vene 17 in Tallinn. However, theportal of Pikk 7 has been chosen as the subject of this article because itcontains one of the most interesting and well-documented restorationstories of a medieval Gothic portal in Tallinn Old Town. How did ithappen that these two leave a similar impression?The article submits that the residence at Pikk 7 is indeed partiallypart of the medieval stonemasonry tradition of Tallinn, but certainlyto a lesser extent than the portal of Vene 17, which has survived in itsoriginal shape and place and has not been demolished and restored.The perspective portal of Pikk 7 is medieval to the same extent asit is from the 20th century and adds to the restoration history ofTallinn as much as to the studies of the medieval architecture ofTallinn. The Middle Ages have been the main target era and Gothicthe main target style of the restoration of the building at Pikk 7 – theend results have been aimed at the dominance of those. However, itwas decided not to restore the high gable with the blind niches thatcharacterise the medieval residences of Tallinn.To conclude, a fitting thought from Juhan Maiste, ‘Every singlething has a double meaning which tells us of the people to whomthose things once used to belong, but also of those who have cleanedand restored them, brought them, whether in their natural form oras a verbal text, back into the light.’ (Juhan Maiste, “Arvustus: Tagasi asjade juurde. Raimo Pullat. Tallinlase asjademaailmvalgustussajandil”, Akadeemia, 9 (2017), 1694.)The article is based on official restoration documentation,restoration critique in the press, and personal work memoirs ofrestorer Aarne Joonsaar

Mit dem Professor in den Garten. Mit dem Garten verbundene Gegenstände und Bücher im Nachlassverzeichnis des 1766 verstorbenen Professors des Gymnasiums zu Reval (Tallinn) Heinrich Benjamin Hessler

The article examines whether an 18th century man of letters in Tallinn might use (exotic plants) to design his living environment and spend his free time growing them and how he would do this. It is only possible to speculate about the answers. The inventory compiled in 1766 for the assets of Heinrich Benjamin Hessler, rector and technology professor at Tallinn Secondary School, includes many entries related to gardening, which may allude to his interest in gardening. Therefore, he has been chosen as the main character for this article.It turns out that gardening could be the part of the life of an 18th century man of letters with a focus on both the beauty and practical aspects. Considering the fact that travelling and visiting exotic places was not an everyday occurrence, growing exotic plants helped to make one’s living environment more interesting, diverse and also fulfilled educational goals. Based on the inventory, it seems that Professor Hessler was sufficiently wealthy to spend his resources on such a luxury. In addition, gardening was a way of relaxing and provided a respite from intensive intellectual work

Non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome in psychiatric patients with a history of undiagnosed Wernicke's encephalopathy

Wernicke's encephalopathy is often undiagnosed, particularly in non-alcoholics. There are very few reports of non-alcoholic patients diagnosed with Korsakoff syndrome in the absence of a prior diagnosis of Wernicke's encephalopathy and no studies of diffusion tensor imaging in non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome. We report on three non-alcoholic psychiatric patients (all women) with long-term non-progressive memory impairment that developed after malnutrition accompanied by at least one of the three Wemicke's encephalopathy manifestations: ocular abnormalities, ataxia or unsteadiness, and an altered mental state or mild memory impairment. In neuropsychological examination, all patients had memory impairment, including intrusions. One patient had mild cerebellar vermis atrophy in MRI taken after the second episode of Wemicke's encephalopathy. The same patient had mild hypometabolism in the lateral cortex of the temporal lobes. Another patient had mild symmetrical atrophy and hypometabolism of the superior frontal lobes. Two patients were examined with diffusion tensor imaging. Reduced fractional anisotropy values were found in the corona radiata in two patients, and the uncinate fasciculus and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus in one patient. Our results suggest that non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome is underdiagnosed. Psychiatric patients with long-term memory impairment may have Korsakoff syndrome and, therefore, they should be evaluated for a history of previously undiagnosed Wernicke's encephalopathy. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Reliability and validity of the Finnish version of the prosthesis evaluation questionnaire

Background: Thus far there have been no specific patient-reported outcome instrument in Finnish for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessment after major lower extremity amputation and successful prosthesis fitting.Methods: The prosthesis evaluation questionnaire (PEQ) was translated and cross-culturally adapted into Finnish. Participants completed a questionnaire package including the Finnish version of the PEQ and the 15D HRQoL instrument. Scales (n=10) were tested for internal consistency, floor-ceiling effect, and reproducibility for which participants completed the PEQ twice within a 2-week interval. Validity was tested by estimating the correlation between the 15D index and the scales. The authors included 122 participants who had completed the questionnaire on two separate occasions in the final analysis.Results: Mean scale scores of the 10 scales varied from 52 to 83. Cronbach's alphas ranged from 0.67 to 0.96. The total score showed no floor-ceiling effect. Reproducibility of the scales was good (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.78-0.87; coefficient of repeatability, 19-36). Significant correlations were observed between the 15D index and the scales for ambulation, social burden, usefulness, and well-being.Conclusions: This study provided evidence of the reliability and validity of the Finnish version of the PEQ in assessing the HRQoL among major lower extremity amputated patients who have been fitted with prosthesis.Implications for rehabilitationMeasurement of quality of life during rehabilitation can provide important information on patients' well-being.The prosthesis evaluation questionnaire (PEQ) is a valid instrument for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after major lower extremity amputation.This study provided evidence of the reliability and validity of the Finnish version of the PEQ for assessing HRQoL among patient who have undergone major lower extremity amputation.Peer reviewe

Searching for Explanations for Cryptogenic Stroke in the Young: Revealing the Triggers, Causes, and Outcome (SECRETO): Rationale and design

Background: Worldwide, about 1.3 million annual ischaemic strokes (IS) occur in adults aged <50 years. Of these early-onset strokes, up to 50% can be regarded as cryptogenic or associated with conditions with poorly documented causality like patent foramen ovale and coagulopathies. Key hypotheses/aims: (1) Investigate transient triggers and clinical/sub-clinical chronic risk factors associated with cryptogenic IS in the young; (2) use cardiac imaging methods exceeding state-of-the-art to reveal novel sources for embolism; (3) search for covert thrombosis and haemostasis abnormalities; (4) discover new disease pathways using next-generation sequencing and RNA gene expression studies; (5) determine patient prognosis by use of phenotypic and genetic data; and (6) adapt systems medicine approach to investigate complex risk-factor interactions. Design: Searching for Explanations for Cryptogenic Stroke in the Young: Revealing the Etiology, Triggers, and Outcome (SECRETO; NCT01934725) is a prospective multi-centre case–control study enrolling patients aged 18–49 years hospitalised due to first-ever imaging-proven IS of undetermined etiology. Patients are examined according to a standardised protocol and followed up for 10 years. Patients are 1:1 age- and sex-matched to stroke-free controls. Key study elements include centralised reading of echocardiography, electrocardiography, and neurovascular imaging, as well as blood samples for genetic, gene-expression, thrombosis and haemostasis and biomarker analysis. We aim to have 600 patient– control pairs enrolled by the end of 2018. Summary: SECRETO is aiming to establish novel mechanisms and prognosis of cryptogenic IS in the young and will provide new directions for therapy development for these patients. First results are anticipated in 2019

Korsakoff Syndrome in Non-alcoholic Psychiatric Patients. Variable Cognitive Presentation and Impaired Frontotemporal Connectivity

Background : Non-alcoholic Wernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are greatly underdiagnosed. There are very few reported cases of neuropsychologically documented non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data are scarce. Methods : We report clinical characteristics and neuropsychological as well as radiological findings from three psychiatric patients (one woman and two men) with a history of probable undiagnosed non-alcoholic Wernicke's encephalopathy and subsequent chronic memory problems. Results : All patients had abnormal neuropsychological test results, predominantly in memory. Thus, the neuropsychological findings were compatible with Korsakoff syndrome. However, the neuropsychological findings were not uniform. The impairment of delayed verbal memory of the first patient was evident only when the results of the memory tests were compared to her general cognitive level. In addition, the logical memory test and the verbal working memory test were abnormal, but the word list memory test was normal. The second patient had impaired attention and psychomotor speed in addition to impaired memory. In the third patient, the word list memory test was abnormal, but the logical memory test was normal. All patients had intrusions in the neuropsychological examination. Executive functions were preserved, except for planning and foresight, which were impaired in two patients. Conventional MRI examination was normal. DTI showed reduced fractional anisotropy values in the uncinate fasciculus in two patients, and in the corpus callosum and in the subgenual cingulum in one patient. Conclusions: Non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome can have diverse neuropsychological findings. This may partly explain its marked underdiagnosis. Therefore, a strong index of suspicion is needed. The presence of intrusions in the neuropsychological examination supports the diagnosis. Damage in frontotemporal white matter tracts, particularly in the uncinate fasciculus, may be a feature of non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome in psychiatric patients.Peer reviewe

Korsakoff Syndrome in Non-alcoholic Psychiatric Patients. Variable Cognitive Presentation and Impaired Frontotemporal Connectivity

Background: Non-alcoholic Wernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are greatly underdiagnosed. There are very few reported cases of neuropsychologically documented non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data are scarce.Methods: We report clinical characteristics and neuropsychological as well as radiological findings from three psychiatric patients (one woman and two men) with a history of probable undiagnosed non-alcoholic Wernicke's encephalopathy and subsequent chronic memory problems.Results: All patients had abnormal neuropsychological test results, predominantly in memory. Thus, the neuropsychological findings were compatible with Korsakoff syndrome. However, the neuropsychological findings were not uniform. The impairment of delayed verbal memory of the first patient was evident only when the results of the memory tests were compared to her general cognitive level. In addition, the logical memory test and the verbal working memory test were abnormal, but the word list memory test was normal. The second patient had impaired attention and psychomotor speed in addition to impaired memory. In the third patient, the word list memory test was abnormal, but the logical memory test was normal. All patients had intrusions in the neuropsychological examination. Executive functions were preserved, except for planning and foresight, which were impaired in two patients. Conventional MRI examination was normal. DTI showed reduced fractional anisotropy values in the uncinate fasciculus in two patients, and in the corpus callosum and in the subgenual cingulum in one patient.Conclusions: Non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome can have diverse neuropsychological findings. This may partly explain its marked underdiagnosis. Therefore, a strong index of suspicion is needed. The presence of intrusions in the neuropsychological examination supports the diagnosis. Damage in frontotemporal white matter tracts, particularly in the uncinate fasciculus, may be a feature of non-alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome in psychiatric patients

Searching for Explanations for Cryptogenic Stroke in the Young: Revealing the Triggers, Causes, and Outcome (SECRETO): Rationale and design

Background: Worldwide, about 1.3 million annual ischaemic strokes (IS) occur in adults aged <50 years. Of these early-onset strokes, up to 50% can be regarded as cryptogenic or associated with conditions with poorly documented causality like patent foramen ovale and coagulopathies