47 research outputs found
An introductory view on archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is still a marginalised topic in academia and is described by the Sophia Centre, the only UK institution offering a broader MA containing this field, as ‘the study of the incorporation of celestial orientation, alignments or symbolism in human monuments and architecture’. By many it is associated with investigating prehistoric monuments such as Stonehenge and combining astronomy and archaeology. The following will show that archaeoastronomy is far more than just an interdisciplinary field linking archaeology and astronomy. It merges aspects of anthropology, ethno-astronomy and even educational research, and is possibly better described as cultural astronomy. In the past decades it has stepped away from its quite speculative beginnings that have led to its complete rejection by the archaeology community. Overcoming these challenges it embraced full heartedly solid scientific and statistical methodology and achieved more credibility. However, in recent times the humanistic influences of a cultural context motivate a new generation of archaeoastronomers that are modernising this subject; and humanists might find it better described as post-modern archaeoastronomy embracing the pluralism of today’s academic approach to landscape and ancient people
Discrepancies in Prevalence of Peripheral Arterial Disease between Lower Extremities at Rest and Postexercise
International audienceBackground  Lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a common medical condition causing substantial morbidity. Limited data exist on whether discrepancies in PAD prevalence exist between the lower extremities using resting ankle-brachial indices (ABIs) and postexercise pressures. Objective  We predicted the prevalence of PAD between the lower extremities. Methods and Results  Consecutive patients who had undergone a noninvasive arterial lower extremity study at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, between January 1996 and December 2012 with suspected PAD were retrospectively reviewed. We identified 12,312 consecutive patients who underwent an arterial lower extremity and an exercise treadmill study. Prevalence of PAD was assessed at rest and after exercise using two criteria: a resting ABI ≤ 0.90 and a postexercise pressure decrease of > 30 mm Hg. Mean age was 67 ± 12 years and there were 4,780 (39%) women studied. At rest, we found a higher prevalence of PAD on the left extremity (27.4%) compared with the right (24.6%) ( p   30 mm Hg, our results suggest that there is a significantly higher prevalence of PAD in the left lower extremity at rest, in contrast to a greater prevalence of abnormal postexercise testing in the right lower extremity. The reason(s) of these discrepancies remain to be studied