The Vandals and Sarmatians in a New Perspective

This study discusses the relations between the peoples known as Sarmatians, Alans, Vandals, and other groups in the context of fluid identities and political affinities of Late Antiquity and early medieval Europe. It is argued that the Van-dals underwent a substantial transformation from being dominantely farmers to centre on horse breeding and mounted warfare. In this process, Sarmatian and Alanian influence on the Vandals was crucial. One could speak of a ‘Sarma-tisation’ of Vandal warfare, economy, dressing, and conduct, but also of a Vandal confederation of identities to which other ‘barbarian’ peoples could be con-nected

A Case For Designing Information Architecture Around Business Goals & Strategies

Enterprises that have a presence on the web can approach the user in a variety of ways.  However, beyond a flashy splash page, a site needs to provide the e-commerce user with an experience that is meaningful and successful with regard to completing the user’s intended mission. At the same time, a site needs to fulfill the business requirements of the company by providing a profitable center for transacting business. To illustrate the correlation between what the user sees and the structure that propels that vision forward, Morville’s iceberg analogy parallels real life in suggesting that the tip is the part that people tend to deal with (Morville 2002); the user interface and the graphics with which it is comprised. Largely ignored is the support below the surface that is the immense skeletal structure of the beast; the Information Architecture and wireframes that will support the branding and web positioning.  This structure, which when done successfully, is invisible to the user and ultimately plays an important role in providing the road map to each of the participant’s end needs

Slavic Raid on Konungahella

The article explores the naval raid of the Slavic forces on the coastal Norwegian port settlement of Konungahella in the mid 1130s. The paper analyses the raid in the context of regional politics and from the perspective of Baltic Slavs. It also encompasses the wider political context of contemporary imperial and Polish politics. It addresses the issue of the timing of the raid, participation of other than Pomeranian Slavs, and the reasons why it took place. It focuses on the reasons behind the raid which are surrounded by controversy and various interpretations. The paper postulates an alternative explanation to the politically motivated explanations previously accepted

Brain Energy Homeostasis and the Regulation of N-acetyl-aspartate Metabolism in Development and Disease

N-acetylaspartate (NAA) is a non-invasive clinical marker of neuronal metabolic integrity because of its strong proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) peak and direct correlation with energetic integrity. Specifically, NAA is used to track the progression of neurodegenerative diseases due to the characteristic reduction of whole brain levels of NAA which occur simultaneously with reduced glucose utilization and mitochondrial dysfunction, but prior to the onset of disease specific pathology. However, NAA will also significantly increase simultaneously with energetic integrity during periods of recovery or remission in applicable disorders, such as traumatic brain injuries. Unfortunately, it remains enigmatic exactly why NAA is so tightly linked to overall neuronal integrity and why its levels seem to decrease prior to disease pathology. In order to shed some light on this unknown, we undertook an analysis of NAA metabolism in two distinct contexts, neurodegenerative disease progression and post-natal development. We first analyzed possible controlling mechanisms behind the characteristic drop in whole brain levels of NAA during neurodegenerative disease progression using the 5xFAD mouse model of Familial Alzheimer\u27s Disease. During 5XFAD disease progression, the reduction of NAA could not be accounted for by neuronal loss, mitochondrial loss, or the reduction of substrate-providing mechanisms. However, our results revealed that Nat8L, the gene encoding the NAA synthetic enzyme, was significantly down-regulated simultaneously with reduced levels of NAA as well as reduced mitochondrial integrity. We also show that both reductions are preceded by a significant up-regulation of the gene encoding oligodendrocytic aspartoacylase (ASPA); the sole known NAA-catabolizing enzyme. Therefore, we hypothesized that NAA is reduced during 5XFAD progression due the active down-regulation of Nat8L and up-regulation of ASPA in response to reduced energetic integrity. We then analyzed the expression of Nat8L during the first 4-weeks of postnatal development of ASPA null (Nur7) mice. Our results revealed that Nat8l was up-regulated during a period of early postnatal development normally punctuated by low Nat8L expression and the transcriptional up-regulation of ASPA. Taken together, the results from our 5XFAD and Nur7 experiments indicate ASPA as a possible negative regulator of Nat8L in response to energetic crisis. The results also predict the presence of signaling mechanisms involving cross talk between neurons and oligodendrocytes which control NAA metabolism during both postnatal development and neurodegenerative disease progression

Perioperative Hypothermia (33°C) Does Not Increase theOccurrence of Cardiovascular Events in PatientsUndergoing Cerebral Aneurysm SurgeryFindings from the Intraoperative Hypothermia for AneurysmSurgery Trial

The IHAST Trial randomized patients undergoing cerebral aneurysm surgery to intraoperative hypothermia or normothermia. Cardiovascular events were prospectively followed until 3-month follow-up and were compared in hypothermic and normothermic patients. Conclusion: In patients undergoing cerebral aneurysm surgery, perioperative hypothermia was not associated with an increased occurrence of cardiovascular events

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Misdiagnosed as an Acute ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Without significant coronary artery stenosis, ischemic electrocardiographic change including ST segment elevation, segmental wall motion abnormality and elevated serum cardiac-specific markers (creatine kinase-MB, Troponin-T) may develop after central nervous system injuries such as subarachnoid, intracranial or subdural hemorrhage. Misdiagnosing these patients as acute myocardial infarction may result in catastrophic outcomes. By reporting a case of a 55-year old female with subarachnoid hemorrhage mimicking acute ST elevation myocardial infarction, we hope to underline that careful attention of neurologic abnormality is critical in making better prognosis

Are higher-order life values antecedents of students' learning engagement and adaptive learning outcomes? The case of materialistic vs. intrinsic life values

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Materialistic values have been shown to have a negative effect on learning. As intrinsic life values such as self-acceptance are orthogonaltomaterialisticvalues,theymaycounteracttheeffectsofmaterialismandbenefitthelearningprocessbyencouraging a focus on the actual learning task itself, as opposed to emphasizing the rewards associated with learning (e.g., school grades). Therefore, we tested the hypotheses positing these two higher order life values as antecedents of engagement with the learning process, and of important learning outcomes, including actual academic performance. A total of 345 university students of Chinese ethnicity (211 females; mean age=18.89, SD =1.35) participated in two studies that utilized a three-wave longitudinal design over a three-month period. The main variables tested were materialistic values, intrinsic life values, engagement with learning, and actual performance (in a writing task in Study 1, and in a formal assessment, i.e., final exam, in Study 2). Results showed that materialistic values were longitudinally and negatively related with exam performance, but not with engagement withlearning.Incontrast,intrinsic life valueslongitudinallypredictedengagementwithlearning,andhad apositivedirecteffect on performance on the writing task (Study 1), and a positive indirect effect on final exam performance (Study 2). The results highlight an important, if underutilized method of improving the learning process

Late-onset Tay-Sachs disease

We discuss the assessment and differential diagnoses of a young adult Hungarian man with a 1-year history of a progressive and symmetric amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-like syndrome, along with irregular action tremor and stimulus-sensitive myoclonus of the arms. MR scan of the brain showed isolated cerebellar atrophy and formal neuropsychometric testing identified significant subclinical deficits in attention, processing speed and memory. We suspected a form of GM2 gangliosidosis, and white cell enzyme analysis showed markedly reduced enzymatic activity of β-hexosaminidase A. Genetic testing subsequently revealed two heterozygous pathogenic mutations in the HEXA gene (c.1499delT p.(Leu500fs) and c.805G>A p.(Gly269Ser)), confirming the very rare diagnosis of adult-onset Tay-Sachs disease