Between material reality and literary topos: ‘Towns’ in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

This paper discusses the role of ‘towns’ in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on insights from the discipline of archaeology. How did the Chronicle depict these places? Can we discern changes over time? Through an analysis of the Chronicle texts as a living set of documents, the paper comments both on the role of ‘towns’ in early medieval England and on the function of the Chronicle in contemporary society. It concludes that ‘towns’ in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle existed between material reality and literary topos: their physicality carried as much symbolism as their literary depictions.Roman Provinces, Middle Ages and Modern Perio

Exercise Testing and Prescription in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease

The present paper provides a review of the literature regarding exercise testing, exercise capacity, and the role of exercise training in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Different measures of exercise capacity are discussed, including both simple and more advanced exercise parameters. Different groups of patients, including shunt lesions, pulmonary valvar stenosis, patients after completion of Fontan circulation, and patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension are discussed separately in more detail. It has been underscored that an active lifestyle, taking exercise limitations and potential risks of exercise into account is of utmost importance. Increased exercise capacity in these patients is furthermore correlated with an improvement of objective and subjective quality of life

Tracing the patterns: fields, villages, and burial places in Lebanon

Archaeological research in Lebanon often focuses on settlement from the Bronze Age to Romanperiods, while surrounding landscapes, earlier and later periods are under-represented. Largedatasets collecting information from all periods and site types, such as the EndangeredArchaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) database, address this imbalance.EAMENA predominantly uses satellite imagery to identify archaeological sites and the threatsposed to them, leading to the recognition of many previously unpublished sites, includingabandoned buildings and agricultural terraces. Here we explore how such data can be used totrace patterns of settlement and landscape use. Transects running from coast to uplands innorthern and southern Lebanon are compared: the results show profound differences betweennorth and south, and between coastal and inland zones. The importance of large, holisticdatasets for previously understudied site types and periods in piecing together past patterns ofland use, subsistence economies, burial traditions and change over time are demonstrated

Biomass and crop height estimation of different crops using UAV-based LiDAR

Phenotyping of crops is important due to increasing pressure on food production. Therefore, an accurate estimation of biomass during the growing season can be important to optimize the yield. The potential of data acquisition by UAV-LiDAR to estimate fresh biomass and crop height was investigated for three different crops (potato, sugar beet, and winter wheat) grown inWageningen (The Netherlands) from June to August 2018. Biomass was estimated using the 3DPI algorithm, while crop height was estimated using the mean height of a variable number of highest points for each m2. The 3DPI algorithm proved to estimate biomass well for sugar beet (R2 = 0.68, RMSE = 17.47 g/m2) and winter wheat (R2 = 0.82, RMSE = 13.94 g/m2). Also, the height estimates worked well for sugar beet (R2 = 0.70, RMSE = 7.4 cm) and wheat (R2 = 0.78, RMSE = 3.4 cm). However, for potato both plant height (R2 = 0.50, RMSE = 12 cm) and biomass estimation (R2 = 0.24, RMSE = 22.09 g/m2), it proved to be less reliable due to the complex canopy structure and the ridges on which potatoes are grown. In general, for accurate biomass and crop height estimates using those algorithms, the flight conditions (altitude, speed, location of flight lines) should be comparable to the settings for which the models are calibrated since changing conditions do influence the estimated biomass and crop height strongly.</p

Lincoln in the Viking age : a 'town' in context.

This thesis investigates the development of Lincoln in the period c. 870-1000 AD. Traditional approaches to urban settlements often focus on chronology, and treat towns in isolation from their surrounding regions. Taking Lincoln as a case study, this PhD research, in contrast, analyses the identities of the settlement and its inhabitants from a regional perspective, focusing on the historic region of Lindsey, and places it in the context of the Scandinavian settlement. Developing an integrated and interdisciplinary approach that can be applied to datasets from different regions and time periods, this thesis analyses four categories of material culture - funerary deposits, coinage, metalwork and pottery - each of which occur in significant numbers inside and outside Lincoln. Chapter 1 summarises previous work on late Anglo-Saxon towns and introduces the approach adopted in this thesis. Chapter 2 provides a discussion of Lincoln's development during the Anglo-Saxon period, and introduces the datasets. Highlighting problems encountered during past investigations, this chapter also discusses the main methodological considerations relevant to the wide range of different categories of material culture that stand central to this thesis, which are retrieved through a combination of intrusive and non-intrusive methods under varying circumstances. Chapters 3-6 focus on funerary deposits, coinage, metalwork and pottery respectively, through analysis of distribution patterns and the impact of changes in production processes on the identity of Lincoln and its inhabitants. It is argued that a straightforward distinction between 'town' and 'country' is too simplistic. Viking- ; Age Lincoln was firmly embedded within the surrounding region, and neither Lincoln nor Lindsey was a homogenous entity. The formation of Lincoln's 'urban' identity was the outcome of changes in late ninth- and tenth-century socio-political structures, many of which had been set in motion centuries before the Scandinavian settlement

Atrial strain: an important addition to the armamentarium of non-invasively assessing Fontan function?

Developmen

From the coast to the High Mountains: a remote sensing survey of disturbances and threats to the archaeology and heritage of South Sinai

The archaeology and heritage of South Sinai is rich and varied. Most research to date has focused on the High Mountains, specifically the area around the famous St Catherine’s Monastery, placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002 (Saint Catherine Area, World Heritage Site 954). Recently, the Sinai Peninsula Research and the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa projects have focused on the landscape surrounding the St Catherine’s Monastery. These projects highlighted the wealth of archaeological and heritage sites spanning the prehistoric to modern periods, including sites that are still in use by local communities today, as well as the environmental and anthropogenic factors that threaten their survival, such as climate change, tourism, and the impact of infrastructure developments. By contrast, the archaeology and heritage of the coastal areas was never surveyed systematically until the research presented in this paper. Remote sensing work by the Maritime Endangered Archaeology project revealed a coastal landscape that is likewise rich in archaeological and heritage sites. As in the High Mountains, many of the coastal sites are under significant threat, but they do not enjoy the same level of recognition and protection. This paper compares the coastal sites to those in the High Mountains, including their disturbances and threats, and demonstrates the need for a locally specific heritage management and protection strategy for different parts of South Sinai.Archaeology of the Near Eas

Dilatation of the Great Arteries in an Infant with Marfan Syndrome and Ventricular Septal Defect

We describe an infant presenting with contractures of the fingers, a large ventricular septal defect (VSD), and severe pulmonary artery dilatation. He had clinical and echocardiographic features of both neonatal or infantile Marfan syndrome (MFS) and congenital contractural arachnodactyly. After surgical VSD closure, the aortic root developed progressive dilatation while the size of pulmonary artery returned to normal limits. Eventually the diagnosis of MFS was confirmed by DNA analysis

Isolated unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery: a case report and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to determine the symptomatology, diagnostic procedures, and therapeutic strategies of patients with an isolated unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery (UAPA). BACKGROUND: Isolated UAPA is a rare anomaly. Some case reports exist, but the best diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to these patients remain unclear. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made of 108 cases reported between 1978 and 2000. The database of the National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE) was used to identify cases that were published in any language from 1978 onward. RESULTS: Of the 108 patients identified, 14 were asymptomatic. The median age was 14 years (range, 0.1 to 58 years). Most patients had symptoms such as frequent pulmonary infections (37%), dyspnea or limited exercise tolerance (40%), or hemoptysis (20%). Pulmonary hypertension was present in 44% of the patients. Surgical procedures were performed in 17% of patients, and the overall mortality rate was 7%. CONCLUSION: Only a few patients with isolated UAPA remain asymptomatic during follow-up. The diagnosis can be made by chest radiograph, echocardiography, CT scan, and MRI. Hilar arteries can be shown by cardiac catheterization and pulmonary venous wedge angiography. This is important since revascularization may improve pulmonary hypertension. The avoidance of high altitudes and pregnancy may further improve outcomes