The article is devoted to the 75th anniversary of the the 1602nd Military clinical hospital. The history of the hospital is overview. The authors covered the establishment and main periods of the development of this large medical facility of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Modern state and possibilities of a hospital as a therapeutic, preventive and research institution.
Whether morbidity from the 1918-19 influenza pandemic discriminated by socioeconomic status has remained a subject of debate for 100 years. In lack of data to study this issue, the recent literature has hypothesized that morbidity was "socially neutral."
To study the associations between influenza-like illness (ILI) and socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and wave during the 1918-19 influenza pandemic.
Availability of incidence data on the 1918-19 pandemic is scarce, in particular for waves other than the "fall wave" October-December 1918. Here, an overlooked survey from Bergen, Norway (n = 10 633), is used to study differences in probabilities of ILI and ILI probability ratios by apartment size as a measure of SES and gender for 3 waves including the waves prior to and after the "fall wave."
Socioeconomic status was negatively associated with ILI in the first wave, but positively associated in the second wave. At all SES levels, men had the highest ILI in the summer, while women had the highest ILI in the fall. There were no SES or gender differences in ILI in the winter of 1919.
For the first time, it is documented a crossover in the role of socioeconomic status in 1918 pandemic morbidity. The poor came down with influenza first, while the rich with less exposure in the first wave had the highest morbidity in the second wave. The study suggests that the socioeconomically disadvantaged should be prioritized if vaccines are of limited availability in a future pandemic.
African swine fever (ASF) is arguably the most dangerous and emerging swine disease worldwide. ASF is a serious problem for the swine industry. The first case of ASF in Russia was reported in 2007. We report an outbreak of ASF in Siberia, Russia, in 2017.
To study the 20-years' clinical alteration and alcoholism basing on the changes in its clinical symptoms and course.
The study included 527 alcoholics with formed alcohol withdrawal syndrome: 181 alcoholics were examined in 1988-1990 (Group 1) and 346 alcoholics in 2011-2012 (Group 2).
In Group 1, vodka consumption dominated at all stages of alcoholism. Group 2 included 172 alcoholics with the domination of vodka consumption and 174 alcoholics with mixed consumption. It was shown that in comparison with Group 1 (1988-1990 patients) patients from Group 2 (2011-2012) had slower and mild development of alcoholism, especially those in the mixed consumption group. The authors suggest that the change of the clinical pattern in Group 2 was due to the change in the composition of consumed alcoholic beverages.
The interwar period was a time of comprehensive preventive health programmes in Norway. Physical exercise, nutritious diets, strict sleep regimens and better hygiene were at the centre of these efforts. A massive mobilisation of volunteers and professionals took place. The publication of House Maxims for Mothers and Children was part of this large-scale mobilisation, and consisted of ten posters with pithy health advice for hanging on the wall. Mothers were an important target group for health promotion.
The posters have previously received little attention in medical literature, but they can elucidate some features of life and the health propaganda of their time. We have used databases that provide access to newspapers, books and medical literature: Retriever, bokhylla.no, Oria, PubMed and Web of Science.
It is hard to quantify the effect of this popular movement when compared to political measures to improve living conditions. In any case, mortality rates fell, life expectancy increased and the dreaded communicable diseases were largely defeated. Special efforts were targeted at children, also with good results. Infant mortality fell and schoolchildren became healthier, stronger, taller and cleaner.
The line between social hygiene and general disciplining is blurred, for example the boundary between a healthy diet and bourgeois norms. The education of mothers and children also included a normative aspect that concerned good manners and control.
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ErratumIn: Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2018 Oct 31;138(19): PMID 30497256
Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway; n.c.stenseth@ibv.uio.no bastiaan.star@ibv.uio.no.
Source
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 08 22; 114(34):9152-9157
Knowledge of the range and chronology of historic trade and long-distance transport of natural resources is essential for determining the impacts of past human activities on marine environments. However, the specific biological sources of imported fauna are often difficult to identify, in particular if species have a wide spatial distribution and lack clear osteological or isotopic differentiation between populations. Here, we report that ancient fish-bone remains, despite being porous, brittle, and light, provide an excellent source of endogenous DNA (15-46%) of sufficient quality for whole-genome reconstruction. By comparing ancient sequence data to that of modern specimens, we determine the biological origin of 15 Viking Age (800-1066 CE) and subsequent medieval (1066-1280 CE) Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) specimens from excavation sites in Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Archaeological context indicates that one of these sites was a fishing settlement for the procurement of local catches, whereas the other localities were centers of trade. Fish from the trade sites show a mixed ancestry and are statistically differentiated from local fish populations. Moreover, Viking Age samples from Haithabu, Germany, are traced back to the North East Arctic Atlantic cod population that has supported the Lofoten fisheries of Norway for centuries. Our results resolve a long-standing controversial hypothesis and indicate that the marine resources of the North Atlantic Ocean were used to sustain an international demand for protein as far back as the Viking Age.
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Cites: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Mar 24;112(12):3669-73 PMID 25755263
Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) is a ubiquitous human pathogen associated with a number of conditions, such as fifth disease in children and arthritis and arthralgias in adults. B19V is thought to evolve exceptionally rapidly among DNA viruses, with substitution rates previously estimated to be closer to those typical of RNA viruses. On the basis of genetic sequences up to ~70 years of age, the most recent common ancestor of all B19V has been dated to the early 1800s, and it has been suggested that genotype 1, the most common B19V genotype, only started circulating in the 1960s. Here we present 10 genomes (63.9-99.7% genome coverage) of B19V from dental and skeletal remains of individuals who lived in Eurasia and Greenland from ~0.5 to ~6.9 thousand years ago (kya). In a phylogenetic analysis, five of the ancient B19V sequences fall within or basal to the modern genotype 1, and five fall basal to genotype 2, showing a long-term association of B19V with humans. The most recent common ancestor of all B19V is placed ~12.6 kya, and we find a substitution rate that is an order of magnitude lower than inferred previously. Further, we are able to date the recombination event between genotypes 1 and 3 that formed genotype 2 to ~5.0-6.8 kya. This study emphasizes the importance of ancient viral sequences for our understanding of virus evolution and phylogenetics.
