Comparison of the optimal and suboptimal quantity of mitotype libraries using next-generation sequencing.

Optimizing analysis parameters and sample input is crucial in forensic genetics methods to generate reliable results, and even more so when working with muti-copy mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and low-quality samples. This study compared mitotypes based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) results derived from the same samples at two different sequencing library concentrations-30 pM and 0.3 pM. Thirty femur samples from the Second World War were used as a model for poorly preserved DNA. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) method targeting 113 bp long fragment was employed to assess the quantity of mitogenomes. HID Ion Chef™ Instrument with Precision ID mtDNA Control Region Panel was used for library preparation and templating. Sequencing was performed with Ion GeneStudio™ S5 System. Reference haplotypes were determined from sequencing samples at 30 pM library input. Haplotypes were compared between optimal (30 pM) and suboptimal (0.3 pM) library inputs. Often the difference in haplotypes was length heteroplasmy, which in line with other studies shows that this type of variant is not reliable for interpretation in forensics. Excluding length variants at positions 573, 309, and 16,193, 56.7% of the samples matched, and in two samples, no sequence was obtained at suboptimal library input. The rest of the samples differed between optimal and suboptimal library input. To conclude, genotyping and analyzing low-quantity libraries derived from low-quality aged skeletonized human remains therefore must be done with caution in forensic genetics casework.

Measure quantity of mitochondrial DNA in aged bones or calculate it from nuclear DNA quantitative PCR results?

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is of great value in forensics to procure information about a person when a next of kin, personal belongings, or other sources of nuclear DNA (nDNA) are unavailable, or nDNA is lacking in quality and quantity. The quality and reliability of the results depend greatly on ensuring optimal conditions for the given method, for instance, the optimal input of the copy number (CN) in next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods. The unavailability of commercial quantitative PCR (qPCR) methods to determine mtDNA CN creates the necessity to rely on recommendations to infer mtDNA CN from nDNA yield. Because nDNA yield varies between individuals, tissues, parts of the same tissue, and because mtDNA CN varies between tissues, such assumptions must be examined for a specific context, rather than be generalized. This study compares mtDNA CN calculated from nDNA yield and qPCR measured mtDNA CN. Seventy-five femurs from the Second World War victims were used as samples; they were cut below the greater trochanter, surface contaminants were removed by mechanical and chemical cleaning, samples were fully demineralized, and DNA was isolated. PowerQuant® Kit (Promega) was used to analyze DNA yield. An in-house method was used to determine mtDNA CN. Comparison of mtDNA CN from nDNA derived calculations and measured mtDNA CN highlighted vast differences. The results emphasize the need to perform qPCR to assess mtDNA CN before NGS analyses of aged bones' mitogenomes rather than estimating mtDNA CN from nDNA yield to ensure the quality and reliability of the results of NGS analysis.

Dermatopathology in Strasbourg during the German Occupation (1940-1945).

INTRODUCTION: The activity of the Strasbourg Dermatology Clinic was interrupted in September 1939 by the outbreak of the Second World War and the evacuation of the hospital. After annexing Alsace to the Reich, the German authorities demanded that physicians return to work, which resumed at the Dermatology Clinic, and was now entirely Germanized, in particular the laboratory of dermatopathology. Our aim was to study activity in the histopathology laboratory between 1939 and 1945. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied all the histopathology reports contained in three registers written in German. We collected patient data, clinical elements and diagnoses by microscopy. There were a total of 1202 cases between September 1940 and March 1945. The records were in a good state of preservation, enabling exhaustive analysis. RESULTS: The number of cases peaked in 1941 and diminished thereafter. The average age of patients was 49 years, and the sex ratio was 0.77. Patients were referred from Alsace or other Reich territories; referrals from other regions of France or other countries had ceased. There were 655 cases in dermatopathology, with a predominance of tumor lesions, followed by infections and inflammatory dermatoses. We noted 547 cases of non-cutaneous diseases, mainly in gynecology, urology, and in ear, nose, throat and digestive surgery; their numbers peaked in 1940-41, then tapered off progressively. DISCUSSION: Thedisruptions associated with thewar were manifested by the use of German language and the cessation of scientific publications. The lack of general pathologists in the hospital resulted in numerous cases in general pathology. Skin biopsies were mainly diagnostic and focused on skin cancers, whereas inflammatory and infectious diseases predominated before the war. No traces of data related to unethical human experimentation were identified in these archives, in contrast to other institutes in Strasbourg that were truly Nazified. CONCLUSION: These data from the Strasbourg Dermatology Clinic contain valuable information for the history of medicine and provide an insight into the functioning of a laboratory under the Occupation.

Comparison of DNA preservation between ribs and vertebrae.

The choice of skeletal element types and their intra-bone parts is important because of differences in DNA preservation, and this must be considered when sampling bones for DNA testing. When incomplete skeletons are found, ribs and vertebrae have been shown to be the most suitable for genetic identification of bones from the torso. This study compares the preservation of DNA between 12th thoracic vertebrae and first ribs to determine which bone type is more suitable for genetic typing. The study analyzed 35 12th thoracic vertebrae and 29 first ribs from one mass grave from the Second World War with commingled skeletal remains excavated. Bone DNA preservation was estimated by measuring nuclear DNA concentration and its degradation and through short tandem repeat (STR) typing success. Previous studies performed on aged skeletal remains have shown that the DNA content of the first ribs and 12th thoracic vertebrae has high intra-bone variability, and this was considered when sampling the bones. After full demineralization extraction, the PowerQuant System (Promega) was used to measure the quantity and quality of DNA, and the GlobalFiler kit (Applied Biosystems) was used for STR typing. The results showed that DNA yield and degradation and STR typing success exhibited no statistically significant difference between first ribs and 12th thoracic vertebrae, and there was no intra-individual difference when comparing only paired bones from the same individuals. Consequently, with intra-bone DNA variability considered, the first ribs or the 12th thoracic vertebrae can be selected when sampling to genetically identify the skeletal remains of highly degraded torsos. HIGHLIGHTS: The first ribs and thoracic vertebrae are the most suitable bones for sampling from the torso. The proximal part of first rib and posterior vertebral column of the 12th thoracic vertebrae yielded the most DNA. The first ribs were compared with the 12th thoracic vertebrae, and the sampling process considered intra-bone DNA variability. The quality and quantity of nuclear DNA and success of STR typing were measured. The first ribs yielded the same DNA yields as well as STR typing success as the 12th thoracic vertebrae. When only the torso is present, it is not of high importance whether the first ribs or the 12th thoracic vertebrae are collected.

[Do the old fears return? : An investigation into the experience of the corona crisis among survivors of the Hamburg Firestorm (1943)]. / Kommen die alten Ängste wieder? : Eine Untersuchung zum Erleben der Corona-Krise bei Überlebenden des Hamburger Feuersturms (1943).

BACKGROUND: The generation of war children of the Second World War is currently in old age experiencing the lock-down caused by the coronavirus crisis. OBJECTIVE: How are the restrictions of the lock-down experienced against the background of the war experience? METHODS: A total of 120 witnesses of the Hamburg Firestorm (1943) were asked about their experiences of the corona pandemic by means of a questionnaire in May 2020 and December 2020. Findings from telephone conversations with several witnesses, who regularly participate in a discussion group, have also been taken into consideration for this study. RESULTS: Of the interviewees contacted in May 2020 and December 2020, 98 (82%) and 77 (64%), respectively, sent back the questionnaire, 58 (45) female and 40 (32) male, the mean age was 86.5 years (87.1 years). According to the questionnaire most of them feel relatively stable and confident about their general situation in the pandemic and are mostly concerned with the contact restrictions rather than with their own health. The majority fear negative economic consequences for Germany. About 13% fully agree that the current crisis reminds them of their experiences in the Hamburg Firestorm. As telephone conversations have shown the memories and experiences of the war and the post-war period in general, seem to act as the leading frame of reference for dealing with the current crisis. CONCLUSION: The findings point to typical psychological processing patterns in a war-burdened generation, when they now relate their experiences in the war to the experiences in the corona crisis.

HISTORY OF BIOCHEMISTRY IN LVIV.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: The purpose of this literature review is to shed light on the development of biochemical knowledge in the Lviv region and on prominent figures in the development of biochemistry during the Second World War. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: Review of literature published before 2020. We searched the literature using the search terms 'biochemists', ' Lviv National Medical University', 'second World War'. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: The development of biological research in Lviv can be divided into two historical stages: 1) from the beginning of the founding of Lviv University in 1661 to the First World War; 2) between the First and Second World Wars and after the Second World War. Biochemical research was initiated at the Medical Faculty of Lviv University. In 1939, the Lviv State Medical Institute was established on the basis of the Medical Faculty of the University, where a powerful department of biochemistry functioned, which was headed by a worldclass biochemist - Jakub Parnas.

Intra-bone nuclear DNA variability in Second World War metatarsal and metacarpal bones.

DNA analysis of Second World War skeletal remains is challenging because of the limited yield of DNA that is usually recovered. Recent forensic research has focused on determining which skeletal elements are superior in their preservation of DNA, and little focus has been placed on measuring intra-bone variability. Metatarsals and metacarpals outperformed all the other bones in DNA yield when analyzing all representative skeletal elements of three Second World War victims, and intra-bone variability was not studied. Soft-tissue remnants were found to contribute to higher DNA yield in trabecular bone tissue. Because metatarsals and metacarpals are composed of trabecular epiphyses and a dense diaphysis, the goal of this study was to explore intra-bone variability in DNA content by measuring nuclear DNA quantity and quality using the PowerQuant System (Promega). A total of 193 bones from a single Second World War mass grave were examined. From each bone, DNA was extracted from the compact diaphysis and from both spongy epiphyses combined. This study confirms higher DNA quantity in epiphyses than diaphyses among all the bones analyzed, and more DNA was obtained from metacarpal epiphyses than from metatarsal epiphyses. Therefore, whenever the possibility for sampling both metacarpals and metatarsals from skeletal remains exists, collecting metacarpals is recommended. In cases in which the hands are missing, metatarsals should be sampled. In any case, epiphyses are a richer source of DNA than diaphyses.

Intra-bone nuclear DNA variability and STR typing success in Second World War first ribs.

DNA sampling and typing are used for identifying missing persons or war victims. In recent forensic studies, little focus has been placed on determining intra-bone variability within a single skeletal element. When dealing with aged human bones, complete skeletal remains are rarely present. In cases in which only the torso is available, studies have shown that ribs are one of the most appropriate samples, but intra-bone variability has not yet been studied. A higher degree of remodeling was found to contribute to higher DNA yield in the parts of the skeletal element where the most strain is concentrated. This study explores intra-bone variability in proximal, middle, and distal parts of the first human rib by determining the quantity and quality of DNA using the PowerQuant System (Promega) and autosomal STR typing success using the PowerPlex ESI 17 Fast System (Promega). Thirty first ribs from a single Second World War mass grave were sampled. No variation in DNA degradation was observed across the individual rib. The highest quantity of DNA was measured in the proximal part of the first rib, and in all ribs except three, full or almost full genetic profiles were obtained. Thus, when only the torso is present in archaeological or medico-legal cases, first ribs are recommended to be collected if possible, and the proximal or vertebral ends should be sampled for genetic analysis.

Identification of World War II bone remains found in Ukraine using classical anthropological and mitochondrial DNA results.

Gyula Ágner was a Royal Hungarian First Lieutenant (1st Lt.) during the World War II and died at 30 years old due to a mine shrapnel injury on 27 April 1944 in Luczky, Ukraine. In October 2014, the Hungarian Ministry of Defence exhumated the remains then transported them to Budapest in Hungary. Classical anthropological methods were used to determine morphological gender, height and age at death; furthermore, metrical and pathological characters were also analysed. Determination of maternal lineage was the only solution to examine the possible relationship of the bone fragments. Gyula Ágner did not have direct descendants, thus the living niece of the deceased (his sister's daughter) served as the reference person during the investigations. Hypervariable regions of the mtDNA control region (HV1, HV2 and HV3) were amplified by Qiagen® Multiplex PCR Kit in different monoplex reactions. The results of the anthropological and genetical analysis supported the hypothesis that the bone remains belong to Gyula Ágner.

'[Her] hostess is anxious to have her back when she is cured': The impact of the evacuation of children on wartime local services, England, 1939-1945.

World War II had a profound, but uneven, impact on the delivery of services designed to support the bodies and minds of English children. This article, which is based on a study of a rural local authority located in North-West England, explores the influence of World War II on children's welfare services. Drawing on detailed case files relating to individual children and reports published by local and national policy makers, the article advances three related arguments which together nuance existing understandings of the conflict and its longer-term consequences. First, the article argues that many of the problems associated with evacuees were already familiar to medical and social work professionals. This awareness has important consequences for how we conceptualise the wartime proposals that attracted policy makers' attention. Second, the article shows that the arrival of evacuees into reception areas initially resulted in an expansion of children's services. A fuller understanding of Britain's welfare state, however, must acknowledge that local authorities continued to wield significant influence over the delivery of specialist services once the conflict ended. As a result, the priorities of local officials could lead to the needs of looked after children being overlooked despite wartime improvements to children's services. Finally, the article argues that amidst the totality of World War II, the British state remained unwilling to intrude on the rights of parents to influence the care of their children. Closer examination of the implementation of evacuation and the experiences of individuals reveals that important tensions existed between the state appointed experts and the civilians they were tasked with supporting.

[80 years of intramedullary nailing : New facts and information about a milestone in osteosynthesis]. / 80 Jahre intramedulläre Marknagelung : Neue Fakten und Informationen zu einem Meilenstein der Osteosynthese.

BACKGROUND: Nearly 80 years ago in the autumn of 1939 Gerhard Küntscher successfully stabilized a patient with the first intramedullary nailing surgery. As a result, the research interest in osteosynthesis significantly increased. OBJECTIVE: Many important studies referencing Küntscher and his invention have been published over the last decades focusing particularly on the alleged individual performance of the surgeon. The present study highlights the close collaboration between Küntscher and the engineer Ernst Pohl, which developed an enormous creative energy and power. At the same time the intramedullary nail itself is at the center of attention. Despite a harsh critique especially in the first years of its existence this idea quickly spread around the world of trauma surgery. This article gives a retrospective view of which factors promoted its spread and which were barriers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study articles on medical history were taken into consideration as well as the medical specialist literature. In addition personal letters, memoirs and other individual written sources from relevant players were consulted to allow for a change of perspective. The latter were fundamental for this study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The study showed the eminent impact that the close cooperation between Küntscher and Pohl had on the success of the intramedullary nail. The synergy of Küntscher's medical expertise and Pohl's ingenuity found solutions for problems other people could not solve. World War II interrupted this close interaction but at the same time helped to disseminate the technique globally which in turn contributed to the advancement of the idea.

War Imprisonment and Clinical Narratives of Psychiatric Illness, Psychiatric Hospital Charité, Berlin, 1948-1956.

While the historical analysis of psychological trauma from warfare has been extensive, traumatic illness in East German psychiatric practice after the Second World War has drawn little attention. The dominant literature uses West German political and medical discourses as sources to investigate the relationship between traumatic experience and psychiatric illness. This paper instead draws from East German patient files from 1948 until 1956 to examine efforts at the Charité Hospital in Berlin to interpret the psychiatric illness of former prisoners of war (POWs). By examining Socialist Party discourse at the time, the paper argues that psychiatric explanations created parallels with political debates by foregrounding social readjustment difficulties as the cause of postwar illness. Against this background, the final section explores the way in which war imprisonment could constitute a challenge to the clinical restructuring of former POWs' patient histories. Using strategies of confabulation, POWs confronted the documentary negotiation between bodies and meaning, provoking ambivalence.

'Our work was in the service of the suffering of mankind': a case study of the motives of the Easternfront Ambulance nurses, 1941-1944.

During World War Two, a group of Dutch nurses chose to join the Nederlandse Ambulance ('Easternfront Ambulance'), a controversial though currently relatively unknown field hospital for the eastern front. In doing so, they supported the German war effort. This case study elaborates on the motives of these women to make a choice that was ultimately determined as 'wrong', by emphasising their unique gender role of nurse in the public sphere. By providing an insight into a relatively small group of 'wrong' women, this article aims to act as a call for further research into the gender context of limitations and opportunities of Dutch women during the German occupation. These nurses appear to have had various intentional and unintentional motives for enlisting. Nearly all of them later claimed they had pursued a 'calling'. They had all been Nazi or Nationalist Socialist Movement in the Netherlands sympathisers and they had all enjoyed material benefits due to their position with the field hospital. In a few cases, it seems they had longed for interaction with soldiers, or men in general, and sometimes they had simply craved for an adventurous life far from home.

Rapidly mutating Y-STR analyses of compromised forensic samples.

Rapidly mutating Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (RM Y-STRs) were identified to improve differentiation of unrelated males and also to enable separating closely and distantly related males in human identity testing in forensic and other applications. RM-Yplex assay was developed as a single multiplex that is capable of simultaneously amplifying all currently known RM Y-STRs, and reproducibility and sensitivity testing were performed on reference samples. Additional analyses are necessary to test its suitability for analysing compromised forensic samples. For this purpose, we applied the RM-Yplex assay to approximately 70-year-old skeletons that were used as a model for poorly preserved, challenging forensic samples. We analysed 57 male skeletal remains (bones and teeth) from 55 skeletons excavated from the Second World War (WWII) mass graves in Slovenia. The RM-Yplex typing was successful in all 57 samples; there were 56% full profiles obtained, and in partial profiles, up to 7 locus drop-outs were observed and they appeared correlated with low DNA quantities and degradation of DNA obtained from WWII bone and tooth samples. The longest loci, DYS403S1b, DYS547, DYS627 and DYS526b, were the most often dropped-out RM Y-STRs. In spite of high frequency of drop-out events, the RM-Yplex typing was successful in all WWII samples, showing the possibility of successful amplification of at least half of the RM Y-STRs even from the most compromised samples analysed.

Failing to protect humanitarian workers: lessons from Britain and Voluntary Aid Detachments in the Second World War.

This paper draws on official records of international and British organizations, newspaper reports, and volunteer memoirs to study the failure to protect humanitarian workers in the Second World War. The Second World War saw a significant expansion in the use of air warfare and flying missiles and these technological advances posed a grave threat to civilians and humanitarian workers. In this context, the International Committee of the Red Cross advocated unsuccessfully to restrict air warfare and create safe hospital zones. The British Government grappled with the tension between military and humanitarian objectives in setting its bombardment policy. Ultimately, humanitarian principles were neglected in pursuit of strategic aims, which endangered civilians and left humanitarian workers particularly vulnerable. British Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses experienced more than six-fold greater fatality rates than civil defence workers and the general population. The lessons from failures to protect humanitarian workers in the face of evolutions in warfare remain profoundly relevant.

Living in history and living by the cultural life script: How older Germans date their autobiographical memories.

This study examines predictions from two theories on the organisation of autobiographical memory: Cultural Life Script Theory which conceptualises the organisation of autobiographical memory by cultural schemata, and Transition Theory which proposes that people organise their memories in relation to personal events that changed the fabric of their daily lives, or in relation to negative collective public transitions, called the Living-in-History effect. Predictions from both theories were tested in forty-eight-old Germans from Berlin and Northern Germany. We tested whether the Living-in-History effect exists for both negative (the Second World War) and positive (Fall of Berlin Wall) collectively experienced events, and whether cultural life script events serve as a prominent strategy to date personal memories. Results showed a powerful, long-lasting Living-in History effect for the negative, but not the positive event. Berlin participants dated 26% of their memories in relation to the Second World War. Supporting cultural life script theory, life script events were frequently used to date personal memories. This provides evidence that people use a combination of culturally transmitted knowledge and knowledge based on personal experience to navigate through their autobiographical memories, and that experiencing war has a lasting impact on the organisation of autobiographical memories across the life span.

Nursing typhus victims in the Second World War, 1942-1944: a discussion paper.

AIMS: This article explores the care British nurses provided to victims of typhus during the Second World War. BACKGROUND: Typhus is associated with poverty and overcrowding. During wars in the pre-antibiotic era, civilians were particularly susceptible to epidemics, which military governments feared would spread to their troops. DESIGN: This discussion paper draws on archival data from three typhus epidemics in the Second World War to examine the expert work of British nurses in caring for victims during these potential public health disasters. DATA SOURCES: The published sources for the paper include material from nursing and medical journals published between 1940-1947. Archival sources come from the National Archives in Kew, the Wellcome Library and the Army Medical Services Museum, between 1943-1945. Of particular interest is the correspondence with Dame Katharine Jones from nurses on active service overseas. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Whilst epidemics of typhus are now rare, nurses in the present day may be required to care for the public in environments of extreme poverty and overcrowding, where life-threatening infectious diseases are prevalent. This article has demonstrated that it is possible for expert and compassionate nursing to alleviate suffering and prevent death, even when medical technologies are unavailable. CONCLUSION: Expert and compassionate care, adequate nutrition and hydration and attention to hygiene needs are crucial when there are limited pharmacological treatments and medical technologies available to treat infectious diseases. The appreciation of this could have implications for nurses working in current global conflicts.

'Of One Blood?': Gendered Propaganda and Blood Donor Behaviour in Wartime Bristol and South West England, 1939-1945.

This article explores civilian responses to the British army's blood donor recruitment campaign in wartime Britain, revealing it to be an underexplored medium for the examination of the contribution of women to Britain's war effort. However, despite extensive gender-targeted propaganda, it reveals evidence of a significant disparity between levels of volunteering to donate and actual donation throughout the war. Wartime donor behaviour was influenced by perceptions of personal or familial risk, with donor recruitment propaganda emphasising kinship ties to those in military service and promoting blood donation as a mutual insurance policy. Ultimately, this article argues that evidence of donor behaviour further undermines the mythologised narrative of Britain's 'People's War' and provides nuance to the understanding of blood donor motivation.

Captain George Blair RAMC: A doctor prisoner of the Japanese in Singapore and Taiwan in the Second World War.

The papers from George Blair's war service as a prisoner of the Japanese in the Second World War are unusually complete. It is a valuable record because it is representative of those young doctors who provided most of the medical care in the camps, and also because the Taiwan camps are not well documented in the literature.

Sir Benjamin William Rycroft OBE (1902-1967): British ophthalmologist and pioneer in corneal surgery.

An unsung hero of British ophthalmology is the largely forgotten Sir Benjamin Rycroft (1902-1967). This paper will discuss and analyse the undervalued career of this great man. Upon graduating from medical school, Rycroft became a General Practitioner. Rycroft then decided to train to become an ophthalmologist. Rycroft began his ophthalmology career in 1930s London focusing on the new ground-breaking surgery of keratoplasty (corneal grafting) before serving with distinction in the medical corps during the Second World War. He is chiefly remembered for his work after the war at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, Sussex, where he worked with renowned plastics surgeon Archibald McIndoe. During his time, there Rycroft became globally recognised for his skill in keratoplasty and started a campaign which radically changed the legal framework behind organ donation in the UK. Despite few knowing of him today, Rycroft is undoubtedly one of the most influential British ophthalmologists of the past century. He was for decades seen as one of the world's leading practitioners of keratoplasty and established a unit which restored sight to wounded veterans. His greatest achievement lies in his organ donation reform, which started the process of allowing organ donation to be carried out on a nationwide scale for the first time.