The kinesthetic diagnosis in a homeric item of pathological heartbeat: An overview in the history of ancient greek medicine.

The Iliad, by the Greek poet Homer, is a precious mine of examples of war traumatology. In the specific case of spear wounds in the chest, the death of the Trojan warrior Alcathous is particularly interesting from the point of view of the history of medicine and the evolution of cardiology and knowledge of the heart at the time of ancient Greece. In particular this paper aims to evidence and reconstruct the main anatomical and physiological knowledge of the heart at that time. Indeed, a historical-linguistic analysis of the Greek text prompts some reflections and thoughts on the heartbeat in pathological conditions and on the function of the heart as a hematopoietic organ. Furthermore, Homer's account is a critical text that highlights the relevance of the use of the senses in the ancient description of nosological pictures and it allows us an interesting and suggestive approach to reconstruction from the historical and historiographical point of view.

The diverse genetic origins of a Classical period Greek army.

Trade and colonization caused an unprecedented increase in Mediterranean human mobility in the first millennium BCE. Often seen as a dividing force, warfare is in fact another catalyst of culture contact. We provide insight into the demographic dynamics of ancient warfare by reporting genome-wide data from fifth-century soldiers who fought for the army of the Greek Sicilian colony of Himera, along with representatives of the civilian population, nearby indigenous settlements, and 96 present-day individuals from Italy and Greece. Unlike the rest of the sample, many soldiers had ancestral origins in northern Europe, the Steppe, and the Caucasus. Integrating genetic, archaeological, isotopic, and historical data, these results illustrate the significant role mercenaries played in ancient Greek armies and highlight how participation in war contributed to continental-scale human mobility in the Classical world.

Pastoral subsistence and mounted fighting in the Eastern Tianshan Mountain region: New insights from the Shirenzigou worked bone assemblage.

Situated at a geographic crossroads, the eastern Tianshan Mountain region in northwest China is crucial to understanding various economic, social, and cultural developments on the Eurasian Steppes. One promising way to gain a better knowledge of ancient subsistence economy, craft production, and social change in the eastern Tianshan Mountain region is to study the artifact assemblages from archaeological contexts. Here, we present an analysis of 488 worked animal bones from the large site of Shirenzigou (ca. 1300-1 BCE), to date the largest assemblage of this kind uncovered in the eastern Tianshan Mountain region. We classified these worked bones into six categories, including "ritual objects", "ornaments", "tools", "worked astragali", "warfare and mobility", and "indeterminate". The identification of animal species and skeletal elements indicates that worked bones from Shirenzigou are characterized by a predominance of caprine products, particularly worked astragali, which is consistent with the large proportion of caprine fragments found in animal remains associated with food consumption. This demonstrates the contribution of caprine pastoralism to bone working activities at Shirenzigou. The making of most worked bones does not appear to have required advanced or specialized skills. Considering the absence of dedicated bone working space, alongside the variability in raw material selection and in dimensions of certain types of artifacts, we infer that worked bone production at Shirenzigou was not standardized. In terms of raw material selection and mode of production, Shirenzigou differed from their settled, farming counterparts in the Yellow River valley of northern China. In addition, along with the evidence for violence and horseback riding, the increasing use of bone artifacts associated with warfare and mobility during the late occupation phase of Shirenzigou reflects growing social instability and implies the likely emergence of single mounted horsemen, equipped with light armors, in the region during the late first millennium BCE. Our results provide new insights into animal resource exploitation and changing lifeways of early pastoral societies in the eastern Tianshan Mountain region, expanding our knowledge of the economic, social, and political milieu of late Bronze Age and early Iron Age eastern Eurasia.

Peace, Health, and Sustainable Development in the Middle East.

BACKGROUND: As two essential human rights, as well as pillars of sustainable development, health and peace are closely interrelated. Further, health and well-being are the focus of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, while peace lies at the heart of SDG 16. This paper investigates the relationship between the three concepts of health, peace and sustainable development in the relevant literature. METHODS: This is a qualitative study. Following the establishment of the construct of peace and health through consultation with three key informants (one health sociologists, one high-ranking diplomat, and one health policy maker), we conducted a scoping review of the literature, followed by purposefully obtained grey literature, i.e. UN and country reports. As a result, 30 documents, including journal articles, were identified. We used content analysis to extract themes and categorize them in line with the relevant SDGs. RESULTS: Lack of peace has direct and indirect impact on health, as well as health workers, the civil society, and the whole community who have in turn a critical role in creating peace. Strong and resilient health systems are essential in reaching out to citizens during war, while achieving SDGs would be impossible if SDG 16 is compromised. Health and peace are interchangeable, and achieving either is impossible without the other. CONCLUSION: Physicians and other human resources for health are the key actors in peaceful environment to attain health for all. In the absence of peace, the resilience of health system will be threatened and the hope for sustainable development may fade.

Peace through Health and Medical Education: First Steps in Inclination of Healthcare Workers Toward Conflict-Preventive Activities.

BACKGROUND: The number of deaths and disabilities due to all types of violence has increased; violence and especially war heavily affect public and individual health and all sectors, including the health sector, are responsible for making attempts to take part in mitigation of war effects. However, "peace through health" has not been so far included globally in the curriculum of basic medical schools. The study aims to prepare data on responsibilities that could be devolved to health sector, and the importance and role of education for those health workers who are willing to participate in the peace field. METHODS: A systematic search in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and ERIC was conducted looking for relevant documents following combination of the key terms: peace, health and education. RESULTS: Health professionals consider war as a serious contagious disease that needs to be prevented like any other diseases. Prevention maneuvers at the primordial, primary, secondary and tertiary stages are important tasks that can be carried out by health professionals; there is an increasing demand for establishment of some courses; the roles and the manner of performing these tasks are not part of medical curriculum and for better execution of these roles, peace through health courses should be developed and then integrated to the current curriculum of health-related universities. CONCLUSION: The work of developing peace through health courses has been started before and it will continue until it completely becomes an accepted global course.

Educating Health Science Students About Peace through Health Topic; A Panel Discussion.

This report describes an experience of the first international health for peace conference held in November 2018 in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. This paper discusses the panel on peace education in medical and paramedical schools and the way for the future.

Incidence of haematological malignancies in Kosovo-A post "uranium war" concern.

BACKGROUND: During the Kosovo War (1998-99) approximately 31,000 rounds with Depleted Uranium (DU) were fired on 85 targets in Kosovo. The number of haematological malignancies (HM) increased after the war and the concern was the use of DU during the war. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence rates of HM in Kosovo throughout a 20-year that includes pre- and post- war period (1995-2015); and to examine if there is any association between the use of DU rounds and incidence rates of HM in different regions of Kosovo. METHODS: In this retrospective register-based study, 1,798 new patients diagnosed with leukaemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Multiple myeloma were analysed over a 20 year period. Incidence rates were calculated focusing on specific time periods, regions and age-groups. In addition, the correlation between the use of DU in different regions and their incidence of HM was analysed. RESULTS: The average annual crude rate of all HM in Kosovo was 5.02 cases per 100,000 persons. Incidence rates of HM in first post-war period (2000-2003) increased by 0.37 cases/100,000 persons (9.51%) compared to the pre-war period (1995-1998) whereas in the last post-war period (2012-2015), incidence of HM increased by 3.19/100,000 persons (82%). Gjakova and Peja, the first and third most exposed regions to DU ordnance ranked first and second in difference in HM. Prishtina, Gjilan and Ferizaj, regions with the least number of rounds/km2, were characterized by a decline of incidence rates. CONCLUSIONS: After the war, the increase in incidence rate of HM was higher in two regions with most DU rounds/km2 expended Despite these findings, this study warrants further investigation and does not lead us to a conclusive finding on the existence of a causal relationship between the use of DU during the war and the rise in incidence of HM in Kosovo.

CB-Art Interventions Implemented with Mental Health Professionals Working in a Shared War Reality: Transforming Negative Images and Enhancing Coping Resources.

Research on mental health professionals (MHPs) exposed to a shared war reality indicates that they are subject to emotional distress, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, and vicarious trauma. This article focuses on a CB-ART (cognitive behavioral and art-based) intervention implemented during the 2014 Gaza conflict with 51 MHPs who shared war-related experiences with their clients. The intervention included drawing pictures related to three topics: (1) war-related stressors, (2) coping resources, and (3) integration of the stressful image and the resources drawing. The major aims of the study were (1) to examine whether significant changes occurred in MHP distress levels after the intervention; (2) to explore the narratives of the three drawing and their compositional characteristics; and (3) to determine which of selected formats of the integrated drawing and compositional transformations of the stressful image are associated with greater distress reduction. Results indicate that MHP distress levels significantly decreased after the intervention. This stress-reducing effect was also reflected in differences between the compositional elements of the 'stress drawing' and the 'integrated drawing,' which includes elements of resources. Reduced distress accompanied compositional transformations of the stressful image. MHPs can further use the easily implemented intervention described here as a coping tool in other stressful situations.

Miniaturization optimized weapon killing power during the social stress of late pre-contact North America (AD 600-1600).

Before Europeans arrived to Eastern North America, prehistoric, indigenous peoples experienced a number of changes that culminated in the development of sedentary, maize agricultural lifeways of varying complexity. Inherent to these lifeways were several triggers of social stress including population nucleation and increase, intergroup conflict (warfare), and increased territoriality. Here, we examine whether this period of social stress co-varied with deadlier weaponry, specifically, the design of the most commonly found prehistoric archery component in late pre-contact North America: triangular stone arrow tips (TSAT). The examination of modern metal or carbon projectiles, arrows, and arrowheads has demonstrated that smaller arrow tips penetrate deeper into a target than do larger ones. We first experimentally confirm that this relationship applies to arrow tips made from stone hafted onto shafts made from wood. We then statistically assess a large sample (n = 742) of late pre-contact TSAT and show that these specimens are extraordinarily small. Thus, by miniaturizing their arrow tips, prehistoric people in Eastern North America optimized their projectile weaponry for maximum penetration and killing power in warfare and hunting. Finally, we verify that these functional advantages were selected across environmental and cultural boundaries. Thus, while we cannot and should not rule out stochastic, production economizing, or non-adaptive cultural processes as an explanation for TSAT, overall our results are consistent with the hypothesis that broad, socially stressful demographic changes in late pre-contact Eastern North America resulted in the miniaturization-and augmented lethality-of stone tools across the region.

Interdependence between health and peace: a call for a new paradigm.

Health and peace, and their relationships to disease/conflict/violence, are complex and multifaceted interrelated terms. Scholars have proposed a variety of definitions for health and peace. The conceptualizations of health and peace share many fundamental elements, including in their social, psychological (emotional and mental) and spiritual dimensions. We argue that health and peace are inter-dependent in a fundamental causal fashion. Health is always positively or negatively affected by conflict; peace can be directly or indirectly fostered through public health program and policy initiatives. Evidence shows that public health professionals and academics have frequently failed to recognize the inter-dependence of health and peace when conceptualizing, and addressing, issues related to health and peace. In contrast, the present article argues in support of a new paradigm for addressing public health issues related to health and peace; such a paradigm is based on the premise that health and peace are inextricably linked, requiring that they be addressed in an integrated, inter-dependent, fashion. Finally, we emphasize that fostering health and peace requires identifying and promoting positive socio-ecological influences on health, rather than limiting our focus to health deficits and obstacles at the individual or community levels.

Rebuilding health post-conflict: case studies, reflections and a revised framework.

War and conflict negatively impact all facets of a health system; services cease to function, resources become depleted and any semblance of governance is lost. Following cessation of conflict, the rebuilding process includes a wide array of international and local actors. During this period, stakeholders must contend with various trade-offs, including balancing sustainable outcomes with immediate health needs, introducing health reform measures while also increasing local capacity, and reconciling external assistance with indigenous legitimacy. Compounding these factors are additional challenges, including co-ordination amongst stakeholders, the re-occurrence of conflict and ulterior motives from donors and governments, to name a few. Due to these complexities, the current literature on post-conflict health system development generally examines only one facet of the health system, and only at one point in time. The health system as a whole, and its development across a longer timeline, is rarely attended to. Given these considerations, the present article aims to evaluate health system development in three post-conflict environments over a 12-year timeline. Applying and adapting a framework from Waters et al. (2007, Rehabilitating Health Systems in Post-Conflict Situations. WIDER Research Paper 2007/06. United Nations University. http://hdl.handle.net/10419/63390, accessed 1 February 2018.), health policies and inputs from the post-conflict periods of Afghanistan, Cambodia and Mozambique are assessed against health outputs and other measures. From these findings, we developed a revised framework, which is presented in this article. Overall, these findings contribute post-conflict health system development by evaluating the process holistically and along a timeline, and can be of further use by healthcare managers, policy-makers and other health professionals.

Determinations of uranium concentrations in soil, water, vegetables and biological samples from inhabitants of war affected areas in eastern Croatia (ICP-MS method).

The occurrence of elevated uranium levels in post-war areas raise concerns among populations, especially in areas affected by heavy bombardment and potential use of depleted uranium weapons. The aim of this study was to assess public exposure to the uranium Water, soil, vegetables, urine, serum and hair samples were collected for the first time in eastern Croatia and analysed using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method, in order to try to explain the possible origins of uranium in the population and environment. Urine, serum and hair samples were collected from 389 inhabitants. A large variation of uranium concentrations in urine, serum and hair samples was found in this study. The majority of urine, serum and hair samples from our study had uranium concentrations below the reference literature values. A higher uranium concentration in the hair of 4% of inhabitants, mostly from rural areas, could not be explained at this stage of research. A further, extended epidemiological study should be made of uranium in the region.

Understanding Interconnectedness From the Military Nurse Perspective.

BACKGROUND: Nurses who serve in the military have a unique perspective on nursing and health care delivery that nurtures wholeness and inspires peace and healing on a global scale. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore health promotion and healing from the military nurse perspective. DESIGN: Video-recorded interviews were conducted with 10 military nurses who represented various branches and times of service. Participants were asked to share their experiences as military nurses and discuss the challenges and rewards. FINDINGS: Thematic analysis of the recorded interviews revealed two major themes: interconnectedness and human potential. CONCLUSION: This study showed that military nurses have unique experiences that influenced their way of promoting health and healing. Interconnectedness with family (personal and military) had many positive and negative factors. Interconnectedness with the health care team was more prominent for the nurses during military service than in the civilian arena. Global interconnectedness included working with teams from around the world, helping children of detainees see that Americans were not evil, and caring for international communities. Military service strengthened the three human qualities of mind, body, and spirit, which resulted in increasing each military nurse's human potential by enabling them to serve as instruments of healing on a global scale.

Revisiting Desmond Doss (1919-2006): Merging Combat Medicine and Benevolence on the Battlefield.

Conscientious objectors are typically defined only by their unwillingness to serve in the armed forces. Desmond Doss participated in World War II as a combat medic and a conscientious objector by providing emergency medicine on active battlefields while refusing to handle a weapon or harm another human being. Born and raised with humility, Doss developed spiritually as a Seventh Day Adventist. Although fixated on the Ten Commandments and "Thou shall not kill," Doss felt a call to serve and voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Army with aspirations of becoming a combat medic. Throughout his training he was met with physical, spiritual, and political obstacles as his superiors unsuccessfully tried to convince him and eventually to force him out of the military or to take up arms and fight. Doss was granted his request as a combat medic, was not required to handle a weapon or fight, and was deployed with the 307th Infantry Regiment overseas. His heroism on the battlefield saved hundreds of lives and earned him the Medal of Honor. A thorough yet concise examination of Doss' formative years, the obstacles presented by the country he aimed to serve, how he evolved from a conscientious objector to a combat medic worthy of emulation, and his lasting legacy is a necessary reminder of what we risk when courageous people are limited by outdated and potentially unconstitutional policies and perceptions.

The emergence of human warfare: Current perspectives.

The origins of warfare have long been of interest for researchers across disciplines. Did our earliest ancestors engage in forms of organized violence that are appropriately viewed as approximations, forms of, or analogs for more recent forms of warfare? Assessed in this article are contrasting views that see warfare as being either a product of more recent human societies or a phenomenon with a much deeper chronology. The article provides an overview of current debates, theories, and methodological approaches, citing literature and data from archaeological, ethnographic, genetic, primatological, and paleoanthropological studies. Synthetic anthropological treatments are needed, especially in efforts to inform debates among nonacademic audiences, because the discipline's approaches are ideally suited to study the origins of warfare. Emphasized is the need to consider possible forms of violence and intergroup aggression within Pleistocene contexts, despite the methodological challenges associated with fragmentary, equivocal, or scarce data. Finally, the review concludes with an argument about the implications of the currently available data. We propose that socially cooperative violence, or "emergent warfare," became possible with the onset of symbolic thought and complex cognition. Viewing emergent warfare as a byproduct of the human capacity for symbolic thought explains how the same capacities for communication and sociality allowed for elaborate peacemaking, conflict resolution, and avoidance. Cultural institutions around war and peace are both made possible by these changes. Accordingly, we suggest that studies on warfare's origins should be tied to research on the advent of cooperation, sociality, and communication.