[The Soviet-Chinese cooperation in production of penicillin in the 1950s].

The article considers, on the basis of analysis of archival documents, issue of Soviet-Chinese cooperation in field of production of penicillin in the 1950s. The main attention is paid to history of construction of penicillin plant in Shijiazhuang. It is demonstrated that it was carried out on preferential terms for China and it was under special control of the USSR government. The building of plant was bound by great difficulties conditioned by range of project, specifics of production conditions in China, special requests of customer, necessity to manufacture non-standard equipment. The implementation of this project of enormous humanitarian significance was at the same time manifestation of concurrence between the USSR and the USA for geopolitical and ideological influence in East Asia.

Factors Associated with Exclusive Breastfeeding at Hospital Discharge among Native-Born, Immigrant, and Refugee Women.

BACKGROUND: Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended through six months as it supports infant growth and development. Yet, many mothers do not exclusively breastfeed in early postpartum. OBJECTIVES: To examine factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge among culturally diverse women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used data of women who gave birth at a major medical center in Israel in 2015-2017. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were conducted to examine maternal characteristics and associated breastfeeding outcomes by hospital discharge. RESULTS: Among 10,978 women, 17.8% (n=1958) exclusively breastfed, 57.9% (n=6357) partially breastfed, and 24.3% (n=2663) did not breastfeed. Among Israeli-born and former Soviet Union-born Jewish women, breastfeeding intention (odds ratio [OR] 19.59, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 10.27-37.35 and OR 15.92, 95%CI 5.79-43.80, respectively) and early breastfeeding (OR 2.415, 95%CI 1.91-3.05 and OR 2.04, 95%CI 1.57-2.64, respectively) were associated with exclusive breastfeeding. The only significant factor associated with exclusive breastfeeding among refugees and Israeli-born Muslim women was early breastfeeding (OR 1.61, 95%CI 1.20-2.16). For Ethiopian-born Jewish women, not married (OR 0.330, 95%CI 0.114-0.955) and cesarean delivery (OR 0.481, 95%CI 0.232-0.998) were negatively associated with exclusive breastfeeding. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having access to the same hospital-based breastfeeding support, there were differences among ethno-culturally diverse women in Israel. In this study, we identified maternal characteristics associated with early breastfeeding among women of diverse ethno-cultural backgrounds. Study findings highlight the importance of ethno-cultural considerations in breastfeeding practices and inform health professionals of factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding in early postpartum.

[The participation of the USSR in development of penicillin industry in the Eastern Europe].

The article considers on the basis of analysis of archival documents issue of rendering assistance by the Soviet Union to the countries of Eastern Europe to organize production of penicillin. It is established that by the mid of 1950s, modern powerful plants were launched in Bulgaria, Romania and Czechoslovakia by the forces of Soviet engineers . Their construction was carried out on preferential terms for countries-customers. The mutually beneficial cooperation in sphere of production of antibiotics carried out and with other countries of this region. It is demonstrated that the USSR, performing task of enormous humanitarian significance in conditions of the Cold War, simultaneously implemented another goal - formation of loyalty of population of these countries and organization of coalition of friendly states on its Western borders.

From the principle of sustainable non-equilibrium to sustainable development.

Ervin Bauer was Hungarian and Soviet scientist, who had a short, but bright and talented life. In 1935, working at the Institute of Experimental Medicine in the USSR, he published the book «Theoretical Biology¼, in which he proposed an idea of a special "non-equilibrium" state of living systems and the existence of internal machineries in the organism that work against thermodynamic equilibrium and increase the organism's capacity for work. Currently, this idea is called "the principle of sustainable non-equilibrium" or "Bauer's principle". During the repressions of the 1930s in the USSR, Bauer was executed, the book « Theoretical Biology¼ was banned. Currently, his works are poorly known, especially outside the post-socialist region. We believe that his ideas could help in rethinking not only the biochemistry and bioenergetics of cells and tissues of living organisms, but also biogeochemical and civilizational processes on a planetary scale.

The relationship between a comprehensive index of prosperity and suicide rates in former Soviet countries, including a comparison with European and Asian countries: Discussion from a new perspective.

Investigations of suicide in countries of the former Soviet Union, which broke into 15 different countries in the early 1990s, require examinations of a combination of economic, social, and health factors. It is important to address these factors individually and to examine the various composite indicators for each. Moreover, it would be worthwhile to explore the potential applicability of a comprehensive worldwide index. We analyzed data from nine of the former Soviet countries for which both the annual suicide rate and the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) were available for the years 2006-2017. We determined the precise relationships between the suicide rate and the GCI during this period in these nine countries as well as in nine countries with high suicide rates in Europe and Asia. The results indicated the following: (i) In six of the nine former Soviet countries with complete data, the suicide rate showed a relationship with the GCI. Notably, this relationship was inverse in all but one country. (ii) Among the nine European and Asian countries with high suicide rates, three exhibited a correlation between the suicide rate and the GCI. Measures to prevent suicide should be devised especially in countries of the former Soviet Union through collaboration among multiple fields and organizations, as necessary, with particular attention paid to countries with worse or worsening GCI values.

(e)Managing the uncertainty of tuberculosis in the post-Soviet limbo: Tracking prisoners' coerced mobility for treatment in Ukrainian prisons.

The collapse of the Soviet Union triggered an escalation of the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic in many post-Soviet countries, including Ukraine. The main reasons for this situation include both the approach to TB care and the concentration of TB cases in prisons. The neoliberal approach to TB care system reform promises the optimization of treatment terms, "dehospitalization" and "despecialization" of the system of care, and a different type of control, established through digital technologies. One such technology is the "e-TB Manager", which was designated as a national TB registry, including in the prison system in 2012. In prison, where everyone "is to be fixed" and isolated, the uncertainty of patients' movements seems to be avoided by pre-existing conditions. In practice, however, the vertically aligned, centralized organizational structure of the post-Soviet prison implies a constant need to link its elements together through "coerced" mobility carried out in secrecy. Treatment in exile may not be the primary goal of such a practice, but it becomes the result when prisoners from numerous prison facilities are sent to a limited number of prison TB hospitals. The integration of the e-TB Manager as a tool to enable the tracking of patient movements and, consequently, improve the efficiency of diagnostic and treatment processes in prison, can be seen as both a purely technical measure and a "magic bullet". In this article, we argue that, in the case of Ukrainian prisons, the neoliberal approach and the Soviet socialist approach to gaining control over TB indeed adapt and reinforce each other but fail to compete meaningfully. The fragmented implementation of one is absorbed by the fundamental and resilient nature of the other to produce and reproduce the state of "post-Soviet limbo". We use the "post-Soviet limbo" as an overall framework aimed at conceptualizing the post-Soviet transformation as a combination of efforts to avoid and manage the uncertainty of TB treatment, especially in prison. We examine the empirical case of coerced mobility of prisoners who require TB treatment, seeking to trace how this process is reflected in the e-TB Manager. We provide a more in-depth picture of this journey with details gathered from qualitative research materials to situate numbers and variables in their contexts, deconstructing the way the data are recorded according to the logic of the system in which they are produced.

[On becoming of nephrology in the USSR: The role of Moscow therapists M. I. Vihert and E. M. Tareev].

The article considers stages of becoming of Soviet nephrology as independent scientific educational clinical discipline. The role of M. I. Vikhert in becoming of nephrology as independent clinical direction within the framework of the clinic of internal diseases is demonstrated. Also the role of E. M. Tareev as the founder of nephrology in the USSR as institutionalized clinical discipline is revealed.

Outcome in methadone maintenance treatment of immigrants from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

CONTEXT: Immigrants from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) are more prevalent in Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in Israel than their percentage in the general population. AIMS: To compare their characteristics and outcomes to those of Israeli-born and other immigrant patients. METHODS: Retention and survival since admission (June/1993-Dec/2022) until leaving treatment (for retention), or at the end of follow-up were analyzed. Vital data was taken from a national registry. Predictors were estimated using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression models. RESULTS: The USSR patients (N = 262) compared with other immigrants (N = 132) and Israeli-born (N = 696) were more educated (≥ 12y) (p < 0.001), admitted to MMT at a younger age (p < 0.001), following a shorter duration of opioid usage (p < 0.001). More of them ever injected drugs (p < 0.001) and ever drank alcohol (p < 0.001). One-year retention was comparable (77.2% vs. 75.6% and 72%, p = 0.2) as did opioid discontinuation in those who stayed (p = 0.2). Former USSR patients had longer cumulative retention of their first admission (p = 0.05) with comparable overall retention since first admission, and survival, although the age of death was younger. Specific origin within the former USSR found immigrants from the Russian Federation with the best outcome, and those from Ukraine as having high HIV seropositive and shorter retention. CONCLUSIONS: Despite several characteristics known to be associated with poor outcomes, former USSR immigrants showed better adherence to MMT, reflected by their longer cumulative retention in their first admission, lower rate of readmissions, and a comparable survival and overall retention in treatment. An in depth study is needed in order to understand why they decease at a younger age.

[Psychiatric Rehabilitation in the GDR against the Background of Soviet Influences]. / Die psychiatrische Rehabilitation in der DDR vor dem Hintergrund sowjetischer Einflüsse.

The study describes developments and local models of psychiatric rehabilitation in the GDR and the USSR. After the Second World War patient care was focused on hospitals. The Rodewisch Theses and the Brandenburg Theses as well as the "Conception to improve the patient care for mentally ill people after 1980" were important suggestions. The GDR primary literature review shows that soviet concepts were often received. The principles of stages, continuity and sectorization set the stage for success here and there. Transition units such as psychoneurological dispensaries, the occupational/protected workshops and assisted residences, therapeutic clubs, day and night hospitals were created. The occupational therapy was intended to facilitate the transition into the normal working. As a consequence, during the 1970s and 1980s in the GDR a high level of employment of mentally ill people in the economy could be achieved.

A brief tale of two pioneering moments: Europe's first discovery of Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) virus beyond the Soviet Union and the largest alimentary TBE outbreak in history.

The emergence of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Europe marked several significant milestones. The discovery of TBE in Czechoslovakia in 1948, with Gallia and Krejcí simultaneously isolating the TBE virus (TBEV) from human samples for the first time in Europe outside the Soviet Union, was pivotal. Subsequent TBEV isolation from ticks suggested the viral transmission via this vector. In 1951, the outbreak in Roznava in Slovakia (Czechoslovakia) revealed an unexpected mode of transmission, unpasteurized milk from a local dairy, challenging existing understanding. Investigations exposed illicit practices of mixing cow's milk with goat's milk for economic gains. Laboratory research confirmed the outbreak was caused by TBEV, which was substantiated by serological analyses. This was the first and largest documented alimentary TBE outbreak in history. In this review, we delve into both published sources and unpublished archival data, offering a comprehensive understanding of these historic accomplishments and shedding light on these pivotal moments.

"We are a Generation of Slaves. We Support the Protests But do not Take to the Streets": Why Older Immigrants From the Former Soviet Union are not Part of the Protests Against the Judicial Overhaul in Israel.

Beginning in 2023, Israel has been the site of extensive protests against a proposed judicial overhaul, drawing widespread participation. However, there is a notable absence of older individuals from minority groups, particularly older immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU), within these protests. This study aims to explore the perspectives of this group on the judicial overhaul and to reveal the reasons behind their non-participation in the protests. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 older FSU immigrants (age 65+). Through thematic content analysis, two main themes emerged: the attitudes of FSU older immigrants towards the proposed judicial overhaul and the factors contributing to their non-involvement in the protests. Participants exhibited diverse opinions on the judicial overhaul, ranging from outright disapproval to ambivalence or indecision. The lack of participation in the protests was attributed to multiple factors, including (1) older age and age-related limitations, (2) unique historical experiences and characteristics of the FSU immigrant cohort, and (3) a lack of unified stance and organization within the FSU immigrant community. The study provides insights into the challenges and barriers faced by older individuals in FSU immigrant minority groups in engaging with political processes and decision-making. These findings are of significant importance to policymakers, researchers, and professionals working with immigrant communities. Understanding these dynamics can aid in developing more inclusive and representative political processes and support engaging mechanisms for older minority immigrants.

[WORLD EXPERIENCE: HOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ACADEMICIAN OF THE ACADEMY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES OF THE USSR N. A. SEMASHKO HELPED ICELAND TO CREATE ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD. PART 1. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW].

Annotation. The review article is devoted to the healthcare system of Iceland, which demonstrates some of the best indicators of public health in the world at relatively low costs for a developed European country. The successful experience of Icelandic healthcare is important for Russia, on the one hand, due to the proximity of this country to many Russian regions in terms of climatic and geographical location, demography and territorial development. On the other hand, the success of Iceland's healthcare is closely linked to the development of a model, in many ways similar to the Soviet model of Nikolai Semashko, which Russia has abandoned. The authors believe that Iceland's experience can be used in the modernization of regional healthcare systems in Eastern Siberia, the Far East and the Arctic, as well as Russian healthcare in general.

[WORLD EXPERIENCE: HOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ACADEMICIAN OF THE ACADEMY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES OF THE USSR N. A. SEMASHKO HELPED ICELAND TO CREATE ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD. PART 2. PRINCIPLES FUNCTIONING OF THE ICELANDIC HEALTH SYSTEM].

Annotation. The review article is devoted to the healthcare system of Iceland, which demonstrates some of the best indicators of public health in the world at relatively low costs for a developed European country. The successful experience of Icelandic healthcare is important for Russia, on the one hand, due to the proximity of this country to many Russian regions in terms of climatic and geographical location, demography and territorial development. On the other hand, the success of Iceland's healthcare is closely linked to the development of a model, in many ways similar to the Soviet model of Nikolai Semashko, which Russia has abandoned. The authors believe that Iceland's experience can be used in the modernization of regional healthcare systems in Eastern Siberia, the Far East and the Arctic, as well as Russian healthcare in general.

Psychological distress and voting behaviour in nine countries of the former Soviet Union.

Poorer mental health is linked to a lower likelihood of voting in elections. However, little is known about this association in non-Western settings. This study examined the association between psychological distress and voting in nine countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU). Data were analysed from 18,000 respondents aged ≥ 18 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ukraine collected during the Health in Times of Transition (HITT) survey in 2010/11. Information was collected on previous voting behaviour and future voting intentions. Psychological distress was assessed with a 12-item scale. In pooled multivariable logistic regression analyses psychological distress was significantly associated with 'never voting' (not having voted previously or intending to vote in future) and 'past voting only' (having voted previously but not intending to vote in future). In stratified analyses psychological distress was linked to never voting in women and working-age adults. The significant association between psychological distress and voting was observed only in hybrid political regimes. Psychological distress is associated with a reduced likelihood of voting in FSU countries especially among women, working-age adults and those in hybrid political regimes.

Cultural and translation challenges in assessing health literacy among immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

Health literacy is an important foundation for health promotion and an under-recognized risk factor for immigrant and refugee groups. Yet measuring health literacy among diverse ethnic and linguistic populations presents complex challenges. We describe cultural and translation challenges encountered in measuring health literacy among Russian-speaking immigrants to the USA and offer a mixed-methods approach to understanding them. The Rx-Health Literacy (RxHL) study used cross-sectional quantitative and qualitative data to examine health literacy and medication adherence among five cultural and four language groups (Latinx, Vietnamese, African-American, Russian-speaking immigrant and White American) who are patients at Caring Health Center, a federally qualified health center in Springfield, MA. We translated an existing health literacy scale into Russian and Vietnamese and examined item difficulty across cultural groups. We conducted qualitative cognitive interviews to learn more about Russian speakers' understandings of the scale. Health literacy scores varied by cultural group, and the range of correct responses was much greater among Russian speakers than in other groups. Percentage correct varied by 69.7% for Russian speakers, compared with 25.0-44.0% for other groups. These findings indicate greater variability in health literacy levels among this group compared with others. Cognitive interviews with Russian-speaking participants revealed multiple interpretations of several items, suggesting that the English version of the scale contained embedded meanings associated with an American health care context that were not captured in the translated instrument. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods allows for greater insight into contextual and translation factors that may shape the results of translated instruments in unanticipated ways.

The Pugwash scientists' conferences, Cyrus Eaton and the clash of internationalisms, 1954-1961.

This paper examines the contest between Canadian American industrialist Cyrus Eaton and the Pugwash scientists' leadership for influence over the early Pugwash scientists' conferences. Eaton's activism has generally been dismissed in the historical literature as ineffective, naive and too uncritical of the Soviet Union. This paper argues that he was genuinely committed to international peace and security, that Eaton shared with Pugwash scientists a belief in the importance of intellectuals to global unity, and that he worked to bring about greater international peace and understanding through both his personal activism and his own conferences held in the town of Pugwash. Eaton, however, favoured a broader push for peace, which included participation by a wider range of intellectuals and a call for rapprochement with the Soviet Union. These differences between Eaton and the Pugwash scientists, I argue, were more than simply about approach: they represented different internationalist visions and manifested in different conceptualizations for the Pugwash scientists' conferences. Eaton hoped to incorporate non-scientists and humanism into the conferences, and integrate them into his own broader conference programme at his Thinkers' Lodge at Pugwash. The scientists, however, wanted to keep their conferences as distinctly scientists' events, tied to science and its authority.

[By canceling out history of the Soviet medicine are we weather throwing the baby out with the bath water? (On the issue of how to study history of the USSR medicine)].

The article considers particular aspects of the problem of studying the history of medicine in the USSR as educational and scientific practical discipline. On one hand, the history of medicine as educational academic discipline can quite be "ideologized", since education implies not only learning but also education of young man as patriot and citizen. On the other hand, history of medicine as scientific practical discipline is to be delivered from politics and ideology. However, this is determined in greater degree not so much by totalitarian pressing or liberalism of social system as by professionalism and world view of researcher. The monograph by S. N. Zatravkin and E. A. Vishlenkova ""The Clubs" and "the ghetto" of the Soviet Health Care" (2022), dedicated to the Soviet health care and its ideological essence, also is considered. The high significance of the book for understanding of becoming of medicine in the USSR is emphasized. However, this scholar work does not consider medical care of population of the country in clinics of medical universities and academic research institutes of the USSR. Enough attention is not paid to the history of medicine in the USSR as a science. The role of scientific schools in creating foundation for development of medicine in Russia in the late XX and early XXI centuries.

[Visual acuity charts in the Russian Empire, the USSR and modern Russia]. / Tablitsy dlya opredeleniya ostroty zreniya v Rossiiskoi imperii, SSSR i sovremennoi Rossii.

Visual acuity is the quantitative parameter of the visual system characterizing its functional spatial resolution. Special test charts are commonly used for visual acuity assessment. The development of foreign tests for visual acuity is comprehensively covered in the literature, while the history of improving visual acuity charts in modern Russia, the USSR, and in the territory of the Russian Empire is only considered fragmentarily. In particular, there are almost no mentions of D.A. Sivtsev's work on proper letter-signs selection, and of A.A. Kryukov's tests. The purpose of this article is to review the history of developing visual acuity assessment methods in the Russian Empire, the USSR and modern Russia. One of the first sets of tests for visual acuity assessment available in the Russian Empire was developed by A.A. Kryukov; it was republished several times, but some criticism of the test can be encountered in the literature of that period. Subsequently, a task of developing a more accurate method was presented, which was implemented in the form of several editions of the visual acuity charts by D.A. Sivtsev and S.S. Golovin. The authors put a lot of effort into selecting the letters for the most reliable results of visual acuity assessment, excluded some unsuccessful characters (Cyrillic letters 'Ж' and 'Ю') and changed the size levels of the chart (the lines corresponding to the visual acuity levels of 1.25 and 1.5 were substituted by 1.5 and 2.0). Around the same period, A. Holina's chart appeared in print, but due to its poor structure the chart did not gain popularity, although it had a number of advantages. The review also considers some modern tests: the RORBA chart (named after the authors Rosenbaum, Ovechkin, Roslyakov, Bershanskiy, Aizenshtat), the vanishing optotypes by S.A. Koskin et al., the three-bar optotypes by the Institute for Information Transmission Problems (IITP), and the "Quartet" optotypes. Despite a large number of options, the search for the best method of measuring visual acuity for various medical and scientific tasks continues.

[Health Literacy of People with Former Soviet Union and Turkish Migration Background in Germany]. / Gesundheitskompetenz von Personen mit ex-sowjetischem und türkischem Migrationshintergrund in Deutschland.

AIM: So far, there are hardly any data on the health literacy of persons with a migration background in Germany. The aim of the article was to analyse the health literacy of this population group - particularly persons who originate in Turkey and the former Soviet Union (FSU). METHODOLOGY: In summer 2020, face-to-face interviews with 525 persons with FSU and 512 persons with Turkish migration background above the age of 18 were carried out across Germany. The interviews were conducted in German, Russian or Turkish. Health literacy was assessed using the internationally developed HLS19-Q47 instrument. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were carried out for each immigration group separately considering demographic, socioeconomic, linguistic and migration-specific variables. RESULTS: Overall, around half of the respondents had low health literacy, with no differences between the immigration groups. In both groups, low educational levels, socioeconomic disadvantages, limited German literacy skills, older age, multiple chronic illnesses and personal experience of immigration were linked with lower health literacy. In multivariate analyses, associations between health literacy and literacy skills, social status, financial deprivation, and chronic illness remained; however, after adjustment, no significant difference persisted by immigration generation. CONCLUSION: While a significant proportion of persons with Turkish or FSU migration background in Germany have difficulty dealing with health information, compared with existing studies, they do not have a lower health literacy than the population without a migration background. People with a migration background are therefore not to be regarded as vulnerable to low health literacy in general. Particularly socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroups display low health literacy. Interventions should therefore target these subgroups specifically and consider their living conditions. In addition, people with low literacy skills and German proficiency have greater difficulties in processing health information. This highlights the need for multilingual information, but also for multimedia materials in plain language. Structural measures are necessary for a health-literate health system and for reducing health inequalities.