[A new Spanish enemy; the Spanish flu in the Netherlands in the period 1918-1920]. / Een nieuwe Spaanse vijand.

The Dutch example shows that there are not only differences but also several similarities between COVID-19 and the Spanish flu, although risk of infection and death toll were much higher than they are now, especially at the end of 1918. These similarities include emphasis on the importance of hand washing, prohibition of gatherings (and disregard of these rules), disruption of public life, uncertainty about the nature of the cause, praise of and warnings against ineffective medication as well as debate on use and necessity of certain measures. There is also the social context in which the disease and the measures taken to combat it are happening, with the poor paying the highest price, now as well as then.

[Georg Friedrich Nicolai: war physician against war]. / Georg Friedrich Nicolai: oorlogsarts tegen oorlog.

Georg Friedrich Nicolai was a German professor and heart specialist who was one of the few who protested against the war at the beginning of World War I. As a result, he lost his job and was convicted. After the war, right-wing nationalist students and lack of support from his university superiors made it impossible for him to teach. He left Germany in 1922, never to return. In his book, Die Biologie des Krieges (The Biology of War), which was published in neutral Switzerland in 1917, he contradicted the social Darwinist idea - supported by many physicians as well - that war strengthened humanity, people and races, physically and mentally. On the contrary, he argued, war is biologically counterproductive.

Affordable techniques for fabricating large array of functional nanowires: From DNA to micellar systems.

Large arrays of aligned DNA and polymeric nanowires ranging from 20 to 100 nm in diameter are fabricated by de-wetting of patterned surfaces. Compared to other nanofabrication techniques, our approach is robust, fast and low cost. In addition, arrays of functionalized nanowires for bio/chemical applications can be simply produced at large scale.

Medical care as the carrot: the Red Cross in Indonesia during the war of decolonization, 1945-1950.

During the war of decolonisation in Indonesia 1945-1950, the Dutch Red Cross and the Dutch East Indies Red Cross delivered aid to sick and wounded soldiers and civilians. This was supposed to happen in cooperation with organisations including the Indonesian Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the military health service and civilian health services. Due to lack of resources, doctors and nurses, and due to differing interests, cooperation went anything but smoothly, severely undermining medical aid. On top of that, the aid that was given turned out be a tool of propaganda for the Dutch cause. Aid was deliberately--and with Red Cross consent--used as a political-military tool in the service of Dutch national interests. In a military strategy of carrot and stick, medical care served as the carrot.

Spread of bacteria on surfaces when cleaning with microfibre cloths.

The impact of environmental contamination on nosocomial cross-transmission is mostly unresolved and in Danish hospitals assessment of cleaning is based on visible criteria only. The use of premoistened microfibre cloths and the 16-side method have been introduced into Danish hospitals because of economic and ergonomic advantages but they have not been evaluated for applicability in hospital cleaning. Our hypothesis was that this method may spread bacteria. A surface was contaminated with bacteria (4 cfu/bacteria/cm(2)), and cleaned with a premoistened microfibre cloth folded to 16-side use. Each of 15 sterile surfaces was cleaned with a new side of the microfibre cloth; imprints were made and the experiment repeated 12 times. After cleaning, the contaminated surface imprints of microfibre cloths showed a median of 45.5 cfu/plate for E. faecalis and 2.5 cfu/plate for B. cereus. Median values from imprints from cloth sides 2-16 were between 1 and 12 cfu/plate for E. faecalis and 0 cfu/plate for B. cereus. Imprints of the contaminated surfaces were a median of 45.5 cfu/plate for E. faecalis, giving a reduction of 5.6-fold. For B. cereus the median value was 0 cfu/plate. The surface numbers 2-16 had median values between 0.5 and 7.5 for E. faecalis, which was spread to 11-15 of the 15 sterile surfaces (P<0.01). B. cereus was found in six out of 180 imprints on surfaces 2-16, all with 1 cfu/plate (non-significant). The implication is that although there was an overall reduction in bacterial counts on the contaminated surface, bacteria were spread to subsequently cleaned surfaces.

Early warning-system for operation-failures in biological stages of WWTPs by on-line image analysis.

By the observation and evaluation of the microscopic picture of activated sludge samples it is possible to introduce another biological parameter additional to conventional physico-chemical parameters for the control of biological stages of waste water treatment plants. Considering the fact that parameters like floc size and floc size distribution, structure of the flocs (compact/open), shape of the flocs (round/irregular) allow perceptions of the adjusted operation conditions of the biological stages, evidence for changing operation conditions or threatening operation disturbances can be recognised. This recognition takes place at a very early phase, because the morphology of activated sludge flocs reacts very fast to changing conditions. An automatic image analysis of activated sludge floc pictures would enable the introduction of a new sum parameter to enhance operation control of aeration tanks. By a statistical evaluation of the processed sludge images several parameters can be used to describe the alteration of activated sludge flocs characteristics. With these biological parameters it is possible to detect altered operation conditions or threatening or existing operation problems at an early phase. Thus it is possible to plan suitable countermeasures. Furthermore, the microscopic picture is the only parameter, that gives important information about the structure of the activated sludge flocs and the biozenosis. In comparison with the mainly used physico-chemical parameters, that just give information about the inlet and outlet of the wastewater treatment plants, the microscopic picture is the only parameter that gives information about the biology of the wastewater treatment process. By means of this biological parameter an improved control and regulation of the biological stages of wastewater treatment plants can be obtained.

[An attempt to combine humanitarianism and pacifism. The Red Cross and the Dutch movement for international peace]. / Een poging tot samengaan van humanitarisme en pacifisme. Het Rode Kruis en de nederlandse Beweging voor Internationale Vrede.

Both the International and the Dutch Red Cross were heavily damaged by World War II. The Red Cross movement especially was blamed for its lack of care for persecuted Jews and political prisoners. To restore its reputation all kinds of initiatives were taken. Amongst these was an attempt of the Dutch Red Cross to cooperate with several pacifist movements in the Dutch Movement for International Peace and Security. It seemed a good and sensible initiative, especially in 1945, but although it was supported by international Red Cross resolutions, it failed. The DRC grew immensely in numbers in the years after 1945. With the cold war coming up the peace movement lost most of its popularity and therefore lost its attraction for the Red Cross as a partner. As in the rest of its mutual history, the attempt to humanise war did not mix with the wish to abolish it.

Somatic hypotheses of war syndromes.

Since the end of the American Civil War, unexplained symptoms in military personnel arising after a war or peace mission have frequently been described. The pattern of symptoms is highly similar for all of the various war syndromes although the conditions of each war or peace mission are widely different. Many somatic hypotheses have been formulated to explain these syndromes; a considerable proportion of them are already outdated. In the last few years much attention has been given to Gulf War Syndrome and to unexplained symptoms of military personnel who were sent to Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, or the former Yugoslavia. In this review the symptoms of war syndromes will be considered in more detail and the suggested somatic explanations will be discussed. During the last decade the following somatic causes have been suggested as possible explanations for these symptoms: (persistent) infection, abnormal immune response, administration of multiple vaccinations within a short period of time, use of malaria chemoprophylaxis, neurological abnormalities, exposure to toxicological substances and environmental factors. The various investigations performed to study these hypotheses are discussed. The fact that bias regularly occurs in the course of these investigations is pointed out. For the future, a reliable investigation of a war syndrome should be a prospective multidisciplinary study and should distinguish between causative and sustaining factors.

The reification of normalcy.

Many researchers who investigate the putative effects of violent television on normal children claim there is a lifetime sociopathic effect on many of the children who watch. There may be. But there is a prevailing assumption that because television can produce sociopathic effects in a laboratory, that it does outside the laboratory. In addition, uncritical assumptions of psychological normalcy among most viewers are so prevalent among researchers in this field that any pathological lifetime effect may be exaggerated. The incidence of psychopathology, especially among nonrandom subject samples obtained from public schools, may be higher than investigators suspect, which could lead to overestimates of pernicious effects by television on children. Because pathological children are more vulnerable to commercial television's putative sociopathic effects than are normal children, they may bias study results toward sociopathic attitudes and behaviors, thus misleading researchers into believing that television has a greater sociopathic effect on normal populations than it actually has. Those psychopathologies are reviewed and prospective remedies are suggested for helping those children cope with the possible sociopathic effects of violently oriented television.

[Somatic and psychological symptoms in soldiers after military clashes and peace-keeping missions]. / Lichamelijke en psychische klachten bij militairen na oorlogshandelingen en vredesmissies.

Dutch soldiers who have participated in the peace keeping operation United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) have reported various somatic and psychological symptoms since their return. Their symptoms show similarities to the Gulf War Syndrome. The question arises whether Gulf War Syndrome, symptoms in UNTAC soldiers and other symptoms after acts of war and peace operations are unique syndromes or comparable complaints? From an historical overview it is not plausible that new and unique syndromes will occur with each war or peace operation. On the other hand it also seems unlikely that war syndromes can be reduced to one diagnostic category. The post-Cambodia complaints may be described in four hypothetical models: the somatic start model, the psychotrauma start model, the premorbidity model and the complaints-not-related-to-Cambodia model. These models are expected to be applicable, after further validation, to other symptoms after acts of war and peace operations. Also they will provide points of application for prevention and treatment of symptoms after future wars and peace operations.

Staphylococcus aureus carriage and infections among patients in four haemo- and peritoneal-dialysis centres in Denmark. The Danish Study Group of Peritonitis in Dialysis (DASPID).

A three-month prospective surveillance study was undertaken in four dialysis centres to establish the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage in a Danish population of patients on haemodialysis (HD) or on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). General data such as sex, age, diagnosis, number of months in dialysis, hospital and ward were registered on a precoded form. Standardized nose and four skin swabs (axillae, groins, perineum) were performed on the first day of the survey. After one and two months, nose swabs were collected. Infections were registered and cultures were sent for phage-typing together with the S. aureus strains isolated from the swabs; 59.5% of HD patients and 51.2% of CAPD patients carried S. aureus. Permanent carriage was most frequent (P < 0.00009), primarily in the nose (44.0 and 34.9%, respectively in HD and CAPD). Skin carriage alone was rare (2.4 and 4.7%). Approximately one third (36.6 and 40.7%) of infections were caused by S. aureus. Although diabetics were not significantly more frequent carriers (60.5%) than non-diabetics (55.0%), the incidence of infection was much higher (26.3% vs. 10.3%, P = 0.004). In CAPD, peritonitis and tunnel/exit-site infections predominated (81.4%), often caused by S. aureus (34.8%). More than two thirds of the infections in HD patients were related to intravascular catheterization. The most serious infection was septicaemia, in all cases due to S. aureus. S aureus infections occurred significantly more frequently among carriers (P = 0.005), and more than half the patients were infected by the same or possibly the same strain as they carried in the nose or on skin. Different regimens for the elimination of S. aureus carriage in dialysis patients are discussed. A policy for risk assessment of patients should be developed, and the elimination of S. aureus carriage before dialysis should be encouraged. Controlled trials comparing the cost-effectiveness of recommended regimens to eliminate carriage in HD/CAPD patients are needed. Nose swabs are reliable indicators of carriage in dialysis patients.

The effects of open leaf burning on spirometric measurements in asthma.

The purpose of our study was to determine the effects of open leaf burning on asthmatic subjects. Seven subjects with known asthma of varying severity, along with three normal control subjects, were walked 0.5 mile with and without exposure on the same day, under very similar environmental conditions. An acute spirometric broncho-constrictive response was observed within 30 min of exercise with exposure to leaf burning in two of the seven asthmatic subjects. Five of the seven showed an overall drop in parameters measured. No significant change in the FEV1 was seen in the normal subjects with either protocol, nor in the asthmatic subjects during low level exercise alone. The results of our study suggest that open leaf burning under normal community-allowed conditions may represent a significant health hazard for some asthmatic subjects.

Treatment decisions for the elderly.

Patients must be given the opportunity to make medical treatment choices. Based on legal and clinical precedents, guidelines must be established for determining the choice-making competency of persons unable to make their own decisions.

Tubulin-colchicine complex (TC) inhibits microtubule depolymerization by a capping reaction exerted preferentially at the minus end.

The effects of colchicine and tubulin-colchicine complex (TC) on microtubule depolymerization were studied using the axoneme-subunit system described previously [Bergen LG, Borisy GG; J Cell Biol 84:141-150, 1980]. This system allows the independent analysis of the polymerization kinetics at both the plus and minus ends of a microtubule. Depolymerization was induced by isothermal dilution with 10 volumes of an experimental solution containing colchicine, TC, or buffer alone. Colchicine alone (5-100 microM) blocked depolymerization at the minus end, whereas depolymerization at the plus end occurred at almost control rates. A similar effect was produced by TC (0.4:1-1:1 molar ratio to free tubulin). High molar ratios of TC to tubulin (10:1) blocked depolymerization at both plus and minus ends, and intermediate molar ratios of TC:T allowed depolymerization of the plus ends but at attenuated rates. The blockage was not readily reversible; TC-affected ends neither shortened upon dilution nor grew longer upon incubation with additional tubulin. We conclude that TC at suprastoichiometric ratios to tubulin inhibits microtubule depolymerization by a capping reaction and that this effect is exerted preferentially at the minus end.

Genes selectively expressed in proliferating Dictyostelium amoebae.

Few eukaryotic genes are expressed only during cell growth and division. We found that the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum is unusual in that it expresses many genes only during proliferation. Thirty-two percent (304/950) of the sequences in a cDNA library made from vegetative mRNA were homologous to RNAs that are present at high levels during growth but at low or undetectable levels during differentiation when no cell growth occurs. In vitro translation assays confirmed that one-third of the vegetative cell mRNAs decreased in steady-state levels during differentiation. These vegetative cell-specific transcripts identified a diverse coordinately regulated class of genes: (i) 9 of the 10 cDNAs tested hybridized to unique small transcripts ranging from 400 to 620 bases long; (ii) the sequences showed various degrees of homology to related species; (iii) transcript levels synchronously fell by a factor of greater than 20 during development and synchronously increased during germination. This class of genes may play important roles in normal cell proliferation.