War on healthcare services in Gaza.

This article looks at the October 2023 war on Gaza in the context of the effects of wars on healthcare systems. I will begin with a brief historical overview of the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict to clarify the special status of the Gaza Strip and the hostilities since October 7, 2023. This will be followed by a description of the major distinguishing characteristic of this war, namely, the systematic assault on the healthcare system. Finally, I will attempt to explain the conduct of this war using a necropolitical lens.

Botulinum toxin and hyperhidrosis of the amputation stump in war amputees.

INTRODUCTION: Stump hyperhidrosis is a common condition after lower limb amputation. It affects the prosthesis use, and the quality of life of patients. Several case reports tried to prove benefit of using Botulinum toxin in its treatment. AIM: This study was to conduct a larger workforce clinical trial and to demonstrate benefits of botulinum toxin injection in the treatment of stump hyperhidrosis. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted. War amputees who complained of annoying excessive sweating of the stump were included. They received intradermal injection of botulinum toxin A in the residual limb area in contact with prosthetic socket. Abundance of sweating and degree of functional discomfort associated with it were assessed before, after 3 weeks, 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: Seventeen male patients, followed for post-traumatic limb amputation were included in the study. Discomfort and bothersome in relation to Hyperhidrosis did decrease after treatment (p<0,001). Reported satisfaction after 3 weeks was 73,33%. Improvement of prothesis loosening up after 3 weeks was 72,5% [±15,6]. Mean injection-induced pain on the visual analogue scale was 5.17/10 (±1.58). The mean interval after the onset of improvement was 5.13 days [min:3, max:8]. The mean time of improvement was 10.4 months after the injection [min:6, max:12]. No major adverse events were reported following treatment. CONCLUSION: Intradermal injections of botulinum toxin in the symptomatic treatment of stump hyperhidrosis are effective and have few adverse effects. It improves the quality of life of our patients thanks to a better tolerance of the prosthesis.

How the German cockroach conquered the world.

DNA study implicates medieval warfare and colonial trade.

The 12 dimensions of health impacts of war (the 12-D framework): a novel framework to conceptualise impacts of war on social and environmental determinants of health and public health.

Global rates of armed conflicts have shown an alarming increase since 2008. These conflicts have devastating and long-term cumulative impacts on health. The overriding aim in these conflicts is to achieve military or political goals by harming human life, which is the antithesis of the moral underpinnings of the health professions. However, the profession has rarely taken on a global advocacy role to prevent and eliminate conflicts and wars. To assume such a role, the health profession needs to be aware of the extensive and multiple impacts that wars have on population health. To facilitate this discourse, the author proposes a novel framework called 'The Twelve Dimensions of Health Impacts of War' (or the 12-D framework). The framework is based on the concepts of social and environmental determinants of population health. It has 12 interconnected 'dimensions' beginning with the letter D, capturing the adverse impacts on health (n=5), its social (n=4) and environmental determinants (n=3). For health, the indices are Deaths, Disabilities, Diseases, Dependency and Deformities. For social determinants of health, there are Disparities in socioeconomic status, Displacements of populations, Disruptions to the social fabric and Development reversals. For environmental determinants, there is Destruction of infrastructure, Devastation of the environment and Depletion of natural resources. A relatively simple framework could help researchers and lay public to understand the magnitude and quantify the widespread health, social and environmental impacts of war, comprehensively. Further validation and development of this framework are necessary to establish it as a universal metric for quantifying the horrific impacts of war on the planet and garner support for initiatives to promote global peace.

Analysis of Greek prehistoric combat in full body armour based on physiological principles: A series of studies using thematic analysis, human experiments, and numerical simulations.

One of the oldest complete suits of European armour was discovered in 1960 near the village of Dendra, in Southern Greece, but it remained unknown whether this armour was suitable for extended use in battle or was purely ceremonial. This had limited our understanding of the ancient Greek-Late Bronze Age-warfare and its consequences that have underpinned the social transformations of prehistoric Europe and Eastern Mediterranean. In a series of archeo-physiological studies, merging knowledge in archaeology, history, human physiology, and numerical simulation, we provide supporting evidence that the Mycenaean armour found at Dendra was entirely compatible with use in extended combat, and we provide a free software enabling simulation of Late Bronze Age warfare. A group of special armed-forces personnel wearing a replica of the Dendra armour were able to complete an 11-hour simulated Late Bronze Age combat protocol that we developed from a series of studies based on the available evidence. Numerical simulation of the thermal exchanges in Late Bronze Age warfare extended this conclusion across different environmental conditions and fighting intensities. Our results support the notion that the Mycenaeans had such a powerful impact in Eastern Mediterranean at least partly as a result of their armour technology.

Women, peace and insecurity: The risks of peacebuilding in everyday life for women in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Truth telling processes, initiatives to prosecute war-time perpetrators, and ex-combatant reintegration are examples of common peacebuilding practices after war. Yet, little is known of how women are affected by peacebuilding initiatives such as these, or how they perceive these initiatives for peace. For many women, peace after war does not bring peace to everyday life; research shows that domestic violence increases during and after war. In addition, some peacebuilding measures have been found to increase risk and insecurity, not least for women. To better understand the interconnections between gender and post-conflict attitudes to peacebuilding, we asked 2,041 women and men in Sri Lanka and Nepal of their views on post-war peace initiatives. In line with our expectations, we find that women are more skeptical than men towards peacebuilding measures that involve increased risk in everyday life, such as truth-telling and coexisting with former adversaries and warring groups reintegrating in local communities. There are no gender differences pertaining to peacebuilding initiatives that take place far away at the national level, for example, concerning accountability or, in the case of Nepal, the peace agreement. Our findings suggest that international peacebuilding practice is blind to the everyday insecurities of women after war. That a basic gendered lens is missing from most peacebuilding designs is both alarming and deeply troubling, but identifying this critical aspect provides the opportunity for imperative change. By shedding light on the challenges women face after war, we hope this article contributes to finding ways to mitigate unknown and unintended side-effects of peacebuilding efforts, and thereby to the development of better, evidence-based peacebuilding practice-of benefit to both men and women.

Understanding posthumous sperm retrieval during war through a terror management theory perspective.

Terror Management Theory (Tmt, solomon et al., 1991) claims that individuals use three anxiety buffer mechanisms to regulate their death awareness - cultural worldviews, self-esteem, and proximity seeking. In this article, we use these three TMT anxiety buffers to explain the phenomenon of posthumous sperm retrieval, requested by spouses or parents, usually of young soldiers who died during their military service. Whereas this phenomenon has been known for some time, it increased dramatically in the initial days following the massacre conducted by the Hamas terrorist organization in Israel on October 7, 2023. We claim that this was an immediate reaction to this terror event, which posed a direct, existential threat to those who were exposed to the massacre and the soldiers who defended the country, but also to the entire Israeli society, as well as for Jews around the globe. We use interpretive phenomenology to qualitatively examine the phenomenon of retrieving sperm from dead young men, analyzing the requests to retrieve sperm posthumously as a sign of the need to provide these young men with symbolic immortality, on both personal and national levels. We integrate this explanation with the military ethos and the tendency of Israeli society to endorse familyist and pronatalist values to expand our understanding of this contemporary phenomenon in Israel.

The prevalence and correlates of PTSD, insomnia, and fatigue among people with epilepsy during Oct.7th war on Gaza: A study from Jordan.

Jordan and Palestine are tightly related countries as the same families live in the two adjacent countries. The present study sought to examine the prevalence and determinants of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)symptoms, insomnia, and fatigue among a cohort of People with Epilepsy (PWE) in Jordan. This is a cross-sectional study with inclusion criteria. PTSD, insomnia, and fatigue were assessed using validated scales. Data were analyzed from 109 PWE, PTSD symptoms were screened in (35.5 %), and Insomnia was screened in 51.8 %, moreover, fatigue mean score ± SD was 44.64 ± 26.96. PTSD symptoms were significantly associated with "females" and "age above 30 years" Insomnia severity was associated with "females". Also, the regression results demonstrated that "abstinence from social media" was significantly related to lower insomnia severity. Higher fatigue severity was associated with "married" and "Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures", whereas, lower fatigue severity was associated with "males", and with "levetiracetam". Our findings indicate the need for actions to alleviate mental health deterioration in PWE.

Impact of war-associated factors on spread of sexually transmitted infections: a systemic review.

Introduction: Statistical data indicate a link between war and the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), then it is necessary to carefully analyze the factors that directly affect the identified pattern in order to overcome this problem. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to systematically analyze the factors that influence the spread of STIs during war. Methods: The study included all original research articles and meta-analyses on the impact of war on the spread of sexually transmitted infections that met the following eligibility criteria: (1) articles published exclusively in English; (2) articles published in the period 2013-2023; (3) studies with quantitative, qualitative or mixed design. The search for relevant literature was conducted using four databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Ebsco. Results: The articles selected for our systematic review had different research designs and were mainly published as original studies (n = 8) and literature reviews (n = 6). As a result of the evaluation of the selected articles for the systematic review, the authors identified migration, a decrease in access to health care, difficult access to contraception, sexual violence as the most frequent factors directly affecting the spread of STIs during the war. Conclusion: This systematic review systematizes data on the impact of hostilities on the spread of STIs and outlines the main factors that contribute to the dissemination of pathogens far beyond the territory at the epicenter of the conflict.Systematic review registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023479808, CRD42023479808.

The Overlooked Contributors to Climate and Biodiversity Crises: Military Operations and Wars.

The military-industrial complex, military operations, and wars are major contributors to exacerbating both climate change and biodiversity crises. However, their environmental impacts are often shadowed due to national security reasons. The current paper aims to go through the devastating impacts of military operations and wars on climate change and biodiversity loss and challenges that hinder the inclusion of military-related activities into environmental crisis mitigation efforts. The information blind spot induced by concerns about national security reasons jeopardizes the efforts to involve the military-industrial complex and military operations in the global climate and biodiversity agendas. Besides that, many military-related challenges, such as specificity of operational requirements and lifecycles, dependence on fossil fuels, complex supply change, inadequate civilian technologies and innovations, and requirements of structural changes, can hinder emission reduction. Meanwhile, wars and conflicts not only threaten to drain all human and material resources available to tackle environmental problems but also inflict long-lasting destructions, pains, and trauma that can lead to hatred and distrust among nations and parties. With the rising hatred and distrust, global agreement and commitment to address climate change and biodiversity will hardly be achieved. Thus, promoting peace is the humanistic and planetary conscience.

The development and validation of the Palestinian children's traumatic events checklist in a war-torn environment.

Traumatic experiences in childhood can lead to trauma symptoms and impaired mental health, especially when children are exposed to war and political violence. Despite significant attention to child's exposure to traumas, few instruments to detect potentially traumatic events have been validated psychometrically. Our study aimed to develop, adapt and validate a user-friendly traumatic events checklist in Palestinian children living in three areas affected by low-intensity war and ongoing political and military violence. 965 Palestinian children (494 males and 471 females) living in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem were administered with a tailor-made Traumatic Events checklist, Children Impact of Events scale, and Strengths and Difficulties Scale. Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analysis was run to detect the factorial structure of the checklist. Furthermore, ANOVA was performed to identify statistically significant demographic differences among participants. A three factors structure emerged with Political violence-related traumatic experiences (PVTE), military violence against individuals (MVI), and military violence against individuals and families (MVF). Gaza children and adolescents resulted in being the most exposed to potentially traumatic events. The instrument can clearly portray potentially traumatic experiences in children exposed to violent events and adverse childhood experiences.