History of biological warfare and bioterrorism.

Bioterrorism literally means using microorganisms or infected samples to cause terror and panic in populations. Bioterrorism had already started 14 centuries before Christ, when the Hittites sent infected rams to their enemies. However, apart from some rare well-documented events, it is often very difficult for historians and microbiologists to differentiate natural epidemics from alleged biological attacks, because: (i) little information is available for times before the advent of modern microbiology; (ii) truth may be manipulated for political reasons, especially for a hot topic such as a biological attack; and (iii) the passage of time may also have distorted the reality of the past. Nevertheless, we have tried to provide to clinical microbiologists an overview of some likely biological warfare that occurred before the 18th century and that included the intentional spread of epidemic diseases such as tularaemia, plague, malaria, smallpox, yellow fever, and leprosy. We also summarize the main events that occurred during the modern microbiology era, from World War I to the recent 'anthrax letters' that followed the World Trade Center attack of September 2001. Again, the political polemic surrounding the use of infectious agents as a weapon may distort the truth. This is nicely exemplified by the Sverdlovsk accident, which was initially attributed by the authorities to a natural foodborne outbreak, and was officially recognized as having a military cause only 13 years later.

Family history of cancer and the risk of laryngeal cancer: a case-control study from Italy and Switzerland.

Only limited data is available on the relationship between family history of laryngeal and other neoplasms and laryngeal cancer risk. We investigated the issue using data from a multicentre case-control study conducted in Italy and Switzerland between 1992 and 2009 including 852 cases with histologically confirmed laryngeal cancer and 1970 controls admitted to hospital for acute, non neoplastic conditions. Unconditional logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, study center, education, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking and number of siblings were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) of laryngeal cancer. The multivariate OR was 2.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-5.3) in subjects reporting a first-degree relative with laryngeal cancer, as compared to subjects with no family history. The OR was higher when the relative was diagnosed before 60 years of age (OR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.4-8.8). As compared to subjects without family history, non-smokers, and moderate drinkers, the OR was 37.1 (95% CI 9.9-139.4) for current smokers, heavy drinkers, with family history of laryngeal cancer. Family history of colorectal (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.0-2.3) and kidney (OR = 3.8, 95% CI 1.2-12.1) cancer were also associated to an increased risk of laryngeal cancer, while no significant increase in risk was found for family history of cancer at all sites, excluding the larynx (OR = 1.1).

History of the Trappist Abbey of New Melleray, in Dubuque County, Iowa,1892

Written by William Rufus Perkins this book is the history of the Trappist Abbey of New Melleray in Dubuque County, Iowa. New Melleray is a Cistercian (Trappist) monastery located in the rolling farmland south of Dubuque

A reference guide to Iowa history,1942.

This reference guide was designed to facilitate the study of Iowa history and includes useful lists of references on many topics. It was compiled by William J. Petersen and is part of the Bulletin of Information: no. 17, edited by John Ely. It was published by the State Historical Society of Iowa

A Cartoon History of Iowa, 1968

This book is for students to learn about the history of Iowa through cartoons and drawings with questions to answer at the end of each of the 75 chapters. The author and artist is Herb V. Hake.

Iowa History and Culture : A Bibliography of Materials Published Between 1952 and 1986, 1989

This bibliography was compiled by two reference librarians, Patricia Dawson and David Hudson with the goal of making it easier of tracking down material on Iowa history and culture. This supplements the Iowa History Reference Guide published in 1952 by William Petersen.

Psychiatric co-morbidities and cardiovascular risk factors in people with lifetime history of epilepsy of an urban community.

OBJECTIVES: Depression has been consistently reported in people with epilepsy. Several studies also suggest a higher burden of cardiovascular diseases. We therefore analysed psychosocial co-morbidity and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with a lifetime history of epilepsy in the PsyCoLaus study, a Swiss urban population-based assessment of mental health and cardiovascular risk factors in adults aged between 35 and 66 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among 3719 participants in the PsyCoLaus study, we retrospectively identified those reporting at least 2 unprovoked seizures, defined as epilepsy. These subjects were compared to all others regarding psychiatric, social, and cardiovascular risk factors data using uni- and multivariable assessments. RESULTS: A significant higher need for social help (p<0.001) represented the only independent difference between 43 subjects with a history of epilepsy and 3676 controls, while a higher prevalence of psychiatric co-morbidities (p=0.015) and a lower prevalent marital status (p=0.01) were only significant on univariate analyses. Depression and cardio-vascular risk factors, as well as educational level and employment, were similar among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis confirms an increased prevalence of psychosocial burden in subjects with a lifetime history of epilepsy; conversely, we did not find a higher cardiovascular risk. The specific urban and geographical location of our cohort and the age span of the studied population may account for the differences from previous studies.

Do riverine barriers, history or introgression shape the genetic structuring of a common shrew (Sorex araneus) population?

The common shrew (Sorex araneus) is subdivided into numerous chromosome races. The Valais and Cordon chromosome races meet and hybridize at a mountain river in Les Houches (French Alps). Significant genetic structuring was recently reported among populations found on the Valais side of this hybrid zone. In this paper, a phylogenetic analysis and partial Mantel tests are used to investigate the patterns and causes of this structuring. A total of 185 shrews were trapped at 12 localities. All individuals were typed for nine microsatellite loci. Although several mountain rivers are found in the study area, riverine barriers do not have a significant influence on gene flow. Partial Mantel tests show that our result is caused by the influence of the hybrid zone with the Cordon race. The geographical patterns of this structuring are discussed in the context of the contact zone, which appears to extend up to a group of two rivers. The glacier they originate from is known to have cut the Arve valley as recently as 1818. The recent history of this glacier, its moraine and possibly rivers, may therefore be linked to the history of this hybrid zone.