COVID-19 at War: The Joint Forces Operation in Ukraine

The ongoing pandemic disaster of coronavirus erupted with the first confirmed cases in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) novel coronavirus, the disease referred to as coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the outbreak and determined it a global pandemic. The current pandemic has infected nearly 300 million people and killed over 3 million. The current COVID-19 pandemic is smashing every public health barrier, guardrail, and safety measure in underdeveloped and the most developed countries alike, with peaks and troughs across time. Greatly impacted are those regions experiencing conflict and war. Morbidity and mortality increase logarithmically for those communities at risk and that lack the ability to promote basic preventative measures. States around the globe struggle to unify responses, make gains on preparedness levels, identify and symptomatically treat positive cases, and labs across the globe frantically rollout various vaccines and effective surveillance and therapeutic mechanisms. The incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 may continue to increase globally as no unified disaster response is manifested and disinformation spreads. During this failure in response, virus variants are erupting at a dizzying pace. Ungoverned spaces where nonstate actors predominate and active war zones may become the next epicenter for COVID-19 fatality rates. As the incidence rates continue to rise, hospitals in North America and Europe exceed surge capacity, and immunity post infection struggles to be adequately described. The global threat in previously high-quality, robust infrastructure health-care systems in the most developed economies are failing the challenge posed by COVID-19; how will less-developed economies and those healthcare infrastructures that are destroyed by war and conflict fare until adequate vaccine penetrance in these communities or adequate treatment are established? Ukraine and other states in the Black Sea Region are under threat and are exposed to armed Russian aggression against territorial sovereignty daily. Ukraine, where Russia has been waging war since 2014, faces this specific dual threat: disaster response to violence and a deadly infectious disease. To best serve biosurveillance, aid in pandemic disaster response, and bolster health security in Europe, across the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) and Black Sea regions, increased NATO integration, across Ukraine’s disaster response structures within the Ministries of Health, Defense, and Interior must be reinforced and expanded to mitigate the COVID-19 disaster

Behavioral effect of selective deletion of beta2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in neuropeptide Y expressing interneurons

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an abundant neuropeptide in the neocortex involved in numerous processes. NPY-expressing neurons differ in electrophysiological, molecular and morphological properties but overall, they are GABAergic interneurons (GINs). All cortical layers receive cholinergic inputs from the basal forebrain, which are crucial for cognition. Cholinergic receptors are differentially distributed across the cortex and the activation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) located on principal neurons and GINs modulates synaptic plasticity and behavior

Comprehensive Medical Support in Complex Emergencies (CMSCE):pilot course review

Global threats to health and health security are growing. Fragile and failed states, armed groups, ungoverned spaces, outbreaks and potential unknown “Disease X” threats, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), hybrid and gray zone conflict all exacerbate complex medical emergencies. These growing threats increase preventable morbidity and mortality of the most vulnerable populations. In an effort to promote best practices, standardize responses, and prevent excess death and disability in these contexts, The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), with support from multiple international partners and a volunteer facilitator faculty, administered the pilot course for military and civilian health officers involved in U.N. peacekeeping missions entitled, “Comprehensive Medical Support in Complex Emergencies (CMSCE 19).” This brief review paper provides a description of the process in designing and delivering an interdisciplinary course for providers and decision makers responding to complex emergencies. We conclude with best practices and next steps for course evolution