Genghis Khan's death (AD 1227): An unsolvable riddle or simply a pandemic disease?

Abstract The article examines Genghis Khan's death from the historico-medical perspective. Although several etiologies have been proposed over the years, most of these at a closer look appear to be later inventions by historians. A reassessment of the available evidence suggests instead bubonic plague as the most likely clinical scenario. Genghis Khan's death is also a reflection on the impact of pandemic diseases on leadership in ancient times as well as nowadays

Dynamics of tuberculosis infection in various populations during the 19th and 20th century: The impact of conservative and pharmaceutical treatments

Humans and Mycobacterium tuberculosis have co-evolved together for thousands of years. Many individuals are infected with the bacterium, but few show signs and symptoms of tuberculosis (TB). Pharmacotherapy to treat those who develop disease is useful, but drug resistance and non-adherence significantly impact the efficacy of these treatments. Prior to the introduction of antibiotic therapies, public health strategies were used to reduce TB mortality. This work shows how these strategies were able to reduce TB mortality in 19th and 20th century populations, compared with antibiotic treatments. Previously published mortality data from historical records for several populations (Switzerland, Germany, England and Wales, Scotland, USA, Japan, Brazil and South Africa) were used. Curvilinear regression was used to examine the reduction in mortality before and after the introduction of antibiotic treatments (1946). A strong decline in TB mortality was already occurring in Switzerland, Germany, England and Wales, Scotland and the USA prior to the introduction of antibiotic treatment. This occurred following many public health interventions including improved sanitation, compulsory reporting of TB cases, diagnostic techniques and sanatoria treatments. Following the introduction of antibiotics, mortality rates declined further, however, this had a smaller effect than the previously employed strategies. In Japan, Brazil and South Africa, reductions in mortality rates were largely driven by antibiotic treatments that caused rapid decline of mortality, with a smaller contribution from public health strategies. For the development of active disease, immune status is important. Individuals infected with the bacterium are more likely to develop signs and symptoms if their immune function is reduced. Effective strategies against TB can therefore include enhancing immune function of the population by improving nutrition, as well as reducing transmission by improving living conditions and public health. This has been effective in the past. Improving immunity may be an important strategy against drug resistant TB

Properties of a new quasi-axisymmetric configuration

A novel, compact, quasi-axisymmetric configuration is presented which exhibits low fast-particle losses and is stable to ideal MHD instabilities. The design has fast-particle loss rates below 8\% for flux surfaces within the half-radius, and is shown to have an MHD-stability limit of a normalised pressure of $\langle\beta\rangle=3\%$ where $\langle\beta\rangle$ is volume averaged. The flux surfaces at various plasma betas and currents as calculated using the SPEC equilibrium code are presented. Neoclassical transport coefficients are shown to be similar to an equivalent tokamak, with a distinct banana regime at half-radius. An initial coil design study is presented to assess the feasibility of this configuration as a fusion-relevant experiment

Relationships between the hard and soft dimensions of the nose in Pan troglodytes and Homo sapiens reveal the positions of the nasal tips of Plio-Pleistocene hominids

By identifying homogeneity in bone and soft tissue covariation patterns in living hominids, it is possible to produce facial approximation methods with interspecies compatibility. These methods may be useful for producing facial approximations of fossil hominids that are more realistic than currently possible. In this study, we conducted an interspecific comparison of the nasomaxillary region in chimpanzees and modern humans with the aim of producing a method for predicting the positions of the nasal tips of Plio-Pleistocene hominids. We addressed this aim by first collecting and performing regression analyses of linear and angular measurements of nasal cavity length and inclination in modern humans (Homo sapiens; n = 72) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes; n = 19), and then performing a set of out-of-group tests. The first test was performed on four subjects that belonged to the same genus as the training sample, i.e., Homo (n = 2) and Pan (n = 2), and the second test, which functioned as an interspecies compatibility test, was performed on Pan paniscus (n = 1), Gorilla gorilla (n = 3), Pongo pygmaeus (n = 1), Pongo abelli (n = 1), Symphalangus syndactylus (n = 3), and Papio hamadryas (n = 3). We identified statistically significant correlations in both humans and chimpanzees with slopes that displayed homogeneity of covariation. Prediction formulae combining these data were found to be compatible with humans and chimpanzees as well as all other African great apes, i.e., bonobos and gorillas. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that our set of regression models for approximating the position of the nasal tip are homogenous among humans and African apes, and can thus be reasonably extended to ancestors leading to these clades

The temptations of evolutionary ethics

Published online: 08 September 2000 Please see page 430 in attached PDF for this review.Reviews the book: The Temptations of Evolutionary Ethics. By Paul Lawrence Farber. Pp. 210. (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1998.) £12.95 paperback, ISBN 0-520-21369-6.Maciej Henneber

Bioethics: The ethics of evolution and genetic interference.

Published online: 09 April 2001 Please see page 316 in attached PDF for this review.Reviews the book: Bioethics: The Ethics of Evolution and Genetic Interference. By Herbert Franz Mataré. Pp. 141. (Bergin and Garvey, Westport, Connecticut, 1999. £41.50, ISBN 0-89789-461-8, hardback.Maciej Henneber

Great issues for medicine in the twenty-first century. Ethical and social issues arising out of advances in the biomedical sciences.

Please see page 319 in attached PDF for this review.Reviews the book: Great Issues for Medicine in the Twenty-First Century. Ethical and Social Issues Arising out of Advances in the Biomedical Sciences. Edited by D. C. Grossman & H. Valtin. Pp 277. (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 882, 1999.) US$ 60.00, ISBN 1-57331-143-X.M. Henneber

Genghis Khan's death (AD 1227): An unsolvable riddle or simply a pandemic disease?

The article examines Genghis Khan's death from the historico-medical perspective. Although several etiologies have been proposed over the years, most of these at a closer look appear to be later inventions by historians. A reassessment of the available evidence suggests instead bubonic plague as the most likely clinical scenario. Genghis Khan's death is also a reflection on the impact of pandemic diseases on leadership in ancient times as well as nowadays

Biologists and the promise of American life

Published online: 16 October 2003 Please see page 623 in attached PDF for this review.Reviews the book: Biologists and the Promise of American Life. By Philip J. Pauly. Pp. 312. (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA, 2001.) £18.95, ISBN 0-691-04977-7, hardback.Maciej Henneber

Race differences in intelligence: An evolutionary analysis

Please see page 844 in attached PDF for this review.Reviews the book: Race Differences in Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis. By Richard Lynn. Pp 322+xiii. (Washington Summit Publishers, Augusta, GA, USA, 2006.) $17.95, ISBN 978-1-59368-020-6, hardback; ISBN 978-1-59368-021-3, paperback.Maciej Henneber