Finnish Army Research Articles

Belaya Smert: The White Death

In the late autumn of 1939, shortly after Second World War had commenced, the Soviet Union invaded Finland. This act of military aggression, henceforth known to history as the Winter War, was ostensibly carried out to secure a buffer state and better protect major urban areas such as St. Petersburg (then known as Leningrad). The Red Army's attack through the forests of northern Finland was a poorly calculated operation-in the little more than 3 months that the conflict lasted, the Soviets suffered extensive losses. The hit-and-run tactics of the small, winter-savvy Finnish Army resulted in a not significant number of Red Army casualties. But from the Soviet perspective, the Finnish soldiers were merely an annoyance compared with the real enemy--the environment. Cold injury reached epidemic proportions in the Red Army during this short conflict, apparently caused in large part by ignorance of environmental realities by the Soviet high command. Paradoxically, the Soviets arguably possessed the most extensive and sophisticated body of knowledge about cold injury prevention and treatment on earth by the late 1930s. There were significant lessons learned by the Soviets during the Winter War, however. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Red Army very successfully applied these lessons during 4 years of vicious winter battles on the Eastern Front.

John Ernest Oliver Screen, 1939-2009

SEER, Vol. 88,No. 3, July 20/0 John Ernest Oliver Screen, 1939-2009 In the hectic world of technological innovation, with the attendant curses of endless form-filling, meetings, targets to be set and achieved, which is now the lot of the academic librarian, itwould be hard to imagine anyone having the time, or reserves of energy, to pursue seri ous and sustained research in a non-related academic field. John Screen, who was librarian of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies between 1972 and 1998, was such a rarity. During his twenty-six years in charge of the SSEES library, he oversaw a programme ofmoderni zation and improvement that enhanced the library's international standing.In takingSSEES into itsfold in 1998-99,UCL acquired a world-class specialist library, thanks in no small part to the efforts of 526 JOHN ERNEST OLIVER SCREEN John Screen. John also forged a valuable network of professional con tactswithin the university world, and did much to foster the reputation of SSEES amongst those working in the area of Russia and Eastern Europe, most notably through his involvement with COSEELIS, the association of librarians in theUK specializing in Slavonic and Eastern European studies, and in his work with SCONUL. It was as the librarian that he will be most remembered by his colleagues past and present at SSEES and within the University of London; but John also earned another reputation as a scholar, and he earned that reputation where it mattered most ? in the country whose history he chose to study. John was one of a small group of British scholars who were drawn in the 1960s to the study of things Finnish. His own special area of interest was military history ? not the usual refighting of battles that stocks the shelves at booksellers, but what one might call the nuts and bolts of army life.As he openly admitted in a talk he gave in 2000 to a defence seminar in Finland, the Finnish army of the Russian period (1809-1917) with which he was primarily con cerned almost never fired a shot in anger, and was never of any importance. Almost single-handedly, John rescued it from obscurity and established itsplace in the Finnish heritage. In so doing, he earned the respect and admiration of a wide range of Finnish historians, from military specialists to those also working on the legacy of the Grand Duchy. His scholarly contribution and his active involvement in the Anglo-Finnish Society earned him the Order of theWhite Rose, First Class, awarded by the President of Finland in 1988. At Cambridge, where he read history at Peterhouse, John was a member of the OTC, and he served in the Territorial Army between 1959 and 1967. Lieutenant Screen, as he eventually became, was typi cally more interested in the practical organizational aspects of soldier ing: camp lifewas definitely not to his taste. Although the 1960s were largely taken up with learning the skills of librarianship and establishing a professional career, John nevertheless remained passionately devoted tomilitary history, and set out to acquire the skills necessary to tackle his chosen research subject, Finnish officers in the Imperial Russian army. This necessitated learning three new languages, Russian, Swedish and Finnish, as well as retaining a good reading knowledge of French and German. He was awarded his London PhD in 1976, and his researches on Finns serving in the Imperial Russian army and in Finland's own armed forces provided the substantial foundation for a series of publications, culminating in his book The Finnish Army 1881 igoi: Trainingthe RifleBattalions(Helsinki,1996). Although itwas his work on the nineteenth-century Finnish army that earned John the respect of his fellow-specialists, he also gained a wider reputation as a biographer of Finland's most famous soldier, JOHN ERNEST OLIVER SCREEN 527 Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. As a schoolboy, he had read the great man's memoirs, and this drew him to Finland ? an attrac tion further strengthened by marriage to Leena in 1970. His life of Mannerheim, which was published in 2001, offers a judicious, well balanced view of a man whose career was not without controversy. Some...

School Tracking and Development of Cognitive Skills

The Finnish comprehensive school reform replaced the old two-track school system with a uniform nine-year comprehensive school and significantly reduced the degree of heterogeneity in the Finnish primary and secondary education. We estimate the effect of this reform on the test scores in the Finnish Army Basic Skills test. The identification strategy relies on a differences-in-differences strategy and exploits the fact that the reform was implemented gradually across the country during a six-year period between 1972 and 1977. We find that the reform had a small positive effect on the verbal test scores but no effect on the mean performance in the arithmetic or logical reasoning tests. Still in all tests the reform improved the scores of students from families where parents had only basic education.

Historian unohtamat. Suomalaiset vapaaehtoiset Venäjän armeijassa I. maailmansodassa 1914-1918 by Tuomas Hoppu (review)

REVIEWS 167 crimes and criminals, and many scholars will now want to know more about their etymology: maravikhery, domushniki, golubiatnikiand tsiperito name but a few. Tales ofOld Odessa is a valuable contribution to our knowledge about the middle of Russian society at the end of the tsarist period. It shows how important that segmentwhich identifiedneither with the nobility nor with the peasantry and theworkers had become, and it replays many of the defini tional and terminological imperfections that bedevil students of emergent social groups. Sylvester is rightwhen she occasionally emphasizes the fluidity of distinctions between intelligentnyi and meshchanskii. They had greater potency as adjectival descriptors rather than nounal classifications: one man's intelligent was another man's meshchanin. Not enough ismade, however, of the unity that existed between the constituent parts ofOdessa's middling sorts,which appear in Sylvester's analysis to be only ever at one another's throats. More often than not, the visceral anti-petty-bourgeois outbursts of intelligenty against meshchane were actually proof of the anxiety one group feltabout its similarity to the other. London Timothy Phillips Hoppu, Tuomas. Historian unohtamat. Suomalaiset vapaaehtoiset Ven?j?n armeijassa i. maailmansodassa igi4~igi8. Bibliotheca Hist?rica, ioo. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki, 2005. 361 pp. Illustrations. Tables. Figures. Notes. Bibliography. Appendixes. Indexes. 32.00 (paperback). During World War I Finns were not compelled to serve in theRussian army although Finland formed part of theRussian Empire. The policy of russifica tion in Finland had put an end to the Finnish army and military servicewas replaced by a tax. However, some Finns continued to serve as regular officers in theRussian army and navy and duringWorld War One Finns volunteered to serve in both the Russian and German armies. The clandestine movement of volunteers to Germany was prompted by opposition to russification mea sures inFinland and the desire to obtain military training in order to fight for Finland's independence. These volunteers, who were formed into the 27th Royal Prussian J?ger Battalion, returned to Finland after its declaration of independence inDecember 1917.The J?gers fought on the victorious White or government side in the Finnish Civil War of 1918.The course of history thus changed theJ?gers from traitors in law into national heroes. On the other hand the volunteers who had joined theRussian army, and fought for their lawful sovereign, became stigmatized as near traitors to Finland. Much has been written about the J?gers but until the publication of Tuomas Hoppu's thesis the volunteers inRussia have remained, in thewords of his title, 'The Forgotten ofHistory'. Hoppu's aim is to describe the background of the volunteers and their activity in theRussian army. They fell into two groups: thosewho served in the ranks and those who entered military schools to train as officers. In all some 1,100 Finns expressed interest in volunteering but only about 600 actu ally served in the Russian army, some 500 in the ranks and 130 who attended i68 SEER, 86, I, 2008 military schools. The private soldiers mostly joined up in September 1914 when therewas inFinland a passing feeling of sympathy towardsRussia. They were predominantly young urban labourers with a low level of education. Their enlistmentwas often a reaction to a decline in employment opportuni ties at the start of the war. Few Finns volunteered to serve in the ranks in 1915 and practically none after that.On the other hand the better educated young men who sought to become officers joined throughout the war, albeit in diminishing numbers. Hoppu claims that rather than joining the army out of loyalty toRussia theywere seeking a career, even for the ultimate benefit of Finland. This isplausible. The wartime training courses of around fourmonths for infantryand cavalry officershad the advantage of being significantly short er than the two-year peacetime courses. The numbers at military schools would have been higher had Finns possessed a better knowledge ofRussian. The Finnish private soldiers also had problems with theRussian language. They mostly undertook their brief training (between one and threemonths) in and around Petrograd and a significantnumber served in thePreobrazhen skiiGuards Regiment. Infantry service, poor training, lack of Russian and participation in heavy fighting caused high casualties. Nearly...

Aseveljiä vai liittolaisia? Suomi, Hitlerin Saksan liittosopimusvaatimukset ja Rytin-Ribbentropin sopimus by Markku Jokisipilä (review)

I72 SEER, 84, I, 2006 Jokisipila,Markku.Aseveljid vailiittolaisia? Suomi, Hitlerin Saksan liittosopimusvaatimuksetja Rytin-Ribbentropin sopimus. BibliothecaHistorica, 84. Suomalaisen KirjallisuudenSeura,Helsinki,2004. 471 pp. Illustrations.Tables.Notes. Bibliography.Index. ?29.00 (paperback). THIsbook, MarkkuJokisipila'sPhD dissertationat the University of Turku, Finland, examines a matter of relatively little importance in the broader context of the Second WorldWar but of immense continuing controversyin the historiographyof Finland.It is the firstin-depth monographic studyof the so called Ryti-Ribbentrop Pact of June 1944, by which Finland was transformedfrom a 'co-belligerent'into a formal ally of the Third Reich and given the military aid that it needed only on the condition that it would not make a separatepeace without German agreement. A narrative set in the classic mould of diplomatic history, the study plods through four years of events in 400 pages of often excruciating detail that should satisfythe most rigorous of documentarians. It employs a very useful conceptual framework not before used to illumine the Fenno-German relationshipin the Second WorldWar,thatis, the 'structuralist'interpretation of Nazi policy and policy-makingthat has seen wartime Germanpolicy as the result not of fixed ideology but of the internal conflicts and bureaucratic manoeuvringsof the regime's disparateconstituents.The key hypothesisthat the author takes from this interpretationis that the I944 German push for a formal Finnishundertakingnot to make a separatepeace should, too, be seen in the context of the bureaucraticinfightingof the Nazi regime. More particularly,Jokisipila suggests that the Ryti-Ribbentrop Pact was Foreign Minister Ribbentrop's 'private project' (p. 42I), designed solely to bolster his and the Foreign Office's standing in the Nazi hierarchy and in Hitler'seyes. Other German foci of power eitherdid not know of the initiative or disapproved of it, which meant that Finnish leaders could easily have turned it down had they chosen to. In terms of what Finnish historianshave writtenin the past, this is bracingindeed. Jokisipila succeeds well in showing that key Finnish leaderswere aware of the infighting between Ribbentrop and other German decision-makers, especially between him and the militaryleadership of the OKW. The latter were consistently sympathetic to Finnish viewpoints, even on the separate peace question, and their relations with the Finnish military continued trouble-freedespite the Ribbentrop-induced political crisisof summer I944. With some justification,Jokisipila maintains that the OKW was unlikely to stop military aid to Finland even if Ribbentrop had so demanded. On the other hand, the Finnish Commander-in-Chief, Field-Marshal Mannerheim had managed to wrest from Hitler himself promises and actual shipments of all the additionalmaterialthat he needed, only daysbefore Ribbentrop made his demands. It was this material, asJokisipilaconvincingly shows, that saved the Finnish army, not the additional material the arrivalof which was made contingent on a formalalliance deal. All thismakesit abundantlyclearthat the Finnishacquiescence in the RytiRibbentrop Pact was not the result as was claimed at the time and subsequently by Finnish historians of military necessity. Rather, as REVIEWS 173 Jokisipila ably maintains, the Finnish acquiescence should be seen as part of Mannerheim'seffortto amassa reserveof militarymaterialthat could be used as a lever for bargaining in the negotiations for a separatepeace that he and other Finnish leaders fully expected to begin, the pact entirely notwithstanding . On the Finnish side, Mannerheim was the real driving force in the negotiations that led to the pact, and Jokisipila makes a good case for seeing Mannerheim'sactivitiesin the context of suchpeacemakingconsiderations. Jokisipila is not quite so persuasivewhen he conjectures that in the whole matter Ribbentrop must have been acting entirely alone, without Hitler's assentor even knowledge,let alone instructions.As he candidlyadmits,he has found no documentary proof to indicate that this was the case, yet he insists on makingthe claim regardless.Germany,Jokisipilacontends, simplyneeded Finland too much, both as a brother-in-armsin the troubled North-Eastern theatre and as a provider of lumber and key minerals, for its leaders to have gambled on a possible Finnishrefusal.This kindof argument,it seems, makes Finlandout to be much more importantand specialthan it actuallywas. A solid piece of scholarship nevertheless,Jokisipila's insightful account is sure to remain definitive on most aspects of the Ryti-Ribbentrop Pact for some time to come, and it shouldbe...

Influenza A/Fujian/411/02(H3N2)-lineage viruses in Finland: genetic diversity, epidemic activity and vaccination-induced antibody response

The first sporadic cases of Fujian/411/02-lineage viruses were recorded in Finland in winter 2001-2002. The first protracted but low-intensity outbreak occurred here during the first half of 2003, and the second outbreak early in autumn 2003, after detection of sporadic influenza A cases in the summer. The calculated incidence of influenza A in the Finnish army was 515/10000 during the first outbreak and 2066/10000 during the second outbreak. During the 2003-2004 epidemic season, the isolates fell into three groups for their haemagglutinin (HA1) sequences. In groups I and II, the strains were reassortants which differed for their neuraminidase (NA) sequences from the viruses of the previous spring. Group II viruses, which predominated in Finland during the 2003-2004 season, were characterized by loss of the glycosylation site at position 126 in HA1. The relevance of this loss to the epidemiology is discussed, as well as the frequent appearance of codominant amino acid mixtures at position 151 lining the catalytic cavity of the NA. Group III viruses, genetically related to Wellington/1/2004, the drift variant predominant in 2004 in the southern hemisphere, caused some localized outbreaks in Finland towards the end of the 2003-2004 epidemic. The antigenic match between the vaccine virus (Panama/2007/99) and the Fujian-lineage epidemic viruses in winter 2003-2004 was far from optimal. Nevertheless, high levels of prevaccination and postvaccination antibodies to the predomi- nant group II virus were recorded. Lower antibody levels were detected to the group III virus, which turned out to be a herald strain that reappeared in Finland during the following epidemic season.

The relation of the Xbal and Pvull polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor gene and the CAG repeat polymorphism of the androgen receptor gene to peak bone mass and bone turnover rate among young healthy men

The genes coding for estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-alpha) and androgen receptors (AR) are potential candidates for the regulation of bone mass and turnover, which may contribute to both the achievement of peak bone mass and bone loss after completion of growth. The present study was aimed at elucidating the role of two restriction fragment lengths (XbaI and PvuII) polymorphisms of the ER gene and the CAG repeat polymorphism of the AR gene as determinants of peak bone mass in men; special attention was paid to the interaction between serum free estradiol (E2) levels and the XbaI and PvuII genotypes. A cross-sectional study, with data on lifestyle factors collected retrospectively, was performed in 234 young men, aged 18.3 to 20.6 years. Of the men, 184 were recruits of the Finnish Army and 50 were men of similar age who had postponed their military service for reasons not related to health. Bone mineral content (BMC), density (BMD) and scan area were measured in the lumbar spine and upper femur by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The bone turnover rate was assessed by measuring serum type I procollagen aminoterminal propeptide (PINP) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b) as well as urinary excretion of type I collagen aminoterminal telopeptide (NTX). After adjusting for age, height, weight, exercise, smoking, calcium and alcohol intake, BMC, scan area and BMD at all measurement sites were similar for the different XbaI and PvuII genotypes of the ER and independent of the number of the CAG repeats of the AR gene. No association was found between free E2 levels and bone parameters among any genotype group of the XbaI and PvuII polymorphisms. Except for urinary NTX, which showed a tendency to higher values for the xx (P=0.08) and pp (P=0.10) genotypes of the ER, bone turnover markers were not related to the genotypes studied. Our study does not support the view that the XbaI and PvuII polymorphisms of the ER gene and the CAG polymorphism of the AR gene would have a substantial impact on the development of peak bone mass in young Finnish men.

Reappearance of influenza B/Victoria/2/87-lineage viruses: epidemic activity, genetic diversity and vaccination efficacy in the Finnish Defence Forces

A new B/Shangdong/7/97-like influenza virus (Victoria/2/87 lineage) predominated during the 2002/2003 epidemic season in Finland and was estimated to account for 2246 of the 13,496 feverish upper respiratory tract infections (URIs) occurring among conscripts in the Finnish army. The incidence (1716/10,000 conscripts) was indicative of moderate epidemic activity at most. Analysis of the cross-reactive antibodies induced in 1988 suggests that the basis of the protection was probably established during the childhood of the conscripts. Vaccination in autumn 2002 prevented 42% of the URIs during the influenza B outbreak and 71% (95% CI 42-85) of infections interpreted as influenza B. Despite the low genetic variability of the Shangdong/7/97-like viruses, breakages of a potential glycosylation site in haemagglutinin (HA1, position 197) were frequent; their biological significance is discussed. The Shangdong/7/97-like strains were HA1/NA reassortants, as were also the less abundant strains that for HA1 belonged to the B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage. A further reassortment, which probably emerged during the outbreak in one of the garrisons, supports our hypothesis that circumstances in these settings may especially favour the emergence of diversity by reassortment.

Molecularly defined lactose malabsorption, peak bone mass and bone turnover rate in young finnish men.

Lactose malabsorption (LM; adult-type hypolactasia), an autosomal recessive condition, results from the down-regulation of the activity of lactase enzyme in the intestinal wall. In previous studies the effect of LM on bone mass, bone turnover rate, development of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures has remained controversial. We have recently identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), a C to T change residing 13910 base pairs upstream of the lactase (LCT) gene at chromosome 2q21-22, which shows complete association with lactase persistence, with the C/C-13910 genotype defining LM and the genotypes C/T-13910 and T/T-13910 lactase persistence. The present study was undertaken to examine the relationship of the C/T-13910 polymorphism to peak bone mass, bone turnover rate, and stress fractures among young Finnish men. The study population comprised 234 young men, aged 18.3 to 20.6 years, 184 men were recruits of the Finnish Army, and 50 were men of similar age who had postponed their military service for reasons not related to health. Bone mineral content (BMC), density (BMD), and scan area were measured in the lumbar spine and upper femur by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Blood was sampled for genotyping of the C/T-13910 polymorphism and determination of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), type I procollagen aminoterminal propeptide (PINP), and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b). Second-void urine samples were collected for the determination of type I collagen aminoterminal telopeptide (NTX). The prevalence of the C/C-13910-genotype of these young adults did not differ significantly from the corresponding population prevalence of C/C-13910 (17.1% vs 18.1%) among Finnish blood donors. Fifteen recruits of the army experienced a stress fracture; 3 of them (20%) had the C/C-13910-genotype. Calcium intake was similar for the three genotypes as were the unadjusted BMCs, scan areas, and BMDs at different measurement sites. The adjustments for age, height, weight, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical exercise in the multiple regression analysis did not reveal any significant relationships between the lactase genotypes and BMDs at lumbar (P = 0.16), femoral neck (P = 0.99) or total hip (P = 0.96) sites. Serum 25OHD, iPTH, and bone marker levels were similar for the C/C-13910 C/T-13910 and T/T-13910 genotypes. In summary, in young Finnish men, molecularly defined lactose malabsorption does not alter bone turnover rate and impair the acquisition of peak bone mass. Moreover, the C/C-13910 genotype does not seem to be a risk factor for stress fractures in army recruits.

Serum estradiol, testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin as regulators of peak bone mass and bone turnover rate in young Finnish men.

To study the role of serum testosterone (T), estradiol (E(2)), and SHBG as regulators of peak bone mass and bone turnover rate in males, a cross-sectional study with data on lifestyle factors collected retrospectively was performed in 204 young Finnish men, 18.3-20.6 yr old. One hundred fifty-four men were recruits of the Finnish Army, and 50 were men of similar age who had postponed their military service for reasons not related to health. Bone mineral content, density, and scan area were measured in lumbar spine and upper femur by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Blood was sampled for determination of serum total and free T, total and free E(2), SHBG, type I procollagen aminoterminal propeptide (PINP), total osteocalcin (TOC) and carboxylated osteocalcin (COC), and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b); and urine was collected for determination of type I collagen aminoterminal telopeptide (NTX). Serum sex steroid concentrations did not associate with bone mineral content, scan area, or bone mineral density, adjusted for anthropometric and lifestyle factors at any measurement site. Instead, serum total (r = 0.23; P = 0.008) and free (r = 0.15; P = 0.023) T were positive predictors of serum TOC, whereas serum free E(2) correlated inversely with serum PINP (r = -0.20; P = 0.0039), TOC (r = -0.12; P = 0.086), COC (r = -0.14; P = 0.036), and urinary NTX (r = -0.15; P = 0.041). Interestingly, serum SHBG correlated positively with all the bone markers studied, the correlation coefficients being 0.18 for serum PINP (P = 0.012), 0.24 for TOC (P = 0.0006), 0.24 for COC (P = 0.0005), 0.27 for serum TRACP5b (P < 0.0001), and 0.21 for urine NTX (P = 0.0031). Serum SHBG was also a positive predictor of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D level (r = 0.20; P = 0.0036). The correlations of SHBG persisted after adjusting for weight, free E(2), and free T. We conclude that single measurements of serum E(2) and T were not determinants of peak bone mass in this population of young men. However, E(2) and T contributed to bone turnover rate, with serum T increasing bone formation, and serum E(2) suppressing both bone formation and resorption. Moreover, serum SHBG appeared to be an independent positive predictor of bone turnover rate, which also positively associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels.

Vitamin D status as a determinant of peak bone mass in young Finnish men.

Severe vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, but scarce data are available about the extent to which vitamin D status determines the development of the peak bone mass in young adults. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency [serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) less than the lower limit of the reference range of 20-105 nmol/liter] and the relationship between vitamin D status and peak bone mass among young Finnish men. A cross-sectional study of determinants of peak bone mass with data on lifestyle factors collected retrospectively was performed in 220 young men, aged 18.3-20.6 yr. One hundred and seventy men were recruits of the Finnish Army, and 50 were men of similar age who had postponed their military service for reasons not related to health. Bone mineral content, bone mineral density, and scan area were measured in lumbar spine and upper femur by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Serum 25-OHD concentrations were followed prospectively for 1 yr. In July 2000, only 0.9% of the men had vitamin D deficiency, but 6 months later, in the winter, the respective percentage was 38.9%. After adjusting for age, height, weight, exercise, smoking, calcium, and alcohol intake, there existed a positive correlation between serum 25-OHD and bone mineral content at lumbar spine (P = 0.057), femoral neck (P = 0.041), trochanter (P = 0.010), and total hip (P = 0.025). The correlation coefficients for the bone mineral densities at the four measurement sites were 0.035, 0.061, 0.056, and 0.068, respectively. No correlation was found to scan area. We conclude that vitamin D deficiency is very common in Finnish young men in the winter, and it may have detrimental effects on the acquisition of maximal peak bone mass. As in Finland vitamin D supplementation to infants is now stopped at the age of 3 yr, it can be asked whether at our latitude it should be continued from that age onward, not for the prevention of rickets, but as prophylaxis for osteoporosis.

Myopia and natural lighting extremes: risk factors in Finnish army conscripts.

To establish whether features of environmental lighting in far northern latitudes might be associated with prevalence of myopia. Using both questionnaires and military medical examinations, this cross-sectional survey of Finnish conscripts assessed both light exposure and conventional risk factors for myopia. While myopia was not associated with the month of birth, there was a trend towards a higher prevalence of myopia among conscripts living above the Arctic Circle, consistent with the hypothesis that ambient lighting might influence refractive development. Other novel associations with myopia were decreased sunglasses use and brown iris colour. As indicated by other reports, myopia was found to be associated with family history, education and nearwork. Although constraints inherent in surveying this military population may have limited our ability to detect associations, the positive findings suggest that studying northern populations may prove useful in clarifying any potential role of the light/dark cycle in refractive development.

Warriors and Peasants: The Don Cossacks in Late Imperial Russia by Shane s&gt; O'Rourke (review)

REVIEWS I63 the changing relationship between Finland and the Russian Empire.Jussila explains the nature of the government of Finland and the country's development as a nation and as a state. He shows how changes in the government of Russia, with the emergence of pluralistinstitutionsthere, had the effect of firstreducing and then practicallyending Finnish autonomy. In contrast to Jussila's part, those of Hentila and Nevakivi have no particular conceptual framework. Hentila provides a clear and balanced narrative of politicaland foreignrelations,though one would likea littlemore information about why things happened and, indeed, on how the republicanconstitution worked.The depressionat the end of the 1920S is mentioned but not how the government responded to it; perhaps this was thought beyond the remit of political history. Nevakivi, on the other hand, does give the economic background to political events. His part is almost remorselessly chronological -from governmentto government -but isgood on theradicalization of the I96os and on foreignpolicy. The authorsattemptedin the originalto cover a number of points in depth without interrupting the balance and flow of the narrative by introducing supplementarysections, 'box features',clearlydistinguishablefrom the restof the book. The translationhas inserted these into the ordinary text, often as separate chapters; this occasionally disturbs the logical progression of the work. In general the translationreads fluently, but poor editing has failed to remove a number of inconsistencies, odd usages or points unclear to a nonFinnishreader .Thus we have the 'SmallWrath'(p. 5) and the 'LesserWrath' (P. 17), 'autumn field practice' for 'autumn manoeuvres' (p. 2I8), 'war expedition' for 'campaign' (p. 220), and the literal but mysterious 'forest guards'for 'armedbands of deserters'(p. 20 1). Some Russianpersonalnames have been transliteratedin the Finnishway and some Finnishformsretained forplace-names in Russia. The table of MinisterState Secretariesomits those for 1905--I8. Careless proofreading is evident throughout the book. Part of the Finnish army was apparently 'demolished' rather than demobilized after the offensivephase of the Continuation War (p. 203). Perhapsthe most unfortunate misprint ever seen by this reviewer refersto the 'high morality' instead of 'high mortality' of the Red prisoners in I9I8 (p. 112). There is much to correctif the book is reprinted. An impressionremainsof the narrownessof the concept of politicalhistory. How much more rewardingthe book would have been had it ranged more widely into social, economic and culturalhistory.But it must be accepted on its own termsand it is undoubtedlya valuable addition to worksin Englishon modern and contemporaryFinnishhistory. London J. E. 0. SCREEN O'Rourke, Shane. Warriors andPeasants.TheDonCossacks inLateImperial Russia. Macmillan, Basingstokeand London, and St Martin's Press,New York, 2000. XiV + 200 Pp. Glossary.Maps. Notes. Tables.Bibliography.Index. /42.50. THE dissolution of the Soviet Union in I99I stimulated a short-lived enthusiasm for Cossack nationalism and a more lasting revival of interest in I64 SEER, 79, I, 2001 the Cossackpast. The resulthas been a risingnumberof publicationson their historyboth in Russia and the West. Shane O'Rourke's Warriors andPeasants is concerned with the Cossacks'economic and social condition ratherthan with their military role, and focuses squarely on the Don rather than telling the storyfrom the perspectiveof St Petersburg. O'Rourke drawson recordsin the oblast' archivein Rostov-on-Don as well as material in the Central Archive of the Ministry of War and an array of publishedsources.The book begins with a conspectusof Don Cossackhistory from I549 to I920 which is based on secondary sources, tinged with romanticism, and occasionally misleading. Cossack hatred of the Russian state (on which they were always dependent) is overstated; the claim that early Cossacks insisted that recruits profess the Christian faith is improbable (the very first Cossacks were renegade Tatars), and the assertion that sixteenth century Don Cossacks 'created a state that was independent of Muscovy' (p. 32) cannot be sustained. By contrast, the remainder of the book, which concentrates on the Don Host in the later nineteenth century, is a worthy and welcome contribution to the literature. Like T. M. Barrett in his recent study of the Terek Cossacks (At theEdge of Empire.7The Terek Cossacks andtheN'orth Caucasus Frontier I700-I86o, Boulder, CO, I999), O'Rourke adopts an ecological approach. There is a good chapter on soil characteristics, land-use, climate, woods, water and...

Book Review: The Finnish Army 1881-1901: Training the Rifle Battalions

Book Review: The Finnish Army 1881-1901: Training the Rifle Battalions

Tick Bites, Clinical Symptoms of Lyme Borreliosis, and Borrelia Antibody Responses in Finnish Army Recruits Training in an Endemic Region during Summer

Tick bites, associated clinical symptoms, and antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi were investigated in 77 Finnish army recruits training during summer in an endemic region and 50 control recruits serving outside the habitat of ticks. During a follow-up of 6 months, 26.9% of the study recruits reported tick bites. None gave a history of erythema migrans. Five study recruits and none in the control group had a combination of two or three nonspecific symptoms compatible with Lyme borreliosis. Three of these five study recruits had been bitten by several ticks. Thirteen (16.9%) study recruits and two (4.0%) control recruits had positive antibody levels against B. burgdorferi in their first serum specimens. No significant change in immunoglobulin G antibody levels was seen between the first and second specimens. Immunoglobulin M antibody levels increased in the sera of 13 (11.9%) study recruits and 1 (3.0%) control recruit. We conclude that recruits training in tick habitats are at high risk of tick bites. All recruits starting their military training in endemic areas should be taught to recognize and remove ticks and advised to wear protective clothing.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infections in Healthy Males

Prevalence of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the general population is not known. No one test alone can detect all HPV infections. To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in healthy males. Voluntary Finnish Army conscripts were examined using peniscopy, cytology (PAP smear) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in brush cytology samples. A total of 1,471 (99.6%) males completed the questionnaire soliciting their sexual habits, and 432 of them enrolled in the clinical study. The study group differed from the nonattenders in that they reported more often genitourinary symptoms (P < 0.001), had more casual sexual partners (P = 0.002), and previous STDs (P < 0.001). Classical genital warts were present in 24/432 (5.6%) and papular lesions in 8/432 (1.9%) males. Acetowhite lesions were disclosed in 151/432 (35.0%) cases, of which 61 (14.1%) had peniscopically typical flat HPV lesions. Koilocytes were found in 13/201 (6.5%) PAP smears. HPV DNA was disclosed by PCR in 16.5% (47/285) of the adequate cell smears, and in 7.1% of the males with no peniscopic abnormalities. When considering the men with HPV-positive PCR findings and/or typical peniscopic pattern as HPV-infected (26.2%), many casual partners, previous STDs and no use of condom were significant risk factors for genital HPV infections in the logistic regression analysis. The reliable assessment of the prevalence of genital HPV infections in healthy males is not only skewed by the selection of the study group by symptoms and promiscuity, but also by the lack of a universally acceptable screening method. The data confirm sexual promiscuity as the most important risk factor for genital HPV infections.

Does impulse noise induce vestibular disturbances?

The effect of impulse noise on postural stability was evaluated in 54 subjects from the Finnish army, who were suffering from acute hearing loss caused by exposure to firearms noise. For referents we used 20 non-exposed army recruits and 39 civilian volunteers. The effects of vision, pressoreceptor function and proprioception were stepwise excluded or altered, leaving mainly the vestibular guidance of postural control intact. Since the postural perturbation was fairly smooth during these instances we assume that the condition evaluates mainly the function of the otolith organs in guiding stance. We found no difference in any of the test conditions used, between normal controls, army controls and impulse noise exposed subjects. Furthermore, there was no dose response with body sway and severity of hearing loss. The results indicate that impulse noise may not be the cause of significant functional changes in the vestibular system that can account for noise-induced postural instability.

Factors determining the preference of takeoff leg in jumping.

The takeoff (= push-off) leg in jumping, handedness, and leg length inequality as measured radiographically were recorded for 892 young healthy subjects, 62 of whom were top-level athletic jumpers, 654 competetive athletes representing other sports, and 176 Finnish Army conscripts. Correlation between the laterality of takeoff leg and handedness was poor, but a significant majority (81.4% of jumpers, 65.1% of other athletes, and 76.8% of conscripts) invariably used the longer leg for takeoff. Incidence of leg length inequality was highest in the group of athletic jumpers, the difference between top-level jumpers and runners being statistically significant.

The efficiency of earmuffs against impulse noise from firearms.

Young men conscripted into the armed forces still run a risk of suffering hearing damage during their military service. This risk could be reduced by effective personal hearing protectors. The standard tests to determine the attenuation values of hearing protectors cannot be applied to high-intensity impulse noise from firearms, but the protectors should be evaluated under actual firing conditions. The attenuation values of the hearing protectors (earmuffs) most commonly used in the Finnish Army were tested for impulse noise from different weapons. The attenuation was found to be good for pistol shots, moderate for rifle shots and very poor for cannonfire. The tested earmuffs gave only minimal protection against low-frequency impulse energy.

Factors Predisposing Army Conscripts to Knee Exertion Injuries Incurred in a Physical Training Program

Factors causing predisposition to knee exertion injuries were sought by means of a questionnaire and detailed quantitative physical measurements in 62 healthy Finnish Army conscripts. The subjects consisted of two groups of 18- to 26-year-old conscripts; Group A comprised 34 subjects without knee exertion injuries and Group B, 28 subjects who experienced knee exertion injuries during the first eight weeks of military service. In Group B the extensor mechanism was the most common source of symptoms. The factors found in Group B that differed significantly from those in Group A included increased height (p less than 0.05), increased leg length inequality (LLI) (p less than 0.01), increased passive mediolateral patellar range of motion (PMLPM) (p less than 0.01), and increased knee laxity sum index (LSI) (p less than 0.05).