Months Of War Research Articles

Cardiac surgery during wartime in Israel

BackgroundThe war that began on October 7th, 2023, has impacted all major tertiary medical centers in Israel. In the largest cardiac surgery department in Israel there has been a surprising increase in the number of open-heart procedures, despite having approximately 50% of surgeons recruited to military service. The purpose of this study is to characterize this increase in the number of operations performed during wartime and assess whether the national crisis has affected patient outcomes.MethodsThe study was based on a prospectively collected registry of 275 patients who underwent cardiac surgery or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during the first two months of war, October 7th 2023 – December 7th 2023, as well as patients that underwent cardiac surgery during the same period of time in 2022 (October 7th, 2022 – December 7th, 2022).Results120 patients (43.6%) were operated on in 2022, and 155 (56.4%) during wartime in 2023. This signifies a 33.0% increase in open-heart procedures (109 in 2022 vs. 145 in 2023, p-value 0.26). There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics of patients when comparing the 2022 patients to those in 2023. No significant differences between the two groups were found with regards to intraoperative characteristics or the type of surgery. However, compared to 2022, there was a 233% increase in the number of transplantations in the 2023 cohort (p-value 0.24). Patient outcomes during wartime were similar to those of 2022, including postoperative complications, length of stay, and mortality.ConclusionsPatients who underwent cardiac surgery during wartime presented with comparable outcomes when compared to those of last year despite the increase in cardiac surgery workload. There was an increase in the number of transplants this year, attributed to the unfortunate increase in organ donors.

Typology and implications of verified attacks on health care in Ukraine in the first 18 months of war.

Attacks on health care are part of the spectrum of threats that health care endures during conflict. Protecting health care services against attacks depends on understanding the nature and types of attacks that occur during conflict. The World Health Organisation has implemented the Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA) in Ukraine since 2020, and the system has continued to monitor and report on attacks on health care during the war in Ukraine. This study aims to analyse the data reported through the SSA for the first 18 months of the war. This paper involves a retrospective, descriptive study based on the analysis of publicly available SSA data of all incidents of attacks on health care in Ukraine reported through the SSA between February 24th 2022 and August 24th 2023. Out of the 1503 verified attacks, 37% occurred in the initial six weeks of the war. Attacks involving violence with heavy weapons were among the most common incidents reported (83%). The reported attacks were associated with a total of 113 deaths and 211 injuries among health care workers and patients: 32 (2%) attacks were associated with a death of a health care worker or patient, and 63 (4%) were associated with an injury. Health transports facing attacks had a higher probability of experiencing casualties than other health resources (p<0.0001, RR 3.1, 95%CI 1.9-4.9). In conclusion, the burden of attacks on health care in Ukraine was high and sustained over the course of the first 18 months of the war. Reported casualties were not homogenously distributed among attack incidents, but occurred in a set of high-casualty incidents. Health transports were found to be particularly vulnerable. In addition to continued calls for a cessation of hostilities, prevention, protection, mitigation, and reconstruction strategies are urgently required.

Hamas-Israel War: A Brief Analysis of First Two Phases of War

At the end of 2023, the Middle East experienced some new challenges. Among these new challenges, one of the most important of them all is the Hamas-Israel war. After almost four months of war and no end in sight, there are now growing questions about whether Israel will be able to accomplish its stated goals in Gaza. The brutality of the Hamas’s attack on October 7, the extent of the cruel massacre, shocked both the Israeli society and foreign public opinion. To better understand the factors of Hamas's operational success, the strategic surprise attack on Israel from Gaza, on October 7, 2023, needs a thorough analysis to understand all its political, intelligence, and operational failures aspects. It goes without saying that many elements of Hamas's brutal but largely successful attack are still unknown. Taking this into account, this paper focuses on only three elements of the ongoing war. Firstly, based on the qualitative methodology of research, this study evaluates and highlights the political background of the bloodiest attack in modern Israel's history which happened on October 7, 2023. Secondly, using the research methodology of data collection and analysis, this paper seeks to answer the still open-ended question, how was Hamas able to attack a country which operates one of the best intelligence organizations in the world by an extreme surprise? Finally, by using the narrative and historical models of qualitative research and the available data, this paper focuses on assessing the first and second phases of the war. Furthermore, the study formulates conclusions regarding the expected directions of change in the Israeli security system and some aspects of regional security implications of the ongoing Hamas-Israeli conflict. The potential result of the current paper is to present the reasons for the ongoing Gaza conflict based on the historical background. In addition, it provides a primary analysis, based on currently available information, of the first two phases of the obviously protracted Hamas-Israel conflict for the benefit of the community of researchers, scholars, and academics.

Psychophysiological states of elite athletes after critical life events

Background and Study Aim. Military conflicts are a stress factor that provokes negative changes in the mental state of people. But, how susceptible are athletes to post-traumatic disorders at the level of psychophysiological functions? The purpose is to study the psychophysiological state of the elite athletes after critical life events related to the war in Ukraine. Material and Methods. Twelve elite female fencers, aged 18-23 years and members of the National Team of Ukraine, were examined. Their mental condition was assessed using the Lüscher color test, neurodynamic functions were evaluated with an anticipation test, cognitive characteristics through a decision-making test, and levels of anxiety were also measured. The psychophysiological state of the fencers was studied both before and after six months of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. Results. The results indicated changes in the mental state of fencers under military conditions. Six months after the onset of the war, elite fencers exhibited signs of mental stress and a decreased resistance to stress. According to the obtained results, during the war, athletes showed a predominance of excitation processes over inhibition processes. The study revealed a deterioration in performance on decision-making tests and a decreased ability to perceive visual information in fencers six months into the war. As a compensatory mechanism for the reduced ability to process visual stimuli under conditions of information overload, a decrease in impulsivity among fencers was observed. Research on anxiety demonstrated that, over the six months of war compared to peacetime, trait anxiety among athletes significantly increased. Conclusions. Significant impacts of military actions on the psychophysiological state of elite athletes have been observed. This deterioration in mental state, along with decreases in neurodynamic and cognitive functions and an increase in personal anxiety levels, calls for the development and implementation of specialized psychological support programs. Such programs should aim to bolster athletes' resilience to stressful situations. The importance of accounting for psychophysiological aspects in the training of athletes within conflict zones is underscored, providing a basis for further research in this field.

The Effect of War on STEMI Incidence: Insights from Intensive Cardiovascular Care Unit Admissions.

(1) Background: The impact of armed conflicts on public health is undeniable, with psychological stress emerging as a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Nevertheless, contemporary data regarding the influence of war on CVD, and especially on acute coronary syndrome (ACS), are scarce. Hence, the aim of the current study was to assess the repercussions of war on the admission and prognosis of patients admitted to a tertiary care center intensive cardiovascular care unit (ICCU). (2) Methods: All patients admitted to the ICCU during the first three months of the Israel-Hamas war (2023) were included and compared with all patients admitted during the same period in 2022. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. (3) Results: A total of 556 patients (184 females [33.1%]) with a median age of 70 (IQR 59-80) were included. Of them, 295 (53%) were admitted to the ICCU during the first three months of the war. Fewer Arab patients and more patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infraction (STEMI) were admitted during the war period (21.8% vs. 13.2%, p < 0.001, and 31.9% vs. 24.1%, p = 0.04, respectively), whereas non-STEMI (NSTEMI) patients were admitted more frequently in the pre-war year (19.3% vs. 25.7%, p = 0.09). In-hospital mortality was similar in both groups (4.4% vs. 3.4%, p = 0.71; HR 1.42; 95% CI 0.6-3.32, p = 0.4). (4) Conclusions: During the first three months of the war, fewer Arab patients and more STEMI patients were admitted to the ICCU. Nevertheless, in-hospital mortality was similar in both groups.

A dog, a cat, a Guinea pig. And a war

A very short story about the experiences of a family of Ukrainian refugees in the first months of war.

A medical impact of war: the hypertension crises dynamic in an adjacent population

Abstract Background The current military conflagration in Ukraine impacted also boundaring countries by fear military conflict extension in the region, often augmented by mass-media, as well as by real horror stories told by refugees. Goal. The aim of our research was evolutive assessment of the hypertension (HTN) crises in our emergency units during last twenty months. Method In this observational study, we analysed 45.293 patient (pts) files during five distinct intervals: 24.06.2021-23.10.2021, as four months of peace (P), 24.10.2021-23.02.2022, as four months of pre-war army manœvres (PW), 24.02.2022-23.06.2022, as the first four months of war – Russian invasion (RI), 24.06.2022-23.10.2022, as next four months of war – Ukrainean counteroffensive (UC), and 24.10.2022 – 23.02.2023, as other four months of war – Russian destructive attacks (RD), statistically matched 1:1:1:1:1. The acquisition of arterial pressure values was performed by professional digital tensiometers. Results From a quite steady number of 150 +/- 14 pts daily, the distribution of HTN pts was: 29,17 (P); 38,21 (PW); 67,49 (RI); 43,58 (UC); 56,14 (RD). Concerning the HTN crises, the data are as follows: 12,43 (P); 14,97 (PW); 27,65 (RI); 16,28 (UC); 24,93 (RD). Demographically, the male predominance oscillated as follows: 68,32% (P); 65,89% (PW); 59,58% (RI); 62,37% (UC); 56,94% (RD). The medium age for HTN crises pts balanced as follows: 65,32 yrs (P); 64,97 yrs (PW); 62,18 yrs (RI); 63,74 yrs (UC); 62,85 (RD). Conclusion According to our outcomes, the stress and high anxiety caused by fear of war in the neighbourhood significantly influenced the incidence of HTN crises along the five abovementioned periods. The most dramatic data were registered during RI period. Taking into consideration that this war is irrepeatable, this research is unique.

Ukrainian Museums' Exhibitions and Educational Programmes During the First Six Months of War

The extraordinary and brave work of Ukrainian museum workers to protect collections and to continue activities in the face of war exemplifies the possibilities for similar institutions in conflict situations. This paper illustrates some of the main activities of Ukrainian museums from the period of the outbreak of war on 24 February 2022 through to August of the same year, focusing especially on exhibitions, educational programmes, and events, both online and on-site. This research is based on thematic and chronological approaches, using data from descriptions of educational projects on museum websites and social media. The article analyzes museum exhibitions on Russian aggression as well as museum programmes more broadly. The organization of online and offline museum events, projects, excursions, exhibitions, classes for children and refugees, museum workers’ meetings on Museum Day (May 2022), the opening of a new museum, actions in support of the armed forces of Ukraine, and volunteer activities of museum workers in Ukraine are briefly presented. While this article can touch on these broad and diverse topics only briefly, it underlines the value and necessity of further studies focused on the adaptation mechanisms of museums in the challenging conditions of war.

First Six Months of War from Ukrainian topic and sentiment analysis

Through technological advancements as well as due to societal trends and developments, social media became an active part and a catalysator of the ongoing conflicts and wars carried out in the physical environment. A direct example on this behalf are the cyber/information operations currently conducted in conjunction with the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. Due to such operations packaged in social media manipulation mechanisms like disinformation and misinformation using techniques such as controversies, fake news, and deep fakes, a high degree of confusion and uncertainty surrounds the events happened and users’ behaviour and beliefs. These operations also impact the civilians directly affected in the battlefield or their dear and known ones. To tackle this issue, currently limited scientific and objective effort is dedicated in this direction due to, e.g., data, strategic, and emotional implications. It is then the aim of this research to capture the main topics discussed and the feeling expressed by Ukrainian Telegram users on the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022 using a Data Science approach by building a series of Machine Learning models based on multi-channel data collected in the first six of months of war. Accordingly, this research directly aims to contribute to efforts on understanding real discourses and dynamics involved in the ongoing conflict through direct resources, producing and sustaining social media security awareness, and building resilience to social media manipulation campaigns using AI.

ORAL HEALTH STATUS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

Diseases of the oral cavity organs and tissues are an urgent medical problem. The urgency of the problem has been exacerbated by the extreme conditions in Ukraine in recent years: the COVID-19 pandemic and the war. These factors lead to stress, changes in living standards and living conditions, which leads to exacerbation of chronic diseases, and also impede the receipt of full, qualified medical care.&#x0D; The Ministry of Health of Ukraine presents the regulatory framework "Rights and Obligations of Internally Displaced Persons", which guarantees medical examinations and treatment. According to the MoH order, the Poltava Regional Centre of Dentistry Dental Clinical Polyclinic has created conditions to provide dental care to IDPs at present.&#x0D; Ways of implementation:&#x0D; &#x0D; provision of dental care to patients by dentists of the polyclinic;&#x0D; providing emergency dental care around the clock;&#x0D; providing consultative and medical care by teachers of dental departments and doctors-interns.&#x0D; &#x0D; The study analysed the condition of the oral cavity organs (teeth, periodontium, oral mucosa) of internally displaced persons and identified possible ways to preserve and restore dental health through preventive work, therapeutic, surgical and orthopaedic care.&#x0D; The study analysed the work of dentists and teachers of dental departments in providing assistance to internally displaced persons over the 7 months of war in Ukraine. A total of 7388 people sought help. To assess the condition of the tissues and organs of the oral cavity, examinations were carried out using clinical, radiological and laboratory methods. If necessary, patients were consulted by related specialists.&#x0D; It was found that in all examined patients, the caries prevalence rate was 100%, and the CPV index was equivalent in patients of the main group (19±1.27) and the control group (18±2.45). The number of patients with pulpitis was 2268 (37%) (acute, chronic pulpitis and exacerbation of chronic pulpitis).&#x0D; Acute and exacerbation of chronic periodontitis was treated in 1852 patients (22.7%), periostitis in 855 (14%), and odontogenic maxillary sinusitis in 196 (3.2%).&#x0D; Out of the total number of patients, 263 (4.26%) sought treatment for exacerbation of gingivitis, 482 (7.82%) for exacerbation of periodontitis, and 698 (11.4%) for diseases of the oral mucosa.&#x0D; A high degree of reliability of exacerbation of periodontal and oral mucosa diseases was found in comparison with the control group.

The first two months in the war in Ukraine through topic modeling and sentiment analysis

AbstractIn recent years, social media remained not only an environment for expression, but it also became an active battlefield where its users emulate their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and experiences about the ongoing conflicts and wars, and where sometimes social manipulation techniques become difficult to identify, tackle, and counter. Currently, proper social media analytics solutions are still incipient regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine, but they are much needed. Consequently, this research aims to extract and analyze the topics discussed and the sentiments experienced by Ukrainian Telegram users on data collected in the first 2 months of war in Ukraine through a design science research in a data science methodological approach carried out in a multidisciplinary stance contributing to the ongoing strategic, socio‐ethical, and technical discourses and efforts.

Impact of the first months of war on routing and latency in Ukraine

Given the fundamental role of the Internet in our lives, a better understanding of its operational status during war times is crucial. In this paper, we analyze the Ukrainian Internet during the first months of war after the Russian invasion occurred in February 2022. The analysis is carried out from two points of view: routing and latency. In terms of routing, there is a substantial increase in BGP announcements and withdrawals which can be due to both the physical unavailability of facilities and cyberattacks. Latency also increased significantly compared to the pre-conflict period, especially when considering paths going from Ukraine to Russia. The increase in latency appears to be due to a partial shift from peering to transit.

PUTIN’S POLICY IN UKRAINE: A DESTRUCTIVE, UGLY, ATTRITION BASED WAR, FOUGHT AIMLESSLY, FOR THE SAKE OF WAR

It is a challenge to try to draw conclusions and find the characteristics of an ongoing crisis. Even more so when it is a large-scale war, like the one fought by Russia in Ukraine, a war already defined as a war of aggression of Russia in Ukraine, unprovoked, illegal and unjustified, an invasion of Russia in Ukraine aimed at conquering new territories for Moscow to annex. But, after three months of war, some basic arguments are already in place and it is worth assessing the regularities of this war and its particularities in a way that allows us to predict the evolution of this war. And if no two wars are alike, comparisons give us hints about previous behaviors and perspectives of evolution. In this case, the 7 districts buffer zone in Nagorno Karabakh could give us a hint on the way the destruction of Eastern Ukraine will be used in the future by Russia to deny any the presence of weapons close to its borders

Continuity and change: wartime housing politics in Ukraine

The article analyses the war-imbued housing crisis in Ukraine and emergency response to it in the first four months of the full scale Russian invasion as embedded in the wider context of Ukrainian housing politics. As in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe after 1989/91, the Ukrainian housing sphere has been shaped by mass giveaway privatisation, which created a super homeownership regime that is characterised by high expectations towards the state in the support of homeownership. Despite the mass destruction of the war and scale of the displacement, housing politics continues to be shaped by institutional inertia and attempts to resolve the current housing crisis with existing instruments and the support of homeownership. Such an ad-hoc policy approach leaves displaced households without coherent assistance in finding shelter. Only rather sporadic and insufficient options provided by communities at local level and international aid organisations are available. However, while lacking institutional and policy adjustment in the first months of war, the Ukrainian housing sector is changing. Growing importance of renting in the tenure structure and the pressing need to shelter those who lost access to homeownership as a result of war call for the development of a new, more comprehensive, housing strategy.

ABOUT ISSUE 3/2022 AND RESEARCHING AMID THE WAR IN UKRAINE

This issue appears after six months of war in Ukraine. Every day of this unjustified war, people die fighting for our independence and freedom, for the rule of law and human rights. The only thing we can do as scholars is to continue our research, disprove false ideas and support the truth, and develop institutions and mechanisms for the protection of rights. Justice must prevail without any grounds for exclusion, and scholars should contribute to this goal. The AJEE Gateway ‘Access to Justice Amid War’ helps to share quality research results in a timely manner. As a founder of this initiative, I believe it contributes to continuing and developing the latest research in the area of law in wartime. In this issue, we collected ten notes related to legal developments in wartime. I am particularly glad to see an article from a Syrian scholar in our journal, with a particular focus on the idea of military operations against a sovereign state. Since wars are an unfortunate constant of human history, a balanced approach to the definition of law and mechanisms for preventing its violation and conflicts is necessary. The main goal of this approach should be the limitation and diminution of these conflicts, as well as the minimisation of the consequences and resources for their resolution. With this in mind, the focus of our research project ‘Access to Justice Amid War’ will be to promote the voices and reflections of ordinary people suffering from war and convey their expectations about justice in cooperation with leading law scholars, sociologists, and economists tasked with finding ways to rethink justice based on the challenges of the wartime experiences and directed towards the sustainable development of the post-war period. Justice should prevail – this is the most important thing, and is a strong base for rebuilding peace. The restoration of Ukraine should be the next important goal for our research focus. The AJEE Gateway ‘Access to Justice Amid War’ allows us to collect data and reports from various areas of law, covering the main types of illegal behaviour and people’s expectations regarding legal remedies. We believe that our authors will also focus their attention on the particular issues of the further restoration of Ukraine. The first notes from this initial research gateway have been published as Online First Articles during these months and are included in this issue. On behalf of our team, I thank all the authors who joined us and answered the call for materials related to the war in Ukraine. For the following issues, we are also seeking research on further legal reform in the period of the restoration of Ukraine after the war.

Eight Years and Nine Months of War

The Ukrainian army has undergone significant modernisation since the start of the war in 2014. That said, it was inadequately prepared for Russia’s invasion in February 2022. There was a shortage of heavy weapons, armoured vehicles, and ammunition. Nonetheless, the Ukrainian army proved itself able to cope with the massive attack and to liberate occupied areas. Decisive factors were the strong will to fight, the support of the population, good coordination of mobile units acting with great autonomy, the delivery of western artillery and rocket systems, a smart tactical approach, and not least of all mistakes made by the invaders. This enabled the Ukrainian army to achieve great successes in the defence of Kiev and Kharkiv in the first two months of the war and in significant reconquests during the summer and autumn. Where the occupying army has entrenched itself in urban areas or along well-fortified front lines, the Ukrainian armed forces are running into difficulties and paying a high price in blood.

A késő modern kori hadviselés dokumentumfilmes ábrázolásának lehetőségei és a videószelfik használatának percepciós összefüggései

The paper analyzes the visual and personalised implications of late modern warfare and its representation in documentary film. In the first half of my paper, I’m analyzing the cinematic representation of late modern war and its relationship to film and vision primarily from a media-historical perspective: what does the access to information mean in this context and what kind of media and mediatisation specificities has the war after the 2000s. In the second half of my study I’m focusing on the video-selfie-scenes of Nine Months of War (László Csuja, 2018) from a phenomenological and reception-theoretical perspective: what are the implications of the use of video-selfies in this documentary and what kind of new functions could this film add to these in warfare. I classify the functions of video-selfies into a three-tier typology of channel (making a video message to another person), identity affirmation and space of testimony. While at the beginning of the war the apparently superficial video-selfie-use characterizes the protagonist as a content producer and user, it then serves to identify with the military self-image and finally creates a specific, private space for the expression of traumatic experiences.

Antiwar campaign of the British Labour Party in the early World War I

This article is dedicated to the protest campaign of Labour Party of Great Britain, which unfolded in the early World War I. Based on the range of sources, such as socialist workers&amp;rsquo; press of Great Britain, party documents, parliamentary debated, the author sets a goal to examine the key arguments of the opponents, namely activists of the Independent Workers&amp;rsquo; Party, which became a stronghold of antiwar sentiment of the Labours. Special attention is given to such publicists as R. MacDonald and K. Hardy. The article also traces the evolution of antiwar campaign and reveals the reasons. Research methodology is based on the systematic approach towards analysis of public speeches of British activists printed in the workers' socialist publications of antiwar orientation. It is demonstrated how in the space of a few days, in August 1914, the moods of majority of the British workers changed dramatically, from unreserved condemnation of the war expressed in the slogans of the Second International towards support of the government in the fight against militaristic Germany. The conclusion is drawn that in the initial months of war, the antiwar campaign has experienced significant transformation. If in the early period it was characterized mostly by the emotional and somewhat sarcastic rhetoric, then later on the background of tremendous human losses, the campaign adopted a rather moderate tone. Attempts of the publicists to grasp on causes of war and focus the need to rebuild society after its completion comes to the forefront.

Bruno Cabanes. August 1914: France, the Great War, and a Month That Changed the World Forever.

At the beginning of the First World War, France mobilized some 3,781,000 men; another 4 million men would follow them during the course of the war (62). Of the more than 3 million men mobilized, 1,700,000 soldiers entrained for the war zone and combat (90). In the first battles between French forces and the German armies invading from the northeast, on August 20–23, 1914, some 40,000 French soldiers met their deaths—27,000 on August 22, “‘the bloodiest day’ in French military history” (99). August and September 1914, the first two months of the conflict, became the deadliest of all for the French army, which lost 235,000 men killed or missing. Historian Bruno Cabanes confronts his readers with these stark statistics in the middle chapters of August 1914: France, the Great War, and a Month That Changed the World Forever, a riveting history of France’s first month of war. Upon these horrendous casualties he bases his case that the turning point of the Great War occurred not at the battles of Verdun and the Somme in 1916, but “as early as summer 1914,” when “the collective catastrophe of the First World War engulfed France” and “ripped apart” “the fabric of society” (111).

ОККУПАЦИОННАЯ ПОЛИТИКА ГЕРМАНИИ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ ЛЕНИНГРАДСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ В ПЕРВЫЕ МЕСЯЦЫ ВЕЛИКОЙ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОЙ ВОЙНЫ

The article examines occupation policy of the German fascist authorities within the temporary occupied territory of Leningrad region in the first months of the Great Patriotic War. The authors pay special attention to the peculiarities of occupation policy in Leningrad region and, relying on archival documents and materials, analyze the Nazis’ activity in different regional districts that were occupied in the first months of the war. The authors identify the basic factors, which seemed to influence German occupation policy within the territory of Leningrad region.