Children get arthritis, tooEvery week, 20 families in the UK are told that their child has a condition most have never heard of – Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Many of these will have been in pain for weeks, months or even years waiting for a diagnosis. And from that point, it is a diagnosis that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Why schools matter
Research* has shown that teachers and school staff can be amongst the first to notice that something is wrong with a child. Knowing the signs and symptoms of JIA and being able to signpost to the correct services, could help a child receive that vital prompt diagnosis.
Without prompt diagnosis and treatment, JIA can cause permanent damage to joints and long-term disability. It could even lead to the loss of eye sight through JIA-related uveitis.
For those already diagnosed, schools play an instrumental role in enabling a child with JIA to live a full life and fulfil their potential at school. The newly launched School Toolkit from Juvenile Arthritis Research, available free of charge to schools and educational settings in the UK, enables staff to confidently support children with JIA in their setting.
“Wow – it’s fantastic, the student presentation is particularly impressive with how it
translates all the key information in a child friendly manner.” Miss Crawley, Woodlands School
* Rapley T, May C, Smith N, Foster HE. ‘Snakes & Ladders’: factors influencing access to appropriate care for children and young people with
suspected juvenile idiopathic arthritis – a qualitative study. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. 2021;19(1):43.
Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of Juvenile Arthritis Research, on Monday 25 April, 2022. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/
Over half of parents agree that it’s difficult to get their child to eat a well-balanced diet and half say their child regularly takes a supplement.
3 in 5 parents say it’s hard to get their child to eat a well-balanced diet because of picky eating, not eating enough fruits and vegetables, and other reasons.
When it comes to eating the healthful things on their plate, children can be stubborn.
And now, a new national poll reaffirms that picky eating is indeed a universal parenting challenge.
According to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s National Poll on Children’s Health, more than half of parents think that it is difficult to get their child to eat a well-balanced diet, and half say their child routinely takes a supplement.
“A balanced diet helps children get the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development,” said Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark, M.P.H. “An unhealthy diet, on the other hand, can negatively affect short and long-term health outcomes as well as school performance.
“Still, the reality for many parents is that getting children to eat healthy foods isn’t always easy. Our poll finds that many turn to dietary supplements as a solution but may not always consult with a health provider.”
Many parents report problems with their child’s diet, suggests a new national poll from University of Michigan. Credit: University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s National Poll on Children’s Health
About a third of parents say their child is a picky eater and a third don’t think they eat enough fruits and vegetables. Thirteen percent worried kids weren’t getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals while 9 % said their child needed more fiber in their diet, according to the nationally representative report based on responses from 1,251 parents with at least one child ages one to ten.
Another potential barrier: cost. Half of parents agreed that it was more expensive to provide their child with a healthy diet.
“We know that fresh, healthy foods can be more expensive than processed or packaged items that are often higher in sodium and added sugars,” Clark said.
“This can make it especially frustrating for parents when children waste or refuse to eat healthy foods.”
Most parents polled have given their child dietary supplements, with over three fourths using multivitamins. Close to half had also provided kids with probiotics, which are live bacteria and yeast taken to help digestion by enhancing the quantity of good microbes in the gut.
More than a fifth have used Omega 3 supplements, fatty acids that support cell growth and brain development.
About a third of parents say their child has tried but does not take supplements regularly. Among parents who have given their child supplements, four in five say they chose products made specifically for children, but only about two in five say they discussed supplement use with their child’s health care provider.
Parents considering supplements will likely need to choose from various products and formulations that may claim specific health benefits.
“Dietary supplements are often intended to enhance the amount of vitamins children consume through a regular diet,” Clark said. “But parents may not always know whether their child is getting proper nutrition.”
“The use of dietary supplements in children is an important health decision to discuss with doctors, but less than half of parents who have given their child a supplement talked to their child’s health provider.”
It’s unclear, she says, if this lack of consultation is the result of providers not asking about the child’s nutrition, parents not thinking supplement use warrants professional advice or another reason.
Parents in lower-income households were also less likely to talk about supplement use with their child’s health care provider, compared to higher-income parents, according to the report.
“Providers should be diligent about discussing nutrition with families so they understand what a healthy diet should include and are using supplements appropriately,” she said. “In situations where families can’t afford to provide a healthy diet, providers may direct parents to social service programs that can help.”
She noted that since supplements are classified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as food, they do not receive the same premarketing evaluation and review as medications.
“There is limited research on the safety and efficacy of supplements and potential side effects for kids. But some parents may not be aware that supplements do not undergo rigorous FDA testing and approval,” Clark said.
“To minimize the risks of supplement use, parents should share concerns about their child’s diet with a pediatrician who can help them identify the best strategies to improve the nutritional quality of their child’s diet and determine whether supplements are recommended.”
Establishing the EU-India Trade and Technology Council is a key step towards a strengthened strategic partnership, Commission says
The Commission issued a joint statement saying that “President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, agreed to launch the EU-India Trade and Technology Council at their meeting in New Delhi on Monday. This strategic coordination mechanism will allow both partners to tackle challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security, and thus deepen cooperation in these fields between the EU and India.”
The statement continues to say that “Both sides agreed that rapid changes in the geopolitical environment highlight the need for joint in-depth strategic engagement. The Trade and Technology Council will provide the political steer and the necessary structure to operationalise political decisions, coordinate technical work, and report to the political level to ensure implementation and follow-up in areas that are important for the sustainable progress of European and Indian economies.”
As a closing for the joint statement, they explained that “Even as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, we are confident that the shared values and common interests of the EU and India offer a strong basis to intensify mutually beneficial and deeper strategic cooperation. The European Union and India are bound by decades of close partnership and are determined to increase joint efforts to tackle current challenges and address geopolitical circumstances. The decision to set up a Trade and Technology Council will be the first for India with any of its partners and second for the European Union following the first one it has set up with the US. Establishing the EU-India Trade and Technology Council is a key step towards a strengthened strategic partnership for the benefit of all peoples in the EU and India.”
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the past year has seen “significant breakthroughs in malaria prevention and control”, a senior official of the UN health agency said on Monday, World Malaria Day.
“Landmark recommendations on the use of the first vaccine against malaria – WHO Regional Director for Africa, RTS,S – were released by the World Health Organization (WHO) late last year”, said WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti, referring to a protein-based malaria inoculation.
“This vaccine will be used to prevent malaria among children aged six months to five years, who live in moderate- to high-transmission settings”, she added.
Use measures wisely
Noting that the day is marked annually on 25 April to focus global attention on the mosquito-borne infectious disease, and its devastating impact, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa Dr. Moeti said that this year aligns with her call to urgently scale up innovation and deploy new tools to battle malaria, while also advocating for equitable access to prevention and treatment – within the context of building health system resilience.
“While this is a ground-breaking advance in the development of new tools to fight this disease, with the potential to save millions of lives, supplies are currently limited”, she said.
As such, it is important to ensure that available doses are being used for maximum impact, while continuing to be accessible to those most at risk.
Considerable threat
Malaria remains a significant public health and development challenge, according to WHO.
In the last year, about 95 per cent of the estimated 228 million cases occurred in the WHO/AFRO Region, along with 602,020 reported deaths.
Six of those worst-impacted countries reportedly account for up to 55 per cent of cases globally, and for 50 per cent of these deaths.
“Despite some slowing of progress to reduce malaria cases and deaths, and the disruptions to health services caused by COVID-19, we are still much further ahead than we were in 2000. We need to reignite that momentum, and build on the recent advances”, the WHO official attested.
Strategizing
Meanwhile, the UN agency UNITAID said that more than two-thirds of all deaths from malaria occur in African children under age five.
With pilots co-funded by UNITAID, the Global Fund and GAVI, the world’s first malaria vaccine is being delivered to children as part of a comprehensive package of preventive care.
Vector control, which targets disease-spreading mosquitoes, is a highly effective and vital component of malaria elimination strategies.
And with work to improve screening and treatment for relapsing P. vivax malaria – the most common type of malaria outside of sub-Saharan Africa – UNITAID is helping improve care for people in Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries.
The WHO global malaria strategy calls for a 90 per cent worldwide reduction of cases and death by 2030 – a goal that requires urgent investment to develop and deploy crucial innovations to protect people everywhere from malaria.
This requires a focus on research; leveraging evidence for the efficient use of resources while producing measurable results; working on drug and insecticide resistance; and attention on new strains arising in the region that are more difficult to detect and treat.
Commitment to fight
World Malaria Day is an occasion to “renew political commitment and encourage continued investment in malaria prevention and control”, said Dr. Moeti, calling on countries and communities affected by malaria to work closely with development partners to eliminate the disease while also contributing to achieving the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“I personally, and the WHO Regional Office in Africa, remain fully committed to the fight against malaria,” she spelled out, assuring that “we can overcome the challenge if we collaborate closely with governments, partners and communities… to achieve a malaria-free Africa”.
A priest and a nun were injured in a knife attack on election morning in Nice, the French newspaper Figaro reported.
The attacker has been arrested. The incident took place in the church of Saint-Pierre d’Aren in the southern part of the city.
Around 10:00, shortly before the service, a man entered the church and immediately turned to the priest Krzysztof Rudzinski, 57, of Polish descent. He stabbed him about 20 times, mainly in the chest area. Sister Marie-Claude, 72, was slightly injured in the arm when she intervened to disarm the attacker.
The two victims received medical assistance. Their lives are not in danger, according to the initial conclusions of the doctors, reported by several sources and later confirmed by the Minister of Interior Gerald Darmanin, who spoke on Twitter. He expressed his solidarity with the parishioners and congratulated the police forces, which quickly arrested the perpetrator.
At this stage of the investigation, the motives of the attacker, arrested with a seven-centimeter knife, remain unclear.
Born in 1991 in Frejus and living in Nice, Kevin R. spontaneously told police that he was “of the Jewish faith” and that on election day he wanted to “kill Macron“, but according to a police source he ended up in a church.
The attacker seems to have been labelled as with bipolar disorder and was recently admitted to a hospital in Nice due to mental health problems. Police should also investigate if the state of mind of the attacker was influenced by the heavy and dangerous drugs that psychiatrists give to people labelled with such disorders, as the side effects of such drugs include increase of violence. He is not known to the police and intelligence services. The investigation currently excludes the version of a terrorist act.
However, the National Counter-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has been notified, which is common in such circumstances.
Nice prosecutor Xavier Boniom went to the scene at noon. “Caution must be exercised,” he told a news briefing.
The area has been cordoned off by police. MP Eric Siotti, who also went to the scene, condemned on Twitter the “terrible attack on a priest and a nun.”
The mayor of the city, Christian Estrozi, also expressed his “support for all believers in Saint-Pierre-d’Aren” and wished “a speedy recovery of Father Christophe and Sister Marie-Claude.”
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has won the election. Thus, for the first time in 20 years, the country re-elected its president for a second term. Emmanuel Macron will lead the country with strong presidential power for another five years. Although with a late start to the campaign – 5 weeks before the first round and 7 weeks before today’s runoff – his team managed to convince enough French that his vision for the future of the country is more promising than that of the populist right.
Macron entered today’s election day with a consensus among sociological forecasts that he leads in popularity. But data from exit polls today (published by Belgian and Swiss media, banned in France until the formal end of voting at 8pm local time) predicted that it would continue to rise – to 55-58 per cent of voters’ preferences.
President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
On 23 April, President of the European Council Charles Michel made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.During the telephone conversation, the sides touched upon the trilateral meeting held at the initiative and with the participation of European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on 6 April, and stressed the importance of tangible and results-oriented work in accordance with the agreements reached.
President Ilham Aliyev thanked President of the European Council Charles Michel for his support and continuous attention to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the demarcation and delimitation of borders, preparation of a peace agreement between the two countries and the opening of transport and communication lines.
According to the results of the Brussels meeting, the Azerbaijani side had determined the composition of the national commission for the delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and a delegation to draft the peace agreement between the two countries, adding that Azerbaijan was ready for negotiations with Armenia in the “Baku-Yerevan” format. President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of taking into account the five principles presented by Azerbaijan for negotiations on a peace agreement.
President Charles Michel said he would continue his efforts to normalize the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and contribute to a lasting peace in the South Caucasus region.
The intention of the European Union to support Azerbaijan in its mine-clearance efforts and the determination of the fate of about 4,000 Azerbaijanis who have been missing since the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war was praised during the conversation.
The sides also exchanged views on prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union, as well as other issues of mutual interest.
The first billionaire, who was included in the lists of Forbes magazine and went bankrupt, sank deep into the depths of Montenegro, Russian media say. Telman Ismailov is wanted for debts of nearly 50 billion rubles (about $ 800 million) from several major creditors, including VTB Bank.
Russia recently submitted documents requesting his extradition from Montenegro. Ismailov’s lawyer, Milos Vuksanovic, immediately announced that his client had been granted political asylum and had been released from the place where he had been arrested. This happened on October 22.
Thus, the Montenegrin government gave Ismailov the right to live freely and offered him protection from Russian security forces. Montenegrins have so-called “Golden Passports”. They are given to all sorts of swindlers who want to pay and become citizens of the country.
To do this, they have to contribute 100,000 euros to the government fund, acquire some real estate and invest 250,000 euros in tourism in the north and 450,000 in the south.
The first bankrupt dollar billionaire in history was a close friend of former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
Luzhkov called him “his brother” and it was he who helped him lease the huge market for Chinese consumer goods, Cherkizon. In the early 1990s, the daily market turnover, which was completely unaccounted for, was tens of millions of dollars.
Telman Ismailov is one of the mountain Jews in Azerbaijan. His father was a “workshop worker” – a private individual who was engaged in production during the socialist era. His son is graduating in economics.
Telman Ismailov accumulated his innumerable wealth from the Cherkizon mega-market. There, he gave 90 centimeters of trade space to unemployed Russians in the early 1990s. Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants live in huge containers. According to some estimates – 100 thousand people.
At the beginning of the new millennium, Forbes ranked Ismailov among the richest people on the planet. Alla Pugacheva sings on his anniversary. Especially for him, Filip Kirkorov studied a song in Azerbaijani. To complete the kitsch, a rain of $ 100 bills is sprinkled from the ceiling in the midst of the celebration.
In 2008, Ismailov built a 7-star hotel in Antalya for $ 1.4 billion. It is considered the most expensive from the British Isles to the eastern Turkish border. Sharon Stone and Monica Bellucci are invited to the opening.
At the time, Vladimir Putin said there was nothing wrong with having such hotels abroad, but it would be good to invest similar funds in hotels for the Sochi Olympics.
Ismailov took note and immediately announced a project for a hotel for 800 million, which was never started.
In 2010, the Russian president also spoke negatively about the existing still dirty and full of bandits market “Cherkizon”.
Putin directly stated that no customs duties are paid on the goods at this site and that sales are not reported to the state. And the ugliness was closed. “Every stall here kills an honest Russian producer,” the president said.
With the closure of “Cherkizon” cuts the huge gray income of Telman Ismailov. Various banks have announced that it is not servicing its dozens of loans worth hundreds of millions.
In 2017, prosecutors accused him of being behind the murder of two major Russian businessmen. One was his brother’s partner, who owed him 5.5 million.
In order not to pay him, Ismailov sent assassins. And they removed another big businessman standing next to him in the car.
The prosecutor’s office then announced that there were eight murders behind which Ismailov was allegedly behind! And then he fled to Turkey at his $ 1 billion hotel.
Ismailov’s calm is short. He was summoned by local prosecutors, who questioned him about one of his alleged victims, a Turkish citizen.
Telman hastily sold the debt-ridden hotel for $ 1.4 billion to $ 124 million. His native Azerbaijan refused to grant him asylum. And Telman Ismailov lived in a rented luxury villa in Montenegro.
Every day the Earth is exposed to ionizing radiation, high-energy waves that can destroy electrons from atoms in the body
Every day the Earth is exposed to ionizing radiation, high-energy waves that can destroy electrons from atoms in the body. High levels of exposure to ionizing radiation can lead to radiation sickness and cancer.
The magnetosphere and atmosphere of our planet prevent almost all of this radiation – generated by the sun and galactic cosmic rays from exploding stars – from reaching the earth’s surface.
At the International Space Station (ISS), which is protected by the magnetosphere but not the atmosphere, astronauts are exposed to higher levels of ionizing radiation, which increases the risk of cancer, writes Live Science.
Under current limits set by NASA in 1989, the effective dose limit for an astronaut’s entire career is based on a maximum 3% risk of lifelong cancer mortality.
This risk is assessed on a sliding scale based on age and gender, ranging from a lower occupational limit of 180 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation for a 30-year-old woman to an upper limit of 700 mSv for a 60-year-old man.
An interesting question is why there is a lower limit for radiation exposure for female astronauts than for male astronauts?
According to R. Julian Preston, Special Government Officer in the Radiation Protection Division of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, NASA’s lower radiation threshold for female astronauts is based on the following finding – when women and men were exposed to high levels of radiation for such periods of time, women had more than twice the risk of developing lung cancer than men.
“It is generally believed – based largely on the survivors of the atomic bomb in Japan – that women are more sensitive, especially to lung cancer,” due to ionizing radiation from men, said Preston, who serves on National Council committees. in Radiological Protection and Measurements.
It turns out that the research is not in vain: in 2018, the former head of the NASA astronaut team Peggy Whitson, who publicly expressed her disappointment with the radiation restrictions for women astronauts, had to retire after reaching her exposure limit. radiation at age 57.
However, NASA is expected to change its radiation exposure thresholds soon. In 2021, NASA asked an expert group convened by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine to evaluate the space agency’s plan to change the emission limit to 600 mSv for all astronauts of all ages.
This dose of 600 mSv is expressed in the exposure that the astronaut would receive during four six-month ISS expeditions. By comparison, the average annual dose of radiation received by humans on Earth is about 3.6 mSv, according to NASA, compared to 300 mSv per year on the ISS.
A possible trip to Mars will expose the astronauts to approximately 900 mSv. However, this dose is even lower than the 1000 mSv limits set by the European, Canadian and Russian space agencies for their astronauts.
The body produces this hormone when it gets dark and it’s time for sleep
The body produces the hormone melatonin when it gets dark and it’s time for sleep. At two o’clock in the morning melatonin is in its highest concentration. Since sleep is essential for the functioning of the body, it is important to have optimal levels of melatonin, writes the site Puls.bg.
Which foods contain melatonin?
Some foods contain melatonin, which can add to that synthesized by the body and thus help us sleep better.
Pistachio is the richest in melatonin.
One serving of 30 g peeled pistachios contains 6 mg melatonin, an amount comparable to that provided by some supplements.
Based on studies with melatonin supplements, a dose of up to 10 mg is considered safe and the best time to take it is one to two hours before bedtime.
When taking anticoagulants or medicines for epilepsy, a doctor should be consulted to assess the benefit / risk balance.
What is the content of melatonin in food?
Other foods that contain melatonin are mushrooms and whole grains.
– Pistachio: 230,000 nanograms of melatonin per gram;
– Mushrooms: 4300 to 6400 nanograms per gram;
– Oats: 91 nanograms per gram;
– Cherries: 10-20 nanograms per gram;
– Tomatoes: 1 to 67 nanograms per gram
While pistachios can be relied on to increase melatonin levels, the best way to support their endogenous production is to reduce the intensity and brightness of the light we are exposed to at night.
Dimmed and warmer light is best during the hours before bedtime.
When we go to bed, it is important that the darkness in the room is absolute.
What are the benefits of melatonin?
Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland and is responsible for regulating the circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness.
In addition to improving sleep, melatonin is also involved in controlling immune function, blood pressure and levels of cortisol, the hormone of activity and stress.
Melatonin not only promotes sleep, but is an antioxidant with beneficial properties, especially on some organs, such as the eyes, stomach and ears – it can reduce tinnitus.
There are studies that show how melatonin can prevent glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, as well as maintain visual acuity.
As for the stomach, melatonin can prevent reflux and heartburn.
Contributes to better sleep
A study of 50 people suffering from insomnia showed that taking melatonin two hours before bedtime helps people fall asleep faster and improves overall sleep quality.
Another analysis of 19 studies in children and adults with sleep disorders showed that melatonin reduced the time needed to fall asleep, improved quality and increased overall sleep time.
Reduces the symptoms of seasonal depression
Seasonal affective disorder, also called seasonal depression, is due to the reduced number of hours of daylight, which is why it manifests itself in late autumn or early winter.
According to a study of 68 people, taking melatonin capsules daily was effective in reducing symptoms.
Large volcanic eruptions, as you know, are capable of creating the effect of nuclear winter – blocking sunlight (this leads not only to a decrease in temperature on Earth, but also to a weakening of monsoons and precipitation) from one year to several years, due to which crops and domestic animals. Such phenomena provoke crop failures and hunger.
Scientists from the School of History and Humanities in Ireland, San Francisco State University, Rutgers, Florida (USA), Berne (Switzerland) and Zhejiang (China), as well as the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society (Germany) analyzed the consequences of the eruptions volcanoes that occurred from the first year of our era to 1915.
To do this, they studied the level of sulfates in ice cores of Greenland and Antarctica over the past two thousand years. It turned out that they preserved traces of ash from 156 volcanic eruptions. In addition, scientists analyzed historical Chinese documents about 68 dynasties, as well as information about military actions in the territory of the Middle Kingdom between 850 and 1911. The researchers presented their findings in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
“We found out that episodes of the fall of the dynasties of the Chinese emperors in the last two thousand years often coincided with volcanic eruptions. This connection turned out to be complex: the cooling of the climate provoked by volcanoes increased the likelihood of conflict, and wars, in turn, increased the chances that this or that dynasty would end its existence, ”said Alan Robock, one of the authors of the study, a professor at Rutgers University.
Scientists were able to show that almost all the falls of the dynasties of Chinese emperors took place in the first ten years after major volcanic eruptions. And this happened especially often during periods when climatic anomalies associated with eruptions were superimposed on already existing military conflicts.
The change of dynasties was also facilitated by the concept of the so-called heavenly mandate, the loss of which, in the minds of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire, was accompanied by various weather disasters. The newly-minted government could always accuse its predecessors of “moral decay” and all the troubles.
Caesar’s usurpation of power in the Roman Republic ended with a conspiracy and his assassination in March 44 BC. And then the state was struck by new severe disasters: historical chronicles have kept records of both the darkness that covered the sky shortly after these events, and the sharp cold snap and crop failures that erupted in the following years. Mass famine served as one of the factors that ultimately led to the final consolidation of power in Rome and the emergence of an empire.
Volcanoes are to blame. It is believed that the local eruption of Etna in Italy itself could partially hide the light of the sun in the summer of 44 BC. Probably, the tests that followed in the following years are also associated with volcanism: ice cores, which are extracted today from ancient glaciers, retained traces of volcanic dust that was emitted into the atmosphere around that time period.
A large international team of scientists led by Joseph McConnell of Cambridge University was able to accurately date the eruption and find its epicenter. The authors analyzed ice cores from Greenland, going back in time – starting with the deposits left by the famous eruption of the Indonesian volcano Samalas in 1257. Scientists write about the results of this work in an article published in the journal PNAS.
The peak in the content of sulfur particles, close to the time of the fall of the Roman Republic, fell exactly at the beginning (January-February) of the 43 years that followed the assassination of Caesar. Moreover, the ratios of the various sulfur isotopes in them showed that these particles reached the stratosphere and survived exposure to strong ultraviolet radiation. This indicates the power of the eruption.
In addition, some of the particles of volcanic glass were found in one of the cores. This made it possible to find out their exact composition, which is directly related to the geochemistry of the volcano that gave rise to them. Comparing the data obtained with the characteristics of volcanoes that could be active during that period, the authors identified the culprit of the troubles.
It turned out to be the Okmok volcano, located in the Aleutian Islands, near Alaska, which still retains high and potentially dangerous activity. The Okmok summit is located at an altitude of about a kilometer and is a vast caldera with a diameter of almost 10 kilometers. Apparently, it was formed as a result of an explosion that occurred in the 43 year that followed the assassination of Caesar.
Such a catastrophe could not but have a noticeable effect on the climate of the entire planet. Through computer simulations, scientists have shown that the Okmok eruption filled the stratosphere with particles that were held in it for months. As a result, temperatures in Southern Europe and North Africa could drop by as much as 7 ° C.
This was also indicated by dendrological studies: an analysis of the rings of trees growing in those years demonstrated the cooling that plants experienced in 43 and 42 BC. Famine during this period broke out not only in Rome. Chronicles point to severe crop failures even in the “granary” of the ancient Mediterranean, Egypt, which apparently facilitated its conquest by the armies of Octavian, Caesar’s heir and founder of the Roman Empire.
