Diagnostic approaches and prevalence of Rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in District Mardan

The disease tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MTB) is most common infectious disease in developing countries. The disease is fatal if not treated during the early stages of infection, thereby early and precise detection is a decisive step in curing the disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of tuberculosis in patients reporting to Mardan Medical Complex (MMC), located in the district Mardan, KPK, Pakistan. The sputum of patients was analysed by Ziehl-Nilsen (ZN) staining technique followed by light microscopy called Acid-Fast Bacillus (AFB) staining. The sputum samples were collected from the patients and analysed by special PCR method called GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay, for genomic detection and resistance assay for rifampicin antibiotic were used, are the commonly used medicine for the treatment of MTB infection. Total 121 patients reported to MMC, represented 74 % patients from Mardan, 12% from Nowshera and 14% from Swabi. These patients were screened for the aim to evaluate the techniques for the detection of MTB. The light microscopy method confirmed 66 (55%) of the patients positive for MTB, whereas the same samples reported 78 (68%) patients positive for MTB through GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay, The Positive Predictive Value (PPV) and Negative Predictive Value (NPV) found for light microscopy were 99% and 78.1% respectively. The most used drug rifampicin was found ineffective in 9 patients (7%). Additionally, 83% of the patients when interviewed had a folk history of tuberculosis. Keywords: Microscopy, PCR, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Rifampicin.

‘Histories of Everyday Life’ in Local Museums

The second part of this book, of which this chapter is part, is about the ‘history of everyday life’ in practice. This chapter examines the ‘history of everyday life’ in local community settings. It argues that folk museums were the museological vehicles of popular social history in mid-twentieth-century Britain. The British folk museum movement is traced via museum case studies in Luton, Cambridge, York, and the Highlands. Collecting practices, curation, visitors, and the educational programmes within each museum are analysed. The practices of several curator-collectors of everyday life, notably Enid Porter and Isabel Grant, are explored in depth. The chapter argues that folk history, so often thought of as a talisman of the extreme right, was recast at a community level into a feminized and conservative ‘history of everyday life’ for ordinary people. The final part of the chapter connects the ‘history of everyday life’ to debates about the emergence of commercial and industrial heritage in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s.

Slavic fantasy yesterday and today

The article is devoted to the study of the evolution and transformation of the Slavic fantasy genre on Russian soil: from its inception in the 1990s to the present day. Fantasy on the material of the events of the time of the pro-Slavic unity in Russia gained popularity and special significance. They solved the compensatory tasks of re-identification for the mass consciousness: with the collapse of the Soviet empire, the post-Soviet man needed a positive identity, which manifested itself in turning to the “great past” in predominantly heroic images. The subsequent historization and contextualization of the genre, its transformation from a fairy tale to a quasi-historical narrative was largely due to the influence of the ideologies spread by folk history. In the 2000s, Slavonic fantasy employs the mechanisms of routine, serialization, reduction, and convergence. In the 2010s, Slavic fantasy continues to be part of the national myth, gaining new genre forms — a film, a computer game, etc. However, new examples of the genre (in particular, Andrei Rubanov’s novel “Finist the Clear Falcon” of 2019) broadcast nostalgic moods in the aesthetic spirit retroutopia. If at the turn of the 1990–2000s Slavic fantasies became close to a historical adventure novel, now their rapprochement with a fairy tale is indicative.

Theoretical Paganism

The topic of this article is very important and relevant today due to a rapid process of the revival of neo-paganism not only in Russia but in other countries as well. While in Western countries the problem of neo-paganism worsened sharply in the 50-60s of the twentieth century, in the Soviet Union such organizations started to appear en masse since the end of the 80s of the last century. And in 90s there were people who wrote in the genre of folk history. This study is relevant as it considers the problem of the activity of prolofic writers belonging to neo-paganism of the relatively recent past and present. This article focuses on the people who do not belong to any pagan community, even treating them negatively, but share a pagan worldview and devote many books to it. These books are very popular and can be found in most conventional bookstores. The article analyzes the genre of folk history. The biographies are described briefly with reference to scientific regalia. It is mentioned that the scientists are engaged in research which is not in their field of competence. Pseudoscientific theories about history and language are discussed in detail. In conclusion, it is emphasized that modern pagans are usually busy not reconstructing ancient beliefs and finding the lost heritage of their ancestors, but inventing illiterate hoaxes in order to create a name for themselves.

Post-truth as a syndrome of Digital Age: ultimate understanding of the phenomenon and scenarios of the future

The subject field of this research is the combination of cultural phenomena, which correlate with the initially highlighted concept of “post-truth” through generalization of its criteria. The traditionally narrow understanding of post-truth is associated with news reports of mass media. However, the distortion of actual picture, using the techniques of heuristic rhetoric and mechanisms that instigate cognitive biases is a more common situation in modern society, which unites various communication phenomena, touches upon news and everyday communication, artistic endeavor, and many other areas. The specific subject of research is the range of possible scenarios of social development depending on its response to proliferation of the phenomena that comprise the cultural-communication complex of “post-truth”. This article is the first attempt of scientific summary of the phenomenal picture of post-truth based on the competent expansion of the criteria from the partial instances to the general mechanisms. Partial criteria, such as neglecting objective factors in the report, appeal to human values and ideologies, use of emotional pressure for substantiating own opinion, the author replaces with the general: media distortion of reality as a goal of report, use of cognitive biases, use of mechanisms of heuristics. Based on the highlighted criteria, the author analyzes the question of semantic and cultural correlation with post-truth of such as the phenomena as the fan theories of two types, litbaits, pop science, folk history, astroturfing, fan fakes, clickbaits, narrative journalism, etc. Scientific novelty also consists in outlining the possible scenarios for social development and its communication environment depending on the strategies of response to expansion of the sphere of post-truth.

Koryak historical narratives about reindeer-breeder’ collectivization

In the paper some features of the collectivization among the koryak reindeer-breeders of Kamchatka (chauchuvens) are shown through historical and family narratives. From governmental point of view narratives containing the descrip- tion of collectivazation were interpreted as antisoviet agitation, and, therefore, such stories weren’t written or published. An interview (2015–2018) with old chauchuvens had shown that memories of those tragic events are still live in Koryak folk history. In nowadays records containing the descriptions of collectivazation time before Soviet power is shown as a time of deer prosperity in families. The idealization of the image of rich reindeer-breeders is also found. In popular and official versions, the polarity of the image of a reindeer-breeder is obvious: from idealization (in popular) to completely negative (official documents and fiction literature). According to historical narratives reindeer-breeders were trying to hide their herds from bolshevists. Unfortunately the hiding of herds was usually followed by arrest of the reindeer-breeders. Attempts of hiding the family herds from the Soviet power are interpreted by narrators as a saving of herds. The Soviet power itself is considered as a destroying power. In narratives reindeer-breeders the opposition is very dis- tinct: local vs foreign. In this type of narratives negative attitude to foreign Russian who destroyed local balance is very strong. The generation who witnessed the collectivization has already gone but their children who listened to the stories about the collectivization and know all those tragic events are still alive. The dying-out of deers and great hunger started after collectivization.