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Veterinarians who have conducted numerous investigations of African swine fever outbreaks in pig farms in various European countries over the years shared their experiences during a workshop in Germany in early 2020. One focus was on the so-called "anecdotal information" obtained from farmers, farm workers or other lay people during the outbreak investigations. Discussions revolved around how to correctly interpret and classify such information and how the subjective character of the statements can influence follow-up examinations. The statements of the lay persons were grouped into three categories according to their plausibility: (i) statements that were plausible and prompted further investigation, (ii) statements that were not plausible and could therefore be ignored, and (iii) statements that were rather implausible but should not be ignored completely. The easiest to deal with were statements that could be classified without doubt as important and very plausible and statements that were not plausible at all. Particularly difficult to assess were statements that had a certain plausibility and could not be immediately dismissed out of hand. We aim to show that during outbreak investigations, one is confronted with human subjective stories that are difficult to interpret but still important to understand the overall picture. Here, we present and briefly discuss an arbitrary selection of reports made by lay persons during outbreak investigations.

There is compelling evidence that postexercise heart rate recovery (HRR) is a valid indicator of sympaticovagal balance. It is also used in prescription and monitoring of athletic training. The purpose of our study was to determine HRR after maximal exercise among elite athletes with respect to age. A total of 274 elite male Caucasian athletes were randomly selected from the larger sample and divided into two groups: adolescent (group Y) and adult athletes (≥18 years; group A). They performed maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing on a treadmill. Heart rate recovery was calculated as the rate of decline of HR from peak exercise to rates 1, 2 and 3 min after cessation of exercise (HRR1, HRR2 and HRR3). A significantly higher HRR1 was found in group A (29·5 ± 15·6 versus 22·4 ± 10·8, P<0·001), but HRR3 was higher in group Y (82·7 ± 10·2 versus 79·9 ± 12·25; P = 0·04). Stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis showed that, among all subjects, the HRR1 alone was independently associated with age (P<0·001). The maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2 max) was in a negative relationship with HRR1 and in a positive one with HRR3 (P<0·05) with respect to all athletes. The HRR during 3 min postexercise should be reported for the purpose of better assessing functional adaptation to exercise among elite athletes as well as the age-associated differences in recovery. Higher values of HRR1 should be expected in older athletes, and HRR3 could be used as an index of aerobic capacity, irrespective of age., (© 2015 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Although the first case of sarcoidosis in Yugoslavia was described immediately before the World War II, it was not before the 50's and the 60's that the disease started to be more frequently discovered. According to the evidence of pulmologic centres throughout the country, the incidence of sarcoidosis in 1988 was found to be the lowest in Macedonia (0.4 per 100,000 inhabitants). Since 1970, Yugoslavia has had its own Kveim-Siltzbach antigen, used in over 3000 patients. International World and European conferences on sarcoidosis aroused greater interest for sarcoidosis in Yugoslavia, particularly the Third European Conference on Sarcoidosis held in Novi Sad in 1980. Consequently, the Yugoslav Association on Sarcoidosis as an integral part of the WASOG has been organized this year.

Conservative resection is applied in cases with central localisation of the tumour in the surrounding lymph nodes are not affected by the malignant process. This surgery is of great importance for patients with restricted respiratory function if pneumonectomy is contraindicated or is performed under enhanced risk. A total of 29 surgeries were performed on the bronchial system. Blood vessel resection was simultaneously done in two of the cases. Frozen section biopsy was obligatorily performed. In one case atelectasis was an early complication that was resolved by bronchoaspiration. In a thirty-day long postoperative period one (3.4%) of the patients died because of profound intrathoracic bleeding.

The data on the epidemiologic situation of sarcoidosis from 24 countries of Europe have been reviewed. The new facts seem to demonstrate that the differences between the frequency of this disease in the north and south are not real. The actual situation is dependent on the general knowledge of this disease and on the extent and intensity of the active detection of its asymptomatic stage. A new prospective cooperative study of the yearly incidence of all forms of sarcoidosis in the total population of at least some European countries would be desirable.

Sarcoidosis in children is very rare. Especially asymptomatic cases are scarcely known. Sometimes extrapulmonary cases are found. These need a therapy with cortisone derivates. The danger of a false diagnosis is very high if it is based only on a X-ray film. A histological examination seems important. The cooperation between pediatrician and pneumologist is considered as important especially when the grown up patients pass on from pediatric care to the supervision of the pneumologist.

Anti-Kveim-antigen serum was obtained by immunizing rabbits with Kveim antigen from lymph nodes and spleen in complete Freund's adjuvant. In the Ouchterlony test and in counter-immuno electrophoresis, a precipitation band with Kveim antigen from spleen and lymph nodes was demonstrated after absorption of the antiserum with serum and extracts of normal lymph nodes and spleen.