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Between 1995 and 2021, archaeological excavations at 16 sites in Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia, collected more than 8,800 samples of waterlogged archaeological wood, mostly from piles driven into the ground on which dwellings were built. About 20% of the samples were from oak (Quercus sp.) and ash (Fraxinus sp.) trees with more than 45 tree-rings, which could be included in the dendrochronological analyses, and tree-ring chronologies could be established for most sites. Dating by dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating, and wiggle matching, as well as teleconnection with the German-Swiss reference chronology, allowed absolute dating of oak in the time frame 3771–3330 BC (BAR-3330 chronology), while precise 14C dates were obtained for chronologies covering the periods 3285–3109 ± 14 cal BC (SG-VO) and 2659–2417 ± 18 cal BC (ZA-QUSP1). The potential of the ash wood chronologies, especially those of the 3rd millennium BC, when this wood species was predominant, has not yet been fully exploited. Na 16 koliščih na Ljubljanskem barju v Sloveniji je bilo med leti 1995 in 2021 z arheološkimi izkopavanji zbranih več kot 8.800 vzorcev z vodo napojenega arheološkega lesa. Večina vzorcev je bilo odvzetih iz pilotov, zabitih v zemljo, na katerih so bila zgrajena bivališča. Približno 20 % vzorcev je bilo iz lesa hrasta (Quercus sp.) in jesena (Fraxinus sp.), z več kot 45 branikami, ki jih je bilo mogoče vključiti v dendrokronološke analize in sestaviti kronologije širin branik za večino najdišč. Datiranje z uporabo dendrokronologije, radiokarbonskega datiranja in metode wiggle matching ter telekonekcije z nemško-švicarsko referenčno kronologijo so omogočili na leto natančno absolutno datiranje hrasta v časovnem okviru 3771–3330 pr. Kr. (kronologija BAR-3330), medtem ko so bili natančni radiokarbonski datumi pridobljeni za kronologije, ki pokrivajo obdobji 3285–3109 ± 14 kal. pr. Kr. (SG-VO) in 2659–2417 ± 18 kal. pr. Kr. (ZA-QUSP1). Potencial kronologij jesena, zlasti tistih iz 3. tisočletja pr. Kr., kjer ta vrsta prevladuje, še ni bil v celoti izkoriščen.

Lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in Europe and the USA. Doxycycline for 10 days is the primary treatment recommendation for erythema migrans. To reduce potentially harmful antibiotic overuse by identifying shorter effective treatments, we aimed to assess whether oral doxycycline for 7 days is non-inferior to 14 days in adults with solitary erythema migrans.In this randomised open-label non-inferiority trial, we enrolled patients with a solitary erythema at the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Patients were excluded if they were pregnant or lactating, immunosuppressed, allergic to doxycycline, or had received antibiotics with anti-borrelial activity within 10 days preceding enrolment or had additional manifestations of Lyme borreliosis Adults were randomly allocated 1:1 to receive oral doxycycline 100 mg twice a day for 7 days or 14 days. The primary efficacy endpoint was the difference in proportion of patients with treatment failure, defined as persistent erythema, new objective signs of Lyme borreliosis, or borrelial isolation on skin re-biopsy at 2 months, in a per-protocol analysis (the population that completed the assigned doxycycline regimen according to the study protocol and did not receive any other antibiotics with anti-borrelial activity until the 2-month visit). The non-inferiority margin was 6 percentage points. Safety was assessed in all randomly assigned patients who followed the study protocol and were evaluable at the 14-day visit. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03153267.Between July 3, 2017, and Oct 2, 2018, we enrolled 300 patients (150 per group: median age 56 years [IQR 47-65]; 126 [45%] of 300 male; skin culture positive 72 [30%] of 239 assessed). 295 patients completed antibiotic therapy as per protocol and 294 (98%) patients were evaluable 2 months post-enrolment. Five (3%) of 147 patients from the 7-day group versus 3 (2%) of 147 patients from the 14-day group (one patient did not attend the 2-month visit and was unreachable by telephone) had treatment failure manifesting as persistence of erythema (difference 1·4 percentage points; upper limit of one-sided 95% CI 5·2 percentage points; p=0·64). No patients developed new objective manifestations of Lyme borreliosis during follow-up or had positive repeat skin biopsies. Two (1%) of 150 patients in the 7-day and one (1%) of 150 patients in the 14-day group discontinued therapy due to adverse events.Our data support 7 days of oral doxycycline for adult European patients with solitary erythema migrans, permitting less antibiotic exposure than current guideline-driven therapy.Slovenian Research Agency and the University Medical Centre Ljubljana.

Multi-proxy analysis of the coprolites which were found during excavations at two Late Neolithic (fourth millennium bc) pile-dwelling sites (Crnelnik and Stare gmajne) in Slovenia yielded some new insights into human–dog relations and behaviour. The digested content is presented in a multidisciplinary approach, in which palynological, palaeoparasitological, archaeobotanical and archaeozoological features are studied and genetic signs are tested. Beside the origin of the coprolites, the size of an animal and the diet, the faeces provided some additional information, such as health, status, nutrition habits, environment and season.

La possibilità che il sale avesse avuto un ruolo importante nelle dinamiche insediative del Carso e dell’Istria (Adriatico nord-orientale) fin dalla tarda preistoria è stata ipotizzata principalmente in base a indicatori indiretti, e non è stata validata finora da interventi di campo mirati. Indicatori indiretti quali l’accertato uso pastorale di parecchie grotte carsiche (pastorizia e sale sono legati dalla necessità di integrare l’alimentazione delle greggi di caprovini); la presenza di un numero alto di oggetti “esotici” in molti siti (oggetti dati / ricevuti in cambio di bestiame e sale?); dati etno-storici: presenza di impianti produttivi / saline sicuramente da epoca romana fino al secolo scorso lungo tutto il litorale (in Istria una salina è tuttora attiva). In età protostorica, alcuni materiali ceramici rinvenuti nel sito lungo costa di Stramare di Muggia e nel castelliere di Elleri sarebbero interpretabili come briquetage, e dunque costituirebbero prove dirette della produzione di sale. Nella letteratura specialistica sul sale sono considerati validi sia gli indicatori diretti sia quelli indiretti: nondimeno, la loro tipologia e l’uso esclusivo piuttosto che integrato degli stessi potrebbero costituire tema di discussione teorico-metodologica. L’individuazione di analisi archeometriche (lato sensu) tali da confermare la presenza / produzione di sale in ambienti idonei anche dal punto di vista geo-ambientale è un altro tema di possibile approfondimento, così come quello della dimensione diacronica del fenomeno sale, evidente dall’importanza che hanno in moltissimi casi i dati etno-storici.

In this retrospective cohort study of patients with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), the clinical outcome in relation to co-infection with B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) and, specifically, the effect of antibiotic treatment on clinical outcome in patients with TBE who were seropositive for borreliae but who did not fulfil clinical or microbiologic criteria for proven co-infection, were assessed at a single university medical center in Slovenia, a country where TBE and Lyme borreliosis are endemic with high incidence. Among 684 patients enrolled during a seven-year period from 2007 through 2013, 382 (55.8%) had TBE alone, 62 (9.1%) had proven co-infection with borreliae and 240 (35.1%) had possible co-infection. The severity of acute illness was similar in all the groups. The odds for incomplete recovery decreased during a 12-month follow-up but were higher in women, older patients, and in those with more severe acute illness. Incomplete recovery was not associated with either proven (odds ratio (OR) 1.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49–2.95 p = 0.670) or possible co-infection (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.55–1.65 p = 0.853). Among patients with possible co-infection, older patients were more likely to be prescribed antibiotics, but the odds for incomplete recovery were similar in those who received antibiotics and those who did not (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.36–1.87 p = 0.630), suggesting that routine antibiotic treatment in patients with TBE and possible co-infection may not be warranted.

Na Ljubljanskem Barju v Sloveniji smo opravili dendrokronološke raziskave lesa iz eneolitskega koliščarske naselbine Parte-Iščica. Iz struge reke Iščice smo odvzeli vzorce 1237 kolov iz lesa jesena (Fraxinus sp.), jelše (Alnus glutinosa Gaertn.), bukve (Fagus sylvatica L.), jelke (Abies alba Mill.), javorja (Acer sp.), breze (Betula sp.), leske (Corylus sp.), belega gabra (Carpinus betulus L.), topola (Populus sp.), hrasta (Quercus sp.), vrbe (Salixsp.) in bresta (Ulmus sp.). Prevladovali so vzorci jesena, jelše in bukve s 70 %, 9 % in 7 %. Dendrokronološke analize smo opravili na jesenovih, bukovih, hrastovih in jelovih kolih, ki so imeli nad 45 branik. Na osnovi 285 relativno datiranih vzorcev smo sestavili dve jesenovi in eno bukovo kronologijo, dolžin 136, 113 in 105 let. Večje količine lesa, posekanega v istem koledarskem letu, nakazujejo potek gradbenih aktivnosti na kolišču. Po prvih rezultatih radiokarbonskega datiranja uvrščamo koliščarsko naselbino v prvo polovico tretjega tisočletja pred našim štetjem. From the Parte-I{~ica Eneolithic pile dwelling in the Ljubljana Moor, Slovenia, timber was collected for dendrochronological investigations. In the river bed of the I{~ica river samples were selected from 1237 vertical piles of ash (Fraxinus sp.), alder (Alnus glutinosa Gaertn.), beech (Fagus sylvaticaL.), fir (Abies alba Mill.), maple (Acer sp.), birch (Betula sp.), hazel (Corylus sp.), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.), poplar (Populus sp.), oak(Quercus sp.), willow (Salix sp.), and elm (Ulmus sp.). Those of ash, alder, and beech predominated with 70 %, 9 %, and 7 % respectively. Samples ofash, beech, oak, and silver fir containing more than 45 tree-rings were usedfor tree-ring analyses. 285 samples were cross-dated and three floating chronologies, two of ash and one of beech, were constructed. Their length was 136, 113, and 105 years. The large amount of timber cut in the same calendar year provides information on building activities on the site. The first 14C dates indicate that the pile dwelling existed in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC.

We monitored trends of severe COVID-19 morbidity in Slovenia during weeks 13 to 37 2021. National weekly rates of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 at admission in all hospitals varied between 0.2 and 16.3 cases per 100,000 population. Of those without previous COVID-19 diagnosis, SARI COVID-19 admission rates ranged between 0.3 and 17.5 per 100,000 unvaccinated, and 0.0 and 7.3 per 100,000 fully vaccinated individuals. National SARI COVID-19 surveillance is essential in informing COVID-19 response.