scholarly journals Distribution of micro- (Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn) and risk (Al, As, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Cd) elements in the organs of Rumex alpinus L. in the Alps and Krkonoše Mountains ac* Michaela Jungová, a b Michael O. Asare, a Vladimíra Jurasová, a Michal Hejcman

Author(s):  
Michaela Jungová ◽  
Vladimíra Jurasová Müllerová ◽  
Michal Hejcman ◽  
Michael Asare Opare

Abstract Background and aimsRumex alpinus is a native plant in the mountains of Europe whose distribution has partly been affected by its utilization as a vegetable and medicinal herb. The distribution of micro and risk elements in its organs is not well-known. The study examined the safety of consuming Rumex alpinus from the Krkonoše Mountains, Czech Republic, and the Alps (Austria and Italy).MethodsWe determined the total and plant-available content of Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Al, As, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Cd in the soil and total content in organs of Rumex alpinus.ResultsThe uptake and distribution of elements by plants were characterized by bioaccumulation (BF) and translocation (TF) factors. The intensity of elements accumulation by Rumex alpinus is considerably different, depending on locality. Rumex alpinus has considerable tolerance to Zn, Cu, As, Cr, Ni, with an easy accumulation strategy. High Al and Cd content in belowground biomass (rhizome) indicate a defensive mechanism for them. Although the aboveground biomass (emerging, senescent, mature leaves, petiole) has some degree of accumulation of risk elements, the results showed that Rumex alpinus is an excluder.ConclusionRumex alpinus does not accumulate risk elements in organs that are consumed based on the World Health Organization (2001) and can therefore be consumed without concern.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Jungová ◽  
Michael O. Asare ◽  
Vladimíra Jurasová ◽  
Michal Hejcman

Abstract Background and aimsRumex alpinus is a native plant in the mountains of Europe, whose distribution is affected by its utilization as a vegetable and medicinal herb. The distribution of micro and risk elements in its organs and the possibility for phytoremediation are not well-known. We aimed to examine the safety of consuming R. alpinus from the Krkonoše Mountains, Czech Republic, and Alps (Austria and Italy).MethodsWe determined the total and plant-available concentration of Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Al, As, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Cd in the soil and total concentration in the organs of R. alpinus using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry.ResultsThe uptake and distribution of elements by plants were characterized by bioaccumulation and translocation (TF) factors. The intensity of elements accumulation by R. alpinus is considerably different, depending on locality. R. alpinus has considerable tolerance to Zn, Cu, As, Cr, Ni, with easy accumulation strategy. High Al and Cd concentration in belowground biomass (rhizome) indicates a defensive mechanism for them. Although the aboveground biomass (emerging, senescent, mature leaves, petiole) has some degree of accumulation of risk elements, R. alpinus is potentially suitable for phytoremediation of moderately contaminated soils. The results revealed that R. alpinus excludes Al, with high TF for Mn, Zn, Cu, As, Ni, and Pb. Given the accumulation of As and Cr, we recommend caution in its usage.ConclusionDetailed elemental analysis of R. alpinus organs is recommended before its application as medicinal herb or food, especially in contaminated soils.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronja Vitt ◽  
Gudrun Laschewski ◽  
Alkiviadis Bais ◽  
Henri Diémoz ◽  
Ilias Fountoulakis ◽  
...  

The UV-Index (UVI) is aimed at the prevention of skin cancer as well as other negative implications of ultraviolet radiation exposure. In order to support health related applications, assessments and planning that rely on long term data in high spatial resolution and as there exist only limited ground-based measurements, satellite products from reliable atmospheric monitoring services are used as sustainable data sources to create a climatology of the UVI at the local noon. In this study, the (all-sky) UVI as well as the hypothetically clear-sky UVI were analysed for the European region from 30° North to 65° North and from 25° West to 35° East in a spatial resolution of 0.05° for the time period 1983 to 2015. Maps of the monthly mean UVI provide an overview of the distribution of UVI for Europe as well as the spatial and temporal differences and regional variability at local solar noon. Additionally, eight selected locations provide insight into the effects of latitude and altitude on UVI in Europe. Monthly boxplots for each location provide information about regional differences in the variability of UVI, showing maximum variability in Northern and Central Europe in summer, where in Southern Europe this basically occurs in spring. The frequency of the World Health Organization exposure categories moderate, high and very high UVI is provided based on ten-day means for each month. The maximum difference between mean values per decade of 2006–2015 compared to 1983–1992 ranges from −1.2 to +1.2 for UVI and from −0.4 to +0.6 for UVI c l e a r − s k y . All locations, except the Northern European site, show an increase of UVI during spring and early summer months. A statistically significant increase in the annual mean all-sky UVI has been found for four sites, which ranges from +1.2% to +3.6% per decade. The latest eleven-year period of the UVI climatology (2005–2015) has been validated with UVI measured in five sites. The sites that are located north of the Alps show an underestimation of the UVI, likely due to the cloud modification. In the south, the UVI climatology provides values that are on average overestimated, possibly related to the use of climatological aerosol information. For the site within the Alps, a switch between underestimation and overestimation during the course of the year has been found. 7% to 9% of the UVI values of the climatology differ from the measured UVI by more than one unit.


2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-6
Author(s):  
Robert J. Barth

Abstract “Posttraumatic” headaches claims are controversial because they are subjective reports often provided in the complex of litigation, and the underlying pathogenesis is not defined. This article reviews principles and scientific considerations in the AMAGuides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) that should be noted by evaluators who examine such cases. Some examples in the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, may seem to imply that mild head trauma can cause permanent impairment due to headache. The author examines scientific findings that present obstacles to claiming that concussion or mild traumatic brain injury is a cause of permanent headache. The World Health Organization, for example, found a favorable prognosis for posttraumatic headache, and complete recovery over a short period of time was the norm. Other studies have highlighted the lack of a dose-response correlation between trauma and prolonged headache complaints, both in terms of the frequency and the severity of trauma. On the one hand, scientific studies have failed to support the hypothesis of a causative relationship between trauma and permanent or prolonged headaches; on the other hand, non–trauma-related factors are strongly associated with complaints of prolonged headache.


2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Brigham ◽  
Robert D. Rondinelli ◽  
Elizabeth Genovese ◽  
Craig Uejo ◽  
Marjorie Eskay-Auerbach

Abstract The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, was published in December 2007 and is the result of efforts to enhance the relevance of impairment ratings, improve internal consistency, promote precision, and simplify the rating process. The revision process was designed to address shortcomings and issues in previous editions and featured an open, well-defined, and tiered peer review process. The principles underlying the AMA Guides have not changed, but the sixth edition uses a modified conceptual framework based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), a comprehensive model of disablement developed by the World Health Organization. The ICF classifies domains that describe body functions and structures, activities, and participation; because an individual's functioning and disability occur in a context, the ICF includes a list of environmental factors to consider. The ICF classification uses five impairment classes that, in the sixth edition, were developed into diagnosis-based grids for each organ system. The grids use commonly accepted consensus-based criteria to classify most diagnoses into five classes of impairment severity (normal to very severe). A figure presents the structure of a typical diagnosis-based grid, which includes ranges of impairment ratings and greater clarity about choosing a discreet numerical value that reflects the impairment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 13-15
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Demeter

Abstract A long-standing criticism of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) has been the inequity between the internal medicine ratings and the orthopedic ratings; in the comparison, internal medicine ratings appear inflated. A specific goal of the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, was to diminish, where possible, those disparities. This led to the use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health from the World Health Organization in the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, including the addition of the burden of treatment compliance (BOTC). The BOTC originally was intended to allow rating internal medicine conditions using the types and numbers of medications as a surrogate measure of the severity of a condition when other, more traditional methods, did not exist or were insufficient. Internal medicine relies on step-wise escalation of treatment, and BOTC usefully provides an estimate of impairment based on the need to be compliant with treatment. Simplistically, the need to take more medications may indicate a greater impairment burden. BOTC is introduced in the first chapter of the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, which clarifies that “BOTC refers to the impairment that results from adhering to a complex regimen of medications, testing, and/or procedures to achieve an objective, measurable, clinical improvement that would not occur, or potentially could be reversed, in the absence of compliance.


2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Leenen ◽  
Michael Rufer ◽  
Hanspeter Moergeli ◽  
Hans-Jörgen Grabe ◽  
Josef Jenewein ◽  
...  

Aus Untersuchungen in der Normalbevölkerung ist bekannt, dass Menschen mit erhöhten Alexithymiewerten eine verminderte Lebensqualität (LQ) aufweisen. Für Patienten mit psychischen Störungen wurde dieser Zusammenhang jedoch kaum untersucht. Ziel dieser Studie war es, den möglichen Zusammenhang zwischen alexithymen Patientenmerkmalen und der LQ bei Patienten mit Angststörungen zu überprüfen. Bei 79 ambulanten Patienten mit Angststörungen wurden alexithyme Charakteristika mit der Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), die LQ mit der Kurzversion des World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire 100 (WHOQOL-BREF) erfasst. Darüber hinaus fand eine Erhebung der psychischen Symptombelastung (SCL-90-R) und depressiven Symptomatik (MADRS) statt. Mittels hierarchischer Regressionsanalysen wurde der Zusammenhang zwischen der alexithymen Charakteristika und den unterschiedlichen LQ-Domänen berechnet. Die Patienten zeigten eine im Vergleich zur Normalbevölkerung deutlich verminderte LQ. Als Hauptergebnis fand sich, auch nach Kontrolle von Depression, Ängstlichkeit und Geschlecht, ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen den beiden TAS-20 Subskalen Schwierigkeiten, Gefühle zu identifizieren und zu beschreiben und vor allem der psychischen LQ. Unsere Ergebnisse sprechen dafür, bei der Diagnostik und Therapieplanung von Patienten mit Angststörungen alexithyme Merkmale einzubeziehen. Im Falle von ausgeprägten alexithymen Merkmalen sollten psychotherapeutische Interventionen zur Verbesserung der Schwierigkeiten Gefühle wahrzunehmen und zu kommunizieren in Betracht gezogen werden.


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