Metal Content in Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Leaves: Influence of Vehicular Traffic and Safety upon Consumption as Food

The widespread distribution of the common dandelion, that is, Taraxacum officinale, along with its ability to tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions, makes this plant a good candidate as biological monitor of environmental metal contamination. Taraxacum officinale leaves growing spontaneously in meadows and along the streets are traditionally picked up and eaten in Italy as salad, so it is important to know the concentrations of potentially toxic elements contained in them from the point of view of food safety. For these reasons the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn were determined in dandelion leaf and underlying soil samples collected at 12 sites in the province of Cuneo (Piedmont, Italy) in the vicinity of streets or roundabouts. The concentrations were compared with reference values for plant and soils and with maximum allowable concentrations in edible vegetables. Neither dandelion nor soil samples were found to be polluted by metals, but the comparison with limits for vegetables suggests that caution should be used in consuming spontaneously growing vegetables

Chest computed tomography of suspected COVID-19 pneumonia in the Emergency Department : comparative analysis between patients with different vaccination status

Purpose: To identify differences in chest computed tomography (CT) of the symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) population according to the patients' severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination status (non-vaccinated, vaccinated with incomplete or complete vaccination cycle). Material and methods: CT examinations performed in the Emergency Department (ED) in May-November 2021 for suspected COVID-19 pneumonia with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test were retrospectively included. Personal data were compared for vaccination status. One 13-year experienced radiologist and two 4th-year radiology residents independently evaluated chest CT scans according to CO-RADS and ACR COVID classifications. In possible COVID-19 pneumonia cases, defined as CO-RADS 3 to 5 (ACR indeterminate and typical) by each reader, high involvement CT score (≥ 25%) and CT patterns (presence of ground glass opacities, consolidations, crazy paving areas) were compared for vaccination status. Results: 184 patients with known vaccination status were included in the analysis: 111 non-vaccinated (60%) for SARS-CoV-2 infection, 21 (11%) with an incomplete vaccination cycle, and 52 (28%) with a complete vaccination cycle (6 different vaccine types). Multivariate logistic regression showed that the only factor predicting the absence of pneumonia (CO-RADS 1 and ACR negative cases) for the 3 readers was a complete vaccination cycle (OR = 12.8-13.1 compared to non-vaccinated patients, p ≤ 0.032). Neither CT score nor CT patterns of possible COVID-19 pneumonia showed any statistically significant correlation with vaccination status for the 3 readers. Conclusions: Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with a complete vaccination cycle had much higher odds of showing a negative CT chest examination in ED compared to non-vaccinated patients. Neither CT involvement nor CT patterns of interstitial pneumonia showed differences across different vaccination status