Aluminum toxicity in childhood

Aluminum intoxication is an iatrogenic disease caused by the use of aluminum compounds for phosphate binding and by the contamination of parenteral fluids. Although organ aluminum deposition was noted as early as 1880 and toxicity was documented in the 1960s, the inability to accurately measure serum and tissue aluminum prevented delineation of its toxic effects until the 1970s. Aluminum toxicity has now been conclusively shown to cause encephalopathy, metabolic bone disease, and microcytic anemia.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47831/1/467_2004_Article_BF00869743.pd

Spatial disparities in the European agriculture: a regional analysis

This article examines the territorial imbalances in European agriculture during the period 1980 to 2001, by means of the information provided by various methodological instruments which allow us to overcome the drawbacks of conventional convergence analysis. The results obtained reveal that the regional distribution of productivity in the agricultural sector is characterized by the presence of positive spatial dependence. This fact implies that the European regions in close spatial proximity register similar levels of the variable under study, which highlights the relevance of geographical location in this context. The empirical evidence presented also shows that regional disparities have remained almost constant during the time interval considered. However, the increase in density around the European average explains the observed reduction in the degree of bipolarization, while intra-distribution mobility is relatively limited. Finally, the analysis carried out allows us to assess the role of variables such as country of origin, investment per worker in the agricultural sector, regional per capita income or the size of the agrifood industry, in explaining the dynamics of the distribution under analysis.