Überblick über Spurenelemente in Böden der Aue der Mittleren Elbe

Floodplain soils across the Central Elbe River, Germany, have unique features. These soils vary considerably in their properties due to rapid fluvial processes and in metal contents due to frequent industrial discharge into the river. Although there have been works studying such soils, there has never been a comprehensive study that would monitor a large number of entire soil profiles along the Elbe River. Our aim was to describe the main properties of 94 profiles representing different soils along the Elbe River, their content from 15 potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in various depths, and assess various soil contamination and health risk indices. We measured soil properties auch as pH, organic carbon (OC), particle size distribution, as well as total concentrations of aluminium (Al), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), tin (Sn), vanadium (V), zirconium (Zr), and zinc (Zn) in all soil profiles. We presented the data for all soil horizons and in top- (0-30 cm depth) and subsoil (>30 cm depth). We found that pH, OC, and clay differed significantly between top- and subsoil horizons reflecting different water regimes and other factors. On the other hand, Al, Fe, and Mn were not affected significantly by depth. Among the studied PTEs, Sn was found to be generating the highest values in Contamination Factor, Geoaccumulation Index, and Enrichment Factor; it was followed by As, Zn, and Pb. Other PTEs such as Ba, Rb, Sr, V, and Zr, and exhibited much lower soil contamination index values. The Pollution Load Index was very high. Health risk assessment indicated rather unexpectedly that Zr was the primary contributor to total risk. We conclude that in multi-element contamination cases, even PTEs with low soil concentrations (such as Zr here) may have predominant role in the risk related to soil contamination

Associations of wheezing phenotypes in the first 6 years of life with atopy, lung function and airway responsiveness in mid-childhood

<p>Background: Patterns of wheezing during early childhood may indicate differences in aetiology and prognosis of respiratory illnesses. Improved characterisation of wheezing phenotypes could lead to the identification of environmental influences on the development of asthma and airway diseases in predisposed individuals.</p> <p>Methods: Data collected on wheezing at seven time points from birth to 7 years from 6265 children in a longitudinal birth cohort (the ALSPAC study) were analysed. Latent class analysis was used to assign phenotypes based on patterns of wheezing. Measures of atopy, airway function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), mid forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75)) and bronchial responsiveness were made at 7–9 years of age.</p> <p>Results: Six phenotypes were identified. The strongest associations with atopy and airway responsiveness were found for intermediate onset (18 months) wheezing (OR for atopy 8.36, 95% CI 5.2 to 13.4; mean difference in dose response to methacholine 1.76, 95% CI 1.41 to 2.12 %FEV1 per μmol, compared with infrequent/never wheeze phenotype). Late onset wheezing (after 42 months) was also associated with atopy (OR 6.6, 95% CI 4.7 to 9.4) and airway responsiveness (mean difference 1.61, 95% CI 1.37 to 1.85 %FEV1 per μmol). Transient and prolonged early wheeze were not associated with atopy but were weakly associated with increased airway responsiveness and persistent wheeze had intermediate associations with these outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusions: The wheezing phenotypes most strongly associated with atopy and airway responsiveness were characterised by onset after age 18 months. This has potential implications for the timing of environmental influences on the initiation of atopic wheezing in early childhood.</p&gt

Short-Term Metal/Organic Interface Stability Investigations of Organic Photovoltaic Devices: Preprint

This paper addresses one source of degradation in OPV devices: the metal/organic interface. The basic approach was to study the completed device stability vs. the stability of the organic film itself as shown in subsequent devices fabricated from the films

Natural Coumarins: Exploring the Pharmacological Complexity and Underlying Molecular Mechanisms

Coumarins belong to the benzopyrone family commonly found in many medicinal plants. Natural coumarins demonstrated a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, anticancer, antibacterial, antimalarial, casein kinase-2 (CK2) inhibitory, antifungal, antiviral, Alzheimer's disease inhibition, neuroprotective, anticonvulsant, phytoalexins, ulcerogenic, and antihypertensive. There are very few studies on the bioavailability of coumarins; therefore, further investigations are necessitated to study the bioavailability of different coumarins which already showed good biological activities in previous studies. On the evidence of varied pharmacological properties, the present work presents an overall review of the derivation, availability, and biological capacities of coumarins with further consideration of the essential mode of their therapeutic actions. In conclusion, a wide variety of coumarins are available, and their pharmacological activities are of current interest thanks to their synthetic accessibility and riches in medicinal plants. Coumarins perform the valuable function as therapeutic agents in a range of medical fields

The Role of Religion on Suicidal Behavior, Attitudes and Psychological Distress in University Students: A Multinational Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the association of religion to suicidal behavior, attitudes and psychological distress in 5572 students from 12 countries by means of a self-report questionnaire. Our results showed that an affiliation with Islam was associated with reduced risk for suicide ideation, however affiliating with Orthodox Christianity and no religion was related to increased risk for suicide ideation. While affiliating with Buddhism, Catholic religion and no religion associated with lowered risk for attempting suicide, affiliation with Islam was related to heightened risk for attempting suicide. Affiliation with Hinduism, Orthodox Christianity, Protestantism, Catholicism, other religions and with no religion was associated with decreased risk for psychological distress but those reported affiliating with Islam evinced greater risk for psychological distress. The associations of the strength of religious belief to suicidal ideation and attempts were in the expected direction for most but it had a positive relation in respondents affiliating with Catholicism and other religions. Students reporting affiliation with Islam, Orthodox religion and Buddhism were the least accepting of suicide but they displayed a more confronting interpersonal style to an imagined peer with a suicidal decision. It was concluded that the protective function of religion in educated segments of populations (university students) and in university students residing in Muslim countries where freedom from religion is restricted or religion is normative and/or compulsory is likely to be limited. Our findings suggest that public policies supporting religious freedom may augment the protective function of religion against suicide and psychological distress

Management of SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Key Focus in Macrolides Efficacy for COVID-19

Macrolides (e.g., erythromycin, fidaxomicin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin) are a class of bacteriostatic antibiotics commonly employed in medicine against various gram-positive and atypical bacterial species mostly related to respiratory tract infections, besides they possess anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome of coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019 and resulted in a continuing pandemic. Macrolides have been extensively researched as broad adjunctive therapy for COVID-19 due to its immunostimulant abilities. Among such class of drugs, azithromycin is described as azalide and is well-known for its ability to decrease the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including matrix metalloproteinases, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8. In fact, a report recently published highlighted the effectiveness of combining azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment. Indeed, it has been underlined that azithromycin quickly prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection by raising the levels of both interferons and interferon-stimulated proteins at the same time which reduces the virus replication and release. In this sense, the current review aims to evaluate the applications of macrolides for the treatment of COVID-19.NC-M acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI-GER/28076/2017)

Transgenic Rescue of the LARGEmyd Mouse: A LARGE Therapeutic Window?

LARGE is a glycosyltransferase involved in glycosylation of α-dystroglycan (α-DG). Absence of this protein in the LARGEmyd mouse results in α-DG hypoglycosylation, and is associated with central nervous system abnormalities and progressive muscular dystrophy. Up-regulation of LARGE has previously been proposed as a therapy for the secondary dystroglycanopathies: overexpression in cells compensates for defects in multiple dystroglycanopathy genes. Counterintuitively, LARGE overexpression in an FKRP-deficient mouse exacerbates pathology, suggesting that modulation of α-DG glycosylation requires further investigation. Here we demonstrate that transgenic expression of human LARGE (LARGE-LV5) in the LARGEmyd mouse restores α-DG glycosylation (with marked hyperglycosylation in muscle) and that this corrects both the muscle pathology and brain architecture. By quantitative analyses of LARGE transcripts we also here show that levels of transgenic and endogenous LARGE in the brains of transgenic animals are comparable, but that the transgene is markedly overexpressed in heart and particularly skeletal muscle (20–100 fold over endogenous). Our data suggest LARGE overexpression may only be deleterious under a forced regenerative context, such as that resulting from a reduction in FKRP: in the absence of such a defect we show that systemic expression of LARGE can indeed act therapeutically, and that even dramatic LARGE overexpression is well-tolerated in heart and skeletal muscle. Moreover, correction of LARGEmyd brain pathology with only moderate, near-physiological LARGE expression suggests a generous therapeutic window

Cross - national comparisons of attitudes towards suicide and suicidal persons in university students from 12 countries

This paper reports the results of a comparative investigation of attitudes to suicide and suicidal persons in 5,572 university students from 12 countries. Participants filled out two scales measuring attitudes towards suicide and suicidal persons, a measure of psychological distress together with the questions about suicidal behavior. Results showed that the highest suicide acceptance scores were observed in Austrian, UK, Japanese and Saudi Arabian samples and the lowest scores were noted in Tunisian, Turkish, Iranian and Palestinian samples. While the highest social acceptance scores for a suicidal friend were noted in Turkish, US, Italian and Tunisian samples, the lowest scores were seen in Japanese, Saudi Arabian, Palestinian and Jordanian samples. Compared to participants with a suicidal past, those who were never suicidal displayed more internal barriers against suicidal behavior. Men were more accepting of suicide than women but women were more willing to help an imagined suicidal peer. Participants with accepting attitudes towards suicide but rejecting attitudes towards suicidal persons reported more suicidal behavior and psychological distress, and were more often from high suicide rate countries and samples than their counterparts. They are considered to be caught in a fatal trap in which most predominant feelings of suicidality such as hopelessness or helplessness are likely to occur. We conclude that in some societies such as Japan and Saudi Arabia it might be difficult for suicidal individuals to activate and make use of social support systems