[Itching: differential diagnosis and therapy].

The lecture deals with the differential diagnosis and treatment of diseases accompanied by itching. It considers the major components of its pathogenesis, which are important to provide a rationale for its therapy. Particular emphasis is laid on the analysis of the most common classifications of the causes of itching, which take into account both pathogenetic and clinical parameters. The main differentially diagnostic signs of dermal and nondermal diseases attended by itching are given. Antihistamines among the agents intended for itching therapy are considered in detail. The efficacy and safety of first- and second-generation antihistamines, including quinuclidine derivatives, are comparatively analyzed.

Influence of extractant on quality and trace elements content of peat humic acids.

Among several extractants used to isolate humic acids (HA) from terrestrial environments, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium pyrophosphate (Na(4)P(2)O(7)) are the most utilized. In order to evaluate the influence of these different extractant solutions on the HA quality and on their trace elements content, HA were isolated from five Sphagnum-peat samples using three different solutions: (a) 0.5M NaOH; (b) 0.1M Na(4)P(2)O(7); (c) 0.5M NaOH+0.1M Na(4)P(2)O(7). The obtained HA have been analyzed with respect to ash content, elemental composition, main atomic ratios and characterized by FT-IR and total luminescence (TL) spectroscopies. In addition, both raw peat and HA have been analyzed using X-ray fluorescence in order to determine the Br, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn contents. Results showed that HA extracted with NaOH and NaOH+Na(4)P(2)O(7) are quite similar with respect to ash, elemental contents and spectroscopic characteristics, while Na(4)P(2)O(7) solution, which in general reduces the extraction yield, seems to affect the nature of HA, featuring a more complex and aromatic character. With respect to the contents in the corresponding raw peat samples, the HA fractions were richer in Br, Cu and Ni, regardless of the extractant used, and poorer in Fe, Pb and Zn. Further, Br, Cu, Ni and Zn were more concentrated in HA extracted with Na(4)P(2)O(7) than in those extracted with NaOH and NaOH+Na(4)P(2)O(7), probably because of the greater affinity of these elements for these more aromatic humic molecules.

Development of an ombrotrophic peat bog (low ash) reference material for the determination of elemental concentrations.

Given the increasing interest in using peat bogs as archives of atmospheric metal deposition, the lack of validated sample preparation methods and suitable certified reference materials has hindered not only the quality assurance of the generated analytical data but also the interpretation and comparison of peat core metal profiles from different laboratories in the international community. Reference materials play an important role in the evaluation of the accuracy of analytical results and are essential parts of good laboratory practice. An ombrotrophic peat bog reference material has been developed by 14 laboratories from nine countries in an inter-laboratory comparison between February and October 2002. The material has been characterised for both acid-extractable and total concentrations of a range of elements, including Al, As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Ti, V and Zn. The steps involved in the production of the reference material (i.e. collection and preparation, homogeneity and stability studies, and certification) are described in detail.

New peat bog record of atmospheric lead pollution in Switzerland: Pb concentrations, enrichment factors, isotopic composition, and organolead species.

A peat core collected at Etang de la Gruère, an ombrotrophic bog in the Jura Mountains of Switzerland, was analyzed for organolead species (DEL, TEL, DML, and TML) using GC-MIP AES, Pb isotopes using TIMS, and total Pb using XRF and age-dated using 210Pb. The earliest occurrence of quantifiable alkyllead is found at a depth of 24 cm, which is dated at AD 1946 +/- 3; this finding is consistent with the introduction of leaded gasoline in Switzerland in 1947. The maximum concentration of alkyllead (2.89 ng/g) is found at 5 cm, which is dated at AD 1988 +/- 2. This same sample yielded 206Pb/207Pb = 1.1254, which is the least radiogenic value in the entire 2K core and comparable to the isotopic composition of Pb in leaded gasoline. The highest concentrations of DML (906 ng/g) and DEL (1906 ng/g) also were found in this sample. Total alkyllead never accounts for more than 0.02% of total Pb in any given sample. The spatial and temporal variations in organolead species is matched by the changes in the isotopic composition of Pb over the same interval. Despite this, the decline in anthropogenic Pb pre-dates the maximum in total alkyllead and minimum 206Pb/207Pb, indicating that atmospheric Pb emissions had already begun their decline prior to the introduction of unleaded gasoline. In fact the decline in anthropogenic Pb was probably in response to the introduction of legislation, first in Germany and later in the European Union, establishing a maximum allowable concentration of Pb in gasoline.

Atmospheric Pb deposition in Spain during the last 4600 years recorded by two ombrotrophic peat bogs and implications for the use of peat as archive.

Two ombrotrophic peat bogs in Northwestern Spain provided a history of 4600 years of Pb accumulation. Highest Pb concentrations (84-87 microg g(-1)) were found near the bogs' surface, but there were also other significant peaks (6-14 microg g(-1)), indicating pre-industrial atmospheric pollution. The enrichment factors (EFs) in both cores show a remarkably similar record. Atmospheric Pb pollution dates back to at least approximately 2500 years ago, reaching a first maximum during the Roman period. For the last 300 years, Pb EFs significantly increased due to industrial development, but the uppermost samples of the bogs show decreasing Pb EFs, probably due to the phasing out of leaded gasoline. These results are also supported by 206Pb/207Pb isotope ratios, as they continuously decrease from ca. 3000 BP until 2000 BP (from 1.275 at 4070 14C years BP to 1.182), indicating the growing importance of nonradiogenic Pb released from Iberian ores by ancient mining. Peat samples at a 3-5-cm depth are even less radiogenic (206Pb/107Pb = 1.157), indicating the strong influence of leaded gasoline. Despite the common history shared by the two bogs, striking differences were found for Pb enrichment, whether this was calculated by normalising to the Pb/Ti ratio of the upper continental crust or to the Pb/Ti ratios of peats from pre-anthropogenic times. This effect seems to be related to differences in Ti accumulation in both bogs, possibly due to physical fractionation of the airborne dust during wind transport. Enrichment has to be carefully considered when comparing the results obtained for different bogs, since our results suggest that normalising to crustal proportions is meaningless when the bulk of the deposition in an area is strongly influenced by short- and medium-range dust transport.

A new approach for quantifying cumulative, anthropogenic, atmospheric lead deposition using peat cores from bogs: Pb in eight Swiss peat bog profiles.

Peat cores taken from eight Swiss peatlands were used to calculate inventories of anthropogenic Pb using either Sc or Zr to quantify Pb derived from rock weathering. The shapes of the Pb/Sc and Pb/Zr profiles suggest that Pb was supplied exclusively by atmospheric deposition at all sites. At one of the sites (Etang de la Gruère), anthropogenic Pb was calculated using both Sc and Zr as the conservative reference element. Lithogenic Pb determined using Sc was twice that obtained using Zr, possibly because Zr resides only in zircons which are dense compared to pyroxene and amphibole which are the main Sc-bearing phases in the earth's crust. However, the inventory of 'natural' Pb (supplied almost entirely by soil dust) is dwarfed by the anthropogenic inventory such that anthropogenic Pb calculated using Sc and Zr agree to within 5%. The total amount of anthropogenic Pb accumulated in the bogs was calculated by simply adding the mass of anthropogenic Pb for each peat slice over the length of each core. Cumulative, anthropogenic Pb calculated in this way ranged from 1.0 to 9.7 g/m2 and showed pronounced regional differences: the site south of the Alps (Gola di Lago in Canton Ticino) with direct exposure to the heavily industrialized region of northern Italy received nearly 10 times more anthropogenic Pb as the sites in more remote alpine regions (Schöpfenwaldmoor in Canton Berne, and Mauntschas in Canton Grisons). The approach used here to calculate cumulative, anthropogenic, atmospheric Pb (CAAPb) is simple and robust, independent of the chronology of Pb deposition, and makes no assumptions about the immobility of Pb within the peat profile. Given the worldwide distribution of peat bogs, it should be possible to undertake continental and global inventories of atmospheric metal deposition, for both the natural and anthropogenic components of most trace metals of environmental interest.

[Isolation of blood eosinophils in multi-step density gradient]. / Vydelenie éozinofilov krovi v mnogostupenchatom gradiente.

The density and morphology of blood eosinophils from 60 children with atopic dermatitis were investigated. The proportion of hypodense eosinophils is higher during the acute stage of disease than during remission (59.78 +/- 0.20% vs. 21.40 +/- 0.04%).

An Energy-dispersive Miniprobe Multielement Analyzer (EMMA) for direct analysis of Pb and other trace elements in peats.

An Energy-dispersive Miniprobe Multielement Analyzer (EMMA) was designed and constructed for sensitive, rapid, and non-destructive analysis of trace elements (As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Ge, Hf, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Sr, Th, Y, U, Zn) in small (e.g. 50 microm) samples such as individual mineral grains from rocks. An alternative configuration of the EMMA instrument is described here for use with larger samples such as powders of coal, soil, sediments, and plant materials. To minimize heterogeneity problems, a larger X-ray beam size (0.1 x 6 mm) was used by installing a different collimator, and the sample holder rotated 25 times per minute. Using this approach, Rb, Sr, Cu, Zn and Pb were measured in peat samples collected from bogs in Switzerland and northern Scotland. The detection limit for Pb, for example, is approximately 0.3 microg/g which is one order of magnitude better than conventional XRF analyzers. For comparison, Pb was also measured in acid digests of the same samples using GFAAS. The Pb results obtained using EMMA are comparable to the GFAAS data for the continental peat samples. However, in the Cl-rich samples from the maritime bogs, the GFAAS signal was strongly suppressed, and an accurate comparison of the two methods was not possible. The EMMA technique, therefore, has three advantages over conventional GFAAS: first, no sample dissolution is required; second, several elements of interest are determined simultaneously; and third, the EMMA technique is not subject to matrix interferences.

[Manifestations of pseudo-allergy in different diseases in children]. / Proiavleniia psevdoallergii pri razlichnykh zabolevaniiakh u detei.

Fifty-seven children aged 1 to 14 years with pseudoallergic reactions were followed up. The reactions manifested in the form of eczema, neurodermatitis, urticaria, and Quincke's edema. All the patients showed different pathology associated with the above-indicated skin reactions. The infants presented with the hypertensive hydrocephalic syndrome whereas the elder children with vegetovascular dystonia, biliary and gastrointestinal diseases. The treatment of the revealed pathological process, that included administration of histaglobulin or zaditen, brought about well-defined positive clinical changes.