Suspected case of COVID-19-associated pancreatitis in a child.

The world has been challenged by SARS CoV-2, a new virus causing pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, with common symptoms of COVID-19 in pediatric patients including both respiratory and GI symptoms. There is a lack of literature implicating COVID-19 in pancreatitis, yet viruses are generally understood to be a cause of pancreatitis in children. We present a case of a previously well 7-year-old girl, who presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of abdominal pain and anorexia.

New Zealand supereruption provides time marker for the Last Glacial Maximum in Antarctica.

Multiple, independent time markers are essential to correlate sediment and ice cores from the terrestrial, marine and glacial realms. These records constrain global paleoclimate reconstructions and inform future climate change scenarios. In the Northern Hemisphere, sub-visible layers of volcanic ash (cryptotephra) are valuable time markers due to their widespread dispersal and unique geochemical fingerprints.

Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores.

Recent excavations at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge in the So'a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis. Here we describe the age and context of the Mata Menge hominin specimens and associated archaeological findings. The fluvial sandstone layer from which the in situ fossils were excavated in 2014 was deposited in a small valley stream around 700 thousand years ago, as indicated by (40)Ar/(39)Ar and fission track dates on stratigraphically bracketing volcanic ash and pyroclastic density current deposits, in combination with coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth.

Radiocarbon constraints on the extent and evolution of the South Pacific glacial carbon pool.

During the last deglaciation, the opposing patterns of atmospheric CO2 and radiocarbon activities (Δ(14)C) suggest the release of (14)C-depleted CO2 from old carbon reservoirs. Although evidences point to the deep Pacific as a major reservoir of this (14)C-depleted carbon, its extent and evolution still need to be constrained. Here we use sediment cores retrieved along a South Pacific transect to reconstruct the spatio-temporal evolution of Δ(14)C over the last 30,000 years.

Revised stratigraphy and chronology for Homo floresiensis at Liang Bua in Indonesia.

Homo floresiensis, a primitive hominin species discovered in Late Pleistocene sediments at Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia), has generated wide interest and scientific debate. A major reason this taxon is controversial is because the H. floresiensis-bearing deposits, which include associated stone artefacts and remains of other extinct endemic fauna, were dated to between about 95 and 12 thousand calendar years (kyr) ago.

Multiple melt bodies fed the AD 2011 eruption of Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Chile.

Within the volcanological community there is a growing awareness that many large- to small-scale, point-source eruptive events can be fed by multiple melt bodies rather than from a single magma reservoir. In this study, glass shard major- and trace-element compositions were determined from tephra systematically sampled from the outset of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle (PCC) eruption (~1 km(3)) in southern Chile which commenced on June 4(th), 2011. Three distinct but cogenetic magma bodies were simultaneously tapped during the paroxysmal phase of this eruption.

Soil factors associated with zinc deficiency in crops and humans.

Zinc deficiency is the most ubiquitous micronutrient deficiency problem in world crops. Zinc is essential for both plants and animals because it is a structural constituent and regulatory co-factor in enzymes and proteins involved in many biochemical pathways. Millions of hectares of cropland are affected by Zn deficiency and approximately one-third of the human population suffers from an inadequate intake of Zn.

Effects of short-term pH fluctuations on cadmium, nickel, lead, and zinc availability to ryegrass in a sewage sludge-amended field.

In this field experiment, sewage sludge was applied at 0, 5, 10, and 50tha(-1), and the availability of Cd, Ni, Pb, and Zn was assessed both by ryegrass uptake and by DTPA extractions. The aim was to investigate the role of important soil parameters, particularly pH, on heavy metal availability. It was found that metal uptake and extractability increased significantly in the 50tha(-1) treatment.

Trace element partitioning and soil particle characterisation around mining and smelting areas at Tharsis, Ríotinto and Huelva, SW Spain.

Trace elements may present an environmental hazard in the vicinity of mining and smelting activities. However, the factors controlling trace element distribution in soils around ancient and modern mining and smelting areas are not always clear. Tharsis, Ríotinto and Huelva are located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt in SW Spain.

Genotypic variations in the accumulation of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn exhibited by six commonly grown vegetables.

Metal contaminants in garden and allotment soils could possibly affect human health through a variety of pathways. This study focused on the potential pathway of consumption of vegetables grown on contaminated soil. Five cultivars each of six common vegetables were grown in a control and in a soil spiked with Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn.

Soil mobility of sewage sludge-derived dissolved organic matter, copper, nickel and zinc.

A soil (sandy loam) column leaching study aimed to determine the extent of mobility and co-mobility of Cu, Ni, Zn and dissolved organic matter (DOM) released from a surface-application (equivalent to 50 t ds ha(-1) of anaerobically-digested sewage sludge. Leaching of DOM through the soil column was found to be almost un-retarded. Decidedly similar behaviour was exhibited by Ni suggesting that it migrated as organic complexes.

The illusion of environmental iodine deficiency.

The distribution of endemic goitre in England and Wales was compared with the distribution of environmental iodine (atmospheric deposition, soil, surface water). Despite a very clear goitre belt through the west of England and Wales there was no patterning in the environmental iodine distribution. A clear seasonal variation in depositional iodine exists, with an unusually high concentration of iodine in March 1997.

An inventory of heavy metals inputs to agricultural soils in England and Wales.

An inventory of heavy metal inputs (Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr, As and Hg) to agricultural soils in England and Wales in 2000 is presented, accounting for major sources including atmospheric deposition, sewage sludge, livestock manures, inorganic fertilisers and lime, agrochemicals, irrigation water, industrial by-product 'wastes' and composts. Across the whole agricultural land area, atmospheric deposition was the main source of most metals, ranging from 25 to 85% of total inputs. Livestock manures and sewage sludge were also important sources, responsible for an estimated 37-40 and 8-17% of total Zn and Cu inputs, respectively.

Field trials to assess the uptake of arsenic by vegetables from contaminated soils and soil remediation with iron oxides.

The uptake of arsenic (As) by plants from contaminated soils presents a health hazard that may affect the use of agricultural and former industrial land. Methods for limiting the hazard are desirable. A proposed remediation treatment comprises the precipitation of iron (Fe) oxides in the contaminated soil by adding ferrous sulfate and lime.

Reduction of arsenic uptake by lettuce with ferrous sulfate applied to contaminated soil.

Soil contamination by arsenic (As) presents a hazard in many countries and there is a need for techniques to minimize As uptake by plants. A proposed in situ remediation method was tested by growing lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv.

The role of dissolved organic carbon in the mobility of Cd, Ni and Zn in sewage sludge-amended soils.

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of application of naturally derived dissolved organic compounds (DOC) on the uptake of Cd, Ni and Zn by Lolium perenne L. from mixtures of soil and sewage sludge and on their extractability with CaCl2. DOC was applied at concentrations of 0, 285 and 470 mg l(-1) to a loamy sand (LS) and a sandy clay loam (SCL) soil mixed with sewage sludge at rates equivalent to 0, 10 and 50 t ha(-1).

Changes in the leachability of metals from dredged canal sediments during drying and oxidation.

The behaviour of metals in canal sediments after their disposal to land has important implications for the environmental management of canal dredgings. The leaching behaviour of trace metals was investigated in a laboratory-based experiment using sediment from a canal in the UK (139 mg Zn kg-1dry sediment, 1.1 mg Cd, kg-1dry sediment 31.

Towards the characterisation of heavy metals in dredged canal sediments and an appreciation of 'availability': two examples from the UK.

Canal sediments can act as sinks for a wide range of contaminants including heavy metals from various sources (e.g. industrial and waste water discharges).

The problem of arsenic interference in the analysis of soils for cadmium by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry.

Cadmium determination in soils that contain arsenic may be subject to interference. When this problem is not appreciated spurious results may be accepted as correct. Spectrometric methods for the quantitative determination of cadmium in the presence of arsenic were compared.

The behaviour of heavy metals in sewage sludge-amended soils.

Soils amended with sewage sludges generally contain elevated concentrations of a wide range of heavy metals and are therefore of interest with regard to their potential impact on human health. This review considers the concentrations of heavy metals in sewage sludges and in the soils amended with them. The effects of sludge amendments on soil properties, the speciation of heavy metals and their bioavailability are reviewed.

The accumulation of cadmium by vegetables grown on soils contaminated from a variety of sources.

The accumulation of cadmium by four crops (cabbage, carrot, lettuce and radish) grown on soils contaminated from a variety of sources was investigated in greenhouse pot experiments. Stepwise multiple regression analyses of the data revealed that, out of the 23 soil variables determined, only eight were significantly related to cadmium accumulation in the edible plant tissues. The most frequently occurring soil parameter was total cadmium, which was inversely related to plant cadmium accumulation (CdPlant tissue/CdSoil).