Assessment of Clayey Peloid Formulations Prior to Clinical Use in Equine Rehabilitation.

Clays are natural ingredients used to prepare therapeutic cataplasms suitable for topical application. The knowledge about these formulations and their preparations to be applied on humans and animals has been orally transmitted since ancient times. Several empirical methods using clays have demonstrated fast and effective results in the reduction of the inflammatory response and the formation of edemas in horse limbs.

Assessment of the health quality of Ria de Aveiro (Portugal): heavy metals and benthic foraminifera.

This work analyses the distribution of heavy metals in the sediments of Ria de Aveiro (Portugal) assessed by total digestion and sequential chemical extraction of the sediments. The influence of environmental parameters on the living benthic foraminiferal assemblages was studied. The most polluted parts in the Ria de Aveiro are areas where the residence time is high and cohesive sediments are deposited.

Heavy elements in the phosphorite from Kalaat Khasba mine (North-western Tunisia): potential implications on the environment and human health.

Tunisia is one of the largest phosphate producers in the world (more than 10 million tons per year since the early nineties). The Kalaat Khasba mine (NW of Tunisia) has operated from 1893 until 1993 and data demonstrate that, in the phosphorites of Kalaat Khasba, Cd is enriched 105-208 times, when compared with shales, and U is enriched by a factor varying between 18 and 44. The general trend shows an increase in heavy elements content with decreasing particle size.