Inter-relationship between elements in human hair: The effect of gender.

The aim of the present work was to examine the inter-relationship between elements in human hair depending on gender. In the whole population, the following groups of correlated elements were identified: alkaline earth metals (Ba, Ca, Mg, Sr), major microelements (Cu, Mn, Si, Zn) and La, Ti. In the subpopulation of males, the (Ag, Al, As, Fe) group was additionally included, whereas in the group of females (Ag, Al, Fe, Zr) was included.

Reference values for hair minerals of Polish students.

In the present work, reference values for the content of elements in human hair were elaborated. The population chosen for the study was a group of students in Polish urban area, which served as a representative group of a population of 20 years old individuals living in Europe. The content of 36 elements (essential (B, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, P, S, Si, Sn, V, Zn), toxic (Al, As, Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl) elements and others (Ag, Ba, Bi, Ce, La, Li, Rb, Sr, Ti, Y, Zr)) was determined in hair sampled from 117 subjects.

The application of ICP-MS and ICP-OES in determination of micronutrients in wood ashes used as soil conditioners.

In the present paper, the elemental composition of wood ashes obtained by the combustion of wood in a fireplace was determined with the use of ICP-MS and ICP-OES techniques. Wood ashes may find a potential application as deacidifying agents and soil conditioners, since they contain calcium (in the form of CaCO(3) and CaO), potassium (in the form of K(2)SO(4) and K(2)CO(3)) and significant levels of micronutrients. However, if applied to soil, it is important to assess the bioavailability of particular elements to plants.

The effect of age, sex, smoking habit and hair color on the composition of hair.

Hair samples (N=83) were collected between the years 1996 and 2003 from inhabitants of Wrocław, a city located in Lower Silesia, south-western Poland (urbanized and industrialized region). The concentrations of 33 elements: Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cu, Zn, P, Fe, Mn, Cr, Se, B, Co, Mo, Si, V, Ni, Be, Hg, Cd, Al, Pb, As, Ba, Au, Pt, Ag, Sr, Sn, Ti, W, Sb and Zr in hair were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) techniques. The effect of age, sex, smoking habits and hair color on the elemental composition of hair was investigated.

The influence of living habits and family relationships on element concentrations in human hair.

The paper discusses the content of elements in hair of subjects studied over several years. The study was performed on 5 subjects (N=28) that lived together or were family related. The elemental composition of hair of the studied subjects was compared with the average content of the population living in the same urban area (Wrocław city, south-west Poland), with the population of a non-industrialized area in Poland (Silesian Beskid), as well as with the population of north-east Sweden and Rio de Janeiro.