Copper accumulation in five weed species commonly found in the understory vegetation of Mediterranean vineyards.

Copper (Cu) concentration in agricultural soils often exceeds toxicological limits due to application of Cu-based fungicides. The potential of weeds for their use as functional cover plants in vineyard management and phytoremediation practices is little explored. We identified five weed species widely present in vineyards and assessed their Cu accumulation from eleven Mediterranean vineyards (soil Cu: 60-327 μg g) and two adjacent control sites (soil Cu: 15-30 μg g).

Independent variation in copper tolerance and copper accumulation among crop species and varieties.

Copper (Cu) locally contaminates soils and might negatively affect growth and yield of crops. A better understanding of plant copper tolerance and accumulation is needed in order to breed more Cu-tolerant or Cu-efficient crops. Cu tolerance was evaluated in different varieties of seven species (Brassica carinata, B.

Local vibrational properties of GaAs studied by extended X-ray absorption fine structure.

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) has been measured at both the K edges of gallium and arsenic in GaAs, from 14 to 300 K, to investigate the local vibrational and thermodynamic behaviour in terms of bond expansion, parallel, and perpendicular mean square relative displacements and third cumulant. The separate analysis of the two edges allows a self-consistent check of the results and suggests that a residual influence of Ga EXAFS at the As edge cannot be excluded. The relation between bond expansion, lattice expansion, and expansion due to anharmonicity of the effective potential is quantitatively clarified.

Pulmonary extravascular fluid accumulation in recreational climbers: a prospective study.

Background: High altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE) that is severe enough to require urgent medical care is infrequent. We hypothesised that subclinical HAPE is far more frequent than suspected during even modest climbs of average effort.

Methods: We assessed 262 consecutive climbers of Monte Rosa (4559 m), before ascent and about 24 h later on the summit 1 h after arriving, by clinical examination, electrocardiography, oximetry, spirometry, carbon monoxide transfer, and closing volume.