0000000000199374
AUTHOR
Arturs Vīksna
Variations in the concentrations of macro- and trace elements in two grasses and in the rhizosphere soil during a day
The aim of the research was to study short-term variations in concentrations of 17 elements in two widely distributed natural plant species (couch grass and plantain) and in the rhizosphere soil of the plants. The plant and soil samples were collected in a field from a small site over a daytime. In the course of the day, the variations of the total amounts of C, N, and H in the rhizosphere soil were rather marked and different for the soils taken from roots of plantain and couch grass. The concentrations of some other elements in the rhizosphere soil of the plants varied in a similar way. The short-term variations of element concentrations in roots and leaves of the plants were also rather …
Cribra orbitalia as a potential indicator of childhood stress: Evidence from paleopathology, stable C, N, and O isotopes, and trace element concentrations in children from a 17 th ⿿18 th century cemetery in JĿkabpils, Latvia
Cribra orbitalia (CO), or porotic hyperostosis (PH) of the orbital roof, is one of the most common pathological conditions found in archaeological subadult skeletal remains. Reaching frequencies higher than 50% in many prehistoric samples, CO has been generally attributed to a variety of factors including malnutrition (e.g., megaloblastic anemia) and parasitism. In this study, we tested the relationship between CO, trace element concentrations, and stable isotope values (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O) in subadult skeletons from a 17th to 18th century cemetery in the historic town of Jēkabpils, Latvia. A total of 28 subadults were examined, seven of which (25%) showed evidence of CO. Bioarchaeological ev…
Gone to smelt iron in Courland: technology transfer in the development of an early modern industry
SUMMARY: In the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, corresponding to the southern and western parts of present-day Latvia, an iron industry based on blast-furnace technology, mainly using local bog iron ore, existed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Transfer of knowledge and skill through the recruitment of specialists from other countries of Europe was crucial to the development of this industry; technology was also re-exported to Russia and elsewhere. Recent archaeological and archaeometallurgical investigations supplement the written evidence, highlighting the specific local conditions that influenced the development of ferrous metalworking here in the early modern period. This article will …
Assimilation of Selenium, Copper, and Zinc in Rye Malt
Abstract Trace elements selenium, copper, and zinc are essential minerals for the human body. One of the means to increase the micronutrient content in diets is to add them to food raw materials, for example, to enrich grain with micronutrients during malt production. To obtain rye malt, 3 kg grain was soaked in 10 l water with addition of three mineral salts — sodium selenate (Na2SeO4), copper sulphate (CuSO4 5H2O), and zinc sulphate (ZnSO4 7H2O) at different concentrations and different combination of salts. The concentration of selenium, copper, and zinc was determined in rye malt. The obtained results were used to calculate the degree of assimilation of trace elements in rye malt. The i…
Carbon and nitrogen stabile isotope ratio and heavy metals in Leccinum aurantiacum in a hybrid aspen plantation in agricultural land
Edible mycorrhizal fungi can be harvested in the fourth year after establishment of a hybrid aspen plantation in previous agricultural land at hemiboreal conditions. It is important to understand the role of fungi in element cycling at the ecosystem level as well as the amounts of elements, including heavy metals, that are accumulated in fruitbodies of edible fungi in the context of food safety. Therefore we evaluated the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio and content of heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Mn, Ni, Cd, Cu and Zn) in Leccinum aurantiacum (Bull.) Gray in a juvenile hybrid aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx. × Populus tremula L.) plantation in agricultural land initially fertilised with …