A common framework for the development of spring water contamination early warning system in western Mediterranean karst areas: Spanish and French sites.

Karst water resources, traditionally used worldwide for drinking purposes, are highly vulnerable to contamination. Scientific-technical efforts must therefore be done to ensure sufficient water quality for human consumption. Early-Warning-Systems emerge as an effective spring scale protection strategy for real-time identification of contamination episodes at drinking water capture points.

The Development and Pre-Clinical Anti-Inflammatory Efficacy of a New Transdermal Ureasil-Polyether Hybrid Matrix Loaded with Flavonoid-Rich Leaf Extract.

This study aimed to develop a novel ureasil-polyether transdermal hybrid matrix (U-PEO) loaded with concentrated extract (AMCE), which exhibits potent anti-inflammatory activity. The extract was obtained by maceration, a method that allowed for the extraction of a high concentration of flavonoids (39.27 mg/g of extract).

Real-time karst groundwater monitoring and bacterial analysis as early warning strategies for drinking water supply contamination.

Karst aquifers have been globally exploited as a reliable source of drinking water but their intrinsic characteristics (concentrated recharge, high groundwater flow velocities, etc.) and the increase of anthropogenic pressures makes them highly vulnerable to pollution. Continuous monitoring of karst springs constitutes an effective approach for identifying episodic groundwater contamination and assuring safety conditions in drinking water supply systems.

Risk of groundwater contamination widely underestimated because of fast flow into aquifers.

Groundwater pollution threatens human and ecosystem health in many regions around the globe. Fast flow to the groundwater through focused recharge is known to transmit short-lived pollutants into carbonate aquifers, endangering the quality of groundwaters where one quarter of the world's population lives. However, the large-scale impact of such focused recharge on groundwater quality remains poorly understood.

Author Correction: Global karst springs hydrograph dataset for research and management of the world's fastest-flowing groundwater.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Modelling the effects of climate change and population growth in four intensively exploited Mediterranean aquifers. The Mijas range, southern Spain.

Groundwater is key to economic growth in the Mediterranean region. This is particularly true of areas such as southern Spain, where aquifers underpin social development by supplying water to a booming tourist industry. Intensive groundwater use raises sustainability concerns, as pumping often exceeds the long-term recharge rate.

Global karst springs hydrograph dataset for research and management of the world's fastest-flowing groundwater.

Karst aquifers provide drinking water for 10% of the world's population, support agriculture, groundwater-dependent activities, and ecosystems. These aquifers are characterised by complex groundwater-flow systems, hence, they are extremely vulnerable and protecting them requires an in-depth understanding of the systems. Poor data accessibility has limited advances in karst research and realistic representation of karst processes in large-scale hydrological studies.

Spatial prediction of water quality variables along a main river channel, in presence of pollution hotspots.

In order to treat and evaluate the available data of water quality and fully exploit monitoring results (e.g. characterize regional patterns, optimize monitoring networks, infer conditions at unmonitored locations, etc.

Factors controlling groundwater salinization and hydrogeochemical processes in coastal aquifers from southern Spain.

In detrital coastal aquifers, seawater and surface water may interact with groundwater in multiple ways. Understanding the interference of water fluxes in this type of environment is essential to effectively manage the groundwater resources in water-stressed regions, such as the Mediterranean coastal fringe. In this research, the characterization of the main hydrogeochemical processes and the interaction between surface water and groundwater in the Marbella-Estepona coastal aquifers (southern Spain) have been carried out by means of the combined use of different hydrogeochemical indicators along with isotope data.

Vulnerability mapping and protection zoning of karst springs. Validation by multitracer tests.

Protection zoning of karst springs and wells used for water supply is a key aspect in many countries, calling for specific methodologies adapted to the particular characteristics of karst media. This work presents a new approach, in view of the present state of the art and based on experiences with contamination vulnerability mapping at the pilot site of the Villanueva del Rosario karst system (southern Spain). Source (intrinsic) vulnerability maps were prepared and compared using three European procedures for karst aquifers.

Characterisation of dissolved organic matter in karst spring waters using intrinsic fluorescence: relationship with infiltration processes.

From analysis of spectrophotometric properties of dissolved organic matter (OM) and the hydrochemical responses of some karst springs under different hydrologic conditions, an assessment of the origin and transfer pathway of OM present in karst spring waters, from soil and epikarst toward the spring, has been conducted for three karst aquifers in southern Spain: Alta Cadena, Sierra de Enmedio and Los Tajos. Intrinsic fluorescence (excitation-emission matrices or EEMs), together with major water chemistry (electrical conductivity, temperature, alkalinity, Cl⁻, Mg⁺²) and P(CO₂) along with natural hydrochemical tracers (TOC and NO₃⁻, have been monitored in 19 springs which drain the three karst aquifers examined in this study. The spring water EEM spectra indicate that fulvic acid-like substances, produced in the soil as a consequence of the decomposition of OM, are the dominant fluorophores, although some of the OM appears to originate from in situ microbiological activity but could be indicative of contamination present in recharge waters from livestock.

Mapping the vulnerability of groundwater to the contamination of four carbonate aquifers in Europe.

The vulnerability of four European aquifers with different hydrogeological and climatic characteristics was evaluated using the COP method. The results obtained were statistically analyzed by determination coefficients to measure which factor has greater importance in the vulnerability index. Furthermore, a new parameter has been designed to measure the vulnerability for the whole of the aquifer.

Proposed methodology to delineate bodies of groundwater according to the European water framework directive. Application in a pilot Mediterranean river basin (Málaga, Spain).

The term "body of groundwater" represents a new administrative tool established by the water framework directive (WFD) in order to manage European groundwaters. Its practical application raises some difficulties due to unclear definitions and the large heterogeneity of European aquifers. In this work, a methodology is proposed to carry out the delineation of bodies of groundwater according to the requirements of the WFD.

Multicolor PRINS and multicolor PNA.

Both PRimed IN Situ (PRINS) and Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) technologies have emerged as research techniques, but they have quickly evolved to applications in biological diagnosis assays. The two procedures now constitute efficient alternatives to the conventional fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) procedure for in situ chromosome identification and aneuploidy detection. They present several advantages (specificity, speed, discriminating ability) that make them very attractive for a number of cytogenetic purposes.

PRINS as an efficient tool for aneuploidy assessment in human oocytes and preimplantation embryos.

An ultrarapid three- and four-color primed in situ (PRINS) procedure has been developed for rapid chromosome identification and aneuploidy assessment on isolated cells. Based on the direct in situ mixing of fluorochromes (fluorescein isothiocyanate, tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate, Cascade Blue), this multicolor PRINS procedure is described on unfertilized human oocytes and isolated human blastomeres.

Analysis of sperm aneuploidy by PRINS.

Based on the direct in situ mixing of the colors of different fluorochromes (fluorescein isothiocyanate, tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate, Cascade Blue) incorporated in sequential primed in situ labeling (PRINS) reactions, a new multicolor PRINS procedure is described, allowing the rapid and distinct in situ labeling of three or four human chromosomes. Each PRINS reaction consists of a unique 5-min step for annealing and elongation. In combination with the 0.

The occurrence of aneuploidy in human: lessons from the cytogenetic studies of human oocytes.

During the last 4 decades, the cytogenetic investigation of human oocytes has never stopped to progress, according to the advents of new technologies. Both karyotyping and molecular cytogenetic studies have been reported to date, providing a large body of data on the incidence and the distribution of chromosomal abnormalities in human female gametes. However, these studies display a great variability in results, which may be essentially attributable to the limitations of these techniques when applied to human oocytes.

Karst groundwater protection: First application of a Pan-European Approach to vulnerability, hazard and risk mapping in the Sierra de Líbar (Southern Spain).

The European COST action 620 proposed a comprehensive approach to karst groundwater protection, comprising methods of intrinsic and specific vulnerability mapping, validation of vulnerability maps, hazard and risk mapping. This paper presents the first application of all components of this Pan-European Approach to the Sierra de Líbar, a karst hydrogeology system in Andalusia, Spain. The intrinsic vulnerability maps take into account the hydrogeological characteristics of the area but are independent from specific contaminant properties.

[The cytogenetics of human oocytes: 40 years of progress].

Chromosomal abnormalities account for the majority of pre- and post- implantation embryo wastage in humans. Most of these abnormalities result from maternal meiotic errors, which preferentially occur during the first meiotic division. Consequently, the cytogenetic analysis of human oocytes has then been considered as a highly valuable source of data for the investigation of both the occurrence and the origin of chromosomal abnormalities in human.

Sperm segregation analysis of a (13;22) Robertsonian translocation carrier by FISH: a comparison of locus-specific probe and whole chromosome painting.

Background: The t(13;22) Robertsonian translocation constitutes a rare form of rearrangement between acrocentric human chromosomes. Most of the meiotic segregation studies of human Robertsonian translocations have been performed on common t(13;14) and t(14;21) translocations. Analysis of the chromosomal constitution in sperm of Robertsonian translocation carriers is of great interest for assessing the risk of unbalanced forms and adapting genetic counselling.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of human oocytes: advantages of a double-labeling procedure.

Objective: To improve the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) chromosomal analysis of human oocytes and first polar bodies.

Design: In situ chromosomal identification on isolated cells, with combinations of centromeric (or locus-specific) probes and whole-chromosome painting probes for chromosomes 9, 13, 16, 18, 21, and X.

Setting: Montpellier University Hospital.

The peptide nucleic acids as probes for chromosomal analysis: application to human oocytes, polar bodies and preimplantation embryos.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNA) are synthetic DNA mimics based on an uncharged polyamide backbone, which hybridize with complementary DNA with high affinity and specificity. PNA have recently become recognized as efficient tools for in situ chromosomal identification. In the present study, this new approach has been tried on isolated human oocytes, polar bodies and blastomeres.

Fast multicolor primed in situ protocol for chromosome identification in isolated cells may be used for human oocytes and polar bodies.

Objective: To present and evaluate the use of a new ultra-fast multicolor primed in situ (PRINS) procedure for karyotyping human oocytes and first polar bodies.

Design: In situ chromosomal identification on isolated cells, using combinations of specific primers for chromosomes 1, 7, 9, 16, and 18 and fluorescent nucleotides.

Setting: Sixteen unfertilized oocytes were obtained from women participating in an IVF program.

Sequential multiple probe fluorescence in-situ hybridization analysis of human oocytes and polar bodies by combining centromeric labelling and whole chromosome painting.

The incidence of chromosomal aneuploidy was analysed in 104 unfertilized human oocytes and 56 first polar bodies using a double-label fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) procedure. Combinations of centromeric (or locus-specific) DNA probes and whole chromosome painting probes for chromosomes 9, 13, 16, 18, 21 and X were applied on oocyte preparations, in a sequential FISH protocol. This combined approach allowed a precise in-situ identification of both chromosomes and free chromatids, and consequently a reliable analysis of chromosomal segregation errors.

PNA on human sperm: a new approach for in situ aneuploidy estimation.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are a relatively new class of synthetic DNA mimics based on a peptide-like backbone. Since their introduction, PNA probes have become established as an efficient variation on the standard FISH procedure for chromosomal identification. In this report we have experimented with centromeric PNA probes on human sperm preparations.