Significance of microcystin production by benthic communities in water treatment systems of arid zones.

The study of the dynamics of phytobenthic and phytoplankton communities was undertaken, during a year, in the regulation reservoir associated with a water treatment plant (WTP), which provides the city of Murcia (Spain) with drinking water. Water samples were collected in different stages of the treatment. In the reservoir, the presence of dissolved and intracellular microcystins is constant, both in benthos and in plankton. The collected samples show a positive correlation between the dissolved microcystins and the benthic ones in the reservoir itself, as well as in an upstream reservoir (Ojós Reservoir). The treatment process (ozone+clarification+ozone+activated carbon) is very effective in the removal of toxins, and the drinking water produced is totally free of microcystins. The incorporation of the benthic communities in the routine check for the presence of microcystins is recommended, since it is not compulsory according to the current legislation.

Neurosurgical pathology in prehistory.

This is a concise study of the prehistorical trepanation which we have interpreted on the basis of our personal experience from the examination of more than three thousand skulls. We have also inquired into the reasons that have given rise to trepanation, and at the same time have tried to clarify some of the inconsistencies of this subject. The study includes reference to the pathological lesions that are more frequent in the prehistorical skulls. In iconography there are few samples of these lesions in which the diagnosis is very difficult.