Evaluation of the environmental plasticity in the xerohalophyte Zygophyllum fabago L. for the phytomanagement of mine tailings in semiarid areas.

Phytomanagement by phytostabilisation of metal(loid)-enriched mine tailings in semiarid areas has been proposed as a suitable technique to promote a self-sustainable vegetal cover for decreasing the spread of polluted particles by erosion. The goal of this work was to evaluate the contribution of a pioneer plant species (Zygophyllum fabago) in ameliorating the soil conditions at two mine tailings piles located in a semiarid area in Southeast Spain. The ecophysiological performance of this plant species compared to a control population was assessed by analysing the nutritional and ecophysiological status. The presence of Z. fabago in mine tailings enhanced the soil microbial activity and increased the content of soil organic carbon within the rhizosphere (approx. 50% increasing). Metal(loid) concentrations in the tailings may play a minor role in the establishment of Z. fabago plants due to the low metal(loid) availability in the tailings (low CaCl2-extractable concentrations) and low uptake in the plants (e.g. up to 300 mg kg(-1) Zn in leaves). The lower δ13C and δ18O in the plants sampled at both tailings compared to the control ones may indicate softer stomatal regulation in relation to the control site plants and therefore lower WUE [corrected]. The Z. fabago plants may skip some energy-demanding mechanisms such as stomatal control and/or proline synthesis to overcome the environmental stresses posed at the tailings. The Z. fabago plants revealed high plasticity of the species for adapting to the low fertility soil conditions of the tailings and to overcome constraints associated to the dry season.

Influence of soil properties on trace element availability and plant accumulation in a Mediterranean salt marsh polluted by mining wastes: implications for phytomanagement.

The aims of this study were to determine the factors which control metal and As phytoavailability in the different microenvironments (Sand Dunes, Salt Flat, Dry River and Shrubs) present at a Mediterranean salt marsh polluted by mining wastes. We performed a field study following a plot sampling survey. The analyses of soil parameters (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon contents, etc.), total metal and As concentrations and their phytoavailability assessed with EDTA were related to each microenvironment and the corresponding plant species uptake. The averages of pH and EC were slightly alkaline (pH ≈ 7.5) and saline (≈ 2.2 to 17.1 dS m(-1)) respectively. The soil samples from the Salt Flat subzone showed the highest metal concentrations (e.g. 51 mg kg(-1) Cd, 11,600 mg kg(-1) Pb) while for As, the highest concentrations occurred in the Dry River (380 mg kg(-1) As). The total metal and EDTA-extractable concentrations occurred as it follows: Salt Flat>Dry River>Degraded Dunes>Shrubs. In relation to plant metal and As accumulation, the highest root concentrations were obtained in the species from the Salt Flat subzone: ~17 mg kg(-1) As, ~620 mg kg(-1) Pb, for both, Juncus maritimus and Arthrocnemum macrostachyum. However the highest metal and As shoot concentrations occurred in species from the Sand Dunes: ~23 mg kg(-1) As ~270 mg kg(-1) Pb for Dittrichia viscosa; ~23 mg kg(-1) As, ~390 mg kg(-1) Zn for Crucianella maritima. The occurrence of edaphic gradients including salinity and texture determined the vegetation distribution. However, it cannot be concluded that there was a disturbance due to metal(loid)s soil concentrations in terms of vegetation composition except in the Degraded Dunes and Dry River. The higher EDTA-extractable concentrations were coincidental with the most saline soils but this did not result in higher metal(loid)s plant accumulation.

Effects of three amendments on extractability and fractionation of Pb, Cu, Ni and Sb in two shooting range soils.

Contamination of shooting range soils with toxic trace elements, in particular Pb and Sb, is of increasing environmental concern worldwide. We studied the extractability of Sb, and other metals in two shooting range soils: a calcareous soil (pH 8) with low organic carbon (0.5%) and a non-calcareous soil (pH 6.3) with elevated organic carbon content (5%). Both soils contained total concentrations of around 500 mg kg(-1) Pb, 65 mg kg(-1) Cu, 100 mg kg(-1) Zn and 20 mg kg(-1) Sb. We tested the effects of Ca(OH)(2), phosphate and sodium humate amendments on metals and Sb extractability. Extracts with H(2)O and NaNO(3) contained 0.02-0.05% of the total Zn and Pb; 0.1-0.5% of total Ni and Cu and approximately 1% of total Sb. Sequential extraction procedure of Zeien and Brümmer resulted in similar percentages for the sum of the two most labile fractions (F1+F2) in two soils: 10% Pb, and 15-20% Sb. Water and NaNO(3)-extractable Sb concentrations increased after phosphate addition, but were not affected by the addition of sodium humate. The results show that leaching of Sb from shooting ranges into ground and surface waters may generate a serious environmental risk under widely different soils conditions.

Anatomía aplicada de los senos esfenoidales: Consideraciónes clínico - quirúrgicas / Applied anatomy of the Sphenoid sinuses: Clinico - surgical considerations

Este trabajo resume los hallazgos obtenidos del estudio de cincuenta senos esfenoidales en material cadavérico, a través de al disección y la utilización de TAC. Se hallaron variedades en la localización, forma y tamaño de los mismos. Estas variaciones en la anatomía, provocan cambios en la relación de los enos con estructuras anatómicas de trascendental importancia en cirugía, tales como el nervio óptico, la arteria carótida intracavernosa, el nervio maxilar, el nervio pterigoideo y el nervio vidiano. Se remarca la importancia de este conocimiento anatómico para evitar complicaciones en la cirugía de la región selar por vía transesfenoidal, del clivus o del vértice orbitario. (AU)

Anatomía aplicada de los senos esfenoidales: Consideraciónes clínico - quirúrgicas / Applied anatomy of the Sphenoid sinuses: Clinico - surgical considerations

Este trabajo resume los hallazgos obtenidos del estudio de cincuenta senos esfenoidales en material cadavérico, a través de al disección y la utilización de TAC. Se hallaron variedades en la localización, forma y tamaño de los mismos. Estas variaciones en la anatomía, provocan cambios en la relación de los enos con estructuras anatómicas de trascendental importancia en cirugía, tales como el nervio óptico, la arteria carótida intracavernosa, el nervio maxilar, el nervio pterigoideo y el nervio vidiano. Se remarca la importancia de este conocimiento anatómico para evitar complicaciones en la cirugía de la región selar por vía transesfenoidal, del clivus o del vértice orbitario. (AU)

Anatomía aplicada de los senos esfenoidales: Consideraciónes clínico - quirúrgicas / Applied anatomy of the Sphenoid sinuses: Clinico - surgical considerations

Este trabajo resume los hallazgos obtenidos del estudio de cincuenta senos esfenoidales en material cadavérico, a través de al disección y la utilización de TAC. Se hallaron variedades en la localización, forma y tamaño de los mismos. Estas variaciones en la anatomía, provocan cambios en la relación de los enos con estructuras anatómicas de trascendental importancia en cirugía, tales como el nervio óptico, la arteria carótida intracavernosa, el nervio maxilar, el nervio pterigoideo y el nervio vidiano. Se remarca la importancia de este conocimiento anatómico para evitar complicaciones en la cirugía de la región selar por vía transesfenoidal, del clivus o del vértice orbitario.

Transmaxillary-transnasal approach to the anterior clivus: a microsurgical anatomical model.

Numerous procedures to expose the anterior clival region have been described, including the transoral, transcervical, transseptal-transsphenoidal, transantral, transnasal, bilateral Le Fort I maxillotomy, transbasal, transpalatal, and modifications of the Caldwell-Luc approach. Despite the large number of surgical options available, it may be necessary to have wider access to the midline skull base than these approaches provide. We have developed a microsurgical transmaxillary-transnasal approach to the anterior clivus that has been studied in both dry skull and cadaveric preparations and used clinically. The surgical technique has four stages: 1) antromaxillary; 2) nasal; 3) sphenoidal; and 4) clival. The wider access of this approach is achieved mainly by an osteotomy of the frontal process of the maxilla, which transforms the nasal cavity and the antrum into a single cavity while preserving the functional anatomy of the nose. Cosmesis is preserved by replacement of the cartilaginous nasal septum and the frontal process at the end of the procedure. The technique provides the good cosmetic results of the sublabial approaches and prevents vascular and neural injury in the same way that other anterior approaches do. This transmaxillary-transnasal technique may be used in combination with other approaches for extensive tumors.

Significance of hydatid immunodiagnostic surveys to health care and estimation of prevalence in the Argentine Province of Chubut.

More hydatidosis cases were detected in an immunodiagnostic survey of rural schoolchildren from an endemic area in Argentina by the arc 5 double diffusion (DD5) test than by indirect hemagglutination (IHA) and latex agglutination (LA) tests. Evidence of infection was obtained by clinical, radiologic, echographic, and/or computerized axial tomography examinations in only one of three DD5-negative individuals, and in 2 of 4 students showing a questionable reaction of identity with arc 5 in DD5, who were positive in LA and/or IHA. In contrast, cysts could be demonstrated in all DD5-positive cases, whether positive or negative in the agglutination procedures. These cysts in DD5-positive cases included the smallest cysts (1-1.2 cm wide) detected in surveys to date. Comparison of data obtained in the immunodiagnostic survey and in a review of hospital records was used to assess the relative contribution of each method in estimating the prevalence of infection. The findings are discussed in terms of the advantages and limitations of carrying out immunodiagnostic surveys of residents of endemic areas for purposes of primary medical care and surveillance.

Review of hospital cases in the assessment of hydatidosis as a health problem in the Argentine Province of Chubut.

A retrospective survey of hospital cases to obtain baseline data on hydatid disease in the northwest of the Province of Chubut, Argentina, from 1973 to 1979 revealed annual mean rates that varied between 13.4 and 75.8 confirmed new cases per 100.000 population. Inclusion of data on parasitologically confirmed non-surgical cases and on the geographic origin of patients permitted a more accurate estimate of cases in the four Departments comprised in the study area. Information on cyst location, clinical status at admission, mortality, number of re-operations and length of hospitalization was obtained to assess the public health impact of hydatidosis within the area. The criteria established and methods used to collect this information are described and discussed.

El sulcus lunatus en el hombre. (Estudio morfologico). / Sulcus lunatus in human brain (Morphologic study)

Los autores presentan una investigacion casuistica sobre la incidencia y predominancia del sulcus lunatus en el cerebro del hombre. Tomando como punto de partida las incongruencias bibliograficas encontradas, se enfoca el trabajo desde un punto de vista estrictamente morfologico y macroscopico. La metodologia empleada consistio en observaciones directas del lobulo occipital, secciones en diferentes planos, mediciones de longitud y diagramacion de los casos examinados. A traves de los resultados obtenidos se arriba a conclusiones de alta significacion con respecto a incidencia, predominancia y bilateralidad. Se senala, ademas, que la diversidad del sulcus lunatus en cuanto a su conformacion anatomica ha obligado a dividir los casos positivos en un grupo con caracteres tipicos y otro con diferentes grados de atipia