Imaging leachate runoff from a landfill using magnetotellurics: The Garraf karst case.

Electrical and active source electromagnetic geophysical methods have been traditionally employed to approach and tackle environmental problems, such as those caused by landfills. However, since these problems are more consequential and cover broader areas, it is necessary to use deeper penetration methods, such as magnetotellurics. In the Garraf Massif (Catalan Coastal Ranges, NE Spain), an urban waste disposal landfill had been in operation from 1974 to 2006, during which >26 million metric tons of garbage had been deposited. This landfill overlies karstic terrain, thus principally impacting groundwater circulation. Previous electrical resistivity tomography profiles had partially imaged the infill but were not able to penetrate below the base of the original landfill. During 2019 and 2020 we performed a magnetotelluric study over the landfill and its surrounding with the goals of characterizing the electrical resistivity of the infill and below it. The 2D and 3D resistivity models confirmed the highly conductive nature of the leachate and allowed us to identify its presence below the landfill base, which we quantified with maximum thicknesses of 90 m. This proved that landfill leachate had filtered through the original impermeable layer, enhanced by the karstic drainage structure.

Volcanic monitoring of the 2021 La Palma eruption using long-period magnetotelluric data.

Between September and December 2021, the first subaerial volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands in 50 years took place on the island of La Palma. Since November 2021, we have been conducting a long-period magnetotelluric (MT) monitoring experiment at a site located 2.4 km east of the volcanic cone. Having continuously recorded data since then, the obtained dataset shows significant changes in resistivity over the fourteen months following the eruption: more than ± 20% in apparent resistivity and ± 2 degrees in phase. These temporal variations in electrical resistivity, recorded continuously using long-period MT during both the syn- and post-eruptive stages, have not been reported to date, making this dataset unique. Four estimated impedances have been selected as representatives of the major temporal changes observed and inverted to generate new 3-D resistivity models. The results provide novel key information on the spatiotemporal evolution of the subsoil's electrical resistivity, enabling the characterization of a set of structures acting as preferred magmatic fluid pathways. Therefore, our study highlights the strong potential of MT as a volcanic monitoring tool and provides new insights about the evolution of the fluid pathways during the post-eruptive stage. These findings enhance our understanding of the magmatic system and may contribute to volcanic hazard mitigation in the future.

Performance of the NG OligoGen kit for the diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae: comparison with cobas 4800 assay.

PCR assays are nowadays between the most sensitive and reliable methods for screening and diagnosing sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The aim of this study was to analyze the reliability, accuracy, and usefulness of the new NG OligoGen kit in comparison with the cobas 4800 assay for the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in clinical samples. A prospective study was designed for detection of N. gonorrhoeae including urine samples (n=152), rectal (n=80), endocervical (n=67), pharyngeal (n=41), and urethral swabs (n=5) that were sent from a regional STI clinic in Seville, Spain. Samples were collected from 255 (73.9%) men and 90 women. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predicative values, and kappa value for N. gonorrhoeae detection using the NG OligoGen kit were 99.6%, 100%, 100%, 99.1%, and 0.99, respectively. Statistical data obtained in this study confirm the usefulness and reliable results of this new assay.

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial DNA content in exercising humans.

Several weeks of intense endurance training enhances mitochondrial biogenesis in humans. Whether a single bout of exercise alters skeletal muscle mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content remains unexplored. Double-stranded mtDNA, estimated by slot-blot hybridization and real time PCR and expressed as mtDNA-to-nuclear DNA ratio (mtDNA/nDNA) was obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle of healthy human subjects to investigate whether skeletal muscle mtDNA changes during fatiguing and nonfatiguing prolonged moderate intensity [2.0-2.5 h; approximately 60% maximal oxygen consumption (Vo(2 max))] and short repeated high-intensity exercise (5-8 min; approximately 110% Vo(2 max)). In control resting and light exercise (2 h; approximately 25% Vo(2 max)) studies, mtDNA/nDNA did not change. Conversely, mtDNA/nDNA declined after prolonged fatiguing exercise (0.863 +/- 0.061 vs. 1.101 +/- 0.067 at baseline; n = 14; P = 0.005), remained lower after 24 h of recovery, and was restored after 1 wk. After nonfatiguing prolonged exercise, mtDNA/nDNA tended to decline (n = 10; P = 0.083) but was reduced after three repeated high-intensity exercise bouts (0.900 +/- 0.049 vs. 1.067 +/- 0.071 at baseline; n = 7; P = 0.013). Our findings indicate that prolonged and short repeated intense exercise can lead to significant reductions in human skeletal muscle mtDNA content, which might function as a signal stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis with exercise training.

[The oncologic patient: nursing care based on physiopathologic knowledge]. / El paciente oncológico: atención de enfermería basada en los conocimientos fisiopatológicos.

The patient with cancer is affected both by the development of the neoplasia and by the toxic action of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, often used at aggressive therapeutic intervals to eradicate tumourous cells. The most serious physiological consequences are the occurrence of gaseous exchange within tissues, the risk of infection and haemorrhage, the change in levels of nutrition and evacuation, the deterioration in tissue structure and oral mucous and the change in sleeping patterns and sense of well-being. As far as psychological, social and emotional problems are concerned, the main difficulties which occur are a sense of anxiety and fear and a change in one's self-image. The present article explains what are the main factors involved in producing the changes in the situations mentioned above and the physiopathological mechanisms underlying them, an understanding of which is essential both to prevent them from occurring and to provide the proper nursing care. Finally, it explains what information should be given to a patient and/or his family in order to help him re-integrate back into his normal environment in periods of remission.

[Echography of the ovarian cycle]. / Ecografía del ciclo ovárico.

Using bidimensional echography 30 normal ovulatory cycles were evaluated. The following parameters were assessed: Ovarian volume; Volume of the dominant follicle; Corpus luteum volume; Residual follicular volume and Stromal volume. The maximum ovarian volume was reached in the dominant ovary the last day before ovulation: 11.68 +/- 0.52 cc, similarly the maximum volume of the dominant follicle: 3.60 +/- 0.36 cc, and the maximum stromal volume in the follicular phase: 7.98 +/- 0.41 cc. The maximum corpus luteum volume was seen on day +2 of the echographic ovulation, the maximum stromal volume was seen on day +7: 8.64 +/- 0.51 cc, in the dominant ovary. In the contralateral ovary the stromal volume did not show significant changes. The residual follicular volume in the dominant ovary, as in the contralateral, diminished gradually from the beginning of the follicular phase except by a slight postovulatory rise. The normal values are established and also the importance of its use in the diagnosis of the functional disorders of the ovary.