Water chemistry and isotope composition of the Acquarossa thermal system, Ticino, Switzerland

The thermal springs of Acquarossa and the nearby mineral springs of Soia have outlet temperatures of 12 degrees to 25 degrees C, TDS of 2290 to 3000 mg/kg and Ca-SO4 to Ca-SO4-HCO3 composition. Chemical geothermometers suggest reservoir temperatures close to 60 degrees C. P-CO2 values at depth are estimated to range from 0.3 to 2 bar. delta D and delta(18)O values indicate a meteoric origin and recharge elevations of 1600 +/- 150 m above sea level (a.s.l.) for these thermal and mineral waters. All these waters discharge from the overturned limb of the Simano nappe, probably dose to the contact between basement and underlying cover rocks. They therefore represent rain waters that descend slowly, heat at depth and locally rise relatively quickly to the surface, preserving part of their physical and chemical characteristics. (C) 1999 CNR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaporation from a shallow water table: Diurnal dynamics of measured and simulated water and heat regime at the vicinity of a drying sand surface

Accurate estimates of water losses by evaporation from shallow water tables are important for hydrological, agricultural, and climatic purposes. An experiment was conducted in a weighing lysimeter to characterize the diurnal dynamics of evaporation under natural conditions. Sampling revealed a completely dry surface sand layer after 5 days of evaporation. Its thickness was <1 cm early in the morning, increasing to reach 4?5 cm in the evening. This evidence points out fundamental limitations of the approaches that assume hydraulic connectivity from the water table up to the surface, as well as those that suppose monotonic drying when unsteady conditions prevail. The computed vapor phase diffusion rates from the apparent drying front based on Fick's law failed to reproduce the measured cumulative evaporation during the sampling day. We propose that two processes rule natural evaporation resulting from daily fluctuations of climatic variables: (i) evaporation of water, stored during nighttime due to redistribution and vapor condensation, directly into the atmosphere from the soil surface during the early morning hours, that could be simulated using a mass transfer approach and (ii) subsurface evaporation limited by Fickian diffusion, afterward. For the conditions prevailing during the sampling day, the amount of water stored at the vicinity of the soil surface was 0.3 mm and was depleted before 11:00. Combining evaporation from the surface before 11:00 and subsurface evaporation limited by Fickian diffusion after that time, the agreement between the estimated and measured cumulative evaporation was significantly improved.

Analyse systémique et prospective des usages de l'eau dans la région de Crans-Montana-Sierre (Suisse)

Crans-Montana-Sierre is a tourist area locateci in Rhone valley in central Valais, cha-racterized by dry climate and scarce summer precipitations. More than other regions in Switzerland, this area has suffered the effects of the drought (heat wave) that affec¬ted all Western Europe during summer 2003. In the future, climate change together with societal and economic development will signicantly modify the water need of the region and, consequently, may increase the potential conflicts of interest. Within a long term planning strategy, decision-makers require precise information about the current amount of water needed in the region, with particular attention to temporal and spatial concentration, and the forecasted amount for 2050. This work therefore aims at estimating the variation of the water demand by taking into account the influence of climate change (CH2011) and socio-economic scenarios, developed in cooperation with the competent authorities. This thesis, whose aim is to study the water management and water uses is a core part of the MontanAqua project "Water management in times of scarcity and global change" mainly because of its interdisciplinary topic at the interface between water resources, land development and the socio-political structure. Results show that socio-economic development by 2050 could have a greater impact than expected climate changes (CH2011, A1B scenarios) for the same time horizon for water demand. Demography, spatial planning, tourism and economic development are just some of the factors that could significantly affect the water consumption of the Crans-Montana-Sierre region. Compared with the future water resources available, the maximal water demand forecasted by the socio-economic scenarios developed within the project MontanAqua, could not always be satisfied. This issue, like extreme climate phenomena (as it was the summer drought occurred in 2003 or in April / May 2011), could be mitigated adopting regional management policies relating to a more rational water use and preventive storage of water resource. - Crans-Montana-Sierre est une région touristique située dans la vallée du Rhône; dans le Valais central, qui se caractérise par un climat relativement pauvre en précipitations et qui plus que d'autres a subi les effets de la sécheresse qui a touché l'Europe occidentale durant l'été 2003. À l'avenir, les changements climatiques ainsi que le développement socio-économique modifieront de manière significative les besoins en eau de la région, ce qui risque de faire augmenter les rivalités d'usage concernant cette ressource. Afin de jouer à l'avance, les décideurs ont besoin d'informations précises sur la quantité d'eau nécessaire à la région, avec une attention particulière à sa concentration temporelle et spatiale, à l'heure actuelle et à l'horizon 2050. Ce travail vise donc à estimer la variation de la demande en eau en tenant compte de l'influence des changements climatiques (CH2011) et des scénarios socio-économiques, élaborés en collaboration avec les autorités compétentes. Cette thèse, qui met l'accent sur les usages de l'eau fait partie du projet Montan Aqua « Gestion de l'eau en temps de pénurie et de changement global », est à l'intersection entre les ressources hydriques, l'aménagement du territoire et son organisation socio-politique, fait qui la met, non pas par son importance, mais par son emplacement et ses interconnexions, au coeur de cette recherche. Les résultats obtenus montrent comment les développements socio-économiques d'ici à 2050 ont un impact potentiellement plus important que les changements climatiques prévus par les scénarios AlB de CH2011 pour le même horizon temporel sur la demande en eau. Démographie, aménagement du territoire et contexte économico-touristique, ne sont que quelques-uns des facteurs qui ont la capacité d'agir significativement sur les usages de l'eau en ce qui concerne les aspects qualitatif et quantitatif de la région de Crans-Montana-Sierre. Par rapport aux ressources en eau disponibles à l'avenir, la demande maximale d'eau prévue par les scénarios socio-économiques développés au sein du projet MontanAqua risque de ne pas être toujours satisfaite. Ce danger et la manifestation de phénomènes climatiques extrêmes, comme la sécheresse estivale survenue en 2003 ou celle d'avril/mai 2011, ne pourront être atténués que par l'adoption de politiques de gestion à l'échelle régionale favorisant une utilisation plus rationnelle et un stockage préventif de la ressource en eau.

Under- and over-water halves of Gyrinidae beetle eyes harbor different corneal nanocoatings providing adaptation to the water and air environments.

Whirligig beetles (Gyrinidae) inhabit water surfaces and possess unique eyes which are split into the overwater and underwater parts. In this study we analyze the micro- and nanostructure of the split eyes of two Gyrinidae beetles genera, Gyrinus and Orectochilus. We find that corneae of the overwater ommatidia are covered with maze-like nanostructures, while the corneal surface of the underwater eyes is smooth. We further show that the overwater nanostructures possess no anti-wetting, but the anti-reflective properties with the spectral preference in the range of 450-600 nm. These findings illustrate the adaptation of the corneal nanocoating of the two halves of an insect's eye to two different environments. The novel natural anti-reflective nanocoating we describe may find future technological applications.

Positive contrast visualization of iron oxide-labeled stem cells using inversion-recovery with ON-resonant water suppression (IRON)

In proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metallic substances lead to magnetic field distortions that often result in signal voids in the adjacent anatomic structures. Thus, metallic objects and superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-labeled cells appear as hypointense artifacts that obscure the underlying anatomy. The ability to illuminate these structures with positive contrast would enhance noninvasive MR tracking of cellular therapeutics. Therefore, an MRI methodology that selectively highlights areas of metallic objects has been developed. Inversion-recovery with ON-resonant water suppression (IRON) employs inversion of the magnetization in conjunction with a spectrally-selective on-resonant saturation prepulse. If imaging is performed after these prepulses, positive signal is obtained from off-resonant protons in close proximity to the metallic objects. The first successful use of IRON to produce positive contrast in areas of metallic spheres and SPIO-labeled stem cells in vitro and in vivo is presented.

An eceriferum locus, cer-zv, is associated with a defect in cutin responsible for water retention in barley (Hordeum vulgare) leaves.

Drought limits plant growth and threatens crop productivity. A barley (Hordeum vulgare) ethylene imine-induced monogenic recessive mutant cer-zv, which is sensitive to drought, was characterized and genetically mapped in the present study. Detached leaves of cer-zv lost 34.2 % of their initial weight after 1 h of dehydration. The transpiration was much higher in cer-zv leaves than in wild-type leaves under both light and dark conditions. The stomata of cer-zv leaves functioned normally, but the cuticle of cer-zv leaves showed increased permeability to ethanol and toluidine blue dye. There was a 50-90 % reduction in four major cutin monomers, but no reduction in wax loads was found in the cer-zv mutant as compared with the wild type. Two F(2) mapping populations were established by the crosses of 23-19 × cer-zv and cer-zv × OUH602. More polymorphisms were found in EST sequences between cer-zv and OUH602 than between cer-zv and 23-19. cer-zv was located in a pericentromeric region on chromosome 4H in a 10.8 cM interval in the 23-19 × cer-zv map based on 186 gametes tested and a 1.7 cM interval in the cer-zv × OUH602 map based on 176 gametes tested. It co-segregated with EST marker AK251484 in both maps. The results indicated that the cer-zv mutant is defective in cutin, which might be responsible for the increased transpiration rate and drought sensitivity, and that the F(2) of cer-zv × OUH602 might better facilitate high resolution mapping of cer-zv.

Effect of Emotion and Personality on Deviation from Purely Rational Decision-Making

Human decision-making has consistently demonstrated deviation from "pure" rationality. Emotions are a primary driver of human actions and the current study investigates how perceived emotions and personality traits may affect decision-making during the Ultimatum Game (UG). We manipulated emotions by showing images with emotional connotation while participants decided how to split money with a second player. Event-related potentials (ERPs) from scalp electrodes were recorded during the whole decision-making process. We observed significant differences in the activity of central and frontal areas when participants offered money with respect to when they accepted or rejected an offer. We found that participants were more likely to offer a higher amount of money when making their decision in association with negative emotions. Furthermore, participants were more likely to accept offers when making their decision in association with positive emotions. Honest, conscientious, and introverted participants were more likely to accept offers. Our results suggest that factors others than a rational strategy may predict economic decision-making in the UG.

Effect of irrigation water on the incidence of Salmonella spp. on lettuces produced by urban agriculture and sold on the markets in Dakar, Senegal

The aim of our survey was to assess the effect of irrigation water of the microbiological quality on the production chain of lettuce in the Dakar area. Microbiological analysis showed that 35% of irrigation water was contaminated by Salmonella spp. between the two water-types used for irrigation (groundwater and wastewater), no significant difference (p>0.05) in their degree of contamination was found. The incidence of different types of irrigation water on the contamination rate of lettuces from the farm (Pikine and Patte d'Oie) was not different either (p>0.05). However, the contamination rate of lettuce from markets of Dalifort and Grand-Yoff that were supplied by the area of Patte d'Oie was greater than those of Sham and Zinc supplied by Pikine (p<0.05). Comparison of serotypes of Salmonella isolated from irrigation water and lettuce showed that irrigation water may affect the microbiological quality of lettuce. Manures, frequently used as organic amendment in cultivating lettuce are another potential source of contamination. These results showed that lettuce may constitute effective vectors for the transmission of pathogens to consumers. Extensive treatment of the used wastewater and/or composting of manure could considerably reduce these risks.

iLOGP: A Simple, Robust, and Efficient Description of n-Octanol/Water Partition Coefficient for Drug Design Using the GB/SA Approach.

The n-octanol/water partition coefficient (log Po/w) is a key physicochemical parameter for drug discovery, design, and development. Here, we present a physics-based approach that shows a strong linear correlation between the computed solvation free energy in implicit solvents and the experimental log Po/w on a cleansed data set of more than 17,500 molecules. After internal validation by five-fold cross-validation and data randomization, the predictive power of the most interesting multiple linear model, based on two GB/SA parameters solely, was tested on two different external sets of molecules. On the Martel druglike test set, the predictive power of the best model (N = 706, r = 0.64, MAE = 1.18, and RMSE = 1.40) is similar to six well-established empirical methods. On the 17-drug test set, our model outperformed all compared empirical methodologies (N = 17, r = 0.94, MAE = 0.38, and RMSE = 0.52). The physical basis of our original GB/SA approach together with its predictive capacity, computational efficiency (1 to 2 s per molecule), and tridimensional molecular graphics capability lay the foundations for a promising predictor, the implicit log P method (iLOGP), to complement the portfolio of drug design tools developed and provided by the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.

Amoeba-resisting Chlamydiales present in domestic drinking water and their potential role in pneumonia

Chlamydia-related bacteria classified in the Chlamydiales order, are strictly intracellular bacteria and are able for the most to replicate in free-living amoebae. Amoebae, ubiquitous in the environment and especially in water, are very resistant to disinfection used in drinking water production. Thus, amoebae may reach easily the distribution and domestic water system, potentially sheltering amoeba-resisting bacteria including Legionella, mycobacteria and Chlamydiales. Indeed, some of these amoeba-resisting bacteria have been shown to cause respiratory infections in people inhaling contaminated water. Therefore, an environmental and clinical study was conducted to determine if Chlamydiales bacteria are also involved in respiratory infections and if a transmission through domestic drinking water could occur. First, large scale molecular and serological tools specific of Chlamydia-related bacteria were developed and then were applied on clinical samples from patients with and without pneumonia. Simultaneously, water and biofilm samples from households of the same patients were investigated using molecular and culture methods for the presence of Chlamydiales bacteria. Chlamydiales were detected in the nasopharyngeal flora from patients with and without pneumonia. However, no significant difference was observed between both groups. Conversely, serological investigations showed that antibody reactivity against members of the Criblamydiaceae was associated with pneumonia. The thesis provided very efficient tools that showed the presence of Chlamydiales in human nasopharyngeal flora as well as in the majority of the domestic drinking water. However, no transmission from domestic drinking water to human could be demonstrated. These tools will help in the future specifying the ecology and pathogenicity of the Chlamydia-re\ated bacteria and especially of the species belonging to the Criblamydiaceae family.

Additive genetic effects on embryo viability in a whitefish (Salmonidae) influenced by the water mould Saprolegnia ferax

Animals and plants are associated with symbiotic microbes whose roles range from mutualism to commensalism to parasitism. These roles may not only be taxon-specific but also dependent on environmental conditions and host factors. To experimentally test these possibilities, we drew a random sample of adult whitefish from a natural population, bred them in vitro in a full-factorial design in order to separate additive genetic from maternal environmental effects on offspring, and tested the performance of the resulting embryos under different environmental conditions. Enhancing the growth of symbiotic microbes with supplemental nutrients released cryptic additive genetic variance for viability in the fish host. These effects vanished with the concurrent addition of the water mould Saprolegnia ferax. Our findings demonstrate that the heritability of host fitness is environment-specific and critically depends on the interaction between symbiotic microbes.

Hypernatrémie: une question d'eau [Hypernatremia: a matter of water]

Hypernatremia is defined as a serum sodium concentration above the upper laboratory reference range, usually > 145 mmol/l. It is a common electrolyte disorder in the very young and the very old patient. Hospitalization itself is a risk factor for developing hypernatremia. Free water deficit is the main cause of this condition. It induces hyperosmolality and an intracellular dehydration. Clinical manifestations are mostly neurological but non-specific. A blood sample analysis is needed to establish the diagnosis. Hypernatremia is associated with a high mortality and morbidity. Treatment consists of correcting the underlying cause and the volume deficit. A brief review of this condition is proposed.

Positive contrast MR-lymphography using inversion recovery with ON-resonant water suppression (IRON).

PURPOSE: To investigate the utility of inversion recovery with ON-resonant water suppression (IRON) to create positive signal in normal lymph nodes after injection of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experiments were conducted on six rabbits, which received a single bolus injection of 80 mumol Fe/kg monocrystalline iron oxide nanoparticle (MION-47). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at baseline, 1 day, and 3 days after MION-47 injection using conventional T(1)- and T(2)*-weighted sequences and IRON. Contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were measured in blood and in paraaortic lymph nodes. RESULTS: On T(2)*-weighted images, as expected, signal attenuation was observed in areas of paraaortic lymph nodes after MION-47 injection. However, using IRON the paraaortic lymph nodes exhibited very high contrast enhancement, which remained 3 days after injection. CNR with IRON was 2.2 +/- 0.8 at baseline, increased markedly 1 day after injection (23.5 +/- 5.4, P < 0.01 vs. baseline), and remained high after 3 days (21.8 +/- 5.7, *P < 0.01 vs. baseline). CNR was also high in blood 1 day after injection (42.7 +/- 7.2 vs. 1.8 +/- 0.7 at baseline, P < 0.01) but approached baseline after 3 days (1.9 +/- 1.4, P = NS vs. baseline). CONCLUSION: IRON in conjunction with superparamagnetic nanoparticles can be used to perform 'positive contrast' MR-lymphography, particularly 3 days after injection of the contrast agent, when signal is no longer visible within blood vessels. The proposed method may have potential as an adjunct for nodal staging in cancer screening.

A novel human aquaporin-4 splice variant exhibits a dominant-negative activity: a new mechanism to regulate water permeability.

Two major isoforms of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) have been described in human tissue. Here we report the identification and functional analysis of an alternatively spliced transcript of human AQP4, AQP4-Δ4, that lacks exon 4. In transfected cells AQP4-Δ4 is mainly retained in the endoplasmic reticulum and shows no water transport properties. When AQP4-Δ4 is transfected into cells stably expressing functional AQP4, the surface expression of the full-length protein is reduced. Furthermore, the water transport activity of the cotransfectants is diminished in comparison to transfectants expressing only AQP4. The observed down-regulation of both the expression and water channel activity of AQP4 is likely to originate from a dominant-negative effect caused by heterodimerization between AQP4 and AQP4-Δ4, which was detected in coimmunoprecipitation studies. In skeletal muscles, AQP4-Δ4 mRNA expression inversely correlates with the level of AQP4 protein and is physiologically associated with different types of skeletal muscles. The expression of AQP4-Δ4 may represent a new regulatory mechanism through which the cell-surface expression and therefore the activity of AQP4 can be physiologically modulated.

Steady-state equilibrium phase inversion recovery ON-resonant water suppression (IRON) MR angiography in conjunction with superparamagnetic nanoparticles. A robust technique for imaging within a wide range of contrast agent dosages.

PURPOSE: To investigate the ability of inversion recovery ON-resonant water suppression (IRON) in conjunction with P904 (superparamagnetic nanoparticles which consisting of a maghemite core coated with a low-molecular-weight amino-alcohol derivative of glucose) to perform steady-state equilibrium phase MR angiography (MRA) over a wide dose range. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experiments were approved by the institutional animal care committee. Rabbits (n = 12) were imaged at baseline and serially after the administration of 10 incremental dosages of 0.57-5.7 mgFe/Kg P904. Conventional T1-weighted and IRON MRA were obtained on a clinical 1.5 Tesla (T) scanner to image the thoracic and abdominal aorta, and peripheral vessels. Contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) and vessel sharpness were quantified. RESULTS: Using IRON MRA, CNR and vessel sharpness progressively increased with incremental dosages of the contrast agent P904, exhibiting constantly higher contrast values than T1 -weighted MRA over a very wide range of contrast agent doses (CNR of 18.8 ± 5.6 for IRON versus 11.1 ± 2.8 for T1 -weighted MRA at 1.71 mgFe/kg, P = 0.02 and 19.8 ± 5.9 for IRON versus -0.8 ± 1.4 for T1-weighted MRA at 3.99 mgFe/kg, P = 0.0002). Similar results were obtained for vessel sharpness in peripheral vessels, (Vessel sharpness of 46.76 ± 6.48% for IRON versus 33.20 ± 3.53% for T1-weighted MRA at 1.71 mgFe/Kg, P = 0.002, and of 48.66 ± 5.50% for IRON versus 19.00 ± 7.41% for T1-weighted MRA at 3.99 mgFe/Kg, P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that quantitative CNR and vessel sharpness after the injection of P904 are consistently higher for IRON MRA when compared with conventional T1-weighted MRA. These findings apply for a wide range of contrast agent dosages.