Résumé -Une étude récente réalisée dans la région d'Oum-El-Bouaghi, dans le Nord-Est de l'Algérie, avait comme objectif de rechercher et de préciser la relation pouvant exister entre la qualité de l'eau des puits et des sources et la diversité de la faune aquatique présente dans ces habitats. Pour cela une quinzaine de stations (16 puits et 2 sources) ont fait l'objet, périodiquement, d'une étude de la qualité de l'eau et d'un échantillonnage de la faune. Les stations retenues ont été choisies en raison de la diversité de leur faune mais aussi et surtout parce qu'elles présentaient entre elles certaines différences évidentes (profondeur de la nappe, nature du substratum, protection des puits et utilisation de l'eau par la population locale), qui pouvaient laisser espérer une certaine diversité. Les principales composantes physico-chimiques de la qualité de l'eau ont donc été mesurées puis une analyse en composantes principales (ACP) a été réalisée à partir des valeurs moyennes de chaque paramètre ; on a pu révéler ainsi l'existence d'une variation spatiale relativement marquée de ces descripteurs, faisant apparaître quatre groupes de stations très inégaux et bien différenciés : un premier groupe de 11 puits situés à l'aval hydraulique de la zone d'étude, où l'eau présente des teneurs élevées en ions azotés et phosphorés indicateurs de pollution ; à l'opposé un autre groupe de 5 puits, situés plus en amont, où l'eau présente au contraire de faibles concentrations de substances azotées et d'ions phosphorés, donc des stations peu ou pas polluées ; enfin deux autres groupes bien séparés, chacun correspondant à une source, dont l'eau est aussi de qualité relativement bonne. La faune aquatique de ces puits et sources a également été échantillonnée de façon périodique. La richesse faunistique globale des stations apparaît faiblement corrélée avec la qualité de l'eau, mais en revanche la richesse spécifique de la faune stygobie (celle qui vit dans la nappe phréatique) et plus encore l'abondance de ces espèces stygobies, diminuent de Article publié par EDP Sciences façon significative avec la pollution. La faune stygobie dans son ensemble, et particulière-ment le groupe des Crustacés péracarides, apparaît ainsi comme un très bon indicateur de la qualité de l'eau de ces puits et des sources. Mots clés -biodiversité, puits, faune stygobie, espèces indicatrices, qualité des eaux souterrainesAbstract -A recent study, performed in the region of Oum-El-Bouaghi, North-Eastern Algeria, aimed at showing the possible relationships between the water quality of wells and springs and the diversity of the aquatic fauna which occurs in these habitats. To this end, the water quality and the fauna were regularly investigated in several stations (16 wells and 2 springs) selected in the region. The stations were chosen considering visible differences related to both their fauna and also some evident characteristics i.e. water table depth, nature of geological substratum, protection and human use, so that it was possible to expect certain d...

The biodiversity and the quality of subterranean waters have been comparatively studied in the Haouz plain near Marrakesh and in the Tafilalet, in south-eastern Morocco. For this purpose, physicochemical and faunistic analyses were carried out on the water of ten wells and springs located in the area of Marrakesh, and in Errachidia area respectively. In the wells of Marrakesh, the average stygobiologic diversity is relatively high in the wells located upstream the dumping from the city where the ground water presents low contents of nitrates and orthophosphates. In contrast, the wells located in the spreading zone of Marrakesh wastewaters are characterized by the scarcity or the absence of stygobitic species; in these latter wells, the water is highly polluted. It is rich in nitrates, nitrites, ammonium, and the conductivity is rather high. In the area of Errachidia the faunistic inventory gathers some ten species, some of which are living in hot springs. The subterranean water is highly mineralised. In the two studied areas, the biodiversity decreases when well water is locally polluted, and the subterranean fauna completely disappears if the degree of contamination is important. This relation between the biodiversity and water quality which had already appeared in surface water, is confirmed within the wells of Marrakech. The groundwater fauna of both two areas presents similarities in relation to their geological history, mainly the various marine cycles of marine transgressions-regressions, which were at the origin of the settlement of the ancestors of the extant species, and the Atlasic orogenesis which separated the common ancestral populations into two separated stocks, involving a different evolution of the ancestors and a resulting speciation by vicariance.

Metal sulphide tailings represent a potential risk basically for the environment and particularly for water resources, because of their natural oxidisability which leads to the production of acid/neutral mine drainage. The prospected site close to Marrakech includes zinc, lead and copper sulphide deposits. This site is located in an agricultural area where ground water is used both for irrigation and drinking. Eco-toxicological investigations have been undertaken in order to asses the tailings impact on water quality in nearby wells. These investigations include physico-chemical characterization of the groundwaters as well as faunistic population determination. As compared to standard wells, waters from the wells located downstream of the mining site, have high electrical conductivities and high major ions contents, which can reach: 755 mg l(-1) in SO4(2-), 1670 mg l(-1) in Ca2+, 528 mg l(-1) in Mg2+, 2289 mg I(-1) in Na+ and 14981 mg l(-1) in Cl-. The fauna distribution analysis carried out around the studied wells shows qualitative and quantitative differences according to the flow gradient of the groundwaters. Areas located upstream of the mine tailings site are richer in stygobite species (Type and quantity) than those located downstream or close to it. It is likely that these biological differences are due to water quality alteration induced by the mining activity.

Evidence suggests that oxidative stress plays a major role in the development of metabolic syndrome. This study aims to investigate whether α-lipoic acid (LA), a potent antioxidant, could exert beneficial outcomes in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats. Male 6-week-old ZDF rats and their lean counterparts (ZL) were fed for six weeks with a standard diet or a chow diet supplemented with LA (1 g/kg feed). At 12 weeks of age, ZDF rats exhibited an increase in systolic blood pressure, epididymal fat weight per body weight, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance (HOMA index), adipocyte hypertrophy and a rise in basal superoxide anion (O2•−) production in gastrocnemius muscle and a downregulation of epididymal uncoupled protein-1 (UCP-1) protein staining. Treatment with LA prevented the development of hypertension, the rise in whole body weight and O2•− production in gastrocnemius muscle, but failed to affect insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia in ZDF rats. LA treatment resulted in a noticeable increase of pancreatic weight and a further adipocyte hypertrophy, along with a decrease in epididymal fat weight per body weight ratio associated with an upregulation of epididymal UCP-1 protein staining in ZDF rats. These findings suggest that LA was efficacious in preventing the development of hypertension, which could be related to its antioxidant properties. The anti-visceral obesity effect of LA appears to be mediated by its antioxidant properties and the induction of UCP-1 protein at the adipose tissue level in ZDF rats. Disorders of glucose metabolism appear, however, to be mediated by other unrelated mechanisms in this model of metabolic syndrome.