Prevalence and concordance between the clinical and the post-mortem diagnosis of dementia in a psychogeriatric clinic. / Prevalencia y concordancia entre diagnóstico clínico y anatomopatológico de demencia en una clínica psicogeriátrica.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of our study is to describe the types of dementia found in a series of patients and to estimate the level of agreement between the clinical diagnosis and post-mortem diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a descriptive analysis of the prevalence of the types of dementia found in our series and we established the level of concordance between the clinical and the post-mortem diagnoses. The diagnosis was made based on current diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: 114 cases were included. The most common clinical diagnoses both at a clinical and autopsy level were Alzheimer disease and mixed dementia but the prevalence was quite different. While at a clinical level, prevalence was 39% for Alzheimer disease and 18% for mixed dementia, in the autopsy level, prevalence was 22% and 34%, respectively. The agreement between the clinical and the autopsy diagnoses was 62% (95% CI 53-72%). CONCLUSIONS: Almost a third of our patients were not correctly diagnosed in vivo. The most common mistake was the underdiagnosis of cerebrovascular pathology.

Histopathological baseline levels and confounding factors in common sole (Solea solea) for marine environmental risk assessment.

Liver and gonad histopathology, biometric parameters and hepatic metal bioaccumulation were assessed monthly over a one-year period in common soles from the Basque continental shelf, in order to determine baseline levels and confounding factors within biomonitoring studies. Biometric parameters and hepatic metal bioaccumulation varied according to season and gender. Accordingly, hepatic histopathological traits presented seasonal variations related to the reproductive cycle. However, the hepatic histopathological index showed that seasonality and gender were not significant confounding factors. Conversely, the gonad histopathological index was modulated by season and gender. As for organ comparison, the liver endured more severe histopathological damage than the gonad. In brief, the sampling period and gender may not affect the estimation of hepatic histopathological indices for biomonitoring purposes. Nonetheless, due to different sensitivities to environmental 'noise' variables, the sampling period and gender differentiation should be thoroughly considered for the assessment of gonad histopathology, biometrics and metal bioaccumulation.

Relationships between polychlorinated biphenyls in molluscs, hydrological characteristics and human pressures, within Basque estuaries (northern Spain).

Interannual variability of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), measured in the soft tissues of Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels and Crassostrea gigas oysters, collected from estuarine waters within the Basque Country (Bay of Biscay), are investigated. Samples were collected in the autumn, between 2002 and 2011. Sites located within the ports of Bilbao and Pasaia showed the highest PCBs concentrations in molluscs; the lowest were observed in the mouth of the Oka estuary, an area of low population and industrial activity. Congener profiles of PCBs in the tissues of molluscs reveal the predominance of hexachlorobiphenyls (CB153 and CB138). In addition, redundancy analysis has shown that residence time, river flow and a 'pressure index' explain 57% of the variability in the PCB congener concentrations (the higher the values of these variables, the higher the concentration). Finally, Σ7PCB median concentrations in molluscs and sediments, collected from nearby sampling sites, were found to be moderately correlated (r(2)=0.513, p<0.01).

Evaluation of diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGTs) as a monitoring tool for the assessment of the chemical status of transitional waters within the Water Framework Directive.

In this contribution, the potential use of diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGTs) for the chemical evaluation of transitional water bodies within the Water Framework Directive (WFD) has been studied. The water metal concentration has been evaluated in 13 estuaries in the southeastern Bay of Biscay. The DGTs were deployed in triplicate at two stations in each estuary, delimiting the tidal influence. The DGT results were in the ranges of 2-1570 ng L(-1) for cadmium, 66-515 ng L(-1) for copper, 30-3650 ng L(-1) for nickel and 0.8-95.5 µg L(-1) for zinc. The DGTs provided reliable average labile metal concentrations in highly dynamic systems that were comparable with DGT measurements in coastal and estuarine waters worldwide. In addition, it was possible to discriminate those estuaries more susceptible to environmental impacts, being consistent with the historical contamination of each estuary. Based on the obtained results, a sampling strategy for the monitoring of transitional water bodies using DGTs is proposed.

Optimisation of the on-fibre derivatisation of volatile fatty acids in the simultaneous determination together with phenols and indoles in cow slurries.

The on-fibre derivatisation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) using N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) was optimised in the simultaneous determination of VFAs together with phenols and indoles by headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME)-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Firstly, the nature of the SPME fibre was optimised and four different fibres were studied (100 microm polydimethylsiloxane, 85 microm Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane, 5/30 microm divinylbenzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane and 85 microm polyacrylate). The optimum fibre (50/30 microm divinylbenzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane) was used to study the exposure time of the fibre to the derivatisation agent and the desorption time and temperature. Firstly, a factorial design was built but since the three variables had a significant effect, a central composite design was used to build the response surfaces. The best signals were obtained after the exposure of the fibre in the headspace of the MTBSTFA derivatisation reagent for 1 h and desorption at 300 degrees C for 9 min. The determination of underivatised phenols and indoles was not affected by the presence of the derivatisation reagent in the fibre.

Experimental design to optimise the analysis of organic volatile compounds in cow slurry by headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) of some odorous organic compounds [volatile fatty acids (VFAs), phenols and indoles] from animal wastes was optimised using an experimental design approach. The variables affecting the HS-SPME process studied were as follows: type of fibre, pH of the slurry (3-7), addition of sodium chloride (0-1 mol L(-1)), sample volume (10-30 mL), exposure time (10-30 min), exposure temperature (25-50 degrees C), desorption time (3-10 min) and desorption temperature (230-310 degrees C). As for the sorbent, three different types of fibres were studied: 50/30 microm divinylbenzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS), 100 microm PDMS and 85 microm CAR/PDMS. Methylation VFAs was observed when fibres containing PDMS were used. The analytes studied in the optimisation procedure were acetic acid, propanoic acid, butanoic acid, 3-methylbutanoic acid, pentanoic acid, phenol, 4-methylphenol, 4-ethylphenol, indole and skatole (3-methylindole). In order to study the influence of the variables on the responses of the compounds, a Plackett-Burman design was built using the Unscrambler program. The optimisation was carried out using real samples. In order to take into account the matrix effect on the calibration curves, standard solutions were prepared using a purged cow slurry free from the analytes of interest. Repeatability within and among days, accuracy and detection limits were calculated from these calibration curves.