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Abstract: In this work several pre-treatment methods were studied for metal (Na, K, Mg, Cu and Ca) determination in Orujo spirit samples using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Dilution, digestion, evaporation, and cryogenic desolvatation techniques were comparatively evaluated. Because of their analytical characteristics, digestion and evaporation with nitrogen current were found to be appropriate procedures for the determination of metals in alcoholic spirit samples. Yet, if simplicity and application time are to be considered, the latter—evaporation in a water bath with a nitrogen current—stands out as the optimum procedure for any further determinations in Orujo samples by ICP-AES. Low detection levels and wide linear ranges (sufficient to determine these metals in the samples studied) were achieved for each metal. The recoveries (in the 97.5–100.5% range) and the precision (R.S.D. lower than 5.6%) obtained were also satisfactory. The selected procedure was applied to determine the content of metals in 80 representative Galician Orujo spirit samples with and without a Certified Brand of Origin (CBO) which had been produced using different distillation systems. The metal concentrations ranged between 0.37 and 79.7mgL−1 for Na,

• A home-delivered non-pharmacological intervention contributed to reducing the immediate total and social loneliness of homebound older adults. • The decrease in perceived social loneliness mediated the improvement of depressive symptom levels. • Social loneliness may be a relevant target of intervention to improve depressive symptomatology. The present study aimed to explore whether the Homebound Elderly People Psychotherapeutic Intervention (HEPPI), a home-delivered ten-week cognitive-emotional intervention, was effective in reducing self-reported loneliness among homebound older adults presenting mild cognitive impairment and psychological symptomatology. Effects of HEPPI in total, social, and emotional loneliness, compared with a treatment-as-usual group, were investigated at post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. In addition, the potential role of social and emotional loneliness as mediators of the HEPPI impact on episodic memory and symptoms of depression and anxiety was examined. This study built upon the data of a previously conducted randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to the HEPPI group (n = 98) or the treatment-as-usual group (n = 101) and completed baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up assessments, including measures of loneliness (UCLA - Loneliness scale), episodic memory (Wechsler Memory Scale-III), depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale-30), and anxiety symptoms (Geriatric Anxiety Inventory). Data were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis employing linear mixed models and mediation analyses for repeated measures. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05499767. Compared with usual care controls, the HEPPI participants reported a significant immediate decrease in total and social loneliness, but these effects were not maintained at a 3-month follow-up. The reduction in immediate perceived social loneliness significantly mediated the improvement of depressive symptoms. The current findings suggest that HEPPI potentially reduced total and social loneliness of the homebound older population immediately post-intervention, and such decrease in social loneliness may be a relevant mechanism for improving their short-term depressive symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]