Search

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, clinically defined by a progressive loss of memory and other cognitive and functional abilities. One of the most studied phases in the prognosis of AD is the Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) since it entails a higher risk of developing this type of dementia. The majority longitudinal studies from MCI to AD utilize both a reduce number of potential prediction markers and a shorten length of follow‐up. Therefore, the present study was aimed at determining which combination of demographic, genetic, cognitive, neurophysiological (i.e. magnetoencephalography, MEG), and neuroanatomical (i.e. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumetry) factors may predict differences in time to progression from MCI to AD during an extended follow‐up. Method: To this end, a sample of 121 MCIs was followed‐up during a 5‐years period. According to their clinical outcome, MCIs were divided into two subgroups: (i) the "progressive" MCI (pMCI; n= 46); and (ii) the "stable" MCI group (sMCI; n= 75). Kaplan‐Meier survival analyses were applied to explore each variable's relationship with the progression to AD. Once potential predictors were detected, Cox regression analyses were utilized to calculate a parsimonious model that may allow the estimation of differences in time to progression. Result: Results indicated that the final model included three variables (in order of relevance): Left parahippocampal volume (corrected by intracranial volume, LP_ ICV), Delayed recall (DR), and Left Inferior Occipital lobe individual alpha peak frequency (LIOL_IAF). Those MCIs with LP_ ICV volume, DR score and LIOL_IAPF value lower than the defined cutoff had 6‐times, 5.5‐times and 3‐times higher risk of progression to AD, respectively. Besides, when the categories of the three variables were "unfavourable" (i.e. values below the cutoff), a 100% of cases progressed to AD at the end of follow‐ up, while a combination of "favourable" categories yielded a 94.7% of stable cases at the end of follow‐up. Conclusion: Our results highlighted the relevance of neurophysiological markers as predictors of conversion, and the importance of multivariate models that combine markers of different nature to predict time to progression from MCI to dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing global demand for electric and electronic equipment (EEE) such as smartphones, tablets and electric car batteries has resulted in an increase in heavy metal releases to the environment at different steps during its manufacture (e.g. mining, extraction, production and e-waste). Some critical raw materials (CRMs) that supply the worldwide demand of technology are mainly sourced from Africa, but their resulting heavy metal pollution can reach citizens from other regions of the world through seafood caught in African waters, which would act as a vector. In this study, we review heavy metal contents in African fish and, as proof of concept, we analyse heavy metal content in three tuna species (Thunnus alalunga, T. albacares and T. obesus) caught in different regions inside the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) by Spanish fleets and commercialised in Spain. Thunnus alalunga and T. albacares from African waters had higher concentrations of heavy metals (especially Hg but also As and Pb) in muscle than samples of the same species caught in other waters. Metal profiles in tunas from African waters were significantly correlated with those of continental and coastal fish from nearby areas impacted by mines and e-waste, as found in the literature review. Based on these results we identify research priorities that should be addressed in order to improve the social and environmental sustainability of EEE metal manufacture in Africa., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A comparison of Upper Palaeolithic and contemporary salmonid vertebrae from the Iberian Peninsula indicates that there has been a significant decrease in the mean body size for a given age among Atlantic salmon and brown trout inhabiting the southernmost range of their endemic distribution. Mean size at age was greater in prehistoric specimens for all age classes during the freshwater phase of their life histories. Fisheries-induced evolution (selection for smaller sizes) is an obvious explanation for the observed reduction in fish body size, but recent changes in the aquatic habitat affecting density-dependent growth cannot be ruled out.