Julen Bustamante

Diagnosing the traffic impact on roadside soils through a multianalytical data analysis of the concentration profiles of traffic-related elements

The road traffic has become one of the most serious environmental problems in many cities and the main source of pollution of urban soils. To diagnose properly the magnitude of such impacts on roadside soils, eight urban and metropolitan soils were selected as a function of traffic density, distance to the road and years of operation, for which the concentration of 60 elements (major, minor and trace elements) were measured by semi-quantitative ICP-MS after acid digestion, as a first step in assessing the traffic impact. With this information, a comprehensive study was carried out focusing on the quantitative analysis of the concentration of 46 elements from the 8 sampling areas, analyzing the vertical and horizontal distributions of the metals in the roadside soils. The chemometric analysis showed that only the traffic-related elements accumulate in topsoil and present a high decreasing profile with depth and the distance to the road; however, this clear behavior takes places only in old roads that have undergone the traffic impact for a long time, but not in new roads or roads with low traffic density. Finally, the geoaccumulation indexes are suggested to be used instead of the local guidelines to assess the pollution state of the roadside soils, especially for the emerging trace elements like Antimony.

Diffuse reflectance FTIR database for the interpretation of the spectra obtained with a handheld device on built heritage materials

FTIR handheld devices, working in the diffuse reflectance mode (DRIFT), are promising analytical instruments to perform in situ analyses on cultural heritage materials. However, in the analyses performed in situ with such DRIFT handheld devices, distortions in the DRIFT spectra can be observed in the measurements due to the presence of specular reflection, showing inverted bands in those IR bands with the highest absorption index. These distortions present in the spectra obtained with handheld devices make their resolution very difficult unless the working mode of the devices is well known and a suitable DRIFT database is available. With the aim of getting the most suitable tools to perform analyses in the field, this work has been developed considering two important aspects. In the first one, the differences between the spectra obtained in transmittance, attenuated total reflectance and diffuse reflectance modes of some compounds (nitrates, sulphates and carbonates) that could show the inverted bands when measured with a FTIR handheld device have been studied. In the second one, a preliminary database of several compounds that can be found as original (bulk) compounds or as efflorescence in affected built heritage materials, obtained in the laboratory in diffuse reflectance mode, is presented. Finally, the usefulness of the presented database has been tested using the spectra obtained in situ in the Fishermens association building (San Sebastian, Basque Country, north of Spain) on areas presenting several decaying processes.

Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated byphenyls, methylmercury and butyltins in the natural UNESCO reserve of the biosphere of Urdaibai (Bay of Biscay, Spain).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), methylmercury (MeHg+) and butyltins (mono-, di- and tri-butyltin, MBT, DBT and TBT) were monitored in oysters (Crassostrea sp.) and sediments collected in different sampling points of the UNESCO reserve of the biosphere of Urdaibai (Bay of Biscay) from March 2006 to June 2007. In the case of oyster samples, concentrations in the 290–1814 µg kg−1 (PAHs), 70–475 µg kg−1 (PCBs), 75–644 µg kg−1 (MeHg+) and 200–1300 µg kg−1 (as a sum of the three butyltins) ranges were obtained. In most samples TBT was the most abundant butyltin, followed by DBT and MBT. It should be highlighted that most samples exceeded the highest range (367 µg kg−1) found in the last mussel watch programme carried out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for butyltins in oyster samples. This could be due to the presence of a shipyard in the estuary. Sediment concentrations ranged as follows: total PAHs (856–3495 µg kg−1) and total PCBs (58–220 µg kg−1). Organometallic species were always below the limits of detection (LODs) (0.24 µg kg−1 for MeHg+, 0.6 µg kg−1 for MBT, 0.48 µg kg−1 for DBT and 1.1 µg kg−1 for TBT). In both sediment and oyster PAH sources were mostly combustion. In the case of PCBs, 4-6 chlorine-atom congeners were the most abundant ones. Slight differences in the profile of PAHs as well as PCBs can be detected when the matrices were compared with each other. Finally, in the case of PAHs, sediment and water column played the main role in the accumulation pathway into the organisms in all the sampling stations.

Sample pretreatment to differentiate between bioconcentration and atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mosses

In this first approach a comparison using different sample pretreatment methodologies has been made to differentiate between total atmospheric deposition and bioconcentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in moss samples (Brachythecium rutabulum). Samples were collected in a densely polluted urban area in Barakaldo (Biscay, Basque Country) and submitted to different cleaning procedures with the aim to remove as many deposited atmospheric particles as possible. Analysis by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled to Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) allowed to quantify the removal efficiency of each cleaning procedure and to chemically characterise particles still present in the pre-cleaned sample. Cleaning moss samples twice with deionised water in an ultrasound bath showed up as the most suitable way to remove solid particles deposited on their surface. Discerning between bioconcentration and atmospheric deposition is therefore possible after GC-MS quantitative analysis of non-washed and washed moss samples.

Ultrasound assisted dialysis of semi-permeable membrane devices for the simultaneous analysis of a wide number of persistent organic pollutants.

A new procedure based on ultrasound assisted dialysis (UAD) for the simultaneous and quantitative extraction of a wide number of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or some other organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs) contained in semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) has been developed. This extraction technique combines the advantages of the organic solvent dialysis (OSD) and the speed of the ultrasound assisted extraction. The extraction was performed in an ultrasound bath for 32 min placing the SPMD in a glass flask covered with 80 mL of hexane. This set-up is able to extract simultaneously up to 8 samples. The proposed method entails good repeatabilities (RSD 2-13%) and recoveries (around 100% for almost every analyte). Limits of detection were at ng SPMD(-1) level and enough for the determination of the target analytes in a slightly polluted aquatic environment, as it was tested by successfully comparing the OSD to the proposed methodology. Therefore, the results obtained show that the UAD can be a good alternative for the extraction of POPs in SPMDs as it requires short extraction times and solvent volumes, and provides a cleaner extract for the subsequent clean-up step. Moreover, it fits better than the OSD to the general requirements of Green Chemistry.

Immunoprophylaxis with Simulect (basiliximab) in kidney transplantation: results from routine clinical practice at 18 kidney transplant units.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to assess a Simulect (basiliximab) regimen in routine clinical practice in the Spanish kidney transplantation units to evaluate efficacy and safety. METHODS In this prospective, observational study, data on demographics, parameters of efficacy, and safety in patients who under with kidney transplantation treated with Simulect (basiliximab) were collected through an on-line collection system. RESULTS One hundred sixty three patients at 18 kidney transplant units included 12 months follow-up. The patient mean age was 52 years (DS 13,67) including 96 (58.90%) men and 67 (41.10%) women. Cold ischemia time was 19 hours (DS 6,79). Only 2 patients presented with PRA >50%. For prophylactic immunosuppression, 67.13% of patients received triple therapy with CNI (cyclosporine 49.65% or tacrolimus 17.48%), MMF (66.43%) or AZA (10.49%), and steroids. Incidence of acute rejection (AR) at 12 months was 12.27% (1.84% steroid-resistant). In subgroup analysis, AR was 13.5% in nondiabetics and 4.5% in diabetics, including 3 steroid-resistant episodes (1.84%) in nondiabetics and none in diabetics. In relation to donor age, AR was incidence 10.3% in patients with kidneys from donors aged 50 years or younger and 10.6% when donors were older than 50 years, including 1 (1.73%) and 2 (1.93%) steroid-resistant episodes, respectively. The graft and patient survival rates at 12 months were 90% and 98%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Simulect (basiliximab) used in routine clinical practice provided good prophylaxis against acute rejection in several kidney transplant patient populations, similar to that observed in randomized clinical studies with excellent tolerability and safety.

326. Tratamiento quirúrgico de la endocarditis infecciosa izquierda activa

Objetivos determinar mortalidad quirurgica precoz y tardia de los pacientes intervenidos por endocarditis infecciosa activa, sus causas y los factores de riesgo relacionados. Determinar morbilidad tardia y sus causas. Material y metodos se analizaron episodios de endocarditis izquierda nativa o protesica intervenidos quirurgicamente, desde mayo de 1993 – agosto de 2005. Los episodios fueron recogidos de forma prospectiva en un cuestionario. El seguimiento fue: 1, 3, 6, 12 meses y anualmente, hasta 5 anos. El analisis estadistico fue realizado mediante SPSS 9.01 y test de hipotesis χ 2 de Pearson. Hubo 83 episodios, 71 fueron validos para el analisis. Resultados treinta y tres episodios (46,4%) sobre valvula protesica y 38 (53,5%) sobre valvula nativa. La mortalidad global fue del 35,22% (25): mortalidad quirurgica precoz 6, mortalidad quirurgica al ingreso 11, y mortalidad tardia 8. La causa de muerte en los dos primeros grupos fue cardiaca en 9 pacientes, por shock septico en 3, por shock hemorragico en 2, por neumonia nosocomial en 2, y por fallo multiorganico en 1. Relacionados con mayor mortalidad quirurgica precoz y al ingreso: endocarditis protesica, cirugias cardiacas previas, shock septico, dehiscencia protesica, cirugia por insuficiencia cardiaca y por disfuncion valvular. Hubo 6 reinfecciones y ninguna recaida; 7 desarrollaron dehiscencia de protesis y 3 seudoaneurisma. Conclusiones – La mortalidad quirurgica precoz fue elevada. – Los factores de riesgo relacionados con una mayor mortalidad fueron dependientes de la presencia de valvula protesica o de la gravedad del paciente. – Las causas de mortalidad antes del alta fueron cardiacas o infecciosas.