Infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children with or without radiologically confirmed pneumonia

ObjectiveCommunity-acquired pneumonia is an important cause of morbidity in childhood, but the detection of its causative agent remains a diagnostic challenge. The authors aimed to evaluate the role of the chest radiograph to identify cases of community-aquired pneumonia caused by typical bacteria.MethodsThe frequency of infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis was compared in non-hospitalized children with clinical diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia aged 2–59 months with or without radiological confirmation (n = 249 and 366, respectively). Infection by S. pneumoniae was diagnosed by the detection of a serological response against at least one of eight pneumococcal proteins (defined as an increase ≥2-fold in the IgG levels against Ply, CbpA, PspA1 and PspA2, PhtD, StkP-C, and PcsB-N, or an increase ≥1.5-fold against PcpA). Infection by H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis was defined as an increase ≥2-fold on the levels of microbe-specific IgG.ResultsChildren with radiologically confirmed pneumonia had higher rates of infection by S. pneumoniae. The presence of pneumococcal infection increased the odds of having radiologically confirmed pneumonia by 2.8 times (95% CI: 1.8–4.3). The negative predictive value of the normal chest radiograph for infection by S. pneumoniae was 86.3% (95% CI: 82.4–89.7%). There was no difference on the rates of infection by H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis between children with community-acquired pneumonia with and without radiological confirmation.ConclusionsAmong children with clinical diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia submitted to chest radiograph, those with radiologically confirmed pneumonia present a higher rate of infection by S. pneumoniae when compared with those with a normal chest radiograph.</p

Use of secondary forests by understory birds in a fragmented landscape in central Amazonia

Rates of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon have increased since 1991 and forecasts are not optimistic about the slowing of this process. Some authors believe that the Amazon may be experiencing a massive process of species extinction. However, the deforestation is accompanied by the expansion of secondary forests that are established in the abandoned areas. The trend is an increase in secondary forests cover, resulting in a mosaic of primary forest (FP) and fragments separated by an array of secondary forests (FS). In this scenario, the prediction of a massive extinction could be wrong if many species could survive in the secondary forests. To assess the importance of FS for the understory birds we sampled areas in regeneration and a continuous forest of a fragmented landscape. We conducted mist netting (24 nets/day) for six consecutive days/month, for 8 months (May-November) in 2009. Some forest species as do not seem to be adapted to the secondary forest environment and their occurrences are restricted to continuous forest environments. But most focal species showed no significant difference in apparent survival rates between the enviroments, suggesting that these species inhabit the secondary forest and the primary forest similarly. Because most of the matrix in fragmented landscapes are composed by secondary forests, such results highlights the conservation value that these habitats present in the long term. Thus, FS should be regarded as dynamic matrix that not only allows the movement of individuals but also function as habitat for many species typical of FP.Na Amazônia, as taxas de desmatamento crescem desde 1991 e as previsões não são otimistas quanto à desaceleração desse processo. A devastação da floresta é acompanhada de uma expansão de florestas secundárias (FS) que se estabelecem nas áreas abandonadas. A tendência é um aumento de florestas secundárias, resultando num mosaico de floresta contínua e fragmentos separados por uma matriz de FS. Nesse cenário, autores acreditam que a Amazônia pode passar por um processo massivo de extinção de espécies. Por outro lado, a previsão de um processo massivo de extinção pode ser equivocada, pois muitas espécies florestais poderiam sobreviver nas florestas secundárias. Para avaliar o valor das florestas secundárias para espécies florestais amostramos por oito meses com redes de neblina uma capoeira (FS) em regeneração e uma floresta primária (FP) de uma paisagem fragmentada. Algumas espécies não foram capturadas na capoeira e aparentemente evitam esse tipo de hábitat. No entanto, a maioria das espécies do grupo focal não apresentou diferença na sobrevivência aparente entre os ambientes, o que nos indica que estão habitando a capoeira e a floresta primária da mesma forma. Na realidade amazônica, onde grande parte da matriz é composta por floresta secundária, a matriz tem valor para conservação e deve ser analisada como um elemento dinâmico que não apenas permite a movimentação de indivíduos, mas também serve de hábitat para muitas espécies de floresta primária. Mas ressaltamos que é fundamental a preservação de áreas de floresta primária que servirão de fonte às florestas secundárias adjacentes

Hybotinae (Diptera, Hybotidae) of the National Park of Jaú, Amazonas, Brazil, with description of five new species of Syneches Walker

The composition of Hybotinae of the National Park of Jaú was studied. Sixteen species of Hybotinae are recorded and five new species of Syneches Walker are described and illustrated: Syneches hispidus sp. nov., S. jauensis sp. nov., S. longiflagellatus sp. nov., S. rafaeli sp. nov. and S. vidali sp. nov.A composição de Hybotinae do Parque Nacional do Jaú foi estudada. Dezesseis espécies de Hybotinae são registradas e cinco espécies novas de Syneches Walker são descritas e ilustradasSyneches hispidus sp. nov., S. jauensis sp. nov., S. longiflagellatus sp. nov., S. rafaeli sp. nov. e S. vidali sp. nov

Nitric oxide releasing-dendrimers: an overview

Platforms able to storage, release or scavenge NO in a controlled and specific manner is interesting for biological applications. Among the possible matrices for these purposes, dendrimers are excellent candidates for that. These molecules have been used as drug delivery systems and exhibit interesting properties, like the possibility to perform chemical modifications on dendrimers surface, the capacity of storage high concentrations of compounds of interest in the same molecule and the ability to improve the solubility and the biocompatibility of the compounds bonded to it. This review emphasizes the recent progress in the development and in the biological applications of different NO-releasing dendrimers and the nitric oxide release pathways in these compounds