Spatiotemporal patterns and environmental drivers of human echinococcoses over a twenty-year period in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China

Background Human cystic (CE) and alveolar (AE) echinococcoses are zoonotic parasitic diseases that can be influenced by environmental variability and change through effects on the parasites, animal intermediate and definitive hosts, and human populations. We aimed to assess and quantify the spatiotemporal patterns of human echinococcoses in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), China between January 1994 and December 2013, and examine associations between these infections and indicators of environmental variability and change, including large-scale landscape regeneration undertaken by the Chinese authorities. Methods Data on the number of human echinococcosis cases were obtained from a hospital-based retrospective survey conducted in NHAR for the period 1 January 1994 through 31 December 2013. High-resolution imagery from Landsat 4/5-TM and 8-OLI was used to create single date land cover maps. Meteorological data were also collected for the period January 1980 to December 2013 to derive time series of bioclimatic variables. A Bayesian spatio-temporal conditional autoregressive model was used to quantify the relationship between annual cases of CE and AE and environmental variables. Results Annual CE incidence demonstrated a negative temporal trend and was positively associated with winter mean temperature at a 10-year lag. There was also a significant, nonlinear effect of annual mean temperature at 13-year lag. The findings also revealed a negative association between AE incidence with temporal moving averages of bareland/artificial surface coverage and annual mean temperature calculated for the period 11–15 years before diagnosis and winter mean temperature for the period 0–4 years. Unlike CE risk, the selected environmental covariates accounted for some of the spatial variation in the risk of AE. Conclusions The present study contributes towards efforts to understand the role of environmental factors in determining the spatial heterogeneity of human echinococcoses. The identification of areas with high incidence of CE and AE may assist in the development and refinement of interventions for these diseases, and enhanced environmental change risk assessment

Temporal coherence among tropical coastal lagoons: a search for patterns and mechanisms

Temporal coherence (i.e., the degree of synchronicity of a given variable among ecological units within a predefined space) has been shown for several limnological features among temperate lakes, allowing predictions about the structure and function of ecosystems. However, there is little evidence of temporal coherence among tropical aquatic systems, where the climatic variability among seasons is less pronounced. Here, we used data from long-term monitoring of physical, chemical and biological variables to test the degree of temporal coherence among 18 tropical coastal lagoons. The water temperature and chlorophyll-a concentration had the highest and lowest temporal coherence among the lagoons, respectively, whereas the salinity and water colour had intermediate temporal coherence. The regional climactic factors were the main factors responsible for the coherence patterns in the water temperature and water colour, whereas the landscape position and morphometric characteristics explained much of the variation of the salinity and water colour among the lagoons. These results indicate that both local (lagoon morphometry) and regional (precipitation, air temperature) factors regulate the physical and chemical conditions of coastal lagoons by adjusting the terrestrial and marine subsidies at a landscape-scale. On the other hand, the chlorophyll-a concentration appears to be primarily regulated by specific local conditions resulting in a weak temporal coherence among the ecosystems. We concluded that temporal coherence in tropical ecosystems is possible, at least for some environmental features, and should be evaluated for other tropical ecosystems. Our results also reinforce that aquatic ecosystems should be studied more broadly to accomplish a full understanding of their structure and function

Sarcoma de Ewing: aspectos clínicos e radiográficos de 226 casos Ewing's sarcoma: clinical and radiographic aspects of 226 cases

OBJETIVO: Avaliar os aspectos radiográficos e clínicos presentes em pacientes com o diagnóstico de sarcoma de Ewing confirmado por histopatologia. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Foram analisados, neste trabalho, os dados clínicos e radiográficos (quando disponíveis) de 226 pacientes com o diagnóstico de sarcoma de Ewing ósseo. RESULTADOS: Dos casos avaliados, 61,5% (139) eram do sexo masculino e 83,7% (189) eram brancos. A mediana de idade dos pacientes foi de 14 anos e a topografia mais freqüente das lesões foi o osso ilíaco, em 13,7% (31) dos casos. O aspecto radiográfico mais comum foi o de lesão lítica com reação periosteal (padrões variados), em 32,7% (74) dos casos. CONCLUSÃO: O sarcoma de Ewing ósseo é uma neoplasia bastante agressiva, ocorrendo mais comumente em indivíduos na segunda década de vida e cujo aspecto radiográfico mais comum é o de lesão lítica com reação periosteal típica de lesão agressiva.<br>OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical and radiographic findings in patients with histologically confirmed Ewing's sarcoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical and radiological (whenever available) data of 226 patients with Ewing's sarcoma of the bone were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the evaluated cases, 61.5% (139) were male and 83.7% (189) were white. The average age was 14 years old and the most common site of the lesions was the iliac bone, seen in 13.7% (31) of the cases. The most common radiological findings were lytic lesion with periosteal reaction, seen in 32.7% (74) of the patients. CONCLUSION: Ewing's sarcoma of bone is an aggressive neoplasm, occurring mainly in the second decade of life, which main radiological findings are lytic lesions with periosteal reaction, typical characteristic of aggressive lesions