Ten years of monitoring recruitment of the edible stalked barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes: linking to oceanographic variability

Understanding recruitment patterns of an exploited species is essential to predict changes in population dynamics and to improve its management and conservation. Temporal variability in recruitment of the edible stalked barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes was analyzed over a decade (consecutive annual recruitment seasons from 2007 to 2016) at a cape area located in the Canary-Iberia Current Upwelling System (Cape of Sines, Southwestern Portugal), in terms of (1) the timing and length of the main recruitment season and (2) the variation in monthly and annual recruitment intensity and its relationship with several oceanographic variables. A longer recruitment season was detected, corresponding to approximately 9–10 months (June through either March or April of the following year, as in 2012, 2015, and 2016) in recent years, while a shorter recruitment season was detected between 2007 and 2010 (< 5 months, September–January in 2007 and July–December in 2010). Mean annual recruitment from 2012 to 2016 was about four times higher (ca. 43 recruits adult−1) than in the first 5 yr of the 10-yr period (ca. 12 recruits adult−1). Correlation analyses between monthly recruitment and oceanographic variables revealed a significant positive correlation with sea surface temperature and a negative correlation with upwelling index. Results indicate a trend toward a longer recruitment season and a higher recruitment intensity in recent years (2012–2016), and a clear association between recruitment of P. pollicipes and both relaxation of upwelling and seawater warming

Candida bloodstream infections in intensive care units: analysis of the extended prevalence of infection in intensive care unit study

To provide a global, up-to-date picture of the prevalence, treatment, and outcomes of Candida bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients and compare Candida with bacterial bloodstream infection. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of the Extended Prevalence of Infection in the ICU Study (EPIC II). Demographic, physiological, infection-related and therapeutic data were collected. Patients were grouped as having Candida, Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and combined Candida/bacterial bloodstream infection. Outcome data were assessed at intensive care unit and hospital discharge. SETTING: EPIC II included 1265 intensive care units in 76 countries. PATIENTS: Patients in participating intensive care units on study day. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 14,414 patients in EPIC II, 99 patients had Candida bloodstream infections for a prevalence of 6.9 per 1000 patients. Sixty-one patients had candidemia alone and 38 patients had combined bloodstream infections. Candida albicans (n = 70) was the predominant species. Primary therapy included monotherapy with fluconazole (n = 39), caspofungin (n = 16), and a polyene-based product (n = 12). Combination therapy was infrequently used (n = 10). Compared with patients with Gram-positive (n = 420) and Gram-negative (n = 264) bloodstream infections, patients with candidemia were more likely to have solid tumors (p < .05) and appeared to have been in an intensive care unit longer (14 days [range, 5-25 days], 8 days [range, 3-20 days], and 10 days [range, 2-23 days], respectively), but this difference was not statistically significant. Severity of illness and organ dysfunction scores were similar between groups. Patients with Candida bloodstream infections, compared with patients with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bloodstream infections, had the greatest crude intensive care unit mortality rates (42.6%, 25.3%, and 29.1%, respectively) and longer intensive care unit lengths of stay (median [interquartile range]) (33 days [18-44], 20 days [9-43], and 21 days [8-46], respectively); however, these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Candidemia remains a significant problem in intensive care units patients. In the EPIC II population, Candida albicans was the most common organism and fluconazole remained the predominant antifungal agent used. Candida bloodstream infections are associated with high intensive care unit and hospital mortality rates and resource use