Factors associated with mortality among patients with central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection in an intensive care unit

Central venous catheterization is a common practice in the management of critically ill patients and is associated with various complications, such as Bloodstream Infections (BSI), which are major determinants of increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare expenses. Few studies have addressed factors that predict mortality in patients with this complication. The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with mortality in patients with Central Venous Catheter (CVC)-related BSI in an intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in the Federal District, Brazil. This was a retrospective and observational study, in which all CVC-related BSI that occurred between January 2008 and December 2010 were reviewed. We obtained demographic, clinical, biochemical and microbiological data from medical records and investigated its association with mortality during ICU stay. There were 4,504 ICU admissions during the study period and 68 were complicated by CVC-related BSI (4.09 per 1000 catheter-days), most due to gram-negative organisms (45.6%). Overall mortality was 59.7%. Death risk was significantly associated with mechanical ventilation (OR 27.8, 95% CI 3.28-250, p<0.001), the mean number of invasive devices other than the CVC (1.44 Vs 2.37 in controls Vs cases, p<0.001) and increased serum levels of urea (mean value of 44.2 mg dL-1 in survivors vs. 73.9 mg dL-1 in non-survivors, p = 0.001). Mortality was not associated with other clinical or biochemical features, neither with microbiological variables, although lethality was high among patients with gram-positive infections (77% Vs 58.33% for fungi and 54.83% for gram-negative). CVC-related BSI was associated with high absolute mortality, which was predicted by mechanical ventilation and a higher number of invasive devices other than the CVC. Knowledge of local factors predictive of mortality is critical for planning strategies to reduce death risk associated with this complication

Insetos associados a botões florais de plantas do Cerrado

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Ecologia, 2011.Em ecologia terrestre, um dos principais temas abordados é a interação entre insetos herbívoros e suas plantas hospedeiras, buscando o entendimento dos fatores que moldam esta interação e possíveis explicações para os padrões de ocorrência encontrados. O Cerrado possui rica flora e fauna de lepidópteros e existe muita informação para a ocorrência de lagartas folívoras, mas não sobre insetos que atacam inflorescências nesta vegetação. O presente trabalho apresenta um levantamento de insetos associados a inflorescências de diferentes plantas hospedeiras em área de cerrado no Distrito Federal, com ênfase em lagartas de Lepidoptera, e a comparação desta comunidade com a comunidade de lagartas folívoras conhecida para a região. No período de 2009 foram realizadas coletas de inflorescências em 30 espécies de plantas comuns em cerrados da Fazenda Água Limpa – DF, sendo todas transportadas ao laboratório para a manutenção e posterior obtenção de insetos adultos. Foram obtidos 4850 insetos adultos: 1795 Hymenoptera, 1619 Lepidoptera, 875 Diptera e 561 Coleoptera. Os himenópteros encontrados atuam como parasitóides dos lepidópteros. A proporção de ataque às inflorescências apresentou relação positiva com a biomassa seca deste recurso, sendo alta a taxa de ataque no Cerrado, principalmente por lepidópteros. Além disso, a biomassa também apresentou relação positiva com a riqueza e abundância de lepidópteros, explicando 15% e 30% da variação, respectivamente. A comunidade de lepidópteros apresentou alto grau de especialização efetiva, além de ser dominada por espécies essencialmente florívoras, de hábito endófago e dieta generalista, porém existe maioria de indivíduos pertencentes a espécies especialistas dentro da comunidade. Considerando apenas a comunidade lagartas florívoras verifica-se uma alta riqueza (N = 36 espécies) com várias apresentando baixa abundância, resultando em poucas espécies altamente dominantes, de hábito endófago e com dieta restrita. As lagartas especialistas são dominantes em plantas hospedeiras localmente abundantes, e tendem a utilizar espécies pertencentes a grupos taxonômicos pobres. Existe relação positiva e significativa entre a riqueza de plantas consumidas e a abundância de lagartas generalistas, indicando que estas possam ser menos discriminantes quanto ao uso do recurso. O tipo de recurso não afetou a amplitude de dieta entre as comunidades de lagartas florívoras e folívoras obtidas nas mesmas plantas hospedeiras. A similaridade da fauna de lagartas variou entre diferentes grupos taxonômicos de plantas, com queda de amostras conspecíficas à espécies congenéricas, e queda entre plantas com maior distância genética, tanto para a comunidade de lagartas florívoras quanto para lagartas folívoras. Este trabalho é um dos pioneiros em investigar diferentes aspectos da fauna de lagartas associada às inflorescências de plantas no Cerrado, porém ainda pouco é conhecido sobre o assunto, sendo necessários novos estudos para melhor compreensão dos padrões de ocorrência observados, principalmente em regiões tropicais. _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTIn terrestrial ecology, one of the key topics is the interaction between herbivorous insects and their host plants, in search to understand the factors that character this interaction and possible explanations for the occurrence patterns found. The Cerrado has rich flora and lepidopteran fauna and there is ample information for the occurrence of herbivore caterpillars, but not on insects that attack flowers in this vegetation. This work presents a survey of insects associated with flowers of different host plants in cerrado at Distrito Federal, with emphasis on larvae of Lepidoptera, and its comparison with the community of folivore caterpillars known to the region. In 2009, there were collected inflorescences on 30 plant species common in cerrados of Fazenda Água Limpa – DF, all being transported to the laboratory for the maintenance and subsequently obtain of adult insects. 4850 insects were obtained: 1795 Hymenoptera, 1619 Lepidoptera, 875 Diptera and 561 Coleoptera. The hymenopterans found act as parasitoids of lepidopterans. The proportion of the inflorescences attack has positive relation with the biomass of this resource, with high attack rate in the Cerrado, mainly by lepidopterans. In addition, biomass also is positive correlated with the richness and abundance of Lepidoptera, explaining 15% and 30% of the variation, respectively. The lepidopteran community has a high degree of effective specialization, and is essentially dominated by florivory species, with endophagous habit and generalist diet, although a majority of individual within the community belonging to specialist’s species. Considering only the caterpillars florivory community there is a high species richness (N = 36 species) with several showing low abundance, resulting in a few highly dominant species, with endophagous habit and restricted diet. The specialist’s caterpillars are dominant in the host plants locally abundant, and tend to use species belonging to poor taxonomic groups. There is significant positive association between species richness of plants consumed and the abundance of generalist’s caterpillars, indicating that they may be less discriminating in the use of resource. The type of resource does not affect the diet breadth among the communities of florivory and folivores caterpillars obtained the same hosts. The similarity of the caterpillar’s fauna varied among different taxonomic groups of plants, decreasing from conspecific samples to congeneric species, decreasing between plants with greater genetic distance, for both communities of florivory and folivores caterpillars. This work is one of the pioneers in investigating different aspects of caterpillar fauna associated with the inflorescences of plants in the Cerrado, but still little is known about it, which warrants further studies to understand patterns of occurrence observed, mainly in tropical regions

Insetos herbívoros em botões florais de Caryocar brasiliense camb (caryocaraceae) : comparação entre duas áreas de cerrado de Brasília, DF

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Ecologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, 2007.Insetos herbívoros estão entre os principais grupos representantes da grande biodiversidade encontrada em regiões neotropicais. Mesmo que exista um acúmulo de informações sobre a ocorrência de lagartas folívoras de lepidópteros em plantas hospedeiras do Cerrado, pouco se sabe sobre os insetos herbívoros em estruturas reprodutivas destas plantas. O presente trabalho encontra-se divido em dois capítulos. O primeiro apresenta um primeiro levantamento das espécies de insetos herbívoros associadas às inflorescências de Caryocar brasiliense em duas áreas de cerrado do Distrito Federal, além de comparar a fauna de insetos herbívoros obtida, entre as áreas. Já o segundo capítulo concentra-se nas variações entre as semanas e/ou entre as áreas de estudo das populações de insetos herbívoros obtidas, e também apresenta as correlações entre estes grupos de insetos. De junho de 2005 a novembro de 2005, na Fazenda Água Limpa (FAL) e em alguns fragmentos não preservados pertencentes ao campus da Universidade de Brasília (UnB), indivíduos de Caryocar brasiliense foram examinados, e de cada um destes foram coletadas inflorescências com botões florais. Foi amostrado um total de 100 plantas e 293 inflorescências, não ocorrendo diferença no número de inflorescências com emergência de insetos adultos entre as áreas de estudos. Foram obtidas 12 espécies pertencentes a sete famílias de Lepidoptera, sendo duas, Phidotricha erigens (Pyralidae) e uma espécie não identificada de Gelechiidae, as principais responsáveis pelo ataque aos botões florais, impedindo seu desenvolvimento em flor e fruto. Estas foram as espécies mais abundantes, alternando a dominância de adultos entre as áreas, sendo a espécie de Gelechiidae mais abundante na FAL, e a de Pyralidae na UnB. Todos os himenópteros obtidos são parasitóides, representados por 11 espécies pertencentes a seis diferentes famílias. Novamente duas morfoespécies foram dominantes, Cheloninae sp. e Rogadinae sp., e estas foram observadas como parasitóides de Gelechiidae sp.39. Apesar de a FAL apresentar maior riqueza de espécies de lepidópteros e de himenópteros parasitóides, os índices de diversidade destes dois grupos não diferiram entre as áreas. Os dípteros ainda não foram identificados, sendo representados por apenas duas morfoespécies que se alimentam principalmente de anteras dos botões. As comunidades de lepidópteros e de himenópteros parasitóides variaram temporalmente, sendo verificado, para ambas as comunidades, um maior número de indivíduos no final do período de floração. Os níveis de precipitação neste mesmo período podem, em parte, explicar a variação temporal observada. Houve um impacto significativo da comunidade de parasitóides na população de Gelechiiidae sp.39 (espécie mais abundante dentre os lepidópteros obtidos), o que seria interessante para a planta hospedeira, que poderia se beneficiar atraindo esses parasitóides. _______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTHerbivorous insects are among the main representatives groups of the huge biodiversity found in neotropical areas. Even that, exists an accumulation of information on occurrence of caterpillars species (Lepidoptera) that feed on the leaves of host plants in the Cerrado. However, little it is known about herbivore insects in reproductive structures of these plants. The present work was divided in two chapters. The first one presents a first survey of herbivore insects associated to the inflorescences of Caryocar brasiliense in two areas of cerrado in the Distrito Federal, besides comparing the herbivore insects fauna observed, between the areas. The second chapter compares the temporal and spatial variations of the populations of herbivore insects obtained, and it also presents the correlations among these groups of insects. From June 2005 to November 2005, on the University of Brasilia’s Experimental Farm (FAL) and unpreserved cerrado fragments found on the campus of Brasília’s University (UnB), A hundred plants of C. brasiliense were sampled with a total of 293 examined inflorescences. No significant difference was found between the number of inflorescences and the adults emergence in both studied areas. It was obtained 12 species belonging to seven families of Lepidoptera, being two, Phidotricha erigens (Pyralidae) and one Gelechiidae species not identified, the main ones were responsible for the major attacks to the inflorescences, which impeding the flower and fruit development. They were the most abundant species, alternating the adults' dominance among the areas, being the species of more abundant Gelechiidae in FAL, and the species of Pyralidae at UnB. All the obtained hymenopterans are parasitoids, represented by 11 species belonging to six different families. Again two species were dominant, Cheloninae sp. and Rogadinae sp., and these were observed as parasitoids of Gelechiidae sp.39. In spite of FAL area presents greater species richness of lepidopterans and also of hymenopterans parasitoids, the diversity index of these two groups didn't differ between the two areas. The dipterans were still not identified, but were represented by only two species that feed mainly anthers of the flower-buds. The communities of lepidopterans and hymenopterans parasitoids varied temporarily, being verified, for both communities, a larger number of individuals in the end of the flowering period. The precipitation levels in this same period may, partly, be explained by observed temporary variation. There was a significant impact of the parasitoids community in the population of Gelechiiidae sp.39 (more abundant species of Lepidoptera). This fact which would be interesting for the host-plant, that could be benefited attracting the parasitoids

COMPOSITION OF MEDIUM AND LARGE MAMMALS IN FOREST RESERVE IN THE CERRADO OF BRAZIL CENTRAL

ABSTRACT Knowledge about fauna location and distribution is very important for animal biology understanding. Conservation Units are relevant to biodiversity when considering factors such as hunting, agricultural expansion and forest fires. The conservation of native vegetation fragments under more suitable management plans, recovery areas and surveys are essential to the mammals preservation. This study aimed to survey the mammals of medium and large size of the Brasilia National Forest Area 1. To carry out this study it was performed weekly rounds in search for direct and indirect mammals traces existing at forest reserve. It is reported the presence of 27 species in the study area. According to the IUCN Red List, four species are vulnerable to extinction: tapir (Tapirus terrestris), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) and oncilla (Leopardus guttulus). Two species were recorded nearly threatened species: maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and pampas deer (Ozotocerus bezoarticus). Also according to the same list, 48% (n=13) of species are declining in population trend and 26% (n=7) for this data is unknown. Differences in the area were observed, with mammal species presence associated to Cerrado vegetation types and in distribution of records over the period