Persistence of Dromiciops gliroides in landscapes dominated by Pinus radiata plantations

© The Author(s). 2017. Background: Monitos del monte (Dromiciops gliroides) are old-growth forest specialists and, thus, believed to be very sensitive to habitat transformation, although some recent studies show some level of plasticity of their habitat selection patterns. Findings: In this note we report on records of D. gliroides living in a very modified environment, composed mostly by industrial pine plantations and small fragments of Nothofagus spp. forests and we report the extension of the northernmost limit of its currently known distribution. Conclusions: Although highly reliant on native vegetation, Dromiciops gliroides has been able to persist in industrial forest landscapes dominated by pine plantations

Molecular detection of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus in mosquitoes from La Pintada (Antioquia)

ABSTRACT Objective. The detection of emerging and re-emerging arboviruses in mosquitoes from urban and rural areas, is fundamental for predict possible epidemic outbreaks in human populations. The Municipality of La Pintada (Antioquia), is characterized by the presence of dry tropical forest relicts, fishing, tourism, farms and mining. An entomological research was performed for explore the possible circulation of arboviruses of public health importance. Materials and methods. Mosquitoes were captured in urban and rural sites in February-April of 2012. The specimens were stored in liquid nitrogens tanks and were grouped using taxonomic keys for genera. RNA extraction from pools and generic/nested RT-PCR was performed for Flavivirus, Alphavirus, Orthobunyavirus (Group Bunyamwera) and Phlebovirus. Results. 1274 mosquitoes were collected, mainly belonging to Culex and Aedes genera. RNA extracts of 64 pools were tested by RT-PCR and one pool was positive for Alphavirus. Sequencing of the RT- PCR product and the analysis with sequences storage in GenBank designate the presence of Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV). Conclusions. This is the first record of natural infection from EEEV in mosquitoes from La Pintada (Antioquia), an area with ecological elements that favor the emergence of emerging and re-emerging arboviruses of medical and veterinarian importance

Medical error in the portuguese press: when patients are part of the news

Esta investigação aborda a qualidade da produção noticiosa sobre o erro médico, como um fator essencial na construção do conhecimento público sobre o tema, com o objetivo de compreender que características definem tal produção e até que ponto poderão ser explicadas pela periodicidade e orientação editorial dos jornais; que conceito de erro médico é veiculado pela produção noticiosa sobre o tema; e quais são os protagonistas no discurso jornalístico sobre o erro médico. Foram analisadas as edições de três jornais portugueses, de 2008 a 2011, resultando num corpus de 266 (4,2%) artigos, que foram classificados de acordo com as seguintes variáveis: as fontes de informação citadas (o seu estatuto e especialidade, no caso dos médicos); os temas que são tratados; as características de enquadramento da informação publicada (tom, género jornalístico; e a presença e número de fontes de informação). Pela análise de conteúdo quantitativa, apurou-se que esse tema está em crescimento, essencialmente com notícias de tom negativo e fontes de informação habitualmente identificadas. Não há evidência para afirmar que a periodicidade e a orientação editorial expliquem as variações dessas características, a não ser relativamente ao número de fontes citadas. Vigoram as notícias centradas nos resultados dos erros (mortes ou lesões), provocados por "erros de omissão" e por "erros de comissão", envolvendo uma diversidade de protagonistas: são, tal como acontece na informação sobre saúde em geral, fontes oficiais e especializadas do campo da saúde. Destacam-se os médicos e os juristas e é dado relevo aos pacientes.This research addresses the quality of news production on medical error, as an essential factor in building public knowledge on the subject, in order to understand which characteristics define the news production of medical error and to what extent can they be explained by the periodicity and editorial orientation of the newspaper; which concept of medical error is transmitted by the news production on the subject; and who are the main actors in the journalistic discourse about medical error. The editions of three Portuguese newspapers were analyzed, from 2008 to 2011, resulting in a corpus of 266 (4.2%) articles, which were classified according to the following variables: the sources of information quoted (their status and specialty, in the case of doctors); the issues covered; and characteristic framework of the published information (tone, journalistic style, and the presence and number of information sources). Through quantitative content analysis, it was found that this topic is growing, essentially with negative news and information sources usually being identified. There is no evidence to support that periodicity and editorial orientation explain the variations in these characteristics, except for the number of cited sources. News focused on the results of errors (death or injury), caused by "errors of omission" and "commission errors", prevail, involving a variety of actors: they are, such as it happens in health information, in general, official sources and experts in health. Doctors and lawyers stand out, and special attention is given to patients

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum