ABSTRACT
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Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Child , Behcet Syndrome/diagnosis , Behcet Syndrome/drug therapy , Exanthema/diagnosis , Erythema/diagnosis , Prednisone/administration & dosage , Colchicine/administration & dosage , Arthralgia/complications , Thigh/pathology , Edema/pathology , Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct , Diagnosis, DifferentialABSTRACT
No environment is truly constant in time. As a result, animals have evolved multiple adjustments to cope with such fluctuations. However, the allocation of effort to costly activities that imply long-term commitments, such as breeding, may be extremely challenging when future resources change constantly and unpredictably, a context that has received little investigation. To fill this gap, we studied the breeding response by a wetland-dependent raptor, the black kite Milvus migrans, to within and between-years fluctuations in resource availability (inundation levels). The breeding performance of the population was decomposed into reproductive components expressed in a sequence of successive tasks along the breeding cycle (e.g. timing of laying, clutch size, hatching success, brood reduction). Variation in each component was related to resource levels observed at different key dates of the season in order to test whether and when population-level reproduction was adjusted to available resources. Along a 22-year time-series, inundation levels fluctuated unpredictably within and among years, and mostly affected the later components of kites' reproduction, such as hatching success and the incidence of brood reduction, which were the main determinants of the population yearly breeding output. Results were consistent with multiple adjustments to cope with uncertainty. As the season progressed and resources became easier to assess, a bet-hedging waiting strategy based on a conservatively small, invariant and asynchronous clutch gave way to real-time resource-tracking mechanisms mediated by progressive adjustments to current prey availability, so that population-level breeding rates were determined and tuned to resources rather late in the season. Such adjustments were the likely outcome of the interaction between parental tactics and environmental constraints. Behavioural flexibility, such as dietary opportunism, probably promoted further resistance to resource oscillations. Given that all ecosystems show some degree of unpredictability, resource-tracking adjustments, such as the ones depicted here, are likely to be commonplace in most communities.
Subject(s)
Clutch Size , Falconiformes/physiology , Reproduction , Wetlands , Animals , Female , Spain , Uncertainty , Water MovementsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Human metapneumovirus (hPMV) is a recently identified virus that is recognized as a cause of respiratory tract illness in the pediatric population. OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of respiratory tract infections caused by hPMV in hospitalized infants and to describe the clinical characteristics and possible presence of coinfection with other viral agents. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective study from September to June 2003 in all children aged less than 24 months who were admitted to the Severo Ochoa Hospital (Leganés, Madrid) with a respiratory tract infection. Virological diagnosis was made with a direct immunofluorescent assay and/or reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction on specimens obtained from nasopharyngeal washing. Demographic and clinical data from patients with an hPMV respiratory tract infection were analyzed. RESULTS: During the study period, 200 infants were admitted with a respiratory tract infection, of which 18 (9 %) had an hPMV infection. HPMV was the viral agent isolated in 13.8 % of positive nasopharyngeal washings. All patients were admitted between March and April. The mean age was 6.7 +/- 6.1 months. The most common diagnoses were recurrent wheezing (55.5 %) and bronchiolitis (38.8 %). Oxygen therapy was required by 55.5 % of infants during hospitalization. Coinfection with other respiratory viruses was confirmed in 33.3 % of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Human metapneumovirus is a major cause of respiratory tract illness in hospitalized infants. This virus causes mainly bronchiolitis and recurrent wheezing and is more frequent in spring. Coinfection with other respiratory viruses is frequent.
Subject(s)
Metapneumovirus/isolation & purification , Paramyxoviridae Infections/virology , Respiratory Tract Infections/virology , Female , Hospital Units/statistics & numerical data , Hospitalization , Humans , Infant , Male , Oxygen Inhalation Therapy , Paramyxoviridae Infections/diagnosis , Paramyxoviridae Infections/therapy , Prospective Studies , Respiratory Tract Infections/diagnosis , Respiratory Tract Infections/therapy , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Spain/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Antecedentes El metapneumovirus humano es un virus de reciente descripción al que se atribuyen infecciones respiratorias que afectan fundamentalmente a la población infantil. Objetivos Conocer la incidencia de infecciones por metapneumovirus en lactantes hospitalizados, así como sus características clínicas y la posible presencia de coinfecciones con otros agentes virales. Pacientes y métodos Estudio prospectivo realizado de septiembre a junio de 2003 en todos los niños menores de 2 años ingresados en la Unidad de Lactantes del Hospital Severo Ochoa de Leganés (Madrid), por infección respiratoria. La detección de agentes virales se realizó mediante recogida de aspirado nasofaríngeo y realización de inmunofluorescencia directa y/o reacción en cadena de la polimerasa-transcripción inversa (RT-PCR). Descripción de las características clínicas y epidemiológicas de los procesos respiratorios de los pacientes con detección positiva para metapneumovirus humano. Resultados Ingresaron 200 lactantes con patología respiratoria durante el período mencionado, de los cuales en 18 se detectó infección por metapneumovirus humano (9 por ciento de los pacientes). El metapneumovirus humano supuso un 13,8 por ciento de los aislamientos virales positivos. El 100 por ciento de estos niños ingresaron en marzo-abril. La edad media fue de 6,7+/-6,1 meses. El 38,8 por ciento desarrolló una bronquiolitis y en el 55,5 por ciento se objetivó un episodio recurrente de sibilancias. El 55,5 por ciento de los niños precisó oxigenoterapia durante el ingreso. Se encontraron coinfecciones con otros agentes virales en el 33,3 por ciento de estos pacientes. Conclusiones El metapneumovirus humano es un agente viral muy frecuente en los lactantes afectados de enfermedad respiratoria, causando fundamentalmente bronquiolitis y episodios recurrentes de sibilancias. Es más frecuente en primavera y tiene una alta tendencia a la coinfección con otros virus (AU)
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Hospitalization , Prospective Studies , Respiratory Tract Infections , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Spain , Hospital Units , Paramyxoviridae Infections , Metapneumovirus , Oxygen Inhalation Therapy , Hospital UnitsABSTRACT
Four patients, with disorders belonging to mononuclear phagocyte system diseases are described: a case of malignant histiocytosis; one of Weber-Christians disease and two siblings affected by familiar erythrophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. An attempt is made to update classification of this group of diseases previously known as reticulosis, reticulohistiocytosis, reticuloendotheliosis, etcetera.
