Comparison of Aerial Thermal Infrared Imagery and Helicopter Surveys of Bison (Bison bison) in Grand Canyon National Park, USA.

Aerial thermal infrared (TIR) surveys are an attractive option for estimating abundances of large mammals inhabiting extensive and heterogeneous terrain. Compared to standard helicopter or fixed-wing aerial surveys, TIR flights can be conducted at higher altitudes translating into greater spatial coverage and increased observer safety; however, monetary costs are much greater. Further, there is no consensus on whether TIR surveys offer improved detection. Consequently, we performed a study to compare results of a TIR and helicopter survey of bison (Bison bison) on the Powell Plateau in Grand Canyon National Park, USA. We also compared results of both surveys to estimates obtained using a larger dataset of bison helicopter detections along the entire North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Observers in the TIR survey counted fewer individual bison than helicopter observers (101 to 127) and the TIR survey cost was 367% higher. Additionally, the TIR estimate was 18.8% lower than the estimate obtained using a larger dataset, while the comparative helicopter survey was 9.3% lower. Despite our small sample size, we found that helicopter surveys are currently the best method for estimating bison abundances in dense canopy cover sites due to ostensibly more accurate estimates and lower cost compared to TIR surveys. Additional research will be needed to evaluate the efficacy of these methods, as well as very high resolution satellite imagery, for bison populations in more open landscapes.

Candida colonisation as a source for candidaemia.

Candida spp. are important healthcare-associated pathogens. Identifying the source of infection is important for prevention and control strategies. The objective of this study was to evaluate candida colonisation sites as potential sources for candidaemia. Sixty-three consecutive patients with a positive blood culture for candida were included. Surveillance cultures were collected from urine, rectum, oropharynx, skin, intravascular catheter tip and skin around catheter. Molecular typing was performed when the same species of candida was isolated from blood and surveillance sites of a patient. C. albicans was associated with 42% of candidaemias, C. parapsilosis 33%, C. tropicalis 16% and C. guilliermondii, C. krusei, C. glabrata, C. holmii and C. metapsilosis were all 2% each. Six of 10 C. parapsilosis catheter tip isolates were indistinguishable from corresponding blood isolates (all in neonates). C. albicans isolates from blood were indistinguishable from corresponding gastrointestinal tract isolates in 13 of 26 patients and from catheter tip isolates in two patients. In conclusion, the results suggest that gastrointestinal colonisation is the probable source of C. albicans candidaemia and C. parapsilosis is exogenous.

Sindrome "mononucleose simile" na infancia. Incidencia da infeccao por citomegalovirus diagnosticada atraves de deteccao imunoenzimatica de anticorpos IgM. / Mononucleosis-like syndrome in childhood. Incidence of cytomegalovirus infection diagnosed by immunoenzymatic detection o IgM antibodies

Testando anticorpos IgM anti-citomegalovirus, pela tecnica imunoenzimatica ELISA, em 82 criancas com doenca "mononucleose simile" (reacao de Paul-Bunnell-Davidsohn negativa), os Autores diagnosticaram 5 casos (6%) de infeccao aguda por este agente. A presenca de linfonodomegalia cervical e exsudato de amigdalas em alguns destes pacientes sugere que a apresentacao clinica da citomegalomononucleose na infancia poderia, por vezes, ser distinta da forma classica do adulto