First nesting record of the Bay-Capped Wren-Spinetail Spartonoica maluroides (Aves, Furnariidae) in Brazil, with nest and nestling descriptions and notes on breeding behavior

The only breeding record of Spartonoica maluroides (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) for Brazil is based on the observation of a fledgling in southern Rio Grande do Sul in January 1976. On 7 December 2005 we discovered a nest containing three nestlings at the southeastern end of Lagoa Pequena, municipality of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. The nest was concealed at the base of a cavity in a Spartina densiflora (Poaceae) tussock located at the edge of a saltmarsh. The nest was built of fine pieces of dead Scirpus olneyi (Cyperaceae) and S. densiflora leaves firmly interlaced to the internal leaves of the tussock. Live leaves of S. densiflora lining the cavity comprised a substantial part of the nest's architecture, forming most of its upper lateral walls and roof. The lower section was more elaborate, resembling a deep cup and forming a distinct incubation chamber. Adults reached the nest's interior through an irregular apical opening amidst the leaves. The nest was 244 mm high and 140 mm wide. The incubation chamber had an external diameter of 138.5 mm, an internal diameter of 79.4 mm and was 86 mm deep. It was lined with fine leaves and white plant fibers. Nestlings were five to six days old. A total of 107 neossoptiles restricted to the capital, spinal and alar tracts were recorded in one nestling. The distribution of neossoptiles in the ocular region of S. maluroides forms a distinct pattern which can be typical of Furnariidae and related families. Two adults attended the nest, bringing small insects to the nestlings and removing fecal sacs. We recorded at least 74 visits to the nest during a ca. 6 h period during an afternoon. The average number of visits per hour was 12.8 ± 1.3. An adult bird spent on average 0.7 ± 0.56 minutes inside the nest attending nestlings. The nest remained unattended on average for 3.61 ± 3.13 minutes. The hour of the day had no influence on the amount of time spent by an adult in the nest or away from it. We returned to the area on 15 December 2005 and found the nest abandoned. Observations confirm that S. maluroides is a resident breeder in southern Brazil and that the saltmarshes of the Lagoa do Patos estuary are an important year-round habitat for the species. A nestling and the nest were collected to document the record.

Influence of seasons and sampling strategy on assessment of bioaerosols in sewage treatment plants in Switzerland

An assessment of sewage workers' exposure to airborne cultivable bacteria, fungi and inhaled endotoxins was performed at 11 sewage treatment plants. We sampled the enclosed and unenclosed treatment areas in each plant and evaluated the influence of seasons (summer and winter) on bioaerosol levels. We also measured personal exposure to endotoxins of workers during special operation where a higher risk of bioaerosol inhalation was assumed. Results show that only fungi are present in significantly higher concentrations in summer than in winter (2331 +/- 858 versus 329 +/- 95 CFU m(-3)). We also found that there are significantly more bacteria in the enclosed area, near the particle grids for incoming water, than in the unenclosed area near the aeration basins (9455 +/- 2661 versus 2435 +/- 985 CFU m(-3) in summer and 11 081 +/- 2299 versus 2002 +/- 839 CFU m(-3) in winter). All bioaerosols were frequently above the recommended values of occupational exposure. Workers carrying out special tasks such as cleaning tanks were exposed to very high levels of endotoxins (up to 500 EU m(-3)) compared to routine work. The species composition and concentration of airborne Gram-negative bacteria were also studied. A broad spectrum of different species within the Pseudomonadaceae and the Enterobacteriaceae families were predominant in nearly all plants investigated. [Authors]

Effects of motive-oriented therapeutic relationship in a ten-session general psychiatric treatment of borderline personality disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Motive-oriented therapeutic relationship (MOTR) was postulated to be a particularly helpful therapeutic ingredient in the early treatment phase of patients with personality disorders, in particular with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The present randomized controlled study using an add-on design is the first study to test this assumption in a 10-session general psychiatric treatment with patients presenting with BPD on symptom reduction and therapeutic alliance. Methods: A total of 85 patients were randomized. They were either allocated to a manual-based short variant of the general psychiatric management (GPM) treatment (in 10 sessions) or to the same treatment where MOTR was deliberately added to the treatment. Treatment attrition and integrity analyses yielded satisfactory results. Results: The results of the intent-to-treat analyses suggested a global efficacy of MOTR, in the sense of an additional reduction of general problems, i.e. symptoms, interpersonal and social problems (F1, 73 = 7.25, p < 0.05). However, they also showed that MOTR did not yield an additional reduction of specific borderline symptoms. It was also shown that a stronger therapeutic alliance, as assessed by the therapist, developed in MOTR treatments compared to GPM (Z55 = 0.99, p < 0.04). Conclusions: These results suggest that adding MOTR to psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatments of BPD is promising. Moreover, the findings shed additional light on the perspective of shortening treatments for patients presenting with BPD. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The relationship between subjective experiences during first use of tobacco and cannabis and the effect of the substance experienced first.

INTRODUCTION: We examined the positive and negative subjective feelings associated with initial tobacco and cannabis use as well as the role of these experiences in regular use. Additionally, we investigated the effect of the first substance experienced on initial subjective experiences and later regular use. METHODS: Baseline data from a representative sample of young Swiss men were obtained from an ongoing Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors, which includes 2,321 lifetime tobacco and cannabis users. We assessed the age of first tobacco and cannabis use along with the subjective experiences associated with initial use. Additionally, subjective experiences related to regular use of both substances were analyzed. RESULTS: The initial subjective experiences were divided into positive and negative for each substance, and we found that the feelings associated with first use of tobacco and cannabis were similar. Moreover, the participants who used cannabis before tobacco reported fewer negative experiences associated with first tobacco use, whereas the participants who initially used tobacco reported more negative experiences related to first cannabis use. Also, we identified that regular use was encouraged by positive experiences and that negative experiences were more adverse for regular use of cannabis compared with tobacco. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results indicate that similar subjective experiences were associated with the first use of tobacco and cannabis. Also, the use of cannabis before tobacco, which occurred in only a minority of users, had the potential to enhance the effects of initial tobacco use.

Scanning electron microscopy of the egg and the first instar larva of Dermatobia hominis (Diptera, cuterebridae)

The egg and the first instar larva of Dermatobia hominis were described based on observation with a scanning electron microscope.

Biodiversity of amoebae and amoebae-resisting bacteria in a drinking water treatment plant

The complex ecology of free-living amoebae (FLA) and their role in spreading pathogenic microorganisms through water systems have recently raised considerable interest. In this study, we investigated the presence of FLA and amoebae-resisting bacteria (ARB) at various stages of a drinking water plant fed with river water. We isolated various amoebal species from the river and from several points within the plant, mostly at early steps of water treatment. Echinamoeba- and Hartmannella-related amoebae were mainly recovered in the drinking water plant whereas Acanthamoeba- and Naegleria-related amoebae were recovered from the river water and the sand filtration units. Some FLA isolates were recovered immediately after the ozonation step, thus suggesting resistance of these microorganisms to this disinfection procedure. A bacterial isolate related to Mycobacterium mucogenicum was recovered from an Echinamoeba-related amoeba isolated from ozone-treated water. Various other ARB were recovered using co-culture with axenic Acanthamoeba castellanii, including mycobacteria, legionella, Chlamydia-like organisms and various proteobacteria. Noteworthy, a new Parachlamydia acanthamoebae strain was recovered from river water and from granular activated carbon (GAC) biofilm. As amoebae mainly multiply in sand and GAC filters, optimization of filter backwash procedures probably offers a possibility to better control these protists and the risk associated with their intracellular hosts

Safety and occlusion rates of surgical treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature from 1990 to 2011.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Surgical clipping of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) has recently been challenged by the emergence of endovascular treatment. We performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis on the surgical treatment of UIAs, in an attempt to determine the aneurysm occlusion rates and safety of surgery in the modern era. METHODS: A detailed protocol was developed prior to conducting the review according to the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines. Electronic databases spanning January 1990-April 2011 were searched, complemented by hand searching. Heterogeneity was assessed using I(2), and publication bias with funnel plots. Surgical mortality and morbidity were analysed with weighted random effect models. RESULTS: 60 studies with 9845 patients harbouring 10 845 aneurysms were included. Mortality occurred in 157 patients (1.7%; 99% CI 0.9% to 3.0%; I(2)=82%). Unfavourable outcomes, including death, occurred in 692 patients (6.7%; 99% CI 4.9% to 9.0%; I(2)=85%). Morbidity rates were significantly greater in higher quality studies, and with large or posterior circulation aneurysms. Reported morbidity rates decreased over time. Studies were generally of poor quality; funnel plots showed heterogeneous results and publication bias, and data on aneurysm occlusion rates were scant. CONCLUSIONS: In studies published between 1990 and 2011, clipping of UIAs was associated with 1.7% mortality and 6.7% overall morbidity. The reputed durability of clipping has not been rigorously documented. Due to the quality of the included studies, the available literature cannot properly guide clinical decisions.

Morphological observations on the egg and first instar larva of Metacutereba apicalis (Diptera: Cuterebidae)

Descriptions are given of the egg and first intar larvar of Metacutereba apicalis (Diptera: Cuterebridae) when viewed by light and scanning electronic microscopes.

Treatment of acute experimental schistosomiasis

A model of acute schistosomiasis of the mouse was used to observe whether curative treatment would be followed by an enhancement of the hepatic and splenic lesions, as a consequence of the massive destruction of worms and eggs within the portal system. Mice infected with 50 cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni were treated with both oxamniquine and praziquantel on the 50th day of infection and submitted to a sequential histologic examination from the 2nd to the 45th day after treatment. Although severe focal lesions due to dead and disintegranting worms were present in the livers of the treated animals, no aggravation of the general changes (reative hepatitis and splenitis, or periovular granulomas) was seen in comparison with a control non-treated group. Of 50 animals treated during the acute phase of schistosomiasis only one died espontaneously, while 16 ou of 30 infected controls died before the end of the experiment. The present investigation indicates that curative treatment during the acute phase of schistosomiasis does not enhance previous lesions at first and results in progressive disappearance of the lesions starting six days following chemotherapy.

Psychiatric comorbidity and additional abuse of drugs in maintenance treatment with l- and d,l-methadone.

Sixty d,l- or l-methadone treated patients in maintenance therapy were interviewed for additional drug abuse and psychiatric comorbidity; 51.7% of the entire population had a comorbid Axis-I disorder, with a higher prevalence in females (P=0.05). Comorbid patients tended to have higher abuse of benzodiazepines, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine, but not of heroin. They had received a significantly lower d,l- (P<0.05) and l-methadone dose than non-comorbid subjects. The duration of maintenance treatment showed an inverse relationship to frequency of additional heroin intake (P<0.01). Patients with additional heroin intake over the past 30 days had been treated with a significantly lower l-methadone dosage (P<0.05) than patients without. Axis-I comorbidity appears to be decreased when relatively higher dosages of d,l- (and l-methadone) are administered; comorbid individuals, however, were on significantly lower dosages. Finally, l-, but not d,l-methadone seems to be more effective in reducing additional heroin abuse.

Scanning eletron microscopy of the first instar larvae of Sarcodexia lambens and Peckia chrysostoma (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

The first instar larvae of Sarcodexia lambens (Wiedemann, 1830) and Peckia chrysostoma (Wiedemann, 1830) dissected from females reared in laboratory, are described under scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Treatment of essential hypertension with calcium channel blockers: what is the place of lercanidipine?

In all actual clinical guidelines, dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers (CCBs) belong to the recommended first line antihypertensive drugs to treat essential hypertension. Several recent large clinical trials have confirmed their efficacy not only in lowering blood pressure but also in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients with a normal or high cardiovascular risk profile. In clinical trials such as ALLHAT, VALUE or ASCOT, an amlodipine-based therapy was at least as effective, when not slightly superior, in lowering blood pressure and sometimes more effective in preventing target organ damages than blood pressure lowering strategies based on the use of diuretics, beta-blockers and blockers of the renin-angiotensin system. One of the main clinical side effects of the first and second generation CCBs including amlodipine is the development of peripheral edema. The incidence of leg edema can be markedly reduced by combining the CCB with a blocker of the renin-angiotensin system. This strategy has now led to the development of several fixed-dose combinations of amlodipine and angiotensin II receptor antagonists. Another alternative to lower the incidence of edema is to use CCBs of the third generation such as lercanidipine. Indeed, although no major clinical trials have been conducted with this compound, clinical studies have shown that lercanidipine and amlodipine have a comparable antihypertensive efficacy but with significantly less peripheral edema in patients receiving lercanidipine. In some countries, lercanidipine is now available in a single-pill association with an ACE inhibitor thereby further improving its efficacy and tolerability profile.

Diagnostic et traitement de l'instabilité rotulienne [Diagnosis and treatment of patellar instability].

Patellar instability concerns mostly young and active patients. Because of the condition's multifactorial origin, knowledge about the risk factors of patella instability and the biomechanics of the femoropatellar joint are necessary to understand this disorder. Most of the patellar dislocations are spontaneously reduced. Only the patient's history, clinical examination and appropriate imaging lead to the correct diagnosis. If haemarthrosis is present, MRI is recommended to rule out concomitant injuries. A traumatic patellar dislocation without history of prior dislocation is treated conservatively. Surgical treatment is indicated in presence of intra-articular injury or for recurrent dislocations. The surgical procedure should correct the different factors of patella instability identified by preoperative analysis.