Search

Highlights • We found distinct butterfly communities in urban plazas and a large urban park. • Plaza characteristics did not predict community structure. • Randomness governs butterflies in plazas, suggests strong filter of urban landscape. • Park serves as a refuge to butterflies in the urban landscape. • Improvement of cityscapes should consider habitat quality for butterflies. Abstract The extent of biodiversity in the urban setting is related to the degree of land transformation and the relative quantity of green spaces in the city. Large tracts of green spaces may harbor species and serve as sources of colonists to other urban spaces, but the degree to which this occurs is not well known, particularly in cities in the tropics. Here we evaluate if a large urban green space (Dunas State Park) affects the diversity of fruit-feeding butterflies in city plazas. We sampled 18 plazas, varying in size (1000 to >3000 m2) and distance to the Park's edge (up to 3000 m). In each plaza, we measured number of trees, plant cover in it and in surrounding buffers of up to 200 m. Butterflies were captured using standardized traps. We found that butterfly communities were significantly different between Park and plazas, and that individuals plazas represented a poor sample of the total butterfly diversity. Distance to the park did not influence butterfly communities in the plazas, nor did any of the local plaza characteristics. Plazas harbored mostly generalist species and experienced more fluctuations in butterfly abundance than the Park. The Park is the only significant repository of fruit-feeding butterfly biodiversity in our system. We conclude that the urban setting is a strong filter for species settlement, a worrisome conclusion for tropical cities. We offer advice on how city planners may improve this trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective study was conducted to assess the role of initial serum (1,3)-β-d-glucan (BDG) values in predicting mortality in proven candidaemia. The study was conducted in two large teaching hospitals in Italy and Brazil. From January 2009 to June 2014, all patients with proven candidaemia who underwent a BDG test within 96 hours before or after the first positive blood culture were included in the study. The primary end point was 28-day mortality, with the role of initial BDG being assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses. A total of 104 patients met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the crude 28-day mortality was 30% (31/104). In the final multivariate model, an initial BDG of >287 pg/mL (odds ratio (OR) 4.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.56-12.39, p 0.005), haemodialysis (OR 4.33, 95% CI 1.24-15.17, p 0.022) and a Pitt score of ≥ 2 (OR 4.10, 95% CI 1.24-13.54, p 0.021) were significant predictors of 28-day mortality. The >287 pg/mL cutoff predicted 28-day mortality with 65% sensitivity and 70% specificity. Centre of enrolment (p for interaction 0.012), haemodialysis (p for interaction 0.062) and timing of BDG test of more than 24 hours before or after the positive culture (p for interaction 0.143) appeared to interact with BDG's ability to predict mortality. Although not statistically significant, the last two of these interactions might partially explain why BDG's ability to predict mortality was present only in the Italian cohort., (Copyright © 2015 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)