a b s t r a c tObjectives: Parapneumonic pleural effusions/empyema (PPE/PE) are severe complications of communityacquired pneumonia. We investigated the bacterial aetiology and incidence of paediatric PPE/PE in Germany after the introduction of universal pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) immunization for infants. Methods: Children <18 years of age hospitalized with pneumonia-associated PPE/PE necessitating pleural drainage or persisting >7 days were reported to the German Surveillance Unit for Rare Diseases in Childhood between October 2010 and June 2017. All bacteria detected in blood or pleural fluid (by culture/PCR) were included, with serotyping for Streptococcus pneumoniae. Results: The median age of all 1447 PPE/PE patients was 5 years (interquartile range 3e10). In 488 of the 1447 children with PPE/PE (34%), 541 bacteria (>40 species) were detected. Aerobic gram-positive cocci accounted for 469 of 541 bacteria detected (87%); these were most frequently Streptococcus pneumoniae (41%), Streptococcus pyogenes (19%) and Staphylococcus aureus (6%). Serotype 3 accounted for 45% of 78 serotyped S. pneumoniae strains. Annual PPE/PE incidence varied between 14 (95%CI 12e16) and 18 (95%CI 16e21) PPE/PE per million children. Incidence of S. pneumoniae PPE/PE decreased from 3.5 (95%CI 2.5e4.6) per million children in 2010/11 to 1.5 (95%CI 0.9e2.4) in 2013/14 (p 0.002), followed by a reincrease to 2.2 (95%CI 1.5e3.2) by 2016/17 (p 0.205). Conclusions: In the era of widespread PCV immunization, cases of paediatric PPE/PE were still caused mainly by S. pneumoniae and, increasingly, by S. pyogenes. The re-increase in the incidence of PPE/PE overall and in S. pneumoniae-associated PPE/PE indicates ongoing changes in the bacterial aetiology and requires further surveillance.

SummaryObjective: To evaluate the initial management of pediatric parapneumonic effusion or pleural empyema (PPE/PE) with regard to length of hospital stay (LOS). Methods: Collection of pediatric PPE/PE cases using a nationwide surveillance system (ESPED) from 10/2010 to 06/2013, in all German pediatric hospitals. Inclusion of PPE/PE patients <18 years of age requiring drainage or with a PPE/PE persistence >7 days. Staging of PPE/PE based on reported pleural sonographic imaging. Comparison of LOS after diagnosis between children treated with different forms of initial invasive procedures performed ≤3 days after PPE/PE diagnosis: pleural puncture, draining catheter, intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy, surgical procedures. Results: Inclusion of 645 children (median age 5 years); median total LOS 17 days. Initial therapy was non‐invasive in 282 (45%) cases and invasive in 347 (55%) cases (pleural puncture: 62 [10%], draining catheter: 153 [24%], intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy: 89 [14%], surgical procedures: 43 [7%]). LOS after diagnosis did not differ between children initially treated with different invasive procedures. Results remained unchanged when controlling for sonographic stage, preexisting diseases, and other potential confounders. Repeated use of invasive procedures was observed more often after initial non‐invasive treatment or pleural puncture alone than after initial pleural drainage, intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy or surgery. Conclusions: Initial treatment with intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy or surgical procedures did not result in shorter LOS than initial pleural puncture alone. Larger prospective studies are required to investigate which children benefit significantly from more intensive forms of initial invasive treatment. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2017;52:540–547. © 2016 The Authors. Pediatric Pulmonology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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In the genus Phyteurna spadix-shaped spikes or capitula are composed of xerochasic poricidal capsules, holding unspecialized seeds. Phyteurna betonicifoliurn VILL., Phyteuma hemisphaericurn 1., Phyteurna scheuchzeri ALL., and Phyteurna spicaturn L. were examined in wind tunnel experiments to determine the minimum wind speed necessary for seed release, and the relationship between wind speeds and dispersal distances. In a simplified practical simulation the dispersal strategies of these species were described with a leptokurtic curve. The short-distance seed dispersal of Phyteuma hernisphaericurn allows a limited enlargement of the occupied area, while the seeds of P. scheuchzeri are dispersed more remotely from the mother plant. P. spicaturn and P. betonicifoliurn mainly disperse closely around the mother plant but provide a certain percentage of seeds for colonization of more distant areas. It is demonstrated that the dispersal modes are determined by the characteristics of fruits, infructescences, and seeds. It is also shown that plants with similar morphological organization show different dispersal patterns, which must be interpreted as a fine-tuned adaptation to the habitat with all its biotic and abiotic factors.