Deterministic, random, or in between? Inferring the randomness level of wildlife movements.

BACKGROUND: When assessing connectivity, it is crucial to rely on accurate modeling frameworks that consider species movement preferences and patterns. One important aspect is the level of randomness or unpredictability in the route selection. In this respect, traditional approaches (based on least-cost path or circuit theory) consider species movements unrealistically as totally deterministic or as totally random. A recent approach (randomized shortest path) advocates for choosing intermediate levels of randomness through a single parameter. This parameter may be optimized by validating connectivity surfaces developed from different levels of randomness against observed movement data. However, connectivity models are seldom validated, and it is still unclear how to approach this task. To address this knowledge gap, this paper aims at comparing different validation methods to infer the optimal randomness level in connectivity studies. Additionally, we aimed to disentangle the practical consequences of applying traditional connectivity approaches versus using an optimized level of movement randomness when delineating corridors. METHODS: These objectives were accomplished through the study case of the Iberian lynx, an endangered species whose maintenance and recovery depend on the current connectivity among its population nuclei. We firstly determined a conductance surface based on point selection functions accounting for the behavioral state (territorial or exploratory) of individuals. Secondly, we identified the level of randomness that better fits lynxes' movements with independent GPS locations and different validation techniques. Lastly, we delineated corridors between lynx population nuclei through a) the randomized shortest path approach and the extreme and optimal levels of randomness of each validation method, and b) the traditional connectivity approaches. RESULTS: According to all used validation methodologies, models with intermediate levels of randomness outperformed those with extreme randomness levels representing totally deterministic or random movements. We found differences in the optimal randomness level among validation methods but similar results in the delineation of corridors. Our results also revealed that models with extreme randomness levels (deterministic and random walk) of the randomized path approach provided equivalent corridor networks to those from traditional approaches. Moreover, these corridor networks calculated with traditional approaches showed notable differences in patterns from the corridor network calculated with an optimized randomness level. CONCLUSIONS: Here we presented a connectivity model with a solid biological basis that calibrates the level of movement randomness and is supported by comprehensive validation methods. It is thus a step forward in the search and evaluation of connectivity approaches that lead to improved, efficient, and successful management actions.

Neurosarcoidosis presenting with isolated intracranial mass lesion and communicating hydrocephalus / Neurosarcoidosis con lesión de tipo masa intracraneal aislada e hidrocefalia comunicante

Isolated neurosarcoidosis is a very rare disease, which makes up 5-15% of sarcoidosis cases. Hydrocephalus is a rare clinical feature with a prevalence of 6% among these patients. Considering neurosarcoidosis in the differential diagnosis of a unique parenquimal mass lesion could help in the early identification of this disease. We report the case of a 27-year-old African man who developed with a sole intracranial mass lesion mimicking radiologically a glioma, which finally came out as an isolated neurosarcoidosis. There is a difficulty in diagnosis when isolated neurosarcoidosis appears. In addition, the low prevalence of the disease entails a not standardized medical treatment. Natural outcome is poor even when hydrocephalus is resolved. Multimodal treatments including complete pharmacological treatment do not seem to assure a better outcome in these patients until date

La neurosarcoidosis cerebral aislada es una enfermedad muy rara, que representa entre el 5-15% de los casos de sarcoidosis. La hidrocefalia es una característica clínica poco frecuente, con una prevalencia del 6% entre estos pacientes. Considerar la neurosarcoidosis en el diagnóstico diferencial de una lesión de tipo masa parenquimatosa única puede ayudar en la identificación temprana de esta enfermedad. Presentamos el caso de un varón africano de 27 años de edad, que presenta una lesión de tipo masa única intracraneal que simulaba radiológicamente un glioma, y que finalmente se reveló como una neurosarcoidosis aislada. Es difícil establecer un diagnóstico cuando aparece una neurosarcoidosis cerebral aislada. Además, la baja prevalencia de la enfermedad conlleva un tratamiento médico no estandarizado. El pronóstico natural es malo, incluso cuando se resuelve la hidrocefalia. Hasta la fecha, los tratamientos multimodales, incluido el tratamiento farmacológico completo, no parecen asegurar un mejor resultado en estos pacientes

Recidiva of sacrococcygeal chordoma. Multidisciplinary collaboration.

Los cordomas son tumores derivados de los remanentes embrionarios de la notocorda. Son localmente invasivos y en estadios localizados la resección completa es el tratamiento de elección. Presentamos el caso de un varón de 77 años con recidiva de cordoma sacrococcígeo, intervenido por un grupo multidisciplinario formado por cirujanos coloproctólogos, plásticos y neurocirujanos, obteniendo resección en bloque y márgenes negativos. A pesar de que recidivan localmente un 66-75% a los 5 años, la mayoría de los pacientes pueden aumentar su supervivencia si se obtienen márgenes libres. La cirugía debe conseguir una exéresis R0 y minimizar el riesgo de lesión rectal.Chordomas are tumors arising from the embryonic remnants of the notochord. They are locally invasive and in localized stages, complete resection is the treatment of choice. We present the case of a 77-year-old man with recurrent sacrococcygeal chordoma, he was operated by a multidisciplinary group including colorectal-, plastic- and neurosurgeons, obtaining complete en bloc resection with tumor-free margins. Even though 66-75% recur locally in 5 years, most of the patients can increase their survival if margins are tumor-free. The surgery must achieve the R0 exeresis minimizing the risk of rectal injury.

Neurosarcoidosis presenting with isolated intracranial mass lesion and communicating hydrocephalus.

Isolated neurosarcoidosis is a very rare disease, which makes up 5-15% of sarcoidosis cases. Hydrocephalus is a rare clinical feature with a prevalence of 6% among these patients. Considering neurosarcoidosis in the differential diagnosis of a unique parenquimal mass lesion could help in the early identification of this disease. We report the case of a 27-year-old African man who developed with a sole intracranial mass lesion mimicking radiologically a glioma, which finally came out as an isolated neurosarcoidosis. There is a difficulty in diagnosis when isolated neurosarcoidosis appears. In addition, the low prevalence of the disease entails a not standardized medical treatment. Natural outcome is poor even when hydrocephalus is resolved. Multimodal treatments including complete pharmacological treatment do not seem to assure a better outcome in these patients until date.

Performance Evaluation of LoRa Considering Scenario Conditions.

New verticals within the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm such as smart cities, smart farming, or goods monitoring, among many others, are demanding strong requirements to the Radio Access Network (RAN) in terms of coverage, end-node's power consumption, and scalability. The technologies employed so far to provide IoT scenarios with connectivity, e.g., wireless sensor network and cellular technologies, are not able to simultaneously cope with these three requirements. Thus, a novel solution known as Low Power - Wide Area Network (LP-WAN) has emerged as a promising alternative to provide with low-cost and low-power-consumption connectivity to end-nodes spread in a wide area. Concretely, the Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) technology is one of the LP-WAN platforms that is receiving greater attention from both the industry and the academia. For that reason, in this work, a comprehensive performance evaluation of LoRaWAN under different environmental conditions is presented. The results are obtained from three real scenarios, namely, urban, suburban, and rural, considering both dynamic and static conditions, hence a discussion about the most proper LoRaWAN physical-layer configuration for each scenario is provided. Besides, a theoretical coverage study is also conducted by the use of a radio planning tool considering topographic maps and a precise propagation model. From the attained results, it can be concluded that it is necessary to evaluate the propagation conditions of the deployment scenario prior to the system implantation in order to reach a compromise between the robustness of the network and the transmission data-rate.

Immune response in irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review of systemic and mucosal inflammatory mediators.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the available data on cytokine and immune cells in the peripheral blood and mucosal biopsy samples from patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). METHODS: From a review of the literature, data on cytokines and immune cells that had been assayed in at least three independent studies were collated and trends examined. RESULTS: Levels of interleukin (IL)-10 tended to be decreased and those of IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-1ß increased in the systemic circulation in IBS, while in the mucosa, IL-10 was decreased and IL-8, mast cells, enterochromaffin cells and CD3+ T lymphocytes were increased. However, these findings were not consistent across all studies and, in some instances, were limited to certain IBS sub-populations. CONCLUSIONS: The interpretation of this literature is limited by several factors, such as the intrinsic heterogeneity of IBS and a lack of standardization in study design. While a number of intriguing immunological observations have been made in IBS, more work is needed before a compelling case can be made for a role for immune-mediated events in the etiology of IBS.

Evaluation of spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer in a palliative care unit.

INTRODUCTION: Spiritual needs play an important role in palliative care as both a clinical dimension and a therapeutic strategy. However, recent studies have shown that the management of this dimension still remains a challenge at the clinical level of palliative care. GOALS: Our goal was to evaluate the spiritual needs of patients diagnosed with advanced and terminal cancer by the palliative care unit of a hospital in Barcelona, Spain. METHODS: An observational study was conducted that involved 50 patients who were recruited between May 2007 and January 2008. A questionnaire was used which included 28 items selected from a review of the literature; the responses were analyzed using a five-point Lickert scale. The results were grouped in 11 categories corresponding to different spiritual needs. RESULTS: Two spiritual needs emerged as the most relevant for the patients: their need to be recognized as a person until the end of their life and their need to know the truth about their illness. The least important spiritual needs were identified as those: for continuity and an afterlife; to get rid of obsessions; to achieve freedom from blame and to be able to forgive others; and the need for reconciliation and to feel forgiven by others. CONCLUSIONS: When patients knew the truth about their illnesses and they were treated with dignity, their most important needs were likely to be covered. These results suggest that patients receiving palliative care wish to live for the present with as much normality as possible and show only minor concern for their past and future.

Quistes aracnoideos intraselares. Presentación de 2 casos y revisión bibliográfica / Intrasellar arachnoid cysts. Two case reports and literature review

Los quistes aracnoideos intraselares son una patología muy rara, con muy pocos casos descritos en la literatura científica. Su fisiopatología permanece todavía poco clara, con diferentes hipótesis sobre su formación. El diagnóstico diferencial con otras lesiones quísticas selares puede ser extremadamente complicado. Presentamos 2 casos clínicos de 2 quistes aracnoideos sintomáticos que fueron tratados quirúrgicamente mediante abordaje transesfenoidal, así como los resultados de una revisión bibliográfica (AU)

Intrasellar arachnoid cysts are an uncommon pathology, with only a few cases reported in scientific literature. Their physiopathology is still unknown, with different hypothesis about their development. Differential diagnosis with other cystic sellar lesions is difficult. We report two cases of two intrasellar arachnoid cysts that were treated surgically usingtranssphenoidal approach and present a review of the literature (AU)

Recidiva traumática de herniación medular idiopática / No disponible

La hernia medular idiopática es una causa muy poco frecuente de mielopatía, siendo todavía más rara la existencia de una recidiva tras un correcto tratamiento. La herniación se produce a través de un defecto dural en la cara anterior de la duramadre a nivel de la columna torácica, por causas no bien establecidas. La cirugía debe liberar la médula, corrigiendo la alineación de la médula e intentando prevenir la recidiva de este cuadro. Presentamos el caso de una mujer con clínica de síndrome de Brown-Séquard consecuencia de una herniación medular a nivel D5, y que tras una primera cirugía exitosa presentó una recidiva de la herniación tras un traumatismo mínimo (AU)

Idiopathic spinal cord herniation is a rare cause of thoracic myelopathy and its recurrence is even more infrequent. Cord herniation is through an anterior dural defect in thoracic spine with unknown causes. Symptomatic cases must be surgically treated to reduce the hernia and seal the defect to prevent recurrences. We report a patient presenting a Brown-Séquard syndrome secondary to a D5 spinal cord herniation treated successfully and its posterior traumatic recurrence (AU)

[Intrasellar arachnoid cysts. Two case reports and literature review]. / Quistes aracnoideos intraselares. Presentación de 2casos y revisión bibliográfica.

Intrasellar arachnoid cysts are an uncommon pathology, with only a few cases reported in scientific literature. Their physiopathology is still unknown, with different hypothesis about their development. Differential diagnosis with other cystic sellar lesions is difficult. We report two cases of two intrasellar arachnoid cysts that were treated surgically using transsphenoidal approach and present a review of the literature.

[Traumatic recurrence of idiopathic spinal cord herniation]. / Recidiva traumática de herniación medular idiopática.

Idiopathic spinal cord herniation is a rare cause of thoracic myelopathy and its recurrence is even more infrequent. Cord herniation is through an anterior dural defect in thoracic spine with unknown causes. Symptomatic cases must be surgically treated to reduce the hernia and seal the defect to prevent recurrences. We report a patient presenting a Brown-Séquard syndrome secondary to a D5 spinal cord herniation treated successfully and its posterior traumatic recurrence.

Plurality of opinion, scientific discourse and pseudoscience: an in depth analysis of the Séralini et al. study claiming that Roundup™ Ready corn or the herbicide Roundup™ cause cancer in rats.

A recent paper published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology presents the results of a long-term toxicity study related to a widely-used commercial herbicide (Roundup™) and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified variety of maize, concluding that both the herbicide and the maize varieties are toxic. Here we discuss the many errors and inaccuracies in the published article resulting in highly misleading conclusions, whose publication in the scientific literature and in the wider media has caused damage to the credibility of science and researchers in the field. We and many others have criticized the study, and in particular the manner in which the experiments were planned, implemented, analyzed, interpreted and communicated. The study appeared to sweep aside all known benchmarks of scientific good practice and, more importantly, to ignore the minimal standards of scientific and ethical conduct in particular concerning the humane treatment of experimental animals.

Pituicitoma hipofisario / No disponible

Los pituicitomas son una entidad poco frecuente incluida en la Clasificación de los Tumores del Sistema Nervioso de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) en el año 2007. Son lesiones originadas en la neurohipófisis y han sido confundidas durante años con otros tumores hipofisarios. Presentamos el caso de una mujer de 31 años diagnosticada de una lesión supraselar en el contexto de un estudio de infertilidad debida a un hipogonadismo-hipogonadotropo con prolactina ligeramente aumentada, a la que se realizó un abordaje pterional consiguiendo su exéresis completa. Tras la cirugía aparecieron hemianopsia bitemporal, diabetes insípida y panhipopituitarismo, y los 2 últimos se corrigieron en pocas semanas. Realizamos además una revisión de sus presentaciones clínicas y radiográficas más frecuentes, así como de los tratamientos planteados en los casos publicados (AU)

[Pituitary pituicytoma]. / Pituicitoma hipofisario.

Pituicytomas are rare entities which develop in the neurohypophysis. They were included in the last World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Central Nervous System Tumours in 2007, but for many years they have been confused with other pituitary tumours. We report the case of a 31-year-old woman who was diagnosed of a tumour in the suprasellar region during an infertility study due to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and slight hyperprolactinemia. A standard pterional approach was performed, achieving total tumour excision. After the surgery the patient suffered bitemporal hemianopsia, diabetes insipidus and panhypopituitarism, although she recovered from the latter 2 in a few weeks. We conducted a review of the most common clinical and radiological features of this entity, as well as the treatments proposed in the literature to treat this rare tumour.