Tourism-supported working lands sustain a growing jaguar population in the Colombian Llanos.

Understanding large carnivore demography on human-dominated lands is a priority to inform conservation strategies, yet few studies examine long-term trends. Jaguars (Panthera onca) are one such species whose population trends and survival rates remain unknown across working lands. We integrated nine years of camera trap data and tourist photos to estimate jaguar density, survival, abundance, and probability of tourist sightings on a working ranch and tourism destination in Colombia. We found that abundance increased from five individuals in 2014 to 28 in 2022, and density increased from 1.88 ± 0.87 per 100 km2 in 2014 to 3.80 ± 1.08 jaguars per 100 km2 in 2022. The probability of a tourist viewing a jaguar increased from 0% in 2014 to 40% in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic. Our results are the first robust estimates of jaguar survival and abundance on working lands. Our findings highlight the importance of productive lands for jaguar conservation and suggest that a tourism destination and working ranch can host an abundant population of jaguars when accompanied by conservation agreements and conflict interventions. Our analytical model that combines conventional data collection with tourist sightings can be applied to other species that are observed during tourism activities.Entender los patrones demográficos de los grandes carnívoros al interior de paisajes antrópicos es fundamental para el diseño de estrategias de conservación efectivas. En el Neotrópico, el jaguar (Panthera onca) es una de estas especies cuyas tendencias poblacionales y tasas de supervivencia en paisajes productivos son desconocidas. Para entender mejor estas dinámicas, integramos nueve años de fototrampeo junto a fotos de turistas para estimar la densidad, supervivencia, abundancia y probabilidad de avistamiento de esta especie en una finca ganadera y destino turístico en Colombia. Entre 2014 y 2022 encontramos que la abundancia incrementó de cinco a 28 individuos y la densidad de 1.88 ± 0.87 jaguares/ 100 km2 a 3.80 ± 1.08 jaguares/ 100 km2. La probabilidad de avistamiento por turistas aumentó de 0% en 2014 a 40% en 2020 antes de la pandemia del Covid-19. Nuestros resultados presentan las primeras estimaciones robustas de abundancia y supervivencia de este felino en paisajes antrópicos dónde el manejo de sistemas productivos combinados con turismo e intervenciones para la mitigación del conflicto puede albergar poblaciones abundantes de jaguares, demostrando su importancia para la conservación de esta especie. Nuestro modelo, al combinar datos convencionales con avistamientos, podría ser aplicado a otras especies observadas durante actividades turísticas.

Addressing the unmet needs of patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma in Latin America: Expert perspective.

Melanoma represents an increasing public health burden with extensive unmet needs in Latin America (LA). A mutation in the BRAF gene is present in approximately 50% of all melanomas in White populations and is a target of precision medicine, with the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes. Thus, increased access to BRAF testing and therapy is LA must be explored. At a multi-day conference, a panel of Latin American experts in oncology and dermatology were provided with questions to address the barriers limiting access to testing for BRAF mutation in patients with melanoma in LA, who may be eligible for targeted therapy to improve their prognosis. During the conference, responses were discussed and edited until a consensus on addressing the barriers was achieved. Identified challenges included ignorance of BRAF-status implications, limited human and infrastructural resources, affordability and reimbursement, fragmented care delivery, pitfalls in the sample journey, and lack of local data. Despite the clear benefits of targeted therapies for BRAF-mutated melanoma in other regions, there is no clear path to prepare LA for a sustainable personalized medicine approach to this disease. Due to melanoma's time-sensitive nature, LA must aim to provide early access to BRAF testing and consider mutational status within treatment decision making. To this end, recommendations are provided and include establishing multidisciplinary teams and melanoma referral centers and improving access to diagnosis and treatment.

Quantitative videomicroscopy reveals latent control of cell-pair rotations in vivo.

Collective cell rotations are widely used during animal organogenesis. Theoretical and in vitro studies have conceptualized rotating cells as identical rigid-point objects that stochastically break symmetry to move monotonously and perpetually within an inert environment. However, it is unclear whether this notion can be extrapolated to a natural context, where rotations are ephemeral and heterogeneous cellular cohorts interact with an active epithelium. In zebrafish neuromasts, nascent sibling hair cells invert positions by rotating ≤180° around their geometric center after acquiring different identities via Notch1a-mediated asymmetric repression of Emx2. Here, we show that this multicellular rotation is a three-phasic movement that progresses via coherent homotypic coupling and heterotypic junction remodeling. We found no correlation between rotations and epithelium-wide cellular flow or anisotropic resistive forces. Moreover, the Notch/Emx2 status of the cell dyad does not determine asymmetric interactions with the surrounding epithelium. Aided by computer modeling, we suggest that initial stochastic inhomogeneities generate a metastable state that poises cells to move and spontaneous intercellular coordination of the resulting instabilities enables persistently directional rotations, whereas Notch1a-determined symmetry breaking buffers rotational noise.

[Renal transplant recipient evaluation.] / Estudio urológico del candidato a trasplante renal.

Urological evaluation is essential to guarantee the success of the kidney transplant. Urologists working within a multidisciplinary team have a crucial role to detect and manage certain recipient urological conditions that could jeopardize the function and survival of the graft.The critical aspects that Urologists should consider in thepre-transplant evaluation would be:- Is renal transplantation surgical technique feasible with assumable risks based on the recipient's baseline characteristics? age, life expectancy, performance status,physical examination...- Is bladder function adequate to properly ensure the urine storage and voiding?- Is there a potentially treatable urinary flow obstruction?- Are there urological pathologies in the recipient that could lead to post-transplant complications that compromise graft survival: functional, infectious, oncological comorbidities…?- Based on the patient's cardiovascular risk factors, arteriosclerosis in the aorto-iliac territory colud put at risk thearterial anastomosis? In this chapter, we will try to explain how the pre-transplant urological evaluation should be guided according to the specific recipient characteristics. We will also explain which pre-transplant surgeries are required to avoid some risky that may compromise the recipient and graft survival after renal transplantation, as well as those should be postponed after transplantation.

La evaluación urológica en el estudio pre-trasplante es una pieza clave para garantizar eléxito del mismo. El papel del urólogo dentro de un equipo multidisciplinar que lleva a cabo esta evaluación es fundamental para detectar y manejar ciertas patologías urológicas del receptor que podrían poner en riesgo la función y supervivencia del injerto. Los puntos clave que el urólogo debe tratar en la consulta pretrasplante serían:- ¿La técnica quirúrgica del trasplante renal es viable con riesgos asumibles en base a las características basales del receptor? Edad biológica, esperanza de vida ,estado basal, exploración física…- ¿La función vesical es adecuada para asegurar un correcto almacenaje de la orina y una adecuada excreción de la misma?- ¿Existe una obstrucción al flujo urinario potencialmente tratable?- ¿Existen en el receptor patologías urológicas que puedan conllevar complicaciones en el post-trasplante que comprometan la función y supervivencia del injerto?:funcionales, infecciosas, oncológicas…- ¿En base a los factores de riesgo cardiovascular del paciente, podría existir una arteriosclerosis en el territorioaorto-iliaco que impida una anastomosis arterial congarantías? En este capítulo, trataremos de exponer cómo debemos orientar la consulta pre-trasplante desde el punto de vista urológico, comenzando por el estudio básico hasta el estudio más específico en base a características concretas del receptor. Además, expondremos cuáles son las cirugías pre-trasplante requeridas para eliminar condiciones de riesgo presentes en el potencial receptor que puedan comprometer la supervivencia del mismo y del injerto tras el trasplante renal así como, aquellos procedimientos programados indicados tras el trasplante.

Estudio urológico del candidato a trasplante renal / Urological study of the kidney transplant candidate

La evaluación urológica en el estudiopre-trasplante es una pieza clave para garantizar eléxito del mismo. El papel del urólogo dentro de un equipo multidisciplinar que lleva a cabo esta evaluación esfundamental para detectar y manejar ciertas patologíasurológicas del receptor que podrían poner en riesgo lafunción y supervivencia del injerto.Los puntos clave que el urólogo debe tratar en la consulta pretrasplante serían:- ¿La técnica quirúrgica del trasplante renal es viablecon riesgos asumibles en base a las características basales del receptor? Edad biológica, esperanza de vida,estado basal, exploración física...- ¿La función vesical es adecuada para asegurar un correcto almacenaje de la orina y una adecuada excreción de la misma? - ¿Existe una obstrucción al flujo urinario potencialmentetratable?- ¿Existen en el receptor patologías urológicas que puedan conllevar complicaciones en el post-trasplante quecomprometan la función y supervivencia del injerto?:funcionales, infecciosas, oncológicas...- ¿En base a los factores de riesgo cardiovascular delpaciente, podría existir una arteriosclerosis en el territorio aorto-iliaco que impida una anastomosis arterial congarantías?En este capítulo, trataremos de exponer cómo debemosorientar la consulta pre-trasplante desde el punto de vista urológico, comenzando por el estudio básico hasta el estudio más específico en base a característicasconcretas del receptor. Además, expondremos cuálesson las cirugías pre-trasplante requeridas para eliminarcondiciones de riesgo presentes en el potencial receptorque puedan comprometer la supervivencia del mismo ydel injerto tras el trasplante renal así como, aquellos procedimientos programados indicados tras el trasplante.(AU)

Urological evaluation is essential to guarantee the success of the kidney transplant. Urologistsworking within a multidisciplinary team have a crucialrole to detect and manage certain recipient urologicalconditions that could jeopardize the function and survival of the graft.The critical aspects that Urologists should consider in thepre-transplant evaluation would be - Is renal transplantation surgical technique feasible withassumable risks based on the recipient’s baseline characteristics? age, life expectancy, performance status,physical examination...- Is bladder function adequate to properly ensure theurine storage and voiding?- Is there a potentially treatable urinary flow obstruction?- Are there urological pathologies in the recipient thatcould lead to post-transplant complications that compromise graft survival: functional, infectious, oncologicalcomorbidities...?- Based on the patient’s cardiovascular risk factors, arteriosclerosis in the aorto-iliac territory colud put at risk thearterial anastomosis?In this chapter, we will try to explain how the pre-transplant urological evaluation should be guided accordingto the specific recipient characteristics.We will also explain which pre-transplant surgeries arerequired to avoid some risky that may compromise therecipient and graft survival after renal transplantation, aswell as those should be postponed after transplantation.(AU)

Epithelial Planar Bipolarity Emerges from Notch-Mediated Asymmetric Inhibition of Emx2.

Most plane-polarized tissues are formed by identically oriented cells [1, 2]. A notable exception occurs in the vertebrate vestibular system and lateral-line neuromasts, where mechanosensory hair cells orient along a single axis but in opposite directions to generate bipolar epithelia [3-5]. In zebrafish neuromasts, pairs of hair cells arise from the division of a non-sensory progenitor [6, 7] and acquire opposing planar polarity via the asymmetric expression of the polarity-determinant transcription factor Emx2 [8-11]. Here, we reveal the initial symmetry-breaking step by decrypting the developmental trajectory of hair cells using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), diffusion pseudotime analysis, lineage tracing, and mutagenesis. We show that Emx2 is absent in non-sensory epithelial cells, begins expression in hair-cell progenitors, and is downregulated in one of the sibling hair cells via signaling through the Notch1a receptor. Analysis of Emx2-deficient specimens, in which every hair cell adopts an identical direction, indicates that Emx2 asymmetry does not result from auto-regulatory feedback. These data reveal a two-tiered mechanism by which the symmetric monodirectional ground state of the epithelium is inverted by deterministic initiation of Emx2 expression in hair-cell progenitors and a subsequent stochastic repression of Emx2 in one of the sibling hair cells breaks directional symmetry to establish planar bipolarity.

RhoA/ROCK pathway activity is essential for the correct localization of the germ plasm mRNAs in zebrafish embryos.

Zebrafish germ plasm is composed of mRNAs such as vasa and nanos and of proteins such as Bucky ball, all of which localize symmetrically in four aggregates at the distal region of the first two cleavage furrows. The coordination of actin microfilaments, microtubules and kinesin is essential for the correct localization of the germ plasm. Rho-GTPases, through their effectors, coordinate cytoskeletal dynamics. We address the participation of RhoA and its effector ROCK in germ plasm localization during the transition from two- to eight-cell embryos. We found that active RhoA is enriched along the cleavage furrow during the first two division cycles, whereas ROCK localizes at the distal region of the cleavage furrows in a similar pattern as the germ plasm mRNAs. Specific inhibition of RhoA and ROCK affected microtubules organization at the cleavage furrow; these caused the incorrect localization of the germ plasm mRNAs. The incorrect localization of the germ plasm led to a dramatic change in the number of germ cells during the blastula and 24hpf embryo stages without affecting any other developmental processes. We demonstrate that the Rho/ROCK pathway is intimately related to the determination of germ cells in zebrafish embryos.

Thyroid gland rupture after blunt neck trauma: A case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Soft tissue injuries are relatively common after blunt neck trauma, because of its complex anatomy, many vital structures can be compromised. Isolated trauma to the thyroid is highly uncommon and there are few cases reported in the literature. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 19 year-old female patient with no known pathologies who sustained direct blunt trauma to the right frontal half of the neck after falling down from a stair case. She arrived at the ER with moderate neck swelling and pain. There were no visible hematomas and no respiratory compromise was noted. Contrast enhanced CT-scan showed rupture and hematoma of the right thyroid lobe; she underwent surgical exploration with hemi thyroidectomy and recovered uneventfully. DISCUSSION: Despite soft tissue injuries are relatively common after blunt neck trauma, isolated thyroid gland injury is extremely rare and is present in about 1-2% of the cases and in most of the cases there is an underlining pathology within the gland. Most patients arrived at the emergency room hemodynamically stable, presenting neck swelling, pain, respiratory distress, dysphagia and hoarseness. Diagnosis strategy should be focused to rule out respiratory or vascular compromise. Surgical exploration remains the most common treatment strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Although the rarity of this condition, physicians should take in mind the possibility of thyroid injury after blunt neck trauma. Early detection and prompt treatment, can reduce life threatening complications. Management should be individualized to patient's characteristics and surgeon's experience.

Diagnóstico y tratamiento de la hemorragia subaracnoidea / Diagnosis and treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage

La hemorragia subaracnoidea (HSA) representa entre 4.5 a 13% de todos los casos de EVC. La incidencia ajustada a la edad varía desde el 7.9 por 100,000 habitantes en Inglaterra, hasta 25 por 100,000 en Japón. La HSA es una entidad con alto porcentaje de fallas diagnósticas. Los miembros de este consenso insisten en la importancia del diagnóstico temprano de la HSA en vista de que esto aumenta las posibilidades de buena evolución. En términos generales la HSA tiene mortalidad de 40%, deja secuelas graves en 50% y sólo 10% tiene recuperación completa. La manifestación cardinal para el diagnóstico de HSA es la cefalea de aparición súbita, y con frecuencia acompañada de náusea y vómito. Hay que insistir en la presencia de la llamada cefalea centinela, la cual es también súbita e intensa, pero transitoria y ocurre hasta 48 horas...