Social associations across species during nocturnal bird migration.

An emerging frontier in ecology explores how organisms integrate social information into movement behavior and the extent to which information exchange occurs across species boundaries. Most migratory landbirds are thought to undertake nocturnal migratory flights independently, guided by endogenous programs and individual experience. Little research has addressed the potential for social information exchange aloft during nocturnal migration, but social influences that aid navigation, orientation, or survival could be valuable during high-risk migration periods.

Self- versus clinician-collected swabs in anal cancer screening: A clinical trial.

Background: Risk of anal cancer is high in certain populations and screening involves collection of anal swabs for HPV DNA and/or cytology testing. However, barriers exist, such as the need for an intimate examination, and stigma around HIV status, sexual orientation, and sexual practices. Self-collected anal swabs (SCA) are a proposed alternative to clinician-collected swabs (CCA) to overcome these barriers.

Incorporation of Ceragenins into Medical Adhesives and Adhesive Scar Tape to Prevent Microbial Colonization Common in Healthcare-Associated Infections.

Healthcare-associated infections involving surgical sites, skin trauma, and devices penetrating the skin are a frequent source of increased expense, hospitalization periods, and adverse outcomes. Medical adhesives are often employed to help protect compromised skin from infection and to secure medical devices, but adhesives can become contaminated by pathogens, exposing wounds, surgical sites, and medical devices to colonization. We aimed to incorporate ceragenins, a class of antimicrobial agents, into silicone- and polyacrylate-based adhesives with the goal of reducing adhesive contamination and subsequent infections.

Distinctive and highly variable bird migration system revealed in Eastern Australia.

Our understanding of bird migration is heavily biased toward long-distance movements in the Northern Hemisphere, with only fragmented knowledge from the Southern Hemisphere. In Australia, while some species migrate, the timing and direction of large-scale, multi-species seasonal movements remain critically understudied due to the complexity of movement in this region and a lack of research personnel and infrastructure. It is still unclear whether there are pronounced and structured mass movements resembling those in the Northern Hemisphere.

An integrative framework reveals widespread gene flow during the early radiation of oaks and relatives in Quercoideae (Fagaceae).

Although the frequency of ancient hybridization across the Tree of Life is greater than previously thought, little work has been devoted to uncovering the extent, timeline, and geographic and ecological context of ancient hybridization. Using an expansive new dataset of nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences, we conducted a multifaceted phylogenomic investigation to identify ancient reticulation in the early evolution of oaks (Quercus). We document extensive nuclear gene tree and cytonuclear discordance among major lineages of Quercus and relatives in Quercoideae.