Variation in gut bacterial composition is associated with Haemonchus contortus parasite infection of sheep.

Background: One of the greatest impediments to global small ruminant production is infection with the gastrointestinal parasite, Haemonchus contortus. In recent years there has been considerable interest in the gut microbiota and its impact on health. Relatively little is known about interactions between the gut microbiota and gastrointestinal tract pathogens in sheep.

Cardio-geriatric model of care in acute heart failure: initial experience of a multidisciplinary approach in complex elderly patients.

A 'cardio-geriatric' heart failure model of care was implemented to address the high rates of readmission in elderly acute decompensated heart failure patients. Despite demonstrably intensified management in both the cardiology and geriatric domains, this study did not demonstrate a positive effect on the primary outcome of all cause readmissions at 30 days.

The composition and stability of the faecal microbiota of Merino sheep.

Aims: To determine the composition and temporal stability of the gut (faecal) microbiota of sheep (Ovis aries).

Methods And Results: Microbial population dynamics was conducted using ARISA (28 sheep) and 16S rRNA sequencing (11 sheep). Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the predominant bacterial phyla, constituting ~80% of the total population.

Evolution of correlated complexity in the radically different courtship signals of birds-of-paradise.

Ornaments used in courtship often vary wildly among species, reflecting the evolutionary interplay between mate preference functions and the constraints imposed by natural selection. Consequently, understanding the evolutionary dynamics responsible for ornament diversification has been a longstanding challenge in evolutionary biology. However, comparing radically different ornaments across species, as well as different classes of ornaments within species, is a profound challenge to understanding diversification of sexual signals.

Distinctive courtship phenotype of the Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise Mayr, 1930 confirms new species status.

The birds-of-paradise (Aves: Paradisaeidae) are a quintessential example of elaborate ornamental diversification among animals. Ornamental evolution in the birds-of-paradise is exemplified by the presence of a highly integrated courtship phenotype, which is the whole package of plumage ornaments, behaviors and sounds that each species uses during courtship. Characterizing a species' courtship phenotype is therefore a key part of evolutionary and taxonomic investigation in the group.