Protamines and the sperm nuclear basic proteins Pandora's Box of insects.

Insects are the largest group of animals when it comes to the number and diversity of species. Yet, with the exception of , no information is currently available on the primary structure of their sperm nuclear basic proteins (SNBPs). This paper represents the first attempt in this regard and provides information about six species of Neoptera: , and .

The Role of Life History and Familiarity in Performance of Working and Non-Working Dogs () in a Point-Following Task.

Domestic dogs are very successful at following human communicative gestures in paradigms such as the object-choice task. Pet dogs also prefer responding to cues given by a familiar cue-giver and this had not been found in working dogs. Therefore, we tested three groups of dogs in the object-choice task ( = 54): the groups were "Actively working" dogs from working dog breeds, pet dogs from "Non-working breeds" and pet dogs from "Working breeds".

Effects of exogenous elevation of corticosterone on immunity and the skin microbiome of eastern newts ().

The amphibian chytrid fungus, () threatens salamander biodiversity. The factors underlying susceptibility may include glucocorticoid hormones (GCs). The effects of GCs on immunity and disease susceptibility are well studied in mammals, but less is known in other groups, including salamanders.

The adaptive microbiome hypothesis and immune interactions in amphibian mucus.

The microbiome is known to provide benefits to hosts, including extension of immune function. Amphibians are a powerful immunological model for examining mucosal defenses because of an accessible epithelial mucosome throughout their developmental trajectory, their responsiveness to experimental treatments, and direct interactions with emerging infectious pathogens. We review amphibian skin mucus components and describe the adaptive microbiome as a novel process of disease resilience where competitive microbial interactions couple with host immune responses to select for functions beneficial to the host.

The Influence of the STORM Program and Other Elective Experiences During the Summer Between the First and Second Year on Medical Students' Career Interests.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the Summer Training Option in Rural Medicine (STORM) program and other elective experiences during the summer between the first and second pre-clerkship years of medical school on medical students' career intentions.

Methods: A retrospective voluntary and anonymous cohort study was conducted by distributing an email survey to the 211 second-year medical students at the University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUSM). The survey consisted of a variety of questions regarding their recent summer break elective experiences.