Prevalence of Bacillus licheniformis on Northern Saw-Whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus)

Birds are hosts to a variety of bacteria and fungi including some that are keratinolytic. These feather degrading bacteria, including Bacillus licheniformis, are capable of degrading β-keratin which is a major component of feathers. While there is little evidence to indicate that feather degrading bacteria are capable of degrading feathers on live birds, there is ample evidence to indicate that many bird species experience altered feather coloration. There is significant variation in the reported prevalence of B. licheniformis on birds with percentages ranging from 6.7% to 99%. This study sought to provide further support for an overall prevalence of B. licheniformis on Northern Saw-Whet Owls. 14 possible B. licheniformis colonies were isolated resulting in a prevalence of 85.7%

Prevalence of Feather Degrading Bacteria on Northern Saw-Whet Owls

Undergraduate Basi

Cover Objects Can Mitigate the Effects of Timbering on the Peaks of Otter Salamander: A Survival Story

Undergraduate Basi

Comparing the Historic and Current Biodiversity of Three Piedmont Lakes and the Implications of Lake Expansion Via Dam Replacement on Avian and Aquatic Organisms

Undergraduate Theoretical Proposa

Metastatic cutaneous melanoma associated with vitreous seeding

BackgroundOcular metastases of cutaneous melanoma exclusive to the vitreous are a rare presentation and usually represent disseminated disease. Although traditionally associated with poor outcomes, recent developments in melanoma treatment have vastly improved prognosis.AimsTo review new targeted therapies for metastatic-melanoma.MethodsLiterature review of current clinical guidelines, systematic reviews and case series surrounding current recommended targeted therapies for metastatic-melanoma.ResultsNew targeted therapeutic agents offer improved treatment response, progression free survival, overall survival and have a better side-effect profile than traditional chemotherapy agents for metastatic melanoma.ConclusionTargeted agents for melanoma have improved patient prognosis and life expectancy, likely leading to reduced need for surgical intervention

Food discovery is associated with different reliance on social learning and lower cognitive flexibility across environments in a food-caching bird

Social learning is a primary mechanism for information acquisition in social species. Despite many benefits, social learning may be disadvantageous when independent learning is more efficient. For example, searching independently may be more advantageous when food sources are ephemeral and unpredictable. Individual differences in cognitive abilities can also be expected to influence social information use. Specifically, better spatial memory can make a given environment more predictable for an individual by allowing it to better track food sources. We investigated how resident food-caching chickadees discovered multiple novel food sources in both harsher, less predictable high elevation and milder, more predictable low elevation winter environments. Chickadees at high elevation were faster at discovering multiple novel food sources and discovered more food sources than birds at low elevation. While birds at both elevations used social information, the contribution of social learning to food discovery was significantly lower at high elevation. At both elevations, chickadees with better spatial cognitive flexibility were slower at discovering food sources, likely because birds with lower spatial cognitive flexibility are worse at tracking natural resources and therefore spend more time exploring. Overall, our study supported the prediction that harsh environments should favour less reliance on social learning

Recommendations for a Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS)

Background: Cognitive impairment in MS impacts negatively on many patients at all disease stages and in all subtypes. Full clinical cognitive assessment is expensive, requiring expert staff and special equipment. Test versions and normative data are not available for all languages and cultures. Objective: To recommend a brief cognitive assessment for multiple sclerosis (MS) that is optimized for small centers, with one or few staff members, who may not have neuropsychological training and constructed to maximize international use. Methods: An expert committee of twelve members representing the main cultural groups that have so far contributed considerable data about MS cognitive dysfunction was convened. Following exhaustive literature review, peer-reviewed articles were selected to cover a broad spectrum of cultures and scales that targeted cognitive domains vulnerable to MS. Each was rated by two committee members and candidates scales were rated on psychometric qualities (reliability, validity, and sensitivity), international application, ease of administration, feasibility in the specified context, and acceptability to patients. Results: The committee recommended the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, if only 5 minutes was available, with the addition of the California Verbal Learning Test – Second Edition and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test – Revised learning trials if a further 10 minutes could be allocated for testing. Conclusions: A brief cognitive assessment for MS has been recommended. A validation protocol has been prepared for language groups and validation studies have commenced