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Simple Summary: Sturnidae sensu lato (Muscicapoidea) consists of Sturnidae, Mimidae, and Buphagidae. However, the deep-node evolutionary relationships within this group remain undetermined, and few efforts have been made to elucidate their mitogenomic evolution. Here, we focus on Sturnidae sensu lato and present five newly sequenced mitogenomes. Together with analysis of publicly available data, comprehensive analyses of mitogenome features, codon usage and aversion, RNA and CR structures, and phylogeny are performed. In conclusion, we determine the basic organizations of Sturnidae sensu lato mitogenomes, demonstrate the pervasiveness of natural selection in forming the CUB patterns, depict the RNA secondary structures, and construct both the backbone and deep-node relationships within Sturnidae sensu lato. The main finding of our research is obtained through codon aversion motifs (CAM) analyses. The surprisingly unique CAMs from 11 mt PCGs for each species offer new opportunities for the identification of the molecular species identification of these taxa. This work can shed new light on the mitogenomic evolution of Sturnidae sensu lato. The Sturnidae family comprises 123 recognized species in 35 genera. The taxa Mimidae and Buphagidae were formerly treated as subfamilies within Sturnidae. The phylogenetic relationships among the Sturnidae and related taxa (Sturnidae sensu lato) remain unresolved due to high rates of morphological change and concomitant morphological homoplasy. This study presents five new mitogenomes of Sturnidae sensu lato and comprehensive mitogenomic analyses. The investigated mitogenomes exhibit an identical gene composition of 37 genes—including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes—and one control region (CR). The most important finding of this study is drawn from CAM analyses. The surprisingly unique motifs for each species provide a new direction for the molecular species identification of avian. Furthermore, the pervasiveness of the natural selection of PCGs is found in all examined species when analyzing their nucleotide composition and codon usage. We also determine the structures of mt-tRNA, mt-rRNA, and CR structures of Sturnidae sensu lato. Lastly, our phylogenetic analyses not only well support the monophyly of Sturnidae, Mimidae, and Buphagidae, but also define nine stable subclades. Taken together, our findings will enable the further elucidation of the evolutionary relationships within Sturnidae sensu lato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document titled "Author Index" is a list of authors and their corresponding submission serial numbers for the journal "Colorectal Disease." It includes a diverse range of authors from different backgrounds and affiliations. This index is a valuable resource for library patrons conducting research on colorectal disease and related topics, as it provides a comprehensive list of authors and their contributions to the field. [Extracted from the article]

Exploring the evolutionary architecture of female sexual traits and their potential evolvability is important to understand their possible role as postmating sexual signals. Egg colouration has been proposed to be one of these postmating sexual signals, honestly advertising female quality in birds, especially in blue-green laying species. In this study, we used an animal model in a Bayesian framework to estimate the evolvability of multiple descriptors of blue-green egg colouration and egg size in a wild long-term monitored population of spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor). Our results show low to moderate heritability (h2 = 0.31–0.44) for 3 egg colour descriptors (blue-green chroma, chroma, and lightness) and egg size. Using the coefficient of additive genetic variance (CVA) and the evolvability (IA) as proxies of evolutionary potential of all components of this trait, we found low values of CVA for all these variables, suggesting a small evolutionary potential of these phenotypic traits, contrasting to previous results reported in another blue-green egg laying species. Our results indicate a modest raw genetic material of this trait on which sexual selection can act upon and, therefore, a small probability for these traits to respond easily to selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study investigates the complex interactions between quill mites of the family Syringophilidae and starlings. We identified five species of quill mites infesting 24 species of starlings, uncovering intricate host–parasite dynamics across the Palaearctic, Afrotropical, Oriental, and Oceanian zoogeographical regions. A detailed statistical analysis of the Picobiinae–Sturnidae network revealed low connectivity but high modularity, indicating specific relationships between the mites and their starling hosts. The network structure demonstrated four distinct modules, highlighting the specialised and compartmentalised characteristics of these associations. Furthermore, the distribution of Picobia mites was found to align with the phylogeny of their starling hosts, with particular mites targeting specific starling clades. The social and breeding behaviours of starlings were observed to contribute to the high prevalence of these mites. This comprehensive network analysis provides new insights into the ecological dynamics of host–parasite interactions. The subfamily Picobiinae (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) comprises obligate and permanent parasites of birds found exclusively in the quills of contour feathers. We studied associations of picobiine mites with birds of the family Sturnidae (Aves: Passeriformes) across the Palaearctic, Afrotropical, Oriental, and Oceanian zoogeographical regions. Among the 414 examined bird individuals belonging to 44 species (35.2% of all sturnids), 103 individuals from 24 species (54.5% of examined species) were parasitised by quill mites. The diversity of mites was represented by five species, including one newly described, Picobia malayi Patan and Skoracki sp. n. Statistical analysis of the Picobiinae–Sturnidae bipartite network demonstrated a low connectance value (Con = 0.20) and high modularity, with significant differences in the H2′ specialisation index compared to null model values. The network structure, characterised by four distinct modules, highlighted the specificity and limited host range of the Picobiinae–Sturnidae associations. The distribution of Picobia species among starlings was congruent with the phylogeny of their hosts, with different mites parasitising specific clades of starlings. Additionally, the findings suggest that the social and breeding behaviours of starlings influence quite a high prevalence. Finally, our studies support the validity of museum collections to study these parasitic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hollow fiber filter is the primary cell‐retention device used in high‐density perfusion cell culture and often used in an alternating tangential flow (ATF) configuration. The limited commercially available diaphragm pumps for ATF prevent utilization of vertical space when scaling beyond 500 L. Stacking hollow fiber filters coupled with viscous cell culture imposes vacuum pressure exceeding facility capabilities. Additionally, the longer filter assembly increases the hold‐up volume and exceeds the diaphragm pump's fluid exchange capacity. The conventional tangential flow filtration (TFF) configuration circumvents this issue by exchanging culture from the bioreactor and cell‐retention device in a unidirectional recirculation loop; however, the increased filter length when scaled up exacerbates the TFF's inherent issue with product retention from Starling flow. Stacking commercially available 20 cm TFF filters to make up the similar single‐module length TFF used for the platform 3 and 50 L perfusion process at 41.5 and 65 cm, respectively, attempts to reduce fouling caused by Starling flow. The permeate of a single‐module filter is partitioned into short independent segments through serially stacked filters, each harvested separately. By partitioning the permeate, the sieving coefficient increased for both 3 and 50 L scales. Reduction of Starling flow was confirmed with lower total hydraulic membrane resistance throughout the culture. This work demonstrates a method for increasing sieving coefficient and filter capacity by stacking TFF filters with independent permeate streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of continuous natural or industrial phenomena in time and space requires the emergence of new wireless sensor networks. A virtual sensor network (VSN) is a wireless camera network that appears to overcome the limitations of traditional wireless sensor networks in terms of the ability to store, process, and communicate data in a 3D region of interest. In this paper, we proposed a Starlings Model-based virtual Sensor Network for Coverage, Connectivity, and Data Communication (SM-VSN-3C) to ensure 3D coverage of temporally and spatially continuous 3D phenomena. Starlings are a good example of a VSN in nature. We therefore simulate the 3D movement of the stars in the sky, ensure the associated permanent coverage, and communicate with the Renault model. Use the behavioral model proposed by Reynolds to simulate herd movement. We've demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed network (SM-VSN-3C) in terms of communication and continuous coverage in time and space (3D). When simulating large and dense VSNs, there are two challenges in terms of coverage and communication: How to efficiently track a set of VSN-Starlings (VSN-Birds) in terms of coverage? In such a dense environment, how can a single Starling be tracked in terms of communication and data routing? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study provides detailed information on six previously described species of syringophilines associated with starlings and records new host and locality data. Additionally, three new species are described: Aulonastus indonesianus sp. n., Aulonastus anais sp. n., and Syringophiloidus poeopterus sp. n., from various starling hosts across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Tanzania. The study reveals that species from the genera Syringophiloidus and Syringophilopsis exhibit a broad host range among passerine birds, suggesting a long-established symbiotic relationship before the global dispersal of starlings. In Europe, the Eurasian Starling hosts Krantziaulonastus, while in Africa, related niches are occupied by Picobiinae mites. The research highlights the intricate coevolutionary dynamics between quill mites and their avian hosts. Quill mites of the family Syringophilidae are widely distributed parasites of birds inhabiting the interior of feather quills. In this paper, we provide detailed information on the host spectrum and distribution for six previously described species of syringophilines associated with starlings with new host and locality records. Additionally, we describe three new species: Aulonastus indonesianus Marcisova, Skoracki, and Patan sp. n. from the Common Hill Myna Gracula religiosa Linnaeus in Indonesia (Java) and the White-necked Myna Streptocitta albicollis (Vieillot) in Indonesia (Celebes); Aulonastus anais Skoracki and Patan sp. n. from the Golden Myna Mino anais (Lesson) in Papua New Guinea; and Syringophiloidus poeopterus Skoracki and Patan sp. n. from the Abbott's Starling Poeoptera femoralis (Richmond) in Tanzania. Finally, we explore the host–parasite interactions within the system comprising starlings and syringophiline mites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symptoms of illness offer insights into an organism's condition, altering social signals that affect others' behavior. Nestling birds employ begging signals to solicit parental care, but the extent to which begging reflects nestling health beyond hunger remains controversial. We investigated how experimentally induced changes in health affect begging signals in spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor) nestlings. To alter health status, we challenged nestlings by injecting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -an antigen that elicits an immune response- or a control substance (PBS) and observed begging behavior under controlled food deprivation conditions. LPS-treated nestlings exhibited delayed gaping, reduced stretching, and less begging time compared to control nestlings. Moreover, LPS-treated nestlings produced calls with higher spectral entropy, particularly when deprived of food for longer. Our findings indicate that begging signals are sensitive to induced sickness. However, addressing mechanistic issues is crucial for effectively testing whether begging reflects nestling condition as a signal of quality in future experimental setups. Significance statement: This study demonstrates that begging signals of nestling birds reflect their health status beyond mere hunger, addressing a longstanding debate in behavioral ecology. By experimentally inducing sickness in spotless starling nestlings, we reveal that changes in health affect postural and acoustic begging behavior. However, ascertaining the implications of this finding for current begging theory proves challenging without information about the causal mechanisms underlying sickness behavior. Understanding how nestlings communicate their condition to parents through begging signals holds implications for comprehending parental care dynamics and lays the groundwork for future research in parent-offspring communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hoopoe Starling Fregilupus varius is an extinct species of the Sturnidae that was endemic to Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. The species rapidly disappeared in the middle of the 19th century, primarily because of overexploitation by humans. We generated an approximately 11× coverage genome to reconstruct the demographic history of the Hoopoe Starling and compared these results with the demographic histories of other starlings and myna species. Our analyses confirmed the close affinities of the Hoopoe Starling with the genera Sturnia, Leucopsar and Sturnornis, and revealed that it went through a strong population bottleneck during its evolutionary history, but that its effective population size was not particularly low when compared with other extinct or critically endangered species of birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many bird species commonly aggregate in flocks for reasons ranging from predator defense to navigation. Available evidence suggests that certain types of flocks--the V and echelon formations of large birds--may provide a benefit that reduces the aerodynamic cost of flight, whereas cluster flocks typical of smaller birds may increase flight costs. However, metabolic flight costs have not been directly measured in any of these group flight contexts [Zhang and Lauder, J. Exp. Biol. 226, jeb245617 (2023)]. Here, we measured the energetic benefits of flight in small groups of two or three birds and the requirements for realizing those benefits, using metabolic energy expenditure and flight position measurements from European Starlings flying in a wind tunnel. The starlings continuously varied their relative position during flights but adopted a V formation motif on average, with a modal spanwise and streamwise spacing of [0.81, 0.91] wing-spans. As measured via CO2 production, flight costs for follower birds were significantly reduced compared to their individual solo flight benchmarks. However, followers with more positional variability with respect to leaders did less well, even increasing their costs above solo flight. Thus, we directly demonstrate energetic costs and benefits for group flight followers in an experimental context amenable to further investigation of the underlying aerodynamics, wake interactions, and bird characteristics that produce these metabolic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas—characterized by high human densities, buildings, and impermeable surfaces—are increasing globally and represent a leading threat to wildlife by drastically altering the natural resources wildlife species are accustomed to. Prior work suggests that living in urban habitats can cause wildlife to show increased cholesterol levels. In biomedical research, elevated cholesterol is linked to disease, but the consequence of elevated cholesterol in wildlife remains unclear. We measured total cholesterol in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), an urban-adapted species, across an urban and a rural site. We asked: (1) Do urban starlings have elevated cholesterol? and (2) Is elevated cholesterol correlated to negative physiological outcomes in starlings? We found that nestlings from the urban (N = 16) and rural (N = 98) sites showed similar cholesterol, but adult starlings from the urban (N = 5) habitat showed elevated cholesterol compared to rural (N = 36) birds. However, elevated cholesterol was not correlated with increased oxidative damage to DNA, lowered body condition, or increased baseline glucocorticoids across any age class, suggesting that elevated cholesterol did not come at a physiological cost to starlings. Future work is needed to explore what mechanism(s) drive variation in cholesterol across urban and rural birds, as well as whether any long-term consequences of elevated cholesterol exist. Les zones urbaines, caractérisées par de densités humaines élevées et des bâtiments et des surfaces imperméables, augmentent au niveau mondial et représentent une menace majeure pour la faune sauvage en modifiant radicalement les ressources naturelles auxquelles les espèces sont habituées. Des travaux antérieurs suggèrent que vivre dans des habitats urbains peut entraîner une augmentation des taux de cholestérol chez la faune sauvage. Dans la recherche biomédicale, un taux de cholestérol élevé est lié à la maladie, mais les conséquences d'un taux de cholestérol élevé chez la faune sauvage ne sont pas claires. Nous mesurâmes le cholestérol total chez l'étourneau sansonnet (Sturnus vulgaris), une espèce adaptée à la ville, sur un site urbain et un site rural. Nous demandâmes: (1) est-ce que les étourneaux sansonnets urbains ont un taux de cholestérol élevé? et (2) est-ce qu'un taux de cholestérol élevé est corrélé à des résultats physiologiques négatifs chez les étourneaux? Nous constatâmes que les oisillons des sites urbains (N = 16) et ruraux (N = 98) présentaient un taux de cholestérol similaire, mais que les étourneaux adultes de l'habitat urbain (N = 5) présentaient un taux de cholestérol élevé par rapport aux étourneaux adultes de l'habitat rural (N = 36). Cependant, un taux de cholestérol élevé n'était pas corrélé à une augmentation des dommages oxydatifs de l'ADN, à une condition corporelle réduite ou à une augmentation des glucocorticoïdes de base dans toutes les classes d'âge, ce qui suggère qu'un taux de cholestérol élevé n'a pas eu de coût physiologique pour les étourneaux. Des travaux futurs sont nécessaires pour explorer le(s) mécanisme(s) qui déterminent la variation du cholestérol chez les oiseaux urbains et ruraux, ainsi que pour déterminer s'il existe des conséquences à long terme d'un taux de cholestérol élevé. Mots-clés: condition corporelle, dommage à l'ADN, glucocorticoïdes, urbanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The numbers of Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris and indigenous starling species, as well as a subset of other common birds, were recorded from October 2006 to January 2020 at 72 point-count sites along four routes (two urban and two rural) in the Eastern Cape Province of South African. In the rural habitat, Common Starlings were localised at buildings; in the urban habitat, there was no clear indication that their presence influenced the occurrence or abundance of the Red-winged Starling Onychognathus morio, a native species which has colonised towns and nests on buildings. In this region there is little evidence that Common Starlings invade areas that have not been heavily modified by human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sturnidae family comprises 123 recognized species in 35 genera. The taxa Mimidae and Buphagidae were formerly treated as subfamilies within Sturnidae. The phylogenetic relationships among the Sturnidae and related taxa (Sturnidae sensu lato) remain unresolved due to high rates of morphological change and concomitant morphological homoplasy. This study presents five new mitogenomes of Sturnidae sensu lato and comprehensive mitogenomic analyses. The investigated mitogenomes exhibit an identical gene composition of 37 genes—including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes—and one control region (CR). The most important finding of this study is drawn from CAM analyses. The surprisingly unique motifs for each species provide a new direction for the molecular species identification of avian. Furthermore, the pervasiveness of the natural selection of PCGs is found in all examined species when analyzing their nucleotide composition and codon usage. We also determine the structures of mt-tRNA, mt-rRNA, and CR structures of Sturnidae sensu lato. Lastly, our phylogenetic analyses not only well support the monophyly of Sturnidae, Mimidae, and Buphagidae, but also define nine stable subclades. Taken together, our findings will enable the further elucidation of the evolutionary relationships within Sturnidae sensu lato.

In this article, a novel population selection method, fitness distance balance (FDB), and predictive candidate (PC) solution generation hybridization with starling murmuration optimizer (SMO), FDBPC-SMO are proposed. In FDBPC-SMO algorithm, FDB selects subpopulations instead of the separating search strategy (SSS) in the original SMO. The separating size determined in SMO is given as input to the FDB, and the FDB generates the subpopulation based on the distances among the populations. The least squares strategy is applied to the population obtained at the end of the SMO, and the estimated population candidates are found and replaced with the worst solution candidates from the original population. By adding qualitative analysis, the effectiveness of the FDBPC-SMO has been examined based on the dimension and iteration. The success of FDBPC-SMO is the selection of more efficient candidate solutions from the previous population at each iteration, thus minimizing the possibility of getting stuck in the local optimum. The performance of FDBPC-SMO has been investigated on CEC2017 and CEC2019 test sets and seven engineering application problems. In addition, Wilcoxon and Friedman statistical tests confirm the convergence and fitness results of the proposed method. Accordingly, comparing to conventional and improved methods, it is clear that the convergence ability of FDBPC-SMO is superior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been recognized that mass loss during breeding could be adaptive (e.g., by ameliorating the costs of increased parental activity). However, many studies still commonly interpret mass loss as evidence of "stress" or a cost of reproduction (i.e., a negative effect of high workload during chick provisioning). Despite several studies reporting evidence in support of both hypotheses, the ecological and/or life‐history contexts under which mass loss may be viewed as a "cost" or an adaptive strategy are still unclear. Here, we used a long‐term dataset from a breeding population of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to investigate natural annual and individual variation in body mass and mass loss and to test whether mass loss during chick rearing represents a phenotypically plastic trait that varies predictably in relation to ecological context and individual quality. While there was significant annual variation in incubation mass, chick‐rearing mass, and mass change, there were no systematic relationships between mass loss and current breeding success or future fecundity and survival. In addition, we found no evidence of intra‐annual repeatability of mass loss between first and second broods (=.00) but moderate interannual repeatability of mass loss (R =.61) during first broods, suggesting differences in mass loss under different selective pressures. However, we found no covariation between residual intra‐individual variation in mass loss for first broods and other reproductive or life‐history traits. We therefore found no support for the idea that mass loss reflects "reproductive stress" in our system: there were no negative relationships between mass loss and either current or future reproduction and survival (local return rate). Our results are consistent with mass loss being an individually plastic trait, with individuals using mass loss to "level the playing field" and individually optimize reproductive effort and fitness within their specific ecological context and relative to their individual quality for a given breeding attempt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quill mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata) parasitizing starlings of the genus Lamprotornis Temminck (Aves: Passeriformes: Sturnidae) from the sub-Saharan region are comprehensively studied for the first time. Among them, two new species are described: (1) Syringophiloidus soponai Skoracki, Patan and Unsoeld sp. n., collected from four host species—Lamprotornis chalybaeus (Hemprich et Ehrenberg) (type host) in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia; L. superbus (Rüppell) in Kenya and Tanzania; L. chloropterus (Swainson) and L. unicolor (Shelley) both in Tanzania; (2) Syringophilopsis parasturni Skoracki, Patan and Unsoeld sp. n. collected from L. pulcher (Müller) and L. chalcurus (Nordmann), both in Senegal. Additionally, two Lamprotornis species, L. chalybaeus in Tanzania and Kenya and L. chloropterus in Kenya, are recorded as the new hosts for Picobia lamprotornis Klimovicova et al., 2004. We also discussed the diversity of the syringophilid mites associated with starlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two fragments from the tenth volume of Marcin Bielski's Kronika Wszytkiego Świata [Chronicles of the Whole World], dealing with the discovery of Haiti by Columbus and with the arrival of Cadamosto's men at the uncharted territory of what is now Senegal, contain descriptions of starlings, but with the appearance and behaviour that is not typical of this bird species. Taking into account the fact that starlings did not inhabit those lands at the time, the author of the article attempts to figure out both the reason behind the ornithological misunderstanding and the actual type of the birds the travelers met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poem "Ars Poetica: Lyric by River I Am Always Running Toward" by Rl Wheeler is presented. First Line: To monumentalize the river, Last Line: What is done is done.

Lymphedema is an under-recognized and underappreciated disease. Advances in imaging and a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of lymphedema are shedding new light on this disease that affects millions of people worldwide. As new evidence continues to emerge about the microcirculation and revised Starling Principle, etiological factors, related conditions, specific genes, and surgical innovations, the traditional approach to management must also evolve. This evolution is vital to maximize outcomes and improve quality of life. This commentary is a call to action to embrace innovation to better manage lymphedema and expand educational opportunities by leveraging technology to properly train healthcare providers to manage this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevalence studies of avian haemosporidian parasites frequently use microscopy and the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols for detecting infections. Newer PCR protocols to detect parasites are being developed, with the distinct advantage of reducing screening cost and time, as well as increasing efficiency and sensitivity. The detection ability of microscopy and nested PCR was compared against a real-time PCR (qPCR) protocol using genomic DNA extracted from 240 bird blood samples collected from three starling species (Cape Starling, the Greater Blue-eared Starling, and the Wattled Starling; family Sturnidae) in the Kruger national park, South Africa. All three protocols successfully detected avian haemosporidian parasites with the qPCR having a considerable edge against the other two methods. Fifteen unique cytochrome b lineages were identified of which seven were new lineages. Microscopy and nested PCR recorded similar prevalence (32.92% and 35.42% respectively). The qPCR protocol used here, although more sensitive (52.92% prevalence), is not able to differentiate between parasite genera but provides the opportunity to screen a large number of samples in large-scale studies within a specific region. This study recommends the development and adoption of new molecular protocols with increased sensitivity and accuracy in prevalence studies. Nevertheless, microscopy remains essential for the morphological description of parasites and for distinguishing between abortive and successful chronic infections. The PCR-based method displays the detection of the parasitic genome but does not reveal whether parasites have or will develop into a successful infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Nowadays, research based on mobile ad hoc network's (MANET) performance improvement has drawn a particular concentration from scientists worldwide. The shortest path selection among destination and source nodes determines the network's throughput in MANET. In addition, power management and energy consumption are also the major difficulties that MANET suffers. The conventional routing protocols are intended for static bonding, but that protocol does not satisfy the stability in ad hoc networks by means of regularly changing connectivity. This shows the routing problem in MANETs. Therefore, to overcome the routing issues and maintain energy efficiently, the Type‐2 fuzzy‐based Starling Murmuration Optimizer (SMO)‐War Strategy Optimization (WSO) (T2FSMO‐WSO) routing protocol is proposed in this paper. MANET takes into account four input parameters: route length, active link ratio to global traffic, network lifetime, and control packet ratio. The SMO algorithm is employed to choose the relay node with low energy consumption. The trapezoidal membership functions are used to describe the fuzzy sets for these parameters. The content‐based routing among source and destination nodes is determined using the WSO algorithm. The simulation outcomes reveal that the proposed method discovers highly stable paths with minimum distance and minimized the consumption of energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity for sensory systems to encode relevant information that is invariant to many stimulus changes is central to normal, real-world, cognitive function. This invariance is thought to be reflected in the complex spatiotemporal activity patterns of neural populations, but our understanding of population-level representational invariance remains coarse. Applied topology is a promising tool to discover invariant structure in large datasets. Here, we use topological techniques to characterize and compare the spatiotemporal pattern of coactive spiking within populations of simultaneously recorded neurons in the secondary auditory region caudal medial neostriatum of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). We show that the pattern of population spike train coactivity carries stimulus-specific structure that is not reducible to that of individual neurons. We then introduce a topology-based similarity measure for population coactivity that is sensitive to invariant stimulus structure and show that this measure captures invariant neural representations tied to the learned relationships between natural vocalizations. This demonstrates one mechanism whereby emergent stimulus properties can be encoded in population activity, and shows the potential of applied topology for understanding invariant representations in neural populations.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Information in neural populations is carried by the temporal patterns of spikes. We applied novel mathematical tools from the field of algebraic topology to quantify the structure of these temporal patterns. We found that, in a secondary auditory region of a songbird, these patterns reflected invariant information about a learned stimulus relationship. These results demonstrate that topology provides a novel approach for characterizing neural responses that is sensitive to invariant relationships that are critical for the perception of natural stimuli.

Brown aberration in black plumage is defined by the progressive reduction of eumelanin in birds. The present report describes an observation of plumage with brown aberration in Indian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra) from the agricultural landscape of Shokliya village, Rajasthan, India. The observed individual exhibited browning in all the areas of the plumage that are normally black in this species, including the head, wing feathers, and tail feathers. However, feathers with no pigmentation remained white and unaffected. Genetic and dietary factors are thought to be major factors responsible for such aberrations in birds, but more research is needed to determine the exact reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT European starlings are widespread migratory birds that have already been described as carrying bacteria resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC-R). These birds are well known in Tunisia because they spend the wintertime in this country and are hunted for human consumption. The goal of our study was to estimate the proportion of ESC-R in these birds and to characterize the collected isolates using whole-genome sequencing. Results showed that 21.5% (42/200) of the birds carried either an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) or an acquired AmpC gene. Diverse bla CTX-M genes were responsible for the ESBL phenotype, bla CTX-M-14 being the most prevalent, while only bla CMY-2 and one bla CMY-62 were found in AmpC-positive isolates. Likewise, different genetic determinants carried these resistance genes, including IncHI2, and IncF plasmids for bla CTX-M genes and IncI1 plasmids for bla CMY-2 genes. Three chromosomally encoded bla CTX-M-15 genes were also identified. Surprisingly, species identification revealed a large proportion (32.7%) of Escherichia marmotae isolates. This species is phenotypically indistinguishable from Escherichia coli and has obviously the same capacity to acquire ESC-R genes. Our data also strongly suggest that at least the IncHI2/pST3 plasmid can spread equally between E. coli and E. marmotae. Given the potential transmission routes between humans and animals, either by direct contact with dejections or through meat preparation, it is important to closely monitor antimicrobial resistance in European starlings in Tunisia and to set up further studies to identify the sources of contamination of these birds. IMPORTANCE The One Health concept highlighted knowledge gaps in the understanding of the transmission routes of resistant bacteria. A major interest was shown in wild migratory birds since they might spread resistant bacteria over long distances. Our study brings further evidence that wild birds, even though they are not directly submitted to antibiotic treatments, can be heavily contaminated by resistant bacteria. Our results identified numerous combinations of resistance genes, genetic supports, and bacterial clones that can spread vertically or horizontally and maintain a high level of resistance in the bird population. Some of these determinants are widespread in humans or animals (IncHI2/pST3 plasmids and pandemic clones), while some others are less frequent (atypical IncI1 plasmid and minor clones). Consequently, it is essential to be aware of the risks of transmission and to take all necessary measures to prevent the proportions of resistant isolates from increasing uncontrollably.

Given a Graph G = (V, E) and two vertices i, j ∈ V, we introduce Confluence(G, i, j), a vertex mesoscopic closeness measure based on short Random walks, which brings together vertices from a same overconnected region of the Graph G, and separates vertices coming from two distinct overconnected regions. Confluence becomes a useful tool for defining a new Clustering quality function QConf(G, Γ) for a given Clustering Γ and for defining a new heuristic Starling to find a partitional Clustering of a Graph G intended to optimize the Clustering quality function QConf. We compare the accuracies of Starling, to the accuracies of three state of the art Graphs Clustering methods: Spectral-Clustering, Louvain, and Infomap. These comparisons are done, on the one hand with artificial Graphs (a) Random Graphs and (b) a classical Graphs Clustering Benchmark, and on the other hand with (c) Terrain-Graphs gathered from real data. We show that with (a), (b) and (c), Starling is always able to obtain equivalent or better accuracies than the three others methods. We show also that with the Benchmark (b), Starling is able to obtain equivalent accuracies and even sometimes better than an Oracle that would only know the expected overconnected regions from the Benchmark, ignoring the concretely constructed edges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing intravenous (IV) fluids to a patient with signs or symptoms of hypoperfusion is common. However, evaluating the IV fluid 'dose–response' curve of the heart is elusive. Two patients were studied in the emergency department with a wireless, wearable Doppler ultrasound system. Change in the common carotid arterial and internal jugular Doppler spectrograms were simultaneously obtained as surrogates of left ventricular stroke volume (SV) and central venous pressure (CVP), respectively. Both patients initially had low CVP jugular venous Doppler spectrograms. With preload augmentation, only one patient had arterial Doppler measures indicative of significant SV augmentation (i.e., 'fluid responsive'). The other patient manifested diminishing arterial response, suggesting depressed SV (i.e., 'fluid unresponsive') with evidence of ventricular asynchrony. In this short communication, we describe how a wireless, wearable Doppler ultrasound simultaneously tracks surrogates of cardiac preload and output within a 'Doppler Starling curve' framework; implications for IV fluid dosing are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This academic paper addresses the challenges associated with trajectory planning for affordable and light-weight Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) swarms, despite limited computing resources and extensive cooperation requirements. Specifically, an imitation-based starling cluster cooperative trajectory planning technique is proposed for a fixed-wing model of a six-degree-of-freedom UAV cluster. To achieve this, dynamic trajectory prediction of the rapid random search tree is utilized to generate a track solution adapted to the terrain environment. Additionally, the Dubins aircraft path solution is applied as it is suitable for executing input track commands by the UAV model. Computational simulations on different cluster sizes show the approach can maintain the cluster state while navigating diverse terrains, with the track solution complying with the UAV's physical model properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon are three mainly studied blood parasites known to cause malarial and pseudomalarial infections in avian worldwide. Although Sarawak is a biodiversity hotspot, molecular data on blood parasite diversity in birds are absent. The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of blood parasite in Asian Glossy Starlings (AGS), an urban bird with high population density in Sarawak and to elucidate the phylogenetic relationship with other blood parasite. Methods: Twenty-nine carcasses of juvenile AGS that were succumbed to death due to window collision were collected around the vicinity of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Nested-multiplex and nested PCR targeting the Cytochrome B gene were used to detect Plasmodium and Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon respectively. Two primer sets were used for Haemoproteus detection to increase detection sensitivity, with one being a genus-specific primer. Results: Fourteen samples (prevalence rate: 48.28%) were found positive for avian Plasmodium. Phylogenetic analysis divided our sequences into five lineages, pFANTAIL01, pCOLL4, pACCBAD01, pALPSIS01 and pALPSIS02, with two lineages being novel. No Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon was found in this study. However, Haemoproteus-specific primer used amplified our Plasmodium samples, making the primer non-specific to Haemoproteus only. Conclusion: This is the first blood parasite detection study on AGS using carcasses and blood clot as sample source in Sarawak. Due to the scarcity of longer sequences from regions with high genetic plasticity, usage of genus-specific primers should be validated with sequencing to ensure correct prevalence interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on presumed helpers at Middle Spotted Woodpecker nests in 2021 and 2022 at Tiergarten Hannover and in 2021 at Niderholz in north-eastern Switzerland. In Hanover, in 2021, besides the breeding pair, a third Middle Spotted Woodpecker actively participated in feeding the nestlings, probably even for several days. At another breeding cavity, a third Middle Spotted Woodpecker appeared only briefly. In 2022, a female Middle Spotted Woodpecker appeared several times at a breeding cavity, but did not feed. However, she may have participated to ward off the starlings breeding in the immediate vicinity. In Switzerland, feeding of young Middle Spotted Woodpeckers by three adults (two of which were females) was observed on several days in 2021. The reasons for the unusual occurrence of additional birds feeding more or less regularly in European woodpecker species are not known. In Hanover, forestry work during the breeding season in 2021 and a very high breeding population of the Starling in 2022 may have led to increased breeding failures. The Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, which no longer had a brood to care for, might then have appeared as helpers at the nests of conspecifics. In Switzerland, mate loss and unsuccessful polygyny are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motion discrimination is essential for animals to avoid collisions, to escape from predators, to catch prey or to communicate. Although most terrestrial vertebrates can benefit by combining concurrent stimuli from sound and vision to obtain a most salient percept of the moving object, there is little research on the mechanisms involved in such cross-modal motion discrimination. We used European starlings as a model with a well-studied visual and auditory system. In a behavioural motion discrimination task with visual and acoustic stimuli, we investigated the effects of cross-modal interference and attentional processes. Our results showed an impairment of motion discrimination when the visual and acoustic stimuli moved in opposite directions as compared to congruent motion direction. By presenting an acoustic stimulus of very short duration, thus lacking directional motion information, an additional alerting effect of the acoustic stimulus became evident. Finally, we show that a temporally leading acoustic stimulus did not improve the response behaviour compared to the synchronous presentation of the stimuli as would have been expected in case of major alerting effects. This further supports the importance of congruency and synchronicity in the current test paradigm with a minor role of attentional processes elicited by the acoustic stimulus. Together, our data clearly show cross-modal interference effects in an audio-visual motion discrimination paradigm when carefully selecting real-life stimuli under parameter conditions that meet the known criteria for cross-modal binding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quill mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata) parasitizing starlings of the genus Lamprotornis Temminck (Aves: Passeriformes: Sturnidae) from the sub-Saharan region are comprehensively studied for the first time. Among them, two new species are described: (1) Syringophiloidus soponai Skoracki, Patan and Unsoeld sp. n., collected from four host species—Lamprotornis chalybaeus (Hemprich et Ehrenberg) (type host) in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia; L. superbus (Rüppell) in Kenya and Tanzania; L. chloropterus (Swainson) and L. unicolor (Shelley) both in Tanzania; (2) Syringophilopsis parasturni Skoracki, Patan and Unsoeld sp. n. collected from L. pulcher (Müller) and L. chalcurus (Nordmann), both in Senegal. Additionally, two Lamprotornis species, L. chalybaeus in Tanzania and Kenya and L. chloropterus in Kenya, are recorded as the new hosts for Picobia lamprotornis Klimovicova et al., 2004. We also discussed the diversity of the syringophilid mites associated with starlings.

The behavioural sciences are home to controversies that have survived for centuries, notably about the relation between observable behaviour and theoretical constructs addressing out-of-sight processes in the agents' brains. There is no shared definition for cognition, but the very existence of a thriving journal called Animal Cognition proves that such controversies are still live and help to (a) promote research on the complexity of processes leading to action, and (b) nudge scholars to restrict their cognitive models to those that can be falsified experimentally. Here, we illustrate some of these issues in a limited arena, focusing on the construction and expression of subjective value and choice. Using mainly work from our own laboratory, we show that valuation of alternatives is sensitive to options' properties, to subject's state, and to background alternatives. These factors exert their influence at the time the subject learns about individual options, rather than at choice time. We also show that valuation can be experimentally dissociated from the cognitive representation of options' metrics and argue that experimental animals process options independently at the time of choice, without elaborated comparisons along different dimensions. The findings we report are not consistent with the hypothesis that preference is constructed at the time of choice, a prevalent view in human decision-making research. We argue that animal cognition, viewed as a research program at the crossroads of different behavioural sciences rather than as a debate about properties of mental life, is inspiring and solid, and a progressive and progressing paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans and other animals often make decisions in conditions of uncertainty. Choosing an option that provides information and reduces uncertainty can often improve decision making. Yet, in decision-making tasks, animals such as pigeons, starlings, rats, and humans often choose information even when it cannot be used. A review of the behavioral contributions of such noninstrumental information is presented here, starting from the observing response literature, and then focusing on research using the paradoxical (aka suboptimal) choice task. In the paradoxical choice procedure, animals choose between two alternatives that differ in two main aspects: the information presented after each alternative and the overall reinforcement following each alternative. The richer alternative is followed by one or two cues that are followed by food on half of the trials; this is called the noninformative (No-Info) alternative. The leaner alternative is followed by one of two cues--one always followed by food and the other always followed by no food. Thus, both cues are informative about whether reinforcement will be delivered on that trial; this is called the informative alternative. Typically, animals develop a strong preference for the informative (Info) alternative, thereby failing to maximize reward. We review the following factors that influence the strength of this paradoxical choice: response requirement, delay-to-reward; contiguity between choice and information; reinforcement rate, motivational and individual differences, degrees of information, and what is learned about the informative cues. Finally, we review some of the most important models and their theoretical implications for the understanding of the phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of long-term studies (1983–2019) on the breeding biology of the starling (Sturnus vulgaris) in the subtaiga forest subzone in southeastern Western Siberia are analyzed. Data were obtained from the surroundings of Tomsk (56°28′ N, 84°54′ E, 90 m a.s.l.), the village of Kireevsk (Tomsk oblast, 56°22′ N, 84°05′ E, 90 m a.s.l.), and the village of Lomachevka (Kemerovo oblast, 56°08′ N, 86°50′ E, 190 m a.s.l.). In the study area, 932 nests were examined, with 3693 eggs measured and 135 clutches weighed. The nest-box occupation rate was 24.1%. The mean long-term date for the earliest egg laying event was April 29 (April 19 to May 6), and the median laying date was May 25 (May 19 to May 31). A long-term advancement of laying dates was revealed. That was consistent with a significant trend to warming in April. The mean clutch size was 5.27 ± 0.03 eggs, and the mean volume of an egg was 6208 ± 9 mm3. The reproductive success amounted to 51.5%. The embryonic mortality was 6.1%, and the partial brood mortality was 22.0% of the total number of hatched nestlings and 23.6% in successful nests. The mean number of fledglings per successful attempt and breeding attempt were 3.69 ± 0.05 and 2.56 ± 0.07, respectively. The success and productivity of reproduction in cultivated landscapes (villages, suburban dry meadows, farmlands and forest clearing) were about two times greater than in natural or poorly transformed habitats (a floodplain meadow or a dry meadow located at a great distance from the village). The differences were mainly due to lower losses of clutches and nestlings in cultivated landscapes after the return of acold weather. The clutch size in Western Siberia was significantly larger than in the European part of the species range. The volume of eggs, the breeding success, the number of fledglings per attempt, and successful breeding attempts in Western Siberia were significantly lower than those in the European part of the Starling distribution range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the sake of accomplishing the rapidity, safety and consistency of obstacle avoidance for a large-scale unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm in a dynamic and unknown 3D environment, this paper proposes a flocking control algorithm that mimics the behavior of starlings. By analyzing the orderly and rapid obstacle avoidance behavior of a starling flock, a motion model inspired by a flock of starlings is built, which contains three kinds of motion patterns, including the collective pattern, evasion pattern and local-following pattern. Then, the behavior patterns of the flock of starlings are mapped on a fixed-wing UAV swarm to improve the ability of obstacle avoidance. The key contribution of this paper is collective and collision-free motion planning for UAV swarms in unknown 3D environments with dynamic obstacles. Numerous simulations are conducted in different scenarios and the results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm improves the speed, order and safety of the UAV swarm when avoiding obstacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organiser Rhaana Starling summarises a meeting that reflected the breadth and depth of the UK Transient community [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]