background: the presence of metastatic lymph nodes is the most important prognostic factor for gastric carcinoma; however, the optimal system for the accurate staging of lymph node metastasis for patients with gastric cancer remains controversial. this study was designed to compare five systems in relation to the n classification of gastric carcinoma. materials and methods: this multicentric hi...

Determining the key factors affecting the reproductive success of nesting birds is crucial in order to better understand the population dynamics of endangered species and to introduce effective conservation programmes for them. Inhabiting a variety of wetland habitats, aquatic birds actively select safe nesting sites so as to protect their nests against predators. The main aim of the present wo...

Thermal properties of tree hollows play a major role in survival and reproduction of hollow-dependent fauna. Artificial hollows (nest boxes) are increasingly being used to supplement the loss of natural hollows; however, the factors that drive nest box thermal profiles have received surprisingly little attention. We investigated how differences in surface reflectance influenced temperature prof...

We investigated the reproductive ecology of the Island Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma insularis), which is endemic to Santa Cruz Island, California, and is a species of conservation concern. We documented daily nest survival, probability of renesting, annual fledging success, and breeding behavior, and determined how these factors varied in relation to the habitat characteristics of the jays’ home range...

In the western United States, relatively few studies have comprehensively examined songbird performance in fragmented habitat, particularly within naturally fragmented systems. For this study, I used Gray Catbirds (Dumetella carolinensis) to distinguish differences in area use and reproductive performance in draw and floodplain habitat types, two spatially and physiognomically distinct deciduou...