On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on a British Petroleum (BP) Deep Water Horizon platform, and 2 days later, the platform collapsed. Eleven workers were killed, and oil has been gushing out ever since. Although the initial reports were that about 50,000 gal were being released per day, every few weeks, the estimates released to the American public increased, until in early June, the comp...

“When it comes to sperm, you’re half the man your grandfather was”, the Esquire magazine headline proclaimed earlier this year. It’s the next Silent Spring, U.S. News and World Report declared, reflecting the views of U.S. Vice President Albert Gore. “Hormonal Sabotage” declared Natural History magazine, in a headline stretched across two pages. What’s behind all the fuss? Well, apparently huma...

The centenary of the foundation of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary School of Nursing was commemorated on 7 and 8 October 1972, by a thanksgiving service in Greyfriars Kirk, and a reception. An exhibition showing the development of the school and of nursing throughout the century was held in the Florence Nightingale Nurses' Home. An admirably written and produced booklet outlining the history of t...

We examined whether the previously reported low cost of embryonic development in pelicans could be attributed to a more efficient conversion of egg energy to hatchling tissues as a result of high initial egg water content, low embryonic metabolic rate and growth later in incubation than in more precocious species. We therefore determined egg and hatchling composition and the development of embr...

-Lesser scaup Aythya afinis, mediumsized black and white diving ducks, were collected at Arkansas baitfish farms during November-December 1999 (N = 33), January-February 2000 (N = 39), and March-April 2000 (N = 22) to determine seasonal differences in their diet and their relative impact to baitfish production. The mass of gastrointestinal contents was used to determine the proportion of each d...

--A phylogenetic analysis was undertaken to evaluate the monophyly of the Pelecaniformes and to determine interfamilial relationships within the order. A total of 52 characters was subjected to a numerical cladistic analysis. Pelecaniform onophyly was highly corroborated, with 12 postulated synapomorphies supporting that hypothesis. Within the pelecaniforms, the phaethontids are the sister-grou...

Sitting on the most amazing stretch of beach you didn't know existed, Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, AL, has been selected to host 29th Annual Critical Care Transport Medicine Conference (CCTMC) scheduled for March 29 31, 2021. This beautiful yet affordable location perfectly complements exceptional education CCTMC provides. You don't want miss it! is presented by Air & Surface Nurses As...

On a world-wide basis, avian botulism is the most significant disease of waterbirds. Type C botulism has been reported in waterbirds from every continent except Antarctica, and outbreaks with one million or more waterbird deaths have been reported by the USA, Canada, and Russia. Unfortunately, population impacts of avian botulism have not been well studied. Species that are numerous, geographic...

Bird control takes many forms and can include the use of gas cannons to scare birds away from noncompatible land uses such as airports. Birds Australia designed and implemented this study to assess the effectiveness of the Gas Cannon as a bird deterrent at Sydney Airport. The cannons were used in two ways: statically (set up at one location) and opportunistically (transported to a particular lo...

Spread-wing postures of birds often have been studied with respect to the function of behavior, but ignored with regard to the mechanism by which the birds accomplish posture. The double-crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, was used as a model for this study of spread-wing posture. Those muscles capable of positioning and maintaining the wing in extension and protraction were assayed histo...