Alpine swifts (Tachymarptis melba) are sub-Saharan migratory birds, which, in Switzerland, nest in colonies that have been continuously monitored for over 40 years. In the summer of 2022, despite favourable environmental conditions, an unexpectedly high number of sudden mortalities (30–80%) occurred in 20 to 45-day-old nestlings from several nesting sites, of which 3 were monitored in detail. Nestlings submitted for post-mortem analysis (n = 5) were in good body condition but exhibited extensive subcutaneous haematomas (n = 5), myocardial petechiae (n = 2) and stunted growth of primary feathers (n = 1). In all birds, 4–5 μm large, amastigote-like protozoans were identified in skeletal and cardiac muscle sections. These tissues tested positive in a PCR targeting the 18S-rRNA gene of Trypanosoma spp. Amplified sequences showed 99.63% identity with sequences of Trypanosoma corvi (JN006854 and AY461665) and Trypanosoma sp. (AJ620557, JN006841). 72 blood smears of 45-day-old nestlings from two colonies were assessed, of which 20 contained trypomastigote forms, some with high parasitaemia (highest average of 56.4 in 10 high power fields, 400x magnification). Trypomastigote morphometrics (n = 36; mean total length = 30.0 μm; length of free flagellum = 5.8 μm) were consistent with those of T. bouffardi. These findings suggest that an avian trypanosomiasis causing mass nestling mortality could be an emerging disease in Swiss Alpine swift populations.

The length of telomeres (i.e. the protective non‐coding DNA repeat sequences capping the end of eukaryotic chromosomes) is drawing an increasing attention in ecology and evolution as a biomarker of individual state and fate. Bird erythrocytes are nucleated and telomere measurements using blood derived DNA has become the gold standard in avian biology. However, blood sampling is not trivial and not achievable under all field conditions. We investigated whether feather DNA could be used as an alternative or complementary approach to blood DNA when assessing telomere length with the quantitative PCR method. Indeed, investigating telomere length in different tissues may provide more detailed information regarding both the determinants and the importance of telomere length for avian life histories. We collected tertiary feathers on the same day as a blood sample in adult and 12‐day‐old nestling pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. Our results show a positive but moderate relationship between telomere length measured using DNA derived from blood and feather samples. This relationship was stronger in nestlings than in adults. Nestlings had longer telomeres in blood than in feathers while no significant difference was observed in adults. Hence, our study demonstrates that feathers can provide a complementary approach to blood for telomere measurements in wild birds, and we discuss further methodological considerations when using feathers for telomere measures. Telomeres seem to show faster erosion with age in blood than feathers, which may account for the lower correlation in telomere lengths between the two tissues in adults.

Treatment of bony tumours of the oral and maxillofacial area usually involve resection. However, access to certain areas may be difficult because of the size or site of the tumour. A poor view of the lesion during operation is another limiting factor, which can lead to incomplete resection in difficult cases. Percutaneous cryoablation is a common procedure for treating benign and malignant bony lesions outside the oral and maxillofacial area, but has to our knowledge never been used as a stand-alone treatment as we describe here. In 2016, three patients with benign bony tumours of the mandible (one a keratocyst, one an angiofibroma, and one a giant cell granuloma) were treated with one session of percutaneous cryoablation. Outcomes were monitored with computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging at one year. No patient had a procedure-related complication, and there were no other complications. Radiological controls showed complete recovery. Percutaneous cryoablation seems to be an interesting and valuable alternative to resection for bony lesions with its limited access and high operative morbidity.

Behavioural and cognitive processes play important roles in mediating an individual's interactions with its environment. Yet, while there is a vast literature on repeatable individual differences in behaviour, relatively little is known about the repeatability of cognitive performance. To further our understanding of the evolution of cognition, we gathered 44 studies on individual performance of 25 species across six animal classes and used meta-analysis to assess whether cognitive performance is repeatable. We compared repeatability (R) in performance (1) on the same task presented at different times (temporal repeatability), and (2) on different tasks that measured the same putative cognitive ability (contextual repeatability). We also addressed whether R estimates were influenced by seven extrinsic factors (moderators): type of cognitive performance measurement, type of cognitive task, delay between tests, origin of the subjects, experimental context, taxonomic class and publication status. We found support for both temporal and contextual repeatability of cognitive performance, with mean R estimates ranging between 0.15 and 0.28. Repeatability estimates were mostly influenced by the type of cognitive performance measures and publication status. Our findings highlight the widespread occurrence of consistent inter-individual variation in cognition across a range of taxa which, like behaviour, may be associated with fitness outcomes.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.

En cas de métastases synchrones étendues d’un cancer colorectal, le traitement inversé consiste en une chimiothérapie néoadjuvante, suivie de la résection hépatique, puis de la tumeur primaire. La faisabilité, la réponse tumorale radiologique, la récidive et la survie à long terme sont évalués. La réponse tumorale radiologique a été évaluée par les critères selon le Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor (RECIST). La survie a été calculée avec les courbes de survie de Kaplan-Meier. Entre août 2008 et octobre 2016, 44 patients ont suivi un traitement inversé. Initialement, 73 % des patients étaient non opérables. La réponse radiologique, après chimiothérapie, a été stable (n = 27) ou avec rémission partielle (n = 12) chez 86 % des patients. Le traitement inversé a été poursuivi jusqu’à la résection de la tumeur primaire chez 41 patients (93 %). La survie sans maladie à 3 et 5 ans était de 25 %. La survie globale était de 59 % à 3 ans et de 39 % à 5 ans. Le traitement « foie d’abord » permet un taux élevé de poursuite du traitement jusqu’à la résection de la tumeur primaire, ainsi qu’une survie à long terme prometteuse pour des patients atteints de métastases hépatiques étendues d’un cancer colorectal.

Umbilical hernia is a common pathology and surgical repair is advised to prevent complications in symptomatic patients. However, risk factors that predict such advert events are unknown. The aim of the study was to determine whether morphological characteristics are associated with the occurrence of complications.

Percutaneous ablative procedures allow curative treatment of stage BCLC 0 or BCLC A hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as liver metastases of colorectal cancer. Several methods exist including radiofrequency ablation, the most commonly used. These techniques can be used in combination with surgical excision or alone if surgery is contraindicated. They are associated with significantly reduced mortality as compared to surgery.

Intraarterial procedures such as chemoembolization and radioembolization aim for the palliative treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (stage BCLC B and C with tumoral portal thrombosis). The combination of hepatic intraarterial chemotherapy and systemic chemotherapy can increase the probability of curing colorectal cancer with hepatic metastases not immediately accessible to surgical treatment or percutaneous ablation.

The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic value of post-mortem computed tomography angiography (PMCTA) to conventional, ante-mortem computed tomography (CT)-scan, CT-angiography (CTA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the detection and localization of the source of bleeding in cases of acute hemorrhage with fatal outcomes. The medical records and imaging scans of nine individuals who underwent a conventional, ante-mortem CT-scan, CTA or DSA and later died in the hospital as a result of an acute hemorrhage were reviewed. Post-mortem computed tomography angiography, using multi-phase post-mortem CTA, as well as medico-legal autopsies were performed. Localization accuracy of the bleeding was assessed by comparing the diagnostic findings of the different techniques. The results revealed that data from ante-mortem and post-mortem radiological examinations were similar, though the PMCTA showed a higher sensitivity for detecting the hemorrhage source than did ante-mortem radiological investigations. By comparing the results of PMCTA and conventional autopsy, much higher sensitivity was noted in PMCTA in identifying the source of the bleeding. In fact, the vessels involved were identified in eight out of nine cases using PMCTA and only in three cases through conventional autopsy. Our study showed that PMCTA, similar to clinical radiological investigations, is able to precisely identify lesions of arterial and/or venous vessels and thus determine the source of bleeding in cases of acute hemorrhages with fatal outcomes.