The alignment of multiple protein or DNA sequences is a common task in many biological fields. These alignments may then be used to identify conserved regions or positions, which could in turn be used to score the likely pathogenicity of a sequence change in a patient, detect functional domains that can determine the activity of an unknown gene, or map evolutionary relationships by tracking changes in conserved regions. The de...

The increased demand for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) testing in milk highlights the critical need for well-characterized samples that enable meaningful evaluation of current detection methods. In this study, we focus on the development and rigorous characterization of artificially contaminated spiked milk samples, forming the foundation for reliable assessment of assay performance. By using reverse transcriptase d...

Background Despite important advancements in diagnostic modalities, routine use of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and newer antifungal therapies, there is a paucity of contemporary data regarding clinical characteristics and outcomes of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in the United States. Methods Single-center, retrospective cohort study of hospitalized patients between 2015 and 2020, who had active hematological malignancy (H...

The Gopher Tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus ) is considered a keystone species because its burrows provide refuge for an entire suite of other species (hereafter burrow associates) that occupy the habitats in which it resides. The Gopher Tortoise has declined across its range in large part due to habitat loss and land use change resulting in burrow abandonment or reduced burrow density, and the concomitant negative effects on bu...

A good understanding of biotic interactions is necessary to accurately predict the vulnerability of ecosystems to climate change. Recently, co‐occurrence networks built from environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding data have arisen as a tool to explore interspecific interactions in ecological communities exposed to different human and environmental pressures. Such networks can identify environmentally driven relationships in mic...

Parasites represent a significant proportion of Earth's biodiversity and play important roles in the ecology and biology of ecosystems and hosts, making them an important target for conservation. Despite increasing calls to prioritize protection for parasites in the academic literature, they remain undervalued and underrepresented in global biodiversity conservation efforts, not least due to the perception that the interests o...