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Computational methods like molecular docking, pharmacokinetic study, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation and Molecular Mechanics‐Poisson‐Boltzmann Surface Area (MM‐PBSA) were used to investigate the ability of Glycyrrhiza glabra phytoconstituents to modulate the activity of GABA‐A receptor. The docking studies suggested that both Kanzonol U and Glabrol, have shown superior binding abilities, as evident by their binding energies of −11.8 and −11.4 kcal/mol, respectively, as compared to diazepam (−10.0 kcal/mol), which is an allosteric modulator of GABA‐A. Only nine constituents were identified as the blood‐brain barrier permeants in the SwissADME investigation, with binding energy≤−10.0 kcal/mol. The docking results were further strengthened by MD simulation which showed that the Kanzonol U and Glabrol complex displayed good conformational stability with an average RMSD of 0.20 nm. Additionally, MM‐PBSA outcomes revealed that these phytochemicals as the most potent GABA‐A modulators. All these investigations suggest that the phytochemicals Kanzonol U and Glabrol may produce a promising antiepileptic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the comprehensive analysis of ab initio and experimental results of a large number of diatomic systems, the systematic deviation of ab initio method in vibrational energies prediction caused by physical/mathematical simplification is located. A joint ab initio and machine learning method based on information across molecules is proposed to deal with the problem. Starting from an ab initio model, and then systematically modifying it through machine learning, the vibrational energies prediction of many diatomic systems (SiC, HBr, NO, PC, N2, SiO, O2, ClF, etc.) have been improved, and significantly surpassed the more complex ab initio model. In addition to the improvement of accuracy, the new method also greatly reduces the computational expense, and is applicable for the systems without experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex differences in aging occur in many animal species, and they include sex differences in lifespan, in the onset and progression of age-associated decline, and in physiological and molecular markers of aging. Sex differences in aging vary greatly across the animal kingdom. For example, there are species with longer-lived females, species where males live longer, and species lacking sex differences in lifespan. The underlying causes of sex differences in aging remain mostly unknown. Currently, we do not understand the molecular drivers of sex differences in aging, or whether they are related to the accepted hallmarks or pillars of aging or linked to other well-characterized processes. In particular, understanding the role of sex-determination mechanisms and sex differences in aging is relatively understudied. Here, we take a comparative, interdisciplinary approach to explore various hypotheses about how sex differences in aging arise. We discuss genomic, morphological, and environmental differences between the sexes and how these relate to sex differences in aging. Finally, we present some suggestions for future research in this area and provide recommendations for promising experimental designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in moonlight intensity can affect predation risk and induce changes in habitat use and activity of nocturnal species. However, the effect of moonlight on animal activity is rarely evaluated in human‐modified landscapes and can be of vital importance to understand possible changes in ecosystem services provided by light‐sensitive taxa, such as insectivorous bats. Fragmentation changes forest structure and affects light penetration across the landscape. In this case, the effects of fragmentation on bat activity can be modulated by cyclical variations of moonlight intensity. We acoustically quantified the activity of nine aerial insectivorous bat species in relation to moonlight at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Central Amazonia. We aimed to understand species‐level variation in activity across habitats (continuous forest, fragments and secondary forest) at different temporal scales: lunar cycle, dark vs. bright nights and within nights. Amazonian aerial insectivorous bats responded more to habitat type than to moonlight, with two and six species showing reduced activity in fragments and secondary forest, respectively, compared to continuous forest. The lower activity in secondary forest suggests that despite c. 30 years of secondary forest regeneration, it is still less attractive as foraging habitat. An interactive effect of habitat type and moonlight on bat activity was most evident when contrasting dark and bright nights. Our results indicate that fragments have reduced bat activity on extremely bright nights, probably due to higher predation risk in small fragments. Species that emit constant‐frequency calls (Pteronotus spp.) were the ones that most modulated their responses to habitat disturbance and moonlight. Otherwise, moonlight had little effect on hourly activity levels, irrespective of habitat type. Moonlight is capable of modulating the responses of some bat species in disturbed habitats, particularly in fragments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Over the last decade, the recognized host range of hantaviruses has expanded considerably with the discovery of distinct hantaviruses in shrews, moles and bats. Unfortunately, in-depth studies of these viruses have been limited. Here we describe a comprehensive analysis of the spatial distribution, genetic diversity and evolution of Nova virus, a hantavirus that has the European mole as its natural host. Our analysis demonstrated that Nova virus has a high prevalence and widespread distribution in Belgium. While Nova virus displayed relatively high nucleotide diversity in Belgium, amino acid changes were limited. The nucleocapsid protein was subjected to strong purifying selection, reflecting the strict evolutionary constraints placed upon Nova virus by its host. Spatio-temporal analysis using Bayesian evolutionary inference techniques demonstrated that Nova virus had efficiently spread in the European mole population in Belgium, forming two distinct clades, representing east and west of Belgium. The influence of landscape barriers, in the form of the main waterways, on the dispersal velocity of Nova virus was assessed using an analytical framework for comparing Bayesian viral phylogenies with environmental landscape data. We demonstrated that waterways did not act as an environmental resistance factor slowing down Nova virus diffusion in the mole population. With this study, we provide information about the spatial diffusion of Nova virus and contribute sequence information that can be applied in further functional studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Vakuum in Forschung und Praxis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Process controls on water, sediment, nutrient, and organic carbon exports from the landscape through runoff are not fully understood. This paper provides analyses from 446 sites worldwide to evaluate the impact of environmental factors (MAP and MAT: mean annual precipitation and temperature; CLAY and BD: soil clay content and bulk density; S: slope gradient; LU: land use) on annual exports (RC: runoff coefficients; SL: sediment loads; TOCL: organic carbon losses; TNL: nitrogen losses; TPL: phosphorus losses) from different spatial scales. RC was found to increase, on average, from 18% at local scale (in headwaters), 25% at microcatchment and subcatchment scale (midreaches) to 41% at catchment scale (lower reaches of river basins) in response to multiple factors. SL increased from microplots (468 g m-2 yr-1) to plots (901 g m-2 yr-1), accompanied by decreasing TOCL and TNL. Climate was a major control masking the effects of other factors. For example, RC, SL, TOCL, TNL, and TPL tended to increase with MAP at all spatial scales. These variables, however, decreased with MAT. The impact of CLAY, BD, LU, and S on erosion variables was largely confined to the hillslope scale, where RC, SL, and TOCL decreased with CLAY, while TNL and TPL increased. The results contribute to better understanding of water, nutrient, and carbon cycles in terrestrial ecosystems and should inform river basin modeling and ecosystem management. The important role of spatial climate variability points to a need for comparative research in specific environments at nested spatiotemporal scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of interspecies information transfer in mammals is scarce compared with other taxa. We investigated whether eavesdropping on echolocation calls of bats may be used by sympatric bats with similar feeding ecology. We performed playback experiments with three free-ranging neotropical bat species, broadcasting search phase calls or feeding buzzes of conspecifics and heterospecifics belonging either to the same or to another bat family. Both the greater fishing bat Noctilio leporinus and the lesser bulldog bat Noctilio albiventris ( Noctilionidae) reacted with repeated approaches in response to playbacks of search phase calls and feeding buzzes from conspecifics and also to congeneric feeding buzzes. Noctilio leporinus also were attracted by search phase calls from its sister species N. albiventris. In contrast, the sac-winged bat Saccopteryx bilineata ( Emballonuridae) did not react to any playback sequences presented. Our results support the existence of eavesdropping behaviour for both species of Noctilio. We suggest that information transfer via eavesdropping may depend mainly on species-specific traits, including foraging style and social behaviour (territoriality, group foraging), and on distribution and density of prey. Call design had only a minor influence on the reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aims To provide controlled data on direct induction with buprenorphine/naloxone (BNX) versus indirect buprenorphine (BPN)-to-BNX induction. Design Phase 4, prospective, randomized, active-drug controlled, parallel-group trial consisting of a 2-day, double-blind, double-dummy induction phase followed by 26 days of open-label treatment with BNX. Setting Nineteen sites in 10 European countries from March 2008 to December 2009. Participants A total of 187 opioid-dependent men and women ≥15 years of age. Measurements The primary objective was assessment of patient response to direct and indirect BNX induction [proportion of patients receiving the scheduled 16-mg BNX dose on day 3 (i.e. first day post-induction)]. Secondary assessments included illicit drug use, treatment retention and compliance, withdrawal scale scores, and safety. Findings Patient response to direct- versus indirect-BNX induction was similar [direct 91.4% (85/93) versus indirect 90.4% (85/94); 95% confidence interval (CI): −7.3%, 9.2%]. Rapid dose induction (16 mg of BPN equivalent on day 2) was acceptable and 72% of patients completed treatment (day 28). There were no significant differences in secondary measures across groups. An average BNX maintenance dose of 15.3 mg across groups was associated with substantial reductions in illicit opioid use and no self-reported intravenous misuse. Treatment compliance and retention rates were similar (98.5% and 81.3%, respectively). Treatment-emergent adverse event rates were comparable: 75% versus 74% for direct- versus indirect-induction groups, respectively. Conclusions Direct buprenorphine/naloxone induction was a safe and effective strategy for maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. Response to high-dose direct buprenorphine/naloxone induction appears to be similar to indirect buprenorphine-to-buprenorphine/naloxone induction and was not associated with reports of intravenous buprenorphine/naloxone misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scent marks are relatively long-lived signals that can be perceived by conspecifics when the producer is absent. Therefore, it is often not obvious to whom the signal is directed. In daytime roosts of the polygynous greater sac-winged bat, males scent mark territories with facial gland secretions. Territories are a valuable resource for males, as they offer exclusive courtship opportunities, which results in increased male reproductive success and, consequently, increased male–male competition over territories. The information encoded in male scent marks could, therefore, be either directed at females as part of an olfactory courtship display or at male competitors as part of territorial behaviour. We expected territorial males to scent mark in the morning, shortly before females return to the territory and close to female roosting sites, if scent marks are directed at females as part of the courtship display. And we expected harem males to scent mark at the territory boundaries, where male–male encounters are most likely to occur, if scent marks are directed at male competitors. We found that males marked more frequently in the afternoon, at a time when all females have already left the territory, and harem males marked at the territory boundaries and not inside their territory in the area where females roost. At boundaries males fan volatiles from specialised wing sacs towards competitors outside the territory. Scent marking of male Saccopteryx bilineata might therefore be congruent with the assessment-hypothesis, which states that scent marks offer intruders the possibility to make an olfactory assessment of the territory owner without direct physical interaction. Thus, scent marks of male S. bilineata are most likely influenced by male–male competition and not by female choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although tree cavities are a particularly critical resource for forest bats, how bats search for and find new roosts is still poorly known. Building on a recent study on the sensory basis of roost finding in the noctule (Ruczynski et al. 2007), here we take a comparative approach to how bats find roosts. We tested the hypothesis that species’ flight abilities and echolocation call characteristics play important roles in how well and by which cues bats find new tree roosts. We used the very manoeuvrable, faintly echolocating brown long-eared bat ( Plecotus auritus) and the less manoeuvrable, louder Daubenton’s bat ( Myotis daubentonii) as study species. The species are sympatric in European temperate forests and both roost in tree cavities. We trained bats in short-term captivity to find entrances to tree cavities and experimentally manipulated the sensory cues available to them. In both species, cue type influenced the search time for successful cavity detection. Visual, olfactory and temperature cues did not improve the bats’ performance over the performance by echolocation alone. Eavesdropping on conspecific echolocation calls played back from inside the cavity decreased search time in Daubenton’s bat ( M. daubentonii), underlining the double function of echolocation signals – orientation and communication. This was not so in the brown long-eared bat ( P. auritus) that has low call amplitudes. The highly manoeuvrable P. auritus found cavities typically from flight and the less manoeuvrable M. daubentonii found more entrances during crawling. Comparison with the noctule data from Ruczyński et al. (2007) indicates that manoeuvrability predicts the mode of cavity search. It further highlights the importance of call amplitude for eavesdropping and cavity detection in bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zoological Systematics & Evolutionary Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To describe a framework that can be used to determine optimal spending on substance abuse treatment in the United States. Selective review of the literature on spending for substance abuse treatment combined with an economic analysis of how to determine when spending is optimal, defining optimal spending as that which minimizes the social costs of substance use disorders. In 1997, only $11.9 billion of the $294 billion estimated social costs of substance abuse was spent on treatment. The discrepancy between the high indirect costs of illness relative to the level of spending on treatment of addictive disorders leads many to believe that the United States spends too little on treatment. In this paper, we argue that information on the social costs of substance abuse disorders and the level of spending on treatment is insufficient to determine whether current spending is optimal. We develop a framework that could be used to determine optimal spending on substance abuse treatment in the United States. We develop this framework in four steps. First, we provide background on the unique financial and delivery features of substance abuse treatment. Secondly, we outline the points raised by advocates of expanded substance abuse treatment: substance abuse has high social costs, yet few people receive the many effective treatments available partly because of financial barriers to treatment. Thirdly, we provide a framework that can be used to judge the additional benefits of alternative levels and types of spending on substance abuse treatment. Finally, we discuss the distinction between the potential impact of spending on substance abuse treatment and its actual impact, using productivity as an example of one significant portion of the costs of substance abuse. To determine optimal spending on substance abuse treatment, research should describe who receives treatment, the quality of treatment received, and how treatments relate to outcomes that comprise a large share of the economic burden of substance abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of an individual's lifting capacity is an important component in Functional Capacity Evaluation, which is widely used to delineate potential for work. Despite a recent surge in the number and types of Functional Capacity Evaluations, and therefore in approaches to determining lifting capacity, there has been limited research to support the reliability and validity of their use. This study evaluated the inter-rater reliability of five occupational therapists in determining safe maximal lifting capacity using a biomechanical approach. In addition, the use of an operational definition of a safe lift was examined to determine its effect on therapists' decisionmaking process and therefore the reliability of their ratings. The use of an operational definition was found to significantly affect therapists' decision-making process in differentiating safe from unsafe lifts, with all raters showing highly significant improvements in their ability to determine the safety of lifts from pre- to postdefinition ratings, according to McNemar's chi-square statistic. The provision of a definition also enhanced therapists' reliability of ratings, with kappa values that ranged from 0.47 to 0.74 predefinition changing to 0.56-0.82 postdefinition. Possible explanations for the change in decision-making are discussed and the need for ongoing evaluation of procedures used in Functional Capacity Evaluation, particularly with regard to the determination of lifting capacity, are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]