Geographically widespread and novel hemotropic mycoplasmas and bartonellae in Mexican free-tailed bats and sympatric North American bat species.

Unlabelled: Bacterial pathogens remain poorly characterized in bats, especially in North America. We describe novel (and in some cases panmictic) hemoplasmas (10.1% positivity) and bartonellae (25.

The state of the bats in North America.

The world's rich diversity of bats supports healthy ecosystems and important ecosystem services. Maintaining healthy biological systems requires prompt identification of threats to biodiversity and immediate action to protect species, which for wide-ranging bat species that span geopolitical boundaries warrants international coordination. Anthropogenic forces drive the threats to bats throughout North America and the world.

Geographically widespread and novel hemotropic mycoplasmas and bartonellae in Mexican free-tailed bats and sympatric North American bat species.

Bacterial pathogens remain poorly characterized in bats, especially in North America. We describe novel (and in some cases panmictic) hemoplasmas (10.5% positivity) and bartonellae (25.

Turning to the dark side: LED light at night alters the activity and species composition of a foraging bat assemblage in the northeastern United States.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a rapidly intensifying form of environmental degradation that can impact wildlife by altering light-mediated physiological processes that control a broad range of behaviors. Although nocturnal animals are most vulnerable, ALAN's effects on North American bats have been surprisingly understudied. Most of what is known is based on decades-old observations of bats around street lights with traditional lighting technologies that have been increasingly replaced by energy-efficient broad-spectrum lighting, rendering our understanding of the contemporary effects of ALAN on North American bats even less complete.

Evaporative water loss in Kuhl's pipistrelles declines along an environmental gradient, from mesic to hyperarid.

Intraspecific variation in animal energy and water balances may play an important role in local adaptation of populations to specific habitats such as deserts. We examined Kuhl's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii), a common bat in Israel that ranges in distribution from mesic Mediterranean to hyperarid desert habitats, for intraspecific differences in metabolic rate (MR) and evaporative water loss (EWL) among populations along a climatic gradient. We tested the prediction that EWL, especially at high ambient temperatures is lower in Kuhl's pipistrelles from desert habitats than from mesic habitats.

Approaches to integrating genetic data into ecological networks.

As molecular tools for assessing trophic interactions become common, research is increasingly focused on the construction of interaction networks. Here, we demonstrate three key methods for incorporating DNA data into network ecology and discuss analytical considerations using a model consisting of plants, insects, bats and their parasites from the Costa Rica dry forest. The simplest method involves the use of Sanger sequencing to acquire long sequences to validate or refine field identifications, for example of bats and their parasites, where one specimen yields one sequence and one identification.

Suppression of emission rates improves sonar performance by flying bats.

Echolocating bats face the challenge of actively sensing their environment through their own emissions, while also hearing calls and echoes of nearby conspecifics. How bats mitigate interference is a long-standing question that has both ecological and technological implications, as biosonar systems continue to outperform man-made sonar systems in noisy, cluttered environments. We recently showed that perched bats decreased calling rates in groups, displaying a behavioral strategy resembling the back-off algorithms used in artificial communication networks to optimize information throughput at the group level.

Similar burrow architecture of three arid-zone scorpion species implies similar ecological function.

Many animals reside in burrows that may serve as refuges from predators and adverse environmental conditions. Burrow design varies widely among and within taxa, and these structures are adaptive, fulfilling physiological (and other) functions. We examined the burrow architecture of three scorpion species of the family Scorpionidae: Scorpio palmatus from the Negev desert, Israel; Opistophthalmus setifrons, from the Central Highlands, Namibia; and Opistophthalmus wahlbergii from the Kalahari desert, Namibia.

Diversification and reproductive isolation: cryptic species in the only New World high-duty cycle bat, Pteronotus parnellii.

Background: Molecular techniques are increasingly employed to recognize the presence of cryptic species, even among commonly observed taxa. Previous studies have demonstrated that bats using high-duty cycle echolocation may be more likely to speciate quickly. Pteronotus parnellii is a widespread Neotropical bat and the only New World species to use high-duty cycle echolocation, a trait otherwise restricted to Old World taxa.

Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening.

Background: The aggressive and heterogeneous nature of lung cancer has thwarted efforts to reduce mortality from this cancer through the use of screening. The advent of low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) altered the landscape of lung-cancer screening, with studies indicating that low-dose CT detects many tumors at early stages. The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) was conducted to determine whether screening with low-dose CT could reduce mortality from lung cancer.

Baseline characteristics of participants in the randomized national lung screening trial.

Background: The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), a randomized study conducted at 33 US sites, is comparing lung cancer mortality among persons screened with reduced dose helical computerized tomography and among persons screened with chest radiograph. In this article, we present characteristics of the study population.

Methods: Eligible participants were aged 55-74 years and were current or former smokers with a cigarette smoking history of at least 30 pack-years.

Reasons women at elevated risk of breast cancer refuse breast MR imaging screening: ACRIN 6666.

Purpose: To determine reasons for nonparticipation in a trial of supplemental screening with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging after mammography and ultrasonography (US).

Materials And Methods: Women(n = 2809) at elevated risk of breast cancer were enrolled in the American College of Radiology Imaging Network 6666 US Screening Protocol at 21 institutions. Fourteen institutions met technical and experience requirements for this institutional review board-approved, HIPAA-compliant substudy of supplemental screening with MR imaging.

Sustained hypoxia depresses sensory processing of respiratory resistive loads.

Rationale: The combination of acute hypoxia and increased respiratory load is encountered in several respiratory diseases including acute life-threatening asthma and sleep apnea. Hypoxia has been shown to inhibit respiratory load perception in healthy and asthmatic subjects, and could contribute to treatment delays and impaired function of protective reflexes.

Objectives: Using respiratory-related evoked potentials (RREPs) this study aimed to determine the sensory processes mediating hypoxia-induced suppression of respiratory load sensation.