Building dialogue on complex conservation issues in a conference setting.

Dialogue about complex science and society issues is important for contemporary conservation agendas. Conferences provide an appropriate space for such dialogue, but despite its recognized worth, best practices for facilitating active dialogue are still being explored. Face-to-face (FTF) and computer-mediated communication (CMC) are two approaches to facilitating dialogue that have different strengths.

Dissociation between sex differences in the immunological, behavioral, and physiological effects of kappa- and delta-opioids in Fischer rats.

Rationale: The sex of the individual can have a profound effect on sensitivity to the effects of opioids. Recently, our laboratory provided the first evidence that females may be more sensitive to the immune-altering effects of mu-opioids than males. However, it remains unknown whether kappa- and delta-opioids produce sexually dimorphic effects on immune responses.

Determination of the three-dimensional, solution-phase structure of the macrolide antibiotic oxolide in CD2Cl2 and D2O from NMR constraints.

The three-dimensional structure of the antibiotic oxolide, (9S,11S)-11-amino-9-deoxo-11,12-deoxy-9,12-epoxyerythromycin, was determined in CD2Cl2 through constrained molecular mechanics with constraints derived from proton NMR. The calculations yielded a well-defined global minimum. Data acquired for oxolide in D2O, although not as complete, indicate that the antibiotic adopts the same conformation in water.