Local anesthetic-like inhibition of voltage-gated Na(+) channels by the partial μ-opioid receptor agonist buprenorphine.

Background: Opioids induce analgesia mainly by inhibiting synaptic transmission via G protein-coupled opioid receptors. In addition to analgesia, buprenorphine induces a pronounced antihyperalgesia and is an effective adjuvant to local anesthetics. These properties only partially apply to other opioids, and thus targets other than opioid receptors are likely to be employed.

Protected forests in Europe approaches-harmonising the definitions for international comparison and forest policy making.

Comparison of forest protection between regions in Europe is extremely difficult, because there is such wide variation of strategies, procedures and constraints; the way forests have been used historically and their present closeness to nature also varies, and furthermore so does the definition of what constitutes a forest. For the European Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) in 2003, forest protection has been harmonised into three categories for the sake of comparison: protection to safeguard biodiversity, protection of landscape and specific natural features, and protective forest functions. There is no single, uniform and universal model and no internationally agreed target with respect to the percentage of forests which should be protected.