Birds surveyed in the harvested and unharvested areas of a reduced-impact logged forestry concession, located in the lowland subtropical humid forests of the Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

As part of a larger study of reduced-impactlogging effects on bird community composition,we surveyed birds from December to Februaryduring the 2003-2004 wet-season within harvestedand unharvested blocks of the La Chonta forestryconcession, Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.The logged forest was harvested using reduced-impactlogging techniques between one and fouryears previously. During point count surveys, weidentified 5062 individual birds, belonging to 155species, and 33 families. We provide a list of birdspecies found within the harvested andunharvested blocks of the concession for thebenefit of other researchers assessing theresponses of Neotropical avifauna to disturbance,and to facilitate increased understanding of thediverse bird assemblages found within thelowland subtropical humid forests of Bolivia

DichroMatch: a website for similarity searching of circular dichroism spectra

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a widely used method for examining the structure, folding and conformational changes of proteins. A new online CD analysis server (DichroMatch) has been developed for identifying proteins with similar spectral characteristics by detecting possible structurally and functionally related proteins and homologues. DichroMatch includes six different methods for determining the spectral nearest neighbours to a query protein spectrum and provides metrics of how similar these spectra are and, if corresponding crystal structures are available for the closest matched proteins, information on their secondary structures and fold classifications. By default, DichroMatch uses all the entries in the Protein Circular Dichroism Data Bank (PCDDB) for its comparison set, providing the broadest range of publicly available protein spectra to match with the unknown protein. Alternatively, users can download or create their own specialized data sets, thereby enabling comparisons between the structures of related proteins such as wild-type versus mutants or homologues or a series of spectra of the same protein under different conditions. The DichroMatch server is freely available at http://dichromatch.cryst.bbk.ac.uk

High intensity variable stepping training in persons with motor incomplete spinal cord injury: a case series

Background and Purpose: Previous data suggest that large amounts of high intensity stepping training in variable contexts (tasks and environments) may improve locomotor function, aerobic capacity and treadmill gait kinematics in individuals post-stroke. Whether similar training strategies are tolerated and efficacious for patients with other acute-onset neurological diagnoses, such as motor incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) is unknown, particularly with potentially greater, bilateral impairments. This case series evaluated the feasibility and preliminary short and long-term efficacy of high intensity variable stepping practice in ambulatory participants >1 year post-iSCI. Case Series Description: Four participants with iSCI (neurological levels C5-T3) completed up to 40 1-hr sessions over 3–4 months. Stepping training in variable contexts was performed at up to 85% maximum predicted heart rate, with feasibility measures of patient tolerance, total steps/session, and intensity of training. Clinical measures of locomotor function, balance, peak metabolic capacity and gait kinematics during graded treadmill assessments were performed at baseline and post-training, with >1 year follow-up. Outcomes: Participants completed 24–40 sessions over 8–15 weeks, averaging 2222±653 steps/session, with primary adverse events of fatigue and muscle soreness. Modest improvements in locomotor capacity where observed at post-training, with variable changes in lower extremity kinematics during treadmill walking. Discussion: High intensity, variable stepping training was feasible and tolerated by participants with iSCI although only modest gains in gait function or quality were observed. The utility of this intervention in patients with more profound impairments may be limited

The Effect of Obesity and Increased Waist Circumference on the Outcome of Laparoscopic Nephrectomy

Introduction. The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide. Obesity can be determined by body mass index (BMI); however waist circumference (WC) is a better measure of central obesity. This study evaluates the outcome of laparoscopic nephrectomy on patients with an abnormal WC. Methods. A WC of >88 cm for women and >102 cm for men was defined as obese. Data collected included age, gender, American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score, renal function, anaesthetic duration, surgery duration, blood loss, complications, and duration of hospital stay. Results. 144 patients were assessed; 73 (50.7%) of the patients had abnormal WC for their gender. There was no difference between the groups for conversion to open surgery, number of ports used, blood loss, and complications. Abnormal WC was associated with a longer median anaesthetic duration, 233 min, IQR (215–265) versus 204 min, IQR (190–210), p=0.0022, and operative duration, 178 min, IQR (160–190) versus 137 min, IQR (128–162), p<0.0001. Patients with an abnormal WC also had a longer inpatient stay, p=0.0436. Conclusion. Laparoscopic nephrectomy is safe in obese patients. However, obese patients should be informed that their obesity prolongs the anaesthetic duration and duration of the surgery and is associated with a prolonged recovery

New Results from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Experiment

Using improved Ge and Si detectors, better neutron shielding, and increased counting time, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment has obtained stricter limits on the cross section of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) elastically scattering from nuclei. Increased discrimination against electromagnetic backgrounds and reduction of neutron flux confirm WIMP-candidate events previously detected by CDMS were consistent with neutrons and give limits on spin-independent WIMP interactions which are >2X lower than previous CDMS results for high WIMP mass, and which exclude new parameter space for WIMPs with mass between 8-20 GeV/c^2.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Forty years studying British politics : the decline of Anglo-America

The still present belief some 40 years ago that British politics was both exceptional and superior has been replaced by more theoretically sophisticated analyses based on a wider and more rigorously deployed range of research techniques, although historical analysis appropriately remains important. The American influence on the study of British politics has declined, but the European Union dimension has not been fully integrated. The study of interest groups has been in some respects a fading paradigm, but important questions related to democratic health have still to be addressed. Public administration has been supplanted by public policy, but economic policy remains under-studied. A key challenge for the future is the study of the management of expectations

Political Contestability and Public Contracting

Do public agents undertake socially inefficient activities to protect themselves? In politically contestable markets, part of the lack of flexibility in the design and implementation of the public procurement process reflects public agents' risk adaptations to limit the political hazards from opportunistic third parties---political opponents, competitors, and interest groups. Reduced flexibility limits the likelihood of opportunistic challenges, while externalizing the associated adaptation costs to the public at large. We study this matter and provide a comprehensive theoretical framework with empirically testable predictions

Expanding Economic Opportunity for More Americans: Bipartisan Policies to Increase Work, Wages, and Skills

Many workers today find themselves lacking the skills and training necessary to thrive in the modern economy. Most low- and middle-income workers have not seen meaningful wage increases in many years. Millions of men and women are missing from the workforce altogether. These challenges stem from profound shifts in the American economy and necessitate a dedicated policy response.Over the course of the past year, the Aspen Economic Strategy Group collected policy ideas to address the barriers to broad-based economic opportunity and identified concrete proposals with bipartisan appeal. These proposals are presented here

The private military industry and neoliberal imperialism: Mapping the terrain

Despite the international reach, and increasing global importance, of the free market provision of military and security services—which we label the Private Security Industry (PSI)—management and organization studies has yet to pay significant attention to this industry. Taking up Grey’s (2009) call for scholarship at the boundaries between security studies and organization studies and building on Banerjee’s (2008) treatment of the PSI as a key element in necrocapitalism, in this article we aim to trace the long history of the PSI and argue that it has re-emerged over the last two decades against, and as a result of, a very specific politico-economic backdrop. We then suggest that the PSI operates as a mechanism for neoliberal imperialism; demonstrate its substitution for and supplementing of the state; and count some of the costs of this privatization of war. Finally, we take seriously Hughes’s (2007) thesis of the growth of a new security-industrial complex, and of the intersecting elites who benefit from this phenomenon

Cluster of Sylvatic Epidemic Typhus Cases Associated with Flying Squirrels, 2004–2006

Infected persons had slept in an infested cabin