Evaluation of Two Methods to Estimate and Monitor Bird Populations

Background: Effective management depends upon accurately estimating trends in abundance of bird populations over time, and in some cases estimating abundance. Two population estimation methods, double observer (DO) and double sampling (DS), have been advocated for avian population studies and the relative merits and short-comings of these methods remain an area of debate. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used simulations to evaluate the performances of these two population estimation methods under a range of realistic scenarios. For three hypothetical populations with different levels of clustering, we generated DO and DS population size estimates for a range of detection probabilities and survey proportions. Population estimates for both methods were centered on the true population size for all levels of population clustering and survey proportions when detection probabilities were greater than 20%. The DO method underestimated the population at detection probabilities less than 30 % whereas the DS method remained essentially unbiased. The coverage probability of 95 % confidence intervals for population estimates was slightly less than the nominal level for the DS method but was substantially below the nominal level for the DO method at high detection probabilities. Differences in observer detection probabilities did not affect the accuracy and precision of population estimates of the DO method. Population estimates for the DS method remained unbiased as the proportion of units intensively surveyed changed, but the variance of th

Soaking in Aqueous Ammonia (SAA) Pretreatment of Whole Corn Kernels for Cellulosic Ethanol Production from the Fiber Fractions

Corn fiber is a co-product of commercial ethanol dry-grind plants, which is processed into distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and used as animal feed, yet it holds high potential to be used as feedstock for additional ethanol production. Due to the tight structural make-up of corn fiber, a pretreatment step is necessary to make the cellulose and hemicellulose polymers in the solid fibrous matrix more accessible to the hydrolytic enzymes. A pretreatment process was developed in which whole corn kernels were soaked in aqueous solutions of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 wt% ammonia at 105 °C for 24 h. The pretreated corn then was subjected to a conventional mashing procedure and subsequent ethanol fermentation using a commercial strain of natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae with addition of a commercial cellulase. Pretreatment of the corn with 7.5 wt% ammonia solution plus cellulase addition gave the highest ethanol production, which improved the yield in fermentation using 25 wt% solid from 334 g ethanol/kg corn obtained in the control (no pretreatment and no cellulase addition) to 379 g ethanol/kg corn (a 14% increase). The process developed can potentially be implemented in existing dry-grind ethanol facilities as a “bolt-on” process for additional ethanol production from corn fiber, and this additional ethanol can then qualify as “cellulosic ethanol” by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Renewable Fuels Standard and thereby receive RINs (Renewable Identification Numbers)

Sedução e identidade nacional: dançarinas eróticas brasileiras no Queens, Nova York Performing Seduction and National Identity: Brazilian Erotic Dancers in New York

Este artigo examina a trajetória de mulheres brasileiras que trabalham como dançarinas eróticas em bares noturnos da cidade de Nova York. Parte-se do pressuposto de que processos de globalização e transnacionalismo estão relacionados não apenas a transformações políticoeconômicas, como também a mudanças na maneira com que as pessoas se relacionam, como utilizam seus corpos e realizam seus desejos. Tais transformações devem também ser entendidas em relação ao regime colonial e pós-colonial, em que representações sobre seus corpos ganham inteligibilidade. A maioria das mulheres consideradas pela pesquisa é proveniente das classes médias e, quanto à raça, tendem a se autodenominar "morenas". A partir de trabalho de campo realizado durante os anos de 2004 e 2005, eu analiso de que forma essas posições e identidades sociais são traduzidas de um contexto a outro, e como novas hierarquias sociais são construídas num contexto transnacional. Tomando como foco de estudo o Blue Diamond, um bar localizado no bairro do Queens, este artigo examina como tais reconfigurações transnacionais são articuladas através das interações cotidianas entre dançarinas e entre essas e seus clientes<br>This article examines the trajectory of Brazilian women who work as erotic dancers in New York City's gentlemen's bars. It argues that processes of globalization and transnationalism are related not just with political-economic transformations, but also to significant shifts in the ways people relate to each other, use their bodies, and conceive and realize their desires. Such transformations must also be understood in relation to a colonial and post-colonial regime, in which representations about their bodies gain intelligibility. Most of the women who participated in my research are from the middle-classes, and in terms of race, they self-identify as "morenas". Based on fieldwork conducted between years 2004-2005, I analyze how their social positioning and identity are translated from one context to another, and how new social hierarchies are constructed in a transnational context. Taking as a focus of study Blue Diamond, a bar located in the borough of Queens, this article investigates how these transnational reconfigurations are articulated through particular relationships among dancers and between dancers and client