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Academics and donors have increasingly argued that African states can enhance their general administrative capacity by improving tax revenue collection. Proponents argue that administratively demanding improvements in tax administration may spillover to other areas of public administration by introducing improved practices, necessitating improvements elsewhere and providing data for other government activities. We make the first effort to test this hypothesis empirically, using an improved cross-country data set for sub-Saharan Africa. We find some evidence that from 1973 until the late 1990s improvements in tax administration tended to precede broader administrative improvements, consistent with the research hypothesis. By contrast, we find no evidence of such a pattern over the past decade. We conclude that these results provide tentative support for the hypothesis that improvements in tax collection can be a catalyst for broader gains in state capacity, but that such linkages are not guaranteed and depend on the particular character of reform. Points for practitioners Those involved with public administrative reform efforts have long been confronted with the question of whether reform is, or should be, an essentially system-wide process, or focused on developing ‘pockets of effectiveness’. This debate is particularly relevant to tax reform: a growing academic literature has argued that tax reform can be a catalyst for system-wide change, but the dominant reform model has focused on the creation of autonomous revenue agencies to achieve rapid but focused capacity gains. This research examines the case for believing that tax reform can be a catalyst for broader reform, and thus the case for adopting a reform model that focuses more explicitly on system-wide change.

Resume Les universitaires et les bailleurs de fonds soutiennent de plus en plus que les pays d’Afrique peuvent ameliorer leur capacite administrative generale en ameliorant le recouvrement des recettes fiscales. Les partisans de cette theorie soutiennent que les ameliorations eprouvantes sur le plan administratif au sein de l’administration fiscale peuvent avoir des retombees dans d’autres domaines de l’administration publique en instaurant des pratiques ameliorees, necessitant des ameliorations dans d’autres secteurs, et en apportant des informations utiles a d’autres activites de l’Etat. Nous sommes les premiers a verifier cette hypothese sur le plan empirique au moyen d’un ensemble de donnees transnationales ameliore pour l’Afrique subsaharienne. Certaines donnees indiquent qu’entre 1973 et la fin des annees 90, les ameliorations dans l’administration fiscale precedaient generalement des ameliorations administratives plus larges, conformement a notre hypothese de recherche. En revanche, rien ne semble indiquer qu’une telle tendance ait existe au cours de la derniere decennie. Notre conclusion est que ces resultats confirment dans une certaine mesure l’hypothese selon laquelle les ameliorations dans le recouvrement de l’impot peuvent susciter des ameliorations plus larges dans la capacite de l’Etat, mais que ces correlations ne sont pas garanties et dependent du caractere particulier de la reforme.Resume a l’intention des praticiensLes personnes associees aux initiatives de reforme de l’administration publique se sont pendant longtemps pose la question de savoir si la reforme etait, ou devait etre, un processus s’etendant essentiellement a l’echelle du systeme ou s’il devait etre axe sur le developpement de « poches d’efficacite ». Ce debat est particulierement pertinent en matiere de reforme fiscale : de plus en plus d’auteurs soutiennent que la reforme fiscale peut favoriser le changement a l’echelle du systeme, mais le modele de reforme predominant se concentre sur la creation d’administrations fiscales autonomes afin d’obtenir des gains de capacite rapides mais cibles. La presente etude verifie l’hypothese selon laquelle la reforme fiscale peut favoriser une reforme plus large, et donc le bien-fonde de l’adoption d’un modele de reforme plus explicitement axe sur le changement a l’echelle du systeme.

Is the analysis of patron‐client networks still important to the understanding of developing country politics or has it now been overtaken by a focus on ‘social capital’? Drawing on seventeen country studies of the political environment for livestock policy in poor countries, this article concludes that although the nature of patronage has changed significantly, it remains highly relevant to the ways peasant interests are treated. Peasant populations were found either to have no clear connection to their political leaders or to be controlled by political clientage. Furthermore, communities ‘free’ of patron‐ clienttiestothecentregenerallyarenotbetterrepresentedbypoliticalassociations but instead receive fewer benefits from the state. Nonetheless, patterns ofclientagearedifferentfromwhattheywerefortyyearsago.First,patronage chains today often have a global reach, through trade, bilateral donor governmentsandinternationalNGOs.Second,theresourcesthatfuelpoliticalclientage today are less monopolistic and less adequate to the task of purchasing peasant political loyalty. Thus the bonds of patronage are less tight than they were historically. Third, it follows from the preceding point and the greater diversity of patrons operating today that elite conflicts are much more likely to create spaces in which peasant interests can eventually be aggregated into autonomous associations with independent political significance in the national polity. NGOs are playing an important role in opening up this political space although at the moment, they most often act like a new type of patron.

Although open-cup nesting birds regularly experience partial predation events, little is known about partial predation for cavity-nesting birds. Here we report on 12 partial predation events for 5 species of cavity-nesting birds inhabiting southern pine forests. Snakes, small mammals, and woodpeckers were the primary predators; many were documented by direct visual observation or video photography. We documented two types of outcomes from partial predation events: partial failure, i.e., a single partial predation event followed by successful fledging of >1 young; and complete failure, i.e., multiple, sequential partial predation events that result in total nest failure. We propose the “plate too full” and “eat and run” hypotheses to explain partial nest predation in birds and discuss the characteristics of cavities that may facilitate this phenomenon.

The Critically Endangered (IUCN) Maui parrotbill Pseudonestor xanthophrys, an endemic Hawaiian honeycreeper, is restricted to a single population of about 500 individuals. During 3 breeding seasons (2006 to 2008) we found and monitored 17 Maui parrotbill nests from 13 pairs. Eggs and incubating females were confirmed for 12 of the nests, but only 4 fledged successfully. Severe weather led to nest abandonment in 5 cases. Two nests were depredated, and 1 nest had an egg that failed to hatch. Three pairs renested after failures. We used logistic linear regression and ANOVA to evaluate 300 h of observations to assess the effects of parental investment behavior and weather on nest fate. Female time incubating, a significant factor explaining nest fate, did not differ by time of day, but averaged 12 min h -1 less for failed than for successful nests. Male provisioning rates to adult females and chick feeding rates by parents were also significantly related to nest suc- cess. Male vocalizations near the nest did not differ by nest fate. Establishment of a second popula- tion is a key step in the recovery of Maui parrotbills, and a small captive population has been estab- lished. Although limited, our data suggest that collection of Maui parrotbill eggs and/or nestlings up to 1 wk old from nests for captive rearing, especially in advance of severe winter storms, would have minimal effects on the population.

Links between morphology and foraging strategies have been well established for many vertebrate groups. Foraging strategies of Melanerpes woodpeckers are especially variable, with at least six species being proficient flycatchers; the remainder of the better known species do not flycatch. Our objective was to examine variation in foraging tactics as it relates to skull morphology and other life history traits among these species to better understand the biology of these diverse woodpeckers. We measured eight skull characters from 241 individuals representing 19 species, but focused on eight species for which we had the most data. We used the log-geometric mean and a principal components analysis (PCA) to calculate size-scaled shape variables. Cluster analysis based on PCA scores clearly separated birds by foraging behavior. Species with similar foraging behaviors (i.e., flycatchers vs non-flycatchers) also share a number of other life history characteristics including similar plumage, diets, and migratory behavior. Diversity within Melanerpes may imply a high degree of plasticity or that species have been incorrectly placed in a polyphyletic group. Woodpeckers currently in the genus Melanerpes share few uniting characters and historically have been placed in as many as eight different genera. Additional life history, morphological, and genetic studies of the group, especially of Caribbean and Neotropical species, is warranted.

It is well established that even in countries that have poor governance and weak public sectors, exceptional well-functioning government and government-supported agencies do exist. What has not been established is where and why these ‘pockets of effectiveness’ are able to emerge. Some attribute their existence to exceptional leadership and good management. Others, while not doubting the importance of these internal factors, believe that these ‘pockets’ are generated by their place in the country's political economy. The literature on this subject is dominated by case studies and the consequence is that a very large number of hypotheses have been generated about what the political processes at work might be. This article inventories the array of available hypotheses and condenses them into five sets of meta-hypotheses. It also discusses how social scientists and practitioners ought to think about something whose occurrence is idiosyncratic. The future of development administration will be enhanced by more informed choice of strategic opportunities—avoiding both political determinism and a naive faith that all is equally possible to those who will it. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) is an unusual clinical entity that most frequently follows episodes of increased intrathoracic pressures. While typically a benign condition, potentially fatal complications of SPM must be considered and ruled out with each case. We aim to present the first case of croup-associated SPM in the otolaryngology literature and to discuss clinical, diagnostic and management principles. Days following the diagnosis of viral croup, a 7-year-old asthmatic girl presented with unstable vital signs and severe SPM. The patient was urgently taken to the operating room for an endoscopic airway evaluation, which revealed only a mild bacterial croup superinfection. Conservative treatment with inpatient monitoring and antibiotic therapy successfully resolved the episode. SPM should be immediately considered in the differential diagnosis of any patient presenting with cervical emphysema, especially in association with asthma, cough or strenuous activity. Following exclusion of other causes of SPM, conservative and supportive therapies are the mainstays of SPM management.

From a media standpoint, the past 12 months could be called the year of Tiger Woods. Starting with has fall from grace the night after Thanksgiving to his near triumphant return to the Masters in Augusta, no single athlete has so dominated the sports and tabloid headlines. For our essay this issue, JSM contributors Bill Davie, and Richard King and David Leonard offer two views of Tiger's media fallout. Davie looks at the public relations perspective, while King and Leonard analyze the coverage of Tiger through the lens of race.

The clinical efficacy of carbapenem antibiotics depends on their resistance to the hydrolytic action of beta-lactamase enzymes. The structure of the class D beta-lactamase OXA-1 as an acyl complex with the carbapenem doripenem was determined to 1.4 A resolution. Unlike most class A and class C carbapenem complexes, the acyl carbonyl oxygen in the OXA-1-doripenem complex is bound in the oxyanion hole. Interestingly, no water molecules were observed in the vicinity of the acyl linkage, providing an explanation for why carbapenems inhibit OXA-1. The side chain amine of K70 remains fully carboxylated in the acyl structure, and the resulting carbamate group forms a hydrogen bond to the alcohol of the 6alpha-hydroxyethyl moiety of doripenem. The carboxylate attached to the beta-lactam ring of doripenem is stabilized by a salt bridge to K212 and a hydrogen bond with T213, in lieu of the interaction with an arginine side chain found in most other beta-lactamase-beta-lactam complexes (e.g., R244 in the class A member TEM-1). This novel set of interactions with the carboxylate results in a major shift of the carbapenem's pyrroline ring compared to the structure of the same ring in meropenem bound to OXA-13. Additionally, bond angles of the pyrroline ring suggest that after acylation, doripenem adopts the Delta(1) tautomer. These findings provide important insights into the role that carbapenems may have in the inactivation process of class D beta-lactamases.

For many Kenyans the outcome of the 2007 presidential election represented a continuation of the betrayal of the promise made by Mwai Kibaki's government, elected in 2002, that a new Constitution would be drafted which would help to deal with Kenya's governance problems. The consequence was a closely contested election, ethnic division, a flawed election process, and serious post-election violence, which lasted well into 2008. This article analyses the underlying political features of Kenya that led to the election failure itself and the fundamental changes to the Kenyan system, including its Constitution, that are necessary to avert a recurrence of the 2007 election violence in the future.

Since 1990 contested elections have again become a regular fixture of the political systems of sub-Saharan Africa. But what do they mean? In this issue of the Journal of African Elections we consider four important sets of African elections and the lessons that can be drawn from them, both for democracy and for best electoral practice. None of these elections was 'typical' for the continent. All were fiercely contested. Those in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone came after extended periods of civil war; Kenya's provoked a major outbreak of violence after the results were announced; while Nigeria's saw opposition wins at the sub-national level and loss of life around the polling itself. Each has something important to say about the meaning of elections in Africa and the challenges that arise in running them well.

This study evaluates Sierra Leone's 2007 and 2008 elections, the role of the international community in supporting them, and their implications for the country's democracy. The 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections in Sierra Leone, the third generation of elections since the end of the civil war, were deemed substantially fair and resulted in a change of governing party, with Ernest Bai Koroma as president and the African Peoples Congress (APC) in the majority in Parliament. The 2008 local government elections were less successful, but gave the APC an even more decisive win. The restoration of peace in Sierra Leone, the succession of reasonable elections since 2000, and the change of regime via the ballot box in 2007 are all rightly seen as major accomplishments. This article examines the institutions of Sierra Leone's society and government that combined with international assistance to produce these positive results. Nonetheless, the structural conditions that gave rise to the civil war in the country - under-development, resource flows (diamonds and now, increasingly, drugs) that are difficult to control, a corrupt and remote political elite, marginalised youth, and strong regional divides in politics - all continue to exist.

In 2006 the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) held its first multiparty legislative and presidential elections in more than 40 years. Although not without flaws these elections were seen by international observers as acceptably fair. They were also designed as a major milestone on the road to peace in a country that has been torn apart by civil war. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Congo and the multi-donor election support that brought about these elections were both the largest and most expensive ever undertaken by the UN. The article poses two questions. One is, is democracy at hand in the DRC? The other is, have elections helped to bring peace? The answer to the first is 'Yes', but only if the term is defined narrowly to mean that multiple parties compete for power and that there is some marginal chance that the prime ministership might move to the opposition in 2011. If the question is rooted in a deeper understanding of democracy as based on the rule of law, protection for the political rights of minorities, a vigorous press, and, above all else, responsiveness of political leadership to the wishes of the citizenry, much is still lacking in the Congo. In most respects Congolese political life seems to be remarkably lacking in accountability. The answer to the second is cautiously positive. The number of warring groups in the DRC has been reduced and the elections gave President Kabila and his international interlocutors the legitimacy they needed to negotiate with Rwanda for the removal of the threat posed to the eastern DRC by General Nkunda.

Summary The Somali pastoral system of production covers at least six political entities. Three of the formal ones are within the borders of the former Republic of Somalia and do not meet the full definition of states. Despite the warfare that has often engulfed the former Somalia, it is a mistake to think of the three political entities that occupy it as necessarily or wholly anarchic. Lineage institutions have survived from the colonial era and been resurrected to provide venues for negotiation, consensus-building and the reduction of interpersonal violence, even if not the authoritative imposition of decisions upon groups of the unwilling. After 17 years of centrality to the continuity of Somali governance and the recreation of quasi-state political authorities, however, these lineage institutions are showing signs of stress. As their great influence came to be recognised they were penetrated by patronage and used by warlords to prosecute sub-clan warfare. They no longer are able to provide consensus representation even in the peaceful political systems of Somaliland and Puntland. Somalis therefore have experimented with new political institutions that could provide a greater basis for cross-clan action and authoritative decision-making – regional nationalism and democracy in Somaliland and Islamic sheria in all the territories but especially by the now-deposed (but far from dead) Union of Islamic Courts. Indeed sheria now is a central, unifying ideology throughout the Somalis, even if there is conflict over its interpretation and the instrumentalities through which it will be enforced. Somali governmental processes thus are present, but weak in their ability to impose decisions and to project their authority into the rural areas. There are public goods that Somalis need which only states can provide. But the transformation of traditional order in the warlord conflicts of the last 17 years will make such states difficult to create.

In the wake of 9/11, US popular culture has played an important role in the manufacture of consent and the mediation of contradictions. In particular, video games have aff orded the production of interactive, narrative spaces for the reassertion of race, nation, and gender. Through a close reading of two video games, Gun and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 , we unpack the insecurities of empire and how racialized violence, colonial categories, and territorial claims work to resecure Whiteness, masculinity, and Americanness. Special attention is given to the militarization of video games and rhetorical struggles over the meaning of race and culture amid the ‘War on Terror’.

The popularity and visibility of video games within American popular culture is prompted debates within from a spectrum of institutions, ranging from the media and the academy to Main Street and the political sphere. Erasing the complexity, much of the discourse focuses instead on questions of violence and the impact of gaming culture on (White) American youth. While focusing on Grand Theft: San Andreas specifically, this essay explores the culture wars surrounding American video game culture, arguing that the moral panics directed at video games and the defenses/celebrations of virtual reality operate through dominant discourses and hegemonic ideologies of race. Erasing their racial content and textual support for state violence directed at communities of color, the dominant discourse concerning youth and video games rationalizes the fear and policing of Black and Brown communities.

Niagale Bagayoko-Penone (2003) Afrique: les strategies francaise et americaine, Paris: L'Harmattan, 619 pp. Thomas P. M. Barnett (2004) The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the 21st Century, Ne...

The use of the ultrasonic dissector in head and neck surgery is becoming more prevalent. Although initially designed for use in laparoscopic abdominal surgery, potential advantages such as reduced incision size, hemostasis and reduced operative time has helped ultrasonic dissector use become more widespread. The ultraincision allows a simultaneous cut and coagulation at reduced energy, providing a clean, dry operative field with potential reduced risk to adjacent structures. It finds particular application in thyroid and parathyroid surgery, and is becoming more commonly used in parotidectomy, submandibular gland removal, neck dissection, and glossectomy. Ultrasonic dissection technology is continually improving, and with the development of more efficient, ergonomic dissectors, its use is set to increase in the head and neck.

The OXA-1 beta-lactamase is one of the few class D enzymes that has an aspartate residue at position 66, a position that is proximal to the active-site residue Ser(67). In class A beta-lactamases, such as TEM-1 and SHV-1, residues adjacent to the active-site serine residue play a crucial role in inhibitor resistance and substrate selectivity. To probe the role of Asp(66) in substrate affinity and catalysis, we performed site-saturation mutagenesis at this position. Ampicillin MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) values for the full set of Asp(66) mutants expressed in Escherichia coli DH10B ranged fromor =8 microg/ml for cysteine, proline and the basic amino acids toor =256 microg/ml for asparagine, leucine and the wild-type aspartate. Replacement of aspartic acid by asparagine at position 66 also led to a moderate enhancement of extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance. OXA-1 shares with other class D enzymes a carboxylated residue, Lys(70), that acts as a general base in the catalytic mechanism. The addition of 25 mM bicarbonate to Luria-Bertani-broth agar resulted in aor =16-fold increase in MICs for most OXA-1 variants with amino acid replacements at position 66 when expressed in E. coli. Because Asp(66) forms hydrogen bonds with several other residues in the OXA-1 active site, we propose that this residue plays a role in stabilizing the CO2 bound to Lys(70) and thereby profoundly affects substrate turnover.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to empirically examine the efficacy of setting multiple goals targeting complex competencies with a variety of time horizons pursued across a number of years. Most research conducted in the areas of goal setting examines an individual's ability to achieve a single goal targeting a simple skill or behavioral change within a short time period.Design/methodology/approachIn this longitudinal study competency development is assessed over time periods ranging from nine months to four and half years and examined using both self‐reported change and behavior change demonstrated through critical incident interviews.FindingsProgress over the study reveals that establishing learning goals is particularly important to the development of competencies. Subjects developed significantly more on competencies for which they set goals than on other competencies. They also demonstrated greater competency development when goals were remembered.Research limitations/implicationsSubjects were studied during a specific life change event – completion of an MBA program. Their particular education environment was designed to support and encourage change. It undoubtedly contributed to their development during the study. Results therefore may not generalize to broader populations. However, the results reveal clear implications for management education in both academic and corporate education settings.Practical implicationsThis study highlights important elements in the development process that when included enhance competency development and provide insight into the mechanisms underlying intentional change theory.Originality/valueThe research evaluates the complexity and difficulty involved in competency development. It provides empirical evidence to support goal setting and intentional change theories.

Background. Use of the ultrasonic dissector in thy- roid surgery is becoming more prevalent, with reduced opera- tive time and incision size reported. We assessed the value of the harmonic scalpel in routine thyroid lobectomy. Methods. We conducted a single blind, prospective pilot study of 52 euthyroid patients requiring thyroid lobectomy. Those with lesions not suitable for resection through a 4-cm incision, a history of thyroiditis, or uncontrolled thyroid dysfunction were excluded. Patients were allocated to 1 of 2 groups: group I (n 5 31), thyroid lobectomies using conventional surgical techniques; or group II (n 5 21), thyroid lobectomies using the ultrasonic dissector. Results. Outcomes for the 2 patient groups were compara- ble. There was no significant difference in operative time or inci- sion size. Conclusions. The ultrasonic dissector does not confer any quantifiable benefit in routine thyroid lobectomy when compared with conventional techniques. This is the first reported series in which its use has not reduced operative time. V

As the national media descended on Durham, North Carolina, in wake of public accusations of rape against three Duke Lacrosse student athletes, much of the discourse remained mired in its own shock and awe. Ignoring, if not erasing, histories of sexual violence involving White men and Black women while focusing on the problems plaguing college athletics, the media, and the numerous online defenders of the players used this instance to rearticulate tropes of White power, imagining the case as yet another assault on White masculinity. Beyond examining these deployed fictions and the denials of the possibility of guilt, given the player’s Whiteness, sport of choice, educational institution, and class status, this article explores the ways in which their student athlete identities were seen as either meaningless or evidence of innocence, especially in juxtaposition to the discursive articulation of the criminalized Black male student athlete.

Examining the specific reaction and context of meaning for Shawn Greens yearly internal battle between religious/personal commitments and job/team, and the historic context of Hank Greenberg's similar battles, this paper reflects on the complex and sometimes contradictory place of Jewishness within both the realms of popular and sporting cultures. In looking at the ways Shawn Green, the Los Angeles Dodgers, sports commentators, and fans have reacted to his Jewishness, and specifically his decision to skip games because of his religious cultural identity, this paper equally gives voice to the signifiers/discourse of Jewish (white) intrusion into the sports world. In exploring this discourse, this paper explores the meaning of Jewish celebrity within contemporary sports, analyzing the meaning and signifiers of Jewishness, whiteness, and celebrity within this popular cultural space. During the 2001 Major League Baseball season, Shawn Green made news by announcing that he would skip a Dodgers game in observance of Yom Kippur. In the midst of a record-breaking season, this choice received little negative reaction. Compared to Hank Greenberg, the legendary slugger who played for the Detroit Tigers from 1930 to 1947 (not coincidentally, 2001 also saw the release of a documentary about Greenberg),1 fans and sports commentators commended Green for his religious convictions and sacrifice. Three years and a handful of home runs later, Green once again announced plans to skip two games against the San Francisco Giants (he later compromised by missing one game). In the midst of a pennant race, and following two years of lackluster production on the field, fans and media commentators once again praised Green for his commitment to religion and values, while certain segments of the Jewish community (the more conservative elements) lambasted his compromised decision, disconnecting him from rhose true heroes of the past. This paper accepts the task of examining this particular history, exploring what each says about the meaning and place of Jews (and Jewishness) widiin contemporary popular culture. Examining the specific reaction and context of meaning for Shawn Green's yearly internal battle between religious/personal commitments and those of the job/team, this paper reflects on the complex and sometimes contradictory place of Jewishness within popular culture in general. In looking at the ways Shawn Green, the Los Angeles Dodgers, sports commentators, and fans have reacted to his Jewishness, and specifically his decision to skip games because of his religious cultural identity, this paper equally gives voice to the signifiers/ discourse of Jewish (white) intrusion into the sports world, which is imagined as a space of both blackness and Christianity. In exploring this discourse, this paper explores the meaning of Jewish celebrity within contemporary sports, analyzing the meaning and signifiers of Jewishness, whiteness, and celebrity within this popular cultural space. Specifically examining the public debates/reactions to his not playing games on Yom Kippur during the 2001 and 2004 seasons, inside a histoty of Jewish baseball and the question of identity, I look at how his dilemma played out in 2004. While assumed otherwise, a majority of fans and media supported his decision as a"breath of fresh air," whereas many in the Jewish community derided his decision as a betrayal to Greenberg and Koufax, and denounced Green as failing to lead the next generation of Jewish stars and everyday folks. Green was caught in a cultural paradox: playing on Yom Kippur was a betrayal to many in the Jewish community, yet embracing his religion/Jewishness appealed to many fans' American Dream sensibilities. Shawn Green's dilemma is one of accommodation and assimilation: should he heed the call to pray, or the obligation to play? His internal conflict reflects the external intersections of whiteness and Jewishness-American and foreigner-that take place in the realm of sports celebrity culture, and how these relationships inform the meaning, and making, of an American Jewish identity. …

Background Achieving tolerance of vascularized composite allografts (VCAs) would improve the risk-to-benefit ratio in patients who undergo this life-enhancing, though not lifesaving, transplant. Kidney cotransplantation along with a short course of high-dose immunosuppression enables tolerance of heart allografts across a full major histocompatibility complex (MHC) mismatch. In this study, we investigated whether tolerance of VCAs across full MHC disparities could be achieved in animals already tolerant of heart and kidney allografts. Methods Miniature swine that were tolerant of heart and/or kidney allografts long term underwent transplantation of myocutaneous VCA across the same MHC barrier. Before VCA transplant, group 1 (n = 3) underwent class I-mismatched kidney transplantation; group 2 (n = 3) underwent 2 sequential class I-mismatched kidney transplantations; group 3 (n = 2) underwent haploidentical MHC-mismatched heart/kidney transplantation; and group 4 (n = 2) underwent full MHC-mismatched heart/kidney transplantation. Results All 3 animals in group 1 and 2 of 3 animals in group 2 showed skin rejection within 85 days; 1 animal in group 2 showed prolonged skin survival longer than 200 days. Animals in groups 3 and 4 showed skin rejection within 30 days and regained in vitro evidence of donor responsiveness. Conclusions This is the first preclinical study in which hearts, kidneys, and VCAs have been transplanted into the same recipient. Despite VCA rejection, tolerance of heart and kidney allografts was maintained. These results suggest that regulatory tolerance of skin is possible but not generally achieved by the same level of immunomodulation that is capable of inducing tolerance of heart and kidney allografts. Achieving tolerance of skin may require additional immunomodulatory therapies.

The loss of an extremity is a disastrous injury with tremendous impact on a patient's life. Current mechanical prostheses are technically highly sophisticated, but only partially replace physiologic function and aesthetic appearance. As a biologic alternative, approximately 70 patients have undergone allogeneic hand transplantation to date worldwide. While outcomes are favorable, risks and side effects of transplantation and long-term immunosuppression pose a significant ethical dilemma. An autologous, bio-artificial graft based on native extracellular matrix and patient derived cells could be produced on demand and would not require immunosuppression after transplantation. To create such a graft, we decellularized rat and primate forearms by detergent perfusion and yielded acellular scaffolds with preserved composite architecture. We then repopulated muscle and vasculature with cells of appropriate phenotypes, and matured the composite tissue in a perfusion bioreactor under electrical stimulation in vitro. After confirmation of composite tissue formation, we transplanted the resulting bio-composite grafts to confirm perfusion in vivo.

Vascularized composite allograft (VCA) transplantation offers unparalleled restoration of devastating soft tissue and musculoskeletal defects, but the risk-to-benefit ratio of the necessary lifelong immunosuppression in the management of nonlife supporting transplants remains a cause for concern. Induction of transplant tolerance would permit VCA survival free from long-term immunosuppression. Hematopoietic mixed chimerism has been demonstrated to successfully induce tolerance of various donor tissues and organs in both small and large animal models, and has been successfully applied to clinical practice for induction of renal allograft tolerance. Recent research has demonstrated that tolerance of all components of VCAs can also be achieved using these approaches. We review the mechanisms operational in mixed-chimerism-based tolerance, chiefly deletion, regulation, and anergy; implications of peripheral versus central tolerance; discuss the potential differences between protocols achieving transient and stable mixed chimerism; highlight some issues specific to VCA transplantation due to the unique nature of the composite allograft; and finally outline some practical considerations for further progress in translating research findings to clinical protocols for VCA tolerance.

Background: Despite encouraging outcomes in vascularized composite allograft (VCA) transplantation, the risks of chronic immunosuppression limit widespread applicability. It has been suggested that infusion of donor bone marrow along with the VCA may reduce the level of immunosuppression required to prevent clinical VCA rejection. However, no clear evidence has yet been presented to confirm the role of donor bone marrow in the prevention of rejection. In this study we investigated the immunologic effects of concurrent bone marrow transplantation in a large animal VCA model. Methods: MGH miniature swine (n=4) received a non-myeloablative conditioning regimen consisting of low-dose total body irradiation, T-cell depletion, a short course of Cyclosporine A, with or without varying doses of donor bone marrow cells in combination with a complete MHC-mismatched VCA. Animals were monitored daily for signs of rejection or graft versus host disease. Chimerism levels were assessed using flow cytometry and in vitro assays were performed to assess for donor-specific responses. Results: Transient chimerism was prolonged with increased bone marrow cell doses and total body irradiation. While animals that received BMC infusions did not have significantly prolonged VCA acceptance following cessation of immunosuppression compared to animals that received conditioning without BMCs, they demonstrated better early clinical outcomes and demonstrated donor-specific unresponsiveness during the presence of detectable chimerism. Conclusions: Detectable mixed chimerism following bone marrow transplantation and VCA mitigates donor-specific responses and acute rejection episodes, but does not appear to be sufficient for tolerance induction.

Habitat preferences for many woodpeckers are poorly known in many regions of North America. Seven woodpecker species use forested wetlands in peninsular Florida, yet no study has examined habitat use by woodpeckers in these forests. From September 1991 to August 1992, we used unlimited-distance point counts to sample birds at 32 stations in 2 forested wetland types (spring-fed and blackwater) in central Florida. We documented 1415 visual or aural woodpecker detections. Melanerpes carolinus (Red-bellied Woodpecker), Picoides pubescens (Downy Woodpecker), and Dyrocopus pileatus (Pileated Woodpecker) were common, accounting for 91% of all detections. Overall woodpecker abundance was greater in spring-fed forests than in blackwater forests. The relative abundance of 4 species was greatest during the fall and winter; this trend likely reflected shifts between habitats in response to fruit production as well as an influx of migrant Sphyrapicus varius (Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers). The relative abundance ...

This article analyzes racialized readings of The Matrixtrilogy. Examining popular, academic, and vernacular sources, in print and online, it probes how commentators talk about race in the films and in turn how they use the films to talk about the racial politics of everyday life. It identifies two major interpretations: multiculturalist and White nationalist. It argues that despite obvious differences, together, these renderings of the trilogy must be understood as efforts to reconfigure racialized discourse in the wake of the civil rights movement, reworking white supremacy as they speak to, through, and against naturalized notions of difference at the start of the 21st century.

Notwithstanding the presence of extreme racialized tropes within the world of video games, public discourses continue to focus on questions of violence, denying the importance of games in maintaining the hegemonic racial order. Efforts to exclude race (and intersections with gender, nation, and sexuality) from public discussions through its erasure and the acceptance of larger discourses of colorblindness contribute to a problematic understanding of video games and their significant role in contemporary social, political, economic, and cultural organization. How can one truly understand fantasy, violence, gender roles, plot, narrative, game playability, virtual realities, and the like without examining race, racism, and/or racial stratification—one cannot. This article challenges game studies scholars to move beyond simply studying games to begin to offer insight and analysis into the importance of race and racialized tropes within virtual reality and the larger implications of racist pedagogies of video games in the advancement of White supremacy.

Various studies argue that underwriting fees are excessive and investment bankers prolong the price stabilization period in aftermarket trading of closed-end fund (CEF) shares. The poor performance of these funds also raises questions about the financial sophistication of initial public offering (IPO) buyers. In this study, we examine these issues for a sample of international stock CEFs. Our findings indicate that underwriting fees are not excessive relative to industrial issues, and we do not find that investment bankers prolong the stabilization period to camouflage the underwriting cost. Our findings are consistent with earlier studies that discounts contribute significantly to the poor performance during the first six months of aftermarket trading.

Amid the cultural, political, and military shifts of post-9-11 American policy, the video game industry has responded with patriotic fervor and released a series of video war games. Virtual war games elicit support for the War on Terror and United States imperialism, providing space where Americans are able to play through their anxiety, anger, and racialized hatred. While commentators cite a post-September 11 th climate as the reason for increasing interest and support for the U.S. military, this article underscores the importance of video games as part of the militarization of everyday life and offers insight into the increasingly close-knit relationship between the U.S. military, universities, and the video game industry. Because video games form an important pedagogical project of U.S. war practices, they must be critically analyzed.

In this essay, the author explores the absurdity of colorblind rhetoric within the discursive field of Kobe Bryant’s rape trial. Specifically, in examining articulations on the Internet, television coverage, commentaries, and news reports, this article reveals how colorblind ideologies that dominate public discussions conflict with the racialized discursive utterances surrounding Kobe’s arrest and ongoing trial. In exploring the reactions to accusations of rape against Kobe Bryant by both the mainstream media and White nationalists, this article repels the tendency to disassociate mainstream discourses surrounding race and sports from the more racially grotesque versions found among White nationalists. This article interrogates the context, text, and subtext of the racialized/gendered discourse of Kobe Bryant, situating this case study within the larger dynamics of racialized sports celebrity. It asks whether status as a celebrity athlete provides racial erasure and whether accusations of criminal misconduct not only reinscribe race but also erase celebrity.

Both governments and private for-profit markets have been disappointing in meeting the needs of the African poor for health care. NGO services provide a much more attractive alternative for this clientele, despite the fees they charge. They do so because they represent an institutional solution to the ‘imperfect information’ problem in health care. Through simulations based on data from Cameroon, we demonstrate that if fee-charging NGOs replace the highly subsidised but poorly managed facilities operated by African governments the poor would be better off. Those NGOs that are decentralised in their financial and personnel management are most effective. The politics of making the recommended changes are assessed.

OBJECTIVE—Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) has been thought to be progressive and irreversible. Recently, symptomatic reversal of DPN was reported after treatments with a near-infrared medical device, the Anodyne Therapy System (ATS). However, the study was not controlled nor was the investigator blinded. We initiated this study to determine whether treatments with the ATS would decrease pain and/or improve sensation diminished due to DPN under a sham-controlled, double-blind protocol. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Tests involved the use of the 5.07 and 6.65 Semmes Weinstein monofilament (SWM) and a modified Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI). Twenty-seven patients, nine of whom were insensitive to the 6.65 SWM and 18 who were sensitive to this filament but insensitive to the 5.07 SWM, were studied. Each lower extremity was treated for 2 weeks with sham or active ATS, and then both received active treatments for an additional 2 weeks. RESULTS—The group of 18 patients who could sense the 6.65 SWM but were insensitive to the 5.07 SWM at baseline obtained a significant decrease in the number of sites insensate after both 6 and 12 active treatments (P < 0.02 and 0.001). Sham treatments did not improve sensitivity to the SWM, but subsequent active treatments did (P < 0.002). The MNSI measures of neuropathic symptoms decreased significantly (from 4.7 to 3.1; P < 0.001). Pain reported on the 10-point visual analog scale decreased progressively from 4.2 at entry to 3.2 after 6 treatments and to 2.3 after 12 treatments (both P < 0.03). At entry, 90% of subjects reported substantial balance impairment; after treatment, this decreased to 17%. However, among the group of nine patients with greater sensory impairment measured by insensitivity to the 6.65 SWM at baseline, improvements in sensation, neuropathic symptoms, and pain reduction were not significant. CONCLUSIONS—ATS treatments improve sensation in the feet of subjects with DPN, improve balance, and reduce pain.

Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature Emily J. Lordi. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2013.I thought I knew something about the history of black music and artists like Mahalia Jackson and Bessie Smith; I thought I was well versed in the writings of Ralph Ellison and James Baldwin. I was wrong. Thankfully, Emily Lordi's brilliant Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature took me to school. Not only does the book expand one's understanding of a myriad of iconic black writers and singers, chronicling their collaborative histories, but also it offers profound and important readings of their insurgent works and their voices of freedom.At its core, Black Resonance is an examination of the shared histories, overlapping cultural discourses, and interconnections between the sonic and literary, between the artist and the writer, between song and text. "Ever since Bessie Smith's improbably powerful voice conspired with the emerging 'race records' industry to make her 'the first real superstar in African American popular culture,'" writes Lordi, "black writers have memorialized the sounds and detailed the politics of black women's singing" (1). Pushing back at the conventions that separate popular culture and high culture, activism and cultural production, intellectual musings and the sonic boom, Lordi, a professor of English at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, offers a series of examples that contest and undercut the binaries and boundaries that anchor discourses around culture.Challenging the myth of the muse and the privileging of certain forms of expression, Black Resonance moves the conversation about this history, a series of black artists, and our collective discourse around art, agency, and activism. It is not simply interesting intersecting vectors between black writers and artists or the ways that black writers, from Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison to James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni, engaged the work of singers, from Bessie Smith and Mahalia Jackson to Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin (and vice versa). According to the author, writers and singers are "equal partners in the creation of black aesthetics" (5) and in the production and articulation of "freedom Dreams" (See Robin D. G. Kelley's Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination, 2002). Lordi remarks thatI stage them as collaborators, in the etymological sense of 'laboring together,' as they develop analogous expressive techniques. It is necessary that they know each other, or that vocalists sing about writers, in order for writers and singers to collaborate in this way. Their collaboration is not literal; nor is it perfectly symmetrical. Writers discursively co-create musical meaning when they write about singers. (5)In a chapter on Ralph Ellison and Bessie Smith, Lordi highlights the dialectics operating with their work, and their deployed aesthetics, narratives, and tropes, challenging the discursive privileging of the "white gaze" and its flattening of their meanings. …

As the nascent field of computer games research and games studies develops, one rich area of study will be a semiotic analysis of the tropes, conventions, and ideological sub-texts of various games. This article examines the centrality of race and gender in the narrative, character development, and ideologies of platform video games, paying particular attention to the deployment of stereotypes, the connection between pleasure, fantasy and race, and their link to instruments of power. Video games represent a powerful instrument of hegemony, eliciting ideological consent through a spectrum of white supremacist projects.