A before-after control-impact assessment to understand the potential impacts of highway construction noise and activity on an endangered songbird.

Anthropogenic noise associated with highway construction and operation can have individual- and population-level consequences for wildlife (e.g., reduced densities, decreased reproductive success, behavioral changes).

Predicting patch occupancy in fragmented landscapes at the rangewide scale for an endangered species: an example of an American warbler.

AIM: Our objective was to identify the distribution of the endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) in fragmented oak-juniper woodlands by applying a geoadditive semiparametric occupancy model to better assist decision-makers in identifying suitable habitat across the species breeding range on which conservation or mitigation activities can be focused and thus prioritize management and conservation planning. LOCATION: Texas, USA. METHODS: We used repeated double-observer detection/non-detection surveys of randomly selected (n = 287) patches of potential habitat to evaluate warbler patch-scale presence across the species breeding range.

The GDC - lifting the lid. Part 5: illegal practice.

In its primary role of protecting the public the General Dental Council has many tools at its disposal, one of which is pursing those who seek to practise dentistry illegally. Such illegal practice takes several different forms: dentists who have been erased or removed from the register but continue to practise, unregistered dental technicians who practise dentistry, and beauty salons that offer tooth whitening. Consequently a variety of approaches is required in order to apprehend the miscreant and persuade, prevent and even prosecute them in the process of stopping their illegal activities.

The GDC - lifting the lid. Part 4: fitness to practise.

As an organisation whose function is to protect the public, the General Dental Council's role in investigating complaints about dentists and dental care professionals dealing suitably with those who have been shown to practise in an unprofessional or dangerous manner is obviously of paramount importance. This article looks at the GDC's fitness to practise procedures - the system that looks into complaints and allegations of malpractice about dental practitioners. It outlines the different stages in the process and introduces some of the many people involved with the efficient running of this vital service.

The GDC--lifting the lid. Part 3: education, CPD and revalidation.

This third article in the series looks at the areas of education, continuing professional development and the forthcoming introduction of revalidation, which form a 'continuum of quality assurance' through a dentist's professional life and ensure that standards of dentistry remain high. The article introduces some of the key members of staff involved with education at the General Dental Council and details some of the complicated issues involved with regulating dental education from undergraduate level onwards.

The GDC - lifting the lid. Part 2: registration.

This second part of the BDJ series on the work and future plans of the General Dental Council looks at the GDC's role in the registration of dental professionals. To dentists, registration is perhaps the most immediately obvious aspect of the GDC's work. The article gives an in-depth look at this important area, introducing the reader to some of those involved with registration enquiries and looking at some of the more complex issues involved with registration, including the process of dealing with registration applications from overseas.

The GDC--lifting the lid. Part 1: Professionalism and standards.

The General Dental Council (GDC) began life as a committee of the General Medical Council before becoming the sole regulatory body for the dental profession over 50 years ago. In that time, although the nature of its role in providing protection to the public has remained essentially the same, the environment in which it has had to operate has changed remarkably. In an attempt to help the GDC explain and clarify their work for the benefit of readers, the BDJ invited them to write a series in their own words describing their work, philosophy and plans for the future.

A method for surveying instrument decontamination procedures in general dental practice.

Objective: This paper describes an objective method for assessing the decontamination procedures used for reprocessing dental instruments in primary dental care facilities.

Materials And Methods: The study population comprised all general dental practitioners in Scotland with an NHS list number. A two-stage process was used to identify which surgeries were to be surveyed, using a proportional stratified random sampling method.

Life-history and ecological correlates of geographic variation in egg and clutch mass among passerine species.

Broad geographic patterns in egg and clutch mass are poorly described, and potential causes of variation remain largely unexamined. We describe interspecific variation in avian egg and clutch mass within and among diverse geographic regions and explore hypotheses related to allometry, clutch size, nest predation, adult mortality, and parental care as correlates and possible explanations of variation. We studied 74 species of Passeriformes at four latitudes on three continents: the north temperate United States, tropical Venezuela, subtropical Argentina, and south temperate South Africa.

Preventing posttraumatic pneumonia.

Between 20% and 40% of patients admitted to the hospital with multiple trauma develop bacterial pneumonias. The most immediate causes are aspiration, blunt chest trauma, and prolonged immobilization. Traumatic shock and the need for immediate head and chest surgery are contributing factors.

Drug-induced methemoglobinemia in a healthy 20-year-old soldier undergoing shoulder surgery.

A young adult male, ASA status I, presented for left shoulder arthroscopy. His medications included indocin for shoulder pain and chloroquine, an antimalarial. He was anesthetized using propofol, midazolam, fentanyl, and a relaxant.

Nosocomial pneumonia.

A variety of physiologic mechanisms repel the threat of infection. Numerous phenomena associated with trauma and surgery serve to increase risk for nosocomial infection. Postoperative pneumonia is a major concern to anesthetists ranking second in overall incidence but first in fatal outcome of hospital-acquired infections.

A successful experiment to reduce unnecessary laboratory use in a community hospital.

A series of interventions at a 228-bed general hospital provided physicians with feedback at regular intervals concerning the amount of laboratory services employed in treating their patients. Case-mix-adjusted estimates of laboratory tests allowed each physician to compare use of laboratory tests with that of peers in the same department at the same hospital. Physicians with "excess" practice patterns ordered hundreds more laboratory tests than average each year.

Computer-assisted concurrent antibiotic review in a community hospital.

A computer-assisted program that monitors the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing by matching microbiology reports and patient drug profiles is described. An antibiotic review committee in conjunction with the quality assurance department developed the computer-assisted antibiotic review program. An antibiotic order sheet was incorporated into the physicians' order form.

Bugs, drugs, and computers.

The paper describes the development, implementation, and review of a daily reporting system using data from two modules of a hospital information system: drug sensitivity reports from Microbiology, and patient drug profiles from Pharmacy. The system reviews each patient receiving antibiotics and compares that information with the patient's microbiology findings, looking for and flagging "no cultures," "negative cultures," and "mismatches," i.e.

Self-limited babesiosis in a splenectomized child.

This report describes a self-limited babesia infection in a splenectomized child with hereditary spherocytosis. This is the first report of infectious babesiosis in a child and the second case of babesiosis reported on Cape Cod. The infection manifested itself 6 weeks after a 4-hour exposure to Nantucket.