Diagnostic Tools for Identifying Sleepy Drivers in the Field, RB21-012, 2013

The overarching goal of this project was to identify and evaluate cognitive and behavioral indices that are sensitive to sleep deprivation and may help identify commercial motor vehicle drivers (CMV) who are at-risk for driving in a sleep deprived state and may prove useful in field tests administered by officers. To that end, we evaluated indices of driver physiognomy (e.g., yawning, droopy eyelids, etc.) and driver behavioral/cognitive state (e.g. distracted driving) and the sensitivity of these indices to objective measures of sleep deprivation. The measures of sleep deprivation were sampled on repeated occasions over a period of 3.5-months in each of 44 drivers diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and 22 controls (matched for gender, age within 5 years, education within 2 years, and county of residence for rural vs. urban driving). Comprehensive analyses showed that specific dimensions of driver physiognomy associated with sleepiness in previous research and face-valid composite scores of sleepiness did not: 1) distinguish participants with OSA from matched controls; 2) distinguish participants before and after PAP treatment including those who were compliant with their treatment; 3) predict levels of sleep deprivation acquired objectively from actigraphy watches, not even among those chronically sleep deprived. Those findings are consistent with large individual differences in driver physiognomy. In other words, when individuals were sleep deprived as confirmed by actigraphy watch output they did not show consistently reliable behavioral markers of being sleep deprived. This finding held whether each driver was compared to him/herself with adequate and inadequate sleep, and even among chronically sleep deprived drivers. The scientific evidence from this research study does not support the use of driver physiognomy as a valid measure of sleep deprivation or as a basis to judge whether a CMV driver is too fatigued to drive, as on the current Fatigued Driving Evaluation Checklist.. Fair and accurate determinations of CMV driver sleepiness in the field will likely require further research on alternative strategies that make use of a combination of information sources besides driver physiognomy, including work logs, actigraphy, in vehicle data recordings, GPS data on vehicle use, and performance tests.

Using the Air Void Anal Analyzer for Real-Time Quality Control Adjustments in the Field, November 2004

The air void analyzer (AVA) with its independent isolation base can be used to accurately evaluate the air void system—including volume of entrained air, size of air voids, and distribution of air voids—of fresh portland cement concrete (PCC) on the jobsite. With this information, quality control adjustments in concrete batching can be made in real time to improve the air void system and thus increase freeze-thaw durability. This technology offers many advantages over current practices for evaluating air in concrete.

Condition of Education in Iowa The Future for Education in Iowa, 2005

Statistics about public education in the state of Iowa including graduation rates and No Child Left Behind Act.

Automated Recording of Bridge Inspection Data in the Pontis Format Final Report, HR-364 April 1995

A large percentage of bridges in the state of Iowa are classified as structurally or fiinctionally deficient. These bridges annually compete for a share of Iowa's limited transportation budget. To avoid an increase in the number of deficient bridges, the state of Iowa decided to implement a comprehensive Bridge Management System (BMS) and selected the Pontis BMS software as a bridge management tool. This program will be used to provide a selection of maintenance, repair, and replacement strategies for the bridge networks to achieve an efficient and possibly optimal allocation of resources. The Pontis BMS software uses a new rating system to evaluate extensive and detailed inspection data gathered for all bridge elements. To manually collect these data would be a highly time-consuming job. The objective of this work was to develop an automated-computerized methodology for an integrated data base that includes the rating conditions as defined in the Pontis program. Several of the available techniques that can be used to capture inspection data were reviewed, and the most suitable method was selected. To accomplish the objectives of this work, two userfriendly programs were developed. One program is used in the field to collect inspection data following a step-by-step procedure without the need to refer to the Pontis user's manuals. The other program is used in the office to read the inspection data and prepare input files for the Pontis BMS software. These two programs require users to have very limited knowledge of computers. On-line help screens as well as options for preparing, viewing, and printing inspection reports are also available. The developed data collection software will improve and expedite the process of conducting bridge inspections and preparing the required input files for the Pontis program. In addition, it will eliminate the need for large storage areas and will simplify retrieval of inspection data. Furthermore, the approach developed herein will facilitate transferring these captured data electronically between offices within the Iowa DOT and across the state.