Innovative Outstanding Weatherization Assistance News, January, 2006, Vol.4, no.1

This is a quarterly newsletter for the Iowa Weatherization Program. The purpose of the newsletter is to share with you information on all aspects of the program as well as spotlight a couple of agencies in each issue. We will provide information on upcoming events, training schedules, monitoring schedules and general news about the program. There will be a section of questions we have received from you and the answers provided.

Innovative Outstanding Weatherization Assistance News, April, 2006, Vol.4, no.2

This is a quarterly newsletter for the Iowa Weatherization Program. The purpose of the newsletter is to share with you information on all aspects of the program as well as spotlight a couple of agencies in each issue. We will provide information on upcoming events, training schedules, monitoring schedules and general news about the program. There will be a section of questions we have received from you and the answers provided.

Innovative Outstanding Weatherization Assistance News, July, 2006, Vol.4, no.3

This is a quarterly newsletter for the Iowa Weatherization Program. The purpose of the newsletter is to share with you information on all aspects of the program as well as spotlight a couple of agencies in each issue. We will provide information on upcoming events, training schedules, monitoring schedules and general news about the program. There will be a section of questions we have received from you and the answers provided.

Innovative Outstanding Weatherization Assistance News, October, 2006, Vol.4, no.4

This is a quarterly newsletter for the Iowa Weatherization Program. The purpose of the newsletter is to share with you information on all aspects of the program as well as spotlight a couple of agencies in each issue. We will provide information on upcoming events, training schedules, monitoring schedules and general news about the program. There will be a section of questions we have received from you and the answers provided.

Massage with aromatherapy: effectiveness on anxiety of users with personality disorders in psychiatric hospitalization

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effectiveness of aromatherapy massage using the essential oils (0.5%) of Lavandula angustifolia and Pelargonium graveolens for anxiety reduction in patients with personality disorders during psychiatric hospitalization. METHOD Uncontrolled clinical trial with 50 subjects submitted to six massages with aromatherapy, performed on alternate days, on the cervical and the posterior thoracic regions. Vital data (heart and respiratory rate) were collected before and after each session and an anxiety scale (Trait Anxiety Inventory-State) was applied at the beginning and end of the intervention. The results were statistically analyzed with the chi square test and paired t test. RESULTS There was a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.001) of the heart and respiratory mean rates after each intervention session, as well as in the inventory score. CONCLUSION Aromatherapy has demonstrated effectiveness in anxiety relief, considering the decrease of heart and respiratory rates in patients diagnosed with personality disorders during psychiatric hospitalization.

Toward validating the Italian version of the "Spanish Burnout Inventory": a preliminary study

AbstractOBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to develop the Italian version of the Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI) and to examine its psychometric properties within a sample of nursing staff.METHODThe study was cross-sectional and not randomized. The data were gathered using an anonymous, self-report questionnaire. The sample consisted of 391 staff nurses employed in three hospitals in the Northern Region of Italy To evaluate burnout, the SBI and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were administered.RESULTSAn Exploratory Factor Analysis showed a four-factor structure close to the expected one. All Cronbach's alpha values were satisfactory. Furthermore, correlations support the concurrent validity.CONCLUSIONOverall, the results of this study provided evidence that the SBI is an adequate instrument to study burnout in the Italian nursing sample and indicated the feeling of guilt as an important dimension to gauge the structure of this phenomenon.

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, Rapid Tax-Refund Loans A very costly way to gain just a few days on tax refunds, January 2008

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: Rapid Tax-Refund Loans A very costly way to gain just a few days on tax refunds.

Multi-period vendor managed inventory systems

In this paper we develop two models for an inventory system in which the distributormanages the inventory at the retailers location. These type of systems correspondto the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) systems described ib the literature. Thesesystems are very common in many different types of industries, such as retailingand manufacturing, although assuming different characteristics.The objective of our model is to minimize total inventory cost for the distributorin a multi-period multi-retailer setting. The inventory system includes holdingand stock-out costs and we study the case whre an additional fixed setup cost ischarged per delivery.We construct a numerical experiment to analyze the model bahavior and observe theimpact of the characteristics of the model on the solutions.

Inventory-routing model, for a multi-period problem with stochastic and deterministic demand

The need for integration in the supply chain management leads us to considerthe coordination of two logistic planning functions: transportation andinventory. The coordination of these activities can be an extremely importantsource of competitive advantage in the supply chain management. The battle forcost reduction can pass through the equilibrium of transportation versusinventory managing costs. In this work, we study the specific case of aninventory-routing problem for a week planning period with different types ofdemand. A heuristic methodology, based on the Iterated Local Search, isproposed to solve the Multi-Period Inventory Routing Problem with stochasticand deterministic demand.

Diversity and aspects of the ecology of social wasps (Vespidae, Polistinae) in Central Amazonian "terra firme" forest

Diversity and aspects of the ecology of social wasps (Vespidae, Polistinae) in Central Amazonian "terra firme" forest. The knowledge of social wasp richness and biology in the Amazonian region is considered insufficient. Although the Amazonas state is the largest in the region, until now only two brief surveys were conducted there. Considering that the systematic inventory of an area is the first step towards its conservation and wise use, this study presents faunal data on social wasp diversity in a 25 km² area of "terra firme" (upland forest) at the Ducke Reserve, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Wasps were collected in the understory, following a protocol of three collectors walking along 60 trails 1,000 m in extension for 16 days between August and October 2010. Methods used were active search of individuals with entomological nets and nest collecting. Fifty-eight species of social wasps, allocated in 13 genera, were recorded; 67% of the collected species belong to Polybia, Agelaia and Mischocyttarus; other genera were represented by only four species or less. The most frequent species in active searches were Agelaia fulvofasciata (DeGeer, 1773), Agelaia testacea (Fabricius, 1804) and Angiopolybia pallens (Lepeletier, 1836). Twelve species were collected in nests. Prior to this study, 65 Polistinae species were deposited at the INPA Collection. Collecting in the study grid, an area not previously sampled for wasps, resulted in an increase of 25% species, and species richness was 86. According to the results, there is evidence that the diversity of social wasps at the Ducke Reserve is even higher, making it one of the richest areas in the Brazilian Amazonia.

The KAI Cognitive Style Inventory: Was it personality all along?

Kirton's Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) is a widely-used measure of "cognitive style." Surprisingly, there is very little research investigating the discriminant and incremental validity of the KAI. In two studies (n = 213), we examined whether (a) we could predict KAI scores with the "big five" personality dimensions and (b) the KAI scores predicted leadership behavior when controlling for personality and ability. Correcting for measurement error, we found that KAI scores were predicted mostly by personality and gender (multiple R = 0.82). KAI scores did not predict variance in leadership while controlling for established predictors. Our findings add to recent literature that questions the uniqueness and utility of cognitive style or similar "style" constructs; researchers using such measures must control for the big five factors and correct for measurement error to avoid confounded interpretations.

Revised NEO personality inventory normative data for catalan police officer selection: preliminary study

El Servei d'Avaluació, Seguiment i Selecció de l'ISPC han elaborat un estudi sobre el perfil de personalitat dels aspirants al Curs de Formació bàsica per policies, que es va presentar a l'International Society for the Study of Individual Differences Meeting celebrat al CosmoCaixa de Barcelona i que organitzen conjuntament l’Associació Iberoamericana per a la recerca de les diferències individuals i la Universitat de Barcelona. L’estudi, titulat Revised NEO Personality Inventory Normative Data for Catalan police officer selection: A preliminary study, té com a objectiu comparar els perfils de personalitat d’una mostra d’aspirants de l’ISPC amb els resultats d’una mostra d’aspirants a policia dels EUA, publicada en una revista científica de prestigi el mes de febrer passat. Els resultats mostren que els aspirants catalans destaquen per obtenir millors puntuacions en les dimensions de responsabilitat i amabilitat, cosa que indicaria que aquest tret es valora especialment durant el procés de selecció de la policia de Catalunya; en altres característiques de la personalitat les dues mostres obtenen resultats similars. Els trets característics del perfil del policia català seria el de persones estables emocionalment, poc impulsives, amb capacitat per gestionar l’estrés, orientades a les persones, agradables, sociables, responsables, disciplinades i cauteloses. Enllaç a: International Society for the Study of Individual Differences Meeting :http://www.issid.org/conferences/ISSID2013/ISSIDconference2013.html

Twenty-eight days and long term survival after severe sepsis and septic shock in adults

Résumé : Nous avons effectué une étude de cohorte examinant la survie de tous les patients qui ont présenté une sepsis sévère ou un choc septique aux soins intensifs de médecine et de chirurgie du CIIUV durant une période de 3 ans. Introduction: La sepsis sévère et le choc septique constituent la deuxième cause de mortalité dans les unités de soins intensifs non coronaires. La survie à long terme est mal connue. Nous avons comparé la survie à 28 jours de notre collectif avec les données de la littérature, examiné la survie à long terme des patients ayant survécus plus de 28 jours et identifié des paramètres prédictifs de la survie. Matériel et méthode : Nous avons classifié les patients ayant présenté un épisode septique rétrospectivement en sepsis sévère ou choc septique selon les critères de Bone (1). Les données cliniques et paracliniques ont été relevées au moment de l'épisode. Des courbes de survie uni- et multivariées ont été établies à 28 jours et à long terme chez ceux qui ont survécus plus de 28 jours, d'après les données de questionnaires envoyés aux médecins traitants. Résultats : Durant Ìa période de l'étude, 339 patients ont présenté un choc septique (169) ou une sepsis sévère (170). La mortalité à 28 jours a été de 33% (choc septique: 55%, sepsis sévère: 11.2%, p<10"5). Les données significativement associées à la mortalité à 28 jours dans l'analyse de régression multivariée selon Cox ont été le type d'épisode septique (choc septique vs. sepsis sévère, p=0.001), le «Acute Physiology Score» du score APACHE II (p=0.02) et le nombre de dysfonctions d'organes (plus de trois dysfunctions, p=0.04). 227 patients ont survécu plus de 28 jours et des données de suivi ont été obtenues chez 225. Le suivi moyen après 28 jours a été de 25.1 mois (5700 mois-patients). La mortalité globale de ces patients, extrapolée des courbes de Kaplan-Meyer, a été de l'ordre de 7% à 1 an et de 15% à 2 ans. Les données significativement associées à leur survie à long terme ont été les "chronic health points" du score APACHE II (p=0.02), l'âge (p=0.05) et le fait d'avoir subi une opération chirurgicale avant l'épisode septique (p=0.02). Conclusion : La mortalité à 28 jours de notre cohorte de patients s'est révélée comparable aux chiffres publiés. La survie à long terme des patients ayant survécu plus de 28 jours a été satisfaisante. Elle s'est révélée indépendante de la sévérité de l'épisode septique, mais dépendait plutôt des conditions de santé sous-jacentes.

Innovative Outstanding Weatherization Assistance News, April 5, 2005, Vol.3, no.2

This is a quarterly newsletter for the Iowa Weatherization Program. The purpose of the newsletter is to share with you information on all aspects of the program as well as spotlight a couple of agencies in each issue. We will provide information on upcoming events, training schedules, monitoring schedules and general news about the program. There will be a section of questions we have received from you and the answers provided.

Innovative Outstanding Weatherization Assistance News, January 2005, Vol.3, no.1

This is a quarterly newsletter for the Iowa Weatherization Program. The purpose of the newsletter is to share with you information on all aspects of the program as well as spotlight a couple of agencies in each issue. We will provide information on upcoming events, training schedules, monitoring schedules and general news about the program. There will be a section of questions we have received from you and the answers provided.