Assessment of liver tumor response by high-field (3T) MRI after radiofrequency ablation: Short- and mid-term evolution of diffusion parameters within the ablation zone.

PURPOSE: To compare the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of malignant liver lesions on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) before and after successful radiofrequency ablation (RF ablation). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two patients with 43 malignant liver lesions (23/20: metastases/hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC)) underwent liver MRI (3.0T) before (<1month) and after RF ablation (at 1, 3 and 6months) using T2-, gadolinium-enhanced T1- and DWI-weighted MR sequences. Jointly, two radiologists prospectively measured ADCs for each lesion by means of two different regions of interest (ROIs), first including the whole lesion and secondly the area with the visibly most restricted diffusion (MRDA) on ADC map. Changes of ADCs were evaluated with ANOVA and Dunnett tests. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients were successfully treated, while one patient was excluded due to focal recurrence. In metastases (n=22), the ADC in the whole lesion and in MRDA showed an up-and-down evolution. In HCC (n=20), the evolution of ADC was more complex, but with significantly higher values (p=0.013) at 1 and 6months after RF ablation. CONCLUSION: The ADC values of malignant liver lesions successfully treated by RF ablation show a predictable evolution and may help radiologists to monitor tumor response after treatment.

A low number of Swiss companies uses nanoparticles

Nanoparticles <100 nanometres are being introduced into industrial processes, but they are suspected to cause similar negative health effects to ambient particles. Poor knowledge about the scale of introduction has not allowed global risk analysis until now. In 2006 a targeted telephone survey among Swiss companies (1) showed the usage of nanoparticles in a few selected companies but did not provide data to extrapolate to the full Swiss workforce. The purpose of the study presented here was to provide a quantitative estimate of the potential occupational exposure to nanoparticles in Swiss industry. Method: A layered representative questionnaire survey among 1626 Swiss companies of the production sector was conducted in 2007. The survey was a written questionnaire, collecting data about the used nanoparticles, the number of potentially exposed persons in the companies and their protection strategy. Results: The response rate of the study was 58.3%. The number of companies estimated to be using nanoparticles in Switzerland was 586 (95% Confidence Interval 145 to 1027). It is estimated that 1309 workers (95% CI 1073 to 1545) do their job in the same room as a nanoparticle application. Personal protection was shown to be the predominant protection means. Such information is valuable for risk evaluation. The low number of companies dealing with nanoparticles in Switzerland suggests that policy makers as well as health, safety and environmental officers within companies can focus their efforts on a relatively small number of companies or workers. The collected data about types of particles and applications may be used for research on prevention strategies and adapted protection means. However, to reflect the most recent trends, the information presented here has to be continuously updated, and a large-scale inventory of the usage should be considered.

State of Iowa Inmates at Mid-Year, 2001

This report was compiled at the request of the Department of Corrections. The statewide analysis of Iowa’s prison population at mid-year (June 30) 2001 includes the following information: · Type of Most Serious Offense (e.g., arson, assault, burglary, etc.) · Offense Class of Most Serious Offense · Sex · Race/Ethnicity · Age (median, or middle value) · Inmate Custody Level (minimum, medium, maximum security) · Educational Level (average) · Reading Score (average)

State of Iowa Inmates at Mid-Year, 2000

This report was compiled at the request of the Department of Corrections. The statewide analysis of Iowa’s prison population at mid-year (June 30) 2000 includes the following information: l. Type of Most Serious Offense (e.g., arson, assault, burglary, etc.) 2. Offense Class of Most Serious Offense 3. Sex 4. Race/Ethnicity 5. Age (median, or middle value) 6. Inmate Custody Scores (median value) 7. Educational Level (average) 8. Reading Scores (average)

Am I my brain or my genitals? A nature-culture controversy in the hermaphrodite debate from the mid-1960s to the late 1990s.

The groundbreaking and prophetic rhetoric of neuroscience has recently highlighted the fetal brain as the most promising organ for understanding why transsexuals feel "trapped in the wrong body", and for predicting whether children born with "ambiguous" genitalia will grow up to feel like a man or a woman.This article proposes a recent history of the cerebralization of intersexuality and of transsexuality as atypical neurodevelopmental conditions. It examines the ways in which the organizational theory of brain sex differentiation developed in the late 1950s in behavioral neuroendocrinology has gained increased prominence in and through controversies over best practice issues in the case management of intersex newborns, and the etiology of transsexuality.It focuses on the American context and on the leading warrior in this battle: Milton Diamond, now a most prominent figure in professional debates about the clinical management of intersexuality, and the intersex person's best friend. Persons with an intersexed or transsexual condition consider, not their gonads, but their brains, their core sense of self, as the primary determinant of sex. (Diamond and Beh 2005, 6-7, note 1)

Mid-Iowa School Improvement Consortium, Independent Auditor's Reports, Basic Financial Statements and Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2004

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Healthy Iowans 2010 Mid-Course Revision, July 2005

In the past century, public health has been credited with adding 25 years to life expectancy by contributing to the decline in illness and injury. Progress has been made, for example, in smoking reduction, infectious disease, and motor vehicle and workplace injuries. Besides its focus on traditional concerns such as clean water and safe food, public health is adapting to meet emerging health problems. Particular troublesome are health threats to youth: teenage pregnancies, violence, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and other conditions associated with high-risk behaviors. These threats add to burgeoning health care costs. A conservative estimate of $69 billion in medical spending could be averted through the impact of public health strategies aimed at heart disease, stroke, fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries, motor vehicle-related injuries, low birth weight, and violence. These strategies require the collaboration of many groups in the public and private sectors. Collaboration is the bedrock of public health and Healthy Iowans planning. At the core of Healthy Iowans 2000 and its successor, Healthy Iowans 2010, is the idea that all Iowans benefit when stakeholders decide on disease prevention and health promotion strategies and agree to work together on them. These strategies can improve the quality of life and hold down health care costs. The payoff for health promotion and disease prevention is not immediate, but it has long-lasting benefits. The Iowa plan is a companion to the national plan, Healthy People 2010. An initiative to improve the health of Americans, the national plan is the driving force for federal resource allocation for disease prevention and health promotion. The state plan is used in the same way. Both plans have received broad support from Republican and Democratic administrations. Community planners are using the state plan to help assess health needs and craft health improvement plans. Healthy Iowans 2010 was written at an unusual point in history – a new decade, a new century, a new millennium. The introduction was optimistic. “The 21st century,” it says, “promises to add life as well as years through improved health habits coupled with medical advances. Scientists have suggested that if these changes occur, the definition of adulthood will also change. An extraordinary number of people will live fuller, more active lives beyond that expected in the late 20th century.” At the same time, the country has spawned a new generation of health hazards. According to Dr. William Dietz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has replaced “the diseases of deficiency with diseases of excess” (Newsweek, August 2, 1999). New threats, such as childhood overweight, can reverse progress made in the last century. This demands concerted action.

Functional MRI evaluation of liver tumour response after radiofrequency: short- and mid-term evolution of diffusion parameters

Purpose: To evaluate the short- and mid-term evolutions of the apparent diffusion coefficient of lesions treated with RF, in order to determine if the ADC can be used as a marker of tumour response. Methods and Materials: Twenty patients were treated for a liver malignancy with RF and were examined on a 1.5 T/3.0 T machine with T2, gadolinium-enhanced T1 and diffusion sequences: before treatment (< 1 month), just after treatment (< 1 month) and midterm (3-6 months). The ADC was measured in the whole lesion and in the area with the most restricted diffusion (MRDA). The ROI size was also measured on the diffusion map. The Pearson/ANOVA tests were used. Results: All patients were successfully treated with complete disappearance of CE. The lesional size on T2 showed a negative evolution in time (p < 0.002). The ADC in the whole lesion showed a bell-shaped evolution (increasing just after RF, then decreasing, p = 0.02). The ROI size on the diffusion map followed a similar course (p = 0.01). For the MRDA, such evolutions were also found, but they were not significant. There was a negative correlation between CE and the ADC (p < 0.02) and between the lesional size on T2 and ADC (p = 0.03) in the whole lesion. There were also positive correlations between the ROI size and ADC (p = 0.0008) and between CE and the size on T2 (p = 0.0002). The ADC in MRDA showed some non-significant correlations with other variables. Conclusion: The lesions successfully treated with RF have a clear and predictable evolution in terms of T2 size, CE and ADC.

Heritage Sporting Event : An Old Recipe for a New Problem

In the last decades, the globalized competition among cities and regions made them develop new strategies for branding and promoting their territory to attract tourists, investors, companies and residents. Major sports events - such as the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup or World and Continental Championships - have played an integral part in these strategies. Believing, with or without evidence, in the capacity of those events to improve the visibility and the economy of the host destination, many cities, regions and even countries have engaged in establishing sports events hosting strategies. The problem of the globalized competition in the sports events "market" is that many cities and regions do not have the resources - either financial, human or in terms of infrastructure - to compete in hosting major sports events. Consequently, many cities or regions have to turn to second-tier sports events. To organise those smaller events means less media coverage and more difficulty in finding sponsors, while the costs - both financial and in terms of services - stay high for the community. This paper analyses how Heritage Sporting Events (HSE) might be an opportunity for cities and regions engaged in sports events hosting strategies. HSE is an emerging concept that to date has been under-researched in the academic literature. Therefore, this paper aims to define the concept of HSE through an exploratory research study. A multidisciplinary literature review reveals two major characteristics of HSEs: the sustainability in the territory and the authenticity of the event constructed through a differentiation process. These characteristics, defined through multiple variables, give us the opportunity to observe the construction process of a sports event into a heritage object. This paper argues that HSEs can be seen as territorial resources that can represent a competitive advantage for host destinations. In conclusion, academics are invited to further research HSEs to better understand their construction process and their impacts on the territory, while local authorities are invited to consider HSEs for the branding and the promotion of their territory.

Mid-Iowa School Improvement Consortium, Independent Auditor's Reports, Basic Financial Statements and Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Audit report on Mid-Iowa School Improvement Consortium, Carlisle, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2006

Audit report on Mid-Iowa School Improvement Consortium, Carlisle, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2006

Long-Term Care Insurance Companies, September 2007

The companies on this list have been approved to sell long-term-care insurance in the State of Iowa. Customer service numbers are listed for each company. Please open pdf for the numbers.

Mandatory accounting disclosure by small private companies

This article analyzes how mandatory accounting disclosure is grounded on differentrationales for private and public companies. It also explores technological changes, such ascomputerised databases and the Internet, which have recently made disclosure of companyaccounts by small companies potentially less costly and more valuable, thanks to electronicfiling and universal online access to credit information systems. These recent developmentsfavour policies that would expand the scope of mandatory publication for small companies incountries where it is voluntary. They also encourage policies to reduce the costs and enhancethe value of disclosure through administrative reforms of filing, archive and retrieval systems.Survey and registry evidence on how the information in the accounts is valued and used bycompanies is consistent with these claims about the evolution of the tradeoff of costs andbenefits that should guide policy in this area.