On commercial media bias

Within the spokes model of Chen and Riordan (2007) that allowsfor non-localized competition among arbitrary numbers of media outlets, we quantify the effect of concentration of ownership on qualityand bias of media content. A main result shows that too few commercial outlets, or better, too few separate owners of commercial outlets can lead to substantial bias in equilibrium. Increasing the number of outlets (commercial and non-commercial) tends to bring down this bias; but the strongest effect occurs when the number of owners is increased. Allowing for free entry provides lower bounds on fixed costs above which substantial commercial bias occurs in equilibrium.

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, How to register -- and cut unwanted commercial telemarketing calls, 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: How to register -- and cut unwanted commercial telemarketing calls.

Iowa Commercial Banking, Strategic Plan, 2003

This report outlines the strategic plan for Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division including, goals and mission.

Concentration and self-censorship in commercial media

Within a simple model of non-localized, Hotelling-type competitionamong arbitrary numbers of media outlets we characterize qualityand content of media under different ownership structures. Assumingadvertising-sponsored, profit-maximizing outlets, we show that (i) topicssensitive to advertisers can be underreported (self-censored) by alloutlets in the market, (ii) self-censorship increases with the concentrationof ownership, (iii) adding outlets, while keeping the number ofowners fixed, may even increase self-censorship; the latter result relieson consumers' most preferred outlets being potentially owned by thesame media companies. We argue that externalities resulting fromself-censorship could be empirically large.

Multicenter, Prospective Clinical Evaluation of Respiratory Samples from Subjects at Risk for Pneumocystis jirovecii Infection by Use of a Commercial Real-Time PCR Assay.

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is a common opportunistic infection. Microscopic diagnosis, including diagnosis using the Merifluor-Pneumocystis direct fluorescent antigen (MP-DFA) test, has limitations. Real-time PCR may assist in diagnosis, but no commercially validated real-time PCR assay has been available to date. MycAssay Pneumocystis is a commercial assay that targets the P. jirovecii mitochondrial large subunit (analytical detection limit, ≤3.5 copies/μl of sample). A multicenter trial recruited 110 subjects: 54 with transplants (40 with lung transplants), 32 with nonmalignant conditions, 13 with leukemia, and 11 with solid tumors; 9 were HIV positive. A total of 110 respiratory samples (92% of which were bronchoalveolar lavage [BAL] specimens) were analyzed by PCR. Performance was characterized relative to investigator-determined clinical diagnosis of PCP (including local diagnostic tests), and PCR results were compared with MP-DFA test results for 83 subjects. Thirteen of 14 subjects with PCP and 9/96 without PCP (including 5 undergoing BAL surveillance after lung transplantation) had positive PCR results; sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively) were 93%, 91%, 59%, and 99%, respectively. Fourteen of 83 subjects for whom PCR and MP-DFA test results were available had PCP; PCR sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 93%, 90%, 65%, and 98%, respectively, and MP-DFA test sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 93%, 100%, 100%, and 98%. Of the 9 PCR-positive subjects without PCP, 1 later developed PCP. The PCR diagnostic assay compares well with clinical diagnosis using nonmolecular methods. Additional positive results compared with the MP-DFA test may reflect low-level infection or colonization.

Commercial Driver's License in a Nutshell, March 2009

Federal law requires uniform licensing of truck and bus drivers (CDL) in all states and the District of Columbia. Commercial Driver's License (CDL) testing and issuance began in Iowa November 1, 1990. A person applying for a license to operate a commercial motor vehicle must apply for a CDL.

Performance comparison of two commercial BGO-based PET/CT scanners using NEMA NU 2-2001.

Combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) scanners play a major role in medicine for in vivo imaging in an increasing number of diseases in oncology, cardiology, neurology, and psychiatry. With the advent of short-lived radioisotopes other than 18F and newer scanners, there is a need to optimize radioisotope activity and acquisition protocols, as well as to compare scanner performances on an objective basis. The Discovery-LS (D-LS) was among the first clinical PET/CT scanners to be developed and has been extensively characterized with older National Electrical Manufacturer Association (NEMA) NU 2-1994 standards. At the time of publication of the latest version of the standards (NU 2-2001) that have been adapted for whole-body imaging under clinical conditions, more recent models from the same manufacturer, i.e., Discovery-ST (D-ST) and Discovery-STE (D-STE), were commercially available. We report on the full characterization both in the two- and three-dimensional acquisition mode of the D-LS according to latest NEMA NU 2-2001 standards (spatial resolution, sensitivity, count rate performance, accuracy of count losses, and random coincidence correction and image quality), as well as a detailed comparison with the newer D-ST widely used and whose characteristics are already published.

Droit commercial

Chronique de jurisprudence et de législation pour l'année 2008