Report Letter for Iowa State University of Science and Technologies various bond and note agreements, September 29, 2006

State University Audit Report - Report Letter

Educational technologies designed to promote cardiovascular health in adults: integrative review

Objective Investigating the educational technologies developed for promoting cardiovascular health in adults. Method Integrative review carried out in the databases of PubMed, SciELO and LILACS, with 15 articles selected. Results Over half (60%) of the studies were randomized clinical trials. The developed educational technologies were programs involving three strategies, with duration of one year, use of playful technologies with storytelling, computer programs or software for smartphones, and electronic brochure. These technologies resulted in reduction of blood pressure, weight, waist circumference, decreased hospitalizations and increased years of life. Conclusion The studies with better impact on the cardiovascular health of adults were those who brought the technology in the form of program and duration of one year.

Technologies of birth and models of midwifery care

This article is based on a study of a reform in the organisation of maternity services in the United Kingdom, which aimed towards developing a more woman-centred model of care. After decades of fragmentation and depersonalisation of care, associated with the shift of birth to a hospital setting, pressure by midwives and mothers prompted government review and a relatively radical turnaround in policy. However, the emergent model of care has been profoundly influenced by concepts and technologies of monitoring. The use of such technologies as ultrasound scans, electronic foetal monitoring and oxytocic augmentation of labour, generally supported by epidural anaesthesia for pain relief, have accompanied the development of a particular ecological model of birth – often called active management –, which is oriented towards the idea of an obstetric norm. Drawing on analysis of women’s narrative accounts of labour and birth, this article discusses the impact on women’s embodiment in birth, and the sources of information they use about the status of their own bodies, their labour and that of the child. It also illustrates how the impact on women’s experiences of birth may be mediated by a relational model of support, through the provision of caseload midwifery care.

Differential DNA extraction of challenging simulated sexual assault samples: a Swiss collaborative study.

ABSTRACT: In sexual assault cases, autosomal DNA analysis of gynecological swabs is a challenge, as the presence of a large quantity of female material may prevent the detection of the male DNA. A solution to this problem is differential DNA extraction, but as there are different protocols, it was decided to test their efficiency on simulated casework samples. Four difficult samples were sent to the nine Swiss laboratories active in the forensic genetics. They used their routine protocols to separate the epithelial cell fraction, enriched with the non-sperm DNA, from the sperm fraction. DNA extracts were then sent to the organizing laboratory for analysis. Estimates of male to female DNA ratio without differential DNA extraction ranged from 1:38 to 1:339, depending on the semen used to prepare the samples. After differential DNA extraction, most of the ratios ranged from 1:12 to 9:1, allowing the detection of the male DNA. Compared to direct DNA extraction, cell separation resulted in losses of 94-98% of the male DNA. As expected, more male DNA was generally present in the sperm than in the epithelial cell fraction. However, for about 30% of the samples, the reverse trend was observed. The recovery of male and female DNA was highly variable depending on the laboratories. Experimental design similar to the one used in this study may help for local protocol testing and improvement.

Adoption of financial technologies: Implications for money demand and monetary policy

In this paper we argue that inventory models are probably not usefulmodels of household money demand because the majority of households does nothold any interest bearing assets. The relevant decision for most people is notthe fraction of assets to be held in interest bearing form, but whether to holdany of such assets at all. The implications of this realization are interesting and important. We find that(a) the elasticity of money demand is very small when the interest rate is small,(b) the probability that a household holds any amount of interest bearing assetsis positively related to the level of financial assets, and (c) the cost ofadopting financial technologies is positively related to age and negatively relatedto the level of education. Unlike the traditional methods of money demand estimation, our methodology allowsfor the estimation of the interest--elasticity at low values of the nominalinterest rate. The finding that the elasticity is very small for interest ratesbelow 5 percent suggests that the welfare costs of inflation are small. At interest rates of 6 percent, the elasticity is close to 0.5. We find thatroughly one half of this elasticity can be attributed to the Baumol--Tobin orintensive margin and half of it can be attributed to the new adopters or extensivemargin. The intensive margin is less important at lower interest rates and moreimportant at higher interest rates.

Mise en Place d’un Dispositif de Formation a Distance a l’universite du Cap-Vert« e-learning » :Les Technologies de L’information et de la Communication dans L’enseignement du Français Langue Etrangere

Ce mémoire est l’occasion de partager le résultat de la mise en place de ce dispositif de formation à distance que nous avons mené dans l’université du Cap-Vert. Dans la première partie, nous décrirons la nature de la politique éducative au Cap-Vert. Nous contextualiserons les principes de l’installation de l’université publique dans ce pays, ainsi que les intentions d’innovation pédagogique de cette université. La deuxième partie portera un regard complémentaire sur l’utilisation des TIC et de l’internet dans l’enseignement/apprentissage d’une langue, cas du français langue étrangère, et nous nous inspirerons des théories constructiviste et socio-constructiviste. Finalement, la troisième partie détaillera toutes les étapes de la conception et de la mise en place du dispositif de formation à distance. Dans cette troisième partie, nous aborderons dans un premier temps la question des enjeux et des risques du e-Learning et nous présenterons notre mission dans le projet « e-Learning.cv » mené par l’université. Puis, dans un deuxième temps nous analyserons quelques cours que nous avons mis en ligne, en sachant qu’un cours en ligne n’est pas la simple reproduction d’un support pédagogique imprimé mais il offre à l’apprenant un environnement multimédia et interactif. Finalement dans un troisième temps nous essayerons de prendre un peu de recul pour faire une analyse critique de ce que nous avons réalisé et essayer par là même de dégager les perspectives pour améliorer le travail effectué.

Survey on batch-to-batch variation in spray paints: a collaborative study

This study represents the most extensive analysis of batch-to-batch variations in spray paint samples to date. The survey was performed as a collaborative project of the ENFSI (European Network of Forensic Science Institutes) Paint and Glass Working Group (EPG) and involved 11 laboratories. Several studies have already shown that paint samples of similar color but from different manufacturers can usually be differentiated using an appropriate analytical sequence. The discrimination of paints from the same manufacturer and color (batch-to-batch variations) is of great interest and these data are seldom found in the literature. This survey concerns the analysis of batches from different color groups (white, papaya (special shade of orange), red and black) with a wide range of analytical techniques and leads to the following conclusions. Colored batch samples are more likely to be differentiated since their pigment composition is more complex (pigment mixtures, added pigments) and therefore subject to variations. These variations may occur during the paint production but may also occur when checking the paint shade in quality control processes. For these samples, techniques aimed at color/pigment(s) characterization (optical microscopy, microspectrophotometry (MSP), Raman spectroscopy) provide better discrimination than techniques aimed at the organic (binder) or inorganic composition (fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) or elemental analysis (SEM - scanning electron microscopy and XRF - X-ray fluorescence)). White samples contain mainly titanium dioxide as a pigment and the main differentiation is based on the binder composition (Csingle bondH stretches) detected either by FTIR or Raman. The inorganic composition (elemental analysis) also provides some discrimination. Black samples contain mainly carbon black as a pigment and are problematic with most of the spectroscopic techniques. In this case, pyrolysis-GC/MS represents the best technique to detect differences. Globally, Py-GC/MS may show a high potential of discrimination on all samples but the results are highly dependent on the specific instrumental conditions used. Finally, the discrimination of samples when data was interpreted visually as compared to statistically using principal component analysis (PCA) yielded very similar results. PCA increases sensitivity and could perform better on specific samples, but one first has to ensure that all non-informative variation (baseline deviation) is eliminated by applying correct pre-treatments. Statistical treatments can be used on a large data set and, when combined with an expert's opinion, will provide more objective criteria for decision making.

Application of the 2008 definitions for invasive fungal diseases to the trial comparing voriconazole versus amphotericin B for therapy of invasive aspergillosis: a collaborative study of the Mycoses Study Group (MSG 05) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Infectious Diseases Group.

BACKGROUND: Strict definition of invasive aspergillosis (IA) cases is required to allow precise conclusions about the efficacy of antifungal therapy. The Global Comparative Aspergillus Study (GCAS) compared voriconazole to amphotericin B (AmB) deoxycholate for the primary therapy of IA. Because predefined definitions used for this trial were substantially different from the consensus definitions proposed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group in 2008, we recategorized the 379 episodes of the GCAS according to the later definitions. METHODS: The objectives were to assess the impact of the current definitions on the classification of the episodes and to provide comparative efficacy for probable/proven and possible IA in patients treated with either voriconazole or AmB. In addition to original data, we integrated the results of baseline galactomannan serum levels obtained from 249 (65.7%) frozen samples. The original response assessment was accepted unchanged. RESULTS: Recategorization allowed 59 proven, 178 probable, and 106 possible IA cases to be identified. A higher favorable 12-week response rate was obtained with voriconazole (54.7%) than with AmB (29.9%) (P < .0001). Survival was higher for voriconazole for mycologically documented (probable/proven) IA (70.2%) than with AmB (54.9%) (P = .010). Higher response rates were obtained in possible IA treated with voriconazole vs AmB with the same magnitude of difference (26.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.2%-45.3%) as in mycologically documented episodes (24.3%; 95% CI, 11.9%-36.7%), suggesting that possible cases are true IA. CONCLUSIONS: Recategorization resulted in a better identification of the episodes and confirmed the higher efficacy of voriconazole over AmB deoxycholate in mycologically documented IA.

Implantació de SAP a l'empresa BluTronics Technologies, SA

En aquest treball es presenten les característiques dels sistemes ERP i quines són les necessitats que cobreixen, així com els principals ERP que hi ha al mercat, d'entre els quals se'n seleccionarà un per a la implantació en la nostra empresa, explicant els processos i passos necessaris per a aquesta implantació.

Socio-economic benefits of using space technologies to monitor and respond to earthquakes

Earthquakes represent a major hazard for populations around the world, causing frequent loss of life,human suffering and enormous damage to homes, other buildings and infrastructure. The Technology Resources forEarthquake Monitoring and Response (TREMOR) Team of 36 space professionals analysed this problem over thecourse of the International Space University Summer Session Program and published their recommendations in the formof a report. The TREMOR Team proposes a series of space- and ground-based systems to provide improved capabilityto manage earthquakes. The first proposed system is a prototype earthquake early-warning system that improves theexisting knowledge of earthquake precursors and addresses the potential of these phenomena. Thus, the system willat first enable the definitive assessment of whether reliable earthquake early warning is possible through precursormonitoring. Should the answer be affirmative, the system itself would then form the basis of an operational earlywarningsystem. To achieve these goals, the authors propose a multi-variable approach in which the system will combine,integrate and process precursor data from space- and ground-based seismic monitoring systems (already existing andnew proposed systems) and data from a variety of related sources (e.g. historical databases, space weather data, faultmaps). The second proposed system, the prototype earthquake simulation and response system, coordinates the maincomponents of the response phase to reduce the time delays of response operations, increase the level of precisionin the data collected, facilitate communication amongst teams, enhance rescue and aid capabilities and so forth. It isbased in part on an earthquake simulator that will provide pre-event (if early warning is proven feasible) and post-eventdamage assessment and detailed data of the affected areas to corresponding disaster management actors by means of ageographic information system (GIS) interface. This is coupled with proposed mobile satellite communication hubs toprovide links between response teams. Business- and policy-based implementation strategies for these proposals, suchas the establishment of a non-governmental organisation to develop and operate the systems, are included.

Treatment strategies in primary vitreoretinal lymphoma: a 17-center European collaborative study.

IMPORTANCE: The best treatment option for primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL) without signs of central nervous system lymphoma (CNSL) involvement determined on magnetic resonance imaging or in cerebrospinal fluid is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of treatment regimens used for PVRL in the prevention of subsequent CNSL. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at 17 referral ophthalmologic centers in Europe. We reviewed clinical, laboratory, and imaging data on 78 patients with PVRL who did not have CNSL on presentation between January 1, 1991, and December 31, 2012, with a focus on the incidence of CNS manifestations during the follow-up period. INTERVENTIONS: The term extensive treatment was used for various combinations of systemic and intrathecal chemotherapy, whole-brain radiotherapy, and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Therapy to prevent CNSL included ocular radiotherapy and/or ocular chemotherapy (group A, 31 patients), extensive systemic treatment (group B, 21 patients), and a combination of ocular and extensive treatment (group C, 23 patients); 3 patients did not receive treatment. A total of 40 patients received systemic chemotherapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Development of CNSL following the diagnosis of PVRL relative to the use or nonuse of systemic chemotherapy and other treatment regimens. RESULTS: Overall, CNSL developed in 28 of 78 patients (36%) at a median follow-up of 49 months. Specifically, CNSL developed in 10 of 31 (32%) in group A, 9 of 21 (43%) in group B, and 9 of 23 (39%) in group C. The 5-year cumulative survival rate was lower in patients with CNSL (35% [95% CI, 50% to 86%]) than in patients without CNSL (68% [95% CI, 19% to 51%]; P = .003) and was similar among all treatment groups (P = .10). Adverse systemic effects occurred in 9 of 40 (23%) patients receiving systemic chemotherapy; the most common of these effects was acute renal failure. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In the present series of patients with isolated PVRL, the use of systemic chemotherapy was not proven to prevent CNSL and was associated with more severe adverse effects compared with local treatment.