Annual Report of Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY 08

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT The Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) engages in research and development for two reasons: first, to find workable solutions to the many problems that require more than ordinary, routine investigation; second, to identify and implement improved engineering and management practices. This report, entitled "Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY2008" is submitted in compliance with Sections 310.36 and 3 I2.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects in progress on June 30, 2008; it is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, and ending June 30, 2008. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available in the Research and Technology Bureau in the Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation. IOWA HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD In developing a progressive, continuing and coordinated program of research and development, the Highway Division is assisted by the Iowa Highway Research Board. This advisory group was established in 1949 by the Iowa State Highway Commission to respond to the research denoted in Section 310.36 of the Code of Iowa and now is denoted by 312.3A. The Research Board consists of 15 regular members: seven Iowa county engineers, four Iowa DOT engineers, one representative from Iowa State University, one from The University of Iowa, and two engineers employed by Iowa municipalities. Each regular member may have an alternate who will serve at the request of the regular member. The regular members and their alternates are appointed for a three-year term. The membership of the Research Board as of June 30, 2008, is listed in Table I. The Research Board held nine regular meetings during the period ofJuly 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008. Suggestions for research and development were reviewed at these meetings and recommendations were made by the Board.

Annual Report of Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities 2007

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT The Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) engages in research and development for two reasons: first, to find workable solutions to the many problems that require more than ordinary, routine investigation; second, to identify and implement improved engineering and management practices. This report, entitled "Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY2008" is submitted in compliance with Sections 310.36 and 3 I2.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects in progress on June 30, 2008; it is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, and ending June 30, 2008. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available in the Research and Technology Bureau in the Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation. IOWA HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD In developing a progressive, continuing and coordinated program of research and development, the Highway Division is assisted by the Iowa Highway Research Board. This advisory group was established in 1949 by the Iowa State Highway Commission to respond to the research denoted in Section 310.36 of the Code of Iowa and now is denoted by 312.3A. The Research Board consists of 15 regular members: seven Iowa county engineers, four Iowa DOT engineers, one representative from Iowa State University, one from The University of Iowa, and two engineers employed by Iowa municipalities. Each regular member may have an alternate who will serve at the request of the regular member. The regular members and their alternates are appointed for a three-year term. The membership of the Research Board as of June 30, 2008, is listed in Table I. The Research Board held nine regular meetings during the period ofJuly 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008. Suggestions for research and development were reviewed at these meetings and recommendations were made by the Board.

Annual Report of the Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY 2009

The Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) engages in research and development for two reasons: first, to find workable solutions to the many problems that require more than ordinary, routine investigation; and second, to identify and implement improved engineering and management practices. This report, entitled ―Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY2009‖ is submitted in compliance with Sections 310.36 and 312.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund, respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects in progress on June 30, 2009. It is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2009. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available from the Research and Technology Bureau, Highway Division, Iowa Department of Transportation. All approved reports are also online for viewing at: www.iowadot.gov/operationsresearch/reports.aspx.

Annual Report of the Iowa Highway Research Board – Research and Development Activities FY 2010

This report, entitled “Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY 2010” is submitted in compliance with Sections 301.35 and 312.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund, respectively. T is a report of the status of research and development projects in progress on June 20, 2010. It is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, and ending June 30, 2010. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available from the Research and Technology Bureau, Highway Division, Iowa Department of Transportation. All approved reports are also online for viewing at www.iowadot.gov/operationsresearch/reports.aspx

Annual Report of the Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY 2010

The Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) engages in research and development for two reasons: first, to find workable solutions to the many problems that require more than ordinary, routine investigation; and second, to identify and implement improved engineering and management practices. This report, entitled ―Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY2009‖ is submitted in compliance with Sections 310.36 and 312.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund, respectively.

Annual Report of Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY 2011, December 2011

The Highway Division of the Iowa DOT engages in research and development for two reasons: first, to find workable solutions to the many problems that require more than ordinary, routine investigation; and second, to identify and implement improved engineering and management practices. This report, entitled ―Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY2011‖ is submitted in compliance with Sections 310.36 and 312.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund, respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects in progress on June 30, 2011. It is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010 and ending June 30, 2011. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available from the Research and Technology Bureau, Highway Division, Iowa Department of Transportation. All approved reports are also online for viewing at: www.iowadot.gov/operationsresearch/reports.aspx.

Counterfactuals and causal inference: Methods and principles for social research

"Most quantitative empirical analyses are motivated by the desire to estimate the causal effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable. Although the randomized experiment is the most powerful design for this task, in most social science research done outside of psychology, experimental designs are infeasible. (Winship & Morgan, 1999, p. 659)." This quote from earlier work by Winship and Morgan, which was instrumental in setting the groundwork for their book, captures the essence of our review of Morgan and Winship's book: It is about causality in nonexperimental settings.

Stream Stabilization in Western Iowa: Structure Evaluation and Design Manual, HR-385, 1998

Stream degradation is the action of deepening the stream bed and widening the banks due to the increasing velocity of water flow. Degradation is pervasive in channeled streams found within the deep to moderately deep loess regions of the central United States. Of all the streams, however, the most severe and widespread entrenchment occurs in western Iowa streams that are tributaries to the Missouri River. In September 1995 the Iowa Department of Transportation awarded a grant to Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development, Inc. The purpose of the grant, HR-385 "Stream Stabilization in Western Iowa: Structure Evaluation and Design Manual", was to provide an assessment of the effectiveness and costs of various stabilization structures in controlling erosion on channeled streams. A review of literature, a survey of professionals, field observations and an analysis of the data recorded on fifty-two selected structures led to the conclusions presented in the project's publication, Design Manual, Streambed Degradation and Streambank Widening in Western Iowa. Technical standards and specifications for the design and construction of stream channel stabilization structures are included in the manual. Additional information on non-structural measures, monitoring and evaluation of structures, various permit requirements and further resources are also included. Findings of the research project and use and applications of the Design Manual were presented at two workshops in the Loess Hills region. Participants in these workshops included county engineers, private contractors, state and federal agency personnel, elected officials and others. The Design Manual continues to be available through Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development.

Handbook of instrumental techniques for materials, chemical and biosciences research

This Handbook contains a collection of articles describing instrumental techniques used for Materials, Chemical and Biosciences research that are available at the Scientific and Technological Centers of theUniversity of Barcelona (CCiTUB). The CCiTUB are a group of facilities of the UB that provide both the research community and industry with ready access to a wide range of major instrumentation.Together with the latest equipment and technology, the CCiTUB provide expertise in addressing the methodological research needs of the user community and they also collaborate in R+D+i Projectswith industry. CCiTUB specialists include technical and Ph.D.-level professional staff members who are actively engaged in methodological research. Detailed information on the centers’ resources andactivities can be found at the CCiTUB website www.ccit.ub.edu ...

Particle exposure scenarios for research and production activities involving nanomaterials

Nanomaterials with structures in the nanoscale (1 to 100 nm) often have chemical, physical and bioactive characteristics different from those of larger entities of the same material. This is interesting for industry but raises questions about the health of exposed people. However, little is known so far about the exposure of workers to inhalable airborne nanomaterials. We investigated several activities in research laboratories and industry to learn about relevant exposure scenarios. Work process analyses were combined with measurements of airborne particle mass concentrations and number−size distributions. Background levels in research settings were mostly low, while in industrial production, levels were sometimes elevated, especially in halls near busy roads or in the presence of diesel fork lifts without particle filters. Peak levels were found in an industrial setting dealing with powders (up to 80,000 particles/cm³ and up to 15 mg/m³). Mostly low concentrations were found for activities involving liquid applications. However, centrifugation and lyophilization of nanoparticle containing solutions resulted in very high particle number concentrations (up to 300,000 particles/cm³), whereas no increases were seen for the same activities conducted with nanoparticle−free liquids. No significant increases of particle concentrations were found for processes involving nanoparticles bound to surfaces. Also no increases were observed in laboratories that were visualizing properties and structures of small amounts of nanomaterials. Conclusion: When studying exposure scenarios for airborne nanomaterials, the focus should not only be on processes involving nano−powders, but also on processes involving intensively treated nanoparticle−containing liquids. Acknowledgement: We thank Chantal Imhof, MSc and Guillaume Ferraris, MSc for their contributions.

Iowa Highway Research and Development Activities FY2014

This report, entitled Iowa Highway Research and Development Activities FY2014 is submitted in compliance with Iowa Code sections 310.36 and 312.3A, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund, respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects in process on June 20, 2014. It is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013 and ending June 30, 2014. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available from the office of Research and Analytics, Performance and Technology Division, Iowa Department of Transportation. All approved reports are also online for viewing at: http://www.iowadot.gov/research/pdf/IHRBAnnualReport.pdf.

Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY 2015

This report, entitled Iowa Highway Research and Development Activities FY 2015, is submitted in compliance with Iowa Code section 310.36 and 312.3A, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund, respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects in process on June 30, 2015. It is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014 and ending June 30, 2015. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available from the office of Research and Analytics, Performance and Technology Division, Iowa Department of Transportation. All approved reports are also online for viewing at http://www.iowadot.gov/research/pdf/IHRBAnnualReport.pdf.

Evidence of systematic and proportional error in a widely used glucose oxidase analyser: Impact for clinical research?

Real time glycemia is a cornerstone for metabolic research, particularly when performing oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) or glucose clamps. From 1965 to 2009, the gold standard device for real time plasma glucose assessment was the Beckman glucose analyzer 2 (Beckman Instruments, Fullerton, CA), which technology couples glucose oxidase enzymatic assay with oxygen sensors. Since its discontinuation in 2009, today's researchers are left with few choices that utilize glucose oxidase technology. The first one is the YSI 2300 (Yellow Springs Instruments Corp., Yellow Springs, OH), known to be as accurate as the Beckman(1). The YSI has been used extensively for clinical research studies and is used to validate other glucose monitoring devices(2). The major drawback of the YSI is that it is relatively slow and requires high maintenance. The Analox GM9 (Analox instruments, London), more recent and faster, is increasingly used in clinical research(3) as well as in basic sciences(4) (e.g. 23 papers in Diabetes or 21 in Diabetologia). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Accounting research: a critical view of the present situation and prospects

In this study we critically review the internal procedures of the accounting community for generating and disseminating knowledge. We contend that academic journals on accounting research are scarce, publish few articles and apply high rejection rates, and the review process is lengthy and expensive. Additionally, an academic elite has unparalleled predominance in comparison to other business disciplines, reflected in an unusual share of published articles with authors affiliated to a small number of academic institutions, and the predominance of certain topics and methodologies. The discipline does not allow the collaborative, iterative and flexible features of innovative knowledge communities. The discipline¿s internal procedures favour restriction, control, slowness, and expiration, rather than participation, speed and renewal. They are ill suited for advancing knowledge and bode badly for successful research. As a result, accounting academics present low research performance and the discipline is facing steady decline. More importantly, the discipline is handicapped in producing innovative knowledge able to contribute to critical research and long term social well-being. We also focus on the Spanish institutional situation, arguing that Spanish requirements for reaching tenured positions are difficult for accountants to meet. We highlight the need to raise awareness of the problem and change the procedures.