Impact of controlled changes in grain size and pore space characteristics on the hydraulic conductivity and spectral induced polarization response of "proxies" of saturated alluvial sediments

Understanding the influence of pore space characteristics on the hydraulic conductivity and spectral induced polarization (SIP) response is critical for establishing relationships between the electrical and hydrological properties of surficial unconsolidated sedimentary deposits, which host the bulk of the world's readily accessible groundwater resources. Here, we present the results of laboratory SIP measurements on industrial-grade, saturated quartz samples with granulometric characteristics ranging from fine sand to fine gravel, which can be regarded as proxies for widespread alluvial deposits. We altered the pore space characteristics by changing (i) the grain size spectra, (ii) the degree of compaction, and (iii) the level of sorting. We then examined how these changes affect the SIP response, the hydraulic conductivity, and the specific surface area of the considered samples. In general, the results indicate a clear connection between the SIP response and the granulometric as well as pore space characteristics. In particular, we observe a systematic correlation between the hydraulic conductivity and the relaxation time of the Cole-Cole model describing the observed SIP effect for the entire range of considered grain sizes. The results do, however, also indicate that the detailed nature of these relations depends strongly on variations in the pore space characteristics, such as, for example, the degree of compaction. The results of this study underline the complexity of the origin of the SIP signal as well as the difficulty to relate it to a single structural factor of a studied sample, and hence raise some fundamental questions with regard to the practical use of SIP measurements as site- and/or sample-independent predictors of the hydraulic conductivity.

Electronic Construction Collaboration System – Final Phase, SPR RB02-008, 2014

This phase of the research project involved two major efforts: (1) Complete the implementation of AEC-Sync (formerly known as Attolist) on the Iowa Falls Arch Bridge project and (2) develop a web-based project management system (WPMS) for projects under $10 million. For the first major effort, AEC-Sync was provided for the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) in a software as a service agreement, allowing the Iowa DOT to rapidly implement the solution with modest effort. During the 2010 fiscal year, the research team was able to help with the implementation process for the solution. The research team also collected feedback from the Broadway Viaduct project team members before the start of the project and implementation of the solution. For the 2011 fiscal year, the research team collected the post-project surveys from the Broadway Viaduct project members and compared them to the pre-project survey results. The result of the AEC-Sync implementation in the Broadway Viaduct project was a positive one. The project members were satisfied with the performance of AEC-Sync and how it facilitated document management and transparency. In addition, the research team distributed, collected, and analyzed the pre-project surveys for the Iowa Falls Arch Bridge project. During the 2012 fiscal year, the research team analyzed the post-project surveys for the Iowa Falls Arch Bridge project AEC-Sync implementation and found a positive outcome when compared to the pre-project surveys. The second major effort for this project involved the identification and implementation of a WPMS solution for smaller bridge and highway projects. During the 2011 fiscal year, Microsoft SharePoint was selected to be implemented on these smaller highway projects. In this year, workflows for the shop/working drawings for the smaller highway projects specified in Section 1105 of the Iowa DOT Specifications were developed. These workflows will serve as the guide for the development of the SharePoint pages. In order to implement the Microsoft SharePoint pages, the effort of an integrated team proved to be vital because it brought together the expertise required from researchers, programmers, and webpage developers to develop the SharePoint pages.

Electronic Construction Collaboration System—Phase II, SPR RB02-008, 2010

During the first year of research, work was completed to identify Iowa DOT needs for web-based project management system (WPMS) and evaluate how commercially available solutions could meet these needs. Researchers also worked to pilot test custom developed WPMS solutions on Iowa DOT bridge projects. At the end of the first year of research, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was developed and issued by the Iowa DOT for the selection of a commercial WPMS to pilot test on multiple bridge projects. During the second year of research, the responses to the RFP issued during the first year of research were evaluated and a solution was selected. The selected solution, Attolist, was customized, tested, and implemented during the fall of 2009. Beginning in the winter of 2010, the solution was implemented on Iowa DOT projects. Researchers worked to assist in the training, implementation, and performance evaluation of the solution. Work will continue beyond the second year of research to implement Attolist on an additional pilot project. During this time, work will be completed to evaluate the impact of WPMS on Iowa DOT bridge projects.

Issue review : electronic document management system or EDMS.

This issue review provides an overview of the electronic documents management system, or EDMS project.

Issue review : electronic document management system, or EDMS.

This issue review provides an overview of the electronic document management system, or EDMS, project, withing the judicial branch and courts.

Cdc42 oscillations in yeasts.

A fundamental problem in cell biology is how cells define one or several discrete sites of polarity. Through mechanisms involving positive and negative feedback, the small Rho-family guanosine triphosphatase Cdc42 breaks symmetry in round budding yeast cells to define a single site of polarized cell growth. However, it is not clear how cells can define multiple sites of polarization concurrently. We discuss a study in which rod-shaped fission yeast cells, which naturally polarize growth at their two cell ends, exhibited oscillations of Cdc42 activity between these sites. We compare these findings with similar oscillatory behavior of Cdc42 detected in budding yeast cells and discuss the possible mechanism and functional outputs of these oscillations.

A plan for an electronic library and information services program for Iowa : presented to the Honorable Terry E. Branstad and members of the Iowa General Assembly, 1995

This document summarizes the conclusions and recommendations of the Library Services Advisory Council who were appointed by Governor Terry E. Branstad to develop a coordinated, cost-effective and comprehensive plan for the implementation of an electronic statewide library and information services program.

Spatial Polarization of the Ecological Footprint distribution

The international allocation of natural resources is determined, not by any ethical or ecological criteria, but by the dominance of market mechanisms. From a core-periphery perspective, this allocation may even be driven by historically determined structural patterns, with a core group of countries whose consumption appropriates most available natural resources, and another group, having low natural resource consumption, which plays a peripheral role. This article consists of an empirical distributional analysis of natural resource consumption (as measured by Ecological Footprints) whose purpose is to assess the extent to which the distribution of consumption responds to polarization (as opposed to mere inequality). To assess this, we estimate and decompose different polarization indices for a balanced sample of 119 countries over the period 1961 to 2007. Our results points toward a polarized distribution which is consistent with a core-periphery framework.

Development of LRFD Procedures for Bridge Pile Foundations in Iowa, Volume I: An Electronic Database for PIle LOad Tests (PILOT), TR-573, 2011

For well over 100 years, the Working Stress Design (WSD) approach has been the traditional basis for geotechnical design with regard to settlements or failure conditions. However, considerable effort has been put forth over the past couple of decades in relation to the adoption of the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) approach into geotechnical design. With the goal of producing engineered designs with consistent levels of reliability, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a policy memorandum on June 28, 2000, requiring all new bridges initiated after October 1, 2007, to be designed according to the LRFD approach. Likewise, regionally calibrated LRFD resistance factors were permitted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to improve the economy of bridge foundation elements. Thus, projects TR-573, TR-583 and TR-584 were undertaken by a research team at Iowa State University’s Bridge Engineering Center with the goal of developing resistance factors for pile design using available pile static load test data. To accomplish this goal, the available data were first analyzed for reliability and then placed in a newly designed relational database management system termed PIle LOad Tests (PILOT), to which this first volume of the final report for project TR-573 is dedicated. PILOT is an amalgamated, electronic source of information consisting of both static and dynamic data for pile load tests conducted in the State of Iowa. The database, which includes historical data on pile load tests dating back to 1966, is intended for use in the establishment of LRFD resistance factors for design and construction control of driven pile foundations in Iowa. Although a considerable amount of geotechnical and pile load test data is available in literature as well as in various State Department of Transportation files, PILOT is one of the first regional databases to be exclusively used in the development of LRFD resistance factors for the design and construction control of driven pile foundations. Currently providing an electronically organized assimilation of geotechnical and pile load test data for 274 piles of various types (e.g., steel H-shaped, timber, pipe, Monotube, and concrete), PILOT (http://srg.cce.iastate.edu/lrfd/) is on par with such familiar national databases used in the calibration of LRFD resistance factors for pile foundations as the FHWA’s Deep Foundation Load Test Database. By narrowing geographical boundaries while maintaining a high number of pile load tests, PILOT exemplifies a model for effective regional LRFD calibration procedures.

Lack of extended venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in high-risk patients undergoing major orthopaedic or major cancer surgery. Electronic Assessment of VTE Prophylaxis in High-Risk Surgical Patients at Discharge from Swiss Hospitals (ESSENTIAL).

Extended pharmacological venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis beyond discharge is recommended for patients undergoing high-risk surgery. We prospectively investigated prophylaxis in 1,046 consecutive patients undergoing major orthopaedic (70%) or major cancer surgery (30%) in 14 Swiss hospitals. Appropriate in-hospital prophylaxis was used in 1,003 (96%) patients. At discharge, 638 (61%) patients received prescription for extended pharmacological prophylaxis: 564 (77%) after orthopaedic surgery, and 74 (23%) after cancer surgery (p < 0.001). Patients with knee replacement (94%), hip replacement (81%), major trauma (80%), and curative arthroscopy (73%) had the highest prescription rates for extended VTE prophylaxis; the lowest rates were found in patients undergoing major surgery for thoracic (7%), gastrointestinal (19%), and hepatobiliary (33%) cancer. The median duration of prescribed extended prophylaxis was longer in patients with orthopaedic surgery (32 days, interquartile range 14-40 days) than in patients with cancer surgery (23 days, interquartile range 11-30 days; p<0.001). Among the 278 patients with an extended prophylaxis order after hip replacement, knee replacement, or hip fracture surgery, 120 (43%) received a prescription for at least 35 days, and among the 74 patients with an extended prophylaxis order after major cancer surgery, 20 (27%) received a prescription for at least 28 days. In conclusion, approximately one quarter of the patients with major orthopaedic surgery and more than three quarters of the patients with major cancer surgery did not receive prescription for extended VTE prophylaxis. Future effort should focus on the improvement of extended VTE prophylaxis, particularly in patients undergoing major cancer surgery.

Spectral induced polarization: Laboratory measurements on sandy quartz samples of varied pore characteristics

Understanding the influence of pore space characteristics on the hydraulic conductivity and spectral induced polarization (SIP) response is critical for establishing relationships between the electrical and hydrological properties of surficial sedimentary deposits. Here, we present the results of laboratory SIP measurements on saturated quartz samples with granulometric characteristics ranging from fine sand to fine gravel. We alter the pore characteristics using three principal methods: (i) variation of the grain sizes, (ii) changing the degree of compaction, and (iii) changing the level of sorting. We then examine how these changes affect both the SIP response and the hydraulic conductivity. In general, the results indicate a clear connection between the applied changes in pore characteristics and the SIP response. In particular, we observe a systematic correlation between the hydraulic conductivity and the relaxation time of the Cole-Cole model describing the observed SIP effect for the whole range of considered grain sizes.

Electronic Construction Collaboration - Phase 1, 2009

Bridge construction projects are becoming increasingly complex as the demand for context-sensitive solutions, aesthetic designs, and accelerated bridge construction becomes more prevalent. In addition, the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is entering a phase of design and construction of large border bridges, such as the I-80 (let 2008 for $56 million) and US 34 bridges over the Missouri River and I-74 over the Mississippi River. Compared to typical construction projects, these bridges generate more contractor Requests for Information (RFIs), Value Engineering (VE) proposals, Requests for Changes (RFCs), and shop drawings. Management of these submittals is a significant challenge for Resident Construction Engineers (RCEs) and other Iowa DOT staff. In addition, some submittals require cross-departmental and project consultant reviews. Commercially available software exists for managing submittals and project collaboration teams; in-house solutions may also be possible. Implementation is intended to speed construction submittal review time, reduce incidence of delay claims, and free up Iowa DOT staff from project management administrative tasks. Researchers from Iowa State University working with the Iowa DOT conducted a multi-pronged approach to indentify a web-based collaboration solution for Iowa DOT bridge projects. An investigation was launched to determine the functional needs of the Iowa DOT. Commercially available software programs were also evaluated to find what functionality is currently available. A Request for Proposals (RFP) was written to select a commercial web-based collaboration solution for pilot testing. In the second phase of research, a solution will be selected and implemented on two pilot projects. Lessons learned from these pilot projects will assist the Iowa DOT in developing and implementing a long-term solution to improve the management of Iowa DOT bridge projects.

Electronic Reference Library Phase I Report, 1999

This report describes the first phase in a project to develop an electronic reference library (ERL) to help Iowa transportation officials efficiently access information in critical and heavily used documents. These documents include Standard Specifications for Bridge and Highway Construction (hereinafter called Standard Specifications), design manuals, standard drawings, the Construction Manual, and Material Instruction Memoranda (hereinafter called Material IMs). Additional items that could be included to enhance the ERL include phone books, letting dates, Internet links, computer programs distributed by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), and local specifications, such as the Urban Standard Specifications of Public Improvements. All cross-references should be hyper linked, and a search engine should be provided. Revisions noted in the General Supplemental Specifications (hereinafter called the Supplemental Specifications) should be incorporated into the text of the Standard Specifications. The Standard Specifications should refer to related sections of other documents, and there should be reciprocal hyper links in those other documents. These features would speed research on critical issues and save staff time. A master plan and a pilot version were both developed in this first phase of the ERL.

Spatial polarization of the ecological footprint distribution

The international allocation of natural resources is determined, not by any ethical or ecological criteria, but by the dominance of market mechanisms. From a core-periphery perspective, this allocation may even be driven by historically determined structural patterns, with a core group of countries whose consumption appropriates most available natural resources, and another group, having low natural resource consumption, which plays a peripheral role. This article consists of an empirical distributional analysis of natural resource consumption (as measured by Ecological Footprints) whose purpose is to assess the extent to which the distribution of consumption responds to polarization (as opposed to mere inequality). To assess this, we estimate and decompose different polarization indices for a balanced sample of 119 countries over the period 1961 to 2007. Our results points toward a polarized distribution which is consistent with a core-periphery framework. Keywords: Polarization, Core-Periphery, Ecological Footprint