Reaudit report on the Ottumwa Transit Authority in the City of Ottumwa, Iowa for the period July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009

Reaudit report on the Ottumwa Transit Authority in the City of Ottumwa, Iowa for the period July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009

Physical quality of an Oxisol cultivated with maize submited to cover crops in the pre-cropping period

The intensive use of land alters the distribution of the pore size which imparts consequences on the soil physical quality. The Least Limiting Water Range (LLWR) allows for the visualization of the effects of management systems upon either the improvement or the degradation of the soil physical quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of a Red Latosol (Oxisol) submited to cover crops in the period prior to the maize crop in a no-tillage and conventional tillage system, using porosity, soil bulk density and the LLWR as attributes. The treatments were: conventional tillage (CT) and a no-tillage system with the following cover crops: sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) (NS), pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke) (NP) and lablab (Dolichos lablab L.) (NL). The experimental design was randomized blocks in subdivided plots with six replications, with the plots being constituted by the treatments and the subplots by the layers analyzed. The no-tillage systems showed higher total porosity and soil organic matter at the 0-0.5 m layer for the CT. The CT did not differ from the NL or NS in relation to macroporosity. The NP showed the greater porosity, while CT and NS presented lower soil bulk density. No < 10 % airing porosity was found for the treatments evaluated, and value for water content where soil aeration is critical (θPA) was found above estimated water content at field capacity (θFC) for all densities. Critical soil bulk density was of 1.36 and 1.43 Mg m-3 for NP and CT, respectively. The LLWR in the no-tillage systems was limited in the upper part by the θFC, and in the bottom part, by the water content from which soil resistance to penetration is limiting (θPR). By means of LLWR it was observed that the soil presented good physical quality.

Development of a high throughput PCR to detect Coxiella burnetii and its application in a diagnostic laboratory over a 7-year period.

Q fever is a worldwide zoonotic infectious disease due to Coxiella burnetii. The clinical presentation may be acute (pneumonia and/or hepatitis) or chronic (most commonly endocarditis). Diagnosis mainly relies on serology and PCR. We therefore developed a quantitative real-time PCR. We first tested blindly its performance on various clinical samples and then, when thoroughly validated, we applied it during a 7-year period for the diagnosis of both acute and persistent C. burnetii infection. Analytical sensitivity (< 10 copies/PCR) was excellent. When tested blindly on 183 samples, the specificity of the PCR was 100% (142/142) and the sensitivity was 71% (29/41). The sensitivity was 88% (7/8) on valvular samples, 69% (20/29) on blood samples and 50% (2/4) on urine samples. This new quantitative PCR was then successfully applied for the diagnosis of acute Q fever and endovascular infection due to C. burnetii, allowing the diagnosis of Q fever in six patients over a 7-year period. During a local small cluster of cases, the PCR was also applied to blood from 1355 blood donors; all were negative confirming the high specificity of this test. In conclusion, we developed a highly specific method with excellent sensitivity, which may be used on sera for the diagnosis of acute Q fever and on various samples such as sera, valvular samples, aortic specimens, bone and liver, for the diagnosis of persistent C. burnetii infection.

2010 Iowa Court Debt Amnesty

During its 2010 Session the General Assembly enacted Senate File 2383 creating a Debt Amnesty Program for certain outstanding court debts. The Amnesty provided that fifty percent of outstanding eligible debt be forgiven upon payment of a lump sum equal to fifty percent of the eligible debt. The Amnesty was offered from September 1 through November 30.

Report on a special investigation of the Tama County Sheriff’s Office for the period January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2010

Report on a special investigation of the Tama County Sheriff’s Office for the period January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2010

Industrial agglomerations and wage gradients: the Spanish economy in the interwar period

This paper gives new evidence on the relationship between integration and industrial agglomeration in the presence of scale economies, by testing directly one of the predictions that can be derived from Krugman (1991), that is, the existence of regional nominal wage gradients and its transformation following changes in trade regimes. Our case study analyzes the effects of the substitution of an open economy by a closed economy regime, exactly the opposite process studied by Hanson (1996, 1997). In Spain, during the interwar period, protectionist policies would have favored the loss of centrality of the coastal location (Barcelona) and the relative rise of central locations (such as Madrid). Our results indicate the existence of a wage gradient centered in Barcelona during the interwar period (1914-1930) and its weakening after 1925.

Report on a special investigation of the City of Stockton for the period July 1, 2004 to October 31, 2010

Report on a special investigation of the City of Stockton for the period July 1, 2004 to October 31, 2010

Report on a special investigation of the Lake Mills Community School District for the period July 1, 2005 through December 31, 2010

Report on a special investigation of the Lake Mills Community School District for the period July 1, 2005 through December 31, 2010

Rainfall erosivity and rainfall return period in the experimental watershed of Aracruz, in the coastal plain of Espirito Santo, Brazil

Knowledge on the factors influencing water erosion is fundamental for the choice of the best land use practices. Rainfall, expressed by rainfall erosivity, is one of the most important factors of water erosion. The objective of this study was to determine rainfall erosivity and the return period of rainfall in the Coastal Plains region, near Aracruz, a town in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, based on available data. Rainfall erosivity was calculated based on historic rainfall data, collected from January 1998 to July 2004 at 5 min intervals, by automatic weather stations of the Aracruz Cellulose S.A company. A linear regression with individual rainfall and erosivity data was fit to obtain an equation that allowed data extrapolation to calculate individual erosivity for a 30-year period. Based on this data the annual average rainfall erosivity in Aracruz was 8,536 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 yr-1. Of the total annual rainfall erosivity 85 % was observed in the most critical period October to March. Annual erosive rains accounted for 38 % of the events causing erosion, although the runoff volume represented 88 % of the total. The annual average rainfall erosivity return period was estimated to be 3.4 years.

Report on a special investigation of the City of Garner for the period January 1, 2006 through February 22, 2011

Report on a special investigation of the City of Garner for the period January 1, 2006 through February 22, 2011

Special investigation of the Glenwood Resource Center Client Activity Clearing Account for the period January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010

Special investigation of the Glenwood Resource Center Client Activity Clearing Account for the period January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010

Report on a review of selected application controls over the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Payroll System for the period April 12, 2010 through June 30, 2010

Report on a review of selected application controls over the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Payroll System for the period April 12, 2010 through June 30, 2010

Report on a review of selected general and application controls for the Iowa Department of Education’s Electronic Access System for Iowa Education Records (EASIER) system for the period April 4 through May 10, 2011

Report on a review of selected general and application controls for the Iowa Department of Education’s Electronic Access System for Iowa Education Records (EASIER) system for the period April 4 through May 10, 2011

Report on the Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant Program administered by the Department of Education for the period July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2010

Report on the Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant Program administered by the Department of Education for the period July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2010