LSTA Five Year Plan, 1998-2002, 2002

The LSTA goals for Iowa, FY98-FY02, are as follows: 1. Provide all Iowans with expanded access to information and materials through the State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO) network. 2. Improve library service to Iowans through knowledgeable, well-trained staff and wellinformed public library trustees and library users. 3. Meet Iowans’ increasing demands for information and library services by identifying and encouraging resource sharing and partnerships. 4. Provide state level leadership and services to accomplish the LSTA Five-Year Plan. The primary objectives of this evaluation are to provide: $ An assessment of the overall impact of Iowa’s LSTA funding and success in achieving the goals identified in the state’s five-year plan. $ An in-depth analysis of two specific goals from the plan: providing Iowans with expanded access to information and materials through the State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO) network; and improving library service to Iowans through knowledgeable, well-trained staff and well-informed public library trustees and library users. LSTA built on accomplishments made possible with the federal HEA II-B grant awarded to the State Library in 1995. This grant led the way in bringing technology to Iowa libraries by creating an electronic library network for resource sharing. SILO (State of Iowa Libraries Online) became fully functional in 1997. The State Library continued funding SILO with LSTA money when the grant ended. This funding supports the SILO infrastructure, providing equitable access to information through cutting edge technology to Iowans in both small and large, rural and urban, communities. Access to electronic material and information has encouraged public libraries to increase the number of computers and public access to the Internet. LSTA funding was used to increase training opportunities for library staff and trustees. Many programs, such as librarian certification, were strengthened by an increase in continuing education opportunities.

LSTA Five Year Plan, 1998-2002, 2002

The LSTA goals for Iowa, FY98-FY02, are as follows: 1. Provide all Iowans with expanded access to information and materials through the State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO) network. 2. Improve library service to Iowans through knowledgeable, well-trained staff and wellinformed public library trustees and library users. 3. Meet Iowans’ increasing demands for information and library services by identifying and encouraging resource sharing and partnerships. 4. Provide state level leadership and services to accomplish the LSTA Five-Year Plan. The primary objectives of this evaluation are to provide: $ An assessment of the overall impact of Iowa’s LSTA funding and success in achieving the goals identified in the state’s five-year plan. $ An in-depth analysis of two specific goals from the plan: providing Iowans with expanded access to information and materials through the State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO) network; and improving library service to Iowans through knowledgeable, well-trained staff and well-informed public library trustees and library users. LSTA built on accomplishments made possible with the federal HEA II-B grant awarded to the State Library in 1995. This grant led the way in bringing technology to Iowa libraries by creating an electronic library network for resource sharing. SILO (State of Iowa Libraries Online) became fully functional in 1997. The State Library continued funding SILO with LSTA money when the grant ended. This funding supports the SILO infrastructure, providing equitable access to information through cutting edge technology to Iowans in both small and large, rural and urban, communities. Access to electronic material and information has encouraged public libraries to increase the number of computers and public access to the Internet. LSTA funding was used to increase training opportunities for library staff and trustees. Many programs, such as librarian certification, were strengthened by an increase in continuing education opportunities.

LSTA Five Year Plan Evaluation, 1998-2002, 2002

The LSTA goals for Iowa, FY98-FY02, are as follows: 1. Provide all Iowans with expanded access to information and materials through the State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO) network. 2. Improve library service to Iowans through knowledgeable, well-trained staff and wellinformed public library trustees and library users. 3. Meet Iowans’ increasing demands for information and library services by identifying and encouraging resource sharing and partnerships. 4. Provide state level leadership and services to accomplish the LSTA Five-Year Plan. The primary objectives of this evaluation are to provide: $ An assessment of the overall impact of Iowa’s LSTA funding and success in achieving the goals identified in the state’s five-year plan. $ An in-depth analysis of two specific goals from the plan: providing Iowans with expanded access to information and materials through the State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO) network; and improving library service to Iowans through knowledgeable, well-trained staff and well-informed public library trustees and library users. LSTA built on accomplishments made possible with the federal HEA II-B grant awarded to the State Library in 1995. This grant led the way in bringing technology to Iowa libraries by creating an electronic library network for resource sharing. SILO (State of Iowa Libraries Online) became fully functional in 1997. The State Library continued funding SILO with LSTA money when the grant ended. This funding supports the SILO infrastructure, providing equitable access to information through cutting edge technology to Iowans in both small and large, rural and urban, communities. Access to electronic material and information has encouraged public libraries to increase the number of computers and public access to the Internet. LSTA funding was used to increase training opportunities for library staff and trustees. Many programs, such as librarian certification, were strengthened by an increase in continuing education opportunities.

Emerging Biofuels: Outlook of Effects on U.S. Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Markets, 2007

Projections of U.S. ethanol production and its impacts on planted acreage, crop prices, livestock production and prices, trade, and retail food costs are presented under the assumption that current tax credits and trade policies are maintained. The projections were made using a multi-product, multi-country deterministic partial equilibrium model. The impacts of higher oil prices, a drought combined with an ethanol mandate, and removal of land from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) relative to baseline projections are also presented. The results indicate that expanded U.S. ethanol production will cause long-run crop prices to increase. In response to higher feed costs, livestock farmgate prices will increase enough to cover the feed cost increases. Retail meat, egg, and dairy prices will also increase. If oil prices are permanently $10-per-barrel higher than assumed in the baseline projections, U.S. ethanol will expand significantly. The magnitude of the expansion will depend on the future makeup of the U.S. automobile fleet. If sufficient demand for E-85 from flex-fuel vehicles is available, corn-based ethanol production is projected to increase to over 30 billion gallons per year with the higher oil prices. The direct effect of higher feed costs is that U.S. food prices would increase by a minimum of 1.1% over baseline levels. Results of a model of a 1988-type drought combined with a large mandate for continued ethanol production show sharply higher crop prices, a drop in livestock production, and higher food prices. Corn exports would drop significantly, and feed costs would rise. Wheat feed use would rise sharply. Taking additional land out of the CRP would lower crop prices in the short run. But because long-run corn prices are determined by ethanol prices and not by corn acreage, the long-run impacts on commodity prices and food prices of a smaller CRP are modest. Cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass and biodiesel from soybeans do not become economically viable in the Corn Belt under any of the scenarios. This is so because high energy costs that increase the prices of biodiesel and switchgrass ethanol also increase the price of cornbased ethanol. So long as producers can choose between soybeans for biodiesel, switchgrass for ethanol, and corn for ethanol, they will choose to grow corn. Cellulosic ethanol from corn stover does not enter into any scenario because of the high cost of collecting and transporting corn stover over the large distances required to supply a commercial-sized ethanol facility.

Continuity of Government Planning Interim Study Committee, March 2007

The Legislative Council established the Continuity of Government Planning Interim Study Committee in 2006 and authorized the Committee to meet during the 2006 Legislative Interim. The Committee was given the following charge: Examine issues relating to the continued functioning of state government following a disaster, including gubernatorial succession, replacement of constitutional officers and department heads, legislative elections to fill vacancies, and continued funding of state government if the General Assembly is unable to meet and pass a budget.

Incidência natural e biologia de Trichogramma atopovirilia Oatman & Platner, 1983 (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae) em ovos de Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner, 1818 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)

Trichogramma atopovirilia Oatman & Platner is an egg parasitoid of the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), and has recently been collected from eggs of Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner on soybeans. In order to evaluate the suitability of A. gemmatalis eggs as hosts of T. atopovirilia, field surveys were conducted in 1999 and 2000 on corn and soybeans, and a colony of the parasitoid was established in laboratory. At 25 ºC, development from oviposition to emergence lasted nine days and a sex-ratio of 0.58 (females:males) was obtained. Females lived significantly longer (11.4 days) when kept in ovipositional activity, than in the absence of host eggs (6.6 days). Total fecundity averaged 104.5 parasitized eggs, resulting in the emergence of 138.3 descendents. Mean daily fecundity was highest (30 eggs/female) on the first day. Oviposition continued until one day before the death of the females, however 70% of the eggs were laid during the first four days after emergence. A female-biased progeny was produced during the first three days of oviposition, whereas further ovipositions were male-biased. Females lived significantly longer when exposed to host eggs in comparison to females deprived of eggs. The results show that eggs of A. gemmatalis are suitable for the development of T. atopovirilia, and this parasitoid should be considered in future programs of biological control of the velvetbean caterpillar.

Fluconazole prophylaxis prevents intra-abdominal candidiasis in high-risk surgical patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous fluconazole for the prevention of intra-abdominal Candida infections in high-risk surgical patients. DESIGN: Randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. SETTING: Two university-affiliated hospitals in Switzerland. PATIENTS: Forty-nine surgical patients with recurrent gastrointestinal perforations or anastomotic leakages. INTERVENTIONS: Prophylaxis with intravenous fluconazole (400 mg per day) or placebo continued until resolution of the underlying surgical condition. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients were evaluated daily, and specimens for culture were obtained three times per week during prophylaxis. The primary study end points were the frequency of and the time to intra-abdominal Candida infections. Secondary end points were the frequency of candidiasis (intra-abdominal and extra-abdominal) and the emergence or persistence of Candida colonization. Among patients who were not colonized at study entry, Candida was isolated from surveillance cultures during prophylaxis in 15% of the patients in the fluconazole group and in 62% of the patients in the placebo group (relative risk, 0.25; 95% confidence interval, 0.07 to 0.96; p = .04). Candida peritonitis occurred in one of 23 patients (4%) who received fluconazole and in seven of 20 patients (35%) who received placebo (relative risk, 0.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.02 to 0.93; p = .02). In addition, one catheter-related Candida albicans sepsis occurred in a fluconazole-treated patient. Thus, overall, candidiasis developed in two fluconazole patients and seven placebo patients (relative risk, 0.25; 95% confidence interval, 0.06 to 1.06; p = .06). C. albicans accounted for 87% of the Candida species isolated before or during prophylaxis, and all C. albicans strains were susceptible to fluconazole. Fluconazole was well tolerated, and adverse events occurred at similar frequencies in both treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: Fluconazole prophylaxis prevents colonization and invasive intra-abdominal Candida infections in high-risk surgical patients.

Affrimative Action Plan in Iowa, September 28, 2007

In with accordance 19B.5 of the Code of Iowa, this item has submitted the fiscal year 2007 Affirmative Action in Iowa report. The report details the progress we have made to balance our workforce in FY 2007. Just as importantly, the plan describes steps to put into practice our continued commitment to increasing diversity in the state’ workforce and details our response to the challenges we face as a result of increased talent competition. The State's renewed emphases on recruitments. along with greater oversight of state agency hiring practices, are key strategies that we must aggressively employ in competing for talent and balancing our workforce.

Radioimmunotherapy of human colon carcinoma by 131I-labelled monoclonal anti-CEA antibodies in a nude mouse model.

A mixture of 3 MAbs directed against 3 different CEA epitopes was radiolabelled with 131I and used for the treatment of a human colon carcinoma transplanted s.c. into nude mice. Intact MAbs and F(ab')2 fragments were mixed because it had been shown by autoradiography that these 2 antibody forms can penetrate into different areas of the tumor nodule. Ten days after transplantation of colon tumor T380 a single dose of 600 microCi of 131I MAbs was injected i.v. The tumor grafts were well established (as evidenced by exponential growth in untreated mice) and their size continued to increase up to 6 days after radiolabelled antibody injection. Tumor shrinking was then observed lasting for 4-12 weeks. In a control group injected with 600 microCi of 131I coupled to irrelevant monoclonal IgG, tumor growth was delayed, but no regression was observed. Tumors of mice injected with the corresponding amount of unlabelled antibodies grew like those of untreated mice. Based on measurements of the effective whole-body half-life of injected 131I, the mean radiation dose received by the animals was calculated to be 382 rads for the antibody group and 478 rads for the normal IgG controls. The genetically immunodeficient animals exhibited no increase in mortality, and only limited bone-marrow toxicity was observed. Direct measurement of radioactivity in mice dissected 1, 3 and 7 days after 131I-MAb injection showed that 25, 7.2 and 2.2% of injected dose were recovered per gram of tumor, the mean radiation dose delivered to the tumor being thus more than 5,000 rads. These experiments show that therapeutic doses of radioactivity can be selectively directed to human colon carcinoma by i.v. injection of 131I-labelled anti-CEA MAbs.

Low compliance with dietary recommendations for food intake among adults.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: To assess the adherence to the national dietary recommendations and to identify factors contributing to dietary compliance in Switzerland. METHODS: Population-based cross-sectional study in Lausanne, Switzerland (CoLaus study), 2009-2012. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Participants were dichotomized according to whether they followed the national recommendations for fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products. RESULTS: Data from 4371 participants (54% women, mean age ± SD: 57.6 ± 10.5 years) were analyzed. Compliance with the recommendations was low: only 39.4%, 7.1%, 61.3%, 66.4%, and 8.4% complied with the Swiss recommendations for fruit (≥2/day), vegetables (≥3/day), meat (≤5/week), fish (≥1/week) and dairy products (≥3/day), respectively. In multivariate analyses, gender, age, smoking status, Swiss-born status, education, being on a diet and body mass index were associated with dietary compliance, while no difference was found between women before and after menopause. Factors specifically associated with fruits, vegetables, meat, fish or dairy products recommendations were identified. CONCLUSION: The low degree of compliance with dietary recommendations calls for a continued effort to increase the population awareness of the importance of a healthy and balanced diet, especially for vegetables and dairy products. This study identified determinants that should guide this effort.

FY 2007 Biodiesel Fuel Revolving Fund Expenditures Report

The Seventy-ninth General Assembly of the State of Iowa, 2001 Regular Session, passed Senate File 465 which was signed by the Governor on April 19, 2001. This act created the biodiesel fuel revolving fund (Fund) to be used to purchase biodiesel fuel for use in the Department of Transportation's (DOT) vehicles. The act directed that the Fund receive money from the sale of EPA credits banked by the DOT on the effective date of the act, moneys appropriated by the General Assembly, and any other moneys obtained or accepted by the DOT for deposit in the Fund. The act also directed the DOT to submit an annual report not later than January 31 of the expenditures made from the Fund during the preceding fiscal year. This is the sixth annual report under the act. In FY 2007, the DOT purchased from the Fund 14,958 gallons of neat soy oil for $31,615, or an average of $2.11 per gallon. This yielded 74,791 gallons of B 20, which is 20 percent biodiesel by volume. Since the beginning of FY 2008, the Fund has received deposits totaling $59,000 which are being used for continued biodiesel purchases.

Formação profissional e empregabilidade: O caso dos diplomados da escola de formação profissional da Cabnave em São Vicente – Cabo Verde

Se houve um tempo em que eram as empresas as mais preocupadas em dotar os seus empregados com um determinado leque de competências técnicas, pela via da Formação Profissional, para se tornarem cada vez mais competitivas, hoje torna-se crucial para qualquer país poder determinar o grau de empregabilidade dos diversos cursos de formação profissional realizados pela sua população activa, de modo a optimizar a inserção dos seus cidadãos no mercado de trabalho. A presente investigação visa analisar a empregabilidade a partir de um caso nacional, em que uma escola de formação profissional, inserida numa empresa – a Cabnave – vem desenvolvendo um modelo de formação, que para além de estar directamente relacionado com a sua própria actividade, encontra-se ligado a vários sectores da actividade económica de Cabo Verde, particularmente ao da indústria Mecânica e Metalomecânica. O estudo contém dois principais momentos. Um primeiro, no qual se procedeu à contextualização e fundamentação do tema, com base em bibliografia nacional e internacional, e enfoque nos seguintes assuntos: o sistema de ensino em Cabo Verde, mais concretamente a via do ensino secundário técnico; a formação profissional; e o mercado de trabalho em Cabo Verde. Num segundo momento desenvolveu-se um Caso de Estudo, para se determinar o grau de empregabilidade dos diplomados da Escola de Formação Profissional da Cabnave, que seguiram uma carreira em áreas profissionais diferentes do curso realizado, recorrendo-se à aplicação de um questionário a uma amostra final de 80 inquiridos, e à interpretação dos resultados, através dos métodos de análise estatística Descritiva e Correlacional. Das conclusões resultantes da análise das respostas obtidas, chama-se a atenção para o facto de a maioria dos diplomados partilharem de uma opinião positiva relativamente à empregabilidade dos cursos que frequentaram, independentemente de os mesmos terem ou não conduzido a uma profissão directamente ligada ao sector da Mecânica e MetalomecânicaIf at one point companies used to be the ones that were the most concerned with providing specific technical skills to their employees, through professional education, as to become more competitive, it is today highly important for every country to determine the level of employability of the numerous professional education programs pursued by its active population, so as to increase citizens’ chances to enter the labor market. The present research aims to study the concept of employability, with focus on a national case, a school of professional education which integrates the company Cabnave, and has been developing an educational model that, in addition to responding to the company’s own needs, is also connected to Cape Verde’s various economic sectors, notably the Mechanics and Metalworking industry. The study consists of two main parts. A first one where, based on national and international bibliography, the theme is contextualized, with closest attention to the following subjects: the Cape Verdean education system, especially vocational education in secondary schools; professional education; and the labor market in Cape Verde. In the second part, a Case Study is conducted, in order to determine the level of employability of those who were trained by Cabnave’s School of Professional Education, but have pursued a career in a different professional field. Therefore, a questionnaire was submitted to a sample of 80 respondents, and the correspondent data was analyzed and interpreted, with the use of Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis. One of the conclusions deriving from the survey results is that most of the School’s trained graduates have a positive view of the employability of the programs they have pursued, independently of whether they continued to work in the Mechanics and Metalworking industry

Resurgence of HIV infection among men who have sex with men in Switzerland: mathematical modelling study.

BACKGROUND: New HIV infections in men who have sex with men (MSM) have increased in Switzerland since 2000 despite combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). The objectives of this mathematical modelling study were: to describe the dynamics of the HIV epidemic in MSM in Switzerland using national data; to explore the effects of hypothetical prevention scenarios; and to conduct a multivariate sensitivity analysis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The model describes HIV transmission, progression and the effects of cART using differential equations. The model was fitted to Swiss HIV and AIDS surveillance data and twelve unknown parameters were estimated. Predicted numbers of diagnosed HIV infections and AIDS cases fitted the observed data well. By the end of 2010, an estimated 13.5% (95% CI 12.5, 14.6%) of all HIV-infected MSM were undiagnosed and accounted for 81.8% (95% CI 81.1, 82.4%) of new HIV infections. The transmission rate was at its lowest from 1995-1999, with a nadir of 46 incident HIV infections in 1999, but increased from 2000. The estimated number of new infections continued to increase to more than 250 in 2010, although the reproduction number was still below the epidemic threshold. Prevention scenarios included temporary reductions in risk behaviour, annual test and treat, and reduction in risk behaviour to levels observed earlier in the epidemic. These led to predicted reductions in new infections from 2 to 26% by 2020. Parameters related to disease progression and relative infectiousness at different HIV stages had the greatest influence on estimates of the net transmission rate. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The model outputs suggest that the increase in HIV transmission amongst MSM in Switzerland is the result of continuing risky sexual behaviour, particularly by those unaware of their infection status. Long term reductions in the incidence of HIV infection in MSM in Switzerland will require increased and sustained uptake of effective interventions.

A singular function and its relation with the number systems involved in its definition

Minkowski's ?(x) function can be seen as the confrontation of two number systems: regular continued fractions and the alternated dyadic system. This way of looking at it permits us to prove that its derivative, as it also happens for many other non-decreasing singular functions from [0,1] to [0,1], when it exists can only attain two values: zero and infinity. It is also proved that if the average of the partial quotients in the continued fraction expansion of x is greater than k* =5.31972, and ?'(x) exists then ?'(x)=0. In the same way, if the same average is less than k**=2 log2(F), where F is the golden ratio, then ?'(x)=infinity. Finally some results are presented concerning metric properties of continued fraction and alternated dyadic expansions.

A new light on Minkowski's? $(x)$ function

The well--known Minkowski's? $(x)$ function is presented as the asymptotic distribution function of an enumeration of the rationals in (0,1] based on their continued fraction representation. Besides, the singularity of ?$(x)$ is clearly proved in two ways: by exhibiting a set of measure one in which ?ï$(x)$ = 0; and again by actually finding a set of measure one which is mapped onto a set of measure zero and viceversa. These sets are described by means of metrical properties of different systems for real number representation.