Annual Report of Highway Division Highway Research and Development in Iowa, 2005

Annual report for Iowa Department of Transportation

Annual Report of Highway Division Highway Research and Development in Iowa for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2005

The Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation 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 Highway Division Highway Research and Development in Iowa, 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, which were in progress on June 30, 2005; it is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, and ending June 30, 2005. 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.

What do women do? World population growth and fertility patterns, 1960-2000

In this paper we attempt to describe the general picture reasons behind the world population explosion during the 20th century. In general we comment that if, according to some, at the end of the 20th century there were too many people, this was has a consequence of scientific innovation, circulation of information, and economic growth, leading to a dramatic improvement in life expectancies. Nevertheless, a crucial variable shaping differences in demographic growth is fertility. In this paper we identify as important exogenous variables affecting fertility female education levels, infant mortality, and racial identity and diversity. It is estimated that three additional years of schooling for mothers leads on average (at the world level ) to one child less per couple. Even if we can identify a worldwide trend towards convergence in demographic trends, the African case needs to be given more attention, not only because of its different demographic patterns, but also because this is the continent where the worldwide movement towards a higher quality of life has not yet been achieved for an important share of the world's population.

New polymorphic microsatellites markers and development of mitotyping primers for West-Mediterranean green toad species (Bufo viridis subgroup)

We report new polymorphic microsatellites for three species of Palearctic green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup): 10 in B. balearicus and seven each in B. siculus and B. boulengeri. Diversity at these loci, measured for 27 B. balearicus, 23 B. siculus and 11 B. boulengeri, ranged from low to high (two to 10 alleles). Mitotyping primers, specific to the control region, which allow fast screening of parapatric Sicilian endemic B. siculus and Italian mainland-origin B. balearicus, were developed.

Role of beta-1 integrin in tumor growth and dissemination

SUMMARY Cancer is one of the leading causes of disease-related mortality. In most cases, death is due to the spread of cells from the primary tumor to distant sites causing formation of metastases. To become tumorigenic, cells should acquire ability, including self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to anti-growth signals, resistance to apoptosis, sustained angiogenesis, limitless replicative potential and tissue invasion and metastasis. Tumor progression depends, in part on the relationship between tumor cells and host tissue stroma, characterized by changes of tumor cell adhesion to their microenvironment and activation of a variety of extracellular proteases that play a role in ECM degradation. integrins are adhesion proteins implicated in tumorigenesis. Their main function is to mediate cell adhesion to the ECM or to other cells and to create a link between the ECM and the cytoskeleton. Tumor cells like normal cells use integrins to attach to ECM, migrate into surrounding tissues and derive survival and growth signals. Integrin-dependent adhesion and migration are thought to play an important role in tumor dissemination. A strategy was designed to address the role of β1 integrin tumor growth and dissemination. Murine mammary carcinoma (TA3) cells were stably transfected with a soluble β1 integrin construct, which is anticipated to play a dominant negative role, being able to associate with different α-subunits expressed on the cell surface but unable to transduce signals to the nucleus. Results from studies based on soluble β1 integrin TA3 transfectants showed that 1) the integrin expression pattern at the cell surface changed with an induction of α2β1 and α5β1 heterodimers; 2) adhesion to collagens, especially collagen I was increased; 3) tumor dissemination after intrape-ritoneal injection in syngeneic mice was abolished and 4) local growth after orthotopic injection was maintained but delayed. Taken together, the data presented here suggest that β1 integrin plays a potentially important role in the regulation of tumor behavior. RESUME Le cancer est une des principales causes de mortalité suite à une maladie. Dans la plupart des cas, la mort est la conséquence de la dissémination de cellules, provenant de la tumeur primaire, dans des endroits distants et causant la formation de métastases. Afin de devenir cancéreuse, une cellule doit acquérir certaines capacités, telles qu'une auto-suffisance en facteurs de croissance, une insensibilité aux facteurs empêchant la croissance cellulaire, une résistance à l'apoptose, une angiogénèse soutenue, un potentiel de réplication illimité et une capacité à pénétrer dans les tissus et à former des colonies métastatiques. La progression d'une tumeur dépend, en partie, de la relation entre les cellules tumorales et les cellules tissulaires de l'hôte. Cette relation est caractérisée par des modifications des cellules tumorales quant à leur adhésion au microenvironnement et à l'activation de protéases qui permettent de dégrader la matrice extracellulaire. Les intégrines sont des protéines impliquées dans le développement tumoral. Leur fonction principale est de réguler l'adhésion des cellules à la matrice extracellulaire, ou à d'autres cellules, et de créer un lien entre cette matrice extracellulaire et le cytosquelette. Les cellules tumorales utilisent également les intégrines pour se lier à la matrice extracellulaire, pour migrer dans les tissus adjacents et pour induire des signaux de croissance et de survie. Ces événements d'adhésion et de migration, qui dépendent des intégrines, jouent un rôle primordial dans la dissémination des cellules cancéreuses. Une stratégie a été élaborée afin de définir le rôle de l'intégrine β1 durant la croissance et la dissémination des cellules tumorales. Des cellules provenant d'un carcinome de la glande mammaire (TA3) ont été transfectées de manière stable avec un vecteur contenant la séquence codante de la partie extracellulaire de l'intégrine β1. L'intégrine tronquée doit être capable de se lier aux sous-unités α exprimées à la surface de la cellule, mais doit être incapable de transmettre un signal à l'intérieur de la cellule. Les résultats obtenus avec les cellules TA3 transfectées contenant l'intégrine β1 soluble montrent que I) le répertoire d'expression des intégrines à la surface de la cellule a changé en faveur des hétérodimères α2β1 et α5β1; 2) l'adhésion aux collagènes, particulièrement au collagène de type I a augmenté; 3) la dissémination des cellules tumorales après une injection intrapéritonéale est empêchée; 4) la croissance tumorale après une injection orthotopique est conservée mais retardée. Ces résultats montrent que l'intégrine β1 joue un rôle primordial dans la régulation du comportement tumoral.

Annual report of the Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY 2006

The Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation 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 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, which were in progress on June 30, 2006; it is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2005, and ending June 30, 2006.

The effects of arterial flow on platelet activation, thrombus growth, and stabilization.

Injury of an arterial vessel wall acutely triggers a multifaceted process of thrombus formation, which is dictated by the high-shear flow conditions in the artery. In this overview, we describe how the classical concept of arterial thrombus formation and vascular occlusion, driven by platelet activation and fibrin formation, can be extended and fine-tuned. This has become possible because of recent insight into the mechanisms of: (i) platelet-vessel wall and platelet-platelet communication, (ii) autocrine platelet activation, and (iii) platelet-coagulation interactions, in relation to blood flow dynamics. We list over 40 studies with genetically modified mice showing a role of platelet and plasma proteins in the control of thrombus stability after vascular injury. These include multiple platelet adhesive receptors and other junctional molecules, components of the ADP receptor signalling cascade to integrin activation, proteins controlling platelet shape, and autocrine activation processes, as well as multiple plasma proteins binding to platelets and proteins of the intrinsic coagulation cascade. Regulatory roles herein of the endothelium and other blood cells are recapitulated as well. Patient studies support the contribution of platelet- and coagulation activation in the regulation of thrombus stability. Analysis of the factors determining flow-dependent thrombus stabilization and embolus formation in mice will help to understand the regulation of this process in human arterial disease.

The Growth and Direction of the Biodiesel Industry in the United States, 2007

The biodiesel industry in the United States has realized significant growth over the past decade through large increases in annual production and production capacity and a transition from smaller batch plants to larger-scale continuous producers. The larger, continuous-flow plants provide operating cost advantages over the smaller batch plants through their ability to capture co-products and reuse certain components in the production process. This paper uses a simple capital budgeting model developed by the authors along with production data supplied by industry sources to estimate production costs, return-on-investment levels, and break-even conditions for two common plant sizes (30 and 60 million gallon annual capacities) over a range of biodiesel and feedstock price levels. The analysis shows that the larger plant realizes returns to scale in both labor and capital costs, enabling the larger plant to pay up to $0.015 more per pound for the feedstock to achieve equivalent return levels as the smaller plant under the same conditions. The paper contributes to the growing literature on the biodiesel industry by using the most current conversion rates for the production technology and current price levels to estimate biodiesel production costs and potential plant performance, providing a useful follow-up to previous studies.

Banks and development: Jewish communities in the Italian Renaissance and current economic performance

Are differences in local banking development long-lasting? Do they affect long-term economic performance?I answer these questions by relying on an historical development that occurred in Italian cities during the 15thcentury. A sudden change in the Catholic doctrine had driven the Jews toward money lending. Cities thatwere hosting Jewish communities developed complex banking institutions for two reasons: first, the Jews werethe only people in Italy who were allowed to lend for a profit and, second, the Franciscan reaction to Jewishusury led to the creation of charity lending institutions, the Monti di Pietà, that have survived until today andhave become the basis of the Italian banking system. Using Jewish demography in 1500 as an instrument, Iprovide evidence of (1) an extraordinary persistence in the level of banking development across Italian cities (2)large effects of current local banking development on per-capita income. Additional firm-level analyses suggestthat well-functioning local banks exert large effects on aggregate productivity by reallocating resources towardmore efficient firms. I exploit the expulsion of the Jews from the Spanish territories in Italy in 1541 to arguethat my results are not driven by omitted institutional, cultural and geographical characteristics. In particular,I show that, in Central Italy, the difference in current income between cities that hosted Jewish communitiesand cities that did not exists only in those regions that were not Spanish territories in the 16th century.

Evaluating predictive densities of U.S. output growth and inflation in a large macroeconomic data set

We evaluate conditional predictive densities for U.S. output growth and inflationusing a number of commonly used forecasting models that rely on a large number ofmacroeconomic predictors. More specifically, we evaluate how well conditional predictive densities based on the commonly used normality assumption fit actual realizationsout-of-sample. Our focus on predictive densities acknowledges the possibility that, although some predictors can improve or deteriorate point forecasts, they might have theopposite effect on higher moments. We find that normality is rejected for most modelsin some dimension according to at least one of the tests we use. Interestingly, however,combinations of predictive densities appear to be correctly approximated by a normaldensity: the simple, equal average when predicting output growth and Bayesian modelaverage when predicting inflation.

International commodity prices, growth and the outbreak of Civil War in Sub-Saharan Africa

To learn more about the effect of economic conditions oncivil war, we examine whether Sub-Saharan civil wars aremore likely to start following downturns in the internationalprice of countries main export commodities. The data showa robust effect of commodity price downturns on the outbreakof civil wars. We also find that Sub-Saharan countries aremore likely to see civil wars following economic downturnsin their main OECD export destinations.

Report of Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY2007

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 FY2007” 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, which were in progress on June 30, 2007; it is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, and ending June 30, 2007. 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.