Audit report on the Iowa Water Pollution Control Works Financing Program and the Iowa Drinking Water Facilities Financing Program, joint programs of the Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, for the year ended June 30, 2010

Audit report on the Iowa Water Pollution Control Works Financing Program and the Iowa Drinking Water Facilities Financing Program, joint programs of the Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, for the year ended June 30, 2010

Alcohol-attributable injuries in admissions to a swiss emergency room--an analysis of the link between volume of drinking, drinking patterns, and preattendance drinking.

BACKGROUND: An association between alcohol consumption and injury is clearly established from volume of drinking, heavy episodic drinking (HED), and consumption before injury. Little is known, however, about how their interaction raises risk of injury and what combination of factors carries the highest risk. This study explores which of 11 specified groups of drinkers (a) are at high risk and (b) contribute most to alcohol-attributable injuries. METHODS: In all, 8,736 patients, of whom 5,077 were injured, admitted to the surgical ward of the emergency department of Lausanne University Hospital between January 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, were screened for alcohol use. Eleven groups were constructed on the basis of usual patterns of intake and preattendance drinking. Odds ratios (ORs) comparing injured and noninjured were derived, and alcohol-attributable fractions of injuries were calculated from ORs and prevalence of exposure groups. RESULTS: Risk of injury increased with volume of drinking, HED, and preattendance drinking. For both sexes, the highest risk was associated with low intake, HED, and 4 (women), 5 (men), or more drinks before injury. At the same level of preattendance drinking, high-volume drinkers were at lower risk than low-volume drinkers. In women, the group of low-risk non-HED drinkers taking fewer than 4 drinks suffered 47.5% of the alcohol-attributable injuries in contrast to only 20.4% for men. Low-volume male drinkers with HED had more alcohol-attributable injuries than that of low-volume female drinkers with HED (46.9% vs 23.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Although all groups of drinkers are at increased risk of alcohol-related injury, those who usually drink little but on occasion heavily are at particular risk. The lower risk of chronic heavy drinkers may be due to higher tolerance of alcohol. Prevention should thus target heavy-drinking occasions. Low-volume drinking women without HED and with only little preattendance drinking experienced a high proportion of injuries; such women would be well advised to drink very little or to take other special precautions in risky circumstances.

Maternal interactive behaviour as a predictor of preschoolers' attachment representations among full term and premature samples.

BACKGROUND: Associations between maternal sensitivity and child attachment have been established in many samples, but the strength of the association varies across populations. The sensitivity-attachment link has never been examined at the level of representations nor among premature samples. OBJECTIVE: The present study is aimed at exploring associations between maternal interactive behaviour and children's attachment representations in a population of preterm and full-term infants. METHOD: Maternal interactive behaviour was assessed at 6 and 18 months (Ainsworth Sensitivity Scale & Care Index) and children's attachment representations were measured at 42 months (Attachment Story Completion Task) in a sample of preterm (N=48) and full-term (N=23) infants. RESULTS: Maternal unresponsiveness at 6 months and sensitivity at 18 months explained 54% of the variance of disorganized attachment representations in the full-term group but was not significantly related to attachment patterns in the preterm group. CONCLUSION: These results corroborate previous work on the causes of disorganized attachment and also point to the need to consider the development of attachment differently for children evolving in specific developmental contexts. They especially stress the importance of distinguishing between risk factors associated with the mother as opposed to the child.

Efficacy of brief motivational intervention in reducing binge drinking in young men: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Brief motivational intervention (BMI) is one of the few effective strategies targeting alcohol consumption, but has not been tested in young men in the community. We evaluated the efficacy of BMI in reducing alcohol use and related problems among binge drinkers and in maintaining low-risk drinking among non-bingers. Methods: A random sample of a census of men included during army conscription (which is mandatory for 20-year-old males in Switzerland) was randomized to receive a single face-to-face BMI session (N = 199) or no intervention (N = 219). A six-month follow-up rate was obtained for 88.7% of the subjects. Results: Among binge drinkers, there was 20% less drinking in the BMI group versus the control group (incidence rate ratio = 0.80, confidence interval 0.66-0.98, p = 0.03): the BMI group showed a weekly reduction of 1.5 drinks compared to an increase of 0.8 drinks weekly in the control group. Among subjects who experienced one or more alcohol-related consequences over the last 12 months, there was 19% less drinking in the BMI group compared to the control group (incidence rate ratio = 0.81; confidence interval 0.67-0.97, p = 0.04). Among non-bingers, BMI did not contribute to the maintenance of low-risk drinking. Conclusion: BMI reduced the alcohol use of binge drinkers, particularly among those who experienced certain alcohol-related adverse consequences. No preventive effect of BMI was observed among non-bingers. BMI is a plausible secondary preventive option for young binge drinkers. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A step beyond--the relevance of depressed mood and mastery in the interplay between the number of social roles and alcohol use.

OBJECTIVES: The present study examines whether depressed mood and external control mediate or moderate the relationship between the number of social roles and alcohol use. PARTICIPANTS: The analysis was based on a national representative sample of 25- to 45-year-old male and female drinkers in Switzerland. METHOD: The influence of depressed mood and external control on the relationship between the number of social roles (parenthood, partnership, employment) and alcohol use was examined in linear structural equation models (mediation) and in multiple regressions (moderation) stratified by gender. All analyses were adjusted for age and education level. RESULTS: Holding more roles was associated with lower alcohol use, lower external control and lower depressed mood. The study did not find evidence of depressed mood or external control mediating the social roles-alcohol relationship. A moderation effect was identified among women only, whereby a protective effect of having more roles could not be found among those who scored high on external control. In general, a stronger link was observed between roles and alcohol use, while depressed mood and external control acted independently on drinking. With the exception of women with high external control, the study found no link between a higher number of social roles and greater alcohol use. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that drinking behaviours are more strongly linked to external control and depressed mood than they are to the number of social roles. The study also demonstrates that in any effective alcohol prevention policy, societal actions that enable individuals to combine more social roles play a central role.

Effect of the environment inside and outside the cage on the activity and behaviour test performance of silver foxes

Selostus: Kasvatushäkin ympäristön vaikutus hopeakettujen käyttäytymiseen

Changes in running mechanics and spring-mass behaviour induced by a 5-hour hilly running bout.

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate changes in running mechanics and spring-mass behaviour with fatigue induced by 5-hour hilly running (5HHR). Running mechanics were measured pre- and post-5HHR at 10, 12 and 14 km · h(-1) on an instrumented treadmill in eight ultramarathon runners, and sampled at 1000 Hz for 10 consecutive steps. Contact (t(c) ) and aerial (t(a) ) times were determined from ground reaction force (GRF) signals and used to compute step frequency (f). Maximal GRF, loading rate, downward displacement of the centre of mass (Δz), and leg length change (ΔL) during the support phase were determined and used to compute both vertical (K(vert) ) and leg (K(leg) ) stiffness. A significant decrease in t(c) was observed at 12 and 14 km · h(-1) resulting in an increase of f at all speeds. Duty factor and F(max) significantly decreased at 10 km · h(-1). A significant increase in K(vert) and K(leg) was observed at all running speeds with significant decreases in Δz and ΔL. Despite the shorter duration, the changes in running mechanics appeared to be in the same direction (increased f and K(vert) , decrease in Δz and F(max) ) but of lower amplitude compared with those obtained after an ultra-trail or an ultramarathon.

Local transient myocardial liposomal gene transfer of inducible nitric oxide synthase does not aggravate myocardial function and fibrosis and leads to moderate neovascularization in chronic myocardial ischemia in pigs.

Microcirculation (2010) 17, 69-78. doi: 10.1111/j.1549-8719.2010.00002.x Abstract Background: This study was designed to explore the effect of transient inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) overexpression via cationic liposome-mediated gene transfer on cardiac function, fibrosis, and microvascular perfusion in a porcine model of chronic ischemia. Methods and Results: Chronic myocardial ischemia was induced using a minimally invasive model in 23 landrace pigs. Upon demonstration of heart failure, 10 animals were treated with liposome-mediated iNOS-gene-transfer by local intramyocardial injection and 13 animals received a sham procedure to serve as control. The efficacy of this iNOS-gene-transfer was demonstrated for up to 7 days by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in preliminary studies. Four weeks after iNOS transfer, magnetic resonance imaging showed no effect of iNOS overexpression on cardiac contractility at rest and during dobutamine stress (resting ejection fraction: control 27%, iNOS 26%; P = ns). Late enhancement, infarct size, and the amount of fibrosis were similar between groups. Although perfusion and perfusion reserve in response to adenosine and dobutamine were not significantly modified by iNOS-transfer, both vessel number and diameter were significantly increased in the ischemic area in the iNOS-treated group versus control (point score: control 15.3, iNOS 34.7; P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that transient iNOS overexpression does not aggravate cardiac dysfunction or postischemic fibrosis, while potentially contributing to neovascularization in the chronically ischemic heart.

2009 Annual Compliance Report of the Public Drinking Water Program, Department of Natural Resources, June, 2010

This report contains information about Iowa's public drinking water program for the calendar year 2009. Included in the report are descriptions of Iowa's systems, monitoring and reporting requirements of the systems, and violations incurred during the year. This report meets the federal Safe Drinking Water Act's requirement of an annual report on violations of national primary drinking water regulations by public water supply systems in Iowa.

2010 Annual Compliance Report of the Iowa Public Drinking Water Program, Department of Natural Resources, June 2011

This report contains information about Iowa's public drinking water program for the calendar year 2010. Included in the report are descriptions of Iowa's systems, monitoring and reporting requirements of the systems, and violations incurred during the year. This report meets the federal Safe Drinking Water Act's requirement of an annual report on violations of national primary drinking water regulations by public water supply systems in Iowa.

Morphology, testes development and behaviour of unusual triploid males in microchromosome-carrying clones of Poecilia formosa.

In a microchromosome-carrying laboratory stock of the normally all-female Amazon molly Poecilia formosa triploid individuals were obtained, all of which spontaneously developed into males. A comparison of morphology of the external and internal insemination apparatus and the gonads, sperm ploidy and behaviour, to laboratory-bred F(1) hybrids revealed that the triploid P. formosa males, though producing mostly aneuploid sperm, are partly functional males that differ mainly in sperm maturation and sexual motivation from gonochoristic P. formosa males.

Vibrational behaviour of bcc Cu-based shape memory alloys close to the martensitic transition

Experimental data from ultrasonic and inelastic neutron scattering measurements are analyzed for different families of Cu-based shape-memory alloys. It is shown that the transition occurs at a value, independent of composition and alloy family, of the ratio between the elastic constants associated with the two shears necessary to accomplish the lattice distortion from the bcc to the close-packed structure. The zone boundary frequency of the TA2[110] branch evaluated at the transition point (TM), weakly depends, for each family, on composition. A linear relationship between this frequency and the inverse of the elastic constant C', both quantities evaluated at TM, has been found, in agreement with the prediction of a Landau model proposed for martensitic transformations.

The infrared behaviour of the static potential in perturbative QCD

The definition of the quark-antiquark static potential is given within an effective field theory framework. The leading infrared divergences of the static singlet potential in perturbation theory are explicitly calculated.