Restoration of Fricitonal Characteristics on Older Portland Cement Concrete Pavement:Final Report for Iowa Highway Research Board Project HR-224, June 1986

Safety i s a very important aspect o f the highway program. The Iowa DOT initiated an inventory o f the friction values of all paved primary roadways i n 1969. This inventory, with an ASTM E-274 test unit, has continued to the present time. The t e s t i n g frequency varies based upon traffic volume and the previous friction value. Historically , the state o f Iowa constructed a substantial amount o f pcc pavement during the 1928-30 period t o "get Iowa out o f the mud". Some of that pavement has never been resurfaced and has been subjected to more than 50 years o f wear. The textured surface has been worn away and has subsequently polished. Even though some pavements from 15 t o 50 years old continue t o function structurally , because of the loss of friction , they do not provide the desired level o f safety to the driver. As a temporary measure, "Sl ippery -When -Wet " signs have been posted on many older pcc roads due to friction numbers below t h e desirable level. These signs warn the motorist of the current conditions. An economical method of restoring the high quality frictional properties i s needed.

Effects of Pavement Surface Texture on Noise and Frictional Characteristics HR-281, February 1987

An experimental modification of the transverse groove surface texture of a section of an urban interstate highway was performed by the Iowa Department of Transportation. Transverse groove texturing i s a design feature required by the Federal Highway Administration t o reduce skidding under wet pavement conditions. Adjacent residents claimed the texturing was the cause of especially annoying tonal characteristics within the traffic noise. A research proposal to modify the existing texture pattern by surface grinding and to study the noise and friction effects was approved for funding by the Iowa Highway Research Board. Results i n the form of a comparison between traffic noise before modification and traffic noise immediately after and 15 months after modification indicate that the change in surface texture has lowered overall traffic noise levels by reducing a high frequency component of the traffic noise spectrum. Fraffic testing data show reduced capacity of the roadway to inhibit wet pavement skidding as a result of the surface modification.

Vestibulo-ocular reflex characteristics in patients with unilateral Ménière's disease.

OBJECTIVE: The pathophysiologic concept of Ménière's disease assumes that endolymphatic hydrops is the cause of the symptoms via increased pressure in the endolymphatic space and/or ionic disorder due to ruptured membrane. The goal of this study was to assess whether the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) properties in patients with Ménière's disease were consistent with the classical theory. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 34 patients (19 women, 15 men) presenting with unilateral Ménière's disease divided into 2 groups according to the duration of the disease: 18 were in the early stage (< 12 mo), and 16 were in the late stage (> or = 12 mo). Nineteen patients were examined during an attack. Eight of them and the 15 other patients were tested during the interval between attacks. Their characteristics were compared with those of a group of 22 normal subjects. The VOR function was evaluated via standard caloric and impulse rotatory tests (velocity step). A mathematic model of vestibular function was used to characterize the VOR response to rotational stimulation. Dynamic VOR parameters (sensitivity coefficient, time constant, gain, and asymmetries between the 2 directions of rotation) were statistically compared between the 2 groups of patients during and between attacks and between the patients and controls. RESULTS: All dynamic VOR parameters showed no statistically significant difference both with normal controls and among the patients during and between attacks (p > 0.05) except for gain asymmetry (p < or = 0.008). During attacks, patients with early Ménière's disease displayed a higher gain in rotation toward the affected ear, the opposite being observed in patients with late disease. Caloric test revealed a moderate canal paresis on the affected side during the crisis and a slight asymmetry between attacks. CONCLUSION: During attacks in patients with early Ménière's disease, the VOR gain toward the affected side is higher than that toward the intact side, supporting the fact that that the sensitivity of the cupuloendolymphatic system on the affected ear is increased. This observation is in agreement with a mechanical pressure effect of hydrops on the vestibular organs.

User cost of capital with delayed investment grants

The usual assumption when considering investment grants is that grant payments are automatic when investments are undertaken. However, evidence from case studies shows that there can exist some time lag until funds are received by granted firms. In this paper the effects of delays in grant payments on the optimal investment policy of the firm are analyzed. It is shown how these delays lead not only to a higher financing cost but to an effective reduction in the investment grant rate, and in some cases, how benefits from investment grants could be canceled due to interactions with tax effects.

Affective state and voice : cross-cultural assessment of speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics : a normative multicenter study of 577 + 36 healthy subjects

BACKGROUND: Human speech is greatly influenced by the speakers' affective state, such as sadness, happiness, grief, guilt, fear, anger, aggression, faintheartedness, shame, sexual arousal, love, amongst others. Attentive listeners discover a lot about the affective state of their dialog partners with no great effort, and without having to talk about it explicitly during a conversation or on the phone. On the other hand, speech dysfunctions, such as slow, delayed or monotonous speech, are prominent features of affective disorders. METHODS: This project was comprised of four studies with healthy volunteers from Bristol (English: n = 117), Lausanne (French: n = 128), Zurich (German: n = 208), and Valencia (Spanish: n = 124). All samples were stratified according to gender, age, and education. The specific study design with different types of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'natural' variation of speech parameters over time, and to analyze the sensitivity of speech parameters with respect to form and content of spoken text. Additionally, our project included a longitudinal self-assessment study with university students from Zurich (n = 18) and unemployed adults from Valencia (n = 18) in order to test the feasibility of the speech analysis method in home environments. RESULTS: The normative data showed that speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics can be quantified in a reproducible and language-independent way. The high resolution of the method was verified by a computerized assignment of speech parameter patterns to languages at a success rate of 90%, while the correct assignment to texts was 70%. In the longitudinal self-assessment study we calculated individual 'baselines' for each test person along with deviations thereof. The significance of such deviations was assessed through the normative reference data. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provided gender-, age-, and language-specific thresholds that allow one to reliably distinguish between 'natural fluctuations' and 'significant changes'. The longitudinal self-assessment study with repeated assessments at 1-day intervals over 14 days demonstrated the feasibility and efficiency of the speech analysis method in home environments, thus clearing the way to a broader range of applications in psychiatry. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Expression cloning of a rat hepatic reduced glutathione transporter with canalicular characteristics

Using the Xenopus oocyte expression system, we have previously identified an approximately 4-kb fraction of mRNA from rat liver that expresses sulfobromophthalein-glutathione (BSP-GSH)-insensitive reduced glutathione (GSH) transport (Fernandez-Checa, J., J. R. Yi, C. Garcia-Ruiz, Z. Knezic, S. Tahara, and N. Kaplowitz. 1993. J. Biol. Chem. 268:2324-2328). Starting with a cDNA library constructed from this fraction, we have now isolated a single clone that expresses GSH transporter activity. The cDNA for the rat canalicular GSH transporter (RcGshT) is 4.05 kb with an open reading frame of 2,505 nucleotides encoding for a polypeptide of 835 amino acids (95,785 daltons). No identifiable homologies were found in searching various databases. An approximately 96-kD protein is generated in in vitro translation of cRNA for RcGshT. Northern blot analysis reveals a single 4-kb transcript in liver, kidney, intestine, lung, and brain. The abundance of mRNA for RcGshT in rat liver increased 3, 6, and 12 h after a single dose of phenobarbital. Insensitivity to BSP-GSH and induction by phenobarbital, unique characteristics of canalicular GSH secretion, suggest that RcGshT encodes for the canalicular GSH transporter.

Benchmarking therapeutic drug monitoring software: A systematic evaluation of available computer tools

Introduction: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) aims at optimizing treatment by individualizing dosage regimen based on measurement of blood concentrations. Maintaining concentrations within a target range requires pharmacokinetic and clinical capabilities. Bayesian calculation represents a gold standard in TDM approach but requires computing assistance. In the last decades computer programs have been developed to assist clinicians in this assignment. The aim of this benchmarking was to assess and compare computer tools designed to support TDM clinical activities.¦Method: Literature and Internet search was performed to identify software. All programs were tested on common personal computer. Each program was scored against a standardized grid covering pharmacokinetic relevance, user-friendliness, computing aspects, interfacing, and storage. A weighting factor was applied to each criterion of the grid to consider its relative importance. To assess the robustness of the software, six representative clinical vignettes were also processed through all of them.¦Results: 12 software tools were identified, tested and ranked. It represents a comprehensive review of the available software's characteristics. Numbers of drugs handled vary widely and 8 programs offer the ability to the user to add its own drug model. 10 computer programs are able to compute Bayesian dosage adaptation based on a blood concentration (a posteriori adjustment) while 9 are also able to suggest a priori dosage regimen (prior to any blood concentration measurement), based on individual patient covariates, such as age, gender, weight. Among those applying Bayesian analysis, one uses the non-parametric approach. The top 2 software emerging from this benchmark are MwPharm and TCIWorks. Other programs evaluated have also a good potential but are less sophisticated (e.g. in terms of storage or report generation) or less user-friendly.¦Conclusion: Whereas 2 integrated programs are at the top of the ranked listed, such complex tools would possibly not fit all institutions, and each software tool must be regarded with respect to individual needs of hospitals or clinicians. Interest in computing tool to support therapeutic monitoring is still growing. Although developers put efforts into it the last years, there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of institutional information system interfacing, user-friendliness, capacity of data storage and report generation.

Benchmarking therapeutic drug monitoring software: A systematic evaluation of available computer tools

Objectives: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) aims at optimizing treatment by individualizing dosage regimen based on blood concentrations measurement. Maintaining concentrations within a target range requires pharmacokinetic (PK) and clinical capabilities. Bayesian calculation represents a gold standard in TDM approach but requires computing assistance. The aim of this benchmarking was to assess and compare computer tools designed to support TDM clinical activities.¦Methods: Literature and Internet were searched to identify software. Each program was scored against a standardized grid covering pharmacokinetic relevance, user-friendliness, computing aspects, interfacing, and storage. A weighting factor was applied to each criterion of the grid to consider its relative importance. To assess the robustness of the software, six representative clinical vignettes were also processed through all of them.¦Results: 12 software tools were identified, tested and ranked. It represents a comprehensive review of the available software characteristics. Numbers of drugs handled vary from 2 to more than 180, and integration of different population types is available for some programs. Nevertheless, 8 programs offer the ability to add new drug models based on population PK data. 10 computer tools incorporate Bayesian computation to predict dosage regimen (individual parameters are calculated based on population PK models). All of them are able to compute Bayesian a posteriori dosage adaptation based on a blood concentration while 9 are also able to suggest a priori dosage regimen, only based on individual patient covariates. Among those applying Bayesian analysis, MM-USC*PACK uses a non-parametric approach. The top 2 programs emerging from this benchmark are MwPharm and TCIWorks. Others programs evaluated have also a good potential but are less sophisticated or less user-friendly.¦Conclusions: Whereas 2 software packages are ranked at the top of the list, such complex tools would possibly not fit all institutions, and each program must be regarded with respect to individual needs of hospitals or clinicians. Programs should be easy and fast for routine activities, including for non-experienced users. Although interest in TDM tools is growing and efforts were put into it in the last years, there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of institutional information system interfacing, user-friendliness, capability of data storage and automated report generation.

Implementation of raltegravir in routine clinical practice: selection criteria for choosing this drug, virologic response rates, and characteristics of failures.

BACKGROUND: Raltegravir (RAL) achieved remarkable virologic suppression rates in randomized-clinical trials, but today efficacy data and factors for treatment failures in a routine clinical care setting are limited. METHODS: First, factors associated with a switch to RAL were identified with a logistic regression including patients from the Swiss HIV Cohort Study with a history of 3 class failure (n = 423). Second, predictors for virologic outcome were identified in an intent-to-treat analysis including all patients who received RAL. Last observation carried forward imputation was used to determine week 24 response rate (HIV-1 RNA >or= 50 copies/mL). RESULTS: The predominant factor associated with a switch to RAL in patients with suppressed baseline RNA was a regimen containing enfuvirtide [odds ratio 41.9 (95% confidence interval: 11.6-151.6)]. Efficacy analysis showed an overall response rate of 80.9% (152/188), whereas 71.8% (84/117) and 95.8% (68/71) showed viral suppression when stratified for detectable and undetectable RNA at baseline, respectively. Overall CD4 cell counts increased significantly by 42 cells/microL (P < 0.001). Characteristics of failures were a genotypic sensitivity score of the background regimen <or=1, very low RAL plasma concentrations, poor adherence, and high viral load at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Virologic suppression rates in our routine clinical care setting were promising and comparable with data from previously published randomized-controlled trials.

IL-17F co-expression improves cell growth characteristics and enhances recombinant protein production during CHO cell line engineering.

The generation of a high productivity cell line is a critical step in the production of a therapeutic protein. Many innovative engineering strategies have been devised in order to maximize the expression rate of production cells for increased process efficiency. Less effort has focused on improvements to the cell line generation process, which is typically long and laborious when using mammalian cells. Based on unexpected findings when generating stable CHO cell lines expressing human IL-17F, we studied the benefit of expressing this protein during the establishment of production cell lines. We demonstrate that IL-17F expression enhances the rate of selection and overall number of selected cell lines as well as their transgene expression levels. We also show that this benefit is observed with different parental CHO cell lines and selection systems. Furthermore, IL-17F expression improves the efficiency of cell line subcloning processes. IL-17F can therefore be exploited in a standard manufacturing process to obtain higher productivity clones in a reduced time frame.

Birth Certificate Match Report Comparison of Maternal Demographic Characteristics Medicaid vs. Non-Medicaid Reimbursed Births – 2010 Iowa Medicaid

The purpose of the fact sheet is to highlight the characteristics of Iowa women who gave birth in Iowa during calendar year 2010, with a focus on women with labor and delivery costs reimbursed by Medicaid compared to women with labor and delivery costs not reimbursed by Medicaid. This information will be used to guide decision makers in implementing programs that improve the health outcomes of the women and infants who rely on Medicaid coverage.