Alternative Solutions to Meet the Service Needs of Low Volume Bridges in lowa, June 2004

There is a nationwide need for a safe, efficient and cost effective transportation system. An essential component of this system is the bridges. Local agencies perhaps have an even greater task than federal and state agencies in maintaining the low volume road (LVR) bridge system due to lack of sufficient resources and funding. The primary focus of this study was to review the various aspects of off-system bridge design, rehabilitation, and replacement. Specifically, a reference report was developed to address common problems in LVR bridges. The source of information included both Iowa and national agencies. This report is intended to be a “user manual” or “tool box” of information, procedures and choices for county engineers to employ in the management of their bridge inventory plus identify areas and problems that need to be researched

LdShake: learning design solutions sharing and co-edition

Two important challenges that teachers are currently facing are the sharing and the collaborative authoring of their learning design solutions, such as didactical units and learning materials. On the one hand, there are tools that can be used for the creation of design solutions and only some of them facilitate the co-edition. However, they do not incorporate mechanisms that support the sharing of the designs between teachers. On the other hand, there are tools that serve as repositories of educational resources but they do not enable the authoring of the designs. In this paper we present LdShake, a web tool whose novelty is focused on the combined support for the social sharing and co-edition of learning design solutions within communities of teachers. Teachers can create and share learning designs with other teachers using different access rights so that they can read, comment or co-edit the designs. Therefore, each design solution is associated to a group of teachers able to work on its definition, and another group that can only see the design. The tool is generic in that it allows the creation of designs based on any pedagogical approach. However, it can be particularized in instances providing pre-formatted designs structured according to a specific didactic method (such as Problem-Based Learning, PBL). A particularized LdShake instance has been used in the context of Human Biology studies where teams of teachers are required to work together in the design of PBL solutions. A controlled user study, that compares the use of a generic LdShake and a Moodle system, configured to enable the creation and sharing of designs, has been also carried out. The combined results of the real and controlled studies show that the social structure, and the commenting, co-edition and publishing features of LdShake provide a useful, effective and usable approach for facilitating teachers' teamwork.

A phase 1b study of humanized KS-interleukin-2 (huKS-IL2) immunocytokine with cyclophosphamide in patients with EpCAM-positive advanced solid tumors.

BACKGROUND: Humanized KS-interleukin-2 (huKS-IL2), an immunocytokine with specificity for epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), has demonstrated favorable tolerability and immunologic activity as a single agent. METHODS: Phase 1b study in patients with EpCAM-positive advanced solid tumors to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and safety profile of huKS-IL2 in combination with low-dose cyclophosphamide. Treatment consisted of cyclophosphamide (300 mg/m2 on day 1), and escalating doses of huKS-IL2 (0.5-4.0 mg/m2 IV continuous infusion over 4 hours) on days 2, 3, and 4 of each 21-day cycle. Safety, pharmacokinetic profile, immunogenicity, anti-tumor and biologic activity were evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients were treated for up to 6 cycles; 26 were evaluable for response. The MTD of huKS-IL2 in combination with 300 mg/m2 cyclophosphamide was 3.0 mg/m2. At higher doses, myelosuppression was dose-limiting. Transient lymphopenia was the most common grade 3/4 adverse event (AE). Other significant AEs included hypotension, hypophosphatemia, and increase in serum creatinine. All patients recovered from these AEs. The huKS-IL2 exposure was dose-dependent, but not dose-proportional, accumulation was negligible, and elimination half-life and systemic clearance were independent of dose and time. Most patients had a transient immune response to huKS-IL2. Immunologic activity was observed at all doses. Ten patients (38%) had stable disease as best response, lasting for ≥ 4 cycles in 3 patients. CONCLUSION: The combination of huKS-IL2 with low-dose cyclophosphamide was well tolerated. Although no objective responses were observed, the combination showed evidence of immunologic activity and 3 patients showed stable disease for ≥ 4 cycles. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://NCT00132522.

Tandem use of solid-phase extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of mononitrotoluenes in aquatic environment.

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) in tandem with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) has been developed for the determination of mononitrotoluenes (MNTs) in several aquatic samples using gas chromatography-flame ionization (GC-FID) detection system. In the hyphenated SPE-DLLME, initially MNTs were extracted from a large volume of aqueous samples (100 mL) into a 500-mg octadecyl silane (C(18) ) sorbent. After the elution of analytes from the sorbent with acetonitrile, the obtained solution was put under the DLLME procedure, so that the extra preconcentration factors could be achieved. The parameters influencing the extraction efficiency such as breakthrough volume, type and volume of the elution solvent (disperser solvent) and extracting solvent, as well as the salt addition, were studied and optimized. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.5-500 μg/L and the limit of detection for all analytes was found to be 0.2 μg/L. The relative standard deviations (for 0.75 μg/L of MNTs) without internal standard varied from 2.0 to 6.4% (n=5). The relative recoveries of the well, river and sea water samples, spiked at the concentration level of 0.75 μg/L of the analytes, were in the range of 85-118%.

Pocahontas County Solid Waste Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Butler County Solid Waste Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Influence of IFNL3/4 Polymorphisms on the Incidence of Cytomegalovirus Infection After Solid-Organ Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms in IFNL3 and IFNL4, the genes encoding interferon λ3 and interferon λ4, respectively, have been associated with reduced hepatitis C virus clearance. We explored the role of such polymorphisms on the incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in solid-organ transplant recipients. METHODS: White patients participating in the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study in 2008-2011 were included. A novel functional TT/-G polymorphism (rs368234815) in the CpG region upstream of IFNL3 was investigated. RESULTS: A total of 840 solid-organ transplant recipients at risk for CMV infection were included, among whom 373 (44%) received antiviral prophylaxis. The 12-month cumulative incidence of CMV replication and disease were 0.44 and 0.08 cases, respectively. Patient homozygous for the minor rs368234815 allele (-G/-G) tended to have a higher cumulative incidence of CMV replication (subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR], 1.30 [95% confidence interval {CI}, .97-1.74]; P = .07), compared with other patients (TT/TT or TT/-G). The association was significant among patients followed by a preemptive approach (SHR, 1.46 [95% CI, 1.01-2.12]; P = .047), especially in patients receiving an organ from a seropositive donor (SHR, 1.92 [95% CI, 1.30-2.85]; P = .001), but not among those who received antiviral prophylaxis (SHR, 1.13 [95% CI, .70-1.83]; P = .6). These associations remained significant in multivariate competing risk regression models. CONCLUSIONS: Polymorphisms in the IFNL3/4 region influence susceptibility to CMV replication in solid-organ transplant recipients, particularly in patients not receiving antiviral prophylaxis.

Jones County Solid Waste Management Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Basic Financial Statements and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Shelby County Area Solid Waste Agency, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Crawford County Area Solid Waste Agency Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

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Wayne-Ringgold-Decatur County Solid Waste Management Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Prairie Solid Waste Agency, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Hardin County Sanitary Solid Waste Disposal Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Basic Financial Statements and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Delaware County Solid Waste Disposal Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations