Iowa Department of Transportation report on funds received from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund, the State Recreational Trails Fund, the Health Restricted Capitals and the Rail Revolving Loan and Grant Program in fiscal year 2007

House file 2782 (2007 Infrastructure Appropriations Act) requires state agencies that receive appropriations from specific funds to report that information. The Iowa Department of Transportation received funds from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund, the State Recreational Trails Fund, the Health Restricted Capitals, and the Rail Revolving Loan and Grant Program in FY 2007. These are the status reports for those funds and the status of the FY2006 funds received from the State Recreational Trails Fund, the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund and the Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund.

Socio-cultural determinants of adiposity and physical activity in preschool children: a cross-sectional study.

Both individual socio-cultural determinants such as selected parental characteristics (migrant background, low educational level and workload) as well as the regional environment are related to childhood overweight and physical activity (PA). The purpose of the study was to compare the impact of distinct socio-cultural determinants such as the regional environment and selected parental characteristics on adiposity, PA and motor skills in preschool children. Forty preschools (N = 542 children) of two culturally different urban regions (German and French speaking part of Switzerland) participated in the study (Ballabeina Study). Outcome measures included adiposity (BMI and skinfold thickness), objectively measured sedentary activities and PA (accelerometers) and agility performance (obstacle course). Parental characteristics (migrant status, educational level and workload) were assessed by questionnaire. Children from the French speaking areas had higher adiposity, lower levels of total and of more intense PA, were more sedentary and less agile than children from the German speaking regions (percent differences for all outcome parameters except for BMI ≥10%; all p ≤ 0.04). Differences in skinfold thickness, sedentary activities and agility, but not in PA, were also found between children of Swiss and migrant parents, though they were ≤8% (p ≤ 0.02). While paternal workload had no effect, maternal workload and parental education resulted in differences in some PA measures and/or agility performance (percent differences in both: ≤9%, p ≤ 0.008), but not in adiposity or sedentary activities (p = NS). Regional differences in skinfold thickness, PA, sedentary activities and agility performance persisted after adjustment for parental socio-cultural characteristics, parental BMI and, where applicable, children's skinfolds (all p ≤ 0.01). The regional environment, especially the broader social environment, plays a prominent role in determining adiposity, PA and motor skills of young children and should be implicated in the prevention of obesity and promotion of PA in children. clinicaltrials.gov NCT00674544.

Le poids, les habitudes alimentaires et l'activité physique dans la population en Suisse: le projet MONICA. [Weight, nutritional habits and physical-activity in Switzerland: the MONICA-Project].

La première enquête de prévalence des facteurs de risque pour les maladies cardio-vasculaires qui a été effectuée auprès de la population des cantons de Vaud, Fribourg et du Tessin, dans le cadre du Projet MONICA, a permis de décrire la distribution de l'indice de masse corporelle. Entre 25 et 74 ans, près d'une personne sur 4 a un excès de poids préjudiciable à sa santé, cette proportion étant même de plus de 1 sur 3 chez les hommes tessinois. Cet état de fait n'est peut-être pas irrémédiable puisque 1 femme sur 3 et 1 homme sur 5 a modifié ses habitudes alimentaires dans le sens d'une nourriture plus saine et moins énergétique au cours des 12 mois précédant l'enquête. Cependant une activité physique régulière, susceptible d'avoir un rôle préventif sur la survenue des maladies cardio-vasculaires et qui pourrait contribuer à la diminution de la fréquence de l'obésité, n'est exercée que par moins de la moitié de la population en moyenne. C'est probablement l'exercice régulier d'activités sportives qui permettrait le plus d'augmenter le niveau général de l'activité physique dans la population puisque peu de personnes exercent une profession exigeant d'intenses efforts physiques.

Physical activity assessment using a pedometer and its comparison with a questionnaire in a large population survey.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the pedometer in epidemiologic research on physical activity. Within the framework of a health examination survey in 1988-1989, physical activity was assessed in a representative population sample of 493 men and women aged 25-74 years who were residents of Switzerland. They wore a pedometer for 1 week at work and during leisure time, and the results, converted into steps per day, were compared with answers to a questionnaire. The average number of steps per day decreased from 11,900 to 6,700 and from 9,300 to 7,300 for men and women, respectively, in the youngest to the oldest age groups. For men, categorized according to type of physical activity at work, there was a highly significant difference in the number of steps (p < 0.001), whereas in women the results were associated with leisure-time physical activity (p = 0.003). For both sexes, practicing sports more than once a week was associated with an important increase in steps per day. Analyzing the number of steps according to the day of the week and occupational category produced an unexpected result: Men with a physically active job engaged in more leisure-time physical activity on the weekend. The pedometer proved to be useful in assessing physical activity in a large, free-living population.

Report and Recommendations of the Iowa Vertical Infrastructure Advisory Committee, December 17, 2007

This report summaries the work of the committee over the last year and its vision for the future. The committee is followed with interest the work of the Department of Corrections and the Department of Veterans Affairs in evaluating the needs of their facilities and recommends similar evaluations of facilities around the state by other agencies. The committee members are ready to offer advice on the needs of the state's again infrastructure and steps that could be taken to evaluate vacant and underutilized buildings and reduce operational and maintenance costs.

Infrastructure and Transportation Task Force Report, August 2008

The Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure and Transportation Task Force is acutely aware of the critical role infrastructure plays in Iowa’s communities, the lives of the residents, and the economic well-being of the state. With encouragement to the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission (RIAC) for its consideration of great need for infrastructure and transportation repairs, the Task Force provides its assessment and recommendations. As the RIAC fulfills its obligations to guide the recovery and reconstruction in Iowa, infrastructure and transportation must be recognized for its impact on all Iowans. The tornadoes, storms, and floods were devastating to infrastructure and transportation systems across the state. The damage did not distinguish between privately-owned and public assets. The significance of the damage emerges further with the magnitude of the damage estimates. Infrastructure includes components that some might initially overlook, such as communication systems, landfills, and water treatment. The miles of damaged roads and bridges are more evident to many Iowans. Given the reliance on infrastructure systems, many repairs are already underway, though gaps have emerged in the funding for repairs to certain infrastructure systems.

Cloning of a cDNA encoding a plasma membrane-associated, uronide binding phosphoprotein with physical properties similar to viral movement proteins.

Oligogalacturonides are structural and regulatory homopolymers from the extracellular pectic matrix of plants. In vitro micromolar concentrations of oligogalacturonates and polygalacturonates were shown previously to stimulate the phosphorylation of a small plasma membrane-associated protein in potato. Immunologically cross-reactive proteins were detected in plasma membrane-enriched fractions from all angiosperm subclasses in the Cronquist system. Polygalacturonate-enhanced phosphorylation of the protein was observed in four of the six dicotyledon subclasses but not in any of the five monocotyledon subclasses. A cDNA for the protein was cloned from potato. The deduced protein is extremely hydrophilic and has a proline-rich N terminus. The C-terminal half of the protein was predicted to be a coiled coil, suggesting that the protein interacts with other macromolecules. The recombinant protein was found to bind both simple and complex galacturonides. The behavior of the protein suggests several parallels with viral proteins involved in intercellular communication.

Data-based approach for developing a physical activity frequency questionnaire.

Measurement of total energy expenditure may be crucial to an understanding of the relation between physical activity and disease and in order to frame public health intervention. To devise a self-administered physical activity frequency questionnaire (PAFQ), the following data-based approach was used. A 24-hour recall was administered to a random sample of 919 adult residents of Geneva, Switzerland. The data obtained were used to establish the list of activities (and their median duration) that contributed to 95% of the energy expended, separately for men and women. Activities that were trivial for the whole sample but that contributed to > or = 10% of an individual's energy expenditure were also selected. The final PAFQ lists 70 activities or group of activities with their typical duration. About 20 minutes are required for respondents to indicate the number of days and the number of hours per day that they performed each activity. The PAFQ method was validated against a heart rate monitor, a more objective method. The total energy estimated by the PAFQ in 41 volunteers correlated well (r = 0.76) with estimates using a heart rate monitor. The authors conclude that the design of their self-administered physical activity frequency questionnaire based on data from 24-hour recall appeared to accurately estimate energy expenditure.

Report pursuant to House File 2782 (2007 Infrastructure Appropriations Act)

House File 2782 (2007 Infrastructure Appropriations Act) requires state agencies that receive Appropriations from specified funds to report that information. The Iowa Department of Transportation received funds from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund, the State Recreational Trails Fund, Health Restricted Capitals, Rail Revolving Loan and Grant Program and the Tobacco settlement in FY 2008.

Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Investment Bonds: Creating Iowa Jobs by Investing in Iowa Infrastructure, January, 2009

The Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Investment Bonds are exactly that: an investment in Iowa and Iowans. Proposed by Governor Chet Culver in his 2009 Condition of the State address, the Rebuild Iowa bonds are an investment of $700 million to create jobs by addressing much-needed infrastructure projects across the state.

Distribution and abundance of six species of fish larvae in peruvian waters and their relationship with physical and biological environment

Estudio de muestras recolectadas con el BIONESS a varias profundidades en trece estaciones.

Impact of physical activity on energy balance, food intake and choice in normal weight and obese children in the setting of acute social stress: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Psychological stress negatively influences food intake and food choices, thereby contributing to the development of childhood obesity. Physical activity can also moderate eating behavior and influence calorie intake. However, it is unknown if acute physical activity influences food intake and overall energy balance after acute stress exposure in children. We therefore investigated the impact of acute physical activity on overall energy balance (food intake minus energy expenditure), food intake, and choice in the setting of acute social stress in normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OW/OB) children as well as the impact of psychological risk factors. METHOD: After receiving written consent from their parents, 26 NW (BMI < 90(th) percentile) and 24 7-to 11-year-old OW (n = 5)/OB (n = 19, BMI ≥ 90(th) percentile) children were randomly allocated using computer-generated numbers (1:1, after stratification for weight status) to acute moderate physical or to sedentary activity for 30 min. Afterwards, all children were exposed to an acute social stressor. Children and their parents completed self-report questionnaires. At the end of the stressor, children were allowed to eat freely from a range of 12 different foods (6 sweet/6 salty; each of low/high caloric density). Energy balance, food intake/choice and obesity-related psychological risk factors were assessed. RESULTS: Lower overall energy balance (p = 0.019) and a decreased choice of low density salty foods (p < 0.001) in NW children compared with OW/OB children was found after acute moderate physical activity but not sedentary activity. Independent of their allocation, OW/OB children ate more high density salty foods (104 kcal (34 to 173), p = 0.004) following stress. They scored higher on impulsive behavior (p = 0.005), restrained eating (p < 0.001) and parental corporal punishment (p = 0.03), but these psychological factors were not related to stress-induced food intake/choice. Positive parenting tended to be related to lower intake of sweet high density food (-132 kcal, -277 to 2, p = 0.054). CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of stress, acute moderate physical activity can address energy balance in children, a benefit which is especially pronounced in the OW/OB. Positive parenting may act as a protective factor preventing stress-induced eating of comfort food. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov NCT01693926 The study was a pilot study of a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (CRSII3_147673).

Analysis of patient physical restraints usage in a Swiss emergency service

Introduction: Emergency services (ES) are often faced with agitated,confused or aggressive patients. Such situations may require physicalrestraint. The prevalence of these measures is poorly documented,concerning 1 to 10% of patients admitted in the ES. The indications forrestraint, the context and the related complications are poorly studied.The emergency service and the security service of our hospital havedocumented physical restraint for several years, using specific protocolsintegrated into the medical records. The study evaluated the magnitudeof the problem, the patient characteristics, and degree of adherence tothe restraint protocol.Methods: Retrospective study of physical restraint used on adultpatients in the ES in 2009. The study included analysis of medical anddemographic characteristics, indications justifying restraint and qualityof restraint documentation. Patients were identified from computerizedES and security service records. The data were supplemented byexamination of patients' medical records.Results: In 2009, according to the security service, 390 patients (1%)were physically restrained in the ES. The ES computerized systemidentified only 196 patients. Most patients were male (62%). The medianage was 40 years (15-98 years; P90 = 80 years). 63 % of the situationsoccurred between 18h00 and 6h00, and most frequently on Saturday(19%). Substance or alcohol abuse was present in 48.7% of cases andacute psychiatric crisis was mentioned in 16.7%. In most cases,restraint was motivated by extreme agitation or auto / hetero-aggressiveviolence. Most patients (68 %) were restrained with upper limb andabdominal restraints. More than three anatomic restraints werenecessary in 52 % of the patients. Intervention of security guards wasrequired in 77% of the cases. 61 restraint protocols (31 %) were missingand 57% of the records were incomplete. In many cases, the protocolsdid not include the signature of the physician (22%) or of the nurse(43.8%). Medical records analysis did not allow reliable estimation ofthe number of restraint-induced complications.Conclusions: Physical restraint is most often motivated by majoragitation and/or secondary to substance abuse. Caregivers regularlycall security guards for help. Restraint documentation is often missing orincomplete, requiring major improvement in education and prescription.