New Alzheimer's Association report reveals 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia

2.3 Million Americans are “Long-Distance Caregivers” for people with Alzheimer’s; Costs for Long-Distance Caregivers are Almost Twice as High.According to the Alzheimer's Association 2013 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report released today, one in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia in the United States. The new report shows that while deaths from other major diseases, such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS and stroke, continue to experience significant declines, Alzheimer’s deaths continue to rise — increasing 68 percent from 2000-2010.��“Unfortunately, today there are no Alzheimer’s survivors. If you have Alzheimer's disease, you either die from it or diewith it,” said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Now we know that 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Urgent, meaningful��action is necessary, particularly as more and more people age into greater risk for developing a disease��that today has no cure and no way to slow or stop its progression.”Read more here.����������

High proportion of hepatitis C virus genotypes 1 and 3 in a large cohort of patients from Southern Brazil

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolates have been divided into six genotypes (1 to 6). The duration of hepatitis C standard treatment is 48 weeks for patients infected with HCV genotype 1 vs 24 weeks for those infected with genotypes 2 and 3. A total of 1544 HCV isolates from chronic patients living in the southern Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul (RS, n = 627) and Santa Catarina (SC, n = 917) were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. In RS, 338 (53.9%; 95% CI 50.0 - 57.8%), 34 (5.4%; 95% CI 3.8 - 7.4%) and, 255 (40.7%; 95% CI 36.9 - 44.6%) samples were from genotypes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In SC, 468 (51%; 95% CI 47.8 - 54.2%), 26 (2.9%; 95% CI 1.9 - 4.1%) and, 423 (46.1%; 95% CI 42.9 - 49.3%) samples were from genotypes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Genotyping results were confirmed by direct nucleotide sequencing of PCR products derived from 68 samples, without any discrepancy between PCR-RFLP and nucleotide sequencing methods. In conclusion, almost half of the hepatitis C patients from South of Brazil are infected by genotypes 2 and 3 and, these results have important consequential therapeutic implications as they can be treated for only 24 weeks, not 48.

Effect of CO2 and 1-octen-3-ol attractants for estimating species richness and the abundance of diurnal mosquitoes in the southeastern Atlantic forest, Brazil

Studies have shown that both carbon dioxide (CO2) and octenol (1-octen-3-ol) are effective attractants for mosquitoes. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the attractiveness of 1-octen-3-ol and CO2 for diurnal mosquitoes in the southeastern Atlantic forest. A Latin square experimental design was employed with four treatments: CDC-light trap (CDC-LT), CDC-LT and 1-octen-3-ol, CDC-LT and CO2 and CDC-LT with 1-octen-3-ol and CO2. Results demonstrated that both CDC-CO2 and CDC-CO2-1-octen-3-ol captured a greater number of mosquito species and specimens compared to CDC-1-octen-3-ol; CDC-LT was used as the control. Interestingly, Anopheles (Kerteszia) sp. was generally attracted to 1-octen-3-ol, whereas Aedes serratus was the most abundant species in all Latin square collections. This species was recently shown to be competent to transmit the yellow fever virus and may therefore play a role as a disease vector in rural areas of Brazil.

Human bocavirus 1 and 3 infection in children with acute gastroenteritis in Brazil

To determine the positivity rate of human bocavirus (HBoV) 1 and 3 among children who presented with acute gastroenteritis symptoms during the period of 1994-2004 in the Central-West Region of Brazil, 762 faecal samples were tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of HBoV DNA. Primers for a segment of the non-structural viral protein 1 (NS1) gene of HBoV-1 and HBoV-3 were used. Twelve HBoV-positive samples were further characterised via genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Of the samples tested, 5.8% (n = 44) were positive for HBoV-1 or HBoV-3 and co-infection was observed in 14 (31.8%) of the 44 HBoV-positive samples. Nine of the 14 samples were also positive for Rotavirus A and five were positive for Aichi virus. The genomic sequencing of the NS1 partial sequence of 12 HBoV-samples showed that 11 samples were characterised as HBoV-1 and that one was characterised as HBoV-3. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the HBoV-1 samples had a high sequence homology to others previously identified in China, Sweden and Brazil. This is the first study conducted in the Central-West Region of Brazil to detect HBoV-1 and HBoV-3 in faecal samples from children with acute gastroenteritis. Further studies are required to define the role of HBoVs as aetiological agents of gastroenteritis.

The Security Blanket, November 2001, Vol.1, no.3

Newsletter for Information Technology Department

ERPN, Enterprise Resource Planning Newsletter, April 2001, Vol.1, no.3

Newsletter for Information Technology Department

Iowa 100% E News, April 2001, Vol.1, no.3

Newsletter for Information Technology Department

Inside Iowa's DOC, May 2004, Vol. 1, no. 3

Newsletter from the Department of Corrections

Quality Assessment of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Images at 1.5/3.0 T: Description and Validation of Standardized Criteria

PURPOSE: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has become a robust and important diagnostic imaging modality in cardiovascular medicine. However,insufficient image quality may compromise its diagnostic accuracy. No standardized criteria are available to assess the quality of CMR studies. We aimed todescribe and validate standardized criteria to evaluate the quality of CMR studies including: a) cine steady-state free precession, b) delayed gadoliniumenhancement, and c) adenosine stress first-pass perfusion. These criteria will serve for the assessment of the image quality in the setting of the Euro-CMR registry.METHOD AND MATERIALS: First, a total of 45 quality criteria were defined (35 qualitative criteria with a score from 0-3, and 10 quantitative criteria). Thequalitative score ranged from 0 to 105. The lower the qualitative score, the better the quality. The quantitative criteria were based on the absolute signal intensity (delayed enhancement) and on the signal increase (perfusion) of the anterior/posterior left ventricular wall after gadolinium injection. These criteria were then applied in 30 patients scanned with a 1.5T system and in 15 patients scanned with a 3.0T system. The examinations were jointly interpreted by 3 CMR experts and 1 study nurse. In these 45 patients the correlation between the results of the quality assessment obtained by the different readers was calculated.RESULTS: On the 1.5T machine, the mean quality score was 3.5. The mean difference between each pair of observers was 0.2 (5.7%) with a mean standarddeviation of 1.4. On the 3.0T machine, the mean quality score was 4.4. The mean difference between each pair of onservers was 0.3 (6.4%) with a meanstandard deviation of 1.6. The quantitative quality assessments between observers were well correlated for the 1.5T machine: R was between 0.78 and 0.99 (pCONCLUSION: The described criteria for the assessment of CMR image quality are robust and have a low inter-observer variability, especially on 1.5T systems.CLINICAL RELEVANCE/APPLICATION: These criteria will allow the standardization of CMR examinations. They will help to improve the overall quality ofexaminations and the comparison between clinical studies.

Development of Abutment Design Standards for Local Bridge Designs, Volume 1 of 3, Development of Design Methodology, August 2004

Several superstructure design methodologies have been developed for low volume road bridges by the Iowa State University Bridge Engineering Center. However, to date no standard abutment designs have been developed. Thus, there was a need to establish an easy to use design methodology in addition to generating generic abutment standards and other design aids for the more common substructure systems used in Iowa. The final report for this project consists of three volumes. The first volume (this volume) summarizes the research completed in this project. A survey of the Iowa County Engineers was conducted from which it was determined that while most counties use similar types of abutments, only 17 percent use some type of standard abutment designs or plans. A literature review revealed several possible alternative abutment systems for future use on low volume road bridges in addition to two separate substructure lateral load analysis methods. These consisted of a linear and a non-linear method. The linear analysis method was used for this project due to its relative simplicity and the relative accuracy of the maximum pile moment when compared to values obtained from the more complex non-linear analysis method. The resulting design methodology was developed for single span stub abutments supported on steel or timber piles with a bridge span length ranging from 20 to 90 ft and roadway widths of 24 and 30 ft. However, other roadway widths can be designed using the foundation design template provided. The backwall height is limited to a range of 6 to 12 ft, and the soil type is classified as cohesive or cohesionless. The design methodology was developed using the guidelines specified by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials Standard Specifications, the Iowa Department of Transportation Bridge Design Manual, and the National Design Specifications for Wood Construction. The second volume introduces and outlines the use of the various design aids developed for this project. Charts for determining dead and live gravity loads based on the roadway width, span length, and superstructure type are provided. A foundation design template was developed in which the engineer can check a substructure design by inputting basic bridge site information. Tables published by the Iowa Department of Transportation that provide values for estimating pile friction and end bearing for different combinations of soils and pile types are also included. Generic standard abutment plans were developed for which the engineer can provide necessary bridge site information in the spaces provided. These tools enable engineers to design and detail county bridge substructures more efficiently. The third volume provides two sets of calculations that demonstrate the application of the substructure design methodology developed in this project. These calculations also verify the accuracy of the foundation design template. The printouts from the foundation design template are provided at the end of each example. Also several tables provide various foundation details for a pre-cast double tee superstructure with different combinations of soil type, backwall height, and pile type.

Innovative Outstanding Weatherization Assistance News, July 2003. Vol.1, no.3

Quarterly newsletter from the Division of Cimmunity Action Agenices, part of the Department of Human Rights.

Iowa Department of Elder Affairs Legislative Update, January 21, 2005, Vol. 1, no. 3

Iowa Department of Elder Affairs provides a brief summation of a Departmental program or other important Departmental information in each Legislative Update. The Legislative Update is produced for informational and educational purposes only.

Innovative Outstanding Weatherization Assistance News, July, 2003, Vol.1, no.3

This is what we hope will be a quarterly newsletter for the Iowa Weatherization Program. The purpose of the newsletter is to share with you information on all aspects of the program as well as spotlight a couple of agencies in each issue. We will provide information on upcoming events, training schedules, monitoring schedules and general news about the program. There will be a section of questions we have received from you and the answers provided.