Audit report on the Pocahontas County Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Pocahontas County Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Butler County Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Butler County Solid Waste Commission for the year ended June 30, 2013

Metabolic predictors of obesity. Contribution of resting energy expenditure, thermic effect of food, and fuel utilization to four-year weight gain of post-obese and never-obese women.

This prospective study was designed to identify abnormalities of energy expenditure and fuel utilization which distinguish post-obese women from never-obese controls. 24 moderately obese, postmenopausal, nondiabetic women with a familial predisposition to obesity underwent assessments of body composition, fasting and postprandial energy expenditure, and fuel utilization in the obese state and after weight loss (mean 12.9 kg) to a post-obese, normal-weight state. The post-obese women were compared with 24 never-obese women of comparable age and body composition. Four years later, without intervention, body weight was reassessed in both groups. Results indicated that all parameters measured in the post-obese women were similar to the never-obese controls: mean resting energy expenditure, thermic effect of food, and fasting and postprandial substrate oxidation and insulin-glucose patterns. Four years later, post-obese women regained a mean of 10.9 kg while control subjects remained lean (mean gain 1.7 kg) (P < 0.001 between groups). Neither energy expenditure nor fuel oxidation correlated with 4-yr weight changes, whereas self-reported physical inactivity was associated with greater weight regain. The data suggest that weight gain in obesity-prone women may be due to maladaptive responses to the environment, such as physical inactivity or excess energy intake, rather than to reduced energy requirements.

The TREAT-NMD Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Registries: Conception, Design, and Utilization by Industry and Academia.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked genetic disease, caused by the absence of the dystrophin protein. Although many novel therapies are under development for DMD, there is currently no cure and affected individuals are often confined to a wheelchair by their teens and die in their twenties/thirties. DMD is a rare disease (prevalence <5/10,000). Even the largest countries do not have enough affected patients to rigorously assess novel therapies, unravel genetic complexities, and determine patient outcomes. TREAT-NMD is a worldwide network for neuromuscular diseases that provides an infrastructure to support the delivery of promising new therapies for patients. The harmonized implementation of national and ultimately global patient registries has been central to the success of TREAT-NMD. For the DMD registries within TREAT-NMD, individual countries have chosen to collect patient information in the form of standardized patient registries to increase the overall patient population on which clinical outcomes and new technologies can be assessed. The registries comprise more than 13,500 patients from 31 different countries. Here, we describe how the TREAT-NMD national patient registries for DMD were established. We look at their continued growth and assess how successful they have been at fostering collaboration between academia, patient organizations, and industry.

Asphalt Cement Concrete Longitudinal Joint Adhesive Crafco PN 34524 (Iowa DOT New Product C-98-7), HR-2084, 2000

The joint between two lanes of asphalt pavement is often the first area of a roadway which shows signs of deterioration and requires maintenance. As the final lift of hot asphalt is being placed in a construction project, it is being forced p against the adjoining lane of cold asphalt, forming the longitudinal joint. The mating of the two lanes, to form a high quality seal, is often not fully successful and later results in premature stripping or raveling as water enters the unsealed joint. The application of a hot poured rubberized asphaltic joint sealant along the joint face in the final stage of construction should help to form a watertight joint seal. A new product, especially formulated for the longitudinal joint in asphalt pavements was proposed to improve joint sealing. The following describes the experimental application of the new product, Crafco, PN 34524.

Development of an Improved Agricultural-Based Deicing Product, TR-581, 2010

Snow and ice removal on public streets is a critical part of the work of departments of transportation in northern U.S. states, including Iowa. Iowa is also a state rich in agricultural resources, some of which undergo industrial processes that generate a number of byproducts, e.g., in converting corn to ethanol or soy to biodiesel. It would be desirable to find those that, with a minimum of additional processing, can be used as a deicing compound, either alone or in combination with products currently in use. The focus of this work is therefore to investigate by-products from agricultural processes that may be suitable for use as deicing applications. This topic has been investigated in the past by others, with many patented products described in the literature. An initial screening was carried out to assess the potential acceptability of selected commercial products, as well as a glycerol developed for this project. Based on the variety of parameters tested, the product combination that shows the greatest promise for future application consists of 80% glycerol with 20% NaCl.

Audit report on the Delaware County Solid Waste Disposal Commission for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Delaware County Solid Waste Disposal Commission for the year ended June 30, 2013

Time-Temperature Strength-Reaction Product Relationships in Lime-Bentonite-Water Mixtures, HR-111, 1965

The interrelation of curing time, curing temperature, strength, and reactions in lime-bentonite-water mixtures was examined. Samples were molded at constant density and moisture content and then cured for periods of from 1 to 56 days at constant temperatures that ranged from 5C to 60C. After the appropriate curing time the samples were tested for unconfined compressive strength. The broken samples were then analyzed by x-ray diffractometer and spectrophotometer to determine the identity of the reaction products present after each curing period. It was found that the strength gain of lime-clay mixtures cured at different temperatures is due to different phases of the complex reaction, lime & clay to CSH(gel) to CSH(II) to CSH(I) to tobermorite. The farther the reaction proceeds, the higher the strength. There was also evidence of lattice substitutions in the structure of the calcium silicate hydrates at curing temperatures of 50C and higher. No consistent relationship between time, temperature, strength, and the S/A ration of reaction products existed, but in order to achieve high strengths the apparent C/S ration had to be less than two. The curing temperature had an effect on the strength developed by a given amount of reacted silica in the cured lime-clay mixture, but at a given curing temperature the cured sample that had the largest amount of reacted silica gave the highest strength. Evidence was found to indicate that during the clay reaction some calcium is indeed adsorbed onto the clay structure rather than entering into a pozzolanic reaction. Finally, it was determined that it is possible to determine the amount of silica and alumina in lime-clay reaction products by spectrophotometric analysis with sufficient accuracy for comparison purposes. The spectrophotometric analysis techniques used during the investigation were simple and were not time consuming.

Body fat distribution in white and black women: different patterns of intraabdominal and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue utilization with weight loss.

BACKGROUND: Intraabdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) is the body fat depot most strongly related to disease risk. Weight reduction is advocated for overweight people to reduce total body fat and IAAT, although little is known about the effect of weight loss on abdominal fat distribution in different races. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of diet-induced weight loss on changes in abdominal fat distribution in white and black women. DESIGN: We studied 23 white and 23 black women, similar in age and body composition, in the overweight state [mean body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)): 28.8] and the normal-weight state (mean BMI: 24.0) and 38 never-overweight control women (mean BMI: 23.4). We measured total body fat by using a 4-compartment model, trunk fat by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and cross-sectional areas of IAAT (at the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae) and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT) by using computed tomography. RESULTS: Weight loss was similar in white and black women (13.1 and 12.6 kg, respectively), as were losses of total fat, trunk fat, and waist circumference. However, white women lost more IAAT (P < 0.001) and less SAAT (P < 0.03) than did black women. Fat patterns regressed toward those of their respective control groups. Changes in waist circumference correlated with changes in IAAT in white women (r = 0.54, P < 0.05) but not in black women (r = 0.19, NS). CONCLUSIONS: Despite comparable decreases in total and trunk fat, white women lost more IAAT and less SAAT than did black women. Waist circumference was not a suitable surrogate marker for tracking changes in the visceral fat compartment in black women.

Audit report on the Waste Authority of Jackson County for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Waste Authority of Jackson County for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste Agency for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste Agency for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Great River Regional Waste Authority for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Great River Regional Waste Authority for the year ended June 30, 2013

SEPT4, a p53 target gene product, implicates p 53 in the regulation of exocytosis

Résumé : Le cancer, qui est responsable d'un quart des décès en Suisse, exhibe un état cellulaire désordonné, qui lui-même, est la conséquence d'un dérèglement des gènes. Le gène le plus fréquemment altéré, dans les cas de cancers humains, est p53. Ce gène encode un facteur de transcription, impliqué dans la régulation de nombreux gènes impliqués dans le cycle cellulaire, l'apoptose ou la différenciation. Notre laboratoire a récemment identifié seize nouveaux gènes, dont l'expression est régulée par p53, parmi lesquels sept4, su jet de cette thèse. La protéine 5EPT4 appartient à la famille des septines, qui est impliquée dans la cytokinèse. Dans ce travail, nous avons confirmé la régulation de l'expression de sept4 par p53 dans des tissus de souris, et étonnamment, seul un des deux promoteurs du gène sept4 est contrôlé par p53. En outre, l'approche immunohistologique nous a permis de supposer une implication de la protéine SEPT4 dans le mécanisme de l'exocytose. Cette hypothèse a été confirmée par l'interaction de SEPT4 avec la protéine syntaxine 1A, et par son activité inhibitrice sur la sécrétion stimulée. En élargissant l'étude de la protéine SEPT4, nous avons découvert que celle-ci avait comme partenaire fonctionnel, la protéine Pinl, une enzyme qui catalyse l'isomérisation cis-trans du lien peptidique précédant une proline. bans ce contexte, nous avons démontré que l'interaction entre ces deux protéines reposait sur le domaine WW de Pinl, un type de domaine reconnaissant les motifs phosphoséryl-prolyl et phosphothréonyl-prolyl. Ce dernier résultat nous a conduit à examiner la phosphorylation de 5EPT4. Nous avons démontré que la partie N-terminale de SEPT4 était phosphorylée par la kinase Cdk5. La co¬expression de Cdk5 et de SEPT4 stimule la dégradation de SEPT4, indépendamment de la voie du protéasome. Ainsi, l'ensemble de nos observations fournissent l'évidence de l'engagement de la protéine SEPT4 dans la régulation de l'exocytose, et soutiennent le rôle de p53 dans le contrôle de l'exocytose, via SEPT4, ce qui constituerait un nouveau rôle fonctionnel pour ce gardien du génome. Summary: Cancer, which is responsible for a quarter of the deaths in Switzerland, exhibits a disordered cellular state, which itself, is the consequence of an altered state of genes. The most frequently altered gene in human cancer is p53. This gene encodes a transcription factor, implicated in the regulation of numerous genes involved in cell cycle, apoptosis or differentiation. Our laboratory has recently identified sixteen new genes whose expression is regulated by p53, amongst them septin 4, which is the subject of this thesis. The SEPT4 protein belongs to the septin family which is implicated in cytokinesis. In the present work, we have confirmed the regulation of sept4 expression by p53 in mouse tissues, and surprisingly, only one of the two sept4 promoters is regulated by p53. In addition, the immunohistologic approach enabled us to suppose a role of SEPT4 in exocytosis. This assumption was confirmed by the interaction of SEPT4 with syntaxin 1A, and by its inhibiting activity on stimulated secretion. By widening the analysis of SEPT4, we identified Pin1 as an interacting protein. Pin1 is an enzyme which catalyzes the cis-trans isomerization of the peptide bond preceding a proline residue. In this context, we showed that the interaction between these two proteins depends on the WW domain of Pin 1. This domain has been shown to function as a phosphoserine- or phosphothreonine¬binding module. This last result prompted us to examine phosphorylation of SEPT4. We demonstrated that the N-terminal portion of SEPT4 was phosphorylated by the Cdk5 kinase. The co-expression of Cdk5 with 5EPT4 stimulates SEPT4 degradation, independently of the proteasome pathway. Thus, these observations provide evidence for the engagement of SEPT4 in the regulation of exocytosis, and supports the role of p53 in the control of exocytosis, via SEPT4, which constitutes a new functional role for this guardian of the genome.