FY13 Enrich Iowa Report State Funding for Iowa Libraries, January 13, 2014

This report illustrates the critical role of Enrich Iowa funding in enhancing lifelong learning for Iowans through libraries; improving library resources aimed at assisting job seekers; maintaining library hours that meet library customers’ needs; improving library technology services; and providing safe, accessible library buildings.

Aging Watch, December 20, 2013, Vol. 13, no. 14

Aging Watch is provided in the spirit of information and education. The opinions expressed by the contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Department or its programs. The Department shall not be liable for any damages that may result from errors or omissions in information distributed in this publication. Aging Watch will be published regularly during the legislative session and monthly in the interim by the Iowa Department on Aging. “Aging Watch.” The Department is providing this update to better inform you about policy affecting older Iowans. In addition to policy updates from the statehouse and the nation’s capitol, you’ll learn about Department programs and changes affecting the landscape. As you’ll learn reading this and future editions, big changes are coming for the Iowa Aging Network. Over the next year the Department will be reducing the number of local Area Agencies on Aging, as required by legislative action. Not surprisingly, this is a major change for everyone.

Aging Watch, June 11, 2013, Vol. 13, no. 12

Aging Watch is provided in the spirit of information and education. The opinions expressed by the contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Department or its programs. The Department shall not be liable for any damages that may result from errors or omissions in information distributed in this publication. Aging Watch will be published regularly during the legislative session and monthly in the interim by the Iowa Department on Aging. “Aging Watch.” The Department is providing this update to better inform you about policy affecting older Iowans. In addition to policy updates from the statehouse and the nation’s capitol, you’ll learn about Department programs and changes affecting the landscape. As you’ll learn reading this and future editions, big changes are coming for the Iowa Aging Network. Over the next year the Department will be reducing the number of local Area Agencies on Aging, as required by legislative action. Not surprisingly, this is a major change for everyone.

Aging Watch, June 28, 2013, Vol. 13, no. 13

Aging Watch is provided in the spirit of information and education. The opinions expressed by the contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Department or its programs. The Department shall not be liable for any damages that may result from errors or omissions in information distributed in this publication. Aging Watch will be published regularly during the legislative session and monthly in the interim by the Iowa Department on Aging. “Aging Watch.” The Department is providing this update to better inform you about policy affecting older Iowans. In addition to policy updates from the statehouse and the nation’s capitol, you’ll learn about Department programs and changes affecting the landscape. As you’ll learn reading this and future editions, big changes are coming for the Iowa Aging Network. Over the next year the Department will be reducing the number of local Area Agencies on Aging, as required by legislative action. Not surprisingly, this is a major change for everyone.

Aging Watch, March 10, 2014, Vol. 14, no. 13

Aging Watch is provided in the spirit of information and education. The opinions expressed by the contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Department or its programs. The Department shall not be liable for any damages that may result from errors or omissions in information distributed in this publication. Aging Watch will be published regularly during the legislative session and monthly in the interim by the Iowa Department on Aging. “Aging Watch.” The Department is providing this update to better inform you about policy affecting older Iowans. In addition to policy updates from the statehouse and the nation’s capitol, you’ll learn about Department programs and changes affecting the landscape. As you’ll learn reading this and future editions, big changes are coming for the Iowa Aging Network. Over the next year the Department will be reducing the number of local Area Agencies on Aging, as required by legislative action. Not surprisingly, this is a major change for everyone.

Soil Tracking Paint Test, MLR-89-13, 1989

A new paint testing device was built to determine the resistance of paints to darkening due to road grime being tracked onto them. The device consists of a tire rotating on a sample drum. Soil was applied to the tire and then tracked onto paint samples which were attached to the drum. A colorimeter was used to measure the lightness of the paints after being tracked. Lightness is measured from 0 (absolute black) to 100 (absolute white). Four experiments were run to determine the optimum time length to track a sample, the reproducibility, the effects of different soils, and the maximum acceptable level for darkening of a paint. The following conclusions were reached: 1) the optimum tracking time was 10 minutes; 2) the reproducibility had a standard deviation of 1.5 lightness units; 3) different soils did not have a large effect on the amount of darkening on the paints; 4) a maximum acceptable darkness could not be established based on the limited amount of data; and 5) a correlation exists between the paints which were darkening in the field and the paints which were turning the darkest on the tracking wheel.

Friday Facts, June 13, 2014, Vol. 216

Bureau of Nutrition and Health Promotion part of the Iowa Department of Public Health produces of weekly newsletter about the Iowa WIC Program for the State of Iowa citizen.

Asphalt Cement Containing AC-13, HR-522, Construction Report, 1985

Stopping and turning maneuvers on high traffic volume asphalt cement concrete surfaced roads and streets often causes distortion of the pavement. Distortion may show up as excessive rutting in the wheel path, shoving of the pavement and/or rippling of the surface. Often times repeated corrective work such as cold milling or heater planing is required in these areas to maintain the pavement surface in a reasonable condition. In recent years polymer additives have been developed for asphalt cement concrete paving mixes that show promise in improving the inplace stability of the pavements. AC-13 (Styrelf 13) available from Bitucote Products Company, St. Louis, Missouri is an asphalt cement that has been modified by an additive to exhibit characteristics of very high stability in asphalt mixes.

EPI Update, June 13, 2014

Weekly newsletter for Center For Acute Disease Epidemiology of Iowa Department of Public Health.

Mouse fetal trisomy 13 and hypotrophy of the spinal cord: effect on calbindin-D28k and calretinin expressed by neurons of the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia.

Trisomy 13 was detected in 10% of mouse embryos obtained from pregnant females which were doubly heterozygous for Robertsonian chromosomes involving chromosome 13. The developing dorsal root ganglia and spinal cords were examined in trisomy 13 and littermate control mice between days 12 and 18 of gestation (E12-18). The overall size of the dorsal root ganglia and number of ganglion cells within a given ganglion were not altered, but the number of neurons immunoreactive for calbindin and calretinin was reduced. The trisomic spinal cord was reduced in size with neurons lying in a tightly compact distribution in the gray matter. In trisomic fetuses, the extent of the neuropil of the spinal cord was reduced, and may represent a diminished field of interneuronal connectivity, due to reduced arborization of dendritic processes of the neurons present, particularly of calbindin-immunostained neurons. Furthermore, the subpopulation of calretinin-immunoreactive neurons and axons was also reduced in developing trisomic gray and white matter, respectively. Thus, overexpression of genes on mouse chromosome 13 exerts a deleterious effect on the development of neuropil, affecting both dendritic and axonal arborization in the trisomy 13 mouse. The defect of calbindin or calretinin expression by subsets of dorsal root ganglion or spinal cord neurons may result from deficient cell-to-cell interactions with targets which are hypoplastic.

Abdominal infections in the intensive care unit: characteristics, treatment and determinants of outcome.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal infections are frequent causes of sepsis and septic shock in the intensive care unit (ICU) and are associated with adverse outcomes. We analyzed the characteristics, treatments and outcome of ICU patients with abdominal infections using data extracted from a one-day point prevalence study, the Extended Prevalence of Infection in the ICU (EPIC) II. METHODS: EPIC II included 13,796 adult patients from 1,265 ICUs in 75 countries. Infection was defined using the International Sepsis Forum criteria. Microbiological analyses were performed locally. Participating ICUs provided patient follow-up until hospital discharge or for 60 days. RESULTS: Of the 7,087 infected patients, 1,392 (19.6%) had an abdominal infection on the study day (60% male, mean age 62 ± 16 years, SAPS II score 39 ± 16, SOFA score 7.6 ± 4.6). Microbiological cultures were positive in 931 (67%) patients, most commonly Gram-negative bacteria (48.0%). Antibiotics were administered to 1366 (98.1%) patients. Patients who had been in the ICU for ≤ 2 days prior to the study day had more Escherichia coli, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and anaerobic isolates, and fewer enterococci than patients who had been in the ICU longer. ICU and hospital mortality rates were 29.4% and 36.3%, respectively. ICU mortality was higher in patients with abdominal infections than in those with other infections (29.4% vs. 24.4%, p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, hematological malignancy, mechanical ventilation, cirrhosis, need for renal replacement therapy and SAPS II score were independently associated with increased mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The characteristics, microbiology and antibiotic treatment of abdominal infections in critically ill patients are diverse. Mortality in patients with isolated abdominal infections was higher than in those who had other infections.