Investigation of the Modified Beam-in-Slab Bridge System, Design Guide, 2004, Vol. 3

Design guide

Investigation of the Modified Beam-in-Slab Bridge System, Design Manual, 2004, Vol. 2

Design Manual

Evaluation of the Iowa Department of Transportation's Compensatory Wetland Mitgation Program, August 30, 2004

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the Compensatory Wetland Mitigation Program at the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) in terms of regulatory compliance. Specific objectives included: 1) Determining if study sites meet the definition of a jurisdictional wetland. 2) Determining the degree of compliance with requirements specified in Clean Water Act Section 404 permits. A total of 24 study sites, in four age classes were randomly selected from over 80 sites currently managed by the Iowa DOT. Wetland boundaries were delineated in the field and mitigation compliance was determined by comparing the delineated wetland acreage at each study site to the total wetland acreage requirements specified in individual CWA Section 404 permits. Of the 24 sites evaluated in this study, 58 percent meet or exceed Section 404 permit requirements. Net gain ranged from 0.19 acre to 27.2 acres. Net loss ranged from 0.2 acre to 14.6 acres. The Denver Bypass 1 site was the worst performer, with zero acres of wetland present on the site and the Akron Wetland Mitigation Site was the best performer with slightly more than 27 acres over the permit requirement. Five of the 10 under-performing sites are more than five years post construction, two are five years post construction, one is three years post construction and the remaining two are one year post construction. Of the sites that meet or exceed permit requirements, approximately 93 percent are five years or less post construction and approximately 43 percent are only one year old. Only one of the 14 successful sites is more than five years old. Using Section 404 permit acreage requirements as the criteria for measuring success, 58 percent of the wetland mitigation sites investigated as part of this study are successful. Using net gain/loss as the measure of success, the Compensatory Wetland Mitigation Program has been successful in creating/restoring nearly 44 acres of wetland over what was required by permits.

Report on Special Investigation of the City of Liscomb, For the Period June 1, 2002 through November 30, 2004

City Audit Report - Special Investigation

SlimCodeML: An Optimized Version of CodeML for the Branch-Site Model

CodeML (part of the PAML package) im- plements a maximum likelihood-based approach to de- tect positive selection on a specific branch of a given phylogenetic tree. While CodeML is widely used, it is very compute-intensive. We present SlimCodeML, an optimized version of CodeML for the branch-site model. Our performance analysis shows that SlimCodeML substantially outperforms CodeML (up to 9.38 times faster), especially for large-scale genomic analyses.

Report on Special Investigation of Before and After School Services, For the Period July 1, 2000 through December 31, 2004

Other Audit Reports - Special Investigation

Report on the Special Investigation of the City of Mt. Vernon Fire Department, For the Period January 1, 2003 through March 31, 2005

Other Audit Reports - Special Investigation

Implementation and evaluation of an internet health site for adolescents in Switzerland.

Ciao is a website specifically designed for young people and focuses mainly on health issues. This report presents the process of setting up the site and a first evaluation undertaken by using two self-administered questionnaires administered via the website itself. It suggests that it is possible to provide young people with authoritative health information and to facilitate their access to counseling and health care facilities by having young people use such a website.

Accumulation of human immunodeficiency virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes away from the predominant site of virus replication during primary infection.

Down-regulation of the initial burst of viremia during primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is thought to be mediated predominantly by HIV-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). This response is associated with major perturbations in the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire. To investigate the failure of the cellular immune response to adequately control viral spread and replication and to prevent establishment of HIV infection, changes in the TCR repertoire and in the distribution of virus-specific CTL between blood and lymph node were analyzed in three patients with primary infection. By the combined use of clonotype-specific polymerase chain reaction and analysis of the frequency of in vivo activated HIV-specific CTL, it was shown that HIV-specific CTL clones preferentially accumulated in blood as opposed to lymph node. Accumulation of HIV-specific CTL in blood occurred prior to effective down-regulation of virus replication in both blood and lymph node. These findings should provide new insights into how HIV, and possibly other viruses, elude the immune response of the host during primary infection.

Investigation and monitoring of rock slope instabilities in Norway by terrestrial laser scanning

Long-range Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) is widely used in studies on rock slope instabilities. TLS point clouds allow the creation of high-resolution digital elevation models for detailed mapping of landslide morphologies and the measurement of the orientation of main discontinuities. Multi-temporal TLS datasets enable the quantification of slope displacements and rockfall volumes. We present three case studies using TLS for the investigation and monitoring of rock slope instabilities in Norway: 1) the analysis of 3D displacement of the Oksfjellet rock slope failure (Troms, northern Norway); 2) the detection and quantification of rockfalls along the sliding surfaces and at the front of the Kvitfjellet rock slope instability (Møre og Romsdal, western Norway); 3) the analysis of discontinuities and rotational movements of an unstable block at Stampa (Sogn og Fjordane, western Norway). These case studies highlight the possibilities but also limitations of TLS in investigating and monitoring unstable rock slopes.

An Investigation of User Costs and Benefits of Winter Road Closures, June 2005

This project explores the user costs and benefits of winter road closures. Severe winter weather makes travel unsafe and dramatically increases crash rates. When conditions become unsafe due to winter weather, road closures should allow users to avoid crash costs and eliminate costs associated with rescuing stranded motorists. Therefore, the benefits of road closures are the avoided safety costs. The costs of road closures are the delays that are imposed on motorists and motor carriers who would have made the trip had the road not been closed. This project investigated the costs and benefits of road closures and found that evaluating the benefits and costs is not as simple as it appears. To better understand the costs and benefits of road closures, the project investigates the literature, conducts interviews with shippers and motor carriers, and conducts case studies of road closures to determine what actually occurred on roadways during closures. The project also estimates a statistical model that relates weather severity to crash rates. Although, the statistical model is intended to illustrate the possibility to quantitatively relate measurable and predictable weather conditions to the safety performance of a roadway. In the future, weather conditions such as snow fall intensity, visibility, etc., can be used to make objective measures of the safety performance of a roadway rather than relying on subjective evaluations of field staff. The review of the literature and the interviews clearly illustrate that not all delays (increased travel time) are valued the same. Expected delays (routine delays) are valued at the generalized costs (value of the driver’s time, fuel, insurance, wear and tear on the vehicle, etc.), but unexpected delays are valued much higher because they result in interruption of synchronous activities at the trip’s destination. To reduce the costs of delays resulting from road closures, public agencies should communicate as early as possible the likelihood of a road closure.

Special Investigation Letter to Jones County, March 8, 2005

County Audit Report - Special Investigation Letter

Investigation into Improved Pavement Curing Materials and Techniques: Part 2 - Phase III, March 2003

Appropriate curing is important for concrete to obtain the designed properties. This research was conducted to evaluate the curing effects of different curing materials and methods on pavement properties. At present the sprayed curing compound is a common used method for pavement and other concrete structure construction. Three curing compounds were selected for testing. Two different application rates were employed for the white-pigmented liquid curing compounds. The concrete properties of temperature, moisture content, conductivity, and permeability were examined at several test locations. It was found, in this project, that the concrete properties varied with the depth. Of the tests conducted (maturity, sorptivity, permeability, and conductivity), conductivity appears to be the best method to evaluate the curing effects in the field and bears potential for field application. The results indicated that currently approved curing materials in Iowa, when spread uniformly in a single or double application, provide adequate curing protection and meet the goals of the Iowa Department of Transportation. Experimental curing methods can be compared to this method through the use of conductivity testing to determine their application in the field.

Concrete Paving site Preparation and Construction, November 2004

Proper storage practices are critical to protect materials from intermingling, contamination, or degradation, and to maintain consistent aggregate gradation throughout a project. Concrete Paving Workforce Reference no.2

Report on Special Investigation of the Rural Iowa Waste Management Association for the Period July 1st, 1999 through October 15th, 2004

Other Audit Reports - Special Investigation