2008 Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program Summary of Analyses

To supplement other environmental monitoring programs and to protect the health of people consuming fish from waters within this state, the state of Iowa conducts fish tissue monitoring. Since 1980, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region VII (U.S. EPA), and the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory (UHL) have cooperatively conducted annual statewide collections and analyses of fish for toxic contaminants. Beginning in 1983, this monitoring effort became known as the Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program (RAFT). Currently, the RAFT program is the only statewide fish contaminant-monitoring program in Iowa. Historically, the data generated from the RAFT program have enabled IDNR to document temporal changes in contaminant levels and to identify Iowa lakes and rivers where high levels of contaminants in fish potentially threaten the health of fish-consuming Iowans (see IDNR 2006). The Iowa RAFT monitoring program incorporates four different types of monitoring sites: 1) status, 2) trend, 3) random and 4) follow-up.

2006/2007 Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program Summary of Analyses

To supplement other environmental monitoring programs and to protect the health of people consuming fish from waters within this state, the state of Iowa conducts fish tissue monitoring. Since 1980, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region VII (U.S. EPA), and the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory (UHL) have cooperatively conducted annual statewide collections and analyses of fish for toxic contaminants. Beginning in 1983, this monitoring effort became known as the Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program (RAFT). Currently, the RAFT program is the only statewide fish contaminant-monitoring program in Iowa. Historically, the data generated from the RAFT program have enabled IDNR to document temporal changes in contaminant levels and to identify Iowa lakes and rivers where high levels of contaminants in fish potentially threaten the health of fish-consuming Iowans (see IDNR 2006a). The Iowa RAFT monitoring program incorporates four different types of monitoring sites: 1) status, 2) trend, 3) random and 4) follow-up.

2005 Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program Summary of Analyses

To supplement other environmental monitoring programs and to protect the health of people consuming fish from waters within this state, the state of Iowa conducts fish tissue monitoring. Since 1980, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region VII (U.S. EPA), and the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory (UHL) have cooperatively conducted annual statewide collections and analyses of fish for toxic contaminants. Beginning in 1983, this monitoring effort became known as the Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program (the RAFT program). Currently, the RAFT program is the only statewide fish contaminant-monitoring program in Iowa. Historically, the data generated from the RAFT program have enabled IDNR to document temporal changes in contaminant levels and to identify Iowa lakes and rivers where high levels of contaminants in fish potentially threaten the health of fish-consuming Iowans. The Iowa RAFT monitoring program incorporates three different types of monitoring sites: 1) status, 2) trend, and 3) follow-up.

2004 Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program Summary of Analyses

To supplement other environmental monitoring programs and to protect the health of people consuming fish from waters within this state, the state of Iowa conducts fish tissue monitoring. Since 1980, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region VII (U.S. EPA), and the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory (UHL) have cooperatively conducted annual statewide collections and analyses of fish for toxic contaminants. Beginning in 1983, this monitoring effort became the Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program (the RAFT program). Currently, the RAFT program is the only statewide fish contaminant-monitoring program in Iowa. Historically, the data generated from the RAFT program have enabled IDNR to document temporal changes in contaminant levels and to identify Iowa lakes and rivers where high levels of contaminants in fish potentially threaten the health of fish-consuming Iowans. The Iowa RAFT monitoring program incorporates three different but equally important types of monitoring sites: 1) status, 2) trend, and 3) follow-up.

2003 Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program; Summary of Analyses

To supplement other environmental monitoring programs and to protect the health of people consuming fish from waters within this state, the state of Iowa conducts fish tissue monitoring. Since 1980, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region VII (U.S. EPA), and the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory (UHL) have cooperatively conducted annual statewide collections and analyses of fish for toxic contaminants. Beginning in 1983, this monitoring effort became the Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program (the RAFT program). Currently, the RAFT program is the only statewide fish contaminant-monitoring program in Iowa. Historically, the data generated from the RAFT program have enabled IDNR to document temporal changes in contaminant levels and to identify Iowa lakes and rivers where high levels of contaminants in fish potentially threaten the health of Iowans consuming fish. The Iowa RAFT monitoring program incorporates three different but equally important types of monitoring sites: 1) status, 2) trend, and 3) follow-up.

2002 Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program Summary of Analyses

To supplement other environmental monitoring programs and to protect the health of people consuming fish from waters within this state, the state of Iowa conducts fish tissue monitoring. Since 1980, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region VII (U.S. EPA), and the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory (UHL) have cooperatively conducted annual statewide collections and analyses of fish for toxic contaminants. Beginning in 1983, this monitoring effort became the Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program (the RAFT program). Currently, the RAFT program is the only statewide fish contaminant-monitoring program in Iowa. Historically, the data generated from the RAFT program have enabled IDNR to document temporal changes in contaminant levels and to identify Iowa lakes and rivers where high levels of contaminants in fish potentially threaten the health of fish consuming Iowans. The Iowa RAFT monitoring program incorporates three different but equally important types of monitoring sites: 1) status, 2) trend, and 3) follow-up.

2001 Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program; Summary of Analyses

To supplement other environmental monitoring programs and to protect the health of people consuming fish from waters within this state, the state of Iowa conducts fish tissue monitoring. Since 1980, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region VII (U.S. EPA), and the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory (UHL) have cooperatively conducted annual statewide collections and analyses of fish for toxic contaminants. Beginning in 1983, this monitoring effort became the Regional Ambient Fish Tissue Monitoring Program (the RAFT program). Currently, the RAFT program is the only statewide fish contaminant-monitoring program in Iowa. Historically, the data generated from the RAFT program have enabled IDNR to document temporal changes in contaminant levels and to identify Iowa lakes and rivers where high levels of contaminants in fish potentially threaten the health of fish consuming Iowans.

Regional differences in self-reported screening, prevalence and management of cardiovascular risk factors in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: In Switzerland, health policies are decided at the local level, but little is known regarding their impact on the screening and management of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs). We thus aimed at assessing geographical levels of CVRFs in Switzerland.¦METHODS: Swiss Health Survey for 2007 (N = 17,879). Seven administrative regions were defined: West (Leman), West-Central (Mittelland), Zurich, South (Ticino), North-West, East and Central Switzerland. Obesity, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes prevalence, treatment and screening within the last 12 months were assessed by interview.¦RESULTS: After multivariate adjustment for age, gender, educational level, marital status and Swiss citizenship, no significant differences were found between regions regarding prevalence of obesity or current smoking. Similarly, no differences were found regarding hypertension screening and prevalence. Two thirds of subjects who had been told they had high blood pressure were treated, the lowest treatment rates being found in East Switzerland: odds-ratio and [95% confidence interval] 0.65 [0.50-0.85]. Screening for hypercholesterolemia was more frequently reported in French (Leman) and Italian (Ticino) speaking regions. Four out of ten participants who had been told they had high cholesterol levels were treated and the lowest treatment rates were found in German-speaking regions. Screening for diabetes was higher in Ticino (1.24 [1.09 - 1.42]). Six out of ten participants who had been told they had diabetes were treated, the lowest treatment rates were found for German-speaking regions.¦CONCLUSIONS: In Switzerland, cardiovascular risk factor screening and management differ between regions and these differences cannot be accounted for by differences in populations' characteristics. Management of most cardiovascular risk factors could be improved.

Audit report on the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency for the year ended June 30, 2015

Audit report on the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency for the year ended June 30, 2015

Audit report on the North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste Agency for the year ended June 30, 2015

Audit report on the North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste Agency for the year ended June 30, 2015

Audit report on Southern Hills Regional Mental Health for the year ended June 30, 2015

Audit report on Southern Hills Regional Mental Health for the year ended June 30, 2015

The Coverage of the European independence movements from a Canadian perspective: Comparisons of the francophone online press in Quebec with the English Canadian press on the independence movements in Scotland and Catalonia

This research paper provides the basis of a future doctoral thesison the construction of foreign news. We aim to highlight similarities and differences in the online news coverage of the nationalist movments in Scotland and Catalonia in the Canadian Anglophone and Francophone press. Through a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of The Montreal Gazette, The National Post, The Globe and Mail, Le Devoir and La Presse, we attempt to show the frames used in the coverage of the political developments in both “stateless regions” from January 2011 to September 2014, when a referendum on the constitutional status of Scotland has beenagreed on. In parallel to the analysis of daily online newspapers, we will use semi-structured interviews of journalists from each news organization to obtain more in-depth knowledge of the factors influencing the construction of news. Lastly, we want to find out to the extent to which the coverage on the nationalist movements in Scotland and Catalonia serve to revive the debate on the independence question of Québec

Estimativa amostral objetiva de área plantada regional, apoiada em imagens de sensoriamento remoto

O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver e avaliar um método para estimar a área plantada de soja em escala regional e calcular o erro estatístico associado à estimação. O método (Geosafras), que associa técnicas de amostragem estatística com características das imagens obtidas por sensoriamento remoto orbital, foi aplicado para obter estimativa amostral objetiva da área cultivada com soja, na safra de 2005/2006, no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Os municípios produtores de soja, no RS, foram distribuídos em dez estratos, com base em dados pré‑existentes de área cultivada com a cultura. O número de municípios selecionados, em cada estrato, seguiu a regra de alocação de Neyman. Em cada município selecionado, foram aleatorizados pontos correspondentes aos pixels das imagens, classificados como "soja" ou "não soja" após visita a campo. A partir dos dados de 3.000 pontos distribuídos nos 30 municípios selecionados, nos dez estratos, foi estimada a área cultivada com soja no RS, que totalizou 4.069.887 ha, com coeficiente de variação (CV) de 3,4%. Esta estimativa foi consistente com os dados oficiais. O método amostral objetivo estratificado, auxiliado por sensoriamento remoto, permite estimar a área cultivada com soja no Rio Grande do Sul e é capaz de quantificar o erro associado à estimativa realizada.

Real-time MR imaging of myocardial regional function using strain-encoding (SENC) with tissue through-plane motion tracking.

PURPOSE: To implement real-time myocardial strain-encoding (SENC) imaging in combination with tracking the tissue displacement in the through-plane direction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SENC imaging was combined with the slice-following technique by implementing three-dimensional (3D) selective excitation. Certain adjustments were implemented to reduce scan time to one heartbeat. A total of 10 volunteers and five pigs were scanned on a 3T MRI scanner. Spatial modulation of magnetization (SPAMM)-tagged images were acquired on planes orthogonal to the SENC planes for comparison. Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced in two pigs and the resulting SENC images were compared to standard delayed-enhancement (DE) images. RESULTS: The strain values computed from SENC imaging with slice-following showed significant difference from those acquired without slice-following, especially during systole (P < 0.01). The strain curves computed from the SENC images with and without slice-following were similar to those computed from the orthogonal SPAMM images, with and without, respectively, tracking the tag line displacement in the strain direction. The resulting SENC images showed good agreement with the DE images in identifying MI in infarcted pigs. CONCLUSION: Correction of through-plane motion in real-time cardiac functional imaging is feasible using slice-following. The strain measurements are more accurate than conventional SENC measurements in humans and animals, as validated with conventional MRI tagging.

SICA2 : la experiencia de integración CRIS/RI en el ámbito regional de Andalucía

El proyecto SICA2, presentado por Beatriz Barros y Miguel Ángel Aguirre, de la Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia de la Junta de Andalucía, supone una innovadora extensión del concepto de CRIS universitario a un ámbito regional para el conjunto de las universidades andaluzas. El sistema de recogida y validación de la información científica en tiempo real se basa en una primera fase SICA que organiza la investigación en unidades mínimas o 'Grupos PAIDI' y que ya implementó el estándar CVN para las nueve universidades andaluzas que forman parte del proyecto. Esta segunda fase de integración tiene además prevista su prolongación en el repositorio institucional Reposit-AN de ámbito igualmente regional que se alimentará de los metadatos procedentes del sistema CRIS de la Junta de Andalucía y se presentará oficialmente a final de año.