Facts about Head Lice, May 2010

The Iowa Department of Public Health recommends a 14-day treatment process. You may use over-the-counter products. They are safe and not costly. Mark your calendar to help you keep track of treatment.

Iowa Finance Authority District 1 Facts, February 2015

Statistical information produced by Iowa Finance Authority

Iowa Finance Authority District 2 Facts, February 2015

Statistical information produced by Iowa Finance Authority

Iowa Finance Authority District 3 Facts, February 2015

Statistical information produced by Iowa Finance Authority

Iowa Finance Authority District 4 Facts, February 2015

Statistical information produced by Iowa Finance Authority

Variable queen number in ant colonies: no impact on queen turnover, inbreeding, and population genetic differentiation in the ant Formica selysi.

Variation in queen number alters the genetic structure of social insect colonies, which in turn affects patterns of kin-selected conflict and cooperation. Theory suggests that shifts from single- to multiple-queen colonies are often associated with other changes in the breeding system, such as higher queen turnover, more local mating, and restricted dispersal. These changes may restrict gene flow between the two types of colonies and it has been suggested that this might ultimately lead to sympatric speciation. We performed a detailed microsatellite analysis of a large population of the ant Formica selysi, which revealed extensive variation in social structure, with 71 colonies headed by a single queen and 41 by multiple queens. This polymorphism in social structure appeared stable over time, since little change in the number of queens per colony was detected over a five-year period. Apart from queen number, single- and multiple-queen colonies had very similar breeding systems. Queen turnover was absent or very low in both types of colonies. Single- and multiple-queen colonies exhibited very small but significant levels of inbreeding, which indicates a slight deviation from random mating at a local scale and suggests that a small proportion of queens mate with related males. For both types of colonies, there was very little genetic structuring above the level of the nest, with no sign of isolation by distance. These similarities in the breeding systems were associated with a complete lack of genetic differentiation between single- and multiple-queen colonies, which provides no support for the hypothesis that change in queen number leads to restricted gene flow between social forms. Overall, this study suggests that the higher rates of queen turnover, local mating, and population structuring that are often associated with multiple-queen colonies do not appear when single- and multiple-queen colonies still coexist within the same population, but build up over time in populations consisting mostly of multiple-queen colonies.

Alcohol Facts, June 14, 2012

Facts about Alcohol use in Iowa produced by Office of Drug Control Policy.

Plac8 is required for white adipocyte differentiation in vitro and cell number control in vivo.

Plac8 belongs to an evolutionary conserved family of proteins, mostly abundant in plants where they control fruit weight through regulation of cell number. In mice, Plac8 is expressed both in white and brown adipose tissues and we previously showed that Plac8(-/-) mice develop late-onset obesity, with abnormal brown fat differentiation and reduced thermogenic capacity. We also showed that in brown adipocytes, Plac8 is an upstream regulator of C/EBPβ expression. Here, we first assessed the role of Plac8 in white adipogenesis in vitro. We show that Plac8 is induced early after induction of 3T3-L1 adipocytes differentiation, a process that is prevented by Plac8 knockdown; similarly, embryonic fibroblasts obtained from Plac8 knockout mice failed to form adipocytes upon stimulation of differentiation. Knockdown of Plac8 in 3T3-L1 was associated with reduced expression of C/EBPβ, Krox20, and Klf4, early regulators of the white adipogenic program, and we show that Plac8 could transactivate the C/EBPβ promoter. In vivo, we show that absence of Plac8 led to increased white fat mass with enlarged adipocytes but reduced total number of adipocytes. Finally, even though Plac8(-/-) mice showed impaired thermogenesis due to brown fat dysfunction, this was not associated with changes in glycemia or plasma free fatty acid and triglyceride levels. Collectively, these data indicate that Plac8 is an upstream regulator of C/EBPβ required for adipogenesis in vitro. However, in vivo, Plac8 is dispensable for the differentiation of white adipocytes with preserved fat storage capacity but is required for normal fat cell number regulation.

Investigation of PCC Pavement Deterioration: A Few Facts are Worth More than 100 Opinions, Interim Report, HR-2074, 1995

Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavement has served the State of Iowa well for many years. The oldest Iowa pavement was placed in LeMars in 1904. Beginning in 1931, many miles of PCC pavement were built to "get out of the mud.” Many of these early pavements provided good performance without deterioration for more than 50 years. In the late 1950's, Iowa was faced with severe PCC pavement deterioration referred to as D cracking. Research identified the cause of this deterioration as crushed limestone containing a bad pore system. Selective quarrying and ledge control has alleviated this problem. In 1990, cracking deterioration was identified on a three year old pavement on us 20 in central Iowa. The coarse aggregate was a crushed limestone with an excellent history of performance in PCC pavement. Examination of cores showed very few cracks through the coarse aggregate particles. The cracks were predominately confined to the matrix. The deterioration was identified as alkali-silica reactivity (ASR) by a consultant.

Linear prediction application for modelling the relationships between a large number of stand characteristics of Norway spruce stands

Abstract

Copy number variation modifies expression time courses.

A preliminary understanding into the phenotypic effect of DNA segment copy number variation (CNV) is emerging. These rearrangements were demonstrated to influence, in a somewhat dose-dependent manner, the expression of genes that map within them. They were also shown to modify the expression of genes located on their flanks and sometimes those at a great distance from their boundary. Here we demonstrate, by monitoring these effects at multiple life stages, that these controls over expression are effective throughout mouse development. Similarly, we observe that the more specific spatial expression patterns of CNV genes are maintained through life. However, we find that some brain-expressed genes mapping within CNVs appear to be under compensatory loops only at specific time points, indicating that the effect of CNVs on these genes is modulated during development. Notably, we also observe that CNV genes are significantly enriched within transcripts that show variable time courses of expression between strains. Thus, modifying the copy number of a gene may potentially alter not only its expression level, but also the timing of its expression.

Levylämmönsiirtimen mitoitus ja optimointi erityisesti lämpöpumpuissa

Työn tavoitteena on laatia käsikirjamainen läpileikkaus levylämmönsiirtimen rakenteesta ja käytöstä lämpöpumppulaitteistoissa. Kylmäprosessin tarkastelun lisäksi on eri lähteistä haettu yhtälöitä lämmönsiirron ja painehäviönlaskentaan. Lähdeaineistona on käytetty lämmönsiirron oppikirjoja, joiden lisäksi on käyty läpi suuri joukko tieteellisen tutkimuksen julkaisemia tutkimusraportteja levylämmönsiirtimen mitoituksesta erilaisissa käyttökohteissa. Oppikirjoissa ei ole esitetty varsinaisesti levylämmönsiirtimen laskentamenetelmiä, vaan niissä esitetään lämmönsiirron perusyhtälöt. Varsinainen lämmönsiirtolevyprofiilin laskentaan perustuva lähdeaineisto on löytynyt lämmönsiirtoon erikoistuneista julkaisuista. Lämmönsiirto tapahtuu aina kuumemmasta kylmempään tilaan. Lämmönsiirto eri virtausaineiden välillä toteutetaan lämmönsiirtimien avulla. Lämmönsiirrintyyppejä on olemassa lukuisia, joista yksi yleisesti käytetty tyyppi on levylämmönsiirrin. Tässä konstruktiossa on mahdutettu paljon lämmönsiirtopintaa ulkomitoiltaan pieneen tilaan. Tämä siirrintyyppi on eduksi silloin, kun virtaavat aineet ovat puhtaita ja niillä ei ole likaavaa vaikutusta lämmönsiirtopinnoille. Lämpöpumpulla tarkoitetaan laitetta, jolla voidaan käyttää hyödyksi lämmönlähteen matalaa lämpötilatasoa nostamalla lämpötilatasoa kompressorin puristustyön avulla korkeampaan lämpötilatasoon. Lämpöpumppulaitteiston toiminta perustuu kylmäprosessin toimintaan. Kylmäprosessin läpikäynti auttaa lukijaa hahmottamaan, millainen prosessi on kysymyksessä ja mitä komponentteja liittyy kylmäprosessiin. Tässä diplomityössä esitetyt yhtälöt antavat suuntaa, millä tavalla levylämmönsiirtimien ominaisuuksia voidaan laskea ja mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat siirtimien mitoittamiseen. Tarkemmat vaihdinkohtaiset laskentakorrelaatiot muotoutuvat vasta sitten, kun valmis tuote on testattu laboratorio-olosuhteissa ja siitä on saatu lämpötila-, virtaus- ja painesuhteet selville. Tämän jälkeen voidaan mittaustuloksiin perustuen rakentaa matemaattinen malli, jolla laskennallisesti määritelläänvaihtimien ominaisuudet. Lisäksi on esitetty yleisiä tapoja, joilla voidaan määritellä lämmönsiirtimien lämpöpintoja.

Suorituskyvyn mittaaminen ja johtaminen henkilöstön näkökulmasta

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää niitä tekijöitä, joihin yrityksen johdon tulisi kiinnittää huomiota suorituskykyä mitattaessa. Työssä tarkasteltiin tietämystä yrityksen suorituskyvystä, tavoitteista ja niiden mittaamisesta. Lisäksi tutkittiin yritysten sisäistä viestintää, päätöksentekoon vaikuttamista ja palkitsemista. Asioita tarkasteltiin eri ammattiasemissa olevien näkökulmista sekä esimiesaseman ja koulutustason suhteen. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin kyselylomakkeella kahdeksasta yrityksestä, vastauksia saatiin 210 kappaletta. Aineiston analysoinnissa käytettiin ristiintaulukointia ja -2- riippumattomuustestiä. Tutkimuksen tuloksena selvisi, että tieto omasta työstä ja sen tavoitteista on hyvällä tasolla. Henkilökohtaiseen kanssakäymiseen perustuvaa viestintää pidettiin parhaimpana. Omaan työhön ja tiimiin liittyvät päätökset olivat niitä, joihin haluttaisiin tulevaisuudessa vaikuttaa eniten. Palkitsemiskeinoista rahaa pidettiin parhaana, myös vapaa-aika ja kiitokset esimieheltä sekä työkaverilta miellyttivät vastaajia.

KCTD13 is a major driver of mirrored neuroanatomical phenotypes of the 16p11.2 copy number variant.

Copy number variants (CNVs) are major contributors to genetic disorders. We have dissected a region of the 16p11.2 chromosome--which encompasses 29 genes--that confers susceptibility to neurocognitive defects when deleted or duplicated. Overexpression of each human transcript in zebrafish embryos identified KCTD13 as the sole message capable of inducing the microcephaly phenotype associated with the 16p11.2 duplication, whereas suppression of the same locus yielded the macrocephalic phenotype associated with the 16p11.2 deletion, capturing the mirror phenotypes of humans. Analyses of zebrafish and mouse embryos suggest that microcephaly is caused by decreased proliferation of neuronal progenitors with concomitant increase in apoptosis in the developing brain, whereas macrocephaly arises by increased proliferation and no changes in apoptosis. A role for KCTD13 dosage changes is consistent with autism in both a recently reported family with a reduced 16p11.2 deletion and a subject reported here with a complex 16p11.2 rearrangement involving de novo structural alteration of KCTD13. Our data suggest that KCTD13 is a major driver for the neurodevelopmental phenotypes associated with the 16p11.2 CNV, reinforce the idea that one or a small number of transcripts within a CNV can underpin clinical phenotypes, and offer an efficient route to identifying dosage-sensitive loci.

Influence of "historic" photoperiod during stem elongation on the number of fertile florets in wheat

Extending the duration of the late reproductive phase in wheat has been proposed as a possible avenue to improve spike fertility. There is a positive correlation between the number of fertile florets and the duration of the stem elongation phase when this phase is varied by extended photoperiod. Photoperiod treatments imposed during the vegetative period also influence the duration of stem elongation. The present study analysed the effect of long photoperiod (19 h) of different duration (10, 12, 14, 18 or 22 d) imposed before the onset of stem elongation on floret fertility in wheat. It was found that the length of the stem elongation phase was modified by earlier ‘historic ’ photoperiod treatments imposed during previous phases. However, neither the number of fertile florets per spike nor the spikelet fertility was affected significantly by these historic treatments. The results of the study therefore showed that an increased duration of the late reproductive phase was ineffective in increasing the number of fertile florets, unless the length of that phase was directly altered by current photoperiod.