Development of a Model for the Ice Scraping Process Iowa Department of Transportation Project HR 361 Final Report, October 1996

A laboratory study has been conducted with two aims in mind. The first goal was to develop a description of how a cutting edge scrapes ice from the road surface. The second goal was to investigate the extent, if any, to which serrated blades were better than un-serrated or "classical" blades at ice removal. The tests were conducted in the Ice Research Laboratory at the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research of the University of Iowa. A specialized testing machine, with a hydraulic ram capable of attaining scraping velocities of up to 30 m.p.h. was used in the testing. In order to determine the ice scraping process, the effects of scraping velocity, ice thickness, and blade geometry on the ice scraping forces were determined. Higher ice thickness lead to greater ice chipping (as opposed to pulverization at lower thicknesses) and thus lower loads. S~milabr ehavior was observed at higher velocities. The study of blade geometry included the effect of rake angle, clearance angle, and flat width. The latter were found to be particularly important in developing a clear picture of the scraping process. As clearance angle decreases and flat width increases, the scraping loads show a marked increase, due to the need to re-compress pulverized ice fragments. The effect of serrations was to decrease the scraping forces. However, for the coarsest serrated blades (with the widest teeth and gaps) the quantity of ice removed was significantly less than for a classical blade. Finer serrations appear to be able to match the ice removal of classical blades at lower scraping loads. Thus, one of the recommendations of this study is to examine the use of serrated blades in the field. Preliminary work (by Nixon and Potter, 1996) suggests such work will be fruitful. A second and perhaps more challenging result of the study is that chipping of ice is more preferable to pulverization of the ice. How such chipping can be forced to occur is at present an open question.

La pratique basée sur les résultats probants. Partie 2: Les étapes du processus [Evidence-based practice: Part 2: Steps in the process].

Evidence-based (EBP) aims for a new distribution of power centered on scientific evidence rather than clinical expertise. The present article describes the operational process of EBP by describing the implementation stages of this type of practise. This stage presentation is essential given that there are many conceptions end models of EBP and that some nurses have a limited knowledge of its rules ans implications. Given that number and formulation of the stages varies by author, the process presented here attempts to integrate the different stages reviewed.

Review of the Iowa Department of Human Services Drug Testing Process for Drug Testing of a Person Responsible for the Care of a Child in Child Abuse Cases, December 1, 2008

This report outlines the current drug testing practices, guidelines, programs and initiatives as currently implemented by the Department regarding the process for drug testing of a person responsible for the care of a child in child abuse cases.

Iowa Power Fund Board Project Report Update, July 29, 2009

Amana Farms is using an anaerobic digestion, which is a two-stage digester that converts manure and other organic wastes into three valuable by-products: 1) Biogas – to fuel an engine/generator set to create electricity; 2) Biosolids - used as a livestock bedding material or as a soil amendment; 3) Liquid stream - will be applied as a low-odor fertilizer to growing crops. (see Business Plan appendix H) The methane biogas will be collected from the two stages of the anaerobic digestion vessel and used for fuel in the combined heat and power engine/generator sets. The engine/generator sets are natural gasfueled reciprocating engines modified to burn biogas. The electricity produced by the engine/generator sets will be used to offset on-farm power consumption and the excess power will be sold directly to Amana Society Service Company as a source of green power. The waste heat, in the form of hot water, will be collected from both the engine jacket liquid cooling system and from the engine exhaust (air) system. Approximately 30 to 60% of this waste heat will be used to heat the digester. The remaining waste heat will be used to heat other farm buildings and may provide heat for future use for drying corn or biosolids. The digester effluent will be pumped from the effluent pit at the end of the anaerobic digestion vessel to a manure solids separator. The mechanical manure separator will separate the effluent digested waste stream into solid and liquid fractions. The solids will be dewatered to approximately a 35% solid material. Some of the separated solids will be used by the farm for a livestock bedding replacement. The remaining separated solids may be sold to other farms for livestock bedding purposes or sold to after-markets, such as nurseries and composters for soil amendment material. The liquid from the manure separator, now with the majority of the large solids removed, will be pumped into the farm’s storage lagoon. A significant advantage of the effluent from the anaerobic digestion treatment process is that the viscosity of the effluent is such that the liquid effluent can now be pumped through an irrigation nozzle for field spreading.

Crosstalk between neutrophils and dendritic cells: a context-dependent process.

Neutrophils are massively and rapidly recruited following infection. They migrate to the site of acute infection and also transiently to dLNs. In addition to their well-established role as microbial killers, accumulating evidence shows that neutrophils can play an immunoregulatory role. Neutrophils were recently shown to influence the activation of different leukocyte types including NK cells, B cells, and DCs. DCs are professional APCs playing a key role to the launching and regulation of the immune response; thus, crosstalk between neutrophils and resident or newly recruited DCs may have a direct impact on the development of the antigen-specific immune response and thereby, on the outcome of infection. Neutrophils may regulate DC recruitment and/or activation. We will review here recent progress in the field, including those presented during the first international symposium on "Neutrophil in Immunity", held in Québec, Canada, in June 2012, and discuss how neutrophil regulatory action on DCs may differ depending on the type of invading microorganism and local host factors.

Drug Court Process Evaluation Report, February 2008

The Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation conducted a process evaluation in 2007 on the seven adult and juvenile drug courts existing in Iowa in 2003. (A list of adult and juvenile drug courts established in Iowa from 2004 through 2007 appears in the appendix.) The drug courts evaluated in this study differ on several important factors, including the judicial supervision model used, resources available, and the severity level of clients served. The divergent resources and clients should be considered when comparing outcomes across courts. Section 1 provides an overview of each drug court included in this study.

Statewide Process and Comparative Outcomes Study of 2003 Iowa Adult and Juvenile Drug Courts, August 2009

A statewide evaluation of the six adult and three juvenile drug courts in operation during calendar year 2003 was conducted. Completion rates, recidivism, substance abuse treatment, and supervision and placement (juveniles only) costs were examined by model (Judge and Community Panel) and by Judicial District. In addition, adult drug court participants were compared with a group of offenders who were screened and declined or were rejected by drug court in 2003 (referred) and a sample of offenders starting probation in 2003 (probationer). The adult participant and comparison groups were tracked from their entry into drug court, or the study, through December 31, 2007. This yielded an average post-program follow-up time of almost 3 years (2.9) for drug court participants. For the juvenile portion, drug court participants were compared with a group matched on several demographic and offense variables (Matched Comparison group) and juveniles referred to drug court who did not enter the program (Referred Comparison group). The juvenile participant and comparison groups were tracked from their entry into drug court, or the study, through approximately 16 quarters after program discharge with an end date of December 31, 2007.

Process and Outcome Evaluation of the STAR (Sisters Together Achieving Recovery) Program, September, 2010

In July of 2009, the Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning (CJJP) received Byrne Justice Assistance Grant/American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding from the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy to conduct a process and outcome evaluation of the STAR (Sisters Together Achieving Recovery) program housed at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women (ICIW) in Mitchellville, Iowa. The STAR Program is a licensed inpatient substance abuse treatment program that utilizes a Therapeutic Community model (TC). All offenders exiting the STAR program between October 1, 2004 and June 30, 2008 were included in the study (n=173). A comparison sample was drawn of offenders exiting the ICIW during the same release time frame with identified but untreated substance abuse needs (n= 173). March 31, 2010 was designated as the cut-off date for the study. This yielded an average post-program follow-up time of 3.1 years. The STAR group was further divided into two groups by time of program exit. Participants exiting the program between October 1, 2004 and June 30, 2006 were designated as STAR 1 (n=78) and those exiting the program between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2008 were designated as STAR 2 (n=95). In order to have comparable tracking time between STAR groups, tracking time for STAR 1 concluded July 31, 2008. This yielded an average post release follow-up time of 2.4 years for both groups. Demographic, Program, Intervention, and Outcome data were examined. Comparisons were made between groups as well as categories of participation.

A process for mining science & technology documents databases, illustrated for the case of "knowledge discovery and data mining"

This paper presents a process of mining research & development abstract databases to profile current status and to project potential developments for target technologies, The process is called "technology opportunities analysis." This article steps through the process using a sample data set of abstracts from the INSPEC database on the topic o "knowledge discovery and data mining." The paper offers a set of specific indicators suitable for mining such databases to understand innovation prospects. In illustrating the uses of such indicators, it offers some insights into the status of knowledge discovery research*.

State of Iowa Appropriations Process, 2013

State of Iowa Appropriations Process. Flow chart of the process.