Crawford County Area Solid Waste Agency Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2005

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Body surface area and body weight predict total liver volume in Western adults.

Computed tomography (CT) is used increasingly to measure liver volume in patients undergoing evaluation for transplantation or resection. This study is designed to determine a formula predicting total liver volume (TLV) based on body surface area (BSA) or body weight in Western adults. TLV was measured in 292 patients from four Western centers. Liver volumes were calculated from helical computed tomographic scans obtained for conditions unrelated to the hepatobiliary system. BSA was calculated based on height and weight. Each center used a different established method of three-dimensional volume reconstruction. Using regression analysis, measurements were compared, and formulas correlating BSA or body weight to TLV were established. A linear regression formula to estimate TLV based on BSA was obtained: TLV = -794.41 + 1,267.28 x BSA (square meters; r(2) = 0.46; P <.0001). A formula based on patient weight also was derived: TLV = 191.80 + 18.51 x weight (kilograms; r(2) = 0.49; P <.0001). The newly derived TLV formula based on BSA was compared with previously reported formulas. The application of a formula obtained from healthy Japanese individuals underestimated TLV. Two formulas derived from autopsy data for Western populations were similar to the newly derived BSA formula, with a slight overestimation of TLV. In conclusion, hepatic three-dimensional volume reconstruction based on helical CT predicts TLV based on BSA or body weight. The new formulas derived from this correlation should contribute to the estimation of TLV before liver transplantation or major hepatic resection.

Shelby County Area Solid Waste Agency, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statement and Required Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2006

Other Audit Reports - 28E Organizations

Get a GRIP: Should Area Revenue Coverage Be Offered through the Farm Bill or as a Crop Insurance Program? 2007

The successful expansion of the U.S. crop insurance program has not eliminated ad hoc disaster assistance. An alternative currently being explored by members of Congress and others in preparation of the 2007 farm bill is to simply remove the “ad hoc” part of disaster assistance programs by creating a standing program that would automatically funnel aid to hard-hit regions and crops. One form such a program could take can be found in the area yield and area revenue insurance programs currently offered by the U.S. crop insurance program. The Group Risk Plan (GRP) and Group Risk Income Protection (GRIP) programs automatically trigger payments when county yields or revenues, respectively, fall below a producer-elected coverage level. The per-acre taxpayer costs of offering GRIP in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa for corn and soybeans through the crop insurance program are estimated. These results are used to determine the amount of area revenue coverage that could be offered to farmers as part of a standing farm bill disaster program. Approximately 55% of taxpayer support for GRIP flows to the crop insurance industry. A significant portion of this support comes in the form of net underwriting gains. The expected rate of return on money put at risk by private crop insurance companies under the current Standard Reinsurance Agreement is approximately 100%. Taking this industry support and adding in the taxpayer support for GRIP that flows to producers would fund a county target revenue program at the 93% coverage level.

Campo Musical Cabo-verdiano da Area Metropolitana de Lisboa Protoganistas, Identidades e Musica Imigrante

Portugal é um país que acolhe, desde a década de 60 do século pretérito, uma das mais expressivas comunidades africanas – a cabo-verdiana –, cuja característica saliente é marcada, designadamente, pela presença de uma significativa e dinâmica cultura transnacional. A música, através dos seus mais variados géneros e formas, representa seguramente a dimensão mais importante desta diversificada população imigrante, juntamente com a língua cabo-verdiana. Daí o interesse no conhecimento, tanto quanto possível aprofundado, da realidade musical cabo-verdiana em contexto imigratório, a partir de um olhar atento sobre o chamado campo musical, ancorado particularmente na Área Metropolitana de Lisboa (AML). Interessada em caracterizar, nos seus aspectos essenciais, o campo da música migrante cabo-verdiana na Área Metropolitana de Lisboa, esta investigação propõe-se descrever e analisar o funcionamento do campo da música migrante cabo-verdiana, observando a sua configuração, tanto no plano estrutural das relações sociais no seu interior e com o seu exterior, das trajectórias, práticas e perfis sociográficos dos músicos, como no plano simbólico/cultural das representações, identidades, representações e culturas profissionais, com base numa amostra de 102 casos, à qual foi aplicado um inquérito por questionário, para além de métodos qualitativos, designadamente a entrevista em profundidade e o focus group, de forma combinada e de acordo com o princípio da triangulação metodológica.

Músicos imigrantes cabo-verdianos na Area Metropolitana de Lisboa

Portugal é um país que acolhe, desde a década de 60 do século pretérito, uma das mais expressivas comunidades africanas – a cabo-verdiana –, cuja característica saliente é marcada, designadamente, pela presença de uma significativa e dinâmica cultura transnacional. A música, através dos seus mais variados géneros e formas, representa seguramente a dimensão mais importante desta diversificada população imigrante, juntamente com a língua cabo-verdiana. Daí o interesse no conhecimento, tanto quanto possível aprofundado, da realidade musical cabo-verdiana em contexto imigratório, a partir de um olhar atento sobre o chamado campo musical ancorado particularmente na Área Metropolitana de Lisboa (AML). Aliás, tal como refere o título, propomo-nos analisar, rapidamente, os perfis e os trajectos dos músicos imigrantes cabo-verdianos fixados na AML, com base numa amostra de 102 casos seleccionados através do método da denominada “bola de neve” e por via de um inquérito por questionário. Tal análise insere-se dentro de uma investigação mais ampla em curso, que se prende com a caracterização do multifacetado campo musical cabo-verdiano nesta vasta área geográfica, tendo em mira a avaliação do contributo da música para o processo de incorporação dos seus principais agentes, em especial, no país de fixação. Refira-se que, do ponto de vista da definição do seu perfil social no espaço metropolitano lisboeta em análise, o músico imigrante não se limita exclusivamente ao exercício da actividade musical propriamente dita, mas exerce outras profissões em paralelo, sobretudo nos domínios da construção civil e da restauração, porquanto a actividade musical em Portugal não é uma grande fonte geradora de rendimentos, suficientemente autónoma e lucrativa.

Audit report on the Crawford County Area Solid Waste Agency Commission for the year ended June 30, 2006.

Audit report on the Crawford County Area Solid Waste Agency Commission for the year ended June 30, 2006.

Assessement of Malaria Transmission in an Area with Very Low Mosquito Density

The increase in world travel in recent years, especially to and from areas where vector-borne diseases are endemic, has resulted in a substantial rise in imported cases of those diseases. In particular, malaria is a cause of concern. In those countries at the edge of its distribution, it can be difficult to distinguish between autochthonous and imported cases. However, distinguishing between the two is important because of the different allocation of resources to combat the disease that each requires. In general, observation of the various stages of parasite development in wild-caught female mosquitoes is considered evidence of autochthonous transmission. Observation of oocysts in the mosquito mid-gut testifies that mosquitoes are susceptible to infection but conclusions cannot be reached about their ability to complete the transmission cycle. Perhaps the best indication of autochthonous transmission is microscopic observation of sporozoites in mosquito salivary glands, since this detects parasites ready to be inoculated (BELER et al., 1990). Detection of circumsporozoite protein (CSP)(BURKOT, WILLIAMS & SCHNEIDER, 1984) in dry mosquito thoraxes, by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is also widely used to determine transmission, especially when large numbers of mosquitoes need to be processed. Such assays provide information about the parasite species infecting the mosquito (BURKOT & WIRTZ, 1986; WIRTZ et al., 1987; BELER et al., 1990).

Setting up a Common European Asylum System : Report on the application of existing instruments and proposals for the new system

The study assesses firstly the evaluation process of the first generation of asylum instruments while underlining the possibilities to improve it. It analyses secondly the asylum "acquis" regarding distribution of refugees between Member States, the eligibility for protection, the status of protected persons regarding detention and vulnerability, asylum procedures and the external dimension by formulating short-term recommendations of each area. Its last part is devoted to the long term evolution of the Common European Asylum System regarding the legal context including the accession of the EU to the Geneva Convention, the institutional perspectives including the new European Support Office, the jurisdictional perspective, the substantive perspective, the distributive perspective and the external perspective.

Audit report on America’s Agricultural Industrial Heritage Landscape, Inc., d/b/a Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area (Silos and Smokestacks), in Waterloo, Iowa for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

Audit report on America’s Agricultural Industrial Heritage Landscape, Inc., d/b/a Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area (Silos and Smokestacks), in Waterloo, Iowa for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project-Project Overview, 2007

Water fact sheet for Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Geological Bureau.

Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project-Silver Lake, 2007

Water fact sheet for Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Geological Bureau.

Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project-Center Lake, 2007

Water fact sheet for Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Geological Bureau.

Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project-West Okoboji Lake, 2007

Water fact sheet for Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Geological Bureau.

Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project-Lower Gar Lake, 2007

Water fact sheet for Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Geological Bureau.