Evaluation of Winter Maintenance with Salt Brine Applications in Wisconsin

Salt has been traditionally used in winter roadway maintenance. Due to driver expectations and level of service, use of salt and cost have significantly increased over the years. Transportation agencies have been introducing responsible and sustainable winter maintenance practices to alleviate impacts on the environment, human health, vehicles, infrastructure, and reduce costs. Salt brine has been implemented in Wisconsin for several years and there is a need to evaluate its performance. Previous research indicated that there may be a significant reduction of salt and time to bare/wet when using salt brine compared to solid salt in Wisconsin. In this research project, data collection and analysis were expanded from previous research efforts to evaluate salt brine performance in terms of amount of salt used, time to bare/wet, pavement friction, and benefit-cost. The methodology consisted of route selection, route and equipment data collection, winter storm event field data collection (weather, material, application rates, and performance), pavement friction data collection, and data analysis (comparison between study and control routes). Field data were collected from 10 counties (Brown, Dane, Jefferson, Marathon, Marquette, Outagamie, Price, Shawano, Washington, and Wood) in Wisconsin and there were 143 storms evaluated during the 2020-2021 winter season. Field data were collected from study and control routes at the same time and under the same weather conditions. Pavement friction data were collected from two counties (Jefferson and Wood). Key findings of this research indicate that salt brine applications reduced the amount of salt used, improved time to bare/wet, presented better pavement friction conditions, and benefits outweighed the cost of investment to introduce salt brine to existing solid salt applications

Motorcycle Licensing and Safety

0092-15-11All Wisconsin residents who plan to operate a Type 1 motorcycle on public roads must have a Class M (Motorcycle) license. In 2012, more than 513,000 Wisconsin residents held a valid Class M License. Data indicates there could be as many as 31,000 unlicensed motorcycle operators in the state without a Class M endorsement. Unlicensed operators account for approximately 35% of motorcycle fatalities, and there is concern that unlicensed operators may not be operating as safely as licensed operators. One component of this study was to gather data on the true safety differences between licensed and unlicensed motorcycle operators. In addition to quantifying the numbers of both operators, this study examines crash data to determine differences in riding habits. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) conducted an initiative to encourage Wisconsin motorcyclists who own registered motorcycles and who are likely riding without appropriate Class M Licensing to successfully complete some form of formal rider education to become compliant under Wisconsin law. To increase compliance and provide outreach to the community, WisDOT needs to have accurate information on how many of these owners do not have a Class M license and their contact information; the safety differences between licensed and unlicensed operators; an analysis of crash data to determine driving habits of unlicensed riders; and an understanding of the major barriers to obtaining licenses

Modeling Formamide Denaturation of Probe-Target Hybrids for Improved Microarray Probe Design in Microbial Diagnostics

Application of high-density microarrays to the diagnostic analysis of microbial communities is challenged by the optimization of oligonucleotide probe sensitivity and specificity, as it is generally unfeasible to experimentally test thousands of probes. This study investigated the adjustment of hybridization stringency using formamide with the idea that sensitivity and specificity can be optimized during probe design if the hybridization efficiency of oligonucleotides with target and non-target molecules can be predicted as a function of formamide concentration. Sigmoidal denaturation profiles were obtained using fluorescently labeled and fragmented 16S rRNA gene amplicon of Escherichia coli as the target with increasing concentrations of formamide in the hybridization buffer. A linear free energy model (LFEM) was developed and microarray-specific nearest neighbor rules were derived. The model simulated formamide melting with a denaturant m-value that increased hybridization free energy (ΔG°) by 0.173 kcal/mol per percent of formamide added (v/v). Using the LFEM and specific probe sets, free energy rules were systematically established to predict the stability of single and double mismatches, including bulged and tandem mismatches. The absolute error in predicting the position of experimental denaturation profiles was less than 5% formamide for more than 90 percent of probes, enabling a practical level of accuracy in probe design. The potential of the modeling approach for probe design and optimization is demonstrated using a dataset including the 16S rRNA gene of Rhodobacter sphaeroides as an additional target molecule. The LFEM and thermodynamic databases were incorporated into a computational tool (ProbeMelt) that is freely available at http://DECIPHER.cee.wisc.edu.© Yilmaz et a

SocialCompetence and Employment of Retarded Persons

Vocational competence may be viewed as the product of three interacting factors: (1) job responsibility, (2) task-production competence, and (3) social vocational competence. Job responsibility refers to behaviors that suggest a commitment to the job, such as being punctual, low absenteeism, and working continuously at job tasks. The second factor, task-production competence, refers to the production of work tasks to company standards for accuracy and for expected rates. Social-vocational competence, a third factor that contributes to vocational competence, refers to the adequacy of an individual\u27s interactions with co-workers or supervisors. These interactions may be directly related to an individual\u27s ability to get along with other workers. This chapter addresses research that has attempted to identify and describe social factors related to the employment success (i.e., social-vocational factors) of mentally retarded individuals. To examine how social competence relates to vocational competence, it is necessary to understand the parameters that define “social” as well as the dimensions that determine “competence”. Generally, social behaviors have been regarded as those behaviors that directly influence the behavior of others or as behaviors by two or more individuals with respect to a common environment. Recent examinations have characterized social behavior in terms of a distinct set of learned skills. That is, social behaviors such as smiling, acknowledging, questioning, or any number of gestures might be combined to produce social skills or social repertoires. Social skills in the workplace may include offering assistance to others, clarifying instructions, or working cooperatively. Individual social skills are important if they contribute to co-worker or employer judgments of overall vocational competence

Additional file 4 of Worldwide clinical practices in perioperative antibiotic therapy for lung transplantation

Additional file 4. Answers to Case 2