1983: Abilene Christian College Bible Lectures - Full Text

LIGHTS IN A WORLD OF DARKNESS Being the Abilene Christian University Annual Bible Lectures 1983 Published by Abilene Christian University Book Store ACU Station Abilene, Texas 7969

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

A forecast of the critical influences on the future organizational structure of upper-level administration of land-grant colleges and universities

Typescript (photocopy).The purpose of this study was to forecast the critical influences on the future organizational structure of upper-level administration of land-grant colleges and universities and to evaluate the relative likelihood of these critical influences occurring in the next ten years. Additionally, an effort was made to identify some future upper-level administrative organizational structure changes needed to meet the most critical of these influences. A Delphi study, utilizing 17 experts nominated by presidents and chancellors of land-grant institutions, was used to forecast these critical influences. These experts generated a list of 132 critical influences in Round One of the Delphi process. In Round Two, the influences were arranged into categories and the expert panel rated the influences on a five point scale from 1 - Certain Not To Occur to 5 - Certain To Occur. In Round Three, the respondents were provided the results of Round Two and asked to review and rescore their positions on the critical influences. Where the experts deviated from the consensus of the group, they were asked to provide statements of rationale for the deviant position. In addition to these "minority reports", the panelists were asked to identify the one influence (or group of influences) believed to be most critical and state what future upper-level administrative organizational structure in land-grant colleges and universities would be needed to meet this forecasted influence. The data developed through the Delphi process and the examination of the literature were used to draw conclusions from the study. Sane of the primary conclusions included: projected growth in support staff and management expertise at the upper-levels of institutional administration; concern for the continuation of the preeminent position of academics; required changes in organization resulting from changes in student demographics; and the need for organizational structures to meet the demands of the Federal and State governments, a changing economy, workforce movements, legal concerns, energy, and growth of technology. In addition, recommendations based on the conclusions of the study were made for use by institutional administrators, and potential areas for future research were suggested

May the good lord bless and keep you, [first line]

Performers: Fred Allen, Louis Armstrong, Eddy Arnold, Phil Baker, Tallulah Bankhead, Vivian Blaine, Charles Boyer, Joe Bushkin, Eddie Cantor, Jack Carson, Mindy Carson, Imogene Coca, Perry Como, Joan Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Jimmy Durante, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Archie Gardner, Phil Harris, Bob Hope, Deborah Kerr, Bert Lahr, Frankie Laine, Sam Levene, Paul Lukas, Dorothy McGuire, Martin & Lewis, Ray Middleton, Lauritz Melchior, Ethel Merman, Robert Merrill, Ken Murray, Margaret O\u27Brien, Edith Piaf, Ezio Pinza, Edward G. Robinson, Phil Silvers, Sons of the Pioneers, Gloria Swanson, Danny Thomas, Margaret Truman, Fran Warren, Clifton Webb, Ed Wynn, Jose FerrerPiano, Voice and Chord

Isotope ratios of H, C, and O in CO2 and H2O of the Martian atmosphere

Stable isotope ratios of H, C, and O are powerful indicators of a wide variety of planetary geophysical processes, and for Mars they reveal the record of loss of its atmosphere and subsequent interactions with its surface such as carbonate formation. We report in situ measurements of the isotopic ratios of D/H and O-18/O-16 in water and C-13/C-12, O-18/O-16, O-17/O-16, and (CO)-C-13-O-18/(CO)-C-12-O-16 in carbon dioxide, made in the martian atmosphere at Gale Crater from the Curiosity rover using the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)'s tunable laser spectrometer (TLS). Comparison between our measurements in the modern atmosphere and those of martian meteorites such as ALH 84001 implies that the martian reservoirs of CO2 and H2O were largely established similar to 4 billion years ago, but that atmospheric loss or surface interaction may be still ongoing