The Relational Effect University Momentum Has On Philanthropic Support

Higher Education in the United States is a complex industry with fierce competition. A university’s success and momentum are impacted by numerous internal and external factors. The level of an institution’s philanthropic support often mirrors the level of its overall success. Concerns exist over the continued financial affordability of Christian higher education for students. Prior research has identified a correlation between various institutional characteristics and the generation of philanthropic support. Based on the literature review, the following characteristics were studied to determine their ability to predict alumni giving: enrollment, endowment balance, financial responsibility score, graduation rate, institutional age, presidential tenure, retention rate, student debt, student loan default rate, and student selectivity. This study reinforced an idea evident throughout the literature, that institutional characteristics in higher education are often highly correlated with one another. Success in one area of an institution will likely predict success in another area as well. This study revealed graduation rate as the strongest predictor of alumni giving among the study sample. Student debt and institutional size were also significant predictors of alumni giving rate. University administrators and boards might benefit from using these results to guide strategic planning efforts and to train faculty and staff of the significant correlations between these and other variables that affect university momentum and alumni giving

Groundwater Flow andWater Quality – A Flowpath Study in the SeminoleWell Field, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

In Iowa, alluvial aquifers near major rivers are a source of water for many communities. The City of Cedar Rapids withdraws water from wells completed in the Cedar River alluvium, a shallow alluvial aquifer adjacent to the Cedar River. The City of Cedar Rapids is located within Linn County in east-central Iowa, and water for the City is supplied by four well fields (East, Northwest, Seminole, and West well fields) along the Cedar River. The City has a population of about 121,000, and several large industries are major water users. Currently, per capita water usage in the City is nearly three times the national average. The City is committed to providing both a high quality and quantity of water to its customers. The USGS and Cedar Rapids Water Department have been working together in an ongoing research program to better understand water quality and flow in the Cedar River and alluvial well fields. Work has been done on both a basin and well-field approach and has involved dye tracing/time-of-travel studies on the Cedar River, water-quality sampling, geochemical modeling, and groundwater-flow modeling

Z2SAL: a translation-based model checker for Z

Despite being widely known and accepted in industry, the Z formal specification language has not so far been well supported by automated verification tools, mostly because of the challenges in handling the abstraction of the language. In this paper we discuss a novel approach to building a model-checker for Z, which involves implementing a translation from Z into SAL, the input language for the Symbolic Analysis Laboratory, a toolset which includes a number of model-checkers and a simulator. The Z2SAL translation deals with a number of important issues, including: mapping unbounded, abstract specifications into bounded, finite models amenable to a BDD-based symbolic checker; converting a non-constructive and piecemeal style of functional specification into a deterministic, automaton-based style of specification; and supporting the rich set-based vocabulary of the Z mathematical toolkit. This paper discusses progress made towards implementing as complete and faithful a translation as possible, while highlighting certain assumptions, respecting certain limitations and making use of available optimisations. The translation is illustrated throughout with examples; and a complete working example is presented, together with performance data

Association of uncontrolled stage I hypertension and the incidence of myocardial infarction or stoke [i.e. stroke]

Myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke are two of the leading causes of death and disability among the populace of the United States. Hypertension is identified as a major risk factor in the development of both of these disease processes. The majority of people who suffer MI or stroke have a preexisting diagnosis of Stage I hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure between 140 and 159mm/Hg or diastolic blood pressure between 90 and 99mm/Hg. Studies have shown that the incidence of hypertension is greatest among Americans aged 60 and older. Patients who receive home health services have been shown to have greater risk factors for uncontrolled hypertension than the general population. Many studies have been conducted that show direct correlations between both the degree of hypertension and the time of day hypertension is experienced and the incidence of MI and stroke. There are also studies available that present findings of the long-term affects of hypertension on the human body and the subsequent incidence of MI and stroke. There is a deficit in the literature, however, concerning the association of the length of time one experiences uncontrolled hypertension and his or her developing MI or stroke in the short term of two months or less. This study attempts to measure that association, and add data to the current literature as it relates to the monitoring of blood pressure and treatment of hypertension

Dual Mission Scenarios for the Human Lunar Campaign - Performance, Cost and Risk Benefits

Scenarios for human lunar operations with capabilities significantly beyond Constellation Program baseline missions are potentially feasible based on the concept of dual, sequential missions utilizing a common crew and a single Ares I/CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle). For example, scenarios possible within the scope of baseline technology planning include outpost-based sortie missions and dual sortie missions. Top level cost benefits of these dual sortie scenarios may be estimated by comparison to the Constellation Program reference two-mission-per-year lunar campaign. The primary cost benefit is the accomplishment of Mission B with a "single launch solution" since no Ares I launch is required. Cumulative risk to the crew is lowered since crew exposure to launch risks and Earth return risks are reduced versus comparable Constellation Program reference two-mission-per-year scenarios. Payload-to-the-lunar-surface capability is substantially increased in the Mission B sortie as a result of additional propellant available for Lunar Lander #2 descent. This additional propellant is a result of EDS #2 transferring a smaller stack through trans-lunar injection and using remaining propellant to perform a portion of the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver. This paper describes these dual mission concepts, including cost, risk and performance benefits per lunar sortie site, and provides an initial feasibility assessment

Pseudospectra and structured pseudospectra

Pseudospectra and structured pseudospectra are subsets of the complex plane which give a geometric representation, via eigenvalues, of the effects of perturbations to a matrix. We survey the historical development of the subject, and the definitions and characterizations of the various sets of pseudospectra. Motivated by the fact that a nonnormal matrix in the 2-norm can become normal in a different norm, we describe a numerical investigation into the question of characterizing which perturbations have the greatest effect on the eigenvalues of the matrix

Lunar Lander Structural Design Studies at NASA Langley

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently developing mission architectures, vehicle concepts and flight hardware to support the planned human return to the Moon. During Phase II of the 2006 Lunar Lander Preparatory Study, a team from the Langley Research Center was tasked with developing and refining two proposed Lander concepts. The Descent-Assisted, Split Habitat Lander concept uses a disposable braking stage to perform the lunar orbit insertion maneuver and most of the descent from lunar orbit to the surface. The second concept, the Cargo Star Horizontal Lander, carries ascent loads along its longitudinal axis, and is then rotated in flight so that its main engines (mounted perpendicular to the vehicle longitudinal axis) are correctly oriented for lunar orbit insertion and a horizontal landing. Both Landers have separate crew transport volumes and habitats for surface operations, and allow placement of large cargo elements very close to the lunar surface. As part of this study, lightweight, efficient structural configurations for these spacecraft were proposed and evaluated. Vehicle structural configurations were first developed, and preliminary structural sizing was then performed using finite element-based methods. Results of selected structural design and trade studies performed during this activity are presented and discussed

Interaction between tetraethylammonium and amino acid residues in the pore of cloned voltage-dependent potassium channels

Extracellular tetraethylammonium (TEA) inhibits currents in Xenopus oocytes that have been injected with mRNAs encoding voltage-dependent potassium channels. Concentration-response curves were used to measure the affinity of TEA; this differed up to 700-fold among channels RBK1 (KD 0.3 mM), RGK5 (KD 11 mM), and RBK2 (KD greater than 200 mM). Studies in which chimeric channels were expressed localized TEA binding to the putative extracellular loop between trans-membrane domains S5 and S6. Site-directed mutagenesis of residues in this region identified the residue Tyr379 of RBK1 as a crucial determinant of TEA sensitivity; substitution of Tyr in the equivalent positions of RBK2 (Val381) and RGK5 (His401) made these channels as sensitive to TEA as RBK1. Nonionic forces are involved in TEA binding because (i) substitution of the Phe for Tyr379 in RBK1 increased its affinity, (ii) protonation of His401 in RGK5 selectively reduced its affinity, and (iii) the affinity of TEA was unaffected by changes in ionic strength. The results suggest an explanation for the marked differences in TEA sensitivity that have been observed among naturally occurring and cloned potassium channels and indicate that the amino acid corresponding to residue 379 in RBK1 lies within the external mouth of the ion channel

Weight gain among treatment-naïve persons with HIV starting integrase inhibitors compared to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors or protease inhibitors in a large observational cohort in the United States and Canada.

IntroductionWeight gain following antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is common, potentially predisposing some persons with HIV (PWH) to cardio-metabolic disease. We assessed relationships between ART drug class and weight change among treatment-naïve PWH initiating ART in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD).MethodsAdult, treatment-naïve PWH in NA-ACCORD initiating integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI), protease inhibitor (PI) or non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based ART on/after 1 January 2007 were followed through 31 December 2016. Multivariate linear mixed effects models estimated weight up to five years after ART initiation, adjusting for age, sex, race, cohort site, HIV acquisition mode, treatment year, and baseline weight, plasma HIV-1 RNA level and CD4+ cell count. Due to shorter follow-up for PWH receiving newer INSTI drugs, weights for specific INSTIs were estimated at two years. Secondary analyses using logistic regression and all covariates from primary analyses assessed factors associated with >10% weight gain at two and five years.ResultsAmong 22,972 participants, 87% were male, and 41% were white. 49% started NNRTI-, 31% started PI- and 20% started INSTI-based regimens (1624 raltegravir (RAL), 2085 elvitegravir (EVG) and 929 dolutegravir (DTG)). PWH starting INSTI-based regimens had mean estimated five-year weight change of +5.9kg, compared to +3.7kg for NNRTI and +5.5kg for PI. Among PWH starting INSTI drugs, mean estimated two-year weight change was +7.2kg for DTG, +5.8kg for RAL and +4.1kg for EVG. Women, persons with lower baseline CD4+ cell counts, and those initiating INSTI-based regimens had higher odds of >10% body weight increase at two years (adjusted odds ratio = 1.37, 95% confidence interval: 1.20 to 1.56 vs. NNRTI).ConclusionsPWH initiating INSTI-based regimens gained, on average, more weight compared to NNRTI-based regimens. This phenomenon may reflect heterogeneous effects of ART agents on body weight regulation that require further exploration