Is it Time for UNLV to Reform its Classified Personnel System?

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a fast growing institution and is the largest public university in Nevada. However, it cannot create its own rules for the administration of its classified personnel system. Many large public universities possess this ability and function independently. This is in direct contrast to the traditional role of other state agencies and the administration of civil service rules for their classified personnel. This paper addresses the prevalence of independent classified personnel systems in public universities and presents a review of current movements in that direction. The paper also presents a case study of an independent classified personnel system of a public university. At the conclusion of this paper, implications of a possible move by UNLV toward an independent system are examined

Assessing progress in protecting non-smokers from secondhand smoke

Objective To examine trends in population exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) and consider two exposure metrics as appropriate targets for tobacco control policymakers. Design Comparison of adult non-smokers’ salivary cotinine data available from eleven Scottish Health Surveys between 1998 and 2016. Methods The proportions of non-smoking adults who had measurable levels of cotinine in their saliva were calculated for the eleven time points. The Geometric Mean (GM) concentrations of cotinine levels were calculated using Tobit regression. Changes in both parameters were assessed for the whole period and also for the years since implementation of smoke-free legislation in Scotland in 2006. Results Salivary cotinine expressed as a GM fell from 0.464 ng/ml (95% CI 0.444-0.486 ng/ml) in 1998 to 0.013 ng/ml (95% CI 0.009-0.020 ng/ml) in 2016: a reduction of 97.2%. The percentage of non-smoking adults who had no measurable cotinine in their saliva increased by nearly six-fold between 1998 (12.5% [95% CI 11.5%-13.6%]) and 2016 (81.6% [95% CI 78.6%-84.6%]). Reductions in population exposure to SHS have continued even after smoke-free legislation in 2006. Conclusions Scotland has witnessed a dramatic reduction in SHS exposure in the past two decades but there are still nearly one in five non-smoking adults who have measurable exposure to SHS on any given day. Tobacco control strategies globally should consider the use of both the proportion of non-smoking adults with undetectable salivary cotinine and the GM as targets to encourage policies that achieve a smoke-free future

Probing small-x parton densities in proton- proton (-nucleus) collisions in the very forward direction

We present calculations of several pp scattering cross sections with potential applications at the LHC. Significantly large rates for momentum fraction, x, as low as 10^-7 are obtained, allowing for possible extraction of quark and gluon densities in the proton and nuclei down to these small x values provided a detector with good acceptance at maximal rapidities is used.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, 12 figures, uses revtex.st

Biochemistry of the sphingolipides. X. Phytoglycolipide, a complex phytosphingosine‐containing lipide from plant seeds

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141721/1/aocs0335.pd

Hectospec, the MMT's 300 Optical Fiber-Fed Spectrograph

The Hectospec is a 300 optical fiber fed spectrograph commissioned at the MMT in the spring of 2004. A pair of high-speed six-axis robots move the 300 fiber buttons between observing configurations within ~300 s and to an accuracy ~25 microns. The optical fibers run for 26 m between the MMT's focal surface and the bench spectrograph operating at R~1000-2000. Another high dispersion bench spectrograph offering R~5,000, Hectochelle, is also available. The system throughput, including all losses in the telescope optics, fibers, and spectrograph peaks at ~10% at the grating blaze in 1" FWHM seeing. Correcting for aperture losses at the 1.5" diameter fiber entrance aperture, the system throughput peaks at $\sim$17%. Hectospec has proven to be a workhorse instrument at the MMT. Hectospec and Hectochelle together were scheduled for 1/3 of the available nights since its commissioning. Hectospec has returned \~60,000 reduced spectra for 16 scientific programs during its first year of operation.Comment: 68 pages, 28 figures, to appear in December 2005 PAS

Aeronautic Instruments. Section V : Power Plant Instruments

Part 1 gives a general discussion of the uses, principles, construction, and operation of airplane tachometers. Detailed description of all available instruments, both foreign and domestic, are given. Part 2 describes methods of tests and effect of various conditions encountered in airplane flight such as change of temperature, vibration, tilting, and reduced air pressure. Part 3 describes the principal types of distance reading thermometers for aircraft engines, including an explanation of the physical principles involved in the functioning of the instruments and proper filling of the bulbs. Performance requirements and testing methods are given and a discussion of the source of error and results of tests. Part 4 gives methods of tests and calibration, also requirements of gauges of this type for the pressure measurement of the air pressure in gasoline tanks and the engine oil pressure on airplanes. Part 5 describes two types of gasoline gauges, the float type and the pressure type. Methods of testing and calibrating gasoline depth gauges are given. The Schroeder, R. A. E., and the Mark II flowmeters are described

Enhancing therapeutic vaccination by blocking PD-1–mediated inhibitory signals during chronic infection

Therapeutic vaccination is a potentially promising strategy to enhance T cell immunity and viral control in chronically infected individuals. However, therapeutic vaccination approaches have fallen short of expectations, and effective boosting of antiviral T cell responses has not always been observed. One of the principal reasons for the limited success of therapeutic vaccination is that virus-specific T cells become functionally exhausted during chronic infections. We now provide a novel strategy for enhancing the efficacy of therapeutic vaccines. In this study, we show that blocking programmed death (PD)-1/PD-L1 inhibitory signals on exhausted CD8+ T cells, in combination with therapeutic vaccination, synergistically enhances functional CD8+ T cell responses and improves viral control in mice chronically infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. This combinatorial therapeutic vaccination was effective even in the absence of CD4+ T cell help. Thus, our study defines a potent new approach to augment the efficacy of therapeutic vaccination by blocking negative signals. Such an approach may have broad applications in developing treatment strategies for chronic infections in general, and perhaps also for tumors