A How-To Guide for Incorporating a Nonprofit Organization

Forming a nonprofit can be a daunting task and is a detailed operation. It involves a great deal of paperwork, time, effort and devotion by its founders, founding board and initial stakeholders. However, the satisfaction of contributing to an organization and being part of a change movement can be extremely rewarding. Hopefully this booklet has provided you with information to consider in the beginning phases in the life of a nonprofit organization and has helped to familiarize you with the process and requirements involved in both the incorporation and obtaining tax-exempt status. While this booklet does not address every detail, it is designed to guide you through the legal and procedural hoops and over the hurdles of incorporating as a nonprofit

Integration of Ares I-X Ground System Modifications with Space Shuttle Operations

This discussion will focus on the development and implementation cycles and their respective challenges of accommodating and integrating with Space Shuttle Operations. There is a difference during the development and implementation cycles while trying to still operate an ongoing program within the same facilities and infrastructure. Due to this unique environment requirements are generated from outside Ares I-X that have significant impacts on design and implementation of those designs. Impacts are technical, schedule, and cost. So in this unique environment besides dealing with changing test flight vehicle changes the system (hardware and team members) must be flexible enough to accommodate operational and manifest changes while still maintaining delivery and performance requirements. The purpose of this session will be to highlight some of these challenges and identify the lessons learned from this experience

Time Resolved Spectroscopy Of Cataclysmic Variables - SS Cygni

NSF AST76-23882, AST 79-06340McDonald Observator

Towards Reengineering the United States Department of Defense: A Financial Case for a Functionally-Aligned, Unified Military Structure

This research examined the potential financial and non-financial benefits of working towards reengineering the Department of Defense (DoD) through the adaptation of a functionally-aligned, unified organizational structure. Based on historical analysis of the DoD\u27s current structure, a proposed DoD structure is presented that aligns operational functions under functional corps and support functions under existing defense-wide agencies and field activities. An analysis of overlapping functionality between services provided the basis for quantitative analysis of size-of-force and budget request data for Fiscal Year 2013 (FY2013). This analysis enabled the comparison of operational efficiency between services. These rates were used to benchmark operational efficiency across the DoD. An estimate of savings for each function was assessed by comparing the actual budget request for FY2013 against the estimated budget request under the proposed structure. Through sensitivity analysis, estimated savings from these functional areas ranged between $7 Billion and$100 Billion for FY2013. Analysis of existing literature highlighted non-financial implications of adopting a functionally-aligned, unified DoD structure. Recommendations for future research include the need for an Activity-Based Costing and Budgeting system to identify actual costs of DoD functions

Quality circles in education

Dewar (1984) defines Quality Circles as a group of people who voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to identify, analyze, and solve quality and other problems in their area (p. 5). A review of the literature indicates that the Quality Circle concept is similar to participatory management or Theory Z management. Crisci, (1983), and Torrance, (1982) has identified Japan as having been given substantial credit for originating the Quality Circle movement. However, history tells us that two Americans, Dr. W.E. Deming and Dr. J.M. Juran were sent to Japan following World War II to help Japanese manufacturers develop methods of producing quality products and therefore began that country\u27s recovery procedure on solid footing

South Dakotans at Work

The nation\u27s industries-and the jobs associated with those industries-are being created, destroyed, or moved at an accelerating pace. The impact on the U.S. economy is large, and the western plains states of the North-Central Region have been particularly vulnerable to these changes. In South Dakota the changes have been especially dramatic

Space Separatism: Degree of Differentiation

Space is so important that the DOD recognizes it as one of five domains in which US forces operate (the other four are land, sea, air, and information). In 2001 Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld designated the Department of the Air Force (DAF) the “Executive Agent for Space for the DOD.” Given the national importance of space activities, the formation of a separate space force has been a topic of persistent discussion in academic and doctrinal circles ever since the United States first entered the space age. Proponents of a separate force argue that because space is an inherently unique domain, forces operating there should be organized, trained, equipped, and funded separately—as are air, land, and sea forces. Opponents highlight the interconnectedness of space activities in the other domains as primary justification for maintaining the status quo

CCD data acquisition systems at Lick and Keck Observatories

This paper will describe and compare two distinct but related CCD data acquisition systems (DAS) currently under development at Lick and Keck Observatories. Although these two systems have a number of major architectural differences, they share a considerable amount of common hardware and software. Both of these new systems build on a large body of proven software that is the foundation of the existing CCD DAS currently in use at Lick Observatory. Both will provide support for reading up to four on-chip amplifiers per CCD and/or reading out mosaics of CCD chips. In addition, they will provide the capability for interactive, real-time adjustment of CCD waveforms for engineering purposes. Each of these two systems is composed of three major subsystems: (1) an instrument computer and its software; (2) a data capture computer and its software; and (3) a CCD/dewar controller and its software. The instrument computer is a Unix workstation, and the functions it provides include user interfaces, the interactive real-time display of CCD images, and the recording of image and FITS header data to disk and/or tape. The data capture computer is responsible for the packaging and high-speed transfer of the CCD pixel data stream into a bulk RAM, and the subsequent transfer of this data to the instrument computer. The CCD/dewar controller generates the waveforms for clocking the CCD, digitizes the pixel data, and transmits it via high-speed link to the data capture computer. It is also responsible for monitoring and controlling the dewar temperature and cryogen levels. Given the number of different types of processors and high-speed data links employed in both systems, a major emphasis of this paper will be on the various forms of interprocessor communications utilized for data transfer and distributed process synchronization

Selected Chemical Modifications of Red Oak and Hard Maple Flakes for Flakeboard Manufacturing

The feasibility of using low chemical concentrations, time, and pressure for modifying red oak and hard maple flakes was investigated. Red oak and hard maple flakes were pretreated with water, sodium hydroxide, and acetic acid for different times and pressures to determine weight loss. The chemically modified flakes were processed into flakeboards. Untreated aspen, red oak, and hard maple panels were used as controls. Compared to the hard maple controls, hard maple panels had a reduction in press closing time for all treatment levels. However, a reduction in press closing time for treated red oak compared to red oak controls was evident only for very high weight loss values. Weight loss for red oak and hard maple can be controlled, and it appeared that acetic acid treatments produced better properties for both species compared to sodium hydroxide or water treatments. Mechanical properties were reduced in hard maple for all treatments and in red oak for some treatments, particularly sodium hydroxide treatments. Bending strength values for acetic acid-treated red oak panels were not significantly different from red oak control values. Water and acetic acid treatments for red oak produced similar dimensional stability values compared to red oak controls. This indicated that weight loss can be controlled without detriment to the dimensional stability of the panels. Density, internal bond, thickness swell, water absorption, and linear expansion values for red oak control and acetic acid-treated red oak panels compared favorably with aspen control panels. Density, internal bond, thickness swell, water absorption, and linear expansion values for hard maple control and linear expansion values for water and acetic acid-treated hard maple panels also compared favorably with aspen control panels

Impact of obesity on acyclovir-induced nephrotoxicity

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Triamcinolone acetonide (TA), an intermediate acting corticosteroid, is used in the treatment of posterior ocular diseases, such as inflammation, posterior uveitis, and diabetic macular edema. The objective of this investigation was to prepare TA-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (TA-SLNs) and in situ gel (TA-SLN-IG) formulations for delivery into the deeper ocular tissues through the topical route. TA-SLNs were prepared by hot homogenization and ultrasonication method using glyceryl monostearate and Compritol® 888ATO as solid lipids and Tween®80 and Pluronic® F-68 as surfactants. TA-SLNs were optimized and converted to TA-SLN-IG by the inclusion of gellan gum and evaluated for their rheological properties.In vitro transcorneal permeability and in vivo ocular distribution of the TA-SLNs and TA-SLN-IG were studied using isolated rabbit corneas and New Zealand albino rabbits, respectively, and compared with TA suspension, used as control (TA-C). Particle size, PDI, zeta potential, assay, and entrapment efficiency of TA-SLNs were in the range of 200–350 nm, 0.3–0.45, −52.31 to −64.35 mV, 70–98%, and 97–99%, respectively. TA-SLN-IG with 0.3% gellan gum exhibited better rheological properties. The transcorneal permeability of TA-SLN and TA-SLN-IG was 10.2 and 9.3-folds higher compared to TA-C. TA-SLN-IG showed maximum tear concentration at 2 h, indicating an improved pre-corneal residence time, as well as higher concentrations in aqueous humor, vitreous humor and cornea at 6 h, suggesting sustained delivery of the drug into the anterior and posterior segment ocular tissues, when compared to TA-SLN and TA-C. The results, therefore, demonstrate that the lipid based nanoparticulate system combined with the in situ gelling agents can be a promising drug delivery platform for the deeper ocular tissues