Thinking beyond the Sticker Price

Over the last 20 years, the average published sticker price for tuition and fees, and room and board at private, non-profit colleges like Linfield increased by 59 percent while U.S. per capita personal disposable income grew by 32 percent. Since the tuition sticker price rose by more than income, you might conclude that a private college education has become less affordable. But that conclusion could be wrong. To gauge affordability, we must think beyond the sticker price by properly measuring the cost students actually pay and compare that to the benefits of a college education. In economic terms, a college education is more affordable the larger are its benefits relative to its cost

Is There a Student Loan Debt Crisis at Private Colleges?

We’ve all seen media stories about an underemployed, recent college graduate who has $100,000 of student loan debt. Almost without fail the young person’s plight is offered as proof that there is a student loan “debt crisis.

WEBERSAT Operations and Experiment Results

WEBERSAT, a 27 pound LEO satellite launched by the Ariane 40 on January 21, 1990 into an 800 Km polar orbit, carries several inexpensive payload experiments that were developed as a learning experience for engineering students at Weber State College. The experiments include a color CCD camera, a CCD light spectrometer, video flash digitizer, 1.26 GHz NTSC video uplink, micro-impact sensor, and optical horizon sensors. Operational command and control of the spacecraft and its payloads is performed by students in the School of Technology, from a ground station located on the WSC campus. Here, the students and their advisors monitor on-board systems, plan and execute experiments, and observe test results. This paper describes the satellite experiments, ground station requirements, and experiment results as of this date

Master Recital

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Tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte scores effectively stratify outcomes over and above p16 post chemo-radiotherapy in anal cancer

Background: The majority (90%) of anal cancers are human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven, identified using immunochemistry for p16. Compared with HPV? patients, those with HPV+ disease generally show improved survival, although relapse rates around 25% indicate a need for further stratification of this group.Methods: Using two cohorts of anal cancer, previously characterised for p16, we assessed the prognostic value of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).Results: Tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte scores were used to stratify p16+ cases, where tumours with absent/low levels of TIL had a relapse-free rate of 63%, as opposed to 92% with high levels of TIL (log rank P=0.006).Conclusions: Assessment of TIL adds to p16 status in the prognosis of anal cancer following chemo-radiotherapy and provides evidence of the clinical importance of the immune response

XO-2b: Transiting Hot Jupiter in a Metal-rich Common Proper Motion Binary

We report on a V=11.2 early K dwarf, XO-2 (GSC 03413-00005), that hosts a Rp=0.98+0.03/-0.01 Rjup, Mp=0.57+/-0.06 Mjup transiting extrasolar planet, XO-2b, with an orbital period of 2.615857+/-0.000005 days. XO-2 has high metallicity, [Fe/H]=0.45+/-0.02, high proper motion, mu_tot=157 mas/yr, and has a common proper motion stellar companion with 31" separation. The two stars are nearly identical twins, with very similar spectra and apparent magnitudes. Due to the high metallicity, these early K dwarf stars have a mass and radius close to solar, Ms=0.98+/-0.02 Msolar and Rs=0.97+0.02/-0.01 Rsolar. The high proper motion of XO-2 results from an eccentric orbit (Galactic pericenter, Rper<4 kpc) well confined to the Galactic disk (Zmax~100 pc). In addition, the phase space position of XO-2 is near the Hercules dynamical stream, which points to an origin of XO-2 in the metal-rich, inner Thin Disk and subsequent dynamical scattering into the solar neighborhood. We describe an efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm for calculating the Bayesian posterior probability of the system parameters from a transit light curve.Comment: 14 pages, 10 Figures, Accepted in ApJ. Negligible changes to XO-2 system properties. Removed Chi^2 light curve analysis section, and simplified MCMC light curve analysis discussio

Assessing older adult physical activity levels in clinical settings: The modified PAVS for older adults.

Participating in recommended levels of physical activity (PA) is critical for preventing functional decline, falls, and frailty, making it essential to identify older adults not meeting national PA guidelines. However, guidance on assessing older adult PA levels, particularly in clinical settings, is lacking. This article presents an overview of clinically feasible PA assessment tools for older adults, identifies gaps in current tools, and provides recommendations on addressing these gaps. We conducted a literature review on clinically feasible PA assessment tools, suggested modifications to an existing PA assessment for older adult patients, and highlighted opportunities for integrating the modified PA assessment tool in clinical settings. We identified 16 PA assessment tools used in clinical settings. The most widely used tool is the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS), which has been successfully integrated into several electronic health records (EHR) and clinical practices. Most tools, including the PAVS, primarily focus on aerobic activities, with limited consideration for strength and balance. We recommend the use of a Modified PAVS for Older Adults that includes items on muscle-strengthening and balance activities to better align with national PA guidelines. We then identified several existing opportunities for broad implementation of the Modified PAVS for Older Adults within clinical settings. Widespread integration of the Modified PAVS for Older Adults will better support healthcare providers in identifying individuals not meeting national PA recommendations, assisting them in prescribing tailored PA prescriptions and better connecting their patients to appropriate resources and professionals for further support. [Abstract copyright: © 2024 The American Geriatrics Society.

Senior Recital

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