Ideal vs. Real Dependent Student Family Contributions

Actual and Congressional Methodology (CM) family contributions were obtained for a sample of first-time beginning college students. The sample consists of 2,544 dependent students attending 396 institutions nationwide, drawn from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 1990 (NPSAS:90). Results indicate that most parents contribute more than the amounts expected by need analysis formulae, but many inequities are present. Judged by the averages, in many instances higher income parents actually contribute less than the CM expectation, while often lower-income parents actually contribute more than the CM expectation. These differences persist regardless of college cost level, even after capping CM contributions not to exceed actual costs. Results also indicate that the range of difference in averaged amounts of financial aid awarded to high-versus low-income families is less than the range of difference in averaged amounts of actual parental support between high- and low-income parents. Policy alternatives to reduce the inequities are discussed

The Federal Student Loan Default Cohort: A Case Study

Over 1, 000 Stafford borrowers who attended a private two-year college were studied. These borrowers represent students in the fiscal year 1990 government default cohort for the institution. In a small sample taken for a pilot study, withdrawal from college appeared to be a significant indicator of potential default status. However, a logistic regression model applied to the entire cohort shows instead that gender, race, age, high school rank of students and their cumulative grade point average at the college are significantly correlated to default status, and that students\u27 amount of classwork taken at the institution reduces the impact of personal characteristics. It is further shown that student enrollment choices (i.e., by campus or by division), their borrowing characteristics (number of loans and total amount borrowed), and their reasons for leaving college (withdrawal or graduation) are not significantly related to default status when statistically controlling for other variables. Some implications for recruitment and academic policies that can indirectly affect default status are discussed

Does Financial Aid Make Students Consider Colleges with a Wider Cost Range?

A reanalysis of American College Testing Program data (Munday, 1976) using multiple regression techniques found systematic relationships between student ability, family income, and college choice set characteristics with the budget, selectivity, and affluence characteristics in the college attended for a general college-bound sample but not for a similar sample of students who had applied for financial aid. Contrasts are drawn to other college choice research findings and implications of the study are discussed

Historical Notes on Regulation in the Federal Student Assistance Programs

Regulation of the federal student financial aid programs has grown and changed dramatically over the last thirty years. Regulations of particular importance to student aid administrators are highlighted. Two conclusions about the recurring concern of the deservedness of the beneficiaries of student aid are suggested

The Influence of Job Prospects on Student Debt Levels of Traditional and Adult Undergraduates

This study investigates academic, social, attitudinal, and behavioral influences on student borrowing. Special attention is paid to the role of labor market data in predicting student borrowing behavior. A student sample was drawn from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. Models were estimated on two outcome measures: willingness to borrow and levels of actual borrowing. Results indicate that substantial differences exist between dependent and independent students in their attitudes toward loans and debt levels. The acceptability of loans hinges largely on whether students perceive that there is any other alternative to reduce their college costs, which implies that loans are generally viewed as a financing mechanism of last resort. Debt levels are much more difficult to predict since the model used here explains only about 20% of the variance in total borrowed

Diverse CD81 proteins support hepatitis C virus infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry is dependent on CD81. To investigate whether the CD81 sequence is a determinant of HCV host range, we expressed a panel of diverse CD81 proteins and tested their ability to interact with HCV. CD81 large extracellular loop (LEL) sequences were expressed as recombinant proteins; the human and, to a low level, the African green monkey sequences bound soluble HCV E2 (sE2) and inhibited infection by retrovirus pseudotype particles bearing HCV glycoproteins (HCVpp). In contrast, mouse or rat CD81 proteins failed to bind sE2 or to inhibit HCVpp infection. However, CD81 proteins from all species, when expressed in HepG2 cells, conferred susceptibility to infection by HCVpp and cell culture-grown HCV to various levels, with the rat sequence being the least efficient. Recombinant human CD81 LEL inhibited HCVpp infectivity only if present during the virus-cell incubation, consistent with a role for CD81 after virus attachment. Amino acid changes that abrogate sE2 binding (I182F, N184Y, and F186S, alone or in combination) were introduced into human CD81. All three amino acid changes in human CD81 resulted in a molecule that still supported HCVpp infection, albeit with reduced efficiency. In summary, there is a remarkable plasticity in the range of CD81 sequences that can support HCV entry, suggesting that CD81 polymorphism may contribute to, but alone does not define, the HCV susceptibility of a species. In addition, the capacity to support viral entry is only partially reflected by assays measuring sE2 interaction with recombinant or full-length CD81 proteins

Ecological Impacts of the 2015/16 El Niño in the Central Equatorial Pacific

The authors thank Cisco Werner (NOAA/NMFS) for proposing this special issue and encouraging our submission. We thank each of the editors, Stephanie Herring, Peter Stott, and Nikos Christidis, for helpful guidance and support throughout the submittal process. We also thank each of the anonymous external reviewers for thoughtful guidance and suggestions to improve the manuscript. REB, TO, RV, AH, and BVA are grateful for support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. AC acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation for the following awards: OCE 1537338, OCE 1605365, and OCE 1031971. This is PMEL contribution no. 4698. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. government. The views expressed in the article are not necessarily those of the U.S. government. (NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program; OCE 1537338 - National Science Foundation; OCE 1605365 - National Science Foundation; OCE 1031971 - National Science Foundation

Prognostic implications of physiologic and radiographic changes in idiopathic interstitial pneumonia

Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias are a diverse group of lung diseases with varied prognoses. We hypothesized that changes in physiologic and radiographic parameters would predict survival. We retrospectively examined 80 patients with usual interstitial pneumonia and 29 patients with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia. Baseline characteristics were examined together with 6-month change in forced vital capacity, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, and ground glass infiltrate and fibrosis on high resolution computed tomography. Patients with usual interstitial pneumonia were more likely to have a statistically significant or marginally significant decline in lung volume, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, and an increase in ground glass infiltrates (p <= 0.08) compared with patients with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia. For patients with usual interstitial pneumonia, change in forced vital capacity was the best physiologic predictor of mortality (p = 0.05). In a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model controlling for histopathologic diagnosis, gender, smoking history, baseline forced vital capacity, and 6-month change in forced vital capacity, a decrease in forced vital capacity remained an independent risk factor for mortality (decrease > 10%; hazard ratio 2.47; 95% confidence interval 1.29, 4.73; p = 0.006). We conclude that a 6-month change in forced vital capacity gives additional prognostic information to baseline features for patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.Supported by National Institutes of Health NHLBI grants P50HL46487, NIH/NCRR 3 MO1 RR00042-33S3, NIH/NIA P60 AG08808-06, NHLBI, 1 K24 HL04212, and 1 K23 HL68713.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91973/1/2003 AJRCCM - Prognostic Implications of Physiologic and Radiographic Changes in Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonia.pd

Gene therapy for aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency: Requirements for safe application and knowledge-generating follow-up

The autosomal recessive defect of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) leads to a severe neurological disorder with manifestation in infancy due to a pronounced, combined deficiency of dopamine, serotonin and catecholamines. The success of conventional drug treatment is very limited, especially in patients with a severe phenotype. The development of an intracerebral AAV2-based gene delivery targeting the putamen or substantia nigra started more than 10 years ago. Recently, the putaminally-delivered construct, Eladocagene exuparvovec has been approved by the European Medicines Agency and by the British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This now available gene therapy provides for the first time also for AADC deficiency (AADCD) a causal therapy, leading this disorder into a new therapeutic era. By using a standardized Delphi approach members of the International Working Group on Neurotransmitter related Disorders (iNTD) developed structural requirements and recommendations for the preparation, management and follow-up of AADC deficiency patients who undergo gene therapy. This statement underlines the necessity of a framework for a quality-assured application of AADCD gene therapy including Eladocagene exuparvovec. Treatment requires prehospital, inpatient and posthospital care by a multidisciplinary team in a specialized and qualified therapy center. Due to lack of data on long-term outcomes and the comparative efficacy of alternative stereotactic procedures and brain target sites, a structured follow-up plan and systematic documentation of outcomes in a suitable, industry-independent registry study are necessary

Plant responses to fluctuating UV environments

Peer reviewe