Achieving Foundation Accountability and Transparency: Lessons From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s \u3ci\u3eScorecard\u3c/i\u3e

· The purpose of this article is to help foundations in their accountability and transparency efforts by sharing lessons from one foundation’s journey to develop a scorecard. · A commitment to funding and sharing the results from rigorous evaluations set the tone for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) accountability. · The Scorecard is a powerful tool for RWJF to set goals, track organizational effectiveness, and motivate responses to shortcomings. · Foundations can tailor their scorecard to include what best serves their needs. · With its Scorecard, RWJF found that comparative and quantitative measures are the most powerful forces to motivate change. · Setting targets motivates staff to focus their efforts on certain areas and make improvements

Index of Maine Obituaries from The Morning Star, 1861 to 1872

Maine (only) obituaries compiled from issues of The Morning Star from 1861 through 1872. Information includes name, place and date of death (if listed), and issue where the obituary appears

Index of Maine Obituaries from The Morning Star, 1851 to 1860

Maine (only) obituaries compiled from issues of The Morning Star from 1851 through 1860. Information includes name, place and date of death (if listed), and issue where the obituary appears

Space-Based Capstone: Public-Private-Academic Partnership in the Making

The Electronic Systems Engineering Technology (ESET) Program at Texas A&M University provides a recognized undergraduate program with an emphasis in electronics, communication, embedded systems, testing, instrumentation and control systems. The program combines engineering and industrial knowledge and methods to develop, design, and implement new innovative products through a two-semester long Senior Capstone Project. Capstone is designed to prepare future engineers by bridging the gap between the classroom and industry. Students are required to form teams of two to six members which allows them to develop the skills necessary to succeed in a diverse industry setting. Each team is required to use their knowledge and skills to design, develop, document, and deliver a real-world project equivalent to the assignments they will soon receive as professional engineers. Following NASA’s approval for funding the development of a research facility named Hermes, a Capstone team, named Microgravity Automated Research Systems (MARS), was sponsored by T STAR, a local space commercialization company, to develop the electronics portion of the facility. Hermes will reside on the International Space Station for five years in the hopes of streamlining the development of experiments that require extended periods of time in microgravity environments. The Hermes facility will host and manage up to four experiments at a time while allowing for the downlink of experiment data to an Earth station, and the uplink of commands to change experiment parameters. Experiments will adhere to a power budget and communication standard established by MARS so that experiments can be swapped out during the facility’s lifetime. MARS will work with the Mobile Integrated Solutions Laboratory (MISL), an undergraduate applied research lab, in order to prepare them to maintain support for Hermes in the future.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition

The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is designed for students in undergraduate, introductory soil science courses, and highlights the many aspects of soil science, including: soil genesis and classification, soil physical properties, soil-water interaction, soil biology, soil chemistry, and soil fertility. The lab manual includes 15 different laboratories, each one starting with an introduction and pre-lab assignment, followed by in-lab activities, and complimented by post-lab assignment. In-lab activities involve field trips, experiments, observation stations, or problem sets. Post-lab assignments include online quizzes, problem sets, or laboratory summary reports. The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is used in Kansas State University’s AGRON 305 class, and is based on the Soils Laboratory Manual, NC State Edition used in North Carolina State University’s SSC 201 class. The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition was originally published as a supplement to ‘An Open-Source Laboratory Manual for Introductory Undergraduate Soil Science Courses’ in Natural Sciences Education, Vol. 46:170013, and is also available for download at https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/nse/articles/46/1/170013. Moorberg and Crouse presented information about the manual at NACTA 2017, in West Lafayette, Indiana. Supporting materials, assignments, instructor versions, and DOCX and RTF files of the lab manual are available at open.soilscience.info. The lab manual is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1016/thumbnail.jp

Soils Laboratory Manual: K-State Edition, Version 2.0

The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is designed for students in undergraduate, introductory soil science courses. The manual highlights the multidisciplinary aspects of soil science with laboratories focused on soil formation, classification, and mapping; soil physics, soil biology; soil chemistry; and soil fertility and management. The lab manual includes 16 different laboratories, each one starting with an introduction and pre-lab assignment, followed by in-lab activities, and complimented by a post-lab assignment. In-lab activities involve field trips, experiments, observation stations, or problem sets. Post-lab assignments include online quizzes, problem sets, or laboratory summary reports. Version 2 of the lab manual exhibits a completely new design with improved functionality and accessibility. In addition to a PDF, Version 2 is available in MOBI and EPUB eBook formats and as a web book. A new laboratory, the SoilWeb Field Trip, was added to Version 2 along with significant revisions to the Compost Facility Field Trip and Soil Carbon and Respiration laboratories. The recommended readings in each laboratory now include links to free, online resources in place of conventional textbook reading assignments. The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is used in the AGRON 305 – Soils course at Kansas State University, and is based on the Soils Laboratory Manual, NC State Edition used in the SSC 201 – Soil Science Laboratory course at North Carolina State University. The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition was originally published by New Prairie Press in 2017, and was included as a supplement to ‘An Open-Source Laboratory Manual for Introductory Undergraduate Soil Science Courses’ in Natural Sciences Education, Vol. 46:170013, https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/nse/articles/46/1/170013. Supporting materials, assignments, and instructor versions of the lab manual are available at open.soilscience.info. The lab manual is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1039/thumbnail.jp

A survey of the optometric practice in the Armed Forces

Military optometry was examined through a review of literature and 183 returned questionnaires from practicing Air Force, Army, and Navy optometrists. The survey asked questions about the background, present practice, and attitudes of the optometrists. The results showed that the average military optometrist offered routine refractions with limited contact lens and screening work. The optometrists had a good working relationship with other health professionals and were happy with the military. Half of the optometrists stated they would encourage other optometrists to join the military. The reasons given in favor of joining were job security, health benefits, travel, and experience. Reasons given not to become a military optometrist were unfair pay anl promotion, lack of freedom to practice, frequent moves, and diffuculty in getting poor equipment replaced in reasonable time

Reduced hippocampal volume in healthy young ApoE4 carriers: an MRI study.

The E4 allele of the ApoE gene has consistently been shown to be related to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The E4 allele is also associated with functional and structural grey matter (GM) changes in healthy young, middle-aged and older subjects. Here, we assess volumes of deep grey matter structures of 22 healthy younger ApoE4 carriers and 22 non-carriers (20-38 years). Volumes of the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, pallidum, putamen, thalamus and brain stem were calculated by FMRIB's Integrated Registration and Segmentation Tool (FIRST) algorithm. A significant drop in volume was found in the right hippocampus of ApoE4 carriers (ApoE4+) relative to non-carriers (ApoE4-), while there was a borderline significant decrease in the volume of the left hippocampus of ApoE4 carriers. The volumes of no other structures were found to be significantly affected by genotype. Atrophy has been found to be a sensitive marker of neurodegenerative changes, and our results show that within a healthy young population, the presence of the ApoE4+ carrier gene leads to volume reduction in a structure that is vitally important for memory formation. Our results suggest that the hippocampus may be particularly vulnerable to further degeneration in ApoE4 carriers as they enter middle and old age. Although volume reductions were noted bilaterally in the hippocampus, atrophy was more pronounced in the right hippocampus. This finding relates to previous work which has noted a compensatory increase in right hemisphere activity in ApoE4 carriers in response to preclinical declines in memory function. Possession of the ApoE4 allele may lead to greater predilection for right hemisphere atrophy even in healthy young subjects in their twenties