Repositioning Fundraising and Resource Development for a Post-pandemic Era: A Presidential Challenge and Suggested Directions

As the COVID 19 pandemic subsides, thought unevenly in time and location, its immediate and long-range impact is becoming clearer. Presidents are realizing that institutional life will never completely return to former times. Each institution of higher education will need to reposition for the new era. Guiding their institution in meeting this challenge is the new role for the president. Understanding the landscape and its potential impact to the institution, is a needed first step in leading in the post pandemic era. This study examines current thinking regarding the impact of the pandemic on institutions of higher education. Attention is focused on the fiscal underpinning and external sources of support. The role of the president in maintaining the resource base in this new environment is analyzed. In conclusion, a discussion of needed changes to institutional fundraising strategies and suggested immediate actions are presented

Presidents and Student Success: Repositioning to a Student-Centered Institution

Now reopened following the pandemic, each institution is in the process of assessing its impact and adjusting its institutional model to assure sustainability in the future. Returning totally to the ‘status quo ante’ is not a viable option as some repositioning is required. This study highlights three critical elements that inform this process from the perspective of the presidency. First, significant environmental trends and their impact are presented. Upon analysis, improved student success emerges as a critical driving force in repositioning. Second, an overview of successful institutional programs and initiatives that foster a student-centered institution are examined concluding with a construct for a repositing design. Finally, adjustment to presidential leadership strategies to facilitate an institutional repositioning plan are suggested

Treatment of Streptococcal Endocarditis with a Single Daily Dose of Ceftriaxone and Netilmicin for 14 Days: A Prospective Multicenter Study

A 2-week course of ceftriaxone (2 g) plus netilmicin (4 mglkg), administered as one short daily iv infusion, was evaluated for the treatment of streptococcal endocarditis in an open multicenter study. Of the 52 patients, 31 were infected with viridans streptococci, 18 with Streptococcus bovis, two with Gemella morbillorum, and one with group C Streptococcus; 48 patients were assessable. Infection was cured in 42 cases, 35 treated medically and seven treated both medically and surgically. Five patients died without evidence of active infection, and one relapsed. The bacteriologic failure was due to a strain of G. morbillorum against which no synergy of ceftriaxone and netilmicin was evident in vitro. The serum creatinine level increased during treatment in four cases, all involving patients >65 years old who had renal risk factors; in two of these cases, values did not return to baseline during follow-up. Of 40 patients assessed for auditory function, only one developed decreased perception of borderline significance. Other adverse reactions were mild. This regimen was efficacious, safe, and cost-effective for the treatment of streptococcal endocarditis. However, it must be used with caution for patients with preexisting renal impairment or concomitant exposure to other potentially nephrotoxic agent

The fear of being laughed at among psychiatric patients

The fear of being laughed at brings to the fore the problematic side of an otherwise very positive aspect of human experience. In the streamline of investigations analyzing the presence and characteristics of gelotophobia, a study focusing on psychiatric patients was carried out. The diagnoses were established according to the criteria of the DSM IV TR (American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), APA, 2000). Based both on clinical and empirical observations, the main hypothesis advanced was that using the Geloph15 scale, Ss with a psychiatric diagnosis would have higher mean scores than Normal Controls. An additional hypothesis was that intragroup differences were also expected among the various diagnostic categories. The main hypothesis was amply supported, and explanatory suggestions of the finding were proposed. Intragroup differences proved also to be significant. Patients with personality disorders and patients with schizophrenic disorders scored higher than Normal Controls and the other diagnostic groups. And also the number of years spent in psychiatric care resulted significantly associated with higher gelotophobia mean scores. From the present study, a circular, interactive relationship was confirmed between laughter and mental health, which can alternatively be highly positive or deeply negativ

Automatic medical encoding with SNOMED categories

BACKGROUND: In this paper, we describe the design and preliminary evaluation of a new type of tools to speed up the encoding of episodes of care using the SNOMED CT terminology. METHODS: The proposed system can be used either as a search tool to browse the terminology or as a categorization tool to support automatic annotation of textual contents with SNOMED concepts. The general strategy is similar for both tools and is based on the fusion of two complementary retrieval strategies with thesaural resources. The first classification module uses a traditional vector-space retrieval engine which has been fine-tuned for the task, while the second classifier is based on regular variations of the term list. For evaluating the system, we use a sample of MEDLINE. SNOMED CT categories have been restricted to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) using the SNOMED-MeSH mapping provided by the UMLS (version 2006). RESULTS: Consistent with previous investigations applied on biomedical terminologies, our results show that performances of the hybrid system are significantly improved as compared to each single module. For top returned concepts, a precision at high ranks (P0) of more than 80% is observed. In addition, a manual and qualitative evaluation on a dozen of MEDLINE abstracts suggests that SNOMED CT could represent an improvement compared to existing medical terminologies such as MeSH. CONCLUSION: Although the precision of the SNOMED categorizer seems sufficient to help professional encoders, it is concluded that clinical benchmarks as well as usability studies are needed to assess the impact of our SNOMED encoding method in real settings. AVAILABILITIES : The system is available for research purposes on: http://eagl.unige.ch/SNOCat

Presidents and the Campus Mental Health Crisis: Challenges, Options, and Strategy

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every institution of higher education differently. It is recognized that a return to pre-pandemic institutional life is no longer possible. Presidential leadership is being required to reposition the institution to face this new era. One of the most vexing results of the pandemic is the emergence of student, faculty and staff mental health and wellness as a priority issue. Upon examination, the campus mental health crisis encompasses most aspects of campus life. The purpose of this review is threefold: 1) to illuminate the impact of campus mental health and wellness issues 2) to outline institutional challenges and options, and 3) to propose a set of strategic actions for presidential leadership to respond to the campus mental health crisis

The influence of a virtual companion on amusement when watching funny films

We investigated the role of a virtual companion and trait cheerfulness on the elicitation of amusement. Ninety participants watched funny films in four conditions: either alone, with a virtual companion laughing or verbally expressing amusement at fixed time points (pre-scripted), or additionally joining the participant’s laughter (responsive companion). Amusement was assessed facially and vocally by coding Duchenne Displays and laughter vocalizations. Participants’ cheerful mood pre and post the film watching and positive experience were assessed. Results showed that high trait cheerful individuals generally experienced and expressed more amusement than low trait cheerful individuals. The presence of a virtual companion (compared to being alone) led to more laughter for individuals low in trait cheerfulness. Unexpectedly, the responsive companion did not elicit more amusement than the pre-scripted companion. The general disliking of virtual companions and gelotophobia related negatively to amusement. Amusement expressing virtual companions may be used in interventions aiming at eliciting positive responses, especially for individuals with higher thresholds for amusement.European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement No. 27078

Fundamental limitations for quantum and nano thermodynamics

The relationship between thermodynamics and statistical physics is valid in the thermodynamic limit - when the number of particles becomes very large. Here, we study thermodynamics in the opposite regime - at both the nano scale, and when quantum effects become important. Applying results from quantum information theory we construct a theory of thermodynamics in these limits. We derive general criteria for thermodynamical state transformations, and as special cases, find two free energies: one that quantifies the deterministically extractable work from a small system in contact with a heat bath, and the other that quantifies the reverse process. We find that there are fundamental limitations on work extraction from nonequilibrium states, owing to finite size effects and quantum coherences. This implies that thermodynamical transitions are generically irreversible at this scale. As one application of these methods, we analyse the efficiency of small heat engines and find that they are irreversible during the adiabatic stages of the cycle.Comment: Final, published versio

A method for multi-hazard mapping in poorly known volcanic areas: an example from Kanlaon (Philippines)

Hazard mapping in poorly known volcanic areas is complex since much evidence of volcanic and non-volcanic hazards is often hidden by vegetation and alteration. In this paper, we propose a semi-quantitative method based on hazard event tree and multi-hazard map constructions developed in the frame of the FP7 MIAVITA project. We applied this method to the Kanlaon volcano (Philippines), which is characterized by poor geologic and historical records. We combine updated geological (long-term) and historical (short-term) data, building an event tree for the main types of hazardous events at Kanlaon and their potential frequencies. We then propose an updated multi-hazard map for Kanlaon, which may serve as a working base map in the case of future unrest. The obtained results extend the information already contained in previous volcanic hazard maps of Kanlaon, highlighting (i) an extensive, potentially active ~5 km long summit area striking north–south, (ii) new morphological features on the eastern flank of the volcano, prone to receiving volcanic products expanding from the summit, and (iii) important riverbeds that may potentially accumulate devastating mudflows. This preliminary study constitutes a basis that may help local civil defence authorities in making more informed land use planning decisions and in anticipating future risk/hazards at Kanlaon. This multi-hazard mapping method may also be applied to other poorly known active volcanoes