Foundations of Publicly Subsidized Sport Stadiums: The Case of U.S. Bank Stadium

This study aims to address the common considerations concerning publicly subsidized sport stadiums. To provide an in-depth illustration into this process, a case study narrative of the Minnesota Vikings’ journey to receiving a public subsidization totaling $498 million for the construction of the U.S. Bank Stadium is presented. As sport stadiums seemingly incorporate more luxurious amenities each year, it is not uncommon to see the price tag for a professional stadium to surpass a billion dollars. Given this colossal cost, it has become difficult for private investments to finance an entire stadium alone. Therefore, combining the private financing of a professional sport stadium with a public subsidization has become a prominent and debatably essential practice. However, acquiring public financial assistance is not straightforward, but rather a scrutinized and complex process requiring appropriate economic and social justification. Prior to calling U.S. Bank Stadium home in 2016, the Vikings played at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis for over 30 years. Due to the Metrodome lacking many desirable features, the Vikings began seeking the construction of a new stadium that would position the team and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul atop the NFL world. After undergoing a 15-year political dissension with the citizens of Minnesota and their legislature, the Vikings were finally granted their wish in 2012 with a commitment of$498 million in public subsidies to help pay for the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings and U.S. Bank Stadium case study depicts an in-depth examination into the foundations, justification, and business of financing a modern professional sport stadium

Design, Construction, and Testing of a Fluidized Bed Reactor

The fluidization behavior of a solid particle bed is described by the Navier-Stokes equation. Fluidization occurs when an upward flow of fluid is used to suspend and mobilize solid particles. Sand was used for the fixed bed and air was used for fluidization. During testing, the flow of air was manually adjusted until fluidization of the sand bed was observed.https://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/urp_aug_2017/1008/thumbnail.jp

Reduction in intracellular HCV RNA and virus protein expression in human hepatoma cells following treatment with 2′-O-methyl-modified anti-core deoxyribozyme

AbstractHCV RNA is gaining greater consideration as a principal target for newer HCV antivirals because its destruction has the potential of eliminating the virus. These newer antivirals include deoxyribozymes (Dz), which are small single-stranded DNA molecules that cleave homologous RNA targets. Using a liver cell model containing functional genomic-length HCV-1b RNA we tested whether 2′-O-methyl-modified Dz, designed to recognize a highly-conserved RNA sequence located within the core-E1 coding region, could recognize and cleave its target sequence in the structural context of a functional HCV RNA molecule. Dz858-4-OMe contains four 2′-O-methyl nucleotide derivatives consecutively located on the distal ends of its two annealing arms. Intracellular HCV RNA, core protein and HCV antigen expression were reduced by 63%, 87% and 84%, respectively, when HCV RNA was challenged 6 h post-transfection with Dz858-4-OMe. The observed reduction of intracellular HCV RNA and protein by Dz858-4-OMe suggests that it may constitute an attractive HCV antiviral

Integrating Sustainability and Hawaiian Culture into the Tourism Experience of the Hawaiian Islands

The travel industry in Hawaii has been experiencing a trend towards more authentic tourism, which reintegrates Hawaiian culture into the visitors’ experience. This study investigated the reintegration of Hawaiian culture into the tourism experience on the Hawaiian Islands by reviewing existing literature, and by analyzing primary data collected through visitor surveys. The purpose of the study was to determine whether there is a visitors’ demand for a more authentic tourism experience in Hawaii through the reintegration of Hawaiian culture, and if so, which efforts should be made or continue to be made to achieve this authenticity. Important aspects that were taken into consideration in this research effort are the changes Hawaiian culture has experienced with the arrival of outsiders, and the authenticity of the Hawaiian tourism experience today. Further aspects that were examined include the visitors’ image of Hawaii, their expectations, their experiences and satisfaction during their stay, their interest in and understanding of Hawaiian culture, as well as the type of Hawaiian cultural experiences they are interested in. According to the findings of this study, English speaking visitors are interested in Hawaiian culture and feel that Hawaiian culture is not represented enough in the tourism experience today. The conclusion is, therefore, that efforts to integrate Hawaiian culture into the tourism experience need to be increased beyond what is currently being done. Ideas for reintegrating Hawaiian culture are discussed and possible solutions are provided.La industria del viaje en Hawaii ha estado experimentando una tendencia hacia un turismo más auténtico, que reintegra la cultura hawaiana en la experiencia de los visitantes. Este estudio se centra en la reintegración de la cultura hawaiana en la experiencia turística en las islas hawaianas repasando la literatura existente, y analizando los datos a partir de una encuesta a turistas. El propósito del estudio era determinar si existía una demanda de los visitantes para una experiencia más auténtica del turismo en Hawaii a través de la reintegración de la cultura hawaiana, y si era así cuales son los esfuerzos que se debían hacer o continuar haciendo para alcanzar esta autenticidad. Otros aspectos que fueron examinados incluyen la imagen que los visitantes tienen de Hawaii, sus expectativas, sus experiencias y la satisfacción durante su estancia, su interés y comprensión de la cultura hawaiana, además del tipo de experiencias culturales que les interesan. Según los resultados de este estudio, los visitantes de habla inglesa están interesados en la cultura hawaiana y sienten que la cultura hawaiana no está representada suficientemente en la experiencia turística que actualmente se oferta. La conclusión es, por lo tanto, que deben incrementarse los esfuerzos por integrar la cultura hawaiana en la experiencia turística.La industria del viaje en Hawaii ha estado experimentando una tendencia hacia un turismo más auténtico, que reintegra la cultura hawaiana en la experiencia de los visitantes. Este estudio se centra en la reintegración de la cultura hawaiana en la experiencia turística en las islas hawaianas repasando la literatura existente, y analizando los datos a partir de una encuesta a turistas. El propósito del estudio era determinar si existía una demanda de los visitantes para una experiencia más auténtica del turismo en Hawaii a través de la reintegración de la cultura hawaiana, y si era así cuales son los esfuerzos que se debían hacer o continuar haciendo para alcanzar esta autenticidad. Otros aspectos que fueron examinados incluyen la imagen que los visitantes tienen de Hawaii, sus expectativas, sus experiencias y la satisfacción durante su estancia, su interés y comprensión de la cultura hawaiana, además del tipo de experiencias culturales que les interesan. Según los resultados de este estudio, los visitantes de habla inglesa están interesados en la cultura hawaiana y sienten que la cultura hawaiana no está representada suficientemente en la experiencia turística que actualmente se oferta. La conclusión es, por lo tanto, que deben incrementarse los esfuerzos por integrar la cultura hawaiana en la experiencia turístic

Health & Nutritional Sciences Free Communication Day: Spring 2021 Plan B Abstracts

This document contains Plan B abstracts presented by graduate students at the Health and Nutritional Sciences Free Communication Day, held on May 4th, 2021. Abstract titles include: Local Restaurants’ Marketing and Sponsorship Within Collegiate Athletics Preparing the Future of Campus Recreation Motivational Factors Influencing College Choice: NCAA Division I Female Volleyball Athletes The Significance of a Successful Internship Program Foundations of Publicly Subsidized Sport Stadiums: The Case of U.S. Bank Stadium Enhancing Member Experience During a Pandemic The Risk of Depression in Football Players Diagnosed with a Concussion Effectiveness of Color-Tinted Glasses in Reducing Photophobia in Patients Diagnosed with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury or Concussion Policies Surrounding Transgender Athletes and Participation in Competitive Sports Carbon Fiber Insole’s Effect on Running Mechanics in Recreational Runners Comprehensive Analysis of School Wellness Policy Toolkits Fasting for Weight Loss Lactate Supplementation on Exercise Performance Dietitian Involvement in Protein Recommendation Research for AthletesProject title:Supplementation of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Improves Recovery and Exercise Performance in Healthy Adults. A Narrative Review of Grocery Store Interventions on Improving Healthy Food Purchases The Relationship Between American Indian’s Socioeconomic Status, Diet, & Gut Microbiome: A Preliminary Research Study Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Pregnancy, Fetal, and Infant Development The Relationship of Blood Serum Levels of Vitamin B6, Folate, and Vitamin B12 on Depressive Symptoms in Adults Aged 18-65

Quantum state preparation and macroscopic entanglement in gravitational-wave detectors

Long-baseline laser-interferometer gravitational-wave detectors are operating at a factor of 10 (in amplitude) above the standard quantum limit (SQL) within a broad frequency band. Such a low classical noise budget has already allowed the creation of a controlled 2.7 kg macroscopic oscillator with an effective eigenfrequency of 150 Hz and an occupation number of 200. This result, along with the prospect for further improvements, heralds the new possibility of experimentally probing macroscopic quantum mechanics (MQM) - quantum mechanical behavior of objects in the realm of everyday experience - using gravitational-wave detectors. In this paper, we provide the mathematical foundation for the first step of a MQM experiment: the preparation of a macroscopic test mass into a nearly minimum-Heisenberg-limited Gaussian quantum state, which is possible if the interferometer's classical noise beats the SQL in a broad frequency band. Our formalism, based on Wiener filtering, allows a straightforward conversion from the classical noise budget of a laser interferometer, in terms of noise spectra, into the strategy for quantum state preparation, and the quality of the prepared state. Using this formalism, we consider how Gaussian entanglement can be built among two macroscopic test masses, and the performance of the planned Advanced LIGO interferometers in quantum-state preparation

Searching for a Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves with LIGO

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this science run, we place a limit on the amplitude of a stochastic background of gravitational waves. For a frequency independent spectrum, the new limit is $\Omega_{\rm GW} < 6.5 \times 10^{-5}$. This is currently the most sensitive result in the frequency range 51-150 Hz, with a factor of 13 improvement over the previous LIGO result. We discuss complementarity of the new result with other constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves, and we investigate implications of the new result for different models of this background.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figure

Increased Litterfall in Tropical Forests Boosts the Transfer of Soil CO2 to the Atmosphere

Aboveground litter production in forests is likely to increase as a consequence of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, rising temperatures, and shifting rainfall patterns. As litterfall represents a major flux of carbon from vegetation to soil, changes in litter inputs are likely to have wide-reaching consequences for soil carbon dynamics. Such disturbances to the carbon balance may be particularly important in the tropics because tropical forests store almost 30% of the global soil carbon, making them a critical component of the global carbon cycle; nevertheless, the effects of increasing aboveground litter production on belowground carbon dynamics are poorly understood. We used long-term, large-scale monthly litter removal and addition treatments in a lowland tropical forest to assess the consequences of increased litterfall on belowground CO2 production. Over the second to the fifth year of treatments, litter addition increased soil respiration more than litter removal decreased it; soil respiration was on average 20% lower in the litter removal and 43% higher in the litter addition treatment compared to the controls but litter addition did not change microbial biomass. We predicted a 9% increase in soil respiration in the litter addition plots, based on the 20% decrease in the litter removal plots and an 11% reduction due to lower fine root biomass in the litter addition plots. The 43% measured increase in soil respiration was therefore 34% higher than predicted and it is possible that this ‘extra’ CO2 was a result of priming effects, i.e. stimulation of the decomposition of older soil organic matter by the addition of fresh organic matter. Our results show that increases in aboveground litter production as a result of global change have the potential to cause considerable losses of soil carbon to the atmosphere in tropical forests