Borrower Self-Selection, Underwriting Costs, and Subprime Mortgage Credit Supply

In the U.S., households participate in two very different types of credit markets. Personal lending is characterized by continuous risk-based pricing in which lenders offer households a continuous distribution of borrowing possibilities based on estimates of their creditworthiness. This contrasts sharply with mortgage markets where lenders specialize in specific risk categories of borrowers and mortgage supply is stepwise linear. The contrast between continuous lending for personal loans and discrete lending by specialized lenders for mortgage credit has led to concerns regarding the efficiency and equity of mortgage lending. This paper sheds both theoretical and empirical light on the differences in the two credit markets. The theory section demonstrates why, in a perfectly competitive credit market where all lenders have the same underwriting technology, mortgage credit supply curves are stepwise linear and lenders specialize in prime or subprime lending. The empirical section then provides evidence that borrowers are being effectively sorted based on risk characteristics by the market

You Ain't Messin' Wit My Dougie: Black Masculinities in Post-Millennial Hip-Hop Song and Dance

Black masculinities displayed by the hip-hop generation have received quite a bit of attention in academia for the past decade. However, the analysis often begins and ends with an examination of rap lyrics. Bodies communicate concepts like masculinities and femininities, so it is shortsighted to exclude them from an analysis of hip-hop and Black masculinities. This dissertation attempts to complicate and nuance black masculinities post-2000 by viewing them through the lens of rap music, hip-hop dance, movements, and kinesic imagery. Historically, Black Dance has been monitored, controlled, and appropriated because of its ability to build communities and inspire subversion. Hip-Hop is an important mass medium that reifies power relations and hip-hop dance is another element that has been used to substantiate assumptions about Black masculinities. This dissertation argues that the larger implications of hip-hop dance instruction songs are that they can be used to distract from rebellious sentiments, and legitimize patriarchy, consumerism, and violence as authentically Black and male. Many of the case studies in this dissertation involve songs that describe dances, both in instruction and purpose. Just as linguists have argued that a Hip-Hop Nation Language exists, I argue for the existence of a Hip-Hop Kinesic Language (HHKL), in which body movements are a discourse used by hip-hoppers to communicate concepts such as masculinities. This dissertation utilizes Laban Movement Analysis, which provides a language with which to describe the movements used by artists. The song/dances are also connected to the masculine histories and social contexts of the regions out of which they come. The song/dances I selected all received major radio and video play and were recognized in the hip-hop communities as mainstream. The three regions from which the song/dances came from were the East Coast (New York), West Coast (California), and the South (Georgia).Using LMA, the videos of the artists performing the dances and songs were analyzed. This piece reflects larger relationships between the white supremacist state and African Americans, and means by which the latter have subverted the former's desires to dominate them. The state, in an attempt to control African American nationalism and economic and social independence, has co-opted Black art and media including dance. Hip-Hop dance and dance instruction songs have followed this trajectory, but still have the power to inspire and possibly foment resistance. Historically, African slaves in North and South America have used song and dance to strengthen communities and disguise insurrectionary activities. Hip-Hop dance contains the same potential

Microfluidic Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Prognosis

Leukemia is a deadly and common cancer, especially in children and adolescents. The misdiagnosis and unexpected complications during the treatment are some factors that increase the mortality rate of leukemia. The goal of our project was to create a device that would quickly and accurately assess these complications. While there are existing tests that can perform a single test for either metastasis or sepsis, there are none that can test for both simultaneously and rapidly. We propose to modify and combine some of these existing microfluidic designs as well as create a new component to perform a combinatorial assessment. While we were unable to verify the results, we have designed a device that will potentially meet our goals of testing for sepsis, severe sepsis, solid-body metastasis risk, major solid-body metastasis risk, lymphoma metastasis risk, and progression of the primary blood-based cancer (leukemia/lymphoma), from 7.5 mL of blood in just under 2 hours. We believe that this device has the potential to contribute to the medical field due to its speed and efficiency, especially in a pediatric demographic

Changes In Femoral Neck Bone Mineral Density: A Comparison Of NHANES 2005-2006, 2007-2008, And 2009-2010

Bone mass is an important component of quality of life and can be influenced by lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and diet. However the US surgeon general found a growing portion of Americans are not engaging in adequate amounts of physical activity and/or consuming less calcium and vitamin D. The purpose of this study was to compare bone mineral density (BMD) of American adults of different ethnicities and time periods to detect any differences. It was hypothesized that BMD would be lower in participants from more recent years, and African Americans would have the highest BMD. Measurements were taken at the femoral neck of volunteers between 18 and 35 years of age (n = 3578) from 2005-2006 (n = 1160), 2007-2008, (n = 1135), and 2009-2010 (n = 1283) by the National Center for Health Statistics. The data was analyzed using a three-way independent ANOVA with an alpha level of .05. Femoral neck BMD was used as the dependent variable; and year, age, and race were independent variables. The study found Hispanic women to have a significantly higher BMD from 2005-2006 (p \u3c.05) when compared to participants from later years. In addition, the study found significant differences based on age and ethnicity (p \u3c .001). African-American men (p \u3c .001) and women (p \u3c.001) had a higher BMD than any other ethnicity. Moreover, Hispanic men had a higher BMD (p \u3c.001) than Caucasian men. In men, BMD significantly decreased in each age group (p \u3c.001); whereas in women a significant decrease was detected in every other age group (p \u3c .05). However, in contradiction to literature, the results found peak BMD to occur between 18 and 19 years of age as opposed to mid-to-late twenties

Positioning libraries at the center of digital scholarship on campus

The University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) is positioning itself to become the campus leader in digital scholarship. By drawing scholars from different disciplines together, the library can serve as a collaboration hub, encouraging the application of novel digital technologies in research and education. This panel will discuss the efforts of the UAL faculty involved in Digital Scholarship to cultivate the necessary relationships, both internally in the library and externally throughout campus, to create such a nexus of digital scholarship. By uniting the work of Digital Humanities librarians, Special Collections librarians, a Bio-informationist, Data Management librarian, GIS Specialist and others, we have increased capacity to serve campus and assist one another across both library departments and disciplines. After discussing the model and approach of UAL, we will lead participants through asset mapping and other visioning exercises designed to help libraries think differently about capacity, scale and strategic partnerships. This proposal is for an active panel discussion that includes some aspects of a workshop

The Realest Nigga: Constructions of Black Masculinity within Rap Music

This thesis attempts to complicate and raise questions about Black masculinity and hip hop. It contains information gathered for ethnographic interviews conducted with rap artists. In these interviews, one can see that issues of performance of gender and gender authenticity are central. This thesis addresses how interview subjects negotiate the internal differences between their rap persona and their everyday identity. As both a teacher, student and a rap artist, these are questions I am attempting to reconcile for myself; thus, I am not absent from the research. This thesis concludes that artists are reluctant to call their own rap persona a performance, for fear that it would be acknowledging that it was somehow an 'act' or not 'real'. My informants describe their rap identity with words like "aggressive" and their everyday persona as "patient". When asked about what characterizes a 'real' man, they nearly always use the same words they used in describing their everyday persona. The methodology for this thesis includes primary and secondary sources as well as interviews

A new method for the design of FIR digital filters

Call number: LD2668 .T4 EECE 1988 N53Master of ScienceElectrical and Computer Engineerin

ACTH: The Uninhibitable (or is it)?

Adrenal corticotropic hormone, or ACTH, is a peptide hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland. The full-length peptide is 39 amino acids long. ACTH signals through a G-protein linked receptor in humans, using the adenylyl cyclase pathway. Potassium and chloride channels have also been implicated in human ACTH signaling. Tetrahymena thermophila are free-living, ciliated ptotozoans. These organisms exhibit avoidance behavior toward many polycationic peptides, which serve as chemorepellents. The reason for this is unknown; however, it is hypothesized that natural predators of T. thermophila secrete polycationic peptides, and that polycation avoidance allows T. thermophila to escape predation. We obtained a number of peptides derived from ACTH, including ACTH 1-39, ACTH 1-24, ACTH 11-24, ACTH 6-24, and ACTH 1-14. We hypothesized that the more highly charged peptide derivatives would be the most effective chemorepellents. This hypothesis was proven correct, with the most highly charged ACTH derivative, ACTH 6-24, demonstrated as the most effective chemorepellent. The least charged form of ACTH, ACTH 1-39, was least effective at causing avoidance. We hypothesized that ACTH signaling in T. thermophila would use similar signaling pathways to those previously identified in humans. This, however, has not proven to be the case. We have tested G-protein inhibitors, adenylyl cyclase inhibitors, potassium channel blockers, and chloride channel blockers in T. thermphila. None of these drugs had any measurable effect on ACTH signaling. In addition, we have chelated extracellular calcium (using EGTA) and depleted ER calcium stores (using thapsigargin). Neither of these interventions inhibited ACTH signaling in this organism. Calcium channel blockers also failed to affect avoidance. This is highly unexpected, since all known chemorepellent pathways discovered in Tetrahymena to date are calcium-dependent. It is possible that ACTH is using a novel signaling pathway in T. thermophila. We hope that further testing will enable us to discover more about this signaling mechanism

Contact Endoscopy as a Novel Technique in the Detection and Diagnosis of Mucosal Lesions in the Head and Neck: A Brief Review

Background. There are a variety of described noninvasive optical detection techniques for evaluation of head and neck mucosal lesions. Contact endoscopy is a promising method of in vivo microscopic examination whereby a rigid telescope is placed on a previously dye-stained mucosa allowing evaluation of the superficial cell layers of the epithelium. This technique produces real-time, magnified images of cellular architecture of surface mucosa comparable to histology without the need for biopsy. In this review, we will briefly summarize the efficacy of CE in the detection of precancerous and cancerous mucosal lesions and its potential as a novel technique in early diagnosis, monitoring, and preoperative assessment of mucosal lesions of the head and neck. Methods. PUBMED, MEDLINE, and COCHRANE search revealed five prospective articles on contact endoscopy for the diagnosis of mucosal lesions in the head and neck. Results. The literature search yielded five prospective studies examining contact endoscopy for the diagnosis of benign versus malignant head and neck mucosal lesions. These reported a sensitivity and specificity of 77–100%, specificity of 66–100% and an accuracy of 72–92%. Conclusion. Contact endoscopy is a promising optical technology that may be a useful adjunct in the evaluation and diagnosis of benign and malignant head and neck mucosal lesions. Future prospective randomized double-blind studies of this detection method are required