Payday Lenders Evade Regulations: A Summary of Findings from Surveying Payday Lending Establishments

The payday lending industry has grown exponentially from a few hundred locations in the early 1990s to nearly 25,000 locations nationwide. There are now more payday lending establishments than there are McDonald's and Starbucks locations combined. Nationwide, the Industry earns $6 billion in revenue. In California, there are 2,501 Payday Lending Licensees and Californians spend more than$757 million annually on payday loan fees.With such a massive small-dollar lending industry operating where an estimated 1.5 million California households use a payday lender 11 times annually, it would be reasonable to assume that California would have strict regulations to ensure compliance with the law, as well as robust protections for consumers against predatory payday lending. However, California has extremely lenient laws governing payday lenders.The reporting requirements of payday lenders to their regulatory agency, the California Department of Corporations, are minimal. This laissez-faire nature that "regulates" the payday industry pushed many financially-struggling consumers to turn to consumer advocacy groups to find small-dollar loan alternatives, as well as advocacy for greater restrictions for the payday industry

Using coarse-scale physical lake characteristics to model lake sturgeon (acipenser fulvescens) feeding habitat and their prey

Coarse-scale, physical lake characteristics (lake fetch, shoreline exposure, and littoral-zone slope) were investigated as to their ability to predict benthic macroinvertebrate communities and lake sturgeon feeding along shorelines in the southern portion of Rainy Lake. Rainy Lake is a large water body and hosts a fishery shared between Minnesota, U.S.A. and Ontario, Canada. Benthic samples were drawn from different sections the littoral zone during a period of three months in the summer of 2010 and in August 2011

Love, Timothy

Short Story, Honorable Mentio

Un modelo de implantación del ECTS: la experiencia piloto en la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla

La implantación de la experiencia piloto ECTS en la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide está permitiendo una adaptación progresiva al nuevo sistema y un conocimiento directo de las ventajas e inconvenientes que presenta el mismo. Por otra parte, el hecho de que se trate de una experiencia piloto ha permitido introducir transformaciones en el sistema inicialmente aplicado que contribuyen a su mejora

New Method Developed To Purify Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes for Aerospace Applications

Single wall carbon nanotubes have attracted considerable attention because of their remarkable mechanical properties and electrical and thermal conductivities. Use of these materials as primary or secondary reinforcements in polymers or ceramics could lead to new materials with significantly enhanced mechanical strength and electrical and thermal conductivity. Use of carbon-nanotube-reinforced materials in aerospace components will enable substantial reductions in component weight and improvements in durability and safety. Potential applications for single wall carbon nanotubes include lightweight components for vehicle structures and propulsion systems, fuel cell components (bipolar plates and electrodes) and battery electrodes, and ultra-lightweight materials for use in solar sails. A major barrier to the successful use of carbon nanotubes in these components is the need for methods to economically produce pure carbon nanotubes in large enough quantities to not only evaluate their suitability for certain applications but also produce actual components. Most carbon nanotube synthesis methods, including the HiPCO (high pressure carbon monoxide) method developed by Smalley and others, employ metal catalysts that remain trapped in the final product. These catalyst impurities can affect nanotube properties and accelerate their decomposition. The development of techniques to remove most, if not all, of these impurities is essential to their successful use in practical applications. A new method has been developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center to purify gram-scale quantities of single wall carbon nanotubes. This method, a modification of a gas phase purification technique previously reported by Smalley and others, uses a combination of high-temperature oxidations and repeated extractions with nitric and hydrochloric acid. This improved procedure significantly reduces the amount of impurities (catalyst and nonnanotube forms of carbon) within the nanotubes, increasing their stability significantly. The onset of decomposition of the purified nanotubes (determined by thermal gravimetric analysis in air) is more than 300 C higher than that of the crude nanotubes. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of nanotubes purified by this method reveals near complete removal of iron catalyst particles. Analysis of the nanotubes using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy revealed that the iron content of the nanotubes was reduced from 22.7 wt% in the crude nanotubes to less than 0.02 wt%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed a decrease in iron content after purification as well as an increase in oxygen content due to the formation of carboxylic acid groups on the surface of the nanotubes. Nanotubes purified by this improved method can be readily dispersed in common organic solvents, in particular N,N-dimethylformamide, using prolonged ultrasonic treatment. These dispersions can then be used to incorporate single wall carbon nanotubes into polymer films

Test and evaluation of load converter topologies used in the Space Station Freedom Power Management and distribution DC test bed

Power components hardware in support of the Space Station Freedom dc Electrical Power System were tested. One type of breadboard hardware tested is the dc Load Converter Unit, which constitutes the power interface between the electric power system and the actual load. These units are dc to dc converters that provide the final system regulation before power is delivered to the load. Three load converters were tested: a series resonant converter, a series inductor switchmode converter, and a switching full-bridge forward converter. The topology, operation principles, and tests results are described, in general. A comparative analysis of the three units is given with respect to efficiency, regulation, short circuit behavior (protection), and transient characteristics

Modified Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes for Reinforce Thermoplastic Polyimide

A significant improvement in the mechanical properties of the thermoplastic polyimide film was obtained by the addition of noncovalently functionalized single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Polyimide films were reinforced using pristine SWNTs and functionalized SWNTs (F-SWNTs). The tensile strengths of the polyimide films containing F-SWNTs were found to be approximately 1.4 times higher than those prepared from pristine SWNTs

A Community Needs Assessment of the Physical Activity and Food Environment in a Predominantly Hispanic U.S. City

Introduction: Hispanics suffer disproportionately compared with non-Hispanic Whites from health conditions that are affected by physical inactivity and poor dietary habits. Method: A needs assessment was conducted in Hialeah, Florida, the largest enclave of Cubans in the United States, to assess the perspectives of community stakeholders and members regarding the roles of physical activity and nutrition environments. Interviews were performed with community stakeholders (n = 21), and responses were grouped into major themes. Surveys were conducted with community members (n = 85). Descriptive analyses were used to categorize responses and potential differences across responses were explored. Results: Both community members and stakeholders reported that the local park system was a major asset to healthy living in Hialeah and agreed that traffic issues and a lack of walkability were major barriers to being physically active; however, there was variability in the response to the quality of the food environment. Conclusion: The perspectives of the community members and stakeholders will be valuable in highlighting pathways to enhancing the health and wellness of the residents of Hialeah