America’s $1.7 Trillion Student Loan Debt Problem: A Story of the American Dream, Good Intentions, and Easy Money

This Note addresses the student loan debt problem in the United States, the serious risks it poses, and why a multi-level solution is required to tackle this growing problem. With the increasing cost of college tuition and correspondingly greater amounts of student loan debt but slower income growth, the mismatch between loan and repayment capability keeps widening. A multi-level approach is required to tackle the $1.7 trillion (and increasing) student loan debt problem. First, tuition must be reduced because even if all student loan debt were to be wiped out today, the unaffordability of tuition would continue to increase, and the student debt would amass again. Second, current student loan borrowers need assistance with repayment, especially given the current pandemic-induced economic environment. Third, student loans need to be dischargeable in bankruptcy proceedings as a last-resort safety net. Inspiration can be taken from the real estate industry in handling each of these levels

American Times

This poetry is written in respect for Allen Ginsberg's Howl, and it is my own exploration of American pop culture

A Pilot Study of Reducing Test Anxiety in a Cohort of Underrepresented in Medicine MCAT Students Using Near-Peer Coaching

Background: The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized exam taken by prospective medical students. The MCAT is critical for success in most of the US and parts of Canada, and such pressures may enhance test anxiety. Students from Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) backgrounds are often compounded by being the first in their families to take the MCAT. Methods: We conducted a literature review for interventions on test-related anxiety. Based on our findings, we elected to establish a pilot near-peer coaching (NPC) program for URM students enrolled on the Medical College of Wisconsin MCAT program. We quantified baseline and specific time point test-anxieties using the validated Westside test anxiety scale. We asked about MCAT concerns and program impressions via a free-response section and analyzed the results with inductive analysis. Results: Our review could find no other studies examining MCAT-related test anxiety in the prospective medical student population. NPC was chosen because of its accessibility. At baseline, approximately 50% of students had at least moderately high-test anxiety, meeting the threshold for intervention. Most students perceived themselves as unconfident in their ability to do well on the MCAT. We observed a decrease in test anxiety after coaching sessions. Students received the program well; however, they wanted to be able to choose the content and number of meetings. Conclusion: This observational pilot study suggests that URM pre-medical students have MCAT-related test anxieties high enough to warrant intervention and that NPC is well-received and correlates to reduce test anxiety levels

RMCE-ASAP: a gene targeting method for ES and somatic cells to accelerate phenotype analyses

In recent years, tremendous insight has been gained on p53 regulation by targeting mutations at the p53 locus using homologous recombination in ES cells to generate mutant mice. Although informative, this approach is inefficient, slow and expensive. To facilitate targeting at the p53 locus, we developed an improved Recombinase-Mediated Cassette Exchange (RMCE) method. Our approach enables efficient targeting in ES cells to facilitate the production of mutant mice. But more importantly, the approach was Adapted for targeting in Somatic cells to Accelerate Phenotyping (RMCE-ASAP). We provide proof-of-concept for this at the p53 locus, by showing efficient targeting in fibroblasts, and rapid phenotypic read-out of a recessive mutation after a single exchange. RMCE-ASAP combines inverted heterologous recombinase target sites, a positive/negative selection marker that preserves the germline capacity of ES cells, and the power of mouse genetics. These general principles should make RMCE-ASAP applicable to any locus

Spatial connectivity in a highly heterogeneous aquifer: From cores to preferential flow paths

This is the published version. Copyright American Geophysical Union[1] This study investigates connectivity in a small portion of the extremely heterogeneous aquifer at the Macrodispersion Experiment (MADE) site in Columbus, Mississippi. A total of 19 fully penetrating soil cores were collected from a rectangular grid of 4 m by 4 m. Detailed grain size analysis was performed on 5 cm segments of each core, yielding 1740 hydraulic conductivity (K) estimates. Three different geostatistical simulation methods were used to generate 3-D conditional realizations of the K field for the sampled block. Particle tracking calculations showed that the fastest particles, as represented by the first 5% to arrive, converge along preferential flow paths and exit the model domain within preferred areas. These 5% fastest flow paths accounted for about 40% of the flow. The distribution of preferential flow paths and particle exit locations is clearly influenced by the occurrence of clusters formed by interconnected cells with K equal to or greater than the 0.9 decile of the data distribution (10% of the volume). The fraction of particle paths within the high-K clusters ranges from 43% to 69%. In variogram-based K fields, some of the fastest paths are through media with lower K values, suggesting that transport connectivity may not require fully connected zones of relatively homogenous K. The high degree of flow and transport connectivity was confirmed by the values of two groups of connectivity indicators. In particular, the ratio between effective and geometric mean K (on average, about 2) and the ratio between the average arrival time and the arrival time of the fastest particles (on average, about 9) are consistent with flow and advective transport behavior characterized by channeling along preferential flow paths

Comparisons of methods for linkage analysis and haplotype reconstruction using extended pedigree data

We compare and contrast the performance of SIMPLE, a Monte Carlo based software, with that of several other methods for linkage and haplotype analyses, focusing on the simulated data from the New York City population. First, a whole-genome scan study based on the microsatellite markers was performed using GENEHUNTER. Because GENEHUNTER had to drop individuals for many of the pedigrees, we performed a follow-up study focusing on several regions of interest using SIMPLE, which can handle all pedigrees in their entirety. Second, 3 haplotyping programs, including that in SIMPLE, were used to reconstruct haplotypic configurations in pedigrees. SIMPLE emerges clearly as a preferred tool, as it can handle large pedigrees and produces haplotypic configurations without double recombinant haplotypes. For this study, we had knowledge of the simulating models at the time we performed the analysis

Decreased Births Among Black Female Adolescents Following School Desegregation

Although the socioeconomic impact of school desegregation in the U.S. has been well documented, little is known about the health consequences of this policy. The purpose of this study was to quantify the associations between school desegregation and adolescent births among black and white females. We compared the change in prevalence of adolescent births in areas that implemented school desegregation plans in the 1970s with areas that implemented school desegregation plans in other decades, using difference-in-difference methods with 1970 and 1980 Census microdata. School desegregation policy in the U.S. in the 1970s was associated with a significant reduction of 3.2 percentage points in the prevalence of births among black female adolescents between 1970 and 1980. This association was specific to black female adolescents and was not observed among white adolescents

The association between blood pressure and years of schooling versus educational credentials: Test of the sheepskin effect

Purpose Attaining a degree may offer greater opportunities for health than years of schooling alone. This study examines whether there is a degree, or “sheepskin”, effect on the association between education and blood pressure. Methods Multivariable-adjusted ordinal and linear regression models assessed associations of years of schooling and degree attainment with systolic and diastolic blood pressure in a sample of 552 adults aged 38–47 years. Results Years of schooling was inversely associated with systolic blood pressure adjusting for age, gender and race (β=−0.4, 95% CL:−0.7,−0.1 mmHg systolic blood pressure/year of schooling). Additional adjustment for mother’s education, childhood verbal intelligence quotient, childhood health and childhood socioeconomic status had minimal impact on effect size (β= −0.3, 95% CI=−0.7,0.0). However, years of schooling was no longer associated with blood pressure in the fully adjusted model which included additional adjustment for degree attained (β=0.0, 95% CL:−0.5, 0.4). In the fully adjusted model (including adjustment for years of schooling), individuals with a graduate degree still had significantly lower systolic blood pressure than HS degree-holders (e.g. β=−9.2, 95% CL:−15.2,−3.2 for graduate vs. high school degree). Findings were similar for diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion The association of years of schooling with blood pressure may be largely due to degree attainment rather than simply the knowledge and skills accumulated due to years of schooling alone

Blood Flow and Vascular Conductance Responses to Dynamic Handgrip Exercise in Hispanic American and Non-Hispanic White Women

Hispanic Americans (HA) are the fastest growing ethnic minority in the United States, with disproportionately higher incidence of obesity, hyperlipidemia and type 2 diabetes compared to their non-Hispanic white (NHW) counterparts. As such, the risk of cardiovascular complications is significantly higher in this population, while the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Alterations in vascular function occur early in cardiovascular diseases and have not been comprehensively studied in the HA population. Previous studies have demonstrated higher flow-mediated dilation (FMD, an index of resting vascular function) in young HA compared to NHW women. However, whether these differences in vasodilation also occur in response to dynamic exercise remains unknown. PURPOSE: We tested the hypothesis that during increasing intensities of rhythmic handgrip exercise, young, healthy HA women would demonstrate greater forearm blood flow and vascular conductance responses compared to age- and weight-matched NHW women. METHODS: Six HA women (20 ± 2 yr; BMI = 21.45 ± 2.2 kg/m2) and 9 NHW women (20 ± 2 yr; BMI = 21.49 ± 2.2 kg/m2) performed rhythmic handgrip exercise for 3 minutes at 15%, 30%, and 45% of their maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Each exercise bout was separated by at least 10 minutes of rest. Mean arterial pressure (MAP; finger photoplethysmography), heart rate (ECG), and forearm blood flow (FBF; duplex Doppler ultrasound) was measured at rest and during the last minute of rhythmic exercise. Forearm vascular conductance was calculated as FBF/MAP. RESULTS: Baseline FBF (HA: 53.3 ± 7.6 and NHW: 52.4 ± 11.3 ml/min, mean ± SD, p = 0.87), FVC (HA: 0.64 ± 0.09 and NHW: 0.62 ± 0.16 ml/min/mmHg, p = 0.85), MAP (HA: 83.3 ± 3.18 and NHW: 84.75 ± 6.85 mmHg, p = 0.64), and MVC (HA: 53 ± 13 and NHW: 49 ± 6 kg, p = 0.36) were similar between groups. In response to exercise, both groups demonstrated an intensity dependent increase in FBF (%DFBF during 45%: HA= 437± 90% and NHW= 459 ± 162%, p = 0.76) but no significant difference was found between groups (repeated-measures 2-way ANOVA; interaction effect: p = 0.66, intensity effect: p = 0.0001, ethnicity effect: p = 0.73). Similar to FBF, there was no significant difference in FVC responses between groups (%DFVC 45%: HA= 385 ± 110 and NHW= 393 ± 135, p = 0.91). CONCLUSION: Forearm blood flow and vascular conductance responses during increasing intensities of rhythmic handgrip exercise were not different between HA and NHW women