What Communities Can Do to Rein In Payday Lending: Strategies for Successful Local Ordinance Campaigns through a Texas Lens

Because New Mexico has one of the highest consumer usage rates and highest concentrations of payday and title loan shops in the nation,2 we thought it would be an ideal place to measure the public’s knowledge of and interest in these ubiquitous loans. We also measured knowledge of interest rate caps in the context of credit cards, as a point of comparison. Our data are consistent with that of previous studies showing that the general public overwhelmingly supports interest rate caps both in general and for certain types of loans. More uniquely, we also found that many consumers are unaware that there are no interest rate caps on many forms of consumer loans. These data are useful in explaining why consumers do not do more to change the law on interest rate caps

The Power of Community Action:Anti‐Payday Loan Ordinances in Three Metropolitan Areas

Local ordinances that restrict payday lending constitute an important strategy in the overall attack on this problematic form of lending. In this report, made possible by the generous support of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, we describe and analyze campaigns in three locales that differ markedly in the opportunities and challenges faced by ordinance advocates. The locales are Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in California (“Silicon Valley”); Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties in Texas; and Salt Lake County in Utah. This report finds both commonalities and important variations among these campaigns. While there is no single recipe for a successful ordinance campaign, our comparative analysis suggests the following ten lessons for payday lending opponents and other advocates of social reform via local action

Using Online Discussions to Develop the Entrepreneurial Mindset in Environmental Engineering Undergraduates: A Case Study

Entrepreneurship is an important aspect of the U.S. and global economy. As such, developing an entrepreneurial mindset is crucial for both engineering students and practicing engineers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of online discussions, as a pedagogical approach, in the development of the entrepreneurial mindset. Online discussions prompts were developed using the Kern Engineering Entrepreneurial Network (KEEN) framework as a guide. The KEEN framework proposes an entrepreneurial mindset can be fostered in students by stimulating curiosity, strengthening connections, and creating value. This paper describes the methodology and rationale that served as the foundation for this exploratory study. Examples are provided for online discussion prompts developed and administered in two different environmental engineering undergraduate courses: Introduction to Environmental Engineering (three credit, undergraduate, online course offered during two different summer sessions) and Seminar in Environmental Engineering (one credit, undergraduate level, face-to-face course offered during one semester). Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze and assess potential impacts of online discussion prompt use. The findings provide lessons learned for integrating the KEEN framework into undergraduate engineering courses through online discussions

R-miss-tastic: a unified platform for missing values methods and workflows

Missing values are unavoidable when working with data. Their occurrence is exacerbated as more data from different sources become available. However, most statistical models and visualization methods require complete data, and improper handling of missing data results in information loss, or biased analyses. Since the seminal work of Rubin (1976), there has been a burgeoning literature on missing values with heterogeneous aims and motivations. This has resulted in the development of various methods, formalizations, and tools (including a large number of R packages and Python modules). However, for practitioners, it remains challenging to decide which method is most suited for their problem, partially because handling missing data is still not a topic systematically covered in statistics or data science curricula. To help address this challenge, we have launched a unified platform: "R-miss-tastic", which aims to provide an overview of standard missing values problems, methods, how to handle them in analyses, and relevant implementations of methodologies. In the same perspective, we have also developed several pipelines in R and Python to allow for a hands-on illustration of how to handle missing values in various statistical tasks such as estimation and prediction, while ensuring reproducibility of the analyses. This will hopefully also provide some guidance on deciding which method to choose for a specific problem and data. The objective of this work is not only to comprehensively organize materials, but also to create standardized analysis workflows, and to provide a common ground for discussions among the community. This platform is thus suited for beginners, students, more advanced analysts and researchers.Comment: 38 pages, 9 figure

4-[4-(Dimethyl­amino)benzyl­idene]-2,6-dimethyl­cyclo­hexa-2,5-dienone

The title compound, C17H19NO, crystallized with two mol­ecules per asymmetric unit. C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds lead to infinite chains along [100]. According to graph-set theory, the descriptor C 1 1(13)C 1 1(13) can be assigned

Mechanisms of active laryngeal closure during non-invasive intermittent positive pressure ventilation in non-sedated lambs

The present study stems from our recent demonstration (Moreau-Bussiere F, Samson N, St-Hilaire M, Reix P, Lafond JR, Nsegbe E, Praud JP. J Appl Physiol 102: 2149-2157, 2007) that a progressive increase in nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (nIPPV) leads to active glottal closure in nonsedated, newborn lambs. The aim of the study was to determine whether the mechanisms involved in this glottal narrowing during nIPPV originate from upper airway receptors and/or from bronchopulmonary receptors. Two groups of newborn lambs were chronically instrumented for polysomnographic recording: the first group of five lambs underwent a two-step bilateral thoracic vagotomy using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (bilateral vagotomy group), while the second group, composed of six lambs, underwent chronic laryngotracheal separation (isolated upper airway group). A few days later, polysomnographic recordings were performed to assess glottal muscle electromyography during step increases in nIPPV (volume control mode). Results show that active glottal narrowing does not develop when nIPPV is applied on the upper airways only, and that this narrowing is prevented by bilateral vagotomy when nIPPV is applied on intact airways. In conclusion, active glottal narrowing in response to increasing nIPPV originates from bronchopulmonary receptors

Origins of the inhibiting effects of nasal CPAP on non-nutritive swallowing in newborn lambs

The present study was aimed at investigating the principal reflex mechanism by which non-nutritive swallowing (NNS) is inhibited by application of a nasal CPAP 6 cm H2O during quiet sleep (QS) in newborn lambs. Eighteen full-term lambs were chronically instrumented and evenly distributed into 3 separate groups to sort out whether reflex activity originates from the upper or lower airway receptors. Six lambs were tracheotomized, six other lambs underwent a 2-step bilateral intrathoracic vagotomy while the remaining 6 lambs underwent chronic laryngo-tracheal separation (isolated upper airway group). Forty-eight hours after surgery, each nonsedated lamb underwent polysomnographic recordings on 3 consecutive days. States of alertness, NNS and respiratory movements were recorded. Results demonstrate that a CPAP of 6 cm H2O inhibited NNS during QS while administered directly on the lower airways. This NNS inhibition was prevented by eliminating the vagal afferent messages originating from the bronchopulmonary receptors. However, application of CPAP on the upper airways only also inhibited NNS during QS. Finally, the application of a CPAP 6 cm H2O had no systematic effect on NNS-breathing coordination. In conclusion, our results suggest that the inhibiting effect of nasal CPAP 6 cm H2O on NNS is mainly mediated by bronchopulmonary receptors with some participation however of upper airway receptors. Our demonstration that spontaneous, non-nutritive swallowing can be modulated by bronchopulmonary receptor activity further illustrates the physiological interactions between upper and lower airways

Qualidade pós-colheita e compostos funcionais de pimenta dedo-de-moça 'BRS Mari' em diferentes estádios de maturação

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as características físico-químicas e propriedades funcionais da pimenta dedo-de-moça 'BRS Mari', em diferentes estádios de maturação, e determinar o estádio ideal de colheita dos frutos destinados ao consumo in natura. As pimentas foram cultivadas no campo experimental da Embrapa Hortaliças (Brasília, DF, Brasil), em 2012. Seus frutos avaliados aos 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 e 80 dias após a antese (DAA) quanto ao teor de sólidos solúveis (SS), acidez titulável (AT), relação SS/AT, coloração (ângulo hue e luminosidade), clorofilas a, b e total, compostos fenólicos totais (CFT), atividade antioxidante (AAT) e capsantina. Observou-se que o teor de SS aumentou até 70 DAA e a AT aumentou até os 50 DAA com decréscimo aos 80 DAA. Clorofilas a e total diminuíram até 60 DAA. Os valores de clorofila b foram mais elevados até 30 DAA e depois diminuíram. Os valores de ângulo hue e luminosidade diminuíram até 60 DAA, indicando mudança de verde para vermelho na 'coloração externa' dos frutos, com pequenas mudanças na coloração de 60 até 80 DAA. O conteúdo CFT aumentou até 60 DAA e depois pequenos aumentos ocorreram até 80 DAA. AAT aumentou à medida que os frutos amadureciam e o conteúdo de capsantina aumentou até 70 DAA. Esses resultados indicam que o estádio ideal para colheita da pimenta dedo-de-moça 'BRS Mari' é aos 70 dias após a antese, quando ela também apresenta o total desenvolvimento da coloração vermelha na epiderme.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and functional properties of "dedo-de-moça" 'BRS Mari' pepper fruits at different maturity stages, and determine the ideal harvest stage for fresh consumption. The pepper plants were grown in the experimental field of Embrapa Hortaliças (Brasília, DF, Brazil) in 2012, and their fruits were evaluated at 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 days after anthesis (DAA) to determine the soluble solid content (SS), titratable acidity (TA), SS/TA ratio, color (hue angle and lightness), a, b, and total chlorophyll, total phenolic compounds (TPC), total antioxidant activity (TAA), and capsanthin. It was observed that SS content increased until 70 DAA, and TA increased until 50 DAA, with decrease at 80 DAA. The a and total chlorophyll decreased until 60 DAA. Values for chlorophyll b were high until 30 DAA, and then decreased. The values for hue angle and lightness decreased until 60 DAA, indicating a change from green to red in fruits external color, with small changes in color from 60 to 80 DAA. The TPC content increased until 60 DAA, and then small increases occurred until 80 DAA. The AA increased as the fruit ripened, and the capsanthin content increased until 70 DAA. These results indicated that the ideal stage for harvest of the "dedo-de-moça" 'BRS Mari' pepper fruits is at 70 days after anthesis, when they also have a full development of red color in the fruit epidermis

Idiosyncratic features in tRNAs participating in bacterial cell wall synthesis

The FemXWv aminoacyl transferase of Weissella viridescens initiates the synthesis of the side chain of peptidoglycan precursors by transferring l-Ala from Ala-tRNAAla to UDP-MurNAc-pentadepsipeptide. FemXWv is an attractive target for the development of novel antibiotics, since the side chain is essential for the last cross-linking step of peptidoglycan synthesis. Here, we show that FemXWv is highly specific for incorporation of l-Ala in vivo based on extensive analysis of the structure of peptidoglycan. Comparison of various natural and in vitro-transcribed tRNAs indicated that the specificity of FemXWv depends mainly upon the sequence of the tRNA although additional specificity determinants may include post-transcriptional modifications and recognition of the esterified amino acid. Site-directed mutagenesis identified cytosines in the G1–C72 and G2–C71 base pairs of the acceptor stem as critical for FemXWv activity in agreement with modeling of tRNAAla in the catalytic cavity of the enzyme. In contrast, semi-synthesis of Ala-tRNAAla harboring nucleotide substitutions in the G3–U70 wobble base pair showed that this main identity determinant of alanyl-tRNA synthetase is non-essential for FemXWv. The different modes of recognition of the acceptor stem indicate that specific inhibition of FemXWv could be achieved by targeting the distal portion of tRNAAla for the design of substrate analogues