Recent changes to the Federal Reserve's survey of terms of business lending

The Federal Reserve's quarterly Survey of Terms of Business Lending, which has been conducted for more than twenty years, collects information on interest rates and other characteristics of commercial bank business loans. The survey has been changed from time to time to recognize innovations in bank lending practices and to improve the measurement of the desired information. The most recent changes took effect with the May 1997 survey. The major improvement was the addition of an item measuring loan risk. In addition, the reporting panel, which had been limited to domestically chartered commercial banks was expanded to include a sample of U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, which now account for a significant proportion of business lending to U.S. firms. This article discusses the most recent changes made to the survey and presents some information now available from the new items being reported. It also summarizes information about the use of loan risk ratings from consultations conducted with a sample of the survey respondents during the process of planning the revisions to the survey.Commercial loans

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Food Habits in West-Central Arkansas

This study was conducted on Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge in west-central Arkansas to investigate the food habits of the common barn owl (Tyto alba). Three hundred thirty-eight pellets were collected from four barn owl nest boxes yielding the remains of 1003 individual prey items. Hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) were eaten most frequently, comprising 46.8% of the diet by frequency. Results of this study are compared with those from other Arkansas ecoregions to assess regional variation in the diet of this endangered species

Product Liability Issues in Real Estate Brokerage

The legal environment for real estate brokers is moving inexorably toward the doctrine of strict liability in a product liability context. The agency relationship model currently popular in real estate brokerage may not be able to withstand this threat. A recommendation is made that the industry move toward a market-making role which lies outside the chain of distribution of the real estate product. By moving out of the distribution channel, brokers may be able to revert to a "due care" standard performance.

Contrast‐Enhanced Ultrasound

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135556/1/jum2007266703.pd

Status of Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy for Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Remaining Challenges

PMC6446912Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus is a major cause of liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. After the discovery of hepatitis C virus 3 decades ago, the identification of the structure of the viral proteins, combined with high-throughput replicon models, enabled the discovery and development of direct-acting antivirals. These agents have revolutionized patient care, with cure rates of more than 90%. We review the status of direct-acting antiviral therapies for hepatitis C virus infection and discuss remaining challenges. We highlight licensed compounds, discuss the potential to shorten therapy even further, and review different options for treatment failure and resistance. We also provide an overview of clinical experience with generic agents and evidence for their efficacy. Finally, we discuss the need for new drugs and outline promising targets for future therapies

Bubble Raft Model for a Paraboloidal Crystal

We investigate crystalline order on a two-dimensional paraboloid of revolution by assembling a single layer of millimeter-sized soap bubbles on the surface of a rotating liquid, thus extending the classic work of Bragg and Nye on planar soap bubble rafts. Topological constraints require crystalline configurations to contain a certain minimum number of topological defects such as disclinations or grain boundary scars whose structure is analyzed as a function of the aspect ratio of the paraboloid. We find the defect structure to agree with theoretical predictions and propose a mechanism for scar nucleation in the presence of large Gaussian curvature.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure