NC's Anti-Predatory Lending Law: Doing What It's Supposed To Do: A Reply

We reply to criticisms of our recent study about North Carolina's Anti-Predatory Lending Law reducing predatory loan terms and preserving access to credit (NC's Anti-Predatory Lending Law: Doing What it's Supposed to Do). To examine whether the decline in overall subprime lending in North Carolina, following passage of the predatory lending law, was due to a decline in loans with legitimate terms or to a reduction in loans with abusive terms, we examined specific market segments and market practices using loan level data from the Loan Performance Asset Backed Securities (ABS) database. Our study revealed that, although the total volume of subprime originations in North Carolina declined, the number of home purchase loans was unaffected by the law. Given the robustness of the LP data, we are baffled by the criticism and disappointed by confusion that has arisen over mistaken data interpretation. For reasons discussed in this paper, we stand by our descriptive study and will continue to use LP data in our future work.Technology and Industry, Regulatory Reform

Career Barriers in Freshman Orientation: What are first year students worried about?

The goal of this study was to identify the career barriers facing college students in their first semester with the possibility of addressing those concerns through campus programing or freshman orientation

Culture and Career Values: What matters to who?

Information is presented on differences related to gender/sex and race/ethnicity on factors considered important in career decisions

Cytochrome P4501A is Induced in Endothelial Cell Lines From the Kidney and Lung of the Bottlenose Dolphin, \u3ci\u3eTursiops truncatus\u3c/i\u3e

Marine mammals respond to the presence of polycyclic and planar halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH or PHAH) with the induced expression in endothelium of cytochrome P4501A1, regulated through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) transcription factor. Physiological responses in other animals, such as edema and inflammation indicate that the endothelium may be compromised by exposure to AHR agonists, which are ubiquitous in the marine environment. In other mammals and fish the cellular and molecular consequences of exposure to AHR agonists have been elucidated in cultured endothelial cells. We have cultured and characterized cetacean endothelial cells (EC) and used them in induction studies. Endothelial cells were cultured from the lung and kidney of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncates, and exposed to the AHR agonists β-naphthoflavone (βNF) and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). βNF (1–3 μM) induced significant increases in CYP1A1 (O-deethylation of 7-ethoxyresorufin to resorufin; EROD) activity to 3.6 and 0.92 pmol/mg/min in lung and kidney EC, respectively. TCDD was more potent than βNF, and more efficacious, with maximum induction of CYP1A1 activity of 10.1 and 15.2 pmol/mg/min in lung and kidney EC at 3–10 nM TCDD. The differential response indicates that the lung and kidney endothelial cells in culture retain the ability to respond in a selective manner to specific stimuli. Both the molecular mechanisms of induction and the physiological consequences, especially in the vasculature, of toxicant exposure can be studied in this system

The subduction dichotomy of strong plates and weak slabs

A key element of plate tectonics on Earth is that the lithosphere is subducting into the mantle. Subduction results from forces that bend and pull the lithosphere into the interior of the Earth. Once subducted, lithospheric slabs are further modified by dynamic forces in the mantle, and their sinking is inhibited by the increase in viscosity of the lower mantle. These forces are resisted by the material strength of the lithosphere. Using geodynamic models, we investigate several subduction models, wherein we control material strength by setting a maximum viscosity for the surface plates and the subducted slabs independently. We find that models characterized by a dichotomy of lithosphere strengths produce a spectrum of results that are comparable to interpretations of observations of subduction on Earth. These models have strong lithospheric plates at the surface, which promotes Earth-like single-sided subduction. At the same time, these models have weakened lithospheric subducted slabs which can more easily bend to either lie flat or fold into a slab pile atop the lower mantle, reproducing the spectrum of slab morphologies that have been interpreted from images of seismic tomography

Time-of-Day Dictates Transcriptional Inflammatory Responses to Cytotoxic Chemotherapy

Many cytotoxic chemotherapeutics elicit a proinflammatory response which is often associated with chemotherapy-induced behavioral alterations. The immune system is under circadian influence; time-of-day may alter inflammatory responses to chemotherapeutics. We tested this hypothesis by administering cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin (Cyclo/Dox), a common treatment for breast cancer, to female BALB/c mice near the beginning of the light or dark phase. Mice were injected intravenously with Cyclo/Dox or the vehicle two hours after lights on (zeitgeber time (ZT2), or two hours after lights off (ZT14). Tissue was collected 1, 3, 9, and 24 hours later. Mice injected with Cyclo/Dox at ZT2 lost more body mass than mice injected at ZT14. Cyclo/Dox injected at ZT2 increased the expression of several pro-inflammatory genes within the spleen; this was not evident among mice treated at ZT14. Transcription of enzymes within the liver responsible for converting Cyclo/Dox into their toxic metabolites increased among mice injected at ZT2; furthermore, transcription of these enzymes correlated with splenic pro-inflammatory gene expression when treatment occurred at ZT2 but not ZT14. The pattern was reversed in the brain; pro-inflammatory gene expression increased among mice injected at ZT14. These data suggest that inflammatory responses to chemotherapy depend on time-of-day and are tissue specific

A case of unilateral keloid after bilateral breast reduction

Keloid scar is a manifestation of abnormal wound healing in predisposed individuals. Many treatment modalities have been tried with varying degrees of success. Radiotherapy is one such modality that is widely recognised. We present a case report and literature review based on a patient who developed unilateral keloid scarring following bilateral breast reduction surgery. Some 4 years previously, she had undergone breast conserving surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy for breast cancer. After her breast reduction surgery, she developed keloid scarring on the non-irradiated breast only. This case highlights a possible 'preventative' effect of radiotherapy in keloid formation