Factors Influencing the Size of Student Debt

The overall purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of selected sociodemographic variables and students\u27 knowledge about their educational loans on the amount of total debt. The specific objectives were to: (1) ascertain students\u27 perception of knowledge about their student loans, as well as their actual knowledge about various aspects of their student loans including: when they first borrowed, interest rate, grace period, when payment will begin, amount of monthly payment, and their overall self-reported level of knowledge; and (2) ascertain the relationship between students\u27 sociodemographic characteristics and level of knowledge on total debt

Money Management Knowledge of College Students

This study describes the money management knowledge of college students and identifies the characteristics of students associated with the differences in that knowledge level

Financial socialization's impact on investment orientation and household net worth

This study investigates the role of financial socialization for investment orientation and household net worth. Combining consumer socialization literature with findings in the behavioural finance literature, survey data were analysed to (1) investigate the relationship among household net worth, financial socialization, indicators of investment orientation and socio-demographic investor characteristics; (2) examine the influence of socio-demographic investor characteristics and financial socialization on indicators of investment orientation; and (3) test whether financial socialization affects household wealth above and beyond socio-demographic and investment orientation factors. Parents emerged as a relevant socialization agent of investors, influencing investment regularity and household net worth above and beyond other factors. This result extends earlier findings about parents' role for a person's financial management and savings behaviour to the investment context. Based on our findings, educators may want to involve parents in their efforts. They may want to emphasize the importance of starting investing regularly at an early age and of continuing to increase involvement in investing over the years. Financial planners and financial counsellors may consider emphasizing these two practices for their clients and involve children of their clients when and where appropriate

Students\u27 Perceptions of Their Education Debt and Its Impact on Life After Graduation

Student loans comprise the primary source of financial aid funding for higher education. But how much do students know about the realities of loan indebtedness? This study evaluates data collected in winter 1996 from 443 graduating seniors at a Midwestem university. Its results diverge somewhat from those of some early studies, yet support other recent research. Many of the surveyed students were reportedly unaware of their total loan indebtedness and payment obligations (over- and underestimating debt payments); borrowed to support a better lifestyle ; and were unable to estimate realistically their post-graduation earnings and ability to meet their repayment obligations. The results suggest a need for greater educating of prospective borrowers and the assumption of a preventive posture on the part of those involved in the lending process

Not a Black and European-Americans question: how are investor behavior and perceptions related to race and ethnicity?

This paper explores racial/ethnical differences among investors’ risk tolerance, confidence, and asset ownership. The data for this study is derived from a national telephone survey conducted at a regional Midwest university. The data collection began by purchasing 7,500 phone numbers from Survey Sampling International. Potential households were selected by targeting phone numbers from the sample in geographical areas with average household incomes of $100,000 per year or higher. Results show that among higher income investors, African-Americans were less likely to invest in corporate stocks and bonds; Asian-Americans expressed particularly high investor confidence and had a preference for purchasing Certificates of Deposit (CDs); Hispanic-Americans expressed significantly lower risk tolerance and lower holdings of corporate stocks. These findings indicate that community-based financial education should be aware of these racial/ethnic characteristics and aim to tailor educational interventions to it, where possible. These findings offer valuable insights to educators, financial planners and financial 115 institutions offering these products

Identification of symptom domains in ulcerative colitis that occur frequently during flares and are responsive to changes in disease activity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ulcerative colitis disease activity is determined by measuring symptoms and signs. Our aim was to determine which symptom domains are frequent and responsive to change in the evaluation of disease activity, which are those defined by three criteria: 1) they occur frequently during flares; 2) they improve during effective therapy for ulcerative colitis; and 3) they resolve during remission.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-eight symptom domains, 16 from standard indices and 12 novel domains identified by ulcerative colitis patient focus groups, were evaluated. Sixty subjects with ulcerative colitis were surveyed, rating each symptom on the three criteria with a 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale. Frequent and responsive symptoms were defined <it>a priori </it>as those whose median Visual Analogue Scale rating for all 3 criteria was significantly greater than 50.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirteen of the 28 symptom domains were identified as both frequent in ulcerative colitis flares and responsive to changes in disease activity. Seven of these 13 symptom domains were novel symptoms derived from ulcerative colitis patient focus groups including stool mucus, tenesmus, fatigue, rapid postprandial bowel movements, and inability to differentiate liquid or gas from solid stool when rectal urgency occurs. Ten of the 16 symptom domains from standard indices were either infrequent or unresponsive to changes in disease activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Only some of the symptoms of ulcerative colitis that are important to patients are included in standard indices, and several symptoms currently measured are not frequent or responsive to change in ulcerative colitis patients. Development of survey measures of these symptom domains could significantly improve the assessment of disease activity in ulcerative colitis.</p

Lack of association between polymorphism rs540782 and primary open angle glaucoma in Saudi patients.

Background To investigate whether polymorphism rs540782 on chromsome 1, in close proximity to the Zona Pellucida Glycoprotein 4 (ZP4) gene, is a risk factor for primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Method The study genotyped 92 unrelated POAG cases and 95 control subjects from Saudi Arabia using Taq-Man® assay. Results The genotype frequency distribution did not deviate significantly from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05). Overall, both the genotype and allele frequencies were not significantly different between cases and controls. The minor ‘C’ allele frequency was 49.4%, which was comparable to the Japanese population and higher than the Indian and Afro-Caribbean populations. Similarly, no significant association was found between genotypes and systemic diseases and health awareness/behavior domain variables. Importantly, glaucoma specific indices, such as intraocular pressure, cup/disc ratio and number of anti-glaucoma medication, also showed no statistically significant effect of genotypes within POAG cases. Conclusion Polymorphism rs540782 is not a risk factor for POAG in the Saudi cohort

(Z)3,4,5,4'-trans-tetramethoxystilbene, a new analogue of resveratrol, inhibits gefitinb-resistant non-small cell lung cancer via selectively elevating intracellular calcium level.

Calcium is a second messenger which is required for regulation of many cellular processes. However, excessive elevation or prolonged activation of calcium signaling would lead to cell death. As such, selectively regulating calcium signaling could be an alternative approach for anti-cancer therapy. Recently, we have identified an effective analogue of resveratrol, (Z)3,4,5,4′-trans-tetramethoxystilbene (TMS) which selectively elevated the intracellular calcium level in gefitinib-resistant (G-R) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. TMS exhibited significant inhibitory effect on G-R NSCLC cells, but not other NSCLC cells and normal lung epithelial cells. The phosphorylation and activation of EGFR were inhibited by TMS in G-R cells. TMS induced caspase-independent apoptosis and autophagy by directly binding to SERCA and causing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and AMPK activation. Proteomics analysis also further confirmed that mTOR pathway, which is the downstream of AMPK, was significantly suppressed by TMS. JNK, the cross-linker of ER stress and mTOR pathway was significantly activated by TMS. In addition, the inhibition of JNK activation can partially block the effect of TMS. Taken together, TMS showed promising anti-cancer activity by mediating calcium signaling pathway and inducing apoptosis as well as autophagy in G-R NSCLC cells, providing strategy in designing multi-targeting drug for treating G-R patients

A successful chronic care program in Al Ain-United Arab Emirates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The cost effective provision of quality care for chronic diseases is a major challenge for health care systems. We describe a project to improve the care of patients with the highly prevalent disorders of diabetes and hypertension, conducted in one of the major cities of the United Arab Emirates.</p> <p>Settings and Methods</p> <p>The project, using the principles of quality assurance cycles, was conducted in 4 stages.</p> <p>The assessment stage consisted of a community survey and an audit of the health care system, with particular emphasis on chronic disease care. The information gleaned from this stage provided feedback to the staff of participating health centers. In the second stage, deficiencies in health care were identified and interventions were developed for improvements, including topics for continuing professional development.</p> <p>In the third stage, these strategies were piloted in a single health centre for one year and the outcomes evaluated. In the still ongoing fourth stage, the project was rolled out to all the health centers in the area, with continuing evaluation. The intervention consisted of changes to establish a structured care model based on the predicted needs of this group of patients utilizing dedicated chronic disease clinics inside the existing primary health care system. These clinics incorporated decision-making tools, including evidence-based guidelines, patient education and ongoing professional education.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The intervention was successfully implemented in all the health centers. The health care quality indicators that showed the greatest improvement were the documentation of patient history (e.g. smoking status and physical activity); improvement in recording physical signs (e.g. body mass index (BMI)); and an improvement in the requesting of appropriate investigations, such as HbA1c and microalbuminurea. There was also improvement in those parameters reflecting outcomes of care, which included HbA1c, blood pressure and lipid profiles. Indicators related to lifestyle changes, such as smoking cessation and BMI, failed to improve.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Chronic disease care is a joint commitment by health care providers and patients. This combined approach proved successful in most areas of the project, but the area of patient self management requires further improvement.</p