Thesis (Ph. D.) -- California Institute of Technology, 2010. / Title from home page (viewed 03/05/2010). Advisor and committee chair names found in the thesis' metadata record in the digital repository. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-165).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-106).

This study uses a multilevel model of change to assess the effects of five distinguished regulation styles in title insurance on insurance premiums. This study finds that the states promulgating title insurance premiums have higher charges than the states allowing free competition in the title insurance market. The other regulation styles do not have significantly different impacts on title insurance premiums from free competition. In addition, market characteristics such as home sales, housing price, and property value can also influence title insurance premiums. This study explains the title insurance premium variation among states. The research outcomes can also provide insights into the ongoing regulatory reform in title insurance, in particular in the states using the promulgation regulation style. / text

Cognitive emotion regulation strategies can be used to counter the negative effects of life stress. In neuroimaging paradigms, many different types of reappraisal strategies have been used to promote cognitive coping with impersonal, emotion-evoking stimuli, but limited research has been done utilizing specific reappraisal strategies with real-life events. Big picture reappraisal is a specific emotion regulation strategy that offers a way of managing distress aiming to promote acceptance and cognitive coping. Big picture reappraisal instructions (experimental condition) were compared to distraction and rumination instructions (control conditions) resulting in activation in areas associated with cognitive control (orbital frontal cortex, superior parietal lobe, cerebellum lobule VI). Mood ratings collected after each of several condition prompts were significantly more positive in the distraction compared to the big picture reappraisal condition during the first third of the induction, but as the task progressed the effectiveness of distraction declined considerably. There were no significant condition differences in mood during the second and third segments of the induction. / text

Due to their role in cellular signaling, mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinases represent targets of pharmaceutical interest. Most MAP kinase inhibitors target the highly conserved ATP binding site. This conservation promotes cross-reactivity and toxicities that may limit their potential as drugs. These drawbacks motivate the search for non-ATP competitive inhibitors with acceptable specificity and potency and also drive efforts to understand MAPK regulation. We applied a virtual screening (VS) workflow to discover novel scaffolds for ATP-independent JNK (C-Jun N-terminal Kinase) inhibitors targeting the JNK-JIP (JNK Interacting Protein) interaction. (-)-Zuonin A was identified as an inhibitor of JNK, exhibiting 100-fold selectivity for the JNKs over other MAP kinases. (-)-Zuonin A was characterized extensively both in vitro and in cell-based assays. The JNK2 isoform has been reported to regulate breast cancer cell migration. Accordingly, we engineered a JNK2-selective peptide inhibitor. Peptides derived from the JIP scaffolds linked to the cell-penetrating peptide TAT are used widely to investigate JNK-mediated signaling events without exibiiting isoform selectivity. Herein, Several JIP-based peptide sequences were designed and tested. A JIP sequence connected through a flexible linker to either the N-terminus of an inverted TAT sequence [mathematical equation], or to a poly-arginine sequence [mathematical equation] enabled the potent inhibition of JNK2 (IC₅₀~90 nM) with 10-fold selectivity over JNK1 and JNK3. Both peptides revealed a potent ability to inhibit the induction of JNK activation and c-Jun phosphorylation in HEK293 cells treated with anisomycin, and inhibited the migration of Polyoma Middle-T Antigen Mammary Tumor (P[subscript y]VMT) cells through the selective inhibition of JNK2. ERK2 dimerization has been reported to regulate its nuclear translocation and signaling. Our analysis using light scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation and NMR provide strong evidence that ERK2 is monomeric under physiological conditions. / text

Census data show that about 60 million, mostly low-income and minority, American adults either do not have a bank account or have an account but also rely on non-bank financial products to make ends meet. These products, such as payday loans, often have high costs per dollar lent and have historically fallen into gaps in both state and federal regulation. Texas, home of the largest payday lending companies in the country and over 2,500 payday lenders, provides an instructive case study of how small-dollar loan regulation has developed over the years, how non-bank financial institutions navigate the law, and how some organizations with non-profit missions have sought to offer affordable loan alternatives. This paper places current lending regulation in historical context, surveys federal and Texas law related to small-dollar loans prior to and following the financial crisis in 2008, and provides highlights from a federal pilot program designed to encourage banks to offer affordable small-dollar loan products. It also examines the experience of a community development financial institution (CDFI) in Brownsville, Texas that launched a small-dollar loan program in 2012. The federal pilot and Brownsville cases provide insights regarding the viability of affordable small-dollar products, as well as the challenges facing non-profit-maximizing institutions such as CDFIs when trying to develop loan programs under the current regulatory regime. Ultimately this paper concludes that, while there may always be a market for high-cost non-bank financial services, a combination of federal efforts to promote affordable options at banks and efforts by community-oriented CDFIs can go a long way towards providing lower-cost alternatives for people who currently rely on high-cost, non-bank products. / text

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