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Prepayment penalties are ubiquitous in the commercial mortgage market yet reviled and highly restricted by law and regulation in the residential mortgage market. Considering the perspectives of both the borrower and the lender, we attempt a balanced cost-benefit analysis of this controversial contract feature for residential mortgage loans.We will address the following questions: What is the economic value of the prepayment penalty feature? Why is it more prevalent in the subprime than the prime market segment? Do borrowers obtain an offsetting economic benefit when they contract for a loan containing a prepayment penalty? What is the average cost of a prepayment penalty to borrowers, and how often is this cost actually incurred? In general, although we find a significant reduction in interest rates for loans containing a prepayment penalty, the expected costs outweigh the benefits by a considerable margin.

Poisonous plants are of great concern to any parent or health care practitioner. Household and landscape plants account for 7.1 % of all poisonous exposures in children. Many parents and health care professionals are aware of other potential poisons in the house; however, many times plants are overlooked as a potential poison. Though most plants are associated with only minor symptoms from dermal contact or ingestion, there are some that are associated with significant toxic effects that can be fatal. Poisonous plants are classified as anticholinergic, cardiac glycoside, cyanogenic, central nervous system stimulant/hallucinogens and severe gastrointestinal irritants. Many times these toxic plants produce a multitude of symptoms called a toxidrome. It is important for health care professionals to recognize these toxidromes and be knowledgeable about the proper treatment modalities.

Taken together, studies of seroconversion, exposure incidents, and compliance with Universal Precautions Policy help researchers understand the risks to health care workers of occupationally acquired HIV infection. The seroconversion studies show that the risk of infection is low (1 in 250) even when the incident is a percutaneous exposure to blood from a known HIV-positive patient. When the exposure is to blood from a patient whose HIV-status is unknown, or if the exposure is not through the skin, or if the exposure is to a body substance other than blood, the risk is considerably lower. The studies of exposure incidents show that for most health care workers, percutaneous exposures to blood are infrequent. Studies of compliance with Universal Precautions Policy show that exposure incidents that do occur can be prevented nearly half the time.