193 research outputs found
European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) skin and scale transcriptomes
Fish skin and their appendages, the mineralized scales, are important organs for protection and homeostasis, but little is known about their specific transcript or protein repertoire. This study used RNA-seq to generate transcriptome data for skin and scales in the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), an important species for fisheries and aquaculture. RNA was extracted from the pectoral skin and from scales collected above the midline of immature one-year old sea bass. More than 20 x 10(6) reads were obtained for each tissue, using RNA-seq Illumina technology. De novo assembly resulted in 31,842 transcripts (of 500 base pairs or greater) for skin and 20,423 transcripts for scale. This dataset provides a useful resource for both aquaculture and fish conservation studies and for research into the physiology and molecular biology of fish skin and scales. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal (FCT) [PTDC/AAG-GLO/4003/2012, CCMAR/Multi/04326/2013, SFRH/BPD/84033/2012
Sovereign Immunity Tests Bankruptcyâs Least Contested Axioms
Section 106 of the Bankruptcy Code expressly abrogates the sovereign immunity of governmental units with respect to fifty-nine other provisions of the Code. There are currently two distinct issues splitting circuit courts over the meaning of this provision. First, does section 106 waive the sovereign immunity of the Internal Revenue Service in avoidance actions brought against it by a bankruptcy trustee under section 544(b)? Second, are Native American Indian Tribes âgovernmental unitsâ within the meaning of section 101(27), such that their sovereign immunity is abrogated to the extent set forth in section 106? Invoking conventional canons of statutory construction, this Article takes the minority position on both issues, arguing that the IRS may not be sued under section 544(b) and that Tribes are not governmental units within the meaning of the Code. Moreover, these issues illustrate a tension between two of bankruptcyâs least contested axioms: (1) creditors with legally similar claims should be treated similarly; and (2) bankruptcy should not adjust nonbankruptcy entitlements unless necessary. A textualist reading suggests that, when it comes to sovereign immunity, the Code cuts this tension by privileging the second axiom over the first. It is for Congressânot the judiciaryâto change that if necessary
Driven to Bankruptcy
Over the last ten years, 15.1 million people owning 16.4 million cars filed for bankruptcy. These cars provided access to work, education, medical care, childcare, food, and other life necessities. They were also major household investments, the most expensive asset most bankruptcy filers owned other than a house. Using original data from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, we document what happens to car owners and their car loans when they enter bankruptcy. In brief, we find that people who file bankruptcy own automobiles at the same rate as the general population and that they overwhelmingly indicate they want to use bankruptcy as a tool to keep their automobiles. We further identify a subset of debtors, constituting about a third of bankruptcy filers, who come to bankruptcy owning automobiles and little else. These cases are the most likely to be filed by people driven to bankruptcy. We detail what our results show about how people use consumer bankruptcy and where the system appears to falter. We conclude with recommendations on how to remedy these systemic issues as well as what the future of the automobile marketplace, particularly subprime auto loans, means for people\u27s continued use of bankruptcy
\u27No Money Down\u27 Bankruptcy
This Article reports on a breakdown in access to justice in bankruptcy, a system from which one million Americans will seek help this year. A crucial decision for these consumers will be whether to file a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. Nearly every aspect of their bankruptcies â both the benefits and the burdens of debt relief â will be different in chapter 7 versus chapter 13. Almost all consumers will hire a bankruptcy attorney. Because they must pay their attorneys, many consumers will file chapter 13 to finance their access to the law, rather than because they prefer the law of chapter 13 over chapter 7.
Attorneys charge about 3,200 to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy, but clients can pay attorney fees over time as part of their cases. Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcies also differ in the relief achieved. Almost all chapter 7 cases end with the debtor receiving a discharge of debts. In contrast, only around one-third of chapter 13 cases end in discharge.
This Article exposes the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of debtors paying nothing in attorneysâ fees to file chapter 13. New data from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, our original empirical national study, suggest that these âno money downâ consumers are similar to those who use chapter 7. However, because they cannot afford to pay their attorneys up front, these âno money downâ bankruptcy debtors suffer. They pay $2,000 more and have their cases dismissed at a rate 18 times higher than if they had filed chapter 7.
The two most significant predictors of whether a consumer files a âno money downâ bankruptcy are a personâs place of residence and a personâs race. We could not identify legitimate ways that these factors correlate with debtorsâ needs for the substantive legal benefits of chapter 13. âNo money downâ bankruptcy can be a distortion in the delivery of legal help. We suggest reforms to how attorneys collect fees from consumer debtors that will reduce the potential conflict between clientsâ interests and attorneysâ interests. The reforms will deliver access to justice and improve the functioning of the bankruptcy system
Life in the Sweatbox
The time before a person files bankruptcy is sometimes called the financial âsweatbox.â Using original data from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, we find that people are living longer in the sweatbox before filing bankruptcy than they have in the past. We also describe the depletion of wealth and well-being that defines peopleâs time in the sweatbox. For those people who struggle for more than two years before filing bankruptcyâthe âlong strugglersââtheir time in the sweatbox is particularly damaging. During their years in the sweatbox, long strugglers deal with persistent collection calls, go without healthcare, food, and utilities, lose homes and other property, and yet remain ashamed of needing to file. For these people in particular, though time in the sweatbox undermines their ability to realize bankruptcyâs âfresh start,â they do not file until long after the costs outweigh the benefits. This Articleâs findings challenge longstanding narratives about who files bankruptcy and why. These narratives underlie our laws, influence how judges rule in individual cases, and affect how attorneys interact with their clients
No Money Down Bankruptcy
This Article reports on a breakdown in access to justice in bankruptcy, a system from which one million Americans will seek help this year. A crucial decision for these consumers will be whether to file a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. Nearly every aspect of their bankruptcies â both the benefits and the burdens of debt relief â will be different in chapter 7 versus chapter 13. Almost all consumers will hire a bankruptcy attorney. Because they must pay their attorneys, many consumers will file chapter 13 to finance their access to the law, rather than because they prefer the law of chapter 13 over chapter 7. Attorneys charge about 3,200 to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy, but clients can pay attorney fees over time as part of their cases. Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcies also differ in the relief achieved. Almost all chapter 7 cases end with the debtor receiving a discharge of debts. In contrast, only around one-third of chapter 13 cases end in discharge. This Article exposes the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of debtors paying nothing in attorneysâ fees to file chapter 13. New data from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, our original empirical national study, suggest that these âno money downâ consumers are similar to those who use chapter 7. However, because they cannot afford to pay their attorneys up front, these âno money downâ bankruptcy debtors suffer. They pay $2,000 more and have their cases dismissed at a rate 18 times higher than if they had filed chapter 7. The two most significant predictors of whether a consumer files a âno money downâ bankruptcy are a personâs place of residence and a personâs race. We could not identify legitimate ways that these factors correlate with debtorsâ needs for the substantive legal benefits of chapter 13. âNo money downâ bankruptcy can be a distortion in the delivery of legal help. We suggest reforms to how attorneys collect fees from consumer debtors that will reduce the potential conflict between clientsâ interests and attorneysâ interests. The reforms will deliver access to justice and improve the functioning of the bankruptcy system
Life in the Sweatbox
The time before a person files bankruptcy is sometimes called the financial âsweatbox.â Using original data from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, we find that people are living longer in the sweatbox before filing bankruptcy than they have in the past. We also describe the depletion of wealth and well-being that defines peopleâs time in the sweatbox. For those people who struggle for more than two years before filing bankruptcyâthe âlong strugglersââtheir time in the sweatbox is particularly damaging. During their years in the sweatbox, long strugglers deal with persistent collection calls, go without healthcare, food, and utilities, lose homes and other property, and yet remain ashamed of needing to file. For these people in particular, though time in the sweatbox undermines their ability to realize bankruptcyâs âfresh start,â they do not file until long after the costs outweigh the benefits. This Articleâs findings challenge longstanding narratives about who files bankruptcy and why. These narratives underlie our laws, influence how judges rule in individual cases, and affect how attorneys interact with their clients
Gill transcriptome response to changes in environmental calcium in the green spotted puffer fish
Abstract Background Calcium ion is tightly regulated in body fluids and for euryhaline fish, which are exposed to rapid changes in environmental [Ca2+], homeostasis is especially challenging. The gill is the main organ of active calcium uptake and therefore plays a crucial role in the maintenance of calcium ion homeostasis. To study the molecular basis of the short-term responses to changing calcium availability, the whole gill transcriptome obtained by Super Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SuperSAGE) of the euryhaline teleost green spotted puffer fish, Tetraodon nigroviridis, exposed to water with altered [Ca2+] was analysed. Results Transfer of T. nigroviridis from 10 ppt water salinity containing 2.9 mM Ca2+ to high (10 mM Ca2+ ) and low (0.01 mM Ca2+) calcium water of similar salinity for 2-12 h resulted in 1,339 differentially expressed SuperSAGE tags (26-bp transcript identifiers) in gills. Of these 869 tags (65%) were mapped to T. nigroviridis cDNAs or genomic DNA and 497 (57%) were assigned to known proteins. Thirteen percent of the genes matched multiple tags indicating alternative RNA transcripts. The main enriched gene ontology groups belong to Ca2+ signaling/homeostasis but also muscle contraction, cytoskeleton, energy production/homeostasis and tissue remodeling. K-means clustering identified co-expressed transcripts with distinct patterns in response to water [Ca2+] and exposure time. Conclusions The generated transcript expression patterns provide a framework of novel water calcium-responsive genes in the gill during the initial response after transfer to different [Ca2+]. This molecular response entails initial perception of alterations, activation of signaling networks and effectors and suggests active remodeling of cytoskeletal proteins during the initial acclimation process. Genes related to energy production and energy homeostasis are also up-regulated, probably reflecting the increased energetic needs of the acclimation response. This study is the first genome-wide transcriptome analysis of fish gills and is an important resource for future research on the short-term mechanisms involved in the gill acclimation responses to environmental Ca2+ changes and osmoregulation.Peer Reviewe
Recommended from our members
The roles of family members, health care workers, and others in decision-making processes about genetic testing among individuals at risk for Huntington disease
Purpose: To understand how individuals at risk for Huntington disease view the roles of others, e.g., family members and health care workers, in decision making about genetic testing.
Methods: Twenty-one individuals (eight mutation-positive, four mutation-negative, and nine not tested) were interviewed for approximately 2 hours each.
Results: Interviewees illuminated several key aspects of the roles of family members and health care workers (in genetics and other fields) in decision making about testing that have been underexplored. Family members often felt strongly about whether an individual should get tested. Health care workers provided information and assistance with decision making and mental health referrals that were often helpful. Yet health care workers varied in knowledge and sensitivity regarding testing issues, and the quality of counseling and testing experiences can range widely. At times, health care workers without specialized knowledge of Huntington disease offered opinions of whether to test. Input from families and health care workers could also conflict with each other and with an individual's own preferences. Larger institutional and geographic contexts shaped decisions as well.
Conclusion: Decision-making theories applied to Huntington disease testing have frequently drawn on psychological models, yet the current data highlight the importance of social contexts and relationships in testing decisions. This report, the first to our knowledge to explore individuals' perceptions of social factors (particularly family and health care worker involvement) in Huntington disease testing decisions, has critical implications for practice, education, research, and policy
Recommended from our members
DecisionâMaking About Reproductive Choices Among Individuals AtâRisk for Huntington's Disease
We explored how individuals atârisk for HD who have or have not been tested make reproductive decisions and what factors are involved. We interviewed 21 individuals (8 with and 4 without the mutation, and 9 unâtested) inâdepth for 2 hours each. Atârisk individuals faced a difficult series of dilemmas of whether to: get pregnant and deliver, have fetal testing, have preâimplantation genetic diagnosis, adopt, or have no children. These individuals weighed competing desires and concerns: their own desires vs. those of spouses vs. broader moral concerns (e.g., to end the disease; and/or follow dictates against abortion) vs. perceptions of the interests of current or future offspring. Quandaries arose of how much and to whom to feel responsible. Some changed their perspectives over time (e.g., first âgambling,â then being more cautious). These data have critical implications for genetic counselors and other health care workers and future research, particularly as more genetic tests become available
- âŚ