Protecting Rights, Preventing Windfalls: A Model for Harmonizing State and Federal Laws on Floating Liens

This Article examines the conflict between state law which permits the creation of security interests in a debtor\u27s after-acquired property--or floating liens --and federal bankruptcy law\u27s potential cutoff of many of those security interests. This conflict arises in virtually every bankruptcy case. However, because of ambiguous statutory language and a failure of the jurisprudence conceptual center. This Article argues that using a model of a debtor in liquidation to analyze the cutoff of floating liens would balance the underlying policy considerations and make judicial outcomes more predictable

Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the use of wild mammals in research

Guidelines for use of wild mammal species are updated from the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) 2007 publication. These revised guidelines cover current professional techniques and regulations involving mammals used in research and teaching. They incorporate additional resources, summaries of procedures, and reporting requirements not contained in earlier publications. Included are details on marking, housing, trapping, and collecting mammals. It is recommended that institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs), regulatory agencies, and investigators use these guidelines as a resource for protocols involving wild mammals. These guidelines were prepared and approved by the ASM, working with experienced professional veterinarians and IACUCs, whose collective expertise provides a broad and comprehensive understanding of the biology of nondomesticated mammals in their natural environments. The most current version of these guidelines and any subsequent modifications are available at the ASM Animal Care and Use Committee page of the ASM Web site (http://mammalsociety.org/committees/index.asp).American Society of Mammalogist

Comparative Genomics of 2009 Seasonal Plague (Yersinia pestis) in New Mexico

Plague disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis routinely affects animals and occasionally humans, in the western United States. The strains native to the North American continent are thought to be derived from a single introduction in the late 19th century. The degree to which these isolates have diverged genetically since their introduction is not clear, and new genomic markers to assay the diversity of North American plague are highly desired. To assay genetic diversity of plague isolates within confined geographic areas, draft genome sequences were generated by 454 pyrosequencing from nine environmental and clinical plague isolates. In silico assemblies of Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) loci were compared to laboratory-generated profiles for seven markers. High-confidence SNPs and small Insertion/Deletions (Indels) were compared to previously sequenced Y. pestis isolates. The resulting panel of mutations allowed clustering of the strains and tracing of the most likely evolutionary trajectory of the plague strains. The sequences also allowed the identification of new putative SNPs that differentiate the 2009 isolates from previously sequenced plague strains and from each other. In addition, new insertion points for the abundant insertion sequences (IS) of Y. pestis are present that allow additional discrimination of strains; several of these new insertions potentially inactivate genes implicated in virulence. These sequences enable whole-genome phylogenetic analysis and allow the unbiased comparison of closely related isolates of a genetically monomorphic pathogen

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Kinetic Analysis of 2-[11C]Thymidine PET Imaging Studies of Malignant Brain Tumors: Preliminary Patient Results

2-[11C]Thymidine (TdR), a PET tracer for cellular proliferation, may be advantageous for monitoring brain tumor progression and response to therapy. Kinetic analysis of dynamic TdR images was performed to estimate the rate of thymidine transport (K1t) and thymidine flux (KTdR) into brain tumors and normal brain. These estimates were compared to MRI and pathologic results. Methods: Twenty patients underwent sequential [11C]CO2 (major TdR metabolite) and TdR PET studies with arterial blood sampling and metabolite analysis. The data were fitted using the five-compartment model described in the companion article. Results: Comparison of model estimates with clinical and pathologic data shows that K1t is higher for MRI contrast enhancing tumors (p > .001), and KTdR increases with tumor grade (p > .02). On average, TdR retention was lower after treatment in high-grade tumors. The model was able to distinguish between increased thymidine transport due to blood–brain barrier breakdown and increased tracer retention associated with tumor cell proliferation. Conclusion: Initial analysis of model estimates of thymidine retention and transport show good agreement with the clinical and pathological features of a wide range of brain tumors. Ongoing studies will evaluate its role in measuring response to treatment and predicting outcome

Kinetic Analysis of 2-[ 11

2-[ 11 C]Thymidine (TdR), a PET tracer for cellular proliferation, may be advantageous for monitoring brain tumor progression and response to therapy. Kinetic analysis of dynamic TdR images was performed to estimate the rate of thymidine transport ( K 1t ) and thymidine flux ( K TdR ) into brain tumors and normal brain. These estimates were compared to MRI and pathologic results. Methods: Twenty patients underwent sequential [ 11 C]CO 2 (major TdR metabolite) and TdR PET studies with arterial blood sampling and metabolite analysis. The data were fitted using the five-compartment model described in the companion article. Results: Comparison of model estimates with clinical and pathologic data shows that K 1t is higher for MRI contrast enhancing tumors ( p > .001), and K TdR increases with tumor grade ( p > .02). On average, TdR retention was lower after treatment in high-grade tumors. The model was able to distinguish between increased thymidine transport due to blood–brain barrier breakdown and increased tracer retention associated with tumor cell proliferation. Conclusion: Initial analysis of model estimates of thymidine retention and transport show good agreement with the clinical and pathological features of a wide range of brain tumors. Ongoing studies will evaluate its role in measuring response to treatment and predicting outcome