A Lender’s Knowledge of Alleged Breaches of Fiduciary Duties Shall Not Be Imputed Upon Debtors in a Statute of Limitations Analysis

(Excerpt) Section 541 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Code”) provides in part that the debtor’s estate includes “all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case.” The debtor’s interests include “whatever causes of action the debtor may have possessed prior to the petition date.” In certain circumstances, a creditor may obtain the right to bring claims of the debtor. In such a case, generally the creditor is stepping into the shoes of the debtor, and the creditor is subject to all defenses proffered by the defendant that would apply had the debtors themselves instituted the action. Thus, if the debtors were precluded from bringing a claim because of a statute of limitations defense, the creditors would also be barred from bringing the same claim. Ultimately, solely the knowledge of the debtor, not the creditor suing on behalf of the debtor’s estate, is germane to a statute of limitations analysis, as evidenced by the case of In re AMC Inv’rs LLC, 551 B.R. 148, 155 (Bankr. D. Del. 2016), which addressed a creditor’s knowledge of alleged breaches of fiduciary duties by officers and directors. When considering the knowledge of the debtor in the context of a statute of limitations analysis, the statute will begin to run when the plaintiff discovers, or by “reasonable diligence should have discovered his injury.” The Third Circuit set forth a three-step analytical framework to scrutinize whether a party is under inquiry notice. The analysis includes the “(1) precise nature of the claims now being asserted, (2) whether an objectively reasonable person would have realized the need to investigate further, and (3) what information such an inquiry would have disclosed.” If a Plaintiff is not under inquiry notice and has no knowledge of the claim during the applicable statute of limitations, tolling mechanisms may apply

The relaxation behavior of highly entangled polybutadiene critical gels/

The stress relaxation behavior of critical gels originating from six highly entangled polybutadienes of low polydispersity with molecular weights from 18,100 to 97,000 g/mole were investigated. The polymers were vulcanized by a hydrosilation reaction which takes place nearly exclusively at the pendant 1,2-vinyl sites which are distributed randomly along the polybutadiene chain. The empirical BSW-spectrum was found to describe the relaxation behavior of the uncrosslinked precursor state. A characteristic parameter of the BSW-spectrum is the longest relaxation time of the precursor. Crosslinking increases this longest relaxation time even further but had little effect on the relaxation behavior in the entanglement and transition zones. The relaxation time spectrum of the material at the gel point (critical gel) was found to be well represented by the superposition of the BSW-spectrum and CW-spectrum with minor modifications to the intermediate time regime. The long time behavior follows a power law as described by the Chambon-Winter equation, G(t) = St\sp{\rm -n}. n was found to be constant with a value close to 0.5 over a stoichiometric ratio range of 0.25 $\u3c$ r $\u3c$ 3.0. The gel strength (S) was found to scale with the precursor molecular weight as \rm S \sim M\sbsp{w}{zn} where z is the exponent from the zero shear viscosity molecular weight relationship \rm\eta\sb0\sim M\sbsp{w}{z}, is commonly found to be z = 3.3-3.6. A simple empirical model combining first order kinetic analysis with the Flory-Stockmayer branching theory was developed to predict the gel time as a function of stoichiometric ratio and precursor functionality. In-situ rheological measuring techniques of gelation allow for accurate determination of the gel point. The kinetic model was found to agree well with experimental data

Distributed Algorithms for Guiding Navigation across a Sensor Network

We develop distributed algorithms for self-reconfiguring sensor networks that respond to directing a target through a region. The sensor network models the danger levels sensed across its area and has the ability to adapt to changes. It represents the dangerous areas as obstacles. A protocol that combines the artificial potential field of the sensors with the goal location for the moving object guides the object incrementally across the network to the goal, while maintaining the safest distance to the danger areas. We report on hardware experiments using a physical sensor network consisting of Mote sensors

Optimising non-Newtonian fluids for impact protection of laminates

Non-Newtonian fluids can be used for the protection of flexible laminates. Understanding the coupling between the flow of the protecting fluid and the deformation of the protected solids is necessary in order to optimize this functionality. We present a scaling analysis of the problem based on a single coupling variable, the effective width of a squeeze flow between flat rigid plates, and predict that impact protection for laminates is optimized by using shear-thinning, and not shear-thickening, fluids. The prediction is verified experimentally by measuring the velocity and pressure in impact experiments. Our scaling analysis should be generically applicable for non-Newtonian fluid-solid interactions in diverse applications.</p

Optimising non-Newtonian fluids for impact protection of laminates

Non-Newtonian fluids can be used for the protection of flexible laminates. Understanding the coupling between the flow of the protecting fluid and the deformation of the protected solids is necessary in order to optimise this functionality. We present a scaling analysis of the problem based on a single coupling variable, the effective width of a squeeze flow between flat rigid plates, and predict that impact protection for laminates is optimised by using shear-thinning, and not shear-thickening, fluids. The prediction is verified experimentally by measuring the velocity and pressure in impact experiments. Our scaling analysis should be generically applicable for non-Newtonian fluid-solid interactions in diverse applications.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures with SI of 2 pages, 3 figure

Global feed-forward vibration isolation in a km scale interferometer

Using a network of seismometers and sets of optimal filters, we implemented a feed-forward control technique to minimize the seismic contribution to multiple interferometric degrees of freedom of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory interferometers. The filters are constructed by using the Levinson–Durbin recursion relation to approximate the optimal Wiener filter. By reducing the RMS of the interferometer feedback signals below ~10 Hz, we have improved the stability and duty cycle of the joint network of gravitational wave detectors. By suppressing the large control forces and mirror motions, we have dramatically reduced the rate of non-Gaussian transients in the gravitational wave signal stream

Incidence of patients with bone metastases at diagnosis of solid tumors in adults: a large population-based study

Background: Bones are one of the most common metastatic sites for solid malignancies. Bone metastases can significantly increase mortality and decrease the quality of life of cancer patients. In the United States, around 350,000 people die each year from bone metastases. This study aimed to analyze and update the incidence and prognosis of bone metastases with solid tumors at the time of cancer diagnosis and its incidence rate for each solid cancer.Methods: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to find patients diagnosed with solid cancers originating from outside the bones and joints between 2010 and 2016. Data were stratified by age, sex, and race. Patients with a tumor in situ or with an unknown bone metastases stage were excluded. We then selected most of the sites where cancer often occurred, leaving 2,207,796 patients for the final incidence analysis. For the survival analysis, patients were excluded if they were diagnosed at their autopsy or on their death certificate, or had unknown follow-ups. The incidence of bone metastases and overall survival was compared between patients with different primary tumor sites.Results: We identified 2,470,634 patients, including 426,594 patients with metastatic disease and 113,317 patients with bone metastases, for incidence analysis. The incidence of bone metastases among the metastatic subset was 88.74% in prostate cancer, 53.71% in breast cancer, and 38.65% in renal cancer. In descending order of incidence, there were patients with other cancers in the genitourinary system (except for renal, bladder, prostate, and testicular cancer) (37.91%), adenocarcinoma of the lung (ADC) (36.86%), other gynecologic cancers (36.02%), small- cell lung cancer (SCLC) (34.56%), non-small cell lung cancer not otherwise specified and others [NSCLC (NOS/others)] (33.55%), and bladder (31.08%) cancers. The rate of bone metastases is 23.19% in SCLC, 22.50% in NSCLC (NOS/others), 20.28% in ADC, 8.44% in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (SCC), and 4.11% in bronchioloalveolar carcinoma [NSCLC (BAC)]. As for the digestive system, the overall bone metastases rate was 7.99% in the esophagus, 4.47% in the gastric cancer, 4.42% in the hepatobiliary cancer, 3.80% in the pancreas, 3.26% in other digestive organs, 1.24% in the colorectum, and 1.00% in the anus. Overall, the incidence rate of bone metastases among the entire cohort in breast and prostate cancer was 3.73% and 5.69%, respectively.Conclusions: The results of this study provide population-based estimates for the incidence rates of patients with bone metastases at initial diagnosis of their solid tumor. The findings can help clinicians to early detect bone metastases by bone screening to anticipate the occurrence of symptoms and favorably improve the prognosis

Observation of Parametric Instability in Advanced LIGO

Parametric instabilities have long been studied as a potentially limiting effect in high-power interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Until now, however, these instabilities have never been observed in a kilometer-scale interferometer. In this work we describe the first observation of parametric instability in an Advanced LIGO detector, and the means by which it has been removed as a barrier to progress

Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus chemotherapy as first-line treatment in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer with high tumour mutational burden: Patient-reported outcomes results from the randomised, open-label, phase III CheckMate 227 trial

BACKGROUND: In the phase III CheckMate 227 study, first-line nivolumab + ipilimumab significantly prolonged progression-free survival (co-primary end-point) versus chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and high tumour mutational burden (TMB; ≥10 mutations/megabase). AIM: To evaluate patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in this population. METHODS: Disease-related symptoms and general health status were assessed using the validated PRO questionnaires Lung Cancer Symptom Scale (LCSS) and EQ-5D, respectively. LCSS average symptom burden index (ASBI) and three-item global index (3-IGI) and EQ-5D visual analogue scale (VAS) and utility index (UI) scores and changes from baseline were analysed descriptively. Longitudinal changes were assessed by mixed-effect model repeated measures (MMRMs) and time to first deterioration/improvement analyses. RESULTS: In the high TMB population, PRO questionnaire completion rates were ∼90% at baseline and \u3e80% for most on-treatment assessments. During treatment, mean changes from baseline with nivolumab + ipilimumab showed early, clinically meaningful improvements in LCSS ASBI/3-IGI and EQ-5D VAS/UI; with chemotherapy, symptoms and health-related quality of life remained stable (LCSS ASBI/3-IGI, EQ-5D UI) or improved following induction (EQ-5D VAS). MMRM-assessed changes in symptom burden were improved with nivolumab + ipilimumab versus chemotherapy. Symptom deterioration by week 12 was lower with nivolumab + ipilimumab versus chemotherapy (22.3% versus 35.0%; absolute risk reduction: 12.7% [95% confidence interval 2.4-22.5]), irrespective of discontinuation. Time to first deterioration was delayed with nivolumab + ipilimumab versus chemotherapy across LCSS and EQ-5D summary measures. CONCLUSION: First-line nivolumab + ipilimumab demonstrated early, sustained improvements in PROs versus chemotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC and high TMB. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02477826