Application of the Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 2004 Balancing Test

(Excerpt) Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 2004 (“Rule 2004”) provides that “[o]n motion of any party in interest, the court may order the examination of any entity.” By its terms, the rule is broad. It is only marginally narrowed by Rule 2004(b) to require that examinations “relate only to the acts, conduct, or property or to the liabilities and financial condition of the debtor, or to any matter which may affect the administration of the debtor\u27s estate, or to the debtor\u27s right to a discharge.” Given that Rule 2004 is broadly available in bankruptcy cases to “any party in interest” and that the target of the examination is unconstrained by any categorization, courts apply a balancing test to determine whether to grant a Rule 2004 motion. This memorandum explains that balancing test by examining the limitations imposed on an invocation of Rule 2004. Part I provides an overview of Rule 2004. Part II analyzes the elements of the balancing test and reviews how courts have applied the test to bankruptcy cases. Part III examines the “pending proceeding rule,” which prohibits a party from circumventing the more stringent discovery rules under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in favor of the more liberal Rule 2004 when the parties are engaged in litigation

Degradation and breakdown characteristics of thin MgO dielectric layers

MgO has been suggested as a possible high-k dielectric for future complementary metal-oxide semiconductor processes. In this work, the time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) characteristics of 20 nm MgO films are discussed. Stress induced leakage current measurements indicate that the low measured Weibull slopes of the TDDB distributions for both n-type and p-type devices cannot be attributed to a lower trap generation rate than for SiO2. This suggests that much fewer defects are required to trigger breakdown in MgO under voltage stress than is the case for SiO2 or other metal-oxide dielectrics. This in turn explains the progressive nature of the breakdown in these films which is observed both in this work and elsewhere. The reason fewer defects are required is attributed to the morphology of the films

Urinary Recovery of Dicyandiamide (DCD) Pulse-Dosed into the Rumen of Non-Lactating Dairy Cows, and the Effects of Applying Urine with DCD to Lysimeters on Nitrous Oxide and Nitrate Leaching in Ireland

Urine excreted by dairy cows is a source of nitrogen (N) to the sward. The N content of urine is high, up to 1000 kg N/ha and is usually in excess of sward requirements. Surplus N is usually lost through a number of pathways including nitrate (NO3-) leaching and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Dicyandiamide (DCD), a nitrification inhibitor, has been shown to reduce NO3- leaching and N2O emissions when applied as a fine particle suspension (FPS) to grazed paddocks. The objectives of the study were to: (1) quantify the recovery of DCD in the urine when DCD was pulse-dosed DCD into the rumen of non-lactating dairy cows; and (2) to examine the effects of urine collected from dairy cows pulse-dosed with DCD on N2O emissions and NO3- leaching using lysimeters

Characteristics of Adults Who Use Prayer as an Alternative Therapy

Purpose: To describe the demographics, health-related and preventive-health behaviors, health status, and health care charges of adults who do and do not pray for health. Design: Cross-sectional survey with 1-year follow-up. Setting: A Minnesota health plan. Subjects: A stratified random sample of 5107 members age 40 and over with analysis based on 4404 survey respondents (86%). Measures: Survey data included health risks, health practices, use of preventive health services, satisfaction with care, and use of alternative therapies. Health care charges were obtained from administrative data. Results: Overall, 47.2% of study subjects reported that they pray for health, and 90.3% of these believed prayer improved their health. After adjustment for demographics, those who pray had significantly less smoking and alcohol use and more preventive care visits, influenza immunizations, vegetable intake, satisfaction with care, and social support and were more likely to have a regular primary care provider. Rates of functional impairment, depressive symptoms, chronic diseases, and total health care charges were not related to prayer. Conclusions: Those who pray had more favorable health-related behaviors, preventive service use, and satisfaction with care. Discussion of prayer could help guide customization of clinical care. Research that examines the effect of prayer on health status should adjust for variables related both to use of prayer and to health status

A unique homologue of the eukaryotic protein-modifier ubiquitin present in the bacterium Bacteroides fragilis, a predominant resident of the human gastrointestinal tract

In the complete genome sequences of Bacteroides fragilis NCTC9343 and 638R, we have discovered a gene, ubb, the product of which has 63 % identity to human ubiquitin and cross-reacts with antibodies raised against bovine ubiquitin. The sequence of ubb is closest in identity (76 %) to the ubiquitin gene from a migratory grasshopper entomopoxvirus, suggesting acquisition by inter-kingdom horizontal gene transfer. We have screened clinical isolates of B. fragilis from diverse geographical regions and found that ubb is present in some, but not all, strains. The gene is transcribed and the mRNA is translated in B. fragilis, but deletion of ubb did not have a detrimental effect on growth. BfUbb has a predicted signal sequence; both full-length and processed forms were detected in whole-cell extracts, while the processed form was found in concentrated culture supernatants. Purified recombinant BfUbb inhibited in vitro ubiquitination and was able to covalently bind the human E1 activating enzyme, suggesting it could act as a suicide substrate in vivo. B. fragilis is one of the predominant members of the normal human gastrointestinal microbiota with estimates of up to >1011 cells per g faeces by culture. These data indicate that the gastro-intestinal tract of some individuals could contain a significant amount of aberrant ubiquitin with the potential to inappropriately activate the host immune system and/or interfere with eukaryotic ubiquitin activity. This discovery could have profound implications in relation to our understanding of human diseases such as inflammatory bowel and autoimmune diseases

Multifunctional croconaine nanoparticles for efficient optoacoustic imaging of deep tumors and photothermal therapy

The proper design of near-infrared light-Absorbing agents enables efficient optoacoustic imaging-guided phototherapy. In particular, several croconaine-based organic agents with excellent optical properties have been recently reported for this purpose. However, most of them absorb light below 800 nm, limiting deep-Tissue imaging applications. To this end, we utilized a recently described novel croconaine derivative (CR880) to develop CR880-based nanoparticles (CR880-NPs) for effective in vivo delivery, deep tissue optoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy applications. Radicals and strong π-πstacking in CR880 result in an 880 nm absorption peak with no blue-shift upon condensing to the solid phase. DSPE-PEG2000-formulated CR880-NPs exhibited high optoacoustic generation efficiency and photostability, and could be visualized in the tumors of three different mouse tumor models (breast, brain, and colon tumor) with high image contrast. The high photothermal conversion efficiency of CR880-NPs (∼58%) subsequently enabled efficient in vivo tumor elimination using a low energy laser, while remaining biocompatible and well-Tolerated. This work introduces a promising novel agent for cancer theranostics of challenging deep-seated tumors

Can I Count on Getting Better? Association between Math Anxiety and Poorer Understanding of Medical Risk Reductions

Lower numerical ability is associated with poorer understanding of health statistics, such as risk reductions of medical treatment. For many people, despite good numeracy skills, math provokes anxiety that impedes an ability to evaluate numerical information. Math-anxious individuals also report less confidence in their ability to perform math tasks. We hypothesized that, independent of objective numeracy, math anxiety would be associated with poorer responding and lower confidence when calculating risk reductions of medical treatments. Methods. Objective numeracy was assessed using an 11-item objective numeracy scale. A 13-item self-report scale was used to assess math anxiety. In experiment 1, participants were asked to interpret the baseline risk of disease and risk reductions associated with treatment options. Participants in experiment 2 were additionally provided a graphical display designed to facilitate the processing of math information and alleviate effects of math anxiety. Confidence ratings were provided on a 7-point scale. Results. Individuals of higher objective numeracy were more likely to respond correctly to baseline risks and risk reductions associated with treatment options and were more confident in their interpretations. Individuals who scored high in math anxiety were instead less likely to correctly interpret the baseline risks and risk reductions and were less confident in their risk calculations as well as in their assessments of the effectiveness of treatment options. Math anxiety predicted confidence levels but not correct responding when controlling for objective numeracy. The graphical display was most effective in increasing confidence among math-anxious individuals. Conclusions. The findings suggest that math anxiety is associated with poorer medical risk interpretation but is more strongly related to confidence in interpretations

Health Care Charges Associated With Physical Inactivity, Overweight, and Obesity

INTRODUCTION: Physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to estimate the proportion of total health care charges associated with physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity among U.S. populations aged 40 years and older. METHODS: A predictive model of health care charges was developed using data from a cohort of 8000 health plan members aged 40 and older. Model cells were defined by physical activity status, body mass index, age, sex, smoking status, and selected chronic diseases. Total health care charges were estimated by multiplying the percentage of the population in each cell by the predicted charges per cell. Counterfactual estimates were computed by reclassifying all individuals as physically active and of normal weight while leaving other characteristics unchanged. Charges associated with physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity were computed as the difference between current risk profile total charges and counterfactual total charges. National population percentage estimates were derived from the National Health Interview Survey; those estimates were multiplied by the predicted charges per cell from the health plan analysis. RESULTS: Physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity were associated with 23% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10%–34%) of health plan health care charges and 27% (95% CI, 10%–37%) of national health care charges. Although charges associated with these risk factors were highest for the oldest group (aged 65 years and older) and for individuals with chronic conditions, nearly half of aggregate charges were generated from the group aged 40 to 64 years without chronic disease. CONCLUSION: Charges associated with physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity constitute a significant portion of total medical expenditures. The results underscore the importance of addressing these risk factors in all segments of the population