Can Software Be a Bankruptcy Petition Preparer?

(Excerpt) Recently, in Reynoso v. United States (In re Reynoso) — a case of first impression for the Ninth Circuit that addressed the intersection of cyberspace and bankruptcy — the court held that a provider of web-based bankruptcy software was a bankruptcy petition preparer (“BPP”) under 11 U.S.C. section 110 and that under California law, the features and functionality of the software went beyond mere typesetting and constituted the unauthorized practice of law. Reynoso v. United States (In re Reynoso), 477 F.3d 1117 (9th Cir. 2007). In re Reynoso is significant because prior to this case, the Ninth Circuit had not considered whether the creatorprovider of a software program could be deemed a BPP within the meaning of section 110. 477 F.3d at 1123. This article will first explore the purpose and design of section 110 — the statutory backdrop for the Reynoso court’s analysis. Second, this article will discuss the facts and procedural posture surrounding the Reynoso litigation. Third, this article will discuss the court’s rationale in holding that (1) the defendant provider of software was indeed a BPP, and (2) the defendant provider of software had engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. Finally, this article will conclude by discussing the significance and broader implications of the Reynoso decision

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationHuman Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) targets immune cells, including CD4+ T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DC). Macrophages are critically important for their contributions to viral propagation and inflammation in vivo during infection, though the current understanding of host-pathogen interactions in this cell type remains deeply inadequate. A better understanding of how HIV-1 infects macrophages despite facing numerous cellular defenses may inform therapeutic approaches aimed at preventing HIV-1 infection and its sequelae. A major component of the anti-HIV-1 defense is SAM domain and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1), a phosphohydrolase responsible for restricting the generation of double-stranded viral DNA (dsDNA) from a single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) genome. It functions by converting deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTP) to deoxynucleosides (dN) in non-cycling cells, a process dependent on tetramerization that is inhibited through threonine-592 (T592) phoshphorylation. We discovered that SAMHD1 activity is a critical determinant of HIV-1 infection in macrophages, and that despite its abundant expression, can exist in an inactive state (phosphor-T592) allowing macrophages to be highly susceptible to HIV-1. We found that biological sex is a major determinant of macrophage infectivity with HIV- 1, and that the relative susceptibility of male- versus female-derived macrophages hinges exclusively on SAMHD1 activity. Furthermore, we have established SAMHD1 as the principal effector through which diverse interferons (IFN) act in macrophages, and that activation of SAMHD1 through IFN signaling establishes a state of HIV-1 resistance. We find that cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) is the major determinant of IFN-induced SAMHD1 activation, and that depletion of CDK1 through siRNA alone drives SAMHD1 activation in MDM. Interestingly, a variety of FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) phenocopy the effects of IFNs, and their activity depends on their ability to activate SAMHD1. Furthermore, we find that macrophage infection with HIV-1 induces a similar state of protection from subsequent challenge, which correlates with activation of SAMHD1. Interestingly, this protection does not appear to involve the production of IFNs. Using phosphoproteomic and RNA-sequencing approaches, we have begun to unravel the pathways responsible for SAMHD1 activation resulting from HIV-1 sensing, IFN stimulation, and the use of TKIs, which exhibit overlapping but distinct mechanisms of action

“It Keeps Going and Going and Going”: The Expansion of False Advertising Litigation Under the Lanham Act

To improve the conduction band alignment and explore the influence of the buffer-absorber interface, we here investigate an alternative buffer for Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) solar cells. The Zn(O, S) system was chosen since the optimum conduction band alignment with CZTS is predicted to be achievable, by varying oxygen to sulfur ratio. Several sulfur to oxygen ratios were evaluated to find an appropriate conduction band offset. There is a clear trend in open-circuit voltage Voc, with the highest values for the most sulfur rich buffer, before going to the blocking ZnS, whereas the fill factor peaks at a lower S content. The best alternative buffer cell in this series had an efficiency of 4.6% and the best CdS reference gave 7.3%. Extrapolating Voc values to 0 K gave activation energies well below the expected bandgap of 1.5 eV for CZTS, which indicate that recombination at the interface is dominating. However, it is clear that the values are affected by the change of buffer composition and that increasing sulfur content of the Zn(O, S) increases the activation energy for recombination. A series with varying CdS buffer thickness showed the expected behavior for short wavelengths in quantum efficiency measurements but the final variation in efficiency was small

O EMBRIÃO HUMANO: SUA PERSONALIDADE E A EMBRIOTERAPIA

This article analyses the juridical situation of the exceeding foetus, claiming that the right to life and birth is limited by the Brazilian Constitution. According to the Theory Technical Reality, it is the juridical technique that establishes when human beings acquire personality. The constitutionality of Article 5 of the Bio Security Law is maintained, and the legislator is allowed to outline the limits of the in vitro exceeding foetuses’ right to life and birth.O presente artigo analisa a situação jurídica do embrião excedente, sustentando que o direito à vida e de nascer, a partir da Constituição da República de 1988 é direito limitado. A Teoria da Realidade Técnica atribui à técnica jurídica o momento da fixação da aquisição da personalidade do ser humano. Sustenta-se a constitucionalidade do artigo 5.º, da Lei de Biosegurança, não estando vedado ao legislador infraconstitucional a imposição de limites ao direito à vida e de nascer dos embriões excedentários in vitro.