Melting the Plastic Theories: Advocating the Common Law of Fraud in Credit Card Non-dischargeability Actions under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A)

If credit card-holders purchase items they cannot afford, they may make minimum payments and avoid default. Most people carry debt on their credit cards,\u27 and card-issuers who profit from interest on these balances encourage consumers to carry a balance. When a debtor acquires too much debt and files for bankruptcy, the debtor may generally discharge all of his debts to gain a fresh start. This discharge of debts completely bars creditors from collecting the money owed to them, and the resulting losses have frustrated the credit card industry. To prevent debts from becoming uncollectible due to discharge, credit card-issuers frequently claim fraud, alleging that a debtor used his credit card with the intention of filing for bankruptcy and discharging the debt. Card-issuers bring such claims under section 523(a)(2)(A) (the fraud exception ) of the Bankruptcy Code ( Bankruptcy Code or Code ) which excepts from discharge those debts obtained by false pretenses, false representations, or actual fraud. Upon proving that a debt is excepted from discharge, a card- issuer may collect that debt after the debtor obtains a discharge. Historically, courts have struggled when determining whether a credit card-holder committed fraud under section 523(a)(2)(A). To overcome conceptual dilemmas, courts have created different theories for analyzing credit card debt under the fraud exception. Some courts have recently discarded these credit card theories and have applied the common law of fraud to determine the dischargeability of credit card debt. The common law of fraud primarily differs from the credit card theories in that the common law requires the credit card-issuer to prove a debtor\u27s subjective intent to defraud and to show the creditor\u27s own justifiable reliance. Commentators have questioned the propriety of using the common law standard to evaluate modern credit card transactions. Additionally, the common law standard conflicts with a recent proposal to Congress by the consumer credit industry advocating an expansion of section 523(a)(2)(A) to except from discharge any debt incurred without a reasonable expectation of repayment. This proposal, precipitated by a record number of personal bankruptcies in 1996, is merely a means for consumer creditors to recover losses from bankruptcy without changing their lending practices

Deep H I observations of the compact high-velocity cloud HVC125+41-207

We present deep HI observations of the compact high-velocity cloud HVC125+41-207 using the 100-m Effelsberg telescope. Our goal was in particular to study the warm neutral medium (WNM) in detail. The Effelsberg data reveal a two phase core/halo structure - one component with a velocity width of FWHM approx 5 km/s (Westerbork data show FWHM approx 2 km/s, Braun & Burton 2000) and one with FWHM approx 18 km/s. The column density distribution of the warmer component is highly asymmetric and shows a head-tail structure. We performed a Gaussian decomposition of the cloud and found that 52% of the HI mass of the cloud is in the WNM. 24% of the WNM is located in the tail. The overall structure and the systematic variation of the observational parameters radial velocity, velocity dispersion and column density indicate that this cloud is currently interacting with the ambient medium. The Westerbork HI data of this HVC (Braun & Burton 2000) reveal an interesting dense condensation. Assuming that this condensation is virialized and in pressure equilibrium with the ambient medium, we derive a distance of 130 kpc for HVC125+41-207. Following these considerations, it is possible to constrain the parameters n_IGM 1.1 10^5 K of the intergalactic medium of the Local Group

Attenuated XPC expression is not associated with impaired DNA repair in bladder cancer

Bladder cancer has a high incidence with significant morbidity and mortality. Attenuated expression of the DNA damage response protein Xeroderma Pigmentosum complementation group C (XPC) has been described in bladder cancer. XPC plays an essential role as the main initiator and damage-detector in global genome nucleotide excision repair (NER) of UV-induced lesions, bulky DNA adducts and intrastrand crosslinks, such as those made by the chemotherapeutic agent Cisplatin. Hence, XPC protein might be an informative biomarker to guide personalized therapy strategies in a subset of bladder cancer cases. Therefore, we measured the XPC protein expression level and functional NER activity of 36 bladder tumors in a standardized manner. We optimized conditions for dissociation and in vitro culture of primary bladder cancer cells and confirmed attenuated XPC expression in approximately 40% of the tumors. However, NER activity was similar to co-cultured wild type cells in all but one of 36 bladder tumors. We conclude, that (i) functional NER deficiency is a relatively rare phenomenon in bladder cancer and (ii) XPC protein levels are not useful as biomarker for NER activity in these tumors

Retrograde movements determine effective stem cell numbers in the intestine

The morphology and functionality of the epithelial lining differ along the intestinal tract, but tissue renewal at all sites is driven by stem cells at the base of crypts(1-3). Whether stem cell numbers and behaviour vary at different sites is unknown. Here we show using intravital microscopy that, despite similarities in the number and distribution of proliferative cells with an Lgr5 signature in mice, small intestinal crypts contain twice as many effective stem cells as large intestinal crypts. We find that, although passively displaced by a conveyor-belt-like upward movement, small intestinal cells positioned away from the crypt base can function as long-term effective stem cells owing to Wnt-dependent retrograde cellular movement. By contrast, the near absence of retrograde movement in the large intestine restricts cell repositioning, leading to a reduction in effective stem cell number. Moreover, after suppression of the retrograde movement in the small intestine, the number of effective stem cells is reduced, and the rate of monoclonal conversion of crypts is accelerated. Together, these results show that the number of effective stem cells is determined by active retrograde movement, revealing a new channel of stem cell regulation that can be experimentally and pharmacologically manipulated.Peer reviewe

Plasticity of Lgr5-Negative Cancer Cells Drives Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer stem cells (CSCs) express Lgr5 and display extensive stem cell-like multipotency and self-renewal and are thought to seed metastatic disease. Here, we used a mouse model of colorectal cancer (CRC) and human tumor xenografts to investigate the cell of origin of metastases. We found that most disseminated CRC cells in circulation were Lgr5- and formed distant metastases in which Lgr5+ CSCs appeared. This p

Kustlijnen voor Dijkringen: Over de relatie tussen kustlijnzorg en de sterkte van Nederlandse duinwaterkeringen

Voorliggend rapport doet verslag van een studie die Deltares, op verzoek van het Ministerie I&M en het Deltaprogramma Kust, heeft uitgevoerd naar de bijdrage van het programma Kustlijnzorg aan het duurzaam handhaven (of vergroten) van de sterkte van duinwaterkeringen op de middellange en lange termijn. Hiertoe wordt een antwoord gezocht op de volgende deelvragen: 1 Waar bevinden zich de relatief kwetsbare delen van de Nederlandse zeeweringen die gebaat zijn bij reguliere zandsuppleties? 2 Wat is de relatie tussen het aanwezige zandvolume en de sterkte van de duinwaterkering? 3 Wat is de bijdrage van zandsuppleties aan het zandvolume in de kustzone en de sterkte van de duinwaterkering? Wat is daarbij de invloed van de gekozen uitvoeringswijze van suppleren (duin-, strand-, vooroever- of geulwandsuppleties)? 4 Hoe kunnen de bevindingen worden doorvertaald naar de uitvoering, beleidsvoorbereiding en aanbevelingen voor nader onderzoek? Om deze vragen te beantwoorden zijn indicatoren benoemd, waarmee de relatie tussen zandsuppleties en de sterkte van duinwaterkeringen in beeld zijn gebracht. Hiertoe zijn berekeningen en analyses uitgevoerd met JARKUS metingen: metingen van kustprofielen van de Nederlandse kust die sinds 1965 op systematische wijze plaats vinden.Deltaprogramm