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Educational Expense Deductions From The Chapter 13 Plan: Creating A "Reasonably Necessary" Standard, Dominick Capotosto

Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal

The current state of bankruptcy law concerning chapter 13 educational expense deductions from a debtor's disposable income is cloudy at best. The vague guidelines provided by the drafters of the Bankruptcy Code have created a system where this issue is analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Bankruptcy judges possess great discretion in deciding whether a particular tuition deduction is "reasonably necessary," as required by 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b)(2), creating inconsistent decisions across jurisdictions. BAPCPA created even more chaos in this context, as it split debtors into two groups depending on their income and forced judges to use the new "means test" …

Bankruptcy Stigma And Vulnerability: Questioning Autonomy And Structuring Resilience, Yvana L.B.H. Mols

Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal

Stigma is an enduring byproduct of bankruptcy, both as felt by the debtor and as perceived by society. The stigma exists even though some have declared its demise, and is certainly present after the BAPCPA amendments aimed at action intended to revive the stigmatic effect of filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy stigma may be a useful tool when it prompts individuals to make wiser fiscal decisions, but for debtors who face uncontrollable financial circumstances, this same stigma is burdensome and does not provide a social benefit.

Strip-Off: What Is The Correct Procedure To Avoid A Wholly Unsecured Junior Mortgage?, Anthony Mccready

Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal

The Comment argues in favor of the position taken by a majority of bankruptcy courts that strip-off does not require an adversary proceeding. To strip off, a debtor must file a motion separate from the plan confirmation pursuant to Rule 3012. The United States Supreme Court recently ruled on the issue of adversary proceeding requirements in bankruptcy. In United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa, the Court decided two important issues applicable to whether strip-off requires an adversary proceeding: (1) the Supreme Court's decision in Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co. sets the constitutional requirement for due process …

Does Mucosal Or Serosal Side Approximation Affect The Efficacy Of Native Small Intestinal Submucosa Graft Repair Of Neurotmesis?, Ferro Nguyen

PCOM Biomedical Studies Student Scholarship

FDA approved, commercial, modified porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) is utilized clinically for peripheral nerve repair. However, if measures can be put in place to insure its safety, native SIS prepared from locally available porcine resources would provide easy access to an inexpensive alternative. Both forms of this material lack antigenicity, have inherit properties which provides a favorable growth environment, and have been successfully used experimentally as a natural conduit in peripheral nerve repair. Successful recovery from a peripheral nerve injury is dependent on the efficiency and speed of axonal regeneration to the point of distal interruption of the nerve. …

Evaluation Brief #2: Does Paths To Quality™ Produce Quality Care And Education For Indiana’S Young Children?, Center For Families

Center for Families Publications

No abstract provided.

Role Of Na+K+2cl- Co-Transporters In Insulin Secretion, Saeed Alshahrani

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl^-]i) in insulin secretion in vivo and in vitro.

The maintenance of high [Cl^-]i in insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cells plays an important role in glucose-induced depolarization and insulin secretion. Insulinotropic glucose concentrations i.e., >6 mM induces electrical activity in β-cells which results in insulin secretion. This electrical activity is mainly due to electrogenic efflux of Cl^- from β-cells through volume-regulated anion channels (VRAC). The solute carrier family 12 group A member 1 (Slc12a1) and 2 (Slc12a2) encode several splice variants of the …

Micro-Raman Imaging And Hyperspectral Analysis Of Tibiotarsi From Chick Embryos Exposed To Sublethal Doses Of Platinum Group Metals, Adam Christopher Stahler

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Platinum group metals (PGMs), i.e., Pd, Pt and Rh, are found at pollutant levels in the environment. PGMs accumulate in plant and animal tissues, and little is known about their toxicity. Our previous studies have shown that chick embryos exposed to 1.0 mL PGM solutions of 5.0 ppm (LD₅₀) and higher exhibited severe skeletal deformities. This work hypothesized that 1.0 ppm sublethal doses of PGMs would negatively impact the mineralization process in tibiotarsi. One milliliter of 1.0 ppm of Pd(II), Pt(IV), Rh(III) aqueous salt solutions and a PGM-mixture were injected into the air sac of the eggs …

An Expert Consensus Approach To Relating The Proposed Dsm-5 Types And Traits., Douglas B. Samuel, Donald R. Lynam, Thomas A. Widiger, Samuel A. Ball

Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications

Although personality disorders (PDs) have been defined categorically throughout the history of psychiatric nomenclatures, the DSM-5 Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group proposed a substantial shift to a dimensional conceptualization and diagnosis of personality pathology. This proposal included the adoption of a trait model with 37 specific traits that fell within six higher-order domains. In addition, they specified that half of the current diagnoses be recast as types defined by narrative description, with the other half deleted. Instead, the deleted categories would be diagnosed through ratings on specifically assigned traits. The Work Group also specified a number of traits that …

Effects Of Cross-Fostering On Alcohol Preference And Correlated Responses To Selection In High- And Low-Alcohol Preferring Mice, G. D. Barrenha, Julia Chester

Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Selectively bred rodent lines are valuable tools for investigating gene x environment interactions related to risk for alcoholism in humans. Early maternal environment is one particular factor known for critically influencing neural, hormonal, and behavioral outcomes in adulthood. Cross-fostering is a procedure that may be used to explore the role of genotype-dependent maternal influences on phenotypic variability in adulthood. The purpose of these experiments was to examine the effects of cross-fostering on free-choice alcohol drinking and correlated responses to selection for alcohol preference in mice selectively bred for high- (HAP2) and low- (LAP2) alcohol preference. Methods: Mice were assigned …

Evaluation Brief #1: Paths To Quality™ Key Findings, Center For Families

Center for Families Publications

No abstract provided.

Energy Transfer Based Test Method Development And Evaluation Of Horizontal Air Flow Re-Circulatory Air Curtain Efficiencies, Andrew Musser, Daniel Rhyner, Graham Miller-Gaines, Predrag S. Hrnjak

International High Performance Buildings Conference

Air curtains are often used to reduce the energy transfer across high traffic doorways of cold storage facilities and cold food sections of warehouse type supermarkets. A test method and facility were developed to quantify and visualize the performance of air curtains covering a doorway between a simulated cold storage building and the simulated surrounding ambient conditions. This method was used to determine the effectiveness of horizontal air flow recirculatory air curtains compared to an open doorway. Tracer gas methods have been used in the past to determine losses but this method is designed to measure the actual energy flow …

Rapid Assessment Of Deep Retrofit System Solutions To Improve Energy Efficiency In Dod Installations And Buildings, Amit Surana, Russell D. Taylor, Satish Narayanan, Kevin Otto

International High Performance Buildings Conference

The paper describes the application of a methodology and tools for early assessment of integrated system solutions for deep retrofit with a potential of 30-50% energy reductions across large building portfolio as well as at an individual building scale using information only about building characteristics, usage type and climate. The building energy consumption is estimated using a simple building description, and then the impact of energy conservation measures (ECMs) are estimated individually and in combination as integrated system packages. We demonstrate the tool application with two types of cases from the Department of Defense (DoD) real property database. The results …

Low-Ses First-Generation Students’ Decision To Pursue Engineering, Michele L. Strutz, Matthew Ohland

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

The ability of this nation to provide a growing economy, strong health and human services, and a secure and safe nation depends upon a vibrant, creative, and diverse engineering and science workforce” (Blue, et al., 2005, p. 4). To address these global opportunities and challenges, and for the U.S. to remain globally competitive, it is necessary for our engineering workforce to be diverse.Nevertheless, the U.S. cannot claim a diverse engineering workforce, and its engineering student bodies are certainly not diverse despite the legislation and programs put in place to increase racial, gender, and socioeconomic (SES) representation. Programs and resources that …

Early Postnatal Overnutrition: Potential Roles Of Gastrointestinal Vagal Afferents And Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Edward A. Fox, Jessica E. Biddinger

Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications

Early postnatal overnutrition: Potential roles of gastrointestinal vagal afferents and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. PHYSIOL BEHAV 00(0) 000-000, 2012. Abnormal perinatal nutrition (APN) results in a predisposition to develop obesity and the metabolic syndrome and thus may contribute to the prevalence of these disorders. Obesity, including that which develops in organisms exposed to APN, has been associated with increased meal size. Vagal afferents of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract contribute to regulation of meal size by transmitting satiation signals from gut-to-brain. Consequently, APN could increase meal size by altering this signaling, possibly through changes in expression of factors that control vagal afferent …

Taking A Sensible Choice Of Sustainable Super Market Refrigeration Equipment, Rafiqul Islam

International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference

Supermarkets play a significant role in modern urban living in developed and developing nations worldwide. Technology has made it possible to provide peoples’ daily needs such as food either fresh, preserved or cooked, at the hand reach in these supermarkets. This easy lifestyle however, comes with a burden to the environment and natural resources. There are growing concerns for the sustainability of modern lifestyle in connection to worldwide population growth, increasing impact of climate change due to human activities, predicted shortage of traditional energy sources and uncertainty in alternative energy resource, New generation supermarket equipments such as refrigeration, air conditioning, …

Workplace Dispute Resolution And Quality Of Work Life: The Worker Co-Operative Alternative, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann

Department of Sociology Faculty Publications

This paper provides a concise comparison of matched pairs of conventional and worker-owned co-operative organizations operating in three industries – coal mining, taxicab driving, and organic food distribution. Worker co-operatives try to minimize hierarchy in order to maximize the power and dignity of the workers involved. Specifically, this paper examines workplace dispute resolution, a key factor in the quality of work life, and the alternative of more egalitarian, self-managed workplaces. While we think of such workplaces as being a benefit of certain professional firms, all co-operative workplaces studied here involved mostly positions that required no college education. Nevertheless, members of …

Workplace Dispute Resolution In The Homecare Industry: The Triangle Of Worker, Client, And Manager, Elizabeth A. Hoffmann

Department of Sociology Faculty Publications

This study explores contrary predictions of workers' dispute resolution strategies by examining three different types of homecare businesses: a conventional, hierarchical business that is run for profit; a hierarchically organized charity; and a worker-owned, worker-managed cooperative. Some literature asserts that the structure of the organization will impact how workers address their workplace disputes. However, other literature argues the structure and culture of the industry will have greater influence than organization on workplace dispute resolution. The data in this study imply that the industry effects had the greater impact in the homecare industry. Members of the worker cooperative did not exhibit …

Treating Diet - Induced Obesity: A New Role For Vagal Afferents?, Edward A. Fox

Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dynamical Modeling Of Stochastic Wind Flow In Street Canyons, Parham Ahranjani Mirzaei, Jan Carmeliet

International High Performance Buildings Conference

For decades, the borders of building studies were restricted up to the exterior walls. With better understanding the side effect of urbanization on human health and with excessive progress in new investigation tools, the area of building studies were enlarged to neighborhood environment where mass and air transport vividly interacts with the buildings. Unlike the indoor studies, one can emphasize the significance of the stochastic wind in outdoor studies. To verify the contribution of the wind velocity over/within street canyons/buildings many experimental and simulation studies have been conducted. These works were mainly designed to observe the relations between wind flow …

Combined Heat And Moisture Transfer In Buildings Systems, Rashmin Damle, Oriol Lehmkuhl, Joaquim Rigola, Assensi Oliva

International High Performance Buildings Conference

Temperature and humidity are the two main parameters indicating the comfort level of the building occupants. Although the effect of temperature is taken into account in thermal simulation of buildings, the moisture transfer through the rooms and porous building walls is sometimes neglected. The level of humidity can give different sensations of thermal comfort. It is necessary to take into account both heat and moisture transport in and around buildings to predict the hygrothermal behavior of rooms and building walls so as to calculate the energy demands correctly. In this work some benchmark exercises are worked out to see the …

Assessing The Retrofit Potential Of Building Control Systems, Stephen J. Treado, Yan Chen

International High Performance Buildings Conference

It is well known that building control systems frequently under-perform, leading to wasted energy and poor space conditions for occupants. There are many reasons for this, including insufficient design or commissioning, deterioration of equipment over time, changes in building usage and poor maintenance. Therefore, building control systems are prime candidates for retrofits and upgrades. Such activities, though, can be very challenging in their own right. For example, information regarding the design intent and current control logic may be difficult or impossible to obtain due to lack of documentation, proprietary data and communication formats or unrecorded modifications. In addition, there is …

The Design, Construction, And Performance Of A Net Zero Home In The Solar Decathlon 2011, Eric A. Holt, Sarah Miller

International High Performance Buildings Conference

The Solar Decathlon is a biennial Department of Energy (DOE) collegiate contest to “promote and speed to market” solar powered, residential homes (Grose, 2009). It is a student competition wherein twenty universities are selected to design, build, and showcase residential structures that would ultimately be relocated to a competition campus in West Potomac Park in Washington D.C. to be viewed by the general public and judged by representatives of the DOE. The challenge is “design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive” (DOE). The project structures are homes that are designed and built to conform to …

Conx Space Frame System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Off-site manufacture is one of the key initiatives being used by contractors to achieve these goals. Sandwich Plate System (SPS) Floors deliver a compelling off-site solution for structural floors. Their composite steel panels provide a similar performance to concrete floors at one quarter the weight, 10 - 15% shorter project schedules and broader benefits such as reduced complexity and the elimination of the majority of wet-work above ground level.

Thermal Management Challenges In Telecommunication Systems And Data Centers, S V. Garimella, L.-T. Yeh, T. Persoons

CTRC Research Publications

The framework for this paper is the growing concern about the worldwide increasing energy consumption of telecommunications systems and data centers, and particularly the contribution of the thermal management system. The present energy usage of these systems is discussed, as well as the relationship between cooling system design and the total cost of ownership. This paper identifies immediate and future thermal bottlenecks facing the industry, ranging from technological issues at the component and system level to more general needs involving reliability, modularity, and multidisciplinary design. Based on this enumeration, the main challenges to implementing cooling solutions are reviewed. Particular attention …

Alternative Heat Rejection Methods For Power Plants, R. A. Leffler, C. R. Bradshaw, E. A. Groll, S V. Garimella

CTRC Research Publications

Process waste heat in large power generation plants is commonly rejected to lakes or rivers, or through the use of cooling towers. Although these waste heat rejection methods are effective, they may not be feasible in every application due to cost considerations or geographic location. Moreover, it is desirable to put some of the waste heat to good use, both from the standpoint of improved plant efficiency as well as reduced environmental impact. An analysis of alternative methods of power plant waste heat rejection is presented here as applied to a coal-fired power generation facility in the Midwestern United States. …

Multi-Objective Optimization Of Sustainable Single-Effect Water/Lithium Bromide Absorption Cycle, B. H. Gebreslassie, E. A. Groll, S V. Garimella

CTRC Research Publications

A rigorous mathematical approach is developed for optimization of sustainable single-effect water/ Lithium Bromide (LiBr) absorption cooling cycles. The multi-objective formulation accounts for minimization of the chiller area as well as the environmental impact associated with the operation of the absorption cycle. The environmental impact is quantified based on the global warming potential and the Eco-indicator 99, both of which follow principles of life cycle assessment. The design task is formulated as a bi-criterion non-linear programming problem, the solution of which is defined by a set of Pareto points that represent the optimal compromise between the total area of the …

Processes Involving Acid Gas Solubility In Room Temperature Ionic Liquids (Rtils), Fadekemi E. Osideinde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The literature contains a number of thermodynamic studies involving the solubility of acid gases in RTILs. This thesis looks at using these studies in the context of two processes: membrane separation and absorption refrigeration cycles. The first part of this study investigated the separation of a mixed dry gas feed of CO2/CH4 by four Stabilized Ionic Liquid Membranes (SILMs); 1-Ethyl-3-methlyimidazolium dicyanamide, [emim][DCA], 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate, [emim][SCN], 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [emim][Tf2N] and 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate, [bmim][NO 3]. The selectivities and permeances for the CO2/CH 4 feed were measured in all four SILMs at various partial pressures of CO2 in the feed and at two …

Design And Synthesis Of Hiv-1 Integrase Inhibitors, Sarah Chajkowski Scarry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, HIV-1 integrase (IN) has emerged as an attractive target for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the causative pathogen of acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Several classes of IN inhibitors are known but many of these compounds are toxic, do not show antiviral activity or display decreased potency. Therefore, new classes of potent IN inhibitors are desperately needed. The b-diketo (b-DK) class of compounds has emerged as one of the most successful classes of IN inhibitors. Although several b-DK inhibitors with potent antiviral activity are known, compounds containing b-DK motifs have limitations in drug development. …

How Do The Perceived Barriers, Attitudes, And Knowledge Of Grocery Store Personnel Affect Availability Of Organic Food Products?, Rachel Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organic food is one of the fastest-growing segments of food production and consumption in the U.S. Even though organic foods are becoming more widely available, some studies suggest they may not be equally available to all populations because people in some areas are being excluded from the organics market either geographically or financially. The purpose of this study was to examine how individual and local characteristics affect the attitudes of grocery store personnel toward organic food products and how these attitudes affect availability. Grocery store personnel were surveyed about their attitudes toward organic foods, their perceptions of the barriers to …

Identifying Dysfunction In Persistent Social Deviance: Perspective Taking As A Mediator Of The Relationship Between Psychopathy And Social Aggression, Olga Vadymovna Berkout

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Psychopathy has been associated with social aggression in a number of studies. Perspective taking (e.g. theory of mind and empathy) has been inversely associated with both psychopathy and social aggression, suggesting that it may serve as a potential mediator of this relationship. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess perspective taking as a potential partial mediator of the relationship between psychopathy and social aggression in a sample of 439 undergraduates. Although bivariate correlations produced the expected negative relationships between perspective taking and psychopathy and social aggression, perspective taking did not function as a mediator in the SEM analysis. Implications …