A Management Buyout in the Lower Middle Market

ABC Inc., ABC or The Company , is a leading manufacturer of precision rotary valves, feeders, screw conveyors, and components found in industrial material handling systems. Due to their proprietary products, exceptional durability, and custom design and manufacturing processes, ABC has developed a reputation as a premium manufacturer and supplier of choice across various industries. ABC initially targeted the wood products industry, and pulp and paper remains its largest industry segment today, but The Company has since expanded its services to mining, cement, chemical companies as well as coal and biomass burning plants. In addition to its proprietary products, ABC provides custom machining and fabrication services for select clients. Located in Reno, Nevada and founded in 1977 by the original owners, ABC has had a presence in the West for over 35 years. Current legacy owners purchased The Company in 2003 and grew The Company to record profitability levels in 2008. Following down years during the economic recession, The Owner brought on John Smith, an experienced executive of several private and public machining companies, to act as CEO of ABC in 2011. With John\u27s help, The Company has since rebounded to near pre-recession profitability levels as the housing market and domestic manufacturing continue to improve. ABC did $6.8M in revenue and$1.23M in adjusted EBITDA for 2012 and $6.86M in 2013 with an adjusted EBITDA of ~$1.57M. Although not currently involved in the day-to-day operations at ABC, The Owner was working to resolve litigation that was brought against ABC by MMM Company. The $1.48M product liability claim was for a damaged machine due to faulty components ABC machined for MMM Company, but has since been resolved. At a court settlement hearing on Jan 7, 2014, a judge ordered a settlement of$500k, which will be paid in full by ABC\u27s insurance company. Documents have been signed and area attached as Exhibit 2. The matter is detailed further at a later point in this memorandum. The Owner is looking to retire and has approached John Smith to complete a management buyout of The Company. John Smith and sponsor Deal Sponsor have approached CVF to provide capital for the management buyout

Sublime Beauty & Horrible Fucking Things - The Finer Worlds of Warren Ellis

This work constitutes an in-depth discussion of the muted postmodern characteristics of contemporary comics writer and novelist Warren Ellis, highlighting his major long-form works within comics, Planetary, Transmetropolitan, StormWatch, and The Authority, as well as several shorter works such as Ocean, Orbiter, and Global Frequency. In addition, Ellis is situated within the British science fiction tradition, specifically, the British Boom movement which contains other comics writers such as Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore

National Low-Level Waste Management Program Radionuclide Report Series

The National Low Level Waste Management Program at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory has published a report containing key information about selected radionuclides that are most likely to contribute significantly to the radiation exposures estimated from a performance assessment of a low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal facility. The information includes physical and chemical characteristics, production means, waste forms, behavior of the radionuclide in soils, plants, groundwater, and air, and biological effects in animals and humans. The radionuclides included in this study comprise all of the nuclides specifically listed in 10CFR61.55, Tables 1 and 2, 3 H, 14 C, 59 Ni, 60 Co, 63 Ni, 90 Sr, 94 Nb, 99 Tc, 129 I, 137 Cs, 241 Pu, and 242 Cm. Other key radionuclides addressed in the report include 237 Np, 238 U, 239 Pu, and 241 Am. This paper summarizes key information contained within this report

Innovation in Rangeland Monitoring: Annual, 30 M, Plant Functional Type Percent Cover Maps for U.S. Rangelands, 1984-2017

Innovations in machine learning and cloud‐based computing were merged with historical remote sensing and field data to provide the first moderate resolution, annual, percent cover maps of plant functional types across rangeland ecosystems to effectively and efficiently respond to pressing challenges facing conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. We utilized the historical Landsat satellite record, gridded meteorology, abiotic land surface data, and over 30,000 field plots within a Random Forests model to predict per‐pixel percent cover of annual forbs and grasses, perennial forbs and grasses, shrubs, and bare ground over the western United States from 1984 to 2017. Results were validated using three independent collections of plot‐level measurements, and resulting maps display land cover variation in response to changes in climate, disturbance, and management. The maps, which will be updated annually at the end of each year, provide exciting opportunities to expand and improve rangeland conservation, monitoring, and management. The data open new doors for scientific investigation at an unprecedented blend of temporal fidelity, spatial resolution, and geographic scale

Characterization of M40J Desized and Finished Fibers

A viewgraph presentation on desized and finished M40J carbon fibers shown. The topics include: 1) Program Goals and Prior Year Results Summary; 2) Continuous Desizing and Finishing System Development; 3) Characterizzation of Desized and Finished M40J Carbon Fibers and 4) Conclusions and Future Work

Psychological factors associated with uptake of the childhood influenza vaccine and perception of post-vaccination side-effects : a cross-sectional survey in England

Objectives To identify predictors of: uptake of the childhood influenza vaccine in the 2015–2016 influenza season, parental perceptions of side-effects from the influenza vaccine and intention to vaccinate one's child for influenza in the 2016–2017 influenza season. Design Cross-sectional online survey. Setting Data were collected in England shortly after the end of the 2015–2016 immunization campaign. Participants 1001 parents or guardians of children aged between two and seven. Main outcome measures Self-reported uptake of the childhood influenza vaccine in the 2015–2016 influenza season, perception of side-effects from the influenza vaccine and intention to vaccinate one's child in the 2016–2017 influenza season. Results Self-reported uptake of the childhood influenza vaccine was 52.8%. Factors strongly positively associated with uptake included the child having previously been vaccinated against influenza, perceiving the vaccine to be effective and perceiving the child to be susceptible to flu. Factors strongly negatively associated with uptake included perceiving the vaccine to be unsafe, to cause short-term side-effects or long-term health problems and believing that yearly vaccination may overload the immune system. Predictors of intended vaccine uptake in 2016–2017 were similar. Participants who perceived side-effects after the 2015–2016 vaccination reported being less likely to vaccinate their child next year. Side-effects were more likely to be reported in first-born children, by participants who knew another child who had side-effects, those who thought that the vaccine would interact with medication that the child was currently taking, and those who believed the vaccine causes short-term side-effects. Conclusions Perceptions about the childhood influenza vaccine show strong associations with uptake, intended uptake and perception of side-effects. Attempts to improve uptake rates from their current low levels must address these perceptions

Preparing clinical-grade myeloid dendritic cells by electroporation-mediated transfection of in vitro amplified tumor-derived mRNA and safety testing in stage IV malignant melanoma

BACKGROUND: Dendritic cells (DCs) have been used as vaccines in clinical trials of immunotherapy of cancer and other diseases. Nonetheless, progress towards the use of DCs in the clinic has been slow due in part to the absence of standard methods for DC preparation and exposure to disease-associated antigens. Because different ex vivo exposure methods can affect DC phenotype and function differently, we studied whether electroporation-mediated transfection (electrotransfection) of myeloid DCs with in vitro expanded RNA isolated from tumor tissue might be feasible as a standard physical method in the preparation of clinical-grade DC vaccines. METHODS: We prepared immature DCs (IDCs) from CD14(+ )cells isolated from leukapheresis products and extracted total RNA from freshly resected melanoma tissue. We reversely transcribed the RNA while attaching a T7 promoter to the products that we subsequently amplified by PCR. We transcribed the amplified cDNA in vitro and introduced the expanded RNA into IDCs by electroporation followed by DC maturation and cryopreservation. Isolated and expanded mRNA was analyzed for the presence of melanoma-associated tumor antigens gp100, tyrosinase or MART1. To test product safety, we injected five million DCs subcutaneously at three-week intervals for up to four injections into six patients suffering from stage IV malignant melanoma. RESULTS: Three preparations contained all three transcripts, one isolate contained tyrosinase and gp100 and one contained none. Electrotransfection of DCs did not affect viability and phenotype of fresh mature DCs. However, post-thaw viability was lower (69 ± 12 percent) in comparison to non-electroporated cells (82 ± 12 percent; p = 0.001). No patient exhibited grade 3 or 4 toxicity upon DC injections. CONCLUSION: Standardized preparation of viable clinical-grade DCs transfected with tumor-derived and in vitro amplified mRNA is feasible and their administration is safe

Protein kinetics of superoxide dismutase-1 in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

OBJECTIVE: Accumulation of misfolded superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) is a pathological hallmark of SOD1-related amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is observed in sporadic ALS where its role in pathogenesis is controversial. Understanding in vivo protein kinetics may clarify how SOD1 influences neurodegeneration and inform optimal dosing for therapies that lower SOD1 transcripts. METHODS: We employed stable isotope labeling paired with mass spectrometry to evaluate in vivo protein kinetics and concentration of soluble SOD1 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of SOD1 mutation carriers, sporadic ALS participants and controls. A deaminated SOD1 peptide, SDGPVKV, that correlates with protein stability was also measured. RESULTS: In participants with heterozygous SOD1 INTERPRETATION: These results highlight the ability of stable isotope labeling approaches and peptide deamidation to discern the influence of disease mutations on protein kinetics and stability and support implementation of this method to optimize clinical trial design of gene and molecular therapies for neurological disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03449212