Corporate Governance Reform and Reemergence from Bankruptcy: Putting the Structure Back in Restructuring

A company\u27s descent into bankruptcy may result from one or more troubling factors. Often the failing enterprise has adopted a poor business model, been led by deficient management, or labored under an unworkable capital structure. More often than not, a business failure is also accompanied by a less-than-ideal corporate governance structure within the organization. The failure to adopt an effective corporate governance model often leads to a sterile, inactive board of directors and may hasten a firm\u27s demise. Conversely, proper corporate governance may prevent a business\u27s slide into Chapter 11. Indeed, several studies have demonstrated a strong relationship between corporate performance and effective corporate governance.\u27 Board independence and equity ownership, along with the mantras of good governance, can create an environment in which management is effectively monitored and bankruptcy generally is avoided. But what happens when an organization does fail? Traditionally, the focus in Chapter 11 restructurings has been on financial and managerial reform, largely ignoring equally important issues of firm governance. Attention to governance concerns, however, can greatly benefit firms emerging from bankruptcy. In reorganization, a failed firm stands at a critical juncture at which it must take a course of action that will ensure its successful revival. This course of action must include the restructuring of its corporate governance structure to incorporate, inter alia, both the election of independent outside directors and the use of equity ownership to incentivize these directors to effectively monitor management. In order to promote the firm\u27s sound future, the debtor must undertake both this corporate restructuring and the traditional financial and managerial restructuring that occurs during Chapter 11. Business leaders within the firm, institutional investors, and even bankruptcy judges can influence and encourage a firm\u27s decision to reform its governance structure. Indeed, many institutional investors currently demand the placement of independent, outside directors on the board prior to any infusion of additional capital. Bankruptcy judges must utilize the feasibility requirement to inquire into the firm\u27s efforts at corporate governance reform, while the debtor company must create the kind of vital board that is crucial to its future survival and success. Whether on the road to or from bankruptcy, firms will benefit from adopting an effective corporate governance structure. The adoption of an independent board and an equity ownership plan, as urged by governance theorists, is an essential means of ensuring the firm\u27s successful emergence from reorganization, future survival, and performance

The SEC\u27s Misguided Climate Disclosure Rule Proposal

The following article adapts and consolidates two comment letters submitted last spring by a group of twenty-two professors of finance and law on the SEC’s proposed climate change disclosure rules. The professors reiterate their recommendation that the SEC withdraw its proposal as legally misguided, while outlining some of the issues that the proposal will face when challenged in court

Serum procalcitonin elevation in critically ill patients at the onset of bacteremia caused by either gram negative or gram positive bacteria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the ICU, bacteremia is a life-threatening infection whose prognosis is highly dependent on early recognition and treatment with appropriate antibiotics. Procalcitonin levels have been shown to distinguish between bacteremia and noninfectious inflammatory states accurately and quickly in critically ill patients. However, we still do not know to what extent the magnitude of PCT elevation at the onset of bacteremia varies according to the Gram stain result.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Review of the medical records of every patient treated between May, 2004 and December, 2006 who had bacteremia caused by either Gram positive (GP) or Gram negative (GN) bacteria, and whose PCT dosage at the onset of infection was available.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>97 episodes of either GN bacteremia (<it>n </it>= 52) or GP bacteremia (<it>n </it>= 45) were included. Procalcitonin levels were found to be markedly higher in patients with GN bacteremia than in those with GP bacteremia, whereas the SOFA score value in the two groups was similar. Moreover, in the study population, a high PCT value was found to be independently associated with GN bacteremia. A PCT level of 16.0 ng/mL yielded an 83.0% positive predictive value and a 74.0% negative predictive value for GN-related bacteremia in the study cohort (AUROCC = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.71–0.88).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In a critically ill patient with clinical sepsis, GN bacteremia could be associated with higher PCT values than those found in GP bacteremia, regardless of the severity of the disease.</p

Researching the gender division of unpaid domestic work: practices, relationships, negotiations, and meanings

The paper focuses on the potential of quantitative research methods for sociologists who research the gender division of unpaid domestic work. To begin, it reflects on the emergence of the sociological interest in unpaid domestic work and identifies an early core concern with making invisible work visible. It is argued that quantitative research methods provide us with the most valuable opportunities for ‘recognising’ unpaid domestic work since they facilitate larger scale representative projects. However the data in most of the large scale surveys are scant, and fail to reflect developments in the conceptualisation of unpaid domestic work. Four areas of concern to contemporary sociology are identified: domestic work practices, relationships, negotiations and meanings. Given the complex questions that these four sub- topics raise, the paper proposes a range of sub-areas as a focus for ongoing sociological research into unpaid domestic work. It is concluded that despite the methodological challenges presented, detailed indicators of the multiple dimensions of unpaid domestic work need to be agreed so that valid information can be collected as routinely in large scale surveys as are those on paid work

Characterization of PTZ-Induced Seizure Susceptibility in a Down Syndrome Mouse Model That Overexpresses CSTB

Down syndrome (DS) is a complex genetic syndrome characterized by intellectual disability, dysmorphism and variable additional physiological traits. Current research progress has begun to decipher the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment, leading to new therapeutic perspectives. Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) has recently been found to have positive effects on learning and memory capacities of a DS mouse model and is foreseen to treat DS patients. But PTZ is also known to be a convulsant drug at higher dose and DS persons are more prone to epileptic seizures than the general population. This raises concerns over what long-term effects of treatment might be in the DS population. The cause of increased propensity for epilepsy in the DS population and which Hsa21 gene(s) are implicated remain unknown. Among Hsa21 candidate genes in epilepsy, CSTB, coding for the cystein protease inhibitor cystatin B, is involved in progressive myoclonus epilepsy and ataxia in both mice and human. Thus we aim to evaluate the effect of an increase in Cstb gene dosage on spontaneous epileptic activity and susceptibility to PTZ-induced seizure. To this end we generated a new mouse model trisomic for Cstb by homologous recombination. We verified that increasing copy number of Cstb from Trisomy (Ts) to Tetrasomy (Tt) was driving overexpression of the gene in the brain, we checked transgenic animals for presence of locomotor activity and electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities characteristic of myoclonic epilepsy and we tested if those animals were prone to PTZ-induced seizure. Overall, the results of the analysis shows that an increase in Cstb does not induce any spontaneous epileptic activity and neither increase or decrease the propensity of Ts and Tt mice to myoclonic seizures suggesting that Ctsb dosage should not interfere with PTZ-treatment

Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use

Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders 1 . They are heritable 2,3 and etiologically related 4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts 6–11 . In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures