Litigation and Recoupment of Executive Compensation

Merrill Lynch suffered fourth quarter losses of $9.8 billion dollars in 2008. Simultaneous to its$50 billion federally aided acquisition by Bank of America, Merrill was given the green light by Bank of America to pay as much as $5.6 billion dollars in incentive compensation. The legal fallout regarding the losses and the bonuses has been dramatic by any standard. As a separate drama, Troubled Asset Relief Program Special Master Kenneth Feinberg has been a constant presence in the media throughout 2009, ruling on compensation proposals at companies that received federal financing. Contemporaneously, the legal and business communities are curiously watching the progression of the Securities and Exchange Commission\u27s complaint against former Chairman and CEO of CSK Auto Corporation Maynard Jenkins. The complaint against Jenkins seeks disgorgement of Jenkins\u27 incentive and equity compensation under § 304 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act, and is a singular instance of § 304 being leveraged against an executive who is not personally accused of violating any federal securities laws. These legal matters are informed by larger circumstances-of populist rhetoric and of the ongoing economic crisis-that have in many instances provoked shareholders, creditors, and government actors to seek recoupment of executive compensation. This research article functions as a broad overview of the possible state and federal legal authorities parties may face in such an environmen

Online Predators: Myth versus Reality

Media stories about “online predators” who use the Internet to gain access to young victims often give inaccurate impressions of Internet-initiated sex crimes. Most such crimes involve adult men who use the Internet to meet and seduce adolescents into sexual encounters. Most offenders are open about their ages and sexual motivations. Most are charged with statutory rape (i.e., nonforcible sexual activity with victims who are too young to consent). Internet-initiated sex crimes account for a salient but small proportion of all statutory rape offenses and a relatively low number of the sexual offenses committed against minors overall. Victims are often at-risk youths who have previously been abused or have problems in school or at home. Prevention strategies should be developmentally appropriate, target youths directly, acknowledge normal adolescent interests in romance and sex, and provide adolescents with awareness and avoidance skills

BARD1 nonsense variant c.1921C>T in a patient with recurrent breast cancer

No abstract available

Anachronistic Grain Growth and Global Structure of the Protoplanetary Disk Associated with the Mature Classical T Tauri Star, PDS 66

We present ATCA interferometric observations of the old (13 Myr), nearby (86pc) classical T Tauri star, PDS 66. Unresolved 3 and 12 mm continuum emission is detected towards PDS 66, and upper limits are derived for the 3 and 6 cm flux densities. The mm-wave data show a spectral slope flatter than that expected for ISM-sized dust particles, which is evidence of grain growth. We also present HST/NICMOS 1.1 micron PSF-subtracted coronagraphic imaging of PDS 66. The HST observations reveal a bilaterally symmetric circumstellar region of dust scattering about 0.32% of the central starlight, declining radially in surface brightness. The light-scattering disk of material is inclined 32 degrees from face-on, and extends to a radius of 170 AU. These data are combined with published optical and longer wavelength observations to make qualitative comparisons between the median Taurus and PDS 66 spectral energy distributions (SEDs). By comparing the near-infrared emission to a simple model, we determine that the location of the inner disk radius is consistent with the dust sublimation radius (1400 K at 0.1 AU). We place constraints on the total disk mass using a flat-disk model and find that it is probably too low to form gas giant planets according to current models. Despite the fact that PDS 66 is much older than a typical classical T Tauri star (< 5 Myr), its physical properties are not much different.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figure

Patients’ views on variants of uncertain significance across indications

As genomic sequencing expands into more areas of patient care, an increasing number of patients learn of the variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) that they carry. Understanding the potential psychosocial consequences of the disclosure of a VUS can help inform pre- and post-test counseling discussions. Medical uncertainty in general elicits a variety of responses from patients, particularly in the growing field of medical genetics and genomics. It is important to consider patients’ responses to the ambiguous nature of VUSs across different indications and situational contexts. Genetic counselors and other providers ordering genetic testing should be prepared for the possibility of their patients’ misinterpretation of such results. Pre-test counseling should include a discussion of the possibility of VUSs and what it would mean for the patient’s care and its potential psychosocial impacts. When a VUS is found, post-test counseling should include additional education and a discussion of the variant’s implications and medical management recommendations based on the results. These discussions may help temper subjective interpretations, unrealistic views, and decisional regret

Novel variants in COL4A4 and COL4A5 are rare causes of FSGS in two unrelated families

We report two female patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and chronic kidney disease. The first patient was found to have a heterozygous, de novo, pathogenic variant in COL4A5 (c.141+1G&gt;A, IVS2+1G&gt;A), which is associated with Alport syndrome. The second patient was found to have a heterozygous, likely pathogenic variant in COL4A4 (c.2842G&gt;T). Both these variants in COL4A5 and COL4A4 are novel, and they were detected using whole exome sequencing and gene panel testing, respectively. Additionally, we discuss the complexities of diagnosis in such cases and the benefits of using the abovementioned diagnostic approaches

Correction: Novel variants in COL4A4 and COL4A5 are rare causes of FSGS in two unrelated families

No abstract available

Grain Growth and Global Structure of the Protoplanetary Disk Associated with the Mature Classical T Tauri Star, PDS 66

We present Australia Telescope Compact Array interferometric observations of the old (13 Myr), nearby (86 pc) classical T Tauri star (cTTS), PDS 66. Unresolved 3 and 12 mm continuum emission is detected toward PDS 66, and upper limits are derived for the 3 and 6 cm flux densities. The millimeter-wave data show a spectral slope flatter than that expected for interstellar medium-sized dust particles, which is evidence of grain growth. We also present HST/NICMOS 1.1 μm point-spread-function-subtracted coronagraphic imaging observations of the circumstellar environment of PDS 66. The Hubble Space Telescope observations reveal a bilaterally symmetric circumstellar region of dust scattering ~0.32% of the central starlight, declining in surface brightness as r ^(–4.53). The light-scattering disk of material is inclined 32° ± 5° from a face-on viewing geometry, and extends to a radius of 170 AU. These data are combined with published optical and longer wavelength observations to make qualitative comparisons between the median Taurus and PDS 66 spectral energy distributions. By comparing the near-infrared emission to a simple model, we determine that the location of the inner disk radius is consistent with the dust sublimation radius (~1400 K at 0.1 AU). We place constraints on the total disk mass using a flat-disk model and find that it is probably too low to form gas giant planets according to current models. Despite the fact that PDS 66 is much older than a typical cTTS (≤5 Myr), its physical properties are not much different