Shareholders, Creditors, and Directors’ Fiduciary Duties: A Law and Finance Approach

The debate surrounding fiduciary duties owed to creditors by directors, especially in the vicinity of insolvency, has resurfaced in light of two court decisions in Canada and the United States. In this paper, we contribute to the discussion by looking at the issue from a corporate finance perspective, where we utilize well-established theorems and results. We show that creditors are able to protect themselves by the use of covenants. While this idea has been reported extensively in previous discussions about fiduciary duties, we focus on studies that show the extent to which creditors use covenants to protect themselves against opportunistic behavior by managers and shareholders. Additionally, we show that debt can actually increase the value of the firm and the shares, and therefore, the idea that shareholders use debt for opportunistic behavior is misplaced. If anything, debt is used to align managerial incentives to maximize the value of the firm. The Fisher Separation theorem is also introduced and used to show that all stakeholders in a firm will want the firm to pursue projects with the maximum net present value. Hence, we propose that fiduciary duties should always be owed to the corporation as a whole, where the main focus of the managers is investing in those projects that have the highest expected net present value

Systematic variation of central mass density slope in early-type galaxies

We study the total density distribution in the central regions ($<\, 1$ effective radius, $R_{\rm e}$) of early-type galaxies (ETGs), using data from the SPIDER survey. We model each galaxy with two components (dark matter halo + stars), exploring different assumptions for the dark matter (DM) halo profile, and leaving stellar mass-to-light ($M_{\rm \star}/L$) ratios as free fitting parameters to the data. For a Navarro et al. (1996) profile, the slope of the total mass profile is non-universal. For the most massive and largest ETGs, the profile is isothermal in the central regions ($\sim R_{\rm e}/2$), while for the low-mass and smallest systems, the profile is steeper than isothermal, with slopes similar to those for a constant-M/L profile. For a concentration-mass relation steeper than that expected from simulations, the correlation of density slope with mass tends to flatten. Our results clearly point to a "non-homology" in the total mass distribution of ETGs, which simulations of galaxy formation suggest may be related to a varying role of dissipation with galaxy mass.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, to appear on the refereed Proceeding of the "The Universe of Digital Sky Surveys" conference held at the INAF--OAC, Naples, on 25th-28th november 2014, to be published on Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, edited by Longo, Napolitano, Marconi, Paolillo, Iodic

Damping and decoherence of a nanomechanical resonator due to a few two level systems

We consider a quantum model of a nanomechanical flexing beam resonator interacting with a bath comprising a few damped tunneling two level systems (TLS's). In contrast with a resonator interacting bilinearly with an ohmic free oscillator bath (modeling clamping loss, for example), the mechanical resonator damping is amplitude dependent, while the decoherence of quantum superpositions of mechanical position states depends only weakly on their spatial separation

Statistical closed-loop process scheduling

Traditionally, scheduling algorithms have been implemented as open-loop control systems. This allows the operating system to make quick decisions on the order in which tasks should be scheduled without requiring complex calculations. It is very common for a task to be assigned a priority based on its anticipated performance, or based on general process characteristics (i.e., I/O bound versus CPU bound). The problem with this type of scheduling, and this type of control system in general, is that it is rigid and lacks the ability to adjust based on the actual performance of the system and its processes. This work is an examination of a simple closed-loop scheduling algorithm that dynamically adjusts the way tasks are scheduled based on the actual system and process performance. It is believed that by making this change to the scheduling algorithm, several important aspects of system performance will be affected. The system resources can be more efficiently utilized because scheduling parameters are dynamically adjusted to compensate for the current system load. The apparent responsiveness of the system, from the point of view of the applications, will increase because processes will be treated more fairly. Also, the overall system throughput will improve, because the closed-loop control system allows the scheduler to make better decisions on the order in which tasks should be run. The implementation of a closed-loop scheduler will result in an increase in the overhead of the scheduling algorithm; however, it is believed that this increase in overhead will be minimal. Extensive testing of the algorithm using a wide variety of applications will be used to demonstrate that the increase is indeed acceptable, given the other benefits of the algorithm. Due to the fact that the proposed scheduling algorithm is statistical in nature, it does not apply to hard real-time operating systems, but could be used to improve soft real-time operating systems, which have less stringent deadline requirements, and in general purpose time-sharing operating systems. Although this algorithm could have been implemented in any operating system, Linux was chosen as the base platform for this work due to its open source nature. Linux has the additional benefit of providing a well-known environment, and utilities that facilitate the measurements necessary to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. This work demonstrates that increased overhead required for a closed-loop system is reasonable, and that closed-loop scheduling can provide certain benefits over traditional open-loop schedulers. When compared to the original Linux kernel, the throughput performance degraded typically between 1.5% and 2% depending on the process mix; however, some of the changes to the base kernel can be used to explain this performance degradation. The system clock rate was increased from 100 Hz to 1000 Hz to obtain the timer granularity necessary for the closed-loop control system. Previous work measured a 3.1% increase in overhead when using a 1000 Hz system clock. Measurements were taken on a custom version of the original kernel that was built with a 1000 Hz system clock, which support that claim. When compared to the base kernel with a 1000 Hz system clock, the closed-loop scheduler produces better performance. This work also demonstrates the disadvantage of an open-loop scheduler. An application was developed with fixed length CPU bursts and periodic I/O requests to show that blindly giving the CPU to I/O bound processes and using epochs to age processes results in a significant number of unnecessary process switches that inevitably degrades the performance of the machine. The closed-loop scheduling algorithm balances the load across the processes more evenly, resulting in better performance under a high system load

Cryo-EM structure of a helicase loading intermediate containing ORC-Cdc6-Cdt1-MCM2-7 bound to DNA

In eukaryotes, the Cdt1-bound replicative helicase core MCM2-7 is loaded onto DNA by the ORC-Cdc6 ATPase to form a prereplicative complex (pre-RC) with an MCM2-7 double hexamer encircling DNA. Using purified components in the presence of ATP-γS, we have captured in vitro an intermediate in pre-RC assembly that contains a complex between the ORC-Cdc6 and Cdt1-MCM2-7 heteroheptamers called the OCCM. Cryo-EM studies of this 14-subunit complex reveal that the two separate heptameric complexes are engaged extensively, with the ORC-Cdc6 N-terminal AAA+ domains latching onto the C-terminal AAA+ motor domains of the MCM2-7 hexamer. The conformation of ORC-Cdc6 undergoes a concerted change into a right-handed spiral with helical symmetry that is identical to that of the DNA double helix. The resulting ORC-Cdc6 helicase loader shows a notable structural similarity to the replication factor C clamp loader, suggesting a conserved mechanism of action

Complete Genome Sequence of Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum Strain LB1-2, Isolated from the Hindgut of European Honeybees, Apis mellifera L., from the Philippines

Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum strain LB1-2, isolated from the hindgut of European honeybees in the Philippines, is active against Paenibacillus larvae and has broad activity against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The complete genome sequence reported herein contains gene clusters for multiple bacteriocins and extensive gene inventories for carbohydrate metabolism.This work, including the efforts of M.F.C.I.-C, was funded by the Research Center, Cavite State University, and the Department of Science and Technology–Accelerated S&T Human Resource Development Program (DOST-ASTHRDP) under the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD). The efforts of A.D.M. and N.G.S. were performed under the auspices of the University of Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Basic Research grant 88-D75-23. The efforts of A.R.R.R. were funded by a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, Alberta Innovates–Technology Futures, and a President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction

Progress on Development of an Airborne Two-Micron IPDA Lidar for Water Vapor and Carbon Dioxide Column Measurements

An airborne 2 micron triple-pulse integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar is currently under development at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). This lidar targets both atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) column measurements, simultaneously. Advancements in the development of this IPDA lidar are presented in this paper. Updates on advanced two-micron triple-pulse high-energy laser transmitter will be given including packaging and lidar integration status. In addition, receiver development updates will also be presented. This includes a state-of-the-art detection system integrated at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. This detection system is based on a newly developed HgCdTe (MCT) electron-initiated avalanche photodiode (e-APD) array. Future plan for IPDA lidar system for ground integration, testing and flight validation will be discussed

Minimization of phonon-tunneling dissipation in mechanical resonators

Micro- and nanoscale mechanical resonators have recently emerged as ubiquitous devices for use in advanced technological applications, for example in mobile communications and inertial sensors, and as novel tools for fundamental scientific endeavors. Their performance is in many cases limited by the deleterious effects of mechanical damping. Here, we report a significant advancement towards understanding and controlling support-induced losses in generic mechanical resonators. We begin by introducing an efficient numerical solver, based on the "phonon-tunneling" approach, capable of predicting the design-limited damping of high-quality mechanical resonators. Further, through careful device engineering, we isolate support-induced losses and perform the first rigorous experimental test of the strong geometric dependence of this loss mechanism. Our results are in excellent agreement with theory, demonstrating the predictive power of our approach. In combination with recent progress on complementary dissipation mechanisms, our phonon-tunneling solver represents a major step towards accurate prediction of the mechanical quality factor.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Consultations with complementary and alternative medicine practitioners amongst wider care options for back pain: a study of a nationally representative sample of 1,310 Australian women aged 60–65 years

Back pain is a significant health service issue in Australia and internationally. Back pain sufferers can draw upon a range of health care providers including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners. Women are higher users of health services than men and tend to use CAM frequently for musculoskeletal conditions. However, there remain important gaps in our understanding of women's consultation patterns with CAM practitioners for back pain. The objective of this study is to examine the prevalence of use and characteristics of women who use CAM practitioners for back pain. The method used was a survey of a nationally representative sample of women aged 60-65 years from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Women consulted a massage therapist (44.1 %, n = 578) and a chiropractor (37.3 %, n = 488) more than other CAM practitioners for their back pain. Consultations with a chiropractor for back pain were lower for women who consulted a General Practitioner (GP) (OR, 0.56; 95 % CI 0.41, 0.76) or a physiotherapist (OR, 0.53; 95 % CI 0.39, 0.72) than for those who did not consult a GP or a physiotherapist. CAM practitioner consultations for back pain were greater for women who visited a pharmacist (OR, 1.99; 95 % CI 1.23, 3.32) than for women who did not visit a pharmacist. There is substantial use of CAM practitioners alongside conventional practitioners amongst women for back pain, and there is a need to provide detailed examination of the communication between patients and their providers as well as across the diverse range of health professionals involved in back pain care

Type I Interferon Gene Response Is Increased in Early and Established Rheumatoid Arthritis and Correlates with Autoantibody Production

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory debilitating disease that affects the joints in the early and productive phases of an individual’s life. Several cytokines have been linked to the disease pathogenesis and are known to contribute to the inflammatory state characteristic of RA. The participation of type I interferon (IFN) in the pathogenesis of the disease has been already described as well as the identity of the genes that are regulated by this molecule, which are collectively known as the type I IFN signature. These genes have several functions associated with apoptosis, transcriptional regulation, protein degradation, Th2 cell induction, B cell proliferation, etc. This article evaluated the expression of several genes of the IFN signature in different stages of disease and their correlation with the levels of anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) anticarbamylated protein (Anti-CarP) antibodies. METHODS: Samples from individuals with early and established RA, high-risk individuals (ACPA+ and ACPA−), and healthy controls were recruited at “Unidad de Artritis y Rheumatismo” (Rheumatism and Arthritis Unit) in Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico. Determinations of ACPA were made with Eurodiagnostica ACPA plus kit. Anti-CarP determinations were made according to previously described protocols. RNA was isolated, and purity and integrity were determined according to RNA integrity number >6. Gene expression analysis was made by RT-qPCR using specific primers for mRNAs of the type I IFN signature. Relative gene expression was calculated according to Livak and Schmitgen. RESULTS: Significant differences in gene expression were identified when comparing the different groups for MXA and MXB (P < 0.05), also when comparing established RA and ACPA− in both IFIT 1 and G15. An increased expression of ISG15 was identified (P < 0.05), and a clear tendency toward increase was identified for HERC5. EPSTRI1, IFI6, and IFI35 were found to be elevated in the chronic/established RA and early RA (P < 0.05). Significant correlations were identified for the IFN signature genes with the levels of ACPA and anti-CarP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our data confirm previous observations in the role of IFN signature and the pathogenesis of RA. Also, we provide evidence of an association between several genes of the IFN signature (that regulate Th2 cells and B cell proliferation) with the levels of anti-CarP antibodies and ACPA