Leaks represent a very important hazard for the buildings and they can affect all sorts of building materials and specially wood due to its hygroscopic properties. Excessive moisture content can affect in a negative way building processes such as the installation of wooden floors or the use of wood as a structural material. Moisture meters can provide prompt and non-destructive determination of...

A fundamental assumption in cost accounting is that the relation between costs and volume is symmetric for volume increases and decreases. In this study, we investigate whether costs are “sticky”—that is, whether costs increase more when activity rises than they decrease when activity falls by an equivalent amount. We find, for 7,629 firms over 20 years, that selling, general, and administrativ...

We present a new approach to examining the dividend signalling hypothesis by investigating dividend resumptions by former payers. Evidence regarding the signalling hypothesis has been mixed to date. In support of previous work, we find that dividend policy is sticky, whereby the achievement of profitability does not necessarily lead to the resumption of dividend payment. We find no evidence of ...

The differences between the seasonal occurrence and likelihood of being infected by FD phytoplasmas, of male and female Scaphoideus titanus Ball, were investigated. Sex ratio (male: female) was calculated by counting males and females sampled by means of yellow sticky traps and sweep-nets and from adults derived from hatched eggs in field-collected grapevine wood. PCR essays were performed to t...

Three-dimensional (3D) open-field gait analysis of mice is an essential procedure in genetic and nerve regeneration research. Existing gait analysis systems are generally expensive and may interfere with the natural behaviors of mice because of optical markers and transparent floors. In contrast, the proposed system captures the subjects shape from beneath using a low-cost infrared depth sensor...