Related party transactions (RPTs) are transactions made among affiliated companies in a conglomerate group. Heavy RPT ratio means high level of dependence of a firm on the captive market within a conglomerate group. This may depress the firm’s incentive to invest in R&D and the high level of R&D expenditure of a firm with heavy RPT ratio may not be efficiently led to high level of firm performa...

The distribution of the different components of solidified eutectic or near-eutectic salt mixtures (eutectics) was examined by use of Raman microscope mapping of the structures formed when these melts were slowly cooled. Seven binary and one ternary system were investigated. In most cases the component crystallized phases consisted of roughly rounded areas of about 0.5–5 μm across, the areas al...

The case is presented of a coal miner with bilateral masses of progressive massive fibrosis, who developed acute cavitation following fibreoptic bronchoscopy and biopsies. Indeed, immediately upon bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsy, there was expectoration of abundant melanoptysis. Three days later, the chest radiograph showed a cavity and the patient again coughed up black material, in th...

Tool-using hominids, as carnivorous animals, would have been part of the various carnivore guilds present in Plio-Pleistocene Africa. Hominid dietary strategies must be understood within the larger context of carnivore behavior and ecology, as carnivorans could have affected the abilities of hominids to procure meat and/or marrow. The functional anatomy of extant and fossil carnivorans was exam...

The risk of global extinction of reef-building coral species is increasing. We evaluated extinction risk using a biological trait-based resiliency index that was compared with Caribbean extinction during the Plio-Pleistocene, and with extinction risk determined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Through the Plio-Pleistocene, the Caribbean supported more diverse coral ...

Two-dimensional (2D) nucleation and crystallization of the helical aromatic hydrocarbon heptahelicene on the single crystalline copper(100) surface has been studied with scanning tunnelling microscopy. In contrast to previously observed racemic 2D crystals on Cu(111), separation into homochiral domains is observed for Cu(100).

Pitheciines have unique dental specializations among New World monkeys that allow them to feed on fruits with hard pericarps, thus playing a major role as seed predators. The three extant pitheciine genera, Pithecia, Cacajao and Chiropotes, are all endemic the Amazon region. Because of uncertainties about interspecific relationships, we reviewed systematics taxonomy genus Chiropotes. phylogenet...