Financial Expertise of Directors

The composition and functioning of corporate boards is at the core of the academic and policy debate on optimal corporate governance. But does board composition matter for corporate decisions? In this paper, we analyze the role of financial experts on boards. In a novel panel data set on board composition, we find that financial experts significantly affect corporate decisions, though not necessarily in the interest of shareholders. First, when commercial bankers join boards, external funding increases and investment-cash flow sensitivity diminishes. But, the increased financing affects mostly firms with good credit and poor investment opportunities. Second, investment bankers on the board are associated with larger bond issues, but also worse acquisitions. Third, we find little evidence that financial expertise matters for compensation policy or for experts without affiliation to a financial institution. The results suggest a tradeoff between outside incentives (e.g. bank profits) and the incentive to maximize firm value. Requiring financial expertise on boards, as mandated by regulatory proposals, may not benefit shareholders if conflicting interests are neglected.

Enhanced granular medium-based tube press hardening

Active and passive control strategies of internal pressure for hot forming of tubes and profiles with granular media are described. Force transmission and plastic deformation of granular medium is experimentally investigated. Friction between tube, granular medium and die as also the external stress field are shown to be essential for the process understanding. Wrinkling, thinning and insufficient forming of the tube establishes the process window for the active pressure process. By improving the punch geometry and controlling tribological conditions, the process limits are extended. Examples for the passive pressure process reveal new opportunities for hot forming of tubes and profiles.Comment: 4 pages, 11 figure

ISO 9164 heat loss in roof-wall sections

In the simple ISO 9164 calculation procedure for transmission heat loss coefficient, HT, it is unclear, and undefined for floor or roof-wall sections, how the parameters in the equations will be calculated. In this paper, a method is proposed for the calculation of ISO 9164 parameters for roof-wall sections. The results obtained by the proposed method for typical roof sections are compared with those obtained by the EN 832/EN 13789/EN ISO 14683 methods and with the L2D values from 2D analysis. A comparison of the floor and roof behaviour is realized using the results of the present and the previous works of the authors. The HT values obtained by the proposed model using the sum of qy through the beam are harmonised with the L2D for floors, which are significantly different from the L2D for roofs with parapet. The results indicate that the L2D values cited in EN 10211-1 are sensitive to the 2D heat flows for floor sections. However, the L2D is not sufficiently sensitive to heat flow from the beam to the parapet and the interactions between the zones within the beam section, whereas the proposed method is more sensitive to the 2D heat flows. © 2011 Academic Journals

Typification and taxonomic remarks on names of Iris (Iridaceae) associated with the Turkish flora

In view of the forthcoming review of Turkish irises for Resimli Türkiye Florası (The Illustrated Flora of Turkey), nineteen names are typified or nomenclatural remarks are provided in the present report. Lectotypes are designated for Iris aschersonii, I. attica, I. bornmuelleri, I. purpureobractea (a taxonomic synonym of I. junonia), I. reticulata var. cyanea, I. reticulata var. sophenensis, I. suaveolens, and I. taochia. The second‐step lectotypification is made for I. histrio. Neotypes are designated for the names I. histrioides, I. junonia, I. masiae, and I. reticulata var. histrioides; epitype, for the name I. reticulata var. sophenensis. For the previously typified names, I. bakeriana, I. musulmanica, and I. reticulata, lectotypes are given. The lectotypes for I. histrio var. aintabensis, I. schachtii, and Xiphion danfordiae, and the authorship for I. histrioides, are corrected. Images are provided for eight specimens selected as types that are not available online. Notes on distribution in Turkey are provided for all the accepted taxa

Light and Scanning Electron Microscopic Analysis of Silene stenophylla Seeds Excavated from Pleistocene-Age (Kolyma)

We studied the morphology of ancient seeds of the Silene species (Caryophyllaceae) excavated from feeding chambers of ancient ground squirrels (Geomys, subgenus Urocitellus) burrows buried in the Late Pleistocene Age permafrost deposits of Kolyma lowland (Siberia). The ancient seeds were compared to seeds of extant species of S. alba, S. chlorantha, S. nutans and S. stenophylla plants presently growing in the same and neighboring regions. Using Light (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), the ancient seeds were identified to be of Silene stenophylla (Ledeb.)

Grape (Vitis vinifera) seeds from Antiquity and the Middle Ages Excavated in Hungary - LM and SEM analysis

Grape (Vitis vinifera) seed remains were excavated at Roman and Medieval archeological sites in Hungary and analyzed by LM (Light Microscopy) and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). Excavation sites included Budapest (Aquincum; 2nd - 4th CENT. A.D. Hungary) and Keszthely (Fenékpuszta) of the Roman Age (5th CENT. A.D., Hungary); and Gyır (Ece; 11-12th CENT. A.D., Hungary), Debrecen (13th CENT. A.D., Hungary) and the King’s Palace of Árpád Dinasty at the Castle of Buda, Budapest (15th CENT. A.D., Hungary) of the Middle Ages. Ancient seeds were compared to thirty current grape varieties of similar seed size, shape, and morphology (Szabó et al. 2007´). The modern grape variety Vitis vinifera cv. ‘kék bakator’ (syn.:‘Blue Bocca d’Oro’; ‘aranybogyó’) was found most similar in seed morphology to one of the ancient samples (15th CENT. Debrecen, Hungary) which indicates the antiquity of this cultivar

Most-favored-nation clauses in commercial contracts: legal and economic analysis and proposal for a guideline

The prevalent use of “most favored nation” (MFN) clauses in commercial agreements has garnered significant attention in the economics and legal literature and by practitioners and enforcement agencies. From an antitrust standpoint, there is a strong consensus that while MFN provisions can lead to procompetitive outcomes or at least play a competitively neutral role, they may also result in competitive harm and a loss of consumer welfare. Therefore, US and EU enforcement agencies and courts have held that MFNs should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, considering the specific characteristics of both the contractual provision and the industry. While a case-by-case approach is valid, it is not ideal from a variety of standpoints: that of the competition authorities seeking to make best use of their limited resources and that of practitioners seeking to advise their clients. Accordingly, published guidelines on the use of MFNs, containing presumptions and safe harbors, would be both efficient and useful. The paper argues that it would increase the efficiency and accuracy of antitrust enforcement if one of the leading competition authorities issued MFN guidelines. The paper suggests a set of presumptions and safe harbors that should be included in any such guidelines. © 2015, The Author(s)

Exploiting Native Al2O3 for Multispectral Aluminum Plasmonics

Aluminum, despite its abundance and low cost, is usually avoided for plasmonic applications due to losses in visible/infrared regimes and its interband absorption at 800 nm. Yet, it is compatible with silicon CMOS processes, making it a promising alternative for integrated plasmonic applications. It is also well known that a thin layer of native Al2O3 is formed on aluminum when exposed to air, which must be taken into account properly while designing plasmonic structures. Here, for the first time we report exploitation of the native Al2O3 layer for fabrication of periodic metal-insulator-metal (MIM) plasmonic structures that exhibit resonances spanning a wide spectral range, from the near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared region of the spectrum. Through fabrication of silver nanoislands on aluminum surfaces and MIM plasmonic surfaces with a thin native Al2O3 layer, hierarchical plasmonic structures are formed and used in surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy (SEIRA) and surface-enhanced Raman spectrocopy (SERS) for detection of self-assembled monolayers of dodecanethiol. (Chemical Equation Presented). © 2014 American Chemical Society

Histological evidence for a supraspinous ligament in sauropod dinosaurs

Supraspinous ossified rods have been reported in the sacra of some derived sauropod dinosaurs. Although different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin ofthis structure, histological evidence has never been provided to support or reject any of them. In order to establish its origin, we analyse and characterize the microstructure of thesupraspinous rod of two sauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. The supraspinous ossified rod is almost entirely formed by dense Haversian bone. Remains ofprimary bone consist entirely of an avascular tissue composed of two types of fibre-like structures, which are coarse and longitudinally (parallel to the main axis of the element) oriented. These structures are differentiated on the basis of their optical properties under polarized light. Very thin fibrous strands are also observed in some regions. These small fibres are all oriented parallel to one another but perpendicular to the element main axis. Histological features of the primary bone tissue indicate that the sacral supraspinous rod corresponds to an ossified supraspinous ligament. The formation of this structure appears to have been a non-pathological metaplastic ossification, possibly induced by the continuous tensile forces applied to the element.Fil: Cerda, Ignacio Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro; ArgentinaFil: Casal, Gabriel. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia; ArgentinaFil: Martínez, Rubén Darío. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia ; ArgentinaFil: Ibiricu, Lucio Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentin

Diagnostic value of combined serum biomarkers for the evaluation of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C infection: A multicenter, noninterventional, observational study

Background/Aims: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is important cause of chronic hepatitis. Liver biopsy is considered the gold standard for assessment of fibrosis but this procedure is an invasive procedure. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of non-invasive serum biomarkers, separately and in combinations, on liver fibrosis in treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixteen treatment-naive CHC patients were enrolled from 32 locations across Turkey in this open-labelled, non-interventional prospective observational study. FibroTest®, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index(APRI), aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4), Age-platelet(AP) index and Forns index were measured and compared with Metavir scores got from liver biopsies. Results: Data from 182 patients with baseline liver biopsy were suitable for analysis. One hundred and twenty patients (65.9%) had F0-F1 fibrosis and 62 patients (34.1%) had F2-F4 fibrosis. APRI 0.732 area under the curve(AUC) indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% sensitivity and 77% specificity. FIB-4 0.732 AUC and FibroTest 0.715 AUC indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% and 78.4% sensitivity, and 75% and 71.4% specificity, respectively. The combined use of tests also led to an increase in AUC and specificity. Combinations of FibroTest with APRI and/or FIB-4, and FIB-4 with APRI were optimal for the evaluation of liver fibrosis. Conclusion: Fibrotest, FIB-4, APRI, AP index and Forns index exhibit good diagnostic performance for determining liver fibrosis in CHC patients, and the use of at least two tests together will increase their diagnostic value still further. © Copyright 2018 by The Turkish Society of Gastroenterology