A novel PdAg/TiO2 nanofiber electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation was fabricated by using TiO2 nanofiber as support. The structural and electrochemical properties of the PdAg/TiO2 nanofiber catalyst were characterized by XRD (X-ray diffraction), TEM (the transmission electron microscopy) and...

Using a broad sample of listed commercial banks in East Asia and Western Europe, this paper investigates the relations among concentrated control, a set of bank operating characteristics, and legal and regulatory regimes. We find that banks with concentrated control exhibit poorer performance,...

The extant corporate investment literature has documented that information asymmetry and agency conflicts between managers and outside investors prevent firms from making optimal investment decisions. In this study, we investigate whether government intervention, as another form of friction,...

The effect of soil warming and precipitation control in the context of soil warming on Collembola community was studied in Songnen grassland, China. Treatments included (1) control; (2) soil warming; (3) soil warming with low precipitation; and (4) soil warming with high precipitation. The open...

Along with the sequent completion of Manwan and Dachaoshan Dam, the river continuum of the middle and lower reaches of the Lancang River was separated into three types of segments: reservoir, below-dam segment and downstream flowing segment. The long-term series of water quality and river flow...

The construction and operation of hydropower reservoirs on the Lancang River have drawn worldwide concern, because streamflow changes have occurred in this river since the introduction of dams. To address these concerns, it is necessary to quantitatively assess relative contributions of climatic...

River water has dual functions; it can be withdrawn for agricultural, industrial, and domestic uses and provides eco-environmental water (EEW) for riverine systems. A concept of intensity of ecological function of river water (IEFRW) has been put forward, and an integrated water quantity and...

In this paper, we assess the relative performance of the direct valuation method and industry multiplier models using 41 435 firm-quarter Value Line observations over an 11 year (1990-2000) period. Results from both pricing-error and return-prediction analyses indicate that direct valuation...

We characterize equilibria of a multistage game in which competing duopolists may acquire and share information in advance of choosing their financial structure which, in turn, precedes production. Given sufficient uncertainty, equilibria exist in which the efficiency and, possibly, coordination...

Suppose that rival downstream producers of a final good contract with the same upstream supplier of an input and, in the process, reveal private information. A vertical merger between the upstream supplier and one of the downstream firms may dissipate the information advantage of the remaining...