Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are fundamentally different from two-component reactions in several aspects. Among the MCRs, those with isocyanides have developed into popular organic-chemical reactions in the pharmaceutical industry for the preparation of compound libraries of low-molecular druglike compounds. With a small set of starting materials, very large libraries can be built up within a short time, which can then be used for research on medicinal substances. Due to the intensive research of the last few years, many new backbone types have become accessible. MCRs are also increasingly being employed in the total synthesis of natural products. MCRs and especially MCRs with isocyanides offer many opportunities to attain new reactions and basic structures. However, this requires that the chemist learns the “language” of MCRs, something that this review wishes to stimulate.

Multicomponent Reactions with Isocyanides.

This chapter discusses leading problems linked to energy that the world is now confronting and to propose some ideas concerning possible solutions. Oil deserves special attention among all energy sources. Since the beginning of 1981, it has merely been continuing and enhancing the downward movement in consumption and prices caused by excessive rises, especially for light crudes such as those from Africa, and the slowing down of worldwide economic growth. Densely-populated oil-producing countries need to produce to live, to pay for their food and their equipment. If the economic growth of the industrialized countries were to be 4%, even if investment in the rational use of energy were pushed to the limit and the development of nonpetroleum energy sources were also pursued actively, it would be extremely difficult to prevent a sharp rise in prices. It is evident that it is absolutely necessary to pursue actively the development of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power if a physical shortage of energy is not to block economic growth.

World energy outlook

Targeted Disruption of the Nuclear Receptor FXR/BAR Impairs Bile Acid and Lipid Homeostasis

Asymmetric multicomponent reactions involve the preparation of chiral compounds by the reaction of three or more reagents added simultaneously. This kind of addition and reaction has some advantages over classic divergent reaction strategies, such as lower costs, time, and energy, as well as environmentally friendlier aspects. All these advantages, together with the high level of stereoselectivity attained in some of these reactions, will force chemists in industry as in academia to adopt this new strategy of synthesis, or at least to consider it as a viable option. The positive aspects as well as the drawbacks of this strategy are discussed in this Review.

Asymmetric multicomponent reactions (amcrs): the new frontier

机构投资者作为证券市场中的重要力量,越来越受到理论界和实务界的关注。论文对宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院会计学教授布赖恩-布希（Brian Bushee）的论文＂The influence of institutional investors on myopic R＆D investment behavior＂（机构投资者对企业短视研发投资行为的影响,以下简称Bushee（1998））进行评价并提出相关的建议和研究方向。

《The influence of institutional investors on myopic R＆D investment behavior》述评

In this paper, I analyze the motives moving founders and their families to influence the capital structure decision. For this, I complement detailed corporate governance information for Germany with data from other countries. The results for the German bank-based financial system contradict prior findings for other institutional environments. According to these results, family firms in Germany rely less heavily on debt than non-family firms. Less surprisingly, the opposite holds true for the international dataset. Different empirical tests indicate that this puzzling result can be explained by control considerations. Founders and their families use the capital structure to optimize their control over the firm. However, whether family firms rely more or less on debt depends on the level of creditor monitoring in an institutional environment. These findings emphasize that control considerations of major shareholders are important—although often overlooked—determinants of the capital structure.

Control considerations, creditor monitoring, and the capital structure of family firms.

This paper analyzes the question if and how founding families influence the capital structure decision of their firms. By using a unique, partially hand-collected panel dataset of 660 listed German companies (5,135 firm years) over the period 1995–2006, we come up with the following results: German family firms have significantly lower leverage ratios than non-family firms. With respect to the question how families influence the capital structure of their firms, we can show that the family impact is mostly driven via management involvement. In this context, we also detect that the presence of a founder CEO has a strong negative effect on the leverage ratio. Our results prove to be stable against a battery of robustness tests, including the influence of other types of blockholders and the firms’ life cycle. Moreover, we use a propensity-score based matching estimator to alleviate concerns of reverse causality. Overall, our study suggests a strong, negative and causal relationship between family firm characteristics (especially family management) and the level of leverage.

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/48400/1/605091218.pdf

Capital structure decisions in family firms: empirical evidence from a bank-based economy

Family firms and R&D behavior–New evidence from a large-scale survey

Why do firms (not) hedge? — Novel evidence on cultural influence

Principles The recently introduced robotic surgical systems were developed to overcome the limitations of conventional minimally invasive surgery. We analyse the impact of the da Vinci robotic system on general surgery. Methods The da Vinci operating robot is a telemanipulation system consisting of a surgical arm cart, a master console and a conventional monitor cart. Since its purchase in June 2001, 128 patients have undergone surgery using the da Vinci robot in our department. The mean age of the 78 female and 50 male patients was 52 (range 18-78) years. Results The procedures included 29 cholecystectomies, 16 partial fundoplications, 16 extended thymectomies, 14 colonic interventions, 10 splenectomies, 10 bariatric procedures, 7 hernioplasties, 6 oesophageal interventions, 5 adrenalectomies, 5 lower lobectomies, 4 neurinomectomies and 6 others. 122 of 128 procedures (95%) were completed successfully with the da Vinci robot. Open conversion proved necessary in 4 patients due to surgical problems, and two other procedures were completed by conventional laparoscopy due to robot system technical errors. 30-day mortality was 0%, one redo-operation was necessary and two lower complications not requiring surgical re-intervention occurred. The resection margins of all tumour specimens were histologically tumour free. Conclusions Various general surgical procedures have proved feasible and safe when performed with the da Vinci robot. The advantage of the system is best seen in tiny areas difficult of access and when dissecting delicate, vulnerable anatomical structures. However, in view of longer operating times, higher costs and the lack of adequate instruments, robotic surgery does not at the moment represent a general alternative to conventional minimally invasive surgery.

Thomas Schmid

Papers

Control considerations, creditor monitoring, and the capital structure of family firms.

Capital structure decisions in family firms: empirical evidence from a bank-based economy

Family firms and R&D behavior–New evidence from a large-scale survey

Why do firms (not) hedge? — Novel evidence on cultural influence

The da Vinci robotic system for general surgical applications: a critical interim appraisal.