Assicurazione dei crediti export e ruolo della SACE nel contesto italiano

Lo scopo di questo progetto è quello di fornire un quadro il più possibile completo e aggiornato sugli strumenti che le imprese italiane, ed in particolare le Piccole e Medie imprese, hanno a disposizione per tutelarsi dai rischi che gravano sulle operazioni internazionali. È noto, infatti, come la globalizzazione dell’ economia, e quindi la progressiva liberalizzazione degli scambi sui mercati internazionali, abbia comportato la necessità da parte delle imprese di attrezzarsi al fine di cogliere le opportunità e ridurre al minimo i rischi legati alle esportazioni. Infatti, al giorno d’ oggi, la strada dell’ export spesso risulta essere non più un’ alternativa strategica, ma un vero e proprio percorso obbligato per le imprese al fine di evitare il rischio di essere estromessi dai mercati più redditizi. A tal proposito ha assunto sempre più peso la necessità, sia da parte di compagnie assicurative private (Atradius, Euler Hermes, Coface) che da parte dello Stato italiano, di dare sicurezza agli esportatori offrendo loro gli strumenti più adatti alle proprie esigenze. L’ esportatore finanziario, infatti, per soddisfare i propri bisogni ha oggi a disposizione diversi prodotti e servizi in grado di garantirgli la necessaria sicurezza per operare sui mercati internazionali: report informativi e risk profiling, assicurazione del credito domestico e all’ esportazione, servizi di recupero crediti e di factoring, garanzie finanziarie, cauzioni e rischi della costruzione e servizi di protezione degli investimenti esteri. Tali strumenti saranno analizzati in dettaglio nel prosieguo della trattazione. Al fine di descrivere nel dettaglio i principali strumenti a disposizione delle imprese per supportare il loro processo di internazionalizzazione, e per analizzare il ruolo assunto della SACE nel contesto economico italiano, il seguente progetto si articola in sei capitoli: Il primo capitolo passa in rassegna i principali rischi gravanti sulle operazioni internazionali: si và dal rischio in cui il venditore incorre nel caso in cui, una volta firmato il contratto, il compratore non dia poi luogo all’ esecuzione dello stesso, al rischio del tasso di interesse e di cambio, ai rischi relativi al credito dopo la consegna delle merci, per proseguire poi con i marketable risks, assicurabili dalle compagnie private, e i non marketable risks, coincidenti essenzialmente con il rischio politico, a medio e lungo termine. Il secondo capitolo invece concentra la sua attenzione sulla normativa riguardante l’ export ed in particolare sui vincoli di origine sovranazionale ed europea e sulla normativa nazionale. Dopo tale breve rassegna legislativa, il testo, nel terzo capitolo, affronta in maniera organica i principali strumenti messi a disposizione delle imprese per tutelarsi contro i rischi delle operazioni internazionali ed in particolare: Le garanzie per i crediti al fornitore e all’ acquirente, il forfaiting, il factoring e l’ assicurazione dei crediti. Il quarto capitolo analizza il processo di gestione del credito in tutte le sue fasi e pone un focus particolare sul mercato assicurativo del credito all’ esportazione i cui principali operatori sono: Atradius, Euler Hermes e Coface. La maggior parte del lavoro, invece, verrà incentrato sul ruolo dello Stato nel sostenere le imprese italiane che operano all’ estero, ed in particolare sulla SACE (acronimo di Istituto per i servizi assicurativi del commercio estero), un’ agenzia assicurativa nazionale con il compito di assicurare gli esportatori contro i rischi di carattere politico, economico, catastrofico, commerciale e di cambio ai quali sono soggette le esportazioni e gli investimenti all’ estero da parte di imprese italiane attraverso l’ emissione di polizze assicurative garantite dallo Stato italiano. In particolare, il quinto capitolo descrive la SACE, quale ente gestore dell’ assicurazione pubblica in Italia a supporto dell’ internazionalizzazione delle imprese, sia dal punto di vista organizzativo-funzionale che dal punto di vista della sua strategia e politica aziendale. Vengono analizzati infatti: la natura e le funzioni dell’ istituto, la struttura societaria, la corporate governance e la sua strategia. Il sesto capitolo prosegue con un’ analisi dei principali prodotti e servizi offerti dalla SACE per rispondere ai bisogni delle imprese rimarcando il ruolo fondamentale dell’ istituto nel processo di internazionalizzazione delle stesse, con una particolare attenzione alle piccole e medie imprese. Infine nel settimo e ultimo capitolo, vengono presentati alcuni casi di imprese italiane che con il supporto di SACE sono riuscite a rafforzare la loro presenza sui mercati internazionali

A textile-based platform for real-time sweat collection and analysis

The ability to perform real-time chemical measurements of body fluids is an exciting concept for the healthcare sector and the sports industry. This work is part of the BIOTEX project, an EU FP6 project which involved the development of textile-based sensors to measure the chemical composition of sweat. This is a challenging task involving the collection of sweat samples, delivery to an active surface and the removal of waste products. A textile based platform which would be in immediate contact with the skin was developed for this purpose. The system uses capillary action and exhibits a passive pumping mechanism. This is achieved by using a combination of moisture wicking fabric and a highly absorbent material. A fabric channel is created for the integration of sensors. The channel is produced using a mask and screen-printing hydrophobic material onto the fabric. Different channel lengths and widths affect the flow rate of the system. The channel dimensions were designed based on typical sweat rates and also to accommodate sensor placement. A textile patch was developed and integrated into a waistband for collection of sweat on the lower back. Real-time measurements of sweat pH, sodium concentration, conductivity and temperature were measured during exercise using the textile patch

Identification of excitons, trions and biexcitons in single-layer WS2

Single-layer WS$_2$ is a direct-gap semiconductor showing strong excitonic photoluminescence features in the visible spectral range. Here, we present temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements on mechanically exfoliated single-layer WS$_2$, revealing the existence of neutral and charged excitons at low temperatures as well as at room temperature. By applying a gate voltage, we can electrically control the ratio of excitons and trions and assert a residual n-type doping of our samples. At high excitation densities and low temperatures, an additional peak at energies below the trion dominates the photoluminescence, which we identify as biexciton emission.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Tailored nano-antennas for directional Raman studies of individual carbon nanotubes

We exploit the near field enhancement of nano-antennas to investigate the Raman spectra of otherwise not optically detectable carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We demonstrate that a top-down fabrication approach is particularly promising when applied to CNTs, owing to the sharp dependence of the scattered intensity on the angle between incident light polarization and CNT axis. In contrast to tip enhancement techniques, our method enables us to control the light polarization in the sample plane, locally amplifying and rotating the incident field and hence optimizing the Raman signal. Such promising features are confirmed by numerical simulations presented here. The relative ease of fabrication and alignment makes this technique suitable for the realization of integrated devices that combine scanning probe, optical, and transport characterization

Tuning non-linear charge transport between integer and fractional quantum Hall states

Controllable point junctions between different quantum Hall phases are a necessary building block for the development of mesoscopic circuits based on fractionally-charged quasiparticles. We demonstrate how particle-hole duality can be exploited to realize such point-contact junctions. We show an implementation for the case filling factors $\nu=1$ and $\nu^*\le1$ in which both the fractional filling $\nu^*$ and the coupling strength can be finely and independently tuned. A peculiar crossover from insulating to conducting behavior as $\nu^*$ goes from 1/3 to 1 is observed. These results highlight the key role played on inter-edge tunneling by local charge depletion at the point contact.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, suppl.ma

Scanning Gate Imaging of quantum point contacts and the origin of the 0.7 Anomaly

The origin of the anomalous transport feature appearing at conductance G \approx 0.7 x (2e2/h) in quasi-1D ballistic devices - the so-called 0.7 anomaly - represents a long standing puzzle. Several mechanisms were proposed to explain it, but a general consensus has not been achieved. Proposed explanations are based on quantum interference, Kondo effect, Wigner crystallization, and more. A key open issue is whether point defects that can occur in these low-dimensional devices are the physical cause behind this conductance anomaly. Here we adopt a scanning gate microscopy technique to map individual impurity positions in several quasi-1D constrictions and correlate these with conductance characteristics. Our data demonstrate that the 0.7 anomaly can be observed irrespective of the presence of localized defects, and we conclude that the 0.7 anomaly is a fundamental property of low-dimensional systems

Imaging fractional incompressible stripes in integer quantum Hall systems

Transport experiments provide conflicting evidence on the possible existence of fractional order within integer quantum Hall systems. In fact integer edge states sometimes behave as monolithic objects with no inner structure, while other experiments clearly highlight the role of fractional substructures. Recently developed low-temperature scanning probe techniques offer today an opportunity for a deeper-than-ever investigation of spatial features of such edge systems. Here we use scanning gate microscopy and demonstrate that fractional features were unambiguously observed in every integer quantum Hall constriction studied. We present also an experimental estimate of the width of the fractional incompressible stripes corresponding to filling factors 1/3, 2/5, 3/5, and 2/3. Our results compare well with predictions of the edge-reconstruction theory

Imaging backscattering through impurity-induced antidots in quantum Hall constrictions

We exploit the biased tip of a scanning gate microscope (SGM) to induce a controlled backscattering between counter-propagating edge channels in a wide constriction in the quantum Hall regime. We compare our detailed conductance maps with a numerical percolation model and demonstrate that conductance fluctuations observed in these devices as a function of the gate voltage originate from backscattering events mediated by localized states pinned by potential fluctuations. Our imaging technique allows us to identify the necessary conditions for the activation of these backscattering processes and also to reconstruct the constriction confinement potential profile and the underlying disorder

Impact of electron heating on the equilibration between quantum Hall edge channels

When two separately contacted quantum Hall (QH) edge channels are brought into interaction, they can equilibrate their imbalance via scattering processes. In the present work we use a tunable QH circuit to implement a junction between co-propagating edge channels whose length can be controlled with continuity. Such a variable device allows us to investigate how current-voltage characteristics evolve when the junction length d is changed. Recent experiments with fixed geometry reported a significant reduction of the threshold voltage for the onset of photon emission, whose origin is still under debate. Our spatially resolved measurements reveal that this threshold shift depends on the junction length. We discuss this unexpected result on the basis of a model which demonstrates that a heating of electrons is the dominant process responsible for the observed reduction of the threshold voltage

QRS Complex Separation from Convolutive Mixtures of Biolectrical Signals Acquired by Wearable Systems

Independent component analysis (ICA) has been widely used to remove artefacts from multichannel biomedical signal acquisitions under the hypothesis that there is statistical independence among the original sources. However, the basic ICA model does not take into account the influence on the mixing process of the different paths from the signal sources to the sensors In this study we propose a convolutive mixtures model in order to overcome the limitations of the basic ICA approach. The independent components are estimated in the frequency domain, where the convolutive model can be solved through an instantaneous mixing model. The signals are reconstructed back to the observation space resolving the ICA model ambiguities. Simulations are carried out to optimize of the proposed method for convolutive mixtures of electrocardiographic (ECG) and motion artefacts signals. The algorithm is tested on real ECG signals acquired by wearable systems in order to preserve the QRS complex when the signals are degraded by real life conditions of acquisition