Financial versus Social Efficiency of Corporate Bankruptcy Law: the French Dilemma?

We study the French dilemma associated with court administered resolution of corporate financial distress of firms, in which bankruptcy courts have to combine both social efficiency (maintaining employment) and ex post financial efficiency (determining the best issue for financial distress, proxied here by the global recovery rate). We discuss this dilemma empirically, using a large sample of decisions of French commercial courts concerning the future of bankrupt firms (reorganization, sale as a going concern or liquidation). Addressing this dilemma, we discuss the determinants of bankruptcy courts’ selection between rival offers in sales as a going concern. Finally, we evaluate the financial cost of the French pro debtor system through the recovery rates of various claimants. Our main results are: (1) French commercial courts actively work to protect employment by facilitating continuation and reducing the domino effects of bankruptcy. (2) the courts’ choice between rival buyout offers confirms that social considerations prevail in the arbitration of bankruptcy courts. (3) Continuations through reorganization plans generate the highest recovery rates for all classes of creditors. (4) Contrary to the expected trade-off between social and financial efficiency, courts also enact measures to increase debt recovery once continuation has been chosen. However, for sales, recovery rates are inhibited by asset illiquidity and/or by the courts’ attempt to promote a firm’s continuation through sales at a low price.Bankruptcy, Reorganization; Liquidation; Recovery rate.

Modelling of multiple impacts for the prediction of distortions and residual stresses induced by ultrasonic shot peening (USP)

During a manufacturing process, the ultrasonic shot peening (USP) technique can be used as the final surface treatment. The aim of this operation is to introduce surface compressive residual stresses in order to prevent crack propagation advancement. Although the numerical simulation method is able to predict the level of residual stresses in a peened part, the 3D modelling of the real USP process, in which many successive and shifted impacts take place, is very delicate to perform and costly in terms of computing time and memory space required. In this paper, a two step method based at first on the calculation of the averaged plastic strain tensor in a half-space by using a semi-analytical method and in a second time on the transfer of this plastic strain field to a finite element model is proposed in order to simulate the effects of the USP process in thin structures. The accuracy and advantages of the semi-analytical method are validated by a benchmark with several finite element codes. Experiments, similar to the Almen test, are performed on thin plates of Inconel 600. Numerical results in terms of distortions and residual stresses are compared with the experimental data

An original growth mode of MWCNTs on alumina supported iron catalysts

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been produced from ethylene by Fluidized Bed Catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition (FB-CCVD) on alumina supported iron catalyst powders. Both catalysts and MWCNTs-catalyst composites have been characterized by XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, Mössbauer Spectroscopy, TGA and nitrogen adsorption measurements at different stages of the process. The fresh catalyst is composed of amorphous iron (III) oxide nanoparticles located inside the porosity of the support and of a micrometric crystalline &-iron (III) oxide surface film. The beginning of the CVD process provokes a brutal reconstruction and simultaneous carburization of the surface film that allows MWCNT nucleation and growth. These MWCNTs grow aligned between the support and the surface catalytic film, leading to a uniform consumption and uprising of the film. When the catalytic film has been consumed, the catalytic particles located inside the alumina porosity are slowly reduced and activated leading to a secondary MWCNT growth regime, which produces a generalized grain explosion and entangled MWCNT growth. Based on experimental observations and characterizations, this original two-stage growth mode is discussed and a general growth mechanism is proposed

Osteoclast Cytomorphometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy of Bone Eroded Surfaces During Leukemic Disorders

Tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) is a reliable histochemical marker of osteoclasts when used on tissue sections of undecalcified bone. This paper presents an original morphometric analysis which can be done after histochemical identification of osteoclasts. These bone resorbing cells were demonstrated on undecalcified bone biopsies from control subjects and patients presenting a malignant disease of the lymphocyte B lineage. Computerized analysis of the osteoclastic population revealed that: (1) all TRAP positive cells along bone trabeculae belong to a osteoclastic population; (2) that B cell malignancies had an increased bone resorption. At the scanning electron microscopic level small resorption bays (about 10 μm in diameter) were observed either associated or separated from eroded surfaces presenting a normal appearance; TRAP staining of histological sections of undecalcified bone, coupled with morphometric studies, may help in the understanding of bone disease pathobiology

Investigation on the bisphosphonate and osseointegrated implants: a concise systematic review

The most common bone disorder found by implant dentists is osteoporosis, which is a systemic skeletal disorder associated with aging, which is characterized by loss of bone mass, making bones fragile and more susceptible to fractures. The World Health Organisation has defined osteoporosis as a bone mineral density level greater than 2.5 standard deviations below the mean of young normal women. After 60 years of age, a third of the population has this disorder, it occurs twice as often in women than in men. It is estimated that 1.3 million fractures and 133,000 all hip fractures occur every year as a result of osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to discuss aspects of the pharmacological action of Bisphosphonates (BP) and their influence on the bone tissue when associated with treatment with dental implants. There are several types of treatments that prevent or prevent the progression of osteoporosis. So, BP, such as alendronate, are inhibitors of bone resorption. Act as controlling the development of osteoporosis by increasing the process of bone density and decreasing its reabsorption, often acting as supporting the process of osseointegration of dental implants

Platelet-rich plasma and bone morphogenetic protein: bucomaxillofacial and bone regeneration

Introduction: Science has evolved at an accelerated pace in the last decades, due to the need to know more and more the human being and the environment that surrounds them. In the search for this knowledge, aiming to improve the quality of life and the treatment of diseases previously considered incurable, research, especially in the field of biotechnology, has transformed the day-to-day health professionals. The application of this biotechnology related to growth factors can be exemplified in the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), gel capable of modulating and accelerating some repair processes. Objective: The objective of this work was to review the concepts related to growth factors, as well as in relation to platelet-rich plasma as an adjuvant in bone regeneration therapies. Methods: The present study followed a systematic review model, following the rules of systematic review – PRISMA. This study focuses on the treatment of bone regeneration through platelet-rich plasma and morphogenetic protein (BMP). To this end, a survey was conducted in scientific articles in the databases PubMed, Medline, Scielo, Lilacs, and e-books. The Cochrane Instrument was used to assess the risk of bias of the included studies, and GRADE was used to classify the quality of articles to the type of study and scientific evidence. Results and Conclusion: Therefore, the use of PRP, which would accelerate the rate of bone formation, with bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), recombinant or autogenous, should be quite important and elucidative. The development of new research, seeking to use all known technology, will always be the best way for a short future to recognize what should be incorporated into the daily routine of medical and dental clinics, differing from what, for various reasons, whether it was just a marketing procedure or something. The greatest advantage of the use of platelet-rich plasma is its ability to accelerate the process of bone regeneration by increasing the number of growth factors present in human platelets. On the other hand, it is observed that one of its major disadvantages is the low life expectancy of these platelets in the recipient or graft bed. However, it is also known that the PRP technique would only accelerate a process of bone regeneration that normally already occurs and this process follows its path until the formation of the mature bone