An Application of Constant Market Share Analysis for the Study of Firm Profitability

We propose a new decomposition of the return on investment (ROI) – the main accounting measure of firm profitability – to evaluate the contributions of its three components: the return on sales (ROS), the utilization (rotation) of working capital (RCC), and the utilization (rotation) of fixed capital (RCF). By using this decomposition we develop an original variant of the constant market share (CMS) analysis specifically for comparisons of firm average profitability between countries and over time. The proposed CMS methodology allows us to separate the variation of the average ROI over time (or its difference between two countries) in three components: a competitiveness effect – the difference of average ROI assuming the same reference structure for the two terms of comparison – a structure effect – the result of the difference in the internal articulation of the ROI by sector and by size structure within the two terms of comparison – and an adaptation effect, which takes into account the synergies between the two previous components. The decomposition of the ROI in the product of the three terms, ROS, RCC and RCF, plays an original role in the interpretation of the competitiveness effect. An application of the proposed methodology is carried out for the comparison of the average ROI in the industrial sector among Germany, Italy and France and over the years 2006-2008.constant market share analysis; return on investment; return on sales; rotation of invested capital; comparison over time; comparison over countries

Nanostructured nickel film deposition on carbon fibers for improving reinforcement-matrix interface in metal matrix composites

The issues in dispersing any form of carbon in metal matrix is the major problem in the field of metal matrix composites with carbon reinforcement (MMCcr). The low wettability of carbon in molten metals and the difference in density are some of the difficulties to obtain a good dispersion of carbon fibers in the matrix and, as a consequence, an improvement of some critical properties for metals in a wide range of application (mechanical properties, electrical properties, optical properties). For this reason, the aim of this work is to obtain a metallic coated carbon fiber to enhance the interaction between the reinforcement and the matrix. Moreover, also the density of carbon fibers could be adjusted depending on the thickness of the coating. Electroless Nickel-Phosphorus Plating (ENP) is one of the candidate to be a coating technique to improve the interaction between the carbon fibers and the metal matrix. Despite of its versatility in terms of complex geometry of the substrate and homogeneity and adhesion of the coating, the presence of the phosphorus in the alloy could create some problems with the metal matrix such as the formation of metal-phosphorus products that can drastically decrease the mechanical properties of the composite. For this reason, in this work, is presented a new way of Electroless Pure Nickel Plating (EPP) without any introduction of phosphorus in the nickel coating. The dependence of the coating thickness and the density of the coated fibers were studied under different plating parameters (temperature of the plating solution, deposition rate and plating solution composition). All the samples were characterized with SEM and XRD and the thickness, density and homogeneity were compared for all the samples obtained

Quasiparticle Electronic structure of Copper in the GW approximation

We show that the results of photoemission and inverse photoemission experiments on bulk copper can be quantitatively described within band-structure theory, with no evidence of effects beyond the single-quasiparticle approximation. The well known discrepancies between the experimental bandstructure and the Kohn-Sham eigenvalues of Density Functional Theory are almost completely corrected by self-energy effects. Exchange-correlation contributions to the self-energy arising from 3s and 3p core levels are shown to be crucial.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures embedded in the text. 3 footnotes modified and 1 reference added. Small modifications also in the text. Accepted for publication in PR

Lightweight metallic matrix composites. Development of new composites material reinforced with carbon structures

Carbon nano/micro-structures used as fillers in metallic lightweight alloys matrix composites are receiving considerable attention in scientific research and industrial applications. Aluminum and magnesium are the most studied light metals used as matrices in metal composites materials principally for their low density (respectively 2.7 g/cm3 and 1.7 g/cm3) and low melting temperature (around 660 °C for both metals). A good interaction between matrix and fillers is the first step to obtain an increase in bulk properties; furthermore, the manufacturing procedure of the composite is fundamental in terms of quality of fillers dispersion. In this work the influence of surface modifications for three classes of carbon fillers for aluminum and magnesium alloy (AZ63) as matrices is studied. In particular, the selected fillers are short carbon micro fibres (SCMFs), carbon woven fabrics (CWF) and unidirectional yarn carbon fibres (UYFs). The surface modification was carried out by a direct coating of pure nickel on fibres. The electroless pure nickel plating was chosen as coating technique and the use of hydrazine as reducing agent has prevented the co-deposition of other elements (such as P or B). SEM and EDS analyses were performed to study the effect of surface modifications. The mechanical properties of manufactured composites were evaluated by four point flexural tests according to ASTM C1161 (room temperature). Results confirm improved interactions between matrix and fillers, and the specific interaction was studied for any chosen reinforcement

Expectations and systemic risk in EMU government bond spreads

This paper explores the determinants of 10-years sovereign bond spreads over the German Bund benchmark in the Euro Zone from 2000 to 2013, relying on cross-country quarterly data panel analysis. The paper focal point is the role of contagion and euro break-up risks in widening the sovereign bond yield differentials among EU member countries. Using a novel synthetic index capable of monitoring the sustainability of currency unions, the paper finds that market expectations of a euro’s break up and contagion from Greece were fundamentals drivers of sovereign risk premia in peripheral countries.This paper explores the determinants of 10-years sovereign bond spreads over the German Bund benchmark in the Euro Zone from 2000 to 2013, relying on cross-country quarterly data panel analysis. The paper focal point is the role of contagion and euro break-up risks in widening the sovereign bond yield differentials among EU member countries. Using a novel synthetic index capable of monitoring the sustainability of currency unions, the paper finds that market expectations of a euro’s break up and contagion from Greece were fundamentals drivers of sovereign risk premia in peripheral countries.Refereed Working Papers / of international relevanc

The inelastic hard dimer gas: a non-spherical model for granular matter

We study a two-dimensional gas of inelastic smooth hard dimers. Since the collisions between dimers are dissipative, being characterized by a coefficient of restitution $\alpha<1$, and no external driving force is present, the energy of the system decreases in time and no stationary state is achieved. However, the resulting non equilibrium state of the system displays several interesting properties in close analogy with systems of inelastic hard spheres, whose relaxational dynamics has been thoroughly explored. We generalise to inelastic systems a recently method introduced [G.Ciccotti and G.Kalibaeva, J. Stat. Phys. {\bf 115}, 701 (2004)] to study the dynamics of rigid elastic bodies made up of different spheres hold together by rigid bonds. Each dimer consists of two hard disks of diameter $d$, whose centers are separated by a fixed distance $a$. By describing the rigid bonds by means of holonomic constraints and deriving the appropriate collision rules between dimers, we reduce the dynamics to a set of equations which can be solved by means of event driven simulation. After deriving the algorithm we study the decay of the total kinetic energy, and of the ratio between the rotational and the translational kinetic energy of inelastic dimers. We show numerically that the celebrated Haff's homogeneous cooling law $t^{-2}$, describing how the kinetic energy of an inelastic hard sphere system with constant coefficient of restitution decreases in time, holds even in the case of these non spherical particles. We fully characterize this homogeneous decay process in terms of appropriate decay constants and confirm numerically the scaling behavior of the velocity distributions.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures and 2 tables, submitted to JC

An Application of Constant Market Share Analysis for the Study of Firm Profitability

We propose a new decomposition of the return on investment (ROI) – the main accounting measure of firm profitability – to evaluate the contributions of its three components: the return on sales (ROS), the utilization (rotation) of working capital (RCC), and the utilization (rotation) of fixed capital (RCF). By using this decomposition we develop an original variant of the constant market share (CMS) analysis specifically for comparisons of firm average profitability between countries and over time. The proposed CMS methodology allows us to separate the variation of the average ROI over time (or its difference between two countries) in three components: a competitiveness effect – the difference of average ROI assuming the same reference structure for the two terms of comparison – a structure effect – the result of the difference in the internal articulation of the ROI by sector and by size structure within the two terms of comparison – and an adaptation effect, which takes into account the synergies between the two previous components. The decomposition of the ROI in the product of the three terms, ROS, RCC and RCF, plays an original role in the interpretation of the competitiveness effect. An application of the proposed methodology is carried out for the comparison of the average ROI in the industrial sector among Germany, Italy and France and over the years 2006-2008

An Application of Constant Market Share Analysis for the Study of Firm Profitability

We propose a new decomposition of the return on investment (ROI) – the main accounting measure of firm profitability – to evaluate the contributions of its three components: the return on sales (ROS), the utilization (rotation) of working capital (RCC), and the utilization (rotation) of fixed capital (RCF). By using this decomposition we develop an original variant of the constant market share (CMS) analysis specifically for comparisons of firm average profitability between countries and over time. The proposed CMS methodology allows us to separate the variation of the average ROI over time (or its difference between two countries) in three components: a competitiveness effect – the difference of average ROI assuming the same reference structure for the two terms of comparison – a structure effect – the result of the difference in the internal articulation of the ROI by sector and by size structure within the two terms of comparison – and an adaptation effect, which takes into account the synergies between the two previous components. The decomposition of the ROI in the product of the three terms, ROS, RCC and RCF, plays an original role in the interpretation of the competitiveness effect. An application of the proposed methodology is carried out for the comparison of the average ROI in the industrial sector among Germany, Italy and France and over the years 2006-2008

Oral malodor in Special Care Patients: current knowledge

Epidemiological studies report that about 50% of the population may have oral malodor with a strong social and psychological impact in their daily life. When intra-oral causes are excluded, referral to an appropriate medical specialist is paramount for management and treatment of extra-oral causes. The intra-oral causes of halitosis are highly common, and the dentist is the central clinician to diagnose and treat them. Pseudohalitosis or halitophobia may occur and an early identification of these conditions by the dentist is important in order to avoid unnecessary dental treatments for patients who need psychological or psychiatric therapy. The organoleptic technique is still considered the most reliable examination method to diagnose genuine halitosis. Special needs patients are more prone than others to have oral malodor because of concurrent systemic or metabolic diseases, and medications. The present report reviews halitosis, its implications, and the management in special care dentistry