Mergers and Acquisitions Between Mutual Banks in Italy :An analysis of the effects on performance and productive efficiency

The paper is aimed at testing the hypothesis that the M&A wave over the past ten years has increased the level of efficiency of co-operative credit banks (CCBs), both in terms of overall performance and productive efficiency. The logical development is hinged on two steps: 1) an explorative analysis which is based on the observation of balance sheet ratios by quantiles, 2) a DEA application for estimating productive efficiency scores. The analysis refers to 94 CCBs which have been involved in M&As over the period 1995-1998 and is carried out on both merged and non-merged banks, either before concentration or in the subsequent years.

Investigating the antiparasitic potential of the marine sesquiterpene avarone, its reduced form avarol, and the novel semisynthetic thiazinoquinone analogue thiazoavarone

The chemical analysis of the sponge Dysidea avara afforded the known sesquiterpene quinone avarone, along with its reduced form avarol. To further explore the role of the thiazinoquinone scaffold as an antiplasmodial, antileishmanial and antischistosomal agent, we converted the quinone avarone into the thiazinoquinone derivative thiazoavarone. The semisynthetic compound, as well as the natural metabolites avarone and avarol, were pharmacologically investigated in order to assess their antiparasitic properties against sexual and asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum, larval and adult developmental stages of Schistosomamansoni (eggs included), and also against promastigotes and amastigotes of Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica. Furthermore, in depth computational studies including density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed. A toxic semiquinone radical species which can be produced starting both from quinone- and hydroquinone-based compounds could mediate the anti-parasitic effects of the tested compounds

Italian Mutual Banks: Performance, Efficiency and Mergers and Acquisitions

1) Are Italian mutual banks efficient? Evidence from two different cost frontier techniques, by Juan Sergio Lopez, Alessandra Appenini, and Stefania P.S. Rossi. The aim of the first paper is to analyze the efficiency of co-operative banks in Italy. The increasing competition induced by the ongoing process of liberalization in Europe has been affecting also these small financial institutions that used to operate in a more protected environment. Based on a panel of about 450 banks covering the period 1995-99, two different techniques were employed: non-parametric frontier analysis, and parametric frontier analysis. By means of this analysis it is possible to compare the results obtained using these two methodologies and analyze the determinants of bank inefficiency 2) Mergers and acquisitions between mutual banks in Italy: an analysis of the effects on performance and productive efficiency, by Roberto Di Salvo, Maria Carmela Mazzilis, and Andrea Guidi. The second paper is aimed at testing the hypothesis that the M&A wave over the past ten years has increased the level of efficiency of co-operative credit banks (CCBs), both in terms of overall performance and productive efficiency. The logical development is hinged on two steps: 1) an explorative analysis which is based on the observation of balance sheet ratios by quantiles, 2) a DEA application for estimating productive efficiency scores. The analysis refers to 94 CCBs which have been involved in M&As over the period 1995-98 and is carried out on both merged and non-merged banks, either before concentration or in the subsequent years. The explorative analysis mainly shows a higher level of fee-based income for merged banks, which is consistent with the hypothesis that concentration strategies enhance diversification. It also detects some degree of cost reduction just after merging. The DEA application models (CRS and VRS) tends to confirm the results of the previous analysis and estimates higher efficiency for merged banks, a lower efficiency degree for pre-merger banks, and a significant degree of scale econonomies.

Tardigradi della Sardegna e di alcune piccole isole circum-sarde.

We carried out a faunsitic study on limnic and terrestrial tardigardes from Sardinia and its surroundings samm islands. The study led to the identification of 34 species, including Bryodelphax iohannis, Macrobiosyu biserovi and Macrobiotus serratus, species new for science. Attention is focused on large number of ubiquitous or widespread species

Spray freeze-drying for inhalable L-leucine, mannitol-based microparticles: The impact of process variables, L-leucine, and crystallinity on Aerosolization properties

In this study, microparticles carrying salbutamol sulphate were produced by pneumatic spray freeze-drying. The optimal particle size was assessed through a model, associated with a design of experiments. Growing solid concentrations and N 2 f low rate led to decreasing geometric diameters, while an opposite effect was associated with the feed flow rate. The aerodynamic diameter, instead, increased at increasing solid concentrations. Moreover, the role of crystallinity in determining the microparticles’ flowability was evaluated upon the incorporation of L-leucine. The addition of the amino acid induced the formation of two morphologies with different degrees of crystallinity. The absence of recrystallization significantly improved the aerosolization properties of the microparticles up to a maximum fine particle fraction (48 %) and a minimum mass median aerodynamic diameter (2 μ m)at 10%(w/wdb)L-leucine. This result disclosed the influence of polymorphism on the microparticles’ cohesiveness, proving the dependency of the microparticles’ aerodynamics on L-leucine and mannitol crystallinity

Spray Freeze-Drying for Inhalable L-leucine, Mannitol-based Microparticles: The Impact of Process Variables, L-leucine, and Crystallinity on Aerosolization Properties

Spray freeze-dried microparticles (MPs) can be efficiently delivered to the lungs due to their low density and good flowability. However, particle size should be tuned to achieve high fine particle fraction (FPF) and low mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD). In this study, MPs composed of mannitol and salbutamol sulphate (SS) were produced by pneumatic SFD. The relationship between the operative variables and the particle size was assessed through a model, associated with a face centered design of experiments (FCD). Moreover, the role of crystallinity in determining MPs flowability was evaluated upon the incorporation of L-leucine (LL). A reduced crystallinity and the presence of δ-mannitol alone significantly improved the aerosolization properties of MPs up to maximum FPF (48%) and minimum MMAD (2 μm) at 10% (w/wdw) LL. This result disclosed the influence of polymorphism on the MPs’ adhesion cohesiveness, proving the dependency of the MPs’ aerodynamics on LL and mannitol crystallinity

Case study: IBM Watson Analytics cloud platform as Analytics-as-a-Service system for heart failure early detection

In the recent years the progress in technology and the increasing availability of fast connections have produced a migration of functionalities in Information Technologies services, from static servers to distributed technologies. This article describes the main tools available on the market to perform Analytics as a Service (AaaS) using a cloud platform. It is also described a use case of IBM Watson Analytics, a cloud system for data analytics, applied to the following research scope: detecting the presence or absence of Heart Failure disease using nothing more than the electrocardiographic signal, in particular through the analysis of Heart Rate Variability. The obtained results are comparable with those coming from the literature, in terms of accuracy and predictive power. Advantages and drawbacks of cloud versus static approaches are discussed in the last sections