Legal and Regulatory Implications of Disruptive Technologies in Emerging Market Economies

The is report was produced for the World Bank and looks at the legal implications which may impact on the introduction of disruptive technology in emerging markets

Construction of Simulation Wavefunctions for Aqueous Species: D3O+

This paper investigates Monte Carlo techniques for construction of compact wavefunctions for the internal atomic motion of the D3O+ ion. The polarization force field models of Stillinger, et al and of Ojamae, et al. were used. Initial pair product wavefunctions were obtained from the asymptotic high temperature many-body density matrix after contraction to atom pairs using Metropolis Monte Carlo. Subsequent characterization shows these pair product wavefunctions to be well optimized for atom pair correlations despite that fact that the predicted zero point energies are too high. The pair product wavefunctions are suitable to use within variational Monte Carlo, including excited states, and density matrix Monte Carlo calculations. Together with the pair product wavefunctions, the traditional variational theorem permits identification of wavefunction features with significant potential for further optimization. The most important explicit correlation variable found for the D3O+ ion was the vector triple product {\bf r}$_{OD1}\cdot$({\bf r}$_{OD2}\times${\bf r}$_{OD3}$). Variational Monte Carlo with 9 of such explicitly correlated functions yielded a ground state wavefunction with an error of 5-6% in the zero point energy.Comment: 17 pages including 6 figures, typos correcte

First recording of the non-native species Beroe ovata Mayer 1912 in the Aegean Sea

A new alien species Beroe ovata Mayer 1912 was recorded in the Aegean Sea. It is most likely that this species spread on the currents from the Black Sea. Beroe ovata is also alien to the Black Sea, where it was introduced in ballast waters from the Atlantic coastal area of the northern America. The species is established in the Black Sea and has decreased the population of another invaderMnemiopsis leidyi, which has favoured the recovery of the Black Sea ecosystem.We compare a new 1 species with the native species fam. Beroidae from the Mediterranean and predict its role in the ecosystem of the Aegean Sea using the Black Sea experience

Neurophysiological, behavioural and genetic markers of behavioural problems in early childhood

The work presented in the present thesis investigated the neural, behavioural and genetic markers that may be associated with the manifestation of behavioural problems during the early years of life. Across four different empirical studies, and by incorporating, behavioural, neurophysiological and genetic investigations, it was demonstrated that: (1) there are neurophysiological signatures that may be associated with the manifestation of behavioural problems early in life; (2) common genetic variations that determine serotonin variability are strongly associated with affectivity-related patterns of frontal brain activation; and that (3) normal genetic variations that modulate serotonin availability and neuroplasticity are each associated with affectivity-related patterns of visual scanning behaviours in response to faces and aversive scenes. Taken together, the results illustrate the existence of robust neural, genetic and behavioural markers that may be associated with the manifestation of behavioural problems in early childhood and prompt further investigation of the area by generating novel hypotheses. Together, the empirical findings of the thesis provide a first stage contribution to the complex mechanisms that may yield risk and resilience for behavioural problems during the early years of life by generating a more comprehensive insight on the field of affectivity

Quantum Phase Interference and Neel-Vector Tunneling in Antiferromagnetic Molecular Wheels

The antiferromagnetic molecular wheel Fe18 of eighteen exchange-coupled Fe(III) ions has been studied by measurements of the magnetic torque, the magnetization, and the inelastic neutron scattering spectra. The combined data show that the low-temperature magnetism of Fe18 is very accurately described by the Neel-vector tunneling (NVT) scenario, as unfolded by semiclassical theory. In addition, the magnetic torque as a function of applied field exhibits oscillations that reflect the oscillations in the NVT tunnel splitting with field due to quantum phase interference.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, REVTEX4, to appear in PR

Unusual polarimetric properties of (101955) Bennu: similarities with F-class asteroids and cometary bodies

We have obtained polarimetric measurements of asteroid (101955) Bennu, a presumably primitive near-Earth object (NEO) that is the target of NASA's sample return mission OSIRIS-REx. During our observing campaign, Bennu was visible from Earth under a wide range of illumination conditions, with phase-angle in the range 16 to 57 degrees. Together with (3200) Phaethon and (152679) 1998 KU2, observed very recently, Bennu is the only existing example of a primitive NEO observed in polarimetric mode over a wide interval of phase angles. Based on our polarimetric data, we propose that Bennu belongs to the unusual F taxonomic class defined in the 80s. According to previous works, the F-class includes objects with cometary features. This fact can be of great importance for the interpretation of the results of the exploration of this object by OSIRIS-REx. From polarimetry we also derive an estimate of the geometric albedo of Bennu: 0.059 +/- 0.003.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS Letter

Interest group lobbying in the European Union: privacy, data protection and the right to be forgotten

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave Macmillan via the DOI in this recordThe issue of trust and control of data online has become critical for many European Union (EU) citizens in an era where we are increasingly reliant on digital platforms across a plethora of everyday activities. Indeed, the future of the EU’s Digital Single Market Policy is reliant on developing trust through robust legislation that ensures explicit control of data by EU citizens. This article explores the extent to which interest groups have been able to successfully achieve their goals through actions in the European Union institutional spaces that construct privacy and data protection legislation. Specifically, it investigates the intervention of interest groups utilising the ‘right to be forgotten’ (RTBF) in the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a case study. The article shows that issue salience and conflict, as well as institutional politicisation and lobbying by a union of ‘strange bedfellows’ are important factors in determining interest group preference attainment and success and ultimately, who the winners and losers have been in the RTBF decision-making process.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Definitive spectroscopic determination of the transverse interactions responsible for the magnetic quantum tunneling in Mn12-acetate

We present detailed angle-dependent single crystal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) data for field rotations in the hard plane of the S=10 single molecule magnet Mn12-acetate. A clear four-fold variation in the resonance positions may be attributed to an intrinsic fourth order transverse anisotropy (O44). Meanwhile, a four-fold variation of the EPR lineshapes confirms a recently proposed model wherein disorder associated with the acetic acid of crystallization induces a locally varying quadratic (rhombic) transverse anisotropy (O22). These findings explain most aspects of the magnetic quantum tunneling observed in Mn12-acetate.Comment: 7 pages, including figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

A new wave height distribution for intermediate and shallow water depths

The present paper addresses the short-term distribution of zero-crossing wave heights in intermediate and shallow water depths. New physical insights are provided regarding the effects of nonlinearity, directionality, reduced effective water depth and finite spectral bandwidth. These are demonstrated through the analysis of a large database of experimental simulations of short-crested sea-states on flat bed bathymetries. A new wave height model is proposed building upon these physical insights and is calibrated using the experimental data. Independent comparisons between field measurements and the proposed model indicate that it is appropriate to a wide range of incident wave conditions and that it provides considerable improvement over existing models