Evaluation of the EU Screening Mechanism and the Question of Reciprocity with China

This paper comments on the EU’s legal framework for screening foreign direct investment. This concerns the EU Regulation related to this matter. The difficulty of determining in certain cases whether a company is controlled by a foreign government is shown using the example of Huawei. The paper argues that the current screening mechanisms should be modified so that they also take into consideration reciprocity, namely whether the country of origin of foreign direct investment equally allows access to foreign direct investment from the EU. The German screening mechanism is analysed along with the most notable cases of Chinese foreign direct investment that aroused the suspicion of the German authorities. The paper highlights the discrepancy between the legal justification for blocking foreign direct investment, in particular public policy and public security reasons, with the reality in which investments are often analysed from the government standpoint of the economic or political consequences of the investment

Novel algorithms of greedy-type for probability density estimation as well as linear and nonlinear inverse problems

Algorithms of greedy-type are a popular tool for sparse approximation. Sparse approximations of functions are beneficial for several reasons. Therefore, we will develop greedy algorithms for two classes of problems, probability density estimation and inverse problems. The development of a greedy algorithm for density estimation was motivated by the desire to implement a simulation algorithm for so-called nonwovens, a particular type of technical textiles, which are widely used in industrial applications. We will propose such a simulation algorithm, which needs an estimation of the probability density of the fiber directions inside a nonwoven. Fortunately, these directions can be obtained from real nonwovens by a CT scan, which yields millions of data points. The incorporation of a probability density that is generated by the newly developed greedy algorithm reduces the computation time of the simulation algorithm from 80 days to 150 minutes by a factor of 750 in comparison to the use of a standard method for density estimation, namely kernel density estimators. For inverse problems, we introduce two generalizations of the Regularized Functional Matching Pursuit (RFMP) algorithm, which is a greedy algorithm for linear inverse problems. For the first generalization, called RWFMP, an improved theoretical analysis is possible. Furthermore, using the RWFMP, it is possible to reduce the computation time of the RFMP by a factor of 10 without losing much of the accuracy. The second generalization is an RFMP for nonlinear inverse problems. We apply the algorithm to the nonlinear inverse gravimetric problem, which is concerned with the reconstruction of information about the interior of a planetary body from gravitational data. We obtain very good numerical results concerning the accuracy, the sparsity, and the interpretability of the results.Zusammenfassung Greedy-Algorithmen sind oft genutzte Methoden zur Generierung von sogenannten sparsen Approximationen. Funktionen auf diese Art zu approximieren ist aus verschiedenen Gründen vorteilhaft. Deshalb entwickeln wir Greedy-Algorithmen für zwei verschiedene Problemklassen, die Schätzung von Wahrscheinlichkeitsdichten einerseits und inverse Probleme andererseits. Die Entwicklung eines Greedy-Algorithmus für die Dichteschätzung ist motiviert durch die Notwendigkeit, einen Simulationsalgorithmus für sogenannte Vliesstoffe zu implementieren, einem speziellen Typ technischer Textilien, die oft in industriellen Anwendungen verwendet werden. Wir werden solch einen Simulationsalgorithmus vorstellen, der eine Schätzung der Richtungsverteilung in einem Vliesstoff benötigt. Die Richtungen der Fäden in einem echten Vliesstoff können mit Computertomographen analysiert werden. Dies liefert Millionen von Datenpunkten. Benutzen wir dieWahrscheinlichkeitsdichte, die durch den neu entwickelten Greedy-Algorithmus generiert wird, so reduziert sich die Rechenzeit des Simulationsalgorithmus von 80 Tagen auf 150 Minuten um einen Faktor von 750 im Vergleich zur Verwendung von Kerndichteschätzern, einer Standardmethode für die Dichteschätzung. Für inverse Probleme entwickeln wir zwei Verallgemeinerungen des Regularized Functional Matching Pursuit (RFMP)-Algorithmus, welcher ein Greedy-Algorithmus für lineare inverse Probleme ist. Für die erste Verallgemeinerung, die wir RWFMP nennen, legen wir verbesserte theoretische Ergebnisse im Vergleich zum RFMP vor. Außerdem kann durch den RWFMP die Rechenzeit des RFMP auf ein Zehntel reduziert werden, ohne viel Genauigkeit zu verlieren. Die zweite Verallgemeinerung ist ein RFMP für nichtlineare inverse Probleme.Wir wenden diesen Algorithmus auf das nichtlineare inverse Gravimetrieproblem an, welches sich mit der Bestimmung von Strukturen im Innern eines Planeten aus Gravitationsdaten befasst. Wir erhalten sehr gute numerische Resultate, betreffend sowohl die Genauigkeit und die sparsity, als auch die Interpretierbarkeit des Ergebnisses

THE APPLICATION OF PUBLIC POLICY AND PUBLIC SECURITY REASONS FOR JUSTIFYING RESTRICTIONS ON FREE MOVEMENT OF CAPITAL IN THE EU

The paper explores public policy and public security grounds for justifying restrictions to free movement of capital in the EU, analyses the distinction between these two grounds, and discusses the limits for their application. The content of these terms is flexible and their concrete meaning is determined by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The most prominent examples of restrictions of capital movement have been golden shares. More recently, screening mechanisms that assess incoming foreign direct investment represent a significant new type of restriction of free movement of capital

Mineral Compositions as Governed by Spin-spin Interactions: Evidence for a Compositionally Layered, Inhomogeneous Mantle

The hypothesis that the Earth’s mantle is composed of chemically distinct layers has long provided a solution to reconcile chemical differences between mid-ocean ridge basalts and ocean-island basalts. In particular, a perovskitic lower mantle can account for the “missing silicon problem”, whereby the upper mantle Mg/Si ratios are systematically higher than chondritic values. Knowledge of the bulk chemical and mineralogical profile of the mantle is crucial in constraining models of Earth’s convection and dynamics in time, which controls the evolution of igneous processes over Earth’s history. The main argument against compositional layering in Earth’s mantle has been observations from seismic waves that subducted slabs reach the lower mantle, which imply the existence of a component of whole mantle convection. However, recent geodynamical modeling has shown that subducted slabs can reach the lower mantle in models including chemical layering. Here, we provide new theoretical evidence for a chemically layered mantle, with a perovskitic lower mantle. Our results are obtained from a novel approach for predicting mineral compositions, which is based on the observation that exchange interactions play an important role in determining optimal compositions in Hubbard insulators as well as weak-metals. Our model also provides a solution for the existence of the enigmatic large-low-shear-velocity provinces. We provide evidence for the stability of anomalously Fe-rich brigdmanite, which implies the existence of chemical gradients in the lower mantle. This in turn offers a mechanism for the origin of partial melting and mantle plumes in the lower mantle

A textural and chemical study of white mica in the South Mountain Batholith, Nova Scotia: primary versus secondary origin

White mica (HM) In peralumlnous granitoid rocks of the South Mountain Batholith (SMB) and East Kemptville leucogranite (EKL) of Nova Scotia have been examined to see if parameters can be used to distinguish between primary and secondary grains. Texturally very little of the UN in the SMB can unequivocally be classified as primary, whereas most of the UM In the EKL is consistent with such an origin. Although discriminant diagrams which utilize major element chemistry do not provide unambiguous divisions between primary and secondary HM, there appear to be some chemical trends which indicate that the bulk composition of the host rock is an important control. This is best exemplified by volatile (i.e. F) and trace element contents. Including the rare earth elements. For example, F, Li, Rb and Cs are systematically higher In UM from relatively more evolved units of the SMB. The importance of bulk rock composition is also indicated by the enrichment of lithophile elements In UM from the EKL. itself enriched in these same elements. The octahedral impurities in UM of the SMB are accommodated via blotltlc and pbengitic substitutions, whereas UM from the EKL is dominantly pbengitic. Comparison to experimentally determined stability fields for muscovite indicate that HM from the SMB re-equilibrated to 500-600oC In the more primitive units and 400-550oC In the more evolved units and greisens. Recent experimental data also suggest crystallization of the UM may have occurred at pressures of ca. 2 kb in melts with 2-3 wt.% H2O. RÉSUMÉ On a examiné les micas blancs (MB) dans les roches granltoldes péralumlneuses du Batholite de South Mountain (BSM) et du leucogranite d'East Kemptville (LEK) en Nouvelle-Écosse afin de déterminer si certains paramétres peuvent servlx a dlstinguer les grains primalres des grains secondaires. É l'égard de la texture, une très faible proportion des MB dans le BSM peuvent, sans l’ombre d'un doute, être classes comae primalres alors que la plupart des MB dans le LEK sont compatibles avec une telle orlglne. Bien que les diagrammes discriminant par chimle des éléments majeure ne procurent aucune Unite precise entre les MB primalres et secondaires, on semble y discemer des tendances chlmiques lndlquant une Influence préponderante de la composition totale de l'encaissant. Les contenus en éléments volatiles (i.e. F) et en traces, y comprises les terres rares, en sont la meilleure illustration. Par exemaple, la teneur en F, Li, Rb et Cs est systèmatiquement plus éleveé dans les MB provenant des unités plus évoluées, par comparaison, du BSM. L'importance de la composition totale de la roche est aussi attestée par l'enrichtssement en éléments lithophiles des MB du LEK (luimeme enrichl en ces éléments). L'accoramodation des impurités octaédriques dans les MB du BSM se fait par le biais de substitutions biotitiques et phengitiques alors que les MB du LEK sont surtout phengitiques. Une comparaison des MB du BSM aux doroaines de stabilites de la muscovite détermines experimentalement révèle que leur ré- équilibrage s'est effectue entre 500 et 600oC dans les unités les plus primitives et entre 400 et 550oC dans les unités plus évoluées et les greisens. À la lumlère de données expérimentales récentes, la cristallisation des MB aurait eu lieu àa des pressions d'environ 2 kb dans des bains ayant de 2 à 3 % en poids d'H2O. [Traduit par le journal

Statistical Parameter Selection for Clustering Persistence Diagrams

International audienceIn urgent decision making applications, ensemble simulations are an important way to determine different outcome scenarios based on currently available data. In this paper, we will analyze the output of ensemble simulations by considering so-called persistence diagrams, which are reduced representations of the original data, motivated by the extraction of topological features. Based on a recently published progressive algorithm for the clustering of persistence diagrams, we determine the optimal number of clusters, and therefore the number of significantly different outcome scenarios, by the minimization of established statistical score functions. Furthermore, we present a proof-of-concept prototype implementation of the statistical selection of the number of clusters and provide the results of an experimental study, where this implementation has been applied to real-world ensemble data sets

40Ar/39Ar age of the Jurassic North Mountain Basalt, southwestern Nova Scotia

Two whole-rock samples of the Jurassic North Mountain Basalt have been dated using the 40Ar/39Ar method. A single sample of fresh, medium-grained, holocrystalline basalt from the lower flow unit of this thick (i.e., 400 m) sequence gave coincident plateau and isochron correlation ages of 201 ± 2.5 Ma, in agreement with a zircon U-Pb age of 202 ± 1 Ma for this same flow unit. This 40Ar/39Ar age contrasts with earlier conventional K-Ar whole-rock ages of ca. 192 Ma for the North Mountain Basalt, which are similar to other K-Ar and Ar/Ar ages for correlative basalts of eastern North America. The second dated sample is a zeolite-bearing basalt from the middle flow unit of the North Mountain Basalt. This sample gave a discordant age spectrum with excess argon, but the isochron correlation age of 206 Ma, albeit with a large error (i.e., 56 Ma), is similar to that for the fresh sample. The data indicate that reliable whole-rock 40Ar/39Ar ages for the basalts are attainable, but that fresh samples must be used. In light of this, it is suggested that the younger 192 Ma ages may reflect a widespread thermal event related to zeolite formation. RÉSUMÉ Deux échantillons de roche totale de basalte jurassique du mont North ont été datés au moyen de la méthode 40Ar/39Ar. Un échantillon unitaire de basalte holocristallin à grain moyen frais de l'unité d'écoulement inférieure de cette séquence épaisse (c.-à-d. 400 m) a fourni des âges concordants par corrélation tabulaire et isochrone de 201 ± 2,5 Ma, ce qui correspond à la datation au U-Pb à partir de zircon situant la même unité d'écoulement à 202 ± 1 Ma. Cette datation 40Ar/39Ar fait contraste avec les datations de la roche totale conventionnelles antérieures au K-Ar situant à environ 192 Ma le basalte du mont North, soit des âges semblables à d'autres datations au K-Ar et Ar/Ar de basaltes corrélatifs de l'Est de l'Amérique du Nord. Le deuxième échantillon daté est un basalte renfermant de la zéolite et provenant du milieu de l'unité d'écoulement du basalte du mont North. Cet échantillon a fourni un spectre d'âges discordant présentant un excès d'argon, mais la datation par corrélation isochrone le situant à 206 Ma, en dépit d'une erreur importante (c.-à-d. 56 Ma), fournit un âge semblable à celui de l'échantillon frais. Les données révèlent qu'il est possible d'obtenir des dates de roche totale fiables au moyen de la méthode 40Ar/39Ar, mais qu'il faut utiliser des échantillons frais. Compte tenu de ce fait, on suppose que les âges plus récents de 192 Ma pourraient correspondre à un phénomène thermique répandu apparenté à la formation de zéolite

Deciphering multi-stage ore-forming processes in metasedimentary-rock-hosted orogenic gold deposit settings using LA ICP-MS sulphide analysis

International audienceOrogenic gold deposits span a spectrum in regards to setting and style of mineralization, nature of gold (e.g., invisible, coarse) and favourable host rock. In addition, deposit formation is often attributed to protracted multi-stage hydrothermal processes. That gold mineralization also depends on a variety of features, such as metal-source reservoirs, metal-transport processes and wall-rock stratigraphy, which add to the challenge of investigating origin of paleo-mineralized settings. Recent work using quantitative laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA ICP-MS) element distribution maps/profiles and their corresponding time slice datasets (TSD) provides new insight into identifying and assessing elemental paragenesis, multi-dimensional element coupling/decoupling processes, and corresponding mineralizing events. To further assess complexities of mineralization, application of geostatistical tools (e.g., multidimensional scaling, principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis) and various innovative multi-element binary plots (e.g., Ag versus Au, Ni versus Co) is advised. To illustrate the application of this methodology, the results LA ICP-MS mapping and data processing for Fe sulphides from several metasedimentary-rock-hosted Canadian gold systems are presented: three Archean Algoma-type BIF-hosted gold deposits (~ 4 Moz Au Meadowbank, ≥ 2.8 Moz Au Meliadine district, ~ 6 Moz Au Musselwhite) and eight slate-belt style vein gold deposits from the Paleozoic Meguma terrane (Nova Scotia). The maps and derived elemental plots generated from the various settings demonstrate that: 1) the gold mineralization present is the product of multi-stage processes; 2) elemental associations vary as mineralization progresses, such as the early growth history of sulphides versus later coupled dissolution-precipitation reactions; and 3) different metal-source reservoirs and stratigraphy influence the fluid signature. These results contribute to better deciphering the complex processes involved in the protracted evolution of these and other orogenic-type gold systems (e.g., remobilization of invisible gold from early sulphide, precipitation of visible gold in later sites, increase of Au fineness)

Tonalite-dominated magmatism in the Abitibi Subprovince, Canada, and significance for Cu-Au magmatic-hydrothermal systems

In Archean greenstone belts, magmatism is dominated by intrusive and volcanic rocks with tholeiitic affinities, as well as tonalite- and granodiorite-dominated large-volume batholiths, i.e., tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) suites. These intrusions are associated with poorly documented mineralization (Cu-Au porphyries) that, in the Neoarchean Abitibi Subprovince (>2.79 to ~2.65 Ga), Superior Province, Canada, are associated with diorite bearing plutons, i.e., tonalite–trondhjemite–diorite (TTD) suites. The importance of TTG versus TTD suites in the evolution of greenstone belts and of their magmatic-hydrothermal systems and related mineralization is unconstrained. The aim of this study was to portray the chemistry and distribution of these suites in the Abitibi Subprovince. The study used data compiled by the geological surveys of Québec and Ontario to evaluate the chemistry of TTG and TTD suites and uncovered two coeval magmas that significantly differentiated (fractional crystallization mostly): 1) a heavy rare earth elements (HREE)-depleted tonalitic magma from high pressure melting of an hydrated basalt source; and 2) a hybrid HREE-undepleted magma that may be a mixture of mantle-derived (tholeiite) and tonalitic melts. The HREE-depleted rocks (mostly tonalite and granodiorite) display chemical characteristics of TTG suites (HREE, Ti, Nb, Ta, Y, and Sr depletion, lack of mafic unit, Na-rich), while the other rocks (tonalite and diorite) formed TTD suites. Tonalite-dominated magmatism, in the Abitibi Subprovince, comprises crustal melts as well as a significant proportion of mantle-derived magmas and this may be essential for Cu-Au magmatic-hydrothermal mineralizing systems