Enforcements in Financial Disputes: A Case for an Interbank Award Clearing Framework

Resolving disputes resulting from high speed and fast-moving financial transactions has become an essential requirement for the stability of global financial markets as proven by previous crises. In the 2007 crisis, millions of investors ended with worthless investment agreements. The public did not believe they could pursue claims in state courts and had no faith in the operating regulatory systems. Delays in the enforcement of compensatory awards drained the concept of justice of its meaning. Bankers were bailed out instead of being made to pay for acts of recklessness, information asymmetry and mis-selling. The result was panic and a run on investment banks and the financial crisis ensued. The question is whether an arbitration process that guarantees immediate payment of arbitral awards can accelerate recovery from a crisis and alleviate the burden on state bailouts using taxpayers’ money? Empirical research show that enforceable and swift dispute resolution for financial disputes can establish certainty in the financial markets and assist in deterring imbedded acts of moral hazard within the financial sector. This in turn will impede the main ingredient for financial crises generated within the financial institutions sector and reduce the possibility of recurrences of financial crises such as that of 2007/2008. It is against this background that this thesis is proposing the instant monetizing mechanism of arbitral awards that result from banking disputes. The purpose behind the choice of the financial sector as a pilot for such a proposal is the ready availability of interbank clearing networks. Such networks can play an important role re-injecting funds back into the market through the ease of monetizing the awards and instantly transferring funds to claimant investors. Applying this concept particularly in the financial sector will clear backlogs of investors’ funds that will unfailingly find their way back into the financial markets through the banks. Recycling the funds back into the markets will instantly speed the markets’ recovering cycle and avert deep crises. This thesis acknowledges the role of arbitration in the settlement of financial disputes and the integral role that the enforcement of financial dispute can have in facilitating financial stability in a crisis. It recognises that an arbitration process is as effective as the swiftness by which its awards are enforced. It, as such, argues that a framework that can use existing interbank clearing networks to enforce and clear arbitral awards will efficiently address investors’ disputes. In turn it will help stabilize financial markets by removing uncertainty. The proposed framework will identify possibilities of clearing, trading and discounting arbitral awards while guaranteeing the maintenance of liquidity within the financial markets. Once implemented, the framework will remain innovative as it will operate through already functioning networks using up-to-date clearing technology such as blockchain. As the clearing networks continue to develop in to match the speed by which financial markets progress, the award clearing framework will remain as fast and innovative

Where do bosons actually belong?

We explore a variety of reasons for considering su(1,1) instead of the customary h(1) as the natural unifying frame for characterizing boson systems. Resorting to the Lie-Hopf structure of these algebras, that shows how the Bose-Einstein statistics for identical bosons is correctly given in the su(1,1) framework, we prove that quantization of Maxwell's equations leads to su(1,1), relativistic covariance being naturally recognized as an internal symmetry of this dynamical algebra. Moreover su(1,1) rather than h(1) coordinates are associated to circularly polarized electromagnetic waves. As for interacting bosons, the su(1,1) formulation of the Jaynes-Cummings model is discussed, showing its advantages over h(1).Comment: 9 pages, to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theo

Quantum correlation dynamics in photosynthetic processes assisted by molecular vibrations

During the long course of evolution, nature has learnt how to exploit quantum effects. In fact, recent experiments reveal the existence of quantum processes whose coherence extends over unexpectedly long time and space ranges. In particular, photosynthetic processes in light-harvesting complexes display a typical oscillatory dynamics ascribed to quantum coherence. Here, we consider the simple model where a dimer made of two chromophores is strongly coupled with a quasi-resonant vibrational mode. We observe the occurrence of wide oscillations of genuine quantum correlations, between electronic excitations and the environment, represented by vibrational bosonic modes. Such a quantum dynamics has been unveiled through the calculation of the negativity of entanglement and the discord, indicators widely used in quantum information for quantifying the resources needed to realize quantum technologies. We also discuss the possibility of approximating additional weakly-coupled off-resonant vibrational modes, simulating the disturbances induced by the rest of the environment, by a single vibrational mode. Within this approximation, one can show that the off-resonant bath behaves like a classical source of noise

Tree defence and bark beetles in a drying world: carbon partitioning, functioning and modelling.

Drought has promoted large-scale, insect-induced tree mortality in recent years, with severe consequences for ecosystem function, atmospheric processes, sustainable resources and global biogeochemical cycles. However, the physiological linkages among drought, tree defences, and insect outbreaks are still uncertain, hindering our ability to accurately predict tree mortality under on-going climate change. Here we propose an interdisciplinary research agenda for addressing these crucial knowledge gaps. Our framework includes field manipulations, laboratory experiments, and modelling of insect and vegetation dynamics, and focuses on how drought affects interactions between conifer trees and bark beetles. We build upon existing theory and examine several key assumptions: (1) there is a trade-off in tree carbon investment between primary and secondary metabolites (e.g. growth vs defence); (2) secondary metabolites are one of the main component of tree defence against bark beetles and associated microbes; and (3) implementing conifer-bark beetle interactions in current models improves predictions of forest disturbance in a changing climate. Our framework provides guidance for addressing a major shortcoming in current implementations of large-scale vegetation models, the under-representation of insect-induced tree mortality

Protein adsorption onto Fe3O4 nanoparticles with opposite surface charge and its impact on cell uptake

Nanoparticles (NPs) engineered for biomedical applications are meant to be in contact with protein-rich physiological fluids. These proteins are usually adsorbed onto the NP surface, forming a swaddling layer called protein corona that influences cell internalization. We present a study on protein adsorption onto different magnetic NPs (MNPs) when immersed in cell culture medium, and how these changes affect the cellular uptake. Two colloids with magnetite cores of 25 nm, same hydrodynamic size and opposite surface charge were in situ coated with (a) positive polyethyleneimine (PEI-MNPs) and (b) negative poly(acrylic acid) (PAA-MNPs). After few minutes of incubation in cell culture medium the wrapping of the MNPs by protein adsorption resulted in a 5-fold size increase. After 24 h of incubation large MNP-protein aggregates with hydrodynamic sizes 1500 to 3000 nm (PAA-MNPs and PEI-MNPs respectively) were observed. Each cluster contained an estimated number of magnetic cores between 450 and 1000, indicating the formation of large aggregates with a "plum pudding" structure of MNPs embedded into a protein network of negative surface charge irrespective of the MNP_core charge. We demonstrated that PEI-MNPs are incorporated in much larger amounts than the PAA-MNPs units. Quantitative analysis showed that SH-SY5Y cells can incorporate 100 per cent of the added PEI-MNPs up to about 100 pg per cell, whereas for PAA-MNPs the uptake was less than 50 percent. The final cellular distribution showed also notable differences regarding partial attachment to the cell membrane. These results highlight the need to characterize the final properties of MNPs after protein adsorption in biological media, and demonstrate the impact of these properties on the internalization mechanisms in neural cells.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figure

New quantumness domains through generalized squeezed states

Current definitions of both squeezing operator and squeezed vacuum state are critically examined on the grounds of consistency with the underlying su(1,1) algebraic structure. Accordingly, the generalized coherent states for su(1,1) in its Schwinger two-photon realization are proposed as squeezed states. The physical implication of this assumption is that two additional degrees of freedom become available for the control of quantum optical systems. The resulting physical predictions are evaluated in terms of quadrature squeezing and photon statistics, while the application to a Mach–Zehnder interferometer is discussed to show the emergence of nonclassical regions, characterized by negative values of Mandel’s parameter, which cannot be anticipated by the current formulation, and then outline future possible use in quantum technologies

Circulating leukocytes and oxidative Stress in cardiovascular diseases: a state of the art

Increased oxidative stress from both mitochondrial and cytosolic sources contributes to the development and the progression of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and it is a target of therapeutic interventions. The numerous efforts made over the last decades in order to develop tools able to monitor the oxidative stress level in patients affected by CVDs rely on the need to gain information on the disease state. However, this goal has not been satisfactorily accomplished until now. Among others, the isolation of circulating leukocytes to measure their oxidant level offers a valid, noninvasive challenge that has been tested in few pathological contexts, including hypertension, atherosclerosis and its clinical manifestations, and heart failure. Since leukocytes circulate in the blood stream, it is expected that they might reflect quite closely both systemic and cardiovascular oxidative stress and provide useful information on the pathological condition. The results of the studies discussed in the present review article are promising. They highlight the importance of measuring oxidative stress level in circulating mononuclear cells in different CVDs with a consistent correlation between degree of oxidative stress and severity of CVD and of its complications. Importantly, they also point to a double role of leukocytes, both as a marker of disease condition and as a direct contributor to disease progression. Finally, they show that the oxidative stress level of leukocytes reflects the impact of therapeutic interventions. It is likely that the isolation of leukocytes and the measurement of oxidative stress, once adequately developed, may represent an eligible tool for both research and clinical purposes to monitor the role of oxidative stress on the promotion and progression of CVDs, as well as the impact of therapies

Electromagnetic Properties Monitoring to Detect Different Biodegradation Kinetics in Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soil

The electromagnetic properties (electrical permittivity and electrical conductivity) of three different soil mesocosms polluted with diesel oil were monitored using a time-domain reflectometry probe for 8 months. The main target of the research was to establish a relationship between the development of biological activity within the mesocosms and the temporal behaviour of electromagnetic properties. The trend of the electromagnetic properties exhibited different responses that could be related to the composition of the mesocosms and their variation with time during the runs. We considered three different mesocosms with similar soil conditions and the same diesel oil concen-tration: porosity of 45%, volumetric diesel oil content of 9%, and volumetric water content of 15%. The first one was subjected to a natural attenuation (NA), the second one was biostimulated without inoculation (BS), and the third one was biostimulated with inoculation (BS + IN). The biostimu-lated mesocosms showed a marked decrease in electrical permittivity and electrical conductivity, whereas the naturally attenuated mesocosm did not show these variations. Between the biostimulated mesocosms, the inoculated one showed the fastest variations in the electromagnetic properties. The microbial activity and the pollutant degradation were evidenced by the analyses performed at the end of the experiment. As demonstrated by the results for the fluorescein diacetate analysis, the microbial activity was a bit higher for the inoculated microcosm, which also showed faster variations of the electromagnetic properties. In the biostimulated mesocosms, the removal of diesel oil was 66% and 72%, respectively. With natural attenuation, there was a limited removal efficiency, in the order of 2%. Even if the electromagnetic properties evidenced different kinetics of bioremediation in BS and BS + IN, both were able to successfully degrade similar percentages of the contaminant after 8 months. The long monitoring revealed that a substantial decrease in the electromagnetic properties happened only in the first month after contamination. Additionally, an increasing trend of the permittivity was detected in the following months, before reaching a steady-state condition. This study revealed that biodegradation processes with acceptable overall removal efficiency can be monitored successfully by observing the variations in the electromagnetic properties

Amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity with an excellent response to treatment

Amiodarone is an anti-arrhythmic drug widely used, but its administration can be associated with several adverse side-effects. Among these, amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity (APT) occurs in 4-17% of cases and, if not early diagnosed and treated, may evolve towards pulmonary fibrosis and respiratory failure. A 76 years-old-man went to the hospital for accidental trauma. The patient did not report respiratory symptoms but was suffering from atrial fibrillation treated with amiodarone 200 mg/day from three years (cumulative dose >150 gr). HRCT showed ground-glass opacities and nodules in both lungs. The patient underwent fibreoptic bronchoscopy with BAL. Cytologic examination of BALF sediment put in evidence foamy macrophages. The electronic microscopy revealed into the alveolar macrophages "… the presence of multilamellar intracytoplasmic bodies and lysosomes, loads of lipid material". LFTs showed a restrictive syndrome and an impairment of DLCO. Amiodarone discontinuation and steroid administration led to the regression of radiological lesions and the recovery of lung function. Patients taking amiodarone can experience APT. They should perform a basal chest x-ray with LFTs before starting therapy. Monitoring could reveal early the pulmonary toxicity, and patients can respond favourably to the treatment

On Nonlinear Bosonic Coherent States

Nonlinear coherent states are an interesting resource for quantum technologies. Here we investigate some critical features of the single-boson nonlinear coherent states, which are theoretically constructed as eigenstates of the annihilation operator and experimentally realized as stationary states of a trapped laser-driven ion. We show that the coherence and the minimum-uncertainty properties of such states are broken for values of the Lamb-Dicke parameter corresponding to the roots of the Laguerre polynomials, which enter their explicit expression. The case of the multiboson nonlinear coherent states is also discussed.Comment: published versio