1,016 research outputs found
Sizing the European Shadow Banking System: A New Methodology
One of the critical unanswered questions relating to the shadow-banking system has been to quantify its scale in an industry where entities, by design, are opaque and often outside of regulated and publically shared frameworks.
However almost all shadow banking entities, including hedge funds, private equity funds and special purpose vehicles ("SPVs"), interact with the financial markets via regulated investment banks. For example, many SPVs are in fact originated as part of investment banking business and hedge funds typically transact in financial markets exclusively via the "prime brokerage" division of investment banks.
This interface with the regulated banking environment combines with the typical practise by investment banks of equalizing compensation (Including bonus) ratios to revenues globally which then allows identification of the implied difference in revenues and hence assets that represents the shadow banking system.
The paper will present for critique the results of this methodology to estimate the UK shadow banking system including European business managed from the UK. The estimate will imply a larger scale of shadow banking than previous estimates at £548 billion which, when combined with hedge fund assets of £360 billion (FSA, 2011) gives total shadow banking assets of over £900 billion. It is proposed that the large gap between the estimates of this paper and other estimates reflects the huge, and previously unknown, scale of offshore activities of UK investment banks
High-quality quantum point contact in two-dimensional GaAs (311)A hole system
We studied ballistic transport across a quantum point contact (QPC) defined
in a high-quality, GaAs (311)A two-dimensional (2D) hole system using shallow
etching and top-gating. The QPC conductance exhibits up to 11 quantized
plateaus. The ballistic one-dimensional subbands are tuned by changing the
lateral confinement and the Fermi energy of the holes in the QPC. We
demonstrate that the positions of the plateaus (in gate-voltage), the
source-drain data, and the negative magneto-resistance data can be understood
in a simple model that takes into account the variation, with gate bias, of the
hole density and the width of the QPC conducting channel
Continuous Measurement of a Non-Markovian Open Quantum System
Continuous quantum measurement is the backbone of various methods in quantum
control, quantum metrology, and quantum information. Here, we present a
generalized formulation of dispersive measurement of a complex quantum systems.
We describe the complex system as an open quantum system that is strongly
coupled to a non-Markovian environment, enabling the treatment of a broad
variety of natural or engineered complex systems. The system is monitored via a
probe resonator coupled to a broadband (Markovian) reservoir. Based on this
model, we derive a formalism of Stochastic Hierarchy Equations of Motion (SHEM)
describing the decoherence dynamics of the system conditioned on the
measurement record. Furthermore, we demonstrate a spectroscopy method based on
weak quantum measurement to reveal the non-Markovian nature of the environment,
which we term weak spectroscopy.Comment: Published version, the section on continuous state tomography will be
published in a separate manuscrip
Gating of high-mobility InAs metamorphic heterostructures
We investigate the performance of gate-defined devices fabricated on high
mobility InAs metamorphic heterostructures. We find that heterostructures
capped with InGaAs often show signs of parallel conduction
due to proximity of their surface Fermi level to the conduction band minimum.
Here, we introduce a technique that can be used to estimate the density of this
surface charge that involves cool-downs from room temperature under gate bias.
We have been able to remove the parallel conduction under high positive bias,
but achieving full depletion has proven difficult. We find that by using
InAlAs as the barrier without an InGaAs
capping, a drastic reduction in parallel conduction can be achieved. Our
studies show that this does not change the transport properties of the quantum
well significantly. We achieved full depletion in InAlAs capped
heterostructures with non-hysteretic gating response suitable for fabrication
of gate-defined mesoscopic devices
Human emotional response to steering wheel vibration in automobiles
This is the post-print (final draft post-refereeing) version of the final published paper that is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.This study investigates what form of correlation may exist between measures of the valence and the arousal dimensions of the human emotional response to steering wheel vibration and the vibration intensity metrics obtained by means of the unweighted and the frequency weighted root mean square (rms). A laboratory experiment was performed with 30 participants who were presented 17 acceleration time histories in random order and asked to rate their emotional feelings of valence and arousal using a self-assessment manikin (SAM) scale. The results suggest a highly linear correlation between the unweighted, Wh weighted and Ws weighted vibration intensity metrics and the arousal measures of the human emotional response. The results also suggest that while vibration intensity plays a significant role in eliciting emotional feelings, there are other factors which influence the human emotional response to steering wheel vibration such as the presence of high peaks or high frequency band amplitudes
An animal model of differential genetic risk for methamphetamine intake
The question of whether genetic factors contribute to risk for methamphetamine (MA) use and dependence has not been intensively investigated. Compared to human populations, genetic animal models offer the advantages of control over genetic family history and drug exposure. Using selective breeding, we created lines of mice that differ in genetic risk for voluntary MA intake and identified the chromosomal addresses of contributory genes. A quantitative trait locus was identified on chromosome 10 that accounts for more than 50% of the genetic variance in MA intake in the selected mouse lines. In addition, behavioral and physiological screening identified differences corresponding with risk for MA intake that have generated hypotheses that are testable in humans. Heightened sensitivity to aversive and certain physiological effects of MA, such as MA-induced reduction in body temperature, are hallmarks of mice bred for low MA intake. Furthermore, unlike MA-avoiding mice, MA-preferring mice are sensitive to rewarding and reinforcing MA effects, and to MA-induced increases in brain extracellular dopamine levels. Gene expression analyses implicate the importance of a network enriched in transcription factor genes, some of which regulate the mu opioid receptor gene, Oprm1, in risk for MA use. Neuroimmune factors appear to play a role in differential response to MA between the mice bred for high and low intake. In addition, chromosome 10 candidate gene studies provide strong support for a trace amine-associated receptor 1 gene, Taar1, polymorphism in risk for MA intake. MA is a trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) agonist, and a non-functional Taar1 allele segregates with high MA consumption. Thus, reduced TAAR1 function has the potential to increase risk for MA use. Overall, existing findings support the MA drinking lines as a powerful model for identifying genetic factors involved in determining risk for harmful MA use. Future directions include the development of a binge model of MA intake, examining the effect of withdrawal from chronic MA on MA intake, and studying potential Taar1 gene × gene and gene × environment interactions. These and other studies are intended to improve our genetic model with regard to its translational value to human addiction
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