This paper gives an overview on the research done in the fields of tax competition, coordination and harmonisation. The survey is divided in two main parts, in the first section we compare the standard tax competition literature that sees tax competition as a bad, to public choice contributions that advocate tax reductions. In the second part we consider theories of endogenous growth, which focus on analysing the taxation question. After introducing the fundamental contributions, we discuss extensions in the line of an open economy, an OLG setting and the transitional dynamics in greater detail. (author's abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination

An investigation was undertaken to determine the feasibility of increasing the hydrogen production rate by coupling the water gas shift (WGS) process to the hybrid sulphur process (HyS). This investigation also involved the technical and economical analysis of the water gas shift and the H2 separation by means of Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process. A technical analysis of the water gas shift reaction was determined under the operating conditions selected on the basis of some information available in the literature. The high temperature system (HTS) and low temperature system (LTS) reactors were assumed to be operated at temperatures of 350ºC and 200ºC, respectively. The operating pressure for both reactors was assumed to be 30 atmospheres. The H2 production rate of the partial oxidation (POX) and the WGS processes was 242T/D, which is approximately two times the amount produced by the HyS process alone. The PSA was used for the purification process leading to a hydrogen product with a purity of 99.99%. From the total H2 produced by the POX and the WGS processes only 90 percent of H2 is recovered in the PSA. The unrecovered H2 leaves the PSA as a purge gas together with CO2 and traces of CH4, CO, and saturated H2O. The estimated capital cost of the WGS plant with PSA is about US$50 million. The production cost is highly dependent on the cost of all of the required raw materials and utilities involved. The production cost obtained was US $1.41/kg H2 based on the input cost of synthesis gas as produced by the POX process. In this case the production cost of synthesis gas based on US $6/GJ for natural gas and US $0/Ton for oxygen was estimated to be US $0.154/kg. By increasing the oxygen and natural gas cost, the corresponding increase in synthesis gas has resulted in an increase in H2 production cost of US $1.84/kg. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The influenza A virus non-structural (NS1) protein is multifunctional, and during virus-infection NS1 interacts with several factors in order to manipulate host-cell processes. This study reports that NS1 binds directly to p85β, a regulatory subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), but not to the related p85α. Expression of NS1 was sufficient to activate PI3K and cause the phosphorylation of a downstream mediator of PI3K signalling, Akt. However, in virus-infected MDCK cells, the kinetics of Akt phosphorylation did not correlate with NS1 expression, and suggested that negative regulation of this signalling pathway occurs subsequent to ~8h post-infection. Mapping studies showed that the NS1:p85β interaction is primarily mediated by the NS1 C-terminal domain and the p85β inter-SH2 (Src homology 2) domain. Additionally, the highly conserved tyrosine at residue 89 (Y89) of NS1 was found to be important for binding and activating PI3K in a phosphorylation-independent manner. The inter-SH2 domain of p85β is a coiled-coil structure that acts as a scaffold for the p110 catalytic subunit of PI3K. As NS1 does not displace p110 from the inter-SH2 domain, a model is proposed whereby NS1 forms an active heterotrimeric complex with PI3K, and disrupts the ability of p85β to control p110 function. Biological studies revealed that a mutant influenza A virus (Udorn/72) expressing NS1 with phenylalanine substituted for tyrosine-89 (Y89F) exhibited a small-plaque phenotype, and grew more slowly in MDCK cells than wild-type virus. Unexpectedly, another mutant influenza A virus strain (WSN/33) expressing NS1-Y89F was not attenuated in MDCK cells, yet appeared to be less pathogenic than wild-type in vivo. Overall, these data indicate a role for NS1-mediated PI3K activation in efficient influenza A virus replication. The potential application of this work to the design of novel anti-influenza drugs and vaccine production is discussed.

Recently, issues of international taxation have also been analysed from a New Economic Geography perspective. These discussions show that agglomerative forces play a non negligible role. In the paper, we introduce explicitly taxation into a Footloose Capital Model and compare implications of taxation according to the residence principle and the source principle from a New Economic Geography perspective. We confirm that agglomerative effects change the results substantially compared to the standard analysis and that the two taxation principles have different implications for industry agglomeration. (author's abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination

Hydrogenases are a family of enzyme that catalyses the bidirectional interconversion of H⁺ and H₂. There are two major classes of hydrogenases: the [NiFe(Se)]- and [FeFe]-hydrogenases. Both of these benefit from characteristics which would be advantageous to their use in technological devices for H₂ evolution and the generation of energy. These features are explored in detail in this thesis, with a particular emphasis placed on defining the conditions that limit the activity of hydrogenases when reducing H⁺ to produce H₂. Electrochemistry can be used as a direct measure of enzymatic activity; thus, Protein Film Electrochemistry, in which the protein is adsorbed directly onto the electrode, has been employed to probe catalysis by hydrogenases. Various characteristics of hydrogenases were probed. The catalytic bias for H₂ production was interrogated and the inhibition of H₂ evolution by H₂ itself (a major drawback to the use of some hydrogenases in technological devices to produce H₂) was quantified for a number of different hydrogenase. Aerobic inactivation of hydrogenases is also a substantial technological limitation; thus, inactivation of both H₂ production and H₂ oxidation by O₂ was studied in detail. This was compared to inhibition of hydrogenases by CO so as to elucidate the mechanism of binding of diatomic molecules and determine the factors limiting inactivation. This allows for a preliminary proposal for the genetic redesigning of hydrogenases for biotechnological purposes to be made. Finally, preliminary investigation of the binding of formaldehyde, potentially at a site integral to proton transfer, opens the field for further research into proton transfer pathways, the structural implications thereof and their importance in catalysis.

No presente trabalho estudou-se uma nova rota para obter nanopartículas de prata e silício aleatoriamente dispersas em uma matriz nanoporosa de nanotubos de óxido de alumínio sobre alumínio. Além disso, estudou-se a aplicação deste novo material como ânodo em células a combustível alcalinas com etanol como combustível, usando a prata como catalisador na eletroxidação do etanol e da produção de H2. O processo proposto consiste na solidificação rápida mediante melt spinner de uma liga de alumínio-prata rica em alumínio (95.25% em peso de alumínio) para obter uma solução sólida supersaturada. Posteriormente foi feita uma anodização porosa em ácido oxálico e estudo eletroquímico em meio alcalino por meia hora. A morfologia da liga obtida foi caracterizada por Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura, Difração de Raios-X, Microscopia Eletrônica de Transmissão equipado com Espectrometria de Raios X Dispersiva em Energia e avaliado o desempenho como ânodo mediante ensaios de voltametria cíclica Os resultados obtidos confirmam que o desenvolvimento de um novo processo para produzir nanopartículas cristalinas de prata com um tamanho que varia de 4 a 120 nm, com 95% delas entre 4 e 87 nm. A partir dos estudos eletroquímicos concluiu-se que a liga de Al-Ag produzida exibe um comportamento semelhante ao alumínio puro em NaOH 0.1 M e NaOH 0.1 M com 1 M de etanol. A reação entre o alumínio e o meio alcalino produz uma camada de hidrogênio que impede que a prata catalise a eletroxidação do etanol. Portanto, conclui-se que a liga de alumínio-prata produzida não é um material viável como ânodo em células a combustível alcalinas de etanol direto. Portanto, foi avaliado o método de produção de nanopartículas para uma liga Al-Si eutética (14.2% em peso). Esta liga com nanopartículas de silício apresentou um incremento no desempenho na produção de H2 de 17% comparado à liga Al-Si eutética sem o tratamento térmico. / In the present work a new route to obtain silver nanoparticles randomly dispersed in a porous Al2O3 nanotube matrix layer on aluminum was studied. Moreover, the use as an anode in alkaline fuel cells (AFC) with ethanol as combustible was studied, using the prepared surfaces as a catalyzer for the electrooxidation of ethanol. The developed process consists of the rapid solidification (quenching) through melt spinning of an aluminum-silver alloy (92.25 %wt. Al) to obtain a supersaturated solid solution, followed by a porous anodization in oxalic acid and electrochemical treatment in alkaline medium. The morphology of the alloy was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X. Ray Spectrometry and the performance of the ethanol electrooxidation was tested though cyclic voltammetry The obtained results confirm that this process produces crystalline silver nanoparticles with a size varying from 4 to 120 nm with 95% of the particles between 4 and 87 nm. The electrochemical study showed that the produced alloy exhibits a similar behavior to that of pure aluminum in the tested mediums. The reaction between the aluminum and the alkaline medium produces a gaseous hydrogen layer that impedes the catalytic action of silver on the ethanol oxidation. Moreover, it was concluded that the produced alloy is not a viable material for the use as anode for direct ethanol AFCs. Therefore, the nanoparticle production method was tested for an Al-Si near-eutectic alloy (14.2 %wt.). This alloy with silicon nanoparticles showed an increase in the performance of H2 production rate of 17% compared to that of the regular Al-Si near-eutectic alloy.

<div>The design of advanced engineering systems generally results in large-scale numerical problems, which require efficient computational electromagnetic (CEM) solutions. Among existing CEM methods, iterative methods have been a popular choice since conventional direct solutions are computationally expensive. The optimal complexity of an iterative solver is <i>O(NN_itN_rhs)</i> with <i>N</i> being matrix size, <i>N_it</i>the number of iterations and <i>N_rhs</i> the number of right hand sides. How to invert or factorize a dense matrix or a sparse matrix of size <i>N</i> in <i>O(N)</i> (optimal) complexity with explicitly controlled accuracy has been a challenging research problem. For solving a dense matrix of size <i>N</i>, the computational complexity of a conventional direct solution is <i>O(N³)</i>; for solving a general sparse matrix arising from a 3-D EM analysis, the best computational complexity of a conventional direct solution is <i>O(N²)</i>. Recently, an <i>H²</i>-matrix based mathematical framework has been developed to obtain fast dense matrix algebra. However, existing linear-complexity <i>H²</i>-based matrix-matrix multiplication and matrix inversion lack an explicit accuracy control. If the accuracy is to be controlled, the inverse as well as the matrix-matrix multiplication algorithm must be completely changed, as the original formatted framework does not offer a mechanism to control the accuracy without increasing complexity.</div><div> </div><div>In this work, we develop a series of new accuracy controlled fast <i>H²</i> arithmetic, including matrix-matrix multiplication (MMP) without formatted multiplications, minimal-rank MMP, new accuracy controlled <i>H²</i> factorization and inversion, new accuracy controlled <i>H²</i> factorization and inversion with concurrent change of cluster bases, <i>H²</i>-based direct sparse solver and new <i>HSS</i> recursive inverse with directly controlled accuracy. For constant-rank <i>H²</i>-matrices, the proposed accuracy directly controlled <i>H²</i> arithmetic has a strict <i>O(N)</i> complexity in both time and memory. For rank that linearly grows with the electrical size, the complexity of the proposed <i>H²</i> arithmetic is <i>O(NlogN)</i> in factorization and inversion time, and <i>O(N)</i> in solution time and memory for solving volume IEs. Applications to large-scale interconnect extraction as well as large-scale scattering analysis, and comparisons with state-of-the-art solvers have demonstrated the clear advantages of the proposed new <i>H²</i> arithmetic and resulting fast direct solutions with explicitly controlled accuracy. In addition to electromagnetic analysis, the new <i>H²</i> arithmetic developed in this work can also be applied to other disciplines, where fast and large-scale numerical solutions are being pursued. </div>

En microrobotique, la mesure de micro et nano force figure parmi les informations nécessaires pour caractériser les interactions mécaniques présentes à l'échelle micrométrique. Dans cette optique, nous avons développé un capteur de mesure micro et nano force reposant sur un principe de flottaison-magnétique. L'organe sensible du capteur est une plate-forme macroscopique rectangulaire sur laquelle s'appliquent les forces et couples à mesurer. La sustentation et le maintien de la plate-forme sont assurés par le biais de forces magnétiques et de la poussée d'Archimède appliquée à quatre flotteurs placés à ses coins. La plate-forme est conçue pour mesurer uniquement des forces dan le plan horizontal ainsi que le couple vertical associé. L'étendue de mesure des forces varie entre -100 et +100 micronN avec une résolution de l'ordre du nanoNewton. elle travaille en mode actif grâce à un asservissement autour de sa configuration d'équilibre (établie en absence d'efforts à mesurer). La nature des efforts de rappel utilisés pour la mise en oeuvre de l'asservissement est électromagnétique. Les modèles magnétique et électromagnétique développés permettent alors de déterminer les forces qui s'appliquent au centre de gravité de la plate-forme par le biais de la connaissance de la configuration spatiale de cette dernière et des courants dans les bobines de commande. En termes d'application, cette plate-forme peut être utilisée dans le cadre de la caractérisation des micro-objets déformables (micromécanismes, cellules, etc...) et des microsurfaces.

Davantage que par le passé, le concepteur de lois de commande se trouve confronté à des systèmes complexes : nombre élevé de dynamiques mais aussi d'actionneurs et de capteurs, voire contraintes spatiales sur la structure du régulateur. Ceci résulte de la complexification croissante des processus industriels, de l'avènement de systèmes de communication performants ainsi que de la recherche de performances accrues (recherche d'une optimisation plus globale).<br /><br />Si la commande décentralisée a mobilisé de nombreux efforts de recherche dés les années 70, de nombreux problèmes restent ouverts. Dans le même temps, des outils d'analyse et de synthèse performants ont été développés, dans le cadre H2 et H¥ notamment. Leur mise en œuvre pour de très grands systèmes (composés le plus souvent de sous-systèmes interconnectés) peut cependant poser problème, et ce d'autant que des contraintes de structure sont appliquées au correcteur.<br /><br />L'élaboration de commandes pour les systèmes complexes requiert à l'évidence de la méthodologie. A cette fin, ce document s'intéresse à l'analyse des interconnexions internes au système pour choisir la structure du régulateur la mieux appropriée. Il considère également la problématique du choix du critère et la possibilité d'aborder séquentiellement l'optimisation globale d'un correcteur H2. Ces réflexions à caractère méthodologique sont mises en œuvre sur un système expérimental (multi-moteurs) d'entraînement de bande flexible.

Nous rappelons les propriétés de symétrie du problème Coulombien à trois corps. Combinées à un choix pertinent de variables d'espace et de fonctions de base, elles permettent d'écrire l'Hamiltonien effectif du problème sous la forme d'une matrice bande qui peut être diagonalisée numériquement avec efficacité. Nous avons appliqué ces calculs aux ions moléculaires H2+ et HD+, mais aussi aux ions moléculaires exotiques de type mupp. A partir des fonctions d'onde, nous avons calculé les spectres de photodissociation de H2+, étendu le calcul des taux de transition à deux photons au cas de HD+, et déterminer les durées de vie radiatives et Coulombiennes des résonances des ions exotiques.<br /> <br />Nous présentons l'expérience, actuellement en cours de construction, de spectroscopie à deux photons sans effet Doppler dans l'ion H2+. Nous piégeons et sélectionnons les ions dans le niveau fondamental. La transition vers le premier état excité est en cours de réalisation. Dans l'objectif de déterminer le rapport de la masse du proton à la masse de l'électron nous montrons que la spectroscopie de l'ion HD+ est plus favorable. Ce résultat sera expérimentalement valorisé à l'avenir.