Green Tax Reforms and Computational Economics A Do-it-yourself Approach

The double or even triple dividend hypothesis of green tax reforms has beena major issue of dispute in both the scientific community and the politicalarena during the last decade. Theoretical analysis has provided a number ofimportant qualitative insights to the debate but lacks of actual policyrelevance due to very restrictive assumptions. Applied research that takes thestep from stylized analytical to complex numerical models usually comes as ablackbox to non-expert modelers. This paper aims at bridging the gap betweenstylized theoretical work and numerical analysis. We develop a flexible,interactive simulation model which is accessible underhttp://brw.zew.de. Users can specify their own green tax reforms andevaluate the induced economic and environmental effects. Based on illustrativesimulations, we demonstrate the usefulness of our do-it-yourself approach fora better understanding of the double (triple) dividend hypothesis.     

Efficient reconstruction from non-uniform point sets

We propose a method for non-uniform reconstruction of 3D scalar data. Typically, radial basis functions, trigonometric polynomials or shift-invariant functions are used in the functional approximation of 3D data. We adopt a variational approach for the reconstruction and rendering of 3D data. The principle idea is based on data fitting via thin-plate splines. An approximation by B-splines offers more compact support for fast reconstruction. We adopt this method for large datasets by introducing a block-based reconstruction approach. This makes the method practical for large datasets. Our reconstruction will be smooth across blocks. We give reconstruction measurements as error estimations based on different parameter settings and also an insight on the computational effort. We show that the block size used in reconstruction has a negligible effect on the reconstruction error. Finally we show rendering results to emphasize the quality of this 3D reconstruction technique.     

Structures in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films investigated by magneto-optic technique

Using a reflection magneto-optic technique we have investigated natural inhomogeneities and artificial structures in YBCO thin films exposed to an external magnetic field. The artificial structures were mechanically scratched by scanning a diamond tip with different loading over the film surface. Alternatively planar structures with reduced oxygen content could be patterned by heating the YBCO film with a focused laser beam in nitrogen atmosphere. Depending on the laser annealing parameters different screening properties concerning the applied magnetic field could be achieved.As a magneto-optically active layer we used EuS films evaporated on glass as well as bismuth- and gallium-doped lutetium-iron-garnet films grown onto (111) oriented gadolinium-gal lium-gar net substrates by liquid phase epitaxy. In contrast to measurements with EuS films that show only weak faraday rotation for temperatures higher than 20 K the magneto-optic studies have been expanded to about 60 K by using the garnet films.     

Atomic force microscopy on polymers and polymer related compounds

Summary Surface morphology and molecular arrangement have been recorded by atomic force microscopy (AFM) on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and on polycarbonate (PC) films. In a thin layer of PTFE deposited by rubbing polymer on hot glass substrate unidirectional orientation of polymer has been revealed. Individual polymer chains have been visualized. An interchain distance of .53 nm and several periodicities along the chain contours have been found-.44 nm, .62 nm and .82 nm-in accordance with a 13/6 helix.The monitoring of surface changes during thermal treatment of amorphous-bis-phenol A-PC film has been realized by AFM. Different types of surface morphology were revealed. Spherulites are formed during polymer crystallization. In most cases, however, numerous nanocrystallites appeared after thermal treatment. On their surfaces well-ordered atomic scale AFM images have been received. The arrangement of AFM patterns can be characterized by periodicities of .50 nm and .52 nm in the orthogonal directions. Polycarbonate oligomers-as the product of surface degradation-effectively might form the observed nanocrystallites.Prof. Dr. G. Zachmann zum 60. Geburtstag herzlichst gewidmetThese results were given by us first in a lecture in Baltimore, at the 5th ISPAC Symposium on May 31, 1991, and in a lecture in Santa Barbara, at the Nanoscope Users Meeting on June 25, 1991     

Zur Reaktivität von Tanninen in Abhängigkeit vom Kambialalter

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

High‐error approximate dictionary search using estimate hash comparisons

A method for finding all matches in a pre‐processed dictionary for a query string q and with at most k differences is presented. A very fast constant‐time estimate using hashes is presented. A tree structure is used to minimize the number of estimates made. Practical tests are performed, showing that the estimate can filter out 99% of the full comparisons for 40% error rates and dictionaries of up to four million words. The tree is found to be efficient up to a 50% error rate. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parameter estimation using a sensor array in a Ricean fading channel

The estimation of the Direction-Of-Arrival (DOA) and the variance of the angular spread, using an array of sensors in the case of a Ricean channel is considered, using the Maximum-Likelihood, Least-Squares and Weighted Least Squares criteria. The Cramér-Rao bound is also obtained for the problem of interest. Simplification of the cost functions to reduce the dimension of the problem has been carried out and the performance of the methods has been studied based on numerical experiments. A major part of the work was carried out when K V S Hari was visiting the Department of Signals, Sensors and Systems during Jul–Sep 1995, on leave from the Indian Institute of Science