Computing Braid Floer Homology

Berg, G.J.B. van den [Promotor]Vorst, R.C.A.M. van der [Promotor

What do IP-intensive businesses have in common with the extractive industry?:The place of excess (incl. windfall) profits in the DEMPE analysis for intangible assets

In this article, we touch upon one of the most topical and debatable loopholes in transfer pricing: how market distortions, dominant market power and economic conditions that do not fit the normal economic cycle should affect a transfer pricing analysis of controlled transactions? During the most recent economic crises triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy security crisis as a consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it became clear that business profits may not always be a direct result of investors’ decisions, or in transfer pricing terms – of functions performed, assets used, or risks assumed, but, instead, a consequence of external circumstances. Such external circumstances may include rapid distortions in the supply and demand equilibrium for certain goods or services such as, for example, digital software or energy resources. Yet, some external factors are not connected to a stage of the economic cycle, among which are the market power or distorted competition, i.e. oligopoly, monopoly or monopsony position in the market. In this article, we observe that the ability of some sectors of the economy to capture abnormal returns is not a matter of luck or unpredictable events only. Instead, the ownership of certain scarce resources or artificially scarce assets determines the ability to generate excess (residual) returns. We build a parallel between the natural resources that produce economic rents and intellectual property assets, the scarcity of which is enabled by the strong system of legal protection of IP rights (in particular, patents) to demonstrate their common characteristic as rent-generating assets. We once again challenge the validity of the concept of value creation arguing that it does not account for the level of competition, market power and control and scarcity in the market, which are the main preconditions for a company to generate high profits. Finally, we challenge the mainstream concept of DEMPE for the allocation of profits from intangibles for the fact that it attributes too much value to the stage of development of intangibles. Based on the understanding that IP protection may induce artificial scarcity of Ip protected products in the market, which distorts competition and enables the IP owner to receive higher returns, the market jurisdiction should be entitled to a share of the residual profit for the facilitation of the IP protection regime. <br/

Role of low-ll component in deformed wave functions near the continuum threshold

The structure of deformed single-particle wave functions in the vicinity of zero energy limit is studied using a schematic model with a quadrupole deformed finite square-well potential. For this purpose, we expand the single-particle wave functions in multipoles and seek for the bound state and the Gamow resonance solutions. We find that, for the $K^{\pi}=0^{+}$ states, where $K$ is the $z$-component of the orbital angular momentum, the probability of each multipole components in the deformed wave function is connected between the negative energy and the positive energy regions asymptotically, although it has a discontinuity around the threshold. This implies that the $K^{\pi}=0^{+}$ resonant level exists physically unless the $l=0$ component is inherently large when extrapolated to the well bound region. The dependence of the multipole components on deformation is also discussed

Co łączy sektory intensywnie korzystające z praw własności intelektualnej z przemysłem wydobywczym?

In this article, we touch upon one of the most topical and debatable loopholes in transfer pricing: how market distortions, dominant market power, and economic conditions that do not fit the normal economic cycle should affect transfer pricing analysis of controlled transactions. During the most recent economic crises triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy security crisis as consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it became clear that business profits may not always be a direct result of investors’ decisions, or in transfer pricing terms – of functions performed, assets used, or risks assumed, but, instead, a consequence of external circumstances. Such external circumstances may include rapid distortions in the supply and demand equilibrium for certain goods or services, such as digital software or energy resources. Yet, some external factors are not connected to a stage of the economic cycle, among which there are the market power or distorted competition, i.e. oligopoly, monopoly, or a monopsony position in the market. In this article we observe that the ability of some sectors of the economy to capture abnormal returns is not a matter of luck or unpredictable events only. Instead, the ownership of certain scarce resources or artificially scarce assets determines the ability to generate excess (residual) returns. We build a parallel between the natural resources that produce economic rents and intellectual property assets, the scarcity of which is enabled by the strong system of legal protection of IP rights (in particular, patents) to demonstrate their common characteristic as rent-generating assets. We once again challenge the validity of the concept of value creation, arguing that it does not account for the level of competition, market power, and control and scarcity in the market, which are the main preconditions for a company to generate high profits. Finally, we challenge the mainstream concept of DEMPE for the allocation of profits from intangibles for the fact that it attributes too much value to the stage of development of intangibles. Based on the understanding that IP protection may induce artificial scarcity of IP protected products in the market, which distorts competition and enables the IP owner to receive higher returns, the market jurisdiction should be entitled to a share of the residual profit for the facilitation of the IP protection regime.W tym artykule poruszamy jedną z najchętniej w ostatnim czasie omawianych, a jednocześnie budzącą największe kontrowersje, kwestię luki w zakresie cen transferowych: jak zakłócenia na rynku, dominująca siła rynkowa oraz warunki ekonomiczne, które nie wpasowują się w normalny cykl gospodarczy, powinny wpływać na analizę cen transferowych w transakcjach kontrolowanych? W czasie ostatnich kryzysów gospodarczych wywołanych pandemią COVID-19 oraz kryzysu bezpieczeństwa energetycznego, będącego konsekwencją rosyjskiej inwazji na Ukrainę, stało się jasne, że zyski przedsiębiorstw mogą nie zawsze być bezpośrednim wynikiem decyzji inwestorów lub – w kontekście cen transferowych – sprawowanych funkcji, wykorzystanych aktywów lub podjętego ryzyka, lecz skutkiem okoliczności zewnętrznych. Tego typu czynniki zewnętrzne mogą obejmować szybko postępujące zakłócenia w równowadze podaży i popytu w przypadku niektórych towarów lub usług, takich jak na przykład oprogramowanie czy zasoby energetyczne. Jednakże niektóre siły zewnętrzne nie są związane z etapem cyklu gospodarczego – między innymi siła rynkowa lub zaburzona konkurencja, tj. oligopol, monopol lub monopson na rynku. W tym artykule podnosimy, że zdolność niektórych sektorów gospodarki do uzyskiwania nadprogramowych zysków nie jest jedynie kwestią szczęścia ani nieprzewidywalnych zdarzeń. W rzeczywistości posiadanie pewnych ograniczonych zasobów lub sztucznie ograniczanych aktywów przesądza o zdolności do generowania nadwyżek (rezydualnych) zysków. Wskazujemy na podobieństwo pomiędzy zasobami naturalnymi generującymi renty ekonomiczne a aktywami z gatunku własności intelektualnej, których niedobór urzeczywistnia się dzięki rozwiniętemu systemowi ochrony praw własności intelektualnej (w szczególności patentowej), aby wykazać ich wspólną cechę jako aktywów generujących renty. Ponownie kwestionujemy słuszność koncepcji tworzenia wartości, argumentując, że nie uwzględnia ona poziomu konkurencji, siły i kontroli rynkowej oraz niedoborów na rynku, które stanowią główne czynniki pozwalające przedsiębiorstwom generować wysokie zyski. Wreszcie poddajemy w wątpliwość zasadność stosowania mainstreamowej koncepcji DEMPE dla celów alokacji zysków z wartości niematerialnych, ponieważ przypisuje ona zbyt dużą wagę stadium rozwoju wartości niematerialnych i prawnych. W myśl założenia, że ochrona praw własności intelektualnej może wywołać na rynku sztuczny niedobór produktów chronionych tymi prawami, co zaburza konkurencję i umożliwia właścicielom tych praw wypracowywanie większych zysków, jurysdykcja rynkowa powinna mieć prawo do udziału w zysku rezydualnym, ponieważ za jej sprawą reżim ochrony własności intelektualnej może funkcjonować

Comparative measurements of air quality monitoring between RIVM, GGD Amsterdam and DCMR : Results 2010

Alleen digitaal beschikbaarIn het kader van de samenwerking tussen de luchtkwaliteits-meetnetten van het RIVM, de GGD Amsterdam en de DCMR Milieudienst Rijnmond vinden sinds enkele jaren tussen RIVM en de beide organisaties vergelijkende metingen plaats op meetlocaties in Amsterdam (RIVM-GGD) en Rotterdam (RIVM-DCMR): - Amsterdam: stikstofdioxide op locatie Overtoom - Rotterdam: stikstofdioxide en PM10 op locatie Bentinckplein/Statenweg. Deze hebben tot doel de vergelijkbaarheid van de resultaten van de verschillende meetinstanties vast te stellen; bij voldoende vergelijkbaarheid kunnen de instanties wederzijds gebruik maken van elkaars resultaten. Evaluatie van de resultaten van de vergelijkingen verricht in 2010 toont aan dat de resulterende meetonzekerheden in alle gevallen te voldoen aan de criteria gesteld in EU Richtlijn 2008/50/EC. Aangezien alle instanties een ISO 17025 accreditatie voeren voor de betreffende metingen mag ervan worden uitgegaan dat het kwaliteitsniveau en de vergelijkbaarheid zoals bepaald in deze vergelijkingen representatief zijn voor de andere meetlocaties van de netwerken. Dit impliceert dat de instanties in principe gebruik kunnen maken van elkaars meetgegevens voor de componenten waarvoor resultaten zijn vergeleken (DCMR en RIVM voor stikstofdioxide en PM10; GGD en RIVM voor stikstofdioxide).Within the frame of the cooperation between the air quality monitoring networks of RIVM, GGD Amsterdam and DCMR Environmental Protection Agency comparative measurements are performed between RIVM and both regional networks at locations in Amsterdam (RIVM-GGD) and Rotterdam (RIVM-DCMR): - Amsterdam: nitrogen dioxide at location Overtoom - Rotterdam: nitrogen dioxide and PM10 at location Bentinckplein/Statenweg. The purpose of these comparisons is demonstrating comparability of results obtained by the different networks. In case of sufficient comparability mutual use can be made of their results. All networks use the European Union reference methods for nitrogen dioxide and PM10. The evaluation involves comparison of hourly average results for nitrogen dioxide and of daily average results for PM10 by applying orthogonal regression analysis and by examination of differences between results as a function of measurement period and concentration level. Evaluation of the comparison between RIVM and DCMR for the year 2010 shows that for PM10 results agree almost on a "1 to 1" basis. The comparisons for nitrogen dioxide reveal an overall agreement of results averaged over the whole year to within ±1,6%. However, distinct differences can be observed in the relationships over the first and second half of 2010, with ratios of RIVM's results to those of the other networks increasing. Further, the relationship between results for DCMR and RIVM deviates markedly from the expected relationship y=x. Reasons for this may be differences in applied calibration procedures and handling of low measurement values. Evaluation further shows that the resulting measurement uncertainties in all cases are well within the criteria given in EU Directive 2008/50/EC. As all networks have an ISO 17025 accreditation for the measurements compared it may be assumed that the quality levels and, consequently, the comparability of the results determined in these comparisons are representative for the networks as a whole. Consequently, it should be possible for networks to make mutual use of results for the components compared (DCMR and RIVM for nitrogen dioxide and PM10; GGD and RIVM for nitrogen dioxide).Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu RIV

Results of the First EC/OC Comparison Exercise for EU National Air Quality Reference Laboratories (AQUILA)

The JRC-IES European Reference Laboratory for Air Pollution (ERLAP) has organized an inter-laboratory comparison for the measurement of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) in particulate matter sampled on filters. To this comparison European Union National Reference Laboratories for air quality or delegated organizations have participated, all using instrumentation of the same make (Sunset Laboratories Inc. ). The objectives of this comparison have been to evaluate the performances of participants but also to study the effects of the use of different thermal analysis protocols currently used for analysis. It has been shown – based on z-scores – that all participants using laboratory analyzers are able to meet a 25% expanded uncertainty as a “fitness-for-purpose” criterion for total carbon (TC, as the sum of OC and EC) and OC. For EC this criterion is only met when results are evaluated by specific protocols (NIOSH or EUSAAR_2) separately. Field versions of the analyzer have been found for a number of samples to yield aberrant results.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat

Anti Citrullinated Protein Antibodies-IgG variable domain glycosylation in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an auto-inflammatory disease, affecting ~1% of the world population. RA is hallmarked by the presence of autoantibodies, one of the well-known autoantibodies in RA are the anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA). ACPA is highly specific for RA and about 70-80% of the RA patients are positive for ACPA. Previously, we discovered that ACPA-IgG are extensively glycosylated in the variable (V) region. In this thesis, we determined that over 90% of the ACPA-IgG carries glycans in the v-domain were as only 17% of the conventional IgG carries additional glycans. Additionally, the glycans were highly sialylated. Intriguingly, we also showed that the glycans are introduced via somatic hyper mutations in the germinal center reaction. Furthermore, we discovered that ACPA-IgG v-domain glycosylation is a predictive marker for the development of ACPA positive RA. Lastly, we found that the binding strength is not influenced by the glycans but it influences the amount of available binding sites. Nevertheless, the ACPA-BCR still overcome negative selection which might suggest that the glycans can trigger an alternative way for positive selection in the germinal center. This will be subject for further studies regarding the role of ACPA-IgG v-domain glycosylation. LUMC / Geneeskund

Hydrology and biogeochemistry of tropical montane rain forests of contrasting stature in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica

Simmers, I. [Promotor]Bruijnzeel, L.A. [Copromotor]Verhoef, H.A. [Copromotor

Subduction of the Tethys Oceans reconstructed from plate kinematics and mantle tomography

This thesis is concerned with the large-scale history of subduction within the Tethyan region, the Alpine-Himalayan mountain chain that stretches from the Mediterranean to the Indonesian archipelago. We investigate whether we can contribute to a better understanding of the Tethyan evolution by combining plate tectonic reconstructions of the area with independent seismic tomography results. From tomographic images of the present mantle structure, the volumes and locations of the positive seismic velocity anomalies are determined. The large tomographic volumes, and the large depths at which they are found, indicate that they must be associated with long periods of subduction. We therefore examine the large-scale surface motions within the region since 200 Ma, the timespan in which all Mesozoic-Cenozoic movements of the African-Arabian and Indian plates relative to Eurasia took place, and that is thought to be necessary to explain the inferred tomographic anomalies. The amount of convergence is calculated from plate tectonic reconstructions and gives us an estimate of the surface of the subducted oceanic lithosphere. From this surface, we predict the present thermal volumes of subducted material and test these against the volumes inferred from the seismic tomographic models. Plate tectonic reconstructions of the Tethyan region generally agree on the first-order motions. In this study, we find that the volumes, locations and depths of the tomographic anomalies can be readily explained by the predicted thermal volumes: For the Tethyan region as a whole, as well as for the Aegean/Arabian and Indian regions separately, the predicted volumes are found to be significantly larger than the tomographic volumes. Taking into account slab thickening, the predicted volumes are somewhat smaller than the tomographic volumes, which allows for additional material subducted as a result of oceanic spreading during subduction. More detailed aspects of the tomographic anomaly distribution in the mantle are discussed in the context of the differences among the current tectonic reconstructions. We analyse, among others, the effect of spreading ridge subduction, the Cenozoic continental collisions and possible subsequent slab break-off, and the role of oceanic back-arc basins. Each process will lead to a particular subdivision of the subducted material, of which the amounts, locations and timing of subduction can be compared to the volumes, positions and geometries of the separate tomographic anomalies. By evaluating the results for the different tectonic reconstructions, we are able to present a preferred scenario for the subduction in the western and central Tethyan regions. The easternmost Tethyan region is characterised by active subduction of various oceanic basins. Therefore, we directly model the present thermal structure of the Indonesian subduction zones, instead of approximating the thermal volumes of the subducted material as in the previous. The subduction zones models, based on regional tectonic reconstructions, are converted into seismic velocity anomalies which can be compared directly to the tomographic images of the mantle structure