KMS, etc

A general form of the ``Wick rotation'', starting from imaginary-time Green functions of quantum-mechanical systems in thermal equilibrium at positive temperature, is established. Extending work of H. Araki, the role of the KMS condition and of an associated anti-unitary symmetry operation, the ``modular conjugation'', in constructing analytic continuations of Green functions from real- to imaginary times, and back, is clarified. The relationship between the KMS condition for the vacuum with respect to Lorentz boosts, on one hand, and the spin-statistics connection and the PCT theorem, on the other hand, in local, relativistic quantum field theory is recalled. General results on the reconstruction of local quantum theories in various non-trivial gravitational backgrounds from ``Euclidian amplitudes'' are presented. In particular, a general form of the KMS condition is proposed and applied, e.g., to the Unruh- and the Hawking effects. This paper is dedicated to Huzihiro Araki on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, with admiration, affection and best wishes.Comment: 56 pages, submitted to J. Math. Phy

Warm, Trembling, Etc.

Poetry by Fiona Schicho

Using theoretical-computational conflicts to enrich the concept name of derivative

Recent literature has pointed out pedagogical obstacles associated with the use of computational environments in the learning of mathematics. In this paper, we focus on the pedagogical role of the computer's inherent limitations in the development of learners' concept images of derivative. In particular, we intend to discuss how the approach to this concept can be designed to prompt a positive conversion of those limitations for the enrichment of concept images. We present results of a case study with six undergraduate students in Brazil, dealing with situation of theoretical-computational conflict

Wasteland energy-scapes: a comparative energy flow analysis of India's biofuel and biomass economies

Through a comparative energy flow analysis, this paper examines the energy security impacts of growing biofuels on wastelands in South India. India's National Policy on Biofuels claims that wastelands are well suited for biofuel production because they are empty and unused. However, in rural Tamil Nadu, a Prosopis juliflora fuelwood energy economy already exists on these lands and services a mix of rural and urban consumers at household and industrial levels. This Prosopis economy currently provides 2.5–10.3 times more useful energy than would the government's proposed Jatropha curcas biodiesel economy, depending on Jatropha by-product usage. Contrary to the government's claims, growing biofuels on wastelands can weaken, rather than improve, the country's energy security. Further, replacing Prosopis with Jatropha could engender changes in economic and property relations that could further weaken energy security. These findings are not specific to rural Tamil Nadu as Prosopis is widely used as a fuelwood throughout Asia and Africa. Calls to ‘develop’ degraded lands through biofuel promotion similarly exist in these regions. This study underscores the importance of analyzing wasteland-centered biofuel policies at local levels in order to better understand the changes in human–environment relationships resulting from this policy push

Developing and applying a disaggregated retail location model with extended retail demand estimations

The spatial interaction model (SIM) is an important tool for retail location analysis and store revenue estimation, particularly within the grocery sector. However, there are few examples of SIM development within the literature that capture the complexities of consumer behavior or discuss model developments and extensions necessary to produce models which can predict store revenues to a high degree of accuracy. This article reports a new disaggregated model with more sophisticated demand terms which reflect different types of retail consumer (by income or social class), with different shopping behaviors in terms of brand choice. We also incorporate seasonal fluctuations in demand driven by tourism, a major source of non-residential demand, allowing us to calibrate revenue predictions against seasonal sales fluctuations experienced at individual stores. We demonstrate that such disaggregated models need empirical data for calibration purposes, without which model extensions are likely to remain theoretical only. Using data provided by a major grocery retailer, we demonstrate that statistically, spatially, and in terms of revenue estimation, models can be shown to produce extremely good forecasts and predictions concerning store patronage and store revenues, including much more realistic behavior regarding store selection. We also show that it is possible to add a tourist demand layer, which can make considerable forecasting improvements relative to models built only with residential demand

The value of dynamic information device to the individual user and to the traffic: a probabilistic model with economic analysis

16 pagesInternational audiencePurported to analyze the value of a dynamic information device to an equipped network user, a model of route choice with two classes of users respectively equipped or not is worked out with assumptions about congestion, dynamic disturbances, user perception and behaviour

Developmental toxicity of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (epoxide resin badge) during the early life cycle of a native amphibian species

Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is used in packaging materials, in epoxy adhesives, and as an additive for plastics, but it is also a potential industrial wastewater contaminant. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the adverse effects of BADGE on Rhinella arenarum by means of standardized bioassays at embryo–larval development. The results showed that BADGE was more toxic to embryos than to larvae at all exposure times. At acute exposure, lethality rates of embryos exposed to concentrations of 0.0005 mg/L BADGE and greater were significantly higher than rates in the vehicle control, whereas lethality rates of larvae were significantly higher in concentrations of 10 mg/L BADGE and greater. The toxicity then increased significantly, with 96‐h median lethal concentrations (LC50s) of 0.13 mg/L and 6.9 mg/L BADGE for embryos and larvae, respectively. By the end of the chronic period, the 336‐h LC50s were 0.04 mg/L and 2.2 mg/L BADGE for embryos and larvae, respectively. This differential sensitivity was also ascertained by the 24‐h pulse exposure experiments, in which embryos showed a stage‐dependent toxicity, with blastula being the most sensitive stage and S.23 the most resistant. The most important sublethal effects in embryos were cell dissociation and delayed development, whereas the main abnormalities observed in larvae related to neurotoxicity, as scare response to stimuli and narcotic effect.Fil: Hutler Wolkowicz, Ianina Ruth. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Svartz, Gabriela Veronica. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Aronzon, Carolina Mariel. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Perez Coll, Cristina Silvia. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin