On the monodromies of a polynomial map from C2 to C

AbstractLet f:C2→C be a polynomial function. It is well known that there exists a finite set A⊂C such that the restriction of f to C2−f−1(A) is a differentiable fibration onto C−A. Following Broughton in (Proc. Symp. Pure Math. 40 (1983) 167) we call the smallest of such A's the set of atypical values of f and write it Af. Let F be a generic fiber of f. The main goal of this article is to describe the monodromy on H1(F,Z) around an atypical value a∈Af. For that purpose we define and study a monodromic filtration on the homology with coefficients in Z:0⊂M−1⊂M0⊂M1⊂M2=H1(F,Z). The term M−1 is added to allow for the boundary of F. We introduce a compact model L̂a for the smooth part of the reduced curve associated to the affine fiber f−1(a). One important result of this article is theorem (8.12) which shows how H1(L̂a,Z) gives (via the transfer homomorphism) a precise description of the invariant cycles in H1(F,Z)

Hamid Enayat, Carl W. Ernst, Modern Islamic Political Thought. The Response of the Shī‘ī and Sunnī. Muslims to the Twentieth CenturyAvant-propos de Roy P. Mottahedeh. Londres -New York, I.B. Tauris, 2005 (nouv. éd.), 225 p.Carl W. ErnstRethinking Islam in the Contemporary Wor

Montrer que le mot islam n’a jamais désigné une seule chose et que tous les musulmans ne sont pas pareils, voici les objectifs – certes simples mais toujours importants – du livre de C.W. Ernst. Celui de H. Enayat, publié pour la première fois en 1982, s’y attache implicitement aussi, bien que pour un sujet plus restreint : la pensée politique islamique. S’adressant notamment à des étudiants aux États-Unis, C.W. Ernst veut contredire les idées préconçues, surtout la réduction de l’islam à son..

Aïda Kanafani-Zahar, Liban : le vivre ensemble. Hsoun, 1994-2000

Même dans un pays aussi petit que le Liban, les relations entre différents groupes religieux ne peuvent faire l'objet de généralisations trop rapides. Cette étude d'un microcosme, celui du village bi-confessionnel de Hsoun, montre très bien comment ces relations se construisent localement. A. Kanafani-Zahar y examine le « vivre ensemble » quotidien entre chrétiens et musulmans ou, plus précisément, entre chiites et maronites. Elle décrit comment ce vivre ensemble est activement construit et c..

Anne-Sophie Lamine, La cohabitation des dieux. Pluralité religieuse et laïcité

Juifs, chrétiens, musulmans et adeptes d'autres religions se regroupent de plus en plus souvent dans des associations interreligieuses. L'enjeu de ces rencontres est bien plus grand que celui d'une meilleure connaissance mutuelle. Ce livre, issu d'une thèse en sociologie des religions, explore habilement les différentes dimensions des relations interreligieuses en France – un phénomène en pleine expansion, mais jusqu'ici très peu étudié. L'auteure examine comment le défi de la « reconnaissanc..

Essential self-adjointness for combinatorial Schr\"odinger operators II- Metrically non complete graphs

We consider weighted graphs, we equip them with a metric structure given by a weighted distance, and we discuss essential self-adjointness for weighted graph Laplacians and Schr\"odinger operators in the metrically non complete case.Comment: Revisited version: Ognjen Milatovic wrote to us that he had discovered a gap in the proof of theorem 4.2 of our paper. As a consequence we propose to make an additional assumption (regularity property of the graph) to this theorem. A new subsection (4.1) is devoted to the study of this property and some details have been changed in the proof of theorem 4.

Registration of phase contrast images in propagation-based X-ray phase tomography

International audienceX-ray phase tomography aims at reconstructing the 3D electron density distribution of an object. It offers enhanced sensitivity compared to attenuation-based X-ray absorption tomography. In propagation-based methods, phase contrast is achieved by letting the beam propagate after interaction with the object. The phase shift is then retrieved at each projection angle, and subsequently used in tomographic reconstruction to obtain the refractive index decrement distribution, which is proportional to the electron density. Accurate phase retrieval is achieved by combining images at different propagation distances. For reconstructions of good quality, the phase-contrast images recorded at different distances need to be accurately aligned. In this work, we characterise the artefacts related to misalignment of the phase-contrast images, and investigate the use of different registration algorithms for aligning in-line phase-contrast images. The characterisation of artefacts is done by a simulation study and comparison with experimental data. Loss in resolution due to vibrations is found to be comparable to attenuation-based computed tomography. Further, it is shown that registration of phase-contrast images is nontrivial due to the difference in contrast between the different images, and the often periodical artefacts present in the phase-contrast images if multilayer X-ray optics are used. To address this, we compared two registration algorithms for aligning phase-contrast images acquired by magnified X-ray nanotomography: one based on cross-correlation and one based on mutual information. We found that the mutual information-based registration algorithm was more robust than a correlation-based method

Cultural competency of health-care providers in a Swiss University Hospital: self-assessed cross-cultural skillfulness in a cross-sectional study

Background: As the diversity of the European population evolves, measuring providers’ skillfulness in cross-cultural care and understanding what contextual factors may influence this is increasingly necessary. Given limited information about differences in cultural competency by provider role, we compared cross-cultural skillfulness between physicians and nurses working at a Swiss university hospital. Methods: A survey on cross-cultural care was mailed in November 2010 to front-line providers in Lausanne, Switzerland. This questionnaire included some questions from the previously validated Cross-Cultural Care Survey. We compared physicians’ and nurses’ mean composite scores and proportion of “3-good/4-very good” responses, for nine perceived skillfulness items (4-point Likert-scale) using the validated tool. We used linear regression to examine how provider role (physician vs. nurse) was associated with composite skillfulness scores, adjusting for demographics (gender, non-French dominant language), workplace (time at institution, work-unit “sensitized” to cultural-care), reported cultural-competence training, and cross-cultural care problem-awareness. Results: Of 885 questionnaires, 368 (41.2%) returned the survey: 124 (33.6%) physicians and 244 (66.4%) nurses, reflecting institutional distribution of providers. Physicians had better mean composite scores for perceived skillfulness than nurses (2.7 vs. 2.5, p < 0.005), and significantly higher proportion of “good/very good” responses for 4/9 items. After adjusting for explanatory variables, physicians remained more likely to have higher skillfulness (β = 0.13, p = 0.05). Among all, higher skillfulness was associated with perception/awareness of problems in the following areas: inadequate cross-cultural training (β = 0.14, p = 0.01) and lack of practical experience caring for diverse populations (β = 0.11, p = 0.04). In stratified analyses among physicians alone, having French as a dominant language (β = −0.34, p < 0.005) was negatively correlated with skillfulness. Conclusions: Overall, there is much room for cultural competency improvement among providers. These results support the need for cross-cultural skills training with an inter-professional focus on nurses, education that attunes provider awareness to the local issues in cross-cultural care, and increased diversity efforts in the work force, particularly among physicians

Open and laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy in Switzerland: a retrospective assessment of clinical outcomes and the motivation to donate

Background. Laparoscopic living kidney nephrectomy is thought to be associated with reduced morbidity, when compared to open nephrectomy. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of these techniques on donors' clinical outcomes, satisfaction and motivation to donate. Methods. Clinical outcomes were retrospectively compared in 152 open (n = 71) or laparoscopic (n = 81) donor procedures. Donor satisfaction and motivation were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire. Results. The complication rate was the same with both procedures and the majority of complications were mild. Laparoscopy was significantly less painful and resulted in an insignificantly faster return to active life. More than 80% of the donors volunteered to donate without pressure. Worries about future health status, pain or scars were not important in the decision to donate. Similarly, only 15% considered the surgical procedure as instrumental for their decision. Few donors currently worried about their health with one kidney and more than 95% of the donors in both groups stated that they would give their kidney again. Conclusions. Living donor nephrectomy is safe, regardless of the procedure used. Although the laparoscopic nephrectomy offers clear short-term benefits over the open nephrectomy, donors' satisfaction was excellent with both surgical approaches. Moreover, the type of procedure did not seem to influence their decision to donat