Weighted Bergman kernels and virtual Bergman kernels

We introduce the notion of "virtual Bergman kernel" and apply it to the computation of the Bergman kernel of "domains inflated by Hermitian balls", in particular when the base domain is a bounded symmetric domain.Comment: 12 pages. One-hour lecture for graduate students, SCV 2004, August 2004, Beijing, P.R. China. V2: typo correcte

Is there a Jordan geometry underlying quantum physics?

There have been several propositions for a geometric and essentially non-linear formulation of quantum mechanics. From a purely mathematical point of view, the point of view of Jordan algebra theory might give new strength to such approaches: there is a ``Jordan geometry'' belonging to the Jordan part of the algebra of observables, in the same way as Lie groups belong to the Lie part. Both the Lie geometry and the Jordan geometry are well-adapted to describe certain features of quantum theory. We concentrate here on the mathematical description of the Jordan geometry and raise some questions concerning possible relations with foundational issues of quantum theory.Comment: 30 page

Note on Moufang-Noether currents

The derivative Noether currents generated by continuous Moufang tranformations are constructed and their equal-time commutators are found. The corresponding charge algebra turns out to be a birepresentation of the tangent Mal'ltsev algebra of an analytic Moufang loop.Comment: LaTeX2e, 6 pages, no figures, presented on "The XVth International Colloquium on Integrable Systems and Quantum Symmetries, Prague, 15-17 June, 2006

Curves of Placental Weights of Live-Born Twins

The purpose of this study is to present curves of estimated placental growth in twins and to evaluate the relative contribution of gestational age, zygosity, chorionicity, fusion of the placentas, sex of the individual and of the twin pair, site of the umbilical cord insertion, birth order, maternal age, and parity. Perinatal data and placental data were obtained from 6315 live-born twin pairs from the East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey. Of 4318 twin pairs, with no missing values, the placental weights of different gestational ages were analyzed using a nonlinear multivariate Gaussian regression. Two groups were distinguished: (1) twins with two separate placentas, and (2) twins with only one placental mass (one placenta in case of monochorionic twins or two fused placentas in case of dichorionic placentas). Overall, placental weight was influenced by gestational age, fusion of the placentas, and parity. In the case of one placental mass, monozygotic dichorionic twins had the lowest weights. If two separate placentas were present, birth order played a role in favor of the first-born twin. For parity and zygosity, the differences were most pronounced between 27 and 29 weeks, whereas the difference for birth order was most pronounced between 33 and 37 weeks. In conclusion, basic physiological characteristics, routinely examined at birth, influence placental weight. Taking these covariates into account allows a better evaluation of the placental weight given a gestational age, as an indicator of growth

Latest Developments from the S-DALINAC*

The S-DALINAC is a 130 MeV superconducting recirculating electron accelerator serving several nuclear and radiation physics experiments as well as driving an infrared free-electron laser. A system of normal conducting rf resonators for noninvasive beam position and current measurement was established. For the measurement of gamma-radiation inside the accelerator cave a system of Compton diodes has been developed and tested. Detailed investigations of the transverse phasespace were carried out with a tomographical reconstruction method of optical transition radiation spots. The method can be applied also to non-Gaussian phasespace distributions. The results are in good accordance with simulations. To improve the quality factor of the superconducting 3 GHz cavities, an external 2K testcryostat was commissioned. The influence of electro-chemical polishing and magnetic shielding is currently under investigation. A digital rf-feedback-system for the accelerator cavities is being developed in order to improve the energy spread of the beam of the S-DALINAC. * Supported by the BMBF under contract no. 06 DA 820, the DFG under contract no. Ri 242/12-1 and -2 and the DFG Graduiertenkolleg 'Physik und Technik von Beschleunigern

On Deformations of n-Lie algebras

The aim of this paper is to review the deformation theory of $n$-Lie algebras. We summarize the 1-parameter formal deformation theory and provide a generalized approach using any unital commutative associative algebra as a deformation base. Moreover, we discuss degenerations and quantization of $n$-Lie algebras.Comment: Proceeding of the conference Dakar's Workshop in honor of Pr Amin Kaidi. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:hep-th/9602016 by other author

Simulated performance of an ultracold ion source

At present, the smallest spot size which can be achieved with state-of-the-art focused ion beam (FIB) technology is mainly limited by the chromatic aberrations associated with the 4.5 eV energy spread of the liquid-metal ion source. Here we numerically investigate the performance of an ultracold ion source which has the potential for generating ion beams which combine high brightness with small energy spread. The source is based on creating very cold ion beams by near-threshold photoionization of a laser-cooled and trapped atomic gas. We present ab initio numerical calculations of the generation of ultracold beams in a realistic acceleration field and including all Coulomb interactions, i.e., both space charge effects and statistical Coulomb effects. These simulations demonstrate that with existing technology reduced brightness values exceeding 105 A m-2 sr-1 V-1 are feasible at an energy spread as low as 0.1 eV. The estimated spot size of the ultracold ion source in a FIB instrument ranges from 10 nm at a current of 100 pA to 0.8 nm at 1 pA

Spatial modeling of the 3D morphology of hybrid polymer-ZnO solar cells, based on electron tomography data

A spatial stochastic model is developed which describes the 3D nanomorphology of composite materials, being blends of two different (organic and inorganic) solid phases. Such materials are used, for example, in photoactive layers of hybrid polymer zinc oxide solar cells. The model is based on ideas from stochastic geometry and spatial statistics. Its parameters are fitted to image data gained by electron tomography (ET), where adaptive thresholding and stochastic segmentation have been used to represent morphological features of the considered ET data by unions of overlapping spheres. Their midpoints are modeled by a stack of 2D point processes with a suitably chosen correlation structure, whereas a moving-average procedure is used to add the radii of spheres. The model is validated by comparing physically relevant characteristics of real and simulated data, like the efficiency of exciton quenching, which is important for the generation of charges and their transport toward the electrodes.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/11-AOAS468 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Effects of methimazole on the elimination of irinotecan

Purpose: To study the possible pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions between irinotecan and methimazole. Methods: A patient treated for colorectal cancer with single agent irinotecan received methimazole co-medication for Graves' disease. Irinotecan pharmacokinetics and side effects were followed during a total of four courses (two courses with and two courses without methimazole). Results: Plasma concentrations of the active irinotecan metabolite SN-38 and its inactive metabolite SN-38-Glucuronide were both higher (a mean increase of 14 and 67%, respectively) with methimazole co-medication, compared to irinotecan monotherapy. As a result, the mean SN-38 glucuronidation rate increased with 47% during concurrent treatment. Other possible confounding factors did not change over time. Specific adverse events due to methimazole co-treatment were not seen. Conclusions: Additional in vitro experiments suggest that these results can be explained by induction of UGT1A1 by methimazole, leading to higher SN-38G concentrations. The prescribed combination of these drugs may lead to highly toxic intestinal SN-38 levels. We therefore advise physicians to be very careful in combining methimazole with regular irinotecan doses, especially in patients who are prone to irinotecan toxicity