Solar-grade silicon prepared by carbothermic reduction of silica

An advanced carbothermic reduction (ACR) process was developed to produce solar grade (SC) silicon from high purity silica and carbon. Preparation of starting materials and operation of the arc furnace to product high purity silicon is described. Solar cells prepared from single crystal SG-Si had efficiencies of up to 12.3% practically identical to cells made from electronic grade silicon. The ACR process is not in the pilot stage for further evaluation

Course of neuromyelitis optica during inadvertent pregnancy in a patient treated with rituximab

In neuromyelitis optica (NMO), the monoclonal B-cell antibody rituximab is a therapeutic option. Little is known about the course of NMO and the safety of rituximab during pregnancy. In this study, we report the clinical course of a patient with NMO after application of rituximab 1 week before inadvertent conception. Mother and child did not experience any adverse event, and the postpartum development of the baby was completely normal up to 15 months. Clinical course of NMO was stable during the entire pregnancy. This case illustrates a favorable outcome in a pregnant NMO patient and her child after therapy with rituximab

Pion scattering poles and chiral symmetry restoration

Using unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory methods, we perform a detailed analysis of the $\pi\pi$ scattering poles $f_0(600)$ and $\rho(770)$ behaviour when medium effects such as temperature or density drive the system towards Chiral Symmetry Restoration. In the analysis of real poles below threshold, we show that it is crucial to extend properly the unitarized amplitudes so that they match the perturbative Adler zeros. Our results do not show threshold enhancement effects at finite temperature in the $f_0(600)$ channel, which remains as a pole of broad nature. We also implement T=0 finite density effects related to chiral symmetry restoration, by varying the pole position with the pion decay constant. Although this approach takes into account only a limited class of contributions, we reproduce the expected finite density restoration behaviour, which drives the poles towards the real axis, producing threshold enhancement and $\pi\pi$ bound states. We compare our results with several model approaches and discuss the experimental consequences, both in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions and in $\pi\to \pi\pi$ and $\gamma\to \pi\pi$ reactions in nuclei.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, final version to appear in Phys.Rev.D, added comments and reference

Averages of Fourier coefficients of Siegel modular forms and representation of binary quadratic forms by quadratic forms in four variables

Let $-d$ be a a negative discriminant and let $T$ vary over a set of representatives of the integral equivalence classes of integral binary quadratic forms of discriminant $-d$. We prove an asymptotic formula for $d \to \infty$ for the average over $T$ of the number of representations of $T$ by an integral positive definite quaternary quadratic form and obtain results on averages of Fourier coefficients of linear combinations of Siegel theta series. We also find an asymptotic bound from below on the number of binary forms of fixed discriminant $-d$ which are represented by a given quaternary form. In particular, we can show that for growing $d$ a positive proportion of the binary quadratic forms of discriminant $-d$ is represented by the given quaternary quadratic form.Comment: v5: Some typos correcte

Purification and analytical characterization of an anti- CD4 monoclonal antibody for human therapy

A purification process for the monclonal anti-CD4 antibody MAX.16H5 was developed on an analytical scale using (NH&SO, precipitation, anion-exchange chromatography on MonoQ or Q-Sepharose, hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl- Sepharose and gel filtration chromatography on Superdex 200. The purification schedule was scaled up and gram amounts of MAX.16H5 were produced on corresponding BioPilot columns. Studies of the identity, purity and possible contamination by a broad range of methods showed that the product was highly purified and free from contaminants such as mouse DNA, viruses, pyrogens and irritants. Overall, the analytical data confirm that the monoclonal antibody MAX.16H5 prepared by this protocol is suitable for human therapy

Protoneutron stars in the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach and finite-temperature kaon condensation

We study the properties of hot neutrino-trapped beta-stable stellar matter using an equation of state of nuclear matter within the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach including three-body forces, combined with a standard chiral model for kaon condensation at finite temperature. The properties of (proto)neutron stars are then investigated within this framework.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, PRC in pres