Affine configurations and pure braids

We show that the fundamental group of the space of ordered affine-equivalent configurations of at least five points in the real plane is isomorphic to the pure braid group modulo its centre. In the case of four points this fundamental group is free with eleven generators.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, final version; to appear in Discrete & Computational Geometry, available from the publishers at http://www.springerlink.com/content/384516n7q24811ph

Statistical mechanics of a colloidal suspension in contact with a fluctuating membrane

Surface effects are generally prevailing in confined colloidal systems. Here we report on dispersed nanoparticles close to a fluid membrane. Exact results regarding the static organization are derived for a dilute solution of non-adhesive colloids. It is shown that thermal fluctuations of the membrane broaden the density profile, but on average colloids are neither accumulated nor depleted near the surface. The radial correlation function is also evaluated, from which we obtain the effective pair-potential between colloids. This entropically-driven interaction shares many similarities with the familiar depletion interaction. It is shown to be always attractive with range controlled by the membrane correlation length. The depth of the potential well is comparable to the thermal energy, but depends only indirectly upon membrane rigidity. Consequenses for stability of the suspension are also discussed

What does learning together mean for pharmacy and medicine students: is it really about from and with?

Published: 28/05/2018Healthcare students from different professional backgrounds are often brought together under the banner of Interprofessional Education (IPE) in an effort to improve collaborative practice. Despite the demonstrated positive impact of IPE on students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes, it is not clear what students think about learning with students from another health profession. The aim of this study was to explore pharmacy and medicine students’ views and experiences of learning together. Participants were Year 3 Pharmacy and Year 4 Medicine students, with qualitative data gathered via a written reflection. Three main themes were identified. Students were accepting of learning with the other professional group. Learning about was evident, particularly in relation to each other’s roles and contributions to patient care. Learning from another professional group was the most problematic as students tended to view and treat knowledge as a commodity to be acquired from another rather than something that could be jointly developed. While medicine and pharmacy students’ valued learning with and about each other, they were less likely to engage in co-constructing and sharing new meanings and thus learn from one another. To provide a basis for meaningful collaborative practice, IPE needs to challenge students’ fundamental assumptions, beliefs and values about learning with, from and about other professions.Josephine Thomas, Koshila Kumar, Anna Chur-Hanse

Self-consistent Ornstein-Zernike approximation for three-dimensional spins

An Ornstein-Zernike approximation for the two-body correlation function embodying thermodynamic consistency is applied to a system of classical Heisenberg spins on a three-dimensional lattice. The consistency condition determined in a previous work is supplemented by introducing a simplified expression for the mean-square fluctuations of the spin on each lattice site. The thermodynamics and the correlations obtained by this closure are then compared with approximants based on extrapolation of series expansions and with Monte Carlo simulations. The comparison reveals that many properties of the model, including the critical temperature, are very well reproduced by this simple version of the theory, but that it shows substantial quantitative error in the critical region, both above the critical temperature and with respect to its rendering of the spontaneous magnetization curve. A less simple but conceptually more satisfactory version of the SCOZA is then developed, but not solved, in which the effects of transverse correlations on the longitudinal susceptibility is included, yielding a more complete and accurate description of the spin-wave properties of the model.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figure

Coulomb and nuclear breakup effects in the single neutron removal reaction 197Au(17C,16C gamma)X

We analyze the recently obtained new data on the partial cross sections and parallel momentum distributions for transitions to ground as well as excited states of the 16C core, in the one-neutron removal reaction 197Au(17C,16C gamma)X at the beam energy of 61 MeV/nucleon. The Coulomb and nuclear breakup components of the one-neutron removal cross sections have been calculated within a finite range distorted wave Born approximation theory and an eikonal model, respectively. The nuclear contributions dominate the partial cross sections for the core excited states. By adding the nuclear and Coulomb cross sections together, a reasonable agreement is obtained with the data for these states. The shapes of the experimental parallel momentum distributions of the core states are described well by the theory.Comment: Revtex format, two figures included, to appear in Phys. Rev. C. (Rapid communications