Resource Letter BEC-1: Bose-Einstein Condensates in Trapped Dilute Gases

This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on Bose-Einstein condensation in trapped dilute gases. Journal articles and books are cited for the following topics: history, technological advances, condensates as quantum fluids, effects of interatomic interactions, condensates as matter waves, condensate optics, multiple condensates, lower dimensions, spectroscopy and precision measurement, entanglement, and cosmology.Comment: 12 pages, 0 figure

Holonomy and Projective Equivalence in 4-Dimensional Lorentz Manifolds

A study is made of 4-dimensional Lorentz manifolds which are projectively related, that is, whose Levi-Civita connections give rise to the same (unparameterised) geodesics. A brief review of some relevant recent work is provided and a list of new results connecting projective relatedness and the holonomy type of the Lorentz manifold in question is given. This necessitates a review of the possible holonomy groups for such manifolds which, in turn, requires a certain convenient classification of the associated curvature tensors. These reviews are provided.Comment: Comments: 23 pages, LaTeX; typos corrected, page 9 last line corrected to $g'=e^{2\chi}a^{-1}

Contamination of optical surfaces

The effect of molecular contamination on Space Station optical surfaces is examined. In particular, contamination of solar voltaic power sources and optical solar reflectors for thermal control or solar dynamic power generation is addressed. The published Space Station requirements for molecular contamination accretion and for the monitoring of such accretion is discussed in the context of the historical performance of space systems. Specific reference is made to the results from the Spacecraft Charging at High Altitudes (SCATHA) ML12 experiment

The Human Brain: A Multimedia Tutorial For The Independent Learner

The Human Brain is a multimedia, interactive, computer-based tutorial on the structure and function of the human nervous system. In creating it, we aim to solve a number of problems, both subject specific and general. As a subject, the structure and function of the nervous system is difficult to teach using traditional methods and there is a lack of integration in the teaching of structure and function. More generally, we are concerned with the difficulties of both assessing student understanding of a particular subject and remedying any deficiencies when the student is learning independently. Finally, we hope to resolve the conflict between linear and explorative modes of presentation of material in a teaching system

A new species of Colletes (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Colletidae) from northern Florida and Georgia, with notes on the Colletes of those states

Colletes ultravalidus Hall & Ascher, new species, is described from several sites in northwestern Florida and southeastern Georgia.  It is a member of the inaequalis species group, very similar to C. validus Cresson, a specialist of Ericaceae, but can be distinguished by an even more elongate malar area and the absence of conspicuous tergal fascia.  Colletes ultravalidus has been found flying from early winter to early spring when it forms nest aggregations in xeric sites adjacent to shrub bog or basin swamp, the habitat of Pieris phyllyreifolia (Hook.) DC. (Ericaceae), the most likely, but as yet unconfirmed, host plant of the new species.  State records of Colletes for Florida and Georgia are reviewed and discrepancies in taxonomy and distributional limits between Stephen’s 1954 revision of the genus and Mitchell’s 1960 monograph of eastern North American bees are noted.  We concur with Stephen that the distributions of several taxa in Colletes are more limited than that reported by Mitchell

Conditional Spectral Analysis of Replicated Multiple Time Series with Application to Nocturnal Physiology

This article considers the problem of analyzing associations between power spectra of multiple time series and cross-sectional outcomes when data are observed from multiple subjects. The motivating application comes from sleep medicine, where researchers are able to non-invasively record physiological time series signals during sleep. The frequency patterns of these signals, which can be quantified through the power spectrum, contain interpretable information about biological processes. An important problem in sleep research is drawing connections between power spectra of time series signals and clinical characteristics; these connections are key to understanding biological pathways through which sleep affects, and can be treated to improve, health. Such analyses are challenging as they must overcome the complicated structure of a power spectrum from multiple time series as a complex positive-definite matrix-valued function. This article proposes a new approach to such analyses based on a tensor-product spline model of Cholesky components of outcome-dependent power spectra. The approach flexibly models power spectra as nonparametric functions of frequency and outcome while preserving geometric constraints. Formulated in a fully Bayesian framework, a Whittle likelihood based Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm is developed for automated model fitting and for conducting inference on associations between outcomes and spectral measures. The method is used to analyze data from a study of sleep in older adults and uncovers new insights into how stress and arousal are connected to the amount of time one spends in bed

A novel function for the Caenorhabditis elegans torsin OOC-5 in nucleoporin localization and nuclear import.

Torsin proteins are AAA+ ATPases that localize to the endoplasmic reticular/nuclear envelope (ER/NE) lumen. A mutation that markedly impairs torsinA function causes the CNS disorder DYT1 dystonia. Abnormalities of NE membranes have been linked to torsinA loss of function and the pathogenesis of DYT1 dystonia, leading us to investigate the role of the Caenorhabditis elegans torsinA homologue OOC-5 at the NE. We report a novel role for torsin in nuclear pore biology. In ooc-5-mutant germ cell nuclei, nucleoporins (Nups) were mislocalized in large plaques beginning at meiotic entry and persisted throughout meiosis. Moreover, the KASH protein ZYG-12 was mislocalized in ooc-5 gonads. Nups were mislocalized in adult intestinal nuclei and in embryos from mutant mothers. EM analysis revealed vesicle-like structures in the perinuclear space of intestinal and germ cell nuclei, similar to defects reported in torsin-mutant flies and mice. Consistent with a functional disruption of Nups, ooc-5-mutant embryos displayed impaired nuclear import kinetics, although the nuclear pore-size exclusion barrier was maintained. Our data are the first to demonstrate a requirement for a torsin for normal Nup localization and function and suggest that these functions are likely conserved

Prospects for lithium-ion batteries and beyond-a 2030 vision.

It would be unwise to assume ‘conventional’ lithium-ion batteries are approaching the end of their era and so we discuss current strategies to improve the current and next generation systems, where a holistic approach will be needed to unlock higher energy density while also maintaining lifetime and safety. We end by briefly reviewing areas where fundamental science advances will be needed to enable revolutionary new battery systems

The Effectiveness of a Simple Helmholtz coil-like Magnetic Shield at Reducing X-ray-like Background in Space-based X-ray Detectors

Both active and passive magnetic shielding have been used extensively during past and current X-ray astronomy missions to shield detectors from soft protons and electrons entering through telescope optics. However, simulations performed throughout the past decade have discovered that a significant proportion of X-ray-like background originates from secondary electrons produced in spacecraft shielding surrounding X-ray detectors, which hit detectors isotropically from all directions. Here, the results from Geant4 simulations of a simple Helmholtz coil-like magnetic field surrounding a detector are presented, and it is found that a Helmholtz coil-like magnetic field is extremely effective at preventing secondary electrons from reaching the detector. This magnetic shielding method could remove almost all background associated with both backscattering electrons and fully absorbed soft electrons, which together are expected to account for approximately two thirds of the expected off-axis background in silicon-based X-ray detectors of several hundred microns in thickness. The magnetic field structure necessary for doing this could easily be produced using a set of solenoids or neodymium magnets providing that power requirements can be sufficiently optimised or neodymium fluorescence lines can be sufficiently attenuated, respectively.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure