The effect of magnetic dipolar interactions on the interchain spin wave dispersion in CsNiF_3

Inelastic neutron scattering measurements were performed on the ferromagnetic chain system CsNiF_3 in the collinear antiferromagnetic ordered state below T_N = 2.67K. The measured spin wave dispersion was found to be in good agreement with linear spin wave theory including dipolar interactions. The additional dipole tensor in the Hamiltonian was essential to explain some striking phenomena in the measured spin wave spectrum: a peculiar feature of the dispersion relation is a jump at the zone center, caused by strong dipolar interactions in this system. The interchain exchange coupling constant and the planar anisotropy energy were determined within the present model to be J'/k_B = -0.0247(12)K and A/k_B = 3.3(1)K. This gives a ratio J/J' \approx 500, using the previously determined intrachain coupling constant J/k_B = 11.8$. The small exchange energy J' is of the same order as the dipolar energy, which implies a strong competition between the both interactions.Comment: 18 pages, TeX type, 7 Postscript figures included. To be published in Phys. Rev.

Continued Progress: Promising Evidence on Personalized Learning

The findings are grouped into four sections. The first section on student achievement finds that there were positive effects on student mathematics and reading performance and that the lowest-performing students made substantial gains relative to their peers. The second section on implementation and the perceptions of stakeholders finds that adoption of personalized learning practices varied considerably. Personalized learning practices that are direct extensions of current practice were more common, but implementation of some of the more challenging personalized learning strategies was less common. The third section relates implementation features to outcomes and identifies three elements of personalized learning that were being implemented in tandem in the schools with the largest achievement effects. Finally, the fourth section compares teachers' and students' survey responses to a national sample and finds some differences, such as teachers' greater use of practices that support competency-based learning and greater use of technology for personalization in the schools in this study with implementation data

WR 7a: a V Sagittae or a qWR star?

The star WR 7a, also known as SPH 2, has a spectrum that resembles that of V Sagittae stars although no O VI emission has been reported. The Temporal Variance Spectrum - TVS - analysis of our data shows weak but strongly variable emission of O VI lines which is below the noise level in the intensity spectrum. Contrary to what is seen in V Sagittae stars, optical photometric monitoring shows very little, if any, flickering. We found evidence of periodic variability. The most likely photometric period is P(phot) = 0.227(14) d, while radial velocities suggest a period of P(spec) = 0.204(13) d. One-day aliases of these periods can not be ruled out. We call attention to similarities with HD 45166 and DI Cru (= WR 46), where multiple periods are present. They may be associated to the binary motion or to non-radial oscillations. In contrast to a previous conclusion by Pereira et al. (1998), we show that WR 7a contains hydrogen. The spectrum of the primary star seems to be detectable as the N V 4604A absorption line is visible. If so, it means that the wind is optically thin in the continuum and that it is likely to be a helium main sequence star. Given the similarity to HD 45166, we suggests that WR 7a may be a qWR - quasi Wolf-Rayet - star. Its classification is WN4h/CE in the Smith et al. (1996) three dimensional classification system.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, preprint of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of The Royal Astronomical Societ

Categorification of persistent homology

We redevelop persistent homology (topological persistence) from a categorical point of view. The main objects of study are diagrams, indexed by the poset of real numbers, in some target category. The set of such diagrams has an interleaving distance, which we show generalizes the previously-studied bottleneck distance. To illustrate the utility of this approach, we greatly generalize previous stability results for persistence, extended persistence, and kernel, image and cokernel persistence. We give a natural construction of a category of interleavings of these diagrams, and show that if the target category is abelian, so is this category of interleavings.Comment: 27 pages, v3: minor changes, to appear in Discrete & Computational Geometr

Assembly, trafficking and function of gamma-secretase

gamma-Secretase catalyzes the final cleavage of the beta-amyloid precursor protein to generate amyloid-beta peptide, the principal component of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Here, we review the identification of gamma-secretase as a protease complex and its assembly and trafficking to its site(s) of cellular function. In reconstitution experiments, gamma-secretase was found to be composed of four integral membrane proteins, presenilin (PS), nicastrin (NCT), PEN-2 and APH-1 that are essential and sufficient for gamma-secretase activity. PS, which serves as a catalytic subunit of gamma-secretase, was identified as a prototypic member of novel aspartyl proteases of the GxGD type. In human cells, gamma-secretase could be further defined as a heterogeneous activity consisting of distinct complexes that are composed of PS1 or PS2 and APH-1a or APH-1b homologues together with NCT and PEN-2. Using green fluorescent protein as a reporter we localized PS and gamma-secretase activity at the plasma membrane and endosomes. Investigation of gamma-secretase complex assembly in knockdown and knockout cells of the individual subunits allowed us to develop a model of complex assembly in which NCT and APH-1 first stabilize PS before PEN-2 assembles as the last component. Furthermore, we could map domains in PS and PEN-2 that govern assembly and trafficking of the complex. Finally, Rer1 was identified as a PEN-2-binding protein that serves a role as an auxiliary factor for gamma-secretase complex assembly. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Fatigue Behavior of a Cross-Ply Ceramic Matrix Composite at Elevated Temperature under Tension-Tension Loading

This study investigated the fatigue behavior and damage mechanisms of a [0-90]4s SiC-MAS ceramic matrix composite under tension-tension loading at two elevated temperatures and two frequencies. Stress and strain hystereses, maximum and minimum strain, and modulus of elasticity were evaluated to characterize the material behavior. Microscopy and fractography were used to evaluate damage progression and mechanisms. Fatigue life was independent of frequency at both temperatures

Assisted stellar suicide in V617 Sgr

V617 Sgr is a V Sagittae star - a group of binaries thought to be the galactic counterparts of the Compact Binary Supersoft X-ray Sources - CBSS. To check this hypothesis, we measured the time derivative of its orbital period. Observed timings of eclipse minima spanning over 30,000 orbital cycles are presented. We found that the orbital period evolves quite rapidly: P/Pdot = 1.1 x 10^{6} years. This is consistent with the idea that V617 Sgr is a wind driven accretion supersoft source. As the binary system evolves with a time-scale of about one million years, which is extremely short for a low mass evolved binary, it is likely that the system will soon end either by having its secondary completely evaporated or by the primary exploding as a supernova of type Ia.Comment: 4 pages, accepted for publication in A&A Letter