Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate community responses to drying in chalk streams

Temporary streams are dynamic ecosystems that shift between wet and dry states and include the ‘winterbourne’ chalk streams of south England. Our understanding of temporary stream biodiversity is biased, with most research to date exploring aquatic invertebrate communities in benthic sediments during flowing phases. We surveyed the invertebrate communities of the Candover Brook chalk stream, comparing aquatic (benthic, hyporheic) and terrestrial communities in reaches with different flow permanence regimes. We used kick and Bou–Rouch sampling methods to collect aquatic invertebrates, and compared the terrestrial communities characterised by pitfall traps and ground searches and in different seasons. Although aquatic taxa richness was lower in temporary compared to perennial reaches, the total biodiversity of temporary stream channels was enhanced by contributions from both aquatic and terrestrial species, including several of conservation interest. We recommend that both aquatic and terrestrial communities should be considered in research and monitoring to characterise the biodiversity and ecological quality of temporary streams

A Mass Bound for Spherically Symmetric Black Hole Spacetimes

Requiring that the matter fields are subject to the dominant energy condition, we establish the lower bound $(4\pi)^{-1} \kappa {\cal A}$ for the total mass $M$ of a static, spherically symmetric black hole spacetime. (${\cal A}$ and $\kappa$ denote the area and the surface gravity of the horizon, respectively.) Together with the fact that the Komar integral provides a simple relation between $M - (4\pi)^{-1} \kappa A$ and the strong energy condition, this enables us to prove that the Schwarzschild metric represents the only static, spherically symmetric black hole solution of a selfgravitating matter model satisfying the dominant, but violating the strong energy condition for the timelike Killing field $K$ at every point, that is, $R(K,K) \leq 0$. Applying this result to scalar fields, we recover the fact that the only black hole configuration of the spherically symmetric Einstein-Higgs model with arbitrary non-negative potential is the Schwarzschild spacetime with constant Higgs field. In the presence of electromagnetic fields, we also derive a stronger bound for the total mass, involving the electromagnetic potentials and charges. Again, this estimate provides a simple tool to prove a ``no-hair'' theorem for matter fields violating the strong energy condition.Comment: 16 pages, LATEX, no figure

Uniqueness properties of the Kerr metric

We obtain a geometrical condition on vacuum, stationary, asymptotically flat spacetimes which is necessary and sufficient for the spacetime to be locally isometric to Kerr. Namely, we prove a theorem stating that an asymptotically flat, stationary, vacuum spacetime such that the so-called Killing form is an eigenvector of the self-dual Weyl tensor must be locally isometric to Kerr. Asymptotic flatness is a fundamental hypothesis of the theorem, as we demonstrate by writing down the family of metrics obtained when this requirement is dropped. This result indicates why the Kerr metric plays such an important role in general relativity. It may also be of interest in order to extend the uniqueness theorems of black holes to the non-connected and to the non-analytic case.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX, submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravit

Uniqueness Theorem for Static Black Hole Solutions of sigma-models in Higher Dimensions

We prove the uniqueness theorem for self-gravitating non-linear sigma-models in higher dimensional spacetime. Applying the positive mass theorem we show that Schwarzschild-Tagherlini spacetime is the only maximally extended, static asymptotically flat solution with non-rotating regular event horizon with a constant mapping.Comment: 5 peges, Revtex, to be published in Class.Quantum Gra

The classification of static vacuum space-times containing an asymptotically flat spacelike hypersurface with compact interior

We prove non-existence of static, vacuum, appropriately regular, asymptotically flat black hole space-times with degenerate (not necessarily connected) components of the event horizon. This finishes the classification of static, vacuum, asymptotically flat domains of outer communication in an appropriate class of space-times, showing that the domains of outer communication of the Schwarzschild black holes exhaust the space of appropriately regular black hole exteriors.Comment: This version includes an addendum with a corrected proof of non-existence of zeros of the Killing vector at degenerate horizons. A problem with yet another Lemma is pointed out; this problem does not arise if one assumes analyticity of the metric. An alternative solution, that does not require analyticity, has been given in arXiv:1004.0513 [gr-qc] under appropriate global condition

Towards the classification of static vacuum spacetimes with negative cosmological constant

We present a systematic study of static solutions of the vacuum Einstein equations with negative cosmological constant which asymptotically approach the generalized Kottler (``Schwarzschild--anti-de Sitter'') solution, within (mainly) a conformal framework. We show connectedness of conformal infinity for appropriately regular such space-times. We give an explicit expression for the Hamiltonian mass of the (not necessarily static) metrics within the class considered; in the static case we show that they have a finite and well defined Hawking mass. We prove inequalities relating the mass and the horizon area of the (static) metrics considered to those of appropriate reference generalized Kottler metrics. Those inequalities yield an inequality which is opposite to the conjectured generalized Penrose inequality. They can thus be used to prove a uniqueness theorem for the generalized Kottler black holes if the generalized Penrose inequality can be established.Comment: the discussion of our results includes now some solutions of Horowitz and Myers; typos corrected here and there; a shortened version of this version will appear in Journal of Mathematical Physic

To what extent is behaviour a problem in English schools?:Exploring the scale and prevalence of deficits in classroom climate

The working atmosphere in the classroom is an important variable in the process of education in schools, with several studies suggesting that classroom climate is an important influence on pupil attainment. There are wide differences in the extent to which classroom climate is considered to be a problem in English schools. Some ‘official’ reports suggest that behaviour in schools is ‘satisfactory or better’ in the vast majority of schools; other sources have pointed to behaviour being a serious and widespread problem. The paper details four studies conducted over the past decade which aimed to explore these disparities. The aim of the research was to gain a more accurate insight into the extent to which deficits in classroom climate limit educational attainment and equality of educational opportunity in English schools. The findings question the suggestion that behaviour is satisfactory or better in 99.7% of English schools and the concluding section suggests ways in which deficits in classroom climate might be addressed. Although the study is limited to classrooms in England, OECD studies suggest that deficits in the working atmosphere in classrooms occur in many countries. The study therefore has potential relevance for education systems in other countries

THE UNIQUENESS THEOREM FOR ROTATING BLACK HOLE SOLUTIONS OF SELF-GRAVITATING HARMONIC MAPPINGS

We consider rotating black hole configurations of self-gravitating maps from spacetime into arbitrary Riemannian manifolds. We first establish the integrability conditions for the Killing fields generating the stationary and the axisymmetric isometry (circularity theorem). Restricting ourselves to mappings with harmonic action, we subsequently prove that the only stationary and axisymmetric, asymptotically flat black hole solution with regular event horizon is the Kerr metric. Together with the uniqueness result for non-rotating configurations and the strong rigidity theorem, this establishes the uniqueness of the Kerr family amongst all stationary black hole solutions of self-gravitating harmonic mappings.Comment: 18 pages, latex, no figure

Black hole uniqueness theorems and new thermodynamic identities in eleven dimensional supergravity

We consider stationary, non-extremal black holes in 11-dimensional supergravity having isometry group $\mathbb{R} \times U(1)^8$. We prove that such a black hole is uniquely specified by its angular momenta, its electric charges associated with the various 7-cycles in the manifold, together with certain moduli and vector valued winding numbers characterizing the topological nature of the spacetime and group action. We furthermore establish interesting, non-trivial, relations between the thermodynamic quantities associated with the black hole. These relations are shown to be a consequence of the hidden $E_{8(+8)}$ symmetry in this sector of the solution space, and are distinct from the usual "Smarr-type" formulas that can be derived from the first law of black hole mechanics. We also derive the "physical process" version of this first law applicable to a general stationary black hole spacetime without any symmetry assumptions other than stationarity, allowing in particular arbitrary horizon topologies. The work terms in the first law exhibit the topology of the horizon via the intersection numbers between cycles of various dimensions.Comment: 50pp, 3 figures, v2: references added, correction in appendix B, conclusions added, v3: reference section edited, typos removed, minor changes in appendix

FAN1 controls mismatch repair complex assembly via MLH1 retention to stabilize CAG repeat expansion in Huntington's disease

CAG repeat expansion in the HTT gene drives Huntington’s disease (HD) pathogenesis and is modulated by DNA damage repair pathways. In this context, the interaction between FAN1, a DNA-structure-specific nuclease, and MLH1, member of the DNA mismatch repair pathway (MMR), is not defined. Here, we identify a highly conserved SPYF motif at the N terminus of FAN1 that binds to MLH1. Our data support a model where FAN1 has two distinct functions to stabilize CAG repeats. On one hand, it binds MLH1 to restrict its recruitment by MSH3, thus inhibiting the assembly of a functional MMR complex that would otherwise promote CAG repeat expansion. On the other hand, it promotes accurate repair via its nuclease activity. These data highlight a potential avenue for HD therapeutics in attenuating somatic expansion