Recruiting and retaining children and families' social workers. The potential of work discussion groups

Current difficulties with the recruitment and retention of children and families' social workers have been formally acknowledged. However, although initiatives which focus on remuneration and career progression are clearly welcome, research and evidence from practice highlights how social workers themselves place high value on the availability of good quality supervision. Yet, questions remain about whether first-line managers have the time or are even in the best position to offer this support. This article draws on the experience and evaluation of one particular model of supervision — 'work discussion groups' —and explores its impact with residential social work staff and teachers as well as the potential for further developments of this kind

Vortex nucleation in Bose-Einstein condensates in time-dependent traps

Vortex nucleation in a Bose-Einstein condensate subject to a stirring potential is studied numerically using the zero-temperature, two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation. It is found that this theory is able to describe the creation of vortices, but not the crystallization of a vortex lattice. In the case of a rotating, slightly anisotropic harmonic potential, the numerical results reproduce experimental findings, thereby showing that finite temperatures are not necessary for vortex excitation below the quadrupole frequency. In the case of a condensate subject to stirring by a narrow rotating potential, the process of vortex excitation is described by a classical model that treats the multitude of vortices created by the stirrer as a continuously distributed vorticity at the center of the cloud, but retains a potential flow pattern at large distances from the center.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures. Changes after referee report: one new figure, new refs. No conclusions altere

Ocean classification of dynamical structures detected by SAR and spectral methods

We discuss a taxonomy of different dynamical featuresin the ocean surface and provide some eddy and frontstatistics, as well as describing some events detected byseveral satellites and even with additional cruise observationsand measurements, in the North-west MediterraneanSea area between 1996 and 2012. The structureof the flows are presented using self-similar traces thatmay be used to parametrize mixing at both limits of the Ross by Deformation Radius scale, RL. Results showthe ability to identify different SAR signatures and at thesame time provide calibrations for the different local configurationsof vortices, spirals, Langmuir cells, oil spillsand tensioactive slicks that eventually allow the study ofthe self-similar structure of the turbulence. Dependingon the surface wind and wave level, and also on the fetch.the bathimetry, the spiral parameters and the resolution of vortical features change. Previous descriptions did not includethe new wind and buoyancy features. SAR imagesalso show the turbulence structure of the coastal area andthe Regions of Fresh Water Influence (ROFI). It is not eworthytt such complex coastal fielddependent behavioris strongly influenced by stratification and rotation of theturbulence spectrum is observed only in the range smallerthan the local Ross by deformation radius, RL. The measuresof diffusivity from buoy or tracer experiments areused to calibrate the behavior of different tracers and pollutants,both natural and man-made in the NW MediterraneanSea. Thanks to different polarization and intensitylevels in ASAR satellite imagery, these can be usedto distinguish between natural and man-made sea surfacefeatures due to their distinct self-similar and fractal as afunction of spill and slick parameters, environmental conditionsand history of both oil releases and weather conditions.Eddy diffusivity map derived from SAR measurementsof the ocean surface, performing a feature spatialcorrelation of the available images of the region are presented.Both the multi fractal discrimination of the localfeatures and the diffusivity measurements are importantto evaluate the state of the environment. The distributionof meso-scale vortices of size, the Ross by de for mationscale and other dominant features can be used to distinguishfeatures in the ocean surface. Multi-fractal analysisis then very use full. The SAR images exhibited a largevariation of natural features produced by winds, internalwaves, the bathymetric distribution, by convection, rain,etc as all of these produce variations in the sea surfaceroughness so that the topological changes may be studiedand classified. In a similar way bathimetry may bestudied with the methodology described here using thecoastline and the thal wegs as generators of local verticalvorticity.Peer ReviewedPreprin

On the exact electric and magnetic fields of an electric dipole

We derive from Jefimenko's equations a multipole expansion in order to obtain the exact expressions for the electric and magnetic fields of an electric dipole with an arbitrary time dependence. A few comments are also made about the usual expositions found in most common undergraduate and graduate textbooks as well as in the literature on this topic

Matrix Black Holes

Four and five dimensional extremal black holes with nonzero entropy have simple presentations in M-theory as gravitational waves bound to configurations of intersecting M-branes. We discuss realizations of these objects in matrix models of M-theory, investigate the properties of zero-brane probes, and propose a measure of their internal density. A scenario for black hole dynamics is presented.Comment: 26 pages, harvmac; a few more references and additional comment

Epiglottis reshaping using CO2 laser: A minimally invasive technique and its potent applications

Laryngomalacia (LRM), is the most common laryngeal abnormality of the newborn, caused by a long curled epiglottis, which prolapses posteriorly. Epiglottis prolapse during inspiration (acquired laryngomalacia) is an unusual cause of airway obstruction and a rare cause of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)

Prediction of first cardiovascular disease event in 2.9 million individuals using Danish administrative healthcare data:a nationwide, registry-based derivation and validation study

AIMS: The aim of this study was to derive and validate a risk prediction model with nationwide coverage to predict the individual and population-level risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS AND RESULTS: All 2.98 million Danish residents aged 30–85 years free of CVD were included on 1 January 2014 and followed through 31 December 2018 using nationwide administrative healthcare registries. Model predictors and outcome were pre-specified. Predictors were age, sex, education, use of antithrombotic, blood pressure-lowering, glucose-lowering, or lipid-lowering drugs, and a smoking proxy of smoking-cessation drug use or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Outcome was 5-year risk of first CVD event, a combination of ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, peripheral artery disease, stroke, or cardiovascular death. Predictions were computed using cause-specific Cox regression models. The final model fitted in the full data was internally-externally validated in each Danish Region. The model was well-calibrated in all regions. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and Brier scores ranged from 76.3% to 79.6% and 3.3 to 4.4. The model was superior to an age-sex benchmark model with differences in AUC and Brier scores ranging from 1.2% to 1.5% and −0.02 to −0.03. Average predicted risks in each Danish municipality ranged from 2.8% to 5.9%. Predicted risks for a 66-year old ranged from 2.6% to 25.3%. Personalized predicted risks across ages 30–85 were presented in an online calculator (https://hjerteforeningen.shinyapps.io/cvd-risk-manuscript/). CONCLUSION: A CVD risk prediction model based solely on nationwide administrative registry data provided accurate prediction of personal and population-level 5-year first CVD event risk in the Danish population. This may inform clinical and public health primary prevention efforts

An all-sky survey of circular polarization at 200 MHz

We present results from the first all-sky radio survey in circular polarization. The survey uses the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) to cover 30 900 sq deg, over declinations south of +30° and north of -86° centred at 200MHz (over a 169-231MHz band).We achieve a spatial resolution of ~3 arcmin and a typical sensitivity of 3.0mJy PSF-1over most of the survey region. We demonstrate a new leakage mitigation technique that reduces the leakage from total intensity into circular polarization by an order of magnitude. In a blind survey of the imaged region, we detect 14 pulsars in circular polarization above a 6s threshold. We also detect six transient sources associated with artificial satellites. A targeted survey of 2376 pulsars within the surveyed region yielded 33 detections above 4s. Looking specifically at pulsars previously detected at 200 MHz in total intensity, this represents a 35 per cent detection rate. We also conducted a targeted survey of 2400 known flare stars, this resulted in two tentative detections above 4s. A similar targeted search for 1506 known exoplanets in the field yielded no detections above 4s. The success of the survey suggests that similar surveys at longer wavelength bands and of deeper fields are warranted