What We Learn from Quantitative Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Naked White D warfs in Cataclysmic Variables

Using the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope, observers have now obtained UV spectra with sufficient signal to noise and resolution to allow quantitative spectroscopic analyses of the WDs in several DNe. In the ``cleanest'' DNe, such as U Gem, the observations are allowing the basic physical parameters of the WD -- temperature, radius, gravity, rotation rate, and surface abundances -- to be established. A second component also exists in these systems, which may either be the disk or may be related to the WD itself. Here I summarize the current state of the observations and our understanding of the data, highlighting some of the uncertainties in the analyses as well the prospects for fundamentally advancing our understanding of DNe and WDs with future observations.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, to be published in the proc. for Cataclysmic Variables: A 60th Birthday Symposium in Honour of Brian Warne

A Compactness Theorem for Riemannian Manifolds with Boundary and Applications

In this paper we prove weak L^{1,p} (and thus C^{\alpha}) compactness for the class of uniformly mean-convex Riemannian n-manifolds with boundary satisfying bounds on curvature quantities, diameter, and (n-1)-volume of the boundary. We obtain two stability theorems from the compactness result. The first theorem applies to 3-manifolds (contained in the aforementioned class) that have Ricci curvature close to 0 and whose boundaries are Gromov-Hausdorff close to a fixed metric on S^2 with positive curvature. Such manifolds are C^{\alpha} close to the region enclosed by a Weyl embedding of the fixed metric into \R^3. The second theorem shows that a 3-manifold with Ricci curvature close to 0 (resp. -2, 2) and mean curvature close to 2 (resp. 2\sqrt 2, 0) is C^{\alpha} close to a metric ball in the space form of constant curvature 0 (resp -1, 1), provided that the boundary is a topological sphere.Comment: 17 pages; comments welcom

Cosmic Microwave and Infrared Backgrounds cross-correlation for ISW detection

We investigate the cross-correlation between the cosmic infrared and microwave backgrounds (CIB & CMB) anisotropies through the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect. We first describe the CIB anisotropies using a linearly biased power spectrum, then derive the theoretical angular power spectrum of the CMB-CIB cross-correlation for different instruments and frequencies. We discuss the detectability of the ISW signal by performing a signal-to-noise (SNR) analysis with our predicted spectra. The significances obtained range from 6{\sigma} to 7{\sigma} in an ideal case, depending on the frequency ; in realistic cases which account for the presence of noise including astrophysical contaminants, the results span the range 2-5{\sigma}, depending strongly on the major contribution to the noise term.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table. Contribution to the proceedings of the International Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology, Goa, India, December, 201

21st century social work: reducing re-offending - key practice skills

This literature review was commissioned by the Scottish Executive’s Social Work Services Inspectorate in order to support the work of the 21st Century Social Work Review Group. Discussions in relation to the future arrangements for criminal justice social work raised issues about which disciplines might best encompass the requisite skills for reducing re-offending in the community. Rather than starting with what is known or understood about the skills of those professionals currently involved in such interventions, this study sought to start with the research evidence on effective work with offenders to reduce re-offending and then work its way back to the skills required to promote this outcome

Porous squeeze-film flow

The squeeze-film flow of a thin layer of Newtonian fluid filling the gap between a flat impermeable surface moving under a prescribed constant load and a flat thin porous bed coating a stationary flat impermeable surface is considered. Unlike in the classical case of an impermeable bed, in which an infinite time is required for the two surfaces to touch, for a porous bed contact occurs in a finite contact time. Using a lubrication approximation an implicit expression for the fluid layer thickness and an explicit expression for the contact time are obtained and analysed. In addition, the fluid particle paths are calculated, and the penetration depths of fluid particles into the porous bed are determined. In particular, the behaviour in the asymptotic limit of small permeability, in which the contact time is large but finite, is investigated. Finally, the results are interpreted in the context of lubrication in the human knee joint, and some conclusions are drawn about the contact time of the cartilage-coated femoral condyles and tibial plateau and the penetration of nutrients into the cartilage

Squeeze-Film Flow in the Presence of a Thin Porous Bed, with Application to the Human Knee Joint

Motivated by the desire for a better understanding of the lubrication of the human knee joint, the squeeze-film flow of a thin layer of Newtonian fluid (representing the synovial fluid) filling the gap between a flat impermeable surface (representing the femoral condyles) and a flat thin porous bed (representing the articular cartilage) coating a stationary flat impermeable surface (representing the tibial plateau) is considered. As the impermeable surface approaches the porous bed under a prescribed constant load all of the fluid is squeezed out of the gap in a finite contact time. In the context of the knee, the size of this contact time suggests that when a person stands still for a short period of time their knees may be fluid lubricated, but that when they stand still for a longer period of time contact between the cartilage-coated surfaces may occur. The fluid particle paths are calculated, and the penetration depths of fluid particles into the porous bed are determined. In the context of the knee, these penetration depths provide a measure of how far into the cartilage nutrients are carried by the synovial fluid, and suggest that when a person stands still nutrients initially in the fluid layer penetrate only a relatively small distance into the cartilage. However, the model also suggests that the cumulative effect of repeated loading and unloading of the knees during physical activity such as walking or running may be sufficient to carry nutrients deep into the cartilage