The linear theory of wave packets propagating in the whistler mode

Imperial Users onl

A note on the (1, 1,..., 1) monopole metric

Recently K. Lee, E.J. Weinberg and P. Yi in CU-TP-739, hep-th/9602167, calculated the asymptotic metric on the moduli space of (1, 1, ..., 1) BPS monopoles and conjectured that it was globally exact. I lend support to this conjecture by showing that the metric on the corresponding space of Nahm data is the same as the metric they calculate.Comment: 12 pages, latex, no figures, uses amsmath, amsthm, amsfont

Parents’ Motivations for Enrolling their Children in Recreational Sports

 Extensive literature covers reasons for participation in sports from the perspective of youth athletes. However, athletic involvement starts early and is determined in part by parental support. The purpose of this study was to learn more about parents’ motivations for enrolling their children in sports. A 49-item parent motivational scale of reasons for enrolling child(ren) in sports was created as part of the study first as a pilot and later tested with 84 parent participants who had school-aged children enrolled in recreational sports. An open-ended question on primary reasons why parents enrolled their child in sports was also included in the study. Exploratory factor analysis of the motivational scale indicated a four-component solution for types of reasons parents enrolled their children in sports: 1. Extrinsic/parent-focused; 2. Child growth and development; 3. Social benefits; and 4. Health/well-being.  Parents rated the latter three types of beneficial reasons for enrolling children in sports more highly than extrinsic/parent-focused ones and were more likely to list beneficial than extrinsic reasons in the open-ended question. Scores on several individual motivational items varied by child’s, not parent’s, gender and parent’s marital status. Implications for use of self-determination and expectancy-value theoretical perspectives, understanding parents’ motivations to encourage children’s sports participation while considering family structure and gender of child, and study limitations with ideas for future research are discussed.  &nbsp

Symmetric Instantons and Skyrme Fields

By explicit construction of the ADHM data, we prove the existence of a charge seven instanton with icosahedral symmetry. By computing the holonomy of this instanton we obtain a Skyrme field which approximates the minimal energy charge seven Skyrmion. We also present a one parameter family of tetrahedrally symmetric instantons whose holonomy gives a family of Skyrme fields which models a Skyrmion scattering process, where seven well-separated Skyrmions collide to form the icosahedrally symmetric Skyrmion.Comment: 22 pages plus 1 figure in GIF forma

Exploring new connections between the physical and digital for future heritage interpretations

New forms of connections between information and the physical world create opportunities for novel activities around heritage. This paper analyses a technological progression from linking data and content to locations, towards data captured by and linked to everyday objects. The former is exemplified by a study which explored community-based inquiry activities at a historical cemetery site. To explore the latter, we are developing a series of scenarios and visualisations to analyse peoples’ interpretations of contextual footprints – current and historical data gathered through the Internet of Things

The Future of Audit

At a time when increased independence requirements for auditors, legal backing for auditing standards, and increased audit documentation requirements have occurred, this book examines key issues in the market for audit services in Australia. It investigates issues including: the understandability of audit and the state of the audit expectations gap; auditors’ business acumen and industry expertise; the auditors’ use of materiality; whether or not the increasingly prescriptive nature of auditing is creating a distraction from the ‘real’ audit task and stifling auditors’ judgement; whether or not CLERP 9 reforms involving audit partner rotation and restrictions on non-audit service provision are efficient and effective and reactions to the increasing scrutiny of auditors and audit firms by regulators. With its thorough coverage of contemporary issues, this book intersperses the authors’ summaries, interpretations and recommendations with the perceptions, expressed in their own words in order to faithfully convey their candid assessments, of users of audit reports, purchasers and suppliers of the audit product, auditing standard setters and regulators of the audit market

The chronic effects of dietary (poly)phenols on mitochondrial dysfunction and glucose uptake in cellular models of the liver and skeletal muscle.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance and associated mitochondrial dysfunction. (Poly)phenols have been shown to attenuate cellular oxidative stress and restore glucose homeostasis, but the specific mechanisms and compounds responsible remain unknown. Methods: HepG2 cells were used as an in vitro hepatic model, on which the effects of quercetin on high glucose-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction were investigated. Mitochondria were assessed for complex I activity, cellular redox status, mitochondrial respiration and PGC-1α expression. LHCN-M2 human skeletal myocytes were differentiated in various glucose and insulin concentrations and characterised for their use as a model to explore the effects of relevant (poly)phenol metabolites on glucose uptake and metabolism. Metabolic phenotype and the effects of metabolites derived from ferulic acid, flavonols, resveratrol and berry (poly)phenols were evaluated by Western capillary protein assays, uptake of 2-[1-14C(U)]-deoxy-D-glucose and D-[14C(U)]-glucose; respirometry and the ROS assay were also used for initial metabolic characterisation. Results: Mitochondrial function was restored by quercetin in HepG2 cells exposed to high glucose, by reversing the increased cellular NADH, enhancing mitochondrial respiration and preventing proton leak, and upregulating PGC-1α, all of which led to restored complex I activity after 24 h. The LHCN-M2 model was established and cells differentiated in a normal or high glucose/insulin environment. Glucose transport was restored, and metabolism increased, in high glucose/insulin myotubes by various metabolites. Isovanillic acid 3-O-sulfate in particular elicited this effect by upregulating GLUT1, GLUT4 and PI3K protein expression, and acutely activating the insulin signalling pathway. Conclusions: Quercetin protects against hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction through pleiotropic effects involving improved redox status and enhanced mitochondrial respiration and function. (Poly)phenol metabolites, including the gut microbiome catabolite isovanillic acid 3-O-sulfate, restore glucose uptake and metabolism in human skeletal muscle exposed to high glucose and insulin, via insulin-dependent pathways

The Future of Audit

At a time when increased independence requirements for auditors, legal backing for auditing standards, and increased audit documentation requirements have occurred, this book examines key issues in the market for audit services in Australia. It investigates issues including: the understandability of audit and the state of the audit expectations gap; auditors’ business acumen and industry expertise; the auditors’ use of materiality; whether or not the increasingly prescriptive nature of auditing is creating a distraction from the ‘real’ audit task and stifling auditors’ judgement; whether or not CLERP 9 reforms involving audit partner rotation and restrictions on non-audit service provision are efficient and effective and reactions to the increasing scrutiny of auditors and audit firms by regulators. With its thorough coverage of contemporary issues, this book intersperses the authors’ summaries, interpretations and recommendations with the perceptions, expressed in their own words in order to faithfully convey their candid assessments, of users of audit reports, purchasers and suppliers of the audit product, auditing standard setters and regulators of the audit market

Public support for tobacco control policy extensions in Western Australia: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: Policy makers seeking to introduce new tobacco control measures need to anticipatecommunity support to assist them in planning appropriate implementation strategies. This studyassessed community support for plain packaging and smoking bans in outdoor locations in Australia.Design: Analytical cross-sectional survey. Setting and participants: 2005 Western Australianadults participated in a computer-assisted telephone interview. Random household telephone numberswere used to obtain a representative sample. Outcome measures: Support for plain packaging ofcigarettes and smoking bans at outdoor venues by demographic characteristics. Results: Around half of the survey respondents supported plain packaging and almost a further quarter reported being neutral on the issue. Only one in three smokers disagreed with the introduction of a plain packaging policy. A majority of respondents supported smoking bans at five of the six nominated venues, with support being strongest among those with children under the age of 15 years. The venues with the highest levels of support were those where smoke-free policies had already been voluntarily introduced by the venuemanagers, where children were most likely to be in attendance, and that were more limited in size.Conclusions: The study results demonstrate community support for new tobacco control policies.This evidence can be used by public policy makers in their deliberations relating to the introduction of more extensive tobacco control regulations