Static Ricci-flat 5-manifolds admitting the 2-sphere

We examine, in a purely geometrical way, static Ricci-flat 5-manifolds admitting the 2-sphere and an additional hypersurface-orthogonal Killing vector. These are widely studied in the literature, from different physical approaches, and known variously as the Kramer - Gross - Perry - Davidson - Owen solutions. The 2-fold infinity of cases that result are studied by way of new coordinates (which are in most cases global) and the cases likely to be of interest in any physical approach are distinguished on the basis of the nakedness and geometrical mass of their associated singularities. It is argued that the entire class of solutions has to be considered unstable about the exceptional solutions: the black string and soliton cases. Any physical theory which admits the non-exceptional solutions as the external vacuua of a collapsing object has to accept the possibility of collapse to zero volume leaving behind the weakest possible, albeit naked, geometrical singularities at the origin.Finally, it is pointed out that these types of solutions generalize, in a straightforward way, to higher dimensions.Comment: Generalize, in a straightforward way, to higher dimension

Critical behavior of gravitating sphalerons

We examine the gravitational collapse of sphaleron type configurations in Einstein--Yang--Mills--Higgs theory. Working in spherical symmetry, we investigate the critical behavior in this model. We provide evidence that for various initial configurations, there can be three different critical transitions between possible endstates with different critical solutions sitting on the threshold between these outcomes. In addition, we show that within the dispersive and black hole regimes, there are new possible endstates, namely a stable, regular sphaleron and a stable, hairy black hole.Comment: Latex, 14 pages, 8 figure

A randomised controlled trial investigating the effect of an intensive lifestyle intervention v. standard care in adults with type 2 diabetes immediately after initiating insulin therapy

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are inextricably linked. It is therefore unfortunate that insulin, the ultimate treatment to improve glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes, is associated with significant weight gain. The aim of the present investigation was to ascertain whether a dietitian-led intensive lifestyle intervention could attenuate weight gain associated with commencing insulin therapy. Subjects (n 50) with type 2 diabetes, within 4 weeks of starting insulin therapy, were randomly allocated to a control or intervention group. The control group continued with standard care whilst the intervention group followed a dietitian-led intensive lifestyle intervention. Over 6 months the control group gained 4.9 (sd 3.6) kg (P < 0.001), whilst the intervention group maintained their weight (-0.6 (sd 5.1) kg (NS). The difference in weight change between the groups was 5.5 kg (P < 0.001). The control group had significant increases whilst the intervention group had slight decreases in: BMI (+1.7 (sd 1.3) kg/m (P < 0.001) v. -0.3 (sd 2.0) kg/m (NS)), waist circumference (+5.3 (sd 5.0) cm (P < 0.001) v. -0.4 (sd 5.2) cm (NS)) and percentage body fat (+1.5 (sd 2.0) % (P < 0.001) v. -0.4 (sd 2.8) % (NS)). Differences between the groups for these parameters were significant (P < 0.01). Throughout the study, both groups experienced significant reductions in HbA1c, but only minor changes in blood lipids. The present study demonstrates that weight gain is not an inevitable consequence of starting insulin therapy, but attenuation of the weight gain requires a high level of intervention. The first 6 months to 1 year after initiating insulin therapy provides the ideal 'window of opportunity'

On the shopfloor: exploring the impact of teacher trade unions on school-based industrial relations

Teachers are highly unionised workers and their trade unions exert an important influence on the shaping and implementation of educational policy. Despite this importance there is relatively little analysis of the impact of teacher trade unions in educational management literature. Very little empirical research has sought to establish the impact of teacher unions at school level. In an era of devolved management and quasi-markets this omission is significant. New personnel issues continue to emerge at school level and this may well generate increased trade union activity at the workplace. This article explores the extent to which devolved management is drawing school-based union representation into a more prominent role. It argues that whilst there can be significant differences between individual schools, increased school autonomy is raising the profile of trade union activity in the workplace, and this needs to be better reflected in educational management research

The beta Pictoris association: Catalog of photometric rotational periods of low-mass members and candidate members

We intended to compile the most complete catalog of bona fide members and candidate members of the beta Pictoris association, and to measure their rotation periods and basic properties from our own observations, public archives, and exploring the literature. We carried out a multi-observatories campaign to get our own photometric time series and collected all archived public photometric data time series for the stars in our catalog. Each time series was analyzed with the Lomb-Scargle and CLEAN periodograms to search for the stellar rotation periods. We complemented the measured rotational properties with detailed information on multiplicity, membership, and projected rotational velocity available in the literature and discussed star by star. We measured the rotation periods of 112 out of 117 among bona fide members and candidate members of the beta Pictoris association and, whenever possible, we also measured the luminosity, radius, and inclination of the stellar rotation axis. This represents to date the largest catalog of rotation periods of any young loose stellar association. We provided an extensive catalog of rotation periods together with other relevant basic properties useful to explore a number of open issues, such as the causes of spread of rotation periods among coeval stars, evolution of angular momentum, and lithium-rotation connection.Comment: Forthcoming article, Received: 20 June 2016 / Accepted: 09 September 2016; 40 pages, 2 figures. The online figures A1-A73 are available at CD

From Predicting Solar Activity to Forecasting Space Weather: Practical Examples of Research-to-Operations and Operations-to-Research

The successful transition of research to operations (R2O) and operations to research (O2R) requires, above all, interaction between the two communities. We explore the role that close interaction and ongoing communication played in the successful fielding of three separate developments: an observation platform, a numerical model, and a visualization and specification tool. Additionally, we will examine how these three pieces came together to revolutionize interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) arrival forecasts. A discussion of the importance of education and training in ensuring a positive outcome from R2O activity follows. We describe efforts by the meteorological community to make research results more accessible to forecasters and the applicability of these efforts to the transfer of space-weather research.We end with a forecaster "wish list" for R2O transitions. Ongoing, two-way communication between the research and operations communities is the thread connecting it all.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, Solar Physics in pres

Understanding the impact of diet and nutrition on symptoms of Tourette Syndrome: A Scoping Review

This document is the accepted manuscript version. The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in Journal of Child Health Care, December 2017, published by SAGE Publishing, doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1367493517748373.Anecdotal reports frequently suggest some dietary involvement in the maintenance of tics in children with Tourette syndrome (TS). This scoping review aimed to (1) understand the possible influence of diet as a trigger of tics and (2) map out the existing studies documenting dietary interventions in children with TS. Current evidence suggests no single diet to benefit individuals with TS. However, reports from parents of children with TS suggest that certain allergens in food may exacerbate tic-related symptoms. For example, an increase in tics has been related to the consumption of caffeine and refined sugar. Moreover, oligoantigenic diets and sugar-free diets have been identified as significantly reducing tics. More research is urgently needed to develop more accurate guidance for parents and children with TS, as many have reported using dietary and nutritional supplements, despite the lack of evidence detailing any benefits, side effects and recommended doses.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Characterizing HR3549B using SPHERE

Aims. In this work, we characterize the low mass companion of the A0 field star HR3549. Methods. We observed HR3549AB in imaging mode with the the NIR branch (IFS and IRDIS) of SPHERE@VLT, with IFS in YJ mode and IRDIS in the H band. We also acquired a medium resolution spectrum with the IRDIS long slit spectroscopy mode. The data were reduced using the dedicated SPHERE GTO pipeline, purposely designed for this instrument. We employed algorithms such as PCA and TLOCI to reduce the speckle noise. Results. The companion was clearly visible both with IRDIS and IFS.We obtained photometry in four different bands as well as the astrometric position for the companion. Based on our astrometry, we confirm that it is a bound object and put constraints on its orbit. Although several uncertainties are still present, we estimate an age of ~100-150 Myr for this system, yielding a most probable mass for the companion of 40-50MJup and T_eff ~300-2400 K. Comparing with template spectra points to a spectral type between M9 and L0 for the companion, commensurate with its position on the color-magnitude diagram.Comment: Accepted by A&A, 13 pages, 10 Figures (Figures 9 and 10 degraded to reduce the dimension