A note on the index bundle over the moduli space of monopoles

Donaldson has shown that the moduli space of monopoles $M_k$ is diffeomorphic to the space \Rat_k of based rational maps from the two-sphere to itself. We use this diffeomorphism to give an explicit description of the bundle on \Rat_k obtained by pushing out the index bundle from $M_k$. This gives an alternative and more explicit proof of some earlier results of Cohen and Jones.Comment: 9 page

Tobacco, e-cigarette and alcohol content in popular UK soap operas: a content analysis to explore changes in social norms and scene location over time

Background Exposure to tobacco and alcohol on-screen promotes use and despite regulations and policies to limit impact, these behaviours remain common. We report a longitudinal analysis of tobacco, e-cigarette and alcohol content in three popular UK television soap operas, to examine changing social norms between 2002-2022. Methods We used one-minute interval coding to measure content in programmes in two one-week periods in three years (2002, 2012 and 2022). Change in probability of actual and implied use of tobacco, e-cigarette and alcohol over time was examined using logistic regression. Results We coded 2505 intervals from 78 episodes. Tobacco content occurred in 22% of episodes and significantly decreased from 2002 to 2022 (OR 0.15 95% CI 0.06-0.40). Tobacco use changed over time with decreasing use indoors and increasing use outdoors. No e-cigarette use was identified. Alcohol content was found in 88% of episodes and while it also significantly decreased over time (OR 0.78 95% CI 0.61 – 0.99) it featured in 20% of broadcast minutes in 2022. Alcohol use in homes increased over time. Conclusion While tobacco imagery is increasingly rare on television, alcohol content has remained common. Current regulations are not sufficient to reduce exposure. Soap opera producers should consider the impact of on-screen tobacco and alcohol use and opportunities to change social norms and help protect future generations

Spectral curves and the mass of hyperbolic monopoles

The moduli spaces of hyperbolic monopoles are naturally fibred by the monopole mass, and this leads to a nontrivial mass dependence of the holomorphic data (spectral curves, rational maps, holomorphic spheres) associated to hyperbolic multi-monopoles. In this paper, we obtain an explicit description of this dependence for general hyperbolic monopoles of magnetic charge two. In addition, we show how to compute the monopole mass of higher charge spectral curves with tetrahedral and octahedral symmetries. Spectral curves of euclidean monopoles are recovered from our results via an infinite-mass limit.Comment: 43 pages, LaTeX, 3 figure

Charge transfer efficiency in a p-channel CCD irradiated cryogenically and the impact of room temperature annealing

It is important to understand the impact of the space radiation environment on detector performance, thereby ensuring that the optimal operating conditions are selected for use in flight. The best way to achieve this is by irradiating the device using appropriate mission operating conditions, i.e. holding the device at mission operating temperature with the device powered and clocking. This paper describes the Charge Transfer Efficiency (CTE) measurements made using an e2v technologies p-channel CCD204 irradiated using protons to the 10 MeV equivalent fluence of 1.24×109 protons.cm-2 at 153 K. The device was held at 153 K for a period of 7 days after the irradiation before being allowed up to room temperature where it was held at rest, i.e. unbiased, for twenty six hours to anneal before being cooled back to 153 K for further testing, this was followed by a further one week and three weeks of room temperature annealing each separated by further testing. A comparison to results from a previous room temperature irradiation of an n-channel CCD204 is made using assumptions of a factor of two worse CTE when irradiated under cryogenic conditions which indicate that p-channel CCDs offer improved tolerance to radiation damage when irradiated under cryogenic conditions

Higher-Dimensional Twistor Transforms using Pure Spinors

Hughston has shown that projective pure spinors can be used to construct massless solutions in higher dimensions, generalizing the four-dimensional twistor transform of Penrose. In any even (Euclidean) dimension d=2n, projective pure spinors parameterize the coset space SO(2n)/U(n), which is the space of all complex structures on R^{2n}. For d=4 and d=6, these spaces are CP^1 and CP^3, and the appropriate twistor transforms can easily be constructed. In this paper, we show how to construct the twistor transform for d>6 when the pure spinor satisfies nonlinear constraints, and present explicit formulas for solutions of the massless field equations.Comment: 17 pages harvmac tex. Modified title, abstract, introduction and references to acknowledge earlier papers by Hughston and other

Healthcare worker influenza immunization vaccinate or mask policy: Strategies for cost effective implementation and subsequent reductions in staff absenteeism due to illness

AbstractBackgroundA new policy requiring staff in clinical areas to vaccinate or wear a mask was implemented in British Columbia (BC) in the 2012/13 winter. This review assessed the impact of the policy on absenteeism in health care workers.MethodsA retrospective cohort study of full-time HCW that worked prior to and during the 2012/13 influenza season in a health authority in BC. The rate of absenteeism due to all cause illness was compared between vaccinated and unvaccinated staff controlling for behaviors outside influenza season.ResultsOf the 10079 HCW, 77% were vaccinated. By comparison to absenteeism rates in the pre-influenza season, unvaccinated staff in winter had twice the increase in absenteeism due to all-cause illness than vaccinated staff.ConclusionAfter controlling for baseline differences between those vaccinated and unvaccinated, influenza vaccination was associated with reduced absenteeism, saving the Health Authority substantial money. Having regular staff in attendance increases the quality of care

Information Metric on Instanton Moduli Spaces in Nonlinear Sigma Models

We study the information metric on instanton moduli spaces in two-dimensional nonlinear sigma models. In the CP^1 model, the information metric on the moduli space of one instanton with the topological charge Q=k which is any positive integer is a three-dimensional hyperbolic metric, which corresponds to Euclidean anti--de Sitter space-time metric in three dimensions, and the overall scale factor of the information metric is (4k^2)/3; this means that the sectional curvature is -3/(4k^2). We also calculate the information metric in the CP^2 model.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX; added references for section 1; typos adde

Generalized Kahler geometry and gerbes

We introduce and study the notion of a biholomorphic gerbe with connection. The biholomorphic gerbe provides a natural geometrical framework for generalized Kahler geometry in a manner analogous to the way a holomorphic line bundle is related to Kahler geometry. The relation between the gerbe and the generalized Kahler potential is discussed.Comment: 28 page

Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance–improving conservation outcomes

The Ramsar Convention (or the Convention on Wetlands), signed in 1971, was one of the first international conservation agreements, promoting global wise use of wetlands. It has three primary objectives: national designation and management of wetlands of international importance; general wise use of wetlands; and international cooperation. We examined lessons learnt for improving wetland conservation after Ramsar’s nearly five decades of operation. The number of wetlands in the Ramsar Site Network has grown over time (2,391 Ramsar Sites, 2.5 million km2, as at 2020-06-09) but unevenly around the world, with decreasing rate of growth in recent decades. Ramsar Sites are concentrated in countries with a high Gross Domestic Product and human pressure (e.g., western Europe) but, in contrast, Ramsar Sites with the largest wetland extent are in central-west Africa and South America. We identified three key challenges for improving effectiveness of the Ramsar Site Network: increasing number of sites and wetland area, improved representation (functional, geographical and biological); and effective management and reporting. Increasing the number of sites and area in the Ramsar network could benefit from targets, implemented at national scales. Knowledge of representativeness is inadequate, requiring analyses of functional ecotypes, geographical and biological representativeness. Finally, most countries have inadequate management planning and reporting on the ecological character of their Ramsar Sites, requiring more focused attention on a vision and objectives, with regular reporting of key indicators to guide management. There are increasing opportunities to rigorously track ecological character, utilizing new tools and available indicators (e.g., remote sensing). It is critical that the world protect its wetlands, with an effective Ramsar Convention or the Convention on Wetlands at the core