A Quantum Theory with Non-Collapsing Measurements

A collapse-free version of quantum theory is examined to systematically study the role of the projection postulate. This foil theory assumes “passive” measurements that do not update quantum states although measurement outcomes still occur probabilistically, and in accordance with Born’s rule. The Hilbert space setting of quantum theory is retained. “Passive quan- tum theory” is shown to reproduce preparational uncertainty relations, the no-cloning theorem, and no-signalling, among other properties. Striking dif- ferences occur, however, if protocols involve post-measurement states. For example, a single system, rather than an ensemble, is sufficient to reconstruct the state of the system. The possibility to “observe” a state increases the computational power of some quantum algorithms. Passive quantum theory is not locally tomographic but capable of “simulating” quantum measure- ments modulo a finite delay. Outcome probabilities for composite systems may violate Bell inequalities, without however entailing an argument against local hidden variables

Correction: The Indirect Approach: Towards Non-Dominating Dementia Care

In this article references ‘Carter, M., 2020’ and ‘Carter, M., 2022’ were missing and should have been: Carter, M., 2022. Advance directives: The principle of determining authenticity. Hastings Center Report, 52(1), 32–41. [note: this was published online in 2021]. Carter, M., 2020. Ethical deception? Responding to parallel subjectivities in people living with dementia. Disability Studies Quarterly, 40(3). In the sentence beginning with “In previous work…” on page 471 in this article the text “(Author, date reference to author’s own work redacted)” has been replaced by “(Carter, 2022)”. In the sentence beginning with “As I have discussed…” on page 475 in this article the text “(Author, date reference to author’s own work redacted)” has been replaced by “(Carter, 2020)”. The original article has been corrected

Adverse incorporation and local economies of peace

This article challenges the peace- and statebuilding reflex towards integrating hitherto excluded people into development and markets. What is missing, it argues, is an understanding of the adverse terms by which local populations and communities are already incorporated into systems that are exploitative. Applying an ‘adverse incorporation’ analytical frame to a community of small farmers in Tunisia, it shows how local tensions and grievances are rooted in the interfacing of renewed marketisation at the national level with longer running trajectories of development and change at the local level whose terms may already be unpopular or contested

A UK multicentre cohort study of clinical outcomes of proximal femoral replacement for nononcological conditions the EndoProsthetic Replacement for nonOncological conditions (EPRO) study

Aims This study aims to determine the outcomes of proximal femoral replacement (PFR) for nononcological conditions. Methods This was a multicentre retrospective cohort study across six UK centres. The primary outcome was the local complication rate. Secondary outcomes were blood transfusions, critical care requirements, return to baseline mobility and residence status, systemic complications, reoperations, and mortality rates. Implant survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier methodology with local complication as the endpoint, and was compared by surgical indication, stem length, and construct stem ratio (CSR). Results There were 230 PFRs in 226 patients with a median age of 76.0 years (IQR 66.9 to 83.7). Indications were periprosthetic femoral fracture (n = 62; 27%), infected revision arthroplasty (n = 55; 24%), chronic/failed trauma (n = 41; 18%), aseptic revision arthroplasty (n = 38; 17%), acute trauma (n = 33; 14%), and complex primary arthroplasty (n = 1; 0.5%). Median follow-up was 4.2 years (IQR 1.9 to 7.2). The local complication rate was 27% (n = 62). The most common local complications were dislocation (n = 27; 12%) and periprosthetic joint infection (n = 22; 10%). Blood transfusion was required in 86 patients (37%). Overall, 90 patients (39%) required critical care facilities. A return to baseline mobility and residence was observed in 127 (55%) and 200 (87%) patients, respectively. The six-month systemic complication rate was 9% (n = 21) and the reoperation rate was 21% (n = 48). The 30-day and one-year mortality rates were 2% (n = 4) and 8% (n = 19), respectively. The two-year implant survival rate was 78.0% (SE 2.8). Survival rates did not differ significantly by surgical indication, stem length, or CSR. Conclusion This is the largest study of PFR for nononcological conditions. Due to high local complication and reoperation rates, it should be considered a salvage option for complex hip reconstruction and patients should be counselled appropriately

A decade of China’s air quality monitoring data suggests health impacts are no longer declining

China’s national air quality monitoring network has revealed a rapid improvement in air quality during the 2010s, during which fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and other priority pollutant levels fell, except for ozone, which concurrently increased. However, recent changes in China’s economic outlook mean that the future trajectory of China’s air quality is highly uncertain. Here we analyse the last 10 years of air quality monitoring data to assess whether China’s air quality has continued to improve in recent years. We find that the period of steep negative trends in PM2.5 observed during 2014–2019 (−2.47 µg m−3 year−1) has ended, slowing to −0.18 µg m−3 year−1 during 2021–2024. Meanwhile, ozone levels continued to increase during 2021–2024, with a trend of 2.06 µg m−3 year−1. We demonstrate that population PM2.5 exposure in China can be accurately constrained using only surface monitoring station data, and we use this to estimate future health impacts under three observationally-based future PM2.5 scenarios. We show that the current government PM2.5 reduction target is insufficient to sustain the decrease in PM2.5-attributed mortality that was achieved during 2014–2019, and a ∼2 times more ambitious target is needed to offset the effects of China’s ageing population

Health literacy in relation to web-based measurement of cognitive function in the home: UK Women’s Cohort Study

Objective Older adults may require additional support to comprehend written information due to inadequate health literacy, which involves components of cognitive function including reaction time. This study tested the acceptability of web-based reaction time testing in the UK Women’s Cohort Study and possible sources of bias. Additionally, it assessed the association between health literacy and reaction time. Design A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the UK Women’s Cohort Study, a prospective cohort study. Participants The study involved women aged 48–85 without cancer registration who participated in the 2010/2011 follow-up (n=768). Setting Postal questionnaires and web-based cognitive function tests were administered in participants’ homes. Methods and analysis Logistic regression identified predictors of volunteering for reaction time testing, used to calculate inverse probability weights for the primary analysis. Associations between health literacy and reaction time were estimated with linear regression models, adjusting for volunteer effects. Poisson regression models assessed associations between health literacy and choice reaction time errors. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome was acceptability of web-based testing (response rate, task distress, task difficulty). Secondary outcomes were sources of volunteer bias and the association between health literacy and reaction time. Results Web-based testing of cognitive function was attempted by 67% of women (maximum age 80), with little distress or difficulty reported. There was substantive volunteer bias. Women providing data on cognitive function were younger, had higher educational attainment and were higher in self-rated intelligence. Inadequate health literacy was associated with making fewer choice reaction time errors among those providing valid data but was also associated with not providing valid data. Health literacy was not associated with other aspects of reaction time (speed, variability). Additionally, selection bias may have restricted range on study variables, given that 2010/2011 volunteers were younger and more educated compared with those at recruitment in 1995/1998. Conclusion Brief web-based measures of cognitive function in the home are acceptable to women aged 48–80, but there are substantive selection effects and volunteer biases. Additionally, there are potentially vulnerable subgroups who provide poorer quality data

Elastic Characterization of Acrylate-based Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are innovative materials best known for their reversible shape and optical property changes in response to external stimuli such as heat, light, and mechanical forces. These unique features position them as promising candidates for applications in emerging technologies. The determination of the mechanical properties of these materials is important for the study of the interaction between orientational and mechanical deformations of LCEs. Importantly, thoroughly characterizing the mechanical and elastic properties of LCEs is essential for their efficient design and integration into various devices. In this study, a full elastic characterization of promising acrylate-based LCE materials that are auxetic above a material-dependent strain threshold (~0.4 for the material studied here) was carried out. Highly aligned macroscopic samples were fabricated, allowing us to determine, for the first time, the five elasticity coefficients that enter into the elastic-free energy density of acrylate-based LCE materials, as well as the Young’s moduli and Poisson ratios. Our approach involves connecting measured strains with elasticity coefficients and using data obtained from three tensile experiments. Specifically, the measured Young’s moduli are on the order of MPa, with an anisotropy ratio (E‖/E⊥) of ~4.5. Moreover, the longitudinal Poisson ratios are both close to 0.5, confirming a uniaxial elastic response at low strains in these LCE samples. These findings align with theoretical predictions, indicating a good correspondence between experimental results and established theories

Minimal Model Renormalization Group Flows:Noninvertible Symmetries and Nonperturbative Description

In this Letter we continue the investigation of RG flows between Virasoro minimal models of two-dimensional conformal field theories that are protected by noninvertible symmetries. RG flows leaving unbroken a subcategory of noninvertible symmetries are associated with anomaly matching conditions that we employ systematically to map the space of flows between minimal models beyond the Z_{2}-symmetric proposed recently in the literature. We introduce a family of nonlinear integral equations that appear to encode the exact finite-size, ground-state energies of these flows, including nonintegrable cases, such as the recently proposed M(kq+I,q)→M(kq-I,q). Our family of NLIEs encompasses and generalizes the integrable flows known in the literature: ϕ_{(1,3)}, ϕ_{(1,5)}, ϕ_{(1,2)} and ϕ_{(2,1)}. This work uncovers a new interplay between exact solvability and noninvertible symmetries. Furthermore, our nonperturbative description provides a nontrivial test for all the flows conjectured by anomaly matching conditions, but so far not observed by other means

Reimagining habituation:The case for a reciprocal and contextual understanding

As the frequency and intensity of human–wildlife interactions continue to rise, the process and outcomes of habituation are becoming more important. Commonly defined as ‘…a waning of response to a repeated, neutral stimuli’ or of similar wording, we argue that these conceptualisations of habituation are too simplistic in the context of direct human–wildlife interactions. We argue that much of the habituation literature has been one-sided (i.e. focused only on the nonhuman) and detriment-focused, failing to grasp the deep complexities of the process and its implications. We conducted a brief scoping review of the habituation literature to show how the term is being used by whom, and in what context. We sought to explore habituation from a broad disciplinary range and therefore included literature from ethology, behavioural ecology and conservation biology as well as disciplines less represented in mainstream conservation such as multispecies anthropology, political ecology and more-than-human geography. Supported by the scoping review, we illustrate that habituation as an outcome of human–wildlife interactions is (1) a nuanced, reciprocal process that is both understood and practised in diverse ways, with potentially negative and positive impacts for both people and wildlife and (2) is shaped by cultural, historical and political–economic contexts. We share four case examples based on our own research that justify and reinforce our arguments for reframing our understanding of habituation. Adopting more reciprocal and contextual conceptualisations of habituation will improve our collective understanding of how it occurs and how to find ways to adapt and coexist. We urge future research to explore these ideas and understandings through different geographical and species contexts and apply additional disciplinary approaches to understanding and managing human–wildlife interactions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog

Effects of team diversity on individual performance and voice: A field experiment of group composition by gender and language

We present results from a field experiment that tests the effects of varying gender and linguistic group composition on performance and on group-members’ perception that their voice is heard when completing complex collaborative work within a low scrutiny environment. We randomize individuals enrolled in a postgraduate course populated by mostly women and non-native English speakers into small teams within larger, exogenously assigned seminar groups. Groups are tasked with complex and deliberative research assignments over three months. Using administrative and survey data, we find that a higher share of women in seminar groups significantly benefits the academic performance of group members—an effect driven by a positive effect on female native English speakers — while a greater proportion of women in small teams improves non-native language speakers’ perception of being heard