Correlation Functions in Holographic Minimal Models

We compute exact three and four point functions in the W_N minimal models that were recently conjectured to be dual to a higher spin theory in AdS_3. The boundary theory has a large number of light operators that are not only invisible in the bulk but grow exponentially with N even at small conformal dimensions. Nevertheless, we provide evidence that this theory can be understood in a 1/N expansion since our correlators look like free-field correlators corrected by a power series in 1/N . However, on examining these corrections we find that the four point function of the two bulk scalar fields is corrected at leading order in 1/N through the contribution of one of the additional light operators in an OPE channel. This suggests that, to correctly reproduce even tree-level correlators on the boundary, the bulk theory needs to be modified by the inclusion of additional fields. As a technical by-product of our analysis, we describe two separate methods -- including a Coulomb gas type free-field formalism -- that may be used to compute correlation functions in this theory.Comment: 21+23 page

A Call to Action: Person-Centered Care Aligned with Reproductive Justice for Incarcerated Pregnant People with Substance Use Disorder

Although research has proven that jails and prisons are ineffective in preventing or reducing substance use among pregnant people, the USA continues to rely heavily on the criminal legal system as its intervention. Pregnant people with an opioid use disorder are more likely to experience incarceration than pregnant people without an opioid use disorder. In some states, pregnant people are transported from jail to prison through the process of safekeeping in order to receive physical or mental health care that the jail does not provide, despite conviction status. When pregnant and postpartum safekeepers with an opioid use disorder experience incarceration, they face barriers related to continuity of physical and behavioral health care, have limited access to maternal-infant attaching opportunities at delivery, and are at risk for an opioid-related overdose upon release. This commentary describes clinical care challenges that impact the reproductive health needs of pregnant safekeepers with an opioid use disorder and offers solution-focused innovations to reduce harm. Such solutions include uninterrupted optimal dosing of medication and integrated prenatal clinics, specialized substance use disorder treatment, and opportunities to integrate lactation programs and perinatal dyadic-focused services

Determinants of the perceived administrative transaction costs caused by the uptake of an agri-environmental program

Farmers’ subjectively perceived that administrative transaction costs are of high importance for the uptake of agri-environmental programs with direct effects on the effectiveness and efficiency of these programs and the well-being of farmers. This paper empirically estimates private administrative transaction costs resulting from an uptake of the newly introduced grassland-based milk and meat program in Switzerland, based on farmers’ perceived administrative workload. Using ordered logit models, we analyze how the administrative tasks and farm and farmer characteristics influence the perceived administrative workload. We find that the time spent on monitoring or inspection tasks has no effect. In contrast, an outsourcing of program-related administrative tasks significantly reduces the perceived administrative workload. We also find that a better understanding of agricultural policy regulations significantly reduces the farmers’ perceived administrative workload. We recommend that public administration improve the communication of agricultural policy regulations, rather than investing in the simplification of administrative forms

A Strategic Framework for Working toward Zero Waste Societies Based on Perceptions Surveys

The visionary concept of zero waste advocates a systematic process of designing out waste and recovering resources from waste. A strategic zero waste framework (ZWF) is essential for developing and executing systematic waste management activities to achieve the overarching goals. This study identifies the key principles for the development of a strategic ZWF based on a waste experts’ survey analysis. Around 68 experts from different regions responded and provided their views on the key elements of a strategic ZWF though an online questionnaire survey. Eighteen strategic elements of waste prevention, management, treatment and assessment were identified as the key principles of the zero waste framework. As the study followed a generalized approach, it is important to acknowledge that all identified and proposed strategic elements may need to be contextualized based on the local conditions in order to achieve zero waste goals. Based on the findings, the study suggests the following three fundamental strategic action plans that need to be implemented simultaneously for moving towards zero waste societies: (i) sustainable production through a cradle-to-cradle design and product stewardship; (ii) collaborative and responsible consumption of natural resources; and (iii) zero waste management through conservation of resources. In addition, a constant evaluation of progress towards zero waste goals is essential. It is anticipated that by considering local circumstances, the proposed strategic guidelines would be beneficial for local authorities and relevant stakeholders while developing their zero waste strateg

Risks and Benefits of Preexposure and Postexposure Smallpox Vaccination1

This article presents a model and decision criteria for evaluating a person’s risk of pre- or postexposure smallpox vaccination in light of serious vaccine-related adverse events (death, postvaccine encephalitis and progressive vaccinia). Even at a 1-in-10 risk of 1,000 initial smallpox cases, a person in a population of 280 million has a greater risk for serious vaccine-related adverse events than a risk for smallpox. For a healthcare worker to accept preexposure vaccination, the risk for contact with an infectious smallpox case-patient must be >1 in 100, and the probability of 1,000 initial cases must be >1 in 1,000. A member of an investigation team would accept preexposure vaccination if his or her anticipated risk of contact is 1 in 2.5 and the risk of attack is assumed to be >1 in 16,000. The only circumstances in which postexposure vaccination would not be accepted are the following: if vaccine efficacy were <1%, the risk of transmission were <1%, and (simultaneously) the risk for serious vaccine-related adverse events were >1 in 5,000

Uniform Bahadur Representation for Nonparametric Censored Quantile Regression: A Redistribution-of-Mass Approach

Censored quantile regressions have received a great deal of attention in the literature. In a linear setup, recent research has found that an estimator based on the idea of “redistribution-of-mass” in Efron (1967, Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability, vol. 4, pp. 831–853, University of California Press) has better numerical performance than other available methods. In this paper, this idea is combined with the local polynomial kernel smoothing for nonparametric quantile regression of censored data. We derive the uniform Bahadur representation for the estimator and, more importantly, give theoretical justification for its improved efficiency over existing estimation methods. We include an example to illustrate the usefulness of such a uniform representation in the context of sufficient dimension reduction in regression analysis. Finally, simulations are used to investigate the finite sample performance of the new estimator

The natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis in 781 children. A multicenter, international collaboration

There are limited data on the natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in children. We aimed to describe the disease characteristics and long-term outcomes of pediatric PSC. We retrospectively collected all pediatric PSC cases from 36 participating institutions and conducted a survival analysis from the date of PSC diagnosis to dates of diagnosis of portal hypertensive or biliary complications, cholangiocarcinoma, liver transplantation, or death. We analyzed patients grouped by disease phenotype and laboratory studies at diagnosis to identify objective predictors of long-term outcome. We identified 781 patients, median age 12 years, with 4,277 person-years of follow-up; 33% with autoimmune hepatitis, 76% with inflammatory bowel disease, and 13% with small duct PSC. Portal hypertensive and biliary complications developed in 38% and 25%, respectively, after 10 years of disease. Once these complications developed, median survival with native liver was 2.8 and 3.5 years, respectively. Cholangiocarcinoma occurred in 1%. Overall event-free survival was 70% at 5 years and 53% at 10 years. Patient groups with the most elevated total bilirubin, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index at diagnosis had the worst outcomes. In multivariate analysis PSC-inflammatory bowel disease and small duct phenotypes were associated with favorable prognosis (hazard ratios 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.5-0.9, and 0.7, 95% confidence interval 0.5-0.96, respectively). Age, gender, and autoimmune hepatitis overlap did not impact long-term outcome. CONCLUSION: PSC has a chronic, progressive course in children, and nearly half of patients develop an adverse liver outcome after 10 years of disease; elevations in bilirubin, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index at diagnosis can identify patients at highest risk; small duct PSC and PSC-inflammatory bowel disease are more favorable disease phenotypes

Radiation Dose–Volume Effects and the Penile Bulb

The dose, volume, and clinical outcome data for penile bulb are reviewed for patients treated with external-beam radiotherapy. Most, but not all, studies find an association between impotence and dosimetric parameters (e.g., threshold doses) and clinical factors (e.g., age, comorbid diseases). According to the data available, it is prudent to keep the mean dose to 95% of the penile bulb volume to <50 Gy. It may also be prudent to limit the D70 and D90 to 70 Gy and 50 Gy, respectively, but coverage of the planning target volume should not be compromised. It is acknowledged that the penile bulb may not be the critical component of the erectile apparatus, but it seems to be a surrogate for yet to be determined structure(s) critical for erectile function for at least some techniques

Consumers across five European countries prioritise animal welfare above environmental sustainability when buying meat and dairy products

Food production systems, especially meat and dairy supply chains, contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. An important question emerges as to whether consumers care about environmental sustainability when buying food products, as this can determine their consumption practices. Further, if sustainability labels are available, identifying information that is relevant to consumers is important. This research therefore aimed to identify the attributes that are most important for consumers when buying meat or dairy products and the perceived helpfulness of sustainability labels for meat and dairy products and important label properties. An online survey was conducted in five European countries (i.e. Czechia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK). Consumers valued similar attributes when buying meat and dairy products across all countries. Freshness, quality/taste and animal welfare emerged as the most important attributes, while environmental attributes such as food miles, carbon footprint, and organic production were the least important. Sustainability labels for meat and dairy products were perceived as helpful. Regression analysis identified similar patterns within all five countries regarding the predictors of the perceived helpfulness of sustainability labels. Attitudes towards sustainable food consumption, environmental attitudes, and food production and policies emerged as significant positive predictors in most models. Most importantly, information regarding animal welfare, food safety, and health and nutrition was perceived as being more important than environmental sustainability. This suggests that food choice decisions are unlikely to be made based on the environmental sustainability of a food product’s production alone