Short-cut to new anomalies in gravity duals to logarithmic conformal field theories

Various massive gravity theories in three dimensions are conjecturally dual to logarithmic conformal field theories (LCFTs). We summarise the status of these conjectures. LCFTs are characterised by the values of the central charges and the so-called "new anomalies". We employ a short-cut to calculate these new anomalies in generalised massive gravity and in the recently proposed higher-derivative gravity theories with holographic c-theorem. Both cases permit LCFTs exhibiting intriguing features, like rank three Jordan cells or non-zero central charges. Finally, as an example we discuss in some detail the partially massless version of new massive gravity, a theory with several special properties that we call "partially massless gravity".Comment: 34 pages, 2 figures; v2: added references; v3: Several rewordings in the introduction and section 2, added references. Matches published versio

Taming the zoo of supersymmetric quantum mechanical models

We show that in many cases nontrivial and complicated supersymmetric quantum mechanical (SQM) models can be obtained from the simple model describing free dynamics in flat complex space by two operations: (i) Hamiltonian reduction and (ii) similarity transformation of the complex supercharges. We conjecture that it is true for any SQM model.Comment: final version published in JHE

Attribution of responsibility for sexual crimes beyond individual actors – construction of responsibility of offenders, victims and society in laypersons’ explanations

This study analyses laypersons’ explanations for sexual violence. It focusses on how the responsibility for sexual crimes is constructed and attributed, and moreover, what kind of effect this has on the attribution of blame. The research data consist of 105 opinion pieces published in the leading Finnish newspaper since the beginning of the 21st century. The theory-driven qualitative analysis utilises attribution theory and focusses on laypersons’ interpretations and explanations for unusual acts and events deviating from social norms. Attribution theory is commonly utilised in relation to micro-level actors, the offender and the victim, whereas in this article, it is broadened to include also society as a macro-level actor. The analysis reveals that the construction of responsibility derives from (I) the chronological presentation and explanation of sexual crimes; especially (II) the causality attached to chronological phases, which emphasises the victim’s actions prior to the crime; and (III) the construction of active female agency against male passivity or absence of the perpetrator. Moreover, blame is based on a combination of active agency, produced in the analysed explanations, and stereotypical features connected to female gender (e.g. rape myths)

Sentinel surveillance for travellers' diarrhoea in primary care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Travellers' diarrhoea is the most common health problem among international travellers and much of the burden falls on general practitioners. We assessed whether sentinel surveillance based in primary care could be used to monitor changes in the epidemiology of travellers' diarrhoea.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A sentinel surveillance scheme of 30 volunteer general practices distributed throughout Wales provides weekly reports of consultations for eight infectious diseases to the national Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre. Travellers' diarrhoea was introduced as a new reportable infection in July 2002.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Between 1 July 2002 and 31 March 2005 there were 90 reports of travellers' diarrhoea. The mean annual consultation rate was 15.2 per 100,000 population (95% confidence interval: 12.2–18.7), with the highest rates in summer, in people aged 15–24 years, and in travellers to Southern Europe. A higher proportion of travellers than expected had visited destinations outside Europe and North America when compared to the proportion of all United Kingdom travellers visiting these destinations (38% vs. 11%; Chi²= 53.3, p < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Sentinel surveillance has the potential to monitor secular trends in travellers' diarrhoea and to help characterise population groups or travel destinations associated with higher risk.</p

How informative is a negative finding in a small pharmacogenetic study?

Many pharmacogenetic studies fail to yield any statistically significant associations. Such negative findings may be due to the absence of, or inadequate statistical power to test for, an effect at the genetic variants tested. In many instances, sample sizes are small, making it unclear how to interpret the absence of statistically significant findings. We demonstrate that the amount of information that can be drawn from a negative study is improved by incorporating statistical power and the added context of well-validated pharmacogenetic effects into the interpretation process. This approach permits clearer inferences to be made about the possible range of genetic effects that may be present in, or are likely absent from, small drug studies

Investigating the association between obesity and asthma in 6- to 8-year-old Saudi children:a matched case-control study

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated an association between obesity and asthma, but there remains considerable uncertainty about whether this reflects an underlying causal relationship. Aims: To investigate the association between obesity and asthma in pre-pubertal children and to investigate the roles of airway obstruction and atopy as possible causal mechanisms. Methods: We conducted an age- and sex-matched case–control study of 1,264 6- to 8-year-old schoolchildren with and without asthma recruited from 37 randomly selected schools in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and skin fold thickness of the 632 children with asthma were compared with those of the 632 control children without asthma. Associations between obesity and asthma, adjusted for other potential risk factors, were assessed separately in boys and girls using conditional logistic regression analysis. The possible mediating roles of atopy and airway obstruction were studied by investigating the impact of incorporating data on sensitisation to common aeroallergens and measurements of lung function. Results: BMI was associated with asthma in boys (odds ratio (OR)=1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08–1.20; adjusted OR=1.11, 95% CI, 1.03–1.19) and girls (OR=1.37, 95% CI, 1.26–1.50; adjusted OR=1.38, 95% CI, 1.23–1.56). Adjusting for forced expiratory volume in 1 s had a negligible impact on these associations, but these were attenuated following adjustment for allergic sensitisation, particularly in girls (girls: OR=1.25; 95% CI, 0.96–1.60; boys: OR=1.09, 95% CI, 0.99–1.19). Conclusions: BMI is associated with asthma in pre-pubertal Saudi boys and girls; this effect does not appear to be mediated through respiratory obstruction, but in girls this may at least partially be mediated through increased risk of allergic sensitisation

The transcriptional response of Caenorhabditis elegans to ivermectin exposure identifies novel genes involved in the response to reduced food intake

We have examined the transcriptional response of Caenorhabditis elegans following exposure to the anthelmintic drug ivermectin (IVM) using whole genome microarrays and real-time QPCR. Our original aim was to identify candidate molecules involved in IVM metabolism and/or excretion. For this reason the IVM tolerant strain, DA1316, was used to minimise transcriptomic changes related to the phenotype of drug exposure. However, unlike equivalent work with benzimidazole drugs, very few of the induced genes were members of xenobiotic metabolising enzyme families. Instead, the transcriptional response was dominated by genes associated with fat mobilization and fatty acid metabolism including catalase, esterase, and fatty acid CoA synthetase genes. This is consistent with the reduction in pharyngeal pumping, and consequential reduction in food intake, upon exposure of DA1316 worms to IVM. Genes with the highest fold change in response to IVM exposure, cyp-37B1, mtl-1 and scl-2, were comparably up-regulated in response to short–term food withdrawal (4 hr) independent of IVM exposure, and GFP reporter constructs confirm their expression in tissues associated with fat storage (intestine and hypodermis). These experiments have serendipitously identified novel genes involved in an early response of C. elegans to reduced food intake and may provide insight into similar processes in higher organisms

An overview of the current status of CMB observations

In this paper we briefly review the current status of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations, summarising the latest results obtained from CMB experiments, both in intensity and polarization, and the constraints imposed on the cosmological parameters. We also present a summary of current and future CMB experiments, with a special focus on the quest for the CMB B-mode polarization.Comment: Latest CMB results have been included. References added. To appear in "Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics V", Proceedings of the VIII Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (SEA) held in Santander, 7-11 July, 200

On nonsupersymmetric \BC^4/\BZ_N, tachyons, terminal singularities and flips

We investigate nonsupersymmetric \BC^4/\BZ_N orbifold singularities using their description in terms of the string worldsheet conformal field theory and its close relation with the toric geometry description of these singularities and their possible resolutions. Analytic and numerical study strongly suggest the absence of nonsupersymmetric Type II terminal singularities (i.e. with no marginal or relevant blowup modes) so that there are always moduli or closed string tachyons that give rise to resolutions of these singularities, although supersymmetric and Type 0 terminal singularities do exist. Using gauged linear sigma models, we analyze the phase structure of these singularities, which often involves 4-dimensional flip transitions, occurring between resolution endpoints of distinct topology. We then discuss 4-dim analogs of unstable conifold-like singularities that exhibit flips, in particular their Type II GSO projection and the phase structure. We also briefly discuss aspects of M2-branes stacked at such singularities and nonsupersymmetric AdS_4\times S^7/\BZ_N backgrounds.Comment: Latex, 43pgs incl. appendices, 2 eps figs, v2. minor clarifications added, to appear in JHE

Sabotage in Contests: A Survey

A contest is a situation in which individuals expend irretrievable resources to win valuable prize(s). ‘Sabotage’ is a deliberate and costly act of damaging a rival’s' likelihood of winning the contest. Sabotage can be observed in, e.g., sports, war, promotion tournaments, political or marketing campaigns. In this article, we provide a model and various perspectives on such sabotage activities and review the economics literature analyzing the act of sabotage in contests. We discuss the theories and evidence highlighting the means of sabotage, why sabotage occurs, and the effects of sabotage on individual players and on overall welfare, along with possible mechanisms to reduce sabotage. We note that most sabotage activities are aimed at the ablest player, the possibility of sabotage reduces productive effort exerted by the players, and sabotage may lessen the effectiveness of public policies, such as affirmative action, or information revelation in contests. We discuss various policies that a designer may employ to counteract sabotage activities. We conclude by pointing out some areas of future research