The s-sbar and K-Kbar nature of f_0(980) in D_s decays

We examine the D_s -> f_0(980) pi amplitude through a constituent quark-meson model, incorporating heavy quark and chiral symmetries, finding a good agreement with the recent E791 data analysis of D_s -> 3pi via f_0(980). The f_0(980) resonance is considered at the moment of production as an s sbar state, later evolving to a superposition of mainly s sbar and K Kbar. The analysis is also extended to the more frequent process D_s -> phi pi.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Three Generative, Lexicalised Models for Statistical Parsing

In this paper we first propose a new statistical parsing model, which is a generative model of lexicalised context-free grammar. We then extend the model to include a probabilistic treatment of both subcategorisation and wh-movement. Results on Wall Street Journal text show that the parser performs at 88.1/87.5% constituent precision/recall, an average improvement of 2.3% over (Collins 96).Comment: 8 pages, to appear in Proceedings of ACL/EACL 97

Determining the strange and antistrange quark distributions of the nucleon

The difference between the strange and antistrange quark distributions, \delta s(x)=s(x)-\sbar(x), and the combination of light quark sea and strange quark sea, \Delta (x)=\dbar(x)+\ubar(x)-s(x)-\sbar(x), are originated from non-perturbative processes, and can be calculated using non-perturbative models of the nucleon. We report calculations of $\delta s(x)$ and $\Delta(x)$ using the meson cloud model. Combining our calculations of $\Delta(x)$ with relatively well known light antiquark distributions obtained from global analysis of available experimental data, we estimate the total strange sea distributions of the nucleon.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; talk given by F.-G. at QNP0

Implementation of TeamSTEPPS

This scholarly project focused on implementing Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) in an emergency room (ER). The aim of TeamSTEPPS is to improve patient outcomes by educating healthcare professionals on communication and teamwork skills. TeamSTEPPS teaches healthcare professionals leadership skills, shared mental models, mutual trust, and closed loop communication. The purpose of the scholarly project was to improve teamwork and communication. The study method was descriptive analysis of 51 pre and posttest questionnaires, specifically looking for increased knowledge of TeamSTEPPS tools. The participants included: ER physicians, ER nurses, ER certified nursing assistants/health unit coordinators, a pharmacy technician, public safety officers, and patient revenue management organization (PRMO). Further research is needed to evaluate how to significantly increase staff knowledge on TeamSTEPPS tools in a class setting

SBAR, communication, and patient safety: an integrated literature review

Communication errors are a common cause of adverse patient safety events in the healthcare field. The Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) communication tool was introduced in 2002 to guide the communication of critical patient-care information. The purpose of this integrated literature review was to determine how the use of the SBAR tool during handoff of critical information affects communication between healthcare providers and patient safety. An integrated literature review approach was chosen due to the varying methodologies and multiple variables that have been used in the study of SBAR. The combined search terms of “SBAR”, “Communication”, and “Patient Safety” were entered into PubMed, the Cumulative Index of Nursing Research, and Cochrane databases to find English language, peer reviewed articles published within the last 10 years. The resulting articles were then analyzed for recurring themes. Review of the literature resulted in the following themes: the SBAR tool creates a common language for communication, increases the confidence of users, results in more effective and efficient communication, improves patient safety outcomes, and promotes a culture of patient safety in healthcare organizations. The benefits of SBAR can be divided into primary and secondary benefits. Primary benefits result from characteristics unique to the SBAR tool, while secondary benefits result from the standardization process of communication. The primary benefits may make SBAR more advantageous than other standardized communication tools. Communication errors are a systemic problem in healthcare, often resulting in patient harm. Evidence of this review indicates SBAR as a simple and effective intervention for improving communication and patient safety

Adjoint methods for computing sensitivities in local volatility surfaces

In this paper we present the adjoint method of computing sensitivities of option prices with respect to nodes in the local volatility surface. We first introduce the concept of algorithmic differentiation and how it relates to\ud path-wise sensitivity computations within a Monte Carlo framework. We explain the two approaches available: forward mode and adjoint mode. We illustrate these concepts on the simple example of a model with a geometric Brownian motion driving the underlying price process, for which\ud we compute the Delta and Vega in forward and adjoint mode. We then go on to explain in full detail how to apply these ideas to a model where the underlying has a volatility term defined by a local volatility surface. We provide source codes for both the simple and the more complex case and\ud analyze numerical results to show the strengths of the adjoint approach

The flavour asymmetry and quark-antiquark asymmetry in the Σ+\Sigma^+-sea

The sea quark content of the $\Sigma^+$ baryon is investigated using light-cone baryon-meson fluctuation model suggested by Brodsky and Ma. It is found that the $\Sigma^+$ sea is flavour asymmetric (\dbar > \ubar > \sbar) and quark-antiquark asymmetric (q \not= \qbar). Our prediction for the flavour asymmetry, \dbar > \ubar > \sbar, is significantly different from the SU(3) prediction (\dbar < \ubar < \sbar), while our prediction for the $d$-\dbar asymmetry is consistent with the SU(3) prediction.Comment: RevTex, 12 pages, 4 Postscript figures. The effects from the input parton distribution evolution are discussed. Conclusions remain. Version to appear in Phys. Lett.