Ds+→ϕρ+D_s^+ \to \phi \rho^+ Decay

Motivated by the experimental measurement of the decay rate, $\Gamma$, and the longitudinal polarization, $P_L$, in the Cabibbo favored decay $D_s^+\to \phi {\rho}^{+}$, we have studied theoretical prediction within the context of factorization approximation invoking several form factors models. We were able to obtain agreement with experiment for both $\Gamma$ and $P_L$ by using experimentally measured values of the form factors $A_1^{D_s\phi}(0)$, $A_2^{D_s\phi}(0)$ and $V^{D_s\phi}(0)$ in the semi-leptonic decay $D_s^+\to \phi l^{+}\nu_{l}$. We have also included in our calculation the effect of the final state interaction ($fsi$) by working with the partial waves amplitudes $S$, $P$ and $D$. Numerical calculation shows that the decay amplitude is dominated by $S$ wave, and that the polarization is sensitive to the interference between $S$ and $D$ waves. The range of the phase difference $\delta_{SD} = \delta_S - \delta_D$ accommodated by experimental error in $P_L$ is large.Comment: 7 pages, LaTe

Developing learning materials to promote positive interaction with people with dementia: we are all in it together!

Literature on the care of people with dementia is still sparse and this is reflected in the professional education curriculum such as social work, nursing and other health care professionals (Marshall and Tibbs 2006). As life expectancy and the likelihood of dementia increases, the transition from the third to the fourth age is marked by a loss of control of the body through dementia. Its effects on the person constitutes what Gilleard and Higgs(2000) term a ‘loss of social agency’; a social death that is characterised by an exclusion from the social world and services that objectify and dehumanise the individual (Foucault 1973). Extensive research by Kitwood (1997) centred on engagement through intense interaction with individuals with dementia and promoted the concept of ‘personhood’ bringing to the forefront more person-centred and citizen approaches to dementia care (Kitwood, 1997, Marshall and Tibbs, 2006). This approach has also connected with a number of arts based methods in professional education where traditional care practices founded on more positivist stances are recognised to be limited as a basis for enquiry into the human condition. This paper describes an educational partnership between social work and nurse educators, carers of people with dementia and an older people’s theatre project. This collaboration sought to build on cultural theories from the arts and humanities to provide a more political lens for change and reform in approaches to dementia care (Deleuze and Guttari , 1987; Barrett and Bolt 2007). Using storytelling techniques, a number of case studies were developed to inform arts based approaches such as drama and music to develop learning materials for professional and carer education. Digital images enacted by an older people’s theatre group also drew on research evidence of good practice in communication with people with dementia and a number of digital stories were developed. The paper will present some of the findings from the evaluation of the project and will illustrate this by showing some of the 3 – 4 minute clips from materials developed to facilitate further participant discussion

Food habits, lifestyle factors and mortality among oldest old Chinese: the Chinese longitudinal healthy longevity survey (CLHLS)

There are few studies reporting the association between lifestyle and mortality among the oldest old in developing countries. We examined the association between food habits, lifestyle factors and all-cause mortality in the oldest old (¥80 years) using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). In 1998/99, 8959 participants aged 80 years and older took part in the baseline survey. Follow-up surveys were conducted every two to three years until 2011. Food habits were assessed using an in-person interview. Deaths were ascertained from family members during follow-up. Cox and Laplace regression were used to assess the association between food habits, lifestyle factors and mortality risk. There were 6626 deaths during 31,926 person-years of follow-up. Type of staple food (rice or wheat) was not associated with mortality. Daily fruit and vegetable intake was inversely associated with a higher mortality risk (hazard ratios (HRs): 0.85 (95% CI (confidence interval) 0.77–0.92), and 0.74 (0.66–0.83) for daily intake of fruit and vegetables, respectively). There was a positive association between intake of salt-preserved vegetables and mortality risk (consumers had about 10% increase of HR for mortality). Fruit and vegetable consumption were inversely, while intake of salt-preserved vegetables positively, associated with mortality risk among the oldest old. Undertaking physical activity is beneficial for the prevention of premature death.Zumin Shi, Tuohong Zhang, Julie Byles, Sean Martin, Jodie C. Avery and Anne W. Taylo

Effective Feedback to Improve Primary Care Prescribing Safety (EFIPPS) a pragmatic three-arm cluster randomised trial:designing the intervention (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT01602705)

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Precision studies of the Higgs boson decay channel H -> ZZ -> 4l with MEKD

The importance of the H -> ZZ -> 4l "golden" channel was shown by its major role in the discovery, by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations, of a Higgs-like boson with mass near 125 GeV. We analyze the discrimination power of the matrix element method both for separating the signal from the irreducible ZZ background and for distinguishing various spin and parity hypotheses describing a signal in this channel. We show that the proper treatment of interference effects associated with permutations of identical leptons in the four electron and four muon final states plays an important role in achieving the best sensitivity in measuring the properties of the newly discovered boson. We provide a code, MEKD, that calculates kinematic discriminants based on the full leading order matrix elements and which will aid experimentalists and phenomenologists in their continuing studies of the H -> ZZ -> 4l channel.Comment: Major revision: added new sections discussing spin/ parity determination and the importance of using the full matrix element for the same flavor final state (involving both pairings of the leptons). Also added new functionality, including the most general couplings of a spin-0 or spin-2 boson to gluons and Zs, to the publicly-available code, MEKD, presented in this paper. 43 pages, 15 figure

NMHCs and halocarbons in Asian continental outflow during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) Field Campaign: Comparison with PEM-West B

We present an overview of the spatial distributions of nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and halocarbons observed over the western north Pacific as part of the NASA GTE Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE‐P) airborne field campaign (February–April 2001). The TRACE‐P data are compared with earlier measurements from the Pacific Rim during the Pacific Exploratory Mission‐West B (PEM‐West B), which took place in February–March 1994, and with emission inventory data for 2000. Despite the limited spatial and temporal data coverage inherent to airborne sampling, mean levels of the longer‐lived NMHCs (including ethane, ethyne, and benzene) were remarkably similar to our results during the PEM‐West B campaign. By comparison, mixing ratios of the fire extinguisher Halon‐1211 (CF2ClBr) increased by about 50% in the period between 1994 and 2001. Southern China (south of 35°N), and particularly the Shanghai region, appears to have been a substantial source of Halon‐1211 during TRACE‐P. Our previous analysis of the PEM‐West B data employed methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3) as a useful industrial tracer. However, regulations have reduced its emissions to the extent that its mixing ratio during TRACE‐P was only one‐third of that measured in 1994. Methyl chloroform mixing ratio “hot spots,” indicating regions downwind of continuing emissions, included outflow from the vicinity of Shanghai, China, but particularly high emission ratios relative to CO were observed close to Japan and Korea. Tetrachloroethene (C2Cl4) levels have also decreased significantly, especially north of 25°N, but this gas still remains a useful indicator of northern industrial emissions. Methyl bromide (CH3Br) levels were systematically 1–2 pptv lower from 1994 to 2001, in accord with recent reports. However, air masses that had been advected over Japan and/or South Korean port cities typically exhibited elevated levels of CH3Br. As a consequence, emissions of CH3Br from Japan and Korea calculated employing CH3Br/CO ratios and scaled to CO emission inventory estimates, were almost as large as for all of south China (south of 35°N). Total east Asian emissions of CH3Br and CH3Cl were estimated to be roughly 4.7 Gg/yr and 167 Gg/yr, respectively, in 2001

Reactive nitrogen in Asian continental outflow over the western Pacific: Results from the NASA Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) airborne mission

We present here results for reactive nitrogen species measured aboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) mission. The large-scale distributions total reactive nitrogen (NOy,sum = NO + NO2 + HNO3 + PAN + C1–C5alkyl nitrates) and O3 and CO were better defined in the boundary layer with significant degradation of the relationships as altitude increased. Typically, NOy,sum was enhanced over background levels of ∼260 pptv by 20-to-30-fold. The ratio C2H2/CO had values of 1–4 at altitudes up to 10 km and as far eastward as 150°E, implying significant vertical mixing of air parcels followed by rapid advection across the Pacific. Analysis air parcels originating from five principal Asian source regions showed that HNO3 and PAN dominated NOy,sum. Correlations of NOy,sum with C2Cl4 (urban tracer) were not well defined in any of the source regions, and they were only slightly better with CH3Cl (biomass tracer). Air parcels over the western Pacific contained a complex mixture of emission sources that are not easily resolvable as shown by analysis of the Shanghai mega-city plume. It contained an intricate mixture of pollution emissions and exhibited the highest mixing ratios of NOy,sum species observed during TRACE-P. Comparison of tropospheric chemistry between the earlier PEM-West B mission and the recent TRACE-P data showed that in the boundary layer significant increases in the mixing ratios of NOy,sum species have occurred, but the middle and upper troposphere seems to have been affected minimally by increasing emissions on the Asian continent over the last 7 years