The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction program on the mental health of family caregivers: a randomized controlled trial

<b>Background</b> Caregivers of people with chronic conditions are more likely than non-caregivers to have depression and emotional problems. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in improving their mental well-being. <p></p> <b>Methods</b> Caregivers of persons with chronic conditions who scored 7 or above in the Caregiver Strain Index were randomly assigned to the 8-week MBSR group (n = 70) or the self-help control group (n = 71). Validated instruments were used to assess the changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms, quality of life, self-efficacy, self-compassion and mindfulness. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention and at the 3-month follow-up. <p></p> <b>Results </b>Compared to the participants in the control group, participants in the MBSR group had a significantly greater decrease in depressive symptoms at post-intervention and at 3 months post-intervention (p < 0.01). The improvement in state anxiety symptoms was significantly greater among participants in the MBSR group than those of the control group at post-intervention (p = 0.007), although this difference was not statistically significant at 3 months post-intervention (p = 0.084). There was also a statistically significant larger increase in self-efficacy (controlling negative thoughts; p = 0.041) and mindfulness (p = 0.001) among participants in the MBSR group at the 3-month follow-up compared to the participants in the control group. No statistically significant group effects (MBSR vs. control) were found in perceived stress, quality of life or self-compassion. <p></p> <b>Conclusions </b>MBSR appears to be a feasible and acceptable intervention to improve mental health among family caregivers with significant care burden, although further studies that include an active control group are needed to make the findings more conclusive

A Simple Approach to Fourth Generation Effects in B→Xsℓ+ℓ−B\to X_s \ell^+ \ell^- Decay

In a scenario in which fourth generation fermions exist, we study effects of new physics on the differential decay width, forward-backward asymmetry $A_{\text{FB}}$ and integrated branching ratio for $B\to X_s \ell^+ \ell^-$ decay with $(\ell=e,\mu)$. Prediction of the new physics on the mentioned quantities essentially differs from the Standard Model results, in certain regions of the parameter space, enhancement of new physics on the above mentioned physical quantities can yield values as large as two times of the SM predictions, whence present limits of experimental measurements of branching ratio is spanned, contraints of the new physics can be extracted. For the fourth generation CKM factor $V_{t^\prime b}^\ast V_{t^\prime s}$ we use $\pm 10^{-2}$ and $\pm 10^{-3}$ ranges, take into consideration the possibility of a complex phase where it may bring sizable contributions, obtained no significant dependency on the imaginary part of the new CKM factor. For the above mentioned quantities with a new family, deviations from the SM are promising, can be used as a probe of new physics.Comment: 9 pages aps forma

Analysis of Various Polarization Asymmetries In The Inclusive b→sℓ+ℓ−b\to s \ell^+ \ell^- Decay In The Fourth-Generation Standard Model

In this study a systematical analysis of various polarization asymmetries in inclusive b \rar s \ell^+ \ell^- decay in the standard model (SM) with four generation of quarks is carried out. We found that the various asymmetries are sensitive to the new mixing and quark masses for both of the $\mu$ and $\tau$ channels. Sizeable deviations from the SM values are obtained. Hence, b \rar s \ell^+ \ell^- decay is a valuable tool for searching physics beyond the SM, especially in the indirect searches for the fourth-generation of quarks ($t', b')$.Comment: 19 Pages, 10 Figures, 3 Table

Radio Location of Partial Discharge Sources: A Support Vector Regression Approach

Partial discharge (PD) can provide a useful forewarning of asset failure in electricity substations. A significant proportion of assets are susceptible to PD due to incipient weakness in their dielectrics. This paper examines a low cost approach for uninterrupted monitoring of PD using a network of inexpensive radio sensors to sample the spatial patterns of PD received signal strength. Machine learning techniques are proposed for localisation of PD sources. Specifically, two models based on Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are developed: Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Least-Squares Support Vector Regression (LSSVR). These models construct an explicit regression surface in a high dimensional feature space for function estimation. Their performance is compared to that of artificial neural network (ANN) models. The results show that both SVR and LSSVR methods are superior to ANNs in accuracy. LSSVR approach is particularly recommended as practical alternative for PD source localisation due to it low complexity

Measurements of the observed cross sections for e+e−→e^+e^-\to exclusive light hadrons containing π0π0\pi^0\pi^0 at s=3.773\sqrt s= 3.773, 3.650 and 3.6648 GeV

By analyzing the data sets of 17.3, 6.5 and 1.0 pb$^{-1}$ taken, respectively, at $\sqrt s= 3.773$, 3.650 and 3.6648 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC collider, we measure the observed cross sections for $e^+e^-\to \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$, $K^+K^-\pi^0\pi^0$, $2(\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0)$, $K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$ and $3(\pi^+\pi^-)\pi^0\pi^0$ at the three energy points. Based on these cross sections we set the upper limits on the observed cross sections and the branching fractions for $\psi(3770)$ decay into these final states at 90% C.L..Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Partial wave analysis of J/\psi \to \gamma \phi \phi

Using $5.8 \times 10^7 J/\psi$ events collected in the BESII detector, the radiative decay $J/\psi \to \gamma \phi \phi \to \gamma K^+ K^- K^0_S K^0_L$ is studied. The $\phi\phi$ invariant mass distribution exhibits a near-threshold enhancement that peaks around 2.24 GeV/$c^{2}$. A partial wave analysis shows that the structure is dominated by a $0^{-+}$ state ($\eta(2225)$) with a mass of $2.24^{+0.03}_{-0.02}{}^{+0.03}_{-0.02}$ GeV/$c^{2}$ and a width of $0.19 \pm 0.03^{+0.06}_{-0.04}$ GeV/$c^{2}$. The product branching fraction is: $Br(J/\psi \to \gamma \eta(2225))\cdot Br(\eta(2225)\to \phi\phi) = (4.4 \pm 0.4 \pm 0.8)\times 10^{-4}$.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. corrected proof for journa

Direct Measurements of Absolute Branching Fractions for D0 and D+ Inclusive Semimuonic Decays

By analyzing about 33 $\rm pb^{-1}$ data sample collected at and around 3.773 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC collider, we directly measure the branching fractions for the neutral and charged $D$ inclusive semimuonic decays to be $BF(D^0 \to \mu^+ X) =(6.8\pm 1.5\pm 0.7)$ and $BF(D^+ \to \mu^+ X) =(17.6 \pm 2.7 \pm 1.8)$, and determine the ratio of the two branching fractions to be $\frac{BF(D^+ \to \mu^+ X)}{BF(D^0 \to \mu^+ X)}=2.59\pm 0.70 \pm 0.25$

Measurements of the observed cross sections for exclusive light hadron production in e^+e^- annihilation at \sqrt{s}= 3.773 and 3.650 GeV

By analyzing the data sets of 17.3 pb$^{-1}$ taken at $\sqrt{s}=3.773$ GeV and 6.5 pb$^{-1}$ taken at $\sqrt{s}=3.650$ GeV with the BESII detector at the BEPC collider, we have measured the observed cross sections for 12 exclusive light hadron final states produced in $e^+e^-$ annihilation at the two energy points. We have also set the upper limits on the observed cross sections and the branching fractions for $\psi(3770)$ decay to these final states at 90% C.L.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figur

Measurements of psi(2S) decays to octet baryon-antibaryon pairs

With a sample of 14 million psi(2S) events collected by the BESII detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC), the decay channels psi(2S)->p p-bar, Lambda Lambda-bar, Sigma0 Sigma0-bar, Xi Xi-bar are measured, and their branching ratios are determined to be (3.36+-0.09+-0.24)*10E-4, (3.39+-0.20+-0.32)*10E-4, (2.35+-0.36+-0.32)*10E-4, (3.03+-0.40+-0.32)*10E-4, respectively. In the decay psi(2S)->p p-bar, the angular distribution parameter alpha is determined to be 0.82+-0.17+-0.04.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure