459 research outputs found
Beyond disease: Happiness, goals, and meanings among persons with multiple sclerosis and their caregivers
The experience of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their caregivers is usually investigated in terms of emotional distress and health-related quality of life, while well-being indicators remain largely underexplored. In addition, findings are often interpreted from the clinical perspective, neglecting socio-cultural aspects that may crucially contribute to individuals' functioning. At the methodological level, most studies rely on scaled instruments, not allowing participants to freely express their needs and resources. Based on the bio-psycho-social perspective endorsed by the International Classification of Functioning, well-being indicators were investigated among 62 persons with MS (PwMS), their 62 caregivers and two control groups, matched by age and gender. Participants completed the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness Investigation instrument (EHHI). EHHI provides information on participants' happiness, goals and meanings through scaled and open-ended questions, contextualized within major life domains. No relevant differences emerged among PwMS and caregivers, compared with the respective control groups, as concerns life domains associated with happiness, goals and meaning. Participants across groups prominently mentioned family, highlighting its intrinsic value and its relevance as a sharing context; health did not represent a major theme for PwMS; community, society and religion/spirituality issues were substantially neglected by all participants. PwMS and caregivers reported lower levels of positive affect than their control groups, while no substantial differences emerged for negative affect, happiness and meaningfulness levels in life and across most domains. Results suggest that the experience of MS is associated with well-being in relevant life domains, such as family and close relationships. Although PwMS and caregivers identified a lower number of goals and meaning-related opportunities compared to control groups, they showed a positive adjustment to disease through the development of personal and family resources. These assets are often undervalued by health professionals and social institutions, while they could be fruitfully exploited through the active involvement of PwMS and their families as expert and exemplary informants in initiatives aimed at promoting the well-being of individuals and communities
Measurement of the branching fraction
The branching fraction is measured in a data sample
corresponding to 0.41 of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb
detector at the LHC. This channel is sensitive to the penguin contributions
affecting the sin2 measurement from The
time-integrated branching fraction is measured to be . This is the most precise measurement to
date
Model-independent search for CP violation in D0→K−K+π−π+ and D0→π−π+π+π− decays
A search for CP violation in the phase-space structures of D0 and View the MathML source decays to the final states K−K+π−π+ and π−π+π+π− is presented. The search is carried out with a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. For the K−K+π−π+ final state, the four-body phase space is divided into 32 bins, each bin with approximately 1800 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 9.1%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 6.5% observed. The phase space of the π−π+π+π− final state is partitioned into 128 bins, each bin with approximately 2500 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 41%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 5.5% observed. All results are consistent with the hypothesis of no CP violation at the current sensitivity
Measurement of the CP-violating phase \phi s in Bs->J/\psi\pi+\pi- decays
Measurement of the mixing-induced CP-violating phase phi_s in Bs decays is of
prime importance in probing new physics. Here 7421 +/- 105 signal events from
the dominantly CP-odd final state J/\psi pi+ pi- are selected in 1/fb of pp
collision data collected at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV with the LHCb detector. A
time-dependent fit to the data yields a value of
phi_s=-0.019^{+0.173+0.004}_{-0.174-0.003} rad, consistent with the Standard
Model expectation. No evidence of direct CP violation is found.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures; minor revisions on May 23, 201
Search for the lepton-flavor-violating decays Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓
A search for the lepton-flavor-violating decays Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓ is performed with a data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb-1 of pp collisions at √s=7 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. The observed number of Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓ candidates is consistent with background expectations. Upper limits on the branching fractions of both decays are determined to be B(Bs0→e±μ∓)101 TeV/c2 and MLQ(B0→e±μ∓)>126 TeV/c2 at 95% C.L., and are a factor of 2 higher than the previous bounds
Absolute luminosity measurements with the LHCb detector at the LHC
Absolute luminosity measurements are of general interest for colliding-beam
experiments at storage rings. These measurements are necessary to determine the
absolute cross-sections of reaction processes and are valuable to quantify the
performance of the accelerator. Using data taken in 2010, LHCb has applied two
methods to determine the absolute scale of its luminosity measurements for
proton-proton collisions at the LHC with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. In
addition to the classic "van der Meer scan" method a novel technique has been
developed which makes use of direct imaging of the individual beams using
beam-gas and beam-beam interactions. This beam imaging method is made possible
by the high resolution of the LHCb vertex detector and the close proximity of
the detector to the beams, and allows beam parameters such as positions, angles
and widths to be determined. The results of the two methods have comparable
precision and are in good agreement. Combining the two methods, an overall
precision of 3.5% in the absolute luminosity determination is reached. The
techniques used to transport the absolute luminosity calibration to the full
2010 data-taking period are presented.Comment: 48 pages, 19 figures. Results unchanged, improved clarity of Table 6,
9 and 10 and corresponding explanation in the tex
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) and the direct CP asymmetry in B0 -> K*0 gamma
The ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0 -> K*0 gamma
and Bs0 phi gamma has been measured using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb-1
of pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass
energy of sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The value obtained is BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 ->
phi gamma) = 1.23 +/- 0.06(stat.) +/- 0.04(syst.) +/- 0.10(fs/fd), where the
first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic
uncertainty and the third is associated with the ratio of fragmentation
fractions fs/fd. Using the world average value for BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma), the
branching fraction BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) is measured to be (3.5 +/- 0.4) x
10^{-5}.
The direct CP asymmetry in B0 -> K*0 gamma decays has also been measured with
the same data and found to be A(CP)(B0 -> K*0 gamma) = (0.8 +/- 1.7(stat.) +/-
0.9(syst.))%.
Both measurements are the most precise to date and are in agreement with the
previous experimental results and theoretical expectations.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figues, 4 table
Absolute luminosity measurements with the LHCb detector at the LHC
Absolute luminosity measurements are of general interest for colliding-beam
experiments at storage rings. These measurements are necessary to determine the
absolute cross-sections of reaction processes and are valuable to quantify the
performance of the accelerator. Using data taken in 2010, LHCb has applied two
methods to determine the absolute scale of its luminosity measurements for
proton-proton collisions at the LHC with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. In
addition to the classic "van der Meer scan" method a novel technique has been
developed which makes use of direct imaging of the individual beams using
beam-gas and beam-beam interactions. This beam imaging method is made possible
by the high resolution of the LHCb vertex detector and the close proximity of
the detector to the beams, and allows beam parameters such as positions, angles
and widths to be determined. The results of the two methods have comparable
precision and are in good agreement. Combining the two methods, an overall
precision of 3.5% in the absolute luminosity determination is reached. The
techniques used to transport the absolute luminosity calibration to the full
2010 data-taking period are presented.Comment: 48 pages, 19 figures. Results unchanged, improved clarity of Table 6,
9 and 10 and corresponding explanation in the tex
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