Improved Measurement of the Pseudoscalar Decay Constant fDsf_{D_{s}}

We present a new determination of the Ds decay constant, f_{Ds} using 5 million continuum charm events obtained with the CLEO II detector. Our value is derived from our new measured ratio of widths for Ds -> mu nu/Ds -> phi pi of 0.173+/- 0.021 +/- 0.031. Taking the branching ratio for Ds -> phi pi as (3.6 +/- 0.9)% from the PDG, we extract f_{Ds} = (280 +/- 17 +/- 25 +/- 34){MeV}. We compare this result with various model calculations.Comment: 23 page postscript file, postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

Search for the Decays B^0 -> D^{(*)+} D^{(*)-}

Using the CLEO-II data set we have searched for the Cabibbo-suppressed decays B^0 -> D^{(*)+} D^{(*)-}. For the decay B^0 -> D^{*+} D^{*-}, we observe one candidate signal event, with an expected background of 0.022 +/- 0.011 events. This yield corresponds to a branching fraction of Br(B^0 -> D^{*+} D^{*-}) = (5.3^{+7.1}_{-3.7}(stat) +/- 1.0(syst)) x 10^{-4} and an upper limit of Br(B^0 -> D^{*+} D^{*-}) D^{*\pm} D^\mp and B^0 -> D^+ D^-, no significant excess of signal above the expected background level is seen, and we calculate the 90% CL upper limits on the branching fractions to be Br(B^0 -> D^{*\pm} D^\mp) D^+ D^-) < 1.2 x 10^{-3}.Comment: 12 page postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Improving access to emergent spinal care through knowledge translation : an ethnographic study

Background: For patients and family members, access to timely specialty medical care for emergent spinal conditions is a significant stressor to an already serious condition. Timing to surgical care for emergent spinal conditions such as spinal trauma is an important predictor of outcome. However, few studies have explored ethnographically the views of surgeons and other key stakeholders on issues related to patient access and care for emergent spine conditions. The primary study objective was to determine the challenges to the provision of timely care as well as to identify areas of opportunities to enhance care delivery. Methods: An ethnographic study of key administrative and clinical care providers involved in the triage and care of patients referred through CritiCall Ontario was undertaken utilizing standard methods of qualitative inquiry. This comprised 21 interviews with people involved in varying capacities with the provision of emergent spinal care, as well as qualitative observations on an orthopaedic/neurosurgical ward, in operating theatres, and at CritiCall Ontario’s call centre. Results: Several themes were identified and organized into categories that range from inter-professional collaboration through to issues of hospital-level resources and the role of relationships between hospitals and external organizations at the provincial level. Underlying many of these issues is the nature of the medically complex emergent spine patient and the scientific evidentiary base upon which best practice care is delivered. Through the implementation of knowledge translation strategies facilitated from this research, a reduction of patient transfers out of province was observed in the one-year period following program implementation. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that competing priorities at both the hospital and provincial level create challenges in the delivery of spinal care. Key stakeholders recognized spinal care as aligning with multiple priorities such as emergent/critical care, medical through surgical, acute through rehabilitative, disease-based (i.e. trauma, cancer), and wait times initiatives. However, despite newly implemented strategies, there continues to be increasing trends over time in the number of spinal CritiCall Ontario referrals. This reinforces the need for ongoing inter-professional efforts in care delivery that take into account the institutional contexts that may constrain individual or team efforts

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Depression among women living in the outskirts of São Paulo, Southeastern Brasil

OBJECTIVE: To assess the meaning of depression in women diagnosed with the disorder, and the context of care given by the psychiatrists who follow them up. METHODS: Qualitative study performed in Embu, outskirt of São Paulo, between August 2002 and January 2003. Etnographic observation and in-depth interview were carried out with 16 women diagnosed with depression in primary care, and four psychiatrists. After exhaustive reading, data were grouped into categories and assessed. The assessment of outcomes was based on the concept of culture. RESULTS: Women interviewed are well aware of the disorder, and accept treatment based on medication. For psychiatrists, depression is a term understood by the common sense. All women interviewed identified the onset of the disease from a past event such as: death of a son, violent episodes connected with drug traffic, unemployment, and partners' aggressiveness. Violence was common in the every day life of the interviewed women both inside and outside their homes. CONCLUSIONS: For these women, depression is a way to express their feelings, such as unhappiness in a context of poverty and violence. Psychiatrists go beyond their clinical functions and play an important role on reorganizing the daily life of these women.OBJETIVO: Analisar o significado da depressão para mulheres diagnosticadas com o transtorno e o contexto do atendimento realizado pelos psiquiatras que as acompanham. MÉTODOS: Estudo qualitativo realizado no município de Embu, na Grande São Paulo, entre agosto de 2002 e janeiro de 2003. Foram realizadas observação etnográfica e entrevistas em profundidade com 16 mulheres diagnosticadas com depressão, pacientes de uma Unidade Básica de Saúde, e quatro psiquiatras. Após a leitura exaustiva, os dados foram agrupados em categorias e analisados. A interpretação dos resultados baseou-se no conceito de cultura. RESULTADOS: As entrevistadas tinham ampla noção do transtorno, aceitando o tratamento com medicação. Para os psiquiatras, a depressão é um termo assimilado pelo senso-comum. Todas as entrevistadas identificaram a origem da doença em eventos passados, como: morte de filho, episódios violentos ligados ao tráfico de drogas, desemprego e agressividade do companheiro. A violência era comum no cotidiano das entrevistadas, tanto fora como dentro de casa. CONCLUSÕES: Para essas mulheres, a depressão era uma forma de expressar sentimentos, como a infelicidade num contexto de pobreza e violência. Os psiquiatras extrapolam as suas funções clínicas e têm um papel na reorganização do cotidiano dessas mulheres.Universidade Católica de Santos Programa de Mestrado em Saúde ColetivaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de PsiquiatriaUNIFESP, Depto. de PsiquiatriaSciEL

First Observation of τ→3πηντ\tau\to 3\pi\eta\nu_{\tau} and τ→f1πντ\tau\to f_{1}\pi\nu_{\tau} Decays

We have observed new channels for $\tau$ decays with an $\eta$ in the final state. We study 3-prong tau decays, using the $\eta\to\gamma\gamma$ and \eta\to 3\piz decay modes and 1-prong decays with two \piz's using the $\eta\to\gamma\gamma$ channel. The measured branching fractions are \B(\tau^{-}\to \pi^{-}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\eta\nu_{\tau}) =(3.4^{+0.6}_{-0.5}\pm0.6)\times10^{-4} and \B(\tau^{-}\to \pi^{-}2\piz\eta\nu_{\tau} =(1.4\pm0.6\pm0.3)\times10^{-4}. We observe clear evidence for $f_1\to\eta\pi\pi$ substructure and measure \B(\tau^{-}\to f_1\pi^{-}\nu_{\tau})=(5.8^{+1.4}_{-1.3}\pm1.8)\times10^{-4}. We have also searched for $\eta'(958)$ production and obtain 90% CL upper limits \B(\tau^{-}\to \pi^{-}\eta'\nu_\tau)<7.4\times10^{-5} and \B(\tau^{-}\to \pi^{-}\piz\eta'\nu_\tau)<8.0\times10^{-5}.Comment: 11 page postscript file, postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

Public drunkenness as a nuisance in Ghent (Belgium) and Trento (Italy)

This article explores the reality of the nuisance of public drunkenness in one nightlife location of Ghent (Belgium) and in one of Trento (Italy) and inspects the way alcohol-related disorder is viewed and tackled by police officers there. Drawing on the literature arguing for the existence of different "cultures of drinking" in western and southern European countries, a distinct reality of the nuisance of public drunkenness was hypothesized to be present in these two cities. Against the backdrop of cultural criminology scholarship and of the national literature on policing practices, it was expected that the physical/aesthetic appearance of street drinkers would differently impact on the way police officers there represent alcohol-related disorder and enforce national and local nuisance regulations. The gathered data indicate that while drinking patterns and connected disorderly behavior do not significantly vary in Ghent and in Trento, the aesthetic/physical characteristics of certain groups of people play a role in shaping the representations of some police officers in Trento. The study concludes that cultural and context-specific factors, including those linked to the cultures of drinking and to aesthetics, should be considered in criminological research to more fully understand and explain the different policing views on and attitudes to alcohol-related disorder in inner-city nightlife areas. In its conclusions, the article also highlights some directions for future research

Parental experiences of supporting children with clinically significant post-traumatic distress: a qualitative study of families accessing psychological services

The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of parents in providing support to their child following trauma exposure in cases where children are experiencing clinically significant levels of post-traumatic distress. Qualitative interviews were conducted with parents whose child was exposed to a trauma and referred for psychological treatment. Parents reported considerable anxiety in coping with their child’s post-traumatic distress. Avoidance of trauma-related discussions was encouraged due to concerns that non-avoidant approaches may worsen children’s post-trauma difficulties. Nonetheless, parents were often sensitive to their child’s distress and offered reassurance and other forms of support. Many barriers existed to accessing psychological treatment, and perceptions of inadequate guidance from therapists on supporting child adjustment contributed to parental distress. The results illustrate the strategies used by parents in supporting their child post-trauma and may assist mental health professionals in providing acceptable guidance to parents following child trauma

Emergence and Evolution of Cooperation Under Resource Pressure

We study the influence that resource availability has on cooperation in the context of hunter-gatherer societies. This paper proposes a model based on archaeological and ethnographic research on resource stress episodes, which exposes three different cooperative regimes according to the relationship between resource availability in the environment and population size. The most interesting regime represents moderate survival stress in which individuals coordinate in an evolutionary way to increase the probabilities of survival and reduce the risk of failing to meet the minimum needs for survival. Populations self-organise in an indirect reciprocity system in which the norm that emerges is to share the part of the resource that is not strictly necessary for survival, thereby collectively lowering the chances of starving. Our findings shed further light on the emergence and evolution of cooperation in hunter-gatherer societies.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Project CSD2010-00034 (SimulPast CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010) and HAR2009-06996; from the Argentine National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET): Project PIP-0706; from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research: Project GR7846; and from the project H2020 FET OPEN RIA IBSEN/66272