Global Fits of the CKM Matrix

We report upon the present status of global fits to Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures invited talk presented at EPS conference, Aachen July 17-2

The Status of the Pion-Nucleon Coupling Constant

A review is given of the various determinations of the different piNN coupling constants in analyses of the low-energy pp, np, pbarp, and pi-p scattering data. The most accurate determinations are in the energy-dependent partial-wave analyses of the NN data. The recommended value is f^2 = 0.075 . A recent determination of f^2 by the Uppsala group from backward np cross sections is shown to be model dependent and inaccurate, and therefore completely uninteresting. We also argue that an accurate determination of f^2 using pp forward dispersion relations is not a realistic option.Comment: 19 pages, latex2e with a4wide.sty, more information is available at http://NN-OnLine.sci.kun.nl . Invited talk at FBXV, Groningen, The Netherlands, July 22-26, 1997. Invited talk at MENU97, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, July 28 - August 1, 199

Dark Matter and Cosmic Strings in Particle Models

In this talk, I will discuss the mechanism of nonthermal production of the neutralino cold dark matter from the decay of cosmic strings and the embedded defects, the $\pi$ and $\eta^\prime$ strings in the strong interaction sector of the standard model.Comment: 9 pages, no figure, Invited Plenary Talk Given at COSMO'99, ICTP, Trieste, Sept.27-Oct.2, 199

Reaction Mechanisms with Exotic Nuclei

This talk examines a number of reaction mechanisms for scattering initiated by an exotic projectile. Comparisons are made with recent experimental data, in order to extract information on the peculiarity of the nuclear structure under extreme conditions and to test the accuracy of the available theoretical methods. Predictions for future experiments are also made.Comment: 13 Latex pages, 2 table, 2 ps figures. Invited talk given at the Symposium on Nuclear Clusters, Rauischholzhausen, Germany, 5-9 August 200