The role of citizen science in science perception, meaning, and environmental values: An evaluation of the Living Snow Project

Citizen science programs provide a means for outdoor enthusiasts to combine their recreational pursuits with engagement in science. This research evaluated the role of citizen science in peoples’ perceptions of science, meaningfulness of their outdoor experiences, and environmental attitudes, identity, and connection. The Living Snow Project (LSP), a community-enabled (citizen science) program, engages the outdoor recreation community in research characterizing alpine snow microbiomes through volunteer sample collections in alpine environments. Citizen scientists (N=41) volunteering with LSP participated in this study at two time points before and after the 2019 snow sampling season. At both time points, participants completed five well-established measures to assess environmental attitudes, values, identity, and connection to nature. In addition, we collected demographic and LSP participation information (Time 1), as well as their citizen science experience and perceptions of science (Time 2). The results indicated that citizen scientists (1) reported their recreational experiences were more meaningful as a result of their engagement in citizen science; (2) had more positive perceptions of science and interest in participating in science; and (3) displayed high levels of environmental concern, connectedness to nature, and pro-environmental values and identity as evidenced by near ceiling levels across the five measures

New limits for neutrinoless tau decays

Neutrinoless 3-prong tau lepton decays into a charged lepton and either two charged particles or one neutral meson have been searched for using 4.79fb^(-1) of data collected with the CLEO II detector at Cornell Electron Storage Ring. This analysis represents an update of a previous study and the addition of six decay channels. In all channels the numbers of events found are compatible with background estimates and branching fraction upper limits are set for 28 different decay modes. These limits are either more stringent than those set previously or represent the first attempt to find these decays

Vegetation response to invasive Tamarix control in southwestern U.S. rivers: a collaborative study including 416 sites

Most studies assessing vegetation response following control of invasive Tamarix trees along southwestern U.S. rivers have been small in scale (e.g., river reach), or at a regional scale but with poor spatial-temporal replication, and most have not included testing the effects of a now widely used biological control. We monitored plant composition following Tamarix control along hydrologic, soil, and climatic gradients in 244 treated and 172 reference sites across six U.S. states. This represents the largest comprehensive assessment to date on the vegetation response to the four most common Tamarix control treatments. Biocontrol by a defoliating beetle (treatment 1) reduced the abundance of Tamarix less than active removal by mechanically using hand and chain-saws (2), heavy machinery (3) or burning (4). Tamarix abundance also decreased with lower temperatures, higher precipitation, and follow-up treatments for Tamarix resprouting. Native cover generally increased over time in active Tamarix removal sites, however, the increases observed were small and was not consistently increased by active revegetation. Overall, native cover was correlated to permanent stream flow, lower grazing pressure, lower soil salinity and temperatures, and higher precipitation. Species diversity also increased where Tamarix was removed. However, Tamarix treatments, especially those generating the highest disturbance (burning and heavy machinery), also often promoted secondary invasions of exotic forbs. The abundance of hydrophytic species was much lower in treated than in reference sites, suggesting that management of southwestern U.S. rivers has focused too much on weed control, overlooking restoration of fluvial processes that provide habitat for hydrophytic and floodplain vegetation. These results can help inform future management of Tamarix-infested rivers to restore hydrogeomorphic processes, increase native biodiversity and reduce abundance of noxious species

Experimental tests of lepton universality in τ decay

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.55.2559.The branching fractions for τ→eνν(τ), μνν(τ), and hν(τ) are measured using data collected with the CLEO detector at the CESR e(+)e(-) collider: Be=0.1776±0.0006±0.0017, Bμ=0.1737±0.0008±0.0018, and B(h)=0.1152±0.0005±0.0012, where the first error is statistical, the second systematic, and h refers to either a charged π or K. Also measured is the τ mass, mτ=(1778.2±1.4) MeV. Lepton universality is affirmed by the relative branching fractions (B(μ)/B(e)=0.9777±0.0063±0.0087, B(h)/B(e)=0.6484±0.0041±0.0060) and the charged-current gauge coupling-constant ratios (g(μ)/g(e)=1.0026±0.0055, g(τ)/g(μ)=0.9990±0.0098). The τ mass result may be recast as a τ neutrino mass limit, m(ν)(τ)<60 MeV at 95% C.L

Search for color-suppressed B hadronic decay processes at the Υ(4S) resonance

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.57.5363.Using 3.1fb(-1) of data accumulated at the Υ(4S) by the CLEO-II detector, corresponding to 3.3×10(6) BB¯ pairs, we have searched for the color-suppressed B hadronic decay processes B(0)→D(0)(D*(0))X(0), where X(0) is a light neutral meson π(0), ρ(0(, η, η′ or ω. The D*(0) mesons are reconstructed in D*(0)→D(0)π(0) and the D(0) mesons in D(0)→K(-)π(+), K(-)π(+)π(0) and K(-)π(+)π(+)π(-) decay modes. No obvious signal is observed. We set 90% C.L. upper limits on these modes, varying from 1.2×10(-4) for B(0)→D(0)π(0) to 1.9×10(-3) for B(0)→D*(0)η′

Hadronic transitions Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.58.052004.Using a 73.6pb(-1) data sample of Υ(2S) events collected with the CLEO II detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we have investigated the hadronic transitions between the Υ(2S) and the Υ(1S). The dipion transition Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)π(+)π(-) was studied using two different analysis techniques. Selecting events in which Υ(1S)→e(+)e(-),μ(+)μ(-) (“exclusive” analysis), and using the Υ(1S) leptonic branching fractions world averages from the PDG review, we obtained B(Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)π(+)π(-))=0.189±0.004±0.010, while using a method allowing Υ(1S)→anything (“inclusive” analysis) we obtained B(Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)π(+)π(-))=0.196±0.002±0.010. The appropriate weighted average of the two measurements gives B(Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)π(+)π(-))=0.192±0.002±0.010. Combining the exclusive and inclusive results we derive the Υ(1S) leptonic branching fractions Bee=0.0229±0.0008±0.0011 and Bμμ=0.0249±0.0008±0.0013. We also studied Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)π(0)π(0) and obtained B(Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)π(0)π(0))=0.092±0.006±0.008. Parameters of the ππ system (dipion invariant mass spectra, angular distributions) were analyzed and found to be consistent with current theoretical models. Lastly, we searched for the η and single π(0) transitions and obtained the 90% confidence level upper limits B(Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)η)<0.0028 and B(Υ(2S)→Υ(1S)π(0))<0.0011

Measurements of the meson-photon transition form factors of light pseudoscalar mesons at large momentum transfer

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.57.33.Using the CLEO II detector, we have measured the differential cross sections for exclusive two-photon production of light pseudoscalar mesons π(0), η, and η′. From our measurements we have obtained the form factors associated with the electromagnetic transitions γ*γ⃗ meson. We have measured these form factors in the momentum transfer ranges from 1.5 to 9, 20, and 30GeV(2) for π(0), η, and η′, respectively, and have made comparisons to various theoretical predictions

Study of charmless hadronic B meson decays to pseudoscalar-vector final states

We report results of searches for charmless hadronic B meson decays to pseudoscalar (pi*(-), K*(-), pi(0), or K-S(0))-vector(rho, K*, or omega) final states. By using 9.7 X 10(6) B (B) over bar pairs collected with the CLEO detector, we report the first observation of B- --> pi(-)rho(0), (B) over bar(0) --> pi(-)omega, and B- --> pi(-)omega, which are expected to be dominated by hadronic b --> u transitions. The measured branching fractions are (10.4+/-(3.3)(3.4)+/-2.1), (27.6+/-(8.4)(7.4) +/- 4.2) X 10(-6), and (11.3 +/- (3.3)(2.9) +/-1.4) X 10(-6), respectively. Branching fraction; upper limits are set for all of the other decay modes investigated