Measurement of the B0-anti-B0-Oscillation Frequency with Inclusive Dilepton Events

The $B^0$-$\bar B^0$ oscillation frequency has been measured with a sample of 23 million \B\bar B pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric B Factory at SLAC. In this sample, we select events in which both B mesons decay semileptonically and use the charge of the leptons to identify the flavor of each B meson. A simultaneous fit to the decay time difference distributions for opposite- and same-sign dilepton events gives $\Delta m_d = 0.493 \pm 0.012{(stat)}\pm 0.009{(syst)}$ ps$^{-1}$.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Improved Limits on B0B^{0} decays to invisible (+γ)(+\gamma) final states

We establish improved upper limits on branching fractions for B0 decays to final States 10 where the decay products are purely invisible (i.e., no observable final state particles) and for final states where the only visible product is a photon. Within the Standard Model, these decays have branching fractions that are below the current experimental sensitivity, but various models of physics beyond the Standard Model predict significant contributions for these channels. Using 471 million BB pairs collected at the Y(4S) resonance by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II e+e- storage ring at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, we establish upper limits at the 90% confidence level of 2.4x10^-5 for the branching fraction of B0-->Invisible and 1.7x10^-5 for the branching fraction of B0-->Invisible+gammaComment: 8 pages, 3 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

Application of the Van\u27t Hoff Equation to Adsorption Equilibria

Isothermal adsorption data for many gases and vapors on charcoal and other adsorbents have been shown by various investigators (1), (2), (3), (4), to agree satisfactorily with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, except for deviations, possibly due to multilayer adsorption, as the pressure of the saturated vapor is approached. The Langmuir equation is derived on the hypothesis of a unimolecular adsorbed layer. The rate of adsorption, assumed proportional to the pressure p and the fraction of the surface unoccupied, (1 - ϑ), is equated to the rate of desorption which is assumed proportional to the fraction of the surface covered, ϑ, giving the equation below

Measurement of Adsorption Isotherms for Mixed Vapors

A great deal of work has been done in the measurement of adsorption isotherms of pure gases and vapors, but very little of the measurement of adsorption isotherms of mixed gases or vapors and much of this has been unintentional, being due to impurities in the adsorbate. Papers dealing with measurements of this type include those of Richardson and Woodhouse (2) and Bakr and King. (3) The method of Bakr and King has the objection that each experiment yields an isolated value. Richardson\u27s and Woodhouse’s method requires extensive gas analysis and yields an isotherm in which the composition of the adsorbate changes

Exclusive Measurements of b -> s gamma Transition Rate and Photon Energy Spectrum

We use 429 fb$^{-1}$ of $e^+e^-$ collision data collected at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the BABAR detector to measure the radiative transition rate of $b\rightarrow s\gamma$ with a sum of 38 exclusive final states. The inclusive branching fraction with a minimum photon energy of 1.9 GeV is found to be $\mathcal{B}(\bar B \rightarrow X_{s}\gamma)=(3.29\pm 0.19\pm 0.48)\times 10^{-4}$ where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. We also measure the first and second moments of the photon energy spectrum and extract the best fit values for the heavy-quark parameters, $m_{b}$ and $\mu_{\pi}^{2}$, in the kinetic and shape function models.Comment: 18 pages, 14 pdf figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Centers for Independent Living: Rural & Urban Distribution

Our research indicates that there is a total of 336 centers for independent living scattered across the nation. Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act funds many – but not all – of them. Federally-funded CILs typically receive funds from several other sources as well. All 336 meet the standards for CILs. Map 1 shows the distribution of CILs by their location in metropolitan or non-metropolitan counties

Rural Independent Living: Model Outreach Strategies

In earlier research (Centers for Independent Living: Rural and Urban Distribution of Centers for Independent Living, 1999), we reported on five major models of Center for Independent Living (CIL) service provision, including “standard CILs,” “satellites,” “branch offices,” “outreach offices,” and others. These “other” approaches reflect a variety of the strategies CILs use to provide services and supports in rural and remote areas. How to provide rural IL services is an important question, since about 40 percent of U.S. counties – mostly rural – lack access to CILs. Further, the goal of achieving universal access is still elusive, despite the efforts of organizations such as the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) and the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL) to increase funding and the number of centers. “Rural outreach” fills a demand for community disability services and supports. Identifying needs and building local support are the first steps. Accordingly, the various models are likely to start with community education and move toward developing permanent programs or offices later. Usually, outreach efforts start with broad public education and discussions with any other local service providers to identify individuals interested in and potentially needing IL supports. After identification, meetings are arranged with interested individuals. In planning rural outreach models, CILs should consider their goals: Do they want to provide individual services, to promote community and systems change, or to accomplish both? We have identified fifteen rural outreach models for providing IL services and supports, and have listed them in the following table which briefly describes each model. Other resources related to rural outreach models are listed on page four