Evidence for Light Scalar Resonances in Charm Meson Decays from Fermilab E791

From Dalitz-plot analyses of $D^+\to\pi^-\pi^+\pi^+$ and $D^+\to K^-\pi^+\pi^+$ decays, we find evidence for light and broad scalar resonances sigma(500) and kappa(800). From a Dalitz-plot analysis of $D^+_s\to\pi^-\pi^+\pi^+$ decays, we measure the masses and decay widths of the scalar resonances f_0(980) and f_0(1370).Comment: References added. Contribution to 5th International Conference on Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum, Gargnano, Italy, 10-14 Sep 200

Rare hadronic B decays: probing deeper into the Standard Model

We present recent results from the Belle experiment on rare hadronic B meson decays. The results are based on a 78 fb^{-1} data sample and consist of branching fractions, CP asymmetries, and polarization amplitudes. The decays studied include two-body pseudoscalar-pseudoscalar final states (B -> pi pi, K pi, KK, and D^0 K^\pm); pseudoscalar-vector final states (B -> omega pi, omega K, and phi K); and vector-vector final states (B -> phi K* and rho^+ rho^0).Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables, recent results from the Belle experiment. Contribution to the 8th Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics (CIPANP 2003

B+ and Ds+ Decay Constants from Belle and Babar

The Belle and Babar experiments have measured the branching fractions for B+ -> tau+ nu and Ds+ -> mu+ nu decays. From these measurements one can extract the B+ and Ds+ decay constants, which can be compared to lattice QCD calculations. For the Ds+ decay constant, there is currently a 2.1 sigma difference between the calculated value and the measured value.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, contribution to the Tenth Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics (CIPANP 2009), San Diego, Californi

Traffic-related and socioeconomic indicators in association with low birth weight and preterm births in eastern Massachusetts between 1996 and 2002

Previous evidence has suggested that physical and social characteristics of places are important factors in determining human health. These characteristics may define gradients of exposure, and as result, they may define gradients of population health outcomes. Exposures to air pollution have been shown to affect indicators of health, for example, increasing risk of adverse birth outcomes. The present work was carried out with the main goal to study the association between indicators of city-specific gradients of traffic and socioeconomic measures and low birth weight and preterm births in eastern Massachusetts