Measurements of Branching Fractions and CP Asymmetries in B-> etah Decays

We report measurements of B to pseudoscalar-pseudoscalar decays with at least one eta meson in the final state using 140 fb^{-1} of data collected by the Belle detector at KEKB e^+ e^- collider. We observe the decay B^+-> eta pi^+ and find evidence of B^+-> eta K+; the measured branching fractions are B(B^+-> eta pi^+)=(4.8^{+0.8}_{-0.7}(stat) +- 0.3(sys))*10^{-6} and B(B^+-> eta K^+)=(2.1 +- 0.6(stat)+- 0.2(sys))*10^{-6}. Their corresponding CP violating asymmetries are measured to be 0.07+- 0.15 (stat) +- 0.03(sys) for eta pi^+- and -0.49+- 0.31 (stat) +- 0.07(sys) for eta K^+-. No significant signals are found for neutral B->eta h decays. We report the following upper limits on branching fractions at the 90% confidence level: B(B-> eta K^0 < 2.0* 10^{-6}, B(B-> eta pi0) eta eta) <2.0*10^{-6}.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Improved Measurements of Branching Fractions for B->Kpi, pipi and KK Decays

We report improved measurements of branching fractions for $B\to K\pi$, $\pi^+\pi^-$, $\pi^+\pi^0$ and $K\bar{K}$ decays based on a data sample of 85.0 million $B\bar{B}$ pairs collected at the $\Upsilon (4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^+e^-$ storage ring. This data sample is almost three times larger than the sample previously used. We observe clear signals for $B\to K\pi$, $\pi^+\pi^-$ and $\pi^+\pi^0$ decays and set upper limits on $B\to K\bar{K}$ decays. The results can be used to give model-dependent constraints on the CKM angle $\phi_3$, as well as limits on the hadronic uncertainty in the time-dependent analysis of the angle $\phi_2$.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, 4 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D Rapid Communications. Several corrections were mad

Cellulose acetate phthalate, a common pharmaceutical excipient, inactivates HIV-1 and blocks the coreceptor binding site on the virus envelope glycoprotein gp120

BACKGROUND: Cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP), a pharmaceutical excipient used for enteric film coating of capsules and tablets, was shown to inhibit infection by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and several herpesviruses. CAP formulations inactivated HIV-1, herpesvirus types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2) and the major nonviral sexually transmitted disease (STD) pathogens and were effective in animal models for vaginal infection by HSV-2 and simian immunodeficiency virus. METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunoassays and flow cytometry were used to demonstrate CAP binding to HIV-1 and to define the binding site on the virus envelope. RESULTS: 1) CAP binds to HIV-1 virus particles and to the envelope glycoprotein gp120; 2) this leads to blockade of the gp120 V3 loop and other gp120 sites resulting in diminished reactivity with HIV-1 coreceptors CXCR4 and CCR5; 3) CAP binding to HIV-1 virions impairs their infectivity; 4) these findings apply to both HIV-1 IIIB, an X4 virus, and HIV-1 BaL, an R5 virus. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide support for consideration of CAP as a topical microbicide of choice for prevention of STDs, including HIV-1 infection

Improved Measurements of Branching Fractions and CP Asymmetries in B-> eta h Decays

We report improved measurements of B decays with an eta meson in the final state using 492 fb^{-1} of data collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB e^+ e^- collider. We observe the decays B^{+-}-> eta pi^{+-} and B^{+-}-> eta K^{+-}; the measured branching fractions are Br(B^{+-}-> eta pi^{+-}) = (4.2+- 0.4(stat)+- 0.2(sys))x10^{-6} and Br(B^{+-}-> eta K^{+-}) = (1.9+-0.3(stat)^{+0.2}_{-0.1}(sys))x10^{-6}. The corresponding CP-violating asymmetries are measured to be -0.23+- 0.09(stat) +-0.02(sys) for eta pi^{+-} and -0.39+-0.16(stat)+-0.03(sys) for eta K^{+-}. We also search for B^0-> eta K^0 decays and set an upper limit of 1.9x10^{-6} at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Search for B^0-> p p-bar, Lambda Lambda-bar and B^+ -> p Lambda-bar at Belle

We report on a new search for two-body baryonic decays of the B meson. Improved sensitivity compared to previous Belle results is obtained from 414 fb^-1 of data that corresponds to 449 million B B-bar pairs, which were taken on the Upsilon(4S) resonance and collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e^+e^- collider. No significant signals are observed and we set the 90% confidence level upper limits: Br(B^0-> p pbar) Lambda Lambda-bar) p Lambda-bar) < 3.2X10^-7.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR

Study of time-dependent CP violation in B0 -> J/Psi pi0 decays

We report a measurement of CP asymmetry parameters in the decay B0(B0bar) -> J/Psi pi0, which is governed by the b->c cbar d transition. The analysis is based on a 140/fb data sample accumulated at the Upsilon(4S) resonance by the belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. We fully reconstruct one neutral B meson in the J/Psi pi0 final state. The accompanying B meson flavor is identified by its decay products. From the distribution of proper time intervals between the two B decays, we obtain the following CP-violating parameters: S_{J/Psi pi0}=-0.72+-0.42+-0.09 and A_{J/Psi pi0}=-0.01 +-0.29+-0.03.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR

Evidence of B0 --> rho0 pi0

We present the first evidence of the decay B0 --> rho0 pi0, using 140fb^-1 of data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e+e- collider. We detect a signal with a significance of 3.5 standard deviations, and measure the branching fraction to be Br(B0 ->- rho0 pi0) = (5.1 +/- 1.6(stat) +/- 0.9(syst))*10^-6.Comment: RevTex4, 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.Let

Observation of B0->pi0pi0

We report the first observation of the decay B0->pi0pi0, using a 253/fb data sample collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB e+e- collider. The measured branching fraction is BF(B0->pi0pi0) = {2.32 +0.4-0.5(stat) +0.2-0.3(syst)} x 10^-6, with a significance of 5.8 standard deviations including systematic uncertainties. We also make the first measurement of the direct CP violating asymmetry in this mode.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to ICHEP04, Beijing and Physical Review Letters. v2: a possible pile-up background is checked and a systematic error for it is include

Measurement of branching fraction ratios and CP asymmetries in B±→DCPK±B^{\pm} \to D_{CP}K^{\pm}

We report results on the decay $B^{-} \to D_{CP}K^{-}$ and its charge conjugate using a data sample of 85.4 million $B\bar{B}$ pairs recorded at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric $e^{+}e^{-}$ storage ring. Ratios of branching fractions of Cabibbo-suppressed to Cabibbo-favored processes are determined to be ${\cal B}(B^- \to D^0 K^-)/{\cal B}(B^- \to D^0 \pi^-)= 0.077 \pm 0.005(stat) \pm 0.006(sys)$, ${\cal B}(B^- \to D_1 K^-)/{\cal B}(B^- \to D_1 \pi^-) = 0.093 \pm 0.018(stat) \pm 0.008(sys)$ and ${\cal B}(B^- \to D_2 K^-)/{\cal B}(B^- \to D_2 \pi^-) = 0.108 \pm 0.019(stat) \pm 0.007(sys)$ where the indices 1 and 2 represent the CP=+1 and CP=$-$1 eigenstates of the $D^{0}-\bar{D^{0}}$ system, respectively. We find the partial-rate charge asymmetries for $B^{-} \to D_{CP}K^{-}$ to be ${\cal{A}}_1 = 0.06 \pm 0.19(stat) \pm 0.04(sys)$ and ${\cal{A}}_2 = -0.19 \pm 0.17(stat) \pm 0.05(sys)$.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Observation of Large CP Violation and Evidence for Direct CP Violation in B0-->pi+pi- Decays

We report the first observation of CP-violating asymmetries in B0 --> pi+pi- decays based on a 140 fb-1 data sample collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. We reconstruct one neutral B meson as a B0 --> pi+pi- CP eigenstate and identify the flavor of the accompanying B meson from its decay products. We apply an unbinned maximum likelihood fit to the distribution of the time intervals between the two B meson decay points. The fit yields the CP-violating asymmetry amplitudes Apipi = +0.58+/-0.15(stat)+/-0.07(syst) and Spipi = -1.00+/-0.21(stat)+/-0.07(syst). We rule out the CP-conserving case, Apipi=Spipi=0, at a level of 5.2 standard deviations. We also find evidence for direct CP violation with a significance at or greater than 3.2 standard deviations for any Spipi value.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure