Audiovisual devices such as satellite and conventional televisions can offer easy access to authentic programs which are considered to be a rich source of language input for SLA (Second Language Acquisition). The immediacy of various audiovisual programs ensures that language learners’ exposure is up-to-date and embedded in the real world of native speakers. In the same line, in the present pap...

Introduction Oregon is home to about 23,000 pathological gamblers and many of them turn to crime to support their gambling after legal sources of funds are exhausted. Studies show that two out of three pathological gamblers commit crimes in order to pay off debts or to continue gambling (Brown, 1987). While the majority of crimes are non-violent, they affect all of us by contributing to higher ...

BACKGROUND Oral miltefosine has been shown to be non-inferior to first-line, injectable meglumine antimoniate (MA) for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in children. Miltefosine may be administered via in-home caregiver Directly Observed Therapy (cDOT), while patients must travel to clinics to receive MA. We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing miltefosine by cDOT versu...

Lead-induced neurotoxicity acquired by low-level long-term exposure has special relevance for children. A plethora of recent reports has demonstrated a direct link between low-level lead exposure and deficits in the neurobehavioral-cognitive performance manifested from childhood through adolescence. In many studies, aggressiveness and delinquency have also been suggested as symptoms of lead poi...

Applications of effective field theory to nucleon-nucleon scattering, quarkonia decay and production and B meson decay are discussed. Some unresolved issues are considered.

The current status of lattice calculation of weak matrix elements for heavy quark systems is reviewed. After an assessment of systematic errors in present simulations, results for the B meson decay constant, the B parameter BB and semi-leptonic heavy-to-light and heavy-to-heavy transitions are discussed. The final topic are lattice results for heavy baryon spectroscopy.

It is demonstrated that charm is systematically undercounted in various experiments. Via a process of elimination, B(D0 → K−π+) is identified as the culprit. It calibrates essentially all charmed meson production and decay properties, and thus is central to the physics of heavy flavors. We predict it to decrease significantly below currently accepted values. We suggest several novel methods for...

The sum of the CP -violating asymmetries A(Λ−) and A(Ξ − −) in hyperon nonleptonic decays is presently being measured by the E871 experiment. We evaluate contributions to the asymmetries induced by chromomagnetic-penguin operators, whose coefficients can be enhanced in certain models of new physics. Incorporating recent information on the strong phases in Ξ → Λπ decay, we show that new-physics ...

The inclusive radiative B-decay is a sensitive probe of new physics, especially if related to the virtual exchange of a charged Higgs boson. Supersym-metric models provide a particularly interesting example. In the limit of exact supersymmetry, BR(b → sγ) = 0, due to the vanishing of any magnetic-moment transition operator. We illustrate the impact of this constraint for realistic values of the...