Prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity have dramatically increased worldwide in the last decades. Overweight and obesity are the result of a complex interaction between genetic and ...environmental factors. The aim of our longitudinal study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a population of Italian schoolchildren followed for 2 years and to identify main risk factors for obesity onset and persistence in childhood. We enrolled 632 children (males /females=345/287), aged 3 to 8 yr. Weight and height were measured at time 0, 1 (1 yr later), and 2 (2 yr later). Overweight and obesity were defined using body mass index (BMI) (Italian growth charts). Data collected included: birth weight, gestational age, maternal weight gain during pregnancy, breastfeeding, parents’ BMI, educational level, and occupation type. At time 0, 1, and 2 the prevalence of overweight was 22%, 22%, and 25%, respectively, and the prevalence of obesity was 7%, 8%, and 8%, respectively. During follow-up 62% of children remained normal weight, 24% was always overweight or obese, 9% became overweight, while only 5% of overweight subjects became normal weight. Male gender, maternal weight gain during pregnancy >10 kg, parental overweight/obesity were positively associated with the presence of overweight during the entire follow-up. On the contrary, being small for gestational1 age at birth was negatively related to persistence of overweight. No influence was found for being breastfed, for parental low educational level, and manual occupation. A large prevalence of overweight/obesity was observed in Italian schoolchildren. Gender, maternal weight gain during pregnancy, and parents’ BMI were the strongest predictors of the persistence of child overweight and obesity.
K + K- production in two-photon collisions has been studied using a large data sample of 67 fb-1 accumulated with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e + e- collider. We have measured the cross ...section for the process \(\gamma\gamma\to K^ + K^-\) for center-of-mass energies between 1.4 and 2.4 GeV, and found three new resonant structures in the energy region between 1.6 and 2.4 GeV. The angular differential cross sections have also been measured.
Results on two inclusive Vub measurements at Belle are presented. We also
present a new measurement of the branching fraction for Ds->phi pi. A data
sample of 78.1fb^-1 accumulated using the Belle ...detector at the KEKB asymmetric
e^+e^- collider operating at the Upsilon(4S) resonance is used. All results are
preliminary.
Using 605/fb of data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance we present a measurement of the inclusive radiative B-meson decay channel, B to X_s gamma. For the lower photon energy thresholds of 1.7, ...1.8, 1.9 and 2.0GeV, as defined in the rest frame of the B-meson, we measure the partial branching fraction and the mean and variance of the photon energy spectrum. At the 1.7GeV threshold we obtain the partial branching fraction BF(B to X_s gamma) = (3.45 +/- 0.15 +/- 0.40) x 10^-4, where the errors are statistical and systematic.
We determine the b-quark shape function parameters, Lambda^SF and lambda_1^SF
using the Belle B->X_s gamma photon energy spectrum. We assume three models for
the form of the shape function; ...Exponential, Gaussian and Roman.
Phys.Lett.B621:28-40,2005 We report measurements of partial branching fractions of inclusive charmless
semileptonic $B$-meson decays at the endpoint of the electron momentum
spectrum. The ...measurements are made in six overlapping momentum intervals that
have lower bounds ranging from 1.9 GeV/$c$ to 2.4 GeV/$c$ and a common upper
bound of 2.6 GeV/$c$, as measured in the centre of mass frame. The results are
based on a sample of 29 million $B\bar{B}$ pairs, accumulated by the Belle
detector at the KEKB asymmetric $e^+e^-$ collider operating on the
$\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance. In the momentum interval ranging from 1.9 GeV/$c$ to
2.6 GeV/$c$ we measure the partial branching fraction $\Delta \mathcal{B}(B\to
X_u e \nu_e)=(8.47 \pm 0.37 \pm 1.53)\times 10^{-4}$, where the first error is
statistical and the second is systematic. A prediction of the partial rate
$R=(21.69 \pm 3.62^{+ 2.18}_{- 1.98}) |V_{ub}|^2 \mathrm{ps}^{-1}$ in this
momentum interval based on theory is calculated with input HQET parameters that
have been derived from Belle's measurement of the $B\to X_s\gamma$ photon
energy spectrum, where the first error is due to the uncertainty on HQET
parameters and the second error is from theory. Using both $\Delta
\mathcal{B}(B\to X_u e \nu_e)$ and $R$ we find $|V_{ub}|=(5.08 \pm 0.47 \pm
0.42^{+ 0.26}_{- 0.23})\times 10^{-3}$, where the first error is from the
partial branching fraction, and the second and third errors are from
uncertainties in $R$.
We determine the b-quark shape function parameters, Lambda^SF and lambda_1^SF using the Belle B->X_s gamma photon energy spectrum. We assume three models for the form of the shape function; ...Exponential, Gaussian and Roman.
Using the previous Belle measurement of the inclusive photon energy in \(B\to X_s\gamma\) decays, we determine the first and second moments of this spectrum for minimum photon energies in the \(B\) ...meson rest frame ranging from 1.8 to 2.3 GeV. Combining these measurements with recent Belle data on the lepton energy and hadronic mass moments in \(B\to X_c\ell\nu\) decays, we perform fits to theoretical expressions derived in the 1S and kinetic mass schemes and extract the magnitude of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix element \(V_{cb}\), the \(b\)-quark mass and other non-perturbative parameters. In the 1S scheme analysis we find \(|V_{cb}|=(41.56\pm 0.68(\mathrm{fit})\pm 0.08(\tau_B))\times 10^{-3}\) and \(m_b^\mathrm{1S}=(4.723\pm 0.055)\) GeV. In the kinetic scheme, we obtain \(|V_{cb}|=(41.58\pm 0.69(\mathrm{fit})\pm 0.08(\tau_B)\pm 0.58(\mathrm{th}))\times 10^{-3}\) and \(m_b^\mathrm{kin}=(4.543\pm 0.075)\) GeV.
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