Studies of the Decay B+- -> D_CP K+-

We report studies of the decay B+- -> D_CP K+-, where D_CP denotes neutral D mesons that decay to CP eigenstates. The analysis is based on a 29.1/fb data sample of collected 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 involving D_CP are determined to be B(B- -> D_1 K-)/B(B- -> D_1 pi-)=0.125 +- 0.036 +- 0.010 and B(B- -> D_2 K-)/B(B- -> D_2 pi-)=0.119 +- 0.028 +- 0.006, where indices 1 and 2 represent the CP=+1 and CP=-1 eigenstates of the D0 - anti D0 system, respectively. We also extract the partial rate asymmetries for B+- -> D_CP K+-, finding A_1 = 0.29 +- 0.26 +- 0.05 and A_2 = -0.22 +- 0.24 +- 0.04.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Evidence for B -> phi phi K

We report evidence for the decay mode B-->phiphiK based on an analysis of 78 fb(-1) of data collected with the Belle detector at KEKB. This is the first example of a b-->s (s) over bars (s) over bars transition. The branching fraction for this decay is measured to be B(B+/--->phiphiK(+/-))=(2.6(-0.9)(+1.1)+/-0.3)x10(-6) for a phiphi invariant mass below 2.85 GeV/c(2). Results for other related charmonium decay modes are also reported

Observation of B--/+->rho(-/+)rho(0) decays

We report the first observation of the charmless vector-vector decay process B-/+-->rho(-/+)rho(0). The measurement uses a 78 fb(-1) data sample collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e(+)e(-) collider operating at the Y(4S) resonance. We obtain a branching fraction of B(B-/+-->rho(-/+)rho(0))=[31.7+/-7.1(stat)(-6.7)(+3.8)(syst)]x10(-6). An analysis of the rho helicity-angle distributions gives a longitudinal polarization fraction of Gamma(L)/Gamma=0.95+/-0.11(stat)+/-0.02(syst). We also measure the direct-CP-violating asymmetry A(CP)(B-/+-->rho(-/+)rho(0))=0.00+/-0.22(stat)+/-0.03(syst)

Observation of B-+/-->omega K-+/- decay

We report the first observation of the charmless two-body mode B+/- --> omegaK(+/-) decay, and a new measurement of the branching fraction for the B+/- --> omegapi(+/-) decay. The measured branching fractions are B(B+/- --> omegaK(+/-)) = (9.2(-2.3)(+2.6) +/-1.0) x 10(-6) and B(B+/- --> omegapi(+/-)) = (4.2(-1.8)(+2.0) +/- 0.5) x 10(-6). We also measure the partial rate asymmetry of B+/- --> omegaK(+/-) decays and obtain A(CP) = -0.21 +/- 0.28 +/- 0.03. The results are based on a data sample of 29.4 fb(-1) collected on the Y(4S) resonance by the Belle detector at the KEKB e(+)e(-) collider

Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990-2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background Anaemia is a major health problem worldwide. Global estimates of anaemia burden are crucial for developing appropriate interventions to meet current international targets for disease mitigation. We describe the prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends of anaemia and its underlying causes in 204 countries and territories. Methods We estimated population-level distributions of haemoglobin concentration by age and sex for each location from 1990 to 2021. We then calculated anaemia burden by severity and associated years lived with disability (YLDs). With data on prevalence of the causes of anaemia and associated cause-specific shifts in haemoglobin concentrations, we modelled the proportion of anaemia attributed to 37 underlying causes for all locations, years, and demographics in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Findings In 2021, the global prevalence of anaemia across all ages was 24·3% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 23·9–24·7), corresponding to 1·92 billion (1·89–1·95) prevalent cases, compared with a prevalence of 28·2% (27·8–28·5) and 1·50 billion (1·48–1·52) prevalent cases in 1990. Large variations were observed in anaemia burden by age, sex, and geography, with children younger than 5 years, women, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia being particularly affected. Anaemia caused 52·0 million (35·1–75·1) YLDs in 2021, and the YLD rate due to anaemia declined with increasing Socio-demographic Index. The most common causes of anaemia YLDs in 2021 were dietary iron deficiency (cause-specific anaemia YLD rate per 100 000 population: 422·4 [95% UI 286·1–612·9]), haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias (89·0 [58·2–123·7]), and other neglected tropical diseases (36·3 [24·4–52·8]), collectively accounting for 84·7% (84·1–85·2) of anaemia YLDs. Interpretation Anaemia remains a substantial global health challenge, with persistent disparities according to age, sex, and geography. Estimates of cause-specific anaemia burden can be used to design locally relevant health interventions aimed at improving anaemia management and prevention. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation