813 research outputs found
A Persian Adaptation of Medication Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale (MASES) in Hypertensive Patients: Psychometric Properties and Factor Structure
© 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Introduction: Poor adherence to anti-hypertensive treatment significantly contributes to the failure to achieve well-controlled blood pressure in patients with hypertension. Aim: To convert the original English version of Medication Adherence Self-efficacy Scale (MASES) into a Persian version for clinical application in hypertensive patients. Methods: The backward–forward translation method was used to produce the Persian version of the questionnaire. Then the internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Exploratory Factor Analysis was applied to extract the components of the questionnaire. Correlation between blood pressures and drug adherence was then determined using the Persian MASES in hypertensive patients. Results: Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the Persian version of MASES was >0.92, suggesting that it can yield consistent results. Exploratory Factor Analysis suggested an uni-dimensionality of the scale. Patients with uncontrolled hypertension showed poor adherence to hypertensive medications, therefore had significant lower self-efficacy scores than those with well-controlled blood pressure by medications. Conclusion: The Persian version of MASES is valid and reliable to assess self-efficacy of antihypertensive medication adherence in hypertensive patient, which is helpful to improve medication compliance in such patients in order to achieve better blood pressure controls
The X-ray Luminosities of HH Objects
The recent detection of X-ray emission from HH 2 and HH 154 with the Chandra
and XMM-Newton satellites (respectively) have opened up an interesting, new
observational possibility in the field of Herbig-Haro objects. In order to be
able to plan further X-ray observations of other HH objects, it is now of
interest to be able to estimate their X-ray luminosities in order to choose
which objects to observe. This paper describes a simple, analytic model for
predicting the X-ray luminosity of a bow shock from the parameters of the flow
(i.e., the size of the bow shock, its velocity, and the pre-shock density). The
accuracy of the analytic model is analyzed through a comparison with the
predictions obtained from axisymmetric, gasdynamic simulations of the leading
working surface of an HH jet. We find that our analytic model reproduces the
observed X-ray luminosities of HH 2 and HH 154, and we propose that HH~80/81 is
a good candidate for future observations with Chandra.Comment: 10 pages (8 text, 2 figures
Confirmation of an exoplanet using the transit color signature: Kepler-418b, a blended giant planet in a multiplanet system
We announce confirmation of Kepler-418b, one of two proposed planets in this
system. This is the first confirmation of an exoplanet based primarily on the
transit color signature technique. We used the Kepler public data archive
combined with multicolor photometry from the Gran Telescopio de Canarias and
radial velocity follow-up using FIES at the Nordic Optical Telescope for
confirmation. We report a confident detection of a transit color signature that
can only be explained by a compact occulting body, entirely ruling out a
contaminating eclipsing binary, a hierarchical triple, or a grazing eclipsing
binary. Those findings are corroborated by our radial velocity measurements,
which put an upper limit of ~1 Mjup on the mass of Kepler-418b. We also report
that the host star is significantly blended, confirming the ~10% light
contamination suspected from the crowding metric in the Kepler light curve
measured by the Kepler team. We report detection of an unresolved light source
that contributes an additional ~40% to the target star, which would not have
been detected without multicolor photometric analysis. The resulting
planet-star radius ratio is 0.110 +/- 0.0025, more than 25% more than the 0.087
measured by Kepler, leading to a radius of 1.20 +/- 0.16 Rjup instead of the
0.94 Rjup measured by the Kepler team. This is the first confirmation of an
exoplanet candidate based primarily on the transit color signature,
demonstrating that this technique is viable from ground for giant planets. It
is particularly useful for planets with long periods such as Kepler-418b, which
tend to have long transit durations. Additionally, multicolor photometric
analysis of transits can reveal unknown stellar neighbors and binary companions
that do not affect the classification of the transiting object but can have a
very significant effect on the perceived planetary radius.Comment: accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
CoRoT 101186644: A transiting low-mass dense M-dwarf on an eccentric 20.7-day period orbit around a late F-star
We present the study of the CoRoT transiting planet candidate 101186644, also
named LRc01_E1_4780. Analysis of the CoRoT lightcurve and the HARPS
spectroscopic follow-up observations of this faint (m_V = 16) candidate
revealed an eclipsing binary composed of a late F-type primary (T_eff = 6090
+/- 200 K) and a low-mass, dense late M-dwarf secondary on an eccentric (e =
0.4) orbit with a period of ~20.7 days. The M-dwarf has a mass of 0.096 +/-
0.011 M_Sun, and a radius of 0.104 +0.026/-0.006 R_Sun, which possibly makes it
the smallest and densest late M-dwarf reported so far. Unlike the claim that
theoretical models predict radii that are 5%-15% smaller than measured for
low-mass stars, this one seems to have a radius that is consistent and might
even be below the radius predicted by theoretical models.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 8 pages, 10
figure
TOI-431/HIP 26013: A super-Earth and a sub-Neptune transiting a bright, early K dwarf, with a third RV planet
We present the bright (Vmag = 9.12), multiplanet system TOI-431, characterized with photometry and radial velocities (RVs). We estimate the stellar rotation period to be 30.5 \ub1 0.7 d using archival photometry and RVs. Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) objects of Interest (TOI)-431 b is\ua0a\ua0super-Earth with\ua0a\ua0period of 0.49 d,\ua0a\ua0radius of 1.28 \ub1 0.04 R,\ua0a\ua0mass of 3.07 \ub1 0.35 M, and\ua0a\ua0density of 8.0 \ub1 1.0 g cm-3; TOI-431 d is\ua0a\ua0sub-Neptune with\ua0a\ua0period of 12.46 d,\ua0a\ua0radius of 3.29 \ub1 0.09 R,\ua0a\ua0mass of 9.90+1.53-1.49 M, and\ua0a\ua0density of 1.36 \ub1 0.25 g cm-3. We find\ua0a\ua0third planet, TOI-431 c,\ua0in\ua0the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher RV data, but it is not seen to transit\ua0in\ua0the TESS light curves. It has an Msin i of 2.83+0.41-0.34 M, and\ua0a\ua0period of 4.85 d. TOI-431 d likely has an extended atmosphere and is one of the most well-suited TESS discoveries for atmospheric characterization, while the super-Earth TOI-431 b may be\ua0a\ua0stripped core. These planets straddle the radius gap, presenting an interesting case-study for atmospheric evolution, and TOI-431 b is\ua0a\ua0prime TESS discovery for the study of rocky planet phase curves
Mid-infrared laser light nulling experiment using single-mode conductive waveguides
Aims: In the context of space interferometry missions devoted to the search
of exo-Earths, this paper investigates the capabilities of new single mode
conductive waveguides at providing modal filtering in an infrared and
monochromatic nulling experiment; Methods: A Michelson laser interferometer
with a co-axial beam combination scheme at 10.6 microns is used. After
introducing a Pi phase shift using a translating mirror, dynamic and static
measurements of the nulling ratio are performed in the two cases where modal
filtering is implemented and suppressed. No additional active control of the
wavefront errors is involved. Results: We achieve on average a statistical
nulling ratio of 2.5e-4 with a 1-sigma upper limit of 6e-4, while a best null
of 5.6e-5 is obtained in static mode. At the moment, the impact of external
vibrations limits our ability to maintain the null to 10 to 20 seconds.;
Conclusions: A positive effect of SM conductive waveguide on modal filtering
has been observed in this study. Further improvement of the null should be
possible with proper mechanical isolation of the setup.Comment: Accepted in A&A, 7 pages, 5 figure
Search for an exosphere in sodium and calcium in the transmission spectrum of exoplanet 55 Cancri e
[Abridged] The aim of this work is to search for an absorption signal from
exospheric sodium (Na) and singly ionized calcium (Ca) in the optical
transmission spectrum of the hot rocky super-Earth 55 Cancri e. Although the
current best-fitting models to the planet mass and radius require a possible
atmospheric component, uncertainties in the radius exist, making it possible
that 55 Cancri e could be a hot rocky planet without an atmosphere. High
resolution (R110000) time-series spectra of five transits of 55 Cancri e,
obtained with three different telescopes (UVES/VLT, HARPS/ESO 3.6m &
HARPS-N/TNG) were analysed. Targeting the sodium D lines and the calcium H and
K lines, the potential planet exospheric signal was filtered out from the much
stronger stellar and telluric signals, making use of the change of the radial
component of the orbital velocity of the planet over the transit from -57 to
+57 km/sec. Combining all five transit data sets, we detect a signal
potentially associated with sodium in the planet exosphere at a statistical
significance level of 3. Combining the four HARPS transits that cover
the calcium H and K lines, we also find a potential signal from ionized calcium
(4.1 ). Interestingly, this latter signal originates from just one of
the transit measurements - with a 4.9 detection at this epoch.
Unfortunately, due to the low significance of the measured sodium signal and
the potentially variable Ca signal, we estimate the p-values of these
signals to be too high (corresponding to <4) to claim unambiguous
exospheric detections. By comparing the observed signals with artificial
signals injected early in the analysis, the absorption by Na and Ca are
estimated to be at a level of approximately 2.3 and 7.0 respectively, relative to the stellar spectrum.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, submission updated after English language
editing, submission updated to correct a mistaken cross-reference noticed in
A&A proo
High angular resolution imaging and infrared spectroscopy of CoRoT candidates
Studies of transiting extrasolar planets are of key importance for
understanding the nature of planets outside our solar system because their
masses, diameters, and bulk densities can be measured. An important part of
transit-search programmes is the removal of false-positives. The critical
question is how many of the candidates that passed all previous tests are false
positives. For our study we selected 25 CoRoT candidates that have already been
screened against false-positives using detailed analysis of the light curves
and seeing-limited imaging, which has transits that are between 0.7 and 0.05%
deep. We observed 20 candidates with the adaptive optics imager NaCo and 18
with the high-resolution infrared spectrograph CRIRES. We found previously
unknown stars within 2 arcsec of the targets in seven of the candidates. All of
these are too faint and too close to the targets to have been previously
detected with seeing-limited telescopes in the optical. Our study thus leads to
the surprising results that if we remove all candidates excluded by the
sophisticated analysis of the light-curve, as well as carrying out deep imaging
with seeing-limited telescopes, still 28-35% of the remaining candidates are
found to possess companions that are bright enough to be false-positives. Given
that the companion-candidates cluster around the targets and that the J-K
colours are consistent with physical companions, we conclude that the
companion-candidates are more likely to be physical companions rather than
unrelated field stars.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, A&A in pres
Cancer patients’ experiences of care related to pain management before and after palliative care referral
Cancer patients' experiences of care related to pain management before and after palliative care referral Pain is the main problem for patients with cancer referred to palliative care (PC). Pain management in PC requires a multidimensional approach. A questionnaire was used to determine cancer patients' experiences of care related to pain management, before and after being referred to PC, and to also discover possible correlations between pain control and other aspects of care. Seventy-five consecutive patients from two PC teams were included in the study. The patients had experienced a statistically significant ( P < 0.01) improvement in care after being referred to PC, despite the fact that pain control had not been optimized. Patients' description of 'pain control' after being referred to PC had a statistically significant correlation with their 'feeling of security' and 'continuity of care' throughout the same period. The conclusion is that care provided in PC is vital to successful pain management. Pain control depends not only on analgesics but also on many other aspects of care provided by the nurse. Continuity of care and the opportunity to talk increases the patients' feeling of security, which is also of utmost importance to successful pain management
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An observational study of cometary globules near the Rosette nebula
Molecular line observations are reported of two regions containing small cometary globules at the edge of the Rosette Nebula. Observations of the CO, 13CO and 18CO J = 2 - 1,and CO J = 4 -3 molecular lines towards Globule 1, the most prominent of the group, show it has a well-developed head-tail structure, with a head diameter ~0.4pc, and a tail extending ~ 1.3 pc behind it. The major axis of the system points about 45 degrees away from the direction to the centre of the Rosette Nebula (which contains the presumed illuminating stars), and 20 degrees out of the plane of the sky, along a projected line towards the luminous (924 L⊙) infrared source IRAS 06314+0427. The CO lines have a complex velocity structure; with a pronounced broadening at the front of the head (as viewed from IRAS 06314+0427); a velocity gradient ~1.4 km s-1 along the tail, and material at the front of the head is blue-shifted by ~0.5 km s-1 compared to surrounding gas. The CO J = 2 - 1 line intensity peaks towards the front of the head, and along the edges of the tail. The 13CO J =2 - 1 antenna temperatures in the head are very similar to those of CO, suggesting very high opacities or column densities, or that there is significant CO self-absorption. There is a narrow rim of CO J = 4 - 3 emission around the front of the head over a limited velocity range, which correlates with the position of a faint optical rim, and a narrow ridge of 2 μm H2 emission. These data give strong support to the Radiation Driven Implosion (RDI) model of Lefloch and Lazareff (1994 - hereafter LL94), which was developed to explain the physical structure of cometary globules. Using an RDI simulation, a remarkably good fit to the data has been obtained, allowing the CO, 13CO and C18O spatial structures and velocity field to be modelled. This simulation suggests that Globule 1 is ~400,000 years old, and has a mass ~ 50 M⊙. Additional observations towards the region close to IRAS 06314+0427 show that it is associated with an intense molecular concentration lying at the northern end of a ~ 5 pc long molecular ridge, with a mass ~ 330 M⊙, and lies close to the centre of a shell-like condensation
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