23,642 research outputs found
The Possibility of Inflation in Asymptotically Safe Gravity
We examine the inflationary modes in the cubic curvature theories in the
context of asymptotically safe gravity. On the phase space of the Hubble
parameter, there exists a critical point which corresponds to the slow-roll
inflation in Einstein frame. Most of the e-foldings are attained around the
critical point for each inflationary trajectories. If the coupling constants
have the parametric relations generated as the power of the relative
energy scale of inflation to the ultraviolet cutoff , a
successful inflation with more than 60 e-foldings occurs near the critical
point.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
Korean Americans' Beliefs about Colorectal Cancer Screening
SummaryPurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess Korean Americans' (KAs) health and cultural beliefs about colorectal cancer (CRC) and their CRC screening utilization in order to understand how health and cultural beliefs play a role in CRC screening utilization and why KAs have a low rate of CRC screening.MethodsFace-to-face, individual interviews with 26 Korean immigrants aged 50 and older were conducted in Korean. A semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions was used to explore participants' health and cultural beliefs about CRC and CRC screening. Recorded audio interviews were transcribed verbatim in Korean and coded using thematic analysis.ResultsThe themes that emerged from analyzing the individual interview data were: (a) valuing their families before themselves; (b) seeing a doctor only if they have symptoms; (c) believing that they would not get CRC; (d) balancing the will to stay healthy and fatalism; and (e) refusing health information.ConclusionResults show the critical need for in-depth understanding of unique health and cultural beliefs about CRC screening in KAs. These beliefs could be useful for future intervention strategies to change health and cultural beliefs in order to increase CRC screening participation in KAs
Structural and Correlation Effects in the Itinerant Insulating Antiferromagnetic Perovskite NaOsO3
The orthorhombic perovskite NaOsO3 undergoes a continuous metal-insulator
transition (MIT), accompanied by antiferromagnetic (AFM) order at T_N=410 K,
suggested to be an example of the rare Slater (itinerant) MIT. We study this
system using ab initio and related methods, focusing on the origin and nature
of magnetic ordering and the MIT. The rotation and tilting of OsO6 octahedra in
the GdFeO3 structure result in moderate narrowing the band width of the t_{2g}
manifold, but sufficient to induce flattening of bands and AFM order within the
local spin density approximation (LSDA), where it remains metallic but with a
deep pseudogap. Including on-site Coulomb repulsion U, at U_c ~2 eV a MIT
occurs only in the AFM state. Effects of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on the band
structure seem minor as expected for a half-filled shell, but SOC
doubles the critical value U_c necessary to open a gap and also leads to large
magnetocrystalline energy differences in spite of normal orbital moments no
greater than 0.1. Our results are consistent with a Slater MIT driven by
magnetic order, induced by a combination of structurally-induced band narrowing
and moderate Coulomb repulsion, with SOC necessary for a full picture. Strong
p-d hybridization reduces the moment, and when bootstrapped by the reduced
Hund's rule coupling (proportional to the moment) gives a calculated moment of
~1 , consistent with the observed moment and only a third of the formal
value. We raise and discuss one important question: since this AFM
ordering is at q=0 (in the 20 atom cell) where nesting is a moot issue, what is
the microscopic driving force for ordering and the accompanying MIT?Comment: 9 page
Psychometric properties of a short self-reported measure of medication adherence among patients with hypertension treated in a busy clinical setting in Korea.
BackgroundWe examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) among adults with hypertension.MethodsA total of 373 adults with hypertension were given face-to-face interviews in 2 cardiology clinics at 2 large teaching hospitals in Seoul, South Korea. Blood pressure was measured twice, and medical records were reviewed. About one-third of the participants (n = 109) were randomly selected for a 2-week test-retest evaluation of reliability via telephone interview.ResultsInternal consistency reliability was moderate (Cronbach α = 0.56), and test-retest reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation = 0.91; P < 0.001), although a ceiling effect was detected. The correlation of MMAS-8 scores with scores for the original 4-item scale indicated that convergent validity was good (r = 0.92; P < 0.01). A low MMAS-8 score was significantly associated with poor blood pressure control (χ(2) = 29.86; P < 0.001; adjusted odds ratio = 5.08; 95% CI, 2.56-10.08). Using a cut-off point of 6, sensitivity and specificity were 64.3% and 72.9%, respectively. Exploratory factor analysis identified 3 dimensions of the scale, with poor fit for the 1-dimensional construct using confirmatory factory analysis.ConclusionsThe MMAS-8 had satisfactory reliability and validity and thus might be suitable for assessment and counseling regarding medication adherence among adults with hypertension in a busy clinical setting in Korea
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