Predictors of English Health Literacy among U.S. Hispanic Immigrants: The importance of language, bilingualism and sociolinguistic environment

In the United States, data confirm that Spanish-speaking immigrants are particularly affected by the negative health outcomes associated with low health literacy. Although the literature points to variables such as age, educational background and language, only a few studies have investigated the factors that may influence health literacy in this group. Similarly, the role that bilingualism and/or multilingualism play in health literacy assessment continues to be an issue in need of further research. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors of English health literacy among adult Hispanic immigrants whose self-reported primary language is Spanish, but who live and function in a bilingual community. It also explored issues related to the language of the instrument. An analysis of data collected through a randomized controlled study was conducted. Results identified English proficiency as the strongest predictor of health literacy (p < 0.001). The results further point to the importance of primary and secondary language in the assessment of heath literacy level. This study raises many questions in need of further investigation to clarify how language proficiency and sociolinguistic environment affect health literacy in language minority adults; proposes language approaches that may be more appropriate for measuring health literacy in these populations; and recommends further place-based research to determine whether the connection between language proficiency and health is generalizable to border communities

Causal approach for the electron-positron scattering in Generalized Quantum Electrodynamics

In this paper we study the generalized electrodynamics contribution for the electron-positron scattering process, $e^{-}e^{+}\rightarrow e^{-}e^{+}$, the Bhabha scattering. Within the framework of the standard model, for energies larger when compared to the electron mass, we calculate the cross section expression for the scattering process. This quantity is usually calculated in the framework of the Maxwell electrodynamics and, by phenomenological reasons, corrected by a cut-off parameter. On the other hand, by considering the generalized electrodynamics instead of Maxwell's, we can show that the effects played by the Podolsky mass is actually a natural cut-off parameter for this scattering process. Furthermore, by means of experimental data of Bhabha scattering we will estimate its lower bound value. Nevertheless, in order to have a mathematically well defined description of our study we shall present our discussion in the framework of the Epstein-Glaser causal theory.Comment: 24 pages, V2 to match published versio

The Epstein-Glaser causal approach to the Light-Front QED4_{4}. I: Free theory

In this work we present the study of light-front field theories in the realm of axiomatic theory. It is known that when one uses the light-cone gauge pathological poles $(k^{+}) ^{-n}$ arises, demanding a prescription to be employed in order to tame these ill-defined poles and to have correct Feynman integrals due to the lack of Wick rotation in such theories. In order to shed a new light on this long standing problem we present here a discussion based on the use rigorous mathematical machinery of distributions combined with physical concepts, such as causality, to show how to deal with these singular propagators in a general fashion without making use of any prescription. The first step of our development will consist in showing how analytic representation for propagators arises by requiring general physical properties in the framework of Wightman's formalism. From that we shall determine the equal-time (anti)commutation relations in the light-front form for the scalar, fermionic fields and for the dynamical components of the electromagnetic field. In conclusion, we introduce the Epstein-Glaser causal method in order to have a mathematical rigorous treatment of the free propagators of the theory, allowing us to discuss the general treatment for propagators of the type $(k^{+}) ^{-n}$. Moreover, we show that at given conditions our results reproduce known prescriptions in the literature.Comment: 34 pages, v2 matching the published versio

Hierarchy and Competition in CSCW applications: Model and case study

CSCW applications need to adapt themselves to the functional and organizational structures of people that use them. However they do not usually support division in groups with a certain hierarchical structure among them. In this paper, we propose and study a theoretical model of groupware appliations that reflects those hierarchical interactions. The proposed model is also intended to evaluate the effects in performance derived from competitive and collaborative relationships among the components of a hierarchy of groups. In order to demonstrate the above ideas, a groupware game, called Alymod, was designed and implemented using a modified version of a well-known CSCW Toolkit, namely Groupkit. Groupkit was modified in order to support group interactions in the same CSCW application. In Alymod, participants compete or collaborate within a hierarchical structure to achieve a common goal (completing gaps in a text, finishing numerical series, resolving University course examinations, etc.).Publicad

Normalizability analysis of the generalized quantum electrodynamics from the causal point of view

The causal perturbation theory is an axiomatic perturbative theory of the S-matrix. This formalism has as its essence the following axioms: causality, Lorentz invariance and asymptotic conditions. Any other property must be showed via the inductive method order-by-order and, of course, it depends on the particular physical model. In this work we shall study the normalizability of the generalized quantum electrodynamics in the framework of the causal approach. Furthermore, we analyse the implication of the gauge invariance onto the model and obtain the respective Ward-Takahashi-Fradkin identities.Comment: V2: 32 pages, affiliations updated, published versio

Role of NASA's SeaBASS Repository for the Legacy of the EXPORTS Field Biogeochemical Measurements

Role of NASA's SeaBASS repository for the legacy of the EXPORTS field biogeochemical measurements