Perspectives on family health, happiness and harmony (3H) among Hong Kong Chinese people: a qualitative study

Family harmony, an important Confucian ideal in Chinese society is believed to determine family happiness and therefore health, but is this accurate? This is a qualitative study of 41 Hong Kong Chinese family members. Individual recorded interviews were thematically analysed describing perceived interactions between harmony, happiness and health. Family harmony comprised four components: communication, mutual respect, lack of conflict and family time [notably 'Gou tong' (in Cantonese 溝通)-opportunity and willingness to spend time together-requiring good interpersonal communication, emphasized by female respondents]. Lack of conflict was emphasized, while diverse values, parenting styles and financial difficulties were common causes of conflict. Respect required reciprocity. Family happiness comprised four elements: family harmony, an important pre-requisite; mutual caring and supportive orientation; sense of security emphasizing financial security in middle-class versus sense of togetherness in lower social class groups and contentment. Healthy families were harmonious; 'typical' (children/two-parent/two-grandparent); happy; caring and respectful, with individual health and healthy behaviours. Family harmony, happiness and health are interrelated and built on a communicative, respectful, caring and contented set of attitudes, in particular allowing for family time. Harmony is apparently a core element of good family functioning.postprin

Quantum-mechanical calculation of Stark widths of Ne VII n=3, Δn=0\Delta n=0 transitions

The Stark widths of the Ne VII 2s3s-2s3p singlet and triplet lines are calculated in the impact approximation using quantum-mechanical Convergent Close-Coupling and Coulomb-Born-Exchange approximations. It is shown that the contribution from inelastic collisions to the line widths exceeds the elastic width contribution by about an order of magnitude. Comparison with the line widths measured in a hot dense plasma of a gas-liner pinch indicates a significant difference which may be naturally explained by non-thermal Doppler effects from persistent implosion velocities or turbulence developed during the pinch implosion. Contributions to the line width from different partial waves and types of interactions are discussed as well.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures; accepted by Phys. Rev.

Differential expression of synaptophysin and synaptoporin during pre- and postnatal development of the hippocampal network

The closely related synaptic vesicle membrane proteins synaptophysin and synaptoporin are abundant in the hippocampal formation of the adult rat. But the prenatal hippocampal formation contains only synaptophysin, which is first detected at embryonic day 17 (E17) in perikarya and axons of the pyramidal neurons. At E21 synaptophysin immunoreactivity extends into the apical dendrites of these cells and in newly formed terminals contacting these dendrites. The transient presence of synaptophysin in axons and dendrites suggests a functional involvement of synaptophysin in fibre outgrowth of developing pyramidal neurons. Synaptoporin expression parallels the formation of dentate granule cell synaptic contacts with pyramidal neurons: the amount of hippocampal synaptoporin, determined in immunoblots and by synaptoporin immunostaining of developing mossy fibre terminals, increases during the first postnatal week. Moreover, in the adult, synaptoporin is found exclusively in the mossy fibre terminals present in the hilar region of the dentate gyrus and the regio inferior of the cornu ammonis. In contrast, synaptophysin is present in all synaptic fields of the hippocampal formation, including the mossy fibre terminals, where it colocalizes with synaptoporin in the same boutons. Our data indicate that granule neuron terminals differ from all other terminals of the hippocampal formation by the presence of both synaptoporin and synaptophysin. This difference, observed in the earliest synaptic contacts in the postnatal hippocampus and persisting into adult life, suggests distinct functions of synaptoporin in these nerve terminals

Thermal conductivity and specific heat of the linear chain cuprate Sr2_{2}CuO3_{3}: Evidence for thermal transport via spinons

We report measurements of the specific heat and the thermal conductivity of the model Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain cuprate Sr$_{2}$CuO$_{3}$ at low temperatures. In addition to a nearly isotropic phonon heat transport, we find a quasi one-dimensional excess thermal conductivity along the chain direction, most likely associated with spin excitations (spinons). The spinon energy current is limited mainly by scattering on defects and phonons. Analyzing the specific heat data, the intrachain magnetic exchange $J/k_{B}$ is estimated to be 2650 K.Comment: 4 RevTeX pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

High-mass star formation at high luminosities: W31 at >10^6 L_sun

Context: High-mass star formation has been a very active field over the last decade, however, most studies targeted regions of luminosities between 10^4 and 10^5 L_sun. Methods: We selected the W31 star-forming complex with a total luminosity of ~6x10^6 L_sun for a multi-wavelength spectral line and continuum study covering wavelengths from the near- and mid-infrared via (sub)mm wavelength observations to radio data in the cm regime. Results: While the overall structure of the multi-wavelength continuum data resembles each other well, there are several intriguing differences. The 24mum emission stemming largely from small dust grains follows tightly the spatial structure of the cm emission tracing the ionized free-free emission. Hence warm dust resides in regions that are spatially associated with the ionized hot gas (~10^4 K) of the HII regions. Furthermore, we find several evolutionary stages within the same complexes, ranging from infrared-observable clusters, via deeply embedded regions associated with active star formation traced by 24\,$\mu$m and cm emission, to at least one high-mass gas clump devoid of any such signature. The 13CO(2-1) and C18O(2-1) spectral line observations reveal a large kinematic breadth in the entire region with a total velocity range of approximately 90 km/s. While the average virial mass ratio for W31 is close to unity, the line width analysis indicates large-scale evolutionary differences between the southern and northern sub-regions (G10.2-0.3 and G10.3-0.1) of the whole W31 complex. The clump mass function - tracing cluster scales and not scales of individual stars - derived from the 875mum continuum data has a slope of 1.5+-0.3, consistent with previous cloud mass functions.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted for Astronomy and Astrophysics, high-resolution version of paper at http://www.mpia.de/homes/beuther/papers.htm

Outflows from the high-mass protostars NGC 7538 IRS1/2 observed with bispectrum speckle interferometry -- Signatures of flow precession

NGC 7538 IRS1 is a high-mass (approx. 30 M_sun) protostar with a CO outflow, an associated UCHII region, and a linear methanol maser structure, which might trace a Keplerian-rotating circumstellar disk. The directions of the various associated axes are misaligned with each other. We investigate the near-infrared morphology of the source to clarify the relations among the various axes. K'-band bispectrum speckle interferometry was performed at two 6-meter-class telescopes -- the BTA 6m telescope and the 6.5m MMT. Complementary IRAC images from the Spitzer Space Telescope Archive were used to relate the structures detected with the outflow at larger scales. High-dynamic range images show fan-shaped outflow structure in which we detect 18 stars and several blobs of diffuse emission. We interpret the misalignment of various outflow axes in the context of a disk precession model, including numerical hydrodynamic simulations of the molecular emission. The precession period is approx. 280 years and its half-opening angle is 40 degrees. A possible triggering mechanism is non-coplanar tidal interaction of an (undiscovered) close companion with the circumbinary protostellar disk. Our observations resolve the nearby massive protostar NGC 7538 IRS2 as a close binary with separation of 195 mas. We find indications for shock interaction between the outflow activities in IRS1 and IRS2. Indications of outflow precession have been discovered to date in a number of massive protostars, all with large precession angles 20--45 degrees. This might explain the difference between the outflow widths in low- and high-mass stars and add support to a common collimation mechanism.Comment: 20 pages; 8 figures; Accepted by A&A on April 10, 2006; Image quality reduced due to astro-ph file size limitations; Please download a version with high-quality images from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/staff/tpreibis/ngc7538.pd

Multidimensional Supernova Simulations with Approximative Neutrino Transport I. Neutron Star Kicks and the Anisotropy of Neutrino-Driven Explosions in Two Spatial Dimensions

By means of two-dimensional (2D) simulations we study hydrodynamic instabilities during the first seconds of neutrino-driven supernova explosions, using a PPM hydrodynamics code, supplemented with a gray, non-equilibrium approximation of radial neutrino transport. We consider three 15 solar mass progenitors with different structures and one rotating model, in which we replace the dense core of the newly formed neutron star (NS) by a contracting inner grid boundary, and trigger neutrino-driven explosions by systematically varying the neutrino fluxes emitted at this boundary. Confirming more idealized studies as well as supernova simulations with spectral transport, we find that random seed perturbations can grow by hydrodynamic instabilities to a globally asymmetric mass distribution, leading to a dominance of dipole (l=1) and quadrupole (l=2) modes in the explosion ejecta. Anisotropic gravitational and hydrodynamic forces are found to accelerate the NS on a timescale of 2-3 seconds. Since the explosion anisotropies develop chaotically, the magnitude of the corresponding kick varies stochastically in response to small differences in the fluid flow. Our more than 70 models separate into two groups, one with high and the other with low NS velocities and accelerations after 1s of post-bounce evolution, depending on whether the l=1 mode is dominant in the ejecta or not. This leads to a bimodality of the distribution when the NS velocities are extrapolated to their terminal values. The fast group has an average velocity of about 500 km/s and peak values in excess of 1000 km/s. Establishing a link to the measured distribution of pulsar velocities, however, requires a much larger set of calculations and ultimately 3D modeling. (abridged)Comment: 40 pages, 28 figures; significantly shortened and revised version according to referee's comments; accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic

Cold atomic gas identified by HI self-absorption. Cold atomic clouds toward giant molecular filaments

Stars form in the dense interiors of molecular clouds. The dynamics and physical properties of the atomic interstellar medium (ISM) set the conditions under which molecular clouds and eventually stars will form. It is, therefore, critical to investigate the relationship between the atomic and molecular gas phase to understand the global star formation process. Using the high angular resolution data from The HI/OH/Recombination line survey of the Milky Way (THOR), we aim to constrain the kinematic and physical properties of the cold atomic hydrogen gas phase toward the inner Galactic plane. HI self-absorption (HISA) has proven to be a viable method to detect cold atomic hydrogen clouds in the Galactic plane. With the help of a newly developed self-absorption extraction routine (astroSABER), we build upon previous case studies to identify HI self-absorption toward a sample of Giant Molecular Filaments (GMFs). We find the cold atomic gas to be spatially correlated with the molecular gas on a global scale. The column densities of the cold atomic gas traced by HISA are usually of the order of $10^{20}\rm\,cm^{-2}$ whereas those of molecular hydrogen traced by $\rm^{13}CO$ are at least an order of magnitude higher. The HISA column densities are attributed to a cold gas component that accounts for a fraction of $\sim$5% of the total atomic gas budget within the clouds. The HISA column density distributions show pronounced log-normal shapes that are broader than those traced by HI emission. The cold atomic gas is found to be moderately supersonic with Mach numbers of a $\sim$few. In contrast, highly supersonic dynamics drive the molecular gas within most filaments.Comment: 41 pages, 28 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Effectiveness of a mobile smoking cessation service in reaching elderly smokers and predictors of quitting

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Different smoking cessation programmes have been developed in the last decade but utilization by the elderly is low. We evaluated a pilot mobile smoking cessation service for the Chinese elderly in Hong Kong and identified predictors of quitting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Mobile Smoking Cessation Programme (MSCP) targeted elderly smokers (aged 60 or above) and provided service in a place that was convenient to the elderly. Trained counsellors provided individual counselling and 4 week's free supply of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Follow up was arranged at 1 month by face-to-face and at 3 and 6 months by telephone plus urinary cotinine validation. A structured record sheet was used for data collection. The service was evaluated in terms of process, outcome and cost.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>102 governmental and non-governmental social service units and private residential homes for the elderly participated in the MSCP. We held 90 health talks with 3266 elderly (1140 smokers and 2126 non-smokers) attended. Of the 1140 smokers, 365 (32%) received intensive smoking cessation service. By intention-to-treat, the validated 7 day point prevalence quit rate was 20.3% (95% confidence interval: 16.2%–24.8%). Smoking less than 11 cigarettes per day and being adherent to NRT for 4 weeks or more were significant predictors of quitting. The average cost per contact was US$54 (smokers only); per smoker with counselling: US$168; per self-reported quitter: US$594; and per cotinine validated quitter: US$827.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This mobile smoking cessation programme was acceptable to elderly Chinese smokers, with quit rate comparable to other comprehensive programmes in the West. A mobile clinic is a promising model to reach the elderly and probably other hard to reach smokers.</p

Inner Rim of A Molecular Disk Spatially Resolved in Infrared CO Emission Lines

We present high-resolution infrared spectroscopy of the Herbig Ae star HD 141569 A in the CO v=2-1 transition. With the angular resolution attained by the adaptive optics system, the gas disk around HD 141569 A is spatially resolved down to its inner-rim truncation. The size of the inner clearing is 11+-2 AU in radius, close to the gravitational radius of the star. The rough coincidence to the gravitational radius indicates that the viscous accretion working together with the photoevaporation by the stellar radiation has cleared the inner part of the disk.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa