4,662 research outputs found
Religiosity and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Latina Adolescents: Trends from 1995 to 2008
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine trends in the influence of religiosity on sexual activity of Latina adolescents in the United States from 1995 to 2008 and to determine if differences existed between the Mexican American and other Latina groups.
Methods: The sample comprised the subset of unmarried, 15–21-year-old (mean 17 years) Latina female respondents in the 1995 (n=267), 2002 (n=306), and 2006–2008 (n=400) National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) datasets. Associations between religiosity (importance of religion and service attendance) and history of ever having sex, number of sex partners, and age of sexual debut were investigated.
Results: Less than one half of Latinas in 1995 (44%) and in 2006–2008 (44%) reported that religion was very important to them, whereas in 2002, 50% reported it was important. Only in 1995 did Latinas who viewed religion as very important have a significantly lower level of sexual initiation. In 1995 and in 2006–2008, Latinas who held religion as very important had significantly fewer partners. In all three cohorts, the higher religious importance group had higher virgin survival rates. Across cohorts, approximately one third of respondents reported frequent religious attendance. In all cohorts, frequent attenders were less likely to have had sex, had fewer partners, and had older age at sexual debut. The survival rate as virgins for Mexican origin Latinas was higher in 1995 and 2002 compared to non-Mexican Latinas but was almost the same in 2006–2008.
Conclusions: Religiosity had a protective association with sexual activity among Latina adolescents. The association of importance of religion with sexual activity has diminished from 1995 to 2008, however, whereas the importance of service attendance has remained stable. The influence of religion was more apparent among the Latinas of Mexican origin, but this greater influence also diminished by 2006–2008
New Extreme Synchrotron BL Lac Objects
We report on the BeppoSAX observations of four "extreme" BL Lacs, selected to
have high synchrotron peak frequencies. All have been detected also in the PDS
band. For 1ES 0120+340, PKS 0548-322 and H 2356-309 the spectrum is well fitted
by a convex broken power-law, thus locating the synchrotron peak around 1 - 4
keV. 1ES 1426+428 presents a flat energy spectral index (alpha_x= 0.92) up to
100 keV, thus constraining the synchrotron peak to lie near or above that
value. For their extreme properties, all sources could be strong TeV emitters.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the conference "X-Ray Astronomy '99",
Bologna, Italy, September 1999; 4 pages, 3 figures, uses bo99.sty. Corrected
authors' lis
The last Gift of BeppoSAX: PDS Observations of the two Blazars 1ES 0507-040 and PKS 1229-021
Towards the end of the BeppoSAX mission, the only operated Narrow Field
Instrument was the PDS, which covers the energy range 13-300 keV. Two blazars,
1ES 0507-040 (z=0.304) and PKS 1229-021 (z= 1.045), suitably located in the sky
for BeppoSAX pointing, were observed for about 2 days each in Spring 2002 with
the PDS and detected up to 50 keV. 1ES0507-040 had been already observed by the
BeppoSAX NFIs at an earlier epoch for a much shorter time. We have re-analysed
those data as well, and identified a possible contamination problem in the PDS
spectrum. We present our recent PDS data on both sources, combined with the
previous BeppoSAX data and with non-simultaneous observations at other
frequencies. The derived Spectral Energy Distributions allow us to discuss the
origin of the high energy component.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, poster presented at the symposium: The Restless
High-Energy Universe, Amsterdam, May 200
NMR relaxation rate in the field-induced octupolar liquid phase of spin-1/2 J1-J2 frustrated chains
In the spin-1/2 frustrated chain with nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic exchange
J1 and next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic exchange J2 under magnetic
field, magnetic multipolar-liquid (quadrupolar, octupolar, and hexadecapolar)
phases are widely expanded from the saturation down to a low-field regime.
Recently, we have clarified characteristic temperature and field dependence of
the NMR relaxation rate 1/T_1 in the quadrupolar phase. In this paper, we
examine those of 1/T_1 in the octupolar phase combining field theoretical
method with numerical data. The relevance of the results to quasi
one-dimensional J1-J2 magnets such as PbCuSO4(OH)2, Rb2Cu2Mo3O12 and Li2ZrCuO4
is shortly discussed.Comment: 6 pages (1 column), 3 figure
Chandra Observations of the Interacting NGC 4410 Galaxy Group
We present high resolution X-ray imaging data from the ACIS-S instrument on
the Chandra telescope of the nearby interacting galaxy group NGC 4410. Four
galaxies in the inner portion of this group are clearly detected by Chandra,
including the peculiar low luminosity radio galaxy NGC 4410A. In addition to a
nuclear point source, NGC 4410A contains diffuse X-ray emission, including an
X-ray ridge extending out to about 12" (6 kpc) to the northwest of the nucleus.
This ridge is coincident with an arc of optical emission-line gas, which has
previously been shown to have optical line ratios consistent with shock
ionization. This structure may be due to an expanding superbubble of hot gas
caused by supernovae and stellar winds or by the active nucleus. The Chandra
observations also show four or five possible compact ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX)
sources (L(x) >= 10^39 erg/s) associated with NGC 4410A. At least one of these
candidate ULXs appears to have a radio counterpart, suggesting that it may be
due to an X-ray binary with a stellar-mass black hole, rather than an
intermediate mass black hole. In addition, a faint diffuse intragroup X-ray
component has been detected between the galaxies (L(x) ~ 10^41 erg/s). This
supports the hypothesis that the NGC 4410 group is in the process of evolving
via mergers from a spiral-dominated group (which typically have no
X-ray-emitting intragroup gas) to an elliptical-dominated group (which often
have a substantial intragroup medium).Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures; Accepted by Astronomical Journal; color images
at http://www.etsu.edu/physics/bsmith/research/n4410.htm
Glassy Transition in the Vortex Lattice of Ba(Fe0.93Rh0.07)2As2 superconductor, probed by NMR and ac-susceptibility
By using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and ac-susceptibility, the characteristic
correlation times for the vortex dynamics, in an iron-based superconductor,
have been derived. Upon cooling, the vortex dynamics displays a crossover
consistent with a vortex glass transition. The correlation times, in the fast
motions regime, merge onto a universal curve which is fit by the Vogel-Fulcher
law, rather than by an Arrhenius law. Moreover, the pinning barrier shows a
weak dependence on the magnetic field which can be heuristically justified
within a fragile glass scenario. In addition, the glass freezing temperatures
obtained by the two techniques merge onto the de Almeida-Thouless line. Finally
the phase diagram for the mixed phase has been derived.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure
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