Smart technology for healthcare: Exploring the antecedents of adoption intention of healthcare wearable technology

© The Author(s), 2019. Technological advancement and personalized health information has led to an increase in people using and responding to wearable technology in the last decade. These changes are often perceived to be beneficial, providing greater information and insights about health for users, organizations and healthcare and government. However, to date, understanding the antecedents of its adoption is limited. Seeking to address this gap, this cross-sectional study examined what factors influence users’ adoption intention of healthcare wearable technology. We used self-administrated online survey to explore adoption intentions of healthcare wearable devices in 171 adults residing in Hong Kong. We analyzed the data by Partial least squares – structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that perceived convenience and perceived irreplaceability are key predictors of perceived useful ness, which in turn strengthens users’ adoption intention. Additionally, the results also reveal that health belief is one of the key predictors of adoption intention. This paper contributes to the extant literature by providing understanding of how to strengthen users’ intention to adopt healthcare wearable technology. This includes the strengthening of perceived convenience and perceived irreplaceability to enhance the perceived usefulness, incorporating the extensive communication in the area of healthcare messages, which is useful in strengthening consumers’ adoption intention in healthcare wearable technology

Effects of Occupational Therapy on Hospitalized Chronic Schizophrenia Patients with Severe Negative Symptoms

The aim of this study was to determine whether occupational therapy (OT) can improve the interpersonal relationships and negative symptoms of hospitalized chronic schizophrenia patients with severe negative symptoms. Subjects were 38 patients with chronic schizophrenia. They were randomly divided into an OT group and a control group. Patients in the OT group participated in cooking activities once a week for 15 weeks, while patients in the control group did not. During this period, both groups had the usual treatment except for the cooking activities. In interviews, the patient was asked to place a chair toward the interviewer (a therapist). The angle and distance from the interviewer were taken as indicators of an ability to have interpersonal relationships. Negative symptoms were evaluated with the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Patients who received OT were able to sit at the smaller angle and shorter distance from the interviewer than before OT (p=0.015 and p=0.013, respectively). The total SANS score was lower after OT than before OT (p=0.033). In the control group, the distance from the interviewer also decreased during the experimental period (p=0.040) but the seating angle and the SANS scores did not change. The results suggest that OT can help to improve a relationship allowing the patient to face the therapist and that it might improve negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Perturbative QCD Fragmentation Functions for BcB_c and Bc∗B_c^* Production

The dominant production mechanism for ${\bar b} c$ bound states in high energy processes is the production of a high energy ${\bar b}$ or $c$ quark, followed by its fragmentation into the ${\bar b} c$ state. We calculate the fragmentation functions for the production of the S-wave states $B_c$ and $B_c^*$ to leading order in the QCD coupling constant. The fragmentation probabilities for ${\bar b} \rightarrow B_c$ and ${\bar b} \rightarrow B_c^*$ are approximately $2.2 \times 10^{-4}$ and $3.1 \times 10^{-4}$, while those for $c \rightarrow B_c$ and $c \rightarrow B_c^*$ are smaller by almost two orders of magnitude.Comment: Latex, 12 pages, 3 figures available upon request, NUHEP-TH-93-

The Point of Origin of the Radio Radiation from the Unresolved Cores of Radio-Loud Quasars

Locating the exact point of origin of the core radiation in active galactic nuclei (AGN) would represent important progress in our understanding of physical processes in the central engine of these objects. However, due to our inability to resolve the region containing both the central compact object and the jet base, this has so far been difficult. Here, using an analysis in which the lack of resolution does not play a significant role, we demonstrate that it may be impossible even in most radio loud sources for more than a small percentage of the core radiation at radio wavelengths to come from the jet base. We find for 3C279 that $\sim85$ percent of the core flux at 15 GHz must come from a separate, reasonably stable, region that is not part of the jet base, and that then likely radiates at least quasi-isotropically and is centered on the black hole. The long-term stability of this component also suggests that it may originate in a region that extends over many Schwarzschild radii.Comment: 7 pages with 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Time-dependent linear response of an inhomogeneous Bose superfluid: Microscopic theory and connection to current-density functional theory

The dynamics of a confined fluid of Bose atoms is treated within the linear response regime, with a view to establishing a current-density functional formalism for an inhomogeneous superfluid state. After evaluating in full detail a simplified case of an external coupling to the density and phase of the condensate, the theory is extended to include the coupling to the total current density. The Kohn-Sham response functions of the condensate and all the exchange-correlation kernels for the superfluid are introduced from the microscopic equations of motion and are expressed in a physically transparent way through functional derivatives of correlation functions. A microscopic formula for the superfluid density is derived and used to introduce a generalized hydrodynamic approach for a weakly inhomogeneous two-fluid model in isothermal conditions. Local-density expressions are thereby derived for the velocities of first and second sound in the weakly inhomogeneous superfluid and for visco-elastic functions describing the transition from the hydrodynamic to the collisionless regime. Landau's hydrodynamic theory and known results in Green's functions language are recovered in the limiting case of a homogeneous superfluid.Comment: 25 pages, no figures, Postscript fil

Quantum spin pumping with adiabatically modulated magnetic barrier's

A quantum pump device involving magnetic barriers produced by the deposition of ferro magnetic stripes on hetero-structure's is investigated. The device for dc- transport does not provide spin-polarized currents, but in the adiabatic regime, when one modulates two independent parameters of this device, spin-up and spin-down electrons are driven in opposite directions, with the net result being that a finite net spin current is transported with negligible charge current. We also analyze our proposed device for inelastic-scattering and spin-orbit scattering. Strong spin-orbit scattering and more so inelastic scattering have a somewhat detrimental effect on spin/charge ratio especially in the strong pumping regime. Further we show our pump to be almost noiseless, implying an optimal quantum spin pump.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. Manuscript revised with additional new material on spin-orbit scattering and inelastic scattering. Further new additions on noiseless pumping and analytical results with distinction between weak and strong pumping regimes. Accepted for publication in Physical Review

The Horizontal Component of Photospheric Plasma Flows During the Emergence of Active Regions on the Sun

The dynamics of horizontal plasma flows during the first hours of the emergence of active region magnetic flux in the solar photosphere have been analyzed using SOHO/MDI data. Four active regions emerging near the solar limb have been considered. It has been found that extended regions of Doppler velocities with different signs are formed in the first hours of the magnetic flux emergence in the horizontal velocity field. The flows observed are directly connected with the emerging magnetic flux; they form at the beginning of the emergence of active regions and are present for a few hours. The Doppler velocities of flows observed increase gradually and reach their peak values 4-12 hours after the start of the magnetic flux emergence. The peak values of the mean (inside the +/-500 m/s isolines) and maximum Doppler velocities are 800-970 m/s and 1410-1700 m/s, respectively. The Doppler velocities observed substantially exceed the separation velocities of the photospheric magnetic flux outer boundaries. The asymmetry was detected between velocity structures of leading and following polarities. Doppler velocity structures located in a region of leading magnetic polarity are more powerful and exist longer than those in regions of following polarity. The Doppler velocity asymmetry between the velocity structures of opposite sign reaches its peak values soon after the emergence begins and then gradually drops within 7-12 hours. The peak values of asymmetry for the mean and maximal Doppler velocities reach 240-460 m/s and 710-940 m/s, respectively. An interpretation of the observable flow of photospheric plasma is given.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. The results of article were presented at the ESPM-13 (12-16 September 2011, Rhodes, Greece, Abstract Book p. 102, P.4.12, http://astro.academyofathens.gr/espm13/documents/ESPM13_abstract_programme_book.pdf

The ZZ' kinetic mixing in the light of the recent direct and indirect dark matter searches

Several constructions, of stringy origins or not, generate abelian gauge extensions of the Standard Model (SM). Even if the particles of the SM are not charged under this extra $U'(1)$, one cannot avoid the presence of a kinetic mixing between $U'(1)$ and the hypercharge $U_Y(1)$. In this work, we constraint drastically this kinetic mixing, taking into account the recent experimental data from accelerator physics, direct detection and indirect detection of dark matter. We show that the region respecting WMAP and experimental constraints is now very narrowed along the pole line where $M_{Z_D}\simeq 2 m_{DM}$, $Z_D$ being the gauge boson associated to the extra $U'(1)$.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, final version to appear in JCA

Supersymmetric Relations Among Electromagnetic Dipole Operators

Supersymmetric contributions to all leptonic electromagnetic dipole operators have essentially identical diagramatic structure. With approximate slepton universality this allows the muon anomalous magnetic moment to be related to the electron electric dipole moment in terms of supersymmetric phases, and to radiative flavor changing lepton decays in terms of small violations of slepton universality. If the current discrepancy between the measured and Standard Model values of the muon anomalous magnetic moment is due to supersymmetry, the current bound on the electron electric dipole moment then implies that the phase of the electric dipole operator is less than $2 \times 10^{-3}$. Likewise the current bound on $\mu \to e \gamma$ decay implies that the fractional selectron-smuon mixing in the left-left mass squared matrix, \delta m_{\smuon \selectron}^2 / m_{\slepton}^2, is less than $10^{-4}$. These relations and constraints are fairly insensitive to details of the superpartner spectrum for moderate to large $\tan \beta$.Comment: Latex, 38 pages, 2 figure

Atmospheric Heating and Wind Acceleration: Results for Cool Evolved Stars based on Proposed Processes

A chromosphere is a universal attribute of stars of spectral type later than ~F5. Evolved (K and M) giants and supergiants (including the zeta Aurigae binaries) show extended and highly turbulent chromospheres, which develop into slow massive winds. The associated continuous mass loss has a significant impact on stellar evolution, and thence on the chemical evolution of galaxies. Yet despite the fundamental importance of those winds in astrophysics, the question of their origin(s) remains unsolved. What sources heat a chromosphere? What is the role of the chromosphere in the formation of stellar winds? This chapter provides a review of the observational requirements and theoretical approaches for modeling chromospheric heating and the acceleration of winds in single cool, evolved stars and in eclipsing binary stars, including physical models that have recently been proposed. It describes the successes that have been achieved so far by invoking acoustic and MHD waves to provide a physical description of plasma heating and wind acceleration, and discusses the challenges that still remain.Comment: 46 pages, 9 figures, 1 table; modified and unedited manuscript; accepted version to appear in: Giants of Eclipse, eds. E. Griffin and T. Ake (Berlin: Springer