Processes of Change in Psychotherapy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

The present study aims at determining the role for outcome of potential processes of change in psychotherapy for narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). They were examined on three levels: the content, the process, and the relationship. A total of 161 patients suffering with NPD were recruited in a naturalistic setting as part of the present study. They underwent a long- term clarification-oriented psychotherapy. Sessions 15, 20, and 25 were video- or audio-recorded and analyzed with an observer-rated instrument that measures the quality of the interaction processes from the patient's and therapist's perspectives. Different self-report measures were used to assess therapy outcomes. In-session improvement was observed in both patient and therapist processes across sessions. Patient improvement in the three levels of processes was systematically related with outcome. Only partial relationships were found between therapist improvement and outcome. The present study represents the first systematic insight into core changes in patients with NPD undergoing psychotherapy

Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis from Milk Products and Other Habitats

As components of many cheese starter cultures, strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis (LDL) must be tested for their antimicrobial susceptibility to avoid the potential horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance (ABR) determinants in the human body or in the environment. To this end, a phenotypic test, as well as a screening for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in genome sequences, is commonly performed. Historically, microbiological cutoffs (MCs), which are used to classify strains as either ‘sensitive’ or ‘resistant’ based on the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of a range of clinically-relevant antibiotics, have been defined for the whole group of the obligate homofermentative lactobacilli, which includes LDL among many other species. This often leads to inaccuracies in the appreciation of the ABR status of tested LDL strains and to false positive results. To define more accurate MCs for LDL, we analyzed the MIC profiles of strains originating from various habitats by using the broth microdilution method. These strains’ genomes were sequenced and used to complement our analysis involving a search for ARGs, as well as to assess the phylogenetic proximity between strains. Of LDL strains, 52.1% displayed MICs that were higher than the defined MCs for kanamycin, 9.9% for chloramphenicol, and 5.6% for tetracycline, but no ARG was conclusively detected. On the other hand, all strains displayed MICs below the defined MCs for ampicillin, gentamycin, erythromycin, and clindamycin. Considering our results, we propose the adaptation of the MCs for six of the tested clinically-relevant antibiotics to improve the accuracy of phenotypic antibiotic testing

High flux cold Rubidium atomic beam for strongly coupled Cavity QED

This paper presents a setup capable of producing a high-flux continuous beam of cold rubidium atoms for cavity QED experiments in the regime of strong coupling. A 2 $D^+$ MOT, loaded by rubidium getters in a dry film coated vapor cell, fed a secondary moving-molasses MOT (MM-MOT) at a rate of 1.5 x $10^{10}$ atoms/sec. The MM-MOT provided a continuous beam with tunable velocity. This beam was then directed through the waist of a 280 $\mu$m cavity resulting in a Rabi splitting of more than +/- 10 MHz. The presence of sufficient number of atoms in the cavity mode also enabled splitting in the polarization perpendicular to the input. The cavity was in the strong coupling regime, with parameters (g, $\kappa$, $\gamma$)/2$\pi$ equal to (7, 3, 6)/ 2$\pi$ MHz.Comment: Journal pape

Development of a custom on-line ultrasonic vapour analyzer/flowmeter for the ATLAS inner detector, with application to gaseous tracking and Cherenkov detectors

Precision sound velocity measurements can simultaneously determine binary gas composition and flow. We have developed an analyzer with custom electronics, currently in use in the ATLAS inner detector, with numerous potential applications. The instrument has demonstrated ~0.3% mixture precision for C3F8/C2F6 mixtures and < 10-4 resolution for N2/C3F8 mixtures. Moderate and high flow versions of the instrument have demonstrated flow resolutions of +/- 2% F.S. for flows up to 250 l.min-1, and +/- 1.9% F.S. for linear flow velocities up to 15 ms-1; the latter flow approaching that expected in the vapour return of the thermosiphon fluorocarbon coolant recirculator being built for the ATLAS silicon tracker.Comment: Paper submitted to TWEPP2012; Topical Workshop on Electronics for Particle Physics, Oxford, UK, September 17-21, 2012. KEYWORDS: Sonar; Saturated fluorocarbons; Flowmetry; Sound velocity, Gas mixture analysis. 8 pages, 7 figure

Well-Being in Adolescence-An Association With Health-Related Behaviors: Findings From Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study

The objective of this study was to investigate the demographic distribution of selected health-related behaviors and their relationship with different indicators of well-being. The data come from Wave 1 of the youth panel of Understanding Society household panel study. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) measured socio-emotional difficulties. Markers of happiness in different life domains were combined to assess levels of happiness. Generally, younger youth participated in more health-protective behaviors, while older youth reported more health-risk behaviors. Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables and greater participation in sport were associated with higher odds of high happiness. Healthier eating was associated with lower odds of socio-emotional difficulties, while increased fast food consumption was associated with higher odds of socio-emotional difficulties. Smoking, drinking, and decreased sport participation were all associated with socio-emotional difficulties. Health-protective behaviors were associated with happiness, while health-risk behaviors were associated with socio-emotional difficulties. © The Author(s) 2013

Mechanisms for slow strengthening in granular materials

Several mechanisms cause a granular material to strengthen over time at low applied stress. The strength is determined from the maximum frictional force F_max experienced by a shearing plate in contact with wet or dry granular material after the layer has been at rest for a waiting time \tau. The layer strength increases roughly logarithmically with \tau -only- if a shear stress is applied during the waiting time. The mechanisms of strengthening are investigated by sensitive displacement measurements and by imaging of particle motion in the shear zone. Granular matter can strengthen due to a slow shift in the particle arrangement under shear stress. Humidity also leads to strengthening, but is found not to be its sole cause. In addition to these time dependent effects, the static friction coefficient can also be increased by compaction of the granular material under some circumstances, and by cycling of the applied shear stress.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Logarithmic rate dependence in deforming granular materials

Rate-independence for stresses within a granular material is a basic tenet of many models for slow dense granular flows. By contrast, logarithmic rate dependence of stresses is found in solid-on-solid friction, in geological settings, and elsewhere. In this work, we show that logarithmic rate-dependence occurs in granular materials for plastic (irreversible) deformations that occur during shearing but not for elastic (reversible) deformations, such as those that occur under moderate repetitive compression. Increasing the shearing rate, \Omega, leads to an increase in the stress and the stress fluctuations that at least qualitatively resemble what occurs due to an increase in the density. Increases in \Omega also lead to qualitative changes in the distributions of stress build-up and relaxation events. If shearing is stopped at t=0, stress relaxations occur with \sigma(t)/ \sigma(t=0) \simeq A \log(t/t_0). This collective relaxation of the stress network over logarithmically long times provides a mechanism for rate-dependent strengthening.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. RevTeX

A Disdrometer based on Ultra-Fast SPAD Cameras

We present a new environmental application of SPAD imagers, namely the continuous and real-time measurement of size and shapes of hydrometeors. Details of the set-up and results obtained with a first 32x32 pixel prototype based on the RADHARD2 chip [1] are illustrated. Real-time operation at very low light levels, 6000 frames per second and 1:100 average data reduction are amongst the most significant achievements

Rheology of a confined granular material

We study the rheology of a granular material slowly driven in a confined geometry. The motion is characterized by a steady sliding with a resistance force increasing with the driving velocity and the surrounding relative humidity. For lower driving velocities a transition to stick-slip motion occurs, exhibiting a blocking enhancement whith decreasing velocity. We propose a model to explain this behavior pointing out the leading role of friction properties between the grains and the container's boundary.Comment: 9 pages, 3 .eps figures, submitted to PR