Structure and mechanical properties of nanofibrous ZrO2 derived from alternating field electrospun precursors

Nanofibrous zirconia (ZrO2) meshes were prepared from precursor fibers which were synthesized using the method of free-surface, high-yield alternating field electrospinning (AFES). The weight ratio of zirconyl chloride salt to polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer in liquid precursors was investigated for its effect on the spinnability and formation of precursor fibers as well as on the resulting fibrous ZrO2. The precursor fiber generation measured at a rate up to 5.6 g/h was achieved with a single flat 25-mm diameter alternating current (AC) electrode, which corresponded to production of up to 1.5 g/h of fibrous ZrO2. The calcination process involved annealing the fibers at temperatures which ranged from 600 °C to 1000 °C and produced 0.1–0.2 mm thick fibrous ZrO2 meshes. Individual nanofibers were found to have diameters between 50 and 350 nm and either a tetragonal (t-ZrO2) or monoclinic (t-ZrO2) structure depending on the calcination temperature. The annealed meshes with total porosity between 98.0 ± 0.2% and 94.6 ± 0.2% showed little deformation or cracking. Tensile strength and modulus of fibrous t-ZrO2 meshes strongly depended on porosity and varied from 0.07 ± 0.03 MPa to 1.05 ± 0.3 MPa and from 90 ± 40 MPa to 388 ± 20 MPa, respectively. The m-ZrO2 meshes resulted similar moduli, but much lower strengths due to their brittleness. A power-law relationship between the elastic modulus and porosity of AFES-derived nanofibrous t-ZrO2 meshes, in comparison with other porous zirconia materials, was also investigated. The results of this study have demonstrated the feasibility of free-surface AFES in sizeable production of zirconia nanofibers and highly porous nanofibrous ceramic structures

Dancing, moving and writing in clinical supervision? Employing embodied practices in psychotherapy supervision

Original article can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com Copyright ElsevierThis paper takes a new look at the methods of embodiment for psychotherapy supervision. It makes a rigorous distinction between knowledge derived by language and knowledge derived by the body without the intervention of conscious thought. In an account of a study (Panhofer, 2010) whereby the principal researcher and her co-researchers, all professional practitioners of dance movement psychotherapy, shows the genesis and development of new tools designed to capture the connection between movement and the possibility of “languaging” the embodied experience (Sheets-Johnstone, 2007, p. 1). An unexpected outcome resulted in which the methodology developed for the study proved to be useful for clinical supervision. Of the several different models developed, one, a model for self-supervision, is presented here as a practical example of how to access the knowledge of the body when reflecting on practice day to day. In putting forward implications for practice, the authors suggest that the integration of movement and writing may be beneficial not only for clinical supervision in dance movement psychotherapy, but also for body psychotherapies, arts therapies, and for any verbal approaches of psychotherapy supervision that aim to integrate and explore the embodied experience.Peer reviewe