Group membership and staff turnover affect outcomes in group CBT for persistent pain

The effects of two contextual factors, group membership and staff turnover, on the outcome of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for persistent pain were investigated. The data came from end of treatment and one month follow-up assessments of 3050 individuals who attended an intensive group programme over sixteen years. Intraclass correlations (ICC) showed significant intragroup effects on self-efficacy (ICC = 0.16 at end of treatment; 0.12 at one month), catastrophizing (ICC = 0.06; 0.13) and distance walked (ICC = 0.20; 0.19). This underlines the importance of modelling group membership when analyzing data from group interventions. Linear regression showed that high periods of staff turnover were significantly related to poorer outcomes on self-efficacy and distance walked at end of treatment, with the effect on self-efficacy persisting to one month follow-up. Having demonstrated significant contextual effects in an existing data set, further research is needed to explore the mechanisms by which these effects operate

TLC determination of functionality in prepolymers

Application of thin-layer chromatographics provides rapid qualitative determination of functional distribution in experimental prepolymer. Functionality distribution is of fundamental importance for it determines; (1) manner in which given carboxyl-terminated prepolymer will cure and (2) physical properties of resulting product

Glass transition temperatures of liquid prepolymers obtained by thermal penetrometry

Thermal penetrometry is experimental technique for detecting temperature at which frozen prepolymer becomes soft enough to be pierced by weighted penetrometer needle; temperature at which this occurs is called penetration temperature. Apparatus used to obtain penetration temperatures can be set up largely from standard parts

Improved head-controlled TV system produces high-quality remote image

Manipulator operator uses an improved resolution tv camera/monitor positioning system to view the remote handling and processing of reactive, flammable, explosive, or contaminated materials. The pan and tilt motions of the camera and monitor are slaved to follow the corresponding motions of the operators head

Magnon-Phonon Quantum Correlation Thermometry

A large fraction of quantum science and technology requires low-temperature environments such as those afforded by dilution refrigerators. In these cryogenic environments, accurate thermometry can be difficult to implement, expensive, and often requires calibration to an external reference. Here, we theoretically propose a primary thermometer based on measurement of a hybrid system consisting of phonons coupled via a magnetostrictive interaction to magnons. Thermometry is based on a cross-correlation measurement in which the spectrum of back-action driven motion is used to scale the thermomechanical motion, providing a direct measurement of the phonon temperature independent of experimental parameters. Combined with a simple low-temperature compatible microwave cavity readout, this primary thermometer is expected to become a promising alternative for thermometry below 1 K

Improved electromechanical master-slave manipulator

Electric master-slave manipulator uses force multiplication and allows the operator to remotely control the slave arm. Both the master and slave arms execute seven distinct motions by a specially designed force-reflecting servo having a one to one correspondence between the motion at the master and slave

Horizontal flow fields observed in Hinode G-band images. I. Methods

Context: The interaction of plasma motions and magnetic fields is an important mechanism, which drives solar activity in all its facets. For example, photospheric flows are responsible for the advection of magnetic flux, the redistribution of flux during the decay of sunspots, and the built-up of magnetic shear in flaring active regions. Aims: Systematic studies based on G-band data from the Japanese Hinode mission provide the means to gather statistical properties of horizontal flow fields. This facilitates comparative studies of solar features, e.g., G-band bright points, magnetic knots, pores, and sunspots at various stages of evolution and in distinct magnetic environments, thus, enhancing our understanding of the dynamic Sun. Methods: We adapted Local Correlation Tracking (LCT) to measure horizontal flow fields based on G-band images obtained with the Solar Optical Telescope on board Hinode. In total about 200 time-series with a duration between 1-16 h and a cadence between 15-90 s were analyzed. Selecting both a high-cadence (dt = 15 s) and a long-duration (dT = 16 h) time-series enabled us to optimize and validate the LCT input parameters, hence, ensuring a robust, reliable, uniform, and accurate processing of a huge data volume. Results: The LCT algorithm produces best results for G-band images having a cadence of 60-90 s. If the cadence is lower, the velocity of slowly moving features will not be reliably detected. If the cadence is higher, the scene on the Sun will have evolved too much to bear any resemblance with the earlier situation. Consequently, in both instances horizontal proper motions are underestimated. The most reliable and yet detailed flow maps are produced using a Gaussian kernel with a size of 2560 km x 2560 km and a full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of 1200 km (corresponding to the size of a typical granule) as sampling window.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic