Plastic deformations in crystal, polycrystal, and glass in binary mixtures under shear: Collective yielding

Using molecular dynamics simulation, we examine the dynamics of crystal, polycrystal, and glass in a Lennard-Jones binary mixture composed of small and large particles in two dimensions. The crossovers occur among these states as the composition c is varied at fixed size ratio. Shear is applied to a system of 9000 particles in contact with moving boundary layers composed of 1800 particles. The particle configurations are visualized with a sixfold orientation angle alpha_j(t) and a disorder variable D_j(t) defined for particle j, where the latter represents the deviation from hexagonal order. Fundamental plastic elements are classified into dislocation gliding and grain boundary sliding. At any c, large-scale yielding events occur on the acoustic time scale. Moreover, they multiply occur in narrow fragile areas, forming shear bands. The dynamics of plastic flow is highly hierarchical with a wide range of time scales for slow shearing. We also clarify the relationship between the shear stress averaged in the bulk region and the wall stress applied at the boundaries.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Magnetism and local distortions near carbon impurity in γ\gamma-iron

Local perturbations of crystal and magnetic structure of $\gamma$-iron near carbon interstitial impurity is investigated by {\it ab initio} electronic structure calculations. It is shown that the carbon impurity creates locally a region of ferromagnetic ordering with substantial tetragonal distortions. Exchange integrals and solution enthalpy are calculated, the latter being in a very good agreement with experimental data. Effect of the local distortions on the carbon-carbon interactions in $\gamma$-iron is discussed.Comment: 4 pages 3 figures. Final version, accepted to Phys.Rev. Let

Is Heroin-Assisted Treatment Effective for Patients with No Previous Maintenance Treatment? Results from a German Randomised Controlled Trial

Background/Aims: Until now, the medical prescription of diamorphine (heroin) has been suggested as suitable for patients who have failed previous maintenance treatments. The aim of this paper is to assess the effects of diamorphine on opioid-dependent patients with no previous maintenance treatment experience (NPME). Methods: The German heroin trial compared diamorphine versus methadone maintenance treatment and included 107 patients with NPME. This paper is a sub-analysis of these patients. Results: When comparing this subsample with the rest of the participants in the study, large baseline differences were found, showing a more severe drug use profile in patients with NPME. However, no differences were found in terms of treatment outcome and treatment retention. In the subsample with NPME, outcome measures on the reduction of illicit drug use were significantly better under diamorphine compared to methadone treatment, while there was no difference in health outcomes. Conclusion: Controlled studies are now necessary to examine whether diamorphine treatment could be considered as one of several options in treating severely opioid-dependent patients, regardless of previous maintenance treatment experience

Effectiveness of psychotherapy for traumatized refugees without a secure residency status

Purpose - Psychotherapy with refugees in the western world is quite often complicated because many refugees live without a secure residency status. It is difficult to have a structured therapeutic perspective when doing psychotherapy with these patients because of their fears and daily problems. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate psychotherapy results for 190 traumatized refugees (40 per cent without a secure residency). Design/methodology/approach - To measure the outcome of the psychotherapies the paper used HAM-D and CGI at baseline and at the end of the therapeutic process. Findings - The study shows that, although refugees without a legal status had more depressive symptoms and lived with much higher psychosocial stress, psychotherapy was as effective as for traumatized refugees with a legal status. Research limitations/implications - Heterogeneity, convenience sampling and retrospective completion of some of the baseline assessments. Practical implications - Psychotherapeutic treatment of refugees has a clear positive effect on them and should be applied even in those without legal residence status in the host country. Originality/value - This is the first study assessing the effectiveness of daily practice psychotherapy for refugees with and without a legal status in a comparative fashion

Hummingbird oil she breast: Testimony and Resistance in Vincentian Redemption Songs

Negro Slavery Described by a Negro: Being the Narrative of Ashton Warner (1831), Shake Keanes The Angel Horn (2005) and H. Nigel Thomass Spirits in the Dark (1993) witness to the communities and individuals who have resisted colonialism in St. Vincent. Frantz Fanon and Stuart Hall shape the analysis of how these works demonstrate that the degradation of human beings by the imperial project is overturned by the creole culture that very undertaking has made possible. Warner testifies to the use of the British legal and political systems in support of an African derived selfhood. The Angel Horn creates solidarity with the plight of Vincentians and promises renewal through the creolization of Indigenous and non-native cultures. Spirits in the Dark appropriates syncretic religious rites to redress the alienation of a modern queer Black Caribbean. Vincentian testimonies to the creation of agency out of the cultural shards of colonialism result

Effects of Psychiatric Comorbidity on Treatment Outcome in Patients Undergoing Diamorphine or Methadone Maintenance Treatment

Background: Comorbid psychiatric disorders among opioid-dependent patients are associated with several negative outcome factors. However, outcomes of maintenance treatment have not been sufficiently established, and no evidence is available with respect to heroin-assisted treatment (HAT). Methods: For patients in the German heroin trial outcome measures were analyzed for HAT versus methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) both for patients with and without a comorbid diagnosis according to CIDI. Results: 47.2% of the sample had at least one comorbid psychiatric diagnosis, mainly neurotic, stress-related or somatoform (F4) or affective (F3) disorders. HAT had a better outcome than MMT concerning improvement of health and reduction of illicit drug use in both comorbid and non-comorbid patients, but weaker effects were found in the comorbid group. Conclusions:The better outcome of HAT also in comorbid patients suggests that psychiatric comorbidity should be an inclusion criterion for HAT. The weaker advantage of HAT may be due to pharmacological or methodological reasons

Intermediated communication by interpreters in psychotherapy with traumatized refugees

Immigrants in need of psychotherapy are often confronted with the fact that there is no psychotherapist available with whom they can proceed in a common language understood well by both. In some cases psychotherapy with communication intermediated by interpreters is offered. This study compares the outcome of 190 individual psychotherapies with refugees with post-traumatic disorders, half of them with the help of interpreters, the other half without. The results show that psychotherapies with the help of interpreters were as effective as those without, even though the psychosocial conditions (such as employment, training, foreign language proficiency and social network) for those patients who needed interpreters were tougher. We conclude that psychotherapy with the help of an interpreter should not be considered the poorer alternative

Labour productivity change: drivers, business impact and macroeconomic moderators

This paper focuses on the operational drivers of labour productivity changes. We consider two sets of drivers: a) current working practices b) changes in working practices through management programs. The relationship between these two sets of drivers and productivity changes are analysed. We also investigate the importance of productivity growth by looking at the impact of labour productivity changes on business performance changes. Finally, the moderating effects of industry and country on the use of drivers of productivity changes are examined. Data from an international survey, IMSS-IV, are used for the analysis

Effects of heroin-assisted treatment on alcohol consumption: findings of the German randomized controlled trial

Alcohol has been suggested to be a risk factor for opioid-dependent patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Literature shows that MMT has limited effects on alcohol use. Nevertheless, a decrease in alcohol use was detected in the Swiss heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) study. In this article, we carry out an in-depth analysis of the German HAT trial with the aim of determining whether alcohol use was affected among patients undergoing HAT and MMT. Analysis was carried out using self-reported data on consumption units of alcohol used (CU), Addiction Severity Index composite scores (ASI CSs), and carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) measures. Results suggest significant reduction of CU and CDT in both groups, yet larger effects in the HAT group. ASI CS significantly decreased in the HAT but not in the MMT group. The greater benefit of HAT in reducing alcohol use may be due to the greater daily frequency of dispensing heroin coupled with a requirement of sobriety at each dosing occasion