Search

Monika Pilch,1 Tijn van Rietschoten,2,3 Max Ortiz-Catalan,4– 6 Eva Lendaro,6,7 Corry K van der Sluis,2 Liselotte Hermansson8,9 1Centre for Health Policy & Management, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; 2University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Groningen, the Netherlands; 3University of Groningen, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands; 4Center for Bionics and Pain Research, Mölndal, Sweden; 5Bionics Institute, Melbourne, VC, Australia; 6Department of Electrical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden; 7Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; 8Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden; 9University Health Care Research Center, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, SwedenCorrespondence: Monika Pilch, Centre for Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, 3-4 Foster Place, Dublin, Ireland, Tel + 353 851614350, Email pilchm@tcd.ie Corry K van der Sluis, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Groningen, the Netherlands, Tel + 31 503612295, Email c.k.van.der.sluis@umcg.nlPurpose: Interpersonal processes, including therapeutic alliance, may modulate the impact of interventions on pain experience. However, the role of interpersonal context on the effects of technology-enhanced interventions remains underexplored. This study elicited therapists’ perspectives on how a novel rehabilitative process, involving Phantom Motor Execution (PME), may impact phantom limb pain. The mediating role of therapeutic alliance, and the way PME influenced its formation, was investigated.Methods: A qualitative descriptive design, using a framework method, was used to explore therapists’ (n=11) experiences of delivering PME treatment. Semi-structured online-based interviews were conducted.Results: A 3-way interaction between therapist, patient, and the PME device was an overarching construct tying four themes together. It formed the context for change in phantom limb experience. The perceived therapeutic effects (theme 1) extended beyond those initially hypothesised and highlighted the mediating role of the key actors and context (theme 2). The therapeutic relationship was perceived as a transformative journey (theme 3), creating an opportunity for communication, collaboration, and bonding. It was seen as a cause and a consequence of therapeutic effects. Future directions, including the role of expertise-informed adaptations and enabling aspects of customised solutions, were indicated (theme 4).Conclusion: This study pointed to intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors that should be considered in clinical implementation of novel rehabilitative tools. The results demonstrated that therapists have unique insights and a crucial role in facilitating PME treatment. The study highlighted the need to consider the biopsychosocial model of pain in designing, evaluating, and implementing technology-supported interventions.Keywords: phantom limb experience, pain, rehabilitation, therapeutic alliance, innovation

The subject of the paper is lead free bismuth layer structure oxides (1-x)Bi3TiNbO9-xBaBi2Nb2O9 (x=0; 1; 2; 3 mol). The influence of Bi3TiNbO9/BaBi2Nb2O9 ratio on dielectric and structural properties was studied in a wide range of temperatures. Change in the ratio causes a decrease in the maximum value of dielectric permittivity and shifts the temperature of ε’max to low values, leading to linear decreasing of average grain size and linear increasing of ceramics density. These results indicate an augment of the packing degree and the participation of pores are significantly decreased with the increase of BaBi2Nb2O9 compound intake. Moreover, for 0.7Bi3TiNbO9-0.3BaBi2Nb2O9 ceramics the dielectric phase transition is broadened and the properties characteristic for the ferroelectric relaxor appear.

In the hereby paper the implications of thermal modification of BaBi2Nb2O9 ceramics in high vacuum (5×10−11 bar) at a temperature equal of 1173K are widely discussed. The mentioned modification caused changes in the ions concentration (confirmed by EDS and XPS analysis) and as a consequence an influence on the value of the unit cell parameters as well as on the dielectric and relaxor properties of described ceramics. The obtained results of EDS and XPS analysis of the sample before and after thermal treatment revealed bismuth ions diffusion to the surface of the sample (which was expected) and an almost complete the lack of barium ions on the modified surface. The comparison of EDS and XPS analysis results, suggested that they penetrated the interior of the sample and embedded into the crystal structure in place of bismuth. The hypothesis is in good agreement with the results of X-ray diffraction – the volume of the unit cell had an insignificant increase. The changes in the ions concentration influenced, also in a distinct manner, the dielectric and relaxor properties as well as on the shape of temperature characteristic of thermal stimulated depolarization current observed in BBN ceramics.

Sodium niobate crystals doped with manganese ions, Na(NbMn)O3, were annealed in a nitrogen N2 flow at 600, 670, and 930 K. It was verified that simultaneous doping with Mn ions and annealing in nitrogen enhanced the photocatalytic features of sodium niobate. The transmission in the ultravioletvisible range was measured at room temperature. The absorbance edge is in the range from 3.4 to 2.3 eV. The optical band gap Egap¼1.2-1.3 eV was evaluated using the Tauc relation. Crystals annealed at 670K and 930K exhibited an additional shift of the absorption edge of ~20-40nm toward longer wavelengths. The optical energy gap narrowed as a result of the superimposed effect of Mn and N co-doping. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy test showed that N ions incorporated into the surface layer. The valence band consisted of O 2p states hybridized with Nb 4d, Mn 3d, and N 2s states. The disorder detected in the surroundings of Nb and O ions decreased due to annealing. The binding energy of oxygen ions situated within the surface layer was EB≈531 eV. The other contributions were assigned to molecular contamination. The contribution centered at 535.5 eV vanished after annealing at 600K and 670 K. The contribution centered at 534 eV vanished after annealing at 930 K. The N2 annealing partly removed carbonates from the surfaces of the samples. In the 480-950K range, the electric conductivity activation energy, Ea¼0.7-1.2 eV, was comparable with the optical Egap. The electric permittivity showed dispersion in the 0.1-800 kHz range that corresponds to the occurrence of defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vibronic theory which includes multimode and multistate effects is developed to study magnetic vibrational circular dichroism (MVCD) and absorption spectra for molecular systems with fourfold symmetry. The MVCD and absorption spectra of the e fundamental transition and its combinations with infrared inactive modes are discussed in some detail to demonstrate the importance of electric and magnetic anharmonicity arising from vibronic coupling. The theory is applied to experimental MVCD spectra for the CuTPP molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]