Photon production in relativistic nuclear collisions at SPS and RHIC energies

Chiral Lagrangians are used to compute the production rate of photons from the hadronic phase of relativistic nuclear collisions. Special attention is paid to the role of the pseudovector a_1 meson. Calculations that include reactions with strange mesons, hadronic form factors and vector spectral densities consistent with dilepton production, as well as the emission from a quark-gluon plasma and primordial nucleon-nucleon collisions, reproduce the photon spectra measured at the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). Predictions for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) are made.Comment: Work presented at the 26th annual Montreal-Rochester-Syracuse-Toronto conference (MRST 2004) on high energy physics, Montreal, QC, Canada, 12-14 May 2004. 8 pages, 3 figure

Advances in fidelity measurement for mental health services research

The official published article is available online at http://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100430.OBJECTIVE: Mental health intervention research requires clear and accurate specification of treatment conditions in intervention studies. Measures are increasingly available for community-based interventions for persons with serious mental illnesses. Measures must go beyond structural features to assess critical processes in interventions. They must also balance effectiveness, adequate coverage of active treatment elements, with efficiency, the degree to which measures may be used cost-effectively. The context of their use is changing with the emergence of new frameworks for implementation research and quality improvement. METHODS: The focus, content, and results of preliminary studies of four recently developed fidelity measures are described. Measures respectively assess fidelity to case management, cognitive therapy for psychosis, illness management and recovery, and assertive community treatment. RESULTS: Fidelity measures described assess interventions in a range of treatment contexts from dyads to teams. Each measure focuses assessment resources on the elements critical to the respective intervention. Each has demonstrated coverage of its target intervention and satisfactory psychometric properties and is related to outcomes. Measures have been used for training, quality improvement, or certification. Current fidelity measures assess domains and have uses beyond their nominal position in implementation and quality frameworks. CONCLUSION: Process components in community-based interventions can be effectively assessed in fidelity measures. Omission of elements assessing potentially critical, active treatment components poses risk to both research and practice until there is evidence to demonstrate they are non-essential. Further development of fidelity measurement theory and approaches should articulate with development of theory and methods in implementation science

Strengths-Based Case Management: Implementation With High-Risk Youth

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://alliance1.metapress.com/home/main.mpx.Few effective methods of intervention exist for youth at risk for negative life outcomes. One method used successfully with both adults with chronic mental illness and adults with substance abuse problems is strengths-based case management (SBCM). Based on the principles of strengths theory, SBCM aims to assist individuals in identifying and achieving personal goals, with an emphasis on the case manager-client relationship and client self-determination. In the current study, the authors report findings from a feasibility study that implemented SBCM with adolescent runaways. Challenges to implementation, such as financial status, the role of families, abuse and neglect, developmental issues, education, peer relationships, and transportation, are examined. The current findings suggest that it is feasible to successfully implement SBCM with adolescents, but the challenges to application are different with this group compared with adults, given the developmental differences between adolescents and adults

The Causal Structure of Emotions in Aristotle: Hylomorphism, Causal Interaction between Mind and Body, and Intentionality

Recently, a strong hylomorphic reading of Aristotelian emotions has been put forward, one that allegedly eliminates the problem of causal interaction between soul and body. Taking the presentation of emotions in de An. I 1 as a starting point and basic thread, but relying also on the discussion of Rh. II, I will argue that this reading only takes into account two of the four causes of emotions, and that, if all four of them are included into the picture, then a causal interaction of mind and body remains within Aristotelian emotions, independent of how strongly their hylomorphism is understood. Beyond the discussion with this recent reading, the analysis proposed of the fourfold causal structure of emotions is also intended as a hermeneutical starting point for a comprehensive analysis of particular emotions in Aristotle. Through the different causes Aristotle seems to account for many aspects of the complex phenomenon of emotion, including its physiological causes, its mental causes, and its intentional object

Critical Issues for Psychiatric Medication Shared Decision Making With Youth and Families

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.4135The primary aims of this article are to describe the current context for youth shared decision making (SDM) within the U.S. children’s mental health system and to identify important considerations for the development of this approach as a research and service domain. The notion is substantiated in the literature that participation in treatment decisions can prepare youth for making their own decisions as adults, can be therapeutic, and can have positive effects on their self-confidence and self-esteem. Still, the complex youth–family–provider dynamic raises important issues that need to be addressed before SDM can be successfully implemented

Implementing CommonGround in a Community Mental Health Center: Lessons in a Computerized Decision Support System

Objective: Although shared decision making (SDM) is a key element of client-centered care, it has not been widely adopted. Accordingly, interventions have been developed to promote SDM. The aim of this study was to explore the implementation process of one SDM intervention, CommonGround, which utilizes peer specialists and a computerized decision support center to promote SDM. Method: As part of a larger study, CommonGround was implemented in 4 treatment teams in a community mental health center. The implementation process was examined by conducting semistructured interviews with 12 staff members that were integral to the CommonGround implementation. Responses were analyzed using content analysis. Program fidelity and client program use were also examined. Results: Although key informants identified several client and staff benefits to using CommonGround, including improved treatment engagement and availability of peer specialists, most clients did not use CommonGround consistently throughout the implementation. Key informants and fidelity reports indicated a number of program (e.g., technological difficulties, increased staff burden) and contextual barriers (e.g., poor fit with service structure, decision support center location, low staff investment and high turnover) to the successful implementation of CommonGround. Strategies to maximize the implementation by increasing awareness, buy-in, and utilization are also reported. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: This implementation of CommonGround was limited in its success partly as a result of program and contextual barriers. Future implementations may benefit from incorporating the strategies identified to maximize implementation in order to obtain the full program benefits

Consumer Outcomes After Implementing CommonGround as an Approach to Shared Decision Making

Objective: The authors examined consumer outcomes before and after implementing CommonGround, a computer-based shared decision-making program. Methods: Consumers with severe mental illness (N=167) were interviewed prior to implementation and 12 and 18 months later to assess changes in active treatment involvement, symptoms, and recovery-related attitudes. Providers also rated consumers on level of treatment involvement. Results: Most consumers used CommonGround at least once (67%), but few used the program regularly. Mixed-effects regression analyses showed improvement in self-reported symptoms and recovery attitudes. Self-reported treatment involvement did not change; however, for a subset of consumers with the same providers over time (N=83), the providers rated consumers as more active in treatment. Conclusions: This study adds to the growing literature on tools to support shared decision making, showing the potential benefits of CommonGround for improving recovery outcomes. More work is needed to better engage consumers in CommonGround and to test the approach with more rigorous methods

The Comparative Effectiveness of a Model of Job Development versus Treatment as Usual

Job development is critical to assisting people with serious disabilities to obtain jobs, but little is known about the actual methods that make job development effective. Using a post-only quasi-experimental design, this study examined the effects of the Conceptual Selling® method on the number of job development contacts and number of job placements. By controlling for employment specialists' characteristics (age, length of time in current position, years of human service experience, and years of business experience), the authors determined that the employment specialists trained in the Conceptual Selling® method had more job development contacts per employer, leading to more effective job placements for employers contacted, than the control group

Production of intermediate-mass dileptons in relativistic heavy ion collisions

The production of intermediate mass dileptons in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions at SPS energies is studied. The acceptance and detector resolution inherent to measurements by the NA50 experimental collaboration are accurately modeled. The measured centrality dependence of the intermediate mass lepton pair excess is also addressed.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, ReVTe

Off-shell effects in dilepton production from hot interacting mesons

The production of dielectrons in reactions involving a_1 mesons and pions is studied. We compare results obtained with different phenomenological Lagrangians that have been used in connection with hadronic matter and finite nuclei. We insist on the necessity for those interactions to satisfy known empirical properties of the strong interaction. Large off-shell effects in dielectron production are found and some consequences for the interpretation of heavy ion data are outlined. We also compare with results obtained using experimentally-extracted spectral functions.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX2e, 2 figure