Placebos in der Psychotherapieforschung – eine systematische Analyse am Beispiel der systematischen Desensibilisierung

Hintergrund: Die Voraussetzungen der randomisierten, Placebo-kontrollierten Evaluation - die Ununterscheidbarkeit der Therapiebedingungen für die Patienten und die Verblindung der Therapeuten - sind in der Psychotherapieforschung nicht uneingeschränkt gegeben. Das Ziel dieser qualitativen systematischen Übersichtsarbeit ist es, am Beispiel der systematischen Desensibilisierung (SD) die Vorgehensweisen zur Bestimmung der Behandlungsspezifität zu beschreiben und deren theoretische und praktische Implikationen zu diskutieren. Methodik: Auf der Basis einer systematischen Literaturrecherche in PsycINFO und PubMed für den Zeitraum von 1976-2015 wurden Psychotherapiestudien gesucht, in denen Patienten mit Angstsymptomen einer SD- oder Placebo-Gruppe zugewiesen und verglichen wurden. Nach Extraktion der gewählten Moderator-Variablen konnten 11 Studien eingeschlossen werden. Ergebnisse: Die Ergebnisse zu den spezifischen Effekten der SD waren nicht einheitlich. Eine durchgeführte Moderator-Analyse zeigte, dass der Nachweis spezifischer Effekte von der Glaubwürdigkeit des Placebos und dem dabei erlebten Ausmaß emotionaler Erfahrungen abhängig ist. Schlussfolgerung: Ob ein bestimmtes psychotherapeutisches Verfahren als spezifisch einzustufen ist, hängt von der Operationalisierung der Placebo-Kontrolle ab. Insbesondere bei SD scheint die Einschränkung des zu bearbeitenden Themas und in der Folge die Unterbindung der emotionalen Erfahrung des Patienten innerhalb der Kontrollbedingung eine Voraussetzung dafür zu sein, spezifische Effekte der SD zu finden

Coherent Pion Radiation From Nucleon Antinucleon Annihilation

A unified picture of nucleon antinucleon annihilation into pions emerges from a classical description of the pion wave produced in annihilation and the subsequent quantization of that wave as a coherent state. When the constraints of energy-momentum and iso-spin conservation are imposed on the coherent state, the pion number distribution and charge ratios are found to be in excellent agreement with experiment.Comment: LaTex, 8 text pages, 1 PostScript figure, PSI-PR-93-2

Coherent state formulation of pion radiation from nucleon antinucleon annihilation

We assume that nucleon antinucleon annihilation is a fast process leading to a classical coherent pion pulse. We develop the quantum description of such pion waves based on the method of coherent states. We study the consequences of such a description for averages of charge types and moments of distributions of pion momenta with iso-spin and four-momentum conservation taken into account. We briefly discuss the applicability of our method to annihilation at rest, where we find agreement with experiment, and suggest other avenues for its use.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, PSI-preprin

Controlling Physical Systems with Symmetries

Symmetry properties of the evolution equation and the state to be controlled are shown to determine the basic features of the linear control of unstable orbits. In particular, the selection of control parameters and their minimal number are determined by the irreducible representations of the symmetry group of the linearization about the orbit to be controlled. We use the general results to demonstrate the effect of symmetry on the control of two sample physical systems: a coupled map lattice and a particle in a symmetric potential.Comment: 6 page

Universal Scaling of Wave Propagation Failure in Arrays of Coupled Nonlinear Cells

We study the onset of the propagation failure of wave fronts in systems of coupled cells. We introduce a new method to analyze the scaling of the critical external field at which fronts cease to propagate, as a function of intercellular coupling. We find the universal scaling of the field throughout the range of couplings, and show that the field becomes exponentially small for large couplings. Our method is generic and applicable to a wide class of cellular dynamics in chemical, biological, and engineering systems. We confirm our results by direct numerical simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTe

Systematic Theoretical Search for Dibaryons in a Relativistic Model

A relativistic quark potential model is used to do a systematic search for quasi-stable dibaryon states in the $u$, $d$, and $s$ three flavor world. Flavor symmetry breaking and channel coupling effects are included and an adiabatic method and fractional parentage expansion technique are used in the calculations. The relativistic model predicts dibaryon candidates completely consistent with the nonrelativistic model.Comment: 12 pages, latex, no figure

Machine Learning in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Education: A Mixed Methods Pilot Survey of Postgraduate Students at a Swiss University

Background: There is increasing use of psychotherapy apps in mental health care.Objective: This mixed methods pilot study aimed to explore postgraduate clinical psychology students' familiarity and formal exposure to topics related to artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) during their studies.Methods: In April-June 2020, we conducted a mixed-methods online survey using a convenience sample of 120 clinical psychology students enrolled in a two-year Masters' program at a Swiss University.Results: In total 37 students responded (response rate: 37/120, 31%). Among respondents, 73% (n = 27) intended to enter a mental health profession, and 97% reported that they had heard of the term “machine learning.” Students estimated 0.52% of their program would be spent on AI/ML education. Around half (46%) reported that they intended to learn about AI/ML as it pertained to mental health care. On 5-point Likert scale, students “moderately agreed” (median = 4) that AI/M should be part of clinical psychology/psychotherapy education. Qualitative analysis of students' comments resulted in four major themes on the impact of AI/ML on mental healthcare: (1) Changes in the quality and understanding of psychotherapy care; (2) Impact on patient-therapist interactions; (3) Impact on the psychotherapy profession; (4) Data management and ethical issues.Conclusions: This pilot study found that postgraduate clinical psychology students held a wide range of opinions but had limited formal education on how AI/ML-enabled tools might impact psychotherapy. The survey raises questions about how curricula could be enhanced to educate clinical psychology/psychotherapy trainees about the scope of AI/ML in mental healthcare.</jats:p

Re-imagining the Borders of US Security after 9/11: Securitisation, Risk, and the Creation of the Department of Homeland Security

The articulation of international and transnational terrorism as a key issue in US security policy, as a result of the 9/11 attacks, has not only led to a policy rethink, it has also included a bureaucratic shift within the US, showing a re-thinking of the role of borders within US security policy. Drawing substantively on the 'securitisation' approach to security studies, the article analyses the discourse of US security in order to examine the founding of the Department of Homeland Security, noting that its mission provides a new way of conceptualising 'borders' for US national security. The securitisation of terrorism is, therefore, not only represented by marking terrorism as a security issue, it is also solidified in the organisation of security policy-making within the US state. As such, the impact of a 'war on terror' provides an important moment for analysing the re-articulation of what security is in the US, and, in theoretical terms, for reaffirming the importance of a relationship between the production of threat and the institutionalisation of threat response. © 2007 Taylor & Francis

Three methods to detect the predicted DDˉ scalar meson X(3700)

In analogy to the f(0)(500), which appears as a pi pi resonance in chiral unitary theory, and the f(0)(980), which appears as a quasibound K (K) over bar state, the extension of this approach to the charm sector also predicts a quasibound D (D) over bar state with mass around 3720 MeV, named as X(3700), for which some experimental support is seen in the e(+)e(-) -> J/psi D (D) over bar reaction close to the D (D) over bar threshold. In the present work we propose three different experiments to observe it as a clear peak. The first one is the radiative decay of the psi(3770), psi(3770) -> gamma X(3700) -> gamma eta eta'. The second one proposes the analogous reaction psi(4040) -> gamma X(3700) -> gamma eta eta' and the third reaction is the e(+)e(-) -> J/psi X(3700) -> J/psi eta eta'. Neat peaks are predicted for all the reactions and the calculated rates are found within measurable range in present facilities