Disclosure of researcher allegiance in meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials of psychotherapy: a systematic appraisal

Psychotherapy research may suffer from factors such as a researchers own therapy allegiance. The aim of this study was to evaluate if researcher allegiance (RA) was reported in meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of psychotherapeutic treatments.Systematic approach using meta-analyses of different types of psychotherapies.Medline, PsycINFO and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.We evaluated meta-analyses of RCTs regarding various types of psychotherapies. Meta-analyses were eligible if they included at least one RCT with RA and they were published in journals in Medline, PsycINFO and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews with an impact factor larger than 5.We identified 146 eligible meta-analyses that synthesised data from a total of 1198 unique RCTs. Only 25 of the meta-analyses (17.2%) reported allegiance and only 6 (4.1%) used a proper method to control its effect. Of the 1198 eligible primary RCTs, 793 (66.3%) were allegiant. Authors in 25 of these 793 RCTs (3.2%) reported their allegiance while only one study (0.2%) controlled for its effect.The vast majority among a group of published meta-analyses and RCTs of psychotherapeutic treatments seldom reported and evaluated the allegiance effect. The results of the present study highlight a major lack of this information in meta-analyses and their included studies, though meta-analyses perform slightly better than RCTs. Stringent guidelines should be adopted by journals in order to improve reporting and attenuate possible effects of RA in future research

What makes a successful transition from primary to secondary school?

This report presents the findings of a sub-study on transitions undertaken as part of the Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education 3-14 (EPPSE 3-14 project) a major longitudinal study investigating the influence of pre-school, primary and secondary school on children’s cognitive and social/behavioural development in England. The transitions sub-study of more than 500 children and families sheds light on current transition practices and highlights what helps and hinders a successful transition. It takes into account the influence of child and family background characteristics such as socio-economic status (SES) and gender. It suggests how the transition experience could be improved to enhance the smooth continuity between primary and secondary school. By adopting a mixed methods approach, the study investigated the issues related to transition for four distinctive groups: Local Authorities, children, parents and schools. Officers in six Local Authorities were asked about the way transition was dealt with in their Authority. Children in their first term at secondary school completed a questionnaire on their thoughts and experiences of transition, and the study also sought their parents’ opinions in order to illustrate the whole family’s experience. Finally, there were twelve case studies selected from the respondents of the questionnaire because of their positive experiences of transition. These involved interviews with the children and their primary and secondary teachers. This provided further details of the systems in place that support the transition processes between school phases. The sample was drawn from children and families in the wider EPPSE project. 1190 children from the EPPSE sample made a transition at the end of the 2005-06 academic year. Responses were received from 550 children (a 46% response rate) and 569 parents (a 48% response rate) from across England drawn from 6 Local Authorities (Shire County, Inner London borough, Midlands/Metropolitan region, East Anglia area, and two authorities in the North East). Children were recruited to the case studies using stratified selection to get a balanced mix by region, gender, socio-economic status (SES) and ethnicity. A wide range of data, already available from the main EPPSE study was used to complement the analyses

Scaling of Level Statistics at the Disorder-Induced Metal-Insulator Transition

The distribution of energy level separations for lattices of sizes up to 28$\times$28$\times$28 sites is numerically calculated for the Anderson model. The results show one-parameter scaling. The size-independent universality of the critical level spacing distribution allows to detect with high precision the critical disorder $W_{c}=16.35$. The scaling properties yield the critical exponent, $\nu =1.45 \pm 0.08$, and the disorder dependence of the correlation length.Comment: 11 pages (RevTex), 3 figures included (tar-compressed and uuencoded using UUFILES), to appear in Phys.Rev. B 51 (Rapid Commun.

Robust moving horizon state estimation for uncertain linear systems using linear matrix inequalities

This paper investigates the problem of state estimation for linear-time-invariant (LTI) discrete-time systems subject to structured feedback uncertainty and bounded disturbances. The proposed Robust Moving Horizon Estimation (RMHE) scheme computes at each sample time tight bounds on the uncertain states by solving a linear matrix inequality (LMI) optimization problem based on the available noisy input and output data. In comparison with conventional approaches that use offline calculation for the estimation, the suggested scheme achieves an acceptable level of performance with reduced conservativeness, while the online computational time is maintained relatively low. The effectiveness of the proposed estimation method is assessed via a numerical example

Tracking control for directional drilling systems using robust feedback model predictive control

A rotary steerable system (RSS) is a drilling technology which has been extensively studied and used for over the last 20 years in hydrocarbon exploration and it is expected to drill complex curved borehole trajectories. RSSs are commonly treated as dynamic robotic actuator systems, driven by a reference signal and typically controlled by using a feedback loop control law. However, due to spatial delays, parametric uncertainties and the presence of disturbances in such an unpredictable working environment, designing such control laws is not a straightforward process. Furthermore, due to their inherent delayed feedback, described by delay differential equations (DDE), directional drilling systems have the potential to become unstable given the requisite conditions. This paper proposes a Robust Model Predictive Control (RMPC) scheme for industrial directional drilling, which incorporates a simplified model described by ordinary differential equations (ODE), taking into account disturbances and system uncertainties which arise from design approximations within the formulation of RMPC. The stability and computational efficiency of the scheme are improved by a state feedback strategy computed offline using Robust Positive Invariant (RPI) sets control approach and model reduction techniques. A crucial advantage of the proposed control scheme is that it computes an optimal control input considering physical and designer constraints. The control strategy is applied in an industrial directional drilling configuration represented by a DDE model and its performance is illustrated by simulations

Identification of Soil-Water Chemical Parameters for the Prediction and Treatment of Suspended Solids in Surface Water Reservoirs of Coal Mine Lands

High concentrations of suspended solids in coal mine sedimentation ponds are a factor in lowering water quality. Colloidal particle settling simulations were carried out in the laboratory to test the influence pH and dissolved solids have on concentration and settling rates of suspended solids. The results of the study reveal that the pH range of colloidal coflocculation for the samples tested is between 3.5 and 4.5. Furthermore, liming simulation of acidic sediments, as expected increased colloid dispersion. This increase was dependent on the magnitude of the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). The greater SAR systems maintained a greater concentration of colloidal suspended particles. However, for the same SAR value when the ionic strength was increased from 4 meq L-1 to 8 meq L-1, sedimentation rate of colloidal particles decreased. The data also show evidence that for the same SAR values when substituting magnesium for calcium, the rate of particle settling increased for one sample but decreased for another. This unexpected behavior is under further investigation

Identification of Soil-Water Chemical Parameters for the Prediction and Treatment of Suspended Solids in Surface Water Reservoirs of Coal Mine Lands

High concentrations of suspended solids in coal mine sedimentation ponds are a factor in lowering water quality. This study focuses on the influence dissolved solids have on concentration and settling of suspended solids. Water samples from sedimentation ponds in Eastern and Western Kentucky were used to evaluate water composition in such ponds. Spoil samples from surface mine sites in both parts of the state were used to evaluate water composition released from the spoils upon introducing water. The results demonstrate that water quality emanating from coal spoils of Eastern and Western coal mines is dependent on the type of spoil and/or geologic strata represented. Water composition of randomly selected sedimentation ponds revealed that the relationship between electrical conductance (EC) in mmhos cm-1 and ionic strength (I) of water is I = 0.012 [EC]. Furthermore, it was determined that there is a linear relationship between the repulsive index, RI = [(0.012)(EC)]-1/2 (based somewhat loosely on double-layer theory), and suspended solids. Kinetic data on settling of suspended solids has shown that upon increasing the ionic strength of the water (consequently decreasing RI), the rate of settling increased dramatically. The critical RI at which complete removal of all suspended solids, estimated by graphic extrapolation, is shown to be dependent on the percent base saturation. The data also demonstrate that the critical RI (RI at maximum flocculation) varies depending on the spoils mineralogical and chemical composition. The overall study shows that decreases in suspended solids in coal mine sedimentation ponds can be brought about by relatively small increases in ionic strength. Several approaches as to how one might increase water ionic strength in sediment ponds are discussed