Octupole response and stability of spherical shape in heavy nuclei

The isoscalar octupole response of a heavy spherical nucleus is analyzed in a semiclassical model based on the linearized Vlasov equation. The octupole strength function is evaluated with different degrees of approximation. The zero-order fixed-surface response displays a remarkable concentration of strength in the $1\hbar\omega$ and $3\hbar\omega$ regions, in excellent agreement with the quantum single-particle response. The collective fixed-surface response reproduces both the high- and low-energy octupole rsonances, but not the low-lying $3^{-}$ collective states, while the moving-surface response function gives a good qualitative description of all the main features of the octupole response in heavy nuclei. The role of triangular nucleon orbits, that have been related to a possible instability of the spherical shape with respect to octupole-type deformations, is discussed within this model. It is found that, rather than creating instability, the triangular trajectories are the only classical orbits contributing to the damping of low-energy octupole excitations.Comment: 10 pages, Latex file, 7 ps figure

Kinetic-theory approach to low-energy collective modes in nuclei

Two different solutions of the linearized Vlasov equation for finite systems, characterized by fixed and moving-surface boundary conditions, are discussed in a unified perspective. A condition determining the eigenfrequencies of collective nuclear oscillations, that can be obtained from the moving-surface solution, is studied for isoscalar vibrations of lowest multipolarity. Analytic expressions for the friction and mass parameters related to the low-enegy surface excitations are derived and their value is compared to values given by other models. Both similarities and differences are found with respect to the other approaches, however the close agreement obtained in many cases with one of the other models suggests that, in spite of some important differences, the two approaches are substantially equivalent. The formalism based on the Vlasov equation is more transparent since it leads to analytical expressions that can be a basis for further improvement of the model.Comment: 16 pages, 1 EPS figure, to be published in Nucl. Phys.

The isoscalar quadrupole strength distribution above 10 MeV in 40Ca

From angular correlation measurements of c~ o decay to the 36At ground state, the isoscalar E2 strength distribution between 10 and 16 MeV in 4°Ca has been found to be concentrated in the interval E x = 12.5-15.5 MeV and to exhaust +10 about 12% of the EWSR in the c~ o channel and about (45-15 )% if extrapolated to all channels

The Parallel Persistent Memory Model

We consider a parallel computational model that consists of $P$ processors, each with a fast local ephemeral memory of limited size, and sharing a large persistent memory. The model allows for each processor to fault with bounded probability, and possibly restart. On faulting all processor state and local ephemeral memory are lost, but the persistent memory remains. This model is motivated by upcoming non-volatile memories that are as fast as existing random access memory, are accessible at the granularity of cache lines, and have the capability of surviving power outages. It is further motivated by the observation that in large parallel systems, failure of processors and their caches is not unusual. Within the model we develop a framework for developing locality efficient parallel algorithms that are resilient to failures. There are several challenges, including the need to recover from failures, the desire to do this in an asynchronous setting (i.e., not blocking other processors when one fails), and the need for synchronization primitives that are robust to failures. We describe approaches to solve these challenges based on breaking computations into what we call capsules, which have certain properties, and developing a work-stealing scheduler that functions properly within the context of failures. The scheduler guarantees a time bound of $O(W/P_A + D(P/P_A) \lceil\log_{1/f} W\rceil)$ in expectation, where $W$ and $D$ are the work and depth of the computation (in the absence of failures), $P_A$ is the average number of processors available during the computation, and $f \le 1/2$ is the probability that a capsule fails. Within the model and using the proposed methods, we develop efficient algorithms for parallel sorting and other primitives.Comment: This paper is the full version of a paper at SPAA 2018 with the same nam

Barriers and facilitators perceived by healthcare professionals for implementing lifestyle interventions in patients with osteoarthritis:a scoping review

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of barriers and facilitators that healthcare professionals (HCPs) perceive regarding the implementation of lifestyle interventions (LIs) in patients with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis (OA). DESIGN: Scoping review. DATA SOURCES: The databases PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception up to January 2021. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Primary research articles with a quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods design were eligible for inclusion if they reported: (1) perceptions of primary and/or secondary HCPs (population); (2) on implementing LIs with physical activity and/or weight management as key components (concept) and (3) on conservative management of hip and/or knee OA (context). Articles not published in English, German or Dutch were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Barriers and facilitators were extracted by two researchers independently. Subsequently, the extracted factors were linked to a framework based on the Tailored Implementation for Chronic Diseases checklist. RESULTS: Thirty-six articles were included. In total, 809 factors were extracted and subdivided into nine domains. The extracted barriers were mostly related to non-optimal interdisciplinary collaboration, patients’ negative attitude towards LIs, patients’ low health literacy and HCPs’ lack of knowledge and skills around LIs or promoting behavioural change. The extracted facilitators were mostly related to good interdisciplinary collaboration, a positive perception of HCPs’ own role in implementing LIs, the content or structure of LIs and HCPs’ positive attitude towards LIs. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple individual and environmental factors influence the implementation of LIs by HCPs in patients with hip and/or knee OA. The resulting overview of barriers and facilitators can guide future research on the implementation of LIs within OA care. To investigate whether factor frequency is related to the relevance of each domain, further research should assess the relative importance of the identified factors involving all relevant disciplines of primary and secondary HCPs. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019129348

Heart Rehabilitation in patients awaiting Open heart surgery targeting to prevent Complications and to improve Quality of life (Heart-ROCQ):study protocol for a prospective, randomised, open, blinded endpoint (PROBE) trial

INTRODUCTION: The rising prevalence of modifiable risk factors (eg, obesity, hypertension and physical inactivity) is causing an increase in possible avoidable complications in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. This study aims to assess whether a combined preoperative and postoperative multidisciplinary cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programme (Heart-ROCQ programme) can improve functional status and reduce surgical complications, readmissions and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) as compared with standard care. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Patients (n=350) are randomised to the Heart-ROCQ programme or standard care. The Heart-ROCQ programme consists of a preoperative optimisation phase while waiting for surgery (three times per week, minimum of 3 weeks), a postoperative inpatient phase (3 weeks) and an outpatient CR phase (two times per week, 4 weeks). Patients receive multidisciplinary treatment (eg, physical therapy, dietary advice, psychological sessions and smoking cessation). Standard care consists of 6 weeks of postsurgery outpatient CR with education and physical therapy (two times per week). The primary outcome is a composite weighted score of functional status, surgical complications, readmissions and MACE, and is evaluated by a blinded endpoint committee. The secondary outcomes are length of stay, physical and psychological functioning, lifestyle risk factors, and work participation. Finally, an economic evaluation is performed. Data are collected at six time points: at baseline (start of the waiting period), the day before surgery, at discharge from the hospital, and at 3, 7 and 12 months postsurgery. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study will be conducted according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (V.8, October 2013). The protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethical Review Board of the UMCG (no 2016/464). Results of this study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed scientific journal and can be presented at national and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02984449

Validity of the self-administered comorbidity questionnaire in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Background: The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement has selected the self-administered comorbidity questionnaire (SCQ) to adjust case-mix when comparing outcomes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment between healthcare providers. However, the SCQ has not been validated for use in IBD patients. Objectives: We assessed the validity of the SCQ for measuring comorbidities in IBD patients. Design: Cohort study. Methods: We assessed the criterion validity of the SCQ for IBD patients by comparing patient-reported and clinician-reported comorbidities (as noted in the electronic health record) of the 13 diseases of the SCQ using Cohen’s kappa. Construct validity was assessed using the Spearman correlation coefficient between the SCQ and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), clinician-reported SCQ, quality of life, IBD-related healthcare and productivity costs, prevalence of disability, and IBD disease activity. We assessed responsiveness by correlating changes in the SCQ with changes in healthcare costs, productivity costs, quality of life, and disease activity after 15 months. Results: We included 613 patients. At least fair agreement (κ &gt; 0.20) was found for most comorbidities, but the agreement was slight (κ &lt; 0.20) for stomach disease [κ = 0.19, 95% CI (−0.03; 0.41)], blood disease [κ = 0.02, 95% CI (−0.06; 0.11)], and back pain [κ = 0.18, 95% CI (0.11; 0.25)]. Correlations were found between the SCQ and the clinician-reported SCQ [ρ = 0.60, 95% CI (0.55; 0.66)], CCI [ρ = 0.39, 95% CI (0.31; 0.45)], the prevalence of disability [ρ = 0.23, 95% CI (0.15; 0.32)], and quality of life [ρ = −0.30, 95% CI (−0.37; −0.22)], but not between the SCQ and healthcare or productivity costs or disease activity (|ρ| ⩽ 0.2). A change in the SCQ after 15 months was not correlated with a change in any of the outcomes.Conclusion: The SCQ is a valid tool for measuring comorbidity in IBD patients, but face and content validity should be improved before being used to correct case-mix differences.</p

Trajectories of health-related quality of life among people with a physical disability and/or chronic disease during and after rehabilitation: a longitudinal cohort study

Purpose: To identify Health-related Quality of Life (HR-QoL) trajectories in a large heterogeneous cohort of people with a physical disability and/or chronic disease during and after rehabilitation and to determine which factors before discharge are associated with longitudinal trajectory membership. Methods: A total of 1100 people with a physical disability and/or chronic disease were included from the longitudinal cohort study Rehabilitation, Sports and Active lifestyle. All participants participated in a physical activity promotion programme in Dutch rehabilitation care. HR-QoL was assessed using the RAND-12 Health Status Inventory questionnaire at baseline (T0: 3–6 weeks before discharge) and at 14 (T1), 33 (T2) and 52 (T3) weeks after discharge from rehabilitation. A data-driven approach using Latent Class Growth Mixture modelling was used to determine HR-QoL trajectories. Multiple binomial multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine person-, disease- and lifestyle-related factors associated with trajectory membership. Results: Three HR-QoL trajectories were identified: moderate (N = 635), high (N = 429) and recovery (N = 36). Trajectory membership was associated with person-related factors (age and body mass index), disease-related factors (perceived fatigue, perceived pain and acceptance of the disease) and one lifestyle-related factor (alcohol consumption) before discharge from rehabilitation. Conclusions: Most of the people who participated in a physical activity promotion programme obtained a relatively stable but moderate HR-QoL. The identified HR-QoL trajectories among our heterogeneous cohort are disease-overarching. Our findings suggest that people in rehabilitation may benefit from person-centred advice on management of fatigue and pain (e.g. activity pacing) and the acceptance of the disability