Separable form of low-momentum realistic NN interaction

The low-momentum interaction $V_{\text{low-k}}$ derived from realistic models of the nucleon-nucleon interaction is presented in a separable form. This separable force is supported by a contact interaction in order to achieve the saturation properties of symmetric nuclear matter. Bulk properties of nuclear matter and finite nuclei are investigated for the separable form of $V_{\text{low-k}}$ and two different parameterizations of the contact term. The accuracy of the separable force in Hartree-Fock calculations with respect to the original interaction $V_{\text{low-k}}$ is discussed. For a cutoff parameter $\Lambda$ of 2 fm$^{-1}$ a representation by a rank 2 separable force yields a sufficient accuracy, while higher ranks are required for larger cut-off parameters. The resulting separable force is parameterized in a simple way to allow for an easy application in other nuclear structure calculations.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Regulation and Wage Bargaining

In many regulated industries labour uions are strong and there is clear empirical evidence of labour rent-sharing. We study optimal regulation in a model in which wages are determined endogenously by wage bargaining at the firm level. Compared to the case in which wages do not depend on the regime under which the firm is regulated, allowing for endogenously determined wages has ambiguous effects on the regulatory contract

Registered report protocol:A scoping review to identify potential predictors as features for developing automated estimation of the probability of being frail in secondary care

INTRODUCTION: The impact of frailty surges, as the prevalence increases with age and the population age is rising. Frailty is associated with adverse health outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Many validated instruments to detect frailty have been developed. Using these in clinical practice takes time. Automated estimation of the probability of being frail using routinely collected data from hospital electronic health records (EHRs) would circumvent that. We aim to identify potential predictors that could be used as features for modeling algorithms on the basis of routine hospital EHR data to incorporate in an automated tool for estimating the probability of being frail. METHODS: PubMed (MEDLINE), CINAHL Plus, Embase, and Web of Science will be searched. The studied population consists of older people (≥65 years). The first step is searching articles published ≥2018. Second, we add two published literature reviews (and the articles included therein) [Bery 2020; Bouillon, 2013] to our search results. In these reviews, articles on potential predictor variables in frailty screening tools were included from inception until March 2018. The goal is to identify and extract all potential predictors of being frail. Domain experts will be consulted to evaluate the results. DISCUSSION: The results of the intended study will increase the quality of the developed algorithms to be used for automated estimation of the probability of being frail in secondary care. This is a promising perspective, being less labor-intensive compared to screening each individual patient by hand. Also, such an automated tool may raise awareness of frailty, especially in those patients who would not be screened for frailty by hand because they seem robust. CONCLUSION: The identified potential predictors of being frail can be used as evidence-based input for machine learning based automated estimation of the probability of being frail using routine EHR data in the near future

Managing the complexity of doing it all : an exploratory study on students' experiences when trained stepwise in conducting consultations

Background: At most medical schools the components required to conduct a consultation, medical knowledge, communication, clinical reasoning and physical examination skills, are trained separately. Afterwards, all the knowledge and skills students acquired must be integrated into complete consultations, an art that lies at the heart of the medical profession. Inevitably, students experience conducting consultations as complex and challenging. Literature emphasizes the importance of three didactic course principles: moving from partial tasks to whole task learning, diminishing supervisors' support and gradually increasing students' responsibility. This study explores students' experiences of an integrated consultation course using these three didactic principles to support them in this difficult task. Methods: Six focus groups were conducted with 20 pre-clerkship and 19 clerkship students in total. Discussions were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed by Nvivo using the constant comparative strategy within a thematic analysis. Results: Conducting complete consultations motivated students in their learning process as future physician. Initially, students were very much focused on medical problem solving. Completing the whole task of a consultation obligated them to transfer their theoretical medical knowledge into applicable clinical knowledge on the spot. Furthermore, diminishing the support of a supervisor triggered students to reflect on their own actions but contrasted with their increased appreciation of critical feedback. Increasing students' responsibility stimulated their active learning but made some students feel overloaded. These students were anxious to miss patient information or not being able to take the right decisions or to answer patients' questions, which sometimes resulted in evasive coping techniques, such as talking faster to prevent the patient asking questions. Conclusion: The complex task of conducting complete consultations should be implemented early within medical curricula because students need time to organize their medical knowledge into applicable clinical knowledge. An integrated consultation course should comprise a step-by-step teaching strategy with a variety of supervisors' feedback modi, adapted to students' competence. Finally, students should be guided in formulating achievable standards to prevent them from feeling overloaded in practicing complete consultations with simulated or real patients

Phase transitions of hadronic to quark matter at finite T and \mu_B

The phase transition of hadronic to quark matter and the boundaries of the mixed hadron-quark coexistence phase are studied within the two Equation of State (EoS) model. The relativistic effective mean field approach with constant and density dependent meson-nucleon couplings is used to describe hadronic matter, and the MIT Bag model is adopted to describe quark matter. The boundaries of the mixed phase for different Bag constants are obtained solving the Gibbs equations. We notice that the dependence on the Bag parameter of the critical temperatures (at zero chemical potential) can be well reproduced by a fermion ultrarelativistic quark gas model, without contribution from the hadron part. At variance the critical chemical potentials (at zero temperature) are very sensitive to the EoS of the hadron sector. Hence the study of the hadronic EoS is much more relevant for the determination of the transition to the quark-gluon-plasma at finite baryon density and low-T. Moreover in the low temperature and finite chemical potential region no solutions of the Gibbs conditions are existing for small Bag constant values, B < (135 MeV)^4. Isospin effects in asymmetric matter appear relevant in the high chemical potential regions at lower temperatures, of interest for the inner core properties of neutron stars and for heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies.Comment: 24 pages and 16 figures (revtex4

Impact of age norms and stereotypes on managers' hiring decisions of retirees

Purpose -Our study investigates the role of managers in the re-employment of early retirees and asks what the effect is of managers’ age norms and stereotypes on managers’ employment decisions. Design/methodology/approach- A combination of a factorial study and a survey was conducted. First, information on the age norms and stereotypes was collected. Secondly, profiles of hypothetical retired job applicants were presented to the employers, who were asked to make a specific hiring decision. The information collected during both studies was combined in the analysis and multilevel models were estimated. Findings -The results indicate that higher age norms result in a higher propensity to hire an early retiree. Stereotypes, by contrast, do not influence managers’ decisions. Early retirees’ chances for re-employment are also related to their own circumstances (physical appearance and relevant experience) and organisational forces, as they are hired when organisations face labour force shortages. Research limitation / implications – with the use of vignettes study we deal with hypothetical hiring situation. Originality value- Although the effect of age norms and age stereotypes has been often suggested, not much empirical evidence was presented to support this notion. Our study estimates the effect of age norms and stereotypes on hiring decision. key words: bridge employment; early retirees; age norms; age stereotypes; multilevel models.

Patient-tailored risk assessment of obstructive coronary artery disease using Rubidium-82 PET-based myocardial flow quantification with visual interpretation

Introduction: Our aim was to estimate the probability of obstructive CAD (oCAD) for an individual patient as a function of the myocardial flow reserve (MFR) measured with Rubidium-82 (Rb-82) PET in patients with a visually normal or abnormal scan. Materials and Methods: We included 1519 consecutive patients without a prior history of CAD referred for rest-stress Rb-82 PET/CT. All images were visually assessed by two experts and classified as normal or abnormal. We estimated the probability of oCAD for visually normal scans and scans with small (5%–10%) or larger defects (&gt; 10%) as function of MFR. The primary endpoint was oCAD on invasive coronary angiography, when available. Results: 1259 scans were classified as normal, 136 with a small defect and 136 with a larger defect. For the normal scans, the probability of oCAD increased exponentially from 1% to 10% when segmental MFR decreased from 2.1 to 1.3. For scans with small defects, the probability increased from 13% to 40% and for larger defects from 45% to &gt; 70% when segmental MFR decreased from 2.1 to 0.7. Conclusion: Patients with &gt; 10% risk of oCAD can be distinguished from patients with &lt; 10% risk based on visual PET interpretation only. However, there is a strong dependence of MFR on patient’s individual risk of oCAD. Hence, combining both visual interpretation and MFR results in a better individual risk assessment which may impact treatment strategy.</p

Tumor markers in breast cancer - European Group on Tumor Markers recommendations

Recommendations are presented for the routine clinical use of serum and tissue-based markers in the diagnosis and management of patients with breast cancer. Their low sensitivity and specificity preclude the use of serum markers such as the MUC-1 mucin glycoproteins ( CA 15.3, BR 27.29) and carcinoembryonic antigen in the diagnosis of early breast cancer. However, serial measurement of these markers can result in the early detection of recurrent disease as well as indicate the efficacy of therapy. Of the tissue-based markers, measurement of estrogen and progesterone receptors is mandatory in the selection of patients for treatment with hormone therapy, while HER-2 is essential in selecting patients with advanced breast cancer for treatment with Herceptin ( trastuzumab). Urokinase plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 are recently validated prognostic markers for lymph node-negative breast cancer patients and thus may be of value in selecting node-negative patients that do not require adjuvant chemotherapy. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel