11 research outputs found
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Krylov iterative methods applied to multidimensional S[sub n] calculations in the presence of material discontinuities
We show that a Krylov iterative meihod, preconditioned with DSA, can be used to efficiently compute solutions to diffusive problems with discontinuities in material properties. We consider a lumped, linear discontinuous discretization of the S N transport equation with a 'partially consistent' DSA preconditioner. The Krylov method can be implemented in terms of the original S N source iteration coding with little modification. Results from numerical experiments show that replacing source iteration with a preconditioned Krylov method can efficiently solve problems that are virtually intractable with accelerated source iteration. Key Words: Krylov iterative methods, discrete ordinates, deterministic transport methods, diffusion synthetic acceleratio
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Krylov subspace iterations for the calculation of K-Eigenvalues with sn transport codes
We apply the Implicitly Restarted Arnoldi Method (IRAM), a Krylov subspace iterative method, to the calculation of k-eigenvalues for criticality problems. We show that the method can be implemented with only modest changes to existing power iteration schemes in an SN transport code. Numerical results on three dimensional unstructured tetrahedral meshes are shown. Although we only compare the IRAM to unaccelerated power iteration, the results indicate that the IRAM is a potentially efficient and powerful technique, especially for problems with dominance ratios approaching unity. Key Words: criticality eigenvalues, Implicitly Restarted Arnoldi Method (IRAM), deterministic transport method
Effects of fluoxetine on functional outcomes after acute stroke (FOCUS): a pragmatic, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial
Background
Results of small trials indicate that fluoxetine might improve functional outcomes after stroke. The FOCUS trial aimed to provide a precise estimate of these effects.
Methods
FOCUS was a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel group, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial done at 103 hospitals in the UK. Patients were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had a clinical stroke diagnosis, were enrolled and randomly assigned between 2 days and 15 days after onset, and had focal neurological deficits. Patients were randomly allocated fluoxetine 20 mg or matching placebo orally once daily for 6 months via a web-based system by use of a minimisation algorithm. The primary outcome was functional status, measured with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), at 6 months. Patients, carers, health-care staff, and the trial team were masked to treatment allocation. Functional status was assessed at 6 months and 12 months after randomisation. Patients were analysed according to their treatment allocation. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN83290762.
Findings
Between Sept 10, 2012, and March 31, 2017, 3127 patients were recruited. 1564 patients were allocated fluoxetine and 1563 allocated placebo. mRS data at 6 months were available for 1553 (99·3%) patients in each treatment group. The distribution across mRS categories at 6 months was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (common odds ratio adjusted for minimisation variables 0·951 [95% CI 0·839–1·079]; p=0·439). Patients allocated fluoxetine were less likely than those allocated placebo to develop new depression by 6 months (210 [13·43%] patients vs 269 [17·21%]; difference 3·78% [95% CI 1·26–6·30]; p=0·0033), but they had more bone fractures (45 [2·88%] vs 23 [1·47%]; difference 1·41% [95% CI 0·38–2·43]; p=0·0070). There were no significant differences in any other event at 6 or 12 months.
Interpretation
Fluoxetine 20 mg given daily for 6 months after acute stroke does not seem to improve functional outcomes. Although the treatment reduced the occurrence of depression, it increased the frequency of bone fractures. These results do not support the routine use of fluoxetine either for the prevention of post-stroke depression or to promote recovery of function.
Funding
UK Stroke Association and NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme
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Pericles and Attila results for the C5G7 MOX benchmark problems
Recently the Nuclear Energy Agency has published a new benchmark entitled, 'C5G7 MOX Benchmark.' This benchmark is to test the ability of current transport codes to treat reactor core problems without spatial homogenization. The benchmark includes both a two- and three-dimensional problem. We have calculated results for these benchmark problems with our Pericles and Attila codes. Pericles is a one-,two-, and three-dimensional unstructured grid discrete-ordinates code and was used for the twodimensional benchmark problem. Attila is a three-dimensional unstructured tetrahedral mesh discrete-ordinate code and was used for the three-dimensional problem. Both codes use discontinuous finite element spatial differencing. Both codes use diffusion synthetic acceleration (DSA) for accelerating the inner iterations
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On the degraded effectiveness of diffusion synthetic acceleration for multidimensional sn calculations in the presence of material discontinuities
We investigate the degradation in performance of diffusion synthetic acceleration (DSA) methods in problems with discontinuities in material properties. A loss in the effectiveness of DSA schemes has been Observed before with other discretizations in two dimensions under certain conditions. We present more evidence in support of the conjecture that DSA effectiveness can degrade in multidimensional problems with discontinuities in total cross section, regardless of the particular physical configuration or spatial discretization. Through Fourier analysis and numerical experiments, we identify a set of representative problems for which established DSA schemes are ineffective, focusing on highly diffusive problems for which DSA is most needed. We consider a lumped, linear discontinuous spatial discretization of the S N transport equation on three-dimensional, unstructured tetrahedral meshes and look ata fully consistent and a 'partially consistent' DSA method for this discretization. We find that the effectiveness of both methods can be significantly degraded in the presence of material discontinuities. A Fourier analysis in the limit of decreasing cell optical thickness is shown that supports the view that the degraded effectiveness of a fully consistent DSA scheme simply reflects the failure of the spatially continuous DSA method in problems where material discontinuities are present. Key Words: diffusion synthetic acceleration, discrete ordinates, deterministic transport methods, unstructured meshe
Neurocognitive impairments in MDMA and other drug users: MDMA alone may not be a cognitive risk factor
Profound systemic hypothermia protects the spinal cord in a primate model of spinal cord ischemia
Feasibility of reporting results of large randomised controlled trials to participants:experience from the Fluoxetine or Control under supervision (FOCUS) trial
Objectives Informing research participants of the results of studies in which they took part is viewed as an ethical imperative. However, there is little guidance in the literature about how to do this. The Fluoxetine Or Control Under Supervision trial randomised 3127 patients with a recent acute stroke to 6 months of fluoxetine or placebo and was published in the Lancet on 5 December 2018. The trial team decided to inform the participants of the results at exactly the same time as the Lancet publication, and also whether they had been allocated fluoxetine or placebo. In this report, we describe how we informed participants of the results.Design In the 6-month and 12-month follow-up questionnaires, we invited participants to provide an email address if they wished to be informed of the results of the trial. We re-opened our trial telephone helpline between 5 December 2018 and 31 March 2019.Setting UK stroke services.Participants 3127 participants were randomised. 2847 returned 6-month follow-up forms and 2703 returned 12-month follow-up forms; the remaining participants had died (380), withdrawn consent or did not respond.Results Of those returning follow-up questionnaires, a total of 1845 email addresses were provided and a further 50 people requested results to be sent by post. Results were sent to all email and postal addresses provided; 309 emails were returned unrecognised. Seventeen people replied, of whom three called the helpline and the rest responded by email.Conclusion It is feasible to disseminate results of large trials to research participants, though only around 60% of those randomised wanted to receive the results. The system we developed was efficient and required very little resource, and could be replicated by trialists in the future.Trial registration number ISRCTN83290762; Post-results