Information technology for active ageing: A review of theory and practice

Active Ageing aims to foster a physically, mentally and socially active lifestyle as a person ages. It is a complex, multi-faceted problem that involves a variety of different actors, such as policy makers, doctors, care givers, family members, friends and, of course, older adults. This review aims to understand the role of a new actor, which increasingly plays the role of enabler and facilitator, i.e., that of the technology provider. The review specifically focuses on Information Technology (IT), with a particular emphasis on software applications, and on how IT can prevent decline, compensate for lost capabilities, aid care, and enhance existing capabilities. The analysis confirms the crucial role of IT in Active Ageing, shows that Active Ageing requires a multidisciplinary approach, and identifies the need for better integration of hardware, software, the environment and the involved actors

Detailed characterization of laser-produced astrophysically-relevant jets formed via a poloidal magnetic nozzle

International audienc

Synthesis of magnetic multiwalled carbon nano tubes and investigation of isotherm and kinetic models for cleanup of carbaryl pesticide

Water is the main factor of movement and transport of pesticides and contamination of water by these pollutants is one of the most important challenges due to their widespread use and increased concentrations. Moreover, these compounds are on the U.S.EPA Priority Pollutant list because of the potential of accumulation and the property of damaging effects. In this study, multiwalled carbon nanotube-based magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized and used as an affective adsorbent for carbaryl pesticide. The properties of the synthesized Fe3O4@MWCNTs were characterized by TEM images and XRD analysis. The obtained data were studied by isotherm and kinetic models. Carbaryl adsorbed onto the synthesized adsorbent was compatible with the Langmuir isotherm (R2 = 0.993). The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of the pesticide onto the Fe3O4-MWCNTs was obtained at 68.2 mg/g. The kinetic studies of the reactions showed that the adsorption process followed the pseudo-second order model with R2 � 0.99 for all initial carbaryl concentrations. The adsorbent was extracted by magnet reused several times (six rounds) with a reasonable efficiency. The Fe3O4MWCNTs have great potential for adsorption of carbaryl from water and wastewater due to high efficiency, easy separation and reusability. © 2020 Global NEST

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Interaction of relativistically intense laser pulses with long-scale near critical plasmas for optimization of laser based sources of MeV electrons and gamma-rays

Experiments were performed to study electron acceleration by intense sub-picosecond laser pulses propagating in sub-mm long plasmas of near critical electron density (NCD). Low density foam layers of 300–500 μ m thickness were used as targets. In foams, the NCD-plasma was produced by a mechanism of super-sonic ionization when a well-defined separate ns-pulse was sent onto the foam-target forerunning the relativistic main pulse. The application of sub-mm thick low density foam layers provided a substantial increase of the electron acceleration path in a NCD-plasma compared to the case of freely expanding plasmas created in the interaction of the ns-laser pulse with solid foils. The performed experiments on the electron heating by a 100 J, 750 fs short laser pulse of 2–5 × 10 19 W cm −2 intensity demonstrated that the effective temperature of supra-thermal electrons increased from 1.5–2 MeV in the case of the relativistic laser interaction with a metallic foil at high laser contrast up to 13 MeV for the laser shots onto the pre-ionized foam. The observed tendency towards a strong increase of the mean electron energy and the number of ultra-relativistic laser-accelerated electrons is reinforced by the results of gamma-yield measurements that showed a 1000-fold increase of the measured doses. The experiment was supported by 3D-PIC and FLUKA simulations, which considered the laser parameters and the geometry of the experimental set-up. Both, measurements and simulations showed a high directionality of the acceleration process, since the strongest increase in the electron energy, charge and corresponding gamma-yield was observed close to the direction of the laser pulse propagation. The charge of super-ponderomotive electrons with energy above 30 MeV reached a very high value of 78 nC

Superheating gold beyond the predicted entropy catastrophe threshold

In their landmark study1, Fecht and Johnson unveiled a phenomenon that they termed the ‘entropy catastrophe’, a critical point where the entropy of superheated crystals equates to that of their liquid counterparts. This point marks the uppermost stability boundary for solids at temperatures typically around three times their melting point. Despite the theoretical prediction of this ultimate stability threshold, its practical exploration has been prevented by numerous intermediate destabilizing events, colloquially known as a hierarchy of catastrophes2, 3, 4–5, which occur at far lower temperatures. Here we experimentally test this limit under ultrafast heating conditions, directly tracking the lattice temperature by using high-resolution inelastic X-ray scattering. Our gold samples are heated to temperatures over 14 times their melting point while retaining their crystalline structure, far surpassing the predicted threshold and suggesting a substantially higher or potentially no limit for superheating. We point to the inability of our samples to expand on these very short timescales as an important difference from previous estimates. These observations provide insights into the dynamics of melting under extreme conditions

A JWST Medium Resolution MIRI Spectrum and Models of the Type Ia supernova 2021aefx at +415 d

We present a JWST MIRI/MRS spectrum (5-27 $\mathrm{\mu}$m) of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia), SN 2021aefx at $+415$ days past $B$-band maximum. The spectrum, which was obtained during the iron-dominated nebular phase, has been analyzed in combination with previous JWST observations of SN 2021aefx, to provide the first JWST time series analysis of an SN Ia. We find the temporal evolution of the [Co III] 11.888 $\mathrm{\mu}$m feature directly traces the decay of $^{56}$Co. The spectra, line profiles, and their evolution are analyzed with off-center delayed-detonation models. Best fits were obtained with White Dwarf (WD) central densities of $\rho_c=0.9-1.1\times 10^9$g cm$^{-3}$, a WD mass of M$_{\mathrm{WD}}$=1.33-1.35M$_\odot$, a WD magnetic field of $\approx10^6$G, and an off-center deflagration-to-detonation transition at $\approx$ 0.5 $M_\odot$ seen opposite to the line of sight of the observer (-30). The inner electron capture core is dominated by energy deposition from $\gamma$-rays whereas a broader region is dominated by positron deposition, placing SN 2021aefx at +415 d in the transitional phase of the evolution to the positron-dominated regime. The formerly `flat-tilted' profile at 9 $\mathrm{\mu}$m now has significant contribution from [Ni IV], [Fe II], and [Fe III] and less from [Ar III], which alters the shape of the feature as positrons excite mostly the low-velocity Ar. Overall, the strength of the stable Ni features in the spectrum is dominated by positron transport rather than the Ni mass. Based on multi-dimensional models, our analysis is consistent with a single-spot, close-to-central ignition with an indication for a pre-existing turbulent velocity field, and excludes a multiple-spot, off-center ignition.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap