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Global burden of amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and opioid use in 204 countries, 1990–2023: a Global Burden of Disease Study
No full textDrug use disorders (DUDs) are emerging global public health challenges. Here we investigated the global and regional estimates of the prevalence and burden of DUDs, including amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and opioid use disorders, from 1990 to 2023 for 204 countries and territories by using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. Overall, trends in global age-standardized disability-adjusted life-years of DUDs increased from 169.3 (95% uncertainty interval (95% UI), 134.4–203.9) per 100,000 people in 1990 to 212.0 (95% UI, 179.2–245.6) in 2023. In 2023, both prevalence and burden of DUDs were higher in high-income countries, particularly in the USA. The most prevalent DUDs in 2023 were cannabis use disorder (age-standardized prevalence, 270.8 (95% UI, 201.7–350.0) per 100,000 people) and opioid use disorder (205.9 (95% UI, 178.7–235.0)). Particularly, opioid use disorder showed a nearly twofold increase in prevalence and burden between 1990 and 2023. In 2023, compared with countries where cannabis use was illegal, countries permitting both recreational and medical cannabis use had higher prevalence rates for all types of DUDs. Proactive and effective policies are essential to mitigate the increasing global burden of DUDs
Thermodynamic benchmarking of vapor compression, Brayton and Stirling heat pump cycles for district heating applications
No full textIntegrating heat pumps into district heating systems is a crucial pathway toward decarbonizing urban heat supply and increasing the share of renewable energy in the heating sector. However, diverse temperature requirements of district heating networks impose distinct challenges on heat pump technologies. This study presents a systematic thermodynamic analysis of three fundamental closed-loop heat pump cycles - vapor compression, reverse Brayton, and reverse Stirling - for district heating applications. It considers representative temperature levels and transients of environmental and industrial heat sources, along with varying district heating supply temperatures to reflect typical operating conditions
The Socio-Technical Entanglement of Age and Technology: Counteracting Ageism in Technology Development
No full textThe ageing of Western societies is often viewed as a challenge or even a problem. In this context, digital “solutions” are increasingly promoted as essential components of strategies to address related issues. Nevertheless, projects to develop and implement technology in healthcare and social care frequently fail. One reason for limited adoption or poor fit of these technologies is an insufficient understanding of the social realities and live worlds of older (potential) end users. Participatory approaches to developing technology address this and offer considerable scope. However, they are beset with challenges, such as the “participation dilemma” and the risk of (un-)consciously remaining at a tokenistic level of involvement. Furthermore, issues such as ageism are often relegated to reflexive approaches, where recommendations typically emphasize the need for reflection but lack concrete guidance on the process and systematic strategies to address ageism at structural and individual levels. This contribution addresses that gap by offering a sociohistorical contextualization of ageism and investigating the advantages and challenges associated with participatory approaches in this setting. Additionally, it presents approaches to systematically make ageism transparent and effectively counteract it at structural and individual levels
METHODEN ZUR MESSUNG DER OXIDATIONSSTABILITÄT VON PP UND AUSWIRKUNGEN AUF LANGZEITEIGENSCHAFTEN
No full textExplainable Statistical Evaluation of Emergency Braking Functions in Scenario-Based Safety Testing
No full textThis article presents the integration of the Explainable Statistical Evaluation method (ESE) with an Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) using the software library FASim in the context of the European New Car Assessment Programme Car-to-Pedestrian Nearside Child Obstructed 50% scenario (Euro NCAP CPNCO-50 scenario). ESE integrates qualitative and quantitative safety methods for an easy to explain justification of functional safety (FuSa) and safety of the intended functionality (Sotif) for complex systems. The article addresses the European Union’s call for objective, coherent safety metrics for Connected and Automated Vehicles and shows how simulation-based test generation can support a statistically sound argument for safety, for which validation tests do not provide sufficient evidence
Distance Learning as the Higher Education Format of the Future? The Importance of the Study Entrance Phase
No full textWorldwide, the popularity of distance learning is growing, making digitally delivered teaching and learning formats increasingly important, not only for today but also in the future. These formats’ flexibility and accessibility particularly appeal to non-traditional students. However, academic success among distance learners tends to be lower and dropout rates are higher compared to on-campus students. The transition into distance
learning represents a critical phase for successful learning. The article addresses the question of why the study entrance is central to a future higher education that breaks down educational barriers and promotes the academic success of distance learners. Based on a scoping review – conducted by searching five databases (ERIC, PubMed, Google Scholar, PsycINFO, Scopus) and ultimately including 60 sources – this article explores the opportunities and challenges for successful learning during the study entrance phase and provides recommendations for teaching
Concept for acquiring implicit knowledge in industrial production: challenges, best practices and LLM based use cases
No full textAging workforces in western industrialized countries are leading to a growing loss of experiential knowledge, particularly on the shop floor where expertise is largely tacit and informally acquired. This HICSS presentation reports on a study that examines current challenges in industrial knowledge management and identifies promising application areas for large language models (LLMs) within a broader effort to develop human-centered, GenAI-supported KM solutions. Based on two structured workshops with 23 experts from 14 German manufacturing companies, the study reveals key barriers to knowledge retention and highlights two prioritized LLM use cases. The findings provide concrete design implications for LLM-enabled KM systems and contribute practical insights into addressing demographic change in industrial contexts
Wohnen im Pflegeheim: Endstation oder Lebensraum?
No full textStationäre Pflegeeinrichtungen gewinnen angesichts der demografischen Entwicklung und des steigenden Pflegebedarfs zunehmend an Bedeutung als Lebensorte für ältere und alte Menschen. Sie sind nicht nur Orte der medizinischen Versorgung, sondern auch des sozialen Zusammenlebens und der alltäglichen Lebensgestaltung. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt sich die Frage, inwiefern stationäre Pflegeeinrichtungen tatsächlich als Lebensräume verstanden werden können und welche Rolle die Soziale Arbeit bei der Mitgestaltung einnehmen kann.
Zu Beginn des Beitrags wird die historische Entwicklung sowie der gesellschaftlich-strukturelle Kontext der stationären Pflege näher betrachtet. Im Anschluss werden die Lebenssituationen der Heimbewohnenden differenziert dargelegt – neben potenziellen Herausforderungen werden auch Chancen und gelingende Ansätze beschrieben. Danach widmet sich der Beitrag schließlich der Rolle der Sozialen Arbeit: Zunächst wird der Status quo analysiert, bevor Potenziale, konkrete Interventionsmöglichkeiten und strukturelle Herausforderungen thematisiert werden. Abschließend werden die zentralen Erkenntnisse zusammengefasst und ein Plädoyer für eine stärkere strukturelle Verankerung der Sozialen Arbeit in stationären Pflegeeinrichtungen wird formuliert
Development of Accelerated Durability Test Protocols for PEMFC Stacks under Realistic Operating Conditions
No full textPEMFC durability is still a major challenge. To overcome time-consuming durability tests, so-called accelerated durability tests (ADT) are of urgent need. This work presents our recent results in developing ADT protocols in the context of realistic operating conditions, i.e. voltage clipping at 0.85 V. A 5,500 h long-term test was carried out as reference applying a realistic automotive drive cycle. Focusing on different stressors such as temperature, relative humidity (RH) and load profile four different ADT protocols of 1,200 h duration were derived. 7-cell short stacks with 240 cm² active area were used. Comparing cell voltage as key indicator, an acceleration factor of 3 to 7 could be achieved. In situ characterization techniques such as spatially resolved current measurement, CV and EIS were employed to investigate influences of individual stressors on specific degradation mechanisms and components. Highest acceleration was observed in mass transport region of ADTs addressing RH as stressor, suggesting that RH cycling leads to increased degradation of hydrophobic surfaces. Increased temperature was found to accelerate primarily carbon support degradation. Accelerated catalyst aging seems to be low, demonstrating the effectiveness of voltage clipping conditions. Our most promising ADT shows quite homogeneous acceleration of voltage degradation across all current regions