The SHAPES Smart Mirror Approach for Independent Living, Healthy and Active Ageing.

The benefits that technology can provide in terms of health and support for independent living are in many cases not enough to break the barriers that prevent older adults from accepting and embracing technology. This work proposes a hardware and software platform based on a smart mirror, which is equipped with a set of digital solutions whose main focus is to overcome older adults' reluctance to use technology at home and wearable devices on the move. The system has been developed in the context of two use cases: the support of independent living for older individuals with neurodegenerative diseases and the promotion of physical rehabilitation activities at home. Aspects such as reliability, usability, consumption of computational resources, performance and accuracy of the proposed platform and digital solutions have been evaluated in the initial stages of the pilots within the SHAPES project, an EU-funded innovation action. It can be concluded that the SHAPES smart mirror has the potential to contribute as a technological breakthrough to overcome the barriers that prevent older adults from engaging in the use of assistive technologies.

Implementation of a pan-European ecosystem and an interoperable platform for Smart and Healthy Ageing in Europe: An Innovation Action research protocol.

As life expectancy continues to increase in most EU Member States, smart technologies can help enable older people to continue living at home, despite the challenges accompanying the ageing process. The Innovation Action (IA) SHAPES 'Smart and Healthy Ageing through People Engaging in Supportive Systems' funded by the EU under the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement number 857159) attends to these topics to support active and healthy ageing and the wellbeing of older adults. This protocol article outlines the SHAPES project's objectives and aims, methods, structure, and expected outcomes. SHAPES seeks to build, pilot, and deploy a large-scale, EU-standardised interoperable, and scalable open platform. The platform will facilitate the integration of a broad range of technological, organisational, clinical, educational, and social solutions. SHAPES emphasises that the home is much more than a house-space; it entails a sense of belonging, a place and a purpose in the community. SHAPES creates an ecosystem - a network of relevant users and stakeholders - who will work together to scale-up smart solutions. Furthermore, SHAPES will create a marketplace seeking to connect demand and supply across the home, health and care services. Finally, SHAPES will produce a set of recommendations to support key stakeholders seeking to integrate smart technologies in their care systems to mediate care delivery. Throughout, SHAPES adopts a multidisciplinary research approach to establish an empirical basis to guide the development of the platform. This includes long-term ethnographic research and a large-scale pan-European campaign to pilot the platform and its digital solutions within the context of seven distinct pilot themes. The project will thereby address the challenges of ageing societies in Europe and facilitate the integration of community-based health and social care. SHAPES will thus be a key driver for the transformation of healthcare and social care services across Europe.

Shaping the Future of Digitally Enabled Health and Care.

People generally need more support as they grow older to maintain healthy and active lifestyles. Older people living with chronic conditions are particularly dependent on healthcare services. Yet, in an increasingly digital society, there is a danger that efforts to drive innovations in eHealth will neglect the needs of those who depend on healthcare the most-our ageing population. The SHAPES (Smart and Healthy Ageing through People Engaging in Supportive Systems) Innovation Action aims to create an open European digital platform that facilitates the provision of meaningful, holistic support to older people living independently. A pan-European pilot campaign will evaluate a catalogue of digital solutions hosted on the platform that have been specifically adapted for older people. 'Medicines control and optimisation' is one of seven themes being explored in the campaign and will investigate the impact of digital solutions that aim to optimise medicines use by way of fostering effective self-management, while facilitating timely intervention by clinicians based on remote monitoring and individualised risk assessments powered by artificial intelligence. If successful, the SHAPES Innovation Action will lead to a greater sense of self-sufficiency and empowerment in people living with chronic conditions as they grow older.

Computational (59)Co NMR Spectroscopy: Beyond Static Molecules.

GIAO-B3LYP computations of (59)Co NMR chemical shifts are reported for CoH(CO)4, Co(CO)4(-), CoCp(C2H4)2, Co(CN)6(3)(-), Co(NH3)3(CN)3, Co(NH3)6(3+), Co(NH3)4(CO3)(+), Co(acac)3, and Co(H2O)6(3+), employing both static calculations for equilibrium geometries as well as methods which include zero-point and classical thermal effects. The zero-point effects were computed by applying a perturbational approach, and the classical thermal effects were evaluated using Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations. Both methods lead to a downfield shift of δ((59)Co) with respect to the equilibrium values, which can be attributed to a large extent to cobalt-ligand bond elongation. In some cases the zero-point and classical thermal corrections improve the agreement between computed and experimental values, but especially for complexes where the experimental NMR data were obtained in aqueous solution, the error increases somewhat. Mean absolute deviations between averaged and experimental δ((59)Co) values are on the order of 500-760 ppm over a chemical shift range of almost 20 000 ppm. The computed structures and properties of three Co2(CO)8 tautomers reproduce the experimental data very well. Two transition states for interconversion of these tautormers were located: low barriers are obtained, consistent with the observed fluxionality on the NMR time scale. Two model cobaloximes were taken as test cases to study the change of δ((59)Co) upon deuteration three bonds away from the metal. The sizable downfield shift of δ((59)Co) observed on going from H to D is attributed to a changed vibrational wave function, which causes a noticeable cobalt-ligand bond elongation.

Simulation of 59Co NMR chemical shifts in aqueous solution.

59Co chemical shifts were computed at the GIAO-B3LYP level for [Co(CN)6]3-, [Co(H2O)6]3+, [Co(NH3)6]3+, and [Co(CO)4]- in water. The aqueous solutions were modeled by Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) simulations, or by propagation on a hybrid quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical Born-Oppenheimer surface (QM/MM-BOMD). Mean absolute deviations from experiment obtained with these methods are on the order of 400 and 600 ppm, respectively, over a total delta(59Co) range of about 18,000 ppm. The effect of the solvent on delta(59Co) is mostly indirect, resulting primarily from substantial metal-ligand bond contractions on going from the gas phase to the bulk. The simulated solvent effects on geometries and delta(59Co) values are well reproduced by using a polarizable continuum model (PCM), based on optimization and perturbational evaluation of quantum-mechanical zero-point corrections.

Thermal effects and vibrational corrections to transition metal NMR chemical shifts.

Both zero-point and classical thermal effects on the chemical shift of transition metals have been calculated at appropriate levels of density functional theory for a number of complexes of titanium, vanadium, manganese and iron. The zero-point effects were computed by applying a perturbational approach, whereas classical thermal effects were probed by Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations. The systematic investigation shows that both procedures lead to a deshielding of the magnetic shielding constants evaluated at the GIAO-B3 LYP level, which in general also leads to a downfield shift in the relative chemical shifts, delta. The effect is small for the titanium and vanadium complexes, where it is typically on the order of a few dozen ppm, and is larger for the manganese and iron complexes, where it can amount to several hundred ppm. Zero-point corrections are usually smaller than the classical thermal effect. The pronounced downfield shift is due to the sensitivity of the shielding of the metal centre with regard to the metal-ligand bond length, which increase upon vibrational averaging. Both applied methods improve the accuracy of the chemical shifts in some cases, but not in general.

Modelling inorganic solids and their interfaces: a combined approach of atomistic and electronic structure simulation techniques.

We are seeking to combine the reliability of the structures and energies obtained from quantum mechanical methods with the insights given by larger scale simulations, which are better able to search configurational space. We will discuss our recent work using quantum mechanical methods, based on DFT, which have been applied to the study of a number of solids. Al2O3, CeO2, MnO2 and CaCO3, and compare these with results using atomistic simulation where the forces between atoms are modelled using interatomic potentials. The results show that such quantum methods can be used successfully to screen the different potential models and where necessary, provide sufficient data to allow us to re-consider the potential models. In addition, we show examples where the quantum based methods can give further insights into the reactivity, particularly of surfaces. However, it still remains computationally expensive to search all possible configurations and by using the atomistic simulations to search through different configurations we can identify new structures which can be verified with the quantum based simulations.