The care of dying people in 16th- and 17th-century England

Between the years 1500 and 1700, mortality was higher and exposure to death is greater than in the modern day. Through analysis of primary texts from the chosen period, we explored the principles behind the care of the dying in the context of medicine, spirituality, and society. Results showed that a "holy death" was a cultural norm and medicine was subsidiary: hope was for the salvation of the soul, not the body. This was part of an approach that focused on symptom relief, irrespective of disease classification, demonstrating an early holistic approach to death and dying

Searching for thermal signatures of persistent currents in normal metal rings

We introduce a calorimetric approach to probe persistent currents in normal metal rings. The heat capacity of a large ensemble of silver rings is measured by nanocalorimetry under a varying magnetic field at different temperatures (60 mK, 100 mK and 150 mK). Periodic oscillations versus magnetic field are detected in the phase signal of the temperature oscillations, though not in the amplitude (both of them directly linked to the heat capacity). The period of these oscillations ($\Phi_0/2$, with $\Phi_0 = h/e$ the magnetic flux quantum) and their evolution with temperature are in agreement with theoretical predictions. In contrast, the amplitude of the corresponding heat capacity oscillations (several $k_{\mathrm{B}}$) is two orders of magnitude larger than predicted by theory

Scattering for the Zakharov system in 3 dimensions

We prove global existence and scattering for small localized solutions of the Cauchy problem for the Zakharov system in 3 space dimensions. The wave component is shown to decay pointwise at the optimal rate of t^{-1}, whereas the Schr\"odinger component decays almost at a rate of t^{-7/6}.Comment: Minor changes and referee's comments include

Participació de voluntaris en l'estudi de la biodiversitat: un balanç amb resultats positius

La tradicional contribució del voluntariat en estudis sobre la natura ha pres recentment un nou impuls gràcies al suport de les tecnologies de gestió de dades i a l'extensió en l'ús de dispositius mòbils. El concepte de ciències ciutadanes aplicat a l'estudi de la biodiversitat ha traspassat les fronteres de la comunitat naturalista i ha esdevingut un veritable fenomen social. La implicació ciutadana en la recerca pot ser variable i gradual, concentrada sovint en projectes que requereixen un elevat nombre d'observacions de camp. La validesa i l'eficiència de les dades proporcionades per persones voluntàries és més alta quan la metodologia dels projectes s'ajusta a la formació prèvia dels participants. Els projectes de ciència ciutadana en estudis de biodiversitat no són experiències només formatives o de conscienciació sinó autèntics exercicis científics en els quals els resultats de la investigació són el valor més rellevant a considerar. A Catalunya hi ha un sòlid suport a la combinació de professionals i voluntaris en estudis de biodiversitat. Un substrat tan favorable convida a iniciar un futur estudi sobre tendències dominants de la inversió de lleure en ciència activa a Catalunya.Due to the proliferation of mobile devices and new technologies in data management, the traditional role of volunteers in studies of nature has recently been showing a new peak in participation. The concept of citizen as applied to studying biodiversity has expanded within the naturalistic community to become a genuine social phenomenon. The role of volunteers in research can be variable and gradual, the aim of involving them is focused on the high need for field observations, and the usefulness and efficiency of volunteers are greater in projects that are well suited to the volunteers’ training and capabilities. Citizen science projects related to biodiversity are not mere training or awareness-raising experiences, but real scientific exercises in which results should be the most important value. In Catalonia there is strong support to mixing professionals and volunteers in biodiversity research. In order to increase this support we expect to gain insight into trends that could explain how people invest their leisure time in science