What is the future for nuclear fission technology? A technical opinion from the Guest Editors of VSI NFT series and the Editor of the Journal Nuclear Engineering and Design

The Nuclear Fission Technology (NFT) series of Virtual Special Issues (VSIs) for the Journal Nuclear Engineering and Design (J NED) was proposed in 2023, including the request to potential authors of manuscript to address the following questions: o For how long will (water-cooling based) large size nuclear reactor survive? o Will water-technology based SMRs displace large reactors? o Will non-water-cooling technology SMRs and micro-reactors have an industrial deployment? o Will breeding technology, including thorium exploitation, have due relevance? o Will ‘nuclear infrastructure’ (fuel supply, financial framework, competence by regulators for new designs, waste management, etc.) remain or be sufficiently robust? Several dozen Guest Editors (GEs), i.e., the authors of the present document, managed the activity together with the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of the journal. More than one thousand scientists contributed 470+ manuscripts, not evenly distributed among the geographical regions of the world and not necessarily addressing directly the bullet-questions, but certainly providing a view of current research being done. Key conclusions are as follows: (a) Large size reactors are necessary for a sustainable and safe exploitation of nuclear fission technology; (b) The burning of 233U (from thorium) and 239Pu (from uranium) is unavoidable, as well as recycling residual uranium currently part of waste; (c) Nuclear infrastructures in countries that currently use, or are entering the use of, fission energy for electricity production need a century planning; (d) The adoption of small reactors for commercial naval propulsion, hydrogen production and desalination is highly recommended

The Individual Rehabilitation Project as the core of person-centered rehabilitation: the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Section and Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists Framework for Rehabilitation in Europe

To facilitate the interaction between the health professional and the patient, a framework to guide the rehabilitation process is needed. This framework would encompass three interwoven aspects: the rehabilitation management plan, Individual Rehabilitation Project (IRP), and rehabilitation cycle(s). All three framework aspects focus on the patient and on the aim of rehabilitation, i.e. to optimize a person's functioning across the continuum of care. An IRP is a multi-element, person-centered rehabilitation management scheme, in which rehabilitation is generally provided by a multiprofessional team under the leadership of a physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) physician, working in an interdisciplinary manner and together with the patient (or proxy). A reference system for operationalizing functioning and standardizing the process is the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) - for assessing functioning needs, defining rehabilitation goals and outcomes. The objective of this paper is to present the IRP as a framework for rehabilitation in Europe (EUR-IRP). The specific aims are: 1) to introduce the IRP; and 2) to describe the framework components, elements and variables of the IRP. Demonstration projects (case studies) using the EUR-IRP will be conducted. The present paper presents the efforts to date for developing the EUR-IRP, a key part of the action plan of the PRM Section and Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists to implement the ICF systemwide across the care continuum. This paper serves as another step to bring together practice, science and governance in calling for contribution from rehabilitation clinicians and researchers and professional societies in PRM and beyond. © 2022 Edizioni Minerva Medica. All rights reserved