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Introduction. One of the most important characteristics of asphalt concrete that characterizes its properties is the elasticity modulus. The elasticity modulus of asphalt concrete is used in the design of pavement structures to calculate its permissible elastic deflection, under the condition of shear resistance of the working subgrade layer and the layers of non-cohesive materials, as well as bending tensile strength. Problem statement. Today, the calculated value of the elasticity modulus of asphalt concrete is taken in accordance with Handbook No. 2 «Design Characteristics of Asphalt Concrete» [2]. In this Handbook, the calculated value of the elasticity modulus of asphalt concrete is given depending on the bitumen grade, temperature, type of asphalt mixture, and time of load action. Numerical design values of the elasticity modulus of asphalt concrete are provided only for asphalt concrete type B; for other types of asphalt concrete, it is proposed to reduce or increase the design value of the elasticity modulus by the value that depends on the type of asphalt concrete and temperature. Since 2020, a new standard on technical requirements for bitumen has been in force in Ukraine, which brings bitumen grades in line with the European classification [4]. At the same time, in the Handbook No. 2 [2], the calculated value of the elasticity modulus of asphalt concrete is given in accordance with the previous bitumen grades, which necessitates their adjustment.

Abstract

One indicator of the quality of an information system is the speed of data processing. A database's most common data processing operations are adding, displaying, changing, and deleting data. The amount of data stored in the database significantly impacts the performance of data processing and, therefore, the performance of information systems. The update command changes some or all of the data in a table. The update command works by retrieving the data in the table to be changed, entering the new data in a form, and then sending it back to the database. The update command is often combined with a condition specifying which data rows must be changed. This research is an experimental study that compares the use of the update command with a stored procedure to the use of the update command without a stored procedure. The results showed that the average processing time for the update command with the stored procedure was 348.896 milliseconds for the minimum data category, 266.462 milliseconds for the medium data category, and 279.543 milliseconds for the maximum data category. The average processing time for the update command without a stored procedure was 297.132 milliseconds for the minimum data category, 747.670 milliseconds for the medium data category, and 1256.273 milliseconds for the maximum data category. These results suggest that the update command with a stored procedure is more efficient than the one without a stored procedure. This is because the stored procedure can pre-compile the SQL statement, which reduces the time it takes to execute the statement.

Recently, television cameras operating in the near-infrared range have become increasingly widespread. The advantage of shooting in the short wave infrared range is the ability to observe objects in low light and difficult weather conditions. Such cameras can use hybrid sensors that consist of an infrared photocathode and an electron-sensitive matrix based on silicon in a single vacuum volume. The paper investigates the capabilities of one of the latest samples of a similar camera, created at JSC “NRI Electron”. The images of a human, water, ice, snow and other objects in the wavelength range of 0.95–1.7 microns have been analyzed. The images were taken using a television camera based on a hybrid television infrared sensor, which consists of a photocathode and a silicon charge-coupled device in proximity range to each other in a single vacuum volume. Illumination of the objects in the near-infrared range was produced by a continuous spectrum lamp with a maximum of the detected radiation at a wavelength of 1.55 μm. The authors compared the images obtained in the near-infrared range with the ones obtained in the visible region. An explanation is given for the differences between snow images and water and ice images in the near-infrared range. As an example, the difference in light transmission between the surfaces of materials for diving equipment, such as coated and open cell neoprene, is demonstrated. Due to a significant contrast shown in the near-infrared range by images of various objects on the surface of water and ice, it is possible to create an effective system for searching objects on the water. The paper discusses the advantages of the proposed visual search system compared to other systems, including passive systems and the ones operating in the MWIR and LWIR. The research outlined the prospects of using the new camera for building an effective search system for objects and people on water surfaces.

Abstract Book of the 20th European Conference of Internal Medicine Internal Medicine in the Frontline of the Health Care

ObjectiveTo systematically review the evidence and devise clinical recommendations on advanced life support (ALS) in dogs and cats and to identify critical knowledge gaps.DesignStandardized, systematic evaluation of literature pertinent to ALS following Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. Prioritized questions were each reviewed by Evidence Evaluators, and findings were reconciled by ALS Domain Chairs and Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) Co-Chairs to arrive at treatment recommendations commensurate to quality of evidence, risk:benefit relationship, and clinical feasibility. This process was implemented using an Evidence Profile Worksheet for each question that included an introduction, consensus on science, treatment recommendations, justification for these recommendations, and important knowledge gaps. A draft of these worksheets was distributed to veterinary professionals for comment for 4 weeks prior to finalization.SettingTransdisciplinary, international collaboration in university, specialty, and emergency practice.ResultsSeventeen questions pertaining to vascular access, vasopressors in shockable and nonshockable rhythms, anticholinergics, defibrillation, antiarrhythmics, and adjunct drug therapy as well as open-chest CPR were reviewed. Of the 33 treatment recommendations formulated, 6 recommendations addressed the management of patients with nonshockable arrest rhythms, 10 addressed shockable rhythms, and 6 provided guidance on open-chest CPR. We recommend against high-dose epinephrine even after prolonged CPR and suggest that atropine, when indicated, is used only once. In animals with a shockable rhythm in which initial defibrillation was unsuccessful, we recommend doubling the defibrillator dose once and suggest vasopressin (or epinephrine if vasopressin is not available), esmolol, lidocaine in dogs, and/or amiodarone in cats.ConclusionsThese updated RECOVER ALS guidelines clarify the approach to refractory shockable rhythms and prolonged CPR. Very low quality of evidence due to absence of clinical data in dogs and cats continues to compromise the certainty with which recommendations can be made.

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There occurred in the twentieth century the most remarkable episode in the history of human thought. A number of thinkers denied the existence of something we know with certainty to exist: consciousness, conscious experience. Others held back from the Denial, as we may call it, but claimed that it might be true —a claim no less remarkable than the Denial. This paper documents some aspects of this episode, with particular reference to two things. First, the development of two views which are forms of the Denial —philosophical behaviourism, and functionalism considered as a doctrine in the philosophy of mind— from a view that does not in any way involve the Denial: psychological methodological behaviourism. Second, the rise of a way of understanding naturalism —materialist or physicalist naturalism— that wrongly takes naturalism to entail the Denial.

With the forthcoming release of new federal agency public access plans as a result of the White House Office of Science and Technology Planning (OSTP) public access guidance (“the Nelson memo”), federally-funded authors will face new requirements to deposit their scholarly publications, without an embargo, in agency-designated public access repositories. These requirements will impact authors and their institutions. Federal agencies could improve clarity for authors by adopting the Federal purpose license found in existing federal regulations as a foundation for guidance language and implementation of the Nelson memo. Specifically, the Federal purpose license states that, “The Federal awarding agency reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.

Abstract Book of the 19th European Congress in Internal Medicine Internal Medicine in a Pandemic World: When One Size Fits All

Abstract Book of the 18th Conference in Internal Medicine

Non-uniform thickness section is one of most effective approaches in reducing automotive part weight. Less weight results in less fuel consumption and therefore good for the environment. Formability is the main issue of non-uniform thickness section, since changes in thickness may cause parts to behave distinctively compared to uniform thickness during the forming process. One of the main concerns is the springback pattern. This study focused on springback behaviour of AA6061 strip with non-uniform thickness through V-bending experiment. The outcome will contribute in the manufacturing of automotive parts with non-unifrom thickness, where defects such as springback can be predicted and minimised. In the experiment, three parameters i.e. thickness ratio, bend radius and alignment were studied and the effects were observed. The result found that thickness was the most influential parameters compared to others. Thickness was reduced through cold deformation, causing the hardness to increase and then resulted in higher springback value. The effect of alignment was almost negligible. Validation made based on the result found is in agreement with prior published works.

Pollutants generation is strongly dependant on the firing temperature and reaction rates of the gaseous reactants in the gas turbine combustion chamber. An experimental study is conducted on a two-shaft T200D micro-gas turbine engine in order to evaluate the impact of injecting ethanol directly into the compressor inlet air on the exhaust emissions. The study is carried out in constant speed and constant load engine tests. Generally, the results showed that when ethanol was added in a concentration of 20% by volume of fuel flow; NOx emission was reduced by the half, while CO and UHC emissions were almost doubled with respect to their levels when burning conventional LPG fuel alone.

Издание нашим университетом при всесторонней поддержке федеральной Комиссии по противодействию попыткам фальсификации истории в ущерб интересам России фундаментального шеститомника по истории Второй мировой и Великой Отечественной войн.

We examined 2-year longitudinal change in clinical features and biomarkers in LRRK2 non-manifesting carriers (NMCs) versus healthy controls (HCs) enrolled in the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). We analyzed 2-year longitudinal data from 176 LRRK2 G2019S NMCs and 185 HCs. All participants were assessed annually with comprehensive motor and non-motor scales, dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging, and biofluid biomarkers. The latter included cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Abeta, total tau and phospho-tau; serum urate and neurofilament light chain (NfL); and urine bis(monoacylglycerol) phosphate (BMP). At baseline, LRRK2 G2019S NMCs had a mean (SD) age of 62 (7.7) years and were 56% female. 13% had DAT deficit (defined as

Vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies provide real-world evidence to monitor vaccine performance and inform policy. The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean supported a regional study to assess the VE of COVID-19 vaccines against different clinical outcomes in four countries between June 2021 and August 2023. Health worker cohort studies were conducted in 2707 health workers in Egypt and Pakistan, of whom 171 experienced symptomatic laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Test-negative design case–control studies were conducted in Iran and Jordan in 4017 severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) patients (2347 controls and 1670 cases) during the Omicron variant dominant period. VE estimates were calculated for each study and pooled by study design for several vaccine types (BBIBP-CorV, AZD1222, BNT162b2, and mRNA-1273, among others). Among health workers, VE against symptomatic infection of a complete primary series could only be computed compared to partial vaccination, suggesting a benefit of providing an additional dose of mRNA vaccines (VE: 88.9%, 95%CI: 15.3–98.6%), while results were inconclusive for other vaccine products. Among SARI patients, VE against hospitalization of a complete primary series with any vaccine compared to non-vaccinated was 20.9% (95%CI: 4.5–34.5%). Effectiveness estimates for individual vaccines, booster doses, and secondary outcomes (intensive care unit admission and death) were inconclusive. Future VE studies will need to address challenges in both design and analysis when conducted late during a pandemic and will be able to utilize the strengthened capacities in countries.

All abstracts appear as submitted by the authors without editing.

All abstracts appear as submitted by the authors without editing.

Anniversary of Andrei Alekseevich Velichko

BackgroundWith the advancement of imaging technology, focal therapy (FT) has been gaining acceptance for the treatment of select patients with localized prostate cancer (CaP). We aim to provide details of a formal physician consensus on the utilization of FT for patients with CaP who are discontinuing active surveillance (AS).MethodsA 3-stage Delphi consensus on CaP and FT was conducted. Consensus was defined as agreement by ≥80% of physicians. An in-person meeting was attended by 17 panelists to formulate the consensus statement.ResultsFifty-six respondents participated in this interdisciplinary consensus study (82% urologist, 16% radiologist, 2% radiation oncology). The participants confirmed that there is a role for FT in men discontinuing AS (48% strongly agree, 39% agree). The benefit of FT over radical therapy for men coming off AS is: less invasive (91%), has a greater likelihood to preserve erectile function (91%), has a greater likelihood to preserve urinary continence (91%), has fewer side effects (86%), and has early recovery post-treatment (80%). Patients will need to undergo mpMRI of the prostate and/or a saturation biopsy to determine if they are potential candidates for FT. Our limitations include respondent's biases and that the participants of this consensus may not represent the larger medical community.ConclusionsFT can be offered to men coming off AS between the age of 60 to 80 with grade group 2 localized cancer. This consensus from a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, international expert panel provides a contemporary insight utilizing FT for CaP in select patients who are discontinuing AS.

BackgroundEpidemiological studies have demonstrated a positive association between chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). We hypothesized that shared genetic risk factors between CLL and NMSC could contribute to the association observed between these diseases.MethodsWe examined the association between (i) established NMSC susceptibility loci and CLL risk in a meta-analysis including 3100 CLL cases and 7667 controls and (ii) established CLL loci and NMSC risk in a study of 4242 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cases, 825 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cases and 12802 controls. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) for CLL, BCC and SCC were constructed using established loci. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsHigher CLL-PRS was associated with increased BCC risk (OR4th-quartile-vs-1st-quartile = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02-1.24, Ptrend = 0.009), even after removing the shared 6p25.3 locus. No association was observed with BCC-PRS and CLL risk (Ptrend = 0.68). These findings support a contributory role for CLL in BCC risk, but not for BCC in CLL risk. Increased CLL risk was observed with higher SCC-PRS (OR4th-quartile-vs-1st-quartile = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.08-1.38, Ptrend = 1.36 × 10-5), which was driven by shared genetic susceptibility at the 6p25.3 locus.ConclusionThese findings highlight the role of pleiotropy regarding the pathogenesis of CLL and NMSC and shows that a single pleiotropic locus, 6p25.3, drives the observed association between genetic susceptibility to SCC and increased CLL risk. The study also provides evidence that genetic susceptibility for CLL increases BCC risk.

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The BRCA Challenge is a long-term data-sharing project initiated within the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) to aggregate BRCA1 and BRCA2 data to support highly collaborative research activities. Its goal is to generate an informed and current understanding of the impact of genetic variation on cancer risk across the iconic cancer predisposition genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. Initially, reported variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2 available from public databases were integrated into a single, newly created site, www.brcaexchange.org. The purpose of the BRCA Exchange is to provide the community with a reliable and easily accessible record of variants interpreted for a high-penetrance phenotype. More than 20,000 variants have been aggregated, three times the number found in the next-largest public database at the project's outset, of which approximately 7,250 have expert classifications. The data set is based on shared information from existing clinical databases-Breast Cancer Information Core (BIC), ClinVar, and the Leiden Open Variation Database (LOVD)-as well as population databases, all linked to a single point of access. The BRCA Challenge has brought together the existing international Evidence-based Network for the Interpretation of Germline Mutant Alleles (ENIGMA) consortium expert panel, along with expert clinicians, diagnosticians, researchers, and database providers, all with a common goal of advancing our understanding of BRCA1 and BRCA2 variation. Ongoing work includes direct contact with national centers with access to BRCA1 and BRCA2 diagnostic data to encourage data sharing, development of methods suitable for extraction of genetic variation at the level of individual laboratory reports, and engagement with participant communities to enable a more comprehensive understanding of the clinical significance of genetic variation in BRCA1 and BRCA2.

BackgroundGestational diabetes and gestational hypertensive disorders are associated with offspring obesity, but the role of maternal adiposity in these associations remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether these pregnancy complications affect the odds of offspring obesity independently of maternal obesity.MethodsWe did an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of mother-offspring pairs from prospective birth cohort studies that had IPD on mothers with singleton liveborn children born from 1989 onwards and had information available about maternal gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia, and childhood body-mass index (BMI). We applied multilevel mixed-effects models to assess associations of gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and pre-eclampsia with BMI SD scores and the odds of overweight and obesity throughout childhood, adjusting for lifestyle characteristics (offspring's sex, maternal age, educational level, ethnicity, parity, and smoking during pregnancy). We then explored the extent to which any association was explained by maternal pre-pregnancy or early-pregnancy BMI.Findings160 757 mother-offspring pairs from 34 European or North American cohorts were analysed. Compared with uncomplicated pregnancies, gestational diabetes was associated with increased odds of overweight or obesity throughout childhood (odds ratio [OR] 1·59 [95% CI 1·36 to 1·86] for early childhood [age 2·0-4·9 years], 1·41 [1·26 to 1·57] for mid childhood [5·0-9·9 years], and 1·32 [0·97 to 1·78] for late childhood [10·0-17·9 years]); however, these associations attenuated towards the null following adjustment for maternal BMI (OR 1·35 [95% CI 1·15 to 1·58] for early childhood, 1·12 [1·00 to 1·25] for mid childhood, and 0·96 [0·71 to 1·31] for late childhood). Likewise, gestational hypertension was associated with increased odds of overweight throughout childhood (OR 1·19 [95% CI 1·01 to 1·39] for early childhood, 1·23 [1·15 to 1·32] for mid childhood, and 1·49 [1·30 to 1·70] for late childhood), but additional adjustment for maternal BMI largely explained these associations (1·01 [95% CI 0·86 to 1·19] for early childhood, 1·02 [0·95 to 1·10] for mid childhood, and 1·18 [1·03 to 1·36] for late childhood). Pre-eclampsia was associated with decreased BMI in early childhood only (difference in BMI SD score -0·05 SD score [95% CI -0·09 to -0·01]), and this association strengthened following additional adjustment for maternal BMI.InterpretationAlthough lowering maternal risk of gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and pre-eclampsia is important in relation to maternal and fetal pregnancy outcomes, such interventions are unlikely to have a direct impact on childhood obesity. Preventive strategies for reducing childhood obesity should focus on maternal BMI rather than on pregnancy complications.FundingEU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (LifeCycle Project).

The realisation of human potential for development requires age-specific investment throughout the 8000 days of childhood and adolescence. Focus on the first 1000 days is an essential but insufficient investment. Intervention is also required in three later phases: the middle childhood growth and consolidation phase (5-9 years), when infection and malnutrition constrain growth, and mortality is higher than previously recognised; the adolescent growth spurt (10-14 years), when substantial changes place commensurate demands on good diet and health; and the adolescent phase of growth and consolidation (15-19 years), when new responses are needed to support brain maturation, intense social engagement, and emotional control. Two cost-efficient packages, one delivered through schools and one focusing on later adolescence, would provide phase-specific support across the life cycle, securing the gains of investment in the first 1000 days, enabling substantial catch-up from early growth failure, and leveraging improved learning from concomitant education investments.