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Background: Evidence-practice gaps exist in urology. We previously surveyed European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines for strong recommendations underpinned by high-certainty evidence that impact patient experience for which practice variations were suspected. The recommendation “Do not offer neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) before surgery for patients with prostate cancer” was prioritised for further investigation. ADT before surgery is neither clinically effective nor cost effective and has serious side effects. The first step in improving implementation problems is to understand their extent. A clear picture of practice regarding ADT before surgery across Europe is not available. Objective: To assess current ADT use before prostate cancer surgery in Europe. Design, setting, and participants: This was an observational cross-sectional study. We retrospectively audited recent ADT practices in a multicentre international setting. We used nonprobability purposive sampling, aiming for breadth in terms of low- versus high-volume, academic, versus community and public versus private centres. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Our primary outcome was adherence to the ADT recommendation. Descriptive statistics and a multilevel model were used to investigate differences between countries across different factors (volume, centre type, and funding type). Subgroup analyses were performed for patients with low, intermediate, and high risk, and for those with locally advanced prostate cancer. We also collected reasons for nonadherence. Results and limitations: We included 6598 patients with prostate cancer from 187 hospitals in 31 countries from January 1, 2017 to May 1, 2020. Overall, nonadherence was 2%, (range 0–32%). Most of the variability was found in the high-risk subgroup, for which nonadherence was 4% (range 0–43%). Reasons for nonadherence included attempts to improve oncological outcomes or preoperative tumour parameters; attempts to control the cancer because of long waiting lists; and patient preference (changing one's mind from radiotherapy to surgery after neoadjuvant ADT had commenced or feeling that the side effects were intolerable). Although we purposively sampled for variety within countries (public/private, academic/community, high/low-volume), a selection bias toward centres with awareness of guidelines is possible, so adherence rates may be overestimated. Conclusions: EAU guidelines recommend against ADT use before prostate cancer surgery, yet some guideline-discordant ADT use remains at the cost of patient experience and an additional payer and provider burden. Strategies towards discontinuation of inappropriate preoperative ADT use should be pursued. Patient summary: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is sometimes used in men with prostate cancer who will not benefit from it. ADT causes side effects such as weight gain and emotional changes and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Guidelines strongly recommend that men opting for surgery should not receive ADT, but it is unclear how well the guidance is followed. We asked urologists across Europe how patients in their institutions were treated over the past few years. Most do not use ADT before surgery, but this still happens in some places. More research is needed to help doctors to stop using ADT in patients who will not benefit from it.

Purpose is to identify regularities of miners’ injuries in the process of manufacturing operations based upon assessment of labour conditions in terms of energy intensity of a body. Methods. Analysis of the basic manufacturing operations, monitoring of a working process and functional conditions of bodies of miners, involving methods of mathematical statistics, determined the probability of injury of miners according to the value of their energy losses. Findings. It has been proved that to avoid potentially hazardous situation it is required to take into consideration energy cost of the performed operations which should correspond to psychophysical potential of miners. Conditional boundary of difficult continuous restless activities has been identified. It is 290 W being the upper boundary of energy losses. If the difficulty index is more than 290 W then the probability of injury of miners is 74%. If the index is 290 up to 464 W then the probability is 60%. Originality. A relationship between injury level of miners and difficulty of the performed operations has been identified; the relationship is assessed with the help of energy losses by their bodies. Methods to analyze accidents in terms of their situational patterns have been proposed. The methods rely upon a workplace analysis as well as activities before an adverse event and labour conditions in terms of energy losses by victims. Practical implications. Methods to identify difficulty of labour of miners and duration of compensatory breaks during work performance have been developed. The methods may be quite useful while investigating accidents, assessing labour conditions of miners, and technical documenting. Moreover, they are necessary for the development of measures making labour of miners safe.

Recent trends in the development of cyber-physical systems are aimed at their autonomy and self-organization. In this context, the question of monitoring and diagnosing possible evolutionary changes that carry certain risks is very important. This study aims to analyze and determine the approach to monitoring and diagnosing autonomous cyber-physical systems according to their qualitative state. The work of monitoring and diagnostic systems and their interaction with autonomous cyber-physical systems in different scenarios in making decisions about evolutionary transformations by the latter are considered. The ways of further development of monitoring and diagnostic systems based on the assessment of the qualitative state of the studied system are determined.

In recent years, there has been an intensification of broad discussion of the problem of preserving intangible cultural legacy in the scientific, cultural, and social environment. Therewith, art education as an institutionalised educational system and a set of performing, pedagogical, compositional, art history, and other practices have not yet been considered in the scientific literature as a substantial component of the intangible cultural legacy, which determines the relevance of this study. The author attempts to direct scientific thought to the consideration of educational artistic practices as part of the intangible cultural legacy in the aspect of preservation in modern institutionalised educational systems. The study uses a set of methods: historical-cultural, systematic and interdisciplinary approaches, comparative analysis, generalisation and systematisation, aimed at highlighting the place of art education in the system of intangible cultural legacy. The issues of preserving the practices of intangible cultural legacy accumulated in the experience of teaching groups of the Kyiv Lysenko State Music Lyceum, Lviv Krushelnytska State Music Lyceum, Odesa School of Stolyarsky, and Kharkiv State Music Lyceum are considered During the 20th century, the teaching staff of these educational institutions created a number of personalised pedagogical schools that presented their own methods of training musical personnel in combination with higher art educational institutions. This allowed art education in Ukraine to be institutionalised into a separate specific branch, which applied the meritocratic principle in the organisation of the educational process, which gives grounds to consider these educational practices as an intangible cultural legacy of the state. The study focuses on the experience of preserving educational practices of the intangible cultural legacy of Hungary and China as examples for Ukraine. The system of training musical and, more broadly, artistic personnel has all the signs of exclusivity and is worthy of scientific justification to preserve the experience of several generations of musicians who combine performing and pedagogical practice. The inclusion of the best practices of the collectives of the Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Kharkiv music lyceums in the national list of elements of the intangible cultural legacy of UNESCO will be one of the measures for their preservation and meets the goals of the convention for the protection of the intangible cultural legacy of UNESCO

The problem of increasing the reliability and competitiveness of products in all sectors of the national economy can be solved only on the basis of obtaining complete and reliable measurement information. This is facilitated by modern measuring instruments (MI), which are complex hardware and software systems. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that modern MI need an effective assessment of their quality at all stages of the life cycle (LC). This requires the development of appropriate assessment methods both at the stage of production and operation of MI. The expediency of using the process approach to MI LC stages and its advantages over the functional approach were proved. The process approach allows more effective assessment of MI quality indicators at different LC stages and is compatible with the construction of modern quality management systems. Mathematical modeling was carried out, a set process model of the MI LC was developed and its representation as a process V-model was carried out. This allows studying the interaction of processes of all MI LC stages and performing process quality management at all MI LC stages. Mathematical modeling was carried out, a set process model of evaluation of quality indicators of MI LC stages was developed and its representation as a process V-model was carried out. This allows evaluating quality indicators of the MI and its components throughout the MI LC. Recommendations for the use of international standards were formulated, in particular for project management planning, measurement processes, system requirements throughout the MI LC, risk analysis and management at the LC stages. This should help increase efficiency in achieving the planned results at all stages of the MI LC

The present paper is a continuation of our research that was devoted to the theory of the boundary behavior of mappings on Riemann surfaces. Here we develop the theory of the boundary behavior of the mappings in the class FLD (mappings with finite length distortion) first introduced for the Euclidean spaces in the article of Martio--Ryazanov--Srebro--Yakubov at 2004 and then included in the known monograph of these authors in the modern mapping theory at 2009. As it was shown in the recent papers of Kovtonyuk-Petkov-Ryazanov at 2017, such mappings, generally speaking, are not mappings in the Sobolev classes because their first partial derivatives can be not locally integrable. At the same time, this class is a natural generalization of the well-known significant classes of isometries and quasi--isometries. We obtain here a series of criteria in terms of dilatations for the homeomorphic extension of the mappings with finite length distortion between domains on Riemann surfaces to the completions of the domains by prime ends of Caratheodory. Here we start from the general criterion in Lemma 1 in terms of singular functional parameters and then derive on this basis many other criteria. In particular, Lemma 1 implies Theorem 1 with a criterion of the Lehto type and Corollary 1 shows that the conclusion holds, if the dilatation grows not quickly than logarithm of the hyperbolic distance at every boundary point. The next consequence in Theorem 2 gives an integral criterion of the Orlicz type and Corollary 2 says on simple integral conditions of the exponential type. Further, Theorem 3 and Remark 2 contain criteria in terms of singular integrals of the Calderon--Zygmund type. The other criterion in Theorem 4 is the existence of a dominant for the dilatation in the class FMO (functions with finite mean oscillation), i.e., having a finite mean deviation from its mean value over infinitesimal discs centered at boundary points. In other words, the latter means that such a dominant has a finite dispersion over the given infinitesimal discs. In particular, the latter leads to Corollary 3 on a dominant in the well--known class BMO (bounded mean oscillation) by John--Nirenberg and to a simple criterion in Corollary 4 on finiteness of the average of the dilatation over infinitesimal disks centered at boundary points.

Modern measuring instruments (MI) are of great importance for providing measurements in all areas of the national economy. Their main purpose is to conduct accurate and reliable measurements in order to obtain complete and reliable measurement information. To perform this important function, MI must be of appropriate quality, which must be reliably assessed. In the traditional definition, MI is a technical means that is used in measurements and has standardized characteristics. For technical means, there is a traditional system of quality indicators. In addition to these quality indicators, additional specific indicators should be established for MI, which should objectively assess the metrological characteristics. The expediency of creating and using a special system of quality indicators for all stages of the MI life cycle is proved.Buildingsuch a system requires maximum use of quantitative characteristics that express certain quality indicators. Important indicators of this system are a number of MI indicators related to metrological characteristics. For MI, it is also advisable to use a common system of quality indicators for technical facilities. The proposed multiple models of MI quality indicators and evaluation of MI quality indicators allow studying the influence of MI quality indicators and performing their evaluation at all stages of the MI life cycle. Understanding and managing the system for evaluating MI quality indicators helps to increase efficiency in achieving planned results. For effective implementation of these models, it is necessary to use regulated requirements of some international and regional standards and recommendations

Contains fulltext : 237261.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Adherence to national and international clinical practice guidelines is suboptimal throughout Europe. The European Association of Urology Guidelines Office project "IMAGINE" (IMpact Assessment of Guidelines Implementation and Education) has been developed to measure baseline adherence to urological guideline recommendations across Europe and to identify issues that drive nonadherence.

In this work, we study the effect of the various substrates on the growth and superconducting properties of NbN thin films grown by using pulsed laser ablation in a N2 + 1%H2 atmosphere on MgO, Al2O3 and Si substrates. Structural and superconducting analyses of the films demonstrate that using MgO and Al2O3 substrates can significantly improve the film properties compared to Si substrate. The X-ray diffraction data indicate that MgO and Al2O3 substrates produce highly oriented superconducting NbN films with large coherent domain size in the out-of plane direction on the order of layer thickness and with a superconducting transition temperature of 13.1 K and 15.2 K, respectively. On the other hand, the NbN film grown on the Si substrate exhibits random polycrystalline orientation. Together with the smallest coherent domain size it leads to the lower critical temperature of 8.3 K. Finally, by using a passivation surface layer we are able to improve superconducting properties of NbN thin film and we observe superconducting transition temperature 16.6 K, the one of the highest value reported so far for 50 nm thick NbN film on sapphire.

The conditions of coal seam mining in the mines of Ukraine have been considered. The problem of conducting coal mining by longwalls in the conditions of soft adjoining rocks, which concerns the protection of mine roadways located near the face, has been revealed. In such conditions, the existing protective constructions are ineffective due to the fact that they yield and get pressed into the soft rocks of the footwall. This indicated the need for research into the geomechanical state of soft rocks of the footwall. According to the results of known studies on the mechanism of rock mass failure around roadways and the data of physical and mechanical properties of the coal mass, which is represented by soft rocks, the correlation dependence has been obtained, the use of which allowed for the determination of the parameters of the rock deformation diagram and the establishment of the stability criterion of footwall rocks under the protection means and stability conditions of the geotechnical system “protective construction – adjoining rocks.” They are the basis of a new approach to ensure the stability of the roadways, which are supported behind the faces, by controlling the stress state in the system “protective construction – adjoining rocks.” This may be the basis for the development of new methods of protecting roadways in conditions of soft adjoining rocks., Razmatrani su uvjeti kod otkopavanja ugljena u rudnicima Ukrajine. Problem je otkopavanje ugljena metodom širokoga čela kada su stijene male tvrdoće („mekane”), je je time otežana zaštita rudničkih prostorija i cesta smještenih u blizini radilišta. U takvim slučajevima zaštitne konstrukcije postaju beskorisne jer se utiskuju u podinske stijene na radilištu. U radu su uspoređeni rezultati studija koje su ispitivale uvjete loma stijena ispod rudničkih prostorija (potkopa) te fizička i mehanička svojstva ugljena i okolnih stijena male tvrdoće. Iz toga je bilo moguće izračunati varijable stijenske deformacije te odrediti kriterije stabilnosti podinskih stijena. Zatim su utvrđeni uvjeti stabilnosti za geotehnički sustav „zaštitne konstrukcije – okolne stijene”. On je temelj za novi pristup u održavanju rudničkih prostorija, poglavito u prostoru iza čela radilišta, a uz kontrolu pritiska na i u stijenskome sustavu. Tako se mogu kontrolirati i uvjeti u rudničkim prostorijama, posebno onima koje služe za odvoz sirovine, a okružene su stijenama male tvrdoće.

Few-layer films of transition metal dichalcogenides have emerged as promising candidates for applications in electronics. Within this group of 2D materials, platinum diselenide (PtSe2) was predicted to be a compound with one of the highest charge carrier mobility. Recently, the successful integration of group III–V nitride semiconductors with NbNx-based superconductors was reported with a semiconductor transistor grown directly on a crystalline superconductor. This opens up the possibility of combining the macroscopic quantum effects of superconductors with the electronic, photonic, and piezoelectric properties of the semiconducting material. Here, we report on the fabrication of a few-layer PtSe2 film on top of an NbN substrate layer by selenization of pre-deposited 3 nm thick Pt layers. We found the selenization parameters preserving the chemical and structural integrity of both the PtSe2 and NbN films. The PtSe2 film alignment can be tuned by varying the nitrogen flow rate through the reaction chamber. The superconducting critical temperature of NbN is only slightly reduced in the optimized samples compared to pristine NbN. The carrier mobility in PtSe2 layers determined from Hall measurements is below 1 cm2/V s.

Oncologic outcomes of radical prostatectomy in 106 patients with clinically locally advanced prostate cancer were demonstrated. The mean follow-up was 50.6 (12-129) months. 5-year recurrence-free survival was 47.7 %, 5-year cancer-specific and overall survival - 85.8 %. Patients were devided into three different risk groups: low risk patients had PSA level

The article proposes a Markov model for assessing the qualitative state of automated control and management systems. It is shown that: the source of data for determining the state of automated systems are information and measuring systems (IMS), which are components of both control and management systems; assessment of the state of the management system depends on the correct operation of control system. It is determined that, considering the limitations on the presence of aftereffects, it is possible to use the Markov homogeneous process to construct a model of the qualitative state of control and management systems.

The present paper is a natural continuation of our previous paper (2017) on the boundary behavior of mappings in the Sobolev classes on Riemann surfaces, where the reader will be able to find the corresponding historic comments and a discussion of many definitions and relevant results. The given paper was devoted to the theory of the boundary behavior of mappings with finite distortion by Iwaniec on Riemannian surfaces first introduced for the plane in the paper of Iwaniec T. and Sverak V. (1993) On mappings with integrable dilatation and then extended to the spatial case in the monograph of Iwaniec T. and Martin G. (2001) devoted to Geometric function theory and non-linear analysis. At the present paper, it is developed the theory of the boundary behavior of the so--called mappings with finite length distortion first introduced in the paper of Martio O., Ryazanov V., Srebro U. and Yakubov~E. (2004) in the spatial case, see also Chapter 8 in their monograph (2009) on Moduli in modern mapping theory. As it was shown in the paper of Kovtonyuk D., Petkov I. and Ryazanov V. (2017) On the boundary behavior of mappings with finite distortion in the plane, such mappings, generally speaking, are not mappings with finite distortion by Iwaniec because their first partial derivatives can be not locally integrable. At the same time, this class is a generalization of the known class of mappings with bounded distortion by Martio--Vaisala from their paper (1988). Moreover, this class contains as a subclass the so-called finitely bi-Lipschitz mappings introduced for the spatial case in the paper of Kovtonyuk D. and Ryazanov V. (2011) On the boundary behavior of generalized quasi-isometries, that in turn are a natural generalization of the well-known classes of bi-Lipschitz mappings as well as isometries and quasi-isometries. In the research of the local and boundary behavior of mappings with finite length distortion in the spatial case, the key fact was that they satisfy some modulus inequalities which was a motivation for the consideration more wide classes of mappings, in particular, the Q-homeomorphisms (2005) and the mappings with finite area distortion (2008). Hence it is natural that under the research of mappings with finite length distortion on Riemann surfaces we start from establishing the corresponding modulus inequalities that are the main tool for us. On this basis, we prove here a series of criteria in terms of dilatations for the continuous and homeomorphic extension to the boundary of the mappings with finite length distortion between domains on arbitrary Riemann surfaces.

Niobium nitride (NbN) has suitable mechanical properties for application as protective coatings in mechanical engineering, and also its superconductivity can be utilized in thin film devices for sensorics or in combination with ferromagnet in spintronics. Long-range superconducting proximity effect at the heterostructures with a weak ferromagnet can be used for generation of spin-polarized current. For any operational heterostructure application the high quality NbN thin films need to be prepared. In this work we have investigated impact of the substrates on the structure and preferential orientation of niobium nitride thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition at 600 °C on Si (0 0 1), MgO (0 0 1), C-plane and R-plane Al2O3 substrates. Growth parameters have been tuned in order to obtain single superconducting δ-NbN phase. Microstructure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Si substrate does not induce the film preferential orientation. Films on MgO are epitaxial (0 0 1) oriented. Films on R-Al2O3 show (1 3 5) orientation with twinned crystallites on the lower symmetry substrate surface. The (1 1 1) epitaxial growth with the largest crystallites and their smallest tilting was achieved on C-Al2O3 substrate leading to the best superconducting properties.

In 2002 — 2015 yrs in the clinic radical prostatectomy was performed in 403 patients for prostatic cancer, including those having stage cТ3 — in 102 (25.3%). Basing on analysis of main risk factors, a model of prognostic stratification of clinically locally spread prostatic cancer on three groups was created: with low risk — in the absence of data, confirming invasion into seminal vesicles (stage cТ3а), the prostate—specific antigen (PSA) content less than 20 ng/ml, degree of cellular differentiation of tumor (Glisson's index) in accordance to biopsy data — 6 and less; with intermediate risk — while presence of one of unfavorable prognostic factors (stage cТ3b), PSA 20 ng/ml and more, Glisson's index 7 and more; with high risk — while presence of two and more unfavorable prognostic factors. The follow—up duration was 50,6 mo at average. Biochemical recurrence in the groups while low, intermediate and high risk presence have occurred, accordingly, in 14.3, 37.1 and 62.3% patients (р0.05), and its occurrence risk in patients while intermediate risk present is in 3,5 times, in high risk — in 9.9 times bigger, than in a low risk. Stratification may appear useful for practical physicians and investigators while choosing tactics of treatment in patients with prostatic cancer clinical stage ІІІ