Autonomous vehicles in sustainable cities: Reclaiming public spaces for people

The advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) may directly affect current trends in sustainable urbanism based on recovering the urban space for people, active mobility (walking and cycling) and chrono-urbanism. How will AVs affect the urban space and the mobility? How will they change the strategies of street and public space design? are relevant questions that need to be answered to prevent AVs ruling the city as the car has done. Decisions such as setting urban goals and planning ahead and encouraging shared used over ownership, will be crucial in guiding the AVs implementation and achieving the most desirable cities

Autonomous Mobility: A Potential Opportunity to Reclaim Public Spaces for People

ABSTRACT: The advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has the potential to drastically change society and the way we understand, plan and design cities and regions, just as automobiles did a century ago. In the current context of climate change, sustainable urban environments based on active mobility (walking and cycling), urban proximity and green spaces, are increasingly in demand, leading to the emergence of new interventions and urban models. Although these trends may be affected by the arrival of AVs, most decision-makers and planners still do not address these issues in their current planning. This is because of the confusion associated with the diversity of impacts of AVs, but also by the lack of design recommendations and planning tools. To shed light on these aspects, this paper reviews the relationship between mobility and urban public space, the impacts of AVs on urban space and design proposals and strategies aimed at configuring driverless cities, with special focus on street design. The results of the review show that the implementation of AVs can be a great opportunity to liberate urban space and reclaim it for people, in line with new urban models such as the superblocks (Barcelona), the 15-minute city (Paris), or tactical urbanism interventions against COVID-19. However, it may also entail risks such as a reduction in active mobility or public transport use. The magnitude and direction of these impacts will depend on crucial decisions that need to be taken now, such as encouraging shared used over ownership, and establishing citizen-centred urban planning and design objectives and strategies to make AV deployment the most beneficial for all.This work is based on the research project “InnovAtive Urban and Transport planning tOols for the implemeNtation of new mObility systeMs based On aUtonomouS driving”–AUTONOMOUS, 2020–2023, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/ERDF (EU)-State Programme for Knowledge Generation and Scientific and Technological Strengthening of the R&D&i System (PID2019-110355RB-I00)

ITZ microanalysis of cement-based building materials with incorporation of siderurgical aggregates

With the depletion of natural resources, it is essential to use recycled materials and industrial wastes to adapt the expanding building sector to the environment. Slag from electric arc furnaces is one example that can be used as a siderurgical aggregate in concrete production. Studying the interfacial transition zone between the aggregate and the binder is necessary because the reaction between the aggregate and the binder can significantly impact the concrete's microstructure and mechanical properties. In order to examine any concrete sample with any physical or chemical structure, this study introduces the instruments used to conduct these studies and the methods for preparing concrete samples for the desired area. The results show that solvent exchange with Ethanol is the best method for draining water from the inner surface of the sample in the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) with minimal destruction. Also, the kind of sample and its information determine the type of coating that should be applied. Gold is the best choice to examine the topography of the sample surface because it has a higher electron return coefficient than other elements and produces images of higher quality. The epoxy with a viscosity of 550 cP (20 °C) or 150 cP (50 °C), a maximum curing temperature of 50 °C, a curing time of 8 h, and an epoxy-to-hardener ratio of 25 to 3 g is the best configuration for having the best sample for microanalysis

Association of Serum PSA Levels with Histopathological Pattern of Prostate Lesions

Background: Pathological changes that mainly affect prostate gland are prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and cancerous lesions. Digital rectal examination (DRE), Transrectal Ultrasonography (TUS), and prostate specific antigen (PSA) followed by histopathological examination, are routinely used tests for diagnosis of prostate lesions. The aim of the present study is to determine the role of serum PSA levels in differentially diagnosing the different types of prostate lesions.Material and Methods: This retrospective (observational) study was conducted in Ibn-e-Sina Hospital Multan. Data of 2189 patients who were operated from 2007 to 2017 due to prostatic lesions were included in this analysis. Patients with BPH, prostatitis, prostate carcinoma and Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN) were grouped according to serum PSA levels (ranging from 0 to >100 ng/ml) into five groups. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for different histopathological findings. Association of PSA levels with different histological patterns was determined with chi-square test with P-value < 0.05 taken as significant difference.Results: Mean age of patients was 62.45+10.64 years. On histopathology, BPH was diagnosed in 1676 (76.56%) patients, prostatitis in 133 (6.07%), carcinoma in 378 (17.26%) and PIN in 02 (0.09%) patients, respectively. Serum PSA levels of 4.01-10 ng/ml were found in 1050 (62.64%) BPH patients and in 59 (44.36%) prostatitis patients. Serum PSA levels of 10.01-20 ng/ml were found in only 40 (2.4%) BPH patients, 47 (35.33%) prostatitis patients, 22 (5.82%) carcinoma patients and in 1 (50.0%) PIN patient. Serum PSA levels of 20.01-100 ng/ml were found in 32 (1.9%) BPH patients, 11 (8.27%) prostatitis patients, 302 (79.89%) carcinoma patients, and in 1 (50.0%) PIN patient. Serum PSA levels of >100 ng/ml were absent in patients with BPH and PIN, and present in 1 (0.75%) prostatitis and 54 (14.28%) carcinoma patients.Conclusion: Benign prostatic hyperplasia was the commonest lesion in our patients (76.56%) with serum PSA levels >10 ng/ml reported in all patients with prostate carcinoma and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) patients

Efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients with prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment paradigm of many cancers, however, its effectiveness in prostate cancer patients is still under question. In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we sought for assessing the efficacy and safety of Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with prostate cancer. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases were searched on Aguste 19, 2022. Thirty five studies met the eligibility criteria. The median overall survival (mOS) of all treatments was 14.1 months, with the longest and shortest mOS was seen among patients who received anti-CTLA-4 monotherapy and anti-PD-1/PD-L1+anti-CTLA-4 regimen at 24.9 and 9.2 months, respectively. Noteworthy, all types of adverse events had the lowest incidence in the anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy group. Considering the ICI monotherapy regimens, we found that fatigue, diarrhea, and infusion reaction had the highest incidence rates. Future studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of novel combination therapies with ICIs are warranted

Hospital-Based Cancer Registry

Background :. To  determine the frequency of different types of malignancies in different gender and age groups, presenting at a surgical unit. Methods:  In this observational study  cancer patients of both genders were included to determine frequencies of different malignancies that presented to a surgical unit.  All the patients with age greater than 12 years and being admitted in surgical unit 1 with the diagnosis of malignancy, were included. The variables recorded included age, sex, address, diagnosis, biopsy, date of biopsy, treatment timeline, stage at presentation, final outcome and referral to other care units. Data was entered and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software, version 22. Results: A total of 150 malignant tumours were analyzed. There were 50 (33.3%) male patients and 100 (66.7%) females. Malignant tumours of breast 67 (44.7%) and esophagus 16 (10.7%), were found to be the most common whereas malignant melanoma  (0.7%), submandibular tumours (0.7%), and parotid tumours (0.7%), were least common. The most common malignancy in males were of stomach (16.0%) and rectum (16.0%), whereas in females it was the breast malignancies (67.0%). Dividing the age distribution of the patients into 15-year bands, the peak age-category was 41-60 years (46.0%), while only 3 (2.0%) patients were above 80 years.  Conclusion: Cancer trends were found to be similar as that of other studies in Pakistan with a few differences. Data management is sub optimal. There is a dire need of integrated system of Cancer Registry

Autonomous Mobility: A Potential Opportunity to Reclaim Public Spaces for People

The advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has the potential to drastically change society and the way we understand, plan and design cities and regions, just as automobiles did a century ago. In the current context of climate change, sustainable urban environments based on active mobility (walking and cycling), urban proximity and green spaces, are increasingly in demand, leading to the emergence of new interventions and urban models. Although these trends may be affected by the arrival of AVs, most decision-makers and planners still do not address these issues in their current planning. This is because of the confusion associated with the diversity of impacts of AVs, but also by the lack of design recommendations and planning tools. To shed light on these aspects, this paper reviews the relationship between mobility and urban public space, the impacts of AVs on urban space and design proposals and strategies aimed at configuring driverless cities, with special focus on street design. The results of the review show that the implementation of AVs can be a great opportunity to liberate urban space and reclaim it for people, in line with new urban models such as the superblocks (Barcelona), the 15-minute city (Paris), or tactical urbanism interventions against COVID-19. However, it may also entail risks such as a reduction in active mobility or public transport use. The magnitude and direction of these impacts will depend on crucial decisions that need to be taken now, such as encouraging shared used over ownership, and establishing citizen-centred urban planning and design objectives and strategies to make AV deployment the most beneficial for all

Autonomous Mobility: A Potential Opportunity to Reclaim Public Spaces for People

The advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has the potential to drastically change society and the way we understand, plan and design cities and regions, just as automobiles did a century ago. In the current context of climate change, sustainable urban environments based on active mobility (walking and cycling), urban proximity and green spaces, are increasingly in demand, leading to the emergence of new interventions and urban models. Although these trends may be affected by the arrival of AVs, most decision-makers and planners still do not address these issues in their current planning. This is because of the confusion associated with the diversity of impacts of AVs, but also by the lack of design recommendations and planning tools. To shed light on these aspects, this paper reviews the relationship between mobility and urban public space, the impacts of AVs on urban space and design proposals and strategies aimed at configuring driverless cities, with special focus on street design. The results of the review show that the implementation of AVs can be a great opportunity to liberate urban space and reclaim it for people, in line with new urban models such as the superblocks (Barcelona), the 15-minute city (Paris), or tactical urbanism interventions against COVID-19. However, it may also entail risks such as a reduction in active mobility or public transport use. The magnitude and direction of these impacts will depend on crucial decisions that need to be taken now, such as encouraging shared used over ownership, and establishing citizen-centred urban planning and design objectives and strategies to make AV deployment the most beneficial for all

Autonomous vehicles in sustainable cities: reclaiming public spaces for people

The advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) may directly affect current trends in sustainable urbanism based on recovering the urban space for people, active mobility (walking and cycling) and chrono‐urbanism. How will AVs affect the urban space and the mobility? How will they change the strategies of street and public space design? are relevant questions that need to be answered to prevent AVs ruling the city as the car has done. Decisions such as setting urban goals and planning ahead and encouraging shared used over ownership, will be crucial in guiding the AVs implementation and achieving the most desirable cities.This research was funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, grant number PID2019‐110355RB‐I0