bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Automatic multi‐catheter detection using deeply supervised convolutional neural network in MRI‐guided HDR prostate brachytherapy
Authors: Dai Xianjin , Lei Yang , Zhang Yupei , Qiu Richard L.J. , Wang Tonghe , Dresser Sean A. , Curran Walter J. , Patel Pretesh , Liu Tian , Yang Xiaofeng
Published: June 2020

Purpose

High‐dose‐rate (HDR) brachytherapy is an established technique to be used as monotherapy option or focal boost in conjunction with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for treating prostate cancer. Radiation source path reconstruction is a critical procedure in HDR treatment planning. Manually identifying the source path is labor intensive and time inefficient. In recent years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a valuable imaging modality for image‐guided HDR prostate brachytherapy due to its superb soft‐tissue contrast for target delineation and normal tissue contouring. The purpose of this study is to investigate a deep‐learning‐based method to automatically reconstruct multiple catheters in MRI for prostate cancer HDR brachytherapy treatment planning.

Methods

Attention gated U‐Net incorporated with total variation (TV) regularization model was developed for multi‐catheter segmentation in MRI. The attention gates were used to improve the accuracy of identifying small catheter points, while TV regularization was adopted to encode the natural spatial continuity of catheters into the model. The model was trained using the binary catheter annotation images offered by experienced physicists as ground truth paired with original MRI images. After the network was trained, MR images of a new prostate cancer patient receiving HDR brachytherapy were fed into the model to predict the locations and shapes of all the catheters. Quantitative assessments of our proposed method were based on catheter shaft and tip errors compared to the ground truth.

Results

Our method detected 299 catheters from 20 patients receiving HDR prostate brachytherapy with a catheter tip error of 0.37 ± 1.68 mm and a catheter shaft error of 0.93 ± 0.50 mm. For detection of catheter tips, our method resulted in 87% of the catheter tips within an error of less than ± 2.0 mm, and more than 71% of the tips can be localized within an absolute error of no >1.0 mm. For catheter shaft localization, 97% of catheters were detected with an error of <2.0 mm, while 63% were within 1.0 mm.

Conclusions

In this study, we proposed a novel multi‐catheter detection method to precisely localize the tips and shafts of catheters in three‐dimensional MRI images of HDR prostate brachytherapy. It paves the way for elevating the quality and outcome of MRI‐guided HDR prostate brachytherapy.
The association between frailty and detrusor overactivity in older adults
Authors: Song Sikai , Jin Chengshi , Kamal Puneet , Suskind Anne M.
Published: June 2020

Objective

To explore the relationship between frailty, age, and detrusor overactivity (DO) in older adults presenting to an academic urology practice.

Materials and Methods

This study uses the University of California, San Francisco Geriatric Urology Database to examine all adults ages ≥65 years who underwent urodynamic testing from December 2015 to April 2019. All subjects had a timed up and go test (TUGT) as a measure of frailty and were categorized as fast (≤10 seconds), intermediate (11‐14 seconds), or slow (≥15 seconds), corresponding to not frail, pre‐frail, and frail, respectively. Urodynamic studies were reviewed for the presence of DO. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to examine the relationship between frailty, age, and the presence of DO.

Results

In total, 549 older adults underwent urodynamics during the study period, and 48.5% had a study that demonstrated DO. Individuals with DO tended to be older (18.4% vs 11.0% were ≥80 years; P = .01) and more frail (19.5% vs 13.4% with TUGT ≥5 seconds; P < .01). Multivariate regression demonstrated that DO was associated with both pre‐frail and frail TUGT times (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3‐3.4; P < .01 for TUGT 11‐14 seconds, and aOR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1‐4.0; P = .02 for TUGT ≥15 seconds). Age was not found to be significantly associated with DO (P's > .05).

Conclusions

Frailty, not age, is associated with DO among older adults undergoing urodynamics. Further research on the role of frailty in the evaluation and management of older adults with DO is warranted to best serve the needs of this population.
Analytical and numerical approaches to nerve impulse model of fractional‐order
Authors: Yavuz Mehmet , Yokus Asıf
Published: June 2020

We consider a fractional‐order nerve impulse model which is known as FitzHugh–Nagumo (F–N) model in this paper. Knowing the solutions of this model allows the management of the nerve impulses process. Especially, considering this model as fractional‐order ensures to be able to analyze in detail because of the memory effect. In this context, first, we use an analytical solution and with the aim of this solution, we obtain numerical solutions by using two numerical schemes. Then, we demonstrate the walking wave‐type solutions of the stated problem. These solutions include complex trigonometric functions, complex hyperbolic functions, and algebraic functions. In addition, the linear stability analysis is performed and the absolute error is occurred by comparing the numerical results with the analytical result. All of the results are depicted by tables and figures. This paper not only points out the exact and numerical solutions of the model but also compares the differences and the similarities of the stated solution methods. Therefore, the results of this paper are important and useful for either neuroscientists and physicists or mathematicians and engineers.
Modelling the incremental value of personality facets: the domains-incremental facets-acquiescence bifactor showmodel
Authors: Danner Daniel , Lechner Clemens M. , Soto Christopher J. , John Oliver P.
Published: June 2020

Personality can be described at different levels of abstraction. Whereas the Big Five domains are the dominant level of analysis, several researchers have called for more fine-grained approaches, such as facet-level analysis. Personality facets allow more comprehensive descriptions, more accurate predictions of outcomes, and a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying trait–outcome relationships. However, several methodological issues plague existing evidence on the added value of facet-level descriptions: Manifest facet scale scores differ with respect to their reliability, domain-level variance (variance that is due to the domain factor) and incremental facet-level variance (variance that is specific to a facet and not shared with the other facets). Moreover, manifest scale scores overlap substantially, which affects associations with criterion variables. We suggest a structural equation modelling approach that allows domain-level variance to be separated from incremental facet-level variance. We analysed data from a heterogeneous sample of adults in the USA (N = 1193) who completed the 60-item Big Five Inventory-2. The results illustrate how the variance of manifest personality items and scale scores can be decomposed into domain-level and incremental facet-level variance. The association with criterion variables (educational attainment, income, health, and life satisfaction) further demonstrates the incremental predictive power of personality facets.
Argon self‐organized striation plasmas under kPa pressure level
Authors: Zhu Hailong , Yao Wenxiu , Li Zhixuan
Published: June 2020

This paper reports a study on self–organized striation plasmas generated under kPa pressure level. It focuses especially on the characteristics of argon striation plasmas, the role of metastable atoms on the generation of striation argon plasmas, and the effect of addition of gas species to the argon striation plasmas. Under our discharge conditions, the generation of argon striation plasmas is related to ionization instability, which is caused by the step‐wise ionization, deviation of the distribution from Maxwellian electron energy distribution, and inhomogeneous gas heating. Nitrogen can effectively quench the argon metastable atoms; therefore, it significantly affects the formation of striation plasma.
Incorporation of Boron in Mesoporous Bioactive Glass Nanoparticles Reduces Inflammatory Response and Delays Osteogenic Differentiation
Authors: Zheng Kai , Fan Yuqian , Torre Elisa , Balasubramanian Preethi , Taccardi Nicola , Cassinelli Clara , Morra Marco , Iviglia Giorgio , Boccaccini Aldo R.
Published: June 2020

Mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBG) are multifunctional building blocks for tissue regeneration and nanomedicine applications. Incorporation of biologically active ions can endow MBG with additional functionalities toward promoted therapeutic effects. Here, boron is incorporated into MBG by using a sol–gel approach. The concentration of boron incorporated is controllable by tuning the amount of boron precursor. Two types of boron‐doped MBG, namely 10B‐ and 15B‐MBG (5.8 and 6.5 mol% of B2O3, respectively) are synthesized. Boron incorporation does not significantly influence the particle morphology. All synthesized particles exhibit a sphere‐like shape with a size ranging from 100 to 300 nm. 10B‐ and 15B‐MBG show large specific surface area (346 and 320 m² g−1, respectively) and pore volume. Both boron‐doped MBG exhibit remarkable in vitro bioactivity and noncytotoxicity. Boron incorporation is shown to reduce the inflammatory response linked to macrophages as indicated by downregulated expression of pro‐inflammatory genes. However, boron incorporation delays the osteogenic differentiation in osteoblasts as indicated by the downregulated expression of pro‐osteogenic genes. The results demonstrate the promising potential of using boron‐doped MBG to modulate inflammatory response for bone regeneration under inflammatory conditions, as shown in this study for the first time.
Comparison of statistical methods for recurrent event analysis using pediatrics asthma data
Authors: Yadav C. P. , Lodha Rakesh , Kabra S. K. , Sreenivas V. , Sinha Abhinav , Khan M. A. , Pandey R. M.
Published: June 2020

When the same type of event is experienced by a subject more than once it is called recurrent event, which possess two important characteristics, namely “within‐subject correlation” and “time‐varying covariate.” As a result, the traditional statistical methods do not work well on recurrent event data. Over the past few decades, many alternatives methods have been proposed for the analysis of recurrent event data. In this article, the six most prominent methods for recurrent event analysis have been compared on pediatric asthma data. Three variance corrected models (viz “Anderson and Gill [AG] model,” “Prentice, William, and Peterson‐Counting Process [PWP‐CP] model,” and “Prentice, William, and Peterson‐Gap Time [PWP‐GT] model”) and three corresponding frailty variants (AG‐frailty, PWP‐CP‐frailty, and PWP‐GT‐frailty) were compared using three mathematical criterion (AIC, BIC, and log‐likelihood) and one graphical criteria (Cox‐Snell goodness of fit, visual test). All model comparison indices showed the PWP‐GT model as the most appropriate model on asthma data over other models. By using PWP‐GT model, seven predictors of asthma exacerbation (viz “abdominal pain at previous visit,” “Z5 (%) at previous visit,” “diagnosis of asthma at previous visit,” “calendar month of exacerbation,” “history of maternal asthma,” “monthly per capita income,” and “emotional stress”) were identified. The PWP‐GT model was identified as the most appropriate model over other models on pediatrics asthma data.
Hypothesis: Potassium sparing by angiotensin and aldosterone inhibitors preserves skeletal muscle mass in chronic heart failure
Authors: Zwakman‐Hessels Lara , Zeillemaker‐Hoekstra Miriam , Nijsten Maarten W.
Published: June 2020

Background

Cachexia complicates many chronic diseases. In chronic or congestive heart failure (CHF), cachexia independently contributes to decreased survival. Although diuretics have long been part of standard treatment of CHF, the addition of angiotensin and aldosterone antagonists to the standard treatment regimen has considerably improved the outcome of CHF. Both loop diuretics and the up‐regulation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system caused by CHF induce loss of total body potassium (TBK).

Hypothesis

In addition to the causal association of loss of muscle mass with loss of TBK, we propose that the reverse mechanism also exists. The known beneficial effects of angiotensin and aldosterone inhibition may partly result from preserved TBK with consequent muscle mass preservation.

Conclusion

We propose that monitoring of muscle mass, potassium balances, and TBK should be included in future CHF studies to verify this hypothesis and allow further optimization of therapy.
Robust adaptive fault‐tolerant tracking control for a class of high‐order nonlinear system with finite‐time prescribed performance
Authors: Bai Wen , Wang Huanqing
Published: June 2020

In this article, an improved prescribed performance adaptive control strategy is developed to handle the output tracking control problem for a class of nonlinear high‐order systems with actuator faults. The actuator faults considered include the bias fault and gain fault models. A technique of adding a power integrator is utilized to deal with the controller design problem of high‐order system. With the help of backstepping technology and the classic adaptive control, an output tracking control scheme is proposed, which can guarantee that all signals of the closed‐loop system are bounded and the tracking error converges to a finite‐time predetermined region. Finally, the feasibility of the presented control method is tested through the simulation results.
River embankments mitigate the loss of grassland biodiversity in agricultural landscapes
Authors: Bátori Zoltán , Kiss Péter J. , Tölgyesi Csaba , Deák Balázs , Valkó Orsolya , Török Péter , Erdős László , Tóthmérész Béla , Kelemen András
Published: June 2020

Agricultural intensification has resulted in severe declines in the extent and diversity of seminatural habitats in Europe, whereas the extent of secondary habitats has increased considerably. River embankments have become one of the most extensive and widespread secondary habitats in former floodplains. We compared the diversity patterns of secondary dry and wet grasslands on river embankments with those of seminatural dry and wet grasslands in a Hungarian agricultural landscape using the following community descriptors: (a) species diversity, (b) phylogenetic diversity and (c) functional diversity. We also performed trait‐based analyses to evaluate the ecosystem services provided by these secondary grasslands. Both grassland types of the embankments showed significantly higher Shannon diversity compared with their seminatural counterparts. The cover of generalist species (i.e., cosmopolitan species, weeds and nonindigenous plant species) was high in the secondary grasslands. We found significant differences in phylogenetic diversity between the secondary and seminatural grasslands: secondary grasslands showed significantly lower mean nearest taxon distances than the seminatural grasslands. Functional diversity did not differ between the secondary and seminatural grasslands according to the Rao's quadratic entropy. However, we found higher community‐weighted means of specific leaf area, plant height and flowering period in the secondary grasslands, which are related to important ecosystem services (via biomass production and pollination). Well‐planned management actions and restoration activities could help further improve the ecological function and conservation value of secondary grasslands on river embankments, contributing to the maintenance of species diversity and sustaining the functionality of ecosystems in agricultural landscapes.
Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel (E)‐Hydroxystyryl Aralkyl Sulfones as Neuroprotective Agents
Authors: Chen Ying , Hao Yameng , Liu Qian , Wu Bolin , Liu Yunqi , Zhang Zhili , Tian Chao , Ning Xianling , Guo Ying , Wang Xiaowei , Liu Junyi
Published: June 2020

A novel class of (E)‐hydroxystyryl aralkyl sulfones were designed and synthesized as neuroprotective agents. Their neuroprotective properties were assessed by several antioxidant models including 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals scavenging model, neuronal protective effects against neurotoxins such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) and 1‐methyl‐4‐phenylpyridinium iodide (MPP+). Besides, the anti‐inflammatory activity was evaluated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced nitric oxide (NO) release model in BV2 microglial cells. The result demonstrated that cinnamyl substituted compound 5 h exhibited prominent antioxidant activity in H2O2 and 6‐OHDA models and higher anti‐inflammatory potency (IC50=7.3 μM) than lead compound 1 (IC50=13.4 μM). Furthermore, compound 5 h displayed predicted CNS (+) blood‐brain barrier permeability (Pe=5.66×10−6 cm s−1) in PAMPA model and low toxicity in PC12 and BV2 cells. These multifunctional properties highlight compound 5 h is a promising candidate for further development against neurodegenerative diseases.
Selling your soul to the devil? The importance of independent ownership to identity distinctiveness for oppositional categories
Authors: Mathias Blake D. , Huyghe Annelore , Williams David W.
Published: June 2020

Research Summary

Oppositional categories emerge in direct ideological opposition to incumbent mass producers. In doing so, these oppositional categories, especially craft‐based ones, emphasize their size (small), ownership (independence), and production methods (traditional) as important identity codes—critical for maintaining their distinctiveness from the incumbent category. However, we lack theoretical insights into how oppositional category members respond as (former) members defect by joining the incumbent category they challenge and ideologically oppose. Therefore, taking an identity lens, our study explores the following research question: As members sell to incumbents, how do the remaining members of the oppositional category attempt to maintain the distinctiveness of the collective identity? Our findings reveal incumbents' acquisitions of oppositional members open the opportunity to elevate the importance of ownership (independence) as a distinctive identity code.

Managerial Summary

Craft categories often emerge by opposing large, dominant corporations. This David versus Goliath mentality helps establish distinct differences between the two groups of firms. However, as owners of the craft organizations grow and sell (to the opposition), this can erode the core attributes that originally made the craft category distinct. We find that as craft brewers sold their breweries to mass producers it did just that—led to considerable confusion in what constitutes a “craft brewery.” However, the craft brewing collective rallied together to identify “independence” as the core feature of craft brewers—one that cannot be bought or copied by the opposition—in hopes they can maintain their distinctiveness from mass producers.
Why do some insider CEOs make more strategic changes than others? The impact of prior board experience on new CEO insiderness
Authors: Zhu Qi , Hu Songcui , Shen Wei
Published: June 2020

Research Summary

This study draws attention to the impact of prior board experiences on the variation in new insider CEOs' degree of “insiderness” in terms of commitment to the status quo and their propensity to make strategic change. We theorize and find that new insider CEOs' prior board experience at the focal firm has a negative effect on strategic change, whereas their prior board experience at other firms has a positive effect. Moreover, the positive effect of prior board experience at other firms is stronger (weaker) for new insider CEOs who have less (more) prior board experience at the focal firm. Our study contributes to upper echelons theory and research on new CEOs, and has important implications for organizational practices regarding CEO succession and strategic change.

Managerial Summary

Although new insider CEOs tend to make less strategic changes than new outsider CEOs, some of them do make more than others. Our study focuses on new insider CEOs' prior board experiences to explain the difference in their tendency to make strategic change. We find that new insider CEOs who have greater prior experience on the focal firm's board make less strategic changes, whereas those who have greater prior experience on the boards of other firms make more strategic changes. Moreover, our analysis shows that new insider CEOs who have both a high level of prior board experience at other firms and a low level of prior board experience at the focal firm make the most strategic changes.
CEO cognitive flexibility, information search, and organizational ambidexterity
Authors: Kiss Andreea N. , Libaers Dirk , Barr Pamela S. , Wang Tang , Zachary Miles A.
Published: June 2020

Research summary

Although prior research highlights the organizational and cognitive challenges associated with achieving organizational ambidexterity, there has been comparatively less empirical attention focused on the cognitive characteristics that may differentiate top managers of firms that achieve ambidexterity. We build on emerging research and identify cognitive flexibility as a cognitive characteristic with particular relevance to the challenges associated with ambidexterity and suggest that it works through chief executive officers (CEOs)' information search activities. We find that cognitively flexible CEOs are more likely to engage in effortful and persistent information search and rely to a greater extent on outside sources of information. In turn, effortful and persistent information search activities are associated with higher levels of organizational ambidexterity. Our study pushes forward the research agenda on cognitive micro‐foundations of firm capabilities.

Managerial summary

Ambidextrous organizations, or organizations that have the capability to pursue both incremental and discontinuous innovation, enjoy more sustainable competitive advantages. However, the achievement of organizational ambidexterity poses unique demands for top managers, including cognitive challenges. To help managers better understand these challenges, this study focuses attention on the role of the CEO in the achievement of organizational ambidexterity, and on CEO cognitive flexibility as a potential influencing factor. Our results suggest that CEO cognitive flexibility may influence organizational ambidexterity indirectly through its effect on CEO information search activities, in particular where and how intensely CEOs search for information. Our study reinforces the importance of human factors in the executive office for the development of firm dynamic capabilities, and the implementation of an innovation‐based strategy.
Ion Concentration Effect on Nanoscale Electrospray Modes
Authors: Zheng Fei , Zhang Shuai , Mo Jingwen , Yi Haojie , Zhang Shizhao , Yu Hongyang , Lin Kabin , Sha Jingjie , Chen Yunfei
Published: June 2020

The phenomena and mechanism of electrospray modes in nanoscale are investigated from experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that the ionic concentration plays a crucial role in determining the dripping or the jetting modes in a nanoscale electrospray system. Molecular dynamics simulations uncover that the two modes are caused by the competition between the electric field stress and surface tension, which is similar to the mechanism in a macroscale electrospray system. However, in a nanoscale electrospray system, the two competing forces of the electric field stress and surface tension are more sensitive to the ion distributions than that in a macroscale electrospray system, in which the applied voltage and pressure dominate. With the decrease of the nozzle diameter to nanoscale, the ions not only affect the local electric field stress, but also destroy the hydrogen bonds among water molecules, which lead to that the ion concentration becomes a dominant factor in determining the electrospray modes in nanoscale. The discovery provides a novel method to control nanoscale electrospray modes, which may find potential applications for mass spectrometry, film deposition, and electrohydrodynamic printing.
Typical ultrasound features of various endometrial pathologies described using International Endometrial Tumor Analysis (IETA) terminology in women with abnormal uterine bleeding
Authors: Van Den Bosch T. , Verbakel J. Y. , Valentin L. , Wynants L. , De Cock B. , Pascual M. A. , Leone F. P. G. , Sladkevicius P. , Alcazar J. L. , Votino A. , Fruscio R. , Lanzani C. , Van Holsbeke C. , Rossi A. , Jokubkiene L. , Kudla M. , Jakab A. , Domali E. , Epstein E. , Van Pachterbeke C. , Bourne T. , Van Calster B. , Timmerman D.
Published: June 2020

Objective

To describe the ultrasound features of different endometrial and other intracavitary pathologies inpre‐ and postmenopausal women presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding, using the International Endometrial Tumor Analysis (IETA) terminology.

Methods

This was a prospective observational multicenter study of consecutive women presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding. Unenhanced sonography with color Doppler and fluid‐instillation sonography were performed. Endometrial sampling was performed according to each center's local protocol. The histological endpoints were cancer, atypical endometrial hyperplasia/endometrioid intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN), endometrial atrophy, proliferative or secretory endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia without atypia, endometrial polyp, intracavitary leiomyoma and other. For fluid‐instillation sonography, the histological endpoints were endometrial polyp, intracavitary leiomyoma and cancer. For each histological endpoint, we report typical ultrasound features using the IETA terminology.

Results

The database consisted of 2856 consecutive women presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding. Unenhanced sonography with color Doppler was performed in all cases and fluid‐instillation sonography in 1857. In 2216 women, endometrial histology was available, and these comprised the study population. Median age was 49 years (range, 19–92 years), median parity was 2 (range, 0–10) and median body mass index was 24.9 kg/m2(range, 16.0–72.1 kg/m2). Of the study population, 843 (38.0%) women were postmenopausal. Endometrial polyps were diagnosed in 751 (33.9%) women, intracavitary leiomyomas in 223 (10.1%) and endometrial cancer in 137 (6.2%). None (0% (95% CI, 0.0–5.5%)) of the 66 women with endometrial thickness < 3 mm had endometrial cancer or atypical hyperplasia/EIN. Endometrial cancer or atypical hyperplasia/EIN was found in three of 283 (1.1% (95% CI, 0.4–3.1%)) endometria with a three‐layer pattern, in three of 459 (0.7% (95% CI, 0.2–1.9%)) endometria with a linear endometrial midline and in five of 337 (1.5% (95% CI, 0.6–3.4%)) cases with a single vessel without branching on unenhanced ultrasound.

Conclusions

The typical ultrasound features of endometrial cancer, polyps, hyperplasia and atrophy and intracavitary leiomyomas, are described using the IETA terminology. The detection of some easy‐to‐assess IETA features (i.e. endometrial thickness < 3 mm, three‐layer pattern, linear midline and single vessel without branching) makes endometrial cancer unlikely. Copyright © 2020 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
New Algorithm for Gravity Vector Estimation from Airborne Data Using Spherical Scaling Functions
Authors: Vyazmin Vadim S.
Published: June 2020

The paper presents an approach to determination of the gravity disturbance vector from airborne gravimetry measurements at an aircraft’s flight path. A navigation-grade inertial navigation system (INS) and the carrier-phase differential mode of GNSS are assumed. To improve observability of the gravity horizontal components, which are observed in combination with the INS systematic errors, we use a spatial model of gravity. We parameterize the disturbing potential in the observation area using the spherical scaling functions. The unknown coefficients of the parameterization and the INS systematic errors are estimated simultaneously using the Kalman filter. Due to ill-conditioning of the estimation problem, the information form of the Kalman filter and regularization are used. The numerical results obtained from simulated data processing shows that the approach based on spatial modeling is capable to improve accuracy of the gravity horizontal component determination comparing to a typical modeling of gravity in the time domain.
Sedimentary Archives Reveal the Concealed History of Micropollutant Contamination in the Seine River Basin
Authors: Ayrault Sophie , Meybeck Michel , Mouchel Jean-Marie , Gaspéri Johnny , Lestel Laurence , Lorgeoux Catherine , Boust Dominique
Published: June 2020

Sedimentary archives provide long-term records of particulate-bound pollutants (e.g. trace metal elements, PAHs). We present the results obtained on a set of selected cores from alluvial deposits within the Seine River basin, integrating the entire area’s land uses upstream of the core location, collected upstream and downstream of Paris megacity and in the estuary. Some of these cores go back to the 1910s. These records are complemented by in-depth studies of the related pollution emissions, their regulation and other environmental regulations, thereby establishing contaminant trajectories. They are representative of a wide range of contamination intensities resulting from industrial, urban and agricultural activities and their temporal evolution over a 75,000 km2 territory. A wide set of contaminants, including metals, radionuclides, pharmaceuticals and up to 50 persistent organic pollutants, have been analysed based on the Seine River sediment archives. Altogether, more than 70 particulate contaminants, most of them regulated or banned (OSPAR convention, European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC)), were measured in dated cores collected at 7 sites, resulting in a large data set.

After drawing a picture of the literature devoted to sedimentary archives, the findings resulting from several decades of research devoted to the Seine River basin will be used, together with other studies on other French and foreign rivers, to illustrate the outstanding potential of sedimentary archives. The limitations of using sedimentary archives for inter-site comparison and the approaches developed in the PIREN-Seine to overcome such limitations such as selecting pertinent indicators (specific fluxes, per capita release, leakage rate, etc.) will be described. The very complex interactions between humans and their environment will be addressed through questions such as the impact on the spatial and temporal trajectories of contaminants of factors such as wastewater management, deindustrialisation within the Seine River basin, implementation of national and EU environmental regulations, etc. This chapter will show how such studies can reveal the persistence of the contamination and the emergence of new pollutants, e.g. antibiotics. It will propose indicators for the evaluation of the environment resilience and the efficiency of environmental policies.
The Evolution of the Seine Basin Water Bodies Through Historical Maps
Authors: Lestel Laurence , Eschbach David , Meybeck Michel , Gob Frédéric
Published: June 2020

The Seine River basin (65,000 km2) is extremely rich in cartographic documents generated over the past two centuries: general maps describing the territory, fiscal land registries, navigation charts (e.g. bathymetric profiles and maps), etc. After 1830 river engineers (Ponts et Chaussées) started to develop a huge network of waterways, which were charted with precision and accuracy. These documents, retrieved from various archives, have been checked, selected, geo-referenced and digitalised within an open-access database (ArchiSeine). It has allowed researchers to fully quantify the state of rivers, often in their lateral, longitudinal and vertical dimensions, their long-term and slow natural dynamics (e.g. meander movement) and their abrupt modifications by man-made river works due to various and evolving river use (water supply, wood rafting, navigation, hydropower, sand extraction, flood protection), all closely connected to Paris growing demands, and the adjustments of the fluvial system to these changes. From headwaters to the estuary, the physical attributes of the Seine River system have been substantially modified. Examples of such environmental trajectories are provided for the Versailles plateau headwaters, the Bassée alluvial plain and the Lower Seine sector.
Past and Future Trajectories of Human Excreta Management Systems: Paris in the Nineteenth to Twenty-First Centuries
Authors: Esculier Fabien , Barles Sabine
Published: June 2020

This chapter addresses the fate of nutrients in agro-food systems after their ingestion by humans. Depending on how human urine and faeces are managed, they can become a source of pollution to the environment, or they can be used as a resource, notably as fertilisers, thus contributing to closing the loop of nutrients. Taking the city of Paris as a case study from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, we analyse the fate of human excreta through the evaluation of corresponding nitrogen and phosphorus mass flows. We put forward two major phases concerning the management of human excreta:

The circularisation phase (1800s to 1900s): human excreta management is characterised by increasing circularity which peaks in the 1900s with around 50% of human excreta nutrients being recycled.

The linearisation phase (1900s–today): human excreta management is characterised by increasing linearity, i.e. a decrease in recycling rates of nutrients. Generalisation and improvement of wastewater treatment have led to decreasing pollution but also confirm the linearisation process (e.g. 5% recycling of human excreta nitrogen).

This increase in linearity came together with increased dependency of agro-systems on fossil resources. Ongoing climate change is also putting the current system under pressure since the dilution capacity of the Seine River is decreasing, while the population of Paris is increasing. We therefore analyse three scenarios of future human excreta management (incineration, end-of-pipe recycling and source separation) and show that source separation of human excreta may offer the perspective of a sustainable human excreta management system.
Trajectories of the Seine River Basin
Authors: Flipo Nicolas , Lestel Laurence , Labadie Pierre , Meybeck Michel , Garnier Josette
Published: June 2020

The Seine River basin in France (76,238 km2, 17 million (M) people) has been continuously studied since 1989 by the PIREN-Seine, a multidisciplinary programme of about 100 scientists from 20 research units (hydrologists, environmental chemists, ecologists, biogeochemists, geographers, environmental historians). Initially PIREN-Seine was established to fill the knowledge gap on the river functioning, particularly downstream of the Paris conurbation (12 M people), where the pressure and impacts were at their highest in the 1980s (e.g. chronic summer hypoxia). One aim was to provide tools, such as models, to manage water resources and improve the state of the river. PIREN-Seine gradually developed into a general understanding and whole-basin modelling, from headwater streams to the estuary, of the complex interactions between the hydrosystem (surface water and aquifers), the ecosystem (phytoplankton, bacteria, fish communities), the agronomic system (crops and soils), the river users (drinking water, navigation), and the urban and industrial development (e.g. waste water treatment plants). Spatio-temporal scales of these interactions and the related state of the environment vary from the very fine (hour-meter) to the coarser scale (annual – several dozen km). It was possible to determine the trajectories (drivers-pressures – state-responses) for many issues, over the longue durée time windows (50–200 years), in relation to the specific economic and demographic evolution of the Seine basin, the environmental awareness, and the national and then European regulations. Time trajectories of the major environmental issues, from the original organic and microbial pollutants in the past to the present emerging contaminants, are addressed. Future trajectories are simulated by our interconnected modelling approaches, based on scenarios (e.g. of the agro-food system, climate change, demography, etc.) constructed by scientists and engineers of major basin institutions that have been supporting the programme in the long term. We found many cumulated and/or permanent hereditary effects on the physical, chemical, and ecological characteristics of the basin that may constrain its evolution. PIREN-Seine was launched and has been evaluated since its inception, by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), today within its national Zones Ateliers (ZA) instrument, part of the international Long-Term Socio-Economic and Ecosystem Research (LTSER) network.
River Basin Visions: Tools and Approaches from Yesterday to Tomorrow
Authors: Carré Catherine , Meybeck Michel , Garnier Josette , Chong Natalie , Deroubaix José-Frédéric , Flipo Nicolas , Goutte Aurélie , Le Pichon Céline , Seguin Laura , Tournebize Julien
Published: June 2020

The aim of this chapter is to provide a critical assessment of the approaches and production of tools within the PIREN-Seine programme over the past 30 years, as well as their use for river basin management and river quality improvement, and to analyse the challenges for the future. Three types of tools used in the PIREN-Seine programme are presented: metrology and fieldwork; model construction, simulation and their use in scenarios; and participatory science tools. These tools have been gradually built by the PIREN-Seine researchers and often developed together with the partners of the research programme, the main managers of the Seine River basin. Three issues raised by scientists and their partners are identified: (1) for metrology, how it has been improved to measure the state of waterbodies and to avoid their degradation; (2) for models, what they currently do and do not do and how they share common knowledge with practitioners; and (3) the place of researchers in the use of participatory devices in territories and their view of the effects of these tools to improve the quality of rivers and aquifers.
Reflections on the Clinician’s Role in the Clinical Encounter
Authors: Engebretsen Karin Mohn
Published: June 2020

A practicing Gestalt psychotherapist and academic researcher on the topic of burnout, Karin Mohn Engebretsen provides in this chapter a personal narrative from a professional perspective. The narration gives insight into the nature and impact of the healthcare practitioner’s influence on the clinical encounter. In the case study, Engebretsen puts herself in focus, touching on how her own dispositions affect the way that the patient’s dispositions manifest when she engages them in therapy. This is an essential aspect of the Gestalt approach, but Karin’s reflections go further to illustrate how the mutual manifestation of these dispositions can, in turn, interact as the treatment proceeds. This way the features of mutual manifestation and causal complexity, presented in Part I of this book, are placed at the very core of the clinical interaction itself. Indeed, the practitioner’s awareness of their own influence has an impact on the outcome and success of that treatment. In contrast with the biomedical model, which sees the patient as a passive subject of the treatment imposed upon them by the caregiver, both Gestalt theory and dispositionalism recognise that the treatment itself is something both the healthcare professional and the patient must be actively engaged in for it to work, as discussed in the first part of this book. Thus, the clinical encounter is essentially relational.
The Relevance of Dispositionalism for Psychotherapy and Psychotherapy Research
Authors: Lindstad Tobias Gustum
Published: June 2020

In this chapter, clinical psychologist Tobias Gustum Lindstad questions the scientific paradigm underlying the so-called Medical model of psychotherapy. Within such a model, Lindstad explains, psychotherapy research has lost its focus on critical dialogue and philosophical reflection, while psychotherapy has implemented treatment models supported by statistical evidence. Treatment interventions are tested with the same procedures as medicines, and thus the interventions are expected to work as ‘miracle drugs’, he argues. The Medical model commits the therapist to focus on implementing these specific interventions, which may effectively lead the focus away from the actual and unique needs of individual patients. In line with the philosophical framework presented in Part I, the chapter gives a philosophical diagnosis of this situation, by arguing that it is based on one specific and questionable view of causality: the Humean one. Lindstad argues here that an effective and constructive critique of the Medical model must start by revising its most basic assumptions about causality. The chapter shows how a switch to a dispositionalist view on causality is an indispensable step toward a psychological practice that is pluralist and relevant for the single person.
Probability for the Clinical Encounter
Authors: Rocca Elena
Published: June 2020

This chapter outlines three different interpretations of the concept of probability and explains why CauseHealth supports an understanding of probability as propensities, and how such understanding influences clinical decision making and medical investigations in general. For an illustration of the difference between the three perspectives presented here, imagine a situation in which we are going to cross a bridge with a heavy truck, and we want to evaluate the probability that the bridge will endure the weight of the truck. A frequentist approach would face this challenge by looking at how often similar bridges collapsed under the weight of similar trucks. A Bayesian approach would consider the information we have about the bridge and the truck, and would treat the probability as the value of how certain we are that an accident will (or will not) happen. The measure of such certainty will be updated every time we gain a new piece of information. The propensity approach would describe the probability using the qualities of the bridge, the truck, and the whole situation, and trying to understand the intrinsic disposition of the bridge to collapse under a certain weight. Such intrinsicality will be evaluated by investigating the properties at hand (height, length, solidity, material) and by understanding the causal and physical processes involved. All these perspectives – frequencies, uncertainty and propensities – offer something that can be useful for expanding our causal knowledge. The philosophical question is which we take to be basic.
Challenging Misconceptions: Danish Civil Society in Times of Crisis
Authors: Jørgensen Martin Bak , Olsen Daniel Rosengren
Published: June 2020

In this chapter, we analyze a contemporary Danish civil society organization (CSO) using the Alan Sears concept infrastructures of dissent. We analyze the Danish CSO Venligboerne, which has gained widespread recognition for its activities and initiatives. The CSO has created a space for itself in the contemporary social landscape as an interlocutor amidst the broad spectrum of organizations that constitute the refugee solidarity movements (Toubøl, Differential recruitment to and outcomes of solidarity activism: ethics, values and group style in the Danish refugee solidarity movement. PhD thesis University of Copenhagen, 2017). We investigate how collective learning, capacities for solidarity, alliance-building and an everyday politics of hope have emerged in the Danish refugee solidarity movement.
“Retrotopia” as a Retrogressive Force in the German PEGIDA-Movement
Authors: Önnerfors Andreas
Published: June 2020

What is the momentum of “retrotopia”, utopian longing for the past in political mobilization? In how far are sentiments of nostalgia and melancholia at play as drivers for political changes and retrogressive mobilization? The rise and success of PEGIDA in Germany 2014 as a civil society organization of the “European New Right” (ENR) raises several questions that are addressed in this chapter. Starting with a theoretical discussion of the terms “retrotopia” (Bauman 2017) and “post-welfare melancholia” (Pallas 2011) I propose an interpretative framework with the potential to inform studies at the crossroads of cultural nationalism, redistributive justice, and migration. Subsequently, the organizational development of PEGIDA and its ideological fuzziness are discussed followed by two examples in which its performative style infused with cultural positions are highlighted: the PEGIDA-“hymn” and its lyrics and the official PEGIDA-reaction upon Muslim protests against the decision in late 2017 to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In a final section, I address the normative conflict between civil society agency as beneficial for democratization as opposed to the rise of “uncivil” society representing “unwanted” values from a superior vantage point of observation. What is only briefly touched upon is the almost simultaneous rise of the AfD as the largest German opposition party, entering the Bundestag in autumn 2017 and receiving massive electoral support in several state elections in 2019.
Introduction: Parental Life Courses After Separation and Divorce in Europe
Authors: Kreyenfeld Michaela , Trappe Heike
Published: June 2020

This introductory chapter provides an overview of recent divorce trends and of attitudes towards divorce in European countries. Moreover, we summarise the existing literature on divorce and separation behaviour, particularly with respect to its consequences for fathers, mothers, and children. While the body of literature that deals with separation and divorce is large, there is far less research on the question of how the parental life course is affected by union disruption, and of how these patterns vary across countries. This volume helps to close this research gap by covering four main areas: (a) the economic conditions of parents after divorce and separation, (b) parent-child relationships, (c) parent and child well-being, and (d) the health-related consequences of divorce and separation.