The space‐time structure of flood losses is arguably related to large‐scale climatic patterns; however, this interconnection is not always well understood. Here we show that the North Atlantic ...Oscillation (NAO) correlates with the occurrence of catastrophic floods across Europe and the associated economic losses. The analysis reveals that in Northern Europe the majority of historic winter floods occurred during a positive NAO state, whereas the majority of summer floods occurred during a negative state. Analogous, but stronger, patterns can be observed in individual Atlantic countries. Through the application of a state‐of‐the‐art catastrophe model, we find that there is a statistically significant relationship between the NAO and flood losses. Critically, we observe that the average flood loss during opposite NAO states can differ by up to 50%. These results can inform financial preparedness and disaster fund allocation, as stakeholders, such as governments and insurance companies, can distribute resources more effectively.
Plain Language Summary
Increasing flood exposure and alarming climate change scenarios are responsible for growing concerns about economic losses from future floods. While it is well known that large‐scale climatic patterns control meteorological events, it is not always clear whether this connection can be extended to the occurrence of flood events and the associated losses. In this study, based on the analysis of recent flood databases and the application of a catastrophe model, we show that there is indeed a significant relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and flood losses. The use of a model allows to quantify the impact of the NAO on flood losses and to show that average flood losses vary significantly across opposite NAO states. The study shows that the NAO index constitutes a meaningful predictor for long‐term average losses. In particular, based on recent development in NAO predictability, we argue that temporal variability of flood risk, due to climatic oscillations, can be predicted in advance, allowing for mitigation measures to take place sooner and enhance resiliency to flood hazard.
Key Points
Data reveal that there is a significant relationship between the NAO and the occurrence of catastrophic flood events in Europe
Model applications show that the NAO fluctuation has a significant impact on flood economic losses in Europe
Stakeholders should consider the impact of the NAO when planning disaster fund allocation and mitigation measures for flood risk in Europe
Full text
Available for:
FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
There is one serious missing link at the center of today's capitalism. It is a disequilibrium between increased economic interconnectedness and increased isolation/exclusion. This unique challenge in ...the 21st century calls for a unique solution: Ubuntu. Africa might be the last place where experts would look for an economic solution, but it ironically holds the secret to restoring the right equilibrium in the economy. Ubuntu's ability to reconnect the marginalised with the mainstream by putting emphasis on our humanness, connectedness, collective growth through expansion and improved efficiency creates new capacity for the economy to rebalance itself towards genuine and sustainable progress. Ubuntu encapsulates that which is the opposite of economic exclusion (i.e. inequality, poverty, unsustainable growth, limited profits, etc.), namely economic inclusion. However, only a small window of opportunity exists - in and after the COVID-19 pandemic - to implement Ubuntu as a fundamental economic principle in order for it to be an effective remedy. The global economy and most local economies have entered the phase of rebuilding with a serious drawback: after the previous global financial crisis, both the economy and government's capacity to recover are severely limited as unemployment levels, debt levels and natural resource depletion levels keep soaring, resulting in dangerous levels of economic exclusion and social instability. To this and more, the inclusive economy presents tangible solutions.
To develop an atlas of the clinical target volume (CTV) definitions for postoperative radiotherapy of endometrial and cervical cancer to be used for planning pelvic intensity-modulated radiotherapy.
...The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group led an international collaboration of cooperative groups in the development of the atlas. The groups included the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, Gynecologic Oncology Group, National Cancer Institute of Canada, European Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, and American College of Radiology Imaging Network. The members of the group were asked by questionnaire to define the areas that were to be included in the CTV and to outline theses areas on individual computed tomography images. The initial formulation of the group began in late 2004 and culminated with a formal consensus conference in June 2005.
The committee achieved a consensus CTV definition for postoperative therapy for endometrial and cervical cancer. The CTV should include the common, external, and internal iliac lymph node regions. The upper 3.0 cm of the vagina and paravaginal soft tissue lateral to the vagina should also be included. For patients with cervical cancer, or endometrial cancer with cervical stromal invasion, it is also recommended that the CTV include the presacral lymph node region.
This report serves as an international template for the definition of the CTV for postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy for endometrial and cervical cancer.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, NUK, OILJ, UL, UM, UPUK
Urban areas have long had shopping districts in which retail properties are concentrated. It is argued that the diversity of retail tenants, often called tenant mix, contributes to the image and ...attractiveness of the high street shopping district. These districts are characterized by fragmented ownership and therefore the tenant mix is outside the control of individual property investors. We aim to explore the relationship between tenant mix and retail rents by studying high street shopping districts in the Netherlands. We start with delineating high street shopping districts using granular data on the spatial distribution of retail jobs. Within each shopping district, tenant mix is measured using detailed information on SBI sector classification and the number of retail properties. We find shopping districts with greater tenant mix show higher retail rents compared to districts with lower tenant mix.
Full text
Available for:
CEKLJ, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Persistent economic exclusion and the high levels of natural resource depletion are alarming. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are among a few global initiatives aimed at bringing a ...turnaround in both of these areas of concern. Giving action to productive economic inclusion and transitioning towards a circular, regenerative economy is challenging for countries, particularly because of a lack of economic incentives. Green finance has emerged in the last few decades as a valuable mechanism that has the potential to meet this challenge. In answering the question of how to facilitate the necessary transition to a green, inclusive economy, the paper attempts to bring green finance and economic inclusion together as a possible means (like a bridge) to address economic exclusion and resource degeneration. That is the primary aim of the study, and it is investigated through an analysis of theoretical literature. The key findings include: a strong synergy exists between green finance and economic inclusion; different forms of green finance are able to facilitate economic inclusion; and green finance can be instrumental in attracting investors to fast-track SDG attainment. A key conclusion is that green finance can play a vital role in activating and prolonging broad-based benefit sharing in an eco-conscious way.
The restructuring of a silver catalyst during ethylene epoxidation under industrially relevant conditions was investigated without and with vinyl chloride (VC) promotion. During non-VC-promoted ...ethylene epoxidation, the silver particles grow and voids are formed at the surface and in the bulk. Electron tomography highlighted the presence of voids below the Ag surface. A mechanism is proposed involving reconstruction of the silver lattice and defect sites induced by oxygen adsorption on the external surface and grain boundaries, which finally create pores. Promotion of the catalytic reaction by VC suppresses to a significant extent void formation. The use of VC also redisperses silver particles, initially grown during ethylene epoxidation without VC. This process is rapid as the average size decreased from 172 to 136 nm within 2 h. These insights emphasize the dynamic nature of the silver particles during the ongoing ethylene epoxidation reaction and indicate that particle size and morphology strongly depend on reaction conditions.
Full text
Available for:
IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
To evaluate disease outcomes and toxicity in cervical cancer patients treated with pelvic intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
We included all patients with Stage I-IVA cervical carcinoma ...treated with IMRT at three different institutions from 2000-2007. Patients treated with extended field or conventional techniques were excluded. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy plans were designed to deliver 45 Gy in 1.8-Gy daily fractions to the planning target volume while minimizing dose to the bowel, bladder, and rectum. Toxicity was graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group system. Overall survival and disease-free survival were estimated by use of the Kaplan-Meier method. Pelvic failure, distant failure, and late toxicity were estimated by use of cumulative incidence functions.
The study included 111 patients. Of these, 22 were treated with postoperative IMRT, 8 with IMRT followed by intracavitary brachytherapy and adjuvant hysterectomy, and 81 with IMRT followed by planned intracavitary brachytherapy. Of the patients, 63 had Stage I-IIA disease and 48 had Stage IIB-IVA disease. The median follow-up time was 27 months. The 3-year overall survival rate and the disease-free survival rate were 78% (95% confidence interval CI, 68-88%) and 69% (95% CI, 59-81%), respectively. The 3-year pelvic failure rate and the distant failure rate were 14% (95% CI, 6-22%) and 17% (95% CI, 8-25%), respectively. Estimates of acute and late Grade 3 toxicity or higher were 2% (95% CI, 0-7%) and 7% (95% CI, 2-13%), respectively.
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy is associated with low toxicity and favorable outcomes, supporting its safety and efficacy for cervical cancer. Prospective clinical trials are needed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of IMRT vs. conventional techniques.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, NUK, OILJ, UL, UM, UPUK
While purpose-oriented networks are widely recognized as organizational forms to address wicked problems in health care such as increasing demands and expenditure, the associated literature is ...fragmented. We therefore reviewed empirical studies to identify the determinants of the effectiveness of these networks. Our search yielded 3,657 unique articles, of which 19 met our eligibility criteria. After backward snowballing and expert consultation, 33 articles were included. Results reveal no less than 283 determinants of effective health care networks. The majority of these determinants are processual and involving professionals from the operational level is particularly salient. In addition, most studies relate determinants to process outcomes (e.g., improved collaboration or sustainability of the network) and only a few to members’ perception of whether the network attains its goals. We urge future research to adopt configurational approaches to identify which sets of determinants are associated with networks’ ability to attain their goal of addressing wicked problems.
Full text
Available for:
NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins suppress apoptosis and inhibit caspases. Several IAPs also function as ubiquitin-protein ligases. Regulators of IAP auto-ubiquitination, and thus IAP levels, ...have yet to be identified. Here we show that Head involution defective (Hid), Reaper (Rpr) and Grim downregulate Drosophila melanogaster IAP1 (DIAP) protein levels. Hid stimulates DIAP1 polyubiquitination and degradation. In contrast to Hid, Rpr and Grim can downregulate DIAP1 through mechanisms that do not require DIAP1 function as a ubiquitin-protein ligase. Observations with Grim suggest that one mechanism by which these proteins produce a relative decrease in DIAP1 levels is to promote a general suppression of protein translation. These observations define two mechanisms through which DIAP1 ubiquitination controls cell death: first, increased ubiquitination promotes degradation directly; second, a decrease in global protein synthesis results in a differential loss of short-lived proteins such as DIAP1. Because loss of DIAP1 is sufficient to promote caspase activation, these mechanisms should promote apoptosis.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
PDF
