Contour-based digital elevation modeling of watershed erosion and sedimentation: Erosion and sedimentation estimation tool (EROSET)

An erosion and sedimentation model, erosion and sedimentation estimation tool (EROSET), was developed and applied to a watershed in Happy Valley, South Australia. The model simulates the dynamics of event runoff, soil detachment, and transport processes. The erosion and sedimentation model is able to predict watershed erosion and deposition for storm events at an element as well as watershed scale. The model was developed and incorporated into an existing rainfall-runoff model based on a contour-based digital elevation framework. It combines the use of the USLE data source and extended erosion and transportation modeling into a distributed and intra storm erosion and deposition analysis. This results in storm-based, time-variant, distributed erosion and deposition modeling in the watershed for both storm-based and long-term sediment estimation. The modeling can better enable land managers to identify the areas in a watershed where erosion and deposition may occur. The modeled processes and results can be related to total storm erosion estimated by MUSLE, although they operate on different temporal and spatial frames. Satisfactory modeling results were obtained with very limited calibration which compares well with other studies.H. Sun, P. S. Cornish and T. M. Daniel

Role of Brachytherapy in the Postoperative Management of Endometrial Cancer: Decision-Making Analysis among Experienced European Radiation Oncologists.

BACKGROUND There are various society-specific guidelines addressing adjuvant brachytherapy (BT) after surgery for endometrial cancer (EC). However, these recommendations are not uniform. Against this background, clinicians need to make decisions despite gaps between best scientific evidence and clinical practice. We explored factors influencing decision-making for adjuvant BT in clinical routine among experienced European radiation oncologists in the field of gynaecological radiotherapy (RT). We also investigated the dose and technique of BT. METHODS Nineteen European experts for gynaecological BT selected by the Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie and the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology provided their decision criteria and technique for postoperative RT in EC. The decision criteria were captured and converted into decision trees, and consensus and dissent were evaluated based on the objective consensus methodology. RESULTS The decision criteria used by the experts were tumour extension, grading, nodal status, lymphovascular invasion, and cervical stroma/vaginal invasion (yes/no). No expert recommended adjuvant BT for pT1a G1-2 EC without substantial LVSI. Eighty-four percent of experts recommended BT for pT1a G3 EC without substantial LVSI. Up to 74% of experts used adjuvant BT for pT1b LVSI-negative and pT2 G1-2 LVSI-negative disease. For 74-84% of experts, EBRT + BT was the treatment of choice for nodal-positive pT2 disease and for pT3 EC with cervical/vaginal invasion. For all other tumour stages, there was no clear consensus for adjuvant treatment. Four experts already used molecular markers for decision-making. Sixty-five percent of experts recommended fractionation regimens of 3 × 7 Gy or 4 × 5 Gy for BT as monotherapy and 2 × 5 Gy for combination with EBRT. The most commonly used applicator for BT was a vaginal cylinder; 82% recommended image-guided BT. CONCLUSIONS There was a clear trend towards adjuvant BT for stage IA G3, stage IB, and stage II G1-2 LVSI-negative EC. Likewise, there was a non-uniform pattern for BT dose prescription but a clear trend towards 3D image-based BT. Finally, molecular characteristics were already used in daily decision-making by some experts under the pretext that upcoming trials will bring more clarity to this topic