The Emergence of Metropolitan Governance: A coevolutionary analysis of the life-and-death cycles of metropolitan governance in the Amsterdam metropolitan region

This article develops an explanation for the emergence of metropolitan governance in the Amsterdam metropolitan region. A coevolutionary framework is deployed to analyze how the governance system developed between 1982 and 2009. Data was gathered from 43 policy docu- ments, over 150 newspaper articles and 14 semi-structured interviews. The analysis focuses on the workings of selection pressures and the adaptive processes. It shows that metropolitan gov- ernance evolves in a punctuated fashion when fitness with the environment is lost and when the governance system’s ability to absorb selection pressures has eroded

Internationale Vergleichsstudie zum Eisenbahnstörungsmanagement

International comparison of rail disruption managemen

International comparison of rail disruption management

Internationale Vergleichsstudie zum Eisenbahnstörungsmanagemen

Coördinatie in complexe systemen

We zijn ons pas bewust van onze afhankelijk van grote infrastructurele systemen op momenten dat deze het af laten weten. Tegelijkertijd zijn deze systemen door privatisering en verzelfstandiging steeds meer gefragmenteerd geraakt. In dit artikel willen wij inzicht geven in de complexiteit van het Nederlandse spoorsysteem en duidelijk maken waarom het in een dergelijk systeem zo moeilijk is om calamiteiten te voorkomen. Dit doen wij middels een reconstructie van de buitengebruikname van wissels en sporen op 19 februari 2014i. Op deze dag raakte het proces van buitengebruikname stuurloos, met als gevolg dat het treinverkeer rond Den Haag abrupt stil kwam te liggen. Aan de hand van het begrip sensemaking laten wij zien waarom de verschillende betrokkenen in het spoorsysteem er niet in slaagden om tot een gezamenlijke beeldvorming te komen en een gecoördineerde afschaling van de treindienst onmogelijk werd.We are only fully aware of our dependency on large scale technical infrastructure systems when they fail to provide reliable services. Yet, at the same time we have witnessed the dismantling of the organizations providing these services due to privatization and liberalization policies. In this article we provide insight into the complexity of managing these now networked systems consisting of several private and publ

Response Monitoring with [18F]FLT PET and Diffusion-Weighted MRI After Cytotoxic 5-FU Treatment in an Experimental Rat Model for Colorectal Liver Metastases.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to investigate the potential of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and 3'-dexoy-3'-[(¹⁸)F]fluorothymidine ([(¹⁸)F]FLT) positron emission tomography (PET) as early biomarkers of treatment response of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in a syngeneic rat model of colorectal cancer liver metastases. PROCEDURES: Wag/Rij rats with intrahepatic syngeneic CC531 tumors were treated with 5-FU (15, 30, or 60 mg/kg in weekly intervals). Before treatment and at days 1, 3, 7, and 14 after treatment rats underwent DW-MRI and [(¹⁸)F]FLT PET. Tumors were analyzed immunohistochemically for Ki67, TK1, and ENT1 expression. RESULTS: 5-FU inhibited the growth of CC531 tumors in a dose-dependent manner. Immunohistochemical analysis did not show significant changes in Ki67, TK1, and ENT1 expression. However, [(¹⁸)F]FLT SUV_mean and SUV_max were significantly increased at days 4 and 7 after treatment with 5-FU (60 mg/kg) and returned to baseline at day 14 (SUV_max at days -1, 4, 7, and 14 was 1.1 ± 0.1, 2.3 ± 0.5, 2.3 ± 0.6, and 1.5 ± 0.4, respectively). No changes in [(¹⁸)F]FLT uptake were observed in the nontreated animals. Furthermore, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADCmean) did not change in 5-FU-treated rats compared to untreated rats. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that 5-FU treatment induces a flare in [(¹⁸)F]FLT uptake of responsive CC531 tumors in the liver, while the ADC_mean did not change significantly. Future studies in larger groups are warranted to further investigate whether [(¹⁸)F]FLT PET can discriminate between disease progression and treatment response.The research leading to these results has received support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking (www.imi.europa.eu) under grant agreement number 115151, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution

Response Monitoring with [18F]FLT PET and Diffusion-Weighted MRI After Cytotoxic 5-FU Treatment in an Experimental Rat Model for Colorectal Liver Metastases.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to investigate the potential of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and 3'-dexoy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine ([18F]FLT) positron emission tomography (PET) as early biomarkers of treatment response of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in a syngeneic rat model of colorectal cancer liver metastases. PROCEDURES: Wag/Rij rats with intrahepatic syngeneic CC531 tumors were treated with 5-FU (15, 30, or 60 mg/kg in weekly intervals). Before treatment and at days 1, 3, 7, and 14 after treatment rats underwent DW-MRI and [18F]FLT PET. Tumors were analyzed immunohistochemically for Ki67, TK1, and ENT1 expression. RESULTS: 5-FU inhibited the growth of CC531 tumors in a dose-dependent manner. Immunohistochemical analysis did not show significant changes in Ki67, TK1, and ENT1 expression. However, [18F]FLT SUVmean and SUVmax were significantly increased at days 4 and 7 after treatment with 5-FU (60 mg/kg) and returned to baseline at day 14 (SUVmax at days -1, 4, 7, and 14 was 1.1 ± 0.1, 2.3 ± 0.5, 2.3 ± 0.6, and 1.5 ± 0.4, respectively). No changes in [18F]FLT uptake were observed in the nontreated animals. Furthermore, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADCmean) did not change in 5-FU-treated rats compared to untreated rats. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that 5-FU treatment induces a flare in [18F]FLT uptake of responsive CC531 tumors in the liver, while the ADCmean did not change significantly. Future studies in larger groups are warranted to further investigate whether [18F]FLT PET can discriminate between disease progression and treatment response.The research leading to these results has received support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking (www.imi.europa.eu) under grant agreement number 115151, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution

Differences and similarities in European railway disruption management practices

textabstractDisruptions severely undermine the reliability of railway systems. Consequently, a lot of investments are made to improve disruption management. Much has already been written about disruption management, often with the purpose of supporting operators in their decision making. However, to the best of our knowledge, this literature doesn't consider the structural differences of disruption management in different countries. An overview of the various ways in which disruptions are solved and conditions under which that happens could help rail infrastructure managers and train operating companies to reconsider the ways in which they operate. This paper takes stock of the similarities and differences in how disruptions are managed in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Of importance is not only how these systems work on paper, but above all what happens in practice, i.e. the habits and routines that operators have developed for solving disruptions