Norwegian margin outer shelf cracking: a consequence of climate-induced gas hydrate dissociation?

A series of en echelon cracks run nearly parallel to the outer shelf edge of the mid-Norwegian margin. The features can be followed in a *60-km-long and *5-km-wide zone in which up to 10-m-deep cracks developed in the seabed at 400–550 m water depth. The time of the seabed cracking has been dated to 7350 14C years BP (8180 cal years BP), which corresponds with the main Storegga Slide event (8100 ± 250 cal. years BP). Reflection seismic data suggest that the cracks do not appear to result from deep-seated faults, but it cannot be ruled out completely that tension crevices were created in relation to past movements on the headwall of the Storegga slide. The cracking zone corresponds well to the zone where the base of the hydrate stability zone (BHSZ) outcrops. Evidence of fluid release in the BHSZ outcrop zone comes from an extensive pockmark field. We suggest that post-glacial ocean warming triggered the dissociation of gas hydrates while the interplay between dissociation, overpressure, and sediment fracturing on the outer shelf remains to be understood.publishedVersio

Potential impacts of gas hydrate exploitation on slope stability in the Danube deep-sea fan, Black Sea

Highlights • The Danube deep-sea fan offers best conditions for hydrate production. • Gas production out of a hypothetical methane hydrate reservoir was simulated. • Hazard assessment to investigate the hazard of production-induced slope failures. • Factor of Safety against slope failure is not affected by the production process. • Mobilized mass could hit the production site if landslide were to happen. Methane production from gas hydrate reservoirs is only economically viable for hydrate reservoirs in permeable sediments. The most suitable known prospect in European waters is the paleo Danube deep-sea fan in the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea where a gas hydrate reservoir is found 60 m below the seafloor in water depths of about 1500 m. To investigate the hazards associated with gas production-induced slope failures we carried out a slope stability analysis for this area. Screening of the area based on multibeam bathymetry data shows that the area is overall stable with some critical slopes at the inner levees of the paleo channels. Hydrate production using the depressurization method will increase the effective stresses in the reservoir beyond pre-consolidation stress, which results in sediment compaction and seafloor subsidence. The modeling results show that subsidence would locally be in the order of up to 0.4 m, but it remains confined to the immediate vicinity above the production site. Our simulations show that the Factor of Safety against slope failure (1.27) is not affected by the production process, and it is more likely that a landslide is triggered by an earthquake than by production itself. If a landslide were to happen, the mobilized sediments on the most likely failure plane could generate a landslide that would hit the production site with velocities of up to 10 m s-1. This case study shows that even in the case of production from very shallow gas hydrate reservoirs the threat of naturally occurring slope failures may be greater than that of hydrate production itself and has to be considered carefully in hazard assessments

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Lynn De Clercq en Joris Nauwelaerts Een stedelijke arena van steen en beton: de verschillende gedaanten van het Gentse wintercircus. [An urban arena of concrete and stone: different aspects of the Ghent Winter Circus.]Door sommigen opgehemeld, door anderen verguisd. Het Gentse wintercircus, nog maar pas een eeuweling geworden, laat geen Gentenaar onberoerd. Het gebouw, opgetrokken op het einde van de 19de eeuw, is één van de laatste stenen circusgebouwen in Europa maar ook één van de eerste constructies in gewapend beton. Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog werd er een garage ondergebracht en ging het circusinterieur volledig verloren. Aan de lange leegstand komt binnenkort een einde. Het Gentse wintercircus, een gebouw met vele gedaanten, zal opnieuw in gebruik worden genomen. Lynn De Clercq en Joris Nauwelaerts reconstrueren de rijke geschiedenis van deze stedelijke arena en bieden een blik op haar toekomst.Pol Vanneste Wederopbouw van dorpskerken tussen Diksmuide en Nieuwpoort. Oorlogstrauma en kunsthistorische erfenis. [Reconstruction of parish churches between Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort. War trauma and art-historical heritage.]"Ene uitgestrekte verwarde woestijn." Zo zag de streek tussen Diksmuide en Nieuwpoort, die op de frontlinie lag, er uit na de Eerste Wereldoorlog. Hoe men in de jaren 1920 met de oorlogsruïnes en de verwoeste dorpen omging, wordt minutieus en gebaseerd op archieven, plannen en fotos beschreven door Pol Vanneste. De opties tot wederopbouw, historiserende reconstructie, heropbouw op een andere plaats of nieuwe architectuur omwille van het oorlogstrauma vaak geïnspireerd op de traditionele architectuur - waren vrij uiteenlopend en werden duidelijk gestuurd door de Koninklijke Commissie voor Monumenten, al was de stem van de plaatselijke overheden ook niet onbelangrijk.Heleen De Koster en Hilde Heynen De Aérogare 58. Theatraliteit en spektakel. [Aérogare 58. Theatricality and spectacle.]Hoe de Aérogare uit de bruisende expo 58-jaren werd geconcipieerd met onmiskenbare spektakelwaarde en theatraliteit, wordt opgeroepen door Heleen De Koster en Hilde Heynen op basis van nieuw archiefonderzoek en interviews met de betrokkenen. Interieur en meubilair waren zorgvuldig uitgekozen en evolueerden later volgens de nieuwere mode en stijlen. Omdat er buiten het karkas eigenlijk weinig concreets van bewaard bleef, is deze getuigenis des te belangrijker. Omwille van deze opeenvolgende gedaantes is het formuleren van een restauratieoptie voor deze transithal extra uitdagend.Kathleen Moermans, Maarten Van Dijck en Jef Vrelust De restauratie van de Stuckenholz-handkraan in Antwerpen. [Restauration of the Stuckenholz hand crane in Antwerp.]Technologie evolueert aan een indrukwekkende snelheid en zo geraakten de tot de verbeelding sprekende mastodonten op de kaaien in onbruik. Het Antwerpse stadsbestuur besloot om één kraan van elk type te bewaren als industrieel en technologisch archief, als onderdeel van de collectie van het MAS. De oudste maar krachtigste handbediende tientonskraan kwam als eerste aan de beurt en diende aldus als proeftuin voor de restauratie van de andere kranen, zoals door Kathleen Moermans, Jef Vrelust en Maarten Van Dijck wordt uiteengezet.Summar

Development and Internal Validation of a Novel Nomogram Predicting the Outcome of Salvage Radiation Therapy for Biochemical Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy in Patients without Metastases on Restaging Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Owing to the greater use of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) of prostate cancer (PCa) after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), patient selection for local salvage radiation therapy (sRT) has changed. Our objective was to determine the short-term efficacy of sRT in patients with BCR after RARP, and to develop a novel nomogram predicting BCR-free survival after sRT in a nationwide contemporary cohort of patients who underwent PSMA PET/CT before sRT for BCR of PCa, without evidence of metastatic disease.METHODS: All 302 eligible patients undergoing PCa sRT in four reference centers between September 2015 and August 2020 were included. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis using a backward elimination procedure to develop a nomogram for predicting biochemical progression of PCa, defined as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≥0.2 ng/ml above the post-sRT nadir within 1 yr after sRT.KEY FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS: Biochemical progression of disease within 1 yr after sRT was observed for 56/302 (19%) of the study patients. The final predictive model included PSA at sRT initiation, pathological grade group, surgical margin status, PSA doubling time, presence of local recurrence on PSMA PET/CT, and the presence of biochemical persistence (first PSA result ≥0.1 ng/ml) after RARP. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for this model was 0.72 (95% confidence interval 0.64-0.79). Using our nomogram, patients with a predicted risk of &gt;20% had a 30.8% chance of developing biochemical progression within 1 yr after sRT.CONCLUSIONS: Our novel nomogram may facilitate better patient counseling regarding early oncological outcome after sRT. Patients with high risk of biochemical progression may be candidates for more extensive treatment.PATIENT SUMMARY: We developed a new tool for predicting cancer control outcomes of radiotherapy for patients with recurrence of prostate cancer after surgical removal of their prostate. This tool may help in better counseling of these patients with recurrent cancer regarding their early expected outcome after radiotherapy.</p

Development and Internal Validation of a Novel Nomogram Predicting the Outcome of Salvage Radiation Therapy for Biochemical Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy in Patients without Metastases on Restaging Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Owing to the greater use of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) of prostate cancer (PCa) after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), patient selection for local salvage radiation therapy (sRT) has changed. Our objective was to determine the short-term efficacy of sRT in patients with BCR after RARP, and to develop a novel nomogram predicting BCR-free survival after sRT in a nationwide contemporary cohort of patients who underwent PSMA PET/CT before sRT for BCR of PCa, without evidence of metastatic disease.METHODS: All 302 eligible patients undergoing PCa sRT in four reference centers between September 2015 and August 2020 were included. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis using a backward elimination procedure to develop a nomogram for predicting biochemical progression of PCa, defined as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≥0.2 ng/ml above the post-sRT nadir within 1 yr after sRT.KEY FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS: Biochemical progression of disease within 1 yr after sRT was observed for 56/302 (19%) of the study patients. The final predictive model included PSA at sRT initiation, pathological grade group, surgical margin status, PSA doubling time, presence of local recurrence on PSMA PET/CT, and the presence of biochemical persistence (first PSA result ≥0.1 ng/ml) after RARP. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for this model was 0.72 (95% confidence interval 0.64-0.79). Using our nomogram, patients with a predicted risk of &gt;20% had a 30.8% chance of developing biochemical progression within 1 yr after sRT.CONCLUSIONS: Our novel nomogram may facilitate better patient counseling regarding early oncological outcome after sRT. Patients with high risk of biochemical progression may be candidates for more extensive treatment.PATIENT SUMMARY: We developed a new tool for predicting cancer control outcomes of radiotherapy for patients with recurrence of prostate cancer after surgical removal of their prostate. This tool may help in better counseling of these patients with recurrent cancer regarding their early expected outcome after radiotherapy.</p

Risk of diabetes after para-aortic radiation for testicular cancer

Background: While the risk of diabetes is increased following radiation exposure to the pancreas among childhood cancer survivors, its association among testicular cancer (TC) survivors has not been investigated. Methods: Diabetes risk was studied in 2998 1-year TC survivors treated before 50 years of age with orchidectomy with/without radiotherapy between 1976 and 2007. Diabetes incidence was compared with general population rates. Treatment-specific risk of diabetes was assessed using a case–cohort design. Results: With a median follow-up of 13.4 years, 161 TC survivors were diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes risk was not increased compared to general population rates (standardised incidence ratios (SIR): 0.9; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.7–1.1). Adjusted for age, para-aortic radiotherapy was associated with a 1.66-fold (95% CI: 1.05–2.62) increased diabetes risk compared to no radiotherapy. The excess hazard increased with 0.31 with every 10 Gy increase in the prescribed radiation dose (95% CI: 0.11–0.51, P = 0.003, adjusted for age and BMI); restricted to irradiated patients the excess hazard increased with 0.33 (95% CI: −0.14 to 0.81, P = 0.169) with every 10 Gy increase in radiation dose. Conclusion: Compared to surgery only, para-aortic irradiation is associated with increased diabetes risk among TC survivors

A Deep Learning Approach Validates Genetic Risk Factors for Late Toxicity After Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy in a REQUITE Multi-National Cohort.

Background: REQUITE (validating pREdictive models and biomarkers of radiotherapy toxicity to reduce side effects and improve QUalITy of lifE in cancer survivors) is an international prospective cohort study. The purpose of this project was to analyse a cohort of patients recruited into REQUITE using a deep learning algorithm to identify patient-specific features associated with the development of toxicity, and test the approach by attempting to validate previously published genetic risk factors. Methods: The study involved REQUITE prostate cancer patients treated with external beam radiotherapy who had complete 2-year follow-up. We used five separate late toxicity endpoints: ≥grade 1 late rectal bleeding, ≥grade 2 urinary frequency, ≥grade 1 haematuria, ≥ grade 2 nocturia, ≥ grade 1 decreased urinary stream. Forty-three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) already reported in the literature to be associated with the toxicity endpoints were included in the analysis. No SNP had been studied before in the REQUITE cohort. Deep Sparse AutoEncoders (DSAE) were trained to recognize features (SNPs) identifying patients with no toxicity and tested on a different independent mixed population including patients without and with toxicity. Results: One thousand, four hundred and one patients were included, and toxicity rates were: rectal bleeding 11.7%, urinary frequency 4%, haematuria 5.5%, nocturia 7.8%, decreased urinary stream 17.1%. Twenty-four of the 43 SNPs that were associated with the toxicity endpoints were validated as identifying patients with toxicity. Twenty of the 24 SNPs were associated with the same toxicity endpoint as reported in the literature: 9 SNPs for urinary symptoms and 11 SNPs for overall toxicity. The other 4 SNPs were associated with a different endpoint. Conclusion: Deep learning algorithms can validate SNPs associated with toxicity after radiotherapy for prostate cancer. The method should be studied further to identify polygenic SNP risk signatures for radiotherapy toxicity. The signatures could then be included in integrated normal tissue complication probability models and tested for their ability to personalize radiotherapy treatment planning

REQUITE: A prospective multicentre cohort study of patients undergoing radiotherapy for breast, lung or prostate cancer

Purpose: REQUITE aimed to establish a resource for multi-national validation of models and biomarkers that predict risk of late toxicity following radiotherapy. The purpose of this article is to provide summary descriptive data. Methods: An international, prospective cohort study recruited cancer patients in 26 hospitals in eight countries between April 2014 and March 2017. Target recruitment was 5300 patients. Eligible patients had breast, prostate or lung cancer and planned potentially curable radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was prescribed according to local regimens, but centres used standardised data collection forms. Pre-treatment blood samples were collected. Patients were followed for a minimum of 12 (lung) or 24 (breast/prostate) months and summary descriptive statistics were generated. Results: The study recruited 2069 breast (99% of target), 1808 prostate (86%) and 561 lung (51%) cancer patients. The centralised, accessible database includes: physician-(47,025 forms) and patient-(54,901) reported outcomes; 11,563 breast photos; 17,107 DICOMs and 12,684 DVHs. Imputed genotype data are available for 4223 patients with European ancestry (1948 breast, 1728 prostate, 547 lung). Radiation-induced lymphocyte apoptosis (RILA) assay data are available for 1319 patients. DNA (n = 4409) and PAXgene tubes (n = 3039) are stored in the centralised biobank. Example prevalences of 2-year (1-year for lung) grade >= 2 CTCAE toxicities are 13% atrophy (breast), 3% rectal bleeding (prostate) and 27% dyspnoea (lung). Conclusion: The comprehensive centralised database and linked biobank is a valuable resource for the radiotherapy community for validating predictive models and biomarkers. Patient summary: Up to half of cancer patients undergo radiation therapy and irradiation of surrounding healthy tissue is unavoidable. Damage to healthy tissue can affect short-and long-term quality-of-life. Not all patients are equally sensitive to radiation "damage" but it is not possible at the moment to identify those who are. REQUITE was established with the aim of trying to understand more about how we could predict radiation sensitivity. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and summary of the data and material available. In the REQUITE study 4400 breast, prostate and lung cancer patients filled out questionnaires and donated blood. A large amount of data was collected in the same way. With all these data and samples a database and biobank were created that showed it is possible to collect this kind of information in a standardised way across countries. In the future, our database and linked biobank will be a resource for research and validation of clinical predictors and models of radiation sensitivity. REQUITE will also enable a better understanding of how many people suffer with radiotherapy toxicity