Environmental Art and Wilderness: The Stakes of Beauty

In the field of environmental art, the concept of beauty is linked to the history of wilderness and Romantism. The beautiful and the sublime arouse a debate that opposes the defenders of a pragmatic ecological commitment against the partisans of a subjective and sensitive creation. In reality, these debates are nothing but old quarrels over the engagement of art, the recognition or rejection of its autonomy towards other disciplines, especially regarding scientific expertise. Approaching creation from the angle of beauty is a way of updating our principles of taste, the ability to judge and also to raise once again what is considered a risk for the individual and for the collective, the exacerbation of the senses, the passions and seduction. Finally, it is about subjecting art to principle of utility that neglects all subjective creation when we are collectively and daily subjected to a regime of guilt and anxiety which orchestrates in turn a form of political and existential resignation. But what remains of aesthetic and artistic experience in such conditions? Does not the rationality of this approach confuse art and communication, denying the emotional connect of art and the fact that beauty is defined by emotional reactions

Inner Alpine conifer response to 20th century drought swings

Tree rings from the Alpine area have been widely used to reconstruct variations in summer temperature. In contrast, estimates of changes in the hydrological cycle are rather scarce. In order to detect altitudinal and species-specific patterns of growth responses to anomalous dry and wet conditions, a large network of 53 tree-ring width site chronologies along the Rhone valley (Valais, Switzerland) covering the 1751-2005 period was compiled and analyzed. A total of 1,605 measurement series from four conifer species—pine, larch, spruce, fir—were detrended to allow inter-annual to multi-decadal scale variability to be preserved. Site chronologies were combined to four altitudinal (colline: 1,450m asl) and species-specific mean time-series. These records were compared with temperature, precipitation, and drought (scPDSI) data. Among the altitudinal records, the colline chronologies showed highest correlation with June precipitation and scPDSI (0.5 and 0.7). Altitudinal effects, via control on climatic conditions, were superimposed upon species-specific characteristics in affecting tree growth and response to moisture variations. In particular, species-specific differences affected the significance level of drought response, with decreasing drought sensitivity towards higher elevations. Growth conditions were found to be optimal at ~1,300m asl, with precipitation/drought limiting tree growth below and temperature above. Common years of extreme drought and low growth for the colline sites occurred in 1921, 1944, 1976, 1992, and 1998. Our results demonstrate the potential of lower elevation conifers for reconstructing long-term changes in Alpine hydro-climat

Thermal ablation with configurable shapes: a comprehensive, automated model for bespoke tumor treatment.

BACKGROUND Malignant tumors routinely present with irregular shapes and complex configurations. The lack of customization to individual tumor shapes and standardization of procedures limits the success and application of thermal ablation. METHODS We introduced an automated treatment model consisting of (i) trajectory and ablation profile planning, (ii) ablation probe insertion, (iii) dynamic energy delivery (including robotically driven control of the energy source power and location over time, according to a treatment plan bespoke to the tumor shape), and (iv) quantitative ablation margin verification. We used a microwave ablation system and a liver phantom (acrylamide polymer with a thermochromic ink) to mimic coagulation and measure the ablation volume. We estimated the ablation width as a function of power and velocity following a probabilistic model. Four representative shapes of liver tumors < 5 cm were selected from two publicly available databases. The ablated specimens were cut along the ablation probe axis and photographed. The shape of the ablated volume was extracted using a color-based segmentation method. RESULTS The uncertainty (standard deviation) of the ablation width increased with increasing power by ± 0.03 mm (95% credible interval [0.02, 0.043]) per watt increase in power and by ± 0.85 mm (95% credible interval [0, 2.5]) per mm/s increase in velocity. Continuous ablation along a straight-line trajectory resulted in elongated rotationally symmetric ablation shapes. Simultaneous regulation of the power and/or translation velocity allowed to modulate the ablation width at specific locations. CONCLUSIONS This study offers the proof-of-principle of the dynamic energy delivery system using ablation shapes from clinical cases of malignant liver tumors. RELEVANCE STATEMENT The proposed automated treatment model could favor the customization and standardization of thermal ablation for complex tumor shapes. KEY POINTS • Current thermal ablation systems are limited to ellipsoidal or spherical shapes. • Dynamic energy delivery produces elongated rotationally symmetric ablation shapes with varying widths. • For complex tumor shapes, multiple customized ablation shapes could be combined

À la recherche du corps physiologique

Yumi Fujitani est danseuse. Elle a suivi une formation en danse classique et en théâtre à Kobe. Comme je lui demandais si elle avait également reçu une formation Butô, elle m’a répondu catégorique qu’en Butô, on n’avait pas besoin de formation. On a besoin de rien. « Tu peux commencer » m’a t-elle dit. « J’ai commencé comme ça » a-t-elle poursuivi. À son arrivée à Paris au milieu des années 80, elle s’est effectivement jetée « comme ça » dans l’univers Butô en intégrant la Compagnie Ariadone..

Soil carbon pools in Swiss forests show legacy effects from historic forest litter raking

Globally, forest soils contain twice as much carbon as forest vegetation. Consequently, natural and anthropogenic disturbances affecting carbon accumulation in forest soils can alter regional to global carbon balance. In this study, we evaluate the effects of historic litter raking on soil carbon stocks, a former forest use which used to be widespread throughout Europe for centuries. We estimate, for Switzerland, the carbon sink potential in current forest soils due to recovery from past litter raking (‘legacy effect'). The year 1650 was chosen as starting year for litter raking, with three different end years (1875/1925/1960) implemented for this forest use in the biogeochemical model LPJ-GUESS. The model was run for different agricultural and climatic zones separately. Number of cattle, grain production and the area of wet meadow have an impact on the specific demand for forest litter. The demand was consequently calculated based on historical statistical data on these factors. The results show soil carbon pools to be reduced by an average of 17% after 310years of litter raking and legacy effects were still visible 130years after abandonment of this forest use (2% average reduction). We estimate the remaining carbon sink potential in Swiss forest due to legacy effects from past litter raking to amount to 158,000 tC. Integrating historical data into biogeochemical models provides insight into the relevance of past land-use practices. Our study underlines the importance of considering potentially long-lasting effects of such land use practices for carbon accountin

Stereotactic and Robotic Minimally Invasive Thermal Ablation of Malignant Liver Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background Stereotactic navigation techniques aim to enhance treatment precision and safety in minimally invasive thermal ablation of liver tumors. We qualitatively reviewed and quantitatively summarized the available literature on procedural and clinical outcomes after stereotactic navigated ablation of malignant liver tumors. Methods A systematic literature search was performed on procedural and clinical outcomes when using stereotactic or robotic navigation for laparoscopic or percutaneous thermal ablation. The online databases Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched. Endpoints included targeting accuracy, procedural efficiency, and treatment efficacy outcomes. Meta-analysis including subgroup analyses was performed. Results Thirty-four studies (two randomized controlled trials, three prospective cohort studies, 29 case series) were qualitatively analyzed, and 22 studies were included for meta-analysis. Weighted average lateral targeting error was 3.7 mm (CI 3.2, 4.2), with all four comparative studies showing enhanced targeting accuracy compared to free-hand targeting. Weighted average overall complications, major complications, and mortality were 11.4% (6.7, 16.1), 3.4% (2.1, 5.1), and 0.8% (0.5, 1.3). Pooled estimates of primary technique efficacy were 94% (89, 97) if assessed at 1-6 weeks and 90% (87, 93) if assessed at 6-12 weeks post ablation, with remaining between-study heterogeneity. Primary technique efficacy was significantly enhanced in stereotactic vs. free-hand targeting, with odds ratio (OR) of 1.9 (1.2, 3.2) (n = 6 studies). Conclusions Advances in stereotactic navigation technologies allow highly precise and safe tumor targeting, leading to enhanced primary treatment efficacy. The use of varying definitions and terminology of safety and efficacy limits comparability among studies, highlighting the crucial need for further standardization of follow-up definitions

Prediction of impending type 1 diabetes through automated dual-label measurement of proinsulin:C-peptide ratio

Background : The hyperglycemic clamp test, the gold standard of beta cell function, predicts impending type 1 diabetes in islet autoantibody-positive individuals, but the latter may benefit from less invasive function tests such as the proinsulin: C-peptide ratio (PI:C). The present study aims to optimize precision of PI:C measurements by automating a dual-label trefoil-type time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TT-TRFIA), and to compare its diagnostic performance for predicting type 1 diabetes with that of clamp-derived C-peptide release. Methods : Between-day imprecision (n = 20) and split-sample analysis (n = 95) were used to compare TT-TRFIA (Auto Delfia, Perkin-Elmer) with separate methods for proinsulin (in-house TRFIA) and C-peptide (Elecsys, Roche). High-risk multiple autoantibody-positive firstdegree relatives (n = 49; age 5-39) were tested for fasting PI:C, HOMA2-IR and hyperglycemic clamp and followed for 20-57 months (interquartile range). Results : TT-TRFIA values for proinsulin, C-peptide and PI:C correlated significantly (r(2) = 0.96-0.99; P<0.001) with results obtained with separate methods. TT-TRFIA achieved better between-day % CV for PI:C at three different levels (4.5-7.1 vs 6.7-9.5 for separate methods). In high-risk relatives fasting PI:C was significantly and inversely correlated ( r(s) = -0.596; P<0.001) with first-phase C-peptide release during clamp ( also with second phase release, only available for age 12-39 years; n = 31), but only after normalization for HOMA2-IR. In ROC- and Cox regression analysis, HOMA2-IR-corrected PI:C predicted 2-year progression to diabetes equally well as clamp-derived C-peptide release. Conclusions : The reproducibility of PI:C benefits from the automated simultaneous determination of both hormones. HOMA2-IR-corrected PI:C may serve as a minimally invasive alternative to the more tedious hyperglycemic clamp test

Volumetric analyses of ablation dimensions in microwave ablation for colorectal liver metastases.

BACKGROUND In thermal ablation of malignant liver tumors, ablation dimensions remain poorly predictable. This study aimed to investigate factors influencing volumetric ablation dimensions in patients treated with stereotactic microwave ablation (SMWA) for colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). METHODS Ablation volumes from CRLM ≤3 cm treated with SMWA within a prospective European multicentre trial were segmented. Correlations between applied ablation energies and resulting effective ablation volumes (EAV) and ablation volume irregularities (AVI) were investigated. A novel measure for AVI, including minimum enclosing and maximum inscribed ellipsoid ablation volumes, and a surrogate parameter for the expansion of ablation energy (EAV per applied energy), was introduced. Potential influences of tumor and patient-specific factors on EAV per applied energy and AVI were analyzed using multivariable mixed-effects models. RESULTS A total of 116 ablations from 71 patients were included for analyses. Correlations of EAV or AVI and ablation energy were weak to moderate, with a maximum of 25% of the variability in EAV and 13% in AVI explained by the applied ablation energy. On multivariable analysis, ablation expansion (EAV per applied ablation energy) was influenced mainly by the tumor radius (B = -0.03, [CI -0.04, -0.007]). AVI was significantly larger with higher applied ablation energies (B = 0.002 [CI 0.0007, 0.002]]); liver steatosis, KRAS mutation, subcapsular location or proximity to major blood vessels had no influence. CONCLUSIONS This study confirmed that factors beyond the applied ablation energy might affect volumetric ablation dimensions, resulting in poor predictability. Further clinical trials including tissue sampling are needed to relate physical tissue properties to ablation expansion

Stereotactic Image-Guidance for Ablation of Malignant Liver Tumors

Stereotactic percutaneous ablation is a rapidly advancing modality for treatment of tumors in soft solid organs such as the liver. Each year, there are about 850,000 cases of primary liver cancer worldwide. Although surgical resection still is the gold standard for most cases, only 20–30% of patients are candidates for it, due to the advanced stage of the disease. Surgery can also be a huge burden to the patient and his/her quality of life might be temporarily severely reduced due to long hospital stays, complications, and slow recovery. To overcome these disadvantages, thermo-ablation of tumors of up to 3 cm has become a more viable alternative especially in the last decade, offering a potentially equally effective but minimally invasive and tissue sparing treatment alternative. In conjunction with improved CT imaging, stereotactic image-guidance techniques and image fusion technology were introduced to increase safety, efficacy, and accuracy of this treatment. Stereotactic image-guidance leads to a simple, fast, and accurate placement of the ablation probe into the liver tumor, which is a prerequisite for a complete destruction of the tumor by ablation. More and more physicians, including surgeons, consider ablation a viable alternative to resection whenever feasible. Patients undergoing such a minimally invasive treatment benefit from a shorter hospital stays, reduced complication rates, and faster recovery

Eine explorative Untersuchung der Einflüsse von ABW-Büromerkmalen auf die Wahrnehmung der Organisationskultur

Dieser Beitrag der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) untersucht, wie Designmerkmale aktivitätsorientierter Arbeitsumgebungen (activity-based working, ABW) Einfluss auf die Wahrnehmung von Clan-Organisationskulturen nehmen können. Bisherige Forschungsarbeiten haben Designmerkmale selten isoliert von anderen Eigenschaften der physischen Umgebung betrachtet und in Zusammenhang mit Organisationskulturen gestellt. Es wurden halbstrukturierte Interviews mit acht Teilnehmenden aus verschiedenen Organisationen geführt, die eine ABW-Umgestaltung mit Ziel einer hierarchisch flachen Clan-Kulturentwicklung miterlebt haben. Die Mehrheit zuvor berichteter funktionaler und assoziativer Einflüsse auf Clan-Kultur-Indikatoren wie Kommunikation, Zusammenarbeit, Beziehungen, Zugehörigkeit und kollegial-beratende Führungskultur wurden identifiziert. Besonders Unterthemen, wie z. B. dynamische Atmosphäre, fokussierter Austausch, Offenheit und Firmenidentifikation wurden bestätigt oder neu identifiziert. Querschnittsthemen, die funktionale und assoziative Einflussmechanismen vertiefen, waren Zugänglichkeit, Serendipität, psychologische Distanz und Territorialprinzipien. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Bürogestaltungsmerkmale auf komplexe Weise mit der Organisationskultur zusammenhängen; die Bürogestaltung scheint die Organisationskultur unterstützen zu können