| 215491. |
- Mondino, Elena
(författare)
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Droughts and Floods : People's Perception of Hydrological Risk
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Since ancient times, drought and floods have caused enormous damage worldwide. Thus, understanding how people perceive drought and flood risk can help researchers, practitioners, and policymakers assist communities at risk and identify vulnerable areas. With the support of national survey data on risk perception, knowledge, and preparedness in Italy and Sweden, this study shows that the perceptions of drought and flood risk are heavily intertwined. Especially concerning drought, the geographical location of respondents plays an important role in the perception of risk. This may constitute a critical issue, considering that climate change and the intensifying anthropogenic influence on the hydrological cycle may expose to hydrological extremes areas that were previously not considered at risk. These results and their implications bring evidence in favour of an integrated hydrological risk management, to overcome the limitations of focusing risk reduction efforts towards one of the two extremes.
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| 215492. |
- Mondlane, Avelino, et al.
(författare)
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E-Governance and Natural Hazards in Mozambique : A Challenge for Backasting Method Used for Flood Risk Management Strategies
- 2014
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Ingår i: Emerging Issues And Prospects In African E-Government. - : IGI Global. - 9781466662964 - 9781466662971 - 1466662964 ; , s. 253-268
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Strategic planning is a decisive process toward sustainable development for any organization. Mozambique has developed many tools toward good governance, among which Poverty Alleviation Strategy Paper (PARPA) is an umbrella. PARPA includes different key decisive segments of society, particularly the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as the pool for development. This chapter investigates to what extent e-Governance, particularly the development of strategies based on ICTs, can contribute to minimize the impact of floods at local governments by addressing best practice and decision-making process. The authors address backcasting methodology as an approach to consider in a participatory strategic planning for long-term decision-making processes. They use Chókwe District as a showcase where e-governance has an impact in mitigating and preventing the impact of floods.
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| 215493. |
- Mondlane, Gracinda, 1987-
(författare)
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Comparative study of Radiation Therapy of Targets in the Upper Abdomen with Photon- or Scanned Proton-beams
- 2017
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Recently, there has been an increase in the number of proton beam therapy (PBT) centers operating worldwide. For certain cases, proton beams have been shown to provide dosimetric and radiobiological advantages when used for cancer treatment, compared to the regular photon-beam based treatments. Under ideal circumstances, the dose given to the tissues surrounding a target can be reduced with PBT. The risk for side effects following treatment is then expected to decrease. Until present, mainly stationary targets, e.g. targets in the brain, have been treated with PBT. There is currently a growing interest to treat also target volumes in other parts of the body with PBT. However, there are sources of uncertainties, which must be more carefully considered when PBT is used, especially for PBT carried out with scanned proton beams. PBT is more sensitive to anatomical changes, e.g. organ motion or a variable gas content in the intestines, which requires that special precautions are taken prior to treating new tumour sites. In photon beam radiotherapy (RT) of moving targets, the main consequence of organ motion is the loss of sharpness of the dose gradients (dose smearing). When scanned proton beams are used, dose deformation caused by the fluctuations in the proton beam range, due to varying tissue heterogeneities (e.g., the ribs moving in and out of the beam path) and the so-called interplay effect, can be expected to impact the dose distributions in addition to the dose smearing. The dosimetric uncertainties, if not accounted for, may cause the planned and accurately calculated dose distribution to be distorted, compromising the main goal of RT of achieving the maximal local disease control while accepting certain risks for normal tissue complications.Currently there is a lack of clinical follow-up data regarding the outcome of PBT for different tumour sites, in particular for extra-cranial tumour sites in moving organs. On the other hand, the use of photon beams for this kind of cancer treatment is well-stablished. A treatment planning comparison between RT carried out with photons and with protons may provide guidelines for when PBT could be more suitable. New clinical applications of particle beams in cancer therapy can also be transferred from photon-beam treatments, for which there is a vast clinical experience. The evaluation of the different uncertainties influencing RT of different tumour sites carried out with photon- and with proton-beams, will hopefully create an understanding for the feasibility of treating cancers with scanned proton beams instead of photon beams. The comparison of two distinct RT modalities is normally performed by studying the dosimetric values obtained from the dose volume histograms (DVH). However, in dosimetric evaluations, the outcome of the treatments in terms of local disease control and healthy tissue toxicity are not estimated. In this regard, radiobiological models can be an indispensable tool for the prediction of the outcome of cancer treatments performed with different types of ionising radiation. In this thesis, different factors that should be taken into consideration in PBT, for treatments influenced by organ motion and density heterogeneities, were studied and their importance quantified.This thesis consists of three published articles (Articles I, II and III). In these reports, the dosimetric and biological evaluations of photon-beam and scanned proton-beam RT were performed and the results obtained were compared. The studies were made for two tumour sites influenced by organ motion and density changes, gastric cancer (GC) and liver metastases. For the GC cases, the impact of changes in tissue density, resulting from variable gas content (which can be observed inter-fractionally), was also studied. In this thesis, both conventional fractionations (implemented in the planning for GC treatments) and hypofractionated regimens (implemented in the planning for the liver metastases cases) were considered. In this work, it was found that proton therapy provided the possibility to reduce the irradiations of the normal tissue located near the target volumes, compared to photon beam RT. However, the effects of density changes were found to be more pronounced in the plans for PBT. Furthermore, with proton beams, the reduction of the integral dose given to the OARs resulted in reduced risks of treatment-induced secondary malignancies.
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| 215494. |
- Mondlane, Gracinda, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of the risk for radiation-induced liver disease following photon- or proton-beam radiosurgery of liver metastases
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Radiotherapy of liver metastases is being performed with photon-beam stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). However, the high risk for radiation-induced liver disease (RILD) is the treatment limiting factor. The use of proton beams in these treatments could improve the sparing of the healthy part of the liver. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of estimations of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) to identify liver-metastases patients that could benefit from being treated with intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), based on the reduction of the risk for RILD. Methods: Ten liver metastases patients, previously treated with photon-beam radiosurgery, were retrospectively planned with IMPT. A CTV-based robust optimisation (accounting for setup and range uncertainties) combined with PTV-based conventional optimisation, was performed. A robustness criterion was defined for the CTV (V95%>98% for at least 10 of the 12 simulated scenarios). The NTCP was estimated for different endpoints using the Lyman-Kutcher-Burman model. The ΔNTCP (NTCPIMPT - NTCPSBRT) for RILD was registered for each patient. The patients for which the NTCP (RILD) < 5 % were also identified. A generic relative biological effectiveness of 1.1 was assumed for the proton beams. Results: For all patients, the objectives set for the PTV and the robustness criterion set for the CTV were fulfilled with the IMPT plans. An improved sparing of the healthy part of the liver, right kidney, lungs, spinal cord and the skin, was achieved with the IMPT plans. Mean liver doses larger than the threshold value of 32 Gy led to values of NTCP for RILD exceeding 5 % (7 patients for SBRT and 3 patients for IMPT). ΔNTCP values (RILD) ranging between -98% and -17 % (7 patients) and between 0 % and 2 % (3 patients) were estimated. Conclusions: In this study, liver metastases patients that could benefit from being treated with IMPT, based on the NTCP reductions, could be identified. The clinical implementation of such model-based approach to select liver metastases patients to proton therapy needs to be made with caution and considering the uncertainties involved in the NTCP estimations.
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| 215495. |
- Mondlane, Gracinda, 1987-
(författare)
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Radiation therapy of upper gastrointestinal cancers with scanned proton beams : A treatment planning study
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Proton beam therapy (PBT), using scanned beams, is an emerging modality used for the treatment of cancer. The clinical advantages of PBT, compared to commonly used photon beam therapy, have been demonstrated in different studies. However, the techniques used for planning and delivering treatments with photon beams have gradually been improved over the years. With the introduction of PBT in the clinic, guidelines to select patients to photon- or proton-beam therapy are indispensable.A simple approach used for selecting patients for PBT is based on the patient age. The paediatric patient group is considered to be the most radiosensitive and, therefore, in larger need of RT techniques that provide improved sparing of the organs at risk (OARs). With the increasing number of cancer clinics with access to PBT, combined with the constant clinical need of reducing the frequency of acute and late toxicities, there has been an increased use of PBT also for adult patients. At present, there is only limited clinical follow-up data available regarding the outcome of PBT for different tumour sites, in particular for extra-cranial tumours. The use of photon beams for such cancer treatments is, on the other hand, well-established. Therefore, the expected benefit of using proton beams in cancer therapy can be translated from the results obtained in the clinical experience attained from photon-beam treatments. The evaluation of the different uncertainties influencing the radiotherapy (RT) of different tumour sites carried out with photon- or proton-beams, will also create an improved understanding of the feasibility of treating cancer with scanned proton beams instead of with photon beams. The comparison of two distinct RT modalities is normally performed by studying the calculated dose distributions superimposed on the patient CT images and by evaluating the dosimetric values obtained from the dose volume histograms (DVHs). The dosimetric evaluation can be complemented with treatment outcome predictions in terms of local disease control and normal tissue toxicity. In this regard, radiobiological models can be an indispensable tool for the prediction of the outcome of cancer treatments performed with different types of ionising radiation. These estimates can in turn be used in the decision process for selecting patients for treatments with a specific RT modality.This thesis consists of five articles. In these studies, treatment plans for RT with scanned proton-beams have been prepared and compared with clinical plans used for photon-beam based RT. For this purpose, dosimetric and biological-model based evaluations of these plans were performed. These studies were carried out for two distinct upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, namely, gastric cancer (GC) and liver metastases. RT treatments with both conventional fractionation schemes (implemented in the planning for the GC treatments) and hypofractionated regimens (implemented in the planning for the liver metastases cases) were considered. For the GC cases, the impact of changes in tissue density, resulting from a variable gas content (which can be observed inter-fractionally), was investigated. Proton therapy was found to provide the possibility to reduce the doses given to normal tissues surrounding the target volumes, compared to photon RT. This dose reduction with PBT resulted in reduced risks for both treatment-induced normal tissue toxicities and secondary malignancies. The impact of the introduced density changes on the dose distributions were found to be more pronounced for the PBT plans, if plan robustness approaches were disregarded. The findings presented in this thesis can be of clinical importance in the selection process between different RT modalities.
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| 215496. |
- Mondlhane, Avelino Isaias, 1964-
(författare)
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Scenarios for Flood Risk Management Strategies Integration in Mozambique : A backcasting approach for the case of the Limpopo River Basin
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Flood risk management strategic planning with long-term perspectives is a complex problem, for which the solution requires a multidisciplinary and multi-paradigm approach. A significant dimension of this complexity arises from the need to include or add a participatory mode to the solution process, which amounts to a requirement that all stakeholders, ranging from decision makers to experts and beneficiaries, be involved in the decision making. However, these stakeholders may have different objectives, and this may lead to different or even conflicting courses of action, particularly when a selection must be made of the most appropriate coping strategy that may lead to sustainability. Multiple-criteria decision analysis is one paradigm that has the capability to handle these conflicting courses of action. There is a volume of research that has presented various strategies for flood risk management over the last couple of decades. Recent approaches have included computer-based modelling and infrastructure measurement. One finding providing a strong basis for the relevance of the problem we are trying to solve is that most of these strategies fail in the long run; this is particularly true in developing countries, considering their economic, infrastructure and social limitations. Hence, a novel approach is very much warranted, and this is the central object of our study. An important aspect of its novelty lies in realising that instead of applying numerous strategies in isolation, one needs to combine and integrate them. Our research focuses on developing scenarios for integrating flood risk management strategies, based on multiple-criteria decision analysis to combine conflicting arguments in order to generate a viable strategy. Additional aspects of this holistic approach were imported from the area of business management, such as strategic planning and balanced scorecards for decision making within scenario planning. Finally, a long-term vision for a sustainable environment that minimises the impact of floods was designed using backcasting scenario planning. The decision-making alternatives were risk, hazard, exposure and vulnerability, and these were used against a set of 24 criteria for control. These criteria were extracted from various coping and adaptive capabilities, and from environmental, economic, and social domains. The scenarios for the integration of flood risk management strategies are based on a real-life case study of the Limpopo River Basin, and specifically of the Chókwe district in Gaza province, Mozambique. The result of this research was a framework called SPIFRiMS, based on a sliding weight elicitation method. The framework and the data from the case study were implemented in Excel. The research outputs were five different scenarios illustrating different options from the perspectives of the stakeholders and beneficiaries in the light of their long-term views when compared to the actual state of the art.
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| 215497. |
- Mondoc, Daniel
(författare)
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Kantor Triple Systems
- 2002
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The main purpose of this thesis is to study real exceptional Kantor triple systems. In the first paper we first prove the known results in both the real and complex classical cases of K-simple Kantor triple systems. In the real classical case our approach gives somewhat simpler formulas. Special attention is given to all real classical cases of K-simple Kantor triple systems that can be presented in another isomorphic form, i.e. defined on tensor products of composition algebras. They are of interest in their own right and help to understand the real exceptional case. Then we consider the real exceptional K-simple Kantor triple systems. The main result of the first paper is the classification up to weak isomorphism of all real exceptional K-simple Kantor triple systems defined on tensor products of composition algebras. Also, a description of the split and the five remaining cases is given. In the second paper we develop the main result of the first paper and give a classification up to isomorphism of real simple compact Kantor triple systems defined on tensor products of composition algebras. The classification is given by presenting a unified formula for multiplication in these triples. In addition, we obtain an explicit formula for the canonical trace form for real simple compact Kantor triple systems defined on tensor products of composition algebras.
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| 215498. |
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| 215499. |
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| 215500. |
- Mondor, Monika, 1970
(författare)
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The story of the English language: from local to colonial to global.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Andersson Hval, Ulrika, Alistair Henry and Catharine Walker Bergström (Eds). Postcolonial Texts & Events: Cultural Narratives from the English-Speaking World.. - Lund : Studentlitteratur. - 9789144070698 ; , s. 357-389
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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