Breast conservation therapy (BCT) is the procedure of choice for the management of the early stage breast cancer. However, its utilization has not been maximized because of logistics issues associated with the protracted treatment involved with the radiation treatment. Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) is an approach that treats only the lumpectomy bed plus a 1-2 cm margin, rather than the whole breast. Hence because of the small volume of irradiation a higher dose can be delivered in a shorter period of time. There has been growing interest for APBI and various approaches have been developed under phase I-III clinical studies; these include multicatheter interstitial brachytherapy, balloon catheter brachytherapy, conformal external beam radiation therapy and intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT). Balloon-based brachytherapy approaches include Mammosite, Axxent electronic brachytherapy and Contura, Hybrid brachytherapy devices include SAVI and ClearPath. This paper reviews the different techniques, identifying the weaknesses and strength of each approach and proposes a direction for future research and development. It is evident that APBI will play a role in the management of a selected group of early breast cancer. However, the relative role of the different techniques is yet to be clearly identified.

From spring through autumn, euphausiids and Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) form dense aggregations off the outer coast of British Columbia along regions of steeply sloping bathymetry such as the continental shelf break. Their spatial overlap is ecologically significant because of their very strong prey-predator interaction. We analyze high-resolution measurements of shelf-edge spatial distributions of euphausiid and Pacific hake biomass (by echo integration), water properties (from surface measurements and conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD)/Rosette profiles), and current patterns (from acoustic Doppler current profiler, CTD profiles, and nearby current meter moorings). Both euphausiids and hake share similar horizontal distributions, although separated vertically by tens of meters during daylight hours. Bathymetric and water property patterns provide good coarse-scale prediction of aggregation location. However, details of patch location are better explained by flow-field indices such as cross-shore position of the shelf break current, intensity of cross-isobath flow and upwelling at the depth of the euphausiid scattering layer, and doming of isopycnals. Under prevailing summer oceanographic conditions along the British Columbia coast, likely ecological consequences of aggregation in and beneath upwelling water include access to high food density in the overlying surface layer, reduced alongshore transport, and horizontal segregation between adult and larval euphausiids.Résumé : Du printemps jusqu'à l'automne, les euphausiacés et le merlu du Pacifique (Merluccius productus) forment des concentrations denses au large de la côte ouest de la Colombie-Britannique le long des régions qui, du point de vue bathymétrique, se caractérisent par une inclinaison abrupte, comme la rupture de pente du talus continental. Leur chevauchement spatial est important du point de vue écologique en raison de l'interaction proie-prédateur importante qui lie ces deux types d'organismes. Nous avons analysé des valeurs de mesure haute résolution des distributions spatiales en bordure du plateau de la biomasse d'euphausiacés et de merlus du Pacifique (par échointégration), les propriétés de l'eau (à partir de mesures en surface et des profils conductivité-température-profondeur (CTP)/Rosette) et les caractéristiques des courants (à l'aide de profileurs de courant Doppler acoustiques, des profils CTP et d'amarrages de courantomètre à proximité). Les euphausiacés et le merlu partagent des distributions horizontales semblables, bien que, verticalement, ils soient séparés par des dizaines de mètres pendant la journée. Les caractéristiques bathymétriques et les propriétés de l'eau ont une bonne valeur prédictive, à une échelle plus grossière, de l'emplacement des concentrations. Mais les détails sur les emplacements morcelés sont mieux déterminés par les indices de champ de courant comme la position transversale par rapport à la côte du courant à la rupture de pente du talus, l'intensité de l'écoulement transversal à l'isobathe et la remo...

Fisheries sustainability is recognized to have four pillars: ecological, economic, social (including cultural) and institutional (or governance). Although international agreements, and legislation in many jurisdictions, call for implementation of all four pillars of sustainability, the social, economic and institutional aspects (i.e., the “human dimensions”) have not been comprehensively and collectively addressed to date. This study describes a framework for comprehensive fisheries evaluation developed by the Canadian Fisheries Research Network (CFRN) that articulates the full spectrum of ecological, economic, social and institutional objectives required under international agreements, together with candidate performance indicators for sustainable fisheries. The CFRN framework is aimed at practical fisheries evaluation and management and has a relatively balanced distribution of elements across the four pillars of sustainability relative to 10 alternative management decision support tools and indicator scorecards, which are heavily focused on ecological and economic aspects. The CFRN framework has five immediate uses: (a) It can serve as a logic frame for defining management objectives; (b) it can be used to define alternate management options to achieve given objectives; (c) it can serve as a tool for comparing management scenarios/options in decision support frameworks; (d) it can be employed to create a report card for comprehensive fisheries management evaluation; and (e) it is a tool for practical implementation of an integrated social–ecological system approach.

An interdisciplinary team of academics and representatives of fishing fleets and government collaborated to study the emerging requirements for sustainability in Canada’s fisheries. Fisheries assessment and management has focused on biological productivity with insufficient consideration of social (including cultural), economic, and institutional (governance) aspects. Further, there has been little discussion or formal evaluation of the effectiveness of fisheries management. The team of over 50 people (i) identified a comprehensive set of management objectives for a sustainable fishery system based on Canadian policy statements, (ii) combined objectives into an operational framework with relevant performance indicators for use in management planning, and (iii) undertook case studies that investigated some social, economic, and governance aspects in greater detail. The resulting framework extends the suite of widely accepted ecological aspects (productivity and trophic structure, biodiversity, and habitat–ecosystem integrity) to include comparable economic (viability and prosperity, sustainable livelihoods, distribution of access and benefits, regional–community benefits), social (health and well-being, sustainable communities, ethical fisheries), and institutional (legal obligations, good governance structure, effective decision-making) aspects of sustainability. This work provides a practical framework for implementation of a comprehensive approach to sustainability in Canadian fisheries. The project also demonstrates the value of co-construction of collaborative research and co-production of knowledge that combines and builds on the strengths of academics, industry, and government.

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