Medical image segmentation is a critical and important step for developing computer-aided system in clinical situations. It remains a complicated and challenging task due to the large variety of imaging modalities and different cases. Recently, Unet has become one of the most popular deep learning frameworks because of its accurate performance in biomedical image segmentation. In this paper, we propose a contour-aware semantic segmentation network, which is an extension of Unet, for medical image segmentation. The proposed method includes a semantic branch and a detail branch. The semantic branch focuses on extracting the semantic features from shallow and deep layers; the detail branch is used to enhance the contour information implied in the shallow layers. In order to improve the representation capability of the network, a MulBlock module is designed to extract semantic information with different receptive fields. Spatial attention module (CAM) is used to adaptively suppress the redundant features. In comparison with the state-of-the-art methods, our method achieves a remarkable performance on several public medical image segmentation challenges.Comparative evaluations of national survey data can improve future survey design and sampling strategies thereby enhancing our ability to detect important population level trends. This paper presents differences in past year estimates of alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, and non-medical painkiller use prevalence by age, sex, and race/ethnicity between the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC-III) administered in 2012-2013. In general, estimates were higher for the NSDUH survey, but patterns of substance use prevalence were similar across race/ethnicity, age, and sex. Results show most significant differences in estimates, across substances, age groups, and sex were greatest among Hispanics, followed by non-Hispanic Whites, and non-Hispanic Blacks. Members of other racial/ethnic groups (e.g., Asian-American, Native American/Alaskan Native) were underrepresented in the NSDUH survey. In many cases, estimates for these subpopulations could not be calculated using the NSDUH data limiting our ability to draw comparisons with the NESARC estimates. Methodological differences in data collection for the NSDUH and NESARC surveys may have contributed to these findings. To promote effective population health surveillance methods, more work is needed to derive reliable and valid estimates from demographic subpopulations to better improve policymaking and intervention programming for at-risk populations.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11113-021-09645-8.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11113-021-09645-8.The financial sector has seen a transformation towards ‘sustainable’ finance particularly in Europe, driven also by unprecedented regulatory reforms. At the same time, many are sceptical about the real impact of these reforms, fearing that they are triggering a paradoxical financialisation of sustainability. Building on recent research on institutional logics and institutional fields formation, we examine changes in the EU regulatory dynamics as characterised by shifts in framing the relationship between sustainability and finance. Deploying a longitudinal approach (2009-2019), consisting of archival data and semi-structured interviews, we explore the development of EU sustainable finance regulation as an extended, interactive and contested process. Specifically, we suggest that regulatory dynamics depend on the hybrid configuration of the social constituencies supporting sustainable finance reforms and on shifts in the overall prevalence of the financial logic in society. Our paper sheds light on the inherent contradictions and limitations of sustainable finance as a means for transformative sustainability reforms.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10551-021-04763-x.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10551-021-04763-x.In June 2017, the Turtle Lodge Indigenous knowledge centre convened the Onjisay Aki International Climate Summit, an unparalleled opportunity for cross-cultural dialogue on climate change with environmental leaders and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers from 14 Nations around the world. In collaboration with Turtle Lodge, the Prairie Climate Centre was invited to support the documentation and communication of knowledge shared at the Summit. selleck chemicals llc This process of Indigenous-led community-based research took an inter-epistemological approach, using roundtable discussions within a ceremonial context and collaborative written and video methods. The Summit brought forward an understanding of climate change as a symptom of a much larger problem with how colonialism has altered the human condition. The Knowledge Keepers suggested that, in order to effectively address climate change, humanity needs a shift in values and behaviours that ground our collective existence in a balanced relationship with the natural world and its laws. They emphasized that their diverse knowledges and traditions can provide inspiration and guidance for this cultural shift. This underscores the need for a new approach to engaging with Indigenous knowledge in climate research, which acknowledges it not only as a source of environmental observations, but a wealth of values, philosophies, and worldviews which can inform and guide action and research more broadly. In this light, Onjisay Aki makes significant contributions to the literature on Indigenous knowledge on climate change in Canada and internationally, as well as the ways in which this knowledge is gathered, documented, and shared through the leadership of the Knowledge Keepers.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10584-021-03000-8.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10584-021-03000-8.The SARS-COV-2 virus, also known as the coronavirus, has spread around the world. A growing literature suggests that exposure to pollution can cause respiratory illness and increase deaths among the elderly. However, little is known about whether increases in pollution could cause additional or more severe infections from COVID-19, which typically manifests as a respiratory infection. During the pandemic, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled back enforcement of environmental regulation, causing an increase in pollution in counties with more TRI sites. We use the variation in pollution and a difference in differences design to estimate the effects of increased pollution on county-level COVID-19 deaths and cases. We find that counties with more Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) sites saw a 11.8 percent increase in pollution on average following the EPA’s rollback of enforcement, compared to counties with fewer TRI sites. We also find that these policy-induced increases in pollution are associated with a 53 percent increase in cases and a 10.