Integration of urban science and urban climate adaptation research: opportunities to advance climate action.

There is a growing recognition that responding to climate change necessitates urban adaptation. We sketch a transdisciplinary research effort, arguing that actionable research on urban adaptation needs to recognize the nature of cities as social networks embedded in physical space. Given the pace, scale and socioeconomic outcomes of urbanization in the Global South, the specificities and history of its cities must be central to the study of how well-known agglomeration effects can facilitate adaptation. The proposed effort calls for the co-creation of knowledge involving scientists and stakeholders, especially those historically excluded from the design and implementation of urban development policies.

Urban transformative capacity: From concept to practice.

Urban transformations form a central challenge for enabling global pathways towards sustainability and resilience. However, it remains unclear what kind of capacity is needed to deliver urban change that is actually transformative. Against a backdrop of current claims and efforts to achieve urban transformations, this special issue reviews the relational concept of urban transformative capacity and how it can inform novel approaches in research, policy, and practice. Drawing on seven papers analyzing diverse empirical contexts, we identify four requirements that should guide future action: (1) foster inclusion and empowerment as prerequisites, (2) close the intermediation gap and strengthen the role of local academia, (3) challenge and reinvent urban planning as a key arena, and (4) enhance reflexivity through novel self-assessment techniques. Overall, current levels of urban transformative capacity are assessed as very low, making its development a high-priority objective for all stakeholders, but for planning and research policy in particular.

Assessing transformative capacity for sustainable urban regeneration: A comparative study of three South Korean cities.

Urban regeneration forms a key approach for coping with persistent sustainability problems in cities. In practice, however, it is often driven by motives other than sustainability transformation. This paper explores the preconditions that allow urban regeneration approaches to become transformative, and suggests a methodology to support this shift in practice. It does so by assessing the capacity available to prepare for, initiate, and steer a path-deviant sustainability transformation of urban areas in three South Korean cities, jointly with stakeholders. The findings reflect how local policy largely supports a conservative development pathway, favored by national government, sidelining especially ecological implications. Major deficits exist regarding systems thinking, sustainability foresight, and social learning processes, while collective visioning, intermediation, community empowerment, and repositioning science could become instant drivers. In conclusion, assessing transformative capacity offers a crucial lever to design urban-regeneration approaches for unlearning dominant development paradigms and to experimentally reconfigure urban social-ecological-technological systems.

Da Vinci robot assisted Anderson-Hynes dismembered pyeloplasty: technique and 1 year follow-up.

In experienced hands, laparoscopic pyeloplasty is an effective alternative treatment for symptomatic ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO). Although laparoscopic surgery can clearly benefit patients, laparoscopic pyeloplasty using conventional instrumentation is complex. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the feasibility of robot assisted laparoscopic surgery. Eleven pyeloplasties for UPJO were performed via a laparoscopic transperitoneal approach exclusively with the da Vinci Surgical System. The mean procedure time was 197 min (range 110-310 min). All operations were completed laparoscopically with no intraoperative complications and negligible blood loss. All patients recovered rapidly after surgery with excellent functional results at the 1 year follow-up. Our initial experience suggests that robot assisted Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty is a safe and effective alternative to conventional laparoscopic surgery. In our opinion, robot assisted surgery will allow urologists to perform complex procedures with greater precision, confidence, and better results, as well as enable them to adapt the whole spectrum of laparoscopic procedures to their field.

Robotic technology and the translation of open radical prostatectomy to laparoscopy: the early Frankfurt experience with robotic radical prostatectomy and one year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is a complex procedure and has been standardized only during the last years. The remote controlled da Vinci Surgical System has opened up a new era in minimally invasive surgery. We here present our initial experience with the translation of open retropubic radical prostatectomy to laparoscopic technique using da Vinci and a one year follow-up. METHODS: After a period of technical development and training on cadavers, 40 consecutive patients eligible for radical prostatectomy were treated. After port placement, the urologist took control of the 3D 30 degrees laparoscope and the two instrument arms at the da Vinci remote console to perform bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection, radical prostatovesiculectomy and urethrovesical anastomosis. RESULTS: The procedure was completed laparoscopically in all but two patients. Mean procedure time was 8.3 hours and mean intra-operative blood loss 570 ml. Learning curves associated with the use of the da Vinci Surgical System show that there is a 22-minute decrease in time required to perform the radical prostatectomy and lymphadenectomy for each case (p<0.0001). Patients recovered rapidly after surgery with early oncological and functional results that were similar to those obtained with our standard radical prostatectomy technique. CONCLUSIONS: Remote controlled robotic surgical systems are useful to translate open retropubic radical prostatectomy to laparoscopy. This new technology has the potential to equip the urologist with the microsurgical precision needed to preserve the delicate structural integrity of the pelvic floor in order to improve functional results without compromising the oncological outcome.

Laparoscopic transperitoneal adrenalectomy using a remote-controlled robotic surgical system.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is considered the standard method for removal of benign adrenal tumors. Although laparoscopic surgery provides clear patient benefit, laparoscopic adrenalectomy using conventional instrumentation is complex. Our objective was to evaluate whether the da Vinci trade mark Surgical System, a comprehensive robotic endoscopic surgical device, could be used effectively to perform laparoscopic adrenalectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Through a transperitoneal approach, three right and one left adrenal tumors were removed in four patients using this method. RESULTS: There were no complications, and the clinical results were excellent. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate the feasibility of performing laparoscopic adrenalectomy exclusively by using robotic telepresent technology from a remote workstation. The da Vinci System enables conventionally trained urologic surgeons to perform complex minimally invasive procedures with ease and precision. Therefore, we are convinced that the system helps the urologist to adapt the whole spectrum of laparoscopic procedure in this field.