Jan Bogaert – författare

MRI has become the preferred noninvasive imaging modality for the heart and great vessels. The substantial technological progress achieved in recent years has provided the user with state-of-the-art MRI systems, but their optimal use can be limited by restricted awareness of the potential patient benefit and the necessity for teaching. This extensively illustrated volume has been specifically compiled to meet these needs. Essential theoretical background information is provided, and imaging acquisition and potential pitfalls are considered in detail. Most importantly, structured guidelines are provided on the interpretation of clinical data in the wide range of cardiac pathology that can be encountered. Throughout, the emphasis is on the implementation of cardiac MRI in clinical practice.

Clinical Cardiac MRI is a comprehensive textbook intended for everyone involved in magnetic resonance imaging of the heart. It is designed both as a useful guide for newcomers to the field and as an aid for those who routinely perform such studies. The first edition, published in 2004-5, was very well received within the cardiac imaging community, and has generally been considered the reference because of its completeness, its clarity, and the number and quality of the illustrations. Moreover, the addition of a CD-ROM showing 50 real-life cases significantly enhanced the value of the book. In this second edition, the aim has been to maintain the same quality while incorporating the newest insights and developments in this rapidly evolving domain of medical imaging. The four editors, all experts in the field, have taken great care to ensure a homogeneous high standard throughout the book. Finally, the selection of 100 real-life cases, added as online material, will further enhance the value of this textbook.

This book is devoted to the cultural and biological dimensions and values of landscapes, linking the concepts of biodiversity, landscape and culture and presenting an essential approach for landscape analysis, interpretation and sustainable dynamics.

Early chapters explore the concepts and values of biocultural landscapes, before addressing the methodology to identify the relationship between biological and cultural diversity. The volume continuous with a series of case studies and with an exploration of the key role of biocultural diversity in contemporary landscape ecology.

Readers will learn the importance of landscapes for different fields of natural and human sciences and are confronted to the trans-disciplinary nature of the landscape concept itself. A hierarchical approach to landscapes, in which they are composed of interacting (eco)systems, is shown to be essential in recognizing their emergent properties.

In this work, the biocultural values of landscapes are explored through their diversity in geographical scopes, methodological approaches and conceptual assumptions. Authors from Asia, Europe and North-America present diverse research experiences and views on biocultural landscapes, their pattern, conservation and management.

Landscape ecologists will find this work particularly appealing, as well as anyone with an interest in sustainable landscape development, nature conservation or cultural heritage management.

This volume is the outcome of a symposium on “Biodiversity in Cultural Landscapes”, organized in the framework of the 8th IALE World Congress, held in Beijing in 2011.