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• 01GQPB98MRB2MQNS88M08CDX4E abstract "Plants respond to oxygen deprivation by activating the expression of a set of hypox-ia-responsive genes (HRGs). The master regulator of this process is a small group of transcription factors belonging to group VII of the ethylene response factors (ERF-VIIs). ERF-VIIs are highly unstable under aerobic conditions due to the continuous oxidation of their characteristic Cys residue at the N terminus by plant cysteine oxidases (PCOs). Under hypoxia, PCOs are inactive and the ERF-VIIs activate transcription of the HRGs required for surviving hypoxia. However, if the plant exposed to hypoxia has limited sugar reserves, the activity of ERF-VIIs is severely dampened. This suggests that oxygen sensing by PCO/ERF-VII is fine-tuned by another sensing pathway, related to sugar or energy availability. Here, we show that oxygen sensing by PCO/ERF-VII is controlled by the energy sensor target of rapamycin (TOR). Inhibition of TOR by genetic or pharmacological approaches leads to a much lower induction of HRGs. We show that two serine residues at the C terminus of RAP2.12, a major ERF-VII, are phosphorylated by TOR and are needed for TOR-dependent activation of transcriptional activity of RAP2.12. Our results demonstrate that oxygen and energy sensing converge in plants to ensure an appropriate transcription of genes, which is essential for surviving hypoxia. When carbohydrate metabolism is inefficient in producing ATP because of hypoxia, the lower ATP content reduces TOR activity, thus attenuating the efficiency of induction of HRGs by the ERF-VIIs. This homeostatic control of the hypoxia-response is required for the plant to survive submergence".
• 01GQPCKQQEM8577KV3VPYJSD69 abstract "Plants often protect themselves from their own bioactive defense metabolites by storing them in less active forms. Consequently, plants also need systems allowing correct spatiotemporal reactivation of such metabolites, for instance under pathogen or herbivore attack. Via co-expression analysis with public transcriptomes, we determined that the model legume Medicago truncatula has evolved a two-component system composed of a β-glucosidase, denominated G1, and triterpene saponins, which are physically separated from each other in intact cells. G1 expression is root-specific, stress-inducible, and coregulated with that of the genes encoding the triterpene saponin biosynthetic enzymes. However, the G1 protein is stored in the nucleolus and is released and united with its typically vacuolar-stored substrates only upon tissue damage, partly mediated by the surfactant action of the saponins themselves. Subsequently, enzymatic removal of carbohydrate groups from the saponins creates a pool of metabolites with an increased broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. The evolution of this defense system benefited from both the intrinsic condensation abilities of the enzyme and the bioactivity properties of its substrates. We dub this two-component system the saponin bomb, in analogy with the mustard oil and cyanide bombs, commonly used to describe the renowned β-glucosidase-dependent defense systems for glucosinolates and cyanogenic glucosides.".
• 01GQPCXBYP5CWRD726SE8AXEWH abstract "Background Despite the widespread use of quasi-static bulge tests to investigate the plastic deformation of sheet metals, a dynamic counterpart able to provide reliable measurements of the bulge pressure, displacement and strain fields at the sample surface is still missing.Objective Aiming at an in-depth identification of the mechanical response of sheet metals at high strain rates under nearly equibiaxial stresses, a novel high-speed bulge (HSB) test was developed.Method The working principle of the HSB setup combines the strengths of conventional split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) and static hydraulic bulge facilities. The main innovation of the HSB test facility, compared to existing setups, is the possibility to implement high-speed stereo digital image correlation (DIC) measurements of the 3D-displacement and in-plane strain fields at the sample surface. Moreover, from strain measurements on the output Hopkinson bar, the time history of the pressure imposed to the sample is obtained.Results The potential of the novel technique is demonstrated by experiments on AA2024-T3 sheets. The measurements reveal a nearly oscillation-free pressure signal which indicates a stable sample loading. The material is deformed up to large levels of plastic strain at strain rates of about 300 to 350 s(-1). The strain rate at the sample apex has a stable value during most of the experiment. From the measurements, the material flow curves are calculated using the methodology presented in the ISO-16808:2014 standard for bulge experiments.Conclusion The ability of the proposed HSB test facility to capture bulge pressure, displacement and deformation fields of the entire sample surface, provides unique opportunities to investigate sheet metals behaviour under a nearly biaxial stress state at high strain rates. Furthermore, the available measurement data can be used to calibrate and validate complex, strain rate dependent plasticity models.".
• 01GQPDB7BHQKBJCWDZ5ZR81Q34 abstract "According to model projections, coffee cultivation areas should need to move to higher elevations as suitability moves upslope to compensate for the increased temperatures. However, shifting coffee-growing areas upslope might bring conflicts with land use and crops other than coffee and can induce adverse socioeconomic and environmental impacts associated with deforestation for new coffee cultivation. Moreover, model projections are largely limited to ex situ experiments based on downscaled global climate models, and thus empirical data are still needed to assess climate change impacts on coffee production in the future in Ethiopia. Furthermore, conditions such as shade tree canopy closure, soil fertility and elevation may either ameliorate or exacerbate climate change impacts. In the absence of significant interventions, this could result in a considerable land use change, increased vulnerability of coffee-dependent livelihoods, and a potential shortage of coffee supply. Hence, to generate trustworthy and accurate information for climate-resilient Ethiopian coffee production, more field-based experiments are needed. In this PhD thesis, we used coffee plants growing at contrasting elevations using a space-for-time substitution approach for warming in southwest Ethiopia. The coffee plants are superimposed under various shade tree species with multi-strata canopy architecture. In so doing, the potential of increasing canopy closure in modulating responses to increasing temperature and the associated effect on coffee plant traits, green bean quality and biochemistry were thoroughly explored. Based on our findings, we were able to identify potential limiting factors to close the coffee quality gap by providing improved management recommendations tailored to the local ecological conditions while acknowledging the dynamic drivers (mainly resource availability and climatic variability) for the long-term sustainability of the coffee industry.".
• 01GQPH8F8VFN206R2KQVH5RDGX abstract "Studies of the Arabidopsis cat2 mutant lacking the major leaf isoform of catalase have allowed the potential impact of intracellular H2O2 on plant function to be studied. Here, we report a robust analysis of modified gene expression associated with key families involved in metabolite modification in cat2. Through a combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis focused on the salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) pathways, we report key features of the metabolic signatures linked to oxidative stress-induced signaling via these defence hormones and discuss the enzymes that are likely to be involved in determining these features. We provide evidence that specific UDP-glycosyl transferases contribute to the glucosylation of SA that accumulates as a result of oxidative stress in cat2. Glycosides of dihydroxybenzoic acids that accumulate alongside SA in cat2 are identified and, based on the expression of candidate genes, likely routes for their production are discussed. We also report that enhanced intracellular H2O2 triggers induction of genes encoding different enzymes that can metabolize JA. Integrated analysis of metabolite and transcript profiles suggests that a gene network involving specific hydrolases, hydroxylases, and sulfotransferases functions to limit accumulation of the most active jasmonates during oxidative stress.".
• 01GQPJ4ASVHM705AMR1HGWC22Z abstract "Over the past seven decades, trade barriers have been dramatically reduced. To that end, most countries have simultaneously pursued both multilateral and preferential trade liberalisation. This is surprising as the latter is less effective and provides fewer benefits to the member countries. In this chapter, we tackle this puzzle and investigate what makes these trade agreements a popular option for countries worldwide from an economic, political, and social perspective. We review the normative case for preferential trade liberalisation before evaluating the economic and non-economic arguments favouring trade agreements. We contextualise our arguments by creating and analysing a data set of trade agreements. We show how the broadly differing nature of those trade agreements influences trade gains and how countries and regions profit from this situation.".
• 01GQPKC2WEMAH2MGGFEX42AJCZ abstract "Barley is a major cereal crop for temperate climates, and a diploid genetic model for polyploid wheat. Cereal straw biomass is an attractive source of feedstock for green technologies but lignin, a key determinant of feedstock recalcitrance, complicates bio-conversion processes. However, manipulating lignin content to improve the conversion process could negatively affect agronomic traits. An alternative approach is to manipulate lignin composition which influences the physical and chemical properties of straw. This study validates the function of a barley ferulate 5-hydroxylase gene and demonstrates that its downregulation using the RNA-interference approach substantially impacts lignin composition. We identified five barley genes having putative ferulate 5-hydroxylase activity. Downregulation of HvF5H1 substantially reduced the lignin syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) ratio in straw while the lignin content, straw mechanical properties, plant growth habit, and grain characteristics all remained unaffected. Metabolic profiling revealed significant changes in the abundance of 173 features in the HvF5H1-RNAi lines. The drastic changes in the lignin polymer of transgenic lines highlight the plasticity of barley lignification processes and the associated potential for manipulating and improving lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock for green technologies. On the other hand, our results highlight some differences between the lignin biosynthetic pathway in barley, a temperate climate grass, and the warm climate grass, rice, and underscore potential diversity in the lignin biosynthetic pathways in grasses.".
• 01GQPKZY66QDDWZ5K26MXBK1P2 abstract "Phytopathogenic bacteria play important roles in plant productivity, and developments in gene editing have potential for enhancing the genetic tools for the identification of critical genes in the pathogenesis process. CRISPR-based genome editing variants have been developed for a wide range of applications in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. However, the unique mechanisms of different hosts restrict the wide adaptation for specific applications. Here, CRISPR-dCas9 (dead Cas9) and nCas9 (Cas9 nickase) deaminase vectors were developed for a broad range of phytopathogenic bacteria. A gene for a dCas9 or nCas9, cytosine deaminase CDA1, and glycosylase inhibitor fusion protein (cytosine base editor, or CBE) was applied to base editing under the control of different promoters. Results showed that the RecA promoter led to nearly 100% modification of the target region. When residing on the broad host range plasmid pHM1, CBERecAp is efficient in creating base edits in strains of Xanthomonas, Pseudomonas, Erwinia and Agrobacterium. CBE based on nCas9 extended the editing window and produced a significantly higher editing rate in Pseudomonas. Strains with nonsynonymous mutations in test genes displayed expected phenotypes. By multiplexing guide RNA genes, the vectors can modify up to four genes in a single round of editing. Whole-genome sequencing of base-edited isolates of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae revealed guide RNA-independent off-target mutations. Further modifications of the CBE, using a CDA1 variant (CBERecAp-A) reduced off-target effects, providing an improved editing tool for a broad group of phytopathogenic bacteria.".
• 01GQPM2CTT3A4S62J9699SYZRV abstract "Introduction: L'enregistrement du signal électrique par cathéter du faisceau atrio-ventriculaire, ‘faisceau de His’ (FH), et de la branche droite (BD) et gauche (BG) est essentiel pour le diagnostic des arythmies complexes en médecine humaine, mais a été peu exploré chez le cheval. Objectifs: Identification et localisation du FH, BD et BG chez le cheval par rapport aux structures environnantes sur échocardiographie. Matériel et méthode: Chez 3 cadavres de chevaux adultes sans maladie cardiovasculaire, le septum interventriculaire, y compris le sinus coronaire et le sinus de l’aorte, a été isolé et immergé dans un bain d’eau distillée, et puis examiné à l’aide d’échographie (sonde linéaire de 12 MHz). Des images du FH, BD et BG ont été enregistrées à partir des surfaces de l’endocarde droite et gauche. L’emplacement du FH ainsi que le point où la BD et la BG atteignent le sous-endocarde ont été notés. Un échantillon de chaque structure à l’endroit de son identification par échocardiographie a été examiné histologiquement avec des colorations de trichrome de Masson et d’acide de Schiff. Résultats: Sur échographie, le FH est apparu sous forme de structure triangulaire, hyperéchogène, localisée à 33 ±3mm crânialement de l’ouverture du sinus coronaire et 5±0mm dorsalement à l'insertion de la valve tricuspide. Le FH se trouvait à profondeur de 2,6±0,3mm de la surface endocardique droite et s’étendait sur une longueur de 15±1mm. L’épaisseur de la BD était de 0,9±0,1mm et il se ramifiait à partir du faisceau atrio-ventriculaire au niveau de l’insertion de la valve tricuspide à une profondeur de 7±1mm de la surface endocardique droite. La BD atteignait le sous-endocarde à 5±1mm dorsalement du trabécule séptomarginale. L’épaisseur de la BG était de 0,9±0,1mm et il se ramifiait au niveau de l’insertion de la valve tricuspide, à 17±2mm de profondeur de la surface endocardique gauche. La BG atteignait la surface sous-endocardique gauche à 35±5mm ventralement à l’insertion de la valve aortique septale et 22±15mm dorsalement au trabécules charnues. L’examen histologique a montré la présence de cellules Purkinje entourées d’une couche de fibres de collagène dans les trois structures. Discussion: Ces résultats préliminaires montrent le FH et ses branches comme structures hyperéchogènes à l'échographie, localisés relativement superficiellement. Conclusion: Le FH et ses branches peuvent être identifiées et tracées par échocardiographie ex-vivo. Ceci nécessite encore une confirmation in-vivo. La connaissance de l'emplacement précis par rapport aux structures environnantes devrait permettre l'enregistrement de ces structures par cathéter lors d'études électrophysiologiques.".
• 01GQPMD984D9GV7VQMJJGDP1C4 abstract "Background: Behavioral theories are often used to better understand and change health-promoting behaviors and develop evidence-based interventions. However, researchers often lack of knowledge on how to use these theories in palliative care and people confronted with serious illness. Clear examples or guidelines are needed. Aim: To describe how behavioral theories can be used to gain insight into critical factors of health-promoting behavior in seriously ill people, using a case example of "starting a conversation about palliative care with the physician" for people with incurable cancer. Methods: We used a health promotion approach. Step 1: We chose a theory. Step 2: We applied and adapted the selected theory by performing interviews with the target population which resulted in a new behavioral model. Step 3: We operationalized the factors of this model. An expert group checked content validity. We tested the questionnaire cognitively. Step 4: We conducted a survey study and performed logistic regression analyses to identify the most important factors. Results: Step 1: We selected the Theory of Planned Behavior. Step 2: This theory was applicable to the target behavior, but needed extending. Step 3: The final survey included 131 items. Step 4: Attitudinal factors were the most important factors associated with the target behavior of starting a conversation about palliative care with the physician. Conclusions: This paper describes a method applied to a specific example, offering guidance for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding and changing a target behavior and its factors in seriously ill people.".
• 01GQPMN69F9EZCCP44NK7Z5TB8 abstract "Postbiotics are a new category of biotics that have the potential to confer health benefits but, unlike probiotics, do not require living cells to induce health effects and thus are not subject to the food safety requirements that apply to live microorganisms. Postbiotics are defined as a "preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host". Postbiotic components include short-chain fatty acids, exopolysaccharides, vitamins, teichoic acids, bacteriocins, enzymes and peptides in a non-purified inactivated cell preparation. While research into postbiotics is in its infancy, there is increasing evidence that postbiotics have the potential to modulate human health. Specifically, a number of postbiotics have been shown to improve gut health by strengthening the gut barrier, reducing inflammation and promoting antimicrobial activity against gut pathogens. Additionally, research is being conducted into the potential application of postbiotics to other areas of the body, including the skin, vagina and oral cavity. The purpose of this review is to set out the current research on postbiotics, demonstrate how postbiotics are currently used in commercial products and identify a number of knowledge gaps where further research is needed to identify the potential for future applications of postbiotics.".
• 01GQPN2FPGBSW0NFNFJMJG53E4 abstract "Ceramic tiles are thin plates made from clays, silica, fluxes, colorants and other materials, generally used as wall or floor coverings. During its manufacturing process, some heterogeneity problems may appear, due to a poor distribution of the powder in the mold which they are formed in. As a response to this problem, a computer program that allows for simulation, study and understanding of the mold filling of the tile manufacturing process has been developed. The method used to perform the simulation is called the Discrete Elements Method (abbreviated as DEM). Likewise, a novel methodology has been proposed for the calibration of the model, which has been validated using a prototype of a powder feeding system. This equipment has also been used to study the mold filling. Finally, a series of simulations were carried out in order to show the capabilities of the program developed.".
• 01GQPN2FPGBSW0NFNFJMJG53E4 abstract "Las baldosas cerámicas son placas de escaso grosor fabricadas con arcillas,sílice, fundentes, colorantes y otros materiales, generalmente utilizadas comorevestimientos. Durante su fabricación pueden aparecer problemas de heterogeneidad, debido a una distribución deficiente del polvo en los alvéolos del molde en el que se conforman. Como respuesta a esta problemática, en este trabajo se ha desarrollado un programa informático que permite simular, estudiar y comprender el llenado de moldes del proceso de fabricación de baldosas. El método utilizado para realizar la simulación se denomina Método de los Elementos Discretos (en inglés “Discrete Elements Method”, abreviado como DEM). Asimismo, se ha propuesto una metodología novedosa para la calibración del modelo, el cual ha sido validado utilizando un sistema de alimentación de polvo piloto. Este equipo también se ha utilizado para investigar el llenado de moldes. Finalmente se realizaron una serie de simulaciones orientadas a mostrar las capacidades del programa desarrollado.".
• 01GQPNBZ4ZNA3PF7WME9JQHV39 abstract "Integrated Osteoporosis Care (IOC) has been emerging over the past decade. To support integrated care initiatives, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has developed the Integrated People Centred Health Services (IPCHS) framework, which consists of five interdependent strategies. Five electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, World of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus) were searched for relevant studies published from January 1, 2010 to December 2022. Initiatives implementing collaborative practices and at least two IPCHS strategies were included. Quality assessment was performed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project checklist. Seventy-six publications describing 69 implementations met the inclusion criteria; 90% of them were implemented at the hospital level, and over half focused on secondary fracture prevention. Three implementations captured all five IPCHS strategies, and half applied three. Substrategies targeting individuals as beneficiaries were frequently employed. Substrategies requiring fundamental shifts (e.g., systemic coordination and updating) were seldomly implemented. Substantive heterogeneity in substrategy operationalization was observed. Patient education, standardized care, team-based care, care coordinators, and health care provider training were commonly pursued. IOC interventions have focused mainly on secondary fracture prevention in a hospital setting and have been narrowly operationalized. Future implementation should: employ all five IPCHS strategies; better align programmes, providers, and regulatory frameworks, while adapting funding mechanisms; and operationalize broader and more innovative substrategies.".
• 01GQPNDHES20P6XA94ESQ4GBQR abstract "Buckwheat is an important starch source because of its health benefits. In this study, buckwheat starches isolated from 12 varieties were analyzed based on the morphological, structural and physicochemical properties. The results showed that starch samples from different varieties had high purity with the total starch ranging from 91.29 to 95.11%, while showing significant differences in ash content (0.12-0.25%), protein content (0.26-0.34%) and amylose content (29.55-36.13%), respectively. All samples presented spherical and irregular shapes and typical A-type crystalline structure, but obvious differences in granule size distribution and relative crystallinity (26.37-35.21%) were observed among 12 varieties. Starch samples differed in lamellar structures, showing higher values of thickness of the samples with higher amylose content. In addition, buckwheat starches with higher amylose content showed higher values in light transmittance and rheological properties, while starch samples with lower amylose content obtained higher values in terms of water solubility, swelling power, pasting behaviors and thermal parameters. The principal component analysis and cluster analysis based on starch property parameters indicated that there were significant similarities and differences among 12 varieties, which might be related to the genotypes. This study would provide valuable information for the full use of buckwheat starch in food and non-food industries.".
• 01GQPNXF8QJ0K14GA19ZNGZ2CZ abstract "Introduction: RXC008 is a potent and selective ROCK inhibitor with potential as a future treatment for fibrotic stricture formation in Crohn’s disease patients. ROCK is a key signalling kinase in fibrosis and suppression of ROCK activity is highly efficacious in multiple rodent models of fibrosis. Systemic inhibition of ROCK leads to unacceptable hypotension, therefore RXC008 has been designed to remain restricted to the GI with minimal systemic exposure. Methods: RXC008 was tested against ROCK1 and ROCK2 isolated enzymes and profiled in a phospho-MYPT1 (Myosin phosphatase Target Subunit 1) cell assay to establish mechanistic potency. The phenotypic effect of ROCK inhibition was evaluated by examining suppression of TGFβ (Transforming Growth Factor) stimulated alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in human intestinal fibroblasts (HIFs). In vivo efficacy for anti-fibrotic effect was determined in 45-day adoptive T-cell transfer (AT) and 9-week chronic dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) murine models of colitis. Results: RXC008 inhibited ROCK1 and ROCK2 with nanomolar potency and exhibited sub-micromolar potency against phospho-MYPT1 and α-SMA expression. In both in vivo fibrosis models RXC008 was dosed orally at 10 mg/kg once a day. In the 45-day AT model RXC008 was able to strongly suppress fibrosis and attenuate villi erosion and ulceration. Mechanism of action and biomarker studies in the DSS model demonstrated that RXC008 dosed for the duration of the study could also suppress fibrosis and reduce gene expression of fibrotic markers such as Col1a1, Col1a2 and TGFβ and increased the expression of markers associated with mucosal healing. Non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was also utilized to examine the extent of injury and fibrosis. RXC008 demonstrated a robust protective effect on both parameters that correlated with the histopathology scoring. No systemic exposure of RXC008 could be detected in either model despite sufficient GI tissue exposure. Conclusions: The data indicate that RXC008 can suppress fibrosis and attenuate tissue injury in animal models of Crohn’s disease and has the potential to be developed as a novel therapy to inhibit fibrotic stricture formation in Crohn’s disease. IND enabling activities are progressing with the aim to commence a first-in-human clinical trial in 2023.".
• 01GQPPJADRAA5GYASBDK4JEDEE abstract "This study is a historical exploration of the relationship between cultural policy and visual arts production. Through an analysis of fifty-one years (1965–2015) of grant distributions, grant proposals, and policy documents from Flemish (Belgium) state archives, we probe how evolutions in cultural policy align with evolutions in (1) reputational characteristics of applying artists and (2) legitimations applicants use for grant money. We observe a shift in cultural policy from a social welfare-inspired, inclusive view to supporting artists toward a more selective approach, demanding social and/or entrepreneurial accountability from artists. We find that fewer artists with low institutional reputations and more with high institutional reputations apply for government support over time. Furthermore, artists’ proposals decreasingly rely on romantic justifications and increasingly use entrepreneurial, social, and academic justifications. Our results suggest that cultural policy's increasingly explicit expectation of professionalism and accountability from artists affects who applies and how they do so. Still, we suggest that the so-called instrumentalization of the arts has always been part and parcel of art subsidization. The question is not whether cultural policy instrumentalizes the arts, but rather in what ways and how much?".
• 01GQPPQRNBF1CBGK7S7D2SMW30 abstract "Purpose Older critically ill patients with COVID-19 have been the most vulnerable during the ongoing pandemic, with men being more prone to hospitalization and severe disease than women. We aimed to explore sex-specific differences in treatment and outcome after intensive care unit (ICU) admission in this cohort. Methods We performed a sex-specific analysis in critically ill patients >= 70 yr of age with COVID-19 who were included in the international prospective multicenter COVIP study. All patients were analyzed for ICU admission and treatment characteristics. We performed a multilevel adjusted regression analysis to elucidate associations of sex with 30-day mortality. Results A total of 3,159 patients (69.8% male, 30.2% female; median age, 75 yr) were included. Male patients were significantly fitter than female patients as determined by the Clinical Frailty Scale (fit, 67% vs 54%; vulnerable, 14% vs 19%; frail, 19% vs 27%; P < 0.001). Male patients more often underwent tracheostomy (20% vs 14%; odds ratio [OR], 1.57; P < 0.001), vasopressor therapy (69% vs 62%; OR, 1.25; P = 0.02), and renal replacement therapy (17% vs 11%; OR, 1.96; P < 0.001). There was no difference in mechanical ventilation, life-sustaining treatment limitations, and crude 30-day mortality (50% male vs 49% female; OR, 1.11; P = 0.19), which remained true after adjustment for disease severity, frailty, age and treatment limitations (OR, 1.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.94 to 1.45; P = 0.16). Conclusion In this analysis of sex-specific treatment characteristics and 30-day mortality outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19 >= 70 yr of age, we found more tracheostomy and renal replacement therapy in male vs female patients, but no significant association of patient sex with 30-day mortality.".
• 01GQPQ16XQP9R0GTKTV7KCV089 abstract "Structured depositions have been a topic for discussion in archaeological research for over a century. Research concerning structured depositions in settlement contexts in Belgium is, however, lacking. To address this problem, this study aims to discern the different types of settlement depositions during the Iron Age of Belgium and their characteristics. This is achieved through a review of primary and secondary literature, including grey literature, and the creation of a database. This database forms the basis for analyses of the composition, chronology, and interpretation of each type of deposition context. A rudimentary spatial analysis and correspondence analysis for identifying patterns in placement and content follows. These findings are then compared with research results and theories in neighbouring regions to incorporate Belgium within a broader North-western European framework. This has led to the recognition of 146 deposition contexts and the definition of multiple deposition types. The primary findings are the overall ‘purity’ of depositions, the prevalence of pottery as main find category and the lack of prestigious finds such as metalwork or decorative objects. Belgium fits within a broader North-western European framework, with obvious parallels to settlement depositions in England, France and The Netherlands. A focus on their links to each other, comprehensive study of their contents and a more detailed stratigraphical examination can lead to further insights. Only then will the potential of this complicated field of study be fully realised.".
• 01GQPQ7KYPY20WV9VKJF41QYHW abstract "Microalgal technology has long been recognized as an effective solution to current environmental challenges, including pollution, climate change, depletion of natural resources, and increased demand for energy and bio-based products. Due to the intrinsic characteristics of microalgal cells, including high growth rate, robustness, adaptability, contaminant removal, and valuable composition, in terms of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, pigments, and numerous bioactive metabolites, intensive research has been focused on relevant applications. However, several technological and economic challenges hinder technology transfer at the industrial scale; therefore several improvements are needed. The purpose of this chapter is to thoroughly present the microalgal potential for the production of biofuels and other added-value products, including functional food and feed, biofertilizers, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and bioplastics. Furthermore, the application of microalgal technology for wastewater treatment is discussed, while integrated processes in the biorefinery framework are highlighted.".
• 01GQPQESSV2G8YCHBFCNFGRFGW abstract "Wastewater treatment is an indispensable part of modern societies and a key factor in terms of sustainability. Microalgae-based systems can significantly contribute to nutrient recovery and removal of contaminants from a broad range of wastewaters. The microalgal biomass that is concurrently produced can be further valorized into various bioproducts. In this chapter, wastewater treatment using microalgae is analyzed, presenting the bioavailable nutrients and describing different types of effluents used in microalgal systems. Furthermore, common inhibitors found in wastewaters are presented. The most suitable microalgae, the underlying microbial interactions as well as the most common photobioreactor types and cultivation modes are discussed and, finally, the prospects of the produced biomass are highlighted.".
• 01GQPQNQR8TDKMFFG77E4G4MH8 abstract "A sequential batch reactor (SBR) was used to enrich and produce a self-protected CaCO3-precipitating biomass powder (CPB) that hydrolzes urea and reduces nitrate. The self-protected CPB, consisting of 50% biomass and 50% inorganic matter, was incorporated into a mortar and its self-healing performance was assessed. Crack closure observations showed that specimens containing CPB showed higher crack healing ratio in complete water immersion, while Bacillus sphaericus spores containing samples only exhibited crack healing under cyclic wet-dry incubation. During corrosion monitoring, CPB addition revealed a corrosion inhibition effect equivalent to that achieved by the addition of the chemical corrosion inhibitor nitrite (0.7 w/w% cement weight). Overall, CPB is a suitable self-healing bio-additive for effective crack closure in cementitious composites used in immersed structural elements. It is compatible with the cementitious matrix and resulted in promising results concerning crack healing and corrosion inhibition.".
• 01GQPRPTJR76XPZ94HGVF2FXCT abstract "Door de toenemende vraag naar flexibele microsystemen, worden technologieen om die te integreren steeds belangrijker. In de laatste jaren ging veel aandacht naar de integratie in 2- en 3-dimensionele plastic onderdelen voor mogelijke toepassingen in het moderne dagelijkse leven van de mens. Bij spuitgegoten geinterconnecteerde elektronische systeem technologie worden koperbanen rechtstreeks gedeponeerd op het plastic. Dit proces heeft nood aan hoog gespecialiseerde toestellen en het proces heeft zijn beperkingen. Desalniettemin is er vraag naar kleinere en lichtere producten die gebruikmaken van verschillende materiaalcombinaties. Hiervoor werd een speciaal spuitgietproces om folies te overspuiten aangepast om elektronica te integreren in plastic onderdelen. Hierdoor werd de realisatie van zogenaamde ‘in-mould-electronics’ (IME) een feit.Dit process laat toe om elektronische componenten, apparaten en functionaliteiten te integreren in dunne spuitgegoten onderdelen, door hen in de matrijs te plaatsen en te overspuiten met een polymeer.IME is een relatief nieuwe technologie. Daarom hebben we in dit proefschrift IME geexploreerd en de toepasbaarheid van deze technologie onder verschillende spuitgiet omstandigheden onderzocht door bvb. verschillende materiaalcombinaties en verschillende types elektronische componenten te overspuiten. Daarbij moet de elektronische functionaliteit behouden blijven en een goede adhesie bekomen worden.".
• 01GQPSM59HTXM9BNVVB9FMDNHN abstract "Martensitische staalsoorten zijn essentieel voor een groot aantal industriële applicaties, aangezien ze uiterst sterk en hard zijn. Door de stijgende vraag naar materialen voor een duurzamere toekomst is het echter ook belangrijk om de densiteit van hoogsterktestaal te verlagen. Dit kan gerealiseerd worden door martensitische Fe-C staalsoorten te legeren met een hoge hoeveelheid Al, zonder de productiekosten te verhogen. Vooraleer deze Fe-Al-C legeringen in de industrie gebruikt kunnen worden is het echter zeer belangrijk om hun interactie met waterstof te bestuderen. Staal kom namelijk tijdens zijn levenscyclus in de industrie vaak in contact met waterstof-bevattende omgevingen. Wegens zijn kleine dimensies is waterstof zeer mobiel in staal waardoor het gemakkelijk kan diffunderen naar kritische zones in de microstructuur en kan leiden tot onvoorspelbaar breukgedrag. Dit doctoraat focust daarom op het waterstofverbrossingsgedrag van verschillende martensitische Fe-(Al)-C legeringen. Bovendien laat de eenvoudige chemische samenstelling toe om een fundamentele studie van de interactie tussen waterstof en de martensitische microstructuur uit te voeren. Legeren met Al verlaagt niet enkel de densiteit maar leidt, in de juiste verhoudingen, ook tot de vorming van een ductiele microfilm op de korrelgrenzen waardoor de weerstand tegen waterstofverbrossing significant verhoogd kan worden zonder de hardheid te beïnvloeden.".
• 01GQPTQFN9VR413822QHR2QW30 abstract "Antibiotic cycling has been proposed as a promising approach to slow down resistance evolution against currently employed antibiotics. It remains unclear, however, to which extent the decreased resistance evolution is the result of collateral sensitivity, an evolutionary trade-off where resistance to one antibiotic enhances the sensitivity to the second, or due to additional effects of the evolved genetic background, in which mutations accumulated during treatment with a first antibiotic alter the emergence and spread of resistance against a second antibiotic via other mechanisms. Also, the influence of antibiotic exposure patterns on the outcome of drug cycling is unknown. Here, we systematically assessed the effects of the evolved genetic background by focusing on the first switch between two antibiotics against Salmonella Typhimurium, with cefotaxime fixed as the first and a broad variety of other drugs as the second antibiotic. By normalizing the antibiotic concentrations to eliminate the effects of collateral sensitivity, we demonstrated a clear contribution of the evolved genetic background beyond collateral sensitivity, which either enhanced or reduced the adaptive potential depending on the specific drug combination. We further demonstrated that the gradient strength with which cefotaxime was applied affected both cefotaxime resistance evolution and adaptation to second antibiotics, an effect that was associated with higher levels of clonal interference and reduced cost of resistance in populations evolved under weaker cefotaxime gradients. Overall, our work highlights that drug cycling can affect resistance evolution independently of collateral sensitivity, in a manner that is contingent on the antibiotic exposure pattern.".
• 01GQPWNGF8S4RDG0HPKN2CB9MV abstract "Se presenta el posicionamiento del grupo de trabajo latinoamericano de la Fundación Internacional para los Cuidados Integrados (1) (IFIC, por su sigla en inglés). Este reúne a diversos actores y organizaciones de América Latina, con el objeto de apoyar acciones que faciliten la transformación de los sistemas de salud en la Región hacia sistemas integrados y centrados en las personas, no como individuos aislados, sino como sujetos de derecho, en los contextos sociales y ambientales complejos donde viven y se vinculan. El grupo de trabajo plantea nueve pilares de la atención integrada para ser utilizados como marco conceptual en la elaboración de políticas y de cambios en las prácticas: 1) visión y valores compartidos, 2) salud de las poblaciones, 3) las personas y las comunidades como socias, 4) comunidades resilientes, 5) capacidades del talento humano en salud, 6) gobernanza y liderazgo, 7) soluciones digitales, 8) sistemas de pago alineados, y 9) transparencia ante la ciudadanía. Desde estos pilares se proponen líneas de trabajo en los ámbitos del fortalecimiento de alianzas y redes, la abogacía, la investigación y generación de capacidades, que contribuyan a materializar sistemas de salud y sociales efectivamente integrados y centrados no solo en las personas, sino también en las comunidades en América Latina.".
• 01GQPWNGF8S4RDG0HPKN2CB9MV abstract "This paper presents the position of the Latin American working group of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC). The working group brings together various Latin American actors and organizations in support of actions that facilitate the transformation of health systems in the region towards integrated systems that focus on people not as isolated individuals but as subjects of law in the complex social and environmental contexts where they live and interact. The working group proposes nine pillars of integrated care to be used as a conceptual framework for policy development and changes in practices: 1) shared vision and values; 2) population health; 3) people and communities as partners; 4) resilient communities; 5) capacities of human resources for health; 6) governance and leadership; 7) digital solutions; 8) aligned payment systems; and 9) public transparency. Based on these pillars, lines of work are proposed to strengthen alliances and networks, advocacy, research, and capacity-building, in order to help develop health and social systems that are effectively integrated and focused not only on people but also on communities in Latin America.".
• 01GQPWXV22TGY2RXD655KEB4QR abstract "When a country is hit by a disaster or an epidemic, global solidarity is called upon and resources are mobilized, largely from high-income countries. The current pandemic scenario was different, even more in the beginning. All countries were hit, and they needed their own resources to reduce the impact on their health system and population. Many factors have been identified to hamper an optimal response to the pandemic like a delayed country-level and WHO response, a lack of coordination among governments, public opposition to routine public health and social measures, and the failure to properly address the profoundly unequal effects of the pandemic.".
• 01GQPX1B07CTHYEQQM60TCGXH5 abstract "While considerable research in education has established objective and subjective status differences between tracks and focused on the outcomes of ability grouping on students' educational and broader outcomes, there is virtually no research that explains students' variability in track valuation. This study relies on theoretical insights from social psychology, ethnic studies and school effects research to develop hypotheses about the influence of individual and school level features on students' track valuation. Data from The School, Identity and Society survey, involving 4,540 adolescents from 64 Belgian schools is utilised, using multilevel modelling. The findings show the relevance of social identity theory and social norms in students judging all tracks; and track chauvinism, patriotism and cross-track friendships in explaining variability in students' prejudice towards other tracks. However, these relationships vary according to the track position of the student. The conclusions discuss the implications of this study for future research and social policy.".
• 01GQPX53M7T0Z9QS2AYEPEK9FX abstract "Introduction. The complex problem of COVID-19 and the possibilities of responding through innovative general health strategies have been raised. The development of innovative health strategies was stimulated by the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care and by related perspectives around the 2018 Astana Conference. To this may be added the contributions of the International College and the Latin American Network of Person Centered Medicine toward the exploration and formulation of innovative concepts and strategies of health focused on persons.Objectives: (1) Ontological clarification of the concept of health and of the strategies and tactics for health actions; (2) Delineation of and assessment of multifactorial support for promising general health strategies focused on persons; and (3) Elucidation of the relevance of such strategies to respond to the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: (a) Analysis and reflection on health concepts and strategies by a multidisciplinary authors group; (b) Selective review of the international and Latin American literature on health systems and the pandemic, displayed, and analyzed tabular and narratively.Results1. Ontological concepts corresponding to the meaning and functions of health and of specific general strategies and tactics to restore and promote health were formulated.2. A general health strategy was outlined based on an analysis of the process of building promising health constructs emerging from conferences and international declarations in recent years. Then, early and contemporary historical considerations, as well as contextual perspectives (Social Determinants of Health, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Essential Functions of Public Health) were identified as supporting the specific elements of the persons-centered mutual and integral healthcare strategy.3. The relevance of the essential concept of health and the elements of the examined general health strategy was ascertained positively to respond to the demands of the current pandemic.Discussion: The value, implications, and limitations of the results obtained were discussed in the light of COVID-19 and future pandemics. Emerging recommendations on desirable next steps were also presented.Conclusions: The contributions of this study include the ontological clarification of the concept of person-centered health and the strategies and tactics for health actions, as well as the historical and contemporary multifactorial substantiation of the general health strategy involving Integral and Mutual Health Care Oriented to the Well-being of all Persons, particularly in the face of the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.".
• 01GQPX67MKN3DVJ1KNG9BZPT4A abstract "The global rollout of the fifth generation of cellular networks (5G) brings new challenges to the characterization and measurement of their emissions of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The new generation of telecommunications is focused more than ever on efficiency, flexibility, and adaptability as well as features (among other things) a wide range of carrier frequencies (from 410 MHz up to 52.6 GHz), lean ‘always-on’ (though periodically transmitted) broadcast signaling, and base stations containing advanced antenna systems (AAS) with phased antenna arrays that consist of tens to hundreds of antenna elements.".
• 01GQPX7YDQ3PAGT8NPAYMCQR3M abstract "Healthcare providers are formed to serve people and put people’s needs at the center. They are expected to inform their patients as experts in health problems and health risk factors. During the clinical encounter they must integrate their knowledge with the unique characteristics, feelings, needs, and life circumstances of the person seeking their help. While this is the ideal scenario, the pandemic erased this script completely. Everything had to be learned by everyone without an expert guide. What are the risk factors, are mouth masks necessary, should we close schools, borders, or do we apply watchful waiting? How can we define cases, diagnose people, and treat them if they become ill? What do we do with other chronic diseases, health problems, or preventive services? Which resources do we need, including human resources (student trainees, retired healthcare workers, volunteers)? What was the view of healthcare providers on their duty to work during this health emergency? The latter question is answered by Muñoz et al in their paper in this issue of the IJPCM for nursing students in Chile and Spain [1].".
• 01GQPXAREPHQZFTYRGKGWYK0TV abstract "In the beginning of 2020, the world turned into a dangerous place for all; the outbreak of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (shortly: COVID-19) seemingly affected all persons alike. Seemingly, the impact of the infection and the way it was treated differed markedly between people and countries. As a result, COVID-19 made many victims, disproportionately among older aged, the poor, ethnic minorities [1], and people with preexisting medical conditions like diabetes [2] or a recently diagnosed mental disorder [3]. These people appeared to have a higher risk of mortality. Beside the risk of infection, the COVID-19 outbreak impacted the whole population, resulting in heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and stress [4] both directly through the virus threat [5] as indirectly through loss of income [6] and social contact [7]. Although the pandemic had—and still has—a severe impact on the mental and physical health of those who were infected or at risk of being infected, people do seem to differ in the extent their lives were and are influenced by the infection. Recently, for instance, Bonenkamp et al investigated the mental health of 177 dialysis patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic [8]. Their study showed that the mental health experienced by this group of patients was unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The conclusion of the authors was that “dialysis patients may be better able to cope with the pandemic since they have high resilience and are less impacted by social distancing measures.” An alternative interpretation could, however, be that the mental health of people who undergo such an invasive treatment is already quite poor and might not be able to get any lower (floor effect). Nevertheless, as shown by the following quote of a young, chronically ill patient, individual persons differ in the way they cope with the pandemic.".
• 01GQPXNSM30D9K1MBCX3G44HCY abstract "On the 18th of October 1908, the Belgian parliament voted in favour of the Belgian take-over of the Congo Free State from the Belgian king Léopold II, who had privately owned the Congolese territory but was forced to give up ‘his’ colony after the international outcry over the well-known Congo atrocities. With this vote, the Congolese territory officially switched hands, and the Belgian rule over Congo would remain in place until 1960. The advocates of the reprise had held up prospects of great gain by referring to the enormous mineral wealth of the colony, whereas the adversaries acutely remarked that the colony would only remain profitable if Belgium would continue on the same plundering elan than their internationally condemned king. The reality-check came quickly, when one of the strongest advocates, Jules Renkin, visited the Belgian Congo in his new role as the first minister of colonies. After a five-month journey through ‘his’ colony, he realized that for the material realization of the colonial ambitions to be economically and practically feasible, a cheap, locally produced building material would be of quintessential importance. However, as the colonial presence was justified through the paternalistic image of ‘helping’ the African inhabitants on their ‘path to modernity’, this colonial building material could not be one of the existing local building materials, as these were publicly denounced for being non-durable, insalubre [unhygienic] or even puant [stinking] — although in reality they remained in use for all sorts of colonial buildings throughout Belgian colonialism. Though seemingly a deadlock, the technocrats of the Belgian Congo remarkably quickly formulated an answer to this question: Concrete. Once a local cement plant would be established —which eventually only happened in 1921 after several failed attempts— concrete would be the deus-ex-machina that could resolve the apparent contradiction between the economic necessity to use local materials on the one hand and the cultural disdain towards local materials on the other. Though all of its components —apart from the reinforcement bars— could be locally sourced, the ‘magic’ happened when in bringing these materials together, they still turned into the most ‘modern’ material on the planet. Throughout Belgian colonialism, it was concrete and its aura of ‘modernity’ that justified the presence of Belgium in Congo. It was concrete, with its constructed properties of ‘durability’—as opposed to the alleged non-durable materials— that had to confirm the racial hierarchy of Europeans over Africans. It was concrete’s ‘economy’ —with most of its components locally available— that had to make the construction of the colony affordable. And it was concrete’s on-site ‘simplicity’ that had to meet the racist objections about Congolese construction labourers being completely ‘unskilled’. In other words: the Belgian Congo was A Concrete State. This importance of concrete for the colonial state is the premise of this work. Hence, following Daniel Headrick’s seminal work —in which he argues that science and technology were the main weapons in Europe’s colonial dominance of the 19th and 20th century—, concrete is framed as a Tool of Empire, in the sense that it was a sine qua non for the physical materialization of colonial ambitions. In the two main parts of this dissertation, however, I highlight just how reductive such an interpretation is. In the first part, Constructing Materials, I question Europe’s centrality in the development of cement by looking at its Congolese biography. In doing so, I argue that the European centrality in the development of science and technology at large, which is an implicit assumption of Headrick’s Tools of Empire approach, should not be taken at face value. By looking beyond these moments of invention in European laboratories and by taking the production of cement in Congo into account, I aim to relocate cement’s history. The first chapter looks ‘forwards’, turning towards the production of cement in Congo’s first cement plant, the Cimenterie du Congo in Lukala. Through three crucial episodes in the biography of Lukala cement, the first cement produced on and from Congolese soil, I disclose how a variety of local actants —including, for instance, the resisting geological layers, ambitious geologists, disgruntled labourers, colonial administrators, local land owners or the cement kiln— all had an enormous impact on this Lukala cement, which eventually had strengths that were even well-above the Belgian requirements for High Resistance Portland Cement. It was only through all sorts of economic processes that the Lukala cement was eventually homogenized, turning it into a commodity that was highly similar to the cements imported from Belgium. Though today, with such regulating processes even more pronounced, cement became a universal commodity that is transported across the globe, this narrative showed how in the past the material had a remarkable material diversity, and that the Congolese cement had only quite little to do with the cements that developed simultaneously in Europe. The second chapter takes this ‘relocation’ of cement’s history further. Whereas the first chapter still confirms the rather central role of Europeans in the development of Congolese cement —it were Belgian investors and European engineers who set up the plant in Lukala— the second chapter challenges this European myth of origin by enlarging the temporal scope: instead of seeing cement as an absolutely new technology invented in 19th century Europe, I position cement within a much longer history of burnt lime. In doing so, once again, other localities, temporalities and actants gain primacy in cement’s history: I formulate the hypothesis that burnt lime (cement’s younger brother) was known in Congo before the arrivals of Belgian colonials thereby questioning the colonial knowledge claims over the technique. In this first part, the understanding of concrete as a tool of empire, is critically examined by adding local nuances to the history of its most important component. The second part of this dissertation, Building Ambitions, starts from the same goal: to critically understand if concrete could be interpreted as a tool of empire. Since striving for exhaustivity when studying such a ubiquitous material is impossible, I decided to focus on three case studies. All three correspond to one of the major technical innovations concrete underwent: the harbour of Ango-Ango (1925-1930) was an early reinforced concrete construction site in the Belgian Congo; in the CCC-building (1950) prestressed concrete was first applied in a building in central Africa; and, in the case of the Bata 300 factory in Kinshasa (1963-1966) the standardization and mass-production of concrete elements had to industrialize construction and relieve on-site difficulties. Through this selection, I intended to gauge how these technologies, that were only just introduced in Congo, were applied in a Congolese context. The close reading of the specific construction processes that resulted from this case-based approach however, quickly revealed that building in concrete did not always go smooth. On the contrary, the building sites were troubled by all sorts of incidents, accidents and complications. The construction of the Ango-Ango harbour, discussed in chapter 3, was perhaps the most spectacular in that sense. After building for 5 years and spending 40 million Francs, the plans for the concrete harbour were eventually left behind in favour of a steel jetty. Though the CCC-building and the Bata 300 factory, the cases developed in chapter 4 and chapter 5, can at first sight be interpreted as a success, the close reading of these ‘successful’ construction processes exposed how their execution was also far from flawless. These —quite literal— chapters of accidents, make it clear that understanding concrete as a fully mastered ‘tool’ was a far cry from reality —however keen the Concrete State was to present it as such.".
• 01GQPXNSM30D9K1MBCX3G44HCY abstract "Op 18 oktober 1908, besliste het Belgische parlement om de Congo Vrijstaat van koning Leopold II over te nemen. Tot dan, was de koning persoonlijk eigenaar van het volledige Congolese grondgebied geweest, maar na de internationale verontwaardiging over de wreedheden die kort daarvoor aan het licht waren gekomen, werd die situatie onhoudbaar. Met hun beslissing gaf het parlement het officiële startschot voor de Belgische kolonisatie, die uiteindelijk tot 1960 zou voortduren. De beslissing was echter niet eenduidig: de reprise had zowel voor- als tegenstanders. In de debatten voorafgaand aan de stemming, hadden de voorstanders vooral grote winsten voor de Belgische staatskas voorgespiegeld, waar de tegenstanders fijntjes opmerkten dat de kolonie alleen zo winstgevend zou blijven als de Belgische staat op hetzelfde élan dan de koning. Toen één van de meest uitgesproken voorstanders van de reprise, Jules Renkin, in zijn nieuwe functie als allereerste Minister van Koloniën een bezoek bracht aan Belgisch Congo, werd hij gedwongen de werkelijkheid onder ogen te zien: het uitbouwen van de kolonie zou een bijzonder dure zaak worden. Na een reis van vijf maanden door 'zijn' kolonie besefte hij dat voor de materiële verwezenlijking van de grote koloniale ambities die België koesterde, een goedkoop en lokaal geproduceerd bouwmateriaal van essentieel belang was. Aangezien de koloniale aanwezigheid echter werd gerechtvaardigd door de paternalistische claim dat de Belgen de Afrikaanse inwoners op weg ‘hielpen’ naar ‘de moderniteit’, kon dit koloniale bouwmateriaal niet zomaar één van de bestaande lokale bouwmaterialen zijn. Die lokale bouwmaterialen werden in het publieke koloniale discours immers aan de kant gezet als ‘non-durable’ [niet duurzaam], ‘insalubre’ [onhygiënisch] of zelfs ‘puant’ [stinkend], hoewel ze gedurende de volledige koloniale periode wel in gebruik bleven voor allerlei (overheids)gebouwen. Deze financiële noodzaak om lokale materialen te gebruiken enerzijds en de socioculturele afkeer van lokale materialen anderzijds, is schijnbaar een impasse. Maar de technocraten van Belgisch Congo hadden opmerkelijk snel hun antwoord klaar: beton was het ideale koloniale bouwmateriaal. Zodra er een lokale cementfabriek zou zijn opgericht —een plan dat na verschillende mislukte pogingen uiteindelijk pas in 1921 werkelijkheid werd— zou beton de deus-ex-machina zijn die de schijnbare tegenstelling tussen de economische noodzaak om lokale materialen te gebruiken en de culturele afkeer van lokale materialen kon verzoenen: hoewel alle componenten van beton lokaal konden worden gevonden, transformeerde het materiaal op bijna ‘magische’ wijze in het meest moderne materiaal ter wereld wanneer die aparte componenten werden samengevoegd. Gedurende de volledige koloniale periode, was beton van belang om de aanwezigheid van België in Congo te rechtvaardigen. Het was beton waarmee de bouwprogramma’s moesten worden verwezenlijkt die Congo de ‘moderniteit’ zouden intillen. Het was beton dat de raciale hiërarchie van Europeanen over Afrikanen moest bevestigen. Het was beton, met de meeste componenten ervan lokaal beschikbaar, dat de bouw van de kolonie betaalbaar moest maken. En het was beton, omwille van de zogezegde eenvoud van het materiaal, dat in dat alles zou lukken, ook al moest er gewerkt worden met Congolese arbeiders, die steevast als onhandig of onkundig werden weggezet. Met andere woorden: Belgisch Congo was Een Staat van Beton. Het essentiële belang van beton voor de uitbouw van de koloniale staat is het uitgangspunt van dit werk. In navolging van Daniel Headricks baanbrekende boek —waarin hij betoogt dat wetenschap en technologie de belangrijkste wapens waren voor de koloniale dominantie van Europa in de 19de en 20ste eeuw— beschouw ik beton eveneens als een tool of empire: zoals ik hierboven heb beargumenteerd, was het een conditio sine qua non voor de fysieke materialisatie van de koloniale ambities. Hoewel ik beton eerst als het koloniaal materiaal bij uitstek neerzet, probeer ik in de twee delen van dit proefschrift —in lijn met de postkoloniale kritiek op die tools of empire aanpak in wetenschapsgeschiedenis—aan te tonen hoe reductief een dergelijke interpretatie is. In het eerste deel, Constructing Materials, stel ik de centraliteit van Europa in de ontwikkeling van cement ter discussie door de Congolese geschiedenis van het materiaal te onderzoeken. Door verder te kijken dan de momenten van inventie en de productiefase als intrinsiek deel van de geschiedenis van cement mee te nemen, probeer ik dat geografische onevenwicht uit te balanceren. In het eerste hoofdstuk wordt er ‘vooruit’ gekeken: naar de productie van cement in de eerste cementfabriek van Congo, de Cimenterie du Congo in Lukala. Aan de hand van drie cruciale episodes in de geschiedenis van Lukala-cement laat ik zien hoe allerlei actanten —zoals de geologische lagen, ambitieuze geologen, ontevreden arbeiders, plaatselijke koloniale bestuurders, lokale landeigenaren of zelfs de machinerie van de cementoven— een enorme invloed hadden op het eindproduct. Lukala-cement behaalde uiteindelijk zelfs teststerktes die ver boven de Belgische vereisten voor de hoogste sterkteklasse lagen. Hoewel Lukala-cement door allerlei economische processen uiteindelijk sterk begon te lijken op het cement dat in België werd geproduceerd, toont deze geschiedenis hoe het materiaal in het verleden een opmerkelijke materiële diversiteit kende. Het Congolese cement dat in Lukala werd geproduceerd had in die zin maar weinig te maken met het cement dat zich tegelijkertijd in Europa ontwikkelde. In het tweede hoofdstuk wordt deze ‘verschuiving’ van de cementgeschiedenis voortgezet. Hoewel het narratief zich grotendeels op Congolese bodem afspeelde, was er in het eerste hoofdstuk nog een erg centrale rol voor Europeanen weggelegd — het waren bijvoorbeeld Belgische investeerders en Europese ingenieurs die de fabriek in Lukala oprichtten. Het geografische zwaartepunt werd dus wel verlegd, maar de kennisclaim over de technologie blijft tot nu toe in zekere zin Europees. In het tweede hoofdstuk plaats ik de geschiedenis van cement daarom in een breder kader door ook de temporele reikwijdte van de geschiedenis van cement te vergroten. In plaats van cement te beschouwen als een nieuwe technologie die in het Europa van de 19de eeuw werd uitgevonden, beschouw ik cement als een —zij het belangrijke— ontwikkeling binnen de veel langere geschiedenis van gebrande kalk. Hierdoor krijgen andere locaties, periodes en actoren opnieuw belang in de geschiedenis van cement. In het hoofdstuk formuleer ik de hypothese dat het branden van kalk een gekende techniek was in Congo, vóór de komst van Belgische kolonialen. Hoewel in koloniale bronnen vaak wordt beweerd dat de techniek werd geïntroduceerd door spitsvondige kolonialen, zijn er veel aanwijzingen om die claim in twijfel te trekken. De Congolese geschiedenis van cement die ik heb proberen schrijven in dit eerste deel was uiteraard een belangrijk onderdeel van dit werk over de koloniale geschiedenis van beton. Niet enkel omdat cement het meest essentiële bestanddeel van beton vormt, maar ook omdat de lokale nuance die ik aan de geschiedenis van cement heb toegevoegd laat zien dat cement geen absolute Europese uitvinding was, hoe belangrijk die plek ook blijft in de geschiedenis van het materiaal. In die zin probeert dit eerste deel het idee van beton als tool of empire op losse schroeven te zetten door aan te tonen dat de absolute alleenheerschappij van Europa over technologie en wetenschap —een impliciete aanname van Headricks werk— niet zomaar kritiekloos mag worden geaccepteerd. Het tweede deel van dit proefschrift, Building Ambitions, vertrekt vanuit hetzelfde doel: kritisch proberen begrijpen of beton al dan niet kan worden geïnterpreteerd als tool of empire. Aangezien beton zo’n alomtegenwoordig materiaal is dat het nastreven van een ‘alomvattende’ geschiedenis zelfs nog zinlozer wordt dan bij andere onderwerpen, heb ik besloten om op drie casestudies te focussen. Alle drie komen ze overeen met één van de belangrijkste technologische vernieuwingen die beton onderging: de haven van Ango-Ango (1925-1930) was een erg vroege toepassing van gewapend beton in Congo; de werf van het CCC-gebouw (1950) was de eerste waar voorgespannen beton werd toegepast in Centraal-Afrika; en de Bata 300-fabriek in Kinshasa (1963-1966) was een toonbeeld van de industrialisatie van de bouwindustrie, door de verregaande standaardisatie en prefabricatie van de betonelementen waaruit het volledige gebouw werd opgetrokken. Met deze selectie van cases wilde ik onderzoeken hoe deze bouwtechnieken, die pas in Congo werden geïntroduceerd, in een Congolese context werden toegepast. Uit de gedetailleerde lezing van de specifieke bouwprocessen —het gevolg van zo’n case-based approach— bleek al snel dat bouwen in beton niet altijd even vlot verliep, hoewel de ogenschijnlijke eenvoud van het materiaal een belangrijk argument was om beton als ideaal koloniaal materiaal neer te zetten. De verschillende werven werden geteisterd door allerlei incidenten, ongevallen en complicaties. De bouw van de haven van Ango-Ango, die ik bespreek in hoofdstuk 3, is in dat opzicht misschien wel het meest spectaculaire voorbeeld. Na 5 jaar bouwen en 40 miljoen Belgische frank te hebben verspild, werden de plannen voor de betonnen aanlegkade uiteindelijk zonder enig resultaat weggeborgen. In de plaats werd er, op enkele maanden, succesvol een stalen ponton aangelegd. De case uit hoofdstuk 4 en 5, het CCC-gebouw en de Bata 300-fabriek lijken daarentegen op het eerste gezicht een succes: beide gebouwen werden gerealiseerd en maken zelfs nog steeds deel uit van het stedelijk weefsel van Kinshasa. Nochtans, door hun constructieproces nauwgezet te analyseren, wordt duidelijk dat de uitvoering van deze gebouwen toch ook verre van vlekkeloos verliep. Beide hoofdstukken laten zien hoe op beide bouwplaatsen de ongelukken en problemen zich aan elkaar rijgen. Samen tonen de hoofdstukken van dit tweede deel hoe geforceerd de interpretatie van beton als tool of empire is: hoe graag de koloniale bezetter zich ook wou tonen als staat van beton, in werkelijkheid beheersten ze het materiaal amper.".
• 01GQPXRBDJQ5CAX0X1BGCX4GWF abstract "This paper presents outdoor radio channel measurements at 140 GHz using a spectrum analyzer-based channel sounder operational in the D-band, ranging from 110 to 170 GHz. We measure directional Line-of-Sight (LOS) path loss (PL) in a suburban environment for distances ranging from 2 m to 95 m, using an omnidirectional transmit antenna and directional receive antenna. Every 10 m, a full angular scan is performed by physically rotating the receive antenna in steps of 12 degrees, which corresponds to the antenna's half-power beamwidth. A floating-intercept PL model is created, resulting in a fitted intercept PL0 at 1 m of 80.7 dB, and PL exponent n 1.9. The azimuthal angular spread varies between 7 degrees and 45 degrees, with a mean angular spread of 19.7 degrees.".
• 01GQPXW3FZASD6H1KNT6VSH76J abstract "Nature management residues (i.e., biomass generated from the management of nature reserves) are promising peat alternatives for horticultural substrates and may have a positive effect on disease suppression because of their microbiological characteristics. Moreover, addition of fertilizer may also affect the rhizosphere microbiome and, accordingly, disease suppression. In this study, we determined the effect of two management residues in horticultural substrates (i.e., chopped heath and acidified soft rush) and two fertilization regimes (i.e., pure nitrogen fertilizer and compound fertilizer) on the suppression of Phytophthora spp. on Chamaecyparis lawsoniana. The bacterial and fungal rhizosphere community was characterized using 16S ribosomal RNA and internal transcribed spacer 2 gene metabarcoding. Soft rush with a compound fertilizer (R2) and chopped heath with a pure nitrogen fertilizer (H1) showed a disease-suppressive effect and showed the largest shifts in microbial community composition compared with peat-based substrates. The disease-suppressive treatments showed differences in their microbial communities. Different genera associated with described biocontrol agents for Phytophthora spp. were found in higher amounts in those treatments. Aspergillus and Trichoderma spp. were highly abundant in H1, while Actinomadura and Bacillus spp. had a high abundance in R2. In addition, the relative abundances of 24 bacterial and 9 fungal genera were negatively correlated with disease severity. Several of those genera, including Bacillus, Chaetomium, and Actinomadura, were significantly more abundant in one of the disease-suppressive treatments. This study shows that disease suppressiveness in sustainable horticultural substrates is dependent on fertilization and can be linked to changes in the microbial rhizosphere communities.".
• 01GQPY5KQBYJ2V3EGGEEHDWS0P abstract "Sustainable peat alternatives, such as composts and management residues, are considered to have beneficial microbiological characteristics compared to peat-based substrates. Studies comparing microbiological characteristics of these three types of biomass are, however, lacking. This study examined if and how microbiological characteristics of subtypes of composts and management residues differ from peat-based substrates, and how feedstock and (bio)chemical characteristics drive these characteristics. In addition, microbiome characteristics were evaluated that may contribute to plant growth and health. These characteristics include: genera associated with known beneficial or harmful microorganisms, microbial diversity, functional diversity/activity, microbial biomass, fungal to bacterial ratio and inoculation efficiency with the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum. Bacterial and fungal communities were studied using 16S rRNA and ITS2 gene metabarcoding, community-level physiological profiling (Biolog EcoPlates) and PLFA analysis. Inoculation with T. harzianum was assessed using qPCR. Samples of feedstock-based subtypes of composts and peat-based substrates showed similar microbial community compositions, while subtypes based on management residues were more variable in their microbial community composition. For management residues, a classification based on pH and hemicellulose content may be relevant for bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. Green composts, vegetable, fruit and garden composts and woody composts show the most potential to enhance plant growth or to suppress pathogens for non-acidophilic plants, while grass clippings, chopped heath and woody fractions of compost show the most potential for blends for calcifuge plants. Fungal biomass was a suitable predictor for inoculation efficiency of composts and management residues.".
• 01GQPYJ2KNP61AW4VA1ES3RZST abstract "Real time radioluminescence fibre-based detectors were investigated for application in proton, helium, and carbon therapy dosimetry. The Al2O3:C probes are made of one single crystal (1 mm) and two droplets of micro powder in two sizes (38 mu m and 4 mu m) mixed with a wate-requivalent binder. The fibres were irradiated behind different thicknesses of solid slabs, and the Bragg curves presented a quenching effect attributed to the nonlinear response of the radioluminescence (RL) signal as a function of linear energy transfer (LET). Experimental data and Monte Carlo simulations were utilised to acquire a quenching correction method, adapted from Birks' formulation, to restore the linear dose-response for particle therapy beams. The method for quenching correction was applied and yielded the best results for the '4 mu m' optical fibre probe, with an agreement at the Bragg peak of 1.4% (160 MeV), and 1.5% (230 MeV) for proton-charged particles; 2.4% (150 MeV/u) for helium-charged particles and of 4.8% (290 MeV/u) and 2.9% (400 MeV/u) for the carbon-charged particles. The most substantial deviations for the '4 mu m' optical fibre probe were found at the falloff regions, with similar to 3% (protons), similar to 5% (helium) and 6% (carbon).".
• 01GQPYPAY2345EZEH6X5537TQP abstract "Background: Vaccines are promising tools to control the spread of COVID-19. An effective vaccination campaign requires government policies and community engagement, sharing experiences for social support, and voicing concerns about vaccine safety and efficiency. The increasing use of online social platforms allows us to trace large-scale communication and infer public opinion in real time. Objective: This study aimed to identify the main themes in COVID-19 vaccine-related discussions on Twitter in Japan and track how the popularity of the tweeted themes evolved during the vaccination campaign. Furthermore, we aimed to understand the impact of critical social events on the popularity of the themes. Methods: We collected more than 100 million vaccine-related tweets written in Japanese and posted by 8 million users (approximately 6.4% of the Japanese population) from January 1 to October 31, 2021. We used Latent Dirichlet Allocation to perform automated topic modeling of tweet text during the vaccination campaign. In addition, we performed an interrupted time series regression analysis to evaluate the impact of 4 critical social events on public opinion. Results: We identified 15 topics grouped into the following 4 themes: (1) personal issue, (2) breaking news, (3) politics, and (4) conspiracy and humor. The evolution of the popularity of themes revealed a shift in public opinion, with initial sharing of attention over personal issues (individual aspect), collecting information from news (knowledge acquisition), and government criticism to focusing on personal issues. Our analysis showed that the Tokyo Olympic Games affected public opinion more than other critical events but not the course of vaccination. Public opinion about politics was significantly affected by various social events, positively shifting attention in the early stages of the vaccination campaign and negatively shifting attention later. Conclusions: This study showed a striking shift in public interest in Japan, with users splitting their attention over various themes early in the vaccination campaign and then focusing only on personal issues, as trust in vaccines and policies increased. An interrupted time series regression analysis showed that the vaccination rollout to the general population (under 65 years) increased the popularity of tweets about practical advice and personal vaccination experience, and the Tokyo Olympic Games disrupted public opinion but not the course of the vaccination campaign. The methodology developed here allowed us to monitor the evolution of public opinion and evaluate the impact of social events on public opinion, using large-scale Twitter data.".
• 01GQPYQVZ9QVQY3H3AYMDM400Y abstract "Temporal (or time-evolving) networks are commonly used to model complex systems and the evolution of their components throughout time. Although these networks can be analyzed by different means, visual analytics stands out as an effective way for a pre-analysis before doing quantitative/statistical analyses to identify patterns, anomalies, and other behaviors in the data, thus leading to new insights and better decision-making. However, the large number of nodes, edges, and/or timestamps in many real-world networks may lead to polluted layouts that make the analysis inefficient or even infeasible. In this paper, we propose LargeNetVis, a web-based visual analytics system designed to assist in analyzing small and large temporal networks. It successfully achieves this goal by leveraging three taxonomies focused on network communities to guide the visual exploration process. The system is composed of four interactive visual components: the first (Taxonomy Matrix) presents a summary of the network characteristics, the second (Global View) gives an overview of the network evolution, the third (a node-link diagram) enables community- and node-level structural analysis, and the fourth (a Temporal Activity Map - TAM) shows the community- and node-level activity under a temporal perspective. We demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of LargeNetVis through two usage scenarios and a user study with 14 participants.".
• 01GQPYSHSXQ60S2EY6YX3F225G abstract "Temporal network visualization is a powerful tool that assists users in understanding network structure and dynamics. One of the most popular visual representations in this context is the Massive Sequence View (MSV), a timeline-based layout that allows the identification of patterns, anomalies, and other structures from global to local scales. MSV may suffer from visual clutter when applied to real-world networks due to the large number of nodes, edges, and/or timestamps. To enhance the analysis, several clutter reduction methods have been proposed in the literature. No study, however, has evaluated different strategies that combine methods with respect to their effectiveness in reducing visual clutter while highlighting meaningful patterns. In this paper, we combine node ordering, edge sampling, and timeslicing methods to analyze how these combinations impact layout readability and pattern identification. We consider recent applications of MSV in the context of infection dynamics to study the effect of different combinations in the visualization layout. Through two case studies with real-world networks, we demonstrate the superiority of combining at least two high-quality methods in relation to the use of a single method. We also show that edge sampling should be used as a complementary strategy, always associated with a high-performance node ordering.".
• 01GQPZ88K7PZVHTY7DBEMP8TXS abstract "Background and aim: This study evaluates the associations between dietary intakes and circulating blood levels of methionine, choline or betaine and breast cancer risk, which remains currently unclear. Methods: Systematic searches for observational epidemiological studies were performed of the MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases through July, 2022. Two review authors independently screened titles and abstracts against the eligibility criteria at a first stage, and screened full texts of potentially eligible records at a second stage, followed by data extraction from qualified studies. Quality of evidence was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale quality assessment tool. Risk estimates were calculated using random-effects meta-analysis. Results: In total, 21 studies were selected for qualitative analyses and 18 studies were included in the meta-analyses. Random-effects analysis combining prospective cohort (N = 8) or case-control studies (N = 10) showed little evidence of an association between dietary intake of methionine or betaine and the risk of breast cancer. However, inconclusive evidence for a significant inverse association between choline intake and breast cancer risk was found in case-control studies (odds ratio [OR] estimates for highest vs. lowest intakes = 0.38; 95 % CI: 0.16-0.86) but not in prospective cohort studies (hazard ratio [HR] estimates for highest vs. lowest intakes = 1.01; 95 % CI: 0.92-1.12). Conclusion: This study did not suggest an effect of dietary intake of methionine, choline, nor betaine on breast cancer risk, mainly due to the lack of precision of the combined risk estimates as few studies are available. To overcome this uncertainty, more well-designed studies with relevant individual-level covariates are needed.".
• 01GQQ2TGP3RWQ8FWF70MBDZ6ZX abstract "Stikstoffixatie is een proces waarbij moleculaire stikstof wordt omgezet in waardevolle chemicaliën, zoals ammoniak of stikstofoxiden. Deze componenten worden in vele industrieën gebruikt, met name als grondstof voor landbouwmeststoffen. Tegenwoordig wordt industriële stikstoffixatie echter geassocieerd met een hoog energieverbruik en een dramatische impact op het milieu. In het licht hiervan kan stikstoffixatie op basis van plasma een goed alternatief zijn, en met de ondersteuning van hernieuwbare (groene) energiebronnen kan het veel voordelen opleveren en de ecologische voetafdruk verkleinen. Dit onderzoek richt zich op het onderzoeken van het effect van de plasma/vloeistof-interface in het plasma-gebaseerde stikstoffixatieproces. De belangrijkste uitdagingen in verband met (i) het energie-intensieve proces van moleculaire stikstofdissociatie, inclusief de rol van vibratie geëxciteerde stikstofgrondtoestanden, (ii) stikstofoxidatiekinetiek in de aanwezigheid van water, en (iii) de energie-efficiëntie van het plasma/vloeistof-interface systeem zijn uitgebreid onderzocht in dit werk via geavanceerde plasma-diagnostische technieken.".
• 01GQQ33D6NHYA7VAJWWDMG5GKV abstract "Traditionally, the EU has presented itself as a normative trade actor, as opposed to other geopolitical trading powers. However, today, it is increasingly recognized that the EU is undergoing a geopolitical turn which also manifests itself in its trade policy. Yet, confusion remains regarding what a ‘geopolitical EU trade policy’ entails and how the EU sells this new perspective in its trade policy. This article contributes to the ongoing debate on this topic by investigating how the European Commission discursively justifies its geopolitical turn in trade. Methodologically, we analyze EU trade discourse with particular attention for othering strategies. Empirically, we study a most-likely case of ‘geopoliticization of trade’, namely the Commission’s initiative to launch an Anti-Coercion Instrument, by analyzing the most important EU documents covering the ACI so far and EU statements on the ACI in relevant media. We find that the Commission distinguishes a ‘defensive’ and ‘offensive’ variant of geopoliticization of trade, whereby the former is conceived as ‘good’ and pursued by the EU, while the latter is seen as ‘bad’ and employed by non-EU trading powers. This diverges from previous EU trade discourses since the 2000s, which portrayed the EU as transcending geopolitics – a normative power pursuing free trade and multilateralism – and other powers as essentially geopolitical – self-interested, protectionist, and regionalist. The EU’s new othering strategy legitimizes the EU’s geopolitical turn in trade, by simultaneously turning away from its previous, ‘naively’ normative trade discourse, while also contrasting the EU’s trade policy to the ‘offensive’ geopolitical trade from ‘bad’ trade actors.".
• 01GQQ38RBB3BP55T23QMD5516Z abstract "Civil society organisations (CSOs) at EU-level depend on the capacity of their members to act as 'transmission belts': they provide analysis, influence national legislation and monitor the implementation of policies affected by multi-level governance procedures like the European Semester on the ground. CSOs have more influence on social and employment policy in some countries than in others, which may be linked to the given environment and conditions they encounter to function and participate effectively in policy debate. Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) based on expert reports following interviews with national-level civil society organisations, this article investigates which set of conditions support CSOs' influence within policy deliberation and why. The QCA solution formulas indicate that an enabling legal and administrative framework is necessary, while a high level of volunteering and participation in combination with a legal obligation to consult CSOs are conducive to policy influence at the national level. Stable and varied funding seems to play an ambivalent role. These findings are corroborated through a focus group held with EU-level CSOs, underlining their reliance on national members' capacity to contribute meaningfully to policy consultations at European level.".
• 01GQQ4RS6S4KK6TWAD23QE4F49 abstract "Especially after the 1610s, Tridentine Catholicism forcefully reasserted itself as a prominent political and intellectual force in the Spanish Netherlands. Integrating this reality into accounts of Spanish-Netherlandish science in the 17th century has been a considerable challenge for historians of science. The latter either turned their gazes elsewhere or assumed a fundamental incompatibility between "science" and "religion," thus securing one dominant explanation for the classic thesis that the Spanish Netherlands largely "lost the plot" of the so-called Scientific Revolution after the 1620s. This paper turns to a local debate on Thomas Fienus's embryological theses (1620), which has never been studied, to test the underlying assumption that "science" and "religion" can be taken as two distinct and/or opposed categories of historical analysis. I show that this assumption not only fails to capture historical actors' experiences and understandings, but also that it fails to consider how tensions between medicine and theology were positively productive. First, I argue that medical philosophizing was positively motivated by socio-religious concerns of its own. Second, I show that, far from being a protracted battle between two stable positions, the debate constituted an instance of boundary work, where medical philosophers like Fienus progressively tested and repositioned the theological credentials of their preferred theses. This ushered in the adoption of a probabilistic epistemology that increasingly secured Catholic theology's normative credibility and the pursuit of autonomous natural-philosophical inquiry.".
• 01GQQC00QBBYTCT3MA38V3DX0Z abstract "Discussions of climate fiction (or “cli-fi”) frequently revolve around the thematic dimension of the genre or its possible effects on readers. In this article, the NARMESH team adopts a different approach focusing instead on the formal affordances of fiction vis-à-vis the climate crisis. Our goal is to offer a posthumanism-inspired survey of fiction that pursues a rigorous critique of human exceptionalism and anthropocentrism at a deep, formal level. Unashamedly experimental, this kind of fiction pushes the humanist envelope of the novel far more forcefully and systematically than most mainstream cli-fi does. The climate fictions we have in mind need not be about climate change, but they speak to the complex challenges of the current moment by implementing a number of formal strategies: nonhuman narration or focalization, global plotting, deep temporality, parallel storyworlds, the inclusion of multimodal or non-narrative elements, and the adoption of non-Western narrative models.".
• 01GQQCJF752MKDGJ5S8JJGW2N6 abstract "Doping is niet alleen relevant in topsport, maar ook onder recreatieve sporters (bv. bodybuilding). Daarbij vormt het een bedreiging zowel voor de gezondheid van gebruikers als voor de “geest van de sport”. In dit onderzoek komt een zeer diverse groep van verboden stoffen, genaamd de peptidehormonen, aan bod. Een peptidehormoon is een ketting van aminozuren die als een soort boodschapper werkt en in ons lichaam bepaalde veranderingen teweegbrengt. Eventueel dus met een prestatiebevorderend effect tot gevolg. Het doel van dit onderzoek was om nieuwe manieren te ontwikkelen om misbruik van deze peptiden op te sporen, alsook om bestaande methoden te verbeteren. De focus lag hierbij op het ontwikkelen van eenvoudige opsporingsmethoden die niet veel tijd en moeite vergen, maar toch doeltreffend zijn. De eerste methode werd ontwikkeld en gevalideerd volgens de criteria van het Wereld Anti-Doping Agentschap (WADA) om de aanwezigheid van kleine peptiden in een urinestaal te bevestigen. Ook voor grotere peptidehormonen zoals de synthetische groeihormoon bevorderende peptiden en insulines werden procedures ontwikkeld om hun aanwezigheid aan te tonen in urine. Tenslotte werd nog een eenvoudige methode gepresenteerd om het lichaamseigen peptidehormoon insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1) the meten in bloedserum.".
• 01GQQDPYW4MTYR8HD8Z8D8XM2C abstract "This paper presents an operational annotation system for (dis)fluencies in typical and atypical speech, based on existing standard annotation schemes previously established in the literature. Grounded in a functional approach to (dis)fluency, we address some of the conceptual and technical limitations found in previous annotation models, and offer an integrated and inclusive system which is compatible with different multi-layered annotation software such as Praat or ELAN. Our aim is twofold: to create comparable annotated corpora both in typical and atypical speech, and to provide natural language processing and the health sector with applications for diagnostic and therapy in speech disorders.".
• 01GQQDVPFJZ4Q10CFDPSY0ZY5Q abstract "This chapter aims to analyze the variation in use and functions of a broad bottom–up selection of discourse markers across four languages from different typological families, namely French and Spanish (Romance), English (Germanic), and Polish (Slavic). Such an endeavor requires that we not only overcome issues of definition and delimitation of the discourse marker category but also design an annotation model encompassing their full functional spectrum, in the perspective of spoken discourse analysis. Our study follows a corpus–based multilingual annotation scheme for functions of (spoken) discourse markers. The functional taxonomy distinguishes between four domains that may be combined with fifteen functions. This taxonomy with two independent levels has been applied to spoken unplanned dialogues in the four languages. The annotations were extracted for contrastive analyses of distribution and variation of discourse markers and their functions. The results indicate that the multilingual annotation scheme may be applied validly to the four different languages. This makes it possible to uncover both similarities and divergences in the functional and semantic distribution of discourse markers. This multidimensional and multilingual approach to discourse markers offers a fine–grained portrait of the variation and of the polyfunctionality of this category across typological families.".
• 01GQQEWA4GHF2JPSQXP35TM50P abstract "In recent years, some unit operations such as absorption and rectification in rotating packed beds (RPBs) have drawn great attention, and single-phase hydrodynamics characteristics became the basis to understand the multiphase flow and mass transfer process. In this work, the 3D steady-state gas flow in the RPB with randomly arranged spherical packing was investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The gas flow field and the effects of operational parameters were analyzed. Results showed that the errors between the simulated and the experimental data of the total pressure drop were within +/- 20%. The pressure drop of packing zone and tangential velocity increased with the increase of rotational speed, while the rising of the gas flow rate could result in the increase in the radial velocity, the pressure drop of the inner or outer cavity. The turbulent kinetic energy was predominantly affected by the tangential slip velocity, and the higher values of turbulent kinetic energy were illustrated near the outer edge of the rotor. Furthermore, a semi-empirical correlation based on the numerical simulation was proposed to predict the dry pressure drop of the packing zone combining the wall effect.".
• 01GQQEWA5161T7C9CPHJX27SGK abstract "Processing viscous fluid system in industrial applications is one of the challenges in process intensification. In this work, a two-dimensional CFD model was developed to reveal viscous liquid flow characteristics in the injection zone, inner cavity, packing zone and outer cavity of rotating packed bed (RPB). The CFD results agreed well with the published experimental data. The transition of the liquid flow pattern in RPB was discussed with operating conditions. The liquid viscosity showed no significant influence on the liquid holdup and the average diameter of droplets in RPB. In addition, the liquid holdup and droplet diameter decreased as rotational speed increased, and increased as liquid flow rate increased. Based on the simulated results of residence time distribution along radial direction, the end effect zone of RPB was specified, and a novel way was proposed to quantify the thickness of end effect zone. Results showed that the viscosity had great influence on the end effect zone, which had guiding significance for practical operations and configuration optimization.".
• 01GQQEWA55RC7M7E2M3S8FDS6C abstract "High-speed rotating equipment can be used in the devolatilization of high-viscosity polymer fluids, where the surface renewal is regarded as an important factor on mass transfer. In this work, based on the verification of computational fluid dynamics simulation with the flow visualization experiment, the width, residence time, and velocity of the filament from a rotor were studied by the volume of fluid model, including the influence of rotational speed, fluid viscosity, and surface tension, and so forth. A surface renewal stretch model was built to acquire the surface renewal rate (S-p). The results show that S-p, along the stretching direction of the filament generally reaches a maximum value as soon as it is formed, while S-p decreases sharply in a relatively short distance. The Reynolds number and Weber number of the rotor together with the radial distance were used to describe S-p under various conditions for the evaluation of mass transfer performance of such high-speed dispersers.".
• 01GQQEWA5CAB1QMGJ8MZM9SBTZ abstract "The rotating packed bed (RPB) has drawn wide attention owing to its outstanding advantage in process intensification. In the present study, gas flow characteristics in RPB were investigated by particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement. The velocity and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the packing zone were obtained and the effects of various parameters were analyzed. During rotation, gas rapidly acquired tangential velocity, which was dominant in resultant velocity. Mean gas velocity increased with the increase of rotational speed, but was almost independent of gas flow rate and packing size at lower rotational speed. Moreover, mean radial and tangential slip velocities were overall positively affected by gas flow rate and rotational speed, respectively. Higher TKE near the inner packing than those in the bulk zone revealed the existence of a gas end-effect zone in RPB. The results could provide a theoretical basis for further study on gas solid catalytic reaction or the gas liquid mass transfer process in RPB.".
• 01GQQEWA5MP0BSVFW3WYEGEZPW abstract "Rotating packed beds (RPBs) have attracted widespread attention due to their high mass transfer efficiency. In this paper, gas flow characteristics in a rotating spherical packing bed (RSPB) were investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the effects of various parameters were analyzed. The numerical results of velocity distribution and turbulent kinetic energy were in agreement with the published experimental data. The turbulent kinetic energy in the inner edge of the rotor was obviously higher than that in the main region, and a gas end-effect zone was specified when Re-omega/Re-G > 980.4. Reducing the gas flow rate and particle size and increasing the rotational speed decreased the gas backmixing. These results could provide a theoretical basis for the application of RSPBs and the choice of catalyst particle size in the field of gas-solid catalytic reactions.".
• 01GQQEWA5RNSBT46EKGTC6V1S1 abstract "Micromixing performance of reactors has great influence on fast reactions such as polymerization, pharmaceutical and crystallization applications. In this work, based on Villermaux-Dushman iodide-iodate reaction system, an experimental investigation of micromixing with non-Newtonian fluid (CMC solution) in a rotation packed bed (RPB) was carried out. And a two-dimensional RPB Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model coupled with shear-thinning rheological property was developed. Both experimental and numerical results indicated that increasing rotational speed could dramatically improve the micromixing performance due to the shear-thinning behavior in the RPB. Especially, the CMC concentration was an important factor that should be carefully considered, which showed quite different impacts on micromixing efficiency with liquid flow rate. In addition, based on incorporation model and experimental results, the micromixing time of the RPB with nonNewtonian fluid was determined as 4.1x10(-4) s(-1).9x10(-3) s. This fundamental research had guiding significance for practical operations of RPBs when processing non-Newtonian fluids.".
• 01GQQEWA62GE4DQKXFJGQQZ3RE abstract "Rotating packed bed (RPB) as an HiGee process intensification reactor can provide high micromixing efficiency, which is essential for fast reactions in fine chemicals, pharmaceutical and crystallization fields. In this paper, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is developed to investigate the micromixing efficiency in the premixer and packing zone of an RPB based on Villermaux-Dushman reaction system and a modified Finite-rate/Eddy dissipation micromixing model. The numerical results agree well with the experimental data in the literature on the liquid flow pattern and segregation index X-S. An important model constant A(m) is obtained after the validation of CFD model, which shows correlation with the liquid viscosity. It is shown that better micro mixing efficiency could be achieved using higher liquid flow rate, lower viscosity or higher rotational speed. Shorter premixer and smaller inlet diameter ratio can improve the micromixing efficiency at mu = 1.0cp, and longer premixer and larger inlet diameter ratio is a better combination at mu = 219.2cp. Cross flow mixing angle could reduce the segregation index X-S in both cases. Finally, guiding principles are proposed for designing the premixer for systems with different viscosities, which can be employed for premixer optimization in order to improve the micromixing efficiency of RPBs.".
• 01GQQEWA669707EPWD3JSKJ44P abstract "To understand the mechanism of droplet dispersion, the behaviors of a droplet impacting on a single-layer wire mesh were investigated by computational fluid dynamics simulations with a detailed 3D geometry of real woven wire meshes. After validating the simulation data, the effects of different operating conditions on the liquid dispersion were systematically studied. The results showed that the cone angle of dispersion of the hydrophobic wire mesh increased by 37-103%, compared with the hydrophilic wire mesh. A more accurate dispersion angle can be obtained by the 3D simulation, compared to the previous high-speed imaging experiments with 2D photographs. The ratio of dissipated energy of the droplet impacting on the hydrophobic wire mesh was 29% lower than that on the hydrophilic wire mesh, allowing us to reveal the dispersion intensification mechanism of droplet breakage. This study provides insights into the droplet impaction and dispersion on the wire mesh packing, which can guide reactor design and optimization.".
• 01GQQEWA6AZZ270E6A66CSPW4Z abstract "The newly proposed one-equation Wray-Agarwal (WA) turbulence model coupled with Euler-Euler (E-E) approach was used to simulate the gas-liquid flow in a square bubble column, which further validated the accuracy and expanded the application of the WA model comparing to a preliminary study (Ouyang et al., 2019). All simulation results of the WA model were compared with two widely used turbulence models of standard k-epsilon and SST k-omega and literature data. The numerical results of the time-averaged axial liquid and gas velocity were validated with experimental data, and it was found that the WA model showed overall the best agreement. Profiles of turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent dissipation rate, turbulent viscosity and gas holdup were investigated at three different heights. Results for the first time validate the WA model based on the turbulent characteristic values of gas-liquid flow in the bubble column, which shows its promising prospective in multiphase flow simulation. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.".
• 01GQQEWA6DC8QDZDDSXWDSS9DM abstract "A novel multiphase tank reactor with foam block stirrer, also called rotating foam stirrer reactor (RFSR), was used to intensify ozone mass transfer and oxidation of synthetic textile wastewater processes for the first time. Results show that the RSFR can improve the ozone mass transfer process by adjusting operation conditions and gas hydromechanics. In order to predict the volumetric mass transfer coefficient, a set of correlation was developed within +/- 15% deviation. Further, based on an Acid Red B (ARB) solution used as simulated synthetic textile wastewater, it was found that the removal efficiency was improved by intensifying ozone mass transfer process, and changing operation conditions can promote the transformation of the ozone oxidation path to an indirect reaction way. Finally, results show that the Fe-Co oxides coated on the foam block stirrer can further intensify the degradation processes in the ARB solution. This study gives a fundamental understanding of the intensification mechanism of the RFSR and shows the promising prospect of an RFSR used in in the wastewater treatment.".
• 01GQQFKH9W43CBCJR43ZNJWJQM abstract "Process intensification equipment is playing an increasingly role in the emulsion process. A novel rotating solid foam stirrer tank (RSFST) is developed in this work to try to intensify the liquid-liquid emulsification process. The effects of operating parameters and physical parameters, such as emulsification time, rotational speed, packing size, dispersed phase volume fraction, and continuous-phase viscosity, on the droplet size distribution and Sauter mean diameter d32 of oil-in-water emulsions produced in RSFST were investigated using a kerosene-water system. To benchmark the emulsion performance of the RSFST, a Rushton stirrer is used a reference stirrer and the generated droplet size and average energy dissipation rate as the evaluation metrics. Based on the experimental data of emulsification under different operating conditions and physical parameters, models are applied to describe the bimodal distribution of oil-in-water emulsion droplet sizes, and correlation is proposed to predict the Sauter mean diameter d32 of RSFST. This work provides fundamental data for practical applications of RSFST used in emulsion process intensification.".
• 01GQQFP1X9TCFQ1T6JTH8PNTQH abstract "Recently, a solid foam block (SFB) stirred tank has attracted wide attention owing to its excellent mass transfer efficiency. However, more fundamental information is needed to deepen the understanding of the strengthening mechanism and application of this novel stirrer. Therefore, in this work, the flow regimes and the effective interfacial area as the crucial information for the mass transfer process in the SFB stirred tank are investigated by high-speed imaging and the Danckwerts-plot technique. Four typical flow regimes are revealed in the SFB stirred tank, which corresponds to the three changes in the effective interfacial area from 30 to 1490 m − 1 when adjusting the operating conditions. Correlations are respectively developed with the deviation of ±10% and ±15% to distinguish the flow regimes and predict the effective interfacial area in SFB stirred tank. Compared with the Rushton stirred tank, the SFB stirred tank is able to generate two times effective interfacial areas at fixed power input, showing superior performance and the promising prospect in some certain multiphase application fields.".
• 01GQQGNF1MMY6GSW6F4D4M665K abstract "In men, prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequently occurring cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death. A major issue in the clinical management of PCa is the early detection of recurrent disease after radical prostatectomy or local therapy with curative intent. Approximately 30% of patients experience biochemical recurrence within ten years. For salvage therapy to be successful, the detection of recurrent disease and the precise localization of metastases is necessary to determine the most appropriate treatment. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging allows to detect functional alternations before any morphological changes occur. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in reliable imaging biomarkers to accurately visualize the disease. Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a promising target for the development of PET radioligands because of its overexpression on PCa cells. [18F]AlF-PSMA-11 was evaluated as a PSMA targeting PET tracer in a preclinical and clinical setting. In vivo experiments in PCa xenograft bearing mice allowed to extensively evaluate the influence of the molar activity and PSMA expression level on the biodistribution and tumor uptake of [18F]AlF-PSMA-11. These results highlighted the importance of taking into account the molar activity in PSMA imaging and its potential use in reducing uptake in dose-limiting organs during PSMA radioligand therapy. Comparing [18F]AlF-PSMA-11 to other PSMA radiotracers [68Ga]PSMA-11 and [18F]PSMA-1007 suggested [18F]AlF-PSMA-11 to be a suitable PSMA PET tracer. The phase I clinical trial demonstrated the safety and low radiation burden of [18F]AlF-PSMA-11. The following phase II clinical trial determined the recommended scan protocol to be imaging for 3 min/bed position at 1h post 2 MBq [18F]AlF-PSMA-11/kg body weight administration. Meanwhile, [18F]AlF-PSMA-11 has been successfully introduced into routine clinical practice and readily available for patient care.".
• 01GQQSYJ9YWBN7SAVDF5YVD9E2 abstract "Met het recente overlijden van C.C. Krijgelmans verliest de Nederlandstalige literatuur een belangrijke experimentele schrijver, die in 1968 de Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord ontving voor ‘Homunculi’. Krijgelmans’ overlijden zet de vraag op scherp: hoe is het vandaag gesteld met experiment in de literatuur? Literair onderzoeker Jan-Bart Claus begeeft zich in de marge van de letteren, op zoek naar schrijvers die schuren, wringen en durven te falen.".
• 01GQQW3YGT1SQN4J5SF6QJ1PPP abstract "The role that seaweeds play as primary producers and ecosystems engineers in marine coastal ecosystems is widely acknowledged. Seaweeds, however, are also important drivers in the development of the blue bioeconomy due to their vast diversity of unique chemicals with a broad range of industrial and biotechnological applications. In tropical regions, seaweed production has been focused on a few species only, because of their hydrocolloids used in the food industry. There is a strong need to identify new applications of red seaweed species in other sectors such as aquaculture. Therefore, to diversify the culture of red seaweeds, more tropical species need to be investigated for their chemical composition and potential application in aquaculture, and then, to develop a method for a sustainable cultivation of new seaweed candidates and enhance their economic potential. Based on this context, we analyze the potential value of the red edible seaweed Acanthophora spp., an under-valued seaweed species which is naturally abundant in tropical countries, and Kappaphycus spp., a commercially valuable seaweed commonly used for polysaccharide extraction. The vast chemical diversity of seaweeds (polysaccharides, phytohormones, amino acids, and pigments) has led to research on a wide range of applications in aquaculture, including pathogen control, immunostimulant, antioxidant, bioremediation, feed, UV protectants, increase in seafood shelf life, animal colorant, and growth regulator for microalga culture. This review hopes to stimulate the interest among seaweed researchers to investigate other local seaweed species and seek greater added value of their biomass and chemical compounds and their applications in the aquaculture sector. Additionally, this information will help stakeholders to benefit from these two red seaweeds by contributing to the diversification of the blue bioeconomy in tropical countries.".
• 01GQQW3YH0ZAF8W38GPV2N20ZQ abstract "The green seaweed Ulva is important from ecological and economic perspectives, but the identification of species is often problematic. Here we assessed and discussed different perspectives to establish a stable taxonomic framework for Ulva, which will benefit both ecological and applied research. We evaluated (1) the performance of commonly used DNA-barcode markers (ITS rDNA, rbcL, and tufA) using species delimitation methods (PTP and GMYC), (2) the usage of species names in the literature, and (3) the geographic coverage of genetic data to identify poorly sampled regions. Species delimitation employing the tufA gene was the most consistent across methods. Not surprisingly, DNA-based species delimitation was often in disagreement with traditional morphology-based species definitions. Biological species concepts, where tested, proved to be generally narrower than DNA-based species delimitation. Although the use of molecular markers has greatly improved our view of Ulva diversity, the names associated with DNA sequences in public databases are often unreliable, complicating species identification. Recently, sequencing type materials has considerably reduced the gap between DNA sequence data and Linnaean names, but our knowledge on Ulva diversity remains inadequate, especially in tropical regions. Perspectives for Ulva taxonomy include the consistent use of multiple DNA-barcode markers assisted by species delimitation methods, applications of genomic data, and crossing experiments. To arrive at a stable nomenclature, we outline the benefits and shortcomings of adhering to the rules and practices of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, for example, by sequencing name-bearing types and discuss alternative approaches.".
• 01GQQW3YH44P9FGEHJYQ4A2S22 abstract "We investigated the globally distributed red algal genus Pterocladiella, comprising 24 described species, many of which are economically important sources of agar and agarose. We used DNA-based species delimitation approaches, phylogenetic, and historical biogeographical analyses to uncover cryptic diversity and infer the drivers of biogeographic patterns. We delimited 43 species in Pterocladiella, of which 19 are undescribed. Our multigene time-calibrated phylogeny and ancestral area reconstruction indicated that Pterocladiella most likely originated during the Early Cretaceous in the Tethys Sea. Ancient Tethyan vicariance and long-distance dispersal have shaped current distribution patterns. The ancestor of Eastern Pacific species likely arose before the formation of the formidable Eastern Pacific Barrier-a first confirmation using molecular data in red algae. Divergences of Northeast and Southeast Pacific species have been driven by the Central American Seaway barrier, which, paradoxically, served as a dispersal pathway for Atlantic species. Both long- and short-distance dispersal scenarios are supported by genetic relationships within cosmopolitan species based on haplotype analysis. Asymmetrical distributions and the predominance of peripatry and sympatry between sister species suggest the importance of budding speciation in Pterocladiella. Our study highlights the underestimation of global diversity in these crucial components of coastal ecosystems and provides evidence for the complex evolution of current species distributions.".
• 01GQQW3YH94XMJ37SBB72S6YT0 abstract "The calcified encrusting brown algal genus Newhousia is reported from three new archipelagos in the Pacific: (1) Society Islands, French Polynesia; (2) Guam, Mariana Islands; and (3) Vanuatu. Newhousia presents a simple morphology consisting of small, rounded, two-layered calcified blades with limited interspecific variability in morphological features. Consequently, resolving cryptic diversity in Newhousia requires molecular phylogenetics. Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees, based on the concatenated cox1, cox3, psbA, rbcL and 18S rDNA sequences, supported a sister relationship of Newhousia with Lobophora/Zonaria clade. Analyses revealed five distinct evolutionary lineages within Newhousia. Genetic variation between the lineage from Guam and the two hitherto known Newhousia species, N. imbricata from Hawaii and N. yagha from Papua New Guinea, warrant the description of one new species, N. sumayensis sp. nov. The other two lineages, from the Society Islands and Vanuatu, were identified as geographically distinct populations of N. imbricata with limited genetic variation, rather than independent species. In the Society Islands, N. imbricata is common between depths of 10 m and 20 m as unattached spherical structures, or attached to hard substrate. In Guam, N. sumayensis sp. nov. grows abundantly in sciophilous habitats at depths of 10-21 m. We provide the first documentation of spores for this genus and of structures resembling plurilocular antheridia. Increased sampling throughout the Indo-Pacific region is required to further elucidate the distribution range and patterns of species richness in Newhousia.".
• 01GQQW3YHDGZ04G9Y9M7FMWH1K abstract "Kelp forests are declining in many regions globally with climatic perturbations causing shifts to alternate communities and significant ecological and economic loss. Range edge populations are often at most risk and are often only sustained through localised areas of upwelling or on deeper reefs. Here we document the loss of kelp forests (Ecklonia radiata) from the Sultanate of Oman, the only confirmed northern hemisphere population of this species. Contemporary surveys failed to find any kelp in its only known historical northern hemisphere location, Sadah on the Dhofar coast. Genetic analyses of historical herbarium specimens from Oman confirmed the species to be E. radiata and revealed the lost population contained a common CO1 haplotype found across South Africa, Australia and New Zealand suggesting it once established through rapid colonisation throughout its range. However, the Omani population also contained a haplotype that is found nowhere else in the extant southern hemisphere distribution of E. radiata. The loss of the Oman population could be due to significant increases in the Arabian Sea temperature over the past 40 years punctuated by suppression of coastal upwelling. Climate-mediated warming is threatening the persistence of temperate species and precipitating loss of unique genetic diversity at lower latitudes.".
• 01GQQW3YHJR2WZQ6WFNT3CTW87 abstract "The Ulvophyceae, a major group of green algae, is of particular evolutionary interest because of its remarkable morphological and ecological diversity. Its phylogenetic relationships and diversification timeline, however, are still not fully resolved. In this study, using an extensive nuclear gene dataset, we apply coalescent- and concatenation-based approaches to reconstruct the phylogeny of the Ulvophyceae and to explore the sources of conflict in previous phylogenomic studies. The Ulvophyceae is recovered as a paraphyletic group, with the Bryopsidales being a sister group to the Chlorophyceae, and the remaining taxa forming a clade (Ulvophyceae sensu stricto). Molecular clock analyses with different calibration strategies emphasize the large impact of fossil calibrations, and indicate a Meso-Neoproterozoic origin of the Ulvophyceae (sensu stricto), earlier than previous estimates. The results imply that ulvophyceans may have had a profound influence on oceanic redox structures and global biogeochemical cycles at the Mesoproterozoic-Neoproterozoic transition.".
• 01GQRR9YP0NPNM7C68ERAVTT6F abstract "Porcelain tile materials comprise quartz particles embedded in a glassy matrix. The difference in the linear expansion coefficient between the matrix and these crystalline particles causes cracks to appear in the quartz particles or at the interface with the matrix. The variation of the modulus of elasticity with temperature and in particular the difference of this modulus between the heating and cooling processes (hysteresis) is a technique that can be used to analyze the presence of these cracks and explain their generation during the cooling step which takes place immediately after firing. A mechanism has been advanced so as to justify this hysteresis in the analysed materials. In the present study a series of compositions made up of a sodium feldspar matrix with different quartz contents and particle sizes were prepared. The compositions were uniaxally pressed, dried, fired at the maximum densification temperature and finally slowly or rapidly cooled depending on the conditions chosen. Then the variation of modulus of elasticity in the 22–700 ºC temperature range was determined by means of the impulse excitation technique which enabled to quantify the hysteresis cycle. To visualize microcracking in the samples after firing process, scanning electron microscopy was used. The curves of variation of the elastic modulus with temperature were carried out at different maximum temperatures, allowing validating the proposed mechanism to explain the hysteresis. It was shown that this hysteresis may be directly related to the pre-existent cracks that on heating and cooling are closed and opened up respectively, thus changing the elastic modulus. Furthermore the findings showed that the elastic modulus curve displayed two temperature-dependent behaviours: (i) below 573 ºC the hysteresis correlates well with the mean particle size of quartz and (ii) above 573 ºC the elastic modulus variation is majorly influenced by the amount of quartz. The results of this work contribute to a better understanding of quartz behaviour in porcelain tile materials. In addition the analysis of the hysteresis curves can be used as an interesting complementary method to determine the influence of particle size distribution, mass fraction and composition of crystalline particles on the microstructure and mechanical properties of porcelain tile materials. This will be helpful to produce more suitable porcelain tiles for specific applications.".
• 01GQS14FFD0TK8HZRG693Z2VF0 abstract "Nieuwe technologieën ontwikkelen zich sneller dan ooit, en dat creëert tegelijk kansen en uitdagingen voor het politiewerk. Politiediensten worden vandaag geconfronteerd met enorme hoeveelheden data, soms gestructureerd, maar veelal ongestructureerde informatiestromen. Het gebruik van artificiële intelligentie en big data staat centraal in dit Cahier, maar het gaat niet uitsluitend over de praktische toepassingen hiervan. In bredere zin wordt gereflecteerd over de ontwikkelingen inzake big data policing en de manier waarop een verantwoorde inbedding in het politiewerk tot stand kan komen.".
• 01GQS23Z8T0TPAY1TPY3CK4F8W abstract "Wetenschappelijke theorieën bieden verklaringen voor verschijnselen in de wereld en ze vormen tevens een kompas in het toetsen van deze theorieën, met als doel het corroboreren of falsifiëren van diens hypothesen. De komst van big data leek hier aanvankelijk verandering in te brengen. Experts claimden 'het einde van theorieën’ en dat ‘de stortvloed aan data de wetenschappelijke methode overbodig maakt’. Deze provocerende stellingen gingen als een aardschok door de wetenschappelijke wereld. Zonder de overtuiging te hebben dat deze claims op waarheid berusten, leiden ze ons wel tot de vraag wat de rol is van theoretische verklaringen in een big-datatijdperk? En wat voegen big data toe aan de zoektocht naar en toetsing van theoretische verklaringen van criminaliteit? In deze bijdrage wordt vanuit epistemologisch perspectief gereflecteerd op de rol van theoretische verklaringen in een big-datatijdperk en wat big data zelf al dan niet toevoegen aan vorming en toetsing van wetenschappelijke theorieën.".
• 01GQS3HFR979XAR2DAKF4WYSYN abstract "Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the underlying temperamental structure of the Dutch Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ; B. Van den Bergh & M. Ackx, 2003) was identical for children who stutter (CWS), typically developing children (TDC), and children with vocal nodules (CWVN). Method: A principal axis factor analysis was performed on data obtained with the Dutch CBQ from 69 CWS, 149 TDC, and 41 CWVN. All children were between the ages of 3; 0 (years; months) and 8;11. Results: Results indicated a 3-factor solution, identified as Extraversion/Surgency, Negative Affect, and Effortful Control, for each of the participant groups, showing considerable similarity to previously published U.S., Chinese, Japanese, and Dutch samples. Congruence coefficients were highest for CWS and TDC and somewhat more modest when comparing CWVN and TDC. The Effortful Control factor consistently yielded the lowest congruence coefficients. Conclusion: These data confirm that although stuttering, voice-disordered, and typically developing children may differ quantitatively with regard to mean scores on temperament scales, they are similar in terms of their overall underlying temperament structure. The equivalence of temperament structure provides a basis for further comparison of mean group scores on the individual temperament scales.".
• 01GQS3KNBDTD2ZG24JNB4VT5MW abstract "Fernandez-Fernandez, J, Moreno-Perez, V, Cools, A, Nakamura, FY, Teixeira, AS, Ellenbecker, T, Johansson, F, and Sanz-Rivas, D. The effects of a compensatory training program adding an isoinertial device in the shoulder function on young tennis players. J Strength Cond Res 37(5): 1096-1103, 2023-The aim of this study was to analyze whether a compensatory training program, including isoinertial flywheel training, could reduce shoulder imbalances in a group of asymptomatic young tennis players. After an initial evaluation, 26 young tennis players were assigned to either a supervised flywheel training group (FTG, n = 13) or a control group (CG, n = 13). Shoulder passive internal (IR) and external rotation (ER) range of motion (ROM) as well as shoulder IR and ER maximal isometric strength were measured before and after a 12-week training intervention, performed 3 times per week. After the intervention, results showed significant changes for IR (p < 0.001, effect size [ES] = 1.83) and ER (p < 0.001, ES = 1.77) on the dominant (D) side, and IR on the nondominant (ND) side (p < 0.001, ES = 2.24) in the FTG compared with the CG. Regarding the ROM values, results showed that the FTG achieved significantly greater increases for the IR ROM (p < 0.001, ES = 3.32) and total ROM (TROM) (p = 0.004, ES = 1.39) on the D and ND sides (IR ROM: p = 0.002, ES = 1.53; TROM: p < 0.001, ES = 2.35) than the CG. Moreover, the CG displayed larger decrements in ER ROM (p = 0.016, ES = 1.12) on the ND side after the training period than the FTG. The conducted compensatory training program was effective to increase the ER strength and IR mobility of the FTG players, which led to a reduction in the glenohumeral imbalances.".
• 01GQS3SAFP6VA9K8VNSFS9GPG6 abstract "Bearing failure is a cause of concern in a variety of machinery such as turbines, transmissions, drills, engines, etc. It is often associated with rolling contact fatigue (RCF) triggered from damage initiation at non-metallic in-clusions (NMI's). Experimental evidence shows that damage initiation lifetime is highly sensitive to the NMI characteristics and its bonding with the steel matrix. This study numerically investigates the role of NMI features and its bonding with the steel matrix on damage initiation lifetime. NMI characteristics modelled in this study are derived from an experimental investigation of a failed bearing. Simulation results highlight a near to instanta-neous debonding at the matrix-inclusion interface followed by accelerated crack initiation. The critical depth for damage initiation shifts towards the surface with the increase in friction coefficient between roller and raceway. The simulations also reveal that larger inclusions show earlier damage initiation, indicating a size effect. The damage hotspots from the simulation results were compared with experimental findings and a hypothesis for crack initiation from a NMI is put forward.".
• 01GQS4NJZAR82814CSHPRZW2MQ abstract "Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether previously reported questionnaire-based differences in self-regulatory behaviors (Eggers, De Nil, & Van den Bergh, 2009, 2010) between children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS) would also be reflected in their underlying attentional networks. Method: Participants consisted of 41 CWS (mean age = 6; 09; years; months) and 41 CWNS (mean age = 6; 09) ranging in age from 4;00 to 9;00. Participants were matched on age and gender. The efficiency of the attentional networks was assessed by using the computerized Attention Network Test (Fan, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz, & Posner, 2002). Results: Primary results indicated that CWS had a significantly lower efficiency of the orienting network compared with CWNS, whereas no differences were found on the alerting or executive control network. Conclusion: Current findings corroborate previously found differences in self-regulatory behavior and were taken to suggest a possible role for attentional processes in developmental stuttering.".
• 01GQS625QN63FV9EN8NN6K3JZK abstract "Alkali-geactiveerde cementen (AAC) zijn in dat opzicht beloftevolle alternatieven. Dit type cementen wordt namelijk geproduceerd door een reactief aluminosilicaat, zoals gemalen hoogovenslakken (GGBFS), vliegassen (FA), metakaolin (MK) of andere precursoren, te activeren met een activator-oplossing, zoals natriumhydroxide, natriumsilicaat of natriumcarbonaat. Goed ontworpen AAC kunnen prima kwaliteiten vertonen zoals een hogere mechanische sterkte dan PC en een betere duurzaamheidsweerstand tegen hoge temperaturen, zuur-en sulfaataantasting. Desalniettemin is het belangrijk om ook een beter begrip op te bouwen over hoe de verwerkbaarheid en uitharding zich ontwikkelt om het gebruik van AAC verder te promoten. Een beter begrip zou toelaten om ook mengsels samen te stellen met een geschikte vloei, stabiliteit, verpompbaarheid, etc. ten behoeve van het plaatsingsproces van vers alkali-geactiveerd beton. In dit proefschrift worden de effecten van verschillende factoren, zoals de activatoreigenschappen en precursor beïnvloedt, op het reologische en uithardingsgedrag onderzocht. De correlatie tussen de nanostructuur en de initiële structuuropbouw van AAC werd ook onderzocht.".
• 01GQS687S454CHZVFRP99WYBMB abstract "Betrouwbare en hoogperformante draadloze systemen zijn de sleutel tot succes voor huidige en toekomstige technologische revoluties, zoals het Internet der Dingen, Industrie4.0 en het 5G/6G communicatienetwerk. Het explosief toenemend aantal gebruikers, de vraag naar steeds hogere datasnelheden, en de nood aan onzichtbare integratie brengen echter een reeks uitdagingen met zich mee. Het eerste deel van dit proefschrift onderzoekt de naadloze integratie van antennesystemen in alledaagse voorwerpen om connectiviteit toe te voegen zonder hun oorspronkelijke functie te verstoren. Dit wordt aangetoond door geprinte conforme antennes rechtstreeks in de harde schaal van een slimme reiskoffer te integreren en zo een betrouwbare oplossing te bieden voor de lokalisatie van reiskoffers met behulp van opkomende LPWAN-technologieën. Om optimale antenneprestaties te garanderen in realistische gebruiksomstandigheden wordt een systeem-georiënteerde integratiestrategie gehanteerd. Het tweede deel van dit proefschrift spitst zich toe op hoogperformante millimetergolf antenneroosters in luchtgevulde substraatgeïntegreerde golfgeleidertechnologie(AFSIW) met optische bundelsturing. Eerst wordt een AFSIW-gebaseerd antenne-element voorgesteld dat erin slaagt een hoge efficiëntie en impedantiebandbreedte te verzoenen met compacte afmetingen. Vervolgens wordt een geavanceerd antennerooster gepresenteerd voor millimetergolf-over-vezelgebaseerde gedistribueerde antennesystemen. Uitstekende prestaties worden behaald door specifiek ontworpen opto-elektrische zendketens compact te integreren met een breedbandig AFSIW antennerooster, en gebruik te maken van een fotonisch geïntegreerd bundelstuurcircuit.".
• 01GQS87SNVYZMXZTFSMRXACZWP abstract "In this talk, we explore how the paradigm of embodied cognition can shed new light on selected texts by Bachmann. We hypothesize that Bachmann describes the workings of hyperlexia in one of her earliest childhood memories, thus departing from psychoanalytic interpretations that posit a negative effect of the biographical father as putative "primary scene". In a second step, we focus on characteristics of heightened sensual experience – "mehr gefühlte als geführte Kriege" – on the one hand, and on character constellations that echo the experience of school trauma, citing poems and fragments from "Malina" and "Das Buch Franza". Neurodiversity in Ingeborg Bachmann's oeuvre perspires as surface reading, as timeblindness, intensified sensory perception, and as a dizzying potential for empathy approaching mirror-touch-synesthesia. Direct or indirect objections to the hypothesis (e.g., Dröscher-Teille 2021; the low incidence of synesthesia, Blau 1978) or to the paradigm of neurodiversity itself (e.g., Flaßpöhler's opinion that hypersensitivity is used inflationarily nowadays) are also discussed. The aforementioned aspects have already been mentioned sporadically in research (Hendrix 2005), mostly through the lense of trauma, but have not yet been systematically investigated from a developmental and neurocognitive perspective. We argue that trauma is indeed prominent in Bachmann’s works, confirming e.g. Kanz' hypothesis on fear. Yet, fear is offset by a persistent drive for autonomy, fearlessness and a propensity for speed. In doing so, we draw on embodied cognition theory, which emphasises that the body plays a crucial role in both direct perception and abstract mental operations through sensorimotor processes. Through embodied writing, Bachmann resists the pathological discourse on anxiety disorders (Laimböck 2022) and she achieves a depathologisation of atypical experiences.".
• 01GQS8KA3D6D98ZME6DX7J2ZET abstract "Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether previously reported parental questionnaire-based differences in attentional shifting and inhibitory control (AS and IC; Eggers, De Nil, & Van den Bergh, 2010) would be supported by direct measurement of AS and IC using a computer task. Method: Participants were 16 Finnish children who stutter (CWS; mean age = 7.06 years) and 16 Finnish children who do not stutter (mean age = 7.05 years). Participants were matched on age (+/- 8 months) and gender. AS and IC were assessed by the auditory set-shifting task of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (De Sonneville, 2009). Results: No group differences were found for the speed of auditory AS or IC. However, CWS, as a group, scored significantly lower on the accuracy (error percentage) of auditory AS. In addition, CWS, compared with the children who do not stutter, showed a higher increase in error percentages under AS and IC conditions. Conclusions: The findings on error percentages partly corroborate earlier questionnaire-based findings showing difficulties in CWS on AS and IC. Moreover, it also seems to imply that CWS are less able to slow down their responses to achieve higher accuracy rates.".
• 01GQS9DZHWSSH2YNFMTYCT7REN abstract "Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are very common in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). The upper limb is one of the regions that is most frequently affected generally presenting limited joint mobility, pain, and a decreased muscle strength. Most clinical trials with a focus on shoulder musculoskeletal rehabilitation are carried out in patients who do not present DM. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to compare the effects of two distinct treatment protocols (conventional shoulder musculoskeletal rehabilitation combined with aerobic exercises versus solely conventional shoulder musculoskeletal rehabilitation) on shoulder pain, function, strength, kinematics, and supraspinatus tendon thickness in patients with type 2 DM after 12 weeks of intervention and a subsequent follow-up at week 20. Methods: A randomized controlled superiority trial will be conducted. Participants with a clinical diagnosis of type 2 DM of both sexes, age between 40 and 70 years, presenting shoulder pain will be randomly assigned to one of the following groups: (1) conventional shoulder musculoskeletal rehabilitation combined with aerobic exercises; (2) solely conventional shoulder musculoskeletal rehabilitation. All individuals will be evaluated before starting the treatment protocol (baseline) and at the end of treatment (post 12 weeks) and as a follow-up at 20 weeks. The shoulder function assessed by the SPADI (Shoulder Pain and Disability Index) questionnaire will be considered as primary outcome; the secondary outcome will be shoulder pain, measured with NPRS scales. Other outcomes will include range of motion, measured using a digital inclinometer; isometric shoulder muscle strength, measured using a manual muscle dynamometer; shoulder kinematics, measured using three-dimensional inertial units measurement; supraspinatus tendon thickness, measured using an ultrasound; AGE accumulation, using a skin autofluorescence measurement; and HbA1c (hemoglobin a1c), fasting glucose and lipid profile measured by a simple blood test. Discussion: DM is a highly prevalent disease and a public health problem worldwide, and the upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders in DM are barely recognized and largely underestimated. In this way, it would be interesting to analyze if the combination of aerobic exercises with conventional musculoskeletal rehabilitation protocols could generate better results in the functionality, pain, mobility and an improvement in the biochemical aspects related to the hyperglycemia of these patients compared to solely the conventional musculoskeletal rehabilitation.".
• 01GQSACGT9AE75MS86CM79AKD1 abstract "This study evaluates the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR) complementary spectral ranges to predict six different quality traits, which include chemical components such as amylose, starch, protein, glucose, cellulose, and moisture contents, in tubers and root flours. The sequential orthogonalized partial least square regression (SOPLS), a recently developed multi-sensor data-fusion approach, was adapted to improve the performance of the model in predicting the chemical properties of the flour samples. Furthermore, the performance of the SOPLS model was compared to that of traditional PLS modeling. Compared to the earlier results acquired using individual sensor modeling (with the traditional PLS model), the SOPLS fusion model showed significant improvement in the prediction performance for all cases except glucose. Particularly, the highest improvement in performance was observed for the prediction of cellulose, showing a 22.8% increase in coefficient of determination for prediction (R-2 p) and 66.5% decrease in root mean square of prediction (RMSEP) values. Therefore, we concluded that the data-fusion approach used in this study exhibited better performance compared to the model using individual sensors. Furthermore, the multi-sensor fusion with the sequential approach is not limited to NIR and MIR data only and can be used for complementary information fusion to further improve the performance of the model.".
• 01GQSDYWTDRZ5DC406CHEN4KN6 abstract "This is a study on Tchaikovsky's opera Yevgeni Onegin in relation to its literary source, Pushkin's novel in verse with the same title. The study intends to answer the basic question that has haunted the opera's reception ever since, namely the added value the opera may offer to the reception of the literary original. The study values Tchaikovsky as a master of characterisation in music second to none. His special ability to define situations and characters in tones makes this opera a worthy equivalent to Pushkin's literary masterpiece.".
• 01GQSECNH1F8BDQT1G0KVRZBMF abstract "Purpose: Speech and language development in individuals with Down syndrome is often delayed and/or disordered and speech disfluencies appear to be more common. These disfluencies have been labeled over time as stuttering, cluttering or both. Findings: were usually generated from studies with adults or a mixed age group, quite often using different methodologies, making it difficult to compare findings. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze and describe the speech disfluencies of a group, only consisting of children with Down Syndrome between 3 and 13 years of age. Method: Participants consisted of 26 Dutch-speaking children with DS. Spontaneous speech samples were collected and 50 utterances were analyzed for each child. Types of disfluencies were identified and classified into stuttering-like (SLD) and other disfluencies (OD). The criterion of three or more SLD per 100 syllables (cf. Ambrose & Yairi, 1999) was used to identify stuttering. Additional parameters such as mean articulation rate (MAR), ratio of disfluencies, and telescoping (cf. Coppens-Hofrnan et al., 2013) were used to identify cluttering and to differentiate between stuttering and cluttering. Results & conclusion: Approximately 30 percent of children with DS between 3 and 13 years of age in this study stutter, which is much higher than the prevalence in normally developing children. Moreover, this study showed that the speech of children with DS has a different distribution of types of disfluencies than the speech of normally developing children. Although different cluttering-like characteristics were found in the speech of young children with DS, none of them could be identified as cluttering or cluttering-stuttering.".
• 01GQSEH49E2X6F6JPY25C2YZGZ abstract "Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to examine relations between children's exogenously triggered response inhibition and stuttering. Method: Participants were 18 children who stutter (CWS; mean age = 9;01 years) and 18 children who not stutter (CWNS; mean age = 9;01 years). Participants were matched on age (+/- 3 months) and gender. Response inhibition was assessed by a stop signal task (Verbruggen, Logan, & Stevens, 2008). Results: Results suggest that CWS, compared to CWNS, perform comparable to CWNS in a task where response control is externally triggered. Conclusions: Our findings seem to indicate that previous questionnaire-based findings (Eggers, De Nil, & Van den Bergh, 2010) of a decreased efficiency of response inhibition cannot be generalized to all types of response inhibition.".
• 01GQSFDPT23KE03DW3GRHGP6AD abstract "Resumen La utilización de cuestionarios como instrumentos de medición implica el uso de procesos lingüísticos. La variedad intralingüística del español conlleva diferentes modos de percibir, analizar y actuar en el mundo que deben considerarse al diseñar o adaptar cuestionarios. La armonización de los cuestionarios IA-PCAT (Primary Care Assessment Tools para Iberoamérica) difiere de los escenarios de adaptación transcultural descritos en la literatura porque intenta obtener un único producto en español adecuado para numerosas poblaciones meta a partir la armonización de cuestionarios provenientes de diversas poblaciones fuente hispanohablantes, por lo que requiere innovaciones en las categorías de análisis que se utilizan. El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer definiciones discriminantes de equivalencia conceptual, equivalencia práctica y aceptabilidad lingüística como categorías de análisis para la comprensión de cuestionarios, y ofrecer ejemplos de pruebas de comprensión realizadas mediante entrevistas cognitivas con profesionales y personas usuarias de servicios de salud.".
• 01GQSFDPT23KE03DW3GRHGP6AD abstract "The use of questionnaires as measuring tools involves the use of language. Spanish intralinguistic variation entails differences in the ways of perceiving the world, analyzing events and behaving, which must be taken into account when designing and adapting questionnaires. The IA-PLAT (Primary Care Assessment Tools for lberomerica) harmonization process differs from the cross-cultural adaptation scenarios described in the scientific literature, since it intends to obtain a single Spanish product suitable for multiple target populations, that emanates from questionnaires previously adapted in several populations. Hence, this work requires the use of new analysis categories. The aim of this methodological note is to propose discriminant definitions of conceptual equivalence, practical equivalence and linguistic acceptability as analysis categories of the data collected during cognitive interviews to assess the questionnaires' comprehension, carried out with health professionals and users of healthcare services. (C) 2020 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.".
• 01GQSFPWC0HC6EXT216EJW9CA0 abstract "Khoisan Consciousness is sweeping across South Africa. Exploring multiple perspectives is vital to make sense of it.".
• 01GQSFRM48DSZ5BY02DBWHV1F3 abstract "This paper presents new research of the monumental mountaintop site Monte Primo near Pioraco (Marche, Italy) and the changing landscape in which it is situated. Monte Primo was in use between the Late Bronze Age and the Roman Republic period and is characterized by a series of large enclosures of uncertain date which cover an area of ca. 2 hectares. The earliest occupation of this 1300 m high summit is often interpreted as a fire offering place (Brandopferplatz) related to pastoral land use. Iron Age and Roman activity is attested by various bronze figurines found by metal detectorists and/or looting. Geophysical prospection, aerial photography, and surface modelling allowed to analyze the spatial organization of the large enclosures and natural features on the mountain, and to model the ritualized access to the summit. By placing Monte Primo in a longue durée context of increasing social complexity and landscape formation processes, this article proposes how this site was embedded in its cultural and natural surroundings, and how its role changed during its 1000-year occupation history.".
• 01GQSGFFY0T03XJQJYNVPHPDYR abstract "The motivation to socially connect with peers increases during adolescence in parallel with changes in neurodevelopment. These changes in social motivation create opportunities for experiences that can impact risk for psychopathology, but the specific motivational presentations that confer greater psychopathology risk are not fully understood. To address this issue, we used a latent profile analysis to identify the multidimensional presentations of self-reported social goals in a sample of 220 girls (9-15 years old, M = 11.81, SD = 1.81) that was enriched for internalizing symptoms, and tested the association between social goal profiles and psychopathology. Associations between social goals and brain network connectivity were also examined in a subsample of 138 youth. Preregistered analyses revealed four unique profiles of social goal presentations in these girls. Greater psychopathology was associated with heightened social goals such that higher clinical symptoms were related to a greater desire to attain social competence, avoid negative feedback and gain positive feedback from peers. The profiles endorsing these excessive social goals were characterized by denser connections among social-affective and cognitive control brain regions. These findings thus provide preliminary support for adolescent-onset changes in motivating factors supporting social engagement that may contribute to risk for psychopathology in vulnerable girls.".
• 01GQSM8BBP2D0NXASRH7V4AY6F abstract "For many adolescents, the COVID-19 pandemic represents a uniquely challenging period, and concerns have been raised about whether COVID-19-related stress may increase the risk for self-injurious behaviors among adolescents. This study examined the impact of pre-existing vulnerabilities on the occurrence and frequency of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) through COVID-19-related stress, and whether the impact of COVID-19-related stress on NSSI was buffered by the perceived social support during the pandemic. Participants were 1061 adolescents (52.40% females; M-age = 15.49 years, SD = 0.76) from a two-wave longitudinal study, which included assessments before the COVID-19 onset and one year later the declaration of the pandemic. Path analyses showed that adolescents with a prior history of NSSI, higher levels of internalizing symptoms, and poor regulatory emotional self-efficacy before the COVID-19 pandemic reported higher levels of COVID-19-related stress which in turn increased their risk to engage in NSSI. Besides, the findings did not support the role of social support as a moderator of the association between COVID-19 related stress and the occurrence/frequency of NSSI. These findings suggest that enhanced stress perception may serve as a key pathway for the continuation and development of NSSI among vulnerable adolescents facing adverse life events.".
• 01GQSM8BBX6BNGX5RB9BKXAWVM abstract "Background Peer problems have emerged as important predictors of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) development during adolescence. However, the possibility that adolescents who engage in NSSI may, in turn, be at increased risk for experiencing difficulties with their peers has rarely been examined. This study investigated the reciprocal associations between peer problems (e.g. peer victimization, friendship stress and loneliness) and NSSI throughout adolescence, distinguishing between- and within-person effects. Method Participants were 866 adolescents (54.5% females; M-age = 13.12 years, SD = 0.78), who took part in six waves of data collection. Adolescents completed self-report measures of NSSI, friendship stress and loneliness and they took part in a peer nomination procedure to assess peer victimization. Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPMs) were used to estimate within-person cross-lagged effects between each peer problem and NSSI from Grade 7 to 12. Results After accounting for between-person associations between peer problems and NSSI, results indicated that higher-than-usual levels of NSSI predicted higher-than-usual levels of adolescents' own friendship stress, loneliness and peer victimization at the subsequent time point. Yet, sensitivity analyses revealed that most of these effects were strongly attenuated and explained by within-person fluctuations in depressive symptoms. No within-person cross-lagged effects from peer problems to NSSI were found. Conclusions Findings highlight that the associations between peer problems (i.e. friendship stress, loneliness) and NSSI may be largely explained by shared underlying factors; yet, some evidence also suggests that NSSI engagement may increase adolescents' risk to experience difficulties in the relationships with their peers, in part via increases in depressive symptoms.".
• 01GQSM8BC1SNBQ1F5CJ44YEXD2 abstract "Introduction: Borderline personality features are often associated with toxic social relationships and problematic peer functioning. Less is known, however, about the extent to which bullying experiences may shape the development and maintenance of borderline-related traits during crucial periods of rapid normative developments in impulse and emotion regulation skills. Given the core interpersonal character of borderline personality pathology (BPP), such research focus may be relevant to better understand possible causal social mechanisms in the development of personality difficulties within the borderline trait spectrum. Method: The current longitudinal study examined whether experiences of both bullying perpetration and victimization in pre-adolescence mediated the developmental course of BPP traits between childhood and adolescence. To examine these associations, a sample of children (N = 242; 57% girls; M-age = 10.87 years) was recruited and followed up 1 and 4 years later. Results: Mediation analysis indicated that the prospective link between child and adolescent BPP trait vulnerability was shaped by pre-adolescent experiences of bullying victimization, but not by bullying perpetration. Discussion: These results indicate that the continuity between child and adolescent borderline trait features are partly explained by exposure to bullying victimization, indicating that the impact of environmental invalidation on BPP development also extends to the peer context.".
• 01GQSM8BC4420W1BGFDQDDCEKV abstract "Introduction Although exposure to peer victimization during adolescence has been linked to poorer (perceived) physical health, little is known about how multiple peer stressors may independently and conjointly be related with adolescent physical health outcomes. The current study investigated the unique, interactive, and cumulative effects of peer victimization and two types of peer status (i.e., peer preference and peer popularity) on adolescent perceived physical health, while separating between- and within-person effects. Methods Two hundred and thirty-three adolescents (M-age = 12.7 years; 47.2% females) enrolled in two secondary schools in the Netherlands completed self-report measures and sociometric nominations of peer status four times, every 6 months, during the first 2 years of secondary school. Results Multilevel analysis showed that adolescents who reported higher levels of peer victimization than their peers also reported more perceived physical health problems. Moreover, when adolescents were exposed to higher levels of peer victimization (as compared with their own average levels), they also reported poorer perceived physical health (as compared with their own average levels). No main or interactive effects of peer status were found and the effect of a cumulative peer stress score emerged to be driven by peer victimization. Conclusions Findings revealed both between- and within-person effects of peer victimization on perceived physical health, suggesting that peer victimization may be the most salient peer stressor to affect physical health outcomes in adolescence.".
• 01GQSM8BC7X2YBYMMFNQGSX0Y6 abstract "Prior research has struggled to differentiate cortisol stress response patterns reflective of well-regulated versus dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function among adolescents. Here, we show how exploring profiles of joint HPA-inflammatory stress responsivity, and linking those profiles to pubertal development and peer stress exposure may aid such distinction. Adolescent girls (N = 157, M-age( )= 14.72 years, SD = 1.38) at risk for psychopathology completed assessments of salivary cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, and interleukin-6) prior to and following the Trier Social Stress Test. Adolescents, a close friend, and a caregiver completed questionnaire measures of peer stress and pubertal status. Multitrajectory modeling of adolescents' cortisol and cytokine levels revealed three profiles: low cortisol response-stably low cytokine (n = 75), high cortisol response-stably moderate cytokine (n = 47), and low cortisol response-stably high cytokine (n = 35). Relative to low cortisol response-stably low cytokine, adolescents exhibiting the high cortisol response-stably moderate cytokine profile were more advanced in their pubertal development, but presented with similarly low levels of peer stress exposure. Despite showing cortisol responses that were indistinguishable from low cortisol response-stably low cytokine, adolescents exhibiting the low cortisol response-stably high cytokine profile were more pubertally advanced, but also more likely to have experienced chronic peer strain (self-report) and relational peer victimization (close friend-report). These findings thus illustrate the potential value of taking a multisystem approach to studying adolescent stress responsivity and underscore the importance of considering developmental and social factors when interpreting cortisol stress response patterns. Ultimately, such work may help inform developmental models of neuroendocrine dysregulation and related risk for psychopathology.".
• 01GQSNTAS60K2GPGF82A0QVE8F abstract "Spatio-temporal ground-movement measurements and mappings have been carried out in the Campine coalfield in Belgian Limburg since the closure of the mines to document post-mining effects. MT-InSAR measurements are compared to groundwater head changes in the overburden and to height data from the closest GNSS stations. Radar interferometry is used to estimate the extension and the velocity of ground movements. In particular, the MT-InSAR technique has been applied to SAR acquisitions of the satellites ERS-1/2 (1991–2005), ENVISAT (2003–2010), COSMO-SkyMed (2011–2014), and Sentinel-1A (2014–2022). The images were processed and used to highlight a switch from subsidence to uplift conditions in the western part of the coal basin, while the eastern part had already been affected by a rebound since the beginning of the ERS-1/2 acquisitions. Following the closure of the last active colliery of Zolder in 1992 and the subsequent cease of mine-water pumping, a recharge of mine-water aquifers occurred in the western part of the basin. This process provoked the change from subsidence to uplift conditions that was recorded during the ENVISAT period. In the center of the coal-mining area, measured uplift velocities reached a maximum of 18 mm/year during the ENVISAT period, while they subsided at -12 mm/year during the ERS-1/2 period. Mean velocities in the western and eastern parts of the coalfield area have decreased since the last MT-InSAR measurements were performed using Sentinel-1A, while the Zolder coal mine continues to rise at a faster-than-average rate of a maximum of 16 mm/year. The eastern part of the coalfield is still uplifting, while its rate has been reduced from 18 mm/year (ERS-1/2) to 9 mm/year (Sentinel-1A) since the beginning of the radar–satellite observations. Time-series data from the two GNSS stations present in the study area were used for a local comparison with the evolution of ground movements observed by MT-InSAR. Two leveling campaigns (2000, 2013) were also used to make comparisons with the MT-InSAR data. The station’s measurements and the leveling data were in line with the MT-InSAR data. Overall, major ground movements are obviously limited to an extension of the actual underground-mining works and rapidly diminish outside of them.".
• 01GQSNYN1FAE8SBMEFN7REYK2S abstract "Objective. We investigate the use of 3D convolutional neural networks for gamma arrival time estimation in monolithic scintillation detectors. Approach. The required data is obtained by Monte Carlo simulation in GATE v8.2, based on a 50 x 50 x 16 mm(3) monolithic LYSO crystal coupled to an 8 x 8 readout array of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The electronic signals are simulated as a sum of bi-exponentional functions centered around the scintillation photon detection times. We include various effects of statistical fluctuations present in non-ideal SiPMs, such as dark counts and limited photon detection efficiency. The data was simulated for two distinct overvoltages of the SensL J-Series 60 035 SiPMs, in order to test the effects of different SiPM parameters. The neural network uses the array of detector waveforms, digitized at 10 GS s(-1), to predict the time at which the gamma arrived at the crystal. Main results. Best results were achieved for an overvoltage of +6 V, at which point the SiPM reaches its optimal photon detection efficiency, resulting in a coincidence time resolution (CTR) of 141 ps full width at half maximum (FWHM). It is a 26% improvement compared to a simple averaging of the first few SiPM timestamps obtained by leading edge discrimination, which in comparison produced a CTR of 177 ps FWHM. In addition, better detector uniformity was achieved, although some degradation near the corners did remain. Significance. These improvements in time resolution can lead to higher signal-to-noise ratios in time-of-flight positron emission tomography, ultimately resulting in better diagnostic capabilities.".
• 01GQSPAYQ8EE8RR3021WQ7Z2VK abstract "Objective. Time-of-flight positron emission tomography based on bismuth germanate (BGO) detectors is made possible due to fast emission of Cerenkov light. Only around 17 Cerenkov photons are produced per 511 keV photoelectric event, making high photon collection efficiency crucial for obtaining good time-of-flight capabilities. In this study, we investigate how different lateral and back surface finishes affect the photon collection efficiency and Cerenkov based timing performance in monolithic BGO. Approach. The study is performed using GATE for gamma and optical photon modeling, with surface reflections of photons simulated by the LUT Davis model. We compare for different detector configurations (regarding size and surface finishes) the photon collection efficiency, detection delays of the first few optical photons and coincidence time resolution estimations obtained by modeling the SiPM signals and performing leading edge discrimination. An additional comparison is made to LYSO scintillators and pixelated detectors. Main results. Although Cerenkov photon emission is directional, many high incidence angle Cerenkov photons are emitted due to electron scattering in the crystal. Substituting a polished back (photodetector side) surface for a rough surface increases the collection efficiency of these high angle of incidence photons. Results show that for a monolithic 50 x 50 x 12 mm(3) BGO detector with reflective side surfaces, this leads to an overall increase in photon collection efficiency of 34%. Cerenkov photon collection efficiency is also improved, resulting in a reduction of the photon detection delays (and the variation therein) of the first few optical photons. This leads to a better coincidence time resolution, primarily achieved by a shortening of the tails in the time-of-flight kernel, with an 18% reduction in full width at tenth maximum. Significance. This study shows the importance of the photon collection efficiency for timing performance in Cerenkov based monolithic detectors, and how it can be improved with different surface finishes.".

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