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• 01GKV3F3GJTJTXKJN84ZHEM5VH abstract "In today's online environment, children inevitably encounter personalized advertising. However, research suggests that children are not yet able to cope with this advertising type. This study therefore investigates whether literacy training helps children recognize personalized advertising. The 2 (personalized versus nonpersonalized ad) x 2 (literacy training versus no training) between-subjects design experiment (N = 166) suggests that personalized advertising decreased children's (9 to 13 years) brand attitude but increased their purchase intentions. Moreover, training helped children to better recognize personalized ads. Contrary to the expectations, this targeting recognition positively affected brand attitude and purchase intentions.".
• 01GKV3FVXN5BYYZVX367MR232R abstract "BackgroundA promising way to obtain vocal economy and efficiency is by semi-occluding the vocal tract while phonating. Current knowledge about the immediate effects of semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) phonation on the laryngeal function and configuration is based mainly on computer modelling or excised larynges studies. In in vivo SOVT studies, electroglottography (EGG) has been the most commonly used laryngeal outcome, showing contradictory results between studies. Therefore, exploring these aspects by direct visualisation of the human larynx during SOVT phonation using strobovideolaryngoscopy (SVL) is needed. AimsThe aim of this study was to investigate and compare the immediate effects of straw phonation (SP) in air, SP in 2 cm water, and SP in 5 cm water (with stirring straws), on the laryngeal function and configuration of a homogeneous group of vocally healthy female speech-language pathology students, visualised with flexible SVL. Methods & ProcedureA randomised controlled trial was used. Fifty-two female speech-language pathology students (mean age: 18.7 years, SD: 0.6) were assigned randomly to one of three experimental groups or a control group: (1) SP in air, (2) SP in 2 cm water, (3) SP in 5 cm water or (4) [u] phonation with similar soft onset and slightly pursed lips as in SP but without a straw (control group). The participants underwent flexible SVL during habitual [u] phonation, followed by the specific SOVT exercise of their group assignment. All video samples were evaluated randomly and blindly by two experienced investigators using the Voice-Vibratory Assessment with Laryngeal Imaging (VALI) rating form, first independently and then by consensus. Outcome & ResultsCompared to habitual phonation, the vibrational amplitude decreased during SP in 5 cm water and SP in 2 cm water, being more prominent in the first, more flow-resistant exercise. The mucosal wave also decreased during SP in 5 cm water. The anteroposterior (AP) supraglottic compression similarly increased during SP in air, SP in 2 cm water, and SP in 5 cm water. Further, a rise in mediolateral (ML) compression and a decrease in phase symmetry and regularity were found during SP in 2 cm water. A similar decrease in regularity was observed during SP in 5 cm water. Conclusions & ImplicationsBoth SP in air and SP in water cause positive immediate laryngeal effects for voice training opportunities. More AP supraglottic activity found during each SP exercise might indicate epilarynx narrowing, an economic phenomenon associated with SOVT. Immersing the straw in water additionally diminished the vibrational amplitude, lowering vocal fold impact stress and risk for phonotrauma during the exercise. The decreased regularity of the vibrational cycles during SP in water might be due to the varying back pressure created by the water bubbling. The impact of SP in water on ML supraglottic compression needs further investigation. What This Paper AddsWhat is already known on the subjectA promising way to obtain vocal economy and efficiency is by semi-occluding the vocal tract while phonating. Current knowledge about the immediate effects of semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) phonation on the laryngeal function and configuration is based mainly on computer modelling or excised larynges studies. In in vivo SOVT studies, electroglottography (EGG) has been the most commonly used laryngeal outcome, showing contradictory results between studies. Therefore, exploring these aspects by direct visualisation of the human larynx during SOVT phonation using strobovideolaryngoscopy (SVL) is needed. What this paper adds to existing knowledgeGroup results of the current study generally support earlier computer modelling and in vivo studies, strengthening the current SOVT knowledge. Both SP in air and SP in water cause positive immediate laryngeal effects for voice training opportunities. More anteroposterior (AP) supraglottic activity found during each SP exercise might indicate epilarynx narrowing, an economic phenomenon associated with SOVT. Immersing the straw in water additionally diminished the vibrational amplitude, lowering vocal fold impact stress and risk for phonotrauma during the exercise. The decreased regularity of the vibrational cycles during SP in water might be due to the varying back pressure created by the water bubbling. The impact of SP in water on ML supraglottic compression needs further investigation. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?Current results support that both SP in air and SP in water can be useful exercises in voice training. SP in water has shown the additional gain of lowering the vibrational amplitude during the exercise, hence supporting its appropriateness for vocal warm-ups by minimising vocal fold impact stress and the risk of phonotrauma. In the future, large-scale randomised controlled trials in other subgroups of voice users, including dysphonic patients, are needed to support evidence-based practice. SVL can facilitate the search for individualised training and therapy approaches.".
• 01GKV41A5FXTPY7VW6AGFRVAA6 abstract "Fat suspensions, heterogenous mixtures of solid particles in a fat, are omnipresent in food products. Depending on the temperature, fat consists of a solid and a liquid fraction. The amount of solid fat and the fat crystal network, have large implications for the processability and palatability of the food product. In order to control the macroscopic fat properties, a thorough understanding at the distinct structural levels (nano-scale: 0.1 nm – 100 nm; meso-scale: 100 nm – 1 μm; micro-scale: 1 μm – 200 μm; macro-scale: > 200 μm) is a prerequisite. In suspensions, the solid particles present also tend to affect the amount and the ordering and morphology of the solid fat, which makes it important to study the effect of the particles. X-ray scattering (XRS) is a versatile technique used to study the internal ordering of (semi-)crystalline materials. XRS can be separated into 3 similar techniques, based on the length scale that is being studied. Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) studies the widest scattering angles and thus the smallest distances in a crystal lattice. For fat crystallization, WAXS allows to determine and quantify the polymorph of the fat. Small-angle X-ray scattering comprises smaller scattering angles and can therefore be used to study larger distances. For fats, SAXS serves to determine the long spacing and it allows the study the average thickness of the crystal nanoplatelets. Moreover, as the liquid and solid fat contribution are clearly separated in a SAXS profile and there is no (or a constant and separated) contribution of the solid material present that is not fat, SAXS has proven to be a suitable technique to estimate the solid fat content in suspensions. Finally, ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) is a newer emerging technique. It uses the smallest scattering angles to estimate sizes up to a few microns. For fat crystal networks, USAXS provides information about the size and shape of the nanoplatelets and their aggregation into the fat crystal network. Until today, the meso-scale of fat suspensions is only scarcely studied.".
• 01GKV4EY118BRCNBSAGQ46HPJF abstract "Animal-based diets in Western countries are increasingly regarded as unsustainable because of their impact on human health, environmental and animal welfare. Promoting shifts toward more plant-based diets seems an effective way to avoid these harms in practice. Nevertheless, claims against the consumption of animal products contradict the ideology of the omnivorous majority known as carnism. Carnism supports animal-product consumption as a cherished social habit that is harmless and unavoidable and invalidates minorities with plant-based diets: vegetarians and vegans (veg*ns). In this theoretical review, we integrate socio-psychological and empirical literature to provide an identity-based motivational account of ideological resistance to veg*n advocacy. Advocates who argue against the consumption of animal products often make claims that it is harmful, and avoidable by making dietary changes toward veg*n diets. In response, omnivores are likely to experience a simultaneous threat to their moral identity and their identity as consumer of animal products, which may arouse motivations to rationalize animal-product consumption and to obscure harms. If omnivores engage in such motivated reasoning and motivated ignorance, this may also inform negative stereotyping and stigmatization of veg*n advocates. These "pro-carnist" and "counter-veg*n" defenses can be linked with various personal and social motivations to eat animal products (e.g., meat attachment, gender, speciesism) and reinforce commitment to and ambivalence about eating animal products. This does not mean, however, that veg*n advocates cannot exert any influence. An apparent resistance may mask indirect and private acceptance of advocates' claims, priming commitment to change behavior toward veg*n diets often at a later point in time. Based on our theoretical account, we provide directions for future research.".
• 01GKV4QKSKMK4TN1FRFC6AJXBM abstract "Ambivalent attitudes exist toward vegans: While people may admire vegans' moral aims and commitment, they may also derogate vegans for seeming arrogant and overcommitted. These latter negative perceptions may undermine the effectiveness of efforts to reduce meat consumption for health, animal-welfare, and sustainability benefits. In the present research, we investigated the role of a vegan's motivation (animal ethics vs. health) in moralized attitudes toward vegans among omnivorous participants through two preregistered studies. In Study 1 (N = 390), we found that a vegan advocate motivated by animal ethics (vs. health) was seen as more moral but not as more arrogantly overcommitted. In Study 2 (N = 1177), we found that animal ethics (vs. health) vegans were seen as both more arrogantly committed and more morally committed, but that relative moral commitment perceptions were attenuated when vegans were described as actively advocating. Both advocating (vs. nonadvocating) vegans and animal ethics (vs. health) vegans were generally seen as less socially attractive by omnivores due to stronger attributions of arrogant overcommitment, and a lower social attractiveness was associated with a lower willingness to eat less animal products. Our findings inform ongoing debates within the vegan movement about the effectiveness of signaling moral commitment in promoting plant-based diets.".
• 01GKV4YTW29S16X5A74R699ENC abstract "Food marketing to children is ubiquitous and persuasive. It primarily promotes foods of poor nutritional quality, influences children's food preferences and habits, and is a factor in childhood obesity. Given that food marketing relentlessly targets children in traditional/digital media and the built environment, children need critical media literacy skills that build their understanding of food marketing's persuasive effects. However, little research connects media literacy with food marketing and health, including effective strategies for teaching and evaluating such programming for children. This perspective presents the outcomes of a stakeholder meeting on best practices in teaching and evaluation on media literacy and food marketing to children. Strategies for promoting critical thinking (teaching content, teaching practices, teaching supports, and parent/caregiver involvement), and strategies for measuring critical thinking (program effectiveness and broader long-term impacts) were identified. These include, among other things, the need to capture the range of marketing formats and current food promotion trends, to include inquiry-based and co-creation activities, and to support ongoing media literacy development. Overall, these strategies suggest useful criteria for media literacy programming related to food marketing, and highlight the importance of media literacy for giving children the skills to navigate a complex food environment.".
• 01GKV5RR8VG8F22ACQKFNW1KNQ abstract "To address the legacies of colonialism, several former colonial states have implemented a range of initiatives commonly considered to belong to the domain of transitional justice (TJ). These contexts are, however, very different from those for which TJ was initially conceptualized. As such, the implementation of elements from the TJ toolbox in these decolonization struggles raises several questions, which this article seeks to address. One of these questions relates to how diverging temporalities affect central normative objectives of TJ, such as accountability. The Belgian case is used to explore how a more pertinent approach to transitional temporalities enables a 'thicker' understanding of accountability that re-centres the debate around accountability's normative objectives in ways that are aligned with the objectives of decolonization struggles. I call this encompassing approach to accountability 'disruptive accountability' to underline the normative objective of disrupting harmful social structures and relations.".
• 01GKV60BX992G5TPK6JWX85V08 abstract "This article explores the nexus between ecoterritorial conflict resolution and transformative transitional justice, against the background of (neo)extractivism and the Peruvian case of half a century of oil violence. Our argument is twofold. On the one hand, we argue that transitional justice can act as a conceptual and analytical lens to better understand and further (claims for) change while also countering the invisibilization of ecoterritorial struggles of Indigenous and local communities who resist the framing of their lives and ecosystems as sacrificable or disposable. On the other hand, we argue that reading ecoterritorial struggles through the lens of transitional justice also has implications for the paradigm itself. The article is rooted in the first author's longstanding work with Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon who engage with transitional justice discourses and practices as part of their struggle against oil violence.".
• 01GKV6J438SRBAJNA6QJM5CQ2J abstract "This introduction provides the rationale and theoretical anchoring for the volume and its focus on aparadigmatic cases. It argues that practice and scholarship in paradigmatic transitional justice contexts built a field that conceptualises the state as a partner in the transition. However, due to the field’s expansion to aparadigmatic justice contexts, this assumption and its associated binary concepts cannot inform analysis. Instead, as demonstrated by the present volume, transitional justice in aparadigmatic contexts offers different intentions, responses, and experiences of transitional justice. Where the state is not a partner, it may ignore, refuse, resist, and fight, while giving way to other actors and justice articulations. The chapter first conceptualises transitional justice as the potential for recognition, accountability, and disruption. The chapter then discusses the expansion and recent standardisation of the field, whereby transitional justice has become four specific types of mechanisms: trials, truth-telling, reparation, and institutional reform. Thereafter it analyses the problem of the state, particularly how the field has assumed a transitional state, a partnering state. The next section offers a typology of transitional justice contexts that cover both paradigmatic and aparadigmatic contexts and ranges from contexts of ongoing conflict to consolidated democracy in formerly imperial states. This range covers seven different types of transitional justice context organised on the basis of the status of their political authority. Lastly, it maps the volume’s chapters onto the typology and briefly introduces each of them.".
• 01GKV6RY5PYMRQRCGNS65SYKNC abstract "Fat suspensions, heterogenous mixtures of solid particles in a fat, are omnipresent in food products. Depending on the temperature, fat consists of a solid and a liquid fraction. The amount of solid fat, also called the solid fat content (SFC), has large implications for the processability and palatability of the food product. In suspensions, the solid particles present also tend to affect the SFC, which makes it an important value to study. Conventionally, for plain fats, the SFC is acquired via an NMR measurement (AOCS official method Cd 16b-93). Complex mixtures, like suspensions, are more difficult to study by NMR, as the solid particles produce an interferent signal. This can be overcome by using a specific standard and an adapted method (AOCS official method Cd 16-81). The use of Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) profiles for determining the SFC was studied. The aim was to design a technique that can determine the SFC in plain fats, but also in complex mixtures, without the need for extra standards or calibration. In a SAXS profile, the liquid and solid fat contribution are clearly separated. Moreover, SAXS has proven to be a suitable technique as there is no (or a constant and separated) contribution of the solid material present that is not fat. The SAXS equipment used is a Xeuss 3.0 from Xenocs (Grenoble, France) equipped with a Cu-source and moveable detector. Plain palm oil and palm oil – sucrose mixtures were studied at several isothermal crystallization temperatures. The SAXS technique allows to follow the SFC over time during crystallization, which is not possible with NMR. The separation of the solid and liquid contribution and their respective quantification was optimized. Special interest was put into the contribution of different triacylglycerol polymorphs. For plain fats, the results were compared to conventional results obtained with an NMR and were found to be very similar.".
• 01GKV746PP1P5WRXZVEJB1QGBN abstract "This book explores the practical and theoretical opportunities as well as the challenges raised by the expansion of transitional justice into new and ‘aparadigmatic’ cases. The book defines transitional justice as the pursuit of accountability, recognition and/or disruption and applies an actor-centric analysis focusing on justice actors’ intentions of and responses to transitional justice. It offers a typology of different transitional justice contexts ranging from societies experiencing ongoing conflict to consolidated democracies, and includes chapters from all types of aparadigmatic contexts. This covers transitional justice in states with contested political authority, shared political authority, and consolidated political authority. The transitional justice initiatives explored by the wide range of contributors are those of Afghanistan, Belgium, France, Greenland/Denmark, Libya, Syria, Turkey/Kurdistan, UK/Iraq, US, and Yemen. Through these aparadigmatic case studies, the book develops a new framework that, appropriate to its expanding reach, allows us to understand the practice of transitional justice in a more context-sensitive, bottom-up, and actor-oriented way, which leaves room for the complexity and messiness of interventions on the ground. The book will appeal to scholars and practitioners in the broad field of transitional justice, as represented in law, criminology, politics, conflict studies and human rights.".
• 01GKV7EGF69RA8N5JFE36VZDGT abstract "This chapter compares two attempts to apply transitional justice to Belgium: the special parliamentary commission established in 2020 to analyse Belgium’s colonial past in the Great Lakes region; and the earlier process of designing an educational programme for dealing with societal polarisation. The parliamentary commission was modelled on a truth commission, while the educational programme drew on experiences with using transitional justice tools in conflicted settings in the Global South. Where the first struggled with issues of representation and decoloniality, the second met with scepticism and rejection because transitional justice was understood to apply to the Global South. Inscribed in these responses to transitional justice were therefore the relationship between Belgium and others in the Global South. The chapter demonstrates that in consolidated democracies engaging in transitional justice processes may challenge the legitimacy of existing state institutions and their associated narratives.".
• 01GKV7NXGYDCNQZ1ZB54TPYFT9 abstract "Background: Vaccines eliciting protective and persistent immune responses against multiple human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) clades are needed. This study evaluated the persistence of immune responses induced by an investigational, AS01-adjuvanted HIV-1 vaccine as long as 14 years after vaccination.".
• 01GKV7SA1QPA4ZBXPWPRHAVZSA abstract "This chapter concludes the volume, drawing together its different theoretical and empirical chapters. It argues that there is merit in looking beyond paradigmatic transitional contexts, since such a focus allows transitional justice to become relevant for a variety of justice actors, enables a decolonisation of the field, and offers a new perspective on what can be expected of transitional justice. To make this argument, the chapter discusses five themes that surface in the empirical chapters describing when transitional justice travels to aparadigmatic cases: 1. Pluralism and the unsettled character of transitional justice. 2. The standardisation of localised justice initiatives. 3. Ongoing transitions. 4. Political will and legitimacy. 5. Bridging the divide between scholars and practitioners. These five themes help to understand the contemporary field of transitional justice as it has expanded from transitional to non-transitional, aparadigmatic contexts.".
• 01GKV8F05XEWJVWPPB3RED8Y04 abstract "In this work, we focus on the Power Supply Rejection and Common Mode Rejection performance of inverter based ring oscillators intended for use in VCO ADCs. We show that they are closely related to the circuit's mismatch behavior of which we perform a systematic analysis. To this end, we construct a theoretical mismatch model for these ring oscillators, based on Pelgrom's mismatch model. In addition, we generalize this model to include the mismatch in a generic tuning circuit. In this broad analysis, we show that, next to the obvious transistor size dependence, the mismatch is inversely proportional to the number of stages and hence, in theory, can always be suppressed up to the desired level in a VCO ADC, provided that the tune circuit is sized adequately. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the mismatch is dependent on the biasing of the ring, which becomes even more apparent when taking into account the influence of a tuning circuit. More specifically, strong inversion is almost always better than weak inversion, and current control is preferred over voltage control. Finally, we perform extensive Monte Carlo simulations, with a commercially available 65nm CMOS process, which match our analytical predictions nearly perfectly.".
• 01GKV8SPNPR7MFQYG3YT1TS9W2 abstract "Recently a study of the analog behavior of ring oscillators was presented from the perspective of VCO ADC design [1]. In this study it was shown that the electrical behavior between the two tuning terminals of such a ring oscillator can be modeled by a diode element. The VCO (phase-)noise can be modeled as an equivalent input-referred noise voltage source in series with this diode. Unfortunately, it was found that this input-referred noise was dependent on the driving impedance. In the prior study only ideal voltage and ideal current control were elaborated. In this work, we generalize the VCO noise model for an arbitrary driving impedance. This enables the noise optimization of a VCO with an arbitrary driving circuit which was not possible with the prior theory. In this work we present such a noise optimization for the linearizing resistive VCO drive circuit of [2], [3]. We show that for this circuit the biasing of the ring is rather uncritical, which is in strong contrast with the result for a pure voltage mode drive circuit, where the biasing of the ring has a major impact on the noise performance.".
• 01GKV9D5WBV1R98HSFZCED3S9Z abstract "This study investigated whether drug dealing juvenile offenders in Belgium differ from non-drug dealers in levels of violent and non-violent offending behaviors, aggression, substance use, and mental health needs. The current study examined data from 226 16- to 17-year-old male juvenile offenders. Information relating to drug dealing, substance use, and mental health needs were collected through self-report questionnaires. A structured diagnostic interview was used to collect information about past violent and non-violent behaviors. Chi-square tests and multivariate analysis of variance compared non-dealers and dealers and explored if hard-drug dealers and soft-drug dealers differed from each other. Relative to non-drug dealers, drug dealers engaged in more violent offending behaviors, exhibited higher levels of aggression, substance use and oppositional defiant problems, and displayed lower levels of anxiety. Soft- and hard-drug dealers did not differ from each other. To conclude, detained drug dealers are characterized by severe antisocial behavior.".
• 01GKV9KEEMTZCKE0736BQPDQ4S abstract "With the advent of deep learning (DL), various automatic modulation classification (AMC) methods using deep learning architectures achieved significant performance improvements compared to conventional algorithms. Aiming to achieve high classification accuracy, DL-based AMC algorithms require numerous annotated training samples for each modulation class to extract salient features, but it is hardly applicable in real-world AMC applications. To tackle the annotated data scarce issue, this paper proposes a novel few-shot learning (FSL) framework, which introduces a relation network with a denoising autoencoder to extract feature representations effectively from a limited dataset. The experimental result demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve higher classification accuracy compared to the conventional FSL algorithm for signal modulation recognition, especially in low signal to noise ratio conditions.".
• 01GKVBCR4P9CMZB2JST4ZYC78M abstract "Titel: Interdisciplinaire totaalaanpak bij somatische-symptoomstoornis en aanhoudende wervelkolom gerelateerde pijnklachten Introductie: Hoewel multimodale interventies worden aanbevolen voor cliënten met een langdurige somatische-symptoomstoornis (SSD), is hiervoor nog onvoldoende wetenschappelijk bewijs. Deze studie evalueerde de effectiviteit van een interdisciplinaire totaalaanpak in de poliklinische S-GGZ, voor cliënten met een SSD en wervelkolom gerelateerde pijnklachten. De totaalaanpak kan het best beschreven worden als een multimodale cognitieve gedragstherapie, waarbij verschillende therapeutische technieken worden ingezet, afhankelijk van persoonlijke behoeften en problemen van de cliënt. Het verbeteren van kwaliteit van leven en stimuleren van eigenregievoering staan centraal in de totaalaanpak. Methode: Het gezondheidsprogramma bestaat uit 2 componenten: 20 weken intensief behandelprogramma en een aansluitend 12 maanden terugval preventieprogramma. Deelnemers waren 4453 cliënten met een SSD. Gezondheidsgerelateerde kwaliteit van leven (HRQoL), gemeten met de RAND-36 (mental/physical component summary), was de primaire uitkomstmaat en psychische en lichamelijke klachten, gemeten met de BSI en RAND-36 subschalen, waren secundaire uitkomstmaten. Mixed linear models zijn gebruikt om het effect te onderzoeken van het gezondheidsprogramma op primaire/secundaire uitkomstmaten, gemeten over 4 tijdpunten: start 20 weken programma (T0), halverwege 20 weken programma (T1), einde 20 weken programma (T2) en einde terugval preventieprogramma (T3). Resultaten: Resultaten laten een significante vooruitgang zien van T0 naar T2 voor alle primaire (mental/physical component summary) en secundaire uitkomstmaten (BSI/RAND-36 subschalen). Resultaten bleken duurzaam te zijn tot aan het einde van het terugval preventieprogramma (T3). Conclusie & Discussie: Een interdisciplinaire multimodale totaalaanpak voor cliënten met SSD en aanhoudende wervelkolom gerelateerde pijnklachten lijkt een effectieve behandeling te zijn voor het verbeteren van HRQoL en verminderen van psychische en lichamelijke klachten.".
• 01GKVBE3XY7QSNY57KZD19R8MB abstract "An increasing numbed and diversity of protein posttranslational modifications are mapped by proteomics. Knowledge of modified protein sites can be of direct relevance to steer downstream functional studies, but such information can be difficult to distill from the numerous individual studies that often report modified sites in supplementary data files. In this chapter, we provide basic instructions and use cases to browse and collect plant protein modifications from over 100 studies in a user-friendly manner with the Plant PTM Viewer. The Plant PTM Viewer (https://www.psb.ugent.be/PlantPTMViewer) is a central resource compiling currently 24 modifications types for ten thousands of plant proteins. Next to viewing modifications for a protein of interest, we demonstrate how evolutionary conserved modifications can be retrieved using PTM Blast. In addition, modifications themselves located in a motif or sequence context of interest can be retrieved by PTM search. Altogether, these operations can be performed, are intuitive, and open for non-bioinformatic experts.".
• 01GKVBTCCFZDG9TYZYDC0TDFYP abstract "Ten gevolge van de dringende klimaatproblematiek zijn ambitieuze plannen opgezet in de voorbije decennia ter ondersteuning van de uitbouw van hernieuwbare energiebronnen en het financieren van groene technologieën waaronder waterstofproductie. De toenemende integratie van dergelijke variabele energiebronnen in het energiesysteem veroorzaakt echter stress bij de conventionele productie-eenheden. Om deze stress op te vangen, vereist het energiesysteem een toegenomen hoeveelheid flexibiliteit. Dit proefschrift bekijkt de techno-economische haalbaarheid van het balanceren van het energienet door middel van energie-naar-waterstof-systemen, rekening houdend met de impact op de werking van flexibiliteit aangeboden door consumenten en hun rationaliteit op het energiesysteem. Deze doelen in acht genomen werden verschillende optimalisatiealgoritmes en -modellen ontwikkeld. De eerste twee methodologieën optimaliseren de flexibele werking van energie-naar-waterstof-installaties om zo verschillende frequentiegerelateerde systeemdiensten aan te bieden, rekening houdend met de onzekere vraag naar waterstof en de energieprijzen. Het derde onderwerp onderzoekt de rol van verschillende vraagsturende strategieën op de betrouwbaarheid van het energiesysteem terwijl de operationele kosten zich tot een minimum beperken. De voorgestelde methodologie introduceert vraagsturende modellen rekening houdend met consumentencomfort en het niveau van flexibiliteit. De voorgestelde methodes maken het mogelijk bij te dragen tot het stroomnet van de toekomst met hoge aandelen aan hernieuwbare energiebronnen.".
• 01GKVDPGQJRXN9RFAC1845SEC7 abstract "The gastro-intestinal tract as an organ is responsible for feed intake, digestion of ingested feed, the absorption of feed-derived nutrients, minerals and water and the excretion of waste products. As such it comes as no surprise that the gut constitutes the second largest surface area of the mammalian body. Accompanying its function of nutrient absorption, the gut is exposed daily to a plethora of foreign antigens derived from feed, the microbiota as well as enteric pathogens (Odenwald&Turner, 2017). To maintain gut homeostasis in the face of these foreign molecules, within the intestine, a complex cellular network has evolved to prevent unwanted immune responses to innocuous antigens, like feed or microbiota, while allowing swift protective responses against agents that cause infectious disease. In that context, the intestinal epithelium plays a crucial role and performs two seemingly opposing functions: absorption of nutrients and providing a barrier to protect against environmental insults (Allaire et al., 2018). In addition, the gut epithelium informs and educates intestinal immune cells to elicit responses tailored to the encountered micro-organisms. This network of intestinal epithelial cells and immune cells also responds and adapts to external cues originating from the microbiota and its metabolites. Especially during critical and stressful periods of life, like weaning, perturbations of this complex network, impair gut function and immunity, resulting in a growth lag. A significant factor in this post-weaning growth lag is the underdeveloped gut due to early weaning, resulting in a reduced ability of piglets to digest nutrients and raise immune responses. As a proper gut health is needed for optimal growth, insights in gut function and immunity will guide future research into dietary interventions aimed at improving gut health in pigs. In addition, these dietary interventions might also accelerate the development of the gut to ease the weaning transition as well as reduce the need for antibiotics during these critical periods of life. This chapter will discuss the latest findings in gut function and immunity in pigs as well as provide insights in how the microbiota can impact on these functions and shape intestinal immune responses. Finally, it will discuss recent advances in the development of novel tools to investigate the function of the gut and provide an outlook to the future of gut research in swine.".
• 01GKVH67AJAWG51G0K50S555W6 abstract "In Flanders, we are searching to implement inclusion in our educational systems, knowing that we have a strong focus on segregation and specialisation. Parents are often missing in the debate, while they are confronted with experiences of exclusion and discrimination. Our aim was to hear the parents' voices on high-quality childcare for children with disabilities between 0 and 3 years old. As part of the evaluation of inclusive childcare practices by the Flemish government, we undertook interviews with 20 parents of children with disabilities (0-6 years). Some families are still in the early childcare centre and others are looking back, while already in preschool. We elaborated on what support parents find valuable and how this can be embedded in inclusive early childcare. We came to four themes: deciding on the childcare type parents prefer, negotiating power with professionals, exploring lived experiences in early child care and finally the evaluation of inclusion by parents in early care. We keep coming back to the importance of listening in involving parents of very young children with disabilities.".
• 01GKVHB8PMZAMW3W7PZPVM6BYZ abstract "A 4-year-old, female Malinois shepherd dog was presented for chronic repetitive episodes of severe pain for over a year. Medical imaging findings and a positive blood culture were suggestive of a L2 vertebral bacterial osteomyelitis, most likely of haematogenous origin. The dog responded well to treatment with antibiotics and analgesia. A repeated computed tomography scan 6 months after presentation (and 3 months after antibiotic discontinuation) showed a clear improvement of the vertebral lesions. The dog is still clinically normal and pain-free at the time of writing (3 years after diagnosis).".
• 01GKVHW2B5E0F3H754G0GF1RD5 abstract "A 17 mo old female Jack Russell terrier was diagnosed with unilateral primary malignant nephroblastoma. The dog presented with polyuria and polydipsia. Laboratory tests revealed polycythemia and elevated serum erythropoietin levels. Diagnostic imaging (i.e., MRI) revealed a unilateral renal mass without spinal cord involvement. Nephrectomy was performed, and the histopathologic diagnosis was nephroblastoma. The dog did not receive any chemotherapy, and there was no evidence of recurrent disease or metastasis over 30 mo after nephrectomy. This is the first case report of a dog presenting with polyuria and polydipsia found to be a result of nephroblastoma. Furthermore, this is the longest survival reported for canine nephroblastoma treated with nephrectomy alone.".
• 01GKVJ99HHQBAAX8360QDXFQNG abstract "The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) is the most economically important mite pest in agricultural areas and chemical acaricides are widely used to control T. urticae populations. Cyflumetofen is a recently introduced acaricide that inhibits the mitochondrial electron transport chain at complex II (succinate dehydrogenase, SDH), which represents the most recently developed mode of action for mite control worldwide. In the present study, started upon the launch of cyflumetofen in Turkey, a five-year survey was performed to monitor cyflumetofen susceptibility in 28 T. urticae populations collected from agri-cultural fields across the country. The first resistance case that might cause control failure in practical field conditions was uncovered in 2019, three years after the registration of cyflumetofen. In addition, an extremely resistant population (1722-fold resistance) was also detected towards the end of 2019. Cyflumetofen resistance did not decrease in the laboratory after relaxation of selection pressure for over one year in field-collected populations, suggesting the absence of a fitness cost associated with resistance in these populations. Next to phenotypic resistance, metabolic and physiological mechanisms underlying the decreased susceptibility were also investigated. Synergism assays showed the involvement of P450 monooxygenases in cyflumetofen resis-tance. Downregulation of carboxylesterases as resistance mechanism, is underpinned by the fact that pre-treatment with esterase inhibitor DEF decreased cyflumetofen toxicity in field-collected strains. Furthermore, a novel H258L substitution in the subunit B of complex II was uncovered in a field population. In silico modeling of the new mutation suggested that the mutation might indeed influence toxicity to complex II inhibitors cye-nopyrafen and pyflubumide, but most likely not cyflumetofen. However, further studies are needed to uncover the exact role of this mutation in resistance to this new class of complex II inhibitors.".
• 01GKVJ99J1XTKEEMBZNZVGVXDD abstract "Tetranychus urticae Koch is a serious pest of strawberries and its remarkable ability to develop resistance has often caused failure in chemical control. In the present study, resistance to spiromesifen was detected in two out of nine field-populations of T. urticae collected from important strawberry production areas in Turkey, with resistance ratio's mounting to 60-and 140-fold. Synergism assays showed the involvement of detoxification enzymes, especially cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, in resistance against spiromesifen in field-collected T. urticae populations. We further selected the most resistant field-collected population (POP14) with spi-romesifen and obtained an extremely resistant population (LC50 > 5000 mg a.i./L). Gene expression analysis with qPCR supported the involvement of cytochrome P450s in spiromesifen resistance in this selected popula-tion. In addition, we also detected a higher expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase), the target-site of spiromesifen, in the spiromesifen-selected population. Furthermore, a F1640L mutation in the conserved region of CT-domain of ACCase was uncovered in the most resistant field populations, but the role of this mutation in spiromesifen resistance needs further validation. Overall, spiromesifen still seems to be an effective tool in the control of T. urticae in strawberry production areas of Turkey, but resistance is on the rise and should be considered a serious threat.".
• 01GKVJ99J55JJMYE570CZF9KKZ abstract "Two iolinid predatory mites were studied in the laboratory as potential biological control agents of the tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici (Acari: Eriophyidae). The development, reproduction and predation capacity of Pronematus ubiquitus and Homeopronematus anconai (Acari: Iolinidae) on A. lycopersici were investigated. Developmental time from egg to adult at 25 degrees C averaged 9.59, 9.31 and 9.52 days for P. ubiquitus on A. lycopersici, A. lycopersici and Typha angustifolia pollen, and pollen only, respectively. H. anconai required 11.18, 10.39 and 11.90 days to complete development on the respective diets. Survival of the immature stages exceeded 83% on all diets for both iolinids. In experimental arenas, both predators caused a substantial reduction of the immature population development of A. lycopersici. The number of tomato russet mite offspring was reduced by 78% and 57% by P. ubiquitus and H. anconai, respectively. The addition of pollen to the arena lowered this population reduction to 35% and 27% for the respective predators. However, supplementing a diet of tomato russet mites with pollen significantly increased the fecundity of both predatory mites from 14-15 to 24-25 eggs over a five-day period. The results suggest that both P. ubiquitus and H. anconai have good potential to suppress A. lycopersici populations and that T. angustifolia pollen can support population establishment of the predators. Overall, P. ubiquitus developed faster on the three diets tested and suppressed A. lycopersici stronger as compared to H. anconai, with or without pollen as a supplementary food source.".
• 01GKVJ9EFDSVV4Z401TWB9P1H7 abstract "BACKGROUND Mitochondrial Electron Transport Inhibitors of complex I (METI-I), such as tebufenpyrad and fenpyroximate, are acaricides that have been used extensively to control Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) for more than 20 years. Because of the ability of this spider mite to rapidly develop acaricide resistance, field (cross-) resistance monitoring and elucidation of resistance mechanisms are extremely important for resistance management (RM). In the present study, 42 European T. urticae field populations were screened for tebufenpyrad and fenpyroximate resistance, and the correlation between resistance and the H92R substitution in PSST was investigated. RESULTS According to the calculated lethal concentration values that kill 90% of the population (LC90), tebufenpyrad and fenpyroximate would fail to control many of the collected populations at recommended field rates. Six populations exhibited high to very high resistance levels (200- to over 1950-fold) to both METI-Is. Analysis based on the LC50 values displayed a clear correlation between tebufenpyrad and fenpyroximate resistance, further supporting cross-resistance, which is of great operational importance in acaricide RM. The previously uncovered METI-I target-site mutation H92R in the PSST homologue of complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) was found with high allele frequencies in populations resistant to tebufenpyrad and fenpyroximate. Synergist assays showed this mutation is not the only factor involved in METI-I resistance and additive or synergistic effects of multiple mechanisms most likely determine the phenotypic strength. CONCLUSIONS The predictive value of resistance by H92R is very high in European populations and offers great potential to be used as a molecular diagnostic marker for METI-I resistance. (c) 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.".
• 01GKVJ9EFHZT84PGYABNRNV2CZ abstract "Essential oils (EOs) can provide important alternatives to chemical insecticides in the control of pests. In this study, 12 EOs of native plant species from Iran were evaluated for their adulticidal activity against the house fly. In addition, we examined the insecticidal activity of Zataria multiflora and Rosmarinus officinalis EOs on adult female house flies from pyrethroid and organophosphate resistant and susceptible populations, using both fumigant and topical bioassays. The involvement of detoxification enzymes in susceptibility was investigated with synergism experiments in vivo, while the inhibitory effects of R. officinalis and Zataria multiflora EOs on the activities of cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases (P450s), carboxylesterases (CarEs) and glutathione S- transferases (GSTs) were determined by enzymatic inhibition assays in vitro. The EOs of Z. multiflora, Mentha pulegium, R. officinalis and Thymus vulgaris were the most effective against adults in contact topical assays, while oils extracted from Eucalyptus cinerea, Z. multiflora, Citrus sinensis, R. officinalis, Pinus eldarica and Lavandula angustifolia where the most effective in fumigant assays. Rosmarinus officinalis and Z. multiflora EOs were selected for further investigation and showed higher toxicity against a susceptible population, compared to two insecticide-resistant populations. Correlation analysis suggested cross-resistance between these EOs and pyre-throids in the resistant populations. The toxicity of both EOs on the resistant populations was synergized by three detoxification enzyme inhibitors. Further, in vitro inhibition studies showed that R. officinalis and Z. multiflora EOs more effectively inhibited the activities of the detoxification enzymes from flies of the susceptible population compared to those of the pyrethroid resistant populations. Synergistic and enzymatic assays further revealed that increased activities of P450s, GSTs, and CarEs are possibly involved in the cross-resistance between EOs and pyrethroids. Investigating the molecular mechanisms of P450s, GSTs, and CarEs in the resistance to EOs should be subject to further studies.".
• 01GKVJ9KC14K69092JR6WDZHS3 abstract "Host plant specialisation can promote evolutionary divergence between herbivore populations associated with different plant species. While the mechanisms by which specialist species exploit their hosts have been studied widely across taxa, less is known about the mechanisms that allow intraspecific variants to arise and to be maintained across spatial and temporal scales. To understand whether adaptations to plant defences against herbivory contribute to the co-existence of genetically distinct populations of an herbivore, we investigate the interaction between honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) and sympatric specialist and generalist populations of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae. We found that mite folivory induces the production of sticky droplets on honeysuckle, which have a defensive role: they increase mite mortality directly, and potentially indirectly by increasing the arrestment of a predator. We show that droplet induction and the preference to feed on honeysuckle depend on mite genotype, where the generalist avoids this host and the specialist suppresses droplet production. These traits are heritable and dominant in F1 hybrids between generalists and specialists. Selection pressure from honeysuckle and differences in host preference likely reduce the opportunity of mating encounters on this host. We propose that the interplay between selection from host plant defences and ecological barriers to hybridisation contribute to the persistence of genetically distinct populations of a single species in sympatry.".
• 01GKVYJ9DXEKBS8MSQF6WRPCAJ abstract "During the corona-19 pandemic waves in 2020 and 2021, many cultural and recreational activities inside buildings could no longer take place to prevent virus transmission. In order to allow cultural and recreational sectors to reopen in a safe way by the summer of 2021, a ventilation task force of the corona commissioner's office of the Belgian federal government prepared recommendations for the practical implementation and monitoring of indoor air quality in the context of COVID-19. This implementation plan was conceived as an instrument for building owners or facility managers to evaluate whether existing ventilation facilities, possibly in combination with other technical measures such as opening of windows and doors, or air purification devices, would provide sufficient ventilation to allow a certain number of occupants in a room. In preparation of the resumption of indoor sports activities, a research consortium investigated the applicability and consequences of the federal guidelines specifically for sports infrastructures in Flanders, Belgium. To this end, various sports federations organized a number of test events in the first half of June 2021. The test events took place in four different indoor sports facilities, including fitness centres, a climbing gym and a sports hall, for varying group sizes of athletes and public. In preparation of the test events, the mechanical ventilation systems were inspected and installed ventilation flow rates measured. During the test events, CO2 measurements were carried out throughout the sports infrastructures, and the concentrations were permanently logged. This paper discusses the main results of the ventilation inspections, CO2 monitoring and subsequent analysis. By applying the recommendations of the implementation plan to the test events in sport, the paper further discusses the feasibility of implementing the plan in practice, what the consequences are for the maximum permissible occupation in sports halls (both for athletes and spectators), and provides guidelines on how the ventilation in existing infrastructure can be improved based on the findings.".
• 01GKW8AXAXRAN3VYF7PC36YYBT abstract "With the emerging production of recycled phosphorus (P) fertilizers, adequate measurements of their P availability are needed. Chemical extractions are commonly used to evaluate the P availability of commercial fertilizers. However, their appropriateness for the measurement of dynamic P availability from recycled P fertilizers is still not well understood. Thus, this study examined the P availability of struvites (STRSL and STLQ), ashes (ASH1 and ASH2), and dry sludge iron phosphate (FeP) recycled from wastewater using eleven different chemical P extractions. Furthermore, perennial ryegrass was treated with these recycled P fertilizers during a 7-month pot trial to compare the shoot's P uptake to the chemically extracted P. High P concentrations, comparable among the methods, were extracted from the STRLQ, STRSL, and ASH1. In contrast, P concentrations extracted from less purified ASH2 and FeP were highly variable depending on the methods. The plant P uptake efficiency at the end of the pot trial indicated the same order among the products: STRSL (42%) & GE; STRLQ (36%) > ASH1 (25%) > FeP (20%) > ASH2 (14%). A correlation between the shoot's P uptake and chemically extracted P by all the analyzed methods, except for Olsen's P, became the highest (r > 0.8) only after 4 months of plant growth when the slow-released P from the recycled fertilizers became available to plants. The type of P recycling technology and wastewater used determined the P availability pattern of examined fertilizers. The P concentration in recycled P fertilizers extracted using ten chemical methods corresponded with a P uptake by plants grown for a minimum of 4 months.".
• 01GKW8RR139FFF0EXQMHSGEBJF abstract "Eutrophication and the predicted limited future availability of rock phosphate has triggered the increased development of phosphorus (P) recovery technologies, however, for remote regions, recovery solutions are still limited. Here, we report on a novel pilot-scale technology (FILTRAFLOTM-P reactor) to recover phosphate (PO43−) from wastewater effluent through a filtration/adsorption process in a rural setting. This unit employs enhanced gravitational filtration through adsorption media (here, a novel KOH deacetylated crab carapace based chitosan-calcite material (CCM)) with continuous self-backwashing. Trials were designed to assess how the FILTRAFLOTM-P unit would operate under ‘real’ conditions (both at low and high PO43− levels), and to ascertain the effectiveness of the adsorbent to recover phosphate from final effluent. High removal was achieved at low phosphate concentrations, bringing the residual effluent PO43− level below 1 mg/L (EU limit for sensitive water bodies), while phosphate was efficiently harvested (at more than 50%) at higher PO43− levels. Surface microprecipitation and inner-sphere complexation were postulated as the main PO43− adsorption mechanisms through XRD, XPS and EDX elemental mapping. Further, a quality assessment of the P-enriched CCM (which could be used as a potential soil amendment) was undertaken to consider elemental composition, microbiological assessment and quantification of organic micropollutants. Quality analysis indicated ∼2.5% P2O5 present, trace levels (well below legislative limits) of heavy metals and extremely low levels of organic pollutants (e.g., PCBs, pharmaceuticals). No detectable levels of target bacterial pathogens were observed. Pot trials showed that ryegrass cultivated with the addition of the CCM adsorbent achieved higher plant dry matter and P concentration when compared to unfertilised controls, with a slow-release kinetic pattern. This study showed that CCM used with the FILTRAFLOTM-P pilot reactor has high potential to recover phosphate from effluents and encourage resource recovery via bio-based management of waste.".
• 01GKXQ111K7PMCZXQ4B0R13WGK abstract "Introduction: There is a need for a validated and standardized self-assessment instrument to assess the subjective effect of hearing aid (HA) use and/or cochlear implantation (CI) on different as-pects of functioning in daily life. The aim of this study was to develop a new holistic Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) to assess hearing-related quality of life. The new PROM is titled the hearing-related quality of life questionnaire for Auditory-VIsual, COgnitive and Psy-chosocial functioning (hAVICOP). Methods: A conceptual framework was set up and test items were prepared per domain. Pre-liminary testing involved a semi-structured interview-based assessment in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired adults and an expert panel. For the further psychometric evaluation, a new sample of 15 adult HA users, 20 adult CI users and 20 normal-hearing adults filled in the refined version of the hAVICOP, the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale, the Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire and the TNO-AZL Questionnaire for Adult's Health-Related Quality of Life. Based on these results, a factor analysis was conducted and internal consis-tency, discriminant validity and concurrent construct validity were determined. Results: The final version of the hAVICOP consists of three domains for hearing-related quality of life: (1) auditory-visual functioning, (2) cognitive functioning, and (3) psychosocial functioning. A sufficient internal consistency was found, and discriminant validity and concurrent construct validity were good. Conclusions: A new PROM to assess hearing-related quality of life was developed, named the hAVICOP. In the future the validity and reliability should be examined further.".
• 01GKXZ0E9N38T162XAQ528GFC9 abstract "Simple Summary Combretastatin A4-phosphate is a chemotherapeutic drug which has been evaluated for treatment of solid canine tumors. Previous studies reported cardiotoxic effects based on changes in cardiac troponin I measurements, blood pressure, and electrocardiography. We evaluated the cardiotoxic effect by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography. This advanced imaging technique analyzes global and regional myocardial function and is used as the gold-standard for the assessment of cardiac function in human patients receiving chemotherapy. We found that certain strain measurements were significantly decreased 24 h after the administration of combretastatin A4-phosphate and that these changes were correlated with an increase in cardiac troponin I. Our results suggest that two-dimensional speckle tracking may be useful for the early detection of cardiac dysfunction in canine cancer patients as well as promising during follow-up. Combretastatin A4-phosphate (CA4P) is a vascular disrupting agent that was recently described for the treatment of solid canine tumors. Conventional echocardiography and pulsed wave tissue Doppler imaging did not reveal cardiotoxicity in dogs, however, the gold standard for assessing myocardial damage in humans receiving cardiotoxic chemotherapeutics is two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography. The current study evaluated the cardiotoxic effect of a single dose of CA4P in dogs using peak systolic strain measurements and the variability of these measurements. Echocardiographic examinations of seven healthy beagles and five canine cancer patients that received CA4P were retrospectively reviewed. Peak systolic regional longitudinal strain (LSt), peak systolic regional circumferential strain (CSt), and peak systolic regional radial strain (RSt) were measured before and 24 h after administration of CA4P. Peak systolic strain measurements were compared to serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI). To quantify intra- and inter-observer measurement variability, seven echocardiographic examinations were selected and each strain parameter was measured by three observers on three consecutive days. After CA4P administration, the median LSt and CSt values decreased by 21.8% (p = 0.0005) and 12.3% (p = 0.002), respectively, whereas the median RSt values were not significantly different (p = 0.70). The decrease in LSt was correlated with increased serum cTnI values (Spearman rho = -0.64, p = 0.02). The intra-observer coefficients of variation (CV) were 9%, 4%, and 13% for LSt, CSt, and RSt, respectively, while the corresponding interobserver CVs were 11%, 12%, and 20%. Our results suggest that regional peak systolic strain measurements may be useful for the early detection of cardiotoxicity that is caused by vascular disrupting agents and that LSt may be promising for the follow-up of canine cancer patients.".
• 01GKXZK6XYY74MTM6AYWV2K8QC abstract "Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a common complication of chronic liver disease, characterized by an altered mental state and hyperammonemia. Insight into the brain pathophysiology of HE is limited due to a paucity of well-characterized HE models beyond the rat bile duct ligation (BDL) model. Here, we assess the presence of HE characteristics in the mouse BDL model. We show that BDL in C57Bl/6j mice induces motor dysfunction, progressive liver fibrosis, liver function failure and hyperammonemia, all hallmarks of HE. Swiss mice however fail to replicate the same phenotype, underscoring the importance of careful strain selection. Next, in-depth characterisation of metabolic disturbances in the cerebrospinal fluid of BDL mice shows glutamine accumulation and transient decreases in taurine and choline, indicative of brain ammonia overload. Moreover, mouse BDL induces glial cell dysfunction, namely microglial morphological changes with neuroinflammation and astrocyte reactivity with blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Finally, we identify putative novel mechanisms involved in central HE pathophysiology, like bile acid accumulation and tryptophan-kynurenine pathway alterations. Our study provides the first comprehensive evaluation of a mouse model of HE in chronic liver disease. Additionally, this study further underscores the importance of neuroinflammation in the central effects of chronic liver disease.".
• 01GKY3GQ5G6JNQJFPNQK7J6VKY abstract "The internal structure of ability emotional intelligence (EI) tests at item level has been hardly studied, and if studied often the predicted structure did not show. In the present study, an a priori model for responses to EI ability items using Likert response scales with a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) format is investigated with confirmatory factor analysis. The model consists of (1) a target EI ability factor, (2) an acquiescence factor, which is a method factor induced by the Likert response scales, and (3) design-based error covariances, which are induced by the SJT format. It is investigated whether this a priori model can account for the observed associations between the raw item responses of the Components of Emotion Understanding Test-24 (CEUT-24). The CEUT-24 is a new test developed to assess emotion understanding, a key aspect of the EI ability construct, based on the componential emotion framework. The sample consisted of 1184 participants (15-22 years old) from four European countries (United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, and Spain) speaking four different languages (English, Dutch, German and Spanish). Findings showed that the a priori model fitted the data well in all four languages. Furthermore, measurement invariance testing gave evidence for a well-fitting configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance model. The conclusion is that within a regular CFA framework using raw observed items responses, method factors (acquiescence response style and scenario induced variance) can be disentangled from the targeted EI ability factor.".
• 01GKY4EYJ17GPK5ENAWKNB7358 abstract "Objectives: To determine the incidence of infectious diarrhea after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay and assess risk factors for developing infectious diarrhea. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study of 140 consecutive allogeneic HCT recipients. Infectious diarrhea was assessed using a laboratory-developed multiplex polymerase chain reaction the first year after transplantation. Results: The incidence rate of infectious diarrhea episodes was 47 per 100 person-years, with the highest rate observed in the pre-engraftment phase. Most episodes were seen as nosocomial infections (38%) and most affected patients (82%) had only one episode of infectious diarrhea. The cumulative incidence of at least one episode of infectious diarrhea was 32% after 1 year. Nonrelapse mortality was higher in transplant recipients with at least one episode of infectious diarrhea (hazard ratio (HR) 2.02, 95% CI = 1.07-3.80). The most frequently observed pathogens were Clostridium difficile, adenovirus, Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, and Campylobacter jejuni. Patients with acute lower gastrointestinal graft-vs-host disease stage 3 or 4 (HR 3.68, 95% CI = 1.57-8.63) conferred a higher risk for a first infectious diarrhea episode. Conclusion: Infectious diarrhea after allogeneic HCT was seen in about one-third of the patients, mostly as nosocomial infection in the pre-engraftment phase. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)".
• 01GKY4NGRSE03ZGD5CX92JNKR6 abstract "Background: To gain insight into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures on the HIV epidemic and services, this study aims to describe HIV trends in 2020 and compare them with previous years. Methods: Belgian national HIV surveillance data 2017-2020 were analysed for trends in HIV testing, HIV diagnoses, VL measurements, ART uptake and PrEP purchase. Descriptive statistics from 2020 are compared to annual averages from 2017 to 2019 (proportional difference, %). Results: In 2020, 725 HIV infections were diagnosed in Belgium (- 21.5% compared to 2019). The decline was most pronounced during the first lockdown in April-May but also present in July-December. The number of HIV tests performed decreased by 17.6% in 2020, particularly in March-May and October-December (- 57.5% in April and -25.4% in November 2020 compared to monthly 2017-19 numbers). Diagnosis of acute HIV infections decreased by 47.1% in 2020 (n = 27) compared to 2019 (n = 51). Late HIV diagnoses decreased by 24.7% (95% CI [- 40.7%; -9.7%]) in 2020 compared to 2019. Of patients in care in 2019, 11.8% interrupted HIV care in 2020 compared to 9.1% yearly in the 3 previous years. The number of HIV patients with VL monitoring per month dropped in March-May 2020, whilst proportions of VL suppression and ART coverage remained above 86% and 98.5% respectively in 2020. PrEP purchases, number of purchasers and starters dropped during April-May 2020 (respectively - 45.7%, - 47.4%, - 77.9% in April compared to February 2020). Conclusions: The significant decrease in HIV diagnoses in Belgium in 2020 coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and following containment measures, particularly in April-May during the first lockdown. A slowdown of HIV transmission due to reduced HIV risk exposure is suggested by the halving in diagnosis of acute HIV infections in March-December 2020 compared to the previous year, and the adaptive decrease in PrEP use and PrEP initiation from April onwards. Despite a slight increase in HIV care interruptions, the indicators of quality of HIV care remained stable. Access to prevention, testing and care for all people living with HIV and at risk of acquiring HIV is a priority during and after times of pandemic.".
• 01GM04FRYQSBA4QYY3AZR97BQ1 abstract "Complex coacervation is an associative, liquid-liquid phase separation caused by the interaction of two oppositely charged species, such as proteins, polymers, and surfactants. In Chapter 1, we first introduced the concepts of complex coacervation dynamics, thermodynamics, and the physical states of products. Then we reviewed a special case of complex coacervation, heteroprotein complex coacervation (HPCC), in which the liquid concentrated phase consists of at least two different proteins. HPCC is a largely unexplored phenomenon at the interface of protein chemistry and colloidal physics, especially complex coacervation between globular proteins since complex coacervates almost always involve flexible polyelectrolyte (PE) chains. Once both biomacromolecules in complex coacervates have constrained structure and charge anisotropy, this difference will force researchers to re-examine the formation, structure, thermodynamics, and dynamics of these particular assemblies. Interestingly, plant protein-based coacervates are rare among all HPCCs and protein-PE combinations. Most reported plant protein-based complexes existed as non-equilibrium complexes, such as precipitates or soluble complexes. Lysozyme (LYS) is a template basic protein in complex coacervation studies for its stable globular 3D structure and antibacterial activity. We selected soy proteins with a wide range of sources and diverse applications as representative acidic proteins and investigated the associative phase separation of soy proteins-LYS combinations. In Chapter 2, the most common soy protein product, soy protein isolate (SPI), was used as a start to explore the binding behaviors and potential mechanism of soy protein and its fractions with LYS. The oppositely charged SPI and LYS form amorphous solid precipitates by liquid-solid phase separation at the charge stoichiometric ratios. For PE-based complex coacervation, NaCl usually can induce the phase transition from liquid-solid phase separation to liquid-liquid phase separation. However, in the range of 0 mM to 200 mM NaCl (the critical salt concentration of SPI-LYS interaction), NaCl was unable to induce the formation of SPI-LYS coacervates and only weakened the electrostatic interactions, reducing the size of complexes. We hypothesize that this difference is related to kinetic traps caused by the pH- and NaCl- induced glycinin self-aggregation in the SPI, which limited the rearrangement and equilibrium of the complexes via energy barriers. Due to the inability to dynamically structure rearrange, the distribution of proteins in SPI-LYS precipitates was not as uniform as in typical liquid coacervates. Although proteins are partially unfolded upon electrostatic complexation, protein unfolding, charge neutralization, or complex structure formation did not reduce LYS activity (with Micrococcus lysodeikticus as the substrate). It is reasonable to verify the above hypothesis by removing the glycinin fraction prone to self-aggregation from SPI and studying the associative phase separation of the remaining proteins with LYS. The extraction procedures of β-conglycinin (β-CG) is exactly the process of multiple removals of glycinin from the SPI solution via pH- and salt-induced self-aggregation of glycinin. Thus, we investigated the associative phase separation of β-CG and LYS in Chapter 3. The β-conglycinin (β-CG) can assemble into coacervate with LYS in the range of pH 5.75–6.5 through electrostatic interactions without adding any salts, which validated the above hypothesis. By contrast, they assembled into solid precipitates at higher pHs, such as pH 7 and 8. By comparing the thermodynamic parameters of the formation of β-CG-LYS coacervates and precipitates and their thermodynamic stability, we found that the low desolvation degree and weak protein interaction may favor the formation of coacervates. Unlike PE-based complex coacervation, the complex coacervate between globulins lacking flexible chains exhibited dynamic protein exchanges rather than inter-chain exchanges. The solid precipitate was more challenging to achieve protein exchange due to stronger protein-protein interaction and desolvation. Coacervates have better protein thermodynamic stability than precipitates, whereas the LYS activity of these two complexes both was completely retained. Although NaCl did not induce the physical state transition of SPI-LYS precipitates, it transformed β-CG-LYS precipitates into coacervates in Chapter 4, enabling the formation of β-CG-LYS coacervates over a wide range of pHs and mixing ratios. This finding again verified the inhibitory effect of self-aggregates on coacervate because NaCl failed to induce β-CG self-aggregation. The low charge density and constrained structure of globular proteins also endowed the particularity of β-CG-LYS complex coacervates. Unlike the high critical salt concentrations (a few hundred millimoles to a few moles) and the driving of entropy gain in PE-PE systems, the critical salt concentration of β-CG-LYS complexation was only about 100 mM NaCl, and an exothermic enthalpy change was the driving force for β-CG-LYS complex coacervation. The NaCl-induced low degree of desolvation promoted coacervation over precipitation. The proteins in β-CG-LYS complex coacervates are in a dynamic equilibrium, which lead to uniform distribution of proteins throughout the coacervates. During experiments in Chapters 3 and 4, we noticed an unusual drop in the turbidity of β-CG-LYS coacervates. Thus we quantified the turbidity changes over time using turbidity kinetics in Chapter 5 and found that the turbidity decrease was associated with a structural rearrangement of the coacervates. In contrast, the turbidity of precipitates did not decrease. Microscopy showed the dynamic rearrangement was mainly manifested in the shape-transformation from non-spherical clusters to spherical coacervates and the gradual merging of small coacervates. The NaCl concentration, total protein concentration, and pH regulated the dynamic equilibrium of β-CG-LYS coacervates through different mechanisms. The weakened electrostatic interaction between charged patches, reduced effective intermolecular friction, the increased number of charged groups available for dynamic exchange, and the reduced residual net charge all were conducive to the dynamic equilibrium of β-CG-LYS heteroprotein coacervates. By contrast, the kinetically trapped β-CG-LYS precipitates did not have a similar dynamic equilibrium behavior. Previous studies rarely dealt with the impact of the physical state or dynamics of biopolymer complexes on their applications. An interesting question is whether the encapsulation and protection of natural active compounds by these complexes differ in different physical states, considering the remarkable role of complex coacervates in encapsulation and their different physical states. We compared the differences between β-CG-LYS coacervates and precipitates in encapsulating and protecting curcumin in Chapter 6. Both β-CG-LYS coacervates and solid precipitates exhibited a high curcumin encapsulation efficiency exceeding 95%. Although NaCl reduced the yield of β-CG-LYS complexes, it did not reduce the curcumin encapsulation efficiency, thus greatly increasing the curcumin loading capacity to 410–486 μg/mg. After being exposed to light and heat, the curcumin in both β-CG-LYS coacervates and precipitates had good a stability, and unlike precipitates, the β-CG-LYS coacervates endowed the curcumin with long-term storage stability through its compartmental structure and concentrating effect. In addition, the underwater adhesion ability and compartmental structure of the protein-based coacervates prevented the loss of curcumin caused by water rinses and reduced the loss upon rinsing with ethanol. Therefore, β-CG-LYS coacervates were not only good encapsulation vehicles but also had potential as functional dressings and coatings. Finally, we believe that a more in-depth exploration of the complex coacervation dynamics of common biopolymer (protein and polysaccharide) combinations in the food industry will be interesting, especially to establish quaternary relationships of molecular structure-dynamics-material properties-application.".
• 01GM12DJ8XNH25Z9X515DDXKAF abstract "Abstract: Methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM) is available as a dietary supplement for human and has been associated with multiple health benefits such as reduction of oxidative stress. Heat stress (HS) is an environmental stressor challenging poultry production and known to inflict oxidative stress. We hypothesized that dietary MSM could attenuate HS-induced detrimental effects in broilers mediated by enhancement of antioxidant defenses. Hence, seven hundred ninety-two 1-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were allocated to 3 dietary treatments composed of corn-soybean meal diets with 0 (Ctrl), 1, or 2 g/kg MSM, with 12 replicates (22 birds each) per treatment for 39 d and subjected to a chronic cyclic HS model (temperature of 34 degrees C and 52-58% relative humidity for 6 h daily) from d 24 to 39. MSM at 1 and 2 g/kg linearly increased daily gain and decreased feed-to-gain ratio compared with Ctrl in the grower phase (d 10-21, both P < 0.05). In the finisher phase (d 21-39) none of the performance and carcass indices were affected by treatment (P > 0.05). Nonetheless, data suggest reduced mortality by feeding MSM during HS. Also, during HS the diets with graded levels of MSM resulted in reduced rectal temperatures (P < 0.05) along with linearly decreased panting frequency on d 24 (P < 0.05). MSM supplemented birds showed a trend for linearly decreased thiobarbituric acid reactive substances of breast meat upon simulated retail display (P = 0.078). In addition, MSM administration linearly decreased lipid oxidation in plasma (d 25 and 39, P < 0.05) and breast muscle at d 23 (P < 0.05), concomitantly with linearly increased glutathione levels in erythrocytes (d 23 and 39, P < 0.05; d 25, P < 0.1) and breast muscle (d 23, P < 0.05; d 39, P < 0.1). In conclusion, MSM increased growth performance of broilers during grower phase, and exhibited positive effects on heat tolerance mediated by improved antioxidant capacity in broilers resulting in lower mortality in finisher phase.".
• 01GM1CNK02ZDAW97DVTTJ5HXXG abstract "In this study we explore the disciplinary diversity present within subject specialties in the social sciences and humanities. Subject specialties are operationalized as textually coherent clusters of documents. We apply topic modelling to textual information on the individual document level (titles and abstracts) to cluster a multilingual set of roughly 45,000 documents into subject specialties. The dataset includes the metadata of journal articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, and monographs. We make use of two indicators, namely, the organizational affiliation based on the departmental address of the authors and the cognitive orientation based on the disciplinary classifications at the publication level. First, we study the disciplinary diversity of the clusters by calculating a Hill-type diversity index. We draw an overall picture of the distribution of subject specialties over diversity scores and contrast the two indicators with each other. The goal is to discover whether some subject specialties are inherently multi- or interdisciplinary in nature, and whether the different indicators are telling a well-aligned, similar story. Second, for each cluster of documents we calculate the dominance, i.e. the relative size of the largest discipline. This proxy of disciplinary concentration gives an idea of the extent to which a specialty is disciplined. The results show that all subject specialties analyzed serve as interdisciplinary trading grounds, with outliers in both directions of the disciplinary-interdisciplinary continuum. For a large share of specialties, the dominant cognitive and organizational disciplinary classification were found to be well aligned. We present a typology of subject specialties by contrasting the organizational and cognitive diversity scores.".
• 01GM23GMRSWYGW48ASF3YWEHCC abstract "The lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated, nucleoside-modified mRNA platform has been used to generate safe and effective vaccines in record time against COVID-19. Here, we review the current understanding of the manner whereby mRNA vaccines induce innate immune activation and how this contributes to protective immunity. We discuss innate immune sensing of mRNA vaccines at the cellular and intracellular levels and consider the contribution of both the mRNA and the LNP components to their immunogenicity. A key message that is emerging from recent observations is that the LNP carrier acts as a powerful adjuvant for this novel vaccine platform. In this context, we highlight important gaps in understanding and discuss how new insight into the mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of mRNA-LNP vaccines may enable tailoring mRNA and carrier molecules to develop vaccines with greater effectiveness and milder adverse events in the future.".
• 01GM25MB0PQF7FSTRTBVC93QMT abstract "In this brief perspective, we describe key events in the history of the lipid-based nanomedicine field, highlight Canadian contributions, and outline areas where lipid nanoparticle technology is poised to have a transformative effect on the future of medicine.".
• 01GM2MHM2ESM2RYNT69WM2FH3A abstract "The problem of increased antibiotic resistance and improved environmental adaptability from bacteria has become a challenge for food safe and our public health, and this is of particular concern when bacteria form biofilms. Phytochemicals have shown great advantages and application prospects for the prevention of complex biofilms due to their excellent antibacterial properties, hard to develop resistance, and multi-target antibacterial strategies. Therefore, it is particularly important to understand their antibiofilm activity and mode of action against biofilm bacteria in different biofilm models, which is particularly important for realizing the control of pathogenic bacteria biofilm. Many different types of biofilms occur in food industry and clinical patients, but two of the most common ones are surface-attached biofilms and chronic biofilm aggregates that are found in pulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis patients and wound infections. Hence, the overall aim of this dissertation is to explore borneol and citral-based approaches for the prevention and treatment of different biofilms. The primary contents and results are as follows: (1) Bacterial isolates from 480 food raw material samples were collected and investigated. Tthe prevalence of antibiotic resistance, biofilm forming ability and incidence of class 1 integron of foodborne pathogenic isolates was assessed. Antimicrobial resistance was widespread amongst the obtained pathogenic isolates. 61.5% isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic and 17.7% were multi-resistant to three or more antibiotics. Resistant strains isolated from fresh/frozen pork and fresh chicken, including 12 isolates of E. coli and 18 isolates of Salmonella spp., carry class I integron genes which was most likely related to the abuse of antibiotics in animal husbandry. 6 isolates of Salmonella spp. carrying the positive gene cassette had weak or moderate biofilm formation ability, and of which 3 isolates had multidrug resistance; all E. coli isolated had multidrug resistance, and of which 7 isolates carrying the positive gene cassette had weak or moderate biofilm-forming ability. Correlation analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the biofilm formation ability of Salmonella spp. carrying class I integron and bacterial drug resistance, indicating that the horizontal transfer of drug resistance genes is universal. (2) The synergistic antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of citral and borneol against common pathogenic bacteria in several in vitro surface-attached models were evaluated. Both citral and borneol have broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, and the synergistic antibacterial effect is significant. These phytochemicals inhibited biofilm formation by preventing bacterial adhesion and a dose-dependent manner was observed. They can effectively eradicate 90.73-100% of the preformed biofilm grown on the surface of the polycarbonate membrane. Leakage of cell contents and changes of biofilm morphology indicated that these two phytochemicals disrupted the cell membranes of planktpnic bacteria and bacteria within biofilms. Citral and borneol exert anti-biofilm activity mainly by inhibiting bacterial adhesion and disrupting the integrity of cell membranes. (3) Pickering emulsions with capsulized phytochemicals including citral or borneol and citral (C-Cap/BC-Cap) stabilized by hydrophilic amine-functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NH2 NPs) were fabricated first. The optimum preparation conditions of Pickering emulsion were determined, and this emulsion could be stored stably for more than 20 days at 40℃. Then Pickering emulsions as novel antibacterial agents to combat E. coli and S. aureus infections as well as their mode of action were assesed. Compared to citral or BC, the antibacterial effect of C-Cap/BC-Cap increased by 2-8 folds. Indeed, both Pickering emulsions exhibited effective antibiofilm activities against E. coli and S. aureus in in vitro biofilm models. They can effectively eradicate 99.95-100% of the preformed biofilms grown on the surface of the polycarbonate membranes. Pickering emulsion can effectively improve the water solubility and chemical stability of these two phytochemicals, penetrate biofilm matrix aand effectively deliver them to the bacterial surface; and then these two phytochemicals disrupted the integrity of the cell membrane, kill the cells, and cause the collapse of the biofilm structure. (4) The antibiofilm activity of borneol, citral and BC as well as their Pickering emulsions against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa was examined in an in vivo-like SCFM2 model, an in vivo-like wound model and an in vivo Galleria mellonella model, respectively. The Pickering emulsions demonstrated an enhanced biofilm-inhibitory activity as compared to both citral and BC, reducing the MBIC values up to 2-4 times against P. aeruginosa PAO1 and 2-8 times against S. aureus P8-AE1 in SCMF2 medium. Specially, citral, the combination borneol/citral and their Pickering emulsions can completely eliminate the established biofilm of S. aureus P8-AE1. Interestingly, effectiveness of Pickering emulsions was also demonstrated in the wound model with a reduction of up to 4.8-log units in biofilm formation by S. aureus Mu50. Furthermore, citral and Pickering emulsions exhibited a significant degree of protection against S. aureus infection in the G. mellonella model. Combination of phytochemicals and encapsulation in Pickering emulsion are promising strategies to improve the efficacy of citral, especially against biofilms under challenging host-mimicking conditions. In conclusion, this dissertation shows that combination of phytochemicals and encapsulation in Pickering emulsion are promising strategies to improve the efficacy of citral against biofilms in both in vitro and in vivo-like conditions. These capsules have potential applications as a general surface disinfectant as well as an antibiofilm agents for the treatment of lung infections in cystic fibrosis and wound infections.".
• 01GM2N912RNN1E12JN6Z5ADC67 abstract "Background: The management of vitiligo is guided by the assessment of disease activity. However, this assessment is hampered by the absence of a highly feasible and reliable single marker to evaluate activity. Furthermore, the need for an objective, easy, preferably noninvasive marker is further stressed by the increased amount of research performed on new treatment strategies for vitiligo. Objectives: In this review, the available research on clinical signs linked to disease activity, and biomarkers in tissues and blood are summarized. Results: In the group of clinical signs, the Koebner phenomenon has the strongest evidence of an association with disease activity, while confetti‐like depigmentation is gaining importance and seems to outweigh this role. For the tissue markers, the most evidence is available for histopathological findings, such as epidermal spongiosis with vacuolar degeneration in the basal cells and inflammatory infiltrate. Circulating biomarkers such as interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), IL‐17, interferon‐γ, tumor growth factor‐β, soluble cluster of differentiation 25, autoantibodies, and oxidative stress markers show the most promising results. Nevertheless, none of them are currently regarded as the gold standard. Discussion: In conclusion, we encourage researchers to investigate various biomarkers and clinical signs in their trials in a standardized manner to get insight into their exact value, so they can be used to optimize treatment selection, gain insight into the disease, and predict future disease progression.".
• 01GM2NAEKNGB1KV8276G9ZEBFC abstract "Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), used as a biological control agent (BCA), can persist on plants, and from there can be introduced into the final food product. In routine food safety diagnostics, these Bt residues cannot be distinguished from natural populations of Bacillus cereus present in plants and all are enumerated as “presumptive B. cereus.” In this study, information on eventual use of Bt biopesticides, brand, application times and intervals provided by three food processing companies in Belgium, were integrated with quantitative data on presumptive B. cereus measured from fresh to frozen food products. This information together with data on genomic similarity obtained via whole genome sequencing (WGS) and cry gene profiling using a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay, confirmed that six out of 11 Bt isolates originated from the applied Bt biocontrol products. These identified Bt strains were shown to carry enterotoxin genes (nhe, hbl, cytK-2) and express Hbl enterotoxin in vitro. It was also noted that these Bt biopesticide strains showed no growth at standard refrigeration temperatures and a low or moderate biofilm-forming ability and cytotoxic activity. Our results also showed that the use of Bt as a BCA on spinach plants in the field led to higher residual counts of Bt in spinach (fresh or frozen) in the food supply chain, but the residual counts exceeding at present commonly assumed safety limit of 105 CFU/g was only found in one fresh spinach sample. It is therefore recommended to establish a pre-harvest interval for Bt biopesticide application in the field to lower the likelihood of noncompliance to the generic B. cereus safety limit. Furthermore, WGS was found to be the best way to identify Bt biopesticide isolates at the strain level for foodborne outbreaks and clinical surveillance. The developed qPCR assay for screening on the presence of cry genes in presumptive B. cereus can be applied as a rapid routine test as an amendment to the already existing test on Bt crystal proteins determined via phase-contrast microscopy.".
• 01GM2TBDARSKTVNZ29W7R7511N abstract "Documents issued by the government such as public tenders or policy documents often lack consistent semantics, which leads to ambiguities and misinterpretations. Take for example granting subsidies to companies. The conditions for entitlement to a subsidy are checked against the government’s authentic data sources. However, the various governments and administrations have different definitions of, for instance, a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), which can be derived from a European legal framework or a financial perspective. The absence of uniform definitions for these terms results in a lot of duplicate efforts for both the government and the entrepreneur. To tackle the problem of semantics, Flanders founded an interoperability program, Open Standards for Linked Organizations (OSLO) whose primary goal is to ensure that systems exchanging data can use a common vocabulary. However, despite the results made by OSLO, they do not reach policy-makers working mainly on the legal and organizational levels. We developed two tools to close this gap and make semantic agreements available at these levels. With OSLO Lookup, we provide a simple user interface that lets users query the semantics assets, while the OSLO365 plugin allows embedding the semantic assets in a Microsoft Word document. To assess the relevance and usability of these tools, servants of a local administration were interviewed. This paper outlines that semantic agreements that are mainly used on the data level can provide added value at an organizational and legal level as well.".
• 01GM2TV1QHKGAET2V58Y9P4HTY abstract "Background: In Belgian Malinois, a KCNJ10 variant causes progressive spinocerebellar degeneration. Hypothesis/objectives: Describe the clinical, diagnostic, pathological and genetic features of spinocerebellar degeneration in the Bouvier des Ardennes breed. Animals: Five affected Bouvier des Ardennes puppies with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), 8 healthy related dogs, and 63 healthy unrelated Bouvier des Ardennes. Methods: Sequential case study. Results: Clinical signs started at 6 weeks of age in 1 puppy with severe signs of cerebellar disease, and at 7 to 10 weeks of age in the 4 remaining puppies with milder signs of spinocerebellar disease. The first puppy displayed severe intention tremors and rapidly progressive generalized hypermetric ataxia, whereas the 4 others developed a milder progressive SCA. Euthanasia after progression to nonambulatory status was performed by 8 weeks of age in the first puppy, and before 11 months of age in the 4 remaining puppies. Histopathology revealed cerebellar spongy degeneration and a focal symmetrical demyelinating myelopathy. All cases were homozygous for KCNJ10 XM_545752.6:c.986T>C(p.(Leu329Pro)), which is pathogenic for SCA with (or without) myokymia, seizures or both (SAMS) and spongy degeneration and cerebellar ataxia (SDCA) 1 in Belgian Malinois dogs. All sampled parents were heterozygous and none of the healthy dogs were homozygous for this recessive variant. This variant has an allele frequency of 15% in the 63 healthy dogs studied. Conclusions and clinical importance: Inherited spinocerebellar degeneration also affects the Bouvier des Ardennes breed and is caused by a KCNJ10 variant. It can present with a spectrum of severity grades, ranging from severe cerebellar to milder spinocerebellar signs.".
• 01GM2V95B4AVXFZB7JTQPT304Y abstract "Basel blijft succesvol kiezen voor de uitbreiding van de gelijkgrondse tramlijnen boven de aanleg van een onbetaalbare premetro In Basel reed de eerste tram van het stedelijke OV-bedrijf Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (BVB) in 1895. De tram was de aanjager voor de stedelijke ontwikkeling tot 1915, ook in de naburige Elzas. In dit artikel wordt het openbaar vervoer in de meest bevolkte stad van Zwitserland, beschreven. In 1973 werd beslist om “Het openbaar vervoer verleidelijk te maken voor elke burger.” Dit betekent: betrouwbare dienstverlening, optimale doorstroming, vermindering van de totale verplaatsingstijd door korte wandelafstanden naar de halten en geringe wachttijden op tram of bus. Om dit te bereiken zijn, een fijnmazig lijnennetwerk, hoge frequenties, geïntegreerde tarieven, autoluwe stadsdelen en een hoge haltedichtheid en een restrictief parkeerbeleid als beleidsmiddelen noodzakelijk. Parkeerbeleid samen met tramuitbreidingen waardoor (grens)pendelaars van Duitsland en Frankrijk overstapvrij naar stadshart kunnen reizen, vormden de essentiële elementen van het OV-succes in Basel. Daarnaast zorgen de reizigersvriendelijk verkeerslichtenbeïnvloeding voor een vlotte doorstroming van tram en bus zorgen De inspraak en participatie van de bewoners en reizigers zorgden ervoor dat de uitbreidingen tram/buslijnen efficient waren en veel reizigers genereerden. De werkwijze in Basel vormt een enorme inspiratiebron voor het Vlaamse beleid: • Ontwerp de tram- en busnetstructuur derwijze dat er een maximum aan overstapvrije verplaatsingen mogelijk • Korte wandelafstand naar de meest nabije halte in: richtnorm 350 meter in vogelvlucht of 5 minuten wandelafstand. • Organiseer een gewaarborgde stipte dienstuitvoering sa- men met de wegbeheerders. Schrap bestaande, storend gebleken parkeerplaatsen langs tramroutes. • Versnel het in- en uitstappen. Verplicht de systematische stop van elke tram aan elke halte. • Gebruik ook de voorste toegangsdeur (tram). • toegankelijke halten aan zonder enige drempel. • In plaats van buitenspiegels, buitencamera’s voor optimaal zicht door de bestuurder, ook bij duisternis. • Vermijd de wachtrijen voor de valideertoestellen aan boord. Veralgemeen eenvoudige telapparatuur. Met een dergelijk beleid kan ook in Vlaanderen het OV een succesverhaal worden. Het ver-hogen van de veiligheid en leefbaarheid van de Vlaamse steden is daarvan het directe gevolg.".
• 01GM2VS8T018M69AVR5C2Y4MFW abstract "Interventions from lairage to the chilling stage of the pig slaughter process are important to reduce microbial contamination of carcasses. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of abattoir interventions in reducing aerobic colony count (ACC), Enterobacteriaceae, generic Escherichia coli, and Yersinia spp. on pig carcasses. The database searches spanned a 30 year period from 1990 to 2021. Following a structured, predefined protocol, 22 articles, which were judged as having a low risk of bias, were used for detailed data extraction and metaanalysis. The meta-analysis included data on lairage interventions for live pigs, standard processing procedures for pig carcasses, prechilling interventions, multiple carcass interventions, and carcass chilling. Risk ratios (RRs) for prevalence studies and mean log differences (MDs) for concentration outcomes were calculated using random effects models. The meta-analysis found that scalding under commercial abattoir conditions effectively reduced the prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae (RR: 0.05, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.12, I-2 = 87%) and ACC (MD: -2.84, 95% CI: -3.50 to -2.18, I-2 = 99%) on pig carcasses. Similarly, significant reductions of these two groups of bacteria on carcasses were also found after singeing (RR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.14 to 0.44, I-2 = 90% and MD: -1.95, 95% CI: -2.40 to -1.50, I-2 = 96%, respectively). Rectum sealing effectively reduces the prevalence of Y. enterocolitica on pig carcasses (RR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.41 to 0.89, I-2 = 0%). Under commercial abattoir conditions, hot water washing significantly reduced ACC (MD: -1.32, 95% CI: -1.93 to -0.71, I-2 = 93%) and generic E. coli counts (MD: -1.23, 95% CI: -1.89 to -0.57, I-2 = 61%) on pig carcasses. Conventional dry chilling reduced Enterobacteriaceae prevalence on pig carcasses (RR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.48, I-2 = 81%). Multiple carcass interventions significantly reduced Enterobacteriaceae prevalence (RR: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.23, I-2 = 94%) and ACC on carcasses (MD: -2.85, 95% CI: -3.33 to -2.37, I-2 = 97%). The results clearly show that standard processing procedures of scalding and singeing and the hazard-based intervention of hot water washing are effective in reducing indicator bacteria on pig carcasses. The prevalence of Y. enterocolitica on pig carcasses was effectively reduced by the standard procedure of rectum sealing; nevertheless, this was the only intervention for Yersinia investigated under commercial conditions. High heterogeneity among studies and trials investigating interventions and overall lack of large, controlled trials conducted under commercial conditions suggest that more in-depth research is needed.".
• 01GM2VS8T9QDFZ89GDH3KPMAA3 abstract "Anisakidae, mainly represented by the species Anisakis simplex and Pseudoterranova decipiens, are one of the most commonly zoonotic nematodes present in marine fish species. Apart from public health risks directly linked to the parasite itself, little is known on the effects of the migrating nematodes on the hygienic quality of the fish fillet due to bacteria it carries. In the present study, the cultivated bacterial community on and in individual P. decipiens larvae deriving from codfish is reported. Four isolation media were included and evaluated to increase the bacterial diversity isolated, and identification of the bacterial growth was performed by a combination of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-Of-Flight mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results revealed that the microbiota of P. decipiens larvae comprises both potential spoilage bacteria and human opportunistic pathogens, and that a combined isolation on the general isolation medium tryptone soy agar and a medium supplemented with artificial seawater resulted in the highest bacterial recovery in terms of diversity and enumeration. Dissimilarity analysis also revealed similar, though unique, bacterial communities between nematodes originating from the same fish suggesting that anisakid microbiota compositions are reflections of the microbial assemblages in the fish host as an individual, and that the gut microbiome is diverse within gadoid fish species originating from the same geographical habitat. Future research should, based on the results in the present study, further elaborate on the comparison of the bacterial communities of both the larva and the codfish from which it was isolated, and, explore the extrapolation potential towards other fish and nematode species. Also, the actual degree of risk beyond the simple presence of the parasite due to carriage of opportunistic bacteria should be examined, as well as the nematode's true effect on spoilage.".
• 01GM2VWJQVHSFF0064S9QFSC67 abstract "In this paper, we consider wireless positioning using Received Signal Strength (RSS) fingerprinting. To obtain good accuracy, this technique requires a database containing a high density of up-to-date fingerprints. However, as acquiring fingerprints through training is labor intensive and the indoor topology is subject to changes, a high density fingerprint database cannot always be obtained. On the other hand, the time to retrieve data from a database with high density can be too high for real-time positioning. To tackle these issues, we introduce the Hierarchical Positioning Algorithm (HPA). In this algorithm, we divide the database into a number of sub-databases with different densities, each containing a sufficiently small number of fingerprints to reduce the data retrieval time. The algorithm starts with a coarse estimate at the highest level, and gradually improves the accuracy in going to the lowest level. This HPA technique requires the construction of sub-databases containing fingerprints that are properly selected to obtain the wanted level of accuracy. This paper considers two algorithms to construct the database: the Minimum Distance Algorithm (MDA) to select the reference points, and the Local Gaussian Process (LGP) algorithm to determine the RSS values at the selected reference points. Simulation results show that the hierarchical algorithm, combined with MDA and LGP to construct the sub-databases, is a fast algorithm that can achieve high accuracy, even with a database having a variable density of fingerprints.".
• 01GM2W20V7DSJM7BEG3PHC8VHS abstract "Current methods of construction progress monitoring involve manual data collection and processing, which are time-consuming and labor-intensive, with a dominant human presence entailing several flaws such as missing or inaccurate information. Recent research efforts for automated progress monitoring have largely focused on model-based assessment methods that are dependent on a pre-requisite step known as registration which is still performed manually due to numerous challenges. This study proposes a novel automated coarse registration method that utilizes the BIM model as the as-planned model to align it with the corresponding as-built model using their geometrical features. First, it extracts the corner points in both models using their planar features and then identifies the conjugate corner points based on different geometric invariants. Later, the transformations are determined from those conjugate points and the most accurate transformation parameter is finalized in the end. The proposed method is validated on different datasets. ".
• 01GM2WFXAXF3XM9B6S60JGNSDY abstract "Introduction: Up to 37% of lumbar radiculopathy patients experience residual pain and disability following lumbar discectomy. Although it is assumed that dysfunctional pain processing may play a mechanistic role in symptom persistence, research in this area is lacking. Therefore, this study will evaluate pain processing in lumbar radiculopathy patients prior to and 3 months following lumbar discectomy. Methods: Lumbar radiculopathy patients (n = 122) scheduled for discectomy will be recruited through Flemish hospitals. At follow-up, patients with ≥1.5/10 average pain intensity on a visual analogue scale and <20% improvement on the Oswestry Disability Index will be categorized as having residual complaints. These will be compared to matched patients without residual complaints and pain-free controls. Pain sensitivity will be evaluated using Quantitative Sensory Testing including thermal, mechanical, and electrical perception and pain thresholds. Spinal modulation will be assessed using nociceptive flexion reflex thresholds; pain facilitation by the presence of psychocognitive factors through questionnaires and temporal summation of mechanical stimuli and the NFR; and pain inhibition using a conditioned pain modulation paradigm. Results: Not applicable. Discussion: We hypothesize that pre-operative pain characteristics are predictive of residual complaints and that patients with residual complaints exhibit dysfunctional pain processing compared to individuals without residual complaints as expressed by impaired pain inhibition and enhanced spinal modulation, pain sensitivity and facilitation. The findings will provide the potential to identify patients at risk of poor surgical outcome and explore treatment strategies according to dysfunctions in pain processing. Process evaluation: Currently recruiting and completing ethical committee applications for multicentric recruitment. Keywords: Radiculopathy; discectomy; central sensitization; quantitative sensory testing; neuropathic pain".
• 01GM2XRYZJWQA7XZD0QYAT6V55 abstract "Regular physical activity (PA) is associated with multiple health benefits, yet little insight exists on PA levels of patients with CF (PwCF). This systematic review aimed to compare PA levels of PwCF (youth and adults) to healthy peers, and explore the influencing factors (i.e. correlates) of PA in these patients.Medline (PubMed), Web of Science and PsychArticles were systematically searched for eligible literature and 46 studies were included, describing 2351 PwCF.PwCF are~as active as their~healthy peers, although CF youth tend to be less active at higher PA intensities. In addition, both groups do not meet PA guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO)[Bull,F.C.et al. Br J Sports Med 2020;54:1451-1462]. PA is positively associated with quality of life, lung function, exercise capacity, bone mineral density and quadriceps force, and negatively with weekday and respiratory exacerbations (table). No associations were found with age, pancreatic insufficiency, or colonisation with bacteria.PwCF and healthy peers are equally active, but do not meet WHO guidelines. Several PA correlates that were widely investigated in the healthy population remain undetermined (e.g. sex) or unknown (e.g. behavioural factors, parental support, access to green space) in PwCF. However, these correlates could form excellent target points to improve PA. More high-quality research is needed to further unravel the PA behaviour of PwCF.FootnotesCite this article as Eur Respir J 2022; 60: Suppl. 66, 700.This article was presented at the 2022 ERS International Congress, in session {\textquotedblleft}-{\textquotedblright}.This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).".
• 01GM2Y080QZ3PE139X9YZ65X67 abstract "The metasedimentary rocks of the Neoproterozoic Katanga Supergroup in the Central African Copperbelt (CACB) were deformed during the Pan-African orogeny and its post-orogenic period. The associated folding and faulting played an important role in the formation of the Cu-Co- (U) and the polymetallic Cu-Zn-Pb mineralization (Haest & Muchez, 2011; Mambwe et al., 2022). This study is based on a structural analysis and fluid inclusion characterization completed at Tenke-Fungurume and Kambove mining district in the central part of the CACB. It aims at presenting a new fluid evolution and fluid flow model during the brittle tectonic events that affected the Nguba, Kundelungu and Biano Groups in the Katanga Copperbelt (Kipata et al., 2013). At the onset of the brittle tectonics, after the peak of the Lufilian orogeny (within the Monwezian phase-D2), a high salinity fluid (27.9 - 31.1 eq. wt % NaCl) with moderate homogenization temperatures (Tht = 128-216° C) rich in copper circulated through the fractures and faults during a NE-SW transpression. At the end of the Lufilian orogeny, mainly during the late orogenic collapse, a high salinity fluid (26.7-36.0 eq. wt % NaCl) with low to moderate temperature (Tht = 50-264° C) formed the Cu or Cu- (Zn, Pb) mineralization in the both Nguba and Kundelungu groups (eg. Shanika syncline and Kyaundji; cfr. Mambwe et al., 2017, 2022). The post-Lufilian period started by the formation of Cu or polymetallic Cu (Zn, Pb, Ag) mineralization, caused by the mixing of a high salinity fluid (26.7-30.0 eq. wt % NaCl for type 1 inclusions) with meteoric water in the subsurface resulting in a fluid with a salinity range between 0.71 and 22.8 eq. wt % NaCl and a minimum temperature of 37 to 172° C). The extensional context of the East African Rift system was characterized by a decrease in salinity (<10 eq. wt % NaCl) due to the abundance of meteoric water. These low salinity fluids caused the remobilization of copper and the formation of secondary deposits.".
• 01GM2Y0AHP3E8D52X7NTX4RJ7P abstract "A range of spreads and dips as novel vegetarian ready-to-eat foods are being introduced on the (European) retail market to response to an increasing number of vegetarian'/flexitarian' consumers and the shift towards plantbased foods consumption. This innovative food group was explored by a product survey (n = 369) in Belgium. The spreads and dips were classified on the presence of main ingredients, the applied preservation mode, the remaining shelf-life period, and the presence of additives. The majority of the products have soybeans or other seeds as the main ingredient, are containing preservatives (e.g. potassium sorbate; E202) and organic acids/acid regulators (e.g. lactic acid; E270 and citric acid; E330) as additives. 45% of the products were marketed under the organic label and 36% of them were indicated as so-called 'clean label'. From a selection (78 refrigerated and 23 ambient stored products), the physicochemical characteristics (i.e. pH, water activity, and headspace gas composition) were determined as well as the microbiological quality, hygiene, and safety at the moment of purchase and the end of the indicated shelf-life. The analyzed microbiological quality indicators for refrigerated samples demonstrated a psychrotrophic total plate count range of 1.0-9.4 log CFU/g, psychrotrophic lactic acid bacteria range of 1.0-8.8 log CFU/g, yeast and fungi range of 2.0-9.5 log CFU/g and sulfite reducing Clostridia range of 1.0-3.7 log CFU/g. E. coli and coliforms were analyzed as hygiene indicators and solely coliforms were detected on three samples with a maximum count of 3.6 log CFU/g. Listeria monocytogenes was not detected in 10g. Bacillus cereus never exceeded 3.5 log CFU/g. For the ambient stored samples, mesophilic total plate count, mesophilic lactic acid bacteria, yeast and fungi, sulfite reducing Clostridia, B. cereus, B. cereus spores, aerobic spores, and anaerobic spores were determined. Most of the products showed cell counts below the limit of detection (= 1.0 log CFU/g). Only products based on chickpeas, sesame seeds, and other seeds showed cell counts for mesophilic total plate count and aerobic plate count ranging respectively from 1.0 to 4.3 log CFU/g and 1.0 to 5.1 log CFU/g. The research gives insight into the variable microbiological composition and multiple applied preservation modes of this innovative food group of ready-to-eat vegetarian dips and spreads.".
• 01GM2Y0AJ5X83T0EB2F82PHEMZ abstract "High-rate activated sludge (HRAS) relies on good bioflocculation and subsequent solid-liquid separation to maximize the capture of organics. However, full-scale applications often suffer from poor and unpredictable effluent suspended solids (ESS). While the biological aspects of bioflocculation are thoroughly investigated, the effects of fines (settling velocity < 0.6 m3/m2/h), shear and surface overflow rate (SOR) are unclear. This work tackled the impact of fines, shear, and SOR on the ESS in absence of settleable influent solids. This was assessed on a full-scale HRAS step-feed (SF) and pilot-scale HRAS contact-stabilization (CS) configuration using batch settling tests, controlled clarifier experiments, and continuous operation of reactors. Fines contributed up to 25% of the ESS in the full-scale SF configuration. ESS decreased up to 30 mg TSS/L when bioflocculation was enhanced with the CS configuration. The feast-famine regime applied in CS promoted the production of highquality extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). However, this resulted in a narrow and unfavorable settling velocity distribution, with 50% +/- 5% of the sludge mass settling between 0.6 and 1.5 m3/m2/h, thus increasing sensitivity towards SOR changes. A low shear environment (20 s-1) before the clarifier for at least one min was enough to ensure the best possible settling velocity distribution, regardless of prior shear conditions. Overall, this paper provides a more complete view on the drivers of ESS in HRAS systems, creating the foundation for the design of effective HRAS clarifiers. Tangible recommendations are given on how to manage fines and establish the optimal settling velocity of the sludge.".
• 01GM2Y0AJAQMEBZ3METY5S6DDZ abstract "Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae race 4 causes vascular necrosis and wilting of lettuce. First observed in Belgium in 2015, the lack of disease resistance in commercial cultivars allowed this pathogen to spread to nearly the entire Belgian production area within 4 years. Different levels of disease development were observed in different commercial greenhouses. To help explain this variation, we collected 78 Fusarium isolates and characterized them both physiologically and genetically. Molecular race identification indicated that 91% of the isolates belonged to race 4, while 6% of the isolates belonged to race 1, which was not previously reported in Belgium. Pathogenicity assays using differential cultivars confirmed the molecular race assignment of selected isolates. Cultivar Patriot was identified as a suitable new differential cultivar to race 4. Race 4 isolates were more aggressive than race 1 isolates at 24 degrees C, but only when using chlamydospore inoculum instead of a root dip assay containing microconidia. Variation in pathogenicity and aggressiveness of the races may explain differences in disease development in commercial greenhouses. Based on genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), race 1 and race 4 isolates were highly similar to reference isolates. Fusarium curvatum, F. oxysporum f. sp. tulipae and F. oxysporum f. sp. rhois were phylogenetically separated from F. oxysporum f. sp. lactucae races 1 and 4 based on the GBS data, but not when using multilocus sequence data. Within F. oxysporum f. sp. lactucae race 4, the GBS data differentiated two rather homogeneous groups, suggesting at least two introductions. However, the two groups did not differ in aggressiveness.".
• 01GM2Y0AJE0BJY21HGVE07GFPD abstract "Nitrogen is the most crucial element in the production of nutritious feeds and foods. The production of reactive nitrogen by means of fossil fuel has thus far been able to guarantee the protein supply for the world population. Yet, the production and massive use of fertilizer nitrogen constitute a major threat in terms of environmental health and sustainability. It is crucial to promote consumer acceptance and awareness towards proteins produced by highly effective microorganisms, and their potential to replace proteins obtained with poor nitrogen efficiencies from plants and animals. The fact that reactive fertilizer nitrogen, produced by the Haber Bosch process, consumes a significant amount of fossil fuel worldwide is of concern. Moreover, recently, the prices of fossil fuels have increased the cost of reactive nitrogen by a factor of 3 to 5 times, while international policies are fostering the transition towards a more sustainable agro-ecology by reducing mineral fertilizers inputs and increasing organic farming. The combination of these pressures and challenges opens opportunities to use the reactive nitrogen nutrient more carefully. Time has come to effectively recover used nitrogen from secondary resources and to upgrade it to a legal status of fertilizer. Organic nitrogen is a slow-release fertilizer, it has a factor of 2.5 or higher economic value per unit nitrogen as fertilizer and thus adequate technologies to produce it, for instance by implementing photobiological processes, are promising. Finally, it appears wise to start the integration in our overall feed and food supply chains of the exceptional potential of biological nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen produced by the nitrogenase enzyme, either in the soil or in novel biotechnology reactor systems, deserves to have a 'renaissance' in the context of planetary governance in general and the increasing number of people who desire to be fed in a sustainable way in particular.".
• 01GM2Y0FEYP9EQNDBPDKGGNCSA abstract "Bacillus velezensis is considered as model species for plant-associated bacilli providing benefits to its host such as protection against phytopathogens. This is mainly due to the potential to secrete a wide range of secondary metabolites with specific and complementary bioactivities. This metabolite arsenal has been quite well defined genetically and chemically but much remains to be explored regarding how it is expressed under natural conditions and notably how it can be modulated upon interspecies interactions in the competitive rhizosphere niche. Here, we show that B. velezensis can mobilize a substantial part of its metabolome upon the perception of Pseudomonas, as a soil-dwelling competitor. This metabolite response reflects a multimodal defensive strategy as it includes polyketides and the bacteriocin amylocyclicin, with broad antibiotic activity, as well as surfactin lipopeptides, contributing to biofilm formation and enhanced motility. Furthermore, we identified the secondary Pseudomonas siderophore pyochelin as an info-chemical, which triggers this response via a mechanism independent of iron stress. We hypothesize that B. velezensis relies on such chelator sensing to accurately identify competitors, illustrating a new facet of siderophore-mediated interactions beyond the concept of competition for iron and siderophore piracy. This phenomenon may thus represent a new component of the microbial conversations driving the behavior of members of the rhizosphere community.".
• 01GM2Y0FFGRDCQZCD0YKVHYC0X abstract "Indole signalling has been proposed as a potential target for the development of novel virulence inhibitors to control bacterial infections. However, the major structural features of indole analogues that govern antivirulence activity remain unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the impact of 26 indole analogues on indole-regulated virulence phenotypes in Vibrio campbellii and on the virulence of the bacterium in a gnotobiotic brine shrimp model. The results demonstrated that 10 indole analogues significantly increased the fluorescence of indole reporter strain Vibrio cholerae S9149, 21 of them decreased the swimming motility of V. campbellii, and 13 of them significantly decreased the biofilm formation of V. campbellii. Further, we found that 1-methylindole, indene, 2,3-benzofuran, thianaphthene, indole-3-acetonitrile, methyl indole-3-carboxylate, 3-methylindole, and indole-2-carboxaldehyde exhibited a significant protective effect on brine shrimp larvae against V. campbellii infection, resulting in survival rates of challenged brine shrimp above 80%. The highest survival of shrimp larvae (98%) was obtained with indole-3-acetonitrile, even at a relatively low concentration of 20 mu M. Importantly, the indole analogues did not affect bacterial growth, both in vitro and in vivo. These results indicate the potential of indole analogues in applications aiming at the protection of shrimp from vibriosis.".
• 01GM2Y0MBZJE7PMPBY2XNYS9VR abstract "Rapidly expanding industrialization and the depletion of non-renewable fossil fuels have necessitated the discovery of feasible renewable alternatives to meet the rising energy demand while reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The present global energy strategy is built on cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives; and production of microalgae has the ability to meet these requirements. Microalgae have been found as a promising and sustainable alternative for treating wastewater (WW) concurrently with biofuel production. One potential strategy, which uses microalgae for lowering the level of contamination in WW is called bioremediation. There are substantial gains to be made for both the economy and the environment through the integration of microalgae-based biofuel production with wastewater treatment (WWT). The use of microalgae that have a short life span, a high growth rate, and a high CO2 usage efficiency is one of the promising approaches for producing biomass from WW nutrients that involves the utilization of renewable resources. Microalgae are one of the most promising biomass resources for use in thermochemical conversion processes for the production of liquid and gaseous biofuels due to their advantages over other biomass feedstocks, such as sustainability, renewability, and productivity. Currently, technology and cost are the primary obstacles limiting industrial applicability, which necessitates an optimum downstream process to minimize production costs. Consequently, the concurrent utilization of microalgae for WWT and biofuel production has made these challenges practical and economically viable. This review provides an overview of microalgae and their bioremediation and bioenergy production applications. It also provides insight for future research to investigate additional possible applications of microalgal biomass. These applications could include not only the bioremediation process, but also the generation of revenues from microalgae through the incorporation of clean and green technology, which would provide long-term sustainability and environmental benefits. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.".
• 01GM2Y0MC5ZZGE37BM7YVVSQJ9 abstract "Arsenolipids are organic arsenic species with variable toxicity. Accurate assessment of the risks derived from arsenic-contaminated seafood intake requires studying the interplay between arsenolipids and the human gut microbiota. This research used the in vitro mucosal simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (M-SHIME) to assess the effect of defined chemical standards of arsenolipids (AsFA 362 and AsHC 332) on a simulated healthy human gut microbiota (n = 4). Microbial-derived metabolites were quantified by gas chro-matography and microbiota structure was characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A specific reduction in butyrate production (control=5.28 +/- 0.3 mM; AsFAs=4.56 +/- 0.4 mM; AsHC 332=4.4 +/- 0.6 mM, n = 4 donors), concomitant with a reduction in the abundance of Lachnospiraceae UCG-004 group and the Faecalibacterium genus was observed, albeit in a donor-dependent manner. Furthermore, an increase in Escherichia/Shigella, Proteobacteria and Fusobacterium abundance was observed after arsenolipid treatments, depending on individual microbiota background. These alterations in microbial functionality and microbial community structure suggest a detrimental effect of arsenolipids intake towards the commensal gut microbiome, and consequently, on human health.".
• 01GM2Y0MCAAXCW5WBN3ABXTQTF abstract "The intestinal mucus layer has a dual role in human health constituting a well-known microbial niche that supports gut microbiota maintenance but also acting as a physical barrier against enteric pathogens. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), the major agent responsible for traveler's diarrhea, is able to bind and degrade intestinal mucins, representing an important but understudied virulent trait of the pathogen. Using a set of complementary in vitro approaches simulating the human digestive environment, this study aimed to describe how the mucus microenvironment could shape different aspects of the human ETEC strain H10407 pathophysiology, namely its survival, adhesion, virulence gene expression, interleukin-8 induction and interactions with human fecal microbiota. Using the TNO gastrointestinal model (TIM-1) simulating the physicochemical conditions of the human upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, we reported that mucus secretion and physical surface sustained ETEC survival, probably by helping it to face GI stresses. When integrating the host part in Caco2/HT29-MTX co-culture model, we demonstrated that mucus secreting-cells favored ETEC adhesion and virulence gene expression, but did not impede ETEC Interleukin-8 (IL-8) induction. Furthermore, we proved that mucosal surface did not favor ETEC colonization in a complex gut microbial background simulated in batch fecal experiments. However, the mucus-specific microbiota was widely modified upon the ETEC challenge suggesting its role in the pathogen infectious cycle. Using multi-targeted in vitro approaches, this study supports the major role played by mucus in ETEC pathophysiology, opening avenues in the design of new treatment strategies.".
• 01GM2Y0S8XKCPKCXK2F6YGV77A abstract "A number of existing and emerging technologies can recover nitrogen from urine. A preliminary step in many nitrogen recovery processes is hydrolyzing urea to ammonium, a biologically-mediated process that can take days to weeks without intervention. The ability to achieve urea hydrolysis quickly and reliably would increase the feasibility of decentralized nitrogen recovery, especially where space and treatment time are constrained. The goal of this research was to determine whether urea hydrolysis could be accelerated by providing an inoculum containing microorganisms likely to have urease activity (feces or soil), providing a carrier to support attached growth (plastic carriers, granular activated carbon, or no carrier), and modifying the hydraulic retention time (HRT; 1.3, 2, and 4 days) and feeding frequency (Delta t = 4, 24 h). Inoculated reactors achieved significantly more urea hydrolysis, and reactors inoculated with soil were able to sustain higher urea hydrolysis rates over time than those inoculated with feces. The mean zero-order rate constants (mM/hr) for reactors with a soil inoculum (15.1) were about three times higher than that of reactors with an inoculum of feces (4.9). A reactor with GAC and an inoculum of soil fed daily with fresh urine achieved greater than 90% hydrolysis with an HRT of 2 days; results suggest the HRT could be reduced to 16 h without reducing performance. No significant benefit was provided by increasing the frequency of feedings for the same HRT, likely because urease enzymes were saturated and operating at maximum hydrolysis rates during most of the reaction period.".
• 01GM2Y0S91QW4SB49SXTV4W0DH abstract "The muscle of aquatic crustaceans is perishable and susceptible to environmental contamination. Vibrio harveyi is a widely occurring pathogen in aquatic animals. Here, bath treatment with a virulent V. harveyi strain (which was added directly in the rearing water to imitate environmental contamination) isolated from the muscle of the whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, caused the muscle of Li. vannamei to display a whitish-opaque appearance due to microscopic changes including muscle lysis, muscle fiber damage and microbial colonization. When administered orally by incorporating this isolate in feed (which is an imitation of infection via natural route), rather than direct invasion followed by colonization in the muscle, this isolate indirectly stimulated severe muscle necrosis in Li. vannamei via steering the enrichment of two important (human) pathogens, V. cholerae and V. vulnificus, and one environmental bacterium Pseudomonas oleovorans, based on the meta-taxonomic analyses. In addition to the scientifically proven viral diseases, our research proved that bacterial agents are also capable of causing muscle spoilage in crustaceans via changing the microbial composition, and that the crustaceans might be exploited as the wide-spectrum sensitive bio-detector to indicate the extent of microbial contamination.".
• 01GM2Y0S96MP7RYF43S3JV930Y abstract "The extracellular 373-kDa PehA heme peroxidase of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 has two enzymatic domains which depend on heme cofactor for their peroxidase activity. A null pehA mutant was generated to examine the impact of PehA in rhizosphere colonization competence and the induction of plant systemic resistance (ISR). This mutant was not markedly hampered in colonization efficiency. However, increase in pehA dosage enhanced colonization fitness about 30 fold in the root and 900 fold in the root apex. In vitro assays with purified His-tagged enzymatic domains of PehA indicated that heme-dependent peroxidase activity was required for the enhancement of root tip colonization. Evaluation of live/dead cells confirmed that overexpression of pehA had a positive effect on bacterial cell viability. Following root colonization of rice plants by KT2440 strain, the incidence of rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae was reduced by 65% and the severity of this disease was also diminished in comparison to non-treated plants. An increase in the pehA dosage was also beneficial for the control of rice blast as compared with gene inactivation. The results suggest that PehA helps P. putida to cope with the plant-imposed oxidative stress leading to enhanced colonization ability and concomitant ISR-elicitation.".
• 01GM2Y0S9A8C3SNPEGGNY4BH2C abstract "We compared four oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) progenies' morphological growth characteristics to reveal genotypic differences in plant growth and assess their adaptability in Nigeria's environment in response to different levels of potassium chloride (KC1) and kieserite fertilizer applications. The studied progenies (C1, C2 and C3 of Deli x La Me origin and C4 of Deli x Yangambi origin) represent a wide genetic diversity of oil palm and have shown among a population of 116 different progenies, a contrasting K and Mg leaflet concentrations that covered the extreme ranges of leaflet concentrations in these minerals. The trial consisted of a completely randomized split-plot factorial design with six replicates, where progenies, considered as sub-factor were treated with combinations of 3 levels ofpotassium chloride (0, 1.5, 3.0 kg of KCl palm(-1) year(-1)) and kieserite (0, 0.75, 1.5 kg of MgSO4 palm(-1) year(-1))fertilizers (main factor), respectively. Growth characteristics differed significantly among progenies, but not in all studied years. In all progenies, KCl treatments significantly increased the average annual collar girth increment and projected canopy area. Adding 3.0 kg palm(-1) year(-1) of KCl significantly increased the total leaf area of progeny C4. Kieserite applications did not have an effect on progenies' growth characteristics whereas potassium showed to be the main mineral needed for oil palm growth. It was shown that with equal amounts of fertilizers applied, progeny C3 had better morphological traits than the other progenies, suggesting that the effective nutrient requirements should be assessed for each individual progeny and that fertilization should be adapted accordingly.".
• 01GM2Y0Y5TGYRFMRF1VKQ7EWND abstract "We aimed to investigate variation in growth, biomass, macro-nutrient uptake, and nitrogen (N) use efficiency indices of cocoa (Theobroma cocoa L.) scion clones under two different nitrogen conditions. Ten clones were top-grafted onto 4-month-old rootstocks clone MCC 02. Each seedling received either 0 or 4.6 g of nitrogen applied as urea fertilizer. The design was arranged as a two-factor experiment with four replicates in a factorial randomized block design. We measured stem diameter, biomass, nutrient concentration, and calculated nutrient uptake, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), agronomic efficiency (AE), apparent nitrogen recovery (ANR), and physiological efficiency (PE). We found that clones significantly affected stem diameter and shoot biomass of both rootstocks and scions. Clones differed in root magnesium (Mg) and shoot calcium (Ca) concentration, root N, and shoot Mg uptake. Furthermore, a significant clone effect was observed on ANR, with local clones showing higher ANR than introduced clones. Nitrogen application significantly improved stem diameter and biomass. Compared to unfertilized plants, a significantly higher N concentration was observed in roots, resulting in higher N uptake in both roots and shoots. Nitrogen application increased shoot Ca concentration and uptake but decreased shoot phosphorus (P) and Mg concentrations. Our results suggest genotypic variability in nitrogen uptake efficiency in clonal cocoa. Clones with high nitrogen uptake efficiency are valuable genetic resources for breeding cocoa clones that efficiently use available N and, therefore, grow better under N-deficient conditions.".
• 01GM2Y0Y63WPY81XQMZEYE702N abstract "1. Including different forms of knowledges and views in decision-making is crucial to managing the complexity of social–ecological systems (SES) in ways that are inclusive and embrace diversity. 2. Sense of place scholarship can explain subjectivity in SES; however, it has hardly been considered together with the literature on knowledge processes, overlooking the epistemic dimension of sense of place and its potential to shed light on the roles and views of individuals in respect to natural resources and their management. 3. This paper explores how local knowledge and place-belonging (as a form of sense of place) intersect, and what kinds of implications these knowledge–place connections have for the interactions between actors and their agency in the High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage Site (Sweden/Finland). 4. Drawing on participant observation in workshops and semi-structured interviews with diverse actors in this transboundary governance context, we identify five types of knowledge–place connections, which exemplify diverse positions on local knowledge shaped by place-belonging. 5. We propose a concept of place-embedded agency to reveal how these positions shape action and interaction between people inside and outside formal decision-making processes. We argue that recognising and taking place-embedded agency into account can help to overcome tensions and enhance plurality in SES governance. ".
• 01GM2Y132J9PG5QEQ4M15004KH abstract "Oil palm fertilizer requirements are based on leaflet mineral concentrations. Four oil palm progenies representing a wide genetic diversity of Elaeis guineensis species and with contrasting K and Mg leaflet concentrations were tested in Indonesia and Nigeria, environments which differ predominantly in climate. During 5 years, we compared oil palm progenies' leaflet mineral concentrations between both countries under abundant fertilizer applications to investigate the extent to which they depend on the environment. In the two studied environments, leaflet concentrations significantly differed between progenies for K, Mg and Ca, but the country effect was not found significant (p = 0.352) for any leaflet mineral's concentration. In both countries, progenies ranked similarly in their mineral categories (lowest and highest cation concentrations within the 4 progenies population), indicating that leaflet mineral concentrations in the tested oil palm progenies are mainly determined by their genetic background. For each progeny, with abundant fertilization, K, Mg and Ca proportions to total leaf cation charge (TLCC) were similar, irrespective of the environments in which the palms were cultivated. We have strong indications that foliar concentrations of K, Mg and Ca are determined by genetic factors which dominate the environmental effect. However, it remains uncertain whether differences in oil palm foliar concentrations between different oil palm progenies imply that they require specific fertilizer amounts to attain an optimal production.".
• 01GM2Y132QREKBM4YN4GM8AA00 abstract "Rhamnolipids (RLs), glycolipids biosynthesized by the Pseudomonas and Burkholderia genera, are known to display various activities against a wide range of pathogens. Most previous studies on RLs focused on their direct antimicrobial activity, while only a few reports described the mechanisms by which RLs induce resistance against phytopathogens and the related fitness cost on plant physiology. Here, we combined transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches to unravel the mechanisms underlying RL-induced resistance in wheat against the hemibiotrophic fungus Zymoseptoria tritici, a major pathogen of this crop. Investigations were carried out by treating wheat plants with a bioinspired synthetic mono-RL with a 12-carbon fatty acid tail, dodecanoyl alpha/beta-L-rhamnopyranoside (Rh-Est-C12), under both infectious and non-infectious conditions to examine its potential wheat defense-eliciting and priming bioactivities. Whereas, Rh-Est-C12 conferred to wheat a significant protection against Z. tritici (41% disease severity reduction), only a slight effect of this RL on wheat leaf gene expression and metabolite accumulation was observed. A subset of 24 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 11 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) was scored in elicitation modalities 2, 5, and 15 days post-treatment (dpt), and 25 DEGs and 17 DAMs were recorded in priming modalities 5 and 15 dpt. Most changes were down-regulations, and only a few DEGs and DAMs associated with resistance to pathogens were identified. Nevertheless, a transient early regulation in gene expression was highlighted at 2 dpt (e.g., genes involved in signaling, transcription, translation, cell-wall structure, and function), suggesting a perception of the RL by the plant upon treatment. Further in vitro and in planta bioassays showed that Rh-Est-C12 displays a significant direct antimicrobial activity toward Z. tritici. Taken together, our results suggest that Rh-Est-C12 confers protection to wheat against Z. tritici through direct antifungal activity and, to a lesser extent, by induction of plant defenses without causing major alterations in plant metabolism. This study provides new insights into the modes of action of RLs on the wheat-Z. tritici pathosystem and highlights the potential interest in Rh-Est-C12, a low-fitness cost molecule, to control this pathogen.".
• 01GM2Y132WQA6R4PBCXREE3ZHV abstract "Background and aims In oil palm, similar fertilization treatments can result in leaflet potassium and magnesium concentrations that vary significantly from one progeny to another. This hinders the development of standardized fertilizer recommendations for this crop, as they are usually calculated based on optimum leaflet nutrient concentrations. Methods Four high-yielding oil palm progenies with contrasting leaflet K and Mg concentrations (C1, C2, and C3 of Deli x La Me origin and C4 of Deli x Yangambi origin) were treated with combinations of three levels of KCl and MgSO4, in a completely randomized split-plot factorial design with six replicates, where progenies were a sub-factor. Results For a given level of KCl or MgSO4, different leaflet K and Mg concentrations were found between progenies (p < 0.0001). Leaflet K concentration and yield response to KCl applications revealed that the four oil palm progenies have different optimum leaflet K concentrations. In our study period (5-8 YAP), progenies C1 and C3 showed their highest fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yields (13.62 and 16.54 t ha(-1) year(-1), respectively) at K2, whereas progenies C2 and C4 showed their highest yields (14.62 and 12.39 t ha(-1) year(-1), respectively) at K1. Conclusion Our study highlighted specific optimum leaflet K and Mg concentrations for different oil palm progenies in a given environment. It paves the way for adopting K and Mg fertilizer application rates adapted to specific requirements of each type of oil palm planting material.".
• 01GM2Y17ZG2GD7N4JK17DNK3KT abstract "Nitrogen (N) is one of the most required nutrients in cocoa production. Unlike in many other crops, there is limited knowledge on genotypic variation in nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in clonal cocoa. We therefore evaluated the effect of nitrogen application on cocoa NUE in 10 clonal cocoa scions that were top-grafted on 4-month old rootstock seedlings of cocoa clone MCC 02. Grafted seedlings received either 0 or 2.3 g/plant of N at the beginning of the experiment, which lasted for five months and was arranged in a nursery of the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI) in Jember, Indonesia. A factorial randomized block design was used with four replications. We found that clones significantly affected rootstock stem diameter and dry biomass both in roots and shoots. Nitrogen application decreased rootstock stem diameter and root biomass but increased shoot-root ratio. Following the N application, we observed significantly higher N concentration and uptake both in roots and shoots. This higher N concentration and uptake contributed to significantly lower NUE in both roots and shoots. We did not observe clonal differences in N concentration, uptake, NUE in either roots or shoots and ANR (Apparent Nitrogen Recovery). Nitrogen application influenced P, K, Mg, and Ca uptake in both roots and shoots. There was a clonal effect on P, K and Mg uptake and on P and Mg use efficiency in both roots and shoots. This implies that the studied clones vary in their P and Mg nutrient use efficiency but not in NUE.".
• 01GM2YCBHAJJVD5RQYFYA2ZH8Z abstract "The project focuses on the reconstruction of the formation history of quartz vein gold mineralization and disseminated gold mineralization in the metamagmatic and metasedimentary rocks at Imonga, DRC. Imonga is located in the Mesoproterozoic Karagwe-Ankole Belt, near the Paleoproterozoic Rusizi-Ubende Belt (Fernandez-Alonso et al. 2012). Near Imonga, alluvial and eluvial gold deposits were exploited. In-depth knowledge on the formation processes of the Au mineralization in the region and the precise relation to deformational events is still incomplete. A petrographic study, resulting in a paragenetic sequence, was carried out on samples of two drill cores, collected near Imonga in 1953 (Kazmitcheff, 1961). The host rocks were deformed and underwent intense alteration. Four different vein generations were observed. Gold mineralization occurs in close association with sulphides in the second vein generation, which is mainly composed of quartz, ferroan dolomite and chlorite. Andalusite porphyroblasts formed prior to, and after, the second vein generation. The mineralizing fluid was investigated by means of microthermometric analysis of primary fluid inclusions in the second vein generation and Raman spectroscopic analysis of the gaseous phase of these inclusions. The results indicate a general H2O-NaCl-KCl-CO2-N2-CH4-H2S composition of the mineralizing fluid, compatible with a metamorphic origin. H2S is characteristic for fluids carrying Au in reduced sulphur complexes. A formation window for the second vein generation was established ranging from 350° C to 400° C, based on isochores constructed from microthermometric data, P-T proxy formation conditions of andalusite in greenschist facies and observed quartz deformation structures. At 350° C an upper pressure limit of 240 MPa is proposed, and a lower hydrostatic pressure limit of 90 MPa. The obtained results point towards orogenic gold mineralization at Imonga, probably of Early Neoproterozoic age. Gold was most likely transported as gold-sulphur complexes, which destabilized due to interaction with Fe-rich host rocks, resulting in the precipitation of Fe-sulphides and gold (Cools, 2022).".
• 01GM31XDSFD6W97QVST51FZD1M abstract "Virus discovery is a specific branch of virological research that is focused on the discovery and characterization of new viruses. Since the first descriptions of viruses at the end of the 19th century, the number of known viruses has grown continually, with the speed at which new viruses are being found increasing at an ever-fastening pace. Technological advancements and an improved understanding of virus biology act as catalysts for novel discoveries, which in turn provide new insights that aid in the development of faster, more informative, more reliable and cheaper methodologies for virus research. In the last decade, the development and optimization of high-throughput sequencing technologies has allowed this self-enforcing cycle to culminate in an exponential expansion of the list of known viruses, while simultaneously showing that what is known pales in comparison to what is left to be discovered. Through a series of specific examples, focused on two particular families of RNA viruses that house many important animal pathogens, the families Arteriviridae and Paramyxoviridae, this doctoral thesis aims to provide a contribution to the current knowledge of mammalian virus diversity and to highlight and discuss some of the key advantages and limitations of currently available research tools.".
• 01GM32JZVEBPWB4RKKPZHT1Z1N abstract "Background: The COVID-19 pandemic presented major challenges for critical care facilities worldwide. Infections which develop alongside or subsequent to viral pneumonitis are a challenge under sporadic and pandemic conditions; however, data have suggested that patterns of these differ between COVID-19 and other viral pneumonitides. This secondary analysis aimed to explore patterns of co-infection and intensive care unit-acquired infections (ICU-AI) and the relationship to use of corticosteroids in a large, international cohort of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Methods: This is a multicenter, international, observational study, including adult patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis admitted to ICUs at the peak of wave one of COVID-19 (February 15th to May 15th, 2020). Data collected included investigator-assessed co-infection at ICU admission, infection acquired in ICU, infection with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) and antibiotic use. Frequencies were compared by Pearson's Chi-squared and continuous variables by Mann-Whitney U test. Propensity score matching for variables associated with ICU-acquired infection was undertaken using R library MatchIT using the "full" matching method. Results: Data were available from 4994 patients. Bacterial co-infection at admission was detected in 716 patients (14%), whilst 85% of patients received antibiotics at that stage. ICU-AI developed in 2715 (54%). The most common ICU-AI was bacterial pneumonia (44% of infections), whilst 9% of patients developed fungal pneumonia; 25% of infections involved MDRO. Patients developing infections in ICU had greater antimicrobial exposure than those without such infections. Incident density (ICU-AI per 1000 ICU days) was in considerable excess of reports from pre-pandemic surveillance. Corticosteroid use was heterogenous between ICUs. In univariate analysis, 58% of patients receiving corticosteroids and 43% of those not receiving steroids developed ICU-AI. Adjusting for potential confounders in the propensity-matched cohort, 71% of patients receiving corticosteroids developed ICU-AI vs 52% of those not receiving corticosteroids. Duration of corticosteroid therapy was also associated with development of ICU-AI and infection with an MDRO. Conclusions: In patients with severe COVID-19 in the first wave, co-infection at admission to ICU was relatively rare but antibiotic use was in substantial excess to that indication. ICU-AI were common and were significantly associated with use of corticosteroids.".
• 01GM35PBCJV2P16Y66P5RT5CSD abstract "Background: A substantial proportion of type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients free from known cardiovascular disease (CVD) show premature arterial stiffening, with age, blood pressure, and HbA1c-as gold standard of glycemic control-as main predictors. However, the relationship of arterial stiffness with other time-varying parameters of glycemic control and glycation has been far less explored. This study investigated the relationship of arterial stiffness with several short- and long-term parameters of glycemic control and glycation in patients with T1D, such as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)-derived parameters. Methods: Cross-sectional study at a tertiary care centre including 54 patients with T1D free from known CVD. Arterial stiffness was assessed with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV). Current level and 10-year history of HbA1c were evaluated, and skin AGEs, urinary AGEs, and serum soluble AGE-receptor (sRAGE) concentrations. CGM for 7 days was used to determine time in range, time in hyper- and hypoglycemia, and glycemic variability. Results: Cf-PWV was associated with current HbA1c (r(s) = + 0.28), mean 10-years HbA1c (r(s) = + 0.36), skin AGEs (r(s) = + 0.40) and the skin AGEs-to-sRAGE ratio (r(s) = + 0.40), but not with urinary AGE or serum sRAGE concentrations; and not with any of the CGM-parameters. Multiple linear regression for cf-PWV showed that the model with the best fit included age, T1D duration, 24-h mean arterial pressure and mean 10-years HbA1c (adjusted R-2 = 0.645, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Longer-term glycemic exposure as reflected by current and mean 10-years HbA1c is a key predictor of arterial stiffness in patients with T1D, while no relationship was found with any of the short-term CGM parameters. Our findings stress the importance of early and sustained good glycemic control to prevent premature CVD in patients with T1D and suggest that HbA1c should continue to be used in the risk assessment for diabetic complications. The role of skin glycation, as a biomarker for vascular aging, in the risk assessment for CVD is an interesting avenue for further research.".
• 01GM36NXJWNCFNKTM1HAWK79B2 abstract "Many software systems today face uncertain operating conditions, such as sudden changes in the availability of resources or unexpected user behavior. Without proper mitigation these uncertainties can jeopardize the system goals. Self-adaptation is a common approach to tackle such uncertainties. When the system goals may be compromised, the self-adaptive system has to select the best adaptation option to reconfigure by analyzing the possible adaptation options, i.e., the adaptation space. Yet, analyzing large adaptation spaces using rigorous methods can be resource- and time-consuming, or even be infeasible. One approach to tackle this problem is by using online machine learning to reduce adaptation spaces. However, existing approaches require domain expertise to perform feature engineering to define the learner and support online adaptation space reduction only for specific goals. To tackle these limitations, we present "Deep Learning for Adaptation Space Reduction Plus"-DLASeR+ for short. DLASeR+ offers an extendable learning framework for online adaptation space reduction that does not require feature engineering, while supporting three common types of adaptation goals: threshold, optimization, and set-point goals. We evaluate DLASeR+ on two instances of an Internet-of-Things application with increasing sizes of adaptation spaces for different combinations of adaptation goals. We compare DLASeR+ with a baseline that applies exhaustive analysis and two state-of-the-art approaches for adaptation space reduction that rely on learning. Results show that DLASeR+ is effective with a negligible effect on the realization of the adaptation goals compared to an exhaustive analysis approach and supports three common types of adaptation goals beyond the state-of-the-art approaches.".
• 01GM36W5TPR5DFJR8C2RWRXB5W abstract "In Arabidopsis thaliana, the negative brassinosteroid (BR) signalling regulator, BR INSENSITIVE2 (BIN2) promotes and restricts stomatal asymmetric cell division (ACD) depending on its subcellular localization, which is regulated by the stomatal lineage-specific scaffolding protein POLAR. BRs inactivate BIN2, but how they govern stomatal development remains unclear. Mapping the single-cell transcriptome of stomatal lineages with either exogenous BRs or the specific BIN2 inhibitor revealed that the two modes of BR activation triggered spatiotemporally distinct transcriptional responses. We established that when in a complex with POLAR and its closest homolog POLAR-LIKE1, BIN2 is insulated from BR-mediated inactivation, nevertheless, it remains sensitive to the inhibitor. Subsequently, BR signalling is attenuated in ACD precursors, whereas it remains active in epidermal cells that would undergo differentiation. Our study demonstrates how scaffold proteins contribute to cellular signal specificity of hormonal responses in plants.".
• 01GM37YWNZCMA0D1KJNKETG3NN abstract "Snel met regiotram naar hartje Basel door verhoging tot stadsfrequentie In de ruime regio rond Basel bieden frequent rijdende, eigentijdse regiotrams op eigen baan een, ook voor automobilisten, verleidelijke dienstverlening. Overstappen aan de stadsrand of de rand van de binnenstad, in het zicht van de bestemming, hoeft niet: de regiotrams rijden dwars door het stadshart heen. In tegenstelling tot België, waar een halve eeuw geleden de laatste Antwerpse, Brusselse en Gentse voorstedelijke (buurtspoorweg) tramlijnen voor het autoverkeer weken, koos Basel voor modernisering van de interlokale spoordiensten en voor integratie van de streektramroutes met het stadstramnet. Het groeiende aantal reizigers bewijst dat de Zwitsers destijds toekomstge- richt hebben gehandeld. De integratie van de streektramroutes met het stadstramnet werd door De Lijn in haar document ‘Mobiliteitsvisie 2020’ ook voorgesteld: in 2009 stelde De Lijn de heraanleg van voorstedelijke tramlijnen rond Antwerpen, Gent en Brussel voor. Wegens de ontoereikende, sindsdien door de opeenvolgende Vlaamse regeringen ter beschikking gestelde investeringsbudgetten, alsook door de afwijzende houding van sommige Antwerpse en Gentse randgemeenten, bleven die voorstellen een dode letter.".
• 01GM390CA9VPF0GDYDJ347S6B9 abstract "Wine is considered as the product obtained exclusively from the alcoholic fermentation of grape must, but what makes a unique, high-quality wine? This is most often related to what’s known as ‘terroir’, a concept which refers to the interaction between the physical and biological environment of vines and applied vitivinicultural practices, providing distinctive characteristics in the resulting wines. For example, the smoky, flintstone flavor of sauvignon blanc wines, the petrol flavor of certain riesling wines and the unique flavors of infected, botrytized grapes can be (chemically) linked to the origin of these wines.".
• 01GM39JSN3Z3X5ADDYNNSWS1HD abstract "Microbial confrontation is ubiquitously present in nature, such as mycoparasitism, competition and antibiosis between biocontrol agents and microbial pathogens. However, the internal metabolic responses of fungal pathogens under microbial interaction scenario have been scarcely investigated. In this study, we set up an integrated mycotoxin analysis and non-targeted metabolomics workflow to decipher metabolic changes of Alternaria pathogens when confronted with selected Trichoderma strains, as well as mycotoxin metabolization in the Trichoderma spp. Results demonstrated that Trichoderma spp. significantly influenced mycotoxin production and whole metabolome of Alternaria pathogens when in cocultivation, and one Trichoderma strain could metabolize alternariol into its hydroxylated form. These differential metabolites revealed fungal physiological alternations in various confrontation conditions. In all, a MS-based strategy was proposed to investigate mi-crobial metabolic profiles under fungal/fungal and fungal/mycotoxin cocultivation, and this generic method-ology would be significant for understanding the occurrence and change of food contaminants in microbial interactions.".
• 01GM39JSNT1B5MYPFS1XJEPJFM abstract "The ozone-activated peroxymonosulfate process (O3/PMS) has received increasing attention for the removal of trace organic contaminants (e.g. pesticides and pharmaceuticals) from water bodies. However, the ozone dosing strategy has not yet been properly investigated, especially in real water matrices. Typically, one-step dosing is applied in literature. Nevertheless, optimal dosing is an important step for improving the process. This study investigates the effect of sequential ozone dosing on the PMS activation, atrazine (ATZ) removal, residual ozone concentration and radical exposure, and compares the results to those of a one-step ozone dosing approach. Experiments were performed in three water matrices with a different (in)organic content, i.e. secondary effluent, surface water and groundwater. In all matrices, the highest PMS activation was reached when applying three sequential ozone doses (3 x 5 mg O3/L). This resulted in a 3 times higher ATZ removal efficiency (up to 46 %) in secondary effluent compared to that obtained with a one-step ozone dosing (15 mg O3/L). In surface water and groundwater, similar ATZ removal (>90 %) was observed among the different ozone dosing strategies. However, the sulfate radical (SO4?-) exposure increased after each ozone addition. After three ozone additions of 5 mg/L, SO4?- contributed for 9 %, 26 % and 54 % to ATZ removal in respectively secondary effluent, surface water and groundwater. This high SO4?- contribution compared to ?OH contribution is an advantage as the selectivity of SO4?- gives rise to less radical scavenging by bulk organic matter and thus increases the (cost-)effectiveness of the O3/PMS process.".
• 01GM39JSP1WZFFH61P7M86QNV3 abstract "Classifying soil texture is critical to investigate soil processes and functions influencing agronomic decisions and environmental stewardship. Despite the multiple benefits together with accurate estimation potential of visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (Vis-NIRS) over the traditional method of texture analysis, the pre-diction accuracy of the Vis-NIRS decreases due to the negative effect of soil moisture content (MC) on soil spectra. This study evaluated the performance of piecewise direct standardization (PDS) and direct standardi-zation (DS) for eliminating the soil MC influence from fresh (non-processed wet) soil spectra to improve the accuracy of soil texture classification using a short-ranged (305-1700 nm) Vis-NIRS (Tec5 Technology, Ger-many). A set of 96 composite soil samples was collected from 18 fields, and the second set of 294 non-composite samples was collected from 10 of these 18 fields. All soil samples were scanned using a Vis-NIRS sensor after drying, grinding, and sieving, while the non-composite samples were additionally scanned in wet conditions. After analysing the composite samples for percent sand, silt, and clay, partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were calibrated (72 samples in calibration set) and validated (23 samples in validation set). Then, the PLSR model was used to predict the textural fractions for the wet, air-dried, DS and PDS transferred spectra of non-composite soil samples followed by their texture classification. Validation results indicated that the Vis-NIRS sensor predicted sand, silt, and clay fractions with excellent accuracies [coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.88-0.93; residual prediction deviation (RPD) = 2.91-3.74; ratio of the performance to interquartile range (RPIQ) = 2.12-5.02; root means square error (RMSE) = 3.62-8.06 %). Spectra transferred by the PDS and DS improved the texture classification accuracy up to 70 % and 90 %, respectively, while the wet soil spectra misclassified most fields (accuracy = 20 %). Unlike PDS, the DS predicted particles' distribution seemed approximately similar to laboratory observations. Therefore, it was concluded that transferring the wet Vis-NIRS spectra by the DS algorithm can provide a rapid and accurate prediction of particle fractions and classification of soil texture classes with minimized effort, time, and cost.".
• 01GM39JSP51T394AACD14A2HEQ abstract "Resource efficiency analysis is an important tool in the chemical sector to evaluate the performance of new process concepts. However, such analysis does not account for the renewability and circularity of resources. Therefore, a resource efficiency and use analysis, including those two aspects, is proposed in this paper. A renewability indicator and recovery indicator were calculated as a measure for renewability and circularity, respectively. In addition, the resource efficiency was determined at different levels. At the life cycle level, the cumulative exergy extraction of the natural environment method was applied and the cumulative degree of perfection, including waste-as-resources, was calculated. Exergy calculations were used to determine the exer-getic efficiency at process chain and plant level and to identify inefficiencies. A new propanol production concept, using biogas (scenario BG), marginal gas (scenario MG) and associated gas (scenario AG), was selected as a case study. Exergetic efficiencies are high at the individual process level (between 90 and 100%). However, the preceding biogas production in scenario BG is inefficient (exergetic efficiency of 12%). The exergetic effi-ciency at the process chain level amounts to 45-68% due to the high exergy content of the recycling stream and the low conversion of methane into propanol per pass. Scenario AG has the highest cumulative degree of perfection (including waste-as-resources) compared to the other scenarios (28% against 6 and 14% in scenario BG and MG). In contrast, when looking at both renewability, circularity and efficiency, scenario BG is identified as the most promising scenario. Thus, this study shows that it is important to include those three aspects in resource efficiency analysis. Finally, implementing renewable electricity production and heat integration in the process concept may increase the resource efficiency.".
• 01GM39JYJM4HMV1412MME07BDS abstract "Fusarium head blight (FHB) is among the most devastating fungal diseases in cereal crops, reducing yield, and affecting human and livestock health through the production of mycotoxin. Despite application of fungicides, complete eradication of disease is virtually impossible in the field. There is a need for a disease detection technology during late growing stage for estimation of yield affected with FHB and for potential selective har-vesting. Most published studies have focused on FHB detection during the milk growth stage using hyperspectral cameras. This preliminary study attempted to fill the knowledge gap by detecting FHB at the ripening stage. A spectral library of healthy and infected ears was collected with a hyperspectral camera in the visible and near-infrared region, over the canopy of eight different wheat varieties. The ears were segmented from the back-ground using a simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) superpixel algorithm on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) images. Three different machine learning methods, namely, support vector machine (SVM), artificial neural network (ANN), and logistic regression (LR), were utilized for classification. To visualize the FHB distribution in the hypercube, the best performing model was applied for predicting the infected ears in the canopy images. The percentage area coverage of FHB for each hypercube was estimated. Results showed that the SVM algorithm produced the best classification accuracy (CA) of 95.6 % in the test set, followed successively by ANN and LR with CA values of 82.9 and 82.5 %, respectively. Interestingly, the preliminary study shows significant differences in spectral reflectance according to the variety of different resistance levels. The study also proves the feasibility of FHB detection using the developed prediction model during late growth stage with the potential of yield loss estimation before harvest.".
• 01GM39JYJTVPDPG7GYQV56T98Y abstract "Eutrophication is a major problem in the international Anzali wetland (northern Iran). The present research initially aimed to determine the trophic state index (TSI) in ten sampling sites in the main parts of the Anzali wetland (western, eastern, central, and Siahkeshim parts). After determining the TSI in the wetland, a data-driven method (classification tree model with a J48 algorithm) was implemented to predict the trophic condition in the wetland based on a set of water quality and physical-structural variables. One hundred twenty samples related to chlorophyll-alpha (the model's output) and environmental variables (the model's inputs) were measured monthly during 1-year study period (2017-2018). Based on the TSI calculation, the western, Siahkeshim, eastern, and central parts of the wetland are classified as eutrophic, super-eutrophic, hyper-eutrophic, and hyper-eutrophic, respectively. When all environmental variables were introduced to the model (with five-time randomization effort, pruning confidence factor = 0.01, and seven-fold cross-validation), eight variables (bicarbonate, pH, water temperature, electric conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, water depth, and water turbidity) were predicted by the model. The model predicted that an increase in total phosphate, water turbidity, and electric conductivity concentration may contribute to the hyper-eutrophic state of the wetland. In contrast, the hyper-eutrophic of the wetland is associated with a decrease in water depth, dissolved oxygen, and pH concentration. According to ANOVA test, the trophic condition in the wetland can be affected by spatial and temporal patterns. Anthropogenic pressures such as the influx of chemicals particularly the nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) are the main cause of water enrichment (eutrophication problem) in main parts of the Anzali wetland ecosystem.".
• 01GM39K3FEP551KYBX7TEF5DNB abstract "Detailed 3D quantification of tree structure plays a crucial role in understanding tree- and plot-level biophysical processes. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has led to a revolution in tree structural measurements and its 3D data are increasingly becoming publicly available. Yet, calculating structural metrics from LiDAR data can often be complex and time-consuming and potentially requires expert knowledge. We present the R package Individual Tree Structural Metrics (ITSMe), a toolbox that works with LiDAR tree point clouds and quantitative structure models (QSMs) derived from LiDAR point clouds to obtain individual tree structural metrics. It serves as a robust synthesis framework for researchers who want to readily obtain structural information from 3D data of individual trees. The package includes functions to determine basic structural metrics (tree height, diameter at breast height, diameter above buttresses, projected crown area, 3D alpha crown volume) from individual tree point clouds, as well as more complex structural metrics (individual tree component volumes, branch angle-, radius- and length-related metrics) from QSMs. The ITSMe package is an open-source package hosted on GitHub that will make the use of 3D data more straightforward and transparent for a range of end-users interested in exploiting tree structure information.".
• 01GM39K3FNVA65S7GSE8Z3TGNQ abstract "Increasing anthropogenic activities are affecting water quality and related ecosystem services in river basins worldwide. There is a need to identify and act on synergies between the water-energy-food (WEF) elements and the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while mediating trade-offs. The Guayas river basin (GRB), one of the major watersheds in Ecuador, is being affected by increasing urbanization, agricultural and industrial activities. In this perspective paper, we indicate the WEF interactions in the GRB linked to the SDGs. A major challenge is the geographical distance between pressures and impacts, for which environmental and agricultural governance are key to support the needed change towards sustainable development. In particular, the realization of measures to reduce the pollutant input in upstream systems will need both legislative and financial means to solve downstream water quality problems. A Bayesian belief network (BBN) framework was developed in order to support sustainable decision making in the GRB. The discussed concepts can be applied to other river basins worldwide since, in many basins, very similar food production challenges need to be addressed.".
• 01GM39K3FTR6WRRQR9B76NZN6T abstract "Allometric scaling, that is scaling patterns in physiological processes relative to body size, can be used to overcome the current limitations in metatranscriptomics. Metatranscriptomics refers to the use of RNA transcripts to characterize a complex community. In contrast to metagenomics, metatranscriptomics allows one to simultaneously address community composition and functionality through the characterization of the community transcriptome. Hence, insights into metabolic processes and molecular pathways can also be obtained. Despite its increasing use in community ecology, a major limitation and source of error is the variation in RNA transcript abundance across organisms varying in body size. Hence, this may lead to incorrect estimations of the community structure and functioning as larger RNA quantities from larger individuals may overestimate their community contribution.".
• 01GM39K43PBGW0QCR3XAXJGKYC abstract "In Ecuador, 30% of the population does not consume drinking water of good quality. One of the causes is related to the deficiency in the technical skills of water operators because some have not had access to elementary, high school or higher education due to factors of extreme vulnerability. The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), having an inclusive and accessible typology with attention to people at risk of social exclusion are an option to strengthen the skills of operators. Therefore, the goal of this study is to create an instructional design in MOOCs that responds to the characteristics and learning needs of a sample of 286 operators of the drinking water system. The instructional design is based on the information systems success model of DeLone and McLean and the quality principles of Merrill, Margaryan, Locke, Latham and Seijts. The results present an instructional design including quality content with objectives and learning strategies that respond to the learning characteristics of the operators as well as activities and resources with a cognitive, emotional, and behavioral didactic approach oriented at changing attitudes to learning. Finally, we can conclude that the developed instructional design promotes a more inclusive, equitable and quality education.".
• 01GM39K8CA686RNNB1VBF3SRFQ abstract "Pesticides are widely used for safeguarding agricultural yields and controlling malaria vectors, yet are simultaneously unintentionally introduced in aquatic environments. To assess the severity of this pressure in the Lake Tana Basin (Ethiopia), we evaluated the occurrence of 17 pesticide residues in the lake, tributary rivers, and associated wetlands during the wet and dry season, followed by a questionnaire. These questionnaires indicated that 35 different compounds were available in the districts surrounding the lake, including pesticides that are banned in Europe, i.e., endosulfan, dicofol, and malathion. Nevertheless, only 7 pesticide residues were detected in the assessed aquatic habitats. Of these, DDE and bifenthrin occurred most often (97.7% and 62.3%, respectively), while alachlor displayed the highest mean concentration (594 +/- 468 ng/L). No significant differences were observed in residue concentrations between seasons nor between habitats. Based on an ecotoxicological risk assessment, the observed concentrations of DDE and cypermethrin pose a high risk to aquatic life, while alachlor and DDT-op residues were below the threshold values. Furthermore, a human risk assessment indicated a low risk for the population that directly consumes water from the Tana basin, while acknowledging the potential of indirect exposure through the consumption of fish and locally grown crops.".
• 01GM39K8CF2A35C2143Z0KY43V abstract "Simple Summary Bioassays can offset the limitations of traditional chemical analyses (time constraints, high cost, and limited detection of interactions) in monitoring water pollution. Euglena, a flagellate green alga, is an attractive experimental model organism that has been used for toxicity testing for decades because it is easy to culture, grows rapidly, and responds quickly to environmental stresses. In the present study, we examined the effects of seven heavy metals in the native Korean E. agilis using six end points (motility, velocity, cell compactness, upward swimming, r-value, and orientation). The advantage of the ecotoxicity assay presented here is its rapidity. Unlike the usual 3-4 d of exposure time and work, this assay takes only 10 min to obtain results; moreover, it can be performed at room temperature under dark conditions. Therefore, this new method can be useful for the rapid toxicity screening of hazardous pollutants, as it may have operational advantages over test time. A chemical analysis of water quality cannot detect some toxicants due to time constraints, high costs, and limited interactions for detection. Bioassays would offer a complementary means to assess pollution levels in water. Euglena is a flagellate green alga and an excellent system for toxicity testing thanks to its ease of culture, rapid growth, and quick response to environmental stresses. Herein, we examined the sensitivity of E. agilis to seven heavy metals by analyzing six end-point parameters: motility, velocity, cell compactness, upward swimming, r-value, and alignment. Notably, the velocity of E. agilis was most sensitive to cadmium (96.28 mg center dot L-1), copper (6.51 mg center dot L-1), manganese (103.28 mg center dot L-1), lead (78.04 mg center dot L-1), and zinc (101.90 mg center dot L-1), while r-values were most sensitive to arsenic (12.84 mg center dot L-1) and mercury (4.26 mg center dot L-1). In this study, velocity and r-values are presented as useful biomarkers for the assessment of metal toxicity in Euglena. The metals As, Cd, Cu, and Pb were suitable for this test. The advantages of the ecotoxicity test are its rapidity: It takes 10 min to obtain results, as opposed to the typical 3-4 d of exposure time with intensive labor. Moreover, this test can be performed at room temperature under dark conditions.".
• 01GM39K8CNAB0KXVXSRZJWDHC6 abstract "Only 35% of the Ecuadorian population consumes drinking water of "assured quality". One of the causes is related to the deficiencies in the technical ability of the operators due to their lack of education, technical training, and experience. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) responsive to characteristics and learning needs are an option to strengthen the skills of operators. The goal of the present study is therefore to describe a methodology that includes the application of a survey and the use of statistical methods such as categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) and cluster analysis to identify and assess learning characteristics. The results present the most frequent variables in the personal, academic, emotional, social, and cognitive aspects. They also show the preferences and learning needs of the operators. Finally, it is concluded that this study identifies common learning characteristics, needs, and preferences that are relevant for the creation of a quality personalized instructional design in MOOCs.".
• 01GM39K8CS8CNRG252PD656RBE abstract "Bumblebees are essential insects for the preservation of biodiversity in many ecosystems, as they can pollinate a wide variety of wild and cultivated plants. Knowledge of the genetic diversity of bumblebees can be used to understand and predict the health status of bee populations, enabling the development of strategies for crop management and conservation of this important group of pollinators. Here, we characterized the genetic diversity of B. morio populations from the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, by amplification of the partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene. The resulting data were then compared with genetic parameters of Bombus morio (Swederus 1787) obtained in populations from this species' full geographic range in South America. Our results revealed the presence of nine mitochondrial haplotypes in Rio Grande do Sul, three of which were novel haplotypes, and of significant genetic divergence among bumblebee populations from Brazil and South America. The mitochondrial haplotype BM01 was the most common and is probably the ancestral haplotype from which the others originated. There is also evidence that strong gene flow has taken place among Brazilian B. morio populations, explaining the sharing of haplotypes between distant populations. The populations of B. morio from Rio Grande do Sul present significant genetic diversity as the species is native to Southern/Southeastern Brazil and adapted to the ecological conditions in this wide range. Having well-connected populations with a large genetic potential will help this species to remain well adapted to the different environmental conditions within its native range.".
• 01GM39KD9EQPH3526VTRD8QN1K abstract "The global protein demand is rapidly increasing at rates that cannot be sustained, with projections showing 78% increased global protein needs by 2050 (361 compared to 202 million ton(protein)/year in 2017). In the absence of dedicated mitigation strategies, the environmental effects of our current food production system (relying on agriculture) are expected to surpass the planetary boundaries-the safe operating space for humanity-by 2050.".

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