Scientific papers

In accordance with its mission to support high level research in Belgium, the University Foundation provides financial support towards the publication in high level international journals of scientific papers which report on research in Belgian research groups. Financial support may be granted to partially cover the costs due by the author for illustrations, for page charges and for article processing fees, and for linguuistic control. 

Because the possible support is restricted to Belgian research groups, the regulations and application procedures are only available in French  and in Dutch.

Articles subsidized by the University Foundation

What follows is a list of articles to which a subsidy was awarded by the University Foundation. The titles are ordered by year of publication and by title.

John Latham-Sprinkle

Sprinkle J.L. (2022) The Late Mamlūk Transition of the 1380s: The View from the North Caucasus. Al-Masāq Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean. https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2022.2135850.

This article argues that the transition between the early and late Mamlūk Sultanate in Egypt in the 1380s was partially caused by political developments in the Northwest Caucasus. The transition from “Turkish” to “Circassian” mamlūk dominance was facilitated by the rise of new princely elites in the Northwest Caucasus during the bulqaq civil wars in the Ulūs of Jochi (Golden Horde) (1359–1381). These new elites justified their rule through their access to the wider Mediterranean world and its material products.

Wouter Van Acker

Van Acker, W. (2022) The Nine Square Grid. The Surviving Image of an Architecture without Content. Joelho, 13. https://doi.org/10.14195/1647-8681_13_7

Directly influenced by Colin Rowe’s essay “Mathematics of the Ideal Villa” (1947) and the Warburgian art historical tradition, John Hejduk’s nine-square grid studio exercise had an ambiguous relation to the instrumentality of architectural history. When the nine-square grid exercise was copied in many architecture schools around the world as a first-year studio project, initiating the novice student in the realm of architectural composition, the pedagogical interpretation of its relation to architectural history varied.

Alysson Lepeut and Emily Shaw

Lepeut A. and Shaw E. (2022) Time Is Ripe to Make Interactional Moves: Bringing Evidence From Four Languages Across ModalitiesFront. Commun. 7:780124. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2022.780124

Sign language linguistics has largely focused on lexical, phonological, and morphosyntactic structures of sign languages, leaving the facets of interaction overlooked. One reason underlying the study of smaller units in the initial stages of development of the field was a pressing concern to ground sign languages as linguistic. The interactive domain has been sidestepped in gesture studies, too, where one dominant approach has been rooted in psycholinguistic models arguing for gesture’s tight relationship with speech as part of language.

Jennifer Khattar, Paco Calvo, Ina Vandebroek, Camilla Pandolfi and Farid Dahdouh‑Guebas

Khattar J., Calvo P., Vandebroek I., Pandolfi C. and Dahdouh‑Guebas F., Understanding interdisciplinary perspectives of plant intelligence: Is it a matter of science, language, or subjectivity?, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-022-00539-3

Abstract Background: Evidence suggests that plants can behave intelligently by exhibiting the ability to learn, make associations between environmental cues, engage in complex decisions about resource acquisition, memorize, and adapt in flexible ways. However, plant intelligence is a disputed concept in the scientific community. Reasons for lack of consensus can be traced back to the history of Western philosophy, interpretation of terminology, and due to plants lacking neurons and a central nervous system.

Noora Taipale, Laurent Chiotti, Veerle Rots

Taipale N, Chiotti L, Rots V (2022) Why did hunting weapon design change at Abri Pataud? Lithic use-wear data on armature use and hafting around 24,000–22,000 BP. PLoS ONE 17(1): e0262185. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262185

Abstract : Projectile technology is commonly viewed as a significant contributor to past human subsistence and, consequently, to our evolution. Due to the allegedly central role of projectile weapons in the food-getting strategies of Upper Palaeolithic people, typo-technological changes in the European lithic record have often been linked to supposed developments in hunting weaponry. Yet, relatively little reliable functional data is currently available that would aid the detailed reconstruction of past weapon designs.

Narcisse Denadi, Mounirou Yolou, Ayènan Eric Dadonougbo, Jeanne Zoundjihékpon, Alexandre Dansi, Christophe Gandonou, and Muriel Quinet
Denadi, N.; Yolou, M.; Dadonougbo, A.E.; Zoundjihékpon, J.; Dansi, A.; Gandonou, C.; Quinet, M. Yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir.) Displays Prezygotic and Postzygotic Barriers to Prevent Autogamy in Monoecious Cultivars. Agronomy 2022, 12, 872. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12040872.
Cultivated yam (D. rotundata) is a staple tuber crop in West Africa whose sexual reproduction control remains largely unknown despite its importance for plant breeding programs. In this paper, we compared self-pollination, intracultivar cross-pollination and intercultivar cross-pollination in three monoecious cultivars (Amoula, Heapala and Yassi). Results showed that pollen viability (49%) and stigma receptivity (40%) were similar in monoecious and dioecious plants, suggesting that autogamy could occur in monoecious plants.
Marine Pyl, Bruno Danis, François Oberhaensli, Angus Taylor, Peter Swarzenski, Marc Metian

Pyl, M., Danis, B. et al. (2021) An effective method to assess the sorption dynamics of PCB radiotracers onto plastic and sediment microparticles.  MethodsX, Volume 8, 101395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2021.101395

Abstract : One important aspect of marine plastic pollution is that small particles are ubiquitously present in seawater and can transport a large variety of co-contaminants. The sorption-desorption kinetics of these co-contaminants sorbed to microplastics (MPs) are not fully understood, partially due to the lack of any standardised procedures between studies. The present work aims at describing a new and efficient method to investigate the sorption of co-contaminants onto different types of particles using proven radiotracer techniques.

Alexandre Heeren, Séverine Lannoy, Charlotte Coussement et al.

Heeren, A., Lannoy, S., Coussement, C. et al. A network approach to the five-facet model of mindfulness. Sci Rep 11, 15094 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94151-2

Abstract : Despite the large-scale dissemination of mindfulness-based interventions, debates persist about the very nature of mindfulness. To date, one of the dominant views is the five-facet approach, which suggests that mindfulness includes five facets (i.e., Observing, Describing, Nonjudging, Nonreactivity, and Acting with Awareness). However, uncertainty remains regarding the potential interplay between these facets. In this study, we investigated the five-facet model via network analysis in an unselected sample (n = 1704).

Emilio Brunetti, Lionel Marcelis, Fedor E. Zhurkin, Michel Luhmer, Ivan Jabin, Olivia Reinaud and Kristin Bartik

Brunetti, E., Bartik, K. et al. (2021) A Water Molecule Triggers Guest Exchange at a Mono-Zinc Centre Confined in a Biomimetic Calixarene Pocket: a Model for Understanding Ligand Stability in Zn Proteins. in Chemistry. DOI: 10.1002/chem.202102184

Abstract: In this study, the ligand exchange mechanism at a biomimetic ZnII centre, embedded in a pocket mimicking the possible constrains induced by a proteic structure, is explored. The residence time of different guest ligands (dimethylformamide, acetonitrile and ethanol) inside the cavity of a calix[6]arene-based tris(imidazole) tetrahedral zinc complex was probed using 1D EXchange SpectroscopY NMR experiments.

Meenakshi Poti, Seh Ling Long, Mohd Uzair Rusli, Jarina Mohd Jani, Jean Hugé and Farid Dahdouh-Guebas

Poti, M., S. L. Long, M. U. Rusli, J. Mohd Jani, J. Hugé, and F. Dahdouh-Guebas (2021). Changing trends and perceptions of sea turtle egg consumption in Redang Island, Malaysia. Ecology and Society 26(4):14. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12717-260414

ABSTRACT : Sea turtles have been exploited at unsustainable rates globally. In Malaysia, their populations have faced serious declines because of diverse anthropogenic stressors including turtle egg consumption. Redang Island, off the northeast coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is an important rookery for green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Southeast Asia. The local community has depended on turtle eggs as a food and livelihood source for decades. Owing to the precipitous decline in sea turtles, the main nesting beaches became legally protected in 2007.

Stefanie Brock, Tim Vanderhasselt, Sietske Vermaning, Kathelijn Keymolen, Luc Régal, et al.

Brock S, Vanderhasselt T, Vermaning S, et al. (2021) Defining the phenotypical spectrum associated with variants in TUBB2A.  Journal of Medical Genetics, 58:33–40. doi:10.1136/jmedgenet-2019-106740

Abstract : Background Variants in genes belonging to the tubulin superfamily account for a heterogeneous spectrum of brain malformations referred to as tubulinopathies. Variants in TUBB2A have been reported in 10 patients with a broad spectrum of brain imaging features, ranging from a normal cortex to polymicrogyria, while one patient has been reported with progressive atrophy of the cerebellar vermis.

Alexandre Kuhn, Serge Aron and Olivier J. Hardy
Kuhn A, Aron S and Hardy OJ (2021) Detection of Cryptic Sex in Automictic Populations: Theoretical Expectations and a Case Study in Cataglyphis Desert Ants. Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:741959. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.741959
Reproductive strategies are diverse and a whole continuum of mixed systems lies between strict sexuality and strict clonality (apomixis), including automixis, a parthenogenetic mode of reproduction involving a meiosis and increasing homozygosity over generations. These various systems impact the genetic structure of populations, which can therefore be used to infer reproductive strategies in natural populations. Here, we first develop a mathematical model, validated by simulations, to predict
Carole Charavet; Dorien Van Hede, Nathalie Maes, Adelin Albert and France Lambert
Charavet, C. et al. Disentangling the effects of CAD/CAM customized appliances and piezocision in orthodontic treatment: New evidence. Angle Orthodontist, Vol 91, No 6, 2021.

Objectives: To discern the effects of computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufactured (CAM) customized appliances and piezocision on orthodontic treatment (OT).

Julie Gheysen, Matthieu Marteleur, Camille van der Rest, Aude Simar

Gheysen, J., Marteleur, M., van der Rest, C., Simar, A. (2021) Efficient optimization methodology for laser powder bed fusion parameters to manufacture dense and mechanically sound parts validated on AlSi12 alloy. Materials & Design, Volume 199, 109433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2020.109433

Abstract : The main drawback of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), commonly called selective laser melting (SLM) is the high porosity which may lead to an early failure of the parts. To minimize it, the L-PBF parameters need to be optimized focusing on the laser power, scanning speed and hatching space. However, no standard guideline exists. In this study, an efficient and cost-effective methodology is developed and validated on AlSi12. This innovative methodology brings together single scan tracks (SST), macroscopic properties analysis and design of experiments (DOE).

Roxane Verdikt † , Olivier Hernalsteens and Carine Van Lint

Verdikt, R. † , Hernalsteens, O and Van Lint, C. (2021) Epigenetic Mechanisms of HIV-1 Persistence. Vaccines, 9, 514. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9050514

Abstract : Eradicating HIV-1 in infected individuals will not be possible without addressing the persistence of the virus in its multiple reservoirs. In this context, the molecular characterization of HIV-1 persistence is key for the development of rationalized therapeutic interventions. HIV-1 geneexpression relies on the redundant and cooperative recruitment of cellular epigenetic machineries to cis-regulatory proviral regions.

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