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.
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.
Sow, M.; De Spiegelaere, M.; Raynault, M.-F. (2021) Risk of Low Birth Weight According to Household Composition in Brussels and Montreal: Do Income Support Policies Variations Explain the Differences Observed between Both Regions? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 7936. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157936
Abstract: Variations in social policy between countries provide opportunities to assess the impact of these policies on health inequities. This study compares the risk of low birth weight in Brussels and Montreal, according to household composition, and discusses the impact of income support policies. For each context, we estimated the impact of income support policies on the extent of poverty of welfare recipients, using the model family method.
Wauters, W. (2021) Smelling Disease and Death in the Antwerp Church of Our Lady, c. 1450-1559. Early Modern Low Countries, 1, pp. 17-39. DOI 10.51750/emlc10006
Abstract : Early modern societies were pervaded by smells and odours, but few traces have survived that offer a glimpse of the olfactory experience. This essay reconstructs this lost early modern ‘smellscape’, focusing on the smell of disease and death in the late medieval Antwerp Church of Our Lady (c. 1450-1559). Bustling cathedrals and parish churches could be a minefield of life-threatening odours, as there was a strong interaction between externally perceived body odour and a person’s inner sweetness.
Desbouys, L., Rouche, M., De Ridder, K., Pedroni, C., Castetbon, K. (2021) Ten‑year changes in diet quality among adolescents and young adults (Food Consumption Survey 2004 and 2014, Belgium) European Journal of Nutrition https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02499-y
Abstract
Purpose To estimate the 10-year change in the overall nutritional quality of adolescent and young adult’s diet, as measured by the modified Nutrient Profiling System of the British Food Standards Agency individual Dietary Index (FSAm-NPS-DI) which funds the Nutri-Score development, and in different components of this score, overall and according to the individual characteristics.
Descamps, C. et al. (2021) The effects of drought on plant–pollinator interactions: What to expect? Environmental and Experimental Botany Volume 182, 104297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2020.104297
Abstract : Current predictions suggest that in temperate zones climate change will increase the frequency of extreme events such as summer droughts, leading to deficit in water availability for ecosystems. Plants will more often experience water stress during the spring and summer. The effects of drought on plants in these systems have predominantly been studied in wind-pollinated crop species, focusing on vegetative growth or yield.
Bourgeois, S.; Sawatani, T.; Van Mulders, A.; De Leu, N.; Heremans, Y.; Heimberg, H.; Cnop, M.; Staels, W. (2021) Towards a functional cure for diabetes using stem cellderived beta cells: are we there yet? Cells 2021, 10, 191.
Diabetes mellitus is a pandemic metabolic disorder that results from either the autoimmune destruction or the dysfunction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. A promising cure is beta cell replacement through the transplantation of islets of Langerhans. However, donor shortage hinders the widespread implementation of this therapy. Human pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, represent an attractive alternative beta cell source for transplantation.
Rouche, M. et al. (2021) Twenty-Four-Year Trends in Family and Regional Disparities in Fruit, Vegetable and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption among Adolescents in Belgium International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health, 18(9), 4408; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094408
Abstract: Dietary habits are influenced by various determinants that may evolve over time. This study aimed to examine, among adolescents in Belgium, trends in the dietary habits between 1990 and 2014 and to determine changes in family and regional disparities related to diet during this time period. In the 1990, 2002 and 2014 cross-sectional “Health Behaviour in School-aged Children” (HBSC) surveys, food consumption was estimated using a short Food Frequency Questionnaire.
Lukicheva, S., & Mardulyn, P. (2021). Whole-genome sequencing reveals asymmetric introgression between two sister species of cold-resistant leaf beetles. Molecular Ecology, 00, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16011
Abstract : A large number of genetic variation studies have identified cases of mitochondrial genome introgression in animals, indicating that reproductive barriers among closely related species are often permeable. Because of its sheer size, the impact of hybridization on the evolution of the nuclear genome is more difficult to apprehend. Only a few studies have explored it recently thanks to recent progress in DNA sequencing and genome assembly.
Abstract : Innovative programs that emerge in response to the rapidly changing care needs of older adults provide an opportunity to study the transformations in working and employment conditions within the homecare sector. This study seeks to understand how innovations introduced in the homecare sector have affected the well-being of homecare workers providing non-medical domestic support to older adults who wish to age in place.
Saénz A. A. et al. (2020) ADHD and ASD: distinct brain patterns of inhibition-related activation? Translational Psychiatry vol. 10, 1-10.
Bonnechère, B. et al. (2020) Age-Associated Capacity to Progress When Playing Cognitive Mobile Games: Ecological Retrospective Observational Study. JMIR Serious Games, 8:2. DOI: 10.2196/17121
Background: The decline of cognitive function is an important issue related to aging. Over the last few years, numerous mobile apps have been developed to challenge the brain with cognitive exercises; however, little is currently known about how age influences capacity for performance improvement when playing cognitive mobile games.
Van der Biest, K. et al. (2020) Aligning biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services in spatial planning: Focus on ecosystem processes. Science of the Total Environment, 712, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136350
Although the consideration of socio-economic demands with biodiversity conservation is now high on the environmental policy agenda, it is not yet standard practice in spatial planning. This is argued to be related, among others, to a lack of awareness among stakeholders and practitioners of the underpinning role of ecosystem functioning and biodiversity to support human well-being. Meanwhile, there is mounting critique on the absolute focus of biodiversity conservation on static properties such as species and habitats.
Speeckaert, N, El Jaziri, M, Behr, M. , Baucher, M. et al. (2020) Characterization of the UDP-glycosyltransferase UGT72 Family in Poplar and Identification of Genes Involved in the Glycosylation of Monolignols. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21 (14)
Monolignols are the building blocks for lignin polymerization in the apoplastic domain. Monolignol biosynthesis, transport, storage, glycosylation, and deglycosylation are the main biological processes partaking in their homeostasis. In Arabidopsis thaliana, members of the uridine diphosphate-dependent glucosyltransferases UGT72E and UGT72B subfamilies have been demonstrated to glycosylate monolignols.
Ghyselen, A.S. (2020) Clearing the Transcription Hurdle in Dialect Corpus Building: The Corpus of Southern Dutch Dialects as Case Study. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence. 3:10. doi: 10.3389/frai.2020.00010.
This paper discusses how the transcription hurdle in dialect corpus building can be cleared. While corpus analysis has strongly gained in popularity in linguistic research, dialect corpora are still relatively scarce. This scarcity can be attributed to several factors,one of which is the challenging nature of transcribing dialects, given a lack of both orthographic norms for many dialects and speech technological tools trained on dialect data.
Pas, D. et al. (2020) Cyclostratigraphic calibration of the Eifelian Stage (Middle Devonian, Appalachian Basin, Western New York, USA). GSA Bulletin
Beckers, J.(2020) De Besloten Utopie Clausuur van Bonfatius VIII tot het Concilie van Trente Article, vol. 25, nov. 2020
Samenvatting: In het artikel van postdoctoraal Research Fellow Julie Becker wordt je meegenomen in de wereld van de laat-middeleeuwse nonnenkloosters. Becker vraagt zich af of de nonnenkloosters die na De Periculoso van Paus Bonifatius VIII zijn ontstaan kunnen worden omschreven als utopisch. Hiervoor wijst ze naar de idealen die de paus, maar ook architecten als Filarete, omschrijven voor het kloostergebouw en het kloosterleven. Door nonnen af te schermen van de buitenwereld kwamen ze dichterbij het goddelijke.