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Doing intersectionality in equality policies of Higher Education and Research organizations: A critical scoping review
No full textPredictive Value of Blood Parameters for Bariatric Surgery Success: A Comparison with Anthropometric Parameters
No full textIn deze studie is het doel om cardiometabole bloedparameters te onderzoeken als mogelijke voorspellende factoren voor het succes van bariatrische chirurgie, en om hun effectiviteit te vergelijken met andere voorspellers, zoals antropometrische parameters. Deze uitkomsten kunnen ons mogelijk meer inzicht geven in prognostische factoren die vóór de bariatrische ingreep kunnen worden gemeten en aangepast, om het postoperatieve succes te vergroten. Bovendien kunnen alternatieve interventies (GLP-1 receptoragonisten) effectiever blijken te zijn voor een patiënt dan bariatrische chirurgie, met name wanneer op basis van deze prognostische factoren een suboptimaal resultaat wordt verwacht
Trait-Based Modeling of Surface Cooling Dynamics in Olive Fruit Using Thermal Imaging and Mixed-Effects Analysis
No full textEffective postharvest cooling of olive fruit is increasingly critical under rising harvest temperatures driven by climate change. This study models passive cooling dynamics using a trait-based, mixed-effects statistical framework. Ten olive groups-representing seven cultivars and different ripening or size stages-were subjected to controlled cooling conditions. Surface temperature was recorded using infrared thermal imaging, and morphological and compositional traits were quantified. Temperature decay was modeled using Newton's Law of Cooling, extended with a quadratic time term to capture nonlinear trajse thectories. A linear mixed-effects model was fitted to log-transformed, normalized temperature data, incorporating trait-by-time interactions and hierarchical random effects. The results confirmed that fruit weight, specific surface area (SSA), and specific heat capacity (SHC) are key drivers of cooling rate variability, consistent with theoretical expectations, but quantified here using a trait-based statistical model applied to olive fruit. The quadratic model consistently outperformed standard exponential models, revealing dynamic effects of traits on temperature decline. Residual variation at the group level pointed to additional unmeasured structural influences. This study demonstrates that olive fruit cooling behavior can be effectively predicted using interpretable, trait-dependent models. The findings offer a quantitative basis for optimizing postharvest cooling protocols and are particularly relevant for maintaining quality under high-temperature harvest conditions.During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used ChatGPT [OpenAI GPT-4, 2025] for the purposes of refining the written presentation but not for statistical modeling or analytical decisions. The authors have reviewed and edited the output and take full responsibility for the content of this publication
Commentaar bij art. 496/7 oud BW
No full text496/7. Onverminderd artikel 492/4 kan de vrederechter te allen tijde, hetzij ambtshalve hetzij op verzoek van de beschermde persoon, van diens vertrou-wenspersoon of bewindvoerder of van elke belanghebbende evenals van de pro-cureur des Konings, bij een met redenen omklede beschikking, de bewindvoerder vervangen of diens bevoegdheden wijzigen. Hij vervangt ofwel ambtshalve, ofwel op vraag van de beschermde persoon, van zijn vertrouwenspersoon, van zijn be-windvoerder, van elke belanghebbende of van de procureur des Konings, de be-windvoerder wanneer een van de gronden van onverenigbaarheid bedoeld in artikel 496/6 zich voordoet. Hij doet hetzelfde voor de professionele bewindvoer-der die niet meer is opgenomen in het nationaal register van professionele be-windvoerders. Ingeval er verscheidene bewindvoerders over de goederen werden aangesteld, kan hij daarenboven een einde maken aan de opdracht van een be-windvoerder of de wijze waarop zij hun bevoegdheden uitoefenen wijzigen. Indien hij zulks nodig acht, kan de vrederechter van de bewindvoerder over de goederen waarborgen eisen, hetzij bij zijn aanwijzing, hetzij gedurende de uit-oefening van zijn opdracht. Indien er zich problemen voordoen bij de uitoefening van zijn opdracht, kan de rechter de familiale bewindvoerder verplichten een vorming te volgen
Photoinduced Charge Transfer between Metal Halide Perovskite and Ru-Polypyridyl Complexes Toward Biocatalytic Reactions
No full textVacancy-ordered Bi-based perovskites, such as Cs3Bi2Br9 (CBB), exhibit relatively high Lewis acidity due to Bi3(+) centers, providing favorable acidic sites for organic transformations. Coupled with their tuneable optoelectronic properties, these features render CBB an efficient photocatalyst for various acid-catalyzed reactions. In this study, CBB is conjugated with a classical Ru(II)-polypyridyl photosensitizer (RuPS) to form a hybrid material, CBB/RuPS, capable of facilitating thermodynamically favourable inner-sphere electron transfer. This process yields the reduced RuPS radical anion (RuPS center dot-) and a hole (h(+)) in the oxidized CBB species. Ultrafast charge recombination is suppressed through an efficient extraction of e- and h(+) by the redox-active substrates, generating spatially separated redox centres that drive tandem oxidative and reductive transformations. Comprehensive spectroscopic, microscopic, and analytical studies confirm the successful formation of the CBB/RuPS hybrid. Steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic analyses reveal the thermodynamic viability of photoinduced electron transfer, with CBB exhibiting a sub-nanosecond photoluminescence lifetime and electron transfer to RuPS occurring within 200-300 ps. This is evidenced by the appearance of RuPS center dot- signatures and multiexponential decay kinetics of CBB. Finally, the efficient exciton diffusion in the hybrid system is harnessed for in vitro photo-biocatalytic reactions, enabling selective oxidation and reduction of substrates, demonstrating potential cytotoxicity toward cancer cells via deprivation of NADH/pyruvic acid and in situ generated ROS species.A.C. thanks the CSIR for a fellowship and the BOF-BILA program (BOF21BL04) of Hasselt University. A.C. acknowledges IISER Kolkata and Nanobiophysics and Soft Matter Interfaces Laboratory, IMO-IMOMEC, Hasselt University, for the infrastructure. S.D. acknowledges IISER Kolkata for the Senior Research Fellowship (SRF). P.P. acknowledges the Department of Chemical Sciences and the Centre of Advanced Functional Materials, IISER Kolkata. B.J. acknowledges the SERB-Ramanujan Fellowship (RJF/2022/000127) for support. N.K. acknowledges the funding from ANRF ECRF, India-ANRF/ECRG/2024/002664/CS. A.K.D. acknowledges SERB, DST (CRG/2021/003981), and IISER Mohali for funding. A.D. acknowledges the SERB-J.C. Bose Fellowship and funding through the JBR/2023/000005 grant. A.D. also acknowledges the MoE-STARS research grant (No.2023-47) for financial support
Quantifying water hydrogen bonding from the surface electrostatic potential at varying iso-density contours
No full textThe electrostatic potential plotted on varying contours (VS) of the electron density guides us in the
understanding of how water interactions exactly take place. Water—H2O—is extremely well balanced, having a hydrogen
VS,max and an oxygen VS,min of similar magnitude. As such, it has the capacity to donate and accept hydrogen bonds
equally well. This has implications for the interactions that water molecules form, which are reviewed here, first
in water–small molecule models and then in complex sites as lactose and its crystals and in protein–protein interfaces.
Favorable and unfavorable interactions are evaluated from the electrostatic potential plotted on varying contours of the
electronic density, allowing these interactions to be readily visualized. As such, with one calculation, all interactions
can be analyzed by gradually looking deeper into the electron density envelope and finding the nearly touching contour.
Its relation with interaction strength has the electrostatic potential to be used in scoring functions. When properly
implemented, we expect this approach to be valuable in modeling and structure validation, avoiding tedious interaction
strength calculations. Here, applied to water interactions in a variety of systems, we conclude that all water interactions
take the same general form, with water behaving as a “neutral” agent, allowing its interaction partner to determine if
it donates or accepts a hydrogen bond, or both, as determined by the highest possible interaction strength(s).The computational resources and services used in this work were partially provided by the Centre de Ressources Informatiques (CRI) of the University of Lille, France
Nudging Safety in Elementary School Zones: A Pilot Study on a Road Sticker Intervention to Enhance Children's Dismounting Behavior at Zebra Crossings
No full textIn this pilot study, the crossing behavior of elementary school students commuting on bicycles was investigated with the objective of enhancing safety around pedestrian crossings within school zones. With a noticeable increase in crashes involving young cyclists near schools, this research assessed the effectiveness of visual nudges in the form of red strips displaying "CYCLISTS DISMOUNT" instructions. Initial observations indicated a lack of compliance with dismounting regulations. After the initial observations, a specific elementary school was selected for the implementation of the nudging intervention and additional pre- (N = 91) and post-intervention (N = 71) observations. The pre-intervention observations again revealed poor adherence to the regulations requiring cyclists to dismount at specific points. Following our targeted intervention, the post-intervention observations marked an improvement in compliance. Indeed, the visual nudge effectively communicated the necessity of dismounting at a critical location, leading to a higher rate of adherence among cyclists (52.74% pre-intervention, 97.18% post-intervention). Although it also indirectly affected the behavior of the accompanying adult, who more often held hands with their children while crossing, this effect was weaker than the direct effect on dismounting behavior (20.88% pre-intervention, 39.44% post-intervention). The findings of the current pilot study underscore the possible impact of nudging on behavior and advocate for a combined approach utilizing physical nudges to bolster safety within school zones. Follow-up research, including, for instance, multiple sites, long-term effects, or children traveling alone, is called for.The authors wish to thank Roelandus Petrus Gerardus Wittenberg, who conducted the preliminary observations with author Dries Vanassen as part of a Master’s thesis. Moreover, the authors would also like to thank the following Master’s students in Transportation Sciences (UHasselt) who contributed to the manuscript as part of their Research Portfolio assignment: Abiodun Omoike, Albert Curri, Kobe Janssens, Reza Bayat, and Farhad Ershadi
Exploring potential genes linked to dilated cardiomyopathy in zebrafish
No full textGedilateerde cardiomyopathie (DCM) is een van de belangrijkste oorzaken van hartfalen wereldwijd en wordt gekenmerkt door een disfunctionele en vergrote linkerhartkamer. 1 op de 250 mensen ontwikkelt DCM in hun leven. DCM heeft een sterke genetische factor, met ongeveer 50 geassocieerde genen. Toch heeft 60–75% van de families met een duidelijk erfelijk patroon van DCM, geen genetische diagnose. Het identificeren van nieuwe DCM-geassocieerde genen is daarom essentieel om patiënten eerder te diagnosticeren en gepersonaliseerde behandelingen te bieden op basis van genotype-fenotype associaties. Analyse van WES-data van DCM-patiënten uit Maastricht leidde tot de identificatie van 3 mogelijk DCM-veroorzakende genen, aangetroffen in 7 patiënten. In deze studie werden de genen onderzocht met behulp van het zebravismodel. De hypothese stelde dat knock-out (KO) van LAPTM4B, PIGV of ANKHD1 in zebravisembryo’s leidt tot functionele en morfologische veranderingen die overeenkomen met DCM. Met F0-screening werden functionele KOs gecreëerd die milde/matige oedeemvorming vertoonden in ongeveer 40% van de embryos. Hartvideo analyse toonden dat laptm4b KO’s een afname in hartslag en een toename in EF hadden, pigv KO’s een afname in relaxatietijd en ventrikelgrootte hadden, ankhd1 KO’s een toename in ventrikelgrootte hadden. Deze studie is een proof-of-concept dat LAPTM4B, PIGV en ANKHD1 een rol spelen in de functie en morfologie van het hart en verder studies met deze genen ondernomen moeten worden