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Evolution of global O3-NOx-VOCs sensitivity before and after the COVID-19 from the ratio of formaldehyde to NO2 from satellite observations
Get PDFOzone production sensitivity is widely used to reveal the chemical dominant precursors of urban ozone rise. Here, we diagnose the impact of the decline in global human production activities level caused by the COVID-19 on ozone sensitivity through the ratio of formaldehyde (HCHO) and NO2 (FNR = HCHO/NO2) observations from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument. We use a relative uncertainty threshold to clean the satellite FNR, and our satellite FNR present a good correlation (R = 0.6248) with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency observations. We found that the outbreak of the COVID-19 did not change the pattern of global ozone sensitivity, while the global regimes was transforming or strengthening to VOC-limited regimes due to the significant decline of human production activities levels. During the COVID-19, ozone sensitivity in Eastern China and East Africa continued to shift to VOC-limited regimes, while India, Western Europe and North America first moved to NOx-limited regimes, and then changed to VOC-limited regimes with the resumption of production and the increase in travel. The clustering results tell that urban ozone sensitivity tends to shift towards NOx-limited regimes as economic growing. The ozone formation in cities with lower FNR and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) are more sensitive to changes in VOCs, while cities with higher FNR and per capita GDP are more sensitive to variations in NOx. Cities with intermediate FNR and GDP are good evidence of the existence of transitional regimes. Our study identifies the driving role of urban economics in orienting the evolution of ozone sensitivity regimes
Raising long-term awareness of volcanic risk among the younger generation: an example of transdisciplinary initiatives in Goma (DR Congo)
No full textSupporting the One Health approach in Belgium: identification of policy-relevant organisms and tissues by BopCo
No full textAccurate species identification is crucial in the One Health framework because it underpins the ability to effectively monitor, prevent, and mitigate the emergence and spread of human and animal infectious diseases and zoonoses. Moreover, misidentification can lead to inadequate risk assessments, allowing infectious agents or invasive alien species to spread undetected, thereby threatening biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and public health. BopCo is a Belgian research unit that provides such accurate identifications of organisms and biological tissues with relevance for policy and decision-making processes. It is jointly run by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and the Royal Museum for Central Africa, and has access to extensive reference collections, expert taxonomists, and a comprehensive research infrastructure. BopCo uses morphology and DNA-based approaches to handle on-demand species identification requests, and it is a partner on various projects within the One Health context. In this framework, BopCo contributes to identifying the introduction pathways and dispersal dynamics of two invasive mosquito species in Belgium, Aedes albopictus and Ae. japonicus, as part of the MEMO+ project in collaboration with Sciensano and the Institute of Tropical Medicine. Using various DNA identification techniques, BopCo verifies the species identity of the exotic mosquitoes collected at multiple points of entry. Similarly, the Medical Component of the Belgian Armed Forces is investigating the Culicidae mosquito biodiversity at foreign deployment sites. BopCo takes part in this project by providing DNA-based identifications to support the Laboratory for Vector-Borne Diseases of the Queen Astrid Military Hospital. Accurate identification of the various mosquito species is important since they are known vectors of pathogens of significant public health concern such as Western Nile virus, Plasmodium parasites, and dengue virus. Furthermore, BopCo is involved in the monitoring of (exotic) animal product imports into Belgium within the INTERCEPT project, in collaboration with the University of Antwerp. Within this project, meat intercepted from passenger s luggage at Brussels Airport was sampled and identified using DNA barcoding to prevent the import of transmittable animal diseases and the introduction of invasive alien species. Finally, BopCo contributed to the discovery of the first occurrence of Trichobilharzia regenti in Belgium, a blood parasite of birds, which may try to infect humans, triggering painful skin lesions known as swimmer s itch . Following a reported case in Kampenhout, Belgium, researchers at the Royal Museum for Central Africa and KU Leuven captured freshwater snails (the intermediate hosts) and performed a shedding experiment, after which BopCo used a DNA analysis to identify the shed parasites, unveiling the presence of T. regenti. BopCo continually seeks partnerships with research institutes and government agencies to deliver accurate species identifications within a One Health framework and other policy-relevant research contexts
The Geology of the Arabian-Nubian Shield
No full textThe Saharan Metacraton (SmC) is a fascinating continental-scale entity. However, its boundaries are not all well defined, which is the case to the SE in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, here studied. Shoshonitic granites, a class of A-type granites, anhydrous and of high temperature, are good probes for determining the composition of the crust or mantle and the geodynamical process at work at their time of crystallization. Here, we provide time (U Pb on zircon ages), compositional (geochemistry) and source characteristics (Sr Nd isotopes) of shoshonitic A-type granites from the Nuba Mountains (southern Sudan), located at the extreme south-eastern tip of the SmC. Their lithology is dominated by medium-grained biotite granite grading into coarse-grained varieties. Mostly undeformed, they are locally affected by E W oriented shears; the exhumation of these late-kinematic intrusions was facilitated by a N S extension as evidenced from the geometry and the shear sense indicators of the E W shear system. U Pb SHRIMP zircon dating indicates that the granitic plutons crystallized at 602 ± 5 Ma and 592 ± 4 Ma with some Tonian inherited zircons but no older pre-Neoproterozoic xenocrystic zircons. These granites are slightly peraluminous, rich in silica and alkalis, with high Fe/Mg ratios and are depleted in CaO, MgO and TiO2, all features consistent with A-type granite chemistry. By contrast, the high field strength elements are enriched in Th, U and Zr and show depletion in Ta and Nb, which is typical of magmas with a source generated in a subduction-related environment. Globally, their geochemistry is that of post-collisional shoshonitic granites. Cou pled with positive eNd,600Ma (+3.5 to +3.8) and low-initial Sr600Ma ratios (0.7023 0.7032), these characteristics are attributed to derivation of the Nuba shoshonitic granites from a mostly juvenile lower crustal source formed during an earlier but not much older subduction period that could correspond to the deep equivalent of the nearby late Tonian volcanic rocks. All the traits of these granitic probes indicate that the Nuba Mountains are located just outside the SmC. So, while the western part of the Nuba Mts has been considered till now to belong to the Saharan metacraton, we propose that the south-eastern boundary of the Saharan metacraton is actually located along the continental-scale Central African shear zone that passes just north of the Nuba Mountains, excluding the latter from the Saharan metacraton. This newly defined southern boundary of the SmC was regularly reactivated during the Phanerozoic
Plafond, charpente en berceau apparente ou lambrissée : le couvrement en bois de la nef et du choeur au tournant des XIVe et XVe siècles : les exemples de la chapelle de Marie-la-Misérable et la chapelle de Stalle (Woluwe-Saint-Lambert et Uccle -Br.)
No full textENFORCE: Expertiserapport ref. exp-577 (plaat 1A - 639541563) & exp-578 (plaat 2A - 639541660) - 27/9/2024
No full textBopCo: The Belgian barcoding facility for organisms and tissues of policy concern
No full textThe Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern (BopCo) acts as a focal point for identifying biological materials upon request, by providing access to the expertise and infrastructure necessary to identify organisms of policy concern and their derived products. BopCo s identification service is available to all stakeholders who deal with such material and who need accurate species identifications. These can rely on (i) traditional morphology-based approaches employing the taxonomic expertise and specimen collections at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) and the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) and/or (ii) on DNA-based techniques like DNA-barcoding, qPCR, RFLP, eDNA, microsatellites or third generation sequencing technologies for which BopCo has access to fully equipped laboratories at both RBINS and RMCA. A prerequisite to using DNA-based techniques, however, is the availability of comprehensive and reliable reference barcode libraries. Therefore, BopCo also contributes to improving DNA-barcode databases of taxa of policy concern by producing new DNA-barcodes, which are made publicly available, and evaluates existing DNA-barcodes for their utility. Examples displaying the taxonomic diversity, stakeholder range, policy concern issues and utilised techniques will be presented
Campin in Context : peinture et société dans la vallée de l'Escaut à l'époque de Robert Campin : 1375-1445
No full textActa of the International conference organised by the Université de Valenciennes et du Hainaut-Cambrésis, KIK-IRPA and the Tournai Association of Guides (Tournai, Maison de la culture, March 30-April 1 2006).This publication contains the lectures delivered at the International Colloquium Campin in Context, organised by KIK-IRPA and the Université de Valenciennes et du Hainaut-Cambrésis from 30 March to 1 April 2006. The aim was to re-discover the personality behind the famous Tournai painter Robert Campin (1445) in a broad perspective that highlights the stylistic, political, socio-economic and cultural links that existed between the major cities of the Scheldt Valley
