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.
Claeys A, Merseburger P, Staut J, Marchal K & Van den Eynden J, Benchmark of tools for in silico prediction of MHC class I and class II genotypes from NGS data BMC Genomics (doi.org/10.1186/s12864-023-09351-z )
Background The Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes are a group of highly polymorphic genes that are located in the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) region on chromosome 6. The HLA genotype affects the presentability of tumour antigens to the immune system. While knowledge of these genotypes is of utmost importance to study differences in immune responses between cancer patients, gold standard, PCR-derived genotypes are rarely available in large Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) datasets.
Mortier, F. et al. (2023) Effect of laboratory and sample storage factors on urinary protein: creatinine ratios and clinical decision making in cats. Journal of Internal Veterinary Medicine Vol.37, pp. 1038-1046.
Background
Urinary protein:creatinine ratio (UPC) results affect the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of chronic kidney disease in cats.
Objectives
To investigate the interlaboratory and intralaboratory variability and the effect of storage on UPC and International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) proteinuria substaging in cats.
Animals
Healthy and diseased client-owned cats.
Van Acker, I.; Dewaele, A.; Elaut, E.& Baetens, K. (2023) Exploring Care Needs of Partners of Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals in Co-Transition: A Qualitative Interview Study. Healthcare, 11, 1535. https://doi.org/10.3390/ healthcare11111535
Abstract: Scientific knowledge on the impact of a gender-affirming transition on intimate partners of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals is limited. It is unclear which care needs partners have and which role health care professionals can play during this transition process. The aim of this study was to explore the unique experiences and care needs of people partnering with TGD people in the context of a gender-affirming transition.
Vanhuysse, S. et al. (2023) Fine-scale mapping of urban malaria exposure under data scarcity: an approach centred on vector ecology, Malaria Journal vol. 22, art. number 113.
Background Although malaria transmission has experienced an overall decline in sub-Saharan Africa, urban malaria is now considered an emerging health issue due to rapid and uncontrolled urbanization and the adaptation of vectors to urban environments. Fine-scale hazard and exposure maps are required to support evidence-based policies and targeted interventions, but data-driven predictive spatial modelling is hindered by gaps in epidemiological and entomological data.
Esposito G. et al. (2023) Participatory governance in megaprojects: the Lyon–Turin high-speed railway among structure, agency, and democratic participation. Policy and Society. puac/029.
Megaprojects are increasingly common across countries and attract substantial political attention from a variety of actors. Recent studies have highlighted the need to move from an understanding of megaprojects as linear and rational processes towards a more nuanced approach that accounts for non-linear and conflictual aspects. Participatory governance is often proposed as a valuable resource in this regard.
Opsomer S. et al. Resilience in advanced cancer caregiving promoted by an intimate partner’s support network: insights through the lens of complexity science. A framework analysis. BMC Palliative Care (2023) 22:12 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-023-01134-3
Abstract Background The tremendous physical and mental burden that comes with caregiving puts the intimate partners of patients diagnosed with advanced cancer at risk for mental disorders. However, most partners seem to be protected by resilience. Such a resilience process is promoted by certain individual characteristics (e.g., flexibility, positive attitude, internal strength, capacity to balance incoming and outgoing information, and ability to ask for and accept
Gheysen, J ; Kashiwar, A ; Idrissi, H ; Villanova, J (2023) Simar, A. Suppressing hydrogen blistering in a magnesium-rich healable laser powder bed fusion aluminum alloy analyzed by in-situ high resolution techniques. In: Materials & Design, Vol. 231, p. 112024 (2023) http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/275034 -- DOI : 10.1016/j.matdes.112024.
Hydrogen blistering, i.e. precipitation of supersaturated hydrogen at elevated temperatures, increases porosity during heat treatments in 4xxx series Al alloys manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), as demonstrated by 3D X-ray nano-imaging in AlSi12. This paper proposes the design of a healable Al alloy to suppress hydrogen blistering and improve the damage management. The strategy consists of solute atoms diffusing towards nano-voids and precipitating on their surface, thereby filling the damage sites.
Claus L, Schouler-Ocak M, Braakman MH, Sabbe B, Van Beuren G & van den Ameele S (2023) Unlocking asylum seekers’ voices: protocol of a mixed-method clinical study on the use of the cultural formulation interview with asylum seekers in Belgium. Front. Psychiatry 14:1156803. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1156803.
Background: Despite a high prevalence of mental disorders among asylum seekers, many barriers to mental healthcare exist. Cultural and contextual factors strongly influence the experience and expression of psychological distress, putting asylum seekers at greater risk of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. The Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) is a useful tool to map out cultural and contextual factors of mental disorders; however, to the best of our knowledge, it has not yet been investigated in asylum seekers specifically.
Van Rickstal R, Vleminck A, Engelborghs S, Versijpt J, Van den Block L. (2022) A qualitative study with people with young-onset dementia and their family caregivers on advance care planning: A holistic, flexible, and relational approach is recommended. Palliat Med. Apr 26:2692163221090385. doi: 10.1177/02692163221090385.
The role of membrane lipids is increasingly claimed to explain biological activities of natural amphiphile molecules. To decipher this role, biophysical studies with biomimetic membrane models are often helpful to obtain insights at the molecular and atomic levels. In this review, the added value of biophysics to study lipid-driven biological processes is illustrated using the case of surfactins, a class of natural lipopeptides produced by Bacillus sp. showing a broad range of biological activities.
Bonnechère, B., Samadoulougou, S., Cisse, K., et al. (2022) Alcohol consumption and associated risk factors in Burkina Faso: results of a population-based cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open 12:e058005. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058005
Biset, N.; Kestens, W.; Detemmerman, D.; Lona, M.; Karakaya, G.; Ceuppens, A.; Pochet, S.; De Vriese, C. (2022) Analysis of the Consumption of Drugs Prescribed for the Treatment of Asthma in Belgian Children. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19, 548. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010548
Abstract: (1) Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world among children. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the consumption of asthma medications in order to investigate asthma in children (2–18 years) and the association with health care consumption; (2) a retrospective study using anonymized administrative data for 2013–2018 from the third largest Belgian health insurer was conducted; (3) in 2018, 12.9% of children received at least one asthma medication and 4.4% received at least two packages with a minimum of 30 days between purchases.
Delporte C. & Soyfoo M. (2022) Aquaporins: Unexpected actors in autoimmune diseases, Autoimmunity Reviews.
Aquaporins (AQPs), transmembrane proteins allowing the passage of water and sometimes other small solutes and molecules, are involved in autoimmune diseases including neuromyelitis optica, Sjögren’s syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. Both autoantibodies against AQPs and altered expression and/or trafficking of AQPs in various tissue cell types as well as inflammatory cells are playing key roles in pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.
Bensemmane, S.; Loayza Villarroel, K.; Montaño, K.; Louati, E.; Ascarrunz, C.; Rodriguez, P.; Fontaine, V.; Laokri, S. Assessing Barriers Encountered by Women in Cervical Cancer Screening and Follow-Up Care in Urban Bolivia, Cochabamba. Healthcare 2022, 10, 1604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ healthcare10091604
Background: Timely detection of cervical cells infected with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) improves cervical cancer prevention. In Bolivia, actual screening coverage only reaches 33.3% of the target population aged between 25 and 64 years despite free cytology screening. Furthermore, 50% to 80% screened women are lost during follow-up. This study aimed at identifying factors explaining this lack of follow-up care.
Sow, M., Raynault, MF. & De Spiegelaere, M. (2022) Associations between socioeconomic status and pregnancy outcomes: a greater magnitude of inequalities in perinatal health in Montreal than in Brussels. BMC Public Health 22, 829. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13165-1
Background
Comparing health inequalities between countries helps us to highlight some factors specific to each context that contribute to these inequalities, thus contributing to the identification of courses of action likely to reduce them. This paper compares the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and 1) low birth weight (LBW) and 2) preterm birth, in Brussels and Montreal (in general population, natives-born mothers, and immigrant mothers).