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.
Orbie, J. et al. (2016) Promoting sustainable development or legitimising free trade? Civil society mechanisms in EU trade agreements. Third World Thematics, vol 1, 4, 526-546.
Lechthaler, S. et al. (2016) Rhizophoraceae mangrove saplings use hypocotyl and leaf water storage capacity to cope with soil water salinity changes. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2016, issue 00895,
Some of the most striking features of Rhizophoraceae mangrove saplings are their voluminous cylinder-shaped hypocotyls and thickened leaves. The hypocotyls are known to serve as floats during seed dispersal (hydrochory) and store nutrients that allow the seedling to root and settle. In this study we investigate to what degree the hypocotyls and leaves can serve as water reservoirs once seedlings have settled, helping the plant to buffer the rapid water potential changes that are typical for the mangrove environment.
Ximenes A.C. et al. (2016) Spatial Assessment of the Bioclimatic and Environmental Factors Driving Mangrove Tree Species’ Distribution along the Brazilian Coastline. Remote Sensing 2016, 8(6), 451; doi:10.3390/rs8060451
Brazil has one of the largest mangrove surfaces worldwide. Due to a wide latitudinal distribution, Brazilian mangroves can be found within a large range of environmental conditions. However, little attention has been given to the description of environmental variables driving the distribution of mangrove species in Brazil. In this study, we present a novel and unprecedented description of environmental conditions for all mangroves along the Brazilian coast focusing on species limits.
De Groef S. et al. (2016) STAT3 modulates β-cell cycling in injured mouse pancreas and protects against DNA damage. Cell Death and Disease 7, e2272.
Partial pancreatic duct ligation (PDL) of mouse pancreas induces a doubling of the β-cell mass mainly through proliferation of preexisting and newly formed β-cells. The molecular mechanism governing this process is still largely unknown. Given the inflammatory nature of PDL and inflammation-induced signaling via the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), the activation and the role of STAT3 in PDL-induced β-cell proliferation were investigated.
Engel, D. (2016) Subcellular Patch-clamp Recordings from the Somatodendritic Domain of Nigral Dopamine Neurons. J. Vis. Exp. (117), e54601, doi:10.3791/54601.
Dendrites of dopaminergic neurons receive and convey synaptic input, support action potential back-propagation and neurotransmitter release. Understanding these fundamental functions will shed light on the information transfer in these neurons. Dendritic patch-clamp recordings provide the possibility to directly examine the electrical properties of dendrites and underlying voltage-gated ion channels. However, these fine structures are not easily accessible to patch pipettes because of their small diameter.
C.A. MIDDLETON, C. THOMAS, A. DE WIT and J.-L. TISON, (2016) Visualizing brine channel development and convective processes during artificial sea-ice growth using Schlieren optical methods, Journal of Glaciology, vol 62, Issue 231, Feb. 2016, pp. 1 - 17
Two non-invasive optical Schlieren methods have been adapted to visualize brine channel development and convective processes in experimentally grown sea ice obtained when a NaCl aqueous solution is cooled from above in a quasi-two-dimensional Hele–Shaw cell. The two different visualization methods, i.e. traditional and synthetic Schlieren optical imaging, produce high spatial resolution images of transport processes during ice growth, without any external perturbation.
Heeren A, Baeken C, Vanderhasselt M-A, Philippot P, de Raedt R (2015) Impact of Anodal and Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex during Attention Bias Modification: An Eye-Tracking Study. PLOS ONE 10(4): e0124182. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124182
People with anxiety disorders show an attentional bias for threat (AB), and Attention Bias Modification (ABM) procedures have been found to reduce this bias. However, the underlying processes accounting for this effect remain poorly understood. One explanation suggests that ABM requires the modification of attention control, driven by the recruitment of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). In the present double-blind study, we examined whether modifying left DLPFC activation influences the effect of ABM on AB.
Van Lierde, E., Desender, K. & Van den Bussche, E. (2015) Is conflict adaptation triggered by feature repetitions? An unexpected finding. Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 5, number 01358
For decades, cognitive adaptation to response conflict has been considered to be the hallmark of cognitive control. Notwithstanding a vast amount of evidence ruling out lowlevel interpretations of these findings, disbelief still exists with regard to the underlying cause of the observed effects. Especially when considering cognitive adaptation to unconscious conflict, it is still a matter of debate whether repetitions of features between trials might explain this intriguing finding rather than the involvement of unconscious control.
TURTOI, A. et al. (2015) Organized proteomic heterogeneity in colorectal cancer liver metastases and implications for therapies. Hepatology, vol 59, issue 3, pp. 924–934.
Tumor heterogeneity is a major obstacle for developing effective anticancer treatments. Recent studies have pointed to large stochastic genetic heterogeneity within cancer lesions, where no pattern seems to exist that would enable a more structured targeted therapy approach.
BELLEFLAMME, A., FETTWEIS, X. & ERPICUM, M. (2015) Recent summer Arctic atmospheric circulation anomalies in a historical perspective, The Cryosphere, 9, 53–64.
A significant increase in the summertime occurrence of a high pressure area over the Beaufort Sea, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and Greenland has been observed since the beginning of the 2000s, and particularly between 2007 and 2012. These circulation anomalies are likely partly responsible for the enhanced Greenland ice sheet melt as well as the Arctic sea ice loss observed since 2007. Therefore, it is interesting to analyse whether similar conditions might have happened since the late 19th century over the Arctic region.
WANG, J. et al. (2015) The bone marrow microenvironment enhances multiple myeloma progression by exosome-mediated activation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Oncotarget vol. 6, n° 41, pp. 43992-44004.
Exosomes, extracellular nanovesicles secreted by various cell types, modulate the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment by regulating angiogenesis, cytokine release, immune response, inflammation, and metastasis. Interactions between bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and multiple myeloma (MM) cells play crucial roles in MM development. We previously reported that BMSC-derived exosomes directly promote MM cell growth, whereas the other possible mechanisms for supporting MM progression by these exosomes are still not clear.
Merken R, Deboelpaep E, Teunen J, Saura S, Koedam N (2015) Wetland Suitability and Connectivity for Trans-Saharan Migratory Waterbirds. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0135445. doi:10.1371/journal.
To complete their life cycle waterbirds rely on patchily distributed and often ephemeral wetlands along their migration route in a vast unsuitable matrix. However, further loss and degradation of remaining wetland habitats might lead to a configuration and size of stopovers that is no longer sufficient to ensure long-term survival of waterbird populations.
LALOY, J. et al., (2014) Can TiC nanoparticles produce toxicity in oral administration to rats? Toxicology Reports, vol. 1, pp. 172-187
For decades, cognitive adaptation to response conflict has been considered to be the hallmark of cognitive control. Notwithstanding a vast amount of evidence ruling out lowlevel interpretations of these findings, disbelief still exists with regard to the underlying cause of the observed effects. Especially when considering cognitive adaptation to unconscious conflict, it is still a matter of debate whether repetitions of features between trials might explain this intriguing finding rather than the involvement of unconscious control.
MAES, K. et al. (2014) In vivo treatment with epigenetic modulating agents induces transcriptional alterations associated with prognosis and immunomodulation in multiple myeloma, Oncotarget, 6(5), 3319-3334.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTi) are in early clinical development for multiple myeloma (MM) therapy. Despite all encouraging pre-clinical data, clinical activity of HDACi and DNMTi is mostly lacking. To optimize the trials, characterization of the in vivo response towards HDACi and DNMTi will be crucial. Therefore, we investigated the transcriptional response after in vivo treatment with the HDACi quisinostat or DNMTi decitabine using the murine 5T33MM model.
PAREDES, C. (2014) The Confusion of the Battlefield. A New Perspective on the Tapestries of the Battle of Pavia (c. 1525-1531) RIHA Journal 0102 (28 December 2014)
This contribution is devoted to the tapestry cycle of the Battle of Pavia conserved at the Museo Capodimonte in Naples. Seven tapestries compose this prestigious tapestry set that commemorates the first military success of Charles V: the battle held in Pavia on 24 February 1525. Up to now the tapestries have been interpreted as independent panels representing different episodes of the battle. In this contribution we will show that the seven panels actually originated in one single design, which we rediscovered by assembling them in a different sequence.