Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Accelerating Electrode Optimization for Alkaline Water Splitting With SECCM And SEM/EDX for a Ni–Co Gradient Alloy

Abstract The growing demand for clean energy storage has driven extensive research into electrocatalysts for alkaline water electrolysis (AWE). In order to bring down the energy cost of the H2 produced by AWE, high-performance electrode materials are needed. Electrodes for this p...

Ethnography of Singing for Breathing in COPD and ILD: Understanding Group Dynamics and Experiences

Background/Aim A growing body of evidence exists detailing the benefits of singing for lung health programs in improving participants’ breathlessness and quality of life. However, the pandemic prompted a shift to online delivery, and there is limited understanding of how this mod...

Vitamin K2 production by Staphylococcus shinii IMDO-S216 is affected by high oxygen exposure

Abstract Microbial production of vitamin K2 (MK-n), particularly MK-7, is of interest because of its health-associated benefits. While oxygen favors vitamin K2 yields in lactic acid bacteria and in the genus Bacillus, less is known about its effects on food-grade staphylococci. S...

RELATING INSPLITTINGS OF 2-GRAPHS AND OF TEXTILE SYSTEMS

Abstract The graphical operation of insplitting is key to understanding conjugacy of shifts of finite type (SFTs) in both one and two dimensions. In this paper, we consider two approaches to studying two-dimensional (2D) SFTs: textile systems and rank-2 graphs. Nasu’s textile sys...

Biorefining of whole cotton plant residues for bioethanol production with greenhouse gas emission reduction and social carbon benefits

This study evaluated the potential of cotton-processing residues, including leaves, bolls, linters, and stalks, as feedstocks for bioethanol production using ethanol-based organosolv pretreatment. Biomass samples were pretreated with 65 % (v/v) ethanol at 120, 150, and 180 °C for...

Expression diversity of cichlid MHC alleles

Abstract Background Diversification driven by natural selection is a major source of biodiversity. Parasites and pathogens impose important selective pressures on their hosts, contributing to high levels of polymorphism at immunologically relevant genes within and among populatio...

Curriculum development in midwifery education: a systematic literature review

Midwifery has undergone a significant transformation in recent decades, evolving from vocational training to university-based education. Despite international recommendations supporting competency-based education and professional regulation, little is known about how midwifery cu...

The gut microbiome in multiple myeloma: from disease evolution to therapeutic modulation

The therapeutic landscape of Multiple Myeloma (MM), the second most common haematological malignancy, has undergone a paradigm shift with the introduction of anti-CD38 targeting monoclonal antibodies, immunomodulatory drugs and B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) targeting Chimeric...

Mental health and substance use in Europe: initial steps towards a common European approach

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Comorbid substance use and other mental health disorders contribute to more than one million years lived with disability in Europe according to the Global Burden of Disease study. They require a comprehensive approach, yet, in Europe, there is considerable va...

Measurement properties of instruments to measure lower limb functional ability and balance after technology-assisted physical activity interventions in community-dwelling older adults: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

With the growing evidence of technology-assisted interventions, psychometrically robust instruments are essential for evaluating their outcomes and providing evidence-based clinical decisions. This umbrella review aimed to determine lower-limb functional ability and balance instr...

Space-Filling Input Design for Nonlinear System Identification: A Reinforcement Learning Approach

Classical input design minimises the covariance of the estimated model parameters. For nonlinear black-box models, however, the dominant error is the bias induced by the model structure over the region of interest, which motivates space-filling strategies seeking to cover the sys...

A global view on educational differences in career success: Organizational sponsorship, accumulated advantage, and the schooled society

Despite education's dominance in the globalized knowledge economy, the ways and reasons why education impacts subjective and objective career success remain the object of debate. We propose a three-level contextual model to explain the effect of education on job satisfaction and...

Translation as a repository of violence and resistance

Abstract Research into the sociology of translation examines how translations circulate not only as texts but also as social and political objects shaped by external forces, aiming to illuminate the cultural, political, and historical implications embedded in translated content....

Alcohol-attributable mortality and years of life lost in Belgium: 2013–2022

Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for premature death and disability worldwide, contributing to a wide range of chronic diseases, injuries, and social harms. While many countries have reported declines in alcohol-related harm, Belgium continues to face high levels of consumpti...

Assessing the accuracy of a 3-year high-resolution mesoscale wind farm wake simulation with lidar and satellite radar data

The rapid expansion of wind farm installations in the North Sea results in an increased need for understanding their influence on the local atmosphere, as well as the interactions between them. Wind farm operation and power production are affected by wakes produced both within an...

Near-Infrared Organic Structures with Extended Lifetimes to Unlock the Potential of In Vivo Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging

Abstract In vivo fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLI) is an advanced optical imaging modality with the capability to reveal additional biological information compared to fluorescence intensity (FI) imaging. In addition to enabling tissue discrimination based on microenvironmental...

Heat pumps for high-temperature industrial applications: low-global warming potential (GWP) working fluids and statistical thermodynamic modelling

The industrial sector requires scalable decarbonization strategies to address high-temperature heat demand and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. This study presents a predictive thermodynamic and economic modeling framework to evaluate the integration of high-temperature heat pump...

Retrieval of Optically Active and Inactive Water Quality Parameters Using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning: Evidence from Water Hyacinth-Infested Lake Tana, Ethiopia

Monitoring water quality is critical for protecting freshwater ecosystems and supporting sustainable water resource management. Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest freshwater lake, faces increasing agricultural and urban pressures, while conventional monitoring remains costly and spati...

The extended cascade of type 2 diabetes care in Belgium: a population-based study

Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major public health challenge, yet a comprehensive assessment of the quality of T2D care in Belgium is lacking. We therefore developed an extended cascade of T2D care that integrates the traditional care continuum stages with a broad...

Protein polymers proliferate: polymerization of phosphatases and proteases

It has been known for more than half a century that enzymes can polymerize to either activate or repress their catalytic functions. Using electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM), we serendipitously found that two commonly used enzymes in molecular microbiology research, alkaline phosp...