De Universitaire Stichting kan subsidies verlenen om het publiceren te bevorderen van wetenschappelijke artikelen in internationaleb tijdschriften met "peer eview" . De subsidie kan enkel toegekend worden aan werken die aantoonbaar voortkomen uit onderzoek in een Belgische onderzoekseenheid.
OPGELET: De aanvragen voor het subsidiëren van de kosten voor het publiceren van wetenschappelijke artikelen dienen te worden ingediend door middel van een "online" systeem. Dit systeem vereenvoudigt het week zowel voor de aanvragers als voor de administratie van de Universitaire Stichting.
Klik deze link naar het indiensysteem, waar het reglement, een beschrijving van de te volgen procedure en de online indienformulieren beschikbaar zijn.
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Wat volgt is een lijst van wetenschappelijke artikelen waaraan recent subsidie werd toegekend door de Universitaire Stichting. De artikelen zijn gesorteerd op jaar van uitgave en per titel.
Defalque C. et al. (2025) Drought and High Temperatures Impact the Plant–Pollinator Interactions in Fagopyrum esculentum. Plants 14, 131. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14010131
As a result of climate change, temperate regions are facing the simultaneous increase in water and heat stress. These changes may affect the interactions between plants and pollinators, which will have an impact on entomophilous crop yields. Here, we investigated the consequences of high temperatures and water stress on plant growth, floral biology, flower-reward production, and insect visitation of five varieties of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), an entomophilous crop of growing interest for sustainable agriculture.
De Baetselier, E. et al. (2025) EQUANU: Equality in Societal and Professional Recognition of Nurses—A Cross-Sectional Study on Societal and Professional Recognition of European Nurses. Journal of Nursing Management. Article ID 7466527, 13 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/jonm/7466527.
Background: Despite trends towards greater professionalisation of the nursing profession and an improved public image in certain countries, studies also show that large proportions of the public still do not fully appreciate nurses’ competencies. Mapping differences in the societal and professional recognition of nurses allows for benchmarking among countries.
Adant L. et al. (2025) Genetic counseling in veterinary medicine: towards an evidence‑based definition for the small animal practice. BMC Veterinary Research 21:89 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04495-4.
Background In human medicine, questions regarding heritable disorders are dealt with by clinical geneticists and genetic counselors and both the field, their roles and the tools they use are well-defined. Even though the prevalence of diseases is far higher and scientific literature agrees on expectations towards an increased importance, this does not seem to be the case in veterinary medicine. While we hypothesize that there will be an overlap, some characteristics uniquely linked to veterinary medicine might not be covered.
Goethals, S. et al. (2025) Lysine requirement of weaned piglets. Animal 19, 101323, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2024.101323.
Lysine, often referred to as the ‘first limiting amino acid’ in pig nutrition, plays a pivotal role in growth performance. Variability in lysine requirements arises due to factors such as age, sex and environmental conditions. Optimising pig health and production efficiency and minimising nitrogen excretion require accurate knowledge of estimated lysine requirements accounting for factors such as genetics, feeding practices, scientific advancements, and environmental considerations.
Himschoot L. et al. (2025) et al. Prevalence and clinical correlates of Gardnerella spp., Fannyhessea vaginae, Lactobacillus crispatus and L. iners in pregnant women in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 14:1514884. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1514884
Background: Gardnerella is a key pathogen in bacterial vaginosis (BV), but the role of the different Gardnerella species remains unclear. We investigated the role of four Gardnerella species, as well as Fannyhessea vaginae, Lactobacillus crispatus and L. iners in BV.
De Vlieger D. et al. (2025) Speed-dependent changes in the arm swing during independent walking in individuals after stroke. PLoS ONE 20(1): e0315332. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315332
Background
Increasing one’s walking speed is an important goal in post-stroke gait rehabilitation. Insufficient arm swing in people post-stroke might limit their ability to propel the body forward and increase walking speed.
Purpose
To investigate the speed-dependent changes (and their contributing factors) in the arm swing of persons post-stroke.
Material and methods
Beckers, L. et al. (2024) Alterations in the innate and adaptive immune system in a real-world cohort of multiple sclerosis patients treated with ocrelizumab. Clinical Immunology 259(2024)109894.
B cell depletion by the anti-CD20 antibody ocrelizumab is effective in relapsing-remitting (RR) and primary progressive (PP) multiple sclerosis (MS). We investigated immunological changes in peripheral blood of a real- world MS cohort after 6 and 12 months of ocrelizumab. All RRMS and most PPMS patients (15/20) showed treatment response. Ocrelizumab not only reduced CD20+ B cells, but also numbers of CD20+T cells. Absolute numbers of monocytes, dendritic cells and CD8+T cells were increased, while CD56hi natural killer cells were reduced after ocrelizumab.
Gbenonsi G.Y., Martini J. & Mahieu C. (2024) An analytical framework for breast cancer public policies in Sub-Saharan Africa: results from a comprehensive literature review and an adapted policy Delphi. BMC Public Health, 24:1535 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18937-5.
Background Breast cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in women and is a major public health problem worldwide. Despite the lower incidence rates of breast cancer in resource-limited settings, especially sub-Saharan Africa, there is a higher mortality rate compared to high-resource countries where the disease has a higher incidence. This makes breast cancer the second deadliest cancer in African women. These poor results reflect the weakness in public health policies.
Mushtaq W., Fauconnier M.L & & de Clerck C. (2024) Assessment of induced allelopathy in crop‑weed co‑culture with rye‑pigweed model. Scientific Reports, 14, Article number: 10446.
This study evaluates induced allelopathy in a rye-pigweed model driven by rye’s (Secale cereale L.) allelopathic potential as a cover crop and pigweed’s (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) notoriety as a weed. The response of rye towards pigweed’s presence in terms of benzoxazinoids (BXs) provides valuable insight into induced allelopathy for crop improvement. In the 2 week plant stage, pigweed experiences a significant reduction in growth in rye’s presence, implying allelopathic effects. Rye exhibits increased seedling length and BXs upsurge in response to pigweed presence.
Zarei F., Gandica V. & Rocha L. (2024) Bursts of communication increase opinion diversity in the temporal Deffuant model, Scientific Reports, 14:2222, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52458-w.
Human interactions create social networks forming the backbone of societies. Individuals adjust their opinions by exchanging information through social interactions. Two recurrent questions are whether social structures promote opinion polarisation or consensus and whether polarisation can be avoided, particularly on social media. In this paper, we hypothesise that not only network structure but also the timings of social interactions regulate the emergence of opinion clusters.
Lepeintre V. (2024) Calixarene-coated gold nanorods as robust photothermal agents. Nanoscale, vol. 16, pp. 19692–19703.
Gold nanorods (AuNRs) hold considerable promise for their use in biomedical applications, notably in the context of photothermal therapy (PTT). Yet, their anisotropic nature presents a notable hurdle. Under laser irradiation, these structures are prone to deformation, leading to changes in their optical and photothermal properties over time. To overcome this challenge, an efficient strategy involving the use of calix [4]arene-tetradiazonium salts for stabilizing AuNRs has been implemented.
Opsomer S. et al. (2024) Do all roads lead to Rome? An ideal-type study on trajectories of resilience in advanced cancer caregiving. Plos One 19(5): e0303966. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303966.
Objective Studies on resilience in advanced cancer caregiving typically focus on the interplay between resilience-promoting resources and coping strategies that may be associated with resilience. However, no studies have investigated the emergence of trajectories of resilience and distress in individuals confronted with a cancer diagnosis of a loved one.
Kowalski, E. et al. (2024) Effect of sire type and a by-product based diet on performance and meat quality in growing-finishing pigs. Animal Vol. 18, Issue 3, 101-106.
For many years, pig production has focused on maximizing performance by selecting for maximal muscle growth and feeding diets that allow the animals to express their genetic potential. However, it is unclear whether this selection for muscle deposition has affected the capacity of pigs to cope with by-product based diets, which rely on fat as the primary energy source instead of starches and sugars.
Richelle L. et al. (2024) Expectations and needs of people with illicit substance use disorders in general practice: a qualitative study in Belgium. BMC Primary Care 25:303.
Background
People who use illicit drugs cumulate medical and psychosocial vulnerabilities, justifying a rounded health approach. Both caregivers and patients can form barriers to accessing care, leading to inadequate care. This study aimed to identify the needs and expectations of such patients in general practice.
Methods
Beeckman F. et al. (2024) High-throughput assays to identify archaea-targeting nitrification inhibitors. Frontiers in Plant Science.14:1283047.doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1283047.
Nitrification is a microbial process that converts ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (NO2 -) and then to nitrate (NO3-). The first and rate-limiting step in nitrification is ammonia oxidation, which is conducted by both bacteria and archaea. In agriculture, it is important to control this process as high nitrification rates result in NO3 - leaching, reduced nitrogen (N) availability for the plants and environmental problems such as eutrophication and greenhouse gas emissions.