BELTRANS status report first year

This report details the status of the BELTRANS project after 7 months of collaborative work to inform the follow-up committee. The BELTRANS project is a KBR coordinated, BRAIN research project funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) with the following partners: KU Leuven and UCLouvain. The aim of the project is to analyse intra-Belgian book translations, with specific attention to the fields of literature and history, from French to Dutch and Dutch to French in the period of 1970 to 2020

Monitoring the trade in exotic animals through DNA Barcoding of Passenger-Imported Wild Meat

The project INTERCEPT seeks to establish a robust framework for the long-term monitoring of exotic wild meat imports into Belgium, highlighting the legal and illegal aspects of the trade and its implications for public and animal health. INTERCEPT aims to move towards a centralized database by integrating data from various federal databases (db), including the CITES Unit db, FASFC BaCon (Baggage Control) action data, TRACES NT, and PLDA db (customs). This initiative will facilitate the efficient documentation of legal and illegal trades from intercepted shipments and promote the dissemination of crucial information among federal services, agencies, and stakeholders. Within this project, BopCo-CE (The Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern, Centre of Excellence) plays a pivotal role in identifying meats seized during BaCon operations at Zaventem Airport (Belgium), and meats retrieved from leaking luggage destructions by Saniport. The project aims to introduce a secure and efficient sampling method for officials, along with a laboratory species identification pipeline for sample processing, which will enable rapid DNA-based identification of imported meats. Simultaneously, within the framework of the INTERCEPT project, Sciensano will conduct screenings for pathogens. At present, 250 biological samples have been collected. Using DNA-based identification techniques, 207 specimens were identified to species-level, indicating that 29.6% are of wild origin. Of these, less than one percent of the specimens were classified under CITES status. Within wild meat samples seized, Cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus 11%) and African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus 8%) were predominant. Four specimens (7%) were misidentified as domestic meat upon seizure, while DNA analyses revealed a wild origin. Inversely six specimens (4%) were misidentified as wild meat but DNA analyses showed them to be domestic. All samples and DNA are deposited in RBINS collections for long-term preservation. By fostering collaboration among scientific institutions and federal agencies, this initiative aims to inform border control measures, and will support future research into diseases carried by exotic meat, offering a detailed evaluation of the health risks associated with the import of meat from non-EU countries

Top-Down Evaluation of Volatile Chemical Product Emissions Using a Lagrangian Framework

In this study, we evaluate volatile chemical product (VCP; e.g., adhesives, personal care products) emissions in the McDonald et al. inventory using sector-specific tracers and the FLEXPART-WRF Lagrangian particle dispersion model. Observations of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5-Siloxane) are used for optimizing emissions from personal care products, para-dichlorobenzene (PDCBZ) for insecticides, and parachlorobenzotrifluoride (PCBTF) for emissions from the construction (coatings + adhesives) subsector. Continuous ground-site measurements obtained in Las Vegas and Los Angeles (LA) during summer 2021 are used to optimize the temporal emission profiles of the area sources. Additionally, in situ aircraft-based observations (June 2021) over the LA region are used to evaluate emission factors for the basin. The configuration of the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model is optimized using vertical wind profile measurements obtained from the Pick-Up truck-based Mobile Atmospheric Sounder (PUMAS) deployed in the LA basin to minimize the uncertainty of the inversion due to meteorology. While the diurnal amplitude in emission rates from personal care products and insecticides is reduced after optimization, that of construction VCPs (coatings + adhesives) is enhanced. From the aircraft inversion, we find that the inventory underestimates the emissions originating from construction by a factor of 5.3 (95% confidence interval 4.3–6.3) in the LA basin. Emissions from consumer products (personal care + cleaning) and insecticides were reduced by a factor of 2.1 (1.7–2.5) and 5.2 (3.9–6.4), respectively, following optimization. AB - In this study, we evaluate volatile chemical product (VCP; e.g., adhesives, personal care products) emissions in the McDonald et al. inventory using sector-specific tracers and the FLEXPART-WRF Lagrangian particle dispersion model. Observations of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5-Siloxane) are used for optimizing emissions from personal care products, para-dichlorobenzene (PDCBZ) for insecticides, and parachlorobenzotrifluoride (PCBTF) for emissions from the construction (coatings + adhesives) subsector. Continuous ground-site measurements obtained in Las Vegas and Los Angeles (LA) during summer 2021 are used to optimize the temporal emission profiles of the area sources. Additionally, in situ aircraft-based observations (June 2021) over the LA region are used to evaluate emission factors for the basin. The configuration of the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model is optimized using vertical wind profile measurements obtained from the Pick-Up truck-based Mobile Atmospheric Sounder (PUMAS) deployed in the LA basin to minimize the uncertainty of the inversion due to meteorology. While the diurnal amplitude in emission rates from personal care products and insecticides is reduced after optimization, that of construction VCPs (coatings + adhesives) is enhanced. From the aircraft inversion, we find that the inventory underestimates the emissions originating from construction by a factor of 5.3 (95% confidence interval 4.3–6.3) in the LA basin. Emissions from consumer products (personal care + cleaning) and insecticides were reduced by a factor of 2.1 (1.7–2.5) and 5.2 (3.9–6.4), respectively, following optimization

Diversity of hoverflies and their floral visitation patterns in cultivated cucurbit crops in Morogoro, Tanzania

Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) provide valuable ecosystem services, such as pollination, to a large variety of wild and cultivated sexually reproducing plant species. In this study, we examined the diversity, number of visits, visitation rate and foraging time of hoverfly species in three main cucurbit crops (cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.), watermelons (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai) and squash (Cucurbita moschata D.)) in two agroecological zones (mountainous and plateau) of the Morogoro region in Tanzania, between March and July 2020. We recorded 801 hoverflies of 12 species, of which the most common were Toxomerus floralis (Fabricius, 1798) (37.7% of total records), Eristalinus megacephalus (Rossi, 1794) (25.3%) and Mesembrius caffer (Loew, 1858) (16.4%). Hoverfly diversity was significantly higher in watermelon and squash crops within the mountainous zone as compared to the plateau zone. Toxomerus floralis was the most frequent visitor across all crops and agroecological zones. Eristalinus megacephalus showed a higher visitation frequency than M. caffer in cucumber and watermelon in the mountainous zone. Visitation rates for E. megacephalus, T. floralis and M. caffer were markedly higher in the mountainous zone than in the plateau zone. Of all hoverfly species, T. floralis displayed the longest foraging times in the mountainous zone. Seasonality appeared to have no significant impact on foraging duration and number of flower visits. These findings provide a valuable baseline for understanding hoverfly diversity and foraging behaviour on cucurbit crops and serve as a crucial stepping stone towards a deeper understanding of hoverfly feeding behaviour and its implications for agriculture. Additional studies are required to describe the actual role in pollination of the hoverflies and the factors that may enhance their potential as pollinators of cucurbit crops