Le positionnement des villes belges dans le réseau global des services avancés

Reprenant les concepts et méthodes issus des travaux sur les réseaux de villes globales, cet article a pour but de présenter une hiérarchie urbaine belge sous un nouveau regard, issu de l’analyse de la présence de firmes de services avancés à la production.Après avoir sélectionné une dizaine de centres urbains majeurs, en apportant une attention particulière au cas de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale et de sa très dynamique périphérie flamande autour de Zaventem, les niveaux de connexions de chaque ville ont été évalués, tant à l’échelle nationale qu’internationale.Mise à part la domination de Bruxelles (et Anvers dans une moindre mesure), les positions de certaines villes belges apparaissent étonnantes. Par ailleurs, la hiérarchie se modifie selon l’échelle de travail (connectivités nationales ou internationales) et selon les secteurs. Ceci aide à comprendre les rapports des villes belges entre elles ainsi qu’au niveau international et la division géographique du travail qui se met en place dans la distribution des services avancés.Starting from the concepts and methods developed by research on global cities networks, this article aims at presenting a new Belgian urban hierarchy, based on the analysis of the presence of advanced production services firms.About ten major urban centres have been selected (with particular attention to the Brussels-Capital Region and its highly dynamic Flemish periphery around Zaventem) and their connection level assessed from a national and international point of view.Aside from Brussels’ (and to a lesser extent Antwerp’s) predominance, the positions of some Belgian cities appear amazing. Moreover, the hierarchy changes according to level (national or international connectivity) and sector. This helps to understand Belgian cities’ connections, both at national and international level, as well as the new geographical division of labour in the distribution of advanced services

Central Belgium: Polycentrism in a Federal Context

SCOPUS: ch.binfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Le positionnement des villes belges dans le réseau global des services avancés

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Globalization and Social dualization, under an Institutional Constraint: The Brussels-Capital Case

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Effet de l'adiposité sur le développement de la glande mammaire

absen

Leptin gene in rabbit: cloning and expression in mammary epithelial cells during pregnancy and lactation

International audienceLeptin is known as a cytokine mostly produced by fat cells and implicated in regulation of energy metabolism and food intake but has also been shown to be involved in many physiological mechanisms such as tissue metabolism and cell differentiation and proliferation. In particular, leptin influences the development of mammary gland. Although leptin expression in mammary gland has been studied in several species, no data are available in the rabbit. Leptin transcripts in this species have been described as being encoded by only two exons rather than three as in other species. Our focus was to clone and sequence the rabbit leptin cDNA and to prepare the recombinant biologically active protein for validation of the proper sequence and then to describe leptin expression in rabbit mammary gland during different stages of pregnancy and lactation. The leptin sequence obtained was compared with those of other species, and genome alignment demonstrated that the rabbit leptin gene is also encoded by three exons. Additionally, we analyzed the expression of leptin during pregnancy and lactation. Leptin mRNA was weakly expressed throughout pregnancy, whereas mRNA levels were higher during lactation, with a significant increase between days 3 and 16. Leptin transcripts and protein were localized in luminal epithelial cells, thus indicating that leptin synthesis occurs in this compartment. Therefore, mammary synthesized leptin may constitute a major regulator of mammary gland development by acting locally as an autocrine and/or paracrine factor. Furthermore, our results support the possible physiological role of leptin in newborns through consumption of milk

Analyse des fonctions biologiques de l'OPL par transfection transitoire d'ARNI in vivo : développement des approches et résultats préliminaires

National audienc

Milk from dams fed an obesogenic diet combined with a high-fat/high-sugar diet induces long-term abnormal mammary gland development in the rabbit

Alterations to the metabolic endocrine environment during early life are crucial to mammary gland development. Among these environmental parameters, the initial nutritional event after birth is the consumption of milk, which represents the first maternal support provided to mammalian newborns. Milk is a complex fluid that exerts effects far beyond its immediate nutritional value. The present study, therefore, aimed to determine the effect of the nutritional changes during the neonatal and prepubertal periods on the adult mammary phenotype. Newborn rabbits were suckled by dams fed a high-fat/high-sugar obesogenic (OD) or a control (CON) diet and then subsequently fed either the OD or CON diets from the onset of puberty and throughout early pregnancy. Mammary glands were collected during early pregnancy (Day 8 of pregnancy). Rabbits fed with OD milk and then subjected to an OD diet displayed an abnormal development of the mammary gland: the mammary ducts were markedly enlarged ( < 0.05) and filled with abundant secretory products. Moreover, the alveolar secretory structures were disorganized, with an abnormal aspect characterized by large lumina. Mammary epithelial cells contained numerous large lipid droplets and exhibited fingering of the apical membrane and abnormally enlarged intercellular spaces filled with casein micelles. Leptin has been shown to be involved in modulating several developmental processes. We therefore analyzed its expression in the mammary gland. Mammary leptin mRNA was strongly expressed in rabbits fed with OD milk and subjected to an OD diet by comparison with the CON rabbits. Leptin transcripts and protein were localized in the epithelial cells, indicating that the increase in leptin synthesis occurs in this compartment. Taken together, these findings suggest that early-life nutritional history, in particular through the milking period, can determine subsequent mammary gland development. Moreover, they highlight the potentially important regulatory role that leptin may play during critical early-life nutritional windows with respect to long-term growth and mammary function

Europe in the World: Final report vol.1 of ESPON Project 3.4.1.

ISBN en cours d'attributionDocument available athttp://www.espon.eu/mmp/online/website/content/projects/260/720/index_EN.htmlFinal report of ESPON Project 3.4.1