Pain Behavior Changes Following Disc Puncture Relate to Nucleus Pulposus Rather than to the Disc Injury Per Se: An Experimental Study in Rats

It has previously been demonstrated that disc puncture in the rat induced changes in grooming and wet dog shakes, two behavioral changes that may be linked to discomfort and neuropathic pain. In this study the aim was to separate the effects of disc injury and the epidural presence of nucleus pulposus. Following anesthesia, the L4-5 disc was exposed using a dorsal approach. Ten rats received a superficial disc injury without nucleus pulposus leakage and ten rats received nucleus pulposus from a donor rat without disc injury. In ten animals the L4-5 disc was punctured using a ventral approach, with 10 corresponding controls. Spontaneous behavior was assessed after surgery. The data was matched to historical control of dorsal sham surgery and disc puncture. The study showed that the effects of nucleus pulposus were more pronounced than the effects induced by the disc injury. Ventral disc puncture did not induce any behavioral changes different from sham exposure. In conclusion, the data from the study indicate that behavioral changes induced by disc puncture are more likely to relate to the epidural presence of nucleus pulposus than the disc injury per se

‘Sa splendeur et sa décadence sont également célèbres’ - Het Scheldeverhaal als politiek instrument tijdens de Franse periode

After more than a hundred years of mourning for past splendour, and dreams of a reopening, the blockade of the river Scheldt was finally lifted in 1792. The French authorities, who were responsible for the reopening, did not hesitate to exploit the political potential of the local historical narrative concerning the river. During the twenty years of French occupation, the Scheldt narrative was used as a means to legitimize French rule in the eyes of the local population. The French were represented as liberators who came to reverse the historical injustice perpetrated by the Treaty of Münster. During the revolutionary phase of the occupation, the French went so far as to retroject their ideals of freedom and equality onto the Antwerp of the sixteenth century, ideals which they said would be restored by their intervention. This projection was strikingly at odds with revolutionary orthodoxy, in which the old regimes were rejected as despotic. To make their message even more recognisable, administrators integrated meaningful elements of the narrative into their political culture. These included visual representations, historically charged places, and symbolic objects. Moreover, the artistic history of the city, the traditional counterpart of its commercial splendour, was actively appropriated. After Napoleon's ascent to power in 1799, the Scheldt narrative kept its central place in official discourse, although it was rewritten to suit the new regime. During the Empire the former stress on the Scheldt as a commercial river was replaced by an emphasis on its military function. The Scheldt story was therefore an ideal theme to be appropriated for the purposes of legitimation, although its effect may have been limited.SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Solid oxide electrolysis cell 3D simulation using artificial neural network for cathodic process description

International audienc

Computing approach of cathodic process within solid oxide electrolysis cell: Experiments and continuum model validation

International audienc

Non-cancer chronic pain management in Belgium : an inventory

Depuis 2005, une politique d'amélioration de la prise en charge de la douleur chronique se met progressivement en place en Belgique. Trois types de structures existent actuellement : 73 fonctions algologiques, 36 équipes multidisciplinaires de la douleur chronique et neuf centres de référence multidisciplinaires de la douleur chronique. A la demande du Ministère de la Santé Publique, une équipe interuniversitaire a réalisé en 2010-2011 un travail d'évaluation de ces structures et formulé des recommandations pour le futur. Leurs observations et conclusions sont résumées dans cet article.From 2005, a global policy aiming to improve chronic pain management is progressively installed in Belgium. Three types of structures presently exist : 73 algological functions, 36 multidisciplinary pain teams, and 9 multidisciplinary reference centers. On request of the Belgiun Ministry of Public Health, an interuniversity research team conducted an evaluation (in 2010-2011) of these structures and recommendations for the future. Their observations and conclusions are summarized in this paper