Sustainability and change in the institutionalized commute in Belgium: exploring regional differences

This paper examines regional differences in commute-energy performance in Belgium, and explores their relationships with spatial characteristics such as the distribution of population and housing, the metropolitan influence of the Brussels agglomeration, and the compactness of cities and towns. We also investigate contradictions between Belgian state-wide commute policy and regional differences in average commuting distance and mode choice. Against a background of long-term federal measures that traditionally encourage long-distance commuting in Belgium, we find striking discrepancies between the structure and the development of commuting patterns in the three administrative regions of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Residents of Brussels show the most sustainable commuting patterns, due to the metropolitan spatial structure. Residents of Wallonia represent the least sustainable commute. Given the rather weak regional economy of Wallonia compared with Flanders, commuters must frequently seek employment far from their residence. Population changes and consequent developments in the housing market seem to exacerbate this competitive disadvantage, since most growth occurs in relatively remote rural areas that are nevertheless within reach of the main employment centres

Sumoylation delays the ATF7 transcription factor subcellular localization and inhibits its transcriptional activity

Over the past few years, small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) modification has emerged as an important regulator of diverse pathways and activities including protein localization and transcriptional regulation. We identified a consensus sumoylation motif (IKEE), located within the N-terminal activation domain of the ATF7 transcription factor and thus investigated the role of this modification. ATF7 is a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor, homologous to ATF2, that binds to CRE elements within specific promoters. This protein is able to heterodimerize with Jun or Fos proteins and its transcriptional activity is mediated by interaction with TAF12, a subunit of the general transcription factor TFIID. In the present article, we demonstrate that ATF7 is sumoylated in vitro (using RanBP2 as a E3-specific ligase) and in vivo. Moreover, we show that ATF7 sumoylation affects its intranuclear localization by delaying its entry into the nucleus. Furthermore, SUMO conjugation inhibits ATF7 transactivation activity by (i) impairing its association with TAF12 and (ii) blocking its binding-to-specific sequences within target promoters

New iron tetrazolate frameworks : synthesis temperature effect, thermal behaviour, Mössbauer and magnetic studies

The exploration of the FeF3/FeF2-Hamtetraz-HF system in dimethylformamide by solvothermal synthesis evidences two isostructural 3D hybrid fluoroferrates. They are prepared from the same starting mixture at two different synthesis temperatures: 120 °C for [Hdma]·(Fe4IIFeIIIF8(H2O)2(amtetraz)4) (1) and 140 °C for [Hdma]1.5·(Fe4.5IIFe0.5IIIF7(H2O)(HCOO)(amtetraz)4) (2). Both compounds are characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, X-ray thermodiffraction, TGA analysis, Mössbauer spectrometry and SQUID magnetometry. They crystallize in the monoclinic system and are built from two distinct chains connected by aminotetrazolate anions. The first chain ∞(FeIIFN4) is common to 1 and 2 and can be found in numerous fluorides. In the second chain ∞(Fe3X12) (X = F, N, O), iron cations adopt both valence states Fe(II)/Fe(III). The hydrolysis of DMF implies the formation of a [Hdma]+ cation and a (HCOO)− anion. The presence of Fe3+ in both phases is evidenced by 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry. The magnetic properties are studied and two transitions from a paramagnetic regime to a long range ordered state below 30 K and 5 K are identified.PostprintPeer reviewe

Wettability of partially suspended graphene

The dependence of the wettability of graphene on the nature of the underlying substrate remains only partially understood. Here, we systematically investigate the role of liquid-substrate interactions on the wettability of graphene by varying the area fraction of suspended graphene from 0 to 95% by means of nanotextured substrates. We find that completely suspended graphene exhibits the highest water contact angle (85° ± 5°) compared to partially suspended or supported graphene, regardless of the hydrophobicity (hydrophilicity) of the substrate. Further, 80% of the long-range water-substrate interactions are screened by the graphene monolayer, the wettability of which is primarily determined by short-range graphene-liquid interactions. By its well-defined chemical and geometrical properties, supported graphene therefore provides a model system to elucidate the relative contribution of short and long range interactions to the macroscopic contact angle

Long-lasting Insecticidal Nets to Prevent Visceral Leishmaniasis in the Indian Subcontinent; Methodological Lessons Learned from a Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

In a recent paper, Nagpal et al. voiced concerns about the limited or biased use of scientific evidence to support public health interventions to control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is one of the major NTDs and does not escape this problem. Transmission is vector-borne and the Indian subcontinent is the region reporting most of the VL cases worldwide. In this region, the main causative species is Leishmania donovani and Phlebotomus argentipes is the vector. Transmission is considered anthroponotic and peridomestic—occurring at night when female sand flies bite people sleeping inside their house. The World Health Organization and the governments of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh set out in 2005 to eliminate VL from the region by 2015 through a combination of early treatment of cases and vector control. However, while recent advances in diagnostic tools and drugs have significantly improved case management strategies, the available vector control tools against P. argentipes remain limited. The elimination initiative promotes the use of indoor residual spraying (IRS) of households and cattle sheds to reduce vector density, but the evidence underpinning the effectiveness of IRS in this region is scanty. Historical observations show that L. donovani transmission declined concomitantly with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) spraying during the 1950s–60s to eradicate malaria. In the aftermath of this malaria eradication campaign, very few VL cases were observed in endemic regions until the mid-seventies, when there was resurgence of a VL epidemic in India. To date, there are no randomized trials showing the effect of IRS on the incidence of clinical VL, though some studies showed a reduction in vector density. When the VL elimination initiative was launched in 2005, there were no clear alternatives for IRS as a vector control strategy. Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) were proposed as an alternative or complement to IRS on the basis of analogy arguments regarding their given efficacy against malaria or on data from observational studies suggesting ITNs reduce the risk of VL; but as for IRS, there were no randomized trials evaluating the effect of ITNs on L. donovani transmission. In this context, a number of field studies were conducted in the Indian subcontinent in the past decade to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of ITNs and other vector control tools on VL. Most of these studies have been reviewed in detail in two recent papers. The only two studies evaluating the impact of vector control interventions on clinical outcomes found conflicting results. First, the KALANET project, a cluster randomised controlled trial (CRT) in India and Nepal, showed that mass-distribution of ITNs did not reduce the risk of L. donovani infection or clinical VL. Then, an intervention trial in Bangladesh suggested that widespread bed net impregnation with slow-release insecticide may reduce the frequency of VL. Technical (e.g., type of nets and insecticides, lack of replicas and randomisation in Bangladesh) and biological factors (e.g., insecticide susceptibility and sand fly behaviour) may explain the different results observed. This apparent contradiction raises the question about the role that ITN may play in controlling VL in the Indian subcontinent but has also triggered a lot of discussion on methodology and evidence levels required when evaluating vector control tools for VL. In this paper, we would like to summarise the lessons learned from the KALANET CRT in terms of methodology to inform the generation of future evidence and discuss interpretation of findings against this background

La carrière Saingt à Fleury-sur-Orne

Depuis 2014, la carrière Saingt, l’une des nombreuses carrières-refuges utilisées par les civils pris sous les bombes lors de la Bataille de Caen (juin-juillet 1944), offre l’opportunité de mettre en place une opération archéologique à caractère expérimental permettant de confronter différents types d’analyses, au croisement de l’archéologie, de l’histoire et de la sociologie. Ce programme de recherche, débuté en 2015, associe des chercheurs de l’Inrap, du CNRS, de l’INSA-Strasbourg et des sp..

Fleury-sur-Orne – Carrière Saingt

La redécouverte par les archéologues en 2014 de l’une des nombreuses carrières-refuges utilisées par les civils pris sous les bombes lors de la Bataille de Caen (juin-juillet 1944), a offert l’opportunité de mettre en place une opération archéologique à caractère expérimental permettant de confronter différents types d’analyses, au croisement de l’archéologie, de l’histoire et de la sociologie. Ce programme de recherche, débuté en 2015, associe des chercheurs de l’Inrap, du CNRS, de l’INSA St..

Domestic Animals and Epidemiology of Visceral Leishmaniasis, Nepal

Proximity of Leishmania donovani–positive goats is a risk factor for human infection

A community resource for paired genomic and metabolomic data mining

Genomics and metabolomics are widely used to explore specialized metabolite diversity. The Paired Omics Data Platform is a community initiative to systematically document links between metabolome and (meta)genome data, aiding identification of natural product biosynthetic origins and metabolite structures.Peer reviewe