MAFCONS: managing fisheries to conserve ground fish and benthic invertebrate species diversity

MAFCONS is an EC funded project that combines six partners with research activities in the North Sea. It is an applied ecology research project that wants to provide fisheries managers with a mathematical ‘tool’ to adopt a proactive ecosystem management approach. The relationship between fishing, as a disturbance, and the response of the benthic and fish communities, as the change in species diversity, needs to be clearly defined. For it the ecological ‘Huston’s Dynamic Equilibrium Model’ will be tested. This model relates diversity simultaneous to productivity and disturbance. It expresses that a change in diversity caused by a change in disturbance is dependent on the level of productivity. The Huston model and the relevant variables were discussed and evaluated in different workshops. The main objective of this project is to provide a mathematical tool based on the Huston model, that allows to predict the consequences of fisheries management policies on species diversity. Data for diversity and productivity assessment within different ICES rectangles are collected by each partner. The first campaign of the Belgian and Dutch partners coincided with the yearly IBTS survey, executed by the Tridens. At 29 stations Van Veen grab and 2m beam trawl samples were taken. Since October the processing of data started and first benthic species diversity and productivity results are obtained. A second five week campaign is planned for August-September. The first testing of the model starts in February 2005

Upgrading the OMES database: online access to OMES monitoring data using the IMERS web interface

The OMES collection is a database that holds a huge amount of measurement data on stations along the Zeeschelde and Westerschelde. The data collection consists in three main types of data: historical data (1904-1991) derived from literature, more recent data (1995-2007) generated during the OMES monitoring campaigns and some additional data from incidental measurements in the same study area. The measurements vary from water quality and suspended matter to biological data.The OMES project started in 1995 and is a multidisciplinary study on the estuarine environment of the Belgian part of the Scheldt. The main aim of OMES is to create a tool for the Flemish government that can be used as scientific support for the policy on water management of the Scheldt Estuary.In the summer of 2007 the OMES data collection has been integrated as a separate context in the IMERS data system. The Flanders Marine Institute is now responsible for centralizing and management of the newly gathered OMES data and for redistributing the data towards the OMES partners and extern users.The user that is interested in access to and use of the data is presented with a web interface on the OMES website that allows querying the database based on specific search criteria. Search criteria include parameters measured and taxonomic, spatial and temporal scope. The user can visualize the resulting data in tables and export the data to The whole dataset is made available to the project partners on the restricted pages of the OMES website: http://www.vliz.be/projects/omes

Spatiotemporal torquing of light

We demonstrate the controlled spatiotemporal transfer of transverse orbital angular momentum (OAM) to electromagnetic waves: the spatiotemporal torquing of light. This is a radically different situation than OAM transfer to longitudinal, spatially-defined OAM light by stationary or slowly varying refractive index structures such as phase plates or air turbulence. We show that transverse OAM can be imparted to a short light pulse only for (1) sufficiently fast transient phase perturbations overlapped with the pulse in spacetime, or (2) energy removal from a pulse that already has transverse OAM. Our OAM theory for spatiotemporal optical vortex (STOV) pulses [Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 193901 (2021)] correctly quantifies the light-matter interaction of this experiment, and provides a torque-based explanation for the first measurement of STOVs [Phys. Rev. X 6, 031037 (2016)]

Solving variational inequalities defined on a domain with infinitely many linear constraints

We study a variational inequality problem whose domain is defined by infinitely many linear inequalities. A discretization method and an analytic center based inexact cutting plane method are proposed. Under proper assumptions, the convergence results for both methods are given. We also provide numerical examples to illustrate the proposed method

Whole Slide Quantification of Stromal Lymphatic Vessel Distribution and Peritumoral Lymphatic Vessel Density in Early Invasive Cervical Cancer: A Method Description

Peritumoral Lymphatic Vessel Density (LVD) is considered to be a predictive marker for the presence of lymph node metastases in cervical cancer. However, when LVD quantification relies on conventional optical microscopy and the hot spot technique, interobserver variability is significant and yields inconsistent conclusions. In this work, we describe an original method that applies computed image analysis to whole slide scanned tissue sections following immunohistochemical lymphatic vessel staining. This procedure allows to determine an objective LVD quantification as well as the lymphatic vessel distribution and its heterogeneity within the stroma surrounding the invasive tumor bundles. The proposed technique can be useful to better characterize lymphatic vessel interactions with tumor cells and could potentially impact on prognosis and therapeutic decisions

CariesCare practice guide : consensus on evidence into practice

This CariesCare practice guide is derived from the International Caries Classification and Management System (ICCMS) and provides a structured update for dentists to help them deliver optimal caries care and outcomes for their patients. This '4D cycle' is a practice-building format, which both prevents and controls caries and can engage patients as long-term health partners with their practice. CariesCare International (CCI™) promotes a patient-centred, risk-based approach to caries management designed for dental practice. This comprises a health outcomes-focused system that aims to maintain oral health and preserve tooth structure in the long-term. It guides the dental team through a four-step process (4D system), leading to personalised interventions: 1st D: Determine Caries Risk; 2nd D: Detect lesions, stage their severity and assess their activity status; 3rd D: Decide on the most appropriate care plan for the specific patient at that time; and then, finally, 4th D: Do the preventive and tooth-preserving care which is needed (including risk-appropriate preventive care; control of initial non-cavitated lesions; and conservative restorative treatment of deep dentinal and cavitated caries lesions). CariesCare International has designed this practice-friendly consensus guide to summarise best practice as informed by the best available evidence. Following the guide should also increase patient satisfaction, involvement, wellbeing and value, by being less invasive and more health-focused. For the dentist it should also provide benefits at the professional and practice levels including improved medico-legal protection

Elevating expression of MeCP2 T158M rescues DNA binding and Rett syndrome–like phenotypes

Mutations in the X-linked gene encoding methyl-CpG–binding protein 2 (MeCP2) cause Rett syndrome (RTT), a neurological disorder affecting cognitive development, respiration, and motor function. Genetic restoration of MeCP2 expression reverses RTT-like phenotypes in mice, highlighting the need to search for therapeutic approaches. Here, we have developed knockin mice recapitulating the most common RTT-associated missense mutation, MeCP2 T158M. We found that the T158M mutation impaired MECP2 binding to methylated DNA and destabilized MeCP2 protein in an age-dependent manner, leading to the development of RTT-like phenotypes in these mice. Genetic elevation of MeCP2 T158M expression ameliorated multiple RTT-like features, including motor dysfunction and breathing irregularities, in both male and female mice. These improvements were accompanied by increased binding of MeCP2 T158M to DNA. Further, we found that the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway was responsible for MeCP2 T158M degradation and that proteasome inhibition increased MeCP2 T158M levels. Together, these findings demonstrate that increasing MeCP2 T158M protein expression is sufficient to mitigate RTT-like phenotypes and support the targeting of MeCP2 T158M expression or stability as an alternative therapeutic approach