Older people’s experiences of informal care in rural Flanders, Belgium

Flanders (Belgium) is ageing at high speed. The number of people aged over 80 will increase from more than 400.000 today to nearly 800.000 in 2060, which is 10 % of the population. Although the entire region is ageing, older people are overrepresented in non-urban areas. A large majority of the elderly have to ''age in place', being the consequence of a very clear-cut policy to foster staying put. However, one can question if their quality of life can be guaranteed, knowing that basic facilities are often unavailable in sparsely populated areas. This is especially relevant when personal mobility decreases and (health) care is needed. Based on qualitative research methods (in-depth interviews, focus groups and observations made while following care providers), this paper discusses the everyday experiences and perceptions of older people with regard to informal care. We focus on elderly people living in two different rural regions, rudimentary defined as a work-poor area (Westhoek) and a work-rich area (Kempen). The results indicate that the availability of informal care is -among others- dependent on the spatial context and can therefore not be guaranteed everywhere

Methods and Mechanisms of DNA Methylation in Development and Disease

DNA methylation is a mechanism for long-term transcriptional regulation and is required for normal cellular differentiation. Failure to properly establish or maintain DNA methylation patterns leads to cell dysfunction and diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders. The goal of this thesis is to understand the role of DNA methylation in oncological cellular transformation and in normal development. To achieve this goal, I have developed a novel method for mapping genome-wide DNA methylation patterns and have applied the method to gonadectomy-induced adrenocortical neoplasms and to maturing motor neurons. The novel method, called Laser Capture Microdissected-Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (LCM-RRBS), accurately and reproducibly profiles genome-wide methylation of DNA extracted from microdissected fresh frozen or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples. Using this method, I find that significant DNA methylation changes, associated with attendant expression changes, occur in transformed adrenocortical cells. My work has also uncovered significant DNA methylation configuration in maturing motor neurons associated with dramatic expression changes. I show that demethylated regions are enriched for known neuron-specific transcription factor binding sites and that genetic disruption of the active demethylation machinery significantly inhibits motor neuron differentiation and maturation. Together, these experiments demonstrate that DNA methylation plays a role in the transformation of normal cells to cancer cells and that DNA methylation is critical to proper motor neuron formation. I conclude that aberrant DNA methylation controls gene expression in gonadectomy-induced adrenocortical neoplasms and that neuron-specific transcription factors could recruit demethylating enzymes to regions that lose DNA methylation in motor neurons upon maturation

Geometric Inference with Microlens Arrays

This dissertation explores an alternative to traditional fiducial markers where geometric information is inferred from the observed position of 3D points seen in an image. We offer an alternative approach which enables geometric inference based on the relative orientation of markers in an image. We present markers fabricated from microlenses whose appearance changes depending on the marker\u27s orientation relative to the camera. First, we show how to manufacture and calibrate chromo-coding lenticular arrays to create a known relationship between the observed hue and orientation of the array. Second, we use 2 small chromo-coding lenticular arrays to estimate the pose of an object. Third, we use 3 large chromo-coding lenticular arrays to calibrate a camera with a single image. Finally, we create another type of fiducial marker from lenslet arrays that encode orientation with discrete black and white appearances. Collectively, these approaches oer new opportunities for pose estimation and camera calibration that are relevant for robotics, virtual reality, and augmented reality

GELINA stability program (GESTA)

Technical description of the GESTA application developed at IRMM.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Review of capture cross section data in support to WPEC Subgroup 31

This report is the result of the EC-JRC-IRMM support to the OECD-NEA WPEC Subgroup 31, "Meeting Nuclear Data Needs for Advanced Reactor Systems". It summarizes the contribution that is related to capture cross section data. The status of capture cross section measurements based on the detection of prompt gamma rays is discussed and experimental data that are available to evaluate the capture cross section for 28Si, 206Pb, 238U and 241Am for advanced reactor systems are reviewed.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Veerkracht

In het duurzaamheidsdiscours speelt veerkracht steeds meer een prominente rol. De sterkte van dit analytisch kader is dat het een holistische en dynamische benadering van sociaal-ecologische systemen, in al hun complexiteit, toelaat. Deze sterkte is meteen ook een grote zwakte, waarbij een diversiteit aan interpretaties, naargelang de discipline waarbinnen het wordt toegepast, gezorgd heeft voor onduidelijkheid en verwarring. Niettemin vindt het begrip stilaan wetenschappelijke grond, onder meer dankzij pionierswerk van bijvoorbeeld de Resilience Alliance. Het operationaliseren van het veerkrachtdenken in ruimtelijke planning vraagt sterke conceptuele kaders. In het rapport, dat een samenwerking is tussen de onderzoekers van WP2, wordt getracht een heldere lijn te leggen in de theoretische achtergrond, op basis waarvan het veerkrachtdenken kan toegepast worden in ruimtelijk onderzoek. De toepassing van het sociaal-ecologisch veerkrachtconcept vergt dat de ruimte gezien wordt als een complex adaptief systeem, dat gekenmerkt wordt door complexiteit, niet-lineariteit, discontinuïteit en waarbij ontwikkelingen padafhankelijk en onzeker zijn. Een kritische reflectie over de vertaalslag van het veerkrachtdenken naar sociale systemen leidt tot een sociaalruimtelijke herdefiniëring van het begrip. We schuiven hierbij een dynamische houding naar voor, welke in de context van ruimtelijke planning niet enkel gaat over technische ingrepen (zoals het verhogen van de bioproductie aan de hand van alternatieve vormen van ruimtegebruik, of het verhogen van dijken), maar ook over maatschappelijke aanpassingen in de houding tegenover het gebruik en de inrichting van de ruimte

Comparison of resonance integrals of cross sections from JEFF-3.2 library for some problematic reactions

The quality of the capture cross sections in JEFF-3.2 for a selection of nuclides has been assessed in comparison to other evaluated nuclear data libraries (ENDF/B-VII.1, JENDL-4.0, TENDL-2014 and IRDFF v1.05). The incident neutron capture reactions of this nuclides have been compared to experimental data from the EXFOR database in terms of resonance integrals and, where available, energy dependent data. Recommendations for next version of the JEFF library have been given. For 55Mn, JEFF-3.2 is strongly recommended. For 58Fe and 176,178Hf, JEFF-3.2 is recommended. For 93Nb and 148Nd, JEFF-3.2 is not recommended. For those two nuclides, the capture cross section from JENDL-4.0 is recommended.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Measurement of the direct particle transport through stochastic media using neutron resonance transmission analysis

A measurement of the uncollided neutron flux passing through a sample containing a stochastic mixture of tungsten and sulfur grains has been performed using neutron resonance transmission analysis in the 3 - 200 eV energy region. The impact of the heterogeneous characteristic of the sample is shown based on a comparison of the measurement with a calculated transmission spectrum of a homogeneous sample, which was verified by a measurement with a homogeneous metallic disc. By using a single strong resonance of tungsten, the particle self-shielding factor between 0.2 - 0.9 was directly measured. The experimental data have been compared with model calculations using the Markovian Levermore-Pomraning model. The measured transmission has been used to determine the effective characteristic chord length and volume fraction of the tungsten grains within the sample.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard