Through the dark continent: African trypanosome development in the tsetse fly

African trypanosomes are unicellular flagellated parasites causing trypanosomiases in Africa, a group of severe diseases also known as sleeping sickness in human and nagana in cattle. These parasites are almost exclusively transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly. In this review, we describe and compare the three developmental programs of the main trypanosome species impacting human and animal health, with focus on the most recent observations. From here, some reflections are made on research issues concerning trypanosome developmental biology in the tsetse fly that are to be addressed in the future

Total cost of ownership as a tool for inter-firm cost management: a case in the Belgian utilities industry.

In today's environment, communicating what your products and services are worth to customers' business has never been more important. Customers increasingly look at purchasing as a way to increase profits and to reduce costs. To persuade customers to focus on the total costs rather than simply on acquisition price, a supplier must have an accurate understanding of what his customers value. In this case study, we demonstrate how a utility supplier performed a Total Cost of Ownership analysis for one of his customers. The case study offers insights in how an inter-firm Total Cost of Ownership analysis can be beneficial to the buyer as well as to the supplier by optimising and better coordinating the performance of operations across the value chain and by facilitating further initiatives to intensify the buyer-supplier relationship.Product; Purchasing; Costs; Cost; Value; Case studies; Studies; Utilities; Performance; Management; Industry;

The effect of cost information on buyer-supplier negotiations in different power settings.

We investigate the influence of cost information on buyer-supplier negotiations in different power settings. Based on exchange theory, we expect that buyers with detailed cost information and less power than their opponent may try to (re)gain control over their own outcomes by sharing information. The results of our experiment indicate that the performance disadvantage of less powerful buyers is less pronounced when the buyer has detailed cost information and that this result can be explained by the buyer's negotiation behavior.Behavior; Control; Cost; Exchange; Information; Negotiations;

Franchising: A literature review on management and control issues.

Franchising; Literature review; Management control;

The effect of cost information on buyer-supplier negotiations in different power settings.

buyer-supplier negotiations; cost information;

Description of a nanobody-based competitive immunoassay to detect tsetse fly exposure

Background : Tsetse flies are the main vectors of human and animal African trypanosomes. The Tsal proteins in tsetse fly saliva were previously identified as suitable biomarkers of bite exposure. A new competitive assay was conceived based on nanobody (Nb) technology to ameliorate the detection of anti-Tsal antibodies in mammalian hosts. Methodology/Principal Findings : A camelid-derived Nb library was generated against the Glossina morsitans morsitans sialome and exploited to select Tsal specific Nbs. One of the three identified Nb families (family III, TsalNb-05 and TsalNb-11) was found suitable for anti-Tsal antibody detection in a competitive ELISA format. The competitive ELISA was able to detect exposure to a broad range of tsetse species (G. morsitans morsitans, G. pallidipes, G. palpalis gambiensis and G. fuscipes) and did not cross-react with the other hematophagous insects (Stomoxys calcitrans and Tabanus yao). Using a collection of plasmas from tsetse-exposed pigs, the new test characteristics were compared with those of the previously described G. m. moristans and rTsal1 indirect ELISAs, revealing equally good specificities (> 95%) and positive predictive values (> 98%) but higher negative predictive values and hence increased sensitivity (> 95%) and accuracy (> 95%). Conclusion/Significance : We have developed a highly accurate Nb-based competitive immunoassay to detect specific anti-Tsal antibodies induced by various tsetse fly species in a range of hosts. We propose that this competitive assay provides a simple serological indicator of tsetse fly presence without the requirement of test adaptation to the vertebrate host species. In addition, the use of monoclonal Nbs for antibody detection is innovative and could be applied to other tsetse fly salivary biomarkers in order to achieve a multi-target immunoprofiling of hosts. In addition, this approach could be broadened to other pathogenic organisms for which accurate serological diagnosis remains a bottleneck

Total cost of ownership: Informatie voor het optimaliseren van de supply chain.

Total cost of ownership; Cost; Ownership; Supply chain;

Synthetic microbial ecosystems : an exciting tool to understand and apply microbial communities

Many microbial ecologists have described the composition of microbial communities in a plenitude of environments, which has greatly improved our basic understanding of microorganisms and ecosystems. However, the factors and processes that influence the behaviour and functionality of an ecosystem largely remain black boxes when using conventional approaches. Therefore, synthetic microbial ecology has gained a lot of interest in the last few years. Because of their reduced complexity and increased controllability, synthetic communities are often preferred over complex communities to examine ecological theories. They limit the factors that influence the microbial community to a minimum, allowing their management and identifying specific community responses. However, besides their use for basic research, synthetic ecosystems also found their way towards different applications, like industrial fermentation and bioremediation. Here, we review why and how synthetic microbial communities are applied for research purposes and for which applications they have been and could be successfully used

Rencontres précoloniales : conflits maritimes entre la France et le Portugal avant 1580

Le sujet de cette communication traite des guerres et des conflits entre les Français et les Portugais en mer Atlantique aux XVe et XVIe siècles. Depuis les luttes pour les Canaries et les Açores, et la concurrence entre les pêcheurs dans les grands bancs de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador, jusqu'aux grandes expéditions coloniales et sanglantes dans la baie de Guanabara, la France et le Portugal se sont disputés de vastes champs d'empire océanique pour les perdre tous les deux, grâce d'une part aux guerres de religion (la France) et d'autre part à la grande mésaventure marocaine (le Portugal) tandis que l'Espagne et l'Angleterre profitent de leurs déboires. Quelles sont les conséquences à long terme — économique, géopolitique, symbolique — de cette double défaite dans un dédale d’”invasions et évasions ”?This paper addresses the wars and conflicts between the French and the Portuguese in the Atlantic Ocean during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. From the struggles over the Canary Islands and the Azores, and the competition for fishing in the Great Banks of Newfoundland and Labrador, up through the great, bloody colonial expeditions in Guanabara Bay, France and Portugal fought over the vast expanses of their sea empires only for both countries to lose their gains, thanks to the wars of religion in France, on the one hand, and the great misfortune that befell Portugal in Morocco, on the other hand. What are the long-term consequences – economically, geopolitically, and symbolically – of this twin defeat amidst a labyrinth of “invasions and evasions”