In accordance with its mission to support high level research in Belgium, the University Foundation provides financial support towards the publication in high level international journals of scientific papers which report on research in Belgian research groups. Financial support may be granted to partially cover the costs due by the author for illustrations, for page charges and for article processing fees, and for linguuistic control.
Because the possible support is restricted to Belgian research groups, the regulations and application procedures are only available in French and in Dutch.
What follows is a list of articles to which a subsidy was awarded by the University Foundation. The titles are ordered by year of publication and by title.
Duquesne E. & Fournier D. (2025) Climate change redefines sea turtle hotspots: Vessel strike risks and gaps in protected areas. Science Advances 11, eadw4495.
Climate change is altering marine ecosystems, driving shifts in sea turtle distributions and challenging conservation efforts. Our study examines how climate change affects the global sea distribution of all seven sea turtle species, intersecting with marine protected areas (MPAs) and shipping corridors. Using species distribution models and environmental data from 2000 to 2024, we project sea turtle habitats under current conditions and three future climate scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5) for 2050 and 2100.
Scoubeau, C. et al. (2025) Comparison of body composition, cardiorespiratory, and neuromuscular adaptations induced by three different high intensity training protocols. Physiological Reports https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.70306.
This study investigated body composition, cardiorespiratory, and neuromuscular adaptations induced by three high intensity trainings easy to fit into daily routine. Thirty-seven adults participated in one of the following 8-week interventions: vigorous intensity continuous training (VICT; 28 min at 70% of peak oxygen uptake [VO2peak]), long interval high intensity interval training (LI-HIIT;6 × 2 min at 85% VO2peak), or short interval HIIT (SI-HIIT; 12 × 30 s at 125% maximal power output).
Defalque C. et al. (2025) Drought and High Temperatures Impact the Plant–Pollinator Interactions in Fagopyrum esculentum. Plants 14, 131. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14010131
As a result of climate change, temperate regions are facing the simultaneous increase in water and heat stress. These changes may affect the interactions between plants and pollinators, which will have an impact on entomophilous crop yields. Here, we investigated the consequences of high temperatures and water stress on plant growth, floral biology, flower-reward production, and insect visitation of five varieties of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), an entomophilous crop of growing interest for sustainable agriculture.
De Baetselier, E. et al. (2025) EQUANU: Equality in Societal and Professional Recognition of Nurses—A Cross-Sectional Study on Societal and Professional Recognition of European Nurses. Journal of Nursing Management. Article ID 7466527, 13 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/jonm/7466527.
Background: Despite trends towards greater professionalisation of the nursing profession and an improved public image in certain countries, studies also show that large proportions of the public still do not fully appreciate nurses’ competencies. Mapping differences in the societal and professional recognition of nurses allows for benchmarking among countries.
Asryan, L. & Rots, V.(2024) Exploring Basalt: A Methodological Framework for Analysing Wear Traces on Basalt Tools. J Archaeol Method Theory vol 31, pp. 1954–1983, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-024-09663-8
Basalt is a widely used raw material for tool manufacture at prehistoric sites, but a unified methodology for assessing how hominfins used basalt in prehistory is lacking. A comprehensive experimental investigation of basalt tools is, thus, necessary to establish a reliable methodological framework that can be used to explore the functional properties of archaeological basalt assemblages.
Keirsebelik H. et al. (2025) From non‑tidal to tidal environments: movement behaviour of Chinese mitten crabs on downstream spawning migration. Movement Ecology 13:25 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-025-00548-3
Background The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is a widespread species that is both threatened and commercially valuable in its native range, but considered invasive in various other parts of the world. Being catadromous, their downstream spawning migration to the sea marks the crucial final step in their life. Yet, little is known about their behaviour during this migration.
Gezels E. e.a. (2025) General Practitioners’ Needs and Preferences Regarding the Provision of Self-sampling Tests for Cervical Cancer Screening in Flanders, Belgium. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, Vol.16: 1–12, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/21501319251320178.
Background: Screening coverage for cervical cancer remains suboptimal in Flanders, Belgium. The upcoming transition to primary HPV screening in January 2025 presents an opportunity to offer self-sampling kits (SSKs) as an alternative to conventional Pap smears, with the potential to increase participation rates. General practitioners (GPs) can play a crucial role in reaching under-screened populations. Hereto it is essential to understand the needs and preferences of GPs regarding the integration of SSKs into their routine practice.
Adant L. et al. (2025) Genetic counseling in veterinary medicine: towards an evidence‑based definition for the small animal practice. BMC Veterinary Research 21:89 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04495-4.
Background In human medicine, questions regarding heritable disorders are dealt with by clinical geneticists and genetic counselors and both the field, their roles and the tools they use are well-defined. Even though the prevalence of diseases is far higher and scientific literature agrees on expectations towards an increased importance, this does not seem to be the case in veterinary medicine. While we hypothesize that there will be an overlap, some characteristics uniquely linked to veterinary medicine might not be covered.
Wels J. & Hamarat N. (2025) Incidence and Prevalence of Reported Euthanasia Cases in Belgium, 2002 to 2023. JAMA Network Open 8(4):e256841. 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.6841.
IMPORTANCE Reported cases of assisted dying have increased in countries with such legislation. In Belgium, where euthanasia was legalized in mid-2002, cases rose from 236 in 2003 to 3423 in 2023. Most previous studies have focused on occurrence rates.
OBJECTIVE To examine the magnitude of the increase in euthanasia cases and its association with demographic changes observed during the study period.
Ongenaert, M. & Decorte, T (2025) Like birds of a feather? A multi-case study on the connections between cannabis, tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical companies in legalized cannabis markets. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104863.
Background: As of 2024, cannabis legalization in Northern American countries has spurred industry growth, intersecting with alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals. This study examines the investments and employee movement between five cannabis companies and alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical companies in order to explore the connections between the industries. While these relationships may bolster cannabis businesses, they also pose risks such as profit-driven practices that could undermine public health protections.
Goethals, S. et al. (2025) Lysine requirement of weaned piglets. Animal 19, 101323, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2024.101323.
Lysine, often referred to as the ‘first limiting amino acid’ in pig nutrition, plays a pivotal role in growth performance. Variability in lysine requirements arises due to factors such as age, sex and environmental conditions. Optimising pig health and production efficiency and minimising nitrogen excretion require accurate knowledge of estimated lysine requirements accounting for factors such as genetics, feeding practices, scientific advancements, and environmental considerations.
Govender M. et al. (2025) Mapping conservation conflicts by integrating social network analysis and Q methodology: A sea turtle case from Sri Lanka. Scientific Reports 15:16658.
Conservation conflicts pose major challenges to biodiversity conservation, and addressing related stakeholder conflicts is gaining importance in the contemporary conservation discourse. We present an innovative approach to investigate conservation conflicts by combining Social Network Analysis and Q methodology. The study focuses on human–human conflicts among sea turtle conservation, tourism, and governance stakeholders in Sri Lanka.
Bos, M. et a. (2025) Objectivising Heritage Assessment with Values: Criteria-Based Grid and Constructivist Approach. Heritage, vol. 8, issue 4, nr 116.
The concept of value seems to have capital importance both in the scientific literature and in various heritage actors’ professional discourse. The actions undertaken to develop the built environment inherited from previous generations seem to depend on thevalue we assign it. In this essay, the concepts of value, assessor, and heritage assessment are discussed. Two historical contexts are compared: the classical axiology of the 19th century based on the Enlightenment search for rationality and the typologies of contemporary values struggling with complexity.
Himschoot L. et al. (2025) et al. Prevalence and clinical correlates of Gardnerella spp., Fannyhessea vaginae, Lactobacillus crispatus and L. iners in pregnant women in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 14:1514884. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1514884
Background: Gardnerella is a key pathogen in bacterial vaginosis (BV), but the role of the different Gardnerella species remains unclear. We investigated the role of four Gardnerella species, as well as Fannyhessea vaginae, Lactobacillus crispatus and L. iners in BV.
Corvilain P. et al. (2025) Pushing the boundaries of MEG based on optically pumped magnetometers towards early human life. Imaging Neuroscience, Vol. 3, https://doi.org/10.1162/imag_a_00489.
Characterizing the early development of the human brain is critical from both fundamental and clinical perspectives. However, existing neuroimaging techniques are either not well suited to infants or have limited spatial or temporal resolution. The advent of optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) has revolutionized magnetoencephalography (MEG) by enabling wearable and thus more naturalistic recordings while maintaining excellent sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution. Nevertheless, its adaptation to studying neural activity in infancy poses several challenges.