Région-clef de la Préhistoire orientale: la Moldavie

Article for general public (1999)

La région moldave, incluant aussi une partie de la Roumanie, illustre tous les stades du Paléolithique supérieur: elle débute par des industries archaïques, se poursuit à par l'Aurignacien local et ... [more ▼]

La région moldave, incluant aussi une partie de la Roumanie, illustre tous les stades du Paléolithique supérieur: elle débute par des industries archaïques, se poursuit à par l'Aurignacien local et surtout connaît un développement très intense durant les différents stades du Gravettien. Sa position géographique en fait une région-clef pour l'étude des rapports entre l'Europe des collines et celle des grandes plaines orientales. [less ▲]

Regional blood flows of hypoplastic left heart infants ventilated with non conventional PEEPs

in Tijdschrift van de Belgische Kinderarts = Journal du Pédiatre Belge (2004, March)

Regional brain activity during working memory tasks

in Brain (1996), 119(Pt 5), 1617-1625

The first aim of our PET study was to replicate previous findings concerning the brain areas activated by a verbal working memory task. The second aim was to specify the neural basis of the central ... [more ▼]

The first aim of our PET study was to replicate previous findings concerning the brain areas activated by a verbal working memory task. The second aim was to specify the neural basis of the central executive, using a task of working memory updating. Our data confirm that the lower left supramarginal gyms and premotor area are the key regions subserving short-term verbal memory processes. They also suggest that the updating memory task is related to mid-dorsolateral prefrontal activation most probably responsible for the updating function of the central executive. An unexpected, predominantly right activation occurred in the inferior parietal region during the verbal memory updating task, which we related to a visuospatial strategy used to maintain the information in short-term memory. A third purpose was to explore the brain regions activated by a nonverbal, visual memory task, and our results confirm the importance of the superior occipital gyrus in the visual short-term memory. [less ▲]

A regional curare test evaluation of myotonia in dogs

in Journal of Small Animal Practice (1992), 33

This paper describes a regional curare test performed in a dog suffering from myotonia and hyperadrenocorticism. The test prevented innervation to the pronator teres muscle of the left limb and allowed ... [more ▼]

This paper describes a regional curare test performed in a dog suffering from myotonia and hyperadrenocorticism. The test prevented innervation to the pronator teres muscle of the left limb and allowed electrical activity to be observed in the muscle without the need for a general neuromuscular blockade; various types of spontaneous activity other than myotonic discharges were also observed. Details of the method are given and its usefulness in the evaluation of myopathies is discussed. [less ▲]

Regional Distribution and Control of Tyrosine Hydroxylase Activity in the Quail Brain

in Brain Research Bulletin (1999), 48(1), 3-17

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of catecholamines, was quantified in the preoptic area-hypothalamus of adult male Japanese quail by a new assay measuring the ... [more ▼]

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of catecholamines, was quantified in the preoptic area-hypothalamus of adult male Japanese quail by a new assay measuring the tritiated water production from 3,5-[3H]-L-tyrosine. Maximal levels of activity were observed at a 20-25 microM concentration of substrate, with more than 50% inhibition of the activity being recorded at a 100 microM concentration. TH activity was linear as a function of the incubation time during the first 20 min and maximal at a pH of 6.0. TH was heterogeneously distributed in the quail brain with highest levels of activity being found (in decreasing order) in the mesencephalon, diencephalon, and telencephalon. Given the large size of the telencephalon, this is the brain area that contains, as a whole, the highest level of enzyme activity. TH inhibitors that have been well-characterized in mammals, such as 3-iodo-L-tyrosine and L-alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT) completely inhibited the enzyme activity at a 100 microM concentration. In mammals, the accumulation of catecholamines exerts a negative feedback control on TH activity. Similar controls were observed in the quail brain. Two inhibitors of the DOPA decarboxylase that should lead to accumulation of DOPA depressed TH activity by 60% or more, and the inhibitor of the dopamine beta-hydroxylase, fusaric acid that should cause an accumulation of dopamine, suppressed 90% of the TH activity. The addition of exogenous DOPA, dopamine, or norepinephrine to the brain homogenates also strongly inhibited TH activity, independently confirming the feedback effects of the enzyme products on the enzyme activity. These data demonstrate that TH activity in the quail brain is heterogeneously distributed and acutely regulated, as it is in mammals, by the accumulation of its products and of the derived catecholamines. [less ▲]

A regional flux-based risk assessment approach for multiple contaminated sites on groundwater bodies

in Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (2012), 127(1-4), 65-75

In the context of the Water Framework Directive (EP and CEU, 2000), management plans have to be set up to monitor and to maintain water quality in groundwater bodies in the EU. In heavily industrialized ... [more ▼]

In the context of the Water Framework Directive (EP and CEU, 2000), management plans have to be set up to monitor and to maintain water quality in groundwater bodies in the EU. In heavily industrialized and urbanized areas, the cumulative effect of multiple contaminant sources is likely and has to be evaluated. In order to propose adequate measures, the calculated risk should be based on criteria reflecting the risk of groundwater quality deterioration, in a cumulative manner and at the scale of the entire groundwater body. An integrated GIS- and flux-based risk assessment approach for groundwater bodies is described, with a regional scale indicator for evaluating the quality status of the groundwater body. It is based on the SEQ-ESO currently used in the Walloon Region of Belgium which defines, for different water uses and for a detailed list of groundwater contaminants, a set of threshold values reflecting the levels of water quality and degradation with respect to each contaminant. The methodology is illustrated with first results at a regional scale on a groundwater body-scale application to a contaminated alluvial aquifer which has been classified to be at risk of not reaching a good quality status by 2015. These first results show that contaminants resulting from old industrial activities in that area are likely to contribute significantly to the degradation of groundwater quality. However, further investigations are required on the evaluation of the actual polluting pressures before any definitive conclusion be established. [less ▲]

A regional flux-based risk assessment approach of contaminated sites on groundwater bodies

Poster (2010, April 22)

In the context of the water framework directive, management plans have to be set up about water quality in surface and groundwater bodies in the EU. One of the first steps is to evaluate the risk of ... [more ▼]

In the context of the water framework directive, management plans have to be set up about water quality in surface and groundwater bodies in the EU. One of the first steps is to evaluate the risk of contamination of these water resources, and particularly the risk posed by contaminated industrial sites. From the perspective of water resource management, each of these sites taken individually does not necessary constitute a major threat. However, in heavily industrialised and urbanised areas, the cumulative effect of multiple contaminant sources is likely to present a risk. In order to propose adequate but still economically reliable measures, the calculated risk should be based on a so-called megasite approaches using criteria reflecting the water quality deterioration, in a cumulative way, at the scale of the whole surface water or groundwater body. A GIS-based regional risk assessment approach is developed here for groundwater bodies using the SEQ-ESO currently used within the Walloon Region as indicator to reflect the quality status of the groundwater body. The approach is applied on the groundwater body RWM073 “Gravels and alluvial deposits of the Meuse river between Engis and Herstal”, identified at risk of not reaching a good quality status by 2015. The different steps of this methodology consist of an inventory of proved or potential contaminating industrial sites, a numerical modelling of pollutants behaviour at the scale of the groundwater body and the application of the SEQ-ESO that finally gives a global quality status of the whole groundwater body. This analysis also serves as basis for a socio-economic approach intending to provide indications on costs and benefits generated by total or partial remediation of the contaminated groundwater bodies according to the different management scenarios. [less ▲]

A Regional Inventory and Monitoring Setup to Evaluate Bark Peeling Damage by Red Deer (Cervus Elaphus) in Coniferous Plantations in Southern Belgium

in Environmental Monitoring & Assessment (2010)

Bark peeling by red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) has become a serious issue for productive forests in western Europe. The damage is particularly severe on species such as spruce, as these become vulnerable to ... [more ▼]

Bark peeling by red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) has become a serious issue for productive forests in western Europe. The damage is particularly severe on species such as spruce, as these become vulnerable to fungus attacks that result in considerably depreciated timber. This article presents a monitoring setup for recent bark peeling damage in spruce plantings in Wallonia (southern part of Belgium). This setup implies to collect data annually from a survey involving cluster sampling. It has been employed since 2004 in coniferous stands amounting to 165,000 ha of land, where Norway spruce is the predominant species. The study area was divided into blocks delineated along features preventing deer migrations. A set of indicators was computed either at the whole study area level or at block level. The resulting set of indicators enabled forest managers to follow up debarking intensity in productive forests. Additional analyses were carried out in order to assess the relationship between the social position of trees in the stand and the debarking probability on the one hand, and the relationship between the variation in damage magnitude and seasonality, namely summer versus winter, on the other hand. [less ▲]

Regional model of the Somes-Szamos aquifer (RO-HU)

in Hidrotehnica (2004), 49(9-10), 58-66

Regional organisation of brain activity during paradoxical sleep (PS)

in Archives Italiennes de Biologie (2004), 142(4), 413-419

Human brain function is regionally organised during paradoxical sleep (PS) in a very different way than during wakefulness or slow wave sleep. The important activity in the pons and in the limbic ... [more ▼]

Human brain function is regionally organised during paradoxical sleep (PS) in a very different way than during wakefulness or slow wave sleep. The important activity in the pons and in the limbic/paralimbic areas constitutes the key feature of the functional neuroanatomy of PS, together with a relative quiescence of prefrontal and parietal associative cortices. Two questions are still outstanding. What neurocognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms may explain this original organization of brain function during PS? How the pattern of regional brain function may relate to dream content? Although some clues are already available, the experimental answer to both questions is still pending. [less ▲]