Sleep in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness

Book published by Lambert Academic Publishing (2013)

Sleep is a complex and essential activity for the preservation of the brain and for the general health of an individual. The nature of sleep is therefore of major importance for brain injured patients ... [more ▼]

Sleep is a complex and essential activity for the preservation of the brain and for the general health of an individual. The nature of sleep is therefore of major importance for brain injured patients with disorders of consciousness. However the standard definition of sleep is not relevant for this clinical population and it is thus necessary to adapt the standard method of sleep analysis. In this book we review the specialized literature and present our own original study of sleep in the unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and minimally conscious state. We describe the wide variety of sleep patterns possible in these patients who often no longer retain their sleep-wake cycle. In particular we shed light on the fact that standard sleep stages can differentiate the minimally conscious state from the unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and that they predict possible behavioral improvements within a period of 6 months. This new and promising field of research should be especially useful to neurologists and researchers who wish to improve the clinical evaluation and the care of their patients as well as improving the understanding of the neural correlations of vigilance and consciousness. [less ▲]

La politique étrangère d'Obama: changement dans la continuité

in Revue Nouvelle (2013), 12

Le présent article propose une réflexion autour de la politique étrangère menée par la première administration Obama. La question qui guide cette recherche est la suivante: la politique étrangère d'Obama ... [more ▼]

Le présent article propose une réflexion autour de la politique étrangère menée par la première administration Obama. La question qui guide cette recherche est la suivante: la politique étrangère d'Obama se distancie t-elle de celle menée sous l'administration Bush? L’hypothèse soutenue est que la politique étrangère d’Obama se distingue par le prolongement voire l’accentuation des politiques antérieures. Afin de vérifier cette hypothèse, l'article revient sur la doctrine Obama (smart power) et la confronte à la réalité en analysant la stratégie de lutte contre le terrorisme, la politique au Proche-Orient (dossier israélo-Palestinien), les rapports avec les puissances émergentes (Russie, Chine-Asie) ainsi qu'avec l'Europe, l'Amérique latine et l'Afrique. [less ▲]

Urban sprawl, commuting and travel energy consumption

in Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Energy (2013), 166

Commuting to and from dense urban centres is often believed to be more energy efficient than commuting from more suburban areas. However, quantitative evidence is lacking. In this context, this paper ... [more ▼]

Commuting to and from dense urban centres is often believed to be more energy efficient than commuting from more suburban areas. However, quantitative evidence is lacking. In this context, this paper investigates the interactions between the spatial structure of the territory and transport energy consumption for commuting. Based on empirical surveys carried out every 10 years in Belgium, a quantitative method was developed and applied to assess energy efficiency of home-to-work and home-to-school travels. Our main findings highlight that urban structure acts upon travel energy consumption for commuting and that major cities present low energy consumption. However, a local-scale approach is useful for refining these observations, and this approach highlights the existence of secondary suburban and rural cores that also are characterized by low transport energy consumption. In this respect, the distance from home to a destination is paramount, whereas the mode of transport used has a lower impact. The method is parameterised and reproducible in other territories. [less ▲]

Consumption of Immature Stages of Colorado Potato Beetle by Chrysoperla Carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) Larvae in the Laboratory

in American Journal of Potato Research (2013), 90(1), 51-57

The Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), has been an important defoliator of potatoes for 150 years. Although the use of insecticides allowed drastic reductions of CPB ... [more ▼]

The Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), has been an important defoliator of potatoes for 150 years. Although the use of insecticides allowed drastic reductions of CPB populations, resistance development against active substances has been observed. In this context, biological control using predatory larvae of the lacewing may represent a good alternative. CPB egg and larval consumption rates have been evaluated for all Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) instars for 24 h. While first and second C. carnea instars only consumed eggs (1.3 and 1.8), first (1.5 and 2.4) and second (0.6 and 0.8) CPB instars, third instar of lacewing consumed all CPB immature stages: 6.8 CPB eggs, 8.5 first, 4 s, 0.5 third and 0.1 fourth CPB instars. This third instar killed 4-fold more CPB larvae than other larval stages. Handling time for third instar lacewing has been evaluated at 52 min on first instar CPB, 102 min on second instar and 164 min on third instar. Our laboratory assays highlight a potential for lacewing larvae to control CPB immature stages with a greater efficiency on young CPB larval stages. Fields assays are however needed to confirm efficiency of this CPB natural enemy under field conditions. [less ▲]

Osteoporosis

Book published by Future Medicine Ltd (2013)

Pentecostalism and Politics in Congo (DRC): Pentecotization of the Political Field or Political Liturgies’ Legacy

Conference (2013, February)

Prevalentie van eenzaamheid bij 65-plussers in België

Poster (2013, February)

Méthodes Booléennes en recherche opérationnelle

Conference (2013, February)

Le titre de cette conférence est celui d'une monographie cosignée par Peter L. Hammer et Sergiu Rudeanu, et dont la publication en 1968 a inspiré un nombre important de travaux de recherche. Très ... [more ▼]

Le titre de cette conférence est celui d'une monographie cosignée par Peter L. Hammer et Sergiu Rudeanu, et dont la publication en 1968 a inspiré un nombre important de travaux de recherche. Très récemment, le regretté Peter Hammer et moi-même avons publié deux lointaines mises à jour de cet ouvrage classique: une monographie intitulée Boolean Functions: Theory, Algorithms, and Applications (700 pages, Cambridge University Press, 2011) et une collection de surveys sur le thème Boolean Models and Methods in Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering (780 pages, Cambridge University Press, 2010). La taille de ces deux volumes et de leurs sections bibliographiques sont les témoins de la vitalité de ce domaine de recherche et de son développement impressionnant. Les fonctions booléennes comptent en effet parmi les objets les plus fondamentaux étudiés en mathématiques. Elles interviennent dans de nombreux modèles utilisés en recherche opérationnelle, informatique, intelligence artificielle, économie, ingénierie, cryptographie, biologie et autres domaines d'application. Dans cet exposé, nous proposons un bref aperçu de quelques modèles booléens fondamentaux et de leurs applications. [less ▲]

Nouvelles perspectives pour l’alimentation des prématurés et leur croissance postnatale

in Revue Médicale de Liège (2013), 68(2), 79-85

Towards the end of the uniform - Comprehensive approach to basic officer training

in The European Security and Defence Union (2013), 15