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This paper investigates the role of flood risk experts in supporting homeowners to implement property‐level flood risk adaption (PLFRA). Homeowners can reduce their flood risks by implementing PLFRA. However, oftentimes they need advice on what sort of and how to implement PLFRA. This means that tailored experts advice is necessary to inform homeowners on such measures. But experience shows that mere information is often insufficient to motivate homeowners to realise measures. This contribution explores the reasons for the ineffectiveness of expert advice by investigating how expert advice responds to homeowners' rationalities. Based on a case study from Flanders, Belgium, this paper reveals how the relation between experts and homeowners differs related to different rationalities of homeowners. The paper uses Cultural Theory to discuss strategies on how experts, providing advice on property‐level risk adaption, could move beyond engineering skills by also using risk communication skills in order to involve homeowners in flood risk governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic relatedness figures heavily in contemporary ethical debates on egg freezing, although the arguments lack empirical‐based evidence. Rather than adding another theoretical view on the moral relevance of genetic connections, this paper instead proposes an empirically grounded perspective based on two independent qualitative interview‐based studies conducted in Belgium and France. Three themes emerge from our empirical data: (1) prioritizing family building; (2) centering the gestational experience of motherhood; and (3) identifying the complexities and limitations of adoption. These themes suggest that the relationship between egg freezing, genetics, biological motherhood, and adoption is highly complex and less straightforward than what is often assumed in the egg freezing debate. Our study provides more detailed insights into women's ambivalent experiences regarding those reproductive options. We discuss the ethical implications of our empirical findings and hold that pursuing genetic desire is not necessarily the main moral reason why women freeze their eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their geographical proximity, common history, and joint experience with social segmentation, there is a surprising dearth of studies systematically comparing consociationalism in Belgium and the Netherlands. This paper aims to help fill that lacuna by discussing the similarities and differences between the two countries in this respect. The similarities range from the time period of consociationalism, the original cleavage structure, to the existence of cross‐pressures at the organizational level. The most important difference is that geography always played a bigger role in Belgium. This was true even before the politicization of the language divide, but it also explains why Belgium entered a new phase of consociationalism after depillarization and the Netherlands did not. Both countries currently face challenges by anti‐establishment parties against the elite cartel, which raises questions whether this is not inherent to consociationalism once the original social segmentation has eroded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data and metadata products based on intensive terrestrial gravity measurements covering the Belgian territory have been established compliant to the new ISO19115‐1 profile for gravity‐related data. A short historical introduction on gravity measurements on the Belgian territory is presented, starting with the first gravity measurement in 1892. This paper focuses on gravity data acquired after 1971, which marks the adoption of IGSN71 as a reference for the world network by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). Next to a complete dataset containing all Belgian gravity data, the available gravity data were reduced to the corresponding measurement campaign, enabling determination of specific metadata (e.g. used gravimeter, tide system parameters, time of acquisition, etc.). New gravity and spirit levelling measurements were executed by the Royal Observatory Belgium and the National Geographic Institute (Federal Mapping Agency) to validate the g‐value at the historical reference base station 'Carte du Ciel' in Brussels. Taking into account the instrumental errors and the varying ground water content, the retrieved data are validated and approved for use in further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we address the revival of interest in recent years in the relevance of geographical research and highlight problems of politicization faced by researchers through cases of policy-oriented research in the UK and Belgium. We argue that geographers should be aware of the possibilities and constraints for critical engagement in the context of policy-oriented research. We identify at least two important opportunities for researchers to avoid clientelistic relationships with contractors and enhance their political relevance. First, researchers can stick to letter of the contract and maintain academic standards while at the same time interpreting their tasks according to their own ethical and political judgements. Second, relevance can be increased by forming alliances within and beyond the formal hierarchies of the state and the academy. The identification and utilization of these ‘spaces of relevance’ can be seen as the first step towards an approach that strategically seeks a balance between societal engagement on the one hand and contractual obligations, policy relevance and academic standards on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed production and seedling recruitment are thought to be of minor importance in determining population dynamics and long-term viability in long-lived perennial plants. Seed addition experiments, on the other hand, have amply shown that supplemental addition of seeds almost always, irrespective of longevity, results in increased seedling recruitment. Any change in the environment that affects fruit and seed production can thus be expected to affect seedling recruitment, but the extent to which increased fruit and seed production affect overall population dynamics remains relatively unknown. In this paper, we present demographic data of six populations of the long-lived woodland orchid Orchis purpurea that were monitored for seven consecutive years (2002-2008) occurring in two contrasting light environments. We use a nested life table response experiment (LTRE) at the vital rate level to disentangle the relative contributions of each of six annual transitions, six sites, and two light environments on the population dynamics of this species and to determine vital rate variations that contributed most to variation in population growth rate. Population growth rates (λ) were significantly higher in the light environment than in the shaded environment (average λ = 0.9930 and 1.0492 in the shaded and light environment, respectively). The LTRE analysis showed that variation in fecundity and, to a lesser extent, variation in growth made the largest total contributions to variation in λ, whereas the contributions of variation in survival were almost negligible. Fruit production was two times larger and the net reproductive rate (R0) was approximately six times higher in the light environment than in shaded areas, suggesting that variables related to reproduction are the key drivers of population dynamics of this long-lived orchid species in different light environments. Our results indicate that light is an important factor affecting population dynamics of Orchis purpurea and illustrate that, even in long-lived species, flower and seed production can have important effects on the population dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergic rhinitis (AR) affects 23–30% of the European population with equal prevalence reported in Belgium. Despite guidelines on the correct use of effective treatment, up to 40% of AR patients remain uncontrolled. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) has been shown to improve the level of control up to 84% of patients being controlled by AIT. Recently, new guidelines for AIT have been published, supporting the clinical evidence for effectiveness of various subcutaneous and sublingual products for AIT in patients who are allergic to airborne allergens. AIT in AR patients not only reduces nasal and/or ocular symptoms but also induces tolerance and has preventive potential. Adoption of AIT into daily clinical practice in Belgium and other European countries is hampered primarily by reimbursement issues of each of the single products but also by several patient‐ and physician‐related factors. Patients need to be better informed about the effectiveness of AIT and the different routes of administration of AIT. Physicians dealing with AR patients should inform patients on tolerance‐inducing effects of AIT and are in the need of a harmonized and practical guide that supports them in selecting eligible patients for AIT, in choosing evidence‐based AIT products and in following treatment protocols with proven efficacy. Therefore, a stepwise and holistic approach is needed for better adoption of AIT in the real‐life setting in Belgium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Firstly, to map out and compare all-cause and cause-specific mortality patterns by migrant background in Belgium; and secondly, to probe into explanations for the observed patterns, more specifically into the healthy-migrant, acculturation and the migration-as-rapid-health-transition theories.Methods: Data comprise individually linked Belgian census-mortality follow-up data for the period 2001-2011. All official inhabitants aged 25-54 at time of the census were included. To delve into the different explanations, differences in all-cause and chronic- and infectious-disease mortality were estimated using Poisson regression models, adjusted for age, socioeconomic position and urbanicity.Results: First-generation immigrants have lower all-cause and chronic-disease mortality than the host population. This mortality advantage wears off with length of stay and is more marked among non-Western than Western first-generation immigrants. For example, Western and non-Western male immigrants residing 10 years or more in Belgium have a mortality rate ratio for cardiovascular disease of 0.72 (95% CI 0.66-0.78) and 0.59 (95% CI 0.53-0.66), respectively (vs host population). The pattern of infectious-disease mortality in migrants is slightly different, with rather high mortality rates in first-generation sub-Saharan Africans and rather low rates in all other immigrant groups. As for second-generation immigrants, the picture is gloomier, with a mortality disadvantage that disappears after control for socioeconomic position.Conclusion: Findings are largely consistent with the healthy-migrant, acculturation and the migration-as-rapid-health-transition theories. The convergence of the mortality profile of second-generation immigrants towards that of the host population with similar socioeconomic position indicates the need for policies simultaneously addressing different areas of deprivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin and early diversification of decapod crustaceans and their expansion from marine to continental environments are key events in arthropod evolution. Rare fossil decapods are known from the Palaeozoic, and the earliest eumalacostracans with undoubted decapod affinities are the Late Devonian Palaeopalaemon and Aciculopoda, found in offshore marine deposits. Here, we describe a new species of the shrimp Tealliocaris found in floodplain and temporary pond deposits from the Famennian ( Late Devonian) of Belgium, together with a rare Palaeozoic assemblage of other crustaceans (conchostracans, notostracans and anostracans) and chelicerates (eurypterids). Tealliocaris walloniensis sp. nov. documents the earliest occurrence of continental decapod crustaceans and indicates that decapods have been part of continental ecosystems at least since the Late Devonian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because research on the publication practices of academic geographers has been limited to the quantification of journal articles cited in easily searchable databases such as Thomson Reuters' Web of Science or Elsevier's Scopus, the question remains whether journals that are not indexed by these databases flourish or perish under the increasing pressure to publish in outlets with the highest impact factors. To answer this question, we have compiled a database with the complete bibliographies of all Belgian professors that have been working in Belgium in the field of human geography over the last 40 years. Based on our quantitative analysis of 810 articles published in 304 different journals, we come to the conclusion that human geographers from the Dutch-speaking north of the country are currently publishing more in English-language journals and in journals indexed by the Web of Science than their colleagues in the seventies or the eighties, but less in the Dutch and the French languages and in Belgian geographical journals. In the French-speaking south of the country, this evolution is less pronounced, but still present. Even though we applaud the tendency to publish in English and in Web of Science journals because it increases the academic rigour of scholarly research, we are afraid that it hampers the role of academic geography in geography education and society as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The downstream hydrochoric spread of seeds of aquatic and riparian plant species, without upstream compensation, can be expected to result in downstream accumulation of population genetic diversity. This idea has been termed the ‘unidirectional dispersal hypothesis’ and is the genetic equivalent of the more generally known ‘drift paradox’. Our aim was to test this unidirectional diversity hypothesis, and to present a general synthesis of the patterns of population genetic variation across different riparian and aquatic plant species along rivers. Location The Meuse River (Belgium) and rivers world-wide. Methods First, we used amplified fragment length polymorphism markers to compare patterns of within- and between-population genetic diversity among three riparian plant species ( Sisymbrium austriacum, Erysimum cheiranthoides and Rorippa sylvestris), typically occurring in different habitats along a gradient perpendicular to the Meuse River. Second, we performed a meta-analysis on studies reporting on the population genetic structure of riparian and aquatic plant species along rivers. Results Along the Meuse River, we found significant genetic differentiation among populations of all three riparian species, and significant isolation by distance for one of them ( R. sylvestris). There was no clear association between the typical habitat of a species and its population genetic structure. None of the three species provided evidence for the unidirectional dispersal hypothesis. The meta-analysis, based on 21 data records, did not support the unidirectional dispersal hypothesis either. Average weighted population genetic differentiation across species was significant. Main conclusions Important mechanisms of upstream seed dispersal, probably through zoochory, together with higher seed recruitment opportunities in upstream habitats due to density dependence of recruitment, may explain the absence of downstream accumulation of genetic diversity. Also, it seems difficult to find consistent patterns in genetic variation in species from aquatic and riparian habitats. We argue that this is due to the recurrent extinctions and colonizations characteristic of these habitats, resulting in complex genetic patterns. Our results strongly support previous suggestions that stream ecology should consistently embrace metapopulation theory to be able to understand patterns of genetic diversity, as well as species diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this prospective study was to compare the number of CIN2+cases detected in negative cytology by different quality control (QC) methods. Full rescreening, high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV)-targeted reviewing and HR HPV detection were compared. Randomly selected negative cytology detected by BD FocalPoint™ (NFR), by guided screening of the prescreened which needed further review (GS) and by manual screening (MS) was used. A 3-year follow-up period was available. Full rescreening of cytology only detected 23.5% of CIN2+ cases, whereas the cytological rescreening of oncogenic positive slides (high-risk HPV-targeted reviewing) detected 7 of 17 CIN2+ cases (41.2%). Quantitative real-time PCR for 15 oncogenic HPV types detected all CIN2+ cases. Relative sensitivity to detect histological CIN2+ was 0.24 for full rescreening, 0.41 for HR-targeted reviewing and 1.00 for HR HPV detection. In more than half of the reviewed negative cytological preparations associated with histological CIN2+cases no morphologically abnormal cells were detected despite a positive HPV test. The visual cut-off for the detection of abnormal cytology was established at 6.5 HR HPV copies/cell. High-risk HPV detection has a higher yield for detection of CIN2+ cases as compared to manual screening followed by 5% full review, or compared to targeted reviewing of smears positive for oncogenic HPV types, and show diagnostic properties that support its use as a QC procedure in cytologic laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional material of a large specimen of tristichopterid fish from the Upper Famennian Evieux Formation of Belgium is described. This large fish was previously assigned to Tristichopteridae gen. et sp. indet. due to the lack of diagnostic anatomical data. New available material consists of the internal surface of the parietal shield, vomers and anterior part of the parasphenoid, subopercular and submandibulo-branchiostegal bones, and an internal view of the anterior part of the mandible. A possible autapomorphy of the new form from Belgium, Langlieria socqueti gen. nov. et sp. nov., is the absence of marginal teeth on the vomer except on its most lateral part. Apart from these features, it only differs from the genus Mandageria from Australia in the absence of marginal teeth between the dentary fang and the mandibular symphysis, in the presence of a raised marginal crest lateral to the anterior coronoid fang, and in the presence of numerous small marginal teeth on the premaxilla. It differs from the cosmopolitan genus Eusthenodon in a number of respects: the supratemporal, tabular, and postparietal bones are superficially fused, as are the intertemporal and parietal bones, the dermal ornament is proportionally very fine, and the denticulated field of the parasphenoid stands proud rather than being recessed into the body of the bone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question: How do nitrogen and phosphorus budgets and balances differ between eutrophic fens and floodplains in western Europe and fens and floodplains in Poland, where we expect less eutrophication to occur? Location: Wetlands along the rivers Dommel (The Netherlands), Zwarte Beek (Belgium) and Biebrza (NE Poland). Methods: Assessment of external input and output fluxes as well as net N-mineralization rates. Annual N-and P-balances were estimated by the sum of all external input and output fluxes: atmospheric deposition, input of dissolved matter by flooding, input of sediment by flooding, input by groundwater, output by leaching, output by hay-making and for N also input by N2-fixation. For N we also estimated net annual N-availability for plant growth, i.e. the N-budget, which includes net mineralization in soil. Results: The studied wetland sites had a negative balance, which means that nutrients are depleted but only if mown annually, except for the Dutch/Belgian fens which had an equilibrium N-balance and the Polish fen which had an equilibrium P-balance. For the N-budget it appeared that atmospheric deposition added significantly to the budget of Dutch/ Belgian fens and N-mineralization added significantly to fen and floodplain budgets, except for the Polish fens. Mineralization dominates the N-budget of the western European floodplains. Hay-making is the most important output pathway, particularly if practised annually. It seems to diminish Nenrichment in the Dutch fens and floodplains. Conclusions: We conclude that western European fens and floodplains as well as Polish floodplains have a significant positive N-budget indicating that there is a surplus of N for plant growth. In the Polish fens this is less due to low atmospheric deposition and lower N-mineralization rates. The latter is associated with less drying out of the studied Polish ecosystems in summer. Our approach, although an approximate quantification, is helpful for assessing priorities focused on nutrient management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim To test whether, in an urban area, small forest fragments are more important than large ones, the present study aimed at firstly exploring the relationship between plant functional groups or individual species and urban woodlot characteristics such as patch area and isolation, and secondly investigating whether equal-sized combinations of islands tend to differ in species richness. Location The city of Brussels. Methods We considered the relationship between size, species richness and plant functional groups among one very large (1666 ha) and 11 rather small (2–123 ha) woodlots. Results The largest woodlot harboured species missing in the smaller ones. The species-area relationship plotted for these wooded patches fitted the semilog model very well. Twenty-three species had a significantly higher frequency in the main forest. Only six species had a significantly higher frequency in smaller woodlots. The occurrence of species groups with high conservation value (e.g. ancient forest species, rare species) was higher in large patches. However, a SLOSS analysis showed that habitat subdivision appeared to be associated with increased species counts. A marginally nonsignificant effect of distance to the main forest became significant when matrix species were removed from the patch samples. Conclusions Although overall the data showed a higher conservation value for large woods, some plant functional groups (e.g. woodland species vs. ancient forest species) responded differently to fragmentation. This illustrates that, for conservation strategies, studies considering the biotic characteristics of remnants should focus on the species number of particular plant functional groups, especially those with high conservation value. Furthermore, matrix species should be removed from the analysis in order not to mask underlying patch size and distance effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergic rhinitis (AR) affects 23–30% of the European population with equal prevalence reported in Belgium. Despite guidelines on the correct use of effective treatment, up to 40% of AR patients remain uncontrolled. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) has been shown to improve the level of control up to 84% of patients being controlled by AIT. Recently, new guidelines for AIT have been published, supporting the clinical evidence for effectiveness of various subcutaneous and sublingual products for AIT in patients who are allergic to airborne allergens. AIT in AR patients not only reduces nasal and/or ocular symptoms but also induces tolerance and has preventive potential. Adoption of AIT into daily clinical practice in Belgium and other European countries is hampered primarily by reimbursement issues of each of the single products but also by several patient- and physician-related factors. Patients need to be better informed about the effectiveness of AIT and the different routes of administration of AIT. Physicians dealing with AR patients should inform patients on tolerance-inducing effects of AIT and are in the need of a harmonized and practical guide that supports them in selecting eligible patients for AIT, in choosing evidence-based AIT products and in following treatment protocols with proven efficacy. Therefore, a stepwise and holistic approach is needed for better adoption of AIT in the real-life setting in Belgium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomic revision of Isocetus depauwi Van Beneden, 1880 was carried out through the description of a number of specimens assigned to this species by Van Beneden and Abel in the last decades of the 19th and the early decades of the 20th centuries. After detailed comparisons with the published record of archaic mysticetes, the genus and species are considered valid despite the incompleteness and poor preservation of the material. Diagnostic features are found in the morphology of the mandibular condyle, the angular process of the dentary and the thoracic vertebrae. The new species Parietobalaena campiniana is established based on a partial skeleton, including most of the skull and ear bones, previously assigned to Isocetus depauwi by Abel. Parietobalaena campiniana is described and compared in detail, and its phylogenetic relationships are assessed by a new large-scale cladistic analysis of 246 morphological characters scored for 46 taxa. The results support a basal position of the genus Parietobalaena in the radiation of Miocene 'cetotheres', the monophyly of Balaenoidea (Neobalaenidae and Balaenidae), Balaenopteroidea (Eschrichtiidae and Balaenopteridae), and Cetotheriidae and the paraphyly of 'cetotheres' s.l. The new superfamily Thalassotherii is established based on high bootstrap support and a number of morphological characters; Thalassotherii includes Balaenopteridae, Eschrichtiidae, Cetotheriidae and the basal 'cetothere' mysticetes with the exclusion of Balaenoidea, Eomysticetoidea and toothed mysticetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were supplied to some Belgian fens of varying nutrient status and productivity. Plant growth in the lowest productive fen with a species-rich Caricion davallianae vegetation was strongly P-limited. N was ineffective when applied alone, but increased the effect of P-addition when applied together. Summer biomass and plant nutrient concentrations were monitored for four years, and showed partial recovery of nutrient limitation. In a more productive fen dominated by Carex lasiocarpa and in a fen meadow, nutrient limitation was less strong. N limited growth in the productive fen, and N and K were co-limiting in the fen meadow. The P-concentration in the productive fen vegetation showed a marked increase after P-fertilization, but it did not result in higher standing crop. The significance of P-limitation for the conservation of species rich low productive fens is discussed. P-limitation may be an essential feature in theconservation of low productive rich fens: because it is less mobile in the landscape than N and/or because it is an intrinsic property ofthis vegetation type. Plant nutrient concentrations and N:P-ratios may be used as an indication for the presence and type of nutrient limitation in the vegetation. We found N:P-ratios of 23 to 31 for a P-limited site and 8 to 15 in N-limited sites. This was in agreement withcritical values from the literature: N:P > ca. 20 for P-limitation and N:P < 14 for N-limitation. Thus, this technique appears valid in the vegetation types that were studied here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]