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The Additives & Colors Europe Division (ACE) of the Society of Plastics Engineers Europe is organizing the 6th European Additives & Colors Conference and has issued a call for papers. The event will be held in Antwerp, Belgium, on 11–12 March 2009. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper argues how communicative planning approaches, as one of the most dominant conceptualisations of participatory planning, often ignore the embodied dimensions of participation as a socio-political learning processes. To do so, the paper theoretically traces why a Habermasian conceptualisation of political intersubjectivity fails to democratise planning processes and turns to an alternative Mouffean framework where coproductive methods are conceptualised as public pedagogic interventions, allowing for different meanings to be created and shared in a dialogical process. Based on an analysis of two experiments the authors have conducted, some lessons are drawn on how specific methods can be designed to stimulate more embodied forms of intersubjectivity between involved actors, while avoiding top-down consensus-making. In this way, the analysis demonstrates how such methods stimulate participants to share experiences, while orienting the discussion in a spatialised direction and creating a space where the ambivalence of place is effectively stimulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an introduction to a selection of papers on early contributions to quantitative business cycle theory. The papers, originally presented at a conference in Antwerp in September 2005, are written by Edmond Malinvaud, Olav Bjerkholt, Mauro Boianovsky and Hans-Michael Trautwein, Robert W. Dimand and William Veloce, and Guido Erreygers and Albert Jolink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study of care trajectories of psychiatric patients across hospitals was previously not possible in Belgium as each hospital stores its data autonomously, and government-related registrations do not contain a unique identifier or are incomplete. A new longitudinal database called iPSYcare (Improved Psychiatric Care and Research) was therefore constructed in 2021, and links the electronic medical records of patients in psychiatric units of eight hospitals in the Antwerp Province, Belgium. The database provides a wide range of information on patients, care trajectories and delivered care in the region. In a first phase, the database will only contain information about adult patients who were admitted to a hospital or treated by an outreach team and who gave explicit consent. In the future, the database may be expanded to other regions and additional data on outpatient care may be added. Results: IPSYcare is a close collaboration between the University of Antwerp and hospitals in the province of Antwerp. This paper describes the development of the database, how privacy and ethical issues will be handled, and how the governance of the database will be organized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science projects are increasingly recognised as catalyst for triggering behaviour change and building social capital around environmental issues. However, overview studies observe recurrent challenges in many citizen science projects in terms of combining high levels of data quality with deep citizen engagement and policy influence. This paper reports on the findings of the CurieuzeNeuzen project (), a large-scale citizen science project on air quality in Antwerp, delivering results in the three areas described above. Through CurieuzeNeuzen, 2,000 citizens studied the air quality levels in and around Antwerp in 2016 and were intensively deliberating on possible causes and solutions. Surveys were conducted at the start and towards the end of the project, with participants stating that their participation resulted in changed views and behaviour towards air pollution, mobility solutions, and city planning. The findings were picked-up academically and contributed to policy debates on air quality at city and regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the educational project of Belgium’s acclaimed socialist and modernist architect Renaat Braem (1910–2001). While Braem is foremost remembered as a militant opinion maker, his work as an educator and an artist has received little scrutiny. When Braem was appointed interim director at the Antwerp National Higher Institute for Architecture and Urban Planning (NHIBS) in 1962, his first action point was not to change the curriculum. He instead reconstructed the physical configuration of the school. With an eye-catching staircase painting, he accentuated an important passage in the school building: the one from the administrative offices and library to the architectural studios. Claiming a central position in the institute, the staircase functioned as a stage and an auditorium on which an ideological and educational programme was enacted in an implicit, yet very physical manner. This article not only looks atwhatthe painting represents, but also athowit represents by applying Randolph Starn’s three categories of seeing: the glance, the measured view, and the scan. This threefold reading of the painting enables us to unpack (a) Braem’s educational project based on a socialist ideology and (b) the institutional climate of the 1960s. In the institutional debates, hovering between tradition and the rationalisation of education, Braem’s staircase painting proposed a third way. It revised the existing doctrines by reconciling the rational approach with a stronger focus on the human in the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Acta Psychiatrica Belgica is the property of Acta Psychiatrica Belgica SRMMB and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper is to establish a relation between a few measurable quantities (the so-called ζ potential, organic matter content, and shear rate) and the flocculation behavior of mud. The results obtained with small-scale flocculation experiments (mixing jar) are compared to results of large-scale experiments (settling column). The mud used for all experiments has been collected in October 2007 in the lower Western Schelde, near Antwerp, Belgium. From this study, it was found that the mean floc size and the Kolmogorov microscale vary in a similar way with the shear rate for suspensions with different pH and salt concentrations. The size of flocs at a given shear rate depends on the properties of the suspension, which affect the electrokinetic properties of the sediment; these can be described by means of the ζ potential. The main findings of this paper are: (1) In saline suspensions at pH = 8, the mean floc size increases when the salt concentration and the ζ potential increase. (2) For a given ζ potential, the mean floc size at low pH is larger than observed at pH = 8 for any added salt. (3) The mean floc size increases with increasing organic matter content. (4) Mud with no organic matter at pH = 8 and no added salt flocculates very little. The response of mud suspensions to variations in salinity and pH is similar to that of kaolinite. This suggests that a general trend can be established for different and complex types of clays and mud. This systematic study can therefore be used for further development of flocculation models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of item nonresponse, i.e. missing data, in surveys is well known among methodologists. Item nonresponse is a problem when it is biased to the dependent variables in aetiological research. The occurrence of item nonresponse in self-reported delinquency studies has been associated with the threatening nature of questions about previous delinquent behaviour, but item nonresponse also occurs in scales measuring aetiological variables (theoretical concepts) in aetiological research, and in sociology has also been associated with negative attitudes towards the survey, although evidence from self-reported delinquency studies in support of this concern has not yet been given. The aim of this study is to evaluate the seriousness of the problem of item nonresponse in two independently drawn self-reported delinquency data sets of two classroom delinquency studies conducted among adolescents in Antwerp (Belgium) and Halmstad (Sweden) using paper and pencil interviews (PAPI). We do this by evaluating the non-random character of item nonresponse in scales of delinquency and aetiological variables, by looking at the correlates of item nonresponse and by evaluating the effects of assigning values on the missing data with regard to reliability and correlational validity. The results are rather optimistic about the hypothesized negative effects of item nonresponse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and estimates destination choice models based on a large sample of intra-urban trips. Particular attention is paid to incorporating the effects of the spatial dimension. The data used relate to non-work trips in the agglomeration of Antwerp (Belgium). A geographical analysis is performed in order to represent the city and its suburbs by a limited set of zones of destinations and to characterize these zones in terms of land use. Different types of discrete choice model are compared in terms of utility function, global formulation and performance. The mixed nested logit formulation with random coefficients appears to be the most attractive. The results confirm the difficulty of grasping spatial realities by simple quantitative measurements but also illustrate the importance of 'space' when choosing a destination. The empirical results also show that land use and urban development policies clearly have their effect on urban mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muslim women's participation in Western society is hampered by specific restrictions. This paper, based on qualitative interviews in an ethnic neighbourhood in Antwerp, Belgium, focuses on Moroccan women's participation in leisure activities and their noncommittal use of public space. The paper demonstrates that the difficulties Moroccan women experience in undertaking activities out of the house result from the territorial behaviour of dominant groups wishing to maintain existing power relations. Collins’ matrix of domination is used, into which is integrated Islam, to conceptualise the dominance relations involved. Spatial strategies in the neighbourhood are analysed by means of Sack's human territoriality theory. The author concludes that Sack's theory is well suited to the analysis of territoriality at a neighbourhood level, if his centralised power concept is replaced by a more fragmented one, accounting for both dominance and resistance. In this development of resistance, borders and geographical scale, both neglected by Sack, play a crucial role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 impacts the daily lives of millions of people. This radical change in our daily activities affected many aspects of life, but acted as well as a natural experiment for research into the spatial distribution of 911 calls. We analyse the impact of the COVID-19 measures on the spatial pattern of police interventions. Crime is not uniformly distributed across street segments, but how does COVID-19 affect these spatial patterns? To this end, Gini coefficients are calculated and a proportion differences spatial point pattern test is applied to compare the similarity of the patterns of incidents before, during, and after the first lockdown in Antwerp, Belgium. With only essential mobility being allowed, the emergency call pattern has not significantly changed before, during or after this lockdown, however, a qualitative shift in police officer's daily work may have had an effect on the daily operation of the Antwerp police force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses multivariate time series models to specify the maritime steel traffic flow in the port of Antwerp. The lime series considered are thetotal outgoing and total incoming maritime steel traffic and the total steel production in the EEC. The obtained time series models provide useful insight into the general behaviour of the maritime steel traffic (low during the period 1971-82. In particular, they provide a quantitative interpretation of important changes which took place in the European steel industry during that period. The multivariate time series models produce forecasts which are a substantial improvement over those obtained by univariate time series models. This is especially the case for the series of total incoming maritime steel traffic in the port of Antwerp, when differencing and transformation of the original data are applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines nineteenth-century urban space from a political perspective. Local governments, institutions, and organisations used and produced (im)material urban spaces to express, legitimate, and expand their ideologies and power. In the nineteenth century new trends in urban planning enabled municipal authorities to claim the urbanlandscape in an even more visible and penetrating way. Although this urban space was the result of negotiations between multiple political actors, historical research usually interprets nineteenth-century urbanism in the light of a liberal idea of progress and romantic nationalistic sentiments. By focusing on the development of a specific neighbourhood through streets, street names, and statues, this research scrutinizes how liberal as well as Catholic municipalities and interest groups contributed to the symbolic, aesthetic, and practical politicisation of the material landscape and how differently or similarly subsequent city councils integrated this space in their policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Belgian History / Revue Belge d'Histoire Contemporaine is the property of Cegesoma and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper discusses three uses of modal split indicators, and illustrates how it evolved from a technical, intermediate step in transport analysis, over a measure of transport system efficiency to a symbolic urban sustainable mobility indicator. A framework which includes 11 factors is presented and applied to the different uses of the modal split indicator. Besides the comparison of the three main uses of modal split in research and practice, this contribution focuses on a citizen science project (Straatvinken) in the region of Flanders, Belgium. In this project thousands of citizens carry out traffic counts. While the project was initially set up to monitor modal split targets in the urban area of Antwerp, the emphasis shifted towards street liveability. This is visible in the fact that the citizen science project added a narrative-based liveability survey to capture experiences with and evaluations of the liveability at street level. The case illustrates that citizen science is, besides a tool to address data gaps, also an approach to increase the validity of indicators. The reason is that citizen science, which seems to be underexplored in transport studies, differs in what gets measured, how it is measured and why. This approach has proven to provide a fine-grained, integrated assessment of street-level changes in the composition and intensity of the traffic and their effects on the perceived liveability. We argue that it strengthens and complements traditional modal split measurements at the regional or urban level, which typically rely on the modelling of individual mobility behaviour based on household travel surveys. Traditional approaches allow observing broad trends in mobility choices at the regional level, but they do not provide insights in how those individual choices translate into effects at street level. Although often initiated out of certain sustainability concerns, existing modal split models do not reveal how an observed modal shift at the regional level affects the perceived liveability or sustainability at street level. • A framework is presented to compare different uses of modal split indicators. • Modal split is regularly used as an urban sustainability indicator. • Citizen science deserves more attention in transport research and policy. • The validity of modal split indicators is not clear. • The concept of liveable streets corresponds well with citizen concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the critical steps in the design process of a shield-driven tunnel is the correct identification of the loads acting on the precast concrete elements of the segmental lining. However, in tunnelling, determination of the loads during ring erection, advance of the tunnel boring machine, building-up of earth pressure and bedding of the articulated ring is difficult and very few monitoring results of actual tunnel behaviour at an early stage are available. Strain gauge measurements can constitute an important contribution in acquiring a better understanding of the real-time behaviour of the tunnel lining under numerous loading conditions, especially during construction. To achieve this, every aspect of the strain gauge installation process should be handled with the utmost care in order to cope with the rough site conditions and deliver accurate measurement results. This paper reports on the monitoring programme pursued in the Liefkenshoek rail tunnel, located in the Port of Antwerp. It details the practical implementation of the strain gauges and corresponding wireless data acquisitioning system, as well as the ovalisation measurement set-up using laser scanning. The collected measurement results serve as a perfect illustration of the achieved reliability and precision of the combined monitoring programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research on nineteenth-century cycling focuses more on its role in shaping modern tourism than on its urban origins. In this paper, in contrast, we analyse the emergence of cycling in four of Belgium's leading industrial and commercial cities: Brussels, Antwerp, Liège and Ghent. From the 1860s onwards, a ‘golden age’ of urban planning created new sites of bourgeois power and display in these urban centres. Simultaneously, the new, adventurous sport of cycling was picked up by the younger members of this bourgeoisie. Their increasing presence in the newly constructed urban streets and parks, however, was fraught with conflict. Dealing with a negative public image, problematic interactions with other road users and limiting traffic regulations, cyclists constantly had to legitimise their urban presence. Especially in the 1890s, cycling clubs and umbrella associations attempted to discipline cyclists and to foster the image of urban cycling as an orderly, socially respectable form of leisure. This, together with cycling's growing popularity and increasing leverage with city councils over questions of road maintenance and traffic regulation, resulted in cyclists becoming more influential in (re)shaping urban space. Starting in 1895, however, the automobile started taking the bicycle's place as a new, dominant form of urban mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper the design of the service network in intermodal barge transport is studied. The network of inland barge terminals is modelled to demonstrate potential cooperations in a corridor network. Cooperation between inland terminals leads to bundling of freight flows in the hinterland of major ports. A service network design model for intermodal barge transport is developed and applied to the hinterland network of the port of Antwerp in Belgium. Selected cooperation schemes are simulated by means of a discrete event simulation model for intermodal barge transport and compared with simulation results of bundling in the port area. Cooperation between inland terminals offers an opportunity to attain economies of scale, but may not be perceived as a sole solution for reducing waiting times of inland barges at sea terminals. A combination of bundling measures in the port area and in the hinterland may be necessary to improve the intermodal transport chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a terminal operator who provides container handling services at multiple terminals within the same port. In this setting, the well-known berth allocation problem can no longer be considered for each terminal in isolation since vessel calls should be spread over the various terminals to avoid peaks and troughs in quay crane utilization, and an allocation of two connecting vessels to different terminals will generate inter-terminal container transport. In this paper, we address the problem of spreading a set of cyclically calling vessels over the various terminals and allocating a berthing and departure time to each of them. The objectives are (1) to balance the quay crane workload over the terminals and over time and (2) to minimize the amount of inter-terminal container transport. We develop a solution approach based on mixed-integer programming that allows to solve real-life instances of the problem within satisfactory time. Additionally, a practical case study is presented based on data from the terminal operator PSA Antwerp who operates multiple terminals in the port of Antwerp, Belgium. The computational results show the cost of the currently agreed schedules, and that relatively small modifications can significantly reduce the required crane capacities and inter-terminal transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the globalization trends affecting Antwerp as a port city. Mainly, we analyse the public policies implemented at different levels of governance in the new context of globalization (from EU to local level). However, in contrast to other authors, we argue that globalization is both shaped by political decisions and in return imposes new constraints to public policies, notably at the local level. Using the Antwerp case, we show first how EU and regional policies have supported globalization trends by favouring liberalization policies in port matters or by reinforcing local autonomies in urban matters. Second, we show in return how local authorities with growing competences have, in a more competitive and global context, been constrained to answer to this new environment by shifting toward entrepreneurial policies. By reshaping their image or opening the port to investors, the attraction of new investors has been a major objective of urban or port policies in the city of Antwerp. Resumen. Este artículo analiza las tendencias de globalización que afectan Amberes como ciudad portuaria. Principalmente, analizamos las políticas públicas implementadas a diferentes niveles de gobernanza dentro del nuevo contexto de globalización (desde la escala de la UE a la local). Sin embargo, en contraste con otros autores, argumentamos que la globalización viene moldeada por decisiones políticas y que a cambio impone nuevas restricciones en cuanto a políticas públicas, especialmente a escala local. Utilizando el caso de Amberes, primero mostramos como las políticas de la UE y las regionales han apoyado tendencias de globalización, al favorecer políticas de liberalización en materia portuaria, o reforzando autonomías locales en temas urbanos. Segundo, mostramos en cambio como las autoridades locales, al ver aumentadas sus competencias en un contexto más competitivo y global, se han visto obligadas a responder a este nuevo ambiente con un cambio hacia políticas con espíritu emprendedor. Por medio de la reforma de su imagen o la apertura del puerto a inversores, la atracción de nueva inversión por parte de las políticas urbanas o portuarias ha sido un objetivo principal en la ciudad de Amberes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the changes in the Antwerp Schipperskwartier, one of the oldest and largest red light districts on the European continent. While the geography of sex work has received considerable scholarly attention since the 1970s, such analyses have focused upon the interplay between market pressures and sexual values in the production of sexual spaces. This paper takes a different stance, as it analyses the Schipperskwartier's restructuring in the light of the globalisation of the sex industry. This analysis reveals how more attention should be paid to globalisation's local mediation (glocalisation) in the analysis of the changing urban geographies of sex work. Such an approach not only supports the interpretation of local diversity in the urban geographies of sex work. It also conveys a more politicised understanding as it zooms in on the political struggles in which new urban geographies of sex work unfold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Increasing mobility demands and growing industrial tissue come with a burden for the environment. Inventive solutions are necessary to address this challenge. This paper compares the environmental impact of two alternative container transportation methods over a 25-year time period for a specific trajectory and transport volume in the Antwerp harbor. One is a pipeline concept; the other a road concept to link the Deurganck dock with the right bank in order to transport 2 million containers per year. Materials and methods: With a detailed bill of material and the use of the Ecolizer method, a Monte Carlo simulation was performed to calculate the environmental impact in terms of ECOPOINTS on a life cycle perspective. Results and discussion: The results remark that in 94% of the cases the pipeline concept has less than half of the environmental impact of the road concept. Furthermore, in both concepts the operational phase is the largest contributor to the total environmental impact. Conclusions: The pipeline concept results suggest a much lower total environmental impact over a road concept if a large enough volume of containers can effectively be transported. Some considerations have to be given to the used electricity mix, the applied impact assessment method and the case specificities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teenagers often appropriate dialect features they find attractive. This paper argues that unattractive dialect features can also become a target for teenage constructions of linguistic style. Based on an ethnographic case study at a multi-ethnic school in Antwerp, Belgium, it is shown that Antwerp dialect for non-white students conjured up angry white and/or racist voices, and that it was frequently stylised as a way of speaking associated with others. At the same time, however, these students produced stylisations that were in synchrony with their own voice and self-presentation when they recruited Antwerp dialect features to underline assertiveness and to distance themselves from recent, linguistically incompetent, arrivals. It is argued that Antwerp dialect's tainted connotations were outweighed by its value as a tool for shaping a working-class, non-immigrant identity. Tieners eigenen zich vaak dialectkenmerken toe die ze aantrekkelijk vinden. Dit artikel toont aan hoe ook onaantrekkelijke dialectkenmerken het doelwit kunnen vormen voor tieners wanneer ze hun talige stijl construeren. Gebaseerd op etnografisch veldwerk op een multi-etnische secundaire school in Antwerpen, België, zal aangetoond worden dat voor niet-blanke studenten het Antwerps dialect de stem opriep van boze blanken en/of racisten, en dat het regelmatig gestileerd werd als een manier van spreken die met anderen werd geassocieerd. Tegelijkertijd produceerden deze studenten echter stileringen die veeleer in harmonie waren met hun eigen stem en zelfpresentatie wanneer ze Antwerpse dialectkenmerken rekruteerden om assertiviteit te onderstrepen en zich te distantiëren van talig incompetente nieuwkomers. Er zal worden betoogd dat de gekleurde connotaties van het Antwerps dialect werden tenietgedaan vanwege z'n grote bruikbaarheid in de constructie van een uit Antwerpen afkomstige arbeidersidentiteit. [Dutch] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Aims. Qualitative data on local drug scenes in Belgium are scarce. As information on them remains limited to the official registration systems, the needs of a number of drug users are not taken into account. From a social scientific and policy point of view, there is a need for information on the experiences and the patterns of drug use. In this study, we have developed and tested a drugs and alcohol monitor for the city of Antwerp. Design and Methods. The Antwerp Drugs and Alcohol Monitor (ADAM) combines three qualitative methods: (i) in-depth interviews with 39 key informants; (ii) ethnographic fieldwork by four community fieldworkers; and (iii) ethnographic fieldwork by the researcher. This methodology is based on an analysis of national and international literature on drug-monitoring systems. Results. This paper presents an overview of the results of a pilot study in the city of Antwerp. The ADAM produces a detailed picture of the local drug issues (nature and extent of use, drug markets, quality of life, etc.) and thus offers the understanding that is required for a well-founded local drug policy. Discussion and Conclusions. Provided that repeated measurements are made, a local drug monitor can inform policymakers, treatment experts, etc. on developments and phenomena concerning drug use. However, the ADAM is a qualitative drug-monitoring system, and it must be emphasised that a combined monitor is more efficient. Indeed, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods enhances the reliability of the results.[Tieberghien J, Decorte T. Antwerp Drugs and Alcohol Monitor: A Belgian local drug scene in the picture. Drug Alcohol Rev 2009] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The indoor air quality of 27 primary schools located in the city centre and suburbs of Antwerp, Belgium, was assessed. The primary aim was to obtain correlations between the various pollutant levels. Indoor:outdoor ratios and the building and classroom characteristics of each school were investigated. This paper presents results on indoor and local outdoor PM2.5 mass concentrations, its elemental composition in terms of K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Pb, Al, Si, S, and Cl, and its black smoke content. In addition, indoor and local outdoor levels of the gases NO2, SO2, O3, and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene isomers) were determined. Black smoke, NO2, SO2 and O3, occurred at indoor:outdoor ratios below unity, indicating their significant outdoor sources. No linear correlation was established between indoor and outdoor levels for PM2.5 mass concentrations and BTEX; their indoor:outdoor ratios exceeded unity except for benzene. Classroom PM2.5 occurred with a different elemental composition than local outdoor PM2.5. The re-suspension of dust because of room occupation is probably the main contributor for the I/O ratios higher than 1 reported for elements typically constituting dust particles. Finally, increased benzene concentrations were reported for classrooms located at the lower levels. Practical Implications The elevated indoor PM2.5, and BTEX concentrations in primary school classrooms, exceeding the ambient concentrations, raise concerns about possible adverse health effects on susceptible children. This is aggravated by the presence of carpets and in the case of classrooms at lower levels. Analysis of PM2.5′s elemental composition indicated a considerable contribution of soil dust to indoor PM2.5 mass. In order to set adequate threshold values and guidelines, detailed information on the health impact of specific PM2.5 composites is needed. The results suggest that local outdoor air concentrations measurements do not provide an accurate estimation of children’s personal exposures to the identified air pollutants inside classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the effect of climate change, a rise in sea level has become unavoidable. Only 2 solutions are left: either to return large parts of the land to the sea, or to build obstacles and dikes to prevent the flooding. The latter is the most obvious. In Belgium, the 65 km long coastline, including the ports of Ostend, Zeebruges and Blankenberge, as well as the port and the City of Antwerp are risk areas for flooding. That is why an extensive plan of low walls has been drawn up, which will be built in the high‐risk areas. Evidently, openings are needed in these walls, so that emergency vehicles, or other necessary objects, can be brought to the beach. Movable sliding gates have been provided for this, which can be permanently closed in the event of spring tides or later on for more permanent situations. The most difficult point appears to be the load due to the seawater that must be assumed. However, it seems the load due to debris can be more detrimental than the wave action itself. Since one becomes fairly certain of future floods, these loads should no longer be regarded as accidental, but should be assigned a higher partial safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medication reviews are a structured critical evaluation of a patient's pharmacotherapy, carried out by a healthcare professional, but are not yet a routine pharmaceutical service in Belgium. A pilot project to initiate an advanced medication review (= type 3 medication review) in community pharmacies was set up by the Royal Pharmacists' Association of Antwerp. Aim: To investigate the experiences and opinions of patients who participated in this pilot project. Method: Qualitative study through semi-structured interviews with participating patients. Results: Seventeen patients from six different pharmacies were interviewed. The medication review process with the pharmacist was perceived as positive and instructive by fifteen interviewees. The extra attention that the patient received was highly appreciated. However, the interviews revealed that patients did not fully understand the purpose and structure of this new service or were aware of the subsequent contact and feedback with the general practitioner. Medication reviews in the home setting put patients more at ease, were highly appreciated, and enabled also to address practical problems such as drug dosing or storage requirements. Conclusion: This qualitative study analysed patients' experiences during a pilot project on the implementation of type 3 medication review. Although most patients were enthusiastic about this new service, a lack of patients' understanding of the whole process was also observed. Therefore, better communication to patients by pharmacists and general practitioners about the goals and components of this type of medication review is needed, with the added benefit of increased efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To fully understand and exploit the contents of stock exchange official price lists, an in-depth knowledge of local stock exchange regulations and practices is required. This article offers a comparative perspective on price discovery and quotation on the two most important Belgian stock exchanges, Brussels and Antwerp, from their establishment in 1801 up to the reform of 1935. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the Jacob Obrecht (1457/58-1505): The Quincentenary Conference which was held on August 8-26, 2005 in Antwerp, Belgium. It includes information on keynote speakers, issues addressed during the conference including the life and works of Jacob Obrecht, remarks, and final discussion as well as hotel and restaurant accommodations.

This paper presents a technique and experimental validation for anonymous outdoor location tracking of all users residing on a mobile cellular network. The proposed technique does not require any intervention or cooperation on the mobile side but runs completely on the network side, which is useful to automatically monitor traffic, estimate population movements, or detect criminal activity. The proposed technique exploits the topology of a mobile cellular network, enriched open map data, mode of transportation, and advanced route filtering. Current tracking algorithms for cellular networks are validated in optimal or controlled environments on a small dataset or are merely validated by simulations. In this work, validation data consisting of millions of parallel location estimations from over a million users are collected and processed in real time, in cooperation with a major network operator in Belgium. Experiments are conducted in urban and rural environments near Ghent and Antwerp, with trajectories on foot, by bike, and by car, in the months May and September 2017. It is shown that the mode of transportation, smartphone usage, and environment impact the accuracy and that the proposed AMT location tracking algorithm is more robust and outperforms existing techniques with relative improvements up to 88%. Best performances were obtained in urban environments with median accuracies up to 112 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing police demand is important to optimally allocate scarce police resources in space and time. To contribute to the existing knowledge on the optimization of policing and crime prevention strategies worldwide, we examine the spatiotemporal pattern of calls for service (CFS), with a focus on the urgency of the calls (as measured by the police priority codes), in Antwerp (2017–2020), Belgium. To disentangle the space-time pattern of the priority codes, we apply the average nearest neighbour statistic, global and local Moran's I, Getis-Ord Gi*, and emerging hot spot analysis. Our results demonstrate that the spatial, temporal, and space-time patterns of the priority codes differ and that more urgent CFS are more demanding in terms of allocated police vehicles than less urgent CFS. Based on the findings of this paper, we recommend to include priority codes in future police patrol routing solutions to make patrol strategies more realistic. An important aspect will be to increase/decrease the number of available units depending on the spatiotemporal pattern of the CFS per priority code. Instead of only working with fixed shifts, there is a need to deploy peak shifts during times of peak demand. • The most urgent calls for police service are spatially the least clustered. • Urgent calls for service cluster on Friday and Saturday evening/night. • Critical calls are incidentally more demanding but take up structurally less resources. • The implementation of urgency will lead to more realistic police patrol strategies. • Deploy peak shifts during times of peak demand to prevent system overload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Antwerp COR*-database is a longitudinal micro-level database, which covers all entries from individuals whose last names started with the letters COR (and individuals who shared at some moment in time a household with a COR*-person) from the population registers and the vital registration of births, marriages and deaths for the 19th- and early-20th-century Antwerp district in Flanders, the northern Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. As such the database allows the reconstruction of historical life courses and families, and the analysis of key demographic characteristics and developments regarding marriage, fertility, migration, social mobility, health, mortality and longevity, as well as their interplay within and across households, families and generations. After a short description of the source material and the construction of the database, a review of the literature based on the database is presented in order to provide the reader with an encompassing overview of the research that has been carried out with this database and the knowledge and insights it has generated since its first release in 2010. The article ends with a discussion of potential pathways for future research, including new topics, and future extension of the database through citizen science projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During a storm in October 2002, wind induced ovalling vibrations were observed on several empty silos of a closely spaced group of eight by five thin-walled silos in the port of Antwerp (Belgium). To determine realistic dynamic wind loads and hence clarify the cause of the wind induced ovalling vibrations in the silo group, 2D URANS simulations are performed for seven angles of incidence between 0° and 90°. The emphasis in this paper is on the extensive verification and validation of the simulations to ascertain the accuracy of the numerical results. Subsequent analysis of the fluctuating wind pressures on the silo surfaces shows that ovalling oscillations of the eigenmodes with three and four circumferential wavelengths will be induced at the lee side of the silo group, corresponding to the lowest structural eigenfrequencies of the silos and the pattern of the visually detected vibrations during the 2002 storm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper we explore further the use of fractal dimensions by comparing values for built-up spaces and values for road networks, both being estimated by the same method. This is done in an attempt to explain the differences theoretically and empirically, and to show how far both indices are complementary and useful in urban planning. Empirical analyses are performed at the scale of the townships within the urban region of Antwerp (Belgium). Fractal dimensions, curves of scaling behavior, and concordance analyses are computed and their usefulness explained. We conclude that both dimensions translate subtly different realities and that they should be used with caution in morphological analyses: the fractal dimension for built-up spaces indicates how uniformly buildings fill space when zooming to ever finer scales, while the fractal dimension for networks indicates the extent to which street segments are distributed more or less uniformly in the study area. The two are not the same, as roads can serve spaces that are not built up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present paper argues that the effective implementation of new, large-scale seaport infrastructure projects provides a stimulus to policy makers to engage on a path of continuous reflection on who and what matters in decision-making: the continuous updating of one’s understanding of spatial differentiation of stakeholder views is critical in this respect, and involves the real inclusion of spatially proximate and spatially distant stakeholders. We analyze the role of path dependency in the socio-political process of long-term strategic port planning and the related requisite governance changes needed for effective implementation of large scale port projects. We mainly base ourselves on the most recent insights from stakeholder theory and the strategic planning literature, applied to the transport sector. Further, we take as a starting point one of the criticisms on path dependence that its proper application warrants more attention to temporal dynamics. We attempt to define these temporal dynamics and argue that (1) these are best identified by means of stakeholder-based analysis, and (2) long-term, strategic port planning based on real stakeholder inclusion can act as a driver for governance change in the broader port region or port system. We use a case-based, action-research type methodological approach, analyzing the strategic port planning process of the port of Antwerp to support our argument. We combine diachronic analysis of stakeholder inclusion in port planning, with an analysis of the general economic and infrastructural evolution of the port area and its impacts on stakeholders since 1960, and pay special attention to port governance changes during the period 1960–2010. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of two traffic management measures, speed limit reduction and coordinated traffic lights, in an area of Antwerp, Belgium. An integrated model is deployed that combines the microscopic traffic simulation model Paramics with the CO2 and NO X emission model VERSIT+. On the one hand, reductions in CO2 and NO X emissions of about 25% were found if speed limits are lowered from 50 to 30km/h in the residential part of the case study area. On the other hand, reductions in the order of 10% can be expected from the implementation of a green wave signal coordination scheme along an urban arterial road. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Teenagers often appropriate dialect features they find attractive. This paper argues that unattractive dialect features can also become a target for teenage constructions of linguistic style. Based on an ethnographic case study at a multi-ethnic school in Antwerp, Belgium, it is shown that Antwerp dialect for non-white students conjured up angry white and/or racist voices, and that it was frequently stylised as a way of speaking associated with others. At the same time, however, these students produced stylisations that were in synchrony with their own voice and self-presentation when they recruited Antwerp dialect features to underline assertiveness and to distance themselves from recent, linguistically incompetent, arrivals. It is argued that Antwerp dialect's tainted connotations were outweighed by its value as a tool for shaping a working-class, non-immigrant identity. Tieners eigenen zich vaak dialectkenmerken toe die ze aantrekkelijk vinden. Dit artikel toont aan hoe ook onaantrekkelijke dialectkenmerken het doelwit kunnen vormen voor tieners wanneer ze hun talige stijl construeren. Gebaseerd op etnografisch veldwerk op een multi-etnische secundaire school in Antwerpen, België, zal aangetoond worden dat voor niet-blanke studenten het Antwerps dialect de stem opriep van boze blanken en/of racisten, en dat het regelmatig gestileerd werd als een manier van spreken die met anderen werd geassocieerd. Tegelijkertijd produceerden deze studenten echter stileringen die veeleer in harmonie waren met hun eigen stem en zelfpresentatie wanneer ze Antwerpse dialectkenmerken rekruteerden om assertiviteit te onderstrepen en zich te distantiëren van talig incompetente nieuwkomers. Er zal worden betoogd dat de gekleurde connotaties van het Antwerps dialect werden tenietgedaan vanwege z'n grote bruikbaarheid in de constructie van een uit Antwerpen afkomstige arbeidersidentiteit. [Dutch] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Inland navigation plays an important role in the hinterland access of the port of Antwerp. In this paper alternative bundling strategies for container barge transport in the port of Antwerp are analyzed. Four alternative hub scenarios are simulated and compared with the current situation with respect to the operational characteristics of the network. Discrete event simulation is used to analyze the impact on waiting times and capacity utilization at potential hubs and at sea terminals. The hub scenarios under investigation are the organization of an intermodal barge hub on the right river bank, an intermodal hub on the left river bank, a first multihub scenario with a local collection/distribution network and a potentially improved multihub scenario taking into account the specific structure of the port of Antwerp. The second multihub scenario offers most opportunities for reducing the turnaround time of all inland terminals. All hub scenarios lead to important efficiency improvements in the handling of barges at sea terminals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comprehensive study, a first in Flanders, Belgium, aimed at characterizing the residential indoor air quality of subgroups that took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS I—1991 and ECHRS II—1996) questionnaire-based asthma and related illnesses studies. This pilot study aimed at the evaluation of particulate matter and various inorganic gaseous compounds in residences in Antwerp. In addition personal exposure to the gaseous compounds of one individual per residence was assessed. The main objective was to obtain some base-line pollutant levels and compare these with studies performed in other cities, to estimate the indoor air quality in residences in Antwerp. Correlations between the various pollutant levels, indoor:outdoor ratios and the micro-environments of each residence were investigated. This paper presents results on indoor and ambient PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations, its elemental composition in terms of K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Pb, Al, Si, S and Cl and the water-soluble ionic concentrations in terms of SO4 2−, NO3 2−, Cl−, NH4 + K+, Ca2+. In addition, indoor, ambient and personal exposure levels of the gases NO2, SO2, and O3 were determined. Elevated indoor:outdoor ratios were found for NO2 in residences containing gas stoves. In smoker''s houses increased PM concentrations of 58 and 43% were found for the fine and coarse fractions respectively. Contrary to the fact that all I/O ratios of the registered elements in each individual house were significantly correlated to each other, no correlation could be established between the I/O ratios of the different houses, thus indicating a unique micro-environment for each residence. Linear relationships between the particulate matter elemental composition, SO2 and O3 levels indoors and outdoors could be established. No linear relationships between indoor and outdoor NO2 and particulate mass concentrations were found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents news briefs related to literature in Antwerp, Belgium as of June 2003. Book written by Christian de Borchgrave about the history of the Ruusbroecgenootschap; Plantin Archives included in the register "Memory of the World" of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage Centre; Highlights of the exhibition in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp which was organized in cooperation with the Weserrenaissance-Museum Schloss Brake in Lemgo, Germany.

A new analysis of the "type" Plesiocetus collection established by Van Beneden in the 19th century is performed to provide an updated taxonomy of this genus. Plesiocetus was established based on isolated finds that were assembled together to reconstruct almost complete skeletons of four species: P. brialmontii, P. dubius, P. hupschii, and P. burtinii. Plesiocetus has then been used by different authors in taxonomic studies of mysticete faunas and became a taxonomic wastebasked that is now in critical need of revision. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of Plesiocetus provided by Van Beneden does not allow to distinguish it from other mysticete taxa. For this reason, the analysis of all the specimens that Van Beneden assigned to Plesiocetus was necessary to understand the characters of the genus. The revision was done through a comparative anatomical analysis of all the specimens. The results of this work revealed that, among the specimens used by Van Beneden to set Plesiocetus, there is a variety of individuals that must be assigned to different genera in several families. Specimens were assigned to Cetotheriidae, basal thalassotherians, Balaenoidea, Balaenidae, Balaenopteroidea and Balaenopteridae. All the specimens are assigned to gen. et sp. indet. because of their lack of taxonomically-informative characters. The conclusion of this study is that Plesiocetus is a nomen dubium and must be abandoned by mysticete taxonomists. This result has important taxonomic implications for a number of specimens previously assigned to Plesiocetus. We reviewed all these specimens and provided new taxonomic interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Targeted screening for hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection is not yet widely executed in Belgium. When performed in people who use drugs (PWUD), it is mainly focused on those receiving opiate agonist therapy (OAT). We wanted to reach out to a population of difficult to reach PWUD not on centralized OAT, using non-invasive screening as a bridge to re-integration in medical care supported by facilitated referral to a specialist. Methods: This was a prospective, multicenter cohort study in PWUD not enrolled in a centralized OAT program in a community-based facility in Limburg or OAT program in a community-based facility in Antwerp, Belgium, from October 2018 until October 2019. Two study teams recruited participants using an outreach method at 18 different locations. Participants were tested for HCV antibodies (Ab) by finger prick, and risk factors were assessed through a face-to-face questionnaire. Univariate analyses were used to assess the association between HCV Ab and each risk factor separately. A generalized linear mixed model was used to investigate the association between the different risk factors and HCV. Results: In total, 425 PWUD were reached with a mean age of 41.6 ± 10.8, and 78.8% (335/425) were men. HCV Ab prevalence was 14.8% (63/425). Fifty-six (88.9%) PWUD were referred, of whom 37 (66.1%) were linked to care and tested for HCV RNA. Twenty-nine (78.4%) had a chronic HCV infection. Treatment was initiated in 17 (58.6%) patients. The adjusted odds for HCV Ab were highest in those with unstable housing 6 months before inclusion (p <.001, AOR 8.2 CI 95% 3.2–23.3) and in those who had ever shared paraphernalia for intravenous drug use (p <.001, AOR 6.2 CI 95% 2.5–16.0). Conclusions: An important part tested positive for HCV. Treatment could be started in more than half of the chronically infected referred and tested positive for HCV-RNA. Micro-elimination is necessary to achieve the World Health Organization goals by 2030. However, it remains crucial to screen and link a broader group of PWUD to care than to focus solely on those who inject drugs. Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov NCT04363411, Registered 27 April 2020—Retrospectively registered. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04363411?term=NCT04363411&draw=2&rank=1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sentinel-5 Precursor (S-5P), launched in October 2017, carrying the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) nadir-viewing spectrometer, is the first mission of the Copernicus Programme dedicated to the monitoring of air quality, climate, and ozone. In the presented study, the TROPOMI tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) level-2 (L2) product (OFFL v1.03.01; 3.5 km × 7 km at nadir observations) has been validated over strongly polluted urban regions by comparison with coincident high-resolution Airborne Prism EXperiment (APEX) remote sensing observations (∼ 75 m × 120 m). Satellite products can be optimally assessed based on (APEX) airborne remote sensing observations, as a large amount of satellite pixels can be fully mapped at high accuracy and in a relatively short time interval, reducing the impact of spatiotemporal mismatches. In the framework of the S-5P validation campaign over Belgium (S5PVAL-BE), the APEX imaging spectrometer has been deployed during four mapping flights (26–29 June 2019) over the two largest urban regions in Belgium, i.e. Brussels and Antwerp, in order to map the horizontal distribution of tropospheric NO2. For each flight, 10 to 20 TROPOMI pixels were fully covered by approximately 2700 to 4000 APEX measurements within each TROPOMI pixel. The TROPOMI and APEX NO2 vertical column density (VCD) retrieval schemes are similar in concept. Overall, for the ensemble of the four flights, the standard TROPOMI NO2 VCD product is well correlated (R = 0.92) but biased negatively by - 1.2 ± 1.2 × 10 15 moleccm-2 or - 14 ± 12 %, on average, with respect to coincident APEX NO2 retrievals. When replacing the coarse 1 ∘ × 1 ∘ the massively parallel (MP) version of the Tracer Model version 5 (TM5) a priori NO2 profiles by NO2 profile shapes from the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) regional chemistry transport model (CTM) ensemble at 0.1 ∘ × 0.1 ∘ , R is 0.94 and the slope increases from 0.82 to 0.93. The bias is reduced to - 0.1 ± 1.0 × 10 15 moleccm-2 or - 1.0 ± 12 %. The absolute difference is on average 1.3 × 10 15 moleccm-2 (16 %) and 0.7 × 10 15 moleccm-2 (9 %), when comparing APEX NO2 VCDs with TM5-MP-based and CAMS-based NO2 VCDs, respectively. Both sets of retrievals are well within the mission accuracy requirement of a maximum bias of 25 %–50 % for the TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 product for all individual compared pixels. Additionally, the APEX data set allows the study of TROPOMI subpixel variability and impact of signal smoothing due to its finite satellite pixel size, typically coarser than fine-scale gradients in the urban NO2 field. For a case study in the Antwerp region, the current TROPOMI data underestimate localized enhancements and overestimate background values by approximately 1–2 × 10 15 moleccm-2 (10 %–20 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the proceedings of the international musicology conference "Sounds of the City 18," hosted in Antwerp, Belgium on March 11-14, 2010. Featured presentations included those by Timothy De Paepe on Belgian opera, Maartje De Wilde on 17th-century Netherlandish songbooks, and Stefanie Beghein on sacred music of the city.

In recent decades, large wildfires have inflicted considerable damage on valuable Natura 2000 regions in Belgium. Despite these events and the general perception that global change will exacerbate wildfire prevalence, this has not been studied yet in the Belgian context. Therefore, the national government initiated the national action plan on wildfires in order to evaluate the wildfire risk, on the one hand, and the materials, procedures, and training of fire services, on the other hand. This study focuses on the spatial distribution of the ignition probability, a component of the wildfire risk framework. In a first stage, we compile a historical wildfire database using (i) newspaper articles between 1994 and 2016 and (ii) a list of wildfire interventions between 2010 and 2013, provided by the government. In a second stage, we use a straightforward method relying on Bayes' rule and a limited number of covariates to calculate the ignition probability. It appears that most wildfire-prone areas in Belgium are located in heathland where military exercises are held. The provinces that have the largest relative areas with a high or very high wildfire risk are Limburg and Antwerp. Our study also revealed that most wildfire ignitions in Belgium are caused by humans (both arson and negligence) and that natural causes such as lightning are rather scarce. Wildfire prevention can be improved by (i) excluding military activity in fire-prone areas during the fire season, (ii) improving collaboration with foreign emergency services, (iii) concentrating the dedicated resources in the areas that display the highest ignition probabilities, (iv) improving fire detection methods, and (v) raising more awareness among the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: Can we use a mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant (Mitoquinone) during in vitro embryo culture to rescue developmental competence of oocytes matured under lipotoxic conditions, exhibiting mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress?Summary Answer: Supplementation of embryo culture media with Mitoquinone reduced oxidative stress and prevented mitochondrial uncoupling in embryos derived from metabolically compromised oocytes in vitro, leading to higher blastocyst rates and lower blastomeric apoptosis.What Is Known Already: Maternal metabolic disorders, such as obesity and type-II diabetes are associated with hyperlipidemia and elevated free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations in the ovarian follicular fluid (FF). Oocyte maturation under these lipotoxic conditions results in increased oxidative stress levels, mitochondrial dysfunction, reduced developmental competence and disappointing IVF results.Study Design, Size, Duration: A well-described bovine oocyte IVM model was used, where a pathophysiologically relevant elevated FF concentrations of palmitic acid (PA; 150 μM or 300 μM) were added to induce oxidative stress. After fertilization (Day 0, D0), zygotes were in vitro cultured (IVC, from D1 to D8) in standard fatty acid-free media in the presence or absence of Mitoquinone or its carrier triphenyl-phosphonium.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Embryo cleavage and fragmentation (D2) and blastocyst rates (D8) were recorded. Mitochondrial activity and oxidative stress in cleaved embryos at D2 were determined using specific fluorogenic probes and confocal microscopy. D8 blastocysts were used to (i) examine the expression of marker genes related to mitochondrial unfolded protein responses (UPRmt; HSPD1 and HSPE1), mitochondrial biogenesis (TFAM), endoplasmic reticulum (ER) UPR (ATF4, ATF6 and BiP) and oxidative stress (CAT, GPX1 and SOD2) using real time RT-PCR; (ii) determine cell differentiation and apoptosis using CDX-2 and cleaved caspase-3 immunostaining; and (iii) measure mtDNA copy numbers. This was tested in a series of experiments with at least three independent replicates for each, using a total of 2525 oocytes. Differences were considered significant if a P value was <0.05 after Bonferroni correction.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: Exposure to PA during IVM followed by culture under control conditions resulted in a significant increase in oxidative stress in embryos at D2. This was associated with a significant reduction in mitochondrial inner membrane potential (uncoupling) compared with solvent control (P < 0.05). The magnitude of these effects was PA-concentration dependent. Consequently, development to the blastocysts stage was significantly hampered. Surviving blastocysts exhibited high apoptotic cell indices and upregulated mRNA expression indicating persistent oxidative stress, mitochondrial and ER UPRs. In contrast, supplementation of PA-derived zygotes with Mitoquinone during IVC (i) prevented mitochondrial uncoupling and alleviated oxidative stress at D2; and (ii) rescued blastocyst quality; normalized oxidative stress and UPR related genes and apoptotic cell indices (P > 0.01 compared with solvent control). Mitoquinone also improved blastocyst rate in PA-exposed groups, an effect that was dependent on PA concentration.Large Scale Data: N/A.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: This is a fundamental study performed using a bovine in vitro model using PA-induced lipotoxicity during oocyte maturation. PA is the most predominant FFA in the FF that is known to induce lipotoxicity; however, in vivo maturation in patients suffering from maternal metabolic disorders involve more factors that cannot be represented in one model. Nevertheless, focusing on the carryover oxidative stress as a known key factor affecting developmental competence, and considering the novel beneficial rescuing effects of Mitoquinone shown here, we believe this model is of high biological relevance.Wider Implications Of the Findings: Human oocytes collected for IVF treatments from patients with maternal metabolic disorders are vulnerable to lipotoxicity and oxidative stress during in vivo maturation. The results shown here suggest that mitochondrial targeted therapy, such as using Mitoquinone, during IVC may rescue the developmental competence and quality of these compromised oocytes. After further clinical trials, this may be a valuable approach to increase IVF success rates for infertile patients experiencing metabolic disorders.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): This study was financially supported by a BOF/KP grant number 34399, from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. W.F.A.M. was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO), grant number 12I1417N, Antwerp, Belgium. The Leica SP 8 confocal microscope used in this study was funded by the Hercules Foundation of the Flemish Government (Hercules grant AUHA.15.12). All authors have no financial or non-financial competing interests to declare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]