Research Foundation - Flanders

BackgroundClassifying low back pain (LBP) based solely on symptom duration may be insufficient to explain underlying paraspinal muscle degeneration and dysfunction in recurrent and chronic LBP cases.MethodsFifty-nine females (45 with non-specific low back pain, 14 pain-free controls) were categorized into subgroups using cluster analysis based on personal, pain-related, psychological, and functional characteristics. Lumbar paraspinal muscle structure was assessed using T1-weighted Dixon MRI to measure muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), fat CSA, and muscle fat index (MFI). Muscle function was evaluated using T2-weighted MRI to determine resting T2 values (T2-rest) and T2 shift following muscle activation (T2-shift) at three specific lumbar levels: upper L3 (UL L3), upper L4 (UL L4), and lower L4 (LL L4).ResultsFour new LBP subgroups were identified and compared to HC (healthy control (n = 14), 23.6%): Neutral (NT; n = 5, 8.5%), Personal and Pain Affected (PA; n = 9, 15.3%), Maladaptive cognition affected (MCA; n = 25, 42.4%), and Personal, Pain, Psychological, and Functional Affected (PPFA; n = 6, 10.2%). NT resembled HC indicating healthy lumbar muscle, PA subgroup showed with a higher fat CSA and MFI in paraspinals muscle. PA and MCA exhibited localized muscle hyperactivity. PPFA subgroups remained metabolically inactive.ConclusionsThis novel LBP subgrouping framework revealed distinct patterns of paraspinal muscle fatty infiltration and dysfunction. Fatty infiltration and hyperactivity were linked to BMI, chronicity, and cognitive traits; hypoactivity was found in those with broad psychosocial and functional impairments.

Civic engagement in later life is shaped not only by individual characteristics but also by neighborhood and societal contexts, though these levels are rarely examined together. Guided by a socio-ecological framework, this study investigates how neighborhood conditions and country-level indicators, specifically the Human Development Index (HDI) and income inequality (Gini), are associated with civic engagement in later life. The data included responses from 9,468 individuals aged 65+ across 33 European countries. Four dimensions of civic engagement were examined: formal volunteering, informal caregiving, associational engagement, and political engagement. Binary two-level regression models showed that more accessible neighborhood amenities were positively associated with all forms of engagement, while neighborhood problems had negative effects. HDI was linked to higher engagement overall and amplified the enabling effects of neighborhood amenities on associational and political engagement, highlighting the interactive nature of national and local contexts in shaping civic engagement.

Although motor deficits in developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are well documented, the underlying neurological alterations remain poorly understood. While some studies report reduced grey matter (GM) volume and altered white matter (WM) organisation, others show contradictory results or found no differences at all. These studies focus exclusively on paediatric populations and commonly employ diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). This technique is limited in distinguishing crossing fibres, which compromises the reliability of its findings. Therefore, we used the state-of-the-art fixel-based analysis (FBA) technique, providing a more precise measurement that accounts for crossing fibres. Sixteen adults with DCD and thirteen typically developing (TD) peers (18-35y) underwent comprehensive motor assessment (MABC-2) and T1- and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) MRI scans. GM volume was examined in motor-related regions, including the motor cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. WM organization was analysed in key motor tracts such as the corticospinal tract (CST), cerebellar peduncles, and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). No significant differences in GM volume or WM organization were found between adults with DCD and TD controls. Additionally, there was no significant relationship between WM organization and motor performance scores. However, with this relatively small sample, small or moderate effects remain undetected. Furthermore, according to Bayesian analyses the findings only provide anecdotal support for the absence of group differences, except for the left middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP), where moderate evidence supported the null hypothesis. Future studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these conclusions.

ABSTRACT Expectations and norms about the consumption of alcohol are built during childhood and are shaped by children’s media environment. Nevertheless, we lack insights into how alcohol is presented in children’s movies and series, particularly in comparison to healthy/mixed, as well as unhealthy beverages such as soft drinks. We conducted a content analysis of 114 movies and 133 series named by n = 648 children aged between 5 and 11 years, and n = 559 of their parents when asking them about the movies/series consumption during the last six months. Results show that alcohol is placed more often verbally as well as in interaction with a character, and is consumed more frequently by a character compared to soft drinks and a summary category of healthy/mixed beverages. Moreover, alcohol is more often associated with villains. Overall, our findings suggest a problematic depiction of alcohol in movies and series targeted at children.

Background/Objectives: Biopsychosocial pain neuroscience education (PNE) has recently gained attention in preparing patients for surgery. PNE is expected to influence pain coping strategies and descending nociceptive inhibition. The goal of this study was to compare cortical evoked responses during experimental pain processing using a conditioned pain modulation (CPM) paradigm between patients receiving perioperative PNE (PPNE) or perioperative biomedical back school education (PBSE). Methods: This predefined EEG subgroup analysis included only participants with complete EEG recordings at baseline and 6 weeks. Of these, twenty-three patients with low back-related leg pain, scheduled for lumbar spine surgery, were randomized to either two sessions of PPNE or two sessions of PBSE. All patients were stimulated electrically at the median nerve of the symptomatic side and the sural nerve of the symptomatic and non-symptomatic side before and 6 weeks after the educational sessions, while evoked potentials were recorded by electroencephalography (EEG). Subsequently, this protocol was repeated during the application of the CPM paradigm by immersing the hand contralateral to the symptomatic side into cold water. Results: A significant decrease in the amplitude of the waveforms during CPM was found compared to the waveforms before CPM at the non-symptomatic sural nerve. No significant differences were found at the other test locations. For the waveforms of the CPM effect (subtracted waveforms), no significant treatment effects were revealed between the PPNE and PBSE groups. Conclusions: These exploratory findings suggest that PPNE was not associated with differential modulation of EEG evoked potentials during CPM compared with PBSE at 6 weeks post-surgery.

La critique créative ancrée dans la poétique, au sens que ce terme a pris depuis Paul Valéry, peut, à notre sens, être divisée en deux « générations ». La première est celle de Michel Charles et sa théorie des « textes possibles ». La deuxième, représentée notamment par Marc Escola, Sophie Rabau, Yves Citton et Franc Schuerewegen, s’inspire du modèle de Charles et cherche à brouiller davantage les frontières entre critique et création littéraire. Notre objectif est d’introduire un nouveau protocole de lecture, d’ajouter à la liste des méthodes existantes une approche que l’on peut qualifier de « troisième génération ». Nous l’appellerons la méthode « post-possible ». Elle cherche à concilier les pratiques des deux premières générations avec un engagement sociétal.

The experience of recreationists is known to influence their willingness-to-pay for conservation. This paper presents key findings from a survey of visitors to three old-growth forests in Austria, Italy and Belgium. The results show that respondents hold preferences for nature conservation in regard to the expansion of old-growth and more naturally managed forests for their recreational purposes. Respondents indicated that they would be willing to pay between €2.1 and €4.1 per person a day to fund conservation management. The questionnaire identified the paths and areas where visitors spent their time in the forest. This approach makes it easier to distinguish between the actual use and the presence of old-growth forest. Visitors who experienced old-growth forests also expressed a higher willingness-to-pay for the conservation of these ecosystems. This is also an important finding for conservation management: While there are differences between socio-economic groups and the three forests, visitors who experienced the old-growth forests had a higher willingness-to-pay of roughly €1 per person a day. These results clearly show that visitors value recreation in old-growth forests, and that conservation management could capitalize on this higher valuation by directing visitors to areas associated with high biodiversity values while protecting sensitive areas and funding conservation activities. • Old-growth forests provide unique recreational experiences for visitors, and are also perceived as such. • The perception of the conservation status is mixed even in long-standing parks. • The recreation value of visitors depends on the areas of recreation evaluated by indicating the areas on maps. • Willingness-to-pay of visitors for conservation depends on variables connecting the recreational experience to the naturalness of the forest. • Management and planning can contribute to conservation funding by adding a conservation surcharge on existing fees.

ABSTRACT In recent decades, the relation between arts and their social impacts has gained prominence in cultural policy and research. In social cultural work, this debate intensified with the rise of participatory arts practices in the mid-1990s, particularly in multicultural, underprivileged urban neighbourhoods. These practices are often framed as tools to combat social and cultural exclusion. However, critical literature increasingly questions this participation paradigm, arguing that behind its rhetoric, some practices foster merely instrumental forms of involvement. This article examines how the rhetoric of participation operates with in Flemish cultural policy. Through a critical discourse analysis of 140 cultural policy documents (1990–2024), we identify embedded paradigms and trace patterns, shifts, tensions and noteworthy omissions over time. In doing so, we shift focus towards questions of power and authority, revealing how participatory discourses both shape and are shaped by broader political and cultural power relations.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.