Two-thirds of chronically ill Belgian children do not die at home
Not enough chronically ill children have the possibility of dying peacefully at home. This fact emerges from a study by the End-of-Life Care research group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Ghent University. It is the first time that an international comparison has been made. From the study, it appears that chronically ill Belgian and Dutch children more often die in their home environment than their young fellow sufferers in many other West-European countries. The large differences found, however, indicate that a lot can still be done to give children a better chance of dying peacefully at home.
More information
Geert Pousset, tel.: 02-477 47 54
Dr. Joachim Cohen, tel.: 02-477 47 14, joachim.cohen@vub.ac.be
www.endoflifecare.be/ZrL/
Belgian homosexuals have sex twice a week
On average, Belgian homosexuals have sex 118 times a year. This appears from research by the General Medical Practice research unit of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, which compared the results with a Hungarian study. Hungarian men appeared to be rather more active than Belgian men, with an average of three times a week.
More information
http://huis.vub.ac.be
Poor sleepers often have difficulty in suppressing stimuli
Insomnia, or sleeplessness, is not always caused by hyper-arousal, but could also result from problems with de-arousal. This appears from a study by sleep expert Aisha Cortoos of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. As an alternative to pharmacological treatment, neurofeedback training could have a beneficial effect on the time it takes to fall asleep and the overall sleep duration.
More information
Dr. Aisha Cortoos, aisha.cortoos@vub.ac.be
Frogs with identical poison provide evidence of the power of natural selection
Working together with colleagues from the K.U.Leuven and the University of Melbourne, researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel have discovered a unique example of convergent evolution at the molecular level, which made the cover of the Current Biology scientific journal. They found two different species of frogs that have developed exactly the same poison, caerulein, independently from one another.
More information and free-of-charge image gallery
Dr. Kim Roelants, tel.: 02-629 34 10, kroelant@vub.ac.be
www.amphibia.be
VUB establishes University Expertise Centre for Public-Private Cooperation
It is hard to imagine our society today without public-private cooperation - or PPC. By working together with the private sector, governments and public institutions are able to achieve numerous ambitious projects. In the meantime, PPC has become so important that it also warrants scientific attention. For this reason, a new Chair has been established at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the University Expertise Centre for PPC. The university has entered into agreements with three partners for this purpose: Deloitte, Grontmij Vlaanderen and the law company Laga. VUB rector Paul De Knop and representatives of the three partners signed the agreement today.
The partners will provide the university with the necessary resources to appoint two post-graduates for five years. They will further develop the research and know-how relating to public-private cooperation from the point of view of a multidisciplinary approach. The Chair will be launched in 2010-2011, and will involve several guest lectures, study days and congresses. Three faculties are involved in the Chair: Law and Criminology, Economic, Social and Political Sciences & the Solvay Business School and Engineering Sciences. Manager of the Chair will be Prof. Dr. Elvira Haezendonck of the Economic, Social and Political Sciences & the Solvay Business School faculty.
GLOBE 2010: Network platform for the promotion of cooperation with North America
GLOBE 2010 is one of the oldest major events in the realm of environmental issues. Every two years, more than 10,000 professionals from more than 70 countries convene for a three-day GLOBE conference. This is a meeting opportunity for world-renowned experts discussing technological innovations relating to the environment, and a platform for international networking meetings.
You can participate in the GLOBE in Vancouver, together with company managers, entrepreneurs, NGOs, and policymakers from all over the world. Find out the latest status of affairs with regard to sustainable development, climate change, CO2 management, clean energy, sustainable financing and green cities from March 24th to 26th, 2010. The following peripheral subjects will also be handled during GLOBE 2010: clean technologies, water, retail business and Auto Future Tech.
The Commercial Department of the Canadian Embassy is at your service for the organisation of your visit to GLOBE 2010! Feel free to contact this department in order to prepare your successful trade mission to Canada (via mail to fabienne.de-kimpe@international.gc.ca).