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An interdisciplinary study around the reliquary of the late cardinal Jacques de Vitry
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The reliquary of Jacques de Vitry, a prominent clergyman and theologian in the early 13th century, has experienced several transfers over the last centuries, which seriously question the attribution of the remains to the late Cardinal. Uncertainty about the year of his birth poses an additional question regarding his age at death in 1240. The reliquary, located in the Saint Marie d’Oigines church, Belgium, was reopened in 2015 for an interdisciplinary study around his relics as well as the Treasure of Oignies, a remarkable cultural heritage notably built from Jacques de Vitry’s donation. Anthropological, isotopic and genetic analyses were performed independently on the remains found in the reliquary. Results of the analyses provided evidence that the likelihood that these remains are those of Jacques de Vitry is very high: the remains belong to the same human male individual and the historical tradition about his age is confirmed. In addition, a separate relic (left tibia) was analysed and found to match with the remains of the reliquary (right tibia). The unique Jacques de Vitry’s mitre, made of parchment, was sampled non-destructively and the extracted parchment collagen was analysed by a proteomic method in order to determine the animal species. The results showed that, surprisingly, not all parts of the mitre were made from the same species. All together, these findings are expected to fertilize knowledge carried by historical tradition around the relics of Jacques de Vitry and his related cultural heritage.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Children at Work: Looking for Evidence in Past Societies
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Throwing Activities Among Neolithic Populations from the Meuse River Basin (Belgium, 4500–2500 BC) with a Focus on Adolescents.
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The anterior band of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) is an important stabilizer for valgus stress at the elbow. When practised intensively and repetitively, activities using overhead throwing motions can injure this ligament and its insertion. If these activities occur when the epiphyses are not yet fully fused, traction forces can result in bony detachments in the area of the MCL insertion. This study was based on commingled graves found in 16 Middle and Late Neolithic caves from Belgium. We recorded the presence of MCL lesions on 196 humeri and studied the relation between lesions, siding, and robusticity. 5.1% of the humeri displayed MCL lesions, which affected only the right robust humeri. Our results suggest a social division in throwing activities in Belgium during the Neolithic. They also suggest that throwing practice started from a young age, which invites us to re-examine the role of teenagers in prehistoric societies.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Macroevolutionary analysis of the tempo of diversification in snappers and fusiliers (Percomorpha: Lutjanidae)
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Associated publications
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Belgian Journal of Zoology
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Bibliographic References
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Uncertainty assessment applied to marine subsurface datasets
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A recently released voxel model quantifying aggregate resources of the Belgian part of the North Sea includes lithological properties of all Quaternary sediments and modelling-related uncertainty. As the underlying borehole data come from various sources and cover a long time-span, data-related uncertainties should be accounted for as well. Applying a tiered data-uncertainty assessment to a composite lithology dataset with uniform, standardized lithological descriptions and rigorously completed metadata fields, uncertainties were qualified and quantified for positioning, sampling and vintage. The uncertainty on horizontal positioning combines navigational errors, on-board and off-deck offsets and underwater drift. Sampling-gear uncertainty evaluates the suitability of each instrument in terms of its efficiency of sediment yield per lithological class. Vintage uncertainty provides a likelihood of temporal change since the moment of sampling, using the mobility of fine-scale bedforms as an indicator. For each uncertainty component, quality flags from 1 (very uncertain) to 5 (very certain) were defined and converted into corresponding uncertainty percentages meeting the input requirements of the voxel model. Obviously, an uncertainty-based data selection procedure, aimed at improving the confidence of data products, reduces data density. Whether or not this density reduction is detrimental to the spatial coverage of data products, will depend on their intended use. At the very least, demonstrable reductions in spatial coverage will help to highlight the need for future data acquisition and to optimize survey plans. By opening up our subsurface model with associated data uncertainties in a public decision support application, policy makers and other end users are better able to visualize overall confidence and identify areas with insufficient coverage meeting their needs. Having to work with a borehole dataset that is increasingly limited with depth below the seabed, engineering geologists and geospatial analysts in particular will profit from a better visualization of datarelated uncertainty.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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Authenticating fish and seafood products for sale on the Belgian market
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Aliens in Europe
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Library
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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The use of DNA barcoding to improve the taxonomy of Afrotropical hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae)
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Library
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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A first, local DNA barcode reference database of the forensically important flies (Diptera) of the island of La Reunion
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Library
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Solving crimes: a forensic rove beetles (Staphylinidae) barcode database for Belgium
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Library
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
