Université catholique de Louvain

About: Université catholique de Louvain is a education organization based out in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 25319 authors who have published 57360 publications receiving 2172080 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Louvain & UCLouvain.

Stereotype Threat Undermines Intellectual Performance by Triggering a Disruptive Mental Load

Abstract: Research on stereotype threat has repeatedly demonstrated that the intellectual performance of social groups is particularly sensitive to the situational context in which tests are usually administered. In the present experiment, an adaptation of the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices Test was introduced as a measure of cognitive ability. Results showed that individuals targeted by a reputation of intellectual inferiority scored lower on the test than did other people. However, when the identical test was not presented as a measure of cognitive ability, the achievement gap between the target and the control group disappeared. Using heart rate variability indices to assess mental workload, our findings showed that the situational salience of a reputation of lower ability undermined intellectual performance by triggering a disruptive mental load. Our results indicate that group differences in cognitive ability scores can reflect different situational burdens and not necessarily actual differences in cognit...

Insulin crystallization depends on zinc transporter ZnT8 expression, but is not required for normal glucose homeostasis in mice.

Abstract: Zinc co-crystallizes with insulin in dense core secretory granules, but its role in insulin biosynthesis, storage and secretion is unknown. In this study we assessed the role of the zinc transporter ZnT8 using ZnT8-knockout (ZnT8−/−) mice. Absence of ZnT8 expression caused loss of zinc release upon stimulation of exocytosis, but normal rates of insulin biosynthesis, normal insulin content and preserved glucose-induced insulin release. Ultrastructurally, mature dense core insulin granules were rare in ZnT8−/− beta cells and were replaced by immature, pale insulin “progranules,” which were larger than in ZnT8+/+ islets. When mice were fed a control diet, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were normal. However, after high-fat diet feeding, the ZnT8−/− mice became glucose intolerant or diabetic, and islets became less responsive to glucose. Our data show that the ZnT8 transporter is essential for the formation of insulin crystals in beta cells, contributing to the packaging efficiency of stored insulin. Interaction between the ZnT8−/− genotype and diet to induce diabetes is a model for further studies of the mechanism of disease of human ZNT8 gene mutations.

Selective and efficient platinum(0)-carbene complexes as hydrosilylation catalysts.

Abstract: The hydrosilylation reaction enables the production of silicon polymers. Platinum-carbene complexes are reported that catalyze the hydrosilylation reaction of alkenes with remarkable efficiency and exquisite selectivity and avoid the formation of platinum colloids. By-products, typically encountered with previous catalytic systems, are suppressed with these platinum derivatives.