This thesis explores Breaking of Ensemble Equivalence (BEE) in random graph models by examining the spectral properties of adjacency matrices. The goal is to identify spectral characteristics that differentiate random graph ensembles, enhancing the understanding of complex network structures and beh…

Death in all types of melanomas is generally caused by metastasis. Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common intraocular melanoma, there are currently no (patient-derived) animal models that faithfully recapitulate metastatic dissemination of UM.

This thesis describes biochemical investigations of glucocerebrosidase (GBA), the lysosomal β- glucosidase that is deficient in Gaucher disease (GD).

Promotor: P.D. Grünwald

Promotor: A. Achúcarro, Co-promotor: A. Boyarsky

Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-promotor: L. Juurlink

In this work, we attempt to answer the question:

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major health threat. Addressing this challenge requires among others the development of new antibacterial compounds. The research described in this thesis focuses on discovering novel antibiotics from soil bacteria, specifically Streptomyces and Paenibacillus.Despite…

By training with virtual opponents known as computer generated forces (CGFs), trainee fighter pilots can build the experience necessary for air combat operations, at a fraction of the cost of training with real aircraft.

Striga hermonthica, commonly known as witchweed, infests major cereal crops in Sub-Saharan Africa causing severe yield losses and threatening the livelihood of millions of resource poor farmers.

Galaxies form and live inside dark matter haloes. As a consequence, they are exposed to the tidal fields generated by the surrounding matter distribution: this imprints a preferential direction to the galaxy shapes, which leads to a coherent alignment on physically close galaxies, called intrinsic a…

Promotor: Carel J. ten Cate, Co-Promotor: Hans W. Slabbekoorn

Heterogeneous catalysis is essential to many industrial applications. These catalysts are often comprised of supported nanoparticles, which contain various different surface sites.

The research described in this thesis focused on identifying novel drug targets and synergistic combinations for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a virulent subtype of breast cancer with a dismal prognosis and limited therapeutic options.

This thesis manuscript explores the use of video games as tools for conceptual exploration and academic research.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.A. Bouwstra, Co-promotor: A. El Ghalbzouri

In this thesis, we present new laboratory data of interstellar dust analogues.

The thesis is about how auxin and AGC kinases regulate male fertility. The main AGC kinases studied in this thesis is PDK1, PDK2 and AGC1.5, AGC1.7.

This thesis explores different avenues to develop insurmountable antagonists for CC Chemokine Receptors, such as CCR1, CCR2 and CCR5.

While ecosystems have concrete benefits for human society, these benefits are typically overlooked in decision-making.

Promotor: P.J.J. Hooykaas, Co-Promotor: E.J. van der Zaal

Promotor: J.N. Kok, Co-promotor: M.S. Lew

Healthy aging is one of the prime goals in today's society and atherosclerosis is among the greatest causes of morbidity in elderly. Cardiovascular disease patients receiving treatment are often of advanced aged and have an aged immune system, which limits translating experimental findings to the pa…

In the current global context, there is a pressing need to address sustainable energy supplies to safeguard our Planet and its ecosystems. The choices made by human society have a significant impact on genetic evolution and climate.

Supervisor: S.F. Portegies Zwart Co-Supervisor: A.G.A. Brown

Human civilization consumes a huge amount of fossil fuels, which has resulted in an atmospheric CO2 level which has not been higher in over 800 millennia.

It is a common technique in global optimization with expensive black-box functions to learn a surrogate-model of the response function from past evaluations and use it to decide on the location of future evaluations.

This thesis advances our understanding of lipid uptake, a vital first step in lipid metabolism, by developing innovative click chemistry-based tools to study how immune cells internalize lipids.

The development of new environmentally sound technologies is seen as a key route towards achieving sustainability.

This thesis focus on the interaction between M dwarf stellar winds and Galactic cosmic rays and the possible effects on the habitability of exoplanets.

Thirty years ago, mutations in the BRCA1 gene were first linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, establishing a genetic basis for cancer development.

SDN (Software-Defined Networking) represents a revolutionary approach to network architecture that enables the dynamic and flexible management of network resources through software-based control. This dissertation introduces the idea of SDN and its southbound protocol OpenFlow, then presents the formal…

This thesis is a (biased) journey through very different topics in astrophysics: quasars and new populations of active galactic nuclei, gravitational waves from merging black holes, and protoplanetary discs around young stars.

β-Lactamases are enzymes that can break down β-lactam substrates, such as antibiotics, preventing the use of these antibiotics for the treatment of various infectious diseases. However, some compounds, β-lactamase inhibitors, can block these enzymes allowing for possible treatments using a combination…

The experiments described in this thesis employ local lentiviral knockdowns in brain areas of female zebra finches followed by behavioural assays consisting of preference and Go/Nogo tasks.

This thesis focuses on enhancing predictions of central nervous system drug exposure using the LeiCNS-PK3.0, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model.

Op 7 december 2021 verdedigde Georgina Kuipers het proefschrift 'Beschadigd vertrouwen'. Het promotieonderzoek is begeleid door prof.mr. W. den Ouden en prof.dr. M.A. van der Steen (EUR).

One of the key limitations of the direct imaging of exoplanets at small angular separations are quasi-static speckles that originate from evolving non-common path aberrations (NCPA) to which the primary adaptive optics system is inherently blind. The main focus of this thesis is the development and…

Promotor: G.P. van Wezel, Co-Promotor: E. Vijgenboom

Organisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances.

The research described in this thesis focused on the use of bioorthogonal antigens to investigate immunological processes in antigen presenting cells. Bioorthogonal antigens are antigenic proteins produced through recombinant expression in a methionine auxotrophic E. coli strain.

The department of Industrial Ecology is dealing with research into the development of tools for decision making on sustainable production and consumption.

Solar energy harnessed by plants and algae has great potential to be converted into biofuels for future generations.

Catalysis is of extreme relevance in the production of everyday materials and plays a central role in many aspects of our life.

This thesis studied in depth the energy use and CO2 emissions of the industrial sector in China.

Promotor: G.J. Kramer Co-Promotor: E.G.M. Kleijn

Large carnivores and humans, along with their livestock, have co-existed for thousands of years. However, human population growth and an increase in economic activities are modifying the landscape for large carnivores and their prey.

Viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) is a group of acute diseases caused by highly infectious viruses including Ebola, Lassa, Dengue viruses. Its high mortality rate poses high risk to public health, however, studies on VHF have been hampered due to the non-availability of proper models and incomplete knowledge…