Monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) is the principal enzyme responsible for hydrolysis of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). MAGL inhibition provides several potential therapeutic opportunities, including anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity.

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.P. van Wezel

Promotor: Prof.dr. T. Hankemeier, Prof.dr. J.C.T. Eijkel (Twente University)

In the first part, we introduce a new condition, called toric-additivity, on a family of abelian varieties degenerating to a semi-abelian scheme over a normal crossing divisor.

For centuries astronomers studied the Universe by collecting light. Nowadays, we are living in times of great technological advancements, which allow us to explore our Universe in a new way - though gravitational wave radiation.

The unit residue group, to which the present thesis is devoted, is defined using the norm-residue symbol, which Hilbert introduced into algebraic number theory in 1897.

Promotores: P. Stevenhagen, A. Enge Co-Promotor: T.C. Streng

Het Leids Astronomisch Dispuut Frederik Kaiser is een vereniging die zich inzet voor de studenten die in Leiden sterrenkunde studeren. Daarnaast zijn ze ook erg betrokken bij de publieksactiviteiten in de Oude Sterrewacht en helpen ze bij de ontwikkeling en uitvoering van andere projecten in het geb…

This dissertation explores how Large Language Models (LLMs) can effectively and responsibly contribute to complex decision-making processes. By combining AI and human intelligence, Hybrid Intelligence (HI) emerges, allowing the strengths of both humans and machines to be utilized.

The main aim of this project is to reveal and unravel the invisible histories of the UN, transcending the dominant Western perspective to recover the historical agency of Global South actors. The research will investigate how the UN has both facilitated and limited their role in shaping global order…

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotor: O. van Gaans

Science is typically a patchwork of research contributions without much coordination. Especially in clinical trials, the follow-up studies that we do fail to be the most promising.

This thesis considers multi-prover commitment schemes whose security is based on restrictions on the communication between the provers.

During my PhD research, I studied the photon statistics of light emitted by a microcavity that contains a single quantum dot (QD) on resonance.

We investigate the buildup of galaxies from various vantage points. The first two chapters focus on the stellar content of galaxies, especially the distribution of stellar masses at birth and potential variations therein in various galactic environments.

Promotor: T. Schmidt

Quantum hardware comes with a different computing paradigm and new ways to tackle applications. Much effort has to be put into understanding how to leverage this technology to give real-world advantages in areas of interest for industries such as combinatorial optimization or machine learning.

Sewer pipes are an essential infrastructure in modern society and their proper operation is important for public health. To keep sewer pipes operational as much as possible, periodical inspections for defects are performed.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M.L. van Hecke

Building a Deep Cross-media Transfer Network to extract visual relations that relieve the problem of insufficient training data for visual tasks.

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world. One of its symptoms is the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta.

Adenosine is an endogenous ligand which exerts its action by activating adenosine receptors (ARs), while its circulating levels are controlled via a variety of mechanism and proteins, amongst others the equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs).

Promotores: K.J. Batenburg, B. Koren

How and to what extent the historic house (re-)constructs identity through image-making in China.

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Co-promotor: R. Heijungs

The effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB) remains a major challenge to global health.

The different kinds of cultural perspectives on health and disease of the participants are related to their knowledge, beliefs, values and practices manifested in various forms of lifestyle in Indonesia. The cultural diversity of the population is also related to differences in health behaviour.

Promotor: H.W. Lenstra

The vegetative growth period for leafy vegetables like lettuce is essential for yield and quality.

Promotor: S.J. Edixhoven, Co-promotor: R.S. de Jong

In some condensed matter systems, such as the surface of a 3D topological insulator, the electrons are effectively massless and we must necessarily use the massless Dirac equation to describe them.

When a star gets too close to a supermassive black hole, it is torn apart by strong tidal forces in a tidal disruption event (TDE).

Promotor: P.J.J. Hooykaas, Co-Promotores: P.B.F. Ouwerkerk, M. Wang

Promotor: Bas Edixhoven, Promotor: Qing Liu

Promotor: Thomas Hankemeier, Co-promotores: Heiko van der Linden, Paul Vulto

Promotores: Prof.dr. A.G.G.M. Tielens, Prof.dr. L. Kaper (UvA)

Clinical development of drugs for central nervous system (CNS) disorders has been particularly challenging and still suffers from high attrition rates.

Carbohydrates, or sugars, are the most diverse and most abundant biomolecules known. However, the isolation of carbohydrate samples in sufficient amounts and purity is often impractical or even impossible, so the chemical synthesis of glycosides becomes relevant. The glycosylation reaction, in which…

In this thesis, deep learning is studied from a statistical perspective. Convergence rates for the worst case risk bounds of neural network estimators are obtained in the classification, density estimation and linear regression model.

Cardiovascular disease is a major global burden and atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathological process.

Promotor: K.E. Schalm, Co-promotor: S.S. Lee

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel

Promotor: T. Schmidt, Co-Promotor: B.E. Snaar-Jagalska

In meta-analysis, heterogeneity often exists between studies. In such cases, it is essential to investigate the sources of heterogeneity and understand the relationship between effect size and study characteristics (i.e., moderators).

Promotores: Prof.dr. F.S. de Boer, Prof.dr. J.J.M.M. Rutten (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen)

The study of orchid flowers, fruits, and inflorescences is crucial due to the remarkable diversity of orchid species and their unique adaptations to pollinators and seed dispersers. However, our understanding of the evolution and development of these organs within the orchid family remains limited.

Promotores: Prof.dr. J.N. Kok, Prof.dr. M.R.V. Chaudron (Chalmers Univ., Sweden)

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…