In this thesis, we examine various systems through the lens of several numerical methods.

Optical cavities are useful tools to enhance the interaction between light and matter, which is important to make good quantum emitters. However, it turns out that the cavities themselves (without any quantum emitters) are already interesting objects to study.

Promotores: C.A.M.J.J. van den Hondel, V. Meyer, Co-promotor: A.F.J. Ram

Promotor: S.J. Edixhoven

Promotor: J.W.M. Frenken Co-Promotor: R. Felici

Viral diseases constitute one of the major challenges in modern medicine. Membrane-targeting have broad-spectrum potential and could distinguish viral membranes from the host cell plasma membrane by the difference in membrane curvature.

Mechanical interactions between cells and their environment play an important role in many biological processes.

With the rise of multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens, the possibility of a post-antibiotic world is quickly becoming reality.

This thesis represents a comprehensive investigation into the control of cancer stemness and metastatic initiation using a combination of advanced zebrafish xenograft models and in vitro assays.

I will give a general introduction to the field of molecular electronics, its history, methods and challenges. I will also introduce the subject of my investigation and provide a brief outlook to the remainder of our thesis.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Ubbink, Co-promotor: G. Siegal

This thesis aims to address offshore wind energy (OWE)-related environmental impacts.

Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-Promotor: L.B.F. Juurlink

Promotor: Jan van der Greef; Co-promotors: Mei Wang; Eduard van Wijk

In summary, the collective results described in this thesis show that nanoparticulate vaccines can be delivered intradermally by coated and hollow microneedles and evoke antigen-specific immune responses.

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.

In this thesis we investigated the ability of two-photon multifocal microscopy for single-molecule microscopy in live cells and organisms.

In this thesis population pharmacokinetic and physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) approaches were applied to investigate the influence of glomerular filtration (GF) and active tubular secretion (ATS) on renal clearance in children.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.M. van Ruitenbeek, Prof.dr. R.M. Tromp

Trigonostemon Blume is a plant genus in the family Euphorbiaceae comprising 59 species.

This thesis is a collection of experimental attempts to enhance photoluminescence of fluorescent molecules and quantum dots with single gold nanorods (GNRs) and relevant applications.

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

With the dramatic growth of the image data on the web, there is an increasing demand of the algorithms capable of understanding the visual information automatically.

Tin electrodeposition applications have rapidly evolved in the past 25 years.

This thesis focuses on the X-ray spectral analysis of merging galaxy clusters and the plasma code development for future high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy observations.

Promotor: R.C.M. Pelger Co-Promotor: G. van der Pluijm

The subject of this thesis, ‘Approach to Markov Operators on Spaces of Measures by Means of Equicontinuity’, combines an analytical and probabilistic approach to Markov operators.

This thesis describes a study from both a theoreticaL and an experimental point of view.

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.F.A Kersten, Prof dr. J.A. Bouwstra

Promotor: Prof.dr. E. F. van Dishoeck

This thesis revolves around the electronic spectroscopy of molecules in the laboratory and the search for the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs).

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Danhof

Over the past years it has been discovered that the population of extra-solar planets is large and diverse.

This work is dedicated to interpreting in cohomological terms the special values of zeta functions of arithmetic schemes.

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

We are living in an information era where the amount of image and video data increases exponentially.

In this thesis we study products of linear error correcting codes.

To contribute to the body of knowledge aiming at a better coverage of ecosystem service assessment in LCA studies, this thesis dives into the challenges of incorporating existing ecosystem service methods within the impact assessment phase of the conventional LCA framework.

Advanced mass spectrometry of glycosphingolipids takes the central stage in this thesis. Investigations focus on characterization of glycosphingolipid metabolism in health and disease with emphasis to the detection and accurate quantitation of known and so far unknown glycosphingolipids and closely…

The CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, is widely involved in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. However, no drugs for this receptor have made it to the pharmaceutical market yet.

This thesis focuses on two processes involved in fighting infections: metabolism and immune cell motility and navigation.

The research described in this thesis shows that hypercholesterolemia, a well-established risk factor for atherosclerosis, can impact skin lipid pool and barrier function already at young age. In the field of atherosclerosis, we showed that the small peptide Lyp-1 can be used as a targeting molecule…

In this thesis chemical and physical processes in the ice mantles on interstellar dust grains are studied.

Organic amendments applied to agricultural fields can partially offset our carbon emissions to the atmosphere and improve the resilience of agriculture to the effects of climate change. Driving these benefits, however, are complex and poorly understood interactions between organic amendment properties,…

This thesis is about the study of hydrocarbons via infrared spectroscopy.

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

Promotor: Prof.dr. A.W. van der Vaart

In this thesis, we show how MRFM can usefully contribute to the field of condensed-matter.

Promotor: C.J. ten Cate, Co-promotor: H.W. Slabbekoorn

In this thesis we study bistable reaction-diffusion equations on lattice domains.