The four possible segments A, T, C and G that link together to form DNA molecules, and with their ordering encode genetic information, are not only different in name, but also in their physical and chemical properties.

Promotor: Prof.dr. P.G.L. Klinkhamer, Co-Promotor: T.J. de Jong

What impact does a mid-season wildfire have on grassland invertebrates?

Promotores: C. J. ten Cate; M. A. Ainslie. Co-promotor: W. Slabbekoorn

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

To address the fundamental questions of how life on Earth emerged and how common life may be in the Universe, it is crucial to know the chemical composition of the planet-forming material.

With the help of quantum mechanics, digital quantum hardware may be able to tackle some of the problems that are too difficult for ordinary computers. But despite these expectations and the ongoing effort of the research community, reliable quantum computers are not yet realized in a lab setting.

Promotores: J.N. Kok, H.J. Hoogeboom

There is concern about the threat that nanoplastics (NPs) may pose to both wildlife and humans. This thesis explores the mechanisms of toxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) in chicken embryo.

International trade has played a major role in defining the modern global economy. Trade, however, entangles the environmental pressures of economic sectors, giving the illusion of environmental improvements, while the opposite may be occurring.

Despite the history of studies on methanol formation from CO2, the dominant elementary reaction steps that constitute the chemical mechanism for this catalyzed process are not determined.

Lezing

How should jurisdictions, both on the national and on the supra-national level, handle the interaction between public and private law where it regards the regulation of financial markets?

Plants are colonized by an astounding number of microorganisms that can provide different life-support functions, including nutrient acquisition and protection against (a)biotic stresses like drought or pathogen attack.

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics fails to explain several observed phenomena and is incomplete. In order to resolve this problem, one may extend the SM by adding new particles.

Op 16 juni 2020 verdedigde Andrea Varga haar proefschrift 'Establishing State Responsibility in the Absence of Effective Government'. Het promotieonderzoek is begeleid door promotoren prof. dr. N.J. Schrijver en prof. dr. F. Baetens (University of Oslo).

Astronomical observations of cold regions in the universe show a rich inventory of ices. Part of these ices may end up on planets like our own, but in that journey they will be exposed to considerable amounts of radiation.

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.

Increasing the efficiency of gene targeting (GT) as a genome editing tool in plants has been an important goal in plant biotechnology.

Anthropogenic noise has been shown to affect marine animals in various ways, this may have fitness consequences at individual and population level. This thesis aims to increase insight into the quantification of sound-induced behavioural responses that are relevant to fitness, and into factors that…

The focus of the described research in this thesis is on the oxidative stress response (Nrf2 pathway). The aim of the research presented in this thesis is to obtain more information concerning microRNAs which are involved in the Nrf2 pathway, to determine and evaluate the application of microRNAs for…

Breeding for resistance becomes more and more important because we want to reduce the use of pesticides. A fast and cheap alternative can be to make use of morphological or chemical markers.

Promotor: J. van der Greef; Co-promotor: E. van Wijk, M. Wang

Statistical distributions in LCA and converting between different representations of these distributions.

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. Schaye, Prof.dr. S.D.M. White (MPA Garching)

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) was tested in chronic worriers. tVNS may reduce spontaneously occurring negative thought intrusions. After a worry induction, there was no longer an effect of tVNS. tVNS did not affect physiological responding to worrying.

Do selenium nanoparticles in fish food cause subtle alterations in behavior of fish: effect of particles size and concentration?

What is the role of the rebound effect in achieving environmental savings from transport eco-innovation? Are traditional definitions of the rebound effect adequate in the context of transformative innovations and multidimensional environmental issues?

Description of Effects of glufosinate-ammonium on off crop vegetation.

CML-IA is a database that contains characterisation factors for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) and is easily read by the CMLCA software program.

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that human macrophages can be induced to exert direct anti-tumor activity against osteosarcoma cells. Our observation that the induction of macrophage anti-tumor activity by L-MTP-PE required IFN-gamma may be of relevance for the optimization of L-MTP-PE therapy in…

The outbreaks of AIDS and COVID-19 showed clearly how infectious viruses can influence people’s lives. Investigating the changes in the host metabolism may provide a paradigm shift to consider immune-metabolic interactions as therapeutic targets.

Most of current public-key cryptography is considered insecure against attacks from sufficiently powerful quantum computers. Post-quantum cryptography studies methods to secure information resistant against such attacks. One proposal is isogeny-based cryptography, which bases its security on computational…

This thesis describes how different colours of light affect various aspects of the growth and development of Arabidopsis and tomato plants⁠.

Extending our current arsenal of antibiotics is key to staying ahead in the arms race between humans and resistant bacteria.

This thesis covers various applications of topology in condensed matter physics and quantum information.

Promotores: W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg, G.R. de Snoo, Co-promotor: M.G. Vijver

CMLCA is a software tool that supports the technical steps of the Life Cycle Assessment. The focus of the program is on advanced computational aspects of life cycle inventory calculations.

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

This thesis contributes to studying primordial cosmology theories and their detectability in future observations.

The ideas underlying this thesis are that lipidomics may improve the diagnosis of liver metabolic diseases, and can provide further insights into the underlying pathophysiology of these diseases.

A Josephson junction is a device where a thin insulating barrier or a nanostructure is placed between two superconducting leads. Such a junction is essential to superconducting qubits that store quantum information due to its anharmonic spectrum.

Lezing

Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen, Mathematisch Instituut (MI)

Sneller nieuwe kankermedicijnen ontwikkelen door de krachten te bundelen. Dat is de missie van Oncode Accelerator, een Nederlands consortium waaraan ook drie Leidse promovendi meewerken die kortgeleden zijn gestart. Onder leiding van Gerard van Westen onderzoeken Marc Boef, Remco van den Broek en Lucina-May…

How can mega sand nourishments, such as the Sand Motor, be designed and managed for optimal ecosystem services provision ?

Where and how are critical materials currently used and how can this information be used to develop scenarios about their future demand.

A critical look at the impact assessment modelling of metals in Life Cycle Impact Assessment and improvement options.

Religion, Philosophy, and the Pre-modern World

Promotores: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink & Prof.dr. P.C.W. Hogendoorn Co-promotor: Dr. M.J.M. Schaaf