Why do black holes emit thermal radiation? And how does a closed quantum system thermalize?

The growing demand of energy indicates that global energy resources in the form of fossil fuels will not be sufficient in the future. In order to solve potential future energy problems development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is highly desirable.

This dissertation consists of two parts, each of which considers a different research area related to random interval maps. In the first part we are interested in random interval maps that are critically intermittent.

This thesis describes the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA (MASCARA), which consists of two small robotic telescope designed to detect exoplanets around the brightest stars in the sky.

Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease resulting in the formation of an arterial plaque. Despite lipid lowering, recurrent cardiovascular events remain a risk. While atherosclerosis is primarily lipid-driven, the immune system plays a critical role in the pathophysiology.

The recently introduced nature-originated deep eutectic solvents, so-called natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) are considered as truly green solvents, which composed of natural ingredients found abundantly in organisms.

Climate change is one of the largest challenges faced by humanity. To combat this research into alternatives to fossil fuels is ongoing. Dihydrogen is considered a good alternative fuel, since its burning only forms water.

Promotor: Prof.dr. I.A.G. Snellen, C.U. Keller

This PhD thesis concerns the topic of arithmetic geometry. We address three different questions and each of the questions in some way is about counting how big some set is or can be.

Plant-microbe interaction resulted in different physio/chemical responses by host plant and interacting rhizobacteria.

Phosphorylation affects all four major biomolecules – proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids – and plays a pivotal role in the most fundamental cellular functions.

Obesity may alter how a person absorbs, distributes, metabolizes or excretes medication. This thesis describes how obesity affects drug levels in the blood for antimicrobial agents, such as ciprofloxacin and fluconazole.

Promotores: H.S. Overkleeft, G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: B.I. Florea

On the largest scale, the Universe resembles a cosmic spiderweb. Most galaxies coexist in small groups within the threads of this web. At the nodes of the threads are enormous groups of galaxies forming the largest structures in the universe still held together by gravity: clusters of galaxies.

As leading cause of death worldwide, cancer is responsible for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020 according to World Health Organization (WHO). Cisplatin and its derivatives are commonly used chemotherapy agents for current cancer treatment in the clinics.

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.A. van der Marel, M. van Heel

Promotor: Prof.dr. B.R. Katzy

Promotores: T.H.W. Bäck, Y. Tan, Co-promotor: M.T.M. Emmerich

This dissertation studies the Asymptotics of Bayesian nonparametric inference for Gaussian linear models.

Lysosomal glycosidases are acid hydrolases that fragment glycoconjugates in lysosomes.

Novel entities may pose risks to humans and the environment. The small particle size and relatively large surface area of micro- and nanoparticles (MNPs) make them capable of adsorbing other novel entities, leading to the formation of aggregated contamination.

In a typical glycosylation reaction, a donor is activated to form a (variety of) electrophilic species which can react with a nucleophilic acceptor, following a reaction mechanism having both SN1 and SN2 character.

Traditionally, vaccines are administered intramuscularly using conventional hypodermic needles, which cause pain and distress. Microneedles are very short needles (smaller than 1 mm) that are practically invisible to the naked eye.

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo

Prematurely born neonates require, amongst others, pharmaceutical therapy. Dosing guidelines for these therapies are often based on data from term born neonates or older infants, while these are not necessarily similar to prematurely born neonates.

Promotor: Prof.dr. T. Schmidt

Predictive maintenance (PdM) is a maintenance policy that uses the past, current, and prognosticated health condition of an asset to predict when timely maintenance should occur.

In this thesis, we study systems of electrons in which strong correlations give rise to emergent exotic physics.

Diacylglycerol lipases (DAGLα and DAGLβ) are responsible for the biosynthesis of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in the brain and peripheral tissues. Selective DAGLβ inhibitors have been proposed as a potential treatment for inflammatory diseases with reduced potential for central…

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…

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

Taxonomy as a science has accumulated data and knowledge for more than 250 years.

Promotor: Prof.dr. E. Deprettere

Promotor: T. Schmidt, Co-promotor: S. J.T. van Noort

Industrial manufacturing processes, such as the production of steel or the stamping of car body parts, are complex semi-batch processes with many process steps, machine parameters and quality indicators.

Humanity stands at a pivotal juncture, facing the dual challenge of environmental sustainability and rapid population growth, projected to exceed 11 billion by century’s end.

This thesis aims to investigate the effect of tripartite interaction between microbial inoculants, the plant, and herbivore insects on the rhizosphere microbiome and volatilome. We investigated the rhizosphere microbiome and volatilome of tomato plants exposed to insect herbivory and/or inoculated with…

Systems are called real-time systems, if the correctness of the system does not only depend on the correctness of the system output but also on whether the output is delivered on time.

An Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) is a highly luminous region at the center of a galaxy, powered by the accretion into a supermassive black hole and emitting energy from radio waves to gamma rays, often outshining the host galaxy.

Freshwater and brackish water ecosystems are arguably the most vulnerable ecosystems on earth, due to concentrated human developments in and around them. The Pontocaspian (PC) region located at the border of Europe and Asia contains a variety of brackish water ecosystems and unique inhabitants, known…

Mycorrhizas are symbiotic associations between soil fungi and most plant species.

Heart failure is a major health care problem with high mortality.

Promotores: G.R. de Snoo, W.T. de Groot, Co-promotor: C.J.M. Musters

Molecular materials have been a subject of interest in fundamental research and applications for decades, and have been studied as bulk crystals, (thin) films and as individual molecules, due to the large variety in their properties. This dissertation explores pentacene crystals near the two-dimensional…

Plastics have become an integral part of modern society due to their versatility and durability.

Following the Big Bang, structure in the Universe started collapsing under the force of gravity. This resulted in the formation of the first stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies.

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotor: S.C. Hille

In this thesis we classify the pairs (p,G), where p is a prime number and G is a finite p-group possessing an intense automorphism, i.e. an automorphism that sends each subgroup of G to a G-conjugate, that is non-trivial and whose order is coprime to p.

Announcement of the publication of Vamping the Stage: Female Voices of Asian Modernities, the first book-length study of women, modernity, and popular music in Asia (University of Hawai'i Press, 2017).

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