In this thesis we present several methods to automate tomographic reconstruction algorithms and several novel tomographic reconstruction algorithms with the focus on being easily applicable and efficient to use.

Efficient gene-targeting during meiosis

Born in Europe roughly 100 years ago, quantum physics brought forth a veritable technological revolution through semiconductors, lasers, fibre optics, and many other technologies that are today ubiquitous in our lives. Now, during the second quantum revolution, Europe can take the lead once more in…

In what way can the chemical properties of cobalt porphyrines be adjusted to optimize their selectivity and activity when using them for the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to methane and methanol?

The research is aimed at development of an efficient gene targeting method that allows controlled integration of DNA at a preselected site in the Trichoderma genome.

A modern ship design process is subject to a wide variety of constraints such as safety constraints, regulations, and physical constraints.

Material circularity and energy efficiency are highly relevant and intertwined issues for the transition towards a carbon-neutral and circular built environment. In the Netherlands, the building sector has been rendered a priority towards a circular and low-carbon society.

We aim to develop a microfluidic platform that can parallelize testing the performance and characteristics of pure, mixed and environmental bacteriophage samples.

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

Can we find and commercialise new treatments for chronic disease that affect our ageing population? And how can we customise this research and development programme to the small but highly-developed Netherlands research economy?

What are the environmental trade-offs for SMEs considering moving from monoculture aquaculture practice towards IMTA? What are the environmental trade-offs comparing IMTA species with their conventional monoculture alternatives?

Young children, adolescents and students may experience learning difficulties as a result of lack of sleep. Dr Kristiaan van der Heijden investigates sleep problems and solutions for various age groups.

Over time, the temperature in all buildings will be regulated in a sustainable manner. In this way, using gas will not be necessary anymore.

A P300-based Brain Computer Interface character speller, also known as P300 speller, has been an important communication pathway, under extensive research, for people who lose motor ability, such as patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or spinal-cord injury because a P300 speller allows human-beings…

In multi/many-core System-on-Chips (SoCs), the performance is almost linearly scaling with the number of processing elements.

On 24 November 2015, Prof. Carsten Stahn participated as external expert in a special plenary session of the Assembly of States Parties on the efficiency and effectiveness of Court proceedings, chaired by the co-chairs of the Study Group on Governance of the Assembly.

A convolutional neural network (CNN) is a biologically inspired algorithm, highly capable at processing images and videos.

Schneider

The probability for dissociation of molecules on metal surfaces, which often controls the rate of industrially important catalytic processes, can depend strongly on how energy is partitioned in the incident molecule. There are many example systems where the addition of vibrational energy promotes reaction…

Promotor: A. Kros

This thesis consists of two main parts. The first part (Chapters 2 and 3) deals with a class of Markov process called Quasi-Skipfree (QSF) processes.

To develop good cancer treatments, we need to know much more about how malignant tumour cells develop. Professor Ewa Snaar-Jagalska looks at not just the effect of medication on isolated cells but also the behaviour of cancer cells in their tissue environment. Inaugural lecture on 11 December.

Psychologist Bernadet Klaassens initiated a large fMRI study on the effect of drugs on brain networks in aging and Alzheimer's disease. It generated a unique data set and insight into a new method to develop drugs for patients with Alzheimer's.

Scientists have long been puzzled why it is easier to produce hydrogen from water in an acidic environment than in an alkaline environment. Marc Koper comes with an explanation: the reason is the electric field at the surface of the catalyst, which is larger in an alkaline environment, as he writes…

Leiden researchers have found minute movements in the laccase enzyme. This discovery could lead to the development of much more efficient biofuel cells. Publication in Biophysical Journal.

It takes years to develop new medicines, from the test tube to trials in humans. During the process it often happens that a drug that seems promising in the initial stage has to be dropped in a later phase. This costs time and money. Leiden University and the LUMC are working closely together to make…

Research of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry into the development of a sustainable fuel cell has accidentally resulted in an exceptionally efficient catalyst for the production of hydrogen peroxide. The catalyst, discovered by Dennis Hetterscheid and PhD candidate Michiel Langerman, may lead to a more…

The STW project Energy Efficient Computer-Brain Interaction (principal investigator for LIACS: dr. T.P. Stefanov) has been granted. Funding for LIACS: 1 PhD student + travel/equipment budget, project duration: 4 years.

Why is the swimming efficiency of the European eel higher than predicted?

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

On Tuesday 10 March 2015 - 10h Ernst Worrell, professor at the University of Utrecht with a chair on

Continuous optimization is never easy: the exact solution is always a luxury demand and the theory of it is not always analytical and elegant.

Promotor: Prof.dr. T.J. Aartsma, Co-promotor: R.N. Frese

How might we include circularity into the models often used in IPCC reporting (in technical language, how can IAMs, dMFA models and CGE models be integrated?) What are possible futures for global resource use and what are the consequences for greenhouse gas emissions in these scenarios?

Integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) with life cycle costing (LCC) offers the opportunity to simultaneously analyze the environmental and economic aspects of product alternatives, for the integration of which a unified computational has been proposed by Heijungs et al. (2013) [1]. The project aims…

A sustainable resource management is an essential aspect to satisfy the current human needs without compromising the needs of future generations.

Juurlink

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

The database research community has made tremendous strides in developing powerful database engines that allow for efficient analytical query processing.

The aim of this work was to study the applicability of antigen-coated pH-sensitive microneedle arrays for effective vaccination strategies. Therefore, a model antigen (ovalbumin) was coated onto pH-sensitive (pyridine-modified) microneedle arrays to test pH-triggered antigen release by applying the…

Membrane fusion is a vital process in living organisms and is mediated by zipper-like proteins.

The LOFAR radio telescope produces petabytes of data every year. Radio Astronomers use complex multi-step pipelines to process this data and produce scientific images.

How to ensure the environmental and economic benefits of circularity transition at macro-scale?

What are the life-cycle environmental impacts and risks to human health and ecosystems of a III-V/Si PV system? How can these be expected to change when the system is deployed at industrial scale? What are the most favourable recycling scenarios?

NimbleAI aims at solutions for ultra-energy efficient and secure neuromorphic sensing and processing at the edge.

In this project innovative technology for photovoltaics cells is developed and analysis of ecological and health related risks are explicitly accounted for.

Urbanization brings benefits like housing and jobs but also challenges like biodiversity loss. CML's Urban research program uses science to create sustainable cities, focusing on the built environment (circular economy, urban mining) and enhancing urban nature for biodiversity and human benefits.

Researchers at LIACS are working to devise the computers of tomorrow that will be the backbone of the Cloud and Edge computing paradigms as well as the Internet of Things. In this respect, we are involved in research and development of high performance computing systems, embedded & real-time computing…

The focus of health care is rapidly changing. The need for maximum gains with minimal input requires tailored health care strategies and an ever more explicit evaluation of health benefits for the patient.