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The terms of critique:On art as critique in <i>October </i>journal
Get PDFThis dissertation examines the terms of critique in the art critical journal October. Founded in 1976, October emerged in response to the perceived redundancy of Clement Greenberg’s formalist art criticism and the rise of socially engaged art practices. Seeking to reconcile modernism’s self-critical focus with socio-political concerns, the journal became a platform for rethinking art’s role as a form of critique. Drawing on influences such as French Theory and the Frankfurt School, October advanced an understanding of art as a critical practice that interrogates the ideological, historical, and institutional conditions of its production and reception, extending this inquiry to broader questions of subjectivity, epistemology, and socio-historical analysis.The dissertation focuses on two primary paradigms of critique within October: Rosalind Krauss’ poststructuralist deconstruction and Benjamin Buchloh’s Marxist-inspired immanent critique. Both approaches emphasize art’s capacity to challenge dominant structures but differ in their theoretical foundations and methodologies. Krauss foregrounds the destabilization of fixed meanings and categories through poststructuralist critique, while Buchloh emphasizes art’s engagement with the socio-historical conditions of late capitalism. However, both paradigms also encounter internal contradictions that limit their capacity to address contemporary issues. Taking critique not only as its object but also as its method, the dissertation develops an immanent critique of these paradigms, ultimately proposing a new framework for art as critique.<br/
The sacred networks of Dersim sayyids:An oral history approach to Alevi bonds and tribal affiliations
Get PDFThis thesis examines the hereditary organization of holy families among the Alevis, a minority religious group in Turkey primarily comprising Kurdish and Turkish ethnicities. Although Alevism is part of the Shia branch of Islam, it diverges significantly from mainstream Shia traditions. The Alevis’ minority status dates back to at least the 16th century when, under Ottoman rule, they were labelled rafizis (heretics) by Sunni authorities. Consequently, Alevis faced severe persecution and were often forced to seek refuge in remote rural areas, far from administrative centers. Despite these challenges, they preserved their religious identity through religious organizations structured around two main entities: the Bektashi order and independent holy families. While much of Alevi historiography has focused on the Bektashi order, this thesis emphasizes the independent holy families, particularly the Dersim sayyids. Concentrated in Dersim (Eastern Turkey), these families established hereditary ties with tribes and maintained influence until the 1970s. Faced with a lack of historical documents, this research relies on hereditary networks observed through fieldwork. The affiliation map between sayyid families, as well as the connections between sayyids and tribes, provides valuable data to enhance our understanding of their history. The oral traditions of these families also make it possible to pinpoint key turning points in past centuries. Furthermore, the findings of this research allow for a critical evaluation of major assertions in Alevi historiography and the formulation of new questions for future research
Large benthic foraminifera under the pipette:Method development and ecological assessment in the Spermonde Archipelago
Get PDFCoral reefs are described as the rainforest of the seas, because they form a marine hotspot of biodiversity. Some coral reefs live and thrive in murky waters; they are important to study because they might provide refugia for corals and other reef organisms in face of climatic instability, especially the rise of sea water temperature. To assess this concept and to monitor the dynamics of coral reefs over time and space, multiple methods were developed, including the use of bioindicator species. Large benthic foraminifera (LBF), millimetre-sized unicellular marine protists, has proven to be very useful in assessing environmental conditions in coral reefs. Compiling 25 years of research from turbid coral reefs located in the Spermonde Archipelago, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, I answer three main questions: 1) Can LBF communities be used as a warning signal for reef benthic community shift?2) Can molecular methods be used to assess LBF community compositions reliably?3) Which environmental factors trigger the spatial distribution of LBF species?This work contributes to the greater understanding of the ecology of LBF by the means of morphological and molecular data analysis. Building upon thirty years of pioneer molecular research in foraminifera, I demonstrated the strength of LBF in monitoring reefs using molecular methods in a quantitative manner. Finally, I underscored how the combination of multiple LBF taxa provide complementary information on the reef environmental conditions in terms of water quality and substrate characteristics. This information is essential to picture ancient reefs and to anticipate future changes of present coral reefs
Multidisciplinary developments in rectal cancer care and lateral nodal disease
Get PDFGedurende de laatste decennia zijn de behandelopties voor rectumcarcinoom aanzienlijk verbeterd dankzij betere herkenning, selectieve radiotherapie en nieuwe chirurgische technieken. In dit proefschrift zijn de multidisciplinaire ontwikkelingen in kaart gebracht en hiaten geïdentificeerd waar mogelijkheden liggen voor verdere verbeteringen.Het eerste deel van dit proefschrift behandelt de incidentie, herkenning en klinische kenmerken van zowel primair als recidiverend rectumcarcinoom. Het blijkt dat de incidentie van mismatch-repair deficiënte (dMMR) tumoren laag is (2.8%), maar dat deze tumoren, in tegenstelling tot coloncarcinoom, goed reageren op neoadjuvante (chemo)radiatie. Daarnaast wordt beschreven dat aanwezigheid van extramurale veneuze invasie op MRI-scan een belangrijke prognostische factor is voor een slechtere overleving. Verder heeft een afname van het gebruik van neoadjuvante (chemo)radiatie bijgedragen aan een grotere kans op curatieve behandeling van lokaal recidiverend rectumcarcinoom.Deel twee onderzoekt de chirurgische behandelingen van het rectumcarcinoom. Lokale excisie bleek bij actieve opvolging een hoger risico op lokaal recidief te hebben, maar een lager stoma-risico. Bovendien zijn lokale recidieven na lokale excisie bijna altijd goed te behandelen. Verder blijkt dat de keuze voor chirurgische technieken, zoals TME met anastomose of lage Hartmann’s procedure, varieert tussen ziekenhuizen. Het derde deel richt zich op de behandeling van laterale lymfeklieren. Deze klieren zijn geassocieerd met een hoger risico op lokaal recidief, maar niet op afstandsmetastasen. Dit deel benadrukt ook het belang van nauwkeurige herkenning, risicoclassificatie en gestandaardiseerde bestraling voor betere behandelresultaten. Daarnaast wordt ook het protocol van de LaNoReC-trial beschreven, deze studie onderzoekt de effectiviteit van een multidisciplinaire aanpak bij patiënten met laterale lymfeklieren
Integrated biocatalytic approaches enabling steroids synthesis and functionalization
Get PDFSteroids are ubiquitous in nature and perform essential vital functions such as the regulation hormonal activity or the digestion and absorption of lipids. Steroids are also fundamental constituents of cell membranes and can exhibit anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiviral, antimicrobial, and antifungal activities with important therapeutic applications in the treatment of several clinical conditions including cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Not surprisingly, the global market for steroidal drugs and intermediates has a remarkable value of more than 10 billion US dollars. Despite their impressive distribution, the production of many steroid molecules remains difficult via traditional organic chemistry, displaying many synthetic steps, low yields and selectivity. Given the urge to make these molecules more accessible for clinical trials and drug manufacturing, new atom-efficient and chemo-selective synthesis methods are highly desired. Such new processes must also meet modern synthesis standards such as sustainability, safety, and cost efficiency. For this purpose, in this joined PhD project we aimed to address this challenge by developing integrated flow chemo-biocatalytic systems for steroid functionalization. In particular, the major aims of the project are:• Discover and apply new enzymes for the site-specific functionalization of steroids under mild conditions (e.g., sulphation, amination)• Implement new biocatalysts into tailored chemical routes to shorten the number of synthesis steps, enhance efficiency, and reduce waste.This project benefited by the collaboration between the Laboratory of Medicinal and Advanced Synthetic Chemistry led by Professor Antimo Gioiello at UniPG Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences with sustainable and flow synthesis of steroids and the Biocatalysis lab led by Professor Francesco Mutti at the UvA's Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, with organic synthesis using enzymes and enzyme engineering
Phosphate and salinity differentially affect root skewing and circumnutation
Get PDFPhosphorus (P) is essential for plant growth, forming key macromolecules like ATP, phospholipids, and nucleic acids. Inorganic phosphate (Pi) availability in soils is limited due to low solubility and mobility. This thesis investigates how plant roots perceive and respond to Pi availability. We discovered that Arabidopsis roots exhibit a clear Pi-specific directional-growth response, however, always to the left direction independent of the direction of the Pi gradient. This increasing level of Arabidopsis root skewing induced by increasing concentration of Pi was termed "Phosphate Dependent Skewing" (PDS). This response is caused by a right-handed, clockwise, circumnutation of the root tip, which is driven by left-handed, counterclockwise, epidermal cell file rotation (CFR) in the root elongation zone, and involves a reorientation of the cortical microtubule cytoskeleton. Transcriptomic and genome-wide association studies identified critical roles for the microtubule cytoskeleton, cell wall, and Pi signalling pathways in regulating PDS responses. Interestingly, increasing NaCl concentrations reverse PDS to a rightward skewing response, termed “Salt Induced-Rightward Skewing” (SIRS), with associated reversals in helicities. This work provides a deeper understanding of root behaviour under Pi availability and salinity stress, linking cellular mechanics to genetic pathways. The findings emphasise the relationship between root skewing, circumnutation, and tropisms, and offer insights into how roots adapt their growth to optimise Pi acquisition. These discoveries lay the groundwork for improving nutrient use efficiency in crops, potentially addressing challenges in sustainable agriculture
From diversity to functionality:Understanding microbial communities in haloalkaline biodesulfurization systems
Get PDFSulfur, abundant on Earth, undergoes a microbial-driven cycle across oxidation states. Microbes thriving in sulfide-rich environments enable pollution mitigation and sulfur recovery, despite H2S toxicity. Haloalkaline biodesulfurization, an eco-friendly process, employs haloalkaline sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) to convert toxic H2S into elemental sulfur (S8). It can completely remove gaseous sulfide from the inlet gas streams from various natural and industrial sources such as landfills, paper, textile, oil and gas and others. The produced sulfur can be used to make fertilizers and hence contributes to circulation of resources. Understanding key microbes and underlying mechanisms driving this bioprocess is crucial for optimizing and advancing the bioprocess. This thesis systematically investigated microbial communities in pilot- (dual reactor line-up with anoxic and oxic bioreactor) and full-scale (single-reactor line-up with only oxic bioreactor) biodesulfurization installations. It was shown that composition and source of the feed gas impacted the diversity of microbial community. Despite that, all the installations had a set of common microbes contributing to sulfide oxidation with Thioalkalivibrio as the most abundant genus. However, for dual reactor line-up, Alkalilimnicola emerged as abundant as Thioalkalivibrio, which contributed to higher selectivity of sulfur formation. The dual-reactor system, when investigated at different process conditions, variable hydraulic retention time (HRT) and sulfide concentration in anoxic reactor, suggested that both these parameters impact activity of SOB. This thesis combines substrate kinetics and molecular biology to infer the mechanisms involved in sulfur conversions up to molecular level. It also proposes indicator genes for the increased thiosulfate (undesired by-product) formation
Towards precision medicine for (long) COVID:Perspectives on pharmacotherapy and molecular mechanisms
No full textThis thesis shed light on the complex and heterogeneous nature of (long) COVID. It contributed to the characterization of both acute COVID-19 and long COVID patients and the identification of individuals at risk of developing chronic lung damage. It covered research ranging from pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies on therepurposing of imatinib to target endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19, to the characterization of the P4O2 long COVID cohort, contributing to our understanding of its associated cellular and molecular profiles. This cohort included long COVID patients aged 40-65, mostly hospitalized with moderate disease severity, who predominantly experienced persistent respiratory, neurological, and fatigue symptoms and showed signs of ongoing pulmonary abnormalities at 3-6 months post-COVID. Transcriptomic analysis identified inflammatory nasal and blood profiles. This thesis provided novel insights into the nasal epithelium of long COVID patients, revealing upregulated SMURF1 expression in the nasal epithelium of patients with pulmonary radiologicalabnormalities. Additionally, it demonstrated decreased wound healing potential, barrier dysfunction and hypersensitivity of the nasal epithelium along with the involvement of the IFN-γ and IL-1β axis. The findings of this thesis highlight the need for continued inter- and multidisciplinary research to fully understand this (post-)viral condition and to explore clinical interventions, emphasizing our responsibility as researchers to continue solving the (long) COVID puzzle. The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering consequences can serve as a model for approaching future health crises, as we work towards tailored treatments for both immediate symptoms and long-term health outcomes in precision medicine for (post-)viral conditions
Cancer-associated thrombosis:Mechanisms, prediction, and treatment
No full textThis thesis explores the mechanisms, prediction, and treatment of cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT). In Part I, we investigated biological mechanisms contributing to venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer. In a review, we described germline and somatic mutations associated with increased VTE risk. A transcriptomic analysis in pancreatic cancer suggested a potential role of interleukin-33 in VTE development, whereas a protein profiling approach did not identify candidate protein predictors.In Part II, we focused on risk prediction. A new CAT risk score was validated in a large Danish cohort, classifying more patients with VTE as high risk compared with the guideline-recommended Khorana score, while maintaining similar discriminatory performance. An individual patient data meta-analysis of >2,200 patients with cancer identified predictors of recurrent VTE during anticoagulation (age, breast cancer, metastatic disease, direct oral anticoagulant use, and index deep-vein thrombosis). However, predictive accuracy was modest, underscoring the limitations of models relying only on baseline predictors at the start of anticoagulation.In Part III, we evaluated treatment of recurrent VTE despite anticoagulation. A post-hoc analysis of the Hokusai VTE Cancer trial revealed heterogeneous management strategies and high rates of recurrence, bleeding, and mortality. In a prospective observational study, a low-molecular-weight heparin dose escalation strategy did not clearly reduce second recurrences.Overall, this thesis underscores the complexity of cancer-associated thrombosis, the limitations of current prediction tools, and the poor outcomes of recurrent VTE, highlighting the need for improved biomarkers and treatment strategies.<br/
Linking microbial community and gross nitrogen transformations in forest soils:Methods and experiments
Get PDFGross nitrogen (N) transformations in forest soils underpin ecosystem productivity and regulate the risk of N loss. Soil biota, particularly microbes, drive these key processes, while climatic and soil-related factors regulate microbial communities and thereby shape the rates and interrelationships of gross N transformations. In recent decades, major advances in understanding the soil N cycle have been achieved through stable isotope techniques that quantify individual processes and genomic tools that characterise microbial communities.This thesis advances a process-based understanding of soil N transformations in temperate forests—ecosystems that provide essential services yet are highly vulnerable to global change. Specifically, it investigates the regulatory factors of internal soil N transformations and explores how microbial communities mediate these processes. These objectives are addressed through an integrative approach that combines literature reviews on microbial N transformations and analytical methods with experimental studies in Dutch and Luxembourg forests. The findings contribute to integrating microbial dynamics into ecosystem-scale models of forest N cycling, thereby improving predictions of soil N dynamics under future environmental change