International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion online publications
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Apathy as a syndrome:Focus on Parkinson’s disease and deep brain stimulation
Get PDFDit proefschrift onderzoekt de toegenomen prevalentie van apathie bij de ziekte van Parkinson nadat patiënten een behandeling met diepe hersenstimulatie ondergaan. Er zijn meerdere hypotheses voor het ontstaan van apathie na diepe hersenstimulatie, waardoor er verschillende subtypes van apathie worden gevormd die corresponderen met verschillende ontstaansmechanismen. Dit proefschrift bestudeert met name het directe stimulatie effect van diepe hersenstimulatie op apathie, waarbij een MRI studie aanwijzingen ziet voor suboptimale plaatsing van de diepe hersenstimulatie electrode, en hoofdstuk 8 suggereert dat er een subset van patiënten bestaat die profiteren van meer dorsale stimulatie van de nucleus subthalamicus
Emulating natural photosynthesis:Self-assembled cage scaffolds to control molecular aggregation states
Get PDFArtificial photosynthesis is a global scientific endeavour that attempts to develop solar-to-fuel devices as a viable approach to sustainable energy production and storage. Inspired by Nature’s strategies, a case is made for organization of molecules on a self-assembled scaffold. At the same time, porphyrins are recognized for their potential in supramolecular chemistry and artificial photosynthesis because of their excellent light-harvesting and catalytic properties. A metal-mediated self-assembly strategy forms porphyrin-equipped MnL2n coordination cages. This thesis investigates what properties of natural photosynthesis can be emulated by application of MnL2n supramolecular cages equipped with porphyrins. Thus, two hallmark objects of supramolecular chemistry — porphyrins and supramolecular coordination cages — have been combined to obtain self-assembled systems with potential application in controlled energy transduction and catalysis. By focussing on light-harvesting and on the organization of chromophores, these porphyrin-equipped cages are introduced as a new, powerful tool in the box of supramolecular chemistry
The Nur77 Narrative:Resolution of Macrophage Inflammation
Get PDFNur77 is a transcription factor with anti-inflammatory properties, particularly in macrophages, and plays a big role in chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and atherosclerosis. While Nur77 has shown protective effects in autoimmune conditions, the mechanisms by which it exerts these effects are not fully understood. In this thesis, I investigate how Nur77 influences inflammation through key signaling pathways like AP-1 and NF-κB. Through using multiple (transcript)omics techniques, I found that Nur77 regulates macrophage behavior by altering cellular mechanics and modulating inflammatory signaling, presenting Nur77 as a promising candidate for therapeutic intervention in chronic inflammation
Applications and outcomes of gluteal flaps following rectal cancer surgery
Get PDFThe surgical treatment for patients with rectal cancer is associated with high morbidity, which has a serious impact on quality of life. This thesis aimed to improve postoperative outcomes for rectal cancer patients. Part I focuses on the applicability of gluteal tissue flaps for preventing and treating pelvic complications. Chapter 3 discusses the use of gluteal fasciocutaneous flaps to treat chronic pelvic sepsis following pelvic surgery. With a high success rate of 89% in perineal wound healing, these flaps are shown to be an effective reconstruction method. Chapter 4 includes a technical note about the use of the gluteal turnover flap for reconstructing the posterior vaginal wall after abdominoperineal resection. Chapter 5 assesses the applicability of the gluteal turnover flap after primary abdominoperineal resection; although the flap did not significantly improve wound healing compared to primary closure, it did significantly lower the risk of presacral abscess (9% vs 22%) and need for drainage. Part II examines the consequences and repair techniques for perineal hernia. Chapter 6 explores how displacement of urogenital organs after abdominoperineal resection affects function, finding that cervix displacement correlates with worse sexual function in women. A symptomatic perineal hernia can significantly worsen quality of life, as revealed in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 presents a systematic review of perineal hernia repair techniques, finding that combined mesh and tissue flap reconstruction has the lowest recurrence rate (9%) compared to biological mesh (39%), synthetic mesh (29%), and tissue flap alone (37%). A comparative multicentre study described in Chapter 9 shows that combining mesh with a gluteal flap for perineal hernia repair results in a lower recurrence rate (14%) compared to mesh-only repairs (34%). This thesis supports the use of gluteal flaps for specific purposes
Prevention of infectious diseases:Vaccination and chemoprophylaxis strategies and the occurrence of breakthrough infections
Get PDFThis thesis provides insights into optimising infectious diseases preventive strategies for travellers and at-risk populations. We demonstrated that yellow fever and hepatitis A vaccines provide long-lasting protection in immunocompetent adults, while pneumococcal vaccination (PCV13/PPSV23) has poor long-term immunogenicity. In people living with HIV (PLWH) and patients on immunosuppressive therapy, long-term protection may be impaired for yellow fever, hepatitis A and pneumococcal vaccination, particularly for those on immunosuppressive combination therapy. However, PLWH and those on immunosuppressive monotherapy may maintain long-term hepatitis A protection through immunological memory. Vaccination before starting immunosuppressive therapy, as demonstrated for rabies vaccination, enhances immunogenicity. Tailoring vaccination guidelines to the needs of immunocompromised populations is essential to optimise long-term protection. Additionally, we showed substantial non-adherence to atovaquone-proguanil (AP) malaria chemoprophylaxis among travellers, especially post-travel, and propose a controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) model to study abbreviated AP regimens. Furthermore, we showed that malaria recrudescence after artemether-lumefantrine (AL) is rare in travellers but can be effectively retreated with AL, and we propose hair analysis as a future and novel tool to retrospectively assess drug exposure in malaria recrudescence. Future research should refine vaccination strategies, develop more appealing and cost-effective AP regimens, and further investigate the role of drug exposure in recrudescence
Tussen folklore en politiek:de uitvinding van de boekdrukkunst in het nationalistische en koloniale discours in Nederland
No full textIn this paper, the author discusses the national interest behind the invention of printing in the Netherlands. The historical truth of Gutenberg’s invention was disputed in the Netherlands. People were convinced that it was the Dutchman Laurens Janszoon Coster who had invented the tech-nique. In the 19th century, this belief extended as far as Indonesia, which was a Dutch colony at the time. In reality, the name Coster served only to reinforce the national consciousness and underline the greatness of the small Netherlands. This belief persisted for a long time. Statues of Coster can still be seen in Haarlem, although today they are regarded mainly as folklore. In Indonesia, his name and fame have been erased
Sequential metamaterials with plasticity
Get PDFGeometry controls functionality is the dominant paradigm in metamaterial design. This is especially true in mechanics, where many designs exploit a mechanical instability known as buckling. Buckling has primarily been designed by geometry: the aspect ratio of the slender elements making up the metamaterials or the geometric nonlinearities that come from internal rotations, rather than material nonlinearities. Material nonlinearities such as hyperelasticity and viscoelasticity have been used as design tools to create buckling-based metamaterials, yet the use of plasticity—a ubiquitous material nonlinearity displayed by most solids—has so far remained unexplored. In fact, plastic deformations have traditionally been seen as a failure mode and have therefore been carefully avoided. In this thesis, we embrace plasticity instead and discover a delicate balance between plasticity and buckling instability, which we term “yield buckling.” We exploit yield buckling to design metamaterials across a variety of geometric architectures and elastoplastic materials that buckle sequentially in an arbitrarily large sequence of steps. These sequential metamaterials demonstrate superior shock absorption performance, controllable buckling sequences, a tunable number and shape of buckling modes, and multishape self-assembly governed by loading history. Our findings represent a paradigm shift for metamaterial design by embracing plasticity and using it in tandem with geometrical design
Global Health in the Age of AI:Charting a Course for Ethical Implementation and Societal Benefit
No full textArtificial Intelligence (AI) presents unprecedented opportunities to transform healthcare worldwide, from improving diagnostic accuracy to expanding access in underserved regions. Despite this potential and growing investment, a significant gap persists between AI’s theoretical promise and its realised benefits in healthcare settings. This article examines the complex barriers impeding AI benefits realization in global health contexts, including ethical uncertainties, data infrastructure limitations, evidence quality concerns, and regulatory ambiguities. We analyze current initiatives addressing these challenges and highlight how technological solutions alone cannot resolve fundamental healthcare inequities. Drawing on the interdisciplinary perspectives and insights presented at the Global Health in the Age of AI Symposium hosted by the Cini Foundation and Yale Digital Ethics Center, we propose five core infrastructure requirements necessary for ethical AI implementation: robust data exchange; epistemic certainty with staff autonomy; actively protected healthcare values; validated outcomes with meaningful accountability; and environmental sustainability. These requirements form the foundation for a systems approach that balances technological advancement with ethical imperatives, contextual adaptability, and global equity considerations. We conclude that the successful integration of AI into healthcare demands coordinated action across sectors and borders, with careful attention to avoiding technological colonialism and ensuring AI serves as a force for health equity rather than widening existing disparities.</p
‘I Never Lived More Beautifully’:The Country Houses of the Jewish Dutch Elite, 1870-1940
No full textFrom the late nineteenth century until the German occupation of the Netherlands, Jewish members of the Dutch financial, political, and cultural elites increasingly established or settled in homes in suburban and rural areas. In this article I demonstrate, on the one hand, how Dutch Jewish country house owners resembled their counterparts in other European countries regarding their primary settlement near main cities, their familial and their artistic lives, their philanthropy, politics, collecting, and entertaining, and, ultimately, their pursuit of belonging. On the other hand, I show how in the Netherlands, a highly bourgeois country, Jews followed general elite practices of enclaving, many houses were permanent residences rather than seasonal homes, and several entrepreneurs were unique innovators in the modern repurposing of their estates. In a country where Jewish landownership was already visible before the modern period, Jews were, although a minority, an integral part of the country house landscape
Harnessing nanophotonics for high brightness white micro-LEDs
No full textThe invention of the blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) enabled the solid-state lighting (SSL) revolution. SSL typically achieves white light via phosphor-based down-conversion, where blue or UV LEDs excite phosphors that re-emit at longer wavelengths. In remote phosphor systems, nanophotonic metasurfaces leverage waveguide local density of optical states (LDOS) to induce spatial coherence and direct spontaneous emission into specific modes, which are then outcoupled via engineered periodic arrays. However, translating these strategies to compact phosphor-converted (pc) micro-LEDs is challenging due to strict pixel-scale constraints. This thesis develops nanophotonic approaches for efficient, directional light extraction in pc micro-LEDs, targeting high-resolution displays in AR glasses and smartwatches.We introduce a Python-based solver, PyRAMIDS, to model dipole emission in multilayer structures with multiple dipole scattering, enabling efficient design of nanophotonic devices. To address the “extraction challenge” in micro-LED — 90% of converted red emission is directed back into the high-index blue LED (GaN) die — we propose a counterintuitive strategy of introducing a spacer geometry that restores waveguiding in the phosphor layer. This design, validated experimentally, enables metasurface-enhanced directional outcoupling with a 3x increase in brightness. Fourier-plane emission maps also reveal unexpected dark straight lines interlaced with bright parabolic waveguide bands, arising from TE/TM interference and exhibiting polarization singularities, which we confirm via k-space Stokes polarimetry and reciprocity-based T-matrix modeling.To meet stringent pixel-size constraints, we implement an evolutionary optimization algorithm to design sub-3 microns metasurfaces compatible with 104 pixel-per-inch (PPI) displays, achieving a 45% improvement in forward emission over truncated periodic designs. Finally, we investigate angularly resolved chiral emission from helicene-doped polymers, revealing strong angular dependence and demonstrating a striking reversal of intrinsic handedness due to metasurface-driven spin–orbit interactions and waveguide reabsorption effects