Leiden University Scholary Publications
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Vices of the learned: towards a long-term history of scholarly vices
No full textPolitics, Culture and National Identities 1789-presen
More than just a number: modelling biological aging and vulnerability
Full text linkAging is a complex process, and chronological age alone does not reflect how far someone has progressed in their individual aging trajectory. Biological age aims to capture this underlying state, but estimating it accurately is difficult. This dissertation, More than just a number: modelling biological aging and vulnerability, evaluates statistical methods for biological age prediction and stresses the need for rigorous methodology.Many current predictors use cross-sectional data and regress chronological age on a set of biomarkers. Since biological age is latent, these models rely on the strong, untestable assumption that associations with chronological age reflect the underlying true aging rate. Chapters 2 and 3 of this thesis show that this leads to biased estimates and systematic distortions from regression to the mean, particularly when comparing different age groups.Chapter 4 introduces the AccelerAge framework, which uses an Accelerated Failure Time model to estimate how biomarkers influence remaining lifespan. Chapter 5 presents a penalized reduced-rank regression model for multi-outcome survival data, revealing latent factors linked to diseases and lifespan. Chapter 6 develops a framework to disentangle components of excess mortality in vulnerable groups during crises, improving insight into disproportionate impacts on such groups. LUMC / Geneeskund
An LGBTQI+ child rights-based approach to eligibility for international protection
Full text linkThis article focuses on the application of the refugee definition provided in article 1(A) of the 1951 Refugee Convention to the special protection needs of LGBTQI+ children. In doing so, it uses the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as an interpretative tool to adapt the specific requirements established by the Refugee Convention to the special protection needs of LGBTQI+ children applying for asylum. It argues that the child specific protection provided by the CRC should be interpreted to create effective access and specific protection for LGBTQI+ children applying for asylum under Article 1(A) of the Refugee Convention. Owing to the rights protected in the CRC and notably the principle of the best interests of the child, when LGBTQI+ children do not fit the requirement of individualised risk of persecution, they should qualify for complementary protection in light of, or based on the CRC itself.Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl
Britishness and empire in the Malay archipelago: the travels of Stamford Raffles (1817) and Isabella Bird (1883)
No full textModern and Contemporary Studie
Evaluation of digital platforms in real-life health and care settings: supporting health promotion, organization and communication of care, and treatment
Full text linkThe healthcare system is currently challenged by rising demand due to chronic diseases and mental health issues, coupled with workforce shortages. To address these challenges, healthcare delivery must become more efficient, and the profession needs to attract more healthcare professionals. Digital health technologies, particularly digital platforms, are proposed as solutions to enhance care accessibility and personalization while alleviating the workload of healthcare providers (HCPs). These platforms can facilitate care at home, improve communication between patients and HCPs, and reduce geographical barriers.This thesis evaluates three digital platforms implemented in real-life settings, focusing on their effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability. The health app platform allows users to purchase selected health apps aimed at promoting public health. The primary care platform enhances communication and organization in general practice. An increase in consultations and costs is observed, while HCP’s report reduced workload. Lastly, online psychotherapy with app support shows promise for treating anxiety and depression.The findings suggest that while these platforms have potential, further development and evaluation are necessary to ensure they meet user needs and improve public health outcomes. Ongoing assessments will be crucial for their successful implementation and scalability in the healthcare system.LUMC / Geneeskund
Metabolomics insight into the gut microbiome of infants with cow’s milk allergy
Full text linkThe rapid expansion of research on human gut microbiome in recent decades hashighlighted its role in human metabolism, immune regulation, and behavior.20 Despitesignificant progress in deciphering how the gut microbiome affects human health anddisease, a long journey lies ahead to fully solve the puzzle. Combining multi-omicsanalyses has become a trend to unravel the intricate relationship between the gutmicrobiome and the human host. Among the omics techniques, as a direct readout ofphenotypes, metabolomics provides a snapshot reflecting the functional properties ofthe gut microbiome at the molecular level. This emphasizes the crucial role ofmetabolomics in revealing this complex relationship and underscores the needs foradvances in metabolomics techniques. In this thesis, by proposing strategies to addressthe matrix effect in LC-ESI-MS-based analytical method, we advanced untargetedmetabolomics towards quantitative analysis. The focus then shifted to deepening ourunderstanding of the interactions between the gut microbiome and CMA in early lifefrom a metabolomics perspective. Overall, the research in this thesis suggested thatseveral gut microbiome-involved metabolic pathways may play a role in the acquisitionof CM tolerance, and provided evidence that the fecal metabolome can serve as apotential readout to reflect the impact of early synbiotic supplementation in infants.These findings offered valuable insights into the relationship between the gutmicrobiome and CMA, aiding future research in developing microbiome-targetedstrategies for the prevention and management of CMA in early life.Analytical BioScience
Kwali-tijd in de urologie: van eed to AI
Full text linkOratie uitgesproken door Prof.dr. Maxime T.M. Kummeling bij de aanvaarding van het ambt van hoogleraar Urologie
aan de Universiteit Leiden op vrijdag 9 januari 2026LUMC / Geneeskund
Skin and beyond: reading the surfaces of the body in ancient Greek literature
Full text linkThe skin looms large in our cultural imagination: this is as true for us now as it was for the ancient Greeks. This dissertation takes its cue from the field of Skin Studies and examines how ancient Greek authors from the Homeric poems up to the Hellenistic periods conceptualized skin; how skin was talked about. More specifically, it is concerned with what an ancient Greek audience thought it could ‘read’ from the skin through such features as colour, texture and the markings on it, and the ways in which it did so. The dissertation consists of three parts, which respectively focus on 1) different ways of conceptualizing skin, the kind of 'stuff' it represents; 2) discourses of looking at skin for signs of, for example, social status; and 3) the relationship of skin to touching. The skin in ancient Greek literature and science emerges as a 'site of truth': it is deeply bound up with questions of truth, authenticity and deceit. Skin might represent the surface of our bodies, but it is anything but superficial.NWOSPI_31-337Classics and Classical Civilizatio
Navigating between empires: the discourses on self-determination in and about Hong Kong
Full text linkThis thesis examines how the discourse of self-determination has beeninvoked, shaped, and transformed by state and non-state actors in relationto Hong Kong from 1945 to 2021. Moving beyond a positivist framework,this thesis conceptualises self-determination not as a determinate legal right,but as a plural, malleable, intersecting legal-political discourses, whichwere deployed strategically by the UK, the PRC, the Hong Kong elites, andthe counter-elites in moments of territorial and constitutional transitions.Using discourse analysis, archival research, and insights from critical legaltheories, the study offers novel perspectives on Hong Kong’s legal status.It traces Hong Kong’s autonomy to the inter-imperial dynamics, the evolvingdemands of Hong Kong communities, and the territory’s distinctivecolonial and decolonial experiences. This study shows how state actorsand non-state actors both employed the elastic understandings of selfdeterminationto justify conflicting political demands and outcomes, whichoffers us critical insights as to how self-determination is better understoodas authoritative language rather than legal right in ‘inter-imperial zones’that are unlikely to become the focus of international legal adjudications.This thesis makes four arguments. First, on a conceptual level, this thesischallenges international law’s state-centric orientation by examining howinternational law was applied, interpreted, and contested in practice byintra-state and non-state actors in relation to Hong Kong. It emphasizes theargumentative elasticity of international law and the importance of studyingits discursive use beyond judicial contexts.Second, this thesis supplements the current understanding of self-determinationby highlighting how its interpretation was shaped by historical,strategically, and ideologically contingent concepts. Seven overlappingdiscourses are identified: nationalism, self-government, colonial independence,freedom of choice, sovereignty, democracy, and autonomy, eachleading to a different understanding of the entitlement, content, and scopeof self-determination as a legal right. In Hong Kong, self-determination wasemployed primarily for justificatory purposes and flexibly interpreted tomean autonomy, sovereignty, self-government, or democracy, discoursesthat were sometimes complementary, sometimes contradictory. HongKong’s autonomy reflects an amalgamate of influences from the discoursesof autonomy, sovereignty, self-government, and democracy.Third, through the study of Hong Kong, this thesis proposes a new frameworkof understanding colonial Hong Kong as a de facto Condominiumsubjected to two sovereigns, which made Hong Kong unfit for the applicationof UNGA rules on decolonisation. Despite meeting the UN criteriafor a Non-Self-Governing Territory, its path toward self-determinationhas always been bilaterally negotiated agreements without the participationof the Hong Kong people. As a result, the territory’s autonomy wasconstructed not as genuine political self-government but as a form ofadministrative autonomy. While discursively useful for reconciling conflictingexpectations, the Hong Kong model of autonomy reinforced a distinctcommunity identity without satisfying political aspirations, leaving thesettlement structurally fragile. The example of Hong Kong reveals the inherentinstability of imposed and non-participatory autonomy as a ‘palliative’form of self-determination. It also highlights how the inherent ambiguitiesand elasticity of the term ‘autonomy’ could generate opposing expectationsand inspirations that could widen the existing communal differences. TheHong Kong example thus offers us tools to rethink the conditions for viableautonomy and asymmetric power sharing as ways of conflict resolution inthe contemporary world.Finally, this thesis also made several new historical findings. This thesis aseries of tacit understanding between the UK and the PRC in constrainingthe development of democracy in Hong Kong even before the signing ofthe Sino-British Joint Declaration in December 1984. At the same time, thisthesis shows a more complex and nuanced diplomatic history behind thePRC’s request to remove Hong Kong and Macau from the Chapter XI List ofNon-Self-Governing Territories in 1972, and the interactions between GreatPowers leading up to the official beginning of the Sino-British negotiations.Last but not least, this thesis is the first study that systematically studied theextensive influence of the UK behind the drafting of the key provisions ofBasic Law. It was revealed for the first time that the use of the Electoral Collegeto select the Chief Executive came from a UK proposal in 1988, and thatthe PRC had suggested to the UK as early as in 1990 to use the NPCSC’spower of interpretation to resolve inconsistencies between Articles 22 and24 of the Basic Law.Exploring the Frontiers of International La
Deconstructing value in solar panel reuse with time-explicit life cycle assessment and costing
Full text linkMany solar panels are discarded before the end of their technical lifespan, wasting valuable energy generation potential. Reusing these panels in underserved communities expands clean energy access but incurs upfront processing costs and yields energy later, at diminishing capacity. To justify such value retention efforts, the temporal dimension is essential yet underexplored. This study uses Time-Explicit Life Cycle Assessment and Costing to investigate when, which values were retained, and at which cost, across three solar panel reuse cases in the Netherlands.Results show life cycle Carbon Footprints savings of up to 231,700kgCO2-eq and financial savings up to €307,935. However, during reuse processing years, Carbon Footprints rise by 37 %, and upfront costs rise by up to 90 %. Cost bearers and beneficiaries differ. Nevertheless, these additional impacts balance out in 2–3 years. Reuse emerges as a promising circular strategy, provided financing and policy mechanisms will be in place to address upfront costs.NWO1432.20.001Industrial Ecolog