263134 research outputs found
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Transporteigenschappen van topologische isolator-nanolint en hun toepassingen voor kwantumbits
No full textstatus: Publishe
Bouwen aan een katholiek architecturaal landschap in Taiwan (1945-1970)
No full textThis dissertation investigates the development of Catholic church architecture in Taiwan from 1945 to 1970, arguing that the rapid proliferation of churches during this period was not spontaneous but the result of a highly structured, top-down spatial governance led by the Vatican, shaped through diocesan planning and missionary strategies. In just two decades, the Catholic Church in Taiwan transitioned from a missionary territory into a network of seven dioceses and more than 600 churches, forming a cohesive and institutionally governed religious landscape.
Unlike existing studies that focus on the artistic or symbolic value of individual churches, this research adopts a broader analytical lens to examine how church buildings functioned both as sacred spaces and as tools of institutional expansion. By doing so, it highlights the complex interplay between religious authority, political context, and local adaptation.
The study employs an interdisciplinary methodology combining archival research, field surveys, and in-depth interviews. Due to the limited availability of official church records from the post-war period, the researcher relied on archival sources from religious congregations such as the Franciscans, Maryknollers, and Jesuits. Fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2022 covered over 100 churches across all seven dioceses in Taiwan. These investigations documented church names, locations, architectural typologies, and were complemented by 24 interviews with clergy and laypeople to reconstruct construction histories and community involvement.
Three major findings emerge. First, distinct spatial strategies were adopted by different religious orders, shaped by their internal operational logics—for instance, the Jesuits in Hsinchu favored decentralized expansion, while the Franciscans prioritized churches near railways for logistical convenience. Second, the Catholic church landscape reveals a spatial hierarchy, ranging from cathedrals that embodied episcopal authority to parish churches that served as missionary nodes. Each layer reflects Vatican models of ecclesiastical governance and contextual localization policies. Third, the study identifies five architectural modes of localization: climatic adaptation, use of traditional and folk symbols, appropriation of landmark vocabularies, incorporation of local crafts, and community-based building processes. Although stylistic localization remained limited in the early post-war years, authentic forms of localization emerged through participatory construction, vernacular methods, and devotional practices.
The dissertation concludes that localization should not be narrowly defined by stylistic "Sinicization," but rather understood as a contextual, adaptive, and empowering process rooted in lived religious experience. By framing Taiwan's Catholic churches as a religious landscape shaped by institutional logic and local agency, the study contributes a fresh perspective to the spatial history of global Catholicism. It affirms that religious space is not only a reflection of belief, but also a medium through which governance, culture, and mission interact and take form.status: Publishe
Determinants of sustainability of informal community-based financial groups: insights from a survival analysis approach
No full textsponsorship: The authors declare that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and have no conflicts of interest. We acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders FWO project G067820N. (the Research Foundation Flanders FWO|G067820N, Research Foundation Flanders FWO)status: Publishe
Tomáš Halík, "Dromen van een nieuwe morgen: Thuiskomen in een vernieuwd christendom", vertaald door Kees de Wildt (Utrecht: KokBoekencentrum Uitgevers, 2025), 978 90 435 4254 8, blz. 172, € 23,99.
No full textstatus: Published onlin
Arendt's Modern Lie Through Sartre's Imaginary: A Phenomenology of the Phantasm in Digital Propaganda
No full textstatus: Publishe
Diagenese en alteratie geassocieerd met Cu-Co gemineraliseerde gesteenten in de Centraal-Afrikaanse Kopergordel
No full textThe stratiform copper and associated cobalt mineralization in the Central African Copperbelt, spreading from Zambia to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is the largest sediment-hosted copper-cobalt province on Earth, hosting at least 200 Mt copper and 8 Mt cobalt (Cailteux et al. 2005; El Desouky et al., 2009; Musuil, 2019). The origin of the Cu-Co mineralization in the Copperbelt is debatable, ranging from epigenetic-magmatic (Davidson, 1931; Jackson, 1932), through syn-sedimentary (Fleischer et al., 1976; Garlick, 1989), to early or late diagenesis (Bartholomé, 1974; Unrug, 1988; Sweeney et al., 1991; Muchez et al., 2015), to basin inversion, contractional tectonism and associated uplift and exhumation (Sillitoe et al., 2010; Musuil, 2019). Although alteration processes of the host rock related to the Cu-Co mineralizing fluids have been described, the relation between the diagenetic processes generally occurring during burial in sedimentary basins and the alteration processes is largely unknown, especially in the Congolese part of the Copperbelt. The objective of the research is: 1) to reconstruct the paragenesis of the processes occurring during diagenesis and alteration in the Congolese Copperbelt, 2) to determine the degree of diagenesis of the Katangan rocks and the possible alteration of the maturity indicators due to the migration and interaction with the mineralizing fluids and 3) to specify the timing of specific diagenetic and alteration phases by radiometric age dating.status: Publishe
De Digital Services Act na één jaar: naar een meer betrouwbare onlineomgeving?
No full textIn 2024 introduceerde de Digital Services Act (DSA) een uitgebreide reeks wettelijke verplichtingen die gericht zijn op het bevorderen van een meer veilige en betrouwbare onlineomgeving binnen de EU. Een jaar na de inwerkingtreding van de verordening hebben zich verschillende interessante ontwikkelingen voorgedaan wat betreft het aanbieden van tussenhandeldiensten. Van aanwijzingsbesluiten gepubliceerd door de Europese Commissie tot de vrijgave van onafhankelijke auditrapporten over zeer grote onlineplatforms en onlinezoekmachines: een kritische analyse van de recente ontwikkelingen biedt waardevolle inzichten in de praktische toepassing van de DSA, alsook in de uitdagingen die gepaard gaan met de handhaving van de verordening. Deze bijdrage beoogt enerzijds om de belangrijkste nieuwe inzichten over de DSA samen te brengen, en anderzijds om nieuwe spanningen in kaart te brengen. Daarbij gaat bijzondere aandacht uit naar contentmoderatie en de verplichting tot algoritmische transparantie.status: Publishe
ONDERZOEK NAAR HSP90 ALS DOELWIT VOOR PET-BEELDVORMING BIJ KANKER
No full textRadiopharmaceuticals are a powerful class of drugs that requires new molecular probes to expand the array of targets it can be used for. Peptides are a perfect fit for the role of a molecular probe due to their high target specificity and favorable pharmacodynamics. Hsp90a was identified as a biomarker of cancer with ectopic cellular localization. Targeting the pool of extracellular Hsp90 provides a promising strategy for cancer diagnosis and treatment, but to date there is no available radiotracer approved for human use beyond clinical trials. The goal of this project is to develop a cell-impermeable peptide probe against Hsp90a and investigate its potential as a radiopharmaceutical vector for diagnostics and therapy of cancer using two distinct approaches. The first approach is based on the targeted aggregation technology Pept-InTM developed by the SWITCH laboratory, while the second relies on the computational design using the force field mutation engine FoldX, directed at the two distinct binding interfaces of Hsp90. The binding of the Pet-Ins probes will be examined in vitro in two different breast cancer lines known to secrete Hsp90a, followed by affinity studies with recombinant protein using Monolith instrument that relies on the Microscale Thermophoresis technology. FoldX-generated peptides will be screened using a pooled library with FRET signal as a readout of protein-peptide interactions. Peptides with high binding specificity and affinity to Hsp90 will be radiolabeled and their pharmacokinetics examined in vivo using mouse tumour models.status: Publishe
Verbetering van de watergebruiksefficiëntie in cassaveteeltsystemen met behulp van stabiele isotopentechnieken
No full textCassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a tuberous root crop grown in the tropics, serving as both an important staple food and a valuable cash crop. Although cassava is considered drought-tolerant, the increasing frequency and intensity of droughts due to climate change represent a growing threat to its production. To address these challenges, it is crucial to develop strategies that enhance cassava resilience and productivity under adverse conditions.
A promising strategy to improve crop growth under limited rainfall is to maximize root production per unit of water used, or water use efficiency (WUE), by using improved varieties or adapting agronomic practices. While WUE assessments of a field trial can be time consuming, leaf based approaches, such as intrinsic water use efficiency, only provide snapshots in time . We therefore investigated the potential of stable isotopes (δ13C and Δ18O), indicators of intrinsic water use efficiency integrated over longer time scales, to asses water use efficiency in cassava plants as well as their utility to understand carbon dynamics.
In a greenhouse experiment, we labelled cassava plants with 13C-CO2 and found increased respiration due to drought and modified carbon partitioning due to drought and potassium application. In another experiment, we showed that potassium and drought can affect δ13C and water use efficiency. Older leaves and recent assimilates showed the strongest changes in δ13C. However, plants with higher intrinsic WUE (δ13C) showed lower whole plant WUE. In a field trial with 14 cassava genotypes, we found strong genotypic effects on δ13C and good correlations with yield in a dry environment, depending on the sampled carbohydrate pool and leaf position, highlighting its potential to select adapted varieties. While fertilizer application increased intrinsic WUE (δ13C) in another multi-location field trial, no effects of weeding were found on δ13C, possibly due to morphological changes, counteracting physiological changes. No changes in Δ18O were detected. Here, δ13C in the upper leaves was more strongly related to environmental fluctuations, whereas δ13C in the lower leaves was more related to leaf nitrogen content.
We demonstrated the potential of stable isotope composition to detect changes in intrinsic WUE from genotype selection and agronomic practices. However, increased intrinsic WUE may be linked to decreased whole plant WUE and reduced yields. Interpreting stable isotope composition therefore requires an understanding of the cropping system and its environment. This work highlights the importance of sampling the right carbohydrate pool and leaf position and can form the basis for further ecophysiological research in cassava.status: Publishe
Microfysica van wolkvorming: het pad naar heterogene nucleatie
No full textThe process that kicks off the cloud (or dust particle) formation is the nucleation process by which gas-phase species grow to larger clusters which then grow into condensation seeds. Given the chemical richness of planetary atmospheres, we need to explore heterogeneous nucleation paths, in contrast to the classical homogeneous nucleation of TiO2, SiO and others. The research question of this project is: Which mineral hazes form in exoplanet atmospheres and how do they lead to the formation of cloud-condensation nucleii? We will begin by studying the formation of VO and YO clusters in order to become acquainted with the quantum-chemical approaches, for example DFT. Then we will map the TiO2 result for the chemically similar elements Ti, V and Y. This will be followed by the study of Al-O and Zr-O cluster formation. The derived thermodynamic data will be used to derive cluster formation rates and added to the STAND2020 kinetic chemistry code for exoplanet and brown dwarf atmospheric environments. A thorough study of cluster formation under the condition of exoplanet atmospheres is to be conducted, and comparisons to previous works, like the homogeneous approach in Boulangier et al. (2019), will be done. The cluster abundances will be studied for specific exoplanets (for example a hot Neptune, a hot gas giant and an ultra-hot Jupiter) in order to derive possible observable finger prints for cloud formation. The cluster data for VO and YO in addition to TiO2 can now be explored to derive homogeneous nucleation rates, and those for Al2O3 and Zr2O3 will be used to explore paths to describe heterogeneous nucleation.status: Publishe