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Loskomen van kankerland: De verhalen die we vertellen over borstkanker veranderen
No full textIn this dissertation I examined autobiographical breast cancer narratives written by breast cancer survivors in the U.S. These stories, looking at breast cancer from a non-critical, neoliberal, individualist perspective, constitute a big contemporary cultural phenomenon as well as part of an extensive network (of objects, structures, and meanings) that determines people's perception of breast cancer and, consequently, what happens or does not happen on a broader level about it. In my research, I found that mainstream breast cancer narratives mostly emphasize survivorship and positive thinking, personal responsibility and heteronormative/middle class values of life. In doing so, they obscure different modes of existence, and preclude people from considering different responses to this epidemic, such that might foreground its links to economic-political interests and circumstances, and elicit more ethical and community-oriented approaches. Alongside my critique of mainstream breast cancer stories and a discussion of various factors that shape them and keep them in currency, I suggest turning to counter-narratives - critical autobiographical breast cancer stories that resist the storytelling pattern of winners'/heroes' tales, which is favored by the majority. I analyze three such narratives that stood out for me and I look at them in connection to their own specific features and with respect to their activist qualities. My work is structured as described in the rest of this summary.
In the introduction, I discuss the broader cultural tendency/directive to compose one's own memoir as well as how common this idea has become, historically stemming from an identification of self and self-narrative, and gradually considered to be an essential practice particularly for ill people, bringing coherence to a disturbed identity and life. Subsequently, I inspect three main agentic forces involved in the making of the breast cancer memoir boom: therapeutic culture (current notions of the individual as vulnerable and in constant need of healing as well as socio-economic structures that offer this healing), Narrative Medicine (an area of the medical humanities promoting engagement with the writing and reading of literature for doctors and patients), and a specific part of the publishing industry (inviting people who go through illness or trauma to send their manuscripts). I, then, examine the entrepreneurial-neoliberal-heterosexual pattern most mainstream breast cancer stories follow (a Bildungsroman story) and give specific examples of memoirs. I explain the reasons why such texts operate in ways that are socially harmful and I suggest looking at the network of connections among meanings and technologies that sustain this reality, as well as at alternative, critical stories.
In the first chapter, titled "Breast Cancer Under Neoliberalism", I look in more detail at certain elements of this network, upon which I touched in the introduction. I discuss therapeutic culture (and its popular manifestations of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness), Narrative Medicine (critiquing its premises and suggesting alternatives), and the evolution of illness narratives as a genre from the early 70's to the 90's. I delve into the changing/pervasive nature of neoliberalism from an economic system to an ontological issue, as well as that of the Bildungsroman - the narrative genre which best serves neoliberalism and has, therefore, become the dominant storytelling type of our times. I look into research on master and counter-narratives, which demonstrates that people's accounts are never pure and uncontaminated discourses, and that diverse and oftentimes opposing elements co-exist in the same narrative. I end the chapter considering the concept and practice of refusal along with that of resistance (which had been my main thinking lens for counter-narratives), and identify my case studies as moving between refusal and resistance, a fact that endows them with positive, bonding, community-building qualities.
In the second chapter, I analyze two textual accounts (counter-narratives) by the avant-garde writer Kathy Acker describing her experience with breast cancer. The first one, "The Gift of Disease", is a matter-of-fact story written for The Guardian, in which the author exercises critique on the breast cancer industry and details her encounters with spiritual healers after her decision to abandon mainstream medicine. The second, "Eurydice in the Underworld", is a performative, poetic text that mixes genres, employs the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and prepares Acker for her imminent death while addressing an activist call to the reader, whose cancer-death in necropolitical times might not be far away. I look at the first case through the narrative genres Bidungsroman and picaresque, as well as of the concept of counter-narrative, which is always entangled with elements of master-narratives. In the second case, I compare Acker's "Eurydice" to the Greek oral poetry tradition of moirologia and find many common features establishing "Eurydice" as a textual performance of protest making mourning public - a protest that includes those who exist in the margins, and creates bonds with other women.
In the third chapter, I examine the best-selling graphic novel "Cancer Made Me A Shallower Person" by Miriam Engelberg, a self-taught cartoonist who documented her breast cancer experience in comics. Engelberg's graphic memoir bears elements from the Bildungsroman genre but stands more on the side of the picaresque, giving the story in episodic form and featuring a protagonist who will not learn lessons and change, but who retains the status of an outsider wanting at the same time, in certain ways, to belong. The artist uses satire and humor to exercise critique on common held perceptions of breast cancer as an opportunity to become a better person and change your life, or to become deeper and more spiritual. She refuses to participate in the culture of meditation, yoga, and journaling, and speaks openly about constant involuntary exposures in an unsafe world, and about the environmental causes of cancer. Her memoir emerges as an activist counter-narrative debunking neoliberal ideas of individual responsibility and stands out in the genre of graphic pathographies, in which it belongs.
In the conclusion, I bring together all the different strands I dealt with in my entire examination of breast cancer in the U.S. as a multiple phenomenon that describes and stems from neoliberal systems and structures of life, and argue again for different stories resisting and refusing necropolitical, individualist models of greed, cancer, and death. Different stories and stories told differently (not emphasizing coherence and the hero's self-development, not told from an individualist point of view, not following the instructions of writing courses and manuals on how to write a memoir today) can slowly and gradually make the minoritarian voices heard and perhaps, over time, lead to more ethical ways of existence.status: Publishe
When does semantic change lead to semantic loss? Metaphor vs inference-driven metonymy
No full textstatus: Accepte
Subgolflengte Barium Titanaat Pockels modulatie door middel van geleidende oxide nanopilaren: Modelstudie voor hologram constructie uit vluchtige velden
No full textHolography is a technique that can create true 3D imaging by illuminating a finely patterned structure. To project holograms at video rate in high resolution, this pattern requires more than 10000 lines/mm and a data bandwidth of more than 10 Gigabits/cm². Until recently, driving high-quality holograms at video rate was not possible due to the limitations in both patterning resolution and data bandwidth. However, the silicon industry's quest to reach smaller patterning and higher data bandwidth has now brought both requirements within reach. Consequently, this opens new perspectives to develop video-rate switchable full-color holograms on CMOS driving circuitry. This PhD is a crucial part of the ERC Advanced grant granted to prof. dr. ir. Jan Genoe which aims to develop low-power electrical control of the local refractive index of a waveguide using novel metamaterials. The focus of this PhD will be the investigation of a layer of fine-pitched patterns of conductive and non-conductive oxides and/or nitrides with the goal to control the electric field with sub-100 nm precision. This layer will serve as the waveguide cladding and will be used to control the waveguide using the electro-optical effect. The necessity for transparent materials such as oxides and nitrides stems from the parasitic light scattering that would occur if metals were used. As such, this PhD thesis entails the design, production and characterization of the required metamaterials and its subsequent components. Initially, the PhD will focus around assessing the suitability of various materials, specifically their optical characteristics and how processing conditions influence them. To this end, optical measurements such as ellipsometry will be employed to gain insight in material properties. Simultaneously, finite difference time domain simulations will be performed to explore the constraints the material growth needs to match. Later, the goal is to create a completely transparent grating metamaterial. This in turn will require patterning, etching and accurate filling of the etched patterns. Herein lies the strength of the host institute which has all the necessary equipment, materials and know-how readily available to bring this project to fruition. Finally, in collaboration with other groups, the layers need to be integrated onto drive electronics to arrive at a proof of concept video holographic device.status: Publishe
Onderzoek naar de interne en atmosferische fysica van massieve enkelvoudige sterren en dubbelsterren
No full textAsteroseismology played a major role in the advancement of stellar astrophysics over the past decade, due to observations delivered by the Kepler/K2 space mission. Because of the prime focus on exoplanets and their host (lower-mass) stars, Kepler purposely avoided observations of high(er)-mass stars, whose models of the interior structure and evolution are among the worst-calibrated in the meantime. The recently launched NASA TESS space mission is a game changer in the topic as it performs a homogeneous screening of the entire sky, delivering high-precision photometry and covering wide ranges in stellar mass and age. At the same time, we have been collecting the much needed complementary spectroscopic information for intermediate- and high-mass stars, using the Flemish Mercator telescope for the Northern targets, ESO facilities ([email protected] ESO telescope and UVES@VLT) for the Southern targets, and the double-hemisphere facilities of the SDSS-V Survey. This PhD project concerns detailed analysis of the collected so far spectroscopic data sets, with the ultimate goal to provide an observational calibration of the theoretical prescriptions of various physical phenomena in the interior models of intermediate- and high-mass stars, such as interior rotation and mixing profiles and chemical element transport inside these stars.status: Publishe
Voorbereiden op de volgende pandemie: Strategieën ter ontwikkeling van pan-bunya antivirale middelen
No full textThe order of Bunyavirales includes numerous (re)emerging viruses that are able to cause disease in humans and collectively have a major impact on human health worldwide. These viruses have a segmented negative sense single‐stranded [(–)ss]RNA genome and depending on the viral family are spread through either mosquitos, sandflies, or arthropods such as ticks. Despite many similarities in viral structure, genome organization, and replication cycle, the different bunyavirus families cause a broad range of clinical manifestations. Many of which can be life-threatening, such as hemorrhagic fever or encephalitis. Collectively the pathogens of the Bunyavirales form a serious threat to global human health. Especially, since for humans there are no specific prevention or treatment options available. Acquiring a deeper understanding of the replication cycle and involved proteins from the different bunyavirus species may provide insight on how best to target these viruses and facilitate antiviral drug discovery.
One of the most well suited and conserved viral targets among bunyaviruses based on literature study, supplemented with phylogenetic analyses (Chapter 3), was found to be the endonuclease domain of the L-protein. This protein acts as RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and is essential in the replication cycle of all bunyaviruses. The endonuclease domain specifically is responsible for cap-snatching', the process of cleaving the 5'-end of host mRNAs to use these as primer to initiate transcription of viral RNA. The amino acid similarity of the endonuclease domain of species between the four studied bunyaviral families ranges from 30% to 45%. However, within the active site of the domain there are motifs that are close to perfectly conserved. A similar endonuclease domain can be found in influenza viruses, where it already has been successfully exploited as druggable target to treat infection.
To allow fast and reliable analyses of prospective drug candidates a next-generation antiviral assay was developed, making use of virus strains that express a fluorescent reporter protein. One major benefit of using our fluorescence-based assay over classical CPE-based assays is the fact that the antiviral effect of the tested compounds and their effect on the cell viability can be determined within the same assay plate. The first bunyavirus for which a protocol using this technique was developed is the Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus (BUNV) (Chapter 4). The protocol is easily adapted to a 384-well plate format, and therefore employable in high-throughput screening efforts.
In Chapter 5, we investigate a class of molecules, the diketo acids, for their potential anti-bunyaviral properties. Molecules from this class have the capacity to chelate the two metal ions at the heart of the active site of the endonuclease domain, thereby rendering it unfunctional. We show the biochemical inhibition of several bunyaviral endonucleases translating to a modest antiviral activity in our fluorescent reporter-BUNV based assay. Our results confirm that the endonuclease is a suitable target for the development of broader acting antivirals against bunyaviruses and that the diketo acid class of compounds is worthy of further exploring in the design of novel inhibitors.
Since a diketo-acid class molecule, baloxavir, has already been developed against influenza and successfully brought to clinical use we have evaluated whether this compound would also target the endonuclease domain of orthobunyaviruses in Chapter 6. We demonstrate that targeting the endonuclease of orthobunyavirus using the influenza inhibitor baloxavir yields a more potent antiviral effect than that brought about by ribavirin, which is currently the only last resort treatment given in case of severe bunyavirus infections. Hence, the design of potent and selective endonuclease inhibitors against bunyaviruses as drug candidates holds great promise.
In Chapter 7 we describe how we utilize zebrafish larvae as model for Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) infections and implement that model to study various aspects of the viral replication and dissemination, and the hosts antiviral response. Pericardial injection of RVFV in zebrafish larvae resulted in infection and robust viral replication. The optical transparency of the larvae allowed detection of the reporter virus RVFVeGFP in the liver and sensory nervous system, including the optic tectum and retina. Thereby demonstrating that RVFV-induced blindness is a result of damage to the eye and peripheral neurons, rather than the central nervous system. We show that viral replication in the larvae can be inhibited by adding the polymerase inhibitor 2'-fluoro-2'-deoxycytidine (2'-FdC) to their swimming water, proving the models viability for antiviral evaluation studies. Moreover, treatment of the larvae with JAK-inhibitor ruxolitinib, as well as knock-out of stat1a, strongly enhanced RVFV replication, but without dissemination to sensory neurons or the eye, confirming the defining role of stat1 in RVFV pathogenesis.
In conclusion, the endonuclease domain of bunyaviruses is one of the most promising antiviral targets throughout this viral order. The here described enhanced methodology for antiviral analyses in vitro was developed allowing for the simultaneous evaluation of antiviral potency and cell toxicity in a single assay. Additionally, a new animal model was established using zebrafish larvae in combination with a RVFV reporter virus, and validated this model for the use in antiviral testing.status: Publishe
De gezondheid van moeder en kind na (dis)continuatie van biologicals tijdens zwangerschap
No full textstatus: Publishe
Verbetering van de thermische veerkracht tegen oververhitting bij hittegolven in residentiële en kleine niet-residentiële gebouwen
No full textClimate change is contributing to more frequent and intense heatwaves, which increase the risk of indoor overheating in buildings. Overheating risk poses serious health risks to occupants, including heat stress, dehydration, life-threatening conditions like heatstroke and even mortality. To mitigate these health risks, it is crucial to incorporate thermal resilience to overheating as a key performance indicator in building design. Within the framework of IEA EBCs Annex 80- Resilient Cooling of Buildings, thermal resilience refers to a building's ability to withstand and recover in timely manner from thermal shocks, maintaining its designed/at least habitable thermal conditions during/post shock period. Several studies have developed thermal resilience indicators and assessment frameworks, but these approaches have notable limitations. Current indicators, such as exceedance hours, unmet-degree hours, and indoor overheating degree, primarily focus on long-term overheating and lack defined thresholds for shorter shocks. They tend to rely on indoor temperature deviations without accounting for other factors that influence occupant heat stress. While heat-stress indicators like Standard Effective Temperature degree.hours (SET-Dh) link thermal resilience to occupant health and include thresholds for young, healthy, or older, vulnerable occupants, they still need further refinement to integrate shock impacts and building design parameters. Qualitative indicators (e.g., absorptive, adaptive, and restorative capacities, recovery speed) assess resilience across phases, while quantitative indicators (thermal autonomy, passive survivability) evaluates resilience for shorter shocks. However, both lack clear, quantifiable thresholds. Existing frameworks fail to account for different shock types (e.g., heatwaves, system failures) or lacks link resilience to building design parameters. Furthermore, current methods require detailed simulations or data analysis, which are impractical for early-stage building design. A comprehensive thermal resilience framework is needed—one that: (a) assesses resilience across various shock types, (b) links resilience to critical design parameters, (c) incorporates occupant health and comfort through heat-stress thresholds, and (d) is accessible and user-friendly for architects and designers. This framework should enable the evaluation of thermal resilience across different building designs and highlight effective design changes to improve resilience.
As first step towards developing a comprehensive thermal resilience assessment framework and linking thermal resilience assessment to shocks, a parametric study was conducted using future weather data for heatwaves, based on the RCP8.5 climate scenario. The study focused on extreme heatwaves in climate zone 4A (Ghent), with heatwaves of varying durations and intensities. By quantifying the degree of shock (doS), the study compared the impact of different types of shocks, including external (heatwaves) and system shocks (e.g., cooling system failure, solar shading system failure, natural night ventilation failure). The findings revealed that heatwaves are the most critical shock type for buildings, as they overwhelm passive cooling strategies and lead to prolonged occupant discomfort. Once the most critical shock type has been identified, as second step towards development of a comprehensive thermal resilience assessment framework, it is crucial to identify the most influential design parameters (both buildings' and systems') that impact thermal resilience during the extreme heatwaves. An uncertainty analysis revealed the variation in thermal resilience performance due to design variations and sensitivity analysis identified that design parameters, such as window-to-wall ratio, cooling capacity, and the operation of passive strategies (e.g., natural night ventilation, solar shading), significantly impact a building's thermal resilience. Ultimately, as the final step towards development of a comprehensive thermal resilience assessment framework, a thermal resilience indicator (TRI SET-Dh), was developed to assess and improve residential and office buildings' thermal resilience to overheating during heatwaves. TRI SET-Dh was developed by combining dynamic simulations, sensitivity analysis, and regression models. A decision tree was developed to systematically assess thermal resilience and predict SET-Dh across -(a) multiple shock severity (high, medium and low),(b) building type (residential and office), (c) thermal mass (heavy, medium and light), and strategies (solar shading, natural night ventilation, cooling), and incorporating influential design parameters like window-to wall ratio, envelope and glazing properties, ventilation rates etc. TRI SET-Dh is based on a decision tree and regression models based on each branch of the decision tree providing a user-friendly framework for assessing a building's thermal resilience during the early design phase. The predictive capacity of the developed TRI SET-Dh was evaluated against simulations of real-life cases of residential and office buildings to test the accuracy of the developed TRI SET-Dh. Key findings showed that buildings optimized with balanced window-to-wall ratios, thermal mass, solar shading, and ventilative cooling performed better during heatwaves, with a combination of passive and active cooling strategies providing the highest thermal resilience. This comprehensive thermal resilience assessment framework offers a simplified yet robust framework for architects and designers to assess thermal resilience in the early stages of design.status: Publishe
‘When the Time comes, I Will go Like Every Brave Soldier’: The Military Identity of Belgian Recruits in the First World War
No full textThis article explores how Belgian recruits in the First World War approached and articulated their military identity. Within the army, recruits assume a special place: during an armed conflict, they are part of the army without having actually fought on the battlefield in question. They develop a military self without experience of combat and without ever having seen or heard for themselves the war they are training for. Through some elements of critical discourse analysis, their letters and memoirs are analysed as a textual performance of the self, tracing ideas and images used by recruits to construct their military self.status: Published onlin
Het kruipt onder de huid. Hoe temperament en boosheid verband houden met zelfverwonding.
No full textNon-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) refers to the deliberate and direct destruction of one's own body tissue without suicidal intent, such as cutting or burning oneself (International Society for the Study of Self-Injury, 2024). Lifetime prevalence of NSSI among emerging adults is 13.4% (Swannell et al., 2014). According to Nock's (2009) integrated model, NSSI is triggered by both intra- and interpersonal factors. However, the role of reactive and regulative temperament and anger as intrapersonal risk factors of NSSI have been understudied. Therefore, this doctoral dissertation aims to understand "How temperamental dimensions and anger are related to non-suicidal self-injurious thoughts and behaviors".
The first objective of this dissertation was to enhance the assessment of reactive temperament. In the first study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS Scales; Carver & White, 1994) in older adults. The findings showed that the BIS/BAS Scales were a valid and reliable instrument to assess temperament among older adults. In a second study, we examined the psychometric features of the Dutch Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ; Corr & Cooper, 2016) among adults. We found that the original factor structure of the RST-PQ did not fit the data well. We developed a brief version of the RST-PQ, which showed good reliability and validity, creating new opportunities to assess reactive temperament in psychopathology.
The second objective encompassed between-person differences between NSSI and aggression, as well as between the recency and severity spectrum of NSSI. In a third study, we investigated the differential relations between NSSI and aggressive behavior. NSSI was associated with high BIS (anxiety) and low BAS-Impulsivity, reflecting a depressive temperamental profile and supporting the emotion-regulation function of NSSI. Conversely, aggressive behavior was associated with low BIS and high BAS-Impulsivity. The fourth study examined NSSI across a spectrum of engagement, from no history to recent and severe NSSI. Depressive symptoms and NSSI versatility (i.e., number of NSSI methods) were key predictors of more recent and severe NSSI, confirming the need to tailor interventions that focus on emotion regulation strategies to reduce depressive symptoms and diminish the number of NSSI behaviors.
The third objective was to examine NSSI in daily life. The fifth study used Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to investigate anger at self and others among emerging adults with past-year NSSI. The findings showed that, in individuals with a history of NSSI, increased anger at self predicted NSSI thoughts and decreased perceived self-efficacy to resist NSSI. Anger at self also predicted NSSI, but this association faded when controlling for prior NSSI thoughts, emphasizing the need for interventions targeting anger reduction and adaptive emotion regulation.
In sum, the research identified temperamental dimensions and anger as two important intrapersonal vulnerability factors of NSSI, endorsing the added value of interventions that focus on emotion regulation to prevent NSSI. The findings support a stepped-care approach, in which individuals' needs are addressed according to increasing levels of NSSI severity (Westers & Plener, 2020).status: Publishe