This Thesis begins by examining the general role that relevant domestic laws (of the capital-importing and capital-exporting countries) play in the determination of contested jurisdictional and... Show moreThis Thesis begins by examining the general role that relevant domestic laws (of the capital-importing and capital-exporting countries) play in the determination of contested jurisdictional and substantive issues in investment treaty arbitrations. Subsequently, in two separate chapters, the Thesis delineates the legal bases for the application and the specific function of the municipal laws of the recipient state in settling two paramount issues of jurisdiction ratione materiae in investment treaty arbitrations, namely the matters concerning the legality of the investment as well as the existence of ‘property rights’ underlying the ‘investment’. Having pinpointed the vast relevance of the internal laws of the host state in deciding upon these jurisdictional thresholds, the Thesis goes on to submit that this extensive role of the host state law in the above-mentioned matters coupled with other circumstances and developments in the international law of investment (in particular, the ever-increasing role of the courts of the host state in the resolution of investment treaty arbitration disputes) tend to partially revive the long-dormant theory of ‘localisation’ which had once been substantially affected in a negative way by the inception and the introduction of bilateral investment treaties. Show less
This dissertation examines the politics of forestry in the context of late Ottoman Mediterranean Anatolia. Exploring the power struggles among officials, timber traders, and Tahtacı communities,... Show moreThis dissertation examines the politics of forestry in the context of late Ottoman Mediterranean Anatolia. Exploring the power struggles among officials, timber traders, and Tahtacı communities, this study discusses how modern forestry practices were negotiated at the local level. In the nineteenth century, in order to gain more effective control over forests, the Ottoman government introduced a series of reforms toward “scientific forestry.” In the implementation of these reforms not only did opposing interests clash at the central level but local interest groups involved in regional trade networks also appeared as influential actors. On the one hand, negotiations between officials and traders undermined “scientific forestry” as a high modernist ideal. On the other, this complex network constituted an integral part of modern forestry practices and prevailing power struggles. Despite fragmented interests within the administration as well as various obstacles officials encountered in monitoring forests, the new forestry practices brought about a dramatic transformation of the countryside. Most importantly, increasing pressure on forests and forest-dependent communities due to intensified commercialization caused an overexploitation of nature and labor. Focusing on the changing subsistence strategies of Tahtacı communities, this study investigates the impact of these changes on the hill societies of Mediterranean Anatolia. Show less
This thesis combines field and laboratory studies to address some of the most pressing questions in the field of microplastic research. Specifically, the thesis addresses the topic of microplastics... Show moreThis thesis combines field and laboratory studies to address some of the most pressing questions in the field of microplastic research. Specifically, the thesis addresses the topic of microplastics in the freshwater environment. The research presented covers both the environmental presence and abundance of microplastics, in addition to ecological effects, investigated using observational and experimental studies. These studies give a greater understanding of the abundance, types and sources of microplastics in freshwater systems in the UK, how organisms and chemicals interact with microplastics and the potential ecological effects on a range of freshwater organisms from different functional feeding groups and trophic levels. Show less
Higher age is accompanied with multimorbidity and is also associated with the presence of geriatricconditions. A geriatric assessment (GA) is used to explore the domains of somatic status, mental... Show moreHigher age is accompanied with multimorbidity and is also associated with the presence of geriatricconditions. A geriatric assessment (GA) is used to explore the domains of somatic status, mental,physical and social functioning. Only few studies have assessed the association of a GA withoutcomes in older patients with severe diseases. We show that the majority of the studies inpatients with head and neck cancer and esophageal cancer, reported a significant association ofimpairment in functional and cognitive performance, mood or social environment with a higher riskof adverse outcomes. Third, we investigated older patients reaching end-stage renal disease andreported that high age, low education, low functional status, frailty, higher burden of WMH and ahistory of vascular disease were associated with impaired cognitive function. Finally, we studied apatient reported outcome measurement (self-rated health; SRH) in older patients visiting theemergency department and show that it is at least partly dependent on factors of functional capacityand functional decline. In conclusion, we report that aspects of the GA are associated with adversehealth outcomes. This endorses the importance of taking geriatric characteristics into account inpatients who possibly need intensive treatment, however more research is needed. Show less
In dit proefschrift worden verschillende methodes onderzocht en uitgevoerd om de ovariële functie te sparen bij vrouwen die een behandeling moeten ondergaan als chemotherapie en/ of radiotherapie,... Show moreIn dit proefschrift worden verschillende methodes onderzocht en uitgevoerd om de ovariële functie te sparen bij vrouwen die een behandeling moeten ondergaan als chemotherapie en/ of radiotherapie, die de ovaria kunnen aantasten.Een behandeling is het invriezen van ovariumweefsel en indien een vrouw daadwerkelijk in de overgang is geraakt kan dit weefsel weer in haar eigen lichaam terug geplaatst worden. Het percentage vrouwen dat na ovarium cryopreservatie vervroegd in de overgang komt, is laag. Wij adviseren daarom enkel ovarium cryopreservatie aan te bieden aan vrouwen die door een gonadotoxische behandeling een hoog risico hebben op het ontwikkelen van vervroegde overgang. De autotransplantatie zelf is een effectieve methode met 86% herstel van ovariele functie en 57% levendgeborenen. Het risico van uitzaaiingen van de primaire ziekte in de ovaria bij patiënten met kanker is in onze studie zeer klein gebleken en is deze techniek dus een veilige methode.Ovariumtranspositie voorafgaand aan radiotherapie op het bekken is een veilige en zinvolle behandeling ter preventie van vervroegde overgang en zou standaard aangeboden moeten worden bij vrouwen tot 35 jaar.Met betrekking tot de reeds geaccepteerde techniek van vitrificatie dient men zicht te realiseren, dat alvorens deze techniek te implementeren, er een steile leercurve is. Show less
The dissertation not only examines the elements of formalism and decisionism in Russian legal thinking, it also takes into account the impact of conservatism on the interplay between both elements.... Show moreThe dissertation not only examines the elements of formalism and decisionism in Russian legal thinking, it also takes into account the impact of conservatism on the interplay between both elements. This perspective – confirmed by a substantial analysis of Russian intellectual history and informed of the practice of application of Russian law – sheds important light on the conceptualization of rights in Russia. The author underscores that the current conservative narratives, about the distinctiveness of Russian law, reveal certain features of Russian legal culture and, specifically, the intellectual culture that is continually transmitted in legal education, scholarship and practice. Such narratives often serve as a rationale for crafting exceptions to constitutional non-discrimination principles as they are applied to political, religious, sexual and other minorities. In their turn, these exceptions are based on the idea that the validity of rights is mainly justified with reference to communitarian rather than to individual interest. Justification of these exceptions requires reconciling the formal requirement of legality with factual practices of arbitrary law-enforcement. Show less
The unit residue group, to which the present thesis is devoted, is defined using the norm-residue symbol, which Hilbert introduced into algebraic number theory in 1897. By its definition, the unit... Show moreThe unit residue group, to which the present thesis is devoted, is defined using the norm-residue symbol, which Hilbert introduced into algebraic number theory in 1897. By its definition, the unit residue group of a global field is a direct sum of local contributions. It has a subgroup of a global nature, called the virtual group.We give a precise description of the unit residue groups and their virtual subgroups for some classes of number fields, including all quadratic fields. In addition we point out connections to two classical theorems on ideal class groups, namely the theorem of Armitage and Froehlich on 2-ranks and Scholz’s theorem on 3-ranks.We also study certain subgroups of the multiplicative group of a local field that play an important role in an algorithm for computing norm-residue symbols, and group isomorphisms between the groups of quadratic characters of two number fields that preserve L-series. Show less
This thesis examined the extent to which relationships between emotional experiences and aggressive behaviours in adolescents are affected by culture. While existing studies often compare... Show moreThis thesis examined the extent to which relationships between emotional experiences and aggressive behaviours in adolescents are affected by culture. While existing studies often compare individuals from different countries to study cultural influences, this thesis also took a between-country approach by comparing Dutch and Malaysian adolescents; groups that reflect individualistic and collectivistic cultures, respectively. Also, the effect of individualistic and collectivistic values at an individual level was examined. First, the outcomes show that many relationships were culturally universal. Regardless of country or cultural orientation, adolescents who had more problems with anger control tended to be more aggressive; and those who experienced intense anger, fear and shame were more often bullied. Also, guilt was related to less aggressive behaviours in both Malaysian and Dutch samples. Yet, this thesis also revealed country/cultural specific relationships. Whereas shame was related to more aggression in Dutch adolescents, the opposite was true for Malaysian adolescents.Remarkably, this thesis found that the traditional classification between individualistic Western countries and collectivistic Eastern countries was not fully supported when cultural values were assessed at individual levels. For example, while higher levels of shame were related to less aggressive behaviours in individualistic-oriented adolescents, the opposite was true for collectivistic-oriented adolescents. Show less
The clandestine revolutionary politics for women was marked by an environment in which gender roles and expectations were constantly challenged and reproduced as a result of the extraordinary... Show moreThe clandestine revolutionary politics for women was marked by an environment in which gender roles and expectations were constantly challenged and reproduced as a result of the extraordinary conditions under which they had to live and operate. These conditions were not stable but evolved and transformed in a dynamic environment in which not only various political actors were involved and interacted, but also the repercussions of their actions were influential on various levels. This study claims that, what the women involved in the clandestine revolutionary movements in Turkey and Iran in the 1970s experienced at the micro level was directly related to and influenced by both the macro level developments and political settings, and the meso level processes and mechanisms. Instead of holding only certain characteristics of the regimes, societies, or organizations responsible for the character of the women’s experiences, this study argues that causal mechanisms which played a significant role in the radicalization processes of the leftist movements in Turkey and Iran could also help us account for the similarities and differences between the women’s experiences in the two cases. Show less
Door onder meer de grote belangstelling voor strafzaken, toegenomen mondigheid van burgers en meer polarisatie in de rechtszaal, rijst de vraag of de rechter nog voldoende is toegerust om zijn taak... Show moreDoor onder meer de grote belangstelling voor strafzaken, toegenomen mondigheid van burgers en meer polarisatie in de rechtszaal, rijst de vraag of de rechter nog voldoende is toegerust om zijn taak naar behoren te vervullen. Daarbij wordt regelmatig gesuggereerd dat in Nederland behoefte bestaat aan het Angelsaksische instrument van contempt of court. In dit onderzoek is daarom in kaart gebracht wat contempt of court inhoudt, waarbij het rechtsstelsel van Engeland en Wales centraal staat. Om de genoemde suggestie te kunnen beoordelen is ook geïnventariseerd welke vergelijkbare waarborgen voor een goede strafrechtspleging reeds in Nederland voorhanden zijn. Aan de hand van een vergelijking van de bevindingen uit beide rechtsstelsels wordt geconcludeerd dat contempt of court een instrument is dat zich niet goed leent voor implementatie in de Nederlandse rechtsorde. Bovendien blijkt dat in Nederland een tamelijk adequaat stelsel van waarborgen bestaat. Waar de handhavingsmogelijkheden toch ontoereikend zijn worden enkele meer in de eigen rechtscultuur passende instrumenten voorgesteld. Hoewel deze instrumenten kunnen bijdragen aan de waarborging van een goede strafrechtspleging, is ook gebleken dat veel uitdagingen waarvoor de strafrechter zich tegenwoordig gesteld ziet, niet met een contempt-achtige bepaling kunnen worden opgelost. De bevindingen worden daarom ook in breder perspectief geplaatst. Show less
Miniaturized satellites enable a variety space missions which were in the past infeasible, impractical or uneconomical with traditionally-designed heavier spacecraft. Especially CubeSats can be... Show moreMiniaturized satellites enable a variety space missions which were in the past infeasible, impractical or uneconomical with traditionally-designed heavier spacecraft. Especially CubeSats can be launched and manufactured rapidly at low cost from commercial components, even in academic environments. However, due to their low reliability and brief lifetime, they are usually not considered suitable for life- and safety-critical services, complex multi-phased solar-system-exploration missions, and missions with a longer duration. Commercial electronics are key to satellite miniaturization, but also responsible for their low reliability: Until 2019, there existed no reliable or fault-tolerant computer architectures suitable for very small satellites. To overcome this deficit, a novel on-board-computer architecture is described in this thesis.Robustness is assured without resorting to radiation hardening, but through software measures implemented within a robust-by-design multiprocessor-system-on-chip. This fault-tolerant architecture is component-wise simple and can dynamically adapt to changing performance requirements throughout a mission. It can support graceful aging by exploiting FPGA-reconfiguration and mixed-criticality. Experimentally, we achieve 1.94W power consumption at 300Mhz with a Xilinx Kintex Ultrascale+ proof-of-concept, which is well within the powerbudget range of current 2U CubeSats. To our knowledge, this is the first COTS-based, reproducible on-board-computer architecture that can offer strong fault coverage even for small CubeSats. Show less
This thesis is comprised of three chapters covering the theme of studying semistable varieties by looking at their dual combinatorial objects.The first chapter defines what it is to be a semistable... Show moreThis thesis is comprised of three chapters covering the theme of studying semistable varieties by looking at their dual combinatorial objects.The first chapter defines what it is to be a semistable variety. This is done in such a way as to generalize the case of semistable curves. The dual graph of such a variety has vertices corresponding to the the irreducible components of the variety, with edges between the vertices corresponding to connected components of the non-smooth loci. We show that this definition allows us to reproduce results as in the 1-dimensional case, where a condition on the dual graph called "alignment" is necessary for the existence of a Neron model of the Picard space of the variety.The second chapter is inspired by tropical geometry and seeks to define a good generalization of the tropical curve associated to a logarithmic curve over a logarithmic base scheme.The last chapter shows how, in the case of a semistable curve, the Artin fan associated to the curve has its underlying topological space naturally isomorphic to that of the dual graph. We prove additional results related to the existence of an associated logarithmic morphism. Show less
A novel mathematical model describes spatial-temporal drug distribution within one or more brain units, which are cubic representations of a piece of brain tissue with brain capillaries at the... Show moreA novel mathematical model describes spatial-temporal drug distribution within one or more brain units, which are cubic representations of a piece of brain tissue with brain capillaries at the edges. The brain unit can be considered a highly representative building block of the brain in terms of drug distribution. While the focus of the model is on drug distribution within the brain ECF, the model includes descriptions of drug concentrations within the blood plasma, drug distribution via brain capillary blood flow, drug transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by passive paracellular and transcellular transport as well as active transport, brain ECF diffusion, brain ECF bulk flow, non-specific binding of the drug to brain tissue, and drug target binding kinetics. We study the model with analytical methods and numerical simulations. This allows us to examine the integrated effect of the individual processes important to drug distribution and effect on the local concentration-time profiles of free and (non-)specifically bound drug. Moreover, the model allows us to generate a local distribution profile of a drug within the brain. In addition, the impact of disease-induced changes in brain-specific properties on the concentrations of drug within the brain ECF is assessed. Show less
In this thesis, we aimed to better understand the underlying mechanisms involved in TNBC progression and metastasis formation and discover new targets to reduce breast cancer related deaths. We... Show moreIn this thesis, we aimed to better understand the underlying mechanisms involved in TNBC progression and metastasis formation and discover new targets to reduce breast cancer related deaths. We performed an imaging-based RNAi phenotypic cell migration screen in two highly motile TNBC cancer cell lines to provide a repository of signaling determinants that functionally drive TNBC cell motility. Interestingly, two modulators essential for cancer cell migration were known to be involved in RNA splicing, making us decide to focus on the role of RNA splicing in breast cancer progression. We next summarized the current knowledge about splicing factors in breast cancer development and progression and identified co-regulated splicing factors that were associated with aggressive breast cancer phenotypes and metastasis formation that was not only restricted to breast cancer, increasing the global understanding of the role of the spliceosome in cancer development and progression. Moreover, the role of splicing factors in two major processes in cancer progression, cell migration and proliferation, was examined. Finally, using RNA sequencing, we systematically compared the transcriptomes of 14 breast cancer cell lines cultured both in 2D and 3D conditions to unravel the reprogramming that is associated with the invasive phenotype of basal B TNBC. Show less
This thesis describes the genetic and prokaryotic diversity of giant barrel sponges. Although it was originally believed that the giant barrel sponges in the AtlanticOcean and the Indo-Pacific... Show moreThis thesis describes the genetic and prokaryotic diversity of giant barrel sponges. Although it was originally believed that the giant barrel sponges in the AtlanticOcean and the Indo-Pacific Ocean were two different species, our analyses showed thatthere are several species in both ocean basins. Even more remarkable, is that each species is most closely related to a species in the other ocean basin. According to our analysis, there are threegiant barrel sponge species in the Atlantic Ocean, and, at least, six in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Sponges house a large and diverse community of microorganisms. It is generally believed thatthese microorganisms play a central role in the physiological processes in the host. It appears that the region in which a giant barrel sponge occursmainly determines the composition of their microbial community. However, if you lookat a smaller scale within a region, for example within one reef or around an island suchas Curaçao, it appears that not only is the geographical location important, but the hostspecies to which an individual belongs also plays an important role. Show less
It is an established fact that the Standard Model has to be extended to explain the so-called Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) phenomena: dark matter, matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe and... Show moreIt is an established fact that the Standard Model has to be extended to explain the so-called Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) phenomena: dark matter, matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe and neutrino flavour oscillations. The difficulty of direct detection of new particles lies in the huge parameter space of the possible candidates. Hence, data coming from the cosmological and astrophysical observations provide invaluable directions for laboratory experiments.In this thesis we explore two methods of constraining new-physics candidates: through their influence on the primordial nucleosynthesis and through observable differences in the matter distribution caused by free-streaming of the dark-matter particles. We concentrate on the well-motivated extension of the SM that aims at explaining all 3 BSM problems at the same time: the Neutrino Minimal Standard Model. In this extension, there are 3 additional heavy neutral leptons, one of which plays the role of dark matter, while the other two are necessary for induction of matter-antimatter asymmetry and neutrino oscillations. The dark-matter candidate is an example of a Warm Dark Matter particle, the free-streaming of which might be detected in the Lyman-α forest spectra of distant quasars. The other two particles have lifetimes that make them relevant to the primordial nucleosynthesis. Show less
Heterogeneous catalysis is essential to many industrial applications. These catalysts are often comprised of supported nanoparticles, which contain various different surface sites. For some... Show moreHeterogeneous catalysis is essential to many industrial applications. These catalysts are often comprised of supported nanoparticles, which contain various different surface sites. For some reactions, the presence of specific surface sights dominates the overall reactivity. Fundamental insight into the influence of different surface sites on the surface reaction dynamics may lead to better catalyst design in the future. In this thesis, we combine ultra-high vacuum techniques and (curved) single crystal surfaces to study surface structure effects relevant to heterogeneous catalysis. We study how step edges on a platinum surface affect (elementary) reactions that occur in oxygen reduction: hydrogen dissociation, hydrogen recombination, and oxygen reduction. Show less
This project contemplates an ethics of difference and singularity that can effectuate a displacement of anthropocentrism and radical transformation in the way we understand and approach... Show moreThis project contemplates an ethics of difference and singularity that can effectuate a displacement of anthropocentrism and radical transformation in the way we understand and approach relationality across species borders. The reflections take place against the background of the problematic accompanying the (re)presentation of animals in the subject-centered models of moral philosophy and law, and call into question the salient ways in which theorists have engaged these avenues in order to effect change in our treatment of animals. Animal liberation scholars and activists have mainly sought to address the plight of animals from the theoretical frameworks of legal rights, interest-based equality, and identity discourse that foreground the ways in which animals are essentially similar to human beings in terms of ethically relevant qualities or characteristics. This project critically reflects on Emmanuel Levinas’s formulation of the ethical in order to advance an alternative understanding of human-animal relations as grounded in the radical singularity or difference of individual beings. This project deconstructs the dominant animal rights models by uncovering anthropocentrism as a guiding thread of the Western metaphysical tradition and illustrating how the construct of subjectivity born from that tradition forecloses or limits certain ethical possibilities. Show less
Decentralized plug and play systems for energy production are the future picture of our society. Artificial photosynthetic systems are used for this purpose. These systems are inspired by natural... Show moreDecentralized plug and play systems for energy production are the future picture of our society. Artificial photosynthetic systems are used for this purpose. These systems are inspired by natural photosynthesis.Chapter 2 illustrates the detailed construction of a three-flash flow cell to study light induced biological reactions, specifically the water oxidation reaction of Photosystem II. This instrument is capable of producing the S2+, S3+ and S0n intermediate states of the Kok cycle. I confirmed these by EPR experiments.In chapter 3, I study the mechanism of the major LHC II involved in conformational switching from light harvesting to the photoprotective state, in which excess light is dissipated as heat. I use MAS NMR as a non-invasive method to understand the structure and environment around Arg residues in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii LHC II. In this approach the Arg amino acid is selectively labeled with 13C isotopesChapter 4 studies the structure of self-aggregated semi synthetic Zn 31 amino chlorin that forms syn-anti parallel stacks according to the solid state NMR data. The small change of removing 33 methyl group of Zn 31 aminomethyl chlorin has significant effect on self-assembly. Finally, chapter 5 provides an outlook on future research. Show less
