This thesis describes several patterns of phonetic variation in Sign Language of the Netherlands. While lexical variation between different regions has been found in the Netherlands, little is... Show moreThis thesis describes several patterns of phonetic variation in Sign Language of the Netherlands. While lexical variation between different regions has been found in the Netherlands, little is known about phonetic or phonological variation. Phonetic variation in the realization of some of the traditional handshape and orientation features is analyzed in detail. Furthermore, data were elicited from different registers: short-distance signing (__whispering__) was compared to long-distance signing (__shouting__). Results show that differences between registers lead not only to variation in movement size, but also to changes in the traditional phonological categories. In enlarged realizations, as in shouting, handshape and orientation changes may be enhanced by a location change; in reduced forms, as in whispering, location changes may be realized as changes in orientation or handshape. While the distinction between the three parameters handshape, orientation and location remains valid, it is argued that their definition needs to be stated in global perceptual targets rather than in detailed articulatory terms in a comprehensive analysis of the various differences between registers. The data thus provide evidence for a strict separation of perceptual and articulatory characterizations of signs. The lexical specification contains only perceptual targets. The variation is thus not generated by a phonological process, but is a matter of phonetic implementation. Show less
How do multinationals respond to political risk? Especially in non-Western countries, foreign investors are frequently confronted with political insecurity. This book takes a close look at the... Show moreHow do multinationals respond to political risk? Especially in non-Western countries, foreign investors are frequently confronted with political insecurity. This book takes a close look at the relationship between multinational corporations and political factors in early twentieth-century China, when political change in this country was highly dramatic. Revolutions and war tore apart many of the traditions of imperial China, and threatened the interests of foreign companies in one of the world's most promising markets. This study focuses on the interests of Dutch firms and their response to political risk in China before the Pacific War. This includes very large corporations that are again active in the Chinese market today, such as Shell, Philips, Unilever, and ABN-Amro. Their behaviour in China up to 1941 is analysed and explained in order to gain a better understanding of the attitude of foreign investors towards political developments during a turbulent and formative phase in Chinese history. Show less
This PhD thesis describes several studies into the structure and function of Escherichia coli Elongation Factor Tu (EF-Tu). EF-Tu plays a central role in the bacterial protein synthesis machinery... Show moreThis PhD thesis describes several studies into the structure and function of Escherichia coli Elongation Factor Tu (EF-Tu). EF-Tu plays a central role in the bacterial protein synthesis machinery as the carrier of "coded building blocks" for protein synthesis, aminoacylated tRNA (aa-tRNA). Without EF-Tu, fast and accurate protein synthesis would be impossible. It not only binds and carries the aa-tRNA to the ribosome, it also plays a role in the selection of the correct aa-tRNA for the codon of the messenger RNA (mRNA) currently being decoded. This selection process, which takes place on the ribosome, is supported by hydrolysis of a GTP molecule bound to the EF-Tu-aa-tRNA complex. Once the GTP is hydrolyzed to GDP, the EF-Tu changes conformation and detaches from both the aa-tRNA and the ribosome. The aa-tRNA, if it matches the anticodon on the mRNA, will progress to the incorporation of its activated amino acid into the growing protein chain. If the anticodon does not match, however, proofreading will (r)eject it from the ribosome. There are indications that a second EF-Tu, or at least GTP hydrolysis by a second EF-Tu is involved in this process, but it is not understood how. The work in this thesis is mostly centered on understanding the role of several amino acid residues of EF-Tu in the interaction with the GTP or GDP nucleotide, the catalysis of GTP hydrolysis but EF-Tu and the mechanism by which this only accelerated five orders of magnitude on the ribosome. It leads to a number of interesting conclusions that shed light on the problem, but cannot explain the "triggered catalysis" mechanism. Show less
In 1986, following the discovery that Oesophagostomum eggs are excreted by people living in northern Ghana and Togo, Polderman and Gigase concluded that Oesophagostomum worms are able to complete... Show moreIn 1986, following the discovery that Oesophagostomum eggs are excreted by people living in northern Ghana and Togo, Polderman and Gigase concluded that Oesophagostomum worms are able to complete their life cycle in humans, and that the helminth causes considerable disease in this area. There have been many cases of clinical oesophagostomiasis reported in the literature over the last century, but diagnosis has usually been based on a pathology specimen and clinical details have been sparse. We therefore amassed a cohort of 156 patients presenting to Nalerigu hospital in northern Ghana, and identified two distinct clinical presentations of the disease, Dapaong tumour and multinodular disease. Show less
