On Thursday 9 november, Reijer Passchier defended his dissertation 'Informal constitutional change'. His supervisor is Professor Wim Voermans.

This thesis focuses on the development of sample-preparation methods for small amounts of samples and applying the developed methods to muscle tissues to investigate the mechanisms involved in sarcopenia.

Is there a causal mechanism underlying the decision to attack another country when on the brink of war? If so, does this mechanism differ between regime-types? Political scientist Femke Bakker (Leiden University) addresses this question from a political psychological and comparative perspective and…

Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) and tumor cell migration play an important role in cancer progression, and an improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying these concepts is essential for developing new targeted approaches.

In a typical glycosylation reaction, a donor is activated to form a (variety of) electrophilic species which can react with a nucleophilic acceptor, following a reaction mechanism having both SN1 and SN2 character.

The availability of complete plant genome sequences together with the ever increasing amount of data on the molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms of plant development require mathematical and computational models to obtain a complete overview of and generate new insights into the quantitative…

What are the social and neural mechanisms that contribute to fluctuations in self-esteem in healthy adolescents and adolescents with depression?

The genetic information of all living organisms is contained in their DNA. Cells modify the degree of DNA compaction by epigenetics, which largely determines what genes are read out and which genes are transcriptionally silent.

Glycosidases (GHs) are enzymes responsible for the degradation of carbohydrates and play many roles in human health and pathophysiology. Often, abnormal levels of glycosidase activity are markedly linked to human pathologies.

How do we process language and speech? How do we integrate information at different levels – intonation, sentence structure, meaning, tone, words, sounds - and how does information at one level interact with information at another level?

Evolution & Biodiversity is one of the four research themes of the Institute of Biology Leiden.

During the early modern period, many medieval manuscripts were cut up into strips of parchment which were reused to reinforce the bindings of newly printed books. Until recently, these reused pieces of medieval manuscripts only came to light when the early modern book binding was damaged and/or subjected…

Adenosine is an endogenous ligand which exerts its action by activating adenosine receptors (ARs), while its circulating levels are controlled via a variety of mechanism and proteins, amongst others the equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs).

Promotor: Huub J.M. de Groot, Co-promotor: Francesco Buda

Animal Sciences’ contributions to the Development & Disease research theme include the mechanisms and evolution of embryonic development, the development of cognitive mechanisms, and animal models for understanding mechanisms of human disease.

Research in the group Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences is focused on understanding and influencing developmental mechanisms in children and adolescents.

Nature, nurture and neural mechanisms of social emotion regulation in childhood

In this working paper, Dr. Joris Larik provides an analysis of the governance and dispute settlement mechanisms under the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol.

The molecular mechanisms that instigate a healthy cell to become malignant are fueled by (epi)genetic alterations in so-called driver genes.

Lecture

Anne Meeussen is the winner of the Fysica 2020 Young Speakers' Contest. She was elected by the online attendants after delivering a talk about metamaterials.

Promotores: F.H.J. Redig, W.T.F. den Hollander

Which adolescents are more at risk of developing social anxiety disorder later in life?

How do plant defense genes get activated?

We focus on a better understanding of the mechanisms of cancer drug resistance and metastasis.

Can we enhance the capacity of host immune cells to kill mycobacteria via production of reactive nitrogen species?

In Quantum mechanics, particles can be in multiple positions simultaneously. Yet, when a measurement is made, the particle is found only in one place. Technology has come to a point where we may design experiments that will tell us how.

The effects of many treatments are determined, to a significant degree, by factors other than the medicine or treatment itself. For example, placebo effects can be equal to the effect size of for example antidepressants or painkillers. Contributing factors are the trust placed in the doctor, the expectation…

The EEA enforcement system includes, in particular, the mechanism pursuant to Article 111 EEA for the settlement of disputes between the Member States with respect to the interpretation and the application of EEA law.

In this Thesis, novel charge induction mechanisms of ionic liquids are treated, tested and experimented on complex oxides, in particular cuprates.

Because thin systems can deform along the thickness with relative ease, the interplay between surface mechanics and geometry plays a fundamental role in sculpting their three-dimensional shape.

In this thesis, we aim to shed light on the diverse and often opposing roles of integrin α3β1 in cancer.

‘Schiedsgerichte in den Aussenverträgen der EU. Neue Entwicklungen unter Einbezug der institutionellen Verhandlungen Schweiz–EU’, Jusletter 28 May 2018

Promotor: M. Ubbink, Co-Promotor: R. T. Dame

The emergence of complex diseases resulting from abnormal cell-cell signaling and the spread of infectious diseases caused by pathogens are significant threats to humanity. Unraveling the dynamic mechanisms underlying cell-cell signaling and infectious disease spreading is crucial for effective disease…

National and international actors have attempted to provide accountability for the events at Srebrenica in July 1995. This research project aims to draw lessons learned from those multiple efforts in assessing whether securing a measure of ‘justice’ for the victims has been successful and how national…

Aluminium-based adjuvants, such as aluminium hydroxide and aluminium phosphate, are well-known for their immune-stimulating properties.

This article devises a framework to assess the degree to which human rights bodies provide duplicating or contradicting recommendations to States. Focusing on the case of torture, it creates an original database of recommendations delivered to 14 countries in the years 2012–2016. Results show that duplications…

Miriam Cohen defended her PhD dissertation entitled “Reparations for International Crimes and the development of a Civil Dimension of International Criminal Justice” on 28 June 2017. She wrote her thesis under the supervision of Professor L.J. van den Herik and Professor C. Stahn.

The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics states that a measurement collapses a wavefunction onto an eigenstate of the corresponding measurement operator.

Source: PLoS ONE, Volume 10, Issue 3 (2015)

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely prescribed as anti-inflammatory drugs due to their well-established immunosuppressive effects.

The focus throughout this thesis will be on gathering fundamental studies of the detailed structure and composition of the electrode/electrolyte interface effect on the rate and mechanism of key electrocatalytic reactions.

Even though more than 4000 extra-solar planets are known today, only a small fraction of these has been captured in an image. To better understand the planet formation mechanisms in solar-like environments we started the Young Suns Exoplanet Survey (YSES).

Development & Disease is one of the four research themes of the Institute of Biology Leiden.

Plant exudates appeared long time ago in the history line of life in the early Devonian. They are typical saps produced by specialized cells.

The long-held desire - to link structure directly to function and to explain molecular mechanisms based on basic chemical or physical principles - is finally coming closer, satisfying not only our scientific curiosity but also offering new solutions to the many challenges in the field of health, energy…