Search Results (64)
Advanced glioblastoma models to study tumour microenvironment and to support novel glioblastoma therapeutics
Glioblastoma (GB) is the most common and aggressive primary tumour of the central nervous system. Despite maximal possible surgical resection of the tumours and aggressive treatment regimens with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, patient overall survival is less than 2 years, as patients eventually develop resistance to therapy, resulting in recurrent tumours. …
Towards understanding the impact of problem landscapes in numerical black-box optimization
In optimization, it is well known that algorithm performance is dependent on the problem being solved. As a consequence of this, achieving good optimization results requires correctly matching an optimization problem to a specific optimization algorithm that performs well on that problem. For this to be possible, knowledge of both …
Optimization and application of MeV time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry in the standard and low primary ion beam energy mode
Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry using MeV ions (MeV ToF SIMS) has been around for a few decades as a reliable, surface-sensitive method for the detection of molecular ions having masses up to 1000 Da. It provides excellent lateral resolution of a few μm for imaging of organic samples, making …
Unravelling the molecular mechanisms of plant-pathogen interactions in grapevine and potato through functional analysis
Plants are constantly exposed to various environmental stressors. Pathogen infections causing disease can affect economically important crops and impact global food production. To counter disease development and spread, it is imperative that we acquire a thorough knowledge of its pathogenesis, as well as of the mechanisms underlying plant immune response. …
Study of inconsistencies in health risk assessment: the role of assessment context in decision analysis aimed at their reduction
The area of risk assessment continues to be challenged by foundational issues that limit its potential to inform public health decisions. This doctoral work improves our understanding of the interaction between science and public and environmental health policy by addressing specific challenges in risk assessment within and for decision-making. The …
Diversity of viruses infecting tomato and weed plants in agroecosystems
Viruses, satellite viruses, viroids, virusoids, and satellite nucleic acids (herewith, referred to collectively or in part as ‘viruses’) comprise the virosphere and are perhaps the most diverse and abundant, yet still under-sampled, microbes on Earth. They are primarily regarded as pathogens or parasites of their eukaryotic or prokaryotic hosts. In …
Quantitative imaging of cisplatin in tumour samples by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
Medicine relies on imaging techniques such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance, computed tomography and histopathological image analysis because they provide valuable data needed for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is often used in research and for the advanced diagnosis and …
Examining the relationship between managers' commitment to safety, edarship style, and their role in safety important actions in safety critical organisations
Managers’ commitment to safety has been recognised as a focal concept that can play an important role as organisations strive to improve safety performance and prevent major accidents (Flin, 2003; Flin & Yule, 2004). When management is committed to safety, this shows employees that safety is an important value to …
Protection of biomedical alloys by thin films of alumina and hafnia prepared by atomic layer deposition
One of the most commonly used metal materials for the manufacture of biomedical implants are stainless steel and titanium-based alloys. Due to the specific conditions and complex environment in the human body, different strategies have been employed to protect them and improve their functionality in vivo. In this thesis, a …
Development and application of a non-targeted screening workflow for chemical exposure assessment in human biomonitoring and related studies
Human exposure to environmental stressors is widespread. Highly dynamic, these chemical, physical and social factors, collectively termed as the exposome, interact with internal factors such as genetics, sex, gut microbiome and general health status, and dictate susceptibility and risk for an onset of diseases. Human exposure to the chemicals is …