Academic Ceremonies November 2010

“There’s something in the air. Volatile organic compounds in exhaled air as biomarker in inflammatory lung diseases. Development and validation”

This dissertation describes the development and application of a method in which by measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath various inflammation-related pulmonary diseases can be determined and studied. The exhaled breath of people with diseases such as cystic fibrosis and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) turns out to differ from that of healthy people. By means of advanced classification models (support vector machines) it is possible to select a limited number of VOCs that can subsequently be used to diagnose. Diagnoses by means of the exhaled breath turned out correct in over 90% of the cases. 

Key words:

VOCs, diagnosis, pulmonary diseases

“‘Eating too much or too little’. An FMRI food reward study of (ab)normal eating behaviour”

This research studied by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which influence the factors caloric density, hunger, attention and cognitive control have on the activity in the reward system. Attention and cognitive control appeared to have the greatest influence. When the participants were shown tasty food and for example aimed their attention at a neutral aspect, the activity in the reward circuit disappeared. When they thought about the tastiness of the food, the activity raised. If you want to change eating behaviour, it’s important that you learn to think differently about eating. Finally, the results showed that Anorexia Nervosa (AN) patients had serious disorders in the reward circuit: as opposed to healthy participants the AN patients showed hardly any activity in the reward circuit when they saw tasty food. Therefore, it is important that future treatments are focused on repairing this reward circuit. 

Key words:

fMRI, attraction of food, reward system, Anorexia Nervosa.

“Microeconometric Evidence of Financing Frictions and Innovative Activity”

“Data Integration with Biological Pathways”

Biological experiments generate many data, but unfortunately these are not always optimally used. That is why BiGCaT, the Bio-informatics department of UM, has developed new software in collaboration with the Gladstone institute in San Francisco. This new software can link these data to dozens of online databases. Moreover, the data are attractively presented on illustrations that represent the processes in the cell, the so-called biological pathways. These illustrations are made by means of a specially developed wiki. With our software, two earlier studies into long-term food shortage were joined together. This reanalysis has led to new insights, without the need for an expensive experiment. The results will contribute to a better treatment of patients that have problems absorbing food due to illness. 

Key words:

food shortage biological data, software

“Improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of breast cancer follow-up”

In the Netherlands, annually almost 13.000 women get breast cancer. After completion of the treatments, the patient remains under observation for a long time, also called the follow-up. The guideline in the Netherlands is a three-monthly hospital check in the first year after the treatment, but there are doubts whether these frequent checks provide optimum care.  Studies among 320 breast cancer patients from seven hospitals in the Netherlands show that a number of hospital checks in the first year can be replaced by telephone checks by the mammacare nurse, maintaining quality of life, high patient satisfaction and no increase of anxiety feelings. Moreover, the combination of telephone follow-up and an educational group programme appears to be a cost-effective strategy. Based on these results, it is advised to critically examine the guideline for follow-up for the first year after breast cancer and to implement telephone follow-up and the educational group programme in the guideline.

Key words:

breast cancer, check, follow-up

“Combinatoric Innovation; Environmentsfor sharing and creating Intellectual capital”

“Living with Less: Prospects for Sustainability”

In spite of the growing awareness that a more sustainable way of living is necessary, consuming less is still a very difficult option. This dissertation studies the impact of spending less money on the way of living in a post-modern consumer society. Besides a theoretical analysis of 150 years of consumer studies, the dissertation describes the development of thinking about economy from ancient times until now. Qualitative and quantitative empirical research results among other in the consumption behaviour model”: the Transformation Model Living with Less. Furthermore, a socio-economic profile of Dutch downshifters is presented. Based on the so-called Triple G of a sustainable lifestyle (Money, Green, Health) the results for sustainability are discussed. Finally, the dissertation presents recommendations for a marketing strategy to promote a sustainable lifestyle. 

Key words:

sustainability, lifestyle, consumption

“Bewegingsstoornissen bij psychosen So what”

“The Wealth of Nations: Global imbalances and adjustments in a financially integrated world”

The dissertation pursues the question of how increasing financial integration impacts real economic activity, for instance aggregate consumption and investment or the trade balance of a country. We find that countries which are well integrated in international equity markets, as measured by the amount and geography of foreign equity holdings, are better able to maintain consumption relatively stable while GDP varies. We also find that for some countries (US and UK) price movements in equity and housing markets are more important than the exchange rate in explaining trade balance movements. Finally we analyze by means of a portfolio-balance model how huge US current account deficits lead to a continued accumulation of US net foreign debt and concomitant surpluses in Asian and oil-exporting countries. In a similar way we analyze the external imbalances between Northern and Southern Europe.

Key words:

economische activiteit, handelsbalans, financiële (wan)verhoudingen

“Experimental studies on innate immune regulatory proteins during non-infectious tissue damage”

“Doorwerking van de beginselen van behoorlijke rechtspleging in de bestuurlijke voorprocedures”

A citizen who disagrees with a decision of an administrative authority must first of all object to this decision at the administrative authority that took the decision. If he is put in the wrong after a re-judgement of the administrative authority, he can go to court.   Because the appeal procedure as an administrative pre-procedure is an important element of the safeguarding of citizens’ legal rights against the administrative authority, this dissertation compares the appeal procedure at the administrative authority with the judicial procedure. Studied is whether the principles of procedural due process that apply to the judge also apply to the administration. Although not all principles of procedural due process apply to the same extent to the administrative pre-procedures, the conclusion is that largely comparable demands apply with the same ratio as in the judicial procedure. Violation of the demands that apply to the administration must therefore not too easily be overlooked and left without consequences.

Key words:

appeal procedure, administrative authority, judicial procedure

“Resynchronization of the ischemic asynchronous heart”

“May I have your attention please? A neuroscientific study into message attention for health information”

Realizing behaviour changes through health information is a difficult and complex task. This complexity is partly due to the way that people process health information. Aim of the research was to gain more insight into the underlying action mechanisms of various forms of health information, such as personally relevant and threatening health information.  Attention processes for these two different messages were studied by measuring brain activity (EEG and fMRI), eye movements and reaction times during the processing of the information.  The conclusion is that personally relevant health information can raise the attention, whereas presenting threatening health information can evoke defensive reactions.

Key words:

health information, method, information processing, attention

“Influence of micro-environments on pre-school children’s energy balance-related behaviours and weight status”

Based on the KOALA Birth Cohort Study and child-care observations, the home and child-care environment were examined as potential determinants of overweight in young children (age 0-7). Breast-feeding protected against overweight, probably through affecting later snacking. Parental stimulation of children’s healthy behaviours was more effective than restriction of unhealthy behaviours. Furthermore, diet and physical activity already clustered (co-occurred) at a young age. Children attending child-care appeared to be more often overweight. Observations showed the importance of child-care staff and physical environmental factors regarding diet and physical activity. The findings can be used to inform future childhood overweight prevention interventions.

Key words:

child-care; childhood overweight; dietary intake; environment; parent; physical activity

“Sence and Simplicity’: Dilemma’s en Parallellen in de perioperatieve zorg”

“Conflicting demands in ethnically diverse societies: Ethnopolitical contention and identity values in Europe”

“Defining, Measuring and Addressing Vulnerability: The Case of Post Conflict Environments”

“Piracy and P2P File-sharing Networks”

We find that the producers of digital goods suffer not as much from piracy as the consumers benefit from it. The society as a whole benefits from piracy. A consumer’s surplus is the value of the consumption of a product minus the price, and the producer's surplus is the price minus costs (roughly speaking, profit). The total welfare is then the sum of all consumers’ and producer’s surplus  (value minus costs).
It may be welfare decreasing if authorities overemphasize the protection of intellectual property rights. Comparing year 2003 to 1999, according to our estimates, the American music industry suffered from a $1.6 billion forgone annual profit. Total annual welfare increased by $13.1 billion. In 2008, annual profit has dropped by another $1.4 billion, while annual welfare soared by another $12.4 billion. By 2020, annual welfare will have improved by a whopping $29.7 billion since 1999.

Key words:

digital goods, piracy

“Competing and Complementary Perspectives on the EU as a Crisis Management Actor: An Examination of the Common Security and Defence Policy through the Lenses of Idealism and Realism”

In this dissertation policy analysis is applied to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in order to explain the actions of the European Union (EU) as an international crisis management actor. It contributes to a more detailed perception of the motivations behind EU crisis management missions. Twenty-three CSDP missions are examined. A synthesis of the findings suggests that the EU pursues crisis management based on an evenly balanced mix of realist and idealist influences. CSDP missions are as much about satisfying vital self-interests as advancing universal value interests. Responses are based on realist perceptions of the security environment and tailored to address statecentric threats in the neighbourhood of the EU or in former colonies of Member States. These actions are guided by idealist principles, often involving non-coercive measures. Responses tend to provide assistance through civilian instruments rather than military force.

Key words:

International Crisismanagement, EU safety, CSDP

“Exploring exposure in vivo in chronic pain”

Pijngerelateerde angst levert bij chronische pijnpatiënten een  In chronic pain patients, pain related fear considerably contributes to the maintenance of the experienced functional limitations. Pain related fear is fear of moving and/or fear of  (renewed) injury, or fear of pain or other types of physical sensations, or fear of the future (for example of becoming restrained to a wheelchair, not being able to work anymore, or no longer being the person you always wanted to be).  An exposure in vivo treatment (GEXP), in which patients are exposed step by step to the situations, activities or movements they are afraid of appears to be an effective treatment. Patients experience in various situations, both short and long term, fewer functional limitations and even less pain, and changes on the tissue level. Where traditional pain treatments often do not lead to the desired result, GEXP appears the appropriate treatment.

Key words:

chronic pain, pain related fear, exposure in vivo treatment

“Towards strategies to stimulate First time trial of unfamiliar healthful food products”

To lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases the Dutch are recommended to limit the intake of saturated fat and to eat sufficient vegetables and fruit. This can already be achieved by replacing the daily consumed products by healthier alternatives, for example by replacing full cheese by skim-milk cheese. Trying an unknown product is an important step towards integration of such a product in the daily eating pattern.  In the framework of this PhD track various strategies were developed to promote trying healthy alternatives for the first time. Results from two experimental studies show among others that offering a test sample and giving a flavour description in which a healthy unknown alternative product is compared to the taste of a well-known product are simple, but effective ways of getting the Dutch to try an unknown product for the first time.

Key words:

health, healthy food, change eating pattern

“Richtlijnen in de spreekkamer. Van dogma naar dans”

“Private Law 2.0: on the Role of Private Actors in a Post-National Society”