Projects
Mechanisms of farm dust protection against house dust mite-driven asthma in neonatal mice Ghent University
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that is seen increasingly in westernalized
countries. It has become increasingly clear from many studies that exposure to environmental
triggers during infancy may either promote (viral infection with RSV) or suppress (farming
environment) asthma development. We hypothesize that irrespective of the route of sensitization,
the programming of ...
Sustainability and governance of socio-ecological systems in the 21st century: Examining contemporary pathways leading to a more sustainable and just society. KU Leuven
Sustainability and governance of socio-ecological systems in the 21st century: Examining contemporary pathways leading to a more sustainable and just society. KU Leuven
The overall goal of this research is threefold: (i) to further social and spatial sciences knowledge of the relationship between human beings and nature; (ii) to examine socio-ecological processes and transformations that lead to improvements in or deterioration of socio-ecological systems and their governance; (iii) to reflect on contemporary pathways leading to a more sustainable and just society. Research questions to be addressed to ...
Fysical stabilisation of surface organic dust calculated from the surface pore structure en the spatial distribution of organic dust through X-rays nano CT scanning Ghent University
This research project wants to contribute to the fundamental study of the role which soil pore structure plays in SOM decomposition and stabilization by means of state of the art X-ray (nano) computed tomography and is divided into two parts: i) the exploration and development of X-ray (nano) CT as methdology for visualization of the soil pore structure, the spatial location of SOM herein and the automation of this visualization. Ii) the ...
Dust production in the first generation of galaxies in the early Universe Ghent University
After the Big Bang, the baryonic Universe was entirely made up of primordial elements (hydrogen, helium and lithium). Heavier elements were produced only later on through nuclear fusion reactions in stellar cores as the first generation of stars in galaxies formed from this primordial gas. Through the recycling of interstellar gas over various generations of stars, the interstellar material gradually became enriched with heavy elements and ...
An X-ray view on infrared-emitting dust in active galactic nuclei Ghent University
We propose to probe the detailed structure of the dusty medium in active galactic nuclei (AGN) using reflected X-ray features. A unified view on the observed variety of AGN types is established by assuming an obscuring, dusty component around their central black hole. Recently, a new picture of dust structure is emerging, suggesting that dust in nearby AGN occurs as a complex multi-phase medium, extending in the polar direction and possibly ...
The search for fundamental dust scaling relations in galaxies with the RTGrid Ghent University
Galaxies are complex systems of stars, gas, dust and dark matter. The processes regulating galaxy evolution are reflected in clear correlations between galaxy properties, also called scaling relations. It is only recently (thanks to modern space telescopes) that scaling relations involving dust properties could be investigated. While several interesting links between dust and stellar properties are found, it is not clear what the main drivers ...
CFD Modelling of Pesticide Dust Drift from Seed Treatments During Planting KU Leuven
The seed of most agricultural crops is commonly treated with pesticides before sowing to protect the germinating seed and emerging seedling from pests and diseases. Seed treatment is a very focused chemical crop protection method, since the pesticide is applied directly onto the target, as opposed to spray treatment of the whole field and granule treatment in the furrows. Consequently, the application rates per hectare of seed treatments are ...
Prediction of the Minimum Ignition Energy and Minimum Ignition Temperature of Dust Clouds KU Leuven
Dust explosions are hazardous phenomena widely reported among industries such as grain handling and storage, food and feed processing, coal mining and storage, wood processing, metal working and pharmaceutical component manufacturing. Correct prediction of the dust explosion parameters is thus of great importance for industrial safety. Two common types of ignition sources of dust explosions are electrical sparks or arcs and hot surfaces. For ...