Projects
Improving the prediction of language recovery in stroke patients by including risk and protective neurocognitive factors. KU Leuven
Aphasia is a language disorder most commonly caused by a cerebrovascular accident, or stroke, in the left hemisphere. Approximately 15-45% of patients in acute stroke settings have aphasia, which impairs their communication and dramatically affects their quality of life. In the first months after stroke, there is often spontaneous and intervention-induced recovery, but for 26-43% a chronic language deficit remains. To date, individual ...
Land use changes and water balance in the Mt. Guna shield volcano (Ethiopian plateau) since the 1930s Ghent University
Mt. Guna is a Miocene shield volcano on the Ethiopian plateau. The surface waters are drained radially, and through deep percolation feed a number of springs at the interface between the volcanic tuffs of Mt. Guna and the underlying Ashangi basalt. This study makes a reconstruction of hydro (geo) logical and geomorphological changes, and allows to predict future scenarios on similar Miocene volcanoes in the Highlands.
Assessing the impact of lianas on aboveground wood production in tropical forests: scaling from individual to stand-level Ghent University
Tropical forests store nearly 30% of global terrestrial carbon and contribute to 40% of the global terrestrial carbon sink. Lianas impact the carbon balance of these forest by affecting tree growth and survival. Currently the rate of liana infestation is increasing putting tropical trees under additional stress. This stress can significantly affect the fate of the tropical carbon balance, and
negatively influence the forests’ uptake of ...
Integration of Plant Organellar Communication Under Environmental Stress Ghent University
Environmental challenges such as drought and intense sunlight negatively affect plant growth, which can decrease agricultural production and cost the European economy billions of euros. Therefore it is important to understand how plants cope with drought stress. Researchers have found that different parts of the plant cell can respond to environmental stress using different molecular signals that collectively affect behavior of the plant. ...
Identification and toxicological assessment of Aspergillus flavus resistant local maize varieties in Kenya Ghent University
The aflatoxin issue in Kenya will be tackled by the identification of Aspergillus flavus resistant local maize varieties. The planting of resistant maize will offer an immediate strategy to reduce chronic aflatoxin exposure to humans. The toxicological assessment of other secondary mycotoxin metabolites such as aflavinine and aflatrem will be examined by the use of state-of-the-art in vivo zebra fish models.
The perils of birth: obstetrics, religion and medical ethics in Belgium (ca. 1830-1914) KU Leuven
In this doctoral thesis, I examine the role of ideology and medical ethics in the scientific debates and medical practices of Belgian Catholic and liberal doctors from 1830 until 1914. The focus is on the question of difficult births. The brutal reality of labour complications, often resulting in maternal or foetal death, led Catholic and liberal physicians to reflect on their mission as doctors and on the religious and moral implications of ...