Projects
Development, validation and application of a novel foot-ankle model to evaluate ligament behaviour in patients with ankle instability KU Leuven
Ankle sprain is one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries, often resulting in lateral ankle ligament tears or ruptures. Thirty to fifty percent of the patients develop chronic ankle instability (CAI) after a first ankle sprain, including persistent complaints of pain, swelling and/or the feeling of giving way in combination with recurrent sprains. CAI may be caused by mechanical (MAI) or functional ankle instability (FAI) or a ...
A mechanistic understanding of the effects of yeast and yeast fermentation on the rheology of leavening cereal dough systems KU Leuven
Although bread-making has been practised for millennia, our fundamental scientific understanding of this process is still surprisingly limited. For the preparation of bread dough, only four ingredients are essential: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. Wheat flour contains mostly starch and gluten proteins. During mixing, which involves substantial shear and extensional deformations, the gluten proteins tend to form a network, thereby ...
Ductile and brittle fracture assessment of pipeline steels using advanced dynamic tensile tear testing methodology. KU Leuven
Fracture propagation control of high-pressure pipelines is an essential strategy to avoid a catastrophic event that includes both economic losses and environmental damage. To ensure structural integrity over several decades, the pipe material is subjected to an extensive fracture analysis. Lab-scale fracture testing is an essential tool to determine a materials’ resistance against crack propagation. Standardised tests such as the Charpy ...
Probing the mutual interactions between superconductor and ferromagnet in hybrid systems with nanoscale magnetic modulation. KU Leuven
An important aspect in the fast developing field of nanotechnology is the understanding of how properties evolve when reducing the dimensions to the nanoscale. Spatial confinement of phonons in nanostructures can strongly affect the phonon density of states and related properties. Despite the importance of understanding the vibrational behaviour at the nanoscale, lattice vibrations in nanostructures have been less explored due to the ...
Common brain mechanisms underlying the control of imitative behaviour and mental state attribution: a transcranial brain stimulation study Ghent University
The observation of an action is associated with the activation of the corresponding
motor representation in the observer. This motor mirroring may allow us to infer
underlying goals and intentions of others on the basis of what our own goals and
intentions would be for the same action. Representing actions of the self and others
in common may usually lead to an automatic tendency to imitate the ...
Evolutionary ecological study of the pace-of-life syndrome in Ischnura damselflies. KU Leuven
To understand and predict patterns in trait variation along environmental gradients and in response to stressors, the integration of traits into suites of correlated traits or ‘syndromes’ has received increasing attention. Because of the presence of such syndromes, the plastic and evolutionary responses of organisms to selection pressures involve coordinated changes in many traits. A promising concept for the integration of traits is the ...
Experimental analysis of collective consumption decisions. KU Leuven
Learning About Pain From Others - Social learning of pain-related fear and avoidance behavior KU Leuven
Pain-related fear and avoiding activities that might be related to pain are two crucial factors in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. Pain-related fear and avoidance can be learned, so that formerly neutral movements can cause fear and avoidance, after they have been paired repeatedly with the experience of pain. However, learning via direct experience is but one way to learn about pain. Humans, as a social species, often learn ...
Understanding the impact of wheat bran on the dynamic behavior of starch and gluten, using bran micronisation as a tool KU Leuven
Interest in the enrichment of dietary fibre in cereal-based foods has grown significantly due to increasing health awareness. As a complement of wheat flour in milling, wheat bran represents a self-evident source of dietary fibre. In addition, wheat bran is a good source of minerals, vitamins and bioactive compounds. However, consumption of wheat bran-enriched foods remains low since its incorporation in cereal-based foods poses important ...