“Too good to be true!”: The effectiveness of CSR history in countering negative publicity

Corporate crises call for effective communication to shelter or restore a company’s reputation. The use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) claims may provide an effective tool to counter the negative impact of a crisis, but knowledge about its effectiveness is scarce and lacking in studies that consider CSR communication during crises. To help fill this gap, this study investigates whether the length of company’s involvement in CSR matters when it uses CSR claims in its crisis communication as a means to counter negative publicity. The use of CSR claims in crisis communication is more effective for companies with a long CSR history than for those with a short CSR history, and consumer skepticism about claims lies at the heart of this phenomenon

Polyfunctional antibodies in viral disease:Detecting, controlling and preventing infections with antiviral antibodies

Viral diseases still cause major consequences to our health, society and the global economy, despite the development of a multitude of vaccines and treatments. Viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cause mortality and morbidity across the world. There is still much we can learn from the immune system’s response to viruses. Antibodies against viral glycoproteins are often a crucial aspect of this immune response. In the first chapters of this thesis, we focused on the role of antibodies as markers for respiratory virus infections and for population immunity screening. We investigated the functionality and breadth of antiviral antibodies to gain insight that may guide work towards improved vaccines and therapies. Moreover, we assessed the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in vulnerable populations. Finally, we assessed experimental vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1 to investigate how to further steer vaccine-induced immunity. Collectively, this thesis describes novel findings on the role of polyfunctional antibodies in detecting, controlling and preventing viral infections. Increased knowledge on immunity to viruses may lead to increasingly effective antiviral strategies and reduce the burden of viral disease on human health

Retelling Grimm Girlhood: Representations of Girlhood in the Contemporary Fairy Tale Film Adaptation Cycle

Working within the filmic fairy tale adaptation cycle that emerged between 2005 and 2015, this thesis investigates how girlhood is cinematically constructed through the lens of fantasy, in relation to gendered representation in media. The relationship between femininity and fairy tales is well-established. By reading contemporary filmic adaptations of the tales, the thesis deconstructs gendered myth-making and reveals the extent to which fairy tale imagery and plot continue to inform cultural constructions of girlhood. It argues that by centring upon young female protagonists and often targeting a young female audience, this cycle constitutes a newly emerging young woman’s cinema.Working within the filmic fairy tale adaptation cycle that emerged between 2005 and 2015, this thesis investigates how girlhood is cinematically constructed through the lens of fantasy, in relation to gendered representation in media. The relationship between femininity and fairy tales is well-established. By reading contemporary filmic adaptations of the tales, the thesis deconstructs gendered myth-making and reveals the extent to which fairy tale imagery and plot continue to inform cultural constructions of girlhood. It argues that by centring upon young female protagonists and often targeting a young female audience, this cycle constitutes a newly emerging young woman’s cinema. In doing so, the thesis relates the contemporary fairy tale adaptation cycle back to gendered histories of media and genres traditionally associated with female audiences (such as the Female Gothic, the Melodrama, the Costume Drama and so on). The thesis analyses their similar narrative strategies of using iconographical objects, haunted spaces and evocative settings. The cycle’s cultural denigration is critiqued for its association with mainstream and primarily female audiences. The act of adapting fairy tales to construct girlhood through fantasy thus necessitates exploring the ideological implications of gendered genres, their narrative strategies as well as complex processes of adaptation, from tale to screen. How these films, by centralising girlhood, explore female fantasies and desires, trauma, gendered violence and coming of age, is explored throughout. The thesis argues that a highly specific mode of girlhood comes to the fore in this cycle, within particular cultural (social, racial and narrative) parameters. This mode of fairy tale girlhood is imperilled, spectacular and exclusionary, generating disturbing implications of how young women are represented and addressed in popular media. As in women’s films of previous eras in film history, however, the fairy tale adaptation cycle both reinforces and challenges the rigid parameters in which girlhood is cinematically imagined.The Arts and Humanities Research Counci

SMART users guides: SMART_NL & SMS_NL

Instructions to install and to use the model SMART_NL are given, and how to use the model SMART_NL with SUMO included. Besides, a user manual for configuration management is given

The production of exopolysaccharides by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus

Extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) produced by lactic acid bacteria have gained great popularity in the food industry because of their thickening and stabilizing properties. Since lactic acid bacteria have the GRAS ( G enerally R ecognized A s S afe) status, these organisms and their products can be applied as food additives. In particular in the dairy industry, EPS producing lactic acid bacteria are used to improve the texture and viscosity of fermented milk products, like yogurt, viili and långfil and the prevention of syneresis (wheying-off).Many lactic acid bacteria producing EPS have already been studied, but since they have numerous medium requirements, including carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins, purines, pyrimidines and mineral salts, most investigations on the production of EPS were performed using very complex growth media, like milk, whey ultrafiltrate or complex synthetic media. However, these media are often not suitable when the influence of individual medium components on growth and EPS production is studied. Therefore, a chemically defined growth medium is required, containing all components necessary for growth and EPS production.In this thesis, the influence of physiological factors and the medium composition on the growth, EPS production and the sugar composition of the EPS produced by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NCFB 2772 is studied in detail. This lactic acid bacterium is, together with Streptococcus thermophilus , used in the manufacture of yogurt. A chemically defined medium is composed, in which the strain was able to grow and produce EPS. The exopolysaccharides were composed of glucose, galactose and rhamnose in the ratio 1 : 6.8 : 0.7. The EPS production was growth-related, and an excess of carbohydrate did not result in an increased polymer production. It was found that production of EPS was higher with glucose or lactose as the carbohydrate source, than when fructose was used. The amount and composition of the EPS produced on glucose and lactose were identical, the galactose monomer from lactose was not used for growth and polymer production. Limiting amounts of manganese and phosphate in the growth medium resulted in a lower EPS production by Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NCFB 2772. The amount of rhamnose monomer in the EPS was slightly lower than when manganese and phosphate were present in non-limiting concentrations.The medium requirements of Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NCFB 2772 were studied using the technique of single and multiple omissions of medium components. Surprisingly, a multiple omission of vitamins from the growth medium caused a significant enhancement of the EPS production. A simplified defined medium was composed, from which many components were omitted which were individually not required for growth. Although the strain grew less well in the simplified medium, the amount of EPS produced was twofold higher than in the complete medium. Furthermore, the EPS production beyond the stationary growth phase was stronger when grown in the simplified medium.The influence of the carbohydrate source on the production of EPS and the activities of enzymes involved in the production of sugar nucleotides as precursors for EPS biosynthesis is described. Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NCFB 2772 produced four times more EPS when grown on glucose than when fructose was used and it was found that the EPS produced on fructose contained no rhamnose monomer. Activities of enzymes involved in the synthesis of UDP-glucose, UDP-galactose and dTDP-rhamnose were observed when the strain was grown on glucose. But when grown on fructose, no activities were detected of enzymes leading to the production of dTDP-rhamnose and this may lead to the absence of rhamnose in the EPS produced on fructose. On the other hand, the amount of UDP-glucose and UDP-galactose in extracts of cells grown on fructose and glucose were comparable. Apparently the differences in the amount of EPS produced on glucose and fructose are not caused by the activities of the enzymes leading to the production of these sugar nucleotides.Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NCFB 2772 grown on glucose produces two types of EPS concurrently and in almost equal amounts, with molecular weights of 1.7 × 10 6and 4 × 10 4. The exopolysaccharides produced with fructose as the carbohydrate source were composed of mainly a fraction with a low molecular weight of 4 x 10 4. The high- molecular-weight fractions were composed of branched repeating units with glucose, galactose and rhamnose in the ratio 1 : 5 : 1, whereas the low-molecular-weight fractions were more linear and contained glucose, galactose and rhamnose in the ratio 1 : 11 : 0.4. The production of the high-molecular-weight fraction was dependent on the carbohydrate source, whereas the low-molecular-weight fraction was produced more continuously. Since a low amount of rhamnose monomer was found in the EPS produced on fructose, the enzymes involved in the production of dTDP-rhamnose are active, in contrast to the results obtained in Chapter 5, but these activities may be below the detection level of the enzyme assays performed.Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NCFB 2772 produces EPS when grown in a defined medium and the amount of EPS is dependent on the carbohydrate source and the presence or absence of several vitamins. For future research, it would be interesting to study the genetics and enzymology of the assembly of the different EPS repeating units in fructose-grown and glucose-grown cells and in cells grown at low optical densities. Furthermore, the mechanisms of the enhanced EPS production as a result of multiple vitamin omissions may be an interesting topic for future research.</p