Why ULM has not yet been integrated in clinical practice?

Ultrasound Localization Microscopy (ULM) has emerged as a promising ultrasound-based technique to characterize microvascular structures, due to its ability to overcome the ultrasound diffraction limit. The enhanced resolution capability is a consequence of precise localizations of microbubbles (MBs) injected in the circulatory system. These localizations can be used to track MBs over time to obtain not only geometrical, but also dynamic information of microvascular flow. ULM combines its abil...

The Spirit of Lomé and the Ghost of Eurafrica: Euro-African Relations in the 1970s and 1980s

According to the dominant narratives in European integration historiography, the European project was driven by two overarching concerns: securing peace among European states and establishing a West European bulwark against the Soviet menace. More recently, an emerging body of literature has highlighted a third, powerful driver of integration: the desire to perpetuate colonial ties with Africa. Seeking to extend this historiographical perspective into the more mature years of the European Eco...

Stabilization and avoidance for unmanned vehicles via hybrid control architectures

From Consumers to Governance Understanding Food Choices, Alternative Food Networks, and Urban Policies

The global food system is facing increasing challenges related to environmental sustainability, social inequality, and economic viability. Industrialized agricultural practices have led to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change, while globalized food chains have exacerbated social inequalities and food insecurity. These structural issues highlight the need for a transformation toward sustainable food systems. This dissertation examines the transformation of food systems throu...

Efficient Processing of Spiking Neural Networks: A Memory-Based Approach

Neuromorphic systems have been developed with the aim of mimicking biological systems in terms of functionality and processing efficiency. Spiking neural networks (SNNs) are widely used as the computing model for the neuromorphic system. The neurons in the SNN communicate using spikes, which allows the SNN to be efficiently implemented on hardware. In addition, the SNNs are based on the spiking neuron, a dynamical neuron that extracts temporal features at the neuron level. On the other hand, ...

Practical Rewriting Techniques for Warded Ontology-Mediated Queries

Existential rules, a.k.a. tuple-generating dependencies (TGDs), form a well-established formalism for specifying ontologies, i.e., logical descriptions of a domain of interest. One of the main tasks in this context is Ontology-Mediated Query (OMQ) Answering. That is, given an Ontology-Mediated Query O = (q, Σ), comprising a TGD-based ontology Σ and a query q (usually a conjunctive query), find all the answers to q that can be entailed from the logical theory D ∧ Σ, where D is a given ...

Identification of grapevine Pectate Lyase genes altering Berry Texture during ripening

Vitis vinifera L. is one of the most important crops worldwide due to its economic relevance in winemaking and as a fresh fruit (table grapes). Several parameters determine consumer acceptance in the table grape market, including berry size, aroma, flavour, and texture. While consumers perceive berry texture as an indicator of fruit freshness, for producers, the firmness is a critical trait influencing resistance to pathogen invasion and postharvest spoilage. Firm berries resist mechanical da...

Towards Trustworthy Speech Technologies: Enhancing Explainability and Mitigating Gender Bias in Speech Transcription and Translation

Language technologies are increasingly used in a variety of applications, including speech-related tasks such as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Automatic Speech Translation (AST). However, this progress raises concerns about trustworthiness. For example, ASR systems often transcribe male and female voices with different levels of accuracy, while AST systems often reflect stereotypes, e.g. by translating "doctor" as masculine and "nurse" as feminine, or by defaulting to masculine forms...

Emerging ecological functions and relationships of Alpine ungulates amid wildlife recovery and anthropogenic influences: A multi-disciplinary approach

Human-induced environmental changes are placing unprecedented pressures on ecosystems worldwide, driving biodiversity losses that threaten ecosystem functioning and resilience. Among the most critical yet understudied consequences of these losses is the disruption or rapid modification of ecological interactions among species. However, investigating such interactions requires disentangling multiple co-occurring and interrelated factors within complex pathways that often cannot be addressed wi...