German Federal Constitutional Court: German Data Retention Provisions Unconstitutional in Their Present Form; Decision of 2 March 2010, NJW 2010, p. 833.

This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.About one year after the European Court of Justice had handed down its notorious decision on the Data Retention Directive concerning telecommunications traffic data, it was for the German Federal Constitutional Court to take a final decision on the German implementation of the Directive. So far, the latter Court had only issued temporary injunctions restricting data retrieval by the public authorities. Now, the final ruling by the Court has been anxiously awaited since the complainants had not only challenged the German provisions implementing the Directive, but also the Directive itself. Thus, the question was raised whether the Court would finally, for the first time in its history, initiate a preliminary ruling procedure according to Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.Peer Reviewe

Team heterogeneity in startups and its development over time

We investigate the workforce heterogeneity of startups with respect to education, age and wages. Our explorative study uses data on the population of 1,614 Danish firms founded in 1998. We track these firms until 2001 which enables us to analyze changes in workforce composition over time. Such a dynamic analysis constitutes a hitherto neglected area of entrepreneurship research. To assess relative workforce heterogeneity, we construct a simulated benchmark to which we compare observed workforce heterogeneity. We find that the initial workforce is relatively homogeneous compared to our benchmark. Our result holds both for non-knowledge-based and, to a lesser extent, knowledge-based startups. This seems surprising since a vast management literature advocates heterogeneous teams. The difficulties associated with workforce heterogeneity (like affective conflict or coordination cost) as well as "homophily" (peoples inclination to bound with others with similar characteristics) hence appear to generally overweigh the benefits of heterogeneity (like greater variety in perspectives or more creativity). We also document that workforces become more heterogeneous over time startups add workers with skills different from the workforce at startup. The initial supposedly "poor" mix of workforce characteristics is hence adjusted as the startup matures. This increase in workforce heterogeneity is, however, smaller compared to our benchmark but substantially larger than is team additions had the same characteristics as the initial team members

Skin-Specific Expression of ank-393, a Novel Ankyrin-3 Splice Variant

Ankyrins represent a protein family whose members are associated with membrane proteins and the actin cytoskeleton. The principal ankyrin domain structure comprises an amino-terminal membrane-binding, a spectrin-binding, and a regulatory domain, and can be modulated by alternative splicing. In order to investigate the role of ankyrin-3 in skin, we have isolated three complete ankyrin-3 cDNA clones of 5.8 kb, 5.2 kb, and 2.5 kb by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction of mouse skin RNA. DNA sequencing confirmed the isolated clones to be splice variants of ankyrin-3. Of these, the smallest cDNA represents a novel ankyrin named ankyrin-393. Surprisingly, this novel ankyrin subtype lacks not only all ankyrin repeats, but also the first 75 amino acids of the spectrin-binding domain. Immuno-fluorescence analysis of mouse skin showed that ankyrin-3 is expressed in all living layers of mouse epidermis. Here, it predominates along the basal and lateral membranes of the basal layer in addition to an even cytoplasmic distribution. In primary mouse keratinocytes grown at elevated Ca2+ levels, ankyrin-393 was localized along the plasma membrane and throughout the cell in a Golgi-like fashion. Depending on fixation conditions, nuclear staining became apparent in many cells. In agreement with previous data, northern blotting revealed a widespread distribution of the two larger ankyrin splice variants. In contrast, the mRNA coding for ankyrin-393 was restricted to mouse skin. Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction of mouse skin RNA strongly suggested additional ankyrin isoforms in skin. Our data on ankyrin-393, which lacks a part of the spectrin-binding domain that regulates the affinity to spectrin, suggests a new function for this member of the ankyrin family

Paradoxien der Geschichte. Anmerkungen zu den Fotografien von Gerhard Gäbler

PURPOSE: Surgical treatment of early-onset scoliosis (EOS) requires a balance between maintained curve correction and the capacity for spinal and thoracic growth. Spinal fusion creates irreversible conditions that prevent the implementation of further treatment methods. Our hypothesis was that non-fused anchors in growth guidance show a comparable outcome as the technique described in the literature, which involves spondylodesis of the anchoring segments. METHODS: This retrospective study analysed 148 surgeries in 22 EOS patients (11 female, 11 male) over a 15-year period. Patients underwent surgery with non-fused anchors and growth guidance techniques. Scoliosis, kyphosis, growth and anchoring segments were measured. For the latter, a new measuring technique was developed. Complications were recorded and classified. RESULTS: The mean Cobb angle reduced from 73.5 ± 24.4° to 28.4 ± 16.2° (60.2 ± 22.9%, p < 0.001) at the last follow-up. Spinal growth T1-S1 and T1-T12 were 41.1 ± 23.3 mm and 24.9 ± 16.6 mm (p < 0.001), respectively. Growth at the cranial and caudal anchoring segment was 1.5 mm/segment/year and 1.9 mm/segment/year, respectively. A total of 63 complications were documented in 20 patients, with 40 requiring unplanned revision surgery. Definitive spondylodesis was performed in three patients. CONCLUSION: Patients demonstrated a significant spinal growth including the anchoring segments. A comparable correction in Cobb angle and the type of complications was noted, although the rate of device-related complications was higher. No permanent impairment was reported. The rate of device-related complications is acceptable and outweighed by the significant degree of growth preservation and more flexible and individualised treatment strategy for patients with EOS. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material

Die ungeliebte Asylbewerberunterkunft

Peer Reviewe

A Novel Risk and Crisis Communication Platform to Bridge the Gap Between Policy Makers and the Public in the Context of the COVID-19 Crisis (PubliCo): Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

Since the end of 2019, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on people around the globe. As governments institute more restrictive measures, public adherence could decrease and discontent may grow. Providing high-quality information and countering fake news are important. However, we also need feedback loops so that government officials can refine preventive measures and communication strategies. Policy makers need information-preferably based on real-time data-on people's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to public health messages and restrictive measures. PubliCo aims to foster effective and tailored risk and crisis communication as well as provide an assessment of the risks and benefits of prevention and control measures, since their effectiveness depends on public trust and cooperation.; Our project aims to develop a tool that helps tackle the COVID-19 infodemic, with a focus on enabling a nuanced and in-depth understanding of public perception. The project adopts a transdisciplinary multistakeholder approach, including participatory citizen science.; We aim to combine a literature and media review and analysis as well as empirical research using mixed methods, including an online survey and diary-based research, both of which are ongoing and continuously updated. Building on real-time data and continuous data collection, our research results will be highly adaptable to the evolving situation.; As of September 2021, two-thirds of the proposed tool is operational. The current development cycles are focusing on analytics, user experience, and interface refinement. We have collected a total of 473 responses through PubliCo Survey and 22 diaries through PubliCo Diaries.; Pilot data show that PubliCo is a promising and efficient concept for bidirectional risk and crisis communication in the context of public health crises. Further data are needed to assess its function at a larger scale or in the context of an issue other than COVID-19.; DERR1-10.2196/33653

Is Lymphedema a Systemic Disease? A Paired Molecular and Histological Analysis of the Affected and Unaffected Tissue in Lymphedema Patients

Secondary lymphedema is a chronic, debilitating disease and one of the most common side effects of oncologic surgery, substantially decreasing quality of life. Despite the progress conducted in lymphedema research, the underlying pathomechanisms remain elusive. Lymphedema is considered to be a disease affecting an isolated extremity, yet imaging studies suggest systemic changes of the lymphatic system in the affected patients. To evaluate potential systemic manifestations in lymphedema, we collected matched fat and skin tissue from the edematous and non-edematous side of the same 10 lymphedema patients as well as anatomically matched probes from control patients to evaluate whether known lymphedema manifestations are present systemically and in comparison to health controls. The lymphedematous tissue displayed various known hallmarks of lymphedema compared to the healthy controls, such as increased epidermis thickness, collagen deposition in the periadipocyte space and the distinct infiltration of CD4+ cells. Furthermore, morphological changes in the lymphatic vasculature between the affected and unaffected limb in the same lymphedema patient were visible. Surprisingly, an increased collagen deposition as well as CD4 expression were also detectable in the non-lymphedematous tissue of lymphedema patients, suggesting that lymphedema may trigger systemic changes beyond the affected extremity