The Evolution of Data Protection and Privacy in the Public Security Context - An Institutional Analysis of Three EU Data Retention and Access Regimes

PhDSince nearly two decades threats to public security through events such as 9/11, the Madrid (2004) and London (2005) bombings and more recently the Paris attacks (2015) resulted in the adoption of a plethora of national and EU measures aiming at fighting terrorism and serious crime. In addition, the Snowden revelations brought the privacy and data protection implications of these public security measures into the spotlight. In this highly contentious context, three EU data retention and access measures have been introduced for the purpose of fighting serious crime and terrorism: The Data Retention Directive (DRD), the EU-US PNR Agreement and the EU-US SWIFT Agreement. All three regimes went through several revisions (SWIFT, PNR) or have been annulled (DRD) exemplifying the difficulty of determining how privacy and data protection ought to be protected in the context of public security. The trigger for this research is to understand the underlying causes of these difficulties by examining the problem from different angles. The thesis applies the theory of ‘New Institutionalism’ (NI) which allows both a political and legal analysis of privacy and data protection in the public security context. According to NI, ‘institutions’ are defined as the operational framework in which actors interact and they steer the behaviours of the latter in the policy-making cycle. By focusing on the three data retention and access regimes, the aim of this thesis is to examine how the EU ‘institutional framework’ shapes data protection and privacy in regard to data retention and access measures in the public security context. Answering this research question the thesis puts forward three main hypotheses: (i) privacy and data protection in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) is an institutional framework in transition where historic and new features determine how Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU) are shaped; (ii) policy outcomes on Articles 7 and 8 CFREU are influenced by actors’ strategic preferences pursued in the legislation-making process; and (iii) privacy and data protection are framed by the evolution of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) from a ‘legal basis arbiter’ to a political actor in its own right as a result of the constitutional changes brought by the Lisbon Treaty

Primär kutane Immunozytome: klinische, morphologische und immunhistochemische Charakteristika

Immunozytome stellen 15-20% aller malignen Lymphome der Haut. Die EORTC definiert primär kutane Lymphome als Lymphome , bei denen sechs Monate vor und nach der Diagnose einer Hautmanifestation keine systemische Beteiligung nachgewiesen werden kann. Primär kutane Immunozytome machen ca. 2% aller kutanen Lymphome aus. Ziel der Arbeit war, anhand der EORTC-Kriterien die klinischen Verläufe, histologischen und immunhistochemischen Charakteristika primär kutaner Immunozytome herauszuarbeiten und diese mit denen kutaner Manifestationen primär systemischer Lymphome zu vergleichen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit zeigen, dass sich primär kutane Immunozytome in der Primärlokalisation und der Prognose von den systemische Immunozytomen mit sekundärer Hautbeteiligung unterscheiden. Es finden sich nicht genügend histologische, immunhistochemische und molekulargenetische Merkmale, um beide Entitäten in einer Hautbiopsie voneinander zu trennen. Die EORTC-Kriterien zur Definition primär kutaner Lymphome sind geeignet, Erkrankungen mit einem besonders günstigen Verlauf abzugrenzen

Survey on regional research needs

Research needs on challenges regarding the organic system, field practises, input, crop, pest and disease control, livestock, socio-economic and post-harvest and processing Challenges in various regions

Effects Of Alternative Fertilisers From Food And Household Waste And Clover Based On Yield Of Organic Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea Convar. Capitata Var. Alba L.)

Organic vegetable farms are highly specialized and therefore, the production is very dependent on external nutrient inputs by commercial fertilisers permitted in organic farming, often of conventional origin. Food and household waste and/or clover based fertilisers could replace and/or be additional alternatives to commonly used fertilisers and close rural-urban cycles. The effect of different alternative plant and waste based fertilizers were studied in a field trial using cabbage (Brassica oleracea convar. capitata var. alba L.) in Stuttgart, Southwest Germany. Total yield (head and residues), marketable head yield (> 1 kg) and non-marketable head yield (< 1 kg) were measured. All fertilisers increased the total biomass yield and marketable head yield of cabbage significantly, with horn grit (widely used commercial fertiliser in organic vegetable production) fertilisation showing the highest yields (Total yield: 88.6 Mg fresh matter (FM) ha-1, Marketable head yield: 39.8 Mg FM ha-1) of all treatments. Clover pellets, tofu whey, biogas digestate from organic household waste and clover based biogas digestate showed results comparable to farmyard manure and could be potential new fertilisers for organic vegetable production without compromising the yield

A Global Vision and Strategy for Organic Farming Research. First Draft.

Organic agriculture world-wide offers the promise of a future to produce and distribute food and other farm products in a healthy, ecologically sound, truly sustainable and fair way. The full benefits of organic agriculture are just now being realized—from ecosystem services to the provision of healthier food - yet, to reach its full potential organic farming needs to address many challenges. While organic agriculture has grown in strength and is in the most favorable position it has ever been in with respect to market conditions, government policies and international institutional support, it still does not have adequate resources to continue its expansion. The Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) has developed a vision and an agenda to advance organic agriculture through research, development, innovation and technology transfer. TIPI’s vision recognizes that current technologies based on heavy use of external inputs that are toxic and pollute the environment come with a price. Investments in ecosystem services and the development of technologies that are productive, stable, adaptable, resilient, and fairly shared are much more likely to sustain the world’s population in a rapidly changing environment. Sustainable pathways to innovation will require engagement of all stakeholders in a science driven multi-disciplinary approach. Such an approach seeks to (1) Empower rural areas, (2) Provide eco-functional intensification that produces food and ecosystem services, and (3) Provide food for the health and well-being available to all. Organic agriculture must build the capacity to fulfill the world’s food needs for the entire population if it is to fulfill its mission. The new paradigm proposed by TIPI is founded upon a whole systems approach, the engagement of farmers, researchers and other practitioners in a co-innovative approach; and open access technologies that are readily adapted to local conditions. While there are barriers and bottlenecks that will need to be overcome for this vision to be realized, TIPI calls upon the organic community to support its 14 point action plan to advance organic agriculture in a forward-thinking and innovative way

Sinking Organic Particles in the Ocean—Flux Estimates From in situ Optical Devices

Optical particle measurements are emerging as an important technique for understanding the ocean carbon cycle, including contributions to estimates of their downward flux, which sequesters carbon dioxide (CO2) in the deep sea. Optical instruments can be used from ships or installed on autonomous platforms, delivering much greater spatial and temporal coverage of particles in the mesopelagic zone of the ocean than traditional techniques, such as sediment traps. Technologies to image particles have advanced greatly over the last two decades, but the quantitative translation of these immense datasets into biogeochemical properties remains a challenge. In particular, advances are needed to enable the optimal translation of imaged objects into carbon content and sinking velocities. In addition, different devices often measure different optical properties, leading to difficulties in comparing results. Here we provide a practical overview of the challenges and potential of using these instruments, as a step toward improvement and expansion of their applications

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Empowerment strategies for environmental sustainability : proposal of concepts to master social and environmental impacts of the large-scale gold and copper mining project in Didipio, Philippines

Conflicts emerging through large-scale mining projects among government, industry and affected population are common all over the world. Especially the indigenous communities and their strong human-nature relation are threatened by the land transformation due to mining operations. Open pit gold mining performed by transnational companies TNCs and supported by the Philippine government aligning decisions on economic standards and market orientated legislative period, have been imposing tremendous damage on the Philippine indigenous communities and the national environmental resources for many decades, from colonial times, dictatorship, and new democracy . This thesis displays and discusses the interwoven web of socially and environmentally degrading impacts introduced to the small village of Didipio in the north of the Philippines by a planned gold and copper mining project. After describing influencing sectors of industry and government for decision making in mining projects and introducing interests and purposes of all stakeholders, assessment of changes in water quality and quantity, which are associated with technical requirements of open pit gold mining, is used to specifically relate the initiation of a punctual impact, on a natural good, and its provoked tremendous environmental and furthermore social degradation. A central assertion of this thesis is the call for recognizing human-rights based participation of all affected stakeholders via emphasizing indigenous people’s rights, balancing market-centred development aggression and foreign control over national markets, as well as implementing sustainable environmental awareness management by industry and government. Further recommendations are related to the resignation of defining nature merely according to its function under the utilization concept, to TNCs’ application of postmodern understanding of reason based on flexibility and versatility, and to the promoting of indigenous self-determination and individual initiative

Pilotstudie zum Einsatz einer neuromuskulären Stimulation bei Patienten mit therapieresistentem Ulcus cruris venosum

Eine umfassende Diagnostik und ursachenorientierte Behandlung ist entscheidend für einen dauerhaften Therapieerfolg bei Ulcus cruris venosum. Die Behandlung in dieser Pilotstudie erfolgte zwei mal zwei Stunden täglich mit einem Gerät zur neuromuskulären elektrischen Stimulation. Es erfolgten vier Visiten in einem Zeitraum von insgesamt neun Wochen. Erhoben wurden im Verlauf Wundfläche, Schmerzhaftigkeit, Lebensqualität und Zufriedenheit der Patienten. In allen Bereichen konnten besonders in der ersten Behandlungswoche signifikante Verbesserungen beobachtet werden. Bei drei Patienten wurde ein kompletter Wundverschluss erzielt. Die Reduktion der Wundfläche betrug 25,5%. Die Schmerzhaftigkeit lag am Ende der Studie 19,6% unter dem Ausgangswert. Es kam zu einer Verbesserung der Lebensqualität um 25,6%. Auch in anderen Studien zur Anwendung von NMES bei CVI, pAVK und diabetischer PNP, konnten gute Therapieerfolge nachgewiesen werden. Insgesamt sind weitere Studien zu dem Thema zu erwarten