Kroniek van het Europees materieel recht

The progression of EU law: Accommodating change and upholding value

Kroniek van het Europees materieel recht

The progression of EU law: Accommodating change and upholding value

M & L Jaargang 2/1

RedactioneelChris Bogaert, Kathleen Lanclus en Guido Deseyn Van winkelen en puien. [About shopping and shopfronts.]B. Baillieul, G. Van der Linden en H. Van den Bossche Het Citadelpark in Gent. [The Citadel Park in Ghent.]Guido Deseyn Geo Henderick. [Geo Henderick, profile of an architect.]Paul van den Bremt en Regi de Meirsman Een aanzet tot een beheersplan voor een gerangschikt landschap, het staatsbos Berlare-Broek. Luik I: de natuurwetenschappelijke waarde. [Toward a management plan for a protected landscape, the state forest of Berlare-Broek. Part I: scientific value.]M&L Binnenkran

Air-filled substrate-integrated waveguide technology for broadband and highly-efficient photonic-enabled antenna systems

The combination of microwave photonics, radio-over-fiber (RoF) and air-filled substrate-integrated-waveguide (AFSIW) technology opens many promising pathways to realize robust, broadband, and highly-integrated multi-antenna systems that address the stringent demands of (beyond-)5G wireless applications. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of such a multi-disciplinary approach by discussing three designs. First, two AFSIW-based photonic-enabled remote antenna units (RAUs) are presented for downlink sub-6GHz RoF. By adopting an extensive full-wave/circuit co-simulation model, the power transfer between the optical and electrical domain is maximized. In the first design, this is done by using a Chebyshev impedance matching network, while the second design exploits conjugate matching. Second, a hybrid integration strategy for compact, broadband and highly efficient mmWave antennas is introduced. Its excellent performance is proven by realizing an on-chip AFSIW stacked patch antenna. In addition, the design facilitates compact integration of the opto-electronic front-end, making it attractive for the realization of next-generation photonic-enabled mmWave planar multi-antenna systems

European web-based platform for recording international health regulations ship sanitation certificates: results and perspectives

The purpose of this study was to report the data analysis results from the International Health Regulations (2005) Ship Sanitation Certificates (SSCs), recorded in the European Information System (EIS). International sea trade and population movements by ships can contribute to the global spread of diseases. SSCs are issued to ensure the implementation of control measures if a public health risk exists on board. EIS designed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Handbook for Inspection of Ships and Issuance of SSC. Inspection data were recorded and SSCs issued by inspectors working at European ports were analysed. From July 2011-February 2017, 107 inspectors working at 54 ports in 11 countries inspected 5579 ships. Of these, there were 29 types under 85 flags (including 19 EU Member States flags). As per IHR (2005) 10,281 Ship Sanitation Control Exception Certificates (SSCECs) and 296 Ship Sanitation Control Certificates (SSCCs) were issued, 74 extensions to existing SSCs were given, 7565 inspection findings were recorded, and 47 inspections were recorded without issuing an SSC. The most frequent inspection findings were the lack of potable water quality monitoring reports (23%). Ships aged 12 years (odds ratio, OR = 1.77, 95% confidence intervals, CI = 1.37-2.29) with an absence of cargo at time of inspection (OR = 3.36, 95% CI = 2.51-4.50) had a higher probability of receiving an SSCC, while ships under the EU MS flag had a lower probability of having inspection findings (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.66-0.79). Risk factors to prioritise the inspections according to IHR were identified by using the EIS. A global information system, or connection of national or regional information systems and data exchange, could help to better implement SSCs using common standards and procedures

The state of EU sports law: lessons from UEFA’s ‘Financial Fair Play’ regulations

The EU’s sporting competence derives from the legal norm, established by the European Court of Justice, that requires that ‘sporting rules’ of sports governing bodies which have an economic impact and which breach the fundamental freedoms or competition law can only be justified if shown to be a proportionate response to an inherent need in the sport. However, the certainty of this norm is undermined by the EU’s subsequent Treaty competence for sport, a political compromise, which is ambiguous, and which in due course generated the European Commission’s sports policy, with its emphasis on governance and social dialogue. Consequently, EU sports law has evolved into ‘soft law’ which is far from coherent. This is demonstrated in the tolerance shown for certain of UEFA’s ‘sporting rules’, notably its Financial Fair Play Regulations, which restrict competition and lack proportionality yet have not attracted sanction from the European Commission (a sports law policy which could be characterised as not even constituting soft law but delegalisation)

In Silico Whole Genome Association Scan for Murine Prepulse Inhibition

Background The complex trait of prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a sensory gating measure related to schizophrenia and can be measured in mice. Large-scale public repositories of inbred mouse strain genotypes and phenotypes such as PPI can be used to detect Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) in silico. However, the method has been criticized for issues including insufficient number of strains, not controlling for false discoveries, the complex haplotype structure of inbred mice, and failing to account for genotypic and phenotypic subgroups. Methodology/Principal Findings We have implemented a method that addresses these issues by incorporating phylogenetic analyses, multilevel regression with mixed effects, and false discovery rate (FDR) control. A genome-wide scan for PPI was conducted using over 17,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 37 strains phenotyped. Eighty-nine SNPs were significant at a false discovery rate (FDR) of 5%. After accounting for long-range linkage disequilibrium, we found 3 independent QTLs located on murine chromosomes 1 and 13. One of the PPI positives corresponds to a region of human chromosome 6p which includes DTNBP1, a gene implicated in schizophrenia. Another region includes the gene Tsn which alters PPI when knocked out. These genes also appear to have correlated expression with PPI. Conclusions/Significance These results support the usefulness of using an improved in silico mapping method to identify QTLs for complex traits such as PPI which can be then be used for to help identify loci influencing schizophrenia in humans

Genetic spectrum of hereditary neuropathies with onset in the first year of life

Early onset hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies are rare disorders encompassing congenital hypomyelinating neuropathy with disease onset in the direct post-natal period and Dejerine–Sottas neuropathy starting in infancy. The clinical spectrum, however, reaches beyond the boundaries of these two historically defined disease entities. De novo dominant mutations in PMP22, MPZ and EGR2 are known to be a typical cause of very early onset hereditary neuropathies. In addition, mutations in several other dominant and recessive genes for Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease may lead to similar phenotypes. To estimate mutation frequencies and to gain detailed insights into the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of early onset hereditary neuropathies, we selected a heterogeneous cohort of 77 unrelated patients who presented with symptoms of peripheral neuropathy within the first year of life. The majority of these patients were isolated in their family. We performed systematic mutation screening by means of direct sequencing of the coding regions of 11 genes: MFN2, PMP22, MPZ, EGR2, GDAP1, NEFL, FGD4, MTMR2, PRX, SBF2 and SH3TC2. In addition, screening for the Charcot–Marie–Tooth type 1A duplication on chromosome 17p11.2-12 was performed. In 35 patients (45%), mutations were identified. Mutations in MPZ, PMP22 and EGR2 were found most frequently in patients presenting with early hypotonia and breathing difficulties. The recessive genes FGD4, PRX, MTMR2, SBF2, SH3TC2 and GDAP1 were mutated in patients presenting with early foot deformities and variable delay in motor milestones after an uneventful neonatal period. Several patients displaying congenital foot deformities but an otherwise normal early development carried the Charcot–Marie–Tooth type 1A duplication. This study clearly illustrates the genetic heterogeneity underlying hereditary neuropathies with infantile onset