Retransmission of broadcast signals by cable in hotels - An analysis of the EU CabSat-Directive in light of a pending CJEU case

E-print/Working paper (2022)

It is well-known that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has played a key role in giving the EU acquis in the area of intellectual property law the relevance it has today. Especially the ... [more ▼]

It is well-known that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has played a key role in giving the EU acquis in the area of intellectual property law the relevance it has today. Especially the series of judgments clarifying the broad notion of “communication to the public” as laid down in form of an exclusive right in the so-called InfoSoc Directive 2001/29/EC with which the position of authors was significantly reinforced is an extensively debated and commented outcome. Until the recent addition of the DSM Copyright-Directive (EU) 2019/790 to the EU acquis with its inclusion of a press publisher’s right and increased obligations of platforms when they allow users to upload potentially copyrighted material, the InfoSoc Directive of 2001 has always been in the centre of attention. In the shadow of that Directive stands the so-called CabSat Directive 93/83/EEC , originally created in 1993 as supplementary action in order to ensure the realization of an EU-wide single market for television broadcasting which was initiated by the Television without Frontiers-Directive (TwFD) 89/552/EEC . The aim of the CabSat Directive was and remains the goal of ensuring that in the use of satellite distribution of broadcast programmes as well as retransmission by cable, rightholders’ positions are safeguarded and procedures respected that allow for a smooth realization of such use of broadcast signals. This Directive has only rarely been subject of preliminary reference requests by national courts. This makes a currently pending case highly relevant and gives the Court a unique opportunity to complement its case law on communication to the public for the specific aspect of retransmission of broadcasting signals: It has already in the ground-breaking decision of SGAE in 2006 clarified very firmly that the forwarding of broadcast signals – television programmes, notabene – by hotel operators to the individual rooms of a hotel and thereby offering the guests the possibility of individual access to the broadcast programmes constitutes a communication to the public. For such communication an authorization by the author(s) is needed and without such authorization it violates the exclusive right as laid down in Art. 3(1) InfoSoc Directive. While this has been settled concerning authors, the pending case of C-716/20 concerns exactly the same setup – a hotel operator picking up a satellite signal and disseminating it via cable to the hotel rooms – except that this time the questions to the court are asked through the lens of the CabSat Directive and the legal position of broadcasters vis-à-vis the hotel operators as provided for by the specific national law which transposed EU law. This contribution will therefore first explain the notion of ‘cable retransmission’ and in which parts of EU law it is laid down or referred to (II.). It will then give a more detailed look at the relevant provisions of the CabSat Directive and other related secondary law which establishes the framework for questions of cable retransmission and communication to the public (III.). Further, the case law of the CJEU will be analysed in order to identify those judgments that contribute to the clarification of the open question whether a retransmission by cable of a broadcast programme by hotel operators falls under the notion of cable retransmission as presented (IV.). As the actual question has not been answered by the Court in its jurisprudence so far, the main aspects of the pending preliminary proceedings will be explained without going into the details of the national proceedings of the previous instances, before the Portuguese Supremo Tribunal de Justiça (Supreme Court) decided to stay the proceedings and request from the CJEU a clarification of the EU law-related aspects. The criteria as developed will show – when applied to the case at hand – that the hotel operator needs to be qualified as an operator of a cable network conducting a cable retransmission (V.). Finally, in a concluding section the relevance of the outcome of this case will be discussed (VI.). [less ▲]

Estimation of the invariant density for discretely observed diffusion processes: impact of the sampling and of the asynchronicity

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Decentralised Finance's Unregulated Governance: Minority Rule in the Digital Wild West

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Decentralised finance (DeFi) is a category of unlicensed, unregulated, and non-custodial financial services that utilise public, distributed ledgers like Ethereum. The Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index ... [more ▼]

Decentralised finance (DeFi) is a category of unlicensed, unregulated, and non-custodial financial services that utilise public, distributed ledgers like Ethereum. The Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index, launched in August 2021, includes nine Ethereum-based projects – non-custodial exchanges as well as lending and derivatives platforms. Each project is governed, at least in part, by a community of unregistered individuals that hold tradable voting rights tokens (also known as governance tokens). Voting rights tokens allow holders to vote on proposed changes to a DeFi project’s features, parameters, or rules. DeFi’s governance power is thus linked to the distribution and exercise of tokenised voting rights. Since DeFi projects are typically not managed by companies or public institutions, not much is known about DeFi’s governance. Regulators and law-makers from the United States recently asked if DeFi’s governance entails a new class of “shadowy” elites. In response, we conducted an exploratory, multiple-case study that focuses on the voting rights tokens issued by the nine projects from Bloomberg’s Galaxy DeFi index. Our mixed methods approach draws on Ethereum-based data about the distribution, trading, and staking of voting rights tokens, as well as project documentation and archival records. Our findings contribute knowledge about the entitlements of DeFi’s voting rights tokens, the initial distribution strategies, and the actual voting and delegation activity. Our principal finding is that DeFi’s voting rights are highly concentrated, and the exercise of these rights is very low. Our theoretical contribution is descriptive: minority rule is the probable consequence of tradable voting rights plus the lack of applicable anti-concentration or anti-monopoly laws. We interpret DeFi’s minority rule as timocratic and acknowledge its possible transition to oligarchy. [less ▲]

Nimmt die Beschäftigungsqualität in Luxemburg ab?

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Im Rahmen dieser Newsletter wird aufgezeigt wie sich die verschiedenen Dimensionen der Beschäftigungsqualität in den vergangenen 6 Jahren in Luxemburg entwickelt haben. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die ... [more ▼]

Im Rahmen dieser Newsletter wird aufgezeigt wie sich die verschiedenen Dimensionen der Beschäftigungsqualität in den vergangenen 6 Jahren in Luxemburg entwickelt haben. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Einkommenszufriedenheit und die wahrgenommenen Ausbildungsmöglichkeiten über die Zeit insgesamt eher abgenommen, und die Work-Life-Konflikte zugenommen haben. Diese Entwicklungen fallen differenziert nach verschiedenen Arbeitnehmer-Gruppen unterschiedlich aus. Beispielsweise haben Work-Life-Konflikte bei Arbeitnehmerinnen stärker zugenommen als bei Arbeitnehmern. Arbeitnehmer mit Kindern wiederum berichten im Vergleich zu Arbeitnehmer ohne Kinder über einen Rückgang der Beförderungsmöglichkeiten. Arbeitnehmer in staatlichen Organisationen weisen über die Zeit konstant höhere Werte bei Einkommenszufriedenheit, Ausbildungsmöglichkeiten und Arbeitsplatzsicherheit auf, im Vergleich zu Arbeitnehmern in privaten Unternehmen oder sonstigen Organisationen. Ergänzend zeigt sich, dass die Dimensionen der Beschäftigungsqualität mit verschiedenen Wohlbefindens-Dimensionen assoziiert sind. Insbesondere weisen höhere Work-Life-Konflikte Zusammenhänge mit geringerer Arbeitsmotivation, geringerer Arbeitszufriedenheit und geringerem generellem Well-Being, sowie erhöhtem Burnoutniveau und verstärkten Gesundheitsproblemen auf. [less ▲]

SMART: a Technology Readiness Methodology in the Frame of the NIS Directive

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Ready for the future? – The third Education Report for Luxembourg (Supplement)

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Regesta Imperii VI. Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter Rudolf, Adolf, Albrecht, Heinrich VII. 1272-1313. Abt. 4: Heinrich VII. 1288/1308-1313. WORKS IN PROGRESS: Regesten aus dem Archivio Storico Diocesano in Pisa Elektronische pdf-Ressource

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Energy-Efficient Beamforming and Resource Optimization for AmBSC-Assisted Cooperative NOMA IoT Networks

E-print/Working paper (2022)

In this manuscript, we present an energy-efficient alternating optimization framework based on the multi-antenna ambient backscatter communication (AmBSC) assisted cooperative non-orthogonal multiple ... [more ▼]

In this manuscript, we present an energy-efficient alternating optimization framework based on the multi-antenna ambient backscatter communication (AmBSC) assisted cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) for next-generation (NG) internet-of-things (IoT) enabled communication networks. Specifically, the energy-efficiency maximization is achieved for the considered AmBSC-enabled multi-cluster cooperative IoT NOMA system by optimizing the active-beamforming vector and power-allocation coefficients (PAC) of IoT NOMA users at the transmitter, as well as passive-beamforming vector at the multiantenna assisted backscatter node. Usually, increasing the number of IoT NOMA users in each cluster results in inter-cluster interference (ICI) (among different clusters) and intra-cluster interference (among IoT NOMA users). To combat the impact of ICI, we exploit a zero-forcing (ZF) based active-beamforming, as well as an efficient clustering technique at the source node. Further, the effect of intra-cluster interference is mitigated by exploiting an efficient power-allocation policy that determines the PAC of IoT NOMA users under the quality-of-service (QoS), cooperation, SIC decoding, and power-budget constraints. Moreover, the considered non-convex passive-beamforming problem is transformed into a standard semi-definite programming (SDP) problem by exploiting the successive-convex approximation (SCA) approximation, as well as the difference of convex (DC) programming, where Rank-1 solution of passive-beamforming is obtained based on the penalty-based method. Furthermore, the numerical analysis of simulation results demonstrates that the proposed energy-efficiency maximization algorithm exhibits an efficient performance by achieving convergence within only a few iterations. [less ▲]

Francis Édeline, Entre la lettre et l’image. A la recherche d’un lieu commun (Textes réunis par Juliana Di Fiori Pondian), Louvain-la-Neuve, Academia, L’Harmattan « Extensions sémiotiques », 2020, 304 pages, ISBN : 978-2-8061-0550-9,

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Homological projective duality for the Segre cubic

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Robust density estimation with the L1-loss. Applications to the estimation of a density on the line satisfying a shape constraint

E-print/Working paper (2022)

We solve the problem of estimating the distribution of presumed i.i.d.\ observations for the total variation loss. Our approach is based on density models and is versatile enough to cope with many ... [more ▼]

We solve the problem of estimating the distribution of presumed i.i.d.\ observations for the total variation loss. Our approach is based on density models and is versatile enough to cope with many different ones, including some density models for which the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE for short) does not exist. We mainly illustrate the properties of our estimator on models of densities on the line that satisfy a shape constraint. We show that it possesses some similar optimality properties, with regard to some global rates of convergence, as the MLE does when it exists. It also enjoys some adaptation properties with respect to some specific target densities in the model for which our estimator is proven to converge at parametric rate. More important is the fact that our estimator is robust, not only with respect to model misspecification, but also to contamination, the presence of outliers among the dataset and the equidistribution assumption. This means that the estimator performs almost as well as if the data were i.i.d.\ with density $p$ in a situation where these data are only independent and most of their marginals are close enough in total variation to a distribution with density $p$. {We also show that our estimator converges to the average density of the data, when this density belongs to the model, even when none of the marginal densities belongs to it}. Our main result on the risk of the estimator takes the form of an exponential deviation inequality which is non-asymptotic and involves explicit numerical constants. We deduce from it several global rates of convergence, including some bounds for the minimax L1-risks over the sets of concave and log-concave densities. These bounds derive from some specific results on the approximation of densities which are monotone, convex, concave and log-concave. Such results may be of independent interest. [less ▲]

The public role of private actors: Internet service providers in the E-Evidence proposal

E-print/Working paper (2022)

How good is your Gaussian approximation of the posterior? Finite-sample computable error bounds for a variety of useful divergences

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Graph potentials and symplectic geometry of moduli spaces of vector bundles

E-print/Working paper (2022)

On Leopoldt's and Gross's defects for Artin representations

E-print/Working paper (2022)

We generalize Waldschmidt's bound for Leopoldt's defect and prove a similar bound for Gross's defect for an arbitrary extension of number fields. As an application, we prove new cases of the generalized ... [more ▼]

We generalize Waldschmidt's bound for Leopoldt's defect and prove a similar bound for Gross's defect for an arbitrary extension of number fields. As an application, we prove new cases of the generalized Gross conjecture (also known as the Gross-Kuz'min conjecture) beyond the classical abelian case, and we show that Gross's p-adic regulator has at least half of the conjectured rank. We also describe and compute non-cyclotomic analogues of Gross's defect. [less ▲]

Linking Theories and Methods in Cognitive Sciences via Joint Embedding of the Scientific Literature: The Example of Cognitive Control

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Traditionally, theory and practice of Cognitive Control are linked via literature reviews by human domain experts. This approach, however, is inadequate to track the ever-growing literature. It may also ... [more ▼]

Traditionally, theory and practice of Cognitive Control are linked via literature reviews by human domain experts. This approach, however, is inadequate to track the ever-growing literature. It may also be biased, and yield redundancies and confusion. Here we present an alternative approach. We performed automated text analyses on a large body of scientific texts to create a joint representation of tasks and constructs. More specifically, 385,705 scientific abstracts were first mapped into an embedding space using a transformers-based language model. Document embeddings were then used to identify a task-construct graph embedding that grounds constructs on tasks and supports nuanced meaning of the constructs by taking advantage of constrained random walks in the graph. This joint task-construct graph embedding, can be queried to generate task batteries targeting specific constructs, may reveal knowledge gaps in the literature, and inspire new tasks and novel hypotheses. [less ▲]

Spectral central limit theorem for additive functionals of isotropic and stationary Gaussian fields

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Decompositions of moduli spaces of vector bundles and graph potentials

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Towards a European Social Taxonomy: A Scorecard Approach

E-print/Working paper (2022)

Weightwise almost perfectly balanced functions: secondary constructions for all n and better weightwise nonlinearities

E-print/Working paper (2022)

binny: an automated binning algorithm to recover high-quality genomes from complex metagenomic datasets 2021.12.22.473795

E-print/Working paper (2021)

The reconstruction of genomes is a critical step in genome-resolved metagenomics as well as for multi-omic data integration from microbial communities. Here, we present binny, a binning tool that produces ... [more ▼]

The reconstruction of genomes is a critical step in genome-resolved metagenomics as well as for multi-omic data integration from microbial communities. Here, we present binny, a binning tool that produces high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes from both contiguous and highly fragmented genomes. Based on established metrics, binny outperforms existing state-of-the-art binning methods and finds unique genomes that could not be detected by other methods.binny uses k-mer-composition and coverage by metagenomic reads for iterative, non-linear dimension reduction of genomic signatures as well as subsequent automated contig clustering with cluster assessment using lineage-specific marker gene sets.When compared to five widely used binning algorithms, binny recovers the most near-complete (\>95 pure, \>90 complete) and high-quality (\>90 pure, \>70 complete) genomes from simulated data sets from the Critical Assessment of Metagenome Interpretation (CAMI) initiative, as well as from a real-world benchmark comprised of metagenomes from various environments. binny is implemented as Snakemake workflow and available from https://github.com/a-h-b/binny.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. [less ▲]

Zwischen Denkmalschutz und kanonischem Recht. Die Debatte über die Umnutzung entweihter Kirchen

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Beim Denkmalschutz von Kirchen wird das Mobiliar in den Kirchen, vom Gestühl bis zum liturgischen Gerät, leider nicht mitgeschützt. Ein ausführlichres Inventar und eine Vereinfachung der Rechtspraxis ... [more ▼]

Beim Denkmalschutz von Kirchen wird das Mobiliar in den Kirchen, vom Gestühl bis zum liturgischen Gerät, leider nicht mitgeschützt. Ein ausführlichres Inventar und eine Vereinfachung der Rechtspraxis drängen sich auf. [less ▲]

Entre force et diplomatie spatiale : le missile russe Nudol s'invite à la table des négociations

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Quantum Skyrmion Lattices in Heisenberg Ferromagnets

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Skyrmions are topological magnetic textures which can arise in non-centrosymmetric ferromagnetic materials. In most systems experimentally investigated to date, skyrmions emerge as classical objects ... [more ▼]

Skyrmions are topological magnetic textures which can arise in non-centrosymmetric ferromagnetic materials. In most systems experimentally investigated to date, skyrmions emerge as classical objects. However, the discovery of skyrmions with nanometer length scales has sparked interest in their quantum properties. Quantum corrections to the classical magnetic textures have already been considered in the semiclassical regime. Here, we go beyond this limit by investigating quantum skyrmions in the deep quantum regime. We use density matrix renormalization group techniques to study two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg ferromagnets with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions and discover a broad region in the zero temperature phase diagram which hosts quantum skyrmion lattice ground states. We argue that this novel quantum skyrmion phase can be detected experimentally in the magnetization profile via local magnetic polarization measurements as well as in the spin structure factor measurable via neutron scattering experiments. Finally, we explore the resulting quantum skyrmion state, analyze its real space polarization profile and show that it is a non-classical state featuring entanglement between quasiparticle and environment mainly localized near the boundary spins of the skyrmion. [less ▲]

How enriching sensory awareness develops and affects well-being throughout childhood

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Neurotoxic Amyloidogenic Peptides Identified in the Proteome of SARS-COV2: Potential Implications for Neurological Symptoms in COVID-19

E-print/Working paper (2021)

COVID-19 is primarily known as a respiratory disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. However, neurological symptoms such as memory loss, sensory confusion, cognitive and psychiatric issues, severe ... [more ▼]

COVID-19 is primarily known as a respiratory disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. However, neurological symptoms such as memory loss, sensory confusion, cognitive and psychiatric issues, severe headaches, and even stroke are reported in as many as 30% of cases and can persist even after the infection is over (so-called ‘long COVID’). These neurological symptoms are thought to be caused by brain inflammation, triggered by the virus infecting the central nervous system of COVID-19 patients, however we still don’t fully understand the mechanisms for these symptoms. The neurological effects of COVID-19 share many similarities to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in which the presence of cytotoxic protein-based amyloid aggregates is a common etiological feature. Following the hypothesis that some neurological symptoms of COVID-19 may also follow an amyloid etiology we performed a bioinformatic scan of the SARS-CoV-2 proteome, detecting peptide fragments that were predicted to be highly amyloidogenic. We selected two of these peptides and discovered that they do rapidly self-assemble into amyloid. Furthermore, these amyloid assemblies were shown to be highly toxic to a neuronal cell line. We introduce and support the idea that cytotoxic amyloid aggregates of SARS-CoV-2 proteins are causing some of the neurological symptoms commonly found in COVID-19 and contributing to long COVID, especially those symptoms which are novel to long COVID in contrast to other post-viral syndromes. [less ▲]

Zur Entwicklung des TSG unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen politischen Debatte

E-print/Working paper (2021)

The article deals with developments regarding the Transsexual Act and the current political debate on trans law in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Wenn Sicherheitsinteressen kollidieren – Technische und rechtliche Implikationen einer verpflichtenden Zugriffsmöglichkeit auf verschlüsselte Daten durch Behörden

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Judicial Education and Judicial Independence: Paper given at the 2021 Commonwealth Law Conference

E-print/Working paper (2021)

The link between judicial education and an efficient judiciary is, one hopes, obvious. But in order to ensure judicial independence, contemporary wisdom has it, judicial education should also be in the ... [more ▼]

The link between judicial education and an efficient judiciary is, one hopes, obvious. But in order to ensure judicial independence, contemporary wisdom has it, judicial education should also be in the hands of the judiciary. Absent such control, there is a risk that judges may be indoctrinated by interested actors and their independence compromised. Some critics, however, have been sceptical about judicial control of judicial education. Judicial control of education often justified on basis of expertise as well as need to protect independence. But judges are not pedagogues (and their view of what judging does, or should, entail are often untheorized). Nor are they particularly representative of society. In addition, a danger unmitigated by judicial control of judicial education is regulatory capture, defined as ‘the result or process by which regulation, in law or application, is consistently or repeatedly directed away from the public interest and toward the interests of the regulated industry, by the intent and action of the industry itself'. Even if other voices are integrated into discussions, the danger exists that they might seek to subvert the process to privilege their interests over the general interest. Such concerns have recently been raised in England and Wales with regard to the Equal Treatment Bench Book. The paper examines the relationship between judicial education and judicial independence through the lens of this controversy. It concludes that when judicial education trespass on the independence of the individual judge is not an easy question to answer (not least because education is always about socialization) but, crucially, it is not one answered by putting judicial education in the hands of the judiciary. [less ▲]

From SLAM to Situational Awareness: Challenges and Survey

E-print/Working paper (2021)

A Formalisation of Abstract Argumentation in Higher-Order Logic

E-print/Working paper (2021)

We present an approach for representing abstract argumentation frameworks based on an encoding into classical higher-order logic. This provides a uniform framework for computer-assisted assessment of ... [more ▼]

We present an approach for representing abstract argumentation frameworks based on an encoding into classical higher-order logic. This provides a uniform framework for computer-assisted assessment of abstract argumentation frameworks using interactive and automated reasoning tools. This enables the formal analysis and verification of meta-theoretical properties as well as the flexible generation of extensions and labellings with respect to well-known argumentation semantics. [less ▲]

Analysis and Probing of Parallel Channels in the Lightning Network

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Bitcoin can process only a few transactions per second, which is insufficient for a global payment network. The Lightning Network (LN) aims to address this challenge. The LN allows for low-latency bitcoin ... [more ▼]

Bitcoin can process only a few transactions per second, which is insufficient for a global payment network. The Lightning Network (LN) aims to address this challenge. The LN allows for low-latency bitcoin transfers through a network of payment channels. In contrast to regular Bitcoin transactions, payments in the LN are not globally broadcast. Thus it may improve not only Bitcoin's scalability but also privacy. However, the probing attack allows an adversary to discover channel balances, threatening users' privacy. Prior work on probing did not account for the possibility of multiple (parallel) channels between two nodes. Naive probing algorithms yield false results for parallel channels. In this work, we develop a new probing model that accurately accounts for parallel channels. We describe jamming-enhanced probing that allows for full balance information extraction in multi-channel hops, which was impossible with earlier probing methods. We quantify the attacker's information gain and propose an optimized algorithm for choosing probe amounts for N-channel hops. We demonstrate its efficiency based on real-world data using our own probing-focused LN simulator. Finally, we discuss countermeasures such as new forwarding strategies, intra-hop payment split, rebalancing, and unannounced channels. [less ▲]

Inwieweit weisen organisationale Schutzmaßnahmen gegen COVID-19 einen Zusammenhang mit dem Wohlbefinden von Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer auf?

E-print/Working paper (2021)

m Rahmen dieser Newsletter werden ArbeitnehmerInnen in Luxemburg in fünf Gruppen aufgeteilt, die auf ihrer Arbeit in unterschiedlichem Umfang Corona-Schutzmaßnahmen ausgesetzt sind. Neben ... [more ▼]

m Rahmen dieser Newsletter werden ArbeitnehmerInnen in Luxemburg in fünf Gruppen aufgeteilt, die auf ihrer Arbeit in unterschiedlichem Umfang Corona-Schutzmaßnahmen ausgesetzt sind. Neben ArbeitnehmerInnen mit 1) „einem geringen Umfang an Schutzmaßnahmen“, 2) „einem mittleren Umfang an Schutzmaßnahmen“, sowie 3) „einem hohen Umfang an Schutzmaßnahmen“, lassen sich auch noch Personen 4) „mit einem hohen Umfang an Schutzmaßnahmen, bei jedoch geringer körperlicher Distanz“, sowie Personen 5) „mit permanentem Homeoffice“ unterscheiden. Die Analysen zeigen, dass Frauen, jüngere ArbeitnehmerInnen und ArbeitnehmerInnen in Teilzeit häufiger in der Gruppe „Hohes Maß an Schutzmaßnahmen, geringe Distanz“ zu finden sind. Darüber hinaus sind Männer, ArbeitnehmerInnen mit Wohnsitz in Luxemburg und ArbeitnehmerInnen in einer Vorgesetztenposition häufiger in der Gruppe derjenigen zu finden, die permanent im Homeoffice arbeiten. ArbeitnehmerInnen der Gruppe „Geringes Maß an Schutzmaßnahmen“ oder „Hohes Maß an Schutzmaßnahmen, geringe Distanz“ weisen insgesamt schlechtere Arbeitsbedingungen auf und haben die höchste Angst vor einer Ansteckung durch COVID-19. Im Gegensatz dazu weisen ArbeitnehmerInnen der Gruppe „Hohes Maß an Schutzmaßnahmen“ und der Gruppe „permanentes Homeoffice“, bessere Arbeitsbedingungen auf. Es zeigt sich, dass Arbeitnehmer, die in einem Umfeld mit einem geringen Maß an Schutzmaßnahmen arbeiten müssen, ein deutlich geringeres Wohlbefinden haben. [less ▲]

Hessian heat kernel estimates and Calderón-Zygmund inequalities on complete Riemannian manifolds

E-print/Working paper (2021)

We address some fundamental questions about geometric analysis on Riemannian manifolds. The L^p-Calderón-Zygmund inequality is one of the cornerstones in the regularity theory of elliptic equations, and ... [more ▼]

We address some fundamental questions about geometric analysis on Riemannian manifolds. The L^p-Calderón-Zygmund inequality is one of the cornerstones in the regularity theory of elliptic equations, and it has been asked under which geometric conditions it holds for a reasonable class of non-compact Riemannian manifolds, and to what extent assumptions on the derivative of curvature and on the injectivity radius of the manifold are necessary. In the present paper, for 1<p<2, we give a positive answer for the validity of the L^p-Calderón-Zygmund inequality on a Riemannian manifold assuming only a lower bound on the Ricci curvature. It is well known that this alone is not sufficient for p>2. In this case we complement the study of Güneysu-Pigola (2015) and derive sufficient geometric criteria for the validity of the Calderón-Zygmund inequality under additional Kato class bounds on the Riemann curvature tensor and the covariant derivative of Ricci curvature. Bounds in the Kato class are integral conditions and much weaker than pointwise bounds. Throughout the proofs, probabilistic tools, like Hessian formulas and Bismut type representations for heat semigroups, play a significant role. [less ▲]

Gravity prop and moduli spaces Mg,n

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Let Mg,n be the moduli space of algebraic curves of genus g with m+n marked points decomposed into the disjoint union of two sets of cardinalities m and n, and H∙c(Mm+n) its compactly supported cohomology ... [more ▼]

Let Mg,n be the moduli space of algebraic curves of genus g with m+n marked points decomposed into the disjoint union of two sets of cardinalities m and n, and H∙c(Mm+n) its compactly supported cohomology group. We prove that the collection of S-bimodules {H∙−mc(Mg,m+n)} has the structure of a properad (called the gravity properad) such that it contains the (degree shifted) E. Getzler's gravity operad as the sub-collection {H∙−1c(M0,1+n)}n≥2. Moreover, we prove that the generators of the 1-dimensional cohomology groups H∙−1c(M0,1+2), H∙−2c(M0,2+1) and H∙−3c(M0,3+0) satisfy with respect to this properadic structure the relations of the (degree shifted) quasi-Lie bialgebra, a fact making the totality of cohomology groups ∏g,m,nH∙c(Mg,m+n)⊗Sopm×Sn(sgnm⊗Idn) into a complex with the differential fully determined by the just mentioned three cohomology classes . It is proven that this complex contains infinitely many cohomology classes, all coming from M. Kontsevich's odd graph complex. The gravity prop structure is established with the help of T. Willwacher's twisting endofunctor (in the category of properads under the operad of Lie algebras) and K. Costello's theory of moduli spaces of nodal disks with marked boundaries and internal marked points (such that each disk contains at most one internal marked point). [less ▲]

No more Piecemeal Tactics

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Substanzkonsum von Jugendlichen in Luxemburg: Erhebungsdaten der Jahre 2019 und 2020 im Vergleich

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Breast and prostate cancer risk: the interplay of polygenic risk, high-impact monogenic variants, and family history 2021.06.04.21258277

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Purpose: Investigate to which extent polygenic risk scores (PRS), high-impact monogenic variants, and family history affect breast and prostate cancer risk by assessing cancer prevalence and cancer ... [more ▼]

Purpose: Investigate to which extent polygenic risk scores (PRS), high-impact monogenic variants, and family history affect breast and prostate cancer risk by assessing cancer prevalence and cancer cumulative lifetime incidence. Methods 200,643 individuals from the UK Biobank were stratified as follows: 1. carriers or non-carriers of high impact constitutive, monogenic variants in cancer susceptibility genes, 2. high or non-high PRS (90th percentile threshold), 3. with or without a family history of cancer. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare the odds ratio (OR) across the different groups while Cox proportional hazards models were used to compute the cumulative incidence through life. Results Breast and prostate cancer cumulative incidence by age 70 is 7 and 5 for non-carriers with non-high PRS and reaches 37 and 32 among carriers of high-impact variants in cancer susceptibility genes with high PRS. The additional presence of family history is associated with a further increase of the risk of developing cancer reaching an OR of 14 and 21 for breast and prostate cancer, respectively. Conclusion: High PRS confers a cancer risk comparable to high-impact monogenic variants. Family history, monogenic variants, and PRS contribute additively to breast and prostate cancer risk. [less ▲]

Heterozygous variants in KCNC2 cause a broad spectrum of epilepsy phenotypes associated with characteristic functional alterations 2021.05.21.21257099

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Background KCNC2 encodes a member of the shaw-related voltage-gated potassium channel family (KV3.2), which are important for sustained high-frequency firing and optimized energy efficiency of action ... [more ▼]

Background KCNC2 encodes a member of the shaw-related voltage-gated potassium channel family (KV3.2), which are important for sustained high-frequency firing and optimized energy efficiency of action potentials in the brain.Methods Individuals with KCNC2 variants detected by exome sequencing were selected for clinical, further genetic and functional analysis. The cases were referred through clinical and research collaborations in our study. Four de novo variants were examined electrophysiologically in Xenopus laevis oocytes.Results We identified novel KCNC2 variants in 27 patients with various forms of epilepsy. Functional analysis demonstrated gain-of-function in severe and loss-of-function in milder phenotypes as the underlying pathomechanisms with specific response to valproic acid.Conclusion These findings implicate KCNC2 as a novel causative gene for epilepsy emphasizing the critical role of KV3.2 in the regulation of brain excitability with an interesting genotype-phenotype correlation and a potential concept for precision medicine. [less ▲]

Trade-offs in phenotypic noise synchronize emergent topology to actively enhance transport in microbial environments

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Phenotypic noise underpins homeostasis and fitness of individual cells. Yet, the extent to which noise shapes cell-to-population properties in microbial active matter remains poorly understood. By ... [more ▼]

Phenotypic noise underpins homeostasis and fitness of individual cells. Yet, the extent to which noise shapes cell-to-population properties in microbial active matter remains poorly understood. By quantifying variability in confluent \textit{E.coli} strains, we catalogue noise across different phenotypic traits. The noise, measured over different temperatures serving as proxy for cellular activity, spanned more than two orders of magnitude. The maximum noise was associated with the cell geometry and the critical colony area at the onset of mono-to-multilayer transition (MTMT), while the lower bound was set by the critical time of the MTMT. Our results, supported by a hydrodynamic model, suggest that a trade-off between the noise in the cell geometry and the growth rate can lead to the self-regulation of the MTMT timing. The MTMT cascades synchronous emergence of hydrodynamic fields, actively enhancing the micro-environmental transport. Our results highlight how interplay of phenotypic noise triggers emergent deterministic properties, and reveal the role of multifield topology--of the colony structure and hydrodynamics--to insulate confluent systems from the inherent noise associated with natural cell-environment settings. [less ▲]

Ultra-rare constrained missense variants in the epilepsies: Shared and specific enrichment patterns in neuronal gene-sets 2021.04.18.440264

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Background: Burden analysis in epilepsy has shown an excess of deleterious ultra-rare variants (URVs) in few gene-sets, such as known epilepsy genes, constrained genes, ion channel or GABAA receptor genes ... [more ▼]

Background: Burden analysis in epilepsy has shown an excess of deleterious ultra-rare variants (URVs) in few gene-sets, such as known epilepsy genes, constrained genes, ion channel or GABAA receptor genes. We set out to investigate the burden of URVs in a comprehensive range of gene-sets presumed to be implicated in epileptogenesis. Methods: We investigated several constraint and conservation-based strategies to study whole exome sequencing data from European individuals with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE, n = 1,003), genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE, n = 3,064), and non-acquired focal epilepsy (NAFE, n = 3,522), collected by the Epi25 Collaborative, compared to 3,962 ancestry-matched controls. The burden of 12 URVs types in 92 gene-sets was compared between epilepsy cases (DDE, GGE, NAFE) and controls using logistic regression analysis. Results: Burden analysis of brain-expressed genes revealed an excess of different URVs types in all three epilepsy categories which was largest for constrained missense variants. The URVs burden was prominent in neuron-specific, synaptic and developmental genes as well as genes encoding ion channels and receptors, and it was generally higher for DEE and GGE compared to NAFE. The patterns of URVs burden in gene-sets expressed in inhibitory vs. excitatory neurons or receptors suggested a high burden in both in DEE but a differential involvement of inhibitory genes in GGE, while excitatory genes were predominantly affected in NAFE. Top ranking susceptibility genes from a recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of generalized and focal epilepsies displayed a higher URVs burden in constrained coding regions in GGE and NAFE, respectively. Conclusions: Using exome-based gene-set burden analysis, we demonstrate that missense URVs affecting mainly constrained sites are enriched in neuronal genes in both common and rare severe epilepsy syndromes. Our results indicate a differential impact of these URVs in genes expressed in inhibitory vs. excitatory neurons and receptors in generalized vs. focal epilepsies. The excess of URVs in top-ranking GWAS risk-genes suggests a convergence of rare deleterious and common risk-variants in the pathogenesis of generalized and focal epilepsies. [less ▲]

Symposium on the ‘Legacy’ of the USA Sanctions against International Criminal Court Prosecutor Ms Fatou Bensouda and Mr Phakiso Mochochoko

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Genotype-phenotype correlations in SCN8A-related disorders reveal prognostic and therapeutic implications

E-print/Working paper (2021)

We report detailed functional analyses and genotype-phenotype correlations in 433 individuals carrying disease-causing variants in SCN8A, encoding the voltage-gated Na+ channel NaV1.6. Five different ... [more ▼]

We report detailed functional analyses and genotype-phenotype correlations in 433 individuals carrying disease-causing variants in SCN8A, encoding the voltage-gated Na+ channel NaV1.6. Five different clinical subgroups could be identified: 1) Benign familial infantile epilepsy (BFIE) (n=17, normal cognition, treatable seizures), 2) intermediate epilepsy (n=36, mild ID, partially pharmacoresponsive), 3) developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE, n=191, severe ID, majority pharmacoresistant), 4) generalized epilepsy (n=21, mild to moderate ID, frequently with absence seizures), and 5) affected individuals without epilepsy (n=25, mild to moderate ID). Groups 1-3 presented with early-onset (median: four months) focal or multifocal seizures and epileptic discharges, whereas the onset of seizures in group 4 was later (median: 39 months) with generalized epileptic discharges. The epilepsy was not classifiable in 143 individuals. We performed functional studies expressing missense variants in ND7/23 neuroblastoma cells and primary neuronal cultures using recombinant tetrodotoxin insensitive human NaV1.6 channels and whole-cell patch clamping. Two variants causing DEE showed a strong gain-of-function (GOF, hyperpolarising shift of steady-state activation, strongly increased neuronal firing rate), and one variant causing BFIE or intermediate epilepsy showed a mild GOF (defective fast inactivation, less increased firing). In contrast, all three variants causing generalized epilepsy induced a loss-of-function (LOF, reduced current amplitudes, depolarising shift of steady-state activation, reduced neuronal firing). Including previous studies, functional effects were known for 165 individuals. All 133 individuals carrying GOF variants had either focal (76, groups 1-3), or unclassifiable epilepsy (37), whereas 32 with LOF variants had either generalized (14), no (11) or unclassifiable (5) epilepsy; only two had DEE. Computational modeling in the GOF group revealed a significant correlation between the severity of the electrophysiological and clinical phenotypes. GOF variant carriers responded significantly better to sodium channel blockers (SCBs) than to other anti-seizure medications, and the same applied for all individuals of groups 1-3.In conclusion, our data reveal clear genotype-phenotype correlations between age at seizure onset, type of epilepsy and gain- or loss-of-function effects of SCN8A variants. Generalized epilepsy with absence seizures is the main epilepsy phenotype of LOF variant carriers and the extent of the electrophysiological dysfunction of the GOF variants is a main determinant of the severity of the clinical phenotype in focal epilepsies. Our pharmacological data indicate that SCBs present a therapeutic treatment option in early onset SCN8A-related focal epilepsy. [less ▲]

Embedding Intelligence in Materials for Responsive Built Environment using Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators and Sensors

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) are an exciting category of material that has tremendous application potential across a variety of fields, owing to their unique properties that enable both sensing and ... [more ▼]

Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) are an exciting category of material that has tremendous application potential across a variety of fields, owing to their unique properties that enable both sensing and actuation. To some, LCEs are simply another type of Shape Memory Polymer, while to others they are an interesting on-going scientific experiment. In this visionary article, we bring an interdisciplinary discussion around creative and impactful ways that LCEs can be applied in the Built Environment to support kinematic and kinetic buildings and situational awareness. We focus particularly on the autonomy made possible by using LCEs, potentially removing needs for motors, wiring and tubing, and even enabling fully independent operation in response to natural environment variations, requiring no power sources. To illustrate the potential, we propose a number of concrete application scenarios where LCEs could offer innovative solutions to problems of great societal importance, such as autonomous active ventilation, heliotropic solar panels systems which can also remove snow or sand autonomously, and invisible coatings with strain mapping functionality, alerting residents in case of dangerous (static or dynamic) loads on roofs or windows, as well as assisting building safety inspection teams after earthquakes. [less ▲]

Self-hosted wallets: the elephant in the crypto room?

E-print/Working paper (2021)

While all-time highs of the crypto market continue to grab headlines in the first weeks of 2021, delicate questions remain unanswered as to the application of laws and regulations to cryptoassets. Besides ... [more ▼]

While all-time highs of the crypto market continue to grab headlines in the first weeks of 2021, delicate questions remain unanswered as to the application of laws and regulations to cryptoassets. Besides sketching the rationale behind self-hosted cryptocurrency wallets, this blogpost explores the clash between the risks they pose in terms of money laundering and the impacts of possible bans or limitations. [less ▲]

Democratic Legitimacy of the Single Resolution Board: Is Legality the Right Question?

E-print/Working paper (2021)

The choice to entrust EU banking resolution to an independent body opened the familiar democratic legitimacy conundrum that besets independent institutions in national and in EU law. This paper examines ... [more ▼]

The choice to entrust EU banking resolution to an independent body opened the familiar democratic legitimacy conundrum that besets independent institutions in national and in EU law. This paper examines both the conventional view on the relationship between legality control and democratic legitimacy, that the German Federal Constitutional Court endorsed in its SSM/SRM judgment, and the limits of such conception. Conceived as a “compensatory measure”, legal protection through judicial review and internal administrative review enables the Court to bring independent institutions within the (national) constitutional framework that they strain. Law’s binding character becomes a matter of ensuring not only the rule of law but also democracy. Yet, even detailed legal mandates cannot preclude administrative bodies to define the way law is completed and concretised. While the Court does not adhere to a ‘transmission-belt model’ of administrations, not surprisingly – as a court deciding on democratic legitimacy – it falls short of recognising that legality can do very little to ground the democratic legitimacy of fundamental political choices, such as those entrusted to the Single Resolution Board. [less ▲]

Public Covid-19 Collections and the Second Wave: History and Challenges 26.11.2020

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Introducing the COVID-19 crisis Special Education Needs Coping Survey

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Individuals with special education needs have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as they have been shown to be at high risk of losing medical and institutional support at a time when ... [more ▼]

Individuals with special education needs have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as they have been shown to be at high risk of losing medical and institutional support at a time when people are being asked to stay isolated, suffering increased anxiety and depression as a consequence. Their families have often found themselves under tremendous pressure to provide support, engendering financial hardship, and physical and emotional strains. In such times, it is vital that international collaborations assess the impact on the individuals and their families, affording the opportunity to make national and international comparisons of how people have coped and what needs to be done to optimize the measures taken by families, associations and governments. This paper introduces one such collaboration. [less ▲]

Panic? Probing Angst over Immigration and Crime

E-print/Working paper (2021)

We examine empirically whether immigration affects crime in an emerging country, Ecuador. We exploit the fact that immigration flows of Venezuelans suddenly evolved from voluntary to forced, and occurred ... [more ▼]

We examine empirically whether immigration affects crime in an emerging country, Ecuador. We exploit the fact that immigration flows of Venezuelans suddenly evolved from voluntary to forced, and occurred disproportionately along land borders. We use nationally representative administrative and survey data to precisely estimate an economically null effect of Venezuelan immigration on property and violent crime. We also show that natives are more likely to believe that immigration worsens the economy, despite clear evidence of negative labour market impact due to recent Venezuelan inflows. Results confirm that fears over immigration and crime are not necessarily supported by facts. [less ▲]

School-Related Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean: Building an Evidence Base for Stronger Schools

E-print/Working paper (2021)