DNA methylation plays an important role in biological processes by affecting gene expression. How... more DNA methylation plays an important role in biological processes by affecting gene expression. However, how DNA methylation regulates phenotypic variation in Hu sheep remains unclear. Therefore, we generated genome-wide DNA methylation and transcriptomic profiles in the ovaries of Hu sheep with different prolificacies and genotypes (FecBB and FecB+). Results showed that ovary DNA methylome and transcriptome were significantly different between high prolificacy and low prolificacy Hu sheep. Comparative methylome analyses identified 10,644, 9,594, and 12,214 differentially methylated regions and 87, 1,121, and 2,375 genes, respectively, showing differential expression levels in three different comparison groups. Female reproduction-associated differentially methylated regions-related genes and differentially expressed genes were enriched, thereby the respective interaction networks were constructed. Furthermore, systematical integrative analyses revealed a negative correlation between ...
This paper describes the underlying policy and technological/market framework that created this s... more This paper describes the underlying policy and technological/market framework that created this situation of two competing local networks. We will explain why and how the present strong fixed infrastructure competition could develop by using an integrated multi-disciplinary approach. On the one hand technological developments have changed the market situation of two non-competing networks (POTS versus CATV, both servicing unique functions) into competing networks (by using technology innovation). Historical policy decisions created the basis for this (both networks were built before issues such as government subsidies/ownership and unauthorized state aid started to become relevant). However, combined with the European/national general policy choices to liberalize and privatise the telecommunications market (as formulated and put into place in the early nineties, strong incentives were created for market driven competition (instead of detailed regulatory intervention being the main d...
In May 2018, the new Dutch Intelligence and Security Services Act 2017 (Wet op de Inlichtingen- e... more In May 2018, the new Dutch Intelligence and Security Services Act 2017 (Wet op de Inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten, Wiv) will enter into force. It replaces the previous 2002 Act and incorporates many reforms to the information gathering powers of the two intelligence and security services as well as to the accountability and oversight mechanisms. Due to the technologyneutral approach, both the civil and the military intelligence services are now authorized to, for example, intercept communications in bulk, hack third parties, decrypt files, store DNA or use any other future innovative technology. Also, the national security legislation extends the possibilities for the indiscriminate collection of data, and for the processing, storage and analysis thereof. The process leading to the law includes substantial criticism from the various stakeholders involved. Upon publication of this report, an official consultative referendum is being organized on the new act. The aim of this poli...
Activision Blizzard, Inc., which acquired Candy Crush Saga for $5.8 billion in 2016, sounded a wa... more Activision Blizzard, Inc., which acquired Candy Crush Saga for $5.8 billion in 2016, sounded a warning in its latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), about its dependency on mobile platforms. If these platforms would be required to change "how the personal information of consumers is made available to developers, our business could be negatively impacted." This paper seeks to systematically examine the dependence of mobile apps on mobile platforms for the collection and use of personal information. The paper discusses how app business models are shaped by governance of user data by mobile platforms, in order to reflect on the role of platforms in privacy regulation more generally. The paper is based upon a study examining privacy and data-related disclosures filed by public companies with the SEC, which we anticipate producing new and unique insights into the data practices and data-related aspects of the business models of popular mobile apps. Ma...
This paper summarizes the development of digital television in the Netherlands, analyzing such ke... more This paper summarizes the development of digital television in the Netherlands, analyzing such key policy issues as: technical decisions on access for public television, license conditions, and other issues.
The point of departure for this chapter is the decision of the european Court of Justice in the D... more The point of departure for this chapter is the decision of the european Court of Justice in the Digital Rights Ireland case, which annulled the european data retention directive, in part because the use of retained data was not made subject to independent oversight. next, it examines judgments from the national courts of the netherlands and the UK, also focusing on the independent oversight issue, declaring invalid the data retention laws of those two countries. From the Digital Rights Ireland case and others, seven standards for oversight of intelligence services can be drawn: the oversight should be complete; it should encompass all stages of the intelligence cycle; it should be independent; it should take place prior to the imposition of a measure; it should be able to declare a measure unlawful and to provide redress; it should incorporate the adversary principle; and it should have sufficient resources.
is hoogleraar informatierecht verbonden aan het Instituut voor Informatierecht (IViR, Universitei... more is hoogleraar informatierecht verbonden aan het Instituut voor Informatierecht (IViR, Universiteit van Amsterdam), www.ivir.nl/employee/eijk. Mr. dr. Quirine Eijkman is ondervoorzitter van het College voor de Rechten van de Mens en lector Toegang tot het Recht bij de Hogeschool Utrecht. Deze bijdrage is op persoonlijke titel geschreven. 1 Het Bureau voor de Grondrechten van de Europese Unie (Fundamental Rights Agency, FRA) publiceerde een tweede rapport met een inventarisatie van de laatste ontwikkelingen in Europe vergezeld van een lijst met aanbevelingen (FRA 2017). Dit is het vervolg op FRA 2015.
The economic and societal impact of digital platforms raises a number of questions for policymake... more The economic and societal impact of digital platforms raises a number of questions for policymakers, including whether existing regulatory approaches and instruments are sufficient to promote and safeguard public interests. This article develops a practical framework that provides structure and guidance to policymakers who design policies for the digital economy. The framework differs from other approaches in taking the digital business models of platforms as the starting point for the analysis. The framework consists of three pillars, namely determining a platform's characteristics, relating these to public interests, and formulating policy options. The framework then invokes a return-path analysis for assessing how the interventions affect the business model, whether it has the desired effect on public interests, and ensuring it has no undesired side-effects on public interests. The framework puts forward two key messages for current discussions on digital platforms. First, one should look at the underlying characteristics of platforms rather than trying to understand digital platforms as a single category. Second, policymakers should explore existing rules and policy options, as they seem fit to deal with several characteristics of digital platforms in a time frame that matches the rapid development of platform technologies and business models.
Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been identified as important regulators of testis development... more Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been identified as important regulators of testis development, however, their expression patterns and roles in sheep are not yet clear. Thus, we used stranded specific RNA-seq to profile the testis transcriptome (lncRNAs and mRNAs) in premature and mature sheep. Hormone levels and the testis index were examined, and histological analyses were performed at five stages of testis development, 5-day-old (D5), 3-month-old (3M), 6-month-old (6M), 9-month-old (9M) and 2-year-old (2Y), the results of which indicate a significant difference in hormone levels and testis morphometries between the 3M and 9M stages (P < 0.05). Based on the comparison between 3M and 9M samples, we found 1,118 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs and 7,253 DE mRNAs in the testes, and qRT-PCR analysis showed that the results correlated well with the transcriptome data. Furthermore, we constructed lncRNA-protein-coding gene interaction networks. Forty-seven DE lncRNA-targeted ...
Effectief toezicht en transparantie zijn centrale elementen bij het vormgeven en evalueren van de... more Effectief toezicht en transparantie zijn centrale elementen bij het vormgeven en evalueren van de wettelijke waarborgen rond digitale geheime surveillance door nationale inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten. De eerdere IViR-studie ‘Ten standards for oversight and transparency of national intelligence services’ formuleert tien richtsnoeren die dit verder uitwerken. Deze quickscan behandelt de vraag in hoeverre deze tien richtsnoeren ook van toepassing zijn op geheime surveillance in het kader van de opsporing van strafbare feiten. Het belang van het onderzoek wordt ingegeven door het feit dat in een aantal recente wetsvoorstellen nieuwe bevoegdheden voor het verzamelen en verwerken van persoonsgegevens worden geintroduceerd. Het wetsvoorstel Computercriminaliteit III is een typisch voorbeeld van deze ontwikkeling en wordt daarom gebruikt om te illustreren hoe de geformuleerde richtsnoeren toegepast kunnen worden.
Fifteen OECD countries, ten of which EU members, have regulation for fixing the price of printed ... more Fifteen OECD countries, ten of which EU members, have regulation for fixing the price of printed books. At least eight of these have extended such regulation to e-books. This article investigates the cultural and economic arguments as well as the legal context concerning a fixed price for e-books and deals with the question of how the arguments for and against retail price maintenance for e-books should be weighted in the light of the evidence. It concludes that while the evidence in defence of a fixed price for printed books is slim at best, the case for a fixed price for e-books is weaker still while the legal acceptability within EU law is disputable. Against this background, introducing a fixed price for e-books is ill-advised.
Universal Service would appear to be a dying concept. In most European countries, Universal Servi... more Universal Service would appear to be a dying concept. In most European countries, Universal Service – once a cornerstone of government intervention in the communications sector – has been narrowed down dramatically over the last ten years. A major reason for this is the assumption that Universal Service only serves to support the position of the incumbent and therefore restricts competition. Also, policymakers are convinced that (infrastructure) competition will make maintaining the regulation of Universal Service unnecessary. A final step in the process of diminishing the scope of Universal Service is the recent Universal Service Directive, which limits such service to basic voice telephony (with fax and minimal internet access capabilities).This paper does not intend to deal extensively with all the relevant aspects of Universal Service, but seeks primarily a regulatory/policy approach. Another limitation is its main focus on broadband internet access (although this indirectly cov...
DNA methylation plays an important role in biological processes by affecting gene expression. How... more DNA methylation plays an important role in biological processes by affecting gene expression. However, how DNA methylation regulates phenotypic variation in Hu sheep remains unclear. Therefore, we generated genome-wide DNA methylation and transcriptomic profiles in the ovaries of Hu sheep with different prolificacies and genotypes (FecBB and FecB+). Results showed that ovary DNA methylome and transcriptome were significantly different between high prolificacy and low prolificacy Hu sheep. Comparative methylome analyses identified 10,644, 9,594, and 12,214 differentially methylated regions and 87, 1,121, and 2,375 genes, respectively, showing differential expression levels in three different comparison groups. Female reproduction-associated differentially methylated regions-related genes and differentially expressed genes were enriched, thereby the respective interaction networks were constructed. Furthermore, systematical integrative analyses revealed a negative correlation between ...
This paper describes the underlying policy and technological/market framework that created this s... more This paper describes the underlying policy and technological/market framework that created this situation of two competing local networks. We will explain why and how the present strong fixed infrastructure competition could develop by using an integrated multi-disciplinary approach. On the one hand technological developments have changed the market situation of two non-competing networks (POTS versus CATV, both servicing unique functions) into competing networks (by using technology innovation). Historical policy decisions created the basis for this (both networks were built before issues such as government subsidies/ownership and unauthorized state aid started to become relevant). However, combined with the European/national general policy choices to liberalize and privatise the telecommunications market (as formulated and put into place in the early nineties, strong incentives were created for market driven competition (instead of detailed regulatory intervention being the main d...
In May 2018, the new Dutch Intelligence and Security Services Act 2017 (Wet op de Inlichtingen- e... more In May 2018, the new Dutch Intelligence and Security Services Act 2017 (Wet op de Inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten, Wiv) will enter into force. It replaces the previous 2002 Act and incorporates many reforms to the information gathering powers of the two intelligence and security services as well as to the accountability and oversight mechanisms. Due to the technologyneutral approach, both the civil and the military intelligence services are now authorized to, for example, intercept communications in bulk, hack third parties, decrypt files, store DNA or use any other future innovative technology. Also, the national security legislation extends the possibilities for the indiscriminate collection of data, and for the processing, storage and analysis thereof. The process leading to the law includes substantial criticism from the various stakeholders involved. Upon publication of this report, an official consultative referendum is being organized on the new act. The aim of this poli...
Activision Blizzard, Inc., which acquired Candy Crush Saga for $5.8 billion in 2016, sounded a wa... more Activision Blizzard, Inc., which acquired Candy Crush Saga for $5.8 billion in 2016, sounded a warning in its latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), about its dependency on mobile platforms. If these platforms would be required to change "how the personal information of consumers is made available to developers, our business could be negatively impacted." This paper seeks to systematically examine the dependence of mobile apps on mobile platforms for the collection and use of personal information. The paper discusses how app business models are shaped by governance of user data by mobile platforms, in order to reflect on the role of platforms in privacy regulation more generally. The paper is based upon a study examining privacy and data-related disclosures filed by public companies with the SEC, which we anticipate producing new and unique insights into the data practices and data-related aspects of the business models of popular mobile apps. Ma...
This paper summarizes the development of digital television in the Netherlands, analyzing such ke... more This paper summarizes the development of digital television in the Netherlands, analyzing such key policy issues as: technical decisions on access for public television, license conditions, and other issues.
The point of departure for this chapter is the decision of the european Court of Justice in the D... more The point of departure for this chapter is the decision of the european Court of Justice in the Digital Rights Ireland case, which annulled the european data retention directive, in part because the use of retained data was not made subject to independent oversight. next, it examines judgments from the national courts of the netherlands and the UK, also focusing on the independent oversight issue, declaring invalid the data retention laws of those two countries. From the Digital Rights Ireland case and others, seven standards for oversight of intelligence services can be drawn: the oversight should be complete; it should encompass all stages of the intelligence cycle; it should be independent; it should take place prior to the imposition of a measure; it should be able to declare a measure unlawful and to provide redress; it should incorporate the adversary principle; and it should have sufficient resources.
is hoogleraar informatierecht verbonden aan het Instituut voor Informatierecht (IViR, Universitei... more is hoogleraar informatierecht verbonden aan het Instituut voor Informatierecht (IViR, Universiteit van Amsterdam), www.ivir.nl/employee/eijk. Mr. dr. Quirine Eijkman is ondervoorzitter van het College voor de Rechten van de Mens en lector Toegang tot het Recht bij de Hogeschool Utrecht. Deze bijdrage is op persoonlijke titel geschreven. 1 Het Bureau voor de Grondrechten van de Europese Unie (Fundamental Rights Agency, FRA) publiceerde een tweede rapport met een inventarisatie van de laatste ontwikkelingen in Europe vergezeld van een lijst met aanbevelingen (FRA 2017). Dit is het vervolg op FRA 2015.
The economic and societal impact of digital platforms raises a number of questions for policymake... more The economic and societal impact of digital platforms raises a number of questions for policymakers, including whether existing regulatory approaches and instruments are sufficient to promote and safeguard public interests. This article develops a practical framework that provides structure and guidance to policymakers who design policies for the digital economy. The framework differs from other approaches in taking the digital business models of platforms as the starting point for the analysis. The framework consists of three pillars, namely determining a platform's characteristics, relating these to public interests, and formulating policy options. The framework then invokes a return-path analysis for assessing how the interventions affect the business model, whether it has the desired effect on public interests, and ensuring it has no undesired side-effects on public interests. The framework puts forward two key messages for current discussions on digital platforms. First, one should look at the underlying characteristics of platforms rather than trying to understand digital platforms as a single category. Second, policymakers should explore existing rules and policy options, as they seem fit to deal with several characteristics of digital platforms in a time frame that matches the rapid development of platform technologies and business models.
Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been identified as important regulators of testis development... more Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been identified as important regulators of testis development, however, their expression patterns and roles in sheep are not yet clear. Thus, we used stranded specific RNA-seq to profile the testis transcriptome (lncRNAs and mRNAs) in premature and mature sheep. Hormone levels and the testis index were examined, and histological analyses were performed at five stages of testis development, 5-day-old (D5), 3-month-old (3M), 6-month-old (6M), 9-month-old (9M) and 2-year-old (2Y), the results of which indicate a significant difference in hormone levels and testis morphometries between the 3M and 9M stages (P < 0.05). Based on the comparison between 3M and 9M samples, we found 1,118 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs and 7,253 DE mRNAs in the testes, and qRT-PCR analysis showed that the results correlated well with the transcriptome data. Furthermore, we constructed lncRNA-protein-coding gene interaction networks. Forty-seven DE lncRNA-targeted ...
Effectief toezicht en transparantie zijn centrale elementen bij het vormgeven en evalueren van de... more Effectief toezicht en transparantie zijn centrale elementen bij het vormgeven en evalueren van de wettelijke waarborgen rond digitale geheime surveillance door nationale inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten. De eerdere IViR-studie ‘Ten standards for oversight and transparency of national intelligence services’ formuleert tien richtsnoeren die dit verder uitwerken. Deze quickscan behandelt de vraag in hoeverre deze tien richtsnoeren ook van toepassing zijn op geheime surveillance in het kader van de opsporing van strafbare feiten. Het belang van het onderzoek wordt ingegeven door het feit dat in een aantal recente wetsvoorstellen nieuwe bevoegdheden voor het verzamelen en verwerken van persoonsgegevens worden geintroduceerd. Het wetsvoorstel Computercriminaliteit III is een typisch voorbeeld van deze ontwikkeling en wordt daarom gebruikt om te illustreren hoe de geformuleerde richtsnoeren toegepast kunnen worden.
Fifteen OECD countries, ten of which EU members, have regulation for fixing the price of printed ... more Fifteen OECD countries, ten of which EU members, have regulation for fixing the price of printed books. At least eight of these have extended such regulation to e-books. This article investigates the cultural and economic arguments as well as the legal context concerning a fixed price for e-books and deals with the question of how the arguments for and against retail price maintenance for e-books should be weighted in the light of the evidence. It concludes that while the evidence in defence of a fixed price for printed books is slim at best, the case for a fixed price for e-books is weaker still while the legal acceptability within EU law is disputable. Against this background, introducing a fixed price for e-books is ill-advised.
Universal Service would appear to be a dying concept. In most European countries, Universal Servi... more Universal Service would appear to be a dying concept. In most European countries, Universal Service – once a cornerstone of government intervention in the communications sector – has been narrowed down dramatically over the last ten years. A major reason for this is the assumption that Universal Service only serves to support the position of the incumbent and therefore restricts competition. Also, policymakers are convinced that (infrastructure) competition will make maintaining the regulation of Universal Service unnecessary. A final step in the process of diminishing the scope of Universal Service is the recent Universal Service Directive, which limits such service to basic voice telephony (with fax and minimal internet access capabilities).This paper does not intend to deal extensively with all the relevant aspects of Universal Service, but seeks primarily a regulatory/policy approach. Another limitation is its main focus on broadband internet access (although this indirectly cov...
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