Taxation of virtual currency

The Information Age has created a new concept of money – virtual currencies existing solely in the cyberspace in the form of intangible computer code. The most prominent virtual currency scheme, Bitcoin, grabbed the public attention as its value skyrocketed at the beginning of 2012. Whereas Bitcoin has many proper ties that could make it an ideal currency for mainstream consumers and merchants, its main drawback is lack of clarity regarding its legal status and tax treatment. The European Central Bank predicts that the use of virtual currencies will increase in the future. Therefore, it is important both tax authorities and taxpayers are prepared to deal with those currencies and to incorporate them into the existing legal framework. This book describes the phenomenon and nature of virtual currencies, and provides a detailed analysis of tax implications that result from trade in, and mining of, virtual currencies. It seeks to answer three questions: (1) how virtual currency should be taxed; (2) how it is actually treated under income and indirect tax laws of selected countries; and (3) how the current situation can be improved.Grenzen van fiscale soevereinitei

Sustainable care improvement programs supported by undergraduate health care education

Background: The Care for Better Region program was developed to achieve sustainable care improvement focusing onfall prevention. Key ingredients involved improvement teams developing and implementing a falls reduction plan, PracticeDevelopment; facilitation of improvement teams by lecturers and undergraduate health care students; an implementation phase.This study evaluates the impact of this program on: (1) the number of falls incidents, and (2) the sustainability

Walking the tightrope

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore and conceptualize how healthcare professionals and managers give shape to the increasing call for compassionate care as an alternative for system-based quality management systems. The research demonstrates how quality rebels craft deviant practices of good care and how they account for them. Design/methodology/approach – Ethnographic research was conducted in three Dutch hospitals, studying clinical groups that were identified as deviant: a nursing ward for infectious diseases, a mother–child department and a dialysis department. The research includes over 120 h of observation, 41 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups. Findings – The research shows that rebels’ quality practices are an emerging set of collaborative activities to improving healthcare and meeting (individual) patient needs. They conduct “contexting work” to achieve their quality aims by expanding their normative work to outside domains. As rebels deviate from hospital policies, they are sometimes forced to act “under the radar” causing the risk of groupthink and may undermine the aim of public accounting. Practical implications – The research shows that in order to come to more compassionate forms of care, organizations should allow for more heterogeneity accompanied with ongoing dialogue(s) on what good care yields as this may differ between specific fields or locations. Originality/value – This is the first study introducing quality rebels as a concept to understanding social deviance in the everyday practices of doing compassionate and good care

Pre-M Phase-promoting Factor Associates with Annulate Lamellae in Xenopus Oocytes and Egg Extracts

We have used complementary biochemical and in vivo approaches to study the compartmentalization of M phase-promoting factor (MPF) in prophase Xenopus eggs and oocytes. We first examined the distribution of MPF (Cdc2/CyclinB2) and membranous organelles in high-speed extracts of Xenopus eggs made during mitotic prophase. These extracts were found to lack mitochondria, Golgi membranes, and most endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but to contain the bulk of the pre-MPF pool. This pre-MPF could be pelleted by further centrifugation along with components necessary to activate it. On activation, Cdc2/CyclinB2 moved into the soluble fraction. Electron microscopy and Western blot analysis showed that the pre-MPF pellet contained a specific ER subdomain comprising "annulate lamellae" (AL): stacked ER membranes highly enriched in nuclear pores. Colocalization of pre-MPF with AL was demonstrated by anti-CyclinB2 immunofluorescence in prophase oocytes, in which AL are positioned close to the vegetal surface. Green fluorescent protein-CyclinB2 expressed in oocytes also localized at AL. These data suggest that inactive MPF associates with nuclear envelope components just before activation. This association may explain why nuclei and centrosomes stimulate MPF activation and provide a mechanism for targeting of MPF to some of its key substrates

Long-term outcome of LRBA deficiency in 76 patients after various treatment modalities as evaluated by the immune deficiency and dysregulation activity (IDDA) score

Background: Recent findings strongly support hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in patients with severe presentation of LPS-responsive beige-like anchor protein (LRBA) deficiency, but long-term follow-up and survival data beyond previous patient reports or meta-reviews are scarce for those patients who do not receive a transplant.Objective: This international retrospective study was conducted to elucidate the longitudinal clinical course of patients with LRBA deficiency who do and do not receive a transplant.Method: We assessed disease burden and treatment responses with a specially developed immune deficiency and dysregulation activity score, reflecting the sum and severity of organ involvement and infections, days of hospitalization, supportive care requirements, and performance indices.Results: Of 76 patients with LRBA deficiency from 29 centers (median follow-up, 10 years; range, 1-52), 24 underwent HSCT from 2005 to 2019. The overall survival rate after HSCT (median follow-up, 20 months) was 70.8% (17 of 24 patients); all deaths were due to nonspecific, early, transplant-related mortality. Currently, 82.7% of patients who did not receive a transplant (43 of 52; age range, 3-69 years) are alive. Of 17 HSCT survivors, 7 are in complete remission and 5 are in good partial remission without treatment (together, 12 of 17 [70.6%]). In contrast, only 5 of 43 patients who did not receive a transplant (11.6%) are without immunosuppression. Immune deficiency and dysregulation activity scores were significantly lower in patients who survived HSCT than in those receiving conventional treatment (P = .005) or in patients who received abatacept or sirolimus as compared with other therapies, and in patients with residual LRBA expression. Higher disease burden, longer duration before HSCT, and lung involvement were associated with poor outcome.Conclusion: The lifelong disease activity, implying a need for immunosuppression and risk of malignancy, must be weighed against the risks of HSCT.Transplantation and immunomodulatio

Isolation of Salmonella enterica serotype Worthington from a splenic abscess in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia

Splenic abscesses are caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus and bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. We report a case of splenic abscess caused by an unusual serotype of Salmonella. A 55 year old man was admitted with complaints of fever and abdominal pain. On the basis of clinical findings and laboratory reports, a diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia was made. Ultrasonography of the abdomen revealed a single large cystic lesion in the spleen. Percutaneous drainage of the abscess was carried out. Salmonella enterica serotype Worthington was isolated from a pus sample taken from the abscess. The isolate was resistant to ampicillin, gentamicin, cefotaxime, chloramphenicol and tetracycline, and sensitive to amikacin and norfloxacin. Serotype Worthington is an emerging pathogen. This is the first report of isolation of this serotype from a splenic abscess. In seriously ill patients, such infections should be treated with a combination of antibiotics to circumvent problems with multidrug resistance

Isolation of Salmonella enterica serotype Worthington from a splenic abscess in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia

Splenic abscesses are caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus and bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. We report a case of splenic abscess caused by an unusual serotype of Salmonella. A 55 year old man was admitted with complaints of fever and abdominal pain. On the basis of clinical findings and laboratory reports, a diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia was made. Ultrasonography of the abdomen revealed a single large cystic lesion in the spleen. Percutaneous drainage of the abscess was carried out. Salmonella enterica serotype Worthington was isolated from a pus sample taken from the abscess. The isolate was resistant to ampicillin, gentamicin, cefotaxime, chloramphenicol and tetracycline, and sensitive to amikacin and norfloxacin. Serotype Worthington is an emerging pathogen. This is the first report of isolation of this serotype from a splenic abscess. In seriously ill patients, such infections should be treated with a combination of antibiotics to circumvent problems with multidrug resistance