Does increased bilateral transparency affect offshore activity? Evidence from Offshore Leaks Database

Tax havens, also known as secrecy jurisdictions, facilitate tax avoidance and other forms of behaviour that cause a challenge to societies. Offshore data leaks such as Panama Papers have intended to reveal the players behind this curtain of secrecy. This thesis looks into tax information exchange agreements’ (TIEA) effect on the number of companies located in these jurisdictions, with the use of linear regression and synthetic difference-in-difference applied to the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database. Yearly and monthly levels of analysis were conducted on offshore entities connected to the U.S., and how the enforcement of a TIEA affected these entities. The hypotheses are based on the change in the number of incorporations and inactivations found in each of the jurisdictions studied. While there are shortcomings to our study, the results were found to be robust, and to some extent generalizable since the analysis returned similar results when applied to Chinese entities. A rise in activity is found in both cases indicating a definite reaction following the enforcement of a TIEA, although not as expected. Therefore, such agreements may not be as effective in reducing the activity in secrecy jurisdictions. Reasons for this may be the increased ease of utilizing these jurisdictions, as well as the design of the tax information exchange agreements. These reasons could potentially form the basis of further research on this subject matter.nhhma

ELY-keskusten, TE-toimistojen sekä KEHA-keskuksen vastuullisuusraportti 2021

ELY-keskukset, TE-toimistot ja KEHA-keskus ovat laatineet ensimmäisen yhteisen vastuullisuusraportin, joka kuvaa vuotta 2021. Vastuullisuusraportti on laadittu Valtiokonttorin suositusten mukaisesti ja se pohjautuu YK:n Agenda 2030 toimintaohjelmaan ja siinä asetettuihin kestävän kehityksen tavoitteisiin. Valtiokonttorin ohjeistuksen mukaisesti ELY-keskukset valitsivat syvempään tarkasteluun viisi kestävän kehityksen tavoitetta, joiden eteen virastojen ajatellaan eniten vaikuttavan. Nämä viisi tavoitetta ovat puhdas vesi ja sanitaatio, ihmisarvoista työtä ja talouskasvua, kestävät kaupungit ja yhteisöt, vastuullista kuluttamista sekä maanpäällinen elämä. Lisäksi raportissa on kuvattu virastojen ekologista ja sosiaalista jalanjälkeä. Yhteenvetona voidaan todeta, että vastuullisuus ja vaikuttaminen ovat vahvasti läsnä virastojen toiminnassa. Vastuullisuusraportin laatimisen myötä on tullut hyvin kattavasti esiin, kuinka laajaa ja vaikuttavaa työtä virastoissa tehdään YK:n kestävän kehityksen tavoitteiden eteen. Samalla on käynyt ilmi, että vaikka tietoa virastojen toiminnasta syntyy hyvin laajasti, kehitettävää on siinä, kuinka saamme jatkossa nykyistä paremmin lukujen avulla kerrottua toiminnan vaikuttavuudesta

Hyviä käytäntöjä ympäristövaikutusten arvioinnissa - IMPERIA-hankkeen yhteenveto

Kolmivuotisessa pääosin EU-rahoitteisessa IMPERIA-hankkeessa (EU LIFE11 ENV/FI/905) pyrittiin vastaamaan ympäristövaikutusten arviointien kehittämishaasteisiin tunnistamalla hyviä käytäntöjä sekä kehittämällä järjestelmällisiä menetelmiä ja työkaluja arviointien tukemiseen. Hankkeessa pohdittiin, kuinka erityyppisiä ja eri suunnitteluparadigmoista lähtöisin olevia lähestymistapoja voitaisiin soveltaa toisiaan täydentäen tai yhdistäen. Kehitystyö tapahtui tiiviissä vuoropuhelussa asiantuntijoiden ja viranomaisten kanssa, jotta hankkeen tulokset palvelisivat mahdollisimman hyvin käytännön tarpeita. Menetelmien hyödyntämismahdollisuuksia havainnollistettiin kahdeksassa pilottihankkeessa, jotka olivat pääosin YVA (ympäristövaikutusten arviointi)-hankkeita. IMPERIA-hankkeen tulokset ovat sovellettavissa lisäksi myös SOVA-prosessiin (suunnitelmien ja ohjelmien ympäristövaikutusten arviointi) ja muihin ympäristövaikutusten arviointeihin. Hankkeen keskeisiä tuloksia ovat: 1) Toimintamallit tehokkaampaan kansalaisten ja sidosryhmien osallistumiseen 2) Menetelmät suunnittelutilanteiden hahmottamiseen ja jäsentämiseen 3) ARVI-lähestymistapa ja työkalu vaikutusten merkittävyyden arviointiin 4) Monitavoitearvioinnin soveltamismahdollisuuksien havainnollistaminen vuorovaikutteisessa ympäristösuunnittelussa ja vaihtoehtojen vertailuss

TOI-2046b, TOI-1181b, and TOI-1516b, three new hot Jupiters from TESS: planets orbiting a young star, a subgiant, and a normal star

We present the confirmation and characterization of three hot Jupiters, TOI-1181b, TOI-1516b, and TOI-2046b, discovered by the TESS space mission. The reported hot Jupiters have orbital periods between 1.4 and 2.05 d. The masses of the three planets are 1.18 ± 0.14 MJ, 3.16 ± 0.12 MJ, and 2.30 ± 0.28 MJ, for TOI-1181b, TOI-1516b, and TOI-2046b, respectively. The stellar host of TOI-1181b is a F9IV star, whereas TOI-1516b and TOI-2046b orbit F main sequence host stars. The ages of the first two systems are in the range of 2–5 Gyrs. However, TOI-2046 is among the few youngest known planetary systems hosting a hot Jupiter, with an age estimate of 100–400 Myrs. The main instruments used for the radial velocity follow-up of these three planets are located at Ondřejov, Tautenburg, and McDonald Observatory, and all three are mounted on 2–3 m aperture telescopes, demonstrating that mid-aperture telescope networks can play a substantial role in the follow-up of gas giants discovered by TESS and in the future by PLATO

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity

FinnGen provides genetic insights from a well-phenotyped isolated population

Population isolates such as those in Finland benefit genetic research because deleterious alleles are often concentrated on a small number of low-frequency variants (0.1% ≤ minor allele frequency < 5%). These variants survived the founding bottleneck rather than being distributed over a large number of ultrarare variants. Although this effect is well established in Mendelian genetics, its value in common disease genetics is less explored1,2. FinnGen aims to study the genome and national health register data of 500,000 Finnish individuals. Given the relatively high median age of participants (63 years) and the substantial fraction of hospital-based recruitment, FinnGen is enriched for disease end points. Here we analyse data from 224,737 participants from FinnGen and study 15 diseases that have previously been investigated in large genome-wide association studies (GWASs). We also include meta-analyses of biobank data from Estonia and the United Kingdom. We identified 30 new associations, primarily low-frequency variants, enriched in the Finnish population. A GWAS of 1,932 diseases also identified 2,733 genome-wide significant associations (893 phenome-wide significant (PWS), P < 2.6 × 10–11) at 2,496 (771 PWS) independent loci with 807 (247 PWS) end points. Among these, fine-mapping implicated 148 (73 PWS) coding variants associated with 83 (42 PWS) end points. Moreover, 91 (47 PWS) had an allele frequency of <5% in non-Finnish European individuals, of which 62 (32 PWS) were enriched by more than twofold in Finland. These findings demonstrate the power of bottlenecked populations to find entry points into the biology of common diseases through low-frequency, high impact variants.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

MAGIC and H.E.S.S. detect VHE gamma rays from the blazar OT081 for the first time: a deep multiwavelength study

https://pos.sissa.it/395/815/pdfPublished versio