The Effective Tax Rates in the EU Commission Study on Corporate Taxation: Methodological Aspects, Main Results and Policy Implications

The paper has three aims. First, it presents the specific forward-looking methodology applied in the quantitative analysis undertaken in the Commission study, and discusses how it is able to overcome some of the most important limitations of the traditional King Fullerton approach. Second, it compares the results obtained by two different indicators, the traditional effective marginal tax rate and the effective average tax rate, the latter being particularly important to explain location decisions of multinational companies. Third, it discusses the usefulness of these indicators for policy makers, by summarising the overall results of the Commission study and their policy implications. All in all, these results show that the EU tax systems are very far from representing a level playing field for both domestic and international firms and that the size of the observed disparities in effective tax rates between Member States are mainly due to the differences in statutory tax rates. The picture arising from the quantitative analysis seems to point out the urgent need for a greater co-ordination in the EU, with a view to reducing the existing distortions and contributing to other important EU objectives.

The effective tax rates in the EU Commission Study on corporate taxation: methodological aspects, main results and policy implications

The paper has three aims. First, it presents the specific forward-looking methodology applied in the quantitative analysis undertaken in the Commission study, and discusses how it is able to overcome some of the most important limitations of the traditional King Fullerton approach. Second, it compares the results obtained by two different indicators, the traditional effective marginal tax rate and the effective average tax rate, the latter being particularly important to explain location decisions of multinational companies. Third, it discusses the usefulness of these indicators for policy makers, by summarising the overall results of the Commission study and their policy implications. All in all, these results show that the EU tax systems are very far from representing a level playing field for both domestic and international firms and that the size of the observed disparities in effective tax rates between Member States are mainly due to the differences in statutory tax rates. The picture arising from the quantitative analysis seems to point out the urgent need for a greater co-ordination in the EU, with a view to reducing the existing distortions and contributing to other important EU objectives

Going Feral: The Utopian Horror of Human-Animal Hybrids

According to the material feminist corpus, namely Stacy Alaimo’s concept of trans-corporeality, material flows and interconnectivity between humans and their environment insists that the human body has never been atomistic, but rather a porous figure that continually interacts/intra-acts with its environment. The recent biotechnological boom allowing for the production of human-animal hybrids (chimeras) provides the kind of visualization of these interconnectivities that can help instigate a reconception of the human—as not human at all, but rather posthuman. This study looks at the presence of these human-animal hybrids in popular art media, specifically: the horror film, Splice (Dir. Natali 2009); the YA novel, Inhuman (Falls 2013); and the comic, Sweet Tooth (Lemire 2009-2013). This thesis argues that the human-animal hybrid figure exhibits utopian horror, or the use of horror to produce new, better, ways of conceptualizing human-animal relationships, ones that acknowledge our already posthuman plurality of self

efficiency and safety of human reproductive cell tissue vitrification

Vitrification is a cryopreservation technique increasingly applied in clinical practice for cells and tissue. This review article focuses mainly on the efficiency of vitrification of human reproductive cells and tissue, by analysing the clinical results reported in the literature. The second aspect discussed is safety of vitrification procedure. Different procedures and different types of carriers can be used, and in some cases vitrification requires a direct contact between cell/tissue/carrier and liquid nitrogen; this causes concern regarding the safety of this cryopreservation technique. Although the risk of contamination during cryopreservation remains negligible, this article explains how to overcome the hypothetical risk of contamination when using different types of vitrification carriers, in order to satisfy all existing directives

A novel method to medicate local cv flaps in nipple reconstruction

Besides surgical technique related variables, post-operative care after nipple reconstruction with CV flaps is important for an satisfactory final result. We present a novel method to prepare a protective and sealing medication in order to minimize traumas to the new nipple. We found the silicone cap plunger of a 50cc syringe suitable for our purpose. It was applied over a non-adherent dressing and TNT gauze to avoid decubitus and fixed it with a steri-strip before covering with a sticking plaster. Analyzing 118 nipples casistic, reconstructed with a CV flaps technique, between January 2011 and June 2012 and medicated with the presented technique in the last six months considered, we noticed a reduction in partial loss of flap vitality and nipple reabsorption. The main advantages of the dressing technique we propose are the ease and rapidity in the preparation and availability of all materials used in every operation room or outpatient clinic. We believe that our technique of medication may reduce traumas to delicate vascularization of the new nipple, avoiding the partial or total loss of vitality and reabsorption of the flaps

Reconstructive management of degloving trauma of male external genitalia using dermal regeneration template: A case report

Traumatic injuries of male external genitalia are rare and not usually life threatening; however, they can have psychological repercussions. The reconstructive management of these lesions is challenging and articulated. We report the case of a 38-year-old farmer suffering from a degloving wound on the external genitalia. The first reconstructive step used to treat the wound was the incorporation of a dermal regeneration template (Integra (R)) and accordingly partial-thickness skin grafts and local flaps. The follow-up 16 months after the first treatment was satisfying; sexual function had been restored. (C) 2013 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon

A Case of Facial Lipoatrophy Secondary to Lupus Profundus Managed with Lipofilling Technique

Facial lipoatrophy is one of the most difficult complication in the patients with lupus profundus. In this paper, we present a case of a 55-year-old woman affected by lupus profundus, with a grade V lipoatrophy, treated with lipofilling technique. No complications were observed and results at 12 months were stable, natural, and symmetric

Food taboos during pregnancy: meta-analysis on cross cultural differences suggests specific, diet-related pressures on childbirth among agriculturalists

Pregnancy is the most delicate stage of human life history as well as a common target of food taboos across cultures. Despite puzzling evidence that many pregnant women across the world reduce their intake of nutritious foods to accomplish cultural norms, no study has provided statistical analysis of cross-cultural variation in food taboos during pregnancy. Moreover, antenatal practices among forager and agriculturalists have never been compared, despite subsistence mode being known to affect staple foods and lifestyle directly. This gap hinders to us from understanding the overall threats attributed to pregnancy, and their perceived nutritional causes around the world. The present study constitutes the first cross-cultural meta-analysis on food taboos during pregnancy. We examined thirty-two articles on dietary antenatal restrictions among agricultural and non-agricultural societies, in order to: (i) identify cross-culturally targeted animal, plant and miscellaneous foods; (ii) define major clusters of taboo focus; (iii) test the hypothesis that food types and clusters of focus distribute differently between agricultural and non-agricultural taboos; and (iv) test the hypothesis that food types distribute differently across the clusters of taboo focus. All data were analysed in SPSS and RStudio using chi-squared tests and Fisher's exact tests. We detected a gradient in taboo focus that ranged from no direct physiological interest to the fear of varied physiological complications to a very specific concern over increased birth weight and difficult delivery. Non-agricultural taboos were more likely to target non-domesticated animal foods and to be justified by concerns not directly linked to the physiological sphere, whereas agricultural taboos tended to targed more cultivated and processed products and showed a stronger association with concerns over increased birth weight. Despite some methodological discrepancies in the existing literature on food taboos during pregnancy, our results illustrate that such cultural traits are useful for detecting perception of biological pressures on reproduction across cultures. Indeed, the widespread concern over birth weight and carbohydrate rich foods overlaps with clinical evidence that obstructed labor is a major threat to maternal life in Africa, Asia and Eurasia. Furthermore, asymmetry in the frequency of such concern across subsistence modes aligns with the evolutionary perspective that agriculture may have exacerbated delivery complications. This study highlights the need for the improved understanding of dietary behaviors during pregnancy across the world, addressing the role of obstructed labor as a key point of convergence between clinical, evolutionary and cultural issues in human behavior