Bringing it all back home: alcohol taxation and cross-border shopping

Taxes on alcohol are among the oldest in the UK and are still an important source of tax revenue. In 1992, for example, just prior to the completion of the Single European Market, revenues from excise duties on alcohol totalled over £5 billion, equivalent to 2 per cent on value added tax or 2.5 pence on income tax. Recently, the future of this source of revenue has become uncertain with the relaxation of limits on personal imports of excisable goods by domestic consumers and the increase in cross-border shopping. In this paper, we investigate the effect of increased cross-border shopping on the revenue return to alcohol taxation.

Biophysical and pharmacological characterisation of recombinant and native rat P2X7 receptors

P2X7 receptors exhibit a mainly non-neuronal localisation on immune and glial cells and primarily function as non-selective cation channels. After prolonged or repeated exposure to agonist, functional and cellular changes occur: the formation of a large diameter pore, cell lysis and the release of mature, biologically active interleukin-1β (IL-1β) a potent inflammatory cytokine. It is this repertoire of functions, along with its localisation that underlies the hypothesis for its involvement in pain processing. The biophysics and pharmacology of rat P2X7 receptors were investigated using stable cell lines. Increases in the current amplitude were shown to be dependent upon the agonist concentration and current deactivation was agonist application number and voltage dependent. These results increased our understanding of the receptor, but have also had implications for the design of protocols to investigate antagonist potency and efficacy. GSK31418A was identified as a potent, reversible and voltage-independent antagonist of rat and human P2X7 receptors. GSK314181A was >10000 fold selective over P2X4 receptors and >1000 fold selective over P2X2/3 receptors. GSK314181A produced a significant reversal of FCA-induced hypersensitivity when profiled in vivo, providing further validation of the role of P2X7 receptors in inflammatory pain. Although the influence of glia cells on neuronal activity in the CNS is now well documented, the role of peripheral glia, Schwann cells and satellite cells of sensory ganglia, is less well established. Non-neuronal cells in DRG cultures were shown to express P2X7 receptors by pharmacological, biophysical and immunofluorescence techniques. Native P2X7 receptors expressed on these cells were shown to have many of the properties of recombinant P2X7 receptors, in regards to the response to agonist activation and pharmacology. Finally, I have shown that Lamotrigine is an effective inhibitor of recombinant rat and human P2X7 receptors and native P2X7 receptors expressed in DRG. The potent inhibition of human P2X7 by Lamotrigine was replicated with the chemical analogue and neuroprotective agent Sipatrigine. However, little effect was recorded for a P2X7 antagonist in two models of epileptiform activity studies

Alcohol taxes, tax revenues and the Single European Market

This paper addresses the issue of whether tax revenue from alcohol lost through cross-border shopping could be recouped by cutting excise duties. This in turn depends on the elasticity of demand for alcohol. We use data from the Family Expenditure Survey 1978-96 to estimate own- and cross-price elasticities of demand for beer, wine and spirits before and after completion of the Single Market. We find no evidence of a significant change in elasticities after the Single Market. The tax rates on beer and wine are currently below their revenue-maximising rates, implying that a cut in the duty rate on beer or wine would lead to a decrease in indirect tax revenue from alcohol. We cannot reject that the current tax rate on spirits is at the revenue-maximising rate, implying that further increases in the duty on spirits are likely to cause indirect tax revenue to fall.

Quantifying and modeling the bioavailability of sediment-associated uranium to the freshwater midge (Chironomus dilutus)

Uranium (U) enters aquatic environments from natural and anthropogenic sources, often accumulating in sediments to concentrations that could, if bioavailable, adversely affect benthic organisms. Current assessments of U-contaminated sediments typically rely on total U concentrations measured in the sediment, which may not be representative of the concentration of U bioavailable to benthic organisms. However, the factors and mechanisms that influence U bioavailability in sediment have not been thoroughly evaluated, despite evidence that sediment properties can influence the sorption and availability of other sediment-associated metals. The lack of detailed knowledge about the factors that modify sediment-associated U bioavailability can hinder our ability to properly use sediment quality guidelines to predict adverse effects, or lack thereof, of U-contaminated sediments to benthic communities. Therefore, the overall objective of this research was to quantify and model the key physicochemical properties of sediment that modify the bioavailability of U to a model freshwater benthic invertebrate, Chironomus dilutus. To assess the influence of sediment properties on the bioavailability of U, several 10-day sediment bioaccumulation experiments were performed exposing C. dilutus larvae to a wide range of formulated and field-collected sediments spiked with U (5, 50, 200 or 500 mg U/kg d.w.). Bioaccumulation of U in C. dilutus larvae differed by over one order of magnitude when exposed to different sediments spiked with the same total concentration of U, thus total U concentrations in the sediment displayed weak or insignificant relationships with U bioaccumulation. Concentrations of U in both the overlying water and sediment pore water collected just above and below the sediment surface displayed significant positive relationships with U bioaccumulation in C. dilutus larvae for all experiments. Significant inverse relationships were observed between the bioaccumulation of U in C. dilutus larvae and key binding properties of sediment (e.g., organic matter, fine fraction or clay, cation exchange capacity and Fe content). Simple regression equations based on the physicochemical properties of sediment successfully described the bioaccumulation of U within a factor of two and provided a significant improvement in predicting the bioaccumulation of U to C. dilutus larvae over the use of total U concentrations in the sediment. To further assess the influence of key binding properties of sediments on U bioavailability, the sorption of U to different field sediments was quantified in 48-h batch equilibrium experiments as a function of solution pH and U concentration. The degree of U adsorption to sediment was greatest at pH 6 and 7, and was significantly reduced at pH 8. The adsorption of U had a strong positive relationship with increasing binding properties of sediment up until a threshold [i.e., sediments with greater than 12% total organic carbon, 37% fine fraction (≤ 50 µm), or 29 g/kg of iron content], which generally corresponded with the observed reductions in U bioaccumulation. The data from the sorption and sediment bioaccumulation experiment were further assessed using the Windermere Humic Aqueous Model, version 7.0.4 (WHAM7), which produced reliable predictions of U sorption, total U solution concentrations, free ion concentrations and species distribution of U, which are all important for determining the risk and bioavailability of U to benthic invertebrates. More importantly, the use of WHAM7 led to successful predictions of the >20-fold difference in the U accumulation in C. dilutus larvae observed across the wide range of physicochemical characteristics of the solid and aqueous phases examined in the present studies. Overall, the research presented in this thesis quantified the significant influence of key physicochemical properties of sediment on U sorption and bioaccumulation. The use of simple regression equations and WHAM7 were able to better predict the bioaccumulation of U in C. dilutus larvae over the use of total U concentrations in the sediment. These results strongly suggest that key sediment properties such as total organic carbon, particle size distribution and iron content of sediment should be incorporated into the risk assessment and sediment quality guidelines for U in order to better predict the bioavailability of U to benthic invertebrates from U-contaminated sediments

What is the best initial treatment for orbital cellulitis in children?

Although antibiotics are the best initial treatment, surgical intervention is warranted when a child has: visual impairment, complete ophthalmoplegia, or well-defined abscess on presentation, or no clearly apparent clinical improvement by 24 hours (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C, based on patient-oriented case- series studies). Target antimicrobial therapy toward the common pathogens associated with pre- disposing factors for orbital cellulitis, such as sinusitis--and pay attention to local resistance patterns (SOR: C, based on patient-oriented case series)

Iwi interests and the RMA: An evaluation of the quality of first generation council plans

This working paper analyses the processes adopted by councils for involving hapū /iwi in plan implementation, including the resource consents process. Three topic issues were investigated to assess plan implementation — urban amenity, storm water, and issues of importance to iwi. Questions were asked about the capacity of hapū/iwi to engage in the resource consent process, which resource issues were of concern to them, their relationship with council and consent applicants, and their perception of the consent process. Most resources listed in the questionnaire were of concern to hapū/iwi, with water quality, wāhi tapu and heritage the most commonly cited. In conclusion, we found a general dissatisfaction on the part of hapū/iwi with councils’ performance with respect to both Treaty relationships and consent processing under the RMA. A further contributing factor to the poor relationships found between hapū/iwi and councils, was the lack of clarity over the role of hapū and iwi in resource management. In several districts, diverging responses from hapū/iwi and councils to questions about level of understanding and commitment suggests there is a need for more effective communication. These problems are compounded by the generally low capacity of hapū/iwi to participate in resource consent processes. These findings suggest that there is much to be done to improve relationships and behaviour of these key stakeholder groups in the plan implementation process if key provisions in the RMA related to hapū/iwi interests are to be fulfilled. The differences shown in reciprocal perceptions have serious implications for establishing a sound working partnership between councils and hapū/iwi in their areas. Making clear these discrepancies is a first step towards taking the measures needed for building a better partnership. Further, the capacity of hapū/iwi to participate could be better utilised if there was greater integration between regional and district councils on issues of significance and processes for iwi involvement

The quality of district plans and their implementation: Towards environmental quality

Since inception of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) the issue of sustainable management has dominated planning practice in New Zealand. Over the past decade, councils have wrestled with converting the concept of sustainable management into policy and practice. Implicit to the requirement that district councils develop plans for managing the environmental effects of the use and development of natural and physical resources is the assumption that good quality plans will result in improved environmental quality. The key question to be addressed in this paper is: Do good plans matter? Measuring the quality of plan implementation is a complex task, and little, if any, attempt has been made in councils to do it. The PUCM research is the first in New Zealand to attempt a quantitative analysis of the links between the quality of plans produced under the RMA and the quality of plan implementation. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology that we adopted for the research and to present some preliminary results from studying the implementation of plans through the resource consent process. Overall, we are trying to determine: how best to measure the quality of plan implementation and the effect that district plan quality has on implementation quality; and what factors influence the relationship between plan quality and implementation quality. This paper is structured into three main parts. The first is a description of the methodological approach taken to conduct the research. In the second part, the key preliminary results are presented. Finally the findings and the implications for achieving good environmental outcomes are discussed