Developing a foundation for a globally coordinated approach to the taxation of crypto-asset transactions

Crypto-assets and blockchain technology have created much uncertainty within the field of taxation. While some jurisdictions have attempted to formulate responses, others have yet to meaningfully engage with the topic. In contrast to the taxation of the digitalised economy, a coordinated global approach to the taxation of crypto-asset transactions is notably lacking. Rather than focusing on individual jurisdictions, this study addresses the consequences of crypto-asset transactions within the international tax system. It begins by applying an adapted form of the constant comparison method traditionally employed in grounded theory research to a selection of crypto-assets white papers to inductively identify possible taxable events, and from these to develop ten transaction categories, each with definitive characteristics. These categories then form the basis of a doctrinal analysis of the nature within the international tax system of the income arising and its classification within the text of the articles of the model tax conventions. Finally, the study considers the potential future impact of measures to tax the digitalised economy. The study finds that while it is possible to classify each of the identified transaction categories within the articles of the model tax conventions, alternative constructions within treaties and existing differences in interpretation may still significantly impact the allocation of taxing rights. In addition, crypto-asset transactions may further challenge the role of the permanent establishment concept in determining taxing rights and contribute to base erosion. While such transactions may fall within the measures to tax the digitalised economy, the pseudonymous, decentralised nature of blockchain technology may frustrate the application of these measures. This study may inform individual jurisdictions in designing the scope and outcomes of a comprehensive response to crypto-asset transactions. It may also provide a basis for the classification of these transactions within the international tax system, and support the development of a globally coordinated response to the taxation of crypto-assets. Finally, it may contribute to the broader development of the taxation of the digitalised economy, in which crypto-asset transactions may play an increasingly significant role in the future

Production of HMF, FDCA and their derived products: a review of life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) studies

The chemical industry is increasingly looking to develop bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based platform chemicals, in order to reduce dependence on diminishing fossil resources and to decrease GHG emissions. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) are two examples of bio-basedchemicals which could allow for the synthesis of a wide range of chemicals and materials, particularly polymers, from renewable feedstocks. This review paper summarises and critically evaluates results from existinglife cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis (TEA) studies of HMF and FDCA synthesis and, bydoing this, provides several points of advice for future investigations and assessments of synthetic routestowards these bio-based products. Chemical considerations such as choice of solvent system, catalyst andenergy production are reviewed; and methodological issues in LCA, such as treatment of biogenic carbonand allocation methods, are discussed. Overall, results suggest that the production of HMF and FDCA-basedproducts may offer lower impacts from CO2 emissions than their fossil-based counterparts, but this oftencomes with an increase in environmental impacts in other impact categories. Higher operating costs fromexpensive fructose feedstocks and high energy demands also make HMF and FDCA less economicallyviable than current chemicals. Moving forwards, further investigation into different lignocellulosic feedstocks, energy production units and the development of new catalytic systems may help in making HMFand FDCA production more favourable than the production of fossil-based counterparts

Conserved but flexible modularity in the zebrafish skull: implications for craniofacial evolvability

Morphological variation is the outward manifestation of development and provides fodder for adaptive evolution. Because of this contingency, evolution is often thought to be biased by developmental processes and functional interactions among structures, which are statistically detectable through forms of covariance among traits. This can take the form of substructures of integrated traits, termed modules, which together comprise patterns of variational modularity. While modularity is essential to an understanding of evolutionary potential, biologists currently have little understanding of its genetic basis and its temporal dynamics over generations. To address these open questions, we compared patterns of craniofacial modularity among laboratory strains, defined mutant lines and a wild population of zebrafish ( ). Our findings suggest that relatively simple genetic changes can have profound effects on covariance, without greatly affecting craniofacial shape. Moreover, we show that instead of completely deconstructing the covariance structure among sets of traits, mutations cause shifts among seemingly latent patterns of modularity suggesting that the skull may be predisposed towards a limited number of phenotypes. This new insight may serve to greatly increase the evolvability of a population by providing a range of 'preset' patterns of modularity that can appear readily and allow for rapid evolution

Oil exposure alters social group cohesion in fish

Many animal taxa live in groups to increase foraging and reproductive success and aid in predator avoidance. For fish, a large proportion of species spend all or part of their lives in groups, with group coordination playing an important role in the emergent benefits of group-living. Group cohesion can be altered by an array of factors, including exposure to toxic environmental contaminants. Oil spills are one of the most serious forms of pollution in aquatic systems, and while a range of effects of acute oil exposure on animal physiology have been demonstrated, sub-lethal effects on animal behavior are relatively under-studied. Here we used an open-field behavioral assay to explore influence of acute oil exposure on social behavior in a gregarious fish native to the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus). We used two oil concentrations (0.7% and 2% oil dilution, or 6.0 ± 0.9 and 32.9 ± 5.9 μg l−1 ΣPAH50 respectively) and assays were performed when all members of a group were exposed, when only one member was exposed, and when no individuals were exposed. Shoal cohesion, as assessed via mean neighbor distance, showed significant impairment following acute exposure to 2% oil. Fish in oil-exposed groups also showed reduced voluntary movement speed. Importantly, overall group cohesion was disrupted when even one fish within a shoal was exposed to 2% oil, and the behavior of unexposed in mixed groups, in terms of movement speed and proximity to the arena wall, was affected by the presence of these exposed fish. These results demonstrate that oil exposure can have adverse effects on fish behavior that may lead to reduced ecological success

Hypoxia alters vulnerability to capture and the potential for trait-based selection in a scaled-down trawl fishery

No abstract available

A survey of self-awareness and its application in computing systems

Novel computing systems are increasingly being composed of large numbers of heterogeneous components, each with potentially different goals or local perspectives, and connected in networks which change over time. Management of such systems quickly becomes infeasible for humans. As such, future computing systems should be able to achieve advanced levels of autonomous behaviour. In this context, the system's ability to be self-aware and be able to self-express becomes important. This paper surveys definitions and current understanding of self-awareness and self-expression in biology and cognitive science. Subsequently, previous efforts to apply these concepts to computing systems are described. This has enabled the development of novel working definitions for self-awareness and self-expression within the context of computing systems

Multigenerational exposure to elevated temperatures leads to a reduction in standard metabolic rate in the wild

In light of global climate change, there is a pressing need to understand and predict the capacity of populations to respond to rising temperatures. Metabolic rate is a key trait that is likely to influence the ability to cope with climate change. Yet, empirical and theoretical work on metabolic rate responses to temperature changes has so far produced mixed results and conflicting predictions. Our study addresses this issue using a novel approach of comparing fish populations in geothermally warmed lakes and adjacent ambient‐temperature lakes in Iceland. This unique ‘natural experiment' provides repeated and independent examples of populations experiencing contrasting thermal environments for many generations over a small geographic scale, thereby avoiding the confounding factors associated with latitudinal or elevational comparisons. Using Icelandic sticklebacks from three warm and three cold habitats, we measured individual metabolic rates across a range of acclimation temperatures to obtain reaction norms for each population. We found a general pattern for a lower standard metabolic rate in sticklebacks from warm habitats when measured at a common temperature, as predicted by Krogh's rule. Metabolic rate differences between warm‐ and cold‐habitat sticklebacks were more pronounced at more extreme acclimation temperatures, suggesting the release of cryptic genetic variation upon exposure to novel conditions, which can reveal hidden evolutionary potential. We also found a stronger divergence in metabolic rate between thermal habitats in allopatry than sympatry, indicating that gene flow may constrain physiological adaptation when dispersal between warm and cold habitats is possible. In sum, our study suggests that fish may diverge toward a lower standard metabolic rate in a warming world, but this might depend on connectivity and gene flow between different thermal habitats

Simulated trapping and trawling exert similar selection on fish morphology

Commercial fishery harvest can influence the evolution of wild fish populations. Our knowledge of selection on morphology is however limited, with most previous studies focusing on body size, age, and maturation. Within species, variation in morphology can influence locomotor ability, possibly making some individuals more vulnerable to capture by fishing gears. Additionally, selection on morphology has the potential to influence other foraging, behavioral, and life-history related traits. Here we carried out simulated fishing using two types of gears: a trawl (an active gear) and a trap (a passive gear), to assess morphological trait-based selection in relation to capture vulnerability. Using geometric morphometrics, we assessed differences in shape between high and low vulnerability fish, showing that high vulnerability individuals display shallower body shapes regardless of gear type. For trawling, low vulnerability fish displayed morphological characteristics that may be associated with higher burst-swimming, including a larger caudal region and narrower head, similar to evolutionary responses seen in fish populations responding to natural predation. Taken together, these results suggest that divergent selection can lead to phenotypic differences in harvested fish populations

A physiological perspective on fisheries-induced evolution

There is increasing evidence that intense fishing pressure is not only depleting fish stocks but also causing evolutionary changes to fish populations. In particular, body size and fecundity in wild fish populations may be altered in response to the high and often size-selective mortality exerted by fisheries. While these effects can have serious consequences for the viability of fish populations, there are also a range of traits not directly related to body size which could also affect susceptibility to capture by fishing gears – and therefore fisheries-induced evolution (FIE) – but which have to date been ignored. For example, overlooked within the context of FIE is the likelihood that variation in physiological traits could make some individuals within species more vulnerable to capture. Specifically, traits related to energy balance (e.g. metabolic rate), swimming performance (e.g. aerobic scope), neuroendocrinology (e.g. stress responsiveness), and sensory physiology (e.g., visual acuity) are especially likely to influence vulnerability to capture through a variety of mechanisms. Selection on these traits could produce major shifts in the physiological traits within populations in response to fishing pressure that are yet to be considered but which could influence population resource requirements, resilience, species’ distributions, and responses to environmental change

Density influences the heritability and genetic correlations of fish behaviour under trawling-associated selection

Fishing-associated selection is one of the most important human-induced evolutionary pressures for natural populations. However, it is unclear whether fishing leads to heritable phenotypic changes in the targeted populations, as the heritability and genetic correlations of traits potentially under selection have received little attention. In addition, phenotypic changes could arise from fishing-associated environmental effects, such as reductions in population density. Using fish reared at baseline and reduced group density and repeatedly harvested by simulated trawling, we show that trawling can induce direct selection on fish social behaviour. As sociability has significant heritability and is also genetically correlated with activity and exploration, trawling has the potential to induce both direct selection and indirect selection on a variety of fish behaviours, potentially leading to evolution over time. However, while trawling selection was consistent between density conditions, the heritability and genetic correlations of behaviours changed according to the population density. Fishing-associated environmental effects can thus modify the evolutionary potential of fish behaviour, revealing the need to use a more integrative approach to address the evolutionary consequences of fishing