Tax Transparency and Corporate Tax Avoidance

This analysis will look into the emerging global trend for increased tax transparency from large businesses and corporations. Tax transparency has been a growing topic globally and there has been some recent progress in several countries. This analysis will begin by looking into the motivation behind increasing the amount of transparency around a business’ tax affairs. After exploring some key driving factors, a few of the new major tax initiatives and the details encompassed in them will be discussed. The specific countries that will be focused on are the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Overall, this analysis is intended to be an unbiased look into the present developments occurring on how large businesses should deal with their tax affairs. It is apparent that the issue of tax transparency is being addressed in various ways in different countries, and barely addressed at all in some. The future of corporate tax transparency is unclear, but changes are being implemented today that must be followed in order to see their full impact in the future. This analysis will also briefly look into the impact that increasing tax transparency has had so far as well as possible speculations for the future

The Use of the HP-filter in Constructing Real Estate Cycle Indicators

The growing body of research focusing on real estate as an individual asset class puts the real estate cycle in the very center of strategic investment decisions and implications thereof. This article investigates if the non-structural definition of the cycle as defined by the Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter can be used to construct indicators of the Swedish real estate cycle. The methodology of the HP-filter, which is to separate a time-series into a trend component and a growth component, is often used in analysis of aggregate economic growth (i.e., GDP). The article also evaluates the indicative characteristics of the indicator.

International Evidence on Real Estate as a Portfolio Diversifier

This paper provides an international comparison of the benefits of including real estate assets – both domestic and international – in mixed-asset portfolios. Data from seven countries on three continents are considered for a common time period (1987-2001) to facilitate comparisons. Real estate returns are desmoothed using a variant of the Geltner (1993) approach, and Bayes-Stein estimators are used to increase the stability of portfolio weight estimations. Both unhedged and hedged analyses are conducted. Real estate is found to be an effective portfolio diversifier, and even more so when both domestic and international real estate assets are considered. The optimal allocation to real estate is in the 15 to 25% range, and remains remarkably constant in the various analyses. The breakdown of the real estate allocation between domestic and non-domestic assets, however, is found to vary substantially across countries and depending on whether returns are hedged or not.

New International Evidence on Real Estate as a Portfolio Diversifier

This paper provides an international comparison of the benefits of including real estate assets in mixed-asset portfolios. Real estate returns are desmoothed using a variant of the Geltner (1993) approach, and Bayes-Stein estimators are used to increase the stability of portfolio weight estimations. Both unhedged and hedged analyses are conducted. Real estate is found to be an effective portfolio diversifier, and even more so when both domestic and international real estate assets are considered. The optimal allocation to real estate is 15% to 25%, and remains stable when the level of the standard deviation of real estate is altered. Real estate allocation between domestic and nondomestic assets, however, varies substantially across countries, depending on whether returns are hedged or not.

RB loss contributes to aggressive tumor phenotypes in MYC-driven triple negative breast cancer

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by multiple genetic events occurring in concert to drive pathogenic features of the disease. Here we interrogated the coordinate impact of p53, RB, and MYC in a genetic model of TNBC, in parallel with the analysis of clinical specimens. Primary mouse mammary epithelial cells (mMEC) with defined genetic features were used to delineate the combined action of RB and/or p53 in the genesis of TNBC. In this context, the deletion of either RB or p53 alone and in combination increased the proliferation of mMEC; however, the cells did not have the capacity to invade in matrigel. Gene expression profiling revealed that loss of each tumor suppressor has effects related to proliferation, but RB loss in particular leads to alterations in gene expression associated with the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. The overexpression of MYC in combination with p53 loss or combined RB/p53 loss drove rapid cell growth. While the effects of MYC overexpression had a dominant impact on gene expression, loss of RB further enhanced the deregulation of a gene expression signature associated with invasion. Specific RB loss lead to enhanced invasion in boyden chambers assays and gave rise to tumors with minimal epithelial characteristics relative to RB-proficient models. Therapeutic screening revealed that RB-deficient cells were particularly resistant to agents targeting PI3K and MEK pathway. Consistent with the aggressive behavior of the preclinical models of MYC overexpression and RB loss, human TNBC tumors that express high levels of MYC and are devoid of RB have a particularly poor outcome. Together these results underscore the potency of tumor suppressor pathways in specifying the biology of breast cancer. Further, they demonstrate that MYC overexpression in concert with RB can promote a particularly aggressive form of TNB

Unique metabolic features of pancreatic cancer stroma: relevance to the tumor compartment, prognosis, and invasive potential.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a dismal prognosis. The aggressiveness and therapeutic recalcitrance of this malignancy has been attributed to multiple factors including the influence of an active desmoplastic stroma. How the stromal microenvironment of PDAC contributes to the fatal nature of this disease is not well defined. In the analysis of clinical specimens, we observed diverse expression of the hypoxic marker carbonic anhydrase IX and the lactate transporter MCT4 in the stromal compartment. These stromal features were associated with the epithelial to mesenchymal phenotype in PDAC tumor cells, and with shorter patient survival. Cultured cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) derived from primary PDAC exhibited a high basal level of hypoxia inducible factor 1a (HIF1α) that was both required and sufficient to modulate the expression of MCT4. This event was associated with increased transcription and protein synthesis of HIF1α in CAFs relative to PDAC cell lines, while surprisingly the protein turnover rate was equivalent. CAFs utilized glucose predominantly for glycolytic intermediates, whereas glutamine was the preferred metabolite for the TCA cycle. Unlike PDAC cell lines, CAFs were resistant to glucose withdrawal but sensitive to glutamine depletion. Consistent with the lack of reliance on glucose, CAFs could survive the acute depletion of MCT4. In co-culture and xenograft studies CAFs stimulated the invasive potential and metastatic spread of PDAC cell lines through a mechanism dependent on HIF1α and MCT4. Together, these data indicate that stromal metabolic features influence PDAC tumor cells to promote invasiveness and metastatic potential and associate with poor outcome in patients with PDAC

Correlations of Host Genetics and Gut Microbiome Composition

The human gut microbiome has a considerable impact on host health. The long list of microbiome-related health disorders raises the question of what in fact determines microbiome composition. In this review we sought to understand how the host itself impacts the structure of the gut microbiota population, specifically by correlations of host genetics and gut microbiome composition. Host genetic profile has been linked to differences in microbiome composition, thus suggesting that host genetics can shape the gut microbiome of the host. However, cause-consequence mechanisms behind these links are still unclear. A survey of the possible mechanisms allowing host genetics to shape microbiota composition in the gut demonstrated the major role of metabolic functions and the immune system. A considerable impact of other factors, such as diet, may outweigh the effects of host genetic background. More studies are necessary for good understanding of the relations between the host genetic profile, gut microbiome composition, and host health. According to the idea of personalized medicine, patient-tailored management of microbiota content remains a fascinating area for further inquiry

Gangliocytic paraganglioma: case report and review of the literature

Gangliocytic paraganglioma is a rare tumor, which occurs nearly exclusively in the second portion of the duodenum. Generally, this tumor has a benign clinical course, although rarely, it may recur or metastasize to regional lymph nodes. Only one case with distant metastasis has been reported. We present a case of duodenal gangliocytic paraganglioma treated first by local resection followed by pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. Examination of the first specimen revealed focal nuclear pleomorphism and mitotic activity, in addition to the presence of three characteristic histologic components: epithelioid, ganglion, and spindle cell. In the subsequent pancreaticoduodenectomy specimen, there was no residual tumor identified in the periampullary area, but metastatic gangliocytic paraganglioma was present in two of seven lymph nodes. This case report confirms the malignant potential of this tumor. We review the published literature on gangliocytic paragangliomas pursuing a malignant course. We conclude that surgical therapy of these neoplasms should not be limited to local resection, as disease recurrence, lymph node involvement, and rarely distant metastasis may occur

Cell membrane and cytoplasmic epidermal growth factor receptor expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

The significance of over-expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in pancreatic carcinoma is unclear. In this study, we examined the association between EGFR over-expression (membranous and cytoplasmic), the associated histopathologic features and clinical outcomes in post-resection pancreatic cancer patients. EGFR expression was determined immunohistochemically in 90 patients who underwent resection for pancreatic cancer. Cytoplasmic expression was considered positive if EGFR expression was seen in the cytoplasm in ≥ 10% of cells. Cell membrane staining was scored from 0 to 3+, with 2+ and 3+ being considered as membrane over-expression. Overall survival and progression-free survival were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and survival curves were compared by the log-rank test. Out of 90 patients, 51 (57%) and 74 (68%) patients had membrane and cytoplasmic EGFR over-expression, respectively. There was a statistically significant correlation between cell membrane EGFR over-expression and lymph node positivity (P = 0.03). Patients with membrane EGFR over-expression had a shorter median progression-free survival (10.7 vs. 17.0 months, P = 0.02) and overall survival (15.9 months vs. 25.3 months, P = 0.17). Cytoplasmic EFGR over-expression was not significantly associated with recurrence or survival. Membrane EGFR over-expression in resected pancreatic cancer patients was associated with worse clinical outcomes than non-over-expression

Renal cell carcinoma metastatic to the duodenum: Treatment by classic pancreaticoduodenectomy and review of the literature

Renal cell cancer (RCC) most commonly metastasizes to the lungs, bones, liver, renal fossa, and brain, although metastases can occur elsewhere. RCC metastatic to the duodenum is especially rare, with only a small number of cases reported in the literature. Herein, we describe a case of an 86-year-old woman with a history of RCC treated by radical nephrectomy 13 years previously. The patient presented with duodenal obstruction and anemia from a solitary duodenal mass invading into the pancreas and was treated via classic pancreaticoduodenectomy. Preoperative imaging and intra-operative assessment showed no evidence of other disease. Pathology confirmed metastatic RCC without lymph node involvement. Our case report and review of the English language literature underscore the rarity of this entity and support aggressive surgical treatment in such patients