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This article deals with the new OECD international VAT/GST Guidelines on place of supply of B2B Services and Intangibles. The Guidelines were approved by the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs in January 2014. The aim of the article is to analyse the new Guidelines from an EU law perspective and also from the perspective of how the Guidelines may contribute to reducing the risks of double taxation and unintended non-taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Incidence, Severity and Timing of Neurological Events After a Major Myocardial Infarction," by J. G. F. Cleland and colleagues, is presented.

An abstract of a study which investigated the incidence and mortality from cancer of patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction complicated by left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) or heart failure, is presented.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were orally exposed to a mixture of 20 PCBs in three different dose levels (0.008, 0.08, and 0.4 5g of each congener per gram of freeze-dried chironomids). Generally, the PCBs accumulated in a dose-related manner. After 13 weeks of exposure body, liver, and ovary weights, as well as the liver and ovary somatic index, were significantly lower in exposed groups. In addition, the PCB mixture was an effective inducer of hepatic EROD activity. The reproduction study performed with exposed females and unexposed males after 9 weeks revealed that median survival time for larvae was only 7.7 days in the high-dose group as compared with 14 days in controls. Furthermore, egg production was reduced in all three groups exposed. No differences in hatching frequency or median hatching time were recorded. Histologically, females in both the intermediate and high-dose groups contained a reduced number of mature oocytes. The present study demonstrates that the potency of the mixture of selected PCBs induces hepatic EROD activity and has a clearly negative effect on zebrafish reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine effects of obesity and gender on left ventricular mass in normotensive and hypertensive Thai patients using 320-slice cardiac computed tomography (CT)., Material and Method: Left ventricular mass (LVM) obtained from 320-slice coronary CT angiogram was compared in 597 normotensive subjects (175 men [65 obese] and 422 women [133 obese], aged 55±7 years) and 483 hypertensive patients (180 men [104 obese] and 303 women [170 obese], aged 60±7 years). Obesity in Asian population was defined by body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 in both genders. LV mass was normalized for body surface area (BSA)and height2.7., Results: The upper normal limit of LVM/ height2.7 developed from 244 (197 women, 47 men) low risk subjects (non-smoking normal-weight adults free from hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease & dyslipidemia) was lower than the established criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (31 versus 44 g/m2.7 in women; 36 versus 48 g/m2.7 in men). There is statistical difference between men and women in all groups of analysis. Among both hypertensive and normotensive subjects, the prevalence of LVH and LVM/height2.7 are higher in the obese group than normal-weight group in both genders (LVM/height2.7p<0.001; prevalence of LVH – obese versus normal-weight hypertension: 58% versus 34% in women, 43% versus 14% in men; obese versus normal-weight normotension: 35% versus 16% in women, 40% versus 15% in men). The same differences between obese and normal-weight groups were also present when normalizing LVM for height but not with LVM/BSA. Logistic regression analysis revealed that systolic blood pressure and BMI were the main predictors of LVH in the entire population (p<0.001 in both genders). Equations for predicting LVH in men and women were: Risk of LVH = 1/(l+e-w) where w is as follows: w (men) = 0.02* systolic pressure + 0.25*BMI – 9.86, w (women) = 0.03* systolic pressure + 0.17*BMI – 8.82., Conclusion: Obesity is an independent stimulus to increase LVM in normo-tensive subjects, and its effect is additive in hypertensive patients. Gender and obesity affect LVM and prevalence of LVH.

Objectives: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is involved in cardiac inflammation and fibrosis, and is in use as a biomarker that indicates increased risk in heart failure. This study examined the relationship between Gal-3 levels and acute and old myocardial infarction (MI) in patients assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging., Methods: Group 1 consisted of 38 patients with ST-elevation MI and single-vessel disease treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Group 2 consisted of 52 patients with prior complicated MI. Twenty-two controls were included. CMR was performed in group 1 at 2 days, 1 week, 2 months and 1 year following PCI and in group 2 at >4 years after MI., Results: Median Gal-3 was elevated in patients compared with controls, group 1: 11.93 ng/ml (IQR 6.34-17.52, p = 0.03), group 2: 12.96 (IQR 6.33-19.29, p = 0.03) and controls: 10.16 (IQR 5.59-14.73). Gal-3 levels did not change during acute MI, and there was no relationship between Gal-3 and infarct size, troponin-T, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, left-ventricular (LV) volumes or LV ejection fraction (LVEF) in group 1. In group 2, Gal-3 correlated modestly with MI size (r = 0.28, p < 0.05), LV end-diastolic volume index (r = 0.40, p < 0.01), LV end-systolic volume index (r = 0.43, p < 0.01) and LVEF (r = -0.39, p < 0.01)., Conclusion: There was no relationship between Gal-3 levels and acute ischemic myocardial injury. A significant, modest relationship between Gal-3 levels, MI size and LV remodeling was only found in patients with old MI., (© 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objective: To compare the sensitivity of sonographic, cholescintigraphic, and computed tomographic examination of acute cholecystitis to the pathology result, which is considered the Gold Standard., Material and Method: A retrospective analytic study was conducted among 412 patients, aged between 15 and 98 years, who underwent cholecystectomy surgeries, and whose pathology results indicated acute cholecystitis between July 2004 and May 2013. The sensitivity and the differences between sensitivity of the three methods were calculated in all patients. Complicated acute cholecystitis cases were analyzed separately., Results: The three methods demonstrated statistically significant differences in sensitivity (p-value = 0.017), with the cholescintigraphy as the most sensitive method (84.2%), followed by computed tomography (67.3%), and sonography (59.8%). Concerning the samples with the pathology result indicating complicated acute cholecystitis, computed tomography was statistically significantly more sensitive than sonography in detecting acute cholecystitis, whether or not the complications were identified (100% and 63.6%, respectively, with p-value = 0.0055). None of the patients with the pathology result of complicated acute cholecystitis case was examined by cholescintigraphy, thus, no calculation was possible. Regarding the ability to detect the complications of acute cholecystitis, computed tomography had a sensitivity of 35.71% (5 in 14 patients), while sonographic examinations could not detect any of the complications., Conclusion: Cholescintigraphy is a more sensitive method than computed tomography and sonography, but the three methods have its own advantages, disadvantages, and limitations, which must be consideredfor each individual patient.

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are persistent organic contaminants that have been detected in wildlife, humans and the environment. Studies have shown that the toxicity of PFAAs is determined by the carbon chain length as well as the attached functional group. The locomotor activity of zebrafish larvae has become widely used for evaluation of chemicals with neurotoxic properties. In the present study the behavioral effects of seven structurally different PFAAs (i.e. TFAA, PFBA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFBS and PFOS) were evaluated in zebrafish larvae. Exposure to high concentrations of TFAA, PFNA, PFBS and PFOS resulted in distinct changes in behavioral patterns. Based on redundancy analysis, our results demonstrate three main factors affecting zebrafish larval locomotor behavior. The strongest effect on behavior was determined by the carbon chain length and the attached functional group. PFAAs with longer carbon chain length as well as PFAAs with attached sulfonic groups showed larger potential to affect locomotor behavior in zebrafish larvae. Also the concentration of the PFAAs determined the behavior responses. The results of the present study are in agreement with previous studies showing correlations between the chemical structure of PFAAs and the toxicological effects., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The myocardium exhibits heterogeneous nature due to scarring after Myocardial Infarction (MI). In Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) imaging, Late Gadolinium (LG) contrast agent enhances the intensity of scarred area in the myocardium., Methods: In this paper, we propose a probability mapping technique using Texture and Intensity features to describe heterogeneous nature of the scarred myocardium in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) images after Myocardial Infarction (MI). Scarred tissue and non-scarred tissue are represented with high and low probabilities, respectively. Intermediate values possibly indicate areas where the scarred and healthy tissues are interwoven. The probability map of scarred myocardium is calculated by using a probability function based on Bayes rule. Any set of features can be used in the probability function., Results: In the present study, we demonstrate the use of two different types of features. One is based on the mean intensity of pixel and the other on underlying texture information of the scarred and non-scarred myocardium. Examples of probability maps computed using the mean intensity of pixel and the underlying texture information are presented. We hypothesize that the probability mapping of myocardium offers alternate visualization, possibly showing the details with physiological significance difficult to detect visually in the original CMR image., Conclusion: The probability mapping obtained from the two features provides a way to define different cardiac segments which offer a way to identify areas in the myocardium of diagnostic importance (like core and border areas in scarred myocardium).