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Bacterial zoonoses cause severe febrile illness in East Africa (2). Patients with bacterial zoonotic diseases can have nonspecific febrile illnesses that are difficult to diagnose clinically or in the laboratory [...]

This study provides additional evidence regarding how investors perceive the importance of selected tax incentives relative to several nontax incentives in making specific investment location decisions. The decision modeling approach used in the study overcomes limitations inherent in prior survey and econometric studies. Managers involved in offshore export-oriented investment decisions were asked to assess the relative importance of two tax factors (tax holiday and import duty exemptions) and three nontax factors (wage rate, quality of infrastructure, and host country dividend remittance policy) in their decision to locate a light manufacturing operation in the Caribbean Basin. The results indicate that tax incentives alone were not able to overcome unfavorable nontax factors. However, in cases in which the nontax factors were generally favorable, the evidence suggests that the two tax variables were likely to have an influence in the location decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article replies in response to comments made to an empirical inquiry into the determination of dividend equivalence in stock redemptions. Since statistical tools incorporate and synthesize patterns developed in separate cases, they can often detect patterns which may not be readily observed by a descriptive analysis. While empirical techniques have been applied to a wide variety of tax and legal issues, they have taken two basic forms: hypothesis testing and identification of important variables. It is important to note that little or no emphasis has been placed on predicting future cases. The belief that statistical techniques cannot be adapted to complex areas of tax law ignores the valuable contributions of past empirical articles and dissertations. As this article has demonstrated, these studies are not intended to be used as predictive models of future cases but are designed to detect patterns often hidden by the complexity of the tax law. The authors believe that the results of their type of study can aid taxpayers in interpreting relevant judicial positions. The authors are of the views that the two forms of research, empirical and legal, complement each other. Consequently, traditional legal research is necessary in designing stock redemptions, but is not sufficient on its own.

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of the United States Supreme Court's Davis decision on subsequent court cases involving dividend equivalence in stock redemptions. Two discriminant analyses were performed on all post-1954 dividend equivalence cases litigated in Federal courts. Results of this study indicate that the 1970 Davis decision dramatically changed the judicial decision process. Two variables, valid business purpose and a plan to retire a shareholder's interest in the corporation, were found to be significant predictors of the decision before Davis with 75 percent of the pie-Davis cases correctly classified by these two variables. The decisions after Davis identified three totally different variables as significant: the percentage reduction in a shareholder's interest, the percentage of total voting stock owned by the shareholder after redemption, and the loss of special rights. These variables, which are more objective in nature, correctly classified 85.7 percent of the post-Davis decisions. This result suggests that taxpayer-shareholders should be able to correctly classify the factors that determine dividend equivalence and plan their stock redemptions so as to avoid passive dividend treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One method employed by businesses to increase the availability of depreciation deductions and investment tax credits is through the use of leveraged leases. In these transactions, tax benefits are transferred from taxpayers who do not have sufficient tax liabilities to those who do. Because these benefits are very mobile, the Internal Revenue Service historically has examined the substance rather than the form of leasing transactions to determine whether they were actually conditional sales transactions. Congress recently enacted safe-harbor rules defining when a lease exists between two or more parties in order to reduce the uncertainty which went with these types of transactions, and to encourage leveraged leasing transactions. However, these rules only apply to transactions where the lessor is a corporation. As a consequence, individuals, partnerships. Subchapter S corporations, and personal holding companies can not avail themselves of these safe-harbor rules but instead must follow a long line of judicial and administrative guidelines. This article reviews and analyzes these judicial decisions and administrative rulings to identify factors that noncorporate lessors can utilize to avoid having lease transactions reclassified as a sale. These factors are summarized in a table and the tax consequences of qualifying or not qualifying under the government's administrative procedures that act as guidelines for letter rulings is delineated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute Q fever diagnosis via paired serology is problematic because it requires follow-up for convalescent sample collection; as such, it cannot provide a diagnosis to inform a treatment decision at the time of acute presentation. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) may be a useful approach for the diagnosis of acute Q fever in endemic settings. Among febrile patients enrolled in a sentinel surveillance study for Q fever at two referral hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania, from 2012 to 2014, we analyzed those with paired sera for IgG to Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii) phase II antigens using immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) testing, and acute serum was tested for C. burnetii with PCR. Acute Q fever was defined as a fourfold or greater rise from the acute to convalescent sample in IFA reciprocal titer or PCR detection that was confirmed through repeat testing. Test characteristics were tabulated. Among 496 participants tested using both paired IFA and PCR testing, 463 (93.3%) tested negative on both IFA and PCR, five (1.0%) tested positive for Q fever on both IFA and PCR, and 28 (5.6%) tested positive for Q fever on IFA alone. The sensitivity of PCR testing using paired IFA testing as an index was 0.15 (5/33), and the specificity was 1 (463/463). C. burnetii PCR testing provides a clinically specific method that may aid in timely diagnosis in settings in which acute Q fever is a common cause of febrile illness. However, we found a low clinical sensitivity of PCR testing on serum when compared with paired IFA serology.

Background: A peri-urban outbreak of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) among dairy cattle from May through August 2018 in northern Tanzania was detected through testing samples from prospective livestock abortion surveillance. We sought to identify concurrent human infections, their phylogeny, and epidemiologic characteristics in a cohort of febrile patients enrolled from 2016-2019 at hospitals serving the epizootic area., Methods: From September 2016 through May 2019, we conducted a prospective cohort study that enrolled febrile patients hospitalized at two hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania. Archived serum, plasma, or whole blood samples were retrospectively tested for RVFV by PCR. Human samples positive for RVFV were sequenced and compared to RVFV sequences obtained from cattle through a prospective livestock abortion study. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on complete RVFV genomes., Results: Among 656 human participants, we detected RVFV RNA in four (0.6%), including one death with hepatic necrosis and other end-organ damage at autopsy. Humans infected with RVFV were enrolled from June through August 2018, and all resided in or near urban areas. Phylogenetic analysis of human and cattle RVFV sequences demonstrated that most clustered to lineage B, a lineage previously described in East Africa. A lineage E strain clustering with lineages in Angola was also identified in cattle., Conclusion: We provide evidence that an apparently small RVFV outbreak among dairy cattle in northern Tanzania was associated with concurrent severe and fatal infections among humans. Our findings highlight the unidentified scale and diversity of inter-epizootic RVFV transmission, including near and within an urban area., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America 2024.)

International travel can cause new illness or exacerbate existing conditions. Because primary care providers are frequent sources of health advice to travelers, they should be familiar with destination-specific disease risks, be knowledgeable about travel and routine vaccines, be prepared to prescribe chemoprophylaxis and self-treatment regimens, and be aware of travel medicine resources. Primary care providers should recognize travelers who would benefit from referral to a specialized travel clinic for evaluation. Those requiring yellow fever vaccination, immunocompromised hosts, pregnant persons, persons with multiple comorbid conditions, or travelers with complex itineraries may warrant specialty referral., Competing Interests: Disclosures: All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated. Disclosures can also be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M23-0801.

Risks during travel depend on travelers' comorbidities and trip activities. Travel on cruise ships, for pilgrimages or large events, or into the wilderness carries unique risks. Asking travelers about what activities they have planned or may do during travel can tailor the subsequent pretravel counseling points and help guide decisions about vaccines and drugs. Some prescriptions (eg, doxycycline for prophylaxis against leptospirosis) depend on the planned activities while abroad. Travelers should be prepared for potential emergencies and should be encouraged to research unique customs and laws in the countries they plan to visit before departure. The US State Department's website has resources that Americans traveling abroad should be familiar with, including information about the laws and customs of the destination country. It is important that travelers investigate the different insurance options or coverages before a trip, in case emergencies arise.