Patients With and Without Varicocele: Biochemical Markers

Patients With and Without Varicocele: Biochemical Markers Differences in Biochemical Markers and Body Mass Index Between Patients With and Without Varicocele Background: Varicocele is characterized by abnormal tortuosity and dilatation of the veins of the pampiniform plexus within the spermatic cord and is one of the causes of male infertility. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in bio- chemical markers and body mass index (BMI) between patients with and without varicocele. Methods: Between January 2004 and June 2009, 102 patients with varicocele (Group A) were evaluated. Ninety-five age-matched male patients who did not have varicocele were selected as controls (Group B). Varicocele was diagnosed by physical examination and confirmed by Doppler ultrasonography. The range of ages was between 18 and 50 years old. BMI, testosterone, serum alkaline phosphatase, calcium, lactic dehydrogenase, inorganic phosphate, ÃŽ ³-glutamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, cholesterol, triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotrans- ferase levels were measured for all the subjects. Results: The mean age was 35.4 years in group A and 36.5 years in group B. Of the 102 patients in group A, 20 were grade 1 varicocele, 55 were grade 2 and 27 were grade 3. The BMI (mean  ± SD) of patients with varicocele (22.8  ± 3.2) was significantly lower than that of patients without varicocele (24.9  ± 4.1). Patients with varicocele had significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than patients without varicocele (176.5  ± 31.1 vs. 187.7  ± 42.1 mg/dL). There were no significant differences for the other biochemical markers between the groups. Patients with grade 3 varicocele had a lower BMI than patients with grades 1 and 2 varicocele, but this was not significant. No significant differences were found for the other biochemical markers among the patients with grade 1, 2 or 3 varicocele. Conclusion: Patients with varicocele had significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than those without varicocele. In addition, the prevalence of varicocele was higher in patients with a lower BMI. Our findings suggest that patients with a greater BMI may have advantages in relieving the nutcracker phenomenon, which causes significant varicoceles. [J Chin Med Assoc 2010;73(4):194–198] Key Words: biochemical markers, body mass index, testosterone, varicocele Introduction Varicocele is characterized by abnormal tortuosity and dilatation of the veins of the pampiniform plexus within the spermatic cord and is one of the causes of male infertility. The prevalence of varicocele is approxi- mately 15–20% in the general population and 30–40% in infertile men.1 Furthermore, approximately 69–81% of men with secondary infertility have varicocele.2,3 Levinger et al proposed that varicocele prevalence is increased over time and the risk of incidence is approx- imately 10% for each decade of life.4 The definite eti- ology of varicocele is still unknown. Kumanov et al suggested that weight and body mass index (BMI) have a protective role, and height, penile length and penile circumference were negative factors in the *Correspondence to: Dr William J. Huang, Division of Urology, Depar tment of Surger y, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 201, Section 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei 112, Taiwan, R.O.C. E-mail: [emailprotected] à ¢-  Received: October 16, 2009 à ¢-  Accepted: Januar y 21, 2010 194 J Chin Med Assoc †¢ April 2010 †¢ Vol 73 †¢ No 4  © 2010 Elsevier Taiwan LLC and the Chinese Medical Association. All rights reserved. development of varicocele in 6,200 boys aged 0–19 years.5 Delaney et al demonstrated that patients with varicocele are significantly taller and heavier than age- matched controls.6 Nielsen et al reported that varico- celes are less likely to be diagnosed among obese men.7 The role of testosterone in the pathophysiology of varicocele is not established and testosterone might induce relaxation of the human internal spermatic vein.8 Sheriff showed that there was increased choles- terol and glyceride in the testes of patients with bilateral varicocele compared with those in controls.9 Odabas et al suggested that the levels of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) were higher in the spermatic vein than those in the peripheral vein.10 Other than findings on age, BMI and testosterone levels, there is limited information about the correla- tion between biochemical markers and varicocele. Therefore, we conducted this prospective study to evaluate differences between patients with and with- out varicocele with regard to BMI, testosterone levels and serum biochemical markers including hemoglo- bin, alkaline phosphatase (Alk-p), calcium, LDH, inor- ganic phosphate, ÃŽ ³-glutamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, cholesterol (Cho), triglyceride (TG), alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotrans- ferase levels. We also wished to determine possible risk factors in the pathogenesis of varicocele. Methods Patients From January 2004 to June 2009, 102 patients with varicocele (Group A) were included for evaluation for this study. Ninety-five male patients who did not have varicocele were selected as controls (Group B). All of the 197 patients were normal, healthy young to middle-aged males. They were from the outpatient Department of Urology or had received a regular physi- cal check-up at the hospital. Varicocele was diagnosed by physical examination and confirmed by Doppler ultra- sonography. Varicocele grades were defined as: grade 1, palpable only with the Valsalva maneuver; grade 2, palpable without the Valsalva maneuver; and grade 3, visible from a distance.11 Patients with subclinical vari- cocele were excluded from the study. The range of ages was between 18 and 50 years old. BMI, and testos- terone, Alk-p, calcium, LDH, inorganic phosphate, glu- tamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, Cho, TG, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotrans- ferase and hemoglobin levels were mea sured in all of the patients (normal ranges: BMI testosterone, 241–827 ng/dL; Alk-p, 100–280 U/L; calcium, 8.1–10.7 mg/dL; LDH, 95–213 U/L; inor- ganic phosphate, 2.1–4.7 mg/dL; glutamine transpepti- dase, 8–60 U/L; uric acid, 2.5–7.2 mg/dL; albumin, 3.7– 5.3 g/dL; iron, 35–200 ÃŽ ¼g/dL; Cho, 125–240 mg/dL; TG, 20–200 mg/dL; alanine aminotransferase, 0–40 U/L; aspartate aminotransferase, 5–45 U/L; hemo- globin, 12–16 g/dL). Patients with poor control of diabetes mellitus, hypertension or other systemic dis- ease or BMI 40 were excluded from the study. Patients were examined in a warm room while standing up and the scrotum was inspected and pal- pated. All the patients received Doppler ultrasonogra- phy of the scrotum. All the patients signed informed consent, and the study was approved by the Institu- tional Review Board of Taipei City Hospital. Statistical analysis The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis, with p Results The mean age was 35.4 years in group A and 36.5 years old in group B. Data for age, BMI, testosterone levels and biochemical markers for patients in both groups, and different grades of varicocele are shown in Tables 1 and 2. There were no significant differences in age between the patients of groups A and B and among the patients with different grades of varicocele (grades 1, 2 and 3). Of the 102 patients in group A, 19.6% were grade 1, 53.9% were grade 2 and 26.5% were grade 3. The BMI of patients with varicocele was significantly lower (p = 0.03) than that in patients without varicocele (Table 1). Patients with varicocele had lower serum levels of Cho, TG and testosterone and higher serum levels of LDH and Alk-p than patients without varicocele, but only Cho was significantly dif- ferent (p = 0.03, Table 1). There were no significant differences in the other biochemical markers between the patients of groups A and B (Table 1). Patients with grade 3 varicocele had a lower BMI than patients with grades 1 and 2 varicocele, but this was not significantly different (Table 2). Patients with grade 3 varicocele had lower serum levels of Cho and testosterone and higher serum levels of LDH and Alk-p than patients with low grade varicocele (grades 1 and 2), but this was not significant. There were no signifi- cant differences in any of the other biochemical markers among the patients with grades 1, 2, and 3 varicocele (Table 2). Table 1. Age, serum biochemical markers, testosterone and BMI in groups A and B* A (n = 102) B (n = 95) p†  *Data presented as mean  ± standard deviation; † statistical analysis by Mann-Whitney U test. A = group A, with varicocele; B = group B, without varicocele; Alk-p = alkaline phosphatase; LDH = lactic dehydrogenase; IP = inorganic phosphate; g-GT = g-glutamine transpeptidase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; AST = aspartate aminotransferase; BMI = body mass index. Table 2. Age, serum biochemical markers, testosterone and BMI according to different grades of varicocele* Grade 1 (n = 20) Grade 2 (n = 55) Grade 3 (n = 27) p†  *Data presented as mean  ± standard deviation; † statistical analysis by Kruskal-Wallis test. Alk-p = alkaline phosphatase; LDH = lactic dehydrogenase; IP = inorganic phosphate; g-GT = g-glutamine transpeptidase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; AST = aspartate aminotransferase; BMI = body mass index. Discussion Tsao et al showed that the prevalence and severity of varicoceles is inversely correlated with obesity, which indicates that obesity may result in a decreased nut- cracker effect.12 Handel et al reported that the preva- lence of varicocele decreases with increasing BMI, and the reason for this is that increased adipose tissue decreases compression of the left renal vein and pre- vents detection due to adipose tissue in the spermatic cord.13 In the present study, patients with varicocele had a lower BMI than normal age-matched controls, but patients with grade 3 varicocele did not have a sig- nificantly lower BMI than patients with lower-grade varicocele. The different etiology between our study and that of Tsao et al may be because patients in the previous study were young males serving in the army, which was different from our patients, but the etiol- ogy needs further evaluation. We found that obese or overweight (BMI ≠¥ 25) patients might have higher serum levels of Cho and TG than normal subjects (BMI Kumanov et al demonstrated that gynecomastia is negatively correlated with BMI.15 Low serum follicle- stimulating hormone and high testosterone are good prognostic factors for varicocelectomy.16 Ishikawa and Fujisawa showed that the vasodilatory effect of testosterone is decreased in high grade varicocele and they suggested that serum free testosterone will be in- creased after varicocele repair.17 Ghosh and York have reported that testosterone levels are lower and Alk-p levels are higher in the testis of varicocele-created rats.18 In our study, patients with varicocele had lower serum levels of testosterone and higher serum levels of Alk-p than patients without varicocele. In addition, patients with grade 3 varicocele had lower serum levels of testosterone and higher serum levels of Alk-p than patients with low grade varicocele. Both parameters did not reach statistical significance, and the reason might be due to a large standard deviation for testo- sterone and Alk-p levels. Therefore, the role of testo- sterone and Alk-p in patients with varicocele needs further evaluation; however, we did not measure folli- cle-stimulating hormone in this study. Our previous study showed that more free radicals might be gener- ated in varicocele veins than in the corresponding peripheral veins in patients with varicocele, because 8-hydroxy-2 -deoxyguanosine levels of leukocyte DNA in spermatic veins are higher than in the correspond- ing peripheral veins in these patients.19 Yesilli et al showed that LDH and malondialdehyde levels are greater in the sperm of infertile men with varicocele, but the levels of LDH and malondialdehyde does not decrease after varicocelectomy.20 In the present study, serum levels of LDH were higher in patients with varic- ocele than in patients without varicocele. Further- more, higher serum levels of LDH were found in patients with high-grade varicocele than in patients with lower-grade varicocele. Neither of these findings was statistically significant. Therefore, the effect of LDH in patients with varicocele needs further evaluation. Our findings suggest that an increase in body fat might be associated with relieving the nutcracker phe- nomenon of the superior mesenteric artery to the left renal vein. However, this study had some limitations. First, we did not compare the change in severity of varicocele in the same individual as BMI changed over time. Second, we did not use other imaging studies, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, to demonstrate the relationship between vis- ceral fat and the region of the superior mesenteric artery, left renal vein and aorta. Third, the case numbers were small from an epidemiological view, because all of the subjects needed to have data for biochemical mark- ers, which restricted the patient numbers. Therefore, we need to include more cases in future studies. In conclusion, patients with varicocele might have significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than patients without varicocele. In addition, our findings support the hypothesis that patients with a greater BMI may have advantages in relieving the nutcracker phe- nomenon causing significant varicoceles, but further studies are required to clarify this issue. References 1. Jarrow JP. Effects of varicocele on male infertility. Hum Reprod Update 2001;7:59–64. 2. Witt MA, Lipshultz LI. Varicocele: a progressive or static lesion? Urology 1993;42:541–3. 3. Gorelick JI, Goldstein M. Loss of fertility in men with varicocele. Fertil Steril 1993;59:613–6. 4. Levinger U, Gornish M, Gat Y, Bachar GN. Is varicocele preva- lence increasing with age? Andrologia 2007;39:77–80. 5. Kumanov P, Robeva RN, Tomova A. Adolescent varicocele: who is at risk? Pediatrics 2008;121:53–7. 6. Delaney DP, Carr MC, Kolon TF, Snyder HM, Zderic SA. The physical characteristics of young males with varicocele. BJU Int 2004;94:624–6. 7. Nielsen ME, Zderic S, Freedland SJ, Jarrow JP. Insight on patho- genesis of varicocele: relationship of varicocele and body mass index. Urology 2006;68:392–6. 8. Irkilata HC, Yildiz O, Yildirim I, Seyrek M, Basal S, Dayanc M, Ulku C. The vasodilator effect of testosterone on the human internal spermatic vein and its relation to varicocele grade. J Urol 2008;180:772–6. 9. Sheriff DS. The lipid composition of human testis in patients with bilateral varicocele as cause of infertility. Andrologia 1982;14: 150–3. 10. Odabas O, Yilmaz Y, Atilla MK, Tarakcioglu M, Aydin S. Can LDH activity in spermatic vein indicate testicular damage? A preliminary report. Int Urol Nephrol 1998;30:599–601. 11. Dubin L, Amelar RD. Varicocelectomy: 986 cases in a twelve- year study. Urology 1977;10:446–9. 12. Tsao CW, Hsu CY, Chou YC, Wu ST, Sun GH, Yu DS, Fan PL, et al. The relationship between varicoceles and obesity in a young adult population. Int J Androl 2009;32:385–90. 13. Handel LN, Shetty R, Sigman M. The relationship between varicoceles and obesity. J Urol 2006;176:2138–40. 14. Sultan Sheriff D. Further studies on testicular lipids and glyco- gen in human patients with unilateral varicocele. Andrologia 1984;16:442–5. 15. Kumanov P, Deepinder F, Robeva R, Tomova A, Li J, Agarwal A. Relationship of adolescent gynecomastia with varicocele and somatometric parameters: a cross-sectional study in 6200 healthy boys. J Adolesc Health 2007;41:126–31. 16. Kondo Y, Ishikawa T, Yamaguchi K, Fujisawa M. Predictors of improved seminal characteristics by varicocele repair. Andrologia 2009;41:20–3. 17. Ishikawa T, Fujisawa M. Varicocele ligation on free testosterone levels in infertile men with varicocele. Arch Androl 2004;50:443–8. 18. Ghosh PK, York JP. Changes in testicular testosterone and acid and alkaline phosphatase activity in testis and accessory sex organs after induction of varicocele in Noble rats. J Surg Res 1994;56:271–6. 19. Chen SS, Huang WJ, Chang LS, Wei YH. 8-Hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine in leukocyte DNA of spermatic vein as a bio- marker of oxidative stress in patients with varicocele. J Urol 2004;172:1418–21. 20. Yesilli C, Mungan G, Seckiner I, Akduman B, Acikgoz S, Altan K, Mungan A. Effect of varicocelectomy on sperm creatine kinase, HspA2 chaperone protein, LDH, LDH-X, and lipid peroxidation product levels in infertile men with varicocele. Urology 2005;66:610–5.

Fancy Footwork

Most countries have their own cultural traditions, and China is no exception. Street dancing is not very popular in the United States, especially in Sacramento, since people have busy life styles and urban management law enforcement. Sometimes people go to clubs dancing when they have free time or hang out with friends. However, in China, we can see a lot of ladies dancing in square or open spaces like parks or parking lots during morning time or after dinner time. People can join the street dances everywhere from big cities to small towns. Many community owners and residents oppose the square dance in the community due to their loud music, and some people think this loud music has seriously affected their lives, so residents expelled dancing ladies at the beginning. As time went by, people started to accept and adjust to the environment around them. Street dances have become one aspect of culture in China. Moreover, it is also considered a social phenomenon in China. The streets have become a colorful world at night. Why? Since there are elderly people or middle-aged people enjoy the dancing in the square. Some people dance and sing, other people are into fitness, and some naughty children follow the funny action of the dancing ladies. Even though the dancers are old, they still have vibrant vitality and graceful dance posture. They are well-behaved and rhythmic. They have neatly arranged team, and the people dressed uniform clothing wearing a blue and white T-shirt, trousers, and white gloves, really like the people's liberation army in the military parade. My grandma couldn't help to join the team when she saw the spectacular scenery. When I was a child, my grandma always took me to the square dance because it was her routine. Her joints are flexible and soft like snakes. Her beautiful dance leisurely soft like butterfly flying and smooth wicker twisting. Street dance in the Chinese mainland; both north and south are very common, mostly participants experienced the Cultural Revolution generations of the elderly. In China, the middle-aged and elderly women who dance at street dance have been given the title of â€Å"Guang Chang Da Ma Wu† which is street dance. Accompanied by elegant music and lightweight pace of dancers, people know where they should go for dancing, and usually they have stable places. Although sometimes rain couldn't stop their activities, they go to indoor grounds. Many people join the street dancing because it is very cheap and avoid traffic to go far away to clubs. For example, it is reported as being 5 RMB per month. It depends where you live. If you live in the big cities like Guangzhou, Shanghai, or Beijing, it will be about 20 RMB, which is three dollars. I still enjoyed dinner with my family while the music is open as loud as trains outside of my home. It is very convenient being next door. It seems to tell people that it is time go out dancing. When foreign tourists travel to China, they are completely impression by â€Å"Guang Chang Da Ma Wu†. They may think dancers are so ridiculous since they play loud music and occupy a lot of public places; also, they annoy many other residents. Because so many dancers like to dance very early in the morning, for example, around 6:00am, this does not allow sleeping-in on weekends. The noise also bothers some people at work when the dancers are active during working hours. Additionally, this can cause a lot of trafficproblems and displace other sports. Street dancing seems weird in other countries, but it creates a good atmosphere of helping, learning, exchange of feeling, friendship, growth of knowledge and fitness, bringing together people of different levels qualities and interests. When I look back at the life in China, I have vivid images of the street dance around my home in my head. Loud music has been coming in my ear which seems to have happened yesterday. â€Å"Guang Chang Da Ma Wu† has become significant, not only in my family, but it is a major culture of Chinese society. Street dance has become the soul of Chinese culture. It is inherited from generation to generation.

Mass Merger - the Case of Aon Singapore - 1964 Words

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Identity Theft Essay - 832 Words

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Societies are stratified in three ways which are,1) Social Class; 2) Racial and Ethnic stratification; and 3) Gender. 1) Social Class: According to Karl Marx, Class society is based around a primary line of division between two antagonistic classes, those who owns the means of production and those who do not own. Comer added to it in 1978 â€Å"Social Class implies having or not having the following: individual rights,Read MorePatriarchal Society : An Critique Of The Environmental Influence Of Gender Bias973 Words   |  4 PagesPatriarchal Society: An Analysis of the Environmental Influence of Gender Bias in Advertisements This study will define the environmental influence of patriarchal societal values on women that create an undue gender bias in popular culture. In â€Å"Sex and Molecules†, the narrow view of sex identity through a â€Å"scientific† view of biology defines the limitations of gender roles in a patriarchal society: â€Å"And â€Å"biology† excludes the dynamic interweaving of our physical beings with our experience withinRead MoreControversy Of Sex Changes And The Rights Of Transgenders1335 Words   |  6 PagesTransgenders What defines our gender? Is it the fact that we were born with certain genitals? Or that our parents dressed us in pink or blue? Is our gender defined by the toys we played with as children and the interests we had as young adults? While most of us identify as the gender we were born as, over one million people in the US alone admit to being transgender. Transgender is ‘an umbrella term that refers to those with identities that cross over, move between,or otherwise challenge the sociallyRead MoreSexism : Women Are Weak, Less Intelligent, And Less Important Than Men1399 Words   |  6 Pagesof masculinity to toughness and competitiveness† and â€Å"the subordination of women.† Cornell claims that â€Å"such an idealized form of masculinity becomes hegemonic when it is widely accepted in a culture and when that acceptance reinforces the dominant gender ideology of the culture† (pp. 290-291). AsTrujillo (1991, pp. 291-292) put it, hegemonic masculine characteristics include â€Å"power defined in terms of physical force and control,† success defined in terms of occupational achievement in traditionalRead MoreGendered Spaces Of Gender And Gender Essay1519 Words   |  7 Pagesplacement of genders. Biopolitics is a system of controlling the way people live and move through storing order or restriction. Therefore, this makes gendered spaces biopolitical; given that gendered spaces control the movement of genders. Gender bias not to be confused with sexism; means to be prejudice and discriminate against another gender. In other words, it is the belief that one gender is superior over another, typically men over women. In order to truly understand gender bias and demonstrateRead MoreThe Common Denominator of Security and Feminism600 Words   |  3 Pagesunderstanding of men`s security. The link between feminism and security points out that understanding security issue s needs an enlargement to include specific security concerns and beliefs of women. This research emphasizes context-based interpretations of gender in human security. 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Spanish Free Essays

1. White persons, percent, 2010: Towson 80% and Maryland 50% 2. High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2006-2010: Towson 94% and Maryland 88% 3. We will write a custom essay sample on Spanish or any similar topic only for you Order Now Bachelor’s degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2006-2010: Towson 60% and Maryland 35% 4. Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2006-2010: Towson 23. 7 and Maryland 31. 3 5. Median household income 2006-2010: Towson $72,949 and Maryland $70,647 What would he or she find? Based on your knowledge of your hometown, list out the positive and negative things you think the ethnographer might find. Positive: In the city of Towson 94% of people 25+ have graduated high school and that is 7% more than the Maryland as a whole. 60% of the people 25+ in Towson have a bachelor’s degree, which is almost double the Maryland percentage. The median household income is also high, $72,949. The average mean time to travel to work is also significantly lower than Maryland’s average time which implies that the surrounding area has more opportunities for employment than other places. Negative: The population of Towson is 80% white so it isn’t an very diverse area and that coupled with the moderate prosperity of the area could possibly lower the cultural awareness of the people of Towson. *What are some things that strike you about your hometown based on census data? What might the researcher learn if  only  reviewing the statistical data from census records? What are some things that might be misunderstood about your hometown from only reviewing census data? The most striking thing is the lack of diversity and high percentage of well-educated individuals in the area. If a researcher only studied Towson through the data it would seem like a city with low diversity and financially stable white individuals. But some thing that could be misunderstood is the area’s diversity. Towson has Towson University in the center off it, which draws a large amount of international and out of state students. These students increase the diversity of Towson dramatically and influence a lot of the commercial aspects of Towson. *Discuss the utility of qualitative and quantitative research. How does one complement the other? While quantitative research helps generalize the traits of an area through the use of statistics, qualitative research goes past the numbers and looks at factors that are harder to turn into numerical values. How to cite Spanish, Essay examples

Internal Revenue Code and Automobiles

Question: Discuss about the Internal Revenue Code and Automobiles. Answer: Introduction: Rulings on taxation 92/3 of Income Tax Assessment Act specify the provisions on tax liability on the profits incurred from the transactions apart from the transactions in the ordinary course of business. Isolated transaction is the transaction that takes place other than the business and profession or if it has been conducted by the non- business assesses. Considering the taxability of the income from isolated transaction, it would be added to the assessable income of the assessee if the taxpayers purpose is to incur profit or gain from the transaction. Further, the income earned by the Australian resident either directly or indirectly shall be computable as an ordinary income as per section 6-5 of Income Tax Assessment Act (ITAA) 1997 (Heckemeyer and Overesch 2013). Considering the present case, Peta acquired a house, two years ago at Kew, Australia, which had two tennis court attached. She bought the house property for the purpose of residence and for constructing the housing units on the tennis courts, which is meant to be sold at profit in the future years. However, in the current taxation year Peta received an offer for the sale of tennis courts provided it remain in good condition. Peta used $100,000 for renovating the old tennis court into good condition and sold the same for $600,000. As per section, 6-5 of ITAA97 profit or gain from the sale of property considers as an ordinary income if the same has been transacted in the ordinary course of business. On the contrary, if the profit earned from the sale of the property does not constitute the business of the assessee then the same will be regarded as the capital income. In the present situation, sale of tennis courts in the current tax year was not a part of Petas ordinary business course therefore, it has been considered as income from isolated transaction as per taxation ruling 92/3. Considering the decided case of The Myer Emporium Ltd (1987) v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation 163 CLR 199, tax liability of the profit or gain earned from isolated transaction is based on the intention or purpose of the assessee. It has been stated that if the purpose of the assessee is to earn profit from the sale of the property then the same will be included in the assessable income (Benshalom 2013). However, if the assessees objective is not to earn income from the property sale, which is not in the ordinary course of the business then the income, will be considered as a capital income of the taxpayer. Based on the case of Westfield Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation, the assessee contended the argument on inclusive of income in the assessable income from the sale of parcel of land. The company contended that the intention of the taxpayer was not to earn profit from the sale of land and therefore the same should not be considered as an ordinary income of the taxpayer. According to the provisions and taxation rules 92/3, the court decided the profit would not be included in the assessable income since the intention of the taxpayer company was not incur profit or gain (Haufler and Sthler 2013). Therefore, the income by way of sale of property would be considered as a capital income and not as a revenue income. Moreover, in the present situation Peta acquired the house property including the tennis court with the intention to reside in one part and to earn profit from the sale of units on tennis courts. On the contrary, the nature of the transaction for sale of tennis court was not in the ordinary course of Petas business. The residential purpose in one of the parts of the house property was considered to be the investment made by Peta. As per the taxation rulings 92/3 the transaction entered on sale of tennis court would be regarded as income from an isolated transaction as Peta was not engaged in the ordinary business of sale of property (Schfer et al. 2012). Therefore, the tax liability of the income earned by Peta from the isolated transaction would be analyzed as per the purpose or intention to conduct the sale of tennis court. It had been observed that the intention of Peta for buying the house property was for residential purpose and the intention to buy the tennis court was to sale the same at profit. Hence, the profit incurred from the sale of tennis court would be included in the assessable income of Peta at $500,000 ($600,000- $100,000) as per ITAA 97 in the current taxation year. Consequences of Fringe Benefit Tax for ABC Pty Ltd The provisions of Fringe Benefit Tax Assessment Act (FBTAA) 1986 regulate fringe benefits provided by the employers to the workers and staffs. Additionally, taxability of the allowances in terms of fringe benefit is regulated by the taxation ruling 97/17 of ITAA 97. Fringe benefit according to the section 136 FBTAA 1986 is defined as the advantages or benefits provided by the employer in lieu of services rendered by the employers or workers (Hodgson and Pearce 2015). On the benefits provided to the employee, the employers are obligated to pay tax on the benefits according to the percentage as mentioned in the taxation rulings. In the given situation, ABC Pty Ltd offered allowances to its employee Alan in the current taxation year 2016, which is required to be taxed on the basis of FBTAA 1986 and ITAA 97. As per the section 136 in FBTAA 1986 taxability of benefits provided by employer is measured by considering higher gross- up rate as well as lower gross- up rate (Pearce and Hodgson 2015). According to the taxation ruling 97/17, Higher gross- up rate is applicable to the assesses for determining the taxable value of fringe benefits who pays Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the amount of the benefit. It is also known as type 1. Moreover, the benefit providers including the GST are entitled to claim credit on GST, which is known as Gross Credible Benefits. On the contrary, Lower gross- up rate is applicable to the taxpayers not entitled to claim credit on GST because the employers do not pay GST on the value of benefits provided to the employees (Kelliher 2014). According to the section 58 X, FBTAA 1986, several allowances provided by the employers are considered as exempted benefits. Any benefits provided by the employer or any reimbursements made by the employers in lieu of the expenditures related to the employers work falls under the exempted benefits as contained in the TR97/17. In case the amount of benefit or any property is provided by the employer related to the business or work then the same would be included in the exempted benefits as per section 58X of FBTAA 1986. Such exempted items includes electronic gadgets of mobile, computer peripherals, software, office bag or briefcase, protective clothes or any tools or appliances related to work (Webster, Guo and O'Connell 2014). Considering the stated provisions and taxation rulings, tax consequences of the benefits provided by ABC Pty Ltd to Alan explained as under: Salary payment under a remuneration package: Section 58X FBTAA 1986 provides the consequences of fringe benefits for the payment of salary to the employees that are associated to the employers work. It states that the amount of salary provided by the employer would not be liable for taxability in the hands of the employer in the current taxation year (King and Case 2015). Therefore, payment of salary $300,000 provided by ABC Ltd to Alan constitute as exempted fringe benefit because the payment was related to the companys work as at 31 March 2016. Mobile phone bill payment: The payment of bill for the mobile phone amounted to $220 per month included the payment of GST. ABC Ltd reimbursed it for the phone given to Alan for the purpose of work therefore, the taxable value of the payment would be considered by using the high- gross up value. According to the TR 97/17 ITAA 97 and section 58X FBTAA 1986, payments or allowances paid for the mobile phone is exempted but the allowances for bill amount is taxable under the provision of fringe benefits. Hence, the company is liable to pay tax on the assessable value of mobile bill at the rate of 49% for the current year ended on 31 March 2016. Phone bill allowance (including GST) (i) $ 2,640.00 ($220.00* 12 months) Higher Gross up rate (ii) 2.1463 Taxable amount of allowance (i* ii) $ 5,666.232 Tax on Fringe Benefit @ 49% on $ 5,666.232 as on 31 March, 2016 $ 2,776.453 (Subject to the input tax credits or GST credits) Table 1: FBT on mobile bill payment (Sources: Created by author) Allowances on childrens education fees: The Company offered the allowances on payment of education fees for Alans children on the yearly basis amounted to $20,000, which was exclusive of GST. Considering the provision and taxation ruling 97/17, ABC Ltd is liable to pay tax on assessable value of education fees by using the lower gross- up rate. Education fees (GST free) (i) $ 20,000.00 Lower gross- up rate (ii) 1.9608 Taxable value (i* ii) $ 39,216.00 Tax on Fringe Benefit @ 49% on $ 39,216.00 as on 31 March 2016 $ 19,215.84 Table 2: FBT on education fees payment (Sources: Created by author) Benefit of mobile phone: ABC Limited provided the mobile device to Alan the amount of which was inclusive of GST charges. According to the section 58X FBTAA 1986, amount paid for mobile device is an exempted benefit if the same is provided for the purpose of work. Since the purpose of providing benefit on mobile device is not mentioned following three situations would be considered as follows: Firstly, in case the phone is assumed to be provided by the company is for work purpose, then the amount of mobile device $2,000 falls under the exempted fringe benefit as per section 58X FBTAA1986. Secondly, in case the device is used by Alan for the personal purpose then the company is liable to pay tax on the assessable value. Further, the assessable value should be computed by using higher gross- up rate because the amount is inclusive of GST. Cost of the handset (including GST) (i) $ 2,000.00 Higher Gross up rate (ii) 2.1463 Taxable value (i* ii) $ 4,292.60 Tax on Fringe Benefit @ 49% on $ 4,292.60 as on 31 March 2016 $ 2,103.37 (Subject to the input tax credits or GST credits) Table 3: FBT on mobile phone handset (Sources: Created by author) Thirdly, in case the mobile device is partly used by used by Alan for personal purpose as well as partly for the work purpose then the amount allocated for work is considered to be exempted as per TR97/17. On the other hand, the amount allocated for the personal use of the phone by Alan should be taxable according to TR97/17. However, it is difficult to segregate the division of amount of mobile phone therefore; it has been assumed that the phone has been utilized for personal purpose. Hence, the same will be taxable as determined in the second option. Expenses incurred on dinner party: TR 97/17 of ITAA 97 requires the taxability of allowances provided by employer on the entertainment by way of food and drink. Since the dinner party organized by ABC Ltd falls under the category of entertainment by way of food and drink, the company is entitled to pay tax on the assessable value of the expenses spent for the party. Computation of fringe benefit tax for the year ended 31 March 2016 Total cost of dinner including GST (i) $ 6,600.00 Higher Gross up rate (ii) 2.1463 Taxable value (i* ii) $14,165.58 Tax on Fringe Benefit @ 49% on $ 14,165.58 $ 6,941.13 (Subject to the input tax credits or GST credits) Table 4: FBT on entertainment allowance (Sources: Created by author) Consequences of FBT if there were 5 employees Tax liability on the amount of benefits offered by the company cannot be determined based on the number of employees. The taxability on the expenses or allowances depends on the nature and reason for the utilization of the amount of benefits. Therefore, the tax consequences on the expenses spent on dinner party would remain same even if the number of employees were 5 instead of 20 employees. Consequences of FBT if the clients also attend the annual party In case, the clients of ABC Pty Ltd attend the annual party then the cost of the dinner would not be constituted as fringe benefit since it is related to the employees only. If the clients of the company attend the dinner party, then such expenses would be considered as business expenses. The company would be eligible to claim deduction on such expenses according to ITAA97. Reference List Benshalom, I., 2013. Rethinking the Source of the Arm's-Length Transfer Pricing Problem.Virginia Tax Review,32(3), pp.425-459. Haufler, A. and Sthler, F., 2013. Tax competition in a simple model with heterogeneous firms: How larger markets reduce profit taxes.International Economic Review,54(2), pp.665-692. Heckemeyer, J. and Overesch, M., 2013. Multinationals' profit response to tax differentials: Effect size and shifting channels.ZEW-Centre for European Economic Research Discussion Paper, (13-045). Hodgson, H. and Pearce, P., 2015. TravelSmart or travel tax breaks: is the fringe benefits tax a barrier to active commuting in Australia? 1.eJournal of Tax Research,13(3), p.819. Kelliher, C.F., 2014. A Tax Planning Case Using a Taxpayer Life-Cycle Approach.Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research, Volume 17) Emerald Group Publishing Limited,17, pp.119-160. King, D. and Case, C., 2015. AAn international individual income tax comparsion: the united states, australia, and united kingdom.Editorial review board, p.77. Pearce, P. and Hodgson, H., 2015. Promoting smart travel through tax policy.Tax Specialist,19(1), p.2. Schfer, D., Schulmeister, S., Vella, J., Masciandaro, D., Passarelli, F. and Buckley, R.P., 2012. The financial transaction taxBoon or bane?.Intereconomics,47(2), pp.76-103. Webster, M., Guo, Y.M. and O'Connell, A., 2014. Expatriate employees and consultants working in China.Austl. Tax F.,29, p.587.