Shuangge Wen

Less is More - A Critical View of Further EU Action Towards a Harmonised Corporate Governance Framework in the Wake of the Crisis

We formed the GEnetics of Nephropathy–an International Effort (GENIE) consortium to examine previously reported genetic associations with diabetic nephropathy (DN) in type 1 diabetes. GENIE consists of 6,366 similarly ascertained participants of European ancestry with type 1 diabetes, with and without DN, from the All Ireland-Warren 3-Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes U.K. and Republic of Ireland (U.K.-R.O.I.) collection and the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study (FinnDiane), combined with reanalyzed data from the Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes U.S. Study (U.S. GoKinD). We found little evidence for the association of the EPO promoter polymorphism, rs161740, with the combined phenotype of proliferative retinopathy and end-stage renal disease in U.K.-R.O.I. (odds ratio [OR] 1.14, P = 0.19) or FinnDiane (OR 1.06, P = 0.60). However, a fixed-effects meta-analysis that included the previously reported cohorts retained a genome-wide significant association with that phenotype (OR 1.31, P = 2 × 10−9). An expanded investigation of the ELMO1 locus and genetic regions reported to be associated with DN in the U.S. GoKinD yielded only nominal statistical significance for these loci. Finally, top candidates identified in a recent meta-analysis failed to reach genome-wide significance. In conclusion, we were unable to replicate most of the previously reported genetic associations for DN, and significance for the EPO promoter association was attenuated.

The Cogs and Wheels of Reflexive Law – Business Disclosure under the Modern Slavery Act

In response to the novel challenges posed by labour exploitation in the contemporary business context, recent years have witnessed an increasing adoption of reflexive law in the form of slavery disclosure, s. 54 of the United Kingdom Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) being the latest attempt. Given that the pragmatic usages and effects of reflexive law have been explored far less to date than its conceptual and jurisprudential implications, this article seeks to put matters right by critically examining the use of this regulatory mode in the context of s. 54. It also aims to contribute to the broader appraisal of regulatory methods by comparing reflexive laws with the traditional regulatory dichotomy which has long dominated debates on globalized business and human rights.