Feeding and foraging ecology of Trindade petrels Pterodroma arminjoniana during the breeding period in the South Atlantic Ocean

Seabirds breeding in tropical environments experience high energetic demands, when foraging in an oligotrophic environment. The globally threatened Trindade petrel Pterodroma arminjoniana has its largest colony in Trindade Island (20°30′S–29°19′W) inside the oligotrophic South Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. Diet sampling methods, geolocator tracking and stable isotope analysis were used to describe its diet, compare foraging trips and distributions, and assess temporal variations in the trophic niche throughout the breeding period. Diet consisted mainly of squid and fish. The high species diversity and wide range of prey sizes consumed suggests the use of multiple foraging techniques. Stable isotope mixing models confirm that Trindade petrels rely mainly on squid throughout the breeding period. Its broad isotopic niche seems to reflect both a diverse diet and foraging range, since birds can reach up to 3335 km from the colony. Isotopic niche showed limited variation even in an 8-year interval, apparently due to oceanographic stability, although changes in the isotopic niche have demonstrated an adjustment to different conditions in different seasons. Petrels change foraging areas and prey during the breeding period: pre-incubating birds use more productive areas west of Trindade Island and obtain low trophic position prey; incubating petrels perform longer trips southward to consume prey of high trophic position; and chick-rearing petrels use areas around the island. These results demonstrate that to deal with high demand breeding in a colony surrounded by oligotrophic waters, Trindade petrels need to explore wide foraging areas and utilize a diverse diet, besides adjusting trophic niche according to breeding stage

Impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak on mental health and psychiatric drug use among portuguese pharmacy professionals

The COVID-19 outbreak was considered a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020 [1]. This outbreak has raised public health problems, bringing with it several implications both on physical and psychological level, in particular for health professionals on the front line of the pandemic, for the greater risk of infection [2,3]. In this sense, it is pertinent to evaluate how the COVID-19 outbreak had implications on the mental health and in the consumption of psychotropic drugs in Portugal, and among pharmacy professionals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Human resource lens: perceived performances of ISO 9001:2015 certified service firms

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: One of the key indicators in the evaluation of service quality is the execution of a Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015) and the success of any organization lies in its ability to effectively manage its resources. Human resources play an integral role in this process, and their contribution to quality management systems is invaluable. This study described the profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, working experience, employee position, and sector of an organization. This study also assessed respondents' attitudes toward hiring and selection, compensation and rewards, and training and development. Additionally, this study tried to establish a strong correlation between the respondent profile and their attitudes regarding education and training, recruitment and selection, and compensation and rewards.METHODS: This study used a descriptive quantitative method. A total of 150 employees of the ISO 9001:2015 certified service sector within the Cities in Nueva Ecija were surveyed using a survey questionnaire.FINDINGS: Findings present 40% of the respondents came from Generation Y and 26.67 respondents from Generation Z.  The respondents' attitudes toward the training and development practices of various service firms found that the highest mean of 3.52 representing a distinct plan for learning and development and encouraging employees to participate in relevant training programs got the second-highest weighted mean of 3.47. Having a criterion to measure the effectiveness of the training got the lowest weighted mean of 3.09. This study also determines the attitude of the employees on recruitment and selection practices of their respective organizations. Filling up vacancies with internally qualified employees got the highest weighted mean of 3.32 followed by informing the applicants about the job conditions needed to achieve a job before hiring, Furthermore, the posting of job advertisements got a weighted mean of 2.19. Lastly, the respondents' attitude toward rewards and compensation practices showed the highest score of 3.59 that Employees are encouraged to accomplish the company's goals by their compensation packages. Other rewards and compensation practices include satisfactory rewards and compensation system, salary satisfaction, rewarding employee collaboration, and reviewing salary increments, bonuses, and other allowances fairly and justifiably with a weighted mean of 3.37, 3.32, 2.85, and 2.77, respectively.CONCLUSION: The results show that specific practices of Human Resource Management, which have been identified, are crucial to improving organizational performance since they contribute to the success of businesses

Normalização contabilística em Portugal: situação actual e futura

En Portugal la Comisión de Normalización Contable, como consecuencia de la estrategia relativa a la Armonización de la Contabilidad Internacional de la Unión Europea y a la publicación del Reglamento (CE) nº 1606/2002 del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, elaboró un proyecto de normalización que considera dos niveles de adaptación de las NIC/NIRF: - Uno más exigente destinado a sociedades de mayor dimensión. - Otro menos exigente dirigido a sociedades de menor dimensión. Por medio de la realización de un cuestionario realizado a profesionales de contabilidad, se verificó insuficiente el conocimiento que estos tienen todavía del proceso de normalización y que sería conveniente una mayor implicación de las organizaciones profesionales y entidades de enseñanza superior en la discusión de las diferentes opciones

Progress in the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) applied to the taxonomy of the genus Bursaphelenchus (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchidae)

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been a major tool in detailed morphological observations of plant parasitic nematodes during the last 30 years, efficiently complementing light microscopical (LM) studies. Nematodes are extremely difficult to observe and characterize due to their small size (aprox. 1 mm long) and paucity of morphological characters, so detailed surface observations of several organs and nematode regions are of the highest value. Among plant parasitic nematodes, one of the most devastating species is the “pinewood nematode” (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which has been a major problem for forest species, and in particular pines, in Asia (Japan, China, Korea) and has been recently detected in the European Union (Portugal). B. xylophilus belongs to a closely related, morphologically similar group of species, within the genus Bursaphelenchus, and designated by the “xylophilus group”. SEM has become a crucial tool in observing several genital characters of males and females, such as male genital papillae, male copulatory spicules, female vulval flap and female genital papillae.s In this presentation, we will show how SEM has been utilized to observe and characterize the shape of the vulval flap, the presence/ absence of papillae near the flap, and confirm the presence and the arrangement of the male genital papillae. LM is also used in this work to show its value as a complementary tool to SEM, in both genital characteristics and other, general, characters of the genus Bursaphelenchus, such as the male bursa and cephalic region

An analysis of the use of accounting information by portuguese SMEs

Despite the significant economic contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), little is known about the extent to which they make use of accounting information (AI). Although AI is considered one of the main sources of information for SMEs, many continue to ignore its potential, considering that this information is only intended to meet tax obligations. The literature stresses the influence of several factors on AI usage. However, the conclusions of the studies are fragmented, contradictory, and not very enlightening. Following these studies, the purpose of this paper is to explore which characteristics of decision makers, companies, and accounting services influence the importance and use of AI in SMEs. Data were collected through an online questionnaire survey applied to Portuguese SMEs. The findings show that the decision makers’ level of education, as well as their educational background, influence the importance they attribute to AI. It has also been found that smaller companies and SMEs that use outsourced accounting services make the least use of AI. Therefore, in addition to providing empirical evidence on the importance and use of AI, a debate that has been mainly theoretical, and on the importance of SMEs in any economy, this paper aims to raise awareness of the need to further study the decision-making process in such firms.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O profissional de contabilidade de gestão em Portugal

As transformações e mudanças que ocorrem no mundo empresarial e nos negócios, têm um impacto directo no exercício da profissão de contabilidade. O desenvolvimento das organizações empresariais suscita discussão na sociedade sobre a função do profissional de contabilidade na gestão dos negócios e o seu papel no auxílio à resolução de problemas das empresas. Com estes desenvolvimentos o profissional de contabilidade de gestão passou a ter maior relevância tanto no meio académico, como no mercado, que procura profissionais especializados, com visão de gestão, planeamento fiscal, financeiro e de contabilidade. A classe profissional deve estar atenta às perspectivas e tendências, para que o profissional de contabilidade se torne cada vez mais relevante no apoio à tomada de decisões empresariais. Ele deverá ser visto como um comunicador de informação essencial para a tomada de decisão, com a sua capacidade de avaliar os factos passados, perceber os factos presentes e prever os eventos futuros. Pretende-se, assim, fazer um enquadramento histórico da profissão, alargando o âmbito ao profissional de contabilidade em geral, abordar a situação do profissional de contabilidade de gestão nos dias que correm, bem como enunciar os principais desafios que o profissional de contabilidade de gestão terá que atravessar

Use Of Blends Bioabsorbable Poly(l-lactic Acid)/poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) As Surfaces For Vero Cell Culture

Vero cells, a cell line established from the kidney of the African green monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops), were cultured in F-10 Ham medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum at 37°C on membranes of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and their blends in different proportions (100/0, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60, and 0/100). The present study evaluated morphology of cells grown on different polymeric substrates after 24 h of culture by scanning electron microscopy. Cell adhesion was also analyzed after 2 h of inoculation. For cell growth evaluation, the cells were maintained in culture for 48, 120, 240, and 360 h. For cytochemical study, the cells were cultured for 120 or 240 h, fixed, processed for histological analysis, and stained with Toluidine blue, pH 4.0, and Xylidine ponceau, pH 2.5. Our results showed that cell adhesion was better when 60/40 and 50/50 blends were used although cells were able to grow and proliferate on all blends tested. When using PLLA/PHBV (50/50) slightly flattened cells were observed on porous and smooth areas. PLLA/PHBV (40/60) blends presented flattened cells on smooth areas. PLLA/PHBV (0/100), which presented no pores, also supported spreading cells interconnected by thin filaments. Histological sections showed that cells grew as a confluent monolayer on different substrates. Cytochemical analysis showed basophilic cells, indicating a large amount of RNA and proteins. Hence, we detected changes in cell morphology induced by alterations in blend proportions. 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Metal-insulator transition at B=0 in an ultra-low density (rs=23r_{s}=23) two dimensional GaAs/AlGaAs hole gas

We have observed a metal-insulator transition in an ultra-low density two dimensional hole gas formed in a high quality GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructure at B=0. At the highest carrier density studied ($p_{s}=2.2x10^{10} cm^{-2}, r_{s}=16$) the hole gas is strongly metallic, with an exceptional mobility of $425,000 cm^{2}V^{-1}s^{-1}$. The low disorder and strength of the many-body interactions in this sample are highlighted by the observation of re-entrant metal insulator transitions in both the fractional ($\nu < 1/3$) and integer ($2 > \nu > 1$) quantum Hall regimes. On reducing the carrier density the temperature and electric field dependence of the resistivity show that the sample is still metallic at $p_{s}=1.3x10^{10} cm^{-2}$ ($r_{s}=21$), becoming insulating at $p_{s}{\simeq}1x10^{10} cm^{-2}$. Our results indicate that electron-electron interactions are dominant at these low densities, pointing to the many body origins of this metal-insulator transition. We note that the value of $r_{s}$ at the transition ($r_{s}=23 +/- 2$) is large enough to allow the formation of a weakly pinned Wigner crystal, and is approaching the value calculated for the condensation of a pure Wigner crystal.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 4 postscript figures, submitted to EP2DS-12 on 21st August 1997, to appear in Physica

Electrochemical behavior of a new precursor for the design of poly[Ni(salen)]-based modified electrodes

Wedescribe the potentiodynamic preparation and subsequent characterization of poly[Ni(3-MeOsaltMe)] films (surface concentration, 3 < ¡/nmol cm-2 < 350) in acetonitrile media. Coulometric and gravimetric (electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, EQCM) data allow one to monitor the deposition process and show that the resultant films are physically and chemically stable