Hydrogen Sulfide and Radon in and Over the Western North Atlantic Ocean

Atmospheric measurements of radon and hydrogen sulfide, and seawater measurements of total sulfide, free sulfide, and carbonyl sulfide, were made on a cruise in the western North Atlantic Ocean (October 24 to November 9, 1989). Measured values for 222Rn ranged from 3 to 70 pCi m−3, those for atmospheric hydrogen sulfide from 1 to 85 parts per trillion, and those for dissolved total and free sulfide in seawater from 33 to 930 pmol L−1 and 0 to 73 pmol L−1, respectively. A positive correlation between 222Rn and atmospheric H2S was observed. Both 222Rn and H2S were high in air masses traced back to North America. Measurements in seawater showed that uncomplexed sulfides were approximately 13% of total sulfide at 2 m depth. Atmospheric H2S and dissolved H2S in seawater were usually not far from saturation equilibrium. Our results indicate that the ocean acted at some times as a source of atmospheric H2S but more frequently as a sink. Hydrolysis of COS and atmospheric deposition of H2S both may contribute to the budget of dissolved sulfide in seawater of the western North Atlantic Ocean. On a global scale the ocean/atmosphere exchange of H2S appears to play a minor role in the atmospheric sulfur cycle

Nitrous oxide emissions from the Arabian Sea: A synthesis

We computed high-resolution (1º latitude x 1º longitude) seasonal and annual nitrous oxide (N2O) concentration fields for the Arabian Sea surface layer using a database containing more than 2400 values measured between December 1977 and July 1997. N2O concentrations are highest during the southwest (SW) monsoon along the southern Indian continental shelf. Annual emissions range from 0.33 to 0.70 Tg N2O and are dominated by fluxes from coastal regions during the SW and northeast monsoons. Our revised estimate for the annual N2O flux from the Arabian Sea is much more tightly constrained than the previous consensus derived using averaged in-situ data from a smaller number of studies. However, the tendency to focus on measurements in locally restricted features in combination with insufficient seasonal data coverage leads to considerable uncertainties of the concentration fields and thus in the flux estimates, especially in the coastal zones of the northern and eastern Arabian Sea. The overall mean relative error of the annual N2O emissions from the Arabian Sea was estimated to be at least 65%

A qualidade da informação financeira previsional como instrumento de avaliação do pressuposto da continuidade: o caso das empresas municipais

Mestrado em AuditoriaCom a crise e com os escândalos financeiros nos últimos anos, tem-se assistido à falência de várias empresas em todo o mundo, o que tem gerado grande insegurança nos mercados, afetando a tomada de decisões por parte dos diversos stakeholders, que têm por base as informações financeiras divulgadas pelas empresas. Consequentemente, o papel do auditor foi também bastante afetado com os escândalos que surgiram, o que gerou grande desconfiança por parte dos stakeholders, tendo as grandes organizações mundiais tomado medidas e criado mecanismos e controlos mais incisivos para colmatar esta desconfiança, por forma a aumentar a importância de um dos principais pressupostos da contabilidade: o princípio da continuidade. Neste contexto, “A qualidade da informação financeira previsional como instrumento de avaliação do pressuposto da continuidade: o caso das empresas municipais” vem mostrar a importância da divulgação da informação financeira previsional (IFP), como esta pode ser útil para a tomada de decisão e para o trabalho do auditor. O estudo centra-se em bibliografia emitida pelas grandes organizações internacionais e nacionais na área da auditoria e contabilidade, quer em sítios da Internet, como em publicações de artigos académicos e de outros autores especialistas na área, e num estudo baseado na informação financeira divulgada pelas empresas municipais, do qual deriva o fundamento empírico da dissertação. A metodologia baseia-se na análise documental, mais concretamente na comparação entre a informação financeira previsional e a informação financeira histórica recolhida dos vários sítios das empresas municipais. Embora não se consiga extrapolar uma conclusão que cubra todo o universo do estudo, concluiu-se, que na sua maioria, as previsões efetuadas não diferem muito da realidade, o que denota que esta é uma informação que pode ser bastante útil, permitindo assim antecipar cenários com maior precisão e dar um maior apoio à tomada de decisão dos diversos stakeholders.Due to crisis and financial scandals in recent years, several companies in the world have bankrupted. This situation has generated high uncertainty in the markets, affecting decision-making by the different stakeholders, which are based on the financial information disclosed by the companies. Consequently the auditor's role was also quite affected with those emerged scandals, which generated great distrust from stakeholders. Thus, major world organizations took action and created mechanisms and more incisive controls to overcome this distrust in order to increase importance of the key assumptions of accounting: Going Concern. In this context, "Prospective financial information quality as a basic tool for the evaluation of going concern: the case of municipal companies" is going to show the importance of disclosure of prospective financial information, as this can be useful for decision-making and for auditor. The study focuses on literature issued by major international and national organizations in the field of auditing and accounting, websites, academic articles and publications from other expert authors in this field, and in a study based on the financial information disclosed by municipal companies, which the empirical basis of the dissertation is from. The methodology is based on document analysis, specifically in real-provided comparison of financial information collected from different sites of the municipal companies. Although we can not extrapolate a conclusion that cover all universe of the study, it was concluded that the majority of the forecasts made do not differ much from reality, which indicates that this information can be very useful, allowing to anticipate scenarios with greater accuracy and increased support to the different decision-making stakeholders

Nitrous oxide emissions from the Arabian Sea: A synthesis

We computed high-resolution (1º latitude x  1º longitude) seasonal and annual nitrous oxide (N₂O) concentration fields for the Arabian Sea surface layer using a database containing more than 2400 values measured between December 1977 and July 1997. N₂O concentrations are highest during the southwest (SW) monsoon along the southern Indian continental shelf. Annual emissions range from 0.33 to 0.70 Tg N₂O and are dominated by fluxes from coastal regions during the SW and northeast monsoons. Our revised estimate for the annual N₂O flux from the Arabian Sea is much more tightly constrained than the previous consensus derived using averaged in-situ data from a smaller number of studies. However, the tendency to focus on measurements in locally restricted features in combination with insufficient seasonal data coverage leads to considerable uncertainties of the concentration fields and thus in the flux estimates, especially in the coastal zones of the northern and eastern Arabian Sea. The overall mean relative error of the annual N₂O emissions from the Arabian Sea was estimated to be at least 65%

Analysis of aircraft and satellite measurements from the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-B) to quantify long-range transport of East Asian sulfur to Canada

We interpret a suite of satellite, aircraft, and ground-based measurements over the North Pacific Ocean and western North America during April–May 2006 as part of the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment Phase B (INTEX-B) campaign to understand the implications of long-range transport of East Asian emissions to North America. The Canadian component of INTEX-B included 33 vertical profiles from a Cessna 207 aircraft equipped with an aerosol mass spectrometer. Long-range transport of organic aerosols was insignificant, contrary to expectations. Measured sulfate plumes in the free troposphere over British Columbia exceeded 2 μg/m<sup>3</sup>. We update the global anthropogenic emission inventory in a chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) and use it to interpret the observations. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) retrieved from two satellite instruments (MISR and MODIS) for 2000–2006 are analyzed with GEOS-Chem to estimate an annual growth in Chinese sulfur emissions of 6.2% and 9.6%, respectively. Analysis of aircraft sulfate measurements from the NASA DC-8 over the central Pacific, the NSF C-130 over the east Pacific and the Cessna over British Columbia indicates most Asian sulfate over the ocean is in the lower free troposphere (800–600 hPa), with a decrease in pressure toward land due to orographic effects. We calculate that 56% of the measured sulfate between 500–900 hPa over British Columbia is due to East Asian sources. We find evidence of a 72–85% increase in the relative contribution of East Asian sulfate to the total burden in spring off the northwest coast of the United States since 1985. Campaign-average simulations indicate anthropogenic East Asian sulfur emissions increase mean springtime sulfate in Western Canada at the surface by 0.31 μg/m<sup>3</sup> (~30%) and account for 50% of the overall regional sulfate burden between 1 and 5 km. Mean measured daily surface sulfate concentrations taken in the Vancouver area increase by 0.32 μg/m<sup>3</sup> per 10% increase in the simulated fraction of Asian sulfate, and suggest current East Asian emissions episodically degrade local air quality by more than 1.5 μg/m<sup>3</sup>

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia: efficacy of isotretinoin?

BACKGROUND: Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) is a benign but potentially disfiguring vascular lesion. It is usually characterized by dermal and subcutaneous nodules, primarily in the head and neck region. Spontaneous regression is common, but persistent or recurrent lesions may require treatment. Several treatments have been reported but surgery is the most efficient one. METHODS AND RESULTS: We report a 32-year-old man presenting with multiple nodules on the cheeks, preauricular region and the scalp and who received treatment with isotretinoin (0.5 mg/kg/day) for 1 year with complete resolution of one of his scalp nodules. The rest of the lesions remained stable and were treated with surgical excision without recurrence. CONCLUSION: Isotretinoin may play a role in the treatment of ALHE due to its antiangiogenic properties via a reduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production by keratinocytes