A execução das normas ambientais comunitárias na UE

Este últimos anos aumentaram as dificuldades quer relativamente à execução correcta e em tempo da legislação comunitária do ambiente, quer na prática, a sua aplicação adequada. Esta situação reflecte-se no número de queixas que a Comissão recebeu em cada ano e número de processos de infracção por ela intentados. Tal como nos anos precedentes o sector do Ambiente representou no último ano mais de 1/3 dos casos de infracção analisados pela Comissão. A Comissão recorreu ao Tribunal de Justiça intentando 65 processos contra os Estados Membros e enviou 137 pareceres fundamentados nos termos do art.226 do Tratado. O número de novas queixas, as quais se referem sobretudo à “má aplicação” presumida do direito comunitário do ambiente é muito elevado, desde 1996, data em que a Comissão publicou a sua comunicação intitulada “Execução do Direito Comunitário do Ambiente”. Só em 2002 registaram-se 555 novas queixas por violação do direito comunitário do ambiente. Um número considerável das queixas em questão deram também origem a questões escritas e petições ao Parlamento Europeu. O processo previsto no art. 228 que pode levar a sanções pecuniárias revelou-se eficaz em última instância para obrigar os Estados Membros a tomar as medidas necessária à execução dos Acórdãos do Tribunal de Justiça. Em 2002 a Comissão por exemplo dirigiu aos Estados Membros 17 notificações de incumprimento, pareceres fundamentados nos termos do art. 228. O objectivo é sempre melhorar a aplicação do direito comunitário do ambiente e é evidente que as queixas e o Tribunal não são suficientes pra tal. Tem de existir uma maior colaboração entre os Estados Membros e a Comissão durante as etapas do ciclo de execução, a elaboração de novos métodos de trabalho e a implementação duma consciência cívica ambiental. E isto é especialmente importante na perspectiva do alargamento, se se pretender como pretende, que os novos Estados Membros transponham e executem correctamente a “Legislação Comunitária” nos prazos acordados

Soundtrack Music Videos: The Use of Music Videos as a Tool for Promoting Films

The soundtrack music video is an audiovisual format used by the cultural industries of film and music as a commercial communication tool, since it is based on a song from the soundtrack of a film, so that both the artist that performs the song and the film itself obtain promotional benefits. This paper conceptualizes this poorly studied phenomenon of cross-promotion connecting the music and film industries and uses a content analysis of 119 music videos produced over a period of 33 years in order to study the importance of the artist and the movie in the video, the various strategies developed in order to accomplish its double promotional mission, and the specific formal and strategic features of this audiovisual format. Analysis reveals that the soundtrack music video has the distinctive feature of including promotional elements both for the musical artist and for the movie. Although the artist tends to be more prominent, the vast majority of music videos include images from the film or use various ways of integrating the artist's identity with the film's iconography or narrative. Anyway, it is a phenomenon characterized by diversity, with the common pattern of the dual promotional objective, but with different ways of implementing that pattern

Staphylococcus aureus resistente à meticilina (MRSA) num hospital distrital do Grande Porto e percepção do risco pelos profissionais de saúde

ABSTRACT - Objective: To describe the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and to assess its perception by healthcare professionals. Design: Survey, through a two-part questionnaire. Setting: A 441-bed district general hospital. Participants: Part I - Inpatients over 16 years of age, in whom a non-nasal MRSA was isolated between February and August of 2005. Part II - nurses and doctors responsible for these patients. Methods: Part I – Demographic and clinical data collected from medical notes. Part II – Perception of doctors and nurses. Observed agreement and “Kappa” statistic were used to compare perceptions. A P value lower than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Of the 111 patients identified, 50.9% had history of hospitalization during the previous year, with high exposure to antimicrobial therapy and invasive procedures. Hospital stay was 4.5 times higher than the average inpatients and mortality 5.5 times higher. Proportion of MRSA was 60.0%, with an incidence density of 1.66%. Although agreement between nurses and doctors was low, the majority admitted nosocomial origin of the MRSA and its transmission through the hands of professionals. Reinforcement of hand hygiene was considered important to manage these patients by 69.4% of nurses and 64.9% of doctors. Additionally, all nurses and 89.4% of doctors agreed on the need to isolate these patients. Conclusions: High endemic level of MRSA detected in a susceptible population, associated with a lower awareness of management of these patients by doctors, compared with nurses, justifies a global programme to control MRSA. This programme should include consensus-based measures for management of patients, rational use of antimicrobials, and dynamic and focused educational programmes.RESUMO - Objectivo: Descrever e analisar a epidemiologia do Staphyloccocus aureus resistente à meticilina (MRSA) num hospital distrital de 441 camas do Grande Porto, bem como a percepção que enfermeiros e médicos têm do problema. Desenho do estudo: Estudo transversal descritivo, através da aplicação de um inquérito de duas partes. Definição: Um hospital distrital de 441 camas. Participantes: Parte I - doentes internados com mais de 16 anos em que foi detectado MRSA não nasal, entre Fevereiro e Agosto de 2005. Parte II – enfermeiros e médicos responsáveis pela prestação de cuidados aos referidos doentes. Métodos: Parte I - recolha de dados demográficos, clínicos e factores de risco dos processos dos doentes. Parte II - aplicação de um inquérito a enfermeiros e médicos para análise das suas percepções. O acordo observado e a estatística “Kappa” foram utilizados para comparar as respostas entre classes de profissionais. O nível de significância adoptado foi de 5%. Resultados: Dos 111 casos estudados, 50,9% tinham historial de internamentos até há um ano atrás e 83,8% haviam estado expostos a antibioticoterapia prévia. O tempo de internamento foi 4,5 vezes maior que a média da população internada neste hospital, e a mortalidade 5,5 vezes maior. A prevalência de MRSA foi de 60,0% e a densidade de incidência de 1,66 casos por mil dias de internamento. A grande maioria dos profissionais admite que o MRSA é adquirido no ambiente hospitalar e que são as mãos dos profissionais de saúde a principal via de transmissão. Como medidas para gerir doentes com MRSA, 69,4% dos enfermeiros e 64,9% dos médicos referem o reforço da higienização das mãos, a totalidade dos enfermeiros e 89,4% dos médicos concordam com a necessidade de algum tipo de medidas de isolamento. Conclusões: Constatou-se a existência de altos valores endémicos de MRSA. Os profissionais têm a percepção da associação do MRSA aos cuidados de saúde, bem como a importância das mãos dos profissionais como veículo de transmissão, no entanto a classe médica está menos sensibilizada para as medidas de gestão para estes doentes. Parece justificar-se um programa global para controlo deste microrganismo, na gestão de doentes colonizados ou infectados por MRSA, na utilização racional dos antibióticos, bem como a formação dos profissionais de saúde, com um carácter mais dinâmico e dirigido.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Whiplash-Associated Disorders. Biopsychosocial Profiles of Pain Perception in Forensic Cases of Victims of Motor Vehicle Accidents

In order to make a complete diagnosis of all the factors influencing whiplash associated disorders (WAD), the evidence suggests that the condition evaluation should follow an integrated biopsychosocial model. This perspective would offer a fuller view of it, recognizing the interplay between the medical, biomechanical, social, and psychological factors. Despite the progress made in the subject, evidence of which psychosocial factors influence the experience of pain in litigant WAD patients is limited. A cross-sectional design and a cluster analysis was used to study the experience of pain and the psychosocial factors included therein in 249 patients with WAD assessed after suffering a motor vehicle accident. Three clusters were obtained: C1, with low scores of pain and a slight-moderate alteration of the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL); C2, with medium scores of pain, alteration of HRQoL and a perception of moderate disability; and C3, with medium-high scores of pain, alteration of the HQoL, perception of moderate disability, presence of anxious-depressive symptomatology, poorer comprehension of the condition suffered, and the belief that it will extend over a long period of time. The results show a heterogeneous experience of pain in WAD, compatible with the biopsychosocial model of disease and the multidimensional approach to pain. The role of the psychologist in the evaluation of the condition could be useful to obtain a complete view of the condition, thus ensuring that the treatment is adapted to the needs of the patient

Autochthonous management knowledge/knowledge management in Africa

Purpose: There is a growing desire for more scientific and technical knowledge regarding Africa. This is because Africa has the potential and opportunity to generate impactful research. However, this potential is not optimized because of several constraints, including the lack of systematic reviews and models of knowledge management and paradoxical trends in Africa. The purpose of this paper is to review studies on knowledge management and associated paradoxes in Africa and a paradox-conscious African knowledge management model. The autochthonous African model that the authors propose has implications for global knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach: The authors review studies on knowledge management and paradoxes on Africa. Findings: The authors propose a model and identify 12 paradoxes broadly categorized as industrial, political and social. Practical implications: The paradoxical tensions characteristic of Africa may be considered integral to business and policy rather than local expressions to be solved through international “best practice.” Originality/value: The model this paper propose enables theoretical and empirical studies of knowledge management sensitive to the paradoxical tensions associated with autochthonous management knowledge and autochthonous knowledge management.authorsversionpublishe

Proyecto de central hidroeléctrica en el t. m. de Garrafe de Torío

Proyecto de ejecución de una nueva central hidroeléctrica de agua fluyente, aprovechando la existencia de un azud en el río Torío, localizado en el municipio de Garrafe de Torío, en la localidad de Pedrún, en él se evalúa la potencia eléctric

A importância dos papéis de trabalho numa auditoria financeira Estudo de Caso duma Auditoria à Empresa PANAF, S.A. Exercício de 2012

O presente trabalho propõe estudar a importância dos papéis de trabalho numa auditoria financeira, neste propósito escolheu-se uma firma especializada de auditoria da qual oaluno integrou-se à equipa de trabalho com o intuito de estudar um caso, visandocompreender melhor a relevância que este tem em termos práticos. Os papéis de trabalho, são um conjunto de documentos utilizados na execução dostrabalhos de auditoria que evidencia os exames do auditor. Essas documentações são normalmente preparadas pelo próprio auditor no decorrer do seu trabalho e também porterceiros. Por meio dos papéis de trabalho, o auditor deve obter a prova de auditoria apropriada esuficiente, através de inspeções, observações, indagações, confirmações, cálculos eprocedimentos analíticos, cujas conclusões devem ser adequadamente documentadas deforma a suportar a sua opinião. O auditor deve documentar através dos papéis de trabalho todas as questões que foramconsideradas importantes para proporcionar evidência, com o propósito de fundamentara sua opinião e comprovar que a auditoria foi executada de acordo com as normas deauditoria internacionais aplicáveis.This paper proposes to disclose the importance of Working Papers in financial audit, this purpose we have chosen a firm specialized audit which the student has joined the a team working with the aim of a case study, to better understand the relevance this has in practice. Working Papers are a set of documents used in the execution of audit work that reflects the auditor's examination, These documents are usually prepared by the auditor in the course of their work and also by third parties. Through the Working Papers, the auditor should obtain audit evidence enoughly appropriate, through inspections, observations, questions, confirmations, calculations and analytical procedures, whose findings should be properly documented in order to support your opinion. The auditor should document through Working Papers all issues that were considered important to provide evidence in order to substantiate its view and confirm that the audit was performed in agreement with the international applicable auditing standards

Interrelated effects of mycorrhiza and free-living nitrogen fixers cascade up to abovegr ound herbivores

Aboveground plant performance is strongly influenced by belowground microorganisms, some of which are pathogenic and have negative effects, while others, such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, usually have positive effects. Recent research revealed that belowground interactions between plants and functionally distinct groups of microorganisms cascade up to aboveground plant associates such as herbivores and their natural enemies. However, while functionally distinct belowground microorganisms commonly co-occur in the rhizosphere, their combined effects, and relative contributions, respectively, on performance of aboveground plant-associated organisms are virtually unexplored. Here, we scrutinized and disentangled the effects of free-living nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) bacteria Azotobacter chroococcum (DB) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Glomus mosseae (AMF) on host plant choice and reproduction of the herbivorous two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae on common bean plants Phaseolus vulgaris. Additionally, we assessed plant growth, and AMF and DB occurrence and density as affected by each other. Both AMF alone and DB alone increased spider mite reproduction to similar levels, as compared to the control, and exerted additive effects under co-occurrence. These effects were similarly apparent in host plant choice, that is, the mites preferred leaves from plants with both AMF and DB to plants with AMF or DB to plants grown without AMF and DB. DB, which also act as AMF helper bacteria, enhanced root colonization by AMF, whereas AMF did not affect DB abundance. AMF but not DB increased growth of reproductive plant tissue and seed production, respectively. Both AMF and DB increased the biomass of vegetative aboveground plant tissue. Our study breaks new ground in multitrophic belowground–aboveground research by providing first insights into the fitness implications of plant-mediated interactions between interrelated belowground fungi–bacteria and aboveground herbivores.BK's stay and work in Vienna was financially supported by an Erasmus Mundus CASIA grant awarded to BK and a grant from Eurasia Pacific Uninet (EPU 26/2013) awarded to PS. TP's stay and work in Vienna was supported by Universitat Jaume I (UJI Research Mobility Grant, E-2013-05). We thank C. Gangl (Agrotrader Agrarhandel, Austria) for providing Azotobacter sp. and I.C. Christiansen, A. Walzer, and M. Seiter for comments on a previous version of the manuscript

15 years of experience with quality control of WLS fibres for the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter

We describe a test bench to measure the optical properties of scintillating and Wavelength-Shifting fibers, called the Fibrometer. The accuracy, stability and reproducibility were assessed, and the quality control of WLS fibers for the upgrade of the STIC luminosity monitor at DELPHI and for the Tile calorimeter of ATLAS is reported