AN INQUIRY INTO THE SYSTEMA'fICSOF THE TRIBUS APIDINI OR HONEYBEES (Hym.)

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ON SOME MACHAEROTINAE FROM SOUTH-EASTERN ASIA (H()MOPTERA)

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Lei Orgânica do Ministério do Ambiente e Agricultura

Os Novos desafios estratégicos e políticos traduzidos nos instrumentos de planificação, programação e gestão adoptados para os sectores do Ambiente, Agricultura e Pescas, designadamente o Segundo Plano de acção para o Ambiente, Estratégia e Programa da Segurança Alimentar, Plano de Desenvolvimento Agrícola e Plano de Acção, Plano de Gestão das Pescas, Programa Nacional de Investimento a médio prazo, constituem pilares essenciais para uma reforma institucional adequada e integrante das novas apostas. Orientada por princípios de boa governação e desenvolvimento sustentável, a nova orgânica do Ministério do Ambiente Agricultura e Pescas criada pelo Decreto-Lei n.º 30/2002, de 30 de Dezembro que extinguiu o Ministério da Agricultura e Pescas, a ser ora aprovada tem como principal encargo, não só reflectir as novas atribuições a cargo desse departamento governamental, bem como conferir um maior grau de eficiência e operacionalidade ao funcionamento dos seus serviços. Nesse âmbito, procede-se à criação de novos serviços e órgãos, reformula-se de outros anteriormente existentes e extingue-se outros. Assim, o presente diploma apresenta como inovações, entre outras, dignas de realce: - A extinção da Comissão Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e o aparecimento em seu lugar de um Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar, órgão esse que terá necessariamente de espelhar as alterações recentes em matéria de segurança alimentar designadamente, com a criação da Agência Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Agência de Regulação e Supervisão dos Produtos Farmacêuticos e Alimentares; - A criação da Direcção-Geral de Planeamento, Orçamento e Gestão, em consonância do decreto-lei nº 44/2004 de 8 Novembro, serviço central do MAAP responsável pelo apoio técnico-administrativo nos domínios de estudo, planeamento e gestão recursos humanos, patrimoniais e logísticos. Integra a Direcção de Estudos, Planeamento e Cooperação, a Direcção de Estatísticas e Gestão da Informação, a Direcção A Direcção de serviços de Administração e Gestão dos Recursos Humanos; - A reestruturação da Direcção Geral da Agricultura, Silvicultura e Pecuária com integração do sector da agricultura com a Pecuária e extinção da direcção de serviço de Extensão Rural; - A reestruturação da Direcção Geral do Ambiente que integra três direcções de serviços: Direcção de serviços dos Assuntos jurídicos, Inspecção e Avaliação de Impactes Ambientais; Direcção de serviços de Informação e Seguimento da Qualidade Ambiental; Direcção de serviços de Gestão dos Recursos Naturais; Por último e sem grandes reformas quanto as competências e atribuições a Direcção geral das pescas2 e as Delegações Regionais do Ministério

Atelier de Validação do Programa de Capacitação no Domínio da Terra dos Países Membros da CPLP - Relatório Final

O presente relatório consubstancia a síntese dos trabalhos do Atelier de Validação do Programa de Capacitação no Domínio da Terra dos Países Membros da CPLP, realizado na Cidade da Praia, nos dias 20 e 21 de Setembro de 2007. O evento, organizado pelo Ministério do Ambiente e Agricultura, em estreita parceria com a FAO e o Secretariado Executivo da Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa, contou com a participação de representantes oriundos dos oito Estados – Membros da CPLP, de representantes do Corpo Diplomático, nomeadamente as Sras. Embaixadoras de Portugal e Brasil, para além de representantes de Instituições Públicas e Privadas de Cabo Verde, conforme a lista de participantes constante do anexo I

The global adoption of Industralised Building System (IBS) : lessons learned

Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) is typically used interchangeably with other terms such as prefabrication, offsite manufacturing, offsite construction, and modern method of construction (MMC), industrialised building and industrialised construction. Nevertheless, the term modern method of construction (MMC) has been used to collectively describe both offsite-based construction technologies and innovative onsite technologies in the United Kingdom. It is evident that there exist a wide range of contextual issues which stems from the definition of these terminologies. However, lack of previous research has explored the relationship between these terminologies. Therefore, this paper emphasises the contrasting concepts of IBS and MMC, and concludes that ill-defining the MMC-IBS terms leads to misunderstanding, uncertainty and prejudice of the IBS concept and its benefits besides the adoption of IBS in global, which will be detrimental to efforts promoting the use of IBS in the construction industry

In vitro inhibition of camel hepatic glutathione transferases by selected organic azides

Glutathione S-transferases (GST) are a group of multifunctional enzymes, widely distributed in both animal and plant kingdom. The present study was carried out to investigate the inhibitory potential of three structurally related organic azides (n-propyl azide, n-butyl azide, and heptyl azide) on camel hepatic GST activity in vitro. The mean inhibition constants (Ki) were estimated to be 0.419 ± 0.068, 0.501 ± 0.068, and 0.563 ± 0.036 mM for n-propyl azide, n-butyl azide, and heptyl azide respectively, using Lineweaver-Burk plots. These results indicated that hepatic GST was sensitive to the organic azides used

A pilot study of the genotype and phenotype in Amelogenesis Imperfecta and Molar Incisor Hypomineralization

Background Enamel is an external layer of the crown, and its production can be affected by genetic, systemic or environmental causes Amelogenesis Imperfecta (AI) is an inherited defect of dental enamel, and can be autosomal dominant, recessive, x-linked or sporadic. It can present as hypoplasia, hypomineralization or both. Mutations in several genes can cause defective enamel formation and have been linked to AI, e.g: AMELX (amelogenin), ENAM (enamelin), MMP20 (enamelysin) and KLK4 (kallikrein 4), although the correlation between genotype and phenotype is poorly understood. Molar Incisal Hypomineralization (MIH) is defined as an environmentally caused enamel defect of one to four permanent first molars, frequently associated with affected incisors, although the aetiology is unknown. The presence of MIH in siblings, and lack of obvious systemic cause suggests there may be an underlying genetic defect involved. When a patient presents in the early mixed dentition, it can be difficult to distinguish between AI and MIH in the absence of a clear family or medical history. Better understanding of the relationship between phenotype and genotype is required to aid diagnoses and management of these conditions. A pilot study was set up to determine the best method to collect data from patients, and establish a database to record dental anomalies. In the second part of this study, different machines were used to determine the most appropriate method to measure the physical proprieties of AI and MIH teeth. In the third part of the study DNA was extracted from AI and MIH patients to; (i) find the most common genes related to the AI patients in UK, and (ii) to check if there is genetic association in MIH patients. This was in order to correlate phenotype and genotype in AI and MIH patients. Aims To develop a dental anomalies clinic to identify patients with AI and MIH and create a data base. Apply a method to characterize phenotype vs. genotype for AI & MIH. Method Ethical approval was obtained. A dental anomalies clinic was established to record information (using DDE index) using a database in liaison with University of Strasbourg (Phenodent database). Phenotype analysis of MIH and AI teeth was done using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), hardness was obtained using both a Wallace indenter and an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). To investigate the genotype, DNA was extracted from saliva samples using TaqMan protocol, and analysed for gene markers known to occur in inherited enamel defect conditions (Enam 2 Allele C and Allele T, Enam 1 Allele A and Allele G and MMp20 for Allele A and Allele T) and was applied on MIH patients for possible genetic association. Results 57 AI patients and 58 MIH patients were identified through the anomalies clinic. 8 MIH, 4 with AI and 8 control teeth were collected and analysed using SEM. Under higher magnifications, normal enamel had well organized prism and crystal structure, while the hypomineralised enamel in (AI and MIH) had less distinct prism borders and increased interprismatic space. In the AI teeth a glass like appearance and loss of prism layer were obvious. Over all, the hypomineralised enamel appeared more porous than the adjacent normal unaffected enamel. The average hardness ranged between 2.3 to 8.0 GPa for control teeth, between 0.004 to 0.027 GPa for AI teeth and from 0.07 to 0.40 for MIH teeth. Yellow/ brown opacities had lower hardness (0.07 GPa) compared to white/cream opacity (0.40 GPa). Strong association of AI and the ENAM 1 gene in UK. Conclusion Teeth diagnosed with Amelogenesis Imperfecta and Molar Incisor Hypomineralisation has significantly lower hardness values in the hypomineralised enamel compared with normal enamel. Yellow/ brown opacities had lower hardness values than white/ cream opacities. No correlation found between the phenotypic presentation of AI and MIH and the genotype of ENAM 1 was polymorphism

Developing a functional patient safety framework for transitioning health services : a vision for quality management in a Jordanian acute care hospital

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health.The purpose of this study, conducted in a tertiary public hospital in Jordan, was to identify and critically examine existing attributes that were seen to be problematic in managing patient risk. The management of pressure ulcers (PUs) was chosen as a representative exemplar to focus the research. A case study design using both qualitative and quantitative methods was used to generate an in-depth account of safety and quality issues. Data were analysed interpretatively and the findings used to develop a proposed patient safety framework for patients in the acute care sector. The main findings include an urgent need to begin the modification of the traditional hierarchical bureaucracy within the organisation and the disciplines, towards structures and processes that promote a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. Processes such as the provision of multidisciplinary evidence-based practice guidelines to reduce variation in practice standards, the implementation of multidisciplinary progress notes in patients' medical records to prevent duplication inaccuracies and a team model of nursing care are required and included in the proposed model. Improvements in the organisational culture are likely to be achieved by engaging clinicians in organisational decision-making structures and processes and providing them with performance feedback by developing an incident monitoring system. The instability of the hospital workforce makes the achievement of cultural change extremely difficult. Changes in the employment of staff from one centralised government agency to a system that enables managers to have more control of workforce employment in their organisations, with staff themselves able to nominate where they work, are recommended. Organisational managers also require more control in how funds are allocated to their organisations to allow them to formulate budgets and identify funding priorities within their organisations. The greatest impact on improvement will be achieved if reforms are concurrently implemented. A proposed framework incorporating these recommendations as a way to improve patient safety in acute care has been developed for countries attempting health care transition. The framework positions the patient as central to clinical care decisions and clinical process management, and links the three key levels of the hospital together, i.e. the clinical, organisational and ministry levels, as one interconnected activity. Such an integrated framework will facilitate the concurrent implementation of the proposed new structures and processes that research findings show are at the heart of patient safety

Macroeconomic Factors in Private Bank Debt Renegotiation

Despite the importance of renegotiation in affecting loan terms of bank debt, little work has been done investigating factors influencing renegotiation of privately placed debt. We find that renegotiation is more likely to occur in good economic times as measured by lower unemployment, lower public credit spreads, and outside of economic recessions. Moreover, renegotiated loanterms are more favorable for the borrower in business cycle upswings. Changes to debt covenants are very weakly correlated with the broader economy, suggesting that covenant amendments may be more driven by discovery of firm-specific information. Finally, we find that a healthier commercial banking sector not only significantly increases the probability of renegotiation, but also leads to more favorable terms for the borrower