An Independent Review of the E.U. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Regulations

Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing refers to fishing activities that do not comply with national, regional, or international fisheries conservation or management legislation or measures . IUU fishing is complex and affects many stakeholders from the individual artisanal fisher in national waters, to fishing fleets in Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and the High Seas, to fish processor and fisheries managers in developed and developing countries. Illegal fishing occurs in every ocean in the world, resulting in the loss of individual jobs and income, depletion of existing fish stocks, damage to the marine environment, and loss of state revenue . It affects activities both at sea and onshore, such as shipment, transportation, landing, importation and exportation, sale, and distribution of fish products . IUU fishing also has the potential to reduce the amount of fish available to subsistence fishers and communities who rely on fish as their staple diet. For example in Sierra Leone, fish provides approximately 65% of the protein source consumed by the under-nourished population. Thus people's livelihoods and food security may be seriously threatened by the possibility of losing access to this food source as result of IUU fishing

Implementation of proton therapy in the portuguese context of radiotherapy

Cancer is a national and international health care concern. It’s important to find strategies for early diagnosis as well as for the optimization of the various therapeutic options currently existing in Portugal. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Portugal, the choice of this study, is due to the importance of radiotherapy approach in cancer treatment and because is the therapy used in 40% of oncology patients. Radiation therapy has evolve data technological level, that allows new treatment techniques that are more efficient and that also promotes greater professional satisfaction. The hadrons are charged particles, used in cancer therapy. These particles can bring a paradigm shift regarding the therapeutic approach in radiotherapy. The technique used is proton therapy, that reveal to be more accurate, efficacious and less toxic to surrounding tissue. Proton therapy may be a promising development in the field of oncology and how the treatment is given in radiotherapy. Although there is awareness of the benefits of proton therapy in oncology it’s also important to take in consideration the costs of these therapy, because they are considerably higher than conventional treatments of radiotherapy. Given the lack of a proton therapy service in Portugal, this study aims to be a documentary analysis of clinical records that will achieve the following objectives: to identify the number of cancer patients diagnosed in 2010 in Portugal and to calculate the estimated number of patients that could have been treated with proton therapy according to the Health Council of the Netherlands registration document

Between Scylla and Charybdis : how does race and sexual orientation affect the family planning process of interracial queer women-identified couples? : a project based upon an independent investigation

In this cross-sectional qualitative study the intersection of race and sexual orientation in the family planning process of interracial queer women-identified (IQW) couples was examined. For total participants N = 13. Themes included the affirmative nature of the intentionality of the family planning process for IQW couples as well as the difficulties of assisted conception. Participants spoke to their relationship to their family of origin and their fears and visions regarding their own family formation, related to genetic heritage, language, and traditions. Support systems offered by family of choice and social networks were discussed, specifically the need for community mirroring in regards to identity, resource sharing, and political vision. Emotional processes related to homophobia/heterosexism, racism and social inequity were explored within the context of access to reproductive health care, equitable workplace benefits, and inclusive school and community environments. The capacities, vulnerabilities and resiliencies of this sample in navigating multiple social identities were illustrated. These findings reveal continued need for advocacy, understanding, and further scholarship to support families whose creation process is emotionally, physically, and socially generative

Pfizer & Wyeth: acquiring to survive, rather than to grow

This case focus on the strategy that motivated Pfizer to go, by 2009, through the acquisition of Wyeth. Beyond the strategic reasons, this case will discuss the financial implications of the deal jointly analysing the impact on financial key ratios for Pfizer’s investors. As the historical Pfizer’s portfolio of acquisitions is considerably extended, its investors are left with questions about the realization of the synergies announced as well as the ability to integrate Wyeth’s business in such a tough period

Hotel guests´ preferences regarding in-room amenities - a way for hoteliers to improve customer satisfaction

This project serves as an applicable guide for hoteliers to improve customer satisfaction. It combines literature research and a survey to gather valuable data on guests’ current expectations according to their star category preferences. The work concludes that guests’ expectations regarding in-room amenities and toiletries rise as star category increases. Moreover, room decoration and sustainability play an important role in customer satisfaction, regardless of star ratings. In-room amenities are an important part of a hotel and can have a tremendous impact on how the hotel is perceived, therefore hoteliers should implement the musing guest-centric approaches to maximize potential benefits

The micronutrient profile of the typical American diet enhances colorectal carcinogenesis

The typical Western dietary pattern is characterized by the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and has been linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Our research group previously developed the total Western diet (TWD) that emulates typical human dietary intakes of macro- (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) on an energy density basis for rodents. In the present study, we sought to determine the impact of TWD on biomarkers of metabolic syndrome and obesity in comparison to a commercial 45% fat diet used for models of diet-induced obesity (DIO diet) and the standard basal AIN93G diet, which is optimized for rodent health. Also, we included 2 additional test diets to evaluate the contribution of the micronutrient (vitamin- and mineral-modified diet, [VMM]) or macronutrient (macro-modified diet [MM]) contents of the TWD in development of cancer, obesity, and glucose intolerance. A chemical carcinogenesis model of inflammation-associated colon cancer was employed to evaluate impact of diets on colon cancer in mice. As expected, mice consuming the DIO diet acquired an obesity/metabolic syndrome phenotype typified by increased food energy intake, greater rate of body weight gain, increased proportion of body composition as fat mass, higher fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, and higher circulating levels of leptin. However, consumption of TWD did not alter any of these classic biomarkers of metabolic health, as these mice adjusted food intake so that energy consumption was similar to that for mice fed AIN93G. A different pattern was observed for colon carcinogenesis. Consumption of the TWD or VMM diet markedly increased colon tumor multiplicity and size compared to the AIN93G control, whereas consumption of the DIO or MM diets did not enhance colon tumorigenesis. Collectively, these observations point to a critical role of dietary micronutrients in colon carcinogenesis, and that this promoting effect is likely unrelated to the metabolic syndrome phenotype induced by a high fat diet. Moreover, our observations emphasize the need to take into account the micronutrient content of rodent basal diets when modeling typical U.S. nutrition in pre-clinical animal experiments in order to improve the translation of these studies to human nutrition and dietary intervention programs

Transcriptome of the deep-sea black scabbardfish, Aphanopus carbo (Perciformes: Trichiuridae) : tissue-specific expression patterns and candidate genes associated to depth adaptation

Deep-sea fishes provide a unique opportunity to study the physiology and evolutionary adaptation to extreme environments. We carried out a high throughput sequencing analysis on a 454 GS-FLX titanium plate using unnormalized cDNA libraries from six tissues of A. carbo. Assemblage and annotations were performed by Newbler and InterPro/Pfam analyses, respectively. The assembly of 544,491 high quality reads provided 8,319 contigs, 55.6% of which retrieved blast hits against the NCBI nonredundant database or were annotated with ESTscan. Comparison of functional genes at both the protein sequences and protein stability levels, associated with adaptations to depth, revealed similarities between A. carbo and other bathypelagic fishes. A selection of putative genes was standardized to evaluate the correlation between number of contigs and their normalized expression, as determined by qPCR amplification. The screening of the libraries contributed to the identification of new EST simple-sequence repeats (SSRs) and to the design of primer pairs suitable for population genetic studies as well as for tagging and mapping of genes. The characterization of the deep-sea fish A. carbo first transcriptome is expected to provide abundant resources for genetic, evolutionary, and ecological studies of this species and the basis for further investigation of depth-related adaptation processes in fishes.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe