Análise e reflexão em torno das obrigações de relato e respetivo grau de cumprimento das entidades do setor financeiro em São Tomé e Príncipe

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo discutir, com recurso a uma metodologia qualitativa e descritiva, as obrigações de relato das entidades do setor financeiro em São Tomé e Príncipe (STP), respetivo grau de cumprimento, quem as supervisiona e como o fazem. A recolha de informação foi feita a partir da análise aos relatórios e contas anuais (período de 2012 a 2014) dos sete bancos comerciais que operam no país, a totalidade da população, e com recurso a entrevistas semiestruturadas, efetuadas no mês de janeiro de 2016 a um profissional habilitado de cada uma dessas instituições. Os resultados mostram que a maioria não cumpre com todas as obrigações de relato, pelo que o grau de cumprimento fica aquém do expectável e, inclusive, do legalmente imposto. A supervisão é exercida, exclusivamente, pelo Banco Central de STP e apresenta um pendor eminentemente pedagógico com o objetivo de sensibilizar e melhorar o panorama atual.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Tools for an integrated systems approach to sustainable port city planning

Large port cities like Shanghai, Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro are key cogwheels in international logistics and transport networks but also serve as showcases for the rest of the world; as such, they constitute strategic assets for the host country´s economy and international influence. Historically, a city and its port often developed independently, through sometimes contradictory or even confrontational policies. Today, the growing number of usage disputes over increasingly coveted coastal areas is prompting local managers to incorporate urban and port-related issues in overarching planning programs. In particular, planning of the sea front and the buffer zone between the port and the city must contribute decisively to the deployment of more effective, cleaner transport services for the port city as a whole. In general, one of the key global challenges for planners and decision-makers consists in integrating sustainable development goals (environmental and social components, as well as the stimulation of industrial competitiveness) into urban planning. In this context the PHEBUS research group has initiated an international program of research to develop innovative methods and tools that can help territorial stakeholders to design, evaluate, compare and ultimately choose development scenarios for the future of their port cities. The main themes are addressed via a multidisciplinary systems approach on the scale of a coastal urban area with an industrial and port complex. In particular, the themes include sea front planning, the city-port interface, energy optimization (e.g. the introduction and sharing of renewable energies), risk resilience, climate change and multimodal, clean transport

Use alone or in Combination of Red and Infrared Laser in Skin Wounds

A systematic review was conducted covering the action of red laser, infrared and combination of both, with emphasis on cutaneous wound therapy, showing the different settings on parameters such as fluency, power, energy density, time of application, frequency mode and even the type of low-power lasers and their wavelengths. It was observed that in general, the lasers brings good clinical and histological results mainly, but there is not a protocol that defines a dosage of use that has predictability of therapeutic success in repairing these wounds

The xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes arylamine N-acetyltransferases in human lens epithelial cells: inactivation by cellular oxidants and UVB-induced oxidative stress

The abbreviations used are: NAT, arylamine N-acetyltransferase; XME, xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes; SIN1, 3-morpholinosydnonimine N-ethylcarbamide MOL 9738 3 ABSTRACT The human arylamine N-acetyltransferases NAT1 and NAT2 are important xenobioticmetabolizing enzymes involved in the detoxification and metabolic activation of numerous drugs and chemicals. NAT activity depends on genetic polymorphisms and on environmental factors. It has been shown that low NAT-acetylation activity could increase the risk of age-dependent cataract suggesting that NAT detoxification function may be important for lens cells homeostasis. We report here that the NAT acetylation pathway may occur in human lens epithelial (HLE) cells. Functional NAT1 enzyme was readily detected in HLE cells by RT-PCR, western-blotting and enzyme activity assays. NAT2 mRNA and enzymic activity was also detected. We investigated whether oxidants, known to be produced in HLE cells during oxidative stresses and involved in age-dependent cataract formation, decreased endogenous NAT1 and NAT2 activity. The exposure of HLE cells to peroxynitrite led to the dose-dependent irreversible inactivation of both NAT isoforms. Exposing HLE cells to continuously generated H 2 O 2 gave a dose-dependent inactivation of NAT1 and NAT2, reversible on addition of high concentrations of reducing agents. UVB irradiation also induced the reversible dose-dependent inactivation of endogenous NAT1 and NAT2, reversible on addition of reducing agents. Thus, our data suggest that functional NAT1 and NAT2 are present in HLE cells and may be impaired by oxidants produced during oxidative and photo-oxidative stresses. Oxidative-dependent inhibition of NATs in these cells may increase exposure of lens to the harmful effects of toxic chemicals which could contribute to cataractogenesis over time

Elucidation of xenobiotic metabolism pathways in human skin and human skin models by proteomic profiling

Human skin has the capacity to metabolise foreign chemicals (xenobiotics), but knowledge of the various enzymes involved is incomplete. A broad-based unbiased proteomics approach was used to describe the profile of xenobiotic metabolising enzymes present in human skin and hence indicate principal routes of metabolism of xenobiotic compounds. Several in vitro models of human skin have been developed for the purpose of safety assessment of chemicals. The suitability of these epidermal models for studies involving biotransformation was assessed by comparing their profiles of xenobiotic metabolising enzymes with those of human skin

Use of pseudo-harmonics method coupled with finite differences coarse mesh in the solution of fixed source problems

A method based in the pseudo-harmonics method was developed to solve the fixed source problem. The pseudo-harmonics method is based on the eigenfunctions associated with the leakage and removal matrix operator of the neutron diffusion equation, which will be treated here in three dimensions and two groups of energy. This matrix is built in this work through the nodal discretization supplied by coarse mesh finite differences method (CMFDM). CMFDM has as input data the average currents and the average fluxes in the faces of the node, and the average flux in the node, previously obtained by the nodal expansion method. The results obtained with the pseudo-harmonics procedure show good accuracy when compared to the reference results of the source problem tested. Moreover, it is a method which can be easily implemented to solve this type of problems

The Use of Iron Ore Tailings in the Iron Quadrangle of Minas Gerais, Brazil

The Iron Quadrangle of Minas Gerais comprises 7,000 km2 and accounts for about 60% of Brazil’s iron ore production. The rocks explored in this region are banded iron formations. The processing of this rock to produce the iron ore concentrate generates large quantities of tailings that were being stored in dams. After the ruptures of the dams in 2015 (Mariana–MG) and 2019 (Brumadinho–MG), dam storage became very difficult. Other storage destinations for tailings are now being considered, including dry storage in piles and the use of tailings as a raw material for other manufacturing chains, such as civil construction and road paving. Due to the fine particle size of the tailings, the use of Portland cement to manufacture products for civil construction is limited. However, alkali-activated cement should play an important role, due to their ability to incorporate fine grained materials. Although alkali activated mortars made with the tailings have good characteristics, their cost is very high, especially when sodium silicate prices are elevated. In this study, sodium silicate synthesis from the tailings, alternative calcined clays, the use of the overburden and other aluminosilicate sources are being investigated with a view to reducing the manufacturing cost. Keywords: Iron ore tailings, Alkali-activated, Building Material

Temperature increase impairs recognition among nestmates in the social wasp Polybia paulista H. von Ihering, 1896 (Vespidae: Polistinae: Epiponini)

Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of most terrestrial arthropods primarily serve as a protective barrier against desiccation and infection. Throughout evolution, these compounds have acquired another fundamental function: the exchange of signals during interactions between nestmates. However, even though cuticular hydrocarbons perform a dual function in social insects, little is known about the effect(s) of one function on the other in social insects, and no study has evaluated this relationship in social wasps. Therefore, the present study tests the hypothesis that the level of aggressiveness presented during induced encounters between nestmates of Polybia paulista who were subjected to different conditions temperature is different than between nestmates who remained under the same temperature conditions. If the hypothesis is confirmed, it is likely because the cuticle of the wasps that had been exposed to temperature variation adjusted to these conditions leading them not to recognize the cuticular chemical signature of their colony. To test this hypothesis, workers were exposed to temperature variation in a BOD chamber and then subjected to encounters with workers who were maintained at a constant temperature of 24℃. We also used control groups to evaluate the effect of isolation alone among the groups. According to our results, our hypothesis was confirmed, the level of aggressiveness presented between nestmates who were exposed to temperature variation and those who remained at 24℃ was significantly higher than the levels of aggressiveness presented between nestmates who remained isolated but under constant temperature during the same period, in some cases, it was similar to the aggressiveness presented in encounters between wasps from different colonies. During these encounters, wasps performed alarm behavior, bites, and stings not seen during encounters between wasps that remained under the same temperature, but in isolated groups. The lack of aggressive behavior under isolated conditions indicates that isolation had no effect on chemical recognition signature. These results suggest that temperature variation may have caused some change in the cues that allow recognition between nestmates. On the other hand, these results were not caused by isolation or stress generated by the study design and difference in the CHC profile of workers, as described in the literature, is consistent with our results