Norma internacional de contabilidade [NIC 22]: concentrações de actividades empresariais

Revista Fiscal, Maio 2007

A NCRF 22 – Contabilização dos subsídios do governo e implicações fiscais e de auditoria

Dissertação apresentada ao Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Auditoria Orientada pelo Doutor José de Campos Amorim

Entrepreneurship Strategies in a Portuguese and in a Polish Region

In the present paper we will consider strategies of innovation, risk and proactivity as entre/ intrapreneurship strategies. This study was done in a Portuguese and in a Polish region. In Portugal the region was Vale do Sousa, located in the northern Portugal. The Polish region was Lublin Voivodeship and it is situated in the south-eastern part of the country. The study focused on Industrial and Construction sectors. In order to get a valid sample, a group of 251 firms were analysed in Portugal, and 215 in Poland. However, the minimum sample size in Poland should be 323. Since this is a work in progress, we are aiming for this number of questionnaires. Each strategy was analysed individually for both regions and the results pointed to a lack of culture of entrepreneurship in firms’ management. Only Proactivity presented a positive result in firms’ management. Polish firms tend to be more innovative and more risk takers, while in proactivity Portuguese ones present a slightly higher result. Combining the strategy results, it was possible to identify that 61.2% of Portuguese firms present a low level of entrepreneurship, while 60% of Polish firms present a moderate level. Considering intrapreneurship good levels, while Portugal account for 5.2% this figure is 19.1% in Poland.

Validation of QuEChERS method for organochlorine pesticides analysis in tamarind (Tamarindus indica) products: Peel, fruit and commercial pulp

In this study a citrate-buffered version of QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) method for determination of 14 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) residues in tamarind peel, fruit and commercial pulp was optimized using gas chromatography (GC) coupled with electron-capture detector (ECD) and confirmation by GC tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS). Five procedures were tested based on the original QuEChERS method. The best one was achieved with increased time in ultrasonic bath. For the extract clean-up, primary secondary amine (PSA), octadecyl-bonded silica (C18) and magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) were used as sorbents for tamarind fruit and commercial pulp and for peel was also added graphitized carbon black (GCB). The samples mass was optimized according to the best recoveries (1.0 g for peel and fruit; 0.5 g for pulp). The method results showed the matrix-matched calibration curve linearity was r2 > 0.99 for all target analytes in all samples. The overall average recoveries (spiked at 20, 40 and 60 μg kg−1) have been considered satisfactory presenting values between 70 and 115% with RSD of 2–15 % (n = 3) for all analytes, with the exception of HCB (in peel sample). The ranges of limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) for OCPs were for peel (LOD: 8.0–21 μg kg−1; LOQ: 27–98 μg kg−1); for fruit (LOD: 4–10 μg kg−1; LOQ: 15–49 μg kg−1) and for commercial pulp (LOD: 2–5 μg kg−1; LOQ: 7–27 μg kg−1). The method was successfully applied in tamarind samples being considered a rapid, sensitive and reliable procedure.

Molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for ochratoxin A detection in food samples

A novel electrochemical sensor for ochratoxin A (OTA) detection was fabricated through the modification of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). The MWCNTs dramatically promoted the sensitivity of the developed sensor, while polypyrrole (PPy) imprinted with OTA served as the selective recognition element. The imprinted PPy film was prepared by electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of OTA as a template molecule via cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrochemical oxidation of OTA at the developed sensor was investigated by CV and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The developed MIP/MWCNT/GCE sensor showed a linear relationship, when using DPV, between peak current intensity and OTA concentration in the range between 0.050 and 1.0 μM, with limits of detection (LOD) and quantification of 0.0041 μM (1.7 μg/L) and 0.014 μM (5.7 μg/L) respectively. With the developed sensor precise results were obtained; relative standard deviations of 4.2% and 7.5% in the evaluation of the repeatability and reproducibility, respectively. The MIP/MWCNT/GCE sensor is simple to fabricate and easy to use and was successfully applied to the determination of OTA in spiked beer and wine samples, with recoveries between 84 and 104%, without the need of a sample pre-treatment step.