Discrimination in the workforce: how it impacts a business

Discrimination, in its best form, is a hard concept to fathom as an employee or ordinary citizen. In the workplace, there are times when discrimination is necessary due to extenuating circumstances that revolve around the form or act of discrimination. It could be conveyed to save a life or avoid future conflict. However, it must be clearly stated as a written law that the act is lawful. When unlawful discrimination occurs, it stages an entirely different tone, as it is mainly conducted out of malice, hatred, greed, control, or ignorance. Over the last few decades, discrimination has existed in the workplace, although Federal laws mandate that it does not occur. It does not exist in just one geographical area or is country specific, but covers a wide spectrum, linking countries together from their points of view to creating rifts amongst those who are affected and those who are not, not only from a business perspective, but social humanistic relationships as well. This thesis will use quantitative and qualitative data to support discrimination of sexual harassment, race or color, and gender issues, as well as personal experiences, and how it has and will continue to impact businesses if the acts do not cease, permanently. Leadership, from the Presidents and Heads of Countries, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), managers, lowest-ranking supervisor, and employees should make it their personal goal to ensure these issues do not continue or arise in their perspective areas of responsibilities. When employees understand that they are valued, will be taken seriously when reporting acts of discrimination, and that some form of action will be taken, performance and productivity will escalate, and morale will increase in the workplace, resulting in higher productivity and subsequently higher profit margins for the company.

Reproductive Patterns and Birth Seasonality in a South-American Breeding Colony of Common Marmosets, Callithrix jacchus

SOUSA,M.B.C. et al. Reproductive Patterns and Birth Seasonality in a South-American Breeding Colony of Common Marmosets, Callithrix jacchus. Primates, v.40, n.2, p. 327-336, Apr. 1999.

Occurrence of Atta laevigata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the South of Espirito Santo State, Brazil. Recently Introduced or Endangered Species?

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Venous tone and cardiac function in the South American rattlesnake Crotalus durissus: mean circulatory filling pressure during adrenergic stimulation in anaesthetised and fully recovered animals

The effects of adrenergic stimulation on mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP), central venous pressure (P-CV) and stroke volume (Vs), as well as the effects of altered MCFP through changes of blood volume were investigated in rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus). MCFP is an estimate of the upstream pressure driving blood towards the heart and is determined by blood volume and the activity of the smooth muscle cells in the veins (venous tone). MCFP can be determined as the plateau in P-CV during a total occlusion of blood flow from the heart.Vs decreased significantly when MCFP was lowered by reducing blood volume in anaesthetised snakes, whereas increased MCFP through infusion of blood (up to 3 ml kg(-1)) only led to a small rise in Vs. Thus, it seems that end-diastolic volume is not affected by an elevated MCFP in rattlesnakes. To investigate adrenergic regulation on venous tone, adrenaline as well as phenylephrine and isoproterenol (alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonists, respectively) were infused as bolus injections (2 and 10 mu g kg(-1)). Adrenaline and phenylephrine caused large increases in MCFP and P-CV, whereas isoproterenol decreased both parameters. This was also the case in fully recovered snakes. Therefore, adrenaline affects venous tone through both alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors, but the alpha-adrenergic receptor dominates at the dosages used in the present study. Injection of the nitric oxide donor SNP caused a significant decrease in P-CV and MCFP. Thus, nitric oxide seems to affect venous tone.

The adrenergic regulation of the cardiovascular system in the South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus

The present study investigates adrenergic regulation of the systemic and pulmonary circulations of the anaesthetised South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus. Haemodynamic measurements were made following bolus injections of adrenaline and adrenergic antagonists administered through a systemic arterial catheter. Adrenaline caused a marked systemic vasoconstriction that was abolished by phentolamine, indicating this response was mediated through alpha-adrenergic receptors. Injection of phentolamine gave rise to a pronounced vasodilatation (systemic conductance (G(sys)) more than doubled), while injection of propranolol caused a systemic vasoconstriction, pointing to a potent alpha-adrenergic, and a weaker beta-adrenergic tone in the systemic vasculature of Crotalus. Overall, the pulmonary vasculature was far less responsive to adrenergic stimulation than the systemic circulation. Adrenaline caused a small but non-significant pulmonary vasodilatation and there was tendency of reducing this dilatation after either phentolamine or propranolol. Injection of phentolamine increased pulmonary conductance (G(pul)), while injection of propranolol produced a small pulmonary constriction, indicating that alpha-adrenergic and beta-adrenergic receptors contribute to a basal regulation of the pulmonary vasculature. Our results suggest adrenergic regulation of the systemic vasculature, rather than the pultrionary, may be an important factor in the development of intracardiac shunts. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Size at maturity of Atlantoraja platana (Gunther, 1880) (Chondrichthyes : Rajidae : Arhynchobatinae) in the south-west Atlantic Ocean

The sexual development of Atlantoraja platana from the south-west Atlantic Ocean was analysed. According to the reproductive variables considered for both sexes, males were found to mature at 620 mm and females at 715 mm total length. (c) 2008 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2008 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

The ventilatory response to environmental hypercarbia in the South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus

To study the effects of environmental hypercarbia on ventilation in snakes, particularly the anomalous hyperpnea that is seen when CO(2) is removed from inspired gas mixtures (post-hypercapnic hyperpnea), gas mixtures of varying concentrations of CO(2) were administered to South American rattlesnakes, Crotalus durissus, breathing through an intact respiratory system or via a tracheal cannula by-passing the upper airways. Exposure to environmental hypercarbia at increasing levels, up to 7% CO(2), produced a progressive decrease in breathing frequency and increase in tidal volume. The net result was that total ventilation increased modestly, up to 5% CO(2) and then declined slightly on 7% CO(2). on return to breathing air there was an immediate but transient increase in breathing frequency and a further increase in tidal volume that produced a marked overshoot in ventilation. The magnitude of this post-hypercapnic hyperpnea was proportional to the level of previously inspired CO(2). Administration of CO(2) to the lungs alone produced effects that were identical to administration to both lungs and upper airways and this effect was removed by vagotomy. Administration of CO(2) to the upper airways alone was without effect. Systemic injection of boluses of CO(2)-rich blood produced an immediate increase in both breathing frequency and tidal volume. These data indicate that the post-hypercapnic hyperpnea resulted from the removal of inhibitory inputs from pulmonary receptors and suggest that while the ventilatory response to environmental hypercarbia in this species is a result of conflicting inputs from different receptor groups, this does not include input from upper airway receptors.

Effects of temperature on lung and blood gases in the South American rattlesnake Crotalus durissus terrificus

The effects of temperature on lung and blood gases were measured in the South American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus terrificus). Arterial blood and lung gas samples were obtained from chronically cannulated animals at 15, 25, and 35 degrees C. As expected for reptiles, arterial pH fell with increased temperature (0.018 U degrees C-1 between 15 and 25 degrees C and 0.011 U degrees C-1 between 25 and 35 degrees C) while lung gas PCO2 rose from 5.8 mmHg at 15 degrees C to 13.2 mmHg at 35 degrees C. Concurrently, lung gas PO2 declined from 132 mmHg at 15 degrees C to 120 mmHg at 35 degrees C, and arterial PO2 increased from 33 to 76 mmHg in that temperature range. Arterial haemoglobin O-2 saturation rose from 0.53 at 15 degrees C to 0.83 at 25 degrees C but became slightly reduced (0.77) with a further elevation of temperature to 35 degrees C. Arterial haemoglobin concentration increased from 1.96 to 2.53 mM between 15 and 35 degrees C, consistent with higher demands on oxygen delivery to tissues at elevated temperatures. Moreover, the substantial increase of haemoglobin O-2 saturation between 15 and 25 degrees C conforms to the idea that reduction of the central vascular right-to-left shunt (pulmonary bypass of systemic venous return) is associated with high metabolic demands. (C) 1998 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Arterial acid-base status during digestion and following vascular infusion of NaHCO3 and HCl in the South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus

Digestion is associated with gastric secretion that leads to an alkalinisation of the blood, termed the alkaline tide. Numerous studies on different reptiles and amphibians show that while plasma bicarbonate concentration ([HCO3-](pl)) increases substantially during digestion, arterial pH (pHa) remains virtually unchanged, due to a concurrent rise in arterial PCO2 (PaCO2) caused by a relative hypoventilation. This has led to the suggestion that postprandial amphibians and reptiles regulate pHa rather than PaCO2.Here we characterize blood gases in the South American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) during digestion and following systemic infusions of NaHCO3 and HCl in fasting animals to induce a metabolic alkalosis or acidosis in fasting animals. The magnitude of these acid-base disturbances were similar in magnitude to that mediated by digestion and exercise. Plasma [HCOT] increased from 18.4+/-1.5 to 23.7+/-1.0 mmol L-1 during digestion and was accompanied by a respiratory compensation where PaCO2 increased from 13.0+/-0.7 to 19.1+/-1.4 mm Hg at 24 h. As a result, pHa decreased slightly, but were significantly below fasting levels 36 h into digestion. Infusion of NaHCO3 (7 mmol kg(-1)) resulted in a 10 mmol L-1 increase in plasma [HCO3-] within 1 h and was accompanied by a rapid elevation of pHa (from 7.58+/-0.01 to 7.78+/-0.02). PaCO2, however, did not change following HCO3- infusion, which indicates a lack of respiratory compensation. Following infusion of HCl (4 mmol kg(-1)), plasma pHa decreased by 0.07 units and [HCO3-](pl) was reduced by 4.6 mmol L-1 within the first 3 h. PaCO2, however, was not affected and there was no evidence for respiratory compensation.Our data show that digesting rattlesnakes exhibit respiratory compensations to the alkaline tide, whereas artificially induced metabolic acid-base disturbances of same magnitude remain uncompensated. It seems difficult to envision that the central and peripheral chemoreceptors would experience different stimuli during these conditions. One explanation for the different ventilatory responses could be that digestion induces a more relaxed state with low responsiveness to ventilatory stimuli. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

When Basking Is Not an Option: Thermoregulation of a Viperid Snake Endemic to a Small Island in the South Atlantic of Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Contamination by chlorinated pesticides, PCBs and PBDEs in Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) in western South Atlantic

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)