The Impact of Ethical Orientation and Gender on Final Year Undergraduate Auditing Students’ Ethical Judgments

This study considers the possibility of auditing students’ ethical judgment being affected by two factors, namely ethical orientation and gender. While tests revealed that more idealistic students judged some unethical situations more strictly than less idealistic students, overall no significant relationship was found between ethical orientation and ethical judgment. The study also reported no significant relationship between gender and ethical judgment. Furthermore, males were as likely as females to be classified as high idealists. Overall, the findings from the current study inform auditing educators that discriminating among students on the basis of ethical orientation and gender may not assist in stimulating students’ discussion and resolution of ethical dilemmas.

The response of small mammals to natural and human-altered edges associated with Afromontane forests of South Africa

An increase in edge area reduces the effective size of habitat fragments and thus the area available for habitat-interior specialists. However, it is unclear how edge effects compare at different ecotones in the same system. We investigated the response of a small mammal community associated with Afromontane forests to edge effects at three different habitat transitions: natural forest to grassland (natural edge, structurally different vegetation types), natural forest to mature plantation (human-altered edge, structurally similar vegetation types) and natural forest to harvested plantation (human-altered edge, structurally different vegetation types). We predicted that edge effects should be less severe at natural ecotones and at similarly structured contiguous vegetation types than human-altered ecotones and differently structured contiguous vegetation types, respectively. We found that forest species seemed to avoid all habitat edges in our study area. Surprisingly, natural edges supported a less diverse small mammal community than human-altered forest edges. However, edge effects were observed deeper into native forests surrounded by mature alien plantations (and more so at harvested plantations) than into native forests surrounded by native grasslands. The net effect of mature plantations was therefore to reduce the functional size of the natural forest by creating a larger edge. We suggest that when plantations are established a buffer zone of natural vegetation be left between natural forests and newly established plantations to mitigate the negative effects of plantation forestry.

Rapid synthesis and zebrafish evaluation of a phenanthridine-based small molecule library

A Heck cyclisation approach is described for the rapid synthesis of a library of natural product-like small molecules, based on the phenanthridine core. The synthesis of a range of substituted benzylamine building blocks and their incorporation into the library is reported, together with a highly selective cis-dihydroxylation protocol that enables access to the target compounds in an efficient manner. Biological evaluation of the library using zebrafish phenotyping has led to the discovery of compound 20c, a novel inhibitor of early-stage zebrafish embryo development.

Down with MNE-centric theories! Market entry and expansion as the bundling of MNE and local assets

Both Anderson and Gatignon and the Uppsala internationalization model see the initial mode of foreign market entry and subsequent modes of operation as unilaterally determined by multinational enterprises (MNEs) arbitraging control and risk and increasing their commitment as they gain experience in the target market. OLI and internalization models do recognize that foreign market entry requires the bundling of MNE and complementary local assets, which they call location or country-specific advantages, but implicitly assume that those assets are freely accessible to MNEs. In contrast to both of these MNE-centric views, I explicitly consider the transactional characteristics of complementary local assets and model foreign market entry as the optimal assignment of equity between their owners and MNEs. By looking at the relative efficiency of the different markets in which MNE and complementary local assets are traded, and at how these two categories of assets match, I am able to predict whether equity will be held by MNEs or by local firms, or shared between them, and whether MNEs will enter through greenfields, brownfields, or acquisitions. The bundling model I propose has interesting implications for the evolution of the MNE footprint in host countries, and for the reasons behind the emergence of Dragon MNEs.

Can grass biomethane be an economically viable biofuel for the farmer and the consumer?

Farm incomes in Ireland are in decline and many farmers would operate at a loss in the absence of subsidies. Agriculture is responsible for 27% of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions and is the largest contributing sector. Penetration of renewable energy in the heat and transport sectors is falling short of targets, and there is no clear plan for achieving them. The anaerobic digestion of grass to produce biogas or biomethane is put forward as a multifaceted solution, which could help meet energy and emissions targets, reduce dependence on imported energy, and provide additional farm income. This paper addresses the economic viability of such a system. Grass biogas/biomethane fares poorly under the current combined heat and power tariff structure, which is geared toward feedstock that attracts a gate fee. Tariff structures similar to those used in other countries are necessary for the industry to develop. Equally, regulation should be implemented to allow injection of biomethane into the gas grid in Ireland. Blends of natural gas and biomethane can be sold, offering a cost-competitive green fuel. Sale as a renewable transport fuel could allow profitability for the farmer and savings for the consumer, but suffers due to the lack of a market. Under current conditions, the most economically viable outlet for grass biomethane is sale as a renewable heating fuel. The key to competitiveness is the existing natural gas infrastructure that enables distribution of grass biomethane, and the renewable energy targets that allow renewable fuels to compete against each other. © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Primary cysts of the iris pigment epithelium. Clinical features and natural course in 234 patients

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics, natural course, and complications of a large group of patients with primary iris pigment epithelium (IPE) cysts. Design: Observational case series. Participants: Two hundred thirty-four patients with primary IPE cysts participated. Results: Primary IPE cysts were classified as central in 6 patients (3%), midzonal in 50 patients (21%), peripheral in 170 patients (73%), and dislodged in 8 patients (3%). Central (pupillary) IPE cysts were found only in males, peripheral IPE cysts were found most often in females (69%), and no gender predilection was detected for midzonal and dislodged IPE cysts. Central and peripheral IPE cysts occurred in young patients (mean age, 20 and 33 years, respectively), whereas midzonal and dislodged IPE cysts were seen in slightly older patients (mean age, 52 and 45 years, respectively). Central IPE cysts were visible when the pupil was not dilated and appeared most often as a round or collapsed brown lesion arising from the pupillary margin, most commonly superonasally. Midzonal IPE cysts were brown and fusiform, best visualized after pupillary dilation. Peripheral IPE cysts produced a characteristic bulging in the iris stroma near the iris root, but they were directly visible in only 78% of cases. After wide dilation and patient and slit-lamp positioning, they appeared as a round clear lesion behind the iris, most often in the inferotemporal quadrant. Finally, dislodged IPE cysts appeared as a brown oval lesion, free floating in the anterior chamber (12%) or in the vitreous (12%), or fixed in the anterior chamber angle (75%). One hundred twenty-four patients (53%) were followed for a mean of 35 months (range, 3 months-19 years). In these patients, complications associated with IPE cysts included lens subluxation in one case (1%), iritis in one case (1%), focal cataract in two cases (2%), glaucoma in two cases (2%), and corneal touch in five cases (4%). Conclusion: Primary IPE cysts have characteristic clinical features that serve to differentiate them from intraocular malignancies. Most cysts have a benign clinical course, and treatment is rarely necessary.

Clinical Trials Abroad: The Marketable Ethics, Weak Protections and Vulnerable Subjects of EU Law

This chapter explores how the EU is a largely overlooked exporter of normative power through its facilitation and use of clinical trials data produced abroad for the marketing of safe pharmaceuticals at home; a move that helps to foster the growing resort to pharmaceuticals as a fix for public health problems. This is made possible by the EU’s (de)selection of international ethical frameworks in preference to the international technical standards it co-authors with other global regulators. Clinical trials abroad underscore how ethics are contingent and revisable in light of market needs, producing weak protections for the vulnerable subjects of EU law. I argue that these components and effects of the regime are ultimately about that which undergirds, shapes and directs regulatory design. That is, I point to the use, infiltration, perpetuation and extension of market-oriented ideas, values and rationalities into formally non-market domains like biomedical knowledge production and public health. I explain how these are central to efforts at producing and legitimating the EU, its related imagined socio-political order based on a more innovative, profitable and competitive pharmaceutical sector in order to foster economic growth, jobs and prosperity, and with them the project of European integration. ‘Bioethics as risk’ is highlighted as a way to reshape and redirect the regulatory regime in ways that are more consistent with the spirit and letter of the ethical standards (and through them the human rights) the EU claims to uphold.

Genome analysis of a simultaneously predatory and prey-independent, novel Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus from the River Tiber, supports in silico predictions of both ancient and recent lateral gene transfer from diverse bacteria

BACKGROUND: Evolution equipped Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus predatory bacteria to invade other bacteria, digesting and replicating, sealed within them thus preventing nutrient-sharing with organisms in the surrounding environment. Bdellovibrio were previously described as "obligate predators" because only by mutations, often in gene bd0108, are 1 in ~1x10(7) of predatory lab strains of Bdellovibrio converted to prey-independent growth. A previous genomic analysis of B. bacteriovorus strain HD100 suggested that predatory consumption of prey DNA by lytic enzymes made Bdellovibrio less likely than other bacteria to acquire DNA by lateral gene transfer (LGT). However the Doolittle and Pan groups predicted, in silico, both ancient and recent lateral gene transfer into the B. bacteriovorus HD100 genome.

RESULTS: To test these predictions, we isolated a predatory bacterium from the River Tiber- a good potential source of LGT as it is rich in diverse bacteria and organic pollutants- by enrichment culturing with E. coli prey cells. The isolate was identified as B. bacteriovorus and named as strain Tiberius. Unusually, this Tiberius strain showed simultaneous prey-independent growth on organic nutrients and predatory growth on live prey. Despite the prey-independent growth, the homolog of bd0108 did not have typical prey-independent-type mutations. The dual growth mode may reflect the high carbon content of the river, and gives B. bacteriovorus Tiberius extended non-predatory contact with the other bacteria present. The HD100 and Tiberius genomes were extensively syntenic despite their different cultured-terrestrial/freshly-isolated aquatic histories; but there were significant differences in gene content indicative of genomic flux and LGT. Gene content comparisons support previously published in silico predictions for LGT in strain HD100 with substantial conservation of genes predicted to have ancient LGT origins but little conservation of AT-rich genes predicted to be recently acquired.

CONCLUSIONS: The natural niche and dual predatory, and prey-independent growth of the B. bacteriovorus Tiberius strain afforded it extensive non-predatory contact with other marine and freshwater bacteria from which LGT is evident in its genome. Thus despite their arsenal of DNA-lytic enzymes; Bdellovibrio are not always predatory in natural niches and their genomes are shaped by acquiring whole genes from other bacteria.

Pharmacy students' use and views on over-the-counter (OTC) medicines; a questionnaire study

Introduction
The role of the pharmacist centers on ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines, including over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. It is important to ascertain pharmacy students’ use and opinions on OTC medicines, given that they are the pharmacists of the future and that this market continues to expand. This study aimed to investigate Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) final year pharmacy students’ use and views on OTC medicines. Scarce work has been conducted in this area to date.

Methods
Following ethical approval and a pilot study, all students (n=155) were invited to participate in a self-completed questionnaire (n=20 questions), distributed at a mandatory class. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests (Chi-squared and Mann Whitney U-test) were used for data analyses.

Results
The response rate was 99.4% (154/155). The majority (153/155) reported using OTC medicines; the key consideration during personal product selection was effectiveness. Most [96.1% (147/153)] were in agreement that safety was the over-riding concern during OTC consultations. While 96.1% (149/155) considered that using an evidence-based approach improved the quality of patient care, 68.0% (104/153) would be prepared to sell a product that lacks evidence of effectiveness, provided it would not cause harm.

Conclusions
The importance of evidence of effectiveness was acknowledged, yet many students in this study were prepared to recommend unproven products. Further strategies are required at QUB to ensure this routine consideration alongside safety in practice.

Origin, seasonality and chemical characteristics of rainwater in Aveiro

Este trabalho teve como objectivo caracterizar quimicamente a água da chuva recolhida na cidade de Aveiro, localizada a sudoeste da Europa, no período de Setembro de 2008 a Setembro de 2009. Para matrizes diluídas como a da água da chuva, as metodologias analíticas a utilizar para se conseguir uma rigorosa caracterização química são de grande importância e ainda não estão uniformizadas. Assim, para caracterizar a fracção orgânica, primeiramente foram comparadas duas metodologias de filtração (0.22 e 0.45 μm) e foram estudados dois procedimentos de preservação da água da chuva (refrigeração e congelação), utilizando a espectroscopia de fluorescência molecular. Além disso, foram comparados dois procedimentos de isolamento e extracção da matéria orgânica dissolvida (DOM) da água da chuva, baseados na sorção nos sorbentes DAX-8 e C-18, utilizando as espectroscopias de ultravioleta-visível e fluorescência molecular. Relativamente aos resultados das metodologias de filtração e preservação, é recomendada a filtração por 0.45 μm, assim como, as amostras de água da chuva deverão ser mantidas no escuro a 4ºC, no máximo até 4 dias, até às análises espectroscópicas. Relativamente à metodologia de isolamento e extracção da DOM, os resultados mostraram que o procedimento de isolamento baseado na C-18 extraiu a DOM que é representativa da matriz global, enquanto que o procedimento da DAX-8 extraiu preferencialmente a fracção do tipo húmico. Como no presente trabalho pretendíamos caracterizar a fracção do tipo húmico da DOM da água da chuva, foi escolhida a metodologia de isolamento e extracção baseada na sorção no sorvente DAX-8. Previamente ao isolamento e extracção da DOM da água da chuva, toda a fracção orgânica das amostras de água da chuva foi caracterizada pelas técnicas de ultravioleta-visível e de fluorescência molecular. As amostras mostraram características semelhantes às de outras águas naturais, e a água da chuva do Verão e Outono apresentou maior conteúdo da matéria orgânica dissolvida cromofórica que a do Inverno e Primavera. Posteriormente, a fracção do tipo húmico de algumas amostras de água da chuva, isolada e extraída pelo procedimento baseado na DAX-8, foi caracterizada utilizando as técnicas espectroscópicas de ultravioleta-visível, fluorescência molecular e ressonância magnética nuclear de protão. Todos os extractos continham uma mistura complexa de compostos hidroxilados e ácidos carboxílicos, com uma predominância da componente alifática e um baixo conteúdo da componente aromática. A fracção inorgânica da água da chuva foi caracterizada determinando a concentração das seguintes espécies iónicas: H+, NH4 +, Cl-, NO3 -, SO4 2-. Os resultados foram comparados com os obtidos na chuva colectada no mesmo local entre 1986-1989 e mostraram que de todos os iões determinados a concentração de NO3 - foi a única que aumentou (cerca do dobro) em 20 anos, tendo sido atribuído ao aumento de veículos e emissões industriais na área de amostragem. Durante o período de amostragem cerca de 80% da precipitação esteve associada a massas de ar oceânicas, enquanto a restante esteve relacionada com massas que tiveram uma influência antropogénica e terrestre. De um modo geral, para as fracções orgânica e inorgânica da água da chuva analisadas, o conteúdo químico foi menor para as amostras que estiveram associadas a massas de ar marítimas do que para as amostras que tiveram contribuições terrestres e antropogénicas.

Single and joint effects of natural and chemical stressors to the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus

Environmental contamination and climate changes constitute two of the most serious problems affecting soil ecosystems in agricultural fields. Agriculture is nowadays a highly optimized process that strongly relies on the application of multiple pesticides to reduce losses and increase yield production. Although constituting, per se, a serious problem to soil biota, pesticide mixtures can assume an even higher relevance in a context of unfavourable environmental conditions. Surprisingly, frameworks currently established for environmental risk assessments keep not considering environmental stressors, such as temperature, soil moisture or UV radiation, as factors liable to influence the susceptibility of organisms to pesticides, or pesticide mixtures, which is raising increasing apprehension regarding their adequacy to actually estimate the risks posed by these compounds to the environment. Albeit the higher attention received on the last few years, the influence of environmental stressors on the behaviour and toxicity of chemical mixtures remains still poorly understood. Aiming to contribute for this discussion, the main goal of the present thesis was to evaluate the single and joint effects of natural stressors and pesticides to the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus. The first approach consisted on evaluating the effects of several abiotic factors (temperature, soil moisture and UV radiation) on the performance of P. pruinosus using several endpoints: survival, feeding parameters, locomotor activity and avoidance behaviour. Results showed that these stressors might indeed affect P. pruinosus at relevant environmental conditions, thus suggesting the relevance of their consideration in ecotoxicological assays. At next, a multiple biomarker approach was used to have a closer insight into the pathways of damage of UV radiation and a broad spectrum of processes showed to be involved (i.e. oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, energy). Furthermore, UV effects showed to vary with the environment medium and growth-stage. A similar biomarker approach was employed to assess the single and joint effects of the pesticides chlorpyrifos and mancozeb to P. pruinosus. Energy-related biomarkers showed to be the most differentiating parameters since age-classes seemed to respond differently to contamination stress and to have different metabolic costs associated. Finally, the influence of temperature and soil moisture on the toxicity of pesticide mixtures was evaluated using survival and feeding parameters as endpoints. Pesticide-induced mortality was found to be oppositely affected by temperature, either in single or mixture treatments. Whereas chlorpyrifos acute toxicity was raised under higher temperatures the toxicity of mancozeb was more prominent at lower temperatures. By the opposite, soil moisture showed no effects on the pesticide-induced mortality of isopods. Contrary to survival, both temperature and soil moisture showed to interact with pesticides to influence isopods’ feeding parameters. Nonetheless, was however the most common pattern. In brief, findings reported on this thesis demonstrated why the negligence of natural stressors, or multiple stressors in general, is not a good solution for risk assessment frameworks.

Photodegradation of sertraline by solar radiation and influencing factors

Photodegradation is considered to be one of the most important processes of elimination of pharmaceutical drugs from natural water matrices. The high consumption and discharge of these substances, in particular antidepressants, to the aquatic environment supports the need to study degradation processes. This dissertation aimed at studying the direct and indirect photodegradation of sertraline, an antidepressant known for its persistence in the environment, and the evaluation of the influence of environmentally relevant factors in its photodegradation. The photodegradation experiments were developed under simulated solar light and the irradiation times converted to summer sunny days (SSD), an equivalent time in natural environmental conditions. The direct photodegradation was evaluated in solutions of sertraline prepared in ultrapure water and the indirect photodegradation was studied through the addition of photosensitizers (humic substances, Fe(III), nitrates and oxygen). Further irradiation studies were perfomed in aqueous samples collected from two wastewater treatment plants, Vouga river and Ria de Aveiro. The samples were chemically characterized (dissolved organic carbon, nitrates and nitrites and iron determination and UV/Vis spectroscopy). The quantification of sertraline was done by HPLC-UV and photoproducts from direct photodegradation were identified by electrospray mass spectrometry. An observed direct photodegradation rate of sertraline of 0.0062 h-1 was determined, corresponding to a half-life time of 111 h (equivalent to 29 SSD). A significant influence of photosensitizers was observed, the best results being achieved in irradiations of sertraline with humic acids, obtaining a half-life time of 12 h. This was attributed to the hydrophobicity of this substance and higher absortivity in the UV/Vis wavelength, which promote processes of indirect photodegradation. The degradation of sertraline in natural samples was also enhanced comparatively to the direct photodegradation, achieving half-life times between 10 and 25h; the best results were achieved in samples from the primary treatment of a wastewater treatment plant and Ria de Aveiro, with half-life times of 10 and 16 h, respectively. A total of six photoproducts formed during the direct photodegradation of sertraline were identified, three of which were not yet identified in the literature. The main factors contributing to the degradation of sertraline were analysed but this was not fully accomplished, requiring further studies of the composition of the natural matrices and the combined influence of distinct photosensitizers during the irradiation. Nevertheless, it was concluded that the photodegradation of sertraline is greatly influenced by indirect photodegradation processes, promoted by the presence of photosensitizers.

Removal of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins from drinking water by powdered activated carbon adsorption/ultrafiltration

Tese dout., Ciências e Tecnologias do Ambiente, Universidade do Algarve, 2009

Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues

The chapter addresses the professional, legal and ethical issues associated with medicines management and the role of the nurse. To ensure safe practice it is imperative safeguards are recognised and applied; therefore pertinent legislative frameworks, policy and professional regulation are discussed. Safeguarding patients when administering prescribed medicines means the nurse must have up-to-date knowledge and skill and a key aspect of this is to ensure consent to treatment from the service user is secured; for this reason drawing on relevant legislation, the consensual process is reviewed. Not infrequently medicine management provokes ethical and legal challenges for the health care professional; these demand reflection and careful consideration; consequently in this chapter legal and ethical parameters and professional boundaries are appraised.

Old conflicts, new rivals? Airline competition in the European market

Christoph Franz of Lufthansa recently identified Ryanair, easyJet, Air Berlin and Emirates as the company’s main competitors – gone are the days when it could benchmark itself against BA or Air France-KLM! This paper probes behind the headlines to assess the extent to which different airlines are in competition, using evidence from the UK and mainland European markets. The issue of route versus network competition is addressed. Many regulators have put an emphasis on the former whereas the latter, although less obvious, can be more relevant. For example, BA and American will cease to compete between London and Dallas Fort Worth if their alliance obtains anti-trust immunity but 80% of the passengers on this route are connecting at one or both ends and hence arguably belong to different markets (e.g. London-San Francisco, Zurich-Dallas, Edinburgh-New Orleans) which may be highly contested. The remaining 20% of local traffic is actually insufficient to support a single point to point service in its own right. Estimates are made of the seat capacity major airlines are offering to the local market as distinct from feeding other routes. On a sector such as Manchester–Amsterdam, 60% of KLM’s passengers are transferring at Schiphol as against only 1% of bmibaby’s. Thus although KLM operates 5 flights and 630 seats per day against bmibaby’s 2 flights and 298 seats, in the point to point market bmibaby offers more seats than KLM. The growth of the Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) means that competition increasingly needs to be viewed on city pair markets (e.g. London-Rome) rather than airport pair markets (e.g. Heathrow-Fiumicino). As the stronger LCCs drive out weaker rivals and mainline carriers retrench to their major hubs, some markets now have fewer direct options than existed prior to the low cost boom. Timings and frequencies are considered, in particular the extent to which services are a true alternative especially for business travellers. LCCs typically offer lower frequencies and more unsociable timings (e.g. late evening arrivals at remote airports) as they are more focused on providing the cheapest service rather than the most convenient schedule. Interesting findings on ‘monopoly’ services are presented (including alliances) - certain airlines have many more of these than others. Lufthansa has a significant number of sectors to itself whereas at the other extreme British Airways has direct competition on almost every route in its network. Ryanair and flybe have a higher proportion of monopoly routes than easyJet or Air Berlin. In the domestic US market it has become apparent since deregulation that better financial returns can come from dominating a large number of smaller markets rather than being heavily exposed in the major markets - which are hotly fought over. Regional niches that appear too thin for Ryanair to serve (with its all 189 seat 737-800 fleet) are identified. Fare comparisons in contrasting markets provide some insights to marketing and pricing strategies. Data sources used include OAG (schedules and capacity), AEA (traditional European airlines traffic by region), the UK CAA (airport, airline and route traffic plus survey information of passenger types) and ICAO (international route traffic and capacity by carrier). It is concluded that airlines often have different competitors depending on the context but in surprisingly many cases there are actually few or no direct substitutes. The competitive process set in train by deregulation of European air services in the 1990s is leading back to one of natural monopolies and oblique alternatives. It is the names of the main participants that have changed however!