Long-term Provision Research Articles

EVALUATION OF INTERNET ACCESS BY STUDENTS AT A FEDERAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION IN NORTHERN BRAZIL

Objective: This study presents the results of assessing Internet access by students at a federal educational institution in northern Brazil. Theoretical Framework: The study's theoretical framework relates information technologies through Internet access to learning. It shows that the more adequate Internet access is in educational institutions' daily routines, the better the students' performance in learning and its developments in technical, scientific, and technological production. Method: The method used was a survey, the population of which consisted of students who attended classes during the three shifts during which the institution operated. The students were consulted through a questionnaire with multiple-choice questions, the results of which were generated using descriptive statistics and presented in frequency tables. Results and Discussion: The findings showed deficiencies in a) the connection attributes, b) insufficient connection about the types of use by students, c) the connection provided is of low quality, and d) there is excess demand about the low institutional supply, especially in the evening shift. Research Implications: This study shows that internet services must be the object of multidisciplinary treatment and cannot represent the exclusive view of ICT professionals or education specialists. Unidisciplinary views prevent several fundamental nuances of institutional core activities from being overlooked. Originality/Value: The research's originality lies in the empirical observation that educational institutions must strategically plan long-term internet provision jointly by ICT professionals, education specialists, teachers, and students.

Predictors of Direct Breastfeeding in Preterm Infants.

Objective: Rates of mother's own milk (MOM) provision in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) vary widely, despite acceptance as the gold standard for nutrition in preterm infants. Direct breastfeeding (DBF) supports long-term provision of MOM, but factors that support DBF in preterm infants are unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict DBF at oral feeding initiation and at NICU discharge. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of preterm infants born at ≤ 32 weeks who were receiving MOM at 32 weeks corrected gestational age (cohort 1) and at discharge to home (cohort 2). The primary outcomes were rates of DBF at oral feeding initiation (cohort 1) and at hospital discharge (cohort 2). We examined bivariate associations between infant characteristics, maternal sociodemographic factors, and hospital practices (e.g., lactation visit timing and frequency) with DBF outcomes and then built logistic regression models to determine the adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval ([adjusted odds ratio [aOR] [95%CI]) for independent predictors of the DBF outcomes. Results: Sixty-four percent of eligible infants initiated DBF, and 51% were DBF at discharge. Sociodemographic, NICU, and lactation support factors were associated with both outcomes. Post hoc analysis showed that similar factors also influenced lactation support provision. Conclusions: Lactation support, NICU and sociodemographic variables influence DBF initiation and DBF at discharge. Interventions that optimize efficient use of available lactation support, address bias, and provide ample opportunity for DBF practice could improve rates.

Smart mouthguards and contact sport: the data ethics dilemma

The use of smart mouthguards in contact sports like rugby aims to enhance player safety by providing real-time data on head impacts. These devices, equipped with sensors, measure collision force...

Temporal Development of Microhabitats on Living Habitat Trees in Temperate European Forests

AbstractTree-related microhabitats (TreMs) have been promoted as indicators of forest biodiversity and to guide conservation practices. Ensuring the provision of diverse TreMs in the long term is crucial for the survival of many forest-dwelling species. Yet, this task is challenging in the absence of information regarding TreM dynamics. We analysed the temporal development of TreMs on 11,569 living trees in temperate European forests. To identify drivers of change in TreM abundance and richness over a period of 3–12 years, we estimated the rates of TreM persistence and loss events at the tree-level using survival analysis methods: persistence was characterised by consistency and increment events (when TreM numbers were maintained or increased) and loss was defined as a reduction in TreM numbers or their disappearance. Stratified Cox proportional hazards models were fitted for different TreM groups. Our study revealed a highly dynamic TreM development on living habitat trees, particularly on large trees. While specific TreMs are prone to disappearing, irrespective of tree species or TreM groups, total TreM richness persists over a 12-year period. TreMs such as crown deadwood, epiphytes or woodpecker cavities are prone to decrease in the long term. However, large trees were more likely to maintain a certain degree of TreM richness. Increasing diameters resulted in high persistence rates in seven TreM groups and concomitantly low loss rates in four of them (exposed sap- and heartwood, concavities). Selecting habitat trees based on TreMs should consider the likelihood of TreMs being lost over time, to ensure the long-term provision of microhabitats for associated species. Graphical Abstract

Development of an online teaching platform to improve access to postgraduate pathology training in sub-Saharan Africa.

Resource barriers to the provision of accessible training in cancer diagnosis in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) limit the potential of African health systems. Long-term provision via teaching visits from senior pathologists and trainee foreign placements is unsustainable due to the prohibitive costs of travel and subsistence. Emerging eLearning methods would allow pathologists to be trained by experts in a cheaper, more efficient, and more scalable way. This study aimed to develop an online teaching platform, starting with hematopathology, for trainee pathologists in sub-Saharan Africa, initially in Nairobi, Kenya, and Lusaka, Zambia. Course materials were prepared for both Canvas and the Zoom eLearning platforms using digitally scanned slides of lymph nodes and bone marrow trephines. Initial in-person visits were made to each site to establish trainee rapport and maximize engagement, evaluate different methods and course content, and obtain feedback to develop the project. The knowledge of trainees before and after course completion was used to measure initial effectiveness. Online teaching with the preferred platform is to be continued for 1 year before re-evaluation for long-term effectiveness. Canvas was selected as the preferred delivery platform as it is freely available and has good functionality to support all required tasks. Face-to-face teaching was considered optimal to establish the initial rapport necessary to maximize subsequent engagement with online teaching. Challenges have included sub-optimal internet speeds and connections and scheduling issues. Weekly online hematopathology teaching sessions using live image capture microscope sessions, Zoom, and Canvas have been delivered to students in Kenya and Zambia, with good attendance and interaction in case discussions. Our team has successfully designed and delivered an online training program in hematopathology to trainee pathologists in Kenya and Zambia, which has been ongoing for over a year. This project is now being scaled to other sub-Saharan countries and other sub-specialties.

Use and management of seagrass ecosystems in southwestern Madagascar

Madagascar’s seagrass meadows are among the least-studied ecosystems in the western Indian Ocean region. To facilitate sustainable management, understanding the traditional uses of seagrass areas in relation to current management policies is necessary. This study assessed the uses of, and policies relevant to, seagrass ecosystems off southwestern Madagascar. We interviewed 131 community members in five coastal villages around the Bay of Ranobe in Toliara Province. Answers to the survey revealed a good level of awareness of seagrass, though 55% of respondents perceived the status of the seagrass areas as deteriorating. Opinions varied on the source or degree of threats to seagrass, but 74.8% of respondents suggested destructive fishing methods or other factors, including natural phenomena and animal grazing. The responses highlight that seagrass meadows serve as areas important for fishing, seaweed cultivation or sea cucumber farming, and the passage of boat/pirogue transportation. There are currently no tangible policies that directly protect or manage the seagrass areas regarding these activities, although some national regulations and local management initiatives are indirectly relevant, notably no-take zones and the local-level codes known as Dina. Development and implementation of a national management plan for seagrass ecosystems is a key gap. This demands the collection of scientific data to support decision-making to ensure long-term provision of the services provided by seagrass meadows. The involvement of coastal communities in the management of seagrass ecosystems will be necessary for the success of any new policies.

Energy management control strategies addressing the rSOC degradation phenomena in a polygeneration microgrid

Economically competitive long-term energy provision and performance stability are becoming increasingly strategic for the upcoming energy market. Despite hydrogen-based technologies representing a viable way for the aforementioned targets, such systems are affected by performance reduction over time. This paper is aimed at presenting energy management mitigation policies for a reversible solid oxide-based (rSOC) polygeneration microgrid. Particularly, interest has been paid towards the rSOC degradation phenomena and its mitigation by applying strategies allowing meeting target performance and satisfying economics. In a multilevel framework, the rSOC degradation mitigation has been pursued proposing two central-level strategies, namely Grid support (GS) and Limited Grid support (LGS), which act between the power split targets coming from the supervisory level and working set points actuated by the low-level controllers. The former aims at compensating for the energy gap caused by degradation relying on external contributions: power grid network and boilers. Alike, the goal of the latter is to keep the rSOC turned on as much as possible, therefore, complying with the energy management goals given by supervisory level. The state of charge of the hydrogen storage tank has been chosen as a metric to best show the results obtained implementing the mitigation strategies, as it directly displays the rSOC active management and boundaries applied on the storage systems. Considering a 3 years scenario, the LGS strategy in comparison to the GS one has resulted to be more effective concerning: costs, microgrid self-sufficiency, reliability and overall robustness. Quantitatively, for the LGS strategy, considering degradation degrees in the range 0.25–1 %/kh, relative additional integration costs with respect to the case unaffected by degradation are seen to be in the range 30–105 %.

Navigating the Path of Least Resistance to Sustainable, Widespread Adoption of Nuclear Power

With climate change rapidly accelerating, we must seriously reconsider our inconsistent and, at times, disjointed approach to energy grid decarbonisation by applying extant low-carbon technologies rapidly and at scale rather than continuing to rely on fossil fuel generation. In contrast to more transient renewables such as wind and solar energy, nuclear power is capable of reliably generating large quantities of baseload low-carbon energy. Despite this advantage, however, deployment has stagnated due to a combination of high costs, safety concerns, and an unwillingness of political authorities to commit to a large-scale, publicly funded program. The focus on private sector leadership in R&D has resulted in a smorgasbord of under-developed and conceptual reactor and fuel cycle technologies, many of which are a decade or more from commercial viability. Meanwhile, the aforementioned political issues have prevented the necessary long-term funding, incentivisation, or provision of the necessary market structures for the significant construction of actual generating plants. With this in mind, we present a potential path to a long-term sustainable approach to the nuclear fuel cycle, highlighting key reactor and fuel cycle technologies and providing an overview of how these should be implemented. Additionally, we discuss the industrial, political, and societal changes needed to achieve this through the comprehensive management of both waste and resources.

Prevalence of diabetes in the municipality of Campo Grande – MS

Diabetes is well recognized as a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality. There has been a notable increase in the occurrence and prevalence of diabetes mellitus on a global scale. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its consequent effects highlight the need to allocate resources for preventive treatments, disease management and long-term healthcare provision. In this specific context, the Medical Residency Program in Family and Community Medicine (PRM-MFC) emerges as an effective mechanism to assist in the prevention and treatment of diseases. The present work aims to evaluate the prevalence of diabetes in the city of Campo Grande/MS in the year 2022 and compare the number of treatments carried out in units with and without the implementation of the PRM-MFC in Primary Health Care. a cross-sectional study carried out with data from the Health Information System for Primary Care in the city of Campo Grande – MS, as well as information contained in surveys carried out through the Surveillance of Risk Factors and Protection for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey, of the Ministry of Health. The study found that units with the PRM-MFC program had higher rates of detection of diabetes cases. This is due to its comprehensive approach, including regular exams, patient education and personalized treatment plans. Implementing this program in more healthcare facilities could significantly improve diabetes detection and management outcomes.

Spatial flows of ecosystem services under future climate and land-use changes

Increasing global pressure on natural capital requires sustainable solutions to ensure long-term provision of ecosystem services (ES) which have complex flow dynamics. Although the importance of ES flows has been increasingly recognized during the past years, little is known about how they will be affected by future climate and land-use changes. Here, we integrated ES flows into a scenario-based assessment framework, and evaluated it by clarifying the local and distant effects of ES flows in the Black River basin, China. The spatiotemporal variations of ES flows were investigated by considering different land policies and climate scenarios, and the drivers of ES flow variations were explored. We found increasing inter-regional ES flows toward 2100. Compared to land-use change, the intra-regional flows were more sensitive to climate change, with greater shifts of flow size and synergistic areas identified under a moderate climatic forcing scenario with sustainable management strategies. Precipitation directly affected water retention flow, yet affected flood mitigation flow both directly and indirectly through changing vegetation cover, which was the major driver of soil retention flow. Biodiversity mediated the positive effects of precipitation and vegetation cover on soil retention flow. Our study highlights the importance of embracing the spatiotemporal features of ES flows in sustainable transboundary management and adaptation strategies.

A simulation-based approach to assess the stability of marine food-webs and inform Good Environmental Status

The European Union Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) recognises that maintaining marine food-webs in Good Environmental Status (GES) is fundamental to ensure the long-term provision of essential ecosystem goods and services. However, operationalising food-web assessments is challenging due to difficulties in i) implementing simple but complete monitoring programmes, ii) identifying thresholds in monitoring indicators that inform when perturbations are diverting food-web state from GES and iii) in providing an integrative and complete picture of the (health) status of food-webs. In this context, stability assessments of marine food-webs could be useful to identifying the indicators that best track perturbation-induced changes in food-web state and the threshold boundaries that should not be exceeded to minimise the likelihood of losing stability. Yet, there is still a lack of systematic methods to perform such assessments. Here, we evaluate the potential of a simulation-based protocol to be used as a methodological standard for assessing the stability of marine food-webs. The protocol draws on the principles of ecological stability theory and provides a framework for assessing the trajectories of individual indicators during perturbation regimes and their robustness in detecting stability thresholds for marine food-webs. We tested the protocol on an open-ocean and deep-sea food-web modelled with the Ecopath with Ecosim suite. We concluded that indicators that quantify transfer efficiency through the food-web and measure the average trophic level of the community are optimal proxies for trophic functioning and structure to assess the stability of the system. Furthermore, we show how the approach can be applied to i) determine the impact of a loss of stability on the balance between trophic levels and ii) identify the biological components of the food-web that are most affected in scenarios of stability loss. Our findings could be useful for the ongoing debate on how trophic models and derived indicators can play a concrete and practical role in the food-web assessments in European seas.

Auditoria operacional dos sistemas previdenciários: achados do Tribunal de Contas do Estado do Ceará

The national public administration is preceded by being monitored and supervised given the large resources that are allocated to the provision of services that society needs, leaving the courts of accounts to their control and measurement. With regard to the management programs of the private pension systems, the courts began to audit actuarial management and the accounting entries referring to long-term provisions for the payment of retirement and pension benefits. The Federal Court of Auditors presented irregularities and the Court of Auditors of the State of Ceará carried out operational audits related to the municipal regimes, and asked: what were the findings of the operational audit? The answer came through research of an interpretive nature with a qualitative approach and a case study in two municipalities of the six audited. It was concluded that: the municipal social security management in the State is recurrent in the irregularities and vices in the processes of acquisition of goods, products, or services; actuarial estimates are defective and incapable of assessing the sustainability capacity of the social security system, with indications of the absence of adherence tests for the workforce, actuarial cash flow incompatible with future execution, and inconstancy in results; absence of recording mathematical provisions in the balance sheets, originating from actuarial estimates; and absence of projections of actuarial liabilities in the tax statements. The audits studied pointed out recommendations and determinations to managers, which must be monitored by the body with the possibility of sanctioning and returning resources to public coffers.

"What will the doctor give me, the same painkiller?": a qualitative study exploring health-care seeking and symptoms self-management among patients for the treatment of long-term chikungunya disease, in Curaçao.

Long-term chikungunya disease, characterized by persistent disabling rheumatic symptoms, including poly-arthralgia/arthritis of severe pain intensity, can persist for years after infection with the re-emerging mosquito-borne chikungunya virus. Although persistent symptoms and pain severity are important determinants of health-care seeking and self-management of symptoms, research on these in relation to long-term chikungunya disease is scarce. This study aimed to explore the perceived benefits and perceived barriers concerning health-care seeking, based on the Health Belief Model, and the symptoms self-management strategies used for health outcome improvement among individuals affected by long-term chikungunya disease. An exploratory qualitative descriptive study was conducted with 20 purposively selected adults (17 females and 3 males) with persistent rheumatic symptoms, recruited from an ongoing longitudinal chikungunya cohort, in Curaçao. Semi-structured interviews were carried out, audio-recorded, and transcribed. An iterative coding process was used for themes identification through inductive thematic analyses. No perceived benefits in health-care seeking were reported. Identified themes in relation to perceived barriers were: (1) health-care seeking at disease onset; (2) general practitioners(GPs) perceptions and awareness of persistent symptoms; (3) challenges for medical referrals and support; (4) no validation of symptoms and challenges accessing therapy; (5) health system restrictions; and (6) social stigmatization of psychological help. These perceived barriers have led participants to self-manage persistent symptoms. Over-the-counter pharmacological and/or non-pharmacological treatments were used without consulting GPs. Identified themes were: (1) self-medication of symptoms; and (2) self-management true non-pharmacological treatments. To promote the benefits of long-term health-care seeking and subsequently reduce the possible harmful use of analgesics, a collaborative physician-patient therapeutic relationship need to be encouraged. To facilitate this, important shifts may be needed in chikungunya sequalae education of both patients and health-care professionals, and policy makers need to revise health systems for the long-term provision of multidisciplinary care to achieve beneficial health outcomes in long-term chikungunya disease.

O029 Clinical features and outcomes of patients referred to a Respiratory Failure service

Abstract Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) improves quality of life and mortality in patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure. We reviewed the last decade of long-term home NIV provision in a single centre via an observational retrospective study. Data were prospectively collected in a database. Anthropometric and demographic data were expressed as mean±SD. Indications for chronic home NIV were categorised into: neuromuscular diseases (NMD) [including motor neuron disease (MND)]; obstructive sleep apnoea/obesity hypoventilation (OSA/OHS); pulmonary disease; and others. Linear regression analysis was performed for the annual incidence by indication, and multivariate Cox regression performed compares MND mortality with other causes. 541 new patients (Age 60.8 ±17.1 years; 273 Female; BMI 33.4±13.9 kg/m2 (n=380)) were commenced on NIV between 2012-2022. Patient numbers increased by 2.3 (0.4-4.1) per year (slope, (95% confidence intervals); p<0.02). Indications for treatment included: 52% NMD (29% MND); 19% OSA/OHS; 19% pulmonary disease; and 10 % other causes. Average referral age, BMI and gender composition were stable over the time period. There was an increase in patients with pulmonary disease commenced on NIV of 0.6 (0.7-3.5)% per year (p<0.008), other indications for treatment were unchanged. 31.4% patients died (16.8% MND). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that a diagnosis of MND was associated with an increased likelihood of death (HR 11.42, p<0.0001). In the last decade, there’s been a gradual increase in patient numbers treated with chronic home NIV, with an increasing percentage of patients with pulmonary disease commenced on treatment. Mortality in MND patients on NIV is higher compared with other indications.

Puebla City Water Supply from the Perspective of Urban Water Metabolism

The city of Puebla is a mid-sized Mexican city facing multiple water-related challenges, from overexploitation of water sources and extreme pollution of rivers to water conflicts and contestation processes due to the privatization of water supply. Due to the complexity of urban water systems and their relevance for urban life, a holistic and integrative perspective is therefore needed to inform policymakers addressing such challenges. In this paper, Urban Water Metabolism (UWM) has been used to offer a comprehensive understanding of current water insecurity in the City of Puebla and its metropolitan area. Water inflows and outflows have been estimated using the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) method with data either obtained from official sources or simulated with the Monte Carlo method. Our findings show that the UWM configuration in the City of Puebla and its metropolitan area is effective for generating profits for service providers and water-related businesses, yet ineffective for guaranteeing citizens’ Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS), a right recognized in the Constitution of Mexico. We conclude that to advance towards an inclusive and sustainable long-term provision of water, economic goals must follow socio-ecological goals, not the other way around. We consider UWM accounting useful for informing policy and decision-making processes seeking to build a new water governance based on both the best available knowledge and inclusive and vibrant social participation.

Mountain protective forests under threat? an in-depth review of global change impacts on their protective effect against natural hazards

Forests in mountain areas provide an indispensable ecosystem service by protecting people and infrastructure against natural hazards. As forests are increasingly affected by global change, including climate change, more frequent and severe natural disturbances, and shifts in land use, open questions remain regarding the long-term and sustainable provision of this crucial protective service. To improve our understanding of the various effects of global change on protective forests, we summarized the current knowledge based on a systematic review. Focusing on changes in mountain forests’ protective effect against snow avalanches, landslides, rockfall, torrential floods and debris flow, we assessed 72 peer-reviewed, English publications. Overall, climate-induced changes are expected to increase forests’ protective effect at higher elevations but reduce it at lower elevations mainly due to increased drought. Natural disturbances usually decrease the protective effect of forests, and their impact is often further exacerbated by salvage logging. Different forest management strategies are often studied using forest simulation models, and their impacts on protective forests strongly depend on the local context and interactions with climate change. While clearcuts consistently reduce the protective effect, other forest management interventions such as thinning can have either positive or negative effects. Most of the reviewed studies were case studies based on forest simulation or process-based hazard models (but rarely combining the two), while empirical evidence was scarce. Forests’ protective effect is often assessed using (diverse) indicators of forest structure, but evaluations of resulting risks are less common. More consistent modeling approaches linking forest structure to hazard and risk, as well as consistent indicators across different case studies, are needed for a better understanding of changes in protective forests and the service they provide under global change.

Predictors of recovery in a medium secure service: Influence of the Welsh Government's Mental Health (2010) Measure

BackgroundResearch to date has failed to examine the effectiveness of MSUs in facilitating recovery, or the influence that mental health policy may have on this process. Examining predictors of short-term clinical outcomes during inpatient admission and the effects of policy changes may inform future policy, treatment planning and may improve service user outcomes. AimsTo examine whether service user admission characteristics and length of stay predicted recovery status at discharge from medium secure care and whether a recovery-focused change in policy (introduction of the Mental Health (Wales) Measure (2010)) impacted either on recovery or the relationship between service user characteristics and recovery. MethodsThe study adopted a retrospective analysis of quantitative data obtained from healthcare records from a Welsh MSU between 2007 and 2017 (n = 198). The DUNDUM-4 scale assessed recovery whilst DUNDRUM-2 assessed security need at admission. Service user admission characteristics included HCR-20 subscale scores, previous security-level transitions, adverse childhood experiences, substance misuse histories. ResultsShorter inpatient stays and higher scores on the dynamic HCR-20 clinical subscale were associated with poorer recovery outcomes. The relationship between admission characteristics and recovery endured despite changes in policy. Implementation of recovery focused legislation was associated with improved recovery. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that treatment should focus on dynamic risk factors to improve service user outcomes and highlights the need for long-term medium-secure provision for some. Further research is needed to evaluate the success of MSUs and the validity of the DUNDRUM-4 across UK secure services.

Healthcare-Seeking Behaviors of Homeless Substance Users During the COVID-19 Lockdowns in Gauteng, South Africa: A COREQ-Based Report

Substance use continues to be a social problem globally. Around the world, approximately 275 million people use drugs, including 15% of South Africans, with over 36 million succumbing to drug disorders. In the Gauteng Province, about 55% of autopsies of deceased medicolegal cases (2003–2012) showed the presence of one or more illicit drugs in Pretoria. Most research shows that around one-third of people who have problems with alcohol and drugs are homeless. Evidence suggests that homeless people are often denied access to even the most essential assistance, including healthcare. This study assessed the healthcare-seeking behaviors of homeless substance users during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Gauteng, South Africa. A qualitative approach using an exploratory design assessed referrals based on those suffering from symptoms of COVID-19 during the lockdown period between 2020 and 2022. Data were collected from 25 homeless substance users in the City of Tshwane, Gauteng, through unstructured interviews. Three themes based on the study objectives included the types of healthcare services consulted, the determinants of health-seeking behaviors, and challenges experienced while seeking healthcare. Of the twenty-five participants, aged twenty-one to fifty, thirteen suffered from COVID-19 symptoms. Five used formal healthcare systems and eight used informal healthcare systems. Older participants access healthcare services, while less of the younger population use them. Barriers that are encountered while seeking medical services entail marginalization, stigmatization, and a lack of social support. Despite the formidable barriers posed by homelessness and substance use, homeless individuals demonstrated remarkable resilience in their efforts to access healthcare services during the COVID-19 lockdowns. This study highlights the importance and urgent need for harm reduction strategies and policy development for long-term service provision to this population, as well, as the literature on equity, diversity, and inclusion as a foundation for the rights of marginalized populations and groups. Future research directions should focus on harm reduction among this population group of homeless substance users.

Systematic evaluation of a spatially explicit ecosystem model to inform area-based management in the deep-sea

The long-term provision of ecosystem goods and services depends on the operationalisation of ecosystem-based management approaches that ensure effective conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. This management challenge is addressed internationally through two United Nations instruments: Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 - Life Below Water, and the Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). To achieve sustainability and conservation goals as described in SDG 14 and the BBNJ Agreement, a combination of management tools, including area-based management tools (ABMTs), is necessary. Spatially explicit ecosystem models can inform policy frameworks by enabling ecosystem-wide assessments of ABMTs with indicators that track their management performance. However, the operational use of these complex models depends on the confidence and uncertainty of their predictions. Here, we present a framework to systematically evaluate the performance of a spatially explicit ecosystem model for deep-sea and open-ocean environments, using the ecosystem model for the EEZ of the Azores (NE Atlantic, Portugal) as a case study. The systematic approach aimed to determine the model's suitability as a tool to inform area-based management in the deep-sea. The framework was applied to Ecospace, the spatial-temporal module of the ecological modelling suite Ecopath with Ecosim. It consisted of a stepwise approach for model development and assessment through key parameterisation steps. The steps served for calibration of model parameter values and formal evaluation of temporal and spatial results against the best available reference data. Overall, this approach proved useful in identifying key model sensitivities and sources of uncertainty that arise when considering spatial variability in trophodynamics in the ecosystem model. Moreover, we concluded the model i) effectively predicted the observed inter-annual variability of benthic fish stocks in response to fisheries, trophic interactions, and environmental factors and ii) showed good and moderate spatial goodness-of-fit in replicating reference spatial distribution patterns of stocks and fishing activities. Despite its strengths, the spatial model has limitations related to uncertainties in model parameterisation and the spatial variability of trophodynamics. The systematic assessments presented in this study provide a framework for future model applications to predict the ecosystem-wide impacts of alternative spatial management measures in the deep-sea.

საქართველოში საპენსიო ფონდების ბუღალტრული აღრიცხვისა და ფინანსური ანგარიშგების საკითხისათვის

In Georgia, A pension fund includes pension contributions made by employers, employees, the government, as well as any investment returns, gains or losses accrued on pension assets. The amount of accumulated funds depends on the amount of individual contributions, the profit of the fund and the number of participants. The pension system is a source of long-term financial resources, which contributes to the development of the capital market, the latter having a positive effect on the country's economy. Implementation a private pension system in our country is the most optimal decision, which will improve the long-term pension provision of pensioners. Countries in a situation similar to Georgia do not have to invent any radical innovations in the mentioned field, because European countries have a rich and diverse experience in the development of the social sphere. Sharing their experience is enough to develop your own model and successfully implement it in practice. Due to the great importance of pension funds, their accounting and reporting were included in the international accounting standards from the beginning. The first standard to regulate pension accounting with international practice - Statement of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAP) 24 - was created in Great Britain, which was launched in 1988 and remained for 12 years. The present value of the expected future payments under the pension program can be calculated and presented based on the current salary level, or on the basis of the projected salary level of the plan participants covering their entire period of service until retirement. In many countries, actuarial valuations are carried out at least every three years. If the actuarial valuations are not ready by the reporting date, the actuarial valuations of the nearest period are used as the base of the calculations and the valuation date is indicated. The management of pension funds are responsible for preparing and submitting financial statements of these funds. The government of the pension agency in Georgia are: the director, the supervisory board, the investment board and the senior investment officer. The director's responsibility is to ensure the continued operation and management of the agency. Pension Agency of Georgia presented the interim financial statements of the accumulative pension scheme as of June 30, 2022 and 2021, which include: financial statement; Statement of changes in net assets and explanatory notes to financial statements. The presented financial statements are prepared in full compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"): IAS 26 - Accounting and Reporting for Pension Programs. The approved budget of the pension fund for 2022 amounts to 8,115 million GEL, which is financed by the annual service fee of pension assets, within the scope of the powers granted by the law. 65% of the budget is intended for agency management and administrative activities, and 35% for investment activities. This indicates that the management and administrative costs of the agency are presented in a large volume. It is necessary to increase investment assets at the expense of reducing them, which will contribute to the increase in profitability. Thus, it is essential that pension fund accounting reflects the long-term nature of pension liabilities and assets. They need to be reflected in order to assess the pension provision of the participants. Pension liabilities evolve over time, accounting standards use a mixed model approach, and therefore it is necessary to choose a model in which pension assets and pension liabilities are accounted for consistently. For accounting recognition, the plan value of the assets must be reduced to reflect the long-term pension liability. If pension assets are accounted for on the basis of discounted cash flows, this implies that the long-term nature of the investment planned to meet the pension obligation is accounted for in the same systematic manner as pension liabilities.