In recent years, companies' responsibilities towards society have expanded significantly, and former business models have been revised in line with a more pluralist approach, which takes ...stakeholders, sustainability, business ethics and transparency into account. These considerations are increasingly reflected in corporate sustainability reporting, i.e., statements reflecting the impact of business practices related to economic, environmental and social perspectives. However, the data contained in such documents are reported independently of the financial aspects, implying a disconnection between the three pillars of business strategy. In order to avoid this shortcoming, some leading companies have developed integrated reporting, which expresses the interconnections between a firm's strategy, governance, performance and prospects, as well as the contexts within which it operates. The aim of this paper is to examine the influence of one of the most important institutional factors, the legal system, on the development of integrated reports. The analysis of a non-balanced sample of 750 international companies for the years 2008–2010, in which a logit methodology is applied to panel data, reveals the impact of this institutional factor. The results show that companies located in civil law countries, and where indices of law and order are high, are more likely to create and publish a broad range of integrated reports, thus favouring decision-taking by the different stakeholders. On the basis of these findings, two policy recommendations are proposed: first, it may be necessary to establish national laws and protection mechanisms to promote and ensure holistic transparency. Second, managers must be able to decide on the appropriate disclosure practices in the context of their own legal environment in order to obtain maximum benefits from their decisions. The results should be considered as having only preliminary value due to the limited number of firms that disclose this typology of reporting, and because of the limitations of the data sample.
•Jarosite needs to be decomposed in order to recover the silver.•Thiourea is proposed as leaching agent to recover silver from industrial jarosite.•The cupric ions increase the redox potential and ...thiourea can be oxidized.•Simultaneous jarosite decomposition-thiourea silver leaching at 90°C is studied.•Acid-decomposition followed by thiourea silver leaching permit to recover 90% of silver.
The recovery of silver from hazardous jarosite residues was studied employing thiourea as leaching agent at acid pH and 90°C. The stability of the thiourea in synthetic solutions was evaluated in the presence of some cations that can be present in this leaching system: cupric and ferric ions as oxidant species, and zinc, lead and iron as divalent ions. Two silver leaching methods were studied: the simultaneous jarosite decomposition-silver leaching, and the jarosite decomposition followed by the silver leaching.
The study with synthetic solutions demonstrated that cupric and ferric ions have a negative effect on thiourea stability due to their oxidant properties. The effect of cupric ions is more significant than the effect of ferric ions; other studied cations (Fe2+, Zn2+, Pb2+) had no effect on the stability of thiourea.
When the decomposition of jarosite and the silver leaching are carried out simultaneously, 70% of the silver can be recovered. When the acid decomposition was performed at pH 0.5 followed by the leaching step at pH 1, total silver recovery increased up to 90%. The zinc is completely dissolved with any of these processes while the lead is practically insoluble with these systems producing a lead-rich residue.
Context. Probing the evaporation of exoplanet atmospheres is key to understanding the formation and evolution of exoplanetary systems. The main tracer of evaporation in the UV is the Lyman-α ...transition, which can reveal extended exospheres of neutral hydrogen. Recently, the near-infrared (NIR) metastable helium triplet (10 833 Å) revealed extended thermospheres in several exoplanets. This opens a new window into evaporation. Aims. We aim at spectrally resolving the first helium absorption signature detected in the warm Saturn WASP-107b with the Wide Filed Camera 3 on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST/WFC3). Methods. We obtained one transit of WASP-107b with CARMENES installed on the 3.5 m telescope at the Calar Alto observatory. Results. We detect an excess helium absorption signature of 5.54 ± 0.27% (20σ) in the planet rest frame during the transit. The detection is in agreement with the previous detection achieved with HST/WFC3. The signature shows an excess absorption in the blue part of the lines, suggesting that He I atoms are escaping from the atmosphere of WASP-107b. We interpret the time-series absorption spectra using the 3D EVE code. Our observations can be explained by combining an extended thermosphere that fills half of the Roche lobe and a large exospheric tail sustained by an escape rate of metastable helium of about 106 g s−1. In this scenario, however, the upper atmosphere needs to be subjected to a reduced photoionisation and radiation pressure from the star for the model to match the observations. Conclusions. We confirm the presence of helium in the atmosphere of WASP-107b at high confidence. The helium feature is detected from space and from the ground. The ground-based high-resolution signal brings detailed information about the spatial and dynamical structure of the upper atmosphere, and simulations suggest that the He I signature of WASP-107b probes both its thermosphere and exosphere, establishing this signature as a robust probe of exoplanetary upper atmospheres. Surveys with NIR high-resolution spectrographs (e.g. CARMENES, the Spectromètre infrarouge (SPIRou), or the Near-Infrared Planet Searcher (NIRPS)) will deliver a statistical understanding of exoplanet thermospheres and exospheres through the helium triplet.
The prevalence of kidney disease has increased rapidly in recent years and has emerged as one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Natural products have been suggested as valuable ...nephroprotective agents due to their multi-target and synergistic effects on modulating important proteins involved in kidney injury. There is a large number of plant species that have been used traditionally for kidney-related conditions in Mesoamerican medicine by different cultural groups that could provide a valuable source of nephroprotective therapeutic candidates and could lead to potential drug discovery.
This review aims to provide an overview of the currently known efficacy of plant species used traditionally in Mesoamerica by Mayan groups to treat kidney-related conditions and to analyze the phytochemical, pharmacological, molecular, toxicological, and clinical evidence to contribute to public health efforts and for directing future research.
Primary sources of plant use reports for traditional kidney-related disorders in Mesoamerica were searched systematically from library catalogs, theses, and scientific databases (PubMed, Google Scholar; and Science Direct), and were filtered according to usage frequency in Mayan groups and plant endemism. The database of traditional plants was further analyzed based on associations with published reports of the phytochemical, pharmacological, molecular, toxicological, and clinical evidence.
The most reported kidney-related conditions used traditionally in Mayan medicine involve reducing renal damage (a cultural interpretation that considers an inflammatory or infectious condition), cleaning or purifying the blood and kidney, reducing kidney pain, and eliminating kidney stones. A total of 208 plants used for kidney-related problems by 10 Mayan groups were found, representing 143 native species, where only 42 have reported pharmacological activity against kidney damage, mainly approached by in vitro and in vivo models of chemical- or drug-induced nephrotoxicity, diabetes nephropathy, and renal injury produced by hypertension. Nephroprotective effects are mainly mediated by reducing oxidative stress, inflammatory response, fibrosis mechanisms, and apoptosis in the kidney. The most common nephroprotective compounds associated with traditional Mayan medicine were flavonoids, terpenoids, and phenolic acids. The most widely studied traditional plants in terms of pharmacological evidence, bioactive compounds, and mechanisms of action, are Annona muricata L., Carica papaya L., Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam., Lantana camara L., Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw., Tagetes erecta L., and Zea mays L. Most of the plant species with reported pharmacological activity against kidney damage were considered safe in toxicological studies.
Available pharmacological reports suggest that several herbs used in traditional Mayan medicine for renal-associated diseases may have nephroprotective effects and consistent pharmacological evidence, nephroprotective compounds, and mechanisms of action in different models of kidney injury. However, more research is required to fully understand the potential of traditional Mayan medicine in drug discovery given the limited ethnobotanical studies and data available for most species with regards to identification on bioactive components, pharmacological mechanisms, and the scarce number of clinical studies.
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•Mayan medicinal herbs used for kidney disorders target inflammation, infection, pain, and deficiencies in blood and the Kidney.•One-third of the species traditionally reported for kidney disorders have pharmacological studies.•Main nephroprotective compounds comprise flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and terpenoids.•Several Mayan medicinal herbs regulate oxidative, inflammatory, fibrotic, and apoptotic pathways in the Kidney.
Abstract We report here the performance and first results of the new multiband optical polarimeter DIPOL-1, installed at the Sierra Nevada Observatory 90 cm T90 telescope (SNO, Granada, Spain). ...DIPOL-1 is equipped with a plane parallel calcite plate and λ /2 retarder for modulating the intensity of two perpendicularly polarized beams, and a high readout speed CMOS camera that allows for fast, time-dense coverage. We characterize the performance of this instrument through a series of tests on zero- and high-polarization standard stars. The instrumental polarization in the Nasmyth focus was well determined, with a very stable contribution of 4.0806% ± 0.0014% in the optical R band. For bright high-polarization standards ( m R < 8) we reach precisions <0.02% in polarization degree and 0.°1 in polarization angle for exposures of 2–4 min. The polarization properties of these stars have been constrained, providing more recent results also about possible variability for future studies of some of the most used calibrators. Moreover, we have tested the capability of observing much fainter objects, in particular through blazar observations, where we reach a precision of <0.5%−0.6% and <0.°5 for faint targets ( m R ∼ 16.5) with exposures of ∼1 hr. For brighter targets ( m R ∼ 14.5−15), we can aim for time-dense observations with errors <0.2%−0.4% and <1°−1.°5 in 5–20 min. We have successfully performed a first campaign with DIPOL-1, detecting significant polarized emission of several blazars, with special attention to the highest ever polarization degree measured from blazar 3C 345 at ∼32%.
We present the first redundant detection of sporadic impact flashes on the Moon from a systematic survey performed between 2001 and 2004. Our wide-field lunar monitoring allows us to estimate the ...impact rate of large meteoroids on the Moon as a function of the luminous energy received on Earth. It also shows that some historical well-documented mysterious lunar events fit in a clear impact context. Using these data and traditional values of the luminous efficiency for this kind of event we obtain that the impact rate on Earth of large meteoroids (0.1–10 m) would be at least one order of magnitude larger than currently thought. This discrepancy indicates that the luminous efficiency of the hypervelocity impacts is higher than 10
−2, much larger than the common belief, or the latest impact fluxes are somewhat too low, or, most likely, a combination of both. Our nominal analysis implies that on Earth, collisions of bodies with masses larger than 1 kg can be as frequent as 80,000 per year and blasts larger than 15-kton could be as frequent as one per year, but this is highly dependent on the exact choice of the luminous efficiency value. As a direct application of our results, we expect that the impact flash of the SMART-1 spacecraft should be detectable from Earth with medium-sized telescopes.
Characterising the atmospheres of exoplanets is key to understanding their nature and provides hints about their formation and evolution. High resolution measurements of the helium triplet absorption ...of highly irradiated planets have been recently reported, which provide a new means of studying their atmospheric escape. In this work we study the escape of the upper atmospheres of HD 189733 b and GJ 3470 b by analysing high resolution He
I
triplet absorption measurements and using a 1D hydrodynamic spherically symmetric model coupled with a non-local thermodynamic model for the He
I
triplet state. We also use the H density derived from Ly
α
observations to further constrain their temperatures, mass-loss rates, and H/He ratios. We have significantly improved our knowledge of the upper atmospheres of these planets. While HD 189733 b has a rather compressed atmosphere and small gas radial velocities, GJ 3470 b, on the other hand with a gravitational potential ten times smaller, exhibits a very extended atmosphere and large radial outflow velocities. Hence, although GJ 3470 b is much less irradiated in the X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation, and its upper atmosphere is much cooler, it evaporates at a comparable rate. In particular, we find that the upper atmosphere of HD 189733 b is compact and hot, with a maximum temperature of 12 400
−300
+400
K, with a very low mean molecular mass (H/He = (99.2/0.8) ± 0.1), which is almost fully ionised above 1.1
R
P
, and with a mass-loss rate of (1.1 ± 0.1) × 10
11
g s
−1
. In contrast, the upper atmosphere of GJ 3470 b is highly extended and relatively cold, with a maximum temperature of 5100 ± 900 K, also with a very low mean molecular mass (H/He = (98.5/1.5)
−1.5
+1.0
), which is not strongly ionised, and with a mass-loss rate of (1.9 ± 1.1) × 10
11
g s
−1
. Furthermore, our results suggest that upper atmospheres of giant planets undergoing hydrodynamic escape tend to have a very low mean molecular mass (H/He ≳ 97/3).
We analyse lunar impact flashes recorded by our team during runs in December 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014. In total, 12 impact flashes with magnitudes ranging between 7.1 and 9.3 in V band were ...identified. From these, nine events could be linked to the Geminid stream. Using these observations, the ratio of luminous energy emitted in the flashes with respect to the kinetic energy of the impactors for meteoroids of the Geminid stream is estimated. By making use of the known Geminids meteoroid flux on Earth we found this ratio to be 2.1 × 10−3 on average. We compare this luminous efficiency with other estimations derived in the past for other meteoroid streams and also compare it with other estimations that we present here for the first time by making use of crater diameter measurements. We think that the luminous efficiency has to be revised downwards, not upwards, at least for sporadic impacts. This implies an increase in the influx of kilogram-sized and larger bodies on Earth that has been derived thus far through the lunar impact flash monitoring technique.
Aims. We explore the capabilities of CARMENES for characterising hot-Jupiter atmospheres by targeting multiple water bands, in particular, those at 1.15 and 1.4 μm. Hubble Space Telescope ...observations suggest that this wavelength region is relevant for distinguishing between hazy and/or cloudy and clear atmospheres. Methods. We observed one transit of the hot Jupiter HD 189733 b with CARMENES. Telluric and stellar absorption lines were removed using SYSREM, which performs a principal component analysis including proper error propagation. The residual spectra were analysed for water absorption with cross-correlation techniques using synthetic atmospheric absorption models. Results. We report a cross-correlation peak at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 6.6, revealing the presence of water in the transmission spectrum of HD 189733 b. The absorption signal appeared slightly blueshifted at –3.9 ± 1.3 km s−1. We measured the individual cross-correlation signals of the water bands at 1.15 and 1.4 μm, finding cross-correlation peaks at S/N of 4.9 and 4.4, respectively. The 1.4 μm feature is consistent with that observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Conclusions. The water bands studied in this work have been mainly observed in a handful of planets from space. Being able also to detect them individually from the ground at higher spectral resolution can provide insightful information to constrain the properties of exoplanet atmospheres. Although the current multi-band detections can not yet constrain atmospheric haze models for HD 189733 b, future observations at higher S/N could provide an alternative way to achieve this aim.
ABSTRACT
CAFE is a high-resolution spectrograph with high-precision radial velocity capabilities mounted at the 2.2 m telescope of Calar Alto Observatory. It suffered from strong degradation after ...4 yr of operations and it has now been upgraded. The upgrades of the instrument (now named CAFE2) aimed at recovering the throughput and improving the stability due to the installation of a new grating, an active temperature control in the isolated coudé room, and a new scrambling system. In this paper, we present the results of the new commissioning of the instrument and a new pipeline (CAFExtractor) that provides the user with fully reduced data including radial velocity measurements of FGK dwarf stars. The commissioning results show a clear improvement in the instrument performance. The room temperature is now stabilized down to 5 mK during one night and below 50 mK over two months. CAFE2 now provides 3 m s−1 precision on the reference ThAr frames and the on-sky tests provide a radial velocity precision of 8 m s−1 during one night (for S/N > 50). The throughput of the instrument is now back to nominal values with an efficiency of around 15 per cent at 550 nm. The limiting magnitude of the instrument for a 1 h exposure and S/N = 20 is V = 15. With all these properties, CAFE enters into the small family of high-resolution spectrographs at 2–4 m telescopes capable of reaching radial velocity precisions below 10 m s−1.
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