A review of genus Nysius Dallas in Argentina (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Orsillidae)

The orsillid genus Nysius Dallas is a complex and large genus with more than 100 described species worldwide, and includes many species of agricultural importance, one such example is N. simulans (Stål) from Argentina. Three species of Nysius are found in this country: N. simulans (Stål), N. irroratus (Spinola) and N. puberulus Berg. The material available for the present study, consisting of over 610 specimens, was collected by sweep-net, G-Vac and light trap in the provinces of Chubut (42° to 46°S; 63.5° to 72° W), La Pampa (35º to 39º south; 63º to 68º West), Neuquén (36° to 41° S; 68° to 71°W) and Río Negro (37° to 42°S; 62° to 71°W), in the central region of Argentina, during the years 2010–2014. Although the species N. simulans is frequently recorded as a pest of soybean crop, there exist no detailed description but only a brief general diagnosis. In the present contribution, therefore, we provide a detailed redescription as well as an updated distribution of N. simulans and N. irroratus, and a key for species of genus Nysius present in Argentina.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

La relevancia de la nueva información transmitida por los dividendos en el mercado de capitales español

En este trabajo pretendemos contrastar el efecto del contenido informativo de los dividendos en el mercado de capitales español. La decisión de reparto de dividendos constituye uno de los temas más controvertidos dentro de las finanzas empresariales presentándose, en palabras de Black, como un rompecabezas cuyas piezas no acaban de encajar entre sí. En un mercado de capitales perfectos esta decisión se convierte en una decisión irrrelevante para las políticas de inversión de las empresas, tal como demostraron Miller y Modigliani. Sin embargo, el escaso poder predictivo de este modelo, bajo el supuesto simplista de ausencia de imperfecciones hace necesario la búsqueda de nuevas respuestas que permitan acercar los pronósticos de la teoría al comportamiento adoptado por las empresas en materia de reparto. Uno de los argumentos que ofrece respuesta a la decisión de dividendos es el que atañe al carácter señalizador de los dividendos. En este sentido, al hilo de las proposiciones que nos sugiere la teoría de la agencia, la política de reparto puede usarse como un vehículo en manos de la gerencia para transmitir información al mercado, en un mundo de asimetrías informativas y donde los internos a la empresa disponen de información privada sobre la marcha de la empresa. La relevancia de la nueva información transmitida por la señal de los dividendos modificará las expectativas que sobre el valor de las acciones tienen los inversores externos, en el caso de que esta información sea significativa y no haya sido descontada con anterioridad. Una vez que hemos expuesto el estado de la cuestión, contrastamos empíricamente si los dividendos transmiten nueva información relevante. Para ello, el estudio se centra en el análisis de las reacciones de los precios de las acciones de la Bolsa de Madrid durante el período 1996-1997 ante anuncios de reparto de dividendos publicados por el Boletín de Cotización de la Bolsa de Madrid. Aplicamos la técnica del suceso para comprobar si existen rentabilidades anormales significativa en tomo a la fecha exdividendo y los períodos anterior y posterior al anuncio. Las peculiaridades informativas que presentan las empresas del sector bancario nos obliga a realizar el estudio por separado del resto de empresas. Los resultados obtenidos nos permiten confirmar las tesis de relevancia de la decisión de dividendos ya que se observa la existencia de rentabilidades anormales significativas en el período de publicación de los dividendos a cuenta, tanto en el sector bancario como en el resto de las empresas. Y con ello, podemos admitir la hipótesis del contenido informativo de los dividendos planteada por la teoría de la agencia y su carácter señalizador para los accionistas extemos sobre la situación de la empresa y su capacidad para generar nuevos fondos en el futuro.This research attempts to check the effect of dividend informative content in the Spanish Capital Market. The decisión of dividend delivery is one of the most controversial issue that becomes a big puzzle which pieces do not match with each other, as Black say

Modelling and control of a continuous distillation tower through fuzzy techniques

This paper presents a methodology for the design of a fuzzy controller applicable to continuous processes based on local fuzzy models and velocity linearizations. It has been applied to the implementation of a fuzzy controller for a continuous distillation tower. Continuous distillation towers can be subjected to variations in feed characteristics that cause loss of product quality or excessive energy consumption. Therefore, the use of a fuzzy controller is interesting to control process performance.A dynamic model for continuous distillation was implemented and used to obtain data to develop the fuzzy controller at different operating points. The fuzzy controller was built by integration of linear controllers obtained for each linearization of the system. Simulation of the model with controller was used to validate the controller effectiveness under different scenarios, including a study of the sensibility of some parameters to the control.The results showed that the fuzzy controller was able to keep the target output in the desired range for different inputs disturbances, changing smoothly from a predefined target output to another. The developed techniques are applicable to more complex distillation systems including more operating variablesThe authors acknowledge the partial funding of this work by the projects: Regional Government Project GVPRE/2008/108, and National Projects DPI2007-66728-C02-01 and DPI2008-06737-C02-01.Barceló Rico, F.; Gozálvez Zafrilla, JM.; Diez Ruano, JL.; Santafé Moros, MA. (2011). Modelling and control of a continuous distillation tower through fuzzy techniques. Chemical Engineering Research and Design. 89(1):107-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2010.04.015S10711589

Measurement of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review of Corporate Sustainability Indexes, Rankings and Ratings

Companies are currently changing their traditional role in society and transforming it into a proactive role in which their operations generate social and environmental positive impacts. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved from simple philanthropy to a more theoretical concept with a new corporate philosophy that takes all the interests of all stakeholders into consideration. The financial market is pushing the development of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI), which has led to the rise of Corporate Sustainability Systems (CSS). These CSSs are tools that rate corporate performance on sustainability. However, they constitute a chaotic universe, with instruments of different nature. This paper identifies and groups the common characteristics of the CSSs into three different typologies: Indexes, Rankings and Ratings. Despite this classification, and although the fundamental pillar of CSR is the “Stakeholder Theory”, CSSs are still not ideal tools to be used by all stakeholders. From the magma of CSSs, this article identifies and describes, through a comparative analysis, those which best comply with the “Stakeholder Theory”. This paper facilitates the work of researchers and stakeholders by exposing the differential characteristics of the most important CSSs.This research was founded by IHOBE, Environmental Management Public Agency of the Basque Government, and was carried out in collaboration with the Department of Graphic Design and Engineering Projects of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Communication transparency in ethical and traditional banking in Spain

Transparency is a key value in the thinking of ethical banks, but do they perform different practices over traditional banking that justify or support that commitment to transparency? This study examines transparency in the communication process in two different types of banking in Spain: ethical/alternative banking and traditional banking. The identification of an explicit commitment to transparency, the analysis of disclosed information, the identification of information channels and the identification of stakeholders allow assessing transparency, which appears as a complex concept that has more to do with corporate philosophy rather than with the actions developed to achieve a greater transparency level, where the resources of the financial institution seem to prevail over the thinking of the organization. This exploratory study will contribute to the knowledge about ESG information disclosure in the banking industry, developing the identification of practices that improve transparency and will result in greater efficiency in decision-making processes

Diabetes insípida central en un perro

Se describe un caso de diabetes insípida central [DIC] en un perro. Este caso es particularmente interesante pues se observan modificaciones electrolíticas poco habituales. En la discusión se comenta la posible etiología del proceso, los hallazgos analíticos y el procedimiento de diagnóstico elegido.It is described a case of canine central diabetes insipidus particularly interesting because is presented with very un usual electrolytic abnormalities. The etiology, the atypical electrolytic levels observed and the diagnostic method used are discussed

No. 07: The Urban Food System of Mexico City, Mexico

This report provides an overview of Greater Mexico City and its food system. The city’s history, demographic characteristics, geography and economy are first discussed. The city’s urban food system and urban food security are then examined with a particular focus on formal and informal food retail, food expenditure patterns, and policies to combat hunger and food insecurity. Meeting the daily food demands of Mexico City’s over 20 million inhabitants requires the agricultural production of Mexico’s rural areas, its fishing industry and food imports. Food products arrive in the city from around the country in a combination of traditional and highly sophisticated modern systems of food supply and distribution. Structural changes in recent decades have led to modifications in the systems of supply, distribution and food consumption with vertically integrated companies now controlling aspects of the food chain. The system of supply and marketing of food products is also characterized by competition between public markets, large wholesale and retail companies, and neighbourhood convenience stores. While levels of household food insecurity (undernutrition) are lower than in other global cities of the South, Mexico City faces an epidemic of overnutrition, obesity and non-communicable diseases

Fouling control of submerged and side-stream membrane bioreactors based on the statistical analysis of mid-term assays

The response surface methodology has been applied to study reversible and irreversible fouling rates caused by anaerobic sludge in membrane bioreactors, with the aim of controlling membrane fouling by adjusting filtration conditions. The challenge of obtaining statistically significant results of long-term fouling by means of mid-term assays has been addressed. The individual and combined effects of the filtration flux, backwashing intensity, gas sparging and crossflow velocity on membrane fouling, were analyzed in two types of membranes: an external tubular membrane and a submerged hollow fiber membrane. In the external membrane, the reversible fouling rate was as low as 0.27 ± 0.10 mbar/min, depending mainly on the filtration flux and gas sparging. However, the principal control parameter of the irreversible fouling rate was the crossflow velocity, reaching 2.12 ± 1.75 1012 m−2 in terms of increase of resistance per cubic meter filtered by square meter of membrane. In the submerged membrane, the irreversible fouling rate was quite lower, 0.78 ± 0.40 mbar/d, despite the reversible fouling rate was higher, 1.26 ± 0.42 mbar/min. In this case, the irreversible fouling depended mainly on the backwashing frequency despite the reversible fouling was more affected by the filtration flux and gas sparging. Hence, the approach used to control the reversible fouling rate does not involve mitigating irreversible fouling on both submerged and external membranes. This study provides a methodological basis for the selection of site-specific operating conditions, under which sustainable operation of membrane bioreactors could be achieved.TCUE 2018–2020 cofounded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) and the inestimable collaboration of Campofrío Frescos and Grupo Ecoalia

Natural versus anthropogenic factors in Cancun barrier erosion

During the first half of 2006 important sand nourishment was done along the barrier shore face of Cancun Nizuc (Quintana Roo, Mexico). It was quickly decided and constructed after that the hurricane Wilma swept the barrier and under the recent general impression of the devastating Katrina effects on New Orleans region. That decision interrupted a long time of discussions about the better Project to recover the great erosion of the barrier beach. This paper discuss the role of the different natural agents on the coastal erosion in this Cancun barrier under strictly natural conditions, trying to discern the relative importance of the common maritime weather versus the hurricanes; and the role of the different anthropogenic agents of development in both the generation of new erosive coastal processes (strictly anthropogenics) and the strengthening of the previous and natural processes (partially anthropogenics). The later being more significant, the paper looks at the different importance of their synergies with the, respectively, common weather versus hurricanes effects on the barrier erosion