Sustainability reporting in view of the European sustainable finance taxonomy: Is the financial sector ready to disclose circular economy?

The European sustainable finance taxonomy requires financial and nonfinancial companies to provide investors with information about the environmental performance of their assets and economic activities. For financial institutions, making socially and environmentally responsible investments visible through a common label that guarantees specific standards for the entire European Union is crucial. Against this background, this study analyzes the evolution of sustainability reporting practices and their assurance in a sample of European financial institutions. To this end, we used a double qualitative methodological approach, based on (a) an external analysis of nonfinancial information and its relationship with the main economic-financial variables of the sample companies, and (b) a case study of a bank carried out through semi-structured interviews. This study provides an external measurement analysis of nonfinancial information in entities from different countries, which can contribute to broadening the scope and level of sustainability and circular economy accountability

Polyurethane/acrylic hybrid dispersions containing phosphorus reactive flame retardants as transparent coatings for wood

Phosphorus modified polyurethane/acrylic hybrid dispersions were prepared for flame retardant transparent wood coatings. The polymerisation was carried out in three steps. In the first one, the polyurethane was synthesised using an acrylic monomer as solvent. The second step involved water addition that promoted the phase inversion and lastly, acrylic part was polymerised. The phosphorous compounds were covalently linked to polyurethane using a phosphorylated polyol and to the acrylic phase using an acrylic phosphate. Polymerisation was monitored by FTIR and NMR and the molar mass of the hybrids was measured by AF4 and SEC. The effects of the phosphorus in fire-retardant properties were analysed by thermogravimetry and pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry. The introduction of phosphorus did not produce significant changes in the polymerisation process but promoted the cross-linking of the coatings. The coated wood samples maintained the transparency and good properties with the introduction of phosphorus and presented a slight reduction in the Peak Heat Release Rate measured by cone calorimeter. The action of phosphorus as a fire retardant was effective as it gave rise to significant reduction of the CO and CO2 peaks.The funding received from University of the Basque Country (GIU19/077, predoctoral grant of M. Puyadena and postdoctoral grant of M. Cobos) and the Basque Government (IT1313-19, PIBA20/16) is grate-fully acknowledged. Technical and human support provided by SGIker is also sincerely acknowledged (UPV/EHU/ ERDF, EU

Developing active and intelligent films through the incorporation of grape skin and seed tannin extracts into gelatin

To achieve sustainability in the wine industry, by-products from winery operations are being diverted from waste streams and turned into beneficial use. Grape seed tannin (SeedT) and skin tannin (SkinT) extracts were used to modify the properties of gelatin films, and to prepare active/intelligent films. The SeedT extract showed a higher phenolic content (similar to 440 mg gallic acid (GA)/g extract) and antioxidant inhibition (similar to 20 %) than the SkinT extract (14 mg GA/g extract, 2 % antioxidant inhibition), while both extracts presented colour variations with an increase of solution pH. The addition of extracts into the gelatin formulation resulted in coloured and transparent films with lower wettability (water contact angle increased up to 92 degrees) and higher UV-light absorbance (secondary antioxidant function) properties. The films were capable of releasing tannins by up to 20 % which led to antioxidant inhibition values of up to 13 % (primary antioxidant function). The addition of SkinT tannins into the films provided the films with a pH indicator ability (intelligent function).The authors would like to thank the State Research Agency of Spain within the Juan de la Cierva - Incorporation action (IJC2019-039697I) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE, Biocide Toolbox programme)

Near-Earth asteroids spectroscopic survey at Isaac Newton Telescope

The population of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) shows a large variety of objects in terms of physical and dynamical properties. They are subject to planetary encounters and to strong solar wind and radiation effects. Their study is also motivated by practical reasons regarding space exploration and long-term probability of impact with the Earth. We aim to spectrally characterize a significant sample of NEAs with sizes in the range of $\sim$0.25 - 5.5 km (categorized as large), and search for connections between their spectral types and the orbital parameters. Optical spectra of NEAs were obtained using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) equipped with the IDS spectrograph. These observations are analyzed using taxonomic classification and by comparison with laboratory spectra of meteorites. A total number of 76 NEAs were observed. We classified 44 of them as Q/S-complex, 16 as B/C-complex, eight as V-types, and another eight belong to the remaining taxonomic classes. Our sample contains 27 asteroids categorized as potentially hazardous and 31 possible targets for space missions including (459872) 2014 EK24, (436724) 2011 UW158, and (67367) 2000 LY27. The spectral data corresponding to (276049) 2002 CE26 and (385186) 1994 AW1 shows the 0.7 $\mu$m feature which indicates the presence of hydrated minerals on their surface. We report that Q-types have the lowest perihelia (a median value and absolute deviation of $0.797\pm0.244$ AU) and are systematically larger than the S-type asteroids observed in our sample. We explain these observational evidences by thermal fatigue fragmentation as the main process for the rejuvenation of NEA surfaces. In general terms, the taxonomic distribution of our sample is similar to the previous studies and matches the broad groups of the inner main belt asteroids. Nevertheless, we found a wide diversity of spectra compared to the standard taxonomic types.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A

High performance mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) composed of ZIF-94 filler and 6FDA-DAM polymer

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) using membranes for the separation of CO2 holds great promise for the reduction of atmospheric CO2 emissions from fuel combustion and industrial processes. Among the different process outlines, post-combustion CO2 capture could be easily implemented in existing power plants. However, for this technology to become viable, new membrane materials have to be developed. In this article we present the development of high performance mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) composed of ZIF-94 filler and 6FDADAM polymer matrix. The CO2/N2 separation performance was evaluated by mixed gas tests (15CO2:85N2) at 25 °C and 1–4 bar transmembrane pressure difference. The CO2 membrane permeability was increased by the addition of the ZIF-94 particles, maintaining a constant CO2/N2 selectivity of ~22. The largest increase in CO2 permeability of ~ 200% was observed for 40 wt% ZIF-94 loading, reaching the highest permeability (2310 Barrer) at similar selectivity among 6FDA-DAM MMMs reported in literature. For the first time, the ZIF-94 metal organic framework crystals with particle size smaller than 500 nm were synthesized using nonhazardous solvent (tetrahydrofuran and methanol) instead of dimethylformamide (DMF) in a scalable process. Membranes were characterized by three non-invasive image techniques, i.e. SEM, AFM and nanoscale infrared imaging by scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM). The combination of these techniques demonstrates a very good dispersion and interaction of the filler in the polymer layer, even at very high loadings.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007–2013), under grant agreement no. 608490, M4CO2 project, and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (national project MAT2015-65525-R). J.G. gratefully acknowledges support from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013), ERC Stg, Grant Agreement n. 335746, CrystEng-MOF-MMM

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) produced from red grape pomace: Effect of purification processes on structural, thermal and antioxidant properties.

Red grape pomace was used as a source for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) production, which was then subject to a range of purification processes. The different PHB biopolymers were characterized for chemical structure, crystallinity, thermal properties, colour, release of compounds into different food simulants and antioxidant inhibition, and comparisons were made with a commercially available PHB. An increase in purification steps did not have a significant effect on the high thermal stability of the extracted biopolymer, but it decreased the degree of crystallinity and the presence of amino acids and aromatic compounds. With additional purification, the PHB powders also whitened and the number of components released from the biopolymer into food simulants decreased. The released compounds presented antioxidant inhibition, which has not been previously reported in the literature or with commercially available polyhydroxyalkanoates. This is of great interest for food packaging and biomedical industries where the addition of antioxidant additives to improve PHB functional properties may not be necessary and could be avoided.The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of New Zealand (MBIE, Biocide Toolbox programme), the Basque Government (KK-2021/00131 and IT1658-22) and PID2021-124294OB-C22 project funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE. A.E. thanks the State Research Agency of Spain within the Juan de la Cierva - Incorporation action (IJC2019-039697I)

The impact of diabetes on multiple avoidable admissions: a cross-sectional study

Background Multiple admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) are responsible for an important proportion of health care expenditures. Diabetes is one of the conditions consensually classified as an ACSC being considered a major public health concern. The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of diabetes on the occurrence of multiple admissions for ACSC. Methods We analysed inpatient data of all public Portuguese NHS hospitals from 2013 to 2015 on multiple admissions for ACSC among adults aged 18 or older. Multiple ACSC users were identified if they had two or more admissions for any ACSC during the period of analysis. Two logistic regression models were computed. A baseline model where a logistic regression was performed to assess the association between multiple admissions and the presence of diabetes, adjusting for age and sex. A full model to test if diabetes had no constant association with multiple admissions by any ACSC across age groups. Results Among 301,334 ACSC admissions, 144,209 (47.9%) were classified as multiple admissions and from those, 59,436 had diabetes diagnosis, which corresponded to 23,692 patients. Patients with diabetes were 1.49 times (p < 0,001) more likely to be admitted multiple times for any ACSC than patients without diabetes. Younger adults with diabetes (18–39 years old) were more likely to become multiple users. Conclusion Diabetes increases the risk of multiple admissions for ACSC, especially in younger adults. Diabetes presence is associated with a higher resource utilization, which highlights the need for the implementation of adequate management of chronic diseases policies.NOVASaudeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Polyurethane/acrylic hybrid dispersions containing phosphorus reactive flame retardants as transparent coatings for wood

Phosphorus modified polyurethane/acrylic hybrid dispersions were prepared for flame retardant transparent wood coatings. The polymerisation was carried out in three steps. In the first one, the polyurethane was synthesised using an acrylic monomer as solvent. The second step involved water addition that promoted the phase inversion and lastly, acrylic part was polymerised. The phosphorous compounds were covalently linked to polyurethane using a phosphorylated polyol and to the acrylic phase using an acrylic phosphate. Polymerisation was monitored by FTIR and NMR and the molar mass of the hybrids was measured by AF4 and SEC. The effects of the phosphorus in fire-retardant properties were analysed by thermogravimetry and pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry. The introduction of phosphorus did not produce significant changes in the polymerisation process but promoted the cross-linking of the coatings. The coated wood samples maintained the transparency and good properties with the introduction of phosphorus and presented a slight reduction in the Peak Heat Release Rate measured by cone calorimeter. The action of phosphorus as a fire retardant was effective as it gave rise to significant reduction of the CO and CO2 peaks.The funding received from University of the Basque Country (GIU19/077, predoctoral grant of M. Puyadena and postdoctoral grant of M. Cobos) and the Basque Government (IT1313-19, PIBA20/16) is gratefully acknowledged. Technical and human support provided by SGIker is also sincerely acknowledged (UPV/EHU/ERDF, EU)