The species Morella pubescens, commonly known as wax laurel, is a tree belonging to the Myricaceae family that can be found from Costa Rica to Bolivia. In this study, the chemical composition, enantiomeric distribution, and biological activity of essential oil isolated from the leaves of this species was determined. Hydrodistillation was used to isolate the essential oil (EO). Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was used to determine the qualitative composition, gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector was used to determine quantitative composition, and gas chromatography on an enantioselective column was used to determine enantiomeric distribution. The broth microdilution method was employed to assess the antibacterial capacity of the essential oil against seven opportunistic microorganisms, including three Gram-positive cocci bacteria, a Gram-positive bacilli bacterium and three Gram-negative bacilli bacteria. 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical cation and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydryl free radical were used as reagents to determine the antioxidant activity of essential oil. The spectrophotometric method was used to analyze the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect of the essential oil. The extraction method afforded a low yield of around 0.076 ± 0.008% (v/w). Fifty-eight chemical compounds, which represent 97.9% of the total composition, were identified in the essential oil. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were the most representative group with 24 compounds (67.8%). The principal constituents were (E)-caryophyllene (27.5 ± 1.3%), limonene (11.8 ± 0.6%), δ-selinene (9.1 ± 0.2%), β-selinene (8.0 ± 0.2%), selina-3,7(11)-diene (5.3 ± 0.2%) and germacrene B (5.0 ± 0.5%). Three pairs of enantiomers were identified in the essential oil of Morella pubescens. Essential oil presented strong activity against the bacterium Enterococcus faecium (ATCC 27270) with an MIC of 250 μg/mL. The antioxidant activity of essential oil was very strong in the ABTS method with an SC₅₀ of 46.4 ± 1.0 µg/mL and was strong in the DPPH method with an SC₅₀ of 237.1 ± 1.8 µg/mL. Additionally, the essential oil reported strong anticholinesterase activity with an IC₅₀ of 133.5 ± 1.06 µg/mL.

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have been investigated for processing sulfide minerals, concentrates, mattes, and model sulfides through chemical, oxidative, and electrochemical routes, but the evidence is dispersed across mineralogies, formulations, and non-comparable metrics. This systematic review examined how mineral species, DES composition, and operating conditions influence dissolution, selectivity, metal recovery, and reported sustainability indicators; the available evidence concerns choline-chloride-based systems. Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection were searched on 7 September 2026, with a supplementary search adding mineral names on 8 October 2026, for articles published from 2010 to 7 September 2026. Two reviewers independently screened records, reconciled by consensus, and classified study outcomes blind to each other; one reviewer extracted data. Reporting followed PRISMA 2020; the review was not registered. Evidence was synthesized descriptively without pooling. Of 694 unique records, 40 reports were assessed, and 34 studies were included; all tested at least one choline chloride formulation. Endpoints were not comparable: Cu extraction from chalcopyrite concentrate reached 73.6% and 83.9% under different conditions, whereas 96.58% for Cu₂S conversion was a current efficiency, not an extraction yield. Selectivity was quantified in 14 studies. Quantitative water content was reported in six studies and deliberately varied in three. No risk-of-bias assessment was performed, and three reports were not retrieved. Dissolution alone established neither selectivity nor sustainability, and conclusions apply to choline-chloride-based systems rather than to DES generally.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly used to produce scientific–visual material, but a polished result is not evidence that its content is correct or its sources are checkable. This study examined 41 infographics on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and its geological applications, produced in one undergraduate Geology course in Ecuador in an assignment requiring GenAI use. The unit of analysis was the infographic, not the student. Two evaluators scored every artifact with a study-specific eight-criterion rubric applied after submission. The mean weighted score was 72.93 ± 13.01 on a 25–100 scale. Scientific accuracy (mean 3.52 of 4) and visual hierarchy (3.38) were the strongest criteria, whereas source quality and traceability were the weakest (1.63), with most artifacts at the minimum score. Agreement on the total score was moderate but imprecise, and one criterion, verifiability of images and claims, was scored too inconsistently to support firm conclusions. Artifacts with clearer source evidence tended to integrate text and images more coherently. Within this single course, the results indicate which aspects of scientific material produced under a GenAI-required assignment require human checking. Sustainability is an implication of that verification work, a quality-assurance practice aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, rather than an outcome measured here.

The Abitagua batholith is a 120 km long plutonic body located in the northern sub-Andean zone of Ecuador. Despite its size, previous studies have focused on its northern and southern sectors, leaving the central sector uncharacterized. This study presents the first petrographic and geochemical evidence from a single outcrop exposed along the Jatunyacu River, in the central part of the Abitagua Batholith, in order to understand its magmatic evolution and tectonic affinity. Petrographically, the dominant lithology is an equigranular monzogranite. The fractured zones show localized hydrothermal alteration, including epidote, sericitization of plagioclase, and chloritization of biotite. Subordinate bodies include tonalitic enclaves, felsic dikes, and an andesitic dike. Geochemically, the studied sector shows a calc-alkaline affinity, peraluminous character, and a volcanic arc granite (VAG) signature broadly consistent with I-type granitoids formed in a continental arc related to subduction. Samples from fractured zones show small shifts toward the S-type field in the K₂O vs. Na₂O diagram, attributed to hydrothermal alkali mobility rather than primary magmatic variation, as supported by petrographic evidence. Multi-element normalized diagrams reveal distinct signatures among subordinate bodies: tonalitic enclaves show strong enrichment in mafic components and Nb, suggesting a primitive mafic source; felsic dikes display enrichment in incompatible elements (Nb, Rb) consistent with evolved residual melts; and the andesitic dike exhibits the most primitive composition with apparent minimal interaction with the felsic host. These are interpreted as evidence of a complex magmatic evolution involving mafic recharge, magma mixing, late injection of residual melts, and localized hydrothermal alteration. Comparison with previous studies suggest that the studied outcrop records an arc signature similar to that reported for the northern and southern sectors, although further work is needed to confirm the extent of this affinity across the central sector.

Local communities’ perceptions influence whether mining projects are accepted or contested, but the evidence is dispersed across artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and large-scale mining (LSM). This systematic review synthesised how communities perceive the impacts of both scales, how they position themselves towards mining, and which factors studies associate with their stance. Following PRISMA 2020, 328 studies from 63 countries and territories were included (LSM, 208; ASM, 91; both scales, 28; not reported, 1). Communities perceived environmental impacts as harmful in 142 of the 160 studies that reported them, whereas social impacts were perceived as harmful, beneficial or both. Among the 165 studies that assessed a stance, opposition predominated in 69, divided positions in 53 and acceptance, often conditional, in 43; opposition was concentrated in LSM, whereas ASM studies more often described acceptance or divided positions. Unfair procedures, threats to land and identity, and unfair distribution of benefits were associated with opposition, and local economic benefits with acceptance. Methodological reporting was often incomplete. A sensitivity analysis showed that the search missed many eligible studies, mostly on LSM, so the findings describe a large sample of the literature rather than all of it.