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We aim to study the temporal patterns of activity in points of interest of cities around the world. In order to do so, we use the data provided by the online location-based social network Foursquare, where users make check-ins that indicate points of interest in the city. The data set comprises more than 90 million check-ins in 632 cities of 87 countries in 5 continents. We analyzed more than 11 million points of interest including all sorts of places: airports, restaurants, parks, hospitals, and many others. With this information, we obtained spatial and temporal patterns of activities for each city. We quantify similarities and differences of these patterns for all the cities involved and construct a network connecting pairs of cities. The links of this network indicate the similarity of temporal visitation patterns of points of interest between cities and is quantified with the Kullback-Leibler divergence between two distributions. Then, we obtained the community structure of this network and the geographic distribution of these communities worldwide. For comparison, we also use a Machine Learning algorithm-unsupervised agglomerative clustering-to obtain clusters or communities of cities with similar patterns. The main result is that both approaches give the same classification of five communities belonging to five different continents worldwide. This suggests that temporal patterns of activity can be universal, with some geographical, historical, and cultural variations, on a planetary scale., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aims: To evaluate the prevalence and type of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), together with associated risk factors, among Cuban COVID-19 patients treated with chloroquine (CQ), lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), or interferon α 2b (IFN α 2b), according to the Cuban protocol., Materials and Methods: A prospective descriptive analysis of ADRs was performed on 200 COVID-19 patients who were admitted consecutively to three hospitals in Havana and Pinar del Río from April to July 2020. Information on demographics, ADRs, outcomes, behavioral, and health-related factors was collected using a validated questionnaire and clinical records. Each potential ADR case was assessed for causality based on the WHO-UMC algorithm, concomitant drug influences, and the presence of any drug-drug interactions (DDI)., Results: The total frequency of ADRs was 55%, with predominantly gastrointestinal disorders and general symptoms (23% vs 20%). 95.1% of ADRs occurred within 10 days after treatment and 42 potential DDI in 55.5% of patients (61/110) were observed. The prevalence of ADRs was: 44%, 30.4%, and 26.4% for IFN α 2b, LPV/r, and CQ, respectively. Sex (odds ratio (OR): 0.40 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.211-0.742), age (OR: 2.36 (95% CI: 1.02-5.44)), and underlying diseases (OR: 0.12 (95% CI: 0.06-0.23)) were independently associated factors for ADRs ( P < 0.05)., Conclusions: The frequency of ADRs and potential DDI was high compared to their use during nonpandemic times (e.g., for malaria, HIV, or inflammatory diseases). The safety profile of these drugs when used for COVID-19 treatment showed similar characteristics. Comorbidities, age >37 years old, and female sex were associated with ADRs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Lizette Gil-del-Valle et al.)

Background and Aims: Porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD) is a rare and commonly overlooked cause of portal hypertension. The interest of CT analysis, including quantification of liver surface nodularity (LSN) for PSVD diagnosis has not been established. This study aimed at assessing the performance of LSN and CT features for a PSVD diagnosis in patients with signs of portal hypertension., Approach and Results: This retrospective case-control study included a learning cohort consisting of 50 patients with histologically proven PSVD, according to VALDIG criteria, and 100 control patients with histologically proven cirrhosis, matched on ascites. All patients and controls had at least one sign of portal hypertension and CT available within 1 year of liver biopsy. Principal component analysis of CT features separated patients with PSVD from patients with cirrhosis. Patients with PSVD had lower median LSN than those with cirrhosis (2.4 vs. 3.1, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified LSN < 2.5 and normal-sized or enlarged segment IV as independently associated with PSVD. Combination of these two features had a specificity of 90% for PSVD and a diagnostic accuracy of 84%. Even better results were obtained in an independent multicenter validation cohort including 53 patients with PSVD and 106 control patients with cirrhosis (specificity 94%, diagnostic accuracy 87%)., Conclusions: This study that included a total of 103 patients with PSVD and 206 patients with cirrhosis demonstrates that LSN < 2.5 combined with normal-sized or enlarged segment IV strongly suggests PSVD in patients with signs of portal hypertension., (© 2022 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.)

Background & Aims: Vascular liver diseases (VLDs) are represented mainly by portosinusoidal vascular disease (PSVD), noncirrhotic splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT), and Budd Chiari syndrome (BCS). It is unknown whether patients with VLDs constitute a high-risk population for complications and greater coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related mortality from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Our objective was to assess the prevalence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients with VLDs, as well as to assess its impact on hepatic decompensation and survival., Methods: This is an observational international study analyzing the prevalence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in VLDs between March 2020 and March 2021, compared with the general population (GP). Patients from Spain (5 centers; n = 493) and France (1 center; n = 475) were included., Results: Nine hundred sixty-eight patients were included: 274 with PSVD, 539 with SVT, and 155 with BCS. Among them, 138 (14%) were infected with SARS-CoV-2: 53 with PSVD, 77 with SVT, and 8 with BCS. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with PSVD (19%) and SVT (14%) was significantly higher than in the GP (6.5%; P < .05), whereas it was very similar in patients with BCS (5%). In terms of infection severity, patients with VLDs also presented a higher need of hospital admission (14% vs 7.3%; P < .01), intensive care unit admission (2% vs 0.7%; P < .01), and mortality (4% vs 1.5%; P < .05) than the GP. Previous history of ascites (50% vs 8%; P < .05) and post-COVID-19 hepatic decompensation (50% vs 4%; P < .05) were associated with COVID-19 mortality., Conclusions: Patients with PSVD and SVT could be at higher risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 and at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease., (Copyright © 2022 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: Porto-sinusoidal vascular disease (PSVD) is a rare vascular liver disease of unknown etiology that causes portal hypertension. It usually affects young individuals and shortens live expectancy. The deregulated pathways involved in PSVD development are unknown and therefore we lack curative treatments. The purpose of this study was to integrate transcriptomic and clinical data by comprehensive network-based modeling in order to uncover altered biological processes in patients with PSVD., Methods: We obtained liver tissue samples from 20 consecutive patients with PSVD and 21 sex- and age-matched patients with cirrhosis and 13 histologically normal livers (HNL) (initial cohort) and performed transcriptomic analysis. Microarray data were analyzed using weighted gene correlation network analysis to identify clusters of highly correlated genes differently expressed in patients with PSVD. We next evaluated the molecular pathways enriched in patients with PSVD and the core-related genes from the most significantly enriched pathways in patients with PSVD. Our main findings were validated using RNA sequencing in a different cohort of PSVD, cirrhosis and HNL (n = 8 for each group)., Results: Patients with PSVD have a distinctive genetic profile enriched mainly in canonical pathways involving hemostasis and coagulation but also lipid metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation. Serpin family (SERPINC1), the apolipoproteins (APOA, APOB, APOC), ATP synthases (ATP5G1, ATP5B), fibrinogen genes (FGB, FGA) and alpha-2-macroglobulin were identified as highly connective genes that may have an important role in PSVD pathogenesis., Conclusion: PSVD has a unique transcriptomic profile and we have identified deregulation of pathways involved in vascular homeostasis as the main pathogenic event of disease development., Lay Summary: Porto-sinusoidal vascular disease is a rare but life-shortening disease that affects mainly young people. Knowledge of the disrupted pathways involved in its development will help to identify novel therapeutic targets and new treatments. Using a systems biology approach, we identify that pathways regulating endothelial function and tone may act as drivers of porto-sinusoidal vascular disease., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors involved in this study declare they do not have anything to disclose regarding funding or conflict of interest with respect to this manuscript. Please refer to the accompanying ICMJE disclosure forms for further details., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This study aimed to assess the effect of biomodification before adhesive procedures on the tooth-restoration interface of class V restorations located in caries-simulated vs. sound dentin, and the quality of dentin surface by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Class V cavities located on cervical dentin were prepared on the buccal surfaces of extracted human molars under the simulation of intratubular fluid flow. Two dentin types, i.e., sound and demineralized by formic-acid, were biomodified with 1% riboflavin and calcium phosphate (CaP) prior to the application of a universal adhesive (Clearfil Universal Bond) in etch and rinse or self-etch mode, and a conventional micro hybrid composite (Clearfil APX). Restorations were subjected to thermo mechanical fatigue test and percentages of continuous margins (% CM) before/after fatigue were compared. Bio modification of dentin surfaces at the molecular level was analyzed by Time-of-Flight Secondary Mass Spectometry (ToF-SIMS). % CM were still significantly higher in tooth-restoration interfaces on sound dentin. Meanwhile, biomodification with riboflavin and CaP had no detrimental effect on adhesion and in carious dentin, it improved the % CM both before and after loading. Etching carious dentin with phosphoric acid provided with the lowest results, leading even to restoration loss. The presence of molecule fragments of riboflavin and CaP were detected by ToF-SIMS, evidencing dentin biomodification. The adhesive interface involving carious dentin could be improved by the use of a collagen crosslinker and CaP prior to adhesive procedures.

Using a community-based participatory approach, we developed a film to promote HIV testing among young men who have sex with men (MSM) in Bogotá. Using a 5-step process to develop the intervention, we conducted 11 focus groups with MSM (n = 141) to receive community feedback at each step. To evaluate the intervention we recruited 300 young MSM to complete a baseline survey in December 2017. Between February-June 2018, 63 participants watched the film and completed a post-viewing survey, which showed the intervention was acceptable for the target population. Between August-December 2018, 48 MSM who watched the film and 47 who did not (control group) completed a follow-up survey. To obtain preliminary evidence of the efficacy of the intervention, we assessed the main effect of time (baseline vs. follow-up) and the interaction between time and group (intervention vs. control) on HIV testing uptake and intentions, and knowledge of HIV transmission dynamics and HIV-related rights. Knowledge of HIV rights increased from baseline to follow-up in the intervention group only. HIV Knowledge increased for both groups. HIV testing intentions increased significantly more for non-gay-identified men in the intervention group, but the overall effect of the intervention was not significant. Testing uptake did not change.

Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae that affects the skin and nerves. The nerve damage in leprosy may be related to alterations in transcriptional factors, such as Krox-20, Oct-6, Sox-10. Thirty skin biopsies in leprosy patients and 15 non-leprosy skin biopsies were evaluated using RT-qPCR to assess Krox-20, Oct-6, and Sox-10 and these data was related with S-100 immunohistochemistry. Changes in gene expression were observed in the skin and dermal nerves of leprosy patients in Oct-6 and Sox-10. When comparing Oct-6 with S-100 IHC as diagnostic tests for leprosy, Oct-6 showed a sensitivity of 73.3%, and specificity of 100%, while S-100 IHC showed a sensitivity of 96.6% and specificity of 100%. Our data suggest Oct-6 could be an auxiliary biomarker specific to detecting changes in dermal nerves in leprosy and thus useful to health workers and pathologists with no expertise to observe nerve injuries in leprosy., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The morphology of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), the rheological characteristics of their dispersions, and the corresponding relationships, are fundamental for understanding the properties of the material. This work aims at understanding how the morphological characteristics of the CNFs affect the rheology of the dispersions in the dilute region and to establish a relationship between both properties. A strong relationship was observed between the intrinsic viscosity of the CNF dispersions and their aspect ratio, which can be correlated through the expression ρ[η]=0.051p 1.85 . When comparing the model obtained in this work to the wormlike chain model, it was possible to verify that these models are independent of the flexibility of the CNFs. Regarding the fibrillation process, the dynamic viscosity only reflects part of the behavior of the morphological properties of the CNFs and does not provide reliable data that would allow these characteristics to be inferred, while the intrinsic viscosity does allow this relationship., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Internal adaptation of adhesive restorations affects their longevity. In a clinical setting, the dentists use visual and tactile examination to evaluate marginal adaptation, while radiographs provide somewhat reliable information about adaptation or secondary caries present. For class V restorations located on the vestibular (buccal) surfaces, none of the tools available can provide any information about the internal adaptation or the presence of secondary caries. OCT has been proven to be a useful tool for non-destructive assessment of internal adaptation of adhesive restorations. This paper is evaluating the use of a new high-resolution handheld OCT prototype with a pen-shaped intraoral tip and an imaging depth of 8mm to examine the internal adaptation and the presence of demineralization under resin restorations on the vestibular dentin surface. The Axsun OCT system helped evaluate the internal adaptation of composite restorations, differentiate between healthy and demineralised dentin, adhesive, and restoration layers. OCT provided a unique visualization and characterization of internal structures as well as non-contact assessment of marginal adaptation.

Denaturing anion exchange HPLC simplifies the chromatographic profiles of self-complementary sequences such as d(CG) 6 , d(CG) 6 with locked nucleic acid modifications, d(AT) 15 , and polymerase chain reaction mixtures. These chromatographic conditions use eluents containing up to 4  M urea at pH 12.4, and lead to the abolishment of secondary structures and meaningful chromatographic patterns of self-complementary sequences. Similarly, PCR template, FAM-labelled primer and FAM-labelled PCR products were resolved, making interpretation of PCR reaction products possible.

Microtiter plate-based bacterial biofilm assay is frequently used to study bacterial biofilm development and growth. While this assay is simple and relatively high-throughput, it frequently shows difficulty in establishing robust biofilm attachment in the wells. We report that the consistency of bacterial biofilm assays carried out in microtiter plates subjected to abrasive treatment, by sandblasting or drill press grinding, is significantly improved in a Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1 model. Scanning electron microscopy imaging suggests that the treated surfaces could provide points of attachment to facilitate the recruitment of bacteria in the initial phase of biofilm colony establishment. The sandblast treated polypropylene, but not polystyrene, plates were found suitable in studying the impact of flavonoid quercetin on the biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis FB17. Further investigation revealed that due to the hydrophobicity of the polystyrene surfaces, a greater amount of quercetin was adsorbed on the plate surface, effectively lowering the concentration of the flavonoid in solution., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: We aimed to assess recent Latin American medical school graduates' knowledge and attitudes about OSA and examine whether their knowledge and attitudes about OSA differed from practicing physicians., Methods: Recent medical graduates completed the Spanish translation of the OSA Knowledge and Attitudes (OSAKA) questionnaire at the 2013 national primary-care residency-placement meeting in Ecuador. The OSAKA includes 18 knowledge and five attitudinal items about OSA. We compared recent graduates' data with data collected in 2010-2011 from practicing physicians using chi-square tests of associations among categorical variables and analysis of variance of differences in mean knowledge and attitude scores. Unadjusted logistic regression models tested the odds that recent graduates (vs. practicing physicians) answered each item correctly., Results: Of 265 recent graduates, 138 (52.1%) were male, and mean age was 25.9 years. Although mean knowledge was low overall, scores were lower for recent graduates than for the 367 practicing physicians (53.5% vs. 60.4%;  p  < 0.001). Practicing physicians were significantly more likely to answer specific items correctly with one exception-recent graduates were more likely to know that < 5 apneas-hypopneas/h is normal (OR 1.47, 1.03-2.07). Physicians in practice attributed greater importance to OSA as clinical disorder and the need for identifying patients with OSA; but recent graduates reported greater confidence in managing patients with OSA and CPAP., Conclusions: OSA-focused educational interventions during medical school should help to improve recent medical graduates' abilities to diagnose and treat OSA. We recommend a greater number of hours of medical students' exposure to sleep education., Competing Interests: The present study was approved by Ethic Committee of Clinica Kennedy.Not applicable.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

To date, 17 circumbinary planets have been discovered. In this paper, we focus our attention on the stability of the Kepler circumbinary planetary systems with only one planet, i.e. Kepler-16, Kepler-34, Kepler-35, Kepler-38, Kepler-64 and Kepler-413. In addition to their intrinsic interest, the study of such systems is an opportunity to test our understanding of planetary system formation and evolution around binaries. The investigation is done by means of numerical simulations. We perform numerical integrations of the full equations of motion of each system with the aim of checking the stability of the planetary orbit. The investigation of the stability of the above systems consists of three numerical experiments. In the first one, we perform a long-term (1 Gyr) numerical integration of the nominal solution of the six Kepler systems under investigation. In the second experiment, we look for the critical semimajor axis of the six planetary orbits, and finally, in the third experiment, we construct two-dimensional stability maps on the eccentricity-pericentre distance plane. Additionally, using numerical integrations of the nominal solutions we checked if these solutions were close to the exact resonance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Migration is common among transgender women (TGW), often driven by the desire to escape stigma, find acceptance, establish new connections, access body modifications, or enter new avenues of sex work. Given the heightened mobility of TGW, they are mostly vulnerable to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to migration. This study aimed to evaluate the association between in-country migration and HIV infection among TGW in Northeast Brazil., Methods: The DIVAS was a cross-sectional, multicity study investigating risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infections (STI) among TGW in 2016-2017. A total of 864 TGW were recruited through respondent-driven sampling from three capital cities in Northeast Brazil. Logistic regression estimating odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) was used to assess the relationship between in-country migration and HIV infection., Results: The prevalence of HIV among TGW was 24.5%, 21.4% among those aged 18-34 and 36.1% among those ≥ 35 years old. In-country migration increased the odds of HIV infection among TGW aged 18-34 years (OR = 1.84; 95%CI:1.04-3.27) and even higher among those aged ≥ 35y old (OR = 3.08; 95%CI:1.18-8.04)., Conclusions: These data reinforce the pressing need for public health policies that provide comprehensive access and strategies for demand creation for HIV/AIDS prevention and care for TGW who are already highly vulnerable to infection., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study evaluated the influence of curing devices on marginal adaptation of cavities restored with self-etching adhesive containing CQ and PPD initiators and hybrid composite. Twenty-four class V (3 groups, n=8) with margins located on enamel and dentin were restored with Clearfil S3 Bond and Clearfil APX PLT, light-cured with a monowave LED, multiwave LED and halogen light-curing unit (LCU). Marginal adaptation was evaluated with SEM before/after thermo-mechanical loading (TML). On enamel, significantly lower % continuous margins (74.5±12.6) were found in group cured by multiwave LED when compared to monowave LED (87.6±9.5) and halogen LCU (94.4±9.1). The presence of enamel and composite fractures was significantly higher in the group light-cured with multiwave LED, probably due to an increased materials' friability resulted from an improved degree of cure. The clinician should aware that due to a distinct activation of both initiators, marginal quality may be influenced on the long-term.

This qualitative study examined sex work among internally displaced male and transgender female sex workers in Bogotá, Colombia. Internal displacement has occurred in Colombia as a result of decades of conflict among armed groups and has created large-scale migration from rural to urban areas. Informed by the polymorphous model of sex work, which posits that contextual conditions shape the experience of sex work, we examined three main research questions. The first dealt with how internal displacement was related to the initiation of sex work; the second concerned the effect of agency on sex worker satisfaction; and the third examined how sex work in this context was related to HIV and other risks. Life history interviews were conducted with 26 displaced individuals who had done sex work: 14 were men who have sex with men and 12 were transgender women (natal males). Findings revealed that many participants began doing sex work in the period immediately after displacement, because of a lack of money, housing, and social support. HIV risk was greater during this time due to limited knowledge of HIV and inexperience negotiating safer sex with clients. Other findings indicated that sex workers who exerted more control and choice in the circumstances of their work reported greater satisfaction. In addition, we found that although many sex workers insisted on condom use with clients, several noted that they would sometimes have unprotected sex for additional money. Specific characteristics affecting the experience of sex work among the transgender women were also discussed.

The discrete element method (DEM) is a vital numerical approach for analyzing the mechanical behavior of elastoplastic wet sand. However, parameter uncertainty persists within the mapping between constitutive relationships and inherent model parameters. We propose a Parameter calibration neural network based on Attention, Retention, and improved Transformer for Sequential data (PartsNet), which effectively captures the nonlinear mechanical behavior of wet sand and obtains the optimal parameter combination for the Edinburgh elasto-plastic adhesion constitutive model. Variational autoencoder-based principal component ordering is employed by PartsNet to reduce the high-dimensional dynamic response and extract critical parameters along with their weights. Gated recurrent units are combined with a novel sparse multi-head attention mechanism to process sequential data. The fusion information is delivered by residual multilayer perceptron, achieving the association between sequential response and model parameters. The errors in response data generated by calibrated parameters are quantified by PartsNet based on adaptive differentiation and Taylor expansion. Remarkable calibration capabilities are exhibited by PartsNet across six evaluation indicators, surpassing seven other deep learning approaches in the ablation test. The calibration accuracy of PartsNet reaches 91.29%, and MSE loss converges to 0.000934. The validation experiments and regression analysis confirmed the generalization capability of PartsNet in the calibration of wet sand. The improved sparse attention mechanism optimizes multi-head attention, resulting in a convergence speed of 21.25%. PartsNet contributes to modeling and simulating the precise mechanical properties of complex elastoplastic systems and offers valuable insights for diverse engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on capturing human mobility patterns for efficient and sustainable urban planning has been widely conducted. However, studies that unveil spatial context beyond macro-level mobility patterns are relatively scarce. This study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal human meta-mobility patterns with rich context using POI data in Seoul from comprehensive perspectives. As a result, the floating population of Seoul exhibits regular and irregular cyclical mobility patterns on weekdays and weekends, respectively, stemming from the periodicity of the dominant POIs. Additionally, graph construction based on mobility similarity and their regional clustering show clusters vary by POIs but are generally divided into peripheral and central regions of Seoul. This indicates that socioeconomic factors cannot be ignored when understanding human mobility patterns. This helps to provide scientific evidence to support policy recommendations towards greenways and sustainable urban mobility systems, such as quantitative disparity of greenways, qualitative issues of greenways in the central areas, and inequality in cultural consumption. Addressing key considerations through targeted policies could significantly improve the overall quality of life for urban residents. We expect this study to lay the groundwork for future research that aims to understand realistic human mobility patterns with a rich context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) from plant biomass is becoming popular, attributed to the protective encapsulation of bioactive compounds in Pickering emulsion, preventing degradation and stabilizing the emulsion. NFC, as a natural dietary fiber, is a prominent fat replacer, providing a quality enhancement to reduced‐fat products. In this study, NFC Pickering emulsions were prepared at NFC concentrations of 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1% to encapsulate carotenoids. The NFC Pickering emulsions at NFC concentrations of 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1% were incorporated into margarine‐like reduced fat (3%) spreads as the aqueous phase. Characterization of both NFC Pickering emulsion and the incorporated NFC Pickering emulsion, margarine‐like reduced fat spreads, was conducted with mastersizer, rheometer, spectrophotometer, and texture analyzer. The particle size (73.67 ± 0.35 to 94.73 ± 2.21 nm), viscosity (138.36 ± 3.35 to 10545.00 ± 567.10 mPa s), and creaming stability (25% to 100% stable) of the NFC Pickering emulsions were increased significantly when increasing the NFC concentration, whereas the encapsulation efficiency was highest at NFC 0.4% and 0.6%. Although imitating the viscoelastic solid‐like behavior of margarine was difficult, the NFC Pickering emulsion properties were still able to enhance hardness, slip melting point, and color of the reduced fat spreads compared to the full‐fat margarine, especially at 0.6% of NFC. Overall, extensive performances of NFC can be seen in encapsulating carotenoids, especially at NFC concentrations of 0.4% and 0.6%, with the enhancement of Pickering emulsion stability while portraying futuristic possibilities as a fat replacer in margarine optimally at 0.6% of NFC concentration. Practical Application: Nanocellulose extracted from palm dried long fiber was utilized to encapsulate carotenoids and replace fats in margarine‐like reduced fat (3%) spreads. Our study portrayed high encapsulation efficiency and successful fat replacement with promising stability performances. Hence, nanocellulose displayed extensive potential as encapsulating agents and fat replacers while providing quality and sustainability enhancements in reduced‐fat food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gyratory crusher is one of the most important mineral processing assets in the comminution circuit, and its production performance directly impacts the circuit throughput. Due to its higher energy utilisation rate for rock breakage than semi-autogenous (SAG/AG) milling, it is a common practice in operations to promote and optimise primary crushing before the downstream capacity can be enhanced. This study aims to develop a discrete element modelling (DEM) and multibody dynamics (MBD) cosimulation framework to optimise the performance of the gyratory crusher. An MBD model was initially established to simulate the gyratory crusher's drivetrain system. A GPU-based DEM was also developed with a parallel bond model incorporated to simulate the particle breakage behaviour. Coupling of the MBD and GPU-based DEM resulted in a cosimulation framework based on the Function Mock-up Interface. An industrial-scale gyratory crusher was selected to test the developed numerical framework, and results indicated that the developed method was capable of modelling normal and choked working conditions. The outcome of this study enabled more realistic gyratory crusher improvement and optimisation strategies for enhanced production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, two types of recycling scenarios are assessed for spent battery materials using froth flotation. The first is for a single cathode chemistry and would be considered as the most likely scenario for a large battery manufacturer, who takes back their own batteries for reprocessing. The second scenario is for mixed cathode chemistry, and this would be the most likely scenario for regional reprocessing. The mixed spent battery materials assessed in this work were sourced from such an industrial recycling operation in Australia. Good results were obtained for both recycling scenarios. The anode recovery and anode grade in the final concentrate for both materials evaluated were for the single spent battery material 80.1% and 90.3%, respectively, and for the mixed spent battery material, 77.4% and 82.0%, respectively. For the final tailings, the cathode grades for both materials tested were 93.9% and 87.1%, respectively, with the lower grade for the mixed spent battery attributed to the high content of impurities in the original material. These results highlight the importance of the preprocessing ahead of the flotation process. The results confirm froth flotation as a feasible technique that can be used to achieve the bulk of the separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the use of mixed methods research to further understanding of displaced Colombian gay and bisexual men and transwomen, a marginalized population at risk. Within the framework of communicative action, which calls for social change through egalitarian dialog, we describe how our multinational, interdisciplinary research team explored the subjective, objective, and social worlds of participants through life history interviews and surveys. We also describe the unique Colombian context, conscious efforts to establish egalitarian relationships among research team members, and efforts to disseminate and reflect on findings. Through discussion of our research process and results, we aim to demonstrate how mixed methods research can be utilized to facilitate noncoercive discourse and contribute to social change.