Group recommender systems for tourism: how does personality predict preferences for attractions, travel motivations, preferences and concerns?

To travel in leisure is an emotional experience, and therefore, the more the information about the tourist is known, the more the personalized recommendations of places and attractions can be made. But if to provide recommendations to a tourist is complex, to provide them to a group is even more. The emergence of personality computing and personality-aware recommender systems (RS) brought a new solution for the cold-start problem inherent to the conventional RS and can be the leverage needed to solve conflicting preferences in heterogenous groups and to make more precise and personalized recommendations to tourists, as it has been evidenced that personality is strongly related to preferences in many domains, including tourism.

Linear and Non-Linear Soft Sensors for Predicting the Research Octane Number (RON) through Integrated Synchronization, Resolution Selection and Modelling.

The Research Octane Number (RON) is a key quality parameter for gasoline, obtained offline through complex, time-consuming, and expensive standard methods. Measurements are usually only available a few times per week and after long delays, making process control very challenging. Therefore, alternative methods have been proposed to predict RON from readily available data.

sp. Biorefinery: Recovery of Soluble Protein by Membrane Ultrafiltration/Diafiltration.

This work proposes a way to maximize the potential of a sp. biorefinery process, through membrane technology, producing an extract enriched in soluble proteins, free from the insoluble protein fraction, with a low lipid content and eliminating the colored chlorophyll-a. This procedure, following the principles of a circular economy approach, allows for the valorization of a stream from the biorefining of sp.

Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines: Evidence from the First-Year Rollout of Vaccination Programs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a number of new realities, sets of data, and opportunities for data-driven approaches, decisions, and conclusions. One particular area for which developments and data have been made available in record time is related to vaccines and their impacts on health conditions and saving lives. In this article, we use public domain information to study the prevalence of vaccines in different countries and how they can save lives.

Deep brain stimulation of midbrain locomotor circuits in the freely moving pig.

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) has been studied as a therapeutic target in rodent models of stroke, parkinsonism, and spinal cord injury. Clinical DBS trials have targeted the closely related pedunculopontine nucleus in patients with Parkinson's disease as a therapy for gait dysfunction, with mixed reported outcomes. Recent studies suggest that optimizing the MLR target could improve its effectiveness.

Neurophysiological Changes in the First Year After Cell Transplantation in Sub-acute Complete Paraplegia.

Neurophysiological testing can provide quantitative information about motor, sensory, and autonomic system connectivity following spinal cord injury (SCI). The clinical examination may be insufficiently sensitive and specific to reveal evolving changes in neural circuits after severe injury. Neurophysiologic data may provide otherwise imperceptible circuit information that has rarely been acquired in biologics clinical trials in SCI.

Use of GnRH Analogues in the Reduction of Submucous Fibroid for Surgical Hysteroscopy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective:  Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRH-a) have been used preoperatively before hysteroscopic myomectomy to decrease the size and vascularization of the myomas, but evidence to support this practice is weak. Our objective was to analyze the use of GnRH-a in the reduction of submucous fibroid as a facilitator for surgical hysteroscopy from published clinical trials.

Data Sources:  Studies from electronic databases (Pubmed, Scielo, EMBASE, Scopus, PROSPERO), published between 1980 and December 2018.

Lessons from innovation in drug-device combination products.

Drug-device combination products introduced a new dynamic on medical product development, regulatory approval, and corporate interaction that provide valuable lessons for the development of new generations of combination products. This paper examines the case studies of drug-eluting stents and transdermal patches to facilitate a detailed understanding of the challenges and opportunities introduced by combination products when compared to previous generations of traditional medical or drug delivery devices. Our analysis indicates that the largest barrier to introduce a new kind of combination products is the determination of the regulatory center that is to oversee its approval.

Development of a fast and reliable method for long- and short-term wine age prediction.

Wine age prediction based on its intrinsic characteristics can provide significant assistance to oenologists' quality evaluations, concerning wine ageing process control and wine quality assurance. Simpler, faster, cheaper and affordable analytical procedures would be greatly welcome to establish such a practice. In this study, we present a new and reliable strategy to predict wine age, in the long and short-term, centered on the use of wine UV-vis absorbance data, coupled with proper chemometric techniques.

Environmental monitoring study of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and insoluble soap in Spanish sewage sludge samples.

In this work we present a monitoring study of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) and insoluble soap performed on Spanish sewage sludge samples. This work focuses on finding statistical relations between LAS concentrations and insoluble soap in sewage sludge samples and variables related to wastewater treatment plants such as water hardness, population and treatment type. It is worth to mention that 38 samples, collected from different Spanish regions, were studied.

[Multiple sclerosis: social and economic implications].

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating disease of the Central Nervous System. It is more frequently diagnosed in young individuals between 20 and 40 years old. MS is the leading non-traumatic cause for disability in young adults in western countries.

Analysis and assessment of Madeira wine ageing over an extended time period through GC-MS and chemometric analysis.

Wine is one of the world's higher value agricultural products. The present work is centred on Madeira wine, a fine and prestigious example among Portuguese liqueur wines,with the main goal to deepen our understanding of relevant phenomena going on during the winemaking process, in particular during ageing of "Malmsey" Madeira wine. In this paper we present the results obtained from the chemical characterization of how its aroma composition evolves during ageing, and the development of a robust framework for analyzing the identity of aged Madeira wines.

Aroma ageing trends in GC/MS profiles of liqueur wines.

Madeira wine has been studied with the main goal of acquiring a better understanding about the evolution of its properties over time. For that purpose, flexible and reliable data analysis tools were employed to characterize wines at different ageing stages, using flavour chromatography measurements. In this paper we present the results from such a study, where the main differences in the aroma profiles and their development in different types of aged Madeira wines are analyzed and evaluated according to their discriminating power.

A theoretical model for transdermal drug delivery from emulsions and its dependence upon formulation.

This article presents a theoretical model of transdermal drug delivery from an emulsion-type vehicle that addresses the vehicle heterogeneity and incorporates the prediction of drug transport parameters as function of the vehicle composition. The basic mass transfer model considers interfacial and diffusion resistances within the emulsion and partition/diffusion phenomena across two skin compartments in series. Drug transport parameters are predicted as follows: partition coefficients are derived from regular solutions theory, drug diffusivity in the continuous phase is computed from a free volume theory with segmental motion, and permeability of the surfactant layer around droplets is estimated based on a free surface area model.

Port site recurrence after laparoscopic adrenalectomy for metastatic melanoma.

Port site metastasis after adrenal surgery is a rare entity. We describe the case of a 70-year-old man with a solitary adrenal metastasis from malignant melanoma, which was laparoscopically removed. Twelve months later, he presented a recurrence near one of the laparoscopic port sites.