Identifying soccer players on Facebook through predictive analytics

This study assesses the feasibility of identifying self-reported sports practitioners (soccer players) on Facebook. The main goal is to develop a system to support marketers with the decision as to which prospects to target for advertising purposes. To do so, we benchmark several algorithms (i.e., random forest, logistic regression, adaboost, rotation forest, neural networks, and kernel factory) using five times twofold cross-validation. To evaluate performance and variable importances, we build a fusion model, which combines the results of the other algorithms using the weighted average. This technique is also referred to as information-fusion sensitivity analysis. The results reveal that Facebook data provide a viable basis to come up with sports predictions as the predictive performance ranges from 72.01% to 80.43% for area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), from 81.96% to 83.95% for accuracy, and from 2.41 to 3.06 for top-decile lift. Our benchmark study indicates that stochastic adaboost, the fusion model, random forest, rotation forest, and regularized logistic regression are the best-performing algorithms. Furthermore, the results show that the most important variables are the average number of friends that play soccer, membership of a soccer group, and the number of favorite teams. We also assess the impact of our results on profitability by conducting a thorough sensitivity analysis. Our analysis reveals that our approach can be beneficial for a wide range of companies. The analysis and results in this study will assist sports brands with decisions regarding their implementation of targeted marketing approaches. </jats:p

Evaluating multi-label classifiers and recommender systems in the financial service sector

status: publishe

Simulation of RF-fields in a fusion device

In this paper the problem of scattering off a fusion plasma is approached from the point of view of integral equations. Using the volume equivalence principle an integral equation is derived which describes the electromagnetic fields in a plasma. The equation is discretized with MoM using conforming basis functions. This reduces the problem to solving a dense matrix equation. This can be done iteratively. Each iteration can be sped up using FFTs

Health promotion intervention in mental health care : design and baseline findings of a cluster preference randomized controlled trial

Background : Growing attention is given to the effects of health promotion programs targeting physical activity and healthy eating in individuals with mental disorders. The design of evaluation studies of public health interventions poses several problems and the current literature appears to provide only limited evidence on the effectiveness of such programs. The aim of the study is to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a health promotion intervention targeting physical activity and healthy eating in individuals with mental disorders living in sheltered housing. In this paper, the design of the study and baseline findings are described. Methods/design : The design consists of a cluster preference randomized controlled trial. All sheltered housing organisations in the Flanders region (Belgium) were asked if they were interested to participate in the study and if they were having a preference to serve as intervention or control group. Those without a preference were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Individuals in the intervention group receive a 10-week health promotion intervention above their treatment as usual. Outcome assessments occur at baseline, at 10 and at 36 weeks. The primary outcomes include body weight, Body Mass Index, waist circumference, and fat mass. Secondary outcomes consist of physical activity levels, eating habits, health-related quality of life and psychiatric symptom severity. Cost-effectiveness of the intervention will be examined by calculating the Cost-Effectiveness ratio and through economic modeling. Twenty-five sheltered housing organisations agreed to participate. On the individual level 324 patients were willing to participate, including 225 individuals in the intervention group and 99 individuals in the control group. At baseline, no statistical significant differences between the two groups were found for the primary outcome variables. Discussion : This is the first trial evaluating both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a health promotion intervention targeting physical activity and health eating in mental health care using a cluster preference randomized controlled design. The baseline characteristics already demonstrate the unhealthy condition of the study population

Differential mucosal expression of Th17-related genes between the inflamed colon and ileum of patients with inflammatory bowel disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Immunological and genetic findings implicate Th17 effector cytokines in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Expression of Th17 pathway-associated genes is mainly studied in colonic disease. The present study assessed the mRNA expression levels of Th17 effector cytokines (<it>IL17A</it>, <it>IL17F</it>, <it>IL21</it>, <it>IL22 </it>and <it>IL26</it>) and genes involved in differentiation (<it>IL6</it>, <it>IL1B</it>, <it>TGFB1</it>, <it>IL23A </it>and <it>STAT3</it>) and recruitment of Th17 cells (<it>CCR6 </it>and <it>CCL20</it>) by quantitative real-time PCR analysis of colonic and ileal biopsies from 22 healthy control subjects, 26 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 12 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Inflammation was quantified by measuring expression of the inflammatory mediators <it>IL8 </it>and <it>TNF</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Evaluation of mRNA expression levels in colonic and ileal control samples revealed that <it>TNF</it>, <it>TGFB1</it>, <it>STAT3 </it>and <it>CCR6 </it>were expressed at higher levels in the ileum than in the colon. Expression of all the Th17 pathway-associated genes was increased in inflamed colonic samples. The increased expression of these genes was predominantly observed in samples from UC patients and was associated with more intense inflammation. Although increased expression of <it>IL17A</it>, <it>IL17F</it>, <it>IL21 </it>and <it>IL26 </it>was detected in inflamed ileal samples, expression of the indispensable Th17 cell differentiation factors <it>TGFB1 </it>and <it>IL23A</it>, the signaling molecule <it>STAT3 </it>and the Th17 recruitment factors <it>CCR6 </it>and <it>CCL20 </it>were unchanged.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that immune regulation is different in colonic and ileal disease, which might have important consequences for therapeutic intervention.</p

The contribution of international health volunteers to the health workforce in sub-Saharan Africa

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Patient Acceptance of Noninvasive and Invasive Coronary Angiography

BACKGROUND: Noninvasive angiography using multislice computed tomography (MSCT) is superior to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detection of coronary stenoses. We compared patient acceptance of these two noninvasive diagnostic tests and invasive conventional coronary angiography (Angio). METHODS AND FINDINGS: A total of 111 consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease underwent MSCT, MRI, and Angio. Subsequently, patient acceptance of the three tests was evaluated with questionnaires in all patients. The main acceptance variables were preparation and information prior to the test, degree of concern, comfort, degree of helplessness, pain (on visual analog scales), willingness to undergo the test again, and overall satisfaction. Preparation for each test was not rated significantly differently, whereas patients were significantly more concerned about Angio than the two noninvasive tests (p<0.001). No pain during MSCT, MRI, and Angio as assessed on visual analog scales (0 to 100) was reported by 99, 93, and 31 patients, respectively. Among the 82 patients who felt pain during at least one procedure, both CT (0.9±4.5) and MRI (5.2±16.6) were significantly less painful than Angio (24.6±23.4, both p<0.001). MSCT was considered significantly more comfortable (1.49±0.64) than MRI (1.75±0.81, p<0.001). In both the no-revascularization (55 patients) and the revascularization group (56 patients), the majority of the patients (73 and 71%) would prefer MSCT to MRI and Angio for future imaging of the coronary arteries. None of the patients indicated to be unwilling to undergo MSCT again. The major advantages patients attributed to MSCT were its fast, uncomplicated, noninvasive, and painless nature. CONCLUSIONS: Noninvasive coronary angiography with MSCT is considered more comfortable than MRI and both MSCT and MRI are less painful than Angio. Patient preference for MSCT might tip the scales in favor of this test provided that the diagnostic accuracy of MSCT can be shown to be high enough for clinical application