Predicting The Helpfulness Of Online Product Reviewers: A Data Mining Approach

The purpose of this study is to propose a data mining approach to predict the helpfulness scores of online product reviewers. Such prediction can facilitate consumers to judge whether to believe or disbelieve reviews written by different reviewers and can help e-stores or third-party product review websites to target and retain quality reviewers. In this study, we identify eight independent variables from the perspectives of reviewers’ review behavior and trust network to predict the helpfulness scores for these reviewers. We adopt M5 and SVM Regression as our underlying learning algorithms. Our empirical evaluation results on the basis of two product categories (i.e., Car and Computer) suggest that our proposed helpfulness prediction technique can predict the helpfulness scores of online product reviewers

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Genotype and Peripheral Arterial Disease in Diabetic Patients

We investigated the effect of traditional risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia and smoking) on the association between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in 945 (454 men and 491 women) Taiwanese type 2 diabetic patients with a mean age of 63.5 (SD: 11.4) years. Among them, 81 (31 men and 50 women) had PAD (ankle-brachial index <0.9). The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 2.48 (1.18–5.21), 1.69 (1.00–2.85) and 1.64 (1.12–2.39), respectively, for recessive (DD versus II + ID), dominant (DD + ID versus II) and additive (II = 0, ID = 1 and DD = 2) models. While analyzing the interaction between DD and the individual risk factor of hypertension, smoking and dyslipidemia, patients with the risk factor and with DD had the highest risk compared to referent patients without the risk factor and with II/ID. The respective adjusted odds ratios were 5.41 (2.05–14.31), 7.38 (1.87–29.06) and 4.64 (1.70–12.64). We did not find a significant interaction between DD and any of the risk factors under multiplicative or additive scale. In conclusion, traditional risk factors (hypertension, smoking and dyslipidemia) play an important role in the association between ACE genotypes and PAD. Patients with DD genotype and traditional risk factors are at the highest risk

Vertebral osteomyelitis caused by vancomycin-tolerant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: Experience with teicoplanin plus fosfomycin combination therapy

An 85-year-old female presented with fever and consciousness disturbance for 3 days. The patient's blood culture subsequently revealed persistent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia despite the administration of vancomycin or teicoplanin monotherapy. Gallium inflammation scan and magnetic resonance image of the spine disclosed osteomyelitis and discitis at the level of L4–5. Surgical debridement was not feasible in this debilitated patient. Because of the creeping minimal inhibitory concentration of vancomycin of the causative isolate (1.5 μg/mL) and clinical failure with glycopeptide monotherapy, we changed the antibiotic therapy to a fosfomycin and teicoplanin combination therapy. The patient showed improved clinical response in terms of her enhanced consciousness as well as subsidence of persisted bacteremia. Despite the potential side effects of fosfomycin (such as diarrhea and hypernatremia), it combined with a glycopeptide may be an alternative therapy for invasive refractory MRSA infections

Predicting The Helpfulness Of Online Product Reviewers: A Data Mining Approach

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First- and Second-trimester Down Syndrome Screening: Current Strategies and Clinical Guidelines

SummaryDown syndrome (DS) is the most common human disease caused by a structural chromosome defect. The original screening test for DS was maternal age or a history of a previously affected infant. Maternal serum screening has been incorporated into routine prenatal checkup in Taiwan since 1994. We used free β-human chorionic gonadotropin and α-fetoprotein (double test) as the serum markers, and this was carried out between the 15 to 20th week of gestation. The overall detection rate was 56% and was compatible with studies of Caucasian populations. The impact of double tests in Taiwan has shown itself by a dramatic lowering of the rate of DS live birth from 0.63 before screening to 0.16 per 1,000 live births at present. However, because of its relatively low detection rate and poor cost-effectiveness, the double test is not justified as a routine screening tool currently. First-trimester combined test is now becoming more widely available and provides increased sensitivity when detecting DS; it has a detection rate of approximately 85% with a false-positive rate of 5%. Nuchal translucency measurement requires ongoing quality control and sufficient certificated obstetricians; therefore, first-trimester ultrasound is limited only in designated centers. The quadruple test, having comparable detection rate, should be considered for incorporation into second-trimester screening in Taiwan in the near future. Other screening approaches and combinations have also been utilized in the Western countries. In this review, we outline the various options with respect to DS screening and hope that this will provide practical information for physicians offering such screenings. [Taiwan J Obstet Cynecol 2008;47(2):157-1 62

Tsengwen Reservoir Watershed Hydrological Flood Simulation Under Global Climate Change Using the 20 km Mesh Meteorological Research Institute Atmospheric General Circulation Model (MRI-AGCM)

Severe rainstorms have occurred more frequently in Taiwan over the last decade. To understand the flood characteristics of a local region under climate change, a hydrological model simulation was conducted for the Tsengwen Reservoir watershed. The model employed was the Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFAS), which has a conceptual, distributed rainfall-runoff analysis module and a GIS data-input function. The high-resolution rainfall data for flood simulation was categorized into three terms: 1979 - 2003 (Present), 2015 - 2039 (Near-future), and 2075 - 2099 (Future), provided by the Meteorological Research Institute atmospheric general circulation model (MRI-AGCM). Ten extreme rainfall (top ten) events were selected for each term in descending order of total precipitation volume. Due to the small watershed area the MRI-AGCM3.2S data was downsized into higher resolution data using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model. The simulated discharges revealed that most of the Near-future and Future peaks caused by extreme rainfall increased compared to the Present peak. These ratios were 0.8 - 1.6 (Near-future/Present) and 0.9 - 2.2 (Future/Present), respectively. Additionally, we evaluated how these future discharges would affect the reservoir¡¦s flood control capacity, specifically the excess water volume required to be stored while maintaining dam releases up to the dam¡¦s spillway capacity or the discharge peak design for flood prevention. The results for the top ten events show that the excess water for the Future term exceeded the reservoir¡¦s flood control capacity and was approximately 79.6 - 87.5% of the total reservoir maximum capacity for the discharge peak design scenario

Triggering Apoptotic Death of Human Malignant Melanoma A375.S2 Cells by Bufalin: Involvement of Caspase Cascade-Dependent and Independent Mitochondrial Signaling Pathways

Bufalin was obtained from the skin and parotid venom glands of toad and has been shown to induce cytotoxic effects in various types of cancer cell lines, but there is no report to show that whether bufalin affects human skin cancer cells. The aim of this investigation was to study the effects of bufalin on human malignant melanoma A375.S2 cells and to elucidate possible mechanisms involved in induction of apoptosis. A375.S2 cells were treated with different concentrations of bufalin for a specific time period and investigated for effects on apoptotic analyses. Our results indicated that cells after exposure to bufalin significantly decreased cell viability, and induced cell morphological changes and chromatin condensation in a concentration-dependent manner. Flow cytometric assays indicated that bufalin promoted ROS productions, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), intracellular Ca2+ release, and nitric oxide (NO) formations in A375.S2 cells. Additionally, the apoptotic induction of bufalin on A375.S2 cells resulted from mitochondrial dysfunction-related responses (disruption of the ΔΨm and releases of cytochrome c, AIF, and Endo G), and activations of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 expressions. Based on those observations, we suggest that bufalin-triggered apoptosis in A375.S2 cells is correlated with extrinsic- and mitochondria-mediated multiple signal pathways

Dislocation-Controlled Perforated Layer Phase in a Peo-B-Ps Diblock Copolymer

Small angle x-ray analyses show that the shear-induced hexagonal perforated layer phase in a poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polystyrene diblock copolymer consists of trigonal (R3(overbar)m) twins and a hexagonal (P6(3)/mmc) structure, with trigonal twins being majority components. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the hexagonal structure is generated through sequential intrinsic stacking faults on the second layer from a previous edge dislocation line, while the trigonal twins are formed by successive intrinsic stacking faults on neighboring layers due to the plastic deformation under mechanical shear