Scalable factorization model to discover implicit and explicit similarities across domains

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.E-commerce businesses increasingly depend on recommendation systems to introduce personalized services and products to their target customers. Achieving accurate recommendations requires a sufficient understanding of user preferences and item characteristics. Given the current innovations on the Web, coupled datasets are abundantly available across domains. An analysis of these datasets can provide a broader knowledge to understand the underlying relationship between users and items. This thorough understanding results in more collaborative filtering power and leads to a higher recommendation accuracy. However, how to effectively use this knowledge for recommendation is still a challenging problem. In this research, we propose to exploit both explicit and implicit similarities extracted from latent factors across domains with matrix tri-factorization. On the coupled dimensions, common parts of the coupled factors across domains are shared among them. At the same time, their domain-specific parts are preserved. We show that such a configuration of both common and domain-specific parts benefits cross-domain recommendations significantly. Moreover, on the non-coupled dimensions, the middle factor of the tri-factorization is proposed to use to match the closely related clusters across datasets and align the matched ones to transfer cross-domain implicit similarities, further improving the recommendation. Furthermore, when dealing with data coupled from different sources, the scalability of the analytical method is another significant concern. We design a distributed factorization model that can scale up as the observed data across domains increases. Our data parallelism, based on Apache Spark, enables the model to have the smallest communication cost. Also, the model is equipped with an optimized solver that converges faster. We demonstrate that these key features stabilize our model’s performance when the data grows. Validated on real-world datasets, our developed model outperforms the existing algorithms regarding recommendation accuracy and scalability. These empirical results illustrate the potential of our research in exploiting both explicit and implicit similarities across domains for improving recommendation performance

Changes in the levels of immunological markers after treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis

Introduction: Monitoring changes in the levels of immune markers is of great significance in evaluating the effectiveness of treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis. Objectives: Determine the change in the concentration of immune markers after treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis caused by cotton dust. Methods : A descriptive, single-group, comparative before and after intervention study on 52 patients with allergic rhinitis caused by cotton dust. Comparison of immunological markers results before and after 36 months of treatment. Results: Total IgE concentration after treatment decreased, the median decreased from 1227.756 U/mL to 676.805 UI/mL. Serum levels of IgG, IgG4, and IgG1 in patients after treatment increased compared to before (p< 0.001). The cytokines also changed in the direction of no longer responding toward allergy. Median IL-17 decreased from 1.752 mg/dL to 0.417 mg/dL. Conclusion: In patients with allergic rhinitis after specific sublingual desensitization treatment, IgE levels and cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-17 are significantly reduced and IgG, IgG4 and IgG1 levels are increased after treatment

The Status of Educational Sciences In Vietnam: A Bibliometric Analysis From Clarivate Web Of Science Database Between 1991 And 2018

Since 2013, Vietnam has implemented a plan to reform the whole education sector. However, there is little understanding on the status of educational research in Vietnam, which may lay the foundation for such plan. Thus, this research aims to analyze the whole picture of educational research from Vietnam, as seen from the Clarivate Web of Science (WOS) database: 215 publications were recorded, ranging from 1991 to 2018. These 215 publications were further analyzed from five perspectives: 1) number of publications by year; 2) research fields and levels of education; 3) top institutions with the highest number of publications; 4) international collaboration; and 5) quality. Some of the most notable results are: 1) the educational sciences in Vietnam have been still under-developed until recently; 2) among different research topics research among educational sciences, some (e.g., Vocational Education and Training or Early Childhood Education) seemed to be overlooked whereas others (e.g., Higher Education and Teaching and Learning) seemed to receive more attention from educational scholars; 3) all the most major education – specialized universities did not appear among the top five institutions with highest number of publications; 4) Australia, Thailand, the USA, New Zealand and China were the countries with the highest number of co-publications with Vietnamese researchers; and 5) The majority of publications belonged to low-ranked journals. Implications would be withdrawn for Vietnamese policymakers, education leaders, educational researchers and teachers in order to adjust their policies and/or action plans; thus, enhancing the performance and impacts of educational research in the future

NGHIÊN CỨU SỬ DỤNG DỮ LIỆU CÁC AXIT BÉO TRONG PHÂN LOẠI HOÁ HỌC THỰC VẬT (CHEMOTAXONOMY) ĐỐI VỚI CÁC LOÀI RONG ĐỎ

In this paper, the compositions and contents of fatty acids in the total lipid extracts of 69 red seaweed samples belonging to 9 families (Gracilariaceae, Hypneaceae, Ceramiaceae, Bangiaceae, Hylamaniaceae, Bonnemaisoniaceae, Phyllophoraceae, Rhodymeniaceae and Halymeniaceae) are studied. According to the results, 56 fatty acids are identified, in which 12 fatty acids were considered “fatty acid markers” for the botanical classification (Chemotaxonomy) of red seaweed species such as C14:0, C15:0, C16:0, C16:1n-7, C18:0, C18:1n-9, C18:1n-7, C18:2n-6, C20:3n-6, C20:4n-6, C20:5n-3 and C22:0. By using principal component analysis method (PCA), the analysis result on two-dimensional chart showed that families of red seaweed are distributed into separate regions. Classification tree diagram of the red seaweed species based on essential fatty acid composition is also given.Chúng tôi đã tiến hành nghiên cứu thành phần và hàm lượng các axit béo trong dịch chiết lipit tổng của 69 mẫu rong đỏ Rhodophyta thuộc 9 họ Gracilariaceae, Hypneaceae, Ceramiaceae, Bangiaceae, Hylamaniaceae, Phyllophoraceae, Rhodymeniaceae, họ Halymeniaceae. Kết quả đã xác định được 56 axit béo trong đó có 12 axit béo là C14:0, C15:0, C16:0, C16:1n-7, C18:0, C18:1n-9, C18:1n-7, C18:2n-6, C20:3n-6, C20:4n-6, C20:5n-3 và C22:0 được sử dụng là những chất đánh dấu cho việc phân loại hoá học thực vật (Chemotaxonomy) đối với các loài rong đỏ. Sử dụng phương pháp phân tích cấu tử chính (PCA), kết quả thể hiện qua giản đồ hai chiều, các họ rong đỏ phân định thành các vùng riêng rẽ. Chúng tôi cũng đưa ra sơ đồ cây phân loại của các loài rong đỏ theo thành phần axit béo chính yếu

Spectrum of mutations in the RB1 gene in Vietnamese patients with retinoblastoma

Purpose: Retinoblastoma (RB) is a rare childhood malignant disorder caused by the biallelic inactivation of the RB1 gene. Early diagnosis and identification of carriers of heritable mutations in RB1 can improve disease outcome and management. In this study, we present the spectrum of mutations in the RB1 gene in Vietnamese patients with RB. Methods: Tumor RNA from 50 probands with RB, including 12 bilateral and 38 unilateral cases, was extracted. cDNA, after reverse transcription, was sequenced to identify the RNA mutation of the RB1 gene. At the genomic DNA level, mutational analysis of all RB1 exons, exon–intron boundaries, and the promoter region was conducted using PCR and direct sequencing. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis was performed for patients for whom the first two results were negative. For patients for whom either the sequencing or MLPA results were positive for a tumor mutation, patients’ and their parents’ blood DNA was analyzed to determine the germline mutation. Results: Forty-one different kinds of RB1 tumor mutations were identified in 41 probands (82.0%), including 11 of 12 bilateral cases (91.7%) and 30 of 38 unilateral cases (78.9%). The majority of the detected mutations were nonsense (15 different kinds), followed by frameshift (11 kinds), and splice site mutations (nine kinds). Each splice site mutation was confirmed to create a deletion of the corresponding exon with RNA sequencing. The single promoter mutation c.-197G>A was reported previously; however, both missense mutations identified in exon 6 (c.601G>C: p.A201P) and exon 22 (c.2264T>C: p.F755S) were novel. Gross deletions were detected with MLPA in three probands. The detection rate of germline mutations in bilateral and unilateral cases with mutations were 81.8% and 30.0%, respectively. Only one father out of the 20 parents tested was positive for a germline mutation. Conclusions: Mutations in the RB1 gene in Vietnamese patients were heterogeneous and highly prevalent with pathogenic truncated mutations. With advancement in therapeutics, early detection of RB is important for eye salvation

Commonly misdiagnosed round pneumonia in a child: a case report

Round pneumonia, a specific radiological finding in children, is often caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae; but it is easily misdiagnosed with some other diseases, causing many difficulties for clinicians. We described a case report of round pneumonia in a 9-year-old boy, with chest pain, following fever, productive cough, left-sided pulmonary consolidation syndrome, tachypnea, no chest indrawing, and a round homogenous lesion about 4 cm in diameter with a clear border in the left upper lobe position on chest X-ray. He was initially misdiagnosed as a lung tumor. He was correctly diagnosed with round pneumonia prior to pneumonectomy and was successfully treated with antibiotics. Therefore, it is important to carefully analyze round pneumonia cases that are often misdiagnosed, resulting in poor therapy

Influence of the Preparation Method on Some Characteristics of Alginate/Chitosan/Lovastatin Composites

This study investigates the effects of direct and indirect dispersion methods for lovastatin solid dispersion (LSD) in alginate (AG)/chitosan (CS) composites on the characteristics and properties of the AG/CS/LSD composites. The preparation method significantly influences the structure, morphology, and LSD size distribution of the composites as well as the drug release of LSD from the samples. The differences in dispersion methods for LSD lead to differences in the interaction between the components, the structure, and the control drug release of LSD. Lovastatin was released from the samples containing LSD in two stages (a fast release stage and a slow release stage), and the drug release content prepared using the indirect method is lower than that prepared using the direct method in the same buffer solution. After 32 h of testing, the released LSD content from the indirect and direct LSD dispersion methods in pH 2 and pH 7.4 buffer solutions was 87–94% and 41–61%, respectively. Drug release kinetics from the above samples in solutions with different pH values was also set up

Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Activities of Essential Oils from Vietnamese Traditional Medicinal Plants

Essential oils are promising as environmentally friendly and safe sources of pesticides for human use. Furthermore, they are also of interest as aromatherapeutic agents in the treatment of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease, and inhibition of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has been evaluated as an important mechanism. The essential oils of some species in the genera Callicarpa, Premna, Vitex and Karomia of the family Lamiaceae were evaluated for inhibition of electric eel AChE using the Ellman method. The essential oils of Callicarpa candicans showed promising activity, with IC50 values between 45.67 and 58.38 &mu;g/mL. The essential oils of Callicarpa sinuata, Callicarpa petelotii, Callicarpa nudiflora, Callicarpa erioclona and Vitex ajugifolia showed good activity with IC50 values between 28.71 and 54.69 &mu;g/mL. The essential oils Vitex trifolia subsp. trifolia and Callicarpa rubella showed modest activity, with IC50 values of 81.34 and 89.38, respectively. trans-Carveol showed an IC50 value of 102.88 &micro;g/mL. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation were performed on the major components of the studied essential oils to investigate the possible mechanisms of action of potential inhibitors. The results obtained suggest that these essential oils may be used to control mosquito vectors that transmit pathogenic viruses or to support the treatment of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease