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

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

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Serum leptin is associated with cardiometabolic risk and predicts metabolic syndrome in Taiwanese adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leptin is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, few studies have assessed its relationship with metabolic syndrome, especially in an Asian population. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess leptin levels and evaluate its association with CVD and metabolic syndrome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2009, 957 subjects, who underwent a routine physical examination and choose leptin examination, were selected to participate. Participants (269 females and 688 males) were stratified according to leptin level quartiles. Metabolic syndrome was defined by NCEP ATP III using waist circumference cutoffs modified for Asian populations, and CVD risk was determined using the Framingham Heart Study profile.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Leptin levels were correlated with CVD risk in men and women. With the exception of fasting plasma glucose, increased leptin levels were observed as factors associated with metabolic syndrome increased in both males and females. After adjusting for age, an association between leptin levels and metabolic syndrome was observed. After adjusting for age alone or with tobacco use, subjects in the highest leptin quartile had a higher risk of having metabolic syndrome than those in the lowest quartile (OR = 6.14 and 2.94 for men and women, respectively). After further adjustment for BMI, metabolic syndrome risk remained significantly increased with increasing leptin quartiles in men. Finally, increased leptin levels were a predictor of metabolic syndrome in men and women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Serum leptin levels are correlated with CVD risk and metabolic syndrome. Analysis of leptin as part of routine physical examinations may prove beneficial for early diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.</p

ESFuelCell2011-54069 PERFORMANCE STUDY OF A BI-CELL PIEZOELECTRIC PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL WITH A NOZZLE AND DIFFUSER

ABSTRACT Previous studies of a bi-cell piezoelectric proton exchange membrane fuel cell with a nozzle and diffuser (PZT-PEMFC-ND bi-cell) have shown that the performance of the PZT-PEMFC-ND bi-cell could be 1.6 times greater than that of the single cell when the proper aspect ratio (AR) of 11.25 and the diffuser angle of 5° are applied to the diffuser. In this study, the novel pseudo-bipolar bi-cell module was designated parallel with an 8 cm 2 reaction area, an AR of 5.63, and a diffuser angle 10°. The bi-cell module was operated under various operating conditions, including different operating temperatures, bi-cell circuit and intake module on anode, the performance of the bi-cell and the two component cells, and to optimize the integrated system output. The pump performance of the PZT-PEMFC-ND may be influenced by the asymmetric amplitude of the PZT device. The asymmetric amplitude results in different air flow rates through the cathode chamber of the component cells and in different current outputs for the component cells. For the different intake modules, the power of bi-cells at flow parallel and series will produce maximum power as 0.283 W cm -2 and 0.263 W cm -2 , respectively. The power consumption of the PZT device should be taken into consideration when determining the net power of the PZT-PEMFC-ND bi-cell. In this study, the maximum net power of the bi-cell was found to be 0.7W

Fine intervals are required when using point intercept transects to assess coral reef status

The Point Intercept Transect (PIT) method has commonly been used in recent decades for estimating the status of coral reef benthic communities. It is a simple method that is efficiently performed underwater, as benthic components are recorded only as presence or absence at specific interval points along transects. Therefore, PIT is also popular in citizen science activities such as Reef Check programs. Longer intervals are commonly associated with longer transects, yet sampling interval length can significantly influence benthic coverage calculations. Despite this, the relative accuracy of longer or shorter intervals related to transect length has not been tested for PIT. In this study, we tested the optimum intervals of PIT for several commonly used transect lengths using the bootstrap method on empirical data collected on tropical coral reefs and non-reefal coral communities. Our results recommend fine intervals of 10 cm or shorter, depending on the length of the transect, to increase the accuracy of estimating benthic community status on coral reefs. Permanent transects should also be considered in long-term monitoring programs to improve data quality

Optimization of Mixed Solid-state Fermentation of Soybean Meal by Lactobacillus Species and Clostridium butyricum

Soybean meal is the main vegetable protein source in animal feed. Soybean meal contains several anti-nutritional factors, which directly affect digestion and absorption of soy protein, thereby reducing growth performance and value in animals. Fermented soybean meal is rich in probiotics and functional metabolites, which facilitates soybean protein digestion, absorption and utilization in piglets. However, the mixed solid-state fermentation (SSF) conditions of soybean meal remain to be optimized. In this study, we investigated the optimal parameters for SSF of soybean meal by Lactobacillus species and Clostridium butyricum. The results showed that two days of fermentation was sufficient to increase the viable count of bacteria, lactic acid levels and degradation of soybean protein in fermented soybean meal at the initial moisture content of 50%. The pH value, lowering sugar content and oligosaccharides in fermented soybean meal, was significantly reduced at the initial moisture content of 50% after two days of fermentation. Furthermore, the exogenous proteases used in combination with probiotics supplementation were further able to enhance the viable count of bacteria, degradation of soybean protein and lactic acid level in the fermented soybean meal. In addition, the pH value and sugar content in fermented soybean meal were considerably reduced in the presence of both proteases and probiotics. Furthermore, the fermented soybean meal also showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These results together suggest that supplementation of both proteases and probiotics in SSF improves the nutritional value of fermented soybean meal and this is suitable as a protein source in animal feed

Organic Electrochemical Transistors/SERS-Active Hybrid Biosensors Featuring Gold Nanoparticles Immobilized on Thiol-Functionalized PEDOT Films

In this study we immobilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto thiol-functionalized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films as bioelectronic interfaces (BEIs) to be integrated into organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) for effective detection of dopamine (DA) and also as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)—active substrates for the selective detection of p-cresol (PC) in the presence of multiple interferers. This novel PEDOT-based BEI device platform combined (i) an underlying layer of polystyrenesulfonate-doped PEDOT (PEDOT:PSS), which greatly enhanced the transconductance and sensitivity of OECTs for electrochemical sensing of DA in the presence of other ascorbic acid and uric acid metabolites, as well as amperometric response toward DA with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 37 nM in the linear range from 50 nM to 100 μM; with (ii) a top interfacial layer of AuNP-immobilized three-dimensional (3D) thiol-functionalized PEDOT, which not only improved the performance of OECTs for detecting DA, due to the signal amplification effect of the AuNPs with high catalytic activity, but also enabled downstream analysis (SERS detection) of PC on the same chip. We demonstrate that PEDOT-based 3D OECT devices decorated with a high-density of AuNPs can display new versatility for the design of next-generation biosensors for point-of-care diagnostics