A deep learning-based hybrid model for recommendation generation and ranking

A recommender system plays a vital role in information filtering and retrieval, and its application is omnipresent in many domains. There are some drawbacks such as the cold-start and the data sparsity problems which affect the performance of the recommender model. Various studies help with drastically improving the performance of recommender systems via unique methods, such as the traditional way of performing matrix factorization (MF) and also applying deep learning (DL) techniques in recent years. By using DL in the recommender system, we can overcome the difficulties of collaborative filtering. DL now focuses mainly on modeling content descriptions, but those models ignore the main factor of user–item interaction. In the proposed hybrid Bayesian stacked auto-denoising encoder (HBSADE) model, it recognizes the latent interests of the user and analyzes contextual reviews that are performed through the MF method. The objective of the model is to identify the user’s point of interest, recommending products/services based on the user’s latent interests. The proposed two-stage novel hybrid deep learning-based collaborative filtering method explores the user’s point of interest, captures the communications between items and users and provides better recommendations in a personalized way. We used a multilayer neural network to manipulate the nonlinearities between the user and item communication from data. Experiments were to prove that our HBSADE outperforms existing methodologies over Amazon-b and Book-Crossing datasets

Incidence and Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease among Aboriginal Peoples in Alberta, Canada

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major respiratory disorder, largely caused by smoking that has been linked with large health inequalities worldwide. There are important gaps in our knowledge about how COPD affects Aboriginal peoples. This retrospective cohort study assessed the epidemiology of COPD in a cohort of Aboriginal peoples relative to a non-Aboriginal cohort. Methods We used linkage of administrative health databases in Alberta (Canada) from April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2010 to compare the annual prevalence, and the incidence rates of COPD between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cohorts aged 35 years and older. Poisson regression models adjusted the analysis for important sociodemographic factors. Results Compared to a non-Aboriginal cohort, prevalence estimates of COPD from 2002 to 2010 were 2.3 to 2.4 times greater among Registered First Nations peoples, followed by the Inuit (1.86 to 2.10 times higher) and the Métis (1.59 to 1.67 times higher). All Aboriginal peoples had significantly higher COPD incidence rates than the non-Aboriginal group (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.97, 2.27). COPD incidence rates were higher in First Nation peoples (IRR: 2.37; 95% CI: 2.19, 2.56) followed by Inuit (IRR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.64, 2.25) and Métis (IRR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.32, 1.69) groups. Conclusions We found a high burden of COPD among Aboriginal peoples living in Alberta; a province with the third largest Aboriginal population in Canada. Altogether, the three Aboriginal peoples groups have higher prevalence and incidence of COPD compared to a non-Aboriginal cohort. The condition affects the three Aboriginal groups differently; Registered First Nations and Inuit have the highest burden of COPD. Reasons for these differences should be further explored within a framework of social determinants of health to help designing interventions that effectively influence modifiable COPD risk factors in each of the Aboriginal groups

Prevalence and Determinants of Sinus Problems in Farm and Non-Farm Populations of Rural Saskatchewan, Canada

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Canadian Institutes of Health Research - MOP-187209-POP-CCAA-11829Peer ReviewedAlthough sinus problems have long been recognized as the most common respiratory symptoms associated with agricultural work, there is a scarcity of recent studies and/or reliable estimates as to the true prevalence or risk factors of sinus problems related to farming. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sinus problems in farming and non-farming rural populations and further investigate the association of individual (for example life-style, occupational), contextual (e.g., environmental), and important covariates (e.g., age, sex) with sinus problems. A large-scale cross-sectional study was conducted in farm and non-farm residents of rural Saskatchewan, Canada. A logistic regression model based on a generalized estimating equations approach were fitted to investigate the risk factors of sinus problems. Sinus problems were reported by 2755 (34.0%) of the 8101 subjects. Farm residents were more likely to spend their first year of life on farm compared with non-farm residents, and indicated a significantly lower risk of sinus problems. Meanwhile, occupational exposure to solvent and mold were associated with an increased risk of sinus problems. Some health conditions such as allergy and stomach acidity/reflux, family history, and female sex were also related to a higher risk of sinus problems. Farm residents had a significantly lower risk of sinus problems than non-farm residents, likely due to the exposure to farm specific environments in their early life

Asthma Prevalence, Knowledge, and Perceptions among Secondary School Pupils in Rural and Urban Costal Districts in Tanzania.

Asthma is a common chronic disease of childhood that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of asthma among secondary school pupils in urban and rural areas of coast districts of Tanzania. The study also aimed to describe pupils' perception towards asthma, and to assess their knowledge on symptoms, triggers, and treatment of asthma. A total of 610 pupils from Ilala district and 619 pupils from Bagamoyo district formed the urban and rural groups, respectively. Using a modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, a history of "diagnosed" asthma or the presence of a wheeze in the previous 12 months was obtained from all the studied pupils, along with documentation of their perceptions regarding asthma. Pupils without asthma or wheeze in the prior 12 months were subsequently selected and underwent a free running exercise testing. A >= 20% decrease in the post-exercise Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) values was the criterion for diagnosing exercise-induced asthma. The mean age of participants was 16.8 (+/-1.8) years. The prevalence of wheeze in the past 12 months was 12.1% in Bagamoyo district and 23.1% in Ilala district (p < 0.001). Self-reported asthma was found in 17.6% and 6.4% of pupils in Ilala and Bagamoyo districts, respectively (p < 0.001). The prevalence of exercise-induced asthma was 2.4% in Bagamoyo, and 26.3% in Ilala (P < 0.002). In both districts, most information on asthma came from parents, and there was variation in symptoms and triggers of asthma reported by the pupils. Non-asthmatic pupils feared sleeping, playing, and eating with their asthmatic peers. The prevalence rates of self-reported asthma, wheezing in the past 12 months, and exercise-induced asthma were significantly higher among urban than rural pupils. Although bronchial asthma is a common disease, pupils' perceptions about asthma were associated with fear of contact with their asthmatic peers in both rural and urban schools

Asthma hospitalisation trends from 2010 to 2015: variation among rural and metropolitan Australians

Abstract Background Asthma remains a leading cause of illness, where primary care can assist to reduce hospitalisations through prevention, controlling acute episodes, and overall management of asthma. In Victoria, Asthma hospitalisations were as high as 3.1 hospitalisations per 1000 population in 1993–94. The primary aims of this study are to: determine if changes in asthma hospitalisations have occurred between 2010 and 2015; determine the key factors that impact asthma hospitalisation over time; and verify whether rural and urban asthma hospitalisations are disparate. A secondary aim of the study is to compare 2010–2015 results with asthma data prior to 2010. Methods Hospital separation data from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2015 were obtained through the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset and other agencies. Data included sex, age, Local Government Area, private or public patient, length of stay, and type of discharge. Asthma and predictor variables were analysed according to hospital separation rates after adjusting for smoking and sex. Hierarchical multiple regression examined the association between asthma and predictor variables. Results During the study period, 49,529 asthma hospital separations occurred, of which 77.5% were in metropolitan hospitals, 55.4% hospital separations were aged 0–14 years, and 21.7% were privately funded. State-wide hospital separations were 1.85 per 1000 population and were consistently higher in metropolitan compared to rural areas (1.93 vs 1.64 per 1000 population). When data among metropolitan adults aged 15 and over were analysed, an increase in the proportion of smokers in the population was reflected by an increase in the number of hospital separations (Adj OR 1.035). Further, among rural and metropolitan children aged 0–14 the only predictor of asthma hospital separations was sex, where metropolitan male children had higher odds of separation than metropolitan females of the same age (Adj OR 4.297). There was no statistically meaningful difference for separation rates between males and females in rural areas. Conclusions We demonstrated a higher overall hospital separation rate in metropolitan Victoria. For children in metropolitan areas, males were hospitalised at higher rates than females, while the inverse was demonstrated for children residing in rural areas. Therefore, optimising asthma management requires consideration of the patient’s age, gender and residential context. Primary health care may play a leading role in increasing health literacy for patients in order to improve self-management and health-seeking behaviour

Toll-like receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to graves' ophthalmopathy in Taiwan males

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of pattern-recognition receptors, which plays a role in eliciting innate/adaptive immune responses and developing chronic inflammation. The polymorphisms of TLRs have been associated with the risk of various autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis and rheumatorid arthritis. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether TLR genes could be used as genetic markers for the development of Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>6 TLR-4 and 2 TLR-9 gene polymorphisms in 471 GD patients (200 patients with GO and 271 patients without GO) from a Taiwan Chinese population were evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No statistically significant difference was observed in the genotypic and allelic frequencies of TLR-4 and TLR-9 gene polymorphisms between the GD patients with and without GO. However, sex-stratified analyses showed that the association between TLR-9 gene polymorphism and GO phenotype was more pronounced in the male patients. The odds ratios (ORs) was 2.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14-3.91) for rs187084 AàG polymorphism and 1.97 (95% CI = 1.07-3.62) for rs352140 AàG polymorphism among the male patients. Increasing one G allele of rs287084 and one A allele of rs352140 increased the risk of GO (<it>p </it>values for trend tests were 0.0195 and 0.0345, respectively). Further, in haplotype analyses, the male patients carrying the GA haplotype had a higher risk of GO (odds ratio [OR] = 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-3.73) than those not carrying the GA haplotype.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present data suggest that TLR-9 gene polymorphisms were significantly associated with increased susceptibility of ophthalmopathy in male GD patients.</p

Childhood asthma and indoor allergens in Native Americans in New York

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to assess the correlation between childhood asthma and potential risk factors, especially exposure to indoor allergens, in a Native American population. METHODS: A case-control study of St. Regis Mohawk tribe children ages 2–14 years, 25 diagnosed with asthma and 25 controls was conducted. Exposure was assessed based on a personal interview and measurement of mite and cat allergens (Der p 1, Fel d 1) in indoor dust. RESULTS: A non-significant increased risk of childhood asthma was associated with self-reported family history of asthma, childhood environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and air pollution. There was a significant protective effect of breastfeeding against current asthma in children less than 14 years (5.2 fold lower risk). About 80% of dust mite and 15% of cat allergen samples were above the threshold values for sensitization of 2 and 1 μg/g, respectively. The association between current asthma and exposure to dust mite and cat allergens was positive but not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This research identified several potential indoor and outdoor risk factors for asthma in Mohawks homes, of which avoidance may reduce or delay the development of asthma in susceptible individuals

Cough aerosol in healthy participants: fundamental knowledge to optimize droplet-spread infectious respiratory disease management

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Influenza A H1N1 virus can be transmitted via direct, indirect, and airborne route to non-infected subjects when an infected patient coughs, which expels a number of different sized droplets to the surrounding environment as an aerosol. The objective of the current study was to characterize the human cough aerosol pattern with the aim of developing a standard human cough bioaerosol model for Influenza Pandemic control.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>45 healthy non-smokers participated in the open bench study by giving their best effort cough. A laser diffraction system was used to obtain accurate, time-dependent, quantitative measurements of the size and number of droplets expelled by the cough aerosol.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Voluntary coughs generated droplets ranging from 0.1 - 900 microns in size. Droplets of less than one-micron size represent 97% of the total number of measured droplets contained in the cough aerosol. Age, sex, weight, height and corporal mass have no statistically significant effect on the aerosol composition in terms of size and number of droplets.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We have developed a standard human cough aerosol model. We have quantitatively characterized the pattern, size, and number of droplets present in the most important mode of person-to-person transmission of IRD: the cough bioaerosol. Small size droplets (< 1 μm) predominated the total number of droplets expelled when coughing. The cough aerosol is the single source of direct, indirect and/or airborne transmission of respiratory infections like the Influenza A H1N1 virus.</p> <p>Study design</p> <p>Open bench, Observational, Cough, Aerosol study</p