Effects of Pros and Cons of Applying Big Data Analytics to Consumers’ Responses in an E-Commerce Context

The era of Big Data analytics has begun in most industries within developed countries. This new analytics tool has raised motivation for experts and researchers to study its impacts to business values and challenges. However, studies which help to understand customers’ views and their behavior towards the applications of Big Data analytics are lacking. This research aims to explore and determine the pros and cons of applying Big Data analytics that affects customers’ responses in an e-commerce environment. Data analyses were conducted in a sample of 273 respondents from Vietnam. The findings found that information search, recommendation system, dynamic pricing, and customer services had significant positive effects on customers’ responses. Privacy and security, shopping addiction, and group influences were found to have significant negative effects on customers’ responses. Customers’ responses were measured at intention and behavior stages. Moreover, positive and negative effects simultaneously presented significant effect on customers’ responses. Each dimension of positive and negative factors had different significant impacts on customers’ intention and behavior. Specifically, information search had a significant influence on customers’ intention and improved customers’ behavior. Shopping addiction had a drastic change from intention to behavior compared to group influences and privacy and security. This study contributes to improve understanding of customers’ responses under big data era. This could play an important role to develop sustainable consumers market. E-vendors can rely on Big Data analytics but over usage may have some negative applications

Discrimination of Four Cinnamomum Species with Physico-Functional Properties and Chemometric Techniques: Application of PCA and MDA Models

Discrimination of highly valued and non-hepatotoxic Cinnamomum species (C. verum) from hepatotoxic (C. burmannii, C. loureiroi, and C. cassia) is essential for preventing food adulteration and safety problems. In this study, we developed a new method for the discrimination of four Cinnamomum species using physico-functional properties and chemometric techniques. The data were analyzed through principal component analysis (PCA) and multiclass discriminant analysis (MDA). The results showed that the cumulative variability of the first three principal components was 81.70%. The PCA score plot indicated a clear separation of the different Cinnamomum species. The training set was used to build the discriminant MDA model. The testing set was verified by this model. The prediction rate of 100% proved that the model was valid and reliable. Therefore, physico-functional properties coupled with chemometric techniques constitute a practical approach for discrimination of Cinnamomum species to prevent food fraud

Does coffee drinking have beneficial effects on bone health of Taiwanese adults? A longitudinal study

Abstract Background Results from studies investigating the association between coffee consumption and osteoporosis or bone mineral density (BMD) have been inconsistent. This longitudinal study was performed to assess the effect of coffee drinking on bone health of Taiwanese adults. Methods Data were retrieved from the Li-Shin (Landseed) Hospital in Taoyuan City. In 2006, 6152 participants completed a questionnaire on coffee drinking and other lifestyle factors. In 2014, 5077 of them were followed up. Nonetheless, a total of 2395 participants with incomplete data were excluded. The final analyses included 2682 participants comprising 1195 men and 1487 women (706 premenopausal and 781 postmenopausal). T-scores were derived from the osteo-sono assessment index (OSI) which is a surrogate of BMD. Coffee drinking was categorized as “no, medium, and high” based on the number of cups that were consumed per week in both 2006 and 2014. Results In general, medium and high coffee drinking were associated with higher T-scores. However, significant results were observed only among high drinkers (β = 0.158; P = 0.0038). Nonetheless, the test for linear trend was significant (P = 0.0046). After stratification by sex, medium and high coffee drinking were associated with higher T-scores. However, significant results were prominent only among high male drinkers (β = 0.237; P = 0.0067) and the test for trend was significant (P = 0.0161). Based on menopausal status, coffee drinking was associated with higher T-scores. Nevertheless, significant results were found only among premenopausal women (β = 0.233; P = 0.0355 and β = 0.234; P = 0.0152 for medium and high coffee drinking, respectively. The test for linear trend was significant (P = 0.0108). Conclusion Coffee drinking was significantly associated with higher T-scores hence, a lower risk of osteoporosis in men and premenopausal women

SOX2 promoter hypermethylation in non-smoking Taiwanese adults residing in air pollution areas

Abstract Background Both SOX2 promoter methylation and air pollution have been associated with lung cancer risk. However, little has been done to assess SOX2 promoter methylation in individuals living in air pollution areas. The aim of this study was to investigate SOX2 promoter methylation in non-smoking Taiwanese adults living in areas with different levels of air pollution especially particulate matter with diameter < 2.5 μm (PM2.5). Methods A total of 1142 individuals aged 30–70 years were recruited. Data on SOX2 methylation, residence, age, and exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) among others were extracted from the Taiwan Biobank dataset (2008–2015). After excluding former and current smokers, alongside those with incomplete information, a total of 461 non-smokers comprising 176 men and 285 women were included in the study. Participants’ residences were grouped under northern and central/southern areas because air pollution (PM2.5) is lower in northern compared to central and southern areas. Results The methylation levels in men (0.16310 ± 0.01230) and women (0.15740 ± 0.01240) were significantly different (P < .0001). In both sexes, the SOX2 promoter region was shown to be significantly hypermethylated in central and southern areas compared with the northern areas. The regression coefficient (β) was 0.00331 (P = 0.0257) in men and 0.00514 (P < .0001) in women. Conclusion SOX2 was significantly hypermethylated in both men and women residing in central and southern areas. The consistency in the results for both sexes shows that SOX2 promoter methylation could serve as a potential biomarker for industrial air pollution exposure. Moreover, it might reflect predisposition to cancer. Hence, healthy non-smokers at precancerous stages who have not been clinically diagnosed could be identified

Combination of Exercise and Vegetarian Diet: Relationship with High Density-Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Taiwanese Adults Based on MTHFR rs1801133 Polymorphism

We examined the association between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and exercise and vegetarian diets, in Taiwanese adults, based on the Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) rs1801133 polymorphism. Using regression models, we analyzed historical data collected from 9255 Taiwan Biobank (TWB) participants from 2008 through 2015. Exposure to exercise was associated with higher HDL-C (&beta; = 1.0508 and 1.4011 for GG and GA + AA individuals, respectively), whereas a vegetarian diet was associated with lower HDL-C (&beta; = &minus;6.2793 and &minus;4.6359 for those with GG and GA + AA genotype, respectively). We found an interaction between exercise and diet among GG individuals (p = 0.0101). Compared with no exercise/no vegetarian diet, vegetarian diet/no exercise was associated with a 5.1514 mg/dl reduction in HDL-C among those with GG genotype (&beta; = &minus;5.1514, p &lt; 0.0001) and a 4.8426 mg/dl reduction (&beta; = &minus;4.8426, p &lt; 0.0001) among those with GA + AA genotype. Vegetarian diets in combination with exercise predicted a 6.5552 mg/dl reduction in HDL-C among GG individuals (&beta; = &minus;6.5552) and a 2.8668 mg/dl reduction among GA + AA individuals (p &lt; 0.05). These findings demonstrated that vegetarian diet alone was associated with lower HDL-C, no matter the rs1801133 genotype. However, the inclusion of regular exercise predicted much lower levels among GG individuals, whereas levels among GA + AA individuals were relatively higher

Herpes Zoster as a Predictor of HIV Infection in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study.

This study aimed to investigate the association between herpes zoster (HZ) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Data were retrieved from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Databases (LHID 2005 and 2010), Taiwan. The International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] codes were used to identify Hz from 2001-2004. Identification of HIV infection was from 2005-2010. The hazard ratios of HIV among herpes zoster infected and non-herpes zoster infected patients were estimated using multiple Cox proportional hazard model. In general, 19685 participants were identified with Hz. The HIV incidence rates (per 104 person-months) in herpes zoster infected and non-infected patients were 0.191(95% CI 0.130-0.280) and 0.079 (95% CI 0.074-0.084), respectively while the hazard ratio (HR) of HIV among infected individuals was 3.518 (95% CI 2.375-5.211). This study concludes that herpes zoster could be considered as a predictor of HIV infection especially among Asian populations, hence it is vital to test herpes zoster infected individuals for HIV antibodies

Targeted Isolation of Xenicane Diterpenoids From Taiwanese Soft Coral <i>Asterospicularia laurae</i>

Application of LC-MS/MS-based molecular networking indicated the ethanol extract of octocoral Asterospicularia laurae is a potential source for the discovery of new xenicane derivatives. A natural product investigation of this soft coral resulted in the isolation of four new xenicane diterpenoids, asterolaurins O–R (1–4), together with six known compounds, xeniolide-A (5), isoxeniolide-A (6), xeniolide-B (7), 7,8-epoxyxeniolide-B (8), 7,8-oxido-isoxeniolide-A (9), and 9-hydroxyxeniolide-F (10). The structures of isolated compounds were characterized by employing spectroscopic analyses, including 2D-NMR (COSY, HMQC, HMBC, and NOESY) and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS). Asterolaurin O is the first case of brominated tricarbocyclic type floridicin in the family Xeniidae. Concerning bioactivity, the cytotoxic activity of those isolates was evaluated. As a result, compounds 1 and 2 demonstrated a selective cytotoxic effect against the MCF-7 cell line at IC50 of 14.7 and 25.1 μM, respectively