Utilizing Online Social Network and Location-Based Data to Recommend Products and Categories in Online Marketplaces

Recent research has unveiled the importance of online social networks for improving the quality of recommender systems and encouraged the research community to investigate better ways of exploiting the social information for recommendations. To contribute to this sparse field of research, in this paper we exploit users' interactions along three data sources (marketplace, social network and location-based) to assess their performance in a barely studied domain: recommending products and domains of interests (i.e., product categories) to people in an online marketplace environment. To that end we defined sets of content- and network-based user similarity features for each data source and studied them isolated using an user-based Collaborative Filtering (CF) approach and in combination via a hybrid recommender algorithm, to assess which one provides the best recommendation performance. Interestingly, in our experiments conducted on a rich dataset collected from SecondLife, a popular online virtual world, we found that recommenders relying on user similarity features obtained from the social network data clearly yielded the best results in terms of accuracy in case of predicting products, whereas the features obtained from the marketplace and location-based data sources also obtained very good results in case of predicting categories. This finding indicates that all three types of data sources are important and should be taken into account depending on the level of specialization of the recommendation task.Comment: 20 pages book chapte

The health impact of nature exposure and green exercise across the life course: a pilot study

Background: Both nature exposure and green exercise (GE) provide numerous health benefits. However, there are no studies examining the impact of childhood GE on adult health. Methods: 45 healthy adults (aged 69.8 ± 8.4 years) took part in the study, wearing a Firstbeat heart rate variability (HRV) monitor for 24 hours. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing childhood and adulthood nature exposure and GE, as well as current connectedness to nature (CN), perceived stress and well-being. Pearson’s correlations and linear regression were used to examine relationships between variables. Results: Childhood nature exposure and GE significantly predicted adult nature exposure and GE (β .317, p < 0.05) as well as CN (β = .831, p < 0.01). After controlling for childhood nature exposure and GE, CN was negatively associated with the percentage of stress over the 24-hour period (r = −.363; p < 0.05) and positively associated with HRV during sleep (r = .415; p < 0.05). Conclusions: CN is important for adult health; however childhood nature exposure and GE are essential to developing this connection

Lower Bounds for Heights in Relative Galois Extensions

The goal of this paper is to obtain lower bounds on the height of an algebraic number in a relative setting, extending previous work of Amoroso and Masser. Specifically, in our first theorem we obtain an effective bound for the height of an algebraic number $\alpha$ when the base field $\mathbb{K}$ is a number field and $\mathbb{K}(\alpha)/\mathbb{K}$ is Galois. Our second result establishes an explicit height bound for any non-zero element $\alpha$ which is not a root of unity in a Galois extension $\mathbb{F}/\mathbb{K}$, depending on the degree of $\mathbb{K}/\mathbb{Q}$ and the number of conjugates of $\alpha$ which are multiplicatively independent over $\mathbb{K}$. As a consequence, we obtain a height bound for such $\alpha$ that is independent of the multiplicative independence condition

Glucosyltransferase phase variation in Streptococcus gordonii modifies adhesion to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite surfaces in a sucrose-independent manner

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72317/1/j.1399-302X.1992.tb00521.x.pd

Transition of plasmodium sporozoites into liver stage-like forms is regulated by the RNA binding protein pumilio

Many eukaryotic developmental and cell fate decisions that are effected post-transcriptionally involve RNA binding proteins as regulators of translation of key mRNAs. In malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.), the development of round, non-motile and replicating exo-erythrocytic liver stage forms from slender, motile and cell-cycle arrested sporozoites is believed to depend on environmental changes experienced during the transmission of the parasite from the mosquito vector to the vertebrate host. Here we identify a Plasmodium member of the RNA binding protein family PUF as a key regulator of this transformation. In the absence of Pumilio-2 (Puf2) sporozoites initiate EEF development inside mosquito salivary glands independently of the normal transmission-associated environmental cues. Puf2- sporozoites exhibit genome-wide transcriptional changes that result in loss of gliding motility, cell traversal ability and reduction in infectivity, and, moreover, trigger metamorphosis typical of early Plasmodium intra-hepatic development. These data demonstrate that Puf2 is a key player in regulating sporozoite developmental control, and imply that transformation of salivary gland-resident sporozoites into liver stage-like parasites is regulated by a post-transcriptional mechanism

Forming next-generation antibody–nanoparticle conjugates through the oriented installation of non-engineered antibody fragments

The successful development of targeted nanotherapeutics is contingent upon the conjugation of therapeutic nanoparticles to target-specific ligands, with particular emphasis being placed on antibody-based ligands. Thus, new methods that enable the covalent and precise installation of targeting antibodies to nanoparticle surfaces are greatly desired, especially those which do not rely on costly and time-consuming antibody engineering techniques. Herein we present a novel method for the highly controlled and oriented covalent conjugation of non-engineered antibody F(ab) fragments to PLGA–PEG nanoparticles using disulfide-selective pyridazinedione linkers and strain-promoted alkyne–azide click chemistry. Exemplification of this method with trastuzumab and cetuximab showed significant improvements in both conjugation efficiency and antigen binding capability, when compared to commonly employed strategies for antibody–nanoparticle construction. This new approach paves the way for the development of antibody-targeted nanomedicines with improved paratope availability, reproducibility and uniformity to enhance both biological activity and ease of manufacture

Investigating the utility of combining Φ29 whole genome amplification and highly multiplexed single nucleotide polymorphism BeadArray™ genotyping

BACKGROUND: Sustainable DNA resources and reliable high-throughput genotyping methods are required for large-scale, long-term genetic association studies. In the genetic dissection of common disease it is now recognised that thousands of samples and hundreds of thousands of markers, mostly single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), will have to be analysed. In order to achieve these aims, both an ability to boost quantities of archived DNA and to genotype at low costs are highly desirable. We have investigated Φ29 polymerase Multiple Displacement Amplification (MDA)-generated DNA product (MDA product), in combination with highly multiplexed BeadArray™ genotyping technology. As part of a large-scale BeadArray genotyping experiment we made a direct comparison of genotyping data generated from MDA product with that from genomic DNA (gDNA) templates. RESULTS: Eighty-six MDA product and the corresponding 86 gDNA samples were genotyped at 345 SNPs and a concordance rate of 98.8% was achieved. The BeadArray sample exclusion rate, blind to sample type, was 10.5% for MDA product compared to 5.8% for gDNA. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the BeadArray technology successfully produces high quality genotyping data from MDA product. The combination of these technologies improves the feasibility and efficiency of mapping common disease susceptibility genes despite limited stocks of gDNA samples

In pursuit of excellence for patients with cancer: the Scottish Cancer Therapy Network model

The Scottish Cancer Therapy Network (SCTN) was created against a background of rising concerns about perceived variation in the quality of care available to patients with cancer. SCTN has established itself as a major organization with the necessary recognition and infrastructure to provide leadership, support and impetus in the field of clinical guidelines, clinical audit and clinical trials of cancer therapy in Scotland. Since being formed in 1993, SCTN has been instrumental in the development of three evidence-based, clinical guidelines and in the completion of detailed, national, retrospective audits of the treatment of five major tumour sites. The infrastructure has been used successfully to support and encourage trial participation. Challenges for the future are a re-orientation towards prospective audit, widening the constituency and sense of ownership of SCTN as a resource for practising clinicians, and further increasing recruitment into clinical trials. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Necrotising fasciitis of the shoulder in association with rheumatoid arthritis treated with etanercept: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Necrotising fasciitis is a severe infection characterised by the fulminant destruction of tissue with associated systemic signs of sepsis and toxicity. Etanercept is a fully human fusion protein that inhibits tumor necrosis factor and the inflammatory cascade. It is effective in the treatment of many disorders but concerns regarding severe life threatening infections have been raised in multiple reports.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present the case of a 39-year-old Caucasian man, who presented with sudden onset of severe and progressive neck and left shoulder pain, with a two-year history of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis treated with azathoprine and etanercept. On examination the left side of his neck and his left shoulder were oedematous, tender with an erythematous rash and his active range of movement was limited. Magnetic resonance imaging of his shoulder showed extensive oedema of the subcutaneous and intramuscular fat of the left lower neck consistent with fasciitis. He was treated medically and made a good recovery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our patient, while having a pre-existing increased mortality risk, had a serious infection which responded well to optimum medical treatment without the need for surgery. As anti tumor necrosis factor agents are frequently associated with infection, including tuberculous infection, this case highlights the need for a high index of suspicion for other severe bacterial infections in patients on immunosuppressants.</p