Profiling for profit : a report on target marketing and profiling practices in the credit industry

This report examines how many businesses make significant investments to purchase and develop customer relationship management systems. Given such investments, information about these systems is not widely available, but some publicly available information gives indication of the extent, and purpose, of the use. Recognising that lenders use customer information and highly sophisticated systems to target their marketing strategies, is the first step towards ensuring that these practices are taken into account in the development of consumer policy and law reform. This research was funded by the consumer advisory panel of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)

Quantum Kerr Learning

Quantum machine learning is a rapidly evolving field of research that could facilitate important applications for quantum computing and also significantly impact data-driven sciences. In our work, based on various arguments from complexity theory and physics, we demonstrate that a single Kerr mode can provide some "quantum enhancements" when dealing with kernel-based methods. Using kernel properties, neural tangent kernel theory, first-order perturbation theory of the Kerr non-linearity, and non-perturbative numerical simulations, we show that quantum enhancements could happen in terms of convergence time and generalization error. Furthermore, we make explicit indications on how higher-dimensional input data could be considered. Finally, we propose an experimental protocol, that we call \emph{quantum Kerr learning}, based on circuit QED.Comment: 20 pages, many figures. v2: significant updates, author adde

Feasibility of a controlled trial aiming to prevent excessive pregnancy-related weight gain in primary health care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention may predispose women to long-term overweight and other health problems. Intervention studies aiming at preventing excessive pregnancy-related weight gain are needed. The feasibility of implementing such a study protocol in primary health care setting was evaluated in this pilot study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A non-randomized controlled trial was conducted in three intervention and three control maternity and child health clinics in primary health care in Finland. Altogether, 132 pregnant and 92 postpartum women and 23 public health nurses (PHN) participated in the study. The intervention consisted of individual counselling on physical activity and diet at five routine visits to a PHN and of an option for supervised group exercise until 37 weeks' gestation or ten months postpartum. The control clinics continued their usual care. The components of the feasibility evaluation were 1) recruitment and participation, 2) completion of data collection, 3) realization of the intervention and 4) the public health nurses' experiences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>1) The recruitment rate was slower than expected and the recruitment period had to be prolonged from the initially planned three months to six months. The average participation rate of eligible women at study enrolment was 77% and the drop-out rate 15%. 2) In total, 99% of the data on weight, physical activity and diet and 96% of the blood samples were obtained. 3) In the intervention clinics, 98% of the counselling sessions were realized, their contents and average durations were as intended, 87% of participants regularly completed the weekly records for physical activity and diet, and the average participation percentage in the group exercise sessions was 45%. 4) The PHNs regarded the extra training as a major advantage and the high additional workload as a disadvantage of the study.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study protocol was mostly feasible to implement, which encourages conducting large trials in comparable settings.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN21512277</p

Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Holoparasite Cistanche Deserticola (Orobanchaceae) reveals gene loss and horizontal gene transfer from Its host Haloxylon Ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae)

The central function of chloroplasts is to carry out photosynthesis, and its gene content and structure are highly conserved across land plants. Parasitic plants, which have reduced photosynthetic ability, suffer gene losses from the chloroplast (cp) genome accompanied by the relaxation of selective constraints. Compared with the rapid rise in the number of cp genome sequences of photosynthetic organisms, there are limited data sets from parasitic plants. The authors report the complete sequence of the cp genome of Cistanche deserticola, a holoparasitic desert species belonging to the family Orobanchaceae

In situ Control of Si/Ge Growth on Stripe-Patterned Substrates Using Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

Si and Ge growth on the stripe-patterned Si (001) substrates is studied using in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). During Si buffer growth, the evolution of RHEED patterns reveals a rapid change of the stripe morphology from a multifaceted “U” to a single-faceted “V” geometry with {119} sidewall facets. This allows to control the pattern morphology and to stop Si buffer growth once a well-defined stripe geometry is formed. Subsequent Ge growth on “V”-shaped stripes was performed at two different temperatures of 520 and 600°C. At low temperature of 520°C, pronounced sidewall ripples are formed at a critical coverage of 4.1 monolayers as revealed by the appearance of splitted diffraction streaks in RHEED. At 600°C, the ripple onset is shifted toward higher coverages, and at 5.2 monolayers dome islands are formed at the bottom of the stripes. These observations are in excellent agreement with STM images recorded at different Ge coverages. Therefore, RHEED is an efficient tool for in situ control of the growth process on stripe-patterned substrate templates. The comparison of the results obtained at different temperature reveals the importance of kinetics on the island formation process on patterned substrates

Simian Varicella Virus Infection of Rhesus Macaques Recapitulates Essential Features of Varicella Zoster Virus Infection in Humans

Simian varicella virus (SVV), the etiologic agent of naturally occurring varicella in primates, is genetically and antigenically closely related to human varicella zoster virus (VZV). Early attempts to develop a model of VZV pathogenesis and latency in nonhuman primates (NHP) resulted in persistent infection. More recent models successfully produced latency; however, only a minority of monkeys became viremic and seroconverted. Thus, previous NHP models were not ideally suited to analyze the immune response to SVV during acute infection and the transition to latency. Here, we show for the first time that intrabronchial inoculation of rhesus macaques with SVV closely mimics naturally occurring varicella (chickenpox) in humans. Infected monkeys developed varicella and viremia that resolved 21 days after infection. Months later, viral DNA was detected only in ganglia and not in non-ganglionic tissues. Like VZV latency in human ganglia, transcripts corresponding to SVV ORFs 21, 62, 63 and 66, but not ORF 40, were detected by RT-PCR. In addition, as described for VZV, SVV ORF 63 protein was detected in the cytoplasm of neurons in latently infected monkey ganglia by immunohistochemistry. We also present the first in depth analysis of the immune response to SVV. Infected animals produced a strong humoral and cell-mediated immune response to SVV, as assessed by immunohistology, serology and flow cytometry. Intrabronchial inoculation of rhesus macaques with SVV provides a novel model to analyze viral and immunological mechanisms of VZV latency and reactivation

The Herts and Minds study: Evaluating the effectiveness of Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) as an intervention for children in foster care with emotional and/or behavioural problems: a phase II, feasibility, randomised controlled trial.

Trial registration at https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN90349442 © The Authors 2017. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Nick Midgley, Sarah Jane Besser, Helen Dye, Pasco Fearon, tim Gale, Kiri Jefferies-Sewell, Karen Irvine, Joyce Robinson, Solange Wyatt, David Wellsted and Sally Wood, 'The Herts and minds study: evaluating the effectiveness of mentalization-based treatment (MBT) as an intervention for children in foster care with emotional and/or behavioural problems: a phase II, feasibility, randomised controlled trial', Pilot and Feasibility Studies, Vol. 3(12, February 2017. The published version is available online at doi: 10.1186/s40814-017-0127-xBackground A significant proportion of children in the social care system in England present with mental health problems, with the majority experiencing some form of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The most effective treatments for these children are currently unknown, partly due to a lack of robust, controlled studies. Researchers have identified a number of obstacles to conducting well-designed research with this population, making the need to test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial especially important. Methods/design This protocol outlines a two-arm, randomised control feasibility trial to explore the acceptability and credibility of mentalization-based treatment (MBT) as a treatment for reducing emotional and behavioural difficulties in looked after children and to test the possibility of addressing a number of methodological challenges to conducting high-quality research with this population. MBT is a relatively new intervention which, in the adaptation of the model tested here, includes many of the features of therapy identified in NICE guidelines as necessary to support children in care. The two arms are MBT and usual clinical care (UCC). The study will take place in Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust with follow-up at 12 and 24 weeks. Discussion This study will aim to ascertain whether it is worthwhile and feasible to progress to testing the intervention in a full-scale definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT). This study therefore has the potential to improve our understanding of the obstacles to conducting high-quality research with this very vulnerable population, and in the medium term, could help to improve the stability of foster placements and the emotional well-being of children in care. Trial registration ISRCTN90349442Peer reviewe

The effect of low-level laser irradiation (In-Ga-Al-AsP - 660 nm) on melanoma in vitro and in vivo

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been speculated that the biostimulatory effect of Low Level Laser Therapy could cause undesirable enhancement of tumor growth in neoplastic diseases. The aim of the present study is to analyze the behavior of melanoma cells (B16F10) <it>in vitro </it>and the <it>in vivo </it>development of melanoma in mice after laser irradiation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a controlled <it>in vitro </it>study on B16F10 melanoma cells to investigate cell viability and cell cycle changes by the Tripan Blue, MTT and cell quest histogram tests at 24, 48 and 72 h post irradiation. The <it>in vivo </it>mouse model (male Balb C, n = 21) of melanoma was used to analyze tumor volume and histological characteristics. Laser irradiation was performed three times (once a day for three consecutive days) with a 660 nm 50 mW CW laser, beam spot size 2 mm², irradiance 2.5 W/cm²and irradiation times of 60s (dose 150 J/cm²) and 420s (dose 1050 J/cm²) respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no statistically significant differences between the <it>in vitro </it>groups, except for an increase in the hypodiploid melanoma cells (8.48 ± 1.40% and 4.26 ± 0.60%) at 72 h post-irradiation. This cancer-protective effect was not reproduced in the <it>in vivo </it>experiment where outcome measures for the 150 J/cm²dose group were not significantly different from controls. For the 1050 J/cm²dose group, there were significant increases in tumor volume, blood vessels and cell abnormalities compared to the other groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>LLLT Irradiation should be avoided over melanomas as the combination of high irradiance (2.5 W/cm²) and high dose (1050 J/cm²) significantly increases melanoma tumor growth <it>in vivo</it>.</p