Predictive Modelling Using Unstructured Data From Online Forums: A Case Study on E-cigarette Users

In the age of the digital economy, social media, forums and other online platforms have played active parts in our daily activities. The amount of data digitized and recorded in these platforms have surged exponentially. Many believed that this underexplored unstructured data sources have huge potential in offering insights to policy makers and companies. This paper aims to propose a hybrid approach using inductive and deductive reasoning to identify motivational factors to use e-cigarettes for predictive modelling. A total of 790 comments and discussions relevant to e-cigarette use and motivations to use e-cigarette were scraped and stored from online forums like Reddit, Vapingunderground and e-cigarette-forum. A series of text analytics were conducted on the text corpus and the cluster analysis enabled us to build a predictive model. Using Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling, we concluded that the constructs derived by clustering, i.e. Cost and Convenience and Enjoyment, have significant associations with smokers trying to quit smoking. While health-related issues were inherent to the notion of quitting smoking, enjoyment, cost and convenience were motivational factors which will generate favourable response towards quitting smoking. The findings showed encouraging results from a methodological standpoint and offered insights to policy makers and companies on health-related issues pertaining to the use of e-cigarettes

Synchrotron x-ray total scattering and modeling study of high-pressure-induced inhomogeneous atom reconfiguration in an equiatomic Zr50Cu50 metallic glassy alloy

We studied in situ the local atomic structure evolution of an equiatomic Zr50Cu50 metallic glassy alloy under high pressure compression inside a diamond anvil cell using synchrotron x-ray total scattering. The empirical potential structure refinement method was used to reconstruct the three-dimensional atomic models at each pressure step, and to analyze the spatially averaged local atomic structure configurations. The interatomic distances of different atomic pairs are reduced at different rates with increasing pressure and the Cu-Cu pairs exhibit the highest percentage reduction. Between ambient pressure and 36.85 GPa, the atomic separation of the Cu-Cu pairs is reduced by ∼12% compared to ∼5% for Zr-Zr and Zr-Cu pairs. Such disproportional decrease in interatomic distance results in inhomogeneous atom reconfiguration in the short atomic range. With the increase of pressure, the Zr atoms move preferentially towards the Zr-Zr pairs, while the Cu atoms move preferentially towards the Cu-Cu pairs, creating inhomogeneous atom reconfiguration with positive short-range order coefficients of 0.0309 and 0.0464 for Zr-Zr and Cu-Cu respectively, but a negative value of -0.0464 for Zr-Cu pairs. Voronoi tessellation method was also used to study the evolution of the short-range atom packing versus pressure, elucidating the cause for the bimodal distribution of the bond angle distributions. The research sheds light on understanding of the atomic reconfiguration of equiatomic alloys under high pressure

3',4'-Dihydroxyflavonol antioxidant attenuates aiastolic dysfunction and cardiac remodeling in streptozotocin-induced diabetic m(Ren2)27 rats

Background Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an increasingly recognized cause of chronic heart failure amongst diabetic patients. Both increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and impaired ROS scavenging have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hyperglycemia-induced left ventricular dysfunction, cardiac fibrosis, apoptosis and hypertrophy. We hypothesized that 3',4'-dihydroxyflavonol (DiOHF), a small highly lipid soluble synthetic flavonol, may prevent DCM by scavenging ROS, thus preventing ROS-induced cardiac damage. Methodology/Principal Findings Six week old homozygous Ren-2 rats were randomized to receive either streptozotocin or citrate buffer, then further randomized to receive either DiOHF (1 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage or vehicle for six weeks. Cardiac function was assessed via echocardiography and left ventricular cardiac catheterization before the animals were sacrificed and hearts removed for histological and molecular analyses. Diabetic Ren-2 rats showed evidence of diastolic dysfunction with prolonged deceleration time, reduced E/A ratio, and increased slope of end-diastolic pressure volume relationship (EDPVR) in association with marked interstitial fibrosis and oxidative stress (all P<0.05 vs control Ren-2). Treatment with DiOHF prevented the development of diastolic dysfunction and was associated with reduced oxidative stress and interstitial fibrosis (all P<0.05 vs untreated diabetic Ren-2 rats). In contrast, few changes were seen in non-diabetic treated animals compared to untreated counterparts. Conclusions Inhibition of ROS production and action by DiOHF improved diastolic function and reduced myocyte hypertrophy as well as collagen deposition. These findings suggest the potential clinical utility of antioxidative compounds such as flavonols in the prevention of diabetes-associated cardiac dysfunction

Placental pathology in cancer during pregnancy and after cancer treatment exposure

Cancer during pregnancy has been associated with (pathologically) small for gestational age offspring, especially after exposure to chemotherapy in utero. These infants are most likely growth restricted, but sonographic results are often lacking. In view of the paucity of data on underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, the objective was to summarize all studies investigating placental pathology related to cancer(treatment). A systematic search in PubMed/Medline, Embase (OVID) and SCOPUS was conducted to retrieve all studies about placental pathology in cancer during pregnancy or after cancer treatment, published until August 2020. The literature search yielded 5784 unique publications, of which 111 were eligible for inclusion. Among them, three groups of placental pathology were distinguished. First, various histopathologic changes including maternal vascular malperfusion have been reported in pregnancies complicated by cancer and after cancer treatment exposure, which were not specific to type of cancer(treatment). Second, cancer(treatment) has been associated with placental cellular pathology including increased oxidative damage and apoptosis, impaired angiogenesis and genotoxicity. Finally, involvement of the placenta by cancer cells has been described, involving both the intervillous space and rarely villous invasion, with such fetuses are at risk of having metastases. In conclusion, growth restriction is often observed in pregnancies complicated by cancer and its cause can be multifactorial. Placental histopathologic changes, cellular pathology and genotoxicity caused by the cancer(treatment) may each play a role

Data and videos for ultrafast synchrotron X-ray imaging studies of metal solidification under ultrasound.

The data presented in this article are related to the paper entitled 'Ultrafast synchrotron X-ray imaging studies of microstructure fragmentation in solidification under ultrasound' [Wang et al., Acta Mater. 144 (2018) 505-515]. This data article provides further supporting information and analytical methods, including the data from both experimental and numerical simulation, as well as the Matlab code for processing the X-ray images. Six videos constructed from the processed synchrotron X-ray images are also provided

The relationship between web enjoyment and student perceptions and learning using a web-based tutorial

Web enjoyment has been regarded as a component of system experience. However, there has been little targeted research considering the role of web enjoyment alone in student learning using web-based systems. To address this gap, this study aims to examine the influence of web enjoyment on learning performance and perceptions by controlling system experience as a variable in the study. 74 students participated in the study, using a web-based tutorial covering subject matter in the area of 'Computation and algorithms'. Their learning performance was assessed with a pre-test and a post-test and their learning perceptions were evaluated with a questionnaire. The results indicated that there are positive relationships between the levels of web enjoyment and perceived usefulness and non-linear navigation for users with similar, significant levels of system experience. The implications of these findings in relation to web-based learning are explored and ways in which the needs of students who report different levels of web enjoyment might be met are discussed

Classification and reporting guidelines for the pathology diagnosis of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders: recommendations from an expert panel

The terminology and diagnostic criteria presently used by pathologists to report invasive placentation is inconsistent and does not reflect current knowledge of the pathogenesis of the disease or the needs of the clinical care team. A consensus panel was convened to recommend terminology and reporting elements unified across the spectrum of PAS specimens (i.e., delivered placenta, total or partial hysterectomy with or without extrauterine tissues, curetting for retained products of conception). The proposed nomenclature under the umbrella diagnosis of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) replaces the traditional categorical terminology (placenta accreta, increta, percreta) with a descriptive grading system that parallels the guidelines endorsed by the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). In addition, the nomenclature for hysterectomy specimens is separated from that for delivered placentas. The goal for each element in the system of nomenclature was to provide diagnostic criteria and guidelines for expected use in clinical practice

We are all one together : peer educators\u27 views about falls prevention education for community-dwelling older adults - a qualitative study

Background: Falls are common in older people. Despite strong evidence for effective falls prevention strategies, there appears to be limited translation of these strategies from research to clinical practice. Use of peers in delivering falls prevention education messages has been proposed to improve uptake of falls prevention strategies and facilitate translation to practice. Volunteer peer educators often deliver educational presentations on falls prevention to community-dwelling older adults. However, research evaluating the effectiveness of peer-led education approaches in falls prevention has been limited and no known study has evaluated such a program from the perspective of peer educators involved in delivering the message. The purpose of this study was to explore peer educators’ perspective about their role in delivering peer-led falls prevention education for community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A two-stage qualitative inductive constant comparative design was used.In stage one (core component) focus group interviews involving a total of eleven participants were conducted. During stage two (supplementary component) semi-structured interviews with two participants were conducted. Data were analysed thematically by two researchers independently. Key themes were identified and findings were displayed in a conceptual framework. Results: Peer educators were motivated to deliver educational presentations and importantly, to reach an optimal peer connection with their audience. Key themes identified included both personal and organisational factors that impact on educators’ capacity to facilitate their peers’ engagement with the message. Personal factors that facilitated message delivery and engagement included peer-to-peer connection and perceived credibility, while barriers included a reluctance to accept the message that they were at risk of falling by some members in the audience. Organisational factors, including ongoing training for peer educators and formative feedback following presentations, were perceived as essential because they affect successful message delivery. Conclusions: Peer educators have the potential to effectively deliver falls prevention education to older adults and influence acceptance of the message as they possess the peer-to-peer connection that facilitates optimal engagement. There is a need to consider incorporating learnings from this research into a formal large scale evaluation of the effectiveness of the peer education approach in reducing falls in older adults

Resolving the ancestry of Austronesian-speaking populations

There are two very different interpretations of the prehistory of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA), with genetic evidence invoked in support of both. The “out-of-Taiwan” model proposes a major Late Holocene expansion of Neolithic Austronesian speakers from Taiwan. An alternative, proposing that Late Glacial/postglacial sea-level rises triggered largely autochthonous dispersals, accounts for some otherwise enigmatic genetic patterns, but fails to explain the Austronesian language dispersal. Combining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome and genome-wide data, we performed the most comprehensive analysis of the region to date, obtaining highly consistent results across all three systems and allowing us to reconcile the models. We infer a primarily common ancestry for Taiwan/ISEA populations established before the Neolithic, but also detected clear signals of two minor Late Holocene migrations, probably representing Neolithic input from both Mainland Southeast Asia and South China, via Taiwan. This latter may therefore have mediated the Austronesian language dispersal, implying small-scale migration and language shift rather than large-scale expansion