Whole-Chain Recommendations

With the recent prevalence of Reinforcement Learning (RL), there have been tremendous interests in developing RL-based recommender systems. In practical recommendation sessions, users will sequentially access multiple scenarios, such as the entrance pages and the item detail pages, and each scenario has its specific characteristics. However, the majority of existing RL-based recommender systems focus on optimizing one strategy for all scenarios or separately optimizing each strategy, which could lead to sub-optimal overall performance. In this paper, we study the recommendation problem with multiple (consecutive) scenarios, i.e., whole-chain recommendations. We propose a multi-agent RL-based approach (DeepChain), which can capture the sequential correlation among different scenarios and jointly optimize multiple recommendation strategies. To be specific, all recommender agents (RAs) share the same memory of users' historical behaviors, and they work collaboratively to maximize the overall reward of a session. Note that optimizing multiple recommendation strategies jointly faces two challenges in the existing model-free RL model - (i) it requires huge amounts of user behavior data, and (ii) the distribution of reward (users' feedback) are extremely unbalanced. In this paper, we introduce model-based RL techniques to reduce the training data requirement and execute more accurate strategy updates. The experimental results based on a real e-commerce platform demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.Comment: 29th ACM International Conference on Information and Knowledge Managemen

Efficient Bi-Level Optimization for Recommendation Denoising

The acquisition of explicit user feedback (e.g., ratings) in real-world recommender systems is often hindered by the need for active user involvement. To mitigate this issue, implicit feedback (e.g., clicks) generated during user browsing is exploited as a viable substitute. However, implicit feedback possesses a high degree of noise, which significantly undermines recommendation quality. While many methods have been proposed to address this issue by assigning varying weights to implicit feedback, two shortcomings persist: (1) the weight calculation in these methods is iteration-independent, without considering the influence of weights in previous iterations, and (2) the weight calculation often relies on prior knowledge, which may not always be readily available or universally applicable. To overcome these two limitations, we model recommendation denoising as a bi-level optimization problem. The inner optimization aims to derive an effective model for the recommendation, as well as guiding the weight determination, thereby eliminating the need for prior knowledge. The outer optimization leverages gradients of the inner optimization and adjusts the weights in a manner considering the impact of previous weights. To efficiently solve this bi-level optimization problem, we employ a weight generator to avoid the storage of weights and a one-step gradient-matching-based loss to significantly reduce computational time. The experimental results on three benchmark datasets demonstrate that our proposed approach outperforms both state-of-the-art general and denoising recommendation models. The code is available at https://github.com/CoderWZW/BOD.Comment: 11pages, 5 figures, 6 table

Berberine Improves Insulin Sensitivity by Inhibiting Fat Store and Adjusting Adipokines Profile in Human Preadipocytes and Metabolic Syndrome Patients

Berberine is known to inhibit the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells in vitro, improve glycemic control, and attenuate dyslipidemia in clinical study. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of berberine on preadipocytes isolated from human omental fat and in metabolic syndrome patients treated with berberine for 3 months. We have shown that treatment with 10 μM berberine resulted in a major inhibition of human preadipocyte differentiation and leptin and adiponectin secretion accompanied by downregulation of PPARγ2, C/EBPα, adiponectin, and leptin mRNA expression. After 3 months of treatment, metabolic syndrome patients showed decrease in their BMI (31.5 ± 3.6 versus 27.4 ± 2.4 kg/m2) and leptin levels (8.01 versus 5.12 μg/L), as well as leptin/adiponectin ratio and HOMA-IR. These results suggest that berberine improves insulin sensitivity by inhibiting fat store and adjusting adipokine profile in human preadipocytes and metabolic syndrome patients

The relationship between 25-hydroxy vitamin D and serum asprosin in patients with type 2 diabetes in the community

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the link between 25-hydroxy vitamin D and serum asprosin in individuals with type 2 diabetes within the community. The goal was to provide a foundation for clinical interventions.MethodsBetween November 2019 and July 2021, data from 463 patients with type 2 diabetes were consistently gathered at a community health service station in Southeast Shanxi Province. General information and laboratory metrics were compiled, including serum asprosin levels. The participants were categorized based on three serum asprosin quantiles, allowing for a comparison of various factors among the groups. The correlation between serum asprosin levels and other factors was analyzed. Employing a general linear model, the connection between 25-hydroxy vitamin D and serum asprosin levels was studied. Utilizing three quantiles of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, serum asprosin was treated as the dependent variable, while 25-hydroxy vitamin D served as the independent variable for linear regression analysis.ResultsAs serum asprosin increased, there were gradual increments in age, disease duration, SBP, BMI, WC, creatinine, and SUA levels (P<0.05). Conversely, HbA1c, HDL-C, GFR, and 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels exhibited gradual declines (P<0.05). Age, 25-hydroxy vitamin D, SUA, creatinine, and LDL-C emerged as independent influencing factors for serum asprosin. Across the 1st to 3rd 25-hydroxy vitamin D quantiles, elevated 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels correlated with a gradual reduction in mean serum asprosin (P<0.05).ConclusionSerum asprosin levels demonstrate an inverse correlation with 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in community-dwelling individuals with type 2 diabetes. Serum asprosin levels might independently contribute to 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels

Sex Differences in Frequency, Severity, and Distribution of Cerebral Microbleeds

Peer reviewe

Sex Differences in Frequency, Severity, and Distribution of Cerebral Microbleeds

Importance: Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is associated with various cerebrovascular outcomes, but data on sex differences in SVD are scarce. Objective: To investigate whether the frequency, severity, and distribution of cerebral microbleeds (CMB), other SVD markers on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and outcomes differ by sex. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used pooled individual patient data from the Microbleeds International Collaborative Network, including patients from 38 prospective cohort studies in 18 countries between 2000 and 2018, with clinical follow-up of at least 3 months (up to 5 years). Participants included patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack with available brain MRI. Data were analyzed from April to December 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes of interest were presence of CMB, lacunes, and severe white matter hyperintensities determined on MRI. Additionally, mortality, recurrent ischemic stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage during follow-up were assessed. Multivariable random-effects logistic regression models, Cox regression, and competing risk regression models were used to investigate sex differences in individual SVD markers, risk of recurrent cerebrovascular events, and death. Results: A total of 20 314 patients (mean [SD] age, 70.1 [12.7] years; 11 721 [57.7%] male) were included, of whom 5649 (27.8%) had CMB. CMB were more frequent in male patients, and this was consistent throughout different age groups, locations, and in multivariable models (female vs male adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.80-0.92; P &lt; .001). Female patients had fewer lacunes (aOR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.74-0.90; P &lt; .001) but a higher prevalence of severe white matter hyperintensities (aOR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.01-1.20; P = .04) compared with male patients. A total of 2419 patients (11.9%) died during a median (IQR) follow-up of 1.4 (0.7-2.5) years. CMB presence was associated with a higher risk of mortality in female patients (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02-1.31), but not male patients (hazard ratio, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.84-1.07) (P for interaction = .01). A total of 1113 patients (5.5%) had recurrent ischemic stroke, and 189 patients (0.9%) had recurrent intracranial hemorrhage, with no sex differences. Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study using pooled individual patient data found varying frequencies of individual SVD markers between female and male patients, indicating potential pathophysiological differences in manifestation and severity of SVD. Further research addressing differences in pathomechanisms and outcomes of SVD between female and male patients is required.</p

Sex Differences in Frequency, Severity, and Distribution of Cerebral Microbleeds

Importance: Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is associated with various cerebrovascular outcomes, but data on sex differences in SVD are scarce. Objective: To investigate whether the frequency, severity, and distribution of cerebral microbleeds (CMB), other SVD markers on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and outcomes differ by sex. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used pooled individual patient data from the Microbleeds International Collaborative Network, including patients from 38 prospective cohort studies in 18 countries between 2000 and 2018, with clinical follow-up of at least 3 months (up to 5 years). Participants included patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack with available brain MRI. Data were analyzed from April to December 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes of interest were presence of CMB, lacunes, and severe white matter hyperintensities determined on MRI. Additionally, mortality, recurrent ischemic stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage during follow-up were assessed. Multivariable random-effects logistic regression models, Cox regression, and competing risk regression models were used to investigate sex differences in individual SVD markers, risk of recurrent cerebrovascular events, and death. Results: A total of 20314 patients (mean [SD] age, 70.1 [12.7] years; 11721 [57.7%] male) were included, of whom 5649 (27.8%) had CMB. CMB were more frequent in male patients, and this was consistent throughout different age groups, locations, and in multivariable models (female vs male adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.80-0.92; P <.001). Female patients had fewer lacunes (aOR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.74-0.90; P <.001) but a higher prevalence of severe white matter hyperintensities (aOR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.01-1.20; P =.04) compared with male patients. A total of 2419 patients (11.9%) died during a median (IQR) follow-up of 1.4 (0.7-2.5) years. CMB presence was associated with a higher risk of mortality in female patients (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02-1.31), but not male patients (hazard ratio, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.84-1.07) (P for interaction =.01). A total of 1113 patients (5.5%) had recurrent ischemic stroke, and 189 patients (0.9%) had recurrent intracranial hemorrhage, with no sex differences. Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study using pooled individual patient data found varying frequencies of individual SVD markers between female and male patients, indicating potential pathophysiological differences in manifestation and severity of SVD. Further research addressing differences in pathomechanisms and outcomes of SVD between female and male patients is required

Visualizing disparities in park access for the elderly in Shanghai, China

With China ageing rapidly, the health of the elderly has become a public concern. Access to urban parks, offering both physical and psychological health benefits to people, is critical for the elderly. To explore whether there are disparities in park access for the elderly, we collected and processed population data, point of interest and travel time from census tracts to parks by public transport in Shanghai. The visuals based on the data indicate that, in Shanghai, most of the elderly are able to reach large parks in 30 minutes, but gaps remain in the number of accessible parks. Although the ageing population living between the inner ring road and the external ring road is as large as that inside the inner ring road, the number of accessible parks for this population is much lower than for the latter. </jats:p

Reverse traffic flows: Visualizing a new trend in Spring Festival travel rush in China

Traditionally, Chinese would go back to their hometowns to reunite with their families during the Chinese Lunar New Year. In the last 30 years, due to the uneven development of regions, Spring Festival travel rush were mainly from large cities to small cities or rural areas. However, in recent years, an increasing number of migrants prefer to stay in larger cities and have their families visit them during the Spring Festival. To map the reverse migrations and explore their influence, we collected and processed data on passenger travel in 2017 and 2018 from Tencent Location Big Data and GDP in 2017 at the prefectural level. The visuals based on the data indicate that the volume of reverse migration was mainly concentrated in regional centers, with great variation across cities. Besides, with increasing reverse traffic flows, large cities are shifting from being empty to vibrant cities during the Spring Festival, while small cities and rural areas are losing their vibrancy. </jats:p