Data and Text Mining - sentimentsentences dataset

Competency 8.1

Using LightSIDE, sentiment_sentences.csv dataset is loaded and extracted using Unigram feature space on the Feature Extraction panel, and then using Logistic Regression and a 10 fold cross-validation to run experiment.

The experiment is aimed at counting positive and negative words in a review taken from sentiment_sentences dataset to know if the overal review is a good or bad one.

The Model evaluation metric are shown below:

Accuracy = 75.9%

Kappa =  .52

Competency 8.2

To properly leverage on the positive and negative words in the review we added more capabilities to the basic feature extractor such as bigrams and trigrams in our model along with Unigrams. The Model evaluation metric below is slightly better than the baseline model with just unigrams as shown above. 

Accuracy =  76.6%

Kappa = .53

Competency 8.3

When we set the number of features to 3500 we got an accuracy of 76.9% and a kappa of .54% 

Competency 8.5

Using another text category (Movie Reviews.csv) dataset configuring basic features such as Unigrams, Bigrams, Trigrams and punctuation we got an accuracy of  76.3% and a kappa of .45

  

  

  

Data and Text Mining - collaborative learning process analysis

Week 7: 

Competency 7.1: Describe prominent areas of text mining.

Unstructured text mining is an area which is seeing a sudden spurt in adoptions for business applications. The spurt in adoption is triggered by heightened awareness about text mining and the reduced price points at which text mining tools are available today. Text mining is being applied to answer business questions and to optimize day-to-day operational efficiencies as well as improve long-term strategic decisions. The objective of this article is to demystify the text mining process and examine its ROI by exploring practical real-world instances where text mining has been successfully applied in three industries:

1.     Automotive industry (warranty management)

2.     Health care industry

3.     Credit card industry

Text Mining in the Automotive Industry

It’s been estimated that warranties cost automotive companies more than $35 billion in the U.S. annually. Considering this tough environment, it is imperative that auto companies explore all opportunities for reducing costs. Optimizing warranty cost is a very important lever in the cost equation for automobile manufacturers. If one is able to get even a marginal improvement in money spent in warranty cost, it can have a multiplier effect on the overall bottom line. One of the most underutilized dimensions of optimizing warranty cost is input from service technicians’ comments. From those comments, the text mining process can surface nuggets of component defect insights yielding interventions for preventing them in future.

Text Mining in the Healthcare Industry

Most countries typically spend anywhere between 3-10% of their GDP on healthcare. The healthcare industry is a huge spender on technology and, with the proliferation of hospital management systems and low-cost devices to log patient statistics, there is a sudden increase in the breadth and depth of patient data. By mining the comments of doctors’ diagnosis transcripts, outputs can yield information that benefits the healthcare industry in numerous ways, such as:

1.  Isolating the top 10 diseases by keyword frequencies per region and leveraging the findings to optimize the mix of tablets/medicines to stock on the limited outlet shelf, keeping in mind the changes in frequency of disease related keywords.

2.  Based on doctors’ comments, an early warning system can be woven within text mining outputs to detect sudden changes to “chatter” from doctors regarding specific diseases. For example, if the frequency of the keyword lungs or breathing exceeds 45 appearances in the last 30 days for a given ZIP code or region, it can be a clue to excessive environmental conditions which are resulting in respiratory problems. A proactive intervention can be activated to remedy the situation.

The components of such a successful text mining solution can be found in Figure 1 below.

                                                                 

Figure 1

 Text Mining in the Credit Card Industry

With the proliferation of credit cards, companies need to do the difficult balancing act of identifying which card features (i.e., line of credit, billing cycle, outlet points and coverage) are resonating with customers and, at the same time, minimize the number of defaults/recovery related interventions. Text mining can help optimize both the collection process as well as the customer experience optimization process.

1.  A top ten complaint keyword watch list can be generated by mining the inbound customer service rep (CSR) call transcripts on a daily basis. From this, you can filter out keywords that were expressed by high-value customers. For example, if the keyword billing error occurs for customers with a credit limit over $200,000, then relationship managers can call the customer and put interventions into the billing process to help prevent reoccurrence.

2.  Text mining can also be used to rate call center staff performance. As an example, a large credit card company in the U.S. had about 600 call center reps receiving inbound calls. Every rep was expected to enter verbose comments to record the nature of the call, but not all were entering detailed text. On one end of the spectrum, there were call center representative entering an average 5 to 6 lines, whereas on the other hand, there were a few who entered just 3 to 5 words. As a result, the organization was missing out on valuable intelligence if only sparse text was recorded. A text mining process was built which gave keyword frequency count by call center representatives. The bottom decile had to undergo additional training to ensure that they entered detailed text, which is valuable for the credit card company. Please see figure 2 below. 

                                                                         

                                                                     Figure 2

In a diverse set of industries ranging from credit cards to auto to healthcare and beyond, the text mining process is slowly being adopted to mine gigabytes of unstructured data. In this tough economic environment, as the pressure to optimize the efficiency of business processes increases, using unstructured text mining techniques on previously ignored data such as comments from technicians, doctors and call center representatives can provide competitive differentiation. This competitive advantage can be in terms of optimizing internal business processes and managing external customer-facing experiences which, in turn, can have a multiplier effect on the overall bottom line. As Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Unstructured data has always been lying around, but never “discovered.” All it takes are “new eyes” within the organization to look at the same unstructured data to gain new bottom-line impacting insights.

Source: b-eye-network

Competency 7.2: Detail subareas of text mining such as collaborative learning process analysis.

Data and Text Mining - overview

DM/TM is a technique that consists of applying data analysis and discovery algorithms that, under acceptable computational efficiency limitations produce a particular enumeration of patterns (or models) over the data (Fayyad et al., 1996). Data mining has been directed to search patterns from data set using methods such as neural networks, symbolic machine learning algorithms, probabilistic reasoning, etc. In the symbolic algorithms field, actually, there characteristic the incorporation of background knowledge through labeled examples in unlabeled data set for future learner on unlabeled data. There is not a pre-defined amount of labeled examples that should be inserted in database, however, if one database contains a high number of labeled examples more easy and correct will be its works. The semi-supervised learning was chosen because of its flexibility and accuracy to use incorporated knowledge (ideal state), represented by labeled examples in the data set, and to classify the students’ performance, represented by unlabeled examples, in collaborative process. For each realized classification, it is possible to know its accuracy level and the used patterns for definition of the value. Another reason is the ability to work with an undetermined amount of examples, but it is important to provide a minimum quantity of data.

Competency 7.3: Use tools such as LightSIDE in a very simple way to run a text classification experiment.

Training and evaluating newsgroup topic dataset predictive model

The evaluation was configured to use 20 folds in the cross-validation.

Evaluation metric:

Accuracy = 0.5796 ≈ 57.9%

Kappa = 0.4414 ≈ .44

Competency 7.4: Describe how models might be used in Learning Analytics research, specifically for the problem of assessing some reasons for attrition along the way in MOOCs.

This endeavor (text mining, collaborative learning process analysis) holds the potential for enabling substantially improved on-line instruction both by providing teachers and facilitators with reports about the groups they are moderating and by triggering context sensitive collaborative learning support on an as-needed basis. 

Data, Analytics, and Learning

Competency 6.1: Feature Engineering

Features engineering is an art of creating predictor variables and is the least well –studied part of the process of developing prediction models. It’s clear in feature engineering that models will never be good if their predictions aren't any good.

Some processes of feature engineering are:

1.       Brainstorming features

2.       Deciding what features to create

3.       creating the feature

4.       Studying the impact of features on model goodness

5.       Iterating on features if useful

Competency 6.2: Diagnostic Metrics  

There are various types of Diagnostic metric tools out there, Roc which stands for Receiver- Operator Characteristic Curve.  With Roc, one can predict something which has two values such as

1.       Correct/Incorrect

2.       Gaming the system/not gaming the system

3.       Student dropouts/ Not drop out

Using Roc, prediction models can output probability or even a real value.

Women in Nigeria protest Boko Haram killings in the north

Some women, under the aegis of Nigerian Women Morn, embarked on peaceful protest on Thursday calling for an end to the “mindless killings and abduction” of pupils by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, in the North East region.

On the night of February 24, gunmen believed to be Boko Haram insurgents attacked the town of Buni Yadi in Yobe State killing over 40 people including 29 pupils of the Federal Government College in the town.

The Buni Yadi attack came on the heels of the killing of over 30 students at the College of Agriculture in the same state last September.Protest 3

In Lagos, about 150 women clad in black marched, while singing mournful and protest songs, from the premises of Lagos Television in Agidingbi to the office of the Lagos Governor, Babatunde Fashola, in Alausa.

“We the Nigeria women are deeply concerned with the escalating rate of violence in the North East,” a statement by the protesting women read.

“We are particularly moved by the senseless killings of innocent children in the Federal Government College, Yobe and the abduction of 25 girls from their schools in Boro. We commiserate with the families of the slain children, women and men of Adamawa and Borno States and join in the solidarity to say NO MORE! ENOUGH OF THE KILLINGS!”

The protesting women called on the government to do all it can to stop the orgy of violence.

“We are here to today to prove a point and that point is Nigerian women morn. We are deeply saddened. We are concerned; we are worried. The colossal waste of lives, children are being killed; girls are abducted and used as sex slaves. Just yesterday, elders were rounded up and were killed. Killing has become a recurrent decimal and there comes a time in a nation when women, all of us will rise up in unison and say Enough is enough and we are saying stop the killings.

“We are here to say government must do enough. We must agonise less and organise for change. Our security operatives must be proactive and like we said adequate compensation the government must protect lives and property,” said  the President, Women Arise and Campaign for Democracy (CD), Joe Odumakin.

“Formally we want to say that Nigerian women all over the country irrespective of tribe, irrespective of race, from East West North and South we have the same blood that flows in our veins and we are using this occasion to call on those who are terrorising the land to sheath their swords. We’ve had enough we want to stop tears, we want to stop the agony and we say, Nigeria must survive,” she added.

The convener of Nigerian Women Morn, Laila St. Matthew Daniel, also spoke of the reasons for the protest.

“This is a peaceful non-political, non-tribal protest. We are calling on government to rise up and hear our cries and do something to what is happening to our children, our women and our fathers because it’s not just the children and that why we’ve come out. Women are the matrix of the society; women are the core of the society.

“We just say stop the killing, stop the persecution, stop the genocide. Let or children be because they’re the future of `Nigeria and enough is enough. There comes a time when there is a trigger and the trigger is now that you see all of us together. So we just say to the government, we are tied of the killings, we are tired of the suffering, we are tired of the bombing they should find a lasting solution to this problem,” she said.Protest 2

Another protester and Executive Director of Women Advocates, Abiola Akiyode, also spoke on reasons for the protest.

“Women have come out to ask for peace and to say enough is enough. All the killings must stop. We cannot continue waking up every morning to hear of mass slaughtering. This is genocide. We don’t want to see this anymore and that’s why we are here together to speak with one accord and say no to all these.

“One of the things we are proposing is for a need for us to have a national strategy to address it. It is obvious our security agencies have not done enough, it is obvious the government has not done enough. We cannot continue to die needlessly. These deaths are preventable,” she said.

The Lagos government delegation, which addressed the protesting women, was led by the Head of Service, Josephine Williams; Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Lateef Raji; and the Commissioner for Information, Lateef Ibirogba.

“Your mission this morning is a very noble one. Honestly everybody shares in this pain,” said Mrs. Williams.

“I’m a mother, a grandmother, so I know exactly where you’re coming from and each time we hear of these killings you imagine how everybody stays spellbound to their television and wondering when it would cease.

“Some people have lost husbands; some people have lost wives. Some people have lost their children. Innocent people are being killed and I can feel that pain that goes through each and every one of you. I just want to say that women. Intelligence gathering entails information giving. Unless information comes, sometimes intelligence gathering cannot be as fruitful.”

PDP slams APC Manifestos

The PDP has described the manifestos of the APC as a roadmap to anarchy typical of all anti-democratic coalitions.

Mr Olisa Metuh, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, said in Abuja on Thursday at a news conference that the APC manifesto lacked character and depth.

According to him, the manifesto released by the APC at its just concluded National Summit did not address any issue.

Metuh said that the manifesto ranked security of lives and property low and gave no clue as to the party`s preparedness to tackle terrorism in the country.

He said that the APC had no credible recipe for job creation nor had it shown the strength of character to fight corruption more than what the PDP was doing at the moment.

“The PDP created anti corruption agencies such as the ICPC, the EFCC and established the Freedom of Information Act to further give teeth to the war on graft.

“The Federal Government has shown no preferences in its battle on corruption as senior party leaders have at one time or another been made to face the law on charges of corruption.”

He said that the spirited defence for the suspended CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, mounted by the APC was because its leaders benefited immensely from his regime.

The party spokesman further debunked APC `s claim that it was the first political party in the country to launch a code of conduct.

According to him, the PDP in 2006, launched a comprehensive code of conduct under an omnibus entitled “Survival Kit”.

“This kit contained documents such as Desirable Qualities of a Member and Code of Conduct for PDP aspirants and candidates.

“We also have the Peoples Democratic Institute, an intellectual arm of the party whose major work is the systemic research, inculcation and internalisation of democratic ethos,”Metuh said.

He further said that the recent opinion poll which the APC said it derived its manifesto from was a familiar product from political party that subsisted in lies and deception.

“They sponsored same in Anambra and their governorship candidate, Chris Ngige, came a distant third.

“This is after they sponsored same in Ondo where its candidate in the governorship election, Rotimi Akeredolu also came third,” Metuh said.

He, however, warned that the unseen thrust of the APC manifesto was to balkanise the country and cause disaffection among the people. (NAN)

Gaddafi's son Saadi extradited to Libya

Niger has extradited Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi to the Libyan capital Tripoli, the Libyan government has said.

The third son of the former Libyan leader is being held in Hadaba Prison in the capital.

“The Libyan Government received today (6/3/2014) Al Saadi Gaddafi. He arrived in Libya and is located at the Libyan judiciary police station", the Libyan government said on its official Facebook page on Thursday.

"The Libyan Government thanks the President of the Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, we also thank the Niger Government and the people of Niger for their cooperation with the Libyan Government in pledging its commitment to the treatment of the accused on the principles of justice and international norms in dealing with prisoners. God save Libya.”

Saadi was granted entry to Niger on humanitarian grounds after the Gaddafi government was toppled.

Niger had previously refused to hand over Saadi, who fled south to the West African state in September 2011 as Libyan forces gain the upper hand over his father's forces, because he feared he would  face execution in Libya.

In 2011, Interpol issued a "red notice" asking its member states to arrest Saadi with a view to extradition if they found him on their territory.

In December 2011, Mexican authorities foiled a plot to smuggle Saadi from Niger into Mexico.

Before the revolution, Saadi was best known for captaining Libya's national football team, and making appearances for Italian Serie A sides Perugia and Udinese.

Boko Haram kills 29 secondary school students in Yobe

 The JTF confirmed the attack.

Reports from Yobe State indicate that about 29 students of the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, were killed on Monday night while they slept in their dormitories.

The spokesperson of the Joint Task Force, JTF, in the state, Lazarus Eli, confirmed the attack to Aljazeera network. He however did not give the exact number of casualties.

Mr. Eli said the gunmen “opened fire on student hostels.”

He said details are still sketchy due to lack of telephone access and it is still not clear how many students were affected in the attack.

The outlawed Boko Haram sect is suspected to be behind the attack which took place around 2 a.m.

The sect had carried out a similar attack in Yobe last September killing over 40 students at the College of Agriculture, Gujba.

Also, earlier in July last year, Boko Haram carried out an overnight attack on students of Government Secondary School, Mumoda, killing over 40 students.

Mr. Eli said the military has already dispatched a team to Buni Yadi to track and apprehend the killers.

Yobe, like Borno and Adamawa, has been under emergency rule since May 2013 as the military tries to dislodge the Boko Haram insurgents. Despite the emergency rule, hundreds of people have been killed in different attacks in the affected states.

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A Leopard sparks panic India

A leopard has sparked panic in a north Indian city after wandering into a hospital, a cinema and an apartment block.

Authorities closed schools in Meerut, 37 miles (60km) north-east of the Indian capital, after the leopard was discovered prowling the city's streets on Sunday, a senior city official said.

"Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to track the leopard down. We have launched a massive hunt for the beast," said the additional district magistrate SK Dubey.

The big cat was found inside an empty ward of an army hospital on Sunday before wildlife officers were called and managed to fire a tranquiliser dart into the animal, Dubey told AFP.

"But despite that he managed to break [out through] the iron grills and escaped. He then sneaked into the premises of a cinema hall before entering an apartment block. After that we lost track of the cat," he said.

Authorities have urged that markets be closed in the city of 3.5 million people until the animal is captured, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

A photograph in the Hindustan Times newspaper on Monday showed the leopard leaping off a terrace in a congested residential area of the city as people scrambled out of the way.

Last week, a leopard killed a five-year-old boy in central Chhattisgarh state, the latest in a string of incidents raising concerns about depleting habitats for the cats, which is forcing them into populated areas.

Alarming video footage from Mumbai last year showed a leopard creeping into an apartment block foyer and dragging away a small dog

Meanwhile, a tiger on the prowl in northern Uttar Pradesh state since last December is believed to have killed about 10 people. Wildlife officials are still trying to hunt it down.

WWF called for better management of forests and other habitats for India's leopard population, which numbered 1,150 at the 2011 census.

"Leopards are large territorial mammals. They need space to move around. Some of their corridors are getting blocked so there is bound to be an interface," Deepankar Ghosh of WWF-India told AFP.

"We can't put all the leopards into cages. We can't remove all the people living near forested areas. We have to manage the situation the best way we can."

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Have you seen President Jonathan 2014 media chat ?

The challenges confronting Nigeria – insecurity, the economy, corruption, dearth of infrastructure – are still largely the same issues the administration is grappling with since his first media chat in September 2011.

One new topic the president might be pressed to clarify is the recent suspension of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. The CBN governor was suspended over alleged financial misconduct.

With the 2015 general elections about 11 months away, Mr Jonathan might be pressed to make a definitive statement about his ambition ahead of the February 2015 general elections. In previous media chats, the president waved the question aside saying it was premature to talk about 2015.

The presidency promised to receive questions from Nigerians via telephone during the live program. In the past, telephone lines provided hardly got across to the president work during live episodes of the programme.

In case you are able to reach the president on the programme today, PREMIUM TIMES suggest you put these questions to him, in addition to others you might have.

The Twitter handle @mediachatng1 can also be used to throw in questions during the chat.

PREMIUM TIMES will bring you live updates from the media chat, as it progresses, here. Join the discussion on twitter using #presmediachat

20:15

Chat ends with discussion around the power situation in Nigeria. He promises it will improve.

20:11

Still on the issue of Boko Haram attacks on Borno state, and the recent comments by the governor of that state that it appears the militants have upper hand in the war, the president said the governor’s comment was wrong. “if we pullout the military from Borno state, let us see if he will be able to stay in the government house,” the president answered, emphasizing the strength of the military operatives working in the state.

The president said he is also not aware of plans to send a military administrator to the troubled Borno state.

20:04

“It is quite worrisome,” Jonathan says of killing of innocents by Boko Haram. “Surely we’ll get over it.”

He says all security forces are involved in the war.

19:59

The president denies removing subsidy on kerosene. Even though he admits the directive to the petroleum minister demanding the removal of subsidy on kerosene remains, he said it is old and rather mischievous for someone to go to the archives and “pullout the memo” and begin to distribute.

The president’s answer, however, lacked much certainty. But he claims he was involved in the process, as a vice president.

19:54

The president says the CBN act, which he earlier said places undue powers on the bank’s governor, will “definitely” be reviewed, indicating he will press for a legislative review of the CBN act.

Another twitter questions asks why only the CBN governor was singled out for suspension based on the report of the Financial Reporting Council, when the report indicted almost every member of the CBN leadership, the president argues the governor was made to step aside because he is the head.

“You cannot suspend everybody!” he said.

19:49

In reaction to a question sent in via twitter, the president said Sanusi would be prosecuted only if a clear fraud is established against the sacked governor. He said the future of the suspended governor depends on the nature of the findings of the ongoing investigation of alleged fraud in by the governor by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.

“If Sanusi has no case to answer, how will you prosecute who has no case?” he asked.

19:44

President Jonathan promises to pursue the lead of the whistle Sanusi blew before his suspension. “Nobody is covering anybody up,” he said. He argues that no president will watch even one billion dollars miss, “even one Kobo.”

In the society, people must begin to know that the right thing has to be done, no matter who’s ox is gored.

19:38

The president says he “quickly rushed” to suspend the CBN governor so that the bank’s audit reports of 2012 and 2013 would be resolved and cleared.

He said the CBN governor is stepping aside to allow the board clear issues raised with the bank’s 2012 financial audit, so he will not influence the outcome.

“There is no time that is inappropriate to suspend anybody,” — Jonathan.

19:33

Discussion moves on to the recent suspension of the CBN governor. The president argues that he has “Absolute powers” to suspend the CBN governor. “The issue of suspension and removal are very different. Sanusi is still the CBN governor,” he said.

The presidents says the CBN is not properly defined in the constitution and the CBN act is ill conceived, placing the governor at the head of the bank’s board.

19:29

Bolaji presses that the president answer if he will contest in 2015 or not. The presidents still does not answer directly. He argues that if he announces his direction now, there will be too many political tension, either way. He said Nigerians should wait till the time is ripe to know his future ambitions.

19:23

When pressed if his recent trips to almost all traditional rulers, churches and party activities across Nigeria, is a way of saying he will contest the 2015 presidential elections, the president does not answer directly. He explains his recent trips as a way of indicating he is a president of everyone. He does not answer if he will run or not.

“Even if I do not contest, I will like to lead my party to victory,” he said.

19:20

“the result of this National Conference will not affect this administration significantly, …Our tenure is too short” — Jonathan.

The National conference will be inaugurated on March 10, but secretariat will kick off one week before. Chairman of the conference will also be announced one earlier.

19:14

Discussions have moved to the National Conference, planned shortly after the centenary. President Jonathan emphasizes he will not supervise the break-up of Nigeria, justifying the conferences defined limits on discuss-able issues.

He insists the conference is not planned to prevent disintegration and shall not discuss it. “Nigeria will not disintegrate,” he said. “We are not saying without the National Conference, Nigeria will break,” he adds.

19:12

The panelist interviewing the president include Grace Ekpo of Wazobia FM Abuja, Goodluck Nnaji of Base Fm Oraifite in Anambra state, Bolaji Tunji of New Telegraph, and Imoni Amarere of AIT.

19:06

Presidential media chat starts with discussions about planned centenary celebrations. The president says he cannot say exactly how much the centenary would cost. He said only the presidential guest would be funded by the government. A large chunk of the celebration is funded by “private organizations.” “Government is not spending even one naira on the Centenary City.”

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Did you know Broccoli Fights Cancer? Learn How To Prepare It

Broccoli was in the spotlight at the American Institute for Cancer Research’s recent annual conference, where global scientists shared their findings on the connection between diet and cancer. Had the researchers been giving out awards, broccoli’s baby sprouts, not just broccoli, would have snatched gold.

How you prepare broccoli, though, is the key to its cancer-fighting ability, said Elizabeth Jeffery, co-chair of one of the conference’s sessions and a professor in the department of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her latest research could dramatically change your culinary habits.

Queen of the crucifers

You know the stinky smell that fills your kitchen when you’re cooking broccoli? That’s because of healthy sulfur-filled compounds, which exist in all crucifers. An enzyme in crucifers — marked by that kick you get when you bite into a raw one — turns sulfurs into two cancer-fighting categories:

– Indoles, which help break down hormones as well as target a group of genes that promote prostate cancer. (The latter finding was reported by Wayne State University scientist Fazlul Sarkar at the conference.)

– Isothiocyanates (pronounced eye-so-thigh-o-sigh-a-nates), which counteract carcinogens in general and speed up their removal from the body. (Of course, broccoli also has many more healthy compounds.)

Broccoli bears the crown of queen of the crucifers because compared with other crucifers, it contains more of a particularly important isothiocyanate called sulforaphane.

Because heat degrades the enzyme that produces sulforaphane, many food scientists, until now, have recommended we eat crucifers raw or very lightly cooked. In her recent broccoli research, however, Jeffery has developed a more sophisticated approach to maximizing sulforaphane. Her work shows that how you make the broccoli and what you pair it with are vital.

Tips on handling broccoli

To capitalize on sulforaphane, first cook broccoli lightly, Jeffery said. Steam it in a little liquid for 3 to 4 minutes until bright green, using a steamer so that it doesn’t touch the cooking liquid. Or blanch it for 20 to 30 seconds, no more. Those methods are surprisingly better than eating it raw, she said, because when the enzyme acts on broccoli’s sulfur-containing compounds, the compounds can swing either way — and get turned into sulforophanes, which fight cancer, or nitriles, which don’t. “Every molecule of nitriles formed is a sulforaphane not formed,” Jeffery said. And just a little heat will keep nitriles from forming.

To counteract the enzyme reduction caused by heating Jefferey has a second suggestion:

Eat steamed broccoli along with a little raw crucifer — arugula, watercress, a little wasabi or spicy mustard, or perhaps even better, raw red radish. (The stronger the kick, the more enzyme you’re getting.) Red radishes contain sulforaphane and don’t have the inherent ability to produce nitriles. You don’t need much, Jeffery said — just two to three radishes or a ½ teaspoon of mustard or wasabi. And you don’t have to eat them in the same bite as broccoli, just in the same meal.

Here’s the final and most liberating finding for those of us chained to our kitchens: As long as you eat raw crucifers in the same meal, you can go ahead and cook broccoli any way you want, Jeffery said. The enzymes in the raw crucifers will act on compounds in the cooked ones.

These same suggestions apply to all crucifers that can produce nitriles, she said — including cauliflower, most cabbages and especially Brussels sprouts.

Why broccoli sprouts?

While President George H.W. Bush was banning broccoli on Air Force One back in 1990, Johns Hopkins researcher Paul Talalay was busy exploring the crucifer’s newborn sprouts. What, he wondered, was the ideal number of days needed to germinate seeds to get the best sulforaphane content as well as taste?

The answer: three days. He and his son went on to develop a side business selling young broccoli sprouts. (Talalay, now 91, still collaborates on research and goes to his lab almost every day.)

In contrast to mature broccoli, broccoli sprouts have, on average, 20 times the amount of compounds that develop into sulforaphane, said Yanyan Li, a professor of food science at Montclair State University who is studying sulforaphane. Since the 1990s, researchers have been identifying cancer stem cells in many types of cancer, and Li has recently found that sulforaphane targets breast cancer stem cells at relatively low concentrations.

How much is enough?

To obtain that level of sulforaphane, however, you’d need to eat several pounds of broccoli — or, Li suggested, just a heaping cup of raw sprouts, lightly steamed and consumed along with a few raw radishes. Sulforphane is eliminated from the body relatively quickly, she said, so “eating them three times a day would be ideal to maintain the level.”

For the average person, that’s not really feasible, she acknowledges, and scientists at the conference agreed that eating crucifers four to five times a week is a reasonable goal for most — as long as you chew the vegetables well. By breaking the cell walls, you’re releasing those pungent enzymes.

Jeffery’s lab is now comparing the sulforaphane content in common varieties of broccoli, but that research is not yet ready for prime time.

Broccoli Sprout Salad With Synergy

(Recipe courtesy of Holly Botner, the Jittery Cook)

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the dressing:

½ lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the broccoli sprout salad:

2 containers broccoli sprouts

4 red radishes, ½ thinly sliced, ½ julienned

1 handful baby arugula

½ carrot, cut into slivers with a peeler

¼ yellow pepper, finely chopped

1 orange, cut into segments as garnish

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients for the dressing and mix well.

2. Steam the sprouts until bright green, then cut off their green tops to use in the salad.

3. Arrange salad ingredients on two small plates. Spoon dressing lightly over salad.

Top photo: Broccoli sprout salad. Credit: Holly Botner / jitterycook.com

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