A coding system for dynamic topic analysis: a computer-mediated discourse analysis technique

We introduce an efficient coding system for dynamic topic analysis (DTA), a computer-mediated discourse analysis technique that codes and visualizes topical development over time in online discussions. Our system provides three main functionalities: intuitive coding with a touch screen interface, automated inter-rater agreement computation, and visualization of the coding results. Using the system, we conducted a preliminary DTA of 28,131 user comments from the popular music distribution sites SoundCloud and Last.fm. The analysis shows that most SoundCloud and Last.FM comments are narrowly on-topic and prompt-focused, as compared to discussions in other social media that exhibit more topical elaboration

Understanding User Behavior on Online Music Distribution Sites: A Discourse Approach

We analyze user behavior on two music distribution websites, SoundCloud.com and Last.fm, using a computer-mediated discourse analysis approach. The broad goal is to infer patterns of use that can inform the development of system/site designs to facilitate communication among online users. The specific goal is to analyze the actions users perform through comments posted to the sites. Based on a manually-coded sample of 49,324 comments, we address two research questions: What are the most common speech acts used in comments on the music distribution sites, and how, if at all, do design differences – between the two sites and between the two commenting modes available on SoundCloud – affect speech act use? From these comparisons, we identify site purpose (SoundCloud as a music sharing site, Last.fm as a music streaming site) and commenting mode (regular vs. timed comments) as important factors that contribute to the characteristics of user comments, and suggest implications of these findings for the design of music distribution sites.ye

Factors Predicting Bone Mineral Density (BMD) Changes in Young Women over A One-year Study:Changes in Body Weight and Bone Metabolic Markers during the Menstrual Cycle and Their Effects on BMD

Currently, 26% of Japanese women in their twenties are under weight, and therefore at risk of developing various metabolic abnormalities due to an inadequate nutrient intake, which in turn affects the acquisition of a peak bone mineral density (BMD). In this study, we aimed to clarify the effects of menstrual cycle-related changes in body weight and bone metabolic marker levels on the BMD changes. The subjects were 42 women (19.6±0.8 years). The levels of osteocalcin (OC), BAP, s-NTx, u-DPD, and E2 in the menstrual and ovulatory phases were measured. The associations between dependent variables (BMD changes/year in the lumbar spine, femur, femoral neck) and explanatory variables (body weight changes/year, the levels of OC, BAP, s-NTx, u-DPD) were evaluated using multiple regression analysis. Analysis of the correlations between the changes in bone metabolic markers and changes in BMD showed a correlation between the OC level in the menstrual phase and changes in the BMD of the entire femur, suggesting that a high OC level protects against BMD reduction, probably by promoting osteoblast activity, and that bone formation activity suppresses the decrease in BMD. These results suggest that, to predict BMD changes from bone metabolic markers in young women, it is necessary to measure OC levels in the menstrual phase

Feature Integration in the Mapping of Multi-Attribute Visual Stimuli to Responses

In the human visual system, different attributes of an object, such as shape and color, are separately processed in different modules and then integrated to elicit a specific response. In this process, different attributes are thought to be temporarily “bound” together by focusing attention on the object; however, how such binding contributes to stimulus-response mapping remains unclear. Here we report that learning and performance of stimulus-response tasks was more difficult when three attributes of the stimulus determined the correct response than when two attributes did. We also found that spatially separated presentations of attributes considerably complicated the task, although they did not markedly affect target detection. These results are consistent with a paired-attribute model in which bound feature pairs, rather than object representations, are associated with responses by learning. This suggests that attention does not bind three or more attributes into a unitary object representation, and long-term learning is required for their integration

Age-Dependent Contributions of Neck Circumference to Indices of Obesity Among Female College Students Aged 18 to 20 Years

Measurement of neck circumference (NC) is an easy method to assess obesity. Our investigation to estimate risks for metabolic disease in Japanese postmenopausal women indicated that NC is significantly associated with whole-body obesity indices and visceral fat accumulation. To clarify the early stage of metabolic changes and confirm NC validity as a predictor of metabolic syndrome, NC’s association to the four obesity indices, namely, weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat, and waist circumference (WC), was examined in a college student group of 60 females aged 18.7±0.3 years. NC was mainly correlated with weight, followed by BMI, WC, and body fat. It was also significantly associated with weight and BMI, but not with body fat. The participants were divided into two subgroups: “sports-experienced” and “not-sports-experienced,” who had moderate and strong correlation coefficients with NC and WC, respectively. WC value was possibly predicted by NC values using linear functions for the group and its subgroups. The correlation between NC and WC, NC’s association to weight, and substitution of NC to WC were confirmed by the same analyses in another student group composed with 18 females aged 19.7±0.6 years. Our study showed that the distribution of body fat in college students is difficult to assess based on NC alone. Nevertheless, NC measurement is an easy, inexpensive, and reproducible method to assess obesity and a possible predictor to identify the risk for future metabolic diseases in Japanese college students with the four obesity indices, weight, BMI, body fat, and WC

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

A coding system for dynamic topic analysis: a computer-mediated discourse analysis technique

We introduce an efficient coding system for dynamic topic analysis (DTA), a computer-mediated discourse analysis technique that codes and visualizes topical development over time in online discussions. Our system provides three main functionalities: intuitive coding with a touch screen interface, automated inter-rater agreement computation, and visualization of the coding results. Using the system, we conducted a preliminary DTA of 28,131 user comments from the popular music distribution sites SoundCloud and Last.fm. The analysis shows that most SoundCloud and Last.FM comments are narrowly on-topic and prompt-focused, as compared to discussions in other social media that exhibit more topical elaboration