98 research outputs found
Advocacy Group Activity in the New Media Environment
This paper presents an analysis of early data from the newly-launched Membership Communications Project (MCP). The MCP is a data-aggregation effort concerned with tracking the email practices of progressive advocacy organizations in American politics. Based on 2.5 months of data collection across 70 organizations (998 messages in total), the goal of the paper is twofold. First, the paper establishes the purpose behind and construction of the MCP dataset, offering an âannotated userâs manualâ of sorts for interested members of the research community. Data collection will continue for at least six months, and the dataset is freely available to other researchers. Second, the paper uses the MCP email data to create two types of social network graph â an affiliation network of organizations and issue areas and a social network graph of the âstrong tiesâ formed through joint outreach efforts between organizations. The analysis is preliminary in nature, but it strongly suggests that the new generation of internet-mediated organizations include issue-generalist âgrazersâ and issue-niche specialists. It also indicates that there is substantial variance between organizational email strategies, with no evidence of any overarching, thematic set of âbest practices.
White blood cell DNA methylation and risk of breast cancer in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO)
Background
Several studies have suggested that global DNA methylation in circulating white blood cells (WBC) is associated with breast cancer risk. Methods
To address conflicting results and concerns that the findings for WBC DNA methylation in some prior studies may reflect disease effects, we evaluated the relationship between global levels of WBC DNA methylation in white blood cells and breast cancer risk in a case-control study nested within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) cohort. A total of 428 invasive breast cancer cases and 419 controls, frequency matched on age at entry (55â59, 60â64, 65â69, â„70 years), year of entry (on/before September 30, 1997, on/after October 1, 1997) and period of DNA extraction (previously extracted, newly extracted) were included. The ratio of 5-methyl-2â deoxycytidine [5-mdC] to 2â-deoxyguanine [dG], assuming [dG]â=â[5-mdC]â+â[2â-deoxycytidine [dC]] (%5-mdC), was determined by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry, an especially accurate method for assessing total genomic DNA methylation. Results
Odds ratio (OR) estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for breast cancer risk adjusted for age at entry, year of entry, and period of DNA extraction, were 1.0 (referent), 0.89 (95% CI, 0.6â1.3), 0.88 (95% CI, 0.6â1.3), and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.6â1.2) for women in the highest compared to lowest quartile levels of %5md-C (p for trendâ=â.39). Effects did not meaningfully vary by time elapsed from WBC collection to diagnosis. Discussion
These results do not support the hypothesis that global DNA hypomethylation in WBC DNA is associated with increased breast cancer risk prior to the appearance of clinical disease
Debate on Bruce BimberÂŽs Book Information and American Democracy. Cambridge University Press, 2003
Presentation
José Manuel Robles
Abstract of Information and American Democracy. Cambridge University Press, 2003
Bruce Bimber
From Regimes to Ecologies: Globalizing Bruce Bimberâs Model of Information and Politics
Steven Livingston
Internet, new forms of power and democracy
JosĂ© LuĂs Garcia
Internet: A Technological Tool and Changes in Political Power
Liu Gang
Information and American Democracy in the era of web 2.0
Lorenzo Mosca
What Comes Next?: Bimberâs Information Revolutions and Institutional Disruptions
David Karpf
Online Political Information and Online Political Participation
José Manuel Robles
Digital Media and Political Change: A Response to Garcia, Karpf, Livingston, Liu, Mosca, and Robles
Bruce BimberPresentation
José Manuel Robles
Abstract of Information and American Democracy. Cambridge University Press, 2003
Bruce Bimber
From Regimes to Ecologies: Globalizing Bruce Bimberâs Model of Information and Politics
Steven Livingston
Internet, new forms of power and democracy
JosĂ© LuĂs Garcia
Internet: A Technological Tool and Changes in Political Power
Liu Gang
Information and American Democracy in the era of web 2.0
Lorenzo Mosca
What Comes Next?: Bimberâs Information Revolutions and Institutional Disruptions
David Karpf
Online Political Information and Online Political Participation
José Manuel Robles
Digital Media and Political Change: A Response to Garcia, Karpf, Livingston, Liu, Mosca, and Robles
Bruce Bimbe
Nothing Is True? The Credibility of News and Conflicting Narratives during âInformation Warâ in Ukraine
In international politics, the strategic narratives of different governments compete for public attention and support. The Russian governmentâs narrative has prompted western concern due to fears that it exerts a destabilizing effect on societies in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. However, the behavior and thought processes of news consumers targeted by contradictory strategic narratives are rarely subjected to analysis. This paper examines how Ukrainian news consumers decide where to get their news and what to believe in a media environment where âpropagandaâ and âdisinformationâ are regarded as major threats to national security. Evidence comes from thirty audio-diaries and in-depth interviews conducted in 2016 among adult residents of Odesa Region. Through qualitative analysis of the diary and interview transcripts, the paper reveals how participants judged the credibility of news and narratives based on their priorities (what they considered important), not just âfactsâ (what they believed had happened). The attribution of importance to different foreign policy issues was associated, in turn, with varying personal experiences, memories, and individual cross-border relationships
Between Art and Information : Communicating World Health, 1948-1970
With the advent of new media technologies and approaches in the twentieth century, public health officials became convinced that health needed mass media support. The World Health Organization believed that educating people, as well as informing them about the health situation around the world, could assist the enduring fight against disease. Yet in an increasingly competitive media landscape, the agency recognised the need to persuade people and hold their attention through attractive presentation. Public information, the name given to the multiple strategies used to communicate with the public, was rarely straightforward and required the agency not only to monitor the impact of its own efforts but also to identify opportunities to further enhance its reputation, especially when this was in danger of damage or misappropriation. The WHOâs understanding of public information provides insights into the development of international information, communication and education networks and practices after 1945, as well as the increasingly central position of these processes in generating support for and evincing the value of international organisations
Effect of Oral Alendronate on Bone Mineral Density and the Incidence of Fractures in Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
BACKGROUND
Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a serious health problem, and additional treatments are needed. METHODS
We studied the effects of oral alendronate, an aminobisphosphonate, on bone mineral density and the incidence of fractures and height loss in 994 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. The women were treated with placebo or alendronate (5 or 10 mg daily for three years, or 20 mg for two years followed by 5 mg for one year); all the women received 500 mg of calcium daily. Bone mineral density was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The occurrence of new vertebral fractures and the progression of vertebral deformities were determined by an analysis of digitized radiographs, and loss of height was determined by sequential height measurements. RESULTS
The women receiving alendronate had significant, progressive increases in bone mineral density at all skeletal sites, whereas those receiving placebo had decreases in bone mineral density. At three years, the mean (±SE) differences in bone mineral density between the women receiving 10 mg of alendronate daily and those receiving placebo were 8.8±0.4 percent in the spine, 5.9±0.5 percent in the femoral neck, 7.8±0.6 percent in the trochanter, and 2.5±0.3 percent in the total body (P CONCLUSIONS
Daily treatment with alendronate progressively increases the bone mass in the spine, hip, and total body and reduces the incidence of vertebral fractures, the progression of vertebral deformities, and height loss in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis
In vivo modeling of metastatic human high-grade serous ovarian cancer in mice
Metastasis is responsible for 90% of human cancer mortality, yet it remains a challenge to model human cancer metastasis in vivo. Here we describe mouse models of high-grade serous ovarian cancer, also known as high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC), the most common and deadliest human ovarian cancer type. Mice genetically engineered to harbor Dicer1 and Pten inactivation and mutant p53 robustly replicate the peritoneal metastases of human HGSC with complete penetrance. Arising from the fallopian tube, tumors spread to the ovary and metastasize throughout the pelvic and peritoneal cavities, invariably inducing hemorrhagic ascites. Widespread and abundant peritoneal metastases ultimately cause mouse deaths (100%). Besides the phenotypic and histopathological similarities, mouse HGSCs also display marked chromosomal instability, impaired DNA repair, and chemosensitivity. Faithfully recapitulating the clinical metastases as well as molecular and genomic features of human HGSC, this murine model will be valuable for elucidating the mechanisms underlying the development and progression of metastatic ovarian cancer and also for evaluating potential therapies
Quantitative analysis of a footwallâscarp degradation complex and synârift stratigraphic architecture, Exmouth Plateau, NW Shelf, offshore Australia
Interactions between footwallâ, hangingwallâ and axialâderived depositional systems make synârift stratigraphic architecture difficult to predict, and preservation of netâerosional source landscapes is limited. Distinguishing between deposits derived from faultâscarp degradation (consequent systems) and those derived from longâlived catchments beyond the fault block crest (antecedent systems) is also challenging, but important for hydrocarbon reservoir prospecting. We undertake geometric and volumetric analysis of a faultâscarp degradation complex and adjacent hangingwallâfill associated with the Thebeâ2 fault block on the Exmouth Plateau, NW Shelf, offshore Australia, using high resolution 3D seismic data. Vertical and headward erosion of the complex and fault throw are measured. Seismicâstratigraphic and seismic facies mapping allow us to constrain the spatial and architectural variability of depositional systems in the hangingwall. Footwallâderived systems interacted with hangingwallâ and axialâderived systems, through diversion around topography, interfingering or successive onlap. We calculate the volume of footwallâsourced hangingwall fans (VHW) for nine quadrants along the fault block, and compare this to the volume of material eroded from the immediately upâdip faultâscarp (VFW). This analysis highlights areas of sediment bypass (VFW > VHW) and areas fed by sediment sources beyond the degraded fault scarp (VHW > VFW). Exposure of the border fault footwall and adjacent fault terraces produced small catchments located beyond the fault block crest that fed the hangingwall basin. One source persisted throughout the main synârift episode, and its location coincided with: (a) an intraâbasin topographic high; (b) a local fault throw minimum; (c) increased vertical and headward erosion within the faultâscarp degradation complex; and (d) sustained clinoform development in the immediate hangingwall. Our novel quantitative volumetric approach to identify throughâgoing sediment input points could be applied to other rift basinâfills. We highlight implications for hydrocarbon exploration and emphasize the need to incorporate interaction of multiple sediment sources and their resultant architecture in tectonoâstratigraphic models for rift basins
Analytic Activism and Its Limitations
Some of the most important impacts of social media on social movement organizations come not through the new forms of speech that are created but through new forms of listening . This article discusses âanalytic activismââthe practice of applying analytics and experimentation to develop new tactics and strategies, identify emergent mobilization opportunities, and listen to their members and supporters in new ways. After defining the key components of analytic activism, the article then develops and illustrates two boundary conditionsâthe analytics floor and the analytics frontierâthat define the limited context within which analytic activism operates. The article concludes by highlighting how a focus on digital listening leads researchers to capture phenomena that have previously been ignored in the social media and collective action literature
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