Online allies and tricky freelancers: understanding the differences in the role of social media in the campaigns for the Scottish Independence Referendum

Using the 2014 Scottish independence referendum as a case study, this article asks first, to what extent is the use of digital communications technologies, in particular social media, associated with fundamental changes to campaign organizations, specifically to the command and control model? Second, under what conditions are challenges to the model more likely to emerge? Using mixed methods, our analysis of the case demonstrates that radical organizational or strategic change is not inevitable, nor is there a one-size-fits-all approach. Technologies are not ‘just tools’ that any campaign with enough resources will adopt in similar ways. Instead, depending on a number of interdependent factors (i.e. context, resources, strategy, organizational structure and culture), some campaigns – like Better Together – selectively adopt digital tools that fit with the command and control model; in other cases – like Yes Scotland – the application of digital communications technologies and the dynamics created by linking to other (digital-enabled) grassroots organizations can have transformative effects

Political agenda setting in the hybrid media system: why legacy media still matter a great deal

This article examines the roles of the media in the process of political agenda setting. There is a long tradition of studies on this topic, but they have mostly focused on legacy news media, thus overlooking the role of other actors and the complex hybrid dynamics that characterise contemporary political communication. In contrast, through an in-depth case study using mixed methods and multi- platform data, this article provides a detailed analysis of the roles and interactions between different types of media and how they were used by political and advocacy elites. It explores what happened in the different parts of the system, and thus the paths to attention that led to setting this issue in the political and media agendas. The analysis of the case, a partial policy reversal in the UK provoked by an immigration scandal known as the ‘Windrush scandal’, reveals that the issue was pushed into the agenda by a campaign assemblage of investigative journalism, political and advocacy elites, and digitally-enabled leaders. The legacy news media came late but were crucial. They greatly amplified the salience of the issue and, once in ‘storm mode’, they were key for sustaining attention and pressure, eventually compelling the government to respond. It shows that they often remain at the core of the ‘national conversation’ and certainly in the eye of a media storm. In the contemporary context, characterised by fierce battles for attention, shortening attention spans and fractured audiences, this is key and has important implications for agenda setting and beyond

Scotland’s Sustainable Media Future: Challenges and Opportunities: a Stakeholder Analysis

No abstract available

Potencijalni prediktivni biljezi postoperativnih komplikacija kolorektalnog karcinoma temeljeni na omjeru nezrelih granulocita i limfocita, udjelu nezrelih granulocita te IG i IT omjeru

Introduction: The markers of inflammations are a significant predictor of postoperative outcome after colorectal cancer surgery. Along with leukocytes, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) we tried to test the role of immature granulocytes (IG) counts and trends in the postoperative period. Methods: We recorded matched three patient according to their sex, age, and tumor localization who had an uneventful recovery with three patients who had an anastomotic leak required reoperation. We obtained the IG count with every complete blood count and correlated these with CRP, PCT, NLR. For the best prediction we calculated the potential Zagreb score by adding 1 point for elevated NLR ratio for more than 75%, minimally three consecutively elevated % IG, doubling of immature granulocytes relative value to absolute neutrophils count ratio (IG ratio) and immature granulocytes relative value to leucocytes count ratio (IT ratio) at three consecutive time points. Results and Conclusion: Potential Zagreb score seems to predict the need for reoperation in time. Herein we introduce its concept, and we plan the retrospective study to test its feasibility and precision.Uvod: Markeri upale su važni čimbenici u predviđanju poslijeoperacijskog tijeka u kolorektalnoj kirurgiji. Uz leukocite, C reaktivni protein, prokalcitonin i neutrofilno/limfocitni omjer, uvodimo mogućnost korištenja broja i trendova nezrelih granulocita u postoperacijskom periodu. Metode: Zabilježili smo kliničke podatke tri pacijenta koja su imala uredan poslijeopracijski tijek i tri koja su imala dehiscencu anastomoze. Pacijenti su upareni po dobi, spolu, i lokalizaciji karcinoma kolorektuma. Obradili smo podatke o broju nezrelih granulocita koji je integralni dio kompletne krvne slike na analizatoru Sysmex XN 1000, te korelirali podatke sa CRP-om, PCT-om, NLR-om. Najbolje predviđanje smo dobili kada je ustanovljen potencijalni Zagreb score: povećan NLR za više od 75%, tri povećanja % IG zaredom i udvostručenje IG-a and IT-a u tri mjerenja zaredom. Rezultati i zaključak: Potencijalni Zagreb score je predvidio potrebu za reoperacijom na vrijeme. Ova serija slučajeva je uvela koncept i planiramo retrospektivno, na većem uzorku, testirati izvedivost i preciznost potencijalnog Zagreb scorea

Genome sequence and functional genomic analysis of the oil-degrading bacterium Oleispira antarctica

M.K. and P.N.G. designed the work; T.N.C. performed physiological studies; M.K., M.F., Y.A.-R., A.B., N.L.-C., M.E.G., O.R.K., T.Y.N., S.K., I.L., O.V.G., M.M.Y. R.R. and P.N.G. were associated with genome annotation; H.J.H. performed lipids and FAME analysis; M.F., M-l.F., S.J., S.C. and J.P.A performed chaperonin anti-proteome analysis; A.-x. S., O.K., O.E., P.A.P., P.S. and Y.K. were associated with structural proteomics; A.T. and R.F. were associated with functional proteomics; H.L. performed electron microscopy; R.D. performed real-time PCR; M.M.-G. and M.F. performed DIGE proteome analysis; M.G. was involved in siderophore production; O.N.R. performed genomic islands’ analysis; H.T. performed storage lipid compounds’ analysis; P.N.G. coordinated manuscript writing.Accession Codes: The genome sequence of Oleispira antarctica RB-8 has been deposited in GenBank under accession core FO203512. Protein structures have deposited in PDB under accession codes 3QVM (a/b hydrolase, OLEAN_C08020), 3QVQ (phosphodiesterase, OLEAN_C20330), 3M16 (transaldolase, OLEAN_C18160), 3LQY (isochorismatase, OLEAN_C07660), 3LNP (amidohydrolase, OLEAN_C13880), 3V77/3L53 (fumarylacetoacetate isomerase/hydrolase, OLEAN_C35840), 3VCR/3LAB (2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate aldolase, OLEAN_C25130), 3IRU (phoshonoacetaldehyde hydrolase, OLEAN_C33610), 3I4Q (inorganic pyrophosphatase, OLEAN_C30460), 3LMB (protein with unknown function, OLEAN_C10530).Ubiquitous bacteria from the genus Oleispira drive oil degradation in the largest environment on Earth, the cold and deep sea. Here we report the genome sequence of Oleispira antarctica and show that compared with Alcanivorax borkumensis—the paradigm of mesophilic hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria—O. antarctica has a larger genome that has witnessed massive gene-transfer events. We identify an array of alkane monooxygenases, osmoprotectants, siderophores and micronutrient-scavenging pathways. We also show that at low temperatures, the main protein-folding machine Cpn60 functions as a single heptameric barrel that uses larger proteins as substrates compared with the classical double-barrel structure observed at higher temperatures. With 11 protein crystal structures, we further report the largest set of structures from one psychrotolerant organism. The most common structural feature is an increased content of surface-exposed negatively charged residues compared to their mesophilic counterparts. Our findings are relevant in the context of microbial cold-adaptation mechanisms and the development of strategies for oil-spill mitigation in cold environments.We acknowledge the funding from the EU Framework Program 7 to support Projects MAMBA (226977), ULIXES (266473), MAGIC PAH (245226) and MICROB3 (287589) This work received the support of the Government of Canada through Genome Canada and the Ontario Genomics Institute (grant 2009-OGI-ABC-1405 to A.F.Y. and A.S.), and the U.S. Government National Institutes of Health (grants GM074942 and GM094585 (to A.S. through Midwest Center for Structural Genomics). The study was supported by the Max Planck Society and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through project KU 2679/2-1 and BU 890/21-1. We thank the sequencing team of the AG Reinhardt for technical assistance and Alfred Beck for computational support. The skilful work of electron microscopic sample preparation by Mrs. Ingeborg Kristen (Dept. VAM, HZI Braunschweig) is gratefully acknowledged. Authors thank Professor Ken Timmis for his critical reading the manuscript and useful comments.http://www.nature.com/naturecommunicationsam201

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Bring back the party: personalisation, the media and coalition politics

<p>What effect, if any, does a change in type of government have on the degree of media personalisation? This article argues that the different incentives that single- and multi-party governments provide to individual politicians and parties affect the level of media personalisation. Where the parties are more involved (i.e. multi-party coalitions) there will be less media personalisation. In contrast, where a single individual can command the party, there will be more media personalisation. The article tests these assumptions with a novel dataset created from over 1 million newspaper articles covering a continuous 24-year period in the UK. It finds that the switch to a coalition government in 2010 indeed changed the dynamics of media personalisation. These findings not only provide key insights into the phenomenon of personalisation but also enable us to better understand some of the potential consequences of changes in government types for power dynamics and democratic accountability.</p

The personalisation of politics in comparative perspective: campaign coverage in Germany and the United Kingdom

In the last few decades personalization has been identified as a defining trend of contemporary political communication. The empirical evidence, however, is mixed and there are very few studies that explore more than a single-case study. This article investigates media personalization in comparative perspective by analysing the press coverage of recent general elections in Germany (2009) and the United Kingdom (2010). Was the reporting in both campaigns (equally) personalized? How and to what extent does the phenomenon vary across the two countries? What does this mean for our understanding of personalization? The analysis shows that there are at least as many differences between the countries as there are similarities; although both campaigns can be considered personalized in some respects, the form it takes is substantially different due to structural variations in the media and political systems, as well as the more transient, but key, impact of the distinctive characteristics of the campaigns and each of the candidates