Uses & gratifications theory in online commenter culture

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on September 9, 2013).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Esther L. ThorsonIncludes bibliographical references.M.A. University of Missouri--Columbia 2013.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Journalism."May 2013"While other research has focused on the effect that online commenting can have on news sites, little has addressed the reasons that online commenters participate, the needs that online commenting behavior meets and the emotions that commenters experience. Understanding online commenters is key to unlocking the reasons for their engagement. As news sites seek deeper connections with their audience, knowledge of those who contribute comments to the site is useful in understanding how to build loyalty. Uses & Gratifications Theory applied to online commenting culture provides key insights into the how, why and who of online news commenters. This qualitative research explores those questions among a selection of online commenters who agreed, anonymously, to answer online questionnaires. The commenters in this study were driven by the need for information/surveillance, with more than half requiring the news every day, as well as a desire for social interaction, exploration of personal identity and a desire for diversion. They have a high need for information. They feel informed and connected, along with powerful and angry, more than any other emotions when commenting. They feel more positive emotions than negative emotions. The act of commenting and engaging on the site feeds their sense of connectedness to the world

Validation of MicroRNA Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid

We previously discovered microRNAs (miRNAs) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that differentiate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients from Controls. Here we examined the performance of 37 candidate AD miRNA biomarkers in a new and independent cohort of CSF from 47 AD patients and 71 Controls on custom TaqMan arrays. We employed a consensus ranking approach to provide an overall priority score for each miRNA, then used multimarker models to assess the relative contributions of the top-ranking miRNAs to differentiate AD from Controls. We assessed classification performance of the top-ranking miRNAs when combined with apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) genotype status or CSF amyloid-β42 (Aβ42):total tau (T-tau) measures. We also assessed whether miRNAs that ranked higher as AD markers correlate with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. We show that of 37 miRNAs brought forth from the discovery study, 26 miRNAs remained viable as candidate biomarkers for AD in the validation study. We found that combinations of 6–7 miRNAs work better to identify AD than subsets of fewer miRNAs. Of 26 miRNAs that contribute most to the multimarker models, 14 have higher potential than the others to predict AD. Addition of these 14 miRNAs to APOE4 status or CSF Aβ42:T-tau measures significantly improved classification performance for AD. We further show that individual miRNAs that ranked higher as AD markers correlate more strongly with changes in MMSE scores. Our studies validate that a set of CSF miRNAs serve as biomarkers for AD, and support their advancement toward development as biomarkers in the clinical setting

Tear Proteins Altered in Patients with Persistent Eye Pain after Refractive Surgery: Biomarker Candidate Discovery

Some patients develop persistent eye pain after refractive surgery, but factors that cause or sustain pain are unknown. We tested whether tear proteins of patients with pain 3 months after surgery differ from those of patients without pain. Patients undergoing refractive surgery (laser in situ keratomileusis or photorefractive keratectomy ) were recruited from 2 clinics, and tears were collected 3 months after surgery. Participants rated their eye pain using a numerical rating scale (NRS, 0-10; no pain-worst pain) at baseline, 1 day, and 3 months after surgery. Using tandem mass tag proteomic analysis, we examined tears from patients with pain [NRS ≥ 3 at 3 months (n = 16)] and patients with no pain [NRS ≤ 1 at 3 months (n = 32)] after surgery. A subset of proteins (83 of 2748 detected, 3.0%) were associated with pain 3 months after surgery. High-dimensional statistical models showed that the magnitude of differential expression was not the only important factor in classifying tear samples from pain patients. Models utilizing 3 or 4 proteins had better classification performance than single proteins and represented differences in both directions (higher or lower in pain). Thus, patterns of protein differences may serve as biomarkers of postsurgical eye pain as well as potential therapeutic targets.Some patients develop persistent eye pain after refractive surgery, but factors that cause or sustain pain are unknown. We tested whether tear proteins of patients with pain 3 months after surgery differ from those of patients without pain. Patients undergoing refractive surgery (laser in situ keratomileusis or photorefractive keratectomy ) were recruited from 2 clinics, and tears were collected 3 months after surgery. Participants rated their eye pain using a numerical rating scale (NRS, 0-10; no pain-worst pain) at baseline, 1 day, and 3 months after surgery. Using tandem mass tag proteomic analysis, we examined tears from patients with pain [NRS ≥ 3 at 3 months (n = 16)] and patients with no pain [NRS ≤ 1 at 3 months (n = 32)] after surgery. A subset of proteins (83 of 2748 detected, 3.0%) were associated with pain 3 months after surgery. High-dimensional statistical models showed that the magnitude of differential expression was not the only important factor in classifying tear samples from pain patients. Models utilizing 3 or 4 proteins had better classification performance than single proteins and represented differences in both directions (higher or lower in pain). Thus, patterns of protein differences may serve as biomarkers of postsurgical eye pain as well as potential therapeutic targets

“Musiche di tradizione orale delle comunità arberëshe di Basilicata”

Recensione seminario e concerto sulla tradizione musicale arbereshe tenutosi all'Università di Venezi