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Introduction & Background Linking social media and survey data at the individual level has the potential to add evidence to a variety of research questions. To make this data openly available to others, social media data need to be converted into useful metrics that minimise issues of disclosure while maximising utility. This research explores linkages of Twitter data and survey data in the Understanding Society Innovation panel, focusing on the usage of non-disclosive metrics created from Twitter data alongside the similarly anonymised survey data. Objectives & Approach The Innovation Panel asked for consent to link Twitter data to survey responses and data has been collected from the Twitter API. However, Twitter’s unstructured nature necessitates creating measures that can be used jointly with linked survey data. We have developed a framework to create social media metrics that can be combined with survey data that also remove any disclosive data, so these data can be widely shared for maximum utility. The current research analyses these data to understand what the metrics look like through presentation of descriptive statistics. We also begin to show these data may be used in combination with survey data through inclusion of a set of metrics in logistic regression models predicting attrition and measurement of mental health. Relevance to Digital Footprints Social media is a prevalent aspect of social life and leaves a substantial digital footprint. However, there are a number of limitations to these data, including a lack of understanding of who is producing the data, and having the ability to relate these to a variety of specific (and possibly higher quality) measures for a representative sample of the population. Linkage to surveys address these problems and can lead to new research opportunities using digital footprint data. Results While small sample sizes impact the power of some analyses, the methods developed are illustrative of ways to use this novel data source. Results show that there is high variation in the created metrics, and initial analysis shows that the inclusion of a set of user-level Twitter data is not significantly related to attrition. However, more accounts followed on Twitter and the number of user retweets are significantly related to higher levels of mental distress on the GHQ scale. Conclusions & Implications Overall, there is some evidence that social media helps to understand survey outcomes, perhaps more so on measurement outcomes. This study provides an initial start on how to use these curated linked social media and survey data, and we note there are other social media networks that we can apply this strategy to; for example, LinkedIn, particularly with changes made to Twitter (X).

Introduction & Background LinkedIn, with its extensive global network of over 900 million members across more than 200 countries, presents a unique repository for examining labour market dynamics, professional development, and the impact of social networking on employment opportunities. Despite its potential, LinkedIn's wealth of data on professional trajectories, skills, and labour market outcomes remains largely untapped in survey research due to challenges in data collection. Objectives & Approach This paper introduces a novel methodology for integrating LinkedIn data with survey responses using data from the fourteenth wave of the Innovation Panel (IP14) of Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), conducted in 2021. In IP14, we probed the extent of LinkedIn usage among the UK population and assessed users' willingness to link their LinkedIn profiles with their survey responses. Those consenting to link their accounts were asked for specific details — namely their first and last names, employer, and job title — to enable profile identification on LinkedIn. Faced with the unavailability of a unique platform identifier and the cessation of LinkedIn’s API, this information was crucial for matching profiles accurately. We crafted a framework using PhantomBuster for ethical data extraction and a probabilistic string-matching technique to ensure precise linkage between survey responses and LinkedIn profiles. PhantomBuster, a cloud-based tool, efficiently scrapes dynamic content using JavaScript in a headless browser environment, sidestepping IP-related restrictions while adhering to website terms of service. It streamlines the data collection process. Identified profiles were subjected to an iterative probabilistic string matching, using respondent-provided metadata alongside supplementary data, to maximize the accuracy of matching the profiles to our survey participants. Relevance to Digital Footprints The described method advances digital footprint research in data collection and linkage. It automates the retrieval of vast online data sets; compiles information efficiently in an organized format; saves time and labour by mechanizing monotonous tasks; circumvents platform-imposed IP restrictions; and imposes fewer barriers to entry as it requires less technical skill than other scraping tools like Selenium. Conclusions & Implications This approach not only facilitates the precise identification and collection of LinkedIn profile data but also sets a precedent for ethical considerations in web scraping practices. By documenting this methodology, we aim to equip researchers with a scalable and replicable tool for future studies, enriching the analysis of labour market outcomes and the interplay between formal education, informal training, and professional success through the integration of LinkedIn and survey data.

Introduction & Background Uses and gratification (U&G) theory posits individuals’ engagement with social media is a deliberate effort to fulfill various needs, like information seeking, entertainment, and networking. However, prior studies predominantly addressed whether individuals use social media to satisfy their needs, leaving a gap in understanding how individuals behave online to satisfy needs. This study fills this gap by merging survey responses with actual Twitter activity, to investigate how individuals behave online to satisfy distinctive motivations, including (a) self-expression, (b) seeking entertainment, (c) business and working, (d) staying informed with news, and (e) networking. We also investigated how these online behaviors vary among individuals with different demographic features, including socio-economic classes, gender, and age. Objectives & Approach Our research addressed questions by linking survey responses with actual Twitter activities within the U.K. Participants were asked to provide survey responses surrounding age, gender, socio-economic class, and motivations for using social media. They were also queried about the existence of Twitter account, willingness to disclose Twitter username, and, if agreeable, the username itself. The survey continued until a total of 2,195 individuals shared Twitter handles. Following the removal of accounts that were either suspended or nonexistent, the study proceeded with a final count of 1,915. We collected each user’s Twitter metadata with Twitter API, including tweet count, follower count, following count, and bio information, and linked each user’s metadata with survey responses. To ensure respondents’ anonymity, survey, Twitter and linked data are stored separately, and can only be accessed by designated researcher. Relevance to Digital Footprints The study's approach of linking survey responses with actual Twitter activity offers a detailed insight into the digital footprints left by users as they engage with social media to satisfy their diverse needs. By analyzing the behaviors associated with motivations, this research illuminates the specific ways individuals curate their digital presence. Results Regression analysis indicated that individuals motivated by self-expression tend to tweet (b = .28, SE = .06, p < .001), follow account (b = .38, SE = .06, p < .001), gain followers (b = .13, SE = .06, p = .035), and post bio details (b = .89, SE = .13, p < .001). Work and business motivation leads to post bio information (b = .38, SE = .15, p = .012), while networking leads to follow more accounts (b = .28, SE = .06, p < .001). Social-economic class moderated associations between networking motivation and tweet count (b = -.25, SE = .09, p = .004), and between self-expression and tweet count (b = .20, SE = .08, p = .009). For individuals with higher socio-economic, self-expression has a higher effect on tweet count, whereas networking motivation has a less effect on tweet count. Additionally, we found gender moderated the association between self-expression and tweet count (b = .25, SE = .12, p = .04) and between keeping updated with news and tweet count (b = .11, SE = .05, p = .03). Conclusions & Implications These findings offer a nuanced understanding of social media usage, highlighting how different motivations influence specific online behaviors. The novel approach of linking surveys with actual social media activity provides a more accurate representation of user behavior, contributing insights for academic and practical social media strategy and design.

We develop a multiscale coarse-grain model of the NIST Monoclonal Antibody Reference Material 8671 (NISTmAb) to enable systematic computational investigations of high-concentration physical instabilities such as phase separation, clustering, and aggregation. Our multiscale coarse-graining strategy captures atomic-resolution interactions with a computational approach that is orders of magnitude more efficient than atomistic models, assuming the biomolecule can be decomposed into one or more rigid bodies with known, fixed structures. This method reduces interactions between tens of thousands of atoms to a single anisotropic interaction site. The anisotropic interaction between unique pairs of rigid bodies is precomputed over a discrete set of relative orientations and stored, allowing interactions between arbitrarily oriented rigid bodies to be interpolated from the precomputed table during coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulations. We present this approach for lysozyme and lactoferrin as a single rigid body and for the NISTmAb as three rigid bodies bound by a flexible hinge with an implicit solvent model. This coarse-graining strategy predicts experimentally measured radius of gyration and second osmotic virial coefficient data, enabling routine Monte Carlo simulation of medically relevant concentrations of interacting proteins while retaining atomistic detail. All methodologies used in this work are available in the open-source software Free Energy and Advanced Sampling Simulation Toolkit., (© 2024 Author(s).)

The mRNA technology has emerged as a rapid modality to develop vaccines during pandemic situations with the potential to protect against endemic diseases. The success of mRNA in producing an antigen is dependent on the ability to deliver mRNA to the cells using a vehicle, which typically consists of a lipid nanoparticle (LNP). Self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) is a synthetic mRNA platform that, besides encoding for the antigen of interest, includes the replication machinery for mRNA amplification in the cells. Thus, SAM can generate many antigen encoding mRNA copies and prolong expression of the antigen with lower doses than those required for conventional mRNA. This work describes the morphology of LNPs containing encapsulated SAM (SAM LNPs), with SAM being three to four times larger than conventional mRNA. We show evidence that SAM changes its conformational structure when encapsulated in LNPs, becoming more compact than the free SAM form. A characteristic "bleb" structure is observed in SAM LNPs, which consists of a lipid-rich core and an aqueous RNA-rich core, both surrounded by a DSPC-rich lipid shell. We used SANS and SAXS data to confirm that the prevalent morphology of the LNP consists of two-core compartments where components are heterogeneously distributed between the two cores and the shell. A capped cylinder core-shell model with two interior compartments was built to capture the overall morphology of the LNP. These findings provide evidence that bleb two-compartment structures can be a representative morphology in SAM LNPs and highlight the need for additional studies that elucidate the role of spherical and bleb morphologies, their mechanisms of formation, and the parameters that lead to a particular morphology for a rational design of LNPs for mRNA delivery.