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This study builds on the Uses and Gratifications body of knowledge as applies to motivations surrounding television use, specifically the cult television program Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Through the distribution of online survey it was found that respondents who read and/or wrote fanfiction were more likely to engage in the variable of parasocail relationships. One hypothesis was disregarded due to the invalidity of the variable. Through two research questions it was found that the variable of affinity was indicative of a viewer's involvement with the show. The second research question found only two marginally significant variables, personal identity and realism, with regard to the number of years one had been a fan of the show. Age was found to be significant in all the variables and was accounted for. / Department of Journalism

Nearly everyone I know has a relationship with something in popular culture, whether it is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, amassing The Astonishing X-Men comics, or collecting every version of every Star Wars movie. Relationships and pop culture: couldn’t that make an autoethnography? This is a short version of my relationship with a band, Daniel Amos. I am not in Daniel Amos. I don’t know the members of the band (although I am Facebook friends with them now). I first heard them in 1982 serendipitously. Or maybe it was destiny. Either way, they opened my eyes to the wonders, doubts, and excesses of my life, critiqued my faith, and brought me joy. I feel like I know them, and they me. Thirty-one years after first hearing them, I realize our relationship is one of the longest I have had. We grew up and are growing older together.

Leucodepletion, the removal of leucocytes from blood products improves the safety of blood transfusion by reducing adverse events associated with the incidental non-therapeutic transfusion of leucocytes. Leucodepletion has been shown to have clinical benefit for immuno-suppressed patients who require transfusion. The selective leucodepletion of blood products by bed side filtration for these patients has been widely practiced. This study investigated the economic consequences in Queensland of moving from a policy of selective leucodepletion to one of universal leucodepletion, that is providing all transfused patients with blood products leucodepleted during the manufacturing process. Using an analytic decision model a cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted. An ICER of $16.3M per life year gained was derived. Sensitivity analysis found this result to be robust to uncertainty in the parameters used in the model. This result argues against moving to a policy of universal leucodepletion. However during the course of the study the policy decision for universal leucodepletion was made and implemented in Queensland in October 2008. This study has concluded that cost-effectiveness is not an influential factor in policy decisions regarding quality and safety initiatives in the Australian blood sector.

Trombocytopeni behandlas primärt med trombocyttransfusion. Trombocytkoncentraten kan erhållas genom poolning av lättcellskikt framställda ur helblodsenheter från flera blodgivare. Helblodsenheterna kyls vanligen ner på en CompoCool®-platta för att snabbt komma ner till rumstemperatur och kan då prepareras redan efter 2 h. Detta brukar vara logistiskt fördelaktigt och gynnar erytrocyterna som framställs ur samma helblodsenheter. Det går även att låta helblodsenheterna kylas ner i rumstemperatur vilket å andra sidan sägs ge ett högre trombocytutbyte då studier visat att trombocyter är känsliga för kyla. Syftet med examensarbetet var att framställa och jämföra kvaliteten på trombocytkoncentrat där helblodsenheten hade kylts ner på CompoCool®-platta respektive kylts ner i rumstemperatur. Hypotesen var att trombocytutbytet skulle bli högre vid nedkylning av helblodsenheten i rumstemperatur än vid nedkylning på CompoCool®-platta. Framställningen av trombocytkoncentraten gjordes genom poolning av 5 st lättcellskikt och en påse trombocytsuspensionsmedium efterföljt av centrifugering och separation i en automatisk blodkomponents separator. Kvalitén utvärderades med avseende på trombocytkoncentration, leukocytkoncentration, swirling samt bakterieodling. Samtliga resultat för kvalitetskontrollerna låg inom de rekommenderade gränsvärdena. Det beräknade t-testet för trombocytkoncentrationen var högre än det kritiska t-värdet vilket innebar att det var en signifikant skillnad mellan de olika nedkylningsmetoderna. Genom användning av de erhållna resultaten kunde hypotesen bekräftas och slutsatsen dras att trombocytutbytet är signifikant högre då helblodsenheten kyls ner i rumstemperatur jämfört med CompoCool®-platta.

It is widely accepted that gender is actively performed and a part of identity rather than biology, and that this is where gender differences in language stem from. Researchers have attempted to define what constitutes men and women’s language, and this paper uses some of these definitions to analyse the speech of the main character in the first season of the television show Buffy the vampire slayer. This research project investigates Buffy’s use of feminine language as well as whether her language changes when her performance is otherwise more masculine in the role of the slayer. This is done by comparing conversations between Buffy and her friends with conversations between Buffy and her enemies. The results show that Buffy uses some feminine linguistic features but that her speech is not distinctly feminine in general. Her language also does not change significantly when performing the role of the slayer.

Scholars are paying a great deal of attention to the complexity of the stories being created for print, film, television, and the Web. In this essay, we expand on the concept of polymediated narrative complexity in contemporary storyworlds to explore how external discourses influence their legacies and interpretations. Our exploration of the relationship between complex narratives and the discourses in which they participate focuses on one television genre and starts with one television program: Kolchak: The Night Stalker. We argue that Kolchak remains an important and ever-evolving discursive fragment within the supernatural drama genre.

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With the 2012 releases of The Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers, writer/director Joss Whedon moved beyond his cult status and into the mainstream. His cult television work, however, remains admired in both the popular imagination and in the academic world of popular culture studies. This year’s CSCA13 corresponds with the ten-year anniversary of the cancellation of Whedon’s first successful cult television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Whedon’s other work, including Firefly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog, Dollhouse, Angel, etc., are not only cult fan favorites, but favorites in popular culture academia. The participants on this panel will explore various aspects of Whedon and the Whedonverse, including: Whedon’s rhetorical framing regarding his transformation from cult director to mainstream phenom; his genre-bending frameworks across his various projects; his examination of gender roles; exploring and exploding Whedon’s use of mythology; and how Whedon’s characters manage to out-organize formal organizations.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The single cell gel electrophoresis assay (comet assay) is a useful tool for monitoring individuals who may be at risk of DNA damage and the ensuing process of carcinogenesis or other disease states. Leukocytes in blood samples provide a means of obtaining cells for use in the comet assay. However instances may arise when samples must be stored for later analysis. The present study investigated the effects of storage conditions on DNA damage in the form of strand breaks and oxidized bases in rat and human leukocytes using the comet assay. Whole blood and buffy coat samples were stored at room temperature or 4ºC for 1, 2, 24, and 48 hours or cryopreserved at -80ºC for 1 day and 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks. The results show that the time of storage is limited if the whole blood or buffy coat samples are stored at room temperature or 4ºC. However, if cryopreserved using glycerol or DMSO as the cryoprotectant, the samples may be stored for at least 4 weeks without DNA strand breaks or oxidative damage deviating significantly from the fresh samples.