ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES@#During the epidemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), the wide spread of rumors caused significant public hazards. This study aims to understand the situation of discrimination for typical COVID-19 rumors by the public and related factors.@*METHODS@#An anonymous online survey was carried out using Questionnaire Star. The contents included participants' gender, age, education level, the COVID-19 information sources, and the judgmental questions about 14 representative COVID-19 rumors. The discrimination rate and 95% confidence interval of 14 rumors were estimated, and the association of discrimination rate with gender, age, and education level was analyzed by binary logistic regression.@*RESULTS@#A total of 2 087 valid questionnaires were collected. The participants were mainly female (62.7%) and below 35 years old (63.4%); the education level was predominantly college/bachelor's degree (47.3%) and master's degree or above (39.1%); the participants, who accessed to COVID-19 information included internet media, accounted for 91%. The participants with different gender, age, and education level had significant differences in the distribution of COVID-19 information sources (all P<0.01). The participants' discrimination rate for 14 rumors ranged from 67.4% to 98.6%, with 4 rumors less than 80%. Women's discrimination rate of 9 rumors was significantly higher than men's (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the discrimination rate of rumors among the different age groups (all P>0.05), but the differences in the discrimination rate of other rumors among the different age groups varied according to the rumor. Compared to those with high school or less education levels, the discrimination rates were also higher in the respondents with high education levels (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#A few publics are still unable to identify typical rumors during the COVID-19 epidemic. There are associations among genders, age, and the education levels with the discrimination of some rumors. The government authorities should strengthen the true information regarding COVID-19, and therefore enhance the public's ability to identify rumors.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Male , Adult , COVID-19/epidemiology , Epidemics , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Resumo Em 2014, na Baixada Santista, ocorreu o linchamento de uma jovem de 33 anos, episódio deflagrado por meio do compartilhamento em redes sociais do boato da existência no bairro de Morrinhos, em Guarujá (SP), de uma suposta bruxa sequestradora de crianças que realizava "rituais de magia negra". Esse episódio ganhou importante atenção da imprensa nacional, sendo destacado - em parte relevante das reportagens - que a jovem espancada e morta era bastante conhecida na comunidade e fazia tratamento para uma doença psiquiátrica que desencadeava crises nas quais ela "perdia a noção de realidade". Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar uma análise do contexto sociocultural relacionado a esse acontecimento: o linchamento de uma mulher com transtorno mental. Foram utilizados os métodos e as técnicas de pesquisa tradicionais da antropologia; entre eles, observação etnográfica densa e entrevistas em profundidade com moradores de Morrinhos. A análise do material permitiu apontar que a violência é vivamente presente no local e está diretamente relacionada aos conflitos cotidianos e às disputas sociais existentes no bairro, destacando-se a violência contra o doente mental. A propagação de boatos é frequente nesse local e possui importante papel em manter certo equilíbrio nas relações sociais. Nesse contexto, pode-se considerar que a ocorrência do linchamento se configurou como um fato que, em grande medida, foi capaz de representar uma condensação desses elementos - os boatos, a estigmatização e a violência - e, assim, os expôs despidos em sua forma mais bruta.
Abstract In 2014, in Baixada Santista, a coast city of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, a young woman, aged 33, was lynched. The event received much attention due to the sharing on social networks of a rumor regarding a witch living in Morrinhos neighborhood, in the city of Guarujá, São Paulo, who kidnapped children and performed "black magic rituals". This episode has gathered important attention of the national press, and a substantial amount of the related news reports announced that the victim, who was spanked and killed, was notorious among the neighborhood's inhabitants and underwent treatment for a psychiatric illness that provoked crises in which she "lost control of reality". This study aims to analyze the sociocultural context related to this event: the lynching of a mentally ill woman. Traditional anthropology research methods were utilized, among them ethnographic observation and in-depth interviews with Morrinhos' inhabitants. The data analysis allowed us to point out that violence is vividly present there and is directly related to everyday conflicts and social disputes of all possible contexts in the neighborhood - especially those manifested through violence against the mentally ill. The spreading of those rumors is frequent in Morrinhos and has an important role in maintaining a certain balance in social relations. In this context, this lynching can be understood as a fact that, to a major extent, was able to represent a condensation of these elements - rumors, stigmatization and violence - and thus uncovered them in their rawest form.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Violence , Social Stigma , Social Networking , Mental Disorders , Anthropology, CulturalABSTRACT
Objective To observe the expression of TLR4 in hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2 after transient and stable HBV genome transfection. Methods Immunofluorescence flow cytometry was used to detect mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of TLR4 and TLR4 positive cell percentage in hepetocellular carcinoma cell lines HepG2 and HepG2. 2.15. Various doses of HBV DNA plasmid were transfected into HepG2 cells with lipefectamine 2000. Immunofluoroscenee flow cytometry was used to detect MFI of TLR4 and TLR4 positive ceil rate of infected HepG2 ceils. Trypan blue staining was used to examine the sum of living cells. Results MFI of TLR4 and TLR4 positive cell rate of HepG2.2.15 cells were significantly higher than those in HepG2 cells (both P' <0. Ol). MFI of TLR4 and TLR4 positive cell rate of HepG2 cells transfected by various doses of HBV DNA were significantly higher than those in control group (all P' < 0. 01). MFI of TLR4 and TLR4 positive cell rate of infected HepG2 cells were positively correlated with the doses of HBV DNA (both P' <0. 01) and negatively correlated with the sum of living cells (both P' <0. 01). Conclusions Enhanced expression of TLR4 appeared in HepG2 cells with both transient and stable HBV infection, along with reduction of living cells.