The effect of media reporting of a homicide committed by a patient with schizophrenia on the public stigma and knowledge of psychosis among the general population of Hong Kong.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of media reporting of a homicide committed by a patient with schizophrenia on the knowledge about and stigma regarding psychosis among the general Hong Kong population. The effects of using the term 'schizophrenia (jing-shen-fen-lei)' in the news on the perceptions of the new Chinese term 'psychosis (si-jue-shi-tiao)' were explored. METHODS: Random telephone surveys of the general Hong Kong population were conducted in April 2009 (1 month before the incident) and June 2009 (1 week after the incident). Stigma was measured with the Link's Perceived Discrimination-Devaluation Scale (LPDDS). Knowledge about the symptoms, treatment and belief of dangerousness of psychosis were assessed. The emotional reaction of the public to the news was explored, and its effects on knowledge and stigma were studied. RESULTS: Overall, 1016 and 506 participants completed the two surveys. More participants in the post-incident survey agreed that people with psychosis are dangerous to the public (χ2 = 4.934, p = 0.026). However, no significant differences were observed in the LPDDS scores. Participants who reported a high level of distress related to the news were more likely to perceive people with psychosis as dangerous to the public (χ2 = 6.738, p = 0.009). Women and older people reported greater distress. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that media reporting of violent incidents involving people with schizophrenia increases the public belief in the dangerousness of people with psychosis but not the overall stigma. Further studies of the differential effects of violence reporting on public perceptions about people with psychosis and schizophrenia are warranted.

Canine thyrotropin beta-subunit gene: cloning and expression in Escherichia coli, generation of monoclonal antibodies, and transient expression in the Chinese hamster ovary cells.

The gene encoding the mature beta subunit of canine thyroid stimulating hormone (cTSH beta) was cloned, sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coli and in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, and monoclonal antibodies against the recombinant cTSH beta purified from E. coli were generated. The gene fragment that encodes mature TSH beta was cloned from the canine genomic DNA by direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers that were designed based on the consensus sequences from other species. The resulting 891 basepairs (bp) of genomic DNA consisted of two coding exons of the canine TSH beta gene and an intron of 450 bp. The two exons, which encode the mature cTSH beta subunit, was joined together by an overlap PCR and was expressed in E. coli as 6xHis-tagged protein. The purified recombinant cTSH beta with a molecular weight of about 15 kDa was recognized by the polyclonal antibodies prepared against the native canine TSH in Western blot. Monoclonal antibodies were raised against the purified cTSH beta and subsequently characterized. For transient expression in CHO cells that are permanently transfected with the bovine common alpha gene, a 60-oligonucleotide signal peptide coding sequence was added to the 5' end of the cTSH beta gene before it was cloned into the mammalian expression vector pRSV and used to transfect CHO cells. The medium from these transfected cells, presumably containing the bovine alpha and canine TSH beta in heterodimeric confirmation, exhibited TSH bioactivity as indicated by the stimulation of cAMP production in the cultured FRTL-5 thyrocytes.