Hot Topic Recognition of Health Rumors Based on Anti-Rumor Articles on the WeChat Official Account Platform: Topic Modeling.

BACKGROUND: Social networks have become one of the main channels for obtaining health information. However, they have also become a source of health-related misinformation, which seriously threatens the public's physical and mental health. Governance of health-related misinformation can be implemented through topic identification of rumors on social networks. However, little attention has been paid to studying the types and routes of dissemination of health rumors on the internet, especially rumors regarding health-related information in Chinese social media. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the types of health-related misinformation favored by WeChat public platform users and their prevalence trends and to analyze the modeling results of the text by using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model. METHODS: We used a web crawler tool to capture health rumor-dispelling articles on WeChat rumor-dispelling public accounts. We collected information from health-debunking articles posted between January 1, 2016, and August 31, 2022. Following word segmentation of the collected text, a document topic generation model called Latent Dirichlet Allocation was used to identify and generalize the most common topics. The proportion distribution of the themes was calculated, and the negative impact of various health rumors in different periods was analyzed. Additionally, the prevalence of health rumors was analyzed by the number of health rumors generated at each time point. RESULTS: We collected 9366 rumor-refuting articles from January 1, 2016, to August 31, 2022, from WeChat official accounts. Through topic modeling, we divided the health rumors into 8 topics, that is, rumors on prevention and treatment of infectious diseases (1284/9366, 13.71%), disease therapy and its effects (1037/9366, 11.07%), food safety (1243/9366, 13.27%), cancer and its causes (946/9366, 10.10%), regimen and disease (1540/9366, 16.44%), transmission (914/9366, 9.76%), healthy diet (1068/9366, 11.40%), and nutrition and health (1334/9366, 14.24%). Furthermore, we summarized the 8 topics under 4 themes, that is, public health, disease, diet and health, and spread of rumors. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that topic modeling can provide analysis and insights into health rumor governance. The rumor development trends showed that most rumors were on public health, disease, and diet and health problems. Governments still need to implement relevant and comprehensive rumor management strategies based on the rumors prevalent in their countries and formulate appropriate policies. Apart from regulating the content disseminated on social media platforms, the national quality of health education should also be improved. Governance of social networks should be clearly implemented, as these rapidly developed platforms come with privacy issues. Both disseminators and receivers of information should ensure a realistic attitude and disseminate health information correctly. In addition, we recommend that sentiment analysis-related studies be conducted to verify the impact of health rumor-related topics.

COVID-19 and Rumors: A Dynamic Nested Optimal Control Model.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 outbreak has been accompanied by the spread of rumors and depressing news. Herein, we develop a dynamic nested optimal control model of COVID-19 and its rumor outbreaks. The model aims to curb the epidemics by reducing the number of individuals infected with COVID-19 and reducing the number of rumor-spreaders while minimizing the cost associated with the control interventions. We use the modified approximation Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions with the Hamiltonian function to simplify the model before solving it using a genetic algorithm. The present model highlights three prevention measures that affect COVID-19 and its rumor outbreaks. One represents the interventions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The other two represent interventions to increase awareness, disseminate the correct information, and impose penalties on the spreaders of false rumors. The results emphasize the importance of interventions in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated rumor problems alike.

Knowledge of Human Monkeypox and Its Relation to Conspiracy Beliefs among Students in Jordanian Health Schools: Filling the Knowledge Gap on Emerging Zoonotic Viruses.

Background and Objective: The recent multi-country outbreak of human monkeypox (HMPX) in non-endemic regions poses an emerging public health concern. University students in health schools/faculties represent a core knowledgeable group that can be helpful to study from a public health point of view. As future healthcare workers, assessment of their knowledge and attitude towards emerging zoonotic viral infections can be helpful to assess their taught material and courses with potential improvement if gaps in knowledge were identified. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the level of HMPX knowledge, conspiracy beliefs regarding emerging virus infections, as well as their associated determinants among university students studying Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Sciences, and Rehabilitation in Jordanian health schools/faculties. In addition, we sought to evaluate the correlation between HMPX knowledge and the extent of holding conspiracy beliefs regarding emerging viral infection. Materials and Methods: A convenient sample of university students was obtained through an electronic survey distributed in late May 2022 using the chain-referral approach. Assessment of HMPX knowledge and general attitude towards emerging virus infections was based on survey items adopted from previously published literature. Results: The study sample comprised 615 students with a mean age of 20 years and a majority of females (432, 70.2%) and medical students (n = 351, 57.1%). Out of eleven monkeypox knowledge items, three were identified correctly by >70% of the respondents. Only 26.2% of the respondents (n = 161) knew that vaccination to prevent monkeypox is available. Age was significantly associated with better HMPX knowledge for a majority of items. Older age, females, and affiliation to non-medical schools/faculties were associated with harboring higher levels of conspiracy beliefs regarding emerging virus infections. Our data also indicate that lower levels of HMPX knowledge were associated with higher levels of conspiracy beliefs. Conclusion: The current study pointed to generally unsatisfactory levels of knowledge regarding the emerging HMPX among university students in Jordanian health schools/faculties. Conspiracy beliefs regarding emerging virus infections were widely prevalent, and its potential detrimental impact on health behavior should be evaluated in future studies.

An entropy-based method to control COVID-19 rumors in online social networks using opinion leaders.

- In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, people spread various COVID-19-related rumors and hoaxes that negatively influence human civilization through online social networks (OSN). The proposed research addresses the unique and innovative approach to controlling COVID-19 rumors through the power of opinion leaders (OLs) in OSN. The entire process is partitioned into two phases; the first phase describes the novel Reputation-based Opinion Leader Identification (ROLI) algorithm, including a unique voting method to identify the top-T OLs in the OSN. The second phase describes the technique to measure the aggregated polarity score of each posted tweet/post and compute each user's reputation. The empirical reputation is utilized to calculate the user's trust, the post's entropy, and its veracity. If the experimental entropy of the post is lower than the empirical threshold value, the post is likely to be categorized as a rumor. The proposed approach operated on Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit social networks for validation. The ROLI algorithm provides 91% accuracy, 93% precision, 95% recall, and 94% F1-score over other Social Network Analysis (SNA) measures to find OLs in OSN. Moreover, the proposed approach's rumor controlling effectiveness and efficiency is also estimated based on three standard metrics; affected degree, represser degree, and diffuser degree, and obtained 26%, 22%, and 23% improvement, respectively. The concluding outcomes illustrate that the influence of OLs is exceptionally significant in controlling COVID-19 rumors.

Trust in government buffers the negative effect of rumor exposure on people's emotions.

Although we are surrounded by various kinds of rumors during the coronavirus disease pandemic, little is known about their primary content, what effect they might have on our emotions, and the potential factors that may buffer their effect. Combining qualitative (study 1 extracted 1907 rumors from top rumor-refuting websites using the Python Web Crawler and conducted content analysis) and quantitative (study 2 conducted an online survey adopting a three-wave design, N = 444) research methods, the current study revealed that government-related rumors accounted for the largest proportion of rumors during the outbreak stage of the pandemic and were positively associated with the public's negative emotions. We also found that trust in government negatively moderated the relationship between government-related rumors and negative emotions. Specifically, when people had low trust in government, exposure to government-related rumors was positively associated with negative emotions. However, when people had high trust in government, the association was non-significant. For positive emotions, we found no significant effects of government-related rumors. The findings highlight the importance of rumor control during public emergencies and cultivating public trust in government in the long run. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03508-x.

COVID-19 Amid Rumors and Conspiracy Theories: The Interplay Between Local and Global Worlds.

Stories and narratives are part of our human sociocultural history, which are always preserved in what I call "societal memory." We construct stories to weave meanings that help us make sense of our lifeworlds. Like stories, rumors and conspiracy theories can offer deep meanings when analyzed in specific contexts. Such narratives become most prominent in times of looming uncertainties, anxieties, and fears. Thus, the challenging coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become surrounded by plentiful rumors and conspiracy theories. These narratives reveal geopolitics when they code the pandemic as "bioengineered." They also demonstrate local concerns, as in Pakistan, people started drinking "miraculous" tea as a form of prevention, shaving their heads, and/or praying to God to undo his "punishment." Some conceptualized the pandemic as an invented "plot." These narratives seem to empower individuals to make sense of this pandemic and to deal with its multidimensional effects: they allow them to feel confident enough to go outside and earn their livelihood. In this chapter, the author builds on his long-term ethnographic fieldwork on infectious diseases, recent telephone interviews, and content analysis of the media to discuss narratives revolving around COVID-19 in Pakistan. The author argues that these rumors and conspiracy theories are social phenomena pregnant with multiple meanings that deserve to be thoroughly explored, especially by anthropologists. A dearth of understanding about COVID-19 and narratives surrounding it would substantially impede the strategies to deal with this ongoing pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccination and the power of rumors: Why we must "Tune in".

Rumors have significantly affected immunization campaigns in the past. The ongoing COVID-19 vaccination program in India needs to frame public communication messages both to promote vaccine demand and update as well as counter COVID-related rumors. COVID-related rumors have had wide-ranging effects in the country, from stigmatization of health workers to a crash of prices in the poultry sector. Appropriate communication strategies are critical for tracking, negotiating, and shaping perceptions around the vaccines and the program. Issues that will shape perceptions around the vaccines include product development, prioritization strategies, program rollout activities, and adverse effects following immunization and adverse effects of special interest.

COVID-19 Misinformation Spread in Eight Countries: Exponential Growth Modeling Study.

BACKGROUND: The epidemic of misinformation about COVID-19 transmission, prevention, and treatment has been going on since the start of the pandemic. However, data on the exposure and impact of misinformation is not readily available. OBJECTIVE: We aim to characterize and compare the start, peak, and doubling time of COVID-19 misinformation topics across 8 countries using an exponential growth model usually employed to study infectious disease epidemics. METHODS: COVID-19 misinformation topics were selected from the World Health Organization Mythbusters website. Data representing exposure was obtained from the Google Trends application programming interface for 8 English-speaking countries. Exponential growth models were used in modeling trends for each country. RESULTS: Searches for "coronavirus AND 5G" started at different times but peaked in the same week for 6 countries. Searches for 5G also had the shortest doubling time across all misinformation topics, with the shortest time in Nigeria and South Africa (approximately 4-5 days). Searches for "coronavirus AND ginger" started at the same time (the week of January 19, 2020) for several countries, but peaks were incongruent, and searches did not always grow exponentially after the initial week. Searches for "coronavirus AND sun" had different start times across countries but peaked at the same time for multiple countries. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns in the start, peak, and doubling time for "coronavirus AND 5G" were different from the other misinformation topics and were mostly consistent across countries assessed, which might be attributable to a lack of public understanding of 5G technology. Understanding the spread of misinformation, similarities and differences across different contexts can help in the development of appropriate interventions for limiting its impact similar to how we address infectious disease epidemics. Furthermore, the rapid proliferation of misinformation that discourages adherence to public health interventions could be predictive of future increases in disease cases.

Changing Emotions About Fukushima Related to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station Accident-How Rumors Determined People's Attitudes: Social Media Sentiment Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Public interest in radiation rose after the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident was caused by an earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku on March 11, 2011. Various reports on the accident and radiation were spread by the mass media, and people displayed their emotional reactions, which were thought to be related to information about the Fukushima accident, on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites. Fears about radiation were spread as well, leading to harmful rumors about Fukushima and the refusal to test children for radiation. It is believed that identifying the process by which people emotionally responded to this information, and hence became gripped by an increased aversion to Fukushima, might be useful in risk communication when similar disasters and accidents occur in the future. There are few studies surveying how people feel about radiation in Fukushima and other regions in an unbiased form. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to identify how the feelings of local residents toward radiation changed according to Twitter. METHODS: We used approximately 19 million tweets in Japanese containing the words "radiation" (), "radioactivity" (), and "radioactive substances" () that were posted to Twitter over a 1-year period following the Fukushima nuclear accident. We used regional identifiers contained in tweets (ie, nouns, proper nouns, place names, postal codes, and telephone numbers) to categorize them according to their prefecture, and then analyzed the feelings toward those prefectures from the semantic orientation of the words contained in individual tweets (ie, positive impressions or negative impressions). RESULTS: Tweets about radiation increased soon after the earthquake and then decreased, and feelings about radiation trended positively. We determined that, on average, tweets associating Fukushima Prefecture with radiation show more positive feelings than those about other prefectures, but have trended negatively over time. We also found that as other tweets have trended positively, only bots and retweets about Fukushima Prefecture have trended negatively. CONCLUSIONS: The number of tweets about radiation has decreased overall, and feelings about radiation have trended positively. However, the fact that tweets about Fukushima Prefecture trended negatively, despite decreasing in percentage, suggests that negative feelings toward Fukushima Prefecture have become more extreme. We found that while the bots and retweets that were not about Fukushima Prefecture gradually trended toward positive feelings, the bots and retweets about Fukushima Prefecture trended toward negative feelings.

Spread mechanism and control strategy of social network rumors under the influence of COVID-19.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19), the disease has rapidly spread to the world, and the cumulative number of cases is now more than 2.3 million. We aim to study the spread mechanism of rumors on social network platform during the spread of COVID-19 and consider education as a control measure of the spread of rumors. Firstly, a novel epidemic-like model is established to characterize the spread of rumor, which depends on the nonautonomous partial differential equation. Furthermore, the registration time of network users is abstracted as 'age,' and the spreading principle of rumors is described from two dimensions of age and time. Specifically, the susceptible users are divided into higher-educators class and lower-educators class, in which the higher-educators class will be immune to rumors with a higher probability and the lower-educators class is more likely to accept and spread the rumors. Secondly, the existence and uniqueness of the solution is discussed and the stability of steady-state solution of the model is obtained. Additionally, an interesting conclusion is that the education level of the crowd is an essential factor affecting the final scale of the spread of rumors. Finally, some control strategies are presented to effectively restrain the rumor propagation, and numerical simulations are carried out to verify the main theoretical results.

The extent of people's response to rumors and false news in light of the crisis of the Corona virus.

BACKGROUND: With the spread of the Corona virus globally, the negative effects increased at all levels, especially the economic and social sectors. The situation was made worse by the spread of rumors and false information about what this virus is and ways to prevent it. OBJECTIVE: Test how people interact with different information circulating through social media and online platforms. METHODS: The DATA was taken from a survey conducted in 2020 on 1500 quarantined people between the ages 18-60 years old. A questionnaire was created containing most of the rumors and false information circulated, in addition to the correct information with a reliable source. The results were analyzed in the form of tables showing the proportions of supporters and opponents and expressed in numbers and percentages. RESULTS: A total of 2000 quarantined people participated in the study with the mean age (30.35 ± 9.9 years). Where the response rate is 100%. The analysis showed a large percentage of support for health protections against the Corona virus, and a large rejection of most of the fake information and rumors circulating across the Internet platforms, in addition to their solidarity within the principles of social responsibility. CONCLUSION: The extent of the spread of rumors and false information is decreasing based on the presence of governments and the competent authorities through their official platforms within the mechanism of fighting against the Corona virus, and also taking advantage of the current mistakes to be a shield in the future in dealing with such crises.

CONTEXTE: Avec la propagation du virus Corona à l'échelle mondiale, les effets négatifs ont augmenté à tous les niveaux, en particulier dans les secteurs économique et social. La situation a été aggravée par la propagation de rumeurs et de fausses informations sur ce qu'est ce virus et les moyens de le prévenir. OBJECTIF: Tester comment les gens interagissent avec différentes informations circulant sur les réseaux sociaux et les plateformes en ligne. MÉTHODES: Les données ont été extraites d'une enquête menée en 2020 auprès de 1500 personnes en quarantaine âgées de 18 à 60 ans. Un questionnaire a été créé contenant la plupart des rumeurs et fausses informations diffusées, en plus des informations correctes avec une source fiable. Les résultats ont été analysés sous forme de tableaux montrant les proportions de partisans et d'opposants et exprimés en nombre et en pourcentage. RÉSULTATS: Deux mille personnes en quarantaine (âge moyen (30,35 ± 9,9 ans) ont participé à l'étude avec un taux de réponse de 100 %. L'analyse a montré un large pourcentage de soutien aux protections de la santé contre le virus Corona et un large rejet de la plupart des fausses informations et rumeurs circulant sur les plateformes Internet. CONCLUSION: L'ampleur de la propagation des rumeurs et des fausses informations diminue en raison de l'action des gouvernements et des autorités compétentes à travers leurs plateformes officielles dans le cadre du mécanisme de lutte contre le virus Corona, et en prenant appui sur les erreurs actuelles pour faire face à ces crises à l'avenir.

Mediating and Moderating Roles of Trust in Government in Effective Risk Rumor Management: A Test Case of Radiation-Contaminated Seafood in South Korea.

This study has two aims: to identify effective strategies for managing false rumors about risks and to investigate the roles that basic and situational trust in government play in that process. Online experiment data were collected nationwide from 915 adults in South Korea. They were exposed to a false rumor about radiation-contaminated seafood and were randomly assigned to one of three rumor response conditions (refutation, denial, attack the attacker). One-way ANOVA indicated that the refutation response yielded the highest level of situational trust in government response (TGR). Results of moderated mediation models using the PROCESS Macro indicated the following. (1) The refutation response had a positive effect on TGR, and the attack response had a negative effect. (2) There were significant interaction effects between the attack response and preexisting basic trust in government (BTG) in that the attack response had a negative effect on TGR only when BTG was low. (3) TGR significantly mediated the relationship between each of the three rumor responses and two dependent variables (intentions for rumor dissemination and for unwarranted actions), but in dramatically different ways across the responses. This study provides evidence for the superior effectiveness of the refutation rumor response and identifies specific roles of trust in government in the risk rumor management process.

Policy folklists and evolutionary theory.

Policy folklists present a set of alleged historical facts seen as relevant to some social issue. Although the validity of these folklists is dubious, leaders and writers circulate them in the media, variants arise, and the lists continue on, sometimes for decades. Folklists are repeated because their messages are appealing and their users are credible. Because folklists are on the record, we can examine their origins and changes. This report draws an analogy with evolutionary theory and suggests that biological mechanisms of self-repair, boundary maintenance, plasticity, speciation, and predation have significant interpretations for folklists, and clarify how the lists win the credence of otherwise skeptical people.

From rumors to genetic isolates.

Here we propose a registration process for population genetic isolates, usually geographic clusters of genetic disorders, based on the systematic search of rumors, defined as any type of account regardless of its reliability. Systematically ascertained rumors are recorded, and validated through a progressive process of pre-established steps. This paper outlines the conceptual basis for this approach and presents the preliminary results from a rumor-based nationwide registry of genetically isolated populations, named CENISO (Censo Nacional de Isolados), operating in Brazil since 2009. During the first four years of its existence (2009-2013), a total of 191 Rumors were registered and validated, resulting in a prevalence rate of one per million inhabitants of Brazil. When the five statutory geographic regions of Brazil were considered, more Rumors were registered for the Northeast (2.11; 1.74-2.54 per 10(6)) than for the remaining four regions, North, Center-West, Southeast, and South, which did not differ among themselves. About half (86/191) of the recorded rumors were proven to be geographic clusters; of these disorders, 58 were autosomal recessive, 17 autosomal dominant, 5 X-linked, 3 multifactorial, and one environmental (thalidomide embryopathy).

Online rumors during the COVID-19 pandemic: co-evolution of themes and emotions.

Introduction: During public health emergencies, online rumors spread widely on social media, causing public information anxiety and emotional fluctuations. Analyzing the co-evolution patterns of online rumor themes and emotions is essential for implementing proactive and precise governance of online rumors during such events. Methods: Rumor texts from mainstream fact-checking platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic were collected and analyzed in phases based on the crisis lifecycle theory. The LDA topic model was applied to analyze the distribution of rumor themes at different stages. The Baidu AI Sentiment Analysis API was used to study the emotional tendencies of rumors at different stages. Line graphs were utilized to analyze the co-evolution characteristics of rumor themes and emotions. Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the themes of online rumors can be categorized into five types: epidemic prevention and control, panic-inducing, production and livelihood, virus dissemination, and social figures. These themes exhibited repetition and fluctuation at different stages of the pandemic. The emotions embedded in pandemic-related online rumors evolved with the progression of the pandemic. Panic-inducing rumors co-evolved with negative emotions, while epidemic prevention and control rumors co-evolved with positive emotions. Conclusion: The study results help to understand the public's focus and emotional tendencies at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby enabling targeted public opinion guidance and crisis management.

Linguistic indicators for predicting the veracity of online health rumors.

This study aims to examine the role of language in discerning the authenticity of online health rumors. To achieve this goal, it specifically focuses on analyzing five categories of linguistic indicators: (1) emotional language characterized by sentiment words, sensory words, and continuous punctuations, (2) exaggerated language defined by the presence of extreme numbers and extreme adverbs, (3) personalized language denoted by first-person pronouns, (4) unprofessional language represented by typographical errors, and (5) linkage language marked by inclusion of hyperlinks. To conduct the investigation, a dataset consisting of 1,500 information items was utilized. The dataset exhibited a distribution pattern wherein 20% of the information was verified to be true, while the remaining 80% was categorized as rumors. These items were sourced from two prominent rumor-clarification websites in China. A binomial logistic regression was used for data analysis to determine whether the language used in an online health rumor could predict its authenticity. The results of the analysis showed that the presence of sentiment words, continuous punctuation marks, extreme numbers and adverbs in an online health rumor could predict its authenticity. Personalized language, typographical errors, and hyperlinks were also found to be useful indicators for identifying health rumors using linguistic indicators. These results provide valuable insights for identifying health rumors using language-based features and could help individuals and organizations better understand the credibility of online health information.

Perceptions and Rumors About the Ebola Virus Disease Vaccine in the Ituri and Kivu Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Perceptions and rumors about vaccinations can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. This study aimed to examine perceptions and rumors about the Ebola vaccine during the 10th Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eight hundred randomly selected respondents were surveyed with a uniform structured questionnaire. Further, we collected qualitative data through focus group discussions and using in-depth interview guides. Results revealed several misperceptions and rumors about the vaccine, which led to some level of vaccine hesitancy and refusal among the people. The acceptance rate of the vaccine was 67.3% (below the 80% threshold needed to create herd immunity in the population). More of the urban population (31.3%) than the rural population (10.4%) accepted the vaccine. Refusals were largely due to fear that the vaccine could activate other diseases in the body and could even kill. Some feared that it was a conspiracy of the government to reduce the population in the study area through forced fertility control and death, among other such concerns. In conclusion, these rumors increased mistrust, which challenged the efforts of the government and its partners to safeguard the health of the people.

Antecedents and Consequences of Misinformation Sharing Behavior among Adults on Social Media during COVID-19.

Misinformation has been existed for centuries, though emerge as a severe concern in the age of social media, and particularly during COVID-19 global pandemic. As the pandemic approached, a massive influx of mixed quality data appeared on social media, which had adverse effects on society. This study highlights the possible factors contributing to the sharing and spreading misinformation through social media during the crisis. Preferred Reporting Items and Meta-Analysis guidelines were used for systematic review. Anxiety or risk perception associated with COVID-19 was one of the significant motivators for misinformation sharing, followed by entertainment, information seeking, sociability, social tie strength, self-promotion, trust in science, self-efficacy, and altruism. WhatsApp and Facebook were the most used platforms for spreading rumors and misinformation. The results indicated five significant factors associated with COVID-19 misinformation sharing on social media, including socio-demographic characteristics, financial considerations, political affiliation or interest, conspiracy ideation, and religious factors. Misinformation sharing could have profound consequences for individual and society and impeding the efforts of government and health institutions to manage the crisis. This SLR focuses solely on quantitative studies, hence, studies are overlooked from a qualitative standpoint. Furthermore, this study only looked at the predictors of misinformation sharing behavior during COVID-19. It did not look into the factors that could curb the sharing of misinformation on social media platforms as a whole. The study's findings will help the public, in general, to be cautious about sharing misinformation, and the health care workers, and institutions, in particular, for devising strategies and measures to reduce the flow of misinformation by releasing credible information through concerned official social media accounts. The findings will be valuable for health professionals and government agencies to devise strategies for handling misinformation during public health emergencies.

Potential effective diagnostic biomarker in patients with primary and metastatic small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors.

Background: Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) are the most common malignant tumors of the small intestine, with many patients presenting with metastases and their incidence increasing. We aimed to find effective diagnostic biomarkers for patients with primary and metastatic SI-NETs that could be applied for clinical diagnosis. Methods: We downloaded GSE65286 (training set) and GSE98894 (test set) from the GEO database and performed differential gene expression analysis to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DElncRNAs). The functions and pathways involved in these genes were further explored by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. In addition, a global regulatory network involving dysregulated genes in SI-NETs was constructed based on RNAInter and TRRUST v2 databases, and the diagnostic power of hub genes was identified by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Results: A total of 2,969 DEGs and DElncRNAs were obtained in the training set. Enrichment analysis revealed that biological processes (BPs) and KEGG pathways were mainly associated with cancer. Based on gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), we obtained five BPs (cytokinesis, iron ion homeostasis, mucopolysaccharide metabolic process, platelet degranulation and triglyceride metabolic process) and one KEGG pathway (ppar signaling pathway). In addition, the core set of dysregulated genes obtained included MYL9, ITGV8, FGF2, FZD7, and FLNC. The hub genes were upregulated in patients with primary SI-NETs compared to patients with metastatic SI-NETs, which is consistent with the training set. Significantly, the results of ROC analysis showed that the diagnostic power of the hub genes was strong in both the training and test sets. Conclusion: In summary, we constructed a global regulatory network in SI-NETs. In addition, we obtained the hub genes including MYL9, ITGV8, FGF2, FZD7, and FLNC, which may be useful for the diagnosis of patients with primary and metastatic SI-NETs.

Two Obstacles in Response Efforts to the Ebola Epidemic in the Provinces of North Kivu and Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Denial of and Rumors about the Disease.

Denial and rumors are two major obstacles impairing the implementation of activities in response to the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic. This study investigated the roles of denial and rumors, among other challenges, in complicating the response to the EVD outbreak in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A total of 800 randomly selected respondents were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. In-depth interviews were conducted with 17 community religious and opinion leaders, as well as Ebola survivors. Furthermore, 20 focus group discussions were conducted with adult and youth male and female participants, and health care workers. The results revealed that the existence of the disease is widely denied by many, including political leaders, village chiefs, neighborhood chiefs, street chiefs, avenue chiefs, and members of the general population. These individuals generally consider the EVD to be the result of a misbehavior or a curse; consequently, the general population, including community members, teachers, and even health care professionals, refuse to comply with the authorities' strategies to fight the epidemic. Rumors are another obstacle in response efforts. Rumors pertaining to the denial of the existence of the EVD, as well as the epidemic, Ebola treatment centers, hospitals, vaccines, and safe and dignified burials have been identified. Rumors about the EVD and the response, spread by clerics, traditional therapists, men, and women, including healthcare professionals in focus group discussions, portrayed the EVD as an invention, as if the virus had been created. The response to the EVD has been marked by these two constraints, which have often hindered the involvement of community members in the fight against the disease.