Conspiracy in the Time of Corona: Automatic detection of Emerging Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories in Social Media and the News

Abstract Rumors and conspiracy theories thrive in environments of low confi- dence and low trust. Consequently, it is not surprising that ones related to the Covid-19 pandemic are proliferating given the lack of scientific consensus on the virus’s spread and containment, or on the long term social and economic ramifications of the pandemic. Among the stories currently circulating are ones suggesting that the 5G telecommunication network activates the virus, that the pandemic is a hoax perpetrated by a global cabal, that the virus is a bio-weapon released deliberately by the Chinese, or that Bill Gates is using it as cover to launch a broad vaccination program to facilitate a global surveillance regime. While some may be quick to dismiss these stories as having little impact on real-world behavior, recent events including the destruction of cell phone towers, racially fueled attacks against Asian Americans, demonstrations espousing resistance to public health orders, and wide-scale defiance of scientifically sound public mandates such as those to wear masks and practice social distancing, countermand such conclusions. Inspired by narrative theory, we crawl social media sites and news reports and, through the application of automated machine-learning methods, discover the underlying narrative frame- works supporting the generation of rumors and conspiracy theories. We show how the various narrative frameworks fueling these stories rely on the alignment of otherwise disparate domains of knowledge, and consider how they attach to the broader reporting on the pandemic. These alignments and attachments, which can be monitored in near real-time, may be useful for identifying areas in the news that are particularly vulnerable to reinterpretation by conspiracy theorists. Understanding the dynamics of storytelling on social media and the narrative frameworks that provide the generative basis for these stories may also be helpful for devising methods to disrupt their spread

An automated pipeline for the discovery of conspiracy and conspiracy theory narrative frameworks: Bridgegate, Pizzagate and storytelling on the web

Although a great deal of attention has been paid to how conspiracy theories circulate on social media and their factual counterpart conspiracies, there has been little computational work done on describing their narrative structures. We present an automated pipeline for the discovery and description of the generative narrative frameworks of conspiracy theories on social media, and actual conspiracies reported in the news media. We base this work on two separate repositories of posts and news articles describing the well-known conspiracy theory Pizzagate from 2016, and the New Jersey conspiracy Bridgegate from 2013. We formulate a graphical generative machine learning model where nodes represent actors/actants, and multi-edges and self-loops among nodes capture context-specific relationships. Posts and news items are viewed as samples of subgraphs of the hidden narrative network. The problem of reconstructing the underlying structure is posed as a latent model estimation problem. We automatically extract and aggregate the actants and their relationships from the posts and articles. We capture context specific actants and interactant relationships by developing a system of supernodes and subnodes. We use these to construct a network, which constitutes the underlying narrative framework. We show how the Pizzagate framework relies on the conspiracy theorists' interpretation of "hidden knowledge" to link otherwise unlinked domains of human interaction, and hypothesize that this multi-domain focus is an important feature of conspiracy theories. While Pizzagate relies on the alignment of multiple domains, Bridgegate remains firmly rooted in the single domain of New Jersey politics. We hypothesize that the narrative framework of a conspiracy theory might stabilize quickly in contrast to the narrative framework of an actual one, which may develop more slowly as revelations come to light.Comment: conspiracy theory, narrative structur

Restriction Spectrum Imaging Differentiates True Tumor Progression From Immune-Mediated Pseudoprogression: Case Report of a Patient With Glioblastoma.

Immunotherapy is increasingly used in the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM), with immune checkpoint therapy gaining in popularity given favorable outcomes achieved for other tumors. However, immune-mediated (IM)-pseudoprogression is common, remains poorly characterized, and renders conventional imaging of little utility when evaluating for treatment response. We present the case of a 64-year-old man with GBM who developed pathologically proven IM-pseudoprogression after initiation of a checkpoint inhibitor, and who subsequently developed true tumor progression at a distant location. Based on both qualitative and quantitative analysis, we demonstrate that an advanced diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) technique called restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) can differentiate IM-pseudoprogression from true progression even when conventional imaging, including standard DWI/apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), is not informative. These data complement existing literature supporting the ability of RSI to estimate tumor cellularity, which may help to resolve complex diagnostic challenges such as the identification of IM-pseudoprogression

Interplay of Staphylococcal and Host Proteases Promotes Skin Barrier Disruption in Netherton Syndrome.

Netherton syndrome (NS) is a monogenic skin disease resulting from loss of function of lymphoepithelial Kazal-type-related protease inhibitor (LEKTI-1). In this study we examine if bacteria residing on the skin are influenced by the loss of LEKTI-1 and if interaction between this human gene and resident bacteria contributes to skin disease. Shotgun sequencing of the skin microbiome demonstrates that lesional skin of NS subjects is dominated by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis). Isolates of either species from NS subjects are able to induce skin inflammation and barrier damage on mice. These microbes promote skin inflammation in the setting of LEKTI-1 deficiency due to excess proteolytic activity promoted by S. aureus phenol-soluble modulin α as well as increased bacterial proteases staphopain A and B from S. aureus or EcpA from S. epidermidis. These findings demonstrate the critical need for maintaining homeostasis of host and microbial proteases to prevent a human skin disease

Primary Localized Amyloidosis of the Ureter with Osseous Metaplasia Presenting as a Suspicious Ureteral Mass

Primary amyloidosis of the ureter is a rare disease that is difficult to distinguish from urothelial carcinoma. Only 50 cases of primary ureter amyloidosis have been reported since it was first described in 1937. Of these, only five cases of ureter amyloidosis with osseous metaplasia were reported. In this study, we report the clinical presentation of ureter primary amyloidosis that presented as a mass with osseous metaplasia. The aim of this study is to provide clinicians with knowledge about the clinical/radiologic manifestation that raise the suspicion of amyloidosis, bearing in mind the importance of differentiating it from other malignant processes

In Vitro Models for Glaucoma Research: Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure

PURPOSE. The response of cells (e.g., optic nerve head [ONH] cells) to mechanical stress is important in glaucoma. Studies have reported the biological effects of hydrostatic pressure on ONH cells cultured on a rigid substrate. An apparatus, designed to independently vary hydrostatic pressure and gas tension (including oxygen tension) in culture medium, was used to evaluate the effects of pressure and tension on cell migration, shape, and α-tubulin architecture in a transformed cell line (DITNC1 rat cortical astrocytes). METHODS. During the assay period, cells were exposed to one of four experimental configurations: (1) control pressure and control gas tension; (2) high-pressure (7.4 mm Hg) and reduced gas tension; (3) control pressure and reduced gas tension; and (4) high-pressure and control gas tension. RESULTS. Calculations suggested that the cells in configurations 2 and 3 were hypoxic, as confirmed by direct measurements in configuration 2. No effects of hydrostatic pressure were observed on cell migration or α-tubulin architecture. However, cells cultured under low gas tension (configurations 2 and 3) showed increased migration at 48 and 72 hours (P \u3c 0.05). CONCLUSIONS. A hydrostatic pressure of 7.4 mm Hg has no effect on DITNC1 astrocytes cultured on rigid coverslips, whereas hypoxia associated with a fluid column creating this pressure does. These results differ from those in a previous report, the results of which may be explained by altered gas tensions in the culture medium. Steps are recommended for control of secondary effects when testing the effect of pressure on cultured cells