Study on the Learning Effectiveness of the Tobacco Control Window Design Course in Line with the Visual Marketing Standards of the World Skills Competition

Objectives: Almost all smokers started smoking cigarettes before the age of 18 then became addicted to tobacco. Therefore, tobacco prevention education must be carried out throughout high school and university. Shunde Polytechnic integrates tobacco control health education into the window design curriculum, which allows students to complete and display tobacco control window design works on campus to cause discussion, thus achieving the promotion of tobacco control publicity and education. Based on the competition standards of the Visual Merchandising project of World Skills Competition, the original teaching methods were reformed in this research and the nine standards of the competition were divided into four modules for teaching. The required knowledge, specific skill requirements, and workflow were well integrated into the teaching of smoke control window design tasks to foster students’ abilities to display innovative design, window production, installation and operation, and teamwork. And the teaching results were verified according to World Skills Competition scoring methods and standards. The results showed that with the import of the Visual Merchandising project competition standard of World Skills Competition into the original window design course, on the one hand, the effects of students’ works and their self-satisfaction with their works have shown a significant improvement. On the other hand, although this kind of teaching method does not relieve the students’ mental, physical, time, and frustration pressure, it has stimulated and cultivated students’ good professional qualities. However, this research focuses on the assessment of professional skills and professionalism. Therefore, future research will more focus on evaluating the effectiveness of window design courses under the new teaching model in preventing youngsters from smoking or encouraging students to quit smoking, popularizing correct knowledge about the health hazards of tobacco, and establishing positive life beliefs.

A data visualisation method for assessing exposure misclassification in case-crossover studies: the example of tricyclic antidepressants and the risk of hip fracture in older people

Background The case-crossover design is suited to medication safety studies but is vulnerable to exposure misclassification. Using the example of tricyclic antidepressants and the risk of hip fracture, we present a data visualisation tool for observing exposure misclassification in case-crossover studies. Methods A case-crossover study was conducted using Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs claims data. Beneficiaries aged over 65 years who were hospitalised for hip fracture between 2009 and 2012 were included. The case window was defined as 1–50 days pre fracture. Control window one and control window two were defined as 101–150 and 151–200 days pre fracture, respectively. Patients were stratified by whether exposure status changed when control window two was specified instead of control window one. To visualise potential misclassification, each subject’s tricyclic antidepressant dispensings were plotted over the 200 days pre fracture. Results The study population comprised 8828 patients with a median age of 88 years. Of these subjects, 348 contributed data to the analyses with either control window. The data visualisation suggested that 14% of subjects were potentially misclassified with control window one while 45% were misclassified with control window two. The odds ratio for the association between tricyclic antidepressants and hip fracture was 1.18 (95% confidence interval = 0.91–1.52) using control window one, whereas risk was significantly increased (odds ratio = 1.43, 95% confidence interval = 1.11–1.83) using control window two. Conclusions Exposure misclassification was less likely to be present with control window one than with an earlier control window, control window two. When specifying different control windows in a case-crossover study, data visualisation can help to assess the extent to which exposure misclassification may contribute to variable results.

Suicide-related Twitter Content in Response to a National Mental Health Awareness Campaign and the Association between the Campaign and Suicide Rates in Ontario

Objective: Mental health awareness (MHA) campaigns have been shown to be successful in improving mental health literacy, decreasing stigma, and generating public discussion. However, there is a dearth of evidence regarding the effects of these campaigns on behavioral outcomes such as suicides. Therefore, the objective of this article is to characterize the association between the event and suicide in Canada’s most populous province and the content of suicide-related tweets referencing a Canadian MHA campaign (Bell Let’s Talk Day [BLTD]). Methods: Suicide counts during the week of BTLD were compared to a control window (2011 to 2016) to test for associations between the BLTD event and suicide. Suicide tweets geolocated to Ontario, posted in 2016 with the BLTD hashtag were coded for specific putatively harmful and protective content. Results: There was no associated change in suicide counts. Tweets ( n = 3,763) mainly included content related to general comments about suicide death (68%) and suicide being a problem (42.8%) with little putatively helpful content such as stories of resilience (0.6%) and messages of hope (2.2%). Conclusions: In Ontario, this national mental health media campaign was associated with a high volume of suicide-related tweets but not necessarily including content expected to diminish suicide rates. Campaigns like BLTD should strongly consider greater attention to suicide-related messaging that promotes help-seeking and resilience. This may help to further decrease stigmatization, and potentially, reduce suicide rates.

The association between Twitter content and suicide

Objective: A growing body of research has established that specific elements of suicide-related news reporting can be associated with increased or decreased subsequent suicide rates. This has not been systematically investigated for social media. The aim of this study was to identify associations between specific social media content and suicide deaths. Methods: Suicide-related tweets ( n = 787) geolocated to Toronto, Canada and originating from the highest level influencers over a 1-year period (July 2015 to June 2016) were coded for general, putatively harmful and putatively protective content. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine whether tweet characteristics were associated with increases or decreases in suicide deaths in Toronto in the 7 days after posting, compared with a 7-day control window. Results: Elements independently associated with increased subsequent suicide counts were tweets about the suicide of a local newspaper reporter (OR = 5.27, 95% CI = [1.27, 21.99]), ‘other’ social causes of suicide (e.g. cultural, relational, legal problems; OR = 2.39, 95% CI = [1.17, 4.86]), advocacy efforts (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = [1.48, 3.70]) and suicide death (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = [1.07, 2.15]). Elements most strongly independently associated with decreased subsequent suicides were tweets about murder suicides (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = [0.002, 0.17]) and suicide in first responders (OR = 0.17, 95% CI = [0.05, 0.52]). Conclusions: These findings largely comport with the theory of suicide contagion and associations observed with traditional news media. They specifically suggest that tweets describing suicide deaths and/or sensationalized news stories may be harmful while those that present suicide as undesirable, tragic and/or preventable may be helpful. These results suggest that social media is both an important exposure and potential avenue for intervention.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome After High-Dose Influenza Vaccine Administration in the United States, 2018–2019 Season

Background The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) identified a statistical signal for an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in days 1–42 after 2018–2019 high-dose influenza vaccine (IIV3-HD) administration. We evaluated the signal using Medicare. Methods We conducted early- and end-of-season claims-based self-controlled risk interval analyses among Medicare beneficiaries ages ≥65 years, using days 8–21 and 1–42 postvaccination as risk windows and days 43–84 as control window. The VSD conducted chart-confirmed analyses. Results Among 7 453 690 IIV3-HD vaccinations, we did not detect a statistically significant increased GBS risk for either the 8- to 21-day (odds ratio [OR], 1.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99–3.44) or 1- to 42-day (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.78–2.18) risk windows. The findings from the end-of-season analyses were fully consistent with the early-season analyses for both the 8- to 21-day (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 0.92–2.91) and 1- to 42-day (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.70–1.79) risk windows. The VSD’s chart-confirmed analysis, involving 646 996 IIV3-HD vaccinations, with 1 case each in the risk and control windows, yielded a relative risk of 1.00 (95% CI, 0.06–15.99). Conclusions The Medicare analyses did not exclude an association between IIV3-HD and GBS, but it determined that, if such a risk existed, it was similar in magnitude to prior seasons. Chart-confirmed VSD results did not confirm an increased risk of GBS.

The Relationship Between Suicide-Related Twitter Events and Suicides in Ontario From 2015 to 2016

Background: Many studies have demonstrated suicide contagion through mainstream journalism; however, few have explored suicide-related social media events and their potential relationship to suicide deaths. Aims: To determine whether Twitter events were associated with changes in subsequent suicides. Methods: Suicide-related Twitter events that garnered at least 100 tweets originating in Ontario, Canada (July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016) were identified and characterized as putatively "harmful" or "innocuous" based on recommendations for responsible media reporting. The number of suicides in Ontario during the peak of each Twitter event and the subsequent 6 days ("exposure window") was compared with suicides occurring during a pre-event period of the same length ("control window"). Results: There were 17 suicide-related Twitter events during the period of study (12 putatively harmful and five putatively innocuous). The number of tweets per event ranged from 121 for "physician-assisted suicide law in Quebec" to 6,202 for the "Attawapiskat suicide crisis." No significant relationship was detected between Twitter events and actual suicides. Notably, a comprehensive examination of the details of Twitter events showed that even the putatively harmful events lacked many of the characteristics commonly associated with contagion. Limitations: This was an uncontrolled experiment in only one epoch and a single Canadian province. Discussion: This study found no evidence of suicide contagion associated with Twitter events. This finding must be interpreted with caution given the relatively innocuous content of suicide-related Tweets in Ontario during 2015–2016.

Assessing the Curative and Protective Impacts of Select Fungicides for Control of Powdery Mildew of Wheat

Powdery mildew, caused by the obligate fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis, has been increasing in incidence and severity on wheat in the Chesapeake Bay region of the mid-Atlantic United States. Although fungicides are used for in-season management of powdery mildew, no studies to date have assessed the ability of these products to control disease after pathogen arrival/infection (curative activity) and the duration of disease control provided after fungicide application (protective activity) under controlled conditions. Five commercially available fungicide products, including Caramba, Stratego YLD, Priaxor, Prosaro, and Trivapro, were applied at either 3 or 5 days after inoculation with B. graminis spores to assess curative activity. In a separate study, protective activity for these fungicides was assessed by applying fungicides and inoculating with B. graminis spores the same day and 21 and 42 days after fungicide application. All fungicides reduced powdery mildew severity on foliage compared with nontreated controls. Priaxor provided 11 to 18% less activity than other fungicides when applied curatively. All products provided protective control up to 42 days after inoculation, with Stratego YLD and Priaxor providing the greatest level of control at 68 and 56%, respectively. Our data indicate that different fungicides can have subtle differences in overall efficacy profiles that may translate to improved control or an extended control window in some situations, but all tested products provide very good to excellent control of powdery mildew on wheat.

Abstract P155: Acute Stress From Elections and Hospitalization for Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that stressors are associated with heightened cardiovascular risk within hours after the triggering event, and stress from election campaigns is associated with a heightened risk of pre-term birth. Hypothesis: Potential stress from the 2016 presidential election was associated with an increased hospitalization rate for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the following week. Methods: Among active members 18 years of age and older in Kaiser Permanente Southern California, AMI was defined as an inpatient hospitalization with a primary discharge diagnosis of ICD-10-CM codes I21.x or I22.x. In an ecological analysis, we calculated relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing rates of AMI per 100,000 person-years (PY) within one week following the date of the 2016 presidential election (risk window) to rates in the prior two weeks (control window) overall and within subgroups by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. We repeated the above analysis comparing rates of AMI within one week of the 2016 election date to rates in the prior week. Results: Compared to the rates of MI in the two weeks before the 2016 election (171.6 per 100,000 PY), the rate of AMI hospitalization in the week following election day (242.2 per 100,000 PY) was 1.41 times higher (95% CI 1.14, 1.75). (Table) Heightened AMI risk after the 2016 election was also observed among adults 55-74 years of age (RR 1.47, 95% CI 1.10, 1.98), men (RR 1.54, 95% CI 1.17, 2.02), and white individuals (RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.12, 2.06). However, there was no evidence of heterogeneity across age, sex, or race/ethnicity groups (p-values 0.98, 0.30, and 0.65, respectively). Using a one-week control window, similar results were observed. Conclusion: Increased AMI rates among subsets of the population coincident with the 2016 election is consistent with published data suggesting that acute sociopolitical stress may have adverse health effects.