Twitter Sentiment About the US Federal Tobacco 21 Law: Mixed Methods Analysis.

BACKGROUND: On December 20, 2019, the US "Tobacco 21" law raised the minimum legal sales age of tobacco products to 21 years. Initial research suggests that misinformation about Tobacco 21 circulated via news sources on Twitter and that sentiment about the law was associated with particular types of tobacco products and included discussions about other age-related behaviors. However, underlying themes about this sentiment as well as temporal trends leading up to enactment of the law have not been explored. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine (1) sentiment (pro-, anti-, and neutral policy) about Tobacco 21 on Twitter and (2) volume patterns (number of tweets) of Twitter discussions leading up to the enactment of the federal law. METHODS: We collected tweets related to Tobacco 21 posted between September 4, 2019, and December 31, 2019. A 2% subsample of tweets (4628/231,447) was annotated by 2 experienced, trained coders for policy-related information and sentiment. To do this, a codebook was developed using an inductive procedure that outlined the operational definitions and examples for the human coders to annotate sentiment (pro-, anti-, and neutral policy). Following the annotation of the data, the researchers used a thematic analysis to determine emergent themes per sentiment category. The data were then annotated again to capture frequencies of emergent themes. Concurrently, we examined trends in the volume of Tobacco 21-related tweets (weekly rhythms and total number of tweets over the time data were collected) and analyzed the qualitative discussions occurring at those peak times. RESULTS: The most prevalent category of tweets related to Tobacco 21 was neutral policy (514/1113, 46.2%), followed by antipolicy (432/1113, 38.8%); 167 of 1113 (15%) were propolicy or supportive of the law. Key themes identified among neutral tweets were news reports and discussion of political figures, parties, or government involvement in general. Most discussions were generated from news sources and surfaced in the final days before enactment. Tweets opposing Tobacco 21 mentioned that the law was unfair to young audiences who were addicted to nicotine and were skeptical of the law's efficacy and importance. Methods used to evade the law were found to be represented in both neutral and antipolicy tweets. Propolicy tweets focused on the protection of youth and described the law as a sensible regulatory approach rather than a complete ban of all products or flavored products. Four spikes in daily volume were noted, 2 of which corresponded with political speeches and 2 with the preparation and passage of the legislation. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding themes of public sentiment-as well as when Twitter activity is most active-will help public health professionals to optimize health promotion activities to increase community readiness and respond to enforcement needs including education for retailers and the general public.

Reliability and Validity of the 30-15 Intermittent Field Test With and Without a Soccer Ball.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the 30-15 Intermittent Field Test (30-15IFT) with and without a ball. Methods: Twenty-four collegiate female soccer players (19.46 ± 1.22 years; 167.01 ± 7.23 cm; 60.95 ± 7.84 kg) performed 1 trial of the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery (YYIR) test, 3 trials of the 30-15IFT, and 3 trials of the 30-15IFT with a ball (30-15IFT-B), separated by a minimum 48 hours. Maximal intermittent running velocity (VIFT), heart rate at exhaustion (HRpeak), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were collected. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between trials demonstrated good reliability during the 30-15IFT in VIFT (ICC = 0.88) and HRpeak (ICC = 0.89), in addition to the 30-15IFT-B VIFT (ICC = 0.83) and HRpeak (ICC = 0.87). VIFT was significantly reduced in 30-15IFT-B (15.82 km h-1) compared to 30-15IFT (17.52 km h-1; p < .001), regardless of trial. HR and RPE were significantly greater in 30-15IFT compared to 30-15IFT-B (p < .05). Estimated maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) YYIR and estimated VO2max of 30-15IFT and 30-15IFT-B was very strongly (r = 0.82) and strongly (r = 0.68) correlated. Conclusion: The 30-15IFT is considered valid and reliable and the 30-15IFT-B was reliable in female soccer players.

Expression profiles of an inactive aspartic protease (Bla g 2 allergen) in different tissues and developmental stages of the German cockroach (Blattella germanica).

Tergal glands are found in many insect species and contain constituents such as pheromones, sugars, proteins, and so forth. Preliminary studies have revealed that tergal gland secretions in the German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.) contain the human allergen Bla g 2 (B. germanica allergen 2), an inactive aspartic protease. Although Bla g 2 protein expression has been detected previously in various German cockroach body parts, including male tergal glands, studies that link protein expression in various life stages and tissues with mRNA and protein abundance have not been conducted. Therefore, the goal of this study was to measure the relative abundances of Bla g 2 protein and mRNA in different tissues and life stages of B. germanica using immunoblotting, quantitative PCR, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based quantitative profiling. We found that Bla g 2 protein was detected in every sampled tissue, including the male tergal glands. Protein abundance was relatively high in adult males and their tergal glands in comparison to nymphs and virgin females. Similarly, Bla g 2 mRNA transcript levels were also comparatively higher in male tergal glands and adult males. In conclusion, this study provides new information on the relative abundance and distribution of Bla g 2 allergen, a medically significant protein, in different tissues and developmental stages of the German cockroach and lays the foundation for future studies that aim to determine the function of this protein in B. germanica development.

Analysis of a Statewide Early Intervention Program for Young Children with ASD.

We evaluated the effectiveness of a statewide Medicaid program providing in-home Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention services to young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder living in a rural southern state. Program effectiveness was assessed via the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised (ABLLS-R). A multi-level growth model was used to show significant variation among children's initial ABLLS-R scores and their growth trajectories. Hispanic children tended to have lower initial scores but demonstrated similar growth compared to their non-Hispanic peers. Children who were older at initial start in the program appeared to have higher initial composite scores and higher growth trajectories. Children in more populous counties had higher initial scores but grew at similar rates to children in more rural counties.

Explaining Variability in Response Style Traits: A Covariate-Adjusted IRTree.

Contamination of responses due to extreme and midpoint response style can confound the interpretation of scores, threatening the validity of inferences made from survey responses. This study incorporated person-level covariates in the multidimensional item response tree model to explain heterogeneity in response style. We include an empirical example and two simulation studies to support the use and interpretation of the model: parameter recovery using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation and performance of the model under conditions with and without response styles present. Item intercepts mean bias and root mean square error were small at all sample sizes. Item discrimination mean bias and root mean square error were also small but tended to be smaller when covariates were unrelated to, or had a weak relationship with, the latent traits. Item and regression parameters are estimated with sufficient accuracy when sample sizes are greater than approximately 1,000 and MCMC estimation with the Gibbs sampler is used. The empirical example uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health's sexual knowledge scale. Meaningful predictors associated with high levels of extreme response latent trait included being non-White, being male, and having high levels of parental support and relationships. Meaningful predictors associated with high levels of the midpoint response latent trait included having low levels of parental support and relationships. Item-level covariates indicate the response style pseudo-items were less easy to endorse for self-oriented items, whereas the trait of interest pseudo-items were easier to endorse for self-oriented items.