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Background and aims: A health warning label (HWL) cautioning about the link between alcohol and cancer may be able to communicate alcohol risks to consumers and potentially counter health‐oriented nutrition advertising on ready‐to‐drink alcoholic beverages. This study aimed to examine the independent and combined effects of nutrient content claims (e.g. 0 g sugar) and a HWL on perceived product characteristics and intentions to consume, and whether these effects differed by gender and age. Design: A between‐subjects randomized experiment. Participants were randomized to view one of six experimental label conditions: nutrient content claims plus nutrition declaration (NCC + ND), ND only, NCC + ND + HWL, ND + HWL, HWL only and no NCC, ND or HWL, all on a ready‐to‐drink (RTD) vodka‐based soda container. Setting and participants: Alcohol consumers (n = 5063; 52% women) in Canada aged 18–64 recruited through a national online panel. Measurements Participants completed ratings of perceived product characteristics, perceived product health risks, and intentions to try, buy, binge and drink the product. Findings Compared with the reference condition NCC + ND (current policy scenario in Canada), the other five experimental label conditions were associated with lower ratings for perceiving the product as healthy. All experimental conditions with a HWL were associated with lower product appeal, higher risk perceptions and reduced intentions to try, buy and binge. The experimental condition with a HWL only was associated with intentions to consume fewer cans in the next 7 days (β = −0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −1.37,−0.08) versus the reference. Few interactions were observed, suggesting that label effects on outcomes were similar by gender and age. Conclusions: Health warning labels on alcohol packaging appear to be associated with lower product appeal, higher perceived health risks and reduced consumption intentions, even in the presence of nutrient content claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging new applications demand the current Internet to provide new functionalities. Although many future Internet architectures and protocols have been proposed to fulfill such needs, ISPs have been reluctant to deploy many of these architectures. We believe technical issues are not the main reasons as many of these new proposals are technically sound. In this paper, we take an economic perspective and seek to answer: Why do most new Internet architectures fail to be deployed? How can the deployability of a new architecture be enhanced? We develop a game-theoretic model to characterize the outcome of an architecture’s deployment through the equilibrium of ISPs’ decisions. This model enables us to: (1) analyze several key factors of the deployability of a new architecture such as the number of critical ISPs and the change of routing path; (2) explain the deploying outcomes of some previously proposed architectures/protocols such as IPv6, DiffServ, CDN, etc., and shed light on the “Internet flattening phenomenon”; (3) predict the deployability of a new architecture such as NDN, and compare its deployability with competing architectures. Our study suggests that the difficulty to deploy a new Internet architecture comes from the “coordination” of distributed ISPs. Finally, we design a mechanism to enhance the deployability of new architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research explores how culture influences individuals' psychological proximity to the past and future, which may predict differences in perceived self‐continuity across time. In Studies 1 and 2, we hypothesized and found that Chinese participants saw the past and future as more connected and subjectively closer to the present compared to Euro‐Canadians. Following this, we expected and found in Studies 3 and 4 that Chinese participants perceived greater self‐continuity over time than Euro‐Canadians. Additionally, perceived closeness to the past mediated the effect of culture on past–present self‐continuity, which subsequently predicted present–future self‐continuity. Study 5 further documented a causal effect of perceived distance to the past on self‐continuity. These results suggest that cultural differences in temporal attention to the past and future play a pivotal role in people's sense of self‐continuity across time. This has important implications for temporal focalism, intertemporal discounting, and social interactions between Chinese and Euro‐Canadians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lyme disease (LD) is the most common vector-borne disease in Ontario, Canada. We describe the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of LD in Ontario and examine trends in the incidence of non-disseminated and disseminated LD. LD surveillance data from the integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) from 2005–2014 were mapped to symptoms according to syndrome groups (erythema migrans (EM), flu-like, cardiac, neurologic or arthritic) and disease stages (early localized, early disseminated or late disseminated). During the study period, 1,230 cases due to Borrelia burgdoferi were reported in Ontario with annual incidence rates ranging from 0.32 (2006) to 2.16 (2013) cases per 100,000 population. Seventy percent of cases had EM and the proportion of cases with EM increased over time. Other clinical manifestations included flu-like (75%), arthritic (42%), neurologic (41%) and cardiac (6%) symptoms. Early localized disease (n = 415) manifested with EM (87%) and flu-like (57%) symptoms; early disseminated disease (n = 216) manifested with neurologic (94%), cardiac (10%) and EM (63%) symptoms; and late disseminated disease (n = 475) manifested with EM (62%), neurologic (55%), cardiac (9%), and arthritic symptoms (i.e., arthralgia (93%) and arthritis (7%)). Early localized and early disseminated cases (88% each) occurred primarily from May through September, compared to late disseminated cases (81%). The proportion of cases reported to public health within 30 days of illness onset increased during the study period, while the proportion of cases reported within 1–3 months and >3 months decreased. Geographical variations characterized by higher incidence of early localized disease and earlier public health notification (within 30 days of illness onset) occurred in regions with established or recently established LD risk areas, while later public health notification (>3 months after illness onset) was reported more frequently in regions with recently established or no identified risk areas. This is the first study to describe the clinical manifestations of LD in Ontario, Canada. The observed geographical variations in the epidemiology of LD in Ontario reinforce the need for regionally focused public health strategies aimed at increasing awareness, promoting earlier recognition and reporting, and encouraging greater uptake of preventive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road traffic noise can adversely impact the health of city residents, particularly when it occurs at night. The objective of this study was to evaluate nighttime traffic ambient noise in Toronto, Canada using measured and model-estimated noise levels. Road traffic noise was measured at 767 locations over 3 seasonal sampling campaigns between June 2012 and October 2013 to fully capture noise variability in Toronto. Temporal and campaign-specific spatial models, developed using the noise measurements, were used to build a final predictive surface. The surface was capable of estimating noise across the city over a 24-hr time frame. Measured and surface-estimated noise levels were compared with guidelines from the World Health Organization and the Province of Ontario to identify areas where noise may pose a health risk. Measured mean nighttime noise in Toronto exceeded World Health Organization (40 dBA) guidelines and mean daytime noise exceeded provincial (55 dBA) guidelines. The final predictive surface, incorporating spatial variables and daily cycles in noise levels, provides noise estimates geocoded for the entire study area. This tool could be used for epidemiological studies and to inform noise mitigation efforts. Based on surface-estimated noise levels during the quietest time of night (2 a.m.-2:30 a.m.), 100% of Toronto has nighttime noise exceeding 40 dBA (mean = 57 dBA, range = 49-110 dBA). A predictive surface was developed to estimate geocoded noise levels and facilitate further study of noise in Toronto. This tool can be used to assess road traffic noise, particularly at night, as an environmental health hazard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identified ticks submitted by the public from 2008 through 2012 in Ontario, Canada, and tested blacklegged ticks Ixodes scapularis for Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Among the 18 species of ticks identified, I. scapularis, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes cookei and Amblyomma americanum represented 98.1% of the 14,369 ticks submitted. Rates of blacklegged tick submission per 100,000 population were highest in Ontario's Eastern region; D. variabilis in Central West and Eastern regions; I. cookei in Eastern and South West regions; and A. americanum had a scattered distribution. Rates of blacklegged tick submission per 100,000 population were highest from children (0–9 years old) and older adults (55–74 years old). In two health units in the Eastern region (i.e., Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District and Kingston-Frontenac and Lennox & Addington), the rate of submission for engorged and B. burgdorferi-positive blacklegged ticks was 47× higher than the rest of Ontario. Rate of spread for blacklegged ticks was relatively faster and across a larger geographic area along the northern shore of Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River, compared with slower spread from isolated populations along the northern shore of Lake Erie. The infection prevalence of B. burgdorferi in blacklegged ticks increased in Ontario over the study period from 8.4% in 2008 to 19.1% in 2012. The prevalence of B. burgdorferi-positive blacklegged ticks increased yearly during the surveillance period and, while increases were not uniform across all regions, increases were greatest in the Central West region, followed by Eastern and South West regions. The overall infection prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in blacklegged ticks was 0.3%. This study provides essential information on ticks of medical importance in Ontario, and identifies demographic and geographic areas for focused public education on the prevention of tick bites and tick-borne diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Maternal pertussis immunization has been routine in the UK since 2012. • Canada was slow to recommend maternal immunization, still only partially implemented. • The UK had large pertussis outbreaks in the 1980s, and Canada in the 1990s. • Infants may be protected if their mother experienced pertussis outbreaks as a child. • Canada may be a decade behind the UK, and a rise in infant pertussis may be imminent. The United Kingdom (UK) and Canada use the same acellular pertussis vaccine and both experienced large pertussis outbreaks in the past, occurring in the 1980s in the UK and 1990s in Canada, yet current epidemiology differs. A national outbreak with infant deaths occurred in the UK in 2012, yet outbreaks remain localized and death from pertussis rare in Canada. We explored whether past outbreaks in children may influence future risk when those children become parents. We conducted an ecological within-country birth cohort analysis in women of childbearing age of the relative risk of ever having pertussis infection by two points in time, 2002 and 2012, comparing with 1992 as the baseline. We used notified cases of pertussis in England and Wales and Canada to compare trends in relative risk. We projected forward to 2022 in Canada assuming incidence remained stable. In Canada, the cumulative risk of previous pertussis was similar in 2002 and 2012 and, in both periods, was higher than in 1992. In England and Wales, the cumulative risk of pertussis fell stepwise from 1992 to 2012. Projecting forwards, the pattern of risk in Canada becomes similar to England and Wales in 2022. Widespread pertussis outbreaks in children may reduce the risk of pertussis in infants when those children become parents. Further research is needed to determine the mechanism. As birth cohorts that experienced outbreaks grow past childbearing age, pertussis burden in infants in Canada may increase, following trends observed in England and Wales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper examines school and classroom effects on Daily Physical Activity (DPA) policy implementation in classrooms in Ontario, Canada. In 2005 the Ontario Ministry of Education mandated a policy requiring school boards to "ensure that all elementary students, including students with special needs, have a minimum of twenty minutes of sustained MVPA each school day during instructional time". Based on an adaptation of Chaudoir's conceptual framework, this paper contributes to understanding the extent to which school factors (as reported by administrators) and classroom factors (as reported by teachers) are associated with policy implementation fidelity at the classroom level.Methods: Cross-sectional online surveys were conducted in 2014 with elementary school administrators and teachers, based on representative random samples of schools and classrooms. A measure assessing implementation fidelity was developed from the six required components of the policy and for this paper fidelity at the classroom level is treated as the outcome variable. Several school- and classroom-level measures were also included in the surveys and a number of these were selected for inclusion here. Data from the two surveys were merged and selected variables were included in the multi-level analysis. Two-level logistic regression models were conducted to account for nesting of classrooms within schools and a series of models were conducted to identify factors associated with implementation fidelity.Results: The analytic sample for this study included 170 school administrators and 307 classroom teachers from corresponding schools. Findings from the multi-level logistic regression analyses indicated that only classroom/teacher-level factors were significantly associated with implementation fidelity at the classroom level. None of the school/administrator predictors were significantly related to fidelity. The most parsimonious model included five significant classroom/teacher predictors: teachers' perception of DPA as realistic and achievable; confidence (self-efficacy); scheduling DPA in timetables; lack of space; and lack of time.Conclusions: Findings from the study indicate the theoretical and practical importance of addressing classroom and teacher factors since they are most proximal to implementation fidelity to the policy. Several of these factors also reflect complex structural and organizational contexts, indicating that a systems approach to understanding and supporting DPA implementation fidelity is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encephalitis, a brain inflammation leading to severe illness and often death, is caused by >100 pathogens. To assess the incidence and trends of encephalitis in Ontario, Canada, we obtained data on 6,463 Ontario encephalitis hospitalizations from the hospital Discharge Abstract Database for April 2002-December 2013 and analyzed these data using multiple negative binomial regression. The estimated crude incidence of all-cause encephalitis in Ontario was ≈4.3 cases/100,000 persons/year. Incidence rates for infants <1 year of age and adults >65 years were 3.9 and 3.0 times that of adults 20-44 years of age, respectively. Incidence peaks during August-September in 2002 and 2012 resulted primarily from encephalitis of unknown cause and viral encephalitis. Encephalitis occurred more frequently in older age groups and less frequently in women in Ontario when compared to England, but despite differences in population, vector-borne diseases, climate, and geography, the epidemiology was overall remarkably similar in the two regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To quantify the influence of type 2 diabetes risk distribution on prevention benefit and apply a method to optimally identify population targets. Methods: We used data from the 2011 Canadian Community Health Survey (N=45,040) and the validated Diabetes Population Risk Tool to calculate 10-year diabetes risk. We calculated the Gini coefficient as a measure of risk dispersion. Intervention benefit was estimated using absolute risk reduction (ARR), number-needed-to-treat (NNT), and number of cases prevented. Results: There is a wide variation of diabetes risk in Canada (Gini=0.48) and with an inverse relation to risk (r=−0.99). Risk dispersion is lower among individuals meeting an empirically derived risk cut-off (Gini=0.18). Targeting prevention based on a risk cut-off (10-year risk≥16.5%) resulted in a greater number of cases prevented (340 thousand), higher ARR (7.7%) and lower NNT (13) compared to targeting individuals based on risk factor targets. Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence to demonstrate that risk variability is an important consideration for estimating the prevention benefit. Prioritizing target populations using an empirically derived cut-off based on a multivariate risk score will result in greater benefit and efficiency compared to risk factor targets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights • Immunization provides highly effective protection from pertussis. • Children are most protected from pertussis in the first few years after immunization. • Protection is sustained for the first decade after the last dose of vaccine, but subsequently falls rapidly. • Method of control selection affects estimates of vaccine effectiveness. Abstract Background Resurgences of pertussis have occurred in several high-income countries, often linked to waning of immunity from acellular pertussis vaccines. The degree of waning observed has varied by study design and setting. In Ontario, pertussis has not shown a substantial resurgence in the past decade. The routine immunization schedule comprises three priming doses in infancy, toddler and pre-school doses, and an adolescent dose at 14–16 years of age. Methods We estimated pertussis vaccine effectiveness (VE) through a case-control study of 1335 cases statutorily reported to public health in Ontario and occurring between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015, compared with 5340 randomly selected population controls, frequency-matched by age, primary-care provider and year of diagnosis. Pertussis cases met provincial confirmed or probable case definitions. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (aOR). Results VE against pertussis was sustained between 92% (95% confidence interval (95%CI) 88–95%) in 2–3 year olds and 90% (95%CI: 80–95%) in 8–9 year olds, but fell rapidly to 49% (95%CI: 2–73%) in children 12–13 years of age. VE following the teenage booster given at 14–16 years in Ontario reached 76% (95%CI: 52–88%) in 14–16 year olds and 78% (95%CI: −31 to 96%) in those 16–22 years old. For children who were up-to-date with the immunization schedule, VE declined from 87% (95%CI: 84–90%) during the first year to 74% (95%CI: 63–82%) after 8 or more years following their last dose of immunization. Conclusions VE is high during the first decade of life but then falls rapidly. Protection is not fully restored by the teenage booster. Our findings are consistent with the localized outbreaks we observe in high school children and underline the importance of additional policies to protect infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Estimate the impact of 20 % flat-rate and tiered sugary drink tax structures on the consumption of sugary drinks, sugar-sweetened beverages and 100 % juice by age, sex and socio-economic position., Design: We modelled the impact of price changes - for each tax structure - on the demand for sugary drinks by applying own- and cross-price elasticities to self-report sugary drink consumption measured using single-day 24-h dietary recalls from the cross-sectional, nationally representative 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition. For both 20 % flat-rate and tiered sugary drink tax scenarios, we used linear regression to estimate differences in mean energy intake and proportion of energy intake from sugary drinks by age, sex, education, food security and income., Setting: Canada., Participants: 19 742 respondents aged 2 and over., Results: In the 20 % flat-rate scenario, we estimated mean energy intake and proportion of daily energy intake from sugary drinks on a given day would be reduced by 29 kcal/d (95 % UI: 18, 41) and 1·3 % (95 % UI: 0·8, 1·8), respectively. Similarly, in the tiered tax scenario, additional small, but meaningful reductions were estimated in mean energy intake (40 kcal/d, 95 % UI: 24, 55) and proportion of daily energy intake (1·8 %, 95 % UI: 1·1, 2·5). Both tax structures reduced, but did not eliminate, inequities in mean energy intake from sugary drinks despite larger consumption reductions in children/adolescents, males and individuals with lower education, food security and income., Conclusions: Sugary drink taxation, including the additional benefit of taxing 100 % juice, could reduce overall and inequities in mean energy intake from sugary drinks in Canada.

The world can be represented by two layers of information: How it appears on the outside ( outward appearance ) and what it is on the inside ( inner state ). To what extent an outward appearance is assumed to reflect the inner state is fundamental to social inference and judgments. Conceptualizing inference in terms of the relationship between the outward appearance and the inner state generates an integrative interpretation for a wide range of phenomena. We showed that Chinese were more likely than Euro-Canadians to make inference of inner state that deviated from outward appearance, whereas Euro-Canadians were more likely than Chinese to infer a convergence between outward appearance and inner state (Studies 1-5). We observed these cross-cultural patterns in various contexts involving people or physical structures. Individual differences in correspondence bias or response bias did not explain these patterns. The lay belief that outward appearance can be misleading mediated the cultural effects (Study 4). To probe the underlying process, two additional experiments showed that highlighting the misleading nature of appearance, but not highlighting the power of the situation, reduced Americans' beliefs (Study 6) and inference (Study 7) that the outward appearance reflects the inner state. By focusing on the assumed relationship between the outward appearance and inner state, these findings provide a unique angle for understanding cross-cultural phenomena and have practical implications in daily life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Clinical Relevance: A wide range of supplements are available for age-related macular degeneration (AMD); however, clinicians may not be aware of which supplements contain an evidence-based formula., Background: Vitamin and antioxidant supplementation has been shown to be effective in slowing the progression of AMD. The Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS) group reported an evidence-based formula in the AREDS 2 trials. Commercially available products carry varying degrees of resemblance to this formula., Methods: A review of commercially available supplements in pharmacies and websites across Australasia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada was undertaken. Supplements containing all the ingredients of the AREDS 2 recipe were included. The dose, formulation, and cost of the supplements were reviewed., Results: Sixty-six products were reviewed. Forty-three products contained all the AREDS 2 ingredients and were therefore included for analysis. Twenty products contained all ingredients at 100% or more of the recommended dose, and 23 products contained some ingredients at a lower dose. The cost of the products varied from Australian dollar (AUD) $0.12 to AUD $6.72 per day. Seven (35%) products were available online only and 13 (65%) products were available both online and in pharmacies. Eight products were available in the United States pharmacies, five products were available in Canadian pharmacies, three products were available in the United Kingdom pharmacies, and one product was available in Australasian pharmacies., Conclusions: Commercially available AMD supplements vary widely in price and resemblance to the AREDS 2 formulation. Clinician awareness of this information is important when counselling patients on which supplement is most suitable. The categorisation of products in Table 1 may assist with patient counselling of vitamin supplementation for AMD.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe sugary drink (beverages with free sugars), sugar-sweetened beverage (beverages with added sugars, SSB) and 100% juice (beverages with natural sugars) consumption across socioeconomic position (SEP) among Canadians., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 19,742 respondents of single-day 24-h dietary recalls in the nationally representative 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition. Poisson regressions were used to estimate the prevalence of consuming each beverage type on a given day. Among consumers on a given day, linear regressions were used to estimate mean energy intake. Models included household education, food security and income quintiles as separate unadjusted exposures. Sex-specific models were estimated separately for children/adolescents (2-18 years) and adults (19 +)., Results: Among female children/adolescents, the prevalence of consuming sugary drinks and, separately, SSB ranged from 11 to 21 and 8 to 27 percentage-points higher among lower education compared to 'Bachelor degree or above' households. In female adults, the prevalence of consuming sugary drinks and, separately, SSB was 10 (95% CI: 1, 19) and 14 (95% CI: 2, 27) percentage-points higher in food insecure compared to secure households. In males, the prevalence of consuming 100% juice was 9 (95% CI: - 18, 0) percentage-points lower among food insecure compared to secure households. Social inequities in energy intake were observed in female adult consumers, among whom mean energy from sugary drinks was 27 kcal (95% CI: 3, 51) higher among food insecure compared to secure and 35 kcal (95% CI: 2, 67) higher from 100% juice among 'less than high school' education compared to 'Bachelor degree or above' households., Conclusion: Social inequities in sugary drink consumption exist in Canada. The associations differed by SEP indicator. Equitable interventions to reduce consumption are warranted., (© 2022. Crown.)

The performance of radon barrier materials currently available for housing foundations was evaluated using a unique radon infiltration building envelope test system that was designed to test radon prevention and mitigation systems using real world construction techniques. The reduction in radon concentration measured across the air barrier in the foundations has been used to evaluate five representative barrier materials installed in the radon infiltration building envelope test facility. The reduction in radon concentration in the mock house varied from 68% for 6 mil polyethylene to 98% for the spray polyurethane foam. The five representative barrier materials were selected after determining the radon diffusion coefficient and the corresponding radon resistance from samples of 14 barrier materials in a radon diffusion testing chamber. The Canadian experience evaluating whether radon barrier materials would satisfy building code requirements was described., (© [2021] Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.)

Background: Co-infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with respiratory viruses, bacteria and fungi have been reported to cause a wide range of illness., Objectives: We assess the prevalence of co-infection of SARS-CoV-2 with seasonal respiratory viruses, document the respiratory viruses detected among individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2, and describe characteristics of individuals with respiratory virus co-infection detected., Methods: Specimens included in this study were submitted as part of routine clinical testing to Public Health Ontario Laboratory from individuals requiring testing for SARS-CoV-2 and/or seasonal respiratory viruses., Results: Co-infection was detected in a smaller proportion (2.5%) of individuals with laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 than those with seasonal respiratory viruses (4.3%); this difference was not significant. Individuals with any respiratory virus co-infection were more likely to be younger than 65 years of age and male than those with single infection. Those with SARS-CoV-2 co-infection manifested mostly mild respiratory symptoms., Conclusions: Findings of this study may not support routine testing for seasonal respiratory viruses among all individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2, as they were rare during the study period nor associated with severe disease. However, testing for seasonal respiratory viruses should be performed in severely ill individuals, in which detection of other viruses may assist with patient management.

We examined cultural differences in people's lay theories of demeanor-how demeanor may be perceived as a straightforward and reliable reflection of reality (convergence theory) or as a deviating reflection of reality (divergence theory). Across different domains of competition, Euro-Canadians perceived greater competence in an opponent with a competent demeanor, whereas Chinese paradoxically perceived greater competence in an opponent with no signs of competence (Studies 1-4b). The results, unexplained by attributional styles (Study 1), likability (Study 3), or modesty (Study 3), suggest that Euro-Canadians endorse a stronger convergence theory than Chinese in their inferences of competence. Corroborated with qualitative data (Study 4a), such cultural differences were explained by the beliefs that demeanor can be a misleading reflection of reality, verified in college and community (Study 4b) samples. We discuss the implications for social perception, intergroup dynamics, and self-presentation in competitions.

Objectives: This study examined Twitter for public health surveillance during a mass gathering in Canada with two objectives: to explore the feasibility of acquiring, categorizing and using geolocated Twitter data and to compare Twitter data against other data sources used for Pan Parapan American Games (P/PAG) surveillance., Methods: Syndrome definitions were created using keyword categorization to extract posts from Twitter. Categories were developed iteratively for four relevant syndromes: respiratory, gastrointestinal, heat-related illness, and influenza-like illness (ILI). All data sources corresponded to the location of Toronto, Canada. Twitter data were acquired from a publicly available stream representing a 1% random sample of tweets from June 26 to September 10, 2015. Cross-correlation analyses of time series data were conducted between Twitter and comparator surveillance data sources: emergency department visits, telephone helpline calls, laboratory testing positivity rate, reportable disease data, and temperature., Results: The frequency of daily tweets that were classified into syndromes was low, with the highest mean number of daily tweets being for ILI and respiratory syndromes (22.0 and 21.6, respectively) and the lowest, for the heat syndrome (4.1). Cross-correlation analyses of Twitter data demonstrated significant correlations for heat syndrome with two data sources: telephone helpline calls (r = 0.4) and temperature data (r = 0.5)., Conclusion: Using simple syndromes based on keyword classification of geolocated tweets, we found a correlation between tweets and two routine data sources for heat alerts, the only public health event detected during P/PAG. Further research is needed to understand the role for Twitter in surveillance.

We investigated consequences of receiving thanks in close relationships across cultures. Chinese reported more negative feelings than Euro-Canadians after a close other said thanks to them. Likewise, Chinese participants predicted, more than Euro-Canadians did, that a close other would experience negative feelings after receiving thanks from them. No cultural difference was found when receiving thanks from an acquaintance. On the other hand, when not receiving thanks from close others after helping them, Euro-Canadians experienced more negative feelings than did Chinese. We showed that beliefs about saying thanks in close relationships accounted for cultural differences in emotions. Implications for intercultural communication, relationship maintenance, and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).)