Finland’s wizards making food out of thin air

AFP
May 23, 2024

Lab-grown meat, eggs and milk have made headlines in recent years

 - Copyright AFP/File Alex Wroblewski

Anna KORKMAN

At a factory in Finland, the “farmers of the future” are making a new food protein by feeding a microbe air and electricity, proving that protein can be produced without traditional agriculture.

Livestock farming is one of the main culprits in greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of global warming.

Cellular agriculture, where food or nutrients are grown from cell cultures, is increasingly seen as a green alternative to animal agriculture.

Lab-grown meat, eggs and milk have made headlines in recent years, with scientists using animal cell cultures — a process some have criticised as unnatural, highly processed, energy-consuming and costly.

But at Solar Foods’ recently opened factory outside Helsinki, scientists are using new technology to grow protein out of cells using air and electricity.

By feeding a microbe with carbon dioxide, hydrogen and some minerals, and powering the process with electricity from renewable sources, the company has managed to create a protein-rich powder that can be used as a milk and egg substitute.

“We can source our main feedstock for the microbe from the air,” Solar Foods chief executive Pasi Vainikka told AFP, as he gave a tour of the company’s new facilities near Helsinki.

“We have started the production of the world’s most sustainable protein.”

Founded by Vainikka and Juha-Pekka Pitkanen in 2017, Solar Foods launched the “world’s first factory growing food out of thin air” in April.

“Much of the animal-like protein of today can actually be produced through cellular agriculture and we can let agricultural land re-wild and thereby build carbon stock,” Vainikka said, referring to the process whereby forests and soil absorb and store carbon.

One kilo of the new protein, dubbed “solein”, emits 130 times less greenhouse gases than the same amount of protein produced by beef production in the European Union, a 2021 scientific study claimed.

Vainikka navigates his way through the factory’s laboratory and into the control room, where a dozen people at computer screens monitor the production process.

“These are our future farmers,” Vainikka said.

– Part of the solution –

Transforming food production and consumption is at the heart of combating the climate crisis and preventing biodiversity loss, according to Emilia Nordlund, head of industrial biotechnology and food research at the VTT Technical Research Centre.

Yet current projections show the consumption of meat is expected to increase in coming years.

“Industrial food production, especially livestock production, is one of the biggest causes of greenhouse gas emissions (and) the biggest cause of biodiversity loss, eutrophication and freshwater usage,” she said.

New food production technologies can help cut emissions and “decentralise and diversify food production”, Nordlund said.

“However, at the same time, we must improve the existing food production methods to make them more sustainable and resilient,” she added.

Fermentation technology used to produce different nutrients, such as proteins, has been around for decades.

But the field has expanded significantly in recent years with new technological solutions and research projects emerging worldwide.

– Slow progess –

Some of the most active start-up hubs focusing on cellular agriculture are in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Israel, Nordlund said.

“We are in a crucial phase as we will see which start-ups will survive,” she said, adding that stalling bureaucracy was slowing cellular agriculture’s take-off in the EU.

Dressed in protective gear to prevent bacteria contamination in the factory, Vainikka showed off a giant steel tank in a shiny production hall.

“This is a fermenter holding 20,000 litres,” he said, explaining that the microbe multiplies inside the tank as it gets fed the greenhouse gas.

Liquid containing the microbes is continuously extracted from the tank to be processed into the yellowish protein-rich powder with a flavour described as “nutty” and “creamy”.

“The fermenter produces the same amount of protein per day as 300 milking cows or 50,000 laying hens,” Vainikka said.

That equals “five million meals’ worth of protein per year”.

For now, the main purpose of the small Finnish plant employing around 40 people is to “prove that the technology scales”, so it can attract the necessary investments pending European regulatory approval.

While the protein has been cleared for sale in Singapore where some restaurants have used it to make ice cream, it is still awaiting classification as a food product in the EU and the United States.

To have any real impact, the aim is to “build an industrial plant 100 times the size of this one”, Vainikka said.

\

WiFi, drones and sharp blades on Japan’s whaling mothership

END WHALING FOR WHALE SUSHI

AFP
May 23, 2024

A crew member shows a large knife for cutting up whales on Japan's new whaling mothership, the Kangei Maru - Copyright AFP Yuichi YAMAZAKI
Simon STURDEE, Harumi OZAWA

In whale-motif jacket, shirt and tie plus a whale-shaped hat, Hideki Tokoro shows off Japan’s new whaling “mothership”, the Kangei Maru — slicing blades, butchery deck, freezers and all.

“(Whales) eat up marine creatures that should feed other fish. They also compete against humans,” said Tokoro, the president of whaling firm Kyodo Senpaku, touting an industry argument long rejected by conservationists.

“So we need to cull some whales and keep the balance of the ecosystem… It’s our job, our mission, to protect the rich ocean for the future,” he added while speaking with reporters invited to tour the Kangei Maru after it had docked in Tokyo.

The 9,300-tonne vessel set off this week from western Japan, bigger, better and more modern than its recently retired predecessor, with individual cabins for crew members, WiFi and drones to spot its quarry.

The whales will be harpooned by a smaller vessel and then brought, dead, to the Kangei Maru where a powerful winch can haul carcasses weighing up to 70 tonnes up a ramp and onto a lower deck around 40 metres (130 feet) long.

Once inside workers will butcher the whales using 30-centimetre (foot-long) blades attached to wooden staffs, discarding around half the animals’ total weight as waste.

“Be careful, they are very sharp,” Tokoro said, as a crew member unwrapped one such steel blade to show off.

The rest of the whale is processed, packaged and stored in 40 freezer containers, each with a capacity of 15 tonnes, ready to be transported around Japan once the ship returns to port.


– ‘Scientific’ –


Activists aggressively pursued the Kangei Maru’s predecessor when prior to 2019 Japan hunted whales in the Antarctic and North Pacific for “scientific” purposes.

That year Japan quit the International Whaling Commission and nowadays conducts commercial whaling, but only in its own waters, and on what it calls a sustainable scale.

Japan has a quota this year of around 350 Bryde’s, minke and sei whales, species which the government says are “abundant”.

The Bryde’s and common minke are listed as being of “least concern” on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List, but globally the sei is “endangered”.

Japan also wants to resume hunting fin whales, the world’s second-biggest animal after the blue whale. Fin whales are listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN.

Tokyo argues that eating whale is part of Japanese culture and an issue of “food security” in the resource-poor country which imports large amounts of animal meat.

But consumption of whale has fallen to around 1,000 or 2,000 tonnes per year compared to around 200 times that in the 1960s.

“Japan has advanced bogus arguments about food security to justify its whaling for decades, even as its public has turned up its nose to whale meat,” said Patrick Ramage from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Conservationists have also long refuted Japan’s arguments that whales compete with humans for marine resources, saying that in fact the mammals improve the health of the ocean and therefore fish stocks.

Also they “have a unique role to play in global carbon dioxide capture and storage, acting like giant swimming tropical rainforests absorbing harmful CO2”, said Nicola Beynon from the Humane Society International Australia.

EU hits Oreo maker Mondelez with 337.5 mn euro antitrust fine

AFP
May 23, 2024

Aside from Oreo, Mondelez also owns Philadelphia cream cheese, Ritz crackers and Tuc salty biscuits - Copyright AFP Yuichi YAMAZAKI

The EU on Thursday slapped a 337.5 million euro ($366 million) fine on Mondelez, the US confectioner behind major brands including Toblerone and Oreo, for forcing consumers to pay more by restricting cross-border sales.

Mondelez, formerly called Kraft, is one of the world’s largest producers of chocolate, biscuits and coffee, with revenue of $36 billion last year.

The EU fined Mondelez “because they have been restricting the cross border trade of chocolate, biscuits and coffee products within the European Union,” the EU’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said.

“This harmed consumers, who ended up paying more for chocolate, biscuits and coffee,” she told reporters in Brussels.

“This case is about price of groceries. It’s a key concern to European citizens and even more obvious in times of very high inflation, where many are in a cost-of-living crisis,” she added.

The penalty is the EU’s ninth-largest antitrust fine and comes at a time when food costs are a major concern for European households.

Businesses have come under scrutiny for posting higher profits despite soaring inflation following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but that has since slowed down.

The free movement of goods is one of the key pillars of the EU’s single market.

Mondelez brands also include Philadelphia cream cheese, Ritz crackers and Tuc salty biscuits as well as chocolate brands Cadbury, Cote d’Or and Milka.

The EU’s probe dates back to January 2021 but the suspicions had led the bloc’s investigators to carry out raids in Mondelez offices across Europe in November 2019.

The European Commission, the EU’s powerful antitrust regulator, said Mondelez “abused its dominant position” in breach of the bloc’s rules by restricting sales to other EU countries with lower prices.

For example, the commission accused Mondelez of withdrawing chocolate bars in the Netherlands to prevent their resale in Belgium where they were sold at higher prices.


– ‘Isolated incidents’ –


The EU said Mondelez limited traders’ ability to resell products and ordered them to apply higher prices for exports compared to domestic sales between 2012 and 2019.

According to the commission, between 2015 and 2019, Mondelez also refused to supply a trader in Germany to avoid the resale of chocolate in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and Romania, “where prices were higher”.

Vestager said within the EU, prices for the same product can vary significantly, by 10 to 40 percent depending on the country.

The issue is of grave concern to EU leaders.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a weekend letter to European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, urged the EU to take on multinationals and railed against different costs for branded essential consumer goods across member states.

Vestager stressed the importance of traders’ ability to buy goods in other countries where they are cheaper.

“It increases competition, lowers prices and increases consumer choice,” she added.

Mondelez responded by saying the fine related to “historical, isolated incidents, most of which ceased or were remedied well in advance of the commission’s investigation”.

“Many of these incidents were related to business dealings with brokers, which are typically conducted via sporadic and often one-off sales and a limited number of small-scale distributors developing new business in EU markets in which Mondelez is not present or doesn’t market the respective product,” it added in a statement.

The giant last year put aside 300 million euros in anticipation of the fine.

“No further measures to finance the fine will be necessary,” it said.

With little to buy, Cubans abroad send home food, not money

END THE U$ EMBARGO

AFP
May 23, 2024

Maria Paez unpacks a box of food items sent from her children in Miami to Havana - Copyright AFP ROBERTO SCHMIDT
Rigoberto DIAZ, with Gerard MARTINEZ in Miami

Maria Paez feels relieved after receiving a package of food items including eggs, ham, and yogurt from her children in Miami — bought online and shipped to Havana.

These days, with a severe economic crisis and food shortages, Cubans abroad increasingly prefer to send care packages to family back home, rather than cash transfers.

“Receiving these types of products is a relief for us” and, “in terms of spending money, the savings are substantial,” Paez, a 59-year-old mathematics graduate told AFP.

“Receiving eggs is very important” because “it is a guaranteed breakfast,” added Paez, who has lived alone with her husband since their two children emigrated to the United States.

In total, she received 18 products, a lifeline in Cuba which is facing its worst economic crisis in three decades, with shortages of food, medicine and fuel.

After several years of double-digit inflation, a carton of 30 eggs now costs 3,300 pesos ($27,50) on the communist island, where the average salary is 4,800 pesos.

Cuba’s bleak economic circumstances have pushed some five percent of the population to flee in recent years.

Online stores offering the delivery of essential products to Cuba have flourished as demand rises.

Most are based in the United States — home to two million Cubans — but they have also cropped up in Mexico, Canada, and Spain.

Every day dozens of delivery vans and private vehicles can be seen on the streets of Cuba distributing packages of food items that are in short supply, or whose prices have skyrocketed since the government authorized private-owned stores in 2021.

– They ‘don’t want money’ –



At one such delivery service in the US city of Hialeah, near Miami, which has a large Cuban population, Luis Manuel Mendez, 59, told AFP he sends food, medicine and school supplies to the two children he left behind when he emigrated a year-and-a-half ago.

“Things in Cuba are very expensive,” so “it is much more feasible to buy it here and send it,” said Mendez.

His children “don’t want money, what they want is for me to send them basic necessities.”

Nearby, there is a constant stream of people carrying bags to another agency which coordinates the sending of food packages to Cuba.

Maribel Ruiz, 62, said she helps out an aunt and cousins back home.

“The problem is that you send the money, but there is nothing to buy in the stores there. You have to send them packages of medicine, food, clothes, everything.”

Cuba has been battling sky-high inflation and shortages since the pandemic — which hit tourism hard — plus a tightening of US sanctions in 2021, combined with structural weaknesses in the economy.

According to the Havana Consulting Group, based in Miami, remittances from the United States to Cuba reached a record $3.7 billion in 2019, becoming the country’s second source of income after the export of medical services, and above tourism.

Cuban economist Emilio Morales, who chairs the consultancy, said this figure has since dropped “from $2 billion in 2022 to $1,9 billion in 2023.”

Morales said emigrants also increasingly prefer “to invest large sums of money in getting their families” out of the country or pay online companies to send packages to their door.

French media progress against X in legal battle over payments

By AFP
May 23, 2024

X has argued the platform is not subject to the neighbouring rights law 

- Copyright AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

A Paris court ruled Thursday that X needed to provide French media with information about how much money it makes from publishing their content as part of a legal battle over rights payments.

A dozen media outlets including Le Monde, Le Figaro and AFP are seeking payment of so-called neighbouring rights. The EU created in 2019 the form of copyright that allows print media to demand compensation for using their content.

The ruling orders X to act within two months to provide the media organisations with data including the number of views of their information, the number of clicks on the content, as well as data about reader engagement such as retweets, likes and sharing.

X was required to inform the media about the revenue generated in France by X from this information, according to a copy of the ruling.

X was also ordered to describe how its algorithms lead it to publishing the media content.

The information, which must remain confidential, is necessary for a “transparent evaluation” of the amount the media consider due for publication of their content under neighbouring rights legislation, said the ruling.

The judge handed down the ruling under an accelerated procedure and the media outlets will need to return to court for a ruling forcing X to pay.

But AFP’s chief executive Fabrice Fries hailed the ruling as a “decisive step” in getting the new right honoured in practice as it recognises that X is subject to the law.

“The ruling confirms that X/Twitter is subject to neighbouring rights for the media and it forces the platform to provide information required by the law to determine the payments” due to media outlets, he wrote on X.

– France as a test case –

Last year the media outlets, which also include the Huffington Post and Les Echos-Le Parisien, filed a suit after X refused to negotiate. A hearing was held on March 4 after mediation efforts failed.

AFP’s lawyer Julien Guinot-Delery called the ruling unprecedented. “X’s obstruction can no longer continue.”

X’s lawyers declined to immediately comment on the ruling.

But during the March hearing X’s lawyer argued the platform is not subject to the neighbouring rights law, which resulted from an EU directive, as it is users that post content on the platform.

France has been a test case for the EU rules on neighbouring rights and after initial resistance Google and Facebook both agreed to pay some French media for articles shown in web searches.

Despite making payments to media Google was recently fined 250 million euros ($270 million) for not negotiating in good faith with news publishers and failing to respect some of the promises it had made

AI relies on mass surveillance, warns Signal boss


By AFP
May 23, 2024


Meredith Whittaker said concerns about surveillance and those about AI were 'two framings of the same thing'

 - Copyright AFP/File Mazen Mahdi

Daxia ROJAS

The AI tools that crunch numbers, generate text and videos and find patterns in data rely on mass surveillance and exercise concerning control over our lives, the boss of encrypted messaging app Signal told AFP on Thursday.

Pushing back against the unquestioning enthusiasm at VivaTech in Paris, Europe’s top startup conference where industry players vaunt the merits of their products, Meredith Whittaker said concerns about surveillance and those about AI were “two framings of the same thing”.

“The AI technologies we’re talking about today are reliant on mass surveillance,” she said.

“They require huge amounts of data that are the derivatives of this mass surveillance business model that grew out of the 90s in the US, and has become the economic engine of the tech industry.”

Whittaker, who spent years working for Google before helping to organise a staff walkout in 2018 over working conditions, established the AI Now Institute at New York University in 2017.

She now campaigns for privacy and rails against the business models built on the extraction of personal data.

And she is clear that she has no confidence that the AI industry is developing in the right direction.

– Power imbalances –

AI systems have a hunger for data to input but they produce vast amounts of data too.

Even if it is incorrect, she said, this output “has power to classify, order and direct our lives in ways that we should be equally concerned about”.

And she pointed to the power imbalances created by an industry controlled by “a handful of surveillance giants” that are “largely unaccountable”.

“Most of us are not the users of AI,” she said.

“Most of us are subjected to its use by our employers, by law enforcement, by governments, by whoever it is.

“They have their own goals but they may not be goals that benefit us or benefit society.”

She said a striking example was the way AI firms liked to say that they were helping to find solutions to the climate crisis.

In fact, she said, they were taking money from fossil fuel companies and their technology was being used to find new resources to extract.

“Because, of course, where is the revenue? It’s not in saving the climate,” she said.

“It is in massive contracts with BP, with Exxon, with other large oil and gas companies.”

Ultimately she argued that Europeans should not be thinking in terms of competing with bigger American AI firms.

Another option could be “to reimagine tech that can serve more democratic and more rights-preserving or pluralistic societies”.

OpenAI says AI is 'safe enough' as scandals raise concerns

Seattle (AFP) – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defended his company's AI technology as safe for widespread use, as concerns mount over potential risks and lack of proper safeguards for ChatGPT-style AI systems.

Issued on: 21/05/2024 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman insisted that OpenAI had put in 'a huge amount of work' to ensure the safety of its models © Jason Redmond / AFP

Altman's remarks came at a Microsoft event in Seattle, where he spoke to developers just as a new controversy erupted over an OpenAI AI voice that closely resembled that of the actress Scarlett Johansson.

The CEO, who rose to global prominence after OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, is also grappling with questions about the safety of the company's AI following the departure of the team responsible for mitigating long-term AI risks.

"My biggest piece of advice is this is a special time and take advantage of it," Altman told the audience of developers seeking to build new products using OpenAI's technology.

"This is not the time to delay what you're planning to do or wait for the next thing," he added.

OpenAI is a close partner of Microsoft and provides the foundational technology, primarily the GPT-4 large language model, for building AI tools.

Microsoft has jumped on the AI bandwagon, pushing out new products and urging users to embrace generative AI's capabilities.

"We kind of take for granted" that GPT-4, while "far from perfect...is generally considered robust enough and safe enough for a wide variety of uses," Altman said.

Altman insisted that OpenAI had put in "a huge amount of work" to ensure the safety of its models.

"When you take a medicine, you want to know what's going to be safe, and with our model, you want to know it's going to be robust to behave the way you want it to," he added.

However, questions about OpenAI's commitment to safety resurfaced last week when the company dissolved its "superalignment" group, a team dedicated to mitigating the long-term dangers of AI.

In announcing his departure, team co-leader Jan Leike criticized OpenAI for prioritizing "shiny new products" over safety in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter).

"Over the past few months, my team has been sailing against the wind," Leike said.

"These problems are quite hard to get right, and I am concerned we aren't on a trajectory to get there."

This controversy was swiftly followed by a public statement from Johansson, who expressed outrage over a voice used by OpenAI's ChatGPT that sounded similar to her voice in the 2013 film "Her."

The voice in question, called "Sky," was featured last week in the release of OpenAI's more human-like GPT-4o model.

In a short statement on Tuesday, Altman apologized to Johansson but insisted the voice was not based on hers.

© 2024 AFP

Massive landslide hits Papua New Guinea, many feared dead


By AFP
May 24, 2024

People gather at the site of a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea's Enga province on Friday - Copyright AFP STR

A massive landslide struck six villages in Papua New Guinea’s highlands Friday, local officials said, with many homes believed to be buried and scores of villagers feared dead.

The disaster hit a remote part of Enga province at around 3:00 am local time, when many villagers were at home asleep.

Provincial governor Peter Ipatas told AFP that “there has been a big landslide causing loss of life and property” amid unconfirmed reports that hundreds may be buried.

He later said that “more than six villages” had been hit, describing the scene as an “unprecedented natural disaster” that had caused “substantial damages”.

A rapid response team of medics, military, police and UN agencies have been dispatched to the area to assess the damage and help the wounded.

Images from the scene showed a vast bite of rock and soil cleaved from densely vegetated Mount Mungalo.

The slide left a wide scar of car-size boulders, felled trees and dirt that stretched down far toward the valley floor.

The remains of many corrugated tin shelters could be seen at the foot of rubble.

Dozens of local men and women scrambled over the piles of rock and soil, digging, crying out, listening for survivors or scanning the scene in disbelief.

– Houses buried –

Some became instant rescuers, donning wellington boots, strapping on head torches, picking up machetes and long-handled axes to help clear the rubble.

As they moved around, children carried on their mother’s backs could be heard crying.

“The landslide hit around three last night and it looks like more than 100 houses got buried,” Vincent Pyati, president of the local Community Development Association, told AFP.

“It is not yet known how many people were in those houses. The number of victims is unknown.”

Nickson Pakea, president of the nearby Porgera Chamber of Commerce and Industry said there are fears that up to 300 people may have been in the village at the time, a number that could not be confirmed.

Papua New Guinea’s National Disaster Management Office did not immediately give a toll.

Aid agencies including the Papua New Guinea Red Cross and CARE said they were on standby and working to find out more.

Red Cross PNG interim secretary general Janet Philemon told AFP the landslide location was remote and that it could take up to two days for emergency services or aid to reach the area.

The Red Cross estimates the number of injured or dead could be between 100 and 500. But Philemon said she was “trying to get a clearer picture of what the situation is.”

The agency was on standby to offer first aid, blankets and non-food items to those affected.

“There is no indication of an earthquake or anything that may have triggered (this event). It is a gold mining area and people may have been gold mining on that mountain,” she said.

Otherwise, the landslide may have been caused by heavy rain, Philemon suggested.

Sitting just south of the equator, the area gets frequent heavy rains.

This year has seen intense rainfall and flooding.

In March, at least 23 people were killed by a landslide in a nearby province.

The Australian government said it was “making enquiries with local authorities to determine whether any Australians have been affected.”

“The Australian Government offers its sympathies to those affected by landslides in Papua New Guinea.”

burs-lec-arb/djw/cwl

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

How stores use TikTok to sell 

e-cigarettes to children

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS USA

A new paper in Nicotine and Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press, shows that advertising and sales of vaping products is common on TikTok, the video sharing platform popular among teenagers. Users pushing these items often use hashtags like #puffbundles to disguise vaping products by including things like lip gloss and candy in the packages for sale.

Despite smoking rates reaching an all-time low in the United States, public health professionals are concerned about adolescent use of electronic cigarettes. In 2023 some 4.7 million (17%) middle school and high school students reported using e-cigarettes. Public health advocates are concerned that adolescents are at risk of becoming addicted to nicotine through these products and may transition to combustible cigarettes. Although several countries have raised the minimum legal sales age of e-cigarettes to 21, rates of youth and young adult e-cigarette use remain high worldwide, creating speculation about how young adults manage to purchase vaping products.

Social media may play a key component. In 2023 63% of people between 13 and 17 reported using TikTok, the popular is a short-form video hosting service. This study sought to examine TikTok content regarding the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes.

In September 2023 researchers here scraped 475 English language TikTok videos posted between July 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023 using a TikTok application programming interface. The investigators identified popular hashtags related to e-cigarettes, including #puffbarss, #geekbar, #elfbar. They then narrowed the hashtags to those specific to online sales of e-cigarettes (hashtags included #discreetshipping, #puffbundle, #hiddennic).

Overall, the researchers found that 50.4% of the videos studies advertised popular vaping brands and 45% included cannabis products. Some 28.6% of products advertised were described as “bundled,” 8.7% indicated that the products were “hidden,” and 6% specified international shipping was possible. Videos directed customers to other social media platforms—most often (57.5%) Instagram—to use services including Telegram to purchase electronic nicotine products.

The study indicated that vendors, either individuals or businesses, often evade local, state, or national legal restrictions on sales and advertising of vaping products to minors by creating what TikTok uses tag as #puffbundles or #vapebundles. These bundles often include other innocuous products (including candy, fake eyelashes, and lip gloss), so the packages do not appear to be vaping products at all. This explains young adults are purchasing e-cigarettes despite minimum legal sales age and flavor restriction laws.

Among videos posted about selling vaping products on TikTok, almost half (45.2%) advertised that they did not require age verification of the buyer. No video indicated customers needed to provide identification for purchase or acceptance of the mailed package of vaping products.

“Parents should be aware that children may be receiving e-cigarette products through the mail. These self-proclaimed small businesses are targeting youth by advertising that they don’t check for identification,” said the paper’s lead author, Page Dobbs. “If your child receives a bundle of candy or beauty products in the mail, check inside the packaging or inside the scrunchie with a zipper. Also, policymakers and enforcement agencies should be aware that these products are being shipped internationally, meaning people are circumventing tobacco laws in multiple countries.”

The paper, “#Discreetshipping: Selling E-cigarettes on TikTok,” is available (on May 23rd) at https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae081.

To request a copy of the study, please contact:
Daniel Luzer 
daniel.luzer@oup.com

---

JOURNAL

Nicotine & Tobacco Research

DOI

10.1093/ntr/ntae081 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Content analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Discreetshipping: Selling E-cigarettes on TikTok

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-May-2024

UK & EVERYWHERE ELSE

First ever survey of A&E triage nurses highlights problems with a lack of training, low staffing, high stress and overflowing departments

UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

Nurses who assess patients at emergency departments would like more training and say their decisions can be negatively impacted by the high pressures of their work. 

Researchers at the University of East Anglia conducted the first ever UK survey of triage nurses to discover the background, training and decision-making processes of this role in emergency departments. 

Lead author Hugh Gorick, a PhD researcher at UEA’s School of Health Sciences who also works as an assistant practitioner in an NHS hospital’s Acute Medical Unit, said: “More than 24 million patients present to emergency departments in the UK every year, resulting in a high-pressure situation with limited resources.  

“When the patients arrive, they will be triaged to assess how sick they are, to know how quickly they will need to receive treatment.  

“These assessments need to be rapid and accurate to prevent delays and harm from occurring. 

“Triage nurses told us that if they experience low staffing and busy environments this has a negative impact on their stress and their abilities to triage effectively. 

“The survey also showed there is a huge variation in the frequency and quality of training for this vital role.” 

The study recruited 51 participants from hospitals across the UK through posts on social media and online forums for nurses. 

The nurses who were assessing and prioritising patients turning up at A&E departments came from different backgrounds and ranged from very experienced to newly qualified. 

When they were tested on how they make decisions in these urgent situations, they generally scored well. 

But the study found that training for triage nurses varied greatly, and 53pc felt they wanted more training to be available. Meanwhile 43pc felt the quality and content of the training could also be improved. 

It also highlighted a lack of space to conduct assessments in emergency departments as impacting efficiency, as well as a lack of staff. 

Dr Marie McGee, of UEA’s School of Health Sciences, said: “This research highlights the need to ensure triage areas are properly staffed with enough space to see patients. 

“We would recommend legislation for safe nurse staffing and the development of a national standard for triage nurses with defined knowledge and skills that need to be achieved and set periods for refresher courses. 

“Managers also need to ensure the psychological welfare of nurses in emergency departments, with access to proper support systems.”   

The researchers previously carried out a systematic review which found that nurses around the world favour using clinical reasoning and intuition over triage algorithms to work out how sick a patient is before triaging for treatment. 

However, this latest survey showed that nurses in the UK rely more on their training and comprehensive assessments, rather than just their gut feeling when making these decisions. 

The researchers acknowledged that the number of triage nurses in the UK is not known, and as such it is difficult to assess the reach of this study.  

The data was also self-reported and future research could look to use more in-depth methods, such as interviews, as well as looking more closely at training. 

As a result, the team would like to hear from triage nurses about their experiences in UK emergency departments for the next stage of their research. 

This will involve an interview which will take approximately 60 minutes, using Microsoft Teams.  

To take part you must be a registered nurse working in the UK, whose role involves face-to-face triage.  

Nurses who work exclusively with paediatrics, mental health or maternity are not eligible for this study. For more information, or to take part, email emergency.triage@uea.ac.uk  

‘Understanding the decision-making practices used by registered nurses assessing acuity at triage in emergency departments in the UK: A national survey” is published in the journal Emergency Nurse. 

 

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JOURNAL

Emergency Nurse

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Understanding the decision-making practices used by registered nurses assessing acuity at triage in emergency departments in the UK: A national survey

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-May-2024

SEE 'DEI' ISN'T 'WOKE'

Sleep societies announce 2024 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Award recipient

Award recognizes the work of University of Arizona sleep researcher Michael Grandner

Grant and Award Announcement

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF SLEEP MEDICINE

DARIEN, IL – Clinical psychologist Michael A. Grandner is the recipient of the 2024 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Award from the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint initiative of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to sleep medicine or sleep and circadian science through their work to increase the diversity, equity and inclusion of sleep medicine providers, or to develop educational programs, research, or clinical work aimed at reducing disparities. The award presentation will occur Monday, June 3, during the plenary session of the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting of the APSS in Houston.

“Receiving this award is an incredible and humbling honor, and I hope to continue to live up to what it represents,” said Grandner, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology. “I have dedicated my career to not only studying how sleep health matters in terms of health and health disparities, but also doing what I can to recruit, encourage, support, and cultivate a broad diversity of voices to our field. Not only does it make us more inclusive, but it brings perspectives, questions and insights that make our science better.”

Grandner is director of the sleep and health research program at the University of Arizona and director of the behavioral sleep medicine clinic at the Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona. His work focuses on translational sleep research and behavioral sleep medicine, including studies of sleep as a domain of health behavior and the development and implementation of behavioral interventions for insufficient sleep and sleep disorders.

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About the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC
The APSS is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The APSS organizes the SLEEP annual meeting each June (sleepmeeting.org).

About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Established in 1975, the AASM advances sleep care and enhances sleep health to improve lives. The AASM has a combined membership of 12,000 accredited sleep centers and individuals, including physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who care for patients with sleep disorders. As the leader in the sleep field, the AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research (aasm.org).

About the Sleep Research Society
The SRS is a professional membership society that advances sleep and circadian science. The SRS provides forums for the exchange of information, establishes and maintains standards of reporting and classifies data in the field of sleep research, and collaborates with other organizations to foster scientific investigation on sleep and its disorders. The SRS also publishes the peer-reviewed, scientific journals Sleep and Sleep Advances (sleepresearchsociety.org).

 

"Nanokillers" against bacteria and other pathogens

An UPV team develops an intelligent nanodevice based on a component of cinnamon essential oil as an antimicrobial agent

UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNICA DE VALÈNCIA

 

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UPV TEAM

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CREDIT: UPV

A team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomaterials y Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) has developed an intelligent nano killer based on a component of cinnamon essential oil (cinnamaldehyde) for use as an antimicrobial agent.

So far, the new nanodevice has shown significant efficacy against pathogenic microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. It could be applied for the elimination of pathogens that may be present in food, wastewater and in the treatment of nosocomial infections, which are those acquired during hospital stays.

In the case of Escherichia coli, most strains are harmless, although some can cause severe abdominal cramping or acute diarrhea and vomiting. In the case of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, its effects can be skin infections, bloodstream infections, osteomyelitis, or pneumonia. Meanwhile, Candida albicans is a fungus found in different biological fluids, causing diseases such as candidemia or invasive candidiasis.

Easy application

According to the team of the IDM-CIBER NanoSens group, applying this " nanokiller " would be very simple. "For example, we could create a spray, make a formulation based on water and other compounds, and apply it directly. We could make a water-based formulation in the field and spray it directly, like any pesticide today. And in hospitals, it could be applied on bandages, and we could even try to make a capsule that could be taken orally," explains Andrea Bernardos, a researcher in the NanoSens group at the Inter-University Institute for Molecular Recognition Research and Technological Development (IDM).

High efficacy

The new nanodevice improves the efficacy of encapsulated cinnamaldehyde compared to the free compound: about 52-fold for Escherichia coli, about 60-fold for Staphylococcus aureus, and about 7-fold for Candida albicans.

"The increase in the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil component is possible thanks to the decrease in its volatility due to its encapsulation in a porous silica matrix and the increase in its local concentration when released due to the presence of the microorganisms," highlights Andrea Bernardos, a researcher at the Inter-University Research Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM).

It stands out for its high antimicrobial activity at very low doses, among its advantages. In addition, it enhances the antimicrobial properties of free cinnamaldehyde with a reduction of the biocidal dose of around 98% for bacterial strains (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and 72% for the yeast strain (Candida albicans) when the nanodevice is applied.

"Moreover, this type of device containing natural biocides (such as essential oil components) whose release is controlled by the presence of pathogens could also be applied in fields such as biomedicine, food technology, agriculture, and many others," concludes Ángela Morellá-Aucejo, also an IDM researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de València.

The results of this study have been published in the journal Biomaterials Advances.

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JOURNAL

Biomaterials Advances

DOI

10.1016/j.bioadv.2024.213840. 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Remarkable enhancement of cinnamaldehyde antimicrobial activity encapsulated in capped mesoporous nanoparticles: A new “nanokiller” approach in the era of antimicrobial resistance

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Mar-2024

 

A new study reveals key role of plant-bacteria communication for the assembly of a healthy plant microbiome supporting sustainable plant nutrition

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

 

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NITROGEN NUTRITION AND SIGNALING DURING ROOT NODULE SYMBIOSIS IMPACT THE COMMUNITY ASSEMBLIES. LOTUS PLANTS GROWN IN THE PRESENCE OF INORGANIC NITROGEN SECRETE SPECIFIC METABOLITES AND ASSEMBLE A MICROBIAL COMMUNITY WITH LOW CONNECTIVITY. LOTUS PLANTS GROWN IN SYMBIOSIS-PERMISSIVE CONDITIONS SECRETE METABOLITES SUCH AS FLAVONOIDS (1) THAT INDUCE NOD FACTOR PRODUCTION IN COMPATIBLE NITROGEN-FIXING RHIZOBIUMISOLATES (2). NOD FACTORS ARE RECOGNIZED BY THE LOTUS HOST WHICH INITIATES A SIGNALING PATHWAY (3) TO ACCOMMODATE THE SYMBIONT. SYMBIOTICALLY ACTIVE ROOTS HAVE AN EXUDATE PROFILE (4) AND ASSOCIATED MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES THAT DIFFER FROM PLANTS GROWN IN THE PRESENCE OF INORGANIC NITROGEN. IT REMAINS TO BE DETERMINED HOW BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH SYMBIOTICALLY ACTIVE PLANTS IMPACT THE HOST TO PROMOTE THE SYMBIOTIC ASSOCIATION AND PLANT GROWTH (5

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CREDIT: FROM KE TAO ET AL. 2024)

The results in Nature Communications find that symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing bacteria can ensure dominance among soil microbes due to its signalling-based communication with the legume plant host. Researchers discovered that when legumes need nitrogen, they will send out from the roots and into the soil specific molecules that are in turn recognized by the symbiotic bacteria to produce another molecule, the Nod factor which is recognized back by the legume plant. When this mutual recognition was established, the plant will modify the panel of root secreted molecules and by this will affect which soil bacteria can grow in the vicinity of their roots.

Plants like legumes have a special relationship with certain bacteria in the soil. These bacteria help the plants grow in soil that does not have much nitrogen by converting nitrogen from the air into a usable form. Depending on the nitrogen available in the soil, legume plants can be in different states: lacking nitrogen, in a partnership with the bacteria, or using nitrogen from inorganic sources like nitrate.

The symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria was shown before to affect the rest of microorganisms living around the plant roots. However, it is not always clear how this partnership affects other microbes, and whether it depends on how much nitrogen the plant has.

In the new study, the team found that the communities of bacteria around the roots and in the surrounding soil differ depending on and have predictive power of the plant's nitrogen status. Moreover, it was found that signalling exchange between legume and its symbiont plays a critical role in modulating the profile of root secreted molecules, influencing the assembly of a symbiotic root microbiome.

The results provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between nitrogen nutrition, Nod factor signaling, and root microbiome assembly. The findings emphasize the importance of symbiosis and nitrogen nutrition in shaping plant-bacteria interactions, offering potential applications in agriculture and sustainable plant growth.

This is a clear example of interdisciplinary research, where the expertise in chemistry from Associate Prof. Dr. Marianne Glasius to analyze root exudates, in mathematics from Prof. Dr. Rasmus Waagepetersen to develop predictive models, and plant genetics and microbiome from Prof. Dr. Simona Radutoiu enabled complex causational studies of root-associated bacterial communities. By integrating these diverse fields, the researchers were able to answer key questions about how nitrogen nutrition and symbiosis influence plant-bacteria interactions, providing valuable insights for sustainable agriculture.

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-47752-0 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Nitrogen and Nod factor signaling determine Lotus japonicus root exudate composition and bacterial assembly

 

Developing novel methods to detect antibiotics in vegetables and earthworms

The IBeA research group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) has managed to detect very low levels of antimicrobials in vegetables and earthworms

UNIVERSITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY

“The massive use of antibiotics and antimicrobials in people and animals has led to these substances appearing in unexpected environmental samples,” said Irantzu Vergara, researcher in the UPV/EHU’s IBeA group. Drugs that do not end up fully metabolised in the body reach the environment through various routes (such as manure, sewage sludge used as fertilisers, etc.), are leached into the soil and may end up transferring to crops or earthworms, which are at the base of the food chain. “Although no short-term toxicity has been demonstrated in humans, the unintended consumption of antibiotics in the diet can cause problems for allergic individuals; and the effects of long-term exposure remain unknown. However, the biggest problem associated with this contamination is the spread of multi-resistant bacteria; it is difficult to find an effective treatment in the event of infection, which is responsible for 33,000 deaths per year across Europe,” explained Vergara.

To address this problem, the IBeA research group has developed two analytical methods enabling very low concentrations of antimicrobials in vegetables and earthworms to be detected: “Although high drug concentrations can be expected in manure, much lower concentrations are expected after these substances have transferred to plants or earthworms, so sensitive methods are needed to detect them,” said Vergara.

The methods developed by Vergara in the UPV/EHU labs enable a wide range of antimicrobial drugs to be simultaneously determined, as well as various products deriving from their transformation. As the researcher explained, “the drugs can be excreted in their original form or transformed after being metabolised (after undergoing certain changes in the body). What is more, these are very sensitive compounds which, under conditions of temperature, humidity, light, etc., can be very easily degraded and transformed in the environment.”

The methods constitute a significant breakthrough, as “until now there have been no analytical methods to simultaneously study a wide range of antimicrobials in plants and earthworms, and they did not focus on the analysis of transformation products, either. Each family of antibiotics has different physicochemical properties, and it is very important that the same analytical method can be used to analyse all of them. We have also achieved pretty low detection limits, which allow us to detect very low concentrations of these substances in the environment.”

Samples of vegetables taken in different locations across the Basque Autonomous Community

In the case of vegetables, the research group took samples from different locations of the Basque Country, from both organic and non-organic agriculture. “We set out to measure the scale of the antibiotics problem in the Basque Autonomous Community. The analytical studies conducted revealed data on the existence of antimicrobial drugs and their derivatives in vegetables: we found that there is a transfer of both antimicrobials and degradation products between soil and vegetables. In other words, there is a problem of antimicrobial contamination in the Basque Country,” she added.

In the case of earthworms, however, they conducted an experiment under controlled conditions of exposure, in other words “this is a study designed and conducted in the laboratory using earthworms. We wanted to check whether, in the case of contaminated soil, the earthworms that feed on this soil are able to accumulate antimicrobials in their bodies. The study did in fact reveal an accumulation of these antimicrobials in the body, which generate a large variety of previously unreported transformation products.”

Vergara stressed the need to “continue multidisciplinary research along these lines, as this is a problem that is going to affect everyone over the coming decades”. Water treatment plants currently do not have fully effective treatments to remove residual drugs, and this water is often used for irrigation. “As there is such a large, constant input of antimicrobials into the environment, the bacteria are getting used to coexisting with them and generating resistance,” she explained. The researcher warned that “in fact, there are already cases in which there are no effective treatments for people who become infected with multi-resistant bacteria. It is important to drive forward research in order to minimise the problem or to start to look for solutions in the short to medium term”.

Additional information

This study is part of the PhD thesis being written up by Irantzu Vergara in the IBeA research group at the UPV/EHU under the supervision of Ailette Prieto and Maitane Olivares.

Bibliographic reference

• I. Vergara-Luis, C.F. Rutkoski, E. Urionabarrenetxea, E.A. Almeida, E. Anakabe, M. Olivares, M. Soto, A. Prieto
• Antimicrobials in Eisenia fetida earthworms: A comprehensive study from method development to the assessment of uptake and degradation
• Science of The Total Environment
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171214
• I. Vergara-Luis, M. Jin, J.C. Baez-Millán, B. González-Gaya, I. Ijurco, M. Lacuesta, M. Olivares, A. Prieto
• Multitarget and suspect-screening of antimicrobials in vegetables samples: Uptake experiments and identification of transformation products
• Food Chemistry
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138643

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JOURNAL

Food Chemistry

DOI

10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138643 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-May-2024