'Farfarout'! Solar system's most distant planetoid confirmed

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA

Research News

 

IMAGE: SOLAR SYSTEM DISTANCES TO SCALE, SHOWING THE NEWLY DISCOVERED 2018 AG37, NICKNAMED "FARFAROUT, " COMPARED TO OTHER KNOWN SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS, INCLUDING THE PREVIOUS RECORD HOLDER 2018 VG18 "FAROUT ", ALSO FOUND... view more 

CREDIT: ROBERTO MOLAR CANDANOSA, SCOTT S. SHEPPARD (CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE) AND BROOKS BAYS (UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI?I)

A team, including an astronomer from the University of Hawai?i Institute for Astronomy (IfA), have confirmed a planetoid that is almost four times farther from the Sun than Pluto, making it the most distant object ever observed in our solar system. The planetoid, nicknamed "Farfarout," was first detected in 2018, and the team has now collected enough observations to pin down the orbit. The Minor Planet Center has now given it the official designation of 2018 AG37.

Farfarout's name distinguished it from the previous record holder "Farout," found by the same team of astronomers in 2018. The team includes UH Mānoa's David Tholen, Scott S. Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science, and Chad Trujillo of Northern Arizona University, who have an ongoing survey to map the outer solar system beyond Pluto.

Journey around the Sun

Farfarout's current distance from the Sun is 132 astronomical units (au); 1 au is the distance between the Earth and Sun. For comparison, Pluto is only 34 au from the Sun. The newly discovered object has a very elongated orbit that takes it out to 175 au at its most distant, and inside the orbit of Neptune, to around 27 au, when it is closest to the Sun.

Farfarout's journey around the Sun takes about a thousand years, crossing the giant planet Neptune's orbit every time. This means Farfarout has probably experienced strong gravitational interactions with Neptune over the age of the solar system, and is the reason why it has such a large and elongated orbit.

"A single orbit of Farfarout around the Sun takes a millennium," said Tholen. "Because of this long orbital period, it moves very slowly across the sky, requiring several years of observations to precisely determine its trajectory."

Discovered on Maunakea

Farfarout will be given an official name after its orbit is better determined over the next few years. It was discovered at the Subaru 8-meter telescope located atop Maunakea in Hawai?i, and recovered using the Gemini North and Magellan telescopes in the past few years to determine its orbit based on its slow motion across the sky.

Farfarout is very faint, and based on its brightness and distance from the Sun, the team estimates its size to be about 400 km across, putting it on the low end of being a dwarf planet, assuming it is an ice-rich object.

"The discovery of Farfarout shows our increasing ability to map the outer solar system and observe farther and farther towards the fringes of our solar system," said Sheppard. "Only with the advancements in the last few years of large digital cameras on very large telescopes has it been possible to efficiently discover very distant objects like Farfarout. Even though some of these distant objects are quite large, being dwarf planet in size, they are very faint because of their extreme distances from the Sun. Farfarout is just the tip of the iceberg of solar system objects in the very distant solar system."

Interacting with Neptune

Because Neptune strongly interacts with Farfarout, its orbit and movement cannot be used to determine if there is another unknown massive planet in the very distant solar system, since these interactions dominate Farfarout's orbital dynamics. Only those objects whose orbits stay in the very distant solar system, well beyond Neptune's gravitational influence, can be used to probe for signs of an unknown massive planet. These include Sedna and 2012 VP113, which, although they are currently closer to the Sun than Farfarout (at around 80 au), they never approach Neptune and thus would be most influenced by the possible Planet X instead.

"Farfarout's orbital dynamics can help us understand how Neptune formed and evolved, as Farfarout was likely thrown into the outer solar system by getting too close to Neptune in the distant past," said Trujillo. "Farfarout will likely interact with Neptune again since their orbits continue to intersect."

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 NERVE GAS, WAIT WHAT

'Handy pen' lights up when exposed to nerve gas or spoiled food vapors

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE HANDY PEN'S TIP CHANGES COLOR WHEN EXPOSED TO HARMFUL GASES. view more 

CREDIT: ADAPTED FROM ACS MATERIALS LETTERS 2021, DOI: 10.1021/ACSMATERIALSLETT.0C00516

Exposure to some odorless, colorless and tasteless gases, such as nerve agents, can be toxic or even lethal. And having the ability to detect other types of vapors could save people from eating spoiled or rotten food. Easy-to-use portable devices could, therefore, go a long way toward protecting the public. Now researchers reporting in ACS Materials Letters have created a pen-like sensor that changes color when exposed to harmful gases.

Humans can't detect many toxic vapors, such as poisonous nerve agents or volatile amines released from spoiled foods, so a sensor that can notice these gases' very minute concentrations would be useful. Fluorescence-based sensors are a potential solution because they are inexpensive and can reveal trace amounts of compounds. However, some fluorescing compounds clump together once they react with gases, reducing their intensity, and they can require complex fabrication processes. Yet other fluorophores produce more intense light when they are clumped together -- aggregation-induced emission fluorogens (AIEgens). Most of the current detection methods using AIEgens are liquid-based, requiring gases to be dissolved in solution before analysis, and are not easily portable. So, Zhe Jiao, Pengfei Zhang, Haitao Feng, Ben Zhong Tang and colleagues wanted to adapt AIEgens to be integrated into a needle-thin fiber, creating a handheld device whose tip "turns on" in the presence of a particular gas.

The researchers developed two AIEgen-based "handy pens," one for identifying the nerve agent diethyl chlorophosphite (DCP) and the other for amines produced by rotting food. First, they coated silicon dioxide polymer fibers with a thin sol-gel layer to immobilize AIEgens. Next, they added an AIEgen that changes color when it reacts with DCP on one set of fibers, and an AIEgen that reacts with amines on another set. The coated fibers were then placed at the end of a pen-like device with a UV light source inside. The DCP sensor's tip changed from a yellow fluorescence to blue within 30 minutes of exposure to DCP. The amine sensor's tip was initially a mild blue-gray color, but it generated a vibrant yellow-colored light within five minutes when it was exposed to volatile amine vapors. Both sensors reverted to the original hue when exposed to neutralizing vapors, demonstrating that they were reversible. Finally, the team used the amine-responsive handy pen to distinguish between a salmon sample that had been refrigerated and one that had been left at room temperature for 48 hours. The researchers say that other handy pens could be easily developed by using different vapor-sensitive AIEgens, which could be applied to food safety, environmental monitoring or public safety applications.

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The authors acknowledge funding from Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province of China, Educational Commission of Guangdong Province of China, the Social Science and Technology Development Project of Dongguan, Guangdong International Cooperation Project, the Science and Technology Plan of Shenzhen, the UNSW-CAS Collaborative Research Seed Fund Program and the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology Innovation Program for Excellent Young Researchers.

The abstract that accompanies this paper is available here.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder® and STN®), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.  

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Creating more sustainable fragrances with biotech

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

In the face of a changing climate and crop diseases, manufacturers of products containing natural flavors and fragrances are pivoting to a new way to source ingredients. Companies have been partnering with biotechnology firms to manufacture scents and flavors using fermented microbes, which experts say are more sustainable. A new story in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, details how the industry is brewing up new fragrances.

Although the availability of natural fragrances and flavors like citrus and vanilla is dwindling, the demand for them has increased, writes Senior Business Editor Melody Bomgardner. In recent years, flavor and fragrance companies have been working with the biotech industry to shore up supply chains and avoid issues like seasonality and poor harvests, without having to use synthetic compounds. Fermentation-derived ingredients can be listed as natural in the U.S. and Europe, which appeals greatly to consumers. Biotech firms and major chemical companies are stepping up their production of fermented products while also making the process more efficient and less expensive.

To be commercially viable, engineered microbes need to make a flavor or scent molecule at a much higher concentration than what's found in plants. Once microbial engineers figure out which plant genes they need to get microbes to produce a new flavor or scent molecule, it's relatively easy to make variants of that structure, they say. For example, γ-decalactone, which smells like peaches, is just one of 20 fruity and buttery molecules that can be made from a lactone process. These new fragrance molecules can be used in products such as hard seltzers, laundry detergents and fine perfumes. Another advantage of fermented molecules is consistency of flavor and smell, which is hard to achieve with naturally derived ingredients. With sustainability being a must-have for consumers and manufacturers alike, experts are hopeful that this is a versatile, cost-effective solution.

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The paper, "Why the flavor and fragrance industry is embracing biotechnology," is freely available here.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder® and STN®), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.  

Texas A&M researchers discover energy drinks' harmful effects on heart

Popular energy drinks may give you a boost, but they may also contribute to possible serious heart conditions, findings show

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

A team of researchers, led by a Texas A&M University professor, has found that some energy drinks have adverse effects on the muscle cells of the heart.

The study, led by Dr. Ivan Rusyn, a professor in the Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS) Department at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS), was published in Food and Chemical Toxicology. In it, researchers observed cardiomyocytes - human heart cells grown in a laboratory - exposed to some energy drinks showed an increased beat rate and other factors affecting cardiac function.

When placed in the context of the human body, consumption of these beverages has been linked to improper beating of the heart, cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle which makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood), increased blood pressure, and other heart conditions.

With the global sales of energy drinks estimated at $53 billion in 2018 and rapidly growing, it is important to understand the potential unintended health consequences associated with these beverages, according to Rusyn.

"Because the consumption of these beverages is not regulated and they are widely accessible over the counter to all age groups, the potential for adverse health effects of these products is a subject of concern and needed research," Rusyn said. "Indeed, the consumption of energy drinks has been associated with a wide range of adverse health effects in humans, many of them are concerning the effects on the heart."

Researchers evaluated 17 widely available over-the-counter brands. They then treated cardiomyocytes with each drink.

Researchers also studied the composition of the energy drinks using novel methods. By comparing the effects and differing ingredient concentrations in each drink, they were able to infer which ingredients may be contributing more to adverse effects on the treated cardiomyocytes. Using mathematical models, researchers determined that the possible presence of theophylline, adenine and azelate, substances which can have negative effects on the heart.

"Little is known about the ingredients that may contribute to the adverse effects of energy drinks on the heart," Rusyn said. "Specifically, the evidence for cardiovascular effects from studies in humans remains inconclusive, as the controlled clinical trials were largely limited in the number of participants. They were tested only a limited number of energy drink types, and are difficult to compare directly, because they employed different methods to evaluate the function of the cardiovascular system."

Further research is warranted on the ingredients identified in this study to ensure the safety of their consumption, especially by consumers with pre-existing health conditions.

"This study shows that some of the tested energy drinks may have effects on human cardiomyocytes, and these data corroborate other studies in humans," Rusyn said. "Therefore, we hope that the consumers will carefully weigh the performance-enhancing benefits of these beverages versus the emerging data that suggests that they may have real adverse effects.

"We also hope that the Food and Drug Administration takes a closer look at whether these beverages may need to be carefully reviewed with respect to possible labeling of their adverse health effects, and whether certain age groups and susceptible sub-populations should be advised against consumption of these beverages."

Sawfish face global extinction unless overfishing is curbed

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Research News

Sawfish have disappeared from half of the world's coastal waters and the distinctive shark-like rays face complete extinction due to overfishing, according to a new study by Simon Fraser University researchers, published in Science Advances.

Sawfish, named after their unique long, narrow noses lined by teeth, called rostra, that resemble a sawblade, were once found along the coastlines of 90 countries but they are now among the world's most threatened family of marine fishes, presumed extinct from 46 of those nations. There are 18 countries where at least one species of sawfish is missing, and 28 more where two species have disappeared.

According to SFU researchers Helen Yan and Nick Dulvy, three of the five species of sawfish are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and the other two are endangered.

Their teeth on their rostra are easily caught in fishing nets. Sawfish fins are among the most valuable in the global shark fin trade and rostra are also sold for novelty, medicine and as spurs for cockfighting.

The current presence of all sawfishes world-wide is unknown, but Dulvy warns complete extinction is possible if nothing is done to curb overfishing and to protect threatened habitats, such as mangroves, where sawfish can thrive.

"Through the plight of sawfish, we are documenting the first cases of a wide-ranging marine fish being driven to local extinction by overfishing," Dulvy says. "We've known for a while that the dramatic expansion of fishing is the primary threat to ocean biodiversity, but robust population assessment is difficult for low priority fishes whose catches have been poorly monitored over time. With this study, we tackle a fundamental challenge for tracking biodiversity change: discerning severe population declines from local extinction."

The study recommends that international conservation efforts focus on eight countries (Cuba, Tanzania, Columbia, Madagascar, Panama, Brazil, Mexico and Sri Lanka) where conservation efforts and adequate fishing protections could save the species. It also found Australia and the United States, where adequate protections already exist and some sawfish are still present, should be considered as "lifeboat" nations.

"While the situation is dire, we hope to offset the bad news by highlighting our informed identification of these priority nations with hope for saving sawfish in their waters," says Yan. "We also underscore our finding that it's actually still possible to restore sawfish to more than 70 per cent of their historical range, if we act now."

Google Scholar renders documents not in English invisible

It affects scientific articles and conference papers, according to a recent study published in the journal Future Internet, by Cristòfol Rovira, Lluís Codina and Carles Lopezosa, researchers with the Department of Communication

UNIVERSITAT POMPEU FABRA - BARCELONA

Research News 

The visibility of scientific articles and conference papers is conditional upon being easily found in academic search engines, especially Google Scholar. To enhance this visibility, search engine optimization (SEO) has been applied in recent years to academic search engines in order to optimize documents and, thereby, ensure they are better ranked in search pages (i.e., academic search engine optimization or ASEO).

Recent research, published in Future Internet, has found out whether the language of the document is a factor involved in the sorting algorithm of search results on Google Scholar. The study authors are Cristòfol Rovira, Lluís Codina and Carlos Lopezosa, members of the Department of Communication at UPF.

"To implement this optimization we need to further our understanding of Google Scholar's relevance ranking algorithm, so that, based on this knowledge, we can highlight or improve those characteristics that academic documents already present and which are taken into account by the algorithm", says Rovira, first author of the study. To prevent fraudulent practices, Google Scholar does not explain this algorithm and, therefore, this kind of research becomes necessary.

For the study, the authors applied an inverse engineering research methodology based on statistical analysis using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Three different types of search were conducted yielding a sample of 45 searches each with 1,000 results (45,000 documents): by author, by year, and by keyword.

Quality articles with hundreds of citations are treated in a discriminatory manner

The results show that when a search is performed on Google Scholar with results in various languages, the vast majority (90%) of documents in languages other than English are systematically relegated to positions that render them totally invisible. These documents are almost always placed in positions above rank position 900, even though they are quality articles with hundreds of citations. Thus, it can be stated that Google Scholar discriminates against documents not written in English in searches with multilingual results.

A lack of awareness of this factor could be detrimental to researchers from all over the non-English-speaking world, making them believe that there is no literature in their national language when they conduct searches with multilingual results.

"This is particularly the case in the most frequent searches, that is, those conducted by year. Nevertheless, it can also occur in searches using certain keywords that are the same in languages around the world, including trademarks, chemical compounds, industrial products, acronyms, drugs, and diseases, with Covid-19 being the most recent example", the study authors reveal.

And they add "moreover, if we consider the results of this study from the perspective of ASEO, it is more than evident that until this bias is addressed, the chances of being ranked in a multilingual Google Scholar search increase remarkably if the researchers opt for publication in English".

Graph of the results of the study

The scatter plot above summarizes the research results. There are 45,000 dots, one per document. The grey dots represent documents written in English, other languages in red, and blue shows the median positions.

The graph shows how articles written in languages other than English appear above 900th position in the Google Scholar ranking. This is so even for quality documents that have hundreds of citations and are well placed in the ranking for number of citations.

The most striking cases are the red dots located in the bottom-right corner. They correspond to documents written in languages other than English that are ranked by number of citations below 100 and have a Google Scholar ranking over 900. This means that all of them receive over a thousand citations and appear in Google Scholar in the same positions as documents in English cited just a few dozen times.

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Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accu

Definitely not the flu: risk of death from COVID-19 3.5 times higher than from flu

CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL

Research News 

IMAGE: RISK OF DEATH FROM COVID-19 3.5 TIMES HIGHER THAN FLU view more 

CREDIT: CMAJ

A new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) found that the risk of death from COVID-19 was 3.5 times higher than from influenza.

"We can now say definitively that COVID-19 is much more severe than seasonal influenza," says Dr. Amol Verma, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and the University of Toronto. "Patients admitted to hospital in Ontario with COVID-19 had a 3.5 times greater risk of death, 1.5 times greater use of the ICU, and 1.5 times longer hospital stays than patients admitted with influenza."

These findings are similar to study results recently reported in France and the United States.

The study compared hospitalizations for influenza between November 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, in 7 large hospitals in Toronto and Mississauga -- areas with large populations and high levels of COVID-19. It included all patients admitted to medical services or the intensive care unit (ICU) for influenza or COVID-19. There were 783 hospitalizations for influenza in 763 unique patients compared with 1027 hospitalizations for COVID-19 in 972 unique patients (representing 23.5% of all hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Ontario during the study period).

Most patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had few other illnesses, and 21% were younger than 50 years of age. People younger than 50 also accounted for almost 1 in 4 (24%) admissions to the ICU.

"Many people believe that COVID-19 mainly affects older people," says Dr. Verma. "It is true that COVID-19 affects older adults most severely. We found that among adults over 75 years who were hospitalized with COVID-19, nearly 40% died in hospital. But it can also cause very serious illness in younger adults. Adults under 50 accounted for 20% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in the first wave of the pandemic. Nearly 1 in 3 adults younger than 50 hospitalized with COVID-19 required intensive care, and nearly 1 in 10 required an unplanned readmission to hospital after discharge."

People hospitalized for COVID-19 had greater use of the ICU, were more likely to be put on a ventilator and had longer hospital stays than people with influenza.

"These differences may be magnified by low levels of immunity to the novel coronavirus compared with seasonal influenza, which results from past infections and vaccination," says Dr. Verma. "Hopefully, the severity of COVID-19 will decrease over time as people are vaccinated against the virus and more effective treatments are identified. There is, unfortunately, also the possibility that variants of the virus could be even more severe."

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"Characteristics and outcomes of hospital admissions for COVID-19 and influenza in the Toronto area" is published February 10, 202

 JUST LIKE THEY DO AT THE BORDER

COVID-infected mothers separated from their babies affects breastfeeding outcomes

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC./GENETIC ENGINEERING NEWS

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE JOURNAL PUBLISHES ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPERS, REVIEWS, AND CASE STUDIES ON A BROAD SPECTRUM OF TOPICS IN LACTATION MEDICINE. IT PRESENTS EVIDENCE-BASED RESEARCH ADVANCES AND EXPLORES THE IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM... view more 

CREDIT: MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC., PUBLISHERS

New Rochelle, NY, February 10, 2021--It may be safe for COVID-infected mothers to maintain contact with their babies. Keeping them apart can cause maternal distress and have a negative effect on exclusive breastfeeding later in infancy, according to The COVID Mothers Study published in the peer-reviewed journal Breastfeeding Medicine. Click here to read the article now.

In this worldwide study, infants who did not directly breastfeed, experience skin-to-skin care, or who did not room-in within arms' reach of their mothers were less likely to be exclusively breastfed in the first 3 months of life. Nearly 60% of mothers who experienced separation reported feeling very distressed, and 78% reported at least moderate distress. Nearly 1/3 of separated mothers (29%) were unable to breastfeed once reunited with their infants, despite trying.

"Our research contributes to the emerging evidence that skin-to-skin care, rooming-in within arms' reach, and direct breastfeeding may be safe for mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2," said Melissa Bartick, MD, Mount Auburn Hospital, and coauthors.

Arthur I. Eidelman, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine, states: "This report strengthens the recommendation that breastfeeding should be continued to be encouraged and supported in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic and that direct breastfeeding is indicated for mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2."

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About the Journal

Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, is an authoritative, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal published 10 times per year in print and online. The Journal publishes original scientific papers, reviews, and case studies on a broad spectrum of topics in lactation medicine. It presents evidence-based research advances and explores the immediate and long-term outcomes of breastfeeding, including the epidemiologic, physiologic, and psychological benefits of breastfeeding. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Breastfeeding Medicine website.

About the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) is a worldwide organization of medical doctors dedicated to the promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding. Our mission is to unite members of the various medical specialties with this common purpose. For more than 20 years, ABM has been bringing doctors together to provide evidence-based solutions to the challenges facing breastfeeding across the globe. A vast body of research has demonstrated significant nutritional, physiological, and psychological benefits for both mothers and children that last well beyond infancy. But while breastfeeding is the foundation of a lifetime of health and well-being, clinical practice lags behind scientific evidence. By building on our legacy of research into this field and sharing it with the broader medical community, we can overcome barriers, influence health policies, and change behaviors.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research. A complete list of the firm's 90 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

Infant and toddler food product names may not accurately reflect ingredient amounts

PENN STATE

Research News

 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The descriptions on the fronts of infant and toddler food packages may not accurately reflect the actual ingredient amounts, according to new research. The team found that vegetables in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "dark green" category were very likely to appear in the product name, but their average order in the ingredient list was close to fourth. In contrast, juice and juice concentrates that came earlier on the ingredient list were less likely to appear in product names.

"Early experiences with food can mold children's preferences and contribute to building healthful, or unhealthful, eating habits that last a lifetime," said author Alyssa Bakke, staff sensory scientist, Penn State. "Our previous work found combining vegetables with fruits reduced the amount of vegetable flavor adults perceived, as the fruit flavors were more pronounced. Other research has also indicated that parents predominantly use front-of-package information to make purchasing decisions. This means that when children are given commercial foods, they may be receiving less exposure to vegetable flavors than their parents assume based on the way the products are labeled and marketed."

The team created a database of over 500 commercial infant and toddler foods containing vegetables and documented inclusion of each vegetable and fruit in the product name; the form of the vegetable or fruit -- such as whole, puree, juice or juice concentrate -- and the position of the vegetable or fruit in the ingredient list. The researchers classified the vegetables based on the Department of Agriculture's categories--Dark Green, Red/Orange, Legumes, Starchy and Other. They classified the fruits into two categories: Common Fruits, comprising pears, apples and grapes, and Other Fruits, including mangos, pineapples and cherries.

The team conducted statistical analyses to examine associations between: (1) vegetable and fruit category and inclusion in front-of-package product name; (2) vegetable and fruit form and inclusion in front-of-package product name; and (3) vegetable and fruit form and inclusion in front-of-package product name, by vegetable and fruit category.

"There was never an instance in which a vegetable or a fruit listed in the product name did not appear in the ingredient list," said John Hayes, professor of food science, Penn State. "However, we still observed a disconnect between product names and ingredient lists. The front-of-pack labels did not always accurately represent the amount of various ingredients in the product, which are listed in descending order. This means parents may not be buying what they are hoping to buy if they only look at the name."

Specifically, the team found that dark green vegetables were more likely than expected to appear in product names; yet, their average order in the ingredient list was close to fourth. Interestingly, the team found that common fruits were less likely than expected to be included in the product names when found as juice/juice concentrates, but more likely than expected to be included in product names when no form was listed.

"Fruit juice and fruit juice concentrates were found in almost all of the food products we examined, but were often excluded from product names, presumably to avoid drawing attention to the use of juice concentrates as sweeteners," said Mackenzie Ferrante, graduate student, Colorado State University, and lead author on the paper.

Ferrante added that in the ingredient lists, fruits tended to be positioned close to the beginning of the ingredient list on the back or side of the package, indicating that the products were composed more of fruits than the vegetables suggested by front-of-package labeling.

"Companies producing infant and toddler foods sometimes use nutrition-related statements that can confuse the consumer and are intended to sway consumers to purchase their product," said Susan Johnson, professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. "Parents believe vegetables are important for their children's health and that presumably they are purchasing food they believe contain significant amounts of vegetables because of front-of-package labeling. The discrepancies between which foods are included in the product name, where these foods fall on the ingredient lists, and whether these products actually taste like vegetables are key concerns to communicate to parents."

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The team's findings published on Feb. 8 in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Other authors on the paper include Laura Bellows, associate professor of food science and human nutrition, Colorado State University, and Kameron Moding, assistant professor of human development and family studies, Purdue University.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of ne

Traffic reductions due to COVID-19 boost air quality in some states but not all

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA (USF INNOVATION)

Research News

Dramatic decreases in traffic caused by COVID-19 shutdowns improved air quality in car-dependent states but didn't offset additional forms of pollution in other parts of the country.

Those findings by a University of South Florida researcher suggest that while decreasing the number of vehicles on the road is a good first step toward creating cleaner air, additional measures aimed at reducing other sources of air pollution, such as coal plants or industrial factories, must also be considered.

The study, led by Yasin Elshorbany, an assistant professor of atmospheric chemistry and climate change at USF's St. Petersburg campus, was published in the journal, "Remote Sensing."

For the study, Elshorbany analyzed the impact of the pandemic-related lockdown on air quality by using remote sensors that measured different elements within the air, including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone and aerosol particles. The study focused on states with high traffic volume, such as New York, Illinois, Florida, Texas and California.

The clear skies and empty roads caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns created a valuable research opportunity. The study found that vehicle volumes across the U.S. dropped by 40-60 percent shortly after the pandemic was declared.

The results showed a significant improvement in air quality in regions where traffic is the main pollution source, such as in New York City and the state of Florida. However, it was not as effective in areas dominated by other sources of pollution, including industrial emissions or meteorological conditions. In fact, in areas such as Charleston, WV, and Chicago, air quality actually worsened during the pandemic due to an increase in other pollution sources.

"This shows that in certain states, in addition to traffic regulations we need to focus on other big pollution problems, such as industrial emissions in Illinois, wildfires in California or oil refineries in Texas," Elshorbany added.

Elshorbany was interested in how significant the changes in air quality would be during the lockdown because enhanced environmental regulations related to tailpipe pollution were already leading to cleaner air in the U.S.

"With the advancements in technology and the use of catalysts in cars over the past few decades, air quality has improved in the U.S.," he said. "This has resulted in traffic not serving as the main pollutant in most of the country."

The study was funded by a $25,000 grant from USF Research & Innovation, one of 14 studies supported by nearly $320,000 in seed grants for COVID-19 research partnerships.

In addition to the current study, Elshorbany is working with a multidisciplinary team from USF to examine key environmental impacts brought about by the lockdown. Their goal is to better understand the health and socioeconomic consequences of changes in air quality.

"This demonstrates USF's commitment to timely and important research," Elshorbany said. "It gives us the opportunity to publish information that is relevant to policymakers and useful to everyday people."