Characteristics Associated with Being a High Consumer of Sweet Foods and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages among US Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted some dietary habits of Americans. OBJECTIVE: We examined characteristics associated with a high intake of sweet foods and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) during the COVID-19 pandemic among US adults. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS/SETTINGS: The SummerStyles survey data were collected in 2021 among 4034 US adults (≥18 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The frequencies were measured of consuming various sweet foods (chocolate/candy, doughnuts/sweet rolls/Danish/muffins/Pop-Tarts, cookies/cake/pie/brownies, and ice cream/frozen desserts) and SSB (regular sodas, sweetened coffee/tea drinks fruit drinks, sports drinks, and energy drinks) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The responses were categorized into 0, >0 to <1, 1 to <2, and ≥2 times/day. The descriptive variables were sociodemographics, food insecurity, weight status, metropolitan status, census regions, and eating habit changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Multinomial regressions were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for being a high consumer of sweet foods and SSB after controlling for characteristics. RESULTS: During 2021, 15% of adults reported consuming sweet foods ≥2 times/day, and 30% reported drinking SSB ≥2 times/day. The factors that were significantly associated with greater odds of high sweet food intake (≥2 times/day) were lower household income (AOR = 1.53 for <$35,000 vs. ≥$100,000), often/sometimes experiencing food insecurity (AOR = 1.41 vs. never), and eating more sweet foods than usual since start of the pandemic (AOR = 2.47 vs. same as usual). The factors that were significantly associated with greater odds of high SSB intake (≥2 times/day) were males (AOR = 1.51), lower education (AOR = 1.98 for ≤high school; AOR = 1.33 for some college vs. college graduate), currently having children (AOR = 1.65), living in nonmetropolitan areas (AOR = 1.34), and drinking more SSB than usual since the pandemic began (AOR = 2.23 vs. same as usual). Younger age, Black race, and reductions in consumption during COVID-19 were related to lower sweet food and SSB intakes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, which identified high consumers of sweet foods or SSB, can be used to inform efforts to reduce consumers' added sugars intake during pandemic recovery and support their health.

Projected sugar surplus in 2022/23 is growing

As the world was emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year, it was thrown off course by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Geopolitical instability and conflicts now remain a top concern as the greatest risk to global growth over the next 12 months. Production costs are rising. We are in a totally new world, and companies are going to have to reconfigure how they think about their operations. Against this backdrop, the global sugar industry, invariably sucked in the vortex of the storm will have to manage. Sugar prices are holding up, moderated as much by climate volatility dictating uncertainty and macroeconomic indicators, in particular the value of US$. Global sugar production in 2022/23 (Oct/Sep) is forecast at 191.1 million tonnes raw value (mtrv) while the consumption is expected to rise by 0.9% to 186.8 million tonnes suggesting a global surplus following the deficit of 2.2 mtrv in the previous year. Sugar production in the top-producing countries Brazil, India and Thailand will sway the market as will the top consumers Indonesia and China.

The Development of Covid 19 Themed Mathematical Comic as Learning Media on Decimal Fraction Learning for 5th Grade Elementary School Students

Covid 19 themed mathematical comic as a learning media is developed to help elementary school students to study at home independently. The mathematical comic is a learning media in the form of a book that contains of pictorial or illustrated writings which are expected to attract students' interest to read it and get information related to decimal fraction learning associated to the handling of covid 19 cases. This covid 19 themed comic tells a story about Mr. Dolah's family consisting of Mrs. Minah as his wife, and his two children, Siti and Atan in making throat-warming drink using herbal ingredients such as ginger, betel leaf, and brown sugar. Then, the story is associated with decimal fraction learning for grade 5th elementary school students. The development of this comic as learning media applies the R &D (Research and Development) and 4D model (Define, Design, Develop, Disseminate) as the research method. Based on the validator assessment result, the average value is 27 with a percentage of 84.43 and categorized as very feasible. Furthermore, the students' responses to this mathematical comic obtained a score of 82.50 with a very good category. It can be concluded that this covid19-themed mathematical comic is very feasible to use and gets a very good response from students. © 2021 IEEE.

Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding Patterns and Conformational Preferences of Ouabain—A Molecule with Cardiotonic and Antiviral Activities

Ouabain is a steroid-glycoside compound that has been used for decades for the treatment of heart diseases, and has also proved effective against several viruses, including coronaviruses;its potentialities against SARS-CoV-2 are currently object of various investigations. The molecule contains eight OH groups, whose mutual positions enable the simultaneous presence of several O−H⋅⋅⋅O intramolecular hydrogen bonds (IHB), although only few with bond length shorter than 2 Å and favourable directionality. Conformers corresponding to different IHB patterns have been calculated at the DFT level of theory, using both the B3LYP and the M062X functionals. Two sets of B3LYP calculations were performed, without and with the Grimme’s dispersion correction, to evaluate the influence of dispersion forces on the estimation of the molecular properties. The results highlight four conformers whose relative energies are sufficiently low to make them potentially responsible for the molecule’s biological activities. They also highlight the influence of the incorporation of correlation effects on the estimation of energetics and other properties. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Effect of Pumpkin Cultivar on the Selected Quality Parameters of Functional Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of pumpkin cultivar as a fermented semi-product on the selected quality parameters of functional non-dairy frozen desserts, which were prepared using the potentially probiotic strain cultures L. rhamnosus Lock 0900 and L. casei O14. Microbiological status, pH, sugar and carotenoids content, antioxidant activity, color and sensory quality have been checked. Regardless of the pumpkin cultivar used, the lactic acid fermentation of pulps with selected bacterial strains decreased reducing sugar and total sugars content. Improvement in the antioxidant activity was also observed. The impact of the individual sensory attributes on the overall quality was determined. The overall quality of the investigated pumpkin sorbets was positively driven by the sweet taste, pumpkin flavor, smoothness of texture, and negatively driven by acidic flavor, pungent taste, and bitter taste, verified by PCA method. All of the final products achieved high survival of probiotics (higher than 8.4 log CFU/g) and revealed a good sensory quality (overall quality higher than 8 c.u). The treatments with the cultivar “Melon Yellow” of the Cucurbita maxima species, were characterized by significantly higher (p < 0.05) carotenoids content, total sugars and reducing sugars content and antioxidant activity, measured by two methods. It can be concluded that the pumpkin cultivar and strain culture used for the fermentation affect the count of potentially probiotic bacteria in the final products, the composition of bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity and sensory quality of the functional pumpkin frozen desserts.

New insights into perceptions of technology claims in greek-style yogurt: A view in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has strongly impacted people's lives and the food industry. In this sense, food products claiming nutritional and health-promoting benefits due to the presence of bioactive peptides and probiotics, such as Greek-style yogurt, have been in demand. The objective of this work was to investigate, through word association, the perception of the consumers regarding the seven concepts related to Greek-style yogurt (traditional, ultra-creamy, zero fat, high content proteins, zero lactose, light and with no added sugars), in the context of social isolation due to Covid-19. In this online survey, 346 participants completed a questionnaire. The participants were divided according to health concerns (increased, not changed, or decreased) and eating habits (improved, not changed, or worsened) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Chi-square and prototypical analysis were used as statistical tests. During the Covid-19 pandemic, based on self-report, around 66% of the participants had their eating habits and their concerns about health changed. The general associations were related to the categories pleasure, health, creamy, pleasant texture, food restriction, and loss of sensory quality. 'Health' and 'pleasure' were negatively associated with the conceptualization of Greek-style yogurt. For the zero-fat, light, and sugar-free Greek-style yogurts, the terms creamy and ultra-creamy are sensory appealing to the consumers. In general, the price and concerns about health are factors that strongly influence the purchase intention of Greek-style yogurts. The yogurts were associated with sensory and non-sensory characteristics, which can be useful for marketing strategies for of different product concepts.

Black fungus stalks COVID-19 patients in India

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, is a “serious but rare” infection caused by a group of moulds called mucormycetes. According to Raghuraj Hegde, consultant eye surgeon at Manipal Hospital, in Bengaluru, India, the virulence of the new strain of COVID-19 virus causes patients’ blood sugars to shoot up, which in turn provides a suitable environment for mucormycosis. According to Nair, mucormycosis was an extremely rare condition and the availability of amphotericin B was adequate.

Synthesis of novel pyridine and pyrimidine thioglycoside phosphoramidates for the treatment of COVID-19 and influenza A viruses.

A novel series of pyridine, cytosine, and uracil thioglycoside analogs (4a-i, 9a,b, and 13a,b, respectively) and their corresponding phosphoramidates (6a-I, 10a,b, and 14a,b, respectively) were synthesized and assessed for their antiviral inhibitory activities in a dual-pathogen screening protocol against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus (IAV). MTT cytotoxicity (TC50) and plaque reduction assays were used to explore inhibition and cytotoxicity percentage values for H5N1 influenza virus strain and the half-maximal cytotoxic concentration (CC50) and inhibitory concentration (IC50) for SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most of the tested compounds demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition behavior. Both cytosine thioglycoside phosphoramidates 10a and 10b exhibited the most potent profiles with 83% and 86% inhibition at 0.25 µM concentration against H5N1 and IC50 values of 12.16 µM, 14.9 µM against SARS-CoV-2, respectively. Moreover, compounds 10a and 10b have been shown to have the highest selectivity index (SI) among all the tested compounds against SARS-CoV-2 with 28.2 and 26.9 values, respectively.

Duckweeds as Promising Food Feedstocks Globally

Duckweeds are the smallest flowering plants on Earth. They grow fast on water’s surface and produce large amounts of biomass. Further, duckweeds display high adaptability, and species are found around the globe growing under different environmental conditions. In this work, we report the composition of 21 ecotypes of fourteen species of duckweeds belonging to the two subfamilies of the group (Lemnoideae and Wolffioideae). It is reported the presence of starch and the composition of soluble sugars, cell walls, amino acids, phenolics, and tannins. These data were combined with literature data recovered from 85 publications to produce a compiled analysis that affords the examination of duckweeds as possible food sources for human consumption. We compare duckweeds compositions with some of the most common food sources and conclude that duckweed, which is already in use as food in Asia, can be an interesting food source anywhere in the world.

Reported Changes in Eating Habits Related to Less Healthy Foods and Beverages during the COVID-19 Pandemic among US Adults.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered stress, anxiety, and disruption to many individuals' daily lives, which might impact eating habits. OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in eating habits related to less healthy foods and beverages during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic among US adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Authors used SummerStyles data gathered in June 2020 among 3916 US adults (≥18 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome of interest was the reported frequency of consuming more (1) unhealthy snacks and desserts including chips, cookies, and ice cream and (2) sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) like regular soda, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks, sweetened coffee/teas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses were categorized as Never/Rarely, Sometimes, or Often/Always. Explanatory variables were sociodemographics, weight status, and census regions. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: We used multinomial regressions to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for Sometimes or Often/Always consuming more unhealthy snacks/desserts (vs. Never/Rarely); and Sometimes or Often/Always more SSBs (vs. Never/Rarely). RESULTS: Overall, 36% of adults reported sometimes consuming more unhealthy snacks/desserts; 16% did so often/always. Twenty-two percent of adults reported sometimes drinking more SSBs; 10% did so often/always. Factors significantly associated with higher odds of reporting often/always consuming more unhealthy snacks/desserts were younger adults (AOR range = 1.51-2.86 vs. adults ≥65 years), females (AOR = 1.58 vs. males), non-Hispanic Black (AOR = 1.89 vs. non-Hispanic White), lower household income (AOR = 2.01 for <USD 35,000 vs. ≥USD 100,000), and obesity (AOR = 1.56 vs. underweight/healthy weight). Factors significantly associated with odds of Often/Always drinking more SSBs were being younger (AOR range = 2.26-4.39 vs. adults ≥65 years), non-Hispanic Black (AOR = 3.25 vs. non-Hispanic White), Hispanic (AOR = 1.75 vs. non-Hispanic White), non-Hispanic Other race/ethnicity (AOR = 2.41 vs. non-Hispanic White), lower education (AOR = 2.03 for ≤high school; AOR = 1.80 for some college vs. college graduate), lower household income (AOR range = 1.64-3.15 vs. ≥USD 100,000), and obesity (AOR = 1.61 vs. underweight/healthy weight). CONCLUSIONS: Consuming more sugary foods and SSBs during the first phase of the pandemic was higher in younger adults, lower-income adults, people of racial/ethnic minority groups, and adults with obesity. Dietary shifts to less healthy foods and drinks may influence metabolic health if sustained long-term. Implementing strategies to support individual's healthy eating habits during the ongoing pandemic and the pandemic recovery may benefit health and wellness.

IoT-Based Smart Air Quality Control System: Prevention to COVID-19

The poor quality of air is hazardous to human health as it causes numerous health problems. It results in heart strokes, increased levels of blood sugar causing diabetes and high blood pressure. These pre-existing medical conditions are identified as the root cause of the spread of coronavirus and raise the chances of death from COVID-19. Prominent research has proven that inhaling the polluted air worsens the impact of COVID-19. It suggests that air pollution is increasing COVID-19 mortality rate. It is evident from SARS like outbreaks and dangerous respiratory infections that breathing more polluted air increases the risks of death. This study proposes IoT-based smart air quality control system as a preventive measure to community spread of virus, i.e. COVID-19. It detects the quality of the air using multiple air pollution sensors. The installed sensors are capable to monitor the presence of air pollutants in the ambiance both indoor and outdoor environments. The objective of this study is to bring attention to environmental issues beyond the scope of the human eye and serve to prevent spread of COVID-19 disease. It stores the collected data on a cloud to monitor and control the quality of air. The accuracy of proposed smart unit is verified for the purpose of monitoring the air quality and the storing the data on cloud for applications. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Green products from herbal medicine wastes by subcritical water treatment.

Herbal medicine wastes (HMWs) are byproducts of medicine factories, which are mainly landfilled for their environmental problems. Only bearing in mind the contamination and concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental emissions, the worth of herbal medicine wastes management and conversion to green products can be understood. In this work, subcritical water treatment was carried out batch-wise in a stainless tube reactor in the pressure range of 0.792-30.0 MPa, varying the temperature (127-327 °C) and time (1-60 min) of extraction. This resulted in new and green material sources, including organic acids, amino acids, and sugars. Amazingly, at very low extraction times (below 5 min) and high temperatures (above 277 °C), about 99% of HMWs were efficaciously converted to clean products by subcritical hydrothermal treatment. The results of hydrothermal extraction after 5 min indicated that at low temperatures (127-227 °C), the total organic carbon in the aqueous phase increased as the residual solid phase decreased, reaching a peak around 220 °C. Acetone soluble extracts or fat phase appeared above 227 °C and reached a maximum yield of 21% at 357 °C. Aspartic acid, threonine, and glycine were the primary amino acids; glycolic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and acetic acid were obtained as the main organic acids, glucose, fructose, and cellobiose were substantial sugars produced from the aqueous phase after 5 min of hydrothermal subcritical hydrolysis extraction.

COVID-19, an Incentive to Tackle Sugar in Hospitals and at Home.

Obesity and metabolic disease are thwarting our efforts to recover from COVID-19. Chronic inflammation is a key feature of both COVID-19 and the metabolic syndrome. Sugar consumption in particular has been shown to affect COVID-19 mortality by contributing to the chronic inflammatory state. Restriction of free sugar intake has a measurable effect on disease-predicting physiological parameters in as little as 9 days. The rapid reduction in inflammation following fructose restriction is key in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as COVID-19 exacerbates the same inflammatory pathways as those driven by the metabolic syndrome. Healthcare providers have a duty to implement international recommendations of reduced free sugar intake. By doing so, they could reduce the chronic inflammatory burden contributing to COVID-19 patients' demise. Further, it would set a precedent for reducing the risk of severe disease in the uninfected, by maximizing their potential metabolic health in the context of an infection predicated on its disruption.

Emotional Eating in Relation to Worries and Psychological Distress Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-Based Survey on Adults in Norway.

Population-based studies have revealed a high occurrence of self-reported psychological distress symptoms during the early phases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Stress and negative affect can lead to emotional eating, which in turn can have negative outcomes on health. In this population-based study, 24,968 Norwegian inhabitants participated in an electronic questionnaire including structured questions on dietary habits, emotional eating, psychological distress symptoms, and COVID-19-related worries. The study took place during April 2020 after around six weeks of interventions to tackle the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, emotional eating was reported in 54% of the population and was markedly more frequent in female participants. Worries related to consequences of the pandemic were associated with increased emotional eating, and the association was stronger for worries related to personal economy-odds ratios (OR) 1.7 (95% confidence interval (CI95%) 1.5-1.9)-compared to worries related to health-OR 1.3 (CI95% 1.2-1.5). Psychological distress had a strong association with emotional eating-OR 4.2 (CI95% 3.9-4.4). Correspondingly, the intake of high-sugar foods and beverages was higher for those with substantial COVID-19-related worries and those with psychological distress compared to the overall population.