Nearby Cities Research Articles

Seasonal patterns in rice and wheat residue burning and surface PM2.5 concentration in northern India

Rice-Wheat production system of the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) in northern India generates large amounts of crop residues annually, substantial amount of which is burned in-situ. Due to this, people in this region and nearby cities are exposed to extremely high concentrations of atmospheric pollutants, especially in late autumn to winter. Multiple factors affect air quality, the main ones being pollutant emissions and meteorology. We generated a high-resolution (0.05° × 0.05°) multi-year (2012–2020) fine particular matter (PM 2.5 ) dataset of pollutant emissions from wheat and rice residue burning for the IGP by combining production data and satellite active fires from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) 375-m product. We used surface PM 2.5 concentrations and meteorological data from Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) atmospheric reanalysis to characterize the seasonal PM 2.5 concentrations and their relationships with anomalies in meteorological conditions. Results showed a much higher number of fires during from rice, with an interannual average of 79,385 total fires versus 33,096 from wheat. Emissions are higher during the rice harvest period: 406 Gg/year versus 245 Gg/year, respectively for rice and wheat. Emissions and PM 2.5 concentrations from rice harvest are higher than those of wheat as a consequence of a higher number of fire spots, emissions, and atmospheric conditions that prevent their dispersion. PM 2.5 concentrations are in addition strongly related to the amount of biomass burned and the number of fires and their intensity. In terms of meteorological anomalies, the planetary boundary layer height, wind speed and the surface thermal inversion strength have a stronger association with PM 2.5 concentration during the rice residue burning period. Conversely, PM 2.5 concentration and emissions anomalies during the wheat harvest shows a stronger correlation with factors associated with the amount of residues burned in the field. • Fire spots and PM 2.5 emissions from both rice and wheat residue burning concentrate over the west area of north India. • Maximum PM 2.5 emissions from rice (post-monsoon) residue burning are about twice those from wheat (pre-monsoon). • Post-monsoon PM 2.5 concentrations from rice residue burning are about three times higher than from wheat residue burning (pre-monsoon). • PM 2.5 shows a greater association with inversion strength and relative humidity during the rice harvest period.

The Nature of the Future: Agriculture, Science, and Capitalism in the Antebellum North by Emily Pawley

Reviewed by: The Nature of the Future: Agriculture, Science, and Capitalism in the Antebellum North by Emily Pawley Philip Mills Herrington (bio) Agriculture, Agricultural improvement, Capitalism, New York State The Nature of the Future: Agriculture, Science, and Capitalism in the Antebellum North. By Emily Pawley. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020. Pp. 312. Cloth, $50.00.) Emily Pawley opens this book with a parade of freaks: the bloated bodies of the antebellum agricultural fair. Like these unusual, oversized fruits, vegetables, and animals, the improvers who lauded them at fairs and in the agricultural press can come across today as impractical and peripheral. [End Page 140] Indeed, critics of the time disparaged improvers as "book farmers," dreamy dabblers whose interest in the agricultural "arts and sciences" had little to offer working men or markets. Yet as Pawley reveals in this tightly written and exceptionally readable monograph, agricultural improvers were engaged in methods of assigning and measuring value that placed them in the mainstream of early nineteenth-century American capitalism. However poetically improvers may have described the fruits of the countryside, they sought to build an agricultural landscape that systematically converted nature into profit. In doing so, they "developed forms of varietal identification that resembled anticounterfeiting techniques and systems of credit ratings; used sales figures and profits as evidence of the value of particular techniques; and kept 'accounts' with animals, plants, and fields in their experiments" (18). Behind the curiosities of the country fair were emerging systems of measurement—tools of a vibrant and volatile antebellum capitalism that, as Pawley argues, was just as alive in the rural North as in nearby cities. While the title sets the stage as the antebellum North, Pawley tells a story centered on New York, citing, accurately, that the Empire State was the locus of northern improvement (given its location, wealth, farm productivity, and proliferation of agricultural societies and journals). Whether New York's status as an exemplar of improvement makes it representative of the North is debatable, but inarguably New York had an oversized role in shaping the values attached to American agriculture. Admirably, Pawley moves back and forth between using New York as the main setting for the action and as the center point for more sweeping regional, national, or global narratives. This strategy anchors the reader in place as the author reveals and removes different vistas like stage backdrops. A highlight in terms of argument and storytelling is Chapter 5, where New York examples bookend a much larger story. Here Pawley expertly unfolds the details of the "mulberry bubble" of the 1830s and 40s, the short-lived speculative craze during which Americans across the nation feverishly imported, exchanged, and sold (or attempted to sell) thousands of mulberry trees. In hindsight, this mania surrounding an East Asian shrub and the dream of a lucrative American silk industry seems foolish. But as Pawley points out, these actions "were not simply periodic fits of greed and madness, they were astonishing moments of belief, moments when larger numbers of people came to agree on a particular form of value and a particular kind of future" (126). Although easily dismissed as odd and ephemeral like the colossal squashes of the agricultural fairs, [End Page 141] these market failures illuminate how agricultural improvement shaped the values and vocabulary of early national finance. Failure, Pawley reminds us, is "a standard feature of capitalism" (16). As Pawley lays out in the first of eight chapters, agricultural improvement in New York was initially the domain of the "capitalist aristocracy" of the manors along the Hudson, but it quickly democratized, in part through the appropriation of its rhetoric, to include a diverse assortment of landowners, tenants, laborers, and city dwellers. It thus, Pawley concludes, "became a repository for more than one vision of agricultural modernity" (38). Yet as the author guides the reader through the various ways in which this disparate assortment of improvers engaged with the agricultural press, experimented with plants and animals, and hosted trials of farming implements, it is striking how unified they were in their assessment of the natural world. "Looking at the book of nature," Pawley writes, "improvers expected to see a balance sheet" (18). "Improvement" meant looking...

The Effect of Forest Access on the Market for Fuelwood in India

Fuelwood collection is often cited as the most important cause of deforestation in developing countries. Use of fuelwood in cooking is a leading cause of indoor air pollution. Using household data from India, we show that households located farther away from the forest spend more time collecting. Distant households are likely to sell more fuelwood and buy less. That is, lower access to forests increases fuelwood collection and sale. This counter-intuitive behavior is triggered by two factors: lower access to forests (a) increases the fixed costs of collecting, which in turn leads to more collection; and (b) drives up local fuelwood prices, which makes collection and sale more profitable. We quantify both these effects. Using our estimates we show that a fifth of the fuelwood collected is consumed outside of rural areas, in nearby towns and cities. Our results imply that at the margin, fuelwood scarcity may lead to increased collection and sale, and exacerbate forest degradation.

Impact of COVID-19 Lock down on Farmers of Nalgonda District, Telangana State

COVID-19 is the greatest humatarian challenge the world has faced and effected agriculture and allied sectors. The study was carried out to know the Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on farmers and allied sectors in terms of Social, Economic, Psychological, Situational parameters. The Google form Questionnaire was used to collect the information from randomly selected 120 farmers of Nalgonda district. It was observed that non-celebration of important events (98.33%), high labour wages coupled with low market price of horticulture produce drastically affected the farmers returns (85%) and majority of farmers had fear of increasing debts due to low market price of produce (80%) and non availability of agriculture labour for performing field operations (70%) etc. were the major Social, Economic, Psychological and Situational effects on farmers respectively. In case of impact on agriculture and allied sectors, despite the problem few of the farmers adopted alternative mechanism of door-to-door supply of fruits and vegetables, few of the villagers aggregated their vegetable produce and marketed to nearby local towns and cities. Majority of the farmers found that technology driven advisories issued by KVK, Kampasagar, Nalgonda District has helped the farmers to tackle the problems timely.

The Heer Küste Artillerie Abteilung 1161

This article presents the history of the German H.K.A.A. (Heer Küste Artillerie Abteilung—Army Coastal Artillery Group) 1161 during the WWII in the Finistère (FR). The emplacements Stps Av 34 or Av 55, Av 64, Av 66a, Av 67 of its four companies 1./H.K.A.A. 1161, 2./H.K.A.A. 1161, 3./H.K.A.A. 1161 and 4./H.K.A.A. 1161 have been visited and the preservation state of the remaining components, at about 77 years from the end of the WWII, ascertained. The problem of inhomogeneities between the information from different historical sources has been addressed by not altering the information from a source also in case of partial agreement with information from other sources and to discuss the information from different sources in case of relevant discrepancies in order to obtain the correct information. The preservation of the emplacements in the future is not assured, in fact, no classification as monuments or architectural heritage is foreseen and they are menaced by the expansion of the urbanization of the nearby cities.

Ecological efficiency and its determining factors in an urban agglomeration in China: The Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration

Urban agglomerations are the main driver of economic growth in China. The green development of less developed urban agglomerations, which have greatest potential for future economic growth, is of great importance. Otherwise, the old development path will lead to more energy and environmental issues. Therefore, assessing its level of sustainable development and understanding the determining factors of ecological efficiency is conducive to fulfilling green development goals. Based on the data pertaining to a typical less developed urban agglomeration (Chengdu-Chongqing) from 2003 to 2018, a super slack-based measure model with undesirable outputs is used to measure the ecological efficiency. The results show that the ecological efficiency of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration is deteriorating over time. The ecological efficiency of big cities is lower due to the extensive development, and on contrary, the ecological efficiency of nearby small cities is high. The determining factors of the ecological efficiency are also investigated by the spatial panel model. Gross domestic product, social retail consumption, and population size are found to exert a positive influence. A 1% increase in these variables increases the ecological efficiency by 0.008, 0.011, and 0.015, respectively. Discussions are made according to the results and policy implications are proposed pursuant thereto.

On the 77th anniversary of Kostroma Region restoration (scientific discussion in the information centre of Kostroma Region administration)

The article presents the results of a round table dedicated to the 77th anniversary of the restoration of Kostroma Region (in 1920s and 30s, the region’s territories belonged to nearby major cities); the meeting took place on August 27, 2021 at the information centre of the Administration of Kostroma Region. The participants of the round table considered the historical background and achievements of Kostroma Region, tried to make a historical overview of the development of the Kostroma Region and determine its prospects. The work summarises the most significant theses of the reports heard, we focus on the most important milestones in the region development history and the milestones’ current understanding, on the assimilation of previous experience by modern scientists and public figures in solving topical problems.

The historical quarry of pena (Vila Real, north of Portugal): Associated cultural heritage and reuse as a geotourism resource

Stone created and still creates cultural heritage in landscapes, villages and cities all over the world. Granite was and still is a crucial building stone in Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion. Ancient quarries, forms of extraction and buildings built with it are a heritage we should safeguard. This work details a practical case of sustainable use of a granite historical quarry in Pena (Vila Real, North Portugal). A geotourism itinerary would bring new life to this abandoned quarry. A proposed route connects the quarry with the main buildings and monuments built with its granite in the nearby city of Vila Real. It envisages an eighteen-stop tour of the buildings and monuments built with Pena granite. The proposal includes a geotourism excursion through this impressive quarry, which forms an open-air geological museum.The implementation of this project has two aims. First, to revive the historical quarry of Pena. Second, to promote the sustainable conservation of cultural heritage by creating an inventory of buildings of Vila Real city built with granite from Pena. Thus, it will enable the economic development of local communities using built heritage linked to heritage stones. The quarry of Pena will be a source of granite for possible future restorations of the historical buildings built with it. Environmental economics relates to geotourism, cultural tourism and the sustainable use of historical quarries.

The Impact of Local Anti-Smog Resolution in Cracow (Poland) on the Concentrations of PM10 and BaP Based on the Results of Measurements of the State Environmental Monitoring

As a result of conducted air quality policy, including recent legal regulations (the local anti-smog resolution), the number of individual solid fuel heating devices in Cracow (Poland) gradually decreased. Reports on air quality in the city indicate that the concentration of pollutants in Cracow’s air shows a downward trend. However, a similar tendency in terms of improving air quality is also observed in the entire voivodeship, where, as a result of analogous although less radical measures, the number of individual solid fuel heating devices is also decreasing. The paper discusses the impact of legal regulations in Cracow on the improvement of air quality in the context of changes taking place in nearby cities. Trends in changes in PM10 and BaP (PM10) concentrations are analyzed. The rate of decline of the analyzed pollutants concentrations is estimated with the use of nonparametric linear regression. Analysis showed that the rate of decline in the average annual concentrations of PM10 and BaP (PM10) in Cracow is always higher than for the analyzed cities of the Malopolskie Voivodeship. The difference is more pronounced with regard to the months of the heating season. The rate of changes for the average annual BaP (PM10) concentrations in Cracow, compared to other analyzed cities of the Malopolskie Voivodeship, is more intensive than in the case of PM10 concentrations (1.5 times stronger with regard to the months of the heating season). Since the concentration of BaP (PM10) is a better indicator of the effects of liquidation of high-emission furnaces than the concentration of PM10, it can be concluded that the impact of actions related to the improvement of air quality in Cracow in the context of changes taking place in selected cities of the Malopolskie Voivodeship is more visible.

Annette R. Federico. My Victorian Novel: Critical Essays in the Personal Voice.

Annette R. Federico. <i>My Victorian Novel: Critical Essays in the Personal Voice.</i>

Do CO2 emissions trading schemes deliver co-benefits? evidence from shanghai

ABSTRACT While ex-ante evaluations of climate mitigation policies predict that co-benefits of improved air quality will enable the aggregate benefits of climate mitigation policies to outweigh their costs, there is little empirical evidence to support this assertion. In this study, we use data on weekly smokestack emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from firms participating in Shanghai’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions trading scheme (ETS) to deliver one of the first ex-post evaluations on the co-benefits of China’s ETS. Using a panel-regression model in which all firms’ characteristics and seasonal effects are controlled, we find a significant negative association between CO2 emissions prices and industrial SO2 emissions (elasticity of −0.13). A closer examination reveals that most of these effects were driven by specific sectors (iron and steel) and during months in which firms were required to balance their annual CO2 emissions. To ensure our results are not driven by confounding factors and our model’s assumptions, we conducted several falsification checks using SO2 emissions from non-ETS firms and firms from a nearby city, using various model specifications. Our findings suggest that co-benefits from climate mitigation policies should not be taken for granted, and that policy designs and types of sector sources of emissions are important determinants of co-benefits. Key policy insights The study provides empirical evidence for air pollution co-benefits of a CO2 ETS using weekly smokestack-level data from Shanghai, China Evidence from the Shanghai ETS shows that a 1% increase in CO2 prices in Shanghai is associated with a 0.13% decrease in SO2 emissions These co-benefits, however, are limited to specific sectors (e.g. ferrous metals), and are not found in other major CO2 emitting sources or sectors (e.g. power utilities) The relationship between CO2 prices and co-benefits is also stronger during months in which firms are required to balance their annual CO2 emissions using permits

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Prevalence in Aerosol and Spiders' Webs in Karst Caves: Low Risk for Speleotherapy.

A total of 152 aerosol and spider web samples were collected: 96 spider’s webs in karst areas in 4 European countries (Czech Republic, France, Italy, and Slovakia), specifically from the surface environment (n = 44), photic zones of caves (n = 26), and inside (aphotic zones) of caves (n = 26), 56 Particulate Matter (PM) samples from the Sloupsko-Sosuvsky Cave System (speleotherapy facility; n = 21) and from aerosol collected from the nearby city of Brno (n = 35) in the Czech Republic. Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) were isolated from 13 (13.5%) spider’s webs: 5 isolates of saprophytic NTM (Mycobacterium gordonae, M. kumamotonense, M. terrae, and M. terrae complex) and 6 isolates of potentially pathogenic NTM (M. avium ssp. hominissuis, M. fortuitum, M. intracellulare, M. peregrinum and M. triplex). NTM were not isolated from PM collected from cave with the speleotherapy facility although mycobacterial DNA was detected in 8 (14.3%) samples. Temperature (8.2 °C, range 8.0–8.4 °C) and relative humidity (94.7%, range 93.6–96.6%) of air in this cave were relatively constant. The average PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentration was 5.49 µg m−3 and 11.1 µg m−3. Analysed anions (i.e., F−, Cl−, NO2−, SO42−, PO43− and NO3−) originating largely from the burning of wood and coal for residential heating in nearby villages in the surrounding area. The air in the caves with speleotherapy facilities should be monitored with respect to NTM, PM and anions to ensure a safe environment.

Implementing Industry 4.0 In KHTP Smart SME Park: Is The Talent Ready to Sustain?

These new talents are very limited to supply the needs specific to I4.0 jobs. On top of that, these graduates are scattered around Malaysia. It is no guarantee that KHTP are able to recruit them as they are more inclined to work in nearby cities. KHTP will need to convince the graduates who lived far to migrate from other states to be able to hire them. However, this only covers the junior professional positions, the companies will also be looking for skilled workers and experienced worker to fill in upper professional positions. While the park itself is ready with education institutions, training centres, and R&amp;D centres to generate the talents, they will need some more time to get these talents ready. Upon the early opening of the factory, readily skilled talents are required. The talent mismatch can be one of the issues as they are not much specific programme to cater their specific needs. Finally, these talents are not only the critical factors now, but it is also very important to ensure continuous supply of talents in the future for KHTP Smart SME Park to ensure its sustainability.

Determinants of farmland prices and their local variation

Abstract The setting of farmland prices in the market not only reflects existing agricultural activities but also expected potential for development. This study decomposes farmland prices into values representative of current agricultural production and the prospective development potential at the county level in South Korea. The income value of farmland is derived by analysing agricultural revenue and production cost, and the sale value of farmland is estimated by reviewing transaction prices filed with the administrative authority. The difference between income value and sale value is adopted as the development value in this study. The results of the estimation show that the proportion of development value in the price of farmland is remarkably high, with a median proportion of 0.78, indicating that the threat of converting land to non-agricultural use is non-trivial because it remains a financially attractive alternative. In addition, the magnitude of the portion of the development value in the price of farmland varies considerably across counties depending on the distance to nearby metropolitan cities. This implies that agricultural policy should be designed in a locally optimised manner to effectively restrain the conversion of farmland for urban use.

Sedimentary History of Trace Metals Over the Past Half-Century in Songkhla Lake, Western Coast of the Gulf of Thailand: Anthropogenic Impacts and Contamination Assessment

Coastal lagoons are among the most vulnerable and economically significant ecosystems on Earth. Songkhla Lake, connected with the Gulf of Thailand, is the second largest lake in Southeast Asia and supports the development of the fishery, transportation, and tourism industries in southern Thailand. With increasing anthropogenic disturbances, the lake is facing acute ecological problems and further research is needed. Here, we provide 55-year record of grain size, color reflectance, magnetic susceptibility, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and trace element (As, Hg, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn) concentrations of sediment core SKL8-2 collected from Songkhla Lake. These records reveal a three-stage sedimentary and input history of trace metals under anthropogenic effects: 1) From 1964 to 1982, it was a natural terrigenous input period with a relative reduction environment when the channel connecting Songkhla Lake and the Gulf of Thailand was closed. 2) Trace metal concentrations, organic carbon content, b* value, and magnetic susceptibility changed abruptly in 1982. During 1982–2000, the sources of trace metals were more complex than during 1964–1982 and mainly came from urban wastewater, industrial effluent, and fishery discharge. 3) From 2000 to 2019, contamination signals of Pb, Hg, As, Zn, and Ni emerged in the first decade because of the rapid development and poor sewage treatment around nearby cities.

Profile of Ginés Morata

Gines Morata grew up in remote village in southeast Spain. As a child, he says, he had no scientific role models or sources of inspiration. Yet, by the end of graduate school, Morata had made two groundbreaking discoveries in Drosophila that are still influencing the field of developmental biology, including the discoveries of developmental compartments and the phenomenon of cell competition. His Inaugural Article examines how mutant cells in Drosophila outsmart cell competition to form tumors (1). For his accomplishments, Morata has received multiple awards, including Spain’s Prince of Asturias Prize for Science and Technology and foreign membership in the Royal Society in London. A research professor at the Spanish National Research Council and the Autonomous University of Madrid, Morata was elected as an international member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2018. Morata grew up in a modest household in Rioja, Almeria, Spain. His father was a traffic cop, and his mother stayed home with their four sons and a daughter. Although neither parent had any formal education, both emphasized the importance of school, says the second-born Morata. The family did not have money for secondary school, let alone college, but Morata’s good grades earned him scholarships that sent him first to the nearby city of Almeria for secondary school and, later, to the Complutense University in Madrid for college. Gines Morata. Image credit: Jose A. Perez (Centro de Biologia Molecular, Madrid, Spain). Although Morata loved watching birds and snakes as a child, he did not feel any affinity for biology at that age. When he went off to Madrid for college, he thought he might study mathematics or physics, inspired by a particularly adept mathematics teacher. However, a chance discovery helped change his course. “I read a book by Linus Pauling, where he made the point …

The Asian Games, air pollution and birth outcomes in South China: An instrumental variable approach

We estimate the effects of air-pollution exposure on low birthweight, birthweight, and prematurity risk in South China, for all expectant mothers and by maternal age group and child sex. We do so by exploiting exogenous improvement in air quality during the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, when strict regulations were mandated to assure better air quality. We use daily air-pollution levels collected from monitoring stations in Guangzhou, the Asian Games host city, and Shenzhen, a nearby control city, between 2009 and 2011. We first show that air quality during the Asian Games significantly improved in Guangzhou, relative to Shenzhen. Next, using birth-certificate data for both cities for 2009–2011 and using expected pregnancy overlap with the Asian Games as an instrumental variable, we study the effects of three pollutants (PM10, SO2, and NO2) on birth outcomes. Four main conclusions emerge: 1) air pollutants significantly reduce average birthweight and increase preterm risk; 2) for birthweight, late pregnancy is most sensitive to PM10 exposure, but there is not consistent evidence of a sensitive period for other pollutants and outcomes; 3) for birthweight, babies of mothers who are at least 35 years old show more vulnerability to all three air pollutants; and 4) male babies show more vulnerability than female babies to PM10 and SO2, but birthweights of female babies are more sensitive than those of male babies to NO2.

Monitoring spatiotemporal variation of groundwater level and salinity under land use change using integrated field measurements, GIS, geostatistical, and remote-sensing approach: case study of the Feija aquifer, Middle Draa watershed, Moroccan Sahara.

The cultivation of watermelons has been a fast growing agriculture industry in the arid, desert regions of Morocco, relying on groundwater pumping and transformation of rangelands to farms due to growing demand for the fruit in national and international markets. This study aims to measure the impact of watermelon expansion on groundwater resources in the Feija Basin, which is one of the largest watermelon cultivation areas in Southern Morocco. Field measurements, statistics, Kriging interpolation, and regression methods were used to measure the temporal variations in the groundwater level (GL) and salinity between 2013 and 2018 to determine the correlation between different parameters. Remote sensing data was also used to monitor the watermelon cultivation expansion. Results show a rapid expansion of agricultural areas from just 185.11 ha in 2007 to 2560.1 ha in 2018. The groundwater level declined rapidly by about 10 m below ground level during the 5 years of the study period. Additionally, the decline was accompanied by a significant increase in electrical conductivity (salinity) values over the same time interval from 1077.55 to 1211.9 µS/cm. As a consequence of the continuous overexploitation and unsustainable management, a lot of wells have run dry and there have been drinking water shortages in the city of Zagora, the closest city nearby. Results can help target efforts to improve the implementation of conservation strategies to ensure the sustainability of water use and food production in this region of Morocco.

Solar-Powered Automatic Watering System

This developmental and descriptive study is directed towards developing a solar powered automatic watering system, focusing on its design and development, determining the quality dimensions of the project, and evaluating the level of acceptability in terms of durability, performance, and serviceability. The questionnaire used was adapted from a researcher made questionnaire to gather information on the quality of the product among electrical, electronic, mechanical engineers and practitioners and the level of acceptability among local farmers. The means were used to analyze the data gathered to determine the quality of the project's dimension regarding durability, performance, and serviceability. The project was rated very satisfactory. As to the level of acceptability of the system as assessed by farmers regarding performance and serviceability, the product was rated as very satisfactory. In contrast, a rating in terms of durability earned satisfactorily. Based on these findings, a solar-powered automatic watering system can be developed. It is feasible, operational, and functional. The materials used are available in local markets and nearby cities and municipalities. Furthermore, there is a need to further enhance the project's durability since it was evaluated by the experts as satisfactory only.

Complementary feeding methods in the first year of life: a study protocol for a randomized clinical trial

BackgroundThe traditional spoon-feeding approach to introduction of solid foods during the complementary feeding period is supported by consensus in the scientific literature. However, a method called Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS (BLISS) has been proposed as an alternative, allowing infants to self-feed with no adult interference. To date, there have been no trials in the Brazilian population to evaluate the effectiveness of BLISS in comparison to the traditional approach.Methods/designTo evaluate and compare three different complementary feeding methods. Data on 144 mother-child pairs will be randomized into intervention groups by methods: (A) strict Parent-Led Weaning; (B) strict Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS; and (C) a mixed method. Prospective participants from Porto Alegre, Brazil, and nearby cities will be recruited through the Internet. The interventions will be performed by nutritionists and speech therapists, at 5.5 months of age of the child, at a private nutrition office equipped with a test kitchen where meals will be prepared according to the randomized method. The pairs will be followed up at 7, 9, and 12 months of age. Data will be collected through questionnaires designed especially for this study, which will include a 24h child food recall, questionnaires on the child’s and parents’ eating behavior, oral habits, eating difficulties, and choking prevalence. At 12 months of age, children will undergo blood collection to measure hemoglobin, ferritin, and C-reactive protein, saliva collection for analysis of genetic polymorphisms, and oral examination. Anthropometric parameters (child and maternal) will be measured at the baseline intervention, at a 9 month home visit, and at the end-of-study visit at the hospital. The primary outcome will be child growth and nutritional status z-scores at 12 months; secondary outcomes will include iron status, feeding behavior, acceptability of the methods, dietary variety, choking, eating behaviors, food preferences, acceptance of bitter and sweet flavors, suction, oral habits, oral hygiene behavior, dental caries, gingival health status, and functional constipation.DiscussionThe trial intends to ascertain whether there are potential advantages to the BLISS complementary feeding method in this specific population, generating data to support families and healthcare providers.Trial registrationBrazilian Clinical Trials Registry (ReBEC): RBR- 229scm number U1111-1226-9516. Registered on September 24, 2019.