Current Events in October 2018

Though many adults struggle to get the recommended amount of sleep each night -- and then pay the price for it in the morning -- there is no shortage of research touting the positive effects of getting a good night’s rest.

A recent study performed by researchers at the University of Bristol could be beneficial for those with big decisions to make. The study examined the ways short bursts of sleep affect decision-making during waking hours, while also exploring the ways the sleeping brain processes information from consciousness.

The power of naps

To test the power of sleep, the researchers performed an electroencephalogram (EEG) on the study’s 16 participants to test the change in their brain activity following specific trials.

The trials included a control group -- which was asked to respond upon seeing a red or blue square on a screen -- and a group that performed a “masked priming task.”

In the latter group, the participants were exposed to bits of information very briefly, and the researchers quickly “masked it” before the participants could consciously register it. The goal with this group was to expose the participants to the information without their awareness so as not to alter their performance in the experiment in any way, but to see if the minimal exposure was processed subconsciously in later stages of the study.

Both groups performed their tasks and were then randomly chosen to either nap for 90 minutes or stay awake before repeating their tasks.

Following the nap, the group with the masked priming task completed the task with a better time; however, that same group that stayed awake did not have an improved time -- and neither did the nappers and non-nappers in the control group.

With this information, the scientists concluded that sleep -- even in short bursts -- positively affects problem-solving abilities. The researchers believe their findings speak to the brain’s ability to thoughtfully process information during periods of rest.

The study’s lead researcher -- Dr. Liz Coulthard -- called the results “remarkable,” and also urged further research in this area to “compare if and how the findings differ between ages.”

Lack of sleep comes with risks  

While this study highlights the benefits of sleep, a recent study done at Michigan State University also found several detrimental effects that come with sleep deprivation.

Though the effects of sleep deprivation are wide-reaching, some have greater repercussions than others.

“Every day, approximately 11 sponges are left inside patients who have undergone surgery,” said Kimberly Fenn, associate professor of psychology, director of the MSU Sleep and Learning Lab, and the lead author of the study. “That’s 4,000 potentially dire missteps each year and an example of a procedural task gone terribly wrong that can result from sleep deprivation.”

“Our research suggests that sleep-deprived people shouldn’t perform tasks in which they are interrupted -- or, only perform them for short periods.”

Working Cow Homemade Ice Cream of St. Petersburg, Fla., is recalling its No Sugar Added Vanilla and No Sugar Added Chocolate ice cream.

The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

One consumer illness has been linked to a strain of Listeria monocytogenes found to be present at the Working Cow manufacturing facility during environmental sampling in 2017.

No other illnesses have been reported.

The recalled products, manufactured in three-gallon tubs during May 2018, are marked with a label including product name and “born-on” date. The born-on date refers to the manufacturing date.

What to do

Customers, including ice cream parlors, independent living facilities and restaurants throughout the state of Florida, who purchased the recalled products should contact Working Cow for proper return and credit.

Consumers with questions may call Working Cow headquarters at (877) 320-2269, Monday – Friday from 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM (EDT).

Callie's Charleston Biscuits is recalling Country Ham Biscuits and Cocktail Ham Biscuits.

The products may contain Johnston County Hams, which were recalled in early October due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the recalled products.

The following items, produced and shipped nationwide between April 3, 2017, and October 3, 2018, are being recalled:

• Callie's Charleston Biscuits - Country Ham Biscuits UPC: 897856002001
• Callie's Charleston Biscuits - Cocktail Ham Biscuits UPC: 897856002049

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard them or return thems to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions regarding the recall may contact Kevin Hackler at (843) 577-1198.

The oil and gas lobby long ago abandoned its campaign of climate denial and is now promoting the idea that Americans are on their way to solving the global warming crisis thanks to its efforts.   

“The natural gas and oil industry is actively addressing the complex global challenge of climate change through robust investments in technology innovation, efficiency improvements, and cleaner fuels,” the American Petroleum Institute (API), the trade group that represents Exxon and dozens of other major oil and gas companies, tells ConsumerAffairs in an emailed statement.

The API issued the statement in response to a dire new warning from the United Nations. The organization says emissions must be cut drastically within twelve years to avoid ecological disaster, according to a report published on Monday.

While the world governments participating in the Paris climate agreement have set a goal of keeping the earth’s temperature at 2℃,  the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said Monday that 1.5℃ is the better choice. Lowering the limit to 1.5℃ would have “clear benefits to people and natural ecosystems,” the report says.

Instead, however, the world is going the opposite direction and is on track to reach between 3 and 5 degrees, according to the authors.

Using the year 2010 as a benchmark, the IPCC says that humanity must cut its emissions 45 percent by 2030 to meet the 1.5℃ goal.

“Any increase in global warming is projected to affect human health, with primarily negative consequences,” they write.

Industry points to natural gas as the answer

The report does not identify the specific industries or countries that have contributed disportionately to the disaster. But research last year by the Carbon Dislcosue Project, a UK-based think tank, identifies 25 corporations or government-backed energy entities as being responsible for 51 percent of the world’s emissions. A total of 100 companies were identified as contributing to 71 percent of the world’s emissions.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) represents several companies listed in that study, including Exxon (#5), Shell (#9), and Chevron (#12). Asked if the companies would make a stronger effort to reduce emissions in light of that and the UN’s more recent research, the API pointed to its investment in natural gas.

“While global CO2 emissions have risen 50 percent since 1990, U.S. CO2 emissions are at 25-year lows due in large part to clean and abundant U.S. natural gas powering homes and businesses as the number one source of U.S. electricity generation today,” the API’s statement to ConsumerAffairs continues in response.

The IPCC, meanwhile, says that just 8 percent of the electricity grid must come from gas by 2050 to meet the 1.5℃ goal. An additional 8 percent can come from coal; the remainder must come from renewables, the report says. Currently, gas and coal each hover around 30 percent of the electricity grid in the U.S..

U.S. is getting lower -- but compared to what?

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the federal agency that tracks energy sources and emissions, has also said that U.S. C02 emissions are at a 25-year-low due to natural gas replacing coal on the grid. But a study published in June in the journal Science claims the EPA has underestimated methane leaks from natural gas operations by 60 percent.

The API declined to address that specific study in its statement or answer follow-up questions. Instead, spokesman Reid Porter forwarded over links to articles on the API website.

“There’s talk about reducing greenhouse gas emissions – and then there’s taking steps to produce measurable results,” one such API article says. “The United States is in the second category, with the natural gas and oil industry playing the leading role.”

The U.S. may be reducing its emissions more than we otherwise would thanks to the industry efforts, but environmental scientists say that much more drastic action is needed.

China, the United States, and the European Union play an outsize role in contributing to climate change, according to World Bank data. And while the gas industry says that a domestic drilling boom is necessary to achieve energy independence, the oil industry’s own lobby also acknowledges that it is fast becoming one of the world’s leading exporters.

High-profile industry campaigns

Exxon several weeks ago agreed to join Shell, Occidental Petroleum, and others in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative -- an oil industry group devoted specifically to investing in technology to combat climate change.

The industry coalition says it is focusing its efforts on reducing methane emissions, though it claims that the industry is not responsible for methane leaks in all parts of the production chain.

“Our target for our own upstream production facilities is important, but our aim is to work towards near zero methane emissions from the full gas value chain, including transport and distribution to final customers (downstream),”  the industry group says on its website, “which in most cases we do not own or control.”

Exxon, Shell, and BP have also thrown their support behind the Paris accord, despite the United States’ backtracking, and last year joined a dozen major corporations and Republican Senators in proposing $40 tax on each ton of C02 emissions. That industry group said the tax would allow for a “free-market, limited government” response to climate change. And in response to investor pressure, Shell has promised to cut the amount of oil that it will sell in half by 2050.

Numerous other companies and industry groups are similarly promoting voluntary, market-based measures to reduce emissions, an idea supported by some politicians on both sides of the aisle. But industry critics argue that the only full-proof solution is to make fossil fuels increasingly expensive -- and to effectively discourage companies from drilling, rather than encouraging them to drill more responsibly.  

Drilling ahead

Oil and natural gas production continues to break records in the United States, surpassing records set in 1970, and people raising questions about new oil and gas projects say that they have been confronted by an increasingly shadowy regulatory system, even before Trump took office.

“As long as oil and gas production and output continue to increase, it is very hard to argue that there will be any decline in emissions, because a barrel of oil and gas eventually will turn into an emission at some point,” investment analyst Dr. Henrik Jeppesen told ConsumerAffairs last month.

It’s for that reason that a leading climate researcher and former NASA scientist has accused world governments and both the Obama and Trump administrations of failing to take any meaningful action to cut emissions and address the crisis.

“All we’ve done is agree there’s a problem,” he recently told the Guardian.  “We agreed that in 1992 [at the Earth summit in Rio] and re-agreed it again in Paris [at the 2015 climate accord]. We haven’t acknowledged what is required to solve it. Promises like Paris don’t mean much, it’s wishful thinking. It’s a hoax that governments have played on us since the 1990s.”

Google is shutting down Google+ for consumers following reports that a bug in the system could have leaked some personal information users posted to their profiles.

According to a report by Google, there is no evidence anyone discovered the vulnerability and took advantage of it. After a review, Alphabet -- Google's parent company -- decided it was time to pull the plug.

"This review crystallized what we’ve known for a while: that while our engineering teams have put a lot of effort and dedication into building Google+ over the years, it has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps," the company wrote in a blog post. "The consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds."

It was that review that revealed the bug in the system -- specifically in the Google+ People API. In that part of the app users can grant access to their profile data, and the public profile information of their friends, to Google+ apps, via the API. The bug allowed apps, not marked as public, to get access to that data and share it.

Not known how many users were affected

It's not known which and how many users were affected. Because of the way the system was set up, the log data is only kept for two weeks. But Google said it ran a detailed analysis over the two weeks before the bug was patched and concluded that the profiles of as many as 500,000 users could have been affected.

According to Google, the data was limited to optional Google+ profile information that included name, email address, occupation, and age. The company stressed it did not include other data users may have posted to Google+ or any other service.

The company discovered the bug in March but is only now revealing it.

"We believe it occurred after launch as a result of the API’s interaction with a subsequent Google+ code change," the company said. "We found no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API, and we found no evidence that any profile data was misused."

Google is just the latest tech giant to reveal privacy issues. Facebook has been struggling to reassure users since March when it revealed user data was misappropriated and used for political advertising purposes.

Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) recently outlined a set of 10 principles that he hopes will one day evolve from its current draft phase to become an actual “Internet Bill of Rights.”

Each of the principles on the list would be enacted with the goal of protecting consumers’ data in the digital age.

"There's great concern that Americans have about the protection of their privacy online and about their security online," Khanna told the Los Angeles Times.

The principles cover a range of topics that have been subjects of criticism and controversy among both consumers and lawmakers -- from net neutrality, to timely notification of hacks or breaches, to the ability to opt-in for data collection.

Ten principles

The complete draft, first obtained by The New York Times, states that American consumers should have the right:

• to have access to and knowledge of all collection and uses of personal data by companies;

• to opt-in consent to the collection of personal data by any party and to the sharing of personal data with a third party;

• where context appropriate and with a fair process, to obtain, correct, or delete personal data controlled by any company and to have those requests honored by third parties;

• to have personal data secured and to be notified in a timely manner when a security breach or unauthorized access of personal data is discovered;

• to move all personal data from one network to the next;

• to access and use the internet without internet service providers blocking, throttling, engaging in paid prioritization or otherwise unfairly favoring content, applications, services or devices;

• to internet service without the collection of data that is unnecessary for providing the requested service absent opt-in consent;

• to have access to multiple viable, affordable internet platforms, services, and providers with clear and transparent pricing;

• to not to be unfairly discriminated against or exploited based on your personal data; and

• to have an entity that collects your personal data have reasonable business practices and accountability to protect your privacy.

The unveiling of the principles follows a series of privacy scandals, including the massive Equifax data breach disclosed last year and Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data-sharing scandal that came to light earlier this year.

But despite these breaches of privacy, efforts to pass data protection laws have not progressed far enough to benefit consumers. Just this month, the entire broadband industry sued the state of California over its newly enacted net neutrality protections.

In a research note to clients, Macquarie Research analyst Maynard Um kicked off coverage of Tesla with an outperform rating. He said the electric automaker appears on track to hit its production target and “should be able to achieve profitability in the second half of this year.”

Um also set a price target on Tesla stock of $430, compared to about $250 recently.

"We believe the auto industry is on the precipice of a multi-decade transformation driven by disruptive innovation and technology," the analyst wrote.

Um said the company -- which he argues should be viewed as a technology company rather than a conventional carmaker -- is “uniquely positioned” to lead in the area of in-vehicle ecosystems “given its lead in deep software platform integration into its electric vehicles and its position in autonomous with more than 8 million miles of real-world driving data per day."

Confidence in Tesla

The company’s stock price climbed about 5.2 percent during Tuesday morning trading on the note. Before that, Tesla’s stock was down more than 19 percent year-to-date, driven lower in part due to CEO Elon Musk’s erratic behavior.

Um acknowledged that Musk’s behavior -- which has ranged from making false statements about having the funding to take the company private to mocking the SEC on Twitter -- might have investors "understandably concerned."

"Musk's actions and behaviour could adversely impact Tesla's multiple," he wrote. However, "Musk will continue to be a key part of Tesla in the foreseeable future."

Um’s confidence in Tesla is based on the company being able to overcome its debt challenges, which he believes is possible through the presence of multiple sources of cash flow. He said raising cash by selling equity could benefit the company, even though Musk has said that Tesla doesn’t need to raise more cash.

"While CEO Elon Musk has said the company does not have to raise more capital, we believe a raise through equity would be beneficial in further strengthening its longer-term outlook as well as providing a cushion in case of any unexpected periods of economic softening,” Um wrote.

“Macquarie estimated Tesla will get $500 million to $600 million in revenue from clean energy government credits in the second half of 2018. He also said cash flow will be boosted by rising Model 3 sales and access to $1.2 billion in unused debt,” according to CNBC.

As both asthma and obesity are on the rise in the United States, researchers completed a study that tested if the former is directly linked to the latter -- particularly in children.

While much research has been done on the ways childhood obesity leads to asthma, not much work had been done to investigate how asthma leads to obesity. The study was recently published in the European Respiratory Journal, and the researchers found the results to be significant because asthma proved to be linked to health risks beyond the childhood years.

“We care about this issue because asthma affects approximately 6.5 million children -- about one in 10 -- in the United States,” says lead author of the study Lida Chatzi. “It’s a chronic childhood disorder and if it increases the risk of obesity, we can advise parents and physicians and how to treat it and intervene to help young children grow up to enjoy healthy, adult lives.”

Largest study about asthma and obesity

As the largest study ever done on asthma and obesity, the researchers analyzed over 21,000 participants from nine different countries: Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Italy, and France.

All of the participants were born between 1990 and 2008 and were diagnosed with asthma by four years old. The participants were monitored in the study until they were eight years old.

The study found several links between childhood asthma and obesity, but for children that were on asthma medication, the risk of later developing obesity was the highest. The researchers believe this to be because of the side effects associated with popular corticosteroids that are used to treat asthma.

“Asthma may contribute to the obesity epidemic,” says researcher Frank Gilliland, professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine. “We urgently need to know if prevention and adequate treatment of asthma can reduce the trajectory toward obesity.”

Additional findings showed that children with active asthma -- asthma induced by exercise or physical activity -- were twice as likely to develop obesity, while children who regularly experienced wheezing -- a high-pitched whistling sound that occurs when breathing due to narrowed airways -- were 50 percent more likely to develop obesity compared with those who didn’t.

The study also found that children with asthma were 66 percent more likely -- on average -- to develop obesity compared with those who don’t have asthma.

The researchers noted that both conditions -- asthma and obesity -- are typically detected in the first years of life and prove to be pivotal for later development.

New research suggests that a significant percentage of dishes advertised on restaurant menus as being “gluten-free” still contain gluten.

A study presented Monday at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting found that about one-third (32 percent) of restaurant menu items listed as free of gluten actually were not free of the substance.

For the study, researchers recruited volunteers nationwide to test 5,624 foods using portable gluten detection devices. Eighty-four percent of the foods tested were specifically labeled as “gluten-free,” but 32 percent of that figure contained gluten at levels of at least 20 parts per million (ppm).

Some “gluten-free” dishes were more likely than others to be contaminated with gluten -- namely, pizza and pasta. About half of pizza and pasta offerings that were labeled “gluten-free” still contained gluten, according to lead author Dr. Benjamin A. Lerner of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University in New York City.

"Restaurants are now offering gluten-free options more than ever before,” Lerner said in a statement. He noted that the FDA regulates packaged foods claiming to be gluten-free, however “no similar oversight exists for restaurants.”

"Given the possibility of cross-contamination, eating out can be a source of risk and anxiety for many patients,” Lerner continued.

Time of day a factor

The study, which took place over the course of 18 months, revealed that time of day also played a role in the likelihood that “gluten-free” menu options would still contain gluten. Gluten contamination was higher during dinner than at breakfast (34 percent vs. 27 percent, respectively.)

Additionally, gluten contamination was found more often in fast food restaurants such as McDonald's (33 percent) than in casual dining restaurants such as TGI Fridays (about 29 percent) or fast casual restaurants such as Chipotle (22 percent). More than 30 percent of the gluten detection tests produced positive results for beef, burgers, french fries, and desserts.

Lerner noted that the study’s findings might not be representative of all restaurant foods labeled gluten-free, as participants may have selected some dishes based on their doubts about gluten contamination.

Still, Lerner says the findings are “a big deal” considering approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population has celiac disease.

“For those patients, exposure to gluten in their diet can cause various symptoms — nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain. But also it can cause damage to their intestines,” he told Today.

"In future research, we hope to investigate the potential mechanisms of gluten contamination in restaurant foods and identify interventions to reduce its occurrence,” Lerner said.

Since last week, interest rates on U.S. government bonds have been quickly rising. The yield on the Treasury's 10-year bond hit 3.25 percent Tuesday for the first time since 2011.

But how does all of this affect you, the average consumer? It depends on your circumstances.

If you are someone who saves money each month, this may come as good news. After years of getting practically nothing on your savings, you can purchase a 10-year government bond and earn 3.25 percent interest.

Banks, which have paid less than 1 percent on savings for years, will begin to pay higher interest on savings because they can purchase government bonds paying 3.25 percent and pay a slightly lesser amount on deposits, pocketing the difference.

However, if you have invested your savings in the stock market, your assets may take a beating in the short-term. The current valuation of stocks is based, in part, on cheap money. As the costs of borrowing go up, those valuations get stretched. Not surprisingly, stocks have sold off so far this month.

Impact on home buying

For consumers thinking about buying a home, the rise in bond yields comes at a bad time. That's because mortgage rates are tied to the government's 10-year bond. When the interest rate on it rises, so do mortgage rates.

In its latest survey, Bankrate.com puts the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.78 percent. Not long ago, a homebuyer could find a mortgage rate below 4 percent.

A higher mortgage rate means a higher monthly payment for the same house. Buyers may have to settle for less house or sellers may have to lower their price to make a sale. Regardless, the rise in bond yields will have an impact on the housing market.

Fed may double-down

Rising bond yields will send a signal to the Federal Reserve that it is on the right path in raising its key interest rate. Interest rates on bonds are going up in part because the government is selling more bonds, but also because the economy is growing and inflation is reappearing.

As the Fed tightens the federal funds rate, interest rates on car loans and credit cards rise accordingly. That makes a car payment more expensive, meaning a consumer might opt for a used vehicle instead of a new one.

For consumers carrying a large credit card balance, the burden may be heaviest. The average interest rate on credit cards is already at a record level, expected to surpass 17 percent in the weeks ahead.

It's now almost certain the Fed will hike the federal funds rate again in December, boosting the interest charges on credit cards even higher.

The news keeps getting better for job seekers. Days after the government reported unemployment is at a half-century low, a private forecast predicts the economy will keep up the job-producing pace.

A report from CareerBuilder.com predicts the U.S. will add 8,310,003 jobs from 2018 to 2023, a more than 5 percent increase. But most of those jobs, researchers say, will go to high income and low-income workers. Those in the middle could find jobs to be more scarce.

Not surprisingly, the study found that STEM-related jobs -- those involving science, technology, engineering, and math -- will dominate the fastest-growing occupations.

"Technology innovation is moving at an unprecedented rate and is rapidly redefining the occupations and skills required in the job market," said Irina Novoselsky, CEO of CareerBuilder. "Most of the fastest-growing occupations have a technical component to them. Employers will need to play a greater role in providing competency-based training to the workforce."

To land one of these future jobs, Novoselsky says workers will need to continually improve their skills to adapt to changing labor demands.

Middle-wage workers most at risk

"This is a particularly pressing issue for middle-wage workers who are at greater risk for becoming displaced and workers in general who want to move up into better-paying jobs," Novoselsky said.

The study defined low-wage jobs as those paying $14.17 or less an hour. Middle-wage jobs are those paying $14.18 to $23.59 an hour and high-wage jobs are those paying more than $23.24 an hour.

In the technology field, "software developer" is projected to be among the fastest-growing occupations. The study projects a nearly 16 percent growth rate over the next five years. It also falls squarely among the high-wage jobs, paying an average of $48 an hour.

In the healthcare sector, "registered nurse" is projected to grow at 8.39 percent in the next five years, adding 143,466 jobs. It pays an average of $33.55 an hour.

Slow-growing occupations

Customer service reps, construction workers, maintenance personnel, and billing clerks are among the middle-wage jobs that will see sluggish growth, according to the study.

At the same time, the study sees a significant increase in demand for home health aides, security guards, cooks, and nursing assistants, all of which are included in low-wage occupations.

In September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the professional and business services sector produced the most jobs -- 54,000. It was followed by health care and transportation/warehousing.

Breast cancer affects hundreds of thousands of women in the United States each year, and much research has been done on risk factors that influence breast cancer diagnoses.

While previous studies have shown obesity increases the risk for breast cancer, a new study published in CANCER tested the effects of weight loss on the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The researchers found that older women who lost weight had less of a risk of developing invasive breast cancer, as opposed to those that either maintained or gained weight.

“Our study indicates that moderate, relatively short-term weight reduction was associated with a statistically significant reduction in breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women,” said lead author Dr. Rowan Chlebowski.

Effects of weight loss

To test their hypothesis, the researchers evaluated information from over 61,000 women who had participated in the World Health Initiative Observational Study.

At the start of the study, each woman’s body mass index (BMI), height, and weight were recorded. Participants were evaluated again three years into the study as either stable, loss, or gain. The women in the study also all had normal mammogram results and no history of breast cancer.

The study found that gaining weight wasn’t a direct link to breast cancer. However, participants in the study who did gain weight -- by at least five percent -- were 54 percent more likely to develop triple negative breast cancer -- a strain of the disease that doesn’t respond to hormonal therapy.

On the other hand, those who experienced a weight loss by at least five percent were 12 percent less likely to develop breast cancer.

American Honda Motor Co. is recalling 505 model year 2018 Honda CRF250L motorcycles.

The wiring harness may have been inappropriately installed, potentially resulting in damage to the wiring harness and affecting the operation of safety components such as the exterior lighting, horn, and instrument panel.

Lack of exterior lights can reduce the visibility of the motorcycle to traffic. A non-functioning horn can cause the inability to alert traffic of an impending crash, and a non-functioning instrument panel will not display the speed or fuel level. A damaged wiring harness can also result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wiring harness, replacing it as necessary, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin November 5, 2018.

Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-866-784-1870. Honda's number for this recall is KJ7.

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling 674 model year 2018-2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglios.

The engine cooling hose may have inadequate webbing material allowing a coolant leak.

A loss of coolant can cause the engine to overheat and the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the coolant hose, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin November 3, 2018.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is U99.

Facebook users are being warned that a scam is circulating in which users receive a personal message that appears to be from a friend warning them that they received “another friend request from you.”

One variation of the message reads:

“Hi…I actually got another friend request from you yesterday…which I ignored so you may want to check your account. Hold your finger on the message until the forward button appears…then hit forward and all the people you want to forward too…I had to do the people individually.  Good Luck!”

Other variations of the message are also making the rounds, including one that begins, "Heads-up!! Almost every account is being cloned. Your picture and your name are used to create a new facebook account (they don't need your password to do this this).”

Experts say the messages are part of a long-running hoax. No variation of the “Got another friend request from you” message should be passed on to other users, and the claims in the message shouldn’t be believed.

Don’t forward the message

Warning consumers not to be duped by the scam, tech expert Burton Kelso explained that occasionally Facebook accounts are cloned and “the hackers will send your friend’s phishing emails to dupe them into clicking on a link that will infect them.”

“Stop forwarding that latest warning from your Facebook friends about being hacked. You weren’t. It’s bogus,” Kelso wrote on Facebook.

If one of the messages is received, Kelso says users should simply ignore and delete the message. As an additional precaution, users can also change their privacy settings.

“The best way to keep your Facebook account from getting cloned is to hide your friends list,” Kelso said. Instructions for how to do so can be viewed here.

Hand sanitizer may be superior to hand washing when it comes to reducing sick days among young children in day care, a new study suggests.

Over the course of eight months, researchers in Spain studied the hand hygiene routines of more than 900 children aged 0-3 at two dozen day care centers.

The children were split into three groups: one group used hand sanitizer, one washed with soap and water, and the third group was given hand-washing advice at the beginning of the study but told to keep washing their hands the way they normally do.

By the end of the study period, respiratory infections had been the cause of 5,186 missed days at the day care centers. But children who had been educated about hand sanitizer had significantly fewer missed days of school, respiratory infections, and antibiotic prescriptions compared to kids in both of the other groups.

Children in the hand sanitizer group had 23 percent fewer respiratory infections -- as defined by the presence of symptoms like coughing, sneezing, congestion, and sore throat -- compared with kids in the third group. Kids in the soap-and-water group were 21 percent more likely to get an infection than those in the sanitizer group and 31 percent more likely to need antibiotics.

Respiratory infections common in day care centers

Respiratory infections have particularly serious risks to children younger than five, and the prevalence of these illnesses among children attending day care centers makes them a “major public health problem." These types of illnesses have also been linked with excessive antibiotic use, the researchers noted.

“There are studies in which researchers assess the impact of hand hygiene programs on infectious disease transmission reduction in schools and households,” the research team, led by  Dr. Ernestina Azor-Martinez, wrote.

“However, there are few recent studies that reveal their effectiveness in day care centers, specifically, those in which researchers examine hand hygiene health education importance for day care staff and parents to reduce infection transmission in day care centers.”

Adult supervision necessary

In an interview with CNN, Janet Haas, director of epidemiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said that although the study was conducted in Spain, its findings are applicable in other locations.

"There is a place for alcohol hand sanitizers, and the public may not be aware of how effective they can be," Haas said. "I think people still think of them as 'if you can't get to a sink, this is second best,' but in this study, it showed that it was better than the soap and water hand-washing for this group."

However, experts stress that adult supervision is crucial when allowing children to use hand sanitizer. “The caveat here is that you can't have little kids putting that in their mouth and possibly getting alcohol intoxication,” Haas added.

The full study has been published in the journal Pediatrics.

Diabetes affects hundreds of millions of Americans in the United States, and experts say that number is only expected to trend upwards in the coming years.

However, a new Japanese study found that there are several indicators that can reveal the onset of diabetes decades in advance.  

“As the vast majority of people with type 2 diabetes go through the stage of prediabetes, our findings suggest that elevated metabolic markers for diabetes are detectable more than 20 years before its diagnosis,” said lead researcher Dr. Hiroyuki Sagesaka of Aizawa Hospital in Matsumoto, Japan.

Identifying risks

Throughout the study, the researchers evaluated body mass index (BMI), insulin sensitivity, and fasting blood glucose in the participants -- none of whom had diabetes at the onset of the study.

The study included 27,392 individuals, with an average age of 49 years old. They were monitored by the researchers until a diagnosis of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, or the end of the study in 2016, depending on which occurred first.

Over the course of the study, the participants that developed either diabetes or prediabetes showed similar risk signs early on. Insulin resistance, BMI, and fasting glucose all contributed -- and were more common -- in those that developed prediabetes or diabetes, and were present in the participants up to 10 years before a formal diagnosis. The researchers found that the risks only intensified over time.

Considering these risk factors, nearly 1,100 individuals developed type 2 diabetes, while approximately 4,800 participants developed prediabetes throughout the study.

Dr. Sagesaka believes the key is getting involved before the prediabetes stage, so as to prevent the development of diabetes. “A much earlier intervention trail, either drug or lifestyle related, is warranted,” he said.

The study findings were presented from October 1-5 in Berlin, Germany at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting.