Knowledge Update

​New York, June 2 (IANS) Asthma patients may soon do away with their inhalers as researchers, including one of Indian origin, have developed an integrated, wearable system that monitors a user's environment, heart rate and other physical attributes with the goal of predicting and preventing asthma attacks.

"We have tested the system in the benchtop and on a limited number of human subjects for proof of concept demonstration and have confirmed that all of the sensors work, and that the system accurately compiles the data," said study co-author Veena Misra, professor at North Carolina State University in the US.

The system, called the Health and Environmental Tracker (HET), incorporates a host of novel sensing devices, which are incorporated into a wristband and a patch that adheres to the chest.

The patch includes sensors that track a patient's movement, heart rate, respiratory rate, the amount of oxygen in the blood, skin impedance and wheezing in the lungs.

The wristband focuses largely on environmental factors, monitoring volatile organic compounds and ozone in the air, as well as ambient humidity and temperature. 

The wristband also includes additional sensors to monitor motion, heart rate and the amount of oxygen in the blood.

The system also has one nonwearable component: a spirometer, which patients breathe into several times a day to measure lung function.

Data from all of these sensors is transmitted wirelessly to a computer, where custom software collects and records the data.

"This summer, we plan to begin testing HET in a controlled environment with subjects suffering from asthma and a control group, in order to identify which environmental and physiological variables are effective at predicting asthma attacks," Misra noted.

Asthma patients currently rely on inhalers to deal with their symptoms, which can include often-debilitating asthma attacks.

"Our goal was to design a wearable system that could track the wellness of the subjects and in particular provide the infrastructure to predict asthma attacks, so that the users could take steps to prevent them by changing their activities or environment," principal investigator Alper Bozkurt, Assistant Professor at NC State, noted. 

A paper describing the work was published in the IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics.

"Preventing an attack could be as simple as going indoors or taking a break from an exercise routine," lead author James Dieffenderfer, PhD student in the joint biomedical engineering programme at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explained.​

​New York, June 2 (IANS) If you like to observe whether the person sitting next to you is rhythmically drumming his fingers because he's anxious or if someone is preoccupied because she's gazing off into the distance, make sure to use this talent at the workplace.

According to an interesting study, such “observing” people are high in mind-reading motivation (MRM) which can lead to many social benefits, including better teamwork.

MRM is a newly coined term for the practice of observing and interpreting bits of social information. It is the tendency to engage with the mental states and perspectives of others.

“We're not talking about the psychic phenomenon or anything like that but simply using cues from other people's behaviour, their non-verbal signals, to try to figure out what they're thinking," said Melanie Green, associate professor in University at Buffalo.

Individuals high in MRM enjoy speculating on others' thoughts based on the potentially hundreds of social cues they might receive.

Those low in MRM dislike or have no interest in doing so.

MRM is about the motivation to engage with other minds, and is distinct from the ability to accurately interpret others' cues.

“We didn't measure ability directly in our study of teamwork but the research suggests that just the motivation to understand others, and presumably the behaviours that go along with that motivation, appear to lead to benefits," Green added.

In addition to facilitating cooperation and better teamwork, people high in MRM also consider people in great detail and have a nuanced understanding of those around them.

Those high in MRM seem to develop richer psychological portraits of those around them.

“High MRM people are more drawn to and pay more attention to messages with an identifiable source - a spokesperson or an ad focusing on company values - that is, someone whose perspective they can try to understand,” Green noted.

On the other hand, low MRM people seem to pay more attention to ads that are more impersonal, like those that just discuss the product - a message that does not appear to come from a particular person or group.

Green and her colleagues think there might be a difference in how much people enjoy or were motivated to speculate on people's thoughts in situations where there was no situational need or institutional pressure.
It could be as simple as a bus passenger considering the thoughts of those across the aisle.

"This hadn't been previously considered from the standpoint of individual differences," Green stated in a paper published in the journal Motivation and Emotion.

The concept of MRM has been developed by Green and her coauthors Jordan M. Carpenter at the University of Pennsylvania and Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk at Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.​

​New York, June 1 (IANS) Researchers from Duke University have discovered a potential new class of small-molecule drugs that simultaneously block key targets in the treatment of pain.

The findings could lead to the development of a new drug to treat conditions including skin irritation and itching, headaches, jaw pain, and abdominal pain stemming from the pancreas and colon.

"We are very pleased with what is a first chapter in a highly promising story," said Wolfgang Liedtke, Professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham.

"We hope to be able to develop these compounds for clinical use in humans or animals," Liedtke noted.

In the new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers initially aimed to develop more effective blockers of TRPV4, a molecule their previous research had shown transmits skin irritation elicited by sunburn, and painful sensations coming from the head and face. 

The researchers used a prototype TRPV4 blocker in a 2009 study and then set out to develop more potent versions.

Compared to the prototype, one of the new candidate drugs, called "16-8," worked 10 times more effectively in cells with active TRPV4 that are key for the development of osteoarthritis.

It also worked well in another cell type involved in nerve cell injury, stroke and epilepsy.

But to their surprise, when assessing the specificity of 16-8, the scientists discovered that it also blocked TRPA1, which is a promising target in pain and itch research.

"As a physician, I soon realised the enormous potential that these compounds might have, given how beneficial dual-target molecules can be in clinical medicine," Liedtke said.

In this study, the drug 16-8 also quelled pain in living animals, including abdominal aches in mice with pancreas inflammation. 

Liedtke sees potential for the 16-8 drug to treat osteoarthritis and other types of joint pain as well as head, face and jaw pain. 

In general, it might also treat aches radiating from internal organs or resulting from nerve cell injury, the study said.​

Sydney, May 25 (IANS) A team of Australian researchers has demonstrated an optics breakthrough that can revamp night vision by making infra-red technology easy-to-use and cheap.

The team reported a dramatic increase in the absorption efficiency of light in a layer of semiconductor that is only a few hundred atoms thick -- to almost 99 percent light absorption from the current inefficient 7.7 percent.

This can save millions of dollars in defence and other areas using sensing devices, and boost applications of technology to a host of new areas such as agriculture.

Infra-red devices are used for improved vision through fog and for night vision and for observations not possible with visible light.

High-quality detectors cost approximately $100,000 and some require cooling to -200 degrees Celsius.

The team discovered perfect thin film light absorbers could be created simply by etching grooves into them.

“Conventional absorbers add bulk and cost to the infrared detector as well as the need for continuous power to keep the temperature down. The ultra-thin absorbers can reduce these drawbacks," said professor Martijn de Sterke, co-author from University of Sydney's school of physics.

By etching thin grooves in the film, the light is directed sideways and almost all of it is absorbed, despite the small amount of material.

There are many applications that could greatly benefit from perfectly absorbing ultra-thin films, ranging from defence and autonomous farming robots to medical tools and consumer electronics. The findings are forthcoming in the journal Optica.​

New York, June 1 (IANS) Researchers from Duke University have discovered a potential new class of small-molecule drugs that simultaneously block key targets in the treatment of pain.

The findings could lead to the development of a new drug to treat conditions including skin irritation and itching, headaches, jaw pain, and abdominal pain stemming from the pancreas and colon.

"We are very pleased with what is a first chapter in a highly promising story," said Wolfgang Liedtke, Professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham.

"We hope to be able to develop these compounds for clinical use in humans or animals," Liedtke noted.

In the new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers initially aimed to develop more effective blockers of TRPV4, a molecule their previous research had shown transmits skin irritation elicited by sunburn, and painful sensations coming from the head and face. 

The researchers used a prototype TRPV4 blocker in a 2009 study and then set out to develop more potent versions.

Compared to the prototype, one of the new candidate drugs, called "16-8," worked 10 times more effectively in cells with active TRPV4 that are key for the development of osteoarthritis.

It also worked well in another cell type involved in nerve cell injury, stroke and epilepsy.

But to their surprise, when assessing the specificity of 16-8, the scientists discovered that it also blocked TRPA1, which is a promising target in pain and itch research.

"As a physician, I soon realised the enormous potential that these compounds might have, given how beneficial dual-target molecules can be in clinical medicine," Liedtke said.

In this study, the drug 16-8 also quelled pain in living animals, including abdominal aches in mice with pancreas inflammation. 

Liedtke sees potential for the 16-8 drug to treat osteoarthritis and other types of joint pain as well as head, face and jaw pain. 

In general, it might also treat aches radiating from internal organs or resulting from nerve cell injury, the study said.​

New York, June 1 (IANS) The side effects of antipsychotics can be quite problematic and researchers have found that the proportion of adolescents with autism or intellectual disability has increased among youths treated with these medications.

Antipsychotics are a class of psychiatric medication primarily used to manage psychosis, including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought and principally for schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.

The researchers also found that the number of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder being prescribed antipsychotics has also increased over the years in the US. 

For the study, the team performed a meta-analysis of 39 studies and over 350,000 youths with mental illness were examined on the frequency and time trends of antipsychotic prescribing in youth with autism spectrum disorders or intellectual disability.

"The side effects of antipsychotics drugs can be quite problematic, especially in children and adolescents," said lead researcher Christoph Correll from Hofstra University in the US. 

The results were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP). 

Currently, second-generation antipsychotics are the only Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for youths with autism. However, these are approved only for the symptomatic control of irritability and aggression. 

Core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (eg, social and communication difficulties) and core symptoms of intellectual disability, such as problems with understanding and responding appropriately to external data, did not appear to be affected by these medications. 

Clinicians need to consider using psychosocial interventions that are proven to be efficient for behavioural dysregulation such as irritability and aggression, before prescribing antipsychotics to adolescents with autism or intellectual disability, the researchers suggested.

When prescribing antipsychotics, it is imperative to regularly monitor both their efficacy and tolerability in patients through body weight, fasting lipids and glucose, extrapyramidal side effects, sedation, and sexual/reproductive adverse effects as well as to manage abnormalities appropriately, the researchers noted.​

​Toronto, June 1 (IANS) What is the mass of our Milky Way? It is 7X1011 solar masses or, in simpler terms, the mass of our Sun multiplied by 700 billion, say researchers who have tried to measure this galactic challenge with a new method.

The Sun, for the record, has a mass of two nonillion (that's two followed by 30 zeroes) kg or 330,000 times the mass of the Earth.

“And our galaxy isn't even the biggest galaxy," said Gwendolyn Eadie, PhD candidate in physics and astronomy at Hamilton-based McMaster University.

Measuring the mass of our home galaxy, or any galaxy, is particularly difficult. 

A galaxy includes not only stars, planets, moons, gases, dust and other objects and material, but also a big helping of dark matter, a mysterious and invisible form of matter that is not yet fully understood. 

Astronomers, however, can infer the presence of dark matter through its gravitational influence on visible objects.

Eadie has been studying the mass of the Milky Way and its dark matter component by using the velocities and positions of globular star clusters that orbit the Milky Way.

The orbits of globular clusters are determined by the galaxy's gravity, which is dictated by its massive dark matter component. 

What's new about Eadie's research is the technique she devised for using globular cluster (GCs) velocities.

The total velocity of a GC must be measured in two directions: one along our line-of-sight, and one across the plane of the sky (the proper motion). 

Eadie has developed a way to use these velocities that are only partially known, in addition to the velocities that are fully known, to estimate the mass of the galaxy. 

Her method also predicts the mass contained within any distance from the centre of the galaxy, with uncertainties, which makes her results easy to compare with other studies.

Eadie and her academic supervisor William Harris, professor of physics and astronomy at McMaster, have submitted their work for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.​

​Sydney, June 1 (IANS) Contrary to previous beliefs, the population size of a bee specie has increased dramatically during the global warming following the last Ice Age, finds a study.

The Australian small carpenter bee -- found in sub-tropical, coastal and desert areas in Australia -- has flourished in the period of global warming following the last Ice Age some 18,000 years ago.

"You see a rapid increase in population size from about 18,000 years ago just as the climate began warming up after the last Ice Age," says lead author Rebecca Dew from the Flinders University of South Australia. 

Previous studies have showed that bees -- major pollinators and critical for many plants, ecosystems, and agricultural crops -- from diverse habitats respond strongly to climate change.

"Different climate, different environment but the bees have responded in the same way at around the same time," Dew said in the paper published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.

For the study, the team modelled its past responses to climate change with the help of DNA sequences. 

"It is really interesting that you see very similar patterns in bees around the world," Dew noted. 

However, some studies showed that some rare and ancient tropical bees require cool climate and, as a result, are already restricted to the highest mountain peaks. For these species, climate warming could spell their eventual extinction.​

​London, June 1 (IANS) An international team of astrophysicists has stumbled upon an unusual astronomical object -- an Einstein ring which is a distorted image of a very distant galaxy termed as “the source”.

Doctoral student Margherita Bettinelli from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of La Laguna (ULL) along with the team discovered this rare phenomenon while analysing images of the Sculptor dwarf galaxy. 

The phenomena, predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity, is quite rare but scientifically interesting. The interest is sufficiently strong that this object has been given its own name: "The Canarias Einstein ring". 

The chance discovery was made when Bettinelli was examining data taken through the “Dark Energy Camera” (DECam) of the 4m Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile. 

She noticed the peculiar morphology of the Einstein ring. 

The “Canarias Einstein ring” is one of the most symmetrical discovered until now and is almost circular, showing that the two galaxies are almost perfectly aligned. 

The source galaxy is 10,000 million light years away from us. 

Due to the expansion of the Universe, this distance was smaller when its light started on its journey to us, and has taken 8,500 million years to reach us. 

“We observe it as it was then: a blue galaxy which is beginning to evolve, populated by young stars which are forming at a high rate. The lens galaxy is nearer to us, 6,000 million light years away, and is more evolved. Its stars have almost stopped forming, and its population is old,” the authors noted.

"Studying these phenomena gives us especially relevant information about the composition of the source galaxy, and also about the structure of the gravitational field and of the dark matter in the lens galaxy,” explained Antonio Aparicio, one of the astrophysicts who is leading the research. 

The results were published in the international journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.​