Knowledge Update

​Tokyo, Feb 2 (IANS) Electronics giant Panasonic has urged its employees to leave office by 8 p.m., during a time when Japan is reviewing its long working hours following the 2015 suicide by a young woman who had put in more than 100 hours of overtime per month.

Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga personally took charge of e-mailing its 100,000 employees in Japan about the decision, a company spokeswoman confirmed to Efe news on Thursday.

The regulation that came into force on February 1, also applies to executive posts, but does not affect the board of directors.

The idea of work-life balance has been gaining momentum in Japan in the light of the suicide case from 2015.

For example, Daiwa Securities Group recently approved a campaign urging employees to leave the office at 7 p.m., while Unicharm, a hygiene products manufacturer, has prohibited overtime after 10 p.m.

Historically, Panasonic has been among those Japanese firms which have paid more attention to such moves; in 1965, it prohibited the 6-day working week amidst the Japanese economic boom, something which most other firms did not change until the 1980s.

The suicide by Matsuri Takahashi in December 2015, after just seven months employment with advertising giant Dentsu, has put the spotlight back on Japanese companies' working hours and "karoshi", or death by excessive work.

The labour ministry has decided to take Takahashi's case to court on the grounds that Dentsu did not comply with labour norms, systematically tampering with their employees' overtime records.

​New York, Feb 2 (IANS) Examining a Martian meteorite found in Africa, scientists have uncovered evidence of at least two billion years of volcanic activity on Mars.

The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, offer new clues to how the planet evolved and insight into the history of volcanic activity on Mars, said lead author of the study Tom Lapen, Professor at University of Houston in the US.

Much of what we know about the composition of rocks from volcanoes on Mars comes from meteorites found on Earth. 

The meteorite, known as Northwest Africa 7635 and discovered in 2012, was found to be a type of volcanic rock called a shergottite. 

Eleven of these Martian meteorites, with similar chemical composition and ejection time, have been found.

"We see that they came from a similar volcanic source," Lapen said. 

"Given that they also have the same ejection time, we can conclude that these come from the same location on Mars," Lapen noted.

Together, these meteorites provide information about a single location on Mars. Previously analysed meteorites range in age from 327 million to 600 million years old. 

In contrast, the meteorite analysed by Lapen's research team was formed 2.4 billion years ago and suggests that it was ejected from one of the longest-lived volcanic centers in the solar system.

The finding confirms that some of the longest-lived volcanoes in the solar system may be found on the Red Planet.

London, Feb 2 (IANS) Do you chronically spend sleepless nights, have poor sleep quality or face difficulties initiating or maintaining sleep? Beware, you may be more than thrice at risk of developing asthma in adulthood, researchers have warned.

Asthma affects approximately 300 million people worldwide, with major risk factors including smoking, obesity and air pollution.

"The study found that those people with chronic insomnia had more than three times the risk of developing asthma, suggesting that any changes in the body due to insomnia may accumulate and result in more severe harmful effects on the airways," said lead author Ben Brumpton from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Norway.

More recently, symptoms of depression and anxiety have also been associated with a risk of developing asthma in adulthood, the researchers said.

For the study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, the team used statistical analysis to assess the risk of asthma among 17,927 participants aged between 20 and 65 years in Norway. 

The results showed that those participants reporting difficulty falling asleep "often" or "almost every night" during the last month had a 65 per cent and 108 per cent increased risk of developing asthma over the following 11 years, respectively.

Similarly, those who reported waking too early without being able to go back to sleep "often" or "almost every night" had a 92 per cent and 36 per cent increased risk of developing asthma. 

For people who reported poor quality sleep more than once a week, the risk of developing asthma increased by 94 per cent.

"As insomnia is a manageable condition, an increased focus on the adverse health effects of insomnia could be helpful in the prevention of asthma," suggested Linn Beate Strand from NTNU.

Beijing, Feb 1 (IANS) In a first, Chinese scientists have used a novel version of the CRISPR gene-editing technology to successfully produce live cows with increased resistance to bovine tuberculosis (TB).

The researchers from Northwest A&F University in China used a modified version of the CRISPR system called CRISPR/Cas9n to insert a new TB resistance gene -- NRAMP1 -- into the genome of bovine foetal fibroblasts -- a cell derived from female dairy cows.

"We used a novel version of the CRISPR system to successfully insert a TB resistance gene into the cow genome. We were then able to successfully develop live cows carrying increased resistance to TB," said led author Yong Zhang.

These cells were then used as donor cells in a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, where the nucleus of a donor cell carrying the new gene is inserted into an egg cell, known as an ovum, from a female cow.

These ovum were then nurtured in the lab into embryos before being transferred into mother cows for a normal pregnancy cycle, in which cows were produced with no off target effects on the animals' genetics -- a common problem when creating transgenic animals using CRISPR.

"Importantly, our method produced no off target effects on the cow genetics meaning the CRISPR technology we employed may be better suited to producing transgenic livestock with purposefully manipulated genetics," Zhang added in the study published in the journal Genome Biology.

For the study, the team used CRISPR to insert the new gene in 11 calves.

The results revealed that NRAMP1 had successfully integrated into the genetic code at the targeted region in all of the calves. 

When exposed to Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) -- the bacterium that causes bovine TB -- the transgenic animals showed an increased resistance to the bacteria measured by standard markers of infection in a blood sample.

Further, white blood cells taken from the calves also showed much resistance to M. bovis exposure in laboratory tests.

​London, Feb 1 (IANS) Observing a curious neutron star in a binary system known as the 'Rapid Burster', scientists have found that its magnetic field could explain 40-year-old mystery surrounding its puzzling X-ray bursts.

Discovered in the 1970s, the Rapid Burster is a binary system comprising a low-mass star in its prime and a neutron star -- the compact remnant of a massive star's demise. 

The scientists discovered that its magnetic field creates a gap around the star, largely preventing it from feeding on matter from its stellar companion. 

Gas builds up until, under certain conditions, it hits the neutron star all at once, producing intense flashes of X-rays. 

The discovery, reported in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, was made with space telescopes including European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and NASA's NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) and Swift missions.

In a a binary system known as the 'Rapid Burster', the gravitational pull of the dense remnant strips the other star of some of its gas; the gas forms an accretion disc and spirals towards the neutron star.

As a result of this accretion process, most neutron star binaries continuously release large amounts of X-rays, which are punctuated by additional X-ray flashes every few hours or days.

Scientists can account for these 'type-I' bursts, in terms of nuclear reactions that are ignited in the inflowing gas -- mainly hydrogen - when it accumulates on the neutron star's surface.

But the Rapid Burster is a peculiar source: at its brightest, it does emit these type-I flashes, while during periods of lower X-ray emission, it exhibits the much more elusive 'type-II' bursts - these are sudden, erratic and extremely intense releases of X-rays.

"The Rapid Burster is the archetypal system to investigate type-II bursts - it's where they were first observed and the only source that shows both type-I and type-II bursts," said lead author Jakob van den Eijnden from Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Despite 40 years of searches, type-II bursts have been detected only in one other source besides the Rapid Burster. 

Known as the Bursting Pulsar and discovered in the 1990s, this binary system exhibits only type-II bursts.

Because of the scarcity of sources that display this phenomenon, the underlying physical mechanisms have long been debated, but the new study of the Rapid Burster could provide evidence for what is occurring.

New York, Feb 1 (IANS) Researchers have invented a hand-held breath monitor that can potentially detect flu virus and help prevent flu epidemics from spreading.

The device could eventually be available in drug stores so that people can be diagnosed quickly and take advantage of medicines used to treat the flu in its earliest stages. 

"I think that technology like this is going to revolutionise personalised diagnostics," said Perena Gouma, Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington in the US.

"This will allow people to be proactive and catch illnesses early and the technology can easily be used to detect other diseases such as Ebola virus disease, simply by changing the sensors," said Gouma, who has described her invention in the journal Sensors.

Gouma's device is similar to the breathalysers used by police officers when they suspect a driver to be under the influence of alcohol. 

A patient simply exhales into the device, which uses semiconductor sensors like those in a household carbon monoxide detector.

The difference is that these sensors are specific to the gas detected, yet still inexpensive, and can isolate biomarkers associated with the flu virus and indicate whether or not the patient has the flu. 

Researchers believe that the device may help prevent flu epidemics from spreading, protecting both individuals as well as the public health.

Gouma and her team relied on existing medical literature to determine the quantities of known biomarkers present in a person's breath when afflicted with a particular disease, then applied that knowledge to find a combination of sensors for those biomarkers that is accurate for detecting the flu. 

Gouma found that the breath monitor may detect the flu virus possibly as well as tests done in a doctor's office.

​New York, Feb 1 (IANS) Astronauts' brains compress and expand during spaceflight, show results of brain scans before and after space missions.

The researchers examined structural MRIs in 12 astronauts who spent two weeks as shuttle crew members, and 14 who spent six months on the International Space Station. 

All experienced increases and decreases in gray matter in different parts of the brain, with the changes more pronounced the longer the astronauts spent time in space, according to the study published in the journal Nature Microgravity.

"We found large regions of gray matter volume decreases, which could be related to redistribution of cerebrospinal fluid in space," said principal investigator Rachael Seidler, Professor at University of Michigan in the US.

"Gravity is not available to pull fluids down in the body, resulting in so-called puffy face in space. This may result in a shift of brain position or compression," Seidler noted.

The researchers also found increases in gray matter volume in regions that control leg movement and process sensory information from legs, which may reflect changes related to the brain learning how to move in microgravity. 

These changes were greater in space station astronauts because their brains were learning and adapting all the time. 

"It's interesting because even if you love something, you won't practice more than an hour a day," Seidler said. 

But the brain changes researchers observed were equivalent to someone practicing a new skill round-the-clock. 

"In space, it's an extreme example of neuroplasticity in the brain because you're in a microgravity environment 24 hours a day," Seidler said. 

Seidler said the brain changes could reflect new connections between neurons.

"The behaviour may return to normal, but the way the brain controls the behaviour may change," she said. 

The findings may lead to new ways of thinking about certain health conditions -- for example, people on long-duration bed rest or people who have normal pressure hydrocephalus, a condition in which cerebrospinal spinal fluid accumulates in ventricles in the brain and causes pressure. 

​New York, Feb 1 (IANS) Children exposed to complications shortly before or during birth are more likely to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD), says a study.

The perinatal complications that had the highest association with ASD were birth asphyxia -- deprivation of oxygen during the birthing process -- and preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure and signs of damage to other organ systems, according to the study published in the American Journal of Perinatology.

Other perinatal complications that were associated with ASD included premature separation of the placenta from the uterus, breech/transverse fetal presentation, fetal dystocia/abnormal size or position, and a prolapsed/exposed umbilical cord.

For this study, researchers examined the electronic health records of 594,638 children born in Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California between 1991 and 2009.

During this time, 6,255 of these children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 37 per cent of whom experienced perinatal complications. 

Researchers found that children exposed to complications during birth were at a 10 per cent increased risk of developing ASD, compared to children who did not experience perinatal complications.

That number rose to a 22 per cent increased risk of developing ASD for children exposed to complications before labour began. 

The study also showed that children exposed to complications both before and during birth had a 44 per cent greater risk of developing ASD than children who did not experience perinatal complications.

"Our study suggests that children exposed to certain perinatal complications, especially birth asphyxia and preeclampsia, were more likely to be diagnosed with ASD than those who were not exposed," said study lead author Darios Getahun from Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. 

"While there currently is no cure for ASD, early identification of children who may be at risk of developing the disorder is extremely important, as research shows that early intervention treatment services for children with ASD can greatly improve their development," Getahun noted.

​Kathmandu, Jan 31 (IANS) Nepal has geared up to develop a strong disaster response plan for major airports following the devastating earthquake in the country on April 2015.

Considering possible disasters in future, more than 30 officials from government agencies and airports, military and humanitarian partners and international experts were discussing the action plan at a four-day workshop which kicked off here on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The event plans to assess and strengthen post-disaster preparedness and arrangements at two of Nepal's most strategic airports, the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) here and the one at Nepalgunj in the western part of the country.

Addressing the inaugural session, Tourism Secretary Shankar Prasad Adhikari said the disaster response capacity of TIA was not sufficient during the earthquake.

"We have to focus on further developing our airports' capacities," he said.

Being a landlocked country, Nepal relies heavily on air routes to transport aid supplies during emergency.

Right after the disaster that killed nearly 9,000 people, the country's only international airport was flooded with humanitarian aid supplies and rescue and relief teams coming from all around the world.

Large aircraft were unable to land at the airport as the runway was damaged from the influx of flights delivering aid.

Valerie Julliand, the UN Development Fund Resident Coordinator for Nepal, said: "We just can't wait for another disaster to strike to have a strong and effective contingency plans to manage the flow of emergency relief goods to the people in need. If Nepal really works on a good action plan, Nepal can transform its vulnerability of being landlocked into strength."

During the workshop, participants and trainers will evaluate the current level of preparedness at the two airports, go through trainings and provide concrete recommendations.

The workshop will also identify priorities for investment in national infrastructure that could further improve Nepal's resilience of emergency supply chains during a disaster. 

​Dubai, Jan 31 (IANS/WAM) The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced plans to launch a new smart phone app to help users locate blood donation centres near them.

The app, to be launched in April, will enable potential donors to answer an eligibility questionnaire and read pre-donation advisory material on their mobile phones prior to visiting blood-donor centres.

"The new system and smart application will help streamline the blood donation process and provide a smart solution that allows donors to locate the nearest blood donation centre, or Mobile Blood Donation Unit, via their mobile phone," said Amani Al Jassmi, director of Information Technology at the DHA.

The app will also allow donors to receive appreciation letters, blood donation reminders and notifications of forthcoming blood donation campaigns.

Additionally, the app will store information of registered donors who agree to donate blood during emergencies and disasters and also reach out to them if the need arises.

May Raouf, director of the DHA Blood Donation Centre, said: "The aim of developing this app is to help the centre stay connected with all its donors, and provide both donors and potential donors with ease of use so that they are encouraged to donate blood and save lives."