Knowledge Update

​London, Jan 15 (IANS) Want to make your New Year resolution successful? Try relocating, as it may help to overcome the things one wants to change in themselves, a new study says.

The study showed that the time for successful habit change is not based on the calendar, but on big changes in our everyday lives like moving to a new home."Changing your habits is very difficult, including finding the right moment to make a change," said Bas Verplanken, Professor at the University of Bath in Britain.

New Year may be a nice moment to mark the start of a new phase, but "the change in behaviour is embedded in other changes," Verplanken explains."In the case of moving to a new home for instance, people may need to find new solutions for how to do things in the new house, where and how to shop, commute, and so on. All of these aspects are absent when talking about New Year resolutions," Verplanken added.

For the study, the researchers studied the behaviours of over 800 people, half of whom had recently moved and the rest who had been at the same home for several years.The participants responded to questions on 25 environment related behaviours including water and energy use, commuting choices, and waste (food waste, recycling).

The result showed that people who recently relocated reported more change eight weeks later on a composite of twenty-five environment-relevant behaviours compared to participants who had not recently relocated.These results were consistent in spite of the strength of previous habits and views, and are consistent with research from others. The study was presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Annual Convention in the US.

New York, Jan 14 (IANS) Wish to live longer? Eating hot red chilli peppers with cholesterol lowering properties may help, researchers say.

The findings showed that consumption of hot red chilli peppers can lead to a 13 per cent reduction in total mortality, primarily in deaths due to heart disease or stroke.

People who were regular consumers of hot red chilli peppers showed lower cholesterol.

Although the researchers are not certain about the mechanism by which peppers could delay mortality, "transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, which are primary receptors for pungent agents such as capsaicin -- the principal component in chilli peppers -- may in part be responsible for the observed relationship," said Mustafa Chopan from University of Vermont in the US. 

Capsaicin is believed to play a role in cellular and molecular mechanisms that prevent obesity and modulate coronary blood flow and also possesses anti-microbial properties that "may indirectly affect the host by altering the gut microbiota," Chopan said.

Peppers and spices have been for centuries thought to be beneficial in the treatment of diseases.

For the study, the team examined more than 16,000 Americans who were followed for up to 23 years. 

The results found that consumers of hot red chilli peppers tended to be "younger, male, white, Mexican-American, married, and to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol and consume more vegetables and meats... had lower HDL-cholesterol, lower income, and less education," in comparison to participants who did not consume red chilli peppers. 

The study was published in the journal PLoS ONE.

​London, Jan 14 (IANS) People who suffer with early schizophrenia may also be at risk of developing diabetes, even before being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs and a poor lifestyle -- poor diet and sedentary behaviour -- associated with prolonged period of illness, a study has found.

Schizophrenia -- a brain disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally -- is known to be associated with a reduced life expectancy of up to 30 years. 

This is largely due to the onset of Type 2 diabetes, which increases the risk of physical health disorders such as heart attack or stroke, the researchers said.

"Our findings tell us that people with early schizophrenia have already started down the road to developing diabetes, even if they haven't been diagnosed with diabetes yet," said lead author Toby Pillinger from King's College London.

The findings showed that people with long-term schizophrenia are three times more likely than the general population to have diabetes, something which has previously been attributed to poor diet and exercise habits in this group, as well as the use of antipsychotic medication.

For the study, the team examined data from 16 studies comprising 731 people with a first episode of schizophrenia and 614 people from the general population. 

Blood tests revealed that people with schizophrenia had higher higher levels of insulin and insulin resistance, which increased their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared with healthy controls.

Other factors that may raise the risk of developing diabetes include, premature birth, low birth-weight and the stress associated with developing schizophrenia that increases the levels of cortisol -- the stress hormone.

"Our study highlights the importance of considering physical health at the onset of schizophrenia and calls for a more holistic approach to its management, combining physical and mental health," Pillinger noted.

The study was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. 

Beijing, Jan 13 (IANS) An oil-electricity hybrid locomotive, the most powerful of its kind, was started in an experiment in extreme cold weather in northeast China, said manufacturing company CRRC Ziyang Co Ltd.

The experiment was conducted in Hulunbuir in the north of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Thursday morning when the local temperature was minus 40 degrees Celsius, Xinhua news agency reported.

Despite the extreme cold weather, the temperature in the cab was 25 degrees Celsius and the batteries showed a temperature of 12 degrees Celsius, suitable for the operation.

The experiment marked the end of a series of experiments for the hybrid locomotive, said Xiang Jun, chairman of the company based in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

On January 7, the locomotive carried out a successful small operation experiment in environment of minus 30 degrees Celsius in northeast China.

In August 2016, the same locomotive had operated in high temperatures in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Hybrid locomotives are environment friendly, energy-saving and less noisy, according to Xiang. 

The successful experiments in both extreme cold and hot weather showed the world's largest-power hybrid locomotive can run in environment with different temperatures, he said.

New York, Jan 13 (IANS) It is very likely that you have a namesake who is very distinct from your personality. To disambiguate you two, a new method has been developed that can tell you from your namesake.

This ambiguity often occurs in bibliographic, law enforcement and other areas.

Computer scientists from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have developed a novel machine-learning method to provide better solutions to this perplexing problem. 

"We can teach the computer to recognise names and disambiguate information accumulated from a variety of sources -- Facebook, Twitter and blog posts, public records and other documents -- by collecting features such as Facebook friends and keywords from people's posts using the identical algorithm," explained Mohammad al Hasan, Associate Professor, IUPUI. 

The new method, unlike the existing methods, can perform non-exhaustive classification so that it can tell whom a new record, which appears in streaming data, belongs to.

"Our method grows and changes when new persons appear, enabling us to recognise the ever-growing number of individuals whose records were not previously encountered. While working in non-exhaustive setting, our model automatically detects such names and adjusts the model parameters accordingly," added Hasan.

The researchers trained computers by using records of different individuals with that name to build a model that distinguishes between individuals with that name, even individuals about whom information had not been included in the training data previously provided to the computer.

The researchers focused on three types of "features" -- bits of information with some degree of predictive power to define a specific individual.

"Relational or association features to reveal persons with whom an individual is associated; text features, such as keywords in documents; and venue features to determine memberships or events with which an individual is currently or was formerly associated," the study noted.

The study was published in proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management.

​London, Jan 13 (IANS) Spending hours in front of digital screen may be harmful for adolescents. However, but moderate use may not harm but increase their well-being, researchers say.

"Digital screens are now an inextricable part of modern childhood. Our findings suggest that adolescents' moderate screen use has no detectable link to well-being and levels of engagement above these points are modestly correlated with well-being," said lead researcher Andrew Przybylski, psychological scientist at the University of Oxford.

The findings showed that as a result of a digital "sweet spot" between low and high technology use, moderate screen time can increase teenagers' well-being.

This sweet spot benefits teenagers' well-being by providing opportunities to develop social connections and skills, the researchers said.

For the study, the researchers examined data measuring screen time and well-being collected from 120,115 teenagers, with an average of 15 year olds. 

Nearly all of the participating adolescents reported spending time using at least one type of digital technology on a daily basis.

The also reported spending more time engaging in digital activities on weekend days than on weekdays and that they spent more time using smartphones in overall compared with watching TV.

Using statistical methods to determine the tipping point for each type of activity, the researchers found that on weekdays, teenagers' well-being peaked at about 1 hour and 40 minutes of video-game play, about 1 hour 57 minutes of smartphone use, about 3 hours and 41 minutes of watching videos, and about 4 hours and 17 minutes of using computers.

However, above these tipping points, screen time turned potentially harmful and was associated with decreased well-being.

The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.

​Washington, Jan 13 (IANS) The moon is at least 4.51 billion years old -- or 40-140 million years older than previously thought, says new research based on an analysis of minerals from the moon called zircons.

These minerals were brought back to Earth by the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 and have now been studied by researchers from University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).

The moon's age has been a hotly debated topic, even though scientists have tried to settle the question over many years and using a wide range of scientific techniques.

"We have finally pinned down a minimum age for the moon. It's time we knew its age and now we do," said Melanie Barboni, research geochemist in UCLA's department of earth, planetary and space sciences.

The moon was formed by a violent, head-on collision between the early Earth and a "planetary embryo" called Theia.

The new research would mean that the moon formed "only" about 60 million years after the birth of the solar system -- an important point because it would provide critical information for astronomers and planetary scientists who seek to understand the early evolution of the Earth and our solar system.

While scientists cannot know what occurred before the collision with Theia, these findings are important because they will help scientists continue to piece together major events that followed it.

Barboni was able to analyse eight zircons in pristine condition. "Zircons are nature's best clocks. They are the best mineral in preserving geological history and revealing where they originated," added said Kevin McKeegan, a co-author of the study.

The Earth's collision with Theia created a liquefied moon, which then solidified. Scientists believe most of the moon's surface was covered with magma right after its formation. 

"Melanie was very clever in figuring out the moon's real age dates back to its pre-history before it solidified, not to its solidification," said Edward Young, a UCLA professor of geochemistry and cosmochemistry in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.

Previous studies concluded the moon's age based on moon rocks that had been contaminated by multiple collisions. 

​New York, Jan 13 (IANS) Consuming blue maize may help prevent metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of conditions that includes high blood pressure and blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol, a study conducted in rat models has found.

Physical inactivity, genetic profile and a diet with inadequate energy intake are other factors that drive metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome also raises an individual's risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, the researchers said.

The natural antioxidants present in blue maize may help protect against metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes as well as cancer, said Rosa Isela Guzman-Geronimoa from the University of Veracruz in Mexico.

In the study, the rats were fed on a high-sugar and high-cholesterol diet for 12 weeks. They were given blue maize extracts during a period of 4 weeks.

The rats showed significant improvement in systolic blood pressure, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglyceride levels compared to those not given the extract.

The findings may raise interest in using blue maize as a component of functional foods and nutraceuticals, the researchers said.

Anti-obesity food materials are always in demand and this study brings out not only the importance of blue maize in controlling adipocity, but also the potential role of cholesterol in the development of obesity, the researchers stated.

The study was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.

​New York, Jan 12 (IANS) When a star comes close to the black hole only to be ripped apart, the outward gas streamer gathers itself into planet-size objects which are then flung across the galaxy in a game of cosmic 'spitball', new research has revealed.

The team from Harvard University noted that the closest of these planet-mass objects might be within a few hundred light-years of Earth with a weight somewhere between Neptune and several Jupiters.

"A single shredded star can form hundreds of these planet-mass objects. We wondered: Where do they end up? How close do they come to us? We developed a computer code to answer those questions," said lead author Eden Girma.

These planet-size objects glow from the heat of its formation and are very different from a typical planet because they made of star-stuff.

"It takes only a day for the black hole to shred the star and only about a year for the resulting fragments to pull themselves back together," said the study presented at the conference of American Astronomical Society recently.

Almost 95 per cent of the planet-mass objects will leave the galaxy entirely due to their speeds of about 10,000 km per second. It would take about a million years for one of these objects to reach Earth's neighborhood. 

"Since most other galaxies also have giant black holes at their cores, it is likely that the same process is at work in them," Girma added.