Knowledge Update

Kolkata, May 17 (IANS) Research scholars, policy makers and industry practitioners have come together at an international conference at Shillong in Meghalaya to highlight the tourism resources of north east India and explore marketing strategies in an eco-friendly and sustainable way, the organisers said on Tuesday.

The International Conference on Advancements in Tourism and Hospitality Marketing (ATHMCON - 2016) organised by the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, North - Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, spans Tuesday and Wednesday.

"During the conference different themes will be deliberated upon, including eco and sustainable ways of tourism marketing and development," Saurabh Kumar Dixit, Conference Chair and Head, at the department, told IANS.

Dixit said the aim is to create a platform for academicians, research scholars, policy makers, industry practitioners and the budding tourism/hospitality professionals to exchange views, discuss and present research findings related to the marketing of tourism/hospitality products/services in general and for the tourism sector in northeast India in particular.

Members of the scientific committee include experts from India, the US, Israel, Ireland, Germany, Mauritius, South Africa and from several other nations.

Some of the themes include information systems and marketing, marketing of tourism and hospitality education, sustainable/green/renewable marketing, emerging technologies, social media and e-tourism, marketing for special interest tourism products, marketing strategies of third world and developing nations, social and ethical concerns of marketing as well as future trends.​

​New York, May 17 (IANS) If you are trying to lose weight, better concentrate on not missing your exercise schedule rather than skipping your meal, suggests new research.

Researchers have found that exercise plays a significant role in the fight against obesity by promoting metabolic function and healthy shifts in gut microbes, the microscopic organisms in our intestines that break down food and can contribute to decreased obesity.

"These findings confirm that exercise is an important component of overall health and is critically important in the fight against obesity, especially during the juvenile period," said Victoria Vieira-Potter from the University of Missouri in the US.

The findings were published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

"The purpose of study was to look at exercise independently from weight loss and to determine other metabolic benefits associated with physical activity,” Vieira-Potter said.

“We aimed to tease out what effects on adipose, or fat tissue, were due to weight loss from diet, and what could be attributed to exercise," she added.

The team divided young rats prone to obesity into three groups to study the impact of exercise on their metabolic function and fat tissue. All of them were fed a high-fat diet. 

Two of the groups were sedentary while the third group was able to exercise using running wheels.

The findings showed that the exercising rats were metabolically healthier than the sedentary groups and they developed different gut microbes than the other groups, despite eating the exact same amount of food. 

"Overall, the exercising rats had higher metabolic rates, were more active even when not running on their wheels and experienced shifts in their gut microbes, perhaps putting them in a better position to avoid future weight gain compared to the other groups," Vieira-Potter pointed out. ​

​Hyderabad, May 17 (IANS) US technology giant Apple Inc will launch its development centre here on Thursday, officials said.

The facility will commence operations on one lakh square feet leased space in WaveRock, a building owned by real estate giant Tishman Speyer at Nanakramguda.

Washington, May 17 (IANS) While playing with your pooch at home helps evoke love and compassion in you, researchers from Washington State University are using a virtual dog to train robots how to do desired tasks.

​New York, May 17 (IANS) Researchers including an Indian-origin scientist from Carnegie Mellon University have found that a camera attached to the robot's hand can rapidly create a 3D model of its environment and also locate the hand within that 3D world.

​Sydney, May 17 (IANS) In a first, a team of physicists is using artificial intelligence (AI) to run a complex experiment to create an extremely cold gas trapped in a laser beam known as a Bose-Einstein condensate -- thus replicating the experiment that won the 2001 Nobel Prize.

​New York, May 17 (IANS) Computer scientists, including an Indian-origin student at the University of Texas at Austin, have developed a new method for producing truly random numbers -- a breakthrough that can be used to encrypt data and improve cybersecurity.

New York, May 17 (IANS) Global printer and personal computer major HP Inc. on Tuesday unveiled the world’s first production-ready commercial 3D printing system to bring disruptive manufacturing solutions to markets.

Washington, May 16 (IANS) In a bid to develop “magnetoshells” to “growable interplanetary habitats to take humans to Mars”, the US space agency has selected eight technology proposals that can transform future aerospace missions by building efficient aerospace systems.

Awards under phase II of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme can be worth as much as $500,000 for a two-year study.

It will allow proposers to further develop concepts funded by NASA for Phase I studies that successfully demonstrated initial feasibility and benefit.

“The NIAC programme is one of the ways NASA engages the US scientific and engineering communities by challenging them to come up with some of the most visionary aerospace concepts,” said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington, DC.

This year’s phase II portfolio addresses a range of leading-edge concepts, including an interplanetary habitat configured to induce deep sleep for astronauts on long-duration missions.

It also has plans for a highly efficient dual aircraft platform that may be able to stay aloft for weeks or even months at a time.

Phase II includes a method to produce “solar white” coatings for scattering sunlight and cooling fuel tanks in space down to 148 degree Celsius below zero with no energy input needed.

NASA selected eight projects through a peer-review process that evaluated innovativeness and technical viability.

“Phase II decisions are always challenging, but we were especially challenged this year with so many successful Phase I studies applying to move forward with their cutting-edge technologies,” added Jason Derleth, the NIAC program executive at NASA headquarters.

“Whether it's tensegrity habitats in space, new ways to get humans to Mars or delicate photonic propulsion, I am thrilled to welcome these innovations and their innovators back to the programme,” Derleth noted in a NASA statement.

All projects are still in the early stages of development, most requiring 10 or more years of concept maturation and technology development before use on a NASA mission.​

​Melbourne, May 16 (IANS) The first map of Australia, produced by Dutch explorers in the 17th century, arrived in Melbourne on Monday for expert analysis, as historians look to preserve the priceless document.

The map of New Holland, the name given to the Australian mainland by famous seafarer Abel Tasman, is the first published record of the previously unexplored continent in the Dutch language, Xinhua news agency reported.

Created by Dutch East India Company cartographer Joan Blaeu, the 1663 map has formed basis of all subsequent mapping of Australia.

But since uncovered in a Swedish storage facility six years ago and acquired by National Library of Australia in 2013, historians have identified that the priceless artefact is in serious decay.

Subsequently, the National Library of Australia has launched a conservation effort to preserve the important document as an historical record for the benefit of future generations.

Senior Paper Conservator from the University of Melbourne, Libby Melzer, explained that the map had deteriorated due to the cartographer's choice to use blue-green paint, believed to be verdigris, to highlight the Australian coastline and other distinguishing features.

"Derived from copper and typically exposed to wine vapours to achieve its vibrant colour, verdigris is chemically unstable and has darkened and corroded the surrounding paper, eating through it entirely in some places," Melzer, from the university's Grimwade Centre for Cultural Material Conservation, said in the statement.​