Knowledge Update

​New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) At a time when everyone is talking about connected devices, here comes a touchscreen "smart" mirror that -- just like your smartphone -- can be your personal assistant. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection and an android phone for the app download. You can turn this normal mirror from domestic firm Nuovo into a smart device that will keep you updated with notifications from social sites like Facebook and Twitter, get you latest news from leading publications, access YouTube videos and even book a cab through Uber. "Based on Linux-based operating system, the mirror is a plug-and-play device. It is a robust material that can be installed in any area of the user's choice. It can be wall-hung or built-in into the decorative wall as per user's decor need," Prasoon Shrivastava, Founder and CEO of Nuovo, told IANS. Have a problem remembering the daily tasks? No problem -- the smart mirror can help you stay on top of your schedule with the help of Google Calendar and keep you updated with the latest decor trends and even lets you access emails. A user can even control which app is to be displayed on the mirror. The apps which are integrated in the mirror include Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Clock (with stopwatch and alarm), News, YouTube, Maps, Uber, and Calendar updates. According to Shrivastava, the technology is secure and does not store users data on the device. "The mirror does not store any personal data of the user. The user behaviour data is stored in our cloud-based secure server with top-notch security features," Shrivastava added. The company provides one-year warranty and extended warranty is also offered. Nuovo provides free-of-cost installation. The device, launched in February this year, comes with a choice of frame -- wooden, metal and decorative -- and is available in four sizes -- 24-inch, 32-inch, 42-inch and 50-inch. In a wooden frame, the 24-inch version is priced at Rs 145,499, the 32-inch comes for Rs 175,599, the 42-inch is available for Rs 226,599 and the 50-inch model for Rs 305,999. The metal-frame variant is costly with the four variants at Rs 155,599, Rs 187,999, Rs 239,999 and Rs 335,999. Asked if Indians were ready to adopt such technology, Shrivastava said the first prototype was made keeping in mind its usability in homes. There will be other prototypes as well, which will be made keeping in mind commercial offices, hotels and the like as per their requirements. "This is our first product in the market. In the next six months, we have a pipeline of products to be rolled out which when combined together in any habitable space shall enhance user experience and improve the performance of habitable spaces," Shrivastava said.

​New York, March 19 (IANS) NASA has added four new teams to study the Moon, near-Earth asteroids and other components of the solar system.

According to a report in Engadget on Sunday, the first group from the University of Colorado will study on robotics, cosmology, astrophysics and heliophysics to advance manned space exploration.

While the second group has been assigned on a project called "Toolbox for Research and Exploration", responsible for developing tools and methods for the manned exploration of celestial bodies. 

"The third group from Georgia Institute of Technology will explore how radiation affects human-made composite materials. They'll also look into how real-time detectors can help minimise astronauts' exposure to harmful radiation," the report added.

The fourth group, called Exploration Science Pathfinder Research for Enhancing Solar System Observations or ESPRESSO will assist NASA in understanding the events that are hazardous for robotic and human explorers in space. 

With the better knowledge of hazardous events in space, disasters can be predicted and managed. 

"NASA will set aside $3 to $5 million of its budget per year to fund the teams' research for the next five years," the report noted.

​New York, March 19 (IANS) People with proportionately higher quantities of harder calcified plaque best predicted risk of heart attacks, while soft plaque did not, representing a potential paradigm shift, researchers said.

The study may be a "game-changer" for determining who is at risk of a heart attack.

"It's a disease marker, not a risk marker. And we think it's possibly a very important predictor," said Brent Muhlestein from the Intermountain Medical Centre Heart Institute in Utah, US.

Atherosclerosis is caused when plaque -- a sticky deposit known to cause ruptures -- builds up in the arteries, narrowing and hardening them.

The notion that soft plaque is more likely to rupture and cause heart attacks than hard calcium deposits in coronary arteries may be wrong, according to the study that will be presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in Washington D.C.

"We previously thought the lipid-laden soft plaque was more likely to rupture and cause heart attacks, but based on our new research, it's more the calcified plaque that appears to be associated with adverse cardiovascular events," Muhlestein added.

Furthermore, the study potentially could mean a lot of patients may not require statin therapy, even though they have high cholesterol.

"Maybe we can find and identify them. If there's no atherosclerosis, you're not going to have a heart attack. So the coronary calcium score may allow us to much more effectively select who we treat," Muhlestein said.

For the study, the team evaluated the composition of coronary artery plaque identified in the subjects through computerised tomography (CT) coronary angiography.

The patients were followed for an average of nearly seven years to see if their plaque composition had predicted whether they'd have a cardiac event.

​Toronto, March 19 (IANS) Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 789. Whether this pun makes you giggle or groan in pain, your reaction is a consequence of the ambiguity of the joke.

Thus far, models have not been able to fully account for the complexity of humour or exactly why we find puns and jokes funny but researchers now suggest a novel approach: quantum theory.

In a paper, they have outlined a quantum inspired model of humour, hoping that this new approach may succeed at a more nuanced modelling of the cognition of humour.

"Funniness is not a pre-existing 'element of reality' that can be measured; it emerges from an interaction between the underlying nature of the joke, the cognitive state of the listener, and other social and environmental factors," explained Liane Gabora from University of British Columbia, corresponding author of the paper.

This makes the quantum formalism an excellent candidate for modelling humour, Gabora added in the paper published in the journal Frontiers in Physics.

The results indicate that apart from the delivery of information, something else is happening on a cognitive level that makes the joke as a whole funny whereas its deconstructed components are not, and which makes a quantum approach appropriate to study this phenomenon.

For decades, researchers have tried to explain the phenomenon of humour and what happens on a cognitive level in the moment when we "get the joke".

During the build-up of the joke, we interpret the situation one way, and once the punch line comes, there is a shift in our understanding of the situation, which gives it a new meaning and creates the comical effect, the authors noted.

Although much work remains before the completion of a formal quantum theory model of humour, the findings provide an exciting first step and opens for the possibility of a more nuanced modeling of humour, the team said.

Beijing, March 18 (IANS) To boost local talent, tech giant Apple has announced it would invest $508 million in China to build two additional Research and Development (R&D) centres in Shanghai and Suzhou.

Dubai, March 18 (IANS) Manager Education Sector at the World Bank group Harry Patrinos said on Saturday that globally more money has to be invested into primary school education with a focus on reading skills.

New York, March 18 (IANS) Children with chronically disrupted sleep are likely to have defects in their brain cells that are associated with mental skills, mood and behaviour, researchers have warned.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep disturbance which affects up to five per cent of all children. 

The findings showed that children between 7 and 11 years of age who had moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea showed significant reductions of gray matter -- brain cells involved in movement, memory, emotions, speech, perception, decision making and self-control.

Further, there is also a strong connection between sleep apnea and the loss of neurons or delayed neuronal growth in the developing brain.

"The images of gray matter changes are striking. There is also clear evidence of widespread neuronal damage or loss compared to the general population," said Leila Kheirandish-Gozal, Director at the University of Chicago in the US. 

For this study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the team evaluated sleep patterns of 16 children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). 

Each child also went through neuro-cognitive testing and had his or her brain scanned with non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

They found reductions in the volume of gray matter in multiple regions of the brains of children with disrupted sleep. 

These included the frontal cortices -- which handle movement, problem solving, memory, language, judgement and impulse control -- the prefrontal cortices -- complex behaviours, planning, personality -- parietal cortices -- integrating sensory input -- temporal lobe -- hearing and selective listening -- and the brainstem -- controlling cardiovascular and respiratory functions.

This extensive reduction of gray matter in children with a treatable disorder provides one more reason for parents of children with symptoms of sleep apnea to consider early detection and therapy, the researchers noted.

​Tokyo, March 18 (IANS) A laboratory at a university in Japan will restart its research nuclear reactor, the first ever in the country, in April after meeting safety standards. the media reported on Saturday.

It will be the first research reactor in Japan to go back online under stringent regulations introduced by the government in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident that was triggered after the massive earthquake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Kindai University in Higashi-Osaka said on Friday that the reactor has passed a series of checks by Japan's nuclear regulator.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority gave in-principle approval for the restart of the reactor in May last year. 

The university subsequently made further adjustments to protect against fire, tornados and other risks.

The small reactor has a maximum output of just 1 watt, and is used exclusively for academic purposes.

Brasilia, March 17 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Brazil have signed three accords on air transport and reciprocal exemption of entry visa requirements.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and his Brazilian counterpart Aloysio Nunes met on Thursday to discuss

New York, March 17 (IANS) People who examine an issue virtually as a debate or dialogue between two sides are more likely to have deeper, more sophisticated reasoning skills, according to new research.

The research findings showed that envisioning opposing views leads to a more comprehensive examination of the issue. 

Moreover, constructing opposing views leads people to regard knowledge less as fact and more as information that can be scrutinised in a framework of alternatives and evidence.

"Constructing a dialogue would lead to deeper, more comprehensive processing of the two positions and hence a richer representation of each and the differences between them... thus helping to expand and sharpen students' thinking," said Deanna Kuhn of Columbia University in New York. 

"Everything possible should be done to encourage and support genuine discourse on critical issues, but our findings suggest that the virtual form of interaction may be a productive substitute, at a time when positions on an issue far too often lack the deep analysis to support them," Kuhn added. 

For the study, published in the journal Psychological Science, the team asked 60 undergraduates to participate in a one-hour writing activity. Some participants were randomly assigned to construct a dialogue between TV commentators discussing two mayoral candidates.

They received a list of notable problems that the city was facing and a list of actions proposed by each candidate to solve these problems. 

Other participants received the same information about the city and the candidates but were asked to write a persuasive essay highlighting the merits of each candidate instead. 

Then, participants in both groups were asked to write a script for a two-minute TV spot, promoting their preferred candidate.

The results showed that participants who had constructed a dialogue included more discrete ideas in their writing.