Knowledge Update

Tokyo, Jan 10 (IANS) The number of foreigners visiting Japan in 2016 reached a record high of 24.04 million, 22 per cent more than the previous year, the Tourism Ministry said on Tuesday.

The figure rose by 21.8 per cent, or over 4.3 million, from the previous high of 19.7 million in 2015, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Ministry officials attributed the jump to the increase in the number of flights and cruise ships from Asian countries, as well as easing of visa and tariff restrictions.

The government aims to increase the number of visitors to 40 million by 2020.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government regards tourism as the trump card for the country's growth strategy and regional revitalisation.

​New York, Jan 10 (IANS) Older people suffering from arthritis can remain fit by engaging in 45 minutes of moderate physical activity such as brisk walking a week, says a study. According to US federal guidelines, achieving 150 minutes of moderate activity per week helps in preventing premature death and serious illness. However, only one in 10 older adults with arthritis meet these guidelines. The team from Northwestern University conducted a study on both men and women to determine that 45 minutes per week is the magic number for seniors. The researchers measured the physical activity of 1,600 adults who had pain, aching or stiffness in their hips, knees or feet. "We found the most effective type of activity to maintain or improve your function two years later was moderate activity, and it did not need to be done in sessions lasting 10 minutes or more, as recommended by federal guidelines," Dunlop concluded. Approximately, one third of participants improved or had high function after two years. But those participants who achieved the minimum of 45 minutes of moderate activity per week were 80 percent more likely to improve over two years compared with those doing less. "For older people suffering from arthritis who are minimally active, a 45-minute minimum might feel more realistic. Even a little activity is better than none," said Dorothy Dunlop, professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Achieving this less rigorous goal will promote the ability to function and may be a feasible starting point for older adults dealing with discomfort in their joints," Dunlop added in a paper which appeared in the journal Arthritis Care and Research.

Sydney, Jan 10 (IANS) A drug that could "melt away" cancer cells has been approved for human use in Australia, a media report said on Tuesday.

Developed in Melbourne, Venetoclax, which will be sold as Venclexta, has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for use by patients with advanced forms of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Xinhua news agency reported.

The drug, which was approved for use in the US in August 2016, would be made available to patients who have not responded to standard treatments or who have not been able to undergo other therapies.

Venetoclax works by blocking the action of the BCL-2 protein which enables cancer cells to survive, a solution that researchers worldwide have been studying for more than 30 years.

Doug Hilton, the director at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, said the approval was important for patients with limited options.

"Like a lethal arrow, Venetoclax flies straight to the heart of BCL-2," Hilton told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

David Huang, the developer of the drug from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, won the Eureka Prize for Innovation in Medical Research in 2016. 

London, Jan 10 (IANS) Retroviruses, the family of viruses that includes HIV, are almost half a billion years old -- several hundred million years older than previously thought, claim scientists from Oxford University.

New research suggests that retroviruses have ancient marine origins, having been with their animal hosts through the evolutionary transition from sea to land.

Until now, it was thought that retroviruses were relative newcomers -- possibly as recent as 100 million years in age.

"Our research shows that retroviruses are at least 450 million years old, if not older, and that they must have originated together with, if not before, their vertebrate hosts in the early Paleozoic era," explained Dr Aris Katzourakis from Oxford University's department of zoology.

Furthermore, they would have been present in our vertebrate ancestors prior to the colonisation of land and have accompanied their hosts throughout this transition from sea to land, all the way up until the present day.

Retroviruses are a family of viruses that includes the HIV virus responsible for the AIDS pandemic. 

They can also cause cancers and immunodeficiencies in a range of animals. 

The 'retro' part of their name comes from the fact they are made of RNA, which they can convert into DNA and insert into their host genome.

In this study, the researchers unearthed genomic fossils for foamy-like retroviruses in highly diverse hosts, including ray-finned fish and amphibians in which they had not previously been found.

"We need to consider the adaptations that vertebrates have developed to combat viruses, and the corresponding viral countermeasures, as the product of a continuous arms race that stretches back hundreds of millions of years," Katzourakis noted in the journal Nature Communications.

The findings will help researchers understand more about the continuing 'arms race' between viruses and their hosts.

​Tel Aviv, Jan 10 (IANS) A team of Israeli researchers has developed a smartphone-based system to assess obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity while a patient is awake and analyse the sleep-wake activity.

Currently, patients are diagnosed using polysomnography (PSG) to record brain waves, blood oxygen level, heart rate, breathing and eye and leg movements overnight. 

The new system, which does not require contact sensors, can be installed onto a smartphone or other device that utilises ambient microphones. 

It both analyses speech while the user is awake and records and evaluates overnight breathing sounds using new technology that is simpler to use and significantly less expensive than PSG, said the team from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU).

"We've developed technology that could help diagnose OSA and sleep disorders in a convenient way," said Dr Yaniv Zigel, head of BGU's biomedical signal processing research lab (BSP) in a statement.

"The audio-analysis application can record speech signals from awake subjects. Now, we will be able to get a fast, OSA severity estimation without an overnight sleep study," added professor Ariel Tarasiuk, head of the sleep-wake disorders unit at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva. 

Researchers tested the new speech and breathing sound analysis systems on more than 350 subjects, along with PSG, in laboratory and at-home settings. 

They were able to reliably evaluate sleep quality parameters such as sleep-wake activity, snoring severity and OSA using this system.

"We are excited about this non-contact sleep tracking system which does not require patients to wear uncomfortable monitoring equipment on their body," Tarasiuk added. 

The application can also be very useful for CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine users who want to check the effectiveness of their sleep apnea therapy.

Abu Dhabi, Jan 10 (IANS/WAM) The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has lauded the decision of UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to fight hunger and food waste by launching the Food Bank initiative.

Nabil Gangi, FAO Representative to the UAE, said the initiative "reflects the true spirit of giving, which has always characterised the UAE communities, and the vision of the founder of the country, late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan".

Gangi praised the initiative to turn Dubai into the first city in the region, and probably in the world, to achieve zero food waste. 

He also confirmed the FAO's readiness to continue working hand-in-hand with the United Arab Emirates government and stakeholders to ensure the success of the initiative within a sustainable food diversification strategy.

The newly-established UAE Food Bank will bring together several stakeholders to collect excess food from hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and farms. 

It will then store and package the food for distribution, while the inedible food will be recycled for different usage, including but not limited to, animal feed and fertilisers.

Beijing, Jan 9 (IANS) High-income earners in China, who have emerged since the reforms of 1978, number over 80 million, a media report said on Monday.

Forty-eight million of these are managers or technicians at private and foreign-funded companies, 14 million are from intermediary and social organisations, 11 million are

​Beijing, Jan 9 (IANS) Fast food giant McDonald's will set up its largest franchisee outside the US in China.

The US food chain on Monday announced it would partner with a group of investors, making the new company the largest franchisee outside America, Xinhua news agency

London, Jan 9 (IANS) The final three months of last year saw the strongest quarterly growth in British consumer spending in two years, according to payment card company Visa.

​New York, Jan 9 (IANS) At Macworld 2007 in San Francisco, Steve Jobs introduced the world to iPhone as three products in one -- a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough internet communications device. January 9 marks the tenth anniversary of Apple's iPhone. In the 10 years since, iPhone has enriched the lives of people around the world with over one billion units sold. It quickly grew into a revolutionary platform for hardware, software and services integration and inspired new products, including iPad and Apple Watch, along with millions of apps that have become essential to people's daily lives. "iPhone is an essential part of our customers' lives and today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. Last year, the company introduced iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that came with A10 Fusion chip, most powerful chip ever in a smartphone, with processing performance 120 times faster and the graphics performance 240 times faster in iPhone 7 than the original iPhone. The smartphone sports a 12MP lens, optical image stabilisation, an f/1.8 aperture that captures 50 per cent more light as well as wide colour capture, all allowing for more vibrant colours with more detail even in low light, while iPhone 7 Plus also offers a dual-lens. iOS 10 was the biggest iOS release ever, with innovations including -- bringing the power of the App Store to Messages, a Memories feature in Photos, SiriKit for developers so apps can talk to Siri, an improved Maps app that is even simpler and more intuitive to use, support for breaking news notifications and paid subscriptions in the News app. "iPhone set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade and we are just getting started. The best is yet to come," Cook added.