Knowledge Update

​New York, June 14 (IANS) US-based technology giant Apple at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco on Monday announced revealed iOS 10.

The OS will not be available to customers until later this year. The company rolled out the developer betas on Monday and said public betas for non-developers will follow in July,

London, June 13 (IANS) A combination of text messages and individual counselling sessions help motivate patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), resulting in improved patient-reported clinical outcomes, finds a study.

"The findings support the introduction of behavioural approaches as an effective way to improve the health of rheumatoid arthritis patients which may also be applicable in other populations with chronic disease and limited mobility," said Tanja Thomsen from the Copenhagen Centre for Arthritis Research in Denmark. 

According to the researchers, RA patients tend to be more sedentary than the general population that can have serious health consequences, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death. 

In the study, 75 adult RA patients underwent a 16-week intervention that included three individual motivational counselling sessions with a health professional and regular text messages aimed at improving motivation to reduce daily sitting time and replacing it with light intensity physical activity.

A control group of 75 healthy adult patients matched for other characteristics was encouraged to maintain their usual lifestyle. Daily sitting time was recorded using a wearable activity monitor.

The researchers found that after 16 weeks, there was a significant between-group difference in average daily sitting time in favour of the intervention group. 

Secondary outcomes that were also in favour of the intervention group included self-assessment scores of pain, fatigue, physical function and blood measurements of total cholesterol. 

The study was recently presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress 2016 in London.​

New York, June 14 (IANS) Microsoft officially confirmed on Monday that a slimmer version of its gaming machine Xbox One will be launch in August. Dubbed the Xbox One S, the new console will be 40 per cent smaller than the existing model, Xbox One, making it the smallest gaming machine Microsoft has produced, Xinhua quoted the company as saying at the E3 Expo. The company said out of a new visual design, "the sleekest, most advanced Xbox ever" also comes with 4K Ultra HD video support and High Dynamic Range capabilities for both gaming and video, among other new features. The new Xbox One S also comes with a slightly redesigned controller, featuring textured grip, increased wireless range and Bluetooth support. The company also announced another new console, Project Scorpio, which will offer virtual reality and 4K gaming. The console will be backwards compatible with both the Xbox One and Xbox One S, existing alongside both simultaneously.​

​New York, June 14 (IANS) Young adults find video gaming so compelling that they often end up delaying bedtime by more than one and half hours on the nights spent gaming, reveals new research.

"These findings provide further insight into factors that influence individuals' decision making when determining if they should get sufficient sleep,” said lead author Brandy Roane, Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Centre in the US.

The study included online surveys from 963 gamers. Participants were US gamers with an average age of 28.7 years who played video games at least once the previous week. 

The analysis showed that on average, gamers delayed going to bed 36 per cent of the nights they played video games. 

Average game playing was 4.6 nights per week and the average delay in bedtime on the nights spent gaming was 101 minutes.

"Our data shows that video gaming is quite an important factor that frequently leads to missed sleep for 67 percent of gamers," Roane noted.

"Additionally, the reasons provided by gamers for their choice to delay their bedtime strongly supports the inclusion of video gaming as an addictive behavior," Roane said.

The findings were presented at SLEEP 2016, the 30th anniversary meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS), in Denver.​

New York, June 14 (IANS) Consuming nearly four servings of whole grains such as bran, oatmeal and quinoa a day can reduce the risk of premature death, says a new study.

The findings showed that the multiple bio-active compounds in the whole grains contribute to various health benefits.

Also, whole grains contain high fiber that is likely to lower cholesterol production, glucose response and increase satiety.

Further, people who consume around 70 grams of whole grains a day showed 22 per cent lower risk of total mortality, 23 per cent lower risk of heart diseases mortality as well as a 20 per cent lower risk of cancer mortality in comparison to those who ate little or no whole grains.

"These findings further support current dietary guidelines that recommend at least three daily servings (or 48 grams) of whole grains to improve long-term health and prevent premature death," said Qi Sun, Assistant Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in the US.

The results were published online in the journal Circulation.

People should choose foods that are high in whole grain ingredients and reduce the consumption of unhealthy refined carbohydrates, the researchers suggested.

For the study, the team conducted a meta-analysis of 12 published studies and which included 786,076 people in US, Britain and the Scandinavian countries between 1970 and 2010.​

New York, June 14 (IANS) Physical activity builds stronger bones in children, even for those who carry genetic variants that predispose them to bone weakness, new research has found.

"While we have known for decades that physical activity during childhood builds up bone and confers lifelong benefits, we did not know whether the effects of activity depend on genetic risks for bone fragility," said study first author Jonathan Mitchell from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the US.

The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, showed that physical activity can counteract the negative effects of genetic variants that associate with bone fragility in childhood.

For the study, the researchers analysed a cohort of 918 children and adolescents, from five to 19 years old.

The researchers used questionnaires in which study participants estimated their amount and type of physical activity during childhood. 

The study team also measured the participants' bone density and genotyped their DNA for over 60 genetic variants known to be associated with bone density.

The researchers found that across the board, children had higher bone density scores if they had higher levels of physical activity. 

This even applied to those with a higher genetic risk for bone fragility. Importantly, the benefits of activity were driven entirely by high-impact, weight-bearing activity, such as gymnastics and soccer, which involve sprinting, turning or jumping actions.

Their findings underscore that genetics does not necessarily equate to destiny, and reinforce the importance of physical activity as a key factor to improve the bone health of children in the present and into later life.​

London, June 14 (IANS) Consuming peanuts products during early infancy can have zero effect on the growth of a child and on his or her nutrition, confirms a study.

The findings showed that peanut consumption in infancy can have no negative effect on a child's growth as well as nutrition.

"The results reassured that peanut consumption did not affect the duration of breastfeeding, thus countering concerns that introduction of solid foods before six months of age could reduce breastfeeding duration," said led author Mary Feeney from King's College London.

The research, published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, aimed at determining the adverse effects on child growth and nutrition as a result of taking high peanut products during early infancy along with the ones who avoid it. 

"These findings indicate that early-life introduction of peanut-containing foods as a strategy to prevent the subsequent development of peanut allergy is both feasible and nutritionally safe, even at high levels of peanut consumption," said Marshall Plaut from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the US.

The results of an earlier clinical trial showed that introducing peanut products as a part of the dietary foods for infants lead to an 81 per cent relative reduction of allergies in comparison to products that avoided peanut altogether.

For the study, the investigators randomly assigned 640 infants aged four to 11 months, which continued till the age of five, to either consume at least two grams of peanut protein three times a week or to avoid peanut entirely.​

​New York, June 14 (IANS) In 2015, charitable giving among Americans hit a record $373.3 billion with individuals donating over two-thirds of the amount, according to the annual report by the Giving USA Foundation.

Donations from foundations, corporations, estates and individuals rose four per cent last year, that was “record-setting whether measured in current or inflation-adjusted dollars,” the report says.

The figure was lower than the 6.1 per cent inflation-adjusted growth reported in 2014, but the unceasing climb indicates philanthropic giving especially by individuals is growing.

“It's heartening that people really do want to make a difference, and they're supporting the causes that matter to them,” said W. Keith Curtis, chairman of the Giving USA Foundation, adding that Americans are embracing philanthropy at a higher level than ever before.

According to the report, $264.6 billion came from individuals, 3.8 per cent more compared to 2014. Foundations donated $58.6 billion, up 6.5 percent. Corporate giving was $18.45 billion up 3.9 percent, with charitable bequests lifted 2.1 per cent to $31.76 billion.

The largest share of the donations - $119.3 billion went to religious organisations, with education and human services receiving $57.48 and $45.21 billion, according to the report.

The least was contributed to the environment and animals - $10.68 billion, as well as international affairs - $15.75 billion.

The only segment that suffered a decline last year was giving to foundations, which fell by four percent when inflation-adjusted, to $42.3 billion.

The data revealed in the report was researched by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.​

Beijing, June 14 (IANS) If you are less than attractive, it is likely that a child may not trust you, says a new study, suggesting that for kids an individual's trustworthiness is linked to how attractive they find him or her.

The findings showed that the ability to make the judgement about one's trustworthiness develops as one grows older. 

Also, girls proved to be better at trustworthiness judgement than boys.

In addition, the children were also found to look to a person's attractiveness as an indication of their character.

People use facial cues to make judgements on a person's character -- and this ability to infer social traits is a crucial part of social functioning and development, the researchers said. 

Although well researched in babies and adults, the development of this ability in children was not previously known, they added.

The study adds to a growing body of work showing that attractiveness is a universal language when it comes to that all-important first impression, said Fengling Ma from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University in China. 

For the study, the team assessed 138 participants -- groups of children aged eight, 10 and 12 years old and compared them to a group of adults. 

They used a face generation programme (FaceGen) to produce 200 images of male faces -- all with a neutral expression and direct gaze. 

In the first of two sessions, each participant was shown each face, and asked to rate how trustworthy they thought that person was. 

A second session followed a month later where participants repeated the exercise, this time rating the attractiveness of the same faces. 

The researchers looked first at the ratings of trustworthiness, and level of agreement of the ratings within and between the groups. Next, they looked at the ratings of trustworthiness and attractiveness given to each face. 

They found a strong, direct relationship between the two traits -- the faces deemed more trustworthy were also considered to be more attractive. 

This relationship also strengthened with age, and shows that like adults, children also look to a person's attractiveness as an indication of their character. ​

​Washington, June 14 (IANS) In less than five decades, summers across most of the globe could be hotter than any summer experienced by people to date, researchers have estimated.

If climate change continues on its current trajectory, the probability that summers between 2061 and 2080 will be warmer than the hottest on record stands at 80 per cent across the world's land areas, excluding Antarctica, which was not studied, the researchers said.

If greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, however, that probability drops to 41 per cent.

"Extremely hot summers always pose a challenge to society," said lead author of the study Flavio Lehner, scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

"They can increase the risk for health issues, and can also damage crops and deepen droughts. Such summers are a true test of our adaptability to rising temperatures," Lehner noted.

The research team used two existing sets of model simulations to investigate what future summers might look like.

They created both by running the NCAR-based Community Earth System Model 15 times, with one simulation assuming that greenhouse gas emissions remain unabated and the other assuming that society reduces emissions.

By using simulations created by running the same model multiple times, with only tiny differences in the initial starting conditions, the scientists could examine the range of expected summertime temperatures for future "business-as-usual" and reduced-emissions scenarios.

The results showed that between 2061 and 2080, summers in large parts of North and South America, central Europe, Asia, and Africa have a greater than 90 per cent chance of being warmer than any summer in the historic record if emissions continue unabated.

That means virtually every summer would be as warm as the hottest to date.

The findings will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Climatic Change.

In some regions, the likelihood of summers being warmer than any in the historical record remained less than 50 percent, but in those places -- including Alaska, the central US, Scandinavia, Siberia and continental Australia -- summer temperatures naturally vary greatly, making it more difficult to detect effects of climate change, the researchers said.

Reducing emissions would lower the global probability of future summers that are hotter than any in the past, but would not result in uniformly spread benefits. 

In some regions, including the US East Coast and large parts of the tropics, the probability would remain above 90 percent, even if emissions were reduced, the findings showed.

But reduced emissions would result in a sizable boon for other regions of the world.​