Introduction & Purpose
Knowledge update and Industry update at Skyline University College (SUC) is an online platform for communicating knowledge with SUC stakeholders, industry, and the outside world about the current trends of business development, technology, and social changes. The platform helps in branding SUC as a leading institution of updated knowledge base and in encouraging faculties, students, and others to create and contribute under different streams of domain and application. The platform also acts as a catalyst for learning and sharing knowledge in various areas.
Super User
From Different Corners
Toronto, June 1 (IANS) Cooling down the roofs by using reflective surfaces can not only help you beat the heat but also lower air-conditioning bills, suggests new research.
"Our study proves that cool roofs for commercial buildings are a net saver of energy in all climates that use air conditioning during the summer," said Hashem Akbari, Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada and the study's senior author.
"In cooler climates, installing cool roofs may even prevent buying an air conditioner altogether. Even in non-air-conditioned buildings, cool roofs improve comfort during hot summer days. And in extreme cases, these roofs may even save lives by reducing the risk of heat stroke," Akbari noted.
The findings appeared in the journal Energy and Buildings.
"Our research shows that any improvement to a roof that limits the summertime solar heat gain actually results in energy-cost savings for the building owner, as well as a reduction in the building's overall environmental impact," Akbari said.
For the study, the researchers used modelling software to simulate energy consumption for several prototype office and retail buildings in four cold-climate cities in North America - Anchorage, Milwaukee, Montreal and Toronto.
They found that cool roofs for the simulated buildings resulted in annual energy expenditure savings in all municipalities.
The research also showed that cool roofs can reduce the peak electric demand of the buildings by up to five watts per square metre.
"On a large scale, cool roofs can moderate the air temperature surrounding a building, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the urban heat island effect," Akbari said
"Put simply, cool roofs cool the globe," he noted.
Super User
From Different Corners
New York, June 1 (IANS) A protein designed by researchers at Georgia State University has been found effective in killing cells linked to the development and progression of a number of diseases, including cancer.
The protein ProAgio, which is created from a human protein, target a cell surface receptor -- biological channel of information transfer -- linked to a number of diseases.
The protein targets the cell surface receptor integrin v3 at a novel site that has not been targeted by other scientists.
The researchers found that the novel protein induces apoptosis, or programmed cell death, of cells that express integrin v3.
This integrin has been a focus for drug development because abnormal expression of v3 is linked to the development and progression of a number of diseases.
The findings were reported in the journal Nature Communications.
"This integrin pair, v3, is not expressed in high levels in normal tissue," said Zhi-Ren Liu, lead author of the study and Professor at Georgia State.
"In most cases, it's associated with a number of different pathological conditions. Therefore, it constitutes a very good target for multiple disease treatment," Liu noted.
In this study, researchers performed extensive cell and molecular testing that confirmed the protein interacts and binds well with integrin v3.
They found that the protein was much more effective in inducing cell death than other agents tested.
In addition, tests with mouse models of cancer showed ProAgio strongly inhibits tumour growth.
Tissue analyses indicated the protein effectively prevents the growth of tumour blood vessels, while existing blood vessels were not affected. Toxicity tests also showed that the protein is not toxic to normal tissue and organs in mice
Super User
From Different Corners
New York, June 1 (IANS) Chronic stress can make us worn-out, anxious and depressed as well as also lead to structural changes in the brain, finds a new study that also developed a new drug that might help in preventing these changes.
The findings showed that when mice experienced prolonged stress, the amygdala -- a part of the brain that regulates basic emotions, such as fear and anxiety -- retracts.
In the medial amygdala, the neuronal branches, which form crucial connections to other parts of the brain, appeared to shrink.
Such shrinking can harm the brain, distorting its ability to adapt to new experiences, leaving it trapped in a state of anxiety or depression, the researchers said.
"When we took a closer look at three regions within amygdala, we found that neurons within one, the medial amygdala, retract as a result of chronic stress,” said lead author Carla Nasca, post doctoral researcher at Rockefeller University in the US.
"While this rewiring can contribute to disorders such as anxiety and depression, our experiments with mice showed that the neurological and behavioural effects of stress can be prevented with treatment by a promising potential antidepressant that acts rapidly," Nasca added.
In the research, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, the team found that the protective approach increased resilience among mice most at risk for developing anxiety or depression-like behaviours.
The team first subjected mice to 21 days of periodic confinement within a small space -- an unpleasant experience for mice.
Afterward, they tested the mice to see if their behaviours had changed, for instance, if they had begun to avoid social interaction and showed other signs of depression. They also analysed the neurons of these mice within the the regions of the amygdala.
The scientists repeated the stress experiment and this time they treated the mice with acetyl carnitine -- a molecule known for its potential to act as a rapid-acting antidepressant.
The results showed that the mice fared better than their untreated counterparts. Not only were they more sociable, the neurons of their medial amygdalas also revealed more branching.
SUC Editing Team
Information Systems
New York, May 30 (IANS) Social networking platforms like Facebook can not only get you more likes, it can also influence the price of your home if you intend to sell one, say researchers.
SUC Editing Team
International Business
New York, May 29 (IANS) The success of a global renewable energy project on Ecuador's Galapagos archipelago has given a major boost to the idea of sustainable development, according to a report.
SUC Editing Team
Accounting & Finance
London, May 29 (IANS) The economic crisis of 2008-10 and the rise in unemployment that accompanied it led to dramatic rise in cancer-related deaths, says a study.
The recent global economic crisis was linked with more than 260,000 excess cancer deaths among the 35 member states of the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD)
SUC Editing Team
Travel and Tourism
Tokyo, May 30 (IANS) If you are a frequent traveller and get bogged down by jet lag with every flight, help is on the way. Researchers have designed new molecules that can help modify the human biological clock to manage sleep-deprived travellers as well as improve treatment for sleep disorders.
Most living organisms, including humans, have a circadian rhythm or the 24-hour biological clock that regulates functions such as sleep-wake cycles, hormone secretion and metabolism.
This cycle often gets disrupted in situations like jet lag and sleep disorders like sleep apnea where long-term sleep loss ensues. This may affect cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems with severe consequences including hypertension, obesity and mental health disorders, among others.
"We can make bioactive molecules that can control the circadian rhythm of animals and gain further insight into the circadian clock mechanism which will surely contribute to medical applications, food production and advances in clock research," said Takashi Yoshimura, professor at Nagoya University's Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) in Japan.
The team synthesised the activity of circadian rhythm-changing molecules and targeted a molecule that affects a specific circadian protein called CRY.
The findings showed that FBLX3 -- a compound that readies protein CRY for degradation by cellular enzyme -- competes with KL001 -- a molecule that lengthens the circadian cycle -- to preventing its degradation.
They prepared compounds that were similar to KL001, thus synthesising the first circadian shortening molecules that target the CRY protein.
The negative impacts of jet lag and shift work could be significantly reduced if it were possible to reset our 24-hour natural circadian or sleep/wake cycle with the new discovery, the authors noted.
SUC Editing Team
Travel and Tourism
Abu Dhabi, May 30 (IANS/WAM) UAE's Emirates Airline on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with Jordan Tourism Board to boost tourism in the country, a statement said.
The deal focuses on the growth of key tourist destinations in Jordan which has been an important part of Emirates' network since 1986.
Emirates together with the Jordan Tourism Board will put into effect a range of joint marketing activities, including tourism promotions amongst other initiatives.
"The MoU underscores Emirates' confidence in Jordan's potential as a world-class destination, and we are committed to promoting tourism from key target regions including the Far East, Australia, West Asia and Central and South America," Thierry Antinori, Emirates Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, said.
Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board, expressed the hope that the common efforts with Emirates will inspire travellers to explore Jordan.
Super User
Lifestyle and Trends
Sydney, May 29 (IANS) There is a limit to the maximum number of people you can choose to connect with in a social network, and that limit has largely remained unchanged since humans lived in hunter-gatherer societies over thousands of years ago, finds a new study.
"When you have got this network of relationships, there are a lot of things going on in that network. It takes a lot of brain power to actually socially navigate these large networks and there's an upper limit to our ability to do that," said study lead author Michael Harre from the University of Sydney.
Harre and colleague Mikhail Prokopenko have now calculated how that limit -- known as Dunbar's Number -- is reached.
"For humans the limit is around 132 individuals," Harre said.
The limit applies to small groups in both hunter-gatherer societies and modern societies where people are increasingly getting connected to one another using online social networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.
The study, published recently in the Royal Society journal Interface, however points out that you don't have to maintain relationships with everyone in the group for it to remain cohesive.
"To connect together a group of 132 individuals we estimate the average number of links each individual has to be able to maintain is between four and five," the researchers said.
According to the study, a person in a group of five such as a book club or group of friends needs to maintain an average of one to two links. A person in a group of 15 needs an average of two to three links, and a person in a group of 45 needs an average of three to four links.
"The strength of our result is in showing that it is sufficient to add just one connection per person on average while increasing the size of the group roughly three-fold," Prokopenko said.
It means you don't have to like or even be friends with people to co-operate with them -- as long as others in the group do.
"You only have to like enough people to bind the group together," he added.
This would have been important in the days when hunter-gatherers needed, say, 15 people to cooperate in the hunting of a mammoth.
"All you need to do is like two or three people in that group and that's adequate for you to go off and hunt with them," Prokopenko said.
Super User
From Different Corners
London, May 29 (IANS) Listening to soothing music just before an eye surgery can ease patients’ anxiety as well as help reduce the level of sedation required, finds a new study.
"Listening to music may be considered as an inexpensive, non-invasive, non-pharmacological method to reduce anxiety for patients undergoing elective eye surgery under local anaesthesia," said Gilles Guerrier from Cochin University Hospital in France.
According to the researchers, being awake during surgery is particularly stressful for patients.
The findings showed a significant reduction in anxiety among patients who listened to music (score 23 out of 100) compared to those who didn’t (score 65 out of 100).
Patients who listened to music received significantly less sedatives during surgery compared with the non-music group (16 percent vs 32 percent).
Further, the postoperative satisfaction was significantly higher in the music group (mean score 71 out of 100 versus 55 for the non-music group).
"The objective is to provide music to all patients before eye surgery. We intend to assess the procedure in other type of surgeries, including orthopaedics where regional anaesthesia is common,” Guerrier added.
The pilot study evaluated the effect of music on anxiety in outpatients undergoing elective eye surgery under topical (local) anaesthesia.
The team evaluated a total of 62 patients who heard relaxing music or no music for around 15 minutes just before cataracts surgery.
The selected 16 pieces of music of various styles including jazz, flamenco, Cuban, classical and piano, aimed at preventing and managing pain, anxiety and depression.
A surgical fear questionnaire (SFQ) was also used to assess anxiety before and after a music session.
The results were presented recently at Euroanaesthesia 2016 in London.