Knowledge Update

​Dubai, Nov 6 (IANS) Two United Arab Emirates (UAE) companies announced on Saturday that they launched the first commercial-scale carbon capture, utilisation storage (CCUS) facility in the Middle East and North Africa.

​Beijing, Nov 6 (IANS) German automaker Volkswagen has planned to introduce 15 models of new energy vehicles in China that are locally produced, the company said on Sunday. These models will be released in the next three to four years to address the environmental protection needs in Chinese market, an official of the Volkswagen Group China said in Tianjin city, where a joint venture project of the company is under construction, Xinhua news agency reported. China is Volkswagen's largest market worldwide. Volkswagen Group China and its two joint ventures delivered 2.85 million automobiles in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in the first three quarters, up 10.7 per cent year on year.

​Taipei, Nov 5 (IANS) Taiwanese tech giant HTC will open hundreds of virtual reality gaming arcades in Taiwan, China, Europe and the US by end 2017 under its "Viveport Arcade" programme. The company is developing virtual reality games for its VR devices and hopes the gaming arcades will serve to promote its virtual reality Vive headset, the Taipei Times reported Saturday. The programme will begin in Taiwan and China and then be extended to the US and Europe at an unspecified date. HTC is hoping to expand its Viveport programme to internet cafes, movie theatres and virtual reality centres by offering a wide range of games and experiences at affordable prices. Last week, HTC opened a virtual reality centre called Viveland in Taipei, where the public can try its products without having to buy them first for a fee ranging from $5 to $13. This year, HTC also teamed up with internet cafes in China to promote the use of virtual reality in the country. The Taiwanese company, which has so far focused on developing and producing mobile phones, will compete with other manufacturers of virtual reality headsets in a still limited market.

​Cupertino (California), Nov 6 (IANS) Tech giant Apple has enhanced its iOS accessibility features for users with hearing impairments, according to a report by Appleinsider. Features like Bluetooth-based AirPod-style streaming, Live Listen, have been enhanced, focusing on conversations in loud environment for hearing impairments. Apple first introduced MFi support for Bluetooth hearing aids in iOS 7 and iPhone 4s. Its latest software expands support for direct streaming of phone calls, FaceTime conversations, movies and other audio to supported hearing aids, without the need for a middleman device known as a "streamer". New iOS 10 hearing aid also features integrated device battery life and independent base, treble, right and left volume controls, and supports audiologist-designed presets for handling sound from concerts or restaurants, the report said. In addition to supporting audio originating on the phone, the new Live Listen feature also allows users to relay focused audio picked up by the iPhone's mic, enabling clearer conversations when in a loud environment.

​New York, Nov 6 (IANS) Poor self-regulation among teens is strongly associated with when one sleeps in relation to their body's natural circadian rhythm, finds a study.

According to the study, published in the journal Pediatrics, daytime sleepiness and being a night owl appear to be more strongly associated with poor self-regulation.

"The results of this study suggest it is not how long you sleep that has the biggest impact on self-regulation, but when you sleep in relation to the body's natural circadian rhythms and how impaired you are by sleepiness," said Judith Owens, Director of the Sleep Center at Boston Children's Hospital, US.

The researchers analysed 2,017 surveys completed by 7th to 12th graders from 19 middle and high schools, where students completed questionnaires about sleep and self-regulation, including cognitive aspects, behavioural aspect and emotional aspects.

Nearly 22 per cent of the students reported sleeping less than seven hours on school nights.

Sleep duration, daytime sleepiness and chronotype were clearly interconnected -- night owls slept less on school nights and were subsequently sleepier in the daytime, as were those who slept for fewer hours.

But when the researchers examined all three aspects of sleep and adjusted for age, socio-demographic factors and mental health conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and anxiety, it was daytime sleepiness and "night owl" tendencies that independently predicted impaired self-regulation -- while sleep duration did not.

Sleepier adolescents reported significantly worse self-regulation, as did teens who tended to be "night owls" rather than "morning larks".

The findings held for all types of self-regulation but were most robust for cognitive and emotional aspects.

"The misalignment or mismatch between early school start times and teens' circadian rhythms -- which normally shift later with puberty -- may worsen self-regulation or so-called executive functioning," Owens added.

​London, Nov 6 (IANS) Music therapy may help to reduce depression in children and adolescents with behavioural and emotional problems, finds a study.

The researchers involved 251 children and young people for the study and found that children and young persons, aged 8-16 years, who received music therapy had significantly improved self-esteem and significantly reduced depression compared with those who received treatment without music therapy.

The study published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry also found that young people aged 13 and over who received music therapy had improved communicative and interactive skills, compared to those who received usual care options alone. Music therapy also improved social functioning over time in all age groups.

For the study, the children were divided into two groups -- 128 underwent the usual care options, while 123 were assigned to music therapy in addition to usual care. All were being treated for emotional, developmental or behavioural problems.

"This study is hugely significant in terms of determining effective treatments for children and young people with behavioural problems and mental health needs," said Sam Porter, Professor at the Bournemouth University, Britain.

"The findings contained in our report should be considered by healthcare providers and commissioners when making decisions about the sort of care for young people that they wish to support," he said. 

"Music therapy has often been used with children and young people with particular mental health needs, but this is the first time its effectiveness has been shown by a definitive randomised controlled trail in a clinical setting," said Ciara Reilly, Chief Executive of Every Day Harmony.

​New York, Nov 15 (IANS) Instant messaging service WeChat may enhance people's feelings of overall satisfaction with life if they use it for fun and to pursue their interests, says a study.

San Francisco, Nov 9 (IANS) In a direct threat to Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, social networking giant Facebook is experimenting with a job opening tab on its business Pages.

A Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch: "Based on behaviour we've seen on Facebook, where many small businesses post about their job openings on their page, we're

San Francisco, Nov 16 (IANS) In a fresh bid to empower its over 300 million users, the micro-blogging website Twitter on Wednesday made it easier for them to report cyberbullying.

​London, Nov 5 (IANS) Scientists at Disney Research have developed a 360-degree virtual reality application that enables users to enhance their experience by adjusting feel effects - for instance, a light sprinkle or a heavy downpour - to complement the visuals.