Knowledge Update

London, April 5 (IANS) In older adults, especially women, higher dietary calcium intake may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, but not of stroke and fracture, new research suggests.

"The role of dietary calcium intake in cardiovascular disease, stroke and fracture is controversial. We aimed to evaluate whether high dietary calcium intake increases the risk of CVD, stroke and fracture in a population with low calcium intake," said lead study author Sung Hye Kong from Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea.

Researchers conducted their study among individuals in Korea's ongoing prospective community-based Ansung and Ansan Cohort Study that began in 2001.

The authors performed their analyses in 2,199 men and 2,704 women over 50 years of age without previous cardiovascular disease and stroke.

The participants in the study reported their dietary food intake in periodic food frequency questionnaires.

Cardiovascular disease, stroke and fractures were recorded during interviews and examinations every two years.

The findings suggest, in older women in this population with low dietary calcium intake, higher dietary calcium intake was significantly associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, but not significantly associated with risk of stroke and fracture.​

​Tokyo, April 5 (IANS) Japanese carmaker Toyota on Tuesday announced it will collaborate with US tech giant Microsoft to improve services for cars connected to the internet in the future.

​Abu Dhabi, April 5 (IANS/WAM) Abu Dhabi-based investment company Reem Investments has announced a net profit of $57.4 million for the financial year 2015.

The company's board of directors approved the 12 percent cash dividend -- an increase of 20 percent over the 2014 dividend.

​Washington, April 6 (IANS) US President Barack Obama has called on Congress to reform the business tax system to close the loophole that allows for a financial practice known as corporate inversions.

​Hong Kong, April 6 (IANS) A rare blue diamond bucked the recent downturn in the auction market when it was sold for $30.8 million at Sotheby's, setting a new record.

The "De Beers Millennium Jewel 4", a 10.10-carat oval-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond, fetched more money than any other jewel at an auction in Asia ever, Efe news agency

​Kathmandu, April 5 (IANS) Indian infrastructure major GMR is in talks with global lenders to raise $1.5 billion to develop the 900 MW Upper Karnali hydel project in Nepal.

Coordinated by the Investment Board Nepal (IBN), representatives from GMR, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International

​London, April 5 (IANS) British scientists have found that by getting robots to "talk with their hands", we can understand them as well as we do our fellow human beings.

In a study aimed at improving communication with robots, Paul Bremner from the University of the West of England and Ute Leonards from the University of Bristol focused on

​New York, April 5 (IANS) Depression is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, a team of US researchers has found that effectively treating depression can reduce a person's risk of cardiovascular problems - stroke, heart failure, heart attack or death.

The researchers found effective treatment for depression can reduce a patient's heart risks to the same level as those who never had short-term depression.

"Our study shows that prompt, effective treatment of depression appears to improve the risk of poor heart health," said Heidi May from Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in US.

"With the help of past research, we know depression affects long-term cardiovascular risks, but knowing that alleviating the symptoms of depression reduces a person's risk of heart disease in the short term, too, can help care providers and patients commit more fully to treating the symptoms of depression," she added.

"The key conclusion of our study is: If depression isn't treated, the risk of cardiovascular complications increases significantly," May stated.

The team compiled information from 7,550 participants, who completed at least two depression questionnaires over the course of one to two years.

They were categorised based on the results of their survey as never depressed, no longer depressed, remained depressed, or became depressed.

Following each patient's completion of the last questionnaire, patients were followed to see if they had any major cardiovascular problems.

The findings suggested that 4.6 percent of patients who were no longer depressed had a similar occurrence of major cardiovascular complications as those who had no depression at all (4.8 percent).

The results indicated that changes in depression symptoms may also cause immediate physiological changes in the body, which in turn cause major cardiovascular problems to occur in the short term, but future studies are needed to further answer these questions.​

​London, April 5 (IANS) The North Atlantic Ocean played a key role in the last climate transition, says a study providing valuable insights into why large continental ice-sheets first grew in North America and Scandinavia some 2.7 million years ago.

An international team of researchers measured the composition of isotopes of the chemical element neodymium that can be found in fish teeth preserved in a North Atlantic marine core to track the origin of deep waters bathing the bottom of the ocean during the climate transition that took place in the late Pliocene Epoch era.

Contrary to previous assertions, they found that the first of these glacial events in the northern hemisphere was associated with major expansions of carbon-rich southern-sourced deep waters into the northwestern Atlantic abyss, over one million years earlier than previously thought.

The study, published recently in the journal Nature Geoscience, said that three of the largest glacial cycles between 2.5 and 2.7 million years ago appear to be associated with southern-sourced water incursions into the deep Atlantic that were as significant as those documented for the last glacial maximum.

"We could not have made these new findings with confidence using only a classic method for tracing watermass origin such as carbon isotopes," said Ian Bailey from the University of Exeter in Britain.

"But when we combined such data with an alternative novel proxy such as neodymium isotopes, we were able to reveal a dramatically new picture of watermass mixing in the deep North Atlantic during late Pliocene glacial intensification," Bailey added.

It has long been argued that changes in North Atlantic circulation played a leading role in driving late Pliocene northern hemisphere glaciation because of its capacity to modulate the transfer of heat and moisture from the tropics to the poles.

"Our findings suggest, though, that the North Atlantic Ocean was not a driving factor in this transition, but, through storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the deep Atlantic, it operated as a positive feedback that helped to usher in glaciation at this time," Bailey said.

"What we've done is document a process which is thought to be special to the largest and longest glacial cycles of the past one million years, but we have shown that it has been occurring ever since large continental ice-sheets formed in the Northern Hemisphere," he added.​

​Hainan (China), April 6 (IANS) Coconut and straws featured in the opening speech by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang which largely revolved around the economic travails of his country at the Boao Forum here. Li, who did not mince words about the difficult times ahead for the world's second largest economy, said how a small piercing tool had made drinking coconut water with straws more hygienic for tourists in Hainan, an island province in southern China. The reference to coconut water and tourists in Hainan was aptly made to underline China's plan to develop this island into a world-class tourist hub, which hosted the four-day economic summit in Boao city in March. Having seen its economy slow down to a 25-year low of 6.9 percent in 2015, China seems to be making a transition from industry to service sector, which grew by 8.3 percent as compared 6 percent manufacturing growth last year. Described as Oriental Hawaii by the Chinese media, Hainan, located in the South China Sea, is blessed with pristine beaches, volcanic mountains and tropical rain forests. The place is a heaven for those who have a fondness for seafood. The island, which until 2010 was more known for producing tropical fruits, is vying to catch up with established international tourist destinations in neighbouring Thailand and Malaysia. It was only in 2010 that the Chinese government decided to turn the laid-back island into a global tourist spot. Over the years, Beijing seems to be fiercely promoting tourism in Hainan but it is yet to become popular with international tourists. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, 97 percent of the tourists who thronged Hainan in 2014 were Chinese. "After agriculture, tourism is the next big thing in Hainan. The goal is to make this island as an international tourist spot by 2020," Zhao Hong, division director of Hainan Tourism Commission, told IANS. Hainan generated over 57 billion yuan as revenue from tourism in 2015, an increase of 13 percent from the previous year. In February, the provincial government doubled the cap for buying duty free products from 8,000 yuan to 16,000 per trip for domestic tourists. The resort town of Sanya has one of the world's largest duty-free shops. Hainan has 82 five-star hotels, some located on a 7.5-kilometre long Yalong Bay in Sanya. A total of 23 international hotel groups are operating in Hainan. Besides scenic beauty, Sanya's infrastructure is developing rapidly. The tree-lined roads and magnificent high-rises give a sense of infrastructure and environment going in hand in hand. Zhao says that heavy industries are not allowed in Hainan. The sail-shaped skyscrapers on the man-made Phoenix Island in Sanya look magnificent. The government is planning to expand the Sanya Phoenix International Airport. The Hainan Airlines is already in the list of Fortune 500 companies. The island also boasts of a 650-km high-speed rail network which connects all the major airports. China claims it to be the world's first circular high-speed railway line. The train, which runs at a speed of 250 km per hour, takes a little over three hours for a trip of the entire island. Travelling on this train, which has a cafeteria and other modern facilities, is a real treat since it passes through tropical forests and man-made tunnels. Sanya also has tourist police - a first of its kind. It was launched in December last year to protect tourists. It was set up after a tourist complained that he was charged 1,520 yuan for a dish of prawns. The tourist was in for a shock when he was told that the price per prawn was 38 yuan. "The number of tourists is increasing from Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Russia," Li Yongquan, a tour guide in Hainan, told IANS. Locals say more and more "white-skinned" people can be seen smashing volleyball on Sanya's beach over the years. But the Chinese outnumber the foreigners​