Knowledge Update

Tokyo, May 4 (IANS) The number of children in Japan under the age of 15 reached a historic low again, according to figures released by the government on Wednesday.

On April 1, the number of children of up to 14 years of age was 16.05 million, a year-on-year drop of 150,000 or almost one percent, and the worst figure since 1950 when the data began to be compiled, EFE news reported.

The number has dipped for the 35th consecutive year.

In terms of gender, the number of girls and boys stood at 7.82 million and 8.22 million respectively.

This age group now represents only 12.6 percent of the total population, and the 42nd consecutive year of decrease, according to the ministry of interior and communications data.

The data shows a serious fall in birth rate in the world's third largest economy, which has seen a downward trend since 1982.

Meanwhile, the number of children rose in only one of the 47 prefectures -- Tokyo -- this year, while only two -- Fukuoka and Okinawa -- maintained their figures from last year.​

Moscow, May 5 (IANS) A team of international scientists has developed a device that will help doctors to perform heart bypass surgery without stopping the heart.

Scientists from MISiS National University of Science and Technology, Moscow and their colleagues from Australia's Endogene-Globetek medical company have developed a unique device to enhance cardiovascular surgery. 

The stapler like device for mending blood vessels using strong staples makes it possible to quickly and safely restore blood vessels and to considerably reduce the post-operative period. 

"The world has no other device like it. The main advantage is that it reliably patches up the blood vessels in no time," said Sergei Prokoshkin, a professor at pressure metal treatment department of MISiS National University of Science and Technology.

"In addition, it is very easy to quickly learn to use the stapler. It can be used during abdominal surgery to patch up blood vessels and other hollow body organs, including aortic aneurisms or during intestinal surgery," Prokoshkin added.

A standard heart bypass surgery lasts four to five hours, with doctors having to stop the heart, and entails lengthy post-operative rehabilitation. 

This new stitching instrument allows doctors to operate on the heart while it beats. Instead of sawing the breast-bone apart, surgeons can now simply bore two holes through it and put the bypass in place. 

The entire operation lasts about 60 minutes, and the patient can be discharged on the following day.

This innovative stapler uses special resilient nickel titanium (nitinol) reversible shape memory staples. These staples are inserted inside a cartridge which is then placed inside the polymer-body stapler's distal end.

Pre-clinical tests have already been completed and this technology has also been patented in Russia and Australia. 

This Russian-Australian invention received an award at the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva held last month.​

​Washington, May 3 (IANS) Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has lost its second legal battle in a row over its talcum powder which allegedly causes cancer. The company must now pay $55 million to a woman who says she got ovarian cancer after using the product. Less than four months after losing a $72 million case in the same St. Louis, Missouri, courthouse, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $5 million in compensation and $50 million in punitive damages to Gloria Ristesund. The 62-year-old South Dakota woman was diagnosed with cancer in 2011, which she stated was “a direct and proximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective nature of talcum powder” which she used for almost 40 years. Ristesund’s cancer is currently in remission, since she underwent a hysterectomy and related surgeries. Ristesund has also accused J&J of “wrongful and negligent conduct in the research, development, testing, manufacture, production, promotion distribution, marketing, and sale of talcum powder”. Ristesund was one of over 60 plaintiffs who filed a class-action lawsuit against J&J, its supplier Imerys Talc America Inc and Personal Care Products Council, accusing them of “wrongful conduct” that caused their cancers, RT news reported. J&J was planning to appeal the verdict. Company spokeswoman Carol Goodrich argued that the jurors’ 9-3 decision in favour of Ristesund contradicted 30 years of research. One of the world’s largest maker of health-care products, J&J has been denying any links between talc and ovarian cancer as well as any need to warn its consumers. “Unfortunately, the jury’s decision goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the world that continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc," Goodrich said in a statement. “Johnson & Johnson has always taken questions about the safety of our products extremely seriously,” she added. In February, J&J was ordered to pay $72 million in damages to the family of Jacqueline Salter Fox, who claimed that the company’s talcum powder caused the ovarian cancer that killed her within three years. That case was the first to result in money compensation. In 2013, a federal jury in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, found that plaintiff Deane Berg’s ovarian cancer had been caused in part by Johnson & Johnson’s body powder, but Berg was not awarded any damages.​

London, May 4 (IANS) A larger placenta during pregnancy could lead to larger bones in children, new research has found.

Larger bones in early life are likely to lead to larger, stronger bones in older adulthood, which reduces the risk of osteoporosis and broken bones in later life. 

The researchers believe that this latest research offers new insights into earlier observations linking maternal factors in pregnancy with offspring bone health.

"These findings really help us to understand the possible mechanisms whereby factors such as maternal diet, smoking, physical activity and vitamin D status may influence offspring bone development," said lead researcher Nicholas Harvey, professor at University of Southampton in Britain.

The researchers studied 518 children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) who underwent bone scans at nine, 15 and 17 years of age. Measurements such as thickness, volume and weight, were also taken from the mothers' placenta.

The team found that greater placental size at birth was associated with larger bones at each age in childhood.

The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, found that the relationship between the placenta and offspring bone remained robust even after adjusting for factors such as the child's height and weight and pubertal status.

"This work builds on our previous findings from the Southampton Women's Survey, and demonstrates that positive associations between placental size and offspring bone size are maintained even through puberty," Harvey noted.​

​New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) With a barrage of smartphone health apps being launched globally -- claiming to go beyond fitness or calorie checkers and spot mental illnesses or respiratory diseases -- health experts stress that such digital applications can never be a replacement for a qualified, well-trained health service provider.

​Riyadh, May 2 (IANS) Indian IT major Wipro on Monday announced that it has signed a tripartite deal to set up Saudi Arabia's first all-women business and technology park in collaboration with Saudi Aramco and Princess Nourah University here.

Johhanesburg, May 3 (IANS) Think tanks from the five BRICS countries -- Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa, have agreed to come up with a road map to create digital diplomacy.

Las Vegas, May 3 (IANS) Michael Dell announced at the casino capital of the world that the biggest merger in tech history will be called Dell Technologies.

"It has a nice sound to it," the Chairman and CEO of Dell, which last year announced the $70 billion dollar merger with EMC, said at the Venetian Convention Center where he

​Toronto, May 3 (IANS) As part of its plans to scale training offerings, Google has acquired Synergyse Training, a business technology start-up founded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur, the California-based search engine giant announced on Monday.

London, May 4 (IANS) Older adults suffering with dementia who indulged in a high-intensity functional exercise programme and group activity showed reduced levels of depressive symptoms, a new study has found.

"Unfortunately, depression is common among older people, especially in people with dementia," said led author Gustaf Bostrom, doctoral student at the Umea University's Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation in Sweden.

The team investigated whether 45 minutes of high-intensity exercise, every other weekday for four months, had a better effect on depressive symptoms than a seated group activity, performed with the same duration and frequency, in older people with dementia.

The findings showed reduction in high levels of depressive symptoms in both groups. 

But, exercise showed no superior effect on depression.

Also, the study suggested a connection between impaired balance, general dependency in activities of daily living -- in transfer and dressing -- and depression in older age. 

"The link between impaired balance, dependency in transfer or dressing, and depression is an important finding and may be the subject of future studies focusing on prevention or treatment of depression among people in older age," Bostrom said, in his dissertation.

The elderly with dementia or people over the age of 85 had an increased risk of death with ongoing treatment with anti-depressants.

Further, the study involving 392 participants revealed that women had a higher mortality risk with anti-depressant use in comparison to men, the researchers concluded. ​