Knowledge Update

New York, Nov 3 (IANS) US researchers have identified a possible trigger of chronic inflammation in people with diabetes which could be targeted for preventing complications such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney problems and other related health issues.

"The number of people with diabetes has quadrupled worldwide over the last 20 years," said Clay F. Semenkovich, Professor at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in the US. 

Too much fat in the diet promotes insulin resistance by spurring chronic inflammation. 

But blocking the production of fat inside immune cells may prevent inflammation in people with diabetes and even in other conditions, such as arthritis and cancer, in which chronic inflammation plays a role. 

This could have a profound impact on health, Semenkovich added.

For the study, Semenkovich's team made genetically altered mice that could not make the enzyme for fatty acid synthase (FAS) in immune cells called macrophages. 

Without the enzyme, it was impossible for the mice to synthesise fatty acids, a normal part of cell metabolism.

"We were surprised to find that the mice were protected from diet-induced diabetes. They did not develop the insulin resistance and diabetes that normally would have been induced by a high-fat diet," said Xiaochao Wei from the Washington University. 

Further, through a series of experiments in the animals and in cell cultures, the researchers found that if macrophages could not synthesise fat from within, the external membranes of those cells could not respond to fat from outside the cells. That prevented the cells from contributing to inflammation.

But, eliminating inflammation altogether is not the answer to preventing diabetic complications because inflammation is also vital for clearing infectious pathogens from the body and helps wounds heal, Semenkovich said.

The study is published online in the journal Nature.

​London, Nov 3 (IANS) Consuming foods rich in proteins such as lean meat, fish, legumes and almonds can significantly reduce fat accumulated in the liver within six weeks, researchers say.

The findings showed that liver fat levels dropped by up to 48 per cent after eating high-protein diet regardless of whether it came from a plant or animal source, and also prevented the occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease -- a very common disorder where excess fat accumulates in the liver -- especially in people with diabetes.

"When left untreated, fatty liver is an important step progress to Type 2 diabetes and can develop into liver cirrhosis, which can have life-threatening effects," said lead author Andreas F.H. Pfeiffer, Endocrinologist at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DifE), in Germany. 

Further, the study showed that high-protein diet caused favourable changes in the liver and lipid metabolism, improved insulin sensitivity and led to a significant reduction in the hormone fibroblast growth factor 21 in the blood.

For the study, the researchers investigated the effects of two high-protein diets -- plant- or animal-based -- on the metabolism of 37 female and male subjects between the ages of 49 and 78 years suffering from Type 2 diabetes and, in most cases, from fatty liver. 

The main source for the plant protein group were foods such as noodles or bread that were enriched with pea protein. The animal protein group consumed lean milk products as well as white meat and fish as protein sources.

The results showed that no negative effect was observed on renal function or glucose metabolism and all study participants benefited from the high-protein diet. 

The liver fat content decreased significantly, in half of the study participants by more than 50 per cent. 

The study was published in the journal Gastroenterology.

​Washington, Nov 3 (IANS) US space agency NASA has completed the construction of the world's largest space telescope, after almost two decades.

The James Webb Space Telescope is considered to be the successor to NASA's 26-year-old Hubble Space Telescope, the agency announced on Wednesday.

NASA said an Ariane 5 rocket will launch it from French Guiana in October 2018, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Today, we're celebrating the fact that our telescope is finished and we're about to prove that it works," Nobel laureate and Webb's senior project scientist John Mather said during a news conference posted on Youtube, adding that the new telescope will open up "a whole new territory of astronomy".

"We will see things we have not seen before because this telescope is much more powerful than even the great Hubble telescope," Mather said, adding "To give you some perspective about what we can do with it. If you were a bumblebee at a distance of the moon, we will be able to see you, both by your reflective sunlight and by thermal radiation and heat you emitted."

According to NASA, its engineers and technicians on Wednesday successfully completed the first important optical measurement of Webb's fully assembled primary mirror, known as a Centre of Curvature test, to measure the mirror's shape.

Next, the 6.5-metre primary mirror consisting of 18 hexagonal mirrors will go through a series of rigorous tests that will simulate the violent sound and vibration environments the telescope will experience inside its rocket on its way out into space.

The Centre of Curvature test will be repeated after the launch environment testing and the results compared to find if there are any changes or damages to the optical system.

NASA said the Webb telescope will be used to observe distant objects in the universe, provide images of the first galaxies formed and see unexplored planets around distant stars.

The $8.7 billion project is led by NASA but also supported by the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

​New York, Nov 2 (IANS) Positive school climate helps students not just to achieve academic excellence but also improve outcomes for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, according to a new study.

Researchers found substantial evidence that schools with positive climates can narrow achievement gaps among students of different socioeconomic backgrounds and between students with stronger and weaker academic abilities.

"Our analysis shows that schools do matter and can do much to improve academic outcomes. Our findings suggest that by promoting a positive climate, schools can allow greater equality in educational opportunities, decrease socioeconomic inequalities, and enable more social mobility," said Ron Avi Astor, professor at the University of Southern California, in the US. 

For their study, published in the Review of Educational Research, the researchers analysed 78 studies that focused on the relationship between school or classroom climate, academic achievement, and socioeconomic status.

In their analysis, the authors found great variation in the school climate definitions and measurements used by researchers, reflecting the absence of clear and uniform standards.

The analysis also found no correlation between socioeconomic status and perceptions of school climate. This suggests that schools serving students of lower socioeconomic status do not necessarily have poor climates and that positive climates can be nurtured in these schools.

"Positive school climate has the potential to break the negative influences that stem from poor socioeconomic backgrounds and to mitigate risk factors that threaten academic achievement," said Ruth Berkowitz, assistant professor of social work at the University of Haifa, Israel. 

​New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) Taipei-based technology major BenQ has attained the top position in the Indian projector market with a 28 per cent market share, a report by research and consulting firm Futuresource Consulting said on Wednesday. In first quarter of this year, BenQ dominated the market with a 25 per cent market share and since then has strengthened its position by growing to 28 per cent of overall projector market. "BenQ will continue to focus on innovation and technology in digital display space," said Rajeev Singh, Managing Director, BenQ India, in a statement. BenQ has 39 per cent share in the SVGA market, 61 per cent in the short throw market and also leads in the corporate high brightness category with a 37 per cent market share and 47 per cent in the full-HD vertical. The brand also leads in education market with more than 70 per cent market share in private schools, which means out of every three private smart classroom in the country, two uses BenQ projector, the report added.

San Francisco, Oct 21 (IANS) Riding on the success of Cloud, Office and Surface tablets, Microsoft reported revenue of $20.5 billion and net income of $4.7 billion in the first quarter of its 2017 fiscal earnings - a news that took its shares to an all-time high on Thursday.

​New York, Nov 2 (IANS) Facebook has officially launched "Gameroom" Windows desktop gaming platform in collaboration with cross-platform game engine Unity.

As announced in August, Unity and Facebook are collaborating on adding Facebook as a new build target to the Unity Editor.

​New York, Nov 2 (IANS) Consuming an egg -- nutrient-rich source of high quality protein -- per day may lead to a 12 per cent reduction in risk of stroke, a new research shows.One large egg boasts six grams of high-quality protein and antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, found within the egg yolk, as well as vitamins E, D, and A, the study said.

"Eggs do have many positive nutritional attributes, including antioxidants, which have been shown to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. They are also an excellent source of protein, which has been related to lower blood pressure," said lead researcher Dominik Alexander of the EpidStat Institute, Michigan, US.

For the study, the team conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies dating back between 1982 and 2015.

They evaluated relationships between egg intake and coronary heart disease in 2,76,000 participants and stroke in 3,08,000 participants.

"The study underscores prior research, showing the lack of a relationship between eggs and heart disease and now suggests a possible beneficial effect of eating eggs on risk of stroke," added Tia M. Rains, Interim Executive Director of the Egg Nutrition Center -- the scientific research arm of the American Egg Board.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

​Toronto, Nov 2 (IANS) People who engage in regular physical activity and consume plenty of fruits and vegetables are likely to stay sharp even in their old age, suggests new research.

"Factors such as adhering to a healthy lifestyle including a diet that is rich in essential nutrients, regular exercise engagement, and having an adequate cardiovascular profile all seem to be effective ways by which to preserve cognitive function and delay cognitive decline," said one of the researchers Alina Cohen from York University in Toronto, Canada.

This study examined cross-sectional data from 45,522 adults, 30 years of age and older, from the 2012 annual component of the Canadian Community Health Survey.

Cognitive function was assessed using a single six-level question of the Health Utilities Index, which assessed mental processes, such as thinking, memory, and problem solving.

Participants were analysed by their age, level of physical activity, body mass index and daily intake of fruit and vegetables.

Using general linear models and mediation analyses, researchers assessed the relationship between these factors and participants' overall cognitive function.

The results, published in the Journal of Public Health, showed that higher levels of physical activity, eating more fruits and vegetables, and having a body mass index (BMI) in the normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m2) or overweight range (25.0-29.9 kg/m2) were each associated with better cognitive function in both younger and older adults.

​Washington, Nov 2 (IANS) A sensing technique that the US military currently uses to remotely monitor the air to detect potentially life-threatening chemicals, toxins, and pathogens has inspired a new instrument that could "sniff" for life on Mars.

The Bio-Indicator Lidar Instrument, or BILI is a fluorescence-based lidar, a type of remote-sensing instrument similar to radar in principle and operation. 

Instead of using radio waves, however, lidar instruments use light to detect and ultimately analyse the composition of particles in the atmosphere.

Although NASA has used fluorescence instruments to detect chemicals in Earth's atmosphere as part of its climate-studies research, the agency so far hasn't employed the technique in planetary studies. 

"NASA has never used it before for planetary ground level exploration. If the agency develops it, it will be the first of a kind," said Branimir Blagojevic, a NASA technologist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Blagojevic, who formerly worked for Science and Engineering Services, LLC, that developed the sensor, has applied the technology to create an instrument prototype, proving in testing that the same remote-sensing technology used to identify bio-hazards in public places also could be effective at detecting organic bio-signatures on Mars.

The beauty of BILI is its ability to detect in real-time small levels of complex organic materials from a distance of several hundred meters, Blagojevic added in a NASA statement.

Therefore, it could autonomously search for bio-signatures in plumes above recurring slopes -- areas not easily traversed by a rover carrying a variety of in-situ instruments for detailed chemical and biological analysis. 

Furthermore, because it could do a ground-level aerosol analysis from afar, BILI reduces the risk of sample contamination that could skew the results.

"This makes our instrument an excellent complementary organic-detection instrument, which we could use in tandem with more sensitive, point sensor-type mass spectrometers that can only measure a small amount of material at once," Blagojevic said. 

"BILI's measurements do not require consumables other than electrical power and can be conducted quickly over a broad area. This is a survey instrument, with a nose for certain molecules," Blagojevic noted.

With such a tool, which also could be installed on an orbiting spacecraft, NASA could dramatically increase the probability of finding bio-signatures in the solar system, he added.

"We are ready to integrate and test this novel instrument, which would be capable of detecting a number organic bio-signatures," Blagojevic said.