Knowledge Update

​New York, April 12 (IANS) Children's exposure to higher levels of air pollution, including fine particulate matter also known as PM2.5, and impure carbon particles can most negatively impact their lung functioning, finds a new study.

The findings showed that by the time a child reaches the age of eight, his or her lungs are greatly affected by inhaling the PM2.5 that includes aerosols, smoke, fumes, dust, ash and pollen as well as black carbon. 

Also, children living the closest to major highways had the greatest reductions in their lung function.

The lung functioning of children living within 100 meters of a major roadway was on average 6 percent lower than that of children living 400 meters or more away, said the lead author Mary B. Rice, instructor at Harvard Medical School in US.

For the study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, the team studied 614 children born between 1999 and 2002.

They calculated the distance from the child's home to the nearest major highway, and estimated first year of life, lifetime and prior-year exposure to PM2.5, using satellite measurements​

​Toronto, April 10 (IANS) Cancerous tumour cells expand in the human body by feeding on "bad cholesterols" found in the lipid metabolism, finds a new research.

Tumour cells grow as a result of scavenging on very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) -- commonly known as "bad cholesterol" -- in the body.

The findings of the clinical trials showed that minimising the liver's production of LDL would deprive a tumour from its constant supply and therefore reduce its possibility of growth.

Tumours not only use lipids as "building blocks" to grow, but they can regulate their host's lipid metabolism to increase production of these lipids.

The "bad cholesterol" binds to LDL receptors in the liver, the organ in charge of degrading it and excreting it from the organism as bile.

"Cancer cells need lipids to grow. They can make their own lipids or get more from the host because these cells grow so fast," explains Richard Lehner, professor at University of Alberta in Canada.

Proteins are identified as one of the key factors for this process, which may cause a decrease in the amount of LDL receptors to excrete the cholesterol.

The tumour affects these proteins to reduce clearance of cholesterol from the blood, leaving the LDL for cancer to feed off of it.

The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, explores mechanisms that can be used to reduce the malignant cells' growth.

Should these potential clinical trials prove to be effective, we could be facing an improved way to help cancer patients: eliminating the tumour, while preventing it from growing at the same time, the researchers concluded.​

London, April 13 (IANS) A team of British researchers has found that people with type 2 diabetes are at a greater risk of serious liver disease than those without the condition.

“We have shown for the first time that type 2 diabetes is an important novel risk factor that increases numbers of hospital admissions and deaths, in people with all common chronic liver diseases," said Chris Byrne, a professor at the University of Southampton. 

"Further research is now needed to determine whether all patients with type 2 diabetes should be screened for common chronic liver diseases,” he added.



The team, involving researchers from the universities of Southampton and Edinburgh, examined cases of liver diseases among people with diabetes from anonymised, securely linked hospital records and death records in Scotland over a 10-year period.

They found that most cases of liver disease in people with type 2 diabetes are not alcohol-related but caused by a build-up of fat within liver cells - a condition known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to a the study published recently in the Journal of Hepatology.

NAFLD is commonly linked to obesity, which is also a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Most people can avoid getting these conditions by following a healthy diet and taking regular exercise.

“Preventing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by avoiding unhealthy lifestyles in both people with and without diabetes is important because it is difficult to treat the complications of this condition,” said Sarah Wild from the University of Edinburgh.

The research team found that men with type 2 diabetes are three times more likely to suffer from NAFLD than men without diabetes.

There are fewer cases of type 2 diabetes and liver disease amongst women but having type 2 diabetes increases the risk of NAFLD by five times, the study found.

People with NAFLD are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol on the liver and should avoid drinking to avoid further complications, the researchers said.​

​New York, April 13 (IANS) Sending a message out to the world about bridging the gender pay gap, social networking site Facebook and technology giant Microsoft have disclosed that they pay male and female employees equally.

The disclosure - that came on the "Equal Pay Day" on Tuesday - was announced after both the companies were pressed by Arjuna Capital, a Boston-based investment firm.

Arjuna Capital had filed shareholder proposals at each of the companies, asking these to close the gender wage gap and release salary information, Wall Street Journal reported.

Facebook and Microsoft are among nine technology firms like Amazon and Apple that have faced pressure from Arjuna Capital to share wage information.

"If tech companies want to attract and retain the best talent and are going to move women into leadership roles that will make the companies more competitive, they need to pay men and women the same, and they need to be transparent about how they are doing that," Natasha Lamb, a partner at Arjuna Capital, was quoted as saying.

Facebook and Microsoft have said they have been reviewing data about how much their employees are paid for a number of years.

Observing "Equal Pay Day," a study by San Francisco-based career marketplace startup Hired Inc. revealed that the gap in salaries between male and female software engineers at major corporations is 7 percent.

The data in this report was pulled from an analysis of more than 100,000 job offers across 15,000 candidates and 3,000 companies on Hired's platform.

"In fact, our data a" which spans technology, sales and marketing roles a" shows that 69 percent of the time, men receive higher salary offers than women for the same job title at the same company," said Dr Jessica Kirkpatrick, Hired's lead product data scientist.

One of the most noteworthy findings in the report relates to what's known as the "expectation gap."

Overall, Hired's data shows that the average woman on its platform sets her expected salary at $14,000 less per year than the average man on its platform.

"When we break the expectation gap down by role -- comparing women and men in the same job category -- we found as the ratio of men to women in the role increases, so does the gap," Kirkpatrick noted.

Hired Inc hopes the findings will address this issue in two ways.

"First, by providing insight into the issue of gender bias in the workforce, we want to encourage companies to investigate their compensation policies to ensure that they don't perpetuate patterns of inequality," the report said.

"Second, we want to arm women with information about this phenomenon to empower them to ask for their market worth. This issue certainly won't be solved overnight, but with both sides working together, we'll all be on a path to a more equitable future," it added.​

Beijing, April 11 (IANS) With obesity on the rise across the country, China has issued its first medical guideline to help overweight people get lighter.

According to the China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care, the guideline, issued on Sunday, covers the principles and methods that should be adopted to help people lose weight and keep it off. 

It was developed over nearly a year through the collective efforts of nearly 100 doctors and nutritionists, the China Daily reported on Monday.

A report released by the National Health and Family Planning Commission last year said about 30 percent of people in China aged 18 or older are overweight, an increase of more than 7 percentage points over 2002, and the number of overweight people is increasing faster than in developed countries.

Excessive weight and obesity has been a major contributor to the prevalence of many chronic diseases such as diabetes in China, the commission has said.

Chen Wei, vice-director of the Clinical Nutrition Branch of the Chinese Nutrition Society, said an increasing number of people have sought treatment to reduce weight in recent years, but many methods available in the market are not proper, and some can even harm health.

As a pilot programme, the guideline will be adopted by 39 major public hospitals in 20 cities in China this year, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, he said. 

"These hospitals will open special clinics for reducing weight," Chen said, adding "They will provide services including updated health records and customised weight-loss plans.​

​Singapore, April 12 (IANS) Singapore will ban smoking in reservoirs and parks from June 1, a senior minister said on Tuesday. The ban will affect 17 reservoirs and parks in public housing estates in Jurong town corporation, Xinhua quoted Environment and Water Resources Minister Amy Khor as saying. The banned premises will also include neighbourhood parks within private housing estates. The owners of these premises will have the option to set up designated smoking points. The National Environment Agency said this was in line with the government's ultimate goal of prohibiting smoking in all public areas. "To protect non-smokers, we have progressively prohibited smoking in public places since the 1970s. The smoking prohibition was last extended in 2013, and today there are more than 32,000 premises and locations where smoking is prohibited," said Khor. For the first three months of implementation, a warning will be given to those caught smoking in the newly prohibited places. Repeat offenders can result in fines of up to 2,000 Singapore dollars ($1,480).​

​Macau, April 7 (IANS) In a yet another fillip to the idea that smartphone can one day become your laptop or personal computer, HP Inc on Thursday unveiled Elite x3 - a 5.96-inch touchscreen device that runs Windows 10 Mobile and supports Continuum - a feature that allows the device to be attached seamlessly to a separate screen, mouse and keyboard. To be available in Asia Pacific and Japan in September this year and then in India, HP Elite x3 bridges phablet, laptop and desktop use cases from a single computing device while enabling users to run key productivity apps across seamlessly. "At HP, we are constantly pushing the envelope in design, productivity, security and entertainment to build innovative products for 'One Life'," Anneliese Olson, vice president of personal systems business, HP Asia Pacific and Japan, told reporters here. By utilising Continuum in Windows 10, the Elite x3 enables frictionless multi-screen transitions between a phone and a desktop PC. The device sports 8MP front camera and 16MP rear camera. For users' security, the device has both a fingerprint reader and an iris recognition camera, offering biometric security as part of Window's biometric Hello framework. "Users can dock Elite x3 with its ecosystem of accessories to render desktop and laptop productivity experiences while also retaining productivity on-the-go in a world-class premium and commercial-grade phablet," HP added. Although Elite x3's docking station is not new in the field but what takes HP device into a new league is its mobile extender that helps Elite x3 double as a laptop. The Elite x3 offers a unique computing experience by leveraging the power of the Snapdragon 820 processor, the optional HP Desk Dock and the optional Lap Dock, allowing the device to let people work on their own terms no matter where the locale. Users can also enjoy easier, faster charging with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology. The Desk Dock offers a full featured desktop experience for the Elite x3. It includes a DisplayPort for external monitor support, two USB-A and a USB-C connection for business continuity and wired Ethernet to seamlessly scale users' productivity at their desk. The Elite x3 docks in portrait mode at a comfortable viewing angle when sitting at a desk. The dock also supports the Elite x3 with and without a protective case. The HP Lap Dock creates a laptop experience using a near zero bezel 12.5-inch diagonal HD display that's mere one kg. No data is stored on the Lap Dock for additional security and all of the apps, passwords and files are managed and stored from the Elite x3. The Elite x3 also allows users to work with the apps they love and rely on. HP Workspace - an app catalog designed by HP to easily enable access to virtualised apps - drives a seamless app usage experience. HP Workspace on the Elite x3 creates a virtual PC, giving users access to company curated catalogs of x86 apps via a virtualized solution. Users benefit from quick access to their virtualised apps with a full keyboard and mouse experience not typically available from a mobile device when using the Desk Dock and Lap Dock. HP is also partnering with Salesforce, the world's leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform, to include Salesforce on every Elite x3, empowering users to run their businesses from their mobile devices with powerful tools that work in the cloud, keeping them up-to-date with whatever real-time data they need. The price of Elite x3 device is yet to be announced.​

Moscow, April 6 (IANS) A new study by an international team of scientists has revealed conditions under which a body produces more superoxide -- a dangerous form of oxygen with the capability to destruct DNA.

Human mutations in a gene encoding the DHTKD1 protein result in a range of neurological disturbances. On molecular level, the mutations cause accumulation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and degradation products of lysine and tryptophan, said the study published recently in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. 

The structure of the DHTKD1 protein is similar to an enzyme, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, which is able to produce superoxide. 

According to the researcher, a cell combats the "poisonous" forms of oxygen with a help of antioxidants, and antioxidant defence system proteins.

But disturbed metabolism may cause a shortage of amino acids (the bricks for building proteins) lysine and tryptophan which may result into physical, neurologic and mental malfunctions, and even lead to death. 

Those amino acids belong to irreplaceable and cannot be produced from other substances in human body, so they should come from food, the researchers noted.

According to the study, 2-aminoadipate and 2-oxoadipate are the degradation products of lysine, tryptophan and hydroxylysine.

Scientists found the connection between aciduria (increased acidity of urine, showing serious malfunction in metabolism) in patients with increased content of 2-aminoadipate and 2-oxoadipate and gene mutations in the DHTKD1 protein. 

That confirmed an earlier hypothesis that an enzyme, encoded by DHTKD1, oxidises 2-oxoadipate.

The DHTKD1 protein does not belong to central metabolism and is produced in higher quantities in liver and kidney cells where lysine and tryptophan are more actively degraded. In humans it is degraded in skeletal muscles. 

The study found that both the down- and up-regulation of the DHTKD1 expression increased the level of reactive and dangerous forms of oxygen.​

​New York, April 6 (IANS) Chronic lack of sleep and irregular sleep-wake cycles that disturb the biological cycle are likely to risk the onset of Parkinson's disease as well as worsen the disease, warns a new study.

The animals-based study showed that the disturbances in the circadian rhythm -- the roughly 24-hour biological cycle of humans daily exposure to long periods of light with brief exposure to dark may also dramatically worsen the motor and learning deficits brought on by the disease.

"Many think that sleep disturbances are secondary to Parkinson's disease. But circadian rhythm disturbances are increasingly reported before the onset of Parkinson's, suggesting that they could be risk factors," said Domenico Pratico, professor at LKSOM in the US.

Further, the researchers observed significant reductions in neurons in substantia nigra -- a brain region that produce dopamine, the loss of which is a major molecular feature of Parkinson's disease. 

"Cells normally die in that region of the brain, but our study shows that circadian rhythm disturbance accelerates cell death there," Pratico added.

In addition, cells known as microglia, which normally protect neurons, were superactive in circadian-disrupted MPTP-treated mice. 

The overactivation of microglia can actually worsen neuroinflammation and potentially speed the progression of Parkinson's disease.

The findings are detailed online in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

The team investigated the role of altered circadian rhythm using a well-established mouse model of Parkinson's disease, in which treatment with MPTP, a neurotoxin that reproduces aspects of the disease in mice. 

Assessments of movement and behaviour showed that all mice treated with MPTP developed Parkinson's disease, but animals with altered circadian rhythm experienced significant learning impairments. 

They also exhibited severe motor deficits, with drastic reductions in motor coordination and motor learning skills - far worse than the deficits observed in MPTP-treated mice with normal circadian rhythm.​

​London, April 6 (IANS) The salt levels of oceans on distant Earth-like planets could have a major effect on their climates and may provide more habitable conditions for alien life, says a study involving an Indian-origin scientist.

"The number of planets being discovered outside our solar system is rapidly increasing. Our research helps to answer whether or not these planets could sustain alien life," said David Stevens from Britain's University of East Anglia (UEA). 

"Oceans play a vital role in sustaining life and also have an immense capacity to control climate. But previous studies on ocean circulation on other planets have made the assumption that fundamental ocean properties - such as the salinity and depth of water - would be similar to that on Earth," he added.

Stevens' team used computer models of ocean circulation on exoplanets to see what would happen when their oceans had different salinity levels to Earth. 

The study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, considered oceans with very low salinity (similar to freshwater), salinity similar to the average value of Earth's oceans, and high salinity (similar levels to the Dead Sea).

"On Earth, we have a circulation where warm water moves towards the poles at the surface, before being cooled, then sinking at high latitudes and travelling towards the equator at depth," said Manoj Joshi from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences.

"Our research shows that oceans on other planets with a much higher salinity could circulate in the opposite direction - with polar water flowing towards the equator at the surface, sinking in the tropics and travelling back towards the poles at depth. We also found a similar pattern emerging for freshwater oceans," Joshi added.

"These circulation patterns are the opposite of what happens on Earth, and would result in a dramatic warming in the polar regions. Such a circulation scenario might extend the planet's range of habitability," he noted.

The study assumes significance as until recently computer simulations of habitable climates on Earth-like planets have mainly focused on their atmospheres. But studying their oceans is vital for understanding climate stability and habitability -- as on our own Earth.​