Knowledge Update

​Moscow, April 29 (IANS) Russia has become the world leader in wheat export, surpassing the US and Canada.

"Russia supplies about 25 million tons of wheat on the external market by the end of the agricultural 2016 year. We became the world's leading wheat exporter, surpassing the

​New York, March 29 (IANS) Patients with skin infections are less likely to take all their prescribed antibiotic doses after leaving the hospital, resulting in new infection or needing additional treatment for the existing skin infection, says a study.

The researchers found that patients with S. aureus skin and soft tissue infections took, on average, just 57 percent of their prescribed antibiotic doses after leaving the hospital.

"These findings suggest that we need better methods to have patients receive antibiotics for skin infections, such as counselling them on the importance of adhering to the medication dosing or by using newer antibiotics that require only once-weekly dosing," said lead researcher Loren Miller from Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre in California, US.

The study, published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, followed 188 patients who had been hospitalised and suffered S. aureus associated skin and soft tissue infections. 

The researchers measured antibiotic dosing by using medication containers fitted with electronic caps that reported when the patient opened the antibiotic container. 

By using this measurement system, the researchers found a large discrepancy in patient reports and the electronic measurement. 

Patients reported taking, on average, 96 percent of their medication, or nearly twice the 57 percent reported by the electronic caps.

The researchers were able to obtain complete records on 87 out of the 188 patients. Of the 87 patients, 40 needed additional treatment within 30 days of leaving the hospital. They had a new skin infection, required incision and drainage of their infections or new antibiotics.​

New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) India on Tuesday permitted conditional foreign equity in the retail e-commerce segment when the products sold are also manufactured in the country, as also for single-brand foreign entities with physical retail chains that want to go for online merchandise.

​Hyderabad, March 29 (IANS) Hyderabad based start-up Bulbulapps announced on Tuesday that its first crowd funded learning app "TUK-TUK goes to Hyderabad" has gone live.

The app is now available for download in Apple, Google and Windows app stores. The $2,000 app project was backed by over 60 backers.

Mumbai, March 30 (IANS) Having suffered nearly $3 billion in losses on its UK operations, Tata Steel is exploring to put its entire portfolio there up for sale, some 10 years after it forayed into Europe by acquiring Anglo-Dutch Corus for over $8.1 billion).

​Chennai, March 30 (IANS) In a $293 million cash deal India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has agreed to buy 14 established prescription brands from Novartis AG and Novartis Pharma AG in Japan, the Indian company said.

​Tokyo, March 29 (IANS) Japan's parliament on Tuesday approved a record $852 billion budget for the next fiscal year which begins on April 1.

The upper house approved the budget, which is 0.39 percent higher than the existing budget, with majority support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, after the lower

Beijing, March 29 (IANS) China will expand its power pricing reform nationwide in 2017 following a two-year pilot period in several regions to open the electricity industry, an official said on Tuesday.

New York, March 29 (IANS) The formation of a distinct pattern of sea surface temperatures in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean can predict an increased chance of summer heat waves in the eastern half of the US up to 50 days in advance, say researchers.

The scientists believe that the new technique could improve existing seasonal forecasts, which do not focus on predicting daily extremes.

"Summertime heat waves are among the deadliest weather events, and can have big effects on farming, energy use and other critical aspects of society," said lead author Karen McKinnon from US National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado, US.

"If we can give city planners and farmers a heads-up that extreme heat is on the way, we might be able to avoid some of the worst consequences," McKinnon noted.

The pattern that the researchers discovered is a contrast of warmer-than-average water coming up against cooler-than-average seas. 

When it appears, the odds that extreme heat will strike during a particular week -- or even on a particular day -- can more than triple, depending on how well-formed the pattern is, the study said.

The findings were published in the journal Nature Geoscience. 

For the study, the US scientists divided the country into regions that tend to experience extreme heat at the same time. 

They then focused on the largest of the resulting blocks: a swath that stretches across much of the Midwest and up the East Coast, encompassing important agricultural areas and heavily populated cities.

The researchers looked for a relationship between global sea surface temperature anomalies -- waters warmer or cooler than average -- and extreme heat in the eastern half of the US.

A pattern popped out in the middle of the Pacific, above a point roughly 20 degrees north latitude. The scientists could find the particular configuration of ocean water temperatures, which they named the Pacific Extreme Pattern, not only when the eastern US was already hot, but also in advance of that heat.

"Whatever mechanisms ultimately lead to the heat wave also leave a fingerprint of sea surface temperature anomalies behind," McKinnon said.​

​London, March 29 (IANS) In a first, researchers in Scotland are using smartphone-based technology to find the reason behind plummeting numbers of harbour seals in the country.

Part of a three-year study by researchers at Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at University of St Andrews in Scotland, the smartphone-based technology is being used to monitor the well-being of marine mammals, The National reported.

"Over the last 15 years, many of the harbour seal populations in the Northern Isles and on the north and east coasts of Scotland have been declining. Marine data collected during this project on Orkney will help to assess the causes, management and mitigation options in relation to the harbour seals' decline and to prioritise future research directions," Bernie McConnell, SMRU's deputy director, was quoted as saying. 

For the study, marine telemetry tags will be attached to the fur at the back of the heads of a number of harbour seals in Orkney Archipelago of Scotland. 

Small and light, the tags work like smartphones, sending information back to scientists and will eventually drop off when the seal moults, the report explained.

The study is being carried out at the request of the Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage after concerns were raised about the survival of harbour seals in the country.

"This exciting, collaborative study is vital to help us to better understand the drivers of population change in Scottish harbour seals, and to evaluate the potential conservation and management options open to us," professor John Baxter from Scottish Natural Heritage was quoted as saying.

Harbour seals - one of two seal species in Britain - have declined by up to 90 percent in some areas in and around the north and east coast of Scotland, including Orkney, since 2000.​