Knowledge Update

​New York, Feb 21 (IANS) Love to eat fish and other seafood? Be careful, as eating mercury-rich fish such as shark and swordfish may increase the risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) -- that takes away the ability of nerve cells to interact with the body's muscles -- a study has warned.

Mercury -- a heavy metal known to be toxic at high levels, causing brain, heart, kidney, lung and immune system damage -- is found high in swordfish and shark, while salmon and sardines typically have lower levels. 

However, the study does not suggest a higher risk of ALS -- also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease -- from general consumption of seafood.

"For most people, eating fish is part of a healthy diet. But questions remain about the possible impact of mercury in fish," said Elijah Stommel from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, US.

For the study, the team surveyed 518 people, 294 of whom had ALS and 224 of whom did not and the frequency that the participants reported eating fish with high mercury levels. 

Researchers also measured the levels of mercury found in toenail samples of participants with ALS.

The results, presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 69th Annual Meeting in Boston, revealed that 61 per cent people had a 25 per cent estimated annual mercury intake. These were at double the risk for ALS compared to those with lower levels.

The findings does not negate the fact that eating fish provides many health benefits.

But, people should choose species that are known to have a lower mercury content and avoid consuming fish caught in waters where there is mercury contamination, the researchers suggested.

​New York, Feb 20 (IANS) Chronic exposure to a common food additive found in everything from chewing gum to bread can decrease the ability of small intestine cells to absorb nutrients and act as a barrier to pathogens, warns a study. Ingestion of the compound, known as titanium dioxide, is nearly unavoidable. It can enter the digestive system through toothpastes, as titanium dioxide is used to create abrasion needed for cleaning. The oxide is also used in some chocolates to give it a smooth texture. "Titanium oxide is a common food additive and people have been eating a lot of it for a long time -- don't worry, it won't kill you! -- but we were interested in some of the subtle effects, and we think people should know about them," said one of the authors of the study, Gretchen Mahler, Assistant Professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York. For the study, the researchers exposed a small intestinal cell culture model to the physiological equivalent of a meal's worth of titanium oxide nanoparticles -- 30 nanometers across -- over four hours (acute exposure), or three meal's worth over five days. Acute exposures did not have much effect, but chronic exposure diminished the absorptive projections on the surface of intestinal cells called microvilli, showed the findings published in the journal NanoImpact. With fewer microvilli, the intestinal barrier was weakened, metabolism slowed and some nutrients -- iron, zinc, and fatty acids, specifically -- were more difficult to absorb. Enzyme functions were negatively affected, while inflammation signals increased, the study said. "To avoid foods rich in titanium oxide nanoparticles you should avoid processed foods, and especially candy. That is where you see a lot of nanoparticles," Mahler said.

Hong Kong, Feb 20 (IANS) Hong Kong Disneyland has announced a loss for 2016, its second loss-making year in a row, losing $22 million, official results showed on Monday.

Visitor numbers at the Lantau Island park dropped more than 10 per cent to 6.1 million last year according to the results.

​London, Feb 20 (IANS) Online retail giant Amazon has said it will create 5,000 new full-time jobs in the UK this year, the media reported on Monday. The firm said it was looking for a range of staff, including software developers and warehouse staff, reports the BBC. There will be jobs at Amazon's head office in London, as well as in the Edinburgh customer service centre and in three new warehouses. The recruitment will take Amazon's workforce in the UK to more than 24,000. Doug Gurr, the head of Amazon's UK business, said: "We are creating thousands of new UK jobs including hundreds of apprenticeship opportunities as we continue to innovate for our customers and provide them with even faster delivery, more selection and better value." The expansion reflects the importance of the UK market, which is Amazon's second biggest outside the US, behind Germany. Services which are developed in the US are usually launched in the UK first, such as Amazon Fresh, the grocery service which was launched in parts of Britain last year.

Beijing, Feb 20 (IANS) China is planning to construct 74 more civil transport airports by 2020, an official report said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) report provides the blueprint and sets the goals for the development of China's civil aviation industry during the country's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period, which outlines the government plans for economic and social development over a period of five years, the People's Daily reported on Monday.

The report said the country will continue to construct 30, and build 44 new, civil transport airports between 2016 and 2020, and the number of civil transport airports will reach about 260 by 2020.

"These projects would make trips to China's third tier cities (generally the medium-sized cities of each province) much easier," it said.

China is also aiming at a 28 per cent increase in air passenger turnover volume by 2020.

As for China's general aviation airports, during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period, the number has already reached 310, with the hope that number would reach 500 before 2020, according to the report.

It is also hoped there will be over 5,000 general aviation aircraft and 7,000 general aviation pilots by 2020.

Kathmandu, Feb 20 (IANS) India's Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu announced here that it would soon link Kathmandu to New Delhi and Kolkata using direct railway lines, in a bid to strengthen cross-border connectivity and facilitate movement of people between the two countries.

Prabhu, who is here to address the Nepal Infrastructure Summit, said that this could happen as soon as Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for engineering surveys. 

He added that India was ready to share its drone technology and experience with Nepal for monitoring the project. 

According to experts, this move a counter to China's bid to expand its rail network towards Lumbini via Kathmandu.

Prabhu held separate meetings with Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari,Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak, Civil Aviation, Culture and Tourism Minister Jiwan Bahadur Shahi and Energy Minister Janardan Sharma.

He also met Nepalese business leaders, political leaders, industry heads, with whom discussed a wide range of infrastructure development issues. 

New York, Feb 20 (IANS) People living in big cities with a large density of population are more likely to prefer long-term romantic relationships, have fewer children and invest more in education, suggesting that they value quality over quantity, researchers say.

The findings showed that urban citizens are more likely to adopt a 'slow life strategy', contrary to the popular notion that crowded places are chaotic and socially problematic.

"People who live in dense places seem to plan for the future more, prefer long-term romantic relationships, get married later in life, have fewer children and invest a lot in each child. They generally adopt an approach to life that values quality over quantity," said lead author Oliver Sng, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. 

In environments where population density is low and there is thus relatively little competition for available resources, there are few costs but lots of advantages to adopting a 'fast' strategy.

On the other hand, when the environment gets crowded, individuals have to compete vigorously with others for the available resources and territory, the researchers said.

"So a slow strategy -- in which one focuses more on the future and invests in quality over quantity -- tends to enhance the reproductive success of individuals in high density environments," added Steven Neuberg Professor at Arizona State University. 

For the study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the team used data from nations around the world and the 50 US states. 

In a series of experiments -- for example, in which people read about increasing crowdedness or heard sounds of a crowded environment -- they found that perceptions of crowdedness cause people to delay gratification and prefer slower, more long-term, mating and parenting behaviours.

​New York, Feb 20 (IANS) Unlike other forms of caregiving, mothers singing to their babies is a universal behaviour, and new research shows that the act could be mutually beneficial for both the mother and the child.

While the songs provide the babies much-needed sensory stimulation that can focus their attention, the act of singing can help mothers bond with their babies and also fight postpartum depression, the study said.

Mothers experience a much-needed distraction from the negative emotions and thoughts associated with depression, while also feeling empowered as a parent.

The study, published in the Journal of Music Therapy, also explored the acoustic parameters in the singing voices of mothers with post-partum depression.

"The extraction and analysis of vocal data revealed that mothers with post-partum depression may lack sensitivity and emotional expression in their singing," said study author Shannon de l'Etoile, Professor of Music Therapy at University of Miami Frost School of Music in the US.

"Although the infants were still engaged during the interaction, the tempo did not change and was somewhat robotic," de l'Etoile said.

But the the lack of sensitivity and emotional expression seemed to matter less to the infants as long as they were listening to their mothers.

"Mothers around the world sing to their infants in remarkably similar ways, and infants prefer these specialized songs," de l'Etoile said. 

"The tempo and key certainly don't need to be perfect or professional for mothers and infants to interact through song. In fact, infants may be drawn to the personalised tempo and pitch of their mother, which encourage them to direct their gaze toward and ultimately communicate through this gaze," she added.

New York, Feb 20 (IANS) Sensational content have more staying power than substantive posts on the microblogging platform Twitter, says a study.

In other words, posts about provocative topics are retweeted more by users, thereby making Twitter appear more like a tabloid than a substantive discussion forum for a casual user, the study suggests.

The findings are based on analysis of tweets sent before, during and after the Republican primary debates leading up to the 2016 US presidential election.

"Whereas during the debate tweets focused on a mix of substantive topics, the tweets that had the longest staying power after the debates were those that focused on the more sensationalist news events, often through pictures and videos," said the study by researchers from University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University in the US.

"As such, a user coming to Twitter after the debate was over would have encountered a different topical and emotional landscape than one who had been following the site in real-time, one more closely resembling a tabloid than a substantive discussion forum," the study said.

The study found that entertaining or sensational posts wash out more substantive tweets overtime, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported on Monday. 

Twitter has a greater impact on political discourse than other social media platforms because Twitter users often see content from people they do not know, one of the study authors Ron Berman from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, was quoted as saying.

Twitter users can search using a hashtag or trending topic to see public tweets from a diverse population of users.

Riyadh, Feb 20 (IANS) The Riyadh metro, one of the world's largest urban transportation projects and the first in the oil-rich kingdom, is set to be operational by 2019. But its main challenge, officials said, will be to ensure "people get used to public transportation" in a country where they love their big cars.