Knowledge Update

​New York, March 4 (IANS) Five or more servings of yoghurt a week are likely to help women in reducing the risk of having high blood pressure, finds a study.

Women who ate five or more servings of yoghurt per week, compared to those consuming one serving per month, had a 20 percent reduction in the risk of having high blood pressure, the results of the study showed.Adding yoghurt to an otherwise healthy diet seems to reduce the long-term risk of high blood pressure in women.
"Our study shows that daily intake of dairy products, particularly yoghurt, lowers the risk of developing high blood pressure, which is a key risk factor for the development of heart diseases and strokes," said lead author Justin Buendia, doctoral student at Boston University in US.
Moreover, several servings of milk and cheese each day can also have beneficial effects on blood pressure "although the effects of yoghurt seemed stronger than other forms of dairy", Buendia noted.
To examine the long-term effects of yoghurt on high blood pressure in middle-aged adults, researchers analysed data of participants in two Nurses' Health Study cohorts (NHS and NHS II),on women between 25-55 years of age, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study on men between 40-75 years of age.
The authors also evaluated whether the effects of consuming larger amounts of yoghurt were different among subjects with a healthy overall diet. 

To do this, subjects were given a score to reflect how closely their diet matched that of a DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans to lower blood pressure.The benefit of five or more servings of yoghurt on the risk of high blood pressure was stronger than the DASH diet. 
In the pooled analysis, men and women who had a higher DASH score and who consumed yoghurt five or more times per week had a 31 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure compared with those who had the lowest yoghurt intakes (one time per week) and the lowest DASH scores, the researchers claimed.The study was presented at the ongoing American Heart Association's Epidemiology/Lifestyle 2016 Scientific Sessions in Arizona.​

​New York, March 3 (IANS) A 10 percent drop in price for healthy foods and a 10 percent increase in the price of unhealthy foods could potentially prevent a significant number of people from dying from heart disease and stroke, suggests a new study.
Using a computer-based model, the researchers from Harvard University in US revealed how price changes might impact eating habits over time and whether this could reduce heart diseases. The study revealed that a 10 percent price reduction on fruits and vegetables could overall decrease 1.2 percent deaths from cardiovascular diseases in five years and almost 2 percent within 20 years. 
Heart attacks and strokes can decrease by 2.6 percent and 4 percent, respectively, over a period of 20 years.Also, a 10 percent price reduction on grains can result in 0.2 percent decrease from heart diseases within five years and 0.3 percent by 20 years. Further, a price increase of 10 percent on sugary drinks, deaths from heart diseases overall could decrease by nearly 0.1 percent within 5 years and 0.12 percent within 20 years. Specifically, heart attacks could decrease by 0.25 percent in both timeframes and strokes could decrease by 0.17 percent in 20 years. 
Diabetes could decrease by 0.2 percent in five years and 0.7 percent in 20 years.Combined, the model shows that by 2035 it would be possible to prevent 515,000 deaths from heart disease and nearly 675,000 events, such as heart attacks and strokes, across the nation with these small changes in price. 
If a change by one serving occurred daily, for example one more piece of fruit (100gm), one full serving of a vegetable (100 gm), one serving of whole grains (50 gm), and one less 8 oz sugar sweetened beverage were consumed then up to 3.5 million deaths and 4 million heart disease events could be averted over a 2 year period. 
"A change in your diet can be challenging, but if achieved through personal choice or changes in the market place, it can have a profound effect on your cardiovascular health," said lead author Thomas A. Gaziano, assistant professor at Harvard University.State and community leaders who want to improve the health of their communities can use these data to make impactful change, the researchers explained adding that the findings support the need to combine modest taxes and subsidies to better represent the real costs of food to health and society.
The research was presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology/Lifestyle 2016 Scientific 2016 meeting.​

​New York, March 3 (IANS) Glued to your smartphone? A new study has found that addiction to -- and not simply use of -- mobile phones and internet is linked to anxiety and depression in teenagers.
However, there was no relationship between cell phone or internet use and negative mental health outcomes among participants who use these technologies to escape from boredom."There's a long history of the public fearing new technologies as they are deployed in society," said lead researcher Alejandro Lleras from University of Illinois in the US."This fear of new technology happened with televisions, video games and most recently, smartphones," Lleras added in the paper published in the journal Computers in Human behaviour.
The team surveyed over 300 university students with questionnaires that addressed the students' mental health, amount of cell phone and internet use and motivations for turning to their electronic devices.
The goal was to see if addictive and self-destructive behaviours with phones and the internet are related to mental health.
The findings showed that people who self-described as having really addictive style behaviours toward the internet and cell phones scored much higher on depression and anxiety scales.
Breaking addictive technology habits may provide an important supplemental treatment for addressing mental health issues such as general anxiety disorder or depression, the author noted."The interaction with the device is not going to make you depressed if you are just using it when you are bored. This should go toward soothing some of that public anxiety over new technology," Lleras explained.​

​New York, Feb 28 (IANS) The virtual reality (VR) technology can be used to determine how people perceive their bodies, to treat body image disturbances, and to improve adherence to physical activity among obese individuals, researchers report.

​London, Feb 28 (IANS) A new programming method previously used in manufacturing can be applied to control a swarm of robots to make use of robotics advantageous in areas where safety is a concern, says a new study.

​Lagos, Feb 28 (IANS) Nigeria's currency will not be devalued despite pressures, Vice President Yomi Osinbajo said.
Speaking at a town hall meeting here on Saturday, Osinbajo insisted that devaluation was not on the table, adding that is the position of government, Xinhua news agency

​Beijing, Feb 28 (IANS) A cargo train carrying Chinese-made goods left China's Harbin city for Russia, marking the opening of a new freight route between the two countries.
The new route links Harbin, capital of China's Heilongjiang province, with Russia's fourth largest city Ekaterinburg, said sources with Harbin Commerce Bureau on Saturday,

​London, Feb 27 (IANS) James Ware, a YouTube personality in Britain, has claimed to have built the world's longest selfie stick but his unusually long monopod may not guarantee a stunning selfie, a media report said.
Currently, the Guinness World Record for building the world's longest selfie stick is held by Ben Stiller, who used his 8.56 metre monopod to click selfies at the London premiere of "Zoolander 2" earlier this month. But Ware was determined to break the record, tech website cnet.com reported on Friday. So he went shopping for bits of tape and pipe that cost him around $62. Using the material, he built a selfie stick that he said measured 9.57 metres.
"I'm just trying to get a new profile picture," he explained to a security officer in London's Trafalgar Square where he went to click a selfie.But the officer didn't feel secure so Ware had to go elsewhere.
Although Ware successfully got his selfie using the stick, his iPhone also captured a passing truck quite well. He looked like a man who was desperately trying to stop a lamppost from falling in a windstorm, cnet.com said.He admitted that his pose made him look like he was "taking a slash" - a British slang for urinating. Moreover, there was no one from the Guinness World Records organisation to witness his feat.Ware may not have been successful to be able to register his name with the Guinness World Records this time, but he got ample admirations from his followers on YouTube for the feat.

​London, Feb 25 (IANS) Not just your employer or spouse, even computers programmed to monitor people's body language can tell whether they are bored or not, says a study.
Body-language expert Dr Harry Witchel from University of Sussex found that by measuring a person's movements as they use a computer, it is possible to judge their level of

Beijing, Feb 26 (IANS) China's top legislature on Friday passed the country's first law on deep seafloor resource exploration to protect the maritime environment and ensure sustainable exploitation.