Traffic pollution linked to early markers of cardiovascular disease in children

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Se relaciona la contaminación del tráfico con marcadores tempranos de enfermedad cardiovascular en niños

According to him USC Children's Health Study, which followed a group of children into adulthood, daily exposure to road traffic emissions during childhood May lay the foundation for cardiovascular disease in adulthood.

The research, recently published in the journal Environmental Health, used ultrasound to examine the carotid arteries in participants at age 10 and again a decade later. Changes in the intima-media thickness of the carotid artery is a measure of very early stage atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of most cardiovascular diseases.

Early detection

The study was based on the most recent Children's Health Study cohort: approximately 5,000 children. Children in the current study came from 13 communities in Southern California, representing a mix of backgrounds.

For each child, the researchers calculated average residential exposures to regional environmental pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter using regulatory air monitoring data. They estimated exposure to nitrogen oxides based on the proximity of a child's home to busy highways.

Still, future studies will provide a more complete picture of the interaction between diet, physical activity, and pollution exposure.

Early detection of changes in the carotid artery has the potential to improve understanding of how cardiovascular disease develops over time in relation to air pollution, and thereby helping to identify children at risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood.


The news

Traffic pollution linked to early markers of cardiovascular disease in children

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

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Taking care of our healthcare personnel is also good, because it prevents medical errors.

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Cuidar a nuestro personal sanitario es bueno, también, porque eso evita errores médicos

As concluded A study Led by The Ohio State University College of Nursing, critical care nurses with poor physical and mental health reported significantly more medical errors than nurses in better health.

The study findings published in the American Journal of Critical Care.

In times of COVID-19 it would be worse

The authors cited research on the prevalence of symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout among critical care nurses as a basis for examining the potential correlation between well-being and medical errors. The study surveyed almost 800 members.

Those who reported poorer health and well-being were 31% to 62% more likely to make medical errors.

The study, which was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, also found that "nurses who perceived their workplace to be highly supportive of their well-being were twice as likely to have better physical health."

The authors mention that levels of stress, anxiety and depression probably be even higher in the current environment than before the pandemic, when the study was conducted.


The news

Taking care of our healthcare personnel is also good, because it prevents medical errors.

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

.

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This portable artificial intelligence device reports the discomfort felt by children with atopic dermatitis

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Este dispositivo portátil de inteligencia artificial informa de las molestias que sienten los niños con dermatitis atópica

The itch either pruritus It is an irritating sensation that awakens the need to scratch the skin. Sometimes it can feel like something like pain, but it is different. You often feel like one part of your body itches, but sometimes you may feel itchy all over your body. Along with itching, you may also get a rash or hives.

It's a difficult symptom to measure, especially for the millions of children with atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema. Children can only verbalize or quantify their suffering through a survey or scale.. It may also be difficult to objectively measure itch in adults with liver disease, kidney disease, and certain cancers who experience its symptoms.

Therefore, it is difficult to keep track of how well treatments and medications are working.

Soft electronics + AI

But now there is a wearable sensor that actually quantifies itch by measuring scratching when placed on the hand. Developed by scientists at Northwestern University, while tested in patients with atopic dermatitis, can be used in any condition that causes itching.

The sensor can also support clinical trials for new treatments, track treatment response, and monitor disease worsening, all without leaving home.

This is the first sensor capable of capturing all forms of scratching, related to the movement of the fingers, wrist and elbow. It is also the first validated in a pediatric population where conditions such as atopic dermatitis are the most common..

This sensor combines advances in soft electronics that wrap seamlessly around your hand with machine learning algorithms that specifically identify scratching without being fooled by similar movement-related movements (e.g., hand waving). The sensor measures both low-frequency movement and high-frequency vibrations of the hand to significantly improve accuracy compared to wristwatch tools.

The sensor has been in the Food and Drug Administration's Drug Discovery Tool program. This program allows novel devices like this sensor to be qualified to help in the approval of new medications.


The news

This portable artificial intelligence device reports the discomfort felt by children with atopic dermatitis

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

.

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More than 300 years after the arrival of Europeans to the New World, the Amazon had already been depopulated and reforested

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Más de 300 años de la llegada de los europeos al Nuevo Mundo, la Amazonia ya había sido despoblada y reforestada

It is estimated that between 90 and 95% of the indigenous population of the Amazon died after 1492, because, when Europeans first arrived on the coasts of South America, brutal waves of disease, war, slavery and genocide followed.

However, new measurements suggest that, in many places, land abandonment and reforestation began between 300 and 600 years before the arrival of Europeans.

Fossil pollen records

The Amazon is a vast region in the horizontal and northern part of South America that includes the rainforest of the Amazon River basin.

According to this new study published in ScienceTherefore, depopulation and subsequent reforestation in the Amazon began centuries before the arrival of Europeans and did not contribute to the decline observed atmospheric CO2 during the 17th century.

Deforestationinbrazil2

The data suggest that, in many places, land abandonment and reforestation began between 300 and 600 years before the arrival of Europeans.

To reach these conclusions, researcher Mark Bush and his colleagues at the Florida Institute of Technology, in Melbourne (Australia), evaluated fossil pollen records from 39 places in the Amazon that record changes in forest cover over the last 2,000 years.

That does not mean, of course, that the cascading effects of environmental change, pre-European pandemics and/or social strife may have contributed as well. Nevertheless, It is possible that indigenous populations in some areas of the Amazon were already declining when Europeans arrived..


The news

More than 300 years after the arrival of Europeans to the New World, the Amazon had already been depopulated and reforested

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

.

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China launches the central capsule of its future space station, one of the largest and most sophisticated space facilities

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China lanza la cápsula central de su futura estación espacial, una de las instalaciones espaciales más grandes y sofisticadas

It took off at 3:23 UTC, from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Hainan Island, southern China, the central capsule of your space station.

The central capsule, called Tianhe, or Harmony of the Heavens, is 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter. The construction of the space station marks the beginning of the third stage of China's manned space program, which was approved by the government in 1992.

The largest ship in China

Specifically, a Long March 5B heavy-lift carrier rocket has been launched, with a central stage and four side boosters, an equivalent height to an 18-story building and a takeoff weight of 849 tons.

The launch is intended to transport the 22.5-ton capsule, the largest and heaviest spacecraft China has ever built, to a low Earth orbit about 400 kilometers above Earth to place the first piece of the country's space station.

The multi-module space station, called Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, will be mainly composed of three components, a central module attached to two space laboratories, with a combined weight of almost 70 tons. The entire Tiangong station is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2022 and is scheduled to operate for about 15 years.

The module sent will be essential for the future operations of the space station, since the astronauts will live there and control the entire station from the inside. Next year, Tiangong's two space laboratories, two manned missions and two robotic cargo flights to continue station construction.

c


The news

China launches the central capsule of its future space station, one of the largest and most sophisticated space facilities

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

.

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Lightning produces more hydroxyl radicals than expected and that is very good for our atmosphere

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Los rayos produce más radicales hidroxilos de lo esperado y eso es muy bueno para nuestra atmósfera

Previously unobserved extreme amounts of atmospheric hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl radicals (HO2), which have been generated directly by lightning sparks, are involved in cleaning our atmosphere.

This is what it suggests a new study published in Science. These amounts are much higher than expected, and that's a good thing.

OH controls toxic gases

We already knew that lightning increases the atmosphere's ability to clean itself by producing reactive nitric oxide (NO), which, through subsequent atmospheric chemistry, ultimately leads to the formation of atmospheric oxidants, including ozone ( O3) and hydroxyl radicals (OH).

Lightning

OH is the most important oxidizing species in the atmosphere, controlling the concentrations of toxic and climate-relevant gases such as carbon monoxide and methane.

According to the researchers, these quantities are several orders of magnitude above any previous measurement of atmospheric OH or HO2.

Although the results are uncertain, perhaps by a factor of ten, they suggest that the OH generated by lightning in all storms occurring globally at any given time could be responsible for between 2 and 16% of the oxidation capacity of the Earth's atmosphere.


The news

Lightning produces more hydroxyl radicals than expected and that is very good for our atmosphere

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

.

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How to violate the fingerprint recognition of a mobile phone using a 3D printer

By portal-3

Cómo violar el reconocimiento de huella dactilares de un móvil usando una impresora 3D

The cybersecurity organization Cisco Talos Intelligence Group has discovered that recreating fingerprints to carry out identity theft can be achieved with an 80 percent success rate, and that you don't need expensive equipment to achieve it.

The researchers they were able to achieve the feat with a readily available 3-D printer that recreated a finger that he printed with a simple mold and glue.

3d print

Testers found that Apple products were more vulnerable to biometric override than units running Windows 10. But they noticed they were able to make more attempts to log in on iPads because they knew the codes that overrode the five-entry limit on fingerprint attempts. Without those codes, your success rate would have been noticeably lower.

"Still, this level of success rate means that we have a very high probability of unlocking any of the devices tested, the researchers noted.

The proliferation of 3D printers low-cost made it easier for researchers to bypass fingerprint-based biometric barriers.

All in all, consumers can generally feel safe, because hackers must overcome significant barriers to break security (they must obtain a user's fingerprint and then the user's device), so the probability of being attacked is not high. .

The results show that fingerprints are good enough to protect the average person's privacy if they lose their phone. However, a person who is likely to be targeted by a well-funded and motivated hacker should not use fingerprint authentication.


The news

How to violate the fingerprint recognition of a mobile phone using a 3D printer

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

.

Read More