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Microvision Receives $8.5 Million Purchase Order for New PicoP Laser Projection Display Engine

April 6, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

REDMOND, Wash.–(Business Wire)–
Microvision (NASDAQ:MVIS), a leading developer of ultra-miniature projection
display products, announced today that it has received an $8.5 million purchase
order for its new ultra-miniature PicoP laser projection display engine from a
consumer electronics customer. The OEM plans to embed the PicoP engine inside a
high-end mobile media player for release in late 2010 and plans to announce its
launch at that time.

Microvision recently announced the completion and shipment of initial samples of
its new display engine that incorporates a proprietary ASIC chipset half the
original size and weight and that consumes one third less power than its
predecessor while delivering uniformly bright, vivid color WVGA (848 X 480)
images up to 200 inches. It also provides a 5000:1 contrast ratio – 5 times
greater than other pico projector engines in the market today and is always in
focus without the need for focusing dials or optics – an especially desirable
benefit for mobile consumers.

“We are very pleased to receive the first purchase order for our new display
engine,” said Alexander Tokman, President and CEO of Microvision. “This embedded
application in a high-end mobile media player is part of our strategy to develop
multiple premium distribution channels as we continue to advance the PicoP
engine design and mature production capacity to meet anticipated demand across a
variety of consumer electronic products including handsets.”

About Microvision (www.microvision.com)

Microvision provides the PicoP display technology platform designed to enable
next-generation display and imaging products for pico projectors, vehicles
displays, and wearable displays that interface to mobile devices. The company`s
projection display engine uses highly efficient laser light sources which can
create vivid images with high contrast and brightness. For more information,
visit the company`s website (www.microvision.com) and corporate blog
(www.microvision.com/displayground).

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

Certain statements contained in this release, including those relating to OEM
new product introduction are forward-looking statements that involve a number of
risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected in the Company’s forward-looking statements
include the following: our ability to raise additional capital when needed; our
financial and technical resources relative to those of our competitors; our
ability to keep up with rapid technological change; government regulation of our
technologies; our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights and
protect our proprietary technologies; the ability to obtain additional contract
awards; the timing of commercial product launches and delays in product
development; the ability to achieve key technical milestones in key products;
dependence on third parties to develop, manufacture, sell and market our
products; and potential product liability claims and other risk factors
identified from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports, including the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Except as expressly
required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events, changes in circumstances or any other reason.

Microvision
Media:
Matt Nichols, 206-940-4318
or
Maria Vetrano, 617-876-2770
or
Investors:
Tiffany Bradford, 425-936-6847
or
Linda Decker, 212-564-4700

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: circumstances, competitors, contrast, liability, platform

UPDATE 2-Fast Retailing shares plunge after March sales dive

April 6, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

TOKYO, April 5 (Reuters) – Shares of Fast Retailing (9983.T) tumbled more than 10 percent after its Uniqlo budget fashion chain posted its biggest sales drop in seven years in March as cold weather hurt sales of spring clothing.

The 16.4 percent year-on-year decline in sales snapped a trend of generally robust growth since 2008 on the back of hit products like its “Heattech” line of basic garments made of heat-retaining fabric.

It was the biggest monthly decline since March 2003, with sales of light jackets sliding after robust sales of the items a year earlier.

Uniqlo had been a rare bright spot in Japan’s retail industry, which has been hit hard by weak consumer spending.

“Momentum (of sales growth) will inevitably slow as it faces high year-earlier hurdles ahead, so it cannot support the stock’s valuation,” said Takeshi Osawa, senior fund manager at Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset Management.

On Friday, before the March sales announcement, Fast Retailing shares ended at 16,690 yen, more than six times its book value. By contrast, Seven & I (3382.T) and other major Japanese retailers are traded around their book values.

Investors on Monday snapped up some retail stocks that had been overshadowed by Fast Retailing.

Shares of apparel chain operator United Arrows (7606.T), whose same-store sales rose 4.1 percent in March, soared 5.1 percent to 1,085 yen.

Osawa said there may be a shift for now towards undervalued retail stocks but he remained upbeat on Fast Retailing over the long haul.

“I don’t think Uniqlo will go downhill. Its solid growth prospects have not changed,” he said, pointing to its overseas business.

Fast Retailing has been aggressively opening stores in China to tap growing demand there. It also opened its first Uniqlo store in Russia last week, with an eye on India and Brazil next. [ID:nLDE631067]

RETAIL OUTLOOK

Fast Retailing will be among the first of Japan’s major retailing companies to announce results for the quarter ended in February, scheduled after market close on Thursday.

“I am waiting to see what kind of outlook the firm gives for its second-half (starting in March),” said Shun Tanaka, chief analyst at SMBC Friend Research Center.

On the same day, Japan’s largest retail group Seven & I was also scheduled to give the results for the year ended in February and the outlook for the year that has just begun.

Except for Fast Retailing and a few others, Japanese retailers have been suffering from a severe slump as consumers sharply cut back spending amid the economic downturn.

Tanaka said the deflationary trend was likely to continue for a while, though the pace of price falls may slow later in the year.

“The point is how much retailers can stem slides in sales amid deflation. I am looking at whether slides will be small enough to be offset by cost-cutting measures,” he said.

Fast Retailing closed down 10.6 percent, its worst fall since Januray 2007. The stock was the largest percentage loser on the Nikkei 225 .N225, which gained 0.5 percent. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: announcement, contrast, downturn, Heattech, valuation

Gandhians in Ahmedabad laud government’s austerity drive

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ahmedabad, Sep 18(ANI): In contrast to leaders of some political parties, who are criticising the austerity measures mooted by the government as mere ‘tokenism’, Gandhians associated with the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmedabad have lauded the initiative.

The Gandhains, who themselves live a life of extreme simplicity, following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, said that if politicians lead a simple life, people would certainly follow in tune with the adage: Follow the leader.

Amrut Modi, the managing trustee Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram, a staunch Gandhian himself, is a firm believer in Gandhi’s teaching of ‘doing one’s work by oneself’, and professes it religiously.

Appreciating the austerity drive of the government, he said that politicians through such measures inspire people towards leading a simple life, as the Mahatma did.

“If simplicity is acquired, it can lead to change. Gandhiji himself had brought about change in the country. He prepared the people for independence and self-rule. The principle of simplicity is included in his teachings. He inspired the common man, through his simple life. Even today if our politicians adopt simplicity, then people will take inspiration from them,” Modi said.

Several other believers of Gandhi’s teaching also said that simplicity could help the nation develop, and also set an example in front of the whole world.

“The ministers should adopt Gandhiji’s principles and teachings pertaining to simplicity. This will help in the development of the country financially and otherwise and they can also send the message to the world, that how beneficial it can be to walk on Gandhiji’s principles,” said Dhimant Badiya, another Gandhian. (ANI)

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Some animals can reflect upon, monitor, regulate their states of mind

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 15 (ANI): Conducting extensive research into animal cognition, psychologists at the University at Buffalo have found that some animals may share humans’ ability to reflect upon, monitor or regulate their states of mind.

“Comparative psychologists have studied the question of whether or not non-human animals have knowledge of their own cognitive states by testing a dolphin, pigeons, rats, monkeys and apes using perception, memory and food-concealment paradigms,” said Dr. J. David Smith, a comparative psychologist at the university.

“The field offers growing evidence that some animals have functional parallels to humans’ consciousness and to humans’ cognitive self-awareness,” he added.

He counts dolphins and macaque monkeys among such species.

Recounting the original animal-metacognition experiment with Natua the dolphin, Smith said: “When uncertain, the dolphin clearly hesitated and wavered between his two possible responses, but when certain, he swam toward his chosen response so fast that his bow wave would soak the researchers’ electronic switches.”

He added: “In sharp contrast, pigeons in several studies have so far not expressed any capacity for metacognition. In addition, several converging studies now show that capuchin monkeys barely express a capacity for metacognition. This last result,” Smith says, “raises important questions about the emergence of reflective or extended mind in the primate order. This research area opens a new window on reflective mind in animals, illuminating its phylogenetic emergence and allowing researchers to trace the antecedents of human consciousness.”

Smith describes metacognition as a sophisticated human capacity linked to hierarchical structure in the mind because the metacognitive executive control processes oversee lower-level cognition, to self-awareness because uncertainty and doubt feel so personal and subjective, and to declarative consciousness because humans are conscious of their states of knowing and can declare them to others.

Therefore, Smith says: “It is a crucial goal of comparative psychology to establish firmly whether animals share humans’ metacognitive capacity. If they do, it could bear on their consciousness and self-awareness, too.”

He concludes, “Metacognition rivals language and tool use in its potential to establish important continuities or discontinuities between human and animal minds.”

A research article describing his study has been published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Science. (ANI)

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War talks can boost older adults’ mental health

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 11 (ANI): Encouraging elderly to talk about old times can actually improve their memory and limit effects of dementia, finds a new study.

The research team led by Professor Catherine Haslam, at the University of Exeter, showed that ‘reminiscence therapy’ can significantly increase cognitive recall and agility of the mind by up to 12 per cent within six weeks.

During the study, the researchers recruited 73 people – aged between 70 and 90 and some with dementia – and split them into three groups.

The first group was made to sit around once a week in sets of five and reminisce about the old days such as childhood, weddings and family holidays, as well objects that could spark memories such as old-fashioned ink pots and hats.

After six weeks, the standard cognitive tests showed that the memory had improved by 12 per cent. Those suffering dementia saw an improvement of about eight per cent.

In contrast, the two other groups – one that was encouraged to play skittles – and another that was encouraged to have one on one chats showed very little improvement in their brain power.

“The people we were talking to were more than happy to bring up the war. It emerged as a very important part of their lives. As well as it improving their memory some people found it incredibly enjoyable,” the Telegraph quoted Prof Haslam, a neuropsychologist as saying.

“It doesn’t actually reverse dementia but it seems to make the most of their residual abilities,” she added.

Professor Alex Haslam, her husband, who was also carrying out research into social groups at the university, said the result were very significant.

“If you had a drug that could do that you would that you would make a lot of money. The drug in this case is the social group,” he said. (ANI)

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Silk made by common Australian green lacewing toughest: Study

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, September 10 (ANI): A new research has found that Australian lacewings build tougher silk than silkworms.

Scientists at CSIRO Entomology have learnt that silk made by the common Australian green lacewing can be stretched up to six times further than silkworm silk.

Moreover, its unusual structure makes it potentially much easier to manufacture artificially.

The common Australian green lacewing (Mallada signata) produces silk to create tiny stiff stalks to hold each of its eggs on.

The insect pushes out a liquid drop of silk dope before stretching it out to the point at which it stiffens and then placing the egg safely on top.

Researchers found that the lacewing silk was different from the silk created by other insects and had had its own evolutionary pathway.

Unlike the plank-like structure of other silks from spiders or silkworms, lacewing silk contains two fibrous proteins structured like a concertina door, giving it extra toughness and elasticity.

According to Dr Tara Sutherland, who was part research team, the lacewing silk protein is also shorter and less repetitive, making it easier to reproduce artificially by fermentation in bacteria.

“Silks are made under benign conditions. They’re made at room temperature, from an aqueous system and from readily replaced building blocks, so it’s a very environmentally friendly process, in contrast to the synthetic equivalents,” ABC Science quoted Sutherland as saying.

She added: “The material has a lot of strength and it’s very, very light so it’s quite remarkable. It’s also very tough.”

Apart from the traditional textile uses, the biocompatibility of the natural fibre allows this kind of silk to be used in high-tech medical applications such as providing the scaffolding for growing new human cells on.

The research will be published in the Journal of Structural Biology. (ANI)

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Israel’s offensive in Gaza killed 252 children

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep. 9 (ANI): A startling new report has revealed that 252 children were killed during Israel’s war on Gaza early this year.

The Israeli official figures seriously underestimated the civilian Palestinian death toll, and said that just 59 children under 16 died during their offensive in Gaza.

Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem gathered death certificates, photos, and testimonies relating to all 252 of the children, The Independent reports.

B’Tselem, which said it had carried out “months of meticulous investigation and cross-checks with numerous sources” has, unlike the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), made public the names of all those it said were killed in the war.

The organization noted that since the IDF had refused to reveal its own detailed list, it was impossible to compare the names but that “the blatant discrepancy between the numbers is intolerable.”

The new figures came as the IDF opened a criminal investigation into allegations by Khaled Abed Rabbo that three of his daughters were shot, two fatally, as the family, carrying a white flag, walked from their house in eastern Jabalya on January 7.

B’Tselem’s total Palestinian death toll exceeds by more than 200 the 1,166 cited by the IDF.

The IDF insisted when issuing its own figures that 709 were “Hamas terror operatives” and that a total of 295 “not involved” Palestinians were killed.

By contrast B’Tselem puts the total figure for those who “did not take part in the hostilities” at 773.

The agency repeated calls for an “independent and credible investigation” into the military’s conduct of the war. (ANI)

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Baby chimps better at controlling emotions than human babies

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 8 (ANI): When it comes to controlling emotions, baby chimps do it better than human babies, concludes a new study.

The research, which investigated the facial expressions of young chimpanzees, may explain why some babies cry so much and are so inconsolable.

In the study, scientists found that baby chimps almost always cry for a reason, in contrast to some of the crying of human babies.

The study’s boffins reckon the finding may result from difference in brain development between the two species, with human babies being born with slightly less developed brains than chimps, reports The Independent.

“If you pick up a baby chimp when it’s fussing [crying], it calms down and stays calm.

“Anybody who has had a fussy child knows it is well within the range of the human norm that if you pick them up then they are still fussy,” said Professor Kim Bard of Portsmouth University. (ANI)

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US should conduct ‘offshore’ strikes on Afghanistan

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep.2 (ANI): A leading conservative columnist, George Will, has called on the Obama administration to pull American troops out of Afghanistan, and instead focus on fighting from “offshore” by means of “intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, air strikes and small, potent Special Forces units.”

According to the Washington Post, there seems to be some merit in waging an “offshore” war, given the success that has been achieved in neighbouring Pakistan against the Taliban with the help of Predator drone strikes, minimum troop deployment and contractors. The acknowledged U.S. toll: zero dead. That’s in stark contrast to the 813 Americans killed so far in Afghanistan.

Obama faces a key decision in coming weeks on Afghanistan. He has already sent 21,000 additional troops there this year, boosting the U.S. total there to 68,000, along with some 40,000 NATO allies.

US commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal is likely to ask him for more – most likely 10,000 to 20,000 – just as the President wrestles with health-care reform and a still-feeble economy.

Stephen Biddle of the Council on Foreign Relations, who has been advising General McChrystal, says that drones don’t work everywhere. They can be easily shot down by even a “third-rate air force,” he says.

He also says using drones to eliminate enemy personnel needs good intelligence from sources on the ground, something that would melt away should the Taliban reclaim power.

Biddle isn’t overly concerned about Afghanistan falling, again, into the hands of the Taliban. But he is concerned about its nuclear-armed neighbor.

“At some level, the loss of Afghanistan could be tolerated,” he says. “There’s nothing especially unique about Afghanistan as a haven for striking the U.S. Yemen, Djibouti or Somalia could play that role – there are lots of ill-governed spaces around the world that could. But Afghanistan is unique in its proximity to Pakistan, and its potential role in destabilizing Pakistan if Kabul falls under a Taliban government,” he says.

Andrew Bacevich, a retired Army colonel, says the drone strikes are paying off in Pakistan because of that nation’s “quasi-legitimate government and reasonably effective army” – neither of which Afghanistan has.

But he does call the war “misguided and unnecessary,” and argues the U.S. should work with the country’s tribal chiefs to ensure stability in their respective valleys.

And offshore spy-and-strike capabilities could, at a minimum, keep al-Qaeda off-balance in the region “and optimally destroy whatever entity is engaged in a plot,” Bacevich says. (ANI)

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Monkeys ‘groove to Metallica’s heavy metal music’

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 2 (ANI): Monkeys prefer silence to Mozart, but they are big fans of heavy metal music, in particular Metallica, a new study has found.

Music is a sure-shot way to influence human emotions. However, nonhuman primates scarcely respond to human music, and instead prefer silence.

Now, a new report by Charles Snowdon, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and musician David Teie of the University of Maryland has shown that a monkey called the cotton-top tamarin indeed responds to music.

And the catch here is: the South American monkeys are essentially immune to human music, but they respond appropriately to “monkey music,” 30-second clips composed by Teie on the basis of actual monkey calls.

In the study, the music was inspired by sounds the tamarins make to convey two opposite emotions: threats and/or fear, and affiliation, a friendly, safe and happy condition.

The group of cottontop tamarins were played a variety of music, including Bach, Led Zeppelin and Miles Davis, but they only reacted when heavy metal rock songs by Metallica were played.

The study, published this week (Sept. 1) in the journal Biology Letters, reported that the monkeys could tell the difference: For five minutes after hearing fear music, the monkeys displayed more symptoms of anxiety and increased their movement. In contrast, monkeys that heard “affiliative” music reduced their movements and increased their feeding behavior, both signs of a calming effect.

Monkeys interpret rising and falling tones differently than humans. Oddly, their only response to several samples of human music was a calming response to the heavy-metal band Metallica.

Non-human primates don’t seem to appreciate human music, Snowdon said, although research has suggested they prefer Mozart to rock music and silence to Mozart.

The study opens a new window into animal communication, Snowdon said.

“People have looked at animal communication in terms of conveying information – ‘I am hungry,’ or ‘I am afraid.’ But it’s much more than that. These musical elements are inducing a relatively long-term change in behavior of listeners. The affiliative music is making them calmer; they move less, eat and drink at a higher rate, and show less anxiety behavior,” the expert said. (ANI)

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Hospital food in UK found to be worse than prison meals

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 1 (ANI): A new study has shown that food provided at hospitals in the UK is worse than that served to prison inmates, despite huge amounts of money spent by the patients.

According to the Bournemouth University study, jail diets were far “better than most civilians have”, and researchers found people on NHS wards do not get the same standard and staff do not check if the food is eaten.

Around 40 percent of patients are malnourished when they arrive at a hospital, but the situation does not tend to improve while they are there.

“Hospital patients don’t consume enough. If you are using food as a means of treatment then it’s not working,” Sky News quoted Professor John Edwards as saying.

“And from the work we’ve done we know that people who sit round a table eat a lot more, but this doesn’t happen in hospitals,” he said.

The study found that trays are removed by cleaning staff so that doctors do not know how much was eaten.

In addition, set mealtimes mean patients undergoing tests may miss food altogether, and the researchers said that there was a lack of enough support for those who needed help eating and drinking.

In contrast, prison food was found to be cheaper and healthier.

“If you are in prison then the diet you get is extremely good in terms of nutritional content,” Edwards explained.

“The food that is provided is actually better than most civilians have. There’s a focus on carbohydrates, then there’s the way they prepare the food, it’s very healthy.

“They don’t add salt and there’s relatively little frying of food – if you have a burger then it goes in the oven,” he added.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said that good food was important for a patient’s treatment and experience of NHS services.

“The majority of patients are satisfied with the food they receive in hospitals, and we are working to improve services further,” he stated. (ANI)

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Brad Pitt and I have a very cordial relationship, says Jennifer Aniston

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 31 (ANI): Actress Jennifer Aniston says she has a very cordial relationship with her ex-hubby Brad Pitt.

“In contrast to what people say, Brad and I have a very cordial relationship,” the Daily Star quoted her as saying.

“I admire him a lot for what he is doing to help other people and I think he’s an extraordinary actor,” she added.

The former ‘Friends’ star says she’s leading a happy life even after she and Pitt divorced four years ago.

Pitt is now with actress Angelina Jolie, and they have six children.(ANI)

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Electricity still a far-fetched dream for Gurez valley

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Aug. 30 (ANI): Electricity remains to be a distant dream for the residents of Gurez valley of Jammu and Kashmir despite ample water resources existing in the region.

Consequently, diesel run generators have been sole means of power, a situation that has prevailed and prolonged in the region for decades.

In contrast, Gurez valley is the home to a mega hydroelectric project, the power from which will be transmitted to other states!

At present, the residents of Gurez get electricity hardly for two to three hours in a day, supplied by the diesel run generators. And these generators operate as per the available stock of diesel.

“There is so much water here. The government has to take steps to put an end to the power crisis. The electricity is supplied through diesel generators. As long as diesel is there we get electricity, but if the diesel goes out of stock, we live in dark and have to wait for fifteen days to one month for the next stock to reach our place,” said Shazia Tabasum, a student.

Local authorities say that the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) is constructing 330 MW power project from the waters of Kishanganga river.

“There is so much water over here. The Kishanganga hydro project has been allotted to NHPC. It will give 30 megawatts power supply out of 330 megawatts. The worst part is that the people living here won’t get any electricity. I have appealed to the government that at least one percent of power should be supplied to our valley for free,” said Nazir Ahmed Gurazi, MLA, Gurez.

In winters, the technical snags in the diesel generators add to the woes of the locals as they have to wait for an engineer and a technician to come all the way to their valley to fix the problems.

“We face many problems as there is no power supply here. If anybody is ill, we cannot take him or her to have an x-ray. The school children can’t study without light and their time is wasted,” said Ghulam Nabi, a local resident. (ANI)

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Cairo’s slums get an energy makeover

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 30 (ANI): Reports indicate that the slums of Cairo, Egypt’s largest city, have got an energy makeover, with solar panels sprouting on apartment rooftops, providing residents with clean power and water and a chance to directly improve their lives.

According to a report in National Geographic News, since 2003, the nonprofit Solar CITIES project has installed 34 solar-powered hot water systems and 5 biogas reactors in Cairo’s poor Coptic Christian and Islamic neighborhoods.

“Our program is unique, in that we’re implementing rural-type solutions in an urban environment,” said project leader Thomas Culhane, an urban planner and 2009 National Geographic emerging explorer.
“It’s the kind of stuff you would do in the Peace Corps in an African village, but we’re doing it right smack dab in the slums of a city,” he added.

Solar CITIES’ hot water systems are constructed from recycled materials and are uniquely tailored to the parts of a city where water and electricity availability are often sporadic.
“The problem with professional solar hot water systems is that they’re made for cities with continuous water,” Culhane said.

By contrast, Solar CITIES’s water heaters use a city’s water when it’s available but draw from a backup storage tank when it’s not.
The setup consists of an insulated rectangular box covered in clear glass or plastic on one side. Inside the box are copper tubes wrapped in sheets of aluminum, which are painted black.
Sunlight striking the darkened aluminum is converted to heat, which is then used to warm water flowing through the pipes.
The glass sheet on top of the box prevents the heat from being carried away by wind.
The water, which can reach temperatures of 176 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius), is then pumped into an insulated plastic barrel for storage.

The water, which remains warm long after sunset, can be connected to an apartment’s plumbing system.
Solar CITIES also installs biogas reactors, which are based on designs Culhane saw while working in India.
The reactors use microbes harvested from animal guts to break down food wastes into flammable gas that can be used for cooking and heating.

If necessary, the reactors can draw hot water from the solar water heaters to maintain the warm temperatures the bacteria need to survive.
By attaching a simple plastic tube to the reactors, gas can be piped down several stories for residents to use.
“In 24 hours, you’ve got 2 hours of cooking gas from yesterday’s cooking garbage,” Culhane said. (ANI)

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Non-lethal blast waves can cause brain injuries even without direct head impacts

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 27 (ANI): In a new research, scientists have discovered that non-lethal blast waves can cause human brain injury even without direct head impacts, which could lead to an enhanced understanding of head injuries and improved military helmet design.

Using numerical hydrodynamic computer simulations, Lawrence Livermore scientists Willy Moss and Michael King, along with University of Rochester colleague Eric Blackman, have discovered that non-lethal blasts can induce enough skull flexure to generate potentially damaging loads in the brain, even without direct head impact.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results from mechanical loads in the brain, often without skull fracture, and causes complex, long-lasting symptoms.

TBI in civilians is usually caused by direct head impacts resulting from motor vehicle and sports accidents. TBI also has emerged among military combat personnel exposed to blast waves.

As modern body armor has substantially reduced soldier fatalities from explosive attacks, the lower mortality rates have revealed the high prevalence of TBI.

But, TBIs resulting from blast waves without head impacts have not been well understood.

To tackle this puzzle, the research team used three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations to prove that direct action of the blast wave on the head causes skull flexure, producing mechanical loads in brain tissue comparable to those in an injury-inducing impact, even at non-lethal blast pressures as low as 1 bar above atmospheric pressure.

The Army’s Advanced Combat Helmet replaced the older Personal Armor System for Ground Troops helmet.

Its Kevlar shell provides ballistic and impact protection, and its reduced edge cut, although reducing area of coverage, improves soldiers’ field of vision and hearing.

In particular, the team showed that blast waves affect the brain very differently from direct impacts.

The primary source of injury from direct impacts is the force resulting from the bulk acceleration of the head.

In contrast, a blast wave squeezes the skull, creating pressures as large as an injury-inducing impact and pressure gradients in the brain that are much larger.

This occurs even when the bulk head accelerations induced by a blast wave are much smaller than from a direct impact.

“The blast wave sweeps over the skull like a rolling pin going over dough,” said King, LLNL co-principal investigator.

Although the simulations show that the skull is deformed only about 50 microns, “this is large enough to generate potentially damaging loads in the brain,” according to Moss.

“The possibility that blasts may contribute to traumatic brain injury has implications for injury diagnosis and improved armor design,” he added. (ANI)

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Scientists propose new mechanism for dune formation on Saturn’s largest moon

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 26 (ANI): A new research paper has proposed a possible new mechanism for the development of very large linear dunes formed on the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

The paper, authored by LSU (Louisiana State University) Department of Geography and Anthropology Chair Patrick Hesp and United States Geological Survey scientist David Rubin, is titled – “Multiple origins of linear dunes on Earth and Titan.”

The authors examined the linear – or longitudinal – dunes that stretch across the surface of China’s Qaidam Basin, finding them composed of sand and some salt and silt.

The latter two elements make the dunes cohesive or sticky.

According to the study, this leads to a complete change in dune form from transverse dunes to linear dunes, even though the wind speed and direction does not change.

Typically, transverse dunes are formed by winds from a narrow directional range while longitudinal or linear dunes are formed by winds from two obliquely opposing directions.

These findings offer an alternative interpretation of similar dunes found on Titan.

Hesp and Rubin suggest that if the giant linear dunes found on the surface of Titan are also formed from cohesive sediment, then they too could be formed by single-direction winds.

This is in sharp contrast to earlier studies, which assumed that the sediments were loose and interpreted the dune shape as evidence of winds coming from alternating directions.

The alternative hypothesis that Titan’s linear dunes are formed in cohesive sediment has significant implications for studies on Titan.

If the Hesp and Rubin alternative is correct, new hypotheses regarding the composition, origin, evolution, grain size, stickiness, quantity, global transport patterns and suitability for wind transport of Titan’s sediment; the velocities, directions and seasonal patterns of Titan’s winds; and overall surface wetness will all have to be completely reassessed. (ANI)

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World’s tallest building seems to be recession-proof too

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dubai, Aug. 25 (ANI): Despite the worst recession in modern history, the world’s tallest tower, Burj Dubai, continues to retain its reputation as one of the most expensive addresses in Dubai, according to Middle East property experts.

Apartment prices in the tower are stabilising, experts say, with a two-bedroom apartment on the 57th floor available for one million pounds, Sky News reports.

In contrast, the market is showing less signs of recovery elsewhere in the Emirate.

“This is something we have noticed. As the world has had its financial problems some countries have gone into recession. But this is one area where a lot of the development dreams have actually been realised,” the report quoted Andrew Chambers, MD of Asteco, a UAE-based property consultancy, as saying.

“What we are finding is that, while prices have been dropping everywhere across the Middle East, Downtown Burj Dubai is one area where they are still consistently higher than they are in a lot of other areas,” he added.

In what has been dubbed “the Burj effect”, the neighbouring property in the Downtown Burj Dubai district is also benefiting from being close to the record-breaking skyscraper.

“The Burj effect is that people are living here, they can commute around here, they see the metro about to open here, and so they have got restaurants, they have got the hotels, they have got all the facilities that they have always been promised.

“I think this has given hope to other areas. It will help this city and I think the Emirates all over”, Chambers was quoted in the report, as saying.

But not all market observers share Chamber’s optimism.

Matthew Green, head of research and consultancy CB Richard Ellis (UAE), thinks the Burj Dubai offers a unique prospect that other Dubai addresses cannot match.

“For the Burj Dubai and the surrounding area, everything is based on the opening of the tallest tower towards the end of the year.

“It will be the tallest tower in the world for years to come and that is really making it a bit different within the current market. Exclusive post codes are not recession proof but it seems investors in the world’s highest tower can afford to stand a little taller than most”, the report quoted him, as saying. (ANI)

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Swine flu could kill as many as 30,000 to 90,000 people in US

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 25 (ANI): In a recently released report, the Obama administration’s advisory group on Science and Technology has said that the H1N1 flu virus, dubbed ‘Swine flu’, could cause as many as 30,000 and 90,000 deaths in the United States and pose a serious health threat.

According to Fox News, deaths would be concentrated among children and young adults, determined the report.

In contrast, the typical seasonal flu kills between 30,000 and 40,000 annually – mainly among people over 65.

The report predicts 1.8 million will be hospitalized during the epidemic, with up to 300,000 patients requiring intensive care units.

These patients could occupy 50-100 percent of all ICU beds in affected regions at the peak of the epidemic and would place “enormous stress” on ICU units.

More needs to be done to speed up the “preparation of flu vaccine for distribution to high-risk individuals,” otherwise the vaccine campaign – currently scheduled to begin in mid October – will have potentially missed the peak of the epidemic, according to the report.

The report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, PCAST, shows a sober assessment of the dangers of a pandemic, but also serves as a pat on the back for a White House preparing for its first public health crisis.

“Based on the history of influenza pandemics over the past hundred years, PCAST places the current outbreak somewhere between the two extremes that have informed public opinion about influenza,” stated the report.

“On the one hand, the 2009-H1N1 virus does not thus far seem to show the virulence associated with the devastating pandemic of 1918-19. On the other hand, the 2009-H1N1 virus is a serious threat to our nation and the world,” it added.

This is due to the likelihood that more people will be infected because so few people have immunity to the strain.

As a result, PCAST recommends that the Food and Drug Administration “accelerate a decision about the availability of antiviral drugs for intravenous use.”

The current expectation is that the vaccine will be available in mid-October.

According to Harold Varmus, PCAST co-chair and President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, despite the long ‘to-do’ list, the Obama administration has thus far done a good job of preparing for a national outbreak.

“The Federal Government’s response has been truly impressive and we’ve all been pleased to see the high level of cooperation among the many departments and agencies that are gearing up for the expected fall resurgence of H1N1 flu,” he said. (ANI)

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Heart attack death rates fall in US following hospitalization

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 19 (ANI): There has been a significant reduction in the death rates of heart attack patients over a decade in the US following efforts to improve care.

According to researchers, from 1995 to 2006, hospital 30-day death rates decreased significantly for patients hospitalized for a heart attack, as did the variation in the rate between hospitals.

“Over the last 2 decades, health care professional, consumer, and payer organizations have sought to improve outcomes for patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction [AMI; heart attack],” wrote the authors.

Lead researcher Dr Harlan M. Krumholz, S.M., of Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. and colleagues examined 30-day mortality among patients, aged 65 years or older (average age, 78 years) who were hospitalized with an AMI.

They found that the all-cause and in-hospital death rates decreased over the study period.

“The 30-day mortality rate decreased from 18.9 percent in 1995 to 16.1 percent in 2006, and in-hospital mortality decreased from 14.6 percent to 10.1 percent,” said the authors.

“In contrast, the 30-day mortality rate for all other conditions was 9.0 percent in 1995 and 8.6 percent in 2006,” they added.

The 30-day risk-standardized mortality rates (RSMRs) decreased from 18.8 percent in 1995 to 15.8 percent in 2006.

“Between 1995 and 2006, the RSMR for patients admitted with AMI showed a marked and significant decrease, as did between-hospital variation,” said the authors.

“Although the cause of the reduction cannot be determined with certainty, this finding may reflect the success of the many individuals and organizations dedicated to improving care during this period,” they added.

The study is published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). (ANI)

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Cheap BP drug could help treat multiple sclerosis

August 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 18 (ANI): A cheap blood pressure drug could help keep multiple sclerosis at bay, claim researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The study’s boffins came to the conclusion after finding a link, in mice and in human brain tissue, between high blood pressure and multiple sclerosis.

While neurology professor Lawrence Steinman, MD, senior author of the new study, cautioned that extensive clinical trial work is needed to determine if the drug, known as lisinopril, can do in humans what it does in mice, he is excited that “we were able to show that all the targets for lisinopril are there and ready for therapeutic manipulation in the multiple-sclerosis lesions of human patients. Without that, this would be just another intriguing paper about what’s possible in the mouse.”

The paper has been published online Aug. 17 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and occasionally lethal autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mounts recurring assaults on the myelin sheathing of nerve cells in the brain.

This causes nerves to malfunction and can lead to blindness and paralysis. Both multiple sclerosis and atherosclerosis involve inflammatory processes.

Drugs currently used to treat MS are of limited effectiveness. Some cost up to 15,000 pounds a year.

Lisinopril, in contrast, costs as little as 2p per pill.

Research by Steinman indicated that the chemical, called angiotensinconverting enzyme, also played a role in the inflammation responsible for the damage caused by MS.

Steinman, of Stanford University in the U.S., showed that samples of brain tissue from MS patients had high levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme.

He then gave Lisinopril to mice before giving them a chemical that normally causes an MS-like illness in mice.

The creatures remained healthy, suggesting the blood pressure drug was holding MS at bay.

Strikingly, when he gave Lisinopril to mice after giving them the MS-causing chemical, paralysis was reversed.

Tests showed that Lisinopril boosted production of immune cells called regulatory T cells. These protect against autoimmune diseases such as MS by dampening down the rogue immune response that damages the body. (ANI)

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