Friday 10 May 2019

Post-bypass survival linked to civil status and class

Civil status, education, and income are factors shown to be clearly associated with duration of survival after a bypass operation. A postoperative patient aged 60 with a spouse or cohabiting partner, high educational attainment, and high income has a median life expectancy five years longer than a corresponding person with no live-in partner, a low education level, and low income.

* This article was originally published here

Space-tourism dream edges toward reality in New Mexico

British billionaire Richard Branson and his space-tourism company Virgin Galactic announced new steps Friday toward offering thrill rides into the low reaches of space for paying passengers, with the company immediately starting to move personnel and space vehicles from California to a launch and landing facility in the New Mexico desert.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers make transformational AI seem 'unremarkable'

Physicians making life-and-death decisions about organ transplants, cancer treatments or heart surgeries typically don't give much thought to how artificial intelligence might help them. And that's how researchers at Carnegie Mellon University say clinical AI tools should be designed—so doctors don't need to think about them.

* This article was originally published here

Peer-to-peer bonuses may have unintended negative consequences, expert warns

So-called peer-to-peer bonuses, where colleagues 'tip' or reward each other with points or money, may seem to offer short-term benefits but ultimately end up damaging performance and wellbeing, an HR expert has warned.

* This article was originally published here

Hummingbird robot uses AI to soon go where drones can't

What can fly like a bird and hover like an insect?

* This article was originally published here

Sharing data with surgeons can reduce overuse of Mohs surgery

(HealthDay)—Sharing personalized practice pattern data with physicians that is benchmarked to national data for their peers can reduce overuse of Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) among outliers, according to a study published online May 5 in JAMA Dermatology.

* This article was originally published here

Research spotlights the role of cover crops in slowing herbicide resistance

An article in the most recent edition of the journal Weed Science shows that cover crops can play an important role in slowing the development of herbicide resistant weeds.

* This article was originally published here

HIV prevention drug can curb the epidemic for high-risk groups in India

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a combination drug used to prevent HIV infection, has already gained significant traction in the U.S. and Europe. The once-a-day pill, when taken consistently, can reduce the risk of HIV acquisition by over 85 percent. A new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases by an international research team suggests that making PrEP available to men who have sex with men (MSM) and people who inject drugs (PWID) in India may be a cost-effective way of curbing the epidemic there.

* This article was originally published here

Trial remedies racial disparities in treatment for early-stage lung and breast cancer patients

Results from a study published in the Journal of the National Medical Association show that a pragmatic system-based intervention within cancer treatment centers can nearly eliminate existing disparities in treatment and outcomes for black patients with early-stage lung and breast cancer. The treatment completion rates before this intervention were 87.3 percent for white patients versus 79.8 percent for black patients. With the intervention in place, treatment completion climbed to 89.5 percent for white patients and 88.4 percent for black patients.

* This article was originally published here

How to tell whether machine-learning systems are robust enough for the real world

MIT researchers have devised a method for assessing how robust machine-learning models known as neural networks are for various tasks, by detecting when the models make mistakes they shouldn't.

* This article was originally published here

Instagram to start blocking hashtags with vaccine misinformation

Instagram will start blocking any hashtags spreading misinformation about vaccines, becoming the latest internet platform to crack down on bad health information.

* This article was originally published here

Many cats and dogs carrying fleas with high levels of bacteria, finds Big Flea Project

As many as one in four cats and one in seven dogs are carrying fleas, and about 11 per cent of these fleas are infected with potentially pathogenic bacteria, according to a large-scale analysis of owned animals in the UK. Flea bites can be painful and can cause allergic reactions in cats and dogs which is why the Big Flea Project findings highlight the need to re-educate pet owners on flea prevention.

* This article was originally published here

Pixel 3a vs. Pixel 3: Great camera for the price makes Google's $399 phone the better buy

Google's launch Tuesday of the $399 Pixel 3a and $479 Pixel 3a XL smartphones only seven months after the release of the pricier Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL handsets likely has you asking: "Why would I want to spend at least $400 more for Google's premium flagships, when these latest mid-priced devices offer so many overlapping features?"

* This article was originally published here

Study shows native plants regenerate on their own after invasive shrubs are removed

Invasive shrubs have become increasingly prevalent in the deciduous forests of eastern North America—often creating a dense understory that outcompetes native plants. Many land managers would like to remove the invaders, but worry about what happens afterwards. Will they need to launch a costly remediation program to reestablish native plant communities?

* This article was originally published here

A mathematical method for calculating black-hole properties from gravitational-wave data

Sean McWilliams, an assistant professor at West Virginia University, has developed a mathematical method for calculating black hole properties from gravitational wave data. He has written a paper describing his method and posted it on the arXiv preprint server. The paper has been accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters.

* This article was originally published here

Rideshare firms have snarled up San Francisco: study

The ride-hailing era ushered in by Uber and Lyft once promised to complement public transit, reduce car ownership and alleviate congestion.

* This article was originally published here

An approach for securing audio classification against adversarial attacks

Adversarial audio attacks are small perturbations that are not perceivable by humans and are intentionally added to audio signals to impair the performance of machine learning (ML) models. These attacks raise serious concerns about the security of ML models, as they can cause them to make mistakes and ultimately generate wrong predictions.

* This article was originally published here

Smart software tool could pave the way for changing how things get designed, made, and supplied

If you don't like wandering through big-box stores trying to find the furniture you need, and then struggle to assemble it, researchers have proposed a solution: Smart software that helps you design your own furniture, 3-D print the joints and assemble the whole structure at home.

* This article was originally published here

News Corp shows third quarter profit

Rupert Murdoch's mass media and publishing company News Corp posted a third quarter net profit of $23 million Thursday, boosted by its HarperCollins book division.

* This article was originally published here

Show your hands: Smartwatches sense hand activity

We've become accustomed to our smartwatches and smartphones sensing what our bodies are doing, be it walking, driving or sleeping. But what about our hands? It turns out that smartwatches, with a few tweaks, can detect a surprising number of things your hands are doing.

* This article was originally published here

NASA-NOAA satellite catches formation of Tropical Cyclone Lili

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and captured a visible image of newly formed Tropical Cyclone Lili, located north of the coast of Australia's Northern Territory.

* This article was originally published here