Throughout Asia and the world, digital solutions are being found for urban problems. Policymakers and city leaders should ensure that the poor do not get left behind in this digital transformation of cities.

在整个亚洲乃至全世界，许多城市难题通过数字技术得到了解决。政策制定者和城市领导者应确保贫困人口在城市数字化转型中一个都不能少。

Universal health coverage must be high quality to improve patients’ health outcomes

The COVID-19 pandemic could be an opportunity to take a more holistic approach to health and well-being, invest in health systems and in resilient supply chains.

Пандемия COVID-19 могла бы дать возможность использовать более целостный подход к здоровью и благополучию, инвестировать в системы здравоохранения и в устойчивые цепочки поставок.

Bank-held nonperforming loans in some Asian economies have risen in recent years. Policy makers should address this growing risk now.

With the impacts of the pandemic on food and nutrition being felt around the region, planning is needed to avoid higher food prices, decreased nutrition and reduced food security. 

新冠肺炎大流行已经影响到亚洲的粮食和营养状况，要避免食品价格上涨、营养状况恶化和粮食安全水平降低，就需要进行规划。

The Asia-Pacific region has the expertise and resources to take a leadership role in not only developing a COVID-19 vaccine but distributing it to those who need it most.

კოვიდ-19-ის პანდემია შესაძლოა იყოს შანსი ჯანდაცვის გაძლიერებას და ჯანსაღი ცხოვრების დამკვიდრებას კომპლექსურად მივუდგეთ, განვახორციელოთ ინვესტიციები ჯანდაცვის სისტემებსა და უფრო მდგრადი მიწოდების ჯაჭვებში.

As the pandemic continues, the supply chains producing vital personal protective equipment are starting to fail, causing shortages. Countries and international organizations can fill these gaps by working together.

Are shark attacks and ice cream sales linked? Do drugs work? Being able to distinguish cause and effect is crucial. Now we have the maths to do it reliably

June 18 - A bipedal robot modelled on the now extinct Velociraptor, can run faster than Usain Bolt, according to its developers. The Jamaican sprinter holds the 100 metres world record with a time of 9.58 seconds but South Korean researchers say their robot could leave him in the dust. Rob Muir reports.

An extinct variety of date palm tree has been grown from ancient seeds preserved in the Judean desert for 2000 years, the oldest seeds ever germinated

Elisabeth Bik is on a mission to detect duplicate images in scientific papers, exposing either genuine mistakes or signs of fraud. But her work isn't always appreciated, she says

A cache of Denisovan tools shows how these extinct humans moved from using sharp stone flakes 150,000 years ago to stone blades and chisels around 60,000 years ago

Are shark attacks and ice cream sales linked? Do drugs work? Being able to distinguish cause and effect is crucial. Now we have the maths to do it reliably

Are shark attacks and ice cream sales linked? Do drugs work? Being able to distinguish cause and effect is crucial. Now we have the maths to do it reliably

Title: Thousands of Health Care Workers Lack Insurance If COVID-19 Strikes: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 4/30/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Thousands of COVID-19 Cases Among Inmates and Staff at U.S. Prisons and Jails: CDC
Category: Health News
Created: 5/7/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/8/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Potato & Sausages, Cold Cuts a Bad Combo for Your Brain
Category: Health News
Created: 4/22/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/23/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Study Links Menopausal Night Sweats to Impaired Thinking
Category: Health News
Created: 9/25/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 9/25/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Health Tip: Understanding the Menopausal Transition
Category: Health News
Created: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 12/2/2019 12:00:00 AM

ABSTRACT

Aquifers, which are essential underground freshwater reservoirs worldwide, are understudied ecosystems that harbor diverse forms of microbial life. This study investigated the abundance and composition of prokaryotic and viral communities in the outflow of five springs across northern Florida, USA, as a proxy of microbial communities found in one of the most productive aquifers in the world, the Floridan aquifer. The average abundances of virus-like particles and prokaryotic cells were slightly lower than those reported from other groundwater systems, ranging from 9.6 x 10³ ml^–1 to 1.1 x 10⁵ ml^–1 and 2.2 x 10³ ml^–1 to 3.4 x 10⁴ ml^–1, respectively. Despite all of the springs being fed by the Floridan aquifer, sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and viral metagenomes (viromes) revealed unique communities in each spring, suggesting that groundwater microbial communities are influenced by land usage in recharge zones. The prokaryotic communities were dominated by Bacteria, and though the most abundant phyla (Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Bacteroidetes) were found in relatively high abundance across springs, variation was seen at finer taxonomic resolution. The viral sequences were most similar to those described from other aquatic environments. Sequencing resulted in the completion of 58 novel viral genomes representing members of the order Caudovirales as well as prokaryotic and eukaryotic single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses. Sequences similar to those of ssDNA viruses were detected at all spring sites and dominated the identifiable sequences at one spring site, showing that these small viruses merit further investigation in groundwater systems.

IMPORTANCE Aquifer systems may hold up to 40% of the total microbial biomass on Earth. However, little is known about the composition of microbial communities within these critical freshwater ecosystems. Here, we took advantage of Florida’s first-magnitude springs (the highest spring classification based on water discharge), each discharging at least 246 million liters of water each day from the Floridan aquifer system (FAS), to investigate prokaryotic and viral communities from the aquifer. The FAS serves as a major source of potable water in the Southeastern United States, providing water for large cities and citizens in three states. Unfortunately, the health of the FAS and its associated springs has declined in the past few decades due to nutrient loading, increased urbanization and agricultural activity in aquifer recharge zones, and saltwater intrusion. This is the first study to describe the prokaryotic and viral communities in Florida’s first-magnitude springs, providing a baseline against which to compare future ecosystem change.

Drivers with blood-alcohol levels below legal limits cause 15% of all crash deaths that involve alcohol, a study in the March issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds.

A growing literature at the intersection of personality psychology and behavioral economics investigates the interplay between personality and decision making in social dilemmas (1, 2). Engelmann et al. (3) extend prior research in this area by investigating the role of antisocial personality in the context of a trust game with...

Irene Verhagen, Barbara M. Tomotani, Phillip Gienapp, and Marcel E. Visser

Phenotypic plasticity is an important mechanism by which an individual can adapt its seasonal timing to predictable, short-term environmental changes by using predictive cues. Identification of these cues is crucial to forecast the response of species to long-term environmental change and to study their potential to adapt. Individual great tits (Parus major) start reproduction early under warmer conditions in the wild, but whether this effect is causal is not well known. We housed 36 pairs of great tits in climate-controlled aviaries and 40 pairs in outdoor aviaries, where they bred under artificial contrasting temperature treatments or in semi-natural conditions, respectively, for two consecutive years, using birds from lines selected for early and late egg laying. We thus obtained laying dates in two different thermal environments for each female. Females bred earlier under warmer conditions in climate-controlled aviaries, but not in outdoor aviaries. The latter was inconsistent with laying dates from our wild population. Further, early selection line females initiated egg laying consistently ~9 days earlier than late selection line females in outdoor aviaries, but we found no difference in the degree of plasticity (i.e. the sensitivity to temperature) in laying date between selection lines. Because we found that temperature causally affects laying date, climate change will lead to earlier laying. This advancement is, however, unlikely to be sufficient, thereby leading to selection for earlier laying. Our results suggest that natural selection may lead to a change in mean phenotype, but not to a change in the sensitivity of laying dates to temperature.

Transportation infrastructure owners manage an array of different asset types such as bridges, road pavements, earthworks and drainage. Currently, most organization management procedures are siloed by asset type; however, there are important interactions between these asset groups that need to be managed in a cross-asset way. Although these interactions are known, there is little or no quantification of these interactions. For the first time, this paper quantifies that 74% of Highways England's earthwork failures are a result of drainage-related problems, either the lack of drainage infrastructure or the poor performance of it. The analysis undertaken is an important first step not only in moving towards more connected asset management planning for earthworks and drainage, but to also provide guidance for other owners of earthwork infrastructure assets to improve their strategic asset management procedures.

Thematic collection: This article is part of the Ground-related risk to transportation infrastructure collection available at https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/Ground-related-risk-to-transportation-infrastructure

Background:

Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) may play a greater role than subcutaneous fat in increasing cancer risk but is poorly estimated in epidemiologic studies.

Mammographic breast density is a strong risk factor for breast cancer. We comprehensively investigated the associations of body mass index (BMI) change from ages 10, 18, and 30 to age at mammogram with mammographic breast density in postmenopausal women. We used multivariable linear regression models, adjusted for confounders, to investigate the associations of BMI change with volumetric percent density, dense volume, and nondense volume, assessed using Volpara in 367 women. At the time of mammogram, the mean age was 57.9 years. Compared with women who had a BMI gain of 0.1–5 kg/m² from age 10, women who had a BMI gain of 5.1–10 kg/m² had a 24.4% decrease [95% confidence interval (CI), 6.0%–39.2%] in volumetric percent density; women who had a BMI gain of 10.1–15 kg/m² had a 46.1% decrease (95% CI, 33.0%–56.7%) in volumetric percent density; and women who had a BMI gain of >15 kg/m² had a 56.5% decrease (95% CI, 46.0%–65.0%) in volumetric percent density. Similar, but slightly attenuated associations were observed for BMI gain from ages 18 and 30 to age at mammogram and volumetric percent density. BMI gain over the life course was positively associated with nondense volume, but not dense volume. We observed strong associations between BMI change over the life course and mammographic breast density. The inverse associations between early-life adiposity change and volumetric percent density suggest that childhood adiposity may confer long-term protection against postmenopausal breast cancer via its effect of mammographic breast density.

Almost 200,000 surgeries and other procedures were shelved indefinitely, as hospitals braced for a deluge that never quite materialized

Macy’s is planning to reopen its stores in the United...

The post Macy’s To Reopen 68 Stores In USA appeared first on Man's World India.

Asos has been making more use of augmented reality (AR)...

The post Coronavirus: Asos Scales Up Usage Of AR Technology To Model Products appeared first on Man's World India.

LOOKING to play a daily crossword online for free? We have great news - you can now play our world-famous Express Crusader Crossword puzzle every day, for free, right here.

Israel exports ready-to-eat fully cooked and not shelf-stable poultry products to the United States. And those exports may continue, according to a report by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. That’s because Israel has passed its latest foreign equivalency audit by the United States. The audit did not turn up any deficiencies that might... Continue Reading

Coronavirus: the symptoms Follow our live updates here

A 32-strong team of women have joined others in using the coronavirus lockdown as an opportunity of raising thousands of pounds for charity.

Follow our live coronavirus updates here

MPs are calling for 'strategic clarity' from the Government

Twitter is down for a large number of users leaving them unable to load posts.

More than 2,000 people each week may be missing cancer diagnoses and possibly losing vital treatment time due to coronavirus fears, a leading cancer charity has warned.

War veteran Captain Tom Moore, who has raised £28 million for the NHS by walking lengths of his garden, has been sent tens of thousands of cards ahead of his 100th birthday.

The Royal Free London, which runs one of the capital's two specialist infectious disease units, announced this week that 517 patients had been discharged home, thanks to the care of "heroic staff". More than 100 more have left the hospital for "step-down" rehabilitation. Kate Slemeck, chief executive of the Royal Free Hospital, said: "Our staff tell us that seeing patients go home gives a great feeling of positivity and pleasure.

Police have been forced to close a California beach after thousands of people flouted the lockdown to bask in a heatwave.

Fertility treatment is being restarted after it was stopped due to coronavirus — bringing hope to thousands of couples desperate for a baby.

Campaign launched to increase threshold on rateable value to help struggling businesses

Nike has donated tens of thousands of trainers to frontline healthcare workers fighting the pandemic around the world.