Scientists develop plastic flexible magnetic memory device

Novel technique to implant high-performance magnetic memory chip on a flexible plastic surface without compromising performance

 

Associate Professor Yang Hyunsoo from the National University of Singapore, who led a research team to successfully embed a powerful magnetic memory chip on a plastic material, demonstrating the flexibility of the memory chip.

Credit: National University of Singapore

It looks like a small piece of transparent film with tiny engravings on it, and is flexible enough to be bent into a tube. Yet, this piece of "smart" plastic demonstrates excellent performance in terms of data storage and processing capabilities. This novel invention, developed by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), hails a breakthrough in the flexible electronics revolution, and brings researchers a step closer towards making flexible, wearable electronics a reality in the near future.

The technological advancement is achieved in collaboration with researchers from Yonsei University, Ghent University and Singapore's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering. The research team has successfully embedded a powerful magnetic memory chip on a flexible plastic material, and this malleable memory chip will be a critical component for the design and development of flexible and lightweight devices. Such devices have great potential in applications such as automotive, healthcare electronics, industrial motor control and robotics, industrial power and energy management, as well as military and avionics systems.
The research team, led by Associate Professor Yang Hyunsoo of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the NUS Faculty of Engineering, published their findings in the journal Advanced Materials on 6 July 2016.
Flexible, high-performance memory devices a key enabler for flexible electronics
Flexible electronics has become the subject of active research in recent times. In particular, flexible magnetic memory devices have attracted a lot of attention as they are the fundamental component required for data storage and processing in wearable electronics and biomedical devices, which require various functions such as wireless communication, information storage and code processing.
Although a substantial amount of research has been conducted on different types of memory chips and materials, there are still signi?cant challenges in fabricating high performance memory chips on soft substrates that are flexible, without sacri?cing performance.
To address the current technological challenges, the research team, led by Assoc Prof Yang, developed a novel technique to implant a high-performance magnetic memory chip on a flexible plastic surface.
The novel device operates on magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), which uses a magnesium oxide (MgO)-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) to store data. MRAM outperforms conventional random access memory (RAM) computer chips in many aspects, including the ability to retain data after a power supply is cut off, high processing speed, and low power consumption.
Novel technique to implant MRAM chip on a flexible plastic surface
The research team first grew the MgO-based MTJ on a silicon surface, and then etched away the underlying silicon. Using a transfer printing approach, the team implanted the magnetic memory chip on a ?exible plastic surface made of polyethylene terephthalate while controlling the amount of strain caused by placing the memory chip on the plastic surface.
Assoc Prof Yang said, "Our experiments showed that our device's tunneling magnetoresistance could reach up to 300 per cent -- it's like a car having extraordinary levels of horsepower. We have also managed to achieve improved abruptness of switching. With all these enhanced features, the flexible magnetic chip is able to transfer data faster."
Commenting on the significance of the breakthrough, Assoc Prof Yang said, "Flexible electronics will become the norm in the near future, and all new electronic components should be compatible with flexible electronics. We are the first team to fabricate magnetic memory on a flexible surface, and this significant milestone gives us the impetus to further enhance the performance of flexible memory devices and contribute towards the flexible electronics revolution."
Assoc Prof Yang and his team were recently granted United States and South Korea patents for their technology. They are conducting experiments to improve the magnetoresistance of the device by fine-tuning the level of strain in its magnetic structure, and they are also planning to apply their technique in various other electronic components. The team is also interested to work with industry partners to explore further applications of this novel technology.

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Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by National University of Singapore. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Source: sciencedaily

Time spent playing video games may have positive effects on young children

High video game usage was associated with a 1.75 times the odds of high intellectual functioning and 1.88 times the odds of high overall school competence. Credits: Fotolia

 

 

Video games are a favorite activity of children, yet its affect on their health is often perceived to be negative. A study by researchers at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues at Paris Descartes University assessed the association between the amount of time spent playing video games and children's mental health and cognitive and social skills, and found that playing video games may have positive effects on young children. Results are published online in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

After adjusting for child age, gender, and number of children, the researchers found that high video game usage was associated with a 1.75 times the odds of high intellectual functioning and 1.88 times the odds of high overall school competence. There were no significant associations with any child self-reported or mother- or teacher-reported mental health problems. The researchers also found that more video game playing was associated with less relationship problems with their peers. Based on parent reporting, one in five children played video games more than 5 hours per week.
Results were based on data from the School Children Mental Health Europe project for children ages 6-11. Parents and teachers assessed their child's mental health in a questionnaire and the children themselves responded to questions through an interactive tool. Teachers evaluated academic success. Factors associated with time spent playing video games included being a boy, being older, and belonging to a medium size family. Having a less educated or single mother decreased time spent playing video games.
"Video game playing is often a collaborative leisure time activity for school-aged children. These results indicate that children who frequently play video games may be socially cohesive with peers and integrated into the school community. We caution against over interpretation, however, as setting limits on screen usage remains and important component of parental responsibility as an overall strategy for student success," said Katherine M. Keyes, PhD, assistant professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health.

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Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Source: Science daily

Florida investigation links four recent Zika cases to local mosquito-borne virus transmission

 

The Mosquito Aedes aegypti (stock image).

Credit: © Flavio_Brazil / Fotolia

 

By : Emory University,

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been informed by the State of Florida that Zika virus infections in four people were likely caused by bites of local Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The cases are likely the first known occurrence of local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission in the continental United States. CDC is closely coordinating with Florida officials who are leading the ongoing investigations, and at the state's request, sent a CDC medical epidemiologist to provide additional assistance.

State officials have responded rapidly with mosquito control measures and a community-wide search for additional Zika cases. Under the current situation, there are no plans for limiting travel to the area.
"All the evidence we have seen indicates that this is mosquito-borne transmission that occurred several weeks ago in several blocks in Miami," said Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., director of the CDC. "We continue to recommend that everyone in areas where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are present -- and especially pregnant women -- take steps to avoid mosquito bites. We will continue to support Florida's efforts to investigate and respond to Zika and will reassess the situation and our recommendations on a daily basis."
Zika virus spreads to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus), but can also be spread during sex by a person infected with Zika to their partner. Most people infected with Zika won't have symptoms, but for those who do, the illness is usually mild. However, Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly and other severe fetal birth defects.
"We have been working with state and local governments to prepare for the likelihood of local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission in the continental United States and Hawaii," said Lyle Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., incident manager for CDC's Zika virus response. "We anticipate that there may be additional cases of 'homegrown' Zika in the coming weeks. Our top priority is to protect pregnant women from the potentially devastating harm caused by Zika."
CDC has been working with state, local, and territorial health officials to prepare for locally transmitted Zika infection in the United States. Officials from Florida participated in all these activities, and their experience in responding to mosquito-borne diseases similar to Zika, including dengue and chikungunya, has helped guide their current investigations. To date, CDC has provided Florida more than $8 million in Zika-specific funding and about $27 million in emergency preparedness funding that can be used for Zika response efforts.
Because we are in mosquito season, CDC continues to encourage everyone, especially pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant, to protect themselves from mosquito bites. Remember to use an insect repellent registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, use or repair screens on windows and doors, use air conditioning when available, and remove standing water where mosquitoes can lay eggs.
We continue to learn about Zika virus, and we are working hard to find out more about these cases. Here is what we do know:
Zika is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus).
A pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus during pregnancy or during birth.
Zika virus infection can cause microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects, and is associated with other adverse pregnancy outcomes.
A person who is infected with Zika virus can pass it to sex partners.
Many people infected with Zika virus won't have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms.
No vaccines or treatments are currently available to treat or prevent Zika infections.
As of July 27, 2016, 1,658 cases of Zika have been reported to CDC in the continental United States and Hawaii; none of these were the result of local spread by mosquitoes. These cases include 15 believed to be the result of sexual transmission and one that was the result of a laboratory exposure. This number does not include the four Florida cases likely caused by local transmission.
For more information about Zika: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/.

10 Excellent Platforms for Building Mobile Apps

• Appery.io. Appery is a cloud-based mobile app builder that you can use to create apps for Android, iOS and Windows Phone, and includes Apache Cordova (Phone Gap) with access to its built-in components. ...
• Mobile Roadie. ...
• TheAppBuilder. ...
• Good Barber. ...
• Appy Pie. ...
• AppMachine. ...
• GameSalad. ...
• BiznessApps.

Source: Mashable

Few Tips for Android developers

Lets discuss some tools, libraries and techniques which will save you some time as a Android developer.

Reducing code with Butter knife

Butter Knife

is a View binding library by

Jake Wharton

. It reduces some boilerplate code required and makes your code neat and readable.

For example consider using a TextView in Activity. Check the code before and after using Butter Knife.

private TextView mProgressText;     @Override     protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);         setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);         mProgressText = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.progress_text);     }

@BindView(R.id.progress_text) TextView mProgressText;     @Override     protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);         setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);         ButterKnife.bind(this);     }

Still not impressed, Take a look at using a OnClickListener for a Button. Check the code before and after using Butter Knife.

private Button mDownloadButton;     @Override     protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);         setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);         mDownloadButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btn_download);         mDownloadButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {             @Override             public void onClick(View v) {                 //Download Code             }         });     }

@Override     protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);         setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);         ButterKnife.bind(this);     }     @OnClick(R.id.btn_download)     public void downloadFile(){     //Download Code     }

While working with Web service API you may need to parse JSON response and store in POJO classes. For simple JSON structure you may create classes and generate Getters and Setters manually. For much complex JSON structures it would be time consuming. There are some websites which do this task for you. You give the JSON data, it generates the POJO class for you.
While there are many websites I tried http://www.jsonschema2pojo.org/ which works well.

Lambda

expressions is a feature which is added to Java 8. You need to use the Google’s

Jack

compiler to use it in your app.

The only disadvantage with Jack is, it is very slow and also it does


For example with lambda expressions you can replace the anonymous inner class code in a interface with -> operator. Example code before and after using lambda expressions.

mDownloadButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {             @Override             public void onClick(View v) {                 Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Start Download", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();             }         });     }

mDownloadButton.setOnClickListener(v -> Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Start Download", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show());

Gradle please

is a online tool which helps you to find the correct Gradle dependency which you should add to your

build.gradle

.

For example I need to find the Gradle dependency required to add the retrofit library.

Source: learn2crack

How to Sign Android APK and Android Flashable ZIP file

If you are building your Custom Android ROM and creating a Update.zip package you need to Sign your package with a valid certificate inorder to flash in your Android Device. This tutorial shows you how to Repack the zip file using Command line and sign your zip file. If you are repacking a APK file you need to sign it again with a certificate. Just follow the simple tutorial to implement this.

  Requirements

SignApk

Download SignApk and extract it.
The SignApk package you downloaded has prebuilt private key.

Instructions to Repack and Sign

1. Move to folder which is to be zipped using Terminal. Example cd [Folder Name].
2. Enter the command

zip -r9 [Filename.zip] *

Here Filename.zip is your prefered name of the zipped file. Here I used the name as gapps.zip.


3. Now copy the zip file which is to be signed to the extracted SignApk folder. You will find testkey.pk8 and testkey.x509.pem file. These two files are the certificate and private key provided by android. If you want to use your own certificate and key replace it.
4. Now use the command, replace the name with  your zip name.

 java -jar signapk.jar testkey.x509.pem testkey.pk8 [unsigned.zip] [signed.zip]


5. Now you will obtain Signed zip file. You can flash it directly.

Instructions to Sign ZIP file

1. Place the APK which is to be signed in the SignApk folder.
2. Then use the following command, replace your APK name.

java -jar signapk.jar testkey.x509.pem testkey.pk8 [unsigned.apk] [signed.apk]

 Now your APK is signed.

Source:Learn2crack

HOW-TO Decompile and Compile apps using Apktool in 5 Simple Steps

What you need before you learn how to use apktool -

1. A computer running windows
2. A working internet connection for downloading the following -
   • JAVA SDK and JRE
   • Android SDK
   • Apktool core tool
   • Sign apk tool
3. Basic command prompt commands and path knowledge
4. A good linux format code editing program like NotePad ++ [Get it from HERE]

  STEP 1 - Install JAVA - Go HERE

• Just go to the above website and download java SDK and JRE.
• We mostly use only SDK libraries but JRE is required when you want to modify games or apps like whatsapp. So its best if we install both.
• install them in any directory for example C:\ drive and you are good to go to next step 2.

 STEP 2 - Install Android SDK- Go HERE

• Just go to the above website and download the SDK.
• Install it in an easy path. For example - C:\android
• The short path will be useful when you are using adb for logcat purposes, since typing in a long path every-time you want to access the adb executable file is painful.
• So once you installed the SDK move on to next step 3

  STEP 3 - Download Apktool - Go HERE

• For downloading apktool related files, you need to go HERE
• Download latest apktool version, currenlty 1.5.2
• Download the batch file and aapt.exe
• Create a folder anywhere in the pc and put all the apktool.jar, aapt.exe and the batch script in that folder. [see screenshot]
• This will be the operating folder for you now.
• Next move to next step 4

 STEP 4 - Using apktool for decompiling anything

• Open command prompt
• navigate to the folder where you placed apktool.jar, batch script and the aapt.exe [see screenshot]
• For this guide i am using a simple framework-res.apk for reference.
• Once you are in the folder via cmd prompt, you need to install the file using the " IF " command
• type the following command -

apktool if name-of-app.apk

• Once the app is installed you need to decompile it.
• For decompiling use the command "d". The "d" stands for decompile.

 apktool d name-of-the-app.apk

 

After the app is correctly decompiled, a new folder will be created in the same folder where you placed your app. This contains all the xml's and smali files which can be edited for different mod's.

 

• Then after you are finished with your modding, you need to recompile your app for using it.
• To recompile the app use the following command " B ". The "b" simply means recompile.

code

apktool b name-of-app-folder

• NOTE - While recompiling the app, you just need to type the name of the folder the app's files contains.
   
•  
• Congrats ! If everything went well, you successfully created a modified app ! 
• Now the most important step is below in step 5

STEP 5 - Signing the apk


• to sign an apk download the "sign-apk.rar" from below attachements
• extract it to any place.
• open a new command prompt and change into the sign-apk directory using cmd
• move the modified-unsigned apk into this folder

code

 java -jar signapk.jar certificate.pem key.pk8 path-of-the-folder-contaning-the-apk .apk path-of-the-new-signed-apk .apk



• This is FINAL APK. 
• Simply rename it to the original apk and push it into the system ! DONE 

 Source :xda-developers

 Download  SignApk

How to modify a compiled Android application (.apk file)

Today I’d like to share with you my findings about how an existing .apk file can be modified.
An .apk file represents the mobile application as it is installed on a mobile device, like smartphone, tablet, wearable, etc.
Such an .apk file is a simple archive that can be opened with any packager like e.g. WinRAR
So you can easily open it and view the files - although viewing most of the files won’t make you happy, because you’ll realize that they’re compiled, in binary format, etc
... but this is a different story.
Anyways, you can open the archive and then modify any resource file and save the modification in the archive.
But if you afterwards try to install the .apk on the smartphone (or tablet or similar), you’ll get an error.
The following screenshot displays the error when installing the modified sample application myApp.apk on an Android device:

The reason is that after the modification, the checksum and the signature are not valid anymore.
Thus, simply changing an .apk file is not possible.
However, there’s still the valid use case to modify or replace files inside an existing .apk.
For example:
- files which are placed in the assets folder
- property files containing configuration data
- images which can be replaced
- styling information resources
and similar.
My personal use case was:
I had created an Android application using SAP Netweaver Gateway Productivity Accelerator.
I had to deliver the application to my users as .apk file.
But there was the requirement that they wanted to modify the ready application (change configuration data).
So I had to figure out how to achieve that: modify the app without having access to the source code.
Below, I’m sharing the required steps with you.
The description is based on the following software and versions:
Android current API 19
Java 7
Windows 7
If you aren’t familiar with Android, but wish to be, you might want to check the documents [1] and [2]
All prerequisites for understanding this blog are explained there.
Note:
In order to execute the commands described below, you need to have Java on your PATH variable of your Windows system (see [1] for an explanation).
Overview
There are 3 steps that need to be followed in order to modify an existing .apk file:
1. Do the actual desired modifications inside the .apk file
2. Sign the .apk
3. Install the .apk on the device
1.  Change the resource in the .apk
Open the .apk file with WinRAR (if that doesn’t work, rename the file extension .apk to .zip)
Change the resource in the archive as desired (packager tools allow to change files without the need to extract the archive)
Once you’re done with your changes, you have to take care about the signature files that are part of the .apk:
Inside the archive, go to folder META-INF
Delete the existing *.RSA and *.SF files
The following screenshot displays the content of the META-INF folder in an .apk file:

Now the archive can be closed.
In case you had changed the file extension before, you now have to change it back to .apk
2. Sign the .apk

Android doesn’t allow to install an application (apk) that isn’t signed.
When developing an app in Eclipse, the ADT ("Android Developer Tools", the extension to Eclipse that supports development for Android) takes care of signing the app with a default certificate, before installing in on the device.
That’s comfortable, but with the following description, everybody is able to sign an application.
Signing the .apk is done in 2 steps:
a) create the certificate
b) sign the .apk with the created certificate
Both steps are done with commands on the command line
a) Generate a certificate
If you’re working in a Java environment, you have the JDK on your file system.
The JDK comes with a tool to manage certificates: the keytool.
You can find it in the .../bin folder of your JDK installation.
Example:
On my machine it is here:

Now you can generate a certificate using below command.
However, before executing it, please check the notes below, in order to adapt the parameters

keytool.exe -genkey -v -keystore  -alias  -sigalg MD5withRSA -keyalg RSA 

-keysize 2048 -validity 1000

Please note that you have to adapt some of the parameters of the above command to your personal needs:
keystore
Here, you can provide an arbitrary name for your keystore.
The name that you provide here will be the name of the keystore-file that will be created.
The file will be created in the current directory.
(I haven’t tried it, but probably you can enter the name of an existing keystore file, in order to store the new certificate there)
alias
Here as well, you can provide an arbitrary name for the alias.
It is meant for you to recognize it.
The alias is the human readable name of the certificate which will be created and stored in the keystore.
validity 1000
This is the number of desired days.
You can enter any number you wish.
I think it should be high enough in order to avoid trouble with expiration.
Note that the parameters sigalg and keyalg are required by JDK 7, so it shouldn’t be necessary to add them if you’re using JDK 6
Example:

keytool.exe -genkey -v -keystore mykeystore -alias myAlias -sigalg 

MD5withRSA -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

When executing the command, you’ll get several prompts on the command line, asking for password, username, organization, city, etc
You can enter any arbitrary data here, you only have to make sure to remember the password.
After you’ve executed the command, you’ll see the generated keystore file on your file system in the current directory (from where you’ve executed the command)
Now you can proceed with signing the .apk using the newly created certificate.
b) Sign the apk
Before signing the .apk file, you have to make sure that there are no certificates available in the .apk.
This is described in step 1 above.
For signing an archive, we use the jarsigner tool, which is provided with JDK, and which can be found in the same location like the keytool.
The following  command is used for signing an apk.

jarsigner -verbose  -sigalg MD5withRSA -digestalg SHA1 -keystore   

Please note that you have to adapt some of the parameters of the above command to fit your personal needs:
keystore
Here you have to enter the name that you have given in the previous step a)
In order to keep the command line short, I recommend to temporarily copy the keystore file to the same location where you’re executing the command.

Here you have to enter the name of the apk file which you want to sign
In order to keep the command line short, I recommend to temporarily copy the .apk file to the same location where you’re executing the command.

Here you have to enter the name of the alias that you’ve provided when generating the certificate
Note that the parameters sigalg and digestalg are required by JDK 7, so it shouldn’t be necessary to add them if you’re using JDK 6
Example:

jarsigner -verbose  -sigalg MD5withRSA -digestalg SHA1 -keystore mykeystore

 myApp.apk myAlias

After you’ve executed the command, you can check the result inside the .apk file:
Open the archive, go to the folder .../META-INF and check if the files CERT.RSA and CERT.SF have been created.
3. Install the apk on the device
Now that the .apk file is signed, you can install it on your device.
BTW: This procedure is also called side-load.
For Android applications the installation is done on the command line, using the adb command.
adb stands for Android Debug Bridge
adb.exe is a piece of software that connects the PC with the Android device.
It allows access to the device, allows to trigger operations, transfer files, etc.
In order to install the .apk on the device, you have to connect the device to your PC via USB cable,
then execute following command

adb install 

In order to keep the command line short, you can temporarily copy the apk file to the same location where you’re executing the command.
Example:

adb install myApp.apk

The result should be “success” message on command prompt.
If not, any of the previous steps may have failed.
That’s it.
You can find the application in the apps folder of your smartphone.
This procedure worked for me on WIN7 and JDK 7.
It wasn’t required to rebuild the app, nor to generate new checksum or similar.
Links
Please refer to the following documents for lot of information for beginners.
They also contain lots of additional links for further reading.
[1] Getting started with GWPA: Prerequisites: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-52235
[2] Getting started with GWPA: Android Preparation: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-52371
The official docu can be found here: http://developer.android.com/tools/publishing/app-signing.html

 Source: scn.sap.com

Workplace climate, not women's 'nature,' responsible for gender-based job stress

A study by a sociologist subjected both men and women to the negative social conditions that many women report experiencing in male-dominated occupations. The result: men showed the same physiological stress response to the conditions as did women.

Social scientists have long known that women working in numerically male-dominated occupations like physics and firefighting report experiencing workplace stress, but men who work in numerically female-dominated occupations like nursing and child care do not.

But why? Is it something about women or something about the workplace? A study by an Indiana University sociologist suggests it's the latter.
Cate Taylor, assistant professor of sociology and gender studies at IU Bloomington, designed and carried out an experiment that subjected both men and women to the negative social conditions that many women report experiencing in male-dominated occupations. The result: Men showed the same physiological stress response to the conditions as did women.
"Women are not especially sensitive to negative workplace social conditions," Taylor said. "Rather, both women and men exhibit similar responses to the same types of stressful workplace conditions."
The article, "'Relational by Nature?' Men and Women Do Not Differ in Physiological Response to Social Stressors Faced by Token Women," appears in the July 2016 issue of the American Journal of Sociology and is now available online.
The study focuses on what Taylor calls "gendered social exclusion," behavior that would tend to make "token" women or men feel excluded from a group of mostly opposite-sex coworkers. For example, men might exclude female co-workers by talking constantly about sports or other stereotypically male interests.
It addresses the question of whether, as some observers have suggested, women are simply more sensitive to such exclusion: if they are "relational by nature" and respond more strongly than men to being shut out of social interaction in the workplace.
Taylor recruited undergraduate research assistants, called "confederates," and trained them extensively to manage peer-to-peer conversations in a laboratory setting. Study participants were also undergraduates recruited on a university campus.
To determine the effect of gendered social exclusion, Taylor placed female study participants in experimental groups with three male confederates and male study participants in groups with three female confederates. The confederates were trained to make the study participants feel excluded by talking about stereotypically masculine topics (sports, video games and a class in business statistics) or stereotypically feminine topics (shopping, yoga and Pilates, and a class in child development) and by subtly excluding the participants from the conversations. She compared the stress response of these participants with the stress response of participants in groups made up of members of the same sex that did not use conversation to make the participants feel excluded.
In order to measure stress response, at several points during the experiment, Taylor measured levels of the hormone cortisol in the participants' saliva -- a known indicator of physiological stress response. Cortisol levels rose markedly in participants subjected to gendered exclusion but not in the other participants.
"The cortisol response was robust, and it was statistically significant," Taylor said. And it was just as strong in men who were subjected to gendered exclusion as in women who were subjected to gendered social exclusion.
The results suggest that conditions associated with male-dominated professions are what cause token women to report experiencing high levels of stress in the workplace, Taylor said. The answer isn't to "fix" the women by teaching them to be less sensitive, because when women and men are exposed to the exact same social conditions, they actually have the same stress response. A better answer might be to address the workplace social exclusion faced by minorities in their occupations.
And the findings matter, Taylor said. For one thing, exposure to chronic physiological stress response, indicated by cortisol response, has been found to be associated with negative health effects, including heart disease, digestive problems, weight gain and depression.
For another, both stress and exclusion from important workplace social networks and mentorship may be significant factors in preventing women from getting or keeping jobs in male-dominated occupations. Male-dominated occupations, on average, have higher pay and prestige and better working conditions than mixed-sex or female-dominated occupations. Taylor said the under-representation of women in male-dominated occupations is a significant factor behind the gender wage gap. On average, women earn only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men.
"If the workplace climate were less unfriendly, we might see more women in these male-dominated occupations, and we might see more parity in pay," she said. "That would be good for women and good for families."

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Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Indiana University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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5 lesser known facts you need to know about Finn Balor

Here's what you need to know about the former NXT Champion.

 

On 4th January 2016, news broke that WWE had signed his former Bullet Club stable-mates Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows leading to speculation that Finn Balor would reform the Bullet Club in WWE as the Balor Club.
With the Balor Club’s debut on the main roster seemingly round the corner, it’s high time WWE fans get to know its leader, Finn Balor. Balor, whose real name is Fergal Devitt, signed with NXT in 2014 and is the current face of the brand.
For those who aren’t familiar with him, here are the 5 lesser known facts you need to know about Finn Balor.

5) He started his own promotion in Ireland at the early age of 20

 

Balor (L) helped train numerous wrestlers at the NWA Ireland wrestling school including Becky Lynch (R)

 

Finn Balor made his professional debut at NWA Hammerlock in the year 2000 aged just 18. Within two years, Balor along with Paul Tracey started their own wrestling school and promotion in Ireland which was affiliated to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
The NWA are one of the most recognized promotions in professional wrestling history with their beginnings dating back to the 1940’s. At the helm of NWA Ireland aged just 20, Balor helped build the brand in Ireland. He’s also helped train many wrestlers including Rebecca Knox AKA WWE Superstar Becky Lynch.
Now aged 33, Balor already has 16 years of experience in the ring including time spent at NXT including one of the longest NXT Championship reigns in the promotions history. His turn to make an impact in the WWE main roster has come and he’s more than ready.

4) He spent 8 years in New Japan Pro Wrestling where he formed the Bullet Club

 

Balor signed for New Japan the night after he lost the British Commonwealth Championship to future Bullet Club comrade Machinegun Karl Anderson in March 2006. He earned his stripes in the New Japan dojo training with the veterans.  He adapted quickly to New Japan’s stiffer style of wrestling and earned the respect of both his colleagues and the New Japan fans.
In 2013 Balor formed the Bullet Club along with Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga and continued as its leader. Balor led the Bullet Club and New Japan into international prominence as the top heels in NJPW. The Bullet Club didn’t care about the tradition of respect in Japanese wrestling and broke rules every step of their journey and constantly wreaked havoc on the rest of the locker room.
Finn Balor wasn’t a follower. He orchestrated the Bullet Club’s path of destruction.

3) He’s addicted to Legos

 

Whenever you ask Finn Balor about how he copes with his insane schedule, days spent training and life in a foreign country away from family his answer is always the same, Legos. In his own words, Balor grew up an introvert in the banter filled society of Ireland.
His earliest memories of WWE are sitting in front of the TV watching Summerslam ’95 and playing with his Legos. Even now, he uses Legos to unwind after long days on the road.
Never change Finn, never.

2) He’s a very good friend of NXT head coach, Matt Bloom

 

Matt Bloom (a.k.a. Albert) and Finn Balor go back, way back. They met at the New Japan dojo in 2006 where Bloom was wrestling as Giant Bernard. They hit it off immediately and their unlikely friendship has crossed over from New Japan all the way across the pacific to WWE.
When Matt Bloom resigned with WWE and eventually took over as NXT head coach, he immediately recommended that they sign Balor. Soon after that, Finn Balor signed with NXT.

1). Accolades

 

Finn Balor is one of the best technical pro wrestlers in WWE today.  Along with his ability he also brings with him a boatload of titles from across three continents. He’s not only a former CMLL Middleweight Champion, ICW Zero G Champion and RPW Cruiserweight champion but also a 3 time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
His longest Junior Heavyweight Championship reign lasted an astonishing 14 months. Since signing with WWE, Balor has excelled both in the ring and out of it. He’s popular with both fans and his peers.
Balor won the NXT Championship against Kevin Owens in his second home of Tokyo at WWE Beast in the East where the Japanese crowd gave him a hero’s reception. He’s is currently one of the longest reigning NXT Champions of all time after successfully retaining his title against Samoa Joe at NXT Takeover: Dallas.

Source: sportskeeda.com

Probing giant planets' dark hydrogen

Hydrogen is the most-abundant element in the universe, but there is still so much we have to learn about it. One of the biggest unknowns is its transformation under the extreme pressures and temperatures found in the interiors of giant planets, where it is squeezed until it becomes liquid metal, capable of conducting electricity. New work measures the conditions under which hydrogen undergoes this transition in the lab and finds an intermediate 'dark hydrogen' state.

An illustration of the layer of dark hydrogen the team's lab mimicry indicates would be found beneath the surface of gas giant planets like Jupiter, courtesy of Stewart McWilliams.

Credit: University of Edinburgh (graphics) and NASA (photos)

Hydrogen is the most-abundant element in the universe. It's also the simplest--sporting only a single electron in each atom. But that simplicity is deceptive, because there is still so much we have to learn about hydrogen.

One of the biggest unknowns is its transformation under the extreme pressures and temperatures found in the interiors of giant planets, where it is squeezed until it becomes liquid metal, capable of conducting electricity. New work published in Physical Review Letters by Carnegie's Alexander Goncharov and University of Edinburgh's Stewart McWilliams measures the conditions under which hydrogen undergoes this transition in the lab and finds an intermediate state between gas and metal, which they're calling "dark hydrogen."
On the surface of giant planets like Jupiter, hydrogen is a gas. But between this gaseous surface and the liquid metal hydrogen in the planet's core lies a layer of dark hydrogen, according to findings gleaned from the team's lab mimicry.
Using a laser-heated diamond anvil cell to create the conditions likely to be found in gas giant planetary interiors, the team probed the physics of hydrogen under a range of pressures from 10,000 to 1.5 million times normal atmospheric pressure and up to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
They discovered this unexpected intermediate phase, which does not reflect or transmit visible light, but does transmit infrared radiation, or heat.
"This observation would explain how heat can easily escape from gas giant planets like Saturn," explained Goncharov.
They also found that this intermediate dark hydrogen is somewhat metallic, meaning it can conduct an electric current, albeit poorly. This means that it could play a role in the process by which churning metallic hydrogen in gas giant planetary cores produces a magnetic field around these bodies, in the same way that the motion of liquid iron in Earth's core created and sustains our own magnetic field.
"This dark hydrogen layer was unexpected and inconsistent with what modeling research had led us to believe about the change from hydrogen gas to metallic hydrogen inside of celestial objects," Goncharov added.

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Embryonic gene Nanog reverses aging in adult stem cells

In a series of experiments, the embryonic stem cell gene Nanog kicked into action dormant cellular processes that are key to preventing weak bones, clogged arteries and other telltale signs of growing old. 

 

The images above show, from left to right, functioning stem cells, stem cells no longer functioning due to Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome (HGPS), and stem cells previously not functioning due to HGPS that were rebooted by the embryonic stem cell gene Nanog.

Credit: Stelios Andreadis.

 

The fountain of youth may reside in an embryonic stem cell gene named Nanog.

In a series of experiments at the University at Buffalo, the gene kicked into action dormant cellular processes that are key to preventing weak bones, clogged arteries and other telltale signs of growing old.
The findings, published June 29 in the journal Stem Cells, also show promise in counteracting premature aging disorders such as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.
"Our research into Nanog is helping us to better understand the process of aging and ultimately how to reverse it," says Stelios T. Andreadis, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the study's lead author.
Additional authors come from UB's Department of Biomedical Engineering, a joint program between UB's engineering school and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, and the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.
To battle aging, the human body holds a reservoir of nonspecialized cells that can regenerate organs. These cells are called adult stem cells, and they are located in every tissue of the body and respond rapidly when there is a need.
But as people age, fewer adult stem cells perform their job well, a scenario which leads to age-related disorders. Reversing the effects of aging on adult stem cells, essentially rebooting them, can help overcome this problem.
Andreadis previously showed that the capacity of adult stem cells to form muscle and generate force declines with aging. Specifically, he examined a subcategory of muscle cells called smooth muscle cells which reside in arteries, intestines and other tissues.
In the new study, Panagiotis Mistriotis, a graduate student in Andreadis' lab and first author of the study, introduced Nanog into aged stem cells. He found that Nanog opens two key cellular pathways: Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) and Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β).
In turn, this jumpstarts dormant proteins (actin) into building cytoskeletons that adult stem cells need to form muscle cells that contract. Force generated by these cells ultimately helps restore the regenerative properties that adult stem cells lose due to aging.
"Not only does Nanog have the capacity to delay aging, it has the potential in some cases to reverse it," says Andreadis, noting that the embryonic stem cell gene worked in three different models of aging: cells isolated from aged donors, cells aged in culture, and cells isolated from patients with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.
Additionally, the researchers showed that Nanog activated the central regulator of muscle formation, serum response factor (SRF), suggesting that the same results may be applicable for skeletal, cardiac and other muscle types.
The researchers are now focusing on identifying drugs that can replace or mimic the effects of NANOG. This will allow them to study whether aspects of aging inside the body can also be reversed. This could have implications in an array of illnesses, everything from atherosclerosis and osteoporosis to Alzheimer's disease.
The work was supported by a National Institutes of Health grant.

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Reading Harry Potter lowers Americans' opinions of Donald Trump, study finds

This is professor Diana Mutz, the Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania

Credit: Annenberg School for Communication

Harry may not be a full-on patronus against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's appeal, but reading Potter stories does appear to be a shield charm against Trump's message.

A new study to be published in a special 2016 election issue of PS: Political Science and Politics finds that reading Harry Potter books leads Americans to take a lower opinion of Donald Trump. In fact, the more books the participants read, the greater the effect.
Even when controlling for party identification, gender, education level, age, evangelical self-identification, and social dominance orientation -- all factors known to predict Americans' attitudes toward Donald Trump -- the Harry Potter effect remained.
The study, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Donald?," was written by Professor Diana Mutz, the Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
In the nineteenth century, Uncle Tom's Cabin was widely credited with shifting public opinion against slavery, but to date, there has been sparse evidence that fictional stories, even very popular ones, can influence political opinion. Evidence has largely come from laboratory experiments -- for example, forcing people to read one of two stories -- rather than observing real-world consumption of fictional stories.
Harry Potter's popularity, with more than 450 million copies sold worldwide, made such a study possible in the public as a whole.
"Because Trump's political views are widely viewed as opposed to the values espoused in the Harry Potter series," Mutz writes in the study, "exposure to the Potter series may play an influential role in influencing how Americans respond to Donald Trump."
To test that explanation for the Harry Potter effect, Mutz focused on three core themes from Harry Potter: The value of tolerance and respect for difference; opposition to violence and punitiveness; and opposition to authoritarianism.
In each case, Mutz points out, Donald Trump's messages are opposed to the lessons conveyed in Harry Potter and closer to that of his enemy, Lord Voldemort. Examples abound throughout the series:

• Harry and his friends advocate for oppressed house-elves and oppose Lord Voldemort's quest for blood purity among wizards. Harry himself is of mixed wizard/muggle (non-wizard) ancestry. Trump, by contrast, has called for a temporary moratorium on Muslim immigration and made offensive comments about outgroups of all kinds, including women, Mexicans, Asians, and those with disabilities.
• The Harry Potter series promotes non-violent means of conflict resolution; while Voldemort is willing to kill many times, the books' protagonists consistently avoid unnecessary curses for killing, torture, or controlling others. Harry even saves the life of his Voldemort-aligned nemesis, Draco Malfoy. Trump, by contrast, has spoken widely about his fondness for waterboarding, and advocates the killing of terrorists' families as a means of deterrence. He has praised his followers' acts of violence against protesters at his rallies.
• The Harry Potter protagonists work against authoritarian characters in the books. "As does Voldemort," Mutz writes, "Trump portrays himself as a strongman who can bend others to his will, be they the Chinese government or terrorists."

Mutz polled a nationally representative sample of 1,142 Americans in 2014, and again in 2016, asking about their Harry Potter consumption, their attitudes on issues such as waterboarding, the death penalty, the treatment of Muslims and gays, and (in 2016 only) their feelings about Donald Trump on a 0-100 scale.
Party affiliation did not affect the likelihood that a person had read the Harry Potter books, the study found; Democrats, Republicans, and Independents have all read Rowling's books in roughly equal numbers.
The study found that each Harry Potter book read lowered respondents' evaluations of Donald Trump by roughly 2-3 points on a 100 point scale.
"This may seem small," Mutz acknowledges, "but for someone who has read all seven books, the total impact could lower their estimation of Trump by 18 points out of 100. The size of this effect is on par with the impact of party identification on attitudes toward gays and Muslims."
Mutz's data also shows that each Harry Potter book read also raised a person's evaluations of Muslims and homosexuals, two groups chosen to gauge the respondent's tolerance and respect for difference. Harry Potter also appeared to encourage opposition to punitive policies -- gauged by responses to questions about the use of torture, killing terrorists, and support for the death penalty -- though the effect size was small.
But reading Harry Potter also engendered opposition to Trump in ways that surpassed the effect of these two themes.
"It may simply be too difficult for Harry Potter readers to ignore the similarities between Trump and the power-hungry Voldemort," she writes.
Mutz also collected data on viewership of Harry Potter movies, but found that these did not predict Trump opposition. This may be because of pre-existing partisan patterns in movie viewing whereby Republicans were less likely to see the movies than Democrats. Moreover, reading inherently requires much higher levels of attention and allows for greater nuance in characters, many of whom are neither wholly good nor wholly bad. Due to length, movies must leave out material from the full books, and they are more likely to emphasize action over the characters' internal dilemmas and introspection.
So can Harry Potter defeat Donald Trump?
"Throughout the series, love and kindness consistently triumph over aggression and prejudice," says Mutz. "It's a powerful positive theme, and thus not surprising that readers understand the underlying message of this storyline, and are moved by it. These pro-unity views come through loud and clear in the storyline and have also been publicly voiced by the author of the series, J.K. Rowling, who has publicly espoused anti-Brexit and anti-Trump political views. Harry Potter's popularity worldwide stands to make a difference not just in the U.S. election, but in elections across Europe that involve aggressive and domineering candidates worldwide."

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'Performance enhancing' drugs decrease performance

Doping is damaging the image of sport without benefiting athletes' results, according to new research. Researchers collated sporting records (including Olympic and world records) of male and female athletes across 26 sports, between 1886 and 2012. Comparisons were made between pre-1932 records (when steroids became available) and post, and it was found that the times, distances and other results did not improve as expected in the doping era.

Credit: © berc / Fotolia

Doping is damaging the image of sport without benefiting athletes' results, according to University of Adelaide research.

Researchers from the University's School of Medical Sciences collated sporting records (including Olympic and world records) of male and female athletes across 26 sports, between 1886 and 2012. Comparisons were made between pre-1932 records (when steroids became available) and post, and it was found that the times, distances and other results did not improve as expected in the doping era.
The findings were published in the Journal of Human Sport and Exercise.
"The effects of doping in modern sports are far and widespread, encompassing not only the athletes and sporting teams involved, but also sponsors and fans," says Dr Aaron Hermann, lead author on the paper.
"This research looked at 26 of the most controlled and some of the most popular sports, including various track and field events like 100m sprints, hurdles, high jump, long jump and shot-put, as well as some winter sports like speed skating and ski jumping.
"The average best life records for 'doped' top athletes did not differ significantly from those considered not to have doped. Even assuming that not all cases of doping were discovered during this time, the practice of doping did not improve sporting results as commonly believed," he says.
Dr Hermann says these results not only demonstrate the negative impact of doping on sports results but may also show that doping is more widespread than initially thought.
"The 2000 Olympics gold medal result for the women's 100m sprint was even poorer than the gold medal obtained in the 1968 Olympics, the first year of doping testing in the Olympics," Dr Hermann says.
"This research demonstrates that doping practices are not improving results and in fact, may be harming them -- seemingly indicating that 'natural' human abilities would outperform the potentially doping 'enhanced' athletes -- and that in some sports, doping may be highly prevalent," he says.
Dr Hermann hopes these findings will change elite athletes' and junior sports participants' perceptions on doping.
"The success rate of doping tests may be as little as 4% and some anti-doping initiatives to date have been very ineffective," says Dr Hermann.
"Doping may produce a minor improvement in one aspect of performance but in other areas, it may have a detrimental effect, which outweighs the positive.
"In many sports, there are perceptions that an athlete needs to dope in order to remain competitive and I hope these findings will confront those ill-informed views, and help stamp out doping in sport," he says.

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Menopause, sleepless nights make women's bodies age faster

Two UCLA studies reveal that menopause--and the insomnia that often accompanies it -- make women age faster.

The dual findings, respectively published July 25 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Biological Psychiatry, suggest these factors could increase women's risk for aging-related diseases and earlier death.
"For decades, scientists have disagreed over whether menopause causes aging or aging causes menopause," said Steve Horvath, a professor of human genetics and biostatistics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and a senior author on both studies. "It's like the chicken or the egg: which came first? Our study is the first to demonstrate that menopause makes you age faster."
"Not getting restorative sleep may do more than just affect our functioning the next day; it might also influence the rate at which our biological clock ticks," said Judith Carroll, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, and first author of the sleep study. "In the women we studied, those reporting symptoms such as restless sleep, waking repeatedly at night, having difficulty falling asleep, and waking too early in the morning tended to be older biologically than women of similar chronological age who reported no symptoms."
For their findings, both studies used a "biological clock" developed by Horvath, which has become a widely used method for tracking the epigenetic shift in the genome. Epigenetics is the study of changes to DNA packaging that influence which genes are expressed but don't affect the DNA sequence itself.
The Menopause Connection
In the menopause study, Horvath and first author Morgan Levine tracked methylation, a chemical biomarker linked to aging, to analyze DNA samples from more than 3,100 women enrolled in four large studies, including the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) a major 15-year research program that addressed the most common causes of death, disability and poor quality of life in postmenopausal women. They measured the biological age of cells from blood, saliva and inside the cheek, to explore the relationship between each woman's chronological age and her body's biological age.
"We discovered that menopause speeds up cellular aging by an average of 6 percent," said Horvath. "That doesn't sound like much but it adds up over a woman's lifespan."
Take, for example, a woman who enters early menopause at age 42. Eight years later, he said, her body would be a full year older biologically than another 50-year-old woman who entered menopause naturally at age 50.
"On average, the younger a woman is when she enters menopause, the faster her blood ages," explained Levine, a postdoctoral researcher in Horvath's lab. "This is significant because a person's blood may mirror what's happening in other parts of the body, which could have implications for death and disease risk."
The Importance of Sleep
In the sleep study, Carroll and her colleagues drew their data from more than 2,000 women in the WHI. Using the epigenetic clock, they found that postmenopausal women with five insomnia symptoms were nearly two years older biologically than women the same chronological age with no insomnia symptoms.
"We can't conclude definitively from our study that the insomnia leads to the increased epigenetic age, but these are powerful findings," said Carroll. "In the future, we will need to carry out studies of the same individuals over an extended period of time to determine cause-and-effect relationships between biological age and sleep disorders."
While both studies are bad news for many women, Horvath suggests that scientists in the future may use the epigenetic clock as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the effects of therapies, like hormone therapy for menopause.
"The big question is which menopausal hormone therapy offers the strongest anti-aging effect while limiting health risks," said Horvath.
"No longer will researchers need to follow patients for years to track their health and occurrence of diseases. Instead we can use the epigenetic clock to monitor their cells' aging rate and to evaluate which therapies slow the biological aging process," explained Horvath. "This could greatly reduce the length and costs of clinical trials and speed benefits to women."

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.