Prolonged TV Viewing Linked to Health Risks

Prolonged TV Viewing Linked to Health Risks

  11:08:00 PM    Science Lover

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Watching television is the most common daily activity apart from work and sleep in many parts of the world, but it is time for people to change their viewing habits. According to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, prolonged TV viewing was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

New research finds that prolonged TV viewing is 
associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, 
cardiovascular disease, and premature death. 
(Credit: © alessandrozocc / Fotolia)

The study appears in the June 15, 2011, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"The message is simple. Cutting back on TV watching can significantly reduce risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and premature mortality," said senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH. "We should not only promote increasing physical activity levels but also reduce sedentary behaviors, especially prolonged TV watching," said Hu.

Many people around the world divide their days largely between working, sleeping, and watching television, according to the researchers. Europeans spend an average of 40 percent of their daily free time in front of the television set; Australians, 50 percent. This corresponds to three to four hours of daily viewing -- still less than a reported average of five hours in the U.S. The negative health effects of TV viewing have been documented in prior studies, including associations with reduced physical activity levels and unhealthy diets.



Hu and first author Anders Grøntved, a doctoral student and visiting researcher in the HSPH Department of Nutrition, conducted a meta-analysis, a systematic assessment of all published studies from 1970 to 2011 that linked TV viewing with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Eight large prospective cohort studies from the United States, Europe, and Australia met the researchers' criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.

The results showed that more than two hours of TV viewing per day increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and more than three hours of daily viewing increased risk of premature death. For each additional two hours of TV viewing per day, the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality increased by 20, 15, and 13 percent respectively. Based on disease incidence in the United States, Hu and Grøntved estimated that among 100,000 individuals per year, each 2-hour increment in TV viewing per day was associated with 176 new cases of type 2 diabetes, 38 new cases of fatal cardiovascular disease, and 104 new cases of all-cause mortality.

Hu and Grøntved found that the effect of prolonged television viewing on type 2 diabetes, which usually occurs in adults, was to some extent explained by the unfavorable influence of TV viewing on obesity. Obesity is related to unhealthy eating habits and low activity levels, major risk factors for both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Limitations to the meta-analysis included the relatively small number of studies and that the assessment of TV viewing was self-reported by participants. In addition, the majority of the studies did not assess the role of diet and physical activity in explaining the adverse effects of TV watching on chronic disease risk.

"Sedentary lifestyle, especially prolonged TV watching, is clearly an important and modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," said Grøntved. "Future research should also look into the effects of extensive use of new media devices on energy balance and chronic disease risk."

Support for the study was provided by the Danish Heart Foundation, Sygekassernes Helsefond (the Danish Health Fund), the Oticon Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

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Omni-Focus Video Camera to Revolutionize Industry: Automatic Real-Time Focus of Both Near and Far Field Images

Omni-Focus Video Camera to Revolutionize Industry: Automatic Real-Time Focus of Both Near and Far Field Images

  10:50:00 PM    Science Lover

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University of Toronto, a world-leading research university, announces a breakthrough development in video camera design. The Omni-focus Video Camera, based on an entirely new distance-mapping principle, delivers automatic real-time focus of both near and far field images, simultaneously, in high resolution. This unprecedented capability can be broadly applied in industry, including manufacturing, medicine, defense, security -- and for the consumer market.

The above figure illustrates the omni-focus 
video camera’s high pixel resolution. Although 
the two sewing needles were photographed 
approximately 1.2 meters apart, both are in 
sharp focus. Note the eye of the back needle,
is actually viewed through the eye of the front needle. 
(Credit: University of Toronto)

Inventor and principal investigator of the Omni-focus video camera, Professor Keigo Iizuka of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, explains that, "the intensity of a point source decays with the inverse square of the distance of propagation. This variation with distance has proven to be large enough to provide depth mapping with high resolution. What's more, by using two point sources at different locations, the distance of the object can be determined without the influence of its surface texture." This principle led Professor Iizuka to invent a novel distance-mapping camera, the Divergence-ratio Axi-vision Camera, abbreviated "Divcam," which is a key component of the new Omni-focus Video Camera.

The Omni-focus Video Camera is produced in collaboration with consulting investigator Dr. David Wilkes, president of Wilkes Associates, a Canadian high-tech product development company. It contains an array of color video cameras, each focused at a different distance, and an integrated Divcam. The Divcam maps distance information for every pixel in the scene in real time. A software-based pixel correspondence utility, using prior intellectual property invented by Dr. Wilkes, then uses the distance information to select individual pixels from the ensemble of outputs of the color video cameras, and generates the final "omni-focused" single-video image.

"The Omni-focus Video Camera's unique ability to achieve simultaneous focus of all of the objects in a scene, near or far, multiple or single, without the usual physical movement of the camera's optics, represents a true advancement that is further distinguished in terms of high-resolution, distance mapping, real-time operation, simplicity, compactness, lightweight portability and a projected low manufacturing cost," says Dr. Wilkes.

The camera is still in the research phase. But it's not difficult to imagine how far-reaching an impact the Omni-focus Video Camera could have on several industries. As for the future direction of his research, Professor Iizuka sees the following possibilities:

1. Application of the Omni-focus Video Camera to TV studio cameras. Consider the example of a musical concert being televised by a major network. Even though the singer is in sharp focus, band members in the background, are invariably out of focus. Conventional video cameras are unable to focus simultaneously on both the singer and band members in the background. The Omni-focus Video Camera removes this limitation to deliver higher-quality video images and improved quality of experience to potentially millions of TV viewers, worldwide.
2. Application of the Omni-focus Video Camera to medicine. Says Professor Iizuka, "I'd like to apply the principle of the Omni-focus Video Camera to the design of a laparoscope. It would help doctors at the operating table, if they can see the entire view without touching optics of the laparoscope, especially if dealing with a large lesion."

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Streaming games look to make consoles, PC upgrades obsolete

Streaming games look to make consoles, PC upgrades obsolete

  10:12:00 PM    Science Lover

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A screenshot of the OnLive ‘Arena’ of games

A new technology service called OnLive claims to have developed a way to stream video games over the Internet, without any lag that humans can notice.

The on-demand service would allow users to play games on any TV and nearly any personal computer – even stripped-down netbooks and PCs without graphics processors, said founder and chief executive Steve Perlman.

“When you want to play a game, you just click a button and it plays instantly. It’s that simple,” said Perlman. “So the instant you press a button to shoot something on the screen, the gun goes off.”

This has not been possible before, because unlike with music and movies – which can be compressed for easy online transfers before being streamed – video games are interactive and require instant responses.

OnLive’s technology gets around that limitation with a new form of compression that lets its game servers communicate with players over broadband connections in real time.

Thus, the service can also work on older computers, even those without a graphics processing unit – an essential component of gaming.

For a standard definition TV, a broadband connection of at least 1.5 megabits per second (mbps) is required. And for HDTV resolution, a connection of at least 5 mbps is needed.

Through a “MicroConsole” gadget, OnLive’s service will also be available for television sets.

In a demonstration on Tuesday at the Game Developers Conference in San Diego, Perlman played Crysis – a game notorious for its demanding graphical processing needs – on a TV set and on a Mac laptop through OnLive.

Leading game publishers, such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two and Eidos, have already signed on. OnLive has also incorporated social networking elements for multiplayer gaming, such as letting users share ‘brag clips’, which save the last 10 seconds of your game.

Perlman has a lot of confidence in OnLive: “It’s the last console you’ll need.”

If you like this post, buy me a beer at $3!

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Gizmost wanted

Gizmost wanted

  10:08:00 AM    Science Lover

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Intelligent champagne bottles, ‘green’ USB sticks made of corn, an understanding alarm clock, and a robot on wheels led the parade of fun, futuristic gadgets at the world’s biggest technology fair, CeBIT, in Germany

As the high-tech sector tries to buck the global economic slump, inventors from Asia, the US and Europe vied to capture imaginations at CeBIT - the world’s biggest annual hi-tech fair – with ideas to ignite the market in the coming months and years.

The expo runs until Sunday.

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SMART LIVING

Researchers at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, which works closely with several industries, was showing off a range of everyday objects rendered “smart”.

Its cutting-edge champagne bottles sound a bell when the bubbly has hit the perfect quaffing temperature, while an intelligent medicine cabinet lets you know when you last took your medication or need to get a prescription filled.

A so-called gentle alarm clock from Germany’s Simple Feature monitors sleep rhythms via a soft wristband fitted with sensors (pictured).

It then chooses a shallow sleep phase within 30 minutes of the desired wake-up time and goes off with a range of alarm tones including bird songs – encouraging what the firm says is a smoother start to a more productive day.

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EASY NAVIGATION

A new navigator developed by GPS device manufacturer Garmin can calculate not only the most direct route, or the one with the least traffic, but also the one that would use the least fuel. What’s more, it even adds up the money you will save on your journey!

“The EcoChallenge feature analyses the driver’s heavy or light-food pedal technique and braking as well as the car speed, and shows how well the driver is doing in the fuel-saving stakes,” the company said.

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LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU

Innovations in the world of entertainment also drew the crowds.

Taiwan’s Aiptek is offering movies-to-go to with its Pocketcinema portable projector, complete with 2GB of memory to store films.

Dutch firm Adapt Mobile, on the other hand, has a pocket projector that lets you share life-size photos.

Billed as the first Skype video telephone, the Eee by Germany’s Asus is a home phone that allows cheap international video calls in better quality than on a standard computer.

German premium sound specialist firm Blaupunkt unveiled prototypes of what they called the world’s first Internet car radio, promising access to “thousands of stations” via cellular phone networks.

And fashionistas needing a little more bling must look no further than the Asus EEE S121 notebook, wrapped in supple dark leather and studded with Swarovski crystals.

The company also showed off its EEE keyboard PC, which can wirelessly connect to any TV.

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GOING GREEN

In keeping with a “green” theme at this year’s event, USB sticks and photo cards by California-based ITP now come in biodegradable plastics made of corn.

And some of the proceeds will go to tree-planting projects.


Meanwhile, people plagued by the question “Did I leave the iron on?” can relax. Swiss firm digitalSTROM.org has developed a chip that can be installed in ordinary light switches. An “everything off” button switches every device hooked up to the system to “standby”, averting fires and cutting energy bills.

The fair is also showcasing a range of new ultra-thin, ultra-efficient netbooks that are easier on the wallet, including the first “zero-watt” laptop from Fujitsu-Siemens that uses no electricity when idle.

And then there was Japanese giant Toshiba, showing off televisions that use half the power of normal sets.

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MED-TECH

The CeBIT is spotlighting eHealth this year, featuring products that allow patients to receive better care from home, thanks to the Internet.

Bodytel of Germany has developed a blood sugar monitor for diabetics whose results can be beamed straight to the patient’s file at his doctor’s office via his mobile phone.

Similar devices keep watch on one’s blood pressure and heart rates.

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ROLLIN' ROBOT

In the Future Parc hall of CeBIT, all eyes have been on the Rollin’ Justin robot, developed by the German Aerospace Centre.

The robot has a humanoid upper body; but instead of legs, there’s a four-wheel omni-directional base that helps it “roll” around.

Justin is also capable of detecting and squeezing through tight areas such as doors, using smart technology to bring its “legs” together, or by lifting them using a spring mechanism, its inventors said.


Its appendages are robotic arms known as DLR-III, which have sensors that can calculate the weight and impact of any object they come in contact with.

This allows Justin to perform complex, delicate tasks such as preparing tea and “shaking a person’s hand without breaking it”, said one of its developers, Thomas Wimboeck.

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