Thursday 16 May 2019

Pinterest reports smaller 1Q loss but results drag stock

Pinterest, fresh off its initial public offering, posted a loss for the first three months of the year that was larger than analysts were expecting, though revenue was slightly stronger. Its revenue forecast, though, was slightly below expectations and its shares slumped in after-hours trading.

* This article was originally published here

Exploring people's perception of geometric features, personalities and emotions in videos with virtual humans

Researchers at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul have recently carried out a study aimed at evaluating people's perceptions of geometric features, personalities and emotions presented in video sequences with virtual humans. Their study, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, merges computer science tools with psychology research practices.

* This article was originally published here

Team develops EHR-based social needs screener to improve patient outcomes

Boston Medical Center (BMC) has implemented a social determinants of health screener for primary care patients in order to better identify and address patients' unmet social needs. Clinician researchers developed the electronic health record-based (EHR) model, THRIVE, which facilitates an automatic print out of referral information for resources based at the hospital and in the community when the patient asks for help with a need they have identified in the screener. The hospital's work, published in Medical Care, demonstrates an innovative systematic model that can help clinicians better address the social needs of patients to improve their overall health.

* This article was originally published here

Improving health outcomes with a little help from our friends—and artificial intelligence

We fare better during health challenges when we have a little help from our friends, family and community. And perhaps an assist from artificial intelligence.

* This article was originally published here

New machine learning algorithm can predict age and gender from just your Twitter profile

A new "demographic inference" tool developed by academics can make predictions based solely on the information in a person's social media profile (i.e. screen name, biography, profile photo, and name). The tool—which works in 32 languages—could pave the way for views expressed on social media to be factored in to popular survey methods.

* This article was originally published here

Bullet train champion in Japan will debut in 2030, now being tested

Testing for a train capable of 249mph (400 kph) speeds is to happen about twice a week at night. Bloomberg said ALFA-X is the world's fastest bullet train— well, for now, it is holding that title. Japan has also been working on a maglev train.

* This article was originally published here

How host-cell enzymes combat the coronavirus

Host-cell enzymes called PARP12 and PARP14 are important for inhibiting mutant forms of a coronavirus, according to a study published May 16 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Stanley Perlman of the University of Iowa, Anthony Fehr of the University of Kansas, and colleagues.

* This article was originally published here

Here's why your internet may be delivered by a drone someday soon

As the pilotless flying wing came in for a landing, winds suddenly picked up. Facebook Inc.'s Aquila drone—powered by the sun and wider than a Boeing 737 jetliner—struggled to adjust. Just before landing, part of the right wing broke off.

* This article was originally published here

Imagine Apple's App Store with no walled garden

Gregg Spiridellis isn't shy when it comes to his feelings about the Apple iOS App Store.

* This article was originally published here

Political disinformation campaigns not as threatening as you think

When foreign powers try to interfere with the politics of another country by spreading strategic disinformation, research suggests there is no real effect on policies or the balance of power in the targeted country.

* This article was originally published here

Antibody responses vs. Ebola keep evolving in survivors, months after recovery

Antiviral antibodies produced by survivors of Ebola infection continue to evolve and improve after recovery, according to a detailed study of the immune responses of four people who received care at Emory University Hospital in 2014.

* This article was originally published here

Fecal microbiota transplant found safe and effective in children with C. difficile

Diarrhea caused by Clostridiodes (formerly Clostridium) difficile infections is on the rise among children; one population-based study found a 12.5-fold increase in incidence from 1991 to 2009. For reasons that aren't clear, C. difficile is more frequently striking children without the usual risk factors, such as hospitalization or antibiotic exposure. One thing that is known is that C. diff disease is associated with an altered intestinal microbiota.

* This article was originally published here

Why parents should think twice about tracking apps for their kids

The use of self-tracking and personal surveillance technologies has grown considerably over the last decade. There are now apps to monitor people's movement, health, mindfulness, sleep, eating habits and even sexual activity.

* This article was originally published here

New drug delivery system suppresses tumors in mice

As cancer treatment gets more sophisticated, we need more refined drug delivery systems that can simultaneously deliver multiple drugs with different chemical makeups.

* This article was originally published here

Mutations synergize in pediatric brain cancer

A new Northwestern Medicine study finds that a combination of two mutations cause a form of pediatric brain tumors to become more deadly, according to findings published in Nature Communications.

* This article was originally published here

Lasers aim to replace scalpels in cutting-edge biopsy technique

To a patient, the analysis of a tissue biopsy sample to check for something like cancer may seem like a relatively simple process, even if it does mean giving up a small piece of flesh to be tested. The sample heads off to a lab, the patient heads home, and in several days the doctor calls with the results.

* This article was originally published here

Huawei hit by US export controls, potential import ban

In a fateful swipe at telecommunications giant Huawei, the Trump administration issued an executive order Wednesday apparently aimed at banning its equipment from U.S. networks and said it was subjecting the Chinese company to strict export controls.

* This article was originally published here

3-D images reveal how infants' heads change shape during birth

Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), scientists have captured 3-D images that show how infants' brains and skulls change shape as they move through the birth canal just before delivery. Olivier Ami of Auvergne University in Clermont Ferrand, France, and colleagues present these findings in the open access journal PLOS ONE on May 15, 2019.

* This article was originally published here

New AI sees like a human, filling in the blanks

Computer scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have taught an artificial intelligence agent how to do something that usually only humans can do—take a few quick glimpses around and infer its whole environment, a skill necessary for the development of effective search-and-rescue robots that one day can improve the effectiveness of dangerous missions. The team, led by professor Kristen Grauman, Ph.D. candidate Santhosh Ramakrishnan and former Ph.D. candidate Dinesh Jayaraman (now at the University of California, Berkeley) published their results today in the journal Science Robotics.

* This article was originally published here

Do you trust politicians? Depends on how you define trust

There's more to trust than credence and faith, especially as it comes to politics. Research from Michigan State University and North Carolina State University presents new evidence to suggest that there are more layers to political trust than the public—and politicians themselves—previously thought.

* This article was originally published here