TECHNOLOGY: Skype is Launching Real-time Translated Conversations

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Technology: Skype will launch Real-time Translated Conversations

By Jorge Jefferds October 17, 2014 

Skype users will soon be able to conduct voice and video calls supported by a near-real time translation technology.

While there isn’t any guarantee that no fine detail will be lost in translation, Microsoft's new idea for its video chat platform surely feels like something straight out of science fiction.

Our hopes for such a marvel will no longer be tagged to imaginary aquatic creatures -- the Babel fish from "The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" -- or improbable "telepathic fields", such as the one cast by Doctor Who's TARDIS to relay any alien language to its pilot in pure English.

Suffice it to say people from all over the globe are going to be in our hands with an amazing universal communication strategy. The language barriers begin their extinction.

"The idea that people don't understand each other will become a thing of the past," Gurdeep Pall, Skype Corporate VP, recalled.

"In the same way it's hard to imagine a world, before you were able to travel to different places and quickly, whether in a car or a plane, where people couldn't have a normal speech. I’m talking about the Dark Ages. We’re not headed to such a place any longer."

Called Skype Translator, the add-on builds on the research done for Microsoft Translator, and uses a technology called Deep Neural Networks, which yields significantly better speech recognition results than previous methods.

It will be available as a Windows 8 beta app before the end of the year, but Microsoft is already showing off its English to German functionality, as you can see in the video above.

It is still unclear whether the service will be free for the 300 million Skype users, or will be extended to other platforms.

Microsoft is not alone in its quest for a global translator. Google already offers translation by voice in its Google Translation service and is also working on integrating real-time translation into Android. And Sigmo, a Bluetooth device that promises real time speech translation in 25 languages, went through a successful crowd funding campaign last year.

If you struggle to speak with your friends, loved ones, customers, and co-workers, because of the language difference, get ready. You won’t need a dictionary or a fast idiom course anymore.

HEALTH AND FITNESS: Kidney Stones-What they are and how to Prevent Them

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HEALTH AND FITNESS: Kidney Stones-What they are and how to Prevent Them

By Jorge Jefferds October 11, 2014 

A kidney Stone is a hard mass formed in the kidneys, typically consisting of insoluble calcium compounds, oxalate, and phosphorus; a renal calculus. A larger stone may get stuck along the urinary tract and can block the flow of urine, causing severe pain or bleeding. Kidney stones are one of the most common disorders of the urinary tract.

Each year in the United States, people make more than a million visits to health care providers and more than 300,000 people go to emergency rooms for kidney stone problems.

Anyone can get a kidney stone, but some people are more likely to get one. Men are affected more often than women, and kidney stones are more common in non-Hispanic white people than in non-Hispanic black people and Mexican Americans. Overweight and obese people are more likely to get a kidney stone than people of normal weight. In the United States, 8.8 percent of the population, or one in 11 people, have had a kidney stone.

Certain foods may promote stone formation in people who are susceptible, but scientists do not believe that eating any specific food causes stones to form in people who are not susceptible. People who do not drink enough fluids may also be at higher risk, as their urine is more concentrated.

People with kidney stones may have pain while urinating, see blood in the urine, or feel a sharp pain in the back or lower abdomen. The pain may last for a short or long time. People may experience nausea and vomiting with the pain. However, people who have small stones that pass easily through the urinary tract may not have symptoms at all.

The first step in preventing kidney stones is to understand what is causing the stones to form. The health care provider may ask the person to try to catch the kidney stone as it passes, so it can be sent to a lab for analysis. Stones that are retrieved surgically can also be sent to a lab for analysis.

The health care provider may ask the person to collect urine for 24 hours after a stone has passed or been removed to measure daily urine volume and mineral levels. Producing too little urine or having a mineral abnormality can make a person more likely to form stones. Kidney stones may be prevented through changes in eating, diet, and nutrition and medications.

People can help prevent kidney stones by making changes in their fluid intake. Depending on the type of kidney stone a person has, changes in the amounts of sodium, animal protein, calcium, and oxalate consumed can also help.

Drinking enough fluids each day is the best way to help prevent most types of kidney stones. Health care providers recommend that a person drink 2 to 3 liters of fluid a day. People with cystine stones may need to drink even more. Though water is best, other fluids may also help prevent kidney stones, such as citrus drinks.

Recommendations based on the specific type of kidney stone include the following:

Calcium Oxalate Stones

• reducing sodium
• reducing animal protein, such as meat, eggs, and fish
• getting enough calcium from food or taking calcium supplements with food
• avoiding foods high in oxalate, such as spinach, rhubarb, nuts, and wheat bran

Calcium Phosphate Stones

• reducing sodium
• reducing animal protein
• getting enough calcium from food or taking calcium supplements with food

Uric Acid Stones

• limiting animal protein

Besides a healthy diet, exercise might contribute enormously. 

A study by the University of Leicester, in England, for example, has shown that walking for half an hour, three to five days a week can significantly reduce kidney disease symptoms and their frequency, including tiredness, joint pain and muscle weakness.

The study, funded by Kidney Research UK and conducted by the Leicester Kidney Exercise Team at the University of Leicester, involved 40 pre-dialysis patients and lasted six months.

Regardless the diagnosis your doctor prescribed you, don’t underestimate your kidneys health. Get ready to achieve a healthy life controlling what you eat, and your weight. Don’t forget your quota of liquid every day.