How Surgeons Implanted 3D-Printed Titanium Ribs In A Cancer Patient

In the past, 3D printers have been used to create artificial organs, automotive pedals and rocket engine injectors. Now a 54-year-old Spanish cancer patient has received a titanium ribcage and sternum created with a 3D printer.
The cancer patient was diagnosed with chest wall sarcoma. The chest wall consists of the spine, sternum and ribs to form a cage around the heart and lungs. The treatment of cancerous tumors that grow in the chest wall varies based on the progression stage. To treat the tumors, options usually include surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, the patient’s surgeons had to remove a part of the skeleton to prevent tumors from spreading. 
Recreating the rib cage with artificial materials is very difficult. The geometric patterns of every individual’s ribs and sternums are unique. According to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), flat titanium plates were used to reinforce the rib cage structure in similar cases. But the plates could loosen and increase complications risks. Fortunately, 3D printers can heavily customize implants for individual patients.
The surgeons at the Salamanca University Hospital in Salamanca, Spain worked with Anatomics, an Australia-based medical technology company to build the customized titanium 3D sternum and rib cage. “The patient’s surgical team at the Salamanca University Hospital thought a fully customized 3D printed implant could replicate the intricate structures of the sternum and ribs, providing a safer option for the patient,” said CSIRO communications manager Adam Knight.

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Several apps in Apple’s Chinese App Store found to be malware-infected

Chinese security researchers have found that Apple’s App Store in the country is currently home to several malware-infected apps, a revelation that has been subsequently verified by US-based Palo Alto Networks.

Researchers say hackers infected some versions of development tool Xcode hosted on third-party websites – for those who aren’t in the know, the tool, which is also directly available from Apple for free, is used by developers to create iOS and OS X apps. These malicious versions have now been labeled as XcodeGhost.

Examples of infected apps – which are more than 20 in number, and collect information like phone’s name, UUID, language and country, current time. and network type when launched – include NetEase Cloud Music which has nearly 500 ratings, with an average of 4.5 stars.

“Some of them are very popular and have tens of millions of installations,” according to a researcher with Palo Alto Networks.

Source | Via 1…

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Swiss Insurance Company Wants Higher Premiums For People Who Don’t Wear Fitness Trackers

CSS wants people to walk more. In July, the Swiss health insurance company launched a pilot program with 2,000 volunteers to collect data on how far each person walks in an average day, according to Swedish news site The Local. Using fitness trackers connected to the company’s private network, the company says it wants to use the gathered data to make special offers “tailored” to individuals.

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Can Smart Phones Help Ease Global Warming?

Climate Change and severe weather have made it into our smart phone. The tado° Smart AC Control for your smart phone is one of many new systems that turn the home’s appliances, like air conditioners, into smart devices, sensing the humans’ position and automatically adjusting the energy use to save energy whether you’re away or at home. If every home in America had a smart AC system, it would be the equivalent of shutting down over 30 coal-fired power plants.

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La chica que un día quiso dominar al dragón acabando con la tiranía, en Dragon Hills

Portada del juego

En una actualidad, en la que la temática de todos los juegos se ha convertido en muy repetitiva, no quedan ideas, y tan solo queda darle una vuelta de tuerca a lo existente. Por ello, Rebel Twins quieren revolucionar el mundo del videojuego con Dragon Hills. Un título casual en el que sus protagonistas son un dragón y una chica joven que lo domina para salvar el mundo.

Primeras impresiones y jugabilidad

Rompiendo uno de los tópicos de las historias sobre dragones y princesas, Dragon Hills presenta una propuesta en la que es la damisela la que domina al dragón para repartir leña. No se trata de ir a rescatar a nadie, como pudieran haberse cambiado los papeles con el príncipe o el guerrero que ayuda al rey a salvar a su princesa, sino más bien utilizaremos a nuestro dragón para llegar cuanto más lejos mejor.

El juego es un endless running en toda regla, cuyo objetivo será el de alcanzar la mayor distancia posible recogiendo todos los ítems que encontremos por el camino. El recorrido será algo angosto, pues deberemos sortear peligros tales como lava, montañas, hachas clavas en la nieve, casas, animales, etc. Cuando vayamos avanzando más en el nivel, irán apareciendo muchas más dificultades.

Nuestro dragón se controlará de manera sencilla: con pulsar en cualquier parte de la pantalla, nos sumergiremos en la nieve para salir con más fuerza volando para alcanzar ítems situados en zonas altas, o para destruir con mayor fiereza los casuchos y animales que vagan por estas tierras.

Cuantas más monedas de oro consigamos y más distancia recorramos, el nivel de nuestra princesa y nuestro dragón aumentará. Con ello recorreremos mayores distancias sin despeinarnos y destruiremos enemigos al más mínimo roce. Al final de cierta cantidad de distancia recorrida, nos tomaremos con un jefe final, algo que les falta a otros títulos de este género como JetPack Joyride o Ski Safari.

Gameplay 6

Apartado gráfico y sonoro

Dragon Hills nos lleva a unas laderas montañosas y totalmente nevadas por las que deberemos desplazarnos a lomos de un dragón destructor. Los ambientes están en dos dimensiones y el dibujado es exquisito. En cuanto al sonido, una música épica acompaña en todo momento el viaje de la princesa y el dragón. Los efectos de sonido son aceptables, pero tampoco podemos hacer mucho hincapié en ellos como algo sobresaliente.

Conclusiones

Dragon Hills nos lleva hacia una aventura antes nunca vista: una señorita de armas tomar subida sobre el lomo de un fiero dragón destruyendo todo lo que acontece a su paso. Un juego muy casual, gratuito pero con escasos pagos dentro de la tienda, que nos llevará hacia un mundo fantástico donde las tornas han cambiado. El título está en castellano y su descarga se nos irá hasta los 45 MB.

Google Play | Dragon Hills (gratis)

Galería

Gameplay 1 Gameplay 2 Gameplay 3 Gameplay 4 Gameplay 5 Gameplay 6

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Publicado recientemente en Andro4all

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Cupertino might by a step closer to finally launching Apple Pay in China

Apple Pay is shaping up to be a top priority for Cupertino. Ever since it first saw the light of day, about a year ago, the US giant has been going through hoops to spread the platform and enforce it, along with its steep commissions on to banks and often distrustful retailers alike.

And if there is one thing Apple is undoubtedly brilliant at, it is pushing products, so quite naturally, after a lot of hard work and grinding Apple Pay is now growing in popularity in the US, as well as abroad. But, while getting support in the UK and Canada hasn’t really proven to be such a major challenge, China has remained tightly sealed off to the payment service, at least up until now that is.

A new report suggests that Apple might have finally managed to permeate the vast Chinese market and is now closer to releasing Apple Pay there than ever. Apparently Cupertino has already registered an entity within the Shanghai free-trade zone that will be charged with coordinating Apple Pay. It is called Apple Technology Service Shanghai Ltd. and was registered on June 10, as the Shanghai government’s company-registration database confirms.

Its official business operations description includes – “consulting, services and system integration in the field of payments”, which is all the evidence we need to prove that Apple is making progress. To give you a little backstory on the matter – operating a payment service within China must be sanctioned by the government and approved by the central bank. Apple had initially planned to push a partnership with UnionPay – which governs all NFC payments within the country, but negotiations between the two sides have been slow and unfruitful and government regulations and security concerns prevented Apple from reaching the final deal, initially planned for March 2015.

Since then, Apple has also been trying to forge a partnership with China’s own Alibaba. This was viewed as a potential path to introducing Apple Pay in China, through an integration with the company’s own Alipay system. This however does not solve the problem as UnionPay controls the NFC payment system in the country so there is no going around the regulations.

The founding of this new $13.4 million capital subsidiary, however, is a clear indication that Apple has managed to somehow move things along, meaning that it might finally have access to China’s vast market, with over 400 million digital payment users on Alipay alone. Recently, Alibaba rival Tencent Holdings Ltd has also been gaining ground in the e-payment niche with its vastly popular WeChat messenger, which is another viable path that Cupertino could be using to expand.

Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long for an official statement from Apple to clear the air.

Source |…

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