Jour : 15 décembre 2024

How to Use Google Flights Data to Get the Cheapest Flights Possible  CNET
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Krk Bridge
The Krk Bridge, a vital link connecting the island of Krk to the Croatian mainland, will be under 24-hour armed security from 2025.
As Rijeka Danas reports, this 1,430-metre-long reinforced concrete structure, which sees up to 30,000 vehicles crossing daily during the summer, is being designated for round-the-clock protection as part of its critical infrastructure status.
Why Does the Bridge Require Security?
According to Hrvatske Ceste (Croatian Roads), the Krk Bridge is classified as critical infrastructure under Croatian law.
Such infrastructure includes facilities essential to national security, where operational disruptions could have severe consequences for people, property, the environment, and the nation’s stability.
To safeguard the bridge, a Risk Assessment and Protection Plan have been developed, outlining measures to prevent potential threats and ensure the smooth operation of this essential route, particularly during peak travel periods.
How Will Security Operate?
Hrvatske Ceste has announced a tender worth approximately €280,000 to provide security services for the entirety of 2025.
The selected company will deploy at least three armed security guards working in shifts around the clock, seven days a week.
The primary duties of the security guards will include:
• Regular patrols of the bridge and surrounding areas, both on foot and by vehicle.
• Preventing unauthorised access and addressing suspicious activities.
• Maintaining records of incidents, liaising with police, and reporting to Croatian Roads on both routine and extraordinary events.
• Identifying authorised personnel, such as employees of Croatian Roads or other authorised individuals.
In addition, an electronic monitoring system will be implemented. Guard movements will be digitally logged, and patrol routes tracked in real-time.
Photographic documentation and detailed reports will ensure transparency and accountability.
Previous Monitoring Measures
This is not the first time the Krk Bridge has been under supervision. In 2022, Croatian Highways introduced similar security measures, including a dedicated guard station equipped with heating, electricity, telephones, sanitary facilities, and changing areas.
At the time, the bridge was recognised as a national asset of strategic importance due to its critical role in transport connectivity and preventing unlawful activities.

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(Photo credit: Adobe Stock)
New research published in Nature Mental Health confirms that loneliness is not just an emotional burden—it may also have serious consequences for brain health. In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that individuals who feel lonely are at a significantly increased risk of developing dementia, with a 31% higher likelihood than those who do not report feeling lonely. This discovery sheds light on the critical role of social connection in maintaining cognitive health and preventing dementia.
Loneliness is a deeply personal experience, defined not by the absence of people but by the absence of meaningful connections. It occurs when there is a mismatch between the social relationships an individual has and those they desire. Unlike social isolation, which refers to a lack of physical interaction or contact with others, loneliness is a subjective feeling. For example, a person surrounded by family or friends can still feel lonely if their emotional needs are unmet.
The motivation for the study stemmed from a growing body of evidence suggesting that loneliness has far-reaching health consequences, including links to cardiovascular disease, depression, and premature mortality. Recent research has also hinted at a connection between loneliness and dementia, but findings have been inconsistent. Some studies found a strong link, while others reported no association or effects limited to specific groups, such as men. Researchers recognized the need for a comprehensive analysis to clarify this relationship.
“I have always been interested in psychosocial factors that affect memory and cognitive functioning across the lifespan, from middle age to later adulthood,” said study author Martina Luchetti, an assistant professor at Florida State University College of Medicine.
“In recent years, I focused my research on loneliness and social relational aspects that affect the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia because our relationships—and how we are satisfied with them—impact how we function daily. Importantly, organizations such as the World Health Organization and the U.S. Surgeon General have recognized the public crisis of loneliness and are taking action to raise awareness and understand its consequences for our society,” she explained.
Luchetti and her research team conducted the largest meta-analysis to date exploring the connection between loneliness and dementia, analyzing data from 608,561 individuals worldwide. By pooling information from 21 longitudinal studies, they aimed to clarify whether loneliness increases the risk of dementia and uncover patterns across different populations and study designs.
The team included data from prominent aging cohort studies, such as the Health and Retirement Study in the United States and similar studies across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Participants, all cognitively healthy at the outset, were surveyed about their feelings of loneliness using validated measures like the UCLA Loneliness Scale. These tools asked respondents how often they felt a lack of companionship, left out, or socially isolated. Over the years, participants underwent repeated assessments of cognitive health, which were evaluated using clinical diagnoses, neuropsychological tests, or self-reports of doctor-diagnosed conditions.
The findings showed a consistent link between loneliness and dementia. Individuals who reported feeling lonely were 31% more likely to develop dementia compared to those who did not feel lonely. The link between loneliness and dementia was comparable to other well-known behavioral risk factors, such as smoking or physical inactivity.
This association persisted even after accounting for factors such as social isolation, depressive symptoms, and physical health conditions like diabetes or hypertension, suggesting that loneliness independently contributes to cognitive decline.
“We found what we expected,” Luchetti told PsyPost. “There is mounting evidence of the association between loneliness and health outcomes, and evidence that connects loneliness to the risk of poor cognitive function even after decades.”
The researchers also found that loneliness was associated with specific types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Interestingly, the relationship with vascular dementia appeared particularly strong, possibly due to the interplay between loneliness, stress, and cardiovascular health.
In addition to dementia, the researchers found that loneliness increased the likelihood of milder cognitive impairments, such as difficulties with memory or problem-solving, by 15%. These impairments often precede dementia, indicating that loneliness may affect cognition even in its earlier stages. The consistency of these results across different countries and populations underscores the universality of the relationship between loneliness and cognitive health, while highlighting potential avenues for intervention to mitigate these risks.
The researchers also explored possible mechanisms linking loneliness to dementia. One explanation is that loneliness may lead to reduced cognitive stimulation, as lonely individuals often withdraw from social and intellectual activities that support brain health. Chronic loneliness is also associated with stress and inflammation, which are known to damage brain cells over time. Additionally, lonely individuals may adopt unhealthy behaviors, such as physical inactivity or poor diet, which further increase the risk of dementia.
“The findings of this meta-analysis confirm that feeling lonely increases the risk of dementia—including cause-specific dementias, such as Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia—and extends the risk to cognitive impairment prior to dementia,” Luchetti explained. “There are different types and sources of loneliness that can affect cognitive symptoms across the dementia continuum. Addressing loneliness and promoting a feeling of connectedness could be protective for cognitive health in later life.”
Notably, when controlling for depression and social isolation, the association between loneliness and dementia was reduced in size but remained significant. The association was robust and independent of sample characteristics, such as age or sex. However, there was variability in the strength of the association across studies, which could be attributed to the use of different measures to assess both loneliness and cognitive status.
Despite its strengths, the study has limitations. First, most of the included studies measured loneliness at a single time point, which does not capture how loneliness changes over time. Future research should explore how persistent versus temporary loneliness impacts dementia risk. Additionally, while the analysis included diverse populations, more research is needed in underrepresented regions like Africa and South Asia to understand cultural variations in loneliness and its effects.
The researchers also noted that loneliness is a complex phenomenon, encompassing both emotional loneliness (the absence of close connections) and social loneliness (a lack of broader social networks). Understanding how these dimensions differ in their impact on cognitive health could inform targeted interventions.
“More work should be directed to identify the frequency, intensity, and types of loneliness over time and how transitions in and out of loneliness affect cognitive health,” Luchetti said.
The study, “A meta-analysis of loneliness and risk of dementia using longitudinal data from >600,000 individuals,” was authored by Martina Luchetti, Damaris Aschwanden, Amanda A. Sesker, Xianghe Zhu, Páraic S. O’Súilleabháin, Yannick Stephan, Antonio Terracciano, and Angelina R. Sutin.
Black older adults who frequently attend religious services are significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer’s or related dementias, while private religious practices, like prayer, showed no protective effect.
New research suggests Alzheimer’s drugs may improve cognition by increasing Aβ42 levels rather than just reducing plaques, challenging the amyloid cascade hypothesis and pointing to new therapeutic strategies focused on restoring soluble Aβ42 to maintain brain health.
Everyday physical activity, even light movement, improves cognitive processing speed, equivalent to reversing four years of cognitive aging. This highlights the short-term brain benefits of staying active.
The MIND diet slows cognitive decline in older adults, with Black participants requiring stricter adherence for benefits. Racial and gender differences suggest broader social, lifestyle, and biological factors influence the diet’s effectiveness.
Music therapy improves dementia care by reducing anxiety, agitation, and depression, enhancing mood, memory, and cognitive function. Familiar songs trigger emotional and physical responses, potentially strengthening neural connections and supporting overall wellbeing.
Researchers observed that amyloid-beta and tau proteins are associated with a transition from hyperactivity to slower brain activity, which aligns with declines in attention and memory, suggesting potential early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease progression.
APOE4 carriers had higher blood-brain barrier permeability, even without cognitive decline or amyloid beta buildup, suggesting early vascular changes that may be linked to Alzheimer’s risk and neurodegeneration.
A study found untreated hypertension increases Alzheimer’s risk by 36% and non-Alzheimer’s dementia risk by 69%. Treating hypertension lowers these risks, highlighting the importance of antihypertensive medication.

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NYS Music – New York’s Music News Source
Organized by the artist-led organization Fight for the Future, over 600 artists have signed a letter demanding major labels to drop a lawsuit that threatens the existence of the Internet Archive.
Considered the Library of Alexandria of the digital age, the Internet Archive non-profit is one of the only dedicated spaces for digital preservation with the renown, care, and attention it has retained. With a large majority of its material being out of print or obsolete in the modern day, the Archive is a precious resource for artists, fans, and historians alike.
Are you a fan of a band that existed prior to the ritual of posting on social media after a concert? Check the Internet Archive, as they may be featured among the website’s hundreds of thousands of concert recordings. Curious about obscure VHS tapes or radio shows of the past? The Archive has you covered. 
Looking for a track only available on the 78 rpm records that predated the vinyl record in the 1890s? The Internet Archive’s community-driven Great 78 Project that seeks to digitize the rare materials is a treasure trove for the niche fanatic or merely curious individual.
If this sounds like an awe-inspiring, nearly endless resource built upon the passion of preservation, that’s because the Internet Archive is exactly that- however, to major record labels, such a space seemed to pose a major threat.
Filed in August of 2023, Universal Music Group and Sony Music filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Great 78 project, describing it as an “illegal record store” that performed “wholesale theft of generations of music” under the guise of preservation and research- which the labels claim is all but a “smokescreen.”
This lawsuit would cost the Internet Archive a total of $621 million in so-called damages for the supposed loss of streams grossed as a result of such a project. However, as critics of the labels have pointed out, these 78 records would only cost a total of $41,000 in their entirety based upon their streams thus far. 
Such a lawsuit could spell the end for the Archive in its entirety, not just the Great 78 project- including its universally applicable WayBack Machine.
Defendant and expert audio preservationist George Blood who was recruited for the Great 78 Project argues exactly what countless fans and archivists have stated prior- a vast majority of the material being converted would have become media lost to time if not for the care and attention given by the folks behind Internet Archive, who in turn are maintaining not only the sounds of the past but the past itself.

The response from the music community has been a resounding echo of this sentiment, as in the efforts of the artist-led Fight For The Future which has been fighting legal battles for the online musician and user since 2011. In an open letter to Sony, Universal, and other major music labels, Fight For The Future and over 600 artists at the time of writing have demanded the lawsuit be dropped.
Above all, the letter states that musicians “don’t believe that the Internet Archive should be destroyed in [their] name.” The three main demands made are for the labels to 1. Protect our diverse music legacy, 2. Invest in living, working musicians- not back catalogs or monopolies, and 3. to make streaming services pay fair compensation. 
Fight For the Future and all of the artists featured share one main argument- in a time where musicians are struggling to get by, why on earth should labels sink so much time, effort, and money destroying a public good?

“The music industry is not struggling anymore. Only musicians are. We demand a course-correction now, focused on the legacies and futures of working musicians.”

“The music industry is not struggling anymore. Only musicians are. We demand a course-correction now, focused on the legacies and futures of working musicians.”
Thus far, notable names featured in the letter’s signatures include the lead singer of Riot Grrrl group Bikini Kill Kathleen Hanna, founder of Death By Audio and member of A Place To Bury Strangers Oliver Ackermann, Billie Marten, AJJ, and an ever-expanding countless more.
Want to take action yourself and make your voice heard on the matter? If you’re an artist, you have until Wednesday, December 18 at 12:00 PM EST to add your name to the list of signatures here.
In addition to signing, some musicians are planning to upload music files or live sets of their own to the Archive in solidarity. If you have a recording you’d like to contribute to the cause while simultaneously expanding a public resource for good, visit the Internet Archive’s uploading guidelines.
Are you a music fan or simply a user of the Internet Archive that wants to make a difference? You can sign in solidarity with musicians, archivists, and the average online consumer alike here.
To keep up to date on Fight For the Future’s fight against this major lawsuit and all of their other initiatives, as well as to preserve the Internet Archive for generations to come, be sure to visit their official website.
A current second year at Parsons School of Design studying graphic design and museum curation with a passion bordering on obsession for all things music- recorded, live, or otherwise.
Can be found in a hole-in-the-wall café reading, wandering Manhattan with a camera, or staring at the ceiling in the early hours of the morning with headphones blasting.
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A Journey of Faith: Uchendu’s trilogy inspires transformation, deliverance  The Nation Newspaper
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Coke takes 12 minutes, hot dog 36 minutes off your life: Which other foods are shortening your lifespan? See full list  Hindustan Times
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Why Are 300 Musicians Fighting an Effort to Protect Copyright?  Billboard
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The shooting happened on Gifford Road in Harlesden
A woman has been killed and two men have been injured in a shooting in north-west London.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to reports of a shooting at about 21:15 GMT on Saturday in Harlesden where they found the woman, believed to be aged in her 40s. She died at the scene.
One of the two men, both aged in their 30s, is said to be in a critical condition. The other man's injuries are not life-threatening.
No arrests have been made and a murder investigation is under way.
Supt Tony Josephs said: "This is a truly shocking incident that has left a woman dead and two others injured, and I understand the concern this will cause the local community and those across London.
"I want to reassure people that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to piece together the events of last night and identify whoever was responsible for this heinous act of violence."
He appealed for anyone with information on the shooting to contact police.
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