Category Archives: Science & Technologies

Sankara Nethralaya turns 40

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Sankara Nethralaya was established with a vision to serve society, veteran dancer Padma Subrahmanyam said here on Thursday.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary celebrations of the institution, she said it is hard to find someone like S.S. Badrinath, founder of Sankara Nethralaya, who cares so much for his patients.

“It is such a rare quality and everyone needs to emulate it. He was extremely lucky and blessed to operate on Kanchi Paramacharya,” she said.

The pontiff of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi, said poor people benefited from the institution.

A theme song for Sankara Nethralaya, composed by musician Dakshin, was released.

T.S. Surendra, vice-chairman, Sankara Nethralaya, also spoke.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – September 07th, 2018

The women behind Metro tunnels

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technologies

ChennaiWomenMetroEngineersCF04sept2018

Engineers recall the host of challenges and the thrill when the breakthrough was achieved

A bunch of vibrant young women engineers tirelessly worked underground to create the tunnels for Chennai Metro Rail.

The youngest, 24-year-old Shrinidhi Vijayakumar, says she was charmed at first sight, looking at the giant tunnels of the Delhi Metro Rail when she interned there as a student. Soon, she was drawn to working for the Chennai Metro Rail project and was thoroughly fascinated.

“For an engineer, one of the most emotional moments is witnessing a breakthrough of a tunnel boring machine (TBM), wherein the machine bores the earth and reaches a station. You work with several challenging geological conditions and mostly these are unpredictable. So, when you overcome all that and witness a tunnel being created, you feel so proud,” she says.

Carrying out every task underneath means dealing with a host of challenges, from checking soil conditions to ensuring that the cables and wires are not snapped, the women say.

Chilling experience

Her colleague, Bharathi P.M., 27, an expert in laying tracks in tunnels, was recruited after a special course sponsored by Chennai Metro Rail at IIT Madras.

She recollects a chilling experience when she walked in the tunnels alone during the floods of December 2015.

It was the time when Chennai Metro Rail tunnels contributed to carrying water to several areas and exacerbated the floods.

“I had to go on an inspection. There was quite a lot of water in the tunnel. After a point, I was petrified,” she adds.

Not just tunnels, constructing a station structure below the ground was tough too.

K. Yogambal, 33, says she began her career in constructing buildings on the ground.

“Then when I started going underground for station construction, I was thrilled beyond words,” she says.

E. Brigita, a 29-year-old engineer who has been with Chennai Metro Rail for seven years now, scrutinises contracts and goes underground to check the progress of the work.

“After years of work, when we finally saw the train zip through the underground tunnels for the first time and heard the public cheer, we felt it was all worth it,” she says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Sunitha Sekar / Chennai – September 03rd, 2018

Swelect uses sun, air to make drinking water

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologies
Coimbatore 21/10/2012. A one megawatt scale grid-connected solar power plant commissioned by Swelect Energy Systems Limited under REC scheme at Kuppaepalayam near Coimbatore. The solar arrays are ground mounted with light sensing tracking systems for increasing output. Photo:K.Ananthan. | Photo Credit: K_Ananthan
Coimbatore 21/10/2012. A one megawatt scale grid-connected solar power plant commissioned by Swelect Energy Systems Limited under REC scheme at Kuppaepalayam near Coimbatore. The solar arrays are ground mounted with light sensing tracking systems for increasing output.
Photo:K.Ananthan. | Photo Credit: K_Ananthan

Tastes better than bottled water: firm

Swelect Energy Systems Ltd. (formerly known as Numeric Power Systems Ltd.) has unveiled ‘Source,’ a hydro (solar) panel to provide pure drinking water using sunlight and air, said a top official.

“For this, we have partnered with U.S.-based Zero Mass Water,” said R. Chellappan, managing director, Swelect Energy Systems Ltd. “By using hydropanels, we are eliminating plastic and water waste of bottled and filtered water.”

Source is a combination of solar PV (photovolatic), material science and other technologies. It is a standalone product and can work anywhere — on top of the building or on the ground. It can be installed immediately. It doesn’t require any electrical input.

Absorbing water vapour

He said water vapour from air is drawn into Source through fans, following which special materials absorb the water. The vapour is collected as the air flow passes through a condenser, then flows into a reservoir where it is mineralised with calcium and magnesium. Water is pumped through a polishing cartridge before being delivered to a dispenser. “The water will taste better than bottled water and the total cost of ownership will be cheaper when compared with bottled water,” he said.

The price per panel will be ₹2 lakh and it will generate up to five litres of water per day depending on humidity and sunlight, he said. The panel would last for about 15 years. There is also a storing facility underneath a panel that can hold 30 litres.

“The product is very similar to solar PV. It is scalable and we can do one panel per home to 100 panels for a village,” said Robert Bartrop, executive vice-president– business development, Zero Mass Water.

Swelect plans to sell Source panels to government-run programmes on water, retail and institutional markets through its network of channel partners. The company will target primary health centres, schools, large villas, resorts and water-starved places.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business> India / by N. Anand / Chennai – July 30th, 2018

An app to tell you where the nearest library is

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Science & Technologies

LibraryCF18jul2018

Will soon cover all 4,600 libraries across State; act as a ready reckoner to their services

Knowing where your nearest public library is located will soon be just a click away. A mobile app, ‘Public Library: Finding community libraries, was launched as a part of the first regional public library conference at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) on Tuesday.

The app, which is being launched as a pilot project, will initially cover 25 district libraries and will soon be scaled up to include all the 4,600 public libraries in the State. MSSRF, the International Network of Emerging Library Innovators and the Indian Public Library Movement are jointly working with public libraries across the State for the app.

With public libraries across Tamil Nadu becoming active centres for events ranging from story-telling for children, classes for civil services aspirants and even providing services such as soil testing for farmers nearby, the app will help make its users aware of what is happening in the libraries near them.

“We are also working on building a database of the books that each library has so that members can browse through them on the app. We plan to make this information available in phases,” said K. Srinivasan from the MSSRF, who is one of the app developers.

LibraryAppCF18jul2018

Literacy programme

M.A. Deepamala, a librarian from Vedapatti village in Coimbatore, said that they had been facilitating a literacy programme in their premises as well as medical awareness camps.

Speaking at the conference, School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan said that with rural students having always depended on public libraries for civil services preparations, the government had announced the setting up of 32 coaching centres in district libraries across Tamil Nadu.

M.S. Swaminathan, founder of MSSRF, said that there was the need to make a stronger effort to bridge the knowledge gap and added that it could be done effectively through public libraries. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between V.C. Rameswaramurugan, Director of School Education and Director of Public Libraries, V. Selvam, Executive Director, MSSRF, and Shubhangi Sharma, Executive Director, IPLM towards redefining the role of public libraries as knowledge centres in India.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by S. Poorvaja / Chennai – July 18th, 2018

Novel oral anticoagulants found to minimise stroke risk

Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Dr. John Eikelboom and Dr. K. Jaishankar. | Photo Credit: G_Krishnaswamy
Dr. John Eikelboom and Dr. K. Jaishankar. | Photo Credit: G_Krishnaswamy

Govt. has reduced the cost of one of the three drugs currently being prescribed in the country

Novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) have been found to minimise the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to a large extent. While the Western world has replaced the older drugs with NOAC, the Government of India has reduced the cost of one of the three drugs currently being prescribed in the country by one-third.

“Stroke prevention is a tough job. AF, which is irregular heart beat, is one of the important causes of stroke,” K. Jaishankar, director and mentor, Cardiology and Electrophysiology, MIOT International, told reporters on Wednesday.

“Stroke occurs when AF causes blood clots to form in the heart, and these clots spread to other organs. Among 100 cases of strokes, 15 to 20% are caused by AF,” he said. For almost five decades, Warfarin, a blood thinner, was used for treating patients, he said. “This had several problems such as food and drug interactions. Patients cannot consume green leafy vegetables. It did not go well if they had fever, cold and cough and it had high risk of bleeding,” he added. In the last 10 years, evidence has emerged that NOACs could minimise the risk of stroke, he added. “These have better efficacy, less bleeding side effects and predictable safety profile. The Western world has replaced Warfarin with these drugs,” he pointed out.

While one of the NOACs, Dabigatran arrived in India nearly four years ago, Apixaban and Rivaroxaban were introduced three years ago. The Government of India has reduced the cost of Dabigatran from ₹75 per tablet to ₹25 now. “So, the cost of a day’s course – consisting of two tablets – has been reduced from ₹150 to ₹50,” he said. NOAC is not advisable during pregnancy and in patients with artificial mechanical heart valves and severe kidney failure, Dr. Jaishankar added.

In line with this, John Eikelboom, associate professor, Division of Haematology and Thromboembolism, McMaster University, delivered a lecture on optimising anticoagulation in AF-translating evidence into clinical practice.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – July 07th, 2018

Madurai herbal healer’s cataract cure gets NIF lift

Amazing Feats, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
MoU signed between NIF and Dabur earlier this year
MoU signed between NIF and Dabur earlier this year

In what could give Indian indigenous medicine a boost, a herbal concoction used by a 60-year-old woman to treat early stage cataract of people in in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district may soon make its way to market shelves.

This traditional wisdom used by herbal healer Muthulakshmi for decades may be commercialised after Ahmedabad headquartered National Innovation Foundation (NIF) which supports such grassroots innovations has signed an MoU with Dabur Research Foundation earlier this year to develop and commercialise the product.

The herbal medicine which was used to treat early stage cataract patients is currently up for clinical trials and is expected to hit the markets in 6 months.

“We scouted this product with the help of Honey Bee Network, our collective a few years ago. In the past we have validated traditional knowledge and practices of people that are unavailable in classical codified texts with the help of ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research). We got excellent results with the herb that treats patients with early state cataract after preliminary tests were conducted on this herbal medicine tested with PERD (Pharmaceutical Education & Research Development) Ahmedabad.

Later we signed a co-development agreement (MoU) with Dabur Research Foundation earlier this year for testing and developing the herbal medicine. Dabur also has the first right of refusal and can pay market cost for the technology,” said Vipin Kumar, director & chief innovation Officer(CIO) of NIF-India, an autonomous body of DST, Govt of India.

Kicking off the momentum for indigenous traditional medicine made from a flower and administered by Muthulakshmi to treat cataract patients in her region, may be available commercially in an affordable format after it is developed as a viable herbal product.

“We have signed a broad-based MoU and are working with NIF to develop herbal-based products to treat humans through the non-codified herb. The flower is indigenous and grows widely in the country. However, knowledge of this traditional medicine may be lost if it is not passed on to the people. The formula needs to be checked for efficacy on cells and duplicated and made affordable to poor. Through preliminary data we are trying to see if the extract has the potential to cure and will be conducting a clinical trial on 200 subjects.

We are currently in the process of finalising a chemical centre. The money generated through the IPR or patent of this herbal medicine and its royalty will go to the inventor Muthulakshmi and not to us or the NIF. The product can be commercialised within 3 to 6 months once clinical trials are over. Once the product formulation is complete we would obviously not like to refuse it and bring it at affordable rates as our CSR and try to make it low cost for people,” said Dr Manu Jaggi, chief scientific officer, Dabur Research Foundation.

source: http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com / Ahmedabad Mirror / Home> Ahmedabad> Others / June 29th, 2018

Award for doctor

Education, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

V. Mohan, chairman of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre and president of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation received the Dr. Harold Rifkin Award for Distinguished International Service in the Cause of Diabetes from the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

According to a press release, Jane Reusch, president of ADA presented the award to Dr. Mohan during the 78th scientific sessions of ADA at Orlando, Florida on June 25.

The award was in memory of Dr. Harold Rikfin, an internationally recognised clinician, researcher and educator in diabetes.

Dr. Mohan is the first Indian doctor to receive the award. The award is presented annually to an individual whose efforts have increased the awareness of the burden of diabetes worldwide to improve the care and lives of those with diabetes. “The award is in recognition of the pioneering studies done in India such as the Indian Council of Medical Research India Diabetes Study, work on monogenic forms of diabetes and discovery of high fibre white rice,” Dr. Mohan said.

Dr. Mohan has published over 1,150 papers in peer reviewed journals and textbooks. He has trained doctors, diabetes educators, nurses and paramedical staff in India and from abroad, the release said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – June 30th, 2018

How to get a rooftop solar power connection for your Chennai home

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Getting a grid-connected solar rooftop

Source: Wikimedia Commons
Source: Wikimedia Commons

“I have been urging everyone to switch to solar for the last decade. It is the best decision I have made. If people just understood how simple it is, they would be willing to try it. It has to do more with the mindset” says Chennai citizen D Suresh, who has been bestowed the moniker Solar Suresh for his efforts to take solar energy to the general public in the city and the state.

A study by Greenpeace India and GERMI titled Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Chennai’s Solar Potential  estimates that Chennai has an untapped rooftop solar power generation potential of 1.38 GW, with the largest segment being residential rooftops that constitute 46% of the potential at 586 MW.

The push towards renewable energy has seen central and state subsidies for those who opt for solar power, with capital incentives and credits as part of their electricity bill payments. The effort on the part of the government has so far focused on getting households to set up grid-connected solar rooftop plants that are linked to the existing system.

How does a solar rooftop system work?

A grid-connected solar rooftop system set-up along with a bi-directional meter can be used to monitor the energy generated and consumed by solar-powered households. If surplus power is generated, the energy is fed into the grid and the household receives an annual credit in the electricity bill based on net meter readings.

The grid-connected system eliminates the use of batteries, thereby bringing down capital cost and space required for setting up a solar power plant.

So, if you want to join in too, and not only do your bit for renewable energy, but also bring about some savings in your energy bill, here are some more basics that you might want to know.

Cost and savings implications

Under the Chief Minister’s Domestic Rooftop Solar Incentive Scheme, individual houses or flats with grid-connected rooftop solar panel installation in Chennai are eligible for a maximum subsidy of Rs 20,000 for a 1 KWp (kilowattpeak) plant to be used solely for residential purposes. This is in addition to the 30% central subsidy offered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on the benchmark cost or project cost, whichever is less.

For residential flats, a capacity of 5 kW, 10 kW and multiples thereof can be applied for common usage as group application.

The average cost of a 1KWp plant is close to Rs 70,000, with subsidies bringing down the cost to close to Rs. 45,000.

A 1KWp plant produces 4-5 units of electricity per day. Households can decide on the capacity of the plant required to power their needs based on their existing consumption. The feed-in credit on the consumer’s electricity bill from excess power generation can be availed for a year, as per the rates fixed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB).

Prerequisites of installation

  • A 1kw panel requires a rooftop space of 12 sq.m or 100 sq. feet for installation.
  • An existing TANGEDCO service connection under the LA-A1 (domestic use) tariff

Applications are available online and at the office of the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA).

The last date for applications is June 30. A list of empanelled vendors is also available on the website.

Benefits of going solar

  • A substantial reduction in electricity bills over a period of time
  • It is a renewable source of energy that can be harnessed on a daily basis
  • Protection against tariff increase as the life of a solar panel is 25 years
  • Savings made on solar is tax-free
  • It is an environment-friendly alternative to conventional electricity, reducing the reliance on coal and fossil fuels
  • Encourages self-sufficiency and reduces wastage as excess power is transferred to the grid

source: http://www.chennai.citizenmatters.in / Citizen Matters / Home> City Guide / by Aruna Natarajan / June 29th, 2018

Chennai students develop ‘lightest’ satellite, to be launched by NASA

Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
small but mighty
small but mighty

Chennai :

Four city students have developed what could be the world’s lightest satellite which will be launched from a NASA facility in the US by August.

The first-year engineering students from Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science near Chennai built the 4cm ‘cube’ satellite ‘Jaihind-1S’ with a 3D printed outer casing from polylactic acid (PLA) nylon material, making it lighter than a medium sized egg, at just 33.39 grams.

KJ Harikrishnan, P Amarnath, G Sudhi and T Giri Prasad, students of Hindustan Institute of Technology, have developed a 4cm cube satellite that weighs 33.39grams.
KJ Harikrishnan, P Amarnath, G Sudhi and T Giri Prasad, students of Hindustan Institute of Technology, have developed a 4cm cube satellite that weighs 33.39grams.

The satellite has been designed and fabricated for the ‘Cubes in Space’ competition conducted by Colorado Space Grant consortium, NASA and idoodle-learning. It will be flown on a scientific balloon up to an altitude of 70km.

The previous lightweight satellite developed by Rifath Sharook, also from Tamil Nadu , and launched in the same competition in 2017 had weighed 64 grams.

“We designed the satellite to conduct three experiments – measure 20 weather parameters, test the nylon material in microgravity and track the trajectory while it is being flown. What makes the satellite unique is that all three experiments will be conducted at the same time,” said K J Harikrishan, one of the team members. “It cost us ?15,000, so it is also the cheapest satellite,” he added.

Harikrishan worked with his three teammates P Amarnath, G Sudhi and T Giri Prasad for two weeks to assemble the satellite and feed in the program.
As the balloon flies to an altitude of about 70km, the sensor modules in the satellite will begin measuring parameters like temperature, humidity, pressure and UV ray intensity as well as the movement and the trajectory of the balloon. The sensors will send the data to an onboard SD card through a microcontroller . Once the balloon reaches the desired altitude, the satellite will disengage from the balloon and fall. It will then be collected for data retrieval while the durability of the nylon material will also be assessed.
“The satellite has sensor modules that are programmed to measure and record four different parameters per second. So, we will get a large amount of data as the balloon flies to an altitude of 70km for almost a day,” the student said.
Professor G Dinesh Kumar, who was the faculty advisor, said the team improved the efficiency of the satellite by reducing its weight and opting for sensor modules that can measure more than one parameter at a time.
“We tested the satellite up to a height of 40 feet. We will be sending it to the US later this week,” the professor said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Chennai News / TNN / June 28th, 2018

Chennai Metro Rail gets SKOCH award

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Chennai :

Chennai Metro Rail has been awarded the SKOCH Order of Merit for its efforts in developing a mass transit system on a par with international standards.

SKOCH Smart Governance Award  is an initiative to recognise top performing government organisation and those working with government agencies and following best practices and models of governance.

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) presented before a panel of experts the various features and facilities it has built in the 45km phase-1 project that is nearing completion.

CMRL showed the technologies it adopted to operate the service including energy saving systems and other green initiatives.

Officials said the award was also to recognise CMRL’s ability to adapt to future challenges and its efforts in transforming urban infrastructure through implementation of its ambitious 107.55km phase-2 project.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City News> Chennai  News / by U. Tejonmayan / TNN / June 28th, 2018