Internet giants Google and Facebook have stepped in with technical aid for relief work in Chennai. Facebook has activated its “safety check” feature through which people can broadcast to their Facebook friends that they are safe with a single click. Google, on the other hand, has compiled all the crowdsourced material available online on the crisis response page. Meanwhile, small efforts by scattered individuals to bring food, candles, even power banks to the stranded, continued in the marooned city.
The Google Crisis Response page for “South India Flooding” has compiled publicly available links with help on food and shelter resources, and emergency phone numbers. Scattered online information in the form of tweets, google documents floated by rescue volunteers, and news reports are all compiled on a single location.
Facebook switched on its Chennai Flooding safety check featureat around 07.30 am on Thursday. At the time of going to press, data on the number of people who had used it was not yet available.
Besides the one-click safety check, there were several SOS calls on Facebook as well. One Kokila Palaniappan sought help contacting her family in Chennai. Saying that about 10 members of her family were stuck and unreachable, she provided an address and wrote in a public post: “They don’t have any food and most of them are sugar or heart patient. Have been trying for rescue boat for the past 12 hours and in vain. Also they don’t have much charge in their cell phones. So it is getting difficult to reach them. Any help extended would be greatly appreciated.” The post received over 3,000 shares.
By Thursday evening, a less than hopeful response came on the thread: “hi koki, went and searched ur house for 4 hrs today.. We went in boats with food and cried their names, no one responded. There’s 15 ft water in that street and it is impossible to recognise ur house from those photos,” wrote one Ashwin Badri.
Surprisingly, #chennairains not only lost its top spot from the national Twitter trends list on Thursday evening, but vanished from the list all together.
Even the city-specific trends for Chennai the tag, or one even related to the deluge, like #ChennaiFlood was nowhere on the list. However, volunteers, rescuers, and those in need of help continued to tweet their locations and the materials they required or could provide.
“Some institutions have been asking me to deliver lectures or start a course on meteorology. I don’t know what is in store for me,” says Ramanan. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan
The State’s most popular weather forecaster talks to Srinivasa Ramanujam on how he found his calling
It’s rather interesting that the overdose of ‘rain holidays’ this year, coincides with the last few months of a certain S.R. Ramanan, at the helm of affairs at the local weather department. No wonder students across the State love him. When he’s on television — and he’s there often this time of the year — they watch with bated breath, anticipating words that could mean the possibility of a holiday the next day.
Officially the Director of Area Cyclone Warning Centre, he’s much loved among the student fraternity, because it is commonly believed that he’s instrumental for schools granting leave due to chances of rain. He also has fan pages on social media, memes created on him and has been referred to in films as well. In a chat with MetroPlus on a sunny afternoon, ironically, he tells us how he got into the weather business, why he isn’t on social media and retirement plans…
Will it rain this week?
There is an upper air circulation in the South-East Bay. It might probably develop into a low pressure and it could bring rains early this week.
You sound just like how you do talk on TV. Tell us about how you got into the weather stream in the first place…
When I completed my post-graduation, the concept of Plus Two came into being. There was a dearth of teachers then, and a lot of my friends entered the teaching profession. But I had a liking for weather, and so I joined the department at the lowest rung and then rose in the ranks.
But why weather?
See, I was good at Geography; it was one of my favourite subjects. But I didn’t take that up in my college days — I took up Physics instead. I enjoyed studying atmospheric physics. I entered as an observer and enjoyed it.
You try to explain science in Tamil and you seem to have an interest in the language. Tell us about it…
I have always been interested in Tamil literature; I used to read the Thevaram regularly. When I joined the weather department, I realised that the only way this subject can reach the common man was in Tamil. I wanted to make the concept and terminology simpler. We even collated a glossary — it’s now part of our website too — of Tamil equivalents of English words.
A meme that was found on social networks:
You work in Chennai, but you coordinate on a global scale on an everyday basis…
If I say there is a system forming in the South Andaman Sea, I have to depend on information from Malaysia and Singapore. If I say there is a development in the Gulf of Mannar, I need Sri Lankan data. We receive pictures from the satellite division and radar division every day. We have video-conferencing discussions every day with colleagues in Delhi. We get information from small observatories too… that only goes into the system. Here, sitting in Tamil Nadu, we don’t work in isolation but with global trends.
If that’s so, why is there so much of ambiguity when you announce the possibility of rain? Some other countries get it more precisely, right?
It differs from area to area. At some places abroad, you can predict accurately by seeing when the cold air mass meets warm air mass. Ours is tropical meteorology — not many know it’s the toughest terrain in the entire world, in terms of weather. We have still managed to get it right on most occasions, but yes, there is scope for improvement.
Over the course of your service you must have seen several technological advancements. How do you view the emergence of weather bloggers and their predictions/forecasts on the Internet?
The Internet alone is not sufficient to predict the weather outside. If you have an illness, will you go to the nearby pharmacy or prefer the doctor? There, you have the answer to your question.
But, do you see them as a threat to you in future?
’m retiring from the department in a few months (laughs)… but someone else will come and give out official information. If other people post contrasting information on the Internet, will it not create confusion?
You’re a cult figure in the social media and online space. There are fan pages for you and a recent meme promoted you as ‘God’, with students bowing to you. How do you react when you see them?
If you delve into such things, you cannot concentrate on your work. I just see them and move on. The only good thing about this attention is that wherever I go, people feel that I’m a part of their family, perhaps because they see me daily on TV.
Why have you abstained from social media? Don’t you feel tempted to look at what people are saying about you?
If I start looking into these things, I feel I will get distracted. I give work my foremost priority.
Do you have work timings?
Weather is a 24/7 job. I have to come in on weekends too — you might have seen me on television. I had to work this Deepavali too.
We see you every day during this time of the year, but what do you do when it’s sunny and all is fine on the weather front?
Apart from my media addresses, there are many other jobs to attend to — like preparing reports. I also have an everyday video-conferencing with my colleagues nationally. Besides, I visit educational institutions to give lectures on weekends.
Stamp and coin collection are hobbies you’ve been indulging in for a while. Tell us where it started…
My uncle gifted me some stamps when I was young and I’ve picked it up since then. The moment you see a stamp, you gain a lot of knowledge. For instance, this stamp I have of Bohemia and Moravia (part of Czechoslovakia) has a picture of Hitler; it was under his rule at one point of time. I’ve another stamp of Mozambique before the Portuguese took over. If you go through any good stamp collection, you will get information about places which might not even exist today.
Don’t you think these are dying hobbies in today’s times, thanks to the advent of the Internet?
You are absolutely right; I see very few students today taking up these hobbies. I wish they take it up. Parents also have a role to get the young interested in hobbies that helps you amass information.
Did these hobbies help you hone your general knowledge, during times when Google was still not invented? You were described by peers as a “walking Encyclopaedia” back in your college days…
See, it depends on your passion. I have no interest in reading fiction; I read up only about facts and countries. Some people have a wonderful knowledge on literature and films; I have no idea about them. My interest lies in places.
Finally, you’re retiring in a few months’ time and that has reportedly upset many school students…
(Laughs) Someone else will be here and give the forecast… it is not man centric, it is system centric. Time alone can tell what I’ll do post retirement; I’m a committee member in a hospital and I may probably take that up seriously. Some farmers have been asking me to guide them with weather forecasts. Some institutions have been asking me to deliver lectures or start a course on meteorology. I don’t know what is in store for me.
A meme that was found on social networks:
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Srinivasa Ramanujam / Chennai – November 28th, 2015
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japanese firm Alfa TKG Co Ltd, which provides technological support to the manufacturing industry, to work together in areas of research and academics.
Thanapadi Periasamy, president and CEO, AlfaTKG Integrated Solutions India Private Limited said: “There is a tremendous need for developing and applying high technological and manufacturing process automation and optimization solutions. Therefore it is our intention to form strategic alliance with leading technological and IT institutions.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / TNN / November 10th, 2015
A Muruganantham, who ushered in an era of low-cost sanitary napkins with a machine he invented, is all set to launch his own international brand of sanitary napkins in January with an initial investment of 75 crore. He has already partnered with two major brands in the sanitary napkin industry to launch his new venture.
Muruganantham, who was ranked among the 100 most influential people in the TIME magazine, said he had submitted the documents for registration. “I have submitted four names. Once we are through the registration, we will decide on formal announcement,” he said. Muruganantham will own more than 65% shares in the company and also be in charge of the management.
“I was approached by many people, but I partnered with companies that were willing to agree to my terms and conditions,” Muruganantham, who sold his first machine in 2004 in Madhubani, Bihar.
“In 2004, when I sold my first machine, only around 5% of women were using sanitary napkins. Today, it has grown to around 13%. To be able to live my dream, I realized it is important to become a corporate. I aim to achieve my dream in the next 20 years. And, for this, I will need support from central and state governments, educational institutions and society,” he further said.
Along with the launch of the new company, Muruganantham will also introduce his new sanitary napkin manufacturing machines. “The machines will be available in two types — power operated and powerless. The powerless machines are tailor-made for villages, where power supply is poor,” he said. The machines will be designed in the US and manufactured in the country. “I have got engineers from Pennsylvania to work on the design,” the Coimbatore-based entrepreneur said.
The school-dropout-turned-social-entrepreneur said the company would have its headquarters in Mumbai. “We have found a place in Nariman Point. We will have regional offices in Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata,” said the 52-year-old, adding that the company will have 2,500 production centres across the country.
The company will also have offices in Singapore and Dubai to cater to international market. Muruganantham said he has so far sold 2,500 machines, besides supplying his products to 17 countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Ghana.
“At present, around 970 people are with me as volunteers and supporters in Coimbatore and other places. I will be hiring around 250 people for administration,” Muruganantham said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Coimbatore / by Adarsh Jain, TNN / November 03rd, 2015
Chennai-based neuropsychiatrist Dr Ennapadam S Krishnamoorthy has been chosen as president-elect of the International Neuropsychiatry Association (INA).
The decision to make him president-elect was taken at the 10th INA Congress held in Jerusalem recently.
The INA is a global grouping of doctors and scientists with specific interest in disorders of the brain and mind.
Dr Krishnamoorthy has been unanimously elected to lead the INA as president-elect from 2015 to 2017 and as president from 2017 to 2018.
He is the founder of an integrative healthcare and rehabilitation chain in Chennai. He has authored two book and more than 70 scientific papers.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / Ekatha Ann John, TNN / October 25th, 2015
A Civil Engineering student of VIT University bagged a gold medal in the All India Design Competition for engineering students.
Aditi Palaspure, a third year student of B. Tech Civil Engineering had won the prestigious medal for her project on predicting compression index of clay for designing shallow foundations.
Participation
She had started working on the project last year for the university’s Project Based Learning programme and went on to participate in the competition.
The competition is organised annually by the National Design and Research Forum of the Institution of Engineers (India).
It invites entries from students studying in various engineering disciplines including aerospace, agricultural, chemical, civil, electrical, environmental, marine and textile, a press release said.
“Marine clay has a property to shrink in dry weather and it tends to swell during wet weather. Hence, buildings that come up on such clay can undergo damage. This can be predicted if the compression index of the soil is known,” she explained.
When force is applied to the soil, the changes that occur are measured with the help of compression index.
“However, the present methods to determine the compression index are carried out in laboratories and are expensive and time-consuming, she added.
Aim of project
“My project aims to explore how we can predict the compression index of soil using easily determinable properties of soil, in lesser time,” she said.
She received a gold medal and a certificate for the project at a ceremony held in Karnataka.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Staff Reporter / Vellore – October 27th, 2015
Preventive measures:Students of Government Siddha Medical College distrubuting ‘Nilavembu Kudineer’ to the visitors at Tirunelveli District Collectorate on Tuesday.
Distribution of concoction begins at Tirunelveli Collectorate.
With the district experiencing intermittent drizzle and the north-east monsoon likely to set in within a week, the district administration, in association with Government Siddha Medical College here, has started distributing ‘nilavembu kudineer’, a wonder concoction that gives great relief and ensures speedy recovery for patients suffering from various types of fever.
Since the patients suffering from dengue or chikungunya experienced accelerated recovery on consuming ‘nilavembu kudineer’ during previous fever outbreaks, demand for the concoction is mounting every day, and the number of patients waiting in the long queue at Government Siddha Medical College Hospital for getting the herbal compound would unequivocally explain its efficacy.
While around 300 litres of ‘nilavembu kudineer’ is being distributed to the patients coming to Government Siddha Medical College Hospital for treatment every day, up to 500 litres of this concoction is being prepared here and sent to various parts of the district for free distribution on request from the heads of local bodies.
Collector Karunakaran has instructed the hospital authorities to ensure the distribution of the concoction to the public coming in large numbers to the Collectorate to participate in the weekly grievance day meet on every Monday.
“Since this herbal drink, a proven remedy for fevers, provides a lot of relief and expedites recovery, we’ve planned to give it to the public till the end of this rainy season,” Dr. Karunakaran said.
However, the ‘pain clinic’ which would be started during this season at Government Siddha Medical College Hospital every year to give the much-needed relief to the patients suffering from fever and its excruciating side-effects, is yet to be started.
“We’re yet to receive any formal order from the government. We’ll start the ‘pain clinic’ if we’re asked to do so,” said Soundararajan, Principal, Government Siddha Medical College Hospital, Palayamkottai.
However, faculty member Subash Chandran, who accompanied the Principal when the distribution of ‘nilavembu kudineer’ was started at the Collectorate on Monday by Dr. M. Karunakaran, said that the special counter for concoction distribution and the pain clinic would be started shortly after getting permission from the higher-ups.
“We’ll send a proposal in this connection and get the approval at the earliest,” Dr. Subash said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Tirunelveli – October 21st, 2015
The 1886 Benz Motorwagen – the world’s first horseless carriage — was designed to drive for a maximum of 15 minutes. But, on Wednesday, the Gedee Group attempted to drive a replica of the car for 500km from Coimbatore to Chennai — the longest drive by the car in a single stretch.
Avid car collector and automobile enthusiast Manvendra Singh (Rana of Barwani, Indore) flagged off the ride from the Gedee Car Museum at 4.30pm on Wednesday. He also drove the car up to the Neelambur Toll Plaza, which is close to 30Km from the museum.
“It is an honour to be part of a historic ride like this. The car is an example of excellent engineering and to be able to recreate it with the same precision and quality is a hallmark in itself,” said Singh before beginning the ride. Singh also owns an 1886 Benz Motorwagen designed by the Gedee Group.
The car was designed by Carl Benz and was patented in 1886. Until now, the record for the longest drive in the car was held by Carl’s wife Bertha Benz. She drove from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back travelling 194Km along with her sons, Eugen and Richard.
“With this ride she proved the feasibility of the car as a means of travel,” said G D Gopal, chairman of G D Naidu Charities.
The Gedee Group started designing replicas of the car in 2012, and the first car was ready in 2013. Following a series of trial runs and appreciation by experts across the globe, G D Gopal decided to attempt longer distances.
On June 13 this year, the group attempted to drive the car up to Salem covering 165km in almost nine hours. “Having successfully completed this ride, we gained confidence that we will be able to ride a longer distance. So, we decided that we will drive the car up to Chennai,” G D Gopal said.
The car will travel for almost 30 hours to reach Chennai at 10.30pm on Friday. The G D Group has organised a convoy to travel along with the car to Chennai.
A total of 50l fuel (Benzene) and close to 100l (water) for coolant is being carried by the convoy.
“Six drivers will be a part of the ride, and we will change the drivers every 30km. These drivers are experienced and were a part of the ride to Salem,” said assistant general manager, operations, UMS Technologies Limited, N Ramaraj, who is also accompanying the team for the ride.
The car will be received by the commissioner of tourism and managing director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, Har Sahay Meena, and Consul General of Germany, Chennai, Achim Fabig, in Chennai on Friday.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by Adarsh Jain, TNN / October 14th, 2015
Dr K Sridhar, pro vice-chancellor (medical), SRM University, with three patients who underwent the treatment. | EPS
Chennai :
Less than two decades ago, it was impossible to feed a schematic into a computer and getting a completely built, accurate, full size model out from a machine in a matter of hours. But 3D printing technology has come so far, so fast that not only is that possible, but also doctors have begun using it to simplify what used to be very complicated surgeries.
Doctors at the SRM Institute of Medical Sciences(SIMS) have used the very same technology to successfully operate on three patients at a fraction of the time it normally takes. Called Rapid 3D prototyping, the technique utilises a high definition medical 3D printing machine to churn out scale models of any bone structure that doctors want in a matter of hours. The implications of having such scale models, flawless in their reproduction has been priceless, especially in time consuming surgeries with low first attempt success rates like hip replacement.
“We have utilised this technique to operate on three patients successfully for the first time in South India. We have seen a rapid reduction in the time taken to complete the surgery and a higher chance of success,” said Dr K Sridhar, pro vice-chancellor (medical) of SRM University and part of the group’s effort in putting together an advanced medical research team. The doctors first began with taking extensive CT scans of the affected areas of the hip — from shattered bone fragments and broken pelvises. With the CT scans developed into a 3D schematic using software designed for the same, doctors had printed out exact and high resolution models of the fractured hips.
“What these models helped us do was plan exactly how to approach each surgery and the materials and implants required to correct them. Earlier, the scans only allowed us to imagine where and what was in there. One of our patients actually had to have two failed attempts before he came here to us,” said Dr Vijay C Bose, joint director, consultant orthopaedic surgeon.
Being able to plan the exact route and knowing what to find has reduced surgery time by 2.5 hours, and increased chances of success. “We do not have to rely on trial-and-error methods of surgery anymore. We have the exact model to rehearse on now,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / Express News Service / October 07th, 2015
The Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital has performed 100 cochlear transplant surgeries in the last two years, becoming the first government hospital to reach this number.
Coimbatore :
The Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) has performed 100 cochlear transplant surgeries in the last two years, becoming the first government hospital to reach this number.
All the surgeries had been performed under the chief minister’s comprehensive health insurance scheme, said doctors.
The CMCH is the only other government hospital, besides Madras Medical College, approved to perform cochlear transplants under the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project.
Doctors said they performed their first cochlear transplant surgery on August 10, 2013 and performed the 100th surgery on October 1 this year.
“All the surgeries were successful and all the children operated have recovered and are doing extremely well,” said professor and head of the ENT department Dr V Aravindhan.
The insurance scheme makes cochlear transplant surgeries free for children between 0 to 6 years of age.
“Cochlear transplants are usually done on stone deaf children or those who are severely hard of hearing,” said ENT professor Dr Ali Sultana.
“But since the implant is something that stimulates an auditory nerve in the brain, and later fills the auditory cortex with sounds and information, children learn to use it and benefit better,” he said. “Thus they can speak on the phone and have face to face like conversations like normal people.”
Earlier cochlear transplants were being done only at private hospitals because of the implant was expensive—Rs 5.1 lakh even for the basic low-end one. Now since the scheme allots Rs 7 lakh for the surgery, government hospitals have now begun performing the surgery.
“This includes pre-surgery screenings tests, the surgery, implants, post-surgery complications and a one-year rehabilitation program for the children,” said Dr Aravindhan.
The CMCH has tied up a private institute called “Hearing Aid Centre” to provide the one-year rehabilitation post-surgery.
“They with a team of audiologists and speech therapists provide audio verbal therapy to children, who will start filling their memory cortex with sounds and noises, and slowly start repeating them as part of speech processing. Within the first three months, they start speaking simple words,” said Dr Sultana. `
While cochlear implant surgeries are being done under the state comprehensive health insurance scheme in private hospitals too, other screening and post-surgery costs start piling up, say patients.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by Pratiksha Ramkumar, TNN / October 05th, 2015
