Category Archives: Science & Technologies

Uninterrupted Water Supply to Vellore for Next 30 Years

Business & Economy, Science & Technologies
Managing Director of TWAD Board, C Vijayraj Kumar (third from left) and Vellore Collector, R Nanthagopal reviewing the project | s dinesh
Managing Director of TWAD Board, C Vijayraj Kumar (third from left) and Vellore Collector, R Nanthagopal reviewing the project | s dinesh

Vellore :

Velloreans can expect to get uninterrupted water supply for the next 30 years, thanks to the Rs. 1,295 crore water supply scheme, trial run of which is set to commence in the first week of April.

The trial run of the Combined Water Supply Scheme to Vellore Corporation, 11 municipalities, five town panchayats and 944 rural habitations in Vellore district using Cauvery as source will continue for six months.

If successful, Vellore district will begin receiving permanent water supply by the end of this year. The project aims at creating a permanent water supply designed to supply 215 million litres of water/day to Vellore Corporation, 11 municipalities, five town panchayats and 944 rural habitations in Vellore .  “During the trial run we will check for reservoir tightness, hydraulic pressure, seepage in pipelines and storage of water in overhead tanks and sumps during the period, ” said a senior official of TWAD Board.  Officials of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) board said that around 90 percent of the work on the project, began in March 2012 and implemented in three stages, has been completed to date. Officials have been instructed to expedite the remaining work such as pipe main alignment and the inter-connection of overhead tanks and sumps. “The 36 month project was delayed for four months as permission from the National Highways Authorities and Southern Railways had to be obtained for laying pipelines,” said the official.

TWAD has deposited around `17 crore to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to erect exclusive High Tension (HT) feeders to the booster stations at Komburankattu, Palakkaranur and Muthampettai and ridge point Kadhathur to pump water to the beneficiaries without any hindrance. “Erection of a feeder in Palakkaranur is nearing completion. Once it’s over, officials of TANGEDCO will inspect the facilities and give clearance for erecting the HT lines. We will obtain the power connection a week before the trial run begins,” said an official.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by J Shanmugham Sundaram / February 09th, 2015

300 Docs to Put Their Heads Together to Find Ways to Deal with Pancreatic Cancer

Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Doctors addressing mediapersons at Apollo Hospitals on Friday | D SAMPATH KUMAR
Doctors addressing mediapersons at Apollo Hospitals on Friday | D SAMPATH KUMAR

Chennai :

About 300 international and national delegates including surgeons, gastroenterologists and oncologists, will participate in the one-day International conference on pancreatic cancer by Apollo Hospitals on February 8.

“With the detection of  pancreatic cancer at an early stage being tougher than detecting other cancers, sensitising people about the disease is of prime importance. This one-day conference will shed light on the disease and its treatment,” said Dr Sathya Bhama, director of Medical Services (DMS), Apollo Hospitals, talking to reporters on Friday.

“Symptoms of pancreatic cancer are deceptive. Most of the symptoms are usually mistaken for gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion, ulcer, uneasiness, abdominal pain, etc. Chances of missing early diagnosis are high due to this camouflaged nature of the disease. In the last 25 years, the hospital has performed about 2,000 pancreatic cancer surgeries,” added  T G Balachander,  senior surgical gastroenterologist at the hospital.

The idea behind conducting such conferences was to educate medical professionals about the latest diagnostic and treatment trends in the field of pancreatic diseases, said the doctors.

Delegates from Singapore, Delhi, Kerala, Mumbai and Coimbatore will be taking part in the conference.

Dr Prasanna Kumar Reddy, senior surgical gastroenterologist of the hospital also spoke about the conference.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 07th, 2015

Explore Culture in Medicine

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technologies

MedicineCF05feb2015

Do youngsters know the mystifying story of hakims and veds, or the bonesetters and roadside dentists who carry on their business quietly in the winding streets of the city? Does a quintessential city-bred person know how a Tulasi plant can serve as a remedy for several diseases, besides various other herbs grown in the country? In a bid to unveil the rich culture of medicine in India, Medicine Art, an arts project by Wellcome Collection, the public cultural venue in London of the Wellcome Trust – one of the world’s biggest medical charities, was recently launched in the city.

According to Ratan Vaswani, project consultant for Medicine Corner, “The aim of the project is to look at the glorious variety of ways Indian civilisation, historically and today, has approached health and healing. It will throw light on the world-beating advances that India has made in affordable medical technology, such as the Jaipur foot; scientifically advanced surgical techniques that were developed in India in pre-colonial times, and also, how traditional medicine has evolved. There was never, historically, an Ayurvedic or Unani pharmaceutical industry but now it’s huge. How that happened is something we will examine.”

As a prologue to what one can look forward to in the year-long project of research that would culminate with an exhibition and small documentaries in 2016, BLOT! had its team capturing videos of informal practitioners, images of educational charts taught to children and producing animation works to come up with over a three minute video that marked Medicine Corner’s launch in the city. With high octane electronic beats to go in the background, Avinash Kumar from BLOT! says that the idea of the video is to make the project reach the youth, and convert the research into something that people would be curious about.

According to Ratan, the idea to club a topic like Medicine with art, comes from the work that Wellcome Trust does. “It’s focus isn’t just lab or field research. It has always been interested in exploring medicine as a cultural phenomenon. In London, it has a public cultural venue, Wellcome Collection. The gallery there shows contemporary art. It has a magnificent Library full not just of manuscripts but amazing historical paintings and other wonders,” he says. Apart from BLOT!, Medicine Corner will be collaborating with curator Lina Vincent, who will help organise a major exhibition at the CSMVS museum in Mumbai in January 2016, and other visual artists.

For details, visit their website: www.medicinecorner.in

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express Features / February 04th, 2015

Preterm baby undergoes heart surgery

Amazing Feats, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Coimbatore :

A nine-day-old girl, born prematurely with a heart defect and weighing only 750g at birth, went under the knife here to correct a congenital heart defect.

Doctors in the neonatal intensive care unit at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital (KMCH) found that the baby was having trouble while breathing. “We realised that the ductus arteriosis, a blood vessel connecting the aorta and pulmonary artery in the baby’s heart, was still open. It normally usually closes after birth,” a doctor who was part of the operating team said.

The child’s mother Dhanalakshmi, from Erode, admitted to an Erode hospital on December 21, gave birth just 25 weeks into her pregnancy. Doctors said the baby’s condition, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), was probably caused because she was born prematurely. Even though PDA is a congenital, premature children are more likely to have the disorder, the doctors said.

Doctors at KMCH decided to surgically close the ductus arteriosus, despite the fact that the procedure would be challenging because of the baby’s low birth weight.

A team of doctors led by cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon Dr S Balasundaram performed the 30-minute surgery on December 30. The baby remains under observation in the neonatal ICU but has shown signs of progress and is able to breathe freely, doctors said. She now weighs close to 1.4kg. “It was a very delicate procedure because the heart and blood vessels are tiny and identifying the right vessel and stapling it is not easy,” senior cardiologist Dr A R Srinivas said. “Another challenge was administering anesthesia, which causes hemodynamic changes (changes in the pattern of blood flow), and could make the baby very sick during the operation.”

“We opened up the baby’s chest from the back, identified the right vessel and stapled it twice,” he said.

Around four babies are born with PDA in the city each year. One of them, Dhanam, in November became the youngest baby in the country to receive a stent implant, doctors said.

Dr Srinivas said the incidence of PDA in premature babies with a birth weight of 1kg is around 45%. Doctors can in more than 90% of the cases close the vessel by administration of anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and indomethacin. “However, in the remaining 10% it has to be closed surgically,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Pratiksha Ramkumar, TNN / February 04th, 2015

A son’s gift to his father

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technologies
The team from MCC School that took part in the competition. (Extreme left) Sendil Madhavan. Photo : Special Arrangement
The team from MCC School that took part in the competition. (Extreme left) Sendil Madhavan. Photo : Special Arrangement

Class XI student’s design makes welder’s job easier. It wins prize at the innovation category in SYMA Child Fest.

It is a son’s gift to his father who has been toiling for years as a welder. B. Sendil Madhavan, a class XI student of MCC Higher Secondary School, Chetpet, has designed a device that takes the help of a robot to check the quality of welding. His creation recently won him the first prize in the innovative thinking category at ‘Child Fest 2015’ organised by Srinivas Young Men’s Association (SYMA).

“For the last three years, I have been visiting my father’s factory at Korattur every Sunday. I have seen him put in long hours at work to ensure the welding work is neatly executed, which includes absence of cracks. Sometimes, he would get scolded by his boss as the welding work would not come out fine. That would hurt me,” says Sendil.

As must be obvious to you now, Sendil wanted to create a device that would make for better welding and the idea of ‘Weld Inspector Robot’.

His first design, version 1.1, lacked proper circuitry, wiring and light. His second version took care of these problems. The third version of the device was waterproof and oil-proof. It had upgraded lights and a cover was attached to the camera. It was however the fourth version that won him the prize — its features included radio frequency receiver and lights. To be used in industries, the product has to however undergo more upgrades.

“I hope to incorporate laser technology in my next version – as I am not trained in the application of laser technology, I am looking for help to be able to do this,” says Sendil, who calls himself an average student who loves to get his hands dirty.

He was inspired to take up robotic technology after attending a workshop by Jay Robotics Club at school.

“They taught us the basics. I learnt the rest by experimenting on my own,” says Sendil who wants to pursue mechatronics.

His father helped him join the parts. The rest of the work he carried out on Autocad. He spent nearly Rs. 27,000 for the design: he raised the amount with the help of relatives.

Sendil has taken the device to his father’s factory and is optimistic that they will introduce his design.

“They have asked me to upgrade it further and I am hopeful of completing it,” says the resident of Mehta Nagar.

Sendil can be reached at 98840 57558.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Downtown / by Liffy Thomas / Chennai – January 31st, 2015

Igarashi & MAPE Advisory buy out Blackstone’s in Agile Electric Sub Assembly

Business & Economy, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Chennai  :

In a move that turns investment banker into an investor by itself, MAPE Advisory Group and auto-component maker Igarashi Electric Works of Japan have bought out the entire 97.9% stake held by Blackstone Capital (Singapore) and BFIP (CAYMAN) in Agile Electric Sub Assembly for $106.4 million. Agile owns Igarashi Motors.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and upon successful completion of transaction, Igarashi Electric Works and MAPE Advisory Group will be the new promoters of the company.

Agile Electric is involved in production of DC motor sub-assemblies, micro motors. It later started to make AC motors in 2012. The company can produce nearly 40 million components from its plant inside Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ). Agile exports majority of its products to Delphi Automotive, Inteva Products and Bosch.

Igarashi Motors was the original promoter of the company along with Crompton Greaves. “Igarashi stepped out of the company in favour of HBL Power Systems, after there was some financial stress back home,” sources said. HBL sold the company to Blackstone in July 2013. Blackstone completed a management buy-out with an investment of $74 million. Interestingly, Mape Advisory was the investment banker who facilitated Blackstone transaction. “Igarashi wanted a local partner and we decided we will join them,” said M Ramprasad, chairman, Mape Advisory.

With Blackstone exiting the company, Igarashi and Mape will make an open offer to the public shareholders of lgarashi Motors India as per the applicable provisions of SEBI SAST Regulations 2011 for acquisition of upto 26% of the voting share capital of Igarashi Motors. The obligation to acquire shares pursuant to the open offer will be triggered only on the successful closure of the transaction of Agile Electric Sub Assembly as this would lead to an indirect change in control of Igarashi Motors, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Religare Capital Markets has been appointed as the Manager to the open offer and the offer price as per applicable regulations is expected to be in the range of Rs 307-308 per share. The estimated size of the open offer will be about $ 41 million, the company said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / January 31st, 2015

Low cost, easy to set up eco-friendly toilets launched

Green Initiatives/ Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technologies

Coimbatore :

A toilet that can be set up in less than an hour was launched by Pune-based company, Sahyadri Industries Limited, in the city on Friday morning. The eco-friendly toilet has been created as part of the company’s contribution to the Swachh Bharat effort.

The company demonstrated setting up a toilet at Heritage Inn’s conference hall in one hour to prove their point just before the launch. A recent study done by the Ministry of Human Resource Development found that 15% of the government schools in the city lack toilets, and among those which did have toilet facilities, 57% were found to be dysfunctional.

Sahyadri Industries, a manufacturer of fibre cement corrugated and flat sheets, had been toying with the idea of designing an easy to set up pre-fabricated toilet since 2012-13. “However, the project did not take off,” admitted M Sathyanarayana, of Sahyadri Industries.

“We were inspired to restart our efforts last August when the Prime Minister announced the Swachh Bharat initiative. We then sped up the research and designing of this model,” he said. The toilets, sold as Do-It-Yourself (DIY) kits, contain parts to set up three wall panels and a door made of fly-ash and cement. The knots and bolts required to assemble the toilets are provided, so are toilet fittings from reputed companies like Johnson and Johnson. “We also give instructions on how a soaking pit has to be dug up,” said Suresh Kumar, head, sales and marketing in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This toilet can be set up anywhere in less than an hour and can be used immediately.

These toilets which come in 4ft x 4 ft dimensions can last 15 to 20 years if maintained well, says the company. They cost anywhere between 19,000 and 30,000 each. “The cost depends on the materials and specifications requested,” said Kumar. “However, we sell it at the lower cost for government schools and other economically backward schools,” he added.

The main clientele for these toilets seem to be NGOs, who are setting up toilets wherever necessary. “We have sold 1,000 such toilets in Maharashtra and Gujarat,” said Kumar. The product was launched in Gujarat Maharashtra and Karnataka in December, and in Chennai on Thursday.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / January 24th, 2015

Padma honours for Carnatic maestro, ex-CEC, N-scientist

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

Chennai :

Tamil Nadu had a modest share in Sunday’s Padma awards list. Of the nine Padma Vibhushan awardees, one is from Tamil Nadu, and out of 20 Padma Bhushan awardees two are from the state. Of 75 Padma Shri awardees, three are from Tamil Nadu.

Nuclear scientist M R Srinivasan is the sole candidate from the state to bag Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honor, next to Bharat Ratna. He was conferred Padma Bhushan a quarter century ago, in 1990, and Padma Shri three decades ago, in 1984. A team member of the legendary Homi Bhabha, Srinivasan was involved in India’s first nuclear research reactor Apsara in mid-1950s.

He later became chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and rose to be secretary of department of atomic eergy. Srinivasan was founder-chairman of Nuclear Power Corporation of India, in 1987. He was responsible for a total of 18 nuclear power units in the country.

The two Padma Bhushan awardees from the state are former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami, and Carnatic singer Sudha Ragunathan.

Gopalaswami, a 1966 IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, was chief election commissioner from June 2006 to April 2009. He was former union home secretary as well, and had held posts of secretery in department of culture, and secretary-general in National Human Rights Commission. “It is a happy feeling to have won the award. I would like to acknowledge the fact that work done by others has helped me fetch the honour. It is not just an individual’s work, but a whole team has worked for me to get this credit. I am grateful for the recognition. Good work never goes waste,” Gopalaswami told TOI.

Sudha Raghunathan is one the best recognizable faces in Carnatic music circles, and among the most sought-after vocalist during music seasons. A distinguished disciple of M L Vasanthakumari, Sudha Raghunathan got her Padma Shri award in 2004.

When contacted, she told TOI: “I am extremely happy and overwhelmed on winning the award. I am grateful to the government for the honour. Through the years, there have been many people who stood by me and motivated me. I want to thank the God almighty. I want to thank my guru M L Vasantha Kumari, mother V Choodamani and fans from all around the world. I want to thank the organisers who have encouraged me from my teen years for all their support.”

A top-notch violinist and this year’s recipient of Padma Shri award, A Kanyakumari is a recipient of TN government’s Kalaimamani award as well.

Two other Padma Shri awardees from the state are former civil servants P V Rajaraman and R Vasudevan.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / January 26th, 2015

Heard about a public stem cell bank in Chennai?

Science & Technologies

Chennai :

There is a public stem cell bank in Chennai where people can donate stem cell stems, but most clinicians and people are unaware of it.

In her presentation at the 58th All India Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr Saranya Narayan, medical director and co-founder of Jeevan Stem Cell Bank, said many clinicians were not aware of the existence of the public stem cell bank in the city that could store stem cells for free of cost and help patients with hematological illnesses like thalassemia and blood cancer.

“The only operational public stem cell bank is in Chennai. We function with the grant from the Tamil Nadu government and help from the World Bank. But many clinicians are not aware of this public bank,” the doctor said.

She explained that stem cell is separated from the umbilical cord blood which is collected during the birth of a baby and is stored.

While awareness is important, the doctor had also observed that many clinicians feel that counselling families for donating cord blood is eating into their consultation time.

“We have sent our staff members for counselling families in some hospitals. But with the pamphlets and awareness material, it is easy to convince families to donate. We also found that some doctors say they do not have an infrastructure to collect cord blood. We give them the kit to collect the cord blood,” she explained.

The lack of awareness among people on the benefits of stem cells leaves about 90 percent of cord blood ending up as a medical waste, the doctor said.

“There is a 60 to 80 percent success rate in stem cell transplant treatment for hematological illnesses. So a donor’s stem cell is used on someone else with the illness. But if the donor or donor’s family has an illness and needs it, they can approach us. We will either give the donor’s own stem cells or find a suitable match and provide them at a concessional rate,” Dr Saranya said.

While the level of donation of umbilical cord blood is low, the doctor noted that about 40 percent of cord blood donations are rejected for various reasons, including volume below 60ml, leaks from blood bag, large clots in blood bag and delay in transportation of the cord blood for preservation.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by U. Tejonmayam, TNN / January 25th, 2015

Vaniyambadi Gets Ozone Healing Centre

Science & Technologies

Vellore :

A second Ozone therapy centre in Vellore was inaugurated in Vaniyambadion Thursday, a testament to the fact that this form of therapy is gaining momentum, with over 400 qualified medical practitioners across the country using this therapy to cure several diseases.

Dr Karnam, a pioneer in this field, while inaugurating the Ozone Healing Centre, speaking to Express, said that the first centre was inaugurated in Arcot last year.

The concept behind ozone therapy is that exposing ozone to the body enables the body to replace disease-causing pathogens with ozone, providing relief from pain and disorders. The underlying principle is that disease-causing pathogens do not survive in an oxygen-rich environment inside the body.

“This is a cost-effective healing approach as it has no side effects and oxygenates the body to cure any kind of illness,” Karnam pointed out. R Chandrasekaran, president of Udahvaum Ullangal,  that took the initiative to set up the ozone centre both at Arcot and Vaniyambadi said that the concept of flooding the body with oxygen through optimum breathing, natural foods such as green vegetables and fruits was preached by Indian medicine thousands of years ago. With the help of technology, flooding the body with oxygen in the form of ozone to cure illnesses is quick, harmless and effective, he added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / January 23rd, 2015