TO ENSURE HYGIENE: Solar fish drier being commissioned at Vellaipatti near Tuticorin on Friday./ Photo: N. Rajesh / The Hindu
“Venture is expected to improve livelihood of SHG members”
To prepare dry fish in a hygienic manner, a solar fish drier was commissioned at Vellaipatti near here on Friday.
As drying of fishes was being done in an unhygienic way by spreading them on the ground, the district administration had given its nod for the installation of a solar fish drier at a cost of Rs. 1.70 lakh under District Innovative Fund.
Accordingly, the drier has been installed in Vellaipatti under Keezha Arasadi Panchayat near Tuticorin and was formally commissioned by A. Bella, Project Director, District Rural Development Agency, on Friday.
The drier will be maintained by Sarojini Self-Help Group members of Vellaipatti.
When fishes are dried in an open place, it will not be a hygienic product due to contamination by vermin, dust particles, sand, bacteria and other harmful contaminants and not fit for safe consumption.
At the same time, drying fishes with the help of solar drier is an easy, cost-effective and hygienic and the product will be free from all contaminants.
Since the 20-odd SHGs at Vellaipatti were already involved in the production of fish, prawn and crabpickle and mending fishnet, the solar fish drier was sanctioned to this coastal village.
“Fishes dried in this method can easily be sold through shops, exhibitions and even be exported. Ultimately, this venture will improve the livelihood of SHG members,” Ms. Bella said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Special Correspondent / Tuticorin – March 01st, 2014
A couple of homes in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala will get uninterrupted 48V DC current from next month on pilot basis.
Researchers of the Tenet group at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, have come up with a new technology to provide uninterrupted power to homes across the country.
The project is the brainchild of IIT-M director Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi and electrical engineering professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala (both founding members of Tenet group).
They have joined hands with electricity boards of TN, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala to implement the project on a pilot basis.
Explaining the functioning of the system, Prof. Jhunjhunwala, a member of the PM’s Science Advisory Council, said the power distribution company would install a dedicated 48V low-power direct current (DC) line from sub-station to houses.
The current would flow through a separate meter to power three lights, two fans and a mobile charger.
But a Tangedco official said huge investment is needed to create infrastructure to supply DC to households.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / January 30th, 2014
Mickael made history in November 2012 when he became the first person ever in Africa to receive a MenAfriVac meningitis vaccine outside of the cold chain. It is made by Serum Institute of India. Photo: Sylvestre Tiendrebeogo/WHO
“It’s a great Indian success story,” said Dr. Jacob John, a former virologist of the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore. He was referring to MenAfriVac, a meningitis A vaccine manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India. The vaccine passed the litmus test during a large-scale vaccine campaign in Banikoara district in the Republic of Benin, West Africa.
In the first-ever use in a developing country, the vaccine remained stable outside the cold chain at temperatures not exceeding 40 degree C for not more than four days. The vaccine should normally be kept in a cold chain at 2-8 degree C. The results of the vaccination programme funded by GAVI and WHO/PATH (which also provided training, supervision, evaluation) were published recently in theVaccine journal.
An independent body under the guidance of the Ministry of Health in Benin conducted active monitoring for adverse events following immunization (AEFI) by comparing the rate and severity of AEFIs in the study area and a control area. “The results of the study, which have been submitted for publication, indicated there was no increase in AEFIs with the CTC practice, and no serious AEFIs reported at all,” Dr. Simona Zipursky, first author of the paper from OPTIMIZE, a WHO/PATH Collaboration, Switzerland noted in an email to this Correspondent.
The fact that controlled temperature chain (CTC) would increase the efficiency of the vaccination campaign was amply demonstrated in Banikoara district, Benin — about 1,50,000 people aged 1-29 years were vaccinated for meningitis A from November 15-25, 2012.
The CTC vaccine greatly helped in increasing vaccination coverage in a few areas where access was a problem and electricity was unreliable. According to the paper, the health workers stayed in the villages for three consecutive days before returning for a refill.
“100 per cent of the vaccinators surveyed felt CTC was either ‘extremely’ useful or ‘relatively useful’. They reported that the biggest benefit from the CTC practice was the fact that it enabled them to vaccinate more people. Other key benefits included: no need to return to health centre every night (hence, able to reach more remote areas), reduced logistic burden (no need to worry about cold chain or ice packs) and reduced wastage,” said Dr. Zipursky.
Another big advantage is the huge savings in cost. “A study published in the WHO bulletin showed that using a CTC approach can reduce the cold chain related campaign costs by 50 per cent. To put it in perspective, for the remaining MenAfriVac campaigns between 2014 and 2016, [the savings would translate] to over $12 million dollars,” Dr. Zipursky noted.
The vaccine was originally meant to be kept at 2-8 degree C at all times. But WHO approved the CTC use after Serum Institute successfully demonstrated its stability and potency even when exposed to higher temperatures. According to the paper, this was the first time WHO had approved a vaccine to be used at ambient temperature in developing countries
“Even prior to the request, we had done trials of up to 40 degree C,” said Dr. Suresh Jadhav, Executive Director of Serum Institute. “As it is a heat-stable vaccine, we wanted to see if it remains potent even when exposed to 40 degree C.”
But the test period was restricted to one week. “We conducted this study even when it was not required,” he said. But the duration of test was extended to one month when the company was requested to test its stability and potency when exposed to 40 degree C.
“We found the potency was getting reduced after three weeks [of exposure to 40 degree C],” Dr. Jadhav said. “But there was a clear indication that the concept worked.”
The reason why the vaccine remains stable even at 40 degree C is because the freeze drying of the vaccine makes it heat stable or thermostable.
The 40 degree C upper temperature limit has come as a boon to people in the sub-Saharan African belt where about 200,000 people suffer from meningitis every year during the dry season when wind spreads the bacterial spores. Mortality is about 10-15 per cent and morbidity is very high.
“The ambient temperature reached [during the campaign] was 39 degree C,” Dr. Zipursky noted. “Luckily in the African meningitis belt, temperatures during the MenAfriVac campaign season are usually below 40 degree C.”
The dry season during January to June throughout the sub-Saharan belt is when meningitis outbreaks occur. “MenAfrivac has been introduced in 12 countries just before the dry season (November/December since 2010) to protect populations before the meningitis season,” Dr. Olivier Ronveaux, from the Meningitis Focal Point, Control of Epidemic Diseases Team, WHO, Geneva noted in an email.
Besides other huge gains, the cost of the vaccine per se is incredibly low. According to Dr. Jadhav, the cost of one dose is just $0.60 cents (Rs.36). A polysaccharide vaccine, on the other hand, cost about $5 dollars and is not effective as the polysaccharide provides only short-term immunity and hence given during an epidemic. MenAfriVac vaccine is a polysaccharide conjugate vaccine.
“There is a great sense of satisfaction… there is a great sense of achievement,” said Dr. Jadhav “as you can not only save lives but also avoid morbidity.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> S & T> Health> Medicine / by R. Prasad / March 05th, 2014
It was similar to a full-fledged hospital operating out of a college premises. More than 3,000 people belonging to all walks of life thronged the Srimad Andavan Arts and Science College premises on Saturday for a special medical camp organized to mark chief minister J Jayalalitha’s 66th birthday which falls next week.
The special camp was conducted by the Chennai-based Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital. A team of 117 doctors and support staff came all the way from Chennai for the purpose.
Special vehicles from important points in the city such as the central and the Chatiram bus stands ferried people to the camp where all medical facilities are available under one roof. Even high-end equipment such as scanners are installed at the venue.
At the neatly arranged stalls patients were first registered and screened. Thereafter, they were taken to the concerned department by volunteers. Doctors of various specializations provided free consultations. Basic diagnostic tests were done free of cost. To add to this, medicines were also provided free of cost for one week. Spectacles and hearing aids were given to poor patients. Medicines worth Rs 7 lakh were disbursed at the counters, said the doctors.
Serious cases were referred to the nearby hospitals or to the Chennai hospital, said the doctors. Two cancer and cardiac-related cases were found.
Totally 3,100 people attended the camp on the first day. The special camp, which will conclude on Sunday, was inaugurated by the minister for khadi and village industries T P Poonachi in the presence of district collector Jayashree Muralidharan here on Saturday.
“We are getting good response for the special camp. It is as if we have shifted our hospital from Chennai to Trichy and a new branch has emerged here,” said Dr S Anandan, dean and professor, Sri Ramachandra Medical University.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / February 23rd, 2014
Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) is organising a two-day event here on Saturday and Sunday (February 22 and 23) to create awareness on the Chief Minister’s capital incentive scheme for solar rooftop systems for domestic purpose.
An official of the agency told The Hindu that a similar event will be held here on March 1 and 2.
The State Government has identified 17 vendors for the project and three of them have put up stalls at the Government Polytechnic College here to demonstrate the working of the rooftop systems.
The official said that a consumer who wants to install one kw rooftop solar system under the scheme will get Rs. 50,000 subsidy.
This includes Rs. 20,000 from the State Government and Rs. 30,000 from the Union Government. The plan is to have about 10,000 installations in the State initially. At least 5,000 of these are expected in this region (Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode districts).
The consumer will have to submit an application to TEDA to get the benefit. It can be an application from an individual or a group of consumers (those who live in apartments). The TEDA will send a message to the consumer when it gives its approval.
The entire process will take about a couple of months. It will also give the consumer details of the vendors and the rates that they quote.
The consumer can choose the vendor. The consumer and the vendor will inform the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) about the installation so that it can provide net meter to the electricity service connection.
D. Devarajan of Sree Dev Solar Solutions, one of the vendors in the project and who has put up a demo system at the event, said that an one kw solar system can generate at least four units of energy a day.
This will take care of most of the essential energy needs of a household. A consumer who does not consume the entire solar energy generated can export it to the grid. With better awareness about the solar systems and the scheme, more consumers in the region are expected to go in for it.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by M. Soundariya Preetha / Coimbatore – February 23rd, 2014
Santikar Young (right), Designated Adjudicator, South Asia Elite World Records, handing over the ‘Elite World Records’ certificate to S. Annadurai (second left), principal, Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, and L. Sivakumar (left), vice-principal, for the record the college set in making the maximum number of handmade pollution masks within a given time./ Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
The students created 2,493 handmade pollution masks in 30 minutes
Students of the Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology have created a record for making 2,493 handmade pollution masks in 30 minutes, says a release from the college. Elite World Records has recognised the feat and issued a certificate.
Attempt
The release said that the students made the attempt as part of the Entrepreneurship Week 2014 celebrations, which the National Entrepreneurship Network promoted. Santikar Young, Designated Adjudicator, South Asia, Elite World Records, was present to judge the attempt.
The students created 2,493 masks between 11 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.
The release quoting S. Malarvizhi, Chairperson and Managing Trustee, said that the objective was creation of awareness in the people that pollution prevention masks could be easily made.
The college principal and the vice-principal received the record certificate from the designated adjudicator, the release added .
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Staff Reporter / Coimbatore – March 04th, 2014
A stall at Meditex 2014, a medical textiles exhibition, organised by the Centreof Excellence for Medical Textiles on the South India Textile ResearchAssociation premises in the city on Friday. Photo:M.Periasamy / The Hindu
It has 60 participants, including 25 from other States
Textile products used in the healthcare sector are not just bandages, surgical masks and gloves. It includes implants such as hernia mesh, hygiene products, use-and-throw surgical clothing, etc.
Coimbatore region is a well-known hub for both, textiles and healthcare facilities. The Centre of Excellence for Medical Textiles at the South India Textile Research Association here has organised a three-day medical textile exhibition and conference till March 2 to promote the use of these products and to develop the industry for these products.
Sakthivel Perumalsamy, head of the Centre of Excellence, told The Hindu on Friday that Meditex 2014 and Medineeds 2014 aim at creating awareness among the public on medical textiles. Be it policemen, rural women, conservancy workers, surgeons, industry workers or IT professionals, special textile products are available for their safety and hygiene. Seminars will be held on all three days for students, surgeons, police officers, textile mill workers, foundry workers, and hospital housekeeping staff.
The exhibition is to promote the medical textile industry here. It has 60 participants, including 25 from other States and one from Germany. They have exhibited machinery to make some of these products, surgical gowns, clothing, diapers, gauze materials, implants, special beds, bandages, etc. The country has just a handful of machinery manufacturers and most of them import the critical components for the machinery. The industry can tap the opportunity available in the range of products and the machinery.
Availability of water, washing the regular textile products, and drying these are becoming a problem to the hospitals. Hence, most of them purchase use-and-throw non-woven products and these are available in kits too. However, these should be to specific standards. These issues are highlighted at the event.
Further, a Mumbai-based hospital will demonstrate on Saturday a complete suit made out of composite textile material. It protects the surgeons from infections, he said.
The event is supported by the Union Ministry of Textiles and the exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / March 01st, 2014
The file photo shows customers enjoying the famous ‘Iruttukadai’ halwa in Tirunelveli. The Tirunelveli Halwa is famous for its unique taste and long shelf life./ The Hindu
After ‘Kancheepuram Silk’, ‘Madurai Malli’, and Coimbatore wet grinders, makers of “Tirunelveli Halwa”, famous for its taste and long shelf life, and Tuticorin macaroons, an Indianised dish of European macaroons, are trying to get Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
With the GI tag helping the producers in better marketing, especially overseas, more and more producers are seeking to get the registration conferred on products definite to a geographical territory. Speaking at a meeting attended by 20 halwa manufacturers from Tirunelveli and three macaroon manufacturers from Tuticorin to discuss the possibility of getting the GI tags, officials said whether it was ‘Madurai Malli’ (jasmine) or wet grinder of Coimbatore, the tag had made them more famous and helped farmers and manufacturers to get a better price both in the country and abroad.
Additional Public Prosecutor Sanjay Gandhi said GI tag for the halwa or macaroon was possible only if the makers come together and apply for the tag as an association. The officials said there was a problem in getting GI tag for halwa since it was doubtful whether the owners of “Iruttukadai”, whose halwa is the most famous, would join others to get the recognition.
Assistant Registrar of Trade Chinnaraja G.Naidu said 21 products from Tamil Nadu had so far received GI tag while an equal number of others, including makers of ‘Srivilliputhur Palgova’ (milk sweet) have applied for it.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by PTI / Tirunelveli – March 01st, 2014
The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras is hosting a science awareness workshop for higher secondary students on February 24 and 25.
The workshop, organized by IIT-Madras in association with the Federation of Science Clubs of Tamil Nadu (FSCT) and the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, will be based on the theme, ‘Science and Engineering – A Journey.’
The workshop will introduce recent developments and applications of science and engineering and is expected to help students shape their careers.
A total of 250 students from government, aided, Anglo Indian, matriculation, CBSE, and international schools, and those run by the Chennai Corporation will be registered on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis.
IIT-Madras director Bhaskar Ramamurthi will speak to the students on the challenges and career prospects in physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, engineering design, biotechnology, electrical, chemical, mechanical and aerospace engineering disciplines. Participants will also get an opportunity to visit the laboratories and state-of-the-art research facilities at IIT-Madras.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / b y M. Ramya, TNN / February 17th, 2014
Village Health Nurses with the free laptops they received to compile data on women and childcare in Villupuram district / The Hindu
At a function held recently at Kallakurichi near here Rural Industries Minister P. Mohan handed over the free laptops to the Village Health Nurses (VHNs).
Now, it is the turn of the Village Health Nurses (VHNs) attached to the sub-Primary Health Centres in Villupuram district to get on the technological bandwagon with free laptops. Besides taking care of pregnant women and child births they would have to hereafter collect and feed data on these aspects to their higher-ups in the headquarters. To facilitate this they have been provided with laptops.
At a function held recently at Kallakurichi near here Rural Industries Minister P. Mohan handed over the free laptops to the VHNs. Speaking on the occasion the Minister said that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, driven by the motive to make available the best healthcare, had launched many schemes and the distribution of free laptops to the VHNs was one such scheme. The VHNs were serving as the vital link to the rural people, particularly women and children, in the health care delivery system. It was enjoined upon them to impress upon the rural people about the safety of institutional delivery. Mr. Mohan said that for framing the health policy it was essential to gather the statistics on number of pregnancies occurring within a given period in a particular village, how many child births take place in the PHCs, the infant mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate and so on.
The laptops would help the Health Department to take immediate corrective measures, wherever necessary.
The Minister further said that in Villupuram district so far 36,875 women were benefited to the tune of Rs. 40.75 crore.Mr. Mohan called upon the VHNs to intensify the health awareness drive among the people within their jurisdiction. Collector V. Sampath and others were present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Villupuram – February 18th, 2014
