The national level Homeopathy convention organizing by Global Homeopathy Foundation in association with the Department of Ayush in Kozhikode on September 13 will witness eminent scientists and experts presenting various topics ranging from homeopathy medicines to treat HIV, Hepatitis B and Ebola.
Dr A R Khuda Bukhsh, an eminent molecular biologist who have demonstrated anti-cancer effects of homeopathy in cell line studies will present his recent studies related to his field and homeopathy.
Dr S Praveen Kumar of JSPS Government Homeo Medical College will present papers on research work he has done on action of Crotalus Horridus in Homeopathic dilution of 30 potency on reverse transcriptase enzyme involved in multiplication of HIV, Ebola and Hepatitis B viruses .
Dr E S Rajendran, Director, Vinayaka Mission’s Homeopathic Medical college, Salem will present paper on nano-studies of new drugs and the basics of nanoscience and also incorporate ideas regarding the biological action of drug potencies.
Dr Rajesh Shah, eminent homeopathic doctor and researcher, will present his latest research on HIV and Hepatitis C infections.
Dr. Upama Bagai, Immunologist will deliver a talk on efficacy of homeopathic medicines on chloroquine resistant and CQ sensitive strain of human malaria parasite, their cytotoxic studies on human cell lines and results in in-vitro antileishmanial activity against human.
Dr Eswara Das, consultant advisor in homeopathy to Government of India will deliver a lecture on schemes by the AYUSH Department which can be used by potential professionals to develop homeopathy.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kozhikode / by Sreedevi Chithranjan, TNN / September 12th, 2015
Meet Lydia Sebastian, 12-Year-Old Keralite Smarter than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawkingaboutmodafinil.com/ Allan Ajifo/ Flickr
Lydia Sebastian, 12, has achieved the maximum score in the Mensa Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test, beating the IQ scores of physicists Albert Einstein and Professor Stephen Hawking.
In the mental ability test, the 12-year-old girl has scored the maximum, which is 162. With this, she has created a record as the IQ score of Einstein and Hawking were 160.
Born to 43-year-old Arun, a radiologist at Colchester General Hospital, and mother Erika Kottiath, who is an associate director at Barclays Bank, Lydia started reading books when she was just a few years old.
“She also had an early interest in reading. When she was a few years old she was reading books that were for children several years older than her. And maths is her favourite subject. She won a prize for that when she was at primary school,” her father told The Daily Mail .
Hailing from the south Indian state of Kerala and settled in Langham, Essex in the United Kingdom, Lydia’s parents are astonished with the achievement of their daughter after the result was published on Friday, 28 August.
Lydia is a student at Colchester County High School in Essex.
source: http://www.ibtimes.co.in / International Business Times / Home> News> Science / by Anu James / September 03rd, 2015
Tiny Nair’s Happy At Heart is a guide to being happy. His anecdotes are based on his experience with his patients
“I think doctors make good story tellers,” says Tiny Nair, a cardiologist at PRS Hospital. And he should know. His book, Happy At Heart, contains a wealth of interesting anecdotes. And they are not scientists-made-this-discovery kind of tales, they are the stories of people, of doctors, of patients, and of the importance of listening and being present. While some make you smile as the doctor infuses doses of humour in his narration, others touch a chord in your heart. How you interpret each story, he says, is entirely up to you as each tale has an underlying message. Most of the anecdotes are brief and the author says one may read from any page and anywhere in the prologue. “However, if you are reading the book from the start, don’t forget to read the end as it more or less binds the rest of the stories together,” says Tiny.
Growing up as a single child, books were Tiny’s friends. Instead of souvenirs of his various trips abroad in connection with his profession, it is books that he brings home as mementos of his journeys. And although he is a bibliophile and has an impressive library at his residence at Poojappura, turning writer was never on his rolls. “I did write scientific pieces that were turned into books, but I never thought of trying my hand at fiction.”
It was an article of his that got published in The Hindu, which led him on a literary path.
“It was a scribble on clothing labels. It was on how labels had graduated from the back of the collar to the breast pocket,” says Tiny, an admirer of authors Khaled Hosseini and Sunil Ganguly. The response to the published article was an added bonus.
“My patients called to say that they enjoyed the light read. That was when the idea of writing something non-medical and light-hearted came to me. I wanted to write something that would make readers happy, a book that will be a self-help guide on how to be happy. Malayalis are a serious lot. They rarely take things lightly; I wanted them to see the bright side of life through my book,” says Tiny, who calls himself, funny and a person who is slow to anger.
Fond of jotting down things that strike him, Tiny, says the material for the book was always there. “I find a tale in every little thing or incident, be it on housewives, marriage halls, horoscopes…I just needed to frame them into proper sentences.”
The stories in the book, be it the story of the magic beads, or that about the jeweller and his ring, are based on his personal experiences and that of his patients.
“Doctors and their patients share a unique relationship. Not only are doctors privy to their patients’ ailments but also their lives. My patients for instance, talk about their finances, domestic abuse, fall-outs with children… with me.” Names have however been changed to protect the patient’s privacy and “no character is shown in bad light in the book”.
Tiny who has written several ‘medical poems’, five of which have been published by The Hindu, plans to find a publisher for his poetry collection and also his kitty of essays on all myriad topics, right from air fresheners to obstructive sleep apnea. “There is no market for poetry or essays these days. My work tries to show that essays need not be boring. As for my ‘medical poems’, my poems deal with topics such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, doctors et al in a light hearted manner,” says the doctor as he signs off.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Liza George / Thiruvananthapuram – August 19th, 2015
A new app called Netradaan enables users to sign up for eye donation through their mobile phones. What makes the app all the more special is the contributions by a visually challenged person in its making.
Muhammed Ramees was born with partial eyesight. When Sunil Mathew, founder of Sightica Solutions spotted him during an interview to train visually challenged persons in using computers, he realized that Ramees was too good to be just trained in basics. That was the beginning. Together the duo went on to develop a series of Android apps.
“One of the unique features of the app is t the recipient request through which a request for cornea can be made. This will go into the database of the association. The app has English and Hindi versions, Ramees said. The app encourages users to donate their eyes through an easy to fill-and-submit donor form. “We have partnered with the Eye Bank Association of India. The donor receives an eye donation card from the association,” said Sunil, who also runs Society for Rehabilitation of the Visually Challenged (SRVC), an NGO in Kochi.
Another app called Kuluk created by them enables the blind to call for help by shaking or tapping their phone “A visually challenged person can call for help by shaking the phone or tapping it just once keeping the app on. The users can customize the number of shakes upto three. A shake or a tap prompts a call or message to emergency numbers saved on their phones,” said Sunil. Another app called Mapseeker helps the elderly or visually challenged to find important places using google maps. “This is just like the GPS but with more user-friendly features for the blind,” Ramees added. ”
Netradaan app has won the m-inclusion Awards at the mBillionth Awards held in New Delhi last week. The award honours outstanding mobile content and apps from South Asia.
“We should spread awareness regarding eye donation. What pushed us to develop this app was the long waiting list for corneas. About 45,000 corneas are imported from Sri Lanka alone every year,” said Sunil. All the apps can be downloaded from Google Playstore.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kochi / by Sudha Nambudiri, TNN / August 04th, 2015
K P P Nambiar, renowned technocrat and founding chairman of Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keltron), will be cremated in his native village Kalliassery on Thursday. He died of age-related illnesses on Tuesday evening in his Bangalore residence, where he had settled after leaving Kerala.
Later, after a brief stint abroad, he returned to India on the invitation of the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. Later he came to Kerala on the state government’s request and played a pivotal role in the setting up of Keltron in 1973. While establishing Keltron, Nambiar chose his native place for establishing a major unit.
“Keltron was actually a dream project for Nambiar and he put in lot of energy to realize his dream,” reminisced writer and activist Karivellur Murali, who was a store manager in the Keltron unit in the district. “Though the unit in Kannur, which he set up along with the headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, is the biggest capacitor manufacturer in Asia and known for its quality, Keltron is unable to market it properly due to the policies of the central government,” he said, adding that it would have been a different story for the ailing enterprise had he been there at the helm of Keltron.
Nambiar’s dreams were not limited to electronics. “When Keltron’s component making unit was established in Kannur, he was concerned about the power problems here and wanted to set up a power project,” said industrialist and exporter C Jayachandran.
“He had even identified 190 acres at Irinavu for the project. However, there was stiff opposition from residents and politicians and meanwhile the business partner for the project, Enron, also got entangled in controversies and it ultimately killed the project. The land was later identified for the Indian Coast Guard Academy.
He had big dreams for Kannur but it did not take off because the community and political leadership failed to understand his vision,” he said.
In a sense, his decision to leave Kerala was a political statement on the state of affairs here, feel those who knew him. Though Kannur University conferred him with DLitt in August 2013, Nambiar could not make it and the honour was received by his wife Umadevi.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / July 02nd, 2015
In 2003, a packed Senate chamber in the city witnessed a rare event that had just two speakers – both non politicians – F C Kohli, father of Indian IT, and Vijay Bhatkar, Padma Bhushan award winner. Policitians, including K R Gowri Amma and P K Vasudevan Nair, sat in the front row among the audience. All eyes were on a man in the wheelchair, K P P Nambiar, the visionary behind the establishment of Keltron and Technopark. The occasion was his 75th birthday.
The function is still vivid in the memories of Technopark founder CEO R Vijayaraghavan, who strongly feel that KPP could do a lot more and that his illness was the result of unfair treatment meted out by the state. “A vigilance inquiry was ordered against him out of political vendetta. This happened because he refused to bribe a prominent politician for KPP’s prestigious Kannur Power Project. He had put much effort into the project, incurring substantial debt,” he recollected.
“What is surprising is that the inquiry was forwarded by the then chief minister based on an anonymous letter which just said ‘inquire against KPP and Keltron’. The vigilance department informed the government that no inquiry could be made against individuals, but only against allegations. Then, another anonymous letter with various allegations against KPP was forwarded to the department. Several people, including those whom KPP had helped a lot, raised false accusations against him. Recognitions like the Padma Bhushan got delayed due to this. The inquiry was dropped during the tenure of the last UDF government. KPP had written about this controversial phase in his book ‘Saphalam Kalapabharitam’, but most of its copies were destroyed. The book I have with me has that portion edited out,” he said.
Former senior business development manager of Technopark, M Vasudevan, recollected KPP’s contribution of KPP as the secretary of the electronics department in the Rajiv Gandhi ministry. “When IBM was banned in the country in the mid-1980s, TCS decided to import large IBM mainframes worth $5 million. But the government refused. TCS gave a guarantee that it would generate four times that amount in three years from software exports. Nevertheless, the firm had to approach KPP, who understood its significance and took up the matter with the concerned ministries and obtained approval,” Vasudevan remembered.
Vijayaraghavan said KPP was a man of great memory who was not afraid of anyone. “Once he had an argument with one of the Cabinet members in the Rajiv Gandhi government. He walked out from the meeting, but went to meet Rajiv Gandhi himself and got a favourable decision,” he said.
Technopark CEO K G Girish Babu described Nambiar as a brave visionary. “He was one of those rare non-IAS men who singlehandedly fought against the IAS lobby in the government. Today we organized an internal meeting of Technopark officials and shared our memories,” Babu said, before leaving for KPP’s funeral.
Chief minister Oommen Chandy condoled the death of K P P Nambiar. He directed that the funeral be conducted with full state honours in Kannur on Thursday.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / by Jisha Surya, TNN / July 02nd, 2015
A scientist arranging specimens at an exhibition of the Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, in connection with its centenary celebrations. —Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup
Kozhikode Collector to flag off centenary run at its centre
The year-long centenary celebrations of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) at its Western Ghat Regional Centre will kick off with a ‘Centenary Run’ starting from its campus at Jaffar Khan Colony in Kozhikode on Wednesday.
School and college students, staff members of the regional centre and people will participate in the run and the curtain-raiser event followed by it in the afternoon.
A variety of programmes including national seminars on Western Ghat conservation, workshops, public awareness programmes and competitions for school and college students will be among the programmes to be organised as part of the centenary celebrations, said P.M. Sureshan, senior scientist and officer-in-charge of the centre.
The natural history museum at the centre has been spruced-up to welcome the visitors as part of the celebrations. The museum that features a wide variety of representative fauna of Western Ghats, will be a key attraction for the visitors during the celebrations, said Dr. Sureshan. The museum has a good collection of seashells, insects, fossils, seashore animals and fishes to attract the viewers.
A section titled ‘A Journey through the Western Ghats,’ takes the viewers through the photographs and embalmed samples of living thing including birds, animals and butterflies endemic to the Western Ghats. Besides eye-catching pictorials and models of life from the Ghats, the section also features pictures of a large variety of amphibians, mammals, fishes, retails, molluscs and dragonflies in the section. Entry to the museum will be free from 10 a.m.
‘Taking Science to People,’ is the theme of the centenary celebrations. “That will precisely be what we attempt to do through various programmes as part of the celebrations,” said Dr. Sureshan, who maintained that the centenary celebration would also be an occasion to introduce the institute to the public as well as to the scientific community outside. District Collector N. Prasanth will flag off the centenary run at the centre at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Mayor A.K. Premajam will inaugurate the centenary celebrations at the centre at 2 p.m.. Dr. P.S. Easa, former director of the Kerala Forest Research Institute will deliver the keynote address on the occasion.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Jabir Musthari / Kozhikode – July 01st, 2015
‘Latex Carry Backpack’, designed by students of Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirapally, was adjudged the best project at the 10th National Innovation Contest- TechTop 2015 that concluded at the Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology (MBCET) here on Saturday.
The prize, instituted by Degree Controls, was awarded to Ajin Omanakuttan, Alen Anil, Mintu Elizabeth Shaji and Parameswaran S of Amal Jyothi College of Engineering by Governor P Sathasivam at the valedictory function. The prize comprise cash award of Rs one lakh.
Greeshma Unnikrishnan of IIT Mumbai won the second prize of Rs 50,000 for her project ‘Cost Effective Monitoring System for Intravenous.Infusion’, while the third prize (Rs 30,000) went to MBCET for their project called ‘Upasana: Diagnostic Toolkit for ASHA Workers.’
One of the highlights of TechTop this year was the Junior Innovation Challenge introduced for high school students. Of these, Placid Vidya Vihar School, Kottayam, won the top honors in the category, comprising cash prize of Rs 25,000, for the project ‘Easy Patient Transferring Machine’.
Speaking on the occasion, Governor P Sathasivam noted that entrepreneurship and innovation were crucial for economic growth of the country.
The Latex Carry Backpack, which won the first prize, aims to address a common issue that rubber tappers face when they transfer the milk from the tree to the containers.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service / June 28th, 2015
Students of the Amal Jyothi College of Engineering go fashion conscious with their Advance Hair Colouring Technology project on display at the 10th TechTop National Innovation Challenge on Thursday. / The Hindu
National Innovation Challenge begins at Mar Baselios college
As many as 21 projects from various engineering colleges across the country are on display at the 10th TechTop National Innovation Challenge that began at the Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology (MBCET) here on Thursday.
Students from schools and engineering colleges in the capital city and its suburbs are flocking to MBCET to see the projects based on the contest theme ‘Smart Designs for Healthy Living.’ The top prize that awaits the winners is Rs.1 lakh.
Some of the projects on display at the two-day fete are a cost-effective monitoring system for intravenous infusion (IIT Mumbai); cost-effective filter for having anti-bacterial property (Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam); and EMG-activated arm for paralytic patients (Sethu Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu).
Students of Sahradaya College of Engineering and Techology introduce their fire extinguishing robot
A fire extinguishing robot (Sahradaya College of Engineering and Technology, Thrissur); tactile Braille display (St. Francis Institute of Technology, Maharashtra); pneumatic engine (St. Vincent Pallottil College of Engineering, Maharashtra); and a location-aware gas leakage detection and alert system (Amal Jyothi College of Engineering) are also on display.
One of the highlights of TechTop this year is the Junior Innovation Competition organised for school students.
The Young Innovators Club of St. Berchman’s Higher Secondary School, Changanassery, has seven projects on display and Placid Vidya Vihar, Kottayam, has one project.
Earlier, Kerala Technological University Vice Chancellor Kuncheria P. Isaac, in his inaugural address, said that those who could keep up with the speed of technological growth and create new products would find success.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – June 26th, 2015
Turn the page on poor reading habits. Here is a new software that would help people access catalogues of libraries. Moreover, it shows the kind of books the user should read, based on the search history, using artificial intelligence and robotic technology.
“I believe that easy access to books helps cultivate good reading habits,” said Kannur native M C Anoop, the brain behind the software called 99 Library. Anoop, a software engineer, wants to install it for free at all public libraries. The software was released by veteran writer T Padmanabhan in Kannur on Thursday.
Apart from online cataloguing, the software can also maintain a record of issue and return of books and subscription of magazines, newspapers and journals by the user. It also reminds the user of the date of return via email. All one needs to do is to log on to the website of 99 Library (www.99library.com).
“After installing the software at major libraries, a system to exchange books could be developed, which could help improve reading habits of people,” said Anoop, who added that organizations like the library council in the state could play a major role.
P K Baiju, secretary of district library council, said”Though we will not be able to integrate the library networks to exchange books now, the online catalogue will be a great advantage to book lovers,” he said.
A mobile app version of the software was also developed by Anoop. Though the software would be given free of cost to public libraries and individuals, Anoop is planning to sell it to big establishments like universities and its libraries to meet the expense of managing the website. He also plans to make available e-books that are copyright-free on the website soon.
source: http://ww.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / June 19th, 2015
