Category Archives: Science & Technology

Mechanisation reaches Pokkali fields in Alappuzha

Agriculture, Science & Technology

AThe district now has a new machinery to replant paddy seedlings in Pokkali fields.

It is for the first time that such mechanisation process has been introduced in the scheme of Pokkali farming in the State.

The machine, costing about Rs.2 lakh, was launched by District Collector N. Padmakumar at the Koorichal Pokkali fields at Eramalloor in Cherthala on Saturday. The replanting machine was developed by the scientists of rice research centre of Kerala Agricultural University, in association with a private company.

Replanting of seedlings is a labour-intensive process and availability of workers has been one of the major challenges faced by farmers. Pokkali rice in Kerala is considered organic and has got Geographical Indication (GI) certification. Pokkali fileds stretch over the coastal areas of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts in the State. Pokkali farming area in Kerala has come down from 25,000 acres to 5,000 hectares within the last 15 years owing to various problems faced by farmers, Francis Kalathngal, a Pokkali farmer and convenor of coordinating committee of Pokkali farmers, told The Hindu .

Pokkali fields do not require inorganic fertilizers or irrigation facilities set up by the government. As such, the government needs to support the farmers through providing subsidy on the machine so that it could be widely used, he said. Subsidies under certain schemes such as Gram Vikas Yojna are available from the Union and State governments, but are generally not disbursed on time, he added. The machine is an innovation pioneered by the scientists of rice research station, Ernakulam, said V. Sreekumar, professor and head of the centre, told The Hindu . Three years of experimentation has proved that it could be deployed in Pokkali fields characterised by loose sand and mud. It would take only one to one and a half hours to conduct the replanting operations in one acre. The use of seeds could also be reduced by spreading the because of the optimum practices employed in replanting, he said.

Preparing the fields for the mechanized process is important, according to Mr. Kalathingal. Late arrival of monsoon is a problem confronting the farmer. Washing away the salt content in the field by the rains for a fortnight is important. The traditional way of ‘broadcasting’ for sowing the seeds involves wastage whereas mechanisation provides scope for optimum use of seeds. The distance between the plants could also be set conveniently for giving maximum harvest, he said.

It is for the first time that such mechanisation process has been introduced in the scheme of Pokkali farming in the State.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by R Ramabhadran Pillai / Lappuzha – June 22nd, 2015

India’s first air-conditioned DEMU train launched in Kochi

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, Travel

TrainKERALA21jun2015

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today flagged off India’s first diesel electric multiple unit (DEMU) train service with an air-conditioned coach here.

The Angamaly-Ernakulam-Tripunithura-Piravom train service is expected to help in reducing traffic congestion in the state’s fastest growing city.

“It is for the first time in a DEMU service, we have provided air conditioned service. We want to increase it further,” Prabhu said at a function in Ernakulam Junction.

Top Railway officials said the AC coach provides reclining type comfortable cushion seats for 73 passengers similar to air-conditioned chair car of inter-city express trains.

Other coaches of DEMU train are provided with bench type cushion seats and large windows with glass shutters.

The train is equipped with bio-toilets and fully vestibule for free movement of passengers between coaches.

Prabhu said the DEMU after the inaugural service would be withdrawn temporarily and replaced with MEMU (mainline electrical multiple unit) train till the completion of renovation work of Harbour Terminus and Old Railway Stations.

He assured that the DEMU launched today would itself be restored once the renovation work was completed.

Kerala Power Minister Aryadan Muhammed, K V Thomas, MP, and Hybi Eden, Congress MLA, were among those who attended the function.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> National / PTI / Kochi – June 21st, 2015

Trinity college to make its own satellite

Education, Science & Technology
Arun Surendran, Strategic Director, Trinity College of Engineering, Thiruvanananthapuram, (third from left) with students and faculty members of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Arun Surendran, Strategic Director, Trinity College of Engineering, Thiruvanananthapuram, (third from left) with students and faculty members of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Designed by students, it is expected to be ready by 2018

In line with the initiatives of a few Indian institutions and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, the Trinity College of Engineering here has begun a student-driven project to put in place a satellite – Trinity Adrak Student Satellite (TASSAT).

Various departments and the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Lab of Trinity College will pool their expertise towards completing the satellite project by 2018.

“We visited Nanyang Technological University to have a complete understanding of such a project. They have a sustainable programme and have been continuously launching their satellites from India using ISRO’s launch vehicle PSLV. We would like to have a similar programme at the college,” Arun Surendran, Strategic Directory of Trinity, said in a release.

Sponsored by a Muscat-based firm, the satellite project is an estimation of space debris, a topic of discussion after the Oscar-winning Hollywood blockbuster Gravity .

Mary Matilda, principal in-charge of the college, said, “TASSAT will be a great boost for all the departments as it shall open the doors for students in exploring new areas and sharpening their engineering skills.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Staff Reporter / Thiruvananthapuram – June 20th, 2015

A fab lab where anything can be made

Science & Technology, World Opinion
The fab lab at the Startup Village in Kochi. — PHOTO: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT / The Hindu
The fab lab at the Startup Village in Kochi. — PHOTO: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT / The Hindu

MIT’s digital fabrication laboratory makes its way to Kochi

Imagine this. What if there was a device that lets you record your emotional outbursts like screams and later release them in the same degree?

Well, a student from the University in Sunderland, despite her very little coding and engineering experience came up with an innovative portable device called scream body, which effectively allows one to record the scream and release it later.

The innovation was made possible by the digital fabrication laboratory, a concept developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The amazing world of fab lab, as it is globally known and, which has by now popularised the slogan ‘anyone can make anything’, has come to the city. Startup Village, the telecom incubator, has set up a fab lab spread over 2,600 sq.ft in its campus at Kalamassery through the Kerala Startup Mission (formerly T-TBI).

MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld, who pioneered the concept of fab lab, was in the city on Tuesday. A second such facility in the State has been proposed at Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram.

“To put it very simply, fab lab is a mini factory of sorts where anyone can work on an idea and build a prototype, which would then help to figure out potential market for the product,” said Pranav Kumar Suresh, CEO, Startup Village. Experts from MIT will train a group of 10-12 selected hands for a week at Startup Village on the functioning of the fab lab.

The fab lab has already been equipped with a slew of equipment including shopbot (a do-all tool for precision cutting, carving, drilling or machining), laser cutter, milling machines, 3D printers moulding machines, mini furnaces, systems, desktops and relevant software.

Mr. Suresh said that though they propose to make the facility accessible to school students in the near future, the present focus is on college students and young startups. Hardware startups and even staff from smaller companies can also make use of the fab lab. “It’s not a complicated set up and involves a brief learning curve where after those interested can undergo online fab academy courses,” said Mr. Suresh. Since only 10 teams can work in the fab lab at a time, the Startup Village is planning to draw up a calendar to make the facility accessible to all.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by M.P. Praveen / Kochi – June 18th, 2015

Global marine body opens Kochi branch

Science & Technology, World Opinion

Giving a push to Kochi’s aspirations of becoming a state-of-the-art maritime and shipping hub, the prestigious Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) OPENED its Kochi branch on Friday.

Chief Executive Officer of RINA Trevor Blakeley inaugurated the new branch, the second in India after Chennai, at a function at Sree Narayana Gurukulam COLLEGE of Engineering at Kolencherry.

Ship designer of international acclaim Antony Prince will be the chairman of the new branch.

RINA, according to Mr. Blakeley, is an international professional institution in existence for over 150 years whose members are involved in design, construction, repair and maintenance of marine vessels and structures in over 90 COUNTRIES across the globe.

The STUDENT community, he said, would be greatly benefited from association with the agency, which comes out with over 6,000 technical research papers and holds some 20 conferences every year.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – April 18th, 2015

Dentists, gynaecologists to address a ‘teething’ problem

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technology

Kochi :

Dental problems during pregnancy can affect both the mother and child. Often, mothers-to-be suffer in silence or carry on with alternative medicine during pregnancy.

But dentists say that this could lead to further damage and, invariably, mothers would have to pay the price as they may end up with a long series of visits to the dentist.

To address this issue, the Kochi chapter of the Indian Dental Association (IDA) and Cochin Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society (COGS) have decided to put in place a preventive mechanism to ensure dental health, much before the first trimester of pregnancy.

“We’ve held a series of discussions with COGS. Sometimes, gynaecologists do not allow pregnant women to take antibiotics recommended by us. This complicates the dental problem,” said Dr Balu Soman, secretary, IDA.

Ideally, women planning pregnancies should check their dental health to ensure they don’t have issues during pregnancy and the lactating period, when they undergo major hormonal changes.

“We find cases of bleeding gums, teeth infection, swelling of gums, etc. These have to be managed and should not be allowed to become infectious. Not all antibiotics can be taken when a woman is carrying,” said Dr Gracy Thomas, president, COGS.

Since COGS organizes women health awareness programmes and pre-marital classes for college girls, the society is planning to include this topic also in these programmes.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed so that all dentists and gynecologists can work together. “We will formally launching the programme in April-May. Brochures, pamphlets and other information kits will be distributed in hospitals so that patients can take necessary precaution,” said Dr Soman.

It’s all in the gums

* Gum problems are common during pregnancies and they may bleed while brushing or flossing teeth

* The build-up of plaque makes gums more prone to bleeding

* Acidity of stomach can corrode teeth, and brushing makes the problem worse

* Usually, gum inflammation appears between the second and eighth month of pregnancy

* Signs of pregnancy gingivitis range from redder looking gums that bleed a little while brushing teeth to severe swelling and bleeding of gum tissue

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kochi / TNN / April 02nd, 2015

Students develop tiller for farmers

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

Kochi :

The students of the mechanical engineering department have developed a trenching machine cum tiller which can be used by farmers cultivating banana, tapioca or vegetables. The machine which looks like two hands mowing the soil can be attached to an power tiller for multi-tasking in farming operations.

The tool was developed as a prototype based on the specifications by the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) which was looking for a farm tool to improve the efficiency of the existing tillers where the farmer has to seek assistance of a manual labour to finely dig the hole for planting a sapling.

“We ran the trials last week in front of the officials at the Agricultural Research Station (ARS) at Mannuthy who suggested some modifications and fine-tuning. That will be done fast and we will be ready with a commercial product soon,” said Ashwanth M P, one of the team members of Kinetic Tillers which has been incubated at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cell (IEDC) of Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat).

Ashwanth and his friends, Jerish John, Aaron Tom, Lijesh Josy and Edwin Thomas who started work on the project last year developed it with feedback from farmers in Ernakulam when the final prototype was being readied.

Tilling is the most expensive and tedious work in farming and is mostly done manually using conventional tools or various machine powered technologies such as rotary tillers, cultivators, and disc harrows are used for tilling process. The manual process is very time consuming and has become too costly as well. A major limitation faced commonly in the rotary tillers is that soil becomes sticky when mixed with water, hence reducing the aeration (entering of air into the soil) which is harmful for young growing roots. Also, the inappropriate use of tillers leads to soil losing its organic matter affecting its fertility. Cultivators used for tilling at present are bulky in size, requires high power machines include, but are not limited to, tractors for pulling. Also, with the cultivators, depth of the soil to be tilled cannot be controlled, which affects its fertility and increases soil erosion.

“We are setting up a Centre of Excellence in agricultural research and farm mechanization is one of the focus areas. When such a need was discussed at the ARS, we decided to hand over the work to the Cusat students under IEDC. The concept has come out well. We are suggested some changes in blades and depth digging and asked them to get back to us with it,” said Prof U Jayakumar, Director, ARS.

The students however, want to go a step forward. Make it a cost-effective tool which even the middle-level farmer in Kerala can afford. “Right now, the price could cost about Rs 60,000 but we want to bring it further down,” said Ashwanth.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kochi / by Sudha Nambudri, TNN / April 01st, 2015

New Brain Scanning Method for Early Detection of Autism

Science & Technology, World Opinion

Kozhikode :

For years, scientists have been trying to find out the reasons behind autism and to formulate effective treatment methods.

In a breakthrough, for the first time, a team led by Rajesh Kanna of University of Alabama at Birmingham has used different types of brain scanning techniques to understand how the brain of people with autism is organised and connected.

“We studied the structure, function, chemical level, and connectivity of the brain of people with autism,” said Rajesh, who hails from Karivellur Panchayat in Kannur district.

In an e-mail interview    with ‘Express’ from the US, he said that the importance of the study using multimodal neuroimaging-based classification would help to diagnose autism at an early age, when the brain is at formative stage and the intervention will be more effective.

Neuroimaging research will help in improving and supporting the diagnosis of autism, and enhance the pace of diagnostic process, he said.    “The important aspect is its approach in using multiple brain imaging modalities. Such an approach emerges from the fact that behaviorally complex disorders like autism may entail complex neurobiology. Focal brain markers may not explain such disorders. And we may have our best bet in using multiple levels of measurements in order to identify biomarkers for this disorder,” he adds.

“The findings of this study provided a comprehensive picture of the complex brain pathology in autism spectrum disorders. In advancing the field, this study emphasises that the brain abnormalities in autism may not be confined to a single area, rather, it will be distributed across different areas at multiple levels and layers,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by C P Sajit / March 30th, 2015

Call to exploit commercial, medicinal potential of njavara rice

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Nature, Science & Technology
The need for proper branding and planning of marketing strategies has been highlighted by the speakers at the State level workshop on “Prospects and possibilities of njavara rice farming”.
The need for proper branding and planning of marketing strategies has been highlighted by the speakers at the State level workshop on “Prospects and possibilities of njavara rice farming”.

Expert moots branding unique variety of Kerala rice

The need for proper branding and planning of marketing strategies has been highlighted by the speakers at the State level workshop on “Prospects and possibilities of njavara rice farming”.

The workshop organised by the Centre for IP Protection under the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) took note of the mismatch between the high demand for quality njavara rice on one hand and the difficulty faced by genuine njavara farmers in selling their produce on the other.

KAU Registrar P.V. Balachandran, in his inaugural address, stressed the need to validate scientific data on the medicinal value of njavara to convince the international society. “Even though njavara has been traditionally used for treatment of multiple maladies and there are reports on its capability to thwart cancer, it has to be validated with scientific data. Medicinal rice is the unique product of Kerala. Ensuring universal acceptance, proper marketing strategies and product diversification are the best options for sustaining njavara rice farming,” he said. T.R. Gopalakrishnan, Director of Research, in his presidential address, called for collaboration between the KAU and the Ayurvedic research institutions to identify the genetic elements responsible for the medicinal properties of native varieties like njavara and pokkali.

“An action plan to encourage cultivation of these varieties and spread awareness of their qualitative superiority and value should be evolved,” he said.

Dr. Ramankutty Warrier, chief medical officer, Vydyarathnam Ayurveda Foundation, Thycattussery, explained the medical applications of njavara rice.

Dr.Warrier detailed the different treatments using njavara and the properties of which were exploited in dealing with different diseases. Njavara should always be grown organically, he said.

Technical sessions on “GI status of njavara”, “Cultivation practices of njavara” and “Marketing possibilities of njavara” were held as part of the workshop. It was attended by farmers, traders and industrialists from different parts of the State.

source: http://www.thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Thrissur – March 12th, 2015

Creative Smart Waste Bin Fetches her Accolades

Education, Green Initiatives & Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology

Kochi :

Rakshanya Sekar, a confident youngster,is on cloud nine. The student of KV Pattom is the only one from the state to receive the Bio Asia Young Minds award 2015.

The class XII student got the award for her science project, ‘Smart disposal bin’, which she presented at the Bio Asia 2015, a national convention held recently at Hyderabad. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and a citation.

Rakshanya presented a basic working model of the bin at the Bio Asia conference.

RakshanyaKERALA07mar2015

With enthusiasm, the teen elaborates on the working of her ‘Smart Disposal’ apparatus. She says,“The bin is divided into two compartments- the plastic waste unit and the food disposal unit. The food waste unit consists of a food dehydrator, hot air blower and a wire mesh through which the waste reaches the bottom chamber of the food unit. The dehydrator and the hot air blower helps to take out the moisture content from the waste, which can then be used as manure or even animal fodder.”

The empty plastic bottles put in the other unit are crushed and shredded into small pellets by horizontal blades present in the compartment. “These horizontal concave blades work alternatively, and the plastic pellets are collected in the bottom chamber of the unit.”

The 16-year-old sees it as a solution for the waste disposal problem faced by the Railways. She said, “Managing waste, especially plastic, is a huge problem, with plastic bottles lying on the tracks.

The Smart Disposal Bin helps by reducing the volume of the bottle, making it easier to transport. One can utilise the plastic collected in this way, for using in innovative projects.”

The biotechnology student used zinc sheets to make the body of the model, which also has additional boxes to collect powdered waste. Rakshanya,who is passionate about science, says, “I like innovating and coming up with new ideas, and wish to contribute to society through science.” She will be representing KV from her region, along with a few other students in the upcoming Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Exhibition.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Varsha Mohan / March 07th, 2015