The surgical team displaying the 99 gallstones that were removed from a patient at Tumkur District Hospital. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
When 45-year-old Salma went to the Tumkur District Hospital with pain and swelling in her abdomen, little did she know that doctors would detect as many as 99 gallstones. Ms. Salma, a diabetic and having hypertension for the last 10 years, had visited several hospitals and was diagnosed with umbilical hernia. As she also had heart problem, she postponed the surgery.
However, at the Tumkur District hospital, an ultrasound revealed she had multiple gallstones in her abdomen. “When she came to us, she had severe abdomen pain. Her sugar level was abnormally high and haemoglobin was low, apart from other issues. We admitted her for 15 days and stabilised her parameters before we worked her up for the surgery. The surgery was done on Tuesday,” said Dinesh R. and Waseem Imran, the doctors who performed the surgery.
Dr. Waseem said although multiple gallstones are not unusual, finding 99 in a person is rare. “In the three-hour surgery we removed her umbilical hernia and the gallstones. She is recuperating well in the ICU. She will be discharged in eight days, he added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – February 28th, 2018
Ikhlas Khan. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Communications
Ikhlas Khan, director of the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, is the winner of AOAC International’s 2018 Harvey W. Wiley Award, which recognizes lifetime scientific achievement.
AOAC International develops global quality standards for microbiological and chemical materials, ranging from food to pharmaceuticals in an effort to ensure public health. Khan, who has been with the university since 1992 and directed the natural products center since 2017, has spent much of his career developing standards for dietary supplements.
“I’m very pleased to receive this award,” Khan said. “AOAC is the top organization for chemical standards, and I appreciate this recognition of my work in this area.”
As part of the honor, Khan will deliver the Wiley Award address and chair the Wiley Award Symposium at AOAC’s annual meeting in August in Toronto.
The Harvey W. Wiley Award has been given to one person a year since 1957, with past recipients including scientists from government, industry and academic institutions from around the world.
The National Center for Natural Products Research maintains a repository with more than 18,000 natural product specimens, derived extracts and pure compounds. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications
Story by Sydney Slotkin Dupriest, courtesy of Ole Miss Communications
Develop a cost-effective automated toy-making machine
A team of six students from S.R. Engineering College (SREC) in Warangal bagged the top prize at a national-level problem solving competition for their automated toy maker innovation meant for rural toy makers.
College principal V. Mahesh said the competition was organised by Indo-Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE) Student Consortium for Advancement and Learning in Engineering Education at Tyagaraja college of Engineering between January 5 and january 7 at Madurai.
The winning students were Paul Vineeth Reddy (4th year ECE), K. Enosh (3rd year Mech), S. Sirihasa (3rd year CSE), Md. Imran Ahmad (3rd year Mech) K. Sricharan (3rd year EEE) and D. Vinay (3rd year ECE).
The award was given to SREC students for developing a cost-effective automated toy making machine that increases productivity four-fold.
The competition saw entrants from 30 colleges across nation, who were asked to submit a solution to a specific problem or challenge. The participants from SREC visited a nearby village to identify the existing problems. They generated multiple ideas and finally decided on a cost-effective solution for toy makers.
“It is indeed a challenge and what gave us immense satisfaction is solving a problem” the students said. Explaining their idea and innovation, the students added that the automated machine would allow toy makers to make 40 toys per day, boosting their productivity. In the conventional manual method, they could produce a maximum of 10 toys.
The machine will have a grinder, conveyor belt, rollers, block cutter, die punch and a furnace.
source: http://www.the hindu.com / Home> News> States> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Warangal Urban District – January 11th, 2018
Nagercoil girl Masha Nazeem will receive the prestigious National Youth Award for her contributions to science and technology.
The annual award is instituted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and is given to recognise outstanding work and achievements of youngsters and further motivate them to excel in the field on National Development and Social Service.
“I am very excited to be selected for this award,” said 24-year-old Masha, who with her father Khaja Nazeemudeen, a government employee, is all set to receive the award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 12.
Hailing from Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari district Masha is the elder of two siblings. She developed a keen interest in science from the time she was nine years old.
“It all happened because of my father, he would enroll me in every possible contest in school, one of them was a science exhibition. I didn’t even know my name was on the list,” she said. Masha, then a class five student, made a burglar alarm which impressed her teachers and won her the first prize.
From then on, there was no stopping, Masha went on to invent 14 socially useful gadgets such as a flameless seal marker, which is now used by State government officials, hi-tech train toilet system, fuel dispensers, anti sinking alarm amongst others.
Three of her innovations are in the process of getting patented. She has also won several awards and accolades including the State Youth Award 2016.
Innovation centre
To provide free hands on training to young inventors and help them turn their ideas to reality, she setup Masha Innovation Center, a research laboratory and workshop in her hometown.
“There are many students who are creative and have ideas but get stuck in only learning theory taught in schools. While theory is important, they must also be encouraged to have practical experience. This is my aim and I hope more students benefit from it,” she said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – January 12th, 2018
Ashwa Racing, a brand under Ashwa Mobility of RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, on Saturday launched three new race cars on the combustion (AMF RZX8- CO), hybrid (AMF X8-HY) and electric (AMF-RZX8 -ELE) platforms for the 2018 race season.
Undergraduate students, who conceived, designed and build formula race cars, would be competing in national and global events in the coming months.
The combustion vehicle (210 kg without driver) development is headed by team captain Sweekruth Shetty, project manager Rakesh H.N, chief engineer Prateek Bhustali. The racing hybrid vehicle (300 kg) development is headed by team captain Asfan Khan, project manager Suhas B.U., chief engineer Uday Naik and chief communication officer Tarun Kasa.
The electric vehicle (200kg) development is headed by team captain Pranave Nanda, project manager Rahul S.D., chief engineer Gautam Singh and chief communication officer Srivatsa Deshpande.
The combustion and electric divisions of Ashwa Racing would be competing in Formula Bharat, which will be held in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu from January 24 to 28, 2018.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / January 15th, 2018
Dr Iqbal Ahmad had in 2009 completed his MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore in Karnataka. A year later, he was selected for Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
When Iqbal Ahmad, now the district magistrate of Champawat district in Uttarakhand, joined the civil services in 2010, he did not just have the aim of serving the nation, but wanted to go the extra mile.
The young officer had in 2009 completed his MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore in Karnataka. A year later, he was selected for Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
However, the Kanpur-born Ahmad had to wait for another seven years to fulfil his “old wish” — to give free medical consultancy to the poor — as he had “no formal registration”.
“On September 15, the Uttarakhand medical council cleared the registration and now I can serve,” Dr Iqbal told HT.
On Friday, he walked into the district hospital and started his medical practice for the first time.
The district magistrate will serve for one hour every morning at district hospital. During tours, he will give consultancy to the locals
Dr MS Bora, chief medical officer of Champawat, welcomed the move, saying, “DM Dr Iqbal’s dececison would motivate our health department and the needy of the district would definitely benfit from his one-hour medical consultancy.”
Champawat has only 42 doctors out of the 95 sanctioned. It has one district hospital and 21 other hospitals besides about 1,500 OPDs.
Uttarakhand has almost 60% shortfall of doctors. Against a requirement of 2,700 doctors state has just 1,000 doctors.
Kumaon commission, Chadra Shekhar also welcomed the decision, saying “If an IAS like him wants to utlize his specialization for the common public, it will benefit the state.”
Shekhar recalled that earlier, a senior IAS officer from Uttarakhand, Dr Rakesh Kumar, also an MBBS holder, had served the people by providing free medical consultancy.
Another officer to have done the same is Sadanand Date, a senior superintendent of police (SSP) posted in Uttarakhand, who is also a qualified surgeon.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Dehradun / by Mohan Rajput, Hindustant Times. Champawat / September 23rd, 2017
The results of the AU study conclude that fisetin can protect the brain from damage induced by aging. (HT)
A team of scientists at the Allahabad University has established that a natural compound called fisetin, found in strawberry, apple, onion and cucumber, can restore brain functions which deteriorate during aging.
A team of scientists at the Allahabad University has established that a natural compound called fisetin, found in strawberry, apple, onion and cucumber, can restore brain functions which deteriorate during aging.
The findings of the team,led by Prof SI Rizvi from the department of biochemistry at AU, have been published in the latest issue of American research journal Life Sciences.
Scientists acknowledge that oxidative stress is a major factor responsible for age-related changes in living organisms. Oxidative stress is the condition when the damage, due to the toxic form of oxygen molecules, exceeds the capacity of the body to repair such damage.
“It is a paradox that oxygen, which is essential for life, becomes the cause of aging,” said Prof Rizvi.
“In human body, most of the oxygen is consumed by the brain. Therefore, it is the brain that becomes more vulnerable to oxidative stress. With increase in age, brain cells degenerate leading to diseases and loss of brain function,” he said.
Through experiments, the research team analysed a host of biomarkers of aging, including pro-oxidants, antioxidants, mitochondrial function, expression of genes, and apoptosis cell death.
The results of the AU study conclude that fisetin can protect the brain from damage induced by aging.
“The study was carried out on rats of different ages and also on those which were chemically induced to age faster,” said Prof Rizvi.
Fisetin was given to rats of old age and the effect was compared with the younger ones. Fisetin-treated old rats were protected from brain damage.
Among all anti-aging strategies being explored, caloric restriction is the most promising which, in common terms, can be defined as less food intake.
Caloric restriction has been effectively tested in small organisms like fruit fly and earthworms. The strategy becomes difficult to implement in humans where several ethical issues are involved.
Scientists have stumbled upon a class of compounds which mimic the effect of caloric restriction. With the use of these compounds, known as caloric restriction mimetics, the body feels like it is food restricted without the need of eating less.
According to Prof Rizvi, fisetin works as a caloric restriction mimetic in showing its anti-aging effect on rats. “Scientists are hopeful that compounds exhibiting caloric restriction mimetic effects will prove to be good anti-aging drugs,” he said.
Several experimental drugs are being tested in Prof Rizvi’s lab for possible anti-aging effects. “Although an increase in human lifespan may not be possible, it may increase the health span,” Prof Rizvi added.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by K. Sandeep Kumar , Hindustan Times, Allahabad / January 08th, 2018
IN 1942, a daughter was born to Fathema Ismail, the sister of cotton king and Congress financier Umar Sobhani, and Mohammad Hasham Ismail, a government of India trade commissioner posted in Mombasa. She was fondly named Usha – after the Goddess of dawn – in the expectation of a new dawn as the city and the country was immersed in the Quit India movement. Fathema Ismail was closely involved with Kulsum Sayani (the mother of Ameen Sayani) in women’s education and the establishment of All India Village Industries Association. When Usha turned three the family discovered that she had polio.
“Amma was dejected with the news, but at the same time she was determined to get the best treatment for me,” recalls Usha Cunningham who is now based in New York. She recalls the turbulent years where India fought and finally achieved freedom from the British, which ran parallel to her own fight with polio. Patel Manzil at Nepean Sea Road, where Usha grew up was a safe haven for underground activists. “Aruna khaala (Aruna Asaf Ali) and other leaders would live under assumed names in our house. My mother’s nationalist leanings were well-known but as my father was a trade commissioner, we escaped scrutiny.”
In her search for a doctor, Fathema was referred to Dr M G Kini, an orthopaedic surgeon based in Madras. “Dr Kini was a crusty, old man who first declined to accept my case. Amma would literally sit outside his residence and accost him in the morning, afternoon and evening when he would travel between his house and clinic. He ultimately agreed and we stayed in Madras for around eight months,” recalls Cunningham. Under Dr Kini’s guidance Usha showed tremendous improvement.
The Madras visit also marked the beginning of Fathema’s discovery about the lack of facilities for children afflicted with polio. Soon her husband Mohammad was transferred to Iran from Mombasa, but she stayed in India. After Madras, the next stop was Pune, where, Fathema had gathered, there were some facilities for rehabilitating injured soldiers at the British Army Hospital. “There were three British physiotherapists who would treat the injured soldiers with the help of a few trained Indian assistants. Amma requested similar training and after some reluctance was allowed access,” remembers Cunningham.
What worked in her favour was the fact that Fathema had gone to Vienna to study medicine in 1920 after finishing her schooling, but had to return due to a financial crisis in the family. For three years she had stayed alone in Vienna absorbed in her studies. Decades later, those three years of study helped facilitate a better understanding of the process of rehabilitation. More than two years of treatment and therapy changed Cunningham’s life. From “totally paralysed”, she regained remarkable mobility in her right leg. Little did she know that she would soon become an exemplar of how patients with polio need not be confined within the walls of their house – ignored and neglected.
Fathema was now determined to start a facility for the countless poliostricken children and their parents. Her experience and observation in Madras and Pune gave her the confidence to start a clinic in Bombay (as it was known then). But finding a suitable space amidst a financial crunch plus low awareness of the disease were formidable hurdles. She also had to ensure she had enough medical equipment to attend to the children. The war had ended and the imminent departure of the British meant that the Army hospital in Pune faced an uncertain future.
In 1946 she had established the Society for the Rehabilitation of Crippled Children (SRCC) but despite her pleadings, the hospital was not willing to share or sell the equipment. She then convinced two of the Indian assistants to get the various equipment and kits transferred to Bombay while the hospital was winding up. “She promised them jobs and convinced them of the immense good this would do for the poor patients,” recalls Cunningham, the excitement in her voice palpable as she recounted her mother’s exploits.” Not many people know that six truckloads of machinery were taken out from Pune,” she says.
These surreptitiously transported kits formed the base for a polio clinic that was opened in May 1947 in the empty Chowpatti premises offered by Dr A V Baliga, who was going to the United States on a study tour. After few months the Bombay government gave space in the empty barracks at Marine Drive as the clinic’s immense popularity led to a waiting list. In the wake of Independence, Bombay and India, had woken up to the need of rehabilitating the differentlyabled. Medical journals and international aid organisations took note of Fathema Ismail’s enterprise.
Fathema Ismail and Jawaharlal Nehru at the opening of her clinic in the military barrack at Marine Drive in 1947
In 1951, she visited the United States on the state department’s invitation for a four-month tour of various hospitals, and the same year went to Europe to attend international conferences. She was now determined to open a full-fledged hospital. “She caused quite a headache to Prime Minister Nehru as she demanded a plot near the race course at Haji Ali. It was a prime location and Nehru would say ‘Fati, why only that plot? I can request the Bombay government to give some other place’. But Amma was insistent. The racecourse was frequented by the rich and the famous and one of the reasons for the request was that she wanted larger society to be fully aware and responsive to the problem of polio.”
The result was a children’s orthopaedic hospital, which opened in 1952 and was inaugurated by Nehru, which continues to operate to this day. After roughly 30 surgeries and years of therapy, Cunningham who is now 75 years old, has no regrets. “I have climbed mountains, ran a business in Delhi, shifted to America, got married, have a caring husband and daughter. This is what Amma wanted. Similarly she convinced several industrialists to offer training for the handicapped at her centres so that they could get employment.” In 2011, India announced that it had eradicated polio but the foundation stone for this incredible campaign was laid by a lady who had the grit and determination to envision a polio-free society over 70 years ago.
source: http://www.ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com / Ahmedabad Mirror / Home> Others> Sunday Read / by Danish Khan, Ahmedabad Mirror / August 20th, 2017
Ms Farhana Zaidi (Phd student, Department of Physics, Aligarh Muslim University—AMU) has been conferred with the ‘Prof C V K Baba Award’ for the best thesis of the year during a ‘Department of Atomic Energy-Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences’ sponsored symposium on Nuclear-Physics held at Thapar University in Patiala.
The award was given by Indian Physics Association.
Ms Zaidi is also a recipient of Young Physicist Award—2 017, S N Ghoshal Award for Best Young Physicist and Pratyasa Kumar Basu Memorial Award for best presentation.
AMU research scholar Farhana Zaidi from Department of Physics received the first prize from The Indian Physical Society (IPS) for her paper on ‘Nuclear Medium Effects in Neutrino Nucleus Scattering at J Lab and Minerva Energies’ at the 35th Young Physicists’ COLLOQIUM (YPC 2017), Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata.
The second and third prizes were awarded to research scholars from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
Zaidi’s paper was selected from 17 entries submitted by research scholars from all over the country, which were reviewed by three referees. After a 25-minute paper presentation, Zaidi answered questions on her research.
Earlier, she also received S N Ghoshal Award for the best young physicist and Pratyasa Kumar Basu Award for the best young scientist at the event.
With the award, Zaidi has also received cash, popular books on science and IPS lifetime membership.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / Two Circles.net / Home> Youth / by TCN news / August 19th, 2017
