Category Archives: Science & Technologies

GI tag sought for Dindigul locks

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Geographical Indication tag has been sought for Dindigul locks, which are unique to the areas around Dindigul.

P.Sanjai Gandhi, geographical indication attorney and additional government pleader, told presspersons here on Sunday that an application has been filed on behalf of Dindigul Lock Workers Industrial Co-operative Society under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999.

The application has been filed with the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai.

In his application, Mr.Gandhi has said that Dindigul lock manufacturing industry has a high brand image and the locks are known for their traditional design, safety, and quality. Padlocks, drawer locks, almirah locks, door locks, mango locks, trick locks, and excise locks are some of the locks manufactured in the area. The art of lock making is practised within around five km radius of the town . Dindigul locks are mango shaped iron and brass locks. They are handmade and each one is unique in design and system. The lock units are concentrated in Nagalnagar, Nallampatti, Kodaiparaipatti, Yagappanpatti, and Kamalapatti and are more than 100 years old. These units provide jobs to over 3,000 families. The entire process of lock making is based on craftsmen’s memory, who have been engaged in the business for generations .

The uniqueness of Dindigul locks are twin keys or three keys for a single lock and locks with multi-locking system. The precision lever mechanism of Dindigul lock is unique. The shackles are meticulously designed and are hard to break. . Sanjai Gandhi, who is also the president of Intellectual Property Attorney Association, said that the following societies have been declared as authorised users for Salem white dhotis under the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999: Ammapettai Silk Handloom Weavers Society, Salem Silk Handloom Weavers Society, Salem Sourashtra Silk Handloom Weavers Society, Supersilk Handloom Weavers Society, Soudeswari Silk Handloom Weavers Society, Salem Rajaganapathi Nagar Silk Weavers Co-operative Society and Puratchi Thalaivi Dr.J.Jayalalithaa Silk Handloom Women Co-operative Society.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Thanjavur, February 04th, 2013

Coimbatore to get 12 specially-fabricated ambulances

Business & Economy, Science & Technologies

  The newly-redesigned ambulance of the Department of Public Health./  Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu /

The vans will be equipped with ECG equipment, AC and blood testing machines

Healthcare and access to medical facilities for residents of rural and remote areas in the district is all set to take a quantum leap forward as Coimbatore is getting ambulances specially fabricated in Rajasthan for providing treatment and safely transport patients.

Under ‘Hospital-On-Wheels’ (HoW) project launched across the State last year, vehicles of the Department of Public Health were being sent to a factory in Jaipur for re-configuring it to the specific requirements of operating in rural areas, Deputy Director of Health Services R. Damodharan told The Hindu in Coimbatore on Saturday.

Besides ECG equipment, the vehicles have been fitted with, among other things, an auto-analyser for blood investigation, air-conditioner, laboratory equipment, television for awareness programmes, a laptop and battery back-up.

While the fabrication cost per vehicle was Rs. 4 lakh, each van has been sanctioned another Rs. 1 lakh for purchasing equipment. The suspensions have been also modified to ensure the vehicles travel smoothly in hill terrain.

First phase

In the initial phase, he said that six vans from Coimbatore were sent to a coach factory in Jaipur and the first of such re-configured ambulances landed in the city on Wednesday and had been deployed at Sarkar Samakulam Panchayat Union.

While the remaining five were expected to arrive in a month’s time, the second batch of six vehicles would be reconfigured by December this year.

They would be stationed in the block primary health centres.

The mobile medical units, which will be staffed with a medical officer, laboratory technician, staff nurse and an attendant-cum-hospital worker besides the driver, would hold camps at remote and inaccessible/ difficult-to-access villages on a fixed day every month.

Each vehicle would cover two villages a day with the monthly target being 40 villages.

Software

Dr. Damodharan informed that all the units would have to submit reports on a daily basis through a web-based software developed for this purpose.

Further, plans were afoot to install global positioning systems (GPS) in the vehicles to help drivers find their way in remote areas and also to monitor their movement.

These ‘HoW’ vehicles, doctors and staff should not be utilised for other activities and vacancies should be immediately tackled through deputation of personnel from the PHC.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by R. Sairam / February 03rd, 2013

Radio Frequency Identification system for library books soon

Education, Science & Technologies

Beep will alert whenever a book is taken out at MKU library

The Madurai Kamaraj University library, which has a collection of three lakh printed books, will soon have a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system. Once the RFID system is put in place, each time a book is taken out of the library without proper entry, a beep would alert the librarian.

Varsity sources told The Hindu on Friday that a couple of proposals have been prepared to make the university’s Dr. T. P. M. Library a digital library and these proposals will be submitted to Vice-Chancellor Kalyani Mathivanan shortly.

“RFID will prevent incidents of stealing/theft of books from the library. Even if a person takes a book by mistake, it would alert us,” said B. Suresh, university librarian.

The library will soon get a collection of 3,016 e-books on various subjects.

He said the electronic version of textbooks will provide easy access to students and research scholars.

The university already has in its collection 8,700 e-journals procured through Infonet Consortium.

“The e-books will be useful for students of all colleges. They can download and copy in a pen drive or we will provide them with CDs,” Mr. Suresh said.

The e-books can also be accessed by university departments.

A proposal to develop a herbal garden on the library premises is also on the anvil, sources said.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Shastry V. Mallady / February 02nd, 2013

3D model traces course of Vaigai

Science & Technologies

Artists at work on the compound walls of the Madurai Medical College in the city on Thursday. / Photo: S. James / The Hindu

A three dimensional model tracing the course of river Vaigai is being set up near Simmakkal here, ahead of ‘Maamadurai Potruvom’ celebrations scheduled on February 8, 9 and 10.

According to S. Chandran, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Thiagarajar College of Engineering, who is supervising the project, 50 per cent of the work is over and the rest will be completed in five days. Collector Anshul Mishra, who inspected the spot on Thursday, said the project had been initiated to educate the students on the Vaigai.

An exhibition containing photographs of the river, its dams and tributaries is also likely to be organised. Those who have relevant photographs can contact the secretariat, post box number: 107, 139,140 Kamarajar Salai, Teppakulam, to exhibit them.

The project, estimated at a cost of nearly Rs.4 lakh, will cover the entire stretch from where the river originates, its course, its tributaries and the place where it merges with the ocean, said Mr Chandran.

“We are also planning on a recycled water mechanism to portray the course of the river in the model,” he said.

Students from architecture and civil engineering departments of Thiagarajar College of Engineering are involved in the project, which will stay intact for two weeks.

Lighting and other decorations will adorn the model, and the place surrounding the ‘Vasantha Mandapam’ in the Vaigai, he added. The Public Works Department has also undertaken works to clean the hyacinths around the ‘Vasantha Mandapam’ and the corporation has initiated works to lay roads around the mandapam. Artists are portraying the glory of Madurai on the walls near the collectorate.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Staff Reporter / Madurai, February 01st, 2013

Aero show attracts thousands

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technologies

  Students looking at the exhibits at Aeroplus 2013 that began in the city on Thursday. / Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu

For the thousands of children in the city who would have wished to touch aeroplanes that soar over the skies, it is a dream come true as Aero Plus 2013 was inaugurated at Nehru College of Aeronautics and Applied Sciences at Kuniamuthur on Thursday.

Being held from Thursday to Sunday, the seventh edition of this exhibition features Bell 47 GF helicopters and other single propeller aircraft such as Cessna.

A new addition is the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 1A, a twin-engine mid-size corporate jet. Going beyond just getting to see them, the children could also get to know about the thousands of components in an aircraft as the students of the college explained in detail the intricacies and engineering behind these machines.

The college has a Cessa 150 D, Lear Jet 25B, King Air C90 Beechcraft, and Bell and Enstrom f28 helicopters to provide training to its students

According to P. Krishna Kumar, chief executive officer and secretary of Nehru Group of Institutions, the objective behind the exhibition was to motivate students to take up aeronautic science and create awareness among the general public.

The institutions’ students benefit from the opportunity it provides to explain what they have learnt in the course regarding the functionality of each parts and its configuration.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural function, chief guest P. Vinodh Kumar, Regional Head (General Aviation), Air Works India Engineering, Pune, said that the aviation sector was highly interesting as it was demanding and challenging.

The company provided maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services in 12 airports in the country for business and general aviation customers.

Mr. Vinodh Kumar, himself an alumnus of the Nehru institution, said that those entering the field must be prepared to put in a lot of hard work.

R. Krishna Moorhty, Executive Director of KTVR Knowledge Park for Engineering and Technology, said that air travel was set to increase exponentially in the country.

The exhibition is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on January 31 and February 1 and between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on February 2 and 3. There is no entry fee.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com /Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Staff Reporter / February 01st, 2013

Circor opens facility in Coimbatore

Business & Economy, Science & Technologies

        Wayne Robbins

Circor Flow Technologies India Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Circor International, has opened a manufacturing facility in Coimbatore with an investment of Rs.23 crore.

Wayne Robbins, Chief Executive Officer of Circor International, and Sriram Natarajan, Country Manager of Circor India, told presspersons here on Wednesday that the company started operations in India in 2009. In June 2010, it acquired the valve business of Mazda in Ahmedabad. The facility was closed in December last year.

In Coimbatore, the company had set up a 60,000 sq. ft. facility, and had space for expansion. It would produce valves mainly for the power and oil and gas sectors. About 40 per cent of the company’s production in India in 2012 was exported, and this year it was expected to be 60 per cent.

To expand the portfolio of products

The company proposed to expand the portfolio of products made in Coimbatore by including more varieties of valves. “We see growth in India in manufacturing, the market, and exports and also the services we provide,” Mr. Natarajan added. The company provided employment to nearly 150 engineers here and had fabrication, machining, assembly and testing facilities here.

Circor had manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, Brazil and China and now in India.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Business> Companies / by Special Correspondent / Coimbatore, January 31st, 2013

First batch of Thanjavur Medical College medicos meet

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technologies

   old memory:       Doctors of the Twin Medicos 1959 batch at a reunion in the city recently.

Fifty-four years ago, 70 students were admitted as the first batch of the Thanjavur Medical College. But with the new campus being under construction, they joined the fifth batch of the Madurai Medical College (comprising 100 students), earning the sobriquet ‘Twin Medicos’ that stuck on and got renewed at every reunion.

The two-day reunion of the ‘Twin Medicos 1959 batch’ was an informal meeting of old friends who specialise in various fields from paediatrics to geriatrics. Of the original 170, 64 made it to the 13{+t}{+h}get-together. The reunion saw the maximum participation in recent years, said Mohamed Farook, orthopaedic surgeon and member, organising committee.

The meet included a sightseeing trip to the historic Grand Anicut (Kallanai) and a group photo was taken on location.

Among the most illustrious of the classmates was V.S.Natarajan, pioneer in geriatric medicine in India, and recipient of the Padma Shri and B.C. Roy Award. He was felicitated along with recipients of the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University’s Lifetime Achievement Award and doctors who had won recognition from various medical bodies. Surgeon Dr. Zawahir presided over the meet.

Close to 10 medicos flew from America, Europe and Australia to attend the event with their families, said the organising committee members.

The medicos took home a souvenir with photographs and an update on each of their classmates. Featured among the pages were sepia tinted photographs of sharing food in the hostel mess, cultural programmes and medical college life in the 1960’s- a handy trip down memory lane.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com /Home> National> Tamil Nadu /by Staff Reporter / Tiruchi, January 30th, 2013

3D model of Vaigai to adorn Madurai festival

Science & Technologies

Madurai :

A three-dimensional model of the Vaigai river , measuring 100m is being readied capturing the river from its origin to confluence. Once the model is ready, one need not travel the entire length of the river that originates from Periyar lake and travels through numerous villages in five districts in the state and empties into the Palk Strait in Ramanathapuram, to witness its beauty.

The 3D model is to be constructed as a part of ‘Maamadurai Potruvom’, a three-day festival planned from February 8 to 10, to celebrate the rich heritage and tradition of the temple city. Celebrating the contribution of Vaigai is one of the three key aspects of the festival.

The model of the river would be constructed similar to the models of jallikattu, elephants and west gate of the Madurai fort that are being unveiled in the city. Talking about the preparation for the construction, S Chandran, associate professor, civil engineering department of Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE), who is one of the experts roped in for the project, said the model would be built with inputs from architectural experts.

“The place for the construction has been identified at Albert Victor Bridge near Goripalayam. Work will commence from Saturday. We hope that the construction would be completed in a week’s time. At present, cleaning of the place is being carried out,” he said.

Besides Chandran, G Balaji, head, department of architecture, TCE and C P Mohan Kumar, assistant engineer, public works department are also part of the team. “More experts and students of architecture from TCE would be roped in for the construction,” said a district administration official.

“In addition to the 3D model of the river covering the entire 298-km in 100m, rare photographs of the river would be on display for the public. Digital banners consisting information about the river and messages to preserve it would also be displayed,” the official said.

It is also planned to allow the students from government and government-aided schools to visit the model on the first day of the three-day programme. While the second day would be allotted to students from other private schools, it would be open for the public on the third day. If the situation demands, it would be kept open for three more days for the public, he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / by V. Devanathan, TNN / January 25th, 2013

Two-day robotic workshop ends

Education, Science & Technologies

Coimbatore :

They were at last happy to see their robot go back and forth without interruptions winning the first prize and getting a chance to go to the National Robotics Competition (NRC) to be held at IIT Karagpur in a few months. Muhammed Shafeeq, and his team members, all second year electrical engineering students were participating in the two-day workshop and competition held on Tuesday at the Park College of Engineering and Technology. Engineering students from various city colleges had participated in the event which was conducted to train and select a team for the national-level event.

“It was a challenge to put to task what we had read as theories but it was an interesting experience,” said Shafeeq. Twenty five teams of five students each took part in the two-day workshop and the competition, which were held at the end of the second day. They were trained to make the hardware of the robots as well as to programme the machines.

At the same time their trainers said that the students were given simpler training as they were not used to doing projects.

A Himanshu, who was one of the resource persons for the event from ARK Technosolutions said that the students who were from various engineering branches were not quite familiar with doing application-based projects. “Knowing the theories is one thing and applying them as well as tackling the difficulties, which arise as the task continues is another. Even the fourth year students found it hard to execute the tasks,” he said. At the same time the pace with which the students learnt could help them to stand in good stead with the competitors, he said.

The application of robotics is growing in several of the industrial units. This has created a growing interest among students to pursue more about the subject. Experts say that the field involves topics from several engineering streams including electronics, and electrical to computer programming.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / January 23rd, 2013

IIT-Madras ready for mass production of artificial blood

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Chennai:

IIT – Madras  scientists have blood on their hands — and nobody is complaining. A team of scientists from the department of engineering design has been successful in creating enough red blood cells  from stem cells to be used as  ‘artificial blood’ in people who need transfusion.

Having proved their oxygen-carrying capacity, the RBCs will now go into ‘mass production’ before starting human trials in three years, scientists said. The IIT team recently got a funding approval from the Union ministry of science and technology to produce artificial blood on an industrial scale. This blood would be tested on animals before human trials. If the trials prove successful, it will help hospitals overcome shortage of blood and save many accident victims.

“We will be able to provide any amount of safe and disease-free blood at half the cost of blood sold now,” said the study’s principal investigator, Dr Soma Guhathakurta, a visiting professor at the department of engineering design IIT-M.

In the past few months, Dr Soma and her team of researchers have made trillions of red blood cells – the carrier of hemoglobin that delivers oxygen to various body tissues and clears up carbon dioxide – on a Petri dish. They cultured adult stem cells derived from cord blood in the presence of some “easily nutritional supplements” for 17 days in the lab.

The stem cells, which are undifferentiated cells with the potential to turn into any cell, developed into red blood cells. The department of biotechnology (DBT) has recently approved a proposal from the scientists to develop a bio-reactor for large-scale production of artificial blood. The reactor will be built with support of IIT’s biotechnology department.

“We will simultaneously process papers for performing animal trials with the artificial blood. It will first be tested on anemic mice. If they are able to accept it and survive, we will take it to the next level,” he said. Scientists across the world have been working on artificial blood. While a French team has started human trials, a UK team is all set to follow suit. Dr Soma, a heart surgeon, says their research is different because unlike other cases, they have been able to exclusively produce red blood cells. So far nobody has been able to mass produce only red blood cells.

“Almost all earlier attempts have had at least 40% of white blood cells in the culture. Introducing such artificial blood into a patient with a weak immune system could be tricky. As a surgeon, I would prefer only red blood cells,” she said.

The IIT scientists  say they did not use any expensive enzyme or growth factors. “Despite this, the yield was a billion times high. In a typical RBC blood bag, there are about a trillion (1 followed by 12 zeros) red blood cells. On our Petri dish we had a yield of about a quadrillion (1 followed by 15 zeros) cells from the starting point of about a million stem cells,” said Venkatesh Balasubramanian, associate professor in the department of engineering design.

The World Health Organization says a country needs a minimum stock of blood equal to 1% of its population. This means India needs 12 million units of blood, but collects only nine million units annually, though demand has gone up drastically. The cost of blood has gone up in the last few years as blood has to be subjected to several tests to ensure it is disease-free, says Dr K Selvaraju, former state blood transfusion officer. This could be avoided in artificial blood.

It may take at least five years for artificial blood to be available for clinical use as large-scale trials will follow. The research hasn’t been published in peer-reviewed science journals owing to the intellectual property concerns of the scientists. The researchers have applied for an Indian patent and are considering an international patent.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> India / by Pushpa Narayan, TNN / January 12th, 2013