Category Archives: Science & Technology

Prof develops cheap ‘sindur’-based technique to identify lip prints

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Moradabad:

A professor from a dental college here has claimed to have devised a cheap technology to identify individual lip prints using vermillion and indigo powder, a development that may prove helpful in criminal investigations.

Narendra Nath Singh, oral pathology professor at Kothiwal Dental College, presented his study at the 4th International Conference on Forensic Research and Technology in Atlanta in 2015.

Singh said that his technology was tested and recognized by leading experts, following which he was hailed by the forensic community.

Speaking with TOI, Singh said that during the criminal identification, print evidence (such as finger and lips prints) is often key to solving a crime. “Also the prints can be used as a DNA source as skins cells can be retrieved from them to double their identifying value.

It has been documented in western forensic sciences that lip prints, either visible or latent, could be developed successfully for study purpose using lysochrome and fluorescent dyes such as Nile red,” he said.

But the professor’s research reveals that the use of vermilion and indigo dyes can also be helpful in the process of the criminal investigation to detect the lip prints samples collected from the crime scenes. According to Singh, the use of vermilion and indigo dyes is much cheaper than other chemicals used in the world for ascertain the lips prints. Vermilion powder is commonly used by married Hindu women on the parting of their hairs.

The result of Nath’s research signify that vermilion and indigo dyes being natural, non-toxic, and cost-effective can replicate the already existing chemical reagents like Sudan Black and Sudan III, which are very costly. “The use of natural dyes for studying lip prints can be a landmark in the field of forensic odontology,” Singh said.

“University of Forensic Science of Ahmedabad, Gujarat has also introduced my latest research into the department of forensic odontology and my lab is continuously providing assistance to the investigating agencies and giving opinions on various samples and specimens collected from the crime scene,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bareilly / by Nazar Abbas / TNN / March 29th, 2016

Faced with drought, Banda farmer invents low-cost plough

Agriculture, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

Kannpur:

Faced with drought, a farmer from Chahnehra village in Banda district of Bundelkhand region has built a low-cost ploughing machine. He used an old bicycle, iron pieces for ploughing agriculture fields.

The innovative machine costs between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000, making it cheaper than traditional and mechanical ploughs. It could also perform several other functions such as weeding and sowing.

Ram Prasad, 50, who hires farm land on ‘batai’, thought of inventing a machine to solve the problems of ordinary farmers of the region who are facing nature’s fury, including recurring droughts and untimely rains.

“Adversity of nature in Bundelkhand forced my families to sell their bullocks. In fact, most of the farmers are unable to bear the maintenance cost of tractor or even bullocks due to huge losses,” said Ram Prasad.

He added that a farmer has to spend around Rs 50,000 for a pair of bullocks or Rs 5 lakhs for purchasing a tractor. On both, he will have to incur a huge sum in terms of fodder and kerosene or diesel.

“After struggling for seven-eight years and several rounds of trials and errors, I managed to design the machine from an old bicycle which was lying as crap in the backyard of my house. I have also helped many farmers by converting their old bicycles into a ploughing machine,” Ram Prasad informed TOI.

The machine has a single wheel with three diggers attached, besides a front and a rear handle and can be used for multi-purpose agriculture work such as weeding out grass, ploughing, sowing seeds and mixing soil with fertilisers as well as manure. “My ploughing machine doesn’t require kerosene or diesel. It only requires two persons,” he said with a smile on his face.

Villagers of Chahnehra, who initially used to make a mockery of Ram Prasad, now praise his invention. “Ram Prasad has proved that where there is a will, there is a way,” said Mohd Talha, his neighbour.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kanpur / by Faiz Rahman Siddiqui / TNN / April 06th, 2016

Meerut girl part of US team that cracked Zika structure

Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Devika Sirohi, born and brought up in Meerut, is a doctoral student at Purdue University in the US. She will submit her thesis by year end
Devika Sirohi, born and brought up in Meerut, is a doctoral student at Purdue University in the US. She will submit her thesis by year end

Meerut :

Devika Sirohi, 29, a doctoral student at Purdue University in the United States, is the youngest member of a team of seven researchers which has, for the first time, determined the structure of the Zika virus. The breakthrough is revealing insights crucial for the development of effective treatments for the deadly disease.

Sirohi, born and brought up in Meerut, spoke to TOI about the intense work that lay behind the breakthrough. “It took us four months to identify the structure of the virus. Out of the seven-member team, three were professors and four students, including me. During the period of the research, we barely slept for two to three hours a day, but our hard work finally paid off. This discovery will help doctors and researchers to find a cure for the deadly disease that has been reported in 33 countries,” she said.

Determining the structure of the virus was a major hurdle for researchers, and the team’s find, Sirohi said, would now make it possible to create effective anti-viral treatments and vaccines. The seven-member team included Sirohi, postdoctoral research associates Zhenguo Chen, Lei Sun and Thomas Klose; biological sciences professor Michael G Rossmann, Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases director Richard J Kuhn, and Theodore C Pierson, chief of the viral pathogenesis section of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“When I first arrived in the US, I never expected to achieve this much. It has been five years now since I started my doctoral research and I will submit my thesis by the end of this year. The entire journey of discovering the structure of Zika was full of challenges, but all is well that ends well. Now that the structure has been determined, it will be easier to research further and combat the spread of the disease,” said Sirohi, based in West Lafayette near Chicago and pursuing PhD in ‘Structure and Maturation of Flaviviruses’.

The Meerut girl completed her schooling from the city-based Dayawati Modi Academy. She went on to pursue honours in biochemistry from Delhi University and MSc from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Both her parents are citybased doctors; her mother, Reena, being a pediatrician. Elated by her success, her father, SS Sirohi, a pathologist who lives in Delhi’s Defence Colony, said, “It is a matter of pride not only for my family, because she is my daughter, but for the whole country that an Indian was part of the team that made this breakthrough.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> India / by Ishita Bhatia / TNN / April 06th, 2016

Scientists at IVRI develop vitamin-rich ‘chocolates and ladoos’ for cattle

Science & Technology

Bareilly:

As most farmers are unable to provide “nutritious meal to ruminants, including cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep”, scientists at the prestigious Indian veterinary research institute (IVRI) have developed chocolates and ladoos for them which will complete the requirement of proteins, minerals and vitamins.

The scientists have also developed a machine that will make these chocolates, which they say will eventually increase the milk production capacity of animals.

Principal scientist, animal nutrition division, Dr Putan Singh told TOI, “Most of the famers are not in a position to feed nutritious meals to ruminants and provide them just straw. Though wheat or paddy straw is rich in energy, other nutrients, like protein, vitamins and minerals, are missing from their diet.”

The scientists have developed these chocolates and ladoos after four years of extensive research. The power-packed meal, rich in protein, vitamin and minerals, contains molasses, wheat bran, oil cakes, minerals and non-protein nitrogen.

Explaining how these chocolates and ladoos will work, Singh said, “These animals have four parts in their stomach. In one of the parts, animals do not digest food, but it is microbes which digest the fibre and remaining products like volatile fatty acids and ammonia are used by animals.” The scientist added, “The chocolates and ladoos have been prepared considering the requirement of both microbes and animals. When animals will lick these chocolates or eat ladoos, it will increase the digestion of fibres among microbes and hence, animals will feel hungrier and eat more straw.”

According to the scientists, consumption of this superfood will also increase the milk production capacity of the animals. “If a cattle is given 500 gram of these chocolates or ladoos daily in two meals, it will increase the milk production capacity of the animal by 0.5 to 1 litre. However, this increase depends on the breed and capacity of cow,” Singh added.

The scientist, however, warned against the overuse of this superfood. “In greed of increasing milk production, people should refrain from giving excess amount of these chocolates or ladoos as it will cause harm to animal,” he said.

The scientists have also developed a machine that will make these chocolates. The ladoos, however, can be prepared manually. The shelf life of these chocolates or ladoos is one year. It will approximately cost Rs 20/kg each.

Even farmers can learn the process of making these chocolates or ladoos at IVRI for a nominal fee. However, for selling these products commercially, people can enter into an agreement with IVRI for training and technology.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bareilly / Priyangi Agarwal / TNN / March 30th, 2016

City boy youngest to earn royal astro fellowship

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Lucknow:

This 19-year-old has to his credit 23 research papers published in international journals. St Francis’ College, Lucknow alumnus Aadarsh Mishra holds the distinction of being one of the youngest Indians to be elected Fellow of Royal Astronomical Society in London.

Working as research and development engineer at Cardiff University, Aadarsh achieved the feat after he made a national record last year as ‘undergraduate with the most reseach papers published’, in the India Book of Records.

Cardiff School of Engineering had shared a Facebook post to highlight Aadarsh’s achievements. The post reads: ‘Cardiff School of Engineering is delighted to hear that our third-year (year in industry) mechanical engineering student Aadarsh Mishra has this week been elected Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS). At 19, he is one of the youngest fellows in the society’s 196-year history, and also youngest Indian ever to become a fellow.’

A mechanical engineer from Manipal University, Karnataka, Aadarsh’s interest is in ‘material sciences’ which finds application in thermal, nuclear and biomedical fields. While in second year of his engineering, he started a research in ‘condensed matter physics’ and did significant work on ‘thin films of tin sulphide for use in solar cell devices’, the topic on which he later got a paper published.

His passion and work in condensed matter physics got him enrolled in a summer research programme at the coveted Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. At IISc, his work dealt with titanium alloys which find significant application in the aerospace sector.

While at Cardiff University, Aadarsh published a book titled ‘Introduction to Wear’ which deals with wearing of materials. ‘Wear’ is one topic in tribology which is enjoying much attention of researchers and scientists , but has very few books focussing on it.

Besides, Aadarsh was also selected for a research project fellowship at the prestigious University of Oxford. Here, along with two doctoral scientists, he worked in the field of thermo-electricity. “I am working on a project which deals with eliminating surgical smoke during operations in an efficient and cost-effective way; and probably a patent will be filed on the same very soon,” said Aadarsh, adding that surgical smoke hinders the visibility during operation and it is hard for surgeons to operate during the same.

Styled as ‘Fellows’, members of Royal Astronomical Society-FRAS-are elected after the age of 18. The society acts as professional body for astronomers and geophysicists in the UK and fellows may apply for the Science Council’s Chartered Scientist status through the society.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / March 03rd, 2016

UP highest producer of ethanol, beats Maharashtra

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology

Lucknow :

Uttar Pradesh is here to ‘drive’ the country, quite literally. India’s most populous state has pipped Maharashtra to become India’s largest producer of ethanol for blending with petrol.

According to a recent data of Union petroleum ministry, in 2015, UP produced 56 crore litres of ethanol against Maharashtra’s 52 crores litres. The two states together accounted for nearly 67% of country’s total ethanol production of around 161 crore litres a year. They are followed by Karanataka (25 cr litres), Andhra (8.5 cr litre), Gujarat (8 cr litres) and Tamil Nadu (7.6 cr litres).

The surge in ethanol production in the state was driven largely by UP’s sugar industry. Data shows distilleries in sugar mills, like the one in Saharanpur and Basti, contributed maximum by producing around 4 crore litres each. Likewise, the Muzaffarnagar sugar mill and Mawana sugar mill produced 3.6 crore litre and 2.8 crore litres, respectively.

UP has 61 distilleries, out of which 36 are attached to sugar mills. Not surprisingly, all 36 mills chipped in for ethanol production.

Of the total 56 crore litres of ethanol production, UP is expected to use 30 crore litre for its own consumption, leaving rest to be exported to Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Industry sources said an increase in ethanol production was largely a fallout of a sharp plunge in prices of raw sugar last year.

Industry sources said millers gradually started diverting cane juice for production of the ‘clean fuel’ that fetched them relatively higher profit. Petroleum companies, which lift ethanol from distilleries, paid them at the rate of Rs 48.5 per litre . This was sufficiently higher than prices of sugar which kept falling following a glut.
This got another boost earlier this year when Centre decided to waive off excise duty on ethanol for the financial year 2015-16. An excise duty of 14% is charged on per litre of ethanol.

The industry, however, has been complaining of procedural difficulties and delays in obtaining permits/no-objection certificate from the excise department. “This delays the movement of ethanol, which in turn results in depriving the state exchequer of its legitimate revenue,” said a miller.

When contacted, UP cane commissioner Ajay Kumar Singh said there has been a demand for more administrative convenience by the industry. “The state government is looking into it,” he said, while speaking to TOI. Singh said the ethanol was certainly a big sector that needs to be looked into.

Centre in August had decided to boost ethanol production by making 10% blending with petrol mandatory in its efforts to resolve the sugar imbroglio. UP government too is reported to have been mulling to adopt a concept wherein part of cane juice may be diverted for production of ethanol.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Pankaj Shah, TNN / January 06th, 2016

Man who cycled 20,000 km across India suggests recycling waste is way forward

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology, Sports, Travel
Abhishek Kumar Sharma has submitted his findings with the Centre (TOI Photo)
Abhishek Kumar Sharma has submitted his findings with the Centre (TOI Photo)

Aligarh :

The year will end on a “clean” note for 28-year-old Abhishek Kumar Sharma, a research student of environment at Kanpur University, who began a journey on bicycle in November 2014 to endorse Prime Minister Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Sharma completed the trip on December 22 and has staggering numbers and remarkable insights to talk about.

Sharma covered 20,000 km across 25 states, met chief ministers of 18 (Kerala was the best experience as CM Chandy was readily available), interacted with 402 district magistrates and addressed lakhs of students in over 200 lectures on environment and cleanliness.

Sharma submitted his findings with the Union urban development ministry on ‘How to Make Waste our Wealth’. The first seven days were tough: starting from Uttar Pradesh to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, he battled cold in December, January and faced extreme heat in May-June in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

In Sharma’s opinion, with sensible solid waste management one can make wealth out of waste. “Mysore is the cleanest city. They have a self-sustainable model of waste management wherein they segregate waste as organic, inorganic, and recyclable. Kachra or junk goes to kabadiwallahs, organic waste is used for bio-fertilizers. I think South India is cleaner than North India,” he said.

Also, on his journey around India he found villages cleaner than cities. “This means educated people litter their surroundings expecting someone to pick it up,” he said. A village in Punjab, which has the same sarpanch for the past 15 years, is mentioned by him because the sarpanch invented interesting ways to keep his surroundings clean and healthy. “He made a biogas plant for all to use free of cost,” Sharma said.

The Smart Cities plan can only be successful if surroundings are clean and waste is managed effectively. “Municipal corporations should go beyond dumping waste – from one site to another, honestly that is all they do. To be able to make wealth out of waste they should segregate waste as organic, inorganic, recyclable and so on and put them to use accordingly.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Agra / by Eram Agha, TNN / December 28th, 2015

Engg student’s app makes marking attendance easier

Education, Science & Technology

Lucknow :

He was often marked absent despite having signed the sheet, a thin lined-piece of paper used for recording students’ attendance in college. Tired of getting the error rectified, 19-year-old computer science engineering student Manav Akela developed a mobile-based Android application, ‘IRegister’ that would help teachers record students’ attendance without mistakes and in a much simpler way using their smart phones.

“The attendance sheet is circulated and every student, one by one, is asked to write his/her name on it,” said Manav who spent almost three hours every day for three months in developing this app. “Sometimes, while circulating it, the paper tears off, or sometimes the teacher misplaces the paper. The app will prevent all such problems and errors,” he added.

Based on the concept of paperless operation, the app will free teachers of the burden of entering data and heavy calculations which take hours. “The app will not only save time but also paper,” said Manav, who lives beyond Rajajipuram and cycles 30 kilometres everyday to and from his engineering college.

One can download the app from Google Play Store or register with iregister.tk to begin. Once the app is downloaded, users will have to get a code by clicking the ‘Get Code’. This will take the user to the ‘Iregister’ website from where the code is generated. On entering the code, users will be shown five different rooms. In these rooms, a user can assign five different classes like CSE for computer science engineering, or ME for mechanical engineering. A user can navigate to the attendance sheet after assigning a class for each room.

Suppose a user has assigned room 1 as CSE class, he will be able to access seven features of the app. Here, he can mark a student present or absent. The app also allows exporting data saved on the app to the Excel sheet. The user can also make modifications like change student details as and when required. The most interesting feature is of sending a SMS to the parent in case a student is absent for three consecutive days. “Teachers can track attendance record of students in several classes,” he said.

The app, said Manav, is also beneficial for home-makers who take the pain of jotting down attendance details of milkman and newspaper vendor on the calendar. It can also be used to record attendance of convicts in jails.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / December 31st, 2015

AKTU to honour Mars Orbiter mastermind

Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Lucknow :

APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University will confer honoris causa on Indian Science and Research Organisation chairman A S Kiran Kumar on its convocation slated on January 22. An accomplished space scientist, Kumar was instrumental in evolving the successful strategy for steering the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft towards planet Mars as well as its Mars Orbit Insertion.

As many as 47 students, gold, silver and bronze in streams like engineering, management, fashion designing and pharmacy will be awarded medals. In the medal tally, girls rule the roost once again. Close to 80% of the medals to be awarded on the convocation ceremony are in the girls’ kitty. Out of 47 medals, 38 will be awarded to girls.

For the first time, graduating students of AKTU will wear a cream-coloured ‘angvastra’ over their traditional dress. Boys will wear white-coloured shirt and dark coloured trousers. Girls will wear saree. Printed on the angvastra will be Lucknow’s heritage and famous historical monuments of UP. In addition, it will also have sermons of former APJ Abdul Kalam. It is also decided that the dignitaries will wear a maroon angvastra and a cream-colour pagadi.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest at the function.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / December 16th, 20154

PGI to roll out eyebrow transplant facility soon

Records, All, Science & Technology

Lucknow :

The plastic surgery department at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences performed its first eyebrow hair transplant last week. The facility, available in high-end plastic surgery centres in the metros, would soon be rolled out to the public at a much lower cost.

“Loss of hair in the eyebrows, technically known as madarosis, is common after the age of 40 years. It starts with the side and proceeds towards the midline. It also leads to thinning of eyebrows. Bushy eyebrows are a symbol of beauty and their loss leaves a negative impact on a person,” said Dr Rajeev Agarwal, head of the plastic surgery department at SGPGIMS.

The procedure is time-taking and requires expertise. “Eyebrow transplant is different from regular hair transplant as the hair are to be planted in a slant orientation,” explained Dr Agarwal.

He added that a transplant was better than the cosmetic procedures available in the market.

“Options like cosmetic darkening of the eyebrow or tattooing create a camouflage but can never return the natural look, which is the biggest advantage of transplant,” he said.

The only disadvantage with a transplant is that one needs to get the eyebrows trimmed regularly as transplanted hair grow faster than normal hair. “Anyone who gets it done has to visit the beauty parlour regularly but then the advantage is quite satisfying,” said Rita Saha, relative of the patient who went under the knife for the transplant.

The team at SGPGI said that their rates would be at least one-third of what is being charged in private hospitals, where anything between Rs 200 and Rs 300 per hair are charged.

“An eyebrow transplant involves insertion of at least 300 hair per brow. This means that a patient would spend Rs 60,000-Rs 90,000 per brow in the private sector. Though the rates at our centre are yet to be finalized, they would be one-third of the market rate,” said Dr Agarwal.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Shailvee Sharda / December 08th, 2015