Tag: science

L. C. Ponnumon
Media & Communication Officer, PIB, Cochin.
With Inputs from Cochin Shipyard Limited. Kochi.
India’s first indigenously built Air Craft Carrier (Project -71) christened as INS Vikrant was launched at Cochin Shipyard Limited. With the launch, India joined the elite club of nations in the world capable of designing and constructing an Air Craft Carrier. The keel of the ship was laid on February 28, 2009. The launching of the ship in four years time is a creditable achievement. INS Vikrant became the Country’s most prestigious and largest warship project.
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), the Country’s premier shipbuilding yard has been mandated to build the indigenous Air Craft Carrier, for the Indian Navy. The basic design of the Air Craft Carrier was carried out by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND). The design was further developed into a detailed design by the design team of Cochin Shipyard Limited.
DND has successfully designed over 17 different classes of warships, to which around 90 ships have already been built within the country. Designing of the Vikrant, at almost 40,000 tonnes speaks of the maturing of the capabilities of DND and represents a feather in the cap of the designers particularly as it is the first aircraft carrier of its size in the world with some unique features such as Gas Turbine Propulsion
At the launch, marking the end of Phase- I of the project, the imposing ramp of the 37,500 tonne Short Take off but Assisted Recovery (STOBAR) Carrier boasted the indigenous design and build capabilities of the country. The ship has attained its designed length of about 260 m and is almost at its maximum breadth of 60 m. The main landing strip is ready. Over 80% of the structure, containing about 2300 compartments has been fabricated, over 75% has been erected, all the major machinery, such as the two LM2500 Gas Turbines developing a total power of 80 MW, the diesel alternators capable of producing about 24 MW and the main gear box have been fitted. Soon after Vikrant floated perfectly upright, she was launched out into the Ernakulam Channel in a pontoon assisted precision manoeuvre. Vikrant was moved out of the building dock to be positioned in the refitting dock where the next Phase of outfitting will be completed The Aircraft Carrier would carry a complement of mix of fixed wing and rotary aircrafts in its hanger.
The Aircraft Carrier is a mini floating city, with a flight deck area covering the size of two football fields.
The length of cabling would be 2700 KM which, if laid end to end would stretch from Kochi to Delhi. The ship would have a complement of 1600 personnel.
Vikrant will be capable of operating an aircraft mix of the Russian MiG-29K and LCA (Navy) fighters being developed indigenously by HAL. Its helicopter component will include the Kamov 31 and the indigenously developed ALH helicopters. The ship’s ability to sense and control a large air space around it will be enabled by modern C/D band Early Air Warning Radar, V/UHF Tactical Air Navigational and Direction Finding systems, jamming capabilities over the expected Electro Magnetic (EM) environment and Carrier Control Approach Radars to aid air operations.
Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR SAM) systems with Multi-Function Radar (MFR) and Close- In Weapon System (CIWS) will form the protective suite of the ship. All weapon systems onboard the carrier will be integrated through an indigenous Combat Management System (CMS), being manufactured by Tata Power systems. The ship’s integration with Navy’s Network Centric Operations will provide force multiplication.
The steel has come from SAIL’s plants in Rourkela in Orissa, Bokaro in Jharkand and Bhilai in Chattisgarh; the Main Switch Board, steering gear and water tight hatches have been manufactured by Larsen and Toubro in its plants in Mumbai and Talegaon; the high capacity air conditioning and refrigeration systems have been manufactured in Kirloskar’s plants in Pune; most pumps have been supplied by Best and Crompton, Chennai; (BHEL) is supplying the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS); the massive gear box is supplied by Elecon in Gujarat; the tens of thousands of electrical cable is supplied by Nicco industries in Kolkata; Kolkata is also where the ship’s anchor chain cable is manufactured.
The launch marks the end of the first phase of the construction of the carrier with nearly 75% of the vessel structure, including the ski-jump, in place. Vikrant will now enter the second phase of construction which will see the outfitting of the ship, fitment of various weapons and sensors, integration of the gigantic propulsion system and integration of the aircraft complex (with the assistance of M/s NDB of Russia). The ship will then undergo extensive trials before she is handed over to the Indian Navy by around 2016-17.
The Ship is designed to survive in the event of attack by nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
The project was fraught with many challenges right from the special steel used in construction to the fabrication and erection of the large blocks and lowering of the huge main equipment. These challenges were overcome by the innovative and creative workforce of CSL The shipyard has developed a number of weld procedures and introduced automation to ensure quality of welding and increase productivity. The yard has adopted techniques to increase production rates by going in for grand assembly of blocks and pre-outfitting to the extent possible.
Cochin Shipyard today is the best performing shipyard in India. The Shipyard had built and delivered over 90 ships since its inception. The largest ship built in the Country has been constructed by CSL. In the last decade the company has built and exported over 40 ships to International owners.
The indigenous Aircraft Carrier designed by DND is one of the most prestigious warship project of the Indian Navy.
Indian Navy has now changed the status from buyer’s navy to a builder’s navy.
(PIB Features.)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/indias-first-indigenous-aircraft-carrier-ins-vikrant/

M. V. S. Prasad Joint Director, PIB, Chennai
M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) is a non-profit research organization and was established in 1988. The Foundation thus enters its twenty-fifth anniversary this year. From a small beginning, MSSSRF has grown into a nationally and internationally recognized institution with its own research and training infrastructure at Chennai, Koraput in Odisha, Kalpetta in Kerala, Kaveripoompattinam in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. A laboratory-cum-training centre is coming up at Chidambaram for the coastal research programme. In addition to the well developed regional centres in Koraput and Kalpetta, a third major research and training hub is being established in Vidarbha, a region suffering from serious agrarian distress.
MSSRF has been instituted as a model of a translational research centre devoted to converting scientific discoveries into field applications. This calls for research at two ends of the spectrum: participatory research with farming families, on the one hand, and policy research designed to achieve synergy between grass-roots experience and public policy, on the other. The focus of MSSRF has all along been developing and following a pro-nature, pro-poor, pro-women and pro-sustainable on-farm and non-farm livelihoods through appropriate eco-technology and knowledge empowerment.
It carries out research and development in the following six major thematic areas:
Coastal Systems Research – Involves restoration of mangrove forests, alternative livelihood for fishing community, etc.
Biodiversity – Involves documenting endangered and medicinal plants, providing necessary training to village community to maintain biodiversity register, conserving genes and seeds through ex-situ community based gene bank, and in-situ on-farm conservation etc.
Biotechnology – Involves developing salt and drought tolerant transgenic rice varieties, testing availability of oil content in different biofuel crops / plants, lichens diversity, etc.Ecotechnology – Involves setting up bio-villages. Bio-village paradigm involves sustainable management of natural resources and developing sustainable on-farm and non-farm livelihoods as eco-enterprises managed by self-help groups.
Food Security – MSSRF is engaged in the development of methodologies for promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture. One approach has been to improve the productivity of small-farm agriculture, which is the backbone of the livelihood security system of a large population of the country. To maintain the nutrition dimension in agriculture, a programme termed Farming System for Nutrition (FSN) is being introduced in Koraput, Kolli Hills, Wayanad and Vidarbha where there is a high burden of malnutrition.
MSSRF programme on food security has two major elements: Community Based Interventions and Research. The former has focused on promoting household food security, among the socially and economically deprived sections in society, through various interventions. The latter, the research part, has concentrated on developing research reports that provide a macro perspective of the country’s food security concerns.
Information, Education and Communication – Involves addressing the issues related to sustainable development using different information communication technology tools for knowledge empowerment of the resource-poor, largely illiterate and unskilled rural women and men.
MSSRF’s approach to poverty alleviation has been asset building, particularly imparting new skills and knowledge and promoting community organizations. Whatever help it has been able to render to rural and tribal families is because of its ability to integrate knowledge from frontier areas of science like biotechnogy, with field level management structures like bio-village council and self help groups providing micro-credit to initiate micro-enterprises.
(PIB Features.)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/25-years-in-harnessing-scientist-farmer-policy-maker-synergy/

M. V. S. Prasad
Joint Director, PIB, Chennai
Poultry development has been a household activity in India. However, scientific poultry production in India gained momentum during the last four decades due to concerted efforts of the Government of India through policies, focused research and the initiatives taken by the private sector.
The poultry sector has emerged from entirely unorganized farming practice to commercial production system with state-of-the-art technological interventions. Poultry sector, besides providing direct or indirect employment to people, is also a potent tool for subsidiary income generation for many landless and marginal farmers. It also provides nutritional security especially to the rural poor.
Poultry sector in the country has shown steady progress over the years. Currently egg production is around 66.45 billion. The poultry meat production is estimated to be around 2.5 million tonnes. The current per capita availability of eggs is around 55 eggs per year. Exports of poultry products were around Rs.457.82 crore in 2011-12 as per the report of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
Central Poultry Development Organizations
The Central Poultry Development Organisations (CPDOs) located at four regions viz. Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai and Hessarghatta have played a pivotal role in the implementation of the policies of the Government with respect to poultry. The mandate of these organizations has specially been reoriented to focus on improved indigenous birds, which lay on an average 180-200 eggs per annum and have vastly improved Feed Conversion Ratio in terms of feed consumption and weight gain. In these CPDOs, training is also imparted to the farmers to upgrade their technical skills. Besides, CPDO, Hessarghatta is also imparting trainers’ training to in-service personnel from within the country as well as overseas. Diversification with species other than chicken like ducks, turkey, guinea fowl and Japanese quail is also undertaken. The Central Poultry Performance Testing Centre (CPPTC), located at Gurgaon is entrusted with responsibility of testing the performance of layer and broiler varieties. This Centre gives valuable information relating to different genetic stock available in the country.
Novel Scheme
A novel scheme has been launched for the all round development of poultry sector. It has three components namely, ‘Assistance to State Poultry Farms’, ‘Rural Backyard Poultry Development’ and ‘Poultry Estates’.
Rural Backyard Poultry Development
This component is expected to cover beneficiaries from Below Poverty Line to mainly enable them to gain supplementary income and nutritional support. During 2012-13 (till Dec 2012) around Rs.21 crore has been released for assistance to nearly 95,000 BPL beneficiaries.
Assistance to State Poultry Farms
It aims at strengthening existing State poultry farms so as to enable them to provide inputs, mainly in terms of providing improved stocks suitable for rural backyard rearing. In 2012-13, seven farms have been assisted so far (partly) taking the total tally of assisted farms since inception to 233 (till Dec 2012).
Poultry Estates
Entrepreneurship skills are to be imparted through setting up of Poultry Estates. They are meant primarily for educated, unemployed youth and small farmers with some margin money for making a profitable venture out of various poultry related activities in a scientific and bio-secure cluster approach. Two poultry estates have been selected on pilot basis, one in Sikkim for broiler farming and another in Odisha for layer farming. Operations in the first stage will commence after infrastructure and input services are set-up, beneficiaries are selected and trained.
Poultry Venture Capital Fund
The main objective of the scheme is to encourage entrepreneurship skills of individuals in various poultry activities. The scheme is now being implemented from 2011-12 on capital subsidy mode. Under the scheme the components like hybrid layer and broiler poultry units, technology up-gradation, extension of component of breeding farms for low technology input birds to individuals are included. Establishing poultry breeding farms with low input technology birds, feed go-down, feed mill, feed analytical laboratories, marketing of poultry products (specialized transport vehicles, cool room storage facilities and retention sheds for birds etc), egg grading, packing and storage for export capacity are already part of the scheme. Under PVCF, 506 units have been covered in 2012-13.
(PIB Features.)
With inputs from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/development-of-poultry/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, July 2 : Krishna Tirath, Union Minister for Women and Child Development presided over the national consultation on the Maternity Benefit Act 1961, here today. The aim of the national consultation with different ministries, civil society organizations, academicians and other stakeholders is to deliberate on the myriad issues affecting effective implementation of the Maternity Benefit Act.
Speaking at the occasion, the Minister said that almost half of those employed in the unorganised sector are women, and they do not derive benefits under this Act. Many don‘t even have awareness about this Act. This covers the domestic workers, agriculture labour, construction workers, forest dwellers, those who fish, etc. Women are forced to join their work soon after delivery from the fear of losing their job, Smt. Tirath stated. This has also affected the health of the small children as they cannot be breastfed at the right times. The MMR and IMR also get affected as a result of this, she said. The WCD Minister said that this discrimination needs to be eliminated by some changes to the way the Act has been operationalised. Although there are many schemes of the government such as IGMSY and Janani Suraksha Yojana, the benefits still have eluded a large section of women in the unorganised sector, Tirath noted.
Speaking at the occasion, Nita Chowdhury, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development said that whatever suggestions were furnished as a collective deliberation during this meet, needed to take care that they are workable and practicable, such that restrictions to their operationalisation are reduced.
Experts attending the consultation noted that the MB Act, which is one of the oldest social security Acts in the country, casts a liability on the employer for the benefits. As a result, women who are in the unorganised sector who don‘t have any employer, and are not ‘employees‘ cannot derive its benefits. This also does not benefit the casual workers as also the ‘contractual‘ employees as opposed to ‘contract labour‘. It was also noted that what is needed is to dovetail schemes such as RSBY with MB Act so that medical benefits also can be extended to the working women, more so in the unorganised sector. Some experts pointed out that even though the term ‘women‘ has been defined in the Act, there is no definition of the term ‘employee‘; thus the fulfillment of the Act gets affected. While the recent legal provisions have included domestic workers in their ambit, the Maternity Benefits Act should be extended to domestic workers through an explicit amendment.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/maternity-benefits-should-reach-all-women-in-the-unorganised-sector-tirath/

Dr. Ksh. Kala Singh, Secretary, The Manipur Heart Care Society, Imphal
Theme: Healthy Heart Beat – Healthy Blood Pressure
Every year 17th May is dedicated to World Hypertension Day (WHD). This is an initiative of the World Hypertension League (WHL), an umbrella organization of 85 national hypertension societies and leagues.
The world hypertension Day was 1st inaugurated in May 2005 and has become an annual event ever since. The purpose of the WHD is to promote Public awareness of hypertension and to encourage Citizens of all countries to prevent and control this silent killer, the modern epidemic. In other words, World Hypertension Day has been established to highlight the preventable stroke, heart and kidney disease caused by high blood pressure and to communicate to the public information on prevention, detection and treatment. The world hypertension league recognized that more than 50% of the hypertensive population worldwide are unaware of their condition. So for awareness of Hypertension, we must do different activities such as newspaper articles, media coverage, rallies, Public forums & mass public physical activities, as well as involvement of politicians, Policy makers, popular public figures, NGO’s and Clubs etc.
The theme for 2013 is Healthy Heart Beat – Healthy Blood Pressure
HEALTHY HEART BEAT
The average adult heart beats 72 times a minutes; 1 lac times a day. We can count our pulse by palpating on the wrist joint. The pulse will irregular, increase or decrease according to various physiological and pathological conditions. Irregularity will occur in different heart diseases like Hypertension, Rheumatic Heart disease, Heart block and cardiomyopathy etc. In such conditions when the pulse is irregular we call it atrial fibrillation or arrhythmias. Symptoms of arrhythmias range from feeling an irregular beat in your chest, to tiredness, fainting or absolutely nothing. When the heart is not pumping well, blood clots can form in the heart and travel to the brain causing a stroke. Atrial fibrillation are usually intermittent, often recurring and may become permanent. It is very common in among older patients. The combination of having atrial fibrillation and hypertension both significantly increase the risk of stroke.
The World Hypertension League executive board felt that it is important to improve the public awareness about atrial fibrillation – arrhythmias. In order to make it easier for the public to understand they have used the simple terminology – Heart Beat. A Healthy Heart Beat means a heart having normal beat/contraction and causing no discomfort to the body.
HEALTHY BLOOD PRESSURE
Blood Pressure is merely the Pressure that the Blood exerts on the blood vessels, while circulating. It is measured with an instrument called Sphygmomanometer. The average Blood Pressure is 120/80 mmHg. If it is 120-139/80-89 mmHg, it is Prehypertension. When it reaches 140/90 mmHg, it is called Stage I Hypertension. Healthy Blood Pressure in an adult means having normal Blood Pressure of 120/80 mmHg without causing any discomfort to our body. Healthy Blood Pressure will help to maintain a healthy heart rhythm.
There are two types of hypertension, Essential (Primary) & Secondary. The exact etiology of Primary is unknown and there are definitely causes in Secondary hypertension. Many factors are responsible for the Primary Cause. They are.
a) Hereditary :- Most experts believe that hereditary does play a role in causing high blood pressure.
b) Excess intake of Salt :- That an excessive intake of common salt (Sodium Chloride) elevates the blood pressure is an indisputable.
c) Mental tension and approach :- All researchers accept the role of mental tension and negative thinking in the development of blood Pressure.
d) Obesity (Excessive Weight):- The incidence of high blood Pressure is 2 ½ times more in obese than in normal personal.
e) Sedentary life :- The incidence of high blood pressure is much higher in sedentary persons than in Physical labourers.
f) Smoking :- The incidence of high blood Pressure has been found to be higher in smokers. Smokers more often fall Victims to atherosclerosis, heart attack and cerebral hemorrhages.
g) Alcohol Consumption :- The incidence of high blood pressure in drinking is 2 ½ times higher than that in non – drinkers.
h) Age :- High blood pressure is common in older age group.
Prevalence : One in three adults worldwide has high blood pressure. The proportion increases with age from 1 in 10 people in their 20s & 30s to 5 in 10 people in their 50s. 70 million Americans and 1 billion people worldwide have high blood pressure. The global burden of hypertension is rising and Projected to affect 1.5 billion persons, one third of the world’s population by the year 2025.
In India, it was reported on 1995 from Jaipur, the incidence of Hypertension was 30% in male and 33% in female. Again on 1999 the incidence at Mumbai was 44% in male and 45% in Female. In Manipur there is no clear cut study report but many Hypertensive patients are brought to the hospitals with severe complications.
Signs and Symptoms
High blood pressure is called the silent killer because it often does not produce any signs or symptoms to some patients. Patient may have headache, dizziness or nosebleeding, palpitation, muscle cramps, giddiness, burning of eyes, distended neck veins, insomnia, neck pain & vertigo. But some patients have high blood pressure for years without every knowing it. Sign and symptoms typically don’t occur until high blood pressure has advanced to a higher possibility of life threatening-stage.
Hazards of High Blood Pressure
In patients of high blood pressure the blood vessels are thickened, hard and brittle. This disorder is term atherosclerosis. Heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, cerebral haemorrhage (stroke) and retinal haemorrhage are the natural consequences of high blood pressure. Also it shortens the life and drags its victim to a premature death.
Prevention of High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is preventable and treatable. The old adage, ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is especially true for high blood pressure.
• Reducing salt intake 2-4 gms/day, avoid salty foods as much as possible.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Eating a balance diet. Cut down on foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt. These are mainly found in fast foods, ready to eat packaged foods and restaurant foods.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables.
• Avoiding harmful use of alcohol.
• Taking regular physical activity at least 1 hr per day as gardening, walking etc.
• Avoid tobacco use. Smoking is major cause of death and disability.
• Control Blood cholesterol and blood sugar.
• Sound sleep at night. Sleep 2 hrs gap after dinner.
The ultimate goal of World Hypertension Day observation is to give awareness of the consequences of Hypertension to the General Population, so that we can prevent, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, retinal haemorrhage and atherosclerosis.
-LOVE YOUR HEART. HEART IS YOUR LIFE-

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/world-hypertension-day/

The World Health Day 2013 theme is ‘High Blood Pressure’ or Hypertension. It increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure and if left uncontrolled, it can also cause blindness, irregular heart beat and heart failure, rupture of blood vessels and brain impairment. It affects one in three adults and leads to more than nine million deaths every year worldwide.
The heart is a wonderful organ, working day and night, without rest, beating approximately 70 times/ minute, 100,000 times/day. It drives the blood through thousands of km blood vessels to nourish each and every cell in our body. The flow of blood to and from the heart is kept moving in the correct direction by the opening and closing of the appropriate valves. The ‘Lab-dub’ sound heard through the stethoscope is due to the movements of valves.
Hypertension or high blood pressure (BP), accelerates arteriosclerosis which narrows the arteries and impedes the flow of blood to the heart or brain causing heart attack or strokes. In the early stages of the high BP there are no symptoms. Many, who are afflicted, feel no discomfort until a medical crisis – a heart attack or stroke occurs. As a consequence, high BP is often referred to as the ‘Silent Killer’.
Sudden death was recognized as early as 5th century B.C. by the Greek physician, Hippocrates and was noted to be more common in obese. It was not until William Harvey discovered the true nature of circulation of blood in 1628 that the background for more understanding was established. Stephen Hales was the first to measure arterial blood pressure in 1733. Antemortem diagnosis made little progress until Rene Lacnnec invented the stethoscope in 1819. Richard Jr. Dikinson and Forssmann in 1956 invented a technique called catheterization, enabling the physician to look into the various blood vessels serving the heart, to assess the extent of blockage and also examine proper functioning of the valves.
Feodor Lynen in 1964 discovered how cholesterol is formed from human cells, investigated lipid metabolism in the body and enabled medical science to find ways of arresting abnormal growth of fat in blood. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstain discovered in 1985, how the low density Lipo-protein (LDL), receptor, a protein molecule which ferries particles rich in cholesterol from the blood to the cells, settle inside blood vessels, supplying blood to the heart, signals the possibility of heart attack.
Hypertension is diagnosed if readings on separate occasions consistently show systolic blood pressure to be 140 and diastolic blood pressure 90 mmHg or higher. The risk of developing complications is higher in the presence of other cardio-vascular risk factors such as diabetes. One in three adults worldwide has hypertension, the proportion increases with age – 1 in 2 persons in the 50s age group.
Cardio-vascular diseases (CVD) are killing more and more people around the world, striking rich and poor alike. Those who survive a heart attack or stroke often need to take long-term medical treatment. These diseases can seriously affect the life of both the patient and his or her family.
High BP is preventable, and can be countered by reducing salt intake, eating a balanced diet, avoiding the harmful use of alcohol, taking regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy body weight and avoiding tobacco use.Reducing salt intake is a crucial factor in lowering the risk of CVD. In many countries more than 2/3rd of all salt consumed is hidden in processed foods and snacks or food products such as bread and cheese. In addition some fast food chains and restaurants are key suppliers of food high in salt as well as fats and sugars. This means that only approximately 20% of salt intake is under the control of consumer. WHO recommends an intake of less than 5 g/day (1 teaspoon of salt/day) to avoid CVD.
A balanced diet is crucial to a healthy heart and circulation system. This should include plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, fish and pulses and restricted salt, sugar and fat intake.
At least 30 minutes of regular physical activity everyday helps to maintain CV fitness.
Tobacco in every form is harmful to health – cigarettes or chewable tobacco. Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke is also dangerous.
In every region of the world, obesity doubled between 1980 and 2008. Today half a billion people i.e., 12% of the world’s population are considered obese. In all parts of the world women are more likely to be obese than men, and thus at greater risk of diabetes and CVD.
One in three adults worldwide have raised BP – a condition that causes around half of all deaths from stroke and heart disease. It is considered directly responsible for 7.5 million deaths in 2004 – almost 13% of all global deaths. In nearly all high income countries, widespread diagnosis and treatment with low-cost medication have led to a dramatic drop in mean BP across populations – and this has contributed to a reduction in deaths from heart disease. For example in 1980 almost 30 and 40% of adults in the WHO Region of America and European Union have had high BP. By 2008, this dropped to below 23 and 30% respectively. In contrast, in the WHO African region, more than 40 to 50% of adults in many countries are estimated to have high BP and this proportion is increasing. WHO estimates that more than 7.3 million people died of CVD in 2008.
Many people with high BP in developing countries remain undiagnosed, and so miss on treatment that could significantly reduce their risk of death and disability from heart disease and stroke.
For many people life style changes are sufficient to control BP, for others medication is required. It is essential that detection and control of high BP, are coupled with other risk factors, such as diabetes and tobacco use.
Current data suggest that the effect of ‘aspirin’ in reducing the risk of coronary disease is even greater than that of cholesterol lowering drugs. Aspirin is given to certain patients as a preventive measure whose LDL cholesterol level is continuously high.
The role of antioxidants such as ‘Vitamin E’, ‘Vitamin C’ is gaining momentum in preventing the progress of arteriosclerosis. Many naturally occurring anti-oxidants, helpful to the body, are present in garlic and onion, consumption of the same in the regular diet is also helpful.
(PIB Feature.)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/control-your-blood-pressure-a-n-khan-senior-scientist-former-asst-director-neeri-nagpur/

A new study has shed light on how a common anesthesia drug creates loss of consciousness in patients undergoing surgery.
Tracking the brain activity in human volunteers over a two-hour period as they lost and regained consciousness, researchers from MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have identified distinctive brain patterns associated with different stages of general anesthesia.The findings could help doctors better monitor patients during surgery and prevent rare cases of patients waking up during operations.
“When anesthesiologists are taking care of someone in the operating room, they can use the information in this article to make sure that someone is unconscious, and they can have a specific idea of when the person may be regaining consciousness,” said senior author Emery Brown, an MIT professor of brain and cognitive sciences and health sciences and technology and an anesthesiologist at MGH.Lead author of the paper is Patrick Purdon, an instructor of anesthesia at MGH and Harvard Medical School.
Last fall, Purdon, Brown and colleagues published a study of brain activity in epileptic patients as they went under anesthesia. Using electrodes that had been implanted in the patients’ brains as part of their treatment for epilepsy, the researchers were able to identify a signature EEG pattern that emerged during anesthesia.
In the new study, the researchers studied healthy volunteers, measuring their brain activity with an array of 64 electrodes attached to the scalp. Not only did they find patterns that appeared to correspond to what they saw in last year’s study, they were also able to discern much more detail, because they gave the dose of propofol over a longer period of time and followed subjects until they came out of anesthesia.
While the subjects received propofol, the researchers monitored their responsiveness to sounds. Every four seconds, the subjects heard either a mechanical tone or a word, such as their name. The researchers measured EEG activity throughout the process, as the subjects pressed a button to indicate whether they heard the sound.
As the subjects became less responsive, distinct brain patterns appeared. Early on, when the subjects were just beginning to lose consciousness, the researchers detected an oscillation of brain activity in the low frequency (0.1 to 1 hertz) and alpha frequency (8 to 12 hertz) bands, in the frontal cortex. They also found a specific relationship between the oscillations in those two frequency bands: Alpha oscillations peaked as the low-frequency waves were at their lowest point.
When the brain reached a slightly deeper level of anesthesia, a marked transition occurred: The alpha oscillations flipped so their highest points occurred when the low frequency waves were also peaking.The researchers believe that these alpha and low-frequency oscillations, which they also detected in last year’s study, produce unconsciousness by disrupting normal communication between different brain regions. The oscillations appear to constrain the amount of information that can pass between the frontal cortex and the thalamus, which normally communicate with each other across a very broad frequency band to relay sensory information and control attention.The oscillations also prevent different parts of the cortex from coordinating with each other. In last year’s study, the researchers found that during anesthesia, neurons within small, localized brain regions are active for a few hundred milliseconds, then shut off again for a few hundred milliseconds. This flickering of activity, which creates the slow oscillation pattern, prevents brain regions from communicating normally.
When the researchers began to slowly decrease the dose of propofol, to bring the subjects out of anesthesia, they saw a reversal of the brain activity patterns that appeared when the subjects lost consciousness. A few minutes before regaining consciousness, the alpha oscillations flipped so that they were at their peak when the low-frequency waves were at their lowest point.
“That is the signature that would allow someone to determine if a patient is coming out of anesthesia too early, with this drug,” Purdon said.In follow-up studies, the researchers are now studying the brain activity patterns produced by other anesthesia drugs.
The study appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/how-brain-loses-and-regains-consciousness-during-anesthesia/

Mail News Service
Imphal, Feb 14 : NIIT, is conducting the National Level IT Aptitude Test— the 9thNIIT National IT Aptitude Test (NITAT) — to enable students and graduates to ascertain their aptitude for the IT industry. NITAT will be simultaneously conducted by NIIT, in over 200 cities nationwide, on February 17, 2013.
NITAT has been designed as a 100-minute objective test assessingfunctional skills, likeReasoning, Comprehension, Data Interpretation and behavioural traits, such as, Result Orientation and Teamwork of the test takers. The assessment will be of particular benefit to graduating students in determining their aptitude for IT careers, as well as the domain in the IT sector that they should take up.Every participant will also get personalised IT career consultation from experts, scholarships on NIIT’s industry-aligned programs and an invitation to NIIT’s Job Fair and Technology Seminars.
As per industry figures, out of the 3.9 million graduates being added to the workforce each year, only 10% are considered employable by the industry. Thus, it becomes vital for students to be assessed on a common platform and rated on employability parameters, to understand their aptitude to succeed in the IT industry.
Flagging off the 9th NITAT nationally, Amitabh Lahiri, President, Individual Learning Solutions, NIIT Ltd. said, “With employability of graduates becoming a concern for the industry, National IT Aptitude Testis beneficial for both students seeking to identify their aptitude and the industry which is on lookout for the right talent.”
Recognising NITAT’s efforts to enhance the employability quotient of Indian youth by making them aware of their strengths and weaknesses, Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM, commented, “The year 2013 holds exciting opportunities as employers look for rightly skilled people at all levels. As today’s youth decide on what vocations they should pursue, it is important they have a correct assessment of their aptitude. The National IT Aptitude Test is a good initiative to help them achieve this, thereby helping identify the right talent to power the Indian IT industry.”
A list of ‘Promising IT Professionals of the Future’, including names of those with ‘Very High’ or ‘High IT Aptitude’ will be announced by NIIT and made available on www.niit.com/NITAT. This identified resource pool can be accessed by prospective employers including leading technology companies for their talent needs.
NIIT will also award special recognition certificates to the top 30% merit list candidates and encourage their pursuit of a career in IT. Top 1000 candidates will also be awarded a congratulatory letter signed by World Chess Champion and NIIT Mind Champion Viswanathan Anand.
NITAT, introduced in 2004 to enable graduates & undergraduate students to gauge their aptitude for a career in the IT sector, has reached over 9,00,000 candidates since inception.The test is designed scientifically to assess students and provide a relative ranking system, which helps them to identify their position nationally and regionally, amongst all test takers. Participants undergoing the test receive a score-card evaluating their aptitude in the dimensions of Numerical Ability, Logical Reasoning, Problem Solving and Verbal Ability,along with their nationwide and zonal ranking. The last date to apply for NITAT is February 16, 2013.
NIIT IMPHAL CENTRE started off with a main mission of enhancing the youths of the state with HIGH END IT knowledge which the state has not been able to provide since now. It offers wide range of up-to-date training and placements in the field of IT. There are varied courses starting from beginner’s course for three months to career course for 3 years with placements provisions. NIIT IMPHAL CENTRE has been empanelled and listed for Computer training by the Manipur Urban Development Agency, Government of Manipur for providing computer training under the SJSRY scheme. NIIT IMPHAL CENTRE,a leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia’s premier IT trainer, offers learning and knowledge solutions across 38 countries. Leading IT journal Dataquest has conferred upon NIIT the ‘Top IT Training Company’ award successively for the past 20 years, since the inception of this category.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/niit-to-conduct-it-aptitude-test-on-feb-17/

Mail News Service
Imphal, Feb7 : Today Imphal ushered in adoption of green technology in road construction domain by initiation of a prototype & live demonstration of environment friendly Cold Mix Technology in Takyel Maning Leikia, West Imphal on Thursday.
The event was attended by N Babuchand, Chief Engineer, Manipur State Rural Roads Development Agency (MSRRDA); S Sundar Singh, SE, MSRRDA; Gopendra Singh, SE (Planning) MSRRDA;Akoijam Inaocha Singh (Proprietor) (AKI Supply Agency) Channel Partner of BITCHEM; Y Thoiba Singh, Contractor (PMGSY).
Given the importance of roads in development and maintaining ecological balance it is imperative for North East to embrace new alternative and superior technologies of road construction including cold mix, public waste and jute. This would not only ensure enhanced rural connectivity but will also give a much-needed push to the Central Government funded scheme Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), which aims to provide connectivity to all unconnected habitations in the rural areas in a time bound manner.
Dr PK Jain, Senior Scientist of CRRI, the nodal body for roads research in India, said, “Today there are many new environment-friendly and sustainable technologies available for roads construction, which are especially suited to hilly, cold or rainy conditions like in North East and it is imperative that we use these to enhance rural connectivity and prosperity by increasing the construction season.”
N Babuchand, Chief Engineer, MRRDA, said “Roads can play an integral role in the development of the society and overall growth of the state. Manipur state has good potential for Cold Mix Technology. It is worthwhile to mention that it has already been incorporated in DPR (Detail Project Report) up to black topping packages of PMGSY-IX and already 2100 kms of DPR has been made for Cold Mix Emulsion.
Subrata Nandi, AGM, S&M, Bitchem informed that Assam had taken a lead in introducing the environment-friendly cold mix technology in rural roads construction and over 1500 km of rural roads have been built, it’s time for other states including Imphal in NE to follow.
Cold mix technology is considered greener, safer and facilitates faster roll out suiting the climatic and terrain conditions of the north eastern region. According to National Rural Road Development Agency (NRRDA) of Ministry of Rural Development, road construction and repair work done using hot mix is often sub-standard and there is a need to use cold mix for the same.
The terrain in and around 70 percent of the North East Region is hilly and mountainous and the entire region gets very heavy rainfall ranging from 2500 mm to 6000mm which makes communication difficult. Unlike plains, the construction of roads in hilly areas is different, extremely difficult and much expensive and hence it important to innovate and use new technologies for faster and enduring roll out of roads.
Bitchem is India’s only environment friendly rural road focused road science organization which has experience of more than 1500 kms of cold mix paving of rural roads. Bitchem has been granted the Exclusive License by the apex roads research agency – CRRI- Central Road Research Institute under Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), for promoting Cold Mix Technology in East and North East Region of India. Cold mix is a new technology of road construction, which is greener, cleaner, faster and risk-free for workers.
Bitchem’s Cold Mix Technology is a perfect solution for hilly roads, village roads, city roads, lanes and by-lanes, and special areas where heating & mixing preparations are not permitted or not possible due to remoteness and militancy-affected areas where plant and machinery is a problem.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/green-road-technology-introduced/

Liliana B. G. Momin
Rhianon S. M. Sangma
C.V.Sc. & AH, Selesih, Aizawl, Mizoram.
The sudden need of awareness against Rabies, which is a ‘Life Threatening’ zoonotic disease has risen considerably with the passage of time. This disease is also known as Hydrophobia (fear of water). Rabies kills more than 55,000 people in the world every year. Approximately 20,000 people die every year in India due to Rabies (WHO SEA report 2009). On an average, over 5,000 people are bitten by dogs every year in Meghalaya. The number of Stray dogs has also reportedly increased in the state.
Rabies is highly fatal viral infection that causes acute inflammation of the brain & spinal cord in most of the mammals including human beings. It is caused by Lyssa/Rabies virus. This disease is also called Hydrophobia as the patient suffering from this disease is unable to drink water due to paralysis of the throat and facial muscles. It is usually transmitted in saliva through the bite of an infected animal or by licking of the wounds or cuts by the infected animal. Since it affects the brain, it may cause madness and then coma and ultimately death of the individual. Death can even occur without coma.
This disease is important as it can be transmitted from animal to man or vice versa through the bite of an infected animal or by penetration of the rabies virus through other means, say a rabid dog licking the wound or injured part of the body as mentioned earlier. Even so, if the rabies virus has not reached the saliva of rabid animal, the disease will not transmit. More than 95% of human cases are the result of bites from rabid dogs.
As a thumb rule, not all the animals or pets are infected with the virus. However, bats are assumed to be natural reservoir of the disease in the Central and South America whereas Mongoose is believed to be the natural reservoir of the disease in India and South Africa. If any animal is infected, then, the first sign is a change in behaviour. The infected animal will stop eating and drinking due to paralysis of throat and muscles of mastication. As the disease progress the animal dies within 10 days of the first signs.
Namely two forms are exhibited by the animal:
The Dumb/Paralytic Form: Here the animal becomes unconscious and has a peculiar starring expression with profuse salivation and inability to swallow. The lower jaw will drop and the animal will rarely attempt to bite. Thus, animal goes into coma and dies.
Furious form: Here the animal exhibits vicious behaviour normally classified as “mad dog syndrome” hence the name “mad dog disease”. The animal will bite and slash any moving/non-moving object and will not listen to the owner. It chews noisily with excess salivation which is particularly foamy and may adhere to the face and lips.
When a human being is bitten by a rabid dog, the disease will start developing with some abnormal sensations at the site of exposure followed by mild fever, headache, nausea and sore throat. Hypersensitivity, anxiety, muscular spasm, teary eyes, dilation of pupils, salivation and perspiration are evident. In later stages, the muscles involved in swallowing and breathing experience severe spasms and so the person develops hydrophobia. Progressive paralysis occurs followed by convulsion and finally death due to respiratory paralysis. Patients remain same until terminal coma. This disease is highly variable in humans as it may range from days to years. In some cases, the symptoms start appearing as late as 20 years.
If you are bitten by a rabid dog/animal, firstly, wash the wound with any detergent/soap. Seek medical attention ASAP. Inform the local animal authorities about the animal. In any case, chances should not be taken. Once rabies develops, rarely a person survives. You should also vaccinate your pet at regular interval.
Remember: “PREVENTION IS BETTER THEN CURE”

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/some-common-queries-on-rabies/

Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare released HIV Estimations 2012 at New Delhi today.
The main features of the estimations are as follows:
(1)  57% REDUCTION IN NEW HIV INFECTIONS DURING LAST DECADE
(2)  1.5 LAKH LIVES SAVED DUE TO SCALE UP OF FREE ART SERVICES SINCE 2004
(3)  SUSTAINING THE INTENSITY OF INTERVENTIONS TO CONSOLIDATE GAINS
(4)  EMERGING EPIDEMICS GIVEN THE HIGHEST PRIORITY IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
(5)  BALANCING PREVENTION AND TREATMENT IS A KEY CHALLENGE
National AIDS Control Programme in India has been recognised globally as a success story. This programme rests on two key pillars – prevention for those who are not infected and care, support & treatment for those who have been infected. Since large proportion of the population are not infected with HIV, prevention remains the cornerstone of the programme. The strategies for prevention include targeted interventions for high risk groups, condom promotion and strong IEC campaigns for general population. Care, support and treatment aim at increasing access to testing and treatment services.
In order to refine these strategies and to evaluate the impacts of the interventions, National AIDS Control Organisation conducts HIV Sentinel Surveillance and HIV Estimations at regular intervals. The latest round of HIV Sentinel Surveillance was completed in 2011. The data generated there has been used for estimation of HIV burden and projection of HIV epidemic trends in the country. The HIV estimations 2012 indicate an overall continuing reduction in adult HIV prevalence, new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths in India.
Improved methodology & customised models to generate HIV estimates
The India HIV estimates 2012 utilised improved methodology and updated epidemiological data from the latest round of HIV Sentinel Surveillance, Census 2011 and other information on High Risk Groups for more accurate understanding of the Indian epidemic. Spectrum model has been customised with Indian data to allow robust projections for each state. The entire process is supported by national and international experts, epidemiologists and demographers from National Institute of Medical Statistics, UNAIDS, WHO, CDC and other public health institutes of India.
Adult HIV Prevalence
India is estimated to have an adult (15-49 years) HIV prevalence of 0.27% in 2011. Adult HIV prevalence among males and females is estimated at 0.32% and 0.22% respectively.
In 2011, among the states, Manipur has shown the highest estimated adult HIV prevalence of 1.22%, followed by Andhra Pradesh (0.75%), Mizoram (0.74%), Nagaland (0.73%), Karnataka (0.52%), Goa (0.43%) and Maharashtra (0.42%). Besides these, Odisha, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Chandigarh have shown estimated adult HIV prevalence greater than national prevalence (0.27%).
Trends of Adult HIV Prevalence
The adult HIV prevalence at national level has continued its steady decline from estimated level of 0.41% in 2001 through 0.35% in 2006 to 0.27% in 2011. Similar consistent declines are noted among both males and females at national level. Declining trends in adult HIV prevalence are sustained in all the high prevalence states (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur & Nagaland).
Annual New HIV Infections
It is estimated that around 1.16 lakh new HIV infections among adults and around 14,500 new infections among children occurred during 2011. Of the 1.16 lakh estimated new infections in 2011 among adults, the six high prevalence states account for 31% of new infections.
Trends of HIV Incidence (New Infections)
India has demonstrated an overall reduction of 57% in estimated annual new HIV infections (among adult population) during the last decade from 2.74 lakhs in 2000 to 1.16 lakhs in 2011. This is one of the most important evidence on the impact of the various interventions under National AIDS Control Programme and scaled-up prevention strategies. Major contribution to this reduction comes from the high prevalence states where a reduction of 76% has been noted during the same period. However, rising trends of new infections are noted in the some of the low prevalence states. Programme has evolved focused prevention strategies to address these emerging vulnerabilities.
Vulnerabilities due to high risk groups and bridge population
Considerable declines in HIV prevalence have been recorded among Female Sex Workers at national level (5.06% in 2007 to 2.67%) and in most of the states, where long-standing targeted interventions have focussed on behaviour change and increasing condom use. Declines have been achieved among Men who have sex with Men (7.41% in 2007 to 4.43% in 2011) also, though several pockets in the country show higher HIV prevalence among them with mixed trends.
Stable trends have been recorded among Injecting Drug Users at national level (7.23% in 2007 to 7.14% in 2011). Besides North Eastern states where declines have been achieved, newer pockets of high HIV prevalence among IDU have emerged over the last few years, in the states of Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Odisha, MP, Uttar Pradesh & Bihar. Prevention strategies for IDU in the newer areas have been initiated recently and are prioritised for further scale up during the next five years.(contd next col)
from previous col
HIV Estimations 2012 Report
In certain North Indian states, evidence indicates the possible role of migration in fueling HIV epidemics. Besides high risk migrants, long distance truckers also show high levels of vulnerability and form an important part of bridge population.
People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV)
The total number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in India is estimated at 21 lakh in 2011. Children (<15 yrs) account for 7% of all infections, while 86% are in the age –group of 15-49 years. Of all HIV infections, 39% (8.16 lakh) are among women.
AIDS-related Deaths
Using globally accepted methodologies and updated evidence on survival to HIV with and without treatment, it is estimated that about 1.48 lakh people died of AIDS related causes in 2011 in India. Deaths among HIV infected children account for 7% of all AIDS-related deaths. Wider access to ART has led to 29% reduction in estimated annual AIDS-related deaths during NACP-III period (2007-2011). Greater declines in estimated annual deaths are noted in states where significant scale up of ART services has been achieved.
Lives Saved Due to ART
It is estimated that the scale up of free ART since 2004 has saved over 1.5 lakh lives in the country till 2011 by averting deaths due to AIDS-related causes. At the current pace of scale up of ART services, it is estimated to avert around 50,000 – 60,000 deaths annually in the next five years.
Sustained action needed for ‘Getting to Zero’
Above evidence shows that India is on track to achieve the global targets of ‘Zero New Infections, Zero AIDS-related deaths & Zero discrimination’. However, sustaining prevention focus and intensity in the areas where significant declines have been achieved, is highly critical to consolidate the gains, while effectively addressing the emerging epidemics. With increasing coverage of treatment & decreasing AIDS-related mortality, a significant number of people are likely to require first and second line ART treatment in the coming years. Major challenge for the programme will be to ensure that the treatment requirements are fully met without sacrificing the needs of prevention.
NACO has taken cognisance of these emerging challenges and have focussed on region specific prevention strategies and evidence-based scale up.
1. Scale up of Opioid Substitution Therapy and other harm reduction strategies are given focus in the North Western states where injecting drug use is identified as the major driver of the epidemic.
2. On the other hand, in the eight states of North India, where migration is increasingly being identified as playing role in HIV transmission, revised migrant strategy is being implemented with focus at source, transit as well as destination points.
3. In certain pockets of high prevalence states where HIV prevalence among FSW and MSM continues to be high, emphasis is given to sustain the higher coverage of targeted interventions and improve the quality of outreach.
4. Interventions to provide HIV prevention services to long distance truckers are being scaled up at the trans-shipment locations and truck halt points across the country.
5. More efficacious PPTCT regimen has been rolled out in high prevalence areas where number of HIV positive pregnancies is higher and where the impact on reducing new child infections will be maximum.
6. In the states that account for a larger share of HIV burden, treatment services are being scaled up through expansion of ART and Link ART centres. Second line ART and paediatric ART are being provided at greater number of centres across the country.
7. IEC campaigns have been strengthened through multi-media approach involving TV, Radio and innovative strategies such as Red Ribbon Express, National folk media campaign and North East campaign involving music and sports.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/hiv-estimations-2012-report/

MNS:- The third International Agronomy Congress on Agriculture Diversification, Climate Change Management and Livelihoods (26-30 November) was inaugurated here today.
The Indian Society of Agronomy and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research jointly organizes the 3rd International Agronomy Congress . The primary objective is to take stock of technology capital available to address the issue of agriculture diversification, climate change management and livelihoods and draw future research strategies to address the emerging matrix of agriculture problems in holistic manner. Around 1000 delegates from 24 countries are participating in the Congress.
Inaugurating the Congress, Dr. Charan Das Mahant, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries emphasized on the importance of processing of agricultural products to enhance profitability in agriculture. To encourage and promote food processing industries in India, Government has prepared “Vision-2015” with the objective to increase food processing by 20%, he informed. Food processing and secondary agriculture are the areas in which greater investment is required to create rural assets and increase employment opportunities. Dr. Mahant hoped that this Congress will deliberate on the challenges faced by Indian and global agriculture and will also devise a road map to tackle these. He assured that the recommendations and suggestions of the Congress will be taken up for the betterment of farming communities.
In his address Shri Tariq Anwar, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries expressed concern over continuous shrinking of land holdings and impeding danger of climate change. Presently, Indian agriculture is at crossroads due to increasing population and rising costs of agricultural inputs, he remarked, at the same time income of the farmers is to be raised. Shri Anwar said that pressure on agriculture land is increasing due to land utilization for non-agricultural purposes, which needs logical redressal.
Earlier, Dr. S. Ayyappan, Chairman, Board of Governors of Congress and Secretary, DARE and DG, ICAR elaborated the impressive role of agriculture in the Indian Economy and emphasized that agriculture is the key to create employment in the country. However, attainment of nutritional security is still a challenge in view of prevalent child malnutrition. Calling this Congress as Krishi Kumbh, he said that agronomy is a science that acts beyond the borders. Precision farming, nano-technology, ICT and other cutting-edge technologies are being embraced to break the yield barriers of crops

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/third-international-agronomy-congress-inaugurated/

IMPHAL, Nov 7 NNN: The Manipur Science and Technology Council (MASTEC) is eying on mass production of ornamental fish in the State for the reason that the demand on different species of indigenous ornamental fishes of Manipur rises especially from Travancore Aquapets, a firm based at Cochin in Kerala, said an official of Manipur Science Aquarium on Wednesday.
Travancore Aquapets, which is demanding ornamental fish from Manipur, is a firm recognized by Ornamental Fish International (OFI) and that it also exports variety of ornamental fishes available across India under Marine Product Export Development Authority, Laishram Nabakumar, Fishery officer, Manipur Science Aquarium, told NNN.
Proprietor of Travancore Aquapets has demanded ornamental fish from the State for export after Manipur Science Aquarium recently sent some samples of Manipuri fish to the firm that can be used as ornate fish, Nabakumar said.
The indigenous ornamental fish demanded for export by the firm includes sarengkhoibi (Botia species), ngakijou (Loach species), ngawa (Barilius species), belun paibi (Esomus species), phabounga (Funtius species), ngawa Thangong (Raimas species), Meitei ngamu (Chana species), ngaten (Ompok species) nagpemma/pheatin (Colisa species) and ngarang (Batasio species).
On top of the above fish kind in demand, there are a lot of other species scattering in the hill streams which are difficult to identify, Nabakumar informed. However, he expressed dissatisfaction over inability to supply the fish demanded from outside because of non-availability in large number.
According to a book published by Marine Product Export Development Authority, 85 percent of ornamental fish exported by India are from the Northeast, he said. A survey will be conducted soon so as to take steps to increase the number of indigenous ornamental fish of Manipur by breeding process, he added.
The survey will be conducted by MASTEC under the funding of Department of Science and technology, Government of India, the Fishery Officer, Manipur Science Aquarium further explained.
The main objective of the survey will base on documentation of different ornamental fish found in the State and culture them besides propagation.
The survey will take about one year and the next step will be eyed on breeding of fish at every place where such fish are found. The breeding process will be handled by local entrepreneurs only.
He also informed that he has already started contacting some firms which are rearing ornamental fish for buying their products.
Bothering over market for the indigenous ornamental fish available in the State is not necessary now, Nabakumar stressed and appealed to all the entrepreneurs to focus their mind on production of such fish as it would become a lucrative business before long.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/mass-production-of-ornamental-fish/

MNS:- The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has urged to bridge the gaps in the emerging spectrum of dual burden of diseases in health care with inherent strengths, holistic approach and wide range of remedies of AYUSH. He said this in New Delhi today while chairing the meeting of Consultative Committee of Parliament attached to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
He said that Global trends indicate that the natural medicine is going to be preferred resort of health care for chronic lifestyle and geriatric disorders and Indian Systems of Medicine can play a significant role in tackling emerging health problems.
Pointing out that the allocation for AYUSH has grown significantly over the Five Year Plans, many new initiatives are proposed in the 12th Five-year Plan, to shape the development of AYUSH including flexi-funding for mainstreaming of AYUSH activities in the states like collocation of AYUSH facilities in PHCs, CHCs and District Hospitals.
Shri Azad announced that three more institutes, namely All India Institute of Ayurveda, North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homeopathy and North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine are coming up and are expected to be made functional in the current year.
With regard to improving the standards of education and regulation of drugs, the Minister said, in the last two years, some unprecedented steps have been taken to enforce the quality education norms and prevent mushroom growth of substandard colleges. For the first time, Minimum Standard Requirements of Ayurveda colleges & attached hospitals have been notified and relaxation given in certain eligibility conditions to facilitate objective inspection and reporting of college infrastructure and quality of teaching-training facilities.
Shri Azad informed the members that the Department has also been strategic in bringing regulatory & quality control reforms and a proposal for creation of posts has been moved to the Department of Expenditure to set up AYUSH Drug Controller at central level.
Regarding taking the Indian system of medicines to International forums, the Minister said, AYUSH Information Cells have already been set up in Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago and Mexico for awareness building about AYUSH. International cooperation with China, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, and South Africa has been initiated and is also under consideration with Nepal, Sri Lanka, Serbia and Mexico. Recently, Department has approached WHO headquarters to extend its support and undertake collaborative activities for the development of traditional medicine with focused outcomes, the Minister added.
Secretary, AYUSH Shri Anil Kumar illustrated various activities and achievements of AYUSH through a presentation to the members.
Some of the members shared their personal experiences in mitigating various ailments through Ayurveda and Naturopathy.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/azad-calls-for-a-holistic-approach-to-bridge-the-gaps-in-health-care/

IMPHAL, Oct 26 NNN: A case of dengue in Churachandpur district has been officially confirmed with a 17-year-old girl tested positive. “One out of two blood samples has been confirmed positive this afternoon,” Epidemiologist Dr Achom Ritindra said.
He had heard that a dengue type disease was spread in the hamlet of Chengkonpa in the vicinity of Don Bosco School, Churachandpur a few days ago. Some officials of the district Malaria Department went to the area on October 18 and took blood samples of a 17-year-old girl and another 34-year-old woman, Dr Ritindra said.
The samples were tested at Churachandpur and again sent to the state Malaria Department for further test. The Malaria Department then sent it back to RIMS after consulting him.
One out of the two samples was tested dengue positive when the test was conducted at the Microbiology Department of RIMS, Dr Ritindra said.
However, both of them are now out of danger as the disease has been controlled by proper treatment, he said.
The doctor also said it is not necessary to panic about dengue disease as it is easily controllable by treating but the most hardest task is to control the presence of mosquitoes carrying the virus.
Dengue is caused by a virus spread by Aedes (Stegomyia) musquitoes. Since there are no vaccines to prevent infection with dengue virus (DENV) the most effective protective measure is to avoid mosquito bites. When infected with the virus, early recognition and prompt supportive treatment can substantially lower the risk of developing severe disease.
In Manipur, the outbreak of dengue disease was first reported from Moreh town of Chandel district, bordering Myanmar in 2007.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/dengue-reported-at-churachandpur/

Following are the highlights of the CoP-11 Conference on Biodiversity concluded in Hyderabad on 19 October, 2012:
Largest ever such conference organised in India. 170 countries participated. The number of pre registered delegates around 15000. Minister/Vice Minister level participation around 80. More than 400 side events – many organised by the World Bank, UNDP, GEF, other countries and International and national NGOs.
The elements of successful CoP were flawless logistics, strategic thinking in the development of Agenda’s content, participation of a large number of stakeholders and persuasive yet effective negotiations.
One of the most important outcomes of the CoP is the commitment of the Parties to double the international financial flows for Bio Diversity by 2015. This will translate into additional financial flows to the developing countries to the tune of about US $ 30 billion equivalent to about Rs. 1,50,000 crore over the next 8 years. This is a major achievement especially in the context of .
1. Global economic downturn
2. Contentious stands regarding the robust baseline and the reporting mechanism
3. Absence of any such target in the recommendation sent to the CoP by WGRI
4. With no proposal from Working Group on Review of Implementation (WGRI) the Parties would not have come with the required clearance from the respective Finance Ministries.
India rectified the situation by her initiatives
1. Suggested a two track solution envisaging a preliminary target and a road map.
2. Co sponsored informal dialogue to promote better Understanding among the parties of the issues involved.
3. Co sponsored India UK High Level Panel to assess the requirement of funds.
4. Worked closely with the Bureau to introduce a specific element of preliminary target, so that the parties come prepared with mandates from their Finance Ministries.
5. During the CoP India led the efforts of the Parties to find a satisfactory outcome
• Way Forward India will like to play its leadership role during India’s Presidency by supporting and hosting capacity building in the developing countries to help them prepare project proposals to avail the additional funding now envisaged.
• India will now be working closely with all the member countries to make a success of the Hyderabad Road Map. India will also share its experience with other countries to help them establish a robust baseline, so that the target for resources fixed now is further refined by CoP 12. India has already set apart a sum of Rs. 50 crores towards South South cooperation.
• India has launched the initiative of Hyderabad Pledge which is now available on the web site of CBD. All the countries are requested to pledge money for the cause of bio diversity. MEF will now write to all the Ministers the world over requesting them to pledge additional resources for Biodiversity.
• India has already ratified Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit sharing. India during its Presidency will work tirelessly for the ratification of the Protocol by 50 countries so that it comes into force during the Presidency of India. Towards this end, India will offer to host the meeting of the Inter Governmental Committee of Nagoya Protocol. India will also host capacity building workshops of developing Countries to help them take legislative / administrative measures. India has already offered to meet part of the cost of the meeting of the Working Group on Art. 8j on Traditional Knowledge.
• After the resounding success of the Science Express Biodiversity Special. The Government will take special efforts to increase the reach of this Express to even more remote corners of the country to increase the awareness about Biodiversity.
• Many delegates who visited the Biodiversity express in Hyderabad wanted something similar done in their country. India will explore ways of replicating this wonderful success of Biodiversity Express in other countries by providing them appropriate support.
• In Hyderabad, a commemorative Pylon and a Biodiversity Garden have been established. The Prime Minister of India had planted the first tree on behalf of India, representatives of the participating countries have also planted trees. It has been decided to establish a Biodiversity Museum on this site. This will be a token of gratitude to the people of Hyderabad whose hospitality had won the heart of every international delegate. Hyderabad is the first host city of CBD CoP to establish commemorative Pylon, garden and museum.
• During its Presidency India will take special steps to strengthen the State Biodiversity Boards and to prepare Peoples Biodiversity Registers at the village level. A sum of about Rs.250 crores has been approved for this purpose.
• India will substantially increase its allocation for Biodiversity by working closely with other Ministries for mainstreaming of Biodiversity. • India has instituted together with UNDP Biodiversity Governance Awards. The first such awards were given during the CoP 11. It is now proposed to institute Rajiv Gandhi International Award for Harnessing Biodiversity for Livelihood.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/successful-cop-leading-the-way/

Mail News Service
Imphal,  Oct 18 :   Prof S.Sekharjit, Director of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal underlined the imperative need of the participation of doctors and technicians in the national referral laboratories for ensuring zero errors while handling the suspected cases of HIV patients. Because there is a big difference in the first hand and second hand reports.
He was speaking in the brief inaugural function of the one day workshop cum training of the representatives of the national and state referral laboratories in the Jubilee hall today. He also said that the state referral laboratories would improve their position. He announced that RIMS is always ready to extend financial and other assistances to various workshops for the advancement of the knowledge in medical science.
Representatives from Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland are participating in the workshop cum training programme. It was organised by the Microbiology department of RIMS in collaboration with MACS.
Prof Ng. Brajachand, HOD, Microbiology department, said that the objective of the workshop is to improve the quality of the HIV testing in RIMS which is one of the 12 national referral laboratories. There should be no mistake in the testing since it involves human and financial factors. He also said that the quality of the testing kits should be maintained. Global efforts are on for the standardization of the laboratories and the competence of the technicians is a must.
L.R.Kom, the Deputy Director of MACS underlined the importance laboratory results since doctors depend on these while treating the patients. E. Debendro Meitei, the Deputy Director of RIMS said that the dynamic Microbiology department has been organising many workshops. All future proposals for such workshops which are meant for the benefit of the participants would be cleared, he assured.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/hiv-detection-at-clinic/

MNS:- “AROGYA” is an exhibition showcasing the strength, efficacy and affordability of the AYUSH systems of medicine which include Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homeopathy. The fair showcases the best and latest developments in the field of AYUSH. The last Arogya fair at Hyderabad was held in November 2005.
Addressing the meeting of AROGYA fair at Hyderabad today, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare said the fair started in 2001. The fair has grown into a country-wide phenomenon with more than 10 fairs organized throughout the year now. The Department of AYUSH organizes and supports these fairs to encourage the dissemination of information on the benefits and achievements of the AYUSH systems of medicine and for sharing of experiences and best practices between the industry, academia and research institutions. The active participation of AYUSH drug industries, medicinal plant traders, research institutions, hospitals, publishers and other stakeholders in the AROGYA fairs ensures a wide spectrum of activities thus making it more informative and interesting for the general public.
Shri Azad said that over the past three decades there has been a tremendous resurgence of peoples’ interest in the AYUSH Systems of Medicine, not only in India but also in many parts of the world, including Europe and the USA. This is mainly because of holistic approach towards preventive, promotive and positive health and multi-dimensional aspects of disease management in these traditional systems of medicine. It is a matter of pride that there are 504 AYUSH educational institutions including 111 postgraduate colleges where about 27,000 students are admitted annually. India has the largest number of traditional and alternative medicine teaching institutions in the world. India has signed several MoUs for bilateral cooperation in the area of traditional medicine and setting up Ayurveda chairs and AYUSH information centres in various countries, such as South Africa, Malaysia and Trinidad & Tobago.
He said that AYUSH has been adopted as one of the core strategies under NRHM to augment effective provisioning of healthcare services. AYUSH services are being introduced at various levels, i.e. in the Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, Sub-District and District Hospitals across the country. The aim is to utilize the AYUSH doctors in implementation of the national health programmes. A national survey report from National Health Systems Resource Centre says that the use of AYUSH and local health traditions is the mainstay of healthcare in many rural areas. With mainstreaming of AYUSH strategy under NRHM, the patients’ attendance in the PHCs, CHCs and District Hospitals has increased in the last three to four years.
The Department of AYUSH has set up a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in collaboration with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This initiative, well acknowledged by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), is a patent compatible instrument for patent search and prevention of wrong patenting of products based on traditional knowledge. AYUSH systems have a long history of use by the communities as it requires simple technological inputs for diagnosis of ailments and preparation of medicinal products. Organization of such fairs in other parts of the country will continue to promote our holistic systems for overall public good, Shri Azad added.

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