Category Archives: Science & Technology

Pre-marital medical test a hit among Hyderabad couples

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

When 27-year-old Sumit Kanwar of Madhapur was told by his bride-to-be Deepa to go for a sperm cell analysis and HIV tests before marriage, he was embarrassed and clueless until he was told where to go for the tests.

To take advantage of the marriage season, a number of hospitals and diagnostic centres in the twin cities are offering pre-marital medical tests which might still sound awkward to conservative would-be couples in Hyderabad.

And with more than 100 divorce cases filed every month, a bulk on health issues such as impotency, it has been good news for some hospitals and diagnostic centres, lawyers and hospital officials said.

These pre-marital health screening packages consists of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, Hepatitis B , diabetes , thyroid and infertility  tests for women and sperm count tests for men. “From the time we started these tests we had been getting more woman customers than men,” said S I Ali, general physician and owner, Biosytech Healthcare. “I had started this initiative because I strongly felt that these tests should be made mandatory before marriage. Instead of facing problems after marriage, it is better to completely be aware of each other’s health condition. Nowadays impotency has become a common problem,” he added.

These tests cost anywhere from Rs 400 to Rs 1000 for each individual depending on the standard of the hospital.

Encouraged by the response, Ali is promoting these tests online and also running campaigns so as to increase awareness about these tests. These packages are also being named creatively so as to attract the customers and hospitals say they get at least 40 inquiries a month on an average.

Medinova  hospitals named their pre-marital screening package as “Shubh Aarambh”, which costs Rs 899 for an individual. “We have started this package so that couples can lead a healthy married life,” said Ashok Kumar, general manager, Medinova Diagnostic centre.

“People have become open-minded nowadays and do not mind going for such tests before marriage. These tests will go a long way in helping not just the couple but also in keeping their future generations healthy.”

Depending upon the customers’ request, the labs also are also open to including add-on tests. “The basic pre-marriage screening test costs around Rs 700 but there are a few customers who would want more tests to be extra sure. For them we are flexible with our package and offer add-ons like complete semen analysis or complete urine examination and others,” Praveen Kumar, manager of scope labs said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.com / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / December 18th, 2012

App developers go the extra mile to beat deadline

Science & Technology

Application developers trying their best to beat the 24-hour deadline before which they have to develop an app and impress the judges at the AppFest -2012. / Photo: Mohammed Yousuf / The Hindu

Some have already given up, some still hopeful

Hanging in the middle of the spacious hall, huge digital clocks tick away for a count down of 24 hours. Fully loaded coffee machines are ready to serve through the night and in an adjoining room, few cots have been placed to provide power naps for the developers.

And to beat the deadline of 24 hours to come up with ideal mobile applications for a clutch of companies, close to 400 young app developers started to slug it out non-stop on Friday morning at the ‘AppFest 2012’ organised by Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

The nail-biting phase to beat the deadline and present an impressive and workable app has begun. The strain in their eyes is already visible. Some have already given-up and are just happy to be a part of the process. Others, the more experienced and gritty ones, are still holding on to the hope of finishing the challenge and creating the perfect app in time.

The developers will work all through Friday night and by 10 a.m. on Saturday have to submit their apps to the judges. The AppFest 2012 is featuring two competitions- Hackathon and Challengathon- for developers. In Hackathon, developers come together to form a team and contest by designing an app of their choice to win a prize. In Challengathon, a team of developers will develop apps for private companies and if they succeed, they will get an opportunity to work for the companies in future. “We are participating in both the challenges. So, we just have 12 hours to develop each app. This is tough and challenging, but we are excited,” says Vikash, fourth year engineering student from Institute of Technical Education and Research, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. Along with five others, the engineering students are attempting to make an app for J.K. Ansell Group, the manufacturer of Kamasutra condoms. The developers have been asked to design apps for any one of the companies that include Ashok Leyland, Makaan.com, J.K. Ansell, Marico, Geetanjali, Allen Solly and HDFC Standard.

“We have decided to work on an app for Ashok Leyland. We are hoping that the app will turn out to be just fine,” said T. Satish Kumar, Co-founder and Chief Architect for CloudPact, a start-up company. The apps designed by the developers will be judged by experts and winners will be declared on Saturday.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by M Sai Gopal / December 15th, 2012

A scientist par excellence

Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

Prof. Tummala Ramamohana Rao.

Rao R. Tummala led a team that invented the first plasma display

He left his village nearly five decades ago to study and then work in the U.S. Today, Rammohana Rao Tummala is highly respected as a scientist and inventor. He holds 71 U.S. patents and credit for inventions. He has invented and manufactured the first ever plasma display for the IBM.

Six months in a year he travels extensively as adviser to several academic, research bodies and consultant to many Fortune 500 electronic companies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In spite of his hectic life, Prof. Rao R. Tummala always makes time to visit his native village, Nandamuru, on the Vijayawada-Gudivada Road.

He came to make a presentation at the Nano Conference at Bangalore and came to spend some time with his cousins in his village. Born in Nandamuru, he did his entire schooling in the village. He is the son of the soil in the true sense because his father was a farmer. Prof. Rao did his science degree in Andhra Loyola College in Vijayawada and his engineering degree in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. In 1965, he left India to do his MS in Metallurgical Engineering in Canada. After that, there was no turning back for Prof. Rao. After working for several years with the IBM, he became an IBM Fellow in 1983 and held the honour till 1993.

Claim to fame

“My claim to fame is heading the team that invented the first plasma display and manufacturing it. It was small (he used his hands to indicate that it was about five inches long and wide), but IBM made 300 million dollars with it,” he said. After being the IBM fellow, Prof. Rao moved over to academics and is today a professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, more popularly known as Georgia Tech at Atlanta. Prof. Rao has published over 320 technical papers and has authored several books, including the first modern reference book for Microsystems.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / December 14th, 2012

Machilipatnam DRDO Missile Testing Range

Business & Economy, Science & Technology
This historic town in Krishna district will soon find a place in the world map with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) proposing to set up a Missile Launch Site near Machilipatnam.

The State government has identified land for the proposed missile testing range in Nagayalanka mandal, near the coastal town. Details of the land available have been sent to the defence authorities.

Krishna District Collector Budhaprakash Jyothi said following a plea by the DRDO seeking land near Machilipantam for setting up the long range missile testing site, the Revenue officials forwarded the file to the Government of India on the extent of land and other information.

Machilipatnam Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) I. Venkateswara Reddy said that the DRDO had asked for land a few months ago and a 325-acre land was identified at Gollalamoda village for the new missile launch site. A few acres of the land are under occupation by local fishermen and farmers.

“The DRDO asked for 350 acres for the launch site. Recently, we submitted the details on the type of land available, price position and how much land is under occupation. We are waiting for further orders from the government”, said the RDO.

Director General of DRDO and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, V.K. Saraswat, announced the launch of the missile testing range, near the Coastal town in Machilipatnam, in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs.1,000 crore.

The ambitious project is expected to be completed in three years.

source: http://www.CurrentEventsWorld.com / Home> Science Technolgy / December 09th, 2012

SIO exhibition to create awareness on environment

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Nature, Science & Technology

Documentary films will be screened at the venue for students in the next few days. Most of the models have been prepared by the children themselves.

The three day exhibition that SIO Hyderabad is organised with theme,”Think,Act,Save for all it’s worth, save the Earth” at nampally in Hyderabad on Saturday. /  Photo:G.Ramakrishna / The Hindu /

In an effort to create awareness about the environmental hazards, the Students Islamic Organisation of India is organising a three-day environmental exhibition titled ‘Think, Act, Save. – For all it’s worth save the Earth’ at the Exhibition Grounds in Nampally.

The event was inaugurated on Saturday by Dr. M.K.M. Zafar, Reader, Department of Translation, Maulana Azad National Urdu University. Students from over 15 educational institutions from across the city are participating in the event.

Students demonstrated the need for constructing Rain Water Harvesting pits in houses. Different models were used to educate people about the ill-effects of deforestation and various forms of pollution. This apart, a painting and photo exhibition is also on at the venue.

Documentary films will be screened at the venue for students in the next few days. Most of the models have been prepared by the children themselves.

“We are trying to involve and educate children about the environment and the need to protect it,” said Arifuddin Ilyas, City Secretary, SIO Hyderabad. Hameed Mohammed Khan, president, Movement for Peace and Justice and Syed Anas Rizvi, president, SIO Hyderabad participated in the inauguration function. The exhibition is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m till Monday.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Staff Reporter / December 09th, 2012

World allergy meet begins in city today

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Hyderabad:

The World Allergy Organisation’s International Scientific Conference will begin in the city on Thursday, with about 1,500 delegates from 80 countries participating.

Union minister for health and family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad will declare the conference, on the theme Severe Allergies, Severe Asthma, and New Strategies for Treatment and Prevention, open at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. This is the second WAO conference.

“In the conference, we will present data on marked global increase of allergic diseases that are becoming more complex, burdening children and adults. An international faculty of 90 key opinion leaders in the field of allergy will present the papers,” said WAO president Dr Ruby Pawankar.

She said allergy, though relating to asthma, is often trivialised and clinical services are often limited.

CM N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and ministers of health will also participate in the conference which will be on till Saturday.

World Allergy Patient and Public Forum-2012 will be held at the Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills. Represen-tatives from Global Energy and Asthma Patient platform, Chinese Patient Organisation, Japanese Patient Organisation and Polish Federation of Asthma & Allergy will take part. A painting competition on the theme What do allergies look like, will also be held at Apollo on December 9.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / December 06th, 2012

Ball set rolling for making Vijayawada a ‘solar city’

Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

Project aims at minimum 10 p.c. reduction in projected demand of conventional energy

Krishna district Collector Budha Prakash M. Jyothi has set the ball rolling for transformation of Vijayawada into a solar city by approving the proposals submitted by the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP).

In the wake of a rapid rise in demand for electricity, development of solar cities is seen as the most viable proposition. It is designed to encourage local governing bodies to prepare a road map to guide their cities in becoming ‘renewable energy cities’ or ‘solar cities’.

Vijayawada is the only city in Andhra Pradesh that figures out in the list of ‘solar cities’.To ensure optimum utilisation of solar energy to meet the objective of a solar city status, the local authorities plan to entrust the task of motivating individuals and various sectors to a group of departments.

“A group of sectors have been attached to different government wings that will take shoulder the responsibility of bringing these segments into the fold of solar energy users,” said NREDCAP Executive Engineer K. Srinivasa Rao.

As per the master plan, Municipal Health Officers, Regional Inspection Officers of the Board of Intermediate, RDO, Vijayawada and Town Planning Officers will coordinate to educate and motivate persons concerned with the city hotels and hostels.

Municipal Health Officers and District Coordinator, Arogyasri, Vijayawada, will coordinate with hospitals, Deputy Commissioners in the Departments of Labour and Commercial Taxes and town planning officers will wield their influence on local traders, shop-keepers and other commercial establishments.

Similarly, the Additional Joint Collector, Krishna district will encourage government officers while the District Education Officer, the Deputy District Education Officer in the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation and the Chief City Planner will shoulder the responsibility of schools and colleges, including private institutions.

The solar city project aims at minimum 10% reduction in projected demand of conventional energy at the end of five years, through a combination of enhancing supply from renewable energy sources in the city and energy efficiency measures. With the duty margins chalked out for each category, it is now time for constitution of a Solar City Cell and a Solar City Stake Holders’ Committee.

“The Municipal Commissioner will organise a meeting of all the stake-holders to involve them actively in meeting the objective of a solar city,” said Mr. Rao.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by P. Sujatha Varma / December 06th, 2012

Asian Eye Banks Awards L V Prasad Eye Institute’s Dr. Gullapalli Rao for Pioneering Contributions

Records, All, Science & Technology

Hyderabad , India, Dec 05, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) :

The Association of Eye Banks of Asia (AEBA), an umbrella organization for major Asian eye banks and eye banking organizations, presented its inaugural award for “pioneering contributions to eye banking in Asia” to Dr. Gullapalli N Rao, Founder-Chair of L V Prasad Eye Institute here. The award was presented at the 3rd Asia Cornea Society Biennial Scientific Meeting held in Manila, November 27 to 29.

Dr. Rao developed the first eye bank employing international standards in Asia at L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) in Hyderabad in 1989, and it has become a major global resource center and Center of Excellence in eye banking. LVPEI’s Ramayamma International Eye Bank is now one of the world’s biggest eye banks, and LVPEI performs the highest number of corneal transplants of any center in the world. The Ramayamma International Eye Bank is also a major international training center for eye banking personnel and research.

Dr. Rao, who served on the Medical Advisory Board of the Eye Bank Association of America, played a major role in the creation of the Eye Bank Association of India (EBAI), of which he is also the former president. Through its activities, EBAI stimulated the development of a world-class eye banking network in India and supported the development of many Asian eye banks.

Corneal transplantation, using healthy corneas donated by individuals at death, is the only way to rehabilitate the majority of those with corneal blindness. Because India has the world’s largest corneal blindness burden, a high-quality eye banking system is very important to restore vision to as many as possible so they can lead optimally productive lives.

About LVPEI’s Ramayamma International Eye Bank

LVPEI’s Ramayamma International Eye Bank (RIEB) is the largest provider of sight restoring corneas in India and a SightLife Center of Excellence in Eye Banking. Since its establishment in 1989, RIEB has greatly increased the collection of transplantable donor corneas and elevated eye banking performance standards in India, Asia and the developing world. As a leader in eye banking across Asia, RIEB has contributed significantly to the effective networking and proliferation of eye banks through promotion of community eye banking programs. REIB has harvested over 35,000 donor corneas, and transplanted over 17,000 of them to needy patients. RIEB also offers training to eye bank personnel.

About L V Prasad Eye Institute

The L V Prasad Eye Institute provides high-quality comprehensive eye care to all people; provides sight enhancement and rehabilitation services at the Institute and through its rural eye health network; offers professional ophthalmic training at all levels; and conducts cutting-edge eye care research. The Institute is a World Health Organization (WHO) Center for the Prevention of Blindness and a Global Resource Center for VISION 2020, a worldwide initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness led by WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

SOURCE: L V Prasad Eye Institute

source: http://www.marketwatch.com / Home> Press Release / December 05th, 2012

WhistleTalk Raises $400,000 From Hyderabad Angels

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Whistle Talk , a social recruiting platform, has raised  $400,000 from Hyderabad Angels  in a funding round led by Hyderabad Angels member, Raghu Bathina. The funds will be used to run the operations and market the product. At present, the team size of the startup is 10, however, the company plans to increase the count to 15 in next six months, according to a vcc circle  report.

Based in Bangalore, Whistletalk is a social hiring platform that allows users to share job openings in their team or help friends to find a job and earn a referral bonus. While sharing a job, users can also target other users with whom they want to share the job. The company claims that it has built a matching and virality engine which shares job postings with people who are most likely to benefit from the posting on the user’s social network. For recruiters, Whistletalk enables hiring through the social network of the current employees. In return, Whistletalk also allows recruiters to offer a referral bonus to employees.

Challenges: We believe that the site will work in favor of job seekers with a wide social network. Apart from that, while using the site we felt that discovery of job offers that are not coming from ones own social network was poor. It’s also not clear as to how the company plans to monetize its operations. At the time of writing this article, we found posting a job offer is free of cost.

Earlier this year, Hyderabad Angels invested  about  Rs 2 crore in E-learning startup  Edutor Technologies . It has also invested in Identis, which develops custom RFID chips for the manufacturing industry.

Other offerings in recruiting space

Recently, ThinkFruit.in , a strategy, operations and management consultant company, launched JobFit.in , a skill certification and job recruitment site. The portal provides skill assessment tests for job seekers that intends to highlight their top skills to the recruiters.

Apart from that, WhistleTalk competes with recruitment players including  Naukri , Shine.com , Monster, ClickJobs and TimesJobs, besides job boards, and popular professional network, LinkedIn. Last year, YourNextLeap.com , a web-based career recommendation engine, had pivoted  to a job site, allowing users to build profiles, take aptitude tests and search for jobs. The site also offered an assessment tool, suggesting jobs based on an assessment of the user’s activities, interests and strengths.

source: http://www.medianama.com / Home / by Apurva Chardhary / December 04th, 2012

Another IT hub emerges in Andhra

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

HOT SPOT: Madhurawada, Vizag

Madhurawada, located along the north-east of Vizag or Visakhapatnam, along  National Highway – 5 , is an upcoming residential area, thanks to the major developments driven by the Information Technology (IT) sector. It is located on the Visakhapatnam-Vizianagaram stretch of N-5, around 16 km from Visakhapatnam city.

IT companies have been allocated land in this area to develop and start their operations. There is a biotech  SEZ  and industrial developments like the steel and power plants in the south. The growth corridor is northwards, along NH-5 towards Vijayanagaram. The area is witnessing many apartments projects along NH-5 and Beach Road, with the foray of IT/Ites industries in the city. Realising the high demand in this sector, the  Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) is developing multiple residential projects through public-private participation mode with reputed local developers. Residential property rates  are around Rs 4,500-5,000 per sq ft. Rates in the less central areas range from Rs 2,000-2,500 sq ft. Bungalows can be picked up from anywhere between Rs 45 lakh to Rs 90 lakh. Plots for residential development are priced between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

Madhurawada is developing as a major destination for sports, education and business establishments. An International Cricket Stadium, the ACA-VDCA Stadium, is located in Madhurawada making the place a major sports destination. A fantasy park called ‘Jatara’ and constructed by the Andhra Pradesh government is a famous tourist attraction. The Durgalamma Ammavaru temple is another added attraction.

The city has an industrial economic base with large-scale industries like Vizag Steel Plant, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, National Thermal Power Corporation, Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels, among others. Moreover, the eastern command of the navy is located in the city. The presence of these major industries and naval Defence base caused immigrants from all parts of the country to head towards Vizag, giving it a cosmopolitan feature.

Vizag is emerging as the next IT/Ites hub in Andhra Pradesh after Hyderabad because of the availability of required skilled labour, infrastructure and comparatively cost-effective real estate in the city. The government has been very proactive in attracting IT/Ites companies into Vizag. The city’s other prime residential areas are Siripuram, Dwarka Nagar, Rani Bagh and Beach Road. The city is witnessing many apartments projects being developed in these areas.

Relatively affordable property rates, decent appreciation potential, pleasant weather and the fact that it is a coastal region with many sea-facing property options available, make it an attractive investment destination.

source: http://www.Business-Standard.com / Home / by Sandip Patnaik / December 03rd, 2012