Arun has been associated with India International Times since 2018 and he has been a key reporter in covering science and space related stories. He can be reached at arunKnn@indiainternationaltimes.com.
In a significant achievement and recognition to country’s efforts against hypertension, India has won an UN award for its “India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI)”, a large-scale hypertension intervention under National Health Mission. IHCI has been recognized for its exceptional work within India’s existing primary healthcare system.
Complimenting the healthcare initiative, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare stated in a tweet: “IHCI has strengthened PM @NarendraModi Ji’s mission to ensure health & wellness for all”. We are committed to building a healthy & fit India, he further noted.
A collaborative initiative of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), State Governments and World Health Organization-India, IHCI has won the ‘2022 UN Interagency Task Force, and WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care Award’ at the UN General Assembly side event held on 21st September 2022 at New York, USA. The award recognizes outstanding commitment and action of India to: (i) prevent and control Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and (ii) deliver integrated people-centric primary care. The UN Task Force has identified organisation which has multisectoral approach in prevention and control of NCDs and multisectoral action with demonstrated results at primary care for prevention and control of NCDs and related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Significance of the initiative can be adjudged from the fact that one in four adults in India has high blood pressure. The control of hypertension at primary care system level will contribute to reducing deaths due to heart attacks, stroke and kidney failures.
IHCI has been able to leverage and strengthen the existing healthcare delivery system, hypertension control interventions under National Health Mission and improve the linkages between populations-based screening initiative with health care. The initiative was launched in 2017 and expanded in a phased manner to cover more than 130 districts across 23 states. Under the initiative, more than 34 lakh people with hypertension are taking treatment in government health facilities, including Ayushman Bharat Health Wellness Centres (HWCs). The project strategies are easily scalable within the health system. The strategies include a simple drug-dose-specific standard treatment protocol, ensuring adequate quantity of protocol medications, decentralization of care with follow-up and refills of medicines at Health Wellness Centres, task sharing involving all health staff and a powerful real-time information system which can track every patient for follow-up and blood pressure control. Under IHCI, nearly half of those who were treated had blood pressure under control.
The IHCI complements the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke (NPCDCS) of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. IHCI accelerates the achievement of targets of the Government of India by ensuring a continuum of care and giving a boost to the ongoing “Ayushman Bharat” programme.
Following uproar among IT companies on many workers indulging in moonlighting, Wipro had warned against it and now took stern action firing 300 employees for moonlighting with its key rivals at the same time.
Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji said in Wednesday that the “reality is that there are people today working for Wipro and working directly for one of our competitors and we have actually discovered 300 people in the last few months who are doing exactly that.”
Speaking at the All India Management Association (AIMA) National Management Convention, Premji reiterated that moonlighting is a complete violation of integrity “in its deepest form.” Wipro has now terminated their employment for “act of integrity violation”.
Premji recently said that the concept of a second job to the regular job is “plain and simple” cheating. “There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry. This is cheating — plain and simple,” he had tweeted.
There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry. This is cheating – plain and simple.
As the issue of moonlighting or working elsewhere to make extra money in India is plaguing many tech giants after the Work From Home concession that entailed them work remotely, several Indian tech giants are facing the challenge to keep their workforce committed and focused.
The ethical issue has been raised by tech services giant Infosys first, followed by cloud Major IBM last Wednesday. Infosys has already made it clear that the practice is not ethical and the company may fire those who are moonlighting.
Rishad Premji
However, Wipro has become the first to fire its employees who are moonlighting. Infosys, IBM are still pondering the issue though they are with the industry against moonlighting.
IBM Managing Director Sandip Patel said, “All of our workers when they are employed, they sign an agreement which says that they are going to be working full-time for IBM. So moonlighting is not ethically right for them to get into.”
However, some startups are encouraging employees to opt for moonlighting or work outside their primary working hours. Swiggy has encouraged the practice but the traditional companies are calling it cheating and unethical and issued warning to employees from practising Moonlighting even in extra hours.
In one case, a techie who was interviewed by a Hyderabad-based company and hired in turn hired another techie to work on his behalf, while he is engaged in working on other projects. He has been summarily fired now but the issue has brought to light the glaring anomaly in misuse of a pact with the company.
Infosys has already warned employees that involvement in such practice can result in “disciplinary action including termination of employment”. “No two-timing, no moonlighting”, the company said in an internal memo.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the PM CARES Fund on Tuesday in which new member Sudha Murthy from Bengaluru was appointed recently.
A presentation was made on the various initiatives undertaken with the help of PM CARES Fund, including the PM CARES for Children scheme which is supporting 4345 children. Trustees appreciated the role played by the fund at a crucial time for the country. PM Shri Narendra Modi appreciated the people of the country for contributing wholeheartedly to PM CARES Fund.
It was discussed that PM CARES has a larger vision on effectively responding to emergency and distress situations, not only through relief assistance, but also taking mitigation measures and capacity building.
Prime Minister welcomed the Trustees for becoming an integral part of the PM CARES Fund.
The meeting was attended by Trustees of the PM CARES Fund, i.e. Union Home Minister and Union Finance Minister as also, the newly nominated trustees of the PM CARES Fund:
Justice K.T. Thomas, Former Judge, Supreme Court,
Kariya Munda, Former Deputy Speaker,
Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons.
The Trust further decided to nominate following eminent persons for constitution of Advisory Board to PM CARES Fund:
Rajiv Mehrishi, Former Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Sudha Murthy, Former Chairperson, Infosys Foundation
Anand Shah, Co-founder of Teach for India and Former CEO of Indicorps and Piramal Foundation.
Prime Minister said that participation of new Trustees and Advisors will provide wider perspectives to the functioning of the PM CARES Fund. Their vast experience of public life would impart further vigour in making the fund more responsive to various public needs.
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has condoled the demise of renowned comedian Raju Srivastava.
The Prime Minister tweeted;
“Raju Srivastava brightened our lives with laughter, humour and positivity. He leaves us too soon but he will continue to live in the hearts of countless people thanks to his rich work over the years. His demise is saddening. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti.”
US investigating agency FBI’s agent Ashley T. Johnson is warning the public about a Technical Support Fraud currently targeting older Americans in the Chicago area.
Technical Support Fraud involves a criminal posing as technical support to defraud unwitting individuals. Criminals may offer support to resolve issues such as compromised email or bank accounts, computer viruses, or software renewals. In this scam currently affecting Illinois residents, it begins with a computer intrusion.
FBI response team in action
Victims of this scam experience a frozen computer followed by a pop-up on their screen advising that their computer has been hacked. The pop-up contains a number claimed to be for a well-known computer software company; however, this number really belongs to the scammers. Once the number is called, the scammer(s):
Answer the phone pretending to be an employee of the computer software company. The “employee” claims that the victim’s bank accounts and social security account number have been compromised and connects the victims with other scammers impersonating bank representatives and Social Security Administration employees.
Direct victims to download an application that allows remote computer access.
Convince victims to withdraw money from bank/investment accounts to avoid “hackers.” Victims are told their money will be transferred to the Social Security Administration where it will be converted to Bitcoin for safekeeping and returned once they are assigned a new social security account number.
Tips to avoid this scam:
Avoid installing apps or programs that allow strangers remote access to your computer.
Never call the number in a pop-up window.
Always disconnect your device from the Internet immediately if you see a scam-related pop-up screen. Do not turn your computer off or reboot.
Always be skeptical if someone tells you not to talk to your family about a money transfer.
Always be skeptical if a “government agency” asks you to conduct business in Bitcoin.
Always call companies, banks, or government agencies directly with numbers you have independently verified.
Always contact the FBI at ic3.gov to make a report.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) celebrated its 38th Raising Day on 20th September 2022 by organizing a parade for the first time at the central level at Jag Jeewan Ram RPF Academy, Lucknow. This is the first time that a National Level Parade of RPF was organized outside New Delhi. The choice of venue at the Jagjivan Ram RPF Academy at Lucknow – the Centralized Training Institute of RPF and the alma mater of the officers of the Force recruited through the civil service exam, assumes notable significance.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) celebrated its 38th Raising Day
The Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles, Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and took the salute of the Parade. The programme was attended by Shri Brij Lal, MP, Rajyasabha, senior officers of Central Armed Police Forces, State Police, various Government Departments, Railways and other dignitaries.
The Minister of State for Railways presented the ‘President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service’, ‘Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service’, ‘Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak’, ‘Uttam JeevanRaksha Padak’ and ‘ Jeevan Raksha Padak’ to 23 RPF personnel, including award of Sarwottam Jeewan Raksha Padak posthumously to Late Shri Gyan Chand, Head Constable RPF NCR who laid down his life at the altar of duty while saving a lady who had jumped in front of a moving train with intention to commit suicide. The force remembered Shri Gyan Chand with tearful eyes and chest swelling with pride.
The Chief Guest inaugurated and hoisted a 100 feet high Monumental National Flag at the Academy Campus and unveiled and dedicated the installation of a Railway Coach with Engine for train intervention training. The renovated main-hall of the Academy, which has now been air-conditioned was also inaugurated by the Minister. A Special “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” Edition of the “Rail Sainik”, the quarterly e-magazine of RPF was released on the occasion.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) celebrated its 38th Raising Day
The Minister of State for Railways praised the poise, turnout and march of the contingent. In her speech, she appreciated the role of RPF in ensuring safe travel for women passengers. She heaped fulsome praise on Meri Saheli teams for providing security to women traveling alone in long distance trains. She outlined the prominent role of training and skill up gradation in improving the performance of any organization and announced sanction of Rs 55 Crores for enhancing training facilities in RPF.
Smt. Jardosh also announced setting up of a skill up-gradation training centre in the premises of 3rd Battalion RPSF, Lucknow for up-gradation of skills of family members of RPF personnel, especially ladies at the cost of Rs 3 Crores. Further, she announced construction of rest shelters cum mobilization halls for lady RPF train escorting personnel at 75 locations across the country.
The Director General, RPF, Shri Sanjay Chander, welcomed the Minister and outlined the various new initiatives taken by the force to provide a safe and secure train travel to the passengers. He stated that the RPF is making use of technology in various spheres of its working to ensure an optimal utilization of the manpower. The force has been on the forefront in providing assistance to the needy passengers, the elderly and the children. The RPF has been doing commendable work in preventing Human Trafficking, Transport of Narcotics, Hawala Money, Prohibited Wildlife and other illegal activities on trains and stations. He pointed out that we have entered the Amrit Kaal which would last till 2047 during which we have to work with our heart and soul to take India to the pinnacle of glory that she deserves. The vision 2047 is the roadmap towards such a lofty ideal. He mentioned the vision 2047 of the force which will include innovation, use of technology, optimum utilization of resource to increase the response, reach and effectiveness of the force. He underlined that the goal of the force is Sewa Hi Sankalp and all members of the force, from Constable to DG, have to work towards reinforcing its service commitment.
The Railway Protection Force was constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1957 for providing security to Railway property. Subsequently, the force was empowered to enquire, arrest and prosecute the offenders involved in unlawful possession of railway property in 1966. Over the years, it was felt that the force needed to be given the status of “An Armed Force of the Union” and finally the status was bestowed upon the force on 20th September 1985 by amending the RPF Act by the Parliament. Therefore, 20th September is celebrated every year as the Raising Day of RPF by members of the force and their families.
The Raising Day is an important milestone in the growth of a force and celebrated with festive spirit by members of the force where they share their happiness with the public and reaffirm their commitment to serve them and work for the overall public good.
Earlier the Raising day was celebrated by organizing parades and other functions at the zonal, divisional and battalion levels. However, from this year it has been decided to organize only one parade at the central level to symbolize the national character of the force.
In one of the biggest destruction operations conducted over 2 weeks in Himachal Pradesh, officers of Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) destroyed 1032 hectares (12,900 bighas) of illicit cannabis (ganja) cultivation.
On receiving specific intelligence about illicit cannabis (ganja) cultivation in Himachal Pradesh, teams of officers of CBN were formed and dispatched. Officers of CBN verified the intelligence and further carried out physical surveys resulting in detection of more areas of illicit cultivation. Subsequently, destruction operation was started with support of District Administration, Forest Department and the Police.
Narcotics Bureau destroyed 1032 hectares of illicit cannabis (ganja) cultivation in Himachal Pradesh
During this operation, two-pronged approach of creating awareness among villagers along with enforcement was adopted by officers of CBN.
Community mobilisation was adopted by sensitising villagers about adverse effects of drugs on body and mind. Threats that drugs tend to pose to the future of youth and children were explained. Relevant penal provisions of NDPS act were also explained to Village Pradhans and members, consequent to which resolutions were passed by villagers to destroy illicit cannabis plantations around the villages. Villagers assisted officers of CBN to destroy illicit cultivation by actively taking part in exercise under supervision of CBN officers.
4 teams of CBN Officers were simultaneously allotted different areas of operation and given the flexibility to work jointly in certain areas with large illicit cultivation of cannabis. Officials from Forest department, Revenue & the Police department also accompanied teams during operations in light of sensitive nature of operation. It is noteworthy to mention that since this is a season of apple & pomegranate harvesting, labour availability was a problem but it failed to deter the grit and determination of CBN teams which swung into action and conducted destruction operation in hostile terrain with steep slopes and rains. The officers climbed daily up to 11,000 feet above sea level and even camped in sensitive areas to expedite the destruction of illicit cultivation of cannabis. Later on, officers from DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) also joined this operation.
GPS coordinates were used to tag / mark the sensitive locations and DRONES were used for detection and surveillance of the illicit cannabis (ganja) cultivation areas which resulted in greater success of the entire operation.
Narcotics Bureau destroyed 1032 hectares of illicit cannabis (ganja) cultivation in Himachal Pradesh
“Mission Crackdown shall continue with same vigour in other parts of the country and CBN is fully committed against the Drug Menace” said Shri Rajesh F Dhabre, Narcotics Commissioner, Central Bureau of Narcotics.
Active support in terms of logistics and manpower was provided throughout the operation by the Office of Dist. Collector, CCF and SP Kullu and DRI.
Narcotics Bureau destroyed 1032 hectares of illicit cannabis (ganja) cultivation in Himachal Pradesh
The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) is the Apex Drug Law Enforcement Agency under Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India tasked with identification and destruction of illicit cultivation of cannabis and Opium along with its other responsibilities.
Narcotics Bureau destroyed 1032 hectares of illicit cannabis (ganja) cultivation in Himachal Pradesh
CBN has conducted destruction operation in many states like West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand etc., resulting in destruction of more than 25,000 hectares of illicit cultivation of Opium and Cannabis over the years. CBN had also destroyed approximately 3,600 hectares of Illicit Opium in Arunachal Pradesh in the month of February and March this year. CBN intends to continue such destruction operations of illicit cultivation across India in future as well.
Are you an early bird or a night owl? Our sleep cycles could influence our risk of diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, said a new study published in Experimental Physiology.
As sleep cycles cause metabolic differences and alter our body’s preference for energy sources, those who stay up later have a reduced ability to use fat for energy, meaning fats may build-up in the body and increase risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, said the study
The metabolic differences relate to how well each group can use insulin to promote glucose uptake by the cells for storage and energy use. People who are ‘early birds’ or individuals who prefer to be active in the morning rely more on fat as an energy source and are more active during the day with higher levels of aerobic fitness than ‘night owls’.
On the other hand, ‘night owls’ who prefer to be active later in the day and night use less fat for energy at rest and during exercise, found the study
Researchers from Rutgers University, New Jersey classified participants (n=51) into two groups (early and late) based on their ‘chronotype’ – our natural propensity to seek activity and sleep at different times. They used advanced imaging to monitor body vitals as well as insulin sensitivity and breath samples to measure fat and carbohydrate metabolism.
After monitoring them for a week, they were tested while at rest before completing two 15-minute bouts of exercise: one moderate and one high intensity session on a treadmill. Aerobic fitness levels were tested through an incline challenge where the incline was raised 2.5% every two minutes until the participant reached a point of exhaustion.
Researchers found that early birds use more fat for energy at both rest and during exercise than night owls. Early birds were also more insulin sensitive. Night owls, on the other hand, are insulin resistant, meaning their bodies require more insulin to lower blood glucose levels, and their bodies favoured carbohydrates as an energy source over fats.
This group’s impaired ability to respond to insulin to promote fuel use can be harmful as it indicates a greater risk of type 2 diabetes and/or heart disease. The cause for this shift in metabolic preference between early birds and night owls is yet unknown and needs further investigation.
Senior author Professor Steven Malin of Rutgers University said: “A sensitive or impaired ability to respond to the insulin hormone has major implications for our health. This observation advances our understanding of how our body’s circadian rhythms impact our health. ”
The study also found that early birds are more physically active and have higher fitness levels than night owls.
Scientists have created a face mask that can detect common respiratory viruses, including influenza and the coronavirus, in the air in droplets or aerosols. The highly sensitive mask, presented September 19 in the journal Matter, can alert the wearers via their mobile devices within 10 minutes if targeted pathogens are present in the surrounding air.
“Previous research has shown face mask wearing can reduce the risk of spreading and contracting the disease. So, we wanted to create a mask that can detect the presence of virus in the air and alert the wearer,” says Yin Fang, the study’s corresponding author and a material scientist at Shanghai Tongji University.
Respiratory pathogens that cause COVID-19 and H1N1 influenza spread through small droplets and aerosols released by infected people when they talk, cough, and sneeze. These virus-containing molecules, especially tiny aerosols, can remain suspended in the air for a long time.
Fang and his colleagues tested the mask in an enclosed chamber by spraying the viral surface protein containing trace-level liquid and aerosols on the mask. The sensor responded to as little as 0.3 microliters of liquid containing viral proteins, about 70 to 560 times less than the volume of liquid produced in one sneeze and much less than the volume produced by coughing or talking, Fang says.
Facemask
The team designed a small sensor with aptamers, which are a type of synthetic molecule that can identify unique proteins of pathogens like antibodies. In their proof-of-concept design, the team modified the multi-channel sensor with three types of aptamers, which can simultaneously recognize surface proteins on SARS-CoV-2, H5N1, and H1N1.
Once the aptamers bind to the target proteins in the air, the ion-gated transistor connected will amplify the signal and alert the wearers via their phones. An ion-gated transistor is a novel type of device that is highly sensitive, and thus the mask can detect even trace levels of pathogens in the air within 10 minutes.
“Our mask would work really well in spaces with poor ventilation, such as elevators or enclosed rooms, where the risk of getting infected is high,” Fang says. In the future, if a new respiratory virus emerges, they can easily update the sensor’s design for detecting the novel pathogens, he adds.
coronavirus
Next, the team hopes to shorten the detection time and further increase the sensitivity of the sensor by optimizing the design of the polymers and transistors. They are also working on wearable devices for a variety of health conditions including cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
“Currently, doctors have been relying heavily on their experiences in diagnosing and treating diseases. But with richer data collected by wearable devices, disease diagnosis and treatment can become more precise,” Fang says.
Following last week’s announcement of result for CUET-UG, the National Testing Agency (NTA) will release Central Universities Entrance Test Postgraduate (CUET PG) result 2022 today or tomorrow, reports said.
Candidates can check their CUET PG 2022 results through the official website of NTA CUET – cuet.nta.nic.in. There are 42 central universities participating in CUET PG 2022 for the academic session 2022-2023. The top colleges accepting CUET PG 2022 scores are mentioned in detail below.
Along with the CUET PG 2022 results, the NTA will also release the CUET 2022 final answer key following the closure of challenging was Sept 16. Candidates must visit the results page link and enter their roll number, date of birth on the CUET PG login page to check their results.
The CUET PG 2022 result will be published as a scorecard. The scorecard will include the candidate’s qualifying status, rank, sectional, and total marks. The CUET PG 2022 exam was conducted on September 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12, 2022.
Chinese rights activists overseas have said that they are concerned but unsurprised at recent allegations that an agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working at Twitter, saying such infiltration is part of Beijing’s global influence operation, media reports said.
The FBI informed Twitter of at least one Chinese agent among its employees, according to US Senator Chuck Grassley, while hacker and whistleblower Peiter Zatko said the company’s lax security sparked fears that personal data on Chinese users was being collected by authorities in China, RFA reported.
Zatko, Twitter’s former head of security, levelled the allegations during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailing internal clashes between some who sought advertising revenue from China, and others who were concerned about doing business inside China amid rising geopolitical tensions, the report said.
“This was a big internal conundrum,” Zatko told the hearing, adding that Twitter appeared reluctant to turn away from China. “In a nutshell, if we were already in bed, it would be problematic if we lost that revenue stream,” he said.
Zatko said the FBI had told the company that China’s secret service, the Ministry of State Security, had an agent on the payroll, RFA reported.
A Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging platforms hiring process was independent of foreign influence, and that access to personal data was subject to stringent controls, adding that Zatko’s allegations were “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.”
France-based commentator Wang Longmeng said the CCP has long targeted Western social media platforms to wage its overseas influence campaigns, and that some of the company’s regional executives have close ties to the CCP, including Kathy Chen, RFA reported.
Chen’s 2016 appointment as Twitter’s managing director for Greater China raised concerns in particular, as it emerged she had served as a software engineer in the People’s Liberation Army’s strategic missile force.
“Kathy Chen, who had a military background, joined [the company], then Fei-fei Li became an independent director,” Wang said. “The CCP’s infiltration of Western media is one of its key strategies.”
“It’s not surprising that the whistleblower revealed there are Chinese agents at Twitter, because there have been suspensions and deleted accounts, and yet Twitter still allows CCP diplomats to spread rumors and lies,” he said, RFA reported.
While China bans Twitter, Facebook and other US social media firms, government agencies and diplomats use the platforms to reach an international audience.
Sep 19 (IANS) Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Monday afternoon began her last journey- 25 mile stretch westward from Westminster Abbey in central London to Windsor Castle in the county of Berkshire, where she spent much of her time in recent years.
There she was to be laid to rest at the royal chapel next to her beloved husband Prince Phillip, who predeceased her in 2021. Only members of the British royal family, led by her successor King Charles III, attended the private ceremony.
Earlier, in an hour long church service at the Abbey, which has existed and expanded since 960 AD and is located in central London, Elizabeth, who reigned for 70 years, was given the grandest of final farewells. She had got married at the same Abbey 75 years ago.
President of India Droupadi Murmu was present at the proceedings. Compared to other Commonwealth heads of government or state, she unassumingly arrived early at the venue, wearing a dark blue silk sari and a cardigan. She took her appointed seat in the midst of 2,000 assembled invitees. On Sunday evening, she attended a reception hosted by Charles and Queen Consort Camilla for 500 foreign dignitaries. Charles greeted the President warmly and was seen engaged in a brief conversation with her.
Queen Elizabeth II/Ians
In an Anglican Christian service, with leaders of multiple religions in the audience, Baroness Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth – an organisation near and dear to Elizabeth – read the first lesson from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians about the ressurrection of Jesus Christ. She was followed by the British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who read a passage from John, which said: ‘Let not your heart be troubled…’
Then spoke the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who is the global head of the Church of England. He said: “She (Elizabeth) was present to so many, touching a multitude of lives.”
Emperor Naruhito of Japan, President Joe Biden of the US and President Emmanuel Macron of France were among a galaxy of foreign dignitaries seated either side of the south and north aisles. “I’ll miss her terribly,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Canada, Australia and New Zealand, among other territories, were among the “realms” where Elizabeth was head of state and Charles now is.
All living former British Prime Ministers and their spouses were noticeable attired in black, like most others.
On what was declared a Bank Holiday, there was no Monday morning traffic in the British capital. Sniffer dogs, though, were busy in the area around the Abbey to prevent any untoward incident.
Queen Elizabeth II/Ians
The live television coverage by BBC was projected on big screens at spacious locations around Britain. Tens of thousands camped overnight in such places to ensure they got a ringside view of the state adieu to Elizabeth. 125 cinemas in the country reportedly showed the ceremonies live as well.
200 other nations, including India, watched simulcasts of the coverage via the BBC World News channel or bbc.com. Foreign TV networks like PBS, CNN and Fox of the US and ABC of Australia, with their own anchors and studio commentators, covered the event in parallel.
The scale of global interest was unprecedented. Increasingly, from 8 a.m., accredited reporters hovered around the Abbey. This day was inevitable and had been planned for years by the royal household. Nevertheless, the organisers gave themselves 11 days’ time between Elizabeth’s death to her funeral to get it right.
At 6.30 a.m., the last of the estimated three quarter of a million mourners filed past the coffin lying in state at Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament opposite the Abbey. Disruptions on trains arriving in London and parts of the city’s underground system inconvenienced commuters.
Queen Elizabeth II
15 minutes before the service commenced, the coffin was ceremonially moved in a gun carriage with soldiers in accompaniment from Westminster Hall to the Abbey. Charles, his brothers Andrew and Edward, sister Anne and sons William and Harry followed the body on foot.
Finally, the coffin, with Elizabeth’s crown placed on it – as it has been for days – was carried away from the Abbey on the shoulders of soldiers in bright red tunics into a sunny courtyard, which faces London’s Parliament Square, the centrepiece of which is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
Back on the gun carriage, Charles and family and soldiers of various armed forces marching around it, Elizabeth embarked on her triumphant last journey via Buckingham Palace, her London home, to the green and pleasant fields of Windsor.
Sep 19 (IANS) The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will operate 1,081 special buses to clear festival rush before and after Dasara.
The buses will be operated from September 29 to October 10. The state-run transport operator announced on Monday that the buses will run from Vijayawada to various places in Andhra Pradesh and also to neighbouring states.
The special buses will run from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Kakinada, Tirupati, Rayalaseema district, Amalapuram, Bhadrachalam and other destinations in Andhra Pradesh.
Dasara:/Iana
Officials said special buses will also be operated to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Most of the buses will be operated from and to Hyderabad as a large number of people living there travel to their villages in Andhra Pradesh to celebrate Dasara.
The corporation will not charge extra fare for the special buses. Last year the APSRTC had charged 1.5 times more than the normal ticket prices. It had come under criticism for charging extra.
Reservation facility will also be available for the special buses. Details of these buses will be available on APSRTC website.
APSRTC Bus/Ians
Vijayadashami is scheduled to be celebrated on October 5. Every year, lakhs of people from various cities in Cnd also Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai travel to their native places for the festival.
A St. Paul man was sentenced to 516 months in prison followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for victimizing more than 1,100 minor girls across the country and abroad in an extensive online sextortion scheme.
“For several years, Yue Vang victimized more than 1,000 young girls – in Minnesota and beyond – through a vicious sextortion scheme. Using popular social media apps to prey on his victims, Vang’s manipulation began with compliments and expressions of flattery, which quickly turned into threats and extortion,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger.
“There are few crimes as damaging and traumatic to a young person as sextortion. Vang is a predator who targeted innocent and impressionable young girls, exploiting their innocence for pictures and videos. He robbed them of their childhood and forever altered their lives and the lives of their families,” said Michael Paul, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Minneapolis Division.
According to court documents, for at least five years, Yue Vang, 31, created and used multiple Internet applications and social media services, including Kik, Snapchat, and Skype, to communicate with hundreds of minor girls throughout the United States and elsewhere.
Vang created fake female personae to prey on vulnerable minor girls he met online in order to entice and coerce them to create sexually explicit images and videos to send to him. Vang also threatened to disseminate sexually explicit images of the minor victims to their family members, friends, and classmates, unless they created and sent him additional images and videos of themselves nude or engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
For example, in June 2016, Vang contacted a 15-year-old girl and threatened to distribute sexually explicit pictures of her to her classmates and parents to “ruin her life” unless she complied with Vang’s demands to send additional sexually explicit images and videos.
On June 2, 2022, Vang pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort. Vang was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud.
To date, at least 750 minor females have been identified, although law enforcement is attempting to confirm the identity of other victims.
Sep 19 (IANS) At least two people were killed in Japan and some nine million others asked to evacuate from their homes after super typhoon Nanmadol, deemed to be one of the worst, made landfall in the region of Kyushu, bringing heavy rain and gales, local media reported on Monday.
In Fukuoka prefecture, a man who was believed to be on his way to find shelter from the typhoon was found collapsed and later confirmed dead, reports Xinhua news agency.
Another man was declared dead after being pulled out of a car submerged in a flooded farmland in Miyazaki prefecture, according to local authorities.
According to a Miyazaki prefectural official, a man in his 40s was reported missing after his cabin was destroyed by a landslide.
Typhoon/Ians
The 14th typhoon of the year was moving near Hagi, Yamaguchi prefecture on Monday afternoon, at a speed of some 20 km per hour.
It had an atmospheric pressure of 975 hectopascals at its centre, packing winds up to 108 kph with maximum gusts of 162 kph.
More than 70 people were injured amid the extreme weather, with bullet trains suspended in Kyushu on Monday and around 600 flights cancelled by the country’s two main airlines ANA and Japan Airlines, the local media reports said.
The typhoon is expected to travel across Japan’s largest island, Honshu through Tuesday, with the Japan Meteorological Agency continuing to issue warnings for strong winds, high tides and mudslides.
Typhoon/Ians
Tens of thousands of people spent Sunday night in emergency shelters, and almost 350,000 homes are without power.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has delayed a visit to New York, where he is due to give speech at the UN General Assembly, until Tuesday, to monitor the impact of the storm.
When we breathe in, our lungs fill with oxygen, which is distributed to our red blood cells for transportation throughout our bodies. Our bodies need a lot of oxygen to function, and healthy people have at least 95% oxygen saturation all the time.
Conditions like asthma or COVID-19 make it harder for bodies to absorb oxygen from the lungs. This leads to oxygen saturation percentages that drop to 90% or below, an indication that medical attention is needed.
In a clinic, doctors monitor oxygen saturation using pulse oximeters — those clips you put over your fingertip or ear. But monitoring oxygen saturation at home multiple times a day could help patients keep an eye on COVID symptoms, for example.
In a proof-of-principle study, University of Washington and University of California San Diego researchers have shown that smartphones are capable of detecting blood oxygen saturation levels down to 70%. This is the lowest value that pulse oximeters should be able to measure, as recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The technique involves participants placing their finger over the camera and flash of a smartphone, which uses a deep-learning algorithm to decipher the blood oxygen levels. When the team delivered a controlled mixture of nitrogen and oxygen to six subjects to artificially bring their blood oxygen levels down, the smartphone correctly predicted whether the subject had low blood oxygen levels 80% of the time.
In a proof-of-principle study, University of Washington and University of California San Diego researchers have shown that smartphones are capable of detecting blood oxygen saturation levels down to 70%. The technique involves having participants place their finger over the camera and flash of a smartphone, which uses a deep-learning algorithm to decipher the blood oxygen levels from the blood flow patterns in the resulting video./Photo:Dennis Wise/University of Washington
“Other smartphone apps that do this were developed by asking people to hold their breath. But people get very uncomfortable and have to breathe after a minute or so, and that’s before their blood-oxygen levels have gone down far enough to represent the full range of clinically relevant data,” said co-lead author Jason Hoffman, a UW doctoral student in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. “With our test, we’re able to gather 15 minutes of data from each subject. Our data shows that smartphones could work well right in the critical threshold range.”
Another benefit of measuring blood oxygen levels on a smartphone is that almost everyone has one.
“This way you could have multiple measurements with your own device at either no cost or low cost,” said co-author Dr. Matthew Thompson, professor of family medicine in the UW School of Medicine. “In an ideal world, this information could be seamlessly transmitted to a doctor’s office. This would be really beneficial for telemedicine appointments or for triage nurses to be able to quickly determine whether patients need to go to the emergency department or if they can continue to rest at home and make an appointment with their primary care provider later.”
The team recruited six participants ranging in age from 20 to 34. Three identified as female, three identified as male. One participant identified as being African American, while the rest identified as being Caucasian.
To gather data to train and test the algorithm, the researchers had each participant wear a standard pulse oximeter on one finger and then place another finger on the same hand over a smartphone’s camera and flash. Each participant had this same set up on both hands simultaneously.
“The camera records how much that blood absorbs the light from the flash in each of the three color channels it measures: red, green and blue,” said Wang, who also directs the UC San Diego DigiHealth Lab. “Then we can feed those intensity measurements into our deep-learning model.”
Each participant breathed in a controlled mixture of oxygen and nitrogen to slowly reduce oxygen levels. The process took about 15 minutes. For all six participants, the team acquired more than 10,000 blood oxygen level readings between 61% and 100%.
“Smartphone light can get scattered by all these other components in your finger, which means there’s a lot of noise in the data that we’re looking at,” said co-lead author Varun Viswanath, a UW alumnus who is now a doctoral student advised by Wang at UC San Diego. “Deep learning is a really helpful technique here because it can see these really complex and nuanced features and helps you find patterns that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to see.”
Sep 19 (IANS) After phenomenal performances in the senior National Championship and Commonwealth Games, Telangana paddler Akula Sreeja is keen to make a strong impact in the 36th National Games.
“Although there are no ranking points to be won in the competition, it is a prestigious event. But playing for your State is a matter of pride. This will be my first National Games. All the top players will be in action. It is good preparation for the World Championship,” she said, hoping to contribute to Telangana’s medal haul.
“The welcome at the airport was really great and the organisers are taking care of everything really well. Our accommodation and food are of really good quality and I’m very happy to be here in Surat,” she said, having enjoyed the carnival on Sunday evening. “We also participated in the tribal dance which was really fun.”
Sreeja has been in the spotlight after her recent displays when she stole the thunder from players like Manika Batra. “Surely, I’m relishing the challenges. The success in the Nationals, where I won my maiden women’s singles title, and then my Commonwealth Games Gold-winning show with Sharath Anna has given me more confidence. I want to maintain consistency.”
Telangana paddler Akula Sreeja /Ians
Coached by Somnath Ghosh, Sreeja said she always dreamt of winning a title in the senior National championships. “I did not win a title in cadet, sub-junior, junior and youth nationals. Therefore, my maiden title gave me immense satisfaction, though I did not expect to win the title this year. I worked very hard for it.”
Ranked World No. 73, Sreeja wants to break into the top 50. “Before next year’s Asian Games, I want to be among the top 50. The Commonwealth Games and National Championships performances instilled greater belief that I can compete in major events. Asian Games would be the toughest of them all as the continent’s best players will show up,” she said.
Talking about her success in Birmingham in her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance, Sreeja said she owes the Gold to Sharath Kamal. “After I won the National title, Sharath Anna readily agreed to a suggestion by my coach to let me partner him in the Commonwealth Games. The rest is history,” she said.
“Partnering Anna, as we call him, was a dream come true. He is a big inspiration. His behaviour on and off the court is amazing. We have all grown up watching him and others. He is the big game changer as far as table tennis is concerned in the country,” she said, hoping to emulate her Commonwealth Games doubles partner.
Sep 19 (IANS) The Karnataka Police, the Fire Force and Emergency personnel have retrieved the bodies of two students who fell into a water body on Monday in Raichur district.
The deceased students have been identified as Sujith and Vaibhav. Both students of II PUC (Class 12) in Vidya Nidhi College.
According to police, the students went for a picnic near Kalamala in Tungabhadra left bank canal. They slipped while taking selfies near the canal and drowned in the water.
Two K’taka students drown while taking selfie/Ians
The Raichur Rural police and fire force personnel had rushed to the spot and taken up operations. Further investigation is on.
NASA’s Perseverance rover is well into its second science campaign, collecting rock-core samples from features within an area long considered by scientists to be a top prospect for finding signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. The rover has collected four samples from an ancient river delta in the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater since July 7, bringing the total count of scientifically compelling rock samples to 12.
“We picked the Jezero Crater for Perseverance to explore because we thought it had the best chance of providing scientifically excellent samples – and now we know we sent the rover to the right location,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science in Washington. “These first two science campaigns have yielded an amazing diversity of samples to bring back to Earth by the Mars Sample Return campaign.”
Twenty-eight miles (45 kilometers) wide, Jezero Crater hosts a delta – an ancient fan-shaped feature that formed about 3.5 billion years ago at the convergence of a Martian river and a lake. Perseverance is currently investigating the delta’s sedimentary rocks, formed when particles of various sizes settled in the once-watery environment. During its first science campaign, the rover explored the crater’s floor, finding igneous rock, which forms deep underground from magma or during volcanic activity at the surface.
“The delta, with its diverse sedimentary rocks, contrasts beautifully with the igneous rocks – formed from crystallization of magma – discovered on the crater floor,” said Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley of Caltech in Pasadena, California. “This juxtaposition provides us with a rich understanding of the geologic history after the crater formed and a diverse sample suite. For example, we found a sandstone that carries grains and rock fragments created far from Jezero Crater – and a mudstone that includes intriguing organic compounds.”
NASA’s Perseverance rover puts its robotic arm to work around a rocky outcrop called “Skinner Ridge” in Mars’ Jezero Crater. Composed of multiple images, this mosaic shows layered sedimentary rocks in the face of a cliff in the delta, as well as one of the locations where the rover abraded a circular patch to analyze a rock’s composition. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
“Wildcat Ridge” is the name given to a rock about 3 feet (1 meter) wide that likely formed billions of years ago as mud and fine sand settled in an evaporating saltwater lake. On July 20, the rover abraded some of the surface of Wildcat Ridge so it could analyze the area with the instrument called Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals, or SHERLOC.
SHERLOC’s analysis indicates the samples feature a class of organic molecules that are spatially correlated with those of sulfate minerals. Sulfate minerals found in layers of sedimentary rock can yield significant information about the aqueous environments in which they formed.
What Is Organic Matter?
Organic molecules consist of a wide variety of compounds made primarily of carbon and usually include hydrogen and oxygen atoms. They can also contain other elements, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. While there are chemical processes that produce these molecules that don’t require life, some of these compounds are the chemical building blocks of life. The presence of these specific molecules is considered to be a potential biosignature – a substance or structure that could be evidence of past life but may also have been produced without the presence of life.
In 2013, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover found evidence of organic matter in rock-powder samples, and Perseverance has detected organics in Jezero Crater before. But unlike that previous discovery, this latest detection was made in an area where, in the distant past, sediment and salts were deposited into a lake under conditions in which life could potentially have existed. In its analysis of Wildcat Ridge, the SHERLOC instrument registered the most abundant organic detections on the mission to date.
“In the distant past, the sand, mud, and salts that now make up the Wildcat Ridge sample were deposited under conditions where life could potentially have thrived,” said Farley. “The fact the organic matter was found in such a sedimentary rock – known for preserving fossils of ancient life here on Earth – is important. However, as capable as our instruments aboard Perseverance are, further conclusions regarding what is contained in the Wildcat Ridge sample will have to wait until it’s returned to Earth for in-depth study as part of the agency’s Mars Sample Return campaign.”
Rendering of Perseverance, whose RIMFAX technology is exploring what lies beneath the Martian surface. Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech/FFI
The first step in the NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return campaign began when Perseverance cored its first rock sample in September 2021. Along with its rock-core samples, the rover has collected one atmospheric sample and two witness tubes, all of which are stored in the rover’s belly.
The geologic diversity of the samples already carried in the rover is so good that the rover team is looking into depositing select tubes near the base of the delta in about two months. After depositing the cache, the rover will continue its delta explorations.
“I’ve studied Martian habitability and geology for much of my career and know first-hand the incredible scientific value of returning a carefully collected set of Mars rocks to Earth,” said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “That we are weeks from deploying Perseverance’s fascinating samples and mere years from bringing them to Earth so scientists can study them in exquisite detail is truly phenomenal. We will learn so much.”
More About the Mission
A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including caching samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
NASA/Photo: Nasa.gov
JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao has asked IndiGo to respect local languages after a woman was allegedly made to shift from her seat on a flight because she understood only Telugu.
KTR was reacting to an incident which occurred on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad IndiGo flight on September 16, where both cities fall within Telugu-speaking belt.
Devasmita Chakraverty, an assistant professor of education at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad tweeted that the woman aboard IndiGo 6E 7297 was originally sitting in 2A (XL seat, exit row) was forced to shift to seat 3C because she understood only Telugu, not English or Hindi.
Devasmita Chakraverthy, who posted a photograph with her tweet, called the incident a discrimination. Retweeting it, TRS leader and Telangana IT minister KTR requested IndiGo management to start respecting local languages and passengers who may not be well conversant in English or Hindi in regional routes.
Telangana assembly
“Dear @IndiGo6E Management, I request you to start respecting local languages & passengers who may not be well conversant in English or Hindi in regional routes, recruit more staff who can speak the local language like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada etc. This will be a win-win solution,” wrote KTR, as the minister is popularly known.
KTR received support from Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. “Short haul European flights ex London all have attendants who are native language speakers,” she tweeted, which is not followed in Indian domestic flights.
The minister’s tweet sparked a debate. Some Twitter users agreed with him while others found fault for turning it into a language issue. The attendant said it was a security issue.
“This is because the persons in the exit row seats need to be extra vigilant and support in an emergency by opening the door, communicating with others etc. It is unfair to showcase it as a language issue,” wrote a Twitter user Subbaraju.
