Computerised system helps speed up medical treatment at CMCH

http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/28/stories/2008022852730300.htm

Special Correspondent

Photo: M. Periasamy

NEW INITIATIVE: District Collector Neeraj Mittal shows the bar-coded outpatient registration slip while launching e-governance at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on Tuesday. Dean of the hospital Hemalatha Ganapathy (right) is in the picture. –

COIMBATORE: It took just 10 minutes for R. Shanmughavel, suffering from coughing fits, to register his name at the outpatient counter on Tuesday, get a bar-coded slip, undergo an examination by a doctor and get a diagnosis before obtaining medicines from the pharmacy.

This happened at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, and not at a corporate multi-speciality clinic.

E-governance in the outpatient department was launched by Collector Neeraj Mittal and demonstrated with Mr. Shanmughavel’s case.

“I have come here earlier, and it used to take more than an hour for the whole process,” Mr. Shanmughavel told the Collector after getting the medicines and a computer-printed copy of the prescription.

The Collector said this was the first such initiative in the State.

Soon after Mr. Shanmughavel got the outpatient slip with a bar-coded sticker containing his name, age and registration number, he went to the doctor for diagnosis.

When the doctor scanned the slip, the patient details appeared on the screen of one of the 20 laptop computers provided for this project.

The doctor checked the patient and made out a prescription on the computer itself. One of the factors that helped save time was the elimination of a handwritten prescription.

“There is no need now to write the names of the medicines and dosage,” the Collector said. The patient gave only the outpatient slip to the staff at the pharmacy.

When the bar code was scanned, the prescription appeared on the computer.

Along with the drugs, a copy of the prescription was given to the patient.

“What makes this system patient-friendly is that the medicines in stock are displayed on the doctors’ computers. They can look for alternatives if the ones they want to prescribe are out of stock,” the Collector said.

Previously, only at the pharmacy would patients come to know that the medicines prescribed were out of stock, and they would have to go back to the doctor to get an alternative prescribed.

After inquiring with the pharmacy staff, the Collector said, “The manual stock-taking takes three hours after the pharmacy closes every day. Now the stock position is available, in real time, on the integrated system.”

The Collector said the postgraduate doctors wanted even the diagnosis to be made an e-record.

Patients

M. Selvaganesh, who demonstrated the system, said that until now four postgraduate doctors in each wing could handle 250-300 outpatients from 8 a.m. to noon. The new system would help increase the number to 450.

“Apart from saving time, the new system will help ensure that the details in the records are accurate,” Professor of Medicine P. Jambulingam said. Mr. Mittal said only the paediatric, medicine and surgery wings were brought under the system; the other wings would be covered gradually.

The computers and other equipment had been provided at a cost of Rs.10 lakh.

Of this, close to Rs.6 lakh had come from contributions made by philanthropists.

Tie-ups with private hospitals benefit CMCH

http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/28/stories/2008022851790300.htm

The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) appears to be benefiting from a social commitment on the part of private medical institutions in the city. E-governance, guest lectures and training of nursing staff/students are some of the areas of cooperation, says Dean Hemalatha Ganapathy.

A significant and latest contribution is the assistance in e-governance from the Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH), one of the corporate, super speciality institutions. Its President U.K. Ananthapadmanabhan had studied for days the manual procedures at the CMCH to identify areas where e-governance can reduce wastage of time on paperwork. “He spent many hours taking pictures of the system in our hospital,” says the Dean.

After spending 15 to 20 hours at the CMCH, spread over five to six trips, Mr. Ananthapadmanabhan had shown the bar code system in his hospital and the filmed procedures at the CMCH to District Collector Neeraj Mittal. “I made a power point presentation before the Collector, showing areas where e-governance had a vital role to play in improving the functioning in the Government hospital,” he says.

“What has been initiated at the medical college hospital will be a model for the public healthcare sector in the State and even the entire country,” says Mr. Ananthapadmanabhan.
Data

Now, the Hospital Information System wing headed by Assistant Resident Medical Officer at the CMCH will monitor patient coverage, drugs stock and send data to the Director of Medical Education in Chennai.

While the Dean appreciates a private hospital’s keenness to contribute to a Government medical college hospital’s improvement, Mr. Ananthapadmanabhan says: “This initiative involves a lot of selfishness on my part. I learnt a lot from the patient load on the CMCH. I could understand the psychology of 6,000 patients.”

The primary aim of the e-governance is cutting down time consumption at the CMCH. On further improvements, he says biometrics is the next stage that hospitals have to aim for. This will help avoid running costs of bar coding.

On the interface with other private hospitals, Dr. Hemalatha Ganapathy says this happens through a lot of academic programmes.

India plans multi-purpose national ID card for citizens

The Government of India proposed to issue Multi-purpose National Identity (smart) Card (MNIC) to the citizens in the country.

In a communication sent to the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Manikrao H Gavit said that the project envisages providing unique national identity number (NIN) to each person in the National Population Register.

However, keeping in view the complexities involved both in the processes and technology, a pilot project has been under implementation covering a population of 30.95 lakh in the selected areas in 12 states and one Union Territory.

“Under the pilot project, identity smart cards are being issued to the citizens of age 18 years and above,” the Minister said.

Gavit informed that the production and distribution of identity cards to be completed by March this year has been undertaken through central public sector undertakings (PSUs).

He further added it has been decided that the implementation of the scheme in the entire country would be based in the light of the experiences gained and lessons learnt from the pilot project.

AMD unveils new processor for server platform

Bangalore: Leading chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Thursday unveiled a more powerful chip-based on 45 nm quad-core Opteron processor, codenamed 'Shanghai', for server platform.

"The Opteron processor gives 35 per cent more performance consuming 35 per cent less power. Our Indian team made significant contribution to the design and development of the new chip working with the Austin R&D centre," AMD India Managing Director Dasaradha Gude told reporters at a preview of the product here.

As an improved version of AMD's previous Barcelona processor, the enhanced 45-nm Shanghai microprocessor is built to drive data centre efficiencies and help enterprises achieve virtualisation performance up to 40 per cent more than a 65 nm processor, reports IANS.

Nanometre is a measure of one billionth of a metre or one millionth of a millimetre (mm). A 45 nm process technology will have a billion transistors embedded in the new chip.

The US-based AMD has shipped the new processor to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for mass deployment in the existing and new servers to be launched in the market by year-end.

AMD will initially manufacture nine versions of Shanghai, including five in the two-way Opteron 2,000 series, while four in the eight-way Opteron 8,000 series.

Shanghai also offers support for DDR2-800Mhz memory and a larger 6 Mb level 3 cache.

"Data centres are facing escalating pressures from computing demands of enterprise workloads because of web serving and database applications. The need to do more with less in the prevailing tough environment has become compelling. Emerging technologies such as cloud computing and virtualisation will require Opteron processors for higher performance," Gude said.

AMD hopes the Opteron processor based systems and products will grow rapidly this quarter and first quarter of 2009.

The latest processors will be available in the market from December at the 75 W and are priced less than dual-code chips.

"We are also planning to roll out higher-performance and more energy efficient 45 nm processor technology to the desktop PC market in the first quarter of 2009 on a new platform codenamed 'Dragon', designed to harness the power of fusion by optimising the performance," AMD India Silicon Design Head Karthik Muttuswamy said.

Chandigarh launches helpline to save broken teeth

Chandigarh: If you happen to break your teeth, don't fret. Just put them in some milk or coconut water and scuttle off to a dentist—so advises a newly launched helpline here.

The oral health sciences department at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, has started the unique 24-hour emergency helpline (9914208717) dedicated to saving broken or fractured teeth.

"A helpline to attend trauma cases related to teeth was the need of the hour. We have observed here in our department that cases of dentofacial trauma that affect patients' teeth and facial structure has increased manifold in the last few years," PGIMER's Paediatric Dentistry senior faculty member Ashima said.

The helpline will be managed by a four-member team of senior doctors.

"Broken and fractured teeth are the most common cases. Earlier, we used to hardly get one or two such cases in a month but now we are getting two cases of broken teeth and three to four cases of fractured teeth every week," Ashima said.

Alarmingly, most of these cases involve children or teenagers who incur injury because of some scuffle, fall or accident, she pointed out.

The helpline number, 9914208717, was flashed on the PGIMER's website three weeks ago on a trial basis. After getting a remarkable response from the public, it was launched formally on Monday.

The Oral Health Sciences Department at the institute is one of the most ultra modern and well-equipped departments, with over 40 physicians attending to hundreds of patients everyday.

"Damaged teeth can be successfully re-implanted if they are preserved well and are cautiously taken to the physician in a short time," Ashima said.

"We give easy and quick tips on the phone as to how to protect broken teeth. Generally, people wrap broken teeth in paper to save them, but that is entirely wrong as they should be kept in milk, coconut water or even in the mouth so that they do not lose moisture," she said.

PGIMER, one of the leading medical institutes of northern India, was started in 1962, caters to patients from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

"Normally, people tend to ignore teeth problems, causing more trouble a few years later. Many times, patients come to us two or three days after a tooth injury and at that time, the doctors cannot do much to help them," Mishthu, a senior resident doctor and one of the attendants at the helpline said.

"Although in the initial days, the response was lukewarm, now the response is overwhelming as we are getting continuous calls from patients. It is indeed very satisfying for us that we are able to help a patient in time," Mishthu stated.

Sleep Apnea Increases Crash Rate

The potential driving hazards caused by sleep apnea, a condition that restricts breathing during sleep, have been brought to light by a study published in Thorax, an international journal on respiratory medicine.


The two-year study by Vancouver Coastal Health Region and the University of British Columbia, compared the driving records of 800 drivers who have sleep apnea with 800 drivers who did not have the disorder.

It was found that the drivers with sleep apnea, were more likely to get into a car crash, and also three to five times more likely to be involved in a major collision causing serious injury.

"A lot of sleepiness-related crashes tend to be more severe... where you fall asleep at the wheel and you hit a tree or you cross the median and hit an on-coming car," said study author Dr. Najib Ayas of the Vancouver Coastal Health and associate professor of medicine at UBC. "Even if you do not fall asleep at the wheel, it has been shown that patients with sleep apnea or sleep deprivation have reduced motor function. It affects coordination, dis-tractability or vigilance,” he said.

Dr. John Fleetham, a UBC professor of medicine said, "Car accidents are more common and more serious with people with sleep apnea. If you fall asleep at the wheel, you are more likely to be at risk for a head-on collision. It's not an act of God. It's related to conditions that can be treated and prevented." Dr.Fleetham co-authored the study with Dr. Najib Ayas.


Previous studies have linked sleep apnea to an increased risk of car crashes but this recent study is the largest of its kind and the first to focus on the severity of the collisions.


One out of eight, that is, four million Canadians admit to “nodding off ” at the wheel at least once in the past 12 months, according to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation in 2005.

Sleep apnea is a disorder that is also linked to obesity and cardiovascular disease. In Canada alone, it is estimated that between five and 10% of people older than 30 suffer from sleep apnea, but most of the cases are undiagnosed.

Some of the signs of sleep apnea affecting driving include, drooping eyelids, blurry vision, nodding off, drifting between lanes, missing traffic signs, and continuous yawning.

According to the researchers, the results of the study “can also be applied to people who work with heavy machinery and at risk of occupational safety hazards.”

Source-Medindia
THK/L

Obesity Boosts Cancer Risk

An overweight person's chances of developing five different types of cancer escalate by 50 percent confirms a new study.


Researchers at the University of Manchester discovered that those who put on weight equal to a five-point increase in the body mass index (BMI) were at considerable risk of contracting cancer of the colon, breast, skin, thyroid.

The researchers said that there was a 50 percent increase in the chances of developing the cancers if a person's weight goes up by more than two stones.

For the study, the team combined data from more than 200 sets of data, including more than 282,000 people that considered the impact of weight on 15 cancer sites.

Increased weight was most strongly linked to an increased risk for cancer of the esophagus in men and women and for endometrial and gallbladder cancers in women.

A modest association was found between excess weight and the risk for more common malignancies such as postmenopausal breast cancer in women, colon cancer in men, and blood cancer in both sexes.

But carrying extra weight was not associated with an increase in risk for prostate cancer in men, premenopausal breast cancer and ovarian cancer in women, and lung cancer in men and women.

"We were surprised to find associations to both common and less common cancers. We also saw very clear differences between [obesity-related] risk at different sites between the sexes," the Telegraph quoted lead researcher Andrew G. Renehan, as saying.


Renehan and colleagues used body mass index (BMI) measures from the studies to assess risk.


BMI is a numerical measure of fatness based on a person's weight relative to height. A BMI of 18.5 to below 25 is considered normal weight, while 25 to just under 30 is considered overweight, but not obese. Someone is considered obese if they have a BMI of 30 or above.

In men and women, each 5-point increase in BMI was associated with a roughly 50 percent increase in relative risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma.

They also found that men who gained more than two stones were 50 per cent more likely to develop oesophageal cancer and a third more likely to suffer thyroid cancer. Their chances of getting colon and kidney cancer increase by 24 per cent; they are also at a smaller but significant risk of rectal and skin cancer.

Women who are similarly overweight increased their chances of cancer of the womb lining and gallbladder by 59 per cent. They also have more than a 50 per cent increased risk of oesophageal cancer and are a third more likely to develop kidney cancer.

Source-ANI
SPH/L

Experts Warn of Rising Infertility Rates in Future Generations

Experts have warned that infertility levels may rise in the generations to come.


While writing in British Medical Journal, experts have said that that infertility levels may rise in the future generations due to increase in the use of assisted reproductive techniques.

About 6pct of children are conceived through assisted reproductive techniques in some countries.

However, the authors also suggest since fertility is determined by social, behavioural, and biological factors so it would be difficult to interpret these trends based on retrospectively collected data.

They predict that fecundity is expected to decline over time, even if no environmental causes are identified due to assisted conception.

The experts also predicted that the subfertile couples may have as many children as fertile couples, so genetic factors linked to infertility will become more prevalent in the future generations.

They believe that it is now essential to have more direct markers of fecundity and include it in ongoing representative health surveys.

The authors said that the best way to counteract infertility and help couples to have children naturally is to deal with the avoidable causes of subfecundity.

Source-ANI
SRM/M

New Drug can Help Alcoholics to Overcome Addiction

A new drug can help alcoholics overcome their addiction by reducing stress-induced cravings, a study released Thursday has found.


There is already a drug on the market, Revia, which treats alcoholism by reducing the body's ability to enjoy its effects.

This new drug cuts cravings by taking the edge off of stressful situations which might push recovering alcoholics to pick up the bottle again.

Behavioral stress is a major factor in extending the "vicious cycle" of alcoholism, said lead author Markus Heilig, clinical director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

That's because alcohol deprivation causes depression and increased sensitivity to stressful situations such as an argument with a spouse or tension at work.

"Alcohol is a particularly nasty drug because it actually makes you feel better, but it pushes you to feel worse once you're without alcohol," he told AFP.

The drug Heilig and his team tested targets an area of the brain, the neurokinin 1 receptor, which mediates responses to behavioral stress. It had previously been shown to reduce social anxiety but did not enter the market because results were inconsistent.

Helig and his team first tested its effectiveness on mice and then on a group of 50 alcoholics with anxiety problems who had been through detox and remained hospitalized for the four weeks of the trial.

Half were given a placebo and the other half were given the drug.


Cravings declined over time for all patients in the protected inpatient environment and were minimal in the majority of patients by the end of the study period.


However, those who had been drug showed a more marked improvement in the severity of their cravings when measured by self-reporting questionnaires, the assessment of their clinicians, and tests where they were exposed to socially stressful situations and then told to touch a bottle and smell their favorite alcohol.

Interestingly, there was no impact on anxious or depressive psychopathology which suggests that "the improvements observed might be specific for brain processes related to alcoholism," the study published online in Science Express concluded.

The drug also led to increased brain responses to positive imagery and lessened responses to negative imagery, something which a recent study showed predicts less alcohol consumption over the next six months, tests using MRI mapping showed.

The next step is larger clinical trials to see if the drug can be of assistance to alcoholics who do not suffer from anxiety problems.

Source-AFP
SRM/M

Blood Pressure Drug may Prevent Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke

Researchers at University of Kentucky have found that blood pressure drug, Aliskiren, not only reduces blood pressure but also lowers artery-clogging lesions.


Artery-clogging lesions are a leading cause of heart attack and stroke and death worldwide.

Dr. Lisa Cassis and Dr. Alan Daugherty found the possible added benefit of the new drug in animal studies.

"In my many years of atherosclerosis research, this is one of the most striking effects I have seen on preventing the disease under experimental conditions," said Daugherty.

"This contributes to our knowledge of the underlying disease that causes heart attack and stroke," he added.

“Our data shows that renin inhibition is an effective approach to both lowering blood pressure and directly inhibiting atherosclerosis.

“It will be interesting to determine whether this approach is more effective than the two other commonly used classes of drugs in the angiotensin system; ACE inhibitors and ARBs," he said.

Source-ANI
SRM/L

New Class of Effective Drugs on the Anvil for Asthma and Allergy

Researchers from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry have moved a step closer to developing a new class of effective asthma and allergy drugs.


The researchers found an important target that holds significant promise for millions of people suffering from allergies, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and a range of other inflammatory diseases.

The study showed that a key component of the body's own response to allergy-causing agents (allergens) can be targeted to reduce allergic reactions in mice.

In the study, the researchers found that by targeting a molecule called p110delta it is possible to interfere in the allergic reaction before symptoms occur, and without shutting down the immune system.

p110delta is a member of a family of eight proteins called PI3Ks, which control important biological functions. Their activity is implicated in many different diseases including cancer, and they are an important target for drugs.

However, drugs that act on all PI3K family members tend to be toxic in the body. For this reason the researchers used genetic techniques to find out which PI3K family members are linked to specific diseases.

By gaining a better understanding of each PI3K researchers hope to target drugs more specifically and reduce the potential for side effects.

The p110gamma member of the PI3K family had earlier been implicated in allergic reactions and was thought to be more important than p110delta.

However, in the current study, it has been confirmed that p110delta, but not p110gamma, is important for allergic reactions in a mouse model.


The new findings will help to inform and drive decisions in industry to prioritise which PI3K family members should be targeted for further investment and development.


The next step is to develop p110delta blockers is now ongoing in industry, and is expected to proceed into the preclinical arena in humans in the near future.

" This work shows that we have the potential to take control of the body's reaction to an allergen and prevent symptoms from occurring," said lead author of the study, Dr Khaled Ali.

Professor BartVanhaesebroeck added: "This work confirms our previous findings and shows once and for all that in an allergic reaction it is p110delta that is the key player among the PI3K molecules.”

“We are very hopeful that a drug for human patients can be developed in the very near future. This approach offers the potential for therapies for asthma and allergies that target the real causes, not just symptoms," Vanhaesebroeck added.

The study is published in The Journal of Immunology.

Source-ANI

A Potential Drug Against Alcohol Found

National Institutes of Health researchers already knew that the drug, called LY686017 neutralizes the action of a protein called NK1R (neurokinin-1 receptor), which is involved in the stress response in the brain.


The first hint that the drug might be useful in cutting alcohol cravings surfaced when the investigators noticed that mice who didn't have NK1R seemed to have less desire to consume alcohol.

To test their qualms, the researchers gave the NK1R-blocking drug to 25 recovering alcoholics, while giving 25 others an ineffective placebo treatment.

The analysis revealed that those who received the drug reported about 50 percent fewer alcohol cravings.

In the study, the alcoholics who were given LY686017 reported fewer spontaneous cravings for alcohol than did those who received the placebo. But the patients were kept in a hospital, away from the behavioural triggers such as social stress that are present in the outside world.

“They may get into a fight with their spouse or at work, and after that they may abstain for some period of time, but then they go past the bar where they used to drink. We wanted to mimic that in the lab,” Nature quoted Heilig, as saying.

In order to create a stressful situation, the research team led the patients into a room and told them that they had to give a five-minute improvized talk to a committee of people in white coats, as if they were interviewing for their dream job.


“No one made it beyond 1.5 minutes. Everyone dried up after that. We had stern-looking people on the committee say ‘Your time is not yet up’,” Heilig said.


Patients were then allowed to smell alcohol.

Patients who had received LY686017 produced less of the stress hormone cortisol in response to this challenge did than those on placebo.

“This might be an approach that could be used for people who drink to relieve stress in their lives, or have anxiety disorders,” said Raymond Anton, director of the Centre for Drug & Alcohol Programs at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Source-ANI
SPH/L

You Have Caused Us Pain by Prosecuting the Pill Mill Doctor, Say US Patients

In the normal course anyone would be pleased over the prosecution of a doctor who built his empire through massive prescription of harmful painkillers. But no, US patients in Kansas state charge they have been denied legitimate pain relief by an overzealous government and are to sue it.


According to the indictment of Dr. Stephen J. Schneider (54) and his wife, nurse Linda K Schneider (49), more than fifty of their patients had died of drug overdoses in the last five years.

Charges against the couple were include conspiracy, unlawful distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, health care fraud, illegal money transactions, and money laundering.

The doctor and his assistants wrote unlawful prescriptions for narcotic painkillers, muscle relaxers and other drugs. Drugs mentioned in the indictment included Fentanyl, Methadone, Morphine and Oxycodone.

The Pain Relief Network that is heading the lawsuit move asserts that the state authorities have put patients in mortal danger and created a public health disaster by prosecuting the doctor.

The state last month has suspended Schneider's license to practice, which forced him to close his Haysville clinic.

The lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, seeks an emergency temporary restraining order. It contends the Board of Healing Arts and a Kansas district court ignored the danger to 1,000 medically vulnerable patients who have been forcibly abandoned and must now fend for themselves. The group contends pain is a significant cause of death, including progressive brain damage.


"Withdrawal for people who are sick is catastrophic," Siobhan Reynolds, president of the Pain Relief Network.


Patients held a candlelight vigil Monday night outside Wesley Medical Center, where one of Schneider's former patients was hospitalized four days after she ran out of prescription painkillers. The hospital would say only that she was stable.

"She was lying in an ICU bed crumpled up, incoherent. ... She was in a very weakened state. She looked very, very ill," said Reynolds, who visited Collins at the hospital over the weekend.
The Network contends that the suspension of Schneider's license served no legitimate government interest but harmed his patients because it forced the closure of his clinic. Since Schneider's arrest, other doctors have been reluctant to take on his patients, the group said.

The group seeks an emergency order forcing the Board of Healing Arts to restore Schneider's medical license. It also seeks to restrain the Justice Department from harassing a new clinic to be opened under a different doctor, Dr. Joseph M. Sack, at Schneider's now-shuttered Haysville facility.

The group wants an injunction against the Justice Department prohibiting it from confiscating patient files or taking any other actions to impede its treatment of patients in severe pain. It also asks that prosecutors return to the clinic patient files taken in what the group alleges is a violation of federal law.
The lawsuit also asks the court to appoint a special master to oversee the reopened clinic's financial operations to protect it from charges of money laundering.

Source-Medindia
GPL/L

Singapore Plans to Use Valentine's Day to Boost Birth Rate

Worried that a low birth rate could threaten the country's very survival Singapore's government is playing Cupid, using Valentine's Day to promote romance and marriage.


In a city where many singles say they are too busy making money to make love, the government plans to step up its official "Romancing Singapore" campaign on Thursday, the traditional lovers' day, to encourage people to take up dating.

The campaign, launched in 2002 and managed commercially by the private sector since 2005, has lined up a series of events throughout February and on Valentine's Day itself to try to reverse the falling birthrate.

And a separate initiative sees the government directly funding efforts to promote romance.

In 2006 it launched the one-million-Singapore-dollar (704,000 US) Partner Connection Fund to support dating agencies that come up with what it called new "social interaction opportunities" for singles.

"A lot of countries, they let nature take its course but in Singapore because of our work and lifestyle, we don't have a lot of time," said Andrew Chow, a manager with Romancing Singapore.

"We are trying to educate the singles that dating is in fact a lifestyle. I think nowhere else in the world does things like Singapore."

Among the events Romancing Singapore has planned to give Cupid a helping hand is an evening date on the newly-opened Singapore Flyer, the world's tallest observation wheel at 42 storeys high.

The Valentine's Day event, billed as "Love In A Capsule," is organised by Romancing Singapore and Clique Wise, another social networking outfit.


From movie marathons, Friday night shopping sprees and treasure hunts, Romancing Singapore says it has tapped more than 5,000 singles to participate in previous events.

Love comes at a price, though -- a date on the Singapore Flyer costs 140 US dollars, which includes a gourmet dinner at a spa resort. All 24 slots have been booked, said Chow.

Violet Lim, co-founder of dating agency Lunch Actually, agreed Singapore's fast-paced lifestyle has made it hard for couples to connect.

"We play the role of an introducer," she said. "A lot of people who join us, they are not exactly people who can't find dates on their own. I would say it's more due to their schedules."

A subsidiary of Lunch Actually, Eteract.com, received funding from the government's Partner Connection Fund for its online dating platform.

The platform allows singles to get acquainted by chatting and even playing games in cyberspace, said Lim, adding the identities of participants have been verified.

The number of babies born per woman in Singapore fell to an historic low of 1.24 in 2004 and 2005, far below the rate of 2.1 needed for the population to replenish itself, the government has said.

This shortage prompted authorities to offer cash incentives for couples having more than two children, encourage foreigners to adopt citizenship, and ease up on previously taboo subjects like sex.

"We have managed to reverse the decline in births, but only barely," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a message on the eve of Lunar New Year earlier this month.

"Last year we only had 37,000 resident births, just 2,000 more than in 2004."

Lee said that ultimately the issue is not just about financial incentives but other factors including "social attitudes".

Singapore had a population of 4,588,600 last year but about one million of those were non-resident foreigners, official statistics show.

Perhaps among those numbers lies the partner Joyce Tia is seeking.

Tia, a group financial controller in her thirties, will join a dinner date organised by Ideas and Concepts dating agency on the eve of Valentine's Day.

"I am looking for a long-term relationship so having the dating agency to provide me the background of the person is good," said Tia.

Source-AFP
SRM/L

Some Plastic Baby Bottles May Be Harmful For Babies

Tests on several baby bottles have showed, that at high temperatures, they release a toxic chemical that could harm babies. A new report released by American and Canadian environmental health groups, shows that bisphenol A, or BPA, linked to deadly illnesses in lab animals, was released when baby bottles were heated at high temperatures. 95 percent of all baby bottles on the market are made with bisphenol A, or BPA.


Researchers tested 19 baby bottles purchased in nine U.S. states and Canada including Avent, Dr. Brown, Evenflo, Disney, Gerber, and Playtex. When the bottles were heated to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C), they all leached BPA at about five to seven parts per billion.

Health advocate Mike Schade from The Center for Health, Environment and Justice explains, "When bottles are used extensively over time and when they're heated, higher levels of this chemical leaches, exposing young infants to elevated levels of this unnecessary toxic chemical."

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a synthetic female sex hormone estrogen. It is used in making hard, polycarbonate plastic. BPA is used in CDs, in automotive parts, toys, water bottles and in the resin lining applied to the insides of food and soft drink cans.

The use of BPA has come under attack from many directions, following suggestions that trials on lab rats have shown them prone to prostate and breast cancer, diabetes and obesity. It is feared that BPA could trigger hormonal, neurological, and behavioral problems in human beings.

Environmental groups have called for a ban on all uses of BPA in plastic containers, especially in baby feeding bottles. “The reproductive system is developing, the brain is developing, the immune system is developing,” David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, said Thursday on behalf of the environmental agencies. “Knowing that,” he said, “it is absolutely obscene to expose infants to BPA.”


The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the infant formula industry that follows federal packaging guidelines maintain that the use of BPA is legal and safe.

Canada’s federal health department Health Canada is studying BPA to see if there is some evidence of toxicity. Further report on how much of the chemical leaches out of polycarbonate baby bottles and infant formula cans is expected in May.

In the United States, nine states have introduced legislation that would restrict its use in children's products, including baby bottles.

Source-Medindia
THK/L

Public Transportation Services Turn into Matchmakers for Young Germans

Internet dating, speed dating and singles parties are starting to look old hat. In Germany, the public transportation services are becoming matchmakers and the demand has been overwhelming.


Berlin commuters looking to contact a beautiful stranger they saw on a train or a bus can now use a free online service called Augenblicke (Moments) to track them down in what organisers call an international first.

The site, www.bvg.de/augenblicke, clocked more than one million "page views" between its launch last Valentine's Day, February 14, and the end of December, with demand growing daily, Berlin Transit Operators (BVG) said.

The rules are simple. Passengers left lovestruck after a stolen glance on the subway can use a pseudonym and post a message, which BVG then lists according to metro, tram or bus line where the encounter took place.

If visitors to the site recognise themselves in the description, they can respond by opening a private online mailbox with the other passenger in which they can exchange messages, away from the public bulletin board.

The public postings range from hilarious to heartbreaking.

"You looked like a dreadlock fairy -- I can't describe it any other way," a passenger calling himself Kurzhaarstino wrote.

"A light blue headband/headscarf, dressed in black from head to toe and a briefcase (!?!?!?). What an entrance... I was the one with a khaki-coloured jacket, strange glasses and closely cropped hair half a carriage away. I have to know what was in that briefcase! That is at least one of my three wishes...;-)"
Cupid's arrow pierced "Greeneye" on a commuter train.


"You were carrying a bouquet of flowers," the smitten rider wrote.

"We both got on at Friedrichstrasse in the direction of Bernau and while I was sitting there I suddenly felt your gaze which held me as I looked at you. I couldn't look away nor could I keep my eyes on you and I had to smile. Those were magic moments, unbelievable."

A passenger signing "Seeking Cute Ticket Salesman" had high hopes after a ride on the number 7 underground.

"A shy smile at the ticket widow. An eye-opening encounter at the end of the line. It often only takes a single, magic moment to seal a connection for a lifetime," she wrote.

BVG spokesman Klaus Wazlak said that because all communication on the site is anonymous, the company knows little about the demographics of who is using the site or their rate of success.

But he said the writing style pointed to a younger crowd and the number of mailboxes used for private communication indicated that dozens of would-be lovers were actually connecting.

"People told us that when two people smile at each other on the subway and then one gets off, the chance to meet disappears. We as a company saw that as an opportunity," Wazlak said.

Although magazines have long featured "lonely hearts" advertisements in their pages, Wazlak said BVG believes it is the first public transportation company to offer its own matchmaking service.

"We have had a lot of interest from abroad," he said, saying several companies had expressed interest in trying out the programme in their home markets, recognising it as a potential boon to their public image. "By offering passengers the chance to meet friendly people, we make ourselves a more attractive company."

The service seems to appeal to a wide range of passengers.

"You were reading an English book. I hope you can even understand me," Phil1919 wrote in German. "Please get in touch."

Lolarennt found her heart's desire on the S41 train.

"You got off at Treptower Park and unfortunately I did not run after you even though you were so cute," she said.

"You (female, black cap, lip piercing) with a newspaper, I (female, black jacket) talked for a bit in French on my mobile and hopelessly tried to focus on my class notes."

El-gog was kicking himself for not seizing the moment.

"White skull earrings, beautiful blue eyes and although we both got off at Potsdamer Platz, I was too cowardly to talk to you. I hope I get a second chance," he wrote.

A few entries verge on creepy.

"Our paths conjoined: We both got on the U6 at Friedrichstrasse Station, we both went to Leo, we both went shopping at Karstadt and I stood behind you in line at the register," Christoph wrote.

"But you drank your bottle of wine alone and I drank my beer. Maybe we could do it together next time?"

Wazlak said BVG allowed users of the site to blacklist anyone posting abusive, pushy or obscene messages.

The spokesman, who described himself as "over 50", said the Augenblicke service was a sign of how the younger generation approaches dating.

"It takes courage to chat someone up and the Internet can help bridge the gap," he said.

Meanwhile Germany's state-owned rail operator is getting in on the act.

On Valentine's Day, Deutsche Bahn will start "Flirt Express" trains in 15 cities including Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt and Hamburg.

The two- to three-hour-rides will work like speed dating, with singles seated across from each other changing seats and conversation partners every five minutes.

If the sparks fly, participants can continue flirting at cafes and restaurants near the station where the rail company will have tables reserved a and the candles lit.

Source-AFP
SRM/L

Diseased Pancreas on Sale Over Internet Raises Ethical Concerns

Mario Meunier of Quebec in Canada has something unusual to offer, his diseased pancreas.


Customers’ reception has not exactly been exciting. The popular auction site eBay removed the posting quickly, but he has come back through another channel. Many have raised ethical concerns.

Meunier says he is only hoping to raise awareness about a glucose deficiency known as nesidioblastosis, and of course cash in on his rare pancreatic problem at the same time.

Meunier was originally seeking $1.5 million through the online auction house eBay.

The website removed the posting earlier this month, within days of it going online.

"We have a human remains and body parts policy that is strictly enforced," said eBay spokeswoman Erin Sufrin.

The Quebec man promptly slashed his price to $500,000 and reposted his offer with BidOfferBuy.com, an online company that sells through eBay.

By Monday, however, his proposal once again appeared on eBay and at the relative bargain of $75,000.

What exactly Meunier is offering for the $75,000 is unclear, though he does propose to serve as a research consultant for that price.

An earlier version of the ad on the BidOfferBuy site suggests he is offering much more than just his expertise.

"I need serious help… I want to do something to cure it [nesidioblastosis] or stop it," the posting reads. "As a matter of fact, I'm so decided [sic] to help that I would be ready to place my pancreas at the disposal of serious researchers."



According to a separate website maintained by Meunier, he developed nesidioblastosis after a gastric bypass for obesity in 2000.


Until recently medical researchers considered nesidioblastosis, or persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (PHHI), rare among adults. Severe forms of the disease can cause brain damage or even death.

Meunier claims his onset was caused by the gastric bypass and wants to open the door to more research to explore the link.

"This nesidioblastosis has not only ravaged my plans for a career, forcing me to stop my [nurse's] training, but now completely prevents me from working," his website reads.

But Meunier's pleas for a better understanding of his condition are unlikely to arouse much compassion among medical ethicists, troubled as they are by the hefty price tag he's attached to his pancreas.

"I don't think there is a hospital that would risk doing that kind of operation and expose themselves to legal risks." said Pierre Deschamps, a law professor at McGill University specializing in biomedical ethics.

"There are certain taboos that still exist in society and one of them is to sell your organs to another person, because the potential for abuse exists," added Deschamps, who also serves on the federal government's advisory panel for research ethics.

"We don't to head towards a society where you can offer your organs to the highest bidder."

Meunier, who could not be reached for comment on Monday, was reportedly prompted to market his pancreas after visiting a Montreal hospital ahead of a pancreatectomy.

He balked when informed he couldn't take possession of the organ following the surgery.

"They didn't give me a choice," he told the Montreal newspaper La Presse. "It was either I sign or they refuse to operate."

There have been a select few cases in Quebec where patients claimed ownership of body parts after a surgery, but did so for artistic reasons. Those incidents raised a somewhat disturbing precedent for Deschamps.

"That someone would want to take off with pancreas is rather unusual and I think we need to exercise prudence," he said.

"Taken to the extreme, somebody could have their leg amputated and tell the doctor `I like my leg so much I'm going to take it home with me and put in the refrigerator."

Source-Medindia
GPL/L

Hungary Approves Healthcare Reform Bill

Hungary's parliament approved Monday a bitterly contested bill further opening up healthcare to private insurers, overturning a presidential veto.


Lawmakers approved the health care insurance reform bill by a vote of 203 to 173.

They first approved the bill in December, but it was vetoed by President Laszlo Solyom. Under the Hungarian constitution the president must now sign the legislation into law.

Under the reform the state national health insurer will be replaced by 22 regional ones in which private insurance companies will be allowed to hold stakes of up to 49 percent, with the state retaining the rest.

The government of Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany has said the state will continue to guarantee universal healthcare coverage.

But the opposition conservatives and unions fear profit-orientated private insurance firms will not want to insure the chronically ill and the elderly, or only at far higher prices.

With the highest deficit ratio in the 27-nation European Union, Hungary's government has been under intense pressure to slash spending.

Source-AFP
SRM/L

Patients With Large Social Network Recover Early After Surgery

A strong social network has long been known to be an important factor in ensuring well being of a person. Now a new study has shown that this also plays a vital role in the earlier recovery of a patient undergoing a surgery.


The study has found that a large support network of family and friends help in reducing the pain and anxiety prior to having a surgical procedure and the postoperative recovery.

“Strong social connectedness can have a tremendous impact on patient recovery by helping blunt the effect of stress caused by postoperative pain, as well as ease concerns about health, finances and separation from family members,” said Allison R. Mitchinson, MPH, NCTMB, research health science specialist, Department of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor (MI) Healthcare System.

The study in involved patients undergoing major thoracic or abdominal operations at two Veterans Affairs’ medical centres

Prior to the operations, patients were given a questionnaire assessing their number of friends and relatives and how frequently contact was made with the members of their social networks.

Patients rated levels of pre- and postoperative pain intensity and unpleasantness, as well as postoperative levels of anxiety, depression, relaxation, and inner peace using visual analogue scales.

The study found that patients reporting a smaller social network had higher preoperative pain intensity, unpleasantness, and anxiety.

“Since patients with limited social connections will likely require more pain medications, have longer hospital stays, and need additional caregiver attention after a surgical procedure, it is important that physicians are aware of this link,” added study co-author Daniel B. Hinshaw, MD, FACS, a researcher with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor Healthcare System.


“Patients should be preoperatively screened for pain and anxiety because these are strong predictors of a more difficult postoperative recovery,” he added.

Source-ANI
SRM/L

Patients With Large Social Network Recover Early After Surgery

A strong social network has long been known to be an important factor in ensuring well being of a person. Now a new study has shown that this also plays a vital role in the earlier recovery of a patient undergoing a surgery.


The study has found that a large support network of family and friends help in reducing the pain and anxiety prior to having a surgical procedure and the postoperative recovery.

“Strong social connectedness can have a tremendous impact on patient recovery by helping blunt the effect of stress caused by postoperative pain, as well as ease concerns about health, finances and separation from family members,” said Allison R. Mitchinson, MPH, NCTMB, research health science specialist, Department of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor (MI) Healthcare System.

The study in involved patients undergoing major thoracic or abdominal operations at two Veterans Affairs’ medical centres

Prior to the operations, patients were given a questionnaire assessing their number of friends and relatives and how frequently contact was made with the members of their social networks.

Patients rated levels of pre- and postoperative pain intensity and unpleasantness, as well as postoperative levels of anxiety, depression, relaxation, and inner peace using visual analogue scales.

The study found that patients reporting a smaller social network had higher preoperative pain intensity, unpleasantness, and anxiety.

“Since patients with limited social connections will likely require more pain medications, have longer hospital stays, and need additional caregiver attention after a surgical procedure, it is important that physicians are aware of this link,” added study co-author Daniel B. Hinshaw, MD, FACS, a researcher with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor Healthcare System.


“Patients should be preoperatively screened for pain and anxiety because these are strong predictors of a more difficult postoperative recovery,” he added.

Source-ANI
SRM/L

Open source, a key enabler for e-Governance

In order to spread e-Governance in the India, free and open source software (FOSS) is one of the most important ingredients, which is now endorsed by both the government and private service providers to base e-Governance offerings.

While the low cost of FOSS products is definitely a factor in this choice, other important factors included are the robustness of FOSS products, the lack of legal restrictions and increasingly, the availability of trained human resources.

While inaugurating a one-day seminar on the JBoss Application Server at Technopark in Trivandrum last week, Computer Society of India (CSI) National Secretary Satish Babu said that it was important to consider the long-term effects of technology choice for public computing while deciding on technology platforms.

He also characterised the early initiatives in e-Governance in India by a multiplicity of technology platforms leading to high costs of development and difficulty in maintenance, lack of interoperability and a tendency to let the initiative weaken after the original innovator moved out from the project.

The Secretary said that the JBoss Application Server suite is eminently suited for developing local e-Governance applications, and that the establishment of a JBoss Centre of Excellence (JBoCE) in Trivandrum would help promoting this open source platform in India and the Asia-Pacific markets.

The seminar was organised by Computer Society of India of Trivandrum Chapter in association with IEEE Kerala Section, and was sponsored by Technopark, Red Hat India and InApp Information Technologies.

A Fascinating Discovery On RBCs By US Scientists

American scientists have discovered how maturing red blood cells tend to lose their nuclei which paves way for more oxygen-carrying haemoglobin, thereby boosting the metabolism.


Researchers at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research modelled the complete process while working with laboratory mice.

The researchers say that it was known that as a mammalian red blood cell nears maturity, a ring of actin filaments contracts and pinches off a segment of the cell that contains the nucleus, a type of “cell division”. Thereafter, the nucleus is swallowed by macrophages, one of the immune system’s quick-response troops.

However, the genes and signalling pathways that drive the pinching-off process were still a mystery for the researchers.

“Using a cell-culture system we were actually able to watch the cells divide, go through hemoglobin synthesis and then lose their nuclei. We discovered that the proteins Rac 1, Rac 2 and mDia2 are involved in building the ring of actin filaments,” Nature Cell Biology quoted Harvey Lodish, who is also a professor of biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as saying.

Peng Ji, lead author and postdoctoral researcher in the Lodish lab, said: “We were very interested in that Rac 1 and Rac 2 were involved in disposing the nuclei of red blood cells. These proteins are known for their role in creating actin fibres in many body cells, and a necessary component of many important cellular functions including cell division that support cell growth.”


In a report on their study, the researchers have revealed that their cell-culture system began with red blood cell precursors drawn from an embryonic mouse liver. They note that in mammalian embryos, the liver is the main producer of such cells, rather than bone marrow as in adults.


According to them, the cultured cells, synchronized to develop together, divided four or five times before losing their nuclei and becoming immature red blood cells.

To probe the changes in the red blood cells through the different stages leading up to the loss of the nucleus, the researchers used simple fluorescence-based assays.

The research team has expressed its desire to further investigate the entire process of red blood cell formation, believing that it may provide insights into genetic alterations that underlie certain red blood cell disorders.

“During normal cell division, each daughter cell receives half the DNA,” says Lodish.

“In this case, when the red blood cell divides, one daughter cell gets all the DNA. What’s fascinating is that in this case, that daughter cell gets eaten by macrophages. Until now, scientists were unable to study these cells because they were unable to see them,” the researcher adds.

Source-ANI
SRM/L

Research Throws Light On New Receptor for HIV

A new human receptor called integrin alpha 4 beta 7 that helps the HIV virus in attacking the body’s immune system has been identified.


Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who headed the research team said, “It is a homing receptor for lymphocytes to get to the gut. It is the very molecule that steers lymphocytes to the gut and keeps them there."

The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, attacks immune system cells, or lymphocytes, known as CD4 T-cells. Earlier studies have shown that the HIV uses three main receptors, or molecular doorways, to infect cells: CD4 was identified as a HIV receptor in 1984, CCR5 and CXCR4 were identified in 1996.

A similar receptor called integrin alpha 4 beta 7 has been found by Dr. Fauci, James Arthos, Claudia Cicala, Elena Martinelli and their colleagues.

After the HIV virus enters the body, this receptor helps it to reach the gut or intestine. A protein on the virus’s envelope, or outer shell, sticks to a molecule in the receptor.

Much of the body's immune response takes place in the gut, in gut-associated lymphoid tissue, or GALT. Once the HIV is in the gut, the virus begins to replicate and attack the body’s immune system.

Scientists have been experimenting to identify receptors because they offer targets for the development of new classes of drugs. For example, last year the Food and Drug Administration approved for AIDS treatment a Pfizer drug, Selzentry or maraviroc, which works by blocking CCR5.

Dr. Fauci said that a number of experimental drugs that block the integrin alpha-4 beta-7 receptor are being tested for the treatment of autoimmune disorders. According to him such drugs should also be studied for making headway in AIDS treatment. For example, Tysabri (natalizumab) that is used to treat multiple sclerosis, could be explored for its potential in AIDS treatment, he said. Biogen/Elan makes Tysabri.


Dr. Warner C. Greene, an AIDS expert and the director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology who was not involved in the research, called the findings “an important advance in the field.”


“They begin to shed light on the mysterious process on why the virus preferentially grows in the gut,” he said in an interview.

Some of the ways in which HIV is known to infect the body are, through sexual intercourse, blood transfusions and blood contamination of needles and syringes, There is no known cure for AIDS. More than 33 million people are infected with HIV globally and 25 million have died of AIDS. There is no vaccine to prevent AIDS.


Source-Medindia
THK/L

Ten New Genes Linked to Prostate Cancer Identified

Gene sleuths on Sunday announced they had identified more than 10 new genetic links to prostate cancer, two of which would be included in a new diagnostic test aimed at spotting men at risk from this disease.


Prostate cancer is the commonest cancer afflicting men in developed countries and heredity is known to play a key but poorly understood role in it.

Working separately, scientists gathered in three international consortia crunched through genetic data garnered from blood samples provided by thousands of volunteers.

Men with prostate cancer had a strong tendency to have telltale variants in locations on chromosomes 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 19 and the X chromosome for gender, they reported in the latest issue of Nature Genetics.

One of the group of investigators worked in Iceland, trawling over a local DNA treasure trove.

Two of the genetic variants, on the X chromosome and chromosome 2, would be included in a new lab test for prostate cancer, they said.

The new diagnostic tool, called deCODE PrCa, would look for a total of eight such signatures, said deCODE genetics, a biopharmaceutical company that is looking through the Icelandic DNA data in the search for new medical products.

Researcher Gilles Thomas, who took part in a study by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), said that, individually, the genetic variants "play a low-key part" in prostate cancer, but became more dangerous when they accumulated.


"It's being able to spot several variants at one time that we can start helping people who are at high risk," he told AFP.


Men with close relatives who have had prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop the disease as counterparts with no recent family history of this ailment.

But, until now, only a few genes have been associated with the disease, and they account for only a small percentage of potential cases.

Source-AFP
SRM/L

British Pakistanis’ Denies Accepting the Dangers in Marrying Cousins

Pakistanis of British origin have refused to accept the fact that marriage among cousins could result in a child with birth defects.


Labour MP Ann Cryer has claimed that many marriages of Muslims in Bradford were between cousins and could have "tragic" impacts.

She called for community leaders to encourage debate which, she believed, would move more families away from marriages between cousins.

Cryer raised the issue two years ago after research showed that British Pakistanis were 13 times more likely to have children with disorders than the general population.

"The vast majority of marriages in the Muslim community in Bradford, 80 per cent, are transcontinental. The vast majority of those are to cousins. Many of those do result in either infant mortality or in recessive disorders," Cryer told the Radio 4 Today programme.

Asked if the problem was recognised in the British Pakistani community, she said: "They are in denial at the moment. But I am hoping that now we have broken the silence.

"Now leaders of the community will start to have a debate about it and perhaps even give advice and say: Look, you can carry on marrying your cousins but there is a price to pay," she added.

"The price to pay is often in either babies being born dead, babies being born very early and babies being born with very severe genetically-transmitted disorders. This is a blight on that community but particularly on specific families," Cryer said.
"I'm hoping leaders of the mosques will encourage parents preparing for a marriage to move away from cousin marriages," the Telegraph quoted her, as saying.


Source-ANI
KAV/L

ICANN working on localised domain names

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is presently working on a programme which includes developing several characters from the languages all over the world on a priority basis.

Announcing this at the 31st International Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in New Delhi, ICANN informed that India is already working on domain names in the local language at the secondary level.

This would mean that users can benefit from the domain names in fully localised languages or scripts which at present is not available since only the English ASCII code is recognised.

ICANN further informed that it is already testing 11 new languages for domain names.

The organisation will be organising an Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) in Indian Languages and Scripts workshop on Wednesday, which will cover various topics including an introduction to Indian languages and scripts.

It would also cover development of language tables, policy issues for Indic scripts, besides covering Indian languages in computer applications.

Apart from the status of Indian language deployment in operating systems, it will also cover status of Indian language deployments in computer applications.

Commenting on India’s work in this pioneering area, ICANN’s and IDNs Programme Director Tina Dam said that the work done in India and the lessons learnt will make an immeasurable contribution to the people of the world being able to get their names in their languages for their Internet.

Emphasising the importance of introduction of IDNs and DNS security measures, India’s Department of Information Technology Secretary Jainder Singh said the department is actively engaged with ICANN on all these issues.

After highlighting India’s emergence as an IT power, Singh said the government has made efforts to bring million more Indians online through 100,000 Common Service Centers (CSCs) in rural India.

The Secretary said that ICANN has played a key role in the development of the Internet by involving all the stakeholders in establishing various technical standards and delivering a safe, secure and trustworthy domain name system and IP address system.

He further stated that if ICANN approves domain names in local languages, the number of non-English Internet users in India will increase, and the country believes that Internet proliferation is difficult within the limited domain of English language content.

Project Madurai

http://bharani.dli.ernet.in/pmadurai/
http://www.projectmadurai.org.vt.edu/newpm2/

Medical Books in India - Listings, Review and Online Purchase: RxPG TargetPG All India 2008

Medical Books in India - Listings, Review and Online Purchase: RxPG TargetPG All India 2008