Sunday, February 27, 2011

Myths related to spring allergies busted


Not satisfied with the kind of information available pertaining to spring allergies and want something reliable? Well, here's what you need to read.he American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and its allergist members, who are experts at diagnosing and treating allergies and asthma, have offered the following myth-busting advice:yth: ver-the-counter (OTC, or nonprescription) oral antihistamines are just as effective as prescription medicines in controlling your stuffy nose.act: TC antihistamines can help control some allergy symptoms but they have little effect on relieving a stuffy nose or the inflammation that often occurs with allergies. They also can make you drowsy. If your OTC medicine is not helping your stuffy nose or is causing side effects, your best bet is to see an allergist.


"We can prescribe more effective anti-inflammatory medications. But more importantly than that, also we can find the source of your suffering rather than just treating the symptoms," said allergist Myron Zitt, of ACAAI.yth: TC decongestant nasal sprays are addictive.act: TC decongestant nasal sprays are not technically addictive. However, if you overuse them, it may seem as though they are because you may need to use more and more to get relief from the congestion. To combat this, don't use an OTC decongestant nasal spray more than three days in a row, and talk to your allergist about prescription nasal sprays containing steroids.yth:


Eating local honey will combat spring allergies.


Fact:


Local honey is made from the pollen of local flowers, so it might seem logical that eating it would increase your allergy tolerance. However, the pollens that cause spring allergies are produced by trees, grasses and weeds, not the showy flowers that bees buzz around. In fact, eating honey can be risky for some people, who could have an allergic reaction.


Myth:


Pollen allergy won't lead to food allergy.


Fact:


Actually, about one third of people with pollen allergies also may react to certain foods. The reaction - called oral allergy syndrome or pollen-food allergy - is usually mild, including an itchy, tingling mouth, throat or lips. It has to do with similar proteins in the pollens.


Myth:


Allergy shots require too much time and are more expensive than taking medicine to relieve symptoms.



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Senior Resident


Organization : Aruna Asaf Ali Govt. Hospital

Aruna Asaf Ali Govt. Hospital has three functional units. Its main hospital complex has about 100 beds and its Poor House Hospital has about 60 beds.

The hospital provides excellent medical service. Besides providing the usual medical service, the hospital also provides other services such as T.B. Clinic (Dot), Stree Shakti Abhiyan, Homeopathy Clinic, Family Welfare Programmes, No Scalpal Vasactomy, Casualty, Sunday Clinics, etc.

The hospital also conducts Medical Examinations for various departments including Delhi Police department. The hospital plans to open Ayurvedic dispensary/unit in future.

Job Profile:

Aruna Asaf Ali Govt. Hospital (AAAGH) invites application from eligible candidates for the post of Senior Residents in various disciplines.

No. of posts: 26 (Anaesthesia & ICU -5, Obst. & Gynae -3, Eye -1, Surgery -3, Forensic Medicine -1, Ortho -3, Medicine -2, ENT -2, Pathology -1, Radiology -2, Pediatrics -3)

Pay Scale – Rs. 15600 + Grade Pay of Rs. 6600 +  usual allowance

Eligibility:

Age criteria – The maximum age limit is 35 yrs (Relaxable as per rules).

Educational Qualification – The candidates must have done MBBS with P. G degree in concerned speciality from any recognized institution or University. They must have registered with Delhi Medical Council.

Selection Process:

The selection for the post is through interview.

Date of interview – 17.03.2011 (For Anaesthesia & ICU , Obst. & Gynae, Eye, Surgery, Forensic Medicine  and Ortho disciplines); and 18.03.2011 (For Medicine, ENT, Pathology, Radiology, and Pediatrics disciplines.

How to apply:

Interested eligible candidates must download the application form of prescribed format from the  website http://delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/f764830045cb697282fdcb6fc4100cf6/advertisement.doc?MOD=AJPERES. Completely filled application must be sent to the following address along with required enclosures:

The Medical Superintendent,

Aruna Asaf Ali Govt. Hospital,

5, Rajpur Road,

Delhi – 54

Application Fee:

Candidates of Delhi can pay fee of Rs. 200 (for candidates falling under General/OBC category) and Rs. 100 (for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Candidates) in the form of Cash Receipt from Accounts Branch, AAAGH, Delhi-54.  Other state candidates can pay fee in the form of DD valid for 6 month in favor of DDO, AAAGH.

Contact Details:

Aruna Asaf Ali Govt. Hospital,

5, Rajpur Road,

Delhi – 54

Last date to apply: 04.03.2011

For more complete and detailed information regarding the post visit the hospital’s website link http://delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/f764830045cb697282fdcb6fc4100cf6/advertisement.doc?MOD=AJPERES


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Anant Pai: The many sides of the ACK founder


Anant Pai: The many sides of the ACK founder


Anant Pai was a story-teller. In his childhood days in Karkala, coastal Karnataka, he came under the spell of enchanting Yakshagana performances which helped him imbibe a sense of drama in his story-telling. Pai owed his thorough knowledge of Indian mythology to the harikatha, a traditional form of story-telling accompanied by Kannada devotional songs, that was performed in the village temple he used to visit.


By the time he finished his schooling and graduation in Mumbai, Pai had read Buddha in Pali, Kalidas in Sanskrit, Tagore in Bengali, Kabir, Tulsi, and Rahim in Hindi, abhangas in Marathi, and was fast catching up with Urdu.


Soon after graduation, when he took up a marketing job with Indrajal Comics which was doing nothing more thanrepackaging and selling American comic book heroes — Phantom, TarzanMandrake. One day, Pai saw ‘light’ — he saw himself telling the stories of Krishna, Hanuman, Akbar and Rani of Jhansi in the comic book format. GL Mirchandani of India Book House asked him to go ahead with his ‘mad’ idea. Thus was born Amar Chitra Katha (ACK).


Pai started off with his own comics scripts and those by Pradeep Pau and Yagya Sharma. He collected a band of young illustrators — Pratap Mullick,Ram Waeerkar, PB Kavadi, Souren Roy, Yusuf Lien and Jeffrey Fowler. He was quite particular about architectural and costume details, and would hurry to Moti Chandra, the then curator of Prince of Wales Museum, to plead with him to tell his artists how to dress up the various mythological and historical characters and the kind of pillarsto be drawn in the palaces and other buildings.


He had a young assistant, Govind Kotwani, to help him. As the workload increased, and he started looking for writers, a young woman, Indian in appearance but quite westernised in her outlook, walked in. This was Kamala Chandrakant, a living legend in the ACK circle.


Having grown up in Breach Candy,and done her schooling in Villa Teresa and Sophia, Kamala knew her Shakespeare but had hardly heard of Vyasa until Pai asked her to write the story of ‘Devayani.’ When she caught holdof an English translation of the Mahabharata, a whole new world opened beforeher. As she dug into the epic looking for more stories, Kamala found everything she thought was missing in her ‘education’.


Thus were the lines drawn for the great editorial battles in ACK. While Pai wanted to keep things simple and just tell a story, Kamala wanted to capture the mood and milieu of the epics. Between these two turks were thrown the tribe of ACK script writers — Yagya Sharma, Gayatri Madan Dutt, Toni Patel, Rajendra Sanjay, Bharati Vyas, Debrani Mitra and Luis Fernandes — who groaned, grunted and growled.


The battle was joined by illustrators who now included younger artists, Vasant Halbe, Harischandra Chavan, MN Nangare, GR Naik, Dilip Kadam, Ashok Dongre, CM Vitankar and Pradeep Sathe. The artists would get irritated each time Pai asked them to ‘cover up’ the damsels they had drawn. They would protest, saying that’s how they are depicted in the sculptures of Belur and Konark.


The artist Dilp Kadam had his revenge when we produced ‘Bahubali’. In his artworks, Bahubali Swami stood tall and unclad, and this made Pai very uncomfortable. He looked for ways to cover up the great digambara swami without sacrificing authenticity. For once I had no solution. Then Pai’s face lit up. “Subbu, put a speech balloon there to cover that,” he said pointing to the spot. “Mr Pai,” I said, keeping a straight face, “For ages philosophers and grammarians have wondered what’s there behind the words and now you’ve solved the riddle.” The whole office exploded in laughter.


The ACK scripts would go through several rounds of editing before landing at his desk for his OK. He was all concentration when reading the final draft. He wouldn’t look up even if someone walked into his cabin. He would spot bloomers that had somehow eluded the scrutiny of everyone else and point them out to us with a meaningful glance.


One day he walked into the office all charged up. A child had told him that, of late, ACK was getting ‘unsimple.’ The Oracle had spoken. And the new order was out. We cannot sacrifice authenticity and character build-up, said Mr Pai, but we had to make sure the comics would not be ‘unsimple’. So, we got down to the business of scaling down our great works so that the little brat would find it simple enough for her to shut up!


Now you know why kids loved him. Pai loved story-telling. He loved kids still more. Espousing Indian culture, encapsulated in the slogan, the ‘route to your roots’ was dear to him, but so were the sentiments of his young readers. That’s why, for children across the country, he remained for ever their dear Uncle Pai.


Subba Rao worked as a senior editor with ACK and Tinkle for over 10 years


Article source: http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_anant-pai-the-many-sides-of-the-ack-founder_1513107


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Emily Blunt had to fight for ballerina role in 'The Adjustment Bureau'


Actress Emily Blunt has revealed that she had to fight to land her ballerina role in new thriller 'The Adjustment Bureau'.


Director George Nolfi wanted to cast a professional dancer, but the 'Devil Wears Prada' star was determined to change his mind after falling in love with the script, which is loosely based on author Philip K. Dick's short story, Adjustment Team.


"I read the script and then about six weeks later, I finally got a meeting with George. I would call my agency and they would say, 'No, no, they're only meeting dancers'," The Daily Express quoted Blunt as saying.


"He said he wanted a dancer and I said, 'I think you're wrong, I think you should have me!'" she said.


However, Blunt admits she struggled to stick to her strict diet and perfect her dance steps as she prepared for the shoot.


"I had about eight weeks before the movie started... so I was in the dance studio and in the gym. It's the most demanding thing, physically, I've done," she added.



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Salaries after M.Tech in Electrical Engineering


There are many sectors to which an M.Tech Electrical Engineer can look for jobs. In India there are numerous government as well as private companies which present a lucrative career for M.Tech Electrical Engineer. Some of the renowned recruiters are the RRB, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and ISRO in the public sector. Some of the private companies include ABB, Bajaj International Private Ltd, Siemens Ltd, Reliance, Wipro etc to name a few. Most of the time an average salary received by an M.Tech Electrical Engineer will add up to 3.00 to 3.5 lakh Indian rupees.

Salaries after M.Tech in Electrical Engineering in Government Organizations

The job prospect of M.Tech in Electrical Engineering is excellent in the government sector. Most of the entry level engineering jobs will only require a candidate to have a B.Tech degree. The initial salary in most of the government jobs for entry level Engineers would be in between Rs15, 000 the Rs 50,000 depending up on the sector and organization. In central government companies, candidates will get good salary comparing to state government undertakings.

Candidates will get grade promotion while in the job and an M.Tech will definitely help them to grab the promotion and thereby increase remuneration. Government sector also provide many perks in addition to the salary like gratuity, bonus etc. With the increase in grades one can earn more than Rs.50,000 per month as salary in various sectors. Some of the famous government companies include BHEL, NTPC, NHPC and many more.

Salaries after M.Tech in Electrical Engineering in Private Institutions

There are many private firms in India which offer lucrative career options for candidates with M.Tech Electrical Engineering. B.Tech candidates are mostly recruited to entry level posts in many companies. Candidates require good experience in the similar field as to increase their salary potential. M.Tech graduates can look for jobs in various sectors like Power plants, Electrical firms, manufacturing units, Electrical Equipment Units, Consultancy firms, IT companies etc. M.Tech Degree holders get as high as Rs.60, 000 p.m. to Rs.70, 000 per month in reputed industries. If they are looking for a career in teaching then also candidates can easily bag a salary of Rs.30, 000 to Rs.35, 000 every month in teaching even in the beginning stage.

With M.Tech in Electrical Engineering candidates can draw a salary ranging from Rs 2 1/2 lakhs a year to more than Rs 10 lakhs in India. The remuneration will always depend on the type of the firm, job profile, candidates experience, aptitude and skill and many other factors.

Remuneration after M.Tech in Electrical Engineering Abroad

An M.Tech Graduate from a reputed institution like NIT, IIT etc have huge demand in many companies abroad, the pay packages in most of the companies in developed foreign countries are much higher when compared to India. This is one of the main reasons for which most of the brilliant brains in the country are working in foreign countries. In countries like USA, UK, Australia etc many MNC’s offer exceptionally good salary to M.Tech holders.


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Tourists in Kashmir complain of poor infrastructure facilities


Tourists in Jammu and Kashmir have complained about poor infrastructure facilities at Tata Pani, a hot water spring.


Many women tourists have said there are no proper arrangements of toilets.


Saira Sheikh, a tourist, said: “People come here in large numbers and there should be proper infrastructure facilities such as ladies” and gents” toilets, rooms, etc. Transportation is also a major problem”


Tata Pani is visited by people from all over the country.


Assistant Director of tourism in the region, Aasma Sher, said that due to the high tourist inflow, the existing dormitory is unable to accommodate everyone.


“The tourist inflow has increased, particularly in Rajouri district. Due to which existing dormitory is unable to accommodate them. We are planning to renovate existing dormitory ” said Sher.


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India unveils Operation Safe Homecoming, thousands on way


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New Delhi: Unveiling Operation Safe Homecoming, India on Sunday announced additional arrangements for bringing back thousands of Indians from violence-torn Libya even as 530 have already been flown in from the north African country.


Over 530 Indians were brought to the capital on two Air India flights after they were caught in the turmoil in Libya, where massive anti-government protests have broken out against Muammar Gaddafi.


The first flight, a Boeing 747, carrying 291 Indians, arrived here around Saturday midnight. The second batch of 237 evacuated passengers, who were picked from Libyan capital Tripoli, arrived in an Airbus A330 at 4.10 a.m. Sunday. Libya is home to around 18,000 Indian nationals.


As Indians poured into the airport from flights from Libya, they were greeted by help desks set up by 10 state governments at Terminal 2 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport to assist with food, accommodation, medical check up, transport and further travel arrangements of passengers to their final destinations. All these facilities are being made available free of charge.


Two more Air India flights are to leave for Tripoli on Sunday to evacuate 500 more Indians from Libya where the revolt against Gaddafi has turned violent. Gaddafi has hit back, with government forces reportedly killing over 1,000 people.


Besides the over 500 Indians flown to Delhi from Libya, a Gulf Air flight carrying 67 Indian who entered Egypt by land will touch down in Mumbai on Monday morning. The 67, including 11 children and two infants, crossed over from Tabrouk in Libya to Salloum in Egypt on Saturday afternoon.


On Saturday evening, 88 people had crossed over by road from Libya to Ras Jedir in the neighbouring Tunisia. They were received by officials of Indian embassy, Tunis, who have set up a camp there.


Another 170 people are likely to reach Ras Jedir on Sunday, the ministry said.


The Indian government has also chartered a second passenger ship, La Superba, with a capacity of 1,600. It is berthed in Sicily (Italy) and ready to sail to Libya as soon as port preparations are completed, the ministry said.


The 1,200-seater MV Scotia Prince set sail from Port Said (Egypt) at 10 p.m. on Saturday and is reaching Benghazi on Monday.


Meanwhile, three Indian Navy ships have also sailed to Libya to help in the evacuation of most of 18,000 Indians in the country.


The last time an evacuation of Indians on this scale was attempted was after Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded Kuwait in August 1990.


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Karnataka budget focus on PPP, capacity building & health insurance could help partially achieve affordable healthcare: PwC


Karnataka will be able to partially achieve its priority of providing affordable and quality care going by the increased allocation given to healthcare. This could be accomplished through promotion of public private partnerships, capacity building in trained medical manpower and  health insurance penetration,  according observations made by PricewaterhouseCoopers India.

By escalating the allocation to health and medical education sector from Rs.  2,673 crore in 2010-11 to Rs. 3,254 crore in 2011-12, there has been an increase of Rs. 581 crore or 22 per cent .  However, as a percentage of allocation for plan and non-plan expenditure to various sectors, the allocation to healthcare has reduced from 5.7 per cent last year to 5 per cent this year, stated Pradip Kanakia- Leader Healthcare Practice, PwC India.

There has been an effort  to promote medical R&D through an allocation of Rs. 50 crore to various medical  institutes and for Ayush at  Rs. 15 crore which will help improve the state’s  health index, he added.

Three specific priorities that every state should address to promote inclusive growth in healthcare are public private partnerships, capacity building in trained medical manpower and  health insurance penetration.

Karnataka   has several enablers like  trained medical manpower and existence of hospital infrastructure to take healthcare to the next level. It  needs to promote public private partnerships to enable access to secondary and tertiary care.  The  bed occupancy rate is at  35 per cent, a large number of people who require hospital treatment have not accessed because of high treatment costs. ,  “Measured against these priorities, Karnataka budget has done little to address the health of its citizens at large,” he pointed out.

The government needed to ensure that the rural and poor benefit  from the Centre’s allocation to National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY).  It  should have announced undertaking  an annual health survey to prepare the district health profile of the rural populace to provide a  scientific allocation of health outlay amongst various districts, he said.

This problem needs to be addressed by augmenting health insurance penetration and higher utilization of the existing facilities by incentivizing the private sector to partner with the government in providing affordable treatment.  While the government has done a good job by contributing Rs.   30-40 crore annually  in the budget to the Yashaswini Health Insurance Scheme and help poor farmers, it has not systematically addressed the health insurance needs of many poor unorganized households in both rural and urban areas.

The government announced a new scheme called ‘Vajpayee Arogya Shri’ last year to cover the below poverty line families for about 400 serious ailments in the Gulbarga.  However, the 2011-12 budget is silent about the  scheme, and  whether any contributions have been made in the current year.  The state also needs to form an empowered and accountable nodal agency to kick start pilot scalable PPP projects in healthcare, he said.


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Cultural events planned in Gujarat’s CBSE schools


Introducing the country’s classic music and culture to school students of the state, Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY) will launch a series of cultural events in the state’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools in the state from April.

Speaking about the series, founder of SPIC MACAY Kiran Seth who was in the city on Thursday said, “Through the Right to Education Act we are pitching for the introduction of heritage to school curriculums. We have convinced the Kendriya Vidyala Sangathan for a programme with a big series of events specially designed for CBSE schools.”

Seth said that the intention of the programme is to introduce classical music and culture to the youth at an even younger age and will also cover all the CBSE schools in the state. Apart from getting various eminent artists, the initiative will also have orientation programmes, yoga and meditation, workshops and so on.

When asked if the initiative would also be spreading to the state government schools, Seth said that they have made several proposals to the concerned authorities however there had not been any response. tnn

Seth said, “Other states like Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan and others have returned very good response. However the Government of Gujarat has not yet extended us such a support.”

While SPIC MACAY conducts around 2,000 events in over 150 cities in India and 50 cities abroad every year, Seth said very few have been in Gujarat. He said, “While we conducted 280 events in Rajasthan and 368 in Delhi last year, only around 31 events were conducted in Gujarat.”


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P S G Institute of Medical Sciences, Coimbatore


PSG Institute was established in the year 1985 as part of the existing Maternal and child care center of PSG Charities, at Coimbatore. This college was granted recognition by the Medical Council of India, Srilankan Medical Council and the General Medical Council of United Kingdom.

PSG group of institutions imparts professional learning in various disciplines of study, right from Arts and Science colleges to Engineering colleges, and right from Medical College to Management College. The group has overall 1000 faculties and around 16,000 students and it is constantly creating records holding University ranks thus producing outstanding students for the society.

Courses offered:

Under Graduate course:

M.B.B.S.

Post Graduate Course:

Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree is offered in this college for the following specializations:-

General Medicine

Obstetrics & Gynecology

Microbiology

Physiology

Pathology

DVL

Pediatrics

Pharmacology

Psychiatry

Bio-chemistry

Community Medicine

Nephrology

Neurology

Gastro-enterology

Cardiology

Master of Science (MS) is offered for:

General Surgery

Orthopedics

Ophthalmology

Diploma course is offered in the following disciplines of study:-

Diploma in Obstetrics & Gynecology

Diploma in Child Health

Diploma in Orthopedics

Diploma in Psychiatric Medicine

Diploma in Dermatology, Venerology, & Leprosy

Diploma in Ophthalmology

Diploma in TB and chest diseases

Diploma in Oto-Rhino Laryngology

Diploma in Anesthesiology

All the courses are affiliated to Dr. MGR Medical University.

Admission:

The process of admission is done through the counseling of Dr. MGR Medical University.

Services:

Hostel service is available for the students belonging to other states and abroad. The hostel is capable of giving 320 male students and 320 female students single room facility. In addition to this, 370 rooms are available for interns and PG students.  Complete facilities are offered at the hostel apartment for all the students.

Library:

It holds collection of over 15,000 volumes of books and 4500 back volumes of books. It also extends MEDLAR SERVICE, and international pharmaceutical abstract service for the benefit of the students. The timings of the library is extended up to midnight for motivating the students to learn more and it also extends Xerox service at reasonable cost.

Over the past years, this college has produced outstanding physicians and surgeons for our country.

Contact:

PSG Institute of Medical Sciences

Off Avanashi Road

Peelamedu, Coimbatore – 641 004

Phone: 0422 – 2570170, 2598822

Email: psgmedschool@gmail.com

Website: www.psgimsr.in


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India wants co-operation with Zimbabwe


Home » Education News India has expressed interest in cooperation with Zimbabwe in sectors like mining, power generation and agriculture.Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma conveyed India”s interest for cooperation when Finance Minister of Zimbabwe Tendai Biti called upon him.Besides, the two leaders also talked about the possibilities of cooperation in the field of science and technology cooperation.India has also interest in education and capacity building programmes in Africa and in Zimbabwe in particular, through the ”India-Zimbabwe SME Project”.Sharma informed the visiting minister that in the final phase of the project, experts from India would be visiting the African nation to train Zimbabweans in operation and maintenance of the machines and technologies gifted to them.He also expressed that Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between the two countries, which has not been held since 1996, would be possible met this year.India”s exports to Zimbabwe during 2009-10 were USD 49 million and imports were valued at USD 21 million. »

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Libya unrest: Two Air India flights leave to evacuate Indians


India has begun the process of evacuating its nationals from strife-torn Libya by sending two aircraft with total capacity of 640 passengers to Tripoli besides dispatching four ships.


The specially chartered Air India Boeing 747, with a capacity of 360 passengers, and an Airbus 330 with a capacity of 280, are en route to Tripoli and will land shortly, the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said in a statement here.


They will land at Terminal 2 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.


Besides, two naval ships – INS Jalashwa and INS Mysore – set sail from Mumbai this morning for Libya. The sailing time is about twelve days to Libya.


Another passenger ship with a capacity of 1600, presently in the Mediterranean, is being chartered today and will be pressed into service for assisting the departure of our nationals out of Libya.


The Scotia Prince is scheduled to depart for Benghazi (Libya) from Port Said (Egypt) today at 8.p.m and is likely to arrive at its destination by Monday afternoon. The ship has a capacity of 1200 passengers.


The MEA said it has positioned additional personnel at the Indian Embassy in Tripoli to help in the process.


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Shahid Kapur’s birthday bash


Shahid Kapur’s birthday bash


Shahid Kapur celebrated his 30th birthday amid friends from the film industry who turned up to wish the actor. Rani Mukerji, Tabu and Genelia D’Souza came  in formal black, while Sonam Kapoor, escorted by dad Anil Kapoor, was in a pretty white creation.


Ranveer Singh, sporting  a cap, came with Anushka Sharma while Sonali Bendre with Goldie Behl and Raveena Tandon with Anil Thadani were other couples who arrived to party. Vishal and Rekha Bhardwaj were seen in conversation with the birthday boy who greeted all his guests personally. Also seen were Riteish Deshmukh, Sridevi with Boney Kapoor, Sajid and Wardha Nadiadwala, Archana Puran Singh with Parmeet Sethi, Ronnie Screwvala with Zarina Mehta and Sunil with Krishika Lulla.


‘Hair’ me out: Tabu


Article source: http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/slideshow_shahid-kapur-s-birthday-bash_1513035


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‘Aarakshan’ will not create new tensions: Jha


Filmmaker Prakash Jha, who is shooting his latest film “Aarakshan” in Bhopal, feels the subject matter of the film is relevant as there is always an “under current about aarakshan (reservation) in Indian society”.

The star cast of “Aarakshan”, including Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Tanvi Aazmi had an interaction with the media at Rizwan Bagh, one of the sets of the movie.


“We try to understand the pain created in every society about ‘aarakshan’ and try to minimize it. It is also on the commercialization of education,” said Jha about the movie Friday evening.


Jha also added that the film is neither against or in favour of reservation, “it is not going to add fuel to the issue”. The director said it is just a co-incidence that of the two main actors in the movie, Amitabh is the ‘jamai’ (son-in-law) and Saif the son of Bhopal.


The actors and the director said they enjoyed working in Bhopal, a city of lakes.


“This is the first time I am shooting in Bhopal. But as you people know I am ‘jamai’ of this city, I have a strong connection here. The ambience and the people are so good that even in breaks I do not prefer to go back to Mumbai,” said Amitabh, who is playing the role of a professor.


Speaking about his role, Amitabh said: “The professor supports students of the weaker section of society in the movie.”


On working with Jha as director, the legendary actor said: “It is really nice working with him. He handles everything so well it help us in getting into the character easily.”


“It is a unique movie and I am enjoying the character,” replied Saif Ali Khan.


Saif, who has a Bhopal connection — his grandmother was the Begum of Bhopal, said: “It has been 15 years since I came here, but I have grown up in this city only.” Saif was not interested in taking personal questions from reporters, and got visibly irritated when he was asked again and again about what kind of gossips he does not like. “Does my face look like only for gossip questions,” he snapped.


Deepika, who plays the role of daughter of Amitabh, said she enjoyed working in the city. “I like most the sunrise and sunset. I would like to work more here. It is really a beautiful experience working in this city.”


However, all the stars of “Aarakshan” including Amitabh, Saif and Deepika Padukone besides Director Prakash Jha ducked queries on what they feel personally on ‘aarakshan’ or reservations, a sensitive issue.
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Article source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Aarakshan-will-not-create-new-tensions-Jha/articleshow/7585473.cms


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‘Tanu Weds Manu’ boosts box-office collections


‘Tanu Weds Manu’ boosts box-office collections


As per the latest details unveiled by Box-Office India, ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ saw a 20-25 percent increment in its collection. The film accumulated 4.10 crore nett on Saturday, while the Friday collection was 3.50 crore nett.


Hence, this romantic-comedy genre is expected to glean Rs 11-11.50 crore nett as its weekend collection.


Anand L. Rai’s depiction of Punjabi culture in the film has probably mesmerized the audience.


‘Tanu Weds Manu’ stars Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Shergill and R. Madhavan in the lead roles, apart from Ravi Kissen, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajendra Gupta, K K Raina, Eijaz Khan and Swara Bhaskar.


Article source: http://www.totalfilmy.com/news/20110227/039tanu_weds_manu039_boosts_boxoffice_collections-32388.html


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Hindus want Martin Sheen to take up cause of apartheid of European Roma


Golden Globe winner Hollywood star Martin Sheen (The West Wing) reportedly says that all of Europe and the Spanish government is far beyond the curve in dealing with gypsy communities through education and housing and inclusion in the community.


Actor-director-producer Sheen, 70, is “proud” of a long scene in his new film “The Way” involving Roma community in Burgos (Spain). “The Way” is releasing in United Kingdom on April 15 and tells the story of an American father who travels to France to recover the body of his estranged son. Directed by Emilio Estevez and shot in Spain, France, and USA; it stars Sheen, Estevez and James Nesbitt.


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Chocolaty Boy Ranbir plans hilly holiday for parents


Associated as Madhu Mottu Maid and Rapchik Rajni for his omission and commission errors, there is no way I was going to let this newbie release. Anyway, let’s get your dose of fresh Goss, heat from the glamor Gaon …

Chocolaty Boy Ranbir plans hilly holiday for parents

Ok, so we know that some of our stars live a life too busy to give time to their families. In recent months, Ranbir Kapoor worked so much that he did not have enough time to relax together with their parents, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor. As he was packing to head to Kashmir for the outdoor schedule of Imtiaz Ali directed Rockstar, they eagerly told me about all the places he should check out. It is important place for the parents took the young star.
Sher Lock Holmes points out to me that Rishi and Neetu have shot many films Kabhi Kabhi in Kashmir. So the goal is very close to his heart. It is when Ranbir apparently decided to visit these places with their parents.

Bas Aur Kya? The actor not only planned his vacation while the last days of his work schedule, but also surprised them when he informed them about their orders.

Needless to say Rishi and Neetu were satisfied with his Sonny Boy’s plans and will soon join him in Kashmir.


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Ranbir Kapoor’s high kick!


Ranbir Kapoor’s high kick!



Now here’s a real good reason for actor Ranbir Kapoor to be kicked about. Apparently, the star has been approached by an international sports association to lend his name to one of their teams for the forthcoming season of the game.


This makes the actor, an avid football fan, the first Bollywood actor to have been approached by FIFA, which is the international governing body of football.


Apparently, as of now, the officials too haven’t specified what Ranbir’s exact role will be, as they are awaiting for Ranbir’s confirmation before they divulge any details about the deal for now, informs an insider. And though the actor was unavailable for confirmation, another source revealed that the young actor is indeed currently in talks with the international body.


“Nothing has been finalised yet,” says the source, but adds that Ranbir is obviously very honoured and elated at having been approached to be associated with the sport.


“Ranbir’s very excited about the offer, as it’s football, a sport that he really loves. But he has not finalised anything yet, as he doesn’t want to rush into any commitment without considering his own shoot schedules as well as figuring out in which capacity he will be required to be associated with the game.”


According to the source, Ranbir is keen to be more actively involved in the game, rather than just lend his name, so he is still contemplating the offer. But it won’t be easy juggling dates as Ranbir has an extremely tight schedule and he’s been shooting back-to-back, first for Rockstar and then he begins work on Anurag Basu’s Silence soon after.


Apparently, the actor who was zeroed in for his youth connect and international appeal, is keen to be a part of the sports since his fascination for the sport goes back to his school days.


“In fact, one of his childhood dream was to be a football coach and he himself is afabulous football player.” As for the star’s own favourites, the source says that he’s a die-hard Barcelona supporter, while his favourite football player is Lionel Messi.


Article source: http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_ranbir-kapoors-high-kick_1513262


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Canada eyeing to tackle Zimbabwean spinners in World Cup clash


Canada skipper Ashish Bagai has said his batsmen must stop Zimbabwean spinners from repeating their impressive performance to boost the team's chances of posting a win in their World Cup clash tomorrow.


Zimbabwe's spinners had impressed in their first game when defending champion Australia made 6-262, but eventually suffered a 91-run defeat.


"I think it's going to be a game of spinners. They have got a couple of good spinners bowling early overs and if we can get through those overs and score at a consistent rate we can do well," the Age quoted Bagai, as saying.


"It's the same with our bowling. If we can get our spinners to fire on that day, hopefully it will work for us. We have a diverse bowling attack and we bowl within ourselves. There is no express pace," he added.


The Group A clash will be held in Nagpur.



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Section Officer Exam 2011


Section Officer Exam is a competitive exam conducted by the government of India and is a commercial audit for recruitment which would be held on mid June, 2011. Staff selection commission examination conducts the competitive exam for the recruitment for the post of section officer (commercial audit) for the post of non gazetted Group ‘B’ in the office of Controller and Auditor General. Various job opportunities are offered by the examination by posting in various reputed places in India. As it provides well set carrier, the competition is going to be harder as no. of candidates is gong to increase every day. The candidates are required to study hard to get highest available post in this field. One has to go through the suggestion books to know about the pattern of the question paper and to complete it successfully.

To maintain their infrastructure, the section officer exam is offering job opportunities to the aspiring candidates every year. The questions are generally related to the current topics and the conceptual type questions. The government of India provides a handsome package for the following post. The candidates are required to follow some rules in the examination. The candidates applying for this exam will work with all the effort and practices all type of model questions to crack the exam and to settle their carrier.

Qualification of examination will lead you to:

• Recruitment for the post of Section Officer (Commercial Audit), Group B Non Gazette Officer.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Candidate must have completed graduation from the recognized University/ Institutes in any of these fields to be eligible for this Post:

1. Commerce OR

2. Chartered Accountant

3. Institute of Costs and Works Accountancy (ICWA)

4. Company Secretaryship

• Candidate must lie in age group of 18-27 years (age relaxation for SC/ST/OBC) as on mid of 2nd week of April, 2010.

Important dates:

Candidates are required to submit their complete application for up to the second week of April, 2011.

The competitive examinations will be conducted in the mid of June, 2011.

Candidates can get application form from the mid week of March, 2011.

Contact details:

www.ssc.nic.in


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World Vision wants fair share for children in 2011-12 budget


A postcard campaign has been launched to press the Union Government to give strong consideration to children in the 2011-12 annual budget.

The campaign, launched by Christian relief and development organisation World Vision, is urging Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to allocate over 4% of the annual budget to improve the lives of children living in vulnerable conditions.

“We hope that at least this year children who constitute about 40% of the total population will be allocated more than 4% of the budget,” World Vision said in a note.

Over 33,000 children have written to the financemMinister asking for a fair share in the annual budget which will be released on Monday, February 28.

World Vision is encouraging people to join the campaign by sending an email to the finance minister at pkm@sansad.nic.in, so “children living in poverty could have adequate food, access to education and quality health care”.

India is home to the world’s largest child population. Less than half of India’s children go to school and more than 50% are malnourished.

Child Rights and You (CRY), a non-profit organization that aims to restore children’s rights in India is asking for 10 percent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to be invested in children’s education and health.

“The child protection budget for a country of more than 440 million children is a mere 0.34 percent of the total union budget 2010-11, which is perhaps why India has become a child trafficking hotspot,” CRY CEO Puja Marwaha said.

Marwaha cautioned that ignoring childhood poverty and education will affect the nation’s economic standing.

According to UNICEF, at least 17 million children in India are child labourers and about 19% are employed as domestic help. In addition to that, it is estimated that over 30,000 children are in the sex trade.


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Vettori, Wright defend New Zealand team selection after defeat to Australia


New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori and coach John Wright have defended the decision to leave Kyle Mills and Jacob Oram on the sidelines during Friday's defeat to Australia in their World Cup Group A match.


Mills and Oram were overlooked, as the Black Caps team management opted for Jamie How and Hamish Bennett.


"We wanted to strengthen our batting because we knew Australia would come at us with pace on a number of fronts," Stuff.co.nz quoted Vettori, as saying about How's inclusion.


"Particularly around that secondary ball, we thought it would be nice to have a guy who can play pace well and Jamie is a very good player of pace to counter that. But it didn't work, did it?"


Meanwhile, Wright said that both Mills and Oram were sidelined due to form rather than injury.


"Bennett and [Tim] Southee did well in our first game. Kyle's back to full fitness. He's trained well the last two days, but we felt that the two pace bowlers and two spinners against Australia was the right option so he'll get his opportunity in the next game," Wright said.


New Zealand will now face Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad on March 4.



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San Francisco based NRI surgeon is the new man in Amrita’s life


Posted on February 27, 2011
Filed Under Media & Entertainment |

San Francisco based NRI surgeon is the new man in Amrita’s life

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai: Amrita Rao, who was once rumoured to be dating Shahid Kapoor is apparently in a relationship with Neil Kulkarni, a NRI orthopedic surgeon based in of San Francisco. While talking to a daily, a source close to the actress revealed, “Amrita was once in news for being artist MF Hussain’s muse. Later, Bollywood was always abuzz with rumours about Amrita dating different men but most of the rumours fell flat after a point of time.

But this time she seems to have finally found love. Amrita has been dating a certain Neil Kulkarni, an NRI orthopedic surgeon based out of San Francisco.”

She met her alleged beau at a charity event in San Francisco last August while she was shooting for Rajshri Production’s ‘Love You Mr. Kalakar’ there.

Amrita’s aunt introduced her to Kulkarni, who works with one of the reputed hospitals in the city. And the surgeon instantly fell for the pretty actress.

The source added, “Amrita has tried hard to keep her personal life under wraps. Though it is a long-distance relationship, both Amrita and Neil are trying their level best to keep the romance alive. Neil made a trip to Mumbai to bring in the New Year with Amrita. But she did not allow the information to go out.”

However, the actress is tightlipped about her personal life. Amrita’s manager spoke on behalf of her and revealed, “Career is all that’s on Amrita’s mind and she has no time for love.”

Article source: http://spicezee.zeenews.com/articles/story82693.htm


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CIA director calls ISI chief in backdrop of tie-threatening Davis issue standoff


US’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Leon Panetta telephoned Pakistan’s premier spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha in the backdrop of an apparent standoff between the two agencies.


The two intelligence chiefs reportedly discussed the Raymond Davis issue and the status of cooperation between the CIA and the ISI, the Dawn reports.


The telephonic conversation took place at a time when the relationship between both spy agencies has hit rock bottom following the crisis surrounding alleged CIA contractor Davis, who was arrested for shooting dead two Pakistani men last month in Lahore.


According to reports, the ISI had stopped talking with the CIA at any level, including the most senior, as it was upset with the CIA over sending Americans to Pakistan ‘behind its back’.


However, a senior Pakistani official was quoted as saying that the likelihood of some resolution between the two agencies had increased after a recent meeting between US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani.


A host of top American military officials, including Mullen and ISAF commander General David Petraeus, held a secret day-long meeting with Pakistan”s top military officers, including Kayani, in Oman on Tuesday to plot a course out of the diplomatic crisis that threatens the US-Pakistan relationship.


The meeting covered various aspects of the US-Pak relationship, but a large portion was dedicated to the diplomatic crisis surrounding Davis.


“The US had to point out that once beyond a tipping point the situation would be taken over by political forces that could not be controlled,” Foreign Policy quoted former Pakistan army chief General Jehangir Karamat, as writing about the meeting, referring to the reported split between the CIA and the ISI that erupted following the Davis shooting incident.


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Pope’s Lent message has similarities with ancient Hindu text Bhagavad-Gita


Lent 2011 message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI posted on Vatican website has some similarities with the teachings of ancient Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita, according to distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed.


Pope says in the Lent message, which starts on March nine this year: “In our journey, we are often faced with the temptation of accumulating and love of money that undermine God’s primacy in our lives. The greed of possession leads to violence, exploitation and death. The idolatry of goods, on the other hand, not only causes us to drift away from others, but divests man, making him unhappy, deceiving him, deluding him without fulfilling its promises, since it puts materialistic goods in the place of God, the only source of life.”


Bhagavad-Gita points out: there are three gates to self-destructive hell—greed, anger, and desire. Abandon these three. A person freed from these three gates of darkness, seeks what is best and attains life’s highest goal.


The essence of Bhagavad-Gita was also renunciation and it promised “freedom through renunciation”, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued in a statement in Nevada (USA) today.


Pope further says in Lent message: How can we understand God’s paternal goodness, if our heart is full of egoism and our own projects, deceiving us that our future is guaranteed?


Bhagavad-Gita states:…by dedication to selfless work one accomplishes the supreme goal of life…let the Atman (Self, the innermost soul) rule the ego.


Rajan Zed indicated that as per ancient Hindu thought, selfless work sanctified consciousness. As ego-entanglement contaminated most human action, it could not sanctify consciousness. On the other hand, selfless work simply had no streak of ego-entanglement.


In the Good Friday Meditations and Prayers led by Pope at Roman Colosseum in 2009, verse from ancient Hindu scripture Brahadaranyakopanishad was included.


Commending Pope for inclusion of themes from ancient Hindu texts, Zed said that it was a remarkable gesture from Pope and invited him to study more ancient Hindu scriptures, which were very rich in philosophical thought. He or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide the help and resources in this regard, if asked, Zed added.


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Kashmiri youth benefit from government employment scheme


The Indian Government”s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme has helped Kashmiri youth in earning a livelihood.


Youth in Pulwama believe the MNREGA is helping them with farming activities.


“Yes, it is benefiting us a lot. On the one hand, this scheme of the government is benefiting the public, and on the other hand, it is helping to remove unemployment. We request the government to introduce more schemes that help the unemployed youth to find livelihoods,” said Farooq Ahmad, a beneficiary of the MNREGA.


According to Nisar Ahmad, a block development officer in Pulwama, the response to the plan has been good.


“In our Pulwama block, till date we have registered 6,374 job calls so far. One job call is issued to one family when they demand it. At that, we can consider three volunteers from one family for working in the MNREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) job.”


“ Initially in MNREGA, the government used to pay Rupees. 70, and then the wages were increased as the Minimum Wage Act was revised. Then payments were increased to Rupees 110,” he said.


He also said the scheme has helped in bringing down the unemployment rate in the province.


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England bowlers have an inviting target in injured Sehwag


England’s strike bowlers are likely to aim at Indian opener Virender Sehwag’s ribs, after the latter hurt himself in the area during nets on Friday.


When the two sides meet at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, the English bowlers will be presented with an inviting target right at the start of the Indian innings.


Though not a serious blow, it probably provides England with enough evidence to settle on the best way to counter the smoking bat of Sehwag.


The bruise on Sehwag’s chest will act as a mental target for Stuart Broad and James Anderson if they find a pitch with a dash of pace to help them prevent the Indian innings getting off to a flying start.


Sehwag plays one way and England know what to expect. A repeat of the limp bowling and fielding performance against Holland will cost them the match.


In Nagpur, England were timid and a long way from the confident and sassy bunch who bossed the Ashes series.


England never raise themselves for matches against the smaller nations and it is one of the few attitudes that coach Andy Flower has been unable to eradicate.


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Direct taxes are major resource for undertaking development work: Pranab Mukherjee


Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that direct taxes are now the major resource provider to the Central Government for undertaking developmental work.


Mukherjee said that direct taxes collections have grown at an average annual rate of 24 percent in the last five years and has nearly trebled from Rs.1,32,771 crore in financial year 2004-05 to about Rs.3,78,000 crore in financial year 2009-10.


He said that direct taxes’ share in GDP has also increased from 4.1 percent to 6.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).


Mukherjee also said that direct taxes collections have registered a growth of 20 percent during the current year so far and have reached nearly Rs.3,35,000 crores.


He said that this sustained growth has been possible due to rationalization of tax structure, improvement in tax administration and persistent efforts of the employees of income tax department.


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Will personally review Karmapa case: PM


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured a Buddhist delegation that he will personally look into the case of recovery of foreign currency to the tune of Rs 7.5 crore from Gyuto Monastery, the transit home of Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje, in Himachal Pradesh.


“The PM assured a Buddhist delegation, which met him yesterday to discuss the issue, that he would personally look into the matter and review the entire case as soon as the Budget session is over,” a press release issued by the Joint Action Committee of Buddhist Organisations of Sikkim said.


The Himachal government on February 16 had said the money recovered from the monastery had come in the form of donations and offerings by devotees.


Article source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/will-personally-review-gyuto-monastery-case-pm/755493/


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Scientists discover a new way insulin-producing cells die


Scientists in Italy and Texas have discovered a previously unknown cause of the death of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, a core defect in diabetes.

February 27, 2011 - Washington

Scientists in Italy and Texas have discovered a previously unknown cause of the death of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, a core defect in Diabetes.

They discovered that the cells can die because of a toxic imbalance of a molecule secreted by other pancreatic cells

"Our study shows that neighboring cells called alpha cells can behave like adversaries for beta cells. This was an unexpected finding," said Franco Folli,

professor of medicine/Diabetes at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

He is co-lead author on the study with Carla Perego, assistant professor of physiology at the University of Milan.

Alpha and beta cells are grouped in areas of the pancreas called the islets of Langerhans. Alpha cells make glucagon, the hormone that raises blood sugar during fasting. In the same environment the beta cells make insulin, the hormone that lowers sugars after a meal. Imbalance ultimately leads to Diabetes.

"We found that glutamate, a major signaling molecule in the brain and pancreas, is secreted together with glucagon by alpha cells and affects beta cell integrity," Dr. Folli said. "In a situation where there is an imbalance toward more alpha cells and fewer beta cells, as in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, this could result in further beta cell destruction."

Glutamate toxicity is a new mechanism of beta cell destruction not previously known, Drs. Perego and Folli said. It has not been typically thought that alpha cells could themselves be a cause of beta cell damage, they said.

The study also found a protection for beta cells, namely, a Protein called GLT1 that controls glutamate levels outside the beta cells. "GLT1 is like a thermostat controlling the microenvironment of beta cells with respect to glutamate concentration," Dr. Perego said.

A diagnostic test for glutamate toxicity in the islets of Langerhans is being developed by the authors, Dr. Folli said. Eventually an intervention to slow the process could follow.

Glutamate poisoning is a new candidate mechanism for beta cell destruction in Diabetes. Others are high glucose, buildup of a Protein called amyloid, and free fatty acids, which are found in patients with type 2 diabetes.

"The vicious cycle in Diabetes is that there are several substances that have been shown, also by us, to be toxic to beta cells," Dr. Folli said. "And now we have found a new one, glutamate."

ANI


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Sharon Stone puts Douglas' triumph against cancer down to good karma


Sharon Stone thinks that Michael Douglas won his battle against cancer because of his good karma.


The actress insists that her 'Basic Instinct' co-star has 'always done the right thing'.


"I don't think I've spoken directly to him (Douglas) lately, but I know through many of our friends and through the messages that we've shared that he's well," the Daily Star quoted her as telling CNN host Piers Morgan.


"I think it's really who you are inside, and Michael was a champion and he's always been a champion - he's always been truly dedicated. He's always had his mind in all of the right places.


"He's never had his belief system run or controlled by other people and he's always done the right things in the world. He's done the right things in his career, he's made the right choices for himself.


"I think part of it genuinely is karma, but I think it's the karma created by him understanding what a right action is and making the right choices and moving forward in manifesting the right thing," she added.



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Two spinners strong option for World Cup clash against India: Strauss


England skipper Andrew Strauss on Saturday said that two spinners would be a ‘very strong option’ for his team for Sunday’s World Cup Group B match against India in Bangalore.


Strauss said that they would also need to look at the weather and pitch before going ahead with two spinners.


“It’s definitely an option. Obviously, if it’s going turn like it did in Australia warm-up game, then two spinners are going to be a very strong option for us. But I think it is important not to be too assuming that you’re going to do something,” Strauss said.


“You’ve got to look at the conditions, the weather around the moment. So that might change the look in the wicket, and we’ve got to make a smart choice of the toss,” he added.


Strauss, who tasted a tough victory against Netherlands in Nagpur, further said that their strategy would be to keep India under pressure.


“I don’t think there’s a need, there is any case of reinventing, well, I think we just need to play good, smart cricket. In some ways, perhaps its more pressure on India than us in this game,” the England skipper said.


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3D ‘bioprinters’ to knock out new body parts


The range of uses for three-dimensional printers is increasing, and now scientists are eyeing the development of 3D ‘bioprinters’ that will be able to print out skin, cartilage, bone, and other body parts.


Three-dimensional printing is a method for making solid objects with devices not unlike a computer printer, building up line by line, and then vertically layer by layer.


While the approach works with polymers and plastics, the raw ingredients of 3D printing have been recently branching out significantly.


The printers have been co-opted even to make foods, and do-it-yourself biology experiments dubbed “garage biotech” – and has most recently been employed to repair a casting of Rodin”s sculpture The Thinker that was damaged in a botched robbery.


But at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington DC, the buzzword is bioprinting: using the same technique to artfully knock out new body parts.


James Yoo, of the Institute of Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University, told the meeting of his group”s aim to print skin directly onto burn victims.


“What motivated us to start this programme and development is the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,” the BBC quoted him as saying.


“Up to 30 percent of all injuries and casualties that occur from the war involve the skin, and using bioprinting we thought that we could address some of the challenges they”re facing with burn care.”


Yoo”s group is developing a portable system that can be brought directly to burn victims.


“What”s unique about this device is that it has a scanner system that can identify the extent and depth of the wound, because every wound is different,” he said.


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Government Jobs in Architecture Sector


Architecture jobs in India are in the edge of towering growth in the midst of a boom in the construction industry. Nowadays, Infrastructural facilities in India are growing very fast as ever before.

Residential properties, skyscrapers, flyovers, roads, airports, mega malls and townships are being constructed in India nowadays at a faster pace. Architectures are in the great demand in the following government companies in India:

Government organization requiring architects:

• Delhi Development Authority

• Bharat Heavy Electronics Limited

• Public Works department of Government

• Archeological Departments of the Government

• National Building Construction Corporation Limited

• City Development authorities

• Housing & Urban Development Corporations

• National Institute of Urban Affairs

• Town and country planning organizations

Different job posting available in government architecture departments:

In Government organizations different job positions are available for candidates with graduation and post graduation in architectural engineering and the list of positions are as follows:

• Set Designer

• Landscape Architect

• Interior Designer

• Art Director

• Urban planner

• Technical illustrator

• Surveyor

• Marine architect

• Architectural engineer

• Cartographer

• Building contractor

• Building inspector

• Building researcher

• Corporate architect

• Architectural historian

• Architectural journalist

Educational qualification required to join government architecture jobs:

Most of the government organizations look for architecture graduates who have acquired their degree from an institution approved by the Architecture Council of India. Both UG and PG Architecture graduates with Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture has great demand in government organizations. The duration of the Bachelor of Architecture course is normally five years and the Master of Architecture course in two years. Even candidates who have UG from any branches of engineering can join the Master of Architecture course, which extends to three/four years to get into government architecture jobs.

Recent Government job openings for Architects:

Recently, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited called for Architects for different positions like senior manager, manager, deputy engineer, senior engineer and engineer. Also, Government college of Architecture in Chandigarh called for Architecture graduates for the post of Assistant professor, Kolkatta port trust also called architectural engineers. Delhi Development Authority also called for architecture graduates for the position of Assistant Director.

What are the qualities required to find job as Architect in Government organizations?

Candidates applying for the position of Architects in Government organizations should possess the following capabilities:

• Conceptual, creativity and originality skills

• Knowledge of market scenario, trends and new ideas

• A high level of accountability, responsibility, team spirit, concentration and flexibility

• Physical stamina to work on the desk and on the site, hard working ability and good communication skills


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Gaddafi secretly transfers 3 billion pounds to London-based wealth manager


Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has secretly deposited three billion pounds with a London-based private wealth manager.


February 27, 2011 - London


Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has secretly deposited three billion pounds with a London-based private wealth manager.


According to the Daily Mail, a Swiss intermediary working for Gaddafi brokered a deal to transfer the funds from oil-rich Libya.


A similar attempt made five weeks ago was rebuffed when senior staff at a separate City stock broking firm learned of the source of the money, The Times reported.


The firm's chief executive told The Times: "I said no, because personally I'm not comfortable dealing with murdering dictators with blood on their hands."


However, the transaction went ahead with a Mayfair-based private wealth manager last week.



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Hindus send greetings to Christians on Lent


Hindus have wished happiness and peace to Christian communities world over for the upcoming Christian season of Lent, which starts March nine.


Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a release in Nevada (USA) today, expressed warmest greetings to the Christian friends as they begin the season of Lent, wishing that their meditations lead meaningfully to the celebration of Easter.


Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that all religions should work together for a just and peaceful world. Dialogue would bring us mutual enrichment, he added.


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Sajid to signs Salman and SRK


According to several tabloid reports, “Hey Babyy ‘producer Sajid Nadiadwala signed SRK and Salman Khan, among other stars in five different films.

Known for making masala movies are preparing filler like “Full House”and “Hey Babyy ‘, Nadiadwala has roped in stars like Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan for various projects.

Sajid signs Salman and SRK

The first film in his five-film venture “Full House 2 “, the sequel to “House Full”, a series of stars like Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Asin Thottumkal, Rahul Khanna and Jacqueline Fernandez.

Salman Khan will be starring in the “kick”, to be directed by T-shirts maar Khan ‘producer Shirish customers. The female star of the movie is Salman’s ‘Dabangg’ co-star, Sonakshi Sinha, successful debut, put her among the most sought after actresses in B-Town.

A-list directors Imtiaz Ali and Vishal Bhardwaj has also been roped in for two projects. Bhardwaj is directing an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s ’2 states “with SRK in the lead role. Imtiaz Ali film is kept under wraps, but according to reports, the Hrithink Roshan be starring in it.

“I can not reveal (details) about SRK and Hrithik project right now. We are actively working on them. But it’s okay that we have a selection of great movies that we are busy. They are exciting projects …,”said Nadiadwala .


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Pay Scale for Nurses in Government Hospitals


The pay scale fixed for nurses in government hospitals is Rs. 9300-34800 apart from a grade pay of Rs. 4600 and so the nurses can receive total emoluments of around Rs. 30000 from government hospitals.

Recent notifications for the post of Nurses in Government organizations:

Recently, Indian Army called for applications from eligible candidates for the post of Nursing SSC Officers, Government medical college and hospital also called for applications from nursing graduates for the post of staff nurse and nursing sisters.

Nursing Courses in India:

To get a job in nursing field in Government hospitals, candidates must have completed their nursing course. The major courses in nursing are Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which includes sub branches like military nursing, hospital nursing and general nursing and midwifery. The postgraduate course in this field is Master of Science in Nursing, which includes health worker and auxiliary nurse midwife.

Age criteria for the post of nurses in Government Organizations:

Whenever any government organizations call for nurses, the minimum age requirement fixed is 21 years and the candidates should be less than 35 years of age.

Selection process for the post of nurses:

In most of the government organizations, candidates are selected for the post of nurses based on their performance in the interview conducted by these organizations.

Scope of Nurses in Government Organizations:

Nowadays, people are more health conscious and this health consciousness has improved the quality of service offered by Government hospitals. Therefore, specialized and skilled nurses are in great demand in government hospitals to offer quality service to the people. Skilled nurses can get employment in different sectors in government hospitals like ER, Telemetry, ICU, medical, surgical, women care, etc…Even some government hospitals calls for nurses with specialization degrees in fields like ICU, Gynecology, etc… Therefore, nurses can improve their employment opportunities by taking some specialization rather than general nursing when they are taking up higher studies in the field of nursing.


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ICC announces public ballot process for World Cup semi-finals, final tickets


The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday announced the process for the public sale of tickets for the World Cup semi-finals in Colombo and Mohali, on March 29 and 30 respectively, and the final to be held in Mumbai on April 2.


When the tickets were initially programmed to go on sale on February 21 the demand was so great that the website was overloaded.


ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said that the ballot will open on Monday.


“It was most unfortunate and no blame should be directed at Kyazoonga, the ICC’s official ticketing partner, as no one could have anticipated that tens of millions people would be trying to access the site an hour before it went live. In truth Kyazoonga have been an innocent third party in all the issues we have had with ticketing,” Lorgat said.


“In conjunction with the hosts, we have now agreed that a ballot system is the best means of releasing any available tickets for the semis and final. The high demand clearly proves the massive attraction of the World Cup and format of 50 overs cricket,” he added.


In dismissing media perceptions about a letter addressed to ICC President Sharad Pawar, Lorgat added: “To help resolve our ticketing challenges we have also engaged the offices of ICC President Pawar to assist us as he has done with several other issues related to World Cup planning.”


Lorgat also reflected on the fact that two contractors had been arrested in Sri Lanka for selling tickets on the black market.


“We will support and encourage the actions of Sri Lanka Cricket in having such persons arrested for black market selling. It must serve as a warning that we will not hesitate to take action against anyone who abuses the system and sells tickets illegally,” Lorgat said.


The ballot process is as follows:


STEP ONE:


You may apply for the ‘Ticket Public Ballot’ from February 28 to March 6.


You need to fill in a the Public Ballot application form at http://cwc2011ballot.kyazoonga.com


A ticket limit of two tickets per applicant applies. Only one application per person.


STEP TWO:


You will receive a Ballot Confirmation Number once you complete and submit your application. No up-front payment is required at this stage.


STEP THREE:


Please read and follow the instructions carefully before completing the form. If you break any of the rules all tickets you may be offered will be cancelled.


All Ballot applications must be submitted no later than March 6.


STEP FOUR:


The draw will be made by computer on March 10 and successful applicants will be informed by e-mail on March 11. If you have not heard from Kyazoonga by March 12, please assume that your application was not successful in the ballot.


STEP FIVE:


Successful applicants will be able to pay for their tickets through Kyazoonga’s secure payment processing website where they will be shown the transaction amount and asked to pay online using credit card/debit card/net-banking. If your transaction is not successful, your place in the draw will be offered to the next polled applicant from the draw.


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Ashes axing helped me regain confidence for World Cup: Johnson


Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has said that the pain of his ruthless Ashes axing has helped him regain his confidence for their World Cup campaign.


Johnson has opened Australia's World Cup campaign with 4-19 against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad and 4-33 against New Zealand in Nagpur.


The 29-year-old now has 36 scalps from 17 ODI matches in India at an average of 19.80.


"It was disappointing at the time, but for me it was another challenge to work very hard in the nets, to get a few little things right, work with Troy Cooley (bowling coach) and Stuart Karppinen, our fitness trainer, to get a bit of strength back," Fox Sports quoted Johnson, as saying.


"It can be tough at times when you can't work on certain things outside of bowling in the middle. I was able to do that (after being dropped). The one-day series in Australia I built into it. I missed the first part of it (due to a throat infection), but hopefully it's paid off now."


"It's a long tournament (the World Cup), but I'm feeling confident at the moment and I want to continue to be a big part of this team," he added.


Australia will now face Sri Lanka in Colombo on March 5.



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Brit forces get ‘game-changing’ technology to fight Taliban in Afghanistan


British forces in Afghanistan can now track Taliban fighters with revolutionary facial recognition technology harnessed to images beamed to the ground by giant spy-in-the-sky barrage balloons floating at 2,000ft.


Packed with cameras and sophisticated devices, the barrage balloons send live footage of the enemy to patrol bases 24 hours a day.


Facial recognition-style technology on the ground then matches their distinct features to a database of known Taliban members, the Sun reports.


One intelligence officer described the unmanned airships – known as aerostats – as “a major game-changer” in their operations in the country.


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Andhra CM Reddy meets Sonia, discusses Telangana issue


With the demand for the creation of a separate state of Telangana gaining momentum, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy met Congress President Sonia Gandhi here on Sunday and is understood to have discussed the contentious matter.


It is believed that Reddy, who met the UPA Chairperson at her 10, Janpath residence here, discussed the Telangana statehood demand issue.


The meeting assumes significance, as it comes a day after 16 Andhra Pradesh ministers in their joint memorandum to Gandhi said the MPs from Telangana had already presented their case before the top leadership and made no secret of their 'uncompromising stand' on a separate state.


There was, however, no official statement issued with regard to the meeting between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and the Congress President.


Congress on Wednesday said it will take up the issue of a separate Telangana state after presentation of the Union Budget.


Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters this assurance was given by the Leader of the Lok Sabha, Pranab Mukherjee, to a group of party MPs from Telangana, who met him today.


Ahmed said the MPs also met Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi in this regard.


N Kiran Kumar Reddy had on Tuesday appealed to Telangana protagonists not to hamper development and welfare programmes, and maintained that it was for the Centre to take a decision on the contentious statehood issue.


The Central Government has appointed a judicial commission headed by former Supreme court Justice Srikrishna to look into issue.


The report, submitted to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in December last year, has suggested at least six options, including maintaining Status Quo in the state or bifurcating the state.



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India visa: All Pakistanis must have NoC


Every Pakistani who wishes to visit India will have to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NoC) from the Ministry of Interior, according to an official statement issued here on Thursday.

The decision was taken in an inter-ministerial meeting to regulate visits abroad of public servants, artists and journalists in the interest of Pakistan’s security and to safeguard the country’s prestige.

Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik chaired the meeting. The order will be implemented with effect from March 15 this year. In this regard, the government issued the instructions in consultation with the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Culture, Education and Information and Broadcasting.


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Ban on exports of tea leaves to impact tea industry in Darjeeling


The announcement of a ban on the exports of tea leaves by the regional Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in West Bengal will hit the world famous tea industry of Darjeeling.


The town of Darjeeling is known to produce the world's best blend of tea.


Tea producers and exporters said that the proposed ban would severely affect the industry and their livelihood.


"The loss would be in crores and the loss would be around ten million rupees or so. In a year there is about eight million kilograms tea produced and two million kilograms are produced in the first flush itself," said Manoj Tripathi, a tea producer.


Many tea producers here are of the view that the rich history and tradition of producing tea is already facing problems and the future of the industry looks grim if such a situation continues.


Locals in the region, who work as labourers in the tea gardens, depend on tea production for their livelihood and say that this would be a huge blow to their only source of income.


The first flush season during the month of March has a rich aroma and is a preferred one for most people, as two million kilograms are exported every year during this period.


"Actually, the motive and intention of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is to resist and collect revenue from tea, but on the contrary the burden it will automatically comes upon the tea industry because you see if tea industry is not benefited then how the workers will be benefit," said Prabir Seal, a tea exporter in Siliguri.


The tea producers here said that banning tea exports would present a poor impression on the foreign buyers who visit the region to purchase the product in bulk.


Over 40,000 tonnes of tea is exported worldwide every year, while the annual production is estimated at 10,000 million tonnes including local consumption.


Producers and exporters also say that the ban would give the tea industry in Nepal a huge boost.


A renewed demand for a separate Gorkhaland region, which would include Darjeeling and some contiguous areas of Jalpaiguri District, has created fresh turmoil over the past few months.



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Government Colleges in Madurai, Tamil Nadu


With the emergence of top class training institutions, colleges, schools and universities in the city of Madurai, it has become one of the important education destinations in the state of Tamil Nadu. Due to an excellent educational environment in Madurai, students from other parts of the state, country and even students from other countries also wish to take up their educational arena as Madurai.

The colleges located in this city offer education under different streams like engineering, medicine, law and arts & science. The list of government colleges functioning in this city is given below:

Medical Colleges:

• Madurai Medical College

• Government Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital

Music College:

• Government Music College, Madurai

Arts & Science Colleges:

• Government Arts College, Melur

• Sri Meenakshi Government College for Women

Polytechnic College:

• Government Polytechnic for Women

ITI College:

• Government ITI, K. Pudur

A small description about these government colleges functioning in the holy city of Madurai is given below:

Government Medical Colleges:

Two medical colleges are functioning under the Government of Tamil Nadu in the city of Madurai. One college is attached to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai and this college is offering MBBS and other courses with affiliation from Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University. The list of courses offered by this college is as follows:

• MBBS

• Bachelor of Pharmacy

• Master of Pharmacy

• Diploma in Pharmacy

• Nursing Courses

• Para-medical Courses

• DLO

• DGO

• DCH

The college also offers post graduate degree course in all surgical specialty and super specialty courses as well. Admission to this college and reservation of seats is made purely on the basis of the norms issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu from time to time.

Another government medical college functioning in this city is meant for homeopathic medicinal studies and this college offers Bachelor of Homeopathic medical science degree with affiliation from Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University.

Government Music College:

Government Music College came into existence in the year 1979 and the college is offering the following courses:

• Three-year diploma course in

o Folk art

o Bharathanatyam

o Nathaswaram

o Flute

o Mridangam

o Violin

o Veena

o Vocal

• One-year diploma course in Music teacher training

Government Arts & Science Colleges:

There are two arts & science colleges in the city of Madurai that are run by the government of Tamil Nadu. One of these colleges is meant exclusively for women candidates and the list of courses offered by these colleges is given below:

• Bachelor of Arts in

o Economics

o History

o English

o Tamil

o Communicative English

• Bachelor of Science in

o Computer science

o Zoology

o Chemistry

o Mathematics

o Physics

o Environmental Biology

o Home science

o Geography

• Bachelor of Commerce

• Bachelor of Business Economics

• Master of Arts in

o English

o Economics

o History

• Master of Science in

o Geography

o Mathematics

• MBA

• MCA

Government Polytechnic College for Women:

This college was established in the year 1963 and it is approved by AICTE, the list of courses offered by this institution is given below:

• Diploma in

o Modern office practice

o Instrumentation & Control engineering

o Garment technology

o Electronics & Communication Engineering

o Computer engineering

o Civil engineering

Thus, Madurai is acting as an education destination with these government-run colleges and several other private colleges as well. The city also includes the best universities like Madurai Kamaraj University, Alagappa University and Tamil Nadu Open University. Of these three universities, the first two universities are meant for offering both regular and distance education courses, while the third is meant exclusively for distance education.


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UP CM Mayawati inspects development works in Faizabad


Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati visited Faizabad district on Sunday to review the development works and the law and order situation.


Mayawati, who visited the district hospital here, expressed annoyance over untidy premises and unsatisfactory cleanliness in the wards.


It has been reported that the Chief Minister also lashed out at the Chief Medical Superintendent over the condition of the hospital.


She also inspected the Kotwali Police Station here and asked the officers and jawans to improve the law and order in the district.


Mayawati also visited a government primary school and reviewed implementation of the mid-day meal scheme.


The Chief Minister, who also paid a visit to the Kanshiram Urban Poor Housing Society in Ayodhya, ordered the construction of an over head water tank with immediate effect to ensure that water supply is available to the residents all the time.


She also took note of the development work in Ambedkar village at Milkipur during her inspection visit.



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