The coaches will have spaces for doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, besides arrangements to install medical equipment.
PTI Photo
Mangaluru:
Southern Railway have begun work on converting 20 train coaches into isolation wards for treatment of Covid-19 patients here on the instructions from the Railway Board.
Twenty coaches have reached the central railway station here and two of them have already been converted into isolation wards for suspected coronavirus patients. Work on setting up toilet facility and bathroom in the coaches after removing seats and modifying their design is under progress in the remaining coaches which will also be converted into isolation wards within a week, Southern Railway (Palakkad division) public relations officer Gopinanthan said.
The coaches will be kept at the second entry of the central railway station here and handed over to the health department.
The coaches will have spaces for doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, besides arrangements to install medical equipment.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by PTI / April 03rd, 2020
A team of researchers has developed a low-cost indigenous prototype of polymer swab which can be used for collection of samples for coronavirus testing.
If it is approved for production, the country will not need to depend on imported swabs, said Dr Milind Kulkarni, a senior polymer scientist with Pune-based Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) on Saturday.
“We import testing kits and polymer swabs primarily from Italy, Germany and the United States. But due to import restrictions and international lockdown, we could soon face a shortage of these kits,” said Kulkarni, who led the project.
It was a joint project of C-MET (which comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), SRI Research FOR Tissue Engineering Private, Rangadore Hospital, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and Additive Manufacturing Society of India, he said.
As per the guidelines of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, polymer swab is used for collection of a sample from the upper respiratory tract of a patient.
To develop prototype of the swab, the researchers used a speciality polymer from polyester family and a rod made up of Polypropylene, Kulkarni said.
“Prototype samples are ready to go for further sterilization and clinical trial and testing,” he added.
Dr K N Shridhar, urologist from Rangadore Hospital in Bangaluru, had given the responsibility to develop the polymer swab to CMET, Kulkarni said.
“Dr Shridhar will conduct testing of the swabs by tying up with a lab which is approved by the Indian Council for Medical Research in Bengaluru,” he added.
CMET has developed two types of swabs which are required to collect samples, he said.
One is nasopharyngeal swab (NP swab) which is used for collecting nasal secretions and other is Oropharyngeal swab which is used for collecting throat samples, he said.
Once samples are taken, the swab is inserted into a tube of Universal Transport Media (UTM). Kulkarni said that as it is a one-time use kit, India will need millions of such swabs to collect samples in the days to come.
The swabs developed by his team could cost a third of the price of imported swabs, he said.
“Using a special automated machine, 1000 to 2000 swabs can be made in one minute,” he claimed.
The number of coronavirus infection cases in the country had crossed 3,250 as of Saturday late afternoon.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Science & Environment / by PTI, Pune / April 04th, 2020
The social initiative led by Arun Isloor, professor and head of the department, was launched by NIT-K director K Uma Maheshwar Rao.
Hand sanitizers.(AFP file)
The chemistry department of National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K) here has started producing hand sanitizers in view of its shortage in the market after the coronavirus outbreak.
The social initiative led by Arun Isloor, professor and head of the department, was launched by NIT-K director K Uma Maheshwar Rao.
The raw materials needed for this product were provided by the institute.
It has plans to produce 5,000 bottles of sanitizer containing 70 mm each.
The sanitizers already manufactured were distributed to Suratkal police station, health department, petrol bunks and employees of NIT-K, including the security staff.
Isloor said the product has been manufactured conforming to high standards set by the World Health Organisation.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Education / by Press Trust of India, Mangaluru / April 04th, 2020
Since 1720, the brown salt business has operated in Sanikatta, one of the oldest places engaged in this business in the country.
Labourers packing salt
Years ago, Karnataka villager Venkat Nayak used to curse the saline water gushing into his fields from the Arabian Sea. He was unable to farm his one-acre plot on the banks of the Aghanashini river which passes by Sanikatta village near Gokarna. And then he decided to follow an old practice, which revived the fortunes of farmers like him. He decided to turn the unusable water to his advantage. And struck salt.
“I now have little reason to complain about my land,” says Nayak. He is not alone in having found a fortune in the river waters, which fill nearby fields with a mineral-rich decoction. The farmers of Sanikatta are now a flourishing community, having found a thriving market for the natural, brown salt, which carries the name of their eponymous village. Sanikatta salt may not be as popular as polished white salt, but continues to have a large dedicated customer base comprising people who realise its benefits due to the presence of natural minerals, including iodine.
“We produce salt from the Aghanashini river water using a natural process, which is why its colour is brown,” says Arun Nadakarni, chairman of Nagarbail Salt Owners Cooperative Society. “This salt is a medicinal product, containing nearly 96 per cent minerals, with 4 per cent of them being rare minerals. We only add potassium iodide,” he adds, pointing out the huge demand for brown salt in Ayurveda and naturopathy treatment. Even doctors often ask patients to consume the salt.
Since 1720, the brown salt business has operated in Sanikatta, one of the oldest places engaged in this business in the country. However, it became an organised sector only after the cooperative society was formed. The extraction of salt is done by the villagers, who work in pans spread over 564 acres on the bank of the Aghanashini. While they would market it individually earlier, they came together in 1952 to form the cooperative society. Since then, they have been making 10,000-12,000 metric tonnes of salt every year, which is sold mainly to Ayurveda and naturopathy centres, direct customers at the production unit, and e-commerce platforms.
The society does not spend any money on advertising and marketing. Nadakarni says the total net profit is shared by the salt field owners, who pay the society for its functioning. The salt fields and the production unit employ around 200 labourers from Sanikatta and neighbouring villages. They are all covered under various government schemes for wages, healthcare and other welfare measures. The salt field owners, who have land measuring from 10 guntas to 50 acres, earn up to Rs 50,000 profit per acre per year. For land, which does not support crop cultivation, salt is their sweet deal.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Arunkumar Huralimath / March 29th, 2020
Bengaluru-based startup firm Bione Ventures Pvt Ltd, a B2C platform for genetic and microbiome testing, has launched a rapid at-home screening kit for COVID-19 that delivers results within minutes. The company said it will make available the product for sale on their platform within a week.
“We are importing this screening kit from one of our partners in the US, which has secured USFDA approval for the product. In India, we have secured certification from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The screening kit can provide respite from the impending fear of the COVID-19 contagion,” Surendra K Chikara, a genomicist and founder of the company told DH.
The simple point-of-care home screening kit renders quick results, without having to step out in the wake of the lockdown. It will foster timely detection of the disease while acting as a preventive tool for others in proximity to the user, by isolating the carrier immediately, he said.
The kit is likely to be priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 depending upon the global supply, to increase its affordability for the masses, he said.
COVID-19 screening test kit is an IgG & IgM-based tool which takes 5-10 minutes to deliver the results. Upon receiving the kit, the user is required to clean the finger with an alcohol swab and use the lancet provided to finger-prick. The cartridge provided reads the results from the blood sample thus obtained, within 5-10 minutes, the company said in a statement.
Bione was founded in 2019 in Bengaluru by Dr Surendra K Chikara, who was among the pioneers in bringing NGS sequencing in India.
The company is well-equipped to supply 20,000 kits per week and intends to build its manufacturing facilities in the coming months to cater to the demand, he added.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Business> Business News / by Mahesh Kulkarni / DHNS, Bengaluru / April 02nd, 2020
The initiative which started on March 27 aims to provide 3 lakh meals by the end of the lockdown period in Bengaluru and has already provided close to 23,000 meals.
The initiative aims to provide 3 lakh meals by the end of the lockdown
Bengaluru :
With the ongoing lockdown leaving scores of daily wage workers and the underprivileged without food and shelter, three Bengalurean businessmen have come together aiming to put a halt to the starvation. Venkat K Narayana, CEO, Prestige Group, Juggy Marwaha, executive MD, JLL India and K Ganesh, co-founder, Big Basket have launched the initiative ‘Feed My Bangalore’ with a plan to serve 10,000 – 15,000 meals every day to daily wagers, underprivileged and homeless children and frontline workers.
The initiative which started on March 27 aims to provide 3 lakh meals by the end of the lockdown period in Bengaluru and has already provided close to 23,000 meals. Adding to this, Narayana said, “India is overpopulated with 269 million people still living below the poverty line. Given the density of population, social distancing is a luxury for most.
The government is doing the best they can, but it’s not going to be enough. We as conscious citizens need to do our bit too. As I keep hearing my two-year old son reiterate at home, ‘Sharing is caring’ and that has to be our motto for this crisis.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / April 01st, 2020
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has authorised a private lab in Bengaluru to test coronavirus samples.
The approval comes as government labs struggle to test the increasing number of samples. Amid the surging cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the government last week said it would bring in about 50 private labs and spruce up diagnostic infrastructure.
ICMR sources said the Neuberg Anand Reference Laboratory is Karnataka’s first private lab to get government approval for Covid-19 testing. Capable of testing 100 samples a day, the lab hopes to be ready by Tuesday evening to start testing the samples.
As per the ICMR guidelines, the lab will not charge more than Rs 4,500 per test: Rs 1,500 for screening assay and Rs 3,000 for confirmatory assay.
“As I understand, the ICMR won’t (directly) be sending samples,” Dr Sujay Prasad, Medical Director, Neuberg Anand Reference Laboratory, told DH. “Nursing homes and hospitals interested in getting the Covid-19 samples tested and walk-in patients falling in the criteria set by the ICMR will be tested here.”
Reiterating that the lab is bound by ICMR guidelines, Dr Prasad said if the patient has no travel history but has been in hospital with symptoms of respiratory illness like pneumonia, he or she can be tested.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Top Bengaluru Stories / by Suraksha P / DHNS, Bengaluru / March 24th, 2020
A benchtop test setup of a ventilator prototype being built by IISc scientists and volunteers at IISc’s High-Speed Wind Tunnel Complex.The prototype is created out of components from the Indian automotive and RO filter industry. The white canisters contain air and o2, which are mixed in the blue cylinder. The control circuitry is composed of PCL board and Raspberry Pi. The medical test lung is for experimentation testing only. (Photo courtesy IISc Project Praana Team)
As the clamour for medical ventilators reaches a fevered pitch amid the escalating COVID-19 crisis, a group of IISc scientists and students have been working night and day to develop a high-quality indigenous ventilator which makes use of sensors and parts sourced from the local automotive and RO water filter industries.
“The idea is to circumvent a shortfall of internationally imported components which are holding up the mass manufacture of ventilators in the country,” said Associate Professor Gaurab Banerjee of the Indian Institute of Science’s (IISc) Electrical Communication Engineering Department, a brainchild behind the invention.
“In a worst-case scenario, about 0.006% of COVID-19 cases will require critical care with access to ventilators. For a population of 130 crores, this translates to about 70,000 patients,” he added.
The prototype is designed to make use of materials which are readily available in India and in large numbers such as pressure sensors used in cars and solenoid filter valves in Reverse Osmosis (RO) water filters.
According to the team, the plan is to take a pressurised mixture of medical-grade oxygen and compressed air, and mix it using food-grade containers and tubing found in domestic RO water filters. A programmable logic controller (PLC) board and a Raspberry Pi computer will control the air pressure, the oxygen composition and flow characteristics.
The challenges have been steep. At the heart of ventilator technologies are mass-flow sensors and controllers which accurately tell you (and control) how much oxygen is flowing through and what volume of oxygen the patient is inhaling in one breath. These are commonly imported from Switzerland.
The team said it has now duplicated that technology using automotive-grade sensors and solenoid valves by using basic principles of fluid mechanics and gas dynamics and has verified the results experimentally.
“By using these checks, we are able to work out what this oxygen concentration should be and what the flow rates are,” explained Associate Professor Duvvuri Subrahmanyam, of IISc’s Department of Aerospace Engineering who said that similar flow physics is at play in high-speed flight and rocketry.
The prototype, which has been in development for 14 days, is expected to be completed by the end of April. Professor Banerjee explained that the team has set itself five milestones before the prototype can be deemed complete.
“On Friday, we completed the second milestone, which was to combine pneumatics and an industrial controller to time-cycle air-flow,” he said.
Among those reportedly evincing interest in mass manufacturing the prototype is Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The team clarified that they were ready to transfer the technology free of cost to any interested parties.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Top Bengaluru Stories / by Akhil Kadidal / DHNS, Bengaluru / March 30th, 2020
Helping hand: Members of an NGO distributing food in Bengaluru on Friday. | Photo Credit: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
NGOs and even individuals are reaching out to the needy
With the entire State in lockdown, thousands of daily wage workers trapped in the city and the homeless are struggling to survive and get two square meals a day. Most of them are relying on non-governmental organisations and unions that have stepped up to support them and provide temporary assistance to labourers and their families. There have also been spontaneous offers of help from citizens.
Nalini Shekar, co-founder of Hasiru Dala, an NGO that works with waste-pickers, said they are trying to provide aid to 1,000 families and have sought donations. They plan to give families of waste-pickers five kg of rice/wheat, two kg of lentils, and two bars of soap, costing ₹550. This amount includes transportation to their homes. “We have chosen families who don’t have a ration card as the government is already giving two months’ supply to such families. These supplies will last the families for about 12 days,” said Ms. Shekar. Within a day of circulating the messages on social media, Hasiru Dala received donations that would help around 200 families.
Anand N.R., a freelance driver, said an NGO, CAPS Foundation, got his family groceries worth ₹2,000. “It is a desperate situation as the number of bookings have reduced to a large extent. One of my customers told the NGO about my situation and the help extended was timely,” he said.
In film industry
Meanwhile, with shooting and all other aspects of film production coming to a halt, members of the Kannada film industry too are stepping up to offer support to colleagues, including technicians, drivers, stuntmen, and those part of the production team. Film-maker Pawan Kumar started this initiative last Sunday. “I wanted to tell everyone that at a time when we are all at home, we can do something constructive for people in our fraternity,” he told The Hindu. As of Friday, he has collected ₹5.81 lakh. Actor Chetan Kumar, who is in touch with many of the unions, has also decided to help Mr. Pawan Kumar in identifying people who may be in dire need.
Volunteers needed
Naavu Bharateeyaru, a platform of various civil society groups which came together in November last year to oppose NPR and NRC, is now focussing on fighting the pandemic by ensuring food security and emergency medical relief. “While doing so, we will take utmost care to ensure that our volunteers are safe,” said a note from members of the platform. The platform needs volunteers for several tasks, including rapid assessment of needs and procuring relief material.
In several areas, police personnel on patrol duty are distributing food to the homeless and those from lower economic background as a majority of the hotels and eateries are closed. However, a few hotels in the city are distributing food boxes to migrant workers and labourers.
Several residents are doing their bit to help out, too. Sujaya M., a homemaker who lives at Rajajinagar, for instance, is cooking lunch for five homeless people in her locality. “It is during these testing times that we need to help each other. I may not be able to help a large number of people, but I decided to do the best I could,” she said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Tanu Kulkarni / Bengaluru – March 28th, 2020
