Saturday, September 29, 2018
Friday, September 28, 2018
Thursday, September 27, 2018
New robot picks a peck of peppers and more
SWEEPER is designed
to operate in a single stem row cropping system, with non-clustered fruits and
little leaf occlusion. The team spearheaded efforts to improve the robot's
ability to detect ripe produce using computer vision, and has played a role in
defining the specifications of the robot's hardware and software interfaces,
focusing on supervisory control activities.
The BGU team
spearheaded efforts to improve the robot's ability to detect ripe produce using
computer vision, and has played a role in defining the specifications of the
robot's hardware and software interfaces, focusing on supervisory control
activities.
Polina Kurtser,
a Ph.D. candidate in the BGU Department of Industrial Engineering and
Management and member of the team, says robotic harvesting will revolutionize
the economics of the agriculture industry and dramatically reduce food waste.
"The
Sweeper picks methodically and accurately," she says. "When it is
fully developed, it will enable harvesting 24/7, drastically reduce spoilage,
cut labor costs and shield farmers from market fluctuations."
Additional
research is needed to increase the robot's work speed to reach a higher harvest
success rate. Based upon these latest results, the Sweeper consortium expects
that a commercial sweet pepper harvesting robot will be available within four
to five years, and that the technology could be adapted for harvesting other
crops.
North America is
the second largest producer of sweet (bell) and chili peppers in the world with
a 31 percent market share. In 2017 Europe accounted for more than half the
world's pepper supply (53.2 percent) with exports valued at $2.7 billion.
SWEEPER is a
partnership between BGU, Wageningen University & Research, and pepper
grower De Tuindershoek BV, in the Netherlands, Umea University in Sweden, and
the Research Station for Vegetable Cultivation and Bogaerts Greenhouse
Logistics in Belgium.
New micro-platform reveals cancer cells' natural behavior
The
easy-to-produce platform developed by Hokkaido University researchers offers
cancer cells micro-scale attachment sites that elicit never-before-seen
behaviors highly relevant to cancer's clinical properties. The observation of
these behaviors shed light on the mechanisms behind well-known properties of
pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal malignant tumors, and may lead to the
identification of new treatment targets.
"Cancer
studies so far either use cell cultures in which cancer cells don't necessarily
behave naturally, or tissue samples that don't allow live observation. So there
is a big gap in our knowledge of how cancer cells actually behave," says
Assistant Professor Yukiko Miyatake, who led the study and focuses on cancer
development mechanisms. To close this gap, she teamed up with Associate
Professor Kaori Kuribayashi-Shigetomi who specializes on micro-nano-scale
bio-engineering.
Together they
created a new cell culture substrate from a coated glass slide with etched
islands of 30?m diameter. For healthy cells, this is just enough space for one
or two to attach. But when the researchers seeded them with pancreatic cancer
cells (although they also tried other cancer cells with similar results) and
incubated them overnight, the cells self-organized into micro-tumors that could
move in a concerted way, as if it were one organism. Precursors to this turned
out to be papillary structures that accommodate 4 or more cells by cell-in-cell
invasion. This process, called entosis, is so far known only as a step in cell
degradation. Here, the incorporated cells remained alive and, to their
surprise, the incorporation was reversible.
When they
treated the micro-tumors with the widely used anti-cancer agent Nocodazole, the
micro-tumor disintegrated, but the now-detached cells survived. Moreover, the
researchers observed the micro-tumors "fishing" for surrounding dead
cells and ingesting them, in the process releasing chemical markers typical for
dead cells. These markers ended up on the cancer cells' surfaces, presumably
masking them and enabling them to evade the immune system's killer cells.
Striving to
reduce the suffering cancer causes, Miyatake says: "I hope this easy and
low-cost technique will find widespread adoption. If the discoveries made
during these first observations are physiologically or pathologically relevant
phenomena, many more new hints may be gleaned for the development of more
effective cancer treatment approaches."
CCI probe finds unfair practices by three drug companies
NEW
DELHI: A preliminary investigation by the Competition
Commission of India has found that three pharmaceutical companies and a few
regional chemist bodies used unfair trade practices to distribute drugs, a
senior government official said.
Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Intas Pharmaceuticals and Macleod Pharmaceuticals are accused of violating the Competition Act of 2002 by being part of a ploy by some regional trade bodies to appoint their favoured ones as stockists, he said.
The competition regulator has started hearing the matter and a verdict is likely to be out soon, the official said. After the hearing, the watchdog may also order further probe. If found guilty, the companies could face hefty penalties.
During the preliminary probe, the commission found that these trade associations issued noobjection certificates for the appointment of stockists in their regions to a few entities they favoured. “Pharma companies are also a part of this unfair practice as they appoint stockists," the official said. "This amounts to stifling the competition in the market by controlling supply of drugs,” he added.
Source:
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
GATE 2019
GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS) is open for receiving applications.
https://appsgate.iitm.ac.in/ is the only official GATE 2019 online application portal. !!!
Important Notices:
1. Do you have any Corrections to be Incorporated in the completed application? GOAPS Portal opens for corrections from 25/9/2018
2. Increase in application fee will be effective during the extended period, from September 24, 2018 (Monday) to October 1, 2018 (Monday)
SOURCE: http://gate.iitm.ac.in./
https://appsgate.iitm.ac.in/ is the only official GATE 2019 online application portal. !!!
Important Notices:
1. Do you have any Corrections to be Incorporated in the completed application? GOAPS Portal opens for corrections from 25/9/2018
2. Increase in application fee will be effective during the extended period, from September 24, 2018 (Monday) to October 1, 2018 (Monday)
SOURCE: http://gate.iitm.ac.in./
Saturday, September 22, 2018
Fixed-dose combination ban to hit retail pharmaceutical biz
MUMBAI: The proposed government ban on over
340 combination medicines (fixed-dose combinations, or FDCs) will impact over 2
per cent — nearly Rs 2,900 crore — of the organised retail market, with popular
cough syrups, painkillers and flu medicines — like Phensedyl, Saridon, Sumocold,
and Vicks Action 500 — facing action.
A final decision on the ban is expected soon by health ministry, even as an expert panel — the Drug Technical Advisory Board, or DTAB — earlier recommended these “irrational and “harmful” medicines should be taken off the shelves.
An FDC contains two or more drugs combined in a fixed ratio, and made available in a single dosage form. They comprise around 50 per cent of the Rs 1.25-lakh-crore market (moving annual total, or MAT, June 2018), with only certain combinations being marketed “irrational” and “harmful”.
Last year, the Supreme Court (SC) had asked the DTAB to review the matter and recommend which FDCs should be regulated or banned, following a protracted legal battle between the government and drug companies over the issue.
The banned combinations on the proposed list belong to several therapeutic areas like cough and cold syrups, gastrointestinal and anti-infective formulations, and dermatological medicines. The respiratory portfolio will bear the highest impact of 10 per cent, followed by anti-diabetic and anti-infective drugs, data culled from IQVIA, a leading technology-driven healthcare service provider said.
Gastro-intestinal medicine Panderm+ (Macleods Pharma) is the most impacted brand at 8 per cent or Rs 233 crore in value terms in the banned category, followed by cough preparation Phensedyl Cough (Abbott).
IQVIA general manager South Asia Amit Mookim said, “The popularity of combination drugs has been due to the convenience of reduced pill burden at an affordable cost. After the ban implementation, the doctors may now have to change their Rx (prescription) habit and prescribe multiple plain drugs, instead of writing one FDC, which may have a huge cost impact on the patients.
Further, retail pharmacists dispense medicines based on doctors’ prescriptions that mention the brand names.
The banned FDCs are sold under multiple brand
names, and looking into the combination of each such brand is an extremely
complex process. Each pharmacy may have hundreds of brands with the same
combination, and it will be difficult to identify the banned FDCs — which are
given in pharmacological names — and eventually may pose a risk to the
patients.
Therefore, the industry will have to educate and
create awareness among pharmacists for effective and safe implementation of the
ban.”
Further, industry experts say the market may see
new launches, with newer formulations or a tweak in molecules, going forward —
particularly where they are hit most.
In a surprise move in 2016, the government had
banned over 340 FDCs, after which the ban was legally contested. The Delhi high
court, which had heard a majority of petitions against the move, ruled in
favour of industry, arguing the government had not gone through the statutory
bodies which decide these matters. The government appealed the matter in the
SC, which in turn asked the sub-committee of the DTAB to submit its
recommendations.
Maharashtra colleges to start robotics course designed by IIT
MUMBAI: The state
government will for the first time help colleges start placement-oriented
courses in cyber security, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, product
design, among others. Autonomous colleges can offer these interdisciplinary
subjects as electives in their curriculum, while others can launch them as
value-added courses.
Also,
an impact study will be done for the first time to understand benefits of the
courses on campus placements.
The
state will conduct a baseline study on campus placements in some colleges this
year to understand average salaries drawn, kind of skill sets required by
industries and other details. The data will be compared with placement reports
at those colleges a year after the courses’ introduction, to understand the
impact, said Meeta Rajiv Lochan, the state’s project director for Rashtriya
Uchchatar Shikshan Abhiyan (RUSA).
The tailor-made courses of 70-300 hours
will be offered to students from second and third year of undergraduate
programmes. The state has organised workshops in specialised job-oriented
courses for engineering and pharmacy colleges, along with arts, science and
commerce colleges. “Companies spend a lot in retraining fresh graduates. These
courses will increase the efficiency of placements. AI and deep learning will
be pervasive in future. All job profiles will require deep learning and machine
learning at some level. It is being used in humanities too,” said Priyanka
Sharma from Nirma University. She added that industries have started
conversational AI too.
For students from computer science background,
the AI course will span over 75-80 hours, but for those from arts and commerce
backgrounds, colleges may have to include 75-80 hours more to train students in
basic applied mathematics. The robotics programme, open for science and
engineering colleges, will require a little investment in a lab, said Kavi Arya,
professor, IIT-B. The institute is helping setting up labs across colleges in
the country under a central government initiative. Another resource person who
attended the workshop said colleges can choose modules. “They can add or delete
topics. Nasscom has designed qualification packs for 11 topics. Cyber security
and network security will generate hundreds of jobs on campuses,” she said.
St Xavier’s College plans to offer robotics
and geographical information system (GIS). Principal-designate Rajendra Shinde
said they may modify course content and offer them as electives. The college
will also look at courses such as capital market for commerce (night shift)
students. HR College has shortlisted cyber security and GIS. “Since our college
is not autonomous, we will have to offer them as value-added courses. Students
will have to attend courses and lectures. We will work out modalities soon,”
said principal Parag Thakker.
Source:THE TIMES OF INDIA - August,2018
Thursday, September 20, 2018
State to set up cyber varsity
It will train 3,000 professionals to
fight online space attacks, internet crimes
The Maharashtra
Government has taken the first step towards setting up a varsity dedicated to
mitigating cyber threats. It has set aside Rs. 80 crore for the first round of its
funding and the proposal for the project will be tabled in the State cabinet’s
consideration in the first week of October, sources said.
The new Cyber
University will train 3,000 professionals to fight online space cyber attacks,
internet crimes, and conduct cyber forensics. It will also impart training in
15 other Internet of Things (IoT) areas such as Data Analytics and Artificial
Intelligence (AI).
A team of senior
government officials recently visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT)’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), which
monitors cyber attacks in real time, to acquire technical knowhow. CSAIL’s
latest system correctly predicts about 85% of the world’s cyber attacks using
machine learning and AI. “At the lab we saw in real time that the majority of
the world’s cyber attacks are directed towards Russia, Japan and India,” an
official said.
Cost
of courses
The varsity,
officials said, will provide for and prepare internet professionals on the
lines of the Microsoft Certified Professional Program.The courses will cost
less than Rs. 5 lakh for courses in data analytics, cloud computing,
blockchain, AI, cyber forensics and cyber investigations.
Skill gap
“The current
supply of cyber professionals in the country is about a lakh while the demand
hovers around 30 lakh. A cyber attack is taking place every 10 minutes as
opposed to 12 minutes previously. The varsity will remedy this,” an official
said.
The government
will provide different levels of training and enable affiliated colleges to
impart certification for the 15 courses. The State will also supply
infrastructure for training and education. A 2015 skill gap analysis for
Maharashtra by the consultancy firm KPMG had pointed to a gap of 1.5 crore
professionals in 10 sectors. “Of these, there was a greater shortfall in the
IoT and Cyber Forensics sectors. The new varsity will bridge this skill gap,”
the official said.
Maharashtra is
already in the process of setting up its version of the Indian Computer
Emergency Response Team to ward off external cyber threats. In 2016, the State
had even appointed a consortium of M/s C-DAC (Centre for Development of
Advanced Computing) and Railtel Corporation of India for the Rs. 838-crore
project. The consortium in its analysis used the same technology as GARUDA,
India’s national grid computing initiative, and the Graphics and Intelligence
Based Script Technology, officials said.
Source: THE HINDU-18th September,2018
Can we repair damaged retina like zebrafish do?
IISER
Mohali researchers have decoded the different signals and genes behind this
feat
A particular
signalling system — sonic hedgehog (Shh) — in zebrafish has been previously
reported to aid in developmental and tissue regeneration activities. To
decipher the influence of Shh signalling on retina regeneration, the
researchers first inhibited its function. They found that impairing this signal
made 90% of the zebrafish embryo exhibit a birth defect called cyclopia.
Cyclopia is also seen in humans, where there is a single median eye or a
partially divided eye. Detailed understanding of this signalling may provide
insights into the rare defect. Since this signalling is also responsible for
retina regeneration in zebrafish, the researchers are trying to understand why
the signalling does not bring about retina regeneration in humans.
They performed
whole retina RNA sequencing at various time points post-retinal injury to the
zebrafish eye. Several genes (zic2b, foxn4, mmp9) were found to be upregulated
through Shh signalling. Zic2b and foxn4 are essential components for
development and tissue regeneration, whereas mmp9 is an enzyme which makes the
environment congenial for freshly formed cells. Individual knockdowns of these
genes also revealed that these are indeed essential for normal retina
regeneration.
The researchers
also showed the role of a microRNA (let-7) which is regulated through a
particular gene (Lin28a) which allows normal Shh signalling during the retina
regeneration process. “During an injury, you need the proliferation of cells
that let-7 is capable of blocking. So Lin28a steps in action, clears or
scavenges let-7 and allows differentiated cells to be transformed into
multipotent stem cells, which aid in regeneration,” explains Rajesh
Ramachandran from the Department of Biological Sciences at the Institute and
corresponding author of the work published in the journal Cell Reports.
Mice
models
They further
carried out studies on mice models by injecting the protein. “Shh protein can
easily bind to its respective receptor and turn on the signalling pathway after
an acute retinal injury,” says Simran Kaur, PhD scholar and first author of the
work. “Though there was increased proliferation and upregulation of the genes,
no regeneration of the retina was seen in mice.”
“Although we
have understood the signals and genes behind the regeneration, the whole
pathway and network need to be unravelled before trying it out in the mammalian
system,” adds Prof. Rajesh.
Source: THE HINDU-17th September,2018
IIT-B: Sniffing out lung cancer, explosives
Clinical
applications for early-stage detection will become possible once validated on
humans
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have set the
stage to possibly sniff out in about a minute early-stage lung cancer from
exhaled breath. A two-member team led by Chandramouli Subramaniam from the
institute’s Department of Chemistry has developed a platform that detects
volatile organic compounds such as benzene, acetone, benzaldehyde and ethanol
in a gas phase at single molecular levels. These organic compounds in exhaled
breath are clinically established biomarkers for early stage lung cancer. The
same platform can also be used to monitor air-pollution levels or detect
explosives like TNT (trinitrotoluene).
The volatile
compounds have been detected using lab samples and clinical applications for
detecting early-stage lung cancer will become possible once validated on human
subjects. The results were published in the journal ACS Sustainable
Chemistry and Engineering.
Raman scattering
Since Raman
scattering is an inherently weak phenomenon, the researchers turned to
surface-enhanced Raman scattering to dramatically increase the sensitivity of
the platform such that it detects molecules at extremely low concentrations
using a small amount of sample. “In our studies, we were able to reliably
achieve sensitivities to the level of tens of molecules,” he says.
“We put the
molecule of interest on a gold or silver nanoparticle and then record the Raman
spectrum. When we shine light [laser] on the sample [molecule plus the
nanoparticle], the Raman spectrum of the molecule gets enhanced,” says Prof.
Subramaniam. “The intensity enhancement of Raman spectrum happens predominantly
through the interaction of localised electromagnetic field on the nanoparticles
surface with the vibrational modes of the molecule.”
The Raman
spectrum intensity increases tremendously — 10,000 million times — and this
allows the detection of molecules at very low concentration.
Scientists
across the world have so far been unsuccessful in applying surface-enhanced
Raman scattering to reliably detect molecules in gas or vapour phase.
In the case of
molecules present in liquid phase, the addition of the liquid to nanoparticles
allows the molecules to get adsorbed on the nanoparticle. Once adsorbed, the
Raman spectrum gets enhanced. But capturing the molecule and adsorbing it on
the nanoparticle has proven to be difficult when the molecule is in a gas
phase.
“This is what we
have solved using out technique,” he says. The challenge was overcome by
designing nanoparticles that behave as a cage to capture the molecule from the
gas phase.
When liquid
containing the nanoparticles is subjected to a thermal gradient (one end is
kept hot while the other is cold) the nanoparticles tend to migrate from the
hot end to the cold one. As a result, the concentration of nanoparticles at the
cold end increases. When the concentration of nanoparticles at the cold end
increases they self-assemble to form the cage. The cage then traps the
molecule, whether it is in a liquid or gas state. “Once the molecule gets
trapped, the Raman spectrum gets enhanced as the cage is made of
nanoparticles,” explains Prof. Subramaniam.
“Since we don’t
use any chemical or lithography to bring the nanoparticles together, there is
minimal interference to the signal. So we were able to detect the analyte
[chemical substance of interest] even when only few molecules of it were
present,” says Maku Moronshing from IIT Bombay and first author of the paper.
Validation of
platform
Since testing
the technique on human subjects for early-stage lung cancer detection is
riddled with ethical and clinical challenges, the researchers looked at
low-hanging fruit. This platform is particularly suited for the detection of
plastic explosives such as TNT and RDX.
To detect the
presence of explosives, air sample containing the molecules is forced into
water that contains nanoparticle cages; the molecules get trapped in the cages.
The presence of molecules is detected by shining laser and measuring the Raman
spectrum. The entire process of sample collection and signal acquisitions takes
about 2-3 minutes.
“As each
molecule has a characteristic signature, the presence of the molecule in the
sample tested can be ascertained by looking for specific signatures,” Prof.
Subramaniam. “Unlike in the case of early-stage lung cancer, validation for
explosives and air-quality monitoring will be easy as no ethical clearances are
required.”
The researchers
are now looking at incorporating data analytics into the platform to make the
system to read the signatures automatically. And they are also trying to reduce
the size of the platform to make it portable. “We are talking to companies to
build miniaturised Raman spectrometers so that this detection technique can be
truly portable and field-deployable,” he says
Source: THE HINDU- 17th September,2018
ISRO's PSLV-C-42 launches two U.K. satellites
Among the launches scheduled over the next few months, the
much-awaited and delayed Chandrayaan-2, finally has a launch window, says ISRO
chief Sivan
The night dark skies
above Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh lit up in bright orange
hues as space launch vehicle PSLV-C42 lifted off and vanished into the thick
black clouds, carrying two satellites from the United Kingdom – NovaSAR and S1-4
from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR).
PSLV-C-42, the lightest
version of the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) flying in its core-alone
version without six strap-on motors, rose into the skies at 10.08 p.m. Almost
18 minutes later, the two satellites were placed in the desired orbit by ISRO
(Indian Space Research Organisation). This was the 12th launch of a core-alone
version of the PSLV.
“This was a spectacular
mission. We have placed the satellite in a very, very precise orbit,” R.
Hutton, Mission Director, said.
The two satellites,
owned by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) were placed in a circular orbit
around the poles, 583 km from the Earth. The commercial arm of ISRO, Antrix
Corporation, earned more than ₹220 crore on this launch.
The NovaSAR is a
technology demonstration mission designed to test the capabilities of a new low
cost S-band SAR platform. It will be used for ship detection and maritime
monitoring and also flood monitoring, besides agricultural and forestry
applications.
The S1-4 will be used
for environment monitoring, urban management, and tackling disasters.
“This unique mission is
mainly for ‘ascending daytime node’ launch. This is the first time we have
executed a different type of mission altogether,” ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said.
Mr. Sivan said the next
six months would see 18 missions – 10 satellite missions and 8 launch vehicle
missions.
“We are almost going to
have one launch every two weeks. Definitely the load on us is going to be
huge,” he noted.
Among the launches
scheduled over the next few months, the much-awaited and delayed, India’s
second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, finally has a launch window.
“Chandrayaan-2 is
planned for a window from January 3 to February 16, 2019 that we are targeting.
It can happen anytime during that window. But we are aiming for the beginning
of the window, January 3,” Mr. Sivan said.
“Right now with the
status of the rocket, the GSLV Mk-3 M1, and the present status of the satellite,
we are not expecting any more delay. At the same time tests are going on. If
unexpected things happen, that may have some impact. But right now, we are not
anticipating any delay.”
The other launches
include the GSAT series that would provide bandwidth speeds of up to 100 Gbps
per second, as part of the government’s Digital India efforts, he said.
The Cartosat and Risat
satellites would also be launched within the next six months, Mr. Sivan said.
Source: THE HINDU-17th September,2018
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Duniya ki pehli khudkaar robotic kashti ne Behre-Aukyanos uboor kar liya
http://epaper.inquilab.com/epaper/08-sep-2018-2-edition-Mumbai-Page-14.html
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Library Card Notice - 2018-19
Ref.: AIKTC/KRRC/Notice/2018-19/
Date:
11/09/2018
LIBRARY CIRCULAR
Students of First Year of School of Engineering & Technology are
hereby informed that they can collect their Library Cards as per the schedule given below:
Date : 11th – 20th Sept. 2018
Documents
Require :
1. Original/Xerox Copy of Fee Receipt
2. Two stamp (small) size color photo
Librarian, AIKTC
e-Yantra Ideas Competition (eYIC 2019)
An initiative by
IIT Bombay that aims to create the next generation of embedded systems
engineers with a practical outlook to help provide practical solutions to some
of the real world problems.
For more info: http://e-yantra.org
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