KARNATAKA RECORDS: TRANSPORT, ENGINEERING: Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) to Run First Indigenously Built Trains of Namma Metro

First indigenously built coaches of Namma Metro have been recently given the green signal to be inducted into operations by the Railway Board. The seven brand new trains with 42 coaches, readied by BEML, are stationed at Peenya.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) now has a fleet of 57 trains with six cars each. They will be mainly used on the Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield line, which is set to be launched by year-end. 

The Railway Board communicated to the BMRCL director on May 18 that the coaches have been cleared to run at a maximum speed of 80kmph. It has also given permission to use the rolling stock for the Purple and Green Line corridors. 

BMRCL MD Anjum Parwez said, “We will utilise these trains for the  Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield line and between Kengeri and Challaghatta”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (edited)

GLOBAL PARTICIPATION: KARNATAKA RECORDS: ARTS & CULTURE : First Time Filmmaker Shruthi Raju’s Short Film ‘What’s Up With Indian Men’ Goes to 75th Annual Cannes Film Festival

The 15-minute film, mostly in English, is a lighthearted social satire that looks at different generations of men through a woman’s eyes.

Bengaluru-based Shruthi Raju, a first-time filmmaker, will be among the Indians participating in the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival in southern France. Her short film  What’s Up With Indian Men? will be shown in Cannes Court Metrage online Video Library on May 25 during the festival.

The 15-minute film, mostly in English, is a lighthearted social satire that looks at different generations of men through a woman’s eyes. 

After working on more than 120 original theatre shows across south India under the banner of Underdog Entertainment, which she co-founded, Shruthi recently ventured into films. The short film is adapted from a play she wrote and acted in.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

INDIA RECORDS: EDUCATION -NATURAL & LIFE SCIENCES : The National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) Ranked 2nd in the Country by Education World (EW) India Higher Education Rankings 2022-23

The National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), Bengaluru, was ranked second in the country in the Education World (EW) India Higher Education Rankings 2022-23. Nimhans, with a score of 1,126, was listed second among government universities in the Natural & Life Sciences category.

Under the EW ranking system, the universities are evaluated according to various parameters of higher education excellence, including competence of faculty, curriculum and pedagogy (including digital readiness), infrastructure and quality of leadership/governance, among other key factors.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (edited)

KARNATAKA RECORDS: RESEARCH – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: HEALTH & MEDICAL: Researchers at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have Designed Nanobots to Prevent the Recurrence of Infections after Root Canal

A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has designed a nanobot that helps prevent recurrence of infections after a root canal.

The researchers, who also belong to IISc-incubated startup Theranautilus, were able to devise a way to remove all infection-causing bacteria left behind after a root canal procedure. 

The procedure needs to be undertaken when the flesh or ‘pulp’ inside a tooth becomes infected due to bacteria. The procedure involves removing the infected pulp or tissue and cleaning out residual bacteria. The bacteria often hides within microscopic canals in the tooth.

“The dentinal tubules are very small and bacteria reside deep in the tissue. Current techniques are not efficient enough to go all the way inside and kill the bacteria,” said Shanmukh Srinivas, one of the founders of the startup and a research associate at IISc. 

source/content: newindianexpress.com (edited)

KARNATAKA RECORDS: HEALTH & MEDICAL: First Successful Bone Marrow Transplant Performed at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology

The State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology has successfully conducted its first Autologous Stem Cell transplantation on an eight-year-old boy from Tumkuru. 

The patient, Jeevan Kumar, had been diagnosed with Refractory Hodgkins Lymphoma, S4, nine months ago. The transplantation was done on April 28 and the patient was discharged on Monday.

A team of doctors comprising Vasundhara Kailasnath, Linu Jacob, Smitha Saldanha and Gayatri from the Bone Marrow Transplantation unit at the hospital performed the surgery. The unit was inaugurated on February 15 on the occasion of International Childhood Cancer Day.

“We initially collected the healthy stem cells from the patient and cyropreserved (a process in which the cells are stored at minus 80 degree celsius). Subsequently, the patient was given high dose chemotherapy to kill the residual cancer cells and the stored stem cells were transfused back into the patient. This procedure is called Autologous Stem Cell transplantation,” said Dr. Kailasnath.

“The entire process has taken about 20-24 days and the patient has done well through the procedure. Autologous Stem Cell transplantation enables us to give very dose chemotherapy to the patient,” she said.

“We have 12 rooms plus five ICU beds in the transplantation unit. In the next four months, we will be ready to take up allogenic bone marrow transplantation for which about 15 patients are in the waitlist,” Dr. Kailasnath added.

Institute Director C. Ramachandra said the expensive procedure was done free of cost for the patient.  “About 20 patients have been lined up for this procedure and the next patient will be taken up within a week,” he said.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

INDIA RECORDS: KARNATAKA RECORDS: CFTRI brings out Seven New Technologies

Licences for some of the technologies have been taken by entrepreneurs

CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) on Wednesday announced the new technologies it has developed in the last one year, on the occasion of the National Technology Day that was observed here.

Also, the CFTRI gave licences to entrepreneurs for commercialising some of its technologies, thanks to the initiatives of the Technology Transfer and Business Development Department. Certificates and mementoes were presented to the licensee at the National Technology Day event for having used the technologies, by former Vice-Chancellor K. Chidananda Gowda who was the chief guest.

In total, seven new technologies, including gluten-free biscuits, gluten-free cookie cake, buckwheat noodles and pasta, multigrain nutri cookies, chikki with moringa, coffee brew mix, and high performance advanced oxidation process for STPs, greywater, industrial wastewaters (food and non-food), were developed by the R and D teams.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

WORLD RECORDS: KARNATAKA RECORDS : 3 golds at South Africa National Swimming Championships, 14-year-old swimmer Ridhima Veerandra Kumar resolves to make bigger splashes

Although teenage swimming sensation Ridhima Veerendra Kumar bagged 3 gold medals at the South Africa National Swimming Championships, the youngster maintains that she needs to work a lot harder now.

Making big splashes in the pool, 14-year-old Ridhima Veerendra Kumar had a golden run at the South Africa National Swimming Championships 2022 where the youngster finished on top of the podium in three events and made heads turn.

The lanky teenager from Bengaluru was on a mission of her own as she swept gold in the 100m backstrokes, 200m backstroke, and the 800m freestyle events – but none of these exploits seems to put Ridhima on cloud nine, she rather remains calm and composed, focussed on the future instead.

source/contents: thebridge.in (edited)

GLOBAL RECORDS: INDIA RECORDS: KARNATAKA RECORDS : India-born Scientist & Conservation Biologist Kamal Bawa Elected to US National Academy of Sciences

Conservation biologist Kamal Bawa has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Kamal Bawa is president of the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) as well as an elected fellow of the Royal Society (London) and the American Philosophical Society.

“The election is a reaffirmation of our important work on the ecology, conservation, and management of tropical forests that are declining all over the world but are critical to humanity’s well-being,” said Dr. Bawa.

A few years ago, Dr. Bawa brought together scientists from India’s leading institutions to develop the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing under the banner of the Biodiversity Collaborative.

The effort was supported by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and is currently funded by the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

KARNATAKA RECORDS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: PES University Students Shining ‘Sitara’, Awarded for Kanglish Content, at 6th edition Azim Premji University’s National Level Science Enterprise Idea Challenge

‘Kanglish’ content on YouTube through Akkas and Annas, developed by a team of nine engineering students from PES University in Bengaluru has come as a blessing to children from 27 districts in Karnataka.

On Saturday, the team ‘Sitara’, which has developed content to teach Maths and Science to Class 10 students, has won the 6th Edition of Azim Premji University’s National Level Science Enterprise Idea Challenge in which 100 teams across the country participated.

The trio–Ananya V, Shriya Shankar and Srushti Jayaramu– who will be graduating in the next one and half months will quit their careers in engineering and continue full time with ‘Sitara’. Srushti tells TNIE, “The children’s hunger to learn motivated me, and pushed me to work harder.” The content has been appreciated and well received.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (edited)

INDIA RECORDS: KARNATAKA RECORDS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY : INVENTION : IISc-Bangalore Develops 3D Print Glove to Aid Long-Distance Physiotherapy for Stroke Victims

Physiotherapy is the often-used method to treat victims of stroke.

 In a world where digitisation is becoming prevalent, the IISc has developed 3D printed gloves to help aid in long-distance physiotherapy for stroke patients. One of the leading causes of death in India, strokes are also known to be a major cause of disabilities.

Physiotherapy is the often-used method to treat victims of stroke. However, with the recent pandemic, in-person physiotherapy sessions for patients have been a challenge. “Physiotherapy often requires daily hospital visits. Home visits by professionals or sophisticated devices to monitor patients remotely, although ideal, are not readily available and are expensive,” the researchers said.

From the institute’s department of physics, the researchers developed a 3d printed glove that uses light to sense a patient’s movements. “We wanted to develop something affordable, and available to a person at all times at their convenience.

The product should be easy to use and must provide feedback,” says Aveek Bid, an associate professor of physics and one of the researchers.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (edited)