Category Archives: Science & Technology

SJCE students win prize at PACE Forum, Brazil

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
From left: Prof. V. Basavaraj, SJCE- PACE Coordinator and Dr. K. Chandrashekara, SJCE - CIC Project Mentor, along with the students of SJCE, seen receiving the award from Dr. Delia J. Valles Rosales (extreme left), Professor & PACE- CIC Coordinator, New Mexico State University
From left: Prof. V. Basavaraj, SJCE- PACE Coordinator and Dr. K. Chandrashekara, SJCE – CIC Project Mentor, along with the students of SJCE, seen receiving the award from Dr. Delia J. Valles Rosales (extreme left), Professor & PACE- CIC Coordinator, New Mexico State University

Mysuru :

The “iREACTOR” project by the students of Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), Mysuru, won the II prize in Pace Global Annual Forum held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was a Collaborative Innovative Challenge competition in University of São Paulo, Brazil.

The students involved in this project were Aniketh Mohan Rao, Abhiram Madenur Venkatesha, Suraj Handithavalli Purushothama and Vadiraja Mysore Nagendra. This project was guided by Dr. K. Chandrashekara and mentored by Prof. V. Basavaraj.

“A Comparative FEM Analysis of Tribological and strength characteristics of composites of PF and ER matrices reinforced with GF and other filler materials with commercially available Brake pads” won the III prize for outstanding poster preparation and presentation. The students involved in this project were M.N. Vadiraja and Mohan Kumar. This project was guided by Dr. K. Chandrashekara and mentored by Prof. V. Basavaraj.

In addition, 1 CIC project, 2 CIC poster presentations and 2 Technical paper poster presentations were presented by SJCE in the Global Forum, which consisted of 65 globally recognised PACE institutions from all around the world, five of which are located in India. A total of 5 students participated in the Siemens NX Basic certification training programme in the Forum and Srikanth of I&P and Mohammad Anshad of Mechanical Engineering cleared the NX Certification exam and they were awarded the Basic NX trainer certificates by Siemens PLM software, USA.

Further, the students of SJCE who participated in RSMS (Reconfigurable Shared use Mobility System) project as TEAM 6 with other Universities — PES University, Bangalore, MSRUAS, Bangalore, Wuhan University of Technology, China, Michigan Technological University, USA and ITAM, Mexico — prepared a prototype model of RSMS which is a four -wheeler vehicle with the provision of reconfigurable and shared use mobility system.

SJCE students Srinidhi Bukkapatanam, Nikhil Somashekar Murthy, Vijayeendra Rao Harnall Padmanabh, Suraj Handithavalli Purushothama and Srikanth Nanjundaswamy participated in this project. RSMS project was sponsored fully by General Motors and PACE consortium. This project was guided by Prof. V.Basavaraj and Dr.R.Srinidhi and mentored by Dr. V. Ramesh.

SJCE PACE Coordinator Prof. V. Basavaraj along with project mentor Dr.K. Chandrashekara with 13 students of SJCE attended the PACE Global Forum and received these awards.

This is the 5th consecutive time that SJCE has excelled at the Forum.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Monday – September 14th, 2015

‘We want to solve unmet medical needs’

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Stempeutics Research is India’s leading regenerative medicine (stem cell) company. B N Manohar, its MD and CEO, recently sat down with Deccan Herald’s Georgy S Thomas to explain how regenerative medicines give hope to people who have no other options. Excerpts:

ManoharBF12sept2015

What are stem cells?

The human body is made up of three categories of cells: germ cells, somatic cells, and stem cells. Somatic cells, which have two copies of each chromosome, make up most of the human body. There are 220 types of somatic cells. Germ line cells are any line of cells that give rise to eggs and sperm. The rudimentary stem cells normally transform into somatic cells. But for some reason, some stem cells are still found as leftovers in adults. They have the ability to regenerate other cells. Also, stems cells can be allogenic, which means your stem cell can go to anyone in the world; whereas your blood cannot be of use to others without a match.

When was your company formed?

In 2006.

Who are the promoters?

Manipal Group, initially. Subsequently, in 2009, we entered into a strategic alliance with Cipla. Manipal  Group is well known in education and healthcare. What we are doing is novel product development. So we felt the need to have a good pharma partner. Cipla owns 49 per cent equity, and Manipal Group is the 51-per cent majority partner.

How much capital have you raised?

So far around Rs 200 crore. Every quarter, I raise funds from the promoters in proportion to their equity stake.

What are your revenues?

Zero. Today we are still a pre-revenue company and we are likely to generate revenues in this financial year. So far we have been spending money to develop this product for about eight years.

What is the difference between biotech and stem cell technology?

Traditional medicines are derived from chemicals. Biotechnology makes use of biology: you have vaccines, then gene therapy, cell therapy, and tissue engineering. That’s how the whole  field is advancing. Ours is a part of biotech, but in a niche area.

Which is the biggest stem cell firm?

There are different biotech and pharma companies entering the stem cell area. The biggest pure-play stem cell company is probably Australia’s Mesoblast. It is not making much of revenues (AUD 23.75 million) yet, but the market value of the listed company is more than a billion AUD, probably in recognition of its potential.

Do you have any competitors in India?

In India, there is Reliance Life Sciences. But it is not focused like us in bringing out a New Biological Entity or NBE. Our NBE is MSC or mesenchymal stromo cell.

How many drugs are you working on?

We are working on only one drug called Stempeucel. Unlike chemicals, stem cells are multipotent. Like the embryonic stem cell which can turn into any of 220 different somatic cells, our MSC derived from bone marrow is pluripotent, meaning it can do multiple jobs in our body.

Which stage is this drug in?

Stempeucel has completed pre-clinical safety tests in animals, and Phase-1 and Phase-2 trials in more than 200 humans. We have now moved the drug controller general of India (DCGI) to directly go into production and marketing by skipping Phase-3. DCGI is actively considering it.

In pre-clinical trials, we had to prove the drug’s safety and efficacy. The safety trials were done at National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, and Syngene, Bengaluru. While we were doing this, being the first to attempt an NBE in India, we chose to work with DCGI to form a regulatory framework.

Is there a regulatory framework now­­­­­?

It is there now. Over a period of 7-8 years we worked with the DCGI to create the framework.The guidelines have been published and feedback has been received from the public. Now Parliament will have to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to bring in the changes.

What disease is Stempeucel targeting?

We are focusing on a condition called CLI or critical limb ischemia.

What is it?

Like a heart attack, it is known as leg attack. The arteries get blocked, you will have severe pain and will not be able to walk. Even when you sit, there will be severe pain and any ulcers won’t heal because there is no proper blood flow. Ultimately, it may lead to amputation. More than 10 million people suffer from CLI in India.

Is Stempeucel an injection?

Yes. We give around 40 injections around the leg in a one-time administration, and also around the ulcer.

How many milligrams?

Each one is 0.5 ml, and 2 ml around the ulcer. We have measured at the six-month interval and seen dramatic results. So based on this we went to the government to fast-track the approval process. Something similar to the orphan drug designation (ODD) and ATMP (advanced therapy medicinal product) processes in Europe. Incidentally, we have received both ATMP and ODD approvals.

It seems you have received some patents too. What are they all about?

The patents are for our novel process in making the NBE. We have applied in 18 countries and has so far received patents in seven countries — the US, Australia, China, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, and South Africa.

How much will a Stempeucel vial cost?

We are yet to finalise the price. For instance, one 100-million cell vial of stem cell drug Prochymal by US company Osiris costs about $15,000. Our goal is to reduce the price to between $2,000 and $3,000.

How many employees are there in your organisation?

Currently 39. The mix is seven PhD biotechnologists, 30 scientists, two medical doctors.

Do you need a fresh infusion of funds?

We are looking for a strategic partner. After receiving ODD and ATMP approvals, we have been asked to do a pivotal trial in Europe. It costs up to $30 million to do even a simple clinical trial there. So we need a bigger partner, preferably a pharma.

What is your five-year goal?

Ultimately, our goal is to provide solutions for major unmet medical needs. For that, we have to be financially strong as well. We hope to become a $100-million company in five years.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Economy & Business / by Georgy S Thomas / DHNS – September 07th, 2015

B’luru lab to co-develop Ebola drug with Public Health England

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
(Representative Image)
(Representative Image)

Bengaluru :

Nine months after two novel compounds or drug candidates for Ebola from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) were shortlisted among 20 globally by the Public Health England (PHE), one of them has made it to the final three.

And having realised the potential, PHE, which built and commissioned the first bio-safety level (BSL)4 facilities in the world (1976), designed the world’s first Class III safety cabinets, and used them to co-discover and characterise the Ebola virus, has signed a memorandum of understanding with JNCASR to co-develop the drug.

This contribution to the world from Dr Jayanta Haldar and two of his students–Chandra Dhish Ghosh and Mohini Mohan Konai–will be the first serious one from a developing nation.

The two drugs which were shortlisted, codenamed NCK-8 and D-LANA-14, were lead candidates from two classes of peptide mimics (a molecule global researchers have created to fight the virus) with high activity against a range of multi-drug resistant bacteria and malarial parasites, including clinical isolates.

TOI was the first to break the story in its December 20, 2014 edition under the title “Drugs for Ebola likely to have an Indian connection”.

Speaking TOI on Tuesday, Haldar said: “After extensive trials, one of them along with another from PHE proved to be very active in in-vivo (guinea pig) tests, which has prompted PHE to sign the MoU. From here on we will be working together and we hope to bring out a drug soon.”

Haldar while refusing to still disclose the exact materials used in NCK-8 and D-LANA, reiterated that they are made in three steps with easily available and inexpensive starting materials which do not require any difficult conditions for synthesis.

Dr Seshadri Vasan of PHE had said in December that PHE has a track record of scientific innovation and development, and the funding from Wellcome Trust will allow it to utilise our experience and expertise to assist in the fight against Ebola.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home>City> Bengaluru / by Chethan Kumar, TNN / September 08th, 2015

Indian e-mail tech start-up strikes it big

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
The Strike team which won the regional round of Seedstars World competition.
The Strike team which won the regional round of Seedstars World competition.

Wins Swiss-based Seedstars World regional competition

Strike, a start-up which helps people do research inside their Gmail App, has won the regional round of Seedstars World, a global start-up competition.

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded by Alisee de Tonnac and Pierre-Alain Masson, the competition is supported by the venture builder Seedstars. It promotes, connects and invests up to $1.5 million (Rs 9.9 crore) in start-ups in emerging markets, ranging from Shanghai to Cairo.

The Strike team will now travel to Geneva in March 2016 and win up to $500,000 (Rs. 3.3 crore) in equity investment. It will compete with regional winners from 55 countries as part of the Seedstars World final event in front of top investors and an international jury.

“We have developed a global product in India. Seedstars’ network will help us to target almost every market in the world,” said Aishwarya Jain, 25, chief executive at Strike. “It is rare to find product start-ups getting funded by venture capitalists in India.”

Mr. Jain cofounded Strike last September along with Akshay Katyal, his former colleague at tech company HackerEarth. The start-up has developed a technology that provides insights to users about people while checking mails on mobile. For example, how they look like, where they work, their social profiles and public updates. The start-up aims to provide all the public information about anyone through its app.

Ten start-ups from different parts of the country pitched their ideas to an audience of angel investors and industry experts at the one-day event held in Bengaluru on Saturday.

“Strike, by its unique idea of giving an outlook of personalities of people with one tap on your phone, has won the chance to represent India,” said Mahesh Bhalla, president at gift card tech firm QwikCilver. Mr.Bhalla was one of the jury members at the event.

EventsHigh, a local event discovery platform that brings all the events and things to do in a city, was placed second in the competition. The firm was founded by former WalmartLabs engineers Nikesh Garera, Arvind Batra and Parag Sarda last year. Another start-up, SayPay Technologies, co-founded by Ramsyam Missula was placed third in the competition. The firm enables users to make bill payments and online purchases on their mobile device by using their voice.

Last year, Scandid, a Pune-based shopping technology start-up, won the regional round of Seedstars World. The venture enables shoppers do price comparison by scanning the product barcodes with their mobile phones.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Peerzada Abrar / Bengaluru – September 08th, 2015

Karkala to host workshop on analytical instruments

Education, Science & Technology

Sri Bhuvanendra College will be organising a UGC-sponsored national-level workshop on ‘Operation and maintenance of analytical instruments’ at Karkala in Udupi district from September 7 to 11.

In a press release issued here on Thursday, P. Venkataramana Gowda, college principal, said that the workshop would be held with the technical support from Western Regional Instrumentation Centre (WRIC), University of Mumbai.

The objective of the workshop was to train the teachers and technicians of Chemistry and Life Sciences departments of degree colleges about the operation, maintenance and repair of electric/electronic laboratory equipment, including refractometer, conductivity meter, potentiometer, colorimeter, centrifuge, laminar air flow, autoclave, microscopes, electric oven, incubator, heating mantle, and magnetic stirrer.

Practical training on glass blowing will also arranged to teach the technique of joining/repairing broken glasswares.

The participants were advised to bring the faulty equipment and broken glasswares from their laboratories so that they can learn to repair it during the workshop.

The training programme will be inaugurated by B.L. Jadhav, Director of WRIC.

Each college can depute two faculty members and one lab technician for the three-day training from the Chemistry Department and for the two-day training from the Life Sciences Departments. For details, call: K. Narayana Poojary on 9480231161 or email: knpoojary_61@yahoo.com

Teachers from Chemistry and Life Sciences departments of degree colleges to be trained on maintenance of laboratory equipment

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Ganesh Prabhu / Udupi – September 04th, 2015

At 110, man gets back his vision

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

Bengaluru :

At the ripe age of 110, Muniyappa is brimming with life. Unlike his peers, he’s not dependent on others. However, a couple of months ago, he began to complain of impaired vision.

Muniyappa and his 90-year old wife Nanjamma underwent cataract surgeries on the same day.
Muniyappa and his 90-year old wife Nanjamma underwent cataract surgeries on the same day.

Reason: Cataract, a common eye ailment among the elderly . But thanks to a surgery he underwent recently , the supercentenarian has regained his eyesight.

Old age may mean befriending a walking stick and getting used to blurred vision. However, many have got their sight back in their 90s, because of advancement in medical science.

Muniyappa, who underwent the cataract surgery at St John’s Hospital, is not alone. At Sankara Eye Hospital, over 24 patients aged above 90 have been operated upon since 2013. Most recently, a 91-year-old male patient underwent a surgery to correct a retinal disorder on August 13. Doctors say complications are more when it comes to geriatric patients.

About a year ago, Muniyappa underwent an angioplasty . All was well till cataract clouded his lens and led to blurred vision. Doctors suggested an operation.”With age, the risk increases. He was on blood thinners, so performing the surgery was even tougher, said Dr Mary Varghese, head, vitreo-retinal surgery and associate professor, St John’s Medical College.

An experienced surgeon, she recalled the tense moments she had in the operation theatre. “Since he’d suffered from cardiac ailments in the past, we couldn’t stop him from taking blood thinners. They prevent blood from clotting, which can lead to bleeding during surgery . I was very careful while operating on him. After it was over, I heaved a sigh of relief,” she said.

Muniyappa’s son Krishnamma M told TOI he is able to see clearly . “He has been asked to wear protective glasses,” he said. Muniyappa’s wife Nanjamma, 90, too underwent the same surgery on the same day .

Of the patients operated upon at Sankara Eye Hospital, most suffered from age-related disorders; cataract being the majority (50%), said Dr Kaushik Murali, president, medical administration, qual ity and education. “Other conditions included age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), lid anomalies and tearing and glaucoma,” he said.

Dr Rohit Shetty, vice-chairman, Narayana Nethralaya, recalled operating on a 100-year-old woman in 2005. The team has to factor in aspects like age. “There are chances of dryness and a delayed healing.Complications like bleeding and haemorrhage may also happen,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bengaluru / by Sunitha Rao, TNN / September 01st, 2015

India Gets its 1st Health Exchange Website

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

Hemant Bhardwaj, CEO, MD and co-founder of PMHLC, said, “With our business model which is a win-win for each stakeholder in the ecosystem, we anticipate achieving one million transactions within 12 months of operations. Zigy.com will connect chemists and druggists with consumers.”

Zigy.com, integrated with Zigy HealthVault, is a first-of-its-kind patient-controlled electronic health record system that will use technology to connect Indians needing health products and services with doctors, clinics, hospitals and other healthcare providers.

Zigy HealthVault provides a highly secure and completely confidential way of storing all health-related information for patients and family members. Zigy facilitates its easy retrieval, upon the patient’s authorisation, to enable doctors and other healthcare providers to fully understand the case history. This structured flow of information will result in better diagnosis.

Phaneesh Murthy, co-founder and executive chairman of PMHLC, called Zigy the first step towards realising “our dream of a Swastha Bharat”.

The online marketplace will initially serve customers in five cities – Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. The product portfolio on the marketplace will include allopathic, homeopathic, ayurvedic and other wellness products.

The operations will be extended to 50 cities within 18 months, and PMHLC expects Zigy to serve rural India after a while.

Zigy is available on both the web and mobile platforms.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / August 25th, 2015

Horticulture research institute in Bengaluru to develop seed potato

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister of State for Agriculture, has said that the government has decided to develop seed potato at the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research Station at Hesaraghatta in Bengaluru and distribute them to growers in Hassan and other places in the State.

The institute would develop disease-free seeds which would assure a better yield to growers, provided it was cultivated in a scientific way, the Minister said at the drought review meeting here on Wednesday.

He was reacting to the allegations of H.D. Revanna, Janata Dal (Secular) MLA, that substandard seeds were distributed among growers in Hassan district in the past two years and the growers had incurred crores of rupees losses.

The Minister said that the production might begin in a year or two. Till then, the government would get quality seeds from Punjab, he said.

Mr. Revanna alleged that many traders and commission agents in Hassan had sold table potato as seed potato to farmers in the last few years and cheated growers.

He alleged that the district administration had failed to initiate action though he had written to the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief Executive Officer of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat.

Mr. Revanna said that the growers were discouraged by the fall in the prices of potato every year and the area under potato cultivation had come down considerably in Hassan district.

T.B. Jayachandra, Minister for Law and Parliamentary affairs, asked the Deputy Commissioner of Hassan to make a list of potato growers in the district and their requirement of seed potato. The government would get seeds from Punjab and distribute it among growers.

The Minister also said that the government might not hesitate to distribute them at subsidised rates to encourage growers.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by H.S.Narasimha Kumar / Mysuru – August 28th, 2015

Nitte college bags awards at students’ exhibition

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology
The students of the NMAM Institute of Technology with the trophy at 38th series State -level Student Project Seminar and Exhibition at Adyar in Mangaluru recently.
The students of the NMAM Institute of Technology with the trophy at 38th series State -level Student Project Seminar and Exhibition at Adyar in Mangaluru recently.

The NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte, was adjudged for the Best Performing College of 2014-15 during the 38th State-level Student Project Seminar and Exhibition organised by the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology at Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management at Adyar on August 20 and 21.

In a press release issued here, Niranjan N. Chiplunkar, principal of the NMAM Institute of Technology, said the award was presented by president of Institution of Engineers (India) Muralikrishna Reddy at the event. The project ‘Ethanol production from pure glycerol using Bacillus cereus ’ by final year B.E. students Samiyabanu, Krupa and Deepak, was awarded best project in the Biofuels category.

Another project ‘Unipolar SPWM-based Reactive Power Compensator’ by students Nishanth, Sourabh, Apoorva and Madhumita, was awarded best project in the seminar category. About 97 engineering colleges all over the State participated in the seminar and exhibition.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Ganesh Prabhu / Udupi – August 25th, 2015

This retired engineer has created software to clean up voter list

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

In the run up to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, former HAL software en gineer PG Bhat formed Smart Votes, a not-for-profit organization to urge people to vote. While doing this, he and his friends realized the electoral rolls were full of errors.

“A woman was listed as male, a person who had been dead for years was still on the list, photos on voter ID cards were wrong… I could go on,” says Bhat, 65. In 2010, he wrote software that could detect obvious and logical errors in voter lists.

He paid Rs 2 per sheet to get the electoral rolls as per the rules, and began testing his software. “When lakhs of entries are made, errors are bound to creep in. Back then, the election office did not a system for verification. Even now, my software detects more errors than theirs,” he says.

For example, if a name appears twice, the age is below 18 or above 100, or the photo does not match the gender, the system throws up an alert. “I’ve found some patterns in the errors that can be fixed automatically. Other errors that the system cannot find or fix are detected by me, one by one,” he says.

Bhat looks after his grandson during the day while his daughter is at work, but once she is home after 5pm, he is at the computer cleaning up the electoral rolls. “At peak times, I have worked for 15 hours at a stretch,” Bhat says. He also gets requests from citizens to find their names on the electoral rolls and check if all their details are right. He complies cheerfully, and doesn’t charge anyone for his time or services.

He has asked the Karnataka election office to use his soft ware or adopt a similar one, but “every time I speak to the officers they insist that they don’t need it. They say their system is better though we all know it is flawed”, he says.

When Bhat did a detailed analysis of the voters’ list released recently ahead the BBMP poll, he found errors. “Such errors are a result of mistakes committed while making addition, deletion and corrections to the electoral list. There are more than 70 lakh voters in the 198 wards within the BBMP limits. The chief electoral officer (Karnataka) has said they deleted 58,110 names during the revision of the rolls. However, many of these deleted names are still in the voters’ rolls uploaded in the BBMP website,” he says.

According to Bhat, the errors could prove costly during the election. “Thousands of voters IDs don’t have the EPIC numbers. We also found that the gender of many voters is wrong and there are mistakes in the names. Voters will face problems when they go to exercise their franchise. The commission must take care while making entries as the continued presence of errors in the list would ultimately discourage genuine voters.And this is one of the reason why people don’t come out and vote,” he says.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bengaluru / by Aparajita Ray, TNN / August 17th, 2015