2K families affected by Krishna river flood in AP’s Vijayawada

TB Team
-
0
2K families affected by Krishna river flood in AP’s Vijayawada

Even as the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada has been in spate since Sunday afternoon in the wake of a downpour, officials monitoring the situation said on Monday that around 2,000 families living in the catchment area were affected by floodwater.

“Of the nearly 2,100 families living there, around 2,000 families have been affected,” said an official.

He said the government was making arrangements at the IGM stadium and five municipal schools to house 2,000 displaced persons.

Officials have been monitoring the situation since Sunday night and arranging vehicles to shift out people. “However, only 500 persons are willing to move out while many others are not interested to leave their homes,” he said.

Many residents were seen wading through chest-deep waters with their belongings.

The government has also made food arrangements for the evacuees. Likewise, medical teams have also been readied to attend to the affected people.

“We are holding a medical camp near the flood-affected place. We have advised people to wear masks due to coronavirus pandemic. We have made public announcements to this effect,” said another official.

Relief efforts would be intensified once the floodwater recedes. Floodwater began to rise around 2 pm on Sunday and was expected to go up further.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh government’s adviser Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy took a jibe at former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Nara Chandrababu Naidu over the flood issue.

“Dear Chandrababu, there is flood in the Krishna river. At least now you should vacate the illegal house you built at Undavalli. You may block the government with protection from the courts but the floods may not spare your home from submergence,” Reddy said.

Following a downpour, the Krishna river is swollen at the Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada, compelling authorities to open all sluice gates to release the excess water.

Hockey India conducts online course for improving coaching standards

TB Team
-
0
Hockey India conducts online course for improving coaching standards

In a bid to continuously improve the standard of coaching across the country, Hockey India has been conducting the ‘Basic’ Level coaching course (online) for over 130 candidates from all 31 state member units. The candidates are divided into six groups and the course is being conducted from September 23 to October 10.

The course delves into the objectives of the Hockey India Coaching Education Pathway, introduction to the origins and history of hockey, rules of the game, various playing formats, field specifications, coaching equipment, training equipment, playing equipment, qualities of a coach, preparation for a training session and the conduction of a training session.

The online course has seen a high number of participants from the north-eastern state member units which include Hockey Arunachal, Hockey Nagaland, Hockey Mizoram and Assam Hockey.

Speaking on the conduction of the coaching course, Gyanendro Ningombam, Officiating President, Hockey India said, “Knowledge is the key to learning anything and we are extremely delighted with the way the candidates from various member units have put their hand up to attain knowledge about coaching through the Hockey India Level ‘Basic’ Coaching course (Online) in order to better themselves and grow the sport of hockey in India.”

“I wish them all the best for the rest of the course and further along the coaching pathway,” he added.

Chatbot-based AI health apps can’t be your doctor: Study

TB Team
-
0
Chatbot-based AI health apps can’t be your doctor: Study

As millions of people turn to their mobile devices to talk to chatbot-based health apps, researchers have revealed that existing apps lack the functions to support the full diagnostic process of a traditional visit to a medical facility.

These chatbot-based symptom checker (CSC) apps can only support five processes of an actual exam: establishing a patient history, evaluating symptoms, giving an initial diagnosis, ordering further diagnostic tests, and providing referrals or other follow-up treatments, reports researchers from Pennsylvania State University.

“These apps do not support conducting physical exams, providing a final diagnosis, and performing and analysing test results, because these three processes are difficult to realise using mobile apps,” said Yue You, a graduate student at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology.

In the study, the researchers investigated the functionalities of popular CSC apps through a feature review, then examined user experiences by analyzing user reviews and conducting user interviews.

Through their user experience analysis, the team also found that users perceive CSC apps to lack support for a comprehensive medical history, flexible symptom input, comprehensible questions, and diverse diseases and user groups.

The findings could inform functional and conversational design updates for health care chatbots, such as improving the functions that enable users to input their symptoms or using comprehensible language and providing explanations during conversations.

“Especially in health and medicine, [another question is] is there something else we should consider in the chatbot design, such as how should we let users describe their symptoms when interacting with the chatbot?” You said in a university statement.

Additionally, the findings could help individuals understand the influence of AI technology, such as how AI could influence or change traditional medical visits.

In the past, people generally trusted doctors.

But now, with the emergence of AI symptom checkers and the internet, people have more sources of information.

“How would this information challenge doctors? Do people trust this information and why? I think this work is a starting point to think about the influence of AI symptom checkers,” the authors wrote.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2: When luxury meets multitasking

TB Team
-
0
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2: When luxury meets multitasking

Smartphone manufacturers are trying various form factors to woo the new-rich, traditional wealthy families and individual professionals and Samsung has taken a definite lead in the luxury premium segment with its Galaxy Fold series.

Samsung’s third foldable smartphone Galaxy Z Fold2 5G — after Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Flip — is another attempt to up the ante for multitaskers who have Rs 1.5 lakh or more to spend on a smartphone that grabs immediate eyeballs owing to a world-class engineering.

Apart from a luxury feel, the device packs enhancements across hardware and user experience, unfolding a new era of possibilities for the mobile device across the spectrum — be it productivity, multi-tasking or simply streaming, surfing and dealing with other daily mundane works.

Holding the Mystic Bronze variant for a couple of hours was enough to learn how to get the most out of multitasking on the Galaxy Z Fold2 that offers a larger, 6.2-inch cover screen and a huge, 7.6-inch main screen – giving a 2-in-1 tablet kind of feeling.

Let us unfold it for all those multitaskers out there.

The ‘Multi-Active Window’ feature on the Galaxy Z Fold2 that supports up to three apps helps stay organised by allowing multiple app windows open on the same screen.

Read an email, check the answer on the web, and respond via messenger all on the same screen without ever closing a window. Even when you have multiple apps open, they still function smoothly in their resized configuration.

Multitasking isn’t just easier and more powerful on the Galaxy Z Fold2, it’s customisable too.

The Multi-Window Tray saves you time by allowing you to create presets for Multi-Active Window using App Pair with up to three of your favourite apps (to save your favourite app combinations and layouts, select the option menu from the divider while in Multi-Active Window Mode).

The Galaxy Z Fold2 makes multitasking more seamless with drag and drop functionality between apps.

While using ‘Multi-Active Window’, drag and drop images, tables, hyperlinks, text and other content between supported apps — no need to exit and relaunch the apps or fiddle with settings.

The intuitive ways to interact on the device get multiplied when minimised bezels, notch-less Front Camera, a 120Hz adaptable refresh rate for smooth scrolling.

Sharing screenshots from the Galaxy Z Fold2 was smooth and painless.

The ‘Split Screen Capture’ tool takes an individual screenshot of every app open. So, when you’re sending an updated presentation slide to your team from home, you can quickly grab a screenshot, then drag and drop it to the messenger without having to crop, edit, or exit and re-open apps.

You can also optimise your mobile experience with three different UI layouts and text size options: See More, See Bigger, and See Even Bigger.

‘See More’ takes full advantage of the Galaxy Z Fold2’s large display while ‘See Bigger’ and ‘See Even Bigger’ offer a more traditional phone UI experience that makes reading your screen easier on the eyes.

On the productivity front, Galaxy Z Fold2 5G comes with a 4500mAh battery and super-fast charging for a longer period of work.

It also offers Samsung DeX wireless connection for clutter=free work productivity, while UWB (Ultra Wide Band) technology is integrated into the device making it quick and easy to share files, photos or videos with ‘Nearby Share’ feature.

All these features are packed in a true premium feel.

Galaxy Z Fold2 5G comes with the best dynamic sound available on a Galaxy device to date, with enhanced stereo effect and clearer sound provided by high-dynamic dual speakers.

The device is re-engineered with a sleek, unified design that delivers a smooth, high-end feel. The design is anchored by the Hideaway Hinge, which fits seamlessly into the device body with the CAM mechanism and enables free standing capabilities that power all new Flex mode experiences.

The ‘Hideaway Hinge’ features revolutionary slim cutting technology, modified fibre composition and adjusted fibre density.

The device also houses sweeper technology within the gap between the body and hinge housing to repel dust and undesirable particles.

The device offers ‘Samsung Ultra Thin Glass’ on the 7.6-inch main screen, providing a more premium and refined feel for the display as you work, play or stream.

It runs Android 10 and has one eSIM and one nano-SIM slot.

Conclusion: Multitasking has become an integral part of our daily lives and users are seeking devices that make it easier to handle complex demands.

With the Galaxy Z Fold2, it’s never been easier to switch between your professional and personal life.

Galaxy Z Fold2 5G comes in Mystic Black and Mystic Bronze colours and is priced at Rs 149,999 with some attractive offers.

If you are among those who believe in trying out new form factors, the device is a perfect blend of luxury with productivity and multitasking.

Google slams arbitration system in Australia’s new media code

TB Team
-
0
Google slams arbitration system in Australia’s new media code

Google has slammed Australias draft News Media Bargaining Code again, saying that the highly unusual, largely untested, one-sided arbitration system in the proposed law will not allow fair negotiations and no business can operate with that level of uncertainty.

The new arbitration system would determine commercial arrangements between Google and news companies.

The system being proposed is called ‘binding final-offer arbitration’, referred to in the US as ‘baseball arbitration’.

“It isn’t used in any of the eight other mandatory codes in Australia. In fact, without the two parties’ consent, it’s never been used in Australian law before,” Mel Silva, VP, Google Australia & New Zealand, said in a blog post on Sunday.

In ‘baseball arbitration’, if the two sides can’t reach an agreement, each puts forward a single final offer and the arbitrator picks one, guided by set criteria.

This system is usually put in place if there’s not much dispute over the value of the product or service being discussed and the parties are already close in price.

“But with the media code, some of the amounts being suggested by news businesses about how much we should pay to provide links to their stories defy commercial reality,” Google said.

The reality is that “baseball arbitration often fails and doesn’t produce quick outcomes”.

Google last month termed the proposed changes unfair, while warning users that the new regulation will affect Google Search and YouTube.

Google even warned Australians that the proposed “News Media Bargaining Code” could even lead to their data being handed over to big news businesses.

“We don’t oppose a code governing the relationship between news businesses and digital platforms but right now, the way the law is drafted isn’t fair or workable,” Silva argued.

The draft code also says the arbitrator should consider news businesses’ production costs — but not Google’s.

“Again, that’s a significant amount of money, given we invest $1 billion each year in Australia to improve the services 22 million Australians use daily. This investment includes initiatives to directly support Australian news companies, like our digital skills training program for local newsrooms,” Google informed.

On April 20, the Australian Government announced it had directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to develop a mandatory code of conduct to address bargaining power imbalances between Australian news media businesses and each of Google and Facebook.

The draft code would allow news media businesses to bargain individually or collectively with Google and Facebook over payment for the inclusion of news on their services.

Google said it is happy to negotiate fairly and, if needed, see a standard dispute resolution scheme in place.

“But given the inherent problems with ‘baseball arbitration’, and the unfair rules that underpin it here, the model being proposed isn’t workable for Google”.

Blockchain technology is future of Twitter: Jack Dorsey

TB Team
-
0
Blockchain technology is future of Twitter: Jack Dorsey

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has once again reiterated that Bitcoin and Blockchain technology is the future of his micro-blogging platform to keep it more secure from hackers.

Dorsey last year announced a non-profit platform called Bluesky to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media.

“Blockchain and Bitcoin point to a future, point to a world, where content exists forever. We’re not in the content hosting business anymore, we’re in the discovery business,” the Square CEO said during the virtual Oslo Freedom Forum 2020 last Friday.

Dorsey expects Blue Sky to create an open Twitter protocol, which users can contribute to and access data from instead of a centralized service where the social media platform hosts content on its website.

“(Blue Sky) is a completely separate nonprofit from the company (Twitter),” Dorsey said.

“We’ll focus on becoming a client of it so we can build a compelling service and business where anyone can access and anyone can contribute.”

“You see this most fundamentally in bitcoin and in blockchain. The keys will be more and more in the hands of the individual,” he added.

Oslo Freedom Forum is “a series of global conferences run by the New York-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation (HRF).

Dorsey said: “I fundamentally believe that security is something that can never be perfected… it’s a constant race, it’s a constant push to be 10 steps ahead of hackers”.

“The whole spirit of Bitcoin, for instance, is to provide a trusted system in a distrusted environment, which is the internet, and those technologies will provide us new capabilities where we can do this internally as well and provide a lot more peace of mind”.

Dorsey has made absolutely no secret of his love for cryptocurrency over the years.

Twitter is also considering a feature that would allow users to tip one another in Bitcoins.

The Information reported recently that the micro-blogging platform is working on implementing a new payment feature to let people send money to each other.

According to the Twitter CEO, Bitcoin will one day be the currency of the internet and his company Square integrating cryptocurrency payments.

Dorsey has also hired Bitcoin developers for his payments company.

Judge temporarily blocks Trump admin’s TikTok ban

TB Team
-
0
Judge temporarily blocks Trump admin’s TikTok ban

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration’s ban on the Chinese short video-making app, TikTok just hours before it was scheduled to go into effect, according to media reports.

On Sunday, Judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, halted the ban after TikTok’s attorneys argued that Trump’s ban infringes on rights to free speech and due process, reports The Hill news website.

The ban would have forced the removal of TikTok from smartphone app stores and end app-updates, meaning no new users could download it and would eventually become non-functional.

Responding to the verdict, TikTok on Monday said it was pleased with the decision, and vowed to keep defending its rights, the BBC reported.

“We’re pleased that the court agreed with our legal arguments and issued an injunction preventing the implementation of the TikTok app ban,” the statement said.

Earlier this month, the Commerce Department had announced that TikTok downloads would be banned from September 20, and further restrictions would go into effect November 12, reports CNN.

Following the development, the Department said late Sunday that it would comply with the injunction, but adding that its order was “fully consistent with the law and promotes legitimate national security interests”.

It added that the US government intends to “vigorously defend” its order.

Sunday’s order came a week after a judge had temporarily halted Trump’s executive order to ban WeChat, a Chinese messaging, social-media and mobile-payment app.

This ban was to go into effect on September 20.

On August 6, Trump had issued the executive order banning US transactions via WeChat.

To fight for the legal rights of all WeChat users in the country, USWUA, an NGO, sued the administration for the ban.

The lawsuit opened in court on September 17.

Best save ever seen in my life: Sachin on Pooran’s fielding effort

TB Team
-
0
Best save ever seen in my life: Sachin on Pooran’s fielding effort

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was full of praise for Nicholas Pooran after the West Indian came out with a stunning fielding effort during Kings XI Punjab’s crushing defeat by Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 clash at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

In the eighth over of Rajasthan Royals’ chase of 224, Sanju Samson played a pull shot off Murugan Ashwin and it was then that Pooran, standing at deep mid-wicket, dived full length over the rope to catch the ball. The West Indian caught the ball while hanging in the air and realising that he wouldn’t be able to come inside the boundary line, he threw the ball — all while being in air — back inside the boundary line to save his team vital six runs.

“This is the best save I have seen in my life. Simply incredible!!” Tendulkar tweeted during the match on Sunday.

Responding to the praise from the batting legend, Kings XI fielding coach and one of the greatest fielders the game has ever seen, Jonty Rhodes said: “When the God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar says it is, then there really is no question about it being the best save, ever.”

“Fantastic work by Nicholas Pooran who inspired the rest of the Kings XI Punjab fielders to put on 1 of the best defensive fielding displays I have ever seen #proudcoach,” he added.

Cricketer-turned-commentator Ian Bishop also praised Pooran and said: “Nicholas Pooran has just pulled off one of the great saves in the game of cricket. Unbelievable awareness.”

However, Pooran’s effort couldn’t help the Kings XI win the match as Rajasthan Royals pulled off the highest chase in IPL history, winning the match by four wickets.

Anirban Lahiri enjoys T6 finish at Corales Puntacana Championship

TB Team
-
0
Anirban Lahiri enjoys T6 finish at Corales Puntacana Championship

India’s Anirban Lahiri enjoyed his first top-10 on the PGA Tour in nearly two years following a tied sixth finish at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.

The 33-year-old closed his week on Sunday with a 2-under 70 which included four birdies against two bogeys to finish on 13-under 275, five shots behind winner Hudson Swafford.

His top-10 performance ensured a start at the upcoming Sanderson Farms Championship and was also his first top-10 result since the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico in November, 2018.

“I felt really good after my first event in Napa. I had two really good rounds to finish that event as well, so I got it rolling here with some of that. Definitely, I’ve managed to build that snowball and build some momentum. Hopefully I use this going forward and kind of keep this going and maybe even play a little better,” said Lahiri, who finished T36 in the Safeway event after opening with a 74.

“I did not book a return flight and I booked myself on the charter, so this is going to be good for my confidence because I backed myself to do this,” he added.

Lahiri did not have the best of starts this week, going 4-over through his opening three holes on Thursday before fighting back for an opening 69. He followed it up with a 72 before lighting up the course with a flawless 64 on Saturday which pushed him up the leaderboard.

“The last couple of seasons, I’ve been very disappointing and where I find myself in my eligibility is not great, so I need to play myself into some of the events that I like to play. Definitely have a lot of opportunities in the fall that I need to take and build on that. Hopefully get closer to being really in contention on Sunday. I’ve had outside chances, but the goal is to kind of get to the last few with a realistic chance or maybe even a lead,” said Lahiri.

Lahiri ranked first in putting average per green in regulation for the week as he made birdies on Hole Nos. 6, 8, 12 and 15. He made bogeys on Hole Nos. 3 and 11.

Samsung may log $54.5bn in sales, to sell 80mn Galaxy phones in Q3

TB Team
-
0
Samsung may log $54.5bn in sales, to sell 80mn Galaxy phones in Q3

Samsung is expected to report strong third-quarter earnings, analysts said on Monday, as its mainstay semiconductor business remained solid despite a decline in memory prices, while its mobile and home appliance sales soared on pent-up demand amid the pandemic.

Samsung was projected to log $54.5 billion in sales in the July-September period, up 3.1 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit was estimated to surge 33.7 per cent (year-on-year) to $8.8 billion over the period, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Compared with the previous quarter, the estimated figure suggests Samsung is seeing a 20.7 per cent increase in sales and a 27.6 per cent jump in operating profit.

Samsung, the world’s leading memory chip and smartphone producer, is expected to announce its third-quarter earnings guidance next week.

Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone sales were estimated to be around 80 million units in the third quarter, about a 50 per cent increase from the previous quarter, while that of tablets reached 10 million units, roughly 45 percent higher than the second quarter, analysts added.

Analysts predicted Samsung’s chip business to post an operating profit of around 5 trillion won in the third quarter of the year.

Analysts also predicted that Samsung’s foundry business logged growth in the third quarter. The company reportedly secured orders from Qualcomm and Nvidia to manufacture their latest chips.

Samsung’s mobile business was tipped to see a big improvement in its earnings with increased smartphone sales and reduced marketing costs.

Many analysts here predicted that Samsung’s mobile business logged 4 trillion won in operating profit in the third quarter, more than double its second-quarter operating profit of 1.95 trillion won.

Samsung’s home appliance business was also tipped to get a boost from pent-up demand amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home economy with a sharp increase in its TV sales.

According to a recent report from market tracker Omdia, the global QLED TV market, led by Samsung, was projected to grow to 2.44 million units in the third quarter, up 83.9 percent from a year earlier.

As sample testing declines, Covid-19 numbers drop in Agra

TB Team
-
0
As sample testing declines, Covid-19 numbers drop in Agra

As the number of samples collected for testing has gone down in the past few days, the daily tally of Covid-19 figures has also shown a downward trend.

When around 3,000 samples were being daily tested till a week ago, the number of positive cases had gone up to 148. Now that the testing of samples has come down to around 2,200, the daily figure has also come down to 70-80. But the sample positivity rate of 3.04 per cent has not shown a decline.

However, the health department officials have denied this conclusion. Everyone who comes to the testing centre is being tested, an official said.

In the past 24 hours, 72 fresh cases were reported in Agra. The death toll is now 124.

The total number of Covid-19 cases so far is 5,561, The number of recovered is 4,540. The number of active cases is 897.

Mathura reported 36 fresh cases and two deaths. Mainpuri reported 21 cases and one death. The number of deaths in Mainpuri so far is 39. Firozabad reported 41 new cases, Etah 17 and Kasganj only one.

Centre’s ‘eSanjeevani’ service records 4L tele-consultations

TB Team
-
0
Centre’s ‘eSanjeevani’ service records 4L tele-consultations

Health Ministry’s eSanjeevani OPD platform has completed the landmark milestone of four lakh teleconsultations. Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are the top-performing states and have logged in 1,33,167 and 1,00,124 sessions, respectively.

The other states that have registered the highest consultations through eSanjeevani and eSanjeevani OPD platforms are Himachal Pradesh (36,527), Kerala (33,340), Andhra Pradesh (31,034), Uttarakhand (11,526), Gujarat (8,914), Madhya Pradesh (8,904), Karnataka (7,684) and Maharashtra (7,103).

The usage trend shows that there has been quick uptake of this service in smaller districts like Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. Over 16,000 consultations have been recorded from Villupuram, which is the topmost district in terms of teleconsultation services availed by the beneficiaries.

Nationally eSanjeevani platform is being used by 26 states and over 12,000 practitioners of various state government health departments have been on-boarded on eSanjeevani and their services have been sought by people from 510 districts of the country.

The last 1,00,000 consultations have come up in 18 days, whereas the first 1,00,000 consultations had taken around three months. eSanjeevani OPD services have enabled patient-to-doctor telemedicine in midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has helped in containing the spread of COVID by ensuring physical distancing and has simultaneously enabled provisions for non-COVID essential healthcare.

Around 20 percent of patients have sought health services through eSanjeevani more than once. The trend is indicative of the fact that this digital platform for delivery of health services remotely has been adopted by both the service providers as well as the users. A few states have been providing health services for 12 hours a day and seven days a week.

Initially, eSanjeevani OPD was rolled out as an online platform for general OPD service, but considering its utility and the uptake by the public, State Health Departments wished to roll-out specialty OPDs as well. Accordingly, eSanjeevani OPD was enhanced to support multiple concurrent specialties and super specialty OPDs as well.

On Saturday, eSanjeevani OPD is running 196 online OPDs which include 27 general OPDs and 169 specialty and super-specialty OPDs in 24 states. Premier institutions like AIIMS Bathinda, AIIMS Rishikesh, AIIMS Bibinagar, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Hospitals, Regional Cancer Centre (Thiruvananthapuram), Cochin Cancer Centre (Ernakulam) are also using the eSanjeevani platform to provide specialty services to the patients across the states.

The Central Government Health Scheme has also set up four specialties OPDs on eSanjeevani to provide health services to their beneficiaries in New Delhi. The CGHS is planning to extend these telemedicine services to its beneficiaries in other States as well.

States have also designed innovative applications of this telemedicine platform. In Kerala, the eSanjeevani platform is being used for providing health services to the inmates of Palakkad District Jail. In Tamil Nadu, eSanjeevani has enabled practitioners to make life-saving interventions while providing for the patients in their homes.

eSanjeevani platform of the Union Health Ministry has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing in Mohali. It is an innovative digital platform globally to be set up by a government for delivering health services.

eSanjeevani supports two types of telemedicine services viz. Doctor-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani) and Patient-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani OPD) Tele-consultations. The former is an important pillar of the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme.

This was rolled out in November 2019. It aims to implement tele-consultation in all the 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres in a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model, by December 2022. States need to identify and set up dedicated ‘Hubs’ in Medical Colleges and District hospitals to provide tele-consultation services to ‘Spokes’, i.e, SHCs, and PHCs.

The Health Ministry rolled out the second tele-consultation service ‘eSanjeevani OPD’ enabling patient-to-doctor telemedicine on April 13 of this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kangana posts pic from Kashi Vishvanath trip

TB Team
-
0
Kangana posts pic from Kashi Vishvanath trip

Kangana Ranaut was in the mood for spiritual nostalgia over the weekend, as she took to social media on Saturday and shared a picture from the time she visited Kashi Vishvanath Temple in Varanasi.

In the image, Kangana is seen meditating along with actress Juhi Chawla and spiritual leader Sadhguru.

“This picture is from my recent visit to Kashi Vishvanath. Har Har Mahadev,” she wrote alongside the snap on Twitter. The post shows Kangana dressed in ethnic saree, teaming up with a maroon shawl. She also wears a garland.

Kangana has been in the news for consecutive controversies. She declared 99 percent of Bollywood was on drugs, and then locked horns with the Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra by saying the situation in Mumbai had become as bad as POK. This was followed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) initiating a demolition drive at her office in the city, which was stayed after a High Court order.

On the work front, the actress has three films coming up — the J. Jayalalithaa biopic “Thalaivi”, the action thriller “Dhaakad”, and “Tejas”, where she plays a fighter pilot.

Does the cure for Coronavirus symptoms lie in natural medicine?

TB Team
-
0
Does the cure for Coronavirus symptoms lie in natural medicine?

In the last eight months of the Coronavirus pandemic, enough cases have been made for supplementing Covid-19 treatment with natural medicine. Data emerging from multiple locations has recorded a decline in mortality rates in the states and countries who have incorporated natural medicine for immune-boosting and to aid recovery from Covid-19.

China was among the first to set this trend as the Chinese government mandated the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for Coronavirus treatment in February 2020. Later, a trend was observed when Madagascar created and mandated the use of COVID Organics with anti-malarial herb Artemisia.

India witnessed a severe outbreak from March-April, and the states of Kerala and Goa announced to incorporate Ayurveda for immune-boosting and as an adjunct treatment of Covid-19. Industry estimates show that the states continue to have one of the lowest coronavirus related death rates in India, which are close to one-tenth of their neighboring states, shares Biogetica, a pharma company that combines Ayurveda, allopathy, and homeopathy in its medicines.

As per initial investigations done by doctors, it was pointed that there wasn’t enough scientific data or studies done to support the usage of natural medicine. However, the trends indicate many lives have been saved and the legislators across the world should consider this option strongly along with an increase in coronavirus testing, it added.

“Most studies done on herbal or homeopathic medicine for coronavirus thus far are either in silica, in vitro, adjunct or preventative. Numerous positive outcomes have been noticed. One prime example is a German In vitro study done by Max Planck Institute that showed Artemisia extracts breaking the bond between the virus and infected cells. However, none of these studies has compared natural treatment to pharmaceutical treatment of Coronavirus directly. At most they have given natural treatment as an add on and noticed some slight improvement in the patients receiving both treatments simultaneously.”

Corival Life Sciences, a joint venture between Biogetica and Wockhardt Foundation, has now conducted a trial where Immunofree and Reginmune, its Ayurvedic and nutraceutical products are being studied as the main medicine for half the patients in the trial. Corival Life Sciences last month launched a CTRI registered, multicentre, randomized clinical trial. Half the patients were put on Reginmune and Immunofree while the other half in the control arm were given the Govt SOP of HCQ, Favipiravir Azithromycin, and Cetirizine, the pharma company said.

“Immunofree, an Ayurvedic medicine contains 15 herbs including Artemisia, Giloy, Glycyrrhiza, Andrographis, Haritaki, and others recommended by AYUSH and is being used in countries who have mandated natural treatment of Corona. Regimmune is a western immune modulator with Vitamins, Minerals, and Amino Acids.

“The interim report of the trial makes a ground-breaking revelation. Patients on only Immunofree and Reginmune resolved coronavirus symptoms faster and 86 percent of them tested negative for Coronavirus in five days. In comparison, most symptoms lasted longer on the pharmaceutical SOP and only 60 percent tested negative on the fifth day. Numerous test markers relevant to Coronavirus treatment including viral load, blood oxygenation, d-dimer, procalcitonin, leukocytes, and C reactive protein and fever were recorded and most seem to be in favor of the natural treatment arm,” they said.

The positive direction of the trial, as per Biogetica, delivers excellent news for the whole world and Indians especially, with stringent controls of recent science is proving the traditional medical system of Ayurveda in a manner never done before.

“Recruitment into this trial at three hospitals has now been accelerated and some practitioners are even appealing to government agencies for early adoption of this combination natural therapy.” These natural remedies can only be labeled for Coronavirus treatment once AYUSH and ICMR approve their use and that these studies itself cannot be construed as a claim of coronavirus treatment or cure. Both Reginmune and Immunofree are readily available in the market but not to be presently sold as a coronavirus treatment or cure until the trial completes and government agencies approve them.

Dr Vijay Kushvaha, a physician from Mumbai said that he has months of experience using Reginmune and Immunofree and it is overwhelming to see the results which are documented. “I myself was a part of the pilot study. Most firms are trying to repurpose older pharmaceuticals or Ayurvedic medicines for Coronavirus treatment whereas these were made for the multifaceted presentation we are seeing in 2020. It is my hope that India adds these traditional medicines to the government SOPs countrywide for Corona treatment nationwide. They also seem to be of great benefit to those who are pre-corona and post-corona and should be taken by all until the pandemic settles down.”

Many workers got infected while serving people: Goa BJP chief

TB Team
-
0
Many workers got infected while serving people: Goa BJP chief

Goa BJP President Sadanand Shet Tanavade on Saturday said that the fact that dozens of BJP workers, including Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, tested coronavirus positive only showed that the cadres were out in the field during the pandemic.

“Sixty-eight BJP workers throughout Goa tested positive during the pandemic. They tested positive precisely because they were out in the field, in the service of people, unlike Congress leaders who stayed indoors and only issued statements,” Tanavade said.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the state Bharatiya Janata Party executive meeting held in Mapusa town, located a short distance from Panaji, Tanavade said that the BJP was already actively preparing for a host of elections, including Zilla panchayats and municipalities, ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.

In all, one-fifth of Goa’s 40 legislators have tested positive, including Sawant, former Deputy Chief Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, former Chief Ministers Churchill Alemao, and Ravi Naik, MLAs Antonio Fernandes, Nilkanth Halarnkar, Dayanand Sopte, and Clafasio Dias.

Union Minister of State for Defence and AYUSH Shripad Naik, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Goa, had also tested positive.

Tanavade said that the BJP in Goa was gearing up for the upcoming polls delayed due to the Covid-19 spread. “The BJP will return to power with an absolute majority in Goa in 2022,” he said.

Consumers enjoy online shopping via AR/VR, 3D content: Report

TB Team
-
0
Consumers enjoy online shopping via AR/VR, 3D content: Report

As millions of people stay home in the pandemic, immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality and 3D content can enhance consumer purchasing confidence and increase online sales, according to a new Accenture report.

Consumers are at a tipping point for immersive experiences in digital commerce and 47 percent of those surveyed said the new technologies make them feel connected with products, revealed the survey of more than 3,000 consumers across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific by Accenture Interactive.

The uptake of digital commerce in India has been accelerated by the pandemic and Indian consumers are now buying products across more categories online, providing brands a unique opportunity.

“Digital technologies such as conversational artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), 3D content and virtual reality (VR) can help brands create immersive experiences throughout the customer’s digital journey from awareness to engagement and finally commerce, driving online sales in innovative and affordable ways,” explained Anurag Gupta, Managing Director and Lead-Strategy & Consulting, Accenture in India.

The report suggested that as companies increase their focus on these technologies, they should shift their thinking from investing in one-off experiences to driving scale and efficiency to these experiences.

Nearly 64 percent of leading consumer brands are starting to invest in augmented reality, virtual reality, 3D content and 360-degree video.

The research found that immersive experiences can boost consumer confidence in the online purchases by 4 percent globally.

The research found that consumers are ready for a revamped online shopping experience, with nearly half (47 percent) saying they would pay extra for a product if they could customize it or personalize it using immersive technologies.

The study also found that consumers are open to purchasing more big-ticket items, such as cars and luxury goods, online.

Consumers also see immersive technologies as foundational for online shopping experiences in the future.

For instance, three in five consumers (61 percent) said they would be more likely to buy from a brand that uses immersive technologies.

“More than half (48 percent) of consumers would better remember brands that regularly engage them with immersive technologies,” the findings showed.

This new technique can help disinfect N95 masks: Study

TB Team
-
0
This new technique can help disinfect N95 masks: Study

Using a combination of moderate heat and high relative humidity, researchers were able to disinfect N95 mask materials without hampering their ability to filter out viruses, including Covid-19.

“The ability to decontaminate several of these masks while doctors are having a coffee break will lessen the chance that masks contaminated with COVID viruses would expose other patients,” said study author Steven Chu from the Stanford University in the US.

According to the study, published in the journal ACS Nano, facing a shortage of the masks early this year, researchers considered a number of ways to disinfect them for reuse, including ultraviolet light, hydrogen peroxide vapors, autoclaves, and chemical disinfectants.

The problem is that many of these methods degrade the N95 masks’ filtering abilities so that at most they could be reused a few times.

In the new study, the research team focused their attention on a combination of heat and humidity to try to decontaminate masks.

The team first mixed up batches of SARS-CoV-2 virus in liquids designed to mimic the fluids that might spray out of our mouths when we cough, sneeze, sing or simply breathe.

They next sprayed droplets of the brew on a piece of melt-blown fabric, a material used in most N95 masks, and let it dry.

Finally, they heated their samples at temperatures ranging from 25 to 95 degrees Celsius for up to 30 minutes with relative humidity up to 100 percent.

Higher humidity and heat substantially reduced the amount of virus the team could detect on the mask, although they had to be careful not to go too hot, which additional tests revealed could lower the material’s ability to filter out virus-carrying droplets.

The sweet spot appeared to be 85 degrees Celsius with 100 percent relative humidity – the team could find no trace of SARS-CoV-2 after cooking the masks under those conditions.

Additional results indicate masks could be decontaminated and reused upwards of 20 times and that the process works on at least two other viruses.

Researchers have known for a long time that heat and humidity are good ways to inactivate viruses – there hadn’t been an urgent need for a detailed quantitative analysis of something like mask decontamination until now.

“The new data provide some quantitative guidance for the future,” Chu noted.

Amazon Echo devices to automatically delete your recordings

TB Team
-
0
Amazon Echo devices to automatically delete your recordings

After launching the new Alexa and Echo devices, Amazon has introduced additional privacy controls and easier ways for the customers. The Echo devices will now automatically delete your recordings.

“You can now choose whether or not to save your voice recordings. If you choose not to save your voice recordings, they will be automatically deleted after Alexa processes your request,” said Karthik Mitta, Director of Alexa Privacy at Amazon.

All previously saved recordings will also be deleted.

You will still be able to review the transcripts of your Alexa requests for 30 days before we begin automatically deleting them.

“If you would like to delete your transcripts before 30 days, you can always do so in the Alexa app or online,” Mitta said in a blog post this week.

The users can still delete voice recordings one by one, by date range, by Alexa-enabled device, all at once, or choose to automatically delete voice recordings on an ongoing three- or 18-month basis.

Amazon also introduced more ways to manage privacy experience by simply asking Alexa: “Alexa, delete everything I’ve said.”

If you want to delete all the previously-saved voice recordings associated with your account, you can simply say, “Alexa, delete everything I’ve said.”

“Alexa, how do I review my privacy settings?” When you ask, “Alexa, how do I review my privacy settings?” Alexa will send you a direct link in the Alexa app to your Alexa Privacy Settings.

Before the end of the year, all Alexa customers will receive an email outlining available privacy settings and features.

It will highlight important privacy information, new tools and features, and additions to the Alexa Privacy Hub.

Amazon this week launched Echo Show 10, new Echo Dot, and Echo Dot Kids Edition, among others.

The new line-up of Echo devices, featuring completely new designs, enhanced audio, and more powerful hardware, will start from Rs 4,999 in India.

Oppo confirms to launch smart TV next month

TB Team
-
0
Oppo confirms to launch smart TV next month

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has officially announced to launch its smart TV in October.

The announcement was made during the Oppo Developer Conference (ODC) 2020 where the company unveiled ColorOS 11 and Oppo Watch ECG Edition for the Chinese market.

Yi Wei, General Manager at Oppo, did not reveal much about the actual TV but announced it is a key step towards expanding the company’s IoT network of devices, reports GSMArena.

Media reports have claimed that the Oppo smart TVs will be manufactured by TPV Display Technology (Xiamen) Co. Ltd, the parent company of AOC, Envision, and Philips TV business.

They will come in two sizes – 55-inch and 65-inch with 10 model numbers each.

Earlier, the remote for the Oppo Smart TV models were spotted on the Bluetooth SIG website.

Oppo is joining the world of TVs along with OnePlus and Realme.

Realme is all set to launch its first 55-inch TV in the first half of October in India which will come with an industry-leading and eye-friendly SLED screen.

Rajasthan’s new tourism policy focuses on rural destinations

TB Team
-
0
Rajasthan’s new tourism policy focuses on rural destinations

As the World Tourism Day will be celebrated on Sunday this year amid the coronavirus pandemic with the theme “Tourism and Rural Development”, the Rajasthan government’s new tourism policy complements the theme keeping rural tourism in focus.

The Rajasthan government’s new tourism policy provides for innovative tourism products and services with the focus on lesser-known destinations especially in the rural areas, confirmed tourism officials.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has also directed the promotion of tourism in villages as a means to improve the rural economy, they said.

“Across the world, Covid-19 has impacted the livelihoods of millions of people related to travel and tourism. Rajasthan government is effectively working to mitigate its effect in the state. The new tourism policy and other initiatives by the government are offering support to the industry. As the situation eases and India passes through unlocking phases, the facilities for the visitors need to be revamped and aligned with the new normal,” said Alok Gupta, Principal Secretary Tourism, Rajasthan.

The tourism sector has been the worst-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and is striving for revival and needs more infrastructure support. The Rajasthan Tourism Policy 2020 promotes new investments in developing new tourist venues with the focus on strengthening infrastructure and improving road, rail, and air connectivity, the official said.

There was also an added emphasis on the safety and security of the tourists. The policy thus has been creating a conducive environment for enabling the tourism sector in the state. Promoting local craft and cuisine has also been made part of the policy, he added.

The state government has offered several relief measures for existing tourism businesses in view of Covid-19. The tourism department has also formulated strategies to ensure safe tourism by issuing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The tourist destinations and monuments are being sanitized and there is added emphasis on social awareness and hygiene in the new policy.

The state government has already declared reimbursement of the state’s GST share to hotels and restaurants, the motor vehicle tax has been relaxed for vehicles of more than 22-person capacity and relaxations have been given in renewal of bar licenses. In order to allow businesses to operate in a safe environment, the tourism department has issued SOPs for hotels, restaurants and film shoots in the state, officials confirmed to IANS.

The tourism department has also been working to promote skill development, strengthening of the Tourist Protection Force, promoting tourist start-ups, and other experiential tourism initiatives.

1...1,4591,4601,461...2,189Page 1,460 of 2,189