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indianexpress: The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) at Nashik has come up with an innovative and unique bangle test to check whether a child is severely or moderately malnourished. The red and yellow-coloured bangles will check the malnutrition status of children between one and five years.

The bangles do away with the scale used to weigh the child and the proof of the child’s age that parents are required to submit.

According to MUHS vice-chancellor Dr Mrudula Phadke, this test is based on scientific principles which states that the mid-arm (above the elbow and below the shoulder) circumference of a child between one and five years is constant at 13.5 cms.

According to standard conventional methods, guidelines about the expected weight of the child as per his/her height measurements have been set. In villages though, parents are unable to tell the accurate age of the child and at times the weighing scale is faulty, says Phadke.

So Phadke along with colleagues at MUHS decided to devise a simple test to check the malnutrition level of children. “We have read about it years ago in our paediatric books and we decided to simplify the procedure. Instead of carrying weighing scales and taking height measurements, all we have to do is make the child wear the bangle. If the red-coloured bangle, which has an inner circumference of 11.5 cm, goes beyond the elbow and right up to the upper arm, then the child is severely malnourished. If the yellow-coloured bangle, which has a circumference of 12.5 cm, goes beyond the elbow right up to the upper arm then the child is moderately malnourished,” she says

indianexpress: With industries in the region saying that retrenchment and layoffs may soon be a reality due to the power shortage forced five-day week, trade unions have demanded protection of wages. Labour organisations have said they will not tolerate either reduction of wages or temporary layoffs due to the state enforced holiday.

“This is the fault of the state and workers are not to be blamed for it. The rights of the poorest section of society have to be protected. They should get full payment on the forced holiday,” CITU secretary (Pune District) Ajit Abhyankar said.

He said the model of full payment should be applied to all kinds of workforce employed by the industry. “All kinds of workers, be it permanent staff, contract labour or temporary hired staff deserve full payment. It must not be treated as a lay off,” he said.

Other unions have said laying off workers for no fault of theirs would be an unfair labour practice. “If companies lay off labour, we will carry out a strong protest against them,” Bharitya Mazdoor Sangh (Maharashtra) secretary Balasaheb Bhujbal said.

Placing the blame squarely on the state machinery, unions have said cutting of wages would result in large-scale protests and agitations across the state. “Why should the workers suffer for a problem created by the government? The government should assure that labourers get their money,” Kamalkar Padke president of Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh, which represents labour work force in industrial units of Chinchwad, Pirangut and Baramati, said.
 

indianexpress: When a delegation led by Jammu and Kashmir tourism minister Dilawar Mir came to Pune on Wednesday looking for opportunities to further strengthen ties between Kashmir and Pune, he got a unique gift — an offer to participate in rebuilding the infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir destroyed by militancy. 

Educationist P A Inamdar, the man behind Allana Institute, Azam Campus and Poona College, told Mir he was interested in setting up a school in Kashmir. “By school, I mean an institution where education will be given from KG level to PG level and not a professional college. However, the laws in Kashmir are different. With your help, I will be able to undertake the venture,” Inamdar said.
 
Inamdar’s offer was readily accepted by Mir. “We are in the process of rebuilding Kashmir. We want people from outside to come there. Kashmir has suffered due to terrorism. However, now peace has been restored. Do not hesitate to come to Kashmir, you will be our honoured guest,” he said. 

Addressing a gathering of prominent citizens organised by Sarhad, a Pune-based NGO, Mir said, “People from Kashmir are afraid to send their wards outside Kashmir. They fear they would be branded as terrorists and arrested. However, Pune has made a big impression on Kashmiri people.” 

indianexpress: The appointment of political party workers to civic committees came to the fore on Wednesday with founder president of Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat Bindumadhav Joshi demanding that only experts be appointed as nominated members on school board, Pune Municipal Transport, Tree Authority and zonal committees.

The demand comes ahead of the appointment of nominated members on these committees. Once the new general body comes into effect, it will appoint 13 members of school board, 13 members of PMT committee, 15 members of Tree Authority and three members each on the 14 zonal committees. These committees control expenditure of huge amounts. The total amount of budgets of PMT committee and school board is over Rs 100 crore.

The provisions of Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, Maharashtra (Urban) Tree Conservation and Protection Act and Mumbai Primary School Act make it mandatory for the general body to appoint experts.

Joshi said since such nominated committee members lack vision and expertise, the quality of services has been on the decline. Moreover, he alleged, such committee members were getting involved in corrupt practices.
 

indianexpress: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s property tax officials were threatened by administrators from Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on Wednesday during the attachment process. The civic administration has now decided to take strict action against the hospital for threatening its officials and refusal to pay the dues.

Deputy municipal commissioner (general) Shirish Yadav said the hospital was issued an attachment warrant this January. The civic officials reached the hospital on Wednesday for recovery of Rs 78 lakh dues for the last year. “Our men had proper documents and records for attaching the property. Even so, the administrators created a scene and threatened them,” he said, adding that they refused to co-operate. It was only after the civic officials said they would cut off the water connection, the hospital authorities handed them a cheque of Rs 16 lakhs.

In a press note on Wednesday, medical director of Deenanath Hospital Dr Dhananjay Kelkar said the hospital has been paying property tax regularly for the last five years. “However, we are protesting against the unjust hike in the tax for 2005-06,” he said. Kelkar added that if the PMC seals the main door and cuts off water supply, it would be injustice to the patients.

techtree: Even as Apple Computer CEO, Steve Jobs, is asking record labels to renounce digital rights management (DRM), Microsoft at the Barcelona 3GSM World Congress has launched a new digital rights management (DRM) system, ‘Microsoft PlayReady’, which allows users to use commercial content on multiple different devices for a single fee.

The company said that ‘Microsoft PlayReady’ would let users share protected pieces of content between mobile phones, PCs, and other devices.

‘Microsoft PlayReady’ has been designed to be fully backward compatible with Windows Media DRM 10, allowing devices that support ‘Microsoft PlayReady’ to access content using Windows Media DRM. Microsoft will also provide an interoperability program, so content may flow to qualifying DRM and content protection technologies.

Speaking on the occasion, Amir Majidimehr, Corporate Vice President - Consumer Media Technology, Microsoft, said, “Our wireless partners world-wide asked for a single system to power a growing array of business models and consumer scenarios, and the result is ‘Microsoft PlayReady’. With consumer demand for digital goods of all types growing exponentially, this technology delivers a foundation for the future, and accelerates the transparent delivery of rich content to consumers.”

Supporting multiple content types, and flexible rights, ‘Microsoft PlayReady’ enables operators to provide a range of new services tailored towards growing consumer interest in mobile digital media.

Moreover, the flexibility of ‘Microsoft PlayReady’ technology makes it attractive for leading mobile operators looking to deploy next-generation entertainment services, including Telefonica, O2, Verizon Wireless, Bouygues Telecom, Cingular Wireless, and AT&T, which have announced their support for ‘Microsoft PlayReady’.