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indianexpress: Four-year-old Rizwan Rajmohammad Shaikh can tell you facts about the states, rattle of information on science and technology, geography and even name state and world capitals. He can also explain chemical reactions, human physiology and scientific inventions with ease.

Yet, it’s a tragedy when the boy with amazing recall from Wing, a hamlet in Khandala taluka of Satara district, does not have the money to go to school. His parents, Rajmohammad and Ruksar Shaikh, sister Sania and younger brother Ayan, live in abject poverty.

However, there is a ray of hope. The Pune Police both rural and city have offered to help the family. While police commissioner Jayant Umranikar has promised his father a job in a private company, Superintendent of Pune Rural police Vishwas Nangre Patil has said he will sponsor Rizwan’s education in any of the top schools with boarding facilities under their jurisdiction.

“I found Rizwan has amazing grasping power and a sharp memory. He answered a number of general knowledge questions with ease and in no time. I have assured his parents that the Pune Rural Police will sponsor his education in the best schools with boarding facilities. He can even get admission in the best schools in Baramati,” Nangre Patil said. He now plans to take Rizwan to meet district guardian minister Ajit Pawar and has assured his father a job with the welfare department.

Umranikar, who also met Rizwan, said he had a fantastic memory. “We are trying to locate a job for Rizwan’s father in the private sector so that he afford Rizwan’s education.” Help has also come from Mumbai police commissioner DN Jadhav who promised to help Rizwan after he spoke to him over the telephone on Tuesday evening. Jadhav has invited Rajmohammad and Rizwan for a meeting.

indianexpress: In a path-breaking innovation that could have implications in the fields of defence, space research and electronics, a professor along with a student from the University of Pune’s Department of Physics has developed an ultra lightweight aerogel material that can support nearly five lakh times its own weight.

The invention could set a world record, as it is stronger than the material prepared by a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania in February 2007, which could support 8,000 times its body weight.
 
Aerogels can be used for lightweight military uniforms for soldiers in combat, bio-chemical sensors, lightweight packaging, the automobile industry and even other applications like soundproof walls or heat resistant walls and windows in homes.

Using principles of nanotechnology, Sulabha Kulkarni and MSc Microbiology student Supriya Pandhe developed a lightweight aerogel using a composite of carbon nano-tubes and silica. “Three pieces of this material weighing 15 milligrams were able to support the weight of over seven kilograms placed over them. We have not yet noted the breaking point of the material, which means it could possibly support more weight,” said Kulkarni.

Kulkarni, who has been conducting research in the field of aerogels for nearly seven years, had been working in collaboration with Banaras Hindu University’s (BHU) professor O N Srivastava for preparing aerogels using carbon nano-tubes and silica. While the carbon nano tubes were procured from the BHU, the actual formula for the aerogel composite was developed at the University of Pune.

“Although aerogels was developed in 1930, their uses were not discovered till recently and now they have wide applications, and were even used in the NASA’s Pathfinder mission to Mars,” said Kulkarni.

indianexpress: Taking objection to the “encroachment” on its authority by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), the University of Pune will now take up a statewide intervention along with all non-agricultural universities in the state to formulate a strategy and prepare a report for the government. This was announced by Pune University Vice Chancellor Narendra Jadhav at a press conference on Wednesday.

The AICTE, which has been empowered by the Parliamentary Act of the Central Government for regulating colleges, had earlier announced in a notice put up on its website that 169 educational institutions had been running courses without prior AICTE sanction. The University of Pune is not supposed to give affiliation to colleges not approved by AICTE.
 
However, heads of institutions have protested against the restrictions placed on them, by saying that they were already affiliated to the Pune University. This issue came up for discussion at the academic council meeting held on Tuesday, when members demanded that the Vice Chancellor initiate intervention on the matter.

“Many of the institutes listed by the AICTE as unapproved are already affiliated to the University. This can be viewed as an encroachment of the University’s authority. Besides, the regulations being placed on the institutes are also not reasonable,” said Jadhav.

Objections by institution heads had also been raised at the Senate meeting on March 22, following which a seven-member committee had been formed to formulate a policy on the issue.

Taking this further, Jadhav said that a meeting would be held at the state-level with vice chancellors of all non-agricultural universities and heads of major institutions to discuss the issue at length, and prepare a detailed report to be submitted to the government.

indianexpress: It’s official. A staggering 11,846 mt of nallas in the city have been encroached upon by builders, slum dwellers and gunthewari (a traditional method of land measurement in the State) property owners in the fringe areas.

Among the nallas, the plight of the 15-km long Ambil Odha, is the worst — almost 6 km of the stream has been eaten into by slums like Janata Vasahat, Phule Vasahat, other slum dwellers, compound walls and houses that have come up under gunthewari.

These were the findings of the draft report on watershed management of the city.

Last year, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), to have better planning and designing of watershed and stormwater management to construct drains to avoid flooding during monsoon, had appointed Primove Infrastructure Development Consultants to identify the number of nallas, tributaries and natural streams, their length and width and encroachments. Nallas that existed but were not in the development plan were also to be identified.

The city was divided into 23 basins and all the nallas, streams, tributaries and natural water bodies were surveyed. Last week, a draft report of 15 basins—Mangalwar Peth, Prabhat Road, Shivajinagar, Aundh, Kalas, Yerawada, Warje, Hadapsar, Kondhwa-Ghorpadi, Wadia College, Shaniwar Peth-Swargate, Parvati-Sahakarnagar, Hingne Khurd, Wadgaon Budruk and Dhayari— was submitted.

City engineer Prashant Waghmare said the civic administration will take action after the final report is submitted. “At places where people are living in large buildings, other methods will be found to avoid flooding,” he said.

indianexpress:  The procedure for inspection of colleges affiliated to the University of Pune by the Local Inquiry Committees (LIC) is set to get more transparent, with Vice Chancellor Narendra Jadhav appointing two sub-committees, who will establish regulations for the process. This decision came after a furore at the academic council meeting on Tuesday, where members alleged that the LIC had been taking bribes for presenting favourable reports on the colleges.

LIC inspections are carried out annually to check that the infrastructure facilities in colleges are up to the mark. Earlier, the University’s deans were in charge of appointing members of the LIC. It was later found that this was not as per regulations. A complaint was raised at the academic council meeting that there was inequity in the appointment of members, since often, the same people went on the inspection visits. The issue had also come up for discussion at the meeting of the Senate on March 23.

“Two independent sub-committees have been formed of 13 members each, with representatives from the Board of Studies, deans, and academic council,” said Jadhav.

He also said all details pertaining to the LIC will be put up on the website.

indianexpress: They are found all over India, in cities, small towns and even some villages — passive spectators transformed by handycams and mobile cameras into hidden and amateur filmmakers. Bringing them together on a platform and showcasing their talent is a two-day Short Film and Documentary Festival beginning in the city on May 19.

The festival has been organised by city-based theatre group and cultural organisation Sneh to celebrate their 20th anniversary at SM Joshi Foundation Hall.

There were as many as 138 entries from all over India, including one from a Pune-based girl in the UK. The panel of judges consisting of Yogeshwar Gandhe and Gajendra Ahire from the Marathi film fraternity has shortlisted 42 films. Says Sneh founder Yogesh Soman, “There were two restrictions: The time limit of not less than three and not more than 10 minutes and the equipment to be used — we specified some technical restrictions concerning the kind of camera.”

The festival includes an interactive session where directors, judges and audience will exchange questions, ideas and opinions relevant to the films screened.

Gandhe says, “On seeing these films, I realised how much talent is put off by the grandeur and hype that surrounds film making and direction. But with simple equipment, mobile cameras and handycams coming in, people are really experimenting.” For instance, Foot-Age, a four-minute film concentrates only on the footsteps of a man and woman and weaves a story through them. Another film to watch out for is the nine-minute Clockwise, starring veteran actor Shriram Lagoo, which reflects upon the experience of a man who suddenly goes blind and then learns the ways of adjusting to life with the help of a clock. There are also documentaries on farmers’ suicides and special economic zones.

The festival has reached smaller towns too. “We have a considerable number of films from small towns in Maharashtra — Sangli, Satara, Jalgaon are definitely worth a mention.” He also refers to a film from a village called Manmad about the gypsies there. “The crew called us because they didn’t manage to fill the form which was in English. That is when we realised to what extent we had actually got through,” shares Soman.

indianexpress:  Sancheti Institute for Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation has launched the hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy unit — the first of its kind in the country. Patients, placed in a chamber breathe cent per cent oxygen, effective in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, burns, sudden loss of hearing and non-healing wounds among other diseases.

Dr Kiran Kudramoti, the consulting physician specifically trained to administer the therapy, told mediapersons that in the HBO therapy, the oxygen dissolves more in the liquid part of blood (plasma) and its level increases 10-20 times of normal due to higher pressure. It reaches all areas of the body, including to those where it did not previously reach due to inadequate blood supply or less hemoglobin.

The Sechrist (USA) Monoplace HBO chamber at Sancheti hospital costs Rs 2 to 2.5 crore, says Darshan Deokule, General Manager, Services, Sancheti Institute. The therapy has assumed an ever-expanding role in modern medical practice, offering numerous advantages to physicians, surgeons and patients. Its clinical use in a growing number of indications, demonstrates its effectiveness in primary and adjunctive care. HBO therapy involves the systematic delivery of oxygen at values 2-3 times greater than atmospheric pressure, says Dr Parag Sancheti, Director of the institute.

This therapy can be very effective for compound fractures, burns, low haemoglobin, after plastic surgery (skin grafting and flaps), gas gangrene and chronic infections, says Kudramoti. It helps heal wounds faster, reduces hospital stay and the need for repeated surgery besides expenses. More importantly, HBO can save limbs and lives.

The duration of each sitting is 90 minutes and can be given for a period of 5-10 days, costing Rs 3,000 for every sitting. An introductory offer will be made at Rs 2,500.

techtree: Nvidia Corp today introduced the Nvidia GeForce 7200 GS graphics processing unit (GPU), a new and faster entry-level GPU.

According to Nvidia, the GeForce 7200 GS is designed to offer a low-cost upgrade from integrated graphics solutions, and is built for Microsoft Windows Vista. Incidentally, Windows Vista is the industry’s first operating system to require a dedicated GPU to realize its full potential.

The GeForce 7200 GS performs up to 50 percent faster than latest integrated graphics solutions in common 3D benchmark tests, claims Nvidia.

GeForce 7200 GS GPUs provide full support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0, Shader Model 3.0 for more realism in 3D games and applications; high dynamic range (HDR) lighting support for advanced 3D realism; and Nvidia PureVideo technology for smooth, home theater quality video, superb picture clarity, and vivid colors on any display.

Commenting on the new GPU, Ujesh Desai, General Manager of Desktop GPUs at Nvidia, said, “Windows Vista, which benefits greatly from additional 3D performance, is gaining market share, and mainstream applications such as Microsoft Maps, Google Picasso, and iTunes are also starting to take advantage of 3D graphics. By making a small investment in graphics performance, customers buying Vista PCs can go from an underwhelming experience to one that delivers exceptional performance and features.”

Graphics cards equipped with Nvidia GeForce 7200 GS GPU are available from e-tailers and retailers worldwide beginning today, and are priced under $50, and being offered in PCs from leading OEMs and system builders.

techtree: Red Hat and IBM have reached an agreement to develop, sell, and support Red Hat Linux software for IBM mainframe computers, which the companies plan to disclose at the Red Hat users conference beginning today, says a Reuters report.

The agreement is applicable to Linux software for IBM’s System z mainframe computer systems, sources familiar with the deal have said.

With a majority of the Linux software currently running on IBM System z coming from Novell, this is indeed a major achievement for Red Hat, which till now has been marketing its software only for IBM’s smaller systems.

When it comes to selling software for IBM’s mainframe computers, the unspoken understanding’s always been that Novell would be the preferred choice.

As one Global Equities Research Analyst, Trip Chowdhry, put it, Novell has been the de facto choice on IBM’s System z mainframes.

Hence, Chowdhry said, the latest agreement is a potentially huge credibility gain for Red Hat, which shows Red Hat is enterprise class.

Both IBM and Red Hat have declined comment on the matter.

All said, IBM and Novell have been working for long towards developing, selling, and servicing Novell’s Suse Linux for use on IBM’s System z computers.

The latest IBM-Red Hat deal too creates a similar cooperation, with both companies planning to form a joint engineering team to expand Linux capabilities, including enhancing security on mainframe computers.

techtree: At an event in San Francisco today, Intel will be releasing more details on its new hardware - rather new platform for laptop computers, suggests a Reuters report.

The new platform, code-named “Santa Rosa,” is the latest overhaul of Intel’s hugely successful Centrino platform, and is designed as a package of components, including the main processor as well as secondary chips that are an improvement over their pre-decessors.

While the response to new platforms comes mainly from ‘technical’ circles, “Santa Rosa” seems to have captured the imagination of a wider audience.

This - because of Intel’s claim that the new products are the first to use flash memory. Naturally - all the benefits of flash memory such as faster performance and longer battery life - will follow…

“Santa Rosa,” according to Intel, boasts improved integrated graphics, making for superior video quality.

The company says the new platform supports the latest version of Wi-Fi wireless technology, capable of delivering a maximum access speed of 300 megabits per second, which is five times faster than current versions.

Commenting on the new platform, Mike Trainor, Intel’s Chief Technology Evangelist for Mobile Products, said, “There are probably a greater number of improvements on this platform, and they are spread all throughout.”

Trainor said, “I think we’ll look back on this, and say there were lots of fundamental capabilities that came out here.”

As Intel sums it, the overall message of “Santa Rosa” is more features and more performance, with little or no impact on battery life.