Atypical Bong - a blog on Life and Perspectives
PAL-V, The Flying Car
PAL-V, The Flying Car
- From a distance it looks like a vehicle built for the road, albeit a slightly unusual one.
- But on a straight stretch of tarmac or grass this machine can transform, giving it the ability to take to fly!
- The PAL-V took its maiden flight in March, and is certified for the air as well as the road.
- It needs only 165 metres to take off and can fly for up to 500 kilometres, or 315 miles.
- The PAL-V is like a standard gyrocopter, however it is quieter than a helicopter due to the slower rotation of the main rotor.
- Governments are already preparing for increasing traffic with Personal Air Vehicles like the PAL-V. In the United States and in Europe government-funded development programs are determining the infrastructure of ‘digital freeways’ to provide a safe corridor using GPS technology.
The Mysterious Common Krait Bite
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The Common Krait
The Common Krait
- Scientific name = Bungarus caeruleus
- It is an Elapidae Snake.
- Found All over India
- Local names = KALACH, Kalachiti, Seorchanda, Domnachiti , Ghamchata. Kala gandait, Kala taro etc.
IDENTIFICATION
- Non Hooded snake.
- Average length 2.5 feet.
- Glistening black colour.
- Slender white bands over body.
- Calm & quite night snake.
VENOM
- Strong Neurotoxic (presynaptic) Venom.
- There is no local pain or swelling.
- Fatal dose : One milligram only.
- Inj. Neostigmine doesn't give much benefit in management of a bite case.
THE MYSTERY
- Causes painless bite.
- Very fine almost invisible bite mark.
- Comes to the open floor bed.
- Variable period of onset of symptoms and signs.
- There may be Bizarre presentation.
Common Presentation Of A Bite Case
- Giddiness & Weakness.
- Pain Abdomen.
- Sore throat.
- Multiple joint pain.
- Vomiting.
- Convulsions.
DIAGNOSIS
- By High degree of suspicion.
- History of open floor bed last night.
- Most of the time there is no H/O any bite.
- No other physical abnormality.
- Acute bilateral ptosis.
- No improvement by Inj. Neostigmine.
MANAGEMENT
- Immediate infusion of AVS (Snake antivenin).
- Delay in AVS may lead to respiratory failure requiring ventilatory support.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Sleeping on Open floor bed is the main history.
- Presentation may be variable.
- H/O any bite usually absent.
- Development of Acute Bilateral Ptosis is pathognomonic in endemic area.
- Appearance of Pain abdomen in the coming morning.
- Rapid infusion of AVS helps in management.
- Delay in AVS may lead to respiratory failure.
Further Reading:
- toxinology.com.[Online].Available from: http://toxinology.com/fusebox.cfmfuseaction=main.snakes.display&id=SN0015.
- Whitaker R. COMMON INDIAN SNAKES-A Field Guide: MACMILLAN INDIA LIMITED; 2006.
- Karmakar RN. FORENSIC MEDICINE AND TOXICOLOGY: Academic Publishers.
- Nandy A. PRINCIPLES OF FORENSIC MEDICINE: New Central Book Agency.
High Risk of Tuberculosis among Tibetans living in India
The prevalence of TB is 3 times higher in the Tibetan population than the national average. According to the RNTCP officials, India’s national TB prevalence is about 168 cases per 1 lakh people, whereas exiled Tibetans living in India have a TB rate of nearly 500 per 1 lakh population.
The head of India’s Revised National TB Control Program (Dr Ashok Kumar) met the Dalai Lama on Wednesday at Dharamsala (the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile) regarding the alarming trend of the disease among the Tibetans. The meeting was held to seek the Dalai Lama’s guidance and intervention on how the Tibetan population could be better integrated into the RNTCP, and ensure that they take proper drugs in right regimens.
RNTCP officials said, “His Holiness has promised to help the ministry to fight TB among Tibetans.”
According to Dr Kunchok Dorjee (TB programme director, Delek Hospital, Dharamsala):-
- Low-nutritional status of monks who fled Tibet in the 1960s made them prone to TB.
- Those who were infected spread it to others through migration.
- Child monks have to live in close quarters and share dormitories inside the monasteries. Therefore, even if one of them is infected with the disease, it spreads to others very easily.
The Health Ministry is most worried about multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) — which is very difficult to treat. Dr Dorjee added, “At present, we don’t really know the prevalence of MDR TB among Tibetans. Around 20 DOTS centers in and around Dharamsala are treating patients with normal TB.” An RNTCP official also added, “We have told the Tibetan population that we will supply them drugs to treat MDR TB provided they follow the national TB control protocols.”
Treating an usual TB patient costs around Rs 600 over a six-eight months period, whereas an MDR-TB patient’s treatment is exponentially expensive at around Rs 1.5 lakh over 24-28 months.
The World Health Organization has supplied the exiled government with two Genexperts — a machine that diagnoses MDR TB in less than two hours.
According to a ministry official, “Time is of prime importance as far as diagnosing TB is concerned. A single MDR TB patient can spread the disease to 15 people every year, if left untreated”.
-Kounteya Sinha
-The Times of India
The Forest Maker (Had he been in any other country, he would have been made a hero)
This is the real life story of man named Jadav Payeng from Assam. He has single-handedly grown a sprawling forest on a 550-hectare sandbar in the middle of the Brahmaputra!
The forest now houses many endangered animals, including at least five tigers, one of which bore two cubs recently.The place lies in Jorhat, some 350 km away from Guwahati. Local people call the place 'Molai Kathoni' (Molai's woods) after Payeng's pet name, Molai.
Payeng's story goes back in 1979 when floods washed a large number of snakes ashore on the sandbar. When waters had receded, Payeng who was only 16 years at the time, found the place dotted with the dead reptiles which became the turning point of his life. "The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover. I sat down and wept over their lifeless forms. It was carnage . I alerted the forest department and asked them if they could grow trees there. They said nothing would grow there. Instead, they asked me to try growing bamboo. It was painful, but I did it. There was nobody to help me. Nobody was interested," says Payeng, now 47.
Soon he started living on the sandbar. He watered the plants morning and evening and pruned them. After a few years, the sandbar was transformed into a bamboo thicket."I then decided to grow proper trees. I collected and planted them. I also transported red ants from my village, and was stung many times. Red ants change the soil's properties . That was an experience," Payeng says, laughing.
Soon, there were a variety of flora and fauna which burst in the sandbar, including endangered animals like the one-horned rhino and Royal Bengal tiger.The Assam state forest department learnt about Payeng's forest only in 2008 when a herd of some 100 wild elephants strayed into it after a marauding spree in villages nearby. They also destroyed Payeng's hutment . It was then that assistant conservator of forests Gunin Saikia met Payeng for the first time.
"We were surprised to find such a dense forest on the sandbar. Locals, whose homes had been destroyed by the pachyderms, wanted to cut down the forest, but Payeng dared them to kill him instead. He treats the trees and animals like his own children. Seeing this, we, too, decided to pitch in," says Saikia. "We're amazed at Payeng. He has been at it for 30 years. Had he been in any other country, he would have been made a hero."
-(The Times of India)
Culinary trail of India
Kashmir
Must try: Gustaba, Tabak Maz, Dum Aloo, Haak or Karam ka Saag
Punjab
Must try: Dal Makhani, Makke di Roti- Sarson da Saag, Chana- Bhature, Amritsari Machchi and Kulcha
Chandigarh
Must try: Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Mutton Pulao
Haryana
Must try: Kachri ki Sabzi, Cholia (Green Gram), Chaach-Lassi, Bajre ki Khichdi
Delhi
Must try: Chaat, Tandoori Chicken, Paranthe, Nagauri-Halwa, Chole Bhature
Rajasthan
Must try: Dal-Baati-Churma, Ker-Sangari, Lal Maas Gatte, Pyaaz ki Kachori
Gujarat
Must try: Thepla, Dhokla, Khandvi, Handvo, Panki
Madhya Pradesh
Must try: Lapsi, Bafla, Bhutte ki Khees, Bhopali Kabab
Maharashtra
Must try: Shrikhand, Thalipeeth, Vada Pao, Modak
Goa
Must try: Vindaloo, Xacuti, Bibinca, Prawn Balchao
Karnataka
Must try: Bisi Bele Bhaat, Kesari Bhat, Mysore Pak, Dharwad Pedha, Chiroti
Kerala
Must try: Sadya meal, Avial, Malabar Parotha, Payasam, Irachi Stew
Tamil Nadu
Must try: Appam, Dosai, Iddli, Sambhar, Rasam, Chettinad Chicken, Pongal
Pondicherry
Must try: Kadugu Yerra, Vendakkai Patchaddy
Chhattisgarh
Must try: Bafauri, Kusli, Red Ant Chutney
Andhra Pradesh
Must try: Hyderabadi Biryani, Mirchi ka Salan, Ghongura pickle, Korikoora
Orissa
Must try: Fish Orly, Khirmohan, Rasabali, Chhenapodapitha
Tripura
Must try: Chakhwi, Mwkhwi, Muitru
Mizoram
Must try: Zu (a special tea)
West Bengal
Must try: Bhapa Illish, Rosogolla, Mishti Doi
Meghalaya
Must try: Jadoh, Kyat
Manipur
Must try: Iromba, Kabok, Chakkouba
Nagaland
Must try: Momo, Rice beer and Cherry wine
Assam
Must try: Maasor Tenga, Pitha
Arunachal Pradesh
Must try: Apong
Sikkim
Must try: Momo, Thupka, Gundruk, Phagshapa and Sael Roti
Jharkhand
Must try: Thekua, Pua, Pittha, Marua-ka-roti
Bihar
Must try: Litti, Sattu, Khaja, Khubi Ka Lai, Anarasa, Tilkut
Himachal Pradesh
Must try: Sidu, Aktori and Dham
Uttarakhand
Must try: Aloo ke Gutke, Kaapa, Jhangora ki Kheer, Chainsoo
Uttar Pradesh
Must try: Kabab, Biryani, Bedmi Aloo Kachori, Halwa, Benarasi Chaat
World Tobacco Atlas rings alarm bells for India
India is the third largest producer of tobacco in the world. A new Tobacco Atlas brought out by the World Lung Foundation says over 390,000 hectares are being used in India to grow tobacco.The Atlas pegs India's direct healthcare costs due to tobacco at $1,195 million!
According to the Planning Commission, revenue collected from tobacco products annually in India is $1.62 billion, while the annual direct health cost of three tobacco- related diseases (cancer, coronary artery diseases and chronic obstructive lung diseases) is $6.32 billion.
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh account for over 90% of the total tobacco production in the country. There is a global evidence of deforestation linked to tobacco production.
Around 50% of tobacco leaves produced in developing countries in Africa and Asia are cured with wood. Between 1962 and 2002, tobacco curing and manufacture of cigarettes has destroyed and degraded 680 sq km of scrub forests, or nearly 868 million tonnes of wood (Indian Institute of Forest Management).
Tobacco is a sensitive plant prone to many diseases. It needs up to 16 rounds of pesticide application during a three-month growing period.Methyl bromide, widely used as a fumigant in developing countries, contributes substantially to ozone depletion and is a toxic contaminant of groundwater.
Cigarette butts are among the most common forms of litter. Worldwide, approximately 4.95 trillion cigarette butts are estimated to be littered each year. Cigarette butts contain all carcinogenic chemicals, pesticides, and nicotine.
There occurred twice as many deaths from oral cancers as lung cancers (Lancet). The number of oral cancers was more than twice the number of lung cancers in individuals between 30 and 69 years, indicating that the range of fatal cancers caused by tobacco in India differs substantially from that in high-income countries.
In India, the tobacco crop supports 36 million people engaged in production, processing, marketing and exports (Central Tobacco Research Institute).
According to the Planning Commission, revenue collected from tobacco products annually in India is $1.62 billion, while the annual direct health cost of three tobacco- related diseases (cancer, coronary artery diseases and chronic obstructive lung diseases) is $6.32 billion.
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh account for over 90% of the total tobacco production in the country. There is a global evidence of deforestation linked to tobacco production.
Around 50% of tobacco leaves produced in developing countries in Africa and Asia are cured with wood. Between 1962 and 2002, tobacco curing and manufacture of cigarettes has destroyed and degraded 680 sq km of scrub forests, or nearly 868 million tonnes of wood (Indian Institute of Forest Management).
Tobacco is a sensitive plant prone to many diseases. It needs up to 16 rounds of pesticide application during a three-month growing period.Methyl bromide, widely used as a fumigant in developing countries, contributes substantially to ozone depletion and is a toxic contaminant of groundwater.
Cigarette butts are among the most common forms of litter. Worldwide, approximately 4.95 trillion cigarette butts are estimated to be littered each year. Cigarette butts contain all carcinogenic chemicals, pesticides, and nicotine.
There occurred twice as many deaths from oral cancers as lung cancers (Lancet). The number of oral cancers was more than twice the number of lung cancers in individuals between 30 and 69 years, indicating that the range of fatal cancers caused by tobacco in India differs substantially from that in high-income countries.
In India, the tobacco crop supports 36 million people engaged in production, processing, marketing and exports (Central Tobacco Research Institute).
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