The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is leaving no stone unturned in the battle against novel coronavirus. Repurposing of existing drugs is one of the strategies deployed by CSIR. The Council is implementing this strategy by evaluating an existing drug that is used for treating gram-negative sepsis patients. 

The drug, Sepsivac, is available commercially. In Gram-negative sepsis patients and in critically ill COVID-19 patients, the altered immune response leads to a massive change in the cytokine profile. Cytokines are produced in response to any infection. Cytokines are essential for host defence against pathogens. There are 6 types of cytokines, each having different families of cytokines. Different mix of cytokines, called cytokine profiles, acts on different pathogens. One of the major contributors to death by COVID-19 is heightened immune response, called cytokine storm. The immune system starts attacking both infected and uninfected cells. It makes no difference between a friend and a foe, leading to tissue damage resulting in sepsis. The drug modulates the immune system of the body and thereby inhibits the cytokine storm leading to reduced mortality and faster recovery.

Patients affected by Gram-negative sepsis also undergo a cytokine storm. Looking at similarities between clinical characteristics of patients suffering from COVID-19 and Gram-negative sepsis, CSIR is now initiating a randomized, blinded, two arms, active comparator-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of the drug for reducing mortality (deaths) in critically ill COVID-19 patients. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the trial and it will start soon at multiple hospitals.

The drug contains heat-killed Mycobacterium W (Mw). It is found to be safe in patients and no systemic side effects are associated with its use. It can be used concurrently with any other therapies required in the management of such critically ill patients without any restriction. Its unique properties include boosting protective immunity (Th1, TLR2 agonist) and suppressing non-protective response (Th2). “Extensive clinical trials have been conducted by Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd on preventing deaths against gram-negative Sepsis, with more than 50% reduction in deaths of critically ill patients.  We are hoping that the clinical trials will show this to be equally useful in reducing deaths due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Shekhar C Mande, Director General, CSIR. 

CSIR through its flagship New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) program, has been supporting Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmedabad since 2007 for developing this drug to save lives of critically ill patients suffering from Gram-negative sepsis. This entire development effort (pre-clinical and clinical studies) has been supervised by CSIR appointed Monitoring Committee. The drug has been shown to reduce the mortality of critically ill patients by more than half. It also leads to faster recovery of organ dysfunction seen in this condition. It is now approved for marketing in India.  (India Science Wire)

Every Marketer and SEO experts’ ultimate goal is to rank amongst the top 10 searches on the SERP page. As many are aware, Google always rewards websites with good content and websites with higher ad or search relevancy. Many look for shortcuts, but the truth of the matter is SEO is more of a long game and there is very little scope for short cuts. 

Having said that, there isn’t a definitive answer to describe how long SEO takes; however, there are various factors that play a significant role in the SEO rankings. Here are a few must-do things to improve your chances of ranking higher. 

• Factor 1 Â– Outdated Content Â– If you’ve been in the SEO industry long enough, you know that Google always prefers fresh content, which doesn’t mean you crank out content every day. Instead, make use of Google search console, check all the pieces of content you’ve put up in the past year and compare your website traffic, how your website is performing now as to how it performed a year ago. Work on pages that aren’t doing well and refresh that content with something new by adding recent facts and figures- this will tell the Big G that you are constantly updating content, and it will help in ranking your website. 
  

• Factor 2 – Short-form Content Â– Gone are those days where 500-word content was considered as long-form content. In modern times, pages that don’t go above and beyond with in-depth information don’t tend to do well. Google considers content as one of the major factors for ranking. Websites that don’t meet its content requirement more often than not struggle to rank higher. Go to all pages that offer little to no value, and either update them with in-depth information or redirect them to pages that are in-depth and offer a much better user experience. Make use of Google Analytics to compare how the page was performing before updating content and post updating content. Check for bounce rates, and the time spent on the site as these will indicate if your page is good or needs updating. 
  

• Factor 3 – Automatically Generating Content – Google’s focus is on delivering an amazing user experience, so it updates its algorithms regularly. Generating content through automated tools isn’t going to deliver a better user experience. Although you put in the best efforts to customize and personalize the content, it is still not going to do well. Always keep in mind to create content that provides the best user experience, ensure you create content that is not only liked by Google but also liked by users by doing this you can come with better content and ideas than your competitors.
  

• Factor 4 – Irrelevant Internal Linking – Internal linking can be rewarding, but excessive internal linking can backfire. It is going to lose value and harm your SEO. You have to do it only when necessary and if it’s best for users. Never do it if it doesn’t help users, so make sure you choose internal links that are relevant to the content and the pages people are going to read. Don’t just add rich anchor texts, do what’s best for the users.
  

• Factor 5 – Irrelevant Ads Â– When you put excessive or irrelevant ads on your websites, it is going to affect the site load time. This will affect your SEO since there are a lot of external resources that need to be loaded. Ads usually give people bad user experience, and websites with excessive ads tend to have high bounce rates. This sends wrong signals to Google, thereby affecting your rankings. Another key aspect to consider is to provide better user experience to mobile devices since most searches take place in mobile devices. If your ads hinder user experience, then you are going to lose tons of traffic and people are going to leave your website. It’s not bad to have ads but make sure it blends in and it shouldn’t distract users. 
  

• Factor 6- Spammy Backlinks Â– Backlinks are a key factor in driving a lot of traffic to your website. But if you link to spammy websites, you can get caught up in what Google calls link scheming. In simple terms, any links that intend to manipulate page rank are called link schemes. This is a violation of Google’s guidelines. It is also wise to try and avoid reciprocal linking as much as possible, this practice is going to hurt your rankings in the long run. Use backlinks only if you feel that it’s going to add value to your users. 
• Factor 7- Avoid Duplicate Content Â– Avoid using Duplicate content.  true that Google doesn’t penalize you for using duplicate content, as you know Google will never rank duplicate content over original content. Your content should be fresh and unique- this doesn’t mean that you can’t use stats, use quotes from other people or cite sources and give them credit, it’s just that content has to be new for you to rank higher. 
  

If you manage to address these issues, then you’re surely going to rank higher on the SERP page.

The Author is CEO Neil Patel Digital & Stan Ventures

In a rare gesture extended to its closest friendly neighbor Bangladesh, India has permitted it to take back Bangladeshi citizens who had been stranded in the country after the national lockdown since March 25. The lockdown was declared to contain the spread of the viral Covid-19 pandemic which has affected nearly 180 countries, affecting close to two million people.

As Biman, the national carrier of Bangladesh, had declined to ferry its stranded citizens, the Modi Government extended a special permission to a private airlines of Bangladesh to fly back their citizens from different cities of India. Both the External Affairs Ministry here and the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi jointly coordinated this decision to facilitate return of Bangladeshi citizens as they were facing hardships and wanted to go back home.

At one point of time, Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi had to seek the intervention of their Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to sort out internal problem between national carrier Biman and the private airlines U.S.- Bangla.

At the intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, nearly one thousand  stranded Bangladeshi citizens in India can hope to return home.

Beginning April 20 when India is set to relax some of the restrictions on the lockdown of the country, six special chartered flights will carry home the stranded citizens of Bangladesh from different cities in India. In fact, High Commissioner of Bangladesh in India Mohammed Imran and his colleagues had to burn midnight oil for a number of days in trying to coordinate with authorities at home as well as in India in order to begin the flights with all necessary precautions.

At the time of the national lockdown last month in the country, thousands of Bangladeshi citizens were in India for various reasons. Many of them are students studying in different Universities, some came on tourist and medical visas. Many citizens of Bangladesh are those who came for medical treatment found themselves stranded in various cities like Chennai, Vellore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

At the outset, Bangladesh High Commission discussed this issue of sending the citizens back to Dhaka with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi. The Government here had agreed to the return of all those stranded people, if Bangladesh Government could arrange a charter flight and the government was willing to grant due permission for taking out those people from different cities.

Bangladesh High Commission initially tried to rope in their national carrier Bangladesh Biman to operate flights but due to reasons best known to them, the national carrier was not agreeable to the proposal. Sources claimed that pilots and crew members of the Bangladesh Biman declined to fly with their citizens who might be suspected to be carriers of Covid-19 virus.

After this private airline U.S.- Bangla agreed to ferry all those stranded citizens back to Bangladesh after booking their tickets. Initially, lockdown in India was declared till April 14 but Prime Minister Narendra Modi after consultations with State Chief Ministers extended it till May 3.

Worried citizens of Bangladesh, stranded in India, were also concerned about their financial resources and well-being.  Again, High Commissioner and other officials had another round of discussion with the Indian authorities here and the government finally agreed to consider to allow flights by private airline U.S.- Bangla which is not so common in the civil aviation sector.

Meanwhile,  Biman raised objections about U.S.- Bangla to bring back Bangladesh citizens as Biman handles all ground operations in Bangladesh. Finding no other way, Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi had to seek intervention of their Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to sort out the peculiar problem.

Hopefully, all the stranded Bangladeshi citizens along with their families can look forward to their return home. U.S.-Bangla is set to fly to Chennai and Kolkata to take back the passengers. Four officers from the Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi have been in contact with respective state Governments for ferrying stranded citizens and their relatives in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Vellor to transport them to Chennai.  On their return to Bangladesh, the people will have to remain in quarantine for at least 14 days as per the protocol. 

Benjamin Rohan a young dynamic music composer, playback singer.  Who has sizzled the music world with his mesmerizing Voice and caring down to earth attitude? Rohan has worked with some well-renowned banners and has left no stone unturned to make it to the top in Bollywood. Extracting immense fame and fan fam from a number of albums, Rohan is all geared up for his upcoming projects in the pipeline.

Rohan has given a number of hits among which Doorie has always been the heartthrob for everyone.

His music is a perfect blend of youthful with its soul from yesteryears. His approach as a musician is young dynamic and charming. A day not spend on music is a day wasted for him. Due to this attitude, he is being looked at by various renowned music companies in the B’town.

Rohan started his journey as a pianist, Rohan said that he never knew in his school days that he could even sing this good as his dedication and passion was more into composing and playing the piano. 

Rohan just at the age of 20 is all set to release a list of songs that are gonna be hit the chartbusters. You can follow his Instagram handle mentioned below and stay tuned to his updates,

From being a local teen to become a superstar on a social media platform, you need some talent. The most popular figures on social media platforms like Tik Tok are well beyond many TV stars and athletes in terms of popularity status and stardom.

Ansh Pandit, a young entertainer who has more than 8 Million fans on Tik Tok, has now started a new journey of his life as a singer. The first song of his with Rock d touched more than 11 million views on Youtube and other social media platforms. 

Tik Tok is gaga over this song, millions are making short clips on Ravan Ravan songs. The Ansh Pandit story is an inspirational one. He is known for his shayaris, started as a Poet in Tik Tok slowly showed his second part, which is singing and the man he won the heart of millions from the first song Ravan Ravan.

Ansh Pandit is the best example of the 21st century where you can see technology ruling the world when it comes to popularity.

Anyone can make a huge fan following from any place without being part of the entertainment world. It is so good to see Apps are making people accessible in a short time.

Ansh Pandit account comes in Tik Tok’s hottest accounts in just one or two years. He has zoomed into the top list of Indian Tik Tok superstars.

Ansh Pandit is working with top labels like Kishan Events. He is working as an artist of Kishan events and Ravan Ravan song with Rock d is under Kishan Events.

Looking at Ansh Pandit’s talent of writing poets and singing qualities we feel Bollywood is not far for him. His close ones also say that he is getting offers from Bollywood but waiting for the right Call where he can showcase his talent to the public.

Business is an exceptional skill that very few people possess. The true sign of an entrepreneur is to start thinking like an entrepreneur at an early age. Striving for excellence, Krunal Banna is a renowned name as a businessman. Walking on his father’s footsteps, he aims to become a successful name like him. Hailing from Gandhinagar(Gujrat) .

At a very young age, he honed his skills in taking business decisions and he also shares his ideas into his father’s business. Moreover, Krunal belongs to a Politics family. His grandfather Mr.KARAMSHIBHAI was a good M.L.A in his time and He also won the elections of the minister. Now, Krunal uncle, RUTVIKBHAI  is an M.l.A.

Simultaneously Krunal is getting business and politician skils. His aim to serve for the country like his Grandfather did for the nation.

His family was in politics so now he’ll be joining politics as well in upcoming years.

We feel  people like Krunal Banna and he deserve a top position in Indian politics

At a time when the unemployment rate in India has tripled due to the Corona pandemic, here comes OpeBo Industries Limited, whose sole aim is to provide jobs and remove corruption rampant in the service industry. This is a significant initiative of a young 21-year-old who wants to give wings to every skilled/unskilled job-seeker in the country. OpeBo is mainly concerned with supplying manpower as per requirements and they cater to companies as well as individuals, acting a bridge between supply and demand.
However, theirs is not a raw process of just churning out livelihood seekers. Instead, OpeBo Industries believes in nurturing skill set along with a job for a particular individual. According to OpeBo management, “We aim at utilizing the inherent skills in an individual to provide comfort to our customers. We are working towards holding a grip such that the customers think of using or services at even the slightest of inconvenience in their daily lives.” To ensure that, they have a readymade pool of skills to choose from and it includes plumbers, drivers, electricians, beauticians, cooks and security guards. 
Now they are also upgrading their skill-pool to include priests, house-maids, doctors, event managers and engineers to cater to the ever-increasing demand. 
By providing individuals with the right skill set, OpeBo Industries aims to help its associated companies reach their full potential and, thus, generate goodwill for itself in the process. Right now, their association is with government organizations, MNCs and established companies. They are looking forward to generate more government contacts and supply them with the right amount of candidates as per the requirement. Their motto is ‘consumer satisfaction’ coupled with ‘good quality work.’ OpeBo has already been recognized as a startup by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of Government of India.
In order to ensure that the interested individuals are ready for the job market, the OpeBo Industries is also going to collaborate with the Industrial Training Institutes (it is) to help them hone their skills or acquire the desirable skill set. They are already doing ground work in this regard by connecting with rural governing bodies like Panchayats and guaranteeing a job to interested individuals. The main aim of OpeBo Industries is to contribute to India’s GDP by reducing unemployment with guaranteed jobs. 

It is rightly said that when you don’t know what to do in life, when you have second thoughts about everything, then just go wherever your heart flows even if you have to just do anything for your satisfaction only. That’s what a 19-year-old, young and talented boy from Jodhpur, Rajasthan named Rajat Singh did! Rajat is basically a BCA 3rd year student. He first started Instagram page for timepass two years back, and now he’s here, a young boy with a lot of experience and a huge followers base of 100m+. He is the founder of the famous @Life.Of.School_ page on Instagram.

Rajat’s social media journey started two years back and that too just for timepass. He just got involved in it, soon he started earning through it too! Then he thought, he should continue it even further, realised his talent in the field of social media management and marketing and made a goal to reach great heights in the same, which he achieved to a greater level. As said earlier, he has a huge 100m+ followers base on Instagram and he even started his digital marketing company names IGMARKETINGMOVES, of which he is the founder and CEO. His dream is to let his main page reach to 10m because that page is not only a page for him, it’s an emotion, a part of his heart  as because of that page only he gained so much experience, name, fame and realised his talents. He is currently working upon making his digital marketing agency a successful firm. In the field of digital marketing, he has worked with many big brand names such as Vigo, TikTok, etc. He has got a great name and brand value as a digital marketer recently that most of the big brands are willing to work with him to grow their brand value and recognition in the market because he has already got expertise in that field!

Rajat, in spite of having great fame and a big followers base on Instagram, is a simple, kind and loving person as a Human being. He is always willing to help the amateur and needy people. Youngsters willing to get involved in digital marketing can learn from him a lot!

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi today announced the extension of lockdown till 3rd May 2020. The earlier 21-day lockdown is ending on the 14th of April 2020.

Addressing the Nation in combating the spread of the coronavirus, PM said the extension of lockdown was decided to keep in mind suggestions from many states, experts and the people. 

He requested people to continue maintaining vigil and to adhere to social distancing during this lockdown.  

Prime Minister also suggested that those areas which are of low risk may be permitted to open up for certain specific activities from 20th April 2020.

PM said, “Until 20th April, every town, every police station, every district, every state will be evaluated on how much the lockdown is being followed. Areas that succeed in this litmus test, those which will not be in the hot-spot category, and will have less likelihood to turn into a hot-spot may be allowed to open up select necessary activities from 20th April”.  

“However, permissions will be withdrawn immediately if lockdown rules are broken, and if there is the threat of the spread of Coronavirus” he cautioned. 

Detailed guidelines will be issued by the Government tomorrow in this regard.

The Easing of restrictions in the low-risk areas is being done keeping in mind the difficulties being faced by the poor and daily wage earners, he said.  

“Those who earn daily, make ends meet with daily income, they are my family. One of my top-most priorities is to reduce the difficulties in their lives. The government has made every possible effort to help them through Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojna. Their interests have also been taken care of while making the new guidelines” he said.

Paying tributes to Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, on his birth anniversary today, the Prime Minister said, “I am well aware of the problems you have faced -some for food, some for movement from place to place, and others for staying away from homes and families. However, for the sake of your country, you are fulfilling your duties like a disciplined soldier. This is the power of ‘We, the People of India’ that our constitution talks about.”

Prime Minister mentioned that India had been pro-active even before a single case of COVID -19 surfaced in the country. He said, the screening of the international passengers, 14-day mandatory isolation of the international travelers, shutting of malls, clubs, gyms were taken at very early stages. Prime Minister said India also proactively went into a nationwide lockdown which was ending on the 14th of April.

Compared to other COVID affected World’s big & powerful countries, he said, India is in a very well managed situation.

“A month, month and a half ago, several countries had been at par with India in terms of Corona infection. But today, Corona cases in those countries are 25 to 30 times that of India. Thousands of people have tragically died in those countries. Had India not adopted a holistic and integrated approach, taking quick and decisive action; the situation in India today would have been completely different”, he said.

Prime Minister said India has benefitted from Lockdown. He said notwithstanding the economic travails being faced, it is clearly the correct path as it protected so many lives in the country.

“From an economic only point of view, it undoubtedly looks costly right now; but measured against the lives of Indian citizens, there is no comparison itself. The path that India has taken within our limited resources has become a topic of discussion in the entire world today”, he said.

He assured the country that there are ample reserves of medicines, food and other essential goods. Prime Minister also assured that the health infrastructure is being further strengthened.

“From having only one testing lab for Coronavirus in January, we now have more than 220 functional testing labs. Global experience shows that 1,500-1,600 beds are required for every 10,000 patients. In India, we have arranged more than 1 Lakh beds today. Not only this, there are more than 600 hospitals that are dedicated to COVID treatment. As we speak, these facilities are being increased even more rapidly” he said.

Prime Minister exhorted the citizens to follow seven steps in their fight against the pandemic

First, to take special care of the elderly, especially those who have a chronic disease. 

Second to completely adhere to the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ of Lockdown and Social Distancing; use homemade face-covers and masks without fail.

Third to follow the instructions issued by AYUSH ministry to enhance immunity.

Fourth todownload the Arogya Setu Mobile App to help prevent the spread of corona infection. Inspire others to download the app as well.

Fifth to take care of poor families; to fulfill their food requirements.

Sixth tobe compassionate towards the people who work in every individual business or industry. Do not deprive them of their livelihood.

Seventh to pay utmost respect to our nation’s Corona Warriors – our doctors and nurses, sanitation workers and police force.

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) an Institution of National Importance under the Department of Science and Technology has obtained a go-ahead for taking a bold step to provide innovative treatment to patients suffering from COVID-19 disease.  Technically called “convalescent-plasma therapy,”, the treatment aim is to use the immune power gained by a recovered person to treat a sick person. Indian council for medical research (ICMR) the top authorising body in India has given approval to the SCTIMST for carrying out the novel treatment.  Â“We have applied for age cut off to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for permissions for relaxation of the norms for blood donation,” said Dr Asha Kishore, Director, SCTIMST.

What is it: When a pathogen like novel coronavirus infect, our immune systems produce antibodies. Like the police dogs, the antibodies span out to identify and mark the invading virus. White blood cells attach the identified intruders, and the body gets rid of the infection. The therapy, like blood transfusion, harvests the antibody from a recovered patient and ingest into a sick person. Helped by the antibody, the immune system mounts robust combat on the virus.

What are antibodies: Antibodies are one of the front-line immune response to an infection by a microbe. They are a particular type of proteins secreted by immune cells called B lymphocytes when they encounter an invader, such as a novel coronavirus.  The immune system designs antibodies that are highly specific to each invading pathogen. A particular antibody and its partner virus are made for each other.

How the treatment is given: Blood is drawn from a person who has recovered from COVID-19 sickness. The serum is separated and screened for virus-neutralizing antibodies. Convalescent serum, that is the blood serum obtained from one who has recovered from an infectious disease and especially rich in antibodies for that pathogen, is then administered to a COVID-19 patient. The sick acquire passive immunization. “Potential donor would be examined before the blood serum is extracted and given to a sick person. First, the swab test must be negative and the potential donor has to be declared as cured. Then the recovered person has to wait for two weeks. Or else the potential donor should be asymptomatic for at least 28 days. Either of the two is mandatory” said Dr. Kishore while speaking with India Science Wire.

Who will be receiving the treatment: “Initially we will try in a small number of patients. At present it is permitted as an experimental therapy for restricted use for severely affected patients only. We will be getting the informed consent before they are recruited. This will be conducted as a clinical trial” said Dr Kishore. COVID clinics of five medical college hospitals will be partnering.

How is it different from vaccination: This therapy is akin to passive immunization. When a vaccine is administrated, the immune system produces the antibodies. Thus, in a later date, when the vaccinated person is infected by that pathogen, the immune system releases the antibodies and neutralise the infection. Vaccination provides lifelong immunity. In the case of passive antibody therapy, the effect lasts only up to the time the antibodies injected remain the bloodstream. The protection given is temporary. The mother transfers antibodies through breast milk to an infant before the child could build her own immunity. 

History: Way back in 1890, Emil von Behring, a German physiologist, discovered that the serum obtained from a rabbit infected with diphtheria was effective in preventing the diphtheria infection. Behring was awarded the first-ever Nobel prize for medicine in 1901.  Antibodies were not known at that time. Convalescent serum therapy was less effective and had substantial side effects. It took many years before the antibody fraction could be separated. Still, the unintended antibodies and impurities caused side effects.

Is it effective: We have effective antibiotics against bacterial infection. However, we do not have effective antivirals.  Whenever a new viral outbreak takes places, there are no drugs to treat it. Hence, the convalescent serum has been used during past viral epidemics. During the outbreak of 2009–2010 H1N1 influenza virus pandemic, patients with an infection requiring intensive care were used. After the passive antibody treatment, the serum-treated individuals showed clinical improvement. The viral burden reduced, and the death rate could be lowered. The procedure was also useful during the Ebola outbreak in 2018.

Is it safe?: With modern blood banking techniques that screen for blood-borne pathogens is robust. It is not difficult to match the blood type of donors and recipients. Therefore the risks of inadvertently transferring known infectious agents or triggering transfusion reactions are low. “Just as we do in case of blood donation one has to look for the blood groups and Rh compatibility. Only people whose blood group matches can donate or receive blood. The donor will be stringently examined and tested for certain mandatory factors before they will be permitted to donate the blood. They will undergo tests for hepatitis, HIV, malaria, and so on to ensure that they do not pass on a different pathogen to the receiver” said Dr Asha Kishore, Director, SCTIMST.

How long the antibodies will remain in the recipient?: After the antibody serum is given, it will stay on the recipient for at least three to four days. During this period, the sick person will recover. Research reports from the USA and China indicate that the beneficial effect of transfusion plasma is obtained in the first three to four days and not later.

Challenges: This therapy is not simple to harness, primarily due to the difficulty of obtaining significant amounts of plasma from survivors. In diseases like COVID-19, where most of the victims are aged, suffering from other medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and so on, not all recovered patients can volunteer to donate blood. (India Science Wire)