Researchers have developed a new vibrating device using bone conduction technology, that can identify the causes of dizziness.

Half of older adults over 65 years suffer from dizziness and problems with balance. However, the current tests to identify the causes of such problems are painful and can risk hearing damage. 

The novel type of vibrating device, developed by researchers from the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, is placed behind the ear of the patient during the test.

According to Bo Hakansson, Professor at Chalmers, the vibrating device is small and compact in size, and optimised to provide an adequate sound level for triggering the reflex at frequencies as low as 250 hertz (Hz). 

But in bone conduction transmission, sound waves are transformed into vibrations through the skull, stimulating the cochlea within the ear, in the same way as when sound waves normally go through the ear canal, the eardrum and the middle ear. 

In this technology, detailed in the journal Medical Devices: Evidence and Research, the sound levels which patients are exposed to can be minimised.

“The new vibrating device provides a maximum sound level of 75 decibels. The test can be performed at 40 decibels lower than today’s method using air conducted sounds through headphones,” said Karl-Johan Freden Jansson, postdoctoral researcher at Chalmers. 

“This eliminates any risk that the test itself could cause hearing damage,” Jansson added.

The benefits also include safer testing for children, and that patients with impaired hearing function due to chronic ear infections or congenital malformations in the ear canal and middle ear can be diagnosed for the origin of their dizziness, the researchers said.

As part of India’s reach-out to Africa, the External Affairs Ministry on Monday signed an agreement with the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL) to establish a pan-African e-network between the two nations.

“This project, called the e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project, will serve as yet another bridge – a digital bridge – between our countries, shrinking the distance between India and Africa even more,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at the signing ceremony.

She said that the the Project “is a clear effort by India to reach out to Africa in the critical areas of education and health”. 

“This e-network aims at providing quality tele-education and tele-medicine facility by linking select Indian Universities, Institutions and Super Specialty Hospitals to African educational institutions and hospitals,” the Minister said.

Stating that the earlier avatar of this project was operated on satellite-based technology and covered 48 African countries, Sushma Swaraj said that it has now been decided to establish two separate web-based portals – one each for tele-education and tele-medicine. 

“This would significantly increase the ease of access for students, doctors etc. who are the intended beneficiaries of this project,” she said.

Reiterating the importance of Africa in India’s foreign policy priorities, the External Affairs Minister pointed out that in the last four years, there have been 26 visits to African countries at the level of President, Vice President and Prime Minister apart from several other Ministerial visits. 

“It has been decided to significantly enhance our diplomatic presence in Africa with the opening of 18 new resident missions over the coming four years,” she said.

She also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 10 guiding principles of India’s engagement with Africa during his address to the Ugandan parliament in July and said: “Our development partnership will be guided by African priorities, so that it liberates African potential and not constrain their future. 

“We will rely on African talent and skills and build local capacity and create local opportunities. We will keep our markets open and make it attractive to trade with India.”

Sushma Swaraj also said that the Indian industry will be supported for investing in Africa. 

India is also a leading development aid partner of African countries and this includes implementation of 180 lines of credit worth about $11 billion in over 40 African countries.

 Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence on rising fuel prices, tumbling rupee and agrarian distress, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said a united opposition would drive out the BJP in the next general elections.

Spearheading the ‘Bharat Bandh’ in the national capital, Gandhi said the country was “fed up” with Modi’s speeches and wanted to hear him on burning issues concerning the common man “but the Prime Minister continues to be mute”.

In a sarcastic remark, Gandhi said Modi had kept his 2014 election promise of making India something it had not been in the last 70 years as the economy, farm crisis, crony capitalism and rampant corruption were never as bad as as it was since Modi took power four years ago.

“The rupee has never been so weak in 70 years, petrol today is over Rs 80 while diesel is touching Rs 80. Modi while in opposition used to clamour about price rise but today he is silent. Cooking gas price has doubled to Rs 800, but Modi doesn’t utter a word. Farmers are committing suicide but Modi is silent. BJP MLAs are found involved in rape but Modi says nothing.

“When questions are raised in Parliament about the Rafale (jet) deal, the Prime Minister is unable to give answers. 

“The Prime Minister goes on giving speeches. Now the country has grown tired. He says nothing about what the country wants to hear, what the youth want to hear.” 

The shutdown called by the Congress and Left parties against rising fuel prices saw representatives from Janata Dal-Secular, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD), Rashtriya Lok Dal, All India United Democratic Front, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Aam Aadmi Party joining the protest march in Delhi. 

Gandhi spoke at the Ramlila Maidan in the heart of the capital after thousands of opposition activists and leaders, the Congress President included, reached there walking from Rajghat shouting anti-government slogans.

Gandhi also attacked Modi over demonetization and GST and accused him of creating a rift between Indians on caste and communal lines.

“Modi used to say what has not been done in 70 years he will do in five years. And actually what he has done in four years never happened in 70 years,” Gandhi said to laughter. 

“Wherever you see, one Indian is fighting with another Indian, wherever Modi goes he gives birth to a fight… one religion with another, one caste with another, one state with another.”

Gandhi said that while farmers, workers and small traders were losing hope, the biggest “15-20 crony capitalists” were enjoying all the perks. 

“Farmers’ debt cannot be waived but one industrialist can be given a gift of Rs 45,000 crore. India’s youth should know that the money Modi has given to his industrialist friend does not belong to him. The Rs 45,000 crore belongs to the youth and farmers,” he said, without naming any industrialist.

Pointing to how demonetisation destroyed the economy, farmers and small traders, Gandhi said Modi was yet to explain the country about the “real reason” behind the 2016 note ban. 

With a host of prominent opposition leaders joining the protest, Gandhi exuded confidence of a united opposition uprooting the Bharatiya Janata Party in the next general elections.

“Today the entire opposition is here on the dais. It is a reflection of unity. The ideology is the same and we all together will defeat the BJP. 

“The pain in the heart of our farmers, youth and the entire nation is also in the hearts of all the leaders here but it is not so in Modi’s heart. We promise, we will together drive out the BJP.”

New electrodes are being developed by Dr. Surendra K. Martha and his team at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, for producing rechargeable lithium ion batteries with high energy densities.  

A combination of nano-engineering and new materials processing techniques promise batteries with energy densities twice as high as commercially available products. Dr. Martha’s studies have been published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Journal of Power Sources, Ionics, Journal of Energy Storage and the American Chemical Society’s open access journal, ACS-Omega.

Li-ion batteries have become the power source of choice for a range of applications that involve portable electronics, power tools, and hybrid/full electric vehicles.  In particular, they hold the potential to free the automobile industry from the strong hold of depleting petroleum reserves. Little wonder then, that the Indian government has set a goal of 30% electric vehicles (EVs) on the Indian road by 2030. The realisation of this goal and the development of next generation lithium ion batteries hinges on improvements in the cell components and there is continuing research all over the world in developing better batteries with higher energy densities than possible in current systems.

The lithium ion cell, in its simplified form, consists of three parts: positive electrode (cathode), negative electrode (anode), and electrolyte that conducts the lithium ions between the two electrodes.  Lithium ion shuttles from the cathode to the anode during charging and in reverse during discharge, i.e., when current is being drawn from the battery to, say, operate your cell phone, through the electrolyte. The energy density of the lithium ion battery is decided by the “specific capacity” of the electrode material, defined as “the amount of charge that can be stored in the material per unit mass”, and voltage. 

The material currently used for making cathodes, usually mixed oxides and phosphates of certain metals, have specific capacity in the range of 140-210 mAhg-1 and the anode material, usually graphite, around 350 mAhg-1. The energy density of cells made using such material has hovered around 100–265 Wh kg-1. Dr. Martha and his team at IIT Hyderabad have developed new electrode (both cathode and anode) material with higher specific capacities than conventionally used electrodes.

Dr. Martha’s lab has developed two kinds of cathode material with better capacity than existing systems.  In one, they have synthesized mixtures of transition metal oxide and carbon-coated lithium manganese phosphate to form “blends” that show excellent stability under repeated cycling and very little energy loss over cycle life.  In addition, they have used nanoengineering, in which the material used to fabricate the cathode is a few nanometre in dimensions (for reference: a human hair is approximately 80,000-100,000 nanometre in diameter). The capacity of these electrodes is around 225 mAhg-1, clearly higher than those of current cathode material.  In a further development, the team has doped cathode material with fluorine and magnesium, to result in capacities ~280 mAh g-1 without energy loss during cycling. 

While carbon is presently used as anode material, there has been increasing interest in using silicon instead of carbon because of its outstanding theoretical capacity of 4200 mAhg-1.  This capacity improvement over carbon arises because one silicon atom can bond with more than four lithium ions, whereas six carbon atoms are needed to bind to a single ion of lithium. The main drawback of silicon is its poor physical integrity; silicon expands and contracts during lithium ion insertion and extraction and breaks down with repeated cycling.

Dr. Martha’s team, in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory USA, has developed a unique organic-binder-less, additive-free 3D electrode architecture made of silicon and carbon in nanodimensions and have coated it on a current collector made of carbon fibre, instead of copper foil that is used in conventional cells. The advantage of this material is that there is enough space between silicon and the surrounding carbon coating, which allows for volume expansion and contraction without pulverisation of the silicon. Reversible capacities over 2000 mAh g-1 at C/10 rate have been obtained for these electrodes. A provisional Indian patent has been filed for this work.

Dr. Martha’s new electrodes can result in better-performing lithium batteries with higher energy density than currently possible. Indeed, the team has already shown that combining the cathode and anode materials developed by them in coin-type lithium ion cell results in energy densities greater than 500 Wh kg-1. This is more than twice the energy density seen in commercial lithium ion cells. “I am in the process of scaling up and designing pouch and prismatic batteries from this small product”, says Dr. Martha.  This, in R&D parlance, is the first step in the path of commercialisation of high energy batteries that could power future electric vehicles on the Indian road.

Ever wondered why some people seem to feel less pain than others? The answer could lie in mindfulness, which could be targeted in the development of effective pain therapies, researchers say.

The findings showed that people with higher dispositional mindfulness during painful experience showed greater deactivation in a brain region called the posterior cingulate cortex — a central neural node of the default mode network. 

They also experienced less pain. 

Conversely, those with lower mindfulness ratings had greater activation of this part of the brain and also felt more pain.

“Mindfulness is related to being aware of the present moment without too much emotional reaction or judgment,” said lead author Fadel Zeidan, Assistant Professor at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre in North Carolina, US. 

“We now know that some people are more mindful than others, and those people seemingly feel less pain,” Zeidan added.

For the study, published in the journal PAIN, the team analysed nearly 100 healthy volunteers to determine if dispositional mindfulness, an individual’s innate or natural level of mindfulness, was associated with lower pain sensitivity and to identify what brain mechanisms were involved.

Then, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, they were administered painful heat stimulation (120°F).

The default mode network extends from the posterior cingulate cortex to the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain. These two brain regions continuously feed information back and forth. This network is associated with processing feelings of self and mind wandering, Zeidan said.

“Importantly this work shows that we should consider one’s level of mindfulness when calculating why and how one feels less or more pain. 

“Based on our earlier research, we know we can increase mindfulness through relatively short periods of mindfulness meditation training, so this may prove to be an effective way to provide pain relief for the millions of people suffering from chronic pain,” Zeidan noted.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Saturday that the youth killed by unidentified gunmen on Saturday in Hazratbal area of Srinagar city was an active militant of the Islamic State.

The police said the slain person has been identified as Asif Nazir Dar of Panzgam Awantipora in Pulwama district.

“One pistol along with one magazine was recovered from him. According to sources, he was an active member of the IS. Unidentified gunmen had shot and killed this person in Hazratbal area of Srinagar,” the police said.

An identity card was recovered from the slain person, which lead the police to believe that he was Ishfaq Ahmad, a student of the Islamic University.

The Islamic University, however, denied that the slain person was their student.

In a separate incident earlier in the day, unidentified gunmen killed an activist of a Hurriyat group led by Syed Ali Geelani in Bomai area of Sopore town.

The activist, Hakim-ul-Rehman Sultani, had been recently released from jail.

With the party deciding to fight the next Lok Sabha elections under his leadership, BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday hit out at opposition plans for a grand alliance, saying his party was not in the least bothered about it calling it an “eyewash”.

In his inaugural speech at the two-day National Executive of the BJP, he accused the Congress of aligning with forces that want to “break” India while his party was focussed on “making” India.

He gave the message that the party was keen to win the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram to which list has been added Telangana, where the Assembly has been dissolved.

“The talk of mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) is eyewash based on falsehood. It is not going to make any difference in 2019 because we have fought against each and every opposition party in 2014. We are not bothered about it,” Shah was quoted as saying by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who briefed the media on the presidential speech.

Shah urged party workers not to be complacent because of the continuous electoral successes since 2014 and to reach out to the people with a clear-cut message that BJP was not at all worried about the opposition ganging up against the party.

Shah said the party was in power already in 19 states where it was sure of doing well in the Lok Sabha elections. 

“West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana and other states where the BJP was in second position in 2014, we need to take advantage of anti-incumbency there. We will also perform better in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Shah said the BJP would contest the next Lok Sabha polls on the plank of its performance and organisational strength and form a government with a bigger mandate than in 2014.

Attacking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his critical comments on Friday against the Modi government’s performance, Shah said “Manmohan Singh follows his party, while Modi leads. That is the difference.”

Referring to various issues including the “backlash” from upper castes on the recent amendment to the SC-ST law, Shah dubbed all the allegations by the opposition as “baseless”. 

“While Make in India is not a mere campaign but a movement for building the country, Congress is running a campaign of breaking India. Congress has identified itself with breaking groups,” he said.

The BJP President also hit out at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram for being critical of the economic achievements of the government. He asked the party cadres to apprise themselves of the facts on economy and challenge “PC and his company” on the issue.

He listed the achievements of the government on the economic front and said whatever good work done by the government including the yet-to-be launched Ayushman Bharat scheme, inreased MSP for farmers and constitutional status for the Backward Classes Commission should be taken to the people.

Shah picked on the urban naxal issue in the context of the recent arrest of alleged Maoist sympathisers and said the Congress was raking up the issue for its vote bank politics. He hailed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the police action against urban naxals.

Dealing with the controversial issue of National Register of Citizens, he said the BJP would move forward with strong determination to implement it. Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and Jains in neighbouring countries who seek refugee status will be given shelter without hesitation. 

Referring to the triple talaq issue, he said even many Islamic countries have cleared legislations on the subject and was not an issue there. “But here due to the hypocritical stand of the Congress, the bill is stuck in Rajya Sabha. We want to get this bill passed.” 

Earlier, the meeting deferred organisational elections till after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which will enable Shah to continue in the top post and lead the party in the general elections. 

Countries in WHO South-East Asia have resolved to accelerate efforts to control dengue which threatens nearly 1.3 billion people with frequent and large-scale outbreaks, and control malaria, that continues to be endemic in the Region.
The 11-Member countries of the Region which accounts for one-fourth of the global population, 58% of the global burden of Plasmodium vivax malaria, and is at increasing risk of dengue and other vector borne diseases in view of the increasing urbanization and climate change, adopted a resolution to prioritize dengue control and malaria elimination.
Reviewing the progress, challenges, capacities and opportunities for strengthening health workforce, the countries agreed to continue to focus on frontline workers, improve rural retention and transformative education, and increase coordination between health and other ministries., a WHO statement said.

“We need to intensify multi-sectoral approach at the national as well as the grassroots level to reach the most vulnerable and marginalized communities,  strengthen surveillance, operationalize cross-border collaboration and most importantly promote vector control,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia, said at the Seventy-first Regional Committee session, which concluded here.
To further advance health of newborns, children and mothers, the countries agreed to enhance budgets and address social inequities. They emphasized that integrated approach with reproductive newborn, maternal, child and adolescent health programmes activities are at the heart of universal health coverage and for ensuring quality of care while “leaving no one behind”.
Monitoring progress against universal health coverage (UHC) and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, the Member countries agreed to continue to develop and implement policies to advance equity and efficiency, the statement said. 
The Regional Committee session adopted the ‘Delhi Declaration’ with Member countries committing to make essential medical products accessible and affordable to all, both within the Region and beyond.
The session adopted another resolution which seeks to strengthen emergency medical teams (EMTs) to enhance preparedness in WHO South-East Asia, prone to natural disasters.
The Member countries welcomed expansion of the mandate of South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF), from response to preparedness, to be better equipped to handle disasters. The SEARHEF has supported 37 emergencies in nine countries of the Region since its inception a decade ago, meeting immediate needs of affected communities, and save lives.

Jaipur based Rambagh Palace has been ranked amongst the top 24 in ‘Most Beautiful Heritage Hotels in Asia’ by CNN’s Ultimate Guide to Asia’s Heritage Hotels. The list explores 24 of the Asia’s most stately places and includes heritage hotels from countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka, among others.

General Manager, Rambagh Palace, Mr. Ashok S. Rathore said, “It is indeed a matter of honour for the hotel to be a part of this prestigious list of the World’s Most Beautiful Heritage Hotels. Rambagh Palace offers a unique blend of traditional Indian hospitality infused with the local Rajasthani culture to its discerning guests.”

It is to be noted that Jaipur’s Rambagh Palace and Jodhpur’s Umaid Bhawan are the only heritage hotels featured from India in the list.

Rambagh Palace is a living legend in Jaipur. It is to be recalled that originally built in 1835, Rambagh Palace, Jaipur has stepped gracefully through many royal transitions. In the finest tradition of Rajput hospitality, the Rambagh Palace offers its guests a taste of royal living – a luxury and extravagance that was once the sole preserve of kings. Its elegantly appointed rooms, marbled corridors and majestic gardens echo with history.

US Secretary of Defence James Mattis made a surprise visit to the Afghan capital on Friday and in a meeting with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani assured Washington’s long-term support to Afghanistan.

Mattis also assured that his country would continue its security and economic cooperation for enhancing bilateral relations between the US and Afghanistan, according to a statement released by the Presidential Palace.

Heading a ranking delegation, which also included Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, Mattis in the meeting with Ghani also exchanged views on the impact of US strategy on Afghanistan and South Asia, the upcoming Afghan parliamentary and presidential elections, the war on terror and talks with Pakistan, it said.

The Afghan President, accompanied by Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, said that the Afghans and their government were thankful to Washington for its support to Kabul, the statement added.

Mattis arrived here at a time when Washington is trying to make headway in Kabul after 17 years of war.

The arrival of Mattis coincided with the recent takeover by Austin Miller from John Nicholson as NATO-led Resolute Support Mission and US Forces Afghanistan commander, Efe news reported.

Mattis, who reached Kabul in the morning from New Delhi, had, along with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, discussed with their Indian counterparts, Nirmala Sitharaman and Sushma Swaraj respectively, the importance of both India and the US in Afghanistan.

New Delhi and Washington reiterated their support for an Afghan-led peace process in a joint statement on Thursday, in which the latter acknowledged the former’s longstanding and ongoing contribution to Afghanistan as well as India’s role in its neighbour’s development and stability.

The same subject was addressed by Pompeo and Mattis during their stopover in Pakistan, where the Secretary of State stressed the need for Pakistan “to seriously engage to help us get to the reconciliation we need in Afghanistan”.