Wednesday, 25 September 2013

MATHS OF ECG WAVES BY FOURIER SERIES

I think its intersting to know that fourier series can use for read ECG waves. The research is done by Dr. Murray Bourne.
ECG waves look like this. According Dr. Murray Bourne-

HOW ECG IS DONE -

The electrodes are connected to various parts of your anatomy (chest, legs, arms, feet) and voltage differences over time are measured to give the ECG readout.

The horizontal axis of the ECG printout represents time and the vertical axis is the amplitude of the voltage.

Amplitude units are millivolts (mV) and on the graph, 1 mV = 10 mm high.

The time scale is 25 mm = 1 second (or 1 mm per 0.04 seconds on the graph).

So here’s Murray Bourne readout forLead II, representing the voltage between the positive electrode on my left leg and the electrode on my right arm. Each thicker red vertical line represents a time of 1 second.

Apparently (according to the doctor), this indicates my heart is quite healthy.

In more detail, the features of the repeated pulse we are looking at are as follows.

The P wave is caused by contraction of the right atrium followed by the left atrium (the chambers at the top of the heart).

The QRS complex represent the point in time when most of the heart muscles are in action, so has highest amplitude.

The T wave represents the polarization of the ventricles (the chambers at the bottom of the heart).

Modeling the Heartbeat Using Fourier Series-

A heartbeat is roughly regular (if it isn’t, it indicates something is wrong). Mathematically, we say something that repeats regularly isperiodic.

Such waves can be represented using a Fourier Series.

Assumptions-

In my case, my heart rate was about 70 beats per minute. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll assume 60 beats per minute or 1 per second. So the period = 1 second = 1000 milliseconds.

Also for simplicity, I will only model the R wave for this article. To get a more accurate model for the heartbeat, I would just need to do a similar process for the P, Q, S and T waves and add them to my model.

I observed that my R wave was about 2.5 mV high and lasted for a total of 40 ms. The shape of the R wave is almost triangular and so I could have used straight lines for my model, but these son’t give us a smooth curve.

A beter approach is to use a polynomial and ascending and descending lines are close enough to being straight, so my model is as follows (the time units are milliseconds):

f(t) = -0.0000156(t − 20)⁴ + 2.5

f(t) = f(t + 1000)

Explanation of the Model

The model is based on a quartic (power 4) since this will give me close to the shape I need (a parabola would be too broad).

The (t − 20) term comes from deciding the curve should start at (0,0), pass through (40,0) since the pulse is 40 ms long, and be centered on t = 20

The "+2.5" comes from the fact the amplitude of the pulse is 2.5 mV.

The -0.0000156 comes from solving

a(t − 20)⁴ + 2.5 = 0.

The "f(t) = f(t + 1000)" part means the function (pulse in this case) is repeated every 1000 ms.

Graph of the Model

This is the graph of part of one period:
ECG model

Of course. this is just one pulse. How do we produce a graph that repeats this pulse at regular intervals?
This is where we use Fourier Series.
I’ll spare you all the details, but essentially the Fourier Series is an infinite series involving trigonometric terms. When all the terms are added, you get a mathematical model of the original periodic function.
To obtain the Fourier Series, wee need to find the mean value, a₀, and 2 coefficient expressions involving n, a_n and b_n which are multiplied by trigonometric terms and summed for n = 1 to infinity.

Mean Value Term

a₀ is obtained by integration as follows (L is half of the period):
$a_{0}=\dfrac{1}{L}\int_{-L}^{L}f(t)dt$
$=\dfrac{1}{500}\int_{-500}^{500}f(t)dt$
$=\dfrac{1}{500}\int_{0}^{40}(-0.0000156(t-20)^{4}+2.5)dt$

First Coefficient Term, a_n

Next, we compute a_n:
$a_{n}=\frac{1}{L}\int_{-L}^{L}f(t)\cos\frac{n\pi{t}}{L}dt$
$=\dfrac{1}{500}\int_{-500}^{500}f(t)\cos\frac{n\pi{t}}{500}dt$
$=\dfrac{1}{500}\int_{0}^{40}(-0.0000156(t-20)^{4}+2.5)\cos\frac{n\pi{t}}{500}dt$
The answer for this integral is pretty ugly. I’ve included it in the PDF solution.

Second Coefficient Term, b_n

Now for b_n:
$b_{n}=\frac{1}{L}\int_{-L}^{L}f(t)\sin\frac{n\pi{t}}{L}dt$
$=\dfrac{1}{500}\int_{-500}^{500}f(t)\sin\frac{n\pi{t}}{500}dt$
$=\dfrac{1}{500}\int_{0}^{40}(-0.0000156(t-20)^{4}+2.5)\sin\frac{n\pi{t}}{500}dt$
Once again, I have spared you from the full details.
Finally, we put it all together and obtain the Fourier Series for our simple model of a heart beat:
$f(t)=\dfrac{a_{0}}{2}+\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}a_{n}\cos\dfrac{n\pi{t}}{L}+\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}b_{n}\sin\dfrac{n\pi{t}}{L}$
$f(t)=\dfrac{0.16}{2}$
$+\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\left(\dfrac{1}{500}\int_{0}^{40}(-0.0000156(t-20)^{4}+2.5)\cos\frac{n\pi{t}}{500}dt\right)\cos\dfrac{n\pi{t}}{500}$
$+\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\left(\dfrac{1}{500}\int_{0}^{40}(-0.0000156(t-20)^{4}+2.5)\sin\frac{n\pi{t}}{500}dt\right)\sin\dfrac{n\pi{t}}{500}$
When we graph this for just the first 5 terms (n = 1 to 5), we can see the beginnings of a regular 1-second heart beat.
ECG model n=5

The above graph shows the "noise" you get in a Fourier Series expansion, especially if you haven’t taken enough terms.
Taking more terms (this time, adding the first 100 terms) gives us the following, and we see we get a reasonable approximation for a regular R wave with period 1 second.
ECG model

I added the T wave for this next model (in blue).
ECG model

We could keep going, adding the P, Q and S waves to get an even better model.
See the complete solution (up to the T wave, created using Scientific notebook) here:

Model of Human Heartbeat

Monday, 23 September 2013

Steps to live happy life

(1).

Don't care about others even the person is very close to you . If you care some one then u will asks questions to that person. The person can hurt you .

(2).

Let that no one is yours and don't care what the others are doing .

(3).

Don't care what the others have and what can they do just think what you can do.

(4).

Do the things which keeps you busy.

(5).

If u love n care someone then dont expect about the same care n love from that person in return . Its very important . If you can that then can but if u expect the same love n care then ...........

(6).

Cut your ego and atitude if you wanna live happy . Have positive atitude not negtive.

(7).

And at last i wanna say sorry if i hurt some one or if some one get hurted by this post .

Monday, 2 September 2013

Future Water Levels of Crucial Agricultural Aquifer Forecast

If current irrigation trends continue, 69 percent of the groundwater stored in the High Plains Aquifer of Kansas will be depleted in 50 years. But immediately reducing water use could extend the aquifer's lifetime and increase net agricultural production through the year 2110.Those findings are part of a recently published study by David Steward, professor of civil engineering, and colleagues at Kansas State University. The study investigates the future availability of groundwater in the High Plains Aquifer -- also called the Ogallala Aquifer -- and how reducing use would affect cattle and crops. The aquifer supplies 30 percent of the nation's irrigated groundwater and serves as the most agriculturally important irrigation in Kansas.

"Tapping unsustainable groundwater stores for agricultural production in the High Plains Aquifer of Kansas, projections to 2110" appears in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS. The study took four years to complete and was funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Kansas State University's Rural Transportation Institute.

"I think it's generally understood that the groundwater levels are going down and that at some point in the future groundwater pumping rates are going to have to decrease," Steward said. "However, there are lots of questions about how long the water will last, how long the aquifer will take to refill and what society can do."

Steward conducted the study with Kansas State University's Michael Apley, professor of clinical sciences and an expert in cattle production; Stephen Welch, professor of agronomy, who helped with a statistics method called bootstrapping; Scott Staggenborg, adjunct professor in agronomy who studies agricultural production methods; Paul Bruss, a 2011 master's degree graduate in civil engineering; and Xiaoying Yang, a former postdoctoral research assistant who is now at Fudan University in China.

Using measurements of groundwater levels in the past and present day in those regions, Steward and colleagues developed a statistical model that projected groundwater declines in western Kansas for the next 100 years and the effect it will have to cattle and crops.

According to their model, researchers estimated that 3 percent of the aquifer's water had been used by 1960. By 2010, 30 percent of the aquifer's water had been tapped. An additional 39 percent of the aquifer's reserve is projected to be used by 2060 -- resulting in the loss of 69 percent of the aquifer's groundwater given current use. Once depleted, the aquifer could take an average of 500-1,300 years to completely refill given current recharge rates, Steward said.

Although the High Plains Aquifer will continue declining, researchers anticipate even greater efficiencies in water use during the next 15-20 years.

"Society has been really smart about using water more efficiently, and it shows," Steward said. "Water use efficiencies have increased by about 2 percent a year in Kansas, which means that every year we're growing about 2 percent more crop for each unit of water. That's happening because of increased irrigation technology, crop genetics and water management strategies."

As a result, researchers anticipate that while peak water use will happen around 2025, western Kansas will see increased corn and cattle production until the year 2040. What happens past that time frame depends on what decisions are made about reducing the use of the aquifer's water in the near future, Steward said.

The team conducted several hypothetical scenarios that reduced the current pumping rate by 20 percent, 40 percent, 60 percent and 80 percent. Steward said the researchers went as high as 80 percent because that closely aligned with the aquifer's natural groundwater recharge rate of about 15 percent of current pumping.

"The main idea is that if we're able to save water today, it will result in a substantial increase in the number of years that we will have irrigated agriculture in Kansas," Steward said. "We'll be able to get more crop in the future and more total crop production from each unit of water because those efficiencies are projected to increase in the future."

Steward said he hoped the study helps support the current dialogue about decisions affecting how water can help build resiliency for agriculture in the future.

"We really wrote the paper for the family farmer who wants to pass his land on to his grandchildren knowing that they will have the same opportunities that farmers do today," Steward said. "As a society, we have an opportunity to make some important decisions that will have consequences for future generations, who may or may not be limited by those decisions."

Thursday, 8 August 2013

China Firm Plans To Erect World's Tallest Building in Seven Months

On July 20, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Changsha, China, for Sky City, an 838-meter-tall, 202-floor mixed-use tower that, if completed, would be the tallest building in the world. The $1.47-billion project is the brainchild of Changsha-based Broad Group, which plans to use its own modular fabrication and construction techniques to erect the supertall building in only seven months. The ambitious plan has drawn worldwide attention as well as the ire of Chinese government authorities, who say the Broad Group lacks the proper permits to begin construction.

Plans for Sky City are ambitious, even for a supertall building that aims to outdo the Burj Khalifa's height by 10 m. With 1.05 million sq m of build area, Broad Group hopes the tower will someday serve as a self-contained city: a home for more than 30,000 residents who will live and work entirely within the building.

The aggressive construction schedule calls for seven months of work once the foundation is built. This work would include four months of modular-component fabrication by 20,000 Broad Group workers in the nearby Broad Group factories and three months of on-site installation by a team of 3,000 workers.

Broad Group's main business is manufacturing air-conditioning and related HVAC systems. But their Broad Sustainable Building division has been turning heads in recent years with high-profile demonstration projects such as the modular T30 Hotel, a 30-story building that was erected in about 15 days. A time-lapse video of the construction drew millions of views on YouTube.

On June 12, Zhang Yue, chairman of Broad Group, spoke to the London conference of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (see video). "You have seen our 30-story building built in two weeks, and that applies to [Sky City] as well," he said, through a translator. "People have seen our video on YouTube, and this kind of building we're building almost every day right now."

During his presentation, Zhang repeatedly emphasized the importance of energy use and conservation in the design of Sky City. "This building, as compared to a conventional buildings in the local area, can decrease energy consumption by 50%. We are building this 202-story building, [and] our main hope is to draw people's attention to see that, within a building, there is such a big area for energy-consumption [savings]."

Zhang and the Broad Group have been promoting Sky City for some time, but the design community is skeptical. "It seems impossible what they're trying to do. But Zhang Yue is very serious, and has not wavered from what he is going to do," said Antony Wood, executive director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). "We at the council see almost every week a world's-tallest-building proposal. Most never get past the Frank Lloyd Wright Mile-High Building' render stage."

Wood and several members of the council visited the Broad Group manufacturing facility in Changsha in late 2012 and toured Broad Group's modular-fabrication factories. "I went there with great skepticism and came away massively impressed with what they were doing as evidenced by their whole process of prototyping buildings," Wood told ENR. "I am still not 100% convinced of the leap from 30 to 200 stories with the prefabrication system, but am I massively more convinced than before I went there."

But Wood did take issue with the proposal's emphasis on speed. "The No. 1 criteria for this project is: if it is achievable, to build the world's tallest building, prefabricated," he said. "I don't care if it takes four times as long, four years or eight years—is it achievable to build a prefabricated supertall building safely and occupy it?"

Broad Group's Zhang claims Sky City could handle a magnitude-9 earthquake, but Wood says the company needs to be more open about how it will meet this goal from an engineering standpoint. "There is the issue of technical feasibility. The concern raised most is structural stability, especially in an earthquake zone."

Producing steel strips in an endless process

An especially energy-efficient production process for sheet steel is now being used in China. Siemens is providing a Chinese steel manufacturer with two plants that work according to the Arvedi-ESP (Endless Strip Production) process. They produce high-quality ultrathin hot-rolled strips with widths of up to 1.6 meters and minimal thicknesses as small as 0.8 millimeters. The Arvedi-ESP process requires up to 45 percent less energy than the conventional process, which consists of separate casting and rolling steps. It therefore generates significantly smaller amounts of CO2.

The production of steel strips normally requires a great deal of energy and space. Liquid steel is cast in slabs; these are steel plates that are a few centimeters thick, about one to two meters wide, and more than ten meters long. These slab ingots cool off and are processed in the rolling mill into steel strips that in some cases are less than one millimeter thick. Before this can happen, the slabs must be newly loaded and heated up once again. Finally, the steel strips are rolled onto large reels called coils. In total, such a production line is several hundred meters long. The steel strips are processed for use in automobiles,household appliances or construction materials, for example.

The special feature of the Arvedi-ESP process is that the casting and rolling processes are performed in a single step. The hot strand of metal is directly rolled in an endless process without having to cut slab ingots beforehand. The steel is processed into a strip in a single run and rolled into coils weighing up to 32 tons each. The entire production line is only 190 meters long. The loading and reheating of the cold slab ingots is no longer necessary, and this saves a great deal of time and energy. The process, which requires only seven minutes to transform liquid steel into a finished coil, is much shorter than conventional processes, which last several hours. What's more, it does not create any scrap material, which is normally generated in the loading process. Thanks to its precise temperature management, the plant produces steel of high and homogeneous quality.

The new units have been designed to produce 5.2 million tons of steel annually. In the startup and operation phases, the steel producer will be supported by Siemens partner Acciaieria Arvedi SpA, the company that invented the process.

Monday, 5 August 2013

Japanese group invests €100m in Mainstream Renewable Energy

Global wind and solar developer Mainstream Renewable Power on Monday announced a €100-million equity investment deal with Marubeni Corporation, which would see the Japanese group take a 25% stake in the company.

Ireland-based Mainstream, which has plans to build wind and solar projects in South Africa, said the deal represented the largest single equity investment in its five-and-a-half year history.

Bikaner govt colleges appoint M Tech students as faculty, violate AICTE norms

Two government engineering colleges in Bikaner have engaged MTech pursuing students as guest faculty in a gross violation of the AICTEnorms.

These two colleges are College of Engineering and Technology, Bikaner and Govt. Engineering College Bikaner.

The AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education) norms clearly state that the minimum criterion to be eligible for teaching in an engineering college is an MTech degree.

The web portals of both the colleges display the status of guest faculty, Sandesh Goswami and Rohit Vyas (civil engineering department), as pursuing MTech. Similarly, Deepak Sharma was shown as a guest faculty pursuing MTech in the mechanical engineering department.

The website of one of the colleges shows Govind Singh Tanwar, Rahul Acharya, Gaurav Sharma and Kailash Kumar as guest faculty in the computer science department, with all of them pursuing MTech. Furthermore, the Govt. Engineering College of Bikaner has several of its MTech pursuing students also teaching.

MTech being a full-time degree, the question of these faculty members not being regular in pursuing their degrees arises. The AICTE in 2009 had stated that MTech is a full-fledged programme and degrees imparted on a distance learning module shall not be recognized.

TOI tried contacting the principal of both the engineering colleges Professor Ranjit Singh but he remained unavailable.

Most of these faculty members have passed out from the respective colleges which again question the selection procedure for appointing them. Some of them reportedly didn't fare well in their bachelor's programme.

"If it's true than it's a gross violation of the AICTE norms. RTU will send an inspection team to verify the claims," said RP Yadav, vice chancellor, RTU. Both the colleges are affiliated with RTU.

Sandeep Kumar, an RTI activist, said, "If this is the situation in government colleges, one can imagine the way private engineering colleges function."

Kumar added that department of technical education should convene an inquiry into the case and punish the defaulters.

IIT-Madras to host workshop on recycling of construction waste

IIT-Madras will host a workshop on 'Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling' in collaboration with the Indian Concrete Institute and the Central Public Works Department next week.

According to the organizers, increasing construction, maintenance, retrofitting and demolition activities across the country generate a considerable quantity of construction and demolition waste that is just dumped in landfills.

Experts estimate that the construction industry in India generates about 15 million tonnes of waste annually. Waste generation in Delhi is estimated to be around 5,000 tonnes a day. Experts say this creates huge challenges in terms of space for disposal and unauthorized dumping. There is potential for large-scale recycling of this waste material.

"We are conducting the workshop to sensitize engineers, policy makers, regulatory authorities and other stakeholders of the construction industry on recycling of construction and demolition wastes and management of the waste stream," said KN Satynarayana, professor of civil engineering at IIT-Madras.

"We have invited experts from Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea to talk about solutions developed in their countries," Satyanarayana said. Senior government representatives, including the commissioners of Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai corporations are taking part in the workshop.

Participants will be exposed to the reuse potential of construction and demolition waste, technical aspects in the use of recycled concrete aggregates and best international practices in implementation and enforcement.

Regulatory mechanism, demolition techniques, transportation methods, classification and processing, codes, standards and specifications and equipment used in the recycling of construction and demolition waste will also be discussed in the workshop.

EIEL bags Rs 357 crore order from Nabinagar Power Generating Company

NEW DELHI: Era Infra Engineering Ltd BSE -0.24 % (EIEL) today said it has bagged Rs 357 crore project from Nabinagar Power Generating Company, a joint venture ofNTPC BSE 3.81 % and Bihar State Electricity Board.

The contract is for offsite civil package for 1800 MW Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project in Aurangabad district of Bihar, the company said in a statement.

"EIEL, an integrated infrastructure company with pan India presence has been awarded a contract...for SG and offsite civil works package for Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project in Aurangabad district of Bihar.

"This has been awarded by Nabinagar Power Generating Co Ltd, a joint venture of NTPC and Bihar State Electricity Board," the statement added.

EIEL had earlier bagged a construction order worth Rs 383.7 crore from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

The company is an integrated infrastructure firm with its presence across the country.

EIEL had reported 26 per cent dip in consolidated net profit at Rs 109 crore for the year ended March 31, 2013.

Saturday, 3 August 2013

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY TO ALL MY VISITORS

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.
Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.

Walk beside me and be my friend."

Friday, 2 August 2013

Here's how you can support suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal

Durga Shakti Nagpal, the IAS officer who was allegedly suspended for taking on the sand mafia in Uttar Pradesh, has seen support in the form of at least two online petitions, both of which were filed on change.org. This is an online platform to file petitions which “empowers people everywhere to create the change they want to see,” according to its website.

Shipli Tewari's petition calls Nagpal a “brave, honest, young IAS officer”. It says that the stated reason for Nagpal's suspension – ordering the demolition of a mosque wall that could have led to riots – is not supported by reports of the local administration. The real reason behind the suspension is elsewhere: her work against illegal mining.

Tewari's petition, which has 542 supporter so far, adds to the efforts of Muslim groups who have written to the government in support of the IAS officer. It says honest officers like Nagpal need to be encouraged to strengthen the fight against corruption.

The second petition was filed by Sumaira Abdulali, founder of NGO Awaaz Foundation which has been working on illegal sand mining for more than ten years.

Her petition says that an upright officer like Durga Shakti Nagpal who risks her

life to uphold the law and cracks down against illegality should be rewarded, not suspended. Apart from reiterating support to Nagpal, it calls for a CBI enquiry into the links between politicians and the sand mafia.

The petition also calls for an enquiry into the murder of activist Pale Ram Chauhan, who was allegedly killed by the sand mafia right after Nagpal's suspension.

Addressed to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and the prime minister among others, the petition has been signed by 223 people so far.

Vishal Shah, who has signed Adulali's petition, says he did so because, “(It is) important for us to have such honest, young officers for the progress and development of our country.”

Vodafone may have to sell $1 billion Bharti Airtel stake under licence rules

Vodafone Group Plc may be forced to sell its 4.4 per cent stake in India's top telecom services provider Bharti Airtel Ltd - worth about $1 billion - after rules published on Friday outlawed crossholdings in rival telecom companies.

Under the rules, no carrier can own a direct or indirect equity stake in another operating in the same of any of India's 22 telecom service areas. Bharti and Vodafone provide services in all of them.

The telecoms ministry's new licensing rules also say that no stakeholder other than the government, banks and financial institutions, which owns 10 percent or more in a carrier will be allowed to own a stake in any other carrier.

Companies must comply with the rules within a year from the date of grant of new licences, the ministry said. Applications for the licences may take months to process.

Vodafone, which owns a majority stake in Vodafone India - India's No. 2 phone carrier, has owned its Bharti stake for years. At Bharti's stock price of about 345 rupees, the stake is worth roughly $1 billion.

Bharti declined to comment and Vodafone did not reply to an email seeking comment.

Princess of the United Kingdom, but you can call me mummy: Kate Middleton

Although she has never used the name, the Duchess is entitled to refer to herself as Princess William of Wales, as well as being Countess of Strathearn and Lady Carrickfergus.

- AFP

With four official titles to choose from, the question of how to describe her occupation on her son's birth certificate was rather more taxing for the Duchess of Cambridge than it is for the rest of us.
In the end, she opted for "Princess of the United Kingdom" as her job description when the Duke of Cambridge formally registered Prince George's birth on Friday.
Although she has never used the name, the Duchess is entitled to refer to herself as Princess William of Wales, as well as being Countess of Strathearn and Lady Carrickfergus.
The Duke, perhaps to show solidarity with his wife, described his own occupation as Prince of the United Kingdom, though he could have described himself as an RAF helicopter pilot, which is his day job.
The Duke, who signed the register as "William", was given a standard birth certificate, familiar to anyone born in the UK, but the manner in which he obtained it was anything but ordinary. Instead of going to his local register office, he was visited at Kensington Palace by Alison Cathcart, deputy registrar for Westminster, whose previous duties have included conducting the weddings of Joan Collins, Barbara Windsor and David Walliams.
She described the task as "a great pleasure", which cemented the borough's association with royal births, as Westminster also holds the birth records of the Queen, the Prince of Wales and Princes William and Harry, among others.
The royal baby was named as His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, with the "usual address" given as Kensington Palace. The Duchess was not present for the registration, instead staying at her parents' home in Berkshire, where she has been since the day after she left hospital.
The Duke will return to work at RAF Valley on Anglesey next week after his paternity leave ends, but today he will be in action alongside Prince Harry when they play polo at Coworth Park in Ascot. Yesterday Prince Harry joked that the birth of Prince George means the "pressure's off" him to settle down and have children.
He said his father was "over the moon" to have become a grandfather and hinted that he might stay single for some time. Prince Harry, 28, made the comments as he spoke to Royal Marines and their families on a visit to the Devonport naval base in Plymouth.
After unveiling a plaque to open a pounds 30?million training centre, the Prince spoke to Tasha Reilly, 35, who was accompanying Lt Col Tristan Harris. She said: "Harry was very down to earth. He said his father was over the moon to be a grandfather. I said, 'No pressure'.
He said, 'No, now he's got one he'll be fine. Pressure's off'." The new base, Royal Marines Tamar, is home to 1 Assault Group Royal Marines, which oversees amphibious warfare and Royal Navy board search and training. Wearing his Household Cavalry service dress uniform with his light blue Army Air Corps beret, the Prince reviewed a parade before taking the salute. He then joined Marie Francis, 68, to cut the ribbon on the training block, dedicated to her husband, Colour Sergeant Michael James Francis, who was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for bravery in the Falklands conflict.
Colour Sgt Francis, who suffers from MS, could not attend the ceremony, but the Prince spoke of the "amazing" accomplishments of the veteran, who was a coxswain on a landing craft when enemy aircraft bombed RFA Sir Galahad. He ferried more than 100 survivors, some seriously wounded, to safety.

Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Why 1984 Golden Temple raid still rankles for Sikhs

The attack on Lt Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar, 78, in September last year brought one of the most controversial events in recent Indian history back into the headlines.

The storming of the Golden Temple, codenamed Operation Blue Star, was aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists.

They had been demanding an independent homeland - called Khalistan - in the Punjab.

The army's operation outraged Sikhs around the world, who accused the troops of desecrating the faith's holiest shrine.

Storming of the Golden Temple

1982: Armed Sikh militants, led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, take up residence in the Golden Temple complex
3-8 June 1984: The Indian army attacks the Golden Temple, killing Bhindranwale, his supporters and a number of civilians
31 October 1984: Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who had given the go-ahead to Operation Blue Star, was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards
November 1984: More than 3,000 are killed in anti-Sikh riots across India

According to the Indian government, about 400 people were killed, including 87 soldiers.

But Sikh groups dispute this figure. They say thousands died, including a large number of pilgrims who were there for an important Sikh festival, the anniversary of the death of their fifth guru, Arjan Dev Ji.

Parts of the temple were damaged during the fighting and Sikhs felt it was an attack on their religion.

Operation Blue Star led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was killed by her Sikh bodyguards in revenge.

Almost three decades later a group of Sikhs saw an opportunity to take revenge on Lt Gen Brar, who was in London on holiday with his wife Meena, a visit the couple regularly made, astonishingly without any security.

Lt Gen Brar told the court - by video-link from India - there had been many attempts on his life since 1984 and several extremist Sikh websites had had him listed as their number one target.

The jury at Southwark Crown Court were told by Lt Gen Brar: "[Operation Blue Star] wasn't carried out against the Sikh community but against militants who had been carrying out a lot of killings."

He said they had given the militants lots of warnings but when they had failed to respond, they had had no other option but to go into the temple.

Lt Gen Brar arrives in Mumbai in Oct 2012

Armed with knife, axe and gun, boy attacks girl in JNU, then kills self

NEW DELHI: Campus killings, a dark phenomenon Indians till now largely associated with America, made a chilling entry into one of our top universities on Wednesday when a 23-year-old student of JNU coolly walked into a School of Languages classroom and almost decapitated his female classmate before killing himself with a mouthful of sulphas, a potent insecticide that doesn't take long to snuff the life out of people.

As the university froze in silence and dread, authorities with the aid of the police quickly secured all entry points, barring access of both people and information to outsiders. But from what TOI gleaned after talking to the few people willing and available to speak about the incident, Aakash Kumar, who was studying Korean and was in his BA final year, came armed with a loaded pistol, which misfired, a knife and an axe with the clear intention of murderingRoshni Gupta, 22, a girl from Muzaffarnager that he was rumoured to be dating.

Roshni, hit multiple times on the head and stabbed in her stomach, is in critical condition and fighting for life at the Safdarjung hospital where she was rushed by fellow students soon after the gruesome attack at about 11am. A team of doctors who first stopped her bleeding and then performed a surgery before doing a number of scans to ascertain internal injuries to the skull has kept her under close observation.

Shockingly, medical staff at AIIMS apparently turned away the bleeding girl and refused to admit her. A few students and one of the professors accompanying her alleged that the hospital was unrelenting. Rattled, professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy of JNU said, "We agitated for reform during the Nirbhaya protests but it was surprising to see AIIMS turning down the patient like this."

Aakash, though, who had slashed his neck just in case the sulphas didn't work, died an hour after he was brought to the AIIMS trauma centre at around 12.15pm. "He succumbed to the poison," a senior doctor said. "We could not revive him."

Shiv Sena demands separate Jammu state

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday held a rally in Jammu demanding statehood for it saying it was very different from Kashmir, both culturally and geographically.

Over 200 activists of Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiv Sena and the Dogra Front took out a procession from the Parade Ground to City Chowk demanding a separate Jammu state.

“The state government has been biased in allocating funds. Most of these go to the Valley while the remaining is divided among Jammu, Leh Ladakh,” JK Sena leader Ashok Gupta said. - PTI

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Virat proves that he is a good captin. He can be future of indian team

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly celebrated his 41st birthday recently and voiced his opinion on Virat Kohli's captaincy. Kohli is leading the Indian team in the ongoing tri-series in the Caribbean which is involving West Indies and Sri lanka. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's injury has given Kohli this opportunity.

Ganguly said that as of now he isn't looking at Kohli as a long term leader, but rates him highly as a batsman. He also says that a team can be assessed only be judging its form in the long run.

Recently, Kohli smashed a hundred against West Indies to keep India alive in the tri-series in the Caribbean and they are still eyeing a berth in the final.

Sensex at 1-week low; down 145 points as RIL, M&M slump

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 42.30 points, or 0.72%, to close at 5,816.70. Also, SX40 index, the flagship index of MCX-SX, closed 64.41 points, or 0.56% lower at 11,533.78.

- DNA

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Wednesday lost over 145 points to close at a fresh one-week low, pulled down by fag-end selling in bluechips, including RIL, M&M and Bajaj Auto, in line with weak trends in Asian and European markets.

Investors were seen adopting a cautious stance ahead of key economic data and the first quarter earnings season which will be kicked off by Infosys on Friday.

The 30-share index started the day slightly higher from its previous close at 19,489 but soon erased all gains as reports of fall in global markets trickled in.

It finally ended down by 145.36 points, or 0.75%, at 19,294.12. This is Sensex's lowest closing level since 19,177.76 on July 3. The index had gained 114.7 points yesterday.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 42.30 points, or 0.72%, to close at 5,816.70. Also, SX40 index, the flagship index of MCX-SX, closed 64.41 points, or 0.56% lower at 11,533.78.

Brokers said profit-booking by investors at high levels and fall in refinery stocks led by market major Reliance Industries and ONGC, mainly pulled down the market besides a weak global trend, following unexpected fall in China's export and import.

In global markets, FTSE 100 was down 0.45%, Nikkei 0.39% and Kospi ended lower by 0.34% today.

Refinery stocks were also under pressure as the RBI asked state-run oil companies to purchase dollars from a single bank to avoid unwanted volatilities in the rupee, they said.

Market heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped 1.95% to Rs856.35, ONGC by 1.79% to Rs296.65 and GAIL by 0.80% to Rs315.20.

Out of the 30 BSE index components, 22 stocks fell led by Mahindra and Mahindra losing 2.63% to Rs911.90. Among other major losers were Hindalco (2.58%), Bajaj Auto (2.13%) and Tata Steel (1.97 per cent).

Sectorally, the oil and gas sector index suffered the most by losing 1.82% to 8,587.73 followed by auto index by 1.50% to 10,525.88. Realty sector index lost 1.32% to 1,490.75 and capital goods index by 0.98% to 9,177.90.