Inspiratory muscle training can help improve sport performance

June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, June 4 (ANI): Strengthening inspiratory muscles by performing daily breathing exercises can reduce the amount of oxygen these muscles require during exercise, a new American study has found.

The Indiana University research, “Inspiratory Muscle Training reduces the Oxygen Cost of Breathing during Exercise,” was presented June 3 at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting.

Louise Turner, a researcher in the Department of Kinesiology, said just the act of breathing during an endurance activity, such as running, swimming or cycling performed at maximum intensity, can account for 10 to 15 percent of an athlete””s total oxygen consumption.

While inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been shown to improve performance in endurance sports, Turner””s study sought to shed light on how IMT does this.

She said: “This study helps to provide further insight into the potential mechanisms responsible for the improved whole-body endurance performance previously reported following IMT.”

The double blind, placebo-controlled study involved 16 male cyclists ages 18 to 40.

IMT involves the use of a hand-held device that provides resistance as one inhales through it, requiring greater use of inspiratory muscles.

For half of the study participants, the IMT device was set to a level that provided resistance as the subjects took a fast forceful breath in.

For six weeks they took 30 breaths at this setting twice a day.

The cyclists in the control group did the same exercises with the IMT adjusted to a minimal level.

After six weeks, when the study participants mimicked the breathing required for low, moderate and maximum intensity activities, the inspiratory muscles required around 1 percent less oxygen during the low intensity exercise and required 3 to 4 percent less during the high intensity exercise. (ANI)

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Mohali take honours on Day One

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The encounter between two heavy weights-Chandigarh and Mohali- has always been mouth-watering. Both the teams have always called for high-intensity and action filled matches. It was no different on Tuesday when both the teams once again engaged in an exciting encounter during the third round matches of the Punjab State Under-22 Cricket Tournament played at the Sector 16 Cricket stadium. However, Mohali took the honours on the first day as their batsmen helped the team pile on a handsome total.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Mohali mustered a sound total of 377 in 94.4 overs. After losing the first wicket cheaply, Mohali batsmen Ankit Pursharthy and Sachin Sohal stitched 108 runs for the second wicket before Ankit was caught by Bawa off the bowling of Anshul Tripathi. He made 67 off 145 balls with the help of ten boundaries. Two quick wickets in succession put Chandigarh on top but Gurkirat Mann and Arshdeep Brar were involved in a century stand (101) for the fifth wicket that once again brought Mohali back into the match. Arshdeep returned back to the pavillion after a well-made 45 off 80 balls.

However, Gurkirat continued in the same vein and smashed a quick-fire 36 off 28 balls and was involved in a 93-run stand for the sixth wicket with Gunjot Singh. Gurkirat, who has been in good form, struck a superb 109 off 100 balls. Gurinder Singh and Anshul Tripathi took three wickets each for Chandigarh.

In reply, Chandigarh were 6 for no loss in five overs.

Brief scores:Mohali (1st innings): 377 all out in 94.4 overs (Gurkirat Mann 109, Ankit Pursharthy 67, Sachin Sohal 65, Arshdeep Brar 48, Gunjot Singh 36, Gurinder Singh 3 for 104, Anshul Tripathi 3 for 146); Chandigarh (1st innings): 6 for no loss in 5 overs (Amit Prashar 3 no, Manan Vohra 3 no).

Chawla saves the day for PatialaHolding on one side firmly as wickets fell regularly at the other end, Himanshu Chawla emerged as hero of the day for Patiala as he helped the team muster a competitive 308 in 82 overs in the match played at Jalandhar.

Opting to bat first, Patiala lost their first wicket cheaply before Jeevanjot and Amitoze got together and put on 91 runs in 110 balls for the second wicket. Thereafter, Patiala lost few quick wickets but then Himanshu and Vikramjit resurrected the visiting team’s innings by stitching 82 runs for the sixth wicket.

Himanshu who was looking good for a century, missed out on the feat when he holed a Yogesh Kumar delivery to the mid wicket where Maninder took an easy catch to send him packing on 95. He took 147 balls for his effort and struck 10 boundaries. Yogesh Kumar was the pick of the bowlers as he completed a five-wicket haul (5 for 82), while Maninder bagged three wickets.

Jalandhar were 40 for 1 in 12 overs. They lost opener Nitish for 23 on the last ball of the match.

Brief scores:Patiala (1st innings): 308 for all out in 82 overs (Himanshu Chawla 95, Amitoze Singh 61, Jivanjot Singh 34, Vikramjit Singh 36, Yogesh Kumar 5 for 82, Maninder Singh 3 for 89, Manpreet Singh 2 for 51); Jalandhar (1st innings): 40 for 1 in 12 overs (Nitish 23, Robin Singh 15 no).

Ludhiana batsmen shineA Collective batting effort by Ludhiana batsmen helped the team finish the first day on a high during their match against Kapurthala at Ludhiana. Batting first, the hosts amassed 399 for 8 in 95 overs. Bharat Malhotra (108), Gitansh Khera (87), Sunny Pandey (59) and Akhil Aggarwal (48) were the run scorers for the hosts.

A second wicket partnership of 95 runs for the second wicket set the tone for Ludhiana innings. Then a fourth wicket partnership of 132 runs between Gitansh and Bharat helped the team build platform for a good total. Similarly, another fruitful partnership of 75 runs for the fifth wicket between Bharat and Deepak Bansal further swelled the team’s total. In the process, Bharat completed his century (108 off 159 balls) with the help of 11 boundaries and a huge six.

Gagan added a quick-fire 39 off 18 balls to help the team reach 399. Krishan picked up three wickets for 109 runs.

In reply, Kapurthala were reeling at 57 for 5 in 13 overs at the end of the day’s play. Baltej Singh scalped three wickets, while Deepak Bansal took two wickets to leave the team tottering. Four of the five batsmen failed to open their account. Mandeep Singh was batting on 42.

Brief scores:Ludhiana (1st innings): 399 for 8 in 95 overs (Bharat Malhotra 108, Gitansh Khera 87, Sunny Pandey 58, Akhil Aggarwal 48, Deepak Bansal 39, Gagan 39, Krishan 3 for 109); Kapurthala (1st innings): 57 for 5 in 13 overs (Mandeep Singh 42 no, Baltej Singh 3 for 26, Deepak Bansal 2 for 26).

Loomba helps team take leadRiding high on Sharad Loomba’s unbeaten 91, Amritsar took an unassailable 45-run lead over Mansa in the fourth match played at Amritsar. Batting first, Mansa were bundled out for 131 in 50.2 overs. Lakshay Seth took four wickets, while Shubham Khanna and Charanjit Singh bagged two wickets each.

In reply, Amritsar were 176 for 3 in 42 overs at the end of the day’s play. Loomba was batting on 91 off 109 balls. He was involved in a 63-run partnership for the third wicket with Amandeep Bawa. Aman Bharti took two wickets.

Brief scores:Mansa (1st innings): 131 for all out in 50.2 overs (Manpreet Singh 27, Aman Bharti 26, Lakshay Seth 4 for 28, Charanjit Singh 2 for 29, Shubham Khanna 2 for 35); Amritsar (1st innings): 176 for 3 in 42 overs (Sharad Loomba 91, Mohit Handa 14 no, Aman Bharti 2 for 52)

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Resistance exercise-blood flow restriction combo boosts muscle mass in elderly

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 15 (ANI): Researches have found that combining low resistance exercises with restriction of blood flow through body parts may boost muscle build-up in the elderly.

Many older people are unable to get the full benefits of weightlifting and other exercises because they suffer from conditions such as arthritis that prevent them from lifting enough weight to stimulate muscle growth.

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have determined that moderately and temporarily restricting the flow of blood through muscles can be combined with low-level resistance exercise training to produce muscle-mass increases in older men.

This is a practice adopted by bodybuilders who noticed that it made light weights feel heavier.

“We think that this may be a novel treatment for older people who need to bring their muscle mass back up,” said UTMB physical therapy professor Blake Rasmussen, senior author of a paper on the investigation (“Blood flow restriction exercise stimulates mTORC1 signaling and muscle protein synthesis in older men”) appearing in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology. “It could also be used for patients who have had surgery and aren”t capable of lifting enough weight to keep their muscles in shape, or for people who have arthritis or other conditions that make lifting heavy weights a problem.”

A simple experiment that demonstrated the above theory was carried out in seven men with an average age 70.

“We saw that when we put the cuffs on, they responded similarly to young people doing traditional high-intensity resistance exercise,” said UTMB graduate student Christopher Fry, the lead author of the paper. “The low-intensity exercise produced increases in protein synthesis, and activated two cellular pathways that stimulate protein synthesis and muscle growth in the post-exercise period.”

Rasmussen and Fry speculated that either an improved ability to activate Type II muscle fibers or a response to the sudden surge of blood into the muscles when the cuffs were released could be responsible for this result. Whatever the mechanism, Rasmussen said, “we think it”s an exciting potential new rehabilitation tool.”

“You could use this following ACL knee surgery or hip fracture surgery, for example,” Rasmussen said. “In the first few weeks after ACL surgery, the joint just won”t allow you to lift heavy weight. So instead, you could use a really light weight with a restriction cuff, which may prevent the muscle loss that you normally see following knee surgery.”

This study appears in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology. (ANI)

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Resistance exercise-blood flow restriction combo boosts muscle mass in elderly

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 15 (ANI): Researches have found that combining low resistance exercises with restriction of blood flow through body parts may boost muscle build-up in the elderly.

Many older people are unable to get the full benefits of weightlifting and other exercises because they suffer from conditions such as arthritis that prevent them from lifting enough weight to stimulate muscle growth.

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have determined that moderately and temporarily restricting the flow of blood through muscles can be combined with low-level resistance exercise training to produce muscle-mass increases in older men.

This is a practice adopted by bodybuilders who noticed that it made light weights feel heavier.

“We think that this may be a novel treatment for older people who need to bring their muscle mass back up,” said UTMB physical therapy professor Blake Rasmussen, senior author of a paper on the investigation (“Blood flow restriction exercise stimulates mTORC1 signaling and muscle protein synthesis in older men”) appearing in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology. “It could also be used for patients who have had surgery and aren”t capable of lifting enough weight to keep their muscles in shape, or for people who have arthritis or other conditions that make lifting heavy weights a problem.”

A simple experiment that demonstrated the above theory was carried out in seven men with an average age 70.

“We saw that when we put the cuffs on, they responded similarly to young people doing traditional high-intensity resistance exercise,” said UTMB graduate student Christopher Fry, the lead author of the paper. “The low-intensity exercise produced increases in protein synthesis, and activated two cellular pathways that stimulate protein synthesis and muscle growth in the post-exercise period.”

Rasmussen and Fry speculated that either an improved ability to activate Type II muscle fibers or a response to the sudden surge of blood into the muscles when the cuffs were released could be responsible for this result. Whatever the mechanism, Rasmussen said, “we think it”s an exciting potential new rehabilitation tool.”

“You could use this following ACL knee surgery or hip fracture surgery, for example,” Rasmussen said. “In the first few weeks after ACL surgery, the joint just won”t allow you to lift heavy weight. So instead, you could use a really light weight with a restriction cuff, which may prevent the muscle loss that you normally see following knee surgery.”

This study appears in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology. (ANI)

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Study sheds light on bats” ability to ”see” in the dark

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 11 (ANI): A team of British researchers has shed new light on bats” remarkable ability to ”see” in the dark.

They have found that bats use the echoes from their own calls to decipher the shape of their dark surroundings.

This process, known as echolocation, allows bats to perceive their surroundings in great detail, detecting insect prey or identifying threatening predators.

The researchers worked with six adult Egyptian fruit bats from Tropical World in Leeds to record and recreate their calls. These calls are pairs of ”clicks” from the bats” tongues that they use to fill their surroundings with acoustic energy; the echoes that return allow the bats to form an image of their environment.

The researchers worked with the bats to record their double-click echolocation call, and its returning echoes, using a miniature wireless microphone sensor mounted on the bat whilst in flight.

During echolocation, some bats are known to use a natural acoustic gain control. This allows them to emit high-intensity calls without deafening themselves, and then to hear the weak echoes returning from surrounding objects.

The researchers replicated this system in electronics to allow the sensor to record both the emitted and reflected echolocation signals, providing an insight into the full echolocation process.

The six bats performed up to sixteen flights each along a flight corridor. Each flight was short – lasting only about three seconds – but, with the bats” clicks only lasting a quarter of a millisecond, a large number of calls were recorded for the scientists to analyse.

Once back into the laboratory, the researchers were able to accurately recreate the echolocation calls using a custom-built ultrasonic loudspeaker.

This technique will allow the signals and processes bats use to be applied to human engineering systems such as sonar. Specifically, the researchers are looking to apply these techniques in the positioning of robotic vehicles, used in structural testing applications.

“We aim to understand the echolocation process that bats have evolved over millennia, and employ similar signals and techniques in engineering systems. We are currently looking to apply these methods to positioning of robotic vehicles, which are used for structural testing. This will provide enhanced information on the robots” locations, and hence the location of any structural flaws they may detect,” study”s lead author Simon Whiteley from the Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, said.

The study has been published in IOP Publishing”s Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. (ANI)

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Maintaining energy balance may protect cyclists” bones during stage races

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 6 (ANI): A new University of Missouri research has suggested that elite cyclists should match their energy intake to the high-energy demands of stage racing to protect their bones.

Previous studies have demonstrated that competitive cyclists have significantly lower bone mineral density (BMD) than other endurance athletes, making them more vulnerable to fractures.

The reasons for the reduced bone mass in elite cyclists are not fully understood, but one explanation is an imbalance between bone formation and bone breakdown due to the high-energy cost of stage racing.

However, the latest study has shown that proper nutrition during multi-day stage races can prevent harmful changes in bone turnover.

The researchers involved in this study found that athletes who maintained energy balance by matching their energy intake to their energy expenditure showed increased markers of bone turnover – the process of breaking down old bone and forming new bone.

Because the increase in bone formation was greater than the increase in bone breakdown, the researchers concluded that these changes were not likely to negatively affect bone mass in the long-term.

“The findings suggest that participation in stage races might not have negative effects on bone turnover if energy intake matches the energy cost of high-intensity racing over several days,” said Pam Hinton, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology.

“The results are consistent with the practical recommendation that elite cyclists should match their energy intake to the high energy demands of stage racing,” Hinton added.

In the study, Hinton examined markers of bone formation and bone breakdown in the blood of elite cyclists who participated in the Tour of Southland, a six-day, 10-stage cycling race.

Hinton found significant increases in markers of bone formation and bone breakdown among the athletes whose energy intake matched their energy expenditure throughout the race.

Disrupted bone turnover, that is, reduced bone formation and increased bone breakdown, due to inadequate energy intake relative to expenditure is just one possible cause of low BMD among cyclists.

Other factors include low-body weight, increased loss of calcium through sweat and significant time spent cycling, which exerts only minimal mechanical loading on the skeleton.

The study will be published in Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism. (ANI)

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Ear’s stress-response system protects against hearing loss

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 4 (ANI): A stress-response system within the cochlea mirrors the signaling pathways of the body”s fight or flight response, a study has shown for the first time.

Researchers have identified a hormone-like signaling system of the inner ear that sets baseline hearing sensitivity and helps protect against noise-induced hearing loss.

“Our research shows, for the first time, that the cochlea”s protective mechanism is likely to be largely a locally-produced phenomenon. The current theory of protection is that signals from the cochlea travel to the brain and back. While this theory does work under certain circumstances, we have known that it requires moderately-high intensity sounds to function. Our study demonstrates that a previously unrecognized signaling system involved in noise-induced hearing loss exists entirely within the ear. This signaling system works at lower intensity sounds – typical of our everyday environment – than the pathway involving the brain,” explained Doug Vetter, PhD, senior author and lecturer in the department of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine.

“The local signaling system that we identified in the cochlea mirrors the molecular signaling pathways of the body”s physiological fight-or-flight response, which is triggered by the release of molecules from the adrenal glands during times of physical stress. It may be that activation of the cochlea”s protective mechanism from physical stress changes the way the cells of the inner ear respond to the next exposure. In this way, protection may be established based on previous exposures, and prior to the next exposure to potentially damaging sounds,” continued Vetter.

In the study, Vetter and colleagues focused on a specific receptor for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), a peptide that acts as a hormone and neurotransmitter. In the typical hormone signaling system served by CRF, the hypothalamus secretes CRF in response to stress and triggers the release of glucocorticoids, which are involved in the body”s immune and inflammatory responses. (ANI)

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Patients gain limb movement years after stroke

April 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr 17 (ANI): A major clinical study has found that years after suffering a stroke, patients show modest yet meaningful gains in limb movement and an improved outlook on life.

Published online this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study provides the best evidence yet that stroke sufferers in a controlled study can regain limb movement long after an injury, through intensive therapy with specially trained personnel and newly created robotic aids.

Albert Lo, assistant professor of neurology at Brown University and the study”s lead author, said: “This is giving stroke survivors new hope.”

The three-year randomized control trial by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs enrolled 127 veterans at four VA sites. All had suffered a stroke at least six months earlier and had moderate to severe impairment of an arm. On average, the strokes had occurred nearly five years before; one-third of the victims had suffered multiple strokes.

Patients typically get rehabilitation therapy only during the first six months or so after a stroke. Conventional thinking has been that long-term stroke survivors cannot accrue additional meaningful benefits after that time. Recent studies, though, have begun to suggest otherwise.

The therapy involved repetitive, guided movement, three times a week, for three months. One group of patients underwent upper-limb therapy with the use of robots designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Others did similar high-intensity exercises with a therapist. At each session, the patients performed 1,024 upper-arm movements, a substantially more intense workout than in a conventional rehabilitation session. A third, smaller group had only “usual care” — they received general health care but no specific therapy for their stroke-damaged upper limb.

Patients who had 12 weeks of robot-assisted therapy showed statistically significant improved quality of life (an 8-point improvement on the Stroke Impact Scale) compared to those who had no additional therapy. At six months, patients aided by the robotic therapy showed clinically significant upper-arm function (3-point improvement on the Fugl-Meyer Scale) compared to the usual care group. (ANI)

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Hurley in line for Bombers return

April 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Essendon coach Matthew Knights says key position player Michael Hurley could return for Friday night’s clash with West Coast, but Angus Monfries and Mark McVeigh remain in doubt.

Hurley, suspended by the club for the opening three rounds for an attack on a taxi driver, played in the VFL on Saturday and Knights says he impressed, although he is not yet guaranteed senior selection for the encounter at Subiaco Oval.

“He virtually played the whole four quarters and got through the game wonderfully well,” Knights said.

“I think he was one of the better players with Bendigo, I only saw the first half live, so we’ll consider him, but the forward line worked reasonably well (in Saturday night’s win over Carlton), so that will be a Monday or a Tuesday decision.”

But Knights says Monfries (quad strain) is unlikely to play against the Eagles, while it is uncertain whether McVeigh (blood infection) will be ready to return after both missed the 20-point victory over the Blues at the MCG.

“Both are probably unknowns at this stage, I would have though Angus would be unlikely, considering it’s a strain, I would have thought he may miss another one,” he said.

“Mark, due to spending a lot of time in hospital, we’ll just see how he trains this week.

“It’s really unknown with that one because his immunity’s obviously been knocked around a fair bit.”

Knights expects to face a fired-up Eagles squad, with John Worsfold’s troops opening their season with three defeats.

“They’re going to be nice and prickly and it gives us a great opportunity to go interstate and really have a crack at West Coast and really go with the same attitude we played with (against the Blues),” Knights said.

“If we do that we’ll give ourselves a decent chance, but we have to back it up, because last week (we were) average, this week high intensity, high effort, they really teamed well together, so we’ve got to take that to Western Australia.”

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Airframe tests to help ensure better air travel safety

August 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, August 27 (ANI): Recent tests by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will provide much needed, independent data on how electromagnetic radiation penetrates aircraft, helping to ensure continued air travel safety.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires aircraft manufacturers to demonstrate that their aircraft have effective high intensity radiated field (HIRF) protection.

The manufacturers conduct tests on their aircraft and provide those results to the FAA as part of the certification process.

The tests are designed to show where and to what extent electromagnetic radiation, across a wide spectrum of frequencies, penetrates a given craft’s airframe.

This information is important in determining if and where shielding is needed to protect vital electronic instrumentation from malfunction or damage while flying through ground-based radar beams, for example.

This effort was undertaken to assist the FAA with HIRF measurement procedures and data processing methodologies.

The FAA has struggled with data sets provided by HIRF testers because they use a wide range of measurement/data processing techniques that are not standardized.

For an independent analysis of the situation, a NIST team recently performed HIRF tests on three representative aircraft to give FAA officials a frame of reference for the procedures and data reduction techniques used for typical low-level airframe HIRF attenuation/shielding tests.

Having this information will help the FAA ensure that commercial aircraft are indeed meeting minimum shielding requirements and, ultimately, make the safety of tested aircraft more transparent.

“This will get everyone on the same page,” said Chriss Grosvenor, a NIST electronics engineer. “The FAA and aircraft manufacturers now have a lot of unbiased data they can look at, and our method is just another method to obtain that information,” he added.

The three aircraft chosen for the representative tests were a Boeing 737-200 and a Bombardier Global 5000 business jet, both owned by the FAA, and a Beechcraft Premier IA carbon-fiber composite business jet, owned by the Hawker-Beechcraft company.

By measuring all three aircraft and comparing the results, NIST was able to provide a guide for the optimization of HIRF testing standards for the EMC aircraft manufacturing community.

The tests were conducted over a two-year period using a commercial measurement system that incorporates NIST-developed ultra-wideband antennas, a network analyzer and an optical fiber link to obtain high-resolution measurements from the megahertz to gigahertz range. (ANI)

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Kids’ physical activity improves when parents back vigorous team sports

July 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, July 6 (ANI): A new study has shown that parents who value strenuous team sports are more likely to influence their kids to join a team or at least participate in some kind of exercise, and spend less time in front of the TV or computer.

For the study, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Duke University examined a sample of 681 parents of 433 fourth- and fifth-graders from 12 schools in Houston.

They found that those parents who conveyed the importance of high-intensity team sports to their children had more active children.

Both the boys and girls watched less TV and spent less time on their computers.

However, the study also found that endorsing all types of exercise – both team sports and individual sports – increased boys’ activity levels but not girls’.

“The difference between activity levels in the girls and boys had to do with the parents’ attitudes toward the types of activities. Parents encouraged sons to partake in vigorous- and moderate-intensity team and individual sports, and vigorous-intensity home chores, such as heavy yard work, more than they encouraged these activities for their daughters,” said lead author Cheryl Braselton Anderson, PhD.

“There still is gender bias on encouraging boys to participate in certain sports and strenuous activities more than girls,” Anderson added.

The findings appear in the July issue of Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association. (ANI)

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Army foils militants’ plan to target Amarnath pilgrims

June 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Jammu, June 22 (ANI): Army on Monday foiled militants bid to target the Amarnath yatra by defusing an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

According to sources, militants had planted the high intensity IED in Panthal area to target a convoy of the Amarnath Yatra.

The cavalcade of 53 vehicles, which is carrying 1,703 pilgrims, was resumed after one hour-long halt at Panthal, 155 kms from Jammu.

With today’s batch, a total of 7,793 pilgrims have left Jammu for the Shrine since the beginning of the Yatra on June 15.

The yatra remained suspended for three days due to bad weather prevailing in Kashmir valley before resuming on June 19. (ANI)

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Thunderstorm in Bijnor damages raw mango crop

May 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh), May 22 (ANI): A thunderstorm of high intensity in Bijnor has destroys raw mango crop in the orchards.

The mango growers, who were anticipating big profits from a bumper crop, are now counting their losses.

“We had to suffer high losses due to the thunderstorm that occurred. We are left with 30-35 per cent of the crop. Even if we try to sell this crop, we will be able to sell it for a meagre Rs. 2-2.50 per kg price,” said Brahampal Singh, manager of a mango orchard.

However, district officials claim the loss to be relatively less.

“It is natural that heavy losses were incurred due to the thunderstorm. In the initial phase, we estimate these losses to be 10 per cent,” said Pooja, district farm official, Bijnor.

The entire Northern Indian belt has been experiencing high velocity thunderstorms for the last two to three days. By Sarfaraz Ahmed (ANI)

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Thunderstorm in Himachal Pradesh causes extensive damage

May 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Aani, (Shimla), May 21 (ANI): A high intensity thunderstorm hit the Aani valley of Himachal Pradesh damaging several houses and fruits orchards on Wednesday.

The losses caused by this unexpected thunderstorm and cloud burst could be colossal. Dozens of villages were affected and the roads linking Aani valley to Shawad, Luhri, Sainj have been blocked.

Many families had a miraculous escape when uprooted trees and branches fell on the roofs of their abodes.

“Due to the heavy thunderstorm, a huge tree fell over my house. Two pillars of my house also came down. My children and I somehow managed to escape,” recalled Sena Devi, a resident.

“This heavy thunderstorm blew off roofs of many houses and many houses were damaged also. The apples from the orchards fell off,” said Sashi, member of Aani Panchayat.

The bordering villages in Shimla and Kullu districts have also been affected by the thunderstorm. Besides, scores of vehicles were damaged due to the uprooting of trees. (ANI)

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Proposal for standstill commitment on protectionism

April 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Geneva – An initiative was put forward Tuesday at the World Trade Organization to fight protectionism with a proposal asking countries to commit not to take any trade restricting measures to work their way out of the economic crisis. The standstill commitment, tabled by Hong Kong, would ask members to voluntarily refrain from any moves which would have an adverse impact or distorting effect on trade even if they did not violate WTO rules, officials with the agency said.

Many countries keep their tariffs or subsidy rates, for example, below the mandated ceilings agreed to in WTO treaties. As such, they have room to manoeuvre and put up barriers to trade without violating their commitments.

The officials said the proposal was met with the support of “many” WTO members at an informal meeting of the trade policy body.

The body was meeting to discuss the recent report by WTO Director General Pascal Lamy in which he said there was no indication of an imminent descent into “high intensity protectionism,” but warned of creeping measures being implemented by various countries.

Those incremental steps, he said, could “strangle” international trade.

Over 30 countries spoke during the session, including the United States which said that while it too was worried over protectionist measures, it felt the ones implemented so far have been more minimal than the WTO describes.

The US has been among the countries criticized for taking some trade restricting and distorting steps in recent months, including its bailouts for the auto-industry.

The WTO has predicted global trade will drop this year by 9 per cent, the most in over 60 years, due to the global economic downturn.(dpa)

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Curving laser “light bullets” may help scientists monitor air pollution

April 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 10 (ANI): A new study has determined that laser “light bullets” that can curve through the air might someday help scientists monitor air pollution.

The bullets are created by extremely short-duration, high-intensity laser pulses, lead study author Pavel Polynkin, a physicist at the University of Arizona, US, told the National Geographic News.

The pulses are so rapid that the beam is broader than it is wide-creating what Polynkin calls “pancakes” of light.

But, the use of complex lasers that produce wave patterns called airy beams causes the brightest part of the beam to bend as the pancake of light speeds away.

The super-brightness of the laser can also cause the pancake to change shape as it moves through air, according to Polynkin.

“If the intensity exceeds a threshold, then the beam tends to self-focus-the pancake wants to become a very short needle,” he said.

Within that needle, the light intensity gets so high that the air around it becomes electrically charged, briefly creating a conductive path of plasma.

Previous work suggested that such light bullets could be used to create human-induced lightning, which has implications for lightning control around sensitive structures such as tall buildings and airplanes.

When combined with the Airy beams, these plasma-producing lasers can also create curving “needle” bullets that might have other uses, Polynkin’s study has suggested.

According to Polynkin, the light pulses leave behind curving plasma trails that emit their own light, providing a way to monitor air pollution in the upper atmosphere without the need for airplanes or weather balloons.

Shot into the sky, these light trails would illuminate the chemical signatures of atmospheric pollutants, which can then be recorded remotely. (ANI)

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How a cup of coffee reduces pain during exercise

March 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 31 (ANI): A small cup of coffee in the morning might just help you push a little harder during your morning workout, and scientist have now found what makes caffeine reduce the pain during distance training and competitions and enhance an athlete’s performance.

A former competitive cyclist, University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Robert Motl admitted to having had coffee with his teammates to fuel up on caffeine prior to hitting the pavement on long-distance training rides.

“The notion was that caffeine was helping us train harder … to push ourselves a little harder,” he said.

He said that athletes consumed caffeine rich substances motivated by “the notion that it will help metabolise fat more readily.”

However, that’s not the reason for the caffeine-induced improved performance, and thus Motl investigated the relationship between caffeine, spinal reflexes and physical activity.

Earlier in his research, he became aware that “caffeine works on the adenosine neuromodulatory system in the brain and spinal cord, and this system is heavily involved in nociception and pain processing.”

And as Motl knew caffeine blocks adenosine from working, he speculated that it could reduce pain.

Many studies support the above conclusion, including investigations considering such variables as exercise intensity, dose of caffeine, anxiety sensitivity and gender.

“This study looks at the effects of caffeine on muscle pain during high-intensity exercise as a function of habitual caffeine use. No one has examined that before,” said Motl.

He added: “What we saw is something we didn’t expect: caffeine-na‹ve individuals and habitual users have the same amount of reduction in pain during exercise after caffeine (consumption).”

For the study, his team recruited 25 participants, who were fit, college-aged males.

The participants were then divided into two distinct groups: subjects whose everyday caffeine consumption was extremely low to non-existent, and those with an average caffeine intake of about 400 milligrams a day, the equivalent of three to four cups of coffee.

In both groups, the researcher found that caffeine tolerance did not matter.

“Clearly, if you regularly consume caffeine, you have to have more to have that bigger, mental-energy effect. But the tolerance effect is not ubiquitous across all stimuli. Even brain metabolism doesn’t show this tolerance-type effect. That is, with individuals who are habitual users versus non-habitual users, if you give them caffeine and do brain imaging, the activation is identical. It’s really interesting why some processes show tolerance and others don’t,” said Motl.

Regarding the outcome of the current research, he said: “it may just be that pain during exercise doesn’t show tolerance effects to caffeine.”

The study on the effects of caffeine on pain during exercise appears in the April edition of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. (ANI)

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UV light could reduce spread of TB

March 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 17 (ANI): Ultraviolet lights, combined with air mixing, could reduce airborne transmission of tuberculosis by about 70 percent, says a new study.

The research, which explored the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) from infected patients to guinea pigs, was published in PLoS Medicine.

The study suggests that installing simple ultraviolet C (UVC) lights in hospitals could help reduce the transmission of TB, including drug-resistant strains.

When a tuberculosis patient coughs, bacteria are sprayed into the air in tiny droplets, floating around the room and infecting other patients, visitors and healthcare staff.

These bacteria can be killed by hanging a shielded UVC light from the ceiling with a fan to mix the air, say the researchers, from Imperial College London, the University of Leeds, Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo, Lima, Perú and other international institutions.

UVC light kills tuberculosis bacteria, including drug-resistant strains, by damaging their DNA so they cannot infect people, grow or divide. It is already used at high intensity to disinfect empty ambulances and operating theatres.

To reach their conclusions, scientists hung UVC lights in a hospital ward in Lima, Perú where 69 patients with HIV and TB were being treated. The researchers pumped air from the ward up to a guinea pig enclosure on the roof of the hospital for 535 consecutive days.

The guinea pigs were split into three groups of approximately 150: the first group received air exposed to the UV lights in the ward, the second group received ward air treated with negative ionisers, and the third control group was given untreated air straight from the ward.

The guinea pigs were given skin tests for tuberculosis once a month.

By the end of the experiment, 35 percent of the control group were infected with TB, compared to 14 percent of the ionised air group and 9.5 percent of the UVC group. 8.6 percent of the control group developed the active form of the disease after being infected with TB, compared to 4.3 percent of the ionised air group and 3.6 percent of the UVC group. (ANI)

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