Selection | SilverScorpio.Com

Shiv Sena-BJP alliance confident of victory in Maharashtra assembly polls

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Sep 19(ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena on Saturday expressed confidence about emerging victorious in the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

“It is 45 years since Shiv Sena came into being. And this first day of Navaratri happens to be a red-letter day in the history of Shiv Sena that has crusaded for the cause of Samyukta (unified) Maharashtra. Considering all these aspects, I feel it is an auspicious timing (of) declaring the seat arrangement and we are confident of our combine emerging victorious,” said Uddhav Thackeray, Executive President of Shiv Sena party.

Leaders of both the parties confirmed that there was no bargaining for seats between the two allies.

“Today, is the first day of Dussera and we have arrived at the figures of seat sharing. Yes, it is 169 and 119. The 169 in favour of Shiv Sena and 119 for BJP and it will be interesting to note that both the figures end in 9, a lucky number; 169 and 119. And now onwards we will work on joint strategy. There is no clash of interests and now onwards we will devote to the selection of suitable candidates,” said Gopinath Munde, senior BJP leader.

In the 2004 elections, Shiv Sena had contested for 171 seats while BJP had contested for 117 and jointly they had bagged 119 seats in the legislative house of 289 members.

The alliance of Congress and regional National Congress Party (NCP) had emerged victorious in the 2004 polls. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ''cause, 2004 elections, 45 years, alliance, allies, ANI, arrangement, assembly, Assembly polls, bargaining, bharatiya, bharatiya janata party, bjp, bjp leader, clash, combine, confidence, Congress, day, Dussera, executive president, favour, Gopinath Munde, history, house, Janata, leader, leaders, Lucky Number, Maharashtra, maharashtra assembly elections, Mumbai, national, national congress party, navaratri, NCP, number, party, party leaders, Samyukta, Saturday, seat, seat arrangement, selection, Sena, Sep, sharing, shiv, shiv sena, strategy, suitable candidates, Thackeray, timing, today, Uddhav, victory

Champions Trophy snub disappoints Razzaq

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Sep.19 (ANI): Experienced Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq is disappointed over his non-selection for the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Razzaq said he was surprised at not being selected.

“It came as a huge setback to learn that I was not in the final team. Since my comeback to the national team, I had been working very hard to play in this elite tournament,” Razzaq said.

Razzaq said his attempts failed to convince the selectors

“It is a big tournament and you get a chance to prove yourself against the top teams. I was working hard to convince everyone I should be in the side,” The Daily Times quoted Razzaq, as saying.

The seven member selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had controversially recalled paceman Mohammad Asif and opener Imran Nazir, but omitted all-rounder Abdul Razzaq from their 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy beginning September 22 in South Africa. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: Abdul Razzaq, ANI, attempts, board, champions, chance, comeback, committee, Cricket, daily, elite, everyone, icc, icc champions trophy, Imran, Lahore, man, man squad, member, Member Selection, mohammad asif, Nazir, opener, paceman, Paceman Mohammad Asif, Pakistan, pakistan cricket board, pakistan cricket board pcb, pcb, rounder, selection, selection committee, selectors, Sep, September, setback, side, snub, South Africa, squad, team, times, tournament, trophy

Champions Trophy snub disappoints Razzaq

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Sep.19 (ANI): Experienced Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq is disappointed over his non-selection for the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Razzaq said he was surprised at not being selected.

“It came as a huge setback to learn that I was not in the final team. Since my comeback to the national team, I had been working very hard to play in this elite tournament,” Razzaq said.

Razzaq said his attempts failed to convince the selectors

“It is a big tournament and you get a chance to prove yourself against the top teams. I was working hard to convince everyone I should be in the side,” The Daily Times quoted Razzaq, as saying.

Tim Paine is heir-apparent to Haddin, says Harrison

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Sep 18 (ANI): Tasmanian Cricket Association chairman Tony Harrison has said that Tim Paine’s match-winning one-day century for Australia against England should make all cricket followers aware of his class and potential.

“Wicketkeeper batsman Tim Paine’s first international one-day century scored against England overnight and his outstanding form behind the stumps have clearly stamped him as the heir-apparent Australian wicketkeeper,” Harrison said.

“Tim has easily fitted into international cricket and looks extremely comfortable in the Australian team,” he said.

Harrison said Paine was now clearly Australia’s second wicketkeeper behind Test incumbent Brad Haddin.

“But I am confident he can and will take the next step,” The Australian quoted Harrison, as saying.

Paine scored 111 runs giving Australia a 111-run victory over England in the penultimate match of their one-day series at Trent Bridge.

Australian selector David Boon today said that Paine was staking a claim for selection as Australia’s wicketkeeper for the domestic summer.

“It will be very important for him to continue to show this form and confidence through to the last game in England and then in the Champions Trophy,” Boon told ABC radio.

“Who knows? If he comes back to Australia and has a strong start to the domestic season his future is in his hands basically.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: abc, abc radio, ANI, association, Association Chairman, Australia, batsman, Brad Haddin, century, chairman, Chairman Tony, champions, champions trophy, claim, class, confidence, Cricket, david boon, England, followers, form, game, harrison, heir, International cricket, last game, match, Melbourne, penultimate, radio, season, selection, selector, Sep, series, start, step, stumps, summer, tasmanian, Tasmanian Cricket Association, team, test, tim, tim paine, today, Tony Harrison, trent bridge, trophy, victory, wicketkeeper

Adopt new, transparent selection process for police forces: Chidambaram

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 14 (ANI): Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday asked the State Governments to adopt new, time bound and transparent selection process for the state police forces on the lines of the Central Police Force selection procedure.

Addressing the three-day long conference of the Directors Generals and Inspectors Generals of state police forces organized by Intelligence Bureau, Chidambaram said: “Revamp the recruitment procedures and make them quick, time bound and transparent. We have introduced a new recruitment procedure in the CPMFs that is based on technology, objective assessment and transparency. I would take this opportunity to urge State Governments to immediately adopt the new procedure.”

Chidambaram expressed concern over the way police officers are treated and asked states to constitute the police establishment boards as the earliest.

“Constitute a Police Establishment Board that would decide on transfers and postings. It is a matter of deep regret that many police officers have been reduced to a football, to be kicked here and there, from one post to another, without regard to the damage done to the job as well as the officer,” he said.

Expressing concern over the non providing of funds to the police forces by some of the states, Chidambaram said: “I am also concerned about the attitude of some State Governments to providing funds for the police. Let me remind you that Police and Public Order are State subjects. States are right in zealously guarding their turf. The Central Government has no desire to encroach upon the jurisdiction of the State Governments. Given the Constitutional responsibility, State Governments must provide adequate funds for the State Police. “

The Home Minister appealed to the state governments to change the practice of allotting the residue – after providing funds for other Plan and Non-Plan Schemes to the head of Police.

The Central Government increased over Rs.13, 000 crore in the budget of the current fiscal to strengthening the CPFs, and for Modernization of Police Force, CCTNS, Strengthening of Fire and Emergency Services, Scheme of ICP, etc.

Chidambaram called on the conference to mark the beginning of a process of reinventing the security system in the country.

“We must learn from our past mistakes. We must also learn from the experience of other countries. It is the neglect of tried and tested methods that has led us to a situation where we seemed unequal to the challenges that face the internal security of the country,” he said.It is not enough to walk with firm steps on the path that is known. We must also lay out a path forward that will draw heavily upon technology and innovation,” Chidambaram added.

He said once the ambitious projects of CCTN and NATGRID are fully rolled out and implemented, it would mark a quantum jump in our ability to counter the challenges that we face.

Chidambaram also stressed on the creation of a first rate National Counter Terrorism Centre.

“It is also my desire that once the Police Mission submits its report, we should implement the recommendations in a time-bound manner. There is the need to enact a “Model Police Act”. Mega-city policing is a new requirement, and there is much to learn from the experiences of other mega-cities,” Chidambaram said.

Chidambaram also asked the state police chiefs to sharply upgrade our Forensic Science Laboratories and make them among the best in the world. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ability, act, adequate funds, adopt, ANI, assessment, attitude, beginning, board, budget, bureau, CCTN, CCTNS, Central Police, Central Government, centre, concern, conference, constitute, constitutional, Constitutional Responsibility, counter, country, CPFs, CPMFs, creation, crore, damage, desire, emergency, encroach, establishment, experience, expressing, face, fire, firm, fiscal, football, force, Forensic, generals, head, home, ICP, innovation, Inspectors, intelligence, intelligence bureau, job, jump, jurisdiction, manner, matter, mega city, Minister P. Chidambaram, mission, model, modernization, Monday, NATGRID, national, need, neglect, New Delhi, new time, non, objective, Objective Assessment, officer, opportunity, order, P. Chidambaram, path, plan, police, police force, police forces, police officers, post, practice, procedure, process, Public, quantum, quick time, rate, recruitment, recruitment procedure, recruitment procedures, regard, regret, report, requirement, residue, responsibility, Revamp, scheme, schemes, Science, security, selection, selection procedure, selection process, Sep, situation, state, state governments, state police, strengthening, system, Technology, terrorism, time, transparency, Transparent Selection, turf, union, Union Home Minister, way, world

Pakistan to play Australia at Headingly and Lords in 2010

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.11 (ANI): Pakistan will take on Australia in a two-Test series in England in 2010.

The matches will be played at Headingley and Lord’s.

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clark said that the selection of the two venues was made keeping the expatriate Pakistani population in mind. He said that England’s first test against Bangladesh would be shifted to Old Trafford. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: ANI, Australia, Bangladesh, board, board chairman, chairman, Cricket, England, england and wales, england and wales cricket board, england cricket, expatriate, first test, giles, Giles Clark, headingley, Headingly, London, lord, mind, Old, Pakistan, population, selection, Sep, Sep 11, series, test, test series, trafford, two, wales, wales cricket board

Song birds have to deal with cover artists too

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 9 (ANI): Just like great singers among humans, birds too have to deal with cover artists who copy songs.

A new research has revealed that some bird species have evolved to sing the same tune as their rivals, in order to compete effectively.

Led by Dr. Joseph Tobias and Dr Nathalie Seddon from the Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, the research team analysed the calls and songs of two antbird species that were living side-by-side in the Amazon rainforest- the Peruvian warbling-antbird and the yellow-breasted warbling-antbird.

The study was aimed at investigating their similar songs, and, in particular, at testing the theory that the birds’ songs could become increasingly similar to enable effective communication between competing species.

The above notion has attracted controversy as many scientists have argued that convergence in territorial or mating signals results in needless confrontation or crossbreeding and the creation of hybrids.

“Biologists have long been fascinated by convergence in ecological traits as it offers tangible evidence of evolution and the forces of selection by which it operates, but until now there is no clear evidence that social competition between animal species can produce convergent signals. We examined this idea by analysing the structure and function of songs in two birds which we knew to be strong social competitors,” said Tobias.

The researchers studied the species in Peru and Bolivia at one site where they lived together, and two sites where they lived in isolation.

Firstly, they recorded three sets of signals-songs, calls, and plumage colour of both species (including a total of 504 songs from 150 individuals).

Later, they played them back to individuals of each species to test the significance of songs of both types.

The results showed that territorial songs of both species were extremely similar particularly where they lived together, such that territorial birds treated songs of both species as equally threatening.

In the meantime, they discovered that non-territorial signals like calls and plumage were highly divergent.

“In effect, the territorial songs of these birds are more or less interchangeable in design and function. Given that they last shared a common ancestor more than 3 million years ago, it is almost equivalent to humans and chimpanzees – which diverged around 5 million years ago – using the same language to settle disputes over resources” said Tobias.

“Our results provide the first compelling evidence that social interaction can cause convergent evolution in species competing for space and resources.

They also suggest that while competition drives convergence in territorial songs, this is offset by divergence in non-competitive signals such as plumage colour to promote species recognition and reduce the chance of interbreeding,” he added.

The study has been published in Evolution.(ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: amazon, Amazon Rainforest, ancestor, ANI, animal, animal species, antbird, biologists, bird, bird species, Birds Songs, bolivia, chance, clear evidence, colour, communication, competition, confrontation, controversy, convergence, convergent, cover, creation, Crossbreeding, design, divergence, dr joseph, Dr Nathalie Seddon, Dr. Joseph Tobias, edward, Edward Grey, effect, Effective Communication, evidence, Evidence Of Evolution, evolution, firstly, function, Grey, Hybrids, idea, institute, interaction, isolation, language, mating, meantime, Nathalie, notion, order, Oxford, peru, plumage, rainforest, recognition, Research, Seddon, selection, Sep, significance, site, Social Competition, song, Song Birds, space, structure, structure and function, study, Tangible Evidence, team, territorial, theory, tobias, total, tune, two birds, University, university of oxford, Washington

‘Foreigners only’ French restaurant draws flak in Islamabad

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.5 (ANI): A French restaurant in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad has drawn severe flak after it put up a notice saying ‘foreigners only’.

Islamabad police said it has also received complaints regarding such notice being put at the front window of the Cordon Rouge restaurant, which is situated close to embassies and government buildings in the city’s heavily guarded diplomatic enclave.

However, the owner of the food joint, Jean-Luc Hue brushed aside the accusations, saying the notice has been ‘misunderstood’.

Hue admitted that he fumbled with the selection of words for the notice.

“This is just a misunderstanding. I only put the sign up for the month of Ramadan,” The BBC quoted Hue, as saying.

“Since it was not worth it for them to come after the fast breaks (at sunset), I decided to put up the sign, but some people didn’t appreciate it,” he added.

Hue also rejected allegations that his restaurant had something of an ‘anti-Pakistani’ entrance policy even before Ramadan.

“Yes, we were very selective with the people entering our place, but you have to be selective in the restaurant business,” he clarified.

He insisted that his policy has nothing to do with race or nationality, his main consideration is the way customers behave.

“We have respectable diplomats who come here and they have to be comfortable. Twice I had to ask some Pakistani young people to leave because they were trying to get a little bit too friendly with the female clientele,” he said.

“I’m a restaurant owner, and I want to have a business.Pakistanis are more than welcome. Why would I refuse Pakistanis when I need them for my business?” Hue stressed. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accusations, allegations, ANI, anti, bbc, bit, business, capital, capital islamabad, city, clientele, consideration, cordon, diplomats, embassies, enclave, entrance, Entrance Policy, Fast Breaks, flak, food, foreigners, french restaurant, Government, government buildings, hue, Islamabad, Jean, jean-luc, London, misunderstanding, month, month of ramadan, nationality, nothing, notice, owner, Pakistan, Pakistanis, place, police, policy, put, Race, ramadan, restaurant, restaurant business, restaurant owner, Rouge, selection, Sep, sign, something, sunset, way, welcome, window

Spare gene in fish provides raw materials for evolution of new Traits

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 4 (ANI): In a new research, scientists have discovered that a duplicate copy of a gene involved in embryonic development of fish has taken up a newer role in the evolution of fish scales.

Scientists have suspected that spare parts in the genome-extra copies of functional genes that arise when genes or whole genomes get duplicated-might sometimes provide the raw materials for the evolution of new traits.

Now, researchers say that they have discovered a prime example of this in fish.

The researchers show that a duplicate copy of a gene involved in embryonic development has taken up a newer and decidedly less essential role in the development of fish scales.

Zebrafish carrying a mutant version of that extra fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (fgfr1) gene show decreases in their scale formation.

What’s more, the spare fgfr1 gene is at the root of similar scale loss seen in domesticated carp, which have been selectively bred by humans for the last 2,000 years.

“Our finding is an excellent case for (gene) duplication supporting diverse forms,” said Matthew Harris of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology.

“By ‘tweaking’ the use of one of the two copies of the fish fgfr1, the teleost order that contains zebrafish and carp have a specialized ‘toolbox’ gene that now controls adult-specific variation in form,” added Nicolas Rohner, also of the Max Planck Institute.

Fish species outnumber all other vertebrates combined and include many with spectacular features to match the diverse environments in which they live, according to Harris and Rohner.

Teleost fish in particular represent the largest assemblage of vertebrates, comprising over 26,000 species with astonishing diversity in their form and physiology.

Although little is known about the genetic basis of that diversity, it is clear that gene duplication is commonplace within teleost groups, providing a source of genetic raw material for selection.

To further explore in the new study, the researchers first examined mutant strains of zebrafish in search of those with changes to their fins, skulls, or scales, all structures that tend to vary among species.

They focused their attention on one with fewer scales and in an unusual pattern-an abnormality they traced to fgfr1.

“We were surprised to find severe coding mutations in such an important developmental gene to cause an adult-specific and viable phenotype,” Harris said.

Further study showed the reason why: zebrafish maintain two copies of fgfr1 that function redundantly during embryonic development. One of those two genes is also required for the formation of the scales in juveniles. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: abnormality, ANI, assemblage, Astonishing Diversity, attention, basis, biology, Carp, case, copy, Development, developmental, developmental biology, diversity, duplication, Embryonic Development Of Fish, evolution, Evolution Of Fish, example, Extra Copies, factor, FGFR, Fibroblast, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor, fish, Fish Scales, fish species, form, formation, function, gene, Gene Duplication, growth, Growth Factor Receptor, institute, loss, material, Matthew Harris, max, max planck institute, max-planck, mutant version, Nicolas Rohner, order, outnumber, phenotype, physiology, Planck, reason, receptor, Research, research scientists, Rohner, role, root, scale, Scale Formation, search, selection, September, show, source, spare, Spectacular Features, study, teleost, Teleost Fish, toolbox, traits, tweaking, use, variation, version, Washington, zebrafish

Vettori’s new role as a national selector will not hurt team: Mills

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Wellington, Sep 2 (ANI): New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Mills doubts that skipper Daniel Vettori’s new role as a national selector will harm his relationship with the players.

Vettori and head coach Andy Moles officially became members of the four-man selection panel on Tuesday after New Zealand Cricket (NZC) heeded the duo’s desire for a more hands-on role in team selection.

Mills has already had the dreaded talk with Vettori and suggested the skipper’s standing among the group would not create problems when the axe fell.

On the eve of the first test against Australia in Brisbane last November, the fast bowler was told not only did he miss the team, but he was also being sent back to provincial cricket.

“I think that’s the hardest thing as a captain. I’ve been given the word by Dan before on previous tours. In Australia, he came up and told me I’d been dropped from the test side so he’s made those gutsy conversations,” Stuff.co.nz quoted Vettori, as saying.

“At the end of the day, I’d probably rather hear it from him than someone else I’ve played a lot of cricket with him from a young age, he’s a mate of mine and we still go for a beer,” he added.

Mills was also happy the tour finally had two selectors on board.

The NZC decision to appoint Vettori and Moles alongside convener Glenn Turner and Mark Greatbatch has been highly scrutinised since the announcement on August 23.

Concerns over Vettori’s new role centred on how his working relationship might change with players now he has an official say in their selection or demotion, Stuff.co.nz reported.

There were also fears about how the added responsibility would affect his workload and performance.

When he was appointed, Vettori admitted it could be difficult when he or Moles had to convey bad news. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: age, Andy Moles, ANI, announcement, August, Australia, axe, beer, board, bowler, brisbane, captain I, coach, coach andy, convener, Cricket, Dan, daniel vettori, day, decision, demotion, desire, duo, end, eve, first test, glenn, glenn turner, greatbatch, group, hardest thing, head, head coach, kyle, kyle mills, last november, lot, Mark Greatbatch, mate, mills, mine, moles, New Zealand, new zealand cricket, NEWS, November, NZC, official, panel, performance, previous tours, relationship, responsibility, role, selection, selection panel, selector, selectors, Sep, side, skipper, someone, standing, stuff, talk, team, team selection, test, test side, thing, tour, Tuesday, Turner, Wellington, word, workload

Three policemen suspended, probe ordered into custodial death in J-K

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Aug 31(ANI): Three policemen were suspended and a magisterial probe was ordered on Monday, following the death of a 17-year-old boy in police custody in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district.

According to reports, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Adhkunwari police post Suram Chand, Munshi Deepak Ram and Selection Grade Constable Bishan Dass were suspended.

Sub Divisional Magistrate Katra Rashpal Singh has been directed to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the death and submit the report to the government.

Earlier, protests were held in the region after death of Billoo, a native of Ludhiana in Punjab, who police claimed had committed suicide by hanging himself in the lock-up.

Billoo was picked in connection with a theft and pick-pocketing case and was taken to Adhkuwari police station for questioning. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Adhkunwari, Adhkuwari, ANI, ASI, assistant, Aug, Billoo, boy, case, Chand, connection, constable, Constable Bishan, Custodial Death, custody, death, Deepak Ram, district, divisional, Government, grade, inquiry, inspector, jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir, katra, ludhiana, magisterial, magisterial inquiry, magistrate, Monday, Munshi, native, police, police custody, police post, police station, policemen, post, probe, protests, Punjab, Rashpal, Reasi, region, report, selection, Selection Grade, Singh, srinagar, station, Sub, suicide, Suram, theft

Benaud calls for overhaul of Australian selection panel

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Aug 30 (ANI): Former Test selector John Benaud has blamed the Australian selection panel for a series of blunders, including dumping opening batsman Phil Hughes for Shane Watson, opting for wicketkeeper Brad Haddin over Graham Manou and leaving behind a spare batsman.

Benaud has called for an overhaul of the four-man panel, claiming the team of Andrew Hilditch, Jamie Cox, Merv Hughes and David Boon lacks balance and innovation, and is too stubborn to change.

“I have a fear about this selection panel, that they don’t like admitting a blue. They’ve got this blinkered view of things,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Benaud, as saying.

“It’s all right for Jamie Cox to put his hand up and say, ‘I misread the pitch’ but I don’t think it was that so much as it was the way we handled things.

“They got themselves into a bit of a corner, these blokes, because when they chose the Ashes squad initially they only had the two opening batsmen. They were one batsman short,” he said.

“I feel they should have taken (Brad) Hodge to cover any eventuality. They created their own problem by dropping Hughes, who two Tests before made two centuries in a Test match against one of the best opening bowling attacks in the world (South Africa).

“To drop him, that suggests they were never really keen on Hughes as an opening bat, and that they’d been tyre-levered into picking him because the kid had done so well.

“But then they surprised us all by picking Watson as the opening batting replacement. I just couldn’t follow that,” Benaud said. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: Andrew Hilditch, ANI, ashes, Aug, australian selection, balance, bat, batsman, batsmen, batting, bit, Blokes, blue, blunders, boon, bowling, brad, Brad Haddin, centuries, corner, daily, daily telegraph, david, david boon, eventuality, fear, former, Graham Manou, hand, hilditch, Hodge, hughes, innovation, jamie cox, John Benaud, kid, manou, match, Melbourne, Merv, Merv Hughes, misread, overhaul, panel, Phil Hughes, pitch, problem, replacement, right, selection, selection panel, selector, series, Shane Watson, South Africa, squad, team, Telegraph, test, test match, tests, tyre, view, watson, way, wicketkeeper, world

New tool may help predict mortality risk in COPD patients

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 29 (ANI): Researchers have developed a new tool that would help predict a patient’s risk of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

What’s more, it would also help determine the effective level of treatment.

Boffins have come up with an ADO index that can help physicians assess the severity of the illness.

Presently, the BODE index is used by chest physicians to estimate a patient’s risk of death from COPD. It assesses body-mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnea and exercise capacity.

However, the BODE index is rarely used in primary care settings where most patient treatment options are managed, because exercise capacity cannot be easily measured in the typical doctor’s office.

“The burden from COPD is so enormous that we need to reach out to any doctors who care for COPD patients,” The Lancet quoted Dr Milo A. Puhan, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and lead author of the study.

“The ADO index can be used in any setting and we hope that it will serve as a basis for more individualized treatment selection in the near future,” Puhan added.

For the study, Puhan and colleagues developed a simplified BODE index and the ADO index, which included age, dyspnea and airflow obstruction.

The research team compared the predictions of the BODE index with the 3-year risk of all-cause mortality from 232 COPD patients from Switzerland.

The updated BODE index and the new ADO index were then validated with a cohort of 342 COPD patients from Spain.

The findings showed that updated BODE and ADO indices accurately predicted 3-year mortality compared to the original BODE index, which performed poorly at predicting 3-year risk of mortality. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ado, age, airflow, Airflow Obstruction, ANI, Aug, author, basis, bloomberg, Bloomberg School Of Public Health, BODE, Bode Index, body mass index, boffins, burden, cannot, capacity, care, care settings, Cause Mortality, chest, Chest Physicians, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cohort, COPD, copd patients, death, department, disease, doctor, Dr Milo A, dyspnea, epidemiology, exercise, exercise capacity, Health, hopkins, illness, index, johns, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School Of Public Health, lancet, level, London, mortality, mortality risk, New, obstruction, obstructive pulmonary disease, office, patient, Patient Treatment, presently, professor, Public, Puhan, Research, risk, school, school of public health, selection, severity, Spain, study, Switzerland, team, tool, treatment, Treatment Selection, year

Alam backs Pakistan to win Champions Trophy, says momentum is with team

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Karachi, Aug.27 (ANI): Pakistan cricket coach Intikhab Alam has backed his team as favourites for winning the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in South Africa in September.

Despite the disastrous tour of Sri Lanka, Alam said the momentum is with Pakistan.

“We lost the Test and one-day series in Sri Lanka but won the last three games of the tour. Those results were very important and now the momentum is with us ahead of the Champions Trophy,” said Alam.

However, Alam admitted that Pakistan would have to play really well to succeed in the eight nation tournament, in which it shares the group with India and Australia.

“Australia and India are two of the world’s best teams but in a way it’s good for us that both of them are in our group,” The News quoted Alam, as saying.

Alam said his boys were looking forward for battle against arch rivals India.

“A match against India is always a big one and the team is planning to go all out for a win against them,” he said.

Pakistan has never won a game in ICC tournaments like the World Cup and the Champions Trophy against India.

Alam believed that Australia would be vulnerable in the tournament, particularly after their morale-shattering Ashes defeat against England.

“For Australia, Ashes is the ultimate thing. Their morale would be really low and I believe that would be good for our cause,” he added.

Commenting on the selection committee’s controversial decision to include tainted fast bowler Mohammad Asif omitting experienced all-rounder Abdul Razzaq from the 15-man squad, Alam said Asif will add strength to bowling line-up.

“We certainly need a bowler like him. Asif will add to our team’s strength. He is fully fit and has played plenty of cricket in the last five or six months,” he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: ''cause, Abdul Razzaq, Alam, ANI, arch rivals, ashes, asif, Aug, Australia, australia australia, battle, bowler, bowling, champions, coach, committee, Controversial Decision, Cricket, cup, cup trophy, decision, defeat, England, favourites, game, group, icc, icc champions trophy, India, Intikhab, intikhab-alam, karachi, line-up, man, man squad, match, mohammad, mohammad asif, momentum, morale, nation, nation tournament, NEWS, Pakistan, pakistan cricket coach, plenty, selection, selection committee, September, series, six months, South Africa, squad, Sri Lanka, strength, team, test, thing, three games, tour, tournament, trophy, way, win, world, World Cup

Qadir criticizes selection committee for dropping Razzaq, Butt

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Aug.27 (ANI): Former chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Abdul Qadir, has criticized the selection committee for omitting experienced all-rounder Abdul Razzaq from the ICC Champions Trophy squad.

Qadir also condemned the committee’s decision to ignore opening batsman Salman Butt for the eight nation tournament.

“I don’t know in what direction this present cricket board is taking Pakistan cricket into. There is no consistency in selection at all. Salman is your most experienced opener with an average of close to 40 in Tests and one-day internationals.Yet the selectors have ignored him for such a big tournament and instead opted for only one specialist opener in Imran Nazir,” Qadir said.

He expressed amazement at the exclusion of Razzaq, saying even though the all-rounder had performed well during the ICC World Twenty20 Championship, and did satisfactory job during the Sri Lanka tour, he was axed.

“If the board and selectors didn’t want to pick Razzaq for a major tournament like the Champions Trophy then why send him to Sri Lanka or England for the T20 World Cup in the first place,” The Daily Times quoted Qadir, as saying.

He also raised questions over the selection of tainted fast bowler Mohammad Asif in the 15-man squad.

“I don’t understand what was the hurry of picking Asif when he has not played for over a year. The pace department is already strong with Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Rao Iftikhar and Rana Naved bowling well. So what was the point in rushing Asif into the main fray,” he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: aamir, Abdul Qadir, Abdul Razzaq, amazement, ANI, asif, Aug, average, batsman, board, bowler, bowling, champions, Championship, committee, consistency, Cricket, cup, daily, day internationals, decision, department, direction, England, exclusion, former, fray, gul, Gul Mohammad, hurry, icc, icc champions trophy, Iftikhar, Imran, Imran Nazir, job, Lahore, man, man squad, Mohammad Aamir, mohammad asif, nation, nation tournament, Nazir, opener, pace, Pakistan, pakistan cricket board, pakistan cricket board pcb, pcb, place, point, Rana Naved, rao, rao iftikhar, Salman Butt, Satisfactory Job, selection, selection committee, selector, selectors, specialist, squad, Sri Lanka, sri lanka tour, t20 world cup, tests, times, tour, tournament, trophy, umar, umar gul, world, year

Mohammad Asif vows never to repeat his past mistakes

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Aug.26 (ANI): Tainted Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif has vowed not to repeat his past mistakes which saw him being banned from international cricket for a year.

In an interview with PakPassion.net, Asif expressed happiness over his selection in the 15 member squad for the ICC Champions Trophy and said he would justify the selectors’ decision through his performance.

“There will be no mistakes this time around. I am extremely happy and grateful that I am back in the Pakistan team and I want to work hard and justify the decision by the selectors,” Asif said.

“I don’t want to let anyone down, especially myself and the fans and I will do my utmost to help Pakistan perform well in South Africa,” he added.

Asif was banned from international cricket for one year after failing a dope test. His ban expires on September 22, the day Champions Trophy is scheduled to begin in South Africa.

Asif’s career had plummeted after he failed a dope test during the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) inaugural season.

He was also detained at the Dubai airport for 19 days for carrying an illegal substance (opium) while returning from India.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had also slapped a fine of one million rupees on Asif for his Dubai ‘misadventure’. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: airport, ANI, anyone, asif, Aug, ban, board, career, champions, Cricket, day, decision, dope, Dope Test, dubai airport, Dubai., fine, happiness, icc, icc champions trophy, illegal substance, inaugural season, India, Indian, International cricket, Interview, ipl, Islamabad, member, member squad, misadventure, mohammad asif, one million, opium, pacer, Pakistan, pakistan cricket board, pakistan cricket board pcb, Pakistan team, PakPassion, pcb, performance, Premier league, rupees, season, selection, selectors, September, South Africa, squad, substance, Tainted, team, test, time, trophy, year

Ponting should be last off sinking ship, not first to jump in the lifeboat: Thommo

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 25(ANI): Former Australian cricketer Jeff Thomson has said that Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who is flying home for a rest, should not abandon his “sinking ship” but rather stay back and clear up the mess in England.

Thomson said that unless Ponting has some urgent personal business, he should not desert his inexperienced team, which has lost the Ashes.

“The captain should always be last off his sinking ship, not the first to jump in the lifeboat. It doesn’t look good when he loses the Ashes and then doesn’t hang around to face the music with his team-mates,” Thomson wrote in the Mirror.

Thomson also said that there should be accountability for the defeat and felt that those who were guilty should accept their fault.

“How the hell did the Aussies manage to lose the series 2-1 when they scored eight hundreds to England’s two, and the three leading wicket-takers were all Australian? Heads must roll – and you can start with the selectors,” he wrote.

He further critised Australia’s selection panel and the think tank for going in with four seamers and not including specialist spinner Nathan Hauritz in the team.
“Even the blokes in the crowd could see, from 100 yards away, that the pitch was as dry as a camel’s tongue. Yet we picked four seamers and left a part-time spinner in Marcus North to take on the workload of a specialist,” Thomson added.

Though, Thomson did praise Ponting for his individual performance, he also blasted some of his dodgy captaincy tactics, specifically the last 11 overs in the first Test at Cardiff.

“Ultimately, those overs he gave to North’s gentle off-spin at Sophia Gardens, instead of getting Peter Siddle to shove a few bouncers under Monty Panesar’s nose, proved the difference between a 2-2 draw and Australia losing 2-1. Having said all that, I thought England played a good game at The Oval,” he wrote. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: accountability, ANI, ashes, Aug, Aussies, Australia, australian captain, Australian cricketer, Blokes, bouncers, business, camel, captain ricky ponting, captaincy, Cardiff, cricketer, crowd, defeat, difference, dodgy, England, fault, former, game, good game, heads, hell, home, Inexperienced Team, jeff thomson, lifeboat, London, Marcus North, mess, mirror, monty panesar, music, nathan hauritz, nose, Oval, panel, performance, Personal Business, Peter Siddle, pitch, praise, rest, seamers, selection, selection panel, selectors, series, ship, siddle, sinking ship, sophia gardens, specialist, spinner, tank, team, team-mates, test, think, Thommo, tongue, wicket takers, workload

Former Australian players slam selection panel for Ashes defeat

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Aug 25(ANI): Former Australian cricketers Shane Warne and Tom Moody have criticised the selectors, following Australia’s Ashes-losing defeat in the Fifth Test at The Oval.

Warne said that he was “staggered” by the decision to leave spinner Nathan Hauritz out of the side, while Moody said that selectors had got the decision “horribly wrong”, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“I do not know who had the final say on selection, whether it was the selectors themselves, or Ricky, or what degree of input came from Tim Nielsen, the coach. We all make mistakes and somebody, somewhere, will have to take the blame for this one,” Warne wrote in The Times.

Moody said that the decision to not pick a genuine spinner on a slow and turning pitch at The Oval was “inexcusable”.

“If anything, you would be looking to play two. But, Australia chose not to and paid the price dearly,” Moody said.

“It was quite clear to me Clark was the one that had to miss out, even though he bowled particularly well at Headingley. At the end of the day, you’ve got to pick horses for courses, and that Test wicket is a place, where you always have to employ a spinner,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has backed Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of the selection panel, and fellow selectors Jamie Cox, David Boon and Merv Hughes, and said that selectors were in no way “accountable for us losing the Ashes”.

“It was only six or seven months ago that we had a fantastic series in South Africa and beat the No.1 team in the world with a pretty similar line-up, and the selectors were hailed for their selections and the perceived risks they took in backing young talent,” Sutherland said. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: Andrew Hilditch, ANI, anything, ashes, Ashes-losing, Aug, Australia, australian cricketers, blame, chairman, clark, coach, Cricket, cricket australia, david boon, day, decision, defeat, degree, end, executive, fellow, fellow selectors, fifth, fifth test, former, headingley, herald, hughes, input, james sutherland, jamie cox, line-up, Merv, Merv Hughes, morning, morning herald, nathan hauritz, Nielsen, Oval, panel, pitch, place, play two, price, ricky, selection, selection panel, series, seven months, Shane Warne, side, somebody, South Africa, spinner, sydney, sydney morning herald, talent, team, test, test wicket, Tim Nielsen, times, tom moody, way, wicket, world

Cricket player Ishant Sharma returns to conditioning camp in New Delhi

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 24 (ANI): Ishant Sharma returned to the fitness camp at Ferozshah Kotla field for the upcoming Delhi Ranji Cricket Trophy on Monday, ending the speculation that he was joining Virender Sehwag who raised the issue of favouritism and nepotism in selecting players.

Other player Gautam Gambhir is expected to join the camp from Tuesday.

Ishant along with Left arm pacer Ashish Nehra, who returned to practice on Friday, and other players was training with Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya.

Dahiya, Delhi Cricket Coach, said all the cricketers are fit and playing great.

“All the guys are playing very nicely and the atmosphere in the dressing room is great,” said Dahiya.

Sehwag, who is still missing the conditioning camp, will have a meeting with Arun Jaitley, President of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), on Tuesday to resolve the issues raised by the senior cricketers on corruption of the selection committee. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: ANI, arm, Arun Jaitley, Ashish, association, atmosphere, Aug, camp, coach, committee, conditioning, corruption, Cricket, Cricket Player, Cricketers, ddca, Delhi, Delhi Coach, district, district cricket association, dressing-room, favouritism, ferozshah, field, fitness, Fitness Camp, Friday, gautam gambhir, Ishant, ishant sharma, issue, kotla, left, left-arm, meeting, Monday, Nehra, nepotism, New Delhi, pacer, player, president, Ranji, ranji cricket, room, Sehwag, selection, selection committee, sharma, speculation, trophy, Tuesday, Vijay Dahiya, Virender

Ex-Oz greats call for accountability after England regains Ashes

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.24 (ANI): Former spin king Warne, Test opener Michael Slater and former captain Ian Chappell have led the chorus on calling for the selection panel, chaired by Andrew Hilditch, to be made accountable for Ashes failures and the fact Australia may drop to as low as No.4 Test nation.

Former coach John Buchanan also said the days where selectors were part-timers, some participating in decisions on players they had limited opportunity to see – particularly when 12,000km away, may be passing.

“There is bound to be a lot more talk about why Australia did not choose Nathan Hauritz. Personally, I have to say that I was staggered by the decision. I would always want to have a spinner in the side for variety’s sake, but I think this time Australia simply misread the pitch,” Warne said.

“We all make mistakes and somebody, somewhere, will have to take the blame for this one,” he said.

Slater claimed selectors got it wrong from the start of the Ashes and problems have snowballed ever since.

“The fact of the matter is that we have gone over to England with the wrong squad. We needed an aggressive off-spinner in the squad and our best option was Jason Krejza,” Slater said.

“We should have won the first Test match and we didn’t, the selectors definitely got it wrong and it has just manifested right through the series,” he added.

“The selectors need to be made answerable at the end of this campaign,” he said.

Chappell also blamed the selectors for making the wrong choices for the series, and added that Ponting was not at fault as he was given a team to play with.

“It’s never easy beating Australia, they don’t just roll over and hand you the Ashes. England are finding out they have to fight for every wicket,” former England captain Nasser Hussain said. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: accountability, Andrew Hilditch, ANI, ashes, Aug, Australia, beating, blame, campaign, captain Ian Chappell, captain Nasser Hussain, chorus, coach, coach john, decision, end, England, england captain, ex, fact, fact australia, fact of the matter, fault, first test, former, hilditch, Ian Chappell, Jason Krejza, john buchanan, king, London, lot, matter, michael slater, misread, nasser hussain, nathan hauritz, nation, opener, opportunity, option, Oz, panel, part timers, pitch, ponting, right, sake, selection, selection panel, selectors, series, side, somebody, spinner, squad, start, talk, team, test, test match, time, time australia, variety, Warne, wicket, Wrong Choices

Champions Trophy snub disappoints Razzaq

Champions Trophy snub disappoints Razzaq

Tim Paine is heir-apparent to Haddin, says Harrison

Adopt new, transparent selection process for police forces: Chidambaram

Pakistan to play Australia at Headingly and Lords in 2010

‘Foreigners only’ French restaurant draws flak in Islamabad

Spare gene in fish provides raw materials for evolution of new Traits

Three policemen suspended, probe ordered into custodial death in J-K

Benaud calls for overhaul of Australian selection panel

New tool may help predict mortality risk in COPD patients

Qadir criticizes selection committee for dropping Razzaq, Butt

Mohammad Asif vows never to repeat his past mistakes

Ponting should be last off sinking ship, not first to jump in the lifeboat: Thommo

Former Australian players slam selection panel for Ashes defeat

Cricket player Ishant Sharma returns to conditioning camp in New Delhi

Ex-Oz greats call for accountability after England regains Ashes

Search More News

Technology News

Ads