IIT students venture into T-shirt biz

The students in Kharagpur have successfully launched a business venture that is breaking new ground. In just one month their initiative has begun to fetch returns.Students of the Vinod Gupta School of Management at IIT Kharagpur are busy tweaking a strategy for their new venture.Ashutosh, Santosh, Amit, Nishank and Dharamveer have got together and cashed in on the fad of personalised T-shirts.Customers here can design and buy their own creations over the Internet.''The five of us wanted to do something different and creative. That's why we decided to do this and the reach of the Internet gave us the right platform.''We figured we could cash in on the bond the young generation has with the T-shirt,'' said Nishank Agarwal, co-founder, Webvastra.

Personalised T-shirtsTheir website offers a variety of personalised T-shirts made by a Tamil Nadu company. One month into the business the average daily order is ten T-shirts.''Since we operate via Internet we have to be even more cautious in ensuring quality at a reasonable price. ''We have kept our price range between Rs 259 and Rs 285. And in the last month we have noticed that our customers are returning for more orders,'' said Dharamveer Arora, co-founder, Webvastra.Professors at the institute are happy at the initiative shown by their students. ''We are very proud of our students and happy for them .It also goes to show the exposure and training they are getting here,'' said P K Gupta, Dean, Vinod Gupta School of Management.Hopefully this success will inspire Indian youth to put their business skills to profitable use even while still in school and college.

Scientists Exploit Wrinkles To Determine Fundamental Properties Of Materials

The researchers have discovered that the thickness and elasticity of a thin film can be calculated by counting and measuring the wrinkles that form when a force is applied to the film. The findings, published in the Aug. 3 issue of the journal Science, shed light on how thin films behave and have implications for understanding the behavior of many materials, from membranes in water purification systems to the artificial skins used in treatment of severe burns.
Jiangshui Huang, Megan Juszkiewicz, Narayanan Menon, Wim de Jeu, Todd Emrick and Thomas Russell of UMass Amherst collaborated on the work with scientists from the Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in the Netherlands and the Universidad de Santiago in Chile.

When scientists consider a material’s inherent properties, basic qualities such as molecular weight, color or elemental composition come to mind. But the physics and chemistry students of tomorrow now have more to consider. With a simple and elegant experiment, the UMass Amherst team has demonstrated that the size and number of wrinkles that form when a force is applied to a thin film is directly related to the thickness and elasticity of the film, and these qualities can be readily calculated using wrinkle data.
To investigate, the researchers led by polymer scientist Thomas Russell and physicist Narayanan Menon floated ultrathin sheets, or films of polystyrene—a polymer typically used in hard plastics— in a Petri dish of water. With each polystyrene film the scientists induced wrinkles, either by adding a drop of water or a solid disc to the center of the film, or poking it with a sharp point. The scientists then counted the number and length of the wrinkles radiating out from the center, and recorded the wrinkling with a digital camera.

As the scientists prodded and poked the floating films, which ranged in thickness from 31 to 233 nanometers, they noted several consistencies. When they added water to the droplet at the film’s center, increasing the weight on the film, the wrinkles were longer and there were more of them. When they added the same amount of water to a thicker piece of film, the wrinkles were again longer, but there were fewer than with the thin film.
By scaling the relationships they observed between the number of wrinkles, the length of the wrinkles and the thickness and elasticity of the film, the researchers came up with some simple equations for determining a film’s elasticity and thickness by counting and measuring its wrinkles. Because they floated their films on water, their data were free of confounding forces made by the tacks or pins often used in wrinkling experiments to hold the films firmly in place.

“As we venture into the age of nanotechnology, it becomes increasingly important to know if the material properties of ultrathin films differ from their properties in bulk,” says Russell.
To further test their proposed relationship between wrinkles and elasticity, the team experimented with polystyrene sheets that were modified to various degrees with a plasticizer. The relationship held up and the team was able to calculate each film’s elasticity. With only a low-magnification microscope and a dish of water, the scientists were able to calculate the elasticity of the films with as much precision as the more expensive, equipment-heavy and time-consuming methods that are currently in use.

“These experiments give us a simple, inexpensive way to access the properties of such nanoscopically thin films that can be several tens of nanometers thick,” says Menon.
The work is “very simple and very fundamental,” says Todd Emrick, a member of the research team. “Yet it has implications the materials community will find very interesting. Polymer films are used worldwide under conditions where they withstand force and respond to it—understanding this response is key to improving materials that span a broad range of applications from biomedical to cosmetic, and many others.”

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Five-star hotels royally waste power, water, food

A stay at a five star hotel comes with all the trappings of luxury and comfort. The people behind the desk and on the hotel floor cater to your every whim, making sure your stay is a comfortable one.
But have you ever wondered what it costs the environment—to give you—the guest—a piece of the good life?
For hotels, it’s all about creating the right mood and ambiance. And a big part of it is lighting. A big hotel can use up to 15,000 lighting fixtures, 20 per cent of which are always on.
Then there's the air conditioning- to give you just the right cooling experience. Thank the massive chilling plants that manage the temperature centrally—using energy to cool even the unoccupied rooms.
Fancy a wash? What about hot water anywhere anytime in the hotel? That would be the 4-5 ton boilers heating water 24x7.

Total Energy Consumed: Over a 1,100 kilocalories per square meter per day: a good percentage of what a big house uses.
“If you talk about the number of units being consumed of electricity, we can run atleast on a day to day basis—a 100 homes,” said Pushpinder Kumar, VP, Uppal's Orchid.
From light to liquid comfort—water is that one-point resource that's used for consumption and eye candy taps, tubs, flushes, pools, fountains.
Multiply just the domestic consumption with 500 rooms, and the total water consumed equals to 600,000 ltrs per day, which is 0.1 per cent of what a single home uses. “If you talk of water resources, we can run approximately 250 to 275 normal houses,” .

Guests expect their linen to be squeaky clean- a small price for the big money they pay to sleep easy and that usually translates into washing upto 6,000 kg of linen everyday!
So total detergents, cleaning agents & chemicals consumed is anywhere close to 1,200 Kg.
Fancy a bowl of freshly cut fruit? The total food unconsumed by a hotel is 400-500 Kgs that could comfortably feed 1,200 people. So the Solid waste released usually measures not less than: 4 to 5 tons.

Tote it all and the hospitality industry counts as one of the big contributors of green house emissions
And the resource pressure is only set to increase, with the number of rooms of registered hotels expected to treble in next 6 years from 35,000 to 90,000. This is one concern the industry has to sit up and take notice of.
Luxury and service come at a premium. And today money isn’t the only price that guests seem to be paying for it.

Planet to be named after Mumbai boy

A few people have roads named after them, some others have buildings but a boy from Mumbai has a minor ice planet somewhere in the solar system named after him.
“If I look up at the sky, I can always feel there's something out there named after me. That's an excitement and rush like nothing else,” says 17-year-old Rishin Behl.
Rishin's world has acquired a dizzying spin of its own, heady with excitement.
“The exact coordinates will come along with my Intel award,” he says.
It's a project which Rishin presented at an Engineering Fair organised by Intel in the US that has earned him the honour and a scholarship to study electrical engineering in the US.

And that's not all. One of the leading defence forces in the world is now eyeing his innovative design and the details are top secret.
“I can't talk about it right now,” says Rishin.
It is this piece of equipment that has earned Rishin his place in the universe so to speak.
A seismograph, which is used to measure the intensity of an earthquake, much like the ones in our met department, but Rishin designed his using a magnetic field and a laser to make his computer generate a 3-D image of the shock wave.
It is considered a huge improvement over the conventional mechanical device. But Rishin is not resting by his laurels just as yet.
“I plan to use the same technology to create a portable device which can detect anomalies in the heart in case of a cardiac arrest,” he says.
And it isn't just technology but also tennis that drives this young innovator to play on.

Do-Coop Technologies Reaches DMF and cGMP Milestones for Neowater, its Proprietary Water-Based Nanotechnology

Do-Coop Technologies Ltd., a privately held corporation based in Israel, announced today that it has reached two significant milestones for Neowater, its proprietary water-based nanotechnology. A Type IV Drug Master File has been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Neowater. In addition, the first Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) Neowater manufacturing plant is operational in Israel.

About Neowater
Neowater is an enabling technology that is based on breakthrough water-based nanotechnology. Unlike traditional, dry nanotechnology, which focuses on a nanoparticle end product, Neowater builds upon the unique properties of nanoparticles to modify the physical properties of water molecules around them.
Each nanoparticle within Neowater, with its huge surface, creates an effect known as the "surface effect," and in turn organizes the water molecules surrounding it. This is similar to the surface effect of organelles within living cells. Both the organelles and the nanoparticles use this unique mechanism to create intracellular water. While the former is within cells and organs and cannot be harnessed nor used in a lab bench, the latter one, which is branded as Neowater, can.

This technology, developed in Israel, produces water whose physical properties mimic that of intracellular water using inorganic, insoluble crystals introduced in water in a patented process. Neowater, with its stable system of largely hydrated nanoparticles, like non-ionic detergent derived micelles, reduces the entropy of aqueous solutions. In addition, by design, since it exhibits both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties it can be used as a unique solvent replacement.

Neowater DMF (for WFI) and cGMP production
Biotech and pharmaceutical companies have within their portfolios a significant amount of compounds and drugs which have been proven effective in vitro, yet they are very insoluble and thus unusable, such as novel cancer therapeutic drugs. Other compounds which are good drug candidates are too soluble, or they are prone to hydrolysis, both rendering them ineffective. While these companies are experts at screening and finding effective compounds, and they have invested millions in this effort, they often lack the expertise to overcome these challenging technological barriers and release these compounds to the market. Neowater technology allows such companies to capture the real value of otherwise valueless portfolios.

“Using Neowater, biotech and pharma companies can solvate their valuable compounds, enhancing both their stability and bioavailability, and thus can extend and protect their intellectual property and investments. We have packaged our enabling technology capabilities into a unique, simple-to-use service that can enable companies to reduce or replace polar solvents such as detergents and surfactants, alcohols and other broadly used solvents like DMSO, as well as to replace regular water and even lyophilization. Our customers have validated the performance of their Neowater-solvated compounds in their own laboratory and in pre-clinical tests, and have returned to us to license this unique capability,” said Eran Gabbai, founder, President and CTO of Do-Coop Technologies, and the inventor of Neowater technology.

“Our customers have asked us to submit Neowater to the regulatory bodies, such as the US FDA, so clinical trials with the re-formulated compounds could begin as soon as their pre-clinical studies were completed. The submission of a Type IV DMF for Neowater to the FDA allows a convenient way for companies to cross-reference our filing in their regulatory submissions. In parallel to the regulatory review of Neowater, we have also designed, built and approved the first cGMP-compliant Neowater manufacturing plant, which is located in Israel. These milestones mean that our pharma customers can now start clinical studies for their compounds formulated with Neowater, and also avoid the need for a separate Neowater control in their studies,” added Mr. Gabbai

What are the Phytochemicals???

Chances are you've eaten phytochemicals. Don't be alarmed -- they're not toxic agents produced by some huge chemical company, as the name might suggest. Phytochemicals are natural compounds found in the fruits and vegetables we eat (or should eat) every day.

Phytochemicals help give an orange its orange color and make a strawberry red. More importantly, they may protect us from some of the most deadly diseases that threaten us -- diseases such as cancer and heart disease. As the research on phytochemicals' health benefits mounts, many companies are jumping on the bandwagon and producing a variety of supplements containing them.

Phytochemicals are natural compounds found in fruits and vegetables. They are substances that don't fall within any other categories -- they are not vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats or minerals. Although they are not nutrients -- that is, necessary for sustaining life -- phytochemicals are beneficial to our health.
Each type of fruit or vegetable may contain hundreds of phytochemicals. An orange alone may contain 170 or more different phytochemicals.
Phytochemicals originated to help plants survive in an often hostile environment. When the Earth was young, there was very little free oxygen in the atmosphere. Plants, which take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, eventually increased the oxygen composition. But by doing so, they polluted their own environment. To protect themselves from the highly reactive oxygen, plants developed antioxidant compounds, including phytochemicals. Today, thanks to these antioxidants, plants can survive -- and thrive -- in our oxygen-rich environment. Phytochemicals also protect plants against bacteria, fungi, viruses and cell damage.
The same phytochemicals that protect plants also help the humans who eat them. Researchers know that phytochemicals have antioxidant properties .Scientists are also researching additional benefits:

1.Phytochemicals appear to protect against arterosclerosis -- the build up of fatty plaque on the artery walls that can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
2.Phytochemicals appear to protect against certain types of cancers. But it remains uncertain how phytochemicals work and how much of them we need to eat to get the most benefit.

Korean Mummies May Provide Clues To Combat Hepatitis B

This is the first time that samples of hepatitis B have ever been found on a mummified body. When the virus was discovered in the liver of a 500 year old child, researchers at Dankook University and Seoul National University invited Hebrew University Prof Spigelman to South Korea to verify the findings.

Spigelman and the Liver Unit at Hadassah University Hospital-Ein Kerem in Jerusalem are now part of an international team to conduct research on the mummies, bringing together experts from Dankook University, Seoul National University and University College London.

Spigelman known for his pioneering studies of ancient diseases (palaeoepidemiology) found on mummified bodies from Hungary to Sudan, in his quest to provide answers to the development of diseases affecting us today, such as tuberculosis, leishmania and influenza. The South Korean mummies are particularly well preserved, and could provide crucial information in the evolution of the hepatitis B virus.

An international killer

Hepatitis B causes liver problems and can lead to liver cancer or liver failure, killing approximately one million people each year.
In South Korea, the need to manage the virus is particularly significant, as twelve percent of the population are hepatitis carriers (compared with a world average of five percent). In China, the virus is one of the leading causes of cancer.

Korean mummies?
Until recently, no one even knew that mummies existed in Korea. Korea's ancient tradition of ancestor worship and the belief that at death, the soul rises up and the body has to go back to its natural components, without interference by external elements, meant that mummification was in fact anathema in Korean culture. However, with the take-over of the neo-Confucianist Joseon Dynasty in 1392, changes were made to the former Buddhist burial practices.

The burial process involved laying the body on ice for three to thirty days during mourning, placing the body inside an inner and an outer pine coffin, surrounded by the deceased's clothes, and the covering he coffin in a lime soil mixture. "In some cases, this inadvertently resulted in extremely good natural mummification," says Spigelman.

The building boom in South Korea has meant that many cemeteries have had to be relocated. It is this process which led to the discovery of the mummified bodies.

Know your enemy
The researchers intend to study the genome of the 500 year old virus to see if there have been any significant changes over this time. Spigelman asks: "Five hundred years ago, was it hepatitis B" Could it be that later on, it split from 'X' and became A and B" Was it already evolved" That's what we don't know."

"This is a 'know your enemy' expedition to see if we can get information that can help today's - and tomorrow's - sufferers," says Spigelman. He believes that knowing what a virus did 500 years ago helps us understand what it will do as it continues to evolve, and will ultimately alter the practice of public health officials in combating it.