Kalladka communal clashes result of Cong-BJP ‘match fixing’, claims HDK

The current physical distancing guidelines provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may not be adequate to curb the coronavirus spread, according to a research which says the gas cloud from a cough or sneeze may help virus particles travel up to 8 metres. The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, noted that the the current guidelines issued by the WHO and CDC are based on outdated models from the 1930s of how gas clouds from a cough, sneeze, or exhalation spread.

Study author, MIT associate professor Lydia Bourouiba, warned that droplets of all sizes can travel 23 to 27 feet, or 7-8 metres, carrying the pathogen.

According to Bourouiba, the current guidelines are based on "arbitrary" assumptions of droplet size, "overly simplified", and "may limit the effectiveness of the proposed interventions" against the deadly pandemic.

 She explained that the old guidelines assume droplets to be one of two categories, small or large, taking short-range semi-ballistic trajectories when a person exhales, coughs, or sneezes.

However based on more recent discoveries, the MIT scientist said, sneezes and coughs are made of a puff cloud that carries ambient air, transporting within it clusters of droplets of a wide range of sizes.

Bourouiba warned that this puff cloud, with ambient air entrapped in it, can offer the droplets moisture and warmth that can prevent it from evaporation in the outer environment.

"The locally moist and warm atmosphere within the turbulent gas cloud allows the contained droplets to evade evaporation for much longer than occurs with isolated droplets," she said.

"Under these conditions, the lifetime of a droplet could be considerably extended by a factor of up to 1000, from a fraction of a second to minutes," the researcher explained in the study.

The MIT scientist, who has researched the dynamics of coughs and sneezes for years, added that these droplets settle along the trajectory of a cough or sneeze contaminating surfaces, with their residues staying suspended in the air for hours.

"Even when maximum containment policies were enforced, the rapid international spread of COVID-19 suggests that using arbitrary droplet size cutoffs may not accurately reflect what actually occurs with respiratory emissions, possibly contributing to the ineffectiveness of some procedures used to limit the spread of respiratory disease," Bourouiba wrote in the study

Tirupati, Jul 5: The Karnataka government will soon build a massive pilgrim amenities complex and marriage hall at Tirumala, the hill abode of Lord Venkateswara, at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore, a temple official said here on Saturday.

The state would soon submit a blueprint for the construction of the Rs 200 crore mega complexes to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that governs the hill shrine, the official said.

Consequently, based on the designs, TTD would construct the complexes with the given fund and after completion, they would be handed over to the Karnataka government, he said.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa would lay the foundation stone for the mammoth complexes on the hills some time next month, he said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to take part in the programme, he added.

Mangaluru, Jan 23: With the results of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Main) out, it is celebration time at CFAL (Centre for Advanced Learning), Mangalore’s top training institute as 12 of its students have secured above 99 percentile, out of 120 students who appeared at the prestigious national examination held in January this year. The students are: Kaustubh Rao (99.79), Ujwal Kumar (99.77), Dheeraj Kamath (99.74), Pramod Rao (99.68), Santhosh M (99.59), Mohan Nayak (99.49), Rihan D’silva (99.43), Rishan D’silva (99.41), Pranav Rao (99.41), Aamod BK (99.29), Anmol J Shetty (99.22) and Madhura Sabhahit (99.083).

Apart from the above students, 8 students have scored above 98 percentile, the details of the students are: D.K. Goutham (98.67), Tejah S.S. (98.49), Akash Shetty (98.4), Tejas Bhat K (98.34), Ninaad PS (98.31), Shreepoorna Rao (98.3), K. Annapoorna Prabhu (98.3) and Rakshith Sajjan (98.2). The results of many more students are awaited.

A total of 8,69,010 students had appeared in the said exam from across India. The students who have attempted the JEE Main exam in January can attempt the exams again in April to better their percentile. Students who clear JEE Main qualify for JEE Advanced and are eligible for seats at the NIT’s and other top institutions of the country.

JEE – The most challenging undergraduate admission test

Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) conducted this year by National Testing Agency (NTA) is a national level examination for students to qualify and pursue engineering degree at under graduate level. Paper 1 is held for BE/B.Tech admissions and Paper 2 for B. Arch/B. Planning. JEE Main is a critical criterion for admission in India’s most prestigious and elite universities like IITs and NIT’s.

Those students who clear JEE Main can take the JEE advanced – which is a pre-requisite requirement for admission in the Indian Institute of Technology and Indian School of Mines (Dhanbad)

CFAL – The first name in training

The training at CFAL consists of defined hours of classes, tests and mock exams, unique course material, experienced professors and hence is the first choice for students appearing for STEM examinations including JEE, NTSE, KYPY, OLYMPIADS etc.  The centre was established with the intention of giving students of Mangalore information, guidance and tools required to qualify the competitive exams. However, the main aim of CFAL is to inculcate passion for Math and Science learning among students and to encourage research and innovation in the subjects.