Bridges in July

Our CampusOur Campus

Newsletter of Sri Ramachandra University

….Connecting SRU

th8 Anniversary Issue - July 2016

[email protected] ’16

From the Editor’s Desk

Bridges - Connecting SRU

Bridges Committee

Patron:

Shri. V. R. VenkataachalamChancellor

Advisory Board:

Prof. J. S. N. MurthyVice-Chancellor

Prof. S. RangaswamiProfessor of Eminence inMedical Education

Prof. K.V. SomasundaramDean of Faculties

Editor-in-Chief:

Dr. Sheela Ravinder. S.

Editor:

Ms. Hemalatha C. R.

Co-Editor:

Mr. Antony Leo Aseer P.

Editorial Board:

Mr. Abhinand P. A.

Dr. Archana P. Kumar

Dr. Ganesh V.

Dr. Nithya Jagdish

Prof. Prakash Boominathan

Prof. Sandhya Sundaram

Dr. Sreelekha B.

Secretarial Assistance:

Ms. Stella Augustus

Ms. Geetha R.

Photography:

Mr. Anand Kumar A.

Art & Design:

Mr. Arunagiri S.

Printing:

Mr. Velayudam S.

Cover Photo Courtesy:

Mr. Anand Kumar A.Senior Photographer

Beloved Readers,

Let us stay connected…

The various MoUs signed by the university serve to establish a mutually beneficial

relationship built on academic and scientific collaboration. The association includes the

exchange of faculty, researchers & students, publications, academic programs and research

projects.

Global News discloses the discovery of bacteria that aids to curtail pollution through

plastic that is not biodegradable or compostable.

A new milestone in the monthly Bridges book review awaits our readers this month.

Flip through this issue to learn more.

Bridges goes all-digital and will cease publishing a print edition after its th

100 issue in October 2016. The digital edition can be accessed through

www.sriramachandra.edu.in/university/news-lettersthWe are stepping into the 9 year. We invite the faculty members, staff and students to

partake in our anniversary competitions and win prizes. So challenge yourself, take a leap

and foster your creativity.

Sheela Ravinder. S. Editor-in-Chief

Dear Editor,

Bridges is growing in its relevance and coverage every month. The colored pages

update us about the significant events in the campus. The convocation and summer camp

photos helped us relive those special moments. Our Campus was a unique visual as usual. Soul to

Soul fed the brain. Happiness is… on positive feedback is helpful and practical.

Thank you for the enjoyable newsletter.

Dr. E. Sujitha,Lecturer, Faculty of Nursing

Memories

thInauguration of Sri Ramachandra Voice Clinic on 17 November 2006

by Mrs. Nithyasree Mahadevan, Carnatic Vocalist.

Letters to the Editor

Happenings

Sports

[email protected]


Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Technology and Research organized the

i n s t i t u t e d b y o u r

Chancellor. The oration on 'The Search for Rare Genetic Variants influencing Common Disease Risk' was rendered by Prof. John Blangero, Director of Genomics, Computing Centre, South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute, The University of Texas Rio Grande

rdValley, USA on 3 Jun. 350 participants attended.

Prof. S. P. Thyagarajan Endowment Oration in Biomedical Sciences, Technology and Research

The Pharmacy Education Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy organized a Lecture cum Workshop on

with the theme, 'Framing Objectives for the Curriculum' thon 18 May. 37 faculty members benefited.

Pharmacy Curriculum - Framing Objectives

Dept. of Respiratory Medicine conducted the State Level Final Quiz Competition

th on 8 Jul. Out of 58, who participated in an on-line preliminary quiz, 27 were selected for the final quiz.

Napcon

Quiz 2016

Dept. of Psychiatry o b s e r v e d t h e

with the theme, 'You Only Live Once' (YOLO) on

th27 Jun. The events included:

· Distribution of 1200 brochures

· Poster exhibition

· Drug prevention pledge - 300 students, faculty members & staffparticipated

International Day against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking

SRASSC Water Sports Centre (SWSC) under the aegis of Tamil Nadu A m a t e u r R o w i n g Association (TARA) and the Rowing Federation of India (RFI) hosted the

from th th7 to 11 Jun. Mr. Rajiv Yadav, Secretary – Sports, Govt. of India,

Mr. K. P. Singh Deo, President Emeritus, Rowing Federation of India and Mr. P. Benjamin, Hon'ble Minister, Sports & Youth Welfare, Govt. of Tamil Nadu were the special guests. A Scientific Rowing Assessment and Performance Enhancement Program was launched in collaboration with BaTLogic, Sports Company, Australia during the event. Awareness sessions on 'Anti-Doping' by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) was also held. 300 rowers from 18 states in India participated.

th st19 Sub-Junior and 1 Inter state Challenger Sprint National Rowing Championships

De p t . o f OBGYN conducted

thon 28 & th29 May. Smt. Kamalam

R a m a s a m y U d a y a r Endowment Oration i n O b s t e t r i c s &

Gynaecology was instituted as part of the conference and Padmavibhushan Dr. V. Shantha, Chairman, Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar delivered the first oration on 'Cancer in Women - The Indian Scenario.' 248 consultants and PGs across the state attended.

Refresh 2016 - A Summer Conference

in OBGYN

Prof. S. Rajendiran, Dept. of Pathology received the 'Dr. S. J. Nagalotimath Memorial Excellence in Teaching Award – 2016' during the th st th34 Annual National CME in Pathology at KLE University, Belagavi held from 1 to 4 Jun.

July ’16

Date Eventrd24.06.'16 3 CNE cum Workshop on 'Wound Care Essentials'

st02.05.'16 Dr. Veena V., final year, MD won the 1 prize in a state level essay competition held at Chettinad Hospital & Research Institute, Kanchipuram Dt., Tamil Nadu

Department/FacultyNursing FoundationBiochemistry

Our university cricket team of staff and students secured the best performance award in Thiruvallur District III Division Cricket League Championship 2015-2016 conducted by the Thiruvallur District

thCricket Association on 17 Jul. 2016.Highest run scorer – Mr. G. Nedumaran, Ward Technician, CSSD-183 runsHighest wicket scorer – Mr. B. Adithya, II yr., MBBS - 26 wickets



MoUs

Greetings

SRU signed an MoU with Alagappa thUniversity, Karaikudi on 30 May to foster

research & academic collaboration in the areas of Structural Biology, Bioinformatics, Drug Discovery and Nanobiotechnology.

SRU signed an MoU with the Directorate of Neurosciences, Royal Stoke University Hospital, Staffordshire, UK for educational research and collaboration. Mr. Anukiran R., Mr. Guru Nandha Raja and Ms. Lekhaa M., III yr., MBBS students underwent a four week observership program at Royal Stoke University Hospital in May 2016.

SRU signed an MoU with Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research & Education

th(YRG CARE) on 13 May to enhance clinical training for students at VHS, Adyar in HIV/AIDS and to foster collaborative research.

Dr. Manickavel N. Medical Superintendent,

SRH

Dr. Jagadesh Chandra Bose S.Professor & Head

Dept. of Surgical Oncology, SRMC & RI

Dr. Jayakumar M. Professor & Head

Dept. of Nephrology, SRMC & RI

Dr. Visvanathan K.Senior Consultant

Dept. of Neuro Surgery, SRMC

Dr. Srikanth Muralikrishnan Senior Consultant

Dept. of Haemato-Oncology, SRMC

Reach Out

RHTC, Vayalanallur along with the depts. of

Community Medicine, General Medicine, General

Surgery, Pediatrics, OBGYN, Orthopedics,

Ophthalmology, ENT, Head & Neck Surgery,

Community Health Nursing, Dermatology, Central

Laboratory and Faculty of Dental Sciences

conducted a free medical camp, under Chief thMinister's Health Insurance Scheme on 14 Jun. at

Amudur medu, Poonamal lee. 218 people

were screened and medicines were dispensed free of cost. People above 30 years were screened for type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension.

48 were referred to SRU for further care under Chief Minister's Health Insurance Scheme and 28 to RHTC, Vayalanallur.

20 NSS volunteers of SRU in association with Environmental Foundation of India undertook 'Lake Cleaning Program' at

thAdambakkam on 18 Jun.



Glimpses Believe it or NotMars once had many moons

Mars' misshapen moons, Phobos and Deimos, might be all that's left of a larger family that arose in the wake of a giant impact with the Red Planet billions of years ago, researchers report in Nature Geoscience.

Potato-shaped Phobos and Deimos were initially thought to be asteroids caught by Martian gravitational pull. This scenario explains their small size, irregular shape, cratered surface and presumed non-Martian composition but not their current orbits.

Mars' tidal rates aren't strong enough to alter their orbits in such a way that put them into their current formation. Instead, these orbits suggest they formed in situ around Mars, in particular in an extended disc of debris, likely from a giant collision. This impact could even be responsible for the spin rate of Mars.

The orbits are hard to explain if they were snagged during a flyby, and previous calculations have had trouble reproducing locally sourced satellites. The new study finds that a ring of rocks blown off from the planet by a collision with an asteroid could have been a breeding ground for a set of larger satellites relatively close to the planet. Those moons, long since reclaimed by Mars, could have herded remaining debris in the sparsely populated outer part of the ring to form Phobos and Deimos. While Deimos is in a stable orbit, Phobos is developing stress fractures as it slowly inches toward the Red Planet.

Pascal Rosenblatt, a planetary scientist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Brussels ran computer simulations to show how the helper moons formed, did their duty and then fell to Mars, leaving behind a pair of moons similar to Phobos and Deimos.

Source: P. Rosenblatt et al. Accretion of Phobos and Deimos in an extended debris disc stirred by transient moons. Nature Geoscience. Published online July 4, 2016. doi: 10.1038/ngeo2742.

Global NewsPlastic Eating Bacteria

A team of Japanese scientists has found a new species of bacteria that eats the type of plastic compound found in most disposable water bottles. The plastic component found in water bottles is known as Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET). PET is a lightweight, colorless and strong compound. However, it has also been notoriously resistant to being broken down by microbes-what experts call 'biodegradation'. Previous studies have found a few species of fungi that can grow on PET, but no study has found any microbes that can degrade it.

The research team from Kyoto Institute of Technology and Keio University collected 250 PET-contaminated samples from a plastic bottle recycling site. They screened the microbes living on the samples to assess whether any of them were eating the PET and using it to grow. They initially found a consortium of bugs that appeared to break down a PET film, but they eventually discovered that just one of the species of bacteria was responsible for PET degradation. They named it Ideonellasakainesis.

Further tests in the lab revealed that it used two enzymes to break down the PET. After adhering to the PET surface, the bacteria secretes one enzyme onto the PET to generate an intermediate chemical. That chemical is then taken up by the cell, where another enzyme breaks it down even further, providing the bacteria with carbon and energy to grow. The researchers report that a community of Ideonellasakaiensis working this way could break down a thin film of PET over the course of six weeks if the temperature was held at a steady 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Source: S. Yoshida et al. A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate), Science (2016). DOI: 10.1126/science.aad635.



Did you know?..............................

Ear·

· Give time to the ears to rest and recover

· Keep ears dry

· Don't go overboard in self ear cleaning and stop using cotton swabs

· Restrict ear piercing only to the lobule

· Chew or swallow during ascent and descent of aircraft or diving

· Avoid using self medications of potential ototoxic drugs

Follow ear protection precautions as in vogue in workplace

Health GlanceENT Care

Nose· Clean the house regularly and avoid letting dust accumulate

· Humidify the air at home

· Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke

· Maintain proper humidity levels at home

· Maintain a daily nasal cleansing routine especially for young children

· Clean the nose more frequently during respiratory infections or allergies

· Take allergy symptoms seriously

Voice·

· Don't talk above loud background noise if not required

· Make sure to have quiet periods in a day

· Try not to overuse voice and rest voice when sick

· Avoid eating spicy foods, smoking and excessive drinking

· Drink plenty of water and limit intake of drinks that contain caffeine

· Use a humidifier at home, especially in winter or dry climates

· Seek medical help for habitual & frequent throat clearing and excessive coughing

· Take frequent breaks while talking for extended period

· Be cautious with medications that affect your voice

· Do not sleep immediately after dinner

· Do not clench your teeth or tense your jaw and tongue while speaking to make your speech more dramatic/attractive

Consider using a microphone when appropriate

[email protected]


July ’16

Coming back to the seeker in the Himalayas, we see him continuing his prayer:

“O Sun, …

remove Thy rays, gather up Thy effulgence, so that I may see that which is

Thy most auspicious effulgence, the person that is in Thee, That am I.”

We see the seeker here going beyond what Magritte tries to convey in The Human Condition. We see him going beyond the

externally visible, probing deeper into his sensory experience, trying to comprehend the truth behind the sun and behind himself.

His penetrating vision now reveals a new dimension in his understanding. By going into the soul of things, he recognizes a reality

more attractive and elevating than the external, physical aspects. He is shaken by the supreme realization that the person that is in the

sun, is none other than he himself – “That am I.”

And how was that possible, you may ask. It was possible because sages and spiritual seekers of those eras had developed their

introspective and mystical techniques of yoga and meditation and fine-tuned their capacity for transcendental awareness to great

perfection. This facilitated apprehension of 'the thing in itself' unhindered by the misty veil of coarse senses that have an overarching

relevance to our mind-body and ego. Their primordial spiritual techniques allowed them to unveil themselves and see through their eyes

rather than with them as Mikhail Naimy exhorts the reader in The Book of Mirdad we saw earlier.

In this connection, the account of the two birds recounted by our ancient sages in a different context may also be mentioned:

Two birds bound one to the other in close friendship, perch on the self-same tree. One of them eats the fruits of the tree with relish, while the other looks on without

eating.

Although the interpretation of these lines has attracted some controversy, it may not be inappropriate to infer that the bird that is busy

eating the fruits has been immersed in sensory pleasures whereas the other one does not identify itself with such a corporeal experience.

The sages however, are quick to point out that the situation of the sense-seeking bird is short-lived and sooner than later he realizes and

grieves his ignorance and delusion; and when he sees the other bird and his glory, becomes free from dejection.

The sages, it would seem, were keen to add a comforting ray of hope and reassurance that ignorance and ego-centeredness need not

remain as eternally abiding attributes. At any given moment there is a possibility for the individual to reach the state of unruffled

tranquility by merely discovering his own real nature to be nothing other than that of the 'witnessing bird' – in other words, the silent

understanding that the self and the other are one and the same.

Prof. S. Rangaswami,Professor of Eminence in Medical Education, SRU.

(will be continued…)

Soul to Soul

7

Google Maps on Android smartphone provides directions between a single source and destination. The app is not equipped to provide navigation for someone travelling from place A to B via C, D or E or multiple destinations. The search giant has not dropped any hints to introduce it anytime soon either.

However, Google Maps supports multiple destinations on desktop. According to a report on Android Police, users can take advantage of the same on their Android smartphone as well, without Google's help.

With this, Google might soon add support for navigation for multiple destinations on its Maps for Android. Until then, the users can make use of the following option.

On desktop, open Google Maps and make a multiple destination search. To do so, select Source and then add the intermediate stop, instead of the final destination. To add the final destination, click on the small plus sign opposite to 'Options' on the left hand side blue panel. On clicking it, the user needs to input another destination & add the final destination.

After getting the multiple destination direction on desktop, copy the URL and send to the smartphone via an email or any messaging platform. While opening the same on mobile, do so with Google Maps only. The app will now show direction of multiple destinations.

Bits ‘n’ BytesMultiple Destinations on Android Google Maps

8July ’16


For internal circulation only

Colors

Ms. R. Kamalam, Demonstrator, Dept. of Biochemistry

Dr. Sheela Ravinder S., Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Physiology

Astounding Array Lilac Lollies

thThe 65 Bridges Monthly Book Review was held on 12.07.'16

Book : Steve Jobs

Author : Walter Isaacson

Reviewed by : Prof. H. Thamizhchelvan, Dept. of Oral Pathology, Faculty of Dental Sciences

And I looked at Him, and wonderedWhy? why don't you reply ?Am I asking for something too great?That you turn away your eye

Ah! He remained silent againSo, after some time I forgot it allAnd continued blabbering to HimHoping that one day He will answer my call

But alas! we fail to realizeHe listens to all that we sayWith full attention and loveNo matter night or day

His answers come not through wordsHe gives them with all his deceptive skillsLittle little things that change our livesPeople who notice them…call them 'miracles'

…call them 'miracles'

Dr. Akshay Singh, II yr., M.D. Psychiatry

Your CornerMiracles, the Answers

Prof. S. Roopa, Dept. of Physiology

Documents

Bridges in July