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Farmer Chintala Venkat Reddy from Hyderabad, Telangana was nosilent observer when his doctor friends discussed Vitamin D deficiency and how it can affect the human body. As a farmer however, he wasn’t too excited by the idea of loading the body for the required Vit D with medicines. A recipient of the Padma Shri award in Feb 2020 for his natural innovations in farming, went on to win the patent for Vitamin D enriched rice and wheat variety from World Intellectual Property Organisation, Geneva (WIPO) on February 11, 2021. Having listened to the doctors, he started to work on a technique that would enrich rice and wheat with Vitamin D naturally. The 70-year-old farmer who resides in Alwal, Secunderabad, says “I succeeded after working on it for two years. Then filed for a national patent in August 2019 and a year later, I applied for International patent on August 1, 2020. My concern was simple: why should we take medicines for something that is coming to us naturally, for … [Read more...] about Hyderabad-based farmer Chintala Venkat Reddy wins patent for Vit D enriched rice and wheat

A team of researchers from St. John’s Research Institute (SJRI) has developed a new test to measure vitamin B12 absorption in humans with stable 13C isotopes. Earlier, this was possible only using the radio-isotopes-based Schilling test. This major clinical development has been published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vitamin B12 deficiency, that is widespread in India, is linked to many poor health outcomes. It is mainly due to a low intake of animal source foods or malabsorption. The problem lies in measuring whether it is well absorbed from the diet or from remedial supplements. Unless the absorption is known, it is very hard to design the appropriate dose to remedy deficiencies. Sarita Devi from St. John’s Research Institute, who is the lead author of the paper, said unfortunately, the measurement of vitamin B12 absorption is not performed now, because the original or modified Schilling’s test requires radioisotopes. “The problem is the use of radioactive … [Read more...] about St. John’s develops new test to measure Vit B12 absorption

The Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide top priority to the education sector and assign more funds to resolve issues. A press release said EPSI president and VIT Chancellor G. Viswanathan, in a letter addressed to Mr. Modi, pointed out that in this year’s Budget, allocation for education had been cut by 6% from ₹99,311 crore last year to ₹93,224 crore. While educationists expected a significant increase in allocation, cutting down ₹6,000 crore is highly discouraging, he said. “This year’s Budget missed out on introducing measures to support the timely implementation of the National Education Policy, 2020. It requires massive investments both in school and higher education,” he said. In the post COVID-19 scenario, schools, colleges and universities are required to make adequate provisions for the health, safety and well-being of 25 crore school students and four crore college and university students. “Budget allocation … [Read more...] about EPSI urges PM to provide priority to education sector

Thanh Nguyen, 35, an ethnic Vietnamese man living in Virginia, always returns home to Maryland during Tet (Lunar New Year). But this year the nurse decided to stay back and instead celebrate the festival with his parents by video call. "My Vietnamese parents are disappointed because I did not drive home to see them, but the Covid-19 pandemic is a good reason to not travel, especially when I work in a hospital with infection risks," he said. He also made several video calls to relatives in Vietnam for Lunar New Year, which falls on February 12 this year. "My mom sent me two banh chung and I bought some spring rolls. I will go to a nearby Buddhist temple to pray for a new year if it is not too crowded during the weekend." Nguyen is among many members of the Vietnamese diaspora in America who have celebrated the traditional holiday of their forefathers amid the raging pandemic with a lot of differences this year. Asian Garden Mall (Phuoc Loc Tho) is a popular place … [Read more...] about Tet in the times of pandemic: muted celebrations for Vietnamese diaspora in US

PM eyes development of ASEAN-South Korea ties (01-06-2009) Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung speaks at the ASEAN-South Korea forum in South Korea. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Tam JEJU – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said ASEAN and South Korea should build sustainable development to help boost their trade and investment co-operation. He was speaking at the ASEAN-South Korea business forum in Jeju Island yesterday, where he will attend a summit to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN-South Korea dialogue partnership. Dung said the two sides should speed up the implementation of signed agreements, continue to reach new agreements, and cross barriers for mutual development. Future development of trade and investment between the two regions would see many changes, he said, urging businesses from the two sides to co-operate, share information and forecast challenges. Dung said the commercial relations between South Korea and ASEAN had developed well over … [Read more...] about PM eyes development of ASEAN-South Korea ties