Must Reads (Mystery)

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Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.

-neil armstrong

Mystery literally refers to something, that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain. It is a fiction genre in which an event such as a crime or a murder keeps unfolding without much revelation till the end of the book. Mystery books are the kind of reads that keep readers hooked and on the edge of their seats. Mysteries are a joy to read with unanticipated plot twists and turn-outs that it blows ones mind. Mystery is one of the widely read genre with many prolific writers.

Below is a list of five must read mystery fictions.

1. And Then There Were None:

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One of the most prolific writers in the genre Agatha Christie, describes this book as one of the most difficult to write. Following a group of people onto Indian Island, this story explores crime and murder. The ten people on the island including a former governess, an adventurer, an ex-detective, each think they have been hired to do some particular job not knowing the mysterious labyrinth on the island that consequently traps all ten people on the island. With each death the story is thrown into a deeper mysterious aura, leaving the reader befuddled with thoughts and guesses.

A brilliant mystery and an absolute must read!

2. The Guest List

Lucy Foley’s, ‘The Guest List’ is a mystery set amidst a wedding. A happy couple joining in matrimony is faced with a gruesome wedding surprise- a dead body!

A wedding planned right down to the last detail of a T.V star and a magazine editor was bound to catch eyes and garner attention but it might all just shift focus.

A series of guests all dresses to the nines, a volley of drinking groomsmen, expensive champagne and awkward speeches later does a mystery unfold involving all the guests on the list. Loads of suspects with killer motives all enclosed in a big wedding.

3. The Last of the Moon Girls

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Barbara Davis’s ‘The Last of the Moon Girls’, revolves around Lizzy Moon, a girl who wants nothing to do with Moon Girl Farm, which is passed down in their family and has evoked questions and rumours about their strange legacy. Tragedy struck! Lizzy’s beloved Grandmother Althea dies, taking the severe accusation of killings to her grave, Lizzy must do everything to clear her Grandmother’s name and her family legacy. With Andrew Greyson, one of the few in town believing in Althea’s innocence, Lizzy is determined to et things right.

A gorgeously artful story-telling with tints of magic and craft.

4.The Secrets of Lost Stones

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Melissa Payne’s book, ‘ The Secrets of Lost Stones’ tells the story of a 32 year old woman  Jess Abbot who has loses everything from her home to her job and her eight year old son  Chance, to a tragic accident. Unable to cope with the humongous loss,  Jess bundles up what’s left and leaves for the small mountain town of Pine Lake, where she gets a place as caregiver to strange old woman.

Surrounded by numerous rumours, Lucy is a strange old woman who has taken in several other people besides Jess including a Star, a teenager on the run with a painful secret and a little boy with heart-shaped stones. Jess soon learns the extent of pain and loss in the world and discovers above her suffering, grief like no other. Perhaps it was fate.

5. Where the Forest Meets the Stars

Glendy Vanderah’s ‘Where the Forest Meets the Stars’, is a story of Joanna Teale, who, after overcoming her mother’s demise and battling breast cancer, determined to prove that she has not given up, throws herself into her work, researching on nesting birds in rural Illinois that is until a mysterious child shows up at her cabin door, barefoot and in a ragged condition. The girl, Ursa, claims to be sent from the stars to witness five miracles. Joanna concerned about the girls home, reluctantly takes her in. Jo seeks help from her aloof neighbour, Gabriel Nash, to find out more about Ursa.

What follows is a series of unexpected events and beautiful bonds.

WATER

water, a substance composed of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous, liquid, and solid states. It is one of the most plentiful and essential of compounds. A tasteless and odourless liquid at room temperature, it has the important ability to dissolve many other substances. Indeed, the versatility of water as a solvent is essential to living organisms. Life is believed to have originated in the aqueous solutions of the world’s oceans, and living organisms depend on aqueous solutions, such as blood and digestive juices, for biological processes. Water also exists on other planets and moons both within and beyond the solar system. In small quantities water appears colourless, but water actually has an intrinsic blue colour caused by slight absorption of light at red wavelengths.

Although the molecules of water are simple in structure (H2O), the physical and chemical properties of the compound are extraordinarily complicated, and they are not typical of most substances found on Earth. For example, although the sight of ice cubes floating in a glass of ice water is commonplace, such behaviour is unusual for chemical entities. For almost every other compound, the solid state is denser than the liquid state; thus, the solid would sink to the bottom of the liquid. The fact that ice floats on water is exceedingly important in the natural world, because the ice that forms on ponds and lakes in cold areas of the world acts as an insulating barrier that protects the aquatic life below. If ice were denser than liquid water, ice forming on a pond would sink, thereby exposing more water to the cold temperature. Thus, the pond would eventually freeze throughout, killing all the life-forms present.

Water occurs as a liquid on the surface of Earth under normal conditions, which makes it invaluable for transportation, for recreation, and as a habitat for a myriad of plants and animals. The fact that water is readily changed to a vapour (gas) allows it to be transported through the atmosphere from the oceans to inland areas where it condenses and, as rain, nourishes plant and animal life. (See hydrosphere: The hydrologic cycle for a description of the cycle by which water is transferred over Earth.)

The water on the surface of Earth is found mainly in its oceans (97.25 percent) and polar ice caps and glaciers (2.05 percent), with the balance in freshwater lakes, rivers, and groundwater. As Earth’s population grows and the demand for fresh water increases, water purification and recycling become increasingly important. Interestingly, the purity requirements of water for industrial use often exceed those for human consumption. For example, the water used in high-pressure boilers must be at least 99.999998 percent pure. Because seawater contains large quantities of dissolved salts, it must be desalinated for most uses, including human consumption.

This article describes the molecular structure of water as well as its physical and chemical properties. For other major treatments of water, see climate; environmental works; hydrosphere; ice; and pollution.

STRUCTURE OF THE WATER

The water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms, each linked by a single chemical bond to an oxygen atom. Most hydrogen atoms have a nucleus consisting solely of a proton. Two isotopic forms, deuterium and tritium, in which the atomic nuclei also contain one and two neutrons, respectively, are found to a small degree in water. Deuterium oxide (D2O), called heavy water, is important in chemical research and is also used as a neutron moderator in some nuclear reactors.

Although its formula (H2O) seems simple, water exhibits very complex chemical and physical properties. For example, its melting point, 0 °C (32 °F), and boiling point, 100 °C (212 °F), are much higher than would be expected by comparison with analogous compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. In its solid form, ice, water is less dense than when it is liquid, another unusual property. The root of these anomalies lies in the electronic structure of the water molecule.

The water molecule is not linear but bent in a special way. The two hydrogen atoms are bound to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.5°.
structure of the water molecule showing the two hydrogen atoms bound to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.5 degrees.

The O―H distance (bond length) is 95.7 picometres (9.57 × 10−11 metres, or 3.77 × 10−9 inches). Because an oxygen atom has a greater electronegativity than a hydrogen atom, the O―H bonds in the water molecule are polar, with the oxygen bearing a partial negative charge (δ−) and the hydrogens having a partial positive charge (δ+).

The electron arrangement in the water molecule can be represented as follows.
structure of the water molecule showing the electron arrangement

Each pair of dots represents a pair of unshared electrons (i.e., the electrons reside on only the oxygen atom). This situation can also be depicted by placing the water molecule in a cube.

Each ↑↓ symbol represents a pair of unshared electrons. This electronic structure leads to hydrogen bonding.

SINGNIFICANCE OF THE STRUCTURE OF LIQUID WATER

The liquid state of water has a very complex structure, which undoubtedly involves considerable association of the molecules. The extensive hydrogen bonding among the molecules in liquid water produces much larger values for properties such as viscosity, surface tension, and boiling point than are expected for a typical liquid containing small molecules. For example, based on the size of its molecules, water would be expected to have a boiling point nearly 200 °C (360 °F) lower than its observed boiling point. In contrast to the condensed states (solid and liquid) of water, which exhibit extensive association among the water molecules, its gaseous (vapour) phase contains relatively independent water molecules at large distances from each other.

The polarity of the water molecule plays a major part in the dissolution of ionic compounds during the formation of aqueous solutions. Earth’s oceans contain vast amounts of dissolved salts, which provide a great natural resource. In addition, the hundreds of chemical reactions that occur every instant to keep organisms alive all take place in aqueous fluids. Also, the ability of foods to be flavoured as they are cooked is made possible by the solubility in water of such substances as sugar and salt. Although the solubility of substances in water is an extremely complex process, the interaction between the polar water molecules and the solute (i.e., the substance being dissolved) plays a major role. When an ionic solid dissolves in water, the positive ends of the water molecules are attracted to the anions, while their negative ends are attracted to the cations. This process is called hydration. The hydration of its ions tends to cause a salt to break apart (dissolve) in the water. In the dissolving process the strong forces present between the positive and negative ions of the solid are replaced by strong water-ion interactions.

When ionic substances dissolve in water, they break apart into individual cations and anions. For instance, when sodium chloride (NaCl) dissolves in water, the resulting solution contains separated Na+ and Cl− ions.

Generally speaking, the greater the charge density (the ratio of charge to surface area) of an ion, the larger the hydration number will be. As a rule, negative ions have smaller hydration numbers than positive ions because of the greater crowding that occurs when the hydrogen atoms of the water molecules are oriented toward the anion.

Many nonionic compounds are also soluble in water. For example, ethanol (C2H5OH), the alcoholic component of wine, beer, and distilled spirits, is highly soluble in water. These beverages contain varying percentages of ethanol in aqueous solution with other substances. Ethanol is so soluble in water because of the structure of the alcohol molecule. The molecule contains a polar O―H bond like those in water, which allows it to interact effectively with water.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Water has several important physical properties. Although these properties are familiar because of the omnipresence of water, most of the physical properties of water are quite atypical. Given the low molar mass of its constituent molecules, water has unusually large values of viscosity, surface tension, heat of vaporization, and entropy of vaporization, all of which can be ascribed to the extensive hydrogen bonding interactions present in liquid water. The open structure of ice that allows for maximum hydrogen bonding explains why solid water is less dense than liquid water—a highly unusual situation among common substances.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In our everyday life, we study and see that new innovation is arising step by step. The degree of reasoning had changed. Our researchers have made a few exceptional things. Not many of them are identified with our knowledge. Presently we see that programmed machines, robots, satellites and our cell phones all are instances of man-made brainpower.

At all intricate terms, Artificial Intelligence suggests developing the ability to think and grasp and make decisions in a machine. Man-made thinking is seen as the most reformist kind of programming, and it makes a mind where the PC frontal cortex can think like individuals.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Man-made mental ability (AI) or “man-made thinking” is a piece of computer programming, which is making machines that can think and work like individuals.

Not many models for this are: acknowledgment of sound or voice, issue dealing with and settling, educating, learning and arranging. It is the information displayed by machines as opposed to the ordinary understanding displayed by individuals and animals.

It expects to make a PC controlled robot or programming that can think likewise as the human mind thinks. Electronic thinking is persistently being set up to make it extraordinary.

In its planning, it is shown understanding from machines, is set up to keep awake with new information sources and perform human-like tasks.

Thusly, by the use of Artificial Intelligence, such a machine is being made. This can team up with its condition and work cautiously on the data got.

In the event that the AI idea, later on, is more grounded, by then, it will take after our partner. In the event that you get an issue by then, you will educate yourself for it.

History of Artificial Intelligence

1950 was in like manner the year when fake knowledge research started. Assessment in AI began with the improvement of electronic PCs and set aside program PCs.

A lot after this, for quite a while, an association couldn’t interface a PC to think or behave like a human mind. Thereafter, an exposure that extraordinarily revived the early headway of AI was made by Norbert Wiener.

He has showed that all innovative lead of people is the outcome of the reaction segment. Another movement toward present-day AI was when Logic Theorist was made. Organized by Newell and Simon in 1955, it is seen as the chief AI program

Father of Artificial Intelligence

After numerous investigations, the person who set up the structure for counterfeit knowledge was the father of AI, John McCarthy, an American analyst. In 1956, he made a get-together “The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence” to furthermore develop the field of AI.

In which every last one of those people who were enthused about machine understanding could participate. The inspiration driving this social affair was to attract the capacity and authority of captivated people to help McCarthy in regards to this task.

In later years the AI Research Center was outlined at Carnegie Mellon University similarly as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Close by this, AI moreover went up against numerous hardships. The essential test they faced was to make a system that could deal with an issue gainfully with practically no investigation.

The ensuing test is building a structure that can get to know a task with nobody else. The chief forward jump in man-made cognizance came when a Novel program called General Problem Solver (G.P.S) was made by Newell and Simon in 1957.

Kinds of Artificial Intelligence

Man-made reasoning is assembled into four kinds, Arend Hintze thought about this course of action; the classes are according to the accompanying –

Responsive machines – These machines can react to conditions. A prominent model could be Deep Blue, the IBM chess program. Exceptional, the chess program was won against the notable chess legend Garry Kasparov.

Additionally, such machines need memory. These machines totally can’t use past experiences to teach future people. It separates every single under the sun decision and picks the best.

Confined Memory – These AI structures are good for using past experiences to enlighten future people. Rather than responsive machines, it can make future assumptions subject to encounter. Self-driving or programmed vehicles are an illustration of Artificial Intelligence.

The speculation of the cerebrum – You ought to be stunned to understand that it suggests getting others. It infers that others have their feelings, objectives, needs, and sentiments; this sort of AI doesn’t yet exist.

Care – This is the most raised and most complex level of Artificial Intelligence. Such systems have a sensation of self; likewise, they have care, mindfulness and sentiments. This strategy doesn’t exist yet. This Technique will be a commotion.

Benefits of Artificial Intelligence

Mechanized thinking benefits researchers in monetary angles and law, yet moreover in particular educating, for instance, validness, security, check, and control.

A couple of cases of development, for instance, organization assist with diminishing disease and hardship, making AI the most critical and most conspicuous creation in mankind’s set of experiences. Some critical benefits of AI are according to the accompanying –

Mechanized Assistance – Organizations with an impelled gathering use machines in light of a legitimate concern for individuals to connect with their customers as an assistance gathering or arrangements bunch.

Clinical Applications of AI – One of the main central marks of AI is that it is used in prescription, utilization of man-made cognizance called “radio a medical procedure”. It is correct now used by gigantic clinical relationship in the recuperating movement of “growths”.

Abatement of Errors – Another unbelievable bit of space of Artificial Intelligence is that it can reduce slip-ups and increase the probability of showing up at higher precision.

Conclusion

It is concluded that artificial intelligence is an essential invention of human development. It depends upon the correct usage.

If we use it rightfully for the sake of humanity and development, then it will be a boon for us. We should not use it for losing any other. Our motto should be clear in using artificial intelligence.

Must share your thoughts regarding artificial intelligence below in the comment section. Hope you liked this essay on artificial intelligence.

Generation gap between Parents and Children.

by Yogiraj Sadaphal.

“Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late”.

– Thomas Sowell.

Definition of Generation Gaps.

The word “generation gap” refers to the age difference between two groups of people: young people and their seniors, particularly children and their parents. Everything changes with the flow of time, including age, culture, mannerism, and morality. This transformation has an impact on everyone. The generational divide is a never-ending social phenomena. Every generation lives at a specific period and in specific circumstances. As a result, each generation has its unique set of values and perspectives. Every generation aspires to uphold the values that they truly believe. This is an issue that has existed for a long time.

Past Generation Gaps:

The sociological hypothesis of a generation gap first surfaced in the 1960s, when the younger generation appeared to contradict everything their parents had previously thought in terms of music, values, governmental and political beliefs, and cultural interests.

The “generation gap” is now referred to as “institutional age segregation” by sociologists. Individual members of any of these age groups are usually physically isolated from persons of other generations when they are engaged in their primary activity, with little interaction across generational lines save at the nuclear family level.

What are the Cause of it?

No one is to blame for the generation gap. It’s a natural part of social change. Change is the ongoing disruption and resetting of the terms of everyone’s existence throughout their lives.

When parents identify with the old, similar, familiar, conventional, and known, their teenager (at a later period) becomes attracted and influenced by the new, different, unfamiliar, experimental, and unknown, cultural contrasts between generations are emphasized.

Obviously, there is little generation gap in socially uncomplicated, stable, low-change cultures where the children identify with parental positions they expect to copy and fill when they grow up. Consider growing up in a complex, fast changing culture where the parent’s old world and the adolescent’s world are vastly different.

What Impact does the Generation Gap have on Parent-Child Relationships?

To the extent that parents can bridge the generational gap by exhibiting an interest in the new, the gap’s potentially alienating influence can be reduced.

For example, if they approach their adolescent as a “expert” and themselves as “unknowing,” or if they treat their adolescent as a teacher and themselves as pupils, they might create a very strong and esteem-endowing power reversal in their connection.

What should a Teen do if they believe their Parents don’t get them?

Around the ages of 9 to 13, children begin to separate from childhood and begin redefining themselves on the path to young adulthood. The one detaches from childhood and family for greater action and independence, while the other distinguishes from childhood and parents for greater personal expression and individuality.

Young people might take the initiative when they believe their parents do not understand and would like them to. They can be brave and tell their parents, “There’s something about my upbringing that I believe you don’t understand, and I’d like you to appreciate.” Could you please just listen while I try to explain, and then we can talk about it?”

Is There a Way to Reduce the Impact of the Generation Gap?

1. Communicate:

Making time to connect with your parents on a daily basis is crucial. The simple act of asking each other about their day at the end of the day can help you get to know each other better and make it easier to speak freely around each other.

2. Compromise:

No matter how close two people are, they can differ on certain issues. Parents and children are no exception; but, rather than forcing them to accept your point of view or to do what you want them to do when they don’t want to, learn to compromise whenever feasible.

3. Love:

When love is acted upon, it has a way of crossing barriers and bringing people together. As a result, show your children how much you care about them. This unconditional love and support they receive from you is incredibly motivating, and it encourages youngsters to reciprocate with the same love and compassion.

4. Understand:

Listening leads to comprehension, which requires you to learn to put yourself in your child’s position and try to comprehend how they feel and what they want based on what they say. You will be able to close the generation gap to some extent if you can understand where your child is coming from.

Role of civil services in Indian democracy

India is a democratic country and in this system, power confers with the people. The power is exercised through its designated representatives who have the command to manage them for particular period. The civil services by quality of its knowledge, experience and understanding of public affairs support the chosen representatives to device effectual policy and have great responsibility to implement these policies for the welfare of society and enhancement of nation. Parliamentary democracies are generally pigeonholed by a permanent civil service which helps the political policymakers and political executives. India is a constitutional fairness and its operations are usually depends upon four supports that include Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, and Free Press. Each one of these has been assigned its role in democratic establishment. First pillar is associated with the governance of the State. Effective and efficient institutions form the strength of an efficacious development and governance process.

Democracy is an egalitarian principle in which the governed elect the people who govern over them. There are three pillars of modern democracy:

Legislature

Executive

Judiciary

The civil services form a part of the executive. While the ministers, who are part of the executive, are temporary and are reelected or replaced by the people by their will (through elections), the civil servants are the permanent part of the executive.

–The civil servants are accountable to the political executive, the ministers. The civil services are thus, a subdivision under the government.

— The officers in the civil services form the permanent staff of the various governmental departments.

— are basically expert administrators.

They are sometimes referred to as the bureaucracy or also the public service

Importance of the Civil Services

1. The civil service is present all over India and it thus has a strong binding character.

2. It plays a vital role in effective policy-making and regulation.

3. It offers non-partisan advice to the political leadership of the country, even in the midst of political instability.

4. The service gives effective coordination between the various institutions of governance, and also between different departments, bodies, etc.

5. It offers service delivery and leadership at different levels of administration.

Functions of Civil Services

Basis of Government: There can be no government without administrative machinery.

Implementing Laws & Policies: Civil services are responsible for implementing laws and executing policies framed by the government .

Policy Formulation: The civil service is chiefly responsible for policy formulation as well. The civil service officers advise ministers in this regard and also provides them with facts and ideas.

Stabilising Force: Amidst political instability, the civil service offers stability and permanence. While governments and ministers can come and go, the civil services is a permanent fixture giving the administrative set up a sense of stability and continuity.

Instruments of Social Change & Economic Development: Successful policy implementation will lead to positive changes in the lives of ordinary people. It is only when the promised goods and services reach the intended beneficiaries, a government can call any scheme successful. The task of actualising schemes and policies fall with the officers of the civil services.

Welfare Services: The services offer a variety of welfare schemes such as providing social security, the welfare of weaker and vulnerable sections of society, old-age pensions, poverty alleviation, etc.

Developmental Functions: The services perform a variety of developmental functions like promoting modern techniques in agriculture, promoting the industry, trade, banking functions, bridging the digital divide etc.

Administrative Adjudication: The civil services also perform quasi-judicial services by settling disputes between the State and the citizens, in the form of tribunals, etc.

Problems Affecting Civil Services Today

— Lack of professionalism and poor capacity building.

— An ineffective incentive system that does not reward the meritorious and upright civil servants .

— Rigid and outmoded rules and procedures that do not allow civil servants to exercise individual judgement and perform efficiently.

— Lack of accountability and transparency procedure, with no adequate protection for whistle-blowers.

— Political interference causing arbitrary transfers, and insecurity in tenures.

— An erosion in ethics and values, which has caused rampant corruption and nepotism.

— Patrimonialism (a form of governance in which all power flows directly from the leader).

— Resistance to change from the civil servants themselves.

Key Facts about Democracy in India:

— Democracy in India federal republic.

— Democracy in India is headed by the President as the head of the state and Prime Minister as the head of the government.

— There is a parliamentary form of government at the central level.

— There is a universal adult franchise.

LITERATURES OF SOUTH INDIA

LITERATURE

     Literatures is a piece of writings that are valued as a word of art. The literature works maybe novels, plays, or poems, fiction or non-fiction that have long-lasting importance. It is also known as the preserved writings of a certain language or people. It is used to describe anything from the creative works including any technical works, scientific works. Fictional literature includes plays, poems, short stories, and songs. The non-fictional literature includes biographies, autobiographies, essays, newspapers, journals, essays, and diaries. The four Dravidian languages in India had developed their works of literature. These Dravidian languages are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.

TAMIL LITERATURE

     Tamil, being the oldest language among these developed the Sangam literature. Sangama literature is the oldest literature in Tamil. Tamil as a written language came into light during the Christian era. The literature of the Tamil language was compiled together in 600 AD. The poets in the assemblies who helped in gathering the Sangam literature over 3 to 4 centuries were patronized by the kings and chieftains. Poets from various parts of south India gathered in Madurai and these assemblies are known as sangams and the literature produced in these assemblies is known as “Sangama literature”. The Sangam literature was the collection of poems and songs written by different poets praising the heroes and heroines. This literature was unique and high in quality. Three sangams were held. The literature collected in the first Sangam was lost. About 2000 poems with more than 30000 lines of poetry have been found in the second Sangam.

     There were two main groups. They are Pathinenkilkanaku and Pathinenmelkanaku. The eight anthologies named Ettuthogai and the ten songs named Patthupaatu come under Pathinenmelkanaku. Pathinenkilkanaku has eighteen works about ethics and morals. The most important work among these is Thirukural written by Tiruvalluvar. Thirukural is divided into three parts. The first part deals with epics, the second part deals with polity and government, and the last part deals with love. Besides this Sangam literature, there is a work named Tholkaapiam which deals with grammar and poetry. Around the 6th century, there were two famous epics namely Silapathikkaram and Manimegalai. During the 6th to 12th century, Tamil devotional poems written by Alwars and Nayanmaars impacts the Bhakti movement. Kambaramayanam and Periya puraanam were two literaaly classic works.

TELUGU LITERATURE

     The golden age of Telugu literature was the Vijayanagara period. Uttaraharivamsam, a literary work was produced by the court poet, Nachana Somanatha. Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529), wrote an excellent prabandha named Amukta Malyada. Ashtadiggajas, eight Telugu literature were popular works in his court. Among them, literature named Manucharitram, by Allasani Peddana was the greatest. He was known as Andhra kavitapitamaha. Some of the author’s and their literature in Telugu are listed below:

  • Dhurjati – Kalahasteeswara Mahatmayam and Kalahasteeswara Satakam
  • Pingali Surana – Raghavapandaviyam and Kalapuranodayam
  • Ramakrishna – Panduranga Mahatmayam
  • Ramarajabhushana – Vasucharitram, Narasabhupaliyam and Harishchandra Nalopakhyanam.
  • Madayagari Mallana – Rajashekharacharitra
  • Ayyalaraju Ramabhadra – Ramabhyudayam and Sakalakathasara Sangraham.

KANNADA LITERATURE

       Apart from Telugu, Vijayanagaras’s extended their patronage over Kannada and Sanskrit writers. Kannada literature was contributed by many Jain scholars. After the 10th century AD, the Kannada language was developed. The Kannada literatures in this period are Dharmanathapurana by Madhava, Dharma Parikshe by Uritta Vilasa, Kavirajamang by Rashtrakuta king, Nripatunga Amoghavarsha, Adi Purana and Vïkramarjiva Vijaya by Pampa, Shanti Purana by Ponna, and Ajitanatha Purano by Ranna. The title of Ratnatraya was given to Pampa, Ponna, and Ranna.

       During the 13th century, many literary works were developed in Kannada. Some of them are Harishchandra Kavya and Somanatha Charita by Harishvara, Harivamshabhyudaya and Jiva Sambodhana by Bandhuvarma, Jagannathavijaya by Rudra Bhata, Madana Vijaya by Andayya, and Suktisudharnava by Mallikarjuna. The first Rama Katha in Kannada composed based on Valmiki’s Ramayana named Tarave Ramayana was written by Narahari. Sarvajna’s aphoristic tripadi (three-lined) compositions serve as a source of wisdom and ethics. Honnamma was the first outstanding poetess in Kannada. She wrote Hadibadeya Dharma (Duty of a Devout Wife).

MALAYALAM LITERATURE

       The people of Kerala and the surrounded areas speak Malayalam. The language of Malayalam emerged in the 11th century AD and become an independent language in the 15th century. A commentary on Arthashastra and Kokasandisan are two great works written by Bhasa Kautilya. Rama Panikkar and Ramanuj were two great authors of Kannada literature. Malayalam has a powerful form of expression even though it has emerged lately. People always enjoy writing in their mother tongue. Nowadays, many newspapers and magazines are published in the magazine.

IMPORTANCE OF INTERNSHIP FOR STUDENT

An internship is important because it can present you with new skills and opportunities that you would not receive otherwise. Interns not only gain technical knowledge within the industry of their choice, but they also learn how to interact with professionals in a workplace setting, and develop essential soft skills like time management, organization, adaptability, problem-solving and teamwork.

The main reasons why Internship is important is Tests industry knowledge, Helps you figure out your interests, Creates new interests, Connects you to industry professionals, Allows you to learn in a safe environment, allows you to get paid to learn, Provides possible credit for your college degree, Allows you to potentially gain more internship opportunities, Creates a unique travel experience, Inspires you to learn more about an industry, Teaches you about the importance of work-life balance, Introduces you to office politics.

HERPES SIMPLEX- CAUSES, DIAGNOSIS, SYMPTOMS, TREATMENT

BY- DAKSHITA NAITHANI

INTRODUCTION AND CAUSATIVE AGENT

Herpes is a generic word for a group of viral diseases that cause painful, fluid-filled sores or blisters in and around the mouth or genital area. Also known as herpes simplex, it is of two types:

Genital herpes is a prevalent sexually transmitted disease (STD) characterised by genital blisters and ulcers. Herpes simplex virus type 2 infection is the most common cause of genital herpes (HSV-2). According to the CDC, one out of every six persons aged 14 – 49 faces this condition.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), which is more commonly associated with oral herpes, can also cause genital herpes.

Oral herpes causes tiny cold sores and fever blisters in the mouth, lips, and gums. HSV-1 is the most common cause of oral herpes, however HSV-2 may also be to blame in rare situations.

SYMPTOMS

It’s crucial to remember that an infection might exist even if there are no apparent symptoms. They might potentially spread the infection to others. Blistering sores (in the mouth or on the genitals), discomfort while urinating and itching are some of the symptoms linked with this virus.

Symptoms that are comparable to the flu may also occur. Fever, enlarged lymph nodes, headaches, exhaustion, and a loss of appetite are some of the symptoms. Herpes keratitis is a disease caused by HSV spreading to the eyes. Symptoms include eye discomfort, drainage, and a gritty sensation in the eyes.

DIAGNOSIS

Doctors can diagnose a herpes infection by examining at the skin and/or swabbing the sores for evidence if signs of HSV type 1 or 2 are present. A blood test can assist establish whether or not you have an infection if you don’t have any visible symptoms.

Viral culture: This test entails obtaining a tissue sample or scraping the lesions for analysis.

PCR test: Even if there are no symptoms, a PCR test can determine if someone has genital herpes. In a sample collected from fluids from the urinary system, the PCR test looks for fragments of the virus’s DNA. This is an extremely accurate and widely used test.

Cell culture: During the checkup, the doctor might collect a sample of cells from a sore and examine them under a microscope for HSV.

If the lesions have started to heal or have been infected recently, a cell culture or PCR test may produce a false-negative result.

Blood test: To diagnose a previous herpes infection, this test examines a sample of blood for the presence of antibodies.

Antibodies against a herpes virus are detected in type-specific herpes blood tests, which also determine if the antibodies are against HSV-1 or HSV-2. Type-specific testing is unable to pinpoint the exact location of the infection in the body. Antibodies to any kind of herpes are detected in general herpes blood tests, but they do not indicate for which type the antibodies are present for.

After being infected, it generally takes two weeks for symptoms to develop. If you do not have any lesions that can be tested, it’s a good idea to wait at least a month or two after a possible exposure before obtaining a test. This is due to the fact that the body takes time to produce antibodies that may be detected in the blood, without these antibodies a false-negative test may occur.

TREATMENT

Prescription antiviral medicines may: Aid in the healing of sores following a first outbreak In repeated outbreaks, reduce the severity and duration of symptoms. Recurrence frequency is also reduced. It also reduces the risk of spreading the herpes virus to others.

Antiviral medications used for genital herpes include:

Acyclovir (Zovirax)

Valacyclovir (Valtrex)

INDIA THE COUNTRY OF FESTIVALS

India is a land of festivals and fairs. Virtually celebrating each day of the year, there are more festivals celebrated in India than anywhere else in the world. Each festival pertains to different occasions, some welcome the seasons of the year, the harvest, the rains, or the full moon. Others celebrate religious occasions, the birthdays of divine beings and saints, or the advent of the New Year. A number of these festivals are common to most parts of India. However, they may be called by different names in various parts of the country or may be celebrated in a different fashion. Some of the festivals celebrated all over India are Diwali, Id-ul-Zuha, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Ramnavami, Christmas. India is a multi-cultural country, and it is reflected in the Festivals of India: Festivals of India is about various social, religious, and national festivals celebrated in different parts of India. India has been rightly described as a sub-continent and of its major festivals, many are region-specific festivals too. There are many festivals which are celebrated as national festivals; while a number of them are celebrated by members of particular religious or social groups. India is a land of festivals. These Indian festivals bind all Indians together of different castes, religions, etc there is no discrimination while celebration. When there is no discrimination then it is called INDIA.

PHOTOGRAPHY

What is Photography?

Answering the question, “What is photography?” is kind of like trying to answer the question, “What’s the meaning of life?”

That’s because photography is incredibly complex. It has many facets and types. There are technical aspects to photography as well as creative ones. The manner in which photography is used is even different, often from one person to the next.

Moreover, there is an unlimited variety in the quality of photos. In that regard, trying to explain the difference between an ordinary snapshot and a work of art is a very difficult job. You can tell by looking at two photographs which one is which, but conveying how to get from being an amateur to a pro is not an easy task.

But, you have to start somewhere, so in this guide, I offer a few foundational ideas that will help you answer the question, “What is photography?”

Photography Defined

When trying to quantify what is photography, it’s important to first start with a photography definition.

In layman’s terms, photography is quite simply the process of capturing light with a camera to create an image.

This was done for the first time in 1826, when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took a photo out of his window. The image, shown above, was entitled View from the Window at Le Gras.

In terms of subject matter, the photo isn’t all that impressive. However, as the oldest surviving photograph, it is nonetheless an important part of photography.

As simple as this image is, it demonstrates the technical process of photography perfectly.

To process the image captured by his camera, Niépce used a process of his invention called heliography.

A Brief Timeline of Photography

After Joseph Nicéphore Niépce successfully created the first permanent photograph, there were many other turning points in photography that got us to where we are today.

The Basics of Photography

For all you beginner photographers out there, photography is built on light, and as such, you have to learn how to control it.

There are three camera settings that comprise the very basics of photography, and that each independently control light in a different way. Yet, these three settings are used together to create an exposure.

Sure, you can shoot in full auto mode and let the camera determine the exposure. In many cases, it works okay. But we’re here to learn, right? So, here’s a quick overview of the exposure triangle – aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Types of Photography

Just like there are all sorts of things to learn when you’re studying photography, there are all sorts of types of photography you can explore.

You can learn about the most popular types of photography in our detailed guide, but for our purposes in this article, here’s a quick run-down of some of the possibilities you can try:

* Landscape photography
* Portrait photography
* Wildlife photography
* Travel photography
* Street photography
* Newborn photography
* Macro photography

Again, this isn’t a complete list of the types of photography, but it’ll get you started. And as you explore and learn more about photography, you’ll likely find that the answer to our original question – What is photography? – is much deeper and broader than we’ve covered here.

More than the technical and artistic elements that comprise it, photography is about feelings, emotions, and making connections with people and places.

So, what is photography? It’s an incredibly personal experience, that’s what!

What photography is to me is probably very similar to what it is for you, but at the end of the day, our own experiences, opinions, biases, beliefs, and so forth influence what photography means. That’s part of what makes photography so great; it can bring us together thanks to the power of the lens, yet at the same time, we can enjoy it as a highly personal experience.

“WILL YOU BE MY GIRLFRIEND.”

Hi all,

Today I thought of sharing a, lovely story, “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE MINE” written by Aknier.

It was a glorious,colorful autumn.

We’d just left the coffee shop. When we walked by, she had giggled and pulled me inside, saying, “c’mon, let’s be basic white girls and get some pumpkin spice!”.

I don’t like coffee. I never had. But when she handed me my cup and looked into my eyes while I tried it, it was the best thing I’d ever tasted.

My hand still tingled where she grabbed it.

As we walked through the park with our drinks, a light drizzle began to fall. She pulled out an umbrella from her bag, I pulled up my hood and hunched my shoulders.

Don’t be silly, “giggled, pulling me under the umbrella with her. I couldn’t help out but laugh too, her laugh is infectious.

As the sun started to shine again, she pulled me down to sit on a bench. She beamed down at me, and I could only gaze back adoringly.

“So Ava…” She began. I knew this time of voice, it’s dangerous.

“Who do you like?” She whispered, and I looked away. I wanted to say,
‘ you, you, a thousand times you. You’re the only one I can ever think about. You’re gorgeous and sweet and funny and..’

Instead, I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at my cup.

She looked at me with a cautious smile.
“If I tell you mine, will you tell me yours?”

“Okay.” I said.

“The person I like …is YOU.”

I drop my drink.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while though. I know you’re not interested in me, but I–“
I put my hand over her mouth.

She looks at me in surprise. I take a deep breath.
“Nancy, I -“
My voice catches in my throat.

She removes my hand from her mouth, leans in a tiny bit closer. “What is it?’ she asks, looking concerned.

Because I can’t seem to form the words, I tell her how I feel the only way I can.

Before I can lose my courage, I lean forward, pressing my lips to hers.

I think, ” I can’t believe this is happening.”

Finally getting courage, I grab her hands, pulling her to her feet.
“Nancy, “I say.
“Will you be my girlfriend?”.

She squeals, jumping up and down in that way that I always thought was simply adorable but we never able to tell her.
So I tell her now.
“You’re adorable.”

I’ve never seen Nancy blush before, either, but she does. She pulls me into a hug, and I rest my head on her shoulder.

“So, is that a yes?” I whisper against her skin and she giggles, grabbing my hands and spinning me around.
“Of course that’s a yes, silly!”
She laughs.

“Good.” I say.
“Because now I can do this again.”
Finally I can’t believe she became mine.

Hope so, you enjoyed reading this story.

Have a lovely day.

Keep Smiling ❣️❣️❣️

The link for the above story: https://commaful.com/play/aknier/i-cant-believe-youre-mine/

Search Engine Optimization

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a process of optimizing web pages and sites to get more traffic and make them search engine friendly, thus getting a higher ranking in search results. 

Here are step by step processes if you want your website to rank higher in search engines like google :

  • Find keywords

Keywords are fundamentals to the search process but they should be relevant to the context. Using long-tail keywords is a great strategy. It consists of three to five words and is more specific. They are less competitive than common keywords which tend to attract more traffic to your website.

  • Creating good content

If you want your website to get a good ranking, to get popularity then start creating good and engaging content. One of the reasons why most of the websites don’t get ranking is because the contents don’t get shared or linked to. To get someone to link or share your website, you need to create unique content which

  1. Publish in-depth and engaging content so that the reader gets want he wants to know without getting bored might lead to sharing your content or even gain links.
  2. Adding hooks to your content will help you get more links. It can be anything such as statistics or an interview which can be used to engage your website visitors and guide them to take actions you want them to take next.  

  • Keyword optimize your content

Keyword optimization is to make sure that chosen keywords are effective and map your targeted keywords in a few important places on your page. This will help search engines to understand better what your page is all about the targeted terms. You should decide where to use each keyword depending on the content of each page on the site. Key areas on your website are the title tag, image alt text, H1 heading, H2 and H3 subheaders, and so on. Using LSI keywords will help search engines to know what your content is about. LSI keywords are terms closely related to the keywords you are targeting.

  • Optimize your content for users

To boost your website rank higher in the search engine you have to optimize your content such that the user remains engaged with the content for a longer period otherwise they will leave your page and will eventually lead to a lower rank in the search engine. 

Structure your content by giving a short introduction about what the topic is all about. This will grab the reader’s attention and then start with the topics covered in the post. Add come relevant images to make your website look clean and easy to read.

  • Build backlinks

Backlinks help to promote your site just by being hyperlinks to you from another source. Search engines aggregate the volume and relevance of all of the pages linking to your site which impacts your page rank.

There are many ways to build backlinks and one of them is broken link building. When a site has been taken down entirely, existing backlinks on the other site will result in a 404 error. These are called broken links. Find resource page and check for broken links and this is done by using a browser extension like Check My Links. Broken links will be highlighted in red, making them easy for us to find at a glance. Find a good replacement on your site and send the resource site owner an email asking him to swap the dead link for a link to your content.

There are too many websites that are clustered with the same stock photos. The more original images you will put on your website, the better experience for the user and the better your odds are of ranking on search engines.

IMPORTANCE OF HAVING HOBBIES

Having hobbies is not just a fun past time but it can be very beneficial for personal growth . Here are reasons why developing and inculcating hobbies is good for you ,

MITIGATES STRESS – Life can be pretty stressful and challenging and dealing with stress can be overwhelming , but having a hobby can help you with that . Having a hobby can help you uncoil your stress and channelise it in a healthy way .

EXTRA INCOME – You can monetise your hobbies to earn extra income . It is not a compulsion though , but it is a great form of a passive income .

BENEFICIAL FOR MENTAL HEALTH – If you practice your hobbies it can help in producing chemical reactions that can be beneficial for your mental health . It also helps in improving your self esteem .

KEEPS YOU ACTIVE AND FIT – Having a hobby actually helps you in being fit and active as you are constantly keeping your brain active .

IMPROVES CAREER – Having hobbies helps you in improving your skills that can in turn for your job and career .

15 Hacks To Prepare For Exams

1.Read Loudly Instead of Simply Reading:

Although this may make you look a little crazy, give it a go! You will be surprised how much more you can remember when you’ve said it out loud. 

2.Creative Mental Associations:

The ability to make connections is not only an easier way to remember information, but it’s the fuel of creativity and intelligence. f Steve Jobs famously said “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something”.

3. Mind Maps:

Mind maps are an easy way to connect ideas by creating a visual overview of different connections.

4.Walk Before an Exam:

It’s been proven that exercise can boost your memory and brain power. Research conducted by Dr. Chuck Hillman of the University of Illinois provides evidence that about 20 minutes’ exercise before an exam can improve performance.

5.Draw Diagrams:

Drawing diagrams will help you to visualize information which would be hard to describe. This creates a visual memory in your mind which can be recalled in an exam.

6.Watch a Documentary on the Topic:

Documentaries are an entertaining way of compacting an entire story into a short timeframe. This will help you remember key details from a story plus you may even get extra credit for mentioning that you took the initiative and watched a film about the topic.

7.Google It like a Pro:

Save time when researching sources online by mastering the biggest search engine in the world; Google.

8.Take Study Breaks:

When your brain is working, you need to take regular study breaks to help your brain absorb more information but also to keep you motivated and focused when you are working. Take a short break after 45-50 minutes’ study as your focus and concentration will become impaired after this period, anything new after 1 hour 30 minutes does not get assimilated.

9.Meditation:

Meditation is one of the study methods that can help students stay focused when studying. Not only will meditation help you concentrate when studying but it will help reduce pre-exam stress as it improves both mental and physical health.

10.Make Your Study Space Portable:

We may be creatures of habit with favorite seats in the library but information retention actually improves when you vary the places where you study.

11.Practice, Practice, Practice:

Practice makes you perfect. Practicing sample answers to past exam questions can help train your brain to retrieve information. Create realistic, exam-like condition and test your understanding.

12.Don’t Stay Up All Night Before an Exam:

Make sure to get adequate rest the nights leading up to your exams. When you sleep, your brain assimilates the information you have learned when studying so getting a good night’s sleep will help you remember.

13.Discover News Ways to Learn:

Trying new study methods can help you find what really works for you. Use technology to your advantage by watching educational TED Talks or downloading useful dictionary applications.

14.Group study:

Studying in a group can help you collect new insights to enhance your learning experience. Our Groups study helps you share resources, discuss ideas and interact with members of your team or group project. 

15.Use Scents or Gum to Jog Your Memory:

This may seem a bit random but spraying an unfamiliar scent while you’re studying is one of the study methods that can help jog your memory when you spray it again just before an exam. Chewing a strange kind of gum will work the same way.

DIVE INTO DIGITAL WORLD TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Market and marketing these two words revolve around in our daily life. A product without marketing is nothing. From a needle to an airplane everything needs marketing. As we all know, consumers and the market are directly proportional to each other. Both are dependent upon each other. Digital marketing is a far better thing than traditional marketing such as magazine ads, television, direct mail, and billboards. Now in the 21st century, everything is online and connected to the digital world. In recent times, digital marketing is an essential platform to establish any product or anything in front of consumers. Through this platform, you can reach more global customers.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is also known as online marketing. It is a path of promoting brands or products to connect with valuable customers using the internet or any kind of digital media like the computer, mobile, or tablet. In simple words, the marketing which performs on a digital platform is called digital marketing. Mobile, internet, email, and social media are the mediums where digital communication takes place. So, we can say the digital strategy helps to reach customers in a timely, relevant, and cost-effective manner.

Types of digital marketing

There are many ways to promote your brands and product online. Below, we are discussing the many different ways of digital marketing.

1.Social Media Marketing

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, and Youtube are the most popular social media marketing platform. In those platforms, the customers are always active. It is a trouble-free way to attract consumers. Social media marketing helps to know how well you connected with your consumers through the built-in engagement metrics. Many brands use social media marketing to communicate with audiences. The number of shares, comments, likes or total clicks to your website is the measuring factor of social media marketing. Social media marketing not only attracts consumers also creates brand awareness through online discussion.

2.Affiliate Marketing 

By promoting another person’s business is the prime thing in affiliate marketing. You can earn money in this way. It is a revenue share model. You get a commission whenever a customer buys something that you will promote for that merchant. In every single item sale, you earn money according to this.

3.Search Engine Optimization

SEO is a marketing tool that helps to optimize the web page. Optimizing the web pages is based on some key points.

  • Level of user engagement
  • Mobile-friendliness
  • Number and quality of inbound links
  • Quality content

SEO helps for ranking a web page on Google. It’s a non-predictable thing that you are never 100 percent sure about your web page ranking. It’s due to the frequent changes of the algorithm by Google. You have to work on your website accordingly.

4.Content Marketing

Valuable, creative, and relevant content are the prime things to a target audience.SEO played a vital role in content marketing. We read about the product like its origin, its features, its price, its merits, and many more. When a consumer buys a product, they are willing to know the details. In traditional marketing, some salespersons are there to describe that product or brand. But in content marketing, content is the vital thing between the consumer and the product. If the content is not genuine and well written, then the customer may not buy that product.

According to a survey 

  • 92% of marketers think content is an important asset for their company
  • 62% company have 5000 content writers for publishing the content daily
  • 84% audience expect helpful and relevant content from the company on online platform before purchase 

Innovative and unique content can rank high your website on the Google platform.

5.Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is applied to automate sales to increase revenue and maximize efficiency. Frequently it is used by marketing and sales departments. It also helps to automate online marketing campaigns. It has the power to accelerate sales by 14.5% and can also lower marketing overhead by 12.2%. By selecting the appropriate automation software, you can automate digital marketing.

6.Pay-per-Click Marketing

It’s a complex process when and how people see your ad. Search Engine Results Page fills the spot based on what is necessarily an immediate auction. It is an internet advertising model used for manages traffic to websites. In this marketing, when a user clicks on online ads, advertisers pay for that. An algorithm is used for ranking the ads based on certain aspects.

  • Bid amount
  • Ad quality
  • Keyword relevance
  • Landing page quality

Usually, businesses should pay $1 to $2 per click. By research, a small or medium-size industry spends approximately $108,000 to $120,000 per year. The competitive market is the main thing for the expensive cost of Google’s PPC advertising program.

7.Native Advertising

The sponsored posts on the news website are the best example of native advertising. Its other name is sponsored content. Native ads are listed as digital ads. The message podcast and GE, Taco Bell and Snap chat, Patron Tequila, and Twitter are examples of native advertising.

Sleep Deprivation

Sleep is an important body function required for mental and physical well-being. The amount of sleep required changes with age in an inverse manner. For example, an infant may sleep up to 18-20 hours, whereas someone more than 80 years may need only a few hours of sleep. Lack of recommended 7 to 8 hours (for an adult).

  • The long-term effects of sleep deprivation can drain mental abilities and affect physical health, varying from weight gain to a weakened immune system. Long-term sleep deprivation also increases the risk for chronic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, stroke, and heart disease.
  • Lack of sleep affects the two types of hormones one is leptin and the other is ghrelin. Talking about Leptin which tells the brain that you’ve had enough to eat. Due to not getting proper sleep your brain reduces leptin and raises ghrelin, which is an appetite stimulant.
  • It is also found that sleep deprivation can lowers the body’s tolerance for glucose and is associated with insulin resistance, which can control feelings of hunger and fullness. Also, these disruptions can lead to diabetes mellitus and obesity.

Causes of sleep deprivation:

  • Disturbances in physical or mental health can cause sleep problems. Also, unsuitable bedroom environments like the extremes of temperature, noise level, or improper lighting can contribute to sleep deprivation.
  • Drinking an excessive amount of caffeine, stimulant medication, smoking and alcohol can adversely impact sleep.
  • Certain mental health conditions like anxiety disorder, depression, substance misuse can cause insomnia.
  • A night-time breathing disorder called obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) can interrupt sleep and lower the quality of sleep. It is a common condition mainly seen in obese people. Common symptom is of loud snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness.

Consequences of Sleep Deprivation:

The effects of sleep deprivation and sleep deficiency can be serious and far-reaching.

  • Diabetes: Insufficient sleep appears to affect the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, increasing the risk of metabolic conditions like diabetes.
  • Obesity: Research has found that people tend to consume more calories and carbohydrates. when they don’t get enough sleep, which is just one of several ways that poor sleep may be tied to obesity and problems maintaining a healthy weight. 
  • Immunodeficiency: Sleep deficiency has been shown to lead to worsened immune function, including a poorer response to vaccines.
  • Mental health disorders: Sleep and mental health are closely intertwined, and poor sleep has strong assoiations with conditions like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

Symptoms and signs:

  • irritability, lack of concentration
  • daytime fatigue
  • increased accidents
  • excessive daytime sleepiness
  • frequent yawning

Treatment:

The asleep study is a useful diagnostic tool performed at home to aid the exact cause of sleep problems. The treatment will depend on the cause. Sleep hygiene is an important aspect of the treatment and most of these are simple, yet very effective self-help measures.

  • Maintain bedtime routine by sleeping and waking at the same time
  • Ensure that the room environment is conducive to sleep
  • Stick to your bedtime routine during weekends and holidays
  • Avoid daytime naps
  • Say no to caffeine past 4 pm
  • Avoiding heavy meals within a few hours before bedtime
  • Avoid using electronic devices at least 2 hours before bedtime
  • Exercise regularly, but not 3 hours before bedtime
  • Reduce alcohol intake

If the above measures fail to improve the sleep problem, then a combination of psychological counselling using cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and a short course of medication is recommended. The choice of medication will depend on the underlying cause of sleep deprivation. Long-term sleeping pills or sedatives have a negative impact on sleep which may lead to further mental health complications.

CANCER

WHAT IS CANCER?

The abnormal growth of cells anywhere in the body causes cancer. These cells are called cancer cells. These cells destroy the normal tissues in the body. Normal body cells grow, divide and die in an orderly way whereas cancer cells continue to grow and divide in a disorderly fashion and these cells do not die. These cells form a tumor. But, not all cancer cells form tumors. Cancer can occur at any age but 67% of cancer deaths occur in people who are 65 years. There are two types of tumors. Malignant tumors and benign tumors. Malignant tumors spread to other parts of the body at a rapid speed. It spreads to other parts through the bloodstream and lymphatic system. Whereas benign tumors stay in one place and start to grow slowly and expand in the same tissue. Although cancer is common, 5-10% of it can be hereditary, i.e they are inherited from their parents. The inherited cells undergo mutation and cause cancer.

CAUSES OF CANCER:

There are several causes of cancer. The substance that causes cancer is known as a carcinogen. This carcinogen affects the normal growth of cells.

Lifestyle factors: Smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs high fat-diet, and working with some toxic chemicals are the risk factors that may cause cancer in adults.

Inheritance: Cancer cells can also be inherited from our past generation to the present generation in some cases. It may be caused by a genetic mutation, exposure to chemicals in the living residence, or a combination of these factors. 

Genetic disorders: Some syndromes like Wiskott-Aldrich and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndromes are responsible for altering the immune system. The immune system helps to fight back against diseases and infections. Sometimes the stem cells in the bone marrow become damaged and when they reproduce, it results in the growth of cancer cells. The stem cells are damaged by some inherited genetic defects.

Environmental exposure: The use of pesticides and fertilizers in the growth of food plants have a direct link to childhood cancers. There is also evidence of cancer occurring in a child who lives in a polluted environment.

 TYPES OF CANCER:

Cancers are classified into four types based on where it is found.

  1. Carcinomas: This type of cancer appears in the epithelial tissues of the skin or some inner tissues of the internal organs. Carcinomas may spread to other parts of the body or it may develop in the same tissues where it was provided. The risk of carcinoma increases with age, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, exposure to ultraviolet rays. Examples of carcinomas include breast cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer.
  2. Sarcomas: Sarcomas appears in the tissues that support and connect the body. Sarcomas can develop in fat, joints, blood vessels, muscles, nerves, lymph vessels, bones, cartilages. Example: Bone cancer (osteosarcoma), liposarcoma in fat, and rhabdomyosarcoma in muscles. Sarcoma occurs in both children and adults.
  3. Leukemia: Cancer that occurs in the blood is known as leukemia. Leukemia involves white blood cells (WBCs). WBCs are responsible for fighting against infection and diseases. Normally they grow in an orderly fashion. But in the case of leukemia, the bone marrow produces more amount of WBCs, and those cells do not function properly. Example: Blood cancer.
  4. Lymphomas: It begins from the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system consists of vessels and glands that help in fighting against infection. The most common types of lymphomas are Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

TREATMENT:

Some of the cancers will have only one treatment. But most of the cancers have combinations of treatment such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery.

Chemotherapy: In this treatment, drugs are used to kill the cancer cells. The disadvantage is that it may also affect the normal cells and bone marrow and causes loss of hair and loss of weight and it reduces the immune responses.

Radiotherapy: In this treatment, high-energy rays are used to kill the cancer cells. These rays stop the growth and division of cancer cells. Some of the side effects are skin rashes, lowers WBCS count, and loss of appetite.

Surgery: In this treatment, the person has to undergo the surgery to remove the entire mass of cancer cells i.e, tumors in a particular area. In some cases, the only way to know if the person has cancer or what kind of cancer he has is by removing small tissue from the tumor and testing it.  

PREVENTION:

  • Always eat healthy foods. 
  • Consume more vegetables and fruits. 
  • Exercise regularly to keep your body fit and free from diseases. 
  • Don’t smoke and don’t drink alcohol. 
  • Minimize your exposure to harmful rays and chemicals. 
  • Avoid usage of tobacco. Reduce your exposure to the sun.
  • Consume nuts reduces the risk of cancer

We should follow preventive measures to avoid cancer. If already cancer has occurred, one has to undergo proper treatment.

Under Taliban, Afghanistan is the location of worldwide jihad

India because of its geological area, local foes, vote based nation and culture will confront expanded radicalisation and will be the ideal objective of fear alongside the US, Europe and Australia.

US President Joe Biden has waded into controversy with dread when he asserted job well done in his August 20 discourse subsequent to assuming praise for the obliteration of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and 2011 balance of Osama canister Laden in Pakistan. The pusillanimous retreat of the US powers from Afghanistan, abandoning the two weapons and men, is out and out a servile acquiescence on account of shalwar-kameez-shoe wearing AK-47 rifle-hauling Sunni Islamic local army. The tragic part is that the Taliban didn’t convey a take out punch, the US powers just decided to flee from the war zone. The deficiency of the US validity all around the world on the guidance of its second-division partner UK with the Pakistan armed force, of the multitude of individuals, going about as a merchant in the awful arrangement with the Taliban, will work out in the coming decade with blameless people addressing the cost of fear.

While al Qaeda might not have the hierarchical design of the earlier decade in Afghanistan, the Salafi association with its philosophical sibling, Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan, is particularly alive in the Af-Pak locale. So is the Islamic State of Khorasan Province. The Taliban alongside Haqqani Network and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) share a similar Deobandi philosophical stage, which gets enlivened from Wahhabism. Also, the point of every one of these young men, as the hallucinating UK head of protection staff Nick Carter characterized the Taliban, is the foundation of the Islamic Caliphate and worldwide jihad.

With the Taliban presently involving 652,000 square kilometers of Afghanistan Emirates an area notwithstanding Panjshir Valley, the worldwide jihad currently has a location in Kandahar with a display area in Kabul. This second is much the same as the Islamic State catching Mosul in Iraq in 2014 and the world particularly the Yazidis Shias actually have bad dreams of those fierce days.

While the US might have washed its hands off playing the worldwide cop and offered need to sexual orientation legislative issues, Afghanistan under the Taliban will be the signal of jihad and will turn into the electrifying power for other firearm carrying non-state entertainers to take on their administrations especially in Africa and Asia. A feeble Taliban might drive duplicate the clout of its tutor Pakistan yet a solid Taliban will press for Pashtun rights far past the Durand Line and destabilize Islamabad. A comparative gradually expanding influence will likewise be found in the Middle East with increment Islamic radicalisation from one side of the planet to the other.

Despite the fact that the US and the UK accept the Taliban account that they won’t trade fear to a third country for acknowledgment and assets, Afghanistan will turn into the new dread industrial facility with in excess of 40 dread gatherings in Pakistan sending their framework for graduation with best in class US weapons, specialized gadgets, robots and helicopters. With Baloch agitators and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan previously focusing on the Chinese specialists chipping away at the CPEC project, there is no Xinjiang protection strategy for Beijing as well. Shia Iran will be protected till such time it makes a move with the Taliban and permits entry to Sunni jihadists as it did previously. As Islamic gatherings are known to go through transformation, it is very clear that new psychological militant gatherings, replacements of Harkat-ul-Ansar and HUJI during the 1990s, will bring forth from Afghanistan under the watch of the Taliban. India by its topographical area, territorial enemies, vote based nation, and culture will be the initial ones to get hit. The world has abruptly lost craving for Rambo and US Seal Hollywood films.

Anger

See the source image

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

– Buddha

Introduction

Anger refers to a feeling of annoyance, vexation, or hostility that sprouts due to some apparent provocation. Anger is actually one of the elemental feelings that a human being experiences. According to Psychology Today, “Anger is one of the basic human emotions, as elemental as happiness, sadness, anxiety, or disgust.”

Image result for anger cartoon

Further,” Anger too easily or frequently mobilized can undermine relationships or damage physical health in the long term. Prolonged release of the stress hormones that accompany anger can destroy neurons in areas of the brain associated with judgment and short-term memory, and weaken the immune system.”

Image result for anger health effwcts cartoon

Anger can obviously have series of serious ramifications. Uncontrolled outbursts can affect the overall well being of an individual seriously, including physically, mentally and socially.

Anger can be a serious character flaw on part an individual, reflecting upon a person’s personality.

Image result for angey personality cartoon

Anger may be chronic or fleeting. People with chronic anger obviously require thorough medical intervention but people who suffer anger outbursts in bouts also need proper consultation and treatment to overcome it.

Although, anger is an elemental emotion and very common in people, frequent and severe outbursts or chronic anger symptoms are obvious causes for concern.

Anger has various ramifications and effects on the body.

Health Effects of Anger

System/ FunctionResponse of the bodyLong term effects
Circulatory systemIncreases constriction rate and outputHardening of arteries, elevated blood pressure, heart damage
Digestive systemDecreases digestionUlcers and cancer
Endocrine systemRelease of norepinephrine, cortisol and adrenalineDamage to liver, kidneys, adrenal glands
Immune systemsuppressedLower protection from cancer and infections
EnergyIncreased release of glucose/ fat into the bloodDamage to artery walls, liver and kidneys
Nervous systemChanges in focus, attention Anxiety, depression

Causes of Anger

Anger can be triggered due to different causes in different individuals. Usually a series of internal and external factors play out together to cause an anger outburst. Provocations lead to angry thoughts and angry actions which burst forth in a fierce manner of ‘rage’.

Some common provocative triggers are:

Internal or External events (triggering):

Some events bring forth a huge outpour of anger. Such events are associated with some sort of trigger that provokes a person’s mind.

See the source image

These events could be simple everyday events and people in your life. You could be angry at a co- worker or miss a flight or a traffic jam can bring your blood to boil. These might even seem unreasonable or petty to other people but are a huge bottleneck towards your social well being.

Incomplete Goals:

Since humans have different and numerous goals, and desires and work in different capacities to fulfil them, prevention or incomplete attaining of goals can be a significant external trigger for some people. The anger and loathing borne of incomplete goals and desires could last a very very long period of time and can dampen an individual’s future accomplishments.

Past Hurts and Guilts:

See the source image

Overthinking over past heartaches and mistakes can be an active trigger for anxiety as well as anger. Traumatic events leave behind indelible scars that have to be tended throughout life. Anger, in such cases, is a means of expressing what breaks one on the inside.

Demands and Expectations:

See the source image

Unreasonable or sometimes even reasonable expectations leave our brain in a jumbled mess. Dealing with burdens of expectation can be hard. Sometimes, meeting even the everyday demands and expectations that are required of us leave us simmering, this may lead to an outburst.

Physical and Mental attacks:

Physical and mental derogatory jibes may one of the most common trigger for anger, Getting angry in face of such a situation, for once, is perhaps even justified. Humans are beings of sentiments, anger is one of the most pronounced sentiment. Undue hate or disrespect may lead to seething anger.

Anger Management

It is extremely important to seek professional help for uncontrolled anger. According to Mayo Clinic anger management involves:

1. Think before you speak

2. Once you’re calm, express your anger

See the source image

3. Get some exercise

Image result for Get some exercisecartoon

4. Take a timeout

5. Identify possible solutions

6. Stick with ‘I’ statements

Image result for  happy cartoon Image

7. Don’t hold a grudge

Image result for Don't hold a grudge cartoon Image

8. Use humor to release tension

Image result for  Use humor to release tension

9. Practice relaxation skills

Image result for  Practice relaxation skills cratoon

10. Know when to seek help

citation(s): https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/anger-management/art-20045434

Don’t know what to gift your bookish friend?

Question of the Day – Are you ready for Monday? How was your week?

“Books are uniquely portable magic.”

Special occasions are named special as it means something to us, makes us happy, and feel blessed. On such special occasions, we gift our close ones to show our love. Who doesn’t love gifts!?

“There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate.”

Gifts make us burst in joy. When gifted we feel important, valued, remembered and happy. It strengthens the bond between people. Here is a list of items that can make a bookworm the happiest

  • Books! Of course, you can gift books any day, anytime. Books are the top best gift for booklovers. You must know their favourite genre, author and their book collection. If not, I have a backup plan. You can gift them the below items.
  • MUGS AND CUPS
GLASS MASON JAR.

Mason jars can be used for domestic purposes too. They are used to drink hot water, juices, smoothies, and milkshakes. If you feel the toxic elements in plastics are dangerous in the long run, you can choose mason jars.

CHECK IT OUT!

COFFEE MUG

Most readers love to have a hot beverage while reading. There are super cute, adorable mugs on various platforms. Mugs are affordable and often used.

CHECK IT OUT!

  • KINDLE
AMAZON KINDLE

I have posted an article about kindles, do check it out for more information. You can gift them either a kindle device or pay for a kindle unlimited subscription. Kindles are a travel-friendly e-reader.

ARTICLE ABOUT KINDLE

CHECK IT OUT!

  • STATIONERY PRODUCTS
ECO-FRIENDLY STATIONERY

The pencils are made of recycled paper. They are special as it contains seed to plant. The notepad is made of handmade paper. We can bring a smile to their face and protect our environment.

CHECK IT OUT!

  • BOOKSHELF
BOOKSHELF

As per your friend’s book collection, you can get them a bookshelf. They are spacious and large. Most of the book lovers dreams are to get a huge bookshelf and turn our home into a library.

CHECK IT OUT!

  • BOOK SLEEVE
BOOKSLEEVE

While travelling readers use to carry books with them. Just in case, we need an escape from reality. Book sleeves are used to avoid book damages. They protect the book’s edges from creasing. Book sleeves have pretty prints on them which makes them look elegant. Some sleeves are made of gorgeous printed cloths.

CHECK IT OUT!

BOOK SLEEVE BY READINGOWLCREATION (IG)

CLOTH BOOK SLEEVES

  • BOOK STAMP
STAMPSTUDIO.CO (IG)

Why not make our books personalized? Book stamps are the best way to personalise books. They can be customised, affordable and adorable. Stamp studio. co is one of the Instagram pages which sells customizable stamps.

CHECK IT OUT!

  • CANDLES
CANDLES FROM CANDLESINDIA.IN

On Instagram, we can find plenty of pages that sell candles. One such page is Candlesindia.in, they are organic and exquisite.

CHECK IT OUT!

  • POSTERS
RADHOUSE POSTERS (IG)

How many of us have read a book just for the cover? There are stunning covers of books a reader would like to keep close. These cute little posters can be a great decor piece. Rad house posters is an Instagram page that helps us decorate our dream reading corner by selling these posters. They are customizable!

CHECK IT OUT!

Now, go get your reader-friend a cute gift for their special days. I believe then they would love you a little extra. Let me know in the comments you’re favourite bookish merchandise.

Disclaimer – Picture credits go to the respective owners.

Source – Amazon and Instagram.

Thank you!

Things to do when you are bored

There are times when you feel like doing nothing. You just want to sit there and stare at the wall. It feels like the time stopped flying. When you encounter such situations where you literally have nothing to do but you want to actually do something, there are certain things you can try to pass the time. I will give some ideas on how you can utilize that time to spend it in a better way.

Journaling

Journaling is the act of writing about you or anything you like. It is used to express your thoughts or get your negative thoughts out on a diary. Journaling is a habit that we will pick up at some point in our life. I would say it is a great practice that one should do whenever they get time. It helps you clear your mind, a piece of paper will act as your friend to whom you can express everything, pour everything and clear your mind. If you are stuck without knowing what to do, go and take a notebook or paper and start writing about your life or about how you feel at the moment. Writing organizes your thoughts and paves way to new thoughts in your mind.

Plan/organize

You ever think that you don’t have time to organize your work or plan your schedule beforehand? This free time is what will help you with your plan. Whenever you find yourself bored, make a todo list and plan your schedule. Plan the next day and organize your work. This is a great use of time and you are also being ready for your upcoming works.

Learn something new

Learning or picking up a new habit when you are free is going to help you for a long time. It can be very small thing or it can be a long time thing to do whenever you are bored. Learning language will make you exercise your brain. Your knowledge in language expands, which will help you somewhere in future. Apps like Duolingo works best for learning short phrases and words. It will also help you pass time without getting bored.

One more tip I would give is that when you are busy and something pops in your head. Let’s say you are watching a series and you want to know the meaning of some word or phrase, quickly note it in a paper or mobile notes. You can utilize this free time to go through that work. It can be anything little that you postpone to do later, you simply note it down and do it when you are free.

Workout

What could be the best time to start working out than when you are extremely bored and looking for doing something interesting. Grab this time to start your workout and make it a habit. It is a really healthy habit and you are not wasting any time there.

Explore

Explore your hobbies. There may be hobbies that you left at some point of your life and you may want to pick it up. Start exploring your interests and start doing them when you are free. They are like helping hands when you are bored. Start exploring new things too and pick up new habits.

Conclusion

This is a simple article to give you ideas on the opportunities that are around you to learn because it is never over, we keep learning every single day. Using our time to do something useful gives immense happiness because of the fact that we are not simply sitting. Being productive every single day is a key to happiness and feeling good about yourself.

Future of EV in India

With the advent of Ola Electric scooter which has garnered over 1 lakh registrations in just one day ,makes us ponder upon of the most important questions – Has the change from fossil fuels to electric vehicles begun in India or is it just a fluke?

EV or electric vehicles are gaining popularity and market share everyday. Companies such as Tesla are now one of the largest automobile companies in the world. The west has started to shift to EV at a faster pace with some European countries having highest per capita EVs. But has the time come for India too? Granted EVs have their own set of problems which can be anything from range to charge time but with petrol prices touching Rs 110/L one can easily forgo the charge time.

EV industry is looking towards a brighter future in India as many Indian companies such as Tata Motors have launched their own vehicles and have received amazing sales. The global giant Tesla will soon be arriving in India as well with its most popular Model 3. But are only cars enough? India needs to do more. What India can triumph at is the electric two-wheeler industry as two-wheelers are still one the most popular means of travel in India and one of the major contributors to air pollution in our country.

India being one the most polluted countries need to change its outlook and start taking matters of vehicle pollution seriously. With 2/3rd of air pollution being done by two-wheelers , a shift in EVs can bring this down dramatically. This is when companies like Ather Energy ,Ola Electric ,Bajaj and TVS are coming into play with each company producing its own two-wheeler EV with Ola receiving more than 1 lakh registrations for its EV.

EV infrastructure- Infrastructure is one the most important aspects when we talk about growth of EVs as charging stations are not a common thing in India but are crucial to EVs. Without them one can say goodbye to long distance travels as EVs need to be charged before their battery runs out and you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. We are making progress in this arena with govt. giving various incentives for charging stations and we are seeing emergence of various networks such as Ola Hypercharging stations for its two-wheeler market.

Last but not the least EVs are still very expensive even after being in the market for so many years. Just for instance the cheapest Tesla car , the Model 3 is expected to be priced around Rs 60 lakhs in India making it still unaffordable for most people. Same thing can be said about the two-wheelers with EVs being about twice as expensive as their gas counterparts.

But there is always a silver-lining that despite huge prices EVs are picking up in India , slowly but constantly and with more and more competition we can surely say that EVs have a bright future and we are on the right path.

Raksha Bandhan: The Power of a Thread.

by Yogiraj Sadaphal

“The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend”

– Cali Rae Turner.

Raksha Bandhan is not just a festival to tie a Rakhi on a brother’s hand, it is bond to show love between a Brother and a Sister & a Promise to be with her at any circumstances in life.

History:

The history of Raksha Bandhan dates back to Hindu mythology. The origins of Raksha Bandhan can be traced back to the day Lord Krishna wounded his finger with the Sudarshan Chakra. Draupadi, the Pandavas’ wife, was in terrible pain when she saw him in distress, so she tore a piece of her vastra and tied it to Lord Krishna’s bleeding finger to relieve his pain and stop the blood from flowing. Lord Krishna was extremely touched by her gesture and promised to protect her from all the world’s evils in exchange. He called it the Raksha Sutra and, as we all know, when the Kauravas attempted to disrobe her in court, Lord Krishna blessed his sister and ensured that the sari she was wearing grew limitless in length. As he had promised, her brother saved her from the evils in this manner.

Importance:

The festival’s significance can be understood from the fact that it deepens the bond between a brother and sister, which is a defining characteristic of Indian civilization. It is reported that queens used to gift Rakhi to their neighbors as a symbol of brotherhood in ancient times.

The significance of this event is so high that the postal service provides low-cost special envelopes in which Rakhis can be sent even farther brothers. Special trains are run by Indian Railways to commemorate the significance of this celebration.

Even though tying a Rakhi only takes a few minutes, the preparations are done weeks in advance. Sisters select unique Rakhis for their brothers well in advance of the event. In any case, a brother gets to reach his sister in time for the moment when his sister will tie the “holy thread” with an empty stomach.

Every member of the family gets up early to participate in the morning routines. For the pooja ritual, a special thali is prepared, which is elegantly decorated with ‘roli,’ rice grains, ‘diya,’ sweets, and rakhis. This festival also emphasizes the value of siblings growing up together.

Celebration in India:

A girl or a woman applies a tilak on her brother’s forehead and ties a rakhi around his wrist in a ritual that reaffirms her brother’s bond and support. She receives a present from her brother and entrusts them with the task of looking after her.

The roles can be reversed in a modern interpretation of this rite. For a day, the focus turns away from the religious side and toward a more playful sharing of presents as well as a mutual understanding of love!

If a child does not have an older brother, rakhis are occasionally attached to friends and distant relatives, especially in the case of single children. The essence of the rakhi remains the same, regardless of how it is carried out: it is related to someone who has been kind and nurturing towards you, constantly looking out for you; gender and relationships are secondary.

Mermaids.

In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.

In ancient Assyria, the goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame for accidentally killing her human lover. Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings. In other folk traditions (or sometimes within the same traditions), they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans.

The male equivalent of the mermaid is the merman, also a familiar figure in folklore and heraldry. Although traditions about and sightings of mermen are less common than those of mermaids, they are generally assumed to co-exist with their female counterparts. The male and the female collectively are sometimes referred to as merfolk or merpeople.The conception of mermaids in the West may have been influenced by the Sirens of Greek mythology, which were originally half-birdlike, but came to be pictured as half-fishlike in the Christian era. Historical accounts of mermaids, such as those reported by Christopher Columbus during his exploration of the Caribbean, may have been sightings of manatees or similar aquatic mammals. While there is no evidence that mermaids exist outside folklore, reports of mermaid sightings continue to the present day.Mermaids have been a popular subject of art and literature in recent centuries, such as in Hans Christian Andersen’s literary fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” (1836). They have subsequently been depicted in operas, paintings, books, comics, animation, and live action films.

How are mermaids born..?

Mermaids would most likely have babies not by laying eggs, but by life-bearing them in the ocean similar to dolphins. This means mermaids would carry their babies in their wombs for 9-12 months and then give birth to them from the bottom side of their tails.

what is the legend of mermaids..?

Mermaids are mythological creatures, appearing in folklore across the globe for thousands of years. One of the oldest and most well-known myths comes from Ancient Greece. A popular legend claimed that Alexander the Great’s sister, Thessalonike, turned into a mermaid upon her death and lived in the

Who was the first person to see a mermaid..?

On this day in 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, sailing near the Dominican Republic, sees three “mermaids”–in reality manatees–and describes them as “not half as beautiful as they are painted.” Six months earlier, Columbus (1451-1506) set off from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean with the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, hoping to find a western trade route to Asia. Instead, his voyage, the first of four he would make, led him to the Americas, or “New World.” Mermaids, mythical half-female, half-fish creatures, have existed in seafaring cultures at least since the time of the ancient Greeks. Typically depicted as having a woman’s head and torso, a fishtail instead of legs and holding a mirror and comb, mermaids live in the ocean and, according to some legends, can take on a human shape and marry mortal men. Mermaids are closely linked to sirens, another folkloric figure, part-woman, part-bird, who live on islands and sing seductive songs to lure sailors to their deaths. Mermaid sightings by sailors, when they weren’t made up, were most likely manatees, dugongs or Steller’s sea cows (which became extinct by the 1760s due to over-hunting). Manatees are slow-moving aquatic mammals with human-like eyes, bulbous faces and paddle-like tails. It is likely that manatees evolved from an ancestor they share with the elephant. The three species of manatee (West Indian, West African and Amazonian) and one species of dugong belong to the Sirenia order. As adults, they’re typically 10 to 12 feet long and weigh 800 to 1,200 pounds. They’re plant-eaters, have a slow metabolism and can only survive in warm water. Manatees live an average of 50 to 60 years in the wild and have no natural predators. However, they are an endangered species.

DEEP LEARNING SERIES- PART 10

This is the last article in this series. This article is about another pre-trained CNN known as the ResNet along with an output visualization parameter known as the confusion matrix.

ResNet

This is also known as a residual network. It has three variations 51,101,151. They used a simple technique to achieve this high number of layers.

Credit – Xiaozhu0429/ Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

The problem in using many layers is that the input information gets changed in accordance with each layer and subsequently, the information will become completely morphed. So to prevent this, the input information is sent in again like a recurrent for every two steps so that the layers don’t forget the original information. Using this simple technique they achieved about 100+ layers.

ResNet these are the three fundamentals used throughout the network.

  (conv1): Conv2d (3, 64, kernel_size= (7, 7), stride= (2, 2), padding= (3, 3))

  (relu): ReLU

  (maxpool): MaxPool2d(kernel_size=3, stride=2, padding=1)

These are the layers found within a single bottleneck of the ResNet.

    (0): Bottleneck

  1    (conv1): Conv2d(64, 64, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

  2    (conv2): Conv2d(64, 64, kernel_size=(3, 3), stride=(1, 1), padding=(1, 1))     

  3    (conv3): Conv2d(64, 256, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))    

      (relu): ReLU(inplace=True)

   Down sampling   

   Conv2d(64, 256, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

    (1): Bottleneck

  4    (conv1): Conv2d(256, 64, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

  5    (conv2): Conv2d(64, 64, kernel_size=(3, 3), stride=(1, 1), padding=(1, 1))     

  6   (conv3): Conv2d(64, 256, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))     

      (relu): ReLU(inplace=True)

    )

    (2): Bottleneck

  7    (conv1): Conv2d(256, 64, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

  8    (conv2): Conv2d(64, 64, kernel_size=(3, 3), stride=(1, 1), padding=(1, 1))

  9   (conv3): Conv2d(64, 256, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

   (relu): ReLU

There are many bottlenecks like these throughout the network. Hence by this, the ResNet is able to perform well and produce good accuracy. As a matter of fact, the ResNet is the model which won the ImageNet task competition.

There are 4 layers in this architecture. Each layer has a bottleneck which comprises convolution followed by relu activation function. There are 46 convolutions, 2 pooling, 2 FC layers.

TypeNo of layers
7*7 convolution1
1*1, k=64 + 3*3, k=64+1*1, k=256 convolution9
1*1, k=128+ 3*3, k=128+1*1, k=512  convolution10
1*1, k=256+ 3*3, k=256 + 1*1, k=1024 convolution16
1 * 1, k=512+3 * 3, k=512+1 * 1, k=2048 convolution9
Pooling and FC4
Total50

There is a particular aspect apart from the accuracy which is used to evaluate the model, especially in research papers. That method is known as the confusion matrix. It is seen in a lot of places and in the medical field it can be seen in test results. The terms used in the confusion matrix have become popularized in the anti-PCR test for COVID.

The four terms used in a confusion matrix are True Positive, True Negative, and False positive, and false negative. This is known as the confusion matrix.

True positive- both the truth and prediction are positive

True negative- both the truth and prediction are negative

False-positive- the truth is negative but the prediction is positive

False-negative- the truth is positive but the prediction is false

Out of these the false positive is dangerous and has to be ensured that this value is minimal.

We have now come to the end of the series. Hope that you have got some knowledge in this field of science. Deep learning is a very interesting field since we can do a variety of projects using the artificial brain which we have with ourselves. Also, the technology present nowadays makes these implementations so easy. So I recommend all to study and do projects using these concepts. Till then,

HAPPY LEARNING!!!

DEEP LEARNING SERIES- PART 10

This is the last article in this series. This article is about another pre-trained CNN known as the ResNet along with an output visualization parameter known as the confusion matrix.

ResNet

This is also known as a residual network. It has three variations 51,101,151. They used a simple technique to achieve this high number of layers.

Credit – Xiaozhu0429/ Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

The problem in using many layers is that the input information gets changed in accordance with each layer and subsequently, the information will become completely morphed. So to prevent this, the input information is sent in again like a recurrent for every two steps so that the layers don’t forget the original information. Using this simple technique they achieved about 100+ layers.

ResNet these are the three fundamentals used throughout the network.

  (conv1): Conv2d (3, 64, kernel_size= (7, 7), stride= (2, 2), padding= (3, 3))

  (relu): ReLU

  (maxpool): MaxPool2d(kernel_size=3, stride=2, padding=1)

These are the layers found within a single bottleneck of the ResNet.

    (0): Bottleneck

  1    (conv1): Conv2d(64, 64, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

  2    (conv2): Conv2d(64, 64, kernel_size=(3, 3), stride=(1, 1), padding=(1, 1))     

  3    (conv3): Conv2d(64, 256, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))    

      (relu): ReLU(inplace=True)

   Down sampling   

   Conv2d(64, 256, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

    (1): Bottleneck

  4    (conv1): Conv2d(256, 64, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

  5    (conv2): Conv2d(64, 64, kernel_size=(3, 3), stride=(1, 1), padding=(1, 1))     

  6   (conv3): Conv2d(64, 256, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))     

      (relu): ReLU(inplace=True)

    )

    (2): Bottleneck

  7    (conv1): Conv2d(256, 64, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

  8    (conv2): Conv2d(64, 64, kernel_size=(3, 3), stride=(1, 1), padding=(1, 1))

  9   (conv3): Conv2d(64, 256, kernel_size=(1, 1), stride=(1, 1))

   (relu): ReLU

There are many bottlenecks like these throughout the network. Hence by this, the ResNet is able to perform well and produce good accuracy. As a matter of fact, the ResNet is the model which won the ImageNet task competition.

There are 4 layers in this architecture. Each layer has a bottleneck which comprises convolution followed by relu activation function. There are 46 convolutions, 2 pooling, 2 FC layers.

TypeNo of layers
7*7 convolution1
1*1, k=64 + 3*3, k=64+1*1, k=256 convolution9
1*1, k=128+ 3*3, k=128+1*1, k=512  convolution10
1*1, k=256+ 3*3, k=256 + 1*1, k=1024 convolution16
1 * 1, k=512+3 * 3, k=512+1 * 1, k=2048 convolution9
Pooling and FC4
Total50

There is a particular aspect apart from the accuracy which is used to evaluate the model, especially in research papers. That method is known as the confusion matrix. It is seen in a lot of places and in the medical field it can be seen in test results. The terms used in the confusion matrix have become popularized in the anti-PCR test for COVID.

The four terms used in a confusion matrix are True Positive, True Negative, and False positive, and false negative. This is known as the confusion matrix.

True positive- both the truth and prediction are positive

True negative- both the truth and prediction are negative

False-positive- the truth is negative but the prediction is positive

False-negative- the truth is positive but the prediction is false

Out of these the false positive is dangerous and has to be ensured that this value is minimal.

We have now come to the end of the series. Hope that you have got some knowledge in this field of science. Deep learning is a very interesting field since we can do a variety of projects using the artificial brain which we have with ourselves. Also, the technology present nowadays makes these implementations so easy. So I recommend all to study and do projects using these concepts. Till then,

HAPPY LEARNING!!!

DEEP LEARNING SERIES- PART 9

This article is about one of the pre-trained CNN models known as the VGG-16. The process of using a pretrained CNN is known as transfer learning. In this case, we need not build a CNN instead we can use this with a modification. The modifications are:-

  • Removing the top (input) and bottom (output) layers
  • Adding input layer with size equal to the dimension of the image
  • Adding output layer with size equal to number of classes
  • Adding additional layers (if needed)

The pre-trained model explained in this article is called the VGGNet. This model was developed by the Oxford University researchers as a solution to the ImageNet task. The ImageNet data consists of 10 classes with 1000 images each leading to 10000 images in total.

VGGNet

I/p 1     2   3     4     5        6       7         8      9          10     11            12       13   o/p

Credit: – Nshafiei neural network in Machine learning  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

This is the architecture for VGGNet. This has been found for the CIFAR-10 dataset, a standard dataset containing 1000 classes. This was used for multiclass classification. Some modifications are made before using it for detecting OA. The output dimension is changed into 1*1*2 and the given images must be reshaped to 224*224 since this dimension is compatible with VGGNet. The dimensions and other terms like padding, stride, number of filters, dimension of filter are chosen by researchers and found optimal. In general, any number can be used in this place.

The numbers given below the figure correspond to the layer number. So the VGGNet is 13 layered and is CNN till layer 10 and the rest are FNN.

Colour indexName
GreyConvolution
RedPooling
BlueFFN

Computations and parameters for each layer

Input

224*224 images are converted into a vector whose dimension is 224*224*3 based on the RGB value.

Layer 1-C1

This is the first convolutional layer. Here 64 filters are used.

Wi =224, P=1, S=1, K=64, f=3*3

Wo =224 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 224*224*64

Parameter= 64*3*3= 576

Layer 2-P1

This is the first pooling layer

 Wi =224, S=2, P=1, f=3

Wo=112 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 112*112*3

Parameter= 0

Layer 3-C2C3

Here two convolutions are applied. 128 filters are used.

Wi =112, P=1, S=1, K=64, f=3

Wo=112 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 112*112*128

Parameter= 128*3*3=1152

Layer 4- P2

Second pooling layer

Wi =112, P=1, S=2, f=3*3

Wo =56 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 56*56*3

Parameter= 0

Layer 5- C4C5C6

Combination of three convolutions

Wi =56, P=1, S=1, K=256, f=3*3

Wo = 56 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 224*224*64

Parameter= 64*3*3= 576

Layer 6-P3

Third pooling layer

Wi =56, P=1, S=2, f=3*3

Wo =28 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 28*28*3

Parameter= 0

Layer 7-C7C8C9

Combination of three convolutions

Wi =28, P=1, S=1, K=512, f=3*3

Wo =28 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 28*28*512

Parameter= 512*3*3= 4608

Layer 8-P4

Fourth pooling layer

Wi =28, P=1, S=2, f=3*3

Wo =14 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 14*14*3

Parameter= 0

Layer 9-C10C11C12

Last convolution layer, Combination of three convolutions

Wi =14, P=1, S=1, K=512, f=3*3

Wo =14 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 14*14*512

Parameter= 512*3*3= 4608

Layer 10-P5

Last pooling layer and last layer in CNN

Wi =14, P=1, S=2, f=3*3

Wo =7 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 7*7*3

Parameter= 512*3*3= 4608

With here the CNN gets over. So a complex 224*224*3 boil down to 7*7*3

Trends in CNN

As the layer number increases,

  1. The dimension decreases.
  2. The filter number increases.
  3. Filter dimension is constant.

In convolution

Padding of 1 and stride of 1 to transfer original dimensions to output

In pooling

Padding of 1 and stride of 2 are used in order to half the dimensions.

Layer 11- FF1

4096 neurons

Parameter= 512*7*7*4096=102M

Wo= 4096

Layer 12- FF2

4096 neurons

Wo= 4096

Parameter= 4096*4096= 16M

Output layer

2 classes

  • non-osteoarthritic
  • osteoarthritic

Parameter= 4096*2= 8192

Parameters

LayerValue of parameters
Convolution16M
FF1102M
FF216M
Total134M

It takes a very large amount of time nearly hours for a machine on CPU to learn all the parameters. Hence they came with speed enhancers like faster processors known as GPU Graphic Processing Unit which may finish the work up to 85% faster than CPU.

HAPPY LEARNING!!

DEEP LEARNING SERIES- PART 9

This article is about one of the pre-trained CNN models known as the VGG-16. The process of using a pretrained CNN is known as transfer learning. In this case, we need not build a CNN instead we can use this with a modification. The modifications are:-

  • Removing the top (input) and bottom (output) layers
  • Adding input layer with size equal to the dimension of the image
  • Adding output layer with size equal to number of classes
  • Adding additional layers (if needed)

The pre-trained model explained in this article is called the VGGNet. This model was developed by the Oxford University researchers as a solution to the ImageNet task. The ImageNet data consists of 10 classes with 1000 images each leading to 10000 images in total.

VGGNet

I/p 1     2   3     4     5        6       7         8      9          10     11            12       13   o/p

Credit: – Nshafiei neural network in Machine learning  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

This is the architecture for VGGNet. This has been found for the CIFAR-10 dataset, a standard dataset containing 1000 classes. This was used for multiclass classification. Some modifications are made before using it for detecting OA. The output dimension is changed into 1*1*2 and the given images must be reshaped to 224*224 since this dimension is compatible with VGGNet. The dimensions and other terms like padding, stride, number of filters, dimension of filter are chosen by researchers and found optimal. In general, any number can be used in this place.

The numbers given below the figure correspond to the layer number. So the VGGNet is 13 layered and is CNN till layer 10 and the rest are FNN.

Colour indexName
GreyConvolution
RedPooling
BlueFFN

Computations and parameters for each layer

Input

224*224 images are converted into a vector whose dimension is 224*224*3 based on the RGB value.

Layer 1-C1

This is the first convolutional layer. Here 64 filters are used.

Wi =224, P=1, S=1, K=64, f=3*3

Wo =224 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 224*224*64

Parameter= 64*3*3= 576

Layer 2-P1

This is the first pooling layer

 Wi =224, S=2, P=1, f=3

Wo=112 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 112*112*3

Parameter= 0

Layer 3-C2C3

Here two convolutions are applied. 128 filters are used.

Wi =112, P=1, S=1, K=64, f=3

Wo=112 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 112*112*128

Parameter= 128*3*3=1152

Layer 4- P2

Second pooling layer

Wi =112, P=1, S=2, f=3*3

Wo =56 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 56*56*3

Parameter= 0

Layer 5- C4C5C6

Combination of three convolutions

Wi =56, P=1, S=1, K=256, f=3*3

Wo = 56 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 224*224*64

Parameter= 64*3*3= 576

Layer 6-P3

Third pooling layer

Wi =56, P=1, S=2, f=3*3

Wo =28 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 28*28*3

Parameter= 0

Layer 7-C7C8C9

Combination of three convolutions

Wi =28, P=1, S=1, K=512, f=3*3

Wo =28 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 28*28*512

Parameter= 512*3*3= 4608

Layer 8-P4

Fourth pooling layer

Wi =28, P=1, S=2, f=3*3

Wo =14 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 14*14*3

Parameter= 0

Layer 9-C10C11C12

Last convolution layer, Combination of three convolutions

Wi =14, P=1, S=1, K=512, f=3*3

Wo =14 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 14*14*512

Parameter= 512*3*3= 4608

Layer 10-P5

Last pooling layer and last layer in CNN

Wi =14, P=1, S=2, f=3*3

Wo =7 (this is the input Wi for the next layer)

Dim= 7*7*3

Parameter= 512*3*3= 4608

With here the CNN gets over. So a complex 224*224*3 boil down to 7*7*3

Trends in CNN

As the layer number increases,

  1. The dimension decreases.
  2. The filter number increases.
  3. Filter dimension is constant.

In convolution

Padding of 1 and stride of 1 to transfer original dimensions to output

In pooling

Padding of 1 and stride of 2 are used in order to half the dimensions.

Layer 11- FF1

4096 neurons

Parameter= 512*7*7*4096=102M

Wo= 4096

Layer 12- FF2

4096 neurons

Wo= 4096

Parameter= 4096*4096= 16M

Output layer

2 classes

  • non-osteoarthritic
  • osteoarthritic

Parameter= 4096*2= 8192

Parameters

LayerValue of parameters
Convolution16M
FF1102M
FF216M
Total134M

It takes a very large amount of time nearly hours for a machine on CPU to learn all the parameters. Hence they came with speed enhancers like faster processors known as GPU Graphic Processing Unit which may finish the work up to 85% faster than CPU.

HAPPY LEARNING!!

Why do Insectivorous plants exist?

If you find insectivorous plants strange and fascinating then this blog is for you.

What are insectivorous plants?

Insectivorous plants are those plants that derive some nutrients by trapping and consuming animals, mainly insects.

Categories of being insectivorous

There are essential two things that a plant has to do to be considered insectivorous:-

  1. Ability to take nutrients from dead prey:- a plant should have the ability to trap the prey and absorb nutrients from it. Those prey is usually insects or small vertebrates like, salamanders. It is not enough for the plant just to have defenses that can kill an animal that’s trying to snack on it. It also has to get it’s animal’s nutrients.
  2. At least have one adaption:- the plant need to have one adaption that actively lures in, catches, or digests it’s prey.

Doing at least one of these things and absorbing the nutrients for it’s benefit make it a insectivorous plant.

Plant traps

Over millions of years and across hundreds of species, plants have developed five different types of traps, most of them are from different times. And traps can be passive, if prey just fall into them and can’t escape, or active, if plant actually moves to catch its prey.

  1. Pitcher plant:- pitfall traps are the standard and passive trap used by plants like pitcher plants. Prey lands on the plants slippery surface and slides down into a pool of digestive juices.
  2. Sundews:- these are flypaper traps in which the prey become stuck in a sticky substance that is produced by the plant leaves. These traps can be passive as well as active. Sundews have sticky moving tentacles that react to contract with prey.
  3. Venus fly trap:- these are snap traps which are active, using rapid modified leave
  4. Bladderworts: they have bladder-suction. This creates little negative pressure vacuum inside their traps, which, when triggered by prey, pop open and suck the victim inside before snapping close.
  5. Lobster-pot trap:- they passive traps that force prey to move towards the plant’s digestive organ by having little inward pointing hairs that keep prey from moving backward out of the trap.
Venus fly trap
Lobster-pot trap
Bladderworts
Sundew
Pitcher plant

All of these unrelated plants have not only developed the same kinds of traps but it looks like they have also developed that same molecular mechanism for digesting their prey.

Reason of existence

It goes back to idea of convergent evolution. All these different insectivorous plants are responding to similar environmental pressure:-

  1. Found in open sunny places that have moist but nutrients – poor – acidic soil. Many of them live in bogs and fens.
  2. In these kind of habitat where nitrogen and phosphorus is not present in the soil, the plant tend to developed two kinds of leaves one for normal photosynthesis and one that are modified onto their particular type of trap.
  3. This results them to invest more in modified leaves than normal photosynthesis leaves as they have to live in a place with enough sunlight as well as to trap preys

Insectivorous plants can stop paying carnivorous temporally once they’re put in nutrients rich soil and if they don’t get enough sunlight and water.

Insectivorous plants are pretty rare and they are only found in certain kinds of habitats, they are just less likely to fossilize than other kinds of plants that are more widespread.

The Call of the Wild

The Call of the Wild, novel by Jack London, published serially by The Saturday Evening Post in 1903 and then as a single-volume book by Macmillan & Co. the same year. It is often considered to be his masterpiece and is the most widely read of all his publications.

Summary

The story follows Buck—a mix of St. Bernard and Scotch collie—throughout his journey as a sled dog. Buck’s story begins at the house of Judge Miller in Santa Clara, California. Here, Buck is a beloved domesticated pet, living comfortably. However, after gold is discovered in the Yukon territory of Canada, Buck is stolen by one of Miller’s gardeners as the demand for sled dogs increases. The gardener sells Buck to dog traders and makes a profit, and Buck is soon shipped north, abused and beaten as he goes. Along with a sweet, unassuming dog named Curly, Buck is sold to two government couriers, François and Perrault, who put him to work as a sled dog. Buck is soon overwhelmed by his surroundings, particularly when he sees a group of huskies attack and kill Curly.

As Buck is forced to adapt to the wild, his primitive instincts begin to surface. It is during this time that he makes an enemy of the lead sled dog, Spitz. The two fight a number of times, and Buck consistently undermines him in the hopes of diminishing his authority. After a final, decisive battle, Buck kills Spitz and appoints himself as the new lead dog—something he convinces his owners to go along with through his sheer stubbornness. With Buck as lead dog, the team begins making trips in record time. The team, along with Buck, is eventually sold to a mail carrier who forces the dogs to carry arduously heavy loads. This work results in the death of one of the dogs.

The team is sold again, this time to American gold hunters named Hal, Charles, and Mercedes. The three are wildly inexperienced: they overload the sled, and they beat the dogs unnecessarily. Halfway through a long journey, they begin to run out of food, causing more than half of the dogs to die of starvation. Along their journey, and still with a long way to go, they happen upon the camp of a man named John Thornton.

Thornton warns them that the ice they are about to cross is thinning and that it is not safe to cross. The Americans disregard him and attempt to leave. The other dogs obey, but Buck refuses to move onto the ice. Hal beats him viciously until Thornton steps in and cuts Buck free. The Americans continue without Buck, only to fall through the thinning ice and perish alongside the remainder of their dogs.

Buck becomes devoted to Thornton, and he even saves Thornton from drowning. One day, Thornton brags that Buck can pull a thousand-pound load and bets more than a thousand dollars on him. After some struggle, Buck is able to do so, and his master uses the money to search for a hidden mine deep in the Canadian wilderness. Buck’s love for Thornton becomes challenged by his growing desire for the wild. He begins to disappear into the forest for longer intervals of time, but he always returns to Thornton. During these excursions, Buck hunts bears and moose and even befriends a wolf. One day Buck returns to find Thornton and his crew killed by Native Americans the novel calls Yeehats. Angry beyond comprehension, Buck attacks and kills several Yeehats and scatters the rest. Buck then ventures into the forest and becomes the leader of a wolf pack. He becomes known by the Yeehats as Ghost Dog; because of his swiftness, his shadow is all they can glimpse. Despite being fully wild now, Buck still returns to the place of Thornton’s death each year to mourn the loss of his best friend.

SOURCES

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Call-of-the-Wild

Lifestyle mistakes that are damaging our health

Living in a world where we are continuously striving to achieve materialistic things. Working late at night, eating junk food, binge-watching, and being lazy are only deteriorating your healthy lifestyle. You won’t notice this in the early stage but sooner or later symptoms will start showing up and then it will be too late.

As the saying goes “A healthy mind lives in a healthy body”. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have revealed that regular exercise boosts the brainpower of young adults. It improves blood flow to the brain that could help build new brain cells.

Here are some mistakes that one should be avoiding for living a healthy lifestyle –

  • Unhealthy Eating Habits

In this new era of fast food, people are ordering junk food like pizza and burgers. From a convenience point of view, it is okay although it isn’t a healthy option. Consuming high calories foods but lacking essential healthy nutrients causes severe digestive problems in the long run. It leads to unhealthy weight gain and an increased risk of many chronic diseases.

  • Drinking less water

For proper functioning of the body, you have to keep your body dehydrated. Drinking 3-4 liters a day will keep much illness away and gives you clear and healthy skin. 

  • Stressful life

Nowadays people feel overwhelmed because of the pressure that they face. There are many reasons for stressful life such as trying to do too much, not prioritizing your needs, and constantly being connected (social media). So to improve your lifestyle, unplug from being constantly connected, prioritize your needs and eat healthily and work out regularly.

  • Not making to-do list

Make your to-do list before going to bed. This will help you to manage your day without wasting your morning time figuring out what to do. Sometimes you take much time and you end up doing nothing. 

  • Being lazy

Laziness is one of the biggest modern-day problems. Not only will it affect your physical health, but it will also have a great impact on your mental health. Laziness in itself has enough potential to weaken your cognitive abilities and discourage you from eating and drinking healthy.

  • Avoiding deep and meaningful conversations

Human experience is about connecting with other people. Connection is what provides value and meaning to our lives. For example, people with strong social ties were found to be healthier and have a lower risk of death. Additionally, it was found that as age increases, the people with stronger social ties tend to live longer. And it seems that friendships can even help you find cancer.

  • Spending all day indoors

Explore the world around you whether that means traveling to faraway lands or hiking. This will freshen your mind and provides a wide range of mental and physical benefits.

  • Binge-watching for long hours

It’s good to binge watch for entertainment but it also has its side effects. It may increase anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Binge-watching for long hours may lead to insomnia and will make you less physically active.   

Rise of Investors in India

Ok ,I know what you’ll say – a country of 1.38 billion people and less than 4 percent of the population have brokerage accounts a significant portion of that don’t actively invest but can it be that it is a starting of growth of investor population in India? Well recent data suggests says so.

India’s top stock brokers such as Zerodha and Upstox have seen a tremendous growth in demat account openings with total account numbers rising from 1.6 Million pre-lockdown to more than 6 Million and the numbers are on the rise as we speak.

Both discount brokers (private brokers) as well as full-fledged brokers have seen a rise in demat account openings with data showing that millennials are ahead of all with the highest share of accounts. This is an extremely reassuring news that more youngsters have given financial learning a priority and many are eager to secure financial freedom.

India’s technological boom ,rise in number of internet users and motivated mindset have all the credit for this. When we look at data for all the states the state with most brokerage accounts in Maharashtra – which is topping the chart for many years now with more than 1.49 crore accounts with Gujarat coming in second which has more than 85 lakh accounts and Uttar Pradesh coming in third with more than 52 lakh accounts followed by Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh with more than 42 lakh and 25 lakh accounts respectively. Again when we look at the bottom of the list we have Lakshadweep with a meagre 480 accounts followed by Mizoram with 5900 accounts and Andaman & Nicobar Islands with 9700 accounts.

The covid-19 pandemic was the tipping point for this with major rise in account opening seen after the lockdown and the trend has not settled since.

But there are shades of grey in this as well as a greater share of these accounts are dormant and don’t trade or invest. Many in the wish for gaining profits quickly end up losing money and get disheartened and don’t try again. This has also led to the rise of dormant accounts. This indicates that financial literacy has not kept up with the pace of incoming individuals in this field and has resulted in fear ,uncertainty ,doubt.

Which prompts us to ask another question – Will this lead to a downfall in the number of people who invest in stock market? Well ,the answer is NO. Financial literacy has started to pick up amongst youngsters. Daily we can see a large number of Instagram accounts ,YouTube channels and websites spreading knowledge about stock market – granted not all of them are legit but those who really are have a good follower base and are constantly expanding day-by-day.

This will lead to a rise in informed and learned trader/investor who has practical knowledge about the market and is not afraid to take decision but is also cautious while doing it.

All in all one can say that road ahead for stock market investors in India looks bullish.

THINK DIFFERENT (PART-2)

Hi all,
      In my last Content “THINK DIFFERENT” I wrote different ways to ask/say,
     1. Good morning. 
     2. How are you?.
     3. I am fine.
     4. What are you doing?.

And my today’s content is Contiunity of  my previous content. Today I am going to share different ways to say,
        1. Thank you.
        2. Sorry.
        3. Something is easy.
        4. Sometimes is difficult.

*Ways to say “THANKYOU”.
1. I owe you one.
2. I appreciate what you did.
3. Gracias
4. Thanks a bunch. 5. Thanks a million.

*Ways to say ” SORRY”.
1. I take full responsibility.
2. My apologies
3. My fault/My mistake.
4. Please don’t be mad at me.
5. I bed your pardon.
6. I owe you an apology.
7. I truly regret.
8. I won’t do it again.
9. I hope you can forgive me.

* Ways to say “SOMETHING IS EASY”.
1. It’s a snap.
2. It’s a piece of cake.
3. Anyone can do it.
4. It’s easy as pie/ easy as a,b,c.
5. It’s a doddle.
6. Easy peasy.
7. It’s a breeze.
8. It’s childsplay.
9. It’s a walk in the park.
10. I can do this in the dark.

*Ways to say “SOMETHING IS DIFFICULT”.
1. It’s a difficult task.
2. It’s not so easy.
3. It’s a bit tricky.
4. It’s very hard.
5. It’s a very tough task.
6. It is not so simple.
7. It’s quite hard going.

And now include the above ways in your conversation.
Anything can be remembered only if it is practiced, inorder to remember, try to use these ways in your day to day conversation.
Hope so, it is useful.

Have a memorable day.

Keep smiling❣️❣️❣️

5 Demanded Job Oriented Programming Languages In 2021

In this digital world, programming is a common thing in our daily life. We can see it everywhere, from the medical store to your grocery store. In this automated world, the interaction between machines and human beings is gradually increasing. Programming and coding help this interaction so smoothly. We can regularly use bar code scanners, word processors, websites, and apps every minute in our life.

Programming enhances our brain function. It helped our analytical brain to develop logic. It also improves our IQ. But it is a bit confusing to learn such programming languages as there are many programming languages discovered till now. It’s a general question among students, What programming languages they should learn and practice to get a job in 2021.

Below is the list of programming languages that are trendy now. It is popular due to its flexibility and frameworks. Let us discuss some languages.

1.Python

Python is in demand now for the crucial role of data in business. Its various tools, frameworks, a vast collection of libraries, and readability are the prime factors for beginners to learn easily, and within less time. Python is mainly used in web and mobile apps development, server-side development, machine learning app development, data science, artificial intelligence, and many more. User-friendly data structures, easy integrations with web apps and GUI-based desktop application makes it more famous in 2021.

It is an open-source language. It is best for developing 2D imaging and 3D animation packages. Many popular video games like Vegas Trike, Toontown are developed using Python. By learning this, you can earn up to $72,500 annually. Youtube, Instagram, and Quora are the platforms developed in Python.

2.Java Script

It is famous for its widely used frameworks like Node.Js, Angular Js, and Vue Js. It is a server-side scripting language.JavaScript is used for backend and frontend development like web development, mobile apps development, and developing video games. It is mostly used in creating a dynamic web page and add special effects to web pages. It helps for validation while developing websites.

It is a simple language embedded in languages like HTML, CSS, and Java. In India, an average JavaScript developer earns approximately Rs.338,078 annually. Facebook, Google use Javascript in their frontend also.

3.Java

Java is an ever-green and most secure programming language. It is developed by Oracle Corporation. It listed the second rank in the PYPL(PopularitY Of Programming Language) index in Aug 2021. It is a multi-platform and old object-oriented language. It supports all platforms like Mac, Windows, Android, and IOS. Its robust memory allocation, APIs, vast libraries, scalability make it the top-most programming language in the data world.

It is mainly used for Software, Finance and e-commerce, web development, android app development, and big data. Its frameworks are so popular like Struts, Spring and Hibernate, etc. Today almost 3 billion devices running on apps that are using Java. It is also the backbone of many popular sites like Amazon and Twitter. A senior Java developer earns up to Rs.839,714 per annum.

4.C#

It is an object-oriented language developed by Microsoft. It is a dynamic language integrated with the .Net framework. C Sharp is similar to C & C++.C# is mostly used in web development, mobile apps development, 2D and 3D gaming application development. etc.

It depends on the Visual Basic editor for the developing process. C# is open-source, updateable, fast, interoperable with other codes and simple language. It is used as backend language for many known websites like Dell, Bing and MarketWatch, and many more.C# Devlopers salary is around $65,000 per annum. It is the 4th popular language on the PYPL list.

5.PHP

80% of websites on the internet are built-in using PHP. It is introduced in 1990 by Rasmus Lerdorf. It is an open-source, server-side scripting language. It is used to develop desktop applications. It is relatively easier to learn as compared to other languages. It is a cross-platform language with 5th position in the PYPL list.

It is very popular among web devlopers.Php is a cost-effective and flexible language in today’s market. It offers various frameworks like Laravel, Codeigniter etc.Php is adaptable with database connectivity. It is mainly used for back-end development. One can earn up to $81,500 per annum as an intermediate Php developer.

If you are interested in coding or programming,  you must have pick one language from the above list and learn. Within some years, you will achieve your dream job as a developer in MNCs.

CAMOUFLAGED .

It is very common for us to overlook the little details and features the things that we use everyday have , and hence never actually understand how to fully utilise something . Be it clothes , furniture or any other device , here are some of the things that have hidden features you didn’t know of ,

METAL RIVETS – You must certainly think these rivets are just to up the fashion game , but you are completely wrong , because these metal rivets are a very crucial component of jeans . When jeans became a staple wear among framers , miners and other working class labours , these rivets were added to jeans to increase its longevity . Rivets are secured at the seem of jeans so as to protect it from ripping apart .

RIDGES ON COIN – You definitely must have wondered as to why are there ridges in some coins ? Well , in the 1800s in Colonial America , people would shave off of edges of coin that were made of silver and gold and would in turn sell those shavings to earn money . Hence these ridges were created to prevent counterfeiting as people would able to identify whether a coin had been shaven or not .

SAMPLE FABRICS THAT COME WITH CLOTHES – You must have definitely noticed a zip lock bag with a tiny piece of the fabric and a button when you buy new clothes , and must think the fabric is used for sewing shut a hole that might be in the clothes , but no thats not its actual purpose . The sample fabric is supposed to be used for testing on cleaning products to unsure you do not ruin your clothing by using the wrong products .

PLASTIC CUPS WITH LIDS – For having a go to coffee or any beverage of your choice you use these cups with lids to carry your beverage around . While the lid is on the cup to prevent the beverage from spilling obviously , it certainly has another purpose . The lids can also be used as coaster , to protect the surface of the table where you might place your cup.

DETACHABLE HEADRESTS – The headrest in our cars our detachable , so that we can adjust it according to our level of comfort , but it has a more important purpose than that . If ever , you find yourself in a situation where you are stuck in your car , you can completely detach the headrest and use its ends that are long metal bars to break the windows and escape . Ingenious !

3 Most important time management techniques

Everyone gets 24 hours a day but those who have ability to get maximum out of these 24 hours are classified as successful. Time management is the key to convert 24 hours into 25 hours. In simple words time management is process of organizing and dividing your time into various activities.

It’s about simplifying how you work and getting things done better and faster. It’s about working smarter. It is a game of choices. You have to make a choice about how you want to use your precious time. So if you are interested in improving your time management skills, check out these cool techniques.

Eat that frog

Brian Tracy says “You cannot eat every tadpole and frog in the pond. But you can eat the biggest and ugliest one, and that will be enough, at least for the time being.”

Identify your most important task of the day, this is your frog. It is the most impactful task of your day so begin your day by tackling this frog. Start this work and do this without any interruptions. This will bring an early win in your day which will build the momentum and sense of accomplishment.

But what if you have multiple frogs? Eat the biggest frog first. So instead of doing easy tasks first, do the difficult ones.

The Pomodoro technique

It is one of the most simple yet effective time management technique. This technique forces you to do single task so that your brain can focus on only one thing at a time as switching between tasks reduces productivity.

According to this technique turn off all distractions and set a timer for 25 minutes. During that time you will only focus on that work. After 25 minutes take a break of 5 minutes. After repeating this process for 4 times, take a long break.

The reason why it is successful is that it creates a sense of urgency as you have only 25 minutes to make as much progress as you can. Also it forces you to take a break which keeps you fresh throughout the day.

The Eisenhower Matrix

Prioritizing your tasks is a crucial part of time management as you may be spending hours doing useless things. The Eisenhower Matrix( urgent-important matrix) helps you in discovering your important tasks.

This matrix divides all your tasks into 4 quadrants:

  1. Urgent and important: These are the most important tasks of your day. You have to do these tasks at any cost. This quadrant include crisis and deadline driven tasks.
  2. Not urgent and important: These are important tasks but can be delegated like business planning, building relationships. As these tasks are not urgent you can schedule them in near future.
  3. Urgent and not important: These are tasks like interruptions, non important email etc. As these tasks are not important delegate them instead of completing them now.
  4. Non important and non urgent: These tasks are distractions and time wasters like playing video games. Just eliminate these tasks and focus on important ones.

To make this matrix, write down all your task and insert each task in respective quadrant. To be more productive spend more time on Not urgent but important activities as these tasks are meaningful to you but not urgent.

So these are some time management techniques, try to implement them every morning and get the best out of your precious time.

WOMEN OF ELIZABETHAN AGE

Elizabethan age can be rightly said as the ‘period of patriarchy ‘which can be approximately marked between 1558 and 1603 where women were not allowed to choose their life partner nor they could deny the parents choice if they try to do so then they were tortured and beaten up badly it was clearly stated by professor(historian) trevelyan’s – ‘History of England’ which Virginia woolf was going through ,such denial of choice shows that women in that time were having no agency. Women were not allowed to learn grammar, logic ,English grammar and poetry; they were recommended or were made only for men. They were always reminded to focus their attention on household chores and on family.In the Elizabethan age, the role of women was very limited in society. Men were expected to be breadwinners and women to be housewives and do household chores. Women were considered as inferiors and were not given the right to education. They were also denied the right of expressing themselves through writing. Taking the example of Judith Shakespeare, she was as talented and imaginative as her brother but she was not allowed to learn and study more and she was married forcefully. When she wanted to become an actor, everybody made fun of her and discouraged her. Women could not own property of their own. This is one of the reasons Queen Elizabeth never married- she did not want to give up her power to a man.Gender was considered more important than skill.The sister of Shakespeare who was imagined by Virginia woolf was an example of such case , In the story she (Judith)desired to become an actor but everyone in the society made fun of her and discourage her but the theatre manager took advantage of this weakness he cheated her by trapping her in his false love and the innocent girl couldn’t found that,now it was too late to identify the trap and which resulted in her pregnancy, all she was going through now was mental, emotional and social trauma which made her to take a wrong step that is to end her life by committing suicide .This incident help us to understand how man of that time only took woman for granted more or less as a ‘toy’ , whatever could be said to them ,and done to them no one took care and society In such acts they just keep silence,Woman were deprived to pursue their interest there was many instances even in the 19th century that woman writers were forced to use male pen names to hide their identity because women were not supposed to popular and were supposed to be working by using mail pen names their work gets someone else identity.As in the initial part of the answer we talked about a play i.e.” MERCHANT OF VENICE “where• Portia was the women protagonist and a clear representation of Shakespeare’s heroine where she had her agency to choose her husband and she had devised a kind of lottery for the purpose to choose her husband. Which gave potential suitors from all over the world the chance to choose among the three caskets and whoever chooses the right one is set to marry PortiaWhereas Elizabethan women for decades were not allowed to choose their life partner nor they could deny the choice of partner if they tried to do so they were badly beaten.•Her(Portia) famous “Quality of Mercy” speech is proof of her compassionate nature. She is well known for her quality of mercy speech given in the trial room. This speech depicts mercy as a sublime quality which is twice blest: it blesseth him that gives, and him that takes. Mercy, she says, is an attribute to God Himself.Although Portia is a woman with a powerful intellect and extraordinary powers of reasoning Whereas Elizabethan women were not having speech rights , forbidden from acting on public stages ,restrained from giving their opinions,less personal freedom as well as they were restricted from studying logic,law ,science etc.There lies the various differences between actual 16th-century women and Shakespeare heroines.

1)Cleopatra: She was the all-powerful queen of Egypt, everyone under her was loyal. She is the best in diplomacy and strikes personal relationships as a powerful diplomatic tool. She also demonstrated that she can speak as eloquently, intelligently, and on equal par with some of the greatest male figures in history: Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and Octavius Caesar.On the other hand, Elizabethan age women had almost no individual identity and the mere adventure they would have done is marrying to a household in a distant land. The real women were uneducated and hence were unrepresented

2)Juliet: Her romantic story with Romeo is a worthy resemblance of what any modern urban romantic story would be like. The difference is the timeline. Juliet seems far more of a distinct identity, who somehow decided for her future, decisions, or even her love partner.While Elizabethan women were betrothed to any man at a young age that too as decided by her parents.

3) Viola: She is a bold girl. She goes on to disguise herself as a young man to find work, and charms a young woman, Olivia, with her frank wit and honesty, but even in disguise, she demonstrates the capacity for female fellowship. She Demonstrates how Shakespeare values mutual dependence in relationships between men and women.And obviously, the real Elizabethan era women had no part in any such mutual dependence concept. Women were only subject to social expectations of the household and childbearing, along with the prevalent right of men to beat their women.

How to right a simple report

A description of a sequence of events or a situation;

Some interpretation of the significance of these events or situation, whether solely your own analysis or informed by the views of others, always carefully refer

An evaluation of the facts or the results of your research

Discussion of the likely outcomes of future courses of action

Your recommendations as to a course of action;

conclusions

Luis Guzman

Luis Guzman came into this world on 28th August, 1956. He was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico. He was nurtured in New York’s Greenwich Village. His Family consisted of his mother Rosa who worked in a hospital, his stepfather Benjamin Cardona who used to work as a TV serviceman. Presently he lives in Vermont, US with his wife Angelita Galarza-Guzman, and five children Cemi, Yemaya, Yoruba, Margarita, and Luna. He completed his graduation from The American University. Just after which he started his career as a social worker. Currently Luis works as an Actor in the Hollywood Film Industry. Some of his greatest work include the HBO’s Original series ‘How to make it in America’ and one of the most popular Netflix’s series ‘Narcos’. He is frequently and usually casted by two directors Steven Soderbergh, and Paul Thomas Anderson. Some of his other works are in 2003 Luis briefly owned a TV series at Fox called Luis, Short Eyes in 1977, No Picnic in 1986, Q&A in 1990, McBain in 1991, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in 2021, Ana Maria in Novela Land in 2015, The Birthday Cake in 2021, and many more. He has also been a part of some popular TV shows such as The Equalizer released in 1985, Hunter released in 1990, House of Buggin’ released in 1995, Roadies released in 2016, and many more. He is available on social media but doesn’t seem to be that active.

SUN

THE SUN PROFILE

diameter: 1,390,000 km.
mass: 1.989e30 kg
temperature: 5800 K (surface) 15,600,000 K (core)

HISTORY OF THE SUN

The Sun is by far the largest object in the solar system. It contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of the Solar System (Jupiter contains most of the rest).

It is often said that the Sun is an “ordinary” star. That’s true in the sense that there are many others similar to it. But there are many more smaller stars than larger ones; the Sun is in the top 10% by mass. The median size of stars in our galaxy is probably less than half the mass of the Sun.

The Sun is personified in many mythologies: the Greeks called it Helios and the Romans called it Sol.

The Sun is, at present, about 70% hydrogen and 28% helium by mass everything else (“metals”) amounts to less than 2%. This changes slowly over time as the Sun converts hydrogen to helium in its core.

The outer layers of the Sun exhibit differential rotation: at the equator the surface rotates once every 25.4 days; near the poles it’s as much as 36 days. This odd behavior is due to the fact that the Sun is not a solid body like the Earth. Similar effects are seen in the gas planets. The differential rotation extends considerably down into the interior of the Sun but the core of the Sun rotates as a solid body.

Conditions at the Sun’s core (approximately the inner 25% of its radius) are extreme. The temperature is 15.6 million Kelvin and the pressure is 250 billion atmospheres. At the center of the core the Sun’s density is more than 150 times that of water.

The Sun’s power (about 386 billion billion mega Watts) is produced by nuclear fusion reactions. Each second about 700,000,000 tons of hydrogen are converted to about 695,000,000 tons of helium and 5,000,000 tons (=3.86e33 ergs) of energy in the form of gamma rays. As it travels out toward the surface, the energy is continuously absorbed and re-emitted at lower and lower temperatures so that by the time it reaches the surface, it is primarily visible light. For the last 20% of the way to the surface the energy is carried more by convection than by radiation.

The Sun’s output is not entirely constant. Nor is the amount of sunspot activity. There was a period of very low sunspot activity in the latter half of the 17th century called the Maunder Minimum. It coincides with an abnormally cold period in northern Europe sometimes known as the Little Ice Age. Since the formation of the solar system the Sun’s output has increased by about 40%.

The Sun is about 4.5 billion years old. Since its birth it has used up about half of the hydrogen in its core. It will continue to radiate “peacefully” for another 5 billion years or so (although its luminosity will approximately double in that time). But eventually it will run out of hydrogen fuel. It will then be forced into radical changes which, though commonplace by stellar standards, will result in the total destruction of the Earth (and probably the creation of a planetary nebula).

THE SUN’S SATELLITES

There are eight planets and a large number of smaller objects orbiting the Sun. (Exactly which bodies should be classified as planets and which as “smaller objects” has been the source of some controversy, but in the end it is really only a matter of definition. Pluto is no longer officially a planet but we’ll keep it here for history’s sake.)

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE SUN

*The Sun is one of the millions of stars in the solar system. It is, however, larger than most (although not the biggest) and a very special star to us. Without the Sun there would be absolutely no life on Earth.
*The Sun is 870,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers) across. This is so big it is hard to imagine, but it would take more than one million Earths to fill the size of the Sun!
*The Sun is so big it takes up 99% of the matter in our solar system. The 1% left over is taken up by planets, asteroids, moons and other matter.

*The Sun is about 4.5 billion years old. It is thought to be halfway through its lifetime. Stars get bigger as they get older.
*As the Sun ages, it will get bigger. When this happens, it will consume some of the things close to it, and this includes Mercury, Venus and maybe even Earth and Mars. Luckily this is billions of years in the future.
*The Sun is the centre of the solar system.
*The Sun is 92.96 million miles (149.6 kilometers) away from Earth.
*The Sun is made of a ball of burning gases. These gases are 92.1% hydrogen and 7.8% helium.

*The Sun’s core is extremely hot! An unthinkable 13,600,000 degrees Celcius!
*The Sun has a very big magnetic field. It is the most powerful magnetic field in the whole solar system. This field is regenerating itself, but scientists are unsure how.

WHY RBI WANTS US TO REMEMBER CREDIT CARD/ DEBIT CARD DETAILS?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is stubborn about its amended rules on the information stockpiling strategy. The RBI has dismissed the proposition made by installment door organizations as to the new guideline that may kick in from January of 2022. The modified guidelines forestall installment aggregators and vendors like Amazon, Flipkart and Netflix from putting away the data of a client’s card on their workers or information bases. The bank goes about as a significant contact between the client and the aggregators. The new change additionally implies that clients with charge cards or Mastercards should punch in their 16-digit card number each time they continue to make an exchange. This will dial back the accommodation, all things considered, yet the point of this change was to get the card data and ensure that installment administrators are not putting away the information on the framework.

Why you Should Memorize those 16 digits on your Credit/Debit Card?

The progressions happen from January 2022 as is normal, then, at that point clients should enter their 16-digit card number, alongside the expiry date and the CVC for every single exchange. This will apply whether you are doing it on a shipper site or online business stage. This will be particularly unwieldy to the clients who have more than one card or have different running memberships, yet toward the day’s end, the fact is wellbeing and information security. That being said, it would work well for you to retain those 16 numbers to streamline the interaction however much as could reasonably be expected.

Try not to Expect Any Rewards Anytime Soon:

The aggregate of the internet business installment model deals with information that is put away; these organizations utilize this information to showcase new things to client socioeconomics dependent on the data they have. This prohibition of information stockpiling will make it harder for them to focus on their clients with explicit arrangements or offers. Tokenisation is one potential arrangement that these players may execute however that would mean concealing the card subtleties with codes.

Going to UPI:

With greater security protracting the course of checkout or exchange, UPI may turn into the more preferred technique for installment. Lately UPI installment strategies have gotten extremely mainstream for their fast and simple installment frameworks. Clients with charge cards may think that it is a lot simpler to utilize UPI for paying on dealer stages.

What Changed?

As the new standards have not come into full impact yet, dealer destinations and instalment doors permit cardholders to store their information on their data sets with just a slim layer of safety to check. Typically, this is finished with the CVV (card check esteem) and a one-time secret phrase (OTP). The RBI dismissed this and the interest for an annulment in the new rules. The peak bank needed to acquire the new rules in July itself however needed to delay it by a half year because of banks not being prepared for it yet. The RBI has done an amazing job to guarantee undeniable degrees of client security as the new principle will keep instalment aggregators from putting away client card subtleties on their foundation that are gotten to by shippers.

When the new rules become effective, even approved card administrators cannot get to information for smooth preparing of chargebacks, complaints, and settling issues. Despite the fact that the speedy and simple cycle is to some degree upset, it guarantees the security of the information, which is at last the best norm of tasks.

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN PART 1

Hey, y’all! Do you read books? If so, do you recommend books to your niece and nephew? Here are few books for 11 children.

I started to read pretty late in life. I do regret not getting into the world of books early but better late than never right!? The books for kids and children are adventurous, colourful, exciting and thrilling.

WHY SHOULD CHILDREN READ?

  • Books are our best friends.
  • To improve their imagination.
  • Enhance communication skills.
  • Learn new words and phrases.
  • A better understanding of the world.
  • Language development.
  • Cognitive skills.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY BY ROALD DAHL

PRODUCT DETAILS:

  • Published – 1979.
  • Genres – Children’s fiction, humour, fantasy.
  • Pages – 176 pages.
  • Age – 10+
  • BUY NOW!

Roald Dahl is a fabulous author whose books are fun to read. The writing style is easy, understandable and simple. Who doesn’t like chocolate!? The book gives us a joyous experience. The children would fall in love with Willy Wonka’s Factory. The characters are vivid and we kids can imagine the story completely.

THE GOPI DIARIES BY SUDHA MURTY

PRODUCT DETAILS

  • Published – 2019 & 2021.
  • Genres – Children’s Fiction.
  • Pages – 104 & 136.
  • Age – 6+
  • BUY NOW!

Sudha Murthy is one of the best authors for children. Her stories are simple yet unique and absorbing. This book has a remarkable character Gopi – a dog, the story is said from his perspective. We can see the world through his eyes which is amusing. Children will learn kindness, compassion for animals through this. They also understand the dog’s needs. The illustrations are super cute.

THE 1000 YEAR OLD BOY BY ROSS WELFORD

PRODUCT DETAILS

  • Published – 2018.
  • Genre – Fiction, Adventure.
  • Pages – 400.
  • Age – 12+
  • BUY NOW!

The cover is pretty isn’t it? An adventurous story about a boy who is fated to live forever. Alfie Monk can tell us what it is like to live forever. This is a child-friendly novel that would make the child think. The children can imagine and be spellbound by this beauty. You will never guess what’s coming in this one.

THE LITTLE PRINCE BY ANTOINE DE SAINT – EXUPERY

PRODUCT DETAILS

  • Published – 2016.
  • Genre –
  • Pages – 144.
  • Age – 6+
  • BUY NOW!

“All grown ups were once children…

But only few of them remember it.”

– Antoine De Saint-Exupery.

The Little Prince is not just for children but also adults. The story deals with friendship, loss, loneliness, and childhood. The illustrations are charming and one can’t put this book down. It teaches philosophy in simple words. We can learn a few things from this beautiful book. Every child should read it.

THE WIZARD OF OZ BY L. FRANK BAUM
  • Published – Hardcover(2019) Original(1900)
  • Genre – Fantasy, fiction.
  • Pages – 208.
  • Age – 9+
  • BUY NOW!

The edition is stunning! The story is pure fantasy and Dorothy stays with us every after the adventure ends. She feels like she is lost but she embraces the situation to take a thrilling journey. The magical land of Oz is mesmerizing.

Do you know that “The Wizard of Oz” was banned from libraries? It was, as it provides no values. I think books are not always meant to teach us something. Books are different so are we. It can be a reason to smile, live, dance, and it can also teach us values.

Thank you!

Is the world becoming a meme?

I feel in today’s time, you are truly successful if a meme is based on you.

brainyquote.com
Made this meme as soon as I decided to write on this topic.

What is a meme?

The word meme is the short form of greek word mīmēma which means ‘imitated thing’. According to Wikipedia, a humorous image, video or text that is copied and rapidly spread by the internet users. It has become a lifestyle through which people give out their creativity. The reason it has become so popular is the connection viewers feel between them and the events portrayed.
With the rise in meme culture, meme makers that are known as memers have increased incredibly since, its not a tough task to make a meme, but being consistent and up to date is an important and must to have skill. With the decline in humour of COMEDY industry memes have come as life saviors.

How it came into existence

Memes have literally evolved with the internet and they became a thing in the mid 1990s. Memes in the form of short clips were shared by peope in usenet forums. People put their humor into the right place or as we see a right template. Earlier they were shared via mails, messages or even newspapers and as the electronics took over social media became a meme hub. It has become an important aspect of marketing strategy. Whenever a movie is about to be released, memes related to it are all over the internet, a very smart move by the marketing people because what’s better than meme when you want your stuff to be known by the audience.

Pros of meme

Meme shared by Dominos_india on twitter.
  1. Gives us a reason to SMILE: Feeling bored? Scroll through social media memes. Sad? Obviously memes!! Sometimes we are feeling down and really have someone to talk to, thats when people start looking for relatable things and memes provide them the feeling of satisfaction that there are others just like us, who go through similar things. They are meant to be funny even with the darkest of humor.
  2. A source of income: Big brands like Domino’s, IPL, are hiring professionals memers for their marketing. It helps them in popularity and also gives their fans a chance to interact with them via internet. Not only brand but celebrities share memes nowadays. Big meme pages get paid promotions regularly. Meme accounts, which these people started a few years ago have become a good source of income for them.
  3. A link between friends: You can’t talk to your friends everyday but you can share memes. Sharing memes has become a trend. There are groups for this single purpose where this small happiness is shared everyday and people connect to each other without having a proper conversation.
  4. Free of cost! This is the best thing about memes. You can get them anywhere and anytime without spending a single penny. Who doesn’t like to get things free?
pic courtesy: pinterest

According to psychologist paul Thagard in a 2013 web article, memes are not a good way to express extreme thoughts.

Cons of memes

  1. Offensive: memes that are funny to some might be offensive to others. With time they have become controversial, though hurting other’s sentiments should be avoided but you never know what can hurt people. This offensive side of meme culture gets unnoticed. People don’t understand the depth of it.
  2. Negativity: lately everything that goes viral becomes a meme and with it goes hate. People hate on others who they dislike or disagree with. For example, few days ago a lady was seen slapping a guy and soon as the matter was discovered, people got their fresh meme material much of which was funny but a small portion if it was purely bad taste. Abusing or hating should never be considered right in memes.
  3. Short lived: memes get famous for a short period of time and are replaces by others as soon as something new comes in market. They are forgotten easily and sometimes you just get bored of them because there are so many similar memes they don’t appeal to us the same way others do.

Conclusion

Despite the pros and cons, it’s important for the public especially youngsters to understand that memes are just a means of making people laugh but within the limits. We need to understand that mocking others or using the memes to laugh on sensitive topics should be avoided. There have been many incidents in the past where people have made meme without acknowledging the seriousness of the matter. Just yesterday I saw a meme on people who got killed by clinging to the plane in Afghanistan.
On the other hand there have been cases where memes have saved people in their gloomy days. And they have also been helpful in spreading information on a wide scale. We get the news of an earthquake from meme fater than the media. Funny but true.
Meme culture can have repercussions on our mental well being, it affects the way we see our society and sometimes stops us from changing by approving our toxic traits.

Let’s not make this world a meme and keep it real. Laugh at funny but be serious when required. Laughing about negative aspects of human life is not ok. Making memes on suicide, depression and other such matters is not ok. Turning these serious matters into trivial ones is not ok!! Let’s enjoy memes that are really funny and within the limits.

On a lighter note…

Pic courtesy: HumorNama

Reference: https://smeharbinger.net

https://www.wikipedia.org

Importance of Technology during Pandemic

Technology has played an important role in responding to the novel coronavirus and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft perspective and illustrate how technology has helped transform the public health landscape with new and refined capabilities – the efficacy and impact of which will be determined by history. Technologies like chatbot and virtualized patient care offer a mechanism to triage and distribute care at scale. Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing have accelerated research into understanding the virus and developing targeted therapeutics to treat infection and prevent transmission. New mobile contact tracing protocols that preserve patient privacy and civil liberties were developed in response to public concerns, creating new opportunities for privacy-sensitive technologies that aid efforts to prevent and control outbreaks. While much progress is still needed, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted technology’s importance to public health security and pandemic preparedness. Future multi-stakeholder collaborations, including those with technology organizations, are needed to facilitate progress in overcoming the current pandemic, setting the stage for improved pandemic preparedness in the future. As lessons are assessed from the current pandemic, public officials should consider technology’s role and continue to seek opportunities to supplement and improve on traditional approaches.

A tech-enabled education system will be a pandemic-proof solution, that can also be something that can continue after the pandemic. It’ll only allow the schools and colleges to widen their outreach and reach thousands of students, by simply adapting to a digital curriculum. One might wonder how online and offline curriculums will ever be able to match each other, but that is where one should realize that they are not too different, to begin with! Similar to that of a physical classroom, a student follows a time-table for their virtual classrooms, teachers switch lessons, students get breaks, they take assessments designed for an online mode, and to top it all off, all this happens while being at the comfort of their rooms/homes.

Try to understand your parents

pls Don’t force your parents to buy this or that because in this pandemic situation they already facing lots of financial problems . Help them by doing small paid internship or else work from home jobs . Make your parents proud help them whatever you can do but please don’t ask any finance from them at this situation because they may face lots of stress & health issues . UNDERSTAND THEM .

Stress

“You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.”

-Steve maraboli
7 Steps To Managing Stress

Introduction

Stress can be best defined as the body’s coping response to emotional burdens and demands. Surprisingly, stress is very essential in several conditions. For example, according to Health Guide, When working properly, stress helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life—giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid a car accident.

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The real issue, however, that needs to be dealt with is chronic stress. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can suppress your immune system, upset your digestive and reproductive systems, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, and speed up the aging process. It can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.

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Health problems caused by stress include:

  1. Depression and anxiety
  2. Pain of any kind
  3. Sleep problems
  4. Autoimmune diseases
  5. Digestive problems
  6. Skin conditions, such as eczema
  7. Heart disease
See the source image

Citation(S): https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-signs-and-causes.htm

Common Symptoms

According to Mayo clinic, some of the common symptoms of stress that can affect your body, mind, emotions, behaviour etc are:

Physical Symptoms

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  • Headache
  • Muscle tension or pain
  • Chest pain
  • Fatigue
  • Change in sex drive
  • Upset stomach
  • Sleep problems

Emotional Symptoms

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  • Sadness or depression
  • Irritability or anger
  • Lack of motivation or focus
  • Anxiety
  • Restlessness
  • Feeling overwhelmed

Behavioural Symptoms

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  • Overeating or undereating
  • Angry outbursts
  • Drug or alcohol misuse
  • Social withdrawal
  • Exercising less often

Citation(s):https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987#:~:text=Common%20effects%20of%20stress%20%20%20%20On,%20Tobacco%20use%20%203%20more%20rows%20

Major Causes of stress:

The causes or situations that trigger stress are known as stressors. Several situations in life can induce lasting stress that is detrimental to the overall wellbeing of a individual. These are the several major stressors in adults and children.

Work Pressure or Job Loss:

Work pressure may account for an enormous amount of stress in a large number of individuals. It might just be one of the leading causes of stress among the adult population. In today’s day and age, excessive competition and a never ending demand for services has rendered people incapable of doing anything except work. Added to all these are the poor working conditions and over- exceeding expectations that curate up an insane amount of stress.

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Job loss is an exceedingly conducive factor to the ever surmounting stress load. In today’s capital world, losing a job is like losing a limb and an obvious cause for distress.

Death of Close People:

Passing away of a loved one can be an exceptionally huge factor for stress.

Image result for Mourning Cartoon

As already stated that stress is a kind of coping mechanism that evokes a sort of fight or flight reaction when required, loss of a person close to you may be an incentive enough for the body to evoke stress which can last for a long period of time.

Relationship Challenges:

Alternating curves on the relationship graph add to stress exponentially. No human is perfect and therefore no relation that he forges is. Relationships are full of ups and downs, which added with other social stressors can affect an individual badly.

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Among other things compatibility might be one of the added causes of stress, no human can be 100% compatible with another, everyone needs their own space, even people in committed relationships.

Money Worries:

In a capital world like ours, money is the Ambrosia.

People hanker after money like anything. There is such a cut-throat competition to be at the helm of money matters that it has rendered us all anxious. Money worries is one of the biggest causes of stress nowadays.

Other major causes of stress include:

  • Social pressure such as bullying
Image result for bullying cartoon
  • Parental divorce
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  • studying for exams, choosing a career etc.
Image result for studying for exams, choosing a career stress cartoon

Simple Stress Management:

Although chronic stress requires proper medical intervention, some self care, meditation and heedfulness works wonders. Here are some things that can help reduce stress.

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thedoctorweighsin.com
  • Spending time in nature
  • Saying your prayers and connecting with spirituality
  • Practicing yoga
  • Spending time with friends and family
  • Writing in a diary
  • Doing your exercises
  • Practicing art
  • Reading books
  • Sleeping well
  • Eating well
  • Prioritizing tasks
  • Picking up a new hobby
  • Taking up therapy if needed
  • Thinking positive

“Convince yourself everyday that you are worthy of a good life. Let go of stress, breathe. Stay positive, all is well.”

 Germany Kent

Hard work VS Smart work.

Hard work can be simply defined as putting in strenuous hours for doing a certain task or tasks. Smart work refers to find effective and efficient ways to complete one or multiple tasks while also managing time and quality both.

The difference between hard work and smart work:

It is based on how I approach my task. Hard work would mean spending long hours to complete my work without any shortcuts. It definitely ensures results but the process is long and stressful. Smart work would be aiming for the same results but with planning and prioritisation of tasks. In College/Law School, the trend of examination questions was repetitive. The questions asked in the last few years would be asked again. I realised this after my first semester. Since then, for the examinations.

Story:

One day two woodcutters have argued, which of them will cut more wood during a day.In the morning two men took up their positions. First they worked at one speed. But in an hour one of them has heard, that the other one stopped cutting trees. Realizing that this was his chance, the first woodcutter started to cut trees with double efforts.Ten minutes passed, and he heard that the second woodcutter started to work again. They were working almost synchronously, when the first woodcutter heard that his opponent has stopped again. The first woodcutter continued working, feeling the smell of victory.This lasted all day long. Each hour one of the woodcutters stopped for ten minutes and the other one continued to work. When time expired, the first woodcutter, who worked without any stopping, was absolutely sure that he won the prize.He was very surprised to know that was mistaken.— How did that happen? — He asked his partner. — Each hour I heard that you have stopped the work for ten minutes. How could you cut more trees than I? It’s impossible!— It is very simple, in fact, — answered the second woodcutter. — Each hour I stopped the work for ten minutes. And when you were cutting the trees, I sharpened the axe.

don’t believe in luck or in hard work without the so called “work smart”. …“You ain’t get nothing for staying low, lazy. …“Hard work pays off and pays the bills. …“Nothing in this world is handed to you. …“Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.

A guide to internships

Introduction

Internship is an opportunity for you to get real time experience in a field that you are interested in. It is a program that helps you improve in a particular field. Internships are short-term jobs. Internships are mostly done before securing a permanent job or done by college students to add it as an experience in their resume. Internships can be paid and unpaid. Either way you will work for a particular organization and get experience.

Requirements for an internship

This is just the basic requirements for any internship you get. The particular organization will have particular requirements for the internship anyway. These are the things that you need to have before you apply for an internship

  • A well built resume. As internship is actually a job that you are going to do, the organization need to know your education details and other interests. So you need to have your resume ready.
  • Experience. Don’t forget to add your experience details in your resume if you have any, because that acts as one of the factors to hire candidates. Some organizations do not expect any previous experience from you. And some will require work samples related to your work. If you can do your work samples and keep them ready, there are chances to be hired since they can see if you are capable of doing the job or not.
  • Why should we hire you. This is one important question that requires a neat and precise thoughtful answer. Be prepared for that. Make sure you show your interest towards the work you would be doing as well as towards the organization. Mention your experience in it if you have any.
  • Research. Research about the organization you are applying for and get to know them. This is not very much necessary but you need to know this in order to know about the company and develop interest. The company most of the time is not going to ask questions about them but it would be good if you mention some of it during interview.
  • Assessment. Some organizations do not ask for work samples instead they give you assessment to get to know your knowledge in the field. Do the assessment with full dedication and be punctual and submit it before deadline.

Find the internship

Next step is to look for internships. I will list down some internship websites I know.

  • LinkedIn
  • Internshala
  • Glassdoor
  • Internships.com
  • Internmatch.com
  • LetsIntern
  • InternWorld
  • HelloIntern

Dedication

Once you get an internship offer, do it with full dedication even if it is unpaid. Make contacts with the employees to increase your professional circle. Some organizations provide letter of recommendation. It will help you in future to get a permanent job.

Conclusion

If you are a college student and have interest in some field with little knowledge in it, go ahead and find an internship to develop it! It will definitely help you to get a job after internship by developing yourself. When you are free and has nothing to do, you can simply join for a 1 month internship to get exposure.

10 TIPS TO LEAD A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Life on the earth is precious. But life with health is more precious. Life without health is like food without salt. A healthy lifestyle concerns the health and well-being of an individual. In ancient days, health is defined as the absence of disease. But, health is a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being of an individual nor merely an absence of disease. We have to be responsible for maintaining our health. A healthy lifestyle helps you to live longer with a better and happy life. If you are healthy, you can finish the assigned task at a faster speed. To be healthy, first, identify the unhealthy habits and find new ways to replace them. Change one thing at a time. Because the small changes over a long period will be very helpful. When you live healthily, both your mind and body remain fresh and active, and also helps to prevent you from chronic diseases and long-term diseases. Feeling good about yourself and taking care of your health helps to increase your self-esteem and self-image. Some of the tips that you can follow to lead a healthy lifestyle are listed below:

  1. Maintain a regular exercise routine: Do simple exercises in the home. Walking is also a good exercise. Use steps instead of escalators in case you do not hurry. Doing household chores is also an exercise. Keep your body parts active. Avoid sitting in the same place for a long time. Practice yoga to keep both your body and mind relaxed.
  2. Sleep properly: Go to bed early at night and wake up early in the morning. Avoid usage of mobile phones at least one hour before you go to bed. One should sleep at least eight hours per day to lead a healthy lifestyle. Sleep helps in the healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot be function well. Good periods of sleep also help in improving concentration.
  3. Drink water: On average, an adult’s body is composed of at least 50% of water. Drink 8 glasses of water per day. Water helps to regulate the body temperature. It also helps to carry nutrients and oxygen to cells. Drink 100% fresh fruit juices.
  4. Eat healthy foods: Consume foods that are rich in vitamins and nutrients. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Maintaining a balanced diet helps you to maintain the health of your body. Eat foods that contain proteins, minerals, and nutrients. It is best to eat at least 3 meals per day to keep you healthy.
  5. Avoid eating junk foods: Eating junk foods cause several diseases to human. Eating a lot of junk foods will result in obesity. Also, reduce the consumption of fast foods. Recent studies revealed that eating junk foods continuously also affects brain health. So try to avoid eating junk foods.
  6. Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, and drugs: We all know that smoking causes cancer, and liquor consumption is injurious to health. Smoking not only causes cancer to the one who smokes, but it also affects the health of the persons around him. Drug- addiction causes several problems to the individual.
  7. Avoid stress, anxiety, and depression: Stress hormones affect your heart and brain. Avoid doing stressful works. Do the job that you are interested in. Don’t get angry over small things. Be calm and patient.
  8. Cleanliness: Always keep your surroundings clean. Don’t throw the garbage on the roads. Put them in the garbage can. A dirty environment will cause several health problems. We must maintain the cleanliness of our bodies, homes, surroundings to have good health.
  9. Be kind to everyone: Interact with your families and friends. Share your happiness and sadness with them. Be friendly to everyone. Smile often. It helps to keeps you healthy. There is also a proverb that says “Laughter is the best medicine”.
  10. Listen to Music: Listening to music makes you happier. It also improves your visual and verbal skills. Music boosts your immune system and helps you to free yourself from depression. It helps to reduce blood pressure, pulse rate, and heart rate.

IT IS HEALTH THAT IS REAL WEALTH AND NOT PIECES OF GOLD AND SILVER”

-Mahatma Gandhi

India and its neighborhood relations

‘Neighbourhood First’ means improving the state of being connected or interconnected and lessening the gravity of identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, particularly to the marginalization or detriment of the interests of other nations.

The outlook on ‘Neighbourhood First’ points out:

1) India’s inclination to give political and diplomatic precedence to its immediate neighbors and the Indian Ocean island states, including Central Asia.

2) Providing neighbors with support, as needed, in the form of resources, equipment, and training. For example Development Partnership Administration (DPA) can launch programs like the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC), the Special Commonwealth Assistance for Africa Programme (SCAAP), and the Technical Cooperation Scheme (TCS) of the Colombo Plan schemes.

3) Seeking greater connectivity and integration for bettering the free flow of merchandises, services, human resources, energy means, capital, and information.

4) Promoting a model of India-led regionalism with which its neighbors are comfortable involving humanitarian cooperation, for example, i) counter-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, ii) humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in cyclone-hit Mozambique and Madagascar (Operation Vanilla).

5) Active role in helping to create a regional security regime and in pushing stability outwards using impressive military and soft-power capabilities, for example, Doklam standoff.

6) Bridging diplomacy and development.

7) Acting East as China rises whether through its optic fiber connecting Nepal across the Himalayas which broke India’s internet monopoly there; 99-year lease of Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port where Sri Lanka faces a record foreign debt repayment of nearly USD 6 billion in 2019; or its shareholding in the Dhaka Stock Exchange by outbidding India.

8) Realizing success in multi-ethnic and religious engagement.

Now from generics to some specifics:

Afghanistan

As Afghanistan moves closer to multi transitions (NATO drawdown, Presidential elections, economic transition) and enters the phase of transformation decade, India’s focus on Afghanistan is becoming sharper in view of the stakes India has in Afghanistan from the perspectives of Its own security and strategic interests. India can ill-afford the return of Taliban. The emergence of a regime in Afghanistan which is a proxy of Pakistan and dominated by Islamic fundamentalists would not be in the interests of India. A stable and peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan is of no use to India if its territories are allowed to be used for the purposes which are inimical to the national interests of India.

Indian policy makers will have to pick up the right option as the security situation evolves; in the event there is no deterioration in the current security situation, India could continue with its policy of commitment to contribute substantially towards reconstruction of Afghanistan and capacity building including training of Afghan Security Forces. [India has invested over $2bn in Afghanistan as development assistance; under its strategic partnership agreement, India is providing training to Afghan Security forces]. It could also adhere to its commitments as Lead Country in Istanbul CBMs. In case Afghanistan returns to chaotic and bloody civil war posing physical threat to Indian personnel’s presence in Afghanistan, India may find it difficult to continue to operate in Afghanistan. At the same time, India’s military intervention in Afghanistan is more or less ruled out.

Sri Lanka:

India’s policy approach towards Sri Lanka is reflected In its response to a Question tabled in the Parliament (Lok Sabha Q. N. 1542 dated 14th August, 2013 ); the Government stated “India has long advocated the creation of an environment in Sri Lanka in which all communities, particularly the Sri Lankan Tamils, are masters of their own destiny within the framework of a united Sri Lanka. Our objective continues to remain the achievement of a future for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect. In this context, India has been engaged with the Government of Sri Lanka at the highest levels on its stated commitment to implement the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution and to go beyond, so as to achieve meaningful devolution of powers.”

India has adopted a multi- pronged approach since the liquidation of the LTTE; this policy has several components: i) India misses no opportunity to impress upon the Sri Lankan Government to abide by its commitments towards Sri Lankan Tamils particularly meaningful devolution of powers and the implementation of the 13th Amendment and beyond in a time bound manner; ii) India reassure as often as possible the Sri Lankan Tamils that it will make every effort to ensure the 13th amendment is not diluted and the future for the community is marked by equality, justice and self-respect; (In June last year “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was explicit in conveying to the visiting Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation from Sri Lanka that he was “dismayed by reports suggesting that the Government of Sri Lanka planned to dilute certain key provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution ahead of elections to the Northern Provincial Council” [Ministry of External Affairs official statement, New Delhi, June 18, 2013] ; iii) India continues to invest into the reconstruction of Northern Sri Lanka; iv) As far the Tamil leadership in India, the Central Government in New Delhi listen to their demands, accommodates them to the extent feasible but ultimately exercises the prerogative of the Centre in the formulation of foreign policy taking broader national interests into account rather than being pushed by narrow regional priorities; v) India is monitoring carefully the Chinese overtures in Sri Lanka and check the latter’s drift towards China.

China:

The two countries have a long history of civilisational links. Soon after its own independence and the Maoist revolution in China, India went an extra mile to reach out to the communist regime. India was quick in recognising China, and supported its entry into the United Nations; recognized Tibet as an autonomous region of China The 1962 border conflict therefore came as a political shock to India. While Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s landmark visit in 1988 began a phase of improvement in bilateral relations, it is the cumulative outcomes of seven key High Level visits in last 10years which have been transformational for India-China ties. [These were that of Prime Minister Vajpayee [2003], of Premier Wen Jiabao [2005 & 2010], of President Hu Jintao [2006], of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [2008 and 2013] and of Premier Li Keqiang [2013]. It is noteworthy that more than 60% of the agreements between India and China have been signed during the last decade. As of today, both sides have established 36 dialogue mechanisms covering diverse sectors. Bilateral trade has registered enormous growth reaching $70bn in 2011 (and may touch $100bn by 2015). The year 2014 has been designated as the Year of Friendly Exchanges between India and China. The two sides have established a Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity(2005) The leaders of India and China have also been meeting on the sidelines of regional, plurilateral and multilateral gatherings and conferences.

This is not to suggest that there are no irritants in relations between the two countries; there is always the other side of the coin: the border dispute between India and China remains unresolved; China’s plans to build dams on Brahamaputra or seek access to Indian ocean through Pakistan and Myanmar, “string of pearls” etc are matters of concern. In addition, the rapid economic rise of China and its military strength have given it the audacity to occasionally flex political and military muscles.

Pakistan:

Pakistan is and for foreseeable future will remain a permanent fixture on the agenda of India’s policy makers. The State Relations between India and Pakistan have remained less than normal ever since the partition of India and creation of Pakistan in 1947. Sporadic efforts made by the civilian authorities on the two sides of the divide to provide semblance of normalcy to bilateral relations have often been thwarted by the ISI and Army in Pakistan. History almost repeated itself in the recent past. Pakistani President Nawaz Sharrif made several conciliatory statements during and after his election in May 2013. He was reportedly advised by his Army Chief to go slow and exercise utmost caution while striving to improve relations with India; this was even before Nawaz Sharif was officially sworn in. As the prospects of a possible bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in New York on the side-lines of the UNGA 2013 Session were looking bright and back-channel contacts had began, the ceasefire violations along the LOC accelerated, culminating in to the killing of five Indian soldiers(6th August 2013). India’s response was firm and strong. In a Statement, the Defence Minister of India A.K. Antony said that “It is now clear that the specialist troops of Pakistan Army were involved in this attack when a group from the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) side crossed the LC and killed our brave jawans (soldiers) . We all know that nothing happens from Pakistan side of the Line of Control without support, assistance, facilitation and often, direct involvement of the Pakistan Army.”A chain of allegations and counter-allegations followed. In a resolution it adopted on 13th August, the National Assembly of Pakistan accused India of ‘unprovoked aggression by Indian military forces across the LoC”, promptly rejected and deplored by the Indian Parliament through identical resolutions in the two Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) reflecting the unity of approach to this issue by the ruling coalition as well as Opposition. Besides refuting the allegation and asserting that “it was the Pakistan Army that was involved in the unprovoked attack on an Indian Army patrol”, it also added “our restraint should not be taken for granted nor should the capacity of our armed forces to ensure the territorial integrity of our nation.” To top it up the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his address to the nation on the 67th Independence Day singled out Pakistan by name and said “for relations with Pakistan to improve, it is essential that they prevent the use of their territory and territory under their control for any anti-India activity”.

In my assessment the future of India-Pak dialogue would depend on i) whether or not Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is able to minimise Army’s influence and control over foreign and security policies ; ii) tangible deliveries from Pakistan on issues of India’s serious concerns particularly arising out of Pak-inspired/sponsored cross-border terrorism against India.

DEEP LEARNING SERIES- PART 8

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is deep-learning-logo-picture-id871793108

The previous article was about the padding, stride, and parameters of CNN. This article is about the pooling and the procedure to build an image classifier.

Pooling

This is another aspect of CNN. There are different types of pooling like min pooling, max pooling, avg pooling, etc. the process is the same as before i.e. the kernel vector slides over the input vector and does computations on the dot product. If a 3*3 kernel is considered then it is applied over a 3*3 region inside the vector, it finds the dot product in the case of convolution. The same in pooling finds a particular value and substitutes that value in the output vector. The kernel value decides the type of pooling. The following table shows the operation done by the pooling.

Type of poolingThe value seen in the output layer
Max poolingMaximum of all considered cells
Min poolingMinimum of all considered cells
Avg poolingAverage of all considered cells



The considered cells are bounded within the kernel dimensions.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-8.png

The pictorial representation of average pooling is shown above. The number of parameters in pooling is zero.

Convolution and pooling are the basis for feature extraction. The vector obtained from this step is fed into an FFN which then does the required task on the image.

Features of CNN

  1. Sparse connectivity
  2. Weight sharing.



This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-9.png

    

    Feature extraction-CNN              classifier-FNN

In general, CNN is first then FFN is later. But the order or number or types of convolution and pooling can vary based on the complexity and choice of the user.

Already there are a lot of models like VGGNet, AlexNet, GoogleNet, and ResNet. These models are made standard and their architecture has been already defined by researchers. We have to reshape our images in accordance with the dimensions of the model.

General procedure to build an image classifier using CNN

  1. Obtain the data in the form of image datasets.
  2. Set the output classes for the model to perform the classification on.
  3. Transform or in specific reshape the dimension of the images compatible to the model. The image size maybe 20*20 but the model accepts only 200*200 images; then we must reshape them to that size.
  4. Split the given data into training data and evaluation data. This is done by creating new datasets for both training and validation. More images are required for training.
  5. Define the model used for this task.
  6. Roughly sketch the architecture of the network.
  7. Determine the number of convolutions, pooling etc. and their order
  8. Determine the dimensions for the first layer, padding, stride, number of filters and dimensions of filter.
  9. Apply the formula and find the output dimensions for the next layer.
  10. Repeat 5d till the last layer in CNN.
  11. Determine the number of layers and number of neurons per layer and parameters in FNN.
  12. Sketch the architecture with the parameters and dimension.
  13. Incorporate these details into the machine.
  14. Or import a predefined model.  In that case the classes in the last layer in the FNN must be replaced with ‘1’ for binary classification or with the number of classes. This is known as transfer learning.
  15. Train the model using the training dataset and calculate the loss function for periodic steps in the training.
  16. Check if the machine has performed correctly by comparing the true output with model prediction and hence compute the training accuracy.
  17. Test the machine with the evaluation data and verify the performance on that data and compute the validation accuracy.
  18.   If both the accuracies are satisfactory then the machine is complete.

HAPPY LEARNING!!



DEEP LEARNING SERIES- PART 8

The previous article was about the padding, stride, and parameters of CNN. This article is about the pooling and the procedure to build an image classifier.

Pooling

This is another aspect of CNN. There are different types of pooling like min pooling, max pooling, avg pooling, etc. the process is the same as before i.e. the kernel vector slides over the input vector and does computations on the dot product. If a 3*3 kernel is considered then it is applied over a 3*3 region inside the vector, it finds the dot product in the case of convolution. The same in pooling finds a particular value and substitutes that value in the output vector. The kernel value decides the type of pooling. The following table shows the operation done by the pooling.

Type of poolingThe value seen in the output layer
Max poolingMaximum of all considered cells
Min poolingMinimum of all considered cells
Avg poolingAverage of all considered cells

The considered cells are bounded within the kernel dimensions.

The pictorial representation of average pooling is shown above. The number of parameters in pooling is zero.

Convolution and pooling are the basis for feature extraction. The vector obtained from this step is fed into an FFN which then does the required task on the image.

Features of CNN

  1. Sparse connectivity
  2. Weight sharing.

    

    Feature extraction-CNN              classifier-FNN

In general, CNN is first then FFN is later. But the order or number or types of convolution and pooling can vary based on the complexity and choice of the user.

Already there are a lot of models like VGGNet, AlexNet, GoogleNet, and ResNet. These models are made standard and their architecture has been already defined by researchers. We have to reshape our images in accordance with the dimensions of the model.

General procedure to build an image classifier using CNN

  1. Obtain the data in the form of image datasets.
  2. Set the output classes for the model to perform the classification on.
  3. Transform or in specific reshape the dimension of the images compatible to the model. The image size maybe 20*20 but the model accepts only 200*200 images; then we must reshape them to that size.
  4. Split the given data into training data and evaluation data. This is done by creating new datasets for both training and validation. More images are required for training.
  5. Define the model used for this task.
  6. Roughly sketch the architecture of the network.
  7. Determine the number of convolutions, pooling etc. and their order
  8. Determine the dimensions for the first layer, padding, stride, number of filters and dimensions of filter.
  9. Apply the formula and find the output dimensions for the next layer.
  10. Repeat 5d till the last layer in CNN.
  11. Determine the number of layers and number of neurons per layer and parameters in FNN.
  12. Sketch the architecture with the parameters and dimension.
  13. Incorporate these details into the machine.
  14. Or import a predefined model.  In that case the classes in the last layer in the FNN must be replaced with ‘1’ for binary classification or with the number of classes. This is known as transfer learning.
  15. Train the model using the training dataset and calculate the loss function for periodic steps in the training.
  16. Check if the machine has performed correctly by comparing the true output with model prediction and hence compute the training accuracy.
  17. Test the machine with the evaluation data and verify the performance on that data and compute the validation accuracy.
  18.   If both the accuracies are satisfactory then the machine is complete.

HAPPY LEARNING!!

DEEP LEARNING SERIES- PART 7

The previous article was about the process of convolution and its implementation. This article is about the padding, stride and the parameters involved in a CNN.

We have seen that there is a reduction of dimension in the output vector. A technique known as padding is done to preserve the original dimensions in the output vector. The only change in this process is that we add a boundary of ‘0s’ over the input vector and then do the convolution process.

Procedure to implement padding

  1. To get n*n output use a (n+2*n+2) input
  2. To get 7*7 output use 9*9 input
  3. In that 9*9 input fill the first row, first column, last row and last column with zero.
  4. Now do the convolution operation on it using a filter.
  5. Observe that the output has the same dimensions as of the input.

Zero is used since it is insignificant so as to keep the output dimension without affecting the results

Here all the elements in the input vector have been transferred to the output. Hence using padding we can preserve the originality of the input. Padding is denoted using P. If P=1 then one layer of zeroes is added and so on.

It is not necessary that the filter or kernel must be applied to all the cells. The pattern of applying the kernel onto the input vector is determined using the stride. It determines the shift or gaps in the cells where the filter has to be applied.-

S=1 means no gap is created. The filter is applied to all the cells.

S=2 means gap of 1. The filter is applied to alternative cells. This halves the dimensions on the output vector.

This diagram shows the movement of filter on a vector with stride of 1 and 2. With a stride of 2; alternative columns are accessed and hence the number of computations per row decreases by 2. Hence the output dimensions reduce while use stride.

The padding and stride are some features used in CNN.

Parameters in a convolution layer

The following are the terms needed for calculating the parameter for a convolution layer.

Input layer

Width Wi – width of input image

Height Hi – height of input image

Depth Di – 3 since they follow RGB

We saw that 7*7 inputs without padding and stride along with 3*3 kernels gave a 5*5 output. It can be verified using this calculation.

The role of padding can also be verified using this calculation.

The f is known as filter size. It can be a 1*1, 3*3 and so on. It is a 1-D value so the first value is taken. There is another term K which refers to the number of kernels used. This value is fixed by user.

These values are similar to those of w and b. The machine learns the ideal value for these parameters for high efficiency. The significance of partial connection or CNN can be easily understood through the parameters.

Consider the same example of (30*30*3) vector. The parameter for CNN by using 10 kernels will be 2.7 million. This is a large number. But if the same is done using FNN then the parameters will be at least 100 million. This is almost 50 times that of before. This is significantly larger than CNN. The reason for this large number is due to the full connectivity. 

                                                 

Parameter= 30*30*3*3*10= 2.7M

HAPPY READING!!