e-commerce - Definition

The buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers through an electronic medium, without using any paper documents. E-commerce is widely considered the buying and selling of products over the internet, but any transaction that is completed solely through electronic measures can be considered e-commerce. E-commerce is subdivided into three categories: business to business or B2B (Cisco), business to consumer or B2C (Amazon), and consumer to consumer or C2C (eBay). also called electronic commerce.

Investment Opportunity In Maharashtra

BOEING, AMAZON EXPLORE INVESTING IN MULTI-MODAL CARGO HUB AT NAGPUR

Thomas Vajda, Consul General of US in Mumbai, had toured the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) site. Vajda was accompanied by senior executives of companies such as Corning India, APCO Worldwide, Jabil Circuit, Boeing, Amazon.com, Honeywell International and Colgate-Palmolive. Five of these global firms have committed to invest $500 million in MIHAN. Over the last 10 years, the Government of Maharashtra, through the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd (MADC), has been trying to develop the MIHAN project, which is spread over 4,000 hectares. MIHAN is located about 15 kilometres from downtown Nagpur.

 

Why play is important

Why play is important

• 0-1 years should have some physical activity, such as floor play, each day
• 1-5 years should be physically active for at least three hours each day, with activity spread across the day
• 5-18 years should do at least one hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day.

 

Play is more than just fun for kids. It's how babies and children learn, and how they work out who they are and where they fit in the world.

You can read this article in a selection of languages other than English.

The basics

Playing is one of the most important things you can do with your child. The time you spend playing together gives your child lots of different ways and times to learn. It also helps your child:

• build confidence
• feel loved, happy and safe
• develop social skills, language and communication
• learn about caring for others and the environment
• develop physical skills
• connect and refine pathways in her brain.

Your child will love playing with you, but sometimes he might prefer to play by himself and won't need so much hands-on play from you. He might just want you to give him ideas and let him know how his play and games are going. Also, the way your child plays will change as he gets older.

Different types of play

Unstructured, free play is the best type of play for young children. This is play that just happens, depending on what takes your child's interest at the time. Free play isn't planned and lets your child use her imagination and move at her own pace.

Examples of unstructured play might be:

• creative play alone or with others – including artistic or musical games
• imaginative games – making cubby houses with boxes or blankets, dressing up, playing make-believe
• exploring new or favourite play spaces – cupboards, backyards, parks, playgrounds and so on.

You can be part of your child's unstructured play or not. Sometimes all you'll need to do is point him in the right direction – towards the jumble of dress-ups and toys on his floor, or to the table with crayons and paper. Sometimes you might need to be a bit more active. For example, 'How about we play dress-ups? What do you want to be today?'

Structured play is different. It's more organised and occurs at a fixed time or in a set space, and is often led by a grown-up.

Examples of structured play include:

• water familiarisation classes for toddlers, or swimming lessons for older children – you might see these as being important lessons for your child, but she might just think they're fun
• storytelling groups for toddlers and preschoolers at the local library
• dance, music or drama classes for children of all ages
• family board or card games
• modified sports for slightly older children, such as Auskick (Australian Rules Football), Futsal (five-a-side soccer) and Netta netball.

Structured and unstructured play can happen indoors or outdoors. Spending time outside gives your child the chance to explore, be active, test physical limits – and get messy! You can read more in our article on outdoor play.

How play develops with your child

As your child grows, the way he plays will change – he'll get more creative and experiment more with toys, games and ideas. This might mean he needs more space and time to play.

Newborns and babies
For babies, the best toy is you. You might like to try using the following to play with your little one:

• music, songs, bells or containers filled with different objects – these objects can help develop hearing and movement
• objects of different sizes, colours and shapes – these can encourage reaching and grasping
• sturdy furniture, balls, toys or boxes – these can get your child crawling, standing and walking.

Tummy time and floor play are important for your baby's development. Tummy time helps your baby develop movement control by strengthening head, neck and body muscles.

Toddlers
Your toddler might enjoy:

• a range of big and light things such as cardboard boxes, buckets or blow-up balls – these can encourage running, building, pushing or dragging movements
• chalk, rope, music or containers – these can encourage jumping, kicking, stomping, stepping and running
• hoops, boxes, large rocks, or pillows – these can be used for climbing, balancing, twisting, swaying or rolling
• hills, tunnels or nooks – these can encourage physical activities like crawling and exploring.

If you put on some favourite music while your toddler plays, she can also experiment with different sounds and rhythms. 

Preschoolers
Here are some ideas to get your preschooler's mind and body going:

• old milk containers, wooden spoons, empty pot plant containers, sticks, scrunched-up paper, plastic buckets, saucepans and old clothes – your child can use these for imaginative, unstructured play
• favourite CDs or pots and pans – your child can use these for a dance concert or to make up music
• balls and frisbees – these can encourage practice in kicking, throwing or rolling.

When encouraging your child to kick or throw, try to get him to use one side of his body, then the other.

School-age children
Your school-age child can have fun with:

• furniture, linen, washing baskets, tents and boxes that can be used for building
• her imagination alone, as she pretends to be a favourite superhero
• home-made obstacle courses that get her moving in different ways, directions and speeds.

If your child's interested, you could think about getting him into some sports or team activities designed for young children. Other possibilities include after-school or holiday art and craft activities.

You don't have to spend lots of money on toys and play equipment for your child. You might like to read our article on playing without paying for creative ways to have fun together. You can also check out our article on toys, games and books for all ages.

If your child doesn't want to play

There might be times when your child doesn't want to play – for example, she could be tired or bored by doing the same activity for too long. This is normal and usually nothing to worry about.

But sometimes a lack of play – or a lack of interest in play – can be a sign of a more serious developmental disorder. Consider speaking with your GP if:

• your baby doesn't seem to get into interactive play (such as peek-a-boo)
• your toddler has only a narrow interest in toys, or doesn't use toys in a functional way (for example, is only interested in spinning the wheels of a toy car instead of driving it around the room like other children the same age)
• your preschooler isn't interested in playing with other children, or playing pretend games.

 

Health Benefits - Arbi leaves, Elephant ear, colocassia leaves

Arbi leaves, Elephant ear, colocassia leaves

Health Benefits

· It is an excellent source of vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, and folate.

· The fiber content is also good.

Health benefits of Taro

Health benefits of Taro

• Taro or dasheen corms have more calories than potatoes. 100 g provides 112 calories. Their calorie value chiefly comes from complex carbohydrates in them known as amylose and amylopectin. Nonetheless, the roots are very low in fats and protein than in cereals and pulses. Their protein levels can be comparable to that of other tropical food sources like yam, cassava, potato, plantain, etc.

• The corms, however, are free from gluten. They carry high-quality phyto-nutrition profile comprising of dietary fiber, and antioxidants in addition to moderate proportions of minerals, and vitamins.

• Taro is one of the finest source dietary fibers; 100 g flesh provides 4.1 g or 11% of daily-requirement of dietary fiber. Together with slow digesting complex carbohydrates, moderate amounts of fiber in the food help gradual rise in blood sugar levels.

• Taro leaves as well as yellow-fleshed roots have significant levels of phenolic flavonoid pigment antioxidants such as ß-carotenes, and cryptoxanthin along with vitamin A. 100 g fresh taro leaves provide 4825 IU or 161% of RDA of vitamin A. Altogether, these compounds are required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes, skin and vision. Consumption of natural foods rich in flavonoids helps to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

• It also contains good levels of some of the valuable B-complex group of vitamins such as pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), folates, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and thiamin.

• Further, the corms provide healthy amounts of some of important minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and manganese. In addition, the root has very good amounts of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help regulate heart rate and blood pressure.

What is fitness? What does being physically fit mean?

What is fitness? What does being physically fit mean?

What does fitness actually mean? What specific attributes make people fit?

According to the The United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS)¹, physical fitness is defined as "a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity".

This description goes beyond being able to run long distance or lift a lot at the gym. Fitness is more than simply a questions of listing which activities you do or how long you do them for.

Despite being important, these attributes only address single areas of fitness.

This Medical News Today information article provides details on the five main components of physical fitness, which include:

Contents of this article:

1. Cardiorespiratory endurance
2. Muscular strength
3. Muscular endurance
4. Body composition
5. Flexibility

Cardiorespiratory endurance

Jogging can help improve your cardiorespiratory
endurance.

Cardiorespiratory endurance is how our body is able to supply fuel during physical activity via the body's circulatory and respiratory systems.

According to Folsom Lake College², there are two parts of cardiorespiratory endurance:

1. How efficient your heart and lungs are at delivering oxygen to your body
2. How efficient your body is at creating the ATP, or energy, your muscles need in order to contract.

Activites that can help improve your cardiorespiratory endurance include those that cause an elevated and safe heart rate for a sustained period.

These activities include swimming, brisk walking, jogging, and cycling.

It is important to begin these activities slowly and gradually increase the intensity.

Muscular strength

The USDHHS defines muscular strength as the ability of muscle to exert force during an activity.

You can strengthen your muscles by making them work against resistance, hence the term "resistance training". A muscle has to be overloaded to be strengthened. This can be achieved by lifting weights.

Alberta Education³ recommends starting with a resistance of around 80 percent of the maximum weight you can lift at one time and doing 3-9 repetitions of this weight through 3-5 sets for effective muscular benefits.

Muscular endurance

Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle to continue exerting force without tiring out.

According to Dixie State University⁴, muscular endurance training helps develop the slow twitch fibers in your muscles.

As opposed to hard twitch fibers, slow twitch fibers handle low levels of force over relatively long periods.

Endurance can be improved by cardio-respiratory activities such as jogging, dancing, and cycling.

Body composition

The relative amounts of muscle, bone, and fat make up body composition, i.e. the body's muscle-bone-fat ratio. Despite someone's weight not changing, that does not mean that their level of fat is the same.

People with a high muscle (lean mass) ratio weigh more than those with the same height and waist circumference who have less muscle. Muscle weighs more per cubic inch of volume than fat.

According to The University of New Mexico⁵, common methods of calculating body composition include: skinfolds, circumference (girth) measures, hydrostatic weighing, bioelectrical impedance, and near-infrared interactance.

Flexibility?

Flexibility is the range of movement across a joint. Flexbility is important because it improves the ability to link movements together smoothly and can help prevent injuries.

The different types of flexibility, according to The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)⁶, are:

• Dynamic flexibility (also called kinetic flexibility) - dynamic movements of the muscles to allow a limb through its full range of motion in the joints.
• Static-active flexibility (also called active flexibility)
• Static-passive flexibility (also called passive flexibility).

To improve your flexibility try stretching or engaging in activities that lengthen the muscles such as swimming.

 

What is health? What does good health mean?

What is health? What does good health mean?

 

The word health means different things to different people, depending on the situation. If somebody says "I was worried about my husband's health when he climbed Mt. Everest", it is clear that the woman is referring to her husband's physical health, possibly his heart, skin (frostbite) and risk of developing hypothermia (when the body's temperature drops too low.

On the other hand, if you hear the phrase "With all these deadlines, presentations and working weekends, I wonder what the effect will be on her health," most likely the word "health" refers more to mental health than physical health (although the two are often linked).

The words "health" or "healthy" can also be used in non-medical contexts. For example "A healthy economy needs an ideal GDP growth rate that is sustainable, one that remains in the expansion phase of the business cycle as long as possible."

The English word "health" comes from the Old English word hale, meaning "wholeness, being whole, sound or well,". Hale comes from the Proto-Indo-European root kailo, meaning "whole, uninjured, of good omen". Kailo comes from the Proto-Germanic root khalbas, meaning "something divided".

World Health Organization's (WHO's) definition of "health"

The most famous modern definition of health was created during a Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

The Definition has not been amended since 1948.

During the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in 1986, the WHO said that health is:

"a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities."

The Lancet questions WHO's definition of health

An article in The Lancet states that health is not a "state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being". Neither is it "merely the absence of disease or infirmity". The article says the WHO definitions of health will not do in an era marked by new understandings of disease at molecular, individual, and societal levels. (The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9666, Page 781, 7 March 2009).

Two aspects to health

Famous health quotes

"There are some remedies worse than the disease."
Publilius Syrus

"We must turn to nature itself, to the observations of the body in health and in disease to learn the truth."
Hippocrates

"Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded."
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"I am convinced digestion is the great secret to life."
Sydney Smith

"Nature, time and patience are three great physicians."
H.G. Bohn

"Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack. We give it orders which make no sense."
Henry Miller

"Time is the great physician."
Benjamin Disraeli

"A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools."
Spanish Proverb

"I am dying with the help of too many physicians."
Alexander the Great

"God heals, and the doctor takes the fee."
Benjamin Franklin

"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not."
Mark Twain

"Time is the great physician."
Benjamin Franklin

"The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease."
Voltaire

"Water, air, and cleanliness are the chief articles in my pharmacopoeia."
Napoleon

"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver."
Mahatma Gandhi

"A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses."
Hippocrates

"Attention to health is life's greatest hindrance."
Plato

"As you improve health in a society, population growth goes down. You know, I thought it was... before I learned about it, I thought it was paradoxical."
Bill Gates

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."
Buddha

"The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat."
Albert Eisntein

Most people accept that health can be divided into two broad aspects - physical and mental health.

• Physical health
  
  For humans, physical health means a good body health, which is healthy because of regular physical activity (exercise), good nutrition, and adequate rest.
  
  As a country's or region's people experience improved nutrition, health care, standards of living and quality of life, their height and weight generally increase.
  
  In fact, most people, when asked for a definition of health talk about physical health. Physical health relates to anything concerning our bodies as physical entities. Physical health has been the basis for active living campaigns and the many nutrition drives that have swept the industrialized world. People are exposed to so much "physical health" data these days that it is hard to decide what is relevant and what is not.
  
  Another term for physical health is physical wellbeing. Physical wellbeing is defined as something a person can achieve by developing all health-related components of his/her lifestyle. Fitness reflects a person's cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and body composition. Other contributors to physical wellbeing may include proper nutrition, bodyweight management, abstaining from drug abuse, avoiding alcohol abuse, responsible sexual behavior (sexual health), hygiene, and getting the right amount of sleep.
  
  Some people divide physical health into two separate sections:
  
  Structural health - this refers to sound bones, muscles, organs etc. That the structures in the body are performing the functions they were made for properly. Structural health is associated with a person's height/weight ratio, their BMI (body mass index), their resting pulse rate (heart rate), and recovery time after doing exercise.
  
  Chemical Health - good chemical health means that the chemicals in the person's body are correct, that tissues contain the right balance of nutrients, etc., and there are no toxic chemicals.
  
  We may inhale or swallow natural and synthetic chemicals; they can also get into our body through skin. In most cases, the body can break these chemicals down or excrete them, so that there is no risk of toxic overload.
  
  Some chemicals can harm or destroy cells and tissues, while others may affect genetic material directly, which can increase the risk of developing cancer.

 

• Mental health
  
  Mental health refers to people's cognitive and emotional well-being. A person who enjoys good mental health does not have a mental disorder. According to WHO, mental health is "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community".
  
  No matter how many definitions people try to come up with regarding mental health, its assessment is still a subjective one.
  
  People have always found it easier to explain what mental illness is, rather than mental health. Most people agree that mental health refers to the "absence of mental illness". For some, this definition is not enough. They argue that if you pick 100 people who do not suffer from any mental disorder or illness that could be diagnosed by a psychiatrist, some people within those 100 will be mentally healthier than others. Most people also agree that mental health includes the ability to enjoy life, the ability to bounce back from adversity, the ability to achieve balance (moderation), the ability to be flexible and adapt, the ability to feel safe and secure, and self-actualization (making the best of what you have).

Determinants of health

The health of individual people and their communities are affected by a wide range of contributory factors. People's good or bad health is determined by their environment and situations - what is happening and what has happened to them, says WHO. WHO says that the following factors probably have a bigger impact on our health than access and use of health care services:

• Where we live
• The state of our environment
• Genetics
• Our income
• Our education level
• Our relationship with friends and family.

WHO says the main determinants to health are:

• Our economy and society ("The social and economic environment")
• Where we live, what is physically around us ("The physical environment")
• What we are and what we do ("The person's individual characteristics and behaviors").

As our good health depends on the context of our lives, praising or criticizing people for their good or bad health is wrong. Most of the factors that contribute towards our good or bad health are out of our control. According to WHO, these factors (determinants), include the following, among others:

• Socioeconomic status - the higher a person's socioeconomic status is, the more likely he/she is to enjoy good health. The link is a clear one. Socioeconomic status affects all members of the family, including newborn babies. Australian researchers found that women of lower socioeconomic status are less likely to breastfeed their newborn babies - a factor which will have an impact on the health of the baby just as he/she enters the world. A South Korean study revealed a clear link between low socioeconomic status and heart attack and stroke risk.

 

• Education - people with lower levels of education generally have a higher risk of experiencing poorer health. Their levels of stress will most likely be higher, compared to people with higher academic qualifications. A person with a high level of education will probably have greater self-esteem.
  
  A study carried out by researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, found that elderly people who had a higher level of health literacy were more likely to live longer.
  
  Another study from San Francisco VA Medical Center found that literacy at less than a ninth-grade level almost doubles the five-year risk of mortality among elderly people.

 

• Physical environment - if your water is clean and safe, the air you breathe is pure, your workplace is healthy, your house is comfortable and safe, you are more likely to enjoy good health compared to somebody whose water supply is not clean and safe, the air he/she breathes is contaminated, the workplace is unhealthy, etc.
  
  A study carried out by researchers at Zuyd University, The Netherlands, found that just an hour of sniffing car exhaust fumes induces a stress response in the brain's activity.
  
  Another study carried out at Indiana University-Purdue University found that chronic lead poisoning, caused in part by the ingestion of contaminated dirt, affects hundreds of thousands more children in the United States than the acute lead poisoning associated with imported toys or jewelry.

 

• Job prospects and employment conditions - if you have a job, statistics show you are more likely to enjoy better health than people who are unemployed. If you have some control over your working conditions your health will benefit too. Researchers at State University of New York at Albany found that workers who lost their job through no fault of their own were twice as likely as continuously employed workers to report over the next 18 months that they developed a new illness, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease.

 

• Support from people around you - if you have family support, as well as support from friends and your community your chances of enjoying good health are far greater than somebody who has none of these things. A team from the University of Washington found that strong family support, not peer support, is protective in reducing future suicidal behavior among young adults when they have experienced depression or have attempted suicide.

 

• Culture - the traditions and customs of a society and how a family responds to them play an important role in people's health. The impact could be either good or bad for health. The tradition of genital mutilation of women has an impact on infection rates and the mental health of millions of girls and women in many countries. A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that when young people dress according to the customs of their own ethnic group, they may be less likely to have mental health problems later in life.

 

• Genetic inheritance - people's longevity, general health, and propensity to certain diseases are partly determined by their genetic makeup. Researchers from Vrije Universiteit, Holland, the Medical College of Georgia, USA, and Duke University, USA showed that people's genes play a key role in how they respond both biologically and psychologically to stress in their environment.

 

• What we do and how we manage - what we eat, our physical activity, whether or not we smoke or drink or take drugs, and how we cope with stress play an important role on our physical and mental well-being.

 

• Access and use of health services - a society that has access and uses good quality health services is more likely to enjoy better health than one that doesn't. For example, developed countries that have universal health care services have longer life expectancies for their people compared to developed countries that don't.

 

• Gender - men and women are susceptible to some different diseases, conditions and physical experiences, which play a role in our general health.
  
  For example, childbirth, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer, are experienced only by women, while prostate cancer, testicular cancer are only experienced by men.
  
  During wars, more men than women tend to be called up to fight, and subsequently become injured or die. Adult women are more likely to be the physical victims of domestic abuse, compared to adult men.
  
  In some societies women are not given the same access to education as men - education is a factor that influences health. Many studies have revealed gender disparities in healthcare services, even in developed countries.

What is wellness?

The term wellness was first used by a doctor called Halbert L. Dunn, USA, who published a small booklet entitled "High Level Wellness" in 1961. The term is much more widely used in North American than in the United Kingdom.

According to the Mickinley Health Center, University of Illinois, wellness "is a state of optimal well-being that is oriented toward maximizing an individual's potential. This is a life-long process of moving towards enhancing your physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental well-being."

The University of East Carolina defines wellness as "the integration of mind, body and spirit. Optimal wellness allows us to achieve our goals and find meaning and purpose in our lives. Wellness combines seven dimensions of well-being into a quality way of living. Overall, wellness is the ability to live life to the fullest and to maximize personal potential in a variety of ways. Wellness involves continually learning and making changes to enhance your state of wellness. When we balance the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, occupational, spiritual, and environmental aspects of life, we achieve true wellness."

 

NDRI scientists clone endangered wild buffalo of Chhattisgarh

Donor mother Asha lives at Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary, is lone buffalo of its species

Deepasha, the female calf, born through hand-guided cloning technique at the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal. A Tribune Photograph

NDRI's pride: The milestones

• Feb 6, 2009: First cloned calf born; survives six days
• June 6: Cloned calf 'Garima' takes birth; survives for more than two years, dies on August 18, 2011
• Aug 22, 2010: Female cloned calf 'Garima-II' born from embryonic stem cell
• Aug 26: Male cloned calf 'Shrestha' born from somatic cell of an elite bull, produces good-quality semen
• January 25, 2013: Garima-2 delivers female calf 'Mahima'
• March 18: Male cale 'Swaran' born from the somatic cell of semen
• Sept 6: Female cloned buffalo 'Purnima' born; survives for a mere 21 days
• May 2, 2014: Female cloned buffalo 'Lalima' produced
• July 23: Male cloned buffalo 'Rajat' produced by normal parturition
• December 27: 'Garima-2' gives birth for the second time to female calf 'Karishma'

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, January 4

Scientists of the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) in Karnal have achieved another milestone in the field of cloning through hand-guided cloning technique. They successfully produced a female clone (named Deepasha) of endangered wild buffalo of Chhattisgarh on December 12. "It is the clone of the lone wild buffalo (named Asha) in the country. This is the state animal of Chhattisgarh which is also known as 'ban bhainsa'. Asha is at the Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh," said AK Srivastava, director, NDRI. "After the confirmation in the third party DNA parental testing today, I have the pleasure to inform that scientists of the NDRI have proved that besides multiplication of superior germplasm, the conservation of endangered species through cloning has a great potential," the director said. Talking to The Tribune, Srivastava said, "This buffalo is a schedule-1 animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and is in the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is an endangered animal as there is only one wild buffalo in the country. Deepasha is the second female of its species." "Earlier, Asha had delivered male calves after natural mating. It was a major concern of the Chhattisgarh authorities to protect it due to its old age and other risks. The Wildlife Trust of India, the technical partner of Chhattisgarh state, approached the NDRI for assistance and our team of scientists visited the state," the directed said. "Team members collected somatic cell from the lone buffalo Asha and cultured it in the NDRI, which has resulted in the birth of clone Deepasha," Srivastava said. "The calf took birth by normal parturition and its weight at the time of birth was 32 kg. It is in good health," he added. "My team of scientists, including SK Singla, MS Chauhan, RS Manik, P Palta, SS Lathwal, Anuj Raja and Amol Sahare, has proved its mettle and has brought laurels to the institute and the country in the world as it accepted the challenge to explore the possibility of cloning the endangered buffalo," said the director. Srivastava stated that the Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, S Ayyappan, had congratulated the team and said the achievement had opened a new era in cloning technology. He said they would keep Deepasha under the vigil of scientists for a year at the NDRI and would monitor its growth. Later, they would try to produce more buffaloes of the species through it by natural process.

Learn how to select a barcode scanner or bar code reader for any application.

Learn how to select a barcode scanner or bar code reader for any application.

You are here because you are in the market for a Barcode Scanner or Barcode Reader, right? Do you know the type of barcode scanner that is right for your business?
Do you know what to look for when buying a bar code scanner for your business? Well, look no further. Here, you will learn how to select or choose a bar code scanner
for your POS system. We will tell you what to look for, what questions to ask yourself before you buy a barcode scanner. When you are done reading the tips, you can
go to barcode scanner and select the scanner that fits your system needs. The following questions about barcode scanners and POS Systems will be answered:

• What is a BarCode?
• What is a Bar Code reader or Bar Code Scanner?
• How does a Bar Code Scanner or Bar code Reader work?
• What types of Bar Code reader are available?
• How can I connect my Bar Code Scanner to my computer?
• Which Barcode Scanner should I buy?

• What is a Bar Code?
• A Bar Code is just a different way of encoding numbers and letters by using a combination of bars and spaces of varying widths. This is just another way of entering data into a computer. A bar code does not contain descriptive data. It is a reference number that a computer uses to look up an associated record that contains descriptive data and other important information. For example, a barcode found on a soda can does not contain the product name, type of soda, or price, instead, it contains a 12-digit product number. When this number is scanned by the cashier at the check-out, it is transmitted to the computer which finds the record associated with that item number in the data base. The matching item record contains a description of the product, vendor name, price, quantity-on-hand, etc. The computer instantly does a "price lookup" and displays the price on the cash register. It also subtracts the quantity purchased from the quantity-on-hand. This entire transaction is done instantly. In a nutshell, a bar code typically has ID data encoded in it, and that data is used by computer to look up all specific information associated with the data. Now you may ask, but how does computer know what those bars and spaces are? Well, let's go to bar code scanning section.

• What is a Bar Code reader or Bar Code scanner?
• Computers can not read bar codes. For a computer to make use of the information contained in the bar code, the bar code data must be captured and decoded into a data format that the computer can process. The device that reads or captures the bar code information and sends it to the decoder is known as the bar code reader, generally called bar code scanner.

• How does a bar code reader or bar code scanner work?
• A typical Bar Code Reader kit consists of Scanner, Decoder, and Cable that interfaces the Decoder to the computer. The Scanner scans the Bar Code symbol and captures the bars and spaces of the bar code and sends it to the decoder. The decoder translates the bars and spaces into corresponding electrical output and transmits that data to the computer in a traditional data format. A bar code scanner can either have the Decoder built into it, or be "undecoded". Undecoded bar code scanner requires a separate box called an interface or keyboard wedge.

• What types of Bar Code readers are available?
• Currently, the four different types of bar code readers available are the pen type readers (bar code wands), laser bar code scanners, CCD (Charge Couple Devices) barcode readers and camera based barcode readers. Each of these types use a slightly different Technology for reading and decoding a bar code.

 

• Pen Type Readers or Bar Code wands
  Pen type barcode readers have a light source and a photo diode placed next to each other in the tip of a pen or wand. To read a bar code, you drag the tip of the pen across all the bars, in a steady even motion. The photo diode measures the intensity of the light reflected back from the light source and generates a waveform corresponding to the widths of the bars and spaces in the bar code. The barcode reader sends the waveform to the decoder, which decodes the waveform and sends it to the computer in a traditional data format.

 

• Laser Barcode Scanners
  Laser barcode scanners work the same way as pen type barcode readers. The only main difference is that Laser barcode scanners use a laser beam as their light source, and typically employ either a reciprocating mirror or a rotating prism to scan the laser beam back and forth across the bar code. As with the pen type bar code reader, a photo diode is used to measure the intensity of the light reflected back from the bar code.

 

• CCD Barcode Scanners
  CCD barcode scanners use an array of tiny light sensors lined up in a row in the head of the barcode reader. Voltage waveform corresponding to the bars and spaces of the bar code is generated and sent to the decoder, which decodes the data and sends it to the computer. The main difference between a CCD barcode scanner, a pen type barcode scanner, and laser barcode scanner is that the CCD barcode scanner measures emitted ambient light from the bar code whereas pen or laser barcode scanners measure reflected light of a specific frequency originating from the scanner itself.

 

• Camera Based Barcode Readers
  The camera based barcode readers use a small video camera to capture an image of a bar code. The barcode reader then uses sophisticated digital image processing techniques to decode the bar code.

• How can I connect my Bar Code Scanner to my computer?
• Bar code readers come in either "keyboard wedge" output or RS232 output. A bar code reader with keyboard wedge output plugs directly into the keyboard port on your computer and also provides a pigtail connector to plug in your keyboard simultaneously. When a bar code is scanned with the keyboard wedge bar code reader, the bar code data goes into the computer as if it were typed in on the keyboard.

 

• Advantages of the keyboard wedge
  Simple and easy to interface to the computer. No software is required.

 

• Disadvantages of the keyboard wedge
  1. When you scan a bar code, the cursor has to be in the correct input data field, and in the correct application otherwise the bar code data will end up in whatever application that is active. This can cause all sorts of problems.
  2. The keyboard output is limited, in the sense that you cannot modify the data in any way before sending it into the program in the computer. For example, if you needed to parse a bar code message into multiple pieces or remove some of a bar code messages, you can not.

 

• Advantages of Bar code reader with RS232 or "Serial Interface"
  1. This type of bar code reader is connected to an available serial port on the back of your computer.
  2. When you read a bar code, you have control over how and where your data goes.
  3. You can perform any modifications on the bar code data before sending it to the computer or translating the data.

 

• Disadvantages of Bar code reader with RS232 or "Serial Interface"
  It is more complex than the keyboard wedge.

• Which BarCode Scanner should I buy?
• With all the choices available, it is important to understand your environment and application very well before making decisions. Answer these questions to help you determine which scanner is best for you.
  1. What type of environment will the bar code scanner be used in? Harsh (as in factory or normal as in a store)
  2. Is continuous or periodic scanning needed?
  3. Is hands-free or hand-held capability required?
  4. Will scanning be conducted close to the bar code or from a distance?
  5. What will the bar code scanner connect to?
  6. Will the information scanned be needed in real time?
  Remember, there are a variety of bar code scanners suited for each application. The least expensive bar code scanner might work well in an application where scanning is infrequent, but it wouldn't work well in a harsh manufacturing environment where a rugged bar code scanner may be needed. Let us look at each of the different types and determine which best fits your need.

 

• Pen Type, Hand Held Wand BarCode Scanners
  This is the simplest and least expensive barcode scanner available. It is durable and contains no moving parts. However, when scanning, the wand must come into contact with the bar code, which can present a challenge. Since the wand must touch the bar code, if a bar code must be read more than once, it may become smeared or damaged and, in essence, unreadable. Also, a wand is "human powered," which means that it must be held at the proper angle and moved at the proper speed. For these reasons, a wand is the best choice when cost is the largest determining factor.

 

• CCD BarCode Scanners
  A CCD barcode scanner can to read bar codes quickly and easily. But it has two primary limitations. First, it has a short "read" range, and must be held no more than 1 to 3 inches from the bar code. Further, the CCD has a limited width, and will not read bar codes that are wider than the face of the scanner. It is largely popular for use in point of sale applications.

 

• Laser BarCode Scanners
  This is the most popular bar code scanner. A laser bar code scanner need not be close to or touch the bar code to do its job. A standard range laser bar code scanner can read a bar code from about 6 to 24 inches away, and a long range scanner can read bar code from about 2 to 8 feet away. An extra long-range scanner can read a bar code 30 feet away. Laser barcode scanners vary in price from $200 to $2,000 and come in a variety of models.

 

• Hands-Free or Fixed Mount Barcode Scanners
  This type of scanner is anchored so that the user can scan bar codes using both hands. Versatile, durable, and extremely reliable, high-throughput scanners, boost productivity to greater levels with minimal employee effort. This scanner is best used for high volume general retail, liquor stores, and convenience stores.

 

• Wireless/Cordless Barcode Scanners
  This scanner is for factory or warehouse applications where the cable/cord restricts movement. In a harsh environment where the cable can get damaged and make your scanner system inoperable, cordless scanner is the best solution. In shipping and receiving applications where the cable denies access, cordless scanner is the answer. In retail applications where a cabled scanner limits access beyond the counter area, cordless scanner is the solution. Cordless scanner is ideal for scanning heavy, oversized or bulk items that are difficult to place on the counter at checkout.

 

• Portable Data Terminals
  This is a handheld battery operated bar code reader that stores the data in memory for later uploading. In addition to a bar code scanner, a portable bar code reader has an LCD display and a keyboard. The user can walk around, scanning and keying in data and getting a response from the computer with each entry. Portable Palm Terminals combine palm computing with integrated bar code laser scanning.

 

• Wearable Barcode Scanners
  This bar code scanner functions in two ways. A ring or hand Scanner is worn and activated by either pointing the finger at the bar code, while pressing the thumb against a trigger at the base of the finger, or by simply pointing the scanner at the bar code.

 

• Bar Code Decoders
  Bar code decoder is used to translate the bar code information into a data format that the computer can use. Some bar code scanners can not decode bar codes (Un-decoded Scanners), therefore a decoder is required. Some users prefer to use the undecoded scanner with decoder unit so that they can remove the scanner for use with a portable terminal. Other users prefer not having to replace both a scanner and decoder should a problem developes.