#dr. ss vasan

[bbcbreakingnews]

India has more high-quality genomes than global average

PTI pic used for representational purpose only

BENGALURU: Analysis of the largest depository of genome sequences globally shows India has a greater percentage of SARS-CoV2 genomes considered “high quality” compared to the global average. India also has a greater percentage of sequences with patient data. Data from GISAID, a global science initiative that provides open-access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the novel coronavirus shows more than 2.9 lakh SARS-CoV2 genomes have been sequenced worldwide, including 4,238 from India. Of the total, 99.7% have human origin — in India it is 100% — and 74% from humans are of ‘high quality’. Analysis of India data shows that 80% are high quality. Also, 32% of sequences from India have crucial patient data, compared to just 6% globally. In fact, while only 1.5% of the total genomes on the global database are from India, nearly 8% of sequences with patient data are Indian. This specific data analysis was done by Prof SS Vasan, who leads Covid-19 research at CSIRO, Australia. He told TOI: “It’s commendable that India is uploading a greater percentage of high quality coronavirus genomes. This is a great starting point from where India can lead by example.” The data also shows that globally, the virus is sequenced in one out of roughly 270 cases, compared to roughly one out of 2,400 cases in India. “It shouldn’t be a problem if India sequences a fewer number of genomes if the quality continues to be high, there is sufficient annotation, and no bias in deciding which samples are chosen for sequencing,” Vasan said. He said it would, however, be prudent to sequence all imported cases. Dr Giridhara Babu, member, ICMR task force on research and surveillance, said that while big data is key to understanding the virus better, the findings would gain significance if the mutation actually changes the character of the virus. “There more than 4,000 mutations across the world, but they become significant if the mutation changes the amino acid that makes the virus behave differently as we’ve found in the UK and South Africa,” Babu said. Dr V Ravi, member, DBT expert committee on Covid vaccine, while stating that there can be no end to wanting genetic sequences, said India has been doing well given the constraints. “Sequencing one genome can cost between Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 if done in bulk and Rs 25,000 individually. Also, it is a high-skill job, I think we’ve been doing well,” Dr Ravi said. Each genome sequence has 30,000 characters or letters and to consider any sequence as high quality, there are two broad parameters. “One at least 29,000 out of 30,000 letters must be sequenced and two, less than 1% of the sequences are ambiguous,” Vasan said. He further said that sufficient annotation — de-identified patient metadata such as information on gender, age, comorbidities etc — and data with no bias are also key in drawing good conclusions using such data. Indian sequences have been uploaded from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, UP, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and J&K.

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source https://bbcbreakingnews.com/2020/12/28/india-has-more-high-quality-genomes-than-global-average/

[pkstudiosindia]

Why posters and cut-outs in Tamil cinema are much more than advertisements – The News Minute

Why posters and cut-outs in Tamil cinema are much more than advertisements – The News Minute

In a panel dialogue, individuals talked in regards to the artwork and effort of constructing these posters and what they’ve come to imply in totally different instances.

Artist Jeevananthan, who began out as a banner artist in Tamil cinema, having intently adopted in his father’s footsteps, recollects a 10×10 magnificent banner he helped put collectively on a busy highway in Coimbatore someday throughout the ‘80s. It was a stunning portrait of Rajinikanth’s face carrying darkish shades along with his head tilted up. And mirrored on the sun shades, had been tall timber.

“It was a real sensation on the main road in Coimbatore, a road like Chennai’s Mount Road. People used to stop their vehicles and look towards the opposite direction of the banner to see if there really were trees on the other side of the road. That is my most favourite banner,” Jeevananthan shares. 

The artist was talking at a web based panel dialogue on Saturday, organised by Chennai Photo Biennale titled “Banners, Cutouts and Posters: Tamil Cinema’s Tryst with Visual Art”, moderated by Dr Uma Vangal, Fulbright Scholar and movie professor. Other panelists had been movie historian and writer S Theodore Baskaran, writer and artwork historian Dr Preminda Jacob and cinematographer and filmmaker Rajiv Menon.

The artwork of banner making

Jeevananthan, who says that he was “born with banners”, provided that his father was already portray them since earlier than he was born, additionally spoke in regards to the laborious course of that goes into making a banner or a lower-out for movies, which was among the many highlights of the session. In reality, the banner tradition was born right here in Chennai and unfold to different components of the nation. “SS Vasan’s Chandralekha was a breakthrough in that sense. Just TR Rajakumari’s jimikki (earring) in the banner would be 10 feet high and movie-goers in Mumbai and Calcutta would stare at it in amazement and shock,” Jeevananthan shares.

The ‘gada’ fabric purchased in items is stitched collectively to make for the massive canvas. Wooden items are nailed collectively to make the body. The banner-making studio, that has at the very least 10 to 15 staff together with tailors and carpenters, is now at some extent of excessive exercise. The water coat, a very smelly gum known as ‘vajram’ combined with chalk powder, goes first on the canvas adopted by an oil coat. Barrels of linseed oil are stocked for this goal. Then comes sketching.

Artists made use of magic lantern approach, in which a rudimentary projector forged the photographs from onto the canvas. “Even until the ‘70s and ‘80s, distributors or producers (who commissioned these banners) would give us black and white stills. The stills would be copies, made into negatives that would be mounted on slides to be projected onto the canvas,” Jeevananthan explains.

Artists perched upon makeshift excessive-tables start with broad strokes, then add a contact right here and a flourish there as the total image is accomplished. After it dried and rolled, it’s transported to the theatre the place it’s reassembled with the body. All of this occurs in breakneck velocity, with the artists getting about three days to complete one banner. “You have to remember – the film industry is a very unorganised business. Even a day before the release reels are passed from one hand to another. Different theatres come with different size requirements. So this work definitely requires extraordinary stamina,” he provides.

Cut-outs, a unique ball sport altogether, required artists engaged on wood planks and becoming them collectively in the top like a puzzle. Cut-outs could typically go as much as 60 toes excessive!

The early years

Film historian Theodore Bhaskaran, who has authored books like ‘Eye of the Serpent’ and ‘History through the Lens – Perspectives on South Indian Cinema’ supplied insights into the evolution of show artwork for cinema. “Tamil cinema had 15 years of silent films during which time 124 feature films were made. But not one single document we have from that period,” he stated.

Then in a while, manufacturing homes got here up with modern methods of promoting the movie. “Flash cards were popular in the late 1930 when below the still from the film, there’d be a space to insert details about the cast. In 1942, SS Vasan made posters announcing interesting competitions. These were unique ways of promoting the film,” he stated.

Interestingly, these posters in these days had solely the movie’s actors. “Actors like PU Chinappa, TR Rajakumari were painted big to draw the crowd. The director’s name too started featuring much later. Also, later on, other departments started gaining spots on these posters. You could see Kalaignar’s name on it if he had written dialogues. Then, after a point in time, the film’s music team gained a spot on the poster. It has changed gradually over the years,” he explains. The similar art work was normally repurposed and used in posters and different promotional materials.

Bhaskaran additionally spoke in regards to the significance of songbooks. “These books would have the film’s premise and would end on a cliff-hanger. They would also have the song’s details, the raagam in which it was composed, credits, etc. The last songbook I saw was in 1993 for a film called Tirudathe Tirudathe. It came inside a cassette. The Roja Muthaiah library, we have 2,000 such songbooks. They don’t make them anymore,” he added.

Poster artwork and altering instances

Rajiv Menon, who has labored as cinematographer in movies like Mani Ratnam’s Bombay to creating his personal movies like Minsara Kanavu, Kandukondein Kandukondein and Sarvam Thaala Mayam, spoke in element about what goes into making film posters that condense the entire concept of the movie into one nonetheless imagery, to attraction to the plenty. Referring to a selected Bombay poster, he says, “How does a film like Bombay translate into poster art? There’s the geography of Bombay established by showing the Gateway of India, there’s a scene from the ‘Kuchikuchi Rakkamma’ song to show that there’s love and on the other side there’s a still from the riots. This is how it comes together.” 

“The visual imagery which is a shorthand condensing and compacting an image and the whole visual medium comes down to one icon,” he added. Pointing out that stills of songs had been an necessary side of posters, Rajiv stated, “Costumes in songs are solely designed for featuring on posters. Increasingly, representation of film songs on Indian film posters is reducing. Our posters are looking more and more western. We are losing out on uniquely Indian and great artists like Jeevananthan. Our visual culture is getting closer to the international cinema but we are also losing the uniqueness.”

An unexplainable fascination

Dr Preminda Jacob, who has authored ‘Celluloid Deity’ spoke about how she rediscovered banner artwork after having moved to the US for her research. “I called my brother to send me photographs from the streets in Chennai and I was amazed to know how I failed to notice them during my growing up years there!” she says.

Going on to speak in regards to the impression these massive hoardings had on cinema followers, she explains, “The intensity of response that banners and cut-outs generated speaks to the power of celebrity. The thrills of entertainment and the pride of being part of a cosmopolitan modernity. In this sense, they exceeded their function as advertisement and became a focal point for fans to come together as a community and celebrate their star and the phenomenon of entertainment cinema.”

“The convalescence of cinema and politics that has shaped the modern history of Tamil Nadu was enabled through the visual art of banners and cut-outs. The medium produced images for film stars and politicians that towered over the city,” she provides.

“To help explain their fascination, this art form combines people’s affective response to three powerful mediums – cinema, photographs and paintings,” she concludes.

The full session is accessible to stream right here: 

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