Logistics Post Air Service

India Post Signs MoU with Air India

Fifteen Cities to have This Service Initially
MoU will be Effective from February 1, 2012 
India Post today signed an MOU with Air India for carriage of “Logistics Post Air” Service by Air India. This service will help the customers to send their consignments to different parts of the country, especially to the North-Eastern region without difficulty. This MOU will meet the huge demand for Logistics Post Air Service for hassle free dispatch of consignments to different parts of the country including the North East.

India Post in collaboration with Air India plans to start this service from 15 cities initially to meet the demand from the customers. These cities are Ahmedabad, Agartala, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune and Trivendrum. Of these, three are in the North East.

India Post will deliver the consignment of Logistics Post Air to Air India at the point of delivery of the departure station and will also collect it at the arrival station. Booking, handling, packing, delivery etc. will be done by the India Post. Air India will only transport the consignment from one station to another station.

Shri Y.P.S. Mohan, Chief General Manager, Business Development and Marketing, India Post and Shri Harsh K. Pandey, General Manager (Cargo), Air India signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations in presence of Shri Santosh Gauriyar, Member (Operations), Postal Services Board and Shri Rohit Nandan, CMD, Air India.

This service will be extended to other cities in a phased manner. 

Conference Begins Tomorrow

On Science Communication for Scientific Temper 
Conference on Science Communication for Scientific Temper begins here tomorrow. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) -National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), Vigyan Prasar and National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Governmentr of India has organized it.

The three day congress will be presided by Dr P M Bhargava, Former Vice-Chairman, National Knowledge Commission and Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of India will be the Chief Guest. Besides distinguished delegates from India and abroad, the well known film maker Mahesh Bhatt will share his views on Scientific Temper during the inaugural session of the congress.

The Conference will host dance, music and art forms especially designed on the themes of Scientific Temper, International Peace and Development. Talks and discussions will be organized on subjects like communication through Indian languages , Science communication by print media in Kannada , Commonizing scientific temper: Challenges and opportunities in India , A study of science and faith in traditional medicinal system , Inculcating scientific temper through Thulir: Children’s science magazine in Tamil , Machine translations and communication , The mobilization of resources for science communication, Extension activities and development of ST , Extension activities and development of scientific temper , Blood donation and science awareness , Pledge for donation of posthumous body/organs & tissues to science, History of Science communication, Trends in Science Communication etc. 

Elect D P Maur for a corruption free government

We welcome his candidature-Dr. Arun Mitra

We welcome the candidature of

D P Maur

to the assembly elections by the Sanjha Morcha of Pubjab People’s Party,

Communist Party of India

(CPI), CPI(M),  and

Akalidal Longowal

from Ludhiana West constituency. We appeal to the voter of the constituency to elect him for a corruption free government, economic growth and jobs for all.

Ludhiana West constituency has a distinct place throughout Punjab as it has large number of highly educated, entrepreneur and conscious voters. Therefore we appeal to the voters to send D P Maur to the assembly who is time tested for his dedication towards inclusive economic growth, communal harmony and a corruption free society.

The continuous rule by the Akali BJP and Congress in the Punjab has pushed the state into a debt of Rs.138000 crores. One third of the states income is paid back in the form of interest. This has led to the deterioration in the development of Punjab. As a result there is rampant corruption, unemployment, poverty, drug addiction and lawlessness. Education and health care have become out of reach of vast majority of the population. People demanding their rights have to face lathies by the state machinery.

Due to apathetical attitude towards needs of people of Punjab of the alternative ruling parties, the feeling has evolved among the voters that they have to choose between the two evils. But now the people have a choice in the form of SANJHA MORCHA.

D P Maur has a glorious record of serving the people of the area. He remained President of the PAU Employees Union continuously for 12 years by winning 6 bi-annual elections in a row from 1995 to 2007. He is presently General Secretary of the Joint Council of Trade Unions which comprises of 17 unions/associations of Ludhiana including bank employees, hospitals, construction workers, government employees, PAU, school teachers, Class IV employees, roadways and railways employees. Besides he is also involved in various social activities like promotion of healthy environment, traffic management, uplift of the lower economic strata through basic education.

We all  Miter Sen Meet – Navel writer, Dr Arun Mitra – Former President IMA, Naval Chibber Former President Bar Association Ludhiana, Ramesh Rattan, City Secretary CPI Ludhiana, Dr D.S.Sidhu – President, Sukhminder Lotey – City Secretary CPI Ludhiana, Amarjit Singh Matoo CPI, Dev Raj of CPI, Rajesh Gandhi – PPP State General Council, Anand Sharma PPP General Council Member, Jagjeet Singh Ghugrana -  General Secretary PPP, Bharat Bhushan Thapar – General Secretary PPP, Jaskirat Singh Sargoda – Youth Leader PPP, Arun Rattan, Secretary CA Association Ludhiana, Gurcharan Kaur Kochhar – President Punjab Istri Sabha, Jit Kumar – General Secretary – Punjab Istri Sabha, Maj. (Retd.) Sher Singh Aulukh – General Secretary Ex-Serviceman Welfare Association, O P Mehta Advocate appeal to vote, support and elect D P Maur from Ludhiana West.

Military's Groundbreaking Vaccine

Targets Breast Cancer

By Elaine Sanchez American Forces Press Service SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 6, 2012 - Military researchers here have developed a cutting-edge cancer vaccine that's slashing breast cancer recurrence rates and giving some survivors a better shot at a cancer-free future. Army Col. (Dr.) George E. Peoples explains how cancer vaccines help to combat breast cancer during an interview at San Antonio Military Medical Center. Peoples, director and principal investigator for the Cancer Vaccine Development Program, has helped to develop a vaccine that's offering breast cancer survivors hope for a cancer-free future. DOD photo by Linda Hosek  After more than a decade of research and testing, the cancer vaccine, dubbed E-75, soon will move on to its final phase of testing to earn Food and Drug Administration approval, said Army Col. (Dr.) George E. Peoples, director and principal investigator for the Cancer Vaccine Development Program at San Antonio Military Medical Center here.The team has high hopes for this vaccine and its lifesaving potential for breast cancer survivors, particularly since breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer seen among military beneficiaries in the hospital here, said Peoples, who also serves here as the deputy director of the U.S. Military Cancer Institute and the medical center's chief of surgical oncology. "We've made a commitment to take care of active-duty personnel, spouses and retirees," the colonel said. "And cancer is a notable problem among beneficiaries." The vaccine, Peoples explained, targets a protein commonly over-expressed in breast cancer cells called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2/neu. Cancer vaccines typically target some protein or antigen expressed on cancer cells, he noted. "The idea is to train the immune system to recognize that protein or piece of protein that's highly expressed on cancer cells, but not on normal cells," he said. "That way the immune system can differentiate what's abnormal and normal. If the immune system can recognize it, it marks it for death, basically." The cancer vaccine concept has been around for a long time, Peoples noted, but the team here has adopted a different approach to test their effectiveness. The vast majority of vaccines in the past were tested on end-stage cancer patients, he explained. However, a vaccine is meant to stimulate the immune system, and a healthy immune system isn't typically seen in someone in the last stages of cancer. As a result, "a lot of early cancer vaccines tested ... in end-stage patients were found not to be helpful," Peoples said. "No real surprise there." To more appropriately gauge the vaccine's effectiveness, Peoples' team decided to test it among patients who have a healthy immune system -- cancer survivors who are disease-free but at risk for recurrence. Experts can predict recurrence based on several factors including family history, age, size of tumor and the presence of involved lymph nodes, among other indicators. The researchers targeted the HER2/neu protein, which is expressed at varying levels in women with breast cancer, then honed in on the 60 percent of women who express the protein at low to intermediate levels. The vaccine is a mix of the E-75 peptide of the HER2 protein and an immune system stimulant. They started with a 200-patient trial in 2001 and followed each woman for five years. Half of the women received the vaccine -- one injection a month for six months -- and the other half was the control group. The outcome was very promising, Peoples noted. The recurrence rate among the women in the control group was 20 percent, and 10 percent among the women who received the vaccine. "We cut recurrence in half," he said. This success led to the next phase of testing, the colonel said, which will begin early this year and involve 700 to 1,000 patients. Unlike the earlier phases, however, this step will be undertaken by a commercial company, Galena Biopharma, which has the resources and manpower to undertake such a large-scale test. The company will seek FDA approval and, if received, release the vaccine for public use. This phase will take about five years to complete -- two years to enroll, then a three-year observation period, Peoples said. "The end point is the recurrence rate after three years," he explained. Meanwhile, Peoples and his team will turn their attention to a multitude of other projects, many based on the same concept that made the E-75 vaccine so successful -- using the body's own immune system to destroy cancer cells. They've already taken the same vaccine and completed a trial with prostate cancer survivors. As with ovarian and lung cancer, prostate cancer also expresses the HER2 protein. Peoples said he's also intrigued by a successful trial they conducted on breast cancer survivors who express the HER2 protein at the highest levels, rather than the low to intermediate levels they focused on before. In this study, they combined their vaccine with the drug Herceptin. They conducted a small trial with 60 women, Peoples said, and when they administered the vaccine and Herceptin together, the recurrence rate dropped to zero. "The preliminary data is very exciting," he said. "But we need to wait and do larger trials." Word has spread of the cancer vaccine program's successes and intriguing results. Military and civilian experts have approached Peoples wanting to take part in research that has such a potentially widespread impact. The idea of active, specific immunotherapy -- engaging the body's immune system to do the work of fighting the cancer -- is an exciting and rapidly evolving area, Peoples explained. Garnering this interest, Peoples has steadily built a worldwide network of military and civilian hospitals that can assist with clinical trials and research. The network includes just about every major military hospital alongside a civilian hospital in cities across the nation and overseas. The partnership has reached Athens, Greece, and is about to extend into Malaysia. "We're about to circle the globe," he said. Peoples attributed much of the program's successes to this military-civilian network. "We're very fortunate to have great partners," he said. He also praised the military men and women willing to take part in the trials. They enter into them knowing they may be part of the control group that doesn't receive a potentially lifesaving vaccine. Despite that fact, he hasn't seen a shortage of willing participants, Peoples said. "The military is an ideal setting for clinical trials," he said. Service members, retirees and family members have a strong sense of service, he noted. "They want to be involved and contribute to the research," he added. While they're focusing on secondary cancer prevention, the ultimate goal, Peoples noted, is primary prevention, meaning cancer prevention among people with a predicted risk of cancer based on family history and genetic markers. "Hopefully, sometime in my lifetime we'll figure that out," he said.

Related Sites: San Antonio Military Medical Center

Welcome to PM of the Republic of Trinidad

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh meeting the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, at her ceremonial reception, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on January 06, 2012. Smt. Gursharan Kaur and Dr. Gregory Bissessar are also seen.

The Pincode – The “Steering Wheel” of a Letter

  A special intro by *Dr. K. Parameswaran on PIN code week     15-21 January  

Image Courtesy

  The small rectangular box, with six partitions, that appear on all postal articles in India is ignored by many and left unfilled by even more! However for the postal department, the small box represents nothing less than the “steering wheel” of a letter! The box is used to fill in the PIN code of the place to which the letter is being sent. What is the PIN code? How does it work?

 What is a PIN code?

             The PIN code is the abbreviation of Postal Index Number (PIN) code. This is a unique 6 digit code, allotted to all post offices that deliver mail in India. Since one code can relate only to one post office, the use of the code is the sure fast way of ensuring that the letter reaches the correct post office.

 How does it work?

 For the implementation of the PIN code system, the entire nation has been divided into eight PIN zones. The following table indicates the identification numbers and extent of each zone. 

Number	Region	States Covered
1	Northern	Delhi, Haryana, Punjab,  Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir
2	Northern	Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal
3	Western	Rajasthan and Gujarat
4	Western	Chattisgarh ,Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh
5	Southern	Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
6	Southern	Kerala and Tamil Nadu
7	Eastern	West Bengal, Orissa and North Eastern
8	Eastern	Bihar & Jharkand

 As was indicated at the beginning, the PIN code is a six digit number. The first digit will indicate one of these zones. The second and third digits together indicate the district where in the delivery post office is situated. The next three digits will indicate the particular post office where the letter is to be delivered. In short, the first 3 digits together will indicate the sorting or revenue district where the letter is to be basically routed. The last 3 digits refer to the actual post office where the article is to be finally delivered.

For example, if one hails from Kozhikode, a city in Kerala, the PIN code for the post office in that area is 673 006. Here the first digit 6 indicates that the letter is headed for the sixth PIN zone – Tamil nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala. The digits seven and three (the second and third digits of the code) will show that the destination of the letter is more precisely situated in the Kozhikode (formerlyCalicut) district of Kerala. The final three digits – 006 – will ensure that the letter gets routed to post office number 006 in Kozhikode – a small locality called Bilathikulam! A letter posted even in Alaska or Siberia – if it has sufficient postage stamps on it – will reach its destination if the PIN code is correctly indicated on the postal article!

Let us take another example. The PIN code for the Press Information Bureau in Madurai is 625 020. Here the first digit 6 again stands for the PIN zone – Tamil nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala. The next two digits – 25 – represent the District of Madurai, while the two final digits -20 - together represents the post office of Gandhi nagar, the delivery post office for PIB, Madurai!

Here it is also important to note that the number given to the Gandhi nagar post office in the city of Madurai in Tamil nadu is unique. No other post office inIndia will have this number. A check with the post PIN code directory will reveal that the delivery post offices in Mathura – the holy city in Uttar Pradesh (UP) – with which the temple city of Madurai is likely to be confused has a completely different PIN code – 281 001. Two stands for the PIN zone consisting of UP and Uttarkhand; 81 represents the district of Mathura while 001 stands fro Mathura Head Post office.

ZIP system in USA 

            ZIP codes are a system of postal code numbers used by the United States Postal Services (USPS) since 1963. The term ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan. It was chosen in the belief that it will suggest that the postal articles will travel more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the code in the address. The basic format consists of five digits. An extended ZIP+4code, introduced in the 1980s, includes the five digits of the ZIP code and four more digits that determine a more precise location than the ZIP code alone.

 The United Kingdom system 

            The postal code system used in the United Kingdom is known aspostcode. The code uses both alphabets as well as numerals. They were introduced by the British Royal Mail system over a 15-year period from 11th October 1959 to 1974.  A full postcode is known as a "postcode unit" and usually corresponds to a set of addresses or a single large delivery point.

 Earlier, a system of postal districts was implemented in London and other large cities from 1857. In London this system was refined in 1917 to include numbered subdivisions, extending to the other cities in 1934. These earlier districts were later incorporated into the national postcode system.

 Zonal System – a precursor

             Attempts at streamlining the delivery system of postal articles in Indiahave a considerably long history. One of the earliest attempts in this direction was taken in 1946 itself – the Delivery Zone Numbering System. Under this system, each delivery post office was allotted a distinctive number. It was first introduced for the major cities like Bombay, Culcutta, Delhi and Madras. The public were requested to note Zone Numbers after the name of city, where this system was adopted. In absence of such an indication, articles were liable to delay.

 Postal Circles

             The organization of postal circles was also an attempt to streamline the delivery system and prevent long delays.

When the Postal facilities were opened to public on 1st April 1774, there were 3 Postal Circles namely Bengal, Bombay and Madras. Bengal was catering whole of Eastern and Northern regions of British Empire. Madras was handling whole of Southern region and the rest was catered by Bombay. 

After partition, Independent India had the following Postal Circles - Assam, Bengal, Bihar & Orissa, Bombay, Central, East Punjab, Madras and UP.         Today, India has 20 Postal Circles - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J & K, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, North Eastern, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal and the Army Postal Service.

  *Assistant Director, PIB,Madurai 

Florida Woman Loses 84 Pounds to Join Army

By Cynthia Rivers-Womack
U.S. Army Recruiting Command

GAINESVILLE, Fla.,Jan.3, 2012:Allison Scarbrough officially changes jobs today, from retail cashier to health care specialist in the U.S. Army. But the change has not been easy.

Allison Scarbrough of Gainesville, Fla., lost 84 pounds to qualify for service in the Army. U.S. Army photo

Scarbrough, then 20, walked into the recruiting station here in May 2010 ready to become a soldier. But because she carried 240 pounds on her 5-foot, 5-inch frame, she had to lose 84 pounds and keep the weight off before she would be eligible to enlist.In 2010, Scarbrough belonged to the country's growing demographic of 18-to-24-year-olds considered overweight and obese. In 1998 -- when the National Institutes of Health released the first federal guidelines to identify, evaluate and treat overweight and obese adults -- 97 million Americans, or 55 percent, were identified as overweight or obese.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study revealed that in 1998, only one state had 40 to 49 percent of its 18-to-24-year-old population classified as overweight or obese. By 2008, that number had grown to 39 states. The CDC uses a height-weight calculation known as body-mass index, or BMI, to determine whether someone is overweight or obese. The Army also uses BMI measurements to determine weight, with different calculations for men and women.
Keenly aware of weight-management issues among its active-duty and reserve soldiers, Army officials began offering the service's "Weigh to Stay" program online in 2006. The initial program was designed for in-person sessions, but the online platform made the program more accessible and self-directed, according to a 2006 interview with Army Lt. Col. Danny Jaghab, site creator and past nutrition staff officer at the U.S. Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. In addition, the Army now provides a platform at http://www.hooah4health to help soldiers in their goals to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
When Scarborough realized she could not join the Army until she lost 84 pounds and kept it off, she said, she changed her behavior toward food and modified her lifestyle and eating habits. She began eating more vegetables and doing away with high-caloric drinks, fast-foods and unnecessary snacks.
Encouraged by her recruiter, Army Staff Sgt. Terrance Retsch, Scarborough started physical training in September 2011 with the future soldiers of the Gainesville recruiting station.
"I knew when Scarbrough came into our office she would take the challenge to lose weight and would be successful," Retsch said. "She's determined and strong-willed, plus the Army gave her a bigger purpose that had immediate and long-term benefits: improving her health and becoming a soldier."
Scarbrough said the transition has been good for her body and her mind.
"Weight shouldn't be something that stops you from doing what you really want," she said. "Losing weight is a lot of work, but even when you hit a plateau you have to keep at it. My mother didn't think I would follow through with losing the weight or joining the Army, but I did it, and now I'm ready to go."