MOVIE OF THE MONTH: APRIL 2012

                                                    
Director    : James Cameron
Written by: James Cameron
Starring    : Leonardo DiCaprio,Kate Winslet
Music        : James Horner
Camera     : Russell Carpenter
Running    : 194 minutes
Country    : United States
Language  : English
 
Titanic is returning to theaters! This time the movie will be in 3D! It will be released in movie theaters on 4th of this April.Now many probably just think this is the movie studios cashing in on the new 3D movie market, however there is more to it.

2011 April marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s fateful maiden voyage. It was a century ago that the largest ship of its day, one that was considered unsinkable hit an ice berg and sunk on its first voyage. The Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912 out of Southampton, England on her way to New York City. 

On the night of April 14, 1912, the ship hit an ice berg on April 15, 1912 the Titanic had sunk beneath the icy waves of the cold, dark Atlantic killing nearly two thirds of her passengers in the process. So here we are 100 years to the month of the sinking of Titanic.

Of course James Cameron’s Titanic was just the latest in a number of movies made about the ship. The infamous A Night to Remember was released in 1958 and starred Kenneth More, Ronald Allen and Robert Ayres. Before A Night to Remember was released, the 1953 film Titanic, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Clifton Webb and Robert Wagner hit the movie theaters. 

Then in 1996 the first colored film about the Titanic was released, once again just called Titanic. It was a Television movie series starring Peter Gallagher and Catherine Zeta-Jones.However James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) will bring some awareness to the tragedy a 100 years prior when re-released in April 2012.

The modern scenes were shot on board the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, which Cameron had used as a base when filming the wreck. A reconstruction of the Titanic was built at Playas de Rosarito, Baja California, and scale models and computer-generated imagery were also used to recreate the sinking.

Upon its release on December 19, 1997,the film achieved critical and commercial success. It equaled records with fourteen Academy Award nominations and eleven wins, receiving the prizes for Best Picture and Best Director.Titanic is also ranked as the sixth best epic film of all time in AFI's 10 Top 10 by the American Film Institute.

Movie Website: http://www.titanicmovie.com
Source: http://bwd316.hubpages.com

BOOK OF THE MONTH: APRIL 2012

                                                     

Title        :  ATLAS OF BIODIVERSITY RISK
Authors   : Josef Settele et al
Publisher : Pensoft Publishers
Pages       : 280
ISBN        : 978-954-642-446-4

Price        : $240.00

Political decisions are among the main driving forces that influence the survival of biodiversity. They have a direct impact on decisions in key areas of man’s interaction with nature and the countryside, e.g. through agriculture, traffic or infrastructure policies. These decisions also influence many relevant socio-economic processes underlying human activities, writes an international team of scientists in the "Atlas of Biodiversity Risk", the first of its kind to be published.

The book summarizes in a comprehensive, easy-to-read and richly illustrated form the major threats to biodiversity at a global scale. The global climate and land use changes, environmental pollution, loss of pollinators and biological invasions are among the major risks for biodiversity identified by this comprehensive study. The impacts and consequences of biodiversity loss are analyzed with an emphasis on the socio-economic drivers and their effect on society.

The Atlas is written for a wide range of readers. Academics will find summaries of methods, approaches and case studies. Conservationists and policy-makers will use the easy-to-understand recommendations based on academic findings. Lecturers and teachers will find examples to illustrate the major challenges in our century of global environmental changes.

The Atlas also targets a wide audience. Scientists will find summaries of useful contemporary methods, approaches and case studies, lecturers and teachers will discover examples to illustrate the main challenges of our century in terms of global environmental changes.Finally, all people concerned about saving the life on our planet will find it a powerful tool in their efforts for protection of nature! This Atlas is indispensable for any library or institution in the sphere of environmental sciences.

The Atlas is divided into chapters which mostly deal with particular pressures. It furthermore is based on case studies from different countries which are completed by introductory and concluding texts for each chapter.Chapters: 

1. Biodiversity and Baseline Information
2. Research Approaches for Biodiversity and Impacting Factors 
3. Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity
4. Land-use Changes and their Impacts
5. Environmental Chemicals and Biodiversity
6. Biological Invasions
7. Decline of Pollinators and Their Impact
8. Socio-Economy and Its Role in Biodiversity Loss
9. Combined Biodiversity Effects of Major Pressures
10. The Future of Biodiversity and Biodiversity Research

Review Courtesy: http://www.ufz.de, http://www.pensoft.net

EVENT OF THE MONTH: APRIL 2012

FIRST EURO-INDIA CONFERENCE ON DIABETICS

 http://www.diabetes.macromol.in/index.html

Date: 9, 10 and 11 April 2012 

Venue: Windsor Castle, Kodimatha, Kottayam, Kerala
Tel: 0481-2363637

The First Euro - India International Conference on Diabetics (EICD - 2012) is being organised in Kottayam, Kerala.This is the first time a joint conference is planned between Europe and India on diabetes. The main aim of the conference is to develop a Holistic Approach to the Prevention, Management and Treatment of Diabetes.

The goal of the conference emphasizes interdisciplinary research and holistic approach to medical sciences.The conference will be extremely useful in the sense that it will be attended by hundreds of doctors and researchers from Modern Medicine (Allopathy), Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Reiki and Traditional Practitioners of Yoga, Acupuncture, Siddha, Unani, Chinese Medicine etc.
 

During the conference there will be a brain storming discussion meeting in order to submit a joint project to European Union under the Seventh Frame Work of EU-India-other nations programme (Fp7) for funding between your country, India and Europe.Other projects between India and rest of the world such as DST-NSF, DST-DAAD, Indo-French, DST-JSPS, Indo-Swiss etc etc. will also be discussed. 

Papers for presentation may be sent (in the MS Word format) at the earliest to the conference email: diabetes@macromol.in.

Contact
Dr.Anne George, MD, MAMS.
Institute for Holistic Medical Sciences
Chathukulam Buildings
Parumbaikadu P.O
Kottayam
Kerala,India 686028
Res: 91-481- 2597914, 2590357
Mobile: 00-91-9447223452 and 00-91-9847460331

Website: http://www.diabetes.macromol.in/index.html

SPECIES OF THE MONTH: APRIL 2012

THE 'PHYTOKEY' OF MADAYIPARA

Kingdom : Plantae
Division   : Angiosperms
Class        : Monocots
Order      : Poales
Family     : Eriocaulaceae
Genus      : Eriocaulon
Species    : Eriocaulon madayiparense  

A team of botanists from Malabar Botanical Garden and the Zamorin's Guruvayurappan College, Kozhikode, Kerala, has reported the discovery of a new species of plant from Kannur district. Named Eriocaulon madayiparense, the pipewort species was found at Madayipara, a laterite hillock located in the foothills of the Western Ghats, noted for its unique, fragile and threatened habitat.
 
The plant is characterised by hairy female flowers and the absence of stem and root stock. Confined to the seasonal pools or wet areas of the laterite hills, the ephemeral species flowers and fruits during
the monsoon period from August to December. The Eriocaulon genus with over 80 endemic species in India. The Madayipara area itself harbours five species. 

The present discovery also highlight the threats to ecology of the Madayipara region. The researchers feel that the discovery of new species has increased the conservation potential of the laterite hillocks with their unique ecology of aquatic and semi aquatic plants and animals. More than 500 species of plants have been recorded from the area. 

The team of discoverers include R. Prakashkumar and M.M. Swapna from the Malabar Botanical Garden and K.P. Rajesh and C.N. Manju from the Zamorin's Guruvayurappan College. The study is published in the open access journal Phytokeys dedicated to biodiversity research. 

Link to Original Paper :http://www.pensoft.net

News Source :http://www.thehindu.com