A Neurochip That Can Communicate With Brain

The University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine scientists who proved it is possible to cultivate a network of brain cells that reconnect on a silicon chip—or the brain on a microchip—have developed new technology that monitors brain cell activity at a resolution never achieved before.

Developed with the National Research Council Canada (NRC), the new silicon chips are also simpler to use, which will help future understanding of how brain cells work under normal conditions and permit drug discoveries for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The new technology from the lab of Naweed Syed, in collaboration with the NRC, is published online this month in the journal, Biomedical Devices.

“This technical breakthrough means we can track subtle changes in brain activity at the level of ion channels and synaptic potentials, which are also the most suitable target sites for drug development in neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychological disorders,” says Syed, professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and advisor to the Vice President Research on Biomedical Engineering Initiative of the U of C.

The new neurochips are also automated, meaning that anyone can learn to place individual brain cells on them. Previously it took years of training to learn how to record ion channel activity from brain cells, and it was only possible to monitor one or two cells simultaneously. Now, larger networks of cells can be placed on a chip and observed in minute detail, allowing the analysis of several brain cells networking and performing automatic, large-scale drug screening for various brain dysfunctions.

This new technology has the potential to help scientists in a variety of fields and on a variety of research projects. Gerald Zamponi, professor and head of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, and member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, says, “This technology can likely be scaled up such that it will become a novel tool for medium throughput drug screening, in addition to its usefulness for basic biomedical research”.

Neelam Bhavnani
 IInd year-cs

NO LIGHT MATTER

Neutrinos faster than light challenge Einstein’s theory

    Albert Einstein’s 1905 theory of relativity is one of the most fundamental pillars of physics — but now scientists say his conclusion that nothing can travel faster than light could be proven wrong. 
    The physics world is abuzz with news that a group of European physicists at CERN plans to announce on Friday that it has clocked a burst of subatomic particles known as neutrinos breaking the speed of light. 
    Scientists around the world said the discovery could force a rethink of fundamental theories of physics and of the nature of the universe — ironically, much the same way Einstein’s Special theory of Relativity did. But the findings would have to be independently confirmed. 
    According to the CERN team, neutrinos raced from a particle accelerator at CERN outside Geneva, where they were created, to a cavern underneath Gran Sasso in Italy, a distance of about 720km, about 60 nanoseconds faster than it would take a light beam. That amounts to a speed greater than light by about 0.0025%. 
Even this would play havoc with longstanding notions of cause and effect. Einstein himself said if you could send a message faster than light, “You could send a telegram to the past.”

According to the scientists, neutrinos raced from a particle accelerator at CERN outside geneva, where they were created, to a cavern underneath Gran Sasso in Italy, a distance of about 450 miles, about 60 nanoseconds faster than it would take a light beam. That amounts to a speed greater than light by about 0.0025% (2.5 parts in a hundred thousand).

Even this small deviation would open up the possibility of time travel and play havoc with longstanding notions of cause and effect.

Alvaro de Rujula, a theorist at CERN, called the claim "flabbergasting". "If it is true, then we truly haven't understood anything about anything," he said, adding: "It looks too big to be true. The correct attitude is to ask oneself what went wrong." 

But whatever be the conclusion if really the neutrinos could travel faster than light then maybe time has come for us to prepare for a dip in our past!!

Ina mathur

CSE-III year

                      Folder Phantom Redux: Hide Files from Prying Eyes
Developer:


WinAbility Software is a small company located in Rockville, Utah, that specializes in developing security and file-management tools.


Released: September 26, 2011


Supported Platforms: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, & 7 (32 & 64-bit)
In 2007 a folder hiding program was released , Folder Phantom. It was a very popular utility that allowed you to protect folders from prying eyes. Unfortunately it wasn't very secure. By changing some settings the hidden folders could be exposed.
due to this,its developers had gone back to the drawing board and developed a completely new version of Folder Phantom and named it Folder Phantom Redux. This version provides much greater security and additional features.


New features include:
1.Choice of hiding or just locking the folder
2.Ability to protect the folder even when Windows is running in safe mode
3.When the protected folder is locked but visible and you click on it, a prompt for a password will appear from Explorer


Using:
To use Folder Phantom Redux you first need to configure it. When you launch the utility for the first time you will be presented with a password dialog .
Specify a password that you would like to use for Folder Phantom Redux, confirm it, and click OK.


You have two options to protect your folder. You can hide the folder or you can lock the folder which will keep the folder visible but prompt the user for a password when the folder is attempted to be accessed.


1. If you choose the Hide the folder method: the folder you have selected will become completely hidden. If someone were to browse your computer with Windows Explorer, or with another program, he or she would not see the phantom folder in the list of folders on your computer.  For all practical purposes the folder would not exist for users while it is protected by Folder Phantom Redux.


2. If you select the Lock the folder with password method:the folder you have chosen will remain visible, but an attempt to open it will result in a password prompt shown on the screen. 


Another change from the prior version is that you can no longer protect multiple folders. In order to enhance the security of the utility the developers needed to make a trade-off. Folder Phantom Redux can only protect one folder at a time. That being said, you can put as many subfolders as you'd like within the protected folder and they will be protected as well.


Neelam Bhavnani
cs IInd year

Some crazy trips and tricks!

*Notepad fun:

1. Open a blank Notepad file
2. Write .LOG as the first line of the file, followed by a enter. Save the file and close it.
3. Double-click the file to open it and notice that Notepad appends the current date and time to the end of the file and places the cursor on the line after
4. Type your notes and then save and close the file.

*Folder magic:

Try to create a folder in Windows with either of these names--
"con" or "nul" or "Aux" or "Lpt1".
Windows will not let u create ....

*Increase your system speed:

Speed Up By Clearing RAM Open notepad type FreeMem=Space(6400000) & save it as ramcleaner.vbs & double click whenever ur pc appears slow.

*Remove Shutdown Button:

No Shutdown: Wanna play with your friends by removing the shutdown option from start menu in their computer. Just hack it down !!! Regedit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer "NoClose"="DWORD:1" enjoy tricks

*Display Legal notice on start up:

Wanna tell your friends about the do's and dont's in your computer when they login in your absence. Well you can do it pretty easily by displaying a legal notice at system start up.
REGEDIT
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system]
"legalnoticecaption"="enter your notice caption"
"legalnoticetext"="enter your legal notice text"

*SPEED UP UR ACROBAT READER (ALMOST LIKE NOTEPAD):

1. Go to the installation folder of acrobat reader
(C:\program files\adobe\acrobat\reader\.. whatever)

2. Move all the files and folders from the "plugins" directory to the "Optional" directory. (I repeat.. cut and paste the files NOT copy & paste).
Also make sure that acrobat reader is not open else it will lock the files and not allow you to move the files).
Now your acrobat reader will load very fast and almost as good as notepad..
Note: I am assuming that you've installed Acrobat Reader in C Drive

*Delete Recycle Bin:

1 thing is 4 sure, delete option can be added 2 recycle bin...
the old registry thing will work out.....
* launch d registry...
* open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder
* to add a rename and delete option, change the Dword attribute to 70 01 00 20
* refresh and reboot the system..... u r done.

PS:always backup ur data as well as registry b4 attempting 2 work on it if u r a newbie....!!!

--SALONI BHATIA
  CS IInd Yr

Utkarsh Events this SEM!

Hola amigoes
First event (19th august 2011)


This event was introductory event  full of technical knowledge and fun organised especially for freshers of college!
6 teams were selected by scrutinizing through "match-your-words-and-find-your-partner" scheme. In second round one of the partners enacted a word and other one had to guess it correctly.
For the last round both of team mates had to stand on opposite side and answer the questions and step forward Winner was the team who eventually met at center.

Winners of this event were:

Ist: Divyanti Chouhan Ist yr CS mba
      Himani Ist yr CS
IInd: Garima Pant Ist year CS
       Sayogita Singh Ist yr CS

Wordie buddie

Second event (19th september 2011)

This exciting event was with team size two in which motive was to play with words.
First round was to pick aalphabet and  write name of a company and a technical device from it.
In second round teams were to play scrabble with technical words.More complex words = more points!
Finally teams had to match the answer from a sheet provided with the dictated questions.

Winners of this event were:
 Ist : Yamini Agarwal ECE Ist yr
       Shanu Jain ECE Ist Yr
IInd : Prerna Singh CS IIIrd Yr
         Arushi Khare CS Ist Yr

Twin Spin

Third event (22nd september 2011)

Another enthralling event from utkarsh requiring mainly programming skills.In First round question papers were distributed which had to be solved in 10 mins .Then in second round participants had to form maximum technical words out of jumbled letters in 1 min.Final round concluded with another question paper with mind boggling questions!

Winners of this event were :

Ist: Nupur Bajaj CS IIIrd Yr
     Ritika Jaluka IInd Yr

IInd: Ina Mathur CS IIIrd Yr
        Shivangi Srivastava EC Ist Yr

Overnight Challenge

     (24-25th september 2011)

Winners of our first overnight programming challenge are:
Ist: Priyanka Agarwal CS IIIrd Yr
IInd: Swati Sharma CS IIIrd Yr

Heartiest Congratulations to all the winners from UTKARSH!

AN ARTIFICIAL LEAF INVENTED WHICH CAN SOLVE POWER CRISIS.

Scientists have created the world’s first practical artificial leaf
that can turn sunlight and water into energy, which they claim could
pave the way for a cheaper source of power.

A team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) says that the
artificial leaf from silicon, electronics and various catalysts which
spur chemical reactions within the device, can use sunlight to break
water into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be used to create
electricity in a separate fuel cell.

“A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of
science for decades. We believe we have done it. And placed in a
gallon of water and left in sun, these artificial leaves could provide
a home in the developing world with basic electricity for a day,”
Daniel Nocera, who led the team, said.

He added: “Our goal is to make each home its own power station. One
can envision villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing
an affordable basic power system based on this technology.”

Both teams produced devices that combine a standard silicon solar cell
with a catalyst developed three years ago by professor Daniel Nocera.
When submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the devices cause
bubbles of oxygen to separate out of the water.

The next step to producing a full, usable artificial leaf, explains
Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and professor of
chemistry, will be to integrate the final ingredient: an additional
catalyst to bubble out the water’s hydrogen atoms. In the current
devices, hydrogen atoms are simply dissociated into the solution as
loose protons and electrons. If a catalyst could produce fully formed
hydrogen molecules (H2), the molecules could be used to generate
electricity or to make fuel for vehicles. Realization of that step,
Nocera says, will be the subject of a forthcoming paper.

PUBLISHED BY NITIKA  PAYAL

Overnight  Programming Challenge

                   

24th -25thSeptember 2011

4:30 p.m.-11:00a.m.

Submit your answers on blog.utkarsh@gmail.com or to any utkarsh member before 11:00 a.m. on 25th September 2011 


 Q. 1.Write  a program to print the following pattern(c/c++/java)?
                                     *
                                  *
                              *
                           *
                       *
                        


Q. 2. What is the output of the following program? 
#include <stdio.h>
int main()  
{    
  int  a[5] = {1,2,3,4,5};    
  int *ptr =  (int*)(&a+1);      
 printf("%d %d" , *(a+1), *(ptr-1) );   
 return 0;
 }  




Q. 3. What is the output of the following shell script?
#!/bin/bash


num=10
num1=0
num2=1
echo $num1
echo $num2


count=2


while [ $count -le $num ]
do
num3=`expr $num1 + $num2`
echo $num3
num1=$num2
num2=$num3
count=`expr $count + 1`
done


Q. 4. What is the output of the following program?
public class Foo 
{
    Foo() 
    {
        System.out.print("foo");
    }
    
class Bar
{
    Bar() 
    {
        System.out.print("bar");
    }
    public void go() 
    {
        System.out.print("hi");
    }
} /* class Bar ends */


    public static void main (String [] args) 
    {
        Foo f = new Foo();
        f.makeBar();
    }
    void makeBar() 
    {
        (new Bar() {}).go();
    }
}/* class Foo ends */


Q. 5. Write a program to accept percentage of marks from user and print ‘A’ if it lies between 90-100%, ‘B’ if it lies between 70-90%, ‘C’ if it lies between 60-70%, ‘D’ if it lies between  40-60% and ‘E’ if it is less than 40% using only switch case.


Q. 6.  Pretend that in the classic 80's movie back to the Future, it took the clock tower 6 seconds to strike 4 o'clock. How many seconds does it take for the tower to strike 12 o'clock?


Q. 7. The latest release the group Prime Players Three consists of three CDs. Each has a different playing time. Each CD has four tracts and a total playing time of not more than one hour. The four tracks on any one of these CDs each last a prime number of minutes and each one is a different length. Any combination of the three different tracks on any one of the CDs plays for a prime number of minutes. What are the lengths in minutes of the track on these three CDs?


Q. 8. What is the output of the following program?
 public abstract class AbstractTest 
{
    public int getNum() 
    {
        return 45;
    }
    public abstract class Bar 
    {
        public int getNum() 
        {
            return 38;
        }
    }
    public static void main (String [] args) 
    {
        AbstractTest t = new AbstractTest() 
        {
            public int getNum() 
            {
                return 22;
            }
        };
        AbstractTest.Bar f = t.new Bar() 
        {
            public int getNum() 
            {
                return 57;
            }
        };
       
        System.out.println(f.getNum() + " " + t.getNum());
    }
}


Q. 9. The base address of an array a[3][4] is 502 and size of data type is 2. Find the address of  a[1][3] when the array is stored in row major and column major format.


Q. 10. Evaluate the following postfix expression:
            42$3*3-84/11+/+

UTKARSH HEADS 2011 ..

                                                         UTKARSH HEADS 2011....

GENERAL SECRETARIES :

NIKITA JAIN  25th june
NUPUR GUPTA  21st august

DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY:

MEGHA LAKHOTIA  7th december

WEBSITE HEADS:

EKTA VASWANI  20th january
NIKITA SHARMA  23rd june
SAKSHI 

TECHNICAL HEADS :

SHARMISHTHA SWAROOP  21st september
SHALINI SOMANI  6th march
SHRUTI GUPTA  24th april
KAVERI MAHESHWARI 4th december

EVENT MANAGEMENT HEADS :

VARTIKA SINGH  18th december
NEHA GOYAL  6th january

TREASURERS :

NIKITA JAIN  2nd april
MANVI KOTHARI 24th july

TEAM UTKARSH 2011~2012

UNMATCHED THIRD YEAR MEMBERS ..

• ANKITA PANDE   30th august
• ANKITA KHUTETA   8th may
• ANCHAL DAVID  7th december
• AYUSHI GOYAL  25th may
• DIVYANJALI SISODIA  27th november
• GHAZAL AHUJA  16th march
• HIMADRI KASHYAP  2nd october
• MEGHA GUPTA  25th august  
• NEEKITA BISHNOI  13th january
• SANJANA CHANDALIA  8th december
• SAKSHI AGARWAL  8th june
• SAKSHI AGARWAL  27th february
• SOMIL GARG  3rd august  
• SUPARNA PARUTHY  8th november

MAGNIFICIENT SECOND YEARITES..

• AVEESHA SHARMA  21st may
• DIVYA AREN   15th august
• KOMAL KESWANI  24th august
• NEELAM BHAVNANI  2nd september
• PREYASHI AGARWAL  6th january
• RIYA SAXENA  9th august
• SHIPRA BANSAL  4th november 
• SHRUTI GUPTA  30th december
• TAMANNA JAIN  20th june
• UPADHI KOKRA  3rd december
• URVI SENGAR  17th january
• VARSHI GUPTA  12th november

MAGICAL FIRST YEAR MEMBERS..

• ADITI PRABHA  17th june
• DEEKSHA GUPTA  26th february
• SHREYA SHARMA  7th august
• SURBHI ARORA  4th september
• TANYA KAKAR  23rd april
• UNNATI JOSHI  29th november
• VANJA SRIVASTAV  25th december

UTKARSH- As Remembered By Us (2010 ~ 2011)

                                                          TEAM UTKARSH   2010-2011 ..

                                                        UTKARSH HEADS 2010..

                                                       UTKARSH'S BIRTHDAY 2011 

Now, sketch to browse internet

For all the talk of the mobile internet and its special requirements, web browsing on a handset is almost similar to how you do it on a computer - the same navigation options (Back, Forward, Home, Bookmarks, and so on) and the address bar to enter the URL of the site you want to visit.


Yes, a touch interface might mean lesser button pushing, but for the most part, surfing the web on a handset is pretty much the same as browsing on a PC. Which is good, if you are a person of habit. But if you are looking for something different, try the Dolphin browser. It lets you browse by just drawing symbols on your screen on both, iOS and Android devices.


Draw your way around...
Browsing the web using Dolphin is as simple as drawing a figure or writing a letter on the display of your touchscreen device. You can go to Facebook by making an 'O', head over to BBC by making a rectangle, and go forward and back by making moving your finger on the screen in a particular direction.


And these symbols are not fixed -- you can allot your own gestures and symbols to different sites and functions; from navigating the interwebs, to viewing browsing history, to opening and closing tabs. You just need to touch an icon at the bottom of the browser that launches an overlaying screen on which you can draw your gesture or symbol, without affecting the content (web links, images, and so on) underneath it. There is just one catch -- you have to make the symbol or write on the display without lifting your finger. So forget about having two parallel sticks or an "equal to" sign to refresh a web page.

Now, an iPhone app that parks your car for you

An iPhone app that enables motorists to park their vehicles without even being in the driving seat has been unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany.

The application works in conjunction with Park4U, a preloaded system that uses steering wheel control and sensors to automatically guide the car into parking spots, Sky News reported.

The driver would usually have to be behind the wheel when using the programme, but now motorists will be able to control the brake and accelerator pedals from their phone while standing outside the vehicle.

Further reviews have said the app will help when squeezing cars into tight spaces

Future of OS- Windows 8!!!

Microsoft says it is “reinventing the OS” with Windows 8, the company’s next-generation operating system.
some of the most important features of windows 8 are:-
1) Windows 8 Works on Tablets, Laptops & Desktops
 Perhaps the biggest difference between Windows 8 and its predecessors is that this OS is designed to work on not just laptops and desktops, but on tablets as well. Microsoft is introducing the Metro interface it popularized with Windows Phone into Windows 8. Users can access the Metro view or the familiar desktop view with a simple click or tap.
To work well on tablets, Windows 8 has been designed for touchscreens. More importantly, it has been designed to work on ARM-based processors. ARM technology runs most of the smartphones and tablets in the world. ARM chips are simply better suited for these smaller form factors due to their energy efficiency. Even the Apple A5, the chip that powers the iPad 2, contains a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU.
The result is that Windows 8 will work on almost any device you put it on. It works with keyboards and touchscreens, and it doesn’t matter if a device has an Intel, AMD or ARM processor. This makes Windows 8 a versatile OS in a world where the desktop no longer exists.
2)windows 8 much faster

Windows 8 boasts vast performance improvements over its predecessors. The memory footprint has been reduced, the boot time has been decreased (Windows 8 boots up in less than eight seconds) and the Metro UI launches apps almost instantly. The OS also supports USB 3.0 and Hyper-V.
The result is a slick OS that’s as fast as iOS and Mac OS X Lion. Most people will be surprised by how quickly Windows 8 starts up or runs apps. We certainly were surprised.

3) Say Hello to the Windows App Store

Windows 8 will have an app store. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. The rise of Apple’s iOS App Store has launched a wave of app store mania across the tech ecosystem. Microsoft also gave away its intent to launch an app store in a leaked side deck last year.
Still, the inclusion of a Windows Store provides new business opportunities for developers. It creates an incentive for developers to build Metro-style apps that could potentially sell well on the world’s most popular OS. And it’s a clear indication that Microsoft doesn’t intend to give up any ground to Apple and its App Store.

4) Metro & Touch Are the Future of Windows
Windows 8 was designed with touchscreens in mind. And while the OS works just fine with a keyboard and a mouse, Microsoft touted the Metro UI as the future of the OS.
Yes, Windows 8 includes the familiar desktop UI. And yes, you can install your standard desktop apps (the first app I installed on my Windows 8 tablet? Firefox). However, the real magic of the OS occurs when you’re swiping through the tile interface, launching games, launching the Charms bar and interacting with the device via touch.
Microsoft isn’t allowing itself to be stuck in the Stone Age. It knows the future of computing is mobile. It knows less people will be sitting at desktops to do their work and will carry around ultralights or tablets instead.
That’s what Microsoft is betting on. If Apple’s trying to pioneer the touch-based OS with iOS, Microsoft is trying to perfect it. The company is making a radical bet with the next version of Windows. We have to give the company credit: It’s not afraid to take a big risk in order to make a comeback.

Utkarsh - The technical society of MITS

MITS (Mody Institute Of Technology and Science) is a premier educational University for women situated near Sikar.Our Institute  not only focuses upon the academic background of students but also their overall personality development  For realizing this purpose, we have many different societies and groups to match interests of all students.


Utkarsh is the technical society of MITS ,especially for CS and IT students. We aim at technical excellence for everybody and also to create a healthy learning environment within the college campus. For this purpose we organize different events and workshops throughout the year for the benefit of our fellow students. We like sharing our knowledge with others and also making everybody more aware, more technically sound and even more fun!


Since blogging is a way to reach everybody and spread our love for technology farther easily we will actively try to keep you all informed about all goings of our college, society and most importantly something-new-to-learn regularly here keeping you on your toes striving for more..;)


We like doing things our own way..We are the-


-- TEAM UTKARSH !!