Tag: Water

One Meal A day..OMAD

A stage comes in everyone’s life when he or she becomes aware that his or her health is not what he or she desires. Everyone wants to have lean physically fit body. 

Our body is like a machine. When born it’s every organ is brand new and works most efficiently. As we grow from childhood, most of us are oblivious of our bodies. Machine is working properly. 

Slowly and slowly, as we grow older, machine become less efficient. It needs the repairs and services. At this stage, many diseases like blood pressure, diabetes and obesity appear which if not addressed to timely will take more harmful conditions.

Many factors like genetics, sedantary life style, indulgence in synthetic foods, drinking and smoking are responsible for such conditions. The visits to the doctors begin.

We daily hear about many dietary regimes being propagated by those who want to make money by this.

The science behind the weight gain is quite simple and based on the principle that mass and energy are two sides of the same coin. Energy is taken in by the body in the form of food especially fat and proteins. The expenditure of energy s basal energy consumption by body and the physical activity done by you. If energy intake is more than consumption, the extra energy will be stored in our bodies in the form of fat both internal and external.

So weight correction is basically the balance between daily intake of energy plus some stored energy and the energy expended in physical activity.

So the rule is to reduce intake of energy by cutting down the richness components and increase in the intake of salads, green vegetables, nuts and plenty of water and stepping up the exercises by walking, yoga, bicycling, running and doing house chores.

The practice of eating one meal a day, also known as OMAD, involves consuming all of one’s daily calorie needs in a single meal and fasting for the rest of the day. While this approach to eating has gained popularity in recent years, it is important to note that it may not be suitable for everyone and should be approached with caution.

Some potential benefits of one meal a day include improved insulin sensitivity, weight loss, and increased mental clarity.

However, it is important to ensure that the single meal consumed is balanced and provides all the necessary nutrients for good health.

Individuals with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or eating disorders, should not attempt one meal a day without consulting with a healthcare professional first.

Additionally, it is important to ensure that one’s daily caloric needs are met in the single meal consumed to avoid potential health complications.

Overall, one meal a day can be a viable approach to eating for some individuals, but it is important to approach it safely and in consultation with a healthcare professional.

Remember, there is no shortcut or fast track method to become leaner and it requires time, patience and persistence. Neither dieting nor exercise should be done in extreme which can cause more harm than benefits. 

Some good references for OMAD:

The dos and don’ts of eating one meal a day (OMAD)

One Meal A Day (OMAD) Diet: Safety, Benefits, Risks

Everything You Need To Know About the OMAD Diet

A shard of water

The scene from the balcony of my apartment in the third floor of the building is breathtaking. It harks me back to my childhood. The place where all these apartments have come up were fields earlier. There were rills with gurgling water running through the path which led us from our home into our land.

Now this patch which is remaining reminds me of those times. There are fields in which the cattle graze when the land is fallow. In the rainy season, the cattle roll in the mud and after that go to bath in the pond of water.

This pond looks like a shard of mirror. It is a narrow strip of water. I was surprised why the pond does not get dried. Still there is water. This time I found the answer.

There is a river not far from our place. It is called Ghaghar. It is not a big river like the other mighty rivers of Punjab. In the past, as I have mentioned, there were small streams which ran through the area and distributed the water for irrigation to the landowners on the rota basis.

I have presumed that all those stream must have become extinct but I was surprised to see one in which pristine water was flowing and leading towards the pond and beyond.

There is a narrow path made from the constant walking of the people. It is narrow strip of bald land. People who are walking on the path look tiny specks from our home. During the high sun, the water simmers and it becomes difficult to look at it directly.

From the height of our home, the pond seems to like a broken piece of mirror-placid. But a closer look indicates lots of activity taking place there inside it. Buffaloes wallow in it.

Besides you can see the cormorants and ducks smoothly swimming over the water surface. Water continuously exits the pond from other side.

There is algae over a part of it. The same algae called cyano-bacteria or green algae which is on the surface of the earth since times immemorial when no other form of life existed. This is the same algae which is the precursor of life that is present on the earth.

On the other side is a preserved patch of woods where eucalyptus and poplar trees grow along with undergrowth. There are trodden paths running and getting lost inside these woods. These remind me of the poem “the road less taken” by Robert Frost.

I don’t know how long this patch of remaining land will last. I fear the day is not far when the demon of concrete will overtake it. In the last I present a picture of laborers carrying dried wood stick bundles on their heads for firing their hearths and sitting around the fire for keeping the winter at bay.

Changes in Periodic Table of Chemicals….

We know that everything in the universe is made from the atoms. They are the basic building entities. Atoms are not solid entities but are made of dense nuclei surrounded by fuzzy cloud of electrons whizzing in the outer. Nucleus is made of protons and neutrons.

Things don’t not end here. Nature is very complex. Even the atoms of same elements can have different number of neutrons making them have different weights. Such atoms are called isotopes.

Atoms of same element or different elements can combine in umpteen ways resulting in diverse molecules and different substances from very simple molecules like water and methane to complex molecules containing thousands of atoms.

Many elements have more than one isotopes. One of these is the most abundant and is for all practical purposes considered as the representative. Other isotopes exist in very low abundance. All elements can be divided into different groups in which the chemical and physical properties vary in periodic manner.

Earlier, we remember the chemical composition of compounds was determined by chemical methods using classical techniques. From the elements proportions an empirical formula was derived. Methods gave numbers of constituent elements which have to be rounded off. This happened due to the inherent limitations of determinations. So generally the molecular weights were either whole numbers or at most rounded off to first decimal place.

Thanks to the extremely accurate measurements now available with advancement of science, we are measure the abundance of all isotopes very accurately. Ten elements namely hydrogen, lithium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur, chlorine and thallium which have one or more isotopes have now been selected whose atomic weights shall be displayed in the periodic table as a range.

For example, the atomic weight of boron (atomic number 5) is currently written as 10.811. On the new periodic table, it will be given as an interval—from 10.806 to 10.821. This might not seem like a big change—and it is very small—but such a change can be critical to calculations in scientific research and for industrial applications. Also, chemistry teachers and students will have to learn how to use the new weight intervals.

Since now we the abundance and atomic weights of each isotope very accurately, the range will fix the upper and lower limits. By comparing the atomic weight of a particular element in a sample and mapping it on the range interval we can know the source of sample.

For example, oxygen atoms in the water samples contain isotopes. During evaporation fractionation occurs. Water molecules with lighter oxygen atoms evaporate faster leaving behind the water with heavier isotopes.

Similarly, the atomic weight of carbon is smaller in performance-enhancing drugs than in natural testosterone meaning natural testosterone contains higher abundance if heavier carbon atoms. This difference can be used to test whether athletes used these drugs to improve their performance.

The new atomic weight measurements not only account for the presence of isotopes but also consider their relative concentrations in the universe. Carbon 12 makes up 98.89% of all carbon, while carbon 13 is 1.11%, and the natural abundance of carbon 14 is 0.0000000001%.

So, the weight interval for carbon will lean more heavily toward carbon 12 and range from 12.0096 to 12.0116. This range will replace the average atomic weight for carbon listed in any chemistry textbook, which is 12.011.

Some snippets from childhood

I am 67 years old now and retired from the service 7 years ago. In the ample time at my disposal, the mind harks back and reel of memory rewinds on the spool of time and this time it stops at the days of my childhood.

Our childhood was spent in the village called Manimajra. Nowadays it is in the Union territory of Chandigarh though at that time it was along with Chandigarh a part of Punjab.

We were like most others in the village poor peasants with small landholdings. Parents were totally illiterate. In those days, nobody was serious about the education and future of their children.

It was supposed that they will fend for themselves when they will grow up. In all probability would be farmers like them. If they went to school it was by luck.

Even I did not like the school. There was nobody to cajole us about the need of education to become something and live comfortably. But still we went to school.

After school and taking lunch, we invariably headed for our fields which were quite far away. It was all the way on foot through rough paths, streams littered with pebbles and thorny detours. We brought back the green fodder for our buffaloes.

But there were other outings also which we enjoyed most. One of these was going together to shrines of Mansa Devi which are about 4 to 5 kilometres away situated in the hillocks which are sub-systems of Shivalik hills. Usually the temples are situated in the hills.

There are two temples separated by half a kilometre distance. The lower one was constructed by the Raja of Manimajra and the other by Royal family of Patiala. The lower temple is older and was more aesthetic in design.

There were frescos depicting mythological scenes related to Durga slaying the mehsasur and also of Krishna Leela. I don’t know what has become of them because even at that time they were not in well preserved condition.

There were small shrines littered around the main temples. One such was at the foot of the stairs leading to the temple. There was a big water tank in front of it. Pilgrims took bath in it during the times of annual fares in which people from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal came to participate.

Farmers usually came in groups. There was at that time fashion of carrying a stick which was specially designed with a bend at the one end. Usually there were quarrels between groups and then this weapon was used freely. These people drank the country liquor and sweets like Ladoos and Jalebis were favourite.

But this was during the fare. In other times, there were very few people and it was very peaceful. We came many a times with our grandfather who was friends with a sadhu of the shrine. As they sat chatting and smoking hookah we played there for long time.

During other times, we came with friends and headed for the area beyond the temple. There were unending clusters of thorny bushes which bore the fruit “Ber” diminutive variety of jejube.

They were mostly sour and sweet. All day we ate those and collected for home. Other attraction was an air force helicopter which hovered over and many a times landed in the clearings of the bushes. We were awestruck with it and the way bushes swayed when it came down.

There was another attraction. It was walking along the Chandigarh Kalka railway line which passed in that area. We always waited impatiently for the train to appear. When it came rolling like a black giant which inspired awe and fear.

The engine was steam based with clouds of smoke from burning coal issuing from the exhaust. The goods train used to halt at the crossing of the road leading to the temple. Many women from nearby village came to fill pitchers of water from the engine. Sometimes the motorman also gave them the partially burnt coal for use in homes.

During winter, the cough usually pestered us. There were none of the counter medicines. There was a herb called Adusa which grew in abundance.

It bore white flowers which contained a nectar which soothed the throat. We sucked them and also brought back home because the cough became acute as the temperature dropped during the night.

Such were the days. A carefree life not affected by lack of money. There was hardly any pollution. No gadget like television, radio etc which keep us engrossed at home and we miss the nature’s beauty and surprises which wait us outside.

Higgs Boson: The God Particle

How many fundamental particles make all what exists in the universe? In our college days electrons, protons and neutrons were considered the fundamental particles making up the atoms.

Atoms combined with each other according to some rules to make molecules which are the building blocks of the universe. As the research to probe into the heart of these fundamental particles advanced with the advent of high speed particle colliders, it has been found that itis after all not as simple as it looks.

Only electron withstood the test of being the fundamental particle. It was shown that neutrons and protons are formed from other particles which have been observed in these particle smashers. We now know that protons and neutrons can be formed from two fundamental particles called up and down quarks. So along with electrons, all that is present can be made from up and down quarks.

Standard Model of Atom

But till date 12 fundamental particles have been discovered. So what are these needed for. Whether it is finally 12 or any number is also a guess because theories can get shattered by the availability of more powerful smashers.

It is known that energy and mass are the two sides of the same coin. From the mass we can create energy and vice versa. How particles get different masses?

It was proposed that space is filled with a energy field called Higgs field. If we consider it was water in a container for analogy then it is continuous with break. Water is made of molecules of water which is H2O. These molecules fill all the space occupied by water. It means water molecule is smallest unit .

By analogy smallest unit of energy or the particles which make the Higgs field are called Higgs Boson. It is this field which gives the particles their different masses which represent the extent of its interaction with the field.

In the particle accelerators, atoms moving almost at 99% or more the speed of light are collided with each other. They get converted into energy field. This energy field then gets converted into numerous sub atomic particles which are recorded.

It is hoped that out of these particles, the Higgs Boson will show up. At least CERN which is doing the research with giant colliders having perimeters of almost 22 kilometers announced that they have observed a particle which is most like the Higgs Boson.

Efforts will continue. Since this particle which stands as the central entity in the Standard Model which is currently the most successful system to explain the existence of the sub atomic particles, will be successfully discovered. Since it is so elusive , it has been nicknamed the “God Particle”

In Search of Chemist’s pure water

Chemist’s pure water which is formulated as H2O exists only in the theory. In the laboratory too, it has to be prepared from the water from the tap. The reason is its high polarity and very high dielectric constant which makes it a potent solvent. It can dissolve inorganic salts, polar organic compounds, acidic, basic and polar gases. It also carries suspended matter like clay particles in the form of colloids. Some of these are loosely suspended and separate out with time by sedimentation and other are stable and has to be destabilized by using defloucculants to settle them out. 

For example, the river water continuously interacts with the rocks and soil during its flow and leaches many inorganic salts of alkali metals, alkaline earth metals in appreciable amounts and many other metal ions in trace amounts. It can absorb the lower molecular weight organic acids like formic acid and acetic acids.

Gases are trapped in two ways by water. First category are gases which are acidic like carbondioxide and oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide etc reacts with water and render it acidic and basic like ammonia react with it to form basic solutions.

Another way by which water traps the molecules of non polar gases like oxygen, methane etc is that there are cavities in the grid of water molecules where these gases are trapped through weak Van der Wall forces.

Not only that, when water freezes, in the lattice it creates, gaseous hydrocarbons are trapped if certain conditions like availability of these gases at the time of freezing, pressure, temperature are met. If the conditions fall into the favorable envelope, gases are trapped.

These are called gas hydrates. In fact, it has been estimated that vast amounts of methane is trapped world over in this form. Technology is being developed to tap the resource in a safe, environmental friendly and economically feasible way.

Chemist has to remove all these impurities to achieve a tentative pure water. The degree of purification depends upon the kind of experiment. For example, for the ion chromatography where presence of ions is determined at ppb or ppm level, the water used in this work has to be free from the ions under determination in a sample.

This ultra pure water is prepared with sophisticated water purifier called ultra purifier which removes suspended matter, kills bacteria and removes every ion present to negligible amounts. For ordinary work on a gross level determations, onetime distilled water will do the work.

This also does not last long as it is continuously absorb the gases from the environment if it is not sealed. If your laboratory is located near a highway with high volume of vehicles then due to the emission of the acidic nitrogen oxides, this water immediately turns acidic.

Thus even during the conducting of experiment, special care using isolating techniques has to be taken if the correct results are to be achieved. In the analytical work, the procedures specially mention the freshly distilled water to be used.

So whenever we speak of water, it is not the pure H2O but a mixture of different salts and gases dissolved in the chemistry water. Some of these ions are required for human bodies but these should be within limits.

So the chemical composition of water is very important to know it’s potability for drinking purposes. Generally, in most of the cases treatments are necessary to make it fit for drinking.

Chemistry behind the Color of cooked Beans

Cooked green beans can be a vivid green color, or they can turn gradually less colorful, sometimes becoming greyish or brownish. 

Generally salt is added to the water before boiling vegetables. The reasons given for this include:

Chemists studied the truth behind these claims and found that first 3 of them are totally false. Adding salt slightly improves the flavor. The increase in the boiling point is insignificant to make any difference in the cooking time.

The color of the beans is dependent on the pH of the cooking water. The green color is due to chlorophyll present in the beans. If the water is acidic, the Magnesium ion bound to the chlorophyll is replaced by hydrogen ions and color is discharged. So depending upon the pH, their will be different degree of color changes.

If you cook the beans in hard water which contain bivalent ions calcium and magnesium, the pectin sugars present in the beans become firmly attached to each other and form a nice three dimensional network and give it a nice firm texture. Soft water on the other hand, dissolves the pectin quickly giving the cooked beans a mushy texture.

Animals cannot digest Cellulose

Most plants synthesize cellulose which they use to give strength to their bodies and make them withstand the vagaries of storms. It gives the shape to the trees and branches then expand the tree.

Cellulose becomes the wood when trees become mature. Furniture is made of this material. It is obvious that cellulose is insoluble in water otherwise no one will use it in construction and furniture.

Cellulose and starch and other carbohydrates consist of glucose molecules which are arranged in chains of different styles. In starch, two chains are intertwined.

Cellulose

These chains get separated on boiling the starch in water. This caused the chains to disperse in the water increasing its viscosity. Such starch is called pre-gelatinized starch.

On the other hand, cellulose structure is such that chains are not dispersed and wood remains unaffected in water. Glucose is the basic unit of sugar which is used by animals like humans for obtaining energy to keep the body running.

Starchy Foods

How do then we assimilate higher sugars like starch. They have to broken down to glucose units. The enzymes found in humans and other animals allow them to digest and metabolize many, but not all, biomolecules. Cellulose is one example of a molecule that defies digestion in many animals.

But the slight difference in the way the glucose molecules are hooked together in starch compared with how they are hooked together in cellulose makes a big difference in their digestibility.

Humans and many other higher animals have the enzyme required to break the bonds in starch, releasing glucose. The particular enzyme is called alpha-amylase.

But because the shape of the linkage is different in cellulose, the same enzyme will not work. In fact, where cellulose is concerned, humans do not have an enzyme that will work.

As it turns out, most humans eat a fair amount of cellulose in the form of fruits and vegetables. Although we cannot digest it, the cellulose serves as roughage or fiber that gives food bulk and keeps it moving through the digestive system. In the end, all of the undigested material ends up being eliminated as feces.

Maybe you are wondering how animals such as cattle, sheep, deer, and goats thrive on a diet of grass or other cellulose-rich food. Can they digest cellulose when humans cannot?

The answer is no. None of these animals have the enzymes required to digest cellulose. Instead they rely on colonies of microorganisms living in their digestive systems.

These simple microorganisms have the correct enzymes to digest the cellulose and to reassemble the products into starches and proteins. From these products, grazing animals acquire their nutrients. The special relationship between these animals and their resident microbes is called symbiosis—two organisms living with each other to the benefit of both.

Unesco World Heritage tag for Rani-ki-Vav

Rani ki vav or the Queen’s Stepwell at Patan, Gujarat has been bestowed with this honor a few days back under criteria i and iv which say. First criterion is the structure represents a masterpiece of human creative genius and second criterion says the item under consideration is an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history.

Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Step well) at Patan, Gujarat is located on the banks of the Saraswati River and was initially built as a memorial to a king in the 11th century AD.

Rani or the queen Udayamati commissioned this vav or step well, in 1063 in the memory of her husband King Bhimdev I of the Solanki dynasty.

Rani-ki-Vav was built at the height of craftsman’s ability in step well construction and the Maru-Gurjara architectural style, reflecting mastery of this complex technique and great beauty of detail and proportions.

Designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity of water, it is divided into seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels of high artistic quality. The vav was later flooded by the nearby Saraswati River and silted over until the late eighties, when it was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India, with the carvings found in pristine condition. Rani Ki Vav is among the finest step wells in India, and one of the most famous legacies of the ancient capital city.

The vavs of Gujarat are not merely sites for collecting water and socializing, but also simultaneously hold great spiritual significance. They were originally constructed quite simply, but became more intricate over the years, perhaps to make explicit this ancient concept of the sanctity of water by carving it out in stone deities thus representing a subterranean temple.

The steps begin at ground level, leading you down through the cool air through several pillared pavilions to reach the deep well below. There are more than 800 elaborate sculptures among seven galleries.

The central theme is the Dasavataras, or ten incarnations of Vishnu, including Buddha. The avatars are accompanied by sadhus, Brahmins, and apsaras (celestial dancers), painting their lips and adorning themselves.

At water level you come to a carving of Sheshashayi-Vishnu, in which Vishnu reclines on the thousand-hooded serpent Shesha, where it is said he rests in the infinity between epochs.

The fourth level is the deepest and leads into a rectangular tank of 9.5 by 9.4 meters, at a depth of 23 meters. The well is located at the westernmost end of the property and consists of a shaft, 10 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep.

For more pictures visit the Unesco Page.

Idyllic Life

There is a piece of uncultivated land adjacent to our building. Land is scarce in Punjab. Every inch is under cultivation. So this piece of land with uneven surface must have been purchased by some builder for construction of high rise buildings. But at present it is as it is. Grass and shrubs are growing uninterrupted in this land. On the opposite end are dense woods where poplar and eucalyptus are growing majestically. Poplars are not complicated trees. This scene is a small fragment of idyllic life which existed in India almost everywhere some years back. As the rural areas are being claimed by the rapid urbanization, the natural jungles are turning into concrete jungles. They are straight with no branches stand like the sentries at attention. The eucalyptus trees have grown so high as to touching the sky.

During day time sunlight seem to play hide and seek with the dark in the woods. Top branches sway in the wind and there seem to something mystical in these woods. Occasionally, a bunch of peahens accompanied by a peacock stray from woods into the grass fields.There is a pool of water into which these days algae has grown and covered most of its surface. Algae is pushed from one side to other when the wind blows. Sun simmers in the water ripples.  On the nearby bushes cranes are seen sitting basking in the sun occasionally diving into the water.

Paths have been trodden in the random patterns by the people going towards woods from other end. The earth on these paths have become bald and devoid of grass. The fields are not at one plain, some are on higher plane.

Many a times, sitting at my room, I can hear see a bird sitting patiently on a stone on the edge of a water pool. It is called Little Cormorant. It catches its food in the water. Dives inside the water and comes out after catching small fish. It then sits out with its wings opened for drying them. It keeps sitting for very long times.


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