WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017

Hollywood heat boosts quality of Chinese films

CAMPUS | 3 FOOD | 9 HOLLYWOOD | 12Sheikh Faisal

speaks to TexasA&M students

These vegetable patties can hold

their own

Email: dohatoday@pen.com.qa

P | 4-5

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

MARCH 8

THEY DESERVE MORE...

Women and men have lived on this planet for the same amount of time. Women help inject empathy in our lives and teach men what sharing and caring is all about. They need to be appreciated more.

CAMSheik

speaks tA&M s

CAMPUS WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017 03

Texas A&M University at Qatar hosted Sheikh Faisal bin Qas-sim bin Faisal Al Thani,

Founder and Chairman of Al Faisal Holding, during a Dean’s Leader-ship Series lecture on March 2 at the branch campus’ building in Edu-cation City.

During his talk, Sheikh Faisal praised the branch campus’ mis-sion in contributing to the development goals of Qatar by edu-cating exemplary engineers. He said,

“Having a degree, getting an educa-tion in Qatar is better than getting one abroad. Here, you are actively participating in the culture and building connections that will serve you in your professional life. Upon graduation, you are a step ahead to build a career and you also have the knowledge to build your coun-try better than how you found it.”

His closing words of wisdom were to be content with what you have in order to build a better, sus-tainable future and seek out a virtuous circle of friends from whom you can benefit and grow from, and engage in lifelong learn-ing with.

Texas A&M at Qatar Dean Dr César O Malavé said, “Leadership is a core value instilled in every stu-dent at Texas A&M University, and His Excellence is an inspirational business and cultural leader in Qatar. We are honoured to have him share his experience and wis-dom with our students, who will be the next generation of engineering leaders in Qatar.”

Born in Al Markhiya in 1948, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim bin Faisal Al-Thani is one of Qatar’s most suc-cessful businessmen and has played a s igni f icant role in

the development of the business sector in Qatar. The story of Al Faisal Holding’s growth and devel-opment reflects the same entrepreneurial vision, drive and innovative thinking that has seen the transformation of Qatar into one of the world’s strongest and fastest growing economies. Origi-nally created with modest start-up capital in 1964 as a small, local trad-ing company, Founder and Chairman Sheikh Faisal has built that business over the past five dec-ades into one of Qatar’s largest privately held diversified industry groups with operations that con-tinue to grow across local, regional and international markets.

Playing its part in the evolution of a broad, knowledge-based econ-omy in Qatar, the Group has earned a strong reputation for anticipating and meeting the growing demand for goods and services of the high-est quality as the country’s needs and prosperity have developed, in many cases attracting significant foreign direct investment in the process. The Group’s strategy focuses on sustained, profitable

growth through diversification by identifying, evaluating and exploit-ing complementary market opportunities, both organically and in collaboration with world-class, industry-leading partners. Today, its operations encompass a wide range of sectors, including real estate, hospitality, industrial man-ufacturing, trading, services, transport, entertainment,education and sport, together with a range of investments that include its major-ity interest in Aamal Company Q.S. C, one of the fastest growing com-panies listed on the Qatar Exchange, operating 24 branches and subsid-iaries with a particular focus on industrial manufacturing.

In the past decade, the expan-sion of its hospitality and leisure business through the Al Rayan Tourism & Investment Company (ARTIC) — a wholly owned

subsidiary engaged in real estate development, acquisition and leas-ing with a primary focus on the hospitality sector and hospitality-related services both in Qatar and overseas — has been a particular recent focus for the Group, which is in the course of building a high-quality hotel portfolio in prime city locations. ARTI’sC current portfo-lio comprises more than 25 hotels located across MENA, Europe and America.

Sheikh Faisal has also pio-neered the establishment of a heritage venue, the Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, with the objective of reviving public interest and appreciation of local culture. This window to the beauty and splendour of the past of Qatar, and the Islamic world has been opened for people from all walks of life to view and experience.

Sheikh Faisal speaks to Texas A&M students

COVER STORY WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 201704

Reuters

The world would be a better place for women if they had access to more and better quality jobs, according to a street survey of women and men in 10 countries in Europe, the Americas,

Africa and Asia.Ahead of International Women’s Day on

March 8, Reuters asked about 100 people in Britain, Italy, the United States, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, India, Thailand, Brazil and Colombia what they saw as the biggest challenge for women.

The answers varied from concerns over vio-lence against women to an unfair share of housework but the overwhelming concern was employment - that women had equal access to jobs, equal pay, and the flexibility to juggle work with raising children.

“For any woman having a better life means having a good job. This will make life better - work, a job and a salary to take care of herself and her dependents,” said Yolradee Saiemi, 44, a jewellery seller at a Bangkok market.

Abdoulaye Diop Ndao, 26, a security guard in Dakar, Senegal, said life was difficult for women in Senegal.

“They wake up early to find work, to buy fish and vegetables to sweep and sort out the house. If we give women good jobs, create businesses for them, we can help our families,” he said.

“The biggest problem here is employment. They don’t have an adequate job. Or they are hustlers,” said Richard Kiarie Lutta, a bus driver in Nairobi, Kenya, aged in his 30s. “The world would be better for women if they have a good job.”

Fewer women than men work globally, with about half of working age women in jobs in 2015 compared to 76 percent of men, according to figures from the International Labour Organization.

Women are paid less in most countries, earn-ing on average only 60-75 per cent of men’s wages, according to the World Bank.

Get inspired by these successful women...

Michelle Obama

Dilma Rousseff, former president of Brazil

Indra Nooyi, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo

One in five people around the world believe women are inferior to men and should stay at home, and that men are more capable in

the workplace and at school, according to a global survey released yesterday.

Nearly all of the 17,550 people surveyed agreed that men and women should have equal rights, but three in four respondents said women still experi-enced social, political and financial inequality.

“It’s encouraging that the vast majority of both men and women around the world believe in equal opportunity ... but at the same time most still believe that true equality of rights is not here yet,” said Kully Kaur-Ballagan, director at Ipsos MORI that carried out the poll.

Across 24 countries, including Brazil, Canada, Russia, Britain, India and Sweden, more than half of those interviewed by Ipsos MORI called them-selves a “feminist”, but a quarter said they were

“scared” to speak up for women’s rights.Around half of those polled in China, Russia and

India said men were superior to women and better at earning money and at attaining education, accord-ing to the survey, which was released to tie in with International Women’s Day on Wednesday.

UN Women has described the global gender pay gap of 24 percent as “the biggest robber” of women.

The World Economic Forum said in its 2016 gen-der gap index that men and women will not reach economic equality for another 170 years.

Survey: Men and women should have equal rights

Angela Merkel,

German Chancellor

COVER STORYWEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017 05

“Despite everything that’s happened, legislation, it’s clear that there is still a complete disparity from the point of view of pay, and of expectations especially in the workplace. I don’t think there’s really been significant change despite the best efforts of people,” said Tim Redman, 59, a retiree from London.

W o m e n a l s o b e a r disproportionate responsibility for unpaid work, devoting up to 3 hours more a day to housework than men and up to 10 times more to care for children or the elderly, according to World Bank figures.

“Today everything, all work is done by women. At home and at outside, women have do everything,” said Kajol Jaidev Leela, 18, a street vendor selling handicrafts in New Delhi.

“The world can be a better place for women if men stand alongside women in every step of their lives and support them.”

Natalia Cortes, 27, a microbiologist from Bogota in Colombia said the amount of work at home was holding women back.

“The responsibility of the family falls a lot on women and that doesn’t allow them on many occasions to develop themselves professionally,” said Cortes.

Pietro Benassi, 35, a musician from Rome, said employers needed

to help women to be both mother and worker.

“An answer (would be) creating dedicated spaces for children within the workplace and allow women to work in peace instead of nursery schools that are very expensive,” he said.

Violence against women also remained a major concern.

“If people start understanding that women are not objects, it would be a better place for everyone,” said Manish Sharma, 39, a telecom manager from Mumbai, India, where reported crimes against women rose by a third between 2011 and 2015.

“Women cannot travel anywhere ... (but it’s) very necessary not only here in Delhi, but anywhere in India, anywhere

in the world they can go anywhere freely without any disturbance,” said Jaideep Bindra, 24, a chemical engineer in New Delhi. In Brazil, where studies show a woman is killed every two hours and assaulted every 15 seconds, violence was also cited as a major challenge.

“During carnival there have been many reports of violence against women. Women need to struggle for respect, equality, (and) feminism,” said Tássia Gomes, 27, a firefighter, in Rio.

But both men and women highlighted the need both sexes to work together to improve the lives of women.

“African men have never gotten the fact that what men can do, even women can do better. So that’s one

major problem here in Africa,” said Paul Kiarie, 34, a Nairobi taxi driver.

“One change needs to be people’s mentality – to take women seriously, wherever: in jobs, business, politics, everywhere. If they would take us seriously we would advance more,” said Yeshi Woldehiwot, 52, who owns a leather goods shop in Addis Ababa.

Gregory Ferguson, 19, a student in New York City said women should be given the rights they deserve.

“We all have lived on this planet for the same amount of time. Life goes on because of women. You can’t just have a kid without women. How would we survive without women? They should be appreciated more.”

Hillary Clinton,

American politician. Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook

Janet Louise Yellen,

American economist

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

Melinda Gates, American philanthropist

COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 201706

The Peninsula

=

Asean Committee in Doha (ACD) organised Asean Bad-minton Tournament 2017 at

the Philippines School of Doha. The tournament is also part of its annual activity to commemorate the 50th Asean Anniversary.

Chairman of the ACD and Ambassador Soonthorn Chaiyin-deepum of Thailand congratulated the winners of the tournament and the organising committee for mak-ing the event successful.

He hoped this championship would further enhance coopera-tion between families, staff and community of Asean countries in Qatar. He added that the champi-onship is not to look for the victory, but to strengthen friendship and fraternity.

The tournament co-hosted by Indonesia and Thailand was the annual sports activity aimed to pro-mote a healthy lifestyle in its community. Indonesian Ambassa-dor to Qatar, Muhammad Basri Sidehabi conveys his congratula-tory massages to the winners of the tournament. He added that the

tournament would not only strengthen cooperation between Asean representatives in Qatar but also enhance the relationship and cooperation among the communi-ties of Asean countries in Qatar.

According to ACD working group’s member, Boy Dharmawan, the event, which attracted 150 attendees, also served as a gather-ing of staff from Asean member embassies in Qatar, together with their families such as Brunei Darus-salam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Anisha Bijukumar

The Peninsula

After breaking the record for making the largest crochet blanket, Qatar chapter of

Mother India’s Crochet Queenn (MICQ), a social media-based group of crochet enthusiasts, are now set for a newer challenge. The group of 60 Qatar-based Indian women are now part of a project aiming to cre-ate a Guinness World Record for the longest crochet scarf.

MICQ members, from the world over, have been working hard to achieve this challenge. Each mem-ber should contribute a minimum of five scarves measuring 7x 80 inches with some even making up to 50 scarves.

In the last two months, a total

of 150 scarves have been joined and sent from Qatar to Chennai, India. The scarves once prepared are car-ried to India by members who are visiting the country on vacation. “As and when we have few kilograms of scarves ready we send them and till now we have sent 150 scarves,” said a member.

MICQ Qatar chapter, led by Vaishnavi Kuppuswamy, aims to send about 300 scarves in all. Scarves received from the world over will be joined to form one large one in Chennai.

The Guinness officials will be inspecting the scarf in May 2017. Interested crochet geeks can still join to be part of this record mak-ing attempt before March 31.

“We have members as young as 10-year-olds and for these younger

children the target is set at minimum of two scarves,” added the member. Ganga Acrowools – India is spon-soring the yarn for this Guiness attempt and they had done it last time too. MICQ is a social media-based group of crochet enthusiasts, started by Chennai-based Subashri

Natarajan. The initiative involves more than 1,800 women between the age 8 to 85 from India and coun-tries worldwide. Once the record is made, the scarves will be handed over to NGOs which will be further distributed to underprivileged peo-ple across India.

Qatar group crocheting to set a Guinness record

ACD organises badminton tournament

CAMPUSWEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017 07

Tired of running after your child to fin-ish his homework? Blame his increased addiction to digital media devices like

TV, video games or smartphone or tablets, a study has found.

The findings showed that children who spent four to six hours a day on digital media outside of schoolwork had 49 per cent lower odds of always or usually finishing their homework than those with less than two hours per day.

Those with six or more hours of media use had 63 per cent lower odds of always or usually finishing their homework compared to children who spent less than two hours per day using media.

Children who spent two to four hours a day using digital devices had 23 per cent lower odds of always or usually finishing their homework, compared to children who spent less than two hours consuming digital media.

“It is important for parents and caregiv-ers to understand that when their children are exposed to multiple different forms of digital media each day, the combined total

digital media exposure is associated with decreases in a variety of childhood well-being measures including homework completion, task completion, interest in learning new things, and staying calm when challenged,” said Stephanie Ruest from Brown University in Rhode Island, US.

For the study, pediatricians analysed chil-dren’s use of digital media to better understand how it relates to childhood

“flourishing”, or overall positive well-being -- measured by behaviours and characteris-tics including diligence, initiative, task completion, and interpersonal relationships.

They examined the media use and home-work habits of more than 64,000 children aged six to 17 years. In addition, a similar relationship was found between digital media exposure and four other measures of child-hood flourishing, including always or usually caring about doing well in school, complet-ing tasks that are started, showing interest in learning new things, and staying calm when faced with challenges, the research-ers noted.

Digital kids less likely to finish homework

Depressed childrenrespond lessrobustly to rewards

Brains of students who are clinically depressed react less robustly to success and rewards as compared to other stu-

dents who are not depressed.The study showed that when a student, as

young as four years old, does not seem to be excited by rewards, such as toys and gifts, it may be a sign that the child is depressed or prone to depression.

Decreased ability to enjoy activities and play, remain persistently sad, irritable or less motivated, who feel excessively gui l ty about wrongdoing and those who experi-ence changes in sleep and appetite also may be at risk.

“The pleasure we derive from rewards -- such as toys and gifts -- motivates us to succeed and seek more rewards. Dampening the process early in development is a serious concern because it may carry over to how a person will approach rewarding tasks later in life,” said Joan L. Luby, Director of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, US.

For the research, the team involved 84 stu-dents aged between three and seven, who played a computer game that involved choos-ing between two doors shown on the screen. The electrical activity in their brains were meas-ured using an electroencephalogram machine (EEG). While the brains of clinically depressed children responded similarly to those of non-depressed children when points were lost, the response when the correct door was chosen was blunted.

LIFESTYLE WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 201708

IANS

If you are feeling cut off from the rest of society, spending more time on social media platforms

like Facebook and Twitter may only make things worse, a new study warns. The more time young adults use social media, the more likely they are to feel socially isolated, the findings showed.

“We are inherently social crea-tures, but modern life tends to compartmentalise us instead of bringing us together. While it may seem that social media presents opportunities to fill that social void, I think this study suggests that it may not be the solution people were hoping for,” said lead author Brian Primack from University of Pittsburgh in the US.

The finding, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, suggests that use of social media does not present a panacea to help reduce perceived social iso-lation -- when a person lacks a sense of social belonging, true

engagement with others and fulfill-ing relationships.

The researchers analysed responses from more than 1,500 US adults between ages 19 and 32 about their use of 11 most popular social media platforms at the time

-- Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine and LinkedIn.

The scientists measured partic-ipants’ perceived social isolation using a validated assessment tool called the Patient-Reported Out-comes Measurement Information System.

The researcher found that par-ticipants who used social media more than two hours a day had twice the odds for perceived social isolation than their peers who spent less than half an hour on social media each day.

And those who visited various social media platforms 58 or more times per week had about triple the odds of perceived social isolation than those who visited fewer than

nine times per week. The research-ers believe that social media use may displace more authentic social experiences because the more time a person spends online, the less time there is for real-world

interactions. Moreover, certain characteristics of social media could facilitate feelings of being excluded, such as when one sees photos of friends having fun at an event to which they were not invited.

Researchers have discovered a new primate species that lived in Jammu and Kashmir some 11 to 14 million

years ago. Scientists have named the new species Ramadapis sahnii.

It is a member of the ancient Sivala-dapidae primate family, consumed leaves and was about the size of a house cat, said study co-author Biren Patel, Associate Professor at Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California in the US. The findings, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, could shed new light on human evolution.

“Among the primates, the most com-mon ones in the Kashmir region are from a genus called Sivapithecus, which were ancestral forms of orangutans,” Patel said.

“The fossil we found is from a differ-ent group on the primate family tree -- one that is poorly known in Asia. We are fill-ing an ecological and biogeographical gap that wasn’t really well documented. Every

little step adds to the understanding of our human family tree because we’re also pri-mates,” Patel said. The last primate found in the area was 38 years ago. So, in addi-tion to being a new species, this is the first primate fossil found in the area in dec-ades. After six years of digging, the researchers found part of the ancient pri-mate’s jawbone and analysis revealed that the species is related to lemurs -- the primitive primate group distantly con-nected to monkeys, apes and humans.

“People want to know about human origins, but to fully understand human ori-gins, you need to understand all of primate origins, including the lemurs and these Sivaladapids,” Patel said.

“Lemurs and sivaladapids are sister groups to what we are -- the anthropoids

-- and we are all primates,” Patel explained.The researchers believe that future

fieldwork and recovering more fossil pri-mates will help answer this question.

Social media may make you feel lonelier

Researchers discover ancient primate species

FOODWEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017 09

Joe Yonan The Washington Post

You look at the photo and think, “crab cakes,” right? Nope. These are made from

hearts of palm and artichoke hearts, spiked with a little Old Bay and nori flakes, with no jumbo-lump anything included.

So why wouldn’t I call them Vegan Crab Cakes? They’re clearly meant to look and even taste like the seafood classic. But I’d rather not set up unreasonable expectations.

I took the name from the source, Robin Robertson’s book

“Veganise It!,” and I like emphasis-ing what the cakes are - not what they’re not.

These Hearts of Palm and Arti-choke Cakes have a lot going for

them beyond their ability to mimic one of the most beloved dishes of the Mid-Atlantic region. They’re a little crisp from panko bread crumbs on the outside, and on the inside they’re moist from the (vegan) mayo but with just the slightest crunch here and there from the chopped hearts of palm.

The flavour hints at seafood because of the Old Bay and nori, but the texture gives these an iden-tity all their own.

Hearts of Palm and Arti-choke Cakes

6 to 8 cakesNori (dried seaweed) flakes are

available on the international aisle of large grocery stores; you can also finely chop dried nori sheets or crumbles, if those are easier to find.

MAKE AHEAD: The cakes

need to be chilled for at least 20 minutes before cooking, which will help them hold together.

Adapted from “Veganise It!: Easy DIY Recipes for a Plant-Based Kitchen,” by Robin Robertson (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017).

Ingredients3 tablespoons olive oil1/2 medium onion, minced (1/2

cup)1 rib celery, minced (1/4 cup)2 teaspoons minced garlicHearts of palm from one

14-ounce jar, well drained, patted dry and coarsely chopped (1 1/2 cups)

Marinated artichoke hearts from one 6-ounce jar, well drained, patted dry and coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)

2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

1 tablespoon cornstarch1 teaspoon nori or dulse flakes1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise3/4 cup plain panko bread

crumbsLemon wedges, for servingBaby spinach leaves, arugula

or another green of your choice, for serving

StepsHeat 1 tablespoon of the oil in

a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, stir in the onion and celery; cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the gar-lic and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat to cool.

Combine the hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, Old Bay season-ing, cornstarch, nori flakes and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl. Add the cooled onion mixture and 1/4 cup of the panko; mix well. Divide into 6 to 8 equal portions, then shape them into soft cakes, about 1 to 2 inches thick.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup panko in a shallow bowl. Coat the cakes with the bread crumbs, pressing gently as needed to make them stick; refrigerate for 20 min-utes or longer.

Wipe out the skillet and set it over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; once it shimmers, and working in batches as needed, gently place the cakes in the skillet and cook until golden brown on each side and warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Serve hot, with lemon wedges and greens.

Nutrition | Per cake (based on 8): 120 calories, 2 g protein, 9 g car-bohydrates, 8 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 410 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 0 g sugar.

These vegetable patties can hold their own

HEALTH WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 201710

IANS

Toddlers with a substantially greater amount of cerebros-pinal fluid (CSF) at six and 12

months of age may be predicted with nearly 70 per cent accuracy to be at risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research-ers claim.

The findings revealed that the more CSF at six months, as meas-ured through MRIs, the more severe the autism symptoms were at two years of age and this was also asso-ciated with poorer gross motor skills, such as head and limb con-trol. Although, CSF is not a perfect predictor of autism, it predicted that babies may later be diagnosed with autism, the researchers said.

“We can’t yet say for certain that improper CSF flow causes autism. But extra-axial CSF is an early

marker, a sign that CSF is not filter-ing and draining as it should. This is important because improper CSF flow may have downstream effects on the developing brain; it could

play a role in the emergence of autism symptoms,” said Joseph Piven, Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US.

“That there’s an alteration in the

distribution of CSF that we can see on MRIs as early as six months, is a major finding,” Piven said.

In the study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, the six-month olds who went on to develop autism had 18 per cent more CSF than six-month olds who did not develop autism. Infants who developed the most severe autism symptoms had an even greater amount of CSF -- 24 per cent greater at six months. “We know that CSF is very important for brain health, and our data suggest that in this large subset of kids, the fluid is not flowing properly. We don’t expect there’s a single mech-anism that explains the cause of the condition for every child. But we think improper CSF flow could be one important mechanism,” said Mark Shen, postdoctoral student at University of North Carolina.

Cerebrospinal fluid may predict autism in infants

Scientists have developed a new blood test to detect cancer and locate

where in the body the tumour is growing, an advance way to eliminate the need for invasive surgical procedures like biopsies. Cancer blood tests work by screening for DNA released by dying tumour cells and detect traces of tumour DNA in the blood of cancer patients.

However, these do not indicate where the tumour resides. “Knowing the tumour’s location is critical for effective early detection,” said Kun Zhang, professor at the University of California-San Diego in the US.

When a tumour starts to take over a part of the body, it competes with normal cells for nutrients and space, kill-ing them off in the process.

As normal cells die, they release their DNA into the bloodstream, and that DNA could be used to identify the affected tissue, the

researchers said. The new method screens for a partic-ular DNA signature called C p G m e t h y l a t i o n haplotypes.

Each tissue in the body can be identified by its unique signature of methylation hap-lotypes. If we integrate both cancer cell and other cells signals we could actually determine the presence or

absence of a tumour, and where it is growing, Zhang explained. For the study, pub-lished in the journal Nature Genetics, the team put together a database of the complete CpG methylation patterns of 10 different nor-mal tissues -- liver, intestine, colon, lung, brain, kidney, pancreas, spleen, stomach and blood.

Blood test to detect cancer early

Lungs tend to quickly lose their function out-side the body. But this may soon change as researchers have found a method that could

help maintain a fully functional lung outside the body for up to a week or even longer.

Lengthening the time to keep lungs functional outside the body could boost transplantation as a vast majority of donor lungs get rejected dur-ing transplantation due to delay in transport. It could also allow doctors to repair damaged donor lungs and make them suitable for transplant.

The research team found that “cross circula-tion” -- an abandoned surgical procedure used in the 1960s to exchange blood flow between two patients -- could enable long-term support of liv-ing organs outside the body by providing critical systemic and metabolic factors that are missing from all current technologies.

The researchers developed a new technology to support fully functional lung outside the body for several days, according to a study. “Our cross-circulation platform will likely allow us to extend the duration of support to a week or longer if needed, potentially enabling the recovery of severely damaged organs,” said a researcher from Columbia University Medical Centre.

New method could maintain donor lung outside body for a week

BOLLYWOODWEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017 11

IANS

A short film titled “Chicken Biryani”, dedicated to the Indian Army, is set to

release soon.Its director Lom Harsh said in

a statement: “’Chicken Biryani’ is a satirical take on the facilities available to our beloved jawans (soldiers) who work day and night

to make sure that we get to sleep peacefully at night.” The makers of the short film, starring Gavie Chahal, unveiled its trailer on YouTube and Facebook on March 4. It has garnered two lakh views on YouTube and Facebook com-bined. The trailer opens with a scene at the Indian border where a soldier of the Indian Army has a Pakistani soldier as his captive.

Short film dedicated to

Indian Army set for release

Actor-choreographer Gayat-hri Raghuram is making her directorial debut with

upcoming Tamil film “Yaadhu-maagi Nindraai”. She says filmmaking has been on her mind for a long time and didn’t happen overnight. “I didn’t take this deci-sion overnight. It’s a dream I have been nurturing for a long time. After finishing my filmmaking course in the US, I also assisted Pra-bhudheva and director Vijay on a couple of projects. I have always wanted to direct,” Gayathri said.

Talking about her film, which is due for release, she said it’s about the lives of background dancers.

“It’s about their lives and the strug-gles they face. It’s partly based on real life incidents. Even though it’s a women-centric subject, it’s a story everybody can relate to. The story of some women dancers can be very inspiring,” she said. Happy with the way the project has

shaped, she said Dhanush’s con-tribution has made it very special.

“He crooned a romantic number. It was so sweet of him to oblige to my request and sing. The film mostly features newcomers and I thoroughly enjoyed working on the project,” she said.

Gayathri herself plays a back-ground dancer in the film.

Filmmaking was always on my mind: Gayathri R

“Lucknow Central”, set against the backdrop of a jail and its inmates, will release on September 15. Bringing alive the vibe of the heart-land, the Farhan Akhtar starrer narrates the quirky and humorous

journey of a small town man, whose circumstances lead to him land-ing up in jail, a statement said. “We are extremely excited about this project as it’s a very unique concept set against the backdrop of a jail and its inmates. The stellar ensemble cast adds further charm and intrigue to the film and we can’t wait to bring this captivating drama to the viewers,” said Nikkhil Advani of Emmay Entertainment.

‘Lucknow Central’ to be released on September 15

Veteran filmmaker Bhar-athiraja’s upcoming Tamil drama “November 8...

Iravu Ettu Mani’, about demone-tisation woes, went on the floors here yesterday. The film will fea-ture Vidharth in the lead, and will be predominantly shot in Chen-nai and Puducherry. “The story

will be based on the events fol-l o w i n g d e m o n e t i z a t i o n announcement. It will be a satiri-cal drama.

The makers are on the look-out for an elderly character. If they don’t find anyone suitable, Bhar-athiraja sir might take up the role,” a source from the film’s unit said.

The source went on to add that the shoot will be completed in flat two months. Rathnakumar has penned the story while Saalai Sahadevan will crank the camera.“Talks are going on with Ilayaraja sir. He might come on board as composer. Nothing has been finalised yet,” he said.

Film on demonetisation starts rollingApache Indian, a British

singer of Indian descent, is excited as he is in talks with

“someone in Bollywood” again regarding a movie on his life. Ste-ven Kapur, popular as Apache Indian, is in the country to promote his new album “In Ja”, and he is looking forward to do Bollywood projects, including his own biopic. During his visit to the Hungama.com office here, he said: “I am especially excited as I am in talks with someone in Bollywood again regarding a movie on my life.”

A hookah and rifle in tow, actress Vidya Balan is intim-idating as a brothel owner

in the first look of National Award winner Srijit Mukherji’s “Begum Jaan”. Unveiling the first look, Vidya, a National Award winner, tweeted: “Aa rahi hoon main! #BegumJaanFirstLook.”

Set against the backdrop of Par-tition, the high-voltage drama, a

Hindi adaptation of Mukherji’s stel-lar Bengali offering “Rajkahini”, is a story of survivors who defy nations to save their homes.

‘When Freedom fought Inde-pendence’ is the tagline of the movie and a brazen-faced Vidya reinforces the essence of her char-acter -- “My Body, My House, My Country and My Rules” -- in the maiden poster.

Vidya looks fierce and intimidating in ‘Begum Jaan’Apache Indian

revives his biopic

HOLLYWOOD WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 201712

AP

Robert Osborne (pictured), the genial face of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and a walking

encyclopedia of classic Hollywood, has died. He was 84. Jennifer Dorian, general manager of TCM, announced Osborne’s death Mon-day. A publicist for the network said he passed away Monday in New York.

“His calming presence, gentle-manly style, encyclopedic knowledge of film history, fervent support for film preservation and highly personal interviewing style all combined to make him a truly world-class host,” said Dorian.

“Robert’s contributions were funda-mental in shaping TCM into what it

is today and we owe him a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.”

A cause of death was not announced, though Osborne’s wan-ing health had forced him to miss the previous two TCM Film Festi-vals, which he hosted annually in Los Angeles. wOsborne was there from the inception of Ted Turner’s commercial-free classic movie net-work. To open its first broadcast on April 14, 1994, he introduced “Gone With the Wind.” In the decades after, he remained Turner Classic’s pri-mary — and often sole — host.

For TCM viewers, Osborne was a constant and comforting presence. He presented nightly films and movies packaged in series like “The Essentials” with bits of history and trivia. He also conducted interviews

with stars for the network’s guest programmer evenings. His intros — always beginning “Hi, I’m Robert Osborne” — were the warm appe-tizers to countless feasts of Hollywood classics.

In a 2014 interview with The

Associated Press, Osborne — who previously worked as a Hollywood Reporter columnist and as host of the Movie Channel — recalled his long-standing obsession with Hol-lywood. Even in college, he maintained a black book, nick-named “Blackie,” of his research into films and the details of their making. “I was ready with all that information when a job was cre-ated. I prepared for something that didn’t exist,” said Osborne. Born in Colfax, Washington, Osborne stud-ied journalism at the University of Washington and spent two years in the Air Force in Seattle. He then moved to Los Angeles to make it as an actor, and was signed by Luci-lle Ball and Desi Arnaz’s Desilu Studios.

Robert Osborne, genial face of TCM, dead at 84

Live from Los Angeles, it’s “La La Land” live! Lionsgate announced that “La La

Land In Concert: A Live-to-Film Celebration” will come to the Hollywood Bowl on May 26-27. The live shows will be conducted by composer Justin Hurwitz, who won two Academy Awards last month for his work on the mov-ie’s music.

The show will include a 100-piece symphony orchestra, choir and jazz ensemble, along with the film’s original vocal recordings from Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and John Legend. The movie will play along while the musicians perform.

Hurwitz said in an interview with The Associated Press that before working on “La La Land” with director and writer Damien Chazelle, he told his longtime friend that the film would be per-fect for the live stage.

“The process is just beginning,” Hurwitz said of prepping for the

live dates. “We’re figuring out how to handle visually and musi-cally the various music elements in the movie, and it’s a lot of fun brainstorming ideas and solu-tions. What is exciting is ... to be able to really feature the musi-cians and show exactly what they’re doing.”

Tickets go on sale Friday. For the live shows, Hurwitz said they are using the same orchestra con-

tractor from the movie.Following the Memorial Day

dates in Los Angeles, the live pro-duction will visit Atlanta; San Diego; San Antonio; Nashville, Tennessee; Washington, D.C.; and other U.S. cities. It will also travel internationally to the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, Turkey, Switzerland and Canada. Those dates, along with more cities, will be announced later.

‘La La Land,’ in live concert form, coming to Hollywood Bowl

Jackie Chan says letting more Hollywood movies into the Chinese market

would put pressure on Chi-nese filmmakers to boost the quality of their domestic out-put. Negotiators from China and the US are expected to reach a new agreement this year on releasing foreign films in China, now the world’s No. 2 movie market after North America. More Hollywood films would mean more competition for domestic films, which last year accounted for 58 per-cent of the total box office, or $3.8bn. The Hong Kong action star is a member of the official advisory body.

Hollywood heat

boosts quality

of Chinese films

SCIENCE & TECHWEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017 13

IANS

Tyres of the future could come from the farm as much as the factory as researchers have

found a way to turn waste tomato peels and eggshells into sustaina-ble rubber.

The researchers discovered that food waste can partially replace carbon black, the petroleum-based filler that has been used in manu-facturing tyres for more than a century.

In tests, rubber made with the new fillers exceeds industrial stand-ards for performance, which may ultimately open up new applica-tions for rubber. The method for turning eggshells and tomato peels

into viable - and locally sourced--replacements for carbon black was developed by Katrina Cornish and colleagues from The Ohio State Uni-

versity in the US.“We found that replacing differ-

ent portions of carbon black with ground eggshells and tomato peels

caused synergistic effects - for instance, enabling strong rubber to retain flexibility,” Cindy Barrera, a postdoctoral researcher in Cornish’s lab, said in a statement.

While the findings could make the manufacture of rubber prod-ucts more sustainable and also keep waste out of landfills.

The researchers found in tests that eggshells have porous micro-structures that provide larger surface area for contact with the rubber, and give rubber-based materials unusual properties.

Tomato peels, on the other hand, are highly stable at high tempera-tures and can also be used to generate material with good performance.

Researchers turn waste tomatoes into tyres

Researchers have devel-oped an algorithm that lets robots ask for clari-

fication when they are not sure what exactly a person wants them to fetch,especially when there are lots of very similar objects in close proximity to each other.

“Fetching objects is an important task that we want collaborative robots to be able to do,” said lead researcher Ste-fanie Tellex, Professor at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, US.

“But it is easy for the robot to make errors, either by mis-understanding what we want, or by being in situations where commands are ambiguous. So what we wanted to do here was come up with a way for the robot to ask a question when it’s not sure,” Tellex said. Tell-ex’s lab had previously developed an algorithm that enables robots to receive speech commands as well as information from human ges-tures. It is a form of interaction that people use all the time. When we ask someone for an

object, we’ll often point to it at the same time. Tellex and her team showed that when robots could combine the speech com-mands with gestures, they got better at correctly interpreting user commands. Still, the sys-tem is not perfect. It runs into problems when there are lots of very similar objects in close proximity to each other. Take the workshop table, for exam-ple. Simply asking for “a wrench” is not specific enough, and it might not be clear which one a person is pointing to if a number of wrenches are clus-tered close together.

This robot asks for clarification

Scientists at Nasa have pro-posed that launching a giant magnetic shield into space to

protect Mars from solar winds could give the Red Planet its atmosphere back and make it hab-itable for humans.

Mars now appears to be a cold desert world and it has no global magnetic field. The cold temper-atures and thin atmosphere on the red Planet do not allow liquid water to exist at the surface for long. But it might not have been always so. Scientists believe that the Red Planet once had a thick atmosphere necessary to maintain liquid water, and a warmer, poten-tially habitable climate. It is the

collapse of the protective magnetic field billions of years ago that eventually made Mars what it is today -- cold and arid.

In a presentation at the Plan-etary Science Vision 2050 Workshop in Washington, DC last week, Nasa scientists proposed that launching a giant magnetic shield into space between Mars and the Sun could help the Red Planet restore its atmosphere and make it suitable for humans to col-onise in the future. The US space agency thinks a powerful-enough magnetic shield launched into space could serve as a replacement for Mars’s own lost magnetosphere, ScienceAlert reported.

Giant magnetic shield to

protect Mars proposed

BABY BLUES

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

Ex-cons, Troy, Mad Dog and Diesel, are hired by an eccentric mob boss

to kidnap a baby and hold it for a large ransom. When the abduction

goes awry, the men find themselves on the run from the mob and the

cops. Vowing to stay out of prison at all costs, getting away with the

crime is a matter of life and death.Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

DOG EAT DOG

NOVO — Pearl ROYAL PLAZA

ASIAN TOWN

MALL

LANDMARK

Akher Dek Fe Masr (2D/Arabic) 10:00, 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 6:50, 7:20, 9:00, 9:40 & 12:00midnightLogan (2D/Action) 11:00am, 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 & 11:00pmKikoriki: Legend of The Golden Dragon (3D/Animation) 10:00am, 1:30 & 5:10pmDog Eat Dog (2D/Drama) 10:00, 11:40am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 3:20, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00pm & 12:00midnight The Lego Batman (2D/Animation) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00 & 8:00pm Trespass Against Us (2D/Action) 10:00pm & 12:00midnight John Wick 2 (2D/Action) 11:00am, 4:00 & 9:00pm Split (2D/Thriller) 1:30, 6:30 & 11:30pm Rock Dog (2D/Animation) 11:00am, 1:00, 3:00 &, 5:00pmLa La Land (2D/Musical) 7:00, 9:30pm &, 12:00midnightEliminators (2D/Action) 11:30am, 3:30, 7:30 & 11:30pmFist Fight (2D/Comedy) 1:30, 5:30 & 9:30pmLogan (2D/Action) 11:30am, 2:30, 5:30, 8:30 & 11:30pm Logan (2D IMAX/Action) 10:00am, 12:40, 3:30, 6:20, 9:10pm & 12:00midnight

Kittu Gaddu Unnadu (2D/Telugu) 2:00pmLogan (2D/Drama) 6:00, 8:30 & 11:00pmKikoriki (2D/Animation) 2:30 & 4:15pm Rock Dog (2D/Animation) 3:00pmAby (2D/Malayalam) 4:30 & 11:15pm Akher Dek Fe Masr (2D/Arabic) 5:00 & 9:15pm My Ex And Whys (2D/Tagalog) 7:00pm La La Land (2D/Musical) 9:00pm Dog Eat Dog (2D/Drama) 11:00pm

Kikoriki (2D/Animation) 2:15 & 5:00pm Gunturodu (Telugu) 2:30pmAby (2D/Malayalam) 2:30 & 9:00pm Rock Dog (2D/Animation) 3:45pmCommando 2 (2D/Hindi) 5:00 & 11:30pmAkher Dek Fe Masr (2D/Arabic) 5:30, 9:30 & 11:30pm Logan (2D/Drama) 6:30, 9:00 & 11:15pmDog Eat Dog (2D/Drama) 7:15pm My Ex And Whys (2D/Tagalog) 7:30pm

Aby (2D/Malayalam) 2:00, 4:30 & 9:00pm Akher Dek Fe Masr (2D/Arabic) 2:00 & 7:00pm Kikoriki (2D/Animation) 2:30 & 4:00pm Logan (2D/Drama) 5:30, 8:00, 10:30 & 11:30pmAkher Dek Fe Masr (2D/Arabic) 2:00 & 7:00pm Rock Dog (2D/Animation) 4:00pm My Ex And Whys (2D/Tagalog) 7:30pm La La Land (2D/Musical) 9:30pm Dog Eat Dog (2D/Drama) 11:45pm

Yaman (Tamil) 7:00pmFukri (Malayalam) 6:30 & 9:30pm Aby (Malayalam) 5:30, 8:00, 10:00 & 10:30pm Munthiri Vallikal (Malayalam) 6:00 & 9:00pm

WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017

VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER

CINEMA PLUS14

AL KHORAby 12:15, 3:00, 5:45, 8:30 & 11:15pm Logan 12:00noon, 2:45, 5:30, 8:15 & 11:00pm Rock Dog 11:45am, 1:45, 3:45 & 5:45pm Fukri 7:45 & 10:45pm

ROXYRock Dog 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00pm Aby 2:00, 4:45, 7:30 & 10:15pm Dog Eat Dog 2:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00 & 11:00pmFukri (Malayalam) 8:00 & 11:15pm Aker Dek Fe Masr 2:00, 4:20, 6:50, 9:10 & 11:30pm

CROSSWORD CONCEPTIS SUDOKU

ALL IN THE MIND

08:00 News08:30 The Listening

Post09:00 Snow of the

Andes10:30 Inside Story11:00 News11:30 The Stream12:30 Rewind13:00 NEWSHOUR14:00 News14:30 Inside Story15:00 Al Jazeera World16:00 NEWSHOUR17:00 News17:30 The Stream18:00 newsgrid19:00 News19:30 Witness20:00 News20:30 Inside Story21:00 NEWSHOUR22:00 News22:30 The Stream23:00 Witness

13:00 Welcome To The Ronks

13:15 Gravity Falls

15:00 Bunk’d 15:50 Sunny

Bunnies 17:40 Girl Meets

World 18:05 Bizaardvark 18:30 Bunk’d 18:55 Best

Friends Whenever

20:15 Star Darlings

20:20 Shake It Up

20:45 Backstage 21:10 Liv And

Maddie 21:35 Cracke 22:05 Best Friends

Whenever22:30 Jessie

13:50 Catching Monsters

14:45 Gator Boys15:40 In Too Deep16:35 Tanked18:25 Yankee

Jungle19:20 Insane

Pools: Off The Deep End

20:15 Tanked21:10 In Too Deep21:35 Escape To

Chimp Eden22:05 Yankee

Jungle23:00 Insane

Pools: Off The Deep End

23:55 Gator Boys

13:05 How It’s Made: Dream Cars

13:30 Storage Wars Canada

15:10 The Island With Bear Grylls

16:00 Deadliest Catch

17:40 Misfit Garage

18:30 How It’s Made: Dream Cars

20:35 Storage Wars Canada

21:25 Made By Destruction

22:40 Impossible Engineering

23:30 Fast N’ Loud

King Features Syndicate, Inc.

BRAIN TEASERSWEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2017 15

Yesterday’s answer

Conceptis Sudoku: Conceptis Sudoku

is a number-placing puzzle based on a

9×9 grid. The object is to place the

numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so

that each row, each column and each

3×3 box contains the same number

only once.

ACKNOWLEDGE, ADDRESS,

ANSWER, CALL, CHAT,

COMMUNE, COMMUNICATE,

CONTACT, CONVERSE, CONVEY,

DELIVER, DISCOURSE, DISPLAY,

ENQUIRE, EXCHANGE, GESTURE,

GOSSIP, GREET, HEAR, IMPART,

INFORM, INTERACT, LETTER,

LISTEN, MESSAGE, ORATE,

PHONE, PONTIFICATE,

QUESTION, RENDER, REQUEST,

SHOW, SIGN, SPEAK, TALK,

TOUCH, TRANSFER, TRANSMIT,

UTTER, WRITE.