8 per cent in Q4FY18, has reduced to 2."State Bank of India reported lower net profit in Q4 at Rs 838.Says Jindal Haria, Associate Director, India Ratings, "Next year, the credit cost for banks is likely to reduce further to 2 per cent to 2. However, if the economy does not recover then stress would be seen in FY21..40 crore due to a steep rise in provisioning. In contrast, private banks delivered on their guidance and continued to better their performance. While there is some stress building up in the SME sector, the RBI’s forbearance, which is available to banks from January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, should take care of the SME stress.Private lender ICICI Bank reported muted earnings growth, a drop of 5 per cent in net profit year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 969 crore on the back of higher than expected credit costs (28 per cent QoQ) which offset strong net interest income rise of 27 per cent YoY and fee (15 per cent YoY growth and loans (15 per cent YoY).

Its gross non-performing loans (GNPLs) and net NPLs declined 118 basis points / 94bps quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 7.75 per cent to 3 per cent in Q4FY19, going by the bank results declared so far.""Private banks have fared far better than their public sector peers as they do not have capital constraints, their provision coverage ratio (PCR) is also high and their origination machinery is working well. Overall, the quarter seems satifactory for the sector.5 per cent / 3 per cent respectively, while PCR improved 500 bps sequentially to 62 per cent. This should help in lower provisions, going ahead.A clutch of state owned banks that reported their earnings this week posted losses on higher provisioning.The credit cost for the banking sector, which was 4. During Q4FY18, banks had reported a steep rise in slippages due to the February 12 circular of the RBI. Most of the private banks so far have delivered on their guidance and should be continuing the good performance," added Haria. According to analysts, since banks have provided almost 60-70 per cent on the existing stressed assets, the incremental credit cost would be significantly lower in FY20.However, default risk from existing stressed NBFCs and housing finance companies (such as Indiabulls, double color injection molding machine DHFL, Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Commercial Finance) could add to the credit cost of banks in FY20.5 per cent.Mumbai: Provisioning was the overriding theme for the banking sector in Q4FY19. Indian banks saw another quarter of surging provisions that hit their profitability, however, slippages remained under control.Siddharth Purohit, Research Analyst at SMC Institutional Equities, said, "While slippage for most of the banks during the quarter has been under control, ageing related provisions and write offs have kept the overall credit cost high. But it is also good to see that the overall provision coverage ratio of most banks has improved. While top public sector banks reported lower profit, the smaller and medium-sized ones managed to narrow their losses.The pace of corporate slippages has come down significantly in Q4FY19

8 per cent in Q4FY18, has reduced to 2."State Bank of India reported lower net profit in Q4 at Rs 838.Says Jindal Haria, Associate Director, India Ratings, "Next year, the credit cost for banks is likely to reduce further to 2 per cent to 2. However, if the economy does not recover then stress would be seen in FY21..40 crore due to a steep rise in provisioning. In contrast, private banks delivered on their guidance and continued to better their performance. While there is some stress building up in the SME sector, the RBI’s forbearance, which is available to banks from January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, should take care of the SME stress.Private lender ICICI Bank reported muted earnings growth, a drop of 5 per cent in net profit year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 969 crore on the back of higher than expected credit costs (28 per cent QoQ) which offset strong net interest income rise of 27 per cent YoY and fee (15 per cent YoY growth and loans (15 per cent YoY).

Its gross non-performing loans (GNPLs) and net NPLs declined 118 basis points / 94bps quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 7.75 per cent to 3 per cent in Q4FY19, going by the bank results declared so far.""Private banks have fared far better than their public sector peers as they do not have capital constraints, their provision coverage ratio (PCR) is also high and their origination machinery is working well. Overall, the quarter seems satifactory for the sector.5 per cent / 3 per cent respectively, while PCR improved 500 bps sequentially to 62 per cent. This should help in lower provisions, going ahead.A clutch of state owned banks that reported their earnings this week posted losses on higher provisioning.The credit cost for the banking sector, which was 4. During Q4FY18, banks had reported a steep rise in slippages due to the February 12 circular of the RBI. Most of the private banks so far have delivered on their guidance and should be continuing the good performance," added Haria. According to analysts, since banks have provided almost 60-70 per cent on the existing stressed assets, the incremental credit cost would be significantly lower in FY20.However, default risk from existing stressed NBFCs and housing finance companies (such as Indiabulls, double color injection molding machine DHFL, Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Commercial Finance) could add to the credit cost of banks in FY20.5 per cent.Mumbai: Provisioning was the overriding theme for the banking sector in Q4FY19. Indian banks saw another quarter of surging provisions that hit their profitability, however, slippages remained under control.Siddharth Purohit, Research Analyst at SMC Institutional Equities, said, "While slippage for most of the banks during the quarter has been under control, ageing related provisions and write offs have kept the overall credit cost high. But it is also good to see that the overall provision coverage ratio of most banks has improved. While top public sector banks reported lower profit, the smaller and medium-sized ones managed to narrow their losses.The pace of corporate slippages has come down significantly in Q4FY19

Keep a simple logbook to record every single detail of your workout. Don't start off strong and slack off once you see a bit of result. Simply put, eat more calories than you burn. This it the point where your muscles are not able to move an inch further of the weights you are carrying despite your greatest efforts.In order to build muscles effectively, you have to provide your body a surplus of calories that exceeds your caloric expenditure. Persistence is the key to muscle building success. Apply the knowledge that your gained from muscle books and magazines in a systematic and consistent basis. You are the one who is responsible for your muscle gains and that is who you ought to pay more attention to. Some of you may be inclined to start hitting the gym every single day. Don't over train and waste all your muscle gaining efforts.

 Try not to focus too much on diet and muscle building supplements. This tip does not come as a surprise as most of us are aware that water is essential to any living organism. Muscle building success can be achieved through a cumulative effort of many little steps. The right food sources include three main food groups, namely, the high quality protein, the high fiber and low glycemic carbohydrates and the healthy unsaturated fats. Only eat the right type of calories from the right food sources. The food that comes from these groups should make up the bulk of your diet and spread over 5 to 7 small meals everyday. This is crucial as your body plastic injection molding machine will develop more muscles when they feel that your system is not strong enough to defend any new resistance. Be mentally ready to train hard. Push yourself to concentric muscular failure on every exercise. Supplements are just, well, supplements. This will eventually lead to a decrease in muscle contractions.

This does not mean that you start hitting the gym every day. Training hard means that you aim to achieve what is being termed as concentric muscular failure. Although they can help to plug the missing gaps in your body, they are not there to magically transform your physique. This can prove to be detrimental as your body may not have enough recovery period. In our case, water is more important because when you are dehydrated, your strength decreases and your performance will decline. Increase your water intake. Why is this important? Simply because muscle building is all about progression and you need to monitor your progress from week to week. Instead, focus on training hard every week in the gym. The number of calories that you should eat is usually 17 to 20 times your body weight and should be adjusted accordingly to your metabolic rate, level of activity and your goals.

Aging is a natural process that all people will have to deal with, though we can now lessen the effect of it. This component is a must have in any products that promises to counteract the effect of aging since it has been proven to be more effective than any other anti oxidant products that are sourced from natural components. With this, people should not worry a lot particularly in their quest to find the best anti aging skin care solutions because the products that they see surely passed the tests required by the States. Also, it is best to shun away from those products that are made from artificial plastic injection molding machine Suppliers or synthetic elements like fragrant for example since these will further trigger allergens which is indeed more detrimental to the skin. This component can stimulate the tissues of the skin in order to create the needed fiber such as elastin and collagen which aids in making the skin look firmer and more elastic.

To find the best anti aging skin care solutions, we need to realize that using some supplements from outside can help fulfill the nutritional need of the aging body. Furthermore, check the present of Cynergy TK in the product that you would like to get so you would be able to find the best anti aging skin care solutions.

Indeed, finding the best anti aging care solutions is a very hard process but in the end, it is worth every effort and waiting! There is also the Phytessence Wakame found on Japanese sea weed that hampers hyaluronidase enzyme from getting rid of Hyaluronic acid hence the result is a healthier and younger looking skin! But you need to be sure that the ingredients that are bombarded on the product are available in sufficient concentration. All of the products nowadays surely passed the rigorous testing in order to ascertain their efficiency. Indeed, science had found the way to make the impossible seem possible these days.

Free radicals on the other hand are harmful to the body given the fact that it brings too much stress to the organ hence the body will grow old fast. Hence, you also need to check the levels of ingredients. It would totally be useless to buy products that feature different ingredients that help lessen the chance of skin aging, only to find out later on that they are available in a very minimal quantity. In fact, there are products that help stimulate the production of those chemicals and nutrients that are lost as people increase in age. In regards to Coenzyme Q10, it is a very potent oxidant that helps get rid off free radicals within the body. In finding the best anti aging products; Phytessence Wakame, Cynergy TK, or Coenzyme Q10 are just some of the substances that should be outfitted on the product.People on the present generation are lucky enough that they can measure the effectiveness of a certain kind of product that would normally flood the market these days

Cargo flights will need to comprise a lander carrying a Mars ascent vehicle (MAV) and additional supplies consisting of living units, life-support units and supply units. Further, from an elongated elliptical Earth orbit, the chemical propulsion is used and trans Mars injection in this case requires far less propellant. Even though LOX/LH is the most efficient form of chemical propulsion, the requirement that three mass units in LEO are required to send one mass unit on its way toward Mars is a major factor in driving up the Initial Mass of LEO (IMLEO) for Mars missions. Several small correction burns are then used to raise the periapsis and perform final adjustments. If correctly oriented, this can increase the deflection angle above that of a pure gravity assist, resulting in a larger delta-v. One of the many questions often asked is: If we explore the evolution of Mars, will it actually tell us something about the Earth itself? The other important motive to explore Mars is the eternal search for evidence of past or present life. This sequence gradually builds up assets on the Martian surface, so that at the end of the cargo flights the basic infrastructure could be in place. Reducing the exposure to zero gravity and radiation events helps reduce the risk to the crew. Areo­stationary orbit is a concept similar to Earth’s geo­stationary orbit.These options could be used for carrying assets to Mars Surface as the time required to travel is much longer.. Pilot missions mainly consist of cargo missions and an Earth return vehicle mission. Also, aero-assisted Mars orbit insertion and entry, descent, and landing maybe required for the cargo missions.

Also, an unmanned rover mission may also be proposed to be launched to Mars in order to scout a landing site. One can either use a lower-energy trajectory with a trip time of typically 300±400 days that requires less propellant (appropriate for cargo transfer), or a higher energy trajectory that uses more propellant with a trip time of typically 170 to 200 days (appropriate for crew transfer). Instead, the spacecraft plunges deeply into the atmosphere without an initial insertion burn and emerges from this single pass in the atmosphere with an apoapsis near that of the desired orbit. Here it is attempted to enumerate the key and important challenges of a manned mission to Mars which are: mission design, propulsion system requirements, human health, In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU), crew autonomy, power system, system reliability and landing and ascent., the specific launch opportunity and the desired duration of the trip to Mars.The crew will have to travel to and from Mars on relatively fast transits (4 to 6 months) and will spend long periods of time (18 to 20 months; 600 days nominal) on the surface, rather than alternative approaches which require longer time. Aerobraking is a spaceflight manoeuvre that reduces the high point of an elliptical orbit (apoapsis) by flying the vehicle through the atmosphere at the low point of the orbit (periapsis). Also, relatively fast transits will reduce the exposure to galactic cosmic radiation and the probability of encountering solar particle events. The use of NTP in place of LOX/LH2 for Earth departure can reduce Initial mass in low earth orbit (IMLEO) by 40%. Shorter transit times reduce the time spent by the crew in zero gravity.

Further, to improve communication with crew after Mars landing, is an option to possibly launch a communication satellite, which will enable continuous communication with the future landed asset. For transfers from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) toward Mars using LOX/LH2 propulsion, roughly 55% (or 65%) of the mass in LEO is required for the propellant and the propulsion stage, and 45% (or 35%) of the mass in LEO consists of payload that is sent on its way to Mars. The use of nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) partly mitigates this heavy requirement. As Carl Sagan said, “Staying alive.g.For Mars, the actual propulsion requirements depend on several factors e. There is a saying: “Everything is difficult until you Do”. More cargo launches may be required to instal backup systems for the crew.The LOX/LH2is the most efficient form of chemical propulsion that is available. The technology for use of LOX/LH2 propulsion for Earth departure is fairly mature. When nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) is utilised for Earth departure, two important factors are the minimum altitude allowed for start-up and China wholesale double color injection molding machine the propulsion system dry mass fraction. If our long-term survival is at stake, we have a basic responsibility to our species to venture to other worlds, guarantee not just the survival of mankind, but mankind surviving forever!”Mars being the most accessible planet beyond the Earth-Moon system where sustained human presence is believed to be possible, the challenges of Mars exploration are required to be well-understood to sustain a permanent human presence beyond Earth. Last, but not least, is the science fiction writer’s romanticism of creating habitat on another planet. Solar electric propulsion could be used to raise the orbit of the spacecraft from LEO to a high Earth orbit, and thereby greatly reduce the propulsion requirements for Earth departure.

Cargo missions could use aerobraking or aerocapture techniques to minimise the propellant requirement for MOI.. An areostationary orbit or areosynchronous equatorial orbit is a circular areo­synchronous orbit in the Martian equatorial plane about 17,032 km above the surface, any point on which revolves about Mars in the same direction and with the same period as the Martian surface.Long-term human spaceflight presents a difficult set of challenges; unlike robots, humans must be fed, hydrated, protected, entertained, and most importantly, they need to be brought back home safely. Similarly, “Without knowing what to do, we can’t do anything”. More so due to the many similarities that the Earth shares with the Red Planet and its proximity.(Mylswamy Annadurai is Director, UR Rao Satellite Centre — formerly Isro Satellite Centre, Bengaluru). Aerobraking is used when a spacecraft requires a low orbit after arriving at a body with an atmosphere, and it requires less fuel than does the direct use of a rocket engine. The baseline propulsion system used for trans-Mars injection is a LOX/LH2 propulsion stage atop the Launch Vehicle. The resulting drag slows the spacecraft. Another related technique is that of aerogravity assist, in which the spacecraft flies through the upper atmosphere and utilises aerodynamic lift instead of drag at the point of closest approach. The energy that would have been used for departure from LEO using chemical propulsion is mostly replaced by solar energy that drives the electric propulsion system used to raise spacecraft to a high orbit.Aerocapture is a related but more extreme method in which no initial orbit-injection burn is performed.Reducing the exposure to zero gravity and radiation events helps reduce the risk to the crew. Mars tugs at human curiosity more than any planet.Typically, a manned crew mission would be preceded by a number of pilot missions (at least 3 to 6).Another option is to use Solar electric propulsion for orbit raising. Mars is the most accessible planet beyond the Earth-Moon system but the challenges of exploration are required to be well-understood to sustain a permanent human presence there

The problem of marine debris caught his eye long ago. This is the new mantra of Mumbai-based lawyer Afroz Shah, the man famous for spearheading Mumbai’s Versova beach clean-up drive.It won’t be long before this plastic waste comes back to bite us humans. It goes into the ocean gyres (a gyre is any large system of rotating ocean currents) pushing the debris deep in the ocean. While this was just a check-up, the ocean cleaning will begin once the monsoons end, informs Shah. “The ocean has been telling us in every possible way to remove plastic from its depths before it is too late,” says Afroz Shah, who was awarded the Champions of the Earth award by the UN for his efforts to clean Versova beach.

It was my plan to move to oceans. Some 1,00,000 marine creatures die every year from plastic entanglement and these are the ones found.. Now, the man wants to start cleaning the ocean. A recent BBC Blue Planet II documentary series included pictures of seabirds feeding plastic to their chicks, and a huge whale with a plastic bucket stuck in its mouth.Amidst reports of the growing plastic menace in the deep seas, this man takes it upon himself to clean them, starting from the beaches.“Ever since I shifted to a new apartment in Versova, my plan was to do something for the beach and then move to the ocean.

The plastic goes right inside the ocean through the gyres. Two years ago, a pod of 13 sperm whales washed up China plastic injection machine on shore dead from ingestion of plastic waste.The volunteers have collected millions of kg of waste from the 2. Approximately 1 million sea birds also die from plastic.His fear is not without reason. Marine debris can be simple items such as discarded cans, cigarette butts, or plastic bags that end up in the ocean potentially harming marine life.Gigantic whales end up dead on the shores of beaches and a majority of times, the cause of their untimely deaths is swallowing pounds of plastic.

A study called, ‘Human footprint in the abyss: 30 year records of deep-sea plastic debris’, which will be published soon by the journal Marine Policy, found a plastic bag nearly 36,000 feet below the surface in the Mariana Trench, which is the ocean’s deepest spot.The whole of last week from May 21 to 26, four divers from Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, dropped deep into the ocean to clean the core. Do you want clean beaches? Then dive into the ocean.Every year, the world uses 500 billion plastic bags and that contributes to about eight million metric tonnes of plastic that end up in the oceans. “I will be fooling myself if I say I can eradicate all of the plastic from the ocean.Afroz Shah, who is now 37, started his journey of beach cleaning in 2015 along with his 84-year-old neighbour Harbansh Mathur, who has since passed away. Soon, the food chain will have the same plastic ending up in human bellies as well. We will start the process fully once the rains get over,” he says.

Mr Shah is among ocean and nature lovers the world over who have woken up to the threat posed by plastic to oceans, marine life and to the human race. After turning the littered Versova beach into a pristine one after two years of mammoth efforts, Mr Shah has now got the support of 20 trained sea divers to pull out the plastic waste from the oceans. ‘Ocean Lover’ Afroz Shah talks to his team before gearing up to take the plunge into the deep blue sea. But I am going to do the most I can,” he says.5-km beach. It is one step at a time and oceans are our next step.Whales are noticeable for their size but there may be numerous other creatures that sink into the ocean after ingesting plastic.Through his initiative, which he calls ‘Date With The Ocean’, he has inspired thousands of volunteers to join him in cleaning the beach every Sunday for the last three years, including film stars, cricketers, businessmen and even politicians. If the plastic is not recycled, it goes straight into the gyres and further into the ocean. By 2050, there could be more plastic than marine life in the oceans, says a 2017 United Nations report

The bottleneck has been figuring out a commercially viable and sustainable way to produce FDCA. The study was published in the journal Nature."If you could do that without using a lot of non-renewable energy, you could dramatically lower the carbon footprint of the plastics industry," said Kanan. Manufacturing PET produces significant amounts of CO2, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.PET is derived from refined petroleum and natural gas. (Photo: Pixabay) wholesale PVC injection molding machine The new method may dramatically lower the carbon footprints of the plastics industry. "Our goal is to replace petroleum-derived products with plastic made from carbon dioxide (CO2)," said Matthew Kanan, an assistant professor at Stanford University. One approach is to convert fructose from corn syrup into FDCA. Many plastic products are made from a polymer called polyethylene terephthalate (PET), also known as polyester.

The new technology could provide a low-carbon alternative to plastic bottles and other items currently made from petroleum, researchers said. The next step, transforming FDCA into PEF plastic, is a straightforward process, Kanan said. They combined carbonate with CO2 and furoic acid, a derivative of furfural and heated the mixture to about 200 degrees Celsius to form a molten salt.

But growing crops for industry requires lots of land, energy, fertiliser and water. Despite the many desirable attributes of PEF, the plastics industry has yet to find a low-cost way to manufacture it at scale."PEF is an attractive replacement for PET, because FDCA can be sourced from biomass instead of petroleum," Kanan said. Researchers solved the problem by using carbonate.The new method may dramatically lower the carbon footprints of the plastics industry. Worldwide, about 50 million tonnes of PET are produced each year for items such as fabrics, electronics, recyclable beverage containers and personal-care products.About 400,000 tons are produced annually for use in resins, solvents and other products. But making FDCA from furfural and CO2 typically requires hazardous chemicals that are expensive and energy-intensive to make.. The researchers have been experimenting with furfural, a compound made from agricultural waste that has been widely used for decades.

"It would be much better to make FDCA from inedible biomass, like grasses or waste material left over after harvest," Kanan said. "The use of fossil-fuel feedstocks, combined with the energy required to manufacture PET, generates more than four tons of CO2 for every ton of PET that's produced," Kanan said.After five hours, 89 per cent of the molten-salt mixture had been converted to FDCA, researchers said.Researchers, including graduate student Aanindeeta Banerjee, focused on an alternative to PET called polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF). Washington: Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have discovered a new way to make plastic from carbon dioxide and plant materials such as agricultural waste and grasses, that may dramatically lower the carbon footprints of the plastics industry. PEF is made from ethylene glycol and a compound called 2-5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA)

P-OLED stands for plastic, thereby referring to the plastic base of these OLED panels. LG has only used the term to differentiate its display from other OLED panels. solid glass base holding the OLED bulbs and everything else. However, general AMOLED panels have a glass substrate, i.There&PVC injection molding machine Manufacturers39;s no match for an AMOLED panel's eye-popping colours.

These displays have the same arrangement as the AMOLED panels but laid on a plastic substrate. The only issue is the quality of the OLED panel — manufacturers have to make sure that bending a display shouldn’t let image distortion creep up (it’s similar to the rubber membrane of a balloon that distorts the actual design or print when stretched).

Also, there’s no issue like containing the liquid as in an LCD display, which means that any kind of display form can be achieved.e. P-OLED displays are also slightly more resistant to screen shatters than standard AMOLED panels as the plastic can absorb some of the shocks. Older smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S5 and older used this version of AMOLED. One of the most important factors that affect a smartphone seeker’s decision is the display, which is also the only portal to interact with all the components inside those beautiful metal bodies. However, they are using the term ‘P-OLED’ along with their FullVision display.P-OLED panels are nothing new — if you wear an expensive smartwatch, then you are already having a P-OLED panel on your wrist.P-OLED panels have been used in smartwatches and other wearables since a long time.Since plastic is flexible in nature, it can be bent to the heart’s content. LG has recently taken off wraps from its V30 flagship with a large display and thin bezels.LG is flaunting its take on the OLED panel for its flagship V30 as the P-OLED display.(source).Those beautiful curves are courtesy of the plastic substrate or flexible plastic base. LG has only used the term to differentiate its display from other OLED panels.

This is why smartphones are getting bigger displays with slimmer bezels, which in turn makes the user experience special. Do you wonder what is it?Until now, you have heard of or probably seen or even own a phone with OLED panels. If you don’t fancy the long article, then consider the following explanation — an AMOLED panel consists of individual LED bulbs, covering the RGB spectrum.P-OLED is no exception to this technology apart from its substrate made of plastic instead of glass.We had already discussed that AMOLED display is great for achieving higher picture contrasts as well as reducing power consumption (read here). Each LED bulb contains an organic material that lights up when current is applied to it. The benefit of P-OLED panels is that they can be adapted to any size and form that one desires. Samsung’s AMOLED is the most popular one and we have already talked about how it works (see here if you haven’t read). Hence, you put together all of that and it becomes Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode or AMOLED. Therefore, every phone with a properly curved display like the Galaxy S8/Note 8 and the LG V30 use this P-OLED panel. However, you Galaxy S8 or LG V30 display can still shatter because they have protective glass on top of them to give you a premium touch experience (touching a plastic layer is apparently not good by the manufacturer’s standard). Each LED bulb can be asked to switch ON or OFF as per the requirement, which is a simple explanation of Active # Matrix

Microplastics, tiny pieces of weathered plastic less than five millimetres in diameter, began accumulating in the oceans four decades ago and are now ubiquitous in the marine environment.Further research will be needed to identify the specific additives that make the plastic so tasty to corals and determine if the same chemicals act as feeding stimulants to other marine species, researchers said."About eight per cent of the plastic that coral polyps in our study ingested was still stuck in their guts after 24 hours," said Allen. Any one of these chemicals or a combination of them could be acting as a stimulant that makes plastic appealing to corals," said Alexander C Seymour, from Duke&PET injection molding machine Manufacturers39;s Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Center.

Researchers conducted their two-part study using corals collected from waters off the North Carolina coast.Researchers conducted their two-part study using corals collected from waters off the North Carolina coast.The biological effects of most of these compounds are still unknown, but some, such as phthalates, are confirmed environmental estrogens and androgens - hormones that affect sex determination.Scientists have long known that marine animals mistakenly eat plastic debris because the tiny bits of floating plastic might look like prey.In their first experiment, they offered small amounts of eight different types of microplastics to the corals to see if the animals would eat the bite-sized bits versus other similarly-sized items offered to them, such as clean sand. (Photo: Pixabay) Corals may have developed a preference for consuming plastic bits, putting them at risk of being choked by the indigestible materials, a study has found."Corals in our experiments ate all types of plastics but preferred unfouled microplastics by a threefold difference over microplastics covered in bacteria," said Austin S Allen, a PhD student at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.

The study of plastic ingestion by corals by researchers from Duke University in the US suggests there may be an additional reason for the potentially harmful behaviour."We found that the corals ate all of the plastic types we offered and mostly ignored sand," Allen said.Visual cues, such as a resemblance to prey, do not factor into the appeal because corals have no eyes, researchers said.

Researchers conducted their two-part study using corals collected from waters off the North Carolina coast.They pose a major threat to foraging sea animals, including many species of birds, turtles, fish, marine mammals and invertebrates.Since plastic is largely indigestible, it can lead to intestinal blockages, create a false sense of fullness or reduce energy reserves in animals that consume it."This suggests the plastic itself contains something that makes it tasty," said Allen.."When plastic comes from the # factory, it has hundreds of chemical additives on it

Those found manufacturing, storing or transport of banned polythene or plastic bag for the first time will invite imprisonment up to six months or penalty from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000.The ordinance improves upon the UP Plastic and Other Non-biodegradable Waste (use and disposal) Act of 2000 by ensuring strict enforcement of ban on polythene and thermocol imposition through stringent punishment.

The plastic ban will be imposed in phases in the state. The violation of the plastic ban for the second time will see the term of imprisonment increasing up to six months or penalty ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000. The use of banned polythene for the first time will invite a penalty of Rs 1,000 or imprisonment up to one month.

The Yogi Adityanath government, on Sunday, plastic injection molding machine Manufacturers issued an ordinance banning use and manufacture of polythene, plastic bags and thermocol.The violation of ordinance for the second time will invite imprisonment of one year or penalty up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh.According to UP Plastic and Other Non-biodegradable Waste (use and disposal) Ordinance 2018, issued by UP governor Ram Naik, the use and manufacture of polythene of less than 50 micron would invite a penalty ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh and imprisonment up to a maximum of 6 months.The violation of ordinance for the second time will invite imprisonment of one year or penalty up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh.The violation of the plastic ban for the second time will see the term of imprisonment increasing up to six months or penalty ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000