| Election budget gives sops, writes off farm loans
Revenue recipts for 2008-09 are projected at Rs 6,02,935 crore and revenue expenditure at Rs 6,58,119 crore. Consequently, the revenue deficit is estimated at Rs 55,184 crore, which amounts to one per cent of GDP. The fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 1,33,287 crore which is 2.5 per cent of GDP. Chidambaram said he would not only achieve the target for fiscal deficit under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act but also meet the target of annual reduction of 0.5 per cent in the case of revenue deficit. "However, because of conscious shift in favour of health, education and the social sector, we may need one more year to eliminate the revenue deficit. In my view, this is an entirely acceptable deferment," he said. In cheerful news to the Central Government employees, he announced that the Sixth Pay Commission will give its report by March this year.
Archaic sewage lines tainting lakes, rivers
Nearly 100 small communities in Minnesota are illegally releasing raw sewage into lakes, rivers, ditches and field drains, says a new state report. The problem is worst in southern Minnesota, where 29 rural communities pipe their untreated toilet wastes through archaic sewage systems that lead to waterways, state officials found. In more than 60 other places -- ranging from rural crossroad towns to lake communities -- individual homes are believed to flush wastes into pipes that flow to rivers, ditches, drain tiles or lakes, the report found. Such problems, called straight pipes, have persisted for decades, especially in poor farming communities that can't afford a treatment plant. The report by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is an attempt to tally up the lingering problems.
Is hybridoma production about to take a quantum leap forward?
Two cultures derived from the same culture of a stable hybridoma clone were grown, one in NPD and the other in DI based medium supplemented with 3 percent FCS. Before seeding the cells were washed in serum-free media to verify the removal of any residual serum. During a period of two weeks the supernatants were collected as indicated and the cells were counted on the same day. The cultures were fed on the 4th and 10th day and medium was placed in the cultures on day 6. Although the cells in DI culture proliferated normally under these conditions, they failed to produce measurable quantities of antibody. Credit: Natalie Gavrilov-Yusim .
Super Bowl's Big Score: 97.5 Million Viewers
Sunday's crowd edged out the previous record of 94.08 million when Dallas sacked Pittsburgh at the '96 Super Bowl. But, despite its made-for-TV back story and the fact that there are 70 million more people in the country than in 1983, the Patriots-Giants game couldn't touch the '83 broadcast of the "M*A*S*H" finale, which remains the most watched broadcast in U.S. television history, with an average of 106 million viewers. For ratings purists, a.k.a. ratings wonks, who believe we should compare household ratings instead of numbers of viewers -- just because the country's population keeps growing -- this year's game is not a record, though it's the highest rated since 1997. Household ratings measure the percentage of the country's homes with TVs tuned in to a show.
Storm damage clean up at Red Cedar cut-off
In 2007, West Wisconsin Land Trust (WWLT) purchased the Red Cedar Cut-Off property with the assistance of the greater Dunn County conservation community as well as other partner organizations and funding sources.While the property is open to the general public for fishing, hunting, hiking, birding and other light recreational uses, WWLT advises public users to be aware of ongoing timber management operations throughout the months of March and April.WWLT is planning to conduct storm damage clean-up operations on the Cut-Off property beginning in March 2008. During two severe storms last August, high winds inflicted significant damage to the forest by uprooting trees and snapping off tree crowns. Much of the forest was left in a condition that impaired the public from accessing portions of the property.The timber salvage operations will remove storm-damaged trees as well as diseased and decaying trees.The harvest will accelerate succession of the forest and push the forest condition towards a mixed-aged character, leaving large-diameter trees to act as a seed source for newly released hardwood seedlings.
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