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Compiler: C.K.Mohamed/Tellicherry 
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A SWARM OF BEES WITHOUT STINGS - (a poem) B hopeful, B Cheerful,B happy, B kind, B busy of body, B modest of mind, B honest, B truthful, B kind and B fair, Of all misBehaviour B sure to Beware, B kind ere you stumble Of what may Bfall, B true to yourself And B faithful to all.
Back to top BHABHA, HOMI JEHANGIR (1909-1966)
[bahbah] Indian physicist (1909-1966). Educated at Bombay, he completed his studies at Cambridge, where he specialized in atomic and nuclear physics. In 1942 he became professor of cosmic ray research at the Indian Institute of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay. An herbaceous plant, Stachys officinalis, of the mint family (Labiatae), known also as common or woodland betony. The plant is native to most of the northern hemisphere. It has an erect stem six to twelve inches high, and oblong leaves with notched edges. The tubular, lipped flowers are reddish-purple and hairy.This plant has been used throughout the centuries as a universal remedy, with special virtues in reducing fever, Antonius Musa, physician to the Roman Empeor Augustus Caesar, wrote a book extolling its virtues and recommending it for liver complaints, general digestive troubles, and protection against epidemic diseases. Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) prescribed it for "jaundice, falling sickness, palsy, convulsions, shrinking of the sinews, the gout, and those that are inclined to dropsy. Water betony, or water figwort (Scrophularia aquatica), is a waterside plant of the foxglove family (Scrophulariacene). It grows in ditches, besides streams, and in water-meadows. Its toothed leaves are large and heart-shaped near the foot of the plant, but become narrower and oblong higher up the stem. The leaf-stalk bears "wings" along its sides. The small purple flowers grow in the clusters on side-branches.
City and resort in south-west France: Pop. 27,000. It lies close to the Franco-Spanish border about 5 miles south-west of Bayonne. The Promontoire de l'Atalaye, on which it is situated, is a long, rocky reef jutting into the Bay of Biscay. The name of the city is Basque in origin, deriving from a word meaning "tongue of rock". The positional system of numeration to the base 2, instead of to the customary base 10 in the decimal or denary system. It is counting 'twos' instead of 'by tens', and its advantage is that only the two symbols, 1 and 0, are required.
The first four numbers (one, two three, four are therefore written in the binary system as 1, 10, 11, 100. 100 represents 2², and to avoid confusion we must be careful when using the binary system to call this number 'one-nought-nought', and not make the mistake of calling it a 'hundred', though if we can read it straight away as 'four' so much the better. The numbers five, six, seven, eight, as written in the binary system, are : 101, 110, 111, 1000. Any number may be transposed from the decimal to the binary notation by dividing it by 2 as many times in succession as possible, recording only the remainders (and the final quotient) In successive columns (from right to left). For example, to transpose 29 into the binary system we proceed: 2)292)14 1( 2º or 'units' column) 2) 7 0 (2¹ column) 2) 3 1 (2² column) 1 1 (2³ column) The final quotient, 1, belongs in the 2¯ column, for we have made 4 divisions by 2. Written in the binary notation, the number 29 is therefore 11101. A computer word is defined in terms of bytes. A word may be formed using two or more bytes, the most common being the four byte combination (as shown figure below). A byte refers to a group of bits used to designate a single alphanumeric or special character. The size of memory is specified in terms of bytes. Byte is made up of eight bits. But is the smallest unit of information, normally any one of the binary digits i.e. 0 or 1. The word bit is derived from the terms Binary digit.
A group of bits representing data or instructions that form the basic information unit of computer is called a word. Kilobytes means 1000 bytes and megabyte means one million bytes. 256-K memory, means that the memory unit of that computer has got 256 thousand or 256000 memory locations. In this, K stands for 1000 or kilo locations or more precisely K stands for 2¹° i.e. 1024. Thus a 16 K computer has 16384 bytes of memories. The memory of computer can be thought of built of cells. Each cell representing a word which may have a length of 16, 32, 48, 64 or 128 bits. Liquid produced by the liver cells. It has a bitter taste, and is usually of a yellow-brown colour although it may appear green. Bile contains a number of substances, the most important of which are water (about 90%), bile pigments that give it its colour, bile salts that are responsible for its taste, mucin, cholesterol, lecithin, inorganic salts, and several enzymes. The LIVER produce about 1,100 cm³ of bile daily. Its two main functions are to aid the digestion of fats and to provide a pathway for the excretion of substances from the body. After leaving the liver cells, bile passes into many small channels, called canaliculi, within the liver substance. The channels come together to form small bile ducts, and these join to form the right and left hepatic ducts that drain the two lobs of the liver. The two ducts then unite to form a common duct, and this is joined by the cystic duct from the gall bladder. The gall bladder acts as a storage place for bile until it is needed in digestion. The common bile duct enters the duodenum. Bile pigments are derived from the breakdown of haemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen round the body. The liver carries out one part of the breakdown process and excretes the main pigments bilirub into the bile and thence into the intestine, where it is further broken down and excreted. In the condition of jaundice there is an abnormality of bile pigment production or excretion, resulting in the retention in the body of too much bilirubin. This causes the tissue to be stained yellow, or greenish-yellow in some cases of long-standing jaundice. Jaundice may be due to excessive breakdown of haemoglobin as in certain anaemias, or to obstruction of the bile ducts by stones or cancer, or to infections of the liver. X-rays sometimes of use in diagnosing conditions affecting the bile ducts and gall bladder. It is possible to outline these structure with a radio-opaque dye. This is of special value in the diagnosis of gallstones. A signed order to another person to pay on demand or at a certain time a definite sum to the signatory or to another person or to his order. When the drawee, by signing on the back, undertakes to pay the bill, he becomes the ‘acceptor’. The person to whom the bill is payable may then endorse it and so make it payable to another. Or he may endorse it ‘in blank’, i.e. merely sign it, in which case it becomes payable to the bearer and so is freely negotiable and in effect equivalent to money. Moreover, the drawer cannot on presentation of the bill refuse to pay a ‘holder in due course’ who has acquired the bill in good faith and for value. A bill may, by words in it prohibiting transfer, be made non-negotiable. If a bill has been lost, the drawer may be required to issue, subject to indemnity, a duplicate. A document given to the master of a ship by a consul or authorized port official when a ship leaves port. It describes the health conditions of the port, and may be ‘clean’, ‘touched’, or ‘foul’. A ‘clean’ bill means that there is no danger of infection in the port (and hence the ship). ‘Touched’ means that cases of infection are not yet known, but there is reason to suspect that they may occur. ‘Foul’ means that infectious cases exist. Most ports require a ‘clean’ bill before they will admit a ship without putting it into quarantine. A receipt which a master of a ship, or its agent or owner, gives to the shipper stating that the shipper’s goods have been received on board and setting out the conditions under which they will be carried. It usually contain the name of the shipper, the name of the ship, the port where the goods were loaded, the destination, place of delivery, a description of the goods, the freight charged, excepted perils and shipowner’s lien. If the person to take delivery of the goods is not specifically named, then a bill of lading, as a document of title, can be bought and sold, and whoever buys it is the owner of the goods listed in it. The ultimate owner expect to have delivered to him exactly what is listed in the bill of lading. TRANSFUSION OF BLOOD
is the transfer of blood from one person (the donor) to another (the recipient). It is used to replace blood lost in accidents or operations and sometime to treat anaemia. Whole blood or concentrated cells may be transfused according to the needs of the patient. In infants who have haemolytic anaemia due to Rhesus incompatibility, replacement transfusions are carried out in which a large quantity of blood is transfused into the body while an equal amount is drawn out. This method leads to the complete substitution of the patient's blood. It is essential in very transfusion that the serum of the recipient's blood and the cells of the donor's blood are from compatible groups. Every person may be classified according to the presence or absence of agglutinins and agglutinogens in his blood. The agglutinogens, which are found in the red blood corpuscles, have the power to stimulate the production of the corresponding agglutinin found in the blood serum. The agglutinins have the power to cause the red cells of blood from another group to clump together or agglutinate. Of various systems of blood classification, the most important are the ABO and Rh systems. In the ABO system all persons are classified as belonging to blood groups, A, B, AB, or O. Blood of group A contains the A agglutinogen in the red cells and the anti-B agglutinin in the serum. Group B has the B agglutinogen in the red cells and the anti-A agglutinin in the serum. Group AB has both the A and B agglutinogens in the cells, but lacks both agglutinins. Group O lacks agglutinogens, but the serum contains both the anti-A and anti-B aggglutinins. In the Rh system there are only two types, Rh positive and Rh negative. They are recognizable by the presence or absence in the red blood corpuscles of the agglutinogen of the Rh group. A person with Rh negative blood transfused with blood of the Rh positive group will develop anti-Rh antibodies which may produce serious effects in any subsequent transfusion of Rhesus positive blood or, far more likely, in a subsequent pregnancy. This type of 'Rh-immunization' is most commonly not caused by transfusion but by leakage of a baby's blood into its mother's circulation. The blood circulation Man is a complex organism and as such his body requires many systems to enable him to live. For simple descriptive purposes the body may be divided into the following systems:
The nervous system can be divided into the central nervous system (the bran and spinal cord), and the peripheral nervous system. The latter consists of a large number of pairs of nerves which run from the brain and spinal cord, carrying messages to and from all parts of the body. The cardiovascular system consists of the heart and the three type of blood-vessel: arteries, capillaries, and veins. The powerful left side of the heart pumps blood through the arteries and into the much smaller capillaries. The blood then flows into the vein, which return it to the right side of the heart. Thence it is pumped to the lungs, where it receives a fresh supply of oxygen before returning to the left side of the heart to begin its journeys round the circulation once again. The respiratory system consists of the air passages and the lungs. When we breathe in, air flows through the mouth and nose into the pharynx ( or throat ), and thence into the larynx (voicebox) and trachea (windpipe). Branching tubes called the bronchi carry the air deep into the lungs, where the oxygen it contains is transferred into the blood. Simultaneously, waste carbon dioxide diffuses out of the blood and into the lungs; it is expelled during the process of breathing out. The alimentary system is the continuous tube which carries food or food residues from the mouth to the anus. The upper parts consist of the mouth, the pharynx (throat), the oesophagus (gullet) and the stomach. Continuous with the lower end of the stomach is the small intestine, from which digested off is absorbed into the bloodstream; this part of the intestine is about 22 feet long, and is divided into three parts: the doudenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. The ileum discharge food residue into the much wider large intestine, which is about six feet long, and which consist of the caecum, the colon, and the rectum. The urinary system forms the means whereby nitrogenous and certain other waste products are excreted from the body. The two kidneys filter off these waste products from the blood, and the resultant fluid (the urine) passes down a pair oft tubes, named the ureters, and into the bladder. This organ acts as a reservoir from which urine can be voided to the exterior through a short tube known as the urethra. The reproductive system consists essentially of a pair of sex glands (gonads) and a series of modified ducts leading to the exterior. In the male the gonads are the testes, from each of which the epidydimis and the vas deferens carry spermatozoa up to the urethra, which reaches the exterior at the tip of the penis. In the female the gonads are the ovaries, from each of which a Fallopian tube carries ova (eggs) down to the uterus (womb). The cervix (neck) of the womb communicates with the upper end of the vagina, a passage which reaches the exterior in the region known as the vulva. The endocrine system consists of a number of glands, all of which secrete hormones ('chemical messengers') directly into the bloodstream. The most important endocrine gland is the pituitary; it lies at the base of the brain and has close connections with the nerves. This gland influences almost all the process in the body. The thyroid gland lies in the neck and has important functions in relation to the rate of the body's metabolism. Close to the thyroid lie the parathyroid glands which help to regulate the calcium content of the body. The pancreas produces the hormone insulin, which controls the level of sugar in the blood. The tow adrenal glands, which lie just above the kidneys, are each divided into an outer cortex and an inner medulla. The cortex produces steroids which affect carbohydrate metabolism, the chemical balance of the body, and also its secondary sexual characteristics. The adrenal medulla manufactures adrenalin and nor-adrenalin, which affect the heart rate and the blood pressure. Under the stimulus of stress, adrenalin prepares the body for violent physical activity, in what is called the 'fight or flight' reaction. The ovaries and testes also act as endocrine glands, and produce hormones which affect the secondary sexual characteristics. The locomotor system consists of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles. The bones form the framework of the body. The muscles act by moving the bones of the skeleton. Movement takes place at the joints, which are kept stable by the ligaments. The reticulo-endothelial system consist of the blood cells, and of the various tissues and organs which form them and, in some cases, break them down when they have outlived their usefulness; these include the liver, the bone marrow, the spleen, they lymph glands, and the thymus. The name of Bombay is thought to be derived from that of Mumba Devi or Mumba Bai, a goddes of the aboriginal Koli fishermen. Capital of the State of Maharashtra in India. The town lies on an island on the west coast of India. Bombay Island itself consists of what were originally seven small islands of lava separated by mud flats exposed only at low tide but subsequently reclaimed. Greater Bombay extends over the larger island of Salsette immediately to the north. It is the largest city in India, and has a fine natural harbour on the inner side of Bombay Island, sheltered from the south -west monsoon. In 1534 the Sultan of Gujarat ceded the island to the Portuguese, who established their trading station at its south-east extremity in the area still known as the Fort. In 1661 Bombay was handed over by Portugal to Charles II of England as dowry of Princess Catherine of Braganza. Three years later Charles leased it to the East Indian Company. By the middle of the 19th century the population had grown to about half a million. With the construction of a railway through the Western Ghats to the rich hinterland on the Deccan Plateau, and the opening of the Suez Canal, the trading advantages of the site were greatly increased. It was well situated for the import of manufactured goods, including machinery, from Britain and Western Europe, and of coal from South Africa. Coal has been largely replaced as a source of power by electricity from the hydro-electric stations in the Western Ghats, and as a fuel by oil imported from the Persian Gulf and refined in harbour-side refineries. The first cotton textile mill was established in 1854. In its early stages the industry concentrated on spinning yarn, for which there was then a large market in China. Weaving developed later, partly to supply the internal demand and partly to export large quantities of grey cloth for finishing elsewhere. Woolen and rayon factories were also built. Though textiles retain their primacy, many other industries have been developed, including mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, motor vehicle assembly, cycles, chemical, glass, paper, leather, furniture, and food products. Bombay is also an important centre of the Indian film industry. The city shows marked specialization in its different zones. The Fort remains the commercial quarter. The centre of the island is the 'mill' zone, and has a dense population living in congested conditions, while the north is a less congested industrial and residential area. The western shore line is a residential zone for the more affluent, particularly on Malabar Hill at the southern extremity. The port of Bombay carries on a very large export trade, especially in cotton goods, oil-seeds, and manganese. The city possesses excellent rail and rod links with the mainland and has an important international airport on Salsette Island. It has a number of large museums and art galleries, public gardens, a great stadium, sports clubs, and the popular mahalakshmi race-course. It is the seat of the university founded in 1857. Among its tourist attractions are the famous 8th century sculptures and reliefs of the Elephanta Caves, on an island six miles to the south.
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