BY IANS NEWS

New York, March 24 (IANS) Prolonged fear and anxiety owing to stressors like the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can not only take a toll on a person's mental health but also have a lasting impact on sperm composition that could affect future offspring, warn researchers.## The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, outlines a biological mechanism for how a father's experience with stress can influence fetal brain development in the womb.## According to the researchers, the effects of paternal stress can be transferred to offspring through changes in the extracellular vesicles that then interact with maturing sperm. Extracellular vesicles are small membrane-bound particles that transport proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids between cells.## They are produced in large amounts in the reproductive tract and play an integral role in sperm maturation.## "Properly managing stress can not only improve mental health and other stress-related ailments, but it can also help reduce the potential lasting impact on the reproductive system that could impact future generations," said study researcher Tracy Bale from the University of Maryland in the US.## To examine a novel biological role for extracellular vesicles in transferring dad's stress to sperm, the researchers examined extracellular vesicles from mice following treatment with the stress hormone corticosterone.## After treatment, the extracellular vesicles showed dramatic changes in their overall size as well as their protein and small RNA content.## When sperm were incubated with these previously "stressed" extracellular vesicles prior to fertilizing an egg, the resulting mouse pups showed significant changes in patterns of early brain development, and as adults these mice were also significantly different than controls for how they responded to stress themselves.## To see if similar differences occurred in human sperm, the researchers recruited students to donate sperm each month for six months, and complete questionnaires about their perceived stress state in the preceding month.## They found that students who had experienced elevated stress in months prior showed significant changes in the small RNA content of their sperm, while those who had no change in stress levels experienced little or no change.## These data confirm a very similar pattern found in the mouse study.## "Our study shows that the baby's brain develops differently if the father experienced a chronic period of stress before conception, but we still do not know the implications of these differences," said Bale.## According to the researchers, stress-induced changes in the male reproductive system take place at least a month after the stress is attenuated and life has resumed its normal patterns.## "It is important to realize that social distancing does not have to mean social isolation, especially with modern technologies available to many of us," said Joshua Gordon, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health in his web message about coping with coronavirus.## "Connecting with our friends and loved ones, whether by high tech means or through simple phone calls, can help us maintain ties during stressful days ahead and will give us the strength to weather this difficult passage".## For more and latest news about Life-Style, stay tuned with us.

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Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) Bollywood and Hollywood were the box office drivers of 2019, making the coveted one billion clubs the new normal. With the coronavirus epidemic hitting the entertainment sector hard, the demand for new films is expected to grow so that the industry can return on the same path after the lockdown phase.## According to a study by Kotak Institutional Equities Research, CY2019 was the second consecutive year of good box office performance. Bollywood churned out 17 over Rs1 billion grossers, nearly doubling the count over CY2017-19.## The box office success report highlights some trends -- impressive progress of movies into Rs 1 billion and Rs 2 billion clubs. The number of films crossing Rs1 billion/Rs2 billion Net Box Office Collection (NBOC) has doubled to 17/7 over CY 2017-19.## The growth can be attributed to -- the proliferation of multiplexes, the rise of young stars and the associated increase in the supply of good content, broad-based demand across weekends, a gradual move away from quarterly seasonality and high dependence on long weekends.## Another highlight was the relatively muted growth of the top five movies. Over the past few years, the top five movies (5-yr CAGR at 4%) have dragged Bollywood NBOC growth. This trend is due to fading BO performance of the big stars (the three Khans -- Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir); the new crop of stars are yet to deliver blockbuster hits, the inability of multiplexes to expand footfall base given a weak macro and modest growth in per capita income/purchasing power and limited crossover films such as "Baahubali" that cut across regions.## It is important to mention that the steady improvement in the performance of the new crop of stars (Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Tiger Shroff, Ayushmann Khurrana, Kartik Aaryan, Rajkummar Rao and Alia Bhatt) and Akshay Kumar have more than compensated for the falling contribution of the three Khans' NBOC.## The market of streaming services must be growing in India, but it doesn't affect the box office business. Several movies that score low on visual effects/production value have garnered Rs1 billion + NBOC. Ideally, OTT should have impacted BO collection of such movies if one assumes that consumers prefer to watch movies with good visual effects in cinemas and low-to-mid budget films on small screens.## The "Avengers" film broke records. Hollywood's contribution to PVR's ticket sales increased to 19% in CY2019 from 16-17% earlier. It is worth noting that "Avengers: Endgame" surpassed the #1 Hindi movie of CY2019 in terms of India NBOC. It was the only movie to have round-the-clock shows on the release weekend.## In fact, "Avengers: Endgame" (CY2019) grew 67% over "Avengers: Infinity War" (CY2018) in India versus 37% growth worldwide. The report shows a growing market for Marvel superhero movies in India, backed by the popularity of a few Hollywood sequels in India and untapped opportunities.## When it comes to the regional box office, CY2019 was one of the weakest years for regional BO, especially South. PVR's SPI cinemas' occupancy dropped to 51% in CY2019 from about 57% in CY2018. A pick-up in the regional box office led by multiplex penetration is a trend that should play out in the future.## With the world experiencing a complete/partial lockdown of cinemas in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, PVR is expected to incur a cash loss of about Rs550-600 million per month. According to the study, the company has adequate liquidity to navigate a complete lockdown of about five months and would be able to borrow more, if need be.## Post Covid-19, things seem to get better with "a strong bounce-back" expected. The demand is expected to be led by pent-up demand, and a packed line-up of movies.## "We believe that PVR's performance is largely linked to content quality and likely weakness in macro aftermath Covid-19 would have a modest impact on PVR's operating performance," read the report.## For more and latest news about Bollywood and Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) Film and television shoots have been postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus and actor Tushar Dalvi, who plays the role of Sai in "Mere Sai", is badly missing the sets and his shooting with the little baby for the devotional serial.## Recalling his shoot with the baby, Tushar said: "Alishpha is an adorable baby. Everyone has become so attached to her in such a short time. She is very cute and sometimes I stayed back after shooting hours or came early, just so that I can play with her. My vanity van has become hers; it's filled with all her toys and food. She's so adorable!."## The new track of the show sees a mother and her son getting drawn towards Sai due to the melodious flute tune played by Sai. The episodes showcase how the baby is taken away from her mother and Sai helps the mother and son to reunite.## "Mere Sai" airs on Sony TV.## For more and latest news about TV, stay tuned with us.

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Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) Actor Vijay Varma, who became a household name after "Gully Boy", returns as a dreaded narcotics dealer in the Netflix web series "She", scripted by Imtiaz Ali. The actor is extremely elated to have got an opportunity to be a part of the filmmaker's creation.## "I am glad that I have got an opportunity to be a part of Imtiaz Ali's creation, which is so beautiful and so full of rich, profound stories. This is a completely different shade of Imtiaz Ali is what I felt. He has a wide range of things to say and this one is his most unique story to date," Vijay told IANS.## In the web series, a lady constable poses as a prostitute to help the police nab Sasya, the narcotics dealer.## Sharing about his character, the actor said: "I play a character called Sasya, although it's debatable what his real name is. He works in a very mysterious way, he is doing a business which is very secret. Therefore the personality is extremely secretive. The unreliability of this person is extremely attractive. He belongs to a certain region and speaks that dialect. The most charming part of this character is the surprises and shocks that he brings."## Sasya is a sadistic person and a control freak especially in matters of sexuality. Informing about the character traits, Vijay added: "There is a deep sense of superiority that he experiences because he is a control freak. Especially when it comes to matters of sexuality, he thinks that is his forte. There are streaks of sadistic nature in him and there is also a great storyteller in him at the same time."## It wasn't easy to approach this kind of character initially. For Vijay, it was quite disturbing but at the same time interesting because he is fascinated by the works of Manto and Ismat Chughtai.## The actor revealed: "It disturbed me when I heard the part. The story also felt disturbing. Therefore it compelled me to dig deeper and find something. I am a big fan of writers like Manto and Ismat Chughtai who dwell in these kinds of complex emotions. All these fascinating stories and storytellers have charmed me."## Also starring Aaditi Pohankar, "She" premiered on Netflix on March 20. The web series has been directed by Avinash Das and Arif Ali.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Los Angeles, March 24 (IANS) Pop superstar Taylor Swift says rapper Kanye West's leaked video proves she was being framed, asserting that she was telling the truth.## Just days after the alleged full audio of her phone conversation with Kanye got leaked online, Swift has addressed and sent a message to her fans.## The pop superstar, 30, posted to her Instagram Story on Monday and revealed she feels vindicated, reports dailymail.co.uk.## In an image posted as part of her Instagram Stories, the singer wrote: "Instead of answering those who are asking how I feel about the video footage that leaked, proving that I was telling the truth the whole time about *that call* (you know, the one that was illegally recorded, that somebody edited and manipulated in order to frame me and put me, my family, and fans through hell for 4 years)… SWIPE up to see what really matters."## She asked people to now move on from the headline-grabbing infamous feud between her and Kim and Kanye -- which stemmed from the rapper's lyrics in his track "Famous".## The singer directed her followers to the Feeding America website, suggesting they donate to the non-profit organization that operates a network of food banks helping people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.## "The World Health Organization and Feeding America are some of the organizations I've been donating to. If you have the ability to, please join me in donating during this crisis," she said.## The leaked video of a phone call is about the controversy surrounding West's lyrics about Swift in his song "Famous". Swift claimed she was unaware that West would refer to her as "that b***h" in his song. But West's wife Kim had shared an edited video in 2016 of West speaking to Swift and getting her approval for the song.## Now, the leaked footage began circulating on the Internet on Friday and supports Swift's story.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Bengaluru, March 24 (IANS) Known for his role in the Kannada movie "Urvi", actor Prabhu Mundkur is eagerly waiting to make his debut in Bollywood, and he has a wish to be launched by directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rajkumar Hirani.## "I really want to be launched in Bollywood by film directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rajkumar Hirani. As a viewer, I have always loved watching their work. Hope I soon make my debut in Bollywood," Prabhu said.## Currently, Prabhu has plenty of Kannada movies, including "Mysore Diaries" and "Maya Kannadi", in his kitty.## "Regional films are not limited to a group of viewers. If we do our best and make it a super hit...people will do watch the movie in their desired language. So it similarly gives an actor an opportunity to grow. No one has any kind of boundaries. As an artist, I want to grow and work in regionals, Hindi television, and Bollywood," he added.## For more and latest news about Sandalood, stay tuned with us.

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Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) Actress Sayani Gupta will be seen essaying the role of a nurse in a British medical drama titled "The Good Karma Hospital".## In the ITV series, Sayani will play a nurse named Jyoti, who falls prey to an acid attack. The series, that was shot in 2018, has a few tracks one of which, follows Sayani's character post the attack and goes through 17 restorative stages of surgery and medical procedure. It will also put spotlight on her grueling personal journey and transition after the acid attack.## "I got cast for this after a couple of auditions by Sehar Latif and this was one of the most gratifying and heartbreaking characters I played so far. The British cast and crew along with the Sri-Lankan crew were absolutely incredible," Sayani said.## She continued to narrate her experience on the sets: "And to be doing most of my scenes with the terrific Amanda Redman and Nimmi Harasgama was unbelievably educational actually. I learned so much on that set. We had two directors Philip John and John Mckay who were both so uniquely brilliant. I underwent 17 stages of acid attack and surgical prosthetics and Davy Jones, a BAFTA winner prosthetics genius and Abby did some groundbreaking work on me. Graham Frame who is one of the most senior and respected cinematographers from Britain shot the show. I learned a great deal from him as well and we had a beautiful equation. Tiger aspects are the producers and Trevor and Rosemary took such good care of us. This entire team of British and Sri-Lankan crew was just so magnanimous and wonderful. We had such a beautiful time shooting in stunning Sri Lanka. I really got lucky with this one and will always be grateful for this magical experience."## The series is set in a hospital in Kerala and is set to bring many more exciting and gripping plot-lines for its third installment of the show. The shooting was done in Galle, in Sri-Lanka over three months. It also stars Amanda Redman, James Floyd, Neil Morrisey, Amrita Acharya, Nimmi Harasgama and Indian actors Darshan Jariwala.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) Curfews and lockdowns in the time of COVID-19 pandemic have given our Bollywood stars a lot of time at hand to try out things they never had time to even think of, let alone imagine doing. Bollywood star Katrina Kaif, for instance, seems to be using the time well, it seems, to hone her skills in household chores.## Going by a video she put up on Instagram, Katrina has become quite an ace at dishwashing. What's more, she is seen imparting tips to fans on how to effectively wash dishes without wasting too much water.## "Since the house helps are also practicing self-isolation, Izzy (Katrina's sister Isabelle) and I have decided to take turns to do the washing up. I thought I would do a little professional tutorial," the actress says, as she goes about with her dishwashing errand.## Katrina then gets into details about the effective way to wash dishes. "First, I was deciding... should I lather each bowl, rinse it and put it in the rack? Then I decided that there was a better way to do it. Put all the dishes inside the sink, and then turn off the water so that you don't waste it. Lather all of them and put them back here and then rinse them all," she says.## Well, looks like Katrina is putting her days of self-quarantine to good use. Only the other day, she posted a screenshot of a video call she had with Bollywood buddies Varun Dhawan and Arjun Kapoor.## "Reunited... our newly reformed aclub' with a very appropriate name a#isolated r us'," she captioned the pic. Incidentally, Varun and Arjun have apparently established an "I Hate Katrina Kaif" club!## The screenshot posted by Katrina, featuring the two actors, came after a video she put up earlier, where she is seen strumming the guitar and singing a song. The video, however, is muted and Katrina has promised that due sound effect is soon to come.## Her next release is Rohit Shetty's "Sooryavanshi", which casts Akshay Kumar in the title role. The film was scheduled to release on March 24, but has been indefinitely pushed back owing to the coronavirus outbreak. The cop action thriller brings back Akshay and Katrina together after nearly a decade since they paired opposite each other in "Tees Maar Khan", the 2010 box-office dud that is largely still recalled for Katrina's blockbuster dance number, "Shiela ki jawaani".## According to rumours, Katrina could also star with Amitabh Bachchan in a father-daughter comedy directed by Vikas Bahl next year. There has been no official confirmation on any such project yet.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

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New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Somewhere close to the year 2000, as an informal consultant, renowned art historian B.N. Goswami was going over the San Diego Museum of Arts' holdings of Indian paintings, nearly all of which came from the collection of American billionaire Edwin Binney III. Among the things he saw was the manuscript of the Mysore Bhagvata, the 10th book of the Bhagavata Purana and was "charmed".## Nothing happened for years despite famous corporate strategy guru C.K. Prahlad donating a fairly large sum of money to the museum and proposing that the manuscript - that had been commissioned by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1794-1868) - be published in its entirety and that Goswamy be the one to oversee the project.## Jas Grewal, who heads the support group for Indian art at the museum and was also a close friend of CK, took up the matter with vigor and got the museum to see the publication of the manuscript through.## The outcome: "The Great Mysore Bhagavata", jointly published by the San Diego Museum of Arts and Niyogi Books, a fascinating tour de force that impresses with the depth of Goswamy's scholarship - and dazzles with its images.## It focuses on the second half of the 10th book of the Bhagvata Purana and includes over 200 images of the exquisite paintings in the manuscript. It stands out and shines, not only because of the splendor of its illustrations but also because it engages with an enduring theme - the great and sacred text, the Bhagavata Purana - in a manner that is completely different from almost anything else that one has come across.## "I was by no means the first person to take note of this wonderful manuscript," a modest Goswamy told IANS in an interview.## Others, including the art dealer and connoisseur Terry MacInerney, had brought it to attention by briefly writing about it a long time ago. Robert del Bonta, an independent scholar, had also used the material in the manuscript in different essays well before Goswamy came into the picture.## "But the idea of publishing the manuscript, virtually in extenso, and giving it the shape that it now has, came from me and in part, from (curator) Caron Smith. Working on the manuscript from a distance was not easy, but it needed to be done.## "The text - which is from the Uttara ardha, that is from the latter half, is written in the old Kannada script, which I do not read. But the problem did not appear insuperable, for I ascertained that the language used in the manuscript was the same as in the original Purana - that is Sanskrit - and it was only the script which was Kannada. That made it simpler," Goswamy explained.## In planning the publication, however, he insisted on the involvement of three experts - Robert del Bonta, "naturally", Caleb Simmons from the University of Arizona: who has done extensive work on the history and culture of Mysore" and Girish Naphade, "to help with the Kannada that he knows well".## The manuscript of the Mysore Bhagavata Purana is quite different from many other illustrated latter Bhagavata Puranas produced in India in that the text is laid out in codex format. How has the format impacted the layout and structure of the manuscript?## "The Mysore Bhagavata is not the only manuscript belonging to this period - we speak here of the second part of the 19th century - which was scripted in the format of the code. There were many others, most of them from the same court; the Ramayana for instance; the Devi Mahatmya; celebrated local romances.## "Clearly, European books were known, and the East India Company was everywhere, including of course in Mysore. Somewhere in the background lay also an awareness of Mughal manuscripts in the standard codex format. True, that the Bhagavata, the sacred text that it is, was generally scripted and painted in the pot or landscape format. But things change. These volumes that we speak of were stacked upright in the library shelves of the court," Goswamy elaborated.## The book is remarkable for the quantity and intricacy of its illustrations. What are some of the features of the illustrations that make them unique?## "Two or three things stand out. One, that the book deals only with the latter half of the career of Krishna when he had become the King of Dwarka and got involved in the politics, and the warring, of the times. The earlier half - the passionately celebrated and sung childhood of Krishna, growing up in the sylvan surroundings of Gokul and Vrindavana, beloved of the gopis, playing upon his flute, wearing peacock feathers in his crown, dressed in a yellow dhoti, the cynosure of all eyes - is missing here," Goswamy said.## It might have been the subject of another, and earlier volume in the series but this volume does not even remember the earlier Krishna.## "As a result, there are episodes here that are seldom treated by other painters, or in other series. Two, there is a great innovation in the work that we see, the painters having been thrown upon their own resources to invent and visualize. Finally, every now and then, one comes upon vignettes, or motifs, that veer upon pure abstraction. All that makes for the delight of another kind, another level," the author said.## Although this manuscript of the Bhagavata Purana is unfinished, it was bound. Why was the manuscript not completed and was yet put together as a volume?## "Puzzles remain; some of them have a habit or remaining. It is not easy to fathom the reasons not only for this but for the fact that a number of leaves in the bound volume are left completely blank; at other places spaces are left for paintings to be 'filled in', as if there was a model that was being followed that was no longer available. Robert del Bonta has addressed some of these questions in his essay (in the book), which is a codicological study of the manuscript as a whole," Goswamy explained.## What of the future?## "Who can tell? One hopes that one can entertain, however, is that someday all, or nearly all of the manuscripts that were produced at the Mysore court will be published in extenso - as has been done in this volume - so that a fuller, or richer, the view can be taken of the period and the court. At this time, our knowledge, and our understanding, is fragmentary," Goswamy concluded.##

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Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) Actress Richa Sinha will soon be seen in two web series. She shares screen space with Karan Singh Grover and Kunal Kemmu in "Boss 2" and "Abhay 2" respectively.## "I feel blessed and all excited to share the screen with Karan in 'Boss 2' and Kunal in 'Abhay'. I'm going to be part of the upcoming two web projects along with them. This will for sure help me grow and earn a fine place in showbiz.## " I look forward to doing more such projects and make myself a fine and loved actress to follow my dreams for working in television and Bollywood movies," Richa said.## She added: "I have come a long way in establishing myself in showbiz by winning big in beauty pageants like World supermodel South Asia in 2018 apart from being the third winner at the World Pageant held at Fiji where I represented India. This gave me a chance to work as a model with top brands in e-commerce.## "However, my career is not restricted to pageants and modeling as I wanted to expand my horizon trying my luck in the field of acting. Thus I joined theatres doing a number of plays to brush up my acting skills."## Richa recently featured in a Punjabi music video, titled "Gal Sunja".## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.

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Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) With the COVID-19 pandemic creating a lockdown situation in the country, actress Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya has found a perfect way to spend her days of isolation -- by pursuing her passion for reading.## She has a collection of over 400 books comprising fiction as well as non-fiction at home, and she is making most of her free time during the lockdown to catch up on reading.## "I do have a huge collection at home. Few of the books have been gifted by fans and the rest were brought by me as I have a fascination with owning all kinds of books," Divyanka said.## "Due to hectic shooting schedules in recent years, it was difficult to take out time for hobbies, one is reading. However, with the current scenario, I am catching up on reading. It's been almost 4-5 years since I had the leisure to just lie down and read a good book and hence I am digging into my library and pulling out all the unread books off the shelf, ingest them and digest them and it feels marvelous as books have a way of transporting you to a different world from the reality we are currently living in," she added.## Divyanka is known for playing the lead role in the long-running TV show "Yeh Hai Mohabbatein". The actress has also featured in shows such as "Banoo Main Teri Dulhann" and "Adaalat". Apart from the fiction space, she has also participated in reality shows. Divyanka and her husband Vivek Dahiya had also won the "Nach Baliye" show.## For more and latest news about TV, stay tuned with us.

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Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) Actor Ranveer Singh on Monday took a moment to applaud his father-in-law, badminton legend Prakash Padukone, who changed the scenario of Indian badminton by becoming the first person of this country to win the prestigious All England Open 40 years ago.## "40 years ago on this day, Prakash Padukone changed the fate of badminton forever. He won the All England Championship in London's Wembley Arena, creating history for Indian sports. An unprecedented, landmark victory that shines everlastingly in the annals of time...#legend...#proud," Ranveer wrote on Instagram.## He also shared a few pictures of Prakash Padukone from the championship.## At the age of 24, Prakash Padukone defeated two-time defending champion Liem Swie King of Indonesia 15-3, 15-10 at Wembley Stadium on March 23, 1980 .## Earlier in the day, Prakash Padukone's daughter Deepika penned a heartfelt note for her father.## "Papa, Your contribution to Badminton and Indian Sport is immeasurable! Thank You for your inspiring display of dedication, discipline, determination and years of hard work! They don't make you like you anymore... We love you and are proud of you! Thank You for being you!" Deepika wrote.## On the work front, Deepika and Ranveer will be seen sharing screen space together in Kabir Khan's "'83".## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.