Category Archives: Education

Haldar’s legacy to be revamped for arts students in Lucknow

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All

Lucknow :

Students of the college of arts and crafts at Lucknow University will no more have to organize cultural and literary events in their classrooms.

Lying neglected for over a decade, the 106-year-old Haldar Hall, named after legendary painter and first Indian principal of the college Asit Kumar Haldar, will get a fresh lease of life in a month.

With the capacity of around 200 students, the historical hall is being revamped and its doors will be open to students in a month. The hall was out of use for years due to its poor condition. “The Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan has granted Rs 50 lakh to restore the auditorium named after the famous Indian painter,” said director for internal quality and assurance cell Prof Rajiv Manohar.

He added that the state-of-the-art multi-purpose hall-cum-auditorium will have advanced lighting and seating facilities. Initially known as the boys’ dining and lecture hall, it was renamed Haldar Hall in 1957.

“Asit Kumar Haldar’s paintings had made a mark across the globe. His talent was not confined to India but reached all parts of the world. The British government had appointed him as the principal of the Government School of Arts and Crafts in 1925,” said record-keeper Desraj.

“The hall has been in a dilapidated condition for four years. We did not have any auditorium to showcase our artwork or organize our fest. We are happy that now, we will have an auditorium which will not only exhibit our creativity but also unfold the glorious history of arts college, which gave so many famous artists to the country,” said Prashant Tiwari, a student of fine arts.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News> Schools & Colleges / by Mohita Tewari / TNN / March 20th, 2018

Lucknow boys shine in international academic test

Education, Records, All, World Opinion

Lucknow :

Two students from the city have secured top positions in the International Benchmark Test – an international programme of assessments conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research.

Class IV student Ayush Shukla (10) and Class IX student Atharva (14) have scored 100 percentile in the test. Both are students of City Montessori School.

While Atharva scored 100 percentile in science, Ayush has topped in all five different skills of English language which includes comprehension, grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary.

Both students have been awarded prize money of Rs 50,000 each.

The programme tests knowledge of students in subjects like English, mathematics, science and Arabic.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News>> Lucknow News> Schools & Colleges / TNN / March 19th, 2018

IIT-A organises Aparoksha

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology

Allahabad :

‘Aparoksha’—the four day technical fiesta of Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad kicked off at Jhalwa campus here on late Thursday night. The fest will witness over dozens of different technical events.

Ratan Lal, the general manager of the Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE), graced the opening ceremony of Aparoksha-2018 as the chief Guest. He praised the fact that Aparoksha has established very high benchmarks in a very small duration. He highlighted the significance of learning in our lives, stating that the process of learning is imperative and must go on perpetually in our lives. Focusing on technical fests like Aparoksha, he mentioned that these fests cater a plethora of learning and broadening the boundaries of our knowledge.

Professor P. Nagabhushan, Director, IIIT-A laid emphasis on the importance of technical fests, stating that tech fests are the perfect arena for an engineering students to learn, grow and polish his technical skills. He essayed the fact that engineering is not just about the classroom learning, it is about exploring the practical field and expanding your horizons, competing and enriching your knowledge in the real life simulation of actual International level events. The director appreciated the organisation of Aparoksha-2018 and congratulated the team for succeeding in conducting the event at such a high level.

The theme for this edition of Aparoksha is the digital renaissance, in compliance with the digital Indian initiative of Government of India.

The entrepreneurship talks planned by IIIT-A incubation centre, confab, the flagship event consisting of eminent panelists including Awdhesh Singh, Babar Ali, Adhitya lyer and Vinay Menon will give their thoughtful insights on the Indian educational system.

The keynote lineup is star studded with the likes of Dr. Pawan Agarwal, Varun Agarwal and Sahil Vaidya who will inspire students on March 17 night. This time, apart from interesting speakers and panelists, an exhibition, showcasing the modern marvels of technology will showcase drones, Al controlled robots, 3D printers, robotic arm, spy robot, loT enabled smart city and rope climbing robot, NAO, firebird-V, VI, amigo bot and round bot.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Allahabad News / by Rajiv Mani / TNN / March 16th, 2018

IIT Kanpur researchers find why babies need to move in the womb

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
“We are now investigating if osteoarthritis is also associated with appearance of BMP signalling in the wrong place,” says Amitabha Bandyopadhyay (left) | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Permanent cartilage is formed in an embryo due to the mechanical movement.

Formation of joints in the developing embryo and their maintenance after birth is sensitive to mechanical movement. Now, researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur have deciphered the molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon. They have demonstrated how permanent cartilage is formed in an embryo due to mechanical movement. They also found out how permanent cartilage is lost and temporary or transient cartilage is formed in its place in the absence of movement.

While permanent cartilage lines the joint, the transient cartilage is a bone-forming one. Earlier this group demonstrated that during embryonic development, a bipotential cartilage population gives rise to both permanent and transient cartilage. BMP and Wnt are two major signals regulating this process. While BMP promotes transient cartilage formation, Wnt promotes permanent cartilage formation.

In patients with osteoarthritis, the permanent cartilage acquires all the characteristics of a temporary cartilage, which affects joint function. Currently, in people with osteoarthritis, it is not possible to reverse the fate of permanent cartilage that has become a temporary-like cartilage. The work done by a team led by Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay from the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering at IIT Kanpur suggests that it might be possible to prevent osteoarthritis from worsening if intervened at an early stage. The results were published in the journal Development. The work was carried out in collaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Paula Murphy of Trinity College Dublin.

On-off switches

BMP signaling — which helps in the formation of transient cartilage — is normally not present in permanent cartilage cells in a joint. That transient cartilage forms in the place of permanent cartilage due to joint immobilisation was already known. And independently, the team had shown that BMP signalling promotes transient cartilage formation. “So we wanted to find out if immobilising the joints in a chick embryo allows the BMP signaling to come up in the joint cartilage cells. We did find that happening,” Prof. Bandyopadhyay says.

The investigation into what causes the BMP signaling to be present in future permanent cartilage cells when the joint is immobilised led them to a surprise finding. The lead author, Pratik Singh, found out that an inhibitor of BMP signaling (Smurf1) is absent in the joint that is immobilised resulting in increased BMP signaling. “The role of the Smurf1 inhibitor is to maintain a BMP-free area thereby enabling the progenitor cells to become permanent cartilage. But due to increased BMP signaling the permanent cartilage gets converted into transient-like cartilage,” says Prof. Bandyopadhyay.

The Smurf1 inhibitor is not directly involved in joint cartilage formation but creates an environment that permits the formation of permanent cartilage by keeping the BMP signalling under check. Mechanical movement seems to act like a toggle switch. In the presence of it, Wnt – the signal that promotes joint cartilage – is on and BMP signalling is off in the joint cartilage cells. The opposite is true when the joint is immobilized. This is the reason why immobilisation of joints causes greater disturbance to permanent cartilage than even inhibition of Wnt signalling.

“We are now investigating if osteoarthritis is also associated with appearance of BMP signalling in the wrong place. If so, we can block the BMP signaling in these cells during the early-stage of osteoarthritis to possibly prevent the condition from worsening,” he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Science / by R. Prasad / Chennai – March 13th, 2018

IIT-K develops gadgets for specially abled

Business & Economy, Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

Kanpur :

IIT-K’s persons with disabilities (PwD) cell organised an event on Tuesday for people with disabilities and the challenges they have overcome.

PwD cell convenor KS Venkatesh said that the cell is developing tools and services to help students with disability on campus. These include developing special gadgets and making all areas of the campus accessible to them.

A special website dedicated to the PwD cell was also launched. The website will act as an important resources for people with disabilities on campus.Visit www.iitk.ac.in/pwd for more information.

Several organisations working with people with disabilities were invited to deliver talks. These include handicap welfare department, Uttar Pradesh, Deaf and Dumb College, Bithoor, Ambedkar Institute of Technology for Handicapped, Kanpur and others.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City News> Kanpur News / TNN / January 10th, 2018

Allahabad University scientists find ‘fisetin’ slows down brain aging

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology
The results of the AU study conclude that fisetin can protect the brain from damage induced by aging. (HT)

A team of scientists at the Allahabad University has established that a natural compound called fisetin, found in strawberry, apple, onion and cucumber, can restore brain functions which deteriorate during aging.

A team of scientists at the Allahabad University has established that a natural compound called fisetin, found in strawberry, apple, onion and cucumber, can restore brain functions which deteriorate during aging.

The findings of the team, led by Prof SI Rizvi from the department of biochemistry at AU, have been published in the latest issue of American research journal Life Sciences.

Scientists acknowledge that oxidative stress is a major factor responsible for age-related changes in living organisms. Oxidative stress is the condition when the damage, due to the toxic form of oxygen molecules, exceeds the capacity of the body to repair such damage.

“It is a paradox that oxygen, which is essential for life, becomes the cause of aging,” said Prof Rizvi.

“In human body, most of the oxygen is consumed by the brain. Therefore, it is the brain that becomes more vulnerable to oxidative stress. With increase in age, brain cells degenerate leading to diseases and loss of brain function,” he said.

Through experiments, the research team analysed a host of biomarkers of aging, including pro-oxidants, antioxidants, mitochondrial function, expression of genes, and apoptosis cell death.

The results of the AU study conclude that fisetin can protect the brain from damage induced by aging.

“The study was carried out on rats of different ages and also on those which were chemically induced to age faster,” said Prof Rizvi.

Fisetin was given to rats of old age and the effect was compared with the younger ones. Fisetin-treated old rats were protected from brain damage.

Among all anti-aging strategies being explored, caloric restriction is the most promising which, in common terms, can be defined as less food intake.

Caloric restriction has been effectively tested in small organisms like fruit fly and earthworms. The strategy becomes difficult to implement in humans where several ethical issues are involved.

Scientists have stumbled upon a class of compounds which mimic the effect of caloric restriction. With the use of these compounds, known as caloric restriction mimetics, the body feels like it is food restricted without the need of eating less.

According to Prof Rizvi, fisetin works as a caloric restriction mimetic in showing its anti-aging effect on rats. “Scientists are hopeful that compounds exhibiting caloric restriction mimetic effects will prove to be good anti-aging drugs,” he said.

Several experimental drugs are being tested in Prof Rizvi’s lab for possible anti-aging effects. “Although an increase in human lifespan may not be possible, it may increase the health span,” Prof Rizvi added.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by K. Sandeep Kumar , Hindustan Times, Allahabad / January 08th, 2018

Varanasi: Central Institute of Tibetan Higher Studies all set to welcome Dalai Lama

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, World Opinion

Varanasi :

The Central Institute of Tibetan Higher Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath is all set to give a grand welcome to Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, who is arriving on Friday.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, the CIHTS vice-chancellor Prof. Geshe Ngawang Samten said that the Dalai Lama is arriving here to take part in the golden jubilee of the institute on January 1, 2018. “It is a matter of great happiness for us that we will celebrate the golden jubilee in presence of His Holiness,” he said adding that the Dalai Lama is arriving here after a gap of four year. Earlier, he had visited the institution in January 2013.

According to him, before the golden jubilee celebration the Dalai Lama will also take part in the two-day international conference on ‘concept of mind in science and philosophy’ on December 30 and 31. Eminent scholars from various universities and institutions of the country and abroad will take part in the conference to express their views. About 150 Indian delegates and over 70 foreign delegates from different countries will attend the conference. After four-day stay at the CITHS the Dalai Lama will leave for Bodh Gaya on January 2, 2018.

Established in 1967 the CIHTS is celebrating its golden jubilee in presence of the Dalai Lama, who is instrumental in establishing this institution. After the mass exodus of the Tibetan emigrants in 1959 they took political asylum in India. It was the joint efforts of the Dalai Lama and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that the CIHTS came into existence in Varanasi in 1967 to educate the youth of Tibet and the students on the Indian border who had lost the opportunity of living in Tibet for advanced studies and religious discourses in Buddhism. The institution was established with objectives like preservation of Tibetan culture and traditions, restoration of ancient learning and implementation of multi-dimensional Tibetan studies, and revival of traditional education under modern university system.

The Dalai Lama has been visiting CIHTS quite. In the beginning it was established in the premises of the Sanskrit University and later it moved to its own premises in Sarnath and was granted autonomy under the department of culture. In 1988, the institute got status of `deemed to be a university’ with financial support from the Union ministry of human resource development.

Meanwhile, the students and staff of CITHS were busy in giving final touch to the preparations. The entire campus was being decorated with flowers and floral patterns on the roads. Buddhist monks and followers from different places also started tronging Sarnath in large numbers. They will greet the Dalai Lama on his arrival on Friday.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Varanasi News / by Binay Singh / TNN / December 28th, 2017

Allahabad University team finds cure to skin ailment, gets patent

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Allahabad :

In a major breakthrough that would help experts find a treatment for ‘Pityriasis versicolor’, popularly known as ‘sehua’, a team of researchers from Allahabad University have developed a liquid medium for harvesting Malassezia fungus, which causes the disease.

The team is led by faculty member of AU’s botany department Anupam Dikshit. The team has also got the method patented (Indian Patent No. 290771) by the Technology, Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of the department of science and technology (DST).

Dikshit said, “Sehua is a skin disease which causes hypopigmentation of the skin resulting in the loss of its natural texture. The condition is accompanied by the occurrence of small white spots on face and other parts of the body.

“The disease is caused by fungus. The foremost challenge in developing an antidote was to first grow the fungus in a lab.”

Dikshit said that his team’s objective was to develop a medium suitable for the Indian environment and skin. He added that the medium available in the market was too costly and had other limitations as well. “The medium developed by us will be very useful for diagnosis of diseases and in finding a cure for the disease. Besides, the modified medium would also be of great help for various researches,” he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Allahabad News / by Rajeev Mani / TNN / December 29th, 2017

US college to collaborate with Saharanpur nursing school

Education, World Opinion

Meerut:

The Nebraska Methodist College (NMC) of Nursing and Allied Health in Omaha, US, is all set for academic collaboration with Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur-based Hillary Clinton Nursing School. A four-member delegation of doctors and administrators from the US college visited Saharanpur on Thursday to explore the similarities and contrast in the teaching methods in India and in the US. The academic collaboration, which is most likely to be completed by 2018-end, is aimed at establishing mutual cooperation and professional coordination between the two institutes. The tie-up will also open up learning and employment opportunities for rural and underprivileged youths in Saharanpur area.

Dr Dennis A Joslin, consultant and former president of NMC, said, “We are planning a partnership with the Hillary Clinton Nursing School in Saharanpur soon. In this regard, a team of doctors from the US visited the campus on Thursday with the intention to find out the similarities and differences in health care provisions and teaching methods in India and the US. By this academic collaboration, we aim at providing best education to the professionals in both the countries so that the general public can get the best possible quality of life.”

Apart from Dr Joslin, the delegation of doctors included Dr Linda Hughes, dean of nursing at NMC; Dr Eric Kyle, faculty development, NMC; and Dr Harsha Sharma, professor, Arts and Sciences Division at NMC. These doctors are on a week-long trip to India to facilitate the process of academic collaboration and learning exchange programme with Hillary Clinton Nursing School (HCNS). They are also set to visit some government and private hospitals in Delhi and Saharanpur to get first-hand experience on the functioning of hospitals in India.

“The academic collaboration between the Nebraska Methodist College and the Hillary Clinton Nursing School is in the pipeline. NMC is a 125-year old college, and a delegation from the US visited the school here in Saharanpur to explore how students of this institute and that of the US can share and learn by means of student and faculty exchange,” said Raj Kamal Saxena, president, Ramrati Education Complex.

The Hillary Clinton Nursing School was established in 2012 and is affiliated to UP Medical Faculty and recognized by the Indian Nursing Council, New Delhi, and is situated on a 35-acre campus named Ramrati Education Complex (REC) — which also houses the Bill Clinton School, and Hillary Clinton Institute of Paramedical Sciences. REC is run by the Vinod Gupta Charitable Foundation. Gupta is said to be a close friend of the Clintons. Bill Clinton had even visited the place in 2001, much before it was named after him.

“We plan to call selected students and teachers to the US in July 2018 to complete the cycle of knowing each other’s homeland. Our visit is basically for the assessment stage, and it includes data collection. Once the students and teachers from Saharanpur visit us in July, we can prepare a master plan on how to go about with the academic collaboration,” said Dr Joslin.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Meerut News / by Ishita Bhatia / TNN / December 14th. 2017

Lucknow boy makes it to Stanford University

Education, World Opinion

Lucknow :

Devansh Sharma brought laurels to the city after getting an admission offer from Stanford University on December 9 under the Restrictive Early Action (REA) decision plan for the undergraduate class of 2022.

Devansh’s family has a unique relationship with the prestigious US university as his elder sister Priyanka also got her undergraduate degree from there and is now working in San Francisco. His other sister Divyanka, too, is doing her MBA at Stanford.

A student of Doon School in Dehradun, Devansh had been preparing for his application since class 9. Besides being an outstanding student, Devansh is an avid chess player. He has won prizes in inter-school, regional and FIDE-rated chess tournaments. He has also been chess captain of Doon School.

Stanford University has been consistently ranked in the top three universities of the world. Only a handful of applicants are admitted from India.

Some renowned alumni of the university are: Doug Mackenzie, Reese Witherspoon, Tiger Woods, John F Kennedy, Marc Shapiro and Azim Premji.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> Cities> Lucknow News> Schools & Colleges / TNN / December 19th, 2017