Standing: (from left) Safeer (husband of first daughter Sumayya), Amal (daughter); (sitting) Aslam with grand son Mazyoun , Tasneem Aslam and mother Sunitha Syed. (Supplied)
Tasneem Aslam is pursuing a PG degree in Islamic jurisprudence from the University of Sharjah.
Tasneem Aslam, an Indian student from India’s southern most state Kerala’s Alappuzha district and a namesake of Pakistan’s career diplomat and a former spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a proud recipient of a coveted honour of the UAE government.
Her hard work, diligence and intelligence have paid off.
The UAE government has recognised her merit and excellent academic credentials to extend her a 10-year Golden Visa, which is reserved only for prominent global personalities.
Tasneem received the Golden Visa in the exceptional student category and is allowed to stay in the country till 2031, as the UAE unveils major reforms to attract global talents from people belonging to all walks of life.
Tasneem, but naturally, is thrilled by the honour.
“This is one of the best moments in my life. I feel privileged to achieve this and I am thankful to Almighty Allah. My parents ‘support has been enormous, and Insha Allah I hope to sponsor them in near future,” Tasneem told Khaleej Times.
“I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the wise and visionary leadership of this great nation that has been making rapid strides to promote education. Students, educators, and institutions enjoy great value in this young nation that’s celebrating 50 years of its foundation. I seek solace in the immortal words of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, that ‘knowledge is the shortcut to success,’ ” she said.
Tasneem studied Islamic Sharia from Al Qasimia University in Sharjah and topped her class, which consisted of pupils from 72 nationalities, with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.94 on 4.
Tasneem has memorised the Quran. She has enroled for a postgraduate degree in Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) at the University of Sharjah.
She had attended the Emirates National School in Sharjah, where her mother Sunita works as a teacher, and had secured 95.6 per cent in her Grade XII examinations.
Tasneem’s father Muhammad Aslam is a former employee of the Sharjah City Municipality and now runs a typing centre in the emirate.
Her father is ecstatic about their daughter’s feat.
He said: “I’m proud of her achievements. We’ve been flooded with congratulatory calls and messages for the past two days from our friends and relatives from across the globe.”
Tasneem, who is proficient in Arabic, has multitasking skills. She helps her father with Arabic translation at the typing centre and simultaneously manages the social media account of Zahaar perfumes.
Earlier, she worked as a teacher at Nobel Qur’an and Sunnah centre in the emirate. She also taught the Quran and hadith at the Abu Bakr Siddique mosque in Sharjah.
“Tasneem is very creative, and she spends her free time designing her own abaya,” her father signed off
source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> News / by Syed Ayaz Basha, Dubai / filed May 29th, 2021 and updated June 02nd, 2021
This is the tenth part of the series called ‘Scientist Says’ where we bring for our readers the significant research works of young scientists in various fields.
Dr. Rizwan Nabi completed his Ph.D in June 2020 at IIT Bombay (India) under the supervision of Prof. Gopalan Rajaraman. Presently, he is working as a Research Associate “European Research Council Fellow” in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Manchester. He talks about his research with Rashida Bakait of India Tomorrow.
Q. Please briefly explain your research.
Ans. My research broadly focuses on the Single-Molecule Magnets. Single-Molecule Magnets (SMMs) are the metal-organic compounds (complexes) which show magnetic relaxation of purely molecular origin below a certain blocking temperature . In this temperature range, a SMM exhibits magnetic hysteresis of purely molecular origin. In contrast to conventional bulk magnets and molecule-based magnets , collective long-range magnetic ordering of magnetic moments is not necessary. Organometallic molecules have emerged as clear front-runners in the search for high-temperature single-molecule magnets. Within this family of structurally similar molecules, significant variations in their magnetic properties are seen, demonstrating the importance of understanding magneto-structural relationships to develop more efficient design strategies. Efforts in this field primarily focus on raising the operating temperatures of single-molecule magnets to liquid nitrogen temperature or room temperature in order to enable applications in magnetic memory. Apart from the higher blocking temperature, efforts are being made to develop SMMs with high energy barriers to prevent fast spin relaxation. Recent acceleration in this field of research has resulted in significant enhancements of single-molecule magnet operating temperatures to above 70 K.
Q. What was the objective of your research?
Ans. The Main objective of my research is to check the stability and hence magnetic properties of the SMMs on different surfaces like Au(111) and many other surfaces like MgOAg(100), carbon based surfaces (graphene and graphite). Here we are trying to develop an ab initio spin dynamics methodology and check if it is capable of quantitative prediction of relative relaxation rates in the Raman/Orbach regions. The ultimate goal of our study is to develop a SMMs which can be fully modified to develop a high density data storage memory devices, qubits or spintronic devices. The ultimate miniaturization of classical memory devices lies in the use of atoms or molecules to store binary data. Single molecule magnets (SMMs), molecules that exhibit slow magnetic relaxation and memory effects, provide a flexible platform for realizing high-density data storage.
Q. When did you begin and complete your research?
Ans. I started my research after joining Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in July 2014 as a Ph.D student in the department of Chemistry. I completed my Ph.D in June 2020.I have completed my Ph.D at IIT Bombay (India) under the supervision of Prof. Gopalan Rajaraman. My research lay emphasis on describing magnetic properties in 3d and 4f SMMs on different surfaces such as Au (111), MgO/Ag(100), and studying cobalt complexes for spin filtering purposes. Currently, my research interests revolves around computational study of the chemical control of the vibronic coupling of SMMs. Fortunately, recent theoretical efforts have begun to establish robust and systematic methodologies to treat these problems, targeting a new approach of engineering spin−phonon coupling.
Q. What were the findings of your research?
Ans.Our group looks into the stability of SMMs on surfaces which is a great challenge itself if one wants to develop memory devices from the SMMs. Our findings are published in peer reviewed journals like American Chemical Science (ACS) and Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), where we have discussed how challenging it is to study these SMMs on various surface. We have reported Lanthanide complexes as molecular dopants for realizing air-stable n-type graphene logic inverters with symmetric transconductance which is published in the Journal of Material Horizon . Also, we are the first to report a large molecule with 19 Metal ions on gold surface using DFT calculation as Deciphering the origin of variation in the spin ground state and oxidation state of a {Mn19} cluster on Au (111) surface: is the Au (111) surface innocent. This study is published in the Journal of Chemical Communication which is a Royal Society of Chemistry Journal.
Q. What was the conclusion of your research?
Ans. In order to develop memory devices from SMMs one needs to check the stability of these SMMs on various surface for the purpose of device fabrication. There are tremendous SMMs which are stable as pristine molecules but loose SMM features upon grafting which can be due to various reasons like charging effect of surfaces, change in the geometry of the molecules on surface, spin-phonon interactions etc. Thus, while fabricating one needs to be sure enough about these challenges and how to stabilize these molecules on surface.
Q. Any scholarships or awards for research?
Ans. I have been awarded European Research Council award as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at The University of Manchester (UK).
Q. What challenges did you face?
Ans.Challenges are an integral part of the research. There are many things associated with the research apart from the things which one learns from the books or some other sources. One needs to be fully motivated to work as a researcher. You may feel down at times but you need to have guts to work and find the loopholes. It’s never a well beaten path to walk on, one needs to set his/her target and work day and night to get that achieved. You need to balance your social life and life as a researcher which is quite challenging itself were many people fail. I have faced problems in designing a DFT protocol for stabilizing these molecules on particular surfaces, which is not an easy task to do with DFT. You never know which surface will suit your molecule unless you do some calculations, thus your study may be time consuming since lot of problems need to be addressed.
Q. How do you think your research would be beneficial to the industry or society?
Ans. Modern magnetism or SMMs is in general quite a fascinating field, which aims at developing memory devices which can be used for the high density data storage, qubits and quantum computing. Once the stable SMMs have been obtained at room temperature (which is yet a dream to be achieved), this will revolutionise the modern data storage limits and also the future aspects of the super computers. Modern electronic gadgets (cell phones, laptops and iPad) will be improvised when the SMMs will be stabilized at the room temperature. This way our study would be beneficial not only to the industry but also to the common people.
Q. Any new research you are working on now?
Ans. Currently, the core objectives of my research programme are to develop a modern theory of solid state vibronic coupling and to determine how vibronic interactions can be controlled with chemistry. This can be achieved by undertaking an integrated computational and experimental research programme in tandem.
Q. How do you think your research can be carried forward?
Ans. Designing molecules with better SMM features using the state -of –the- art principle and targeted design criteria together with the knowledge of DFT and ab initio studies can help to reach a particular target of obtaining memory devices. Moreover, the stability at room temperature by increasing the blocking temperature and effective energy barrier to the relaxation of magnetization can help better to move this study to next levels. Also, stability on a particular surface will produce better results.
Q. Please give few suggestions for the budding scientists.
Ans. I would suggest budding scientists to not to lose hope in any circumstances. Work hard and maintain consistency in research. Challenges may come but we need to face them with a smile.
source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Education / by Rashida Bakait, India Tomorrow / June 12th, 2021
This is the eleventh part of the series called `Scientist Says’ where we bring for our readers the significant contributions of young scientists in various fields.
Dr. Mohammed Ataur Rahman completed his B.Sc (H) & M.Sc., chemistry from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi in the year 2003-2008.
Dr. Rahman started his research journey in the year 2009 with Dr. Jhillu Singh Yadav ( Bhatnagar fellow and former Director of CSIR-IICT) group in Semiochemical division.
After completing his Ph.D in the year 2015 December, he joined as a Research Scientist in one of the pharmaceutical companies in Hyderabad. In the year 2016, he was conferred with Postdoctoral position in the group of Professor Andrew G. Myers, at CCB-department, Harvard University, Boston, USA. He worked with Professor Andrew G. Myers from August 2016 to July 2019. In the year 2019 September, he joined New York University, Abu Dhabi, UAE as a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Professor Alan Richard Healy.
Currently, he is working on Asymmetric Synthesis and its application to synthesize Polyketide natural products. Dr. Rahman has published 15 research papers in reputed international scientific journals and he is sharing inventorship in three international patents.
He shares his significant research works with Rashida Bakaitof India Tomorrow. Here are the excerpts of the interview.
Q. Please briefly explain your research.
Ans. My scientific journey began at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad. At IICT, my initial research began with the development of eco-friendly cost-effective pest-control method to control the pests in the agricultural field as an alternate method of pest control. These eco-friendly pest-controlled method is called as “Pheromone Technology’’. The “Pheromones” are the mixture of chemicals which are released by the male insect to attract the female partner for mating. The whole idea for this technology was to mimic the exact blend ratio of the particular pheromone compound which is released by the male insect and replacing it with artificial pheromones. With the help of artificial pheromones, the female partner of the insect is attracted and is trapped by specially designed trappers. We have developed pheromones for different types of crops such as sugar cane, cardamom, coconut, brinjal, tomato, paddy, ground nuts, cotton etc. This technology is very popular among farmers in South India especially in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu and Kerala.
But my PhD topic was different from the above Pheromone work. I started my Ph.D, with Dr. Jhillu Singh Yadav, he was the former director of my institute, CSIR-IICT. The topic of my Ph.D was – total synthesis of biologically active natural products- especially macrolide natural product, which is a potent class of compound having several distinct biological activities such as anti-cancer, anti-biotics, anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressants etc. My research was focused on the discovery of new synthesis routes for macrolide anti-biotics. During my Ph.D. I have synthesized more than five different macrolide natural products which are quite useful entities for antibiotics, which can be further studied to find new drug candidates.
Q. What was the objective of your research on natural products?
Ans. The objective of my research was to learn the nature of macrolide natural product and its chemistry for the discovery of new class of compounds which can be a potential antibiotic. In the year 2016, I joined Professor Andrew G. Myers research group as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the department of chemistry and chemical biology, Harvard University. It helped me to learn more about the biological applications of macrolide. Professor Myers was working on discovery of new macrolide antibiotics, which would be effective against gram positive and gram-negative pathogens. As we all know that Azithromycin is the commercial antibiotics which is mostly used against gram-positive pathogens. The main drawback for the antibiotics is that the bacteria develop its resistant mechanism against the drugs. Therefore, we have to come up with a new drug candidate to kill the resistant bacteria. Keeping these things in mind Professor Myers have set up a Macrolide Pharmaceutical company to study & discover a new class of macrolide antibiotics which can be effective against gram-positive as well as gram-negative pathogens. In 2016, I joined as one of the members of forty scientists who are working on this project. In the span of eight years, the Myers group have synthesized approx. 2100 of new macrolides. Out of 2100 new macrolides, we were lucky to find 100 best drug candidates which successfully passed the phase II clinical trials. I have synthesized over 150 new analogues of macrolides and three compounds out of 150 analogues showed best results. There are five patents for this work and I am sharing inventorship in two patents.We are hoping that this will be the future antibiotics.
Q. When did you begin and complete your research on natural products?
Ans. I started my doctoral research on natural products in the year 2009. In 2011, I registered my Ph.D in AcSIR- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research at CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad, under the supervision of Dr. Jhillu Singh Yadav. I completed my Ph.D degree in the year December 2015.
Q. Can you please list some of the findings of your research works?
Ans. The findings for both the research works are as below:
As we all know chemical pesticides used in agriculture are very toxic and are not ecofriendly as it kills all kinds of insects. Pesticides also contaminate the fruits and vegetables. Long term use of such chemical pesticides will make land infertile and make nitrogen fixation slow. Therefore, to overcome those environmental issues, the new Pheromone Technology is developed. Pheromone Technology is an ecofriendly method to trap the insects. It is insect specific therefore, it does not disturb those insects which are beneficial to plant for pollination such as honey bee, butterfly, etc. Therefore, with the help of this technology farmers are growing healthy crops in some parts of South India.
We all know currently, at least 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant diseases, including 230,000 people who die from multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. More and more common diseases, including respiratory tract infections, sexually transmitted infections and urinary tract infections, are untreatable. Lifesaving medical procedures are becoming much riskier, and our food systems are increasingly precarious. Therefore, the newly discovered macrolide antibiotics will be a potential candidate to reduce the death rate due to multidrug-resistant organisms.
Q. What was the conclusion of your research on antibiotics?
Ans. The molecular mass of macrolide antibiotic “Azithromycin” is high, more than 650, therefore, it’s very hard for the molecule to penetrate the bacterial cell. The bacterial cell wall consists mainly of peptidoglycan (PG), a mesh of polysaccharide strands. Therefore, it’s very hard for Azithromycin to penetrate the bacterial cell to stop its protein synthesis. To overcome with these issues, we have synthesized new macrolide antibiotics with lower molecular mass by keeping intact its biological activity. The smaller molecular mass macrolide penetrates the bacterial cell and stops the protein synthesis there. Our newly discovered macrolide antibiotic worked successfully against the gram-negative and gram-positive pathogens. I hope that in future, the Macrolide Pharmaceuticals formulates its own molecules as new candidates of antibiotics which will work against the broad spectrum of resistant pathogens which are life threatening.
Q. Any scholarships or awards for your research?
Ans. I received funding from department of biotechnology, New Delhi, India for Ph.D (2009-2015) and Project Associateship. In 2016-2019, I was awarded scholarship from the Harvard University, Boston, USA. Currently, I am working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate and I am receiving scholarship from New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Q. What challenges did you face?
Ans. Doctor of philosophy is a long process, it requires a lot of patience and motivation. This journey will never be smooth, we have to motivate ourselves by being positive. I started my research in natural product chemistry. Natural products are chiral molecules, their synthesis involved multiple steps and therefore, designing a synthetic route to achieve the target, selection of right reagent and condition for chiral functional group transformation is very important. In multi-step synthesis, designing a feasible synthetic route, choosing right condition, optimizing synthetic plan of each step with best knowledge of literature reports, revising the synthetic plan is very important. Sometimes, ideas would fail and new strategies needed to be designed to proceed and solve issues. Initially, I had a lot of failure reactions which demotivated me but “be positive’’ attitude helped me a lot to achieve my goals and I could finish more than five natural products’ synthesis during my Ph.D.
Q. How do you think your research works would be beneficial to the industry or society?
Ans. We all know chemistry exists everywhere, human life depends on chemistry. Chemistry has its own subclass organic, inorganic, material, polymer, agricultural, pharmaceuticals etc., each class of chemistry has its own importance for the society. Here, I am talking about my perspective of chemistry, organic chemistry and its synthesis. Organic synthesis has its own benefits for the society with its application ranging from pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, pheromone chemicals, pesticide industry, dyes, cosmetics, high energy material which are used in defence sector, making diagnostic tools for sugar monitoring, high technology materials used in mobiles, computer and sensors and in aerospace etc.
The pheromone technology is an ultimate application to control the pests in the agricultural field. It is a green technology, eco-friendly, cost-effective and most reliable. These technologies are widely used worldwide. The pheromone techniques are quite popular in the Europe and America.
The current development on macrolide antibiotics, by our team at Myers Lab in collaboration with Macrolide Pharmaceuticals, will help the society to manage the antibiotic crisis in the coming decade. As per my personal observation, after COVID-19, the next health crisis would be due to antibiotics, and this would be a result of the excessive misuse of antibiotics. It develops its own resistant mechanism and restrict the effectiveness of antibiotics.
Q. Any new research you are working on now? Ans. After completion of post-doctoral study from Harvard University, I joined New York University, Abu Dhabi, UAE as a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Professor Alan Richard Healy, in the year 2019. My current research focuses on asymmetric synthesis and I am working on finding the new asymmetric methods for the carbon-carbon, carbon-nitrogen, carbon-oxygen and carbon-halogen bond formation. These methods and its synthetic tools will be used for the synthesis of polyketide such as macrolide natural product as a clinical candidate for antibiotics. Our main aim is to use our own developed chemistry and apply them for synthesis of polyketide natural product. After developing these methods, we will use our chemistry to automate the synthesis as the nature does, like biosynthetic pathways.
Q. How do you think your research can be carried forward? Ans. Organic synthesis is an art of science. It creates new materials. We all know chemistry exists everywhere, human life totally depends on chemistry. Chemistry has its own subclass and each class is very important for the society. Here, I am talking about Organic Chemistry and its synthesis. Organic synthesis in general has its own advantages for the society with its applications, ranging from pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, pheromone chemicals, pesticide industry, dyes, cosmetics, high energy materials which is used in defense sector, making diagnostic tools for sugar monitoring. My new finding of new class of macrolides can be studied further to address the real crisis of antibiotics in future.
Q. Please give few suggestions to the budding scientists.
Ans. Research is a continuous journey. We have to keep ourselves motivated to achieve goals and reach our destination. We have to be ready to accept the real scientific challenges and try to solve and address those issues. My advice to the young scientists is to be positive and keep learning new scientific techniques which will help answer problems. You have to read a lot and keep yourself updated with the current literature and findings. Do not be upset with the failures, as failures also teach you. All the best for the budding scientist.
source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Education > Featured / by Rashida Bakait / June 09th, 2021
Yusuffali MA is a UAE-based Indian businessman. He is a billionaire who operates the Lulu Group that owns Lulu Hypermarkets and shopping malls.
It was nothing sort of rebirth for Becks Krishnan, serving a death row in UAE when his 500,000 Dirhams (around Rs 1 crore) compensation was paid in full and the man hailing from Kerala was released. The generous compensation was paid by Yusuffali MA, the chairman and managing director of LuLu Group.
Krishnan was sentenced to death by UAE’s Federal Supreme Court. He had been found guilty of killing a young Sudanese boy when he recklessly drove his car and rammed a group of children in September 2012. Ever since the sentence, the family had been trying for his release. But that required a hefty compensation to be paid. This is where Yusuffali stepped in.
In his career as a business tycoon, Yusuffali has headed the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI). He is the only non-Arab to be elected to the director board of ADCCI for three consecutive terms.
He has been a key mediator in the Kochi Smart City project between the Kerala government and the Dubai-based TECOM Group. Apart from his role in business, he has also organised several relief measures in India, notable among those are during the Lathur earthquake in Maharashtra, the Gujarat earthquake, and the Uttarakhand floods.
Yusauffali was conferred with Padmashree by President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil in 2008 for his achievements in business and industry. He was the first non-resident Indian (NRI) from the Gulf and the Middle East countries to be awarded Padmashree. Previously, he had been given the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by late President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2005.
The UAE government in April awarded him with its highest civilian award for his noble and charitable contribution to the community. After accepting the award, Yusauffali said, “I first arrived in Abu Dhabi 47 years ago with dreams and hopes. I faced a lot of challenges and ups and downs in my life, but, today, I have reached this stage by the grace of Almighty God and the wholehearted support from the Royal Family of the UAE.”
Securing the release of Krishnan, Yusuffali simply “thanked the almighty and the benevolence of visionary rulers of UAE” for the decision, and wished him a happy and peaceful life ahead.
source: http://www.indiatoday.in / India Today / Home> Business / India Today Web Desk, New Delhi / June 04th, 2021
The 45-year-old had been languishing in jail awaiting capital punishment with all hopes quashed.
It is quite literally a second lease of life for Becks Krishnan. The Indian expat, who was on death row in the UAE for causing the death of a young boy in a road accident, can finally see the outside of a jail cell following the intervention of NRI businessman M.A. Yusuff Ali.
The 45-year-old had been languishing in jail awaiting capital punishment with all hopes quashed. But he got a second lease of life, thanks to the efforts of Yusuff Ali, chairman of Lulu Group.
Krishnan was sentenced to death by the UAE Supreme Court after he was found guilty of causing the death of a young boy. He had rammed his car into a group of kids in September 2012.
Ever since, his family and friends have been relentlessly trying for Krishnan’s release without any success, especially as the victim’s family had already gone back and settled in Sudan, putting an end to any kind of discussion or pardon.
As a last attempt, the Krishnan family approached Yusuff Ali, who went about getting the details of the case and got in touch with all stakeholders. At one point, Yusuff Ali flew down the victim’s family from Sudan to Abu Dhabi for a month and held extensive discussions to arrive at a compensation amount and secure pardon for Krishnan.
Ultimately, in January this year, the victim’s family agreed to pardon Krishnan, and Yusuff Ali paid Dh500,000 as compensation in the court to secure the early release.
source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> News> Crime and Courts / by James Jose, Dubai / June 03rd, 2021
In 1984, Dr Ismail started his first polyclinic in Karama, which soon became a familiar name for patients from South Asian communities in Dubai.
UAE resident Dr Ismail Kazia and his family are among the latest recipients of the coveted Golden Visa, thanks to his service in the field of medicine.
Hailing from Bhatkal, a coastal town in the state of Karnataka, India, Dr Ismail came to Dubai in 1982, at a time when only a few localities existed, together with a few hospitals and clinics. Karama has been his home ever since.
The doctor took up a post at an American clinic — but though he was “offered a good salary compared to other hospitals”, he said he soon realised there was a specific need for a clinic in Karama.
In 1984, he started the Dr Ismail Polyclinic in Karama, which soon became a familiar name for patients from the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Nepali community in Dubai.
“We are very blessed and thankful for the Golden Visa, which is valid till May 2031,” he said, adding, “A few doctors in my hospital have also been granted the visa for their service during the pandemic.”
Dr Ismail has four sons, all of whom have followed him into the medical profession to become doctors themselves.
The eldest, Dr Mohammed Dawood Kazia, holds a Doctorate of Medicine (DM) in Gastroenterology, while his second son, Dr Mohammed Nooh Kazia, works as an endodontist at their polyclinic in Karama.
The third son, Dr Sheesh Kazia, is presently working at Kanachur Medical College in Mangalore, Karnataka — while his younger brother, Dr Mohammed Yusha Kazia, completed his MBBS recently.
Dr Ismail also has a son-in-law, Dr Anas Mohtesham, who works at the Royal Wing of Rashid Hospital.
The oldest, Dr Dawood Kazia, said: “It’s a blessing to work here in Dubai. My brothers, who are presently in India, have also been granted Golden Visas by the authorities. My younger brother Dr Sheesh will also join us in the coming days. We thank the authorities for recognising the efforts of doctors.”
Dr Ismail now has a day surgical centre in Karama along with six polyclinics at various locations in Dubai. He also has clinics at labour camps in Al Quoz, Jebel Ali and Sonapur, which are dedicated to the treatment of labourers at minimal charges.
He has reportedly offered his services to people of over 80 nationalities, something he considers a bit of a personal achievement, given that there are over 200 nationalities residing in Dubai.
ayaz@khaleejtimes.com
source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> News / by SM Ayaz Zakir, Dubai / June 06th, 2021
Young Eshal’s great achievement was recorded in the International Book of Records of 2021.
At just four years old, little genius Eshal Marwa Firos Khan set the world record for reciting all the elements in the Periodic Table in just 2 minutes and 28 seconds.
The kindergartener at Doha Modern Indian School didn’t only learn all the elements of the periodic table by heart, but also recited them in record-breaking time, earning her a spot in the International Book of Records on March 26, 2021.
“The World Record of “FASTEST RECITATION OF PERIODIC TABLE BY A KID” is achieved by ESHAL MARWA FIROS KHAN on 26th March 2021 from Doha, Qatar,” the organisation said.
“4 years 8 months Eshal recited all the elements of periodic table in 2 minutes 28 seconds and has set a new world record for International Book of Records,” it added.
Now, Eshal holds the record for “Fastest Recitation of Periodic Table By a Kid,” making her family and wider community in Qatar proud.
But that’s not the little girl’s only achievement.
Eshal is also documented in the India Book of Records and Champions Book of Records for identifying 55 critical human body parts, eight planets of the solar system, and 14 prime ministers of India in the shortest possible time.
Highlighting the girl’s achievement, the school extended their gratitude and pride towards her teachers for their support and guidance.
“On behalf of our esteemed Principal, Senior Leadership Team, Management, Staff and Students of DMIS we wish her further success and greater glory in the years to come,” said DMIS.
source: http://www.dohanews.co / Doha News / Home> Family Life / by Menatella Ibrahim / May 02nd, 2021
Born on 21 October 1933, Shakeb grew up in Hyderabad and Aurangabad . He received a BA in Political Science from the Osmania University , and an MA from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1956. He completed his doctorate on Relations of Golkonda with Iran from Deccan College in 1976.
Shakeb together with Vasanth Kumar Bawa, setup the first-ever Hyderabad Urban Development Authority which is now referred to as Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority.
In 1962, he was appointed as an archivist at the State Archives of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad. Whilst here he created the Mughal Record Room. His publications include Mughal Archives Vol I: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Documents Pertaining to the Reign of Shah Jahan, in 1977 which remains critical reading for those seeking to learn how to read administrative documents in Indo-Persian. He went on to write many publications for The British Library , State Archives Andhra Pradesh and other repositories, universities, and auction houses.
From 1980 to 1987, Shakeb taught Indian history and the history of Indo-Islamic art and culture in the Department of Indology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
He later on worked as a consultant for Christie’s in their department of Islamic and Indian Art as their leading expert on Persian and Arabic manuscripts for 30 years.
He also continued to work on Indo-Persian manuscripts and Mughal documents and catalogued such manuscripts in the British Library, such as the Batala Collection of Mughal Documents 1527-1757 in 1990. Throughout this time he supervised many doctoral researchers in the fields of Mughal history, Deccan studies and Urdu and Persian literature.
Shakeb was also the Director of Urdu teachers training at Middlesex University up until 1998.
He also played a key role in setting up the Haroon Khan Sherwani Center for Deccan Studies at Maulana Azad National Urdu University and had been a member of the center’s first advisory board. He was considered a pioneer, having helped lay the foundations of Deccan Studies
Shakeb was an authority on various poets from the Indian subcontinent and Persia, writing books and organising and speaking at conferences on Bedil, Amir Khusrau, Iqbal, Ghalib and Rumi .
Shakeb died in London on 20 January 2021, aged 87. He is survived by his wife, Farhat Ahmed, two daughters, a son and nine grandchildren.
source: http://www.indianmuslim.org.uk / Indian Muslim UK / Home> Obituary / by Mohmed / April 03rd, 2021
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has seen unprecedented number of cases and deaths during the second wave of Coronavirus pandemic
Bareilly , UTTAR PRADESH / Jubail, SAUDI ARABIA :
Rehan Alam Siddiqui
Aligarh:
At a time when universities across the country are been adversely affected by the pandemic, Rehan Alam Siddiqui, a Non Resident Indian (NRI) based in Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has donated Rs 15 lakhs to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to set up an oxygen generation plant at its Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC).
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has seen unprecedented number of cases and deaths during the second wave of Coronavirus pandemic which is yet to be brought under control.
As per the last update , as many as 18 working faculties besides a number of other retired professors and serving employees have become victim of the deadly virus so far.
“Alarming death toll”
The alarming death toll has sent shock-waves leading to apprehensions that a deadlier ‘AMU strain’ of the virus is wreaking havoc. It was also reported that for the first time in the history of the university, the AMU cemetry is running short of space and old graves are now being dug up to bury the dead.
Against this backdrop the university had issued appealed to the government and other public and private organisations and individuals for help and support.
True well wisher of AMU”
Rehan Siddiqui obliged and donated the huge sum to his alma mater. Extending gratitude on the largesse, AMU Vice Chancellor, Prof Tariq Mansoor said:
“Mr Rehan is a true well wisher of the university, whose donation will be very beneficial to upgrade the existing health infrastructure for an effective Covid Response”.
“We at AMU are making all possible efforts to contain the spread of this pandemic and Mr Siddiqui’s donation will go a long way in serving the sick and the distraught with the lifesaving oxygen supply”, he added.
Born and brought up in a middle-class family in Bareilly (UP), Rehan Siddiqui has emerged as one of the fastest growing businessmen and industrialists in the Eastern Region of KSA.
Rehan Siddiqui is promoting better relations of the Indian community with the Indian consulate in KSA. He also organises cultural and academic programmes.
“Rs 3L donation by TSA”
In another development, members of the Technical Staff Association (TSA), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) donated Rs 3 lakhs to facilitate Medical Attendance Scheme (MAS) to purchase equipments to be used for the treatment of registered employees and to strengthen the MAS Covid Response team.
The cheque was handed over to the university officials after the TSA members, Faisal Rais (TSA President), Abid Ali Zaidi (TSA Secretary General) and Kamran Husain (TSA Treasurer) met the Vice Chancellor, Prof Tariq Mansoor and Registrar, Mr Abdul Hamid (IPS).
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India / by ummid.com News Network / May 31st, 2021
This is the eighth part of the series called `Scientist Says’, where we bring for our readers significant research works of young scientists in various fields.
Dr. Hina Khan started her research journey in year 2014 with Prof. Tushar K. Chakraborty research group, Department of Organic Chemistry, IISc Bangalore. After completing her PhD in July 2019, she worked as a Research Associate in the same lab for a year. In September 2020, she joined a Biocon-group company as a Research Investigator where she worked in collaboration between Bristol Myers Squibb and Syngene International. Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, United States. She shares her significant research work with Rashida Bakait of India Tomorrow. Here are the excerpts of the interview.
Q. Please briefly explain your research.
Ans. Chemistry is frequently described as the central science and chemical synthesis lies at the heart of the subject. Synthetic organic chemistry underpins several areas of chemistry, including drug discovery, chemical biology, materials science, and engineering. However, the practice of total synthesis of natural products has a rich history of achievements and benefits to science and society that ranges from replicating the molecules of nature in the laboratory to the preparation and production of pharmaceuticals, developing new synthetic strategies and methods, and also synthesizing designed molecules for biology and medicine.
In contributing to the everlasting field of “the art of making molecules”, my research work mainly focuses on the discovery of new organic transformations which are of significant interest to the fields of medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical development and also uncovering the practical application of Titanocene (III)monochloride in the synthesis of architecturally challenging and biologically important natural products and their inspired synthons.
Q. When did you start and complete your research?
Ans. I started my learning to be a researcher in Aug 2014 with Prof. Tushar K. Chakraborty at IISc, Bangalore, submitted my doctoral thesis in July 2019, and defended the thesis in March 2020. Later in the year 2020, I joined Biocon-group company as a research investigator and worked till April 2021. Currently, I am working as a postdoctoral fellow in University of Pittsburgh, United States.
Q. What was the objective of your research?
Ans. With the ever increasing demand of developing new, efficient, and cheaper methods to construct biologically relevant molecular frameworks, my research aims on the design and developing new synthetic strategies for concise entry to important functionalized bioactive synthetic scaffolds/target.
Q. What were the findings of your research?
Ans. The research findings revolves around two main areas:
I : In developing a synthetic methodology which is flexible and provide single potential route for the diastereoselective construction of diversely substituted 1,3-X,N-heterocyclic variants as valuable scaffolds for natural products and pharmaceuticals, in a diversity-oriented approach. The methodology is amenable for a broad range of substrates based on a metal-free approach.
II. In exploring the synthetic utility of Titanocene(III)monochloride-promoted radical cyclization protocol on to the findings:
a) We have developed a concise and unified approach to gain access to handful iridoid monoterpenes that exhibit wide range of pharmacological activity.
b) We have portrayed a synthetic route to a bicyclic lactone containing a bridgehead hydroxy group, a structure that is present in many natural products of biological and medicinal relevance.
c) Furthermore, an efficient route for the construction of pyrrolo/piperidino[1,2-a]indole derivatives have been developed.
During my research endeavour I have also been involved in the synthesis of sugar amino acid (δ-SAA) based linear lipopeptides (Almiramide analogues) that were screened for their biological activities, viz. antileishmanial and anticancer and the extension of this work is currently active.
Q. What was the conclusion of your research?
Ans. Driven by the ever-increasing demands for small functionalized bioactive scaffolds and the need of broadening the toolbox of unexplored chemical space, our designed strategy provides a flexible route to construct the unique five/six membered 1,3-heterocycles by exploring the synthetic utility of α-phenyl-β-enamino ester following a Mitsunobu-Michael reaction sequence. Next, taking advantage of Cp2Ti(III)Cl-mediated reductive epoxide opening-cyclization, we have developed an expedient and the most concise and unified approach till date in the total synthesis of iridoid monoterpenes in an enantiomerically divergent manner starting from (+)-β-citronellene. Further expansion of the strategy was made to fix hydroxylated bridgehead chiral centre, in the fused/bridged bicyclic lactone, a structure that is present in many natural products of biological and medicinal relevance. Furthermore, as part of our ongoing research interest, we have successfully extended yet another practical application of Ti(III)-mediated epoxide opening-cyclization protocol to devise a simplified route to a pyrrolo/piperido[1,2-a]indole framework, featuring many useful functionalities on the saturated ring, which is ideally suited for further manipulation.
Q. What kind of challenges did you face?
Ans. A doctorate is a long project so your motivation will dip and peak along the way. In multi-step synthesis, designing a synthetic route to the target molecule, optimizing every step of the synthetic plan with the best possible outcome, revising the plan, if needed and starting all-over again is really a burnout process. I would say you can learn more from your failures than successes. They are often catalysts for positive change in the long term. And remember one thing that you are training to be a researcher.
Q. Any scholarships or awards for research?
Ans. For my Ph.D. and Research Associateship (Aug 2014 – Jul 2020), I have received funding from Indian Institute of Science. I have received award for my research work in Indian Peptide symposium, in 2017. Currently, for my postdoctoral program I am receiving scholarship from University of Pittsburgh, United states.
Q. How do you think your research would be beneficial to the industry or society?
Ans. Organic synthesis, the art and science of constructing substances, natural or designed, in the laboratory to replicate the molecules of living creatures, and create other molecules like them, is a remarkable development in human history. Organic synthesis in general, have led to an impressive host of benefits to society, including useful products ranging from pharmaceuticals, dyes, cosmetics and agricultural chemicals to diagnostics and high-technology materials used in computers, mobile phones and spaceships. My research on designing and developing synthetic route to construct heterocycles, terpenoids, alkaloids will provide a new synthetic approach and scope to replicate some of the most intriguing molecules of living nature in the laboratory and apply the developed synthetic strategies to construct variations of them to facilitate biology and medicine.
Q. Any new research you are working on now.
Ans. My current research at University of Pittsburgh, as Post-doctoral fellow is to rationally design and synthesize more efficacious 2-Pralidoxime analogs (2-PAM) which is the only therapeutic countermeasure that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treating Organophosphorus nerve agents (OPNA) poisoning. However, 2-PAM is not centrally active due to its hydrophilicity and resulting poor blood−brain barrier permeability; hence, these deficiencies warrants the need for antidotes with the development of more hydrophobic analogs.
Q. How do you think your research can be carried forward?
Ans. Taken together, the simplicity and efficiency of the designed strategies can further be adopted to obtain other enticing heterocyclic variants, highly functionalized iridoids/cyclo-pentanoid natural product, also having bridgehead hydroxyl group in a bicyclic lactone, [a]-annulated indole frameworks, which are beneficial to the science of organic synthesis for further innovative applications.
Q. Please give few tips and suggestions to the budding scientists.
Ans. Research is a never-ending journey of learning something new, honing your problem-solving skills and challenging yourself in new ways. I would advise the young scientists to stay curious and stay determined. Science is not easy, become comfortable with failure because a major component of the scientific process is trial and error. Failure is okay! Failing provides some of the biggest learning opportunities and finding new scientific discoveries.
It is not about perfection but curiosity and perseverance. Keep exploring, keep experimenting, keep learning, keep improving. Avoid burnout and look after your mental health to make you more productive in the long run.
Remember to take five-minutes brain break by walking away for a moment, rest that brain and then resume.
source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Education> Featured / by Rashida Bakait, India Tomorrow / May 19th, 2021
