asia research news 2013 A ResearchSEA publication to highlight research in Asia
Capturing the moon Shoring up megacities against disaster Rebuilding breastfeeding cultures in East Asia In search of the best all-Filipino coffee Electric roads for electric cars
Antibiotic resistance in Asia
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CONTENTS
Editor's Desk Welcome to the 2013 edition of Asia Research News. This issue blasts off with preparations to capture the moon in China’s lunar mission later this year, followed by the race to quench our thirst for more energy, data storage and advanced electronics in the technology pages. From self-driving cars to 3D on the go, we highlight some of the advances that may be available to us in the near future. Nature has much to teach us. Scientists have looked to the moth, the lotus leaf and cactuses to create new materials for our use while the humble silkworm is enabling advances in drug delivery and artificial skin. The slime mould tells us if motorway networks are rational and the banana pseudostem enables the removal of oil from water. Nature can also be unkind. The environment section outlines a programme to help megacities cope with natural disasters, protect animals from lighting strikes and outlines a new method for detecting radioactive contamination with the naked eye. In the health section, researchers have genetically engineered viruses to infect and kill cancer cells and developed a gel capable of releasing drugs using only finger pressure. We also look at how to improve sleep, tackle the root causes of infectious diseases and ask the true impact of free formula milk for babies? In the midst of technological and health advances, it is important to look back and recall indigenous knowledge gathered over generations or how life and music has changed over centuries. For those of us who want to turn back time, perhaps a Porsche may make us look six years younger. We hope you enjoy reading Asia Research News 2013. Last but not least, we would like to invite researchers and press officers to our media training workshops in South Korea and Malaysia this October. Please see the back cover for more details.
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32 A G R I C U LT U R E
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Editor Djuke Veldhuis Editorial Consultants Daniel Raymer Pokar Vellaykuti Writers John Eberlee, Ruth Francis, Ian Fyfe and Aya Kawanishi Design Fulton Design Front Cover Image
Bacteria attacking cell Asia Research News 2013 is published by ResearchSEA Limited, Asia’s premier platform for raising awareness of Asian research and experts.
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Editor-in-Chief Magdeline Pokar m.pokar@researchsea.com
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Research featured in Asia Research News 2013 is based on information provided by the research institutions listed in the contact information. ResearchSEA has strived to ensure the accuracy of information and aims of the projects featured. Readers are advised to contact the academics for confirmation of current details and status of projects. ResearchSEA Limited accepts no liability for any loss, damage or expense incurred resulting from the use of information in this publication. ISSN 2042-0536. Copyright ResearchSEA Limited 2013. If you would like to reproduce any articles in Asia Research News 2013, contact ResearchSEA.
H E A LT H
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We are always keen to hear about interesting newsworthy research. If you would like to publish your research in Asia Research News, please contact ResearchSEA
ResearchSEA Asia Research News 13 Sterndale Close Girton, Cambridge CB3 0PR United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1223 276227 Fax: +44 (0)8706 220887 info@researchsea.com www.researchsea.com www.asiaresearchnews.com
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TECHNOLOGY
123rf-Nitchawat Paiyabhroma, Spacebabe and Fulton Design
Artist rendition of Chang'e 2 satellite
Researchers from Hong Kong and China have developed the camera technology to map the surface of the moon in preparation for China’s lunar programme With space exploration comes technological advancement. When the European Space Agency successfully deployed the Beagle 2 Lander in the Mars Express Mission in 2003, on board were the 'Mars Rock Corer' and a 'Soil Preparation System' developed by Prof Yung and his team from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Since 2010 HK PolyU and the China Academy of Space Technology have a dedicated “Joint Laboratory for Precision Space Mechanism and Design” to further the development of tools for use in space. The joint team have successfully developed a "Camera Pointing System" (CPS) for Phase 2 of China's lunar landing programme, which will be carried on board the Chang'e-3 lunar lander scheduled to be launched towards the end of 2013. CPS is a sophisticated tool capable of deploying a camera and controlling its rotational and tilting movement with precision. The camera serves the dual function of image-capturing of the lunar landscape and monitoring of the decent/progress of the lunar rover. The system is designed to operate under extreme environment with a high degree of adaptability.
Aaxanderr
Capturing the moon
Launch site for Chang’e3
For further information contact: Prof. K. L. Yung Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: kl.yung@polyu.edu.hk
TECHNOLOGY
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Na9234
Rise of the super battery From tablets and smartphones to cameras and e-readers, whether they are built by Samsung or Apple, one thing they all have in common is their unquenchable thirst for battery power. In addition to becoming faster and more powerful, the smartphones and tablet screens that populate the world around us are becoming ever sharper, powerful and interconnected. We use mini-super computers capable of much more than just making a call. Indeed your smart phone is vastly more sophisticated than what it took to put humans on the moon. On the surface, creating a battery – a device consisting of one or more (electrochemical) cells which convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy – may seem like yesterday’s news, but the demands today’s consumers put upon them are far from trivial. Ever increasing hours spent on electronic devices which are buzzing with hundreds of power hungry applications sending out or seeking information such as your location or wireless signals, not to mention environmental factors such as heat and cold, all test battery life to the limit. Prof. Sun from Hanyang University’s Department of Energy Engineering has spent nearly two decades developing ever more efficient and powerful batteries to keep up with consumer demands. Between 1996 and 2000, Prof Sun’s contributions to the field formed the cornerstone for the commercialisation of Samsung’s lithium polymer battery, but he acknowledges that we need to look to new materials. The lithium-ion battery is working at near capacity and it will be difficult to make it much more efficient than it is now. His search for new electrode materials (in an electrochemical cell this is referred to either as the anode or the cathode) brought him to the development of a layered lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide batteries owing to their high capacity, excellent rate capability and low cost. In this material, each particle has a central bulk that is rich in Ni and a Mn-rich outer layer with decreasing Ni concentration and increasing Mn and Co concentrations as the surface is approached. The former provides high capacity, whereas the latter improves the thermal stability.
Although the common lithium-ion batteries are a popular choice for consumer electronics, they are not practical for use in electrified road transport. Most recently Prof. Sun has worked on the development of advanced, higher-energy lithium batteries which are essential in the rapid establishment of the electric car market. One candidate is the ‘lithium-air’ battery owing to its exceptionally high energy density (approaching that of gasoline). However, one limitation of these batteries has been that they are limited to only a few ‘charge-discharge’ cycles and for one to be used practically in a future electric vehicle it would need to be able to perform lots of cycles at suitable capacity. By choosing a stable electrolyte and by using an advanced oxygen electrode structure, the newly developed battery can operate under capacity levels as high as 5,000 mAh gcarbon−1 with an average discharge voltage of 2.7 V, leading to a very high theoretical energy density of 13,500 Wh kg−1.
Lithium Air charge – discharge schematic. The team are also working on Lithium Sulfur and Sodium-ion batteries.
For further information contact: Professor Sun Yang-Kook Department of Energy Engineering Hanyang University, South Korea Email: yksun@hanyang.ac.kr
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Bendable batteries Meanwhile a team at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has been working on a new class of bendable batteries. Traditionally batteries are made by pouring liquefied electrolytes into moulds and leaving them to solidify. The team, led by Sang-Young Lee published their method recently in the journal Advanced Materials (v.25, p.1395, 2013, selected as a back cover image). Their approach uses a less fluid electrolyte that does not require the mould, but which can be spread into shape, and quickly sealed using UV rays. This new and unique design not only produces a high-performance lithium battery, the curable electrolyte mixture allows the creation of geometries not accessible with conventional materials and methods. In other words, flexible lithium-ion batteries could be used to build bendable mobile phones or other electronics in the future.
TECHNOLOGY
Advanced fuel cell reaches world’s highest energy output
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
Toyohashi Institute of Technology
Toyohashi Tech’s high performance electrolyte membrane enabled its fuel cell to reach the world’s highest energy output of 350mW/cm2 for 800 hours in medium temperature and without the need for humidification. Fuel cells convert chemical energy from a fuel into electricity via electrochemical reactions. Of the various types of cells, polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) have attracted attention as power sources for household cogeneration units, portable devices, and electric vehicles. However, there are some issues which need resolving like the operating temperature which is restricted to lower o than 100 C and the need for high humidity. These issues are largely due to the properties of the membranes. Being able to operate PEFCs in the medium temperature o range of 100–200 C can improve the cell efficiency and reduce the poisoning of platinum catalysts with carbon monoxide in the fuel gases. Also, being able to operate PEFCs under low humidity reduces weight and volume of the humidifiers. Atsunori Matsuda and colleagues developed a highperformance electrolyte membrane for advanced fuel cells operating at medium temperature and without humidification. The new electrolyte membranes are composed of highly proton conductive inorganic compounds and phosphoric acid-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI). The inorganic compound was prepared from inorganic heteropoly acid containing tungsten and silicon with alkali hydrogen sulfate using high-power mechanical milling. The research team successfully reduced the additive amount of phosphoric acid to improve the chemical durability. The maximum output of a fuel cell using this electrolyte film reached the world’s highest level of 2 350mW/cm at o 160 C without humidification. The long term stable power generation under these conditions was confirmed to 800 h. These results demonstrate that the newly developed inorganic-organic composite electrolyte membranes have high potential for practical applications in advanced fuel cell systems.
For further information contact: Professor Sang-Young Lee Interdisciplinary School of Green Energy Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea Email: syleek@unist.ac.kr
For further information contact: Professor Atsunori Matsuda Department of Electrical and Electronic Information of Engineering Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan Email:matsuda@ee.tut.ac.jp
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Data Storage The secret to cheap, high-density data storage Imagine being able to store thousands of songs and high-resolution images on data devices no bigger than a fingernail. Researchers from A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered that an ultrasmooth surface is the key factor for “selfassembly” – a cheap, high-volume, high-density patterning technique. The “self-assembly” technique is one of the simplest and cheapest high-volume method for creating uniform, densely-packed nanostructures that could potentially help store data. However, attempts to employ self-assembly on different surface types, such as magnetic media used for data storage, have shown varying and erratic results, which have puzzled the industry until now. Researchers from A*STAR’s Institute for Material Research and Engineering and the National University of Singapore have worked out that the smoother the surface, the more efficient the self-assembly of nanostructures will be. “A height close to 10 atoms, or 10 angstroms in technical terms, is all it takes to make or break self-assembly,” explained Dr MSM Saifullah, one of the key researchers from A*STAR’s IMRE who made the discovery. This realisation allows the method to be used on more surfaces and consequently reduces the number of defects in an industrial setting. The more densely packed the structures are in a given area, the higher the amount of data that can be stored. This discovery paves the way for the development of next generation data storage devices, with capacities of up to 10 Terabits/in2
For further information contact: Dr MSM Saifullah Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore E-mail: saifullahm@imre.a-star.edu.sg
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Managing data clouds Recent years have seen an explosion in data growth rate. Increasingly people are turning to 'cloud', internet based storage that can be accessed anytime from anywhere using smartphones, tablets or computers. Given the oceans of data in the cloud with both unstructured and structured data coexisting, it is a big challenge to search specific data in the cloud. A team led by Dr Zhu Yongqing at the Data Storage Institute are tackling this problem by developing efficient index and search mechanisms, and standard data interfaces for cloud data access. Dr Yongqing and his team have worked out a hybrid metadata search engine which searches both file metadata and user metadata. File metadata includes the basic metadata that can be extracted from the file system such as file name, size, owner, etc. User metadata is the information related to the file but not generated by the file system directly, which could be inputted by the users or generated by the applications. According to the characteristics of different metadata, they have designed and developed different index trees and search mechanisms for the search of file metadata and user metadata, respectively. Their newly designed multi-dimensional index tree can achieve faster search performances and higher space utilisation than existing comparable index trees. To access the cloud data efficiently, they developed a Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) for cloud data access. Furthermore, to make the CDMI easy to use there is a portal for users and administrators to access and search data in the cloud conveniently. The hybrid data management solution targets cloud applications, where large scales of data are stored with different types. The metadata search engine can enable fast retrieval of hybrid data in the cloud, and the CDMI-based interface can provide standard data access to the cloud.
For further information contact: Dr Zhu Yongqing Data Storage Institute (DSI) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: ZHU_Yongqing@dsi.a-star.edu.sg
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Memories in a spin Many electronic devices use magnetism to store information, but now researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science, RIKEN and The University of Tokyo have paved the way for a new magnetic approach that uses less power. Magnetism is generated by the properties of electrons. These spin on an axis like the Earth, but the direction in which they spin is changeable; in a magnetic material, the spins of most electrons are aligned with each other. In one particular type of magnetism, electron spins align in a vortex pattern, a state known as a skyrmion. It’s this state that could allow for more efficient digital storage. Magnetic memories store information by switching the direction of electron spin – these switches correspond to the ones and zeros of digital information. Making these switches requires a relatively large amount of electricity, and if this could be reduced, memory devices would consume less power. Researchers had previously shown that they could create a stable skyrmion in an irongermanium alloy at near-room temperature – this is most often only possible at extremely low temperatures. Now, they have shown that they can control this skyrmion using an electrical current that’s 100,000th of that needed with a conventional magnet. This is the first step towards developing new memory devices that use skyrmions to store information and that consume very little power.
For further information contact: Dr Xiuzhen Yu RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Japan Email: yu_x@riken.jp Dr Koji Kimoto Advanced Key Technologies Division National Institute for Materials Science, Japan Email: KIMOTO.Koji@nims.go.jp Professor Yoshinori Tokura RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, Japan Email: tokura@riken.jp
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Hanyang University
Integrated electronics – display and power advances coming to a device near you! An interview with Prof. Kwon of Hanyang University who leads research developments in five major electronics fields. Working at the forefront of research developments across five fields of electronics, dealing with dozens of research questions on a daily basis would be an achievement and a challenge for any researcher. However, Prof. Oh-kyong Kwon, Hanyang University’s Academic Provost and Senior Vice-President, manages to combine his research activities with a host of administrative duties which take up his day. Unsurprisingly then his research activities continue into the early hours each morning! ResearchSEA met up with Prof. Kwon to talk about his research as well as his seemingly phenomenal time scheduling abilities.
increasing energy efficiency and usability. This links into our work on high speed interface electronics. Wired connectivity is crucial in our modern world and we’re trying to improve the speed of data transmission by building high speed transmitters. I am also involved in the development of sensor readout technology such as the light and touch sensors that you find in mobile phone technology. The goal is to improve the speed and efficiency of these applications to order to improve the consumer experience. Q. What research are you most excited about?
Q: What major research projects are you working on at the moment and why? A: I am involved in developing display electronics, in particular the development of micro-displays, such as the ones that might be used in wearable computing gadgets, for example Google’s Project Glass unveiled earlier this year. We’re making sure that the micro-displays can function without a backlight, are thin, lightweight and have a low power consumption while ensuring they retain a fast response time. At the same time we are also looking at creating flexible displays, screens that can be rolled up like a sheet of paper and don’t break when dropped. We are also working in the field of power electronics. Modern electronic devices have multiple internal voltages (e.g. 5V, 3.3V, 1.8V etc.) and various sources of power to charge their batteries (e.g. USB, pulse, time based, trickle charger, solar etc.). We’re working on creating a single, small efficient inductor which can be used across all appliances and applications. So we’re decreasing manufacturing costs while
A: The biomedical electronics field really looks to make a strong impact. We have, for example, developed more sensitive X-ray technology which ensures the same high quality images needed for medical analysis, but with radiation levels which are up to four times lower. In addition, we are improving the standards for 3D ultrasound images with our ‘ultrasound transceiver IC’. Ultrasound is a technique in which sound waves are used to visualise objects. In medicine it is typically used to visualise soft tissues, abdominal organs, blood vessels, heart, or foetus in the womb (a sonogram). Conventional ultrasound is however 2D which means multiple scans are needed from different directions thereby increasing diagnostic time and pressure on medical professionals. However, in 3D imaging rather than sound waves being sent straight down and reflected back, they are sent at different angles. The returning echoes are processed by a sophisticated computer program resulting in a reconstructed three dimensional volume image of the foetus.
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Hanyang University Hanyang University
Q. In terms of your duties as Provost and Vice President, what are your aims for Hanyang University? A. We want Hanyang University to be in the list of the top 50 engineering schools by 2039 (centennial anniversary for Hanyang University) and I spend my time drawing up the collaboration and the funding to ensure that happens. Q: How do you manage to combine such an active research program with your professional duties? Where do you find the time? A. A limit of two to three hours of sleep, a very patient wife and 30 minute meetings with students every morning and evening to stay up to date on the latest developments in the lab. Q: Following your PhD at Stanford University, you first spent many years working in industry. What was your experience? A. After my PhD, I worked for Texas Instruments for about 6 years. I always tell my students to go and work for a company as it offers a better environment for fundamental electronics research. I learned a lot during my time in industry, the philosophy, the way of thinking and they do more applied research than you will see in academia. I thought my research career would be over when I came to Hanyang University! However, at the time many Korean companies came to me seeking advice and I built on those relationships to secure a 10 million USD funding and from there built up my current research programmes.
For further information contact: Professor Oh-Kyong Kwon Department of Electronic Engineering Hanyang University, South Korea Email: okwon@hanyang.ac.kr
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Advances in nanowire technology Nanowires are 10,000 times thinner than a human hair, but show promise as components of small-scale electrical devices. This article outlines a few of the developments in nanowire technology which brings us closer to their mainstream use in a variety of sensors and solar power generators. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanowires University of the Philippines Diliman.
Aligning nanowires vertically
Artificial blood vessel Researchers at the A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME), Seoul National University of Science and Technology and the National University of Singapore are developing a new type of artificial blood vessel that has in-built pressure sensors, and have shown that silicon nanowires are ideal as the pressuresensitive element. These nanowires are piezoresistive, meaning that the amount of electricity they conduct changes according to the mechanical pressure that they’re under. The team optimised the length and arrangement of the silicon nanowires, producing sensors 15 times more sensitive than in previous work. The nanowires could also withstand sufficient pressure for use in biomedical monitoring.
Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
For further information contact: Artificial blood vessel Cairan He (technical) Institute of Microelectronics (IME) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: hec@ime.a-star.edu.sg Benjamin Chua Soo Yeng (clinical) Institute of Microelectronics (IME) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: surcsyb@nuhs.edu.sg Aligning nanowires vertically Dr Woo Lee Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), South Korea E-mail: woolee@kriss.re.kr
Nanowires also have potential in other types of sensors, and scientists at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science have developed technology that could be used in sensors of diseases, drugs or explosives, as well as in solar power generators. The group developed a way to align nanowires vertically on a
Gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanowires Dr. Armando S. Somintac National Institute of Physics University of the Philippines Diliman E-mail: asomintac@nip.upd.edu.ph
Institute of Microelectronics
Looking to improve nanowire-based renewable energy production is a group headed by Dr Armando Somintac at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Their work focuses on gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanowires, which have various applications in electronics, including solar cells. GaAs nanowires can have cubic or hexagonal crystal structures; cubic crystal structures are better for electronics, but current production techniques result in a mixture of the two. The researchers are using gold catalysts to enhance growth of GaAs nanowires, and expect the resulting wires to have mainly cubic crystals. With this work, they hope to shed light on the optimal conditions for GaAs nanowire production.
substrate rather than horizontally and still achieve reliable electrical contact. This maximises the number of nanowires on a given surface area of the substrate, increasing the efficiency of electrical conductance. Similar work by researchers in Singapore and Korea has maximised the performance of vertically-aligned nanowires in thermoelectric power generators. An array of vertical nanowires requires a filling material to provide support, and previous work had used silicon oxide. The new research shows that using polyimide instead allows more heat to flow through the wires, and reduces damage, resulting in a doubling of performance. The work is one step towards the use of silicon nanowire-based thermoelectric power generators as miniaturised clean energy sources.
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TECHNOLOGY
Institute of Materials Research and Engineering
Metal nanostructures enable colour printing at 100 000 dpi, 10x better than any available commercial technique.
First full colour images at 100,000 dpi resolution Inspired by colourful stained-glass windows, researchers from Singapore have demonstrated an innovative method for producing sharp, full-spectrum colour images at 100,000 dpi which can be applicable in reflective colour displays, anti-counterfeiting, and high-density optical data recording. “We use tiny metal nanostructures to create colour,” explains Joel Yang, the lead researcher. “This is somewhat similar to staining glass, where different colours are produced by using different metals. We use only one metal, however, which we deposit in a thin, uniform layer on tiny posts of varying diameter.” The posts are only a few tenths of nanometers in size, and Yang and his co-workers showed that, depending on the disks’ diameter and density, different colours can be generated through a mechanism known as plasmon resonance. To demonstrate the power of their technique, Yang’s team has created a 50 micrometer × 50 micrometer
photorealistic full-colour image with pixels at 250 nanometer pitch (see image). This resolution is at the optical diffraction limit, which is the fundamental resolution limit of any optical imaging system. The commercial applications include anticounterfeit features, brand protection and with further development even high density optical data storage and coating surfaces with colours that won’t fade. Once a master template is made, pattern-replication methods such as nano-imprint or photolithography can be used to mass-produce microimages.Technologies for imprinting large areas are also available.
Adding a touch of colour
“It then exploits shape and appearance information of these objects to compute its relevance to the original grayscale image data. The program generates several image colourisations and the user can pick the one that fits best from a graphical user interface.” explains Chia.
Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R)
Singapore researchers have developed software that searches images on the internet to find suitable colour matches for grayscale images. Creating a high-quality realistic colour image from a grayscale picture can be challenging. Conventional methods typically require the user’s input, either by using a scribbling tool to colour the image manually or by using a colour transfer. Both options can result in poor colourisation quality limited by the user’s degree of skill or the range of reference images available. Alex Yong-Sang Chia and co-workers have developed a computer program that utilises the vast amount of imagery available on the internet to find suitable colour matches for grayscale images. The program searches hundreds of thousands of online colour images, crossreferencing their key features and objects in the foreground with those of grayscale pictures. Once the initial colour images have been found, the program then filters them to find the most realistic and suitable matches for the grayscale object inputs. “Our method automatically detects and segments salient objects from an internet photo,” explains Chia.
For further information contact: Joel Yang Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: yangkwjimre.a-star.edu.sg
The new program adds colour to grayscale images by scanning the internet for pictures with suitable color matches. The interface allows the user to make the final decision on the most realistic color choices.
For further information contact: Alex Yong-Sang Chia Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: ysachia@i2r.a-star.edu.sg
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Abdul Majeed Goraya/IRIN/flickr
Bolstering food and water security in a changing climate The July 2010 flooding of the Indus River Basin in Pakistan was one of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history. Now, researchers are working with communities to help reduce their vulnerability to future extreme weather events. The unusually heavy monsoon rains that overwhelmed waterways and swamped communities affected an estimated 20 million people and killed almost 2,000. Floodwaters submerged 20% of the largely agricultural country for weeks. The World Bank estimated recovery costs at US$10 billion. The catastrophe highlighted the need to understand the potential impacts of climate change on Pakistan’s food and water security. It also pointed to the need for more effective disaster-response strategies. In the aftermath of the crisis, restoration efforts focused on rebuilding “as was,” rather than addressing social vulnerability. In 2011, the Institute of Social and Environmental Transition (ISET) and its Islamabad-based affiliate, ISET-Pakistan, launched an 18-month scoping study to examine the disaster from an economic and social perspective.
That study, funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, assessed the relief and reconstruction efforts of key players in the Indus Basin. Researchers explored the factors that had increased communities’ vulnerability to flooding, such as the uncontrolled development of irrigation and drainage structures. They sought to understand the gender-related factors that influenced coping and recovery strategies for women and men. And they looked at the ability of various governmental and non-governmental organisations to respond. The researchers found that households with six or fewer members and access to diversified incomes, assets, and services (such as safe housing, energy, water and food, transport and communication) were better able to cope with the floods. Other key supports for vulnerable communities included access to health care, financial social-safety nets, education, off-farm employment, and social networks.
For further information contact: Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé International Development Research Centre, Canada Email: ibourgeault-tasse@idrc.ca
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Comfortable living for the Malayan Sun Bear
ENVIRONMENT
The Malayan Sun Bear is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but conservation efforts are hindered by a lack of knowledge about them. Research from two groups in Malaysia has provided insight into their distribution in the wild and their behaviour in captivity, thus increasing knowledge that should help ensure the survival of the species. Research into the Malayan Sun Bear has provided an understanding of their biology and ecology, but detailed knowledge of their habitat preference is lacking. Without knowing where they prefer to live and what their habitat requirements are, it’s impossible to implement conservation measures. Research by Mona Nazeri and colleagues from Universiti Putra Malaysia and Lalit Kumar from the University of New England, Australia has used a specific type of Species Distribution Modelling called Maximum Entropy to map the suitable habitat for the Malayan Sun Bear in Peninsular Malaysia. They found that the bear’s habitat is associated with tropical evergreen forests, but that current protected areas in the region only cover 21 per cent of this suitable habitat. The findings are the first step in identifying the most important natural habitats for conservation. A second team at Universiti Putra Malaysia led by Sumita Sugnaseelan has focussed on the effects of enclosure design on the behaviour of Malayan Sun Bears in captivity to help ensure their welfare. They recorded the behaviour of 17 adult bears kept in either empty indoor enclosures or outdoor enclosures enriched with a pond and artificial trees.
The amount and types of activity and rest differed between the bears in the different environments, with the bears in empty enclosures moving more and exhibiting more abnormal repetitive behaviours. The findings demonstrate that when keeping bears kept in captivity for conservation and breeding, the design of the enclosure is important to minimise stress levels and ensure the welfare of the animals. Both studies will help with the conservation of the Malayan Sun Bear by ensuring that the correct habitats are available for them, both in the wild and in captivity.
For further information contact: Mona Nazeri Faculty of Forestry Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: monanazeri@gmail.com Lalit Kumar School of Environmental and Rural Science University of New England, Australia Email: lkumar@une.edu.au
Predicted potential suitable habitat for Malayan Sun Bear (MSB) with the protected area boundaries as well as locational data used for the modeling. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048104.g001
Sumita Sugnaseelan Faculty of Agriculture Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: sumi@putra.upm.edu.my
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Philip Roeland/flickr
Bangkok, 2011
Shoring up megacities against disaster Megacities grapple with rapid population growth and a host of economic, social, and health challenges. An international team is looking for solutions that will help large coastal and river-delta cities cope with the risks posed by a changing climate, including sea-level rise and extreme weather events. For those located in low-lying areas, climate change is an additional stressor. Bangkok’s 14 million people, for example, face a threat from rising sea levels, while Manila (population 21 million) is prone to damage from tropical storms packing strong winds. The research aims to build resilient cities by integrating climate change adaptation and disaster-risk reduction strategies. The goal: citizens equipped with knowledge and tools to reduce their vulnerability to climate change-related risks, in safer, better-functioning cities. The Coastal Cities at Risk project takes an interdisciplinary approach involving natural, social, and
health scientists, engineers, and economists. The initiative focuses on Bangkok and Manila, as well as Lagos, Nigeria, and Vancouver, Canada. It aims to increase the pool of experts working in this field, and to share the knowledge gained with other communities worldwide facing similar challenges. The project is funded jointly by Canada’s International Development Research Centre and three Canadian science granting councils: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
For further information contact: Isabelle Bourgeault-TassĂŠ International Development Research Centre, Canada Email: ibourgeault-tasse@idrc.ca
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ENVIRONMENT
University of Nottingham Malaysia
In regions where lightning is prevalent, either seasonally or throughout the year, a considerable number of wild, captive and tamed animals are injured due to lightning generated effects. Animals with a large separation between their front and back feet such as cattle, horses and donkeys, are especially vulnerable to lightning injuries due to the dangerous potential differences that may build up between these feet. Chandima Gomes, from Universitiy Putra Malaysia, examined this problem from an engineering perspective with the aim of developing practical solutions to minimise lightning injuries in livestock and animals in game-parks and zoo's. To be injured, temporarily disabled or killed, an animal does not need to be struck by lightning directly. Other than a direct strike, an animal may succumb from lightning via step potential (Fig 1), side flashes (Fig 2) or touch potential (Fig 3 and Fig 4). The proximity to the strike also plays an important role. The shockwave generated by lightning due to the sudden expansion of air may damage the skin or ear drums or impair vision if an animal is very close to the point of strike. There are several secondary effects, such as the animal falling from higher ground due to momentary shock, falling debris such as tree branches as well as potential burns and choking hazards if nearby volatile materials catch fire. It is natural behaviour of herding animals to move towards fences or take shelter under trees as a storm approaches. Hence, a preventive mechanism can be put in place. For example, placing metal rings around trees will help equalise the potential due to lightning (Fig 5). Gomes' research also suggests that solitary trees or objects that may be used for shelter should have the ground surface around them covered with a 10–20 cm layer of gravel or any other insulation material that has extremely high resistivity. The greater the area of coverage with gravel, the lesser the risk for the animals. Among the domesticated or tamed animals, elephants have a higher risk of getting injured or being killed due to lightning as they may be subjected to step potentials, touch potentials and side flashes. The situation can be even worse if the elephants are tied to large trees or stumps with metal chains. One solution is to ensure that elephants are never tied up to large isolated trees. The area, within which the elephant is allowed to move, should be laid with a mesh of copper strips underneath the ground surface, and the metal mesh should firmly be joined to the grounding of the metal poles.
Chandima Gomes Int J Biometeorol (2012) 56:1011–1023
Lightning safety of animals
Figure 1. a. The distribution of potential when a tree is struck by lightning. b. An animal in the direction of potential gradient is subjected to step potential hazard.
Figure 2.
Figure 4.
Figure 3.
Figure 5. Wire mesh to keep animals safe
For further information contact: Chandima Gomes Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: chandima.gomes@gmail.com
ENVIRONMENT
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U.S. Navy photo
Helicoptor flies over Sendai
Detecting caesium contamination with the naked eye Researchers in Japan have developed a way to detect caesium contamination on a scale of millimetres enabling the detection of small areas of radioactive contamination. Radioactive leaks, such as at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, contaminate the local environment. Contamination of soil and water by the radioactive form of caesium is a major problem, since it persists for a long time; levels of radioactivity reduce by half only every 30 years. Effective detection and removal of radiocaesium would accelerate recovery of the environment. Current detection methods can only localise contamination on a scale of metres to kilometres, and they do not specifically identify caesium. Researchers in Japan, led by Katsuhiko Ariga at the National Institute for Materials Science, have now developed a way to detect caesium contamination on a scale of millimetres. The work, published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, used a fluorescent molecule that labels caesium so that it can be seen with the naked eye under UV light. The reaction of the molecule with a number of alkali metals caused it to fluoresce. However, while metals such as lithium, sodium and potassium caused blue fluorescence, its reaction with caesium produced a
distinctive green fluorescence. This enabled accurate identification of small contaminated areas. The exact colour of the fluorescence also related to the concentration of caesium, revealing the extent of contamination. The simplicity and accuracy of this fluorescent probe should help with more precise removal of contaminated material. It will also help to improve our understanding of contamination around chemical and radiological hazards, allowing the construction of contamination maps and the implementation of appropriate responses.
For further information contact: Katsuhiko Ariga International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics National Institute for Materials Science, Japan Email: ARIGA.Katsuhiko@nims.go
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ENVIRONMENT
Muhammad Bahtiar Masidin (Universiti Teknologi MARA)
Two plastics become one Wastage of the plastics poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polypropylene (PP) from drinking bottles has inspired research to produce new materials through recycling. Work led by Siti Fatimah Aminuddin at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia, has produced blends of the two plastics, which normally don’t mix, by introducing a ‘compatibiliser’. The compatibiliser allowed mixing of PET and PP, increasing toughness and deformability of the blend when solidified. However, the compatibiliser also caused more absorption of water, resulting in reduced tensile strength.
For further information contact: Siti Fatimah Aminuddin Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Email: siti_fatimah@salam.uitm.edu.my
Effectively dealing with waste is one of the great challenges of the 21st Century. Wastewater containing oil can have a detrimental impact on aquatic ecosystems and cause problems at wastewater treatment plants as it can only be separated with the help of chemicals. A new study by Nurul Izza Husin at the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Malaysia examines the possibility of using the shell of the durian fruit and a part of the banana plant called the pseudostem to remove oil from water. The banana pseudostem was found to be more effective in removing oil from water. For further information contact: Nurul Izza Husin Department of Applied Sciences Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Email: nurulizza.husin@ppinang.uitm.edu.my
Kalai
Using fruits to remove waste
M AT E R I A L S
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Lilly M
Fibres that bind Weaving together genetics, materials and tissue engineering is beginning to show promise in the fabrication of scaffolds that could be useful in implants, the release of drugs directly to their targets, and in wound healing. Researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University identified a range of antibacterial peptide (AMP) genes in a database of silkworms (Bombyx moro). A selection of representative genes was cloned, including atttacin2, and the resulting recombinant DNA was transformed into a strain of E. coli – BL21. After dialysis and freeze drying, the team tested the antibacterial activity against a range of bacteria. The data suggest that the attacin2 can inhibit the growth of some bacteria, in particular Gram-negative – which are known to be more resistant to antibodies. Professor Li Yi and colleagues went on to produce nanofiber scaffolds by using an electro-spinning technique with attacin2 and PLLA, a biopolymer used is
biomedical applications. They demonstrated in cell lines, that their material can be both biocompatible and biodegradable. In addition it can deliver controlled drug release effects. Using similar techniques, the team aims to scale-up production and investigate the morphology, surface chemical properties, biodegradability, cytotoxicity, cell proliferation and anti-infection properties of the new scaffolds for biomedical engineering. Such integration of gene engineering techniques and fibre engineering technology is a field that holds high hopes for bioactive functional materials that could be used as artificial skin or reconstructed tissue and in treatment advances. For further information contact: Professor Li Yi Institute of Textiles and Clothing The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: yi.li@polyu.edu.hk
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M AT E R I A L S
Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech)
Liquid forging: redefining the manufacturing of light alloy products Liquid Forging, a manufacturing process developed by the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), makes it possible to manufacture intricate and structurally superior products than are possible with processes like die casting and extrusion. This new process involves creating a liquid melt with wrought aluminium alloys and magnesium alloys, which is then easy to form into a range of products that demonstrate better structural integrity and more efficient use of raw materials. This process is also able to utilise non flammable magnesium alloys with higher alloying additions to produce products with high strength-to-weight ratio, higher oxidation and creep resistance, at least 25 per cent lighter in weight as compared to aluminium alloys, with good electromagnetic shielding properties and nonflammable at higher service temperature. SIMTech has developed the Liquid Forging manufacturing process to address: porosity issues in die casting, two dimensional limitations of extrusion, and other challenges of current manufacturing processes. Liquid Forging can be scaled for high-output industrial production.
For further information contact: Dr Chua Beng Wah Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: bwchua@SIMTech.a-star.edu.sg
Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
Solar films Researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science have developed a reliable method of measuring the relative atomic fraction of copper indium gallium selenide used in the production of solar films. Copper indium gallium selenide – commonly known as CIGS – absorbs light and is used in the generation of thin solar films. In making a compound solar cell with multi-component alloy films, controlling the relative atomic fraction can have a huge effect on its efficiency. However, there is no reliable method of measurement. Kyung Joong Kim, of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, and colleagues, approached the problem with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Though quantification of alloy films is known to be difficult by SIMS, they managed to tune their technique, achieving fast analysis and easy calibration. They believe that such SIMS depth profiling analysis will be useful in the future development of CIGS thin film solar cells.
For further information contact: Kyung Joong Kim Division of Industrial Metrology Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, South Korea Email: kjkim@kriss.re.kr
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M AT E R I A L S
Reproduced with permission from the American Chemical Society
Graphene Materials research has never been hotter than since 2010's Nobel prize for Physics was awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov for their work on the wonder material graphene. Carbon, with its atoms arranged in a hexagonal structure, graphene is light, but super strong, a semiconductor, and shows promise in many fields ranging from spintronics to quantum computing. Applications range from fuel cells to batteries. There are several approaches to creating graphene, and researchers from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) recently published their method in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Their technique efficiently prepares edge-selectively functionalized graphene nanoplatelets (EFGnPs) by grinding- or ball milling- graphite in the presence of various gas mixtures. Because this technique is extremely versatile, various functional groups could be introduced at the broken edges of graphite in the presence of appropriate chemical vapours, liquids, or solids. The team, led by JongBeom Baek performed microscopic and spectroscopic measurements to test reaction mechanisms for the graphite. They showed that this technique can produce low cost, high yields, versatile approaches to mass production of graphene with varying functional groups.
For further information contact: Professor/Director Jong-Beom Baek Interdisciplinary School of Green Energy/ Low-Dimensional Carbon Materials Center Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea Email: jbbaek@unist.ac.kr
Producing graphene using microorganisms The Graphene Research Group at Toyohashi Tech developed a hybrid method of producing graphene by reducing chemically derived graphene oxide flakes using microorganisms extracted from a local river near their campus in Japan. Chemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) flakes is widely used for the synthesis of graphene. In this process, the critical stage of reducing GO flakes into graphene requires the exposure of the GO to hydrazine. This reduction process has fundamental limitations for large scale production; in particular because the hydrazine vapour is highly toxic.
The team were inspired by a recent report showing that graphene oxide behaves as a terminal electron acceptor for bacteria, where the GO is reduced by microbial action in the process of breathing or electron transport.The approach offers a low-cost, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly method for the mass production of high quality graphene for the electronics industry.
For further information contact: Professor Adarsh Sandhu Electronics-Inspired Interdisciplinary Research Institute (EIIRIS) Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan Email: sandhu@eiiris.tut.ac.jp
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M AT E R I A L S
Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore
3D on-the-go Singapore researchers have developed a nanoengineered screen protector that turns the ordinary screens of handheld devices into 3D displays. Ditch the 3D glasses! Thanks to a simple plastic filter, mobile device users can now view brilliant 3D content with the naked eye. EyeFly 3D, marketed by Singapore’s Nanoveu Pte Ltd, is the first ever glasses-free 3D accessory that can display content in both portrait and landscape mode, and measures less than 0.1 mm in thickness. “The filter is essentially a piece of plastic film with about half a million perfectly shaped lenses engineered onto its surface using IMRE’s proprietary nanoimprinting technology,” said Dr Jaslyn Law, one of the scientists in the team. They are exploring the possibility of using the technology for security access tokens to decode PIN numbers sent online. For further information contact: Mr Eugene Low Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: loweom@scei.a-star.edu.sg
Hybrid scaffold more than skin deep
Science and Technology of Advanced Materials
Researchers in Japan have created a hybrid scaffold which promotes regeneration of skin in live animals while maintaining mechanical strength making it a promising material for future skin tissue engineering. Open skin wounds need to be repaired quickly to prevent infection. Using artificial skin substitutes for repair avoids the difficulties of grafts, but an ideal material for a scaffold that’s strong and allows regeneration of skin tissue has yet to be found. Some current scaffolds are made of collagen or gelatin, which are ideal for promoting tissue regeneration but are not mechanically strong. Others are made of biodegradable synthetic materials such as Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA); these are stronger, but not so good for tissue growth. Guopong Chen and colleagues at the National Institute for Materials Science, Japan, have created a hybrid scaffold that has all the necessary properties. This research was published in the Science and Technology of Advanced Materials. The team had previously formed ‘funnel-like’ scaffolds with pores that are interconnected under the surface, allowing cells to grow into the scaffold. Now, they have formed these funnel-like collagen or
gelatin ‘sponges’ on a PLLA mesh to create hybrid scaffolds. Connective tissue cells grew on the hybrid scaffold and penetrated into the pores, with more cells growing in the hybrid scaffold than in a scaffold made only of collagen. Implantation of the hybrid scaffolds into the backs of mice also promoted healing: four weeks after implantation, skin defects were completely closed. Regenerated skin was healthier with the hybrid scaffold than with a collagen-only scaffold, and there was also less deformation of the skin due to the extra strength provided by the PLLA mesh. The ability of the hybrid scaffold to promote regeneration of skin in live animals while maintaining mechanical strength makes it a promising material for future skin tissue engineering.
For further information contact: Guoping Chen International Center for Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan Email: Guoping.CHEN@nims.go.jp
Biomimetics: materials science takes its lead from nature
insect eyes are rather well-known and it was natural that we looked into the moth-eye structures. Mimicking motheye nanostructures have been attempted by others — however, our unique approach is in the combination of micro and nanostructures in a hierarchical arrangement. These structures are even closer to mimicking the insect eye.” Using a high-precision method known as nanoimprinting, the IMRE team were able to ‘reconstruct’ the moth-eye nanostructures and utilize direct patterning techniques to reduce surface glare. One of the main advantages of nanoimprinting is that materials can be manipulated in terms of their physical as opposed to their chemical properties. New plastics can therefore be developed without the need to use harmful chemicals. Indeed, this type of nanoimprinting is viewed as a way of moving towards cost-effective, environmentally sustainable manufacturing practices. Anti-reflective plastics currently on the market typically exhibit a reflectivity of around 1% of visible light. In contrast, the new plastic developed at IMRE reflects less than 0.2% of visible light — attaining a five-fold increase in anti-reflective power. Combined with the reduced amount of glare, the new plastic may find a host of applications in the development of new and improved TV displays, windows and organic solar cells.
From antireflective plastics inspired by moth eyes to the development of super strong materials based upon a desert cactus, researchers from Singapore and Malaysia to Hong Kong and Japan are taking material science to new levels. Nature has long been a source of inspiration for both scientists and artists alike. Some of the most ingeniously designed products and gadgets familiar to millions of people worldwide owe their origin to seemingly simple forms and patterns found in plants and wildlife. The ability to adapt these natural forms to develop ever more innovative products and processes has given rise to the field of biomimetics — literally meaning 'imitation of life'. One of the most notable examples of biomimetic design to date is Velcro, famously inspired by the tiny, adhesive hairs found on the underside of geckos' feet. Insects, too, have provided intriguing clues for the development of many new technologies ranging from selfcooling systems inspired by termite mounds to cicada wing-inspired nanosensors. Now, a team of researchers based at the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) have succeeded in developing a new type of high-quality, anti-reflective plastic inspired by another unlikely source: the eyes of a moth. graftedno1
Inspired by the lotus leaf Dr Linda Wu Yongling and co-workers at the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) have been inspired by the lotus leaf. The leaf’s hierarchical structured surface has self-cleaning properties. Based on the leaf’s design, the team from Singapore have developed a fast and cost-efficient way to fabricate large-scale superhydrophopic surfaces on a hard material — silica. The researchers used a laser to carve out a microstructured template that they then used to pattern a sol-gel coating. Nanoparticles were subsequently bound to the surface of the cured sol–gel surface to create a second level of hierarchy. The fabrication methodology can be adjusted to achieve different degrees of micro- and nanostructures. William Thielicke
The eyes of a moth Moths are renowned for their ability to see well in the dark. Moth eyes are coated with a special anti-reflective layer that lends them the unusual distinction of having one of nature’s least reflective surfaces. Composed of a hexagonal array of conical nanostructures, the antireflective layer enables moths to maximize light capture and minimize reflection, thereby reducing the chances of being spotted by predators, even in settings that appear pitch-dark to the human eye. “Our group has been working on bio-inspired surfaces for a number of years,” explains Low Hong Yee, senior scientist and team leader of the project at the IMRE. “The anti-reflection properties found on some
In addition to the new fabrication methodology, Wu and co-workers considered various ways to optimise the water repellency of the textured surface. They found that increasing the surface roughness increases the true area of contact between the liquid and the solid, enhancing its intrinsic wetting properties.
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However, if the surface features are small enough, water can bridge protrusions leading to the formation of air pockets; the wettability of such a nanostructured material is then calculated as a weighted average of the wettability of the pure material and that of air. These two effects are known respectively as the Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter states. The researchers derived an equation for calculating the surface contact angle between a water droplet and a silica surface with a certain degree of roughness. They found that there was a transition between the Wenzel to the Cassie-Baxter state, as surface structuring enters the nano dimension. The researchers found that for an optimum superhydrophobic effect, the Cassie–Baxter state must dominate the surface structure to allow a massive 83% of the surface state to be involved in air trapping with only 17% of the liquid drop surface actually in contact with the silica itself. The static water contact angle on such surface is higher than 161° with sliding angle below 1°, which are the same as the natural lotus leaf. Rubbing test by 3M automotive sponge for 1000 cycles indicated the durability of the surface condition suitable for automotive applications. Such functionality is useful if applied to textiles or windows for self-cleaning effect, and may also be used in analytical techniques for controlling fluid flow. The researchers are further developing the technology for real applications such as easy-clean coating for solar films and structured surfaces for personal care products.
For further information contact: The eyes of the moth Dr Low Hong Yee Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: hy-lowimre.a-star.edu.sg Inspired by the lotus leaf Dr Linda Wu Yongling Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: ylwu@SIMTech.a-star.edu.sg The shape of a cactus Woo Yian Peen and Syahrul Fithry Bin Senin Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Email: wy.peen@ppinang.uitm.edu.my Email: syahrul573@ppinang.uitm.edu.my
Saguaro Pictures
The shape of a cactus Plants are also extensively studied in the field of biomimetics and a team from Universiti Teknologi MARA has been inspired by the cacti specie Cardon, Saguaro and Cholla found in the desserts of the United States of America and Mexico. The researchers conducted a study to evaluate the strength of perforated hollow sections with the shape and arrangement of perforations inspired by the cactus skeleton. The Cardon and Saguaro (tallest cactus in the world and America respectively) can achieve 12 to 20m of height with their main stem supporting approximately 6 tonnes of body weight. Their ability to achieve extreme height is thought to be the result of a circular skeleton of interconnected vascular bundles inside a succulent thick, columnar stem.
The research team has set out to investigate how small perforations found in the hollow sections of the cacti stems may be influencing the cacti’s ability to stay upright under such high loads. A total of 13 circular hollow sections were modeled using computer software. The models included one without perforation, and twelve models with varying degree of perforations, perforation shapes (circular and elliptical) and arrangements. Elliptical shaped perforations were found to show most desirable responses for longitudinal stress. For the case of flexural loading (a material's ability to resist deformation under load) models with perforations arranged in an array pattern were found to show the most desirable structural response for longitudinal stress for both circular and elliptical shape perforations.
M AT E R I A L S
Microelectronics: a tougher seal for rugged environments Sensors used in harsh conditions, such as deep-sea oil wells, must withstand extreme temperatures and pressures for hundreds of hours without failing. Researchers in Singapore have investigated two metal alloys that could give micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensors better protection in the toughest environments. Vivek Chidambaram and co-workers at the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics, Singapore, have investigated two metal alloys that could give microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors better protection in the toughest environments Typical MEMS sensors measure temperature, pressure or vibration, and they are hermetically sealed inside a strong metal casing to prevent air or moisture degrading the sensors’ electronics. Chidambaram’s team wanted to find cheaper, more durable alternatives to the metal solders, such as gold–tin or copper–tin, which are typically used to seal the case. They tested a 70:30 aluminum–germanium mixture, which has a
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melting point of about 420 °C. This temperature — the eutectic point — is much lower than that for either metals on its own. Unlike most conventional packaging materials, aluminum and germanium are compatible with the processes used to manufacture the MEMS. Using the aluminum–germanium sealant should make MEMS manufacturing easier and cheaper, and could also improve the device’s performance, says Chidambaram. Chidambaram and his team also tested a platinum–indium seal — which has the highest remelting point (894 °C) of all the solders being considered for these applications — but it lost its strength after long durations at 300 °C, leaving the aluminum–germanium mixture in pole position as a better seal for MEMS. “Cost effectiveness, better thermo-mechanical properties, and its eutectic microstructure makes it an attractive alternative,” says Chidambaram. For further information contact: Vivek Chidambaram Institute of Microelectronics (IME) Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Email: nachiappanvc@ime.a-star.edu.sg
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A Malaysian research team has developed a simple, low-cost and environmentally friendly method for producing nanoparticles for use in biomedical applications such as the repair of fractured bone. The team successfully synthesized “aragonite” nanoparticles (ANPs) from the cockle shell, an inexpensive and abundant resource. Aragonite is one of three naturally occurring forms of the mineral calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and has been extensively studied because of its biocompatible properties — it can be integrated with and replaced by bone. Aragonite is also being used to produce advanced drug delivery systems and scaffolds for bone repairs and tissue engineering. Previously, scientists have described two main methods for synthesizing ANPs for biomedical applications: one involving the combination of different pairs of chemicals in an aqueous solution; the other a carbonation process in which carbon dioxide gas is bubbled through an aqueous slurry of calcium hydroxide at a specified temperature in the presence of organic substrates. However, neither methods yield pure aragonite nanoparticles of suitable sizes and shapes: the resulting ANPs are often mixed with other forms of calcium carbonate. What’s more, the carbonation process requires stringent temperature control, purified raw materials, and laborious gas bubbling steps, which are complicated and incur additional costs and time. By contrast, the new production method is a simple, “top-down” approach in which cockle shell powders are mechanically ground in the presence of a non-toxic catalyst called dodecyl dimethyl betaine (BS-12). This method yields ANPs with an average diameter of 20 nm — the smallest so far reported. “The beauty of [our] method is that it does not add any impurities to the final products but still produces very small-sized rod-shaped ANPs in a reproducible fashion, a criterion required for industrial applications,” explain the authors in a recent issue of the journal Powder Technology. Andrew Butko
For further information contact: Md Zuki Bin Abu Bakar Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: zuki@vet.upm.edu.my
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Calcium carbonate nanoparticles from cockle shells
M AT E R I A L S
From tea leaf to silver nanoparticles Researchers at Universiti Putra Malaysia have synthesised silver nanoparticles from a combination of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and tea leaf extracts (Pu-erh tea). Silver nanoparticles are widely used by consumers in the medical, solar, textile and food industries. Pu-erh tea, also known as dark tea, is a type of tea produced in China. Pu-erh tea leaf is processed from Camellia sinesis by microbial fermentation. It is reported to have high antioxidant properties, able to decrease cholesterol, lower blood pressure, prevent heart disease and enhance the normal flora in gastrointestinal tracts. The green synthesis method used to synthesise silver nanoparticles is a simple technique of adding tea leaf extracts to silver nitrate aqueous solution. A dark brown solution will form after a few minutes of stirring indicating the formation of silver nanoparticles in the solutions. The antioxidant properties in the tea leaf extract acts as the reducing and capping agents. The green synthesis is a rapid, environmental friendly, simple, and cost effective method which can be done at room temperature without any additional chemical reagents. The researchers are now conducting experiments to see the effects of using different plant extracts and varying temperatures and pH levels. For further information contact: Son, R. Food Safety Research Center Faculty of Food Science and Technology Universiti Putra Malaysia E-mail: son@upm.edu.my
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Luis FernĂĄndez GarcĂa
Rubber tree seeds
Tapping into the rubber genome
For further information contact: Prof. Maqsudul Alam Advance Studies of Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics University of Hawaii, United States of America Email: alam@hawaii.edu
Tony Rodd / Flickr
The rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis is the world's major commercial source of natural rubber and scientists have sequenced its draft genome. Rubber is an indispensable commodity that is used in manufacturing worldwide, in a billion dollar industry. The plant has played a vital role in the world economy since 1876 and Asia accounts for about 93% of global supply of rubber. The manuscript describing the draft genome was published in the open access journal BMC Genomics. Around 12.7% of the almost 70,000 genes are identified as unique, and the team outline those associated with rubber biosynthesis, rubber wood formation, disease resistance and allergenicity. The rubber industry is affected by a fungal disease known as rubber blight and there is a global medical concern for the allegic reaction of those routinely exposed to latex-containing products like gloves. Ahmad Yamin Rahman and colleagues believe that this draft genome information will accelerate the development of high-yielding natural rubber plants. This will lead to assistance in latex production, wood development, disease resistance and allergenicity.
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A G R I C U LT U R E
Nanotech cuts losses for fruit growers mynameisharsha/flickr
Mangoes are big business in South Asia. They are the second-largest fruit crop in India and third largest in Sri Lanka. But post-harvest losses are also huge, with up to 40% of the crop lost during transport and storage. Now, researchers are combining patented technologies developed in Canada and Asia to reduce those losses and extend the shelf life of mangoes and other perishable crops. The initiative, funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre and the Canadian International Development Agency, involves a new type of nano-film used for packaging that helps keep produce fresh longer. The novel material incorporates a natural compound, hexanal, produced by plants. This compound slows the activity of an enzyme that can cause fruits and vegetables to rot during storage.
The project integrates nanotechnology advances in three countries to develop a simple, low-cost system to keep highly perishable fruit fresh. The University of Guelph in Canada has developed several ways of applying hexanal to the fruit, including nanotechnology-based methods. India’s Tamil Nadu Agricultural University is developing packaging materials that use nano-particles containing hexanal to prolong the freshness of stored fruits and vegetables. Researchers at Sri Lanka’s Industrial Technology Institute are attempting to embed synthetic hexanal in a plant-based wax they have developed, to further extend shelf life. The researchers are also building links with the private sector to develop biodegradable packing materials. Cartons lined with nano-particles derived from agricultural waste products are expected to create new income opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs, particularly women. This initiative is set to increase the incomes of small farmers and entrepreneurs, as well as boost fruit consumption in a region where the average intake is only half the recommended level. Researchers expect to adapt the technologies to other economically important fruits, vegetables, and flowers. For further information contact: Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé International Development Research Centre, Canada Email: ibourgeault-tasse@idrc.ca
Amsikle / Flickr
Improved recipe for food packaging Increasing demands for versatile eco-friendly food packaging, has driven research into alternative sources of materials. Researchers have reviewed some recent work and identified the most promising materials. While fossil fuel-based polymers are versatile and commonly used for food packaging, their resistance to biodegradation makes them damaging to the environment. What’s more their effectiveness is limited, since they are permeable to gases and so cannot prevent food deterioration. Natural fibres, which are agricultural residues obtained from stem, fruit, and seed parts of plants can be used in the manufacturing of lightweight, low cost and eco-friendly polymeric materials. However, its hydrophilic nature limits its use in food packaging. Naturally occurring fine-grained aluminium silicate known as nanoclay can similarly be used in the structure of polymers and reduce the permeability of gases, providing a better protective barrier for food, but
they are not biodegradable. However, by using composites of natural fibres and nanoclay, materials with the advantageous properties of both are created. In their review, Jawaid and his colleagues conclude that such composites are poised to provide us with strong, high-barrier and eco-friendly food packaging.
For further information contact: Mohammad Jawaid Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP) Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: jawaid@putra.upm.edu.my A. Hassan Faculty of Chemical Engineering Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Email: azmanh@cheme.utm.my
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A G R I C U LT U R E
123rf - Aleksandr Steblovskiy
In search of the best all-Filipino coffee
For further information contact: Dr Ernelea P. Cao University of the Philippines Diliman Email: erneleacao@yahoo.com
Figure 1. Leaf sample of each variety of coffee: a. C. arabica, b. C. robusta, c. C. liberica, d. C. excelsa.
Figure 2. Seed variation in coffee. : a. C. arabica, b. C. robusta, c. C. liberica, d. C. excelsa.
Dr Ernelea P. Cao
Research conducted at the University of the Philippines Diliman aims to uncover the country’s coffee heritage Coffee is one of the world’s favourite drinks with an estimated two billion cups drunk every day, according to the International Coffee Organisation. The Philippines produces four types of coffee namely Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa and Liberica but little has been done to characterise the genetic variations of these breeds. Dr Ernelea P. Cao of the University of the Philippines Diliman decided to do just this and her research ultimately aims to enhance the taste and aroma of Philippine coffees. Defining the genetic identity of coffee is crucial in order to find out the most suitable agricultural conditions for certain coffee plants and sustain consistency in the flavour of blend coffee. It also helps preserve and promote local coffee varieties in a global market. Dr Cao looks at the plants’ appearance using geometric morphometric analysis, a technique which makes a quantitative analysis of form (size and shape), which allows her to study the coffee varieties without killing the target specimens. She also uses DNA barcoding to examine variations at the molecular level.The study should help Philippine coffee compete with other brands inside and outside the country.
Figure 3. C. liberica flowers.
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Smaller seeds produce more biodiesel Researchers at the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia have discovered cotton and palm kernel seeds to be suitable for production of biodiesel. Using the reactive extraction method, wherein biodiesel is extracted directly from seed particles, researchers found that biodiesel from cotton seeds could lower carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and smoke emission in internal combustion engines. In order to maximise outcomes of biodiesel production, they investigated how seed particle sizes influence the amount of oil, extraction efficiency of reactive reaction and biodiesel conversion. Results showed that the smallest cotton seed particles, which were 0.5 – 1 mm, produced the biggest amount of oil as well as a high percentage of extraction effectiveness. The same was true for palm kernel seeds with the smallest range yielding the greatest outcome (58 per cent) within 24 hours reaction time. The same size groups and reaction periods showed 90 per cent of the extraction efficiency of fatty acid methyl esters.
A G R I C U LT U R E
Waste not, want not A simple fermentation treatment can convert a byproduct of biofuel production into a valuable chemical feedstock for a wide range of biomedical products. Powered by sunlight, microalgae are tiny biofuel generators that soak up carbon dioxide to produce energyrich lipids, which are showing promise as a potential source of clean energy. Maximising lipid production is the focus of many research efforts, but the material remaining after lipid extraction, the ‘lipid-depleted biomass’ is either burned for energy, or simply discarded as a waste product. Researchers in Singapore have developed a two-step biochemical process that converts lipid-depleted biomass into lactic acid. This substance is in increasing demand as feedstock for polylactic acid (PLA), a biopolymer with numerous medical applications, ranging from surgical sutures to orthopedic implants. The high cost of raw materials used in the manufacture of lactic acid currently limits PLA use. Thus, producing an alternative source from algal lipid-extraction waste is proving attractive. Generating two valuable products from the microalgae Nannochloropsis salina, would make the biofuel more costcompetitive with conventional fuels.
Thamizhpparithi Maari
For further information contact: Dr Md. Mahabubur Rahman Talukder Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences The Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore Email: rahman_talukder@ices.a-star.edu.sg
Optimal catalysts for biodiesel production Ever-increasing demands for fuel and ever-depleting reserves of crude oil have triggered extensive research into the production of biodiesel. A promising approach is to synthesise fuels from biomass sources such as vegetable oil. This requires a catalyst and traditionally these catalysts have been liquids, but there are several advantages to developing solid alternatives – separation from the product is easier and they are easier to dispose of. A review of studies on such catalysts for biodiesel production, by researchers at Universiti Putra Malaysia, have determined that a basic rather than acidic catalyst is best, and that the most effective solid catalysts are in powder form with the particle diameters ranging from nanometres to micrometres. However, such powders require energy-intensive separation from the product, hence the reviewers suggest that spherical millimetrescale particles would be optimal. Designing such catalysts would, according to the researchers, yield high biodiesel production.
For further information contact: Noorzalila Muhammad Niza Faculty of Chemical Engineering Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Email: zalila2871@ppinang.uitm.edu.my
For further information contact: Dr. Yun Hin Taufiq-Yap Catalysis Science and Technology Research Center Faculty of Science Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: yap@science.upm.edu.my
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Food Safety and Technology Research Centre
Food safety: protecting public health in Asia Since 2011, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Food Safety and Technology Research Centre (FSTRC) has been developing a “Food Hygiene Standard Certification System” (FHSCS) which aims to promote food safety culture in local catering industries. Working in collaboration with government agencies, local and international companies, the FSTRC seeks to address food safety-related issues of public concern as well as to report the latest scientific discoveries made by PolyU food scientists.
For further information contact: Dr Wong Ka-hing Food Safety & Technology Research Centre The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: kahing.wong@polyu.edu.hk
Keeping coconut water healthy and pure
Carrot pomace, the waste byproduct of carrot juice processing, could be used to add value to spaghetti and other food products, according to researchers at the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia. Carrot pomace flour (CPF) is considered a good source of dietary fibre, minerals, β-carotene and antioxidants. In a recent study, researchers substituted durum wheat semolina flour with different levels of CPF in spaghetti, which improved the nutritional quality of the pasta. The researchers also looked at the texture, colour and sensory attributes of CPF-fortified spaghetti – pasta containing 5% CPF by weight had a good acceptability score.
Researchers in the Philippines examine how to keep coco water safe and sweet without the pathogens. Coconut liquid endorsperm, or coco water, is known for its nutritional value and therapeutic use. It's also an ideal breeding ground for harmful microorganisms such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes. While pasteurization techniques are normally used to reduce bacteria levels in coconut water, severe heating may alter its sensory characteristics. Dr. Alonzo Gabriel of the University of the Philippines Diliman is investigating the best settings for mild thermal processing. He is also exploring the use of natural antimicrobials as additives that increase the heat sensitivity of pathogens. The ultimate goal is to come up with an affordable and effective means of treating coconut water.
Kander
Fortifying spaghetti with carrot flour
For further information contact: Mardiana Binti Ahamad Zabidi Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia mardi862@ns.uitm.edu.my
For further information contact: Dr. Alonzo A. Gabriel Department of Food Science and Nutrition College of Home Economics University of the Philippines Diliman e-mail: alonzo.gabriel@gmail.com
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Can cocoa butter be replaced?
The ever increasing world population needs more food, thus increasing the need for more efficient food production systems. Masato Futagawa and colleagues at Toyohashi University of Technology have developed a precise sensor system for agriculture monitoring the health of cows and growth conditions in plants. The mass production of high quality milk necessitates routine monitoring of the health of dairy cows. Monitoring the pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and temperature of a cow’s stomach will enable precise control of the cow’s food to keep its stomach healthy. Some researchers also think that controlling the cows food intake can help towards reducing methane emissions from cows. The researchers developed an integrated sensor that can monitor the health of the cow’s stomach. The system was used to measure EC and temperature before, during and after feeding the cow. This technology is also being used to monitor the growth of agricultural products including tomatoes, where simultaneous measurements with different sensors are made to optimise growth conditions. For example, the pH measurement is important because different minerals react differently in acidic or alkaline conditions, while the electrical conductivity indicates the ion concentrations and optimum growth temperature varies for different plants.
Cocoa butter is the primary ingredient of milk chocolate and other confectionery products because of its desirable physical and chemical properties. But due to the high price and decreasing supply of cocoa butter worldwide, food manufacturers are keen to identify less expensive alternatives. A pale-yellow, edible vegetable fat, cocoa butter (CB) is obtained from cocoa (or cacao) seeds. CB is solid at room temperature (below 25 °C) but liquid at body temperature (37 °C). One of the most stable fats known, cocoa butter contains a combination of both saturated fats such as palmitic acid and stearic acid as well as unsaturated fats such as oleic acid and linoleic acid. The so-called “beta” crystals of cocoa butter give chocolate products their sheen, snap and smooth texture. CB also makes chocolate resistant to “fat bloom,” which arises from changes in the fat during storage — visible as white or grayish streaks on the surface of chocolate. A recent paper in the Journal of Food Engineering reviews research underway to develop suitable alternatives to cocoa butter. The paper discusses cocoa varieties, production and extraction methods; its composition and characteristics; as well as how CB substitutes are being produced either by blending or modifying vegetable oils and fats such as palm oil, palm kernel oil, mango seed kernel fats, kokum butter fat, sal fat, shea butter and illipé fat. Based on an individual analysis of the compositions of other vegetable oils and fats, the paper concludes that no natural alternatives currently exist that can match the exact properties of cocoa butter. The authors recommend further research to overcome this problem.
123rf - bizoon
Keeping cows and tomatoes healthy
For further information contact: I.S.M. Zaidul Faculty of Pharmacy International Islamic University, Malaysia Email: zaidul@iium.edu.my S. Jinap Faculty of Food Science and Technology Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: jinap@food.upm.edu.my
123rf - Matthias Krapp
For further information contact: Masato Futagawa Tailor-Made and Baton-Zone Graduate Course Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan Email: futagawa@batonzone.tut.ac.jp
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TRANSPORT
Researchers use slime mould to make sense of motorway networks. Humble though it may be, the simple slime mould has many uses in research. It is easy to raise and observe, can behave as a single celled organism when food is abundant, and congregate to move as a single body when resources run low. They change in shape and produce fruiting bodies that release spores that catch the wind and find more food. An international group of scientists, including Prof. Andrew Adamatzky from University of the West of England and Zuwairie Ibrahim of Universiti Malaysia Pahang set out to investigate, using slime moulds, whether motorway networks in 14 countries make rational sense. The shape of an urban area was represented by oats on an agar plate and the moulds left to form networks of protoplasmic tubes, each one connecting a food source, which they do to make the most of the resources available. The team put the mould on the area of the plate where the capital city would be, and left them to do their thing. They then compared the paths the mould made over the 'country' with maps of motorway networks. The motorway layouts in Malaysia, Canada and Italy topped the charts.
For further information contact: Prof Andrew Adamatzky Unconventional Computing Centre University of the West of England,United Kingdom Email: andrew.adamatzky@uwe.ac.uk Zuwairie Ibrahim Faculty of Electrical & Electronics Engineering Universiti Malaysia Pahang Email: zuwairie@ump.edu.my Jaap de Wit (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaapdewit/)
Jaap de Wit
Rational motorways?
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Epattloamer
Electric roads for electric cars A small-scale electric vehicle has been used to prove the feasibility of a new approach to powering electrical engines. Researchers led by Takashi Ohira at Toyohashi University of Technology have successfully demonstrated for the first time the ability to power electric cars using under-road metal tracks. Electric cars provide a number of advantages over those with traditional combustion engines, most notably their high energy efficiency, low noise and no emissions. However, they are yet to be widely adopted because their performance is limited – the continuous running distance of current electrical engines is short, and it takes a long time to recharge them. Furthermore, the batteries are large and expensive. The new approach uses a concept based on electric trains, whereby the power source is external as with overhead power cables. However, as a safer solution, the researchers proposed a metal track embedded under the surface of the road. Energy from power lines would be channelled into the track, and would then be transferred to electric car engines via a steel belt installed in the tyres of the vehicle. Using low-power experiments, the team has optimised the mechanics and demonstrated the feasibility of the system. By increasing the energy transfer to supply greater power, it could be implemented on main roads so that small on-board batteries would be sufficient to reach these main roads. This would make electric cars more practical, enabling their advantages to be fully exploited.
For further information contact: Prof. Takashi Ohira Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan Email: ohira@tut.jp
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ACE Lab, Hanyang University
A1 - the Hanyang University car that won the Autonomous Vehicle Competition
The end of bad drivers?
For further information contact: Professor Myoungho Sunwoo Research Institute of Automotive Control and Electronics Laboratory (ACE Lab) Hanyang University, South Korea Email: msunwoo@hanyang.ac.kr
A 1 – Autonomous Vehicle#1 - has come first place in two most recent Hyundai-Kia Autonomous Vehicle Competitions (back to back in 2010 and 2012) taking away the top prize of $100,000. Internet Hanyang News reported that in the 2012 competition, the HYU team for A1 finished the race in just 7.27 minutes, and overwhelmed all other participants. The race was a 3.4km-long course mixed with paved and unpaved roads, and interspersed with nine missions to accomplish such as recognizing crosswalk, traffic lights, parking, avoiding on road obstacles, passing by slow driving cars and passenger pick-up. “The original computing process we applied to our vehicle is what separated us from the other contestants I think,” said Kichun Jo (Automotive Engineering, Doctoral program), who was participating for the second time after winning in 2010. He added, “Instead of installing ordinary PCs in our car like other schools, we designed our very own computers capable of executing very specific commands.” Internet Hanyang News
Today you drive your car. In the future, your car may drive you. New automotive technology being developed at the Automotive Control and Electronics (ACE) Lab at Hanyang University is making next generation, self controlled vehicles a reality. To some the word ‘electronics’ invokes images of transistors, circuits or computer memory boards. Visiting the ACE lab it is immediately clear that electronics is a means to an end and only a small part of a much grander challenge. To make a car which drives itself we need to consider that the thousands of pieces of information the brain processes every second, interprets, analyses and reacts to has evolved over millions of years. Our eyes and brains work together to tell us where the roads’ edges are, how far ahead a crossing is, whether there are two lanes or four lanes of traffic, let alone cyclists or pedestrian crossings. Although seemingly obvious, the challenge in building an autonomous vehicle that perceives and reacts appropriately in traffic and responds to hazards is no small feat. Enter Hanyang University’s very own autonomous vehicle, named “A1”. With its state of the art technologies in perception, planning and control A1 seeks to respond to the road like a human would but with greater speed, efficiency and increased safety.
A1 wins in 2010 and 2012 Hyundai-Kia competitions
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Sensing high speed rail safety An interdisciplinary team at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is studying the safety of the country’s High-Speed Rail using sensors it has developed. The team involves researchers from the Departments of Electrical Engineering, Civil and Structural Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computing. They have developed optical fibres and ultrasonic wave sensing technologies that have been used in a number of projects. The Electrical Engineering Department developed large-scale optical fibre sensing networks capable of measuring a wide range of parameters, such as temperature, strain, acceleration, pressure and magnetic field. Hundreds of sensors can be monitored over hundreds of kilometres using a single optical fibre, ideal for ensuring safe and reliable operation of railways. Over the last six years, several thousands of optical fibre sensors have been installed in railway systems in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. In particular, collaboration with Dalian Jiaotong University saw optical fibre sensors installed on a highspeed inspection train on the Beijing to Shanghai High Speed Rail Line. This allowed monitoring of the dynamic response of the bogies, as well as the aerodynamic
forces acting on the vehicle surfaces when travelling at 400 km/h. In another collaboration, with Southwest Jiaotong University, optical fibre sensors were used to monitor the stability of the railway itself, showing that the sensors can detect cracks in the track. Also with the Southwest Jiaotong University and the CNR Changchun Railway Vehicle Company, the team showed that vibration of high-speed trains travelling at up to 400 km/h was reduced by fitting dampers that are adjustable in real time using a magnetic field. Most recently, the research team has helped to test a new generation of alpine high-speed trains for the Harbin to Dalian High Speed Rail Line, which opened in December 2012. Optical fibre and ultrasonic wave sensors were used to monitor vibration, strain, temperature, aerodynamics, fatigue, noise and comfort over six months of trials.
For further information contact: Professor Ni Yiqing Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: ceyqni@polyu.edu.hk
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
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He looks six years younger in that Porsche In the world of branding and advertising, products carry a certain message to potential customers. Through purchase and possession of a product, the message is transferred to the consumer, labelling them with social status and personalities that the object originally implied. Researchers from Australia and Malaysia have termed this phenomenon “Product Effect” and investigated to what extent different models of cars influence perception of the owner by a third party. Using an internet survey, Dr Raja Ahmad Effendi of Universiti Putra Malaysia and Professor Allan Whitfield of Swinburne University of Technology, Australia asked respondents to rate the owner on scales representing three characteristics: physical attributes of age, height and weight; social attributes such as income, employment and education; and personality. The survey depicted male and female, Caucasian and Asian owners along with two brands of cars, Mercedes Benz and Proton. Results showed the Product Effect was present as far as the physical and social values are concerned. However, transference did not reach the owner’s personality. Furthermore, the effect was only apparent with male Caucasian owners and to a lesser extent on the female Caucasian owner. The researchers suggested that the absence of personality could have been due to the absence of personality differences in the car models themselves. Another possible explanation was that a car personality might not be a transferable quality. If status was transferred to the male Caucasian owner, why was it not transferred to the male Asian
owner? Inevitably, any answer to this is speculative, and may reflect the way cars are internationally advertised and displayed in both print and digital media. The researchers argue that in nearly all cases, these cars are advertised alongside Caucasian owners/drivers. The cultural origins of the respondents (109 countries represented, with the USA, India, and Australia accounting for 47% of responses) may more accurately explain why product transference proved more pronounced for the Caucasian images used in the study. Images of Caucasian owners would be familiar to American and Australian respondents, and probably to Indians, but these nationalities may be less familiar with images of Malaysian owners. Perhaps Indian respondents would have identified with Indian owners more readily. Perhaps Vietnamese and Chinese would respond better to their own nationalities of owners. While the study affirmed the Product Effect, these hypothetical explanations leave room for further research into the subject in terms of gender, nationality, culture and product type on the effect elicited.
For further information contact: R. A. A. Raja Ahmad Effendi Faculty of Design & Architecture Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: azmeer@putra.upm.edu.my T. W. Allan Whitfield Faculty of Design Swinburne University of Technology, Australia Email: awhitfield@swin.edu.au
morganglines / Flikr
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PEOPLE
Shaerysbie
For further information contact: Professor Haiyan Song The School of Hotel and Tourism Management The Hong Kong Polytechic University Email: haiyan.song@polyu.edu.hk
Tourist satisfaction index To gauge the satisfaction level of inbound tourists, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University have developed the 'PolyU Tourist Satisfaction Index’. The Index captures the multiple dimensions of tourist satisfaction and produces tourist satisfaction indices for individual tourism sectors and the overall destinations. Updated annually since 2009, the index provides authorities and industry practitioners with much needed information for decision making and planning. It has also been adapted by Macau, Singapore and Guangdong Province to measure visitor satisfaction. The 2012 data that was released recently showed that the sectors consistently excelling in service performance in Hong Kong are transportation, attractions, immigration services, retail shops, hotels and restaurants.
Tracing Philippine music across the centuries How did Filipino composers create music in a time of strengthening nationalism at the end of the Spanish era and the start of American influence? Dr Buenconsejo and his team are seeking the answers. The Philippines underwent dramatic changes during the 1850s to the 1920s. Nationalism flourished and eventually erupted into a full-blown revolution that unyoked the Spanish rule in 1898. As the idea of nationalism progressed, Philippine society drifted towards secularisation. It was also at this time that the American rule started in the archipelago. Danilo O. Nataba (The Cultural Center of the Philippines).
Cataloguing the musical scores from the Severino Reyes Zarzuela Collection
These developments had a huge impact on Philippine culture, especially its music. Yet, little research has been done on how original Filipino composers created their music amidst the waning Spanish era, the developing American influence, and the strengthening of the nationalistic spirit. The few musical studies pertaining to this era only focused on the Catholic church as the main patron of music; the contributions of the middle-class or civil society have been largely ignored. To address this research gap, Dr. Jose Buenconsejo of the College of Music of the University of the Philippines Diliman is currently conducting a study that traces the growth of Philippine music from the mid-19th century to the early 1920s. Dr. Buenconsejo aims to find out how Philippine music changed under the evolving Philippine market and progressive Philippine civil society through a careful analysis of music scores stored at the Philippine National Library. Historical contextual data such as newspapers, programmes and reviews that document the production and performance of the works will be reviewed to learn more about the story of these music scores.
For further information contact: Dr Jose S. Buenconsejo College of Music University of the Philippines Diliman Email: jose.buenconsejo@gmail.com
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PEOPLE
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Testing a new data collection software to record indigenous botanical knowledge.
Charting indigenous knowledge in Malaysia Our world is fuelled by information. In the midst of new modern information, important indigenous knowledge gathered over generations run the risk of being lost forever if it is not documented using modern technology. Indigenous knowledge (IK) as defined by the United Nations is the knowledge that an indigenous community accumulates over generations of living in a particular environment. This may include skills, practices and beliefs that enable the community to achieve stable livelihoods in their environment. The Penans are a nomadic people living in Malaysian Borneo, although these days, only a small minority practice the nomadic lifestyle. Like many other indigenous communities, the rapid change in the Penans’ way of life has largely accounted for the loss of their IK. This is further compounded by the reluctance of elders to pass the IK down to the uninitiated youth, and disenchanted youths seeking solutions to their needs from modern science in place of IK. The eTORO project is an integral IK management system led by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak in collaboration with the Penan community of Long Lamai, Sarawak. eTORO is built on the basis that technology professionals first need to understand why and how a community manages their IK. Many ICT tools do not do
this and fail to incorporate other aspects relating to the IK such as the customary laws and institutional structures. The project aims to help the Penan people preserve their indigenous botanical knowledge and data for medicinal purposes by using information technology tools.The methodology developed for this project could be of value to others who work within the IK domain.
Indigenous community members are actively involved in the project in an attempt to preserve their indigenous knowledge using technologysupported system.
For further information contact: Associate Professor Dr. Alvin W. Yeo Institute of Social Informatics and Technological Innovations, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Email: alvin@isiti.unimas.my
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PEOPLE
Archie Tesoro
East wall of the old church of San Juan
During the Spanish period, towns in the Philippines were planned in the manner decreed by Philip II of Spain. At the town’s centre were located important cultural and administration institutions such as the church, the convent, the plaza and the town’s municipal hall or tribunal. Many of the Spanish period towns either evolved into modern day cities and towns, or died and were then reclaimed by the dense Philippine jungles. Although voluminous historical information about these ancient towns exists, there is a lack of archaeological data. To address this, Dr Grace BarrettoTesoro and her team from the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Archaeological Studies Program have been studying ruins discovered in the town of San Juan, located in the province of Batangas. Dr. Tesoro aims to study the church ruins and identify cultural artefacts related to Philippine life during the Spanish period. The project also hopes to find clues that could help explain the abandonment and eventual transfer of the town to its current location.
Sofonisba Anguissola
Rediscovering life in the Philippines during Spanish rule
The Philippines was named after Philip II of Spain who ruled from 1527 – 1598.
For further information contact: Dr. Grace Barretto-Tesoro Archaeological Studies Program University of the Philippines Diliman E-mail: mdbarretto@up.edu.ph
Interpreting conversations in Asian languages A new research project led by Dr Yap Foong Ha from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University examines how speakers interpret each other’s state of mind, attitude, intentions, feelings and points of view. The researchers aim to find out how speaker’s negotiate their epistemic rights in conversations: for example, we often make bare claims in the form of assertive statements, but when queried or challenged, we often either downgrade or upgrade our claims, often using epistemic and pragmatic cues such as I guess, people say, I’m afraid, it seems, well, come to think of it, actually, among many others. Given the importance of understanding similarities and differences in the way stance taking is realised across different languages and cultures. The project takes a cross-linguistic approach focusing on Asian languages, including Sinitic (Chinese), Korean,
Japanese, Austronesian and Tibeto-Burman languages. These language families are selected on the basis of: (i) their geographical proximity; (ii) their extensive/increasing socio-political and economic relations; and (iii) their potential for language contact over extended periods. The results from this project will contribute to our understanding of how speakers position themselves in a wide range of public, professional and private discourses, including political speeches, news reporting, workplace interactions, and family-and-peer conversations.
For further information contact: Dr Yap Foong Ha Department of English The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: egyapfh@polyu.edu.hk
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Peter Fredenburg/WorldFish/flickr
Finding ways to fund better health for all All countries face difficult choices in funding quality health care for their citizens. Financing determines who can access care, what services are provided, and what costs are paid directly by users. Low-income countries are striving to provide what most citizens of industrialized countries already enjoy: access to affordable, high-quality health services. Since 2000, a network of research groups in the Asia-Pacific region has been helping to inform the development of more equitable health systems in the region. Equity in Asia-Pacific Health Systems, or Equitap, has systematically documented the performance of 15 national health systems in Asia. A first phase of research revealed stark disparities in access to health care and risk protection between rich and poor in most countries. However, it also identified a number of countries that were successfully reaching and protecting the poor. In the latest phase of Equitap, funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the network expanded to 20 countries and territories. It has updated and extended earlier analysis of country progress in areas such as reducing citizens’ out-of-
pocket spending and catastrophic expenditure on health. Early findings indicate that in the Asia-Pacific region, reliance on out-of-pocket financing has fallen in countries such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The second phase of work has also identified new countries, such as Solomon Islands, where government health services are reaching the poor effectively. Similar networks in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean have been separately investigating inequities in financing and access to health care in their regions. Now, IDRC is supporting an effort by the three networks to build a Southern-led alliance for research on equity in health and health financing. Through the Global Network for Health Equity, researchers are now sharing expertise and resources, and collaborating on comparative work. These joint efforts promise to generate valuable evidence on health equity issues and boost the influence of developing countries’ perspectives in global policy debates. For further information contact: Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé International Development Research Centre, Canada Email: ibourgeault-tasse@idrc.ca
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From his attempts to rebuild the breast-feeding culture in East Asia to analyses of the downsides of donor driven aid and the true impact of free infant formula provided across the world, Prof. Ted Greiner from the Department of Food and Nutrition at Hanyang University continues to uncover the key issues across the international nutrition landscape. “Breastfeeding cannot be replaced,” argues Prof. Greiner, “formula companies continue somehow getting ethical permission to experiment on babies, coming with new ingredients that they claim improves their product, but independent researches rarely show these have any impact except on the price. Infant formula will always be extremely inferior to the real product”. On top of the nutritional issue, there is also a practical one, in many developing countries, the water required to make the formula milk may be contaminated and risk exposing the infant to all sorts of pathogens. However, Prof. Greiner explains, it is not only in the developing countries where we see an unnecessary over-dependence on formula milk. In South Korea for example, the number of women breastfeeding their infants is at a low of 17 percent; 67 percent of the mothers are bottle-feeding and another 14 percent both breast- and bottle-feeding. The decline in breastfeeding practices in Korea can be correlated to an increased participation of women in the workforce, lack of social support and public promotion of bottle-feeding. According to Prof. Greiner we need to holistically rebuild a breastfeeding culture in Asia. In order to do so we need to find new ways of designing culture, for example breastfeeding is easier for women who do not work, but we do not want to go back to a time when they did not do so, but rather create an empowered generation of women who force society to change in ways that meet their needs. Baby food companies who may exploit myths that women have insufficient milk or too low quality maternal diet (to produce ‘good’ milk) and therefore need to supplement their infants diet add an extra layer of complication. There is only a very small (and insignificant) difference in the quality of milk provided by a well-fed female in a developed country versus one living in relative food poverty. Free formula distribution is probably what broke the back of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative in China of the 1990s, further driving the wholesale abandonment of breastfeeding which has gone so far already that 1/3 of Chinese babies never taste breast milk. Governments wanting to look good from a socio-political angle may exacerbate the problem. The population of the USA has gotten so impoverished that half the babies born are now served by “Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children” (WIC) which provides free infant formula thereby removing the inclination to breastfeed even though it may be far healthier for mother and baby to do so. Prof. Greiner likens bottle-feeding to caesarean section, something artificial that can save a life when needed, but something which is not natural and should not be the norm. The creation of breast feeding rooms in subway stations and parks in Seoul has gone some way to
Image from a Vietnamese greeting card. Courtesy of Prof. Greiner.
Rebuilding breastfeeding cultures in East Asia
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tackling the privacy issues surrounding breastfeeding in Korea, but in a truly breastfeeding friendly culture, women will feel no need to hide something so normal and natural. Prof. Greiner’s work has taken him across the world. In the US he worked for a non-profit organization promoting rice fortification in low-income countries, among other achievements he implemented new programs to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. As a professor of international child health in Sweden he developed his research looking at food and nutrition in low-income countries while also acting as a consultant for nutrition programs in South Africa, Yemen, India, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and South Africa among many others.
For further information contact: Professor Ted Greiner Department of Human Ecology Hanyang University, South Korea Email: tgreiner@hanyang.ac.kr
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123rf - frannyanne
Can mung bean sprouts fight cancer? Many plant-based compounds are known or believed to have a positive impact on human health. For the first time ever, a team of researchers from Malaysia, Iran and Iraq have examined the impact of mung bean sprouts (MBS) on human cancer and immune system cells. The results, published in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine journal, indicate that MBS extract – rich in antioxidants – is a potent anti-cancer agent that can selectively destroy human cervical and liver cancer cells. The researchers also looked at the underlying mechanisms behind the observed effects. They recommend further research to identify the bioactive compounds responsible for the anticancer properties of mung bean sprouts.
For further information contact: Fatimah Abu Bakar Institute of Bioscience Universiti Putra Malaysia Email: fatimah_upm_fst@yahoo.com
To sleep, perchance to dream Sleep is a vital part of life and essential for good health. During the night we move between cycles of deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. It is thought that during REM we dream; processing the day's experiences; and deep sleep allows the brain to restore. Millions of people around the world suffer from sleep disorders, which can leave them susceptible to anxiety and depression. Sleep spindles are rhythmic patterns of neuronal activity generated within the thalamocortical circuit – the fibres between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex. Past research has shown that these spindles are often abnormally increased or decreased in patients with sleep disorders such as insomnia, hypersomnia, and narcolepsy. What has not been scientifically proven yet is whether sleep spindles are directly involved in the qualitative or quantitative adjustment of sleep hours. The Institute for Basic Science in South Korea, has a Center for Cognition and Sociality, where technologies are being developed that could improve the stability of sleep. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Angela Kim, Charles Latchoumane and colleagues describe using photostimulation of the thalamic reticular nucleus of mice
to generate spindle cycles that are structurally and functionally similar to spontaneous sleep spindles. Using this method, sleep hours in the mice increased accordingly, causing a structural change in sleep and consequently improving the stability of sleep. The density of sleep spindles was correlated with the amount of non REM or deep sleep. These findings establish a causal relationship between sleep spindles and the stability of non REM sleep, strongly supporting a role for the thalamocortical circuit in sleep regulation. The discovery that the adjustment of a particular area of brain can induce the generation of sleep spindles opens new possibilities for diagnosing and treating sleep disorders. The team believe that it lays the foundation for further studies on the role of sleep electroencephalograms in the adjustment of other brain functions.
For further information contact: Hee-Sup Shin Center for Cognition and Sociality Institute for Basic Science, South Korea Email: shin@ibs.re.kr
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Nephron
Bioengineering offers practical solutions to cancer therapy In 2008, an estimated 12.7 million new cases of cancer occurred worldwide according to Cancer Research UK. In women breast cancer accounts for almost a quarter of these; in men lung cancer is most common. The challenge for medical professionals is finding the most suitable way to selectively target any one of the more than 200 different types of cancer while minimizing any harmful secondary effects of treatment (such as radiation exposure and immunosuppression). Now a research team, headed by Prof. Chae-Ok Yun from the Department of Bioengineering at Hanyang University, is using gene therapy to selectively target and kill cancer cells with minimal side effects. Cancer gene therapy uses DNA as a pharmaceutical agent to treat the cancer. Prof Yun’s team uses a genetically engineered virus to preferentially infect and reproduce inside tumour cells, finally bursting the cells and therefore killing them, a so called ‘oncolytic virus’. (fig. 1)
Figure 1: Gene therapy using an Adenovirus vector
In particular, Prof. Yun’s team has been working with oncolytic adenovirus (Ad). Oncolytic Ads specifically destroy cancer cells without harming normal cells and reproduce thousands of copies within their host cells. However, because the oncolytic antitumor activity is insufficient to effectively eliminate tumours, various strategies have been devised to improve the therapeutic efficacy. One way is to ensure the therapeutic gene containing virus can freely replicate thereby increasing the effects of anti-tumour agents (fig 2) Prof Yun’s team is also utilizing nanotechnology to improve the Ads success. In order to eradicate cancer,
Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the cancer-selective killing efficacy of oncolytic Ads. Oncolytic Ads specifically kill tumor cells at the end of their lytic cycle, while sparing normal cells. Replicated viral progeny then spread throughout a tumor, infect, and lyse surrounding cancer cells, ultimately leading to improved antitumor efficacy over nonreplicating Ads.(Choi et al., Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 64 (2012) 720-729.
not only is it essential to detect tumour tissues early (and ideally via a non-invasive route), but doctors also need to know whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (its metastatic state). Since nanoparticles possess unique physicochemical properties, a single particle can be designed to act as a multifunctioning molecular imaging probe and as a carrier to deliver anti-cancer agents to tumours. So called ‘smart Ad nanocomplexes’ have been evolved by modifying the Ad surface with a nonviral system such as polymers and nanoparticles which enables the Ad to remain in the bloodstream for longer, giving it more time to reach tumour cells, before being removed and recycled by the bodies’ own waste recycling systems in, for example the liver (where hepatocytes and Kuppfer cells break down waste and red blood cells). Prof Yun and her bioengineering team have been perfecting the design and function of these nanoparticles to allow detection as well as monitoring of cancer patients at an early-stage. Real-time, non-invasive monitoring of the theragnostic nanoparticles enables clinicians to rapidly decide whether a particular treatment regimen is effective in a patient or not. The research team has already finished a phase I clinical trial against recurrent solid tumours and is now working on a phase II clinical trial against head and neck cancer.
For further information contact: Professor Chae-Ok Yun Department of Bioengineering Hanyang University, South Korea Email: chaeok@hanyang.ac.kr
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For further information contact: Shamimi binti A. Halim Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Email: shamimi134@salam.uitm.edu.my
A collection of snake bite cases in Malaysia could result in a new identification system that will not only speed up treatment but reduce the risk of complications related to patients receiving the wrong anti-venom. The work focuses on the fang mark, an important feature in identifying a snake species. Snake bite cases are common, and fast and accurate diagnosis is vital for the patient's survival. Shamimi Binti A. Halim and colleagues at Universiti Teknologi MARA, use an Artificial Intelligence technique, Kohonen Self Organizing Map and Back Propagation Neural Network to identify the type of snake based on the snake's fang mark. The images of snake fang marks and the patient's symptoms serve as inputs to the Intelligent Snake Identification System or iSIS They plan to add ultra-violet reflecting photography to their system, which will give greater clarity to the images, going beyond the limits of human sight.
A pill that’s not hard to swallow: medication released by finger pressure
International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA)
Researchers at International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) have succeeded in developing a gel material which is capable of releasing drugs in response to pressure applied by the patient. Conventional methods of drug administration, such as injection or oral administration may cause side effects and inconvenience in some patients. To tackle this issue Dr Katsuhiko Ariga, Dr Kohsaku Kawakami and his team developed a gel containing the drug ondansetron, effective against nausea and vomiting, which can be released using finger pressure applied by the patient. This method is particularly suitable for patients experiencing nausea during cancer chemotherapy as oral administration is often difficult. The gel material is
introduced under the skin and can be released simply by pressing or rubbing it when the patient needs to. Unlike traditional drug administration methods, the gel material does not require special devices, electricity etc., which makes it particularly suitable in developing countries or those affected by disasters. The researchers hope that those suffering from hay fever or asthma will benefit from being able to administer relevant drugs simply and effectively using the gel material. The gel is produced by crosslinking calcium alginate, which is a naturally-derived component contained in algae, with cyclodextrin, which is a saccharide. Both substances are already used in pharmaceuticals. Cyclodextrin hosts a drug as a guest. This is the first report in which a host-guest interaction is controlled by mechanical stimulus. For further information contact: Kohsaku Kawakami International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics National Institute for Materials Science, Japan E-Mail: KAWAKAMI.Kohsaku@nims.go.jp
123rf - Siripong Jitchum
Snakes in the frame
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Scientists from the Philippines and Hong Kong have been studying how the human eye works in order to improve eye health. Our eye works by way of a lens, mostly composed of protein and water, which projects the incoming light into the cells (retina) at the back of the eye ball which then sends information to the brain to form a visual image. However, one function which is not well understood is how the lens adjusts focus and Dr Fredegusto Guido David at the University of the Philippines Diliman is working to unravel this process known as accommodation. Ciliary muscles, which encircle the lens, move the lens to help us focus on the desired object. Unlocking the secrets of accommodation will provide insights on how we could remedy eye ailments such as Presbyopia and on how we could help patients recover from procedures such as post-cataract surgery. Another major eye related disorder is myopia, or short-sightedness. This causes blurry vision because the eye has grown too big and becomes out of focus. This condition affects more than 80% of the young adult population in many Asian cities. It is also a growing public health issue since myopia is associated with a number of sight-threatening diseases such as glaucoma and retinal degeneration. It is not known why and how we acquire myopia; both nature and nurture appear to play important roles. The goal of myopia research is to understand why the eye has grown excessively large and to find ways to stop the myopic eye growth. Over 20 years ago, PolyU’s Centre for Myopia Research took on the challenge of advancing basic understanding of the mechanism of eye growth and devising novel treatments for myopia. Recently, their research identified new myopia genes and proteins that may be responsible for excessive eye growth. They discovered that the eye uses different optical images to guide its growth. In particular, images that
Jorge Royan
Knowing how our vision works
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focused in front of the retina can act as a “stop” signal of eye growth. Applying this principle, the Hong Kong researchers conducted a randomised control trial using a tailor-made contact lens that send out stop signals to the eye. The lens successfully slowed myopia progression by 50% in children who took part in the trial.
For further information contact: Professor To Chi-ho The Centre for Myopia Research The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: chi-ho.to@polyu.edu.hk Professor Carly Lam The Centre for Myopia Research The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: carly.lam@polyu.edu.hk Dr Fredegusto Guido David Computational Science Research Center University of the Philippines Diliman Email: coordinator@science.upd.edu.ph
Chasing genetic traces of Acute Coronary Syndrome Researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and the Sarawak General Hospital are working to identify genes linked to Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) in order to improve diagnostic methods and identify why the disease is frequently diagnosed at a younger age in Sarawak’s multiethnic people compared to individuals in developed countries. Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) commonly presents with the risk factors of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and family history. However, there are many cases in which ACS patients do not have any of the classical risk factors, suggesting the presence of a yet unrevealed genetic predisposition or other pathological molecular mechanisms. Understanding these mechanisms and pathways is important to decipher the molecular manifestation of heart disease. In search of genes associated with ACS, the team led by Dr Edmund Ui Hang Sim and Dr Alan Fong used a complementary approach of various gene expression
profiling techniques. The team examined whether patients with and without defined significant ACS can be distinguished by gene expressions and protein markers assays on peripheral whole blood. Protein markers (established biochemical markers) were studied using enzyme immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while gene expression analyses were carried out using DNA microarray and quantitative (real time) PCR techniques. It is hoped that genomic information combined with patient demographic and risk factor information, may subsequently lead to the identification of new genetic biomarker molecules, as well as development of early detection strategies. For further information contact: Associate Professor Dr. Edmund Ui Hang Sim Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Email: uhsim@frst.unimas.my
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Every city needs a garbage plant that collects and recycles waste to ensure the sustainability of city life. Similarly in living organisms the biological equivalent of “garbage” collection and recycling is carried out by a cellular process termed autophagy, which literally means “self(auto)-eating(phagy)”. Autophagy allows cells to degrade their toxic waste and damaged organelles. When this process fails, either in a city or a cell, waste accumulates and impedes daily activities. To understand what drives autophagy, researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University identified a protein called Beclin1. They found that Beclin1 works in conjunction with other proteins to ensure proper functioning autophagy and reduces the risk of cell-related disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and cancer. Autophagy performs recycling of cytosolic proteins and organelles by degrading them into smaller particles such as amino acids, lipids or other cellular metabolites which can be used to create new functional molecules. Over 30 proteins are involved in the process but until recently detailed information on these proteins remained a mystery. Associate Professor Yanxiang Zhao and her team at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University found that the atomic structure enabled the protein to interact with a variety of autophagy regulators during the reformation of
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Recycling human cells
defunct molecules. Investigating autophagy regulators have raised hopes for new cures for cancer, given that Beclin1 plays a key role in tumor suppression and resistance to chemotherapy. The team will further study the protein which will hopefully be made available for practical use in medical treatment.
For further information contact: Professor Zhao Yanxiang Department of Applied Biology & Chemical Technology The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: yanxiang.zhao@polyu.edu.hk
Your personality looking back at you: assessing Sasang typology Typical faces of four constitutional types
Typical male faces of four constitutional types in different age groups
Typical female faces of four constitutional types in different age groups
Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine
A traditional Korean medical typology, which divides people into four types based on their biopsychological personality profiles, has been assessed for its diagnostic accuracy by researchers at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM). The Sasang typology was originally theorized by Lee Je-ma and is variably used in the diagnosis and treatment of disease in Korea. There are four Sasang types: Taeeumin, Taeyangin, Soeumin and Soyangin. The Soyangin type, for example, is associated with a sharp, well-groomed individual who is extroverted, hottempered and interested in the outside world (all associated with a strong digestive function and weak discharge function). The Soeumin type, in contrast, is thought to be an inactive, prudent, narrow-minded and organized person (associated with a strong discharge function and weak digestive function). Although previous research
has compared the accuracy of the Sasang types with alternative psychometric indicators, such as the MyersBriggs Type, Dr. Kim Jong-yeol and his team sought to validate the Sasang typology fully. They developed a classification tool that determines the physical constitution of people through four criteria including facial image, voice, body shape and questionnaire with an accuracy of 70 percent or more. Representative facial images of Koreans in each Sasang physical constitution were produced using pictures combined with known medical history of 2,900 people. This data subsequently served to build composite face images of the four Sasang constitution types. The composite images developed by Dr Jong-yeol’s team are based on real people, thereby helping practitioners to distinguish different physical constitutions in a more realistic way. Based on their findings, the team concludes that the following features may be expected of each Sasang type. A Taeeumin has a broad face, horizontal eyes and large and wide nose. A Soeumin makes gentle impression and tends to have a narrow face, drooping, round eyes and narrow, drooping nose. A Soyangin often has slant eyes and prominent and rather long forehead. A Taeyangin has bright eyes, a broad forehead, large head and ears and gives strong impression. For further information contact: Dr. Jong Yeol Kim Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM), South Korea Email: ssmed@kiom.re.kr
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Intestinal infections in aboriginal children Hartini Yusof
Researchers at Universiti Teknologi MARA have been studying the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections amongst aboriginal children in Malaysia. The research will provide key information needed by policy makers to reduce infection rates. Parasitic infections such as soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and rotozoan infections are transmitted through faecal-oral routes and the most common infections in developing countries. Intestinal parasites such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworms have infected an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide according to the World Health Organisation. In order to find out the prevalence of the disease at Pos Sungai Rual, Kelantan, Malaysia, the researchers evaluated 111 faecal samples of aboriginal children aged between 4 and 12 years old. Analysis revealed that 87 per cent of the children were positive for one or more parasites. Typically girls suffered a much higher prevalence, with about one in two testing positive compared to only one in three boys. The most common infection was Trichuris trichiura. The researchers pointed out that poor environmental sanitation and personal hygiene possibly contributed to the high prevalence of infections among the children. Raising awareness of hygiene practices through health education within the community is crucial to prevent intestinal infections.
The aborigine children at Pos Sungai Rual, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Additional research into genotyping to unravel hostparasite interactions should give a more precise direction for protecting the aboriginal children from the disease. For further information contact: Hartini Yusof Faculty of Health Sciences Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. Email: hartiniyusof27@yahoo.com
Assessing avian influenza A in wild birds Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Virus samples taken from birds in different forests showed negative results, indicating that birds in Malaysia are free from avian influenza A infection.
Avian influenza A is an emerging infectious disease, often transmitted through frequent interactions between infected migratory wild birds and residential wild birds. However, the primary host for this virus has not been fully determined as it ranges from migratory wild birds to forest birds. In order to detect the occurrence of avian influenza A and the potential virus host, researchers at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak examined wild birds in different geographical areas in Malaysia. Seventeen areas were selected and further grouped into seven types of habitats categorised as primary forest, secondary forest, urban, monoculture, mixed forest of lowland and limestone, beach forest and mixed forest of secondary growth and orchard to reflect a portion of the vast tropical habitat.
Maroon woodpecker (Dinopium rafflesii) can be found in subtropical or tropical moist forest and was one of the species examined in the virus infection research.
A total of 2,219 virus samples were isolated from 1,134 birds for examination. The results confirmed that birds in Malaysia are free from avian influenza A viruses. However, the researchers said they continue to have 'major concerns' about influenza A. Frequent interactions between birds and other fauna including human may provide a higher risk of the transmission of the viruses and other possible pathogens that will trigger pandemic cases. For further information contact: Professor Dr. Mustafa Abdul Rahman Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Email: rmustafa@rimc.unimas.my
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Antimicrobial resistance in malaria, HIV and tuberculosis Antimicrobial resistance threatens to derail efforts to control malaria, HIV and tuberculosisinfected patients in Asia and around the world, warned speakers at the conference. According to Professor Nick White of Mahidol University and Oxford University, there is now “unequivocal evidence” that resistance to the antimalarial drug, artemisinin, has arisen in western Cambodia – exactly the same place from which resistance to two other antimalarials, chloroquinine and sulphadoxinepyrimethamine, arose and later spread to Africa. Meanwhile, HIV drug resistance is hampering efforts to scale up antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Asia, said Dr. Somnuek Sungkanuparph of Mahidol University in Bangkok. “Surveillance for transmitted HIV drug resistance is essential to assess the longer-term success of first-line ART.” Similarly, the success of tuberculosis control efforts depends on the early detection of drug resistant forms of the bacterium, commented Dr. Ruth McNerney of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “Wellvalidated molecular tests are now available to detect resistance to rifampicin, including tests that combine diagnosis and resistance testing with results available in less than two hours,” she said.
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Tackling the root causes of infectious diseases
How antimicrobial genes can spread in the environment In 2011, a wastewater treatment plant in Hyderabad, India was identified as an antibiotic resistance hotspot because most of the water reaching the plant came from 90 pharmaceutical manufacturers in the region. At the plant, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the wastewater were mixing with “good” bacteria that consume waste, encouraging the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes within the natural ecosystem. According to Dr. Heiman Wertheim, factories that make antibiotics should be better regulated, especially in their waste treatment. “Antibiotics need to be recognized as an environmental pollutant and antibiotic resistant bacteria should be treated as a hostile unwanted species.”
Viruses that target bacteria The spread of antibiotic resistance is reviving interest in the potential use of phages – bacterial viruses – to combat the problem. “Our laboratory and clinical data strongly suggest that phage therapy may be a safe and efficacious treatment,” reported Professor Andrzej Górski of the Medical University of Warsaw. “Good results can be achieved in as many as 40 percent of cases that had been previously unsuccessfully treated with antibiotics.”
For further information contact: Associate Professor Lisa Ng Email: lisa_ng@immunol.a-star.edu.sg Professor Francois Nosten Email: francois@tropmedres.ac Professor Laurent Renia Email: renia_laurent@immunol.a-star.edu.sg (Co-Organisers of Antimicrobial resistance: Challenges of the 21st Century meeting) 123rf - Sony Sivanandan
Avian flu and other emerging infectious diseases, and resurging epidemics such as dengue, are among today’s greatest public health and development challenges. Nowhere more so than in Southeast Asia and China, considered global hot spots of disease emergence. Rapid economic growth and environmental change, along with more intensive agriculture, are creating new opportunities for microbes. The Ecohealth Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Initiative, or Eco EID, aims to boost efforts in the region to prevent and control new and emerging infectious diseases by tackling their root causes. This research collaboration is a joint initiative of Canada’s International Development Research Centre, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Global Health Research Initiative, and the Australian Agency for International Development. Three multi-country teams are investigating the conditions that foster the emergence of diseases. They are also identifying what can be done to prevent their spread among vulnerable populations. Researchers are collaborating across scientific disciplines, government departments, and national borders to apply an ecosystem approach to health. This type of research takes a systems approach, linking people and their activities to the ecosystems that support them. One initiative is exploring how changes in poultry production policies alter the risk of avian influenza. Researchers in China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are examining whether communal poultry-raising zones outside of villages (rather than individual household based production within villages) can decrease the risk of infection and spread of disease. Their findings should help policymakers better manage poultry production and protect human health. Emerging diseases caused by parasitic worms are a major public health challenge in Southeast Asia. In another Eco EID project, researchers from six countries are focusing on Asian schistosomiasis, a water-borne parasitic disease, as well as food-borne parasitic worms. Researchers in Cambodia, China, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are working with communities and environmental authorities to generate new knowledge that will help expand the tools available to control parasitic diseases. Some tourist destinations are potential centres for the global spread of emerging disease as they struggle with rapid unplanned growth, encroachment into wilderness, and the arrival of large numbers of international tourists. A third project involves researchers in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. They are looking at how environmental changes, migration for work, and tourism interact to fuel mosquito-borne dengue, as a model for how a new disease might spread. They are also assessing the risk of new diseases from the bats, rodents, and monkeys inhabiting major tourist sites. For further information contact: Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé International Development Research Centre, Canada Email: ibourgeault-tasse@idrc.ca
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Vossman
genes – he hopes to be able to suppress the ability of the virus which causes AIDS to replicate in the body. However, just repressing the ability of HIV to replicate is not enough. The virus is prone to mutation and difficult to control even when researchers successfully ‘program’ RNAi to slow down HIV mutation in key areas of our immune system (especially T cells and macrophages). To overcome this, Prof Lee and his team are working with ‘short interfering RNA’ (siRNA--works together with RNAi to interfere with the expression of specific genes) and targeting highly conserved viral sequences that have lower mutation rates thereby increasing the chances of successfully reducing HIV replication. The trick is delivering the siRNA to the infected cells without being ‘spotted’ and destroyed either by the bodies’ own immune defenses or the infected cells. To create his horse of Troy Prof. Lee ‘hid’ the siRNA in surface antigens present on human T cells. These antigens are the first substances which appear after HIV infection and they can be used as a warning ‘flag’. They provoke the production of antibodies in the body which will come and try and neutralise or destroy the ‘invader’. Critically the receptor is rapidly ‘internalised’ after the antibody binding, so like the Trojan horse the siRNA silently enters the cells to do its work. Of course despite the progress there is a somber reality to Prof. Lee’s research. He recalled a recent phone call he received from a man who had just been diagnosed with HIV. He asked when Lee thought his new therapeutic techniques would be available to patients. When Lee admitted that it could be many years before they were commercially available, the man burst into tears. “Researchers sometimes forget” Prof Lee said gravely, “My focus was always on progressing to the next stage of the research…to getting that paper published in a top ranking journal. That phone call changed that, it reminded me that the real focus is not the next publication, but to help those suffering from HIV.”
C. Goldsmith
Developing a Trojan horse to target HIV ‘Deception’ is not a word often associated with the scientific process. However, this is exactly what Professor Lee Sang-Kyung, from the Department of Bioengineering at Hanyang University, spends his time doing. By modifying a naturally occurring process in living cells, Prof. Lee is hoping to develop antiviral therapies to target, for example, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). When targeting disease we often think simply about the ‘drug development’. A major obstacle however is the delivery of drugs to the required cells and tissues in the human body. Prof. Lee's work aims to develop the tools which will actually ensure that the drugs reach their destination. Using RNA interference (RNAi) – a naturally occurring process in cells that moderates the activity of
Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 budding (in green) from cultured lymphocyte
For further information contact: Professor Lee Sang-Kyung Dept of Bioengineering Hanyang University, South Korea Email: sangkyunglee@hanyang.ac.kr
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