Month: January 2021

In a bid to come up with solutions to monitor, predict and improve air quality, particularly in megacities, the University of Helsinki and Slush conducted a virtual hackathon titled ‘Venture With Air’, and  “Haze-Ard” a solution proposed by a team from the International Institute of Information Technology – Hyderabad (IIIT-H) has made it to the shortlisted works.

The competition saw entries from 12 different countries across 4 continents, with only 8 submissions making it to a shortlist. The organizers invited participants to come up with answers to questions such as how to make cities more liveable through tracking and presenting street-corner air quality data, how local businesses can use real-time air quality data to serve their clients better, and so on.

IIITH students under the supervision of Dr. Sachin Chaudhari created an application to address environmental visibility. According to the team comprising of Rajashekar Reddy Chinthalapani, Jayanthi Narang, Siddharth De and Sara Spanddhana, while various parameters of air quality are monitored and discussed, conditions of poor visibility are never updated to the general public. They decided to focus on this aspect because as humans, we are more sensitive psychologically and physiologically to visual input. Plus, pollution in terms of poor visibility is there for everyone to see.

The team’s main objective was to propose a solution based on the deployed air pollution sensor network with the potential to simultaneously save lives and be commercialized. Titled ‘Haze-Ard’, the solution aims to predict visibility values in kilometre on a specified path or at a specified place by using data from the air pollution sensor network deployed in Finland and the data generated using FMI SILAM model.

Impressed by the scope of solutions offered by the teams, Jari Strandman, CEO of Helsinki Innovation Services said, “All of the shortlisted works were of very high quality.” According to one of the jury members, Maija Palmer, “The (Haze-Ard) innovation focused on one particular aspect of air quality which has real consequences for people. It feels a bit niche because this is a solution for megacities only, but in those cities, it has the potential to save lives.”

Porphyrins are interesting drug delivery vehicles that can specifically accumulate in cancer cells. However, how the structure of the drug-conjugated porphyrin affects its ability to penetrate and accumulate within cancer cells is not well understood. Researchers from the Tokyo University of Science (TUS) are investigating the correlation between the structure and tumor accumulation of porphyrin derivatives. Their findings can help to optimize drug delivery, possibly advancing cancer treatment.

Researchers at TUS, including Asst. Prof. Toshifumi Tojo, Mr. Koshi Nishida, Assoc. Prof. Takeshi Kondo, and Prof. Makoto Yuasa, have dug deeper into how the structure of porphyrin derivatives can affect tumor accumulation. Their findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Explaining their motivation, Dr. Tojo, who led the study, says, “Porphyrins are used as the basic skeleton of new drugs for cancer treatment due to their ability to accumulate in cancer cells. They possess different functional group modification positions for drug conjugation. Whether these positions confer different physical properties and membrane permeability remains unclear. Our aim was to investigate how these differences impact drug delivery.”

In their study, the researchers explored the β (third) and meso (middle) position of functional groups in porphyrins. First, using a breast cancer cell line, they looked into how these functional positions affect the time-dependent accumulation in cancer cells, ranging from 2- to 24-hour time points. They found that meso-derivatives accumulated in cells at 3-fold higher amounts than β-derivatives and that derivatives with smaller functional groups allowed better aggregation than the larger ones.

Next, they investigated how these functional group positions influence the pathway by which porphyrins enter cancer cells. They found that porphyrin conjugates form complexes with plasma proteins that facilitate their transport via endocytic vesicles. Additionally, the compounds could also diffuse into the cytoplasm through the cell membrane.

Moreover, considering their electron-rich nature, porphyrins likely interact with serum proteins that transport them to the cells. The researchers, therefore, measured how different positions influence the affinity of these porphyrin conjugates with serum proteins and how increased affinity may enhance tumor accumulation. They found that while the meso-position improves intracellular accumulation of porphyrin conjugates, it did not have a major effect on the movement of small functional groups into the cell.

Concluding their findings, Dr. Tojo remarks, “Our study reveals that the functional group modification position of porphyrin greatly affects the membrane permeability and intracellular tumor accumulation. We are hopeful that our findings can help inform guidelines for the structural design of novel porphyrin drugs.”

Overall, their study gives insight into how the structure of drug delivery systems like porphyrins must be considered to achieve maximum efficacy, hopefully paving the way for advancements in cancer drug delivery.

Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences (FSKM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian Public Sector Retirement Fund (Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, in short, KWAP) in September 2020 at KWAP’s office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The memorandum was signed by UiTM Vice Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Datuk Ir Dr Mohd Azraai Kassim and KWAP Chief Executive Officer Syed Hamidah Syed Othman.

UiTM and KWAP have mutually agreed to have collaboration and exchange of knowledge expertise and specialities specifically in the field of mathematical and actuarial sciences. Both parties also agreed to have an exchange of knowledge in the field of data and computer science that would be applicable and relevant to facilitate KWAP in enhancing its data management and analytics capability. In addition, KWAP also agreed to accept the undergraduate and graduate students from UiTM for industrial attachment. Based on mutual interest in matters related to UiTM and KWAP, both parties agreed to co-organize conferences, short courses, and meetings.

Emeritus Professor Datuk Ir Dr Mohd Azraai Kassim highlighted, “The agreement between two parties will pave the way for UiTM’s effort to stay advanced with latest development and issues involving social security and financial planning”. He added “the signing of MoU will create more future talent with skills on better investment planning for assets and liabilities matching.

Syed Hamadah Syed Othman said that “UiTM had a track record of educational excellence with a dynamic network and the collaboration between both parties, and definitely will contribute to KWAP especially in terms of its business requirements”. This involves quantitative and qualitative analysis in research work such as risk modeling, investment management, and retirements benefits liability valuation.

He also added, “KWAP will take part in enhancing knowledge on financial planning and retirement preparedness with UiTM’s network with an aim to promote knowledge building as well as provide attachment programs”.

On December 21, 2020, the Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center launched the “Digital X-Ray Room” (CUHC General Digital X-Ray 2020), which offers diagnostic radiology services for various diseases to members of the Chula Community. Prof. Dr. Bundhit Eua-arporn, Chulalongkorn University President, presided over the opening ceremony.

In the opening speech,Prof. Dr. Bundhit Eua-arpornstated, “X-ray machines are the heart of diagnosis and the Digital X-ray room at the Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center will help provide efficient and self-reliant health services to Chulalongkorn students and personnel.”

“Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center also has a network connection to Chulalongkorn Hospital and nearby hospitals.  This will make Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center a model for medical care for other agencies and will help expand services to the general public in the future,” said Prof. Dr. Bundhit.

Dr. Santhiti Dahlan, M.D., Director of the Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center revealed, “The Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center started off as Chulalongkorn Health Unit, established 63 years ago in 1959. The center never had an X-Ray machine and when patients required an X-ray or were in an accident, they had to be transferred to a hospital. The process was time-consuming and complicated and so plans for the Digital X-ray Room were drawn up.”

“The CUHC General Digital X-Ray 2020 project has the world-class Phillip Digital Diagnost C90, which is the latest model and the first to be imported into Thailand. It is certified by the Department of Medical Sciences and will be used for medical examinations, lung x-rays, and medical certificates for renewal of government tenure,” said Dr. Santhiti.

Dr. Thanat Tabtieng, M.D., Lecturer at the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and radiology expert said, “The x-ray machine can take high-resolution images and help with the diagnostics of various organs, such as the lungs and abdomen, and bone and joint diseases inflicting the spine, knee joints, and skull. The digital X-ray images will be transferred to a monitor so that radiologists can read the images and interpret them immediately in just a few seconds.”

Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center, located at Chamchuri 9 Building, the  provides comprehensive medical services, including preliminary care, 11 specialized clinics, dental care, physical therapy room, preventative care, physical recovery, as well as a 24-hr ambulance service for emergencies.

The digital x-ray room is now open to faculty members, staff, students, as well as residents in the Chula neighborhood.

In a recent study, scientists from Japan and Turkey have attempted to uncover the role that Ni defects have in the crystal structure of these alloys and how their desirable thermoelectric properties are a consequence of small changes in strain around defective sites.

If we are to prevent the impending environmental crisis, it is imperative that we find efficient and sustainable ways to avoid being wasteful. One area with much room for improvement is the recycling of waste heat from industrial processes and technological devices into electricity. Thermoelectric materials are at the core of research in this field because they allow for clean power generation at little cost.

For thermoelectric materials to be used in vastly different fields such as steelworks and transportation, they need to be able to operate in both high and low-temperature regimes. In this regard, “half-Heusler Ni-based alloys” are currently under the spotlight thanks to their attractive thermoelectric efficiency, mechanical strength, and durability. Though much effort has been devoted to understanding and improving upon these peculiar alloys, scientists have found it difficult to clarify why half-Heusler Ni-based alloys have such a high conversion efficiency. Some have theorized that defects in the material’s crystal structure increase its thermal conductivity and, in turn, its conversion efficiency. However, the crystal structure around the defects is unknown and so are their specific contributions.

In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, a team of scientists from Japan and Turkey, led by Associate Professor Hidetoshi Miyazaki from Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan, have now attempted to provide a clearer view to this. Their research combined theoretical and experimental analyses in the form of large-scale crystal structure simulations and X‑ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectra on NiZrSn alloys.

Using these techniques, the team first calculated the structural effects that an additional Ni atom (defect) would have in the arrangement of NiZrSn crystals. Then, they verified the theoretical predictions through different types of XAFS measurements.

Dr. Miyazaki explains, “In our theoretical framework, we assumed crystal lattice distortions to be a consequence of atomic defects to perform first-principles band structure calculations. XAFS made it possible to obtain detailed information on the local crystal structure around atomic defects by comparing the experimental and theoretical spectra of the crystal structure.”

These observations allowed the scientists to accurately quantify the strain that Ni defects cause in nearby atoms. They also analyzed the mechanisms by which these alterations give rise to a higher thermal conductivity (and conversion efficiency).

The results of this study will be crucial in advancing thermoelectric technology, as Dr. Miyazaki remarks, “We expect that our results will contribute to the development of a strategy centered around controlling the strain around defective atoms, which in turn will allow us to engineer new and better thermoelectric materials.”

Hopefully, this will lead to a leap in thermoelectric conversion technology and hasten the transition to a less wasteful, decarbonized society—one in which excess heat is not simply discarded but instead recovered as an energy source.

On a final note, Dr. Miyazaki highlights that the techniques used to observe fine changes in strain in crystalline structures can be readily adapted to other types of material, such as those intended for spintronic applications and catalysts.

There is certainly much to gain from going after the fine details in materials science, and we can rest assured that this study marks a step in the right direction toward a better future!

At the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH), the emphasis has always been on dissolving boundaries to acquire knowledge through its interdisciplinary curriculum. Hence when a research initiative that applied AI in the healthcare space was mooted early last year, IIITH proactively stepped in to bring faculty and multiple students together as a single team. Unfortunately, these efforts coincided with the Covid-19 outbreak temporarily derailing the momentum. Recognizing however that Coronavirus is here for the long haul, the entire project transitioned to the online mode with 10 students from across India.

Illustrative of its interdisciplinary nature, the healthcare and AI (HAI) initiative runs 10 projects across a gamut of healthcare issues from automatic identification and characterization of kidney diseases to interpreting chest radiology images for diagnostics. There are also ongoing projects relevant for drug discovery such as the creation of an ML model that can predict the binding site from the 3D structure of proteins.

A study that draws immediate attention due to its application to Covid-19 is one on mutation prediction of viruses based on genomic sequences where researchers are trying to predict the potential mutation sequence of Covid-19 as well the host of Covid-19 using ML and deep learning techniques.

Other research initiatives have resulted in scientific papers that are ready for publication. One of them pertains to an improved Visual Question Answering model (where the system infers answers from text-based questions) on medical images outperforming existing models.

Another’s goal is to develop a computer-aided diagnostic tool that can detect and classify children on the autism spectrum. Other research studies that can enhance the accuracy of disease diagnosis and prognosis involve deep learning models for classifying various types of brain cancers, predicting the progression of pulmonary fibrosis and interpretation of abnormal ECG heart rates.

At a time when the research was being put on the backburner due to the uncertainties brought forth by the pandemic, it is laudable that a joint effort of this kind was not only possible but successful. It’s unique for two reasons – the nature of collaboration itself and the virtual platform upon which it has been executed.

With the launch of an applied Artificial Intelligence research center on campus called INAI in collaboration with Intel, the Telangana government, IIITH, and the Public Health Foundation of India, this in-house healthcare project acts as a ‘catalyst’. HAI is laying the foundation for much bigger things that IIITH has in store with INAI. We plan on engaging with more faculty, and researchers from across the country as well as collaborate with hospitals and other healthcare agencies.

The Faculty of Engineering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed an embedded energy harvester to sustainably power smartwatches and wristbands by converting kinetic energy from the arm swing into electricity.

From tracking workouts to staying connected to measuring your heart rate, there’s no end to what smartwatches can do, and their popularity has made them a verifiable daily companion. However, most smart devices are still limited by mediocre battery life. Thanks to the latest innovations from the Faculty of Engineering at the CUHK, soon, you may never experience an empty battery in your devices again.

Collecting Energy from a Walker’s Swinging Arms

A research team led by Professor Wei-Hsin Liao of the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering has developed an embedded energy harvester that is very efficient in generating electricity to sustainably power smartwatches and wristbands. By replacing mechanical gears with electromagnetic converters, the harvester works by converting kinetic energy from the arm swing into electricity, and the device can be embedded in a standard-sized smartwatch.

A typical mechanical gear and rotor inside an automatic watch fail to generate sufficient energy from a wrist movement. To overcome this challenge, Professor Liao and his team applied a magnetic frequency-up converter. By upping the frequency of human motion, the energy harvester can efficiently convert the human motion into electrical energy, resulting in a power output ten times that of devices currently available.

The research team came up with a highly compact embedded generator, equipped with a motion capture unit, a magnetic frequency-up converter, and a power generation unit. Thanks to the magnetic frequency-up converter, the energy harvester is highly compact and has a very high normalized power density. Although the total volume of the harvester is 5 cm³, it can still achieve a 1.74 mW power output.

An Embedded, Renewable Power Supply

Benefiting from high power output and power density, the energy harvesting system can be easily embedded in smartwatches and wristbands to provide a sustainable power supply. Unlike mechanical gears, the magnetic frequency-up converter uses magnetic force for transmission, avoiding the energy loss caused by mechanical friction. And magnetic transmission has the added benefit of protecting the device from impact. Furthermore, the magnetic frequency-up converter has the advantages of simple structure and low cost, which will help to commercialize the device in the future.

Professor Liao is an international expert in the area of mechanical engineering. A testament to his contributions in the field of sciences and technologies associated with adaptive structures and material systems, he was selected to receive the 2020 Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers – the first Hong Kong recipient of the award.

You can read more about the innovation here.

Taiwan has not seen any local COVID-19 infections since April 2020. When the outbreak took hold in January this year, Taiwan’s Centre for Disease Control reacted quickly and started to roll out a series of epidemic control measures, and so did the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech). Although most Taiwan Tech faculty and staff were still on Lunar New Year vacation, a university-wide Epidemic Prevention Response Team was set up to coordinate measures.

“Taiwan’s experience with SARS in 2003 has certainly helped to deal with the situation,” said Taiwan Tech Vice President Rong-Huay Juang, who is a trained biochemist, “and what is more, several public health experts are currently serving in high government positions, including our vice-president.”

Of course, it has not just business as usual on the Taiwan Tech campus, with almost all cultural, sports, and social events canceled – including the celebration for Taiwan Tech’s 45th anniversary.

International degree students continue to be admitted, but they are required to undergo a two-week, strictly controlled quarantine in government facilities before the start of term. Dispensers with hand sanitizer are deployed at the entrances of all buildings, in cafeterias, seats are divided by plastic partition panels, and the Computer Centre has developed an attendance tracking app that allows immediate contact tracing in case of on-campus infections.

Another challenge has been to safeguard the right to education of enrolled Taiwan Tech students who got stuck in their home countries due to travel restrictions. Taiwan Tech decided to introduce hybrid teaching so that classes could still be followed through distance learning. The Taiwan Tech Centre for Teaching and Learning Development has been quick to set up training sessions and workshops for online teaching tools, assisting our academic staff to offer distance learning materials in addition to their on-campus courses.

With visits by international delegations, academic conferences, and other important events, like the annual APAIE conference, canceled or postponed, the Office of International Affairs now focuses on carrying out epidemic prevention measures. This translates into a lot of detailed planning and frequent overtime work for OIA staff.

At the end of August, before the start of the winter semester, OIA staff had to be at the Taoyuan Airport almost all around the clock, to welcome international students and guide them through the immigration and epidemic prevention procedures. As of October, 18th Taiwan Tech has welcomed a total of 144 foreign students from 22 countries, with most of them coming from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Ethiopia.