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Month: June 2021

LCCM’s Youth Music Officer and Women in Music Initiative Leader releases her second single “Available”

Posted on by Global University Systems

London College of Contemporary Media (LCCM)’s Youth Music Officer, Evie Asio has released
her second single “Available”. An alternative soul track, it was named as Jazz FM’s Late Night Track of the Week on the influential Late Night China Moses show.

With international play on MFM Radio with her first single Pendulum in 2020, Evie’s return sees an alternative-soul track that looks to guide the listener through her own personal struggles with social injustice, all from a second-person perspective.

Self-produced, between her grassroots church studio and home, “Available” gives a nod towards several of her musical influences, including NAO, Hiatus Kaiyote and Jacob Collier. The composition plays with the ideas of contrast, balancing classic 80s snares against punchy guitar riffs and soaring string lines, which tie in with the main theme of the lyrics, that commonality can be found in the most seemingly different things.

“The subject is very different to every other song I’ve written,” says Evie. “It was a poet at an open mic that made me want to reflect on my own feelings about social injustice; however, I love how the song also tells a wider story about the difficulties of reflecting on our own shortcomings.”

As a singer-songwriter and producer from South East London, Evie works as the LCCM Youth Music Officer, providing opportunities for young musicians to connect to LCCM and enhance their music career opportunities. She also leads the LCCM Women in Music initiative, which seeks to challenge and remove barriers for women within the LCCM community and beyond.

“Available” is the second single from Evie’s upcoming debut album, Contending and Contention.

Scientists develop methodology to protect the “Smart City” from cyber threats

Posted on by 5100spbstu

St. Petersburg, like other cities in the Russian Federation, is actively participating in the establishment of the “Smart City” program, which will provide new services for residents of the megalopolis, increasing the safety of citizens. Digital services are essential for such a system.

Due to the Internet of Things (IoT) systems, the environment can adapt to the needs of humanity on its own accord. Cybersecurity threats are especially dangerous for such infrastructure.

Specialists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) developed the methodology for assessing cyber risks in intelligent systems of a Smart City. The developed methodology was tested on the “smart crossroads” test bench (a component of the smart transport system of a Smart City). The results were published in the scientific journal “Machines” of the MDPI Publishing House.

Scientists note that the new goal for cybercriminals is to disrupt the functioning of large enterprises and urban infrastructure, as well as is to intercept the control over them. The attackers using wireless links can remotely invade into the target subnet or device (a group of devices), intercept traffic, launch denial of service attacks, and take control of IoT devices to create botnets.

“Currently, traditional cyber risk analysis strategies can’t be directly applied in the construction and assessment of digital infrastructures in a Smart City, because the new network infrastructure is heterogeneous and dynamic. The goal of our project is to ensure the level of the information assets security considering the specifics of modern cyber threats,” notes researcher Vasily Krundyshev, Institute of Cybersecurity and Data Protection SPbPU.

Researchers of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University developed a methodology for analyzing cybersecurity risks, which includes the stages of identifying asset types, identifying threats, calculating risks, and analyzing the resulting risk values. The proposed methodology is based on a quantitative approach, at the same time it is easily and quickly computable, which is especially important for the functioning of modern dynamic infrastructures. Experimental studies using a set of developed simulation models of typical digital infrastructures of a Smart City (Internet of Things, smart building, smart crossroads) demonstrated the superiority of the approach proposed by the authors over existing analogs.

In the near future, it is planned to arrange the automatic calculation of cybersecurity risks in a Smart City based on the developed methodology.

The reported study was funded by Russian Foundation For Basic Research according to the research project № 19-37-90001.

LETI’s solution to prevent accidents and smuggling at sea

Posted on by Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University

Vessel traffic in the river and marine waters is growing, which causes the issue of control and safety of navigation. Ship collisions often result in loss of life, ship damage and costly repairs, and cause irreparable damage to the environment through oil spills. The use of ships in illegal activities, such as smuggling and sabotage, also poses a threat.

One of the main tools for ship movement monitoring is the Automatic Identification System (AIS). It provides information on the ship’s dimensions, course, and other parameters via radio channels. Besides, navigation radar systems are used for the surveillance of coastlines, ice, and other objects on the sea surface. However, they are installed mainly on large vessels.

Evgeny Vorobyov, a young scientist from ETU “LETI,” researcher of Prognoz Research Institute, suggested an effective way to detect “intruders” of water traffic. The ground-based system passive radar monitoring of vessel movements, using signals from third-party satellite-based sources (satnav systems GPS and GLONASS), will provide a radar observation virtually at any spot of the marine areas.

“The system is more economically attractive and competitive. For port cities, such a system is especially relevant, as it allows to monitor ship movement with high-rise buildings around and active development of traffic arteries. It causes no interfering with other radio equipment and doesn’t violate the sanitary standards, which is an advantage compared to active radars,” says Evgeny.

According to the developer, in Russia, there are no commercially available systems for passive radar control of ship traffic, working on reflected signals of satellite-based transmitters. The methods and principles of their creation require additional research, taking into account the specifics of signal processing of satellite radio systems.

The study will employ the developments of ETU “LETI” researchers in passive bistatic radars. A research team of the Prognoz Research Institute, together with members of the Faculty of Radio Engineering, developed such a radar, which uses signals of digital terrestrial television. One of the receivers is located on the roof of building 5 of the university. Evgeny will apply his experience in processing reflected signals of digital TV broadcasting to the development of a new system by adapting the algorithms to satellite signals.

Invasive weed may help treat some human diseases, researchers find

Posted on by Hiroshima University

Native to the southeastern United States, a weedy grass has spread northward to Canada and also made its way to Australia and Japan. Andropogon virginicus grows densely packed and up to seven feet tall, disrupting growth patterns of other plants and competing for resources. When burned, it grows back stronger. There is no way to effectively remove the weed once it has invaded. But there might be a way to use it to human advantage.

An international team of researchers has found that A. virginicus extracts appear to be effective against several human diseases, including diabetes and cancer. The results were published in a special issue of Plants last December.

“A. virginicus is an invasive weed that seriously threatens agricultural production and economics worldwide,” said paper author Tran Dang Xuan, associate professor at Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering. “However, no solution efficiently utilizing and tackling this plant has been found yet.”

Researchers found high levels of flavonoids in the samples they extracted from the weed. These plant chemicals have significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, according to Xuan. When tested against a variety of cell lines, the extracted plant chemicals bonded to free radicals, preventing damage to the cells. At skin level, this helps prevent age spots by inhibiting a protein called tyrosinase. Among other, deeper healthful actions, this bonding also helps prevent knock-on cellular actions that can lead to type 2 diabetes.

The team also specifically applied the plant extracts to a line of chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare blood cancer. The extract appeared to kill off the cancer cells.

Xuan said the researchers plan to establish a comprehensive process to isolate and purify the compounds responsible for known biological properties, as well as work to identify new uses.

This story was first published on the Hiroshima University website.

Sunway University ranked Malaysia’s top private university in THE Impact Rankings 2021

Posted on by Alyna Yong

For the first time, Sunway University entered the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2021 which measures universities’ commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and officially became the highest-ranked private university in Malaysia, according to THE Impact Rankings 2021.

 In addition to this exceptional introduction to the Times Higher World rankings, Sunway University is now officially credited to be within the Top 200 for SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, once again making it one of the world’s leading institutions in this noblest and topical of categories that reflect the dedication to creating career and business
opportunities, safe and affordable housing, and building resilient societies
and economies.

The SDG 11 highlights Sunway University as a state-of-the-art modern campus that is connected to a wide range of social and community amenities by safe walkways at treetop level (the “canopy walk”) giving a unique sustainable study, work and a social environment for our students and staff within and around the campus. Sunway City is a prime example of the new global movement of sustainable “fifteen-minute cities” with hyper-connectivity and all amenities accessible within 15 minutes by walking.

Realising the need for health and safety, Sunway University strives to focus on pedestrian priority on campus with covered walkways that run between buildings and provide students and staff convenient access to all facilities within the campus. The University was also one of just two universities that won a National Energy Award last year in recognition of its
efforts on energy efficiency.

​Professor Graeme Wilkinson, the Vice-Chancellor of Sunway University said, “We are delighted now to be recognised as one of the world’s leading institutions for sustainability. We are a signatory institution to the SDG Accord and absolutely committed to aligning
our educational and research efforts with the SDGs and this ranking demonstrates that our efforts are yielding results.”

“We know that our students are very concerned about the future of the planet and sustainability issues, and we take very seriously our responsibility to educate them on these issues and to undertake research on policies and technologies that can make an impact in relation to the SDGs.”

Launched in 2019, the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings assess universities against the United Nations’ SDGs. They use carefully calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparison across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching.

Stefan Priesner, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam congratulated Sunway University, “The education sector is a key driver in the
whole-of-nation approach towards achieving the SDGs and I congratulate Sunway University for the well-deserved recognition by Times Higher Education. Academia has a crucial role to play in nurturing future SDG champions and developing thought leadership for a more sustainable world. As an organisation, universities can also contribute by walking the talk and being SDG compliant in their business operations as demonstrated by Sunway.”

Sunway University is dedicated to championing sustainability efforts within and around the campus by instilling sustainable practices into the various aspects of the university experience such as ensuring high standards in sustainability research, sustainable work practices and sustainable consumption. It’s Last Straw’ campaign to reduce single-use
plastic on campus was a major success and helped launch the #CampusWithAConscience,
a theme very much close to the heart of all Sunwayians.

In recognition of Sunway’s embrace of the sustainability agenda and commitment to advancing the SDGs in Asia, Sunway University recently joined New York City and Paris as the three United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) centres in the world to coordinate continent-wide sustainability initiatives in Asia, the Americas and Europe/Africa, respectively.

UiTM celebrates International Mathematics Day

Posted on by FSKM Editorial Team

Honouring the beauty and significance of mathematics, the International Day of Mathematics (IDM), known before as Pi-Day, highlights the important roles played to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Supported by 16 international and regional organizations and coordinated by the International Mathematics Union, IDM featured a mixture of over 410 individual physical and virtual celebrations scheduled in more than 70 countries including in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia.

This year’s theme “Mathematics for a Better World” is hoped to spark creativity and further enlighten the relevance of mathematics to other fields, concepts and ideas. International events complemented by national programmes include the organization of webinars, conferences, exhibitions, mathematics competitions, recreational mathematics, and classroom activities.

They demonstrated how mathematics helps improve the world as highlighted by Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO, “Mathematics, with its many technical applications, now underpins all areas of our lives. Together with algorithms, mathematics plays a key role in artificial intelligence and technological disruptions – and, as we address global issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, we are reminded of the importance of mathematics in responding to the challenges of our time.”

UiTM was honoured to share a spot on the IDM‘s world map, for the second time. Themed Mathematics for Life, and working hand in hand with the Mathematical Sciences Association (PERSAMA) of Malaysia, the event started off on Friday, 12 March 2021 with a webinar on Mathematics and Humanity: the Past, the Present and the Future that detailed the interlocking among mathematics, the universe and civilization.

The webinar was aired on Webex and Youtube of Centre for Mathematics Studies, Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, UiTM and was presented by Dr Muhammad Ikhwan bin Azlan from Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS). He specializes in Islamic Thoughts and Civilization and was with the Malaysian teams for the International Mathematical Olympiad in The United States of America and Scotland.

His session clarified the dependencies between mathematics and humanity but at the same time opened up interest in the issues relating to humanity that mathematics had failed to expose.

UiTM is determined to support the Dasar Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi Negara (DSTIN) 2021–2030 and the government’s STEM agenda to realize the National Science and Technology Enrolment Policy of 60:40 of science to arts streams that are far beyond reach.

On Monday 15 March 2021, the celebration continued with Maths Mind, an interactive online workshop for school students that helped to create awareness on the use of various mathematical software and their applications in real life situations and problem solving so that they are technologically literate and able to perform in a global work environment.

UiTM students facilitated 109 school students, including 6 teachers as observers, from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK, Shah Alam through some virtual mathematical modelling and graphing activities, and fun quizzes and games.

UiTM students boosted their leadership talent when taking responsibility to organize and manage the workshop. They exercised their communication and social skills to guide and inspire the school students to build up confidence in their future studies and careers.

On a positive note, the workshop had successfully raised interest towards mathematic in 80% of the students. Nevertheless, only 48% of the students expressed their intention to pursue in mathematics at their tertiary level. Therefore, UiTM wishes to collaborate with the National STEM Association and other organizations to plan and build a solid STEM foundation through a well-rounded curriculum to ensure that school students are exposed to and interested in the STEM subjects from a very young age and throughout their educational career as to respond to the second wave (2016-2020) of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025.

The Mathematics and Life video competition completed the UiTM IDM 2021 celebration. Besides the UiTM students, it welcomed our global partners, the Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology of India, the National University of Uzbekistan and Samarkand State University of Uzbekistan.

The competition aims for the students to showcase their ideas and bring mathematics to life in a way that can help to break barriers for those who may not otherwise understand how mathematics is used around us.

 

TUS scientists study agricultural pest that relies on bacteria to overcome plant defenses

Posted on by Tokyo University of Science

The oral secretions of herbivorous insects can activate plant defence mechanisms that protect plant cells from being digested. However, scientists at the Tokyo University of Science have discovered that some larvae “partner up” with bacteria that help interrupt these plant defence mechanisms. This disrupts the plant’s defences before the digestive proteins that the larvae smear on them. These findings may help agricultural scientists devise countermeasures that protect important agricultural species from larvae.

To Prof. Gen-ichiro Arimura of Tokyo University of Science, this is a fascinating result: “Although it is well known that symbiotic microorganisms in animals (especially bacteria in the intestines of herbivores such as pandas and cows) affect biological activities such as digestion and reproduction, the fact that they affect the prey (i.e., the plants) is not so
well known.”

In other words, the fact that the insect’s bacterial partners work to alter biochemical processes within the living plant before it is eaten is a matter of considerable interest to scientists.

Prof. Arimura and his research team, in collaboration with Okayama University, wondered whether such partnerships with bacteria may apply in the case of the insect Spodoptera litura, the larvae of which are major pests that commonly damage crops in Asia.

In an article recently published in the journal New Phytologist, Prof. Arimura’s research team experimented with applying the oral secretions of S. litura larvae to mechanically damaged leaves of the thale cress plant (Arabidopsis thaliana).

When the researchers sterilized the oral secretions to kill or remove any bacteria that may be present in them, they found that applying these secretions to the plant leaves stimulated the expression of defense-related genes and the production of oxylipins that play important roles in defending A. thaliana cells from digestion. However, when the researchers applied oral secretions that had not been sterilized, the bacteria present within the oral secretions acted to prevent the expression of defence-related genes and the production of oxylipins.

In contrast, the bacteria stimulated the production of salicylic acid and abscisic acid, two chemicals that act to suppress the production of oxylipins.

These findings are compelling evidence that bacteria in the oral secretions of S. litura assist the larvae in overcoming plant defence mechanisms, and the researchers wanted to identify the bacteria responsible. Tests of the larvae’s oral secretions revealed the presence of a bacterium called Staphylococcus epidermidis, and further experiments confirmed the S. epidermidis acted to suppress plant defence mechanisms.

These results provide important insights into how S. litura counteracts the defence mechanisms of the plants that it feeds on, and Prof. Arimura hopes that knowing more about the relationship between the larvae and the bacteria will help crop scientists develop techniques to protect important crop species from S. litura. Such techniques may help farmers reduce their use of environmentally harmful pesticides, and Prof. Arimura expresses optimism that his research will thus “contribute to the creation of a safe and secure food supply and a rich environment.”

MMSU student organizations hold international webinar on COVId-19 risk communication

Posted on by John Vincent B. Toribio

While the Mariano Marcos State University, continues to ‘Expand External Linkages and Partnerships’ amid the new normal, its student organizations are also now conducting international virtual activities.

This month, the Young Communicators’ Circle (Y2C) and the English Language Society (ELSoc) of the MMSU College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) held international online webinars that discussed the role of responsible communication and the English language in facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both organizations invited foreign resource speakers and student-participants in their lecture sessions.

The Y2C’s Young Communicative Human in Development (YouComManD) Congress held last May 3-7 were participated in by MMSU’s partner-universities: Duytan University in Vietnam; USCI University in Malaysia; Universitas PGRI Madiun (UNIPMA), University of Muhammadiyah Prof. DR. HAMKA (UHAMKA), and the Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha (UNDIKSHA) in Indonesia.

With the theme “CommIMMUNEication: Safeguarding People and Bridging Distances amid the COVID-19 Pandemic,” the YouComManD congress was graced by Philippine Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan who served as the guest of honour and speaker.

Y2C President Anna Sherina Mariñas said the congress topics include media and health literacies, responsible social media use, the journalism of today and the ASEAN context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speakers include Dr. Sigit Ricahyono from UNIPMA and Dr. Farida Hariyati of UHAMKA. Other lecturers were Mr Mark Cashean Timbal, spokesperson of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC); Dr Alexander G. Flor, dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies of the University of the Philippines Open University; Mr Nestor Corrales, Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter and MMSU communication program alumnus; communication professors from University of Santo Tomas (UST), University of Northern Philippines (UNP) and MMSU; and, local online and broadcast journalists.

Reaching more than 2,000 people with around 3,000 engagements, the webinar sessions were live-streamed on the organization’s official Facebook page .

Meanwhile, the ELSoc’s English Language month last April 20-30 was composed of online lectures and creative competitions in line with the theme, “Empowering Societies for the Next Normal through the English Language.”

Resource speakers were Ms. Annapoorni Anand of the Access Program in Hyderabad, India; Mr. Matthew Gleason, former English Language fellow at MMSU; and, Dr. Kadek Eva Krishna Adnyani of the UNDIKSHA. Mr. Rizaldy Mendoza of the Pio del Pilar Elementary School in Manila, an MMSU English program alumnus, also served as a lecturer.

ELSoc President Maria Izza Viernes said the sessions tackled empowerment through storytelling in the English classroom, English in the 21st century and beyond, English for empowerment: the case of Bali, and language teaching interventions during this pandemic. The sessions were attended by ABEL students via Zoom.

Dr Mee Jay A. Domingo, external linkages and partnerships director, expressed delight on these activities saying, “these events prove that MMSU students have also now imbibed the value of internationalization as a huge part of their holistic development.”

Further, Dr Marivic M. Alimbuyuguen, college dean, commended Y2C and ELSoc, saying “the activities showcase the students’ hearts and commitment for MMSU as we all strive to go international.”

‘Expanded external linkages and partnerships is one of the University’s seven-point agenda, ACHIEVE, which targets intensified internationalization efforts.

Thammasat Business School students win first prize at CFA Research Challenge in Thailand

Posted on by Thammasat University

Students from Thammasat Business School (TBS), Thammasat University, once again retained the champion of CFA Research Challenge in the Thailand Championship. This event is the stock analysis competition participated in by students from leading universities across the country to win the championship and become a national representative for international round.

Mr Athipat Siripongpat, a 4th-year student from Finance & Marketing, BBA International Program, Miss Chalermlak Tantiwiwatkul, Finance Major, Miss Darin Laocharoen, Finance Major, Mr Krittapas Siritapaneeya, Finance Major, and Mr Puttinat Krungkraipetch, Finance Major were part of the winning team.

Mr Athipat Siripongpat said “The case we received this year was the “PTG stock analysis” case which the main business is PT gas station.  We had only 10 minutes for report preparation and presentation. We set milestone planning by performing a preliminary analysis and determining the deadlines of each task. It is not easy to do an in-depth and full analysis as we were allowed to use only the existing public information.

The winner of the national round will be the representative of CFA Thailand and participate in the sub-regional, regional and global round. It has been a challenging 5-months competition. The CFA questions are different each year based on a wide range of industries, such as consumer goods, real estate and services.

This year’s question is PTG, which is in the energy industry. The challenge is the complexity and specific data of the energy industry, e.g., oil and gas value chain, marketing margin, and the retail price structure. It took us some time to have a clear understanding of the company and the energy industry.

Knowledge obtained from the BBA class was adopted for the challenging competition. The skills used mostly are from the finance classes, such as financial modelling for price evaluation and recommendation. In addition, economics is also used to analyze the overall direction of the economy.

“Our key success factor is teamwork and great collaboration. We realize that this game requires a lot of preparations. Working individually may save time but work as a team makes all of us understand everything more clearly, equally and simultaneously especially while we are trying to do an in-depth analysis of the information and to minimize errors as much as possible.” added Mr Puttinat Krungkraipet.

Scientists to take a new step in the microelectronics’ development

Posted on by 5100spbstu

Researchers of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) developed a new approach to determine the best electrode materials composition for Solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The results of the study were published in the first quartile journal Nanomaterials, MDPI. The Russian Science Foundation supports the project.

The development of miniature devices such as sensors and Internet of things (IoT) devices requires establishing small and complex power supplies with a high energy density.

According to experts, traditional technologies for lithium-ion battery production reach their limits. It is difficult to reduce the size and control the shape of the power source any further in the required nano and micron dimensions. Meanwhile, micro and nanoelectronic technologies, such as Atomic Layer Deposition, can assist in producing miniature solid-state lithium-ion batteries with a high specific energy.

Studying the new nanoscale materials for electrodes of lithium-ion batteries, the research group of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University developed a method to determine the electrochemical capacity of each component of the nickel-cobalt oxide system.

Transition metal oxides have a high capacity and relatively low costs, which is required to develop lithium-ion batteries. In the investigation of thin films obtained by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were used as anode materials and demonstrated a high charge capacity at high current densities.

We obtained nickel-cobalt oxide materials in the wide range of compositions from nickel oxide to cobalt oxide and proposed a method to determine the contribution of the capacity of each of the electrochemically active components of the charge/discharge process. This multipurpose technique can be used to determine the best materials’ compositions for lithium-ion batteries notes Dr. Maximov of High School of Materials Physics and Technologies, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport SPbPU.

In the future, the scientists plan to use their developments to create improved cathodes and solid electrolytes to produce a prototype of thin-film solid-state lithium-ion batteries.