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Month: October 2021

New treatment for inflammatory bowel disease

Posted on by Tokyo University of Science

In a recent study published in Frontiers in Immunology, Prof. Chiharu Nishiyama, Kazuki Nagata, and Ayumi Okuzumi from the Tokyo University of Science and Prof. Hiroshi Nagase from the University of Tsukuba attempted to understand the effects of opioids on the immune system. They tested the effects of KNT-127—an artificially synthesized opioid that activates delta-opioid receptors—on immune responses in live animal and cell culture experiments.

When mice with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were treated with KNT-127, they showed a reduction in the severity of colitis—a form of colon inflammation—indicated by lower weight loss and colon atrophy and improved disease activity scores. Similar results were also obtained in a recovery model, confirming the beneficial effects of KNT-127 against colonic inflammation.

Although these results were promising, an important caveat still loomed. “Before proceeding with additional experiments, we had to rule out the role of CNS opioid receptors in the anti-inflammatory effects of KNT-127,” says Prof. Nishiyama, the lead researcher on the study.

To address this, the researchers performed similar experiments with YNT-2715, a peripheral KNT-127 that cannot cross over from the blood to the brain. The results were similar to those observed with KNT-127, confirming that its anti-inflammatory effects were indeed CNS-independent.

Encouraged by this, the group examined other immune-related effects of KNT-127 treatment in the colitis model. They found that during disease progression, the opioid reduced the serum levels of IL-6, a pro-inflammatory factor, while also decreasing the number of macrophages in the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs).

Interestingly, they also observed an increase in the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in MLNs. Together, their results showed that KNT-127 suppresses the inflammation caused by macrophages during disease progression and enhances the anti-inflammatory response due to Tregs during recovery.

Finally, to understand the direct effects of KNT-127 on immune cells, the researchers performed in vitro experiments in which they treated macrophages derived from bone marrow or T cells from the spleen with the drug. The results were consistent with those from animal experiments, revealing increased secretion of the pro-inflammatory signals as well as enhanced development of Tregs in response to KNT-127 treatment.

Altogether, the findings demonstrated that KNT-127 can directly act on immune cells and reduce the severity of inflammation, making it a good candidate for the treatment of IBD.

“Several people around the world suffer from diseases related to colon inflammation, and so far, optimal treatment strategies are lacking. Our findings show that KNT-127 and other activators of opioid receptors could be promising therapeutic options for such diseases,” comments Prof. Nagase, the chief drug developer behind the synthetic opioid, while also cautioning of the road ahead.

“Of course, before these drugs are used clinically, additional experiments will be required to elucidate how they exert their immunomodulatory functions and what their effects on other immune diseases are,” he adds.

Nevertheless, Prof. Nishiyama and her team are confident that their study represents an important milestone, not only towards the treatment of IBD but also towards our understanding of the “brain-gut axis”—the interrelationship between brain and gut function—which has received increasing attention in recent years.

“Today, we know that poor mental health has physical manifestations. For example, stress worsens inflammation in the gut, which in turn affects the health of the brain. Our results on the immune-related effects of opioids, which commonly act on the brain, is a step toward unravelling the biological mechanisms that govern the reciprocative relationship of gut health and the immune system with the CNS,” mentions Prof. Nishiyama, excited about what the future holds.

Batteries from solar panel scrap to support the circular economy

Posted on by Thammasat University

The School of Global Studies, Thammasat University; Indorama Ventures; the United Nations Development Program (UNDP); the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF); and the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for Sustainability introduced an innovation created by young innovators to raise awareness about the problem of waste in Thailand.

An opportunity was given for young innovators to hone their skills in inventing solutions social and environmental problems. In this project, 174 teams registered for participation and a total of 108 projects were submitted for competition with the aim of supporting the circular economy and the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy. Yutthanakorn Khanapan, leader of the RECYSO team, first-prize winner of the circular economy innovations contest, discussed the team’s circular economy innovation concept as follows:

“Our idea was that it was unnecessary to excavate mines to create batteries. All we had to do was to take scrap from solar panels that had already expired to be recycled for making lithium-ion batteries. This is consistent with the circular economy model, as it is not only the aim to try to produce zero waste, but to also recycle waste to ensure that they remain as part of the economy.”

 Thailand began using solar panels in electricity production ever since 2002. With solar panels having about 20 years of usage life, it is expected that by 2022, Thailand will gradually have up to 620,000-790,000 tons of expired solar panels. Accordingly, it has to be admitted that solar panels are beneficial for the purpose of producing clean energy.

However, as these panels expire and are discarded as scrap without proper disposal, many environmental impacts will follow, including greenhouse gas emissions in the form of carbon dioxide and dioxins from improper incinerations, and pollution by heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, tellurium, indium, and gallium, whereby sunlight and rain exposure in landfills might cause these heavy metals to leach into the soil, rivers and canals, leading to environmental and community impacts.

Yutthanakorn said, “Right now, the main reason a solar panel recycling industry has not yet materialized in Thailand is cost ineffectiveness.  In other words, the total value that can be extracted from the recycling of these materials amounts to only 400 baht, so most processes just extract the glass and aluminum frames and then landfill the rest.

As for leftover plastic scrap and heavy metals, some companies extract silicon or metals in solar panels to recreate solar cells. However, purity levels have to be increased in doing so, and the process involved is difficult, complicated and very expensive, so it is not cost effective at all.”

“The clear distinction of our innovation is that we extracted the silicon inside solar panels, just like other people, but we modified the properties of this silicon to be suitable for batteries on the nanometer level, which is very small. To get to a nanometer, you have to divide a single strand of hair into eight hundred thousand smaller strands, one of which is equal to a nanometer. We were able to carry out the process and managed to increase the value of metal-grade silicon inside solar panels to an extracted value of 75 baht per kilogram.

When used to create lithium-ion batteries, it can be made for use just like any type of batteries such as batteries for electric vehicles, depending on the design and usage purpose. In a single battery cell, we used it for about 10-15% of the negative terminal. That is the amount that we replaced with nano-silicon or the materials we extracted. In terms of properties, they are light, but have high capacity and long usage life.

“This opportunity provided by the School of Global Studies of Thammasat University, Indorama Ventures, and other partner organizations through the collaborative organization of this event was like many hands joining together to say, “You can do it!” and I believe it will really happen someday. It is a key source of encouragement, and what I expect from this point on is the development of a complete plant that can be used for establishing a start-up or used in the production of industrial factories in recycling solar panels in Thailand,” Yutthanakorn concluded.

UE to offer free industry certification courses on digital skills and latest technologies

Posted on by Global University Systems

The University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) has announced a collaboration with leading business and tech companies to offer its students a suite of digital courses at no additional cost. These courses will prepare students to earn badges and/or industry certifications.

UE will work with industry leaders – including IBM Enterprise Design Thinking, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Facebook, Tableau and HubSpot – to incorporate the latest technology and industry expertise into its degrees. The courses range from digital skills and marketing, social media, sales and cloud fluency.

Starting from the winter 2021 intake, all new students enrolling with UE at any campus will be able to integrate their degree of choice with a selection of short courses, with no additional fees. Upon completion of the courses and successful completion of the required exams, the students will be awarded badges or certification, giving them the differentiators in a highly competitive technology market.

UE is committed to promoting the future-oriented development of skills and interdisciplinary teaching formats, in step with actual practice and according to the highest international standards. Professor Maurits van Rooijen, Rector at UE, said: “UE is a leading private university in Germany, known for its close relationship with businesses and graduates who are valued by employers.

“Through the interaction among creative, entrepreneurial, and digital thinking, as well as an international perspective, the various fields of study mutually enrich each other and offer new approaches in teaching and research tailored to the requirements of Job Market 4.0.”

“Working with tech industry leaders, with this initiative we make our graduates even more attractive. Following the launch of our Innovation Hub, we continue our evolution towards becoming Germany’s tech-business and design-business university.

A recent global research study by McKinsey[i] has shown the huge impact on employability, earnings and job satisfaction for students who combine a degree with the right skills package. The addition of these industry-powered and certified courses represents UE’s response to the changing expectations of employers.

Companies worldwide are now looking beyond workers specialized in one subject. Instead, they search for “T-shaped” professionals who can add a broad experience in different disciplines to the deep knowledge in one specific field.

“Technologies, global trends and international mobility are affecting business education, which now needs to prepare students for a more complex and varied landscape. By adding additional expertise via these certifications, our students will gain further knowledge and become even more employable early on in their career,” added Professor Johannes Kiessler, Programme Director for Innovation Design Management.

TPU scientists find simple method to produce refractory and robust Silicon Carbide from sawdust

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University have developed and patented a simple and cheap method of producing silicon carbide, a superhard and refractory material, from wood waste. This material is used, for instance, in creating protectors in armoured cars and bulletproof vests, braking systems of sports cars.

The developed method allows rejecting the application of large vacuum chambers, accompanying equipment and great expenses for their preparation. The research findings are published in the Materials Chemistry and Physics academic journal (IF: 4,094; Q1). Journalists of the TASS news agency were more told about the research work of the TPU scientists.

Nowadays, silicon carbide and other carbides are produced in expensive vacuum chambers where the air is removed for a long time in order to carry out the required reaction with carbon and silicon at the temperature up to 2,500°C.

“We have developed a vacuum-free electric arc method. Using this method, we produce silicon carbide from charcoal. To produce charcoal, pyrolyzed sawdust processed under a very high temperature is used, i.e. it is waste of woodworking industry,” Alexander Pak, Research Fellow of the TPU Research Center – Ecoenergy 4.0, one of the developers, told the journalists.

The TPU scientists’ method allows rejecting the application of expensive vacuum chambers, accompanying equipment and many hours long preparations.

In the machine developed at TPU, the air around the object is ionized, as the result, there is a gas cloud that removes the air and does not allow the charcoal to burn. Then, using a high-power electric arc, the required temperature is reached in seconds producing crystals of silicon carbide.

Unlike the direct alternatives, this method is the most convenient, energy-efficient and fastest what allows reducing the cost of material production.

Hidden in the Seeds: Bacteria found to survive the harsh interior of Passion Fruit seeds

Posted on by Tokyo University of Science

For the first time ever, a research group consisting of Dr. Toshiki Furuya, Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Biological Science, Tokyo University of Science, Japan, has succeeded in isolating bacteria from the seeds of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis). Their research, which also unearths the surviving mechanisms of these bacteria inside the seeds, has been published in the journal MicrobiologyOpen.

In their study, the scientists focused on the seeds of P. edulis. The seeds of this fruit are full of secondary metabolites with strong antimicrobial properties, such as resveratrol and piceatannol—the latter present at high levels of up to 2.2 mg/g.

As Dr. Furuya reveals the rationale behind choosing passion fruit seeds for the study, “The extraordinarily high concentration of piceatannol protects P. edulis seeds from microorganisms. We thought it would be interesting to know if any endophytic microorganism could survive this extreme environment and if yes, how.”

Earlier reports showed that endophytes capable of surviving in an environment rich in biologically active compounds possessed biocatalytic activities related to the metabolism of these compounds. The fact that their biocatalytic potential could be exploited for therapeutic purposes made the scientists even more eager to explore the presence of endophytic bacteria.

The scientists collected and surface-sterilized the seeds of naturally grown P. edulis before either cutting or crushing them and placing them on solid agar-based growth media to check for microbial growth. While no microbial colony appeared from the cut or homogenized seeds, interestingly, the seedlings sprouting from the cut seeds, when exposed to growth media, gave rise to microbial colonies. The scientists then performed sequencing to identify the bacteria that appeared on the agar plate.

The findings were remarkable. From the seedlings, the scientists isolated 19 strains, including three previously unreported strains of bacteria from various genera. They hypothesized that inside the seeds, piceatannol exerted bacteriostatic (or “bacterial growth-stalling”) rather than bactericidal (or “bacteria-killing”) effects on the residing bacteria.

Ms. Aoi Ishida, the co-author of the study explains: “Due to the presence of a high concentration of piceatannol, the growth of the bacteria was stagnated inside the seed, but when transmitted to the next-generation seedlings during germination, the bacteria were relieved from the effect of piceatannol and able to grow again.”

The scientists also found one of the bacteria, Brevibacterium sp. PE28-2, to possess the ability to convert resveratrol and piceatannol to their respective derivatives. This is the first endophyte shown to exhibit such activity.

Dr. Furuya and Ms. Ishida are very hopeful that the method established in this study is expected to be effective in isolating several useful endophytic bacteria from a variety of plants. Moreover, considering the current focus on engineering new biomolecules with diverse applications, the results of this study would accelerate research on seed endophytic bacteria.

Japanese companies become familiar with work of Russian Consortium of Hydrogen Technologies

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

On July 5, representatives of over 60 Japanese organizations and companies, including Toyota, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and others, discussed the development of the market of hydrogen technologies in the online mode. Experts of Tomsk Polytechnic University became invited speakers of the webinar that was arranged by the Japan Association for Trade with Russia & NIS (ROTOBO). They told about the Russian initiatives in low-carbon energy, particularly about the work of the Consortium of Hydrogen Technologies and the university developments.

It should be mentioned that the Consortium of Hydrogen Technologies was created in Russia in November 2020 under the initiatives of the universities jointly with the Russian Academy of Sciences with the support of executive authorities and industrial companies. Its co-founders and first members became the Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Sakhalin State University, Samara State Technical University.

Dmitry Sednev, Acting Rector, Co-chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Consortium, told the Japanese colleagues about the current work on Thursday, July 5.

“Creating the Russian Consortium, of course, we became familiar with the global experience. The analysis showed us that in many countries research organizations and companies jointly develop hydrogen technologies,” Dmitry Sednev noted.

“We can see that the implementation of such significant initiatives as forming the market of the hydrogen economy, hydrogen involvement in various areas of the industry is a backbreaking task for only one organization.”

“This work is comparable with national space programs or atomic projects. Implementing such a task is possible only jointly, united the efforts of a large number of diverse organizations. The Russian Consortium of Hydrogen Technologies was initially created as a distributed structure. Its members locate in different regions of Russia, from Moscow to Sakhalin,” Dmitry Sednev said.

The Consortium has already united over 20 Russian universities and research institutes, as well as 16 industrial partners. By today, the working parties have been formed from the Consortium members. These working parties study technological obstacles delaying the introduction of specific technologies and products at the market, as well as the introduction of proposals to tide over these obstacles. Based on the results of the work, there will be presented a public analytical report on promises of the development of hydrogen technologies in Russia.

“It will be a document reflecting the technological condition of the hydrogen economy in Russia. As the Consortium includes all key members both industrial, science and technological ones, I believe that this report will best reflect the circumstances in Russia at the moment. I am sure that we will have an opportunity to publicly present our report at one of the important events devoted to the hydrogen economy. Moreover, the report will be released on the Consortium website,” said Dmitry Sednev answering the questions of the webinar members.

The universities, which joined the Consortium, possess significant groundwork in hydrogen technologies. Over 150 scientists and engineers conducting their research in hydrogen economy work at TPU.

“For the last 20 years, the research groups of TPU and academic organizations of Tomsk Oblast have accumulated their technological and research groundwork in hydrogen economy enough to be integrated into the process flow of creation of hydrogen economy. TPU possesses groundworks on all the elements of the process flow from hydrogen production, storage, transmission and to application,” said Andrey Lider, Head of the TPU Division for Experimental Physics.

The technologies of creation thin-film electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells, hydrogen fuel cells based on polymeric membranes to produce green hydrogen, plasma conversion technologies to produce turquoise and grey hydrogen, treatment processes of solid fuel to produce brown hydrogen, which are technologies for hydrogen transmission and storage, are at the different stages of implementation.

“Second-Hand” psychological stress can lead to depression in mice, finds study

Posted on by Tokyo University of Science

In a pioneering study, scientists from Japan established that psychological stress can negatively affect neurogenesis and cause depression in a mouse model.

Recent research has explained how vicarious social defeat can cause psychological stress in mice. This involves the mouse being made to experience the defeat of another mouse in an experimental social setting. Using this model, a group of scientists from Japan attempted to establish a link between depressive symptoms and hippocampal neurogenesis.

Professor Akiyoshi Saitoh from Tokyo University of Science, one of the lead authors of the study, further explains the motivation behind this research, “The number of individuals suffering from depression has been on the rise the world over. However, the detailed pathophysiology of depression still remains to be elucidated. So, we decided to focus on the possible mechanism of psychological stress in adult hippocampal neurogenesis, to understand its role in depressive disorders.” The study was published in the journal Behavioural Brain Research.

After exposing the mice to chronic vicarious social defeat stress, Prof. Saitoh and the team, including Mr Toshinori Yoshioka and Dr Daisuke Yamada from Tokyo University of Science, analyzed their behaviour and brains in close detail.

Aside from behavioural deficits like social withdrawal, the stressed mice also showed a significant decrease in the survival rate of newborn neurons in the dentate gyrus, a region in the hippocampus responsible for sensory perception and memory, compared to the non-stressed controls. This condition persisted for up to four weeks, after “stressing” the mice. However, cell growth, differentiation, and maturation did not differ between the groups of mice during the period of observation. Notably, the cell survival rate was restored in the stressed mice after treatment with a chronic antidepressant called fluoxetine.

Regarding the results, Mr. Toshinori Yoshioka adds, “We have found out that chronic mental stress affects the neurogenesis of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Also, we believe that this animal model will play an important role in elucidating the pathophysiology of depression, and in the development of the corresponding novel drug.”

Overall, this study has provided important insights into the pathophysiology of depression. Also, it goes without saying how this study paves the way for future research into the role of psychological stress in depression.

SMU and Singapore Green Finance Centre panel discussions on ESG Measurements and Standards

Posted on by Tim Jaycock

Sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing is on the rise. But with SRI investing called out as “marketing hype” by sceptics like Mr Tariq Fancy, the former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock Inc, the importance of measuring and assessing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact on investment is more pertinent now than ever before.

However, various stakeholders have raised concerns over the reliability of existing ESG ratings, including the difficulties in comparing different metrics, biases and inconsistencies in rating construction, and low correlations between different ratings. There is a pressing need for greater standardisation of ESG information disclosure and impact measurement, as well as other means of valuing impact, not just in its natural unit but also in monetary terms.

As such, the SMU Sim Kee Boon Institute (SKBI) and Singapore Green Finance Centre (SGFC) hosted Panel Discussions on ESG Measurements & Standards, a fringe event at the 4th annual Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI) conference.

The first panel was moderated by SKBI Director, Prof Dave Fernandez, who is also part of this year’s GRASFI Conference Committee and co-leads the Singapore Green Finance Centre (SGFC), a new institute that conducts research and trains professionals in green finance. Delving on the recent development of ESG impact measurement, the panellists included SMU Adjunct Professor Wong Dan Chi, Head of ESG Integration, APAC at Schroders; Mr Dave Chen, CEO/Chairman of Equilibrium; and Dr Adrian De Groot Ruiz, Executive Director of Impact Institute.

Prof Wong, who is developing and teaching the SMU module Sustainability & Metrics, kickstarted the discussion by explaining that ESG first came about as a means to quantify externalities — consequences of industrial or commercial activities which are not reflected in market prices — and find a way to capture them.

“I think the ratings are an easy way for new starters to come onboard [sustainable investment],” noted Prof Wong.

“But among more serious and sophisticated fund managers and clients, it’s become quite an automatic habit to pinpoint the relevant issues, because everyone has their materiality and an idea of what is important to them.”

At Schroders, for example, investors employ a platform called impactIQ to understand the impact their investments are having on society and the environment. It includes the proprietary tool SustainEx, which translates social impact into financial costs. Prof Wong stressed the need to define both positive and negative impact and does so by turning to academics and white papers to define the top ways to address the externalities. Finally, a cost is attributed to social impacts and externalities based on academic and industry studies.

“I would tell you that for the first 10 years of our existence, sustainability, or impact, or ESG were not front and centre, mainstream topics,” shared Prof Wong.

“We serve institutional clients from around the world and these are large, sophisticated institutions that are planning to place large blocks of capital. In the last three or four years, almost every one of these clients has begun to demand visibility into our sustainability and impact programmes.”

Similarly, Impact Institute is a social enterprise that develops methods and tools to measure and monetise impact. Dr de Groot Ruiz explained that, increasingly, businesses need to create profit as well as a positive impact to be successful. Organisations now recognise the need for an accurate system to measure that impact to inform rational decisions.

“Quite a lot of data has been generated, probably too much data, but it doesn’t help you in making decisions,” revealed Dr de Groot Ruiz.

Decision-makers need to consider all material impacts because, for example, if the focus is solely on climate change, biodiversity for land rights may suffer. The impact has to be quantified, otherwise, it is not possible to compare different options and companies across different metrics. As such, a form of harmonisation of different approaches is required to come up with an impact weighted accounts framework. The framework then provides standardised, validated accounts containing information about the business cycle impacts required to make those informed impact decisions.

Furthermore, as Mr Chen emphasised, a critical part of ESG measurement lies in “moving to operationalise data as opposed to reporting and transparency”. He stated that certain metrics like the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in California is a market-making mechanism that materially impacts pricing. For example, the same unit of natural gas with an extremely low carbon intensity score is priced at almost 20 times higher than its less sustainable equivalent.

“Market pricing is now sending a signal to the downstream users of natural gas, wanting to convert from fossil natural gas to biogas, and the midstream, the refiners, as well as the generators,” said Mr Chen.

“So the entire value chain in the US now has been shifted as a result of this quantification of externalities.”

To discuss research and policy surrounding measurement and standardisation were panellists Andrew King, Questrom Professor in Management, Boston University; Shawn Cole, John G. McLean Professor of Business Admin, Harvard Business School; and Michael Tang, Head of Listing Policy & Product Admission, Singapore Exchange. This second panel was moderated by SMU Associate Professor of Finance Liang Hao, who is on the Management Committee of the SGFC.

Prof King, a leading authority on environmental performance and innovation, started the discussion by highlighting his concerns over the ability to create a total impact score for firms that is meaningful and useful. He shared that he was working on a paper on “heroic accounting” and how proposals for monetising corporate planetary impacts are “alluring, impossible and perilous”.

“We now have a few people making decisions about what the impacts are for all these other entities in the world,” remarked Prof King.

“We can say, okay, well we’re just going to trust accountants and financial advisors. But we should also remember that we had a little kerfuffle in the middle of the late part of the 2000s when we had not done a good job of evaluating the risk of credit, collateral debt obligations.”

Prof Cole also warned against using ESG ratings without placing greater thought on their significance and noted the extremely low correlation between ESG ratings. He too reiterated the need to do better in terms of standardising measurements.

“It’s unclear to me when and how the world will have the collective real power to impose a carbon tax that gets the social cost of carbon right, and until then, we can make some progress through capital markets,” said Prof Cole.

While ESG ratings are far from perfect, Prof Cole suggested that its ability to get CEOs and corporates interested in measuring and managing carbon emissions can nevertheless lead to some degree of carbon reduction and help motivate political coalitions towards more thoughtful carbon regulation.

Mr Tang also reflected that there is room for improving different investment philosophies methodologies and models, from the perspective of someone implementing policies to promote sustainable investing and the better use of sustainable information.

“The basic problem we have right now is data,” added Mr Tang.

“It is both a question of defining what kind of data we require, as well as the scope of the data that companies are reporting, and that is something I think as securities regulators, we are motivated to act upon.”

He agreed that the market can serve as a mechanism to correctly price impact, as demonstrated by the Climate Impact Exchange, a Singapore-based global carbon exchange that aims to scale the marketplace for the trading of carbon credits. While more can be done to achieve the standardisation of impact measurement, policymakers, business organisations, governments and investors need to work together to build an ecosystem for truly sustainable investing in the future.

Chula Lecturer’s research signals biodiversity in Southeast Asia

Posted on by Chulalongkorn University

The Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, and German researchers recently discovered the world’s newest species of frog in Myanmar which highlights the diverse ecosystems of Southeast Asia, while cautioning that the use of agrochemicals may alter the frog’s reproductive systems risking their extinction.

Amphibians such as various species of frogs are signs of ecological integrity and well-balanced ecosystems, but in the past, ecological degradation has caused the number of these animals, especially the common green frogs and tree frogs to decline dramatically, and have now been listed as “endangered species”.  The discovery of the world’s new species of frog in Myanmar by Chula’s Faculty of Science and the German team of researchers is, therefore, something to rejoice about.

                              Dr. Panupong Thammachoti, the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University
Dr. Panupong Thammachoti,
the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University

“This new species has a low call and not as piercing a call as general anurans. These frogs are small in size and their skin is a little slimier than other species.  The feet are webbed as these frogs live near water. Similar frogs can be found in Thailand but are of different species,” explained Dr. Panupong Thammachoti, the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, about the new discovery which was recently published in the international academic journal Vertebrate Zoology.

                  

Since 2017, the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, in collaboration with Senckenberg Research Center, Germany, have been exploring the tropical forests in Thailand, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia to study and assess the biodiversity of amphibians, including reptiles in Southeast Asia.

                    

“We have been collecting amphibian and reptile specimens in many countries in Southeast Asia over the past three years and found these frogs in the jungles of Myanmar that we could not clearly classify in terms of taxonomy.  After bringing the specimens back to be analyzed in our lab, we found that this is the “world’s new species,” said Dr. Panupong, a taxonomist and ecologist.

                   
                   

In the laboratory analysis process, the co-researchers compared morphological differences, analyzed vocal variations, studied evolutionary relationships, including genome, and genetic information until they could determine their genus.  The genus Occidozyga was switched to Phrynoglossus and their scientific name was announced as Phrynoglossus myanhessei in March.

“The word myan comes from Myanmar, and hessei comes from the state of Hesse in Germany, who was our sponsor throughout the research period in Myanmar,” Dr. Panupong elaborated on the origin of the name.

Finally, he stressed the importance of ecosystem and amphibian conservation that “these animals tend to live in humid climates because their skin requires constant moisture.  On the food chain, they are both the predator and the prey. They eat insects but are also eaten by birds and snakes. This is an important mechanism in nature that maintains the balance in the ecosystem. However, in the past several decades, the use of pesticides in agroindustry has been critically affecting their population.  The chemicals tainting their water habitats have destroyed their organs and reproductive systems until their number has dwindled and that disturbs the ecological balance.”

Currently, Dr. Panupong is studying “Kukri snakes” – non-venomous snakes that like to eat poisonous snake eggs — a natural population control of poisonous snakes.  Another study is looking at biodiversity using molecular DNA technology and it is being conducted at Chula’s Research and Technology Transfer Center in Nan Province.

Scientists unravel the mysteries of irreversibility in electrochromic thin films

Posted on by Tokyo University of Science

Scientists from Japan have quantitatively evaluated ion-trapping-induced degradation in lithium intercalated tungsten oxide films

In a recent study published in Applied Surface Science (made available online on August 13 2021, and to be published in Volume 568 of the journal on December 1 2021), scientists from the Tokyo University of Science and the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, collaborated to quantitatively assess the irreversibility of LixWO3 thin films.

Discussing the key concerns that the study addresses, Associate Professor Tohru Higuchi from Tokyo University of Science, who led the study, observes “There are two critical questions that arise: First, is irreversible Li2WO4 formation different from irreversible Li+ trapping? Second, can these irreversible components coexist?”

He adds, “Conventional measures are unable to differentiate between the two irreversible components. As a result, we conducted a quantitative examination to offer solid answers to these questions.”

The scientists devised a quantitative evaluation method that combines in situ hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) and electrochemical measurements. HAXPES is used to investigate buried interfaces, whereas electrochemical tests are used to examine corrosion properties. The intercalation of Li+ results in a redox reaction that changes the oxidation state of tungsten (W) ions from W6+ to W5+.

Based on this change, HAXPES can evaluate “reversible Li+” and “irreversible Li+ trapping.” However, evaluating “irreversible Li2WO4 formation” using HAXPES is challenging.

Dr Takashi Tsuchiya, a Principal Researcher at NIMS and co-author of the study, explains why: “W ions in Li2WO4 have a stable oxidation state because they exist in the W6+ form. As a result, HAXPES is unable to evaluate the irreversibility caused by Li2WO4 formation. Electrochemical measurements, on the contrary, can distinguish ‘reversible Li+’ from the two irreversible components. Therefore, integrating both methods enables the distinction and quantitative evaluation of all three components.”

To conduct the electrochemical measurements, the scientists built a LixWO3-based redox transistor on the flat surface of a lithium-ion conducting glass ceramic (LICGC). They also built an electrochemical cell with a WO3 thin film as the semiconductor and a LICGC substrate as the electrolyte to conduct HAXPES measurements.

Furthermore, they employed in situ Raman spectroscopy to assess the influence of Li+ insertion on the LixWO3 structure. They were able to successfully determine the increase in crystallinity caused by Li+ insertion. The proportions of reversible Li+, irreversible Li2WO4 formation, and irreversible Li+ trapping were calculated to be 41.4%, 50.9%, and 7.7%, respectively.

The scientists believe that their study will help develop and design improved EC materials and devices.

“For several years, the main impetus for EC research and development has been potential applications in energy-efficient buildings and aircraft. However, there are several other applications as well, such as the energy-saving and vision-friendly electronic paper displays,” says Dr Kazuya Terabe, Principal Investigator of the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics at NIMS and a co-author of the study.

“Moreover, our findings broaden the application possibilities by providing the basis for the future development of high-performance WO3-based EC devices.”

Untangling the irreversibility conundrum is certainly a big step forward, but there is still much work to be done, although the pace is sure to go up.