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Month: January 2022

Russian scientists publish training aid for biotechnological experts of nicaragua

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Experts of Tomsk Polytechnic University and Saint Petersburg Scientific Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums have published a training aid entitled Medication Life Cycle from Pharmaceutical Development to Putting Out of Commission for training engineering staff of biotechnological production in Nicaragua. The training aid is dedicated to quality assurance of medication.

Writing a joint training aid became a part of the educational project by BioNica related to the organization and construction of a Russian-Nicaraguan enterprise of the Latin American Institute of Biotechnology MECHNIKOV, S.A. in Managua (Nicaragua). It is the one biotechnological enterprise in Central America.

“Currently, there is a problem of expansion of production, therefore a question of training staff has come up. Managua universities do not train engineers for biotechnological productions. Experts of Saint Petersburg Scientific Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums (a coordinator of the project by BioNica) addressed a proposal to TPU to engage in this project two years ago,” says Elena Krasnokutskaya, Head of the TPU Kizhner Research Center.

The volume of the training aid is 310 pages. The aid contains 11 chapters dedicated to government regulation in biotechnological and pharmaceutical productions, standardization and product quality control, storage and transportation of pharmaceutical goods, operation, maintenance of critical equipment and utilities, and other topics. The aid is published in Russian and Spanish. It is designed for advanced training of staff of operating biotechnological production, academic staff of University of Managua and experts of the Ministry of Health of Nicaragua.

“When the main content of the aid was prepared, we realized that there was a lot of material and it had a different level of complexity. Therefore, there was a decision to publish two aids. The first aid is more focused on relevant questions related to the operation of modern pharmaceutical productions in accordance with the requirements of international law. The second aid is more fundamental. Its main idea is to give future engineers an understanding of the importance of a systematic approach for the creation of medication at all stages of its life cycle. By agreement with the colleagues from Saint Petersburg Scientific Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums this aid will be published at TPU,” Elena Krasnokutskaya adds.

Within the cooperation of TPU and Saint Petersburg Scientific Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums, it is planned to arrange advanced training for academic staff at universities, experts of the Ministry of Health of Nicaragua, as well as training for master’s degree students from Nicaragua who study the Pharmaceutical Biology educational program at TPU sponsored by a future employer.

“Participation in such projects as BioNica is quite essential. It is that real contribution, which Russian education can make in the promotion of domestic high-tech products to the international market,”

“Participation in such projects as BioNica is quite essential. It is that real contribution, which Russian education can make in the promotion of domestic high-tech products to the international market,” Elena Krasnokutskaya adds.

President University holds ICSECC 2021

Posted on by President University

Tuesday (14/12), the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Computer Science, President University (PresUniv), in collaboration with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Indonesia CSS/RAS Join Chapter, held the International Conference on Sustainable Engineering and Creative Computing (ICSECC) 2021 virtually. This virtual conference has entered its 3rd year. This time the theme is “Bringing New Ideas and Insights to Enhance Our Innovative Capabilities in The New Normal Era”.

This time participants from seven countries attended ICSECC, presented 73 research results, and involved several campuses, such as the University of Indonesia, Bandung Institute of Technology, Sepuluh November Institute of Technology, IPB University, Airlangga University, Surabaya University, Binus University, and several others. Meanwhile, overseas campuses include Beihang University from China, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia, De La Salle University Dasmarinas, and Jose Rizal University from the Philippines, The British University and Ain Shams University from Egypt.

This International Conference presented several speakers, such as Arjon Turnip, Ph.D., Chair of the IEEE Indonesia CSS/RAS Join Chapter, Dr-Ing. Erwin P. Sitompul, M.Sc., Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, PresUniv, Dr. eng. Alexander William Setiawan Putra, BS (EE), M, Phil, from Wada Engineering, Japan, and Antonius Agus Susanto from PT SAP Indonesia.

Prof. Dr. Ir. In his opening remarks, Budi Susilo Soepandji, DEA, Chairman of the President’s University Education Foundation, said, “Technology plays a key role in the current new normal era. So, the ICSECC event this time is expected to be able to offer solutions and significant contributions in the form of research or findings while still considering the sustainability aspect,” he said.

Alexander William, an alumnus of PresUniv, presented Optical Wireless Power Transmission (OWPT) technology which helps increase convenience, comfort, and daily mobility. Meanwhile, Agus Susanto emphasized the importance of every organization having VUCA (Vision, Understanding, Clarity, and Adaptability or Agility) to survive in new normal situations. Johan Runtuk, Chair of the ICSECC 2021 Committee, said that although the conference was held virtually, this event has its own uniqueness. He explained, PresUniv can use Technology to make virtual displays more attractive.

Researchers create a multifunctional biochip to diagnose chronic diseases

Posted on by Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University

Today, the most important problem of biomedical analysis is the prompt diagnosis of chronic diseases – in particular, cardiovascular diseases, which are the main cause of mortality, according to the WHO. Timely diagnosis and care are often decisive factors determining the disease’s progression. The main preclinical diagnostic tool is electrocardiography, which, however, often fails to identify the developing myocardial infarction.

“Today, there is a growing prevalence of chronic and systemic diseases in the population, such as cardiovascular diseases – heart attack, stroke, chronic heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, pancreatitis, and others. At the time when HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria are spreading, these problems seem less important, but WHO statistics show that it is chronic diseases that lead to reduced life expectancy, disability, etc. Therefore, cheap, timely, and accurate diagnosis of chronic diseases is crucial for successful treatment and prevention of their development,” says Tatiana Zimina, Associate Professor of Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics of ETU “LETI”.

According to scientists, it is more reliable to confirm the diagnosis using biochemical methods, namely the analysis of disease biomarkers in the blood. LETI scientists suggested using new approaches when creating tests: identification of protein markers (proteomics), bioinformatics, and others.

“Currently, a large number of protein biomarkers of diseases have been identified. Based on this, we can build a system that allows prompt decision-making for each patient. However, the existing means of a biochemical diagnosis of chronic diseases are expensive and labor-intensive, and some of them have unsatisfactory accuracy,” explains researcher.

The LETI research team aims to find ways to create a cheap and versatile biochip-based system for a rapid diagnosis of chronic diseases. The work is conducted jointly with the Almazov National Medical Research Centre. The team includes specialists in biophysics, information technology, micro- and nanoelectronics, biochemistry, nanotechnology, precision mechanics, and other areas.

“There are three complementary areas in the project: modeling the spatial structures of proteins using bioinformatics, verification of modeling results with experimental results of analysis of biochemical properties of proteins, and development of lab-on-a-chip for rapid disease diagnostics,” says Oleg Markelov, Head of the “Advanced Wireless Technologies” area at ETU “LETI.”

At the first stage, LETI scientists will assemble a library of protein markers characterizing a particular disease. In the second stage, they will develop a compact hybrid-integrated circuit board (biochip). Scientists will teach it to recognize various disease protein markers with high accuracy and selectively capture them. In addition, the project will develop a methodology for diagnosing chronic diseases using biochips. LETI researchers have already begun systematizing known biomarkers related to human physiological parameters.

LETI scientists and their colleagues from the Almazov Center plan to develop a biochip-based system by 2024. A patient will have to submit blood or saliva samples for analysis. The test result will be ready within half an hour, which is tens of times faster than traditional blood tests. After receiving the patient’s express results, the doctor will be able to decide if more thorough quantitative tests are necessary.

HKAPA part of “Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme”

Posted on by Communications Office

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is pleased to be one of the exchange institutions of the new “Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme” developed by Royal Academy of Music. Beginning in Sep 2022, students from twelve of the top conservatoires in the world can take part in educational exchanges with Royal Academy of Music.

The twelve participating conservatoires include The Juilliard School (New York), Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Hanns Eisler Academy (Berlin), The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Music and Performing Arts (Munich), Reina Sofía School of Music (Madrid), The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Music and Graduate School of Music.

Talented students of the Academy’s School of Music will be able to benefit from these collaboration projects which vary in length from a short, single-term of intensive project-based work to a full year of tuition.

IRNI-IPoPS 2021 connects UiTM to Pharmacy Related Research

Posted on by Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM Editorial Team

The Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM, once again proudly organized and hosted an auspicious event that took place between 28th and 29th September 2021. The Virtual Joint Symposium of the International Research Network Initiative (IRNI) and the 8th International Postgraduate Conference on Pharmaceutical Sciences (IPoPS2021) was co-organized with the School of Pharmacy, International Medical University (IMU) Malaysia and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science (TUS) Japan. This event was successfully conducted with the participation from the IMU and TUS, as well as the partnering universities, namely Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) Indonesia, Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) United Kingdom, Mahidol University (MU) Thailand, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) India, and University of Santo Tomas (UST) Philippines.

The IRNI-IPoPS 2021 is the continuation of the previous editions of IRNI (established in 2020) and IPoPS (established in 2012). The symposium was intended to nurture future collaborations in grant acquisitions, joint publications, joint supervisions, staff/student exchanges and more. The 2-days event commenced with the opening speech by the deans from IMU, TUS and was finally officiated by the Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM, Assoc. Prof. Dr Shariza Sahudin. The session continued with a plenary talk by Prof. Dr Takehisa Hanawa from TUS, followed by a series of other plenary and invited speakers’ sharing sessions from partnering universities. The other plenary speakers were Dr Lee Choy Sin (IMU), Prof. Dr Teh Lay Kek (UiTM) and Prof. Dr Mitsue Saito (Juntendo University, Japan). The invited speakers that presented were Dr Muhammad Insanu (ITB), Prof Dr Rahgu Raj Singh Thakur (QUB), Dr Sinoy Sugunan (GITAM), Mr Roy Martin B. Pajimna (UST) and Dr Pakatip Ruenraroengsak (MU).

Apart from driving future collaborations, the objective of IRNI-IPoPS 2021 was to provide a platform for academics, researchers, healthcare practitioners, industry professionals, and students to exchange and share their knowledge and expertise in fields related to life sciences, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, chemistry, and pharmacy practice. The event successfully achieved this objective through impactful oral and poster presentations given by more than 110 participants. In addition to that, accepted abstracts will be published in the Scopus-indexed Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TJPS).

Following the discussions, several potential collaborations could be initiated in the near future, such as in the area of community pharmacy, health technologies, medication safety, pharmacotherapy, and pharmacogenomics. Other shared interests are in the research of natural product-based and complementary & alternative medicines, especially in anticancer, neurodegenerative, inflammation and cardiovascular diseases.

TPU scientists create coating enhancing protection of metal

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University jointly with their overseas colleagues have developed a coating, which reduces the biofouling of metals in water and other biological environments by 100 folds. The coating allows making medical implants more lasting and safer. The research findings are published in the Applied Surface Science journal (IF: 6,707, Q1).

Biofouling is the accumulation of undesirable deposits on metal surfaces submerged into the biological environment. It causes due to microorganism activity, reduces functional properties of metal and may lead to its destruction. The problem is relevant for many areas, in particular, marine vessels and medical devices to be implanted.

According to the scientists, the main solution is giving properties preventing microorganism settlement on the surface. For these purposes, titanium dioxide is frequently used, however, it is expensive and not effective in all cases.

The TPU scientists proposed a cheap means, which allows reducing the activity of biofouling by 100 folds. It is higher than indexes of titanium dioxide by several folds. First of all, the solution is designed to fight against pathogenic microbial flora on the surface of medical implants, however, it is also applicable for any other devices.

“Using cations, we combined bulk soft alginate films, which were obtained from brown algae (Phaeophyceae) with calcium and copper in different proportions. Moreover, we also researched the impact of strength film properties and their wettability with water and oil on the amount of settled microscopic life forms,”

Sergey Tverdokhlebov, Associate Professor of the TPU Weinberg Research Center, tells the journalists of the RIA Novosti news agency.

According to the scientists, the structure of the film surface of copper alginate prevents attaching bacteria, microalgae and other organisms for which copper is toxic. Varying the volume of this metal in the film, it is possible to prepare a construction for operation in a certain environment taking into account its bioactivity.

In the long run, such films can be introduced in both shipbuilding and targeted drug delivery attaching required drug compounds to the film before implantation. It will allow reducing drug load to the organism and impeding contagion,”

Sergey Tverdokhlebov comments.

The research work was conducted jointly with experts of Harbin Institute of Technology (China).

JC Thammasat Student won the Royal’s Plaque!

Posted on by Thammasat University

“Kor Tae Nhoi (May I touch you?) Team”, students from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, Thammasat University, with Professor Panwadee Prayong as the consultant, was able to win the “first prize” from the 30th J-MAT Award Marketing Plan Contest, which is one of the largest student marketing plan contests in the country and also received the Creative Award and the Best Advisor Award from the contest.

The 30th J-MAT Award Marketing Plan Contest is a competition organized by the Young Members of the Marketing Association of Thailand (J-MAT) Club under the supervision of the Marketing Association of Thailand with the Big Star Company Limited, the producer and distributor of GAMBOL brand shoes under the concept of Chic…Walk, Cool…Idea” as a sponsor. This year, a total of 214 teams submitted their works to the project, of which, the champion went to the Thammasat student from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, Advertising Major who could win a prize money of 130,000 baht and a royal plaque from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

“Kor Tae Nhoi Team” is a team of a total of 10 fourth-year students, namely Ms. Kannaphit Prasiratenang, Ms. Papvard Trakulkooboon, Mr. Peerapat Bunnikom, Mr. Puritat Konchanawan, Mr. Thanavich Yawanopas, Mr. Phoptawan Punprom, Ms. Nannaphat Chunhengpan, Ms. Methavadee Sripaoraya, Ms. Apisara Boonyu and Mr. Suparerk Adisaiyatham.

Ms. Kannaphit Prasiratenang, one of the team members said that even though she is not majoring in marketing, but by studying various modules in the Faculty of Journalism, she is able to adopt and apply those knowledge both in terms of marketing, advertising, modern technology media and the study of consumer behavior in this era that is rapidly changing. The concept of the project is “Chic…Walk, Cool…Idea” which matches those in Gen-X and Gen-Y and matches the target group that the team has set. So, in order to gain insights from the customers, the team therefore proposed the concept “GAMBOLlisation”, that derived from the brand name Gambol, plus Globalization, making the brand communication more relatable to people and able to universally communicate to those around the world.

As for the marketing plan, “Kor Tae Nhoi Team” presented the plan that is not focusing purely on marketing, but including the aspects of technology, creativity, design, and investment as well. Their aim is to reach the attention of the new generation according to the problems received.

Visiting England, UNAIR establishes partnerships with six universities

Posted on by Universitas Airlangga News

UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) continues to improve its reputation and recognition worldwide. Recently, UNAIR team, through Airlangga Global Engagement (AGE) has visited London, England. On Saturday-Thursday, December 4-9, 2021, AGE UNAIR visited the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) to the United Kingdom (UK) in London and six universities in England. The universities visited were University of Strathclyde, University of Glasgow, University of Nottingham, University of Loughborough, University of Sussex, and University of Leicester.

Iman Harymawan, Ph.D, as the Head of AGE said the visit had four main objectives: collaborating with the British Embassy, ​​expanding UNAIR networking in the international arena, evaluating the activities of the Indonesian International Student Mobility Award (IISMA), and planning for UNAIR’s involvement in UKICIS.

Collaboration and launching of IKA UNAIR Chapter UK
On the first day of the visit, AGE UNAIR was welcomed directly by the British Embassy. Iman explained that the meeting aimed to connect UNAIR with diaspora friends in England.

“KBRI has data on who and what activities Indonesian academics are doing in the UK. Thus, we hope that this meeting can be a door for collaborating with the diaspora there,” he explained.

Furthermore, together with several UNAIR alumni who are working and continuing their studies in England, AGE planned to launch the UK chapter of UNAIR Alumni Association (IKA UNAIR).

“Hopefully, IKA UNAIR can be officially established in January,” he hoped.

Expanding network with six universities in the United Kingdom
During the visit to six universities in the UK, AGE agreed on several collaborative programs. First, UNAIR and those six universities will support activities related to student mobility.

“They are already open to holding visiting mobility. Thus, UNAIR academics can apply for positions related to outbound activities organized by these universities,” he explained.

AGE also exchanged information related to their scientists. Hopefully, UNAIR researchers could collaborate with researchers from the six universities.

Getting involved in UKICIS
Iman said that one of the important points made by AGE during their visit to the University of Nottingham was to have a discussion regarding the plan to include UNAIR in UKICIS. UKICIS is a consortium of Indonesian-British diaspora scientists and universities.

“Hopefully, all these plans can be achieved, and UNAIR can join UKICIS next year,” he concluded. (*)

MoA for International Dual Degree Programme

Posted on by fspppeditorialteam

The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signing ceremony between Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) Indonesia had took place on 23 December 2020. This marked a phenomenal milestone to enhance and strengthen an international collaboration on academic programmes, research, publication, students and lecturer exchange. The signing ceremony between UiTM’s Vice Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Datuk Ir. Dr. Mohd Azraai Kassim and UNAIR’s Rector, Professor Dr. Mohammad Nasih was witnessed by the Dean, Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Associate Professor Dr. Abdul Jalil Mohamed Ali and Dean, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Professor Bagong Suyanto, Drs. M. Si. The unison also invigorates a gratifying collaboration that are spearheaded towards the accomplishment of highly ambitious efforts that will mutually benefit both renowned institutions. The parties involved are consensus that this agreement will be individually operationalized on their respective behalves, namely Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies for UiTM and the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences for UNAIR.

The MoA has joined collaboration for dual degree programme between two master academic programmes, namely; Executive Master of Administrative Science from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, UiTM and Master of Public Policy from Faculty of Social and Political Science, UNAIR. The MoA’s fundamental objective is to strengthen educational programmes and will thus be substantiated with various collaborative arrangements meant primarily at enhancing the research and industrial networking fields. UNAIR is an established University with a track record of educational excellence and research apart than its dynamic collaborative programmes with many international counterparts. Following the discussions between UiTM and UNAIR, the parties wish to establish a collaboration and to explore opportunities in developing, supporting and enriching the research activities, educational programmes and training in their respective fields of expertise, thus creating synergistic benefits.

‘Thammasat Student’ wins joint bronze medal with ‘Singapore-Taiwan’

Posted on by Thammasat University

AI or Artificial Intelligence is the technology behind the giant social media application like Facebook in selecting content to show on the page, creating ads, and recommending the right feed for each user. The content revolution in the age of AI is driven by the power of advanced computing in supercomputers (HPC: High Performance Computing) originally used for advanced engineering and scientific research and used in AI calculations as well. The ability to extract computing power on HPC systems is therefore an important force that can help support the economy and drive the country’s advanced technology business.

It is praiseworthy when a team of computer science students from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University, Lampang Campus, as a representative of Thai youth who can pave their way on the stage of APAC HPC-AI 2021, a competition on the performance of artificial intelligence models for computing on high-performance computers by winning the joint 3rd prize together with the team from National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan and the team from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Thammasat team consists of the following members; Mr. Abhisit Wongsorn, a fourth-year student, Mr. Nophanat Nampan, a fourth-year student, Ms. Suchada Suriwong, a fourth-year student, Ms. Suchanan Jaimuk, a fourth-year student, Mr. Supakiat Waipinij, a third-year student and Ms. Siripassorn Kwanjit, a third-year student.

APAC HPC-AI 2021 is an international competition of the Asia-Pacific region, organized by the HPC-AI Advisory Council and the National Supercomputing Center (NSCC) Singapore. The competition aims to draw on the performance of artificial intelligence models to compute on high-performance computers. For this year, it is the fourth time of the competition, presents 36 teams from 13 countries competing online over a five-month period.

Mr. Abhisit said that this competition is the use of high-performance computers of the National Supercomputing Center (NSCC) in Singapore to solve problem in which differ every year. This year, there will be 2 problems, which are HPC and AI problems. The HPC problem requires us to extract the performance of the GROMACS program to simulate the molecular dynamics of STMV and Lignocellulos viruses to perform computing on a high-performance computer using up to 768 CPUs at the same time for maximum efficiency. The problem of AI, we need to draw on the performance of the Facebook feed item recommendation model (Facebook DLRM) when computing on an Nvidia DGX-1 GPU cluster.

“In the competition, Thammasat team is divided into 2 sub-teams, having 3 people in each, and each team would receive a HPC model problem which is regarded as one of the common problems. To analyze this model, we selected suitable tools that have been studied earlier. As for the artificial intelligence model problem, it is not as widespread as the HPC model, the team however was trying their best to offer effective and achievable results,” said Abhisit.