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Month: March 2022

Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Kedah establishes linkage with KJ Somaiyya College of Arts

Posted on by Syazliyati Ibrahim

In order to achieve the mission of becoming a Globally Renowned University (GRU) as aspired by UiTM, Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Kedah Branch continues to establish international linkages with foreign institutions. The most recent international activity was called Window to The Borderless World: Intercultural Communication via International Collaboration Project/ Student Mentoring Programme which was conducted starting 10 November 2021 until 20 January 2022 and the closing ceremony took place on 25 January 2022. This programme had involved 363 students from both institutions and more than 20 lecturers cum facilitators.

This online intercultural programme was unique because it attempted to increase students’ awareness of the importance of intercultural communication. From November 2021 until January 2021, the students were put in groups in which they had Google meetings every week to present topics related to their lifestyles such as food, weddings, music, dance and movies from their respective countries. During the Google meetings, the students presented PowerPoint slides and videos they had prepared. In a few meetings, there were even live performances done by the students. The programme also featured invited guests from Colombia and Indonesia who joined the Google meetings to share some information about their countries. Every Google meeting was moderated by one lecturer from APB, UiTM Kedah Branch and one lecturer from K.J. Somaiya College, Maharastra, India.

Other than Google meetings, the students were also required to post their daily experiences, and also any interesting readings they had done on the lifestyle and cultural topics on Facebook. A special Facebook group was created to enable the students to post their updates and so far, there are hundreds of postings on various topics done by both the students and lecturers.

This project was initiated by Pn. Syazliyati Ibrahim from APB, UiTM Kedah Branch and she was assisted by Pn. Sharina Saad, Pn. Norlizawati Md Tahir, Pn. Rafidah Amat and En. Muhamad Aiman Afiq Mohd. Noor. From K.J. Somaiya College, the coordinator of the project was Dr. Ravindra Jadhav, assisted by Madam Komal Mhaske, Dr. Sanjay Argade and Mr, Balnath More. Other than these main committee members, ten lecturers from APB, UiTM Kedah and seven from K.J. Somaiya College also joined the programme as Google Meet facilitators.

Rector, UiTM Kedah Branch, the Honourable Professor Dr. Haji Mohamad Abdullah bin Haji Hemdi said during the closing ceremony that this project was successful because it brought two cultures closer and deeper understanding of the different lifestyles would enhance the much-needed intercultural understanding in this globalised world today. The Honourable Professor Dr. Birendra Singh Yadav, the Principal of KJ Somaiyya College of Arts, Commerce & Science, Kopargaon, Maharashtra State, India also commented that he was elated with the success of this project because it had managed to bring the world to the rural students in the area and inspire them to be global players later.

TPU alumnus becomes member of Russian National Committee of International Commission on Illumination

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

A TPU alumnus Alexander Goncharov has become a member of the Russian National Committee of the International Commission on Illumination.

The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) is an international public organization founded in 1913 and uniting professionals in illumination engineering and lighting. The CIE is the highest authority in illumination recognized as an international body on standardization in illumination by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

The Russian National Committee of the CIE is a research and illumination engineering organization that ensures the participation of Russian illumination engineers in the work of the CIE and cooperates with the CIE and other international organizations engaged in problems of science, technology, standardization and art in lighting and illumination.

“Only professionals obtaining required expertise, research experience and approved research achievements in illumination and lighting can become members of the Russian National Committee of the CIE.

The Board of Administration of the Russian National Committee of the CIE makes a decision on each membership,” mentioned on the official website of the organization.

Alexander Goncharov graduated from the TPU master’s degree course in optical engineering in 2004. Then, he started a postgraduate degree at TPU where he continued his research works and developments in solid-state lighting, in particular for rail transport, street lights and grow lights. Having completed his postgraduate studies, he worked at Energoneft Tomsk, the Research Institute of Semiconductor Devices and Leader Light. At the moment, the TPU alumnus holds the position of head of the Illumination Engineering Department of Arlight Rus (Moscow).

In 2011, Alexander became a winner of the All-Russian Contest “Engineer of Year” and was included in the list of Russian professional engineers in the following nominations: Optics, Optomechanical and Optoelectronic Systems.

“I became engaged in solid-state lighting 20 years ago. Nowadays, illumination engineering has made incredible progress: a lot of illumination engineering companies have been opened, comparatively cheap metrology tool has entered the market and there are many more highly qualified professionals than those times. Moreover, today, the illumination engineering industry is in great need of professionals,” the TPU alumnus comments.

Multi-sensor chip for real-time monitoring of air quality

Posted on by Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University

Today, special attention is paid to air pollution control.

Analysis of the concentration of gases and various impurities indoors and outdoors is necessary to monitor the state of the environment, control the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, and perform noninvasive diagnostics of respiratory diseases. Usually, expensive and non-mobile gas analysis systems are used to detect the air pollution level.

To simplify air diagnostics, to make it faster and less expensive, scientists from ETU “LETI” and the Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov work on a joint development. Their invention, a multisensor chip weighing only 5 g, utilizes sensor technology and nanotechnology.

According to Svetlana Nalimova, Associate Professor of the Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics of ETU “LETI,” the main difference of their device is that it consists of several adsorptive chemoresistive sensors, which makes it possible to detect the presence of several gases in the air. The existing analogs can distinguish only one type of gas.

“Using mathematical processing of signals coming from several sensors, the gases are separated. We demonstrate this invention on the example of organic solvent vapors: acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and ethanol. Since this invention uses hierarchical zinc oxide structures in combination with mathematical processing of signals from a line of sensors, it is possible to detect and distinguish low concentrations of gases, which other devices in this price category cannot do,” says Svetlana Nalimova, Associate Professor of the Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics of ETU “LETI.”

The research team of Vyacheslav Moshnikov, Professor of the Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics, prepared gas-sensitive layers for the multisensor device. They are based on hierarchical zinc structures, which have a larger active surface area for interaction with the gas of these structures. Due to it, the registered resistance increases, and the presence of gases is determined. This change makes it possible to measure the concentration of impurities in the air with greater accuracy. Scientists from Saratov, in turn, have developed algorithms for processing signals from a line of sensors.

“These developments did not appear from nothing. Before that, Svetlana Nalimova theoretically and experimentally studied possibilities to improve sensory properties by forming sensitive layers with a fractal-percolation structure in her Ph.D. thesis. Further, Anton Bobkov’s dissertation introduced methods of nanolithography with atomic-molecular design,” explains Vyacheslav Moshnikov, “As a result, the new architectonics of gas-sensitive layers presents a hierarchy in which nanocrystalline rods form nanochannels with fractal-percolation geometry from the constituent nanocrystals. The patent for this invention was recognized as one of the best in the Russian Federation in 2018. The prospects of the multisensor chip, in general, are quite obvious — to improve the selectivity and sensitivity of gas sensors”.

According to the scientists, the development will be useful in environmental monitoring, analysis of air condition in large-scale production, and healthcare. In the future, it can be embedded in a small portable device, which will make air quality monitoring equipment more mobile and less expensive.

Teenagers get music kicks at LCCM’s interactive masterclass

Posted on by Global University Systems

LCCM, London’s higher education music college, is hosting Youth Jam this half-term, a free one-day interactive performance masterclass for musicians on Friday 18 February.

Aimed at young instrumentalists aged 16 to 19, the masterclass will allow teenagers across the capital to perform on stage, network with leading session musicians and learn what it means to be a skilled instrumentalist.

The event will be held in LCCM’s own venue, The Music Box, which has recently hosted the likes of Moses Boyd, Amber Run, DECO and Novelist.

The young musicians will meet at LCCM’s campus at 241 Union St, London SE1 0LR and the band masterclass will start at 10.30 a.m. Lunch will be provided with an opportunity to network between 12.00 pm and 1 pm. There will then be a tour of the Music Box, followed by a jam session before the day ends at 3 pm.

“This is a great opportunity for teenagers to get a taste of the music industry,” says LCCM’s Youth Music Officer, Evie Asio. “Not only will they have a chance to jam, but they can also pick the brains of the experts.”

Earlier this month, LCCM’s Music Box proved to be an inspiring and aspirational venue for workshops and away days for 15 Ark Scholars embarking on an exciting new music journey with the launch of the Ark ‘Inspiring Excellence’ Music Scholarship.

LCCM is the highest-ranked provider of music performance and music business degrees in the UK by student satisfaction (NSS 2019, 2020 & 2021).

To take part in the interactive masterclass go to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lccm-youth-jam-registration-258073202897?aff=pr

“Amazing” nanoparticles from maize: A potent and economical anti-cancer therapy

Posted on by Tokyo University of Science

Nanomaterials have revolutionized the world of cancer therapy, and plant-derived nanoparticles have the added advantage of being cost-effective and easy to mass produce.

Researchers from Tokyo University of Science have recently developed novel corn-derived bionanoparticles for targeting cancer cells directly, via an immune mechanism. The results are encouraging, and the technique has demonstrated efficacy in treating tumor-bearing laboratory mice. Moreover, no serious adverse effects have been reported in mice so far.

Nanoparticles, or particles whose size varies between 1 and 100 nanometers, have shown tremendous potential in many areas of science and technology, including therapeutics. However, conventional, synthetic nanoparticles are complicated and expensive to produce. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), which have emerged as an alternative option to synthetic nanoparticles, show challenges for mass production.

Another recently emerging option is that of plant-derived nanoparticles (NPs), which can be easily produced in high levels at relatively lower costs. Like EVs, these nanoparticle-based systems also contain bioactive molecules, including polyphenols (which are known antioxidants) and microRNA, and they can deliver drugs to target organs in our bodies.

Leveraging this knowledge, researchers from the Tokyo University of Science (TUS) recently developed bionanoparticles with anticancer activity, using corn (maize) as the raw material.

Prof. Makiya Nishikawa of Tokyo University of Science, Japan, who led the research team in this endeavor, elucidates, “By controlling the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, we can control their pharmacokinetics in the body; so, we wanted to explore the nanoparticulation of edible plants. Maize, or corn, is produced in large quantities worldwide in its native form as well as in its genetically modified forms. That is why we selected it for our study.” The results of this study were published online on 24 November 2021 in Scientific Reports.

The team created a homogeneous mixture of super sweet corn in water, then centrifuged this corn juice at a high speed, subsequently filtering it through a syringe filter with a pore size of 0.45 μm. The filtered samples were then ultracentrifuged to obtain NPs derived from corn. The corn-derived NPs (cNPs) were approximately 80 nm in diameter. Quite interestingly, these cNPs also carried a tiny net negative charge of −17 mV.

The research team then set up experiments to see whether these cNPs were being taken up by various types of cells. In a series of promising results, the cNPs were taken up by multiple types of cells, including the clinically relevant colon26 tumor cells (cancer cells derived from mice), RAW264.7 macrophage-like cells, and normal NIH3T3 cells. RAW264.7 cells are commonly used as in vitro screens for immunomodulators—drugs that primarily target various cancer pathways.

The results were astounding: of the three types of cells, cNPs only significantly inhibited the growth of colon26 cells, indicating their selectivity for carcinogenic cell lines. Moreover, cNPs were able to successfully induce the release of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) from RAW264.7 cells. It is a well-documented fact that TNFα is primarily secreted by macrophages, natural killer cells, and lymphocytes—three key ingredients of our highly evolved immune system and which help mount an anticancer response.

“The strong TNFα response was encouraging and indicated the role of cNPs in treating various types of cancer,” explains Dr. Daisuke Sasaki, first author of the study and an instructor and researcher at TUS.

The research team then conducted a reporter assay with the enzyme “luciferase” (derived from fireflies), which is a sensitive reporter for studying various biological responses. This luciferase-based assay revealed that the potent combination of cNPs and RAW264.7 cells significantly suppressed the proliferation of colon26 cells.

Finally, the research team studied the effect of cNPs on laboratory mice bearing subcutaneous tumors. Once again, the results were astonishing: injecting cNPs into colon26 tumors on a daily basis significantly suppressed tumor growth, without causing serious side effects, or weight loss.

“By optimizing nanoparticle properties and by combining them with anticancer drugs, we hope to devise safe and efficacious drugs for various cancers,” observes an optimistic Prof. Nishikawa.

Summarizing these impactful findings, Dr. Kosuke Kusamori, co-author and assistant professor at TUS says, “These cNPs exhibit excellent anti-tumor properties, are easy to develop, and are economically viable. Moreover, they do not exhibit any serious adverse effects, at least in mice so far!”

Indeed, this could be the anti-cancer therapy of tomorrow; TUS has made a truly a-maize-ing discovery!

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02241-y

EdUHK researcher analyses effects of bribery

Posted on by eduhk

The size of benefits a company receives from bribing government officials is significantly correlated to the amount of bribe they pay, and how well informed people are in the bribe-taking country.

Researchers in Hong Kong and the UK have found that a $1 investment in bribery returns $6-9 in terms of company value, with more money paid to an authority resulting in greater benefits. However, those benefits decrease if citizens of the country where officials accepted payment are well-informed. Their findings have been published in Management Science.

Bribery between companies and government officials is a persisting, common issue worldwide. For example, a 2010 report by the Organisation for Economic, Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that a third of legal professionals representing multinational corporations who participated in a survey knew colleagues who participated in international corruption such as foreign bribery.

Despite its commonality, little is known about what determines the benefits of bribery at the company level. To find out, public policy researcher Stephen Cheung Yan-Leung of The Education University of Hong Kong, P. Raghavendra Rau of the University of Cambridge, and Aris Stouraitis of Hong Kong Baptist University collected publicly available information on 195 domestic and foreign bribery cases in 60 countries between 1975 and 2015. In those cases, businesses paid officials in exchange for being awarded a project contract. The researchers conducted statistical analysis to measure if correlations exist between bribery size, resulting company value, and 11 other factors.

In the collected data, firms and authorities involved in bribery were from the US, Japan, France, Germany, the UK, South Korea, Singapore, Nigeria, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Iraq, among others. Industries involved were construction, electronics, aircraft, oil and gas. Officials who accepted bribes included heads of state, ministers, members of parliament, governors, mayors, military officers and judges.

They found that the size of bribe and returns are significantly correlated, with a $1 increase in payment leading to a $6-9 increase in the company’s value as a result of illegitimately winning a contract. Public knowledge was also statistically significantly correlated to benefits: companies received less return if voters of a country where officials took the money were well informed. Companies did not lose much benefit if the bribery was exposed in autocratic countries where politicians are not elected.

Firms tend to have a larger return on payment in more corrupt countries. There was a relative correlation between benefits and legal efficiency, suggesting that benefits would be larger if no efficient legal enforcement is in place in a bribe-taking country.

Regulatory burdens, namely the US’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the OECD anti-bribery convention, might have discouraged some companies from bribing, but for those who did commit the crime, it did not affect the size of benefit. In other words, those enforcements might have increased the cost of bribe, consequently limiting the number of firms who could afford such act.

There was no correlation between returns on bribery and the remaining factors such as the company’s ability to pay, the rank of politicians, competitiveness of the contract, political system of a bribe-receiving country, or complexity of the project.