Filipino student’s science experiment entry to be performed in International Space Station
The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) announced on Monday, June 27 that the Filipino science expirement entry, “Rotation of ‘Dumbbell-shaped’ Objects in Space” is among the chosen experiments to be performed in the International Space Station (ISS) through the Asian Try Zero-G (ATZG) 2022 competition.
William Kevin L. Abran from the University of thePhilippines-Los Baños submitted the science experiment which made it through the 24 international ATZG finalists, and became one of the six chosen entries to be conducted by Astronaut Koicho Wakata at the ISS around September.
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The experiment aims the long-term stability of the dumbbell-shaped objects’ rotations in a free environment, like in microgravity, as it’s difficult to simulate such motions on the ground, according to PhilSA’spress release.
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Abran’S “Rotation Of ‘Dumbbell Shaped Objects In Space” Experiment | Photo/ Philsa
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) point of selection reads, “This theme aims to systematically examine the behavior of rotating objects in orbit and the Dzhanibekov effect by means of two rigid bodies with different centers of gravity.”
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JAXA launched the ATZG as an international cooperation experiment that encourages the youth in Asia-Pacific region to expand the use of ISS, Japanese experiment “Kibo” in contributing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through development of human resource.
The PhilSA led the local screening of project proposals from May 9 – 29, and submitted five entries, including Abran’s to JAXA for final round of evaluation.
ATZG 2022 received 201 total submissions from 480 students, and young engineers/ researchers across eight Kibo-Asian Beneficial Collaboration-participating countries/ regions.
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The proposals are evaluated according to scientific significance, novelty, safety, resource requirement, and feasibility.
Clickherefor more information on the finalized Asian Try Zero-G 2022 Experimental Theme.
The term, “ikat”, was introduced to the Western world when Dutch scholars were studying Indonesian textile traditions in the early twentieth century. (www.angelasancartier.net) http://angelasancartier.net/ikat
The term ikat originates from the Indonesian word called ‘meningkat’. There are various terms for ikat weaving though in Southeast Asia depending on the ethnic group. (www.cdn.worldheritage.org)
The antiquity of loom weaving can be inferred by the fact that some cultures possess legends about weaving. The Bagobo, Mandaya and Bilaan have origin myths. In West Java, the introduction of weaving is attributed to the rice goddess, Sang Hyang Dewi Sri. Among the Batak, a distinctive cloth used in rituals, the ulos was said to have been the first weaving given to humankind. (Wright-Parsons, no date)
Ikat cloth in Southeast Asia has a religious, ritual and ceremonial significance thus the conservatism in the design motifs. Ikat weaving is usually a woman’s occupation in Southeast Asia. (www.cdn.worldheritage.org) (www.angelasancartier.net) (ten Hoopen, P.) The distribution of the warp ikat technique in particular shows a striking association with speakers of Austronesian languages. Few non-Austronesian speakers weave ikat, and those that do tend to live in close proximity to Austronesian speakers. (www.angelasancartier.net) http://angelasancartier.net/ikat
A common thread about cloth that links insular Southeast Asian cultures (as well as mainland Asia) is that woven cloth is rarely cut to the shape of the body but rather draped or folded. In the warm, humid climate draping allowed air to circulate around the body. In Austronesian cultures, the association of ikat weaving with women is likely linked to concepts of life cycles. The Batak of Borneo terms the soul force of cloth as “sahala”. “Sahala” describes the protective and beneficial effects of cloth. The process of making dyes is linked to the seasons, moon phases, menstrual cycles, especially the making of indigo and morina red. (Gittinger, 1979)
Mat weaving and basket making with natural materials such as reeds, vines and grasses are ancient crafts that provided the fundamental techniques in loom weaving. Designs in baskets were easily transferred to designs in textiles such as those from the Iban of Borneo and Kalimantan.
Ethnic groups in the Philippines pioneered in weaving mats from fibers as thins as thread. The plaiting used can fold without breaking the fibers unlike coarser materials used in mat weaving Twining using bast fibers is an intermediary step between loom weaving and basketry. The grass skirts of Papua New Guinea can be considered proto-ikat due to dyed fibers that were not woven. The dyed designs on the skirts show the characteristic jagged and playful decorative lines. It was just a matter of integrating this technique with the loom weaving of
Austronesians. Woven cloth will eventually replace bark cloth in Southeast Asia. (Ota,1998; Wright-Parsons, no date)
A study of ikat ‘characters’ or ‘motifs’ corresponds to the proto Southeast Asian Warp ikat located on the Asian mainland. The last common ancestral tradition for Austronesian ikat weaving presumably is located in the Southern Philippines or Borneo. Both traditions share an ancestral origin due to the similar shared motifs.
It is estimated that proto Southeast Asian Warp ikat was developed soon after it came into contact with Papuans in New Guinea some 4000 BP.
The Li (Hainan Island) ikat tradition diverged from the Austronesian warp ikat tradition, at about the same time the Austronesian Warp Ikat tradition diverged from its proto Southeast Asian Warp ikat tradition. The exchanges between Daic (Austroasiatic) groups and Austronesians in mainland Southeast Asia can be attributed to the maritime traditions of Austronesians. The Chams of Vietnam, an Austronesian speaking minority practice ikat weaving, further giving indication of the Austronesian roots of ikat. Ikat is not a traditional art form of the majority Vietnamese.
Austronesians of Madagascar practice ikat weaving, again, another indication of the Austronesian roots of ikat. Madagascans use indigenous silk, bark, raffia and hemp to weave their ikat cloth. Silk ikat shawls are called ‘lamba’ in Madagascar. The use of the back-strap loom to weave ikat in Madagascar is an indication of its Austronesian roots as it is found nowhere else in Africa. Blue, black and red, from indigo and madder were the preferred colours. Magadascar cloth was exported to Yemen up to the 13th century and was sought by Portuguese traders in the sixteenth century. Ikat cloth was used for burial practices in Madagascar which paralleled Southeast Asian practices. Sources of fiber include extracted yarn from tree bark, banana-stem, raffia palm leaves, cotton and indigenous forms of wild silk (Borocera). Dyes include turmeric, indigofera, nato trees (for brick-red color). A mandiavola (“covered in silver”) is a great shawl of wild silk with metal bead designs across its length. A totorano is handspun cotton with wild silk bands in blue and red. (www.rom.on.ca )(Barnes, R.)
http://www.rom.on.ca/en/collections-research/research-community-projects/world-culture/inliving-colour-the-roms-unique (Royal Ontario Museum, 2014) Dye testing of Madagascar’s akotifahana cloth reveals that most of its riotous colours come from natural sources from plants that are widely available in the island: indigofera, turmeric, tannins. The test also indicated the presence of lac, safflower, cochineal, logwood and Brazilwood dyes which originate from Asia and South America. The presence of these dyes indicates the widespread trade network of the island. (www.angelasancartier.net)
East Java, Madura, Bali and Sumbawa were centers of ikat production in the 16th century. The Bahnar ethnic group of Vietnam is believed to have learned ikat weaving from the Austronesian Cham. The ikat tradition in northeastern Cambodia, southern Laos and the Brao of Vietnam are also attributed to the Chams. Ikat was recorded in 939 CE in Java, and has been dated from the fourteenth century in an archaeological site in the Philippines (Banton Island).
Carvey Ehren Maigue is a 27-year-old BS Electrical Engineering student from Mapúa who successfully converted damaged crops into a solar window. His invention,AuREUS, was inspired by how the Aurora Borealis is formed. Aureus makes use of a substrate (a live substance that produces a chemical reaction) that converts UV light into visible light.
For his work, Maigue was able to bag the prestigious James Dyson Award, which is given to students who excel in “designing things that solve the world’s problems".
According to Maguie, his invention also aims to help farmers whose crops are affected by typhoons that heavily hit the country every year. He says, “Since the particles used in the substrate can be derived from waste fruits and vegetables, we are giving the farmers another way to recover their losses even if their crops get wasted.”
2. Locally-Developed COVID-19 Test Kits by Dr Raul Destura's team
ABOVEDr. Raul Destura | Photo: ABS-CBN News
Just before the COVID-19 lockdowns were imposed, the name Dr Raul Destura was all over social media. He and his team from the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) have created a low-costCOVID-19 rRT-PCR Detection Kit.
The kits received theapprovalof the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last 3 April 2020. This means that these kits are allowed to be utilised for commercial use.
ABOVECOVID-19 test kits produced by the team Dr. Destura led | Photo: ABS-CBN News
In an exclusive interview with Tatler, Destura shares how he and his team were able to come up with this medical breakthrough. “In the diagnostic world, if you know the genome sequence, you can design diagnostic tests.”
ABOVEThe AGAPAY Project team, led by Dr. Nilo Bugtai | Photo: Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
The team of biomedical engineers from De La Salle University (DLSU), led by Dr Nilo Bugtai, has createdAGAPAY, a robotic exoskeleton prototype with a biofeedback mechanism for rehabilitation of post-stroke and injured patients by assisting motor movements in the shoulder, arm, and hand.
ABOVEAGAPAY Project’s arm prototype is demonstrated to the audience by going through the motions of mobility in seven different degrees; three movements for the shoulder, two for the elbow, and two movements for the wrist | Photo: Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
AGAPAY aims to provide a cost-effective solution to production and works by utilizing a real-time biofeedback system that records neuromuscular activity using surface electromyography (sEMG).
ABOVEKen Abante developed a budget-tracking app | Photo: The Guidon
Ken Abantewho works as a policy researcher at the Ateneo de Manila University knows how hard it is to track the government's COVID-19 spending.
Abante has developed the #COVID19PH Citizen Budget Tracker that works as a master list for how the government is spending money to combat and alleviate the effects of the disease.
The tracker, which can be accessed throughthis link, can track the expenses used for PPE kits, food, subsidies, as well as expenditures under President Rodrigo Duterte'sBayanihan to Heal As One Act. “I thought perhaps there could be a clearer way of explaining this to the public, and since I had been in the finance department before, I felt that I could also lend a hand in that respect," Abantetells in an interview.
ABOVEThe Ginhawa ventilator | Photo: Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
A research team consisting of pulmonologists and biomedical engineers, led by Dr Abundio Balgos of UP Manila, developedGINHAWA, a low-cost, compact, and effective ventilator that both adults and children can use safely. This project has the potential to help many patients who are severely ill due to COVID-19.
GINHAWA, which features an embedded software protocol for self-diagnosis and patient data analytics, costs 42 per cent cheaper than similar portable ventilators intended for use in ICUs, emergency rooms and ambulances.
PHOTO 1 OF 2James Dyson 2021 awardee Mark Kennedy Bantugon (Photo: Mark Kennedy Bantugon/Facebook)
PHOTO 2 OF 2The 2021 James Dyson awardee is a farmer's son who invented pili seal (Photo: JDA)
The 2021James Dyson award is given to Mark Kennedy Bantugo, a farmer's son who invented the Pili Seal. This new material is a sustainable sealant for aircraft integral fuel tanks to prevent fuel leakages. Unlike commercially available aviation sealants, Pili Seal is made from waste material particularly the waste of Pili Tree Resin which is otherwise known as “spent resin” or “de-oiled resin”.
Pili Seal is a two-component sealant. The waste of Pili Tree Resin acts as the base material for aircraft integral fuel tank sealant production. Through the mixing of the base and a hardener material, the sealant can properly function as a sealing material and is applicable for aircraft parts such as the integral fuel tank and components that are subjected to contact with aircraft fuels, lubricants, oils, water, and weathering.
In terms of application, performance and efficacy, Pili Seal is found to have exceeded data results of commercial sealants from over 20 property tests ranging from physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal to rheological.
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