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Thursday 22 September 2016

New ways to beat superbugs, a Malaysian doctorate student discovered?


A Malaysian doctorate student is causing a buzz in the medical research field.

 Lam Shu Jie (pic), 25, and her team of researchers may have found a solution to the antibiotic-resistant bacteria commonly known as “superbugs”.

The team from Melbourne School of Engineering published a paper on Monday on a new treatment method.

Shu Lam A 25 year-old Melbourne Uni student has made a discovery that could be a game-changer for modern medicine and avert a serious health crisis.

The method uses star-shaped structures called structurally nano-engineered anti-microbial peptide polymers (SNAPPs).

SNAPPs are found to be highly effective in killing Gram-negative bacteria – a class of bacteria which is antibiotic resistant – without hurting healthy cells, according to the team’s article in Nature Microbiology.

Unlike antibiotics which attempt to kill the bugs chemically, the star-shaped protein molecules defeat them by “ripping apart their cell walls”.

She also found that it was important to have outside interest due to the research work's long hours and possibility of failure..

"I've just watched the Korean movie called 'Train to Busan'. I also like trying new cuisines and exploring cafes here because the food culture's very strong," she laughed..

She lamented that the initial experiments were daunting, which left her in fear..

"My experiments kept failing, but later I learned what went wrong. I like the investigating part of research. It's beyond being in the labs or reading books; it's also about speaking with other experts," she said..

The second child of three siblings still has strong ties with home..

"I try to come back for the Chinese New Year because I miss my family," she said while lamenting the loss of her father last year..

Despite her supervisor Prof. Greg Qiao reportedly saying that her research is still at its early stage, Lam has plans to continue her research in the field, while in the long-term, she expressed hope to establish a research group with experts upon returning home and also lecture..

She will complete her PhD in two months time..

The scientific breakthrough was picked up by many news portals including Science Daily, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the South China Morning Post.

Lam told South China Morning Post that she spent the past three and a half years researching polymers and how they can be used to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The Batu Pahat lass, who is to submit her PhD thesis in two months, admitted that she hoped to continue to work in research, rather than opt for medical training like her father who is a paediatrician.

“I think my career will be mainly focused on research in the medical field,” said Lam.

Her supervisor Prof Greg Qiao, who is also one of the 10 co-authors of the scientific journal, said the research was still in its early stages.

He told South China Morning Post that more work was needed to verify the best formula and structure, as well as determine dosage and test for toxicity, before the substance could be deemed safe for human use.

“Even with all the money in the world, it would take at least five years to get to the first human-test stage because many resources and much work are needed before commercialisation,” he said.

Superbugs stem from misuse or overuse of antibiotics, according to the World Health Organisation.

It lists anti-microbial resistance as a global concern that threatens our ability to treat common infectious diseases, resulting in prolonged illness, disability and death. The Star/Asia News Network.

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6 days ago - South China Morning Post .... The World Health Organisation lists superbugs as a key threat to human ... I have developed an interest in food and really like exploring new cafes ... Lam moved to Australia for her foundation studies after finishing .... Peter Wong says tougher banking regulation is on the way.

“I think my career will be mainly focused on research in the medical field,” said Lam, who has already begun pursuing her passion in polymer research during her four-year undergraduate degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering.

“As an undergraduate, she would come to our group for summer work when she had time,” Qiao recalled of Lam.


These days when Lam finds the rare downtime between researching polymers, she likes to watch TV and explore the city. “Being in Melbourne, I have developed an interest in food and really like exploring new cafes and brunch places, so I spend a lot of time trying new food and walking around when I’m not working,” Lam said.

Lam moved to Australia for her foundation studies after finishing primary and secondary school in Malaysia, and is likely stay on in Australia after graduating at the end of the year.

“My main preference would be to continue to stay in research, but I am also looking at career fields outside of polymer research,” she said. “This research is going in different directions,” said Qiao. “One is killing the bug, the other is treating cancer.”

Her group is also examining the use of polymers as a drug carrier for cancer patients as well as the treatment of other diseases.

A key project at the moment is the synthetic transplant of cornea in the eye, which involves the use of polymers grown from the patient’s own cells in the lab to replace the damaged cornea.
The operation has already been tested multiple times successfully on sheep, and Qiao hopes to begin the first human trials in Melbourne within two years, working with the Melbourne Eye and Ear Hospital.


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Wednesday 21 September 2016

PBA in a fix over Penang water cut; billion litres water waste via leaky pipes

Water letdown: Residents waiting for their pails to be filled by a PBAPP employee during the water cut.

Buckets of frustrations

Delay in repairs on a leaking pipeline at Medan Pantai Jerejak causes a host of problems for folk in the southern part of Penang island as unexpected water cuts disrupt their daily activities.



Users left high and dry as rain delays repair works on leaking pipeline


MORE than 80,00 people from Bukit Dumbar to the southern areas of Penang island were fuming over the delay in the return of water supply.

A reader called The Star claiming that he could not get through to the Penang Water Supply Corporation Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) hotline for an explanation after the water supply to his condominium was cut off on Monday morning.

Peter Lee, 58, a manager, said his friends in Batu Uban faced a similar problem.

Housewife K.L. Lim, 63, from Sungai Nibong said her family ran out of drinking water and had to buy water from shops.

“We did not stock up on water since we did not know about the matter. There is still water for showers but not enough for drinking,” she said.

At SJK (C) Kwang Hwa in Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Sungai Nibong, the water disruption resulted in the school using water from fire hydrants in the school premises.

A representative from the school said the water cut began on Monday afternoon and only resumed at 1pm yesterday.

“We needed water for the toilets and canteen.

“We had to use pails to collect water from the three fire hydrants in the school to deal with the disruption until the water supply resumed,” said the representative.

During a press conference that was also attended by state Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng, PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa apologised for the water disruption.

He said PBAPP detected a leak on a 900mm diameter pipeline at 9am on Monday at a river crossing at Medan Pantai Jerejak, near Sungai Besar.

The pipeline was then shut down for repair work, and a cofferdam built quickly to isolate the repair site.

Jaseni said they were ready to proceed with the repairs on the pipe at 9.45pm on Monday and had expected work to be completed by about 6am on Tuesday but “work was held up by 10 hours due to the heavy rain, high river water and high tides”.

“The welding work to reseal the leaking section of the pipeline could only commence after the site was finally drained at 7.45am on Tuesday.

“The challenge was to gain access to the leaking section of the pipeline overnight. We managed to meet the standard requirement by finishing the work in about 29 hours, as we are allowed up to 48 hours for repairs to pipes that are more than 600mm in diameter.

“It would have taken us only 19 hours without the delay, and we apologise to consumers. On-site work has been finalised and water supply should resume from 2pm,” he said at Komtar yesterday.

Jaseni said four water tankers were deployed to provide water to residents living on higher grounds.

He said PBAPP optimised the pumping of water from Bukit Dumbar via the two other key pipelines to all the southern areas of the island, including the Bayan Lepas Free Trade Zone and the Penang International Airport during the shutdown period.

It was reported that a new RM11.9mil water station at Bukit Dumbar could pump up to 270 million litres of water per day (MLD) to serve 315,000 people living in the southern parts of the island.

Its service areas cover Gelugor, Batu Uban, Sungai Nibong, Bayan Baru, Relau, Sungai Ara, Batu Maung, Bayan Lepas, Permatang Damar Laut, Teluk Kumbar, Gertak Sanggul, Genting and Balik Pulau.

By CHONG KAH YUAN and N. TRISHA kyuan@thestar.com.my

Billion litres water waste via leaky pipes



PETALING JAYA: More than 4.27 billion litres of treated water – enough to fill more than 1,700 Olympic-sized swimming pools or keep Perlis going for 53 days – are leaking out of the country’s ageing pipe system every day.

Experts warn that more will be wasted unless drastic measures are taken.

If saved, that amount of water could ease stressed water supplies in the Klang Valley, as fears of a shortage and rationing loom dangerously.

According to the National Water Services Commission (SPAN), non-revenue water (NRW) accounted for 36.6% of all water pumped out of treatment plants in 2013, or about 5.69 billion litres a day.

This was higher than 2012, which saw a 36.4% NRW.

Of this amount, at least 75% was due to problems like leaky asbestos-cement pipes and other infrastructure problems.

Association of Water and Energy Research (Awer) president S. Piara­pakaran said that unless the pipes were fixed, more water would be lost even with state governments rushing to build treatment plants to meet a growing local demand.

“When the Langat 2 plant is completed (in 2017), it will pump 1,130 million litres a day (mld). If things don’t change, 300mld will be just lost in the system,” he told The Star.

While a number of states have seen their NRW levels fall in 2013, others such as Selangor saw more water lost.

Malaysian Water Association (MWA) president Syed Mohamad Adnan Alhabshi said more than RM20bil had to be spent to replace the country’s 43,890km-long asbestos-cement pipes.

“You need to spend RM500,000 to change 1km of these pipes,” he said, adding that state governments did not have the money.

He said water operators were unable to invest in stopping NRW as tariffs were low, giving them low revenue.


This was also reflected in SPAN’s statistics – a deficit of RM429mil was incurred by all states combined last year.

MWA council member Hairi Basri said it was not easy to stop NRW as many of the problem pipes were underground.

MWA further estimated that if the country were to keep to SPAN’s NRW target of 25% today, the potential revenue operators could have made in 2013 was RM809.4mil.

SPAN executive director Mohd Ridhuan Ismail said combating NRW was more than just fixing or replacing leaky pipes.

Measures, he said, included mapping pipe networks, setting up district metering zones and a constant pressure management and maintenance of the system.

“It is not a one-off effort and the entire exercise requires huge investment,” he told The Star.

He said state governments were hampered by low water tariffs and could not invest in NRW reduction measures, adding that human capital in this was also a challenge.

Mohd Ridhuan said many states had migrated their assets over to the Water Asset Management Com-pany (PAAB) to ensure their interests were protected.

He said states that had done so had managed to reduce their NRW substantially.

“SPAN believes that the remaining non-migrated states will be able to improve on their NRW once migrated,” he said.

 By Patrick Lee The Star 4 September 2014

Related story:

Worst affectedstates trying to contain the problem

No cost hike for Pahang-Selangor water project

Paper on new national policy for NRW almost ready

Syabas uses new technology to detect leaks





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Tuesday 20 September 2016

People's Daily criticizes USA as " source of turnmoi in the world "

霸气!党报狠批美国为世界“动荡之源”


导读:尽管和平与发展是当今世界的主题,但是局部冲突依旧不断,而这背后,或多或少都有美国在插手。


党报狠批美国_英语新闻网

The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, has criticized the United States as the "source of turmoil in the world."

北京9月18日电 中国共产党官方报纸《人民日报》批评美国为“世界动荡之源”。

The newspaper on Sunday published three articles by Chinese scholars to analyze the causes of expansive and hegemonic moves by the United States from systemic, ideological and strategic perspectives.

《人民日报》于周日发表了三篇由中国学者撰写的文章,从内在体制、意识形态、国家战略方面分析美国的扩张和霸权主义运动。

An editor’s note on the page said that U.S. interventions are behind unrest and disputes in many places, including the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the South China Sea.

报纸上一位编者的卷首语写道,多地的动荡和纷争背后都有美国的插手,包括中东、东欧和南海。

"The United States is keen to make messes in the world, cast shadows on order and stability in multiple regions and jeopardize peace and development in relevant countries," the note said.

“美国热衷于在世界制造混乱,给多个地区的秩序与稳定投下阴影,对相关国家的和平与发展构成威胁。”卷首语写道。

An article by Yang Guangbin, a professor of politics at Renmin University, pointed out that the "military-industrial complex," which former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against, is "kidnapping U.S. domestic and diplomatic policy."

杨光斌,人民大学政治学教授在文中指出,美国前总统艾森豪威尔曾警告说,“军事工业复合体”正“绑架着美国的国内和外交政策”。

The "military-industrial complex" naturally demands war and military expansion, resulting in the Iraq war, "Arab Spring" uprisings and growing tensions with Russia and China, Yang said.

“军事工业复合体”自然是要求战争和军事扩张,这就导致了伊拉克战争、“阿拉伯之春”起义以及与俄罗斯和中国关系的不断紧张。

Yang also criticized the United States for selling its ideology, which has brainwashed the elite in some non-Western countries.

杨光斌还批评了美国推广其意识形态,这洗脑了一些非西方国家的精英分子。

"Countries that have followed American-style ’liberty and democracy’ are not turning into American-style states. Instead, their lives remain the same, or even become worse," the article said.

文章写道,“信奉美国‘自由民主’的国家并没有因此而变成美国式国家,依然过着自己固有的日子,甚至境况更差。”

Another article by Li Wen, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that the United States’ eagerness to make trouble around the world is due to its "hegemonic anxiety."

另外一篇由中国社科院的一位研究人员撰写的文章写道,由于“霸权焦虑症”,美国急切地想要煽风点火。

It is "to a large degree, a reflection of a twisted mentality of an empire moving downhill," according to the article.

文章写道,这“很大程度上是一个衰落中的帝国特有的心理扭曲在行为上的反映。”

The scholar also denounced the United States’ measures to contain China by causing trouble in East Asia.

这位学者还谴责了美国通过在东亚制造事端包围中国的措施。

A third article by Lin Hongyu, a professor at Huaqiao University, said U.S. maneuvers in the Asia-Pacific region are just part of its overseas expansion and interventionist diplomacy to maintain its leading international role.

第三篇文章由华侨大学教授林宏宇写道,他表示,美国在亚太地区的军事演习只是其海洋扩张和干预外交的一部分,目的是为了维持主导的国际地位。

The article called on Chinese authorities to manage disputes between China and the United States in a constructive way and to build a new type of major-country relationship together.

这篇文章呼吁中国政府以建设性的方式处理中美之间的争端,共同建立一种新型的大国关系。

Source: 编辑:David Yang (人民网) 双语
http://news.iyuba.com/m/essay/2016/09/19/49492.html

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