Technology Commercialisation in a Developing Country: Current Condition and Its Challenge in Indonesia

Innovation is considered the main engine of economic growth in both developed and developing countries. Despite the important role of innovation, little has been understood about technology transfer becoming a commercial success in developing countries, especially in the Indonesian context. The purpose of this paper is to identify technology commercialisation activities in Indonesia. Based on secondary data sources, an analysis of the current state regarding the issue is constructed. The findings in this paper suggest that technology commercialisation in Indonesia is initiated at the levels of university, government research institution, and corporate. This study provides insights for policy makers, business leaders, and university administrators into the appropriate roles of institutions and organisations in promoting and assisting technology commercialisation activities of their respective inventors

Utilization Of Indonesian Sago Hampas Waste For Biohydrogen Production: Effect Of Dilute Acid Pretreatment

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui produksi biohidrogen dari limbah sagu hampas di Indonesia terutama pada perlakuan pretreatment asam encer. Sampah sagu tersebut dihasilkan dari industri rumahan yang menghasilkan bubuk tapioka dari log Arengapinnata. Perlakuan pretreatment asam encer dilakukan dengan menggunakan asam sulfat (H2SO4) pada konsentrasi 0,27,3, dan 0,6 M dengan berbagai periode waktu paparan 30, 60 dan 90 menit. Setelah menyelesaikan pretreatment tersebut, sagu mengangkut limbah padat kemudian mengalami fermentasi gelap ar 30, 1 atm dan pH awal 5.0. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa total hasil gas berada pada kisaran 1 - 4 ml / g VS. Konsentrasi H2 meningkat secara signifikan pada maksimum 27,7% v. Hasil ini menunjukkan bahwa limbah sagu di Indonesia berpotensi menjadi sumber energi terbarukan biohidrogen

Microvesicle-mediated communication within the alveolar space: mechanisms of uptake by epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages

Intra-alveolar microvesicles (MVs) are important mediators of inter-cellular communication within the alveolar space, and are key components in the pathophysiology of lung inflammation such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Despite the abundance of data detailing the pro-inflammatory effects of MVs, it remains unclear how MVs interact or signal with target cells in the alveolus. Using both in vivo and in vitro alveolar models, we analyzed the dynamics of MV uptake by resident alveolar cells: alveolar macrophages and epithelial cells. Under resting conditions, the overwhelming majority of MVs were taken up by alveolar macrophages. However, following lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammation, epithelial cells internalized significantly more MVs (p<0.01) whilst alveolar macrophage internalization was significantly reduced (p<0.01). We found that alveolar macrophages adopted a pro-inflammatory phenotype after internalizing MVs under resting conditions, but reduction of MV uptake following LPS pre-treatment was associated with loss of inflammatory phenotype. Instead, MVs induced significant epithelial cell inflammation following LPS pre-treatment, when MV internalization was most significant. Using pharmacological inhibitors, we interrogated the mechanisms of MV internalization to identify which endocytic pathways and cell surface receptors are involved. We demonstrated that epithelial cells are exclusively dependent on the clathrin and caveolin dependent endocytotic pathway, whereas alveolar macrophage uptake may involve a significant phagocytic component. Furthermore, alveolar macrophages predominantly engulf MVs via scavenger receptors whilst, epithelial cells internalize MVs via a phosphatidylserine/integrin receptor mediated pathway (specifically alpha V beta III), which can be inhibited with phosphatidylserine-binding protein (i.e. annexin V). In summary, we have undertaken a comprehensive evaluation of MV internalization within the alveolar space. Our results demonstrate that different environmental conditions can modulate MV internalization, with inflammatory stimuli strongly enhancing epithelial cell uptake of MVs and inducing epithelial cell activation. Our data reveal the unique mechanisms by which alveolar macrophages and epithelial cells internalize MVs thereby elucidating how MVs exert their pathophysiological effect during lung inflammation and injury. As MVs are potential novel therapeutic targets in conditions such as ARDS, these data provide crucial insights into the dynamics of MV-target cell interactions and highlight potential avenues for researchers to modulate and inhibit their pro-inflammatory actions within the alveolar space

UAV-based Semi-Autonomous Data Acquisition and Classification

Air pollution is a major issue contributing to global warming that threaten the quality of life on Earth. Numerous research disciplines are combining their efforts to combat air pollution by developing new methods to monitor and control pollution. For this to happen, researchers need to have instant access to new data. In this paper, we have developed a Semi-Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) loaded with sensors to measure different quantities indicating air pollution, in particular: temperature, humidity, dust, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and ozone. The purpose of this UAV is to automatically patrol high altitudes to obtain sensor readings, and transmit raw data to a centralized server via mobile network for visualization and storage. Actual measurements and data collection is carried out in Qatar. This combination of the UAVs' mobility, remote sensing, and networking facilities allows concerned parties such as researchers, smart city administrators and crowd managers, to view and visualize relevant data with significant ease via a web interface, or an android app.This work was made possible by NPRP grant NPRP 9-185-2-096 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors