• The system will allow sending text, audio and video messages over long distances and at high speeds in underground mining operations. The project is led by Dr Ismael Soto, director of the Getic Laboratory of the Department of Electrical Engineering, and Dr Carolina Lagos Aguirre, alternate director of the project.

The system consists of a new device about the size of a cell phone that will enable good communications in underground mining operations by sending text, audio and video messages over long distances and at high speeds. 

Tech-Lifim (communication technology through visible light in mining operations) is a LED light-based device that transmits and decodes data through light pulses. The project is one of the research works conducted by the Department of Electrical Engineering of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

The study is being developed by the Getic Laboratory of Universidad de Santiago (which is focused on digital signal processing for wireless communications), led by Dr Ismael Soto and Dr Carolina Lagos Aguirre, with the participation of graduate and undergraduate students at the university.

Exploring new needs

The project was started in 2010, when links were established with the Chuquicamata Division (the largest open pit copper producer in the world) of de Chilean’s National Corporation of Copper (Codelco, in Spanish), with the purpose of conducting studies on copper mining. “We gathered information about their needs and one of the issues they mentioned was the lack of communication devices, particularly for underground mining operations,” Dr Lagos says. “They asked us to develop a device able to transmit data at high speed and under adverse conditions, like high temperature, high humidity, dust and smoke.”

The research team established a strategic partnership with the company Control & Logic and started to work on the device. For a year and a half, they have continued with the research work, performed some tests and given presentations in Chuquicamata. “The device can be placed on the workers’ helmets, on underground tunnels’ walls and on trucks, to guarantee a simultaneous communication,” she says.

Global impact

According to the researchers, the system, which is currently at the production stage, is very efficient and meets the workers’ safety requirements.

Universidad de Santiago de Chile has already filed a patent request in Chile for this product. The next step will be filing a request abroad, because of a global underground mining project led by Codelco that will be started in 2019, based on the systems being implemented in Chuquicamata now,” Dr Soto explains.

In this context, they have created a company supported by the Innovo Usach business incubator. “We have the goal of placing the product in the market and start its commercialization in January 2017. Although we have worked with Chuquicamata for now, the device will be available for everyone who needs it,” the researcher says.

Other studies

This communication device is an example of the many studies that this research team intends to conduct. “We are also developing a lighting system for underground mining operations that will be available in the years to come,” Dr Soto says.

Besides, the research team is working on other projects in collaboration with foreign institutions like Northumbria University (England), the Oil and Gas University of Ploiesti (Romania) and the University of Lorraine (France).

Translated by Marcela Contreras

The product, a particular type of rice, produced by a project of the Facultad Tecnológica in 2008, with the support of the Fundación para la Innovación Agrícola  (FIA), is in the process of obtaining its corresponding patent.

There was a high national and international impact in May 2008, because of this  new type of reconstituted rice obtained from by-products  of  the polishing process of this cereal, such as spikes, defective pieces, flour and others. The important finding is that it requires less time and only a quarter of water than the traditional rice usually used for cooking. It has also been developed with a variety of flavors, nutrients and fiber to make it competitive.

The leader of this project was Laura Almendares, researcher at the Department of Science and Food Technology, Facultad Tecnológica. She was supported by the Fundación para la Innovación Agrícola  and by  other researchers from the University and rice producers from Parral, in the Maule Region, and El Huique, in the O'Higgins Region.

Four years after this stage of research, Professor Almendares is now actively working in obtaining the corresponding patent for  her creation and in the generation of projects to achieve the commercialization of this innovative product.

In this context, the academic recently presented a paper in Brazil at the workshop "Potential and Qualities of Rice from the West Frontier area." This event brought together researchers, farmers and rice entrepreneurs from Santa Marta - where 80 percent of Brazil’s rice is produced- and   was organized by the Federal University of Pampa, with funding from the National Council for Scientific and National Development.

"With the support of Unipampa we generated contacts with businessmen with the aim of consolidating the business model of our rice, so that it can be produced industrially and enter the market" said the specialist Almendares on her visit to Brazil.

Efforts are also made in Chile. In this regard, this researcher of the Facultad Tecnológica explores different tools to market her product among consumers in a massive way, even at the Corfo level.

"It wasn’t easy because it’s unusual for a university to generate a patent for a product to be marketed (in a  massive way)", she said. However, she  recognizes that there is a large Chilean rice company interested in producing and distributing the rice created in the laboratories of our university. Thus, this kind of rice could be soon on Chilean and foreign supermarkets shelves.

• In recognition of his extensive career in the area of electrochemistry, Dr. José Zagal, professor at the Department of Chemistry of Materials, was invited to be part of the editorial board of Electrochemistry Communications, an international journal with the higher impact index in its field.

Dr. José Zagal, professor at the Department of Chemistry of Materials of our university, was selected to be part of the editorial board of Electrochemistry Communications, the renowned scientific journal partnered with Elsevier that has the higher impact index in the field of electrochemistry.

In a conversation with UdeSantiago al Día, the academic said that he understood his inclusion in the board as “recognition of my work over many years; but most important, the recognition of a work that has mainly been done by a team.”

Professor Zagal has a vast experience in the scientific research field, particularly in the study of oxygen and reactivity. He started to work at Universidad de Santiago 40 years ago and he has kept on publishing specialized articles in his field of interest since then.

Besides, he has been part of editorial boards of different scientific journals, like the International Journal of Electrochemistry of Hindawi Publishing Corporation, since 2011 and the International Journal of Biotechnology & Biochemistry (IJBB), since 2012.

Zagal said that it is very important that both students and academics produce publications in their fields and get involved in different creative processes “to contribute not only to this University’s development but to all the country.”

“I think that it is necessary that students in any program should take part in creative and practical processes, that is to say, they should get involved in laboratory work since their first years at the university, so that they produce new knowledge that can reach most of the people through renowned publications,” he said.

“Publishing research results is essential. When you make public the work you do, your work becomes recognized in that field and, at the same time, you spread new knowledge,” he added.

For this reason, professor Zagal expects that his role at the Electrochemistry Communications’ editorial board means a contribution to the promotion of sciences and to the better positioning of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

“You stay at this university because you love it and not for the money. Many researchers here might well be working at private sector companies, but they stay here because they feel a real bond with this institution,” he said.

“For the love that I have for this University, I expect that my inclusion in the editorial board will benefit the institution and will contribute to spread knowledge among society,” Dr. Zagal concluded.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• One of the most difficult procedures in the wine making industry around the world is cleaning and removing the remaining marc from the traditional fermentation vats. Through a project funded by Corfo’s Innova Chile, Dr. Lucio Cañete, together with professors Andrés Pérez de Arce and Héctor Barrera, of the Technological Faculty, are working on the design of devices to make this task easier, providing a solution both safe for workers and economical for the industry.

 
Andrés Pérez de Arce and Héctor Barrera, together with Dr. Lucio Cañete, the three of them professors at the Technological Faculty, are analyzing the technological viability of a device to solve one of the most complex problems for the wine industry: the cleaning of the traditional vats where the must is fermented.

Up to now, the fermentation process occurs in huge steel tanks that are filled up with crushed grape juice that stays there for a week or two, until the must is removed.

As the marc - the solid residue of seeds, skins, stalks and other impurities- remains in the tank, getting it clean before using it again is a problem for the industry, because it means that a worker has to go inside the vat through a lateral hatch, what puts his health at risk because of the toxic gas build-up in this dark and damp environment.

This is one of the most required works by the wine industry but with the least supply of workers due to the hostile work conditions; that is why companies usually offer additional bonuses to attract workers, but this is still not enough.

World problem

For this reason, Professors Lucio Cañete and Héctor Herrera, of the Department of Industrial Technologies, together with Professor Andrés Pérez de Arce, of the Department of Agrarian Management of the Technological Faculty, were awarded funds through Corfo’s InnovaChile for the project Extractor de Residuos Cohesivos Desde Medianas y Grandes Cubas Viníferas, code 13IDL1-25426 (Cohesive Residues Extractor for Medium and Large-sized Wine Making Tanks), in order to develop a device to solve this problem.

“The problem affects wine making not only at a domestic level, but worldwide,” Professor Cañete explained. Although some wine producers have vats than can be turned upside down to facilitate the removal of the marc, they are very expensive, so most companies use the traditional steel or concrete tanks.

After studying different possibilities, Professors Cañete, Barrera and Pérez de Arce decided to design a device to vacuum the marc without destroying it (as it is sometimes pressed again) and without needing a worker to enter the vat.

In a few days, the researchers should deliver the first progress report. They received the funding last April and it considers the creation of a test prototype; however, the researchers have already tested their proposal in wine producing companies.

A few weeks ago, they presented the idea in the conference of the Asociación Nacional de Ingenieros Agrónomos Enólogos de Chile (National Association of Oenologist- Agronomical Engineers of Chile), held in Molina. “We had a good response, because it is a real problem for the wine industry. Our solution seeks to reduce the workers’ health risk and to optimize the available time of the vats to make the most of the harvest time,” Professor Pérez de Arce said.

Today, the project is at an initial stage of development, testing the hypothesis to model the equipment and further creation of the prototype. The most advanced methods in this process are leading to ripper-vacuum cleaner-like and Archimedes’ screw-like solutions. In both cases, the device will be introduced in the tank through the hatch, but the worker would have the possibility of controlling it from the outside.


Translated by Marcela Contreras
 

• Researchers at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago discovered the existence of functional TRP ion channels in the marine alga Ulva Compressa that are similar to the ones present at the nervous system in mammals and humans. “At first, it was difficult to imagine that these channels could exist in a marine alga, especially when they exist in mammals but not in terrestrial plants,” Dr Alejandra Moenne, researcher at the Department of Biology, says.

TRP channels are cellular sensors that detect and respond to different environmental stimuli, like temperature changes, pain and taste, what makes them key to many physiological processes.

“At first, it was difficult to imagine that these channels could exist in a marine alga, especially when they exist in mammals but not in terrestrial plants,” Dr Alejandra Moenne, researcher at the Department of Biology, says.

“Before having these results, we found that copper stress activates voltage dependent calcium channels (VDCC) similar to the ones present at the central nervous system of mammals. So, how the activation of voltage dependent channels was possible? We thought that the activation of VDCC depended on the previous activation of TRP channels, something difficult to imagine in a marine alga,” the researcher explains.

These results mean a change in the way how the physiological functioning of marine algae - organisms that have been present on Earth for about a thousand million years- is understood. They were published by the journal Frontiers in Plant Science in the paper "Copper-induced activation of TRP channels promotes extra cellular calcium entry, activation of CaMs and CDPKs, copper entry and membrane depolarization in Ulva compressa.” 

The researcher explains that they not only found that “there are functional TRP channels that respond to copper but also that copper stress induces the release of amino acids and amino acid derived neurotransmitters similar to the ones released by human neurons. Even more, we have preliminary evidence that suggests that there is communication among different marine algae species through these molecules.”


Future research 

In terms of research and to give answers to the new questions, Dr Moenne says that she intends to apply for a Proyecto Anillo together with researchers Juan Pablo García-Huidobro (Universidad de Santiago), Claudio Sáez (Universidad de Playa Ancha) and Erasmo Macaya (Universidad de Concepción), in order to deepen the knowledge on the communication among green, red and brown marine algae.

“As algae release amino acids and neurotransmitters- and have TRP channels and voltage dependent channels- algae functioning would be more and more similar to neurons, but with a slower response in minutes or hours, instead of the milliseconds of the neurons response,” she explains.

The paper "Copper-induced activation of TRP channels promotes extra cellular calcium entry, activation of CaMs and CDPKs, copper entry and membrane depolarization in Ulva compressa" (that received the recognition of the Editor of the journal Frontiers in Planet Science) was written by the research team of this project: Melissa Gómez, Alberto González, Claudio Sáez, Bernardo Morales and Alejandra Moenne. It is available online at http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2015.00182/abstract 


Translated by Marcela Contreras

• In order to reduce the effects of the day-night fluctuations of solar radiation, researchers at the Department of Chemical Engineering of Universidad de Santiago developed a low-cost accumulator that allows storing solar thermal energy and avoid interruptions of the drying processes of different agricultural products. The research team is led by Dr Alejandro Reyes and the study is called “Design and evaluation of a heat exchanger that uses paraffin wax and recycled materials as solar energy accumulator”.

Chile has high levels of solar radiation, particularly in the northern and central zones of the country. This makes our territory an ideal area for studying and developing new methods to use solar energy. 

In this context, Dr Alejandro Reyes published part of the results of his study in the Elsevier’s journal Energy Conversion and Management. The article is called “Design and evaluation of a heat exchanger that uses paraffin wax and recycled materials as solar energy accumulator.”

Through this study, Professor Reyes seeks to solve one of the biggest problems posed by solar thermal energy: its fluctuation between day and night. He has the goal of extending the use of solar energy to hours when it is not directly received.

Solar energy can be thermally or electrically stored in batteries, by means of photovoltaic panels. In thermal storage, solids or liquids can be heated and sensible heat is stored. However, Dr Reyes’ study is focused on the phase change, i.e., the use of a solid that melts when it is heated.

Paraffin wax

Paraffin wax, similar to the one used in candle making, was the best option for this study, as it remains solid below 56^OC and, above this temperature, it changes to liquid.

The change in state of paraffin wax depends on energy input or output. “For a phase transition from solid to liquid, much energy is required, so we get it from the sun. And from liquid to solid, we need to take the energy inside out,” Professor Reyes explained.

In order to melt wax and transform it to liquid and accumulate energy, Dr Reyes designed a heat accumulator that works with low-cost materials, like soft drink cans. “We designed a device in which we put paraffin in a group of soft drink cans that we painted black. We put the cans inside a box, and we closed the upper face with a glass cover, facing the sun. The solar energy melts the wax and then a cold air flow is passed trough the cans and goes out as hot air,” he said.

However, this process has some drawbacks related to the low thermal conductivity of paraffin wax that makes more difficult sucking out the heat from the cans: when liquid paraffin wax starts getting solid inside the cans, the extraction of the energy remaining in the centre of the cans is very slow.

This problem was solved by embedding aluminium wool in the paraffin wax, doubling its thermal conductivity. Aluminium strips were also placed outside the cans to improve the energy transfer to the air.

Mathematical equations

Professor Reyes says that the empirical results are correlated with the models that they have been able to develop through mathematical equations.

“Evidently, if we build a device with more cans, the energy accumulation would be proportionally higher. We have another piece of equipment with 300 cans placed on the roof of the Department of Chemical Engineering that allows extending the drying process of agroproducts to up to five hours. We have the help of thesis students and experts in modelling and a piece of software that allows predicting the results of the equipment, based on its size and the environmental conditions,” he said.

Dr Reyes expects to replicate the energy accumulator and use it for different purposes. “On the roof, we have an accumulator made of cans, plus a standard solar panel, both connected to a dryer with a drying capacity of 25 kg of agricultural products. Up to date, we have dehydrated mushrooms, onion flakes, and sweet peppers, among others.”

As the process of drying agricultural products is slow, during the day the dryer uses the solar energy obtained through the solar panel, and then at night, when the solar radiation is null, the air for drying is heated in the energy accumulator and the drying time is extended to up to 5 additional hours.

“We seek to extend the drying process all night long, by using solar energy, in spite of the radiation fluctuations between day and night,” the researcher said.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• According to official statistics, in Chile there are 34,000 people infected by the HBV, which is transmitted through exposure to infectious blood or body fluids. Worldwide, 240 million people live with this disease. This is the reason why Dr Camilo García, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, decided to study the feasibility of a more effective and economical method for detecting this disease, in the context of a Fondecyt Initiation project awarded in 2015.

​

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) which affects the liver. It is transmitted through exposure to infectious blood or body fluids and it can cause both acute and chronic infections. Hepatitis B can be fatal and cannot be cured.

According to statistics provided by the World health Organization (WHO), 240 million people worldwide suffer from chronic Hepatitis B, which can develop into cirrhosis and liver cancer. In Chile, 34,000 people are infected by the HBV

In this context, and thanks to the funding provided by a Fondecyt Initiation project (11150434), Dr Camilo García, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, seeks to develop a new method for detecting this disease.

Background

According to Dr García, he has an important reason for studying this disease. In Chile, there is a specific HBV genotype: genotype F.

“I decided to study Hepatitis B to explore a new field, because this is a terrible disease and the current detection methods are very expensive, in comparison to the one that we are studying. There is a type of Hepatitis B that has only been detected in Chilean people. So, it would be great to find a sensor that detects the strain that we want to identify,” he said.

“The human quality of the work team at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago was another reason to conduct this study,” he added.

After completing the three-year project, he expects to have a new detection method that contributes to the patients’ well-being and comfort during medical procedures.

Methods

“We want to see if it is possible to develop Hepatitis B sensors based on electrochemiluminescence,” professor García explained.

Quantum dots –fluorescent nanoparticles- emit light when voltage is applied. This light signal can be absorbed by a DNA-binding molecule, like cationic porphyrins.

Dr García explains that the study will be based on the comparison between linear DNA sequences and molecular beacons for Hepatitis B virus to establish if the light signal is affected by the resonance, providing novel biosensors to detect the disease.

Translated By Marcela Contreras

 A research team led by Dr Claudio Vásquez Guzmán, professor at the Department of Biology of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, proved that Antarctic bacteria are able to resist tellurium when they are exposed to oxidative stress.

Dr Claudio Vásquez, professor at the Department of Biology of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, together with his research team, proved that Antarctic bacteria are able to resist tellurium when they are exposed to oxidative stress. 

Tellurium (Te) is one of the many elements in the Periodic Table. It belongs to the same chemical family as oxygen, sulfur, and selenium, which are considered essential to life. However, until now, we still do not know if this element has any biological function. For this reason, the research team of the Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, led by Dr Claudio Vásquez, has studied this element for years, trying to understand the molecular basis of its toxicity.

Since 2013, Dr Vásquez and Dr José Manuel Pérez, of Universidad Andrés Bello, have worked together in the Regular Fondecyt Project N° 1130362 “Tellurite-resistant Antarctic bacteria: Unveiling new toxicant resistance mechanisms,” which was recently completed.

“The hypothesis of our project was the following: As bacteria living in the Antarctica are resistant and adapted to oxidative stress, they should be resistant to tellurite. The idea was to find super-resistant bacteria that could help to establish the usefulness of tellurium to the cell,” Dr Vásquez explained.

The idea of the project came from the observation of isolated samples collected from different places in the Chilean Antarctica. They visited the Prat and Escudero Antarctic Bases, Deception Island and Fildes Peninsula and travelled on the Almirante Óscar Viel ice-breaker of the Chilean Army, where they were able to find, isolate and describe microorganisms resistant to oxidative stress and tellurite.

Tellurium is primarily used in the manufacturing of solar cells. According to Dr Vásquez, “It is an essential part of photoelectric cells that capture sunlight and transform it into electricity.” This is the reason why this element is a potential source of energy. “Now we need to create a system to remove tellurium from the environment, because it is very scarce,” he added.

In Chile, tellurium is produced as a byproduct of the copper refining process. It settles as anode slime and it is not recovered. “If we store it and control it well, we could contribute to prevent its potentially toxic effect on the flora and fauna,” he said.

Dr Vásquez concluded by saying that Universidad de Santiago has been really important during the conduct of this study for its support and constant collaboration.

• The flour substrate of the seed would serve as a basis for generating special foods for diabetic and celiac people

The Chilean food industry is constantly searching for the incorporation of new seeds, used for food production. The current market offers a variety of composite products based on quinoa, flaxseed and other seeds.

In this search for assessing the potential food in other seeds, Patricio Rojas, Forest Engineer and Master in Technology Management, with specialization in Biotechnology, of the Universidad de Santiago, investigated the food potential of Acacia Saligna seeds, as part of a thesis research project, in order to evaluate the possibility of using them in the elaboration of  food products.

Acacia saligna is a species from Western Australia and corresponds to an exotic legume very drought tolerant. In Chile, you can find over 16 thousand hectares in the rural communities of the Coquimbo region (El Tangue, Cuz Cuz, Higuertitas) and used as a complementary food (forage) for goats.

This productive use is "marginal as a source of income for farmers and for the region. The species has a high tolerance to drought and is adapted to the area conditions, so its cultivation is sustainable,” Patricio Rojas points out in his research.

Benefits

In Chile, the Instituto Forestal (INFOR) and other agriculture institutions such as CONAF and INDAP which  have fostered this type of farming among farmers, have added further that afforestation with Acacia Saligna has been an important factor to curb desertification and recover degraded soils of the Fourth Region.

Therefore, Patricio Rojas,  motivated by the agro-food situation in other regions where this seed is grown, refers to Australia where "there are ten species of the genus, whose seeds are eaten since ancient times by indigenous communities and are currently processed as functional food in the form of flour and others (cakes, flavors, pasta, etc.) for a market niche called 'bush food' , he explains.

Ricardo Munoz, guiding teacher of the thesis, notes that the benefits of the seeds are visible. "Seeds are low glycemic and gluten-free, so they could be an important part of a mix basis for preparing products for diabetic and celiac people. This result is an innovation in the agro-food development," this specialist says.
 

Acacia Saligna in the Chilean industry

Despite the progress in development and innovation, the Chilean industry in this area "is not ready to process the seeds of Acacia Saligna as a feedstock. Considering that there is an estimated resource of 16 000 hectares with limited commercial use, tons of flour could be generated", Patricio Rojas says.

Besides, Rojas notes that "by incorporating seed production as an input to the processing industry of flour with beneficial properties for health, the current profitability of Acacia Saligna plantations in the Coquimbo region could be improved. 

"You have to do research and product development to be validated on a pilot scale in order to make technological adjustments and test the consuming propensity that the market could have. The bakery industry which has the skills and the concern on the issue must invest and develop in order to validate what we're envisioning right now," Professor Ricardo Muñoz says.

 

• Universidad de Santiago was among the four national universities that will receive more funds from the National Fund for the Scientific and Technological Development (Fondecyt, its acronym in Spanish), according to the results of the 2014 Contest. Universidad de Chile, Universidad Católica and Universidad de Concepción were the other three universities.