• For the second consecutive year, our  University was positioned in the third place of the largest national patent requests prepared by the National Industrial Property Institute (INAPI,  in Spanish). Dr. Louis Magne,  director of the Department of Technology Management, attended the awards ceremony  and he highlighted the efforts of the University to generate technological innovations.

Our University has managed to gradually increase the protection of intellectual property of the technologies  generated through its research and development. In 2011 it presented a total of 28 requests  at national and  international levels and through the Cooperation Treaty about Patenting Matters (PCT, in Spanish).

The number of nine national patent records required in 2011, helped to put the University in third place, according to the "INAPI Report 2012". The leader of this ranking was Universidad de  Concepción and P. Pontificia Universidad Católica, with a total number of thirteen requests for inventions each.

The award ceremony for this important achievement was held last Thursday in the new premises of INAPI and was chaired by Tomás Flores the Vice Secretary of Economics, and Maximiliano Santa Cruz, INAPI director.  Dr. Louis Magne, director of the Department of Technology Management from the office of Research and Development attended the ceremony and  represented our University. He  noted that patenting is a priority for the institution.

"The University has an important increase of the research that has  potential for new businesses, and this has allowed  the  identification of the results that might get a patent and which are the basis of innovative technologies that could be transferred to the productive sector," he said.

Throughout its history, the  Universidad de Santiago de Chile has presented 63 requests  for national patents. At the international level, it has presented 50 requests  in various countries, mostly in the United States. Of the total applications, 28 patents have been given, eleven  in Chilean territory, three in the U.S. and the rest in other countries.

"We are currently working to achieve that these patents generate licenses and then royalties, meeting  the challenge that Chile has about becoming a generator of technology," Magne explained.

What is the meaning of patenting?

A patent is an exclusive right granted by the State for the protection of an invention, so it recognizes and guarantees the exclusive commercial exploitation for the holder of the invention, thus preventing others from appropriating the benefits involved in its exploitation.

Obtaining these patents in the University is paramount as it demonstrates the ability to generate appropriable knowledge, and states the basis of technological products that have a future to contribute to the country and become  part of  the national and international markets.

To achieve this, the Technology Management Department is responsible for encouraging researchers to conduct applied research projects whose results are evaluated in its appropriability and evaluated for their further development, until the patent is generated.

The patents that are requested belong to the University, with the recognition of the authorship  for the inventors. If the invention is commercialized, 50 percent is for the group of researchers that  generates the patent and the remaining 50 percent for the University.

• Universidad de Santiago’s interdisciplinary research team, led by Dr. Silvia Matiacevich from the Technological Faculty, is focused on developing an edible film that could increase the shelf life of fresh foods by 30%.

Improving the way of preserving foods has been a permanent concern in food industry. This is the reason why packaging is essential for the quality and shelf life of the product. But this packaging should be in harmony with the environment.

In light of this situation, a sustainable alternative for food packaging has been developed: food covering edible films, which are being widely used and have become a world trend nowadays. At Universidad de Santiago, an interdisciplinary research team is trying to replicate this development, giving value added to different national byproducts.

This initiative will be viable thanks to the Associative Dicyt Project called “Bioactive Coatings for Foods”, which gathers together experts from different faculties of the University.

“We will use food industry byproducts which are considered as dispensable or waste material. We are going to give them a value added by adding antioxidant and antimicrobial components to them in order to increase the shelf life of fresh food products,” Dr. Daniel López says.

Academics from three different faculties gathered for this purpose: Dr. Rubén Bustos, from the Faculty of Engineering (Department of Chemical Engineering); Dr. Diego Venegas and Dr. Marlén Gutiérrez, from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology (Department of Materials Chemistry); and Dr. Daniel López and Dr. Silvia Matiacevich, from the Technological Faculty (Department of Food Science and Technology), being Dr. Matiacevich the leader of the project.

During the two years scheduled for the project, the researchers plan to study the synergistic effect of this combination of products and they expect to increase food shelf life by over 30%.

Interdisciplinarity

Most of the academics related to this project are part of a larger group created by the end of 2013 called Indi, Asociación de Investigadores por el Desarrollo e Interdisciplinariedad of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, a group of researchers that promotes development and interdisciplinarity at the university.

“All of us have participated in some of these initiatives at some point, seeking for this interdisciplinarity. This is how we have met other people and created contacts. What is good is that more than just admiring the work of others, we have the real possibility of conducting studies together. For this reason, we value this type of projects, as they promote the integration and interdisciplinarity that define a university,” Dr. Matiacevich says.

Translated by Marcela Contreras
 

• The motion patterns typical of volcanoes can be predicted with a high rate of effectiveness as of data sent from the slopes of the Llaima Volcano in La Araucanía Region. This has been possible thanks to the work by Dr. Max Chacón, professor at the Department of Informatics Engineering of Universidad de Santiago, who developed a software program for this purpose. “In Chile, it is essential to increase the knowledge on volcanoes. In this way, we will be able to face emergency situations like eruptions, and even predict them and make timely decisions,” Dr. Chacón said.

Due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Chilean territory has the second largest volcanic chain in the world, with more than 2,000 volcanoes, many of them located in the southern part of the country. Although they are considered among the most active volcanoes in Latin America, only 43 of them are being monitored. The main concern about these geological structures is their potential for eruptions and their seismic activity is a key factor in prevention. 

Researchers of Universidad de Santiago, Universidad de La Frontera, and the Southern Andean Volcano Observatory, Ovdas by its acronym in Spanish, conducted the study “Pattern recognition applied to seismic signals from the Llaima Volcano: an analysis of the events’ features”, which is available in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.

According to Dr. Max Chacón, professor at the Department of Informatics Engineering of Universidad de Santiago and one of the developers of the program, “Based on the machine learning approach, we developed a piece of software that identifies the type of the seismic signal as of data sent by sensors located on the slopes of the volcano,” with an 80% accuracy in the Llaima Volcano.

“Volcano seismic signals are not related to the earthquakes typical of tectonic plate collisions, as one could deduce from a first interpretation of these phenomena. These movements are specific to volcanoes and they are caused by their distinctive features, like their activity, magma movement, gas movement, stiffness of components, etc.

Previously, the research team had studied the Villarrica Volcano, detecting the existence of three characteristic seismic event patterns: the LP (Long Period) event, which is related to the pressure of gas and other fluids in the conduit; the Tremor, which is related to changes in gas and magma densities; and lastly, the VT (Volcano Tectonic) event, which is associated to the fracture of the solid parts of the volcano or the conduits.

The researchers used the program again in a study on the Llaima Volcano, but they also tried to identify the features of data sent by the sensors in the volcano. Among these data, the amplitude, frequency and phase of the signals, and the way in which they appear together in each seismic signal, were particularly considered.

“With this, we tried to give more information to volcanologists, so that they could identify the signals more easily, also analyzing the way in which these features appeared in seismic events,” Dr. Chacón, an expert in system models, said.

According to Dr. Chacón, one of the most interesting conclusions was the similarity of the results in the two volcanoes, what contradicts the current idea that each volcano has unique seismic movements. The researcher says that for now, the hypothesis is that the similarity is due to the proximity between the two volcanoes; however, this has not been proved.

For the above, there are two potential steps to follow in the context of this research. First, a comparative study on these volcanoes to measure the exact differences between them; and second, the improvement of the program with the purpose of detecting the correlations between these seismic signals at the moment of the eruption.

“In Chile, we live with many volcanoes, so it is essential to increase the knowledge about them. The more we know, the better we will be able to face emergency situations like eruptions, and even predict them and make timely decisions,” Dr. Chacón said.


Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The National Institute of Industrial Property recognized Universidad de Santiago as the second Chilean university at filing the highest number of patent applications in 2014. “Chile has a scientific tradition that places the country at the forefront of the Latin American productivity, and numbers reflect this fact, like the second place reached by Universidad de Santiago (last year).” The award ceremony was held in the context of the World Intellectual Property Day.

Once again, Universidad de Santiago was among the three most outstanding universities in the patent category- a category related to the rights given by the Chilean State to an inventor for the development of a new technology- in the annual award ceremony organized by the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inapi). 

The ceremony was held at Patio Los Naranjos of Universidad de Santiago and it was headed by Katia Trusich, Under Secretary of Economy, Development and Tourism, and Inapi’s NationalDirector, Maximiliano Santa Cruz. The Under Secretary said that last year was a consolidation period for Inapi. And she added that the challenge now is to set out a long-term strategy to allow “the development of industrial property considering the specific requirements of the country with regards to productive development, innovation and business ventures.”

For his part, Inapi’s National Director emphasized that our institution has a very important commitment with regards to patent application processing. “In Chile, universities are doing a good job at patenting and, if they are considered all together, in 2014 they almost doubled the number of patent applications filed, in comparison to the previous year.”

Besides congratulating Universidad de Santiago for its great work and interest in patent matters, she said that our University “is making big efforts to obtain patents, something that should be continued and promoted. Generating new knowledge through scientific activity at universities is an essential tool for economic, social and cultural development.”

“Chile has a scientific tradition that places the country at the forefront of the Latin American productivity, and numbers reflect this fact, like the second place reached by Universidad de Santiago in the national patent application ranking of 2014”, Maximiliano Santa Cruz said.

Luis Magne, Head of the Department of Technology Management of Universidad de Santiago- the unit in charge of processing patent applications of the University, among other tasks- said: “Universidad de Santiago continues to keep its spirit of technological university, so it puts an emphasis on applied research and innovation in order to contribute to the society welfare and to have an impact on Chile and the world.”

According to the information given by the Department of Technology Management, in 2014, Universidad de Santiago filed 23 new patent applications with Inapi, doubling the number of patents filed in 2013. This placed the University in the third position of the ranking that year. In addition, it filed 44 invention and protection patent applications with international agencies.

These patents are related to the fields of Sciences, Engineering, Technology, and Chemistry and Biology, and most of them belong particularly to the areas of Biotechnology, Manufacturing and Aquaculture.

Universidad de Concepción was at the first place in the patent application ranking while Pontificia Universidad Católica was at the third place.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

•  Dr Jenny Blamey, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology described the 13^th International Thermophiles Meeting as a very important opportunity for the development of research at Universidad de Santiago and in the country. Worldwide prominent figures in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, biocatalysis and biotechnology, participated in the conference. This is the first time that this global meeting is held in South America and Dr Blamey was in charge of the organization.

   

  In her closing speech, Dr Jenny Blamey, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, evaluated this global meeting as a very important opportunity for the development of research at Universidad de Santiago and in the country.

  Dr Blamey highlighted the scientific importance of this conference that always leaves its imprint on the research centers and the countries where it is held. This also happened in our university and it should be reflected on the country.

  During the activity, worldwide leading scientists in this field presented their top-notch studies.

  These experts in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, biocatalysis and biotechnology informed about the progress in their specialities, in order to have a better understanding of thermophiles.

  The Thermophiles International Conference is a global meeting held every second year. For the first time the meeting was carried out in South America, under the general supervision of Dr Blamey, and with the support of an efficient team who coordinated different tasks for the organizing bodies: Bioscience Foundation and the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago.

  The program included sessions on topics like genomics and biochemical processes, keynote lectures and poster presentations.

  International experts like Dr Karl Stetter, Dr Michel Adams and Dr Juergen Wiegel met with students, researchers and Chilean and foreign scientists.

  They shared their questions and their knowledge about the last developments and potential biotechnological applications of thermophiles, which are considered key to science development in our country and the world.

  A space for discussion and proposals

  “For Universidad de Santiago de Chile, hosting and promoting this type of activity is essential, since our purpose as a public, state and complete university is to create, preserve, disseminate and apply knowledge for the welfare of society,” Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago, said.

  The Thermophiles 2015 International Conference contributed “To our institutional essential work, as it became a space for discussion and proposals, in a multidisciplinary and pluralistic dialogue; on this occasion, in the field of extremophiles, a new important field worldwide, not only for biological sciences but also for industrial biotechnology,” he added.

  For his part, Dr Gustavo Zúñiga, Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, highlighted the importance of having been selected to organize the activity and receive these distinguished scientists, and give the students the opportunity to ask questions and talk to them.

  Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Dr Erick Saavedra Flores, researcher at the Department of Civil Works Engineering of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, is studying new mathematical techniques to computer simulate the performance of wood at extreme ranges of deformation, cracking and ductile processes and its possible progressive collapse.

Wooden structures in a seismic country like Chile require constant inspection to check on its resistance in case of critical events such as earthquakes.

Dr Erick Saavedra Flores, researcher at the Department of Civil Works Engineering of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, is studying new mathematical techniques to computer simulate the performance of wood at extreme ranges of deformation, cracking and ductile processes and, eventually, in a progressive collapse.

Dr Saavedra explains that failures in wooden structures are divided into two groups: brittle and ductile failures. Both will determine the time before wood collapses. “Usually, structures fail abruptly, without previous notice. This type of failure is classified as ‘brittle’. However, at a local level, close to metal joints or fittings, wood fails in a “ductile” manner, i.e., it fails gradually in time. This latter type of failure is very common in very high buildings made of wood,” he says.

With the resources provided by a Fondecyt Regular project, Dr Saavedra will present a new model based on a mathematical technique called “homogenization”, which seeks to detect cracking and irreversible deformation processes at different spatial scales.

Worldwide efforts

“Achieving this goal will be a big challenge, because we require to extend the existing theory to incorporate the damage factor, i.e., degradation, loss of material stiffness and cracks into the multi-scale mechanical response of the material. In the past few years, big efforts have been made worldwide; however, predicting the mechanical performance of materials in this context remains to be a problem without a solution that is fully accepted by the scientific community,” he says.

He explains that he intends to incorporate this new material model to the advanced analysis of large-scale structures, because the big challenge posed by this goal is to computer simulate the progressive collapse of structures during seismic events.

In this regard, modeling this problem is extremely difficult as it involves extreme deformation processes, the interaction of elements that fall during the collapse process and their consequent fragmentation.

The project also considers experimental testing to validate the numerical predictions obtained during the study. Running these tests will be possible with the acquisition of a vibrating table for the Department of Civil Works Engineering.

As a final result of this study, the researcher expects to have material advanced models able to capture extreme deformation processes that allow to calculate ductility measures.

“I believe that the major impact my project may have is in the area of design and construction of buildings and large-scale structures. In the case of wood, particularly, it is possible to promote the use of radiata pine to construct tall buildings if we have a more precise knowledge of its performance during failures or eventual structural collapse,” Dr Saavedra explains. 

The study will be conducted in the context of the Fondecyt Regular project 2016 (1160691), “Advanced Modelling of Ductility and Damage in Mass Timber Structures by Computational Homogenization.”

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Damian Clarke, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Administration and Economics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, together with Sonia Bhalotra, Professor of Economics at the University of Essex, conducted a study that relates maternal mortality to education.

In 2015, the World Health Organization estimated that 830 women died every day at childbirth. These numbers could have been prevented with timely access to contraceptive methods and obstetric care, as a result of the policies established by the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The goal was to reduce maternal mortality by at least 75% over a 30-year-period. In spite of the progress in this field, the MDG was not achieved; therefore, implementing new policies is urgently required.

In view of this situation, Damian Clark, PhD in Economics from the University of Oxford and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Administration and Economics of Universidad de Santiago, together with Sonia Bhalotra, Professor of Economics at the University of Essex, decided to study the reduction of maternal mortality caused by education. They conducted the study “Maternal mortality and Education,” in which they established an empirical relation between both factors.

The World Institute Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), in Helsinki, prepared a video that summarizes this important study in order to disseminate it worldwide through different media. 

UNU-WIDER is a unique blend of think tank, research institute, and UN agency that provides a range of services from policy advice to governments as well as freely available original research coordinated by a core group of resident and non-resident researchers and undertaken by a global network of collaborators.

The study

In the study, the researchers suggest that together with the typical policies of birth attendance, prenatal care and the status of health services, an increase in the level of education of women reduces the probability of dying at childbirth.

“Policy papers on maternal mortality rarely suggest the lack of education as a cause for maternal mortality. Academic and public policy literature has little to say about this issue. But in Economics, there is living literature that documents a positive correlation between education and other health indicators,” Clarke says.

They analyzed cases in countries like Kenya, Nepal and Cameroon and considering the question why education reduces maternal mortality? they found that women who have received education are more likely to avoid pregnancy complications like pre-eclampsia, bleeding and infections by adopting simple and low-cost practices to maintain hygiene, reacting to symptoms like bleeding or high blood pressure and having qualified birth attendance.

Besides, women with more education are more likely to use public health services, they have delivered their children at an older age (not during adolescence) and have had less children.

These results suggest that the levels of education attained by women in any country have significant effects on maternal mortality rates.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• In this way, Dr. Rodolfo Madrid, from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, refers to the Conicyt  funds granted for implementing a research ring that will join top scientists. The challenge is to study the physiological role of the TRP ion channels involved in detecting thermal and pain stimuli, among many other physiological processes. Knowing how these channels work may allow the development of treatments for attacking diseases related to the their malfunction.

Three research groups and a common commitment -understanding the role of TRP channels in heat sensitivity, pain and synaptic plasticity-  define the project led by Dr. Rodolfo Madrid researcher at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology. His initiative has recently received funds from the "2011 Fourth Contest of Research Rings in Science and Technology" organized by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research, CONICYT. (See related article).

"Study of the Physiological role of TRP Channels in Thermotransduction and Synaptic Plasticity" is an associative research project that joins three research groups: two correspond to the University’s laboratory of neurosciences at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology -one led by Dr. Rodolfo Madrid and the other by Dr. Bernardo Morales-  the third is the Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience from Valparaiso, led by Dr. Patricio Orio. The joint challenge is to study the physiological role of various members of a group of membrane proteins: polymodal ion channels of the TRP (Transient Receptor Potential) superfamily in diverse physiological processes. For this purpose, they will have the annual funds of 150 million pesos, for three years.

"We want to study the role of various TRP channels in the electrical response of thermoreceptors of cold and nociceptors against various physiological and pathophysiological situations, in order to develop a mathematical model that could serve as a tool for predicting the electrical behavior of these neurons against modifications -that could be the result, for example, of an inflammatory process or an injury-  and  determining  the role of ion channels in regulating neuronal communication in particular regions of the central nervous system," Dr. Rodolfo Madrid explains.

"TRP channels are part of a large group of proteins involved in the detection of thermal stimuli and nociception, among many other physiological processes, and have recently been associated with learning and memory processes," the specialist says.
 

Advanced human capital

This associative research, will attract and train new high-level human capital. It will also  incorporate doctoral and postdoctoral students and, in this way, the group of neuroscientists at the University’s Faculty of Chemistry and Biology will become stronger.

"Besides, we will work with the collaboration of laboratories that belong to some of the world's best centers in the field, such as the Institute of Neuroscience in Alicante, Cambridge University and John Hopkins University, worldwide reference points in the study of neuroscience. This will not only help the growth and consolidation of  our group, but it will also allow our students go directly to stay in those centers,” the researcher says.

Besides, Dr. Madrid values ​​the grant of this ring project "as a recognition that should extend not only to the members of our group, but to all the neuroscientists at the University. From our point of view, this is the most important project of neuroscience that our institution has received and it means that our work has not been the result of improvisation, " he finally  points out.

• As in previous occasions, in this fourth version, Universidad de Santiago proposes to hold a great academic gathering to share works and foster an interdisciplinary dialogue.

The next International Congress of Science, Technologies and Cultures will be held at Universidad de Santiago between October 9th and 12th, 2015. Our University has decided to continue with this important initiative, focusing on three objectives: contributing to dialogue and exchange between different disciplines; encouraging the debate on intellectual work looking towards the future of Latin America and the world; and generating a big coordination movement involving people and institutions that produce and spread knowledge to develop intellectual productive clusters.

The congress will be held as a product of preexisting intellectual networks, with the purpose of strengthening and widening them, ensuring the projection of a civil intellectual society that shall rise as a voice in contemporary debates.

The organizing committee invites you to present symposium proposals for this important activity. The deadline for the reception of proposals is June 30, 2014, and they shall be sent to grancongreso2015@gmail.com.

For further information regarding registrations, proposals and activities, check http://www.internacionaldelconocimiento.org/documentos/2015/convocatoria-IV-congreso-ingles.pdf

• Ethylene is a hormone able to accelerate the ripening and maturation of fruits. Through a Fondef project, Dr. Francisco Rodríguez, a researcher at the Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Cedenna, in Spanish) of Universidad de Santiago, seeks to reduce the effects caused by this gas in two particular types of fruit, avocados and kiwis, and to develop more efficient packaging for the export process.

The Packaging Laboratory (Laben, in Spanish) of Universidad de Santiago organized a seminar that was held on November 28th, at Plaza San Francisco Hotel, with the purpose of informing on the current state of a study that seeks to develop an ethylene adsorber for producing packaging for climacteric fruit, like kiwis or avocados.

The activity was attended by representatives of different companies and by Valeska González, project executive of the Fund for the Promotion of Scientific and Technological Development, (Fondef, in Spanish); Dr. María José Galotto, director of the Laben; and Dr. Óscar Bustos, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation of Universidad de Santiago.

During his presentation, Dr. Francisco Rodríguez Mercado, director of the project, said that the level of ripeness that fruits reach while they are being transported to different countries “requires finding new strategies to allow us to control some processes that affect the quality of our products.”

Dr. Rodríguez explained that, in order to reduce the effects of ethylene, they are working on a new adsorber based on local minerals, zeolites and clay, specifically. The first results showed that if zeolites are modified by some metals, they have a better response at ethylene removal, overtaking clay by 5% in effectiveness.

At a next stage, the study will focus on developing a suitable film that will be tested in the plant and then, in the selected fruits.

International point of view

Dr. Ramón Catalá, representative of the Institute of Agricultural Chemistry and Food Technology of the High Council for Scientific Research (IATA-CSIC), in Spain, also took part in the seminar and spoke about innovation and main trends in food packaging.

According to Dr. Catalá, Universidad de Santiago is on the right track “because they (researchers at the University) are working on completely relevant issues. Besides, the researchers are excellent and they have a clear policy with regards to incorporating qualified people to strengthen research activities on active packaging,” he said.

Translated by Marcela Contreras