Day: January 20, 2022

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Sweegen Praises New Framework on Stevia Technology By International Food Safety Authority

Sets Global Example on Standards for Countries

Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., Jan. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sweegen’s health and wellness commitment through global sugar reduction solutions became stronger after Codex Alimentarius (Codex), the international food standard safety authority, recently adopted the specifications for all four stevia technologies, including Sweegen’s bioconversion.

“The new Codex framework is timely as the benefits of steviol glycosides, the sweet component in the stevia leaf, fit into the broader health and wellness narrative, which is something consumers want to see more of, and global food and beverage manufacturers want greater access to,” said Luca Giannone, senior vice president of sales.

The significance of the adoption is that there is now a more streamlined approach to regional adoption of new production technologies. This will provide greater access to less common and better-tasting steviol glycosides at scale and a more sustainable supply of the sugar-like tasting ingredients.

Sweegen’s support for adopting the “Framework for Stevia Technology” started four years ago as a member of the alliance group, the International Stevia Council (ISC). Adopting the framework was a stevia industry effort and collaboration internationally where Sweegen represented bioconversion technology.

“With this framework, most countries in the world will gradually adopt this standard, and our global stevia footprint can expand more rapidly into countries where we are seeking approval for offering our pure, clean, and great-tasting Signature Bestevia ingredients produced by bioconversion,” said Giannone.

Modern technology advancements, such as bioconversion, produce clean new generation sweetener molecules such as Rebaudiosides M, D, and E, originally found in small quantities in the stevia leaf. Unlike first-generation ingredients like Rebaudioside A, these rebaudiosides impart a clean sugar-like taste with a better sensory profile and are highly sought-after by food and beverage manufacturers in countries where they have regulatory approvals.

“The adopted framework is good news for brands that want greater access to Sweegen’s pure and clean tasting stevia ingredients, Rebs D, E, M, and more,” said Giannone. “By leveraging proprietary bioconversion technology, we start with the stevia leaf, and with the support of enzymes, produce a final product that is a single purified steviol glycoside (not a mixture) that naturally occurs in the stevia leaf.”

Under the new framework, all of Sweegen’s rebaudiosides are approved by Codex. Last year, Sweegen earned regulatory approval for its Signature Bestevia Reb M in Europe, which enables greater flexibility in satisfying regional preferences for sweetness and great taste.

“We welcome the adoption of the Codex framework and the opportunity to support our customers globally with new sugar reduction innovations,” said Steven Chen, Sweegen’s chief executive officer. “Sweegen is proud to be part of this collaborative effort to bring much-needed innovation to the food and beverage industry.”

About Sweegen

Sweegen provides sweet taste solutions for food and beverage manufacturers around the world.

We are on a mission to reduce the sugar and artificial sweeteners in our global diet.  Partnering with customers, we create delicious zero-sugar products that consumers love.  With the best next-generation stevia sweeteners in our portfolio, such as Bestevia® Rebs B, D, E, I, M, and N, along with our deep knowledge of flavor modulators and texturants, Sweegen delivers market-leading solutions that customers want, and consumers prefer. Be well. Choose well.

For more information, please contact info@sweegen.com and visit Sweegen’s website, www.sweegen.com.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, among other statements, statements regarding the future prospects for Reb M stevia leaf sweetener. These statements are based on current expectations but are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are beyond the control of Sweegen, Inc.

Relevant risks and uncertainties include those referenced in the historic filings of Sweegen, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements, and therefore should be carefully considered. Sweegen, Inc. assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements due to new information or future events or developments.

Attachment

Ana Arakelian
Sweegen
949-709-0583
ana.arakelian@sweegen.com
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Capital University Participated in HEC Badminton Championship

Islamabad, January 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):Education is incomplete without sports. In these days sports are an integral part of education. When students are physically fit, they will achieve more academically. Sport develops a sense of friendliness among the children and develops their team spirit. It helps children to develop mental and physical toughness. Sport also eliminates mental exhaustion of children. Therefore, the Capital University participated in HEC Intervarsity Badminton Men Zone C Championship 2021-22 held at ARID.

For more information, contact:
Capital University of Science and Technology (CUST)
Islamabad Expressway, Kahuta Road, Zone-V, Islamabad, Pakistan
UAN: +92-51-111-555-666
Tel: +92-51-4486700-4
Email: info@cust.edu.pk
Website: https://cust.edu.pk

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PSCE Equips Power Sector Officials with Vital Knowledge of Transmission Planning 

Lahore, January 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):A three-day Module-II of Training on Transmission Planning for the officers and engineering professionals of newly established Market Implementation and Regulatory Affairs Department (MIRAD) of Distribution Companies (DISCOs), National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), and National Power Control Center was arranged under the banner of the Power Sector Centre of Excellence (PSCE) established at LUMS.

PSCE is a training and knowledge hub founded jointly by Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) and the LUMS Energy Institute. The training was attended by 50 participants. Module-II was a continuation of Module-I of the programme, where key activity areas of Transmission Planning were deliberated.

Participants were given intensive knowledge about Power System Studies, Network Planning and Expansion techniques and strategies according to the global best practices. The training was imparted through the Power System Simulator for Engineering (PSS/E), a globally used and acclaimed software for Power System Studies. Before the start of Module-II, newly selected participants of MIRADs were imparted a separate advance level training on the use of PSS/E by the resources from CPPA-G.

Modernising Pakistan’s electricity infrastructure and power sector professionals is one of the top priorities under the envisaged Competitive Trading Bilateral Contracts Market (CTBCM) regime. Transmission Planning is one of the key ingredient to an Integrated System Plan that serves as a blueprint for building a reliable and secure electricity grid. It maps out strategies to expand and reinforce the transmission system to support future load growth and generation development.

Without continuous and overarching improvements and upgrades over the coming years, our nation’s transmission system will fall short of the reliability standards our growing economy requires. The introduction of modern tools, techniques and approaches will improve system monitoring, visualisation, control and operations as required under the competitive electricity market framework.

This will ultimately modernise the electricity transmission system to ease congestion, allow for an increase in demand, provide a greater degree of system security and reliability, and reduce costs for the ratepayers. A key strategic focus of the training was to better integrate the newly formed MIRAD, at all 10 DISCOs, with all the power sector entities. MIRAD will play a key role in transmission planning and demand forecasting under the competitive electricity market, which will start operations in May 2022.

The DISCOs have already prepared their own Demand Forecast. They shall use their Demand Forecast to prepare their Secondary Transmission and Grids Expansion Plan. The expansion plans of DISCOs, their Demand Forecasts along with the latest Integrated Generation Capacity Expansion Plan will enable NTDC to prepare the Transmission System Expansion Plan. In this way, NTDC and the newly created MIRADs of DISCOs will pave the way for Integrated System Planning, an exercise which has been missing in the sector for decades.

For more information, contact:
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35608000
Fax: +92-42-35725048
Website: www.lums.edu.pk

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A Session on “Avoiding under-theorization Through Critical Review of Literature” held at Capital University 

Islamabad, January 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):Professional Development Planning team, Department of English, organized its 2nd seminar on January 18th, 2022. Dr. Inayat Ullah, Head of English Department, Graduate Studies, NUML Islamabad, served the occasion as a guest speaker. Dr. Inayat Ullah is a well-known academician and researcher who has worked in many reputable local and international organizations.

He delivered a brief and an effective lecture on ‘Avoiding Under-theorization Through Critical Review of Literature’ to enlighten the participants with the approaches related to literature review. Additionally, the honourable speaker discussed how a specific theory could be supported and augmented through critically reviewing literature. The session, lasted for an hour and a half, followed by scholastic discussion from participants’ end in questions/answers mode.

For more information, contact:
Capital University of Science and Technology (CUST)
Islamabad Expressway, Kahuta Road, Zone-V, Islamabad, Pakistan
UAN: +92-51-111-555-666
Tel: +92-51-4486700-4
Email: info@cust.edu.pk
Website: https://cust.edu.pk

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GCU forms committee to prepare agenda for Syndicate meeting 

Lahore, January 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Government College University Lahore has constituted an eight-member committee for the preparation of an agenda for the upcoming meeting of its Syndicate. The committee will not only consult all relevant departments on their different matters to be placed before Syndicate, but for the first time set the tradition of consulting the Syndicate members in advance of the meeting to include the most pertinent agenda.

Prof. Dr. Asghar Zaidi, the Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of the Syndicate, approved the composition of the Committee with a direction to the Registrar/ Secretary of the Syndicate to prepare a comprehensive agenda with necessary details on a priority basis.

He said that we have earnestly started working for the upcoming Syndicate meeting, and all different matters related to academic and examination rules, recruitment policy and financial affairs would be tabled before the Syndicate for discussion and guidance. He said that the matter of disparity allowance for staff and faculty from Grade 1 to 19 would also be placed before the Syndicate after a recommendation from the Finance and Planning Committee.

The Vice-Chancellor said the date of the meeting would be announced in consultation with Syndicate members after the preparation of the draft agenda items. The committee members included Dean Prof. Dr Raiz Ahmed, Dean Prof. Ahmad Adnan, Treasurer Abid Shahzad and Controller of Examinations Muhammad Shahzad. They are advised to finalize the agenda items for timely Syndicate meeting during February 2022.

For more information, contact:
Public Relations Department,
Government College University (GCU)
Squash Complex, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan
UAN: +92-42-111-000-010 Ext: 296
Tel: +92-42-99213343
Cell: +92-321-8440769
Email: registrar@gcu.edu.pk
Website: http://www.gcu.edu.pk

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More than 90 percent of students across Pakistan are underachieving in maths and science: Study

Karachi, January 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):More than 90 percent of primary and lower-secondary students in Pakistan have only a weak or basic understanding of the mathematics and science they are required to learn, according to a nationwide study conducted by faculty at Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan (IED).

More than 15,000 students in grades five, six and eight in 153 public and private schools across the country completed standardised tests in mathematics and science as part of the study, which was funded by Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission. All tests were aligned with Pakistan’s curriculum and have been validated for use in the country by previous studies. The average mathematics score was 27 out of 100. The average science score was 34 out of 100.

Only 1 percent of students scored over 80 in either subject, thereby demonstrating what researchers called “excellent understanding.” Girls slightly outperformed boys in science and tied boys in mathematics. The average score in private schools was higher than in public schools, but did not exceed 40 in either subject. The average score in Punjab was the highest among the country’s regions, but did not exceed 40 in either subject. In total, 78 public schools and 75 private schools participated in the study. Eighty percent of students were the children of parents with a high school certificate or less.

Only one in 20 eighth graders could correctly answer the following question: “There are thirty students in a class. The ratio of boys to girls in the class is 2:3. How many boys are there in the class?” Only one in 50 could convert “ten million, twenty thousand and thirty” into numeric form. Fewer than one in 10 could identify the reason that the heart beats faster during exercise. “Science and mathematics education are in dire need of attention from practitioners and policymakers,” said Assistant Professor Nusrat Fatima Rizvi, a study co-principal investigator.

Researchers found that multiple factors were significantly correlated with students’ learning outcomes. In increasing order of importance, those factors were high-quality teaching practices, a student’s mother having a bachelor’s or master’s degree (a father’s educational attainment was relatively less important), only one language being used in the classroom, attending private school and going to school in Punjab. Surprisingly, students tended to learn less from experienced teachers than from those new to the profession. They also tended to learn less from teachers with a degree in education, compared to teachers having no degree in education.

The researchers visited the classrooms of 589 teachers to assess the quality of their instruction. The teaching practices of nearly 9 in 10 were graded weak, and roughly 1 in 10 were graded mediocre. No teachers exhibited what the researchers described as good teaching practice. “In most classrooms, teachers spend their time reading and explaining words from the textbook instead of encouraging students to ask questions or participate in activities that bring concepts to life,” said Associate Professor Sadia Bhutta, the study’s principal investigator. “This results in poor understanding of concepts and poor performance on tests.”

Among the study’s notable findings was that students in monolingual classrooms – where the textbook, teaching and examinations were all in one language – outperformed those in multilingual classrooms. Researchers also interviewed teachers to understand the challenges they face. The discussions revealed the urgent need to provide teachers with professional development opportunities to improve both their subject matter knowledge and their ability to reflect on their own pedagogy.

Researchers also interviewed teachers to understand the challenges they face. The discussions revealed the urgent need to provide teachers with professional development opportunities to improve both their subject matter knowledge and their ability to reflect on their own pedagogy. IED’s Dr Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta, Dr Nusrat Fatima Rizvi, Sohail Ahmad, Khadija Nadeem, Naureen Imran, Sabina Khan and Maimona Khan were part of the project’s research team.

For more information, contact:
Media Executive
Department of Public Affairs
Aga Khan University (AKU)
Stadium Road, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34930051
Fax: +92-21-34934294, +92-21-34932095
Cell: +92-301-8258028
Email: rasool.sarang@aku.edu, public.affairs@aku.edu​
Website: www.aku.edu