Not so, scientists said Wednesday. The bonnethead follows an omnivorous diet in which seagrass plays a key, nutritional role.

Although researchers have long known that Sphyrna tiburo eats copious quantities of seagrass, it was not believed to absorb any nutrients from it.

“Until now, most people thought that seagrass consumption was incidental when these sharks were hunting for crabs, etc. that live in the seagrass beds,” study co-author Samantha Leigh, an expert in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Irvine, told AFP.

Leigh and a team found, however, that seagrass can form up to 62 percent of the bonnethead diet, alongside their preferred meal of crustaceans and molluscs.

“Bonnethead sharks are not only consuming copious amount of seagrass but they are actually capable of digesting and assimilating seagrass nutrients, making them clear omnivores,” the researchers wrote in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

“This is the first species of shark ever to be shown to have an omnivorous digestive strategy.”

Over the course of three weeks, the team conducted a series of lab-based trials in which they fed bonnethead sharks a diet of 90 percent seagrass and 10 percent squid.

They then analysed how much of the nutrients the animals digested, and how much they excreted.

Not all carnivores can digest plant material efficiently, but sharks fed the seagrass-heavy diet all gained weight, the team found.

The animals were found to be as good at digesting fibre and organic matter as young green sea turtles — a species that transforms from eating an omnivorous diet in youth to committed vegetarianism in adulthood.

‘Truly remarkable’

Leigh described the results as “surprising”.

“Bonnetheads have a digestive system that is very similar to other closely-related species that are definitely strictly carnivorous, so the fact that they are acting like omnivores is truly remarkable!” she said.

Growing in salty and brackish waters, seagrass meadows are the most widespread coastal ecosystem on Earth.

They help filter water and absorb excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

They also provide a home and nurseries for thousands of fish and invertebrates that make up the lion’s share of the bonnethead diet.

Although sharks lack a secondary jaw that many herbivores use to chew plants, they have highly acidic stomachs which may aid digestion, the researchers said.

Ecological implications

With an estimated 4.9 million bonnethead sharks in US waters in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, the findings have implications for the management and conservation of seagrass meadows.

Understanding which plant matter sharks and other marine predators digest and excrete is critical in the formulation of effective conservation plans, the study authors said.

The creatures may play a previously underestimated role in nutrient redistribution.

“We need to re-evaluate (the sharks’) role in critical seagrass meadow habitats as omnivores as opposed to carnivores,” said Leigh.

With all the evidence pointing to a strict carnivorous diet for shark ancestors, the experts do not know when bonnetheads began eating plants.

But the findings suggest there “could be” other plant-eating sharks out there, said Leigh

 132 clips aired and in excess of 160 million views “Tue Sanit”, which is led by Sombatsara Teerasaroch, the well-known event organiser specialising in fashion and lifestyle industry, the show has been a resounding success largely thanks to his fun personality.

To help celebrate this achievement, the show’s co-producers Spokedark and 2B ABLE ltd, hosted a party at Hong Bao restaurant, Central Embassy.

Prapaporn Sutaputra told The Nation that the hit show was the brainchild of seven shareholders, led by Sombatsara, with the others being Nattapong Tiendee, Korn Narongdej, Prapaporn Sutaputra, Pilan Sriveerakul, Janya Wongsurawat and Winyu Wongsurawat. The idea was to produce a show that connects with modern lifestyle trends in a creative and entertaining manner covering a wide variety of interesting topics.

The first episode of “Tue Sanit” aired in June 2017 and the fresh and highly original format of the show attracted millions of viewers.

Now viewers can look forward to “Tue Sanit…Kin Sanook” a brand new show that focuses on good food across Thailand ranging from street stalls to fine dining venues. The show will of course be hosted by the charismatic Sombatsara and will be aired via Facebook and the “Tue Sanit” Youtube Channel.

Tue Sanit fans and followers will also have a firsthand opportunity to sample dishes from more than 60 eateries and lifestyle goodies selected and approved personally by Sombatsara at the “Pa-Tue Market” being held at Parc Paragon Square from October 26 to 28.

Keep up with trends and have fun with “Tue Sanit” and the latest “Tue Sanit … Kin Sanook” at http://www.facebook.com/tuesanit/ and YoutubeChannel :Tuesanit.

The two-kilogramme treasure, which depicts a sailing ship, a gold prospector and boab trees found in Western Australia, is considered legal tender and will be sold to the highest bidder.

It is the most valuable coin ever made in Australia and is expected to be sold to a buyer from Asia or the Middle East.

It was “released in response to the distinct increase in demand for exclusive luxury items”, said Perth Mint chief executive Richard Hayes Tuesday.

“The coin showcases rare pink stones handset in the most famed of precious metals, telling the inspirational rags to riches tales of mining for these prized resources.”

Called “Discovery”, it was modelled after the “Holey Dollar”, one of Australia’s first coins, with a private collector paying Aus$495,000 for one of those in 2013.

A key attraction is the four pink diamonds from the renowned Argyle mine in Australia’s remote western Kimberley region, including a 1.02-carat emerald cut.

“In terms of pink diamonds themselves, you can fit the whole year’s production literally into the palm of your hand,” said Hayes.

Miner Rio Tinto holds a pink diamond sale each year which attracts global interest. Stones can fetch US$1-2 million a carat.

As a basic rule of thumb, pink and red diamonds are worth about 50 times more than white diamonds.

In the heart of the village of Alsemberg, in the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant region, south of Brussels, the PastaCafe is one of those that has best kept its 1920s and 1930s decor.

The bar and dark woodwork are vintage, as are the leather headrests that remain on the wooden benches.

And cracks in the multicoloured floor tiles, which date from the dawn of the last century, show how many drinkers have trod there.

“They even had a horse in here once,” says manager Ilse Rillaert, showing a picture from the 1970s or 80s as proof.

The “charming, authentic” bar is the opposite of the modern “bling” drinking haunt, says the manager, who is in her thirties.

“There is a lot of warmth, people who come to eat here feel at home with an interior like this.”

‘Only a handful’

Rillaert, who took over from her brother in 2013, says that the cafe, known to older locals by its old name De Hoorn, has served as the backdrop for an English-language costume drama by French director Francois Ozon, the 2007 film “Angel”.

It was also used by a Belgian Dutch-language pop group called Clouseau in the 1990s after they became locals because they lived nearby.

With a red-brick facade, typical of this part of Belgium and northern France, it is one of three cafes that the Flemish regional government said in August it planned to add to a selection of listed sites because of its “exceptional” interiors.

Belgium, whose thousands of beers have since 2017 boasted UNESCO World Heritage status, has hundreds of such old cafes or so-called estaminets.

“But if you want a completely intact interior, typical of the bourgeois cafes from the first half of the 20th century, there are only a handful,” says Joeri Mertens, a real estate heritage researcher for the Flemish region.

Seven of them have already been listed in the region and the three others nominated in August, including the PastaCafe, are set to be added next year after a routine public inquiry by local authorities.

The goal is to show future generations this furniture, stucco ceilings and vintage mirrors, even if it imposes some constraints on the bar owners themselves.

“They will have to seek our approval for any developments,” said Mertens, “but on the other hand, we have a budget that they can access for renovations.”

‘Hard to find’

Ilse Rillaert from the PastaCafe welcomed the scheme.

“When I quit, my successor won’t be able to ruin this place. It’s great to know it will stay like this,” she said.

Belgium’s French-speaking regions are also preserving their vintage bars.

In Brussels and Wallonia, they have been doing so since the 1980s, particularly for those in the Art Nouveau style of the famed Belgian architect Victor Horta, but there are still not many.

The Brussels cafe, A La Mort Subite (Sudden Death), which opened in 1910, benefits from protection of the interior, exterior, main floor and cellar, says its boss Bernard Moucharte.

“It’s hard to find cafes which have kept their style permanently,” says Julien Maquet, of Wallonia’s heritage agency.

 The Tourism Authority of Thailand with help from the public and private sectors has a new campaign called “We Love Local” that’s designed to get more people visiting specific communities around the country.

“Travelling to individual communities to share in local experiences is a popular tourism trend all around the world right now, with more and more companies and organisations becoming interested,” says deputy governor Noppadon Pakprot.

“This increasing corporate desire for experiences in lesser-known areas of Thailand is an excellent sign for local community tourism because of the greater purchasing power and fewer limitations in terms of the seasons to travel.

“However, the size and dynamics of each company differ and so do the demands and interests. This is why the TAT is ensuring both variety and flexibility for this particular market, with 50 local communities to choose from.

“These destinations have all been categorised in terms of their unique characteristics, identities and main tourist activities, making the difficult task of corporate tourism planning much easier and rewarding for organisations.”

The 50 communities are grouped in 10 categories – the King’s Wisdom, GI (Geographical Indications) Products, Culture, Highlanders, Agro-tourism, Thai Fabrics, Gastronomy, Eco-adventures, Homestays, and School and Family Outings.

TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn will personally promote communities devoted to His Majesty the King’s philosophy and Thosapone Dansuputra, director general of the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Intellectual Property, will represent the GI product communities.

Agro-tourism is in hand hands of Kessuda Raiva, CEO at S&P Syndicate, and Suphajee Suthumpun, CEO of Dusit Thani Group, will promote highland communities.

Cultural communities will be boosted by Piya Yodmani, former CEO of Nok Airlines, and Vana Bulbon, CEO of UOB Asset Management (Thailand), will take care of Thai Fabrics.

Chih-Hung Lin, director and COO of KGI Securities (Thailand), will oversee gastronomic communities, and Apisilp Trunganont, co-founder and CTO of Pantip.com, will promote eco-adventures.

Yod Chinsupakkul, executive director and one of the founders of Wongnai.com, will represent homestay communities, and Pimpat Yomnak, a board member of Bangkok Prep International School, will take care of school and family communities.

Noppadon says the We Love Local campaign aims to generate Bt1 million in revenue for each community within the first year.

Find out more at http://www.WeLoveLocal.travel.

 Surrounded by rice fields despite being part of suburban Bangkok, Baan Phing Phak (Pink Park Village) in Nong Chok district is still an hour away from downtown even using the fastest route. Costing Bt300 million to build, the new village has been designed to provide a home for selected underprivileged, terminally ill women suffering from stage-4 breast cancer until they draw their last breath and all for free.

The first phase is set to open next month after a year’s delay and will house a convalescence centre where breast cancer patients from outside Bangkok receiving treatment in the capital can stay, along with a diagnostic centre plus learning and training facilities for medical staff. When finished, it will also feature a day care and cancer rehabilitation centre.

Pink Park is the brainchild of Assoc Prof Dr Kris Chatamra who has been working for over two decades with his wife Khunying Finola for a better life for breast-cancer patients living in slums through their Slum Outreach Project. Dr Kris worked as a senior clinician in the field of cancer in British teaching hospitals for 30 years and is also an internal examiner and researcher at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. After the couple returned to Bangkok, they founded the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer Foundation in 2007 and were granted Bt2 million in funding by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit to kick-start the project. It’s located in a donated building of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, which is operated by the Thai Red Cross.

His experience with both the Slum Project and the centre led Dr Kris to want to do more to help poor patients. One of the cases he often talks about was the woman terminally ill with breast cancer who he saw during a visit to slum area, lying alone on a piece of cardboard with a cold foam container of fried rice next to her. Another experience that has stuck in his mind was seeing one of his patients just in front of the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital under the Thai-Belgium Bridge. She had come to Bangkok from upcountry for a course of radiation at the centre but had nowhere to stay. For the entire five weeks, she would have radiation therapy in the morning and then spend the rest of the day strolling around department stores before returning to sleep under the bridge.

A private exit and walkway with twometrehigh bushes is designed for each room and will allow for the removal of the body without upsetting other patients./Nation photo

And so the idea of Pink Park Village was born and a fundraising drive organised through different charity events, just as he did for QSCBC.

The hospice stands on 121 rai of rice fields donated by Boonsomsuk Jaruwatana, a former patient of Dr Kris.

The first is spread over 80 rai and comprises two hospice buildings, a convalescence centre, the learning and training facility and the diagnostic centre.

The hospice and convalescence building are single-storey and connected to the other facilities and the surrounding landscape by a garden, The hospice building has eight patient rooms with a nursing station in the middle. Each room has a bathroom and a terrace. A private exit and walkway with two-metre-high bushes is designed for each room and will allow for the removal of the body without upsetting other patients.

“When I went to hospices in England, I saw how other patients became depressed when one of their number was wheeled out,” Dr Kris explains.

The reception area at one of the hospices and convalescence buildings.

Wandering around the hospice and convalescence area gives off the sense of being in a luxurious private hospital and the visitor has to remind his or herself that it is for poor breast cancer patients in the terminal stage and completely free of charge. Dr Kris admits that there have been negative comments about the high cost – Bt300 million – for a 24-bed hospice care and 32–bed convalescence centre but is quick to point out that being poor doesn’t mean not deserving the very best care in the last moments of their life.

“With that money we can do a lot of projects but the bottom line is the Pink Park Village is the kind of holistic centre I want it to be. It’s also the first of its kind in this country and I want it to serve as a model for others to see and perhaps replicate,” he says.

“The women who will be selected for the Village are poor and don’t have anyone to take care of them. I want to give them ‘dignity’, maybe for the first time and also the last time in their lives before they leave the world with the best care we can provide. My idea is to give them the same attention and care as we would give a much-loved family member,” he says.

The Pink Park Village provides comprehensive cancer care by an experienced team of doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, pharmacists and nutritionists.

The patients will be selected by the foundation committee made up of 10 members comprising doctors, nurses, social services and people from other professional careers. The Thai Red Cross and its network hospitals around the country will submit the details of patients who fit the requirements, and the committee will make a final selection of those who meet the criteria: terminally ill, with six months to live, poor and without anyone to take care of them.

The patients who can stay at the convalescence will be selected from among those who have to come to Bangkok for further treatment of breast cancer, and have no place to stay in Bangkok. They are allowed one companion to stay with them and the centre will provide transportation to the hospital for treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation and back to the centre. Each patient is expected to stay until they complete the treatment, usually four to five weeks, and in the future, if they are not considered either physically or emotionally ready to return home, they will be referred to the rehabilitation centre. Here they will prepare to resume their lives while helping the centre in its research. Construction of the rehabilitation centre has not yet started and a further Bt200 million will be required to build and equip it.

“It is the last piece of the jigsaw that will complete the Pink Park village,” says Dr Kris.

The good doctor has achieved an incredible amount at QSCBC in a comparatively short time. It is today considered the leading centre for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment for underprivileged patients. The centre uses 3D cone-beam computed tomography equipment, which is the first in the world, and has the only breast cancer magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dedicated for use on disadvantaged patients in Thailand. MRI scanning creates images from various angles of soft tissue parts of the body that are difficult to view using other imaging tests and has improved the speed and accuracy of diagnosis for patients in need while removing the worry of high expenses.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women in Thailand, with one in 10 Thai women likely to face the challenge during her lifetime. Sadly though, more than half of patients do not have access to adequate care for a wide range of reasons that include everything from shyness to fear of medical treatment as well as the expense of treatment. Every year, more than 3,000 Thai women die of breast cancer, and more than 34,000 Thai people suffer from breast cancer, 99 per cent of them female.

One of the charity events held to support Pink Park Village is the annual Eat Drink Pink gastronomic evening organised by The Peninsula Bangkok, which this year will be held on October 1. Eat Drink Pink will enable guests to enjoy signature dishes, drinks and snacks in a delightful ambience by the river.

For the fourth year, the hotel is partnering with Bangkok’s Michelin-starred restaurants, Asia’s best restaurants, as well as rising eateries, among them L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Chim by Siam Whisdom, Bo lan, Suehring, Bunker, Lenzi, LeDu, Baan, Opus, Il Fumo, Issaya Siamese Club, Sensi, Sri Trat, Haoma, Freebird, Cocotte Farm Roast & Winery, Charcoal, Brasserie Cordonnier, La Casa Nostra, Acqua Restaurant, Blue Elephant, La Bottega di Luca, Birds Rotisserie, and Canvas.

The second Eat Drink Pink event in October 2015 featured a charitable raffle with memorable prizes, including stays at The Peninsula hotels worldwide, and raised more than Bt1.2 million for the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer, while the third Eat Drink Pink in November 2017 raised more than Bt1 million.

Tickets for Eat Drink Pink 2018 are priced at Bt3,000 per person. All proceeds will be donated to the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer Foundation to support Pink Park Village.

For reservation or more information, please call (02) 020 2888 or e-mail diningpbk@peninsula.com.

In an adjacent room, two schoolgirls in matching pink and white dresses jump excitedly on a trampoline the shape of a frying pan, taking pictures with a Hello Kitty camera.

“The Egg House” in Shanghai is where an apparently unhealthy interest in eggs and selfies meets Alice in Wonderland.

The pop-up installation is described by organisers as “created to share the universal love of eggs and provide a momentary escape from the city”.

AFP

Situated on the third floor of a Shanghai shopping mall, “The Egg House” is the work of Chinese creator Xu Biubiu and is her second installation — the first was in New York and another is planned for Los Angeles in November.

It costs up to 198 yuan ($29) to enter — for two adults at weekends — and once inside visitors can lose themselves in several egg-themed rooms.

It is unashamedly all about one thing — photos and selfies.

In one room, there is an armchair that looks like a cheese sandwich, while another has the bewildering sign, “STOP BEING SO BLOODY EGGY WHEN YOU TAKE IN”.

Aima Li sheepishly clambers out of the so-called caviar bowl, really a large ball pit more usually associated with nurseries.

“I feel a bit too old for this,” the 29-year-old said, pointing out that many of the people around her were closer to high-school age.

But Li, who works in television and splits her time between Shanghai and Tokyo, said she would be posting on social media the pictures she took with her friend.

“I’m a bit of a little girl so I like the decorations here and it’s so colourful,” added Ling Jiamo, between preening and posing for pictures taken by her boyfriend.

IF CLEANING your home has become a real chore, lighten up your load with the new generation cleaning assistant from Xiaomi – the Mi Robot Vacuum.

The Mi Robot Vacuum is part of Xiaomi’s Mi Ecosystem series of devices and boasts a brain made from the Allwinner Arm Cortex quad-core processor, the STMicroelectronics Arm Cortex co-processor and Texas Instruments LDS image processor.

The brain is assisted by all kinds of sensors including the Laser Distance Sensor (LDS), ultrasonic, cliff, wall, collision, fan speed, drop and dustbin sensors plus an electronic compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, and speedometer, resulting in smooth and safe operations.

Mi Robot Vacuum can clean your living room or bedroom by using its LDS and SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) algorithm.

Xiaomi explains that the LDS does a 360-degree scan of the floor space around it at 1,800 times per second and then uses 11 sensors to offer navigational routes for the cleaning. The three processors use the obtained data to generate a real-time map and calculate the most efficient cleaning route by using the SLAM algorithm and advanced positioning technology.

The vacuum cleaner has strong sucking power to ensure your floor will be dustless thanks to a strong 1800Pa brushless motor from Nidec. Its powerful suction allows the Mi Robot Vacuum to suck up all kinds of debris effortlessly, leaving its cleaning path dust and dirt free.

The vacuum cleaner has a good battery life that ensures it can finish cleaning with each charge. It uses a large, high-density lithium-ion battery rated at 5200mAh 14.4V to provide up to 2.5 hours cleaning of up 250 square metres on one single charge.

Thanks to its highly accurate positioning ability, the resume function allows the Mi Robot Vacuum to return to where it left off last time after automatically recharging at its dock if battery runs out in the middle of its cycle.

Mi Robot Vacuum comes in two pieces – the cleaning robot and the charging dock. The vacuum cleaner has a footprint of 345mm x 345mm x 96mm while its charging dock measures at 230mm x 109mm x 129mm. The cleaner weighs about 3.8 kilogrammes.

One of the two buttons on the top is used to start the cleaning, which the Mi Robot will confirm using a voice guide.

When the robot finishes sweeping, the voice guide announces its completion of the task and the robot will return to the spot where it started to dock.

If you are keeping the charging dock in the living room and have taken the Mi Robot Vacuum to the bedroom, you will need bring it back and place it near the charging dock before pressing the home button. Once, the robot cleaner finds the dock, it will gradually lift itself to connect. While normal cleaning can be initiated using the two buttons found on the device, more functions can be accessed by connecting the Mi Robot Vacuum to the Mi Home app via Wi-Fi. To use the app, you must first register for an account with Xiaomi’s server.

You can use the app as a remote control, view maps generated, monitor real time cleaning progress and sweeping paths, as well as set the schedule and select cleaning modes (quiet, balanced, turbo and max).

After you have downloaded and installed Mi Home, you must lift the lid of the vacuum cleaner and then press two buttons simultaneously until its Wi-Fi indicator starts to blink.

You then have to press the scan button in the Mi Home app and when Mi Robot Vacuum appears in the menu, you can add it to the list of devices. Then, you have to assign your home Wi-Fi router’s SSID or identification name and password for the Mi Robot Vacuum to be linked to your home Wi-Fi router. Your smartphone must also be linked to the same W-Fi router for you to use Mi Home app to access and customise functions of the vacuum cleaner.

I found during the test that Mi Robot Vacuum is noisy when turned to the max and turbo cleaning modes. The quiet mode was a little less noisy but this is not a quiet machine, so be prepared.

I also found that Mi Robot Vacuum was really effective in cleaning the floor. It swept throughout my bedroom and removed all the cat hair. Its cliff sensors worked effectively. I had the vacuum cleaner clean the bed and it did not fall off the edge.

When its dust retainer is full, Mi Robot will blink in red at the two control buttons and give you a voice guide for you to empty it. You remove the dust retainer just by lifting the lid. Mi Robot Vacuum is available in Thailand for Bt12,990 at Mi stores and major IT stores.

Key Specs

Processors: Allwinner Arm Cortex quad-core processor; STMicroelectronics Arm Cortex co-processor ; Texas Instruments LDS image processor

Sensors : Laser Distance Sensor (LDS), ultrasonic sensor, cliff sensors, wall sensor, collision sensor, fan speed sensor, drop sensor, dustbin sensor, electronic compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, speedometer

Motor : Ultra-high 1800Pa suction Nidec brushless motor

Connectivity : Wi-Fi smart connect ; Mi Home app supported for remote control

Dimensions: 345mm x 345mm x 96mm

Charging dock’s dimensions: 230mm x 109mm x 129mm

Weight: 3.8kg

Battery : LG/Panasonic 5200mAh Li-ion battery; Working time: 2.5 hours ; Voltage: 14.4V , power: 55W ; Dock input: 100 – 240V; Dock output: 20V, 2.2A

Package includes: Mi Robot Vacuum x 1, charging dock x 1, power cable x 1, main brush cleaning tool x 1, user manual x 1, quick guide x 1

NOW THAT THE Mi Robot Vacuum has got rid of all that dust and cat hair from your room, it’s time to freshen the air with its companion device, the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2S.

Also part of Xiaomi’s Mi Ecosystem series, the 2S is quite large – all the better to clear the air – with a footprint of 240x240x520mm and a weight of 4.5 kg.

The air in a 21sqm to 37sqm room takes just 10 minutes to purify at the rate of 310 cubic metres of air per hour.

To present an accurate air quality reading, the Mi Air Purifier 2S uses a high-precision laser particle sensor that can quickly determine PM2.5 levels and 0.3-micron particles.

A combination of a Nidec brushless DC motor, axial fans, mixed flow blades and tapered airducts provide the aerodynamic pressure system behind the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) and the 360-degree circulation for strong air flow.

Air is drawn inward at the base and clean air is expelled upward.

The 2S uses triple-layer filtration consisting of a primary filter, a high-density EPA filter and an activated carbon filter.

The primary filter can remove larger particles such as dust, hair and pollen, while the EPA takes out respirable particles like PM2.5, PM0.3-0.5 and smaller pollen, and the activated carbon filter blocks odours.

The purifier comes with an oled screen that display real-time air quality data, Wi-Fi connection status, as well as room temperature and humidity.

The room’s air quality status is shown in three colours, and a light sensor enables the 2S to adjust its screen brightness for daylight viewing or night mode.

The Air Purifier also has built-in Wi-Fi that can be connected to your home Wi-Fi router so that you can remotely control it with Xiaomi’s Mi Home app.

You can use the app to turn the air purifier on or off and view real-time air quality data. You can also use the app to switch modes from Auto, Sleep, and High Speed and monitor the filters’ usage.

To connect it to the app, you need to press and hold the Mode and Light buttons for five seconds. The Wi-Fi icon on the display of the device will blink and the app will find it and add it as your Mi device.

Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2S has a suggested retail price of Bt5,990.

Key Specs

Filtration: Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR): 310cubic metre/h

Recommended effective area: 21-37 square metres

Power consumption: 2W – 29W

Input voltage: AC 100V-240V 50/60Hz

Motor: Nidec brushless motor

Sensors: Laser particle sensor , Temperature and humidity sensor , Ambient light sensor

Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi ; Smart connect and remote control with Mi Home app

Dimensions: 240mmxx 240 mm x 520 mm

Weight: 4.5kg (including filter)

THE CHINESE kindergarten children giggle as they worked to solve puzzles assigned by their new teaching assistant: a roundish, short educator with a screen for a face.

Just under 60 centimetres high, the autonomous robot named Keeko has been a hit in several kindergartens, telling stories and challenging children with logic problems.

Round and white with a tubby body, the armless robot zips around on tiny wheels, its inbuilt cameras doubling up both as navigational sensors and a front-facing camera allowing users to record video journals.

In China, robots are being developed to deliver groceries, provide companionship to the elderly, dispense legal advice and now, as Keeko’s creators hope, join the ranks of educators.

Educator Candy Xiong introduces a Keeko robot to children at the Yiswind Institute of Multicultural Education in Beijing. /AFP

At the Yiswind Institute of Multicultural Education on the outskirts of Beijing, the children have been tasked to help a prince find his way through a desert – by putting together square mats that represent a path taken by the robot – part storytelling and part problem-solving.

Each time they get an answer right, the device reacts with delight, its face flashing heart-shaped eyes.

“Education today is no longer a one-way street, where the teacher teaches and students just learn,” says Candy Xiong, a teacher trained in early childhood education who now works with Keeko Robot Xiamen Technology as a trainer.

“When children see Keeko with its round head and body, it looks adorable and children love it. So when they see Keeko, they almost instantly take to it,” she adds.

Keeko robots have entered more than 600 kindergartens across the country with its makers hoping to expand into Greater China and Southeast Asia.

Beijing has invested money and manpower in developing artificial intelligence as part of its “Made in China 2025” plan, with a Chinese firm last year unveiling the country’s first human-like robot that can hold simple conversations and make facial expressions.

According to the International Federation of Robots, China has the world’s top industrial robot stock, with some 340,000 units in factories across the country engaged in manufacturing and the automotive industry.

The service robot market – which includes devices ranging from specialised medical equipment to automated vacuum cleaners – is estimated to be worth $1.32 billion (Bt43.14 billion) as of last year.

It is expected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2022, said market research firm Research In China.

Last week, Beijing hosted the World Robot Conference, featuring machines that can diagnose diseases, play badminton and wow audiences with their musical skills.

Last year, a group of monks in Beijing created a 60-centimetre-high robot monk dispensing mantras and advice to attaining nirvana.

The iPal – a companion of sorts for children – is the latest humanoid robot to be marketed for family use, following in the footsteps of the diminutive, wisecracking “Pepper” companion released by Japan’s SoftBank in 2015.

But Xie Yi, principal of the kindergarten where Keeko has been put on trial, believes that it will be a long while before robots can completely replace humans in the classroom.

“To teach you must be able to interact, have a human touch, eye contact and facial expressions. These are the things that make an education,” Xie says.

“It’s not just the language or the content, it’s everything.”

She says the Keeko robots, which cost about 10,000 yuan (Bt49,000), or about the monthly salary of a kindergarten teacher, may have some advantages over a flesh-and-blood educator.

“The best thing about robots? They’re more stable (than humans),” she says with a laugh.