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A Review of the Determinants of Textile and Clothing Bilateral Trade Flow
Get PDFPast studies have investigated the trade relationship between countries by analysing economic and political related factors using gravity models. Numerous factors have been empirically tested in the literature which are proposed to be important contributors in determining trade flow. This study addresses the research questions, what are the key factors and dimensions that influence bilateral trade. It focuses on identifying the key factors and dimensions for the expansion of Textile and Clothing (T&C) manufacturing by Chinese manufacturers to other countries, in light of China’s recent One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. This paper will critically review bilateral trade and international business literature that uses the gravity model from 1960 to 2017 to discuss factors previously investigated by researchers. The review reflects on the factors commonly explored in the literature, but also highlights the absence of sustainability factors given the importance of sustainability and CSR issues in today’s global T&C industry. This study will contribute to the wider literature of international business and trade, particularly for the expansion of Chinese T&C manufacturing to other countries which are promoted through China’s OBOR initiative
A New Era 邁向新里程
Get PDFThe International Culinary Institute\u27s new campus combines professional culinary training with practical facilities, in a design that is in harmony with the historic surroundings.
隨著位於牛奶公司舊址的新校舍投入運作，國際廚藝學院將繼往開來，為香港款待服務及餐飲業培育人才
Plat Du Jour 名菜解構
Get PDFWild alchemy
融合與創新
Innovative combinations characterise the culinary wizardry of Asia\u27s leading female chef Lanshu Chen
亞洲頂尖女廚師陳嵐舒以創意和獨特個性施展烹飪魔
Construction of a functional assembly of modular enzyme for direct biosynthesis of cephalosporins
No full textIntroduction: The worldwide sale of β-lactam antibiotics represents a more than US$20 billion of business per annum. The development of novel β-lactam antibiotics has been a hot issue in the past few decades. Nevertheless, most of them are synthesised via chemical means, whose processing put extensive burden to our environment. 7-Aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA) is a key cephem nucleus for a number of semi-synthetic cephalosporins. Conventional chemical synthesis of 7-ACA is environmentally-damaging, and we therefore aim to develop a “greener” approach to synthesise 7-ACA with potential for industrial applications.
Objectives: (1) To create a collection of yeast strains that express scaffoldin and modular enzymes; and (2) To evaluate the potential applications of these yeast strains for one-pot biosynthesis of 7-ACA.
Methods: We aim at creating a functional assembly of modular enzymes for direct 7-ACA production. The basis of the functional assembly is based on the creation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains that express DAAO, GL-7-ACA acylase, and catalase. S. cerevisiae strain EBY100 was used to express scaffoldin and S. cerevisiae strain BY4742 was used for protein expression. Microbial cohesins and dockerins were obtained by PCR and cloned in an in-frame fashion with Aga2. Genotypes were confirmed by genomic Southern hybridisation. Cell surface display of scaffoldin was determined by specific antibodies and viewed under fluorescent microscope.
Results: The cohesins and dockerins have been cloned and functionally expressed in S. cerevisiae strains. The three dockerins were assembled as a trifunctional scaffoldin. DAAO, GL-7-ACA acylase, and catalase have been expressed in yeast. Their enzymatic activities have been detected using an array of biochemical tests.
Conclusion: We have constructed a collection of yeast strains that express scaffoldin and the three modular enzymes
Four Hapten Spacer Sites Modulating Class Specificity: Nondirectional Multianalyte Immunoassay for 31 β-Agonists and Analogues.
No full textImmunoassay methods are important for monitoring β-agonists illegally used for reducing animal fat deposition in livestock. However, there is no simultaneous screening surveillance immunoassay for detecting various β-agonist chemicals that are possibly present in food. In this study, through the use of an R-(−)-salbutamol derivative as the immunizing hapten, an antibody recognizing 31 β-agonists and analogues was generated for the first time. Three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D QSAR) revealed that strong steric and hydrophobic fields around the hapten spacer near C-2, as well as a chirality at C-1′, dominantly modulated the class specificity of the raised antibody. However, a hapten spacer linked at C-2′ or C-1 would lead to a narrow specificity, and the spacer charge at C-6 could affect the raised antibody specificity spectrum. A class specificity competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ciELISA) was established with an ideal recovery ranging from 81.8 to 118.3% based on the obtained antibody. With a good agreement to the HPLC/MS method, the proposed ciELISA was confirmed to be reliable for the rapid surveillance screening assay of β-agonists in urine. This investigation will contribute to the rational design and control of the immunoassay specificity
Inherent operational characteristics aided fuzzy logic controller for a variable speed direct expansion air conditioning system for simultaneous indoor air temperature and humidity control.
No full textDirect expansion air conditioning systems are widely installed in small-to medium- scale buildings due to their advantages of simple configuration, high energy efficiency and low cost to own and maintain. The two main targets of air conditioning operation include improving the system operational efficiency and energy efficiency. Stable system operational efficiency is directly related with the operation of electronic expansion valves and degree of superheat at the outlet of evaporator. In this paper, an adaptive DS controller is developed to improve the system operational efficiency based the experimental performance of a DX A/C system and reported. The adaptive DS controller is designed to seasonably regulate the degree of superheat when the system is subjected to changes in operating conditions. Experimental controllability test results show that the controller has a very stable behavior, allowing an effective and fast control of the DS setting
Investigation on solar assisted liquid desiccant dehumidifier and evaporative cooling system for fresh air treatment.
No full textThe widely used semi-centralized air conditioning (A/C) system consisting of independent fresh air system and fan coil system suffers from huge energy consumption, especially for fresh air treatment. Therefore, a liquid desiccant dehumidifier and regenerative indirect evaporative cooling (LDD-RIEC) system is proposed for fresh air treatment. The fresh air is handled by the LDD-RIEC system in which no electricity-intensive compressor involves. The hot and humid fresh air is firstly dehumidified by LDD and then sensibly cooled by RIEC. The thermal energy captured by solar collectors is used for desiccant solution regeneration. Indoor return air is cooled by fan coils of a mechanical cooling system. The system performance is analyzed by solving the heat and mass transfer equations of each component integrally in a closed loop. Focus is placed on discussing the influences of solar collector area and inlet air conditions, and optimizing the extraction air ratio of RIEC. The energy saving ratio is quantitatively evaluated with respect to a conventional A/C system. Results reveal that the optimal extraction ratio is 0.3 considering the interacted influence of dehumidifier, regenerator, RIEC and solar collector. The energy saving ratio ranges from 22.4% to 53.2% under various inlet air conditions
Antifungal Activity of Commercial Mouthrinses Against Candida Albicans
Get PDFObjectives To investigate the effectiveness of a delmopinol, sodium chlorite, povidone iodine, and lactoferrin-lysozyme-lactoperoxidase mouthrinse against C. albicans planktonic cells and biofilms. Methods Two-fold dilutions of the mouthrinse solutions were prepared (1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:16, 1:32, 1:64), and dispensed into 96 well microtitre plates. Standardized inocula of wild type C. albicans SC5314 was added and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined in accordance with Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Guidelines for the broth microdilution assay. Optically clear wells were cultured for determination of minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs). The effect of the mouthrinses against C. albicans mature biofilms was also evaluated. The metabolic activity of the biofilms was semi-quantitatively determined with a standard 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfo-phenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) reduction assay. Results The highest MICs were exhibited by delmopinol (1:16), followed by sodium chlorite (1:8), povidone iodine (1:4), and lactoferrin- lysozyme-lactoperoxidase (1:4). Delmopinol exhibited fungicidal activity at 1:16 dilution, while MFCs were achieved by higher concentrations of povidone iodine (1:4) and sodium chlorite (1:2). Lactoferrin-lysozyme-lactoperoxidase did not exhibit fungicidal activity at all tested concentrations. Among the four agents at two-fold dilution, sodium chlorite and povidone iodine exhibited the greatest reductions (\u3e90%) in C. albicans biofilms (p\u3c0.005). Significantly greater reductions in metabolic activity were achieved with sodium chlorite compared to the other agents at dilutions of 1:4 through to 1:32 (p\u3c0.005). Conclusions Delmopinol exhibited the highest activity against planktonic C. albicans, while sodium chlorite exhibited greater effects against mature biofilms. Clinical Significance Sodium chlorite was shown in this study to exhibit potent antifungal activity against C. albicans biofilms, and products containing this active ingredient deserve consideration for inclusion in oral health promotion measures conducted amongst vulnerable patient groups
