An analysis for more equitable revenue and expenditure allocations within Lingnan College

From the triennial 1995-98, the funds allocated from University Grants Committee to universities have decreased. In order to use the limited resources effectively, and to manage their revenue and costs efficiently, universities have to set up a better budgeting system. Therefore, the eight universities in Hong Kong are proposing the Revenue Center Management (RCM) instead of the current budgeting system. The purposes of this project focuses on the analyses of the current budgeting system adopted at Lingnan College, and the proposed RCM budgeting system

Realization of Woodpile Structure Using Optical Interference Holography

We report the use of a (4+1)-beam optical interference holography technique to fabricate woodpile structures in photo-resists. The configuration consists of 4 linear polarized side beams arranged symmetrically around a circular polarized central beam with all the beams from the same half space, making it easily accessible experimentally. The fabricated woodpile structures are in good agreement with model simulations. Furthermore, woodpiles with the diamond symmetry are also obtained by exploiting the deformations of the photo-resists. Directional bandgaps in the visible range are also observed for the samples with and without the correct stacking of the woodpile structures.Comment: 9 pages and three figure

Activity-guided fractionation and evaluation of potent antioxidants from extracts of angel wings mushroom, pleurotus porrigens (higher basidiomycetes)

Pleurotus porrigens is a well-known edible, wild mushroom enjoyed as a delicacy by aborigines in Sabah and as source of income for the aborigines who collect and sell them at tamu (local market). This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity in vitro and identify potent antioxidative components of aqueous extracts of P. porrigens. The antioxidant activities were evaluated using DPPH radical scavenging ability, ABTS radical cation inhibition activity, ferric reducing/antioxidant power, and total phenolic content. Activity-guided purifications based on DPPH radical scavenging ability resulted in 5 subfractions (SF). The highest DPPH radical scavenging ability was found in SF-III and SF-IV, but all were lower than butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and α-tocopherol. Analysis with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detectors found presence of ascorbic acid and (+)-catechin in SFs of P. porrigens, as well as some unidentified components that may have contributed to the radical scavenging ability. In conclusion, aqueous extract of P. porrigens possesses promising antioxidant activities, although they are lesser in their partially purified SFs. Nonetheless, P. porrigens could be promoted as an antioxidant-rich food as part of a normal diet that provides antioxidative benefit

Reduction of saltiness and acrylamide levels in palm sugar-like flavouring through buffer modification and the addition of calcium chloride.

Palm sugar-like flavouring (PSLF) is a type of flavour product that is formed by heating amino acids and sugar under specific heating conditions. Unfortunately, PSLF has a salty taste and contains high amounts of acrylamide. Hence, the objective of this research was to reduce saltiness and acrylamide without negatively affecting the aroma properties of PSLF. A decrease in the sodium phosphate (NaHPO4) buffer concentration from 0.20 to 0.02 M was found to reduce sodium to approximately 15% of the level found in original PSLF. A further decrease (~25%) in the sodium content was achieved by removing monobasic sodium phosphate (NaH2PO4) from the buffer system. Meanwhile, the addition of CaCl2 at 20–40 mg/L reduced the acrylamide content in PSLF by as much as 58%. A CaCl2 concentration of 20 mg/mL was most favourable as it most efficiently suppressed acrylamide formation while providing an acceptably high flavour yield in PSLF. In view of the high acrylamide content in PSLF, additional work is necessary to further reduce the amount of acrylamide by controlling the asparagine concentration in the precursor mixture

Review on the characteristic and feasibility of leachate for biogas production by anaerobic digestion

The sound handling of municipal solid waste (MSW) is of high priority to minimise environmental degradation and pollution. MSW can be treated via various technologies including landfilling, incineration, composting, anaerobic digestion (AD) and more. Landfill without landfill gas capturing serves as an enclosed bioreactor to store and stabilise waste. Other technologies such as incineration, composting and AD allow substantial volume reduction and generate value-added products. The treatment for MSW is commonly focusing on the solid part. Organic waste contains high moisture content of 70 - 90 %. The pressing of the water content before entering treatment unit, the release of water during and after the treatment, can generate high strength wastewater, known as leachate. Leachate is rich in organic matter, organic pollutants, pathogens, heavy metals and more, which can lead to severe secondary environmental pollution if not properly treated. Leachate from different treatment units showed certain unique characteristics, such as high Na, high Ca, different species and availability of heavy metals. This review summarised some of the important characteristics of different leachates and the suitability of AD as a mean of treatment. The efficiency of AD to treat leachate was presented in terms of the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biogas production. The COD removal efficiency was between 60 - 98 %, following the treatment of different leachates under different reactors and operational parameters. Among the different stream of leachates, the leachate from landfill is most commonly studied as a co-digestion substrate for AD, as compared to leachate from the composting facility

Electron Electric Dipole Moment induced by Octet-Colored Scalars

An appended sector of two octet-colored scalars, each an electroweak doublet, is an interesting extension of the simple two Higgs doublet model motivated by the minimal flavor violation. Their rich CP violating interaction gives rise to a sizable electron electric dipole moment, besides the quark electric dipole moment via the two-loop contribution of Barr-Zee mechanism.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Transcriptional response of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) inoculated simultaneously with both Ganoderma boninense and Trichoderma harzianum

Application of beneficial microbes offers an environmentally friendly alternative for mitigation of basal stem rot (BSR) disease in oil palm. However, the biocontrol mechanisms of Trichoderma against the pathogenic Ganoderma spp. which cause BSR are largely unknown at the molecular level. To identify the transcripts involved during induced systemic resistance (ISR), we analyzed the root transcriptomes of oil palm seedlings inoculated simultaneously with both G. boninense and T. harzianum, and un-inoculated oil palm seedlings, as well as those that were inoculated with either pathogenic or beneficial fungi. Our analyses revealed that the biocontrol mechanisms of T. harzianum against G. boninense involve modulation of genes related to biosynthesis of phytohormones (ethylene, MeJA and MeSA), antioxidant (l-ascorbate and myo-inositol) and unique secondary metabolites such as momilactone, cell wall metabolisms, and detoxification of phytotoxic compounds; in addition to its role as a biofertilizer which improves nutritional status of host plant. The outcomes of this study have fueled our understanding on the biocontrol mechanisms involving T. harizianum against G. boninense infection in oil palm roots

Studies on the storage stability of fermented red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) drink

The objective of this work was to study the effect of storage temperatures and duration on the stability of fermented red dragon fruit drink (FRDFD) on its betacyanins content, physicochemical and microbiological qualities (BPM) and determining sensory acceptability. Results showed that both storage temperatures and duration have a significant effect on betacyanins content and physicochemical properties of FRDFD. Aerobic mesophilic and yeast and mold counts were lower than 1 × 103 CFU/mL for FRDFD stored at both temperatures. The loss of betanin (16.53–13.93 g/L) at 4 °C was 15.73% with no significant changes in physicochemical properties from week two onwards compared to 56.32% (16.53–7.22 g/L) of betanin loss at 25 °C. At week eight, FRDFD stored at 4 °C still contained 13.93 g/L betanin with a pH value of 3.46, suggested its potential as a functional drink which is sensory acceptable (mean score > 80% using hedonic test) among consumers

Study on bioaccessibility of betacyanins from red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

Betacyanins are bioactive dietary phytochemicals which can be found in red dragon fruit (RDF). Therefore, the bioaccessibility of betacyanins that present in fermented red dragon fruit drink (RDFD) and pressed red dragon fruit juice (RDFJ) was accessed in simulated gastric and intestinal digestion. Results disclosed that betacyanins from RDFD and RDFJ suffered minor loss (< 25%) at gastric-like environment but greater loss was observed during the intestinal phase digestion. After subjected to intestinal digestion, RDFD retained 46.42% of betanin while RDFJ retained 43.76%, with betanin concentration of 17.12 mM and 12.37 mM, respectively. Findings also revealed that RDFD exhibited higher antioxidant capacity compared to RDFJ after subjected to intestinal digestion, with values of 0.88 mM Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and 0.85 mM TEAC, respectively. The data suggests that betacyanins that present in RDF are bioaccessible while fermentation able to enhance the bioavailability with more betacyanins retained after intestinal digestion

Identification of apigenin-7-glucoside and luteolin-7-glucoside in pleurotus porrigens and schizophyllum commune mushrooms by liquid chromatography– ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

Pleurotus porrigens and Schizophyllum commune contain high amounts of dietary antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Identification of major antioxidative components of selected fractions of P. porrigens and S. commune was determined by high performance liquid chromatography - ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-IT/MS). In addition, 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging ability of the fractions was evaluated. The crude water extracts were subjected to fractionation by means of liquid-liquid partitioning. n-Butanol fraction (P. porrigens) and formic acid residue fraction (S. commune) showed high DPPH radical scavenging activity. Based on HPLC-IT/MS analysis, two flavones glucosides, namely luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside and apigenin-7-O-