The Agent-construction System for procuring mega projects in China

Topics: - Innovation in construction: theories and best practices (General Themes)While heated discussions have been directed towards various innovative procurement systems such as PPP, PFI, and BOT that carry the great expectation to help materialise the projects and deliver value to the society, a procurement system named agent-construction system (ACS or in Chinese Dai Jian Zhi) is being prevailing in China’s public procurement. This research aims to examine ACS by relating them to China’s particular Political, Economics, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal (PESTEL) background. It is found that the ACS is promising in procuring public projects owing to two merits: (a) clearly defined right and responsibilities; and (b) appropriate allocation of resources and risks amongst parties involved. The research is particularly useful when governments worldwide are searching for innovative procurement approaches to help deliver public projects and services. It also sheds light on how to devise an innovative procurement system. A word of caution, nevertheless, is that readers should not follow this “good practice” slavishly. One ought to truly understand the essence of procurement innovation and devise suitable innovative procurement systems in a given PESTEL setting.postprin

Closed-loop control of flow-induced sound in a flow duct with downstream resonant cavities

2012-2013 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Caspase 3/ROCK1 pathway mediates high glucose-induced platelet microparticles shedding

Background: Platelet microparticles (PMPs) are closely associated with diabetic macrovascular complications. This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms of high glucose-induced PMPs generation. Methods: Washed platelets, obtained from the plasma of healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, were incubated with high glucose. PMPs were isolated using gradient centrifugation and counted by flow cytometry. Expression and activity of ROCK1 and caspase3 were evaluated by real-time PCR, Western blotting, and activity assay kit. Results: High glucose enhanced PMPs shedding in the presence of collagen. The mRNA and protein levels of ROCK1, but not ROCK2, were increased in platelets incubated with high glucose. Y-27632, an inhibitor of ROCK, blocked the increased PMPs shedding induced by high glucose. Expression and activity of caspase3 were elevated in platelets under the high glucose conditions. Z-DVED-FMK, a caspase3 inhibitor, inhibited ROCK1 activity and decreased the PMPs generation under high glucose. Conclusion: High glucose increased PMPs shedding via caspase3-ROCK1 signal pathway

Dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota mediates tubulointerstitial injury in diabetic nephropathy via the disruption of cholesterol homeostasis

BACKGROUND: Our previous study demonstrated that the disruption of cholesterol homeostasis promotes tubulointerstitial injury in diabetic nephropathy (DN). This study aimed to further investigate the effects of gut microbiota dysbiosis on this process and explored its potential mechanism. METHODS: Diabetic rats treated with broad-spectrum oral antibiotics or faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from the healthy donor group and human kidney 2 (HK-2) cells stimulated with sodium acetate were used to observe the effects of gut microbiota on cholesterol homeostasis. The gut microbiota distribution was measured by 16S rDNA sequencing with faeces. Serum acetate level was examined by gas chromatographic analysis. Protein expression of G protein coupled receptor 43 (GPR43) and molecules involved in cholesterol homeostasis were assessed by immunohistochemical staining, immunofluorescence staining, and Western Blotting. RESULTS: Depletion of gut microbiota significantly attenuated albuminuria and tubulointerstitial injury. Interestingly, serum acetate levels were also markedly decreased in antibiotics-treated diabetic rats and positively correlated with the cholesterol contents in kidneys. An in vitro study demonstrated that acetate significantly increased cholesterol accumulation in HK-2 cells, which was caused by increased expression of proteins mainly modulating cholesterol synthesis and uptake. As expected, FMT effectively decreased serum acetate levels and alleviated tubulointerstitial injury in diabetic rats through overriding the disruption of cholesterol homeostasis. Furthermore, GPR43 siRNA treatment blocked acetate-mediated cholesterol homeostasis dysregulation in HK-2 cells through decreasing the expression of proteins governed cholesterol synthesis and uptake. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies for the first time demonstrated that the acetate produced from gut microbiota mediated the dysregulation of cholesterol homeostasis through the activation of GPR43, thereby contributing to the tubulointerstitial injury of DN, suggesting that gut microbiota reprogramming might be a new strategy for DN prevention and therapy

Confinement effects on flows past an in-duct rectangular bluff body with semi-circular leading edge

2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Chapter in an edited book (author)Version of RecordPublishe

Landslide mapping from aerial photographs using change detection-based Markov random field

Landslide mapping (LM) is essential for hazard prevention, mitigation, and vulnerability assessment. Despite the great efforts over the past few years, there is room for improvement in its accuracy and efficiency. Existing LM is primarily achieved using field surveys or visual interpretation of remote sensing images. However, such methods are highly labor-intensive and time-consuming, particularly over large areas. Thus, in this paper a change detection-based Markov random field (CDMRF) method is proposed for near-automatic LM from aerial orthophotos. The proposed CDMRF is applied to a landslide-prone site with an area of approximately 40 km2 on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Compared with the existing region-based level set evolution (RLSE), it has three main advantages: 1) it employs a more robust threshold method to generate the training samples; 2) it can identify landslides more accurately as it takes advantages of both the spectral and spatial contextual information of landslides; and 3) it needs little parameter tuning. Quantitative evaluation shows that it outperforms RLSE in the whole study area by almost 5.5% in Correctness and by 4% in Quality. To our knowledge, it is the first time CDMRF is used to LM from bitemporal aerial photographs. It is highly generic and has great potential for operational LM applications in large areas and also can be adapted for other sources of imagery data

Platelet Microparticles Mediate Glomerular Endothelial Injury in Early Diabetic Nephropathy

Background Glomerular endothelium dysfunction, which plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of early diabetic nephropathy, might be caused by circulating metabolic abnormalities. Platelet microparticles, extracellular vesicles released from activated platelets, have recently emerged as a novel regulator of vascular dysfunction. Methods We studied the effects of platelet microparticles on glomerular endothelial injury in early diabetic nephropathy in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes and primary rat glomerular endothelial cells. Isolated platelet microparticles were measured by flow cytometry. Results Plasma platelet microparticles were significantly increased in diabetic rats, an effect inhibited in aspirin-treated animals. In cultured glomerular endothelial cells, platelet microparticles induced production of reactive oxygen species, decreased nitric oxide levels, inhibited activities of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and SOD, increased permeability of the glomerular endothelium barrier, and reduced thickness of the endothelial surface layer. Conversely, inhibition of platelet microparticles in vivo by aspirin improved glomerular endothelial injury. Further analysis showed that platelet microparticles activated the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway in glomerular endothelial cells; inhibition of the mTORC1 pathway by rapamycin or raptor siRNA significantly protected against microparticle-induced glomerular endothelial injury in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, platelet microparticle–derived chemokine ligand 7 (CXCL7) contributed to glomerular endothelial injury, and antagonizing CXCL7 using CXCL7-neutralizing antibody or blocking CXCL7 receptors with a competitive inhibitor of CXCR1 and CXCR2 dramatically attenuated such injury. Conclusions These findings demonstrate a pathogenic role of platelet microparticles in glomerular endothelium dysfunction, and suggest a potential therapeutic target, CXCL7, for treatment of early diabetic nephropathy

Advances in small lasers

M.T.H was supported by an Australian Research council Future Fellowship research grant for this work. M.C.G. is grateful to the Scottish Funding Council (via SUPA) for financial support.Small lasers have dimensions or modes sizes close to or smaller than the wavelength of emitted light. In recent years there has been significant progress towards reducing the size and improving the characteristics of these devices. This work has been led primarily by the innovative use of new materials and cavity designs. This Review summarizes some of the latest developments, particularly in metallic and plasmonic lasers, improvements in small dielectric lasers, and the emerging area of small bio-compatible or bio-derived lasers. We examine the different approaches employed to reduce size and how they result in significant differences in the final device, particularly between metal- and dielectric-cavity lasers. We also present potential applications for the various forms of small lasers, and indicate where further developments are required.PostprintPeer reviewe