Development of energy labels for residential buildings in Hong Kong

To promote energy efficiency for residential buildings in Hong Kong, a research has been conducted to investigate the characteristics of energy consumption in the residential buildings and develop a suitable energy labelling system for assessing the building energy performance. The aims of the research are to review worldwide experience, study the feasibility of establishing building energy labels in Hong Kong, and evaluate the key factors for design and implementation of the building energy labels. The experience in Europe, North America, Australia, Singapore and China has been studied. It is found that appliance energy labels are widely used in many countries; they are effective policy instruments to help increase awareness and overcome the market barriers. Some countries have extended them and developed energy labels for buildings. In Europe, with the launch of the European Union (EU) Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings, energy certificates and labels are being set up to grade buildings in terms of energy performance. Similar approach is being taken by USA, mainland China and other countries. The characteristics of energy consumption of typical residential buildings in Hong Kong have been analyzed. An energy equation for assessing energy consumption of high-rise residential buildings has been established by building energy simulation method and practical design assessment. The final form of the energy equation includes six major factors, namely, HVAC coefficient of performance, window shading, lighting power density, hot water intensity, other appliance intensity and refrigerator energy.postprin

Identification and characterization of long-range SOX9 enhancers in limb development

The transcription factor Sox9 is a master regulator of skeletogenesis. Heterozygous mutations of human SOX9 result in Campomelic Dysplasia (CD), in which affected individuals display distinct abnormalities in limbs and other skeletal assemblies. Recently, chromosomal translocations and deletions at >1Mb from SOX9 have been detected in some CD patients, suggesting the requirement of long‐range regulatory elements in mediating both spatiotemporal and dosage of Sox9 during limb development. To this end, we exploited several published ChIP‐Seq data, and identified nine, evolutionarily conserved, putative limb enhancers of SOX9, namely E1Sox9 to E9Sox9. Transgenic mouse embryos carrying E1Sox9‐driven LacZ reporter showed discrete transgene expression at the pre‐scapular domain where endogenous Sox9 is also expressed. Bioinformatic analyses on our candidate enhancers result in the identification of several signaling effector binding motifs, and indeed, we revealed that BMP‐Smad and Shh‐Gli pathways are possible upstream regulatory networks that govern the spatiotemporal and dosage of limb Sox9 expression via our predicted enhancers, respectively. Our results unveil the underlying molecular control in governing the complex patterning of Sox9 expression in the developing limb, and provide new molecular insight to the etiology of CD syndrome.postprin

Towards a metagenomic understanding on enhanced biomethane production from waste activated sludge after pH 10 pretreatment

BACKGROUND: Understanding the effects of pretreatment on anaerobic digestion of sludge waste from wastewater treatment plants is becoming increasingly important, as impetus moves towards the utilization of sludge for renewable energy production. Although the field of sludge pretreatment has progressed significantly over the past decade, critical questions concerning the underlying microbial interactions remain unanswered. In this study, a metagenomic approach was adopted to investigate the microbial composition and gene content contributing to enhanced biogas production from sludge subjected to a novel pretreatment method (maintaining pH at 10 for 8 days) compared to other documented methods (ultrasonic, thermal and thermal-alkaline). RESULTS: Our results showed that pretreated sludge attained a maximum methane yield approximately 4-fold higher than that of the blank un-pretreated sludge set-up at day 17. Both the microbial and metabolic consortium shifted extensively towards enhanced biodegradation subsequent to pretreatment, providing insight for the enhanced methane yield. The prevalence of Methanosaeta thermophila and Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus, together with the functional affiliation of enzymes-encoding genes suggested an acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis pathway. Additionally, an alternative enzymology in Methanosaeta was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to provide a microbiological understanding of improved biogas production subsequent to a novel waste sludge pretreatment method. The knowledge garnered will assist the design of more efficient pretreatment methods for biogas production in the future.published_or_final_versio

Transcritpome sequencing analysis of an infected bursa of fabricius

The virus infects young chickens and brings immunosuppression and mortality at three to six weeks of age. Previously, with the use of cDNA microarray,we demonstrated that a number of transcripts expressed differentially in IBDV-infected chicken embryonic fibroblasts. In general, cell surface receptors involved in B cell and T cell activation and differentiation were suppressed, while the target genes and inducers of NFkB and the genes involved in toll-like receptor- and interferon-mediated responses were up-regulated. Though cDNA microassay assay provides a general picture on in vitro host cell responses in IBDV infection, there are still many information gaps in the pathogenesis pathway to be completed. We conducted deep transcriptome sequencing on the IBDV infected bursa of Fabricius. Entire bursas were collected from both healthy and infected chickens that showed typical Gumboro symptoms at 20 d of age. Total RNA and poly-A+ RNA were isolated from the organ followed by double-stranded cDNA synthesis. Complementary DNA libraries were then constructed followed by emulsion PCR amplification. Sequences of these transcriptomes were then analyzed by 454 GS Junior System. After sequence assembly, more than 3000 contigs were obtained in each transciptome and the sequences of contigs were blasted against public databases. Apart from the identification of transcript species, expression level of each transcript was also reflected by the magnitude of coverage in each sequence contig. To conclude, we made use of deep transcritpome sequencing method to identify the difference between the entire transcritpome of control and infected chicken bursa, and hence provide detail information on the host cell defense and viral pathogenic mechanisms upon IBDV infection

Molecular epidemiology of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

Plenary Session 6: Epidemiology, Evolution and Emerging Viruses : Arterivirus Presentatio

Identification and characterization of long-range SOX9 enhancers in limb development

Poster Presentation - Theme 1: Genetics & Development, Translational & Regenerative Medicine: no. 1.3

Evolutionary analyses of European H1N2 swine influenza A virus by placing timestamps on the multiple reassortment events

A novel H1N2 swine influenza A virus emerged in Europe since 1994. Previous phylogenetic analyses revealed that its genome segments were derived from H1N1 human virus, H3N2 human virus and avian-like H1N1/H3N2 swine virus, indicating the possibility of multiple reassortments events. However, dates of these reassortment events have not been investigated systematically. In this study, we used both global and local molecular clock concepts in a maximum likelihood framework to extrapolate the times of origins of the genome segments in European H1N2 swine viruses, and deduced that novel neuraminidase, hemagglutinin and other internal protein genes were introduced to the European H1N2 lineage at the 1970s, early 1980s and late 1980s, respectively through reassortments. Furthermore, in light of the evolutionary timescale reconstructed for the H1N2 viruses, we argue that further reassortments, in addition to those responsible for the introductions of novel genome segments, might have also occurred among the viruses prior to the outbreaks arose in United Kingdom at 1994. Our results confirm that the viral genes of various origins have stably maintained in swine population for many years before the multiple genetic reassortant was detected. Our evolutionary analyses also suggested that the HA and NA genes evolved in a significantly higher rate of synonymous substitutions after they were introduced from human to swine and established the European H1N2 swine lineage. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Evolutionary analyses of European H1N2 swine influenza A virus by placing timestamps on the multiple reassortment events

A novel H1N2 swine influenza A virus emerged in Europe since 1994. Previous phylogenetic analyses revealed that its genome segments were derived from H1N1 human virus, H3N2 human virus and avian-like H1N1/H3N2 swine virus, indicating the possibility of multiple reassortments events. However, dates of these reassortment events have not been investigated systematically. In this study, we used both global and local molecular clock concepts in a maximum likelihood framework to extrapolate the times of origins of the genome segments in European H1N2 swine viruses, and deduced that novel neuraminidase, hemagglutinin and other internal protein genes were introduced to the European H1N2 lineage at the 1970s, early 1980s and late 1980s, respectively through reassortments. Furthermore, in light of the evolutionary timescale reconstructed for the H1N2 viruses, we argue that further reassortments, in addition to those responsible for the introductions of novel genome segments, might have also occurred among the viruses prior to the outbreaks arose in United Kingdom at 1994. Our results confirm that the viral genes of various origins have stably maintained in swine population for many years before the multiple genetic reassortant was detected. Our evolutionary analyses also suggested that the HA and NA genes evolved in a significantly higher rate of synonymous substitutions after they were introduced from human to swine and established the European H1N2 swine lineage. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Gene-centric metagenomics analysis of feline intestinal microbiome using 454 junior pyrosequencing

The feline gastrointestinal microbiota have direct influence on feline health and also human health as a reservoir for potential zoonotic pathogens and antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. In order to describe the feline gastrointestinal microbial diversity, fecal samples from cats have been characterized using both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. However, data correlating total microbial composition and their functions are lacking. Present descriptive study evaluated both phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of the feline intestinal microbiota using GS Junior titanium shotgun pyrosequencing. A total of 152,494 pyrosequencing reads (5405 assembled contigs) were generated and classified into both phylogenetic and metabolic profiles of the feline intestinal microbiota. The Bacteroides/Chlorobi group was the most predominant bacterial phylum comprising ~. 68% of total classified diversity, followed by Firmicutes (~. 13%) and Proteobacteria (~. 6%) respectively. Archaea, fungi and viruses made up the minor communities in the overall microbial diversity. Interestingly, this study also identified a range of potential enteric zoonotic pathogens (0.02-1.25%) and genes involved in antimicrobial resistance (0.02-0.7%) in feline fecal materials. Based on clustering among nine gastrointestinal metagenomes from five different monogastric hosts (dog, human, mice, cat and chicken), the cat metagenome clustered closely together with chicken in both phylogenetic and metabolic level (> 80%). Future studies are required to provide deeper understandings on both intrinsic and extrinsic effects such as impact of age, genetics and dietary interventions on the composition of the feline gastrointestinal microbiome. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Molecular epidemiology of PRRSV: A phylogenetic perspective

Since its first discovery two decades ago, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has been the subject of intensive research due to its huge impact on the worldwide swine industry. Thanks to the phylogenetic analyses, much has been learned concerning the genetic diversity and evolution history of the virus. In this review, we focused on the evolutionary and epidemiological aspects of PRRSV from a phylogenetic perspective. We first described the diversity and transmission dynamics of Type 1 and 2 PRRSV, respectively. Then, we focused on the more ancient evolutionary history of PRRSV: the time of onset of all existing PRRSV and an origin hypothesis were discussed. Finally, we summarized the results from previous recombination studies to assess the potential impact of recombination on the virus epidemiology. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.link_to_subscribed_fulltex