Exchange rate sensitivity of China’s bilateral trade flows

Traditional assessments of the impact of exchange rate depreciation or appreciation on trade have involved estimating the elasticity of trade volume to relative prices. Such studies relied heavily on aggregated trade data. More recent studies employ bilateral trade data and methodologies such as ECM and gravity models. This study uses a generalized gravity model with data panel analysis in assessing the impact of currency depreciation or appreciation on bilateral trade flows between China and its top trading partners. The empirical evidence suggests exchange rates (both real and nominal) do not exert a significant influence on the overall exports from China. Thus, a devaluation or revaluation of the yuan should be expected to have only limited impact on China’s trade balance. Moreover, previous studies provide limited evidence of a negative relation between exchange rate volatility and trade flows. Given the current revaluation expectations, we find China’s anticipated shift toward a more flexible exchange rate regime fails to address China’s trade surplus issues, and thus will merely lead to a revaluation of the nominal exchange rate and increased exchange rate volatility. It appears a major overhaul of the country’s heavily subsidized export regime must first occur for the exchange rate to assume a larger role in China’s international trade.exchange rate; trade; China; competition; gravity model; panel

Blockchain Technology and Its Applications

Blockchain technology enables all stakeholders in higher education to improve trust and transparency. As electronic portfolios evolve from information repositories to robust tools for showcasing student learning, the next generation of assessment tools, measuring program quality and student learning outcomes, will be built using Blockchain technology. The presentation discusses the state of the art in Blockchain technology and its applications, focusing on applications in higher education

Huawei : digital self-determination must be fought for and secured anew every day : interview with Andy Wang, CEO Huawei, Switzerland

Original text published in German: Digitale Selbstbestimmung muss jeden Tag neu erkämpft und gesichert werden. Transparenz als Grundlage der Existenz, in: Marc Furrer (Ed.), Selbstbestimmt. Sind Souveräne Kommunikationsnetze in der Schweiz möglich?, Stämpfli Verlag, Bern, 2022, 97-100. Published in English with permission of the publisher

CHARACTERIZATION OF HEME OXYGENASE AND FERREDOXIN NADPH REDUCTASE: TWO REDOX PARTNER PROTEINS INVOLVED IN THE HEME-IRON ACQUISITION PATHWAY OF PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA

The infections from bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aerugionsa are very difficult to cure and cause premature death of many patients with AIDs, cystic fibrosis and cancer. Bacteria need iron to infect an organism, but the concentration of free iron in mammals is very low (~10-9 M). Therefore, bacteria have developed sophisticated iron acquisition mechanisms, including the utilization of heme iron. Heme oxygenase is the only known protein used for heme degradation and iron release inside a cell. In Pseudomonas aerugionsa, once heme is internalized to the cytoplasm, heme oxygenase (pa-HO) uses heme as a cofactor and substrate and degrades it into biliverdin and releases iron and CO. This heme degration process uses three oxygen molecules and seven electrons obtained from a novel redox partner protein: ferredoxin NADPH reductase (pa-FPR). The unique heme degradation catalysis in pa-HO was studied from a global view by probing a series of hydrophobic phenylalanine (Phe) rings inside heme oxygenase. We probed the Phe rings via mutagenesis, fluorine labeling using reactivity assays and spectroscopic methods to understand the relationship of protein structure, dynamics and catalysis. The results show that the hydrophobic cluster not only maintains protein structure, but also fine-tunes protein dynamics to facilitate the channeled H-bonding network from the heme binding site to the protein periphery to sustain catalysis

Machine Intelligence and Higher Education

What will Applied Sciences and Arts curriculum look like at the end of the 21st century? How are we going to teach 50 years later? What impact and implication of machine intelligence to higher education