Researching second-generation Chinese Hong Kong immigrants’ identity in the UK

In this thesis, second-generation Chinese Hong Kong immigrants self-identification will be examined in a British context. The research aim is to document a current portfolio of Chinese Hong Kong immigrants self-identity in familial, societal and national spheres. Having employed the situationist framework, this work will attempt to move beyond the previous theoretical assumptions that generalise Chinese immigrants as a whole. Instead, the target research population s self-recognition in different areas - language and accent, gender, class and employment, etc - will be examined. The research draws on two different sets of data: four focus group discussions and five semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis (TA) as the analytical approach has been employed to examine the audiotape data (transcribed). The findings and conclusions have been drawn in three analytical chapters by the dominant themes. First of all, how the different choices of language have constructed second-generation Hong Kong immigrants sociocultural identity in Britain will be explored and analysed. The choice of using different languages according to various cultural contexts will reveal the research population s overlapping identities under a historical dimension. Secondly, the research data will be examined on familial and societal levels through parental, gender and class perspectives. The findings of gender and class stratification in this section will draw conclusions which might potentially change some existing academic assertions in the literature. Finally, the research data will be looked at from the national level, focusing on community cohesion and neighbourhood diversity. The conclusions will suggest how Hong Kong immigrants integrated into the British society quietly with a lack of a united sense of Britishness. It might indicate an effective effort to promote national identity in the UK. In the end, there is a possibility that second-generation Hong Kong immigrants have started rethinking their self-identification under the new Sino-British relations

EGCG fails to inhibit chlamydial growth.

<p>HeLa cells infected with <i>C. trachomatis</i> (MOI = 0.5) were treated with EGCG (1 µM, panel b & 10 µM, c) or rottlerin (1 µM, d) 16 h post infection. The cultures were processed 44 h post infection for immuno-labeling with a rabbit antibody for labeling the <i>C. trachomatis</i> organisms (green) and a mouse monoclonal antibody (clone BB2) for inclusion membrane protein IncA (red). Note that EGCG at 1 µM failed to inhibit inclusion expansion and even at 10 µM only slightly reduced inclusion size while rottlerin at 1 µM completely blocked inclusion expansion.</p

Rottlerin inhibits chlamydial growth in the absence of PRAK.

<p>MEF without (panels a–c) or with (d–f) PRAK deficiency (PRAK−/−) were infected with <i>C. trachomatis</i> (MOI = 0.5) and at oh (b & e) or 16 h (c & f) post infection, parallel cultures were treated with (b, c, e & f) or without (a & d) rottlerin at 1 µM. The cultures were processed 44 h post infection for immunofluorescence assay as described in Fig. 3 legend. Note that rottlerin inhibited chlamydial growth in both wild type and PRAK-deficient MEF cells.</p

<i>Chlamydia trachomatis</i> acquisition of host sphingomyelin is independent of PRAK.

<p>(A) HeLa cells with (panels e–h) or without (a–d) <i>C. trachomatis</i> infection (MOI = 0.5) were treated without (a & e) or with EGCG (1 µM, b & f; 10 µM, c & g) or rottlerin (1 µM, d & h) 16 h post infection. Eight hours later, the cultures were subjected to BODIPY-FL-C5-ceremide labeling and visualized under a fluorescence microscope. Note that EGCG failed to block the accumulation of BODIPY-FL-sphingomyelin in the chlamydial inclusions (panel f & g) while rottlerin did (h). (B) MEF without (panels a & c) or with (b & d) PRAK deficiency (PRAK−/−) were infected with <i>C. trachomatis</i> (MOI = 0.5) and 24 h post infection, the cultures were labeled with BODIPY-FL-C5-ceremide and observed as described above. Note that <i>C. trachomatis</i> organisms can take up BODIPY-FL-sphingomyelin from MEF cells with or without PRAK. The thick arrows point to chlamydial inclusions with while thin arrows point to the inclusions without the fluorescent sphingomyelin.</p

Replication of <i>C. trachomatis</i> organisms in PRAK-deficient mouse embryo fibroblast cells.

<p>Mouse embryo fibroblast cells (MEF) without (panels a–d) or with (e–h) PRAK deficiency (PRAK−/−) were infected with (b–d & f–h) or without (a & e) <i>C. trachomatis</i> (MOI = 0.5) for various periods of time as indicated on top of the figure. The cultures were processed for immunofluorescence assay with a rabbit antibody for visualizing chlamydial organisms (green), Alexa-Fluor 568 Phalloidin for host cell F-actin (red) and Hoechst dye for DNA (blue). Note that the inclusion sizes were similar in MEF with or without PRAK deficiency.</p

Breathable Microgel Colloidosome: Gas-Switchable Microcapsules with O₂ and CO₂ Tunable Shell Permeability for Hierarchical Size-Selective Control Release

Microcapsules enabling precise delivery and controlled release are highly desirable. However, it is still challenging to control the release profile by regulating the microcapsule shell permeability. In this work, gas-switchable microgel colloidosome (MGC) with oxygen (O₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) dual gas-tunable shell permeability has been developed and tested for control release of water-soluble cargo molecules, based on the size exclusion mechanism. The O₂ and CO₂ dual gas-switchable poly­(2-(diethylamino)­ethyl methacrylate-<i>co</i>-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene), P­(DEA-<i>co</i>-FS), microgels having surface modified with amino group (−NH₂) were synthesized and used to stabilize oil-in-water (O/W) Pickering emulsions. The oil-soluble poly­(propylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PPGDGE) was added as an intermicrogel cross-linker. The cross-linking between adjacent microgel particles at the water–oil interface was achieved through the amine–epoxy reaction of PPGDGE with the amine groups at the particle surface. Fluorescent-labeled dextran model cargo molecules of 10 kDa (D₁) and 2000 kDa (D₂) were uploaded under CO₂ treatment and locked inside the MGC with N₂ treatment. The O₂ and CO₂ dual-gas switchable properties offered the MGC with tunable shell permeability, which allowed the hierarchical release of D₁ and D₂ based on size exclusive mechanism. This work provides a robust method for preparation of gas-switchable microcapsules with tunable permeability and size-exclusive hierarchical release profile, promising for multiple ingredient controllable release, separation, and reaction

UiO-66-NH₂@PMAA: A Hybrid Polymer–MOFs Architecture for Pectinase Immobilization

A hybrid polymer–MOFs architecture UiO-66-NH₂@PMAA was synthesized by tethering polymethacrylic acid (PMAA) onto the surface of the metal–organic frameworks UiO-66-NH₂, and it was further employed for pectinase immobilization by electrostatic interactions. The hybrid architecture was prepared through a combination of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), click chemistry and postsynthetic modification (PSM). The optimal immobilization parameters were at 25 °C and pH 4.0 with 10 U/mL of pectinase for 2 h, under which pectinase showed the highest enzymatic activity (1.215 U/mg) and protein loading (448.5 mg/g), respectively. Compared with free pectinase, the immobilized was found to exhibit higher pH, thermo, and storage stability. Additionally, the immobilized pectinase had remarkable reusability, the residual activity reached as high as 81% after 8 cycles continuously. Meanwhile, the desorption of immobilized pectinase can be achieved by changing pH values of the medium. Obviously, the UiO-66-NH₂@PMAA with attractive properties is highly promising for enzyme immobilization

Highly Porous Poly(high internal phase emulsion) Membranes with “Open-Cell” Structure and CO₂‑Switchable Wettability Used for Controlled Oil/Water Separation

Polymer membranes with switchable wettability have promising applications in smart separation. Hereby, we report highly porous poly­(styrene-<i>co</i>-<i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-(diethylamino)­ethyl methacrylate) (i.e., poly­(St-<i>co</i>-DEA)) membranes with “open-cell” structure and CO₂-switchable wettability prepared from water-in-oil (W/O) high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templates. The open-cell porous structure facilitates fluid penetration through the membranes. The combination of CO₂-switchable functionality and porous microstructure enable the membrane with CO₂-switchable wettability from hydrophobic or superoleophilic to hydrophilic or superoleophobic through CO₂ treatment in an aqueous system. This type of membrane can be used for gravity-driven CO₂-controlled oil/water separation, in which oil selectively penetrates through the membrane and separates from water. After being treated with CO₂ switching wettability of the membrane, a reversed separation of water and oil can be achieved. Such a wettability switch is fully reversible, and the membrane could be regenerated through simple removal of CO₂ and oil residual through drying. This facile and cost-effective approach represents the development of the first CO₂-switchable polyHIPE system, which is promising for smart separation in a large volume

Localization of CT311 expressed via a transgene in mammalian cell nuclei.

<p>(A) HeLa cells transfected with pLenti6.3/V5-CT311 (panels a–c) or pLenti6.3/V5-CPAF (panels d to f) were processed 24h after transfection for immunofluorescence labeling of CT311 or CPAF using an anti-V5 tag antibody (red) and DNA using Hoechst dye (blue). CT311 but not CPAF localized in host cell nuclei. (B) The nuclear localization of CT311 was confirmed by co-labeling CT311 (green) and Nup153 (red), a nuclear protein.</p

Basic amino acids required for targeting GFP into nucleus.

<p>(A) The amino acid sequence covering residue 21 to 63 defined as CT311 fragment 4 (F4) or nuclear localization signal sequence (NLS) was shown with two clusters of basic residues highlighted in red and marked as Clusters 1 & 2 (C1 & C2) respectively. Cluster 2 consists of 2 separate basic residue sub-clusters, designated as C2a & C2b respectively. The sequences of constructs with C2b deletion (C2b del-GFP) and C1 or C2a substitution mutations (C1 sub-GFP or C2a sub-GFP) were also listed. (B) HeLa cells transfected with pLEGFP plasmid alone or expressing the various constructs listed in (A) were processed and observed under a fluorescence microscope as described in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0064529#pone-0064529-g004" target="_blank">Fig. 4B</a> legend. Deletion or substitution of C2b, C1 or C2a effectively blocked the nuclear targeting of GFP by the CT311 NLS. (C) The GFP signal in the nuclei and entire cells was semi-quantitatively measured and the % of nuclear GFP signal from each sample was compared between cell samples as described in the legend of <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0064529#pone-0064529-g004" target="_blank">Fig4</a>. ** indicates statistically significant differences (P<0.01) and “ns” stands for no significant difference. The data were from 3 independent experiments.</p