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Start-up Express, a development programme launched by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in 2018, is returning for its third edition to help local start-ups build connections, explore markets, seek partners and enhance...

The partnership will join hands with four UK startups as it hopes to reduce plastic waste as part of its retail tech initiative, JLAB

The Treasury has announced a new set of financial measures aimed at helping startups during the coronavirus pandemic, including a £250 Future Fund for startups with at least £250,000 in funding

The US-based 'startup studio' will launched a London office to welcome European startups

For successful infection of their hosts, pathogenic bacteria recognize host-derived signals that induce the expression of virulence factors in a spatiotemporal manner. The fulminating food-borne pathogen Vibrio vulnificus produces a cytolysin/hemolysin protein encoded by the vvhBA operon, which is a virulence factor preferentially expressed upon exposure to murine blood and macrophages. The Fe-S cluster containing transcriptional regulator IscR activates the vvhBA operon in response to nitrosative stress and iron starvation, during which the cellular IscR protein level increases. Here, electrophoretic mobility shift and DNase I protection assays revealed that IscR directly binds downstream of the vvhBA promoter PvvhBA, which is unusual for a positive regulator. We found that in addition to IscR, the transcriptional regulator HlyU activates vvhBA transcription by directly binding upstream of PvvhBA, whereas the histone-like nucleoid-structuring protein (H-NS) represses vvhBA by extensively binding to both downstream and upstream regions of its promoter. Of note, the binding sites of IscR and HlyU overlapped with those of H-NS. We further substantiated that IscR and HlyU outcompete H-NS for binding to the PvvhBA regulatory region, resulting in the release of H-NS repression and vvhBA induction. We conclude that concurrent antirepression by IscR and HlyU at regions both downstream and upstream of PvvhBA provides V. vulnificus with the means of integrating host-derived signal(s) such as nitrosative stress and iron starvation for precise regulation of vvhBA transcription, thereby enabling successful host infection.

Mozart once called the pipe organ the “king of instruments” and Hong Kong has musical royalty sitting in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui.

It is hard to miss the pipe organ when you are inside the Cultural Centre Concert Hall. With its four manuals, 93 stops and 8,000 pipes, it can produce an exceptional array of timbre and volume.

“The pipe organ is the ‘pearl’ of a concert hall,” explained pipe organist Chiu Siu-ling.

“Its enormous range of sounds, coupled with a huge variety of tone colours, creates a remarkable musical experience equivalent to that of an orchestra. It is the king of instruments.”

Star performer

The four-storey tall pipe organ was hand-made by famed Austrian manufacturer Rieger Orgelbau and installed when the Cultural Centre was built 30 years ago. It has attracted several world-renowned performers to Hong Kong over the years.

“When we built it in 1989, it was the first, huge mechanically operated organ in Asia. I think it is still our biggest organ we have ever built in Asia,” Rieger pipe organ maintenance technician Gerhard Pohl said.

He added that the instrument is also remarkably versatile.

“There are many organs they are built just for one musical style. On this organ, you can play everything, even jazz music.”

Mr Pohl comes to Hong Kong once a year to give the 30-year-old organ its annual health check. In between visits by the manufacturer’s technicians, William Wen ensures the Cultural Centre’s star performer remains in tip-top condition.

Top tuner

Mr Wen is Hong Kong’s only pipe organ maintenance technician. He carries out routine checks on the instrument and tunes it every month.

“Keeping it in tune is my responsibility. I take care of it.”

Mr Wen was one of the first in Hong Kong to learn the instrument in the 1980s. He became interested in pipe organ maintenance after a visit to an organ manufacturing company in Europe.

He recalled that in the ‘80s, organists in Hong Kong were few and far between. He was called upon to test the Cultural Centre organ before the grand opening, making him one of the first organists to play it.

“It was dark in the hall, so at first, I only noticed the organ’s keys. When I got closer, I was astounded by just how big the instrument was.”

Mr Wen takes up to five hours per maintenance visit to thoroughly check the pipes and tune the organ. He explained that the organ is regularly updated and was fitted with an electrical coupler system, providing greater flexibility in switching between lighter and stronger key actions as desired by the player.

“It has been updated a few times. In 2010, the organ was installed with an electrical coupler system. I used to get someone to press the keys for me while I would tune it from inside. But now, I just need a mobile phone on which I can tune it by myself.”

Musical legacy

To promote organ music and nurture local organists, the Cultural Centre has been organising the “King of the Instruments” Pipe Organ Education Series annually since 1999. Now the programme’s principal instructor, Ms Chiu has been teaching from the outset.

“People are not allowed to touch the instrument in a lot of other concert halls, and they seldom hold pipe organ concerts. This is actually not good for the organ. It has to be played to keep it in good condition or the keys and parts will become hard and old. This inspires me teach and let more and more musicians learn and play the instrument,” Ms Chiu explained.

More than 300 organists have so far been trained on the Cultural Centre’s organ. But it has also played something other than music - it has played Cupid too.

Like-minded musicians

Pipe organist Simon Chan met his wife, Shirley Cheng, through the programme.

“I joined the Pipe Organ Education Series in 2000. After that, I continued learning the organ with Ms Chiu and eventually became one of the course tutors. I met my wife in 2003 on the course.”

Ms Cheng was also a student on the course. She switched majors from information technology to music and that fateful decision led to meeting her husband.

“He asked me to watch him play. He was playing a big piece which was powerful and loud, and that was when I fell for his charms.”

The couple decided to embark on a life journey together and now hope to pass on their love of music and the pipe organ to their children.

“I wish for my kids to learn music too and to find out more about the pipe organ. This instrument brought their father and mother together and I want them to know our story,” said Ms Cheng.

The organist-music teacher duo also hopes to share the joy of the pipe organ with the rest of the community.

(Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan) Now, as hospitals across the country start to return to doing non-emergency operations that keep their beds full and their books balanced, they need to think carefully about what resources each of those procedures will need as the pandemic continues. A new guide could help them prioritize and plan. Created by poring over seven years' worth of data from 17 common operations in dozens of hospitals, it's available for free for any hospital to use.

(Cornell University) To help future scientists make sense of what their telescopes are showing them, Cornell University astronomers have developed a spectral field guide for rocky worlds orbiting white dwarf stars.

SAVANNAH—Gregory and Travis McMichael have been arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault in connection with the February killing of Ahmaud Arbery, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday. According to police, the white father and son, 64 and 34, chased Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, after he ran by Travis McMichael’s home in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick on Feb. 23. He was unarmed and jogging at the time. “This is a start towards victory,” Thea Brooks, Arbery’s aunt, told The Daily Beast on Thursday. “This only the beginning though, but this is what we were all hoping for.”The McMichaels said they believed Arbery was a burglar responsible for a series of break-ins in their neighborhood and that they pursued him in their pickup truck while armed with a shotgun and a .357 magnum. The GBI alleges the McMichaels confronted Arbery, and that Travis shot him. A local prosecutor previously indicated a third man, William Bryan, took part in the chase and filmed the incident.‘It’s Murder’: This Shooting of an Unarmed Black Man Is Roiling GeorgiaAt least two shots hit the 25-year-old, the Glynn County Coroner’s Office told The Daily Beast last week.Video that Brooks said depicted her nephew’s death elicited a furious reaction nationwide, and residents of the area protested the initial failure to prosecute a case on Tuesday.“It’s murder. It’s heartbreaking to even look at. The whole city has seen it,” Brooks told The Daily Beast after the video was released this week.The Georgia NAACP echoed her words in a Thursday response to the McMichaels’ arrest: “The murderers of Ahmaud Arbery have been arrested.”Gregory McMichael, a former cop and investigator with a local prosecutor’s office, previously told The Daily Beast he “never would have gone after someone for their color.” He also said the “closest version of the truth” about the incident was captured in a letter effectively clearing him and his son that was written by a prosecutor who recused himself from the case, George Barnhill. McMichael also admitted he had no direct evidence that Arbery was a thief. “But he’s the guy who’s there without permission,” he said from behind the closed front door of his son’s home.The owner of an unfinished home just down the street from Travis McMichael's home, Larry English, told The Daily Beast earlier this week that he had surveillance footage that appeared to show Arbery stopping to look at the foundation of his still-under-construction home. While Gregory McMichael claimed to police that Arbery had been caught on surveillance video, it was not immediately clear what video he was referring to. English told The Daily Beast he had no knowledge of the McMichaels seeing his surveillance footage. McMichael’s ties to law enforcement helped fuel a haze of suspicion around the killing from the beginning. Barnhill was one of two area prosecutors who looked into the incident before recusing themselves. A third prosecutor—District Attorney Tom Durden—sought a GBI probe ahead of the arrests this week.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Imagine some of your favourite artistes on one song, offering up messages of encouragement and upliftment. Well, that is the concept behind the latest track from Billboard-charting producer NotNice. Dubbed We Are, the song features vocals from...

GLEANER HOROSCOPE MAY 8 2020 WHAT TO DO AND WHEN TO DO IT Entertainment and romance...................14th Domestic and family matters.................13th Bargain hunting and shopping................10th Selling...

Research Event

Event participants

Professor Dapo Akande, Co-Director, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict 
Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, Associate Fellow, International Law Programme, Chatham House
Ahila Sornarajah, Senior Lawyer, International and EU Law
Chair: Elizabeth Wilmshurst, Distinguished Fellow, International Law Programme, Chatham House

Keisuke Mori
Apr 29, 2020; 0:jlr.RA120000803v1-jlr.RA120000803
Research Articles

The yeast protein Mpo1 belongs to a protein family that is widely conserved in bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and plants, and is the only protein of this family whose function has so far been elucidated. Mpo1 is an Fe²⁺-dependent dioxygenase that catalyzes the α-oxidation reaction of 2-hydroxy (2-OH) long-chain FAs produced in the degradation pathway of the long-chain base phytosphingosine. However, several biochemical characteristics of Mpo1, such as its catalytic residues, membrane topology, and substrate specificity, remain unclear. Here, we report that yeast Mpo1 contains two transmembrane domains and that both its N- and C-terminal regions are exposed to the cytosol. Mutational analyses revealed that three histidine residues conserved in the Mpo1 family are especially important for Mpo1 activity, suggesting that they may be responsible for the formation of coordinate bonds with Fe²⁺. We found that, in addition to activity toward 2-OH long-chain FAs, Mpo1 also exhibits activity toward 2-OH very-long-chain FAs derived from the FA moiety of sphingolipids. These results indicate that Mpo1 is involved in the metabolism of long-chain to very-long-chain 2-OH FAs produced in different pathways. We noted that the growth of mpo1 cells is delayed upon carbon deprivation, suggesting that the Mpo1-mediated conversion of 2-OH FAs to non-hydroxy FAs is important for utilizing 2-OH FAs as a carbon source under carbon starvation. Our findings help to elucidate the as-yet-unknown functions and activities of other Mpo1 family members.

22 October 2015

The Orioles' restocked farm system might inject some excitement into the club's retooled roster.

As we inch closer and closer to Opening Day, we'll continue to take a position-by-position look at the Orioles roster options and remaining questions. Now that pitchers and catchers have officially reported to Spring Training, now feels like a good time to take a look behind the plate, where the Orioles have a ton of options but no clear answer.

Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) vice-chairman Carvel Stewart says that the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) could return in July at the earliest. The nation’s top flight has been on hiatus since March, with four games left in the regular...

If you read the Christmas BMJ in the last few weeks, you might have noticed a lot around art and health - the way in which engagement in arts can help in prevention and treatment, but can also affect those more nebulous things which really matter to patients - loneliness, self expression, being connected to the wider community. That obviously...

Western Bureau: Some displaced Iberostar employees in Rose Hall, St James, are angry with their employer, charging that they have been unable to benefit from the Government’s COVID-19 relief programme because of the hotel’s failure to pay over...

Unlike recent Reds Spring Trainings, much of the drama about who would comprise the rotation was already removed on the first day of camp. That's when manager David Bell revealed the starting five would likely be -- in no particular order -- Sonny Gray, Tanner Roark, Alex Wood, Luis Castillo and Anthony DeSclafani.

As the Reds consider their regular center-fielder options, they are not just humoring career infielder Nick Senzel by letting him compete for the spot. Senzel believes he can do it. Perhaps more importantly, so does new manager David Bell.

Reds starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani hated how his 2018 season ended and didn't need any motivation to make improvements over the winter.

Most Major League teams still use a five-man starting rotation, but it takes a lot more pitchers than that to make it through a 162-game season. It certainly helps to have a potent one-two punch at the top of the rotation.