title: Eurythermalism of a deep-sea symbiosis system from an enzymological aspect

authors: Lee, Charles Kai-Wu

subjects: Equilibrium Model

abstract: The recently proposed and experimentally validated Equilibrium Model provides the most detailed description of temperature's effect on enzyme catalytic activity to date.  By introducing an equilibrium between Eact, the active form of enzyme, and Einact, a reversibly inactivated form of enzyme, the Equilibrium Model explains apparent enzyme activity loss at high temperatures that cannot be accounted for by irreversible thermal denaturation.  The Equilibrium Model describes enzyme behavior in the presence of substrates and under assay conditions; thus its associated parameters, deltaHeq and Teq, may have physiological significance.
The Equilibrium Model parameters have been determined for twenty-one enzymes of diverse origins.  The results demonstrated the wide applicability of the Equilibrium Model to enzymes of different types and temperature affinity.  The study has also established deltaHeq as the first quantitative measure of enzyme eurythermalism and demonstrated the relationship between Teq and optimal growth temperature of organisms.  The Equilibrium Model is therefore a useful tool for studying enzyme temperature adaptation and its role in adaptations to thermophily and eurythermalism.  Moreover, it potentially enables a description of the originating environment from the properties of the enzymes.
The Equilibrium Model has been employed to characterize enzymes isolated from bacterial episymbionts of Alvinella pompejana.  A. pompejana inhabits one of the most extreme environments known to science and has been proposed as an extremely eurythermal organism.  A metagenomic study of the A. pompejana episymbionts has unveiled new information related to the adaptive and metabolic properties of the bacterial consortium; the availability of metagenomic sequences has also enabled targeted retrieval and heterologous expression of A. pompejana episymbiont genes.  By inspecting enzymes derived from the unique episymbiotic microbial consortium intimately associated with A. pompejana, the study has shed light on temperature adaptations in this unique symbiotic relationship.  The findings suggested that eurythermal enzymes are one of the mechanisms used by the microbial consortium to achieve its adaptations.
By combining metagenomic and enzymological studies, the research described in this thesis has lead to insights on the eurythermalism of a complex microbial system from an enzymological aspect.  The findings have enhanced our knowledge on how life adapts to extreme environments, and the validation of the Equilibrium Model as a tool for studying enzyme temperature adaptation paves the way for future studies.

text: Eurythermalism of a deep-sea symbiosis system from an enzymological aspect The recently proposed and experimentally validated Equilibrium Model provides the most detailed description of temperature's effect on enzyme catalytic activity to date.  By introducing an equilibrium between Eact, the active form of enzyme, and Einact, a reversibly inactivated form of enzyme, the Equilibrium Model explains apparent enzyme activity loss at high temperatures that cannot be accounted for by irreversible thermal denaturation.  The Equilibrium Model describes enzyme behavior in the presence of substrates and under assay conditions; thus its associated parameters, deltaHeq and Teq, may have physiological significance.
The Equilibrium Model parameters have been determined for twenty-one enzymes of diverse origins.  The results demonstrated the wide applicability of the Equilibrium Model to enzymes of different types and temperature affinity.  The study has also established deltaHeq as the first quantitative measure of enzyme eurythermalism and demonstrated the relationship between Teq and optimal growth temperature of organisms.  The Equilibrium Model is therefore a useful tool for studying enzyme temperature adaptation and its role in adaptations to thermophily and eurythermalism.  Moreover, it potentially enables a description of the originating environment from the properties of the enzymes.
The Equilibrium Model has been employed to characterize enzymes isolated from bacterial episymbionts of Alvinella pompejana.  A. pompejana inhabits one of the most extreme environments known to science and has been proposed as an extremely eurythermal organism.  A metagenomic study of the A. pompejana episymbionts has unveiled new information related to the adaptive and metabolic properties of the bacterial consortium; the availability of metagenomic sequences has also enabled targeted retrieval and heterologous expression of A. pompejana episymbiont genes.  By inspecting enzymes derived from the unique episymbiotic microbial consortium intimately associated with A. pompejana, the study has shed light on temperature adaptations in this unique symbiotic relationship.  The findings suggested that eurythermal enzymes are one of the mechanisms used by the microbial consortium to achieve its adaptations.
By combining metagenomic and enzymological studies, the research described in this thesis has lead to insights on the eurythermalism of a complex microbial system from an enzymological aspect.  The findings have enhanced our knowledge on how life adapts to extreme environments, and the validation of the Equilibrium Model as a tool for studying enzyme temperature adaptation paves the way for future studies.

year: 2007

title: The characteristics and historical development path of the globalizing Chinese automobile industry

authors: Ding, Qiang

subjects: automobile industry

abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the historical development and characteristics of the globalizing Chinese automobile industry.

Design/methodology/approach – This study is positioned as an exploratory case study, using data triangulation techniques based on archival research and published reports of statistical agencies both at central government and single industry level.

Findings – China's automobile industry represents an extraordinary case of a development path toward globalization in a transitional economy. One of the obvious characteristics of the auto industry is that it necessitates technology transfer and innovative learning, which can be regarded as an important aspect of maintaining competitiveness in industrialization and global competition. The automobile industry in China is also characterized by state intervention and industrial regulations. The state initiated open-door reform has led to a mixed regulatory mechanism including both market-based competition and the legacy of a command economy. Other major features are demonstrated as follows: state-owned auto enterprises have been gradually given more freedom in the decision-making processes; the Chinese auto industry has shown phenomenal growth in the country's economic development with an average annual rate of about 9 percent. This achievement combined with the increasing impacts of globalization of production and market expansion has undoubtedly led to the increasing inflows of foreign direct investment in the form of international partnerships between the auto-producing MNCs and major local Chinese firms as per the industrial policies in the Chinese automobile industry.

Originality/value – This paper addresses an important topic, the historical development path of the Chinese automobile industry, but to date, it has received very little research attention. It advances the institution-based perspective and therefore develops a better understanding of changes in China's automobile industry over the past decades since 1949 and concludes that the combination of the influences of foreign technology, China's industrial policies and institutional dynamic processes has resulted in a unique dynamic development path for the globalizing Chinese automobile industry.

text: The characteristics and historical development path of the globalizing Chinese automobile industry Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the historical development and characteristics of the globalizing Chinese automobile industry.

Design/methodology/approach – This study is positioned as an exploratory case study, using data triangulation techniques based on archival research and published reports of statistical agencies both at central government and single industry level.

Findings – China's automobile industry represents an extraordinary case of a development path toward globalization in a transitional economy. One of the obvious characteristics of the auto industry is that it necessitates technology transfer and innovative learning, which can be regarded as an important aspect of maintaining competitiveness in industrialization and global competition. The automobile industry in China is also characterized by state intervention and industrial regulations. The state initiated open-door reform has led to a mixed regulatory mechanism including both market-based competition and the legacy of a command economy. Other major features are demonstrated as follows: state-owned auto enterprises have been gradually given more freedom in the decision-making processes; the Chinese auto industry has shown phenomenal growth in the country's economic development with an average annual rate of about 9 percent. This achievement combined with the increasing impacts of globalization of production and market expansion has undoubtedly led to the increasing inflows of foreign direct investment in the form of international partnerships between the auto-producing MNCs and major local Chinese firms as per the industrial policies in the Chinese automobile industry.

Originality/value – This paper addresses an important topic, the historical development path of the Chinese automobile industry, but to date, it has received very little research attention. It advances the institution-based perspective and therefore develops a better understanding of changes in China's automobile industry over the past decades since 1949 and concludes that the combination of the influences of foreign technology, China's industrial policies and institutional dynamic processes has resulted in a unique dynamic development path for the globalizing Chinese automobile industry.

year: 2013

title: Survivance as narrative identity: Voices from a Ngāti Tiipa oral history project

authors: Kukutai, Tahu

subjects: oral history

abstract: For Indigenous peoples, and Mäori specifically, storytelling and oral history are crucial to the survival of our collective identities, culture and language. Retold across generations, our stories are often explicit and interwoven narratives of personal and collective memories. Drawing on Native American scholar Gerald Vizenor’s (2009) concept of “survivance stories”, this article explores a set of three oral history narratives of kaumätua from Ngäti Tiipa, one of the 33 iwi and hapü of the Waikato-Tainui confederation. Our analysis reveals how enduring connections to the river and land, the retention of whänau practices and the intergenerational transmission of tüpuna names have shaped contemporary expressions of Ngäti Tiipa identity and belonging. We explore how these testimonies reveal survivance as a repeated theme that has its own nuanced interpretation in individual and collective tribal oral stories.

text: Survivance as narrative identity: Voices from a Ngāti Tiipa oral history project For Indigenous peoples, and Mäori specifically, storytelling and oral history are crucial to the survival of our collective identities, culture and language. Retold across generations, our stories are often explicit and interwoven narratives of personal and collective memories. Drawing on Native American scholar Gerald Vizenor’s (2009) concept of “survivance stories”, this article explores a set of three oral history narratives of kaumätua from Ngäti Tiipa, one of the 33 iwi and hapü of the Waikato-Tainui confederation. Our analysis reveals how enduring connections to the river and land, the retention of whänau practices and the intergenerational transmission of tüpuna names have shaped contemporary expressions of Ngäti Tiipa identity and belonging. We explore how these testimonies reveal survivance as a repeated theme that has its own nuanced interpretation in individual and collective tribal oral stories.

year: 2020