Human Resource Practices and Firm Performance in Chinese Enterprises

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＣｏｎｔｉｎｇｅｎｃｙｔｈｅｏｒｙｐｒｏｐｏｓｅｓｔｈａｔｔｈｅｈｕｍａｎｒｅｓｏｕｒｃｅ(ＨＲ)ｓｙｓｔｅｍｏｆａｆｉｒｍｓｈｏｕｌｄｆｉｔｗｅｌｌｉｎｔｏｔｈｅｏｖｅｒａｌｌｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｎｄｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓｓｔｒａｔｅｇｙｏｆｔｈｅｆｉｒｍ (Ｓｃｈｕｌｅｒ＆Ｊａｃｋｓｏｎ ,1 987) [1 ] ,ｗｈｉｌｅｂｅｓｔｐｒａｃｔｉｃｅｔｈｅｏｒｙａｒｇｕｅｓｔｈａｔｂｕｎｄｌｅｓｏｆｂｅｓｔＨＲｐｒａｃｔｉｃｅｓｃｏｎｓｉｓｔｅｎｔｌｙｄｅｌｉｖｅｒｔｈｅｂｅｓｔｏｕｔｃ…     

Viability of probiotic micro-organisms (Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb-12) in ice cream

The purpose of this research was to determine the survival of two probiotic micro-organisms in ice creams (4% fat). The micro-organisms were Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp . lactis Bb-12 . To meet this objective, an ice cream mixture was formulated and subjected to three treatments. Treatment 1 was inoculated with L. acidophilus , treatment 2 with B. lactis and the third treatment was inoculated with a mixture of both bacteria inoculated in 1 : 1 proportions. The inoculation was with 4% culture for each treatment. The final products were stored at −25°C for 60 days. The ice cream inoculated with L. acidophilus had a final concentration of 2 × 10 ⁶ cfu/g and the survival rate was 87%. The treatment inoculated with B. lactis had a final concentration of 9 × 10 ⁶ cfu/g, with a logarithmic decrease of 10%. When both micro-organisms were inoculated together, the survival rate was 86%.     

MUSCLE AND ROE LIPID COMPOSITION IN DIPLOID AND TRIPLOID SCALLOPS

The use of triploid bivalves is now common in the market. We tested if there was a difference in lipid and long-chain highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) accumulation in the muscle of diploid and triploid scallops ( Argopecten ventricosus ) during maturation, as triploids do not reproduce and lipids are not transferred to the gonad, and thus, could be accumulated in the meat (adductor muscle). Differences in triacylglycerols, phospholipids, esterified and free sterols, as well as HUFA in the reserves of gonads were found between diploid and triploid scallops. In contrast, no differences were found in the muscle for any of the lipid classes or fatty acid content in relation to ploidy, although they varied in relation to the sampling month.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The results obtained indicate that for human consumption purposes, the quality of the meat and roe of scallops follows a temporal pattern of lipid accumulation, with higher levels of total sterols in summer, but a higher proportion of arachidonic acid in winter and lower docosahexaenoic acid in autumn, and that the muscle lipid composition is not affected by the triploid condition.     

Viability of probiotic micro-organisms (Lactobacillus casei Shirota and Bifidobacterium animalis subspp. lactis) in a milk-based dessert with cranberry sauce

The objective of this study was to evaluate the survival of two probiotic micro-organisms, Lactobacillus casei Shirota and Bifidobacterium animalis subspp . lactis , in a milk-based dessert (2.7% fat) with cranberry sauce added. B. lactis had a final concentration of 1.99 × 10⁶ cfu/g after 21 days of study, with a logarithmic decrease of 8.87%. On other hand, L. casei Shirota had a final concentration of 2.05 × 10⁷ cfu/g at the end of the same period, a logarithmic decrease of 8.41%. Statistical analysis showed that significant differences existed between both micro-organisms and over various storage times, the more viable micro-organism being L. casei Shirota , which decreased less than one logarithmic cycle after 21 days.     

STUDY OF TEXTURE AND GLASS TRANSITION OF FRENCH FRIED POTATOES PRETREATED WITH SOAKING SOLUTIONS

The objective of this work was to study the effects of soaking pretreatments, frying time and temperature, and oil content on texture and glass transition properties of French fried potatoes. Sodium chloride and total sugar contents showed a significant difference (P<0.05) between soaked samples and an unsoaked control. Texture parameters such as rigidity, work and maximum force showed that, up to 2 min offrying, these values decreased. Thereafter, there was a significant increase in these values as frying time increased beyond 3 min as confirmed by a Taguchi statistical analysis.
Glass transition temperature (Tg) was higher at the crust than in the strip center for all products and a control sample. This may have been due not only to differences in water content, but also dependent on the presence of other molecules that may have acted as plasticizers. As expected, the extent of starch gelatinization was greater at the crust for all treatments.     

Indole in Shrimp: Effect of Fresh Storage Temperature, Freezing and Boiling

The development of indole, total volatile nitrogen, trimethylamine and total aerobic plate count (APC) in shrimp stored in ice, at 4°C, 12°C and 22° C were investigated. At low temperature storage, final indole levels in severely decomposed shrimp (APC >10⁸/g) were much lower than the 25 μg indole/100g shrimp which has been suggested as the defect action level for shrimp decomposition by the Food & Drug Administration. At higher storage temperatures, (12° and 22°C), indole formation was greatly accelerated resulting in very high indole levels. The net result is that while indole levels indicate decomposition, decomposed shrimp may not necessarily contain indole. Frozen storage and cooking had little effect on indole levels in acceptable quality shrimp. Indole is of value in assessing the history of shrimp if high temperature abuse is suspected.     

Improvement of transfection with reprogramming factors in urinederived cells

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an accessible source of adult-derived, patient-specific pluripotent stem cells for use in basic research, drug discovery, disease modeling, and stem cell therapy. Improving the accessibility of methods to obtain iPSCs regardless of the cell source can enhance their clinical application. Therefore, our purpose is to report a simple protocol to obtain iPS-like cells from urine-derived renal epithelial cells (RECs) using different extracellular matrices and transfection reagents. In this study, we began by culturing urine-derived cells from healthy donors to establish a primary culture of renal epithelial cells, followed by their characterization. Subsequently, we generated iPS-like cells by transfecting renal epithelial cells (RECs) with vectors expressing Oct4, Sox2, L-Myc, Lin-28, and Klf4, and we compared the efficacy of different extracellular matrices and transfection reagents. The resultant iPS-like cells showed a human embryonic stem cell-like morphology and expressed the specific pluripotency markers Oct3/4, Nanog, Lin28, and Klf4. We concluded that Lipofectamine Stem Cell transfection reagent is more effective than FuGENE in obtaining iPS-like cells under the conditions tested. Moreover, the three matrices are similar in their efficiency of obtaining iPS-like cells. This report provides an experimental protocol for obtaining and generating iPS-like cells from urine samples for further cell therapy research on different human diseases.     

Sheep dairying in Britain — a future industry

The paper sets out the importance of dairy sheep in the economies of the Mediterranean Basin and points to the world shortage of ewe's milk, and the increasing demand for it, both as milk and as the products made from it, much of today's demand being met from cow's milk substitutes for original sheep products. The dairy ewe is described. Five thousand ewes, the nucleus of a new industry, are being milked in Britain today in both autumn and spring lambing flocks. Tables show the milk yields from different breeds; the composition of ewe's milk compared to that of the goat and cow; and the contribution of ewe's and cow's milk to the human daily needs of minerals and vitamins. Some of the unique qualities of ewe's milk in the making of products are discussed as well as its behaviour in the making of cheese. Its special properties in the field of food intolerances are touched on. The sheep is suggested as an alternative dairy animal.