A co-occurrence framework conceptualized for bridging the gap between basic science, clinical research and clinical practices

The intellectual impulsiveness of man to understand the unknown and the continual need of the society to improve healthcare have encouraged extensive investigation on numerous and diverse cause-and-effect relationships. The nature of this endeavor, however, renders the inability of investigator at all levels to escape beyond the narrow conceptual boundary described by an early French philosopher as the vicious cycle. To enjoy the theoretically plausible benefits of refined labor division, data-driven healthcare management, and real-time evidence-based practices, it must first be acknowledged that co-occurrence is better than cause-and-effect in explaining how an observation takes place at a particular time. This paper details a co-occurrence framework, and discusses its implications for the global healthcare system

Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Economic Growth? Evidence from a Threshold Regression Analysis

Using threshold regression techniques developed by Caner and Hansen(2004),this paper examines whether the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth is dependent upon different absorptive capacities. There are three absorptive capacities, namely, initial GDP, human capital and the volume of trade, that are used as threshold variables in our paper. The empirical analysis shows that FDI alone plays an ambiguous role in contributing to economic growth based on a sample of 62 countries covering the period from 1975 through 2000. Under the threshold regression, we find that initial GDP and human capital are important factors in explaining FDI. FDI is found to have a positive and significant impact on growth when host countries have better levels of initial GDP and human capital.

Financial Turmoil in the Banking Sector and the Asian Lamfalussy Process: The Case of Four Economies

This paper investigates the prevailing financial regulatory structures and impact of the current financial turmoil on banking performance in four economies: the People's Republic of China (PRC); Hong Kong China; Singapore; and Taipei,China. Both the PRC and Hong Kong, China operate under a fragmented financial regulatory structure, while Singapore and Taipei,China have integrated structures. We examine the role of an integrated financial regulatory structure in helping financial institutions mitigate the impact of the financial crisis, using financial indicators of banks' capital structure and operating performance in these four economies between 2003 and 2008. Our analysis of the indicators reveals that banking performance under a fragmented financial regulatory structure is not worse than under integrated regulation. This implies that financial regulatory structure is not the main reason why Asian financial institutions suffered only limited losses from the current global financial crisis. However, given the growing complexity of the global financial system, and the relative weakness of current financial regulatory structures in Asia, this paper suggests that East Asian governments should refer to the Lamfalussy Process in the European Union and set up an Asia Financial Stability Dialogue to facilitate policy coordination for regional financial sector stability and development.asian financial regulation; global financial crisis; asian banking; prc; asian financial institutions; asian financial sector

Development of novel proteomic strategies to dissect plant phosphoproteomic signaling under environmental stresses

Protein phosphorylation is one of the important signaling mechanisms in plants which transduces environmental stimuli such as salinity, microbes, and hormones into intracellular signals and activates plant defense mechanisms. Thus, understanding the correlation between environmental stresses and alteration of plant phosphorylation requires system-wide phosphoproteomic analysis, which includes identification of kinase-substrate complexes and measurement of phosphorylation-mediated signaling changes. However, identification and quantification of plant phosphoproteome remains challenging due to the highly dynamic nature of plant proteome, interferences of cell wall, pigments, and secondary metabolites. Recently, mass spectrometry (MS) has been integrated with phosphopeptide enrichment approaches for identifying thousands of phosphorylation sites and for quantifying phosphoprotein stoichiometry. Although MS-based phosphoproteomics has revealed the global phosphorylation changes related to different physiological states of plants, many kinase-substrate networks involved in essential signaling pathways, such as the ABA-induced SNF-1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) pathway and the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) cascades, are still not completely understood. This dissertation discusses strategies for improving plant sample preparation and for identifying the direct substrates of the plant kinases. Chapter one highlights the low phosphopeptide identification rate by mass spectrometry. Chapter two details the development of a sample preparation protocol for the plant phosphoproteome analysis, and the application of the protocol for the study of tomato cold-induced phosphoproteomic changes. Chapter three shows the development of a novel approach for identification of the direct substrates of the plant kinases, whose activation regulates the signaling transductions of plant stress defense mechanisms

OFFICE FOODY: Conceptual Restaurant Website Development

The conceptual restaurant website OFFICE FOODY offers users a new experience of ordering their meal via the Internet. Through this website, the restaurant is allowed to receive customer\u27s order and start to prepare their food immediately. Just like sometimes, we make an order when waiting in the long line during rush hour, this time the users can make an order simply in their office. Besides, by designing the 2D visual environment based on a restaurant metaphor, the users can not only make their orders, but also customize their favorite setting. Furthermore, the reservation and E-mail interlace in the website are designed to enhance the convenience for users when they go for a meal during rush hour. The notion of creating OFFICE FOODY is come to the restaurant and enjoy your meal in a second. This website can help users to deal with all the bothersome process during lunch hour before they reach the restaurant

Defying Gravity: Migrant Children Education System in Beijing, China policies, NGOs, and market as factors

Special Studies Experience, Summer 2012 -- Beijing, Chinahttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110200/1/Poster_Hsu.Chih-Chieh.pd