Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Taipei,China’s Industrial Structure and Firm Activity

Given the dominance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taipei,China (97.6% of business establishments, and 77.1% of employment), it is of vital importance to develop ways to aid SMEs in surviving the current global economic crisis. Indeed, the government can utilize this crisis to reform and strengthen SMEs so they can continue to be the backbone of Taipei,China’s economy. This paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of SMEs in Taipei,China. Policy recommendations are presented to address the weaknesses of SMEs, including short-run and long-run approaches.sme; global economic crisis; industrial organization

The Effects of Aging on Migration in a Transition Economy: The Case of China

China has been experiencing two major demographic sea changes since the late 1970s: (i) Internal migration, primarily rural-to-urban, on a scale that dwarfs all other countries at any time in history; and (ii) a shift in its age distribution. The basic question posed in this paper is: How are aging and migration related in post-reform China? We argue that there is probably two-way causality: Shifts in the origin region's age distribution induce changes in the scale and structure of migration, but out- (in-) migration shifts the origin's (destination's) age distribution. We examine theoretically and empirically the relationship between origin age distribution and interprovincial migration in China using province-level census data for 1985-2005. The goal of the paper is two-fold: (i) To develop a more refined theoretical model that explains how a migrant's age affects his/her likelihood of migration; and (ii) to obtain unbiased estimates of the effect of age on the interprovincial migration rate. Our theory section is motivated by the observation that, while most researchers recognize the importance of including age in theoretical and empirical models of migration, the exact reasons for why age affects migration have not been analyzed very thoroughly. We model the migration decision and demonstrate that there is an ambiguous relationship between age and the likelihood of migration. Implications of the theory are tested with an extended modified gravity model using OLS and 2SLS.internal migration, age distribution, reforms

Changes in Integumental Dimensions of the Face Following Orthodontic Treatment: A Long-term Study

Most studies of facial growth in adults have relied on cross-sectional data. Longitudinal studies in this area are scarce because it is difficult to collect data on adults across time and because the changes are less dramatic than during childhood or adolescence. An interesting sample exists in the Charles H. Tweed collection, where orthodontic patients were recalled 10 or more years after treatment with an average time out of treatment of about 15 years. The availability of frontal facial photographs from this collection provided us with an uncommon opportunity to longitudinally quantify the changes in facial dimensions from adolescence into early adulthood. Frontal photographs were obtained from 101 subjects (41 males and 60 females) at posttreatment ( x = 15.6 years) and long-term recall ( x = 31.2 years) examinations. 7 transverse and 9 craniocaudal distances were measured to quantify facial growth and to assess the extents of sexual dimorphism of the face across the age span. Transverse dimensions generally increased significantly in both sexes with Lower face width (GoL-GoR) increasing more than any other measurement for both men (18%) and women (7%), which apparently is due to weight gain expressed in the cheeks. There also were unanticipated reductions in facial widths, namely in Inner canthus width (EnL-EnR), Outer canthus width (ExL-ExR), and Alar width (AlL-AlR). The transverse changes were sexually dimorphic, with men experiencing larger average changes. Craniocaudal changes were smaller than the transverse changes and not generally sexually dimorphic, except for Lower face height (Sn-Me) and its most influential component, Chin height (Li-Me). There was a fundamental difference in the development of Lower face height between men and women mainly because Chin height was significantly different in men and women (8% and 2%, respectively), suggesting that men have a considerably larger soft tissue addition to bony chin than women during this age interval. As a result of transverse and craniocaudal changes, the face becomes broader mediolaterally and, to a lesser degree, longer craniocaudally. Lower face width increased more than twice the amount of any craniocaudal distance. Orthodontists should be aware that continued growth alters facial sizes and proportionality in early adulthood, and treatment planning should be complementary to the anticipated facial growth in adolescent patients

The Regulation of Migration in a Transition Economy: China’s Hukou System

Unlike most countries, China regulates internal migration. Public benefits, access to good quality housing, schools, health care, and attractive employment opportunities are available only to those who have local registration (Hukou). Coincident with the deepening of economic reforms, Hukou has gradually been relaxed since the 1980s, helping to explain an extraordinary surge of migration within China. In this study of interprovincial Chinese migration, we address two questions. First, what is a sensible way of incorporating Hukou into theoretical and empirical models of internal migration? Second, to what extent has Hukou influenced the scale and structure of migration? We incorporate two alternative measures of Hukou into a modified gravity model – the unregistered migrant's: (i) perceived probability of securing Hukou; and (ii) perceived probability of securing employment opportunities available only to those with Hukou. In contrast to previous studies, our model includes a much wider variety of control especially important for the Chinese case. Analyzing the relationship between Hukou and migration using census data for 1985-90, 1995-2000 and 2000-05, we find that migration is very sensitive to Hukou, with the greatest sensitivity occurring during the middle period.internal migration, Hukou, migrant networks, reforms

DawnRank: discovering personalized driver genes in cancer

Large-scale cancer genomic studies have revealed that the genetic heterogeneity of the same type of cancer is greater than previously thought. A key question in cancer genomics is the identification of driver genes. Although existing methods have identified many common drivers, it remains challenging to predict personalized drivers to assess rare and even patient-specific mutations. We developed a new algorithm called DawnRank to directly prioritize altered genes on a single patient level. Applications to TCGA datasets demonstrated the effectiveness of our method. We believe DawnRank complements existing driver identification methods and will help us discover personalized causal mutations that would otherwise be obscured by tumour heterogeneity

Computational methods for personalized cancer genomics

In recent years, cancer treatment strategies have moved towards personalized approaches, specifically tailoring cancer treatments on a single-patient basis using molecular profiles from the patients’ tumor genomes. Knowledge of a patient’s molecular profile can be used to 1) identify the disease mechanisms and underlying cause of a single patient’s cancer, 2) assign patients into treatment groups based on the molecular prognosis, and 3) recommend potential treatments for individual patients based on the patient’s molecular signature data. However, the bottleneck of the personalized medicine approach lies in the challenge of translating the vast amount of sequencing data to meaningful clinical insights. This dissertation explores several computational methods that utilize molecular signature data to understand disease mechanisms of cancer, categorize patients into biologically relevant subtypes, and recommend drug treatments to patients. In the dissertation, we present a method, DawnRank, a patient-specific method that determines the potential driving genomic alterations (the drivers) of cancer. We expand on DawnRank’s capabilities by using the DawnRank scores in key driver mutations and copy number variants (CNVs) to identify breast cancer subtypes. We found 5 alternative subtypes based on potentially clinically relevant driver genes, each with unique defining target features and pathways. These subtypes correspond to and build upon our previous knowledge of breast cancer subtypes. We also identify disease mechanisms in identifying key novel cancer pathways in which driver genes interact. We developed a method, C3, which pinpoints patterns of cancer mutations in a pathway context from a patient population to detect novel cancer pathways that consist of significant driver genes. C3 improves on current methods in driver pathway detection both on a technical aspect and a results-oriented aspect. C3 can detect larger and more consistent pathways than previous methods as well as discovering more biologically relevant drivers. Finally, we address the issue of drug recommendation in the wake of molecular signature data. We develop a method, Scattershot, which combines genomic information along with biological insights on cancer disease mechanisms to predict drug response and prioritize drug treatments. Scattershot outperforms previous methods in predicting drug response and produces recommendations that largely comply with known medical treatment protocols.Scattershot recommends drugs to cancer patients that are in line with the actual drugs prescribed by the physician

The Regulation Of Migration In A Transition Economy: China'S Hukou System

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87043/1/j.1465-7287.2010.00224.x.pd

Multi-Modal Wireless Flexible Gel-Free Sensors with Edge Deep Learning for Detecting and Alerting Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Patients

Freezing of gait (FoG) is a debilitating symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). This work develops flexible wearable sensors that can detect FoG and alert patients and companions to help prevent falls. FoG is detected on the sensors using a deep learning (DL) model with multi-modal sensory inputs collected from distributed wireless sensors. Two types of wireless sensors are developed, including: (1) a C-shape central node placed around the patient's ears, which collects electroencephalogram (EEG), detects FoG using an on-device DL model, and generates auditory alerts when FoG is detected; (2) a stretchable patch-type sensor attached to the patient's legs, which collects electromyography (EMG) and movement information from accelerometers. The patch-type sensors wirelessly send collected data to the central node through low-power ultra-wideband (UWB) transceivers. All sensors are fabricated on flexible printed circuit boards. Adhesive gel-free acetylene carbon black and polydimethylsiloxane electrodes are fabricated on the flexible substrate to allow conformal wear over the long term. Custom integrated circuits (IC) are developed in 180 nm CMOS technology and used in both types of sensors for signal acquisition, digitization, and wireless communication. A novel lightweight DL model is trained using multi-modal sensory data. The inference of the DL model is performed on a low-power microcontroller in the central node. The DL model achieves a high detection sensitivity of 0.81 and a specificity of 0.88. The developed wearable sensors are ready for clinical experiments and hold great promise in improving the quality of life of patients with PD. The proposed design methodologies can be used in wearable medical devices for the monitoring and treatment of a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases

Long-Term Outcome after Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation with Adequate Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Mobilization Using Plerixafor and G-CSF in Poor Mobilizer Lymphoma and Myeloma Patients

Poor peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) mobilization predicts worse outcome for myeloma and lymphoma patients post autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). We hypothesize that PBSC harvest using plerixafor and G-CSF in poor mobilizers may improve long-term outcome. We retrospectively analyzed the data on patients who had second PBSC mobilization using plerixafor and G-CSF as a rescue. Nine lymphoma and 8 multiple myeloma (MM) patients received the drug. A control group of 25 MM and lymphoma patients who were good mobilizers with G-CSF only was used for comparison. Sixteen of the 17 poor mobilizers proceeded to ASCT, and one MM patient had tandem transplants. Length of hospital stay, infection incidence, granulocyte engraftment, and long-term hematopoietic recovery were not significantly different between the two groups. In conclusion, all poor mobilizers were able to obtain adequate stem cells transplant dose and had similar transplant course and long-term outcome to that of the control good mobilizers group