Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Biomarkers for Therapeutic Response Prediction in Rectal Cancer

Prediction of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) response in rectal cancer would enable stratification of management whereby responders could undergo ‘watch-and-wait’ to avoid surgical morbidity, and non-responders could have early treatment intensification to improve therapeutic outcomes. Functional MRI can assess tumour function and heterogeneity, and may improve therapeutic response prediction. The aims of this PhD were to (i) prospectively evaluate multi-parametric MRI at 3.0 tesla in vivo combining diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI for prediction of CRT response and 2 year disease-free survival (DFS), and (ii) examine diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MRI biomarkers of rectal cancer extent and heterogeneity at ultra-high field 11.7 tesla ex vivo in order to establish a pipeline for MRI biomarker discovery from ultra-high field to clinical field. Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer undergoing CRT followed by surgery underwent multi-parametric MRI before, during, and after CRT. A whole tumour voxelwise histogram analysis of apparent diffusion co-efficient (ADC) and Ktrans heterogeneity was performed and correlated with histopathology tumour regression grade. After CRT (before surgery) ADC 75th and 90th quantiles were significantly higher in responders than non-responders. Patients with higher Ktrans values after CRT or greater increase in Ktrans values from before to after CRT had a significantly higher risk of distant metastases, and lower 2 year DFS. Biobank tissue from patients with rectal cancer were examined at 11.7 tesla and DTI-MRI results correlated with histopathology. This work established a discovery framework for screening Biobank cancer tissue for novel MRI biomarkers of tumour extent and heterogeneity, and resulted in good preservation of tissue integrity and MRI-histopathology alignment. DTI-MRI derived fractional anisotropy (FA) was able to differentiate between tumour and desmoplasia, fibrous tissue, and muscularis propria, allowing for more accurate delineation of rectal cancer tumour extent and stromal heterogeneity ex vivo. In conclusion, DWI-MRI was predictive of CRT response, DCE-MRI was predictive of 2 year DFS, and DTI-MRI was able to more accurately define tumour extent and heterogeneity in rectal cancer. These findings could be useful for stratification of patients for individualised treatment based on accurate assessment of tumour extent and therapeutic response prediction

The Relationship between Openness and Economic Performance A Case Study of the Five Leading Emerging Markets in Southeast Asia: Vietnam Philippines Thailand Indonesia Malaysia

For the last two decades, the Southeast Asian countries have emerged as the fastest growing economies in the world, together with making significant progress in economic liberalization. The thesis studies the impact of economic openness on growth and volatility in the five leading Southeast Asia countries: Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines. The results obtained include: 1) economic openness is a driving force for the rapid growth of the five countries during 1990-2010, 2) during transition into an open economy, volatility cannot be eliminated; however, if a country has sound macroeconomic policies, a reasonable ratio of foreign direct investment to total capital flows, and a diversified trading portfolio, the risk can be reduced, 3) evidence suggests that the “phoenix miracle” did happen in Indonesia after the East Asian crisis, which means the country was able to recover its output level long before it could recover its credit market, 4) in the case of Thailand and Malaysia, foreign capital flows, mostly in the form of foreign direct investment, were the driving force for their quick recovery subsequent to the East Asian crisis, 5) Vietnam is a late-comer for the process of economic liberalization, however, with progressive policy reforms during the last two decades, Vietnam has been able to bridge the gap between itself and the four other countries

Winning the Hunger Game: Fighting Hunger with More than Food

TOPIC OF STUDY: A novel intervention to improve food security and decrease pantry dependency among Georgia State University students who are food insecure. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: To address food insecurity and break the pantry dependency cycle among GSU pantry students, a grant proposal will be prepared for submission to the Daniel P. Amos Family Foundation. This grant will be written for funding to implement a promising intervention based on a 2013 study conducted in Connecticut by Martin, et al. This intervention will use an approach that differs from the traditional pantry model in three critical ways. First, pantry students will be given the freedom to choose their food from shelf stable and fresh, perishable items, allowing them to feel a sense of dignity. Second, students will meet with a Registered Dietitian (Project Manager) trained in motivational interviewing to set and track personal goals towards becoming food secure and overcoming barriers. The project manager will also provide students with personalized referrals to financial and academic resources to aid in achieving their personal and academic goals. Lastly, students will be given a 6-week Cooking Matters skills-building class, nutrition education, and gardening demonstrations to reinforce the importance of a healthy diet and nutritious dietary choices. If successful, this program can serve as a template for pantries at other campuses by showing how students can learn to avoid relying on food pantries to achieve long-term food security and overcome any obstacles that may stand in their way. Furthermore, a significant reduction in student reliance on the Panther\u27s Pantry would help alleviate the constant pressure the pantry experiences in keeping enough food in stock. It is becoming increasingly clear that Panther’s Pantry must do more than just pass out food. It must evolve to provide services that address the root cause of student food insecurity. In doing so, Panther\u27s Pantry can equip students in need with tools to win the hunger game so they can focus on academic success

How do Corporate Social Responsibility announcements affect firm value?

Master's thesis in Economic analysisTaking previous research on this topic into consideration, this thesis sets out to give some insights as to why there seems to be increasing focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by firms. Using theory from business ethics, CSR, investor behaviour and finance as a base, we try to answer how CSR announcements made by listed firms in the U.S. affect its firm value, hereunder stock returns. After conducting an event study, similar to the approach of Elton, Gruber, Brown and Goetzmann (2014), we find no overall significant evidence that CSR announcements affect stock returns. However, when expanding the analysis by adding business sectors, our results view firms in the financial, services and basic materials sector to experience a significantly negative effect on firm value when announcing CSR initiatives

Mobile internet and income improvement:Evidence from Vietnam

New developments of existing technologies over time have led to emergent patterns of technology adoption and accordingly changing impacts on economy and society. Focusing on the arrival of mobile Internet in the early 2010s in developing countries, we identified significant positive effects of mobile Internet on provinces’ average household income in Vietnam. The effect sizes are larger for lower-income quintiles groups and for rural areas, suggesting the more inclusive changing impact of the innovation over the last decade. Preliminary evidence of impact mechanisms via skilled employment rates and (formal) wages are also presented. The evidence from Vietnam, a lower middle-income country, can bring further understanding in the extent of development impacts of second-generation mobile for development (M4D 2.0) in particular and ICT for development (ICT4D) in general

Mobile internet and income improvement:Evidence from Vietnam

New developments of existing technologies over time have led to emergent patterns of technology adoption and accordingly changing impacts on economy and society. Focusing on the arrival of mobile Internet in the early 2010s in developing countries, we identified significant positive effects of mobile Internet on provinces’ average household income in Vietnam. The effect sizes are larger for lower-income quintiles groups and for rural areas, suggesting the more inclusive changing impact of the innovation over the last decade. Preliminary evidence of impact mechanisms via skilled employment rates and (formal) wages are also presented. The evidence from Vietnam, a lower middle-income country, can bring further understanding in the extent of development impacts of second-generation mobile for development (M4D 2.0) in particular and ICT for development (ICT4D) in general

Methods of using character and language in stories to teaching Vietnam history from 10th century to 18th century in high school

This paper aims to proposes methods of using stories about historical figures in teaching Vietnamese history (from the 10th to the 18th century), with a focus on the interest of students with lessons. Vietnamese history (from the tenth to eighteenth centuries) has an important position in the entire development process of the nation's history. This was the independent feudal period, the period that witnessed the rise and fall of Vietnam's feudal system through the stages, the period that made its mark with the resistance wars against foreign invaders. This passage has many national heroes, typical characters, cultural celebrities with great influence on history, is an extremely rich and diverse source of materials for teachers to exploit and put into teaching. History subject in high school helps students to understand deeply and remember historical events for a long time. At the same time, building emotional stories about historical figures will help shape good character and educate students on patriotism. In the study, quantitative methods and qualitative methods were used. The data were collected using statistics of Vietnamese historical figures from the 10th to the 18th century, survey questions for students and teachers, number of test scores after each lesson, assessment of learners' feelings, Positive, creative and conscious attitude of students. The study results show that students enjoy the lesson, actively participate in the lesson as well as enthusiastic about the teacher's problem questions. Through lessons in telling stories of historical characters, students' abilities are developed at different levels: knowing, understanding, applying and creating.Tan Trao University in Tuyen Quang, Viet Na

Three essays on assimilation and acculturation of international instructors at U.S. research universities

This dissertation consists of three chapters that answer an overarching question: "How do foreign-born instructors assimilate and acculturate into U.S. academia as an immigrant-receiving environment?" Across the three chapters, quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed to study the situations of international instructors and understand their changes in behavioral patterns over time using different immigration theories. In the first chapter, using grading as a marker of assimilation, I examine the gap in grading behaviors between international and domestic instructors and how the gap changes over time. The second chapter studies the cultural determinants of the grading gap between international and domestic instructors, anchoring on home country characteristics as pre-migration factors. The third chapter broadens the theoretical basis of acculturation theory to explore the stories behind the behaviors of international graduate instructors as they start their teaching, as well as the acculturation of their instructor identity, in a U.S. public university.Includes bibliographical references