How University Departmens respond to the Rise of Academic Entrepreneurship? The Pasteur's Quadrant Explanation

This paper examines how universities can develop a new organizational structure to cope with the rise of academic entrepreneurship. By deploying the Pasteurian quadrant framework, knowledge creation and knowledge utilization in universities are measured. The relationships between university antecedents, Pasteurian orientation, and research performance are analyzed. A survey of university administrators and faculty members collected 634 responses from faculty members in 99 departments among 6 universities. The findings indicate that university antecedents of strategic flexibility and balancing commitment contribute to a greater Pasteurian orientation in university departments. The higher degree of Pasteurian orientation has significantly positive impacts on the performance both of knowledge creation and knowledge utilization. Moreover, the Pasteurian orientation acts as a mediator between university antecedents and research performance. Using cluster analysis, the departments are categorized into four groups. The differences between university- and department- factors in these four groups are examined and discussed. We conclude that not all university departments should move toward the Pasteurian group, and there are specific organizational and disciplinary factors resulting in mobility barriers among groups. Policies to encourage academic entrepreneurship should consider these mobility barriers, along with this new governance of science.Academic entrepreneurship, Pasteur’s quadrant, research excellence, research commercialization

Flood Damage Reduction in Land Subsidence Areas by Groundwater Management

Continuing land subsidence can diminish the effectiveness of an existing flood mitigation system and aggravate the flood hazard. This chapter demonstrates that, through groundwater management with an effective pumping scheme, flood hazard and related flood damage in land subsidence area can be reduced. The chosen study area is in the southwest coast of Taiwan, which has long been suffering from frequent and wide-spread flooding primarily due to land subsidence induced by groundwater overpumping. Numerical investigation in the study area clearly shows that effective management of groundwater pumping can play an important role in long-term sustainable solution for controlling the spatial-temporal variability of future land subsidence, preventing the flood hazard from worsening, reducing the flood damage, and satisfying the groundwater demand

Effects of polymer molecular weight on relative oral bioavailability of curcumin

Yin-Meng Tsai,1 Wan-Ling Chang-Liao,1 Chao-Feng Chien,1 Lie-Chwen Lin,1,2 Tung-Hu Tsai,1,31Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, 2National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, 3Department of Education and Research, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanBackground: Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles have been used to increase the relative oral bioavailability of hydrophobic compounds and polyphenols in recent years, but the effects of the molecular weight of PLGA on bioavailability are still unknown. This study investigated the influence of polymer molecular weight on the relative oral bioavailability of curcumin, and explored the possible mechanism accounting for the outcome.Methods: Curcumin encapsulated in low (5000–15,000) and high (40,000–75,000) molecular weight PLGA (LMw-NPC and HMw-NPC, respectively) were prepared using an emulsification-solvent evaporation method. Curcumin alone and in the nanoformulations was administered orally to freely mobile rats, and blood samples were collected to evaluate the bioavailability of curcumin, LMw-NPC, and HMw-NPC. An ex vivo experimental gut absorption model was used to investigate the effects of different molecular weights of PLGA formulation on absorption of curcumin. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection was used for quantification of curcumin in biosamples.Results: There were no significant differences in particle properties between LMw-NPC and HMw-NPC, but the relative bioavailability of HMw-NPC was 1.67-fold and 40-fold higher than that of LMw-NPC and conventional curcumin, respectively. In addition, the mean peak concentration (Cmax) of conventional curcumin, LMw-NPC, and HMw-NPC was 0.028, 0.042, and 0.057 µg/mL, respectively. The gut absorption study further revealed that the HMw-PLGA formulation markedly increased the absorption rate of curcumin in the duodenum and resulted in excellent bioavailability compared with conventional curcumin and LMw-NPC.Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that different molecular weights of PLGA have varying bioavailability, contributing to changes in the absorption rate at the duodenum. The results of this study provide the rationale for design of a nanomedicine delivery system to enhance the bioavailability of water-insoluble pharmaceutical compounds and functional foods.Keywords: absorption, duodenum, molecular weight, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), PLGA, relative oral bioavailabilit

Concurrent Use in Taiwan of Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapies among Hormone Users Aged 55 Years to 79 Years and Its Association with Breast Cancer Risk: A Population-Based Study

Background. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the concurrent use of Chinese herbal products (CHPs) among women aged 55 to 79 years who had also been prescribed hormonal therapies (HT) and its association with breast cancer risk. Methods. The use, frequency of service, and CHP prescribed among 17,583 HT users were evaluated from a random sample of 1 million beneficiaries from the National Health Insurance Research Database. A logistic regression method was used to identify the factors that were associated with the coprescription of a CHP and HT. Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) of breast cancer between the TCM nonusers and women who had undergone coadministration of HT and a CHP or CHPs. Results. More than one out of every five study subjects used a CHP concurrently with HT (CHTCHP patients). Shu-Jing-Huo-Xie-Tang was the most commonly used CHP coadministered with HT. In comparison to HT-alone users, the HRs for invasive breast cancer among CHTCHP patients were not significantly increased either in E-alone group or in mixed regimen group. Conclusions. The coadministration of hormone regimen and CHPs did not increase the risk of breast cancer

The Pharmacological Effects and Pharmacokinetics of Active Compounds of Artemisia capillaris.

Artemisia capillaris Thunb. (A.capillaris, Yin-Chen in Chinese) is a traditional medicinal herb with a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties ranging from effects against liver dysfunction to treatments of severe cirrhosis and cancer. We used relevant keywords to search electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar, for scientific contributions related to this medicinal herb and the pharmacokinetics of its components. The pharmaceutical effects of A.capillaris contribute to the treatment not only of viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular hepatoma, but also metabolic syndrome, psoriasis, and enterovirus in the clinic. The bioactive compounds, including scoparone, capillarisin, scopoletin, and chlorogenic acid, exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antisteatotic, antiviral, and antitumor properties, reflecting the pharmacological effects of A.capillaris. The pharmacokinetics of the main bioactive compounds in A. capillaris can achieve a maximum concentration within 1 hour, but only chlorogenic acid has a relatively long half-life. Regarding the use of the A. capillaris herb by health professionals to treat various diseases, the dosing schedule of this herb should be carefully considered to maximize therapeutic outcomes while lessening possible side effects

キ ガ クトウ ニ イチスル カンヨウク ニツイテ : カンヨウク キョウザイ オ ヘンサン スル テガカリ トシテノ イチコウサツ

〈国語学研究事典> (1977) defined idiom as“combination of a few words to form an expression for commonly accepted meaning". Idiom comprised expression of metaphor， presenting suitable materials to understand life and thoughts of Japanese. Foreign learners cannot directly comprehend the meaning of idiom. Textbooks that categorize idiom into upper，middle and lower levers，or marked the frequency of use for them should be of great assistance to those foreign learners when learning Japanese. This study aims at (l) extracting idiom from a few dictionaries，(2) analyzing composition of these idioms，(3) examining status of these idioms in textbooks， (4) investigating how these idioms were applied in newspapers. The outcome of this study should provide guidelines for composing textbooks for idiom.日本語の慣用句は「いくつかの語を続けて、ある特定の意味を表すことが習慣的に行われている表現」(『国語学研究事典』 (1977)) と定義されている。また、慣用的な言い回しをも含み、比喰的なものが多く、日本の生活・性向・発想、を探る格好の材料となる。 このような状況により、外国人が日本語の慣用句を勉強する際には、字面をそのまま受けとめることはできても即座に意味などを理解するのは困難である。しかし、慣用句を初・中・上級に分けたり、または常用か否かなどの情報を示したりした辞書や教材はめったにない。したがって、何らかの基準で慣用句の難易度、使用頻度、使用上の注意点などを提示した教材があれば、外国人が日本語の慣用句を勉強する上で大いに参考になると思われる。 本研究は以上のことに基づき、①多くの辞書に収録された慣用句を抽出し、②慣用句の構成を分析し、③慣用句が教材に取り入れられている様子を検討し、④慣用句の新聞での実際の使用状況(回数および形態)を調べた。 この調査結果が慣用句教材の編纂や導入の順番を検討する上で役立てば幸いである