a scholarship visit to TaiLong bank - discovering their business model in an out

Zhejiang Tailong Commercial Bank (TLB) is the most renowned Small-and-Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) financing service provider in China. TLB has invested over ¥100 million in its charity fund and consistently allocates 2% of its revenue to its foundation. I was fortunate to receive a scholarship sponsored by TLB and even more so to be invited to their headquarters today for a face-to-face meeting with their chairman and the leaders of the Shanghai Branch....

March 27, 2024

eclipsed revelation - crafting eternal sunshine in keystrokes

Inspired by the aesthetic of eternal sunshine’s album cover, I customized a Typora themeable that echos the album’s concept. the red of the gloves, paired with the innocent white dress, echoes a juxtaposition of passion and purity. meanwhile The dark background augments the sense of mesmerizing self-revelation. Instead of directly replicating the color palette from the album cover, I decided to take a more conceptual approach, in reflecting the commitment to an ethereal minimalism—like, an homage to the what Saturn Return brings into our lives....

March 26, 2024

how to have great conversations

The “People I Mostly Admire” podcast’s recent episode “How to Have Great Conversations” is immensely inspiring, informative, wise and useful. Hosted by Steven D. Levitt, this episode’s guest Charles Duhigg shared his new book The Power of Habit. The right conversation and the right moment can change everything. Here’s points that I’d find insightful from the podcast. three baskets of conversations Not all conversations are created equal. We’re actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What’s this really about?...

March 25, 2024

Giselle

Giselle is about ephoric, despaired, yet innocently beautiful love. the audience were very supportive and applauded until the very end–it was almost like that they’re hoping for an encore. About the story: The ghost-filled ballet tells the tragic, romantic story of a beautiful young peasant girl named Giselle and a disguised nobleman named Albrecht, who fall in love, but when his true identity is revealed by his rival, Hilarion, Giselle goes mad and dies of heartbreak....

March 24, 2024

Giselle, preface

Teatri alla Scala Ballet Company 2024 performed Giselle in Shanghai Grand Theatre–for four consecutive nights, from Mar. 22th to 25th. I bought a front row ticket and went for the first night, and was very lucky to see Nicoletta Manni’s rendition of Giselle. Nicoletta Manni, the principal dancer étoile of TaS, starring Giselle on the first night. It was brilliant, and I want to write something about it. Stay tuned for tomorrow....

March 23, 2024

news, BIG news

History in the making: World’s First Genetically-Edited Pig Kidney Transplant into Living Recipient Performed at Massachusetts General Hospital PRESS RELEASE of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Brandon Chase. Mar. 21 2024. See here for the original report. Today, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) announced the world’s first successful transplant of a genetically-edited pig (porcine) kidney into a 62-year-old man living with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Surgeons from the Mass General Transplant Center conducted the four-hour-long surgery on Saturday, March 16....

March 22, 2024

kidney exchange 101

Madonna said “strike the pose” in Vogue. Today, let’s stike the TERMINOLOGY: Kidney exchange 101 the concept of “exchange” Kidney transplantation is essential for patients with late-stage renal failure. While a healthy individual can donate one of their kidneys to their loved ones, often the donor is incompatible with the intended recipient. Kidney exchange allows such patient–donor pairs to swap donors so that each patient can receive a kidney from a compatible donor....

March 21, 2024

prologue | kidney exchange 101

When opportunity comes, say, when you find yourself sharing an elevator with a Nobel Prize winner in your field, with just a few floors left to impress them. It’s sales pitch in academic–to impress people using a concise, compelling summary that highlights the brilliance and relevance of your work. It’s your chance to leave them thinking, “Wow, I need to know more about this!” In my journey, I often find myself needing to explain kidney exchange to introduce people to market design—my dream field....

March 20, 2024

the looming crisis in maternity care - a tale of two nations

The maternity care units in both the United States and China are facing a dilemma that threatens the very foundation of obstetric services. This crisis, while nuanced in its manifestation in each country, shares a common thread of financial strain, staffing challenges, and misaligned incentives that put the future of maternity care at risk. The American Struggle In the United States, the situation is particularly dire in rural areas, where more than 200 hospitals have closed their labor and delivery services over the past decade....

March 19, 2024

case mix index (CMI) explained

Imagine you’re analyzing a group of general undergraduates taking math classes. Some are social science majors who might be taking introductory statistics, while others are engineering majors taking advanced calculus. You need some index to measure the average difficulty level of the math classes taken by all these students, say, Stats101 for 1pt while Real Analysis gets 10pt and we’ll take arithmetic mean as the difficulty score representing the general course level taken by all the students....

March 18, 2024