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Knowledge about aging and the attitudes toward older people were surveyed in undergraduate students (total number of subjects sampled is 1402) in four countries (Japan, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam) in eastern cultures and in two countries (United States and United Kingdom) in western cultures. All participants completed two questionnaires, FAQ1 (for knowledge) and ASD (for attitudes) in their own languages. It was found that within the undergraduate students sampled: (a) the level of knowledge about aging in the western countries is significantly higher than that in the eastern countries, and (b) attitudes toward aging are more positive in the western countries compared to the eastern countries. The data suggest that, within the limits of the sampling: (a) the tradition of respecting older adults in eastern cultures may have weakened gradually, and (b) the modernization theory that assumes industrialization devalues aging populations appears to be supported in eastern countries but not in western countries. An alternative non-linear theory is discussed for the relationship between modernization and the societal views on aging. Educational promotion of knowledge about aging is emphasized for the formation of positive attitudes toward older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on durational cues (i.e., syllable duration, pause duration, and syllable onset intervals (SOIs)) at discourse boundaries in two dialects of Mandarin, Taiwan and Mainland varieties. Speech was elicited by having 18 participants describe events in The Pear Story film. Recorded data were transcribed, labeled, and segmented into clauses. Discourse boundary indices were used to label discourse disjuncture levels. Results showed that the scope of lengthening included both the final and the penultimate syllables. Pause was a robust but optional indicator for discourse boundaries, and Taiwan Mandarin preferred unfilled over filled ones, while the Mainland variety did not show such strong preferences. Discourse hierarchy corresponded consistently with occurrences of pauses and duration of SOIs, within which pause was the main contributor. Higher discourse levels were more likely to be accompanied by pauses, and were indicated by longer pauses and SOIs. Syllable duration only played a secondary role in indicating discourse disjuncture size when pause was absent. When there was an accompanying pause, Mainland Mandarin relied solely on it to indicate discourse hierarchy, while Taiwan Mandarin used both syllable and pause duration, a dialectal difference that seemed to be rhythm-related. By shortening the degree of lengthening in the boundary syllable and lengthening the following pause at the same time, Taiwan Mandarin increased the absolute and relative duration of pause and maximized its role in indicating discourse hierarchy. The results of this study implied that the use of pause in discourse disjuncture demarcation was more of a language-specific choice while its role in discourse hierarchy encoding is more language-universal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors sought to explore the prevalence and factors related to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among occupational population in Taipei, Taiwan. A total of 8347 healthy adults voluntarily admitted to annual physical check-up. Blood samples and ultrasound-proved fatty liver sonography results were collected. The results showed that the prevalence of NAFLD was 48.4% and revealed a statistically significant increase with increasing population age. Males exhibited a greater prevalence of NAFLD than did females (57.8% vs 32.4%, P < .001). Using multiple logistic regression analysis, in addition to male gender, older age, higher body mass index, higher aspartate aminotransferase level, higher alanine aminotransferase level, presence of hypertension, presence of hyperuricemia, presence of hypercholesterolemia, higher fasting plasma glucose, and presence of hypertriglyceridemia were the significant factors associated with NAFLD. The differences in occupational professions were revealed. In conclusion, occupational populations are asymptomatic, and the diagnosis of NAFLD should be considered with older age, hyperuricemia, higher aspartate aminotransferase level, higher alanine aminotransferase level, and metabolic risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]