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The education of architectural design requires balanced curricular arrangements of respectively theoretical knowledge and practical skills to really help students build their knowledge structures, particularly helping them in solving the problems of cognitive load. The purpose of this study is to establish an architectural design knowledge conversion model, helping students to obtain architectural design knowledge through a learning process of knowledge sharing/socialization, extraction, externalization, integration, creation and internalization. This model can help students to effectively solve the problems of cognitive load in the learning process, achieve knowledge construction and storage through meaningful learning, apply their knowledge in their future designs and, ultimately, improve their design capability. This study starts with a literature review on theories of knowledge conversion and cognitive load to establish an architectural design knowledge conversion model complemented with especially designed curricular contents and activities. The model is applied in actual teaching to find out if the application of this model has a positive influence on the students in their learning of architectural design, solving the ill-defined problems in their learning and easing their cognitive load.

The major purpose of this study is to develop an architectural design knowledge management learning system with corresponding learning activities to help the students have meaningful learning and improve their design capability in their learning process. Firstly, the system can help the students to obtain and share useful knowledge. Secondly, through extraction, application and creation as well as corresponding learning activities, the students can achieve meaningful learning. Lastly, the system can enable the students to accumulate knowledge and experiences to build their schema automatically and improve their design capability. The technology acceptance model (TAM) analysis results support all the hypotheses of this study, indicating the perceived usefulness and ease of use of the system have a positive influence on the students' willingness to use the system, which also helps to effectively reduce the problem of cognitive overload of the student in their learning process and then improve their design capability.

In contrast to the practice of the one-way collection and analysis of data from the field as found in existing beiguan literature, this article presents a role-changing process used in the recording of beiguan opera with the Qinghexuan ensemble (慶和軒) in Taiwan, formed in order to generate bilateral benefits through a collaborative applied project. I discuss both the practical recording skills needed in the field and the mixing down skills employed in the studio to demonstrate how the designed interactive process reflects the needs in the community and how the collaboration aspect creates an interface with each step of the recording process, from making to checking. Firstly, I examine the recording process in the field, including microphone placement and recording strategy. Secondly, I discuss how the utilisation of plug-ins (equaliser, compressor, panning, balance) in the mixing of tracks is similar to, and based on, that seen in popular music and also on the research collaborators’ opinions, as shared during the fieldwork. Also presented are details behind the dynamic range of the suona (嗩吶) and the percussion instruments in this genre, for example the natural frequency arrangement on the spectrum. Thus, this discussion shows how an ethnomusicologist can be responsive to needs shared by the community if they apply their professional training in relation to the recording process; it also reshapes the relationship between researcher and informant in an ethnographic context, in comparison to previous beiguan research, by engaging the musicians as collaborative listeners in the curation of their own art form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Building information technology" and "cost estimating" are two core skills of construction education. However, in traditional education, students learn these two important subjects in separate courses. This study proposes a blended learning environment which can provide students with support for their face-to-face learning activities in the classroom and also give them the opportunity of "learning by doing" through their practice with online construction projects in the web-based BIM (building information modeling) and cost estimating system. Then the TAM3 (Technology Acceptance Model 3) theory was used to compare the expert and novice students' acceptance of this blended learning model. Finally, the path analysis method was used to verify the research hypotheses developed in this study based on the TAM3 method and then further explore the cause-effect among the TAM3 variables in these hypotheses. Our result found that the blended learning environment developed in this study was generally accepted by all the participating students and it could also enhance the students' acceptance of the blending learning strategy that combines classroom-based education and on-line learning. Even though there are significant differences between novices and experts in certain variables as found in this study, students can still achieve desirable learning results through repeated and continuous practice and learn how to solve problems through "learning by doing" and discussions with their peers inside and outside the classroom. As a consequence, they will have better learning results in the end.

This study explores factors that influence problem-solving coping style across cultures. There was no significant difference in applying problem solving across U.S., Taiwanese, and Chinese samples. The effective predictors of problem solving in the U.S. and Chinese samples were self-efficacy and trait resilience, respectively. In the Taiwanese sample, predictors were self-efficacy and trait resilience. Trait resilience was found to mediate the effect of self-efficacy on problem solving in the Taiwanese and Chinese samples. Practical implications are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

This study compared predictors of active coping (people's tendency to actively cope with stress) among college students in the United States and Taiwan. In both samples, trait resilience predicted active coping and mediated the effect of self-efficacy on active coping. The findings indicate that trait resilience influences college students' active coping with stress, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. Implications on how to help college students enhance trait resilience are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

The overuse of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) is becoming a significant problem worldwide, especially among college students. Similar to Internet addiction, the pathological use of MMORPG is a kind of modern addiction that can affect students' lives on both a physical and a psychological level. The purpose of this study is to understand MMORPG addiction from a user experience design approach. We first developed a complete model that includes eleven factors ("challenge," "fantasy," "curiosity," "control," "reward," "cooperation," "competition," "recognition," "belonging," "obligation" and "role-playing") to represent users' experience in MMORPGs. After that, we design a questionnaire to measure students' gaming experience and level of addiction. Students' demography information, including gender and game playing habits, was also collected. Four hundred and eighteen Taiwanese college students aged 18-25 years old took part in this online survey. Regression analysis was then conducted to evaluate the relative explanatory power of each variable, with addiction score as the dependent variable and the eleven user experience factors as the independent variables. The results of regression analysis reveal five critical factors (curiosity, role-playing, belonging, obligation and reward) that can be used to predict MMORPG addiction. In addition, this study also infers possible casual mechanisms for increasing college students' level of addiction. The implications of our findings for both design and educational practitioners were also discussed. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

College students often live stressful lives, yet some college students appear to adapt better than their peers in similar situations. Active coping appears to be a vital factor that contributes to a successful adaptation. This study explored relative effectiveness among stress, secure attachment, and the trait of resilience in predicting active coping in high, general, and low stress situations. General stress situations are referred to as a combination of high and low stress situations. Multiple regression were applied to explore effective predictors of active coping. Whereas stress was not significantly correlated with active coping, the trait of resilience was the most effective predictor of active coping in high, general, and low stress situations. Secure attachment was an effective predictor of active coping in general situations but not in high or low stressful situations. Two-way ANOVA was applied to detect interaction effect of stress and the trait of resilience on active coping. No interaction effect of stress and resilience on active coping was found. Findings suggest that counselors can help college students to actively cope with stressful situations by enhancing more students' resilience than their secure attachment, regardless of students' stress levels. (Contains 2 tables.)

Background: To determine the associations among carotid stenosis, stroke, and myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with amaurosis fugax (AF). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients diagnosed as having AF between January 2000 and December 2019. Among 14,857 patients with AF initially reviewed in the database, only 173 were ultimately enrolled, after excluding patients with wrong diagnosis, insufficient medical records, or loss of follow-up. Results: Of the 173 patients with AF, 61 (35.3%) had carotid stenosis, and among them, 18 (10.4%) had severe stenosis. In multivariate regression analysis, carotid stenosis was significantly associated with age (p = 0.009), male sex (p = 0.006), and ischemic heart disease (p = 0.039). Sixteen (9.2%) patients experienced a stroke after AF diagnosis (mean time to stroke: 23.1 ± 31.1 months, range: 1 day~85 month), 11 (68.8%) of whom had carotid artery stenosis (p = 0.003). Three (1.7%) patients had MI after AF (mean time to MI: 24.8 ± 35.9 months, range: 12 days~66 months), none of whom had carotid artery stenosis (p = 0.553). Four (2.3%) patients had central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) after AF, all of whom had carotid artery stenosis (p = 0.034). Conclusions: A high incidence of internal carotid artery stenosis was observed after AF attack and was significantly associated with stroke. The incidence of MI and CRAO after AF was low. Among them, only CRAO was associated with carotid artery stenosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family history (FH) of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with changes in several cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in cognitively normal individuals. However, potential changes in plasma biomarkers remain unknown. This study aimed to evaluate potential plasma biomarkers and their correlation in cognitively normal adult children (AC) and to compare this data with their AD parents and unrelated non-demented controls (NC). Participants with dementia due to AD, their AC and NC were recruited. Plasma samples were assessed for amyloid beta (Aβ)1-42, Aβ1-40, total tau (T-tau) and phosphorylated tau (P-tau). Kruskal--Wallis test was used for the comparison of this data between the three groups. Spearman rank correlation was used for evaluation of the correlations between Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42, and T-tau and P-tau in the AD and AC groups. A total of 99 subjects completed the assessment (30 had AD; 38 were AC group; and 31 were NC). Compared with the NC group, there were significantly higher levels of Aβ1-40, P-tau, and P-tau/T-tau ratio, and lower levels of Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 ratio in the AD and AC groups. The correlation between the level of Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-40 and level of T-tau and P-tau was only observed in the AC but not in the AD group. AC of AD parents demonstrate some indicators of AD like their parents. Disruption to the correlation between Ab and tau in AD may be a biomarker for the development of AD in AC, which should be examined in a longitudinal cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endogenous endophthalmitis is an uncommon intraocular infection with potentially devastating consequences on vision. Klebsiella pneumoniae is highly prevalent in East Asian countries, with an increasing incidence recently worldwide. This retrospective study investigates infection sources and antibiotic susceptibilities of K. pneumoniae in patients with endogenous K. pneumoniae endophthalmitis (EKE) in Northern Taiwan. One hundred and fifty-seven patients with EKE were reviewed between January 1996 and April 2019. Pyogenic liver abscess (120/157, 76.4%) was the most common infection source, followed by pneumonia (13, 8.3%), urinary tract infection (7, 4.5%), and intravenous drug use (4, 2.5%). Bilateral involvement was identified in 12.1% (19/157) of patients, especially in patients with pyogenic liver abscess (16/120, 13.3%), pneumonia (2/13, 15.4%), and urinary tract infection (1/7, 14.3%). The antibiotic susceptibility rates were 98.1%, 92.5%, 97.5%, 96.8%, 100%, 99.3%, and 100% for amikacin, cefuroxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, carbapenems, ciprofloxacin, and levofloxacin, respectively. Four extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing multidrug-resistant (MDR) K. pneumoniae isolates were identified. In conclusion, pyogenic liver abscess was the major infection source in EKE. In addition, K. pneumoniae was still highly susceptible to ceftazidime and amikacin, and the MDR K. pneumoniae isolates were not common in EKE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). A retrospective, cohort, longitudinal study was conducted using the national health insurance database in Taiwan between 1996 and 2013. Patients diagnosed with OSA were enrolled after exclusion, and a control group with similar age, gender, and major systemic co-morbidities were included in a 1:1 ratio by propensity score matching. The primary outcome is the occurrence of CSCR, and patients with CSCR were categorized via severity for further analysis. The percentage of incident CSCR in the OSA group and control groups and the adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) of CSCR were determined by Cox proportional hazard regression. There were 13,084 patients enrolled in both the OSA group and control groups, respectively. The total event of CSCR was 50 (0.4%) in the OSA group and 25 (0.2%) in the control group (P <.001). Moreover, the OSA group has an increased aHR of 1.9 (P =.012) for developing CSCR. In the subgroup analysis, patients with OSA aged from 30 to 39 and 50 to 59 demonstrated higher risk of developing CSCR compared to the control group, and the presence of OSA would lead to a higher incidence of mild CSCR (all P <.05). OSA patients aged from 30 to 39 and 50 to 59 have a higher risk of developing CSCR, while the severity of CSCR will not be worsen by OSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of previous mammography screening on the performance of breast cancer detection. The screened women were divided into first-visit and follow-up groups for breast cancer screening. The positive predictive value (PPV), cancer detection rate (CDR), and recall rate were used to evaluate and analyze the overall screening performance among the two groups. Among them, 10,040 screenings (67.2%) were first visits and 4895 screenings (32.8%) were follow-up visits. The proportion of positive screening results for first-visit participants was higher than that for their follow-up counterparts (9.3% vs. 4.0%). A total of 98 participants (74 first-visit and 24 follow-up visit) were confirmed to have breast cancer. The PPV for positive mammography for women who underwent biopsy confirmation was 28.7% overall, reaching 35.8% for the follow-up visit group and 27.0% for the first-visit group. The CDR was 6.6 per 1000 overall, reaching 7.4 per 1000 for first-visit group and 4.9 per 1000 for the follow-up group. The overall recall rate was 7.9%, reaching 9.7% for the first-visit group and 4.2% for the follow-up group. The PPV is improved and the recall rate is decreased if prior mammography images are available for comparison when conducting mammography screening for breast cancer. By this study, we concluded that prior mammography plays an important role for breast cancer screening, while follow-up mammography may increase the diagnostic rate when compared to the prior mammography. We suggest that the public health authority can encourage subjects to undergo screenings in the same health institute where they regularly visit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, which is based on the social capital theory, explores how the political skills of salespersons (which include interpersonal influence (II), social astuteness (SA), networking ability (NA), and apparent sincerity (AS)) affect the trust of their clients in order to increase their loyalty. By incorporating the concept of political skills into research on real estate sales behavior, this study addresses the literature gap on the lack of discussion of the social abilities of salespersons in the real estate industry. To validate this theoretical model, this study targets real estate salespersons and buyers in Taiwan, by using questionnaires to collect dyadic data, and linear regression modeling to test the relevant hypotheses. The results indicate that among the political skills, II and SA are positively significant, thus indicating that salespersons with high degrees of II and SA are capable of increasing the trust of their clients, which in turn increases client loyalty. Moreover, the interaction effects on client trust are all negative and significant, which suggest that self-efficacy has a crucial moderating role. Salespersons with low self-efficacy who have NA and AS can enhance client trust. The findings of this study can be considered as constructive advice for the real estate industry in their training of salespersons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we focus on the electronic bus (E-Bus) system developed for Taiwan's mountainous areas. The rural area in Taiwan with its towering mountains has become a sightseeing hot spot. The radio propagation of a (cloud-based) 4G/LTE network may be severely limited by the mountainous geography, leading to unacceptable connection quality. We have built a smart (fog-based) local wireless E-Bus system using a feature-enhanced long-range widearea network (LoRaWAN, also known as GloRa in Taiwan). Since there is no electricity on the mountain roads, the bus stops of this E-Bus system are operated by a dynamo. Furthermore, we present a virtual direction and position algorithm for multiple E-Bus lines. A novel sensing method using the dynamos is proposed to estimate the feasibility of the E-Bus optimization problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To figure out the impact of national health insurance program and treatment modalities on the clinical outcomes of patients with retinoblastoma. Study design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Enrolled patients were classified into three groups according to the time period in which their initial diagnosis was performed: patients diagnosed before 1995 (group 1), patients diagnosed in the time period 1995–2010 (group 2), patients diagnosed after 2010 (group 3). Comparison was made of clinical features including presenting signs, tumor spreading, and treatment modes. Survival and globe salvage rates were analyzed within each group. Results: There were 157 patients (202 eyes) enrolled from 1978 to 2015. The overall mortality rate was 24.2%. The overall 5-year survival rate was 63.4%, 73.8%, 89.1% in the three time periods respectively (P = 0.007). The 5-year survival improved continuously in both unilateral and bilateral disease (P = 0.057; P = 0.015). Patients without extraocular spreading or diagnosed before 2 years of age had a better 5- year survival of 97.4% and 81.1% respectively. The globe salvage rate improved from 8.2%, 14.5%, to 35.1% (P < 0.001). The globe salvage rate was 46.9% in patients who received ophthalmic artery chemosurgery (OAC) and 6.4% in patients not received OAC. Conclusions: Improvement of survival and globe salvage rate was observed over time periods. National health insurance program has made medical care easily accessible to the public, leading to earlier diagnosis and treatment. Different treatment modes could achieve a better clinical outcome; among the new treatment modalities, OAC played an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community onset K. pneumoniae bacteremia (KPB) is a major problem in Taiwan for decades. We aimed to revisit the role of virulent genotype K1/K2 and possible predisposing factors, compared to our published 2007 cohort.Methods: All adult patients with monomicrobial KPB during 2017 at a medical center in Taiwan were prospectively enrolled. We genotyped the major K types of K. pneumoniae strains, and analyzed the role of prior use of antibiotic or proton pump inhibitor (PPI).Results: A total of 213 cases were enrolled. Compared to our previous 2007 study (n = 231), there was a higher percentage of patients with community onset bacteremia (75% vs. 60%, p = 0.003). The overall mortality rate was lower in 2017 (23% vs. 32%, p = 0.02), while the rates of antimicrobial resistance (all classes) were higher in 2017. There were 40 cases of liver abscesses in 2017 (19%), with an overall mortality rate of 7.5%. The prevalence of K1 was similar (16% in 2017 vs. 19% in 2007), but the prevalence of K2 decreased significantly (7% in 2017 vs. 17% in 2007, p = 0.001). After excluding 39 cases without data of recent medication use, 48 of 174 (28%) of patients had received a PPI within 90 days. Patients with recent PPI use had more complicated underlying illnesses, higher antimicrobial resistance, and higher in-hospital mortality, but was negatively associated with liver abscess (4% vs. 24%, p = 0.002). Of patients with community-acquired bacteremia, 51% used antibiotics within 90 days. After excluding 37 patients received antibiotics within 14 days before the detection of bacteremia, patient with antibiotic use within 15-90 days had higher Pittsburgh bacteremia scores (4.5 vs. 2.7, p = 0.04), creatinine levels, and frequency of recent surgery, but was not associated with liver abscess (21% vs. 31%, p = 0.33).Discussion: In summary, after a decade, community onset KPB is still prevalent (1.3 case per 1000 emergency department visit). K1 remains to be the dominant genotype. The association of prior ampicillin/amoxicillin or PPIs use for liver abscess is not confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unknown grass was found naturalized in central Taiwan recently. We tried to identify it based on its morphological characters and could recognize it as a taxon of grass genus Chloris. Nevertheless it is obviously different from the other species of the genus which have been reported to occur in Taiwan. Based on its nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence, through the approaches of BLAST, phylogeny reconstruction and statistic tests for alternative topologies of phylogeny, we could make sure of its identity further and recognize it as the species Chloris pilosa Schumach. precisely. The species is native to equatorial Africa and this is the first report about its occurrence in Asia. A key to the species of genus Chloris in Taiwan, morphological description and illustrations of C. pilosa are also provided in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation with a hepatitis flare is a common complication in lymphoma patients treated with immunotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Anti-HBV prophylaxis is suggested for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients undergoing rituximab therapy, even those with resolved HBV infection. Since anti-HBV prophylaxis for patients with resolved HBV infection is not covered by national health insurance in Taiwan, a proportion of these patients receive no prophylaxis. In addition, late HBV reactivation has emerged as a new issue in recent reports, and no consensus has been reached for the optimal duration of antiviral prophylaxis. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the incidence and outcomes of HBV reactivation in NHL patients in a real-world setting and to study the frequency of late HBV reactivation. Materials: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients who received rituximab and/or chemotherapy at our institute between January 2011 and December 2015 and who were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)- or hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb)-positive were reviewed retrospectively. Results: A total of 388 patients were screened between January 2011 and December 2015. In total, 196 patients were excluded because HBsAg was not assessed, HBcAb was negative or not assessed, or they were not treated with immunosuppressive therapy. Finally, the retrospective study included 62 HBsAg-positive NHL patients and 130 NHL patients with resolved HBV infection (HBsAg-negative and HBcAb-positive). During a median 30.5-month follow-up period, seven patients experienced HBV reactivation, five of whom had a hepatitis flare. The incidence of HBV reactivation did not significantly differ between the HBsAg-positive patients and the resolved HBV infection population without anti-HBV prophylaxis (4.8% vs. 3.1%, P = 0.683). All patients with HBV reactivation were exposed to rituximab. Notably, late HBV reactivation was not uncommon (two of seven patients with HBV reactivation events, 28.6%). Hepatitis B virus reactivation did not influence the patients' overall survival. An age =65 years and an advanced disease stage were independent risk factors for poorer overall survival. Conclusion: The incidence of HBV reactivation was similar between the HBsAg-positive patients with antiviral prophylaxis and the resolved HBV infection population without anti-HBV prophylaxis. All HBV reactivation events occurred in NHL patients exposed to rituximab. Late reactivation was not uncommon. The duration of regular liver function monitoring for more than 1 year after immunosuppressive therapy or after withdrawal of prophylactic antiviral therapy should be prolonged. Determining the exact optimal duration of anti-HBV prophylaxis is warranted in a future prospective study for NHL patients treated with rituximab-containing therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the incidence, prevalence, and factors related to pterygium in Taiwan. Study design: An ecological study Methods: We analyzed a random sample of 1 million individuals in Taiwan drawn from the National Health Insurance Database (NHIRD), established in 2005, for the period 2000 to 2011. Patients with pterygium were identified using ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes. The prevalence and annual age- and gender-adjusted incidence of pterygium were calculated for each county in Taiwan. The risk factors including ultraviolet (UV) exposure, outdoor occupation, educational level, and average socioeconomic status of each county of each index year were identified. Univariate and backward elimination multivariate selection by the mixed-effects model were performed to identify significant risk factors related to the incidence of pterygium in Taiwan. Results: A total of 22,063 individuals with pterygium (10,125 men and 11,938 women) were identified in this study. The prevalence of pterygium was 2.14% in the overall population and 3.48% in the population aged 40 years or older. The occurrence of pterygium was greater in women. In addition, this study demonstrated that UV exposure and low educational level are correlated with the age- and gender-adjusted incidence of pterygium. Conclusion: Our study is the first to use the NHIRD to determine the prevalence (2.14%) and annual age- and gender-adjusted incidence of pterygium among the general population of Taiwan. The relationship of pterygium with UV exposure and educational level suggests a complex and multifactorial etiology for this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nonarteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is the most common acute optic neuropathy in old age. Although there are several known risk factors, the influence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has not been completely elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between NAION and OSA. Methods: This retrospective, longitudinal cohort study used the national health insurance database of Taiwan covering the period 1996–2013. Patients without NAION at the diagnosis of OSA or who developed NAION 1 year after the diagnosis of OSA were enrolled. The patients were followed until death or the last day of the study. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to investigate the association between OSA and NAION. Results: There were 8488 patients in the OSA group and 33 952 in the control group (without OSA), for a ratio of approximately 1:4. The percentages of NAION were 0.36% and 0.2% in the OSA and control groups, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01; chi‐square test), and this significant difference remained in multivariate analysis (p = 0.019) with a significantly higher HR (1.66; 95% CI: 1.08–2.55). There was significant difference in the 30–39 years age group in multivariate analysis (p < 0.01, HR: 6.30; 95% CI: 2.28–17.40). Conclusion: There was a strong association between NAION and OSA, and the patients with OSA had a higher risk of NAION. Further large‐scale, prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the effect of OSA on developing NAION. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy is one of the major sources of alternative and green energies that humanity need now and will continue to need in the future. There are now a large number of R&D activities on solar power generation facilities and equipment around the world. Located in a subtropical region, Taiwan is rich in solar energy resources; therefore, how to effectively use and store solar energy is a research topic of great interest to Taiwan. The main purpose of this study explores the economic benefits of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) facilities and equipment by analyzing the net present values (NPV) and payback period of the BIPV façade of a shopping mall in Taiwan over its lifecycle. The NPV and payback period analysis results both indicate that the BIPV façade in the case study reaches its breakeven point within 10 years of payback period and 16 years of NPV during a life cycle of 20 years. By showing BIPV investments can bring an acceptable range of benefits profits, this study hopes to provide references for promoting the photovoltaic (PV) industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The prevalence of important zoonotic diseases including Lyme disease, Q fever, heartworm disease, leptospirosis and toxoplasmosis in pet and stray dogs in southern Taiwan (Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County) was assessed using nested, semi-nested or traditional polymerase chain reaction. The correlations between the prevalence and regional demiographic data were also analyzed. Blood samples were randomly collected from pet and stray dogs monthly from September 2009 to August 2011. The PCR sensitivity for Borrelia burgdorferi was 10 pg, 100 fg for Coxiella burnetii, 1 pg for Dirofilaria immitis, 100 pg for Leptospira spp. and 10 fg for Toxoplasma gondii, respectively, in 0.8~1.5 μg total DNA from the blood sample. No cross-reaction was observed between the nucleic acids of interest and DNA extracted from Ehrlichia canis, Babesia canis and Babesia gibsoni for the selected PCR primers. The 5 zoonotic pathogens and their prevalence rates in dogs were B. burgdorferi 0.07% (1/1440), C. burnetii 4.79% (69/1440), D. immitis 7.08% (102/1440), Leptospira spp. 0.07 % (1/1440) and T. gondii 0.14% (2/1440), which highlights the importance of C. burnetii and D. immitis among dogs in southern Taiwan. Further analysis between the prevalence and associated epidemiological factors demonstrated that prevalence of C. burnetii is correlated with the season, age and source (pet or stray) but not breed and gender. The prevalence of D. immitis was relevant to age and source but not with season, breed or gender. Overall, this study reveals hygienic implications as seen with the prevalence of Q fever and heartworm disease and raises public health awareness in southern Taiwan as well as the neighboring areas and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in stray dogs including toxoplasmosis, heartworm disease, Lyme disease, leptospirosis and Q fever in central Taiwan (Taichung, Changhua and Yunlin County) using nested, semi-nested or traditional polymerase chain reaction. Associations between prevalence of the infections and demiographic data of stray dogs in central Taiwan were also analyzed. Blood samples were randomly collected from stray dogs every month from August 2009 to July 2011. Total DNA extracted from blood samples ranged from 0.8 to 1.5 μg as the sensitivity of PCR ranged from 10 fg to 100 pg. For the PCR primers no cross-reaction was found between the nucleic acids of interest and DNA extracted from Ehrlichia cani, Babesia canis and Babesia gibsoni. The prevalence rates of 5 zoonotic diseases in the stray dogs were as follow: Toxoplasma gondii 3.89 % (28/720), Dirofilaria immitis 7.22% (52/720), Borrelia burgdorferi 5.42% (39/720), Leptospira spp. 7.22% (52/720), and Coxiella burnetii 5.83% (42/720). The association analysis between the prevalence rates and epidemiological data of stray dogs as well as sampling season showed that the prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Leptospira spp. were correlated with the age and season but not with breed and gender. The prevalence rate of Dirofilaria immitis species was associated with breed and the season but not with gender and age while the prevalence rate of Coxiella burnetii was linked with the season but not with breed, gender and age. Our study reveals the prevalence of toxoplasmosis, heartworm disease, Lyme disease, leptospirosis and Q fever in stray dogs in Taiwan and provides crucial information for prevention and control of zoonotic diseases in Taiwan and neighboring areas and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores factors that influence problem-solving coping style across cultures. There was no significant difference in applying problem solving across U.S., Taiwanese, and Chinese samples. The effective predictors of problem solving in the U.S. and Chinese samples were self-efficacy and trait resilience, respectively. In the Taiwanese sample, predictors were self-efficacy and trait resilience. Trait resilience was found to mediate the effect of self-efficacy on problem solving in the Taiwanese and Chinese samples. Practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, intensive care for cancer patients has improved and treatment of critically ill cancer patients has become increasingly aggressive over time. However, not all cancer patients would benefit from aggressive care, especially those with late-stage cancer. Objective: We aimed to investigate the outcome of late-stage lung cancer patients with sepsis-related respiratory failure and identify predictors of mortality. Methods: From 2007 to 2008, consecutive stage III and IV lung cancer patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) of a teritiary medical center in Taiwan for sepsis-related respiratory failure were retrospectively enrolled. Data at baseline and upon ICU admission were collected. In-hospital survival was analyzed. Variables of the survivors to hospital discharge and patients who died were compared by uni- and multivariate analyses. Results: Seventy patients were enrolled. During a mean follow-up period of 30.10 days, 29 (41.4%) patients survived to hospital discharge and 41(58.6%) died. Compared with the survivors, the patients who died had poor performance status, lower serum albumin level, higher percentage of disseminated intravascular coagulation, and more severe organ dysfunction as disclosed by higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores. Multivariate analyses revealed that SOFA score ( p=0.026) was the only independent predictor of mortality; 44.8 % (13/29) of survivors were weaned from ventilator during hospitalization. Conclusion: Among late-stage lung cancer patients with sepsis-related respiratory failure, those with lower SOFA scores seemed to have better survival rate and may benefit from intensive care in the ICU. Early palliative care should be considered for all patients with advanced lung cancer, and hospice care is suggested for those with sepsis-respiratory failure and high SOFA scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study explored the associations of personal, disease, family, and social factors with quality of life (QoL) in patients with two common types of chronic mental illness (CMI) living in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Methods: Using a convenience sample and a cross-sectional design, 714 patients (50.1% male, 49.9% female) with CMI (72.1% schizophrenia and 27.9% affective disorder) and their caregivers were recruited. Demographic information was collected via the following questionnaires: 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), Caregiver Burden Scale, and Clinical Global Impressions (CGI-S) Scale. Pearson correlations and hierarchical regression analyses were used to predict QoL. Results: Disease factors accounted for 17-50% of the change in variance. Predictors of low mental subscale scores included the following: high psychological distress and high family burden as well as a history of suicide attempts, negative caregiver attitudes, and living away from home. Disease factors also explained the greatest variance in the physical subscales. Predictors of low physical subscale scores included the following: high psychological distress, age, unemployment, a history of suicide attempts, high family burden, and living alone. Conclusions: Disease factors were the most important predictors of QoL in patients with CMI. Family factors were more important than social factors on the mental subscales. Differential relationships were also found for the other two dimensions. Together, these results indicate that a wide range of factors improve the QoL in patients with CMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared predictors of active coping (people's tendency to actively cope with stress) among college students in the United States and Taiwan. In both samples, trait resilience predicted active coping and mediated the effect of self-efficacy on active coping. The findings indicate that trait resilience influences college students' active coping with stress, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. Implications on how to help college students enhance trait resilience are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Salmonella Schwarzengrund is one of the frequent serovars isolated from chicken meat in Taiwan. This organism is also one of the invasive Salmonella serovars which may cause human salmonellosis and animal infections. In this study, a total of 466 strains of S. Schwarzengrund including 232 retail chicken meat isolates and 234 human isolates in Taiwan were analyzed for their antibiotic resistance and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. For XbaI-digested DNA, a total of 110 PFGE patterns were obtained. When patterns from both origins were analyzed, of these patterns, 21 were shared by isolates from chicken meat samples and humans. In these 21 patterns, 153 (32.8%) isolates from both origins shared the top five patterns. Since ACSSXTT R-type strains are the major concern worldwide and they accounted for 74.5% of total strains used in this study, such R-type strains in the top five XbaI-digested patterns were then further analyzed with AvrII digestion followed by PFGE and PCR assay targeted to 10 Salmonella virulence genes, i.e., avrA, ssaQ, mgtC, siiD, sopB, gipA, sodC1, sopE1, spvC, and bcfC. When PFGE patterns and virulence gene profiles were combined for the analysis of ACSSXTT R-type strains of S. Schwarzengrund, 29 strains from both origins showed the same pattern combinations. Such results suggested the possible transmission of S. Schwarzengrund from chicken meat to humans. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Salmonella Schwarzengrund is one of the causative agents of human salmonellosis and animal infections. High prevalence of multidrug resistant strains of S. Schwarzengrund from chicken meat has been recently reported in Taiwan. With an attempt to see if such prevalence in chicken meat was due to the recirculation of S. Schwarzengrund strains in traditional marketplaces, a total of 173 S. Schwarzengrund strains isolated between 2000 and 2005 from 417 retail chicken meat samples purchased from Taipei, Taiwan were analyzed using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method. For XbaI and AvrII digested DNA, a total of 23 and 16 PFGE patterns, respectively, were obtained. When these patterns were combined, a total of 47 subtypes were obtained and the major subtypes were X3A2, X1A2 and X2A1. Since it was found that these major subtypes were repeatedly found for multidrug resistant strains collected from 2000 to 2005, we then collected the chicken meat isolates from central and southern Taiwan in 2006. These strains did not show similar major subtypes as those found in Taipei. Such results might also suggest that the repeated appearance of some major subtypes for S. Schwarzengrund strains isolated each year in Taipei was due to the recirculation of these strains in retail marketplace during these years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphism is considered a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the associations of ACE gene and protein level to AD are undetermined among Taiwanese.Methods: this study investigated 257 Taiwanese cases with AD and 137 ethnically matched controls using ACE gene indel genotype association methods with logistic regression adjusted for other variables. Besides, 65 out of 257 AD patients, 11 with D/D genotype, 28 with I/I genotype and 26 with I/D genotype were recruited. Their plasma ACE protein levels were measured by enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay and compared for their corresponding ACE gene indel polymorphism.Results: patients with ACE-I/I homozygote were less likely to be associated with AD, compared with both I/D and D/D (OR: 0.601; 95% CI: 0.372–0.969; P = 0.037), or only I/D genotype (OR: 0.584; 95% CI: 0.349–0.976; P = 0.040). There were significantly different plasma ACE protein levels among these three different genotype groups (P = 0.023). The I/I genotype group had significantly lower ACE plasma levels [114.79 ± 31.32 ng/ml (mean ± SD)], compared with D/D (164.07 ± 86.36 ng/ml; P = 0.010), but not I/D (141.45 ± 51.50 ng/ml; P = 0.064).Conclusion: ACE-I/I homozygote corresponds to lower plasma ACE protein level and it is independently but less likely to be associated with AD. These findings signal the importance of ACE indel polymorphisms to their corresponding protein levels and to AD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a semi-structured psychoeducational model of group work for parents of aggressive children based on concepts of co-parenting and bidirectionality. The group was developed for enhancing five Taiwanese aggressive children's social competence by promoting positive interactions within family. Topics covered in the group included identifying parenting styles, forming parental alliances, fostering parent-child mutual initiations/mutual compliances, establishing parent-child co-regulation, and responding to aggressive children's negative emotions. Pre- and post-group comparisons suggested the effectiveness of the group model [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: A higher incidence of urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) has been reported in both long-term hemodialysis patients and kidney transplant (KTX) recipients in Taiwan than in other countries. Herein, we report a high incidence of urinary tract malignancy, especially TCC, in KTX recipients in eastern Taiwan. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records, clinical data, and outcomes of 102 KTX recipients in Tzu Chi General Hospital from 1992 to 2008. Overall graft and patient survival, incidence of posttransplant malignancy, and cumulative incidence of TCC after KTX were investigated. Results: During a mean follow-up of 45.5 ± 38.5 months after KTX, 12 malignancies were diagnosed in nine recipients. The incidence of post-transplant malignancy in all recipients was 8.2%. TCC was diagnosed in four patients, and all these patients presented with painless gross hematuria and hydronephrosis. Three patients had tumor involvement in the upper urinary tract. TCC occurred at a mean of 56 ± 70.7 months after KTX, and the cumulative incidence of TCC was 4.7% in the first 3 years after transplant. Only one patient with triple cancer died of disseminated cholangiocarcinoma of the distal common bile duct during a mean follow-up of 15.8 ± 9.5 months after surgical treatment of TCC. Conclusion: KTX recipients are at extremely high risk of TCC in eastern Taiwan, with an incidence of 3.9%. The cardinal signs of posttransplant TCC are painless gross hematuria and hydronephrosis of the native kidney. Careful, timely urological screening in KTX recipients warrants early diagnosis and good prognosis after aggressive surgical management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: This study examined compliance with prescribing guidelines for antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in Taiwan, using the 2001 joint guideline from the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and European Society of Cardiology. The study also sought to identify factors associated with the appropriate prescribing of antithrombotic therapy. Methods: Patients with AF were identified by the presence of ≥2 inpatient or outpatient claims with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code of 427.31 in the Taiwanese National Health Insurance claims database between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004. Patients were stratified according to their stroke risk (highest, high, low, or lowest) and antithrombotic medication (aspirin, warfarin, ticlopidine/clopidogrel, or none). Based on these categories, rates of prescribed treatments that were compliant with the antithrombotic guidelines were calculated. Antithrombotic therapies were considered guideline compliant when warfarin was prescribed for the highest- or high-risk patients, aspirin was prescribed for low-risk patients, and aspirin or no antithrombotic treatment was prescribed for the lowest-risk patients. Because the role of ticlopidine/clopidogrel in AF remains unclear, prescription of these drugs without aspirin or warfarin was considered noncompliant with the guidelines. Results: Of 39,541 identified patients with AF, 70.3% were at high risk for thromboembolic events and 18.3% were at highest risk; however, only 24.7% of the overall population received appropriate antithrombotic therapy. When patients with risk factors for bleeding were excluded, the rate of compliance increased to 26.2%. Factors that were inversely associated with prescription of warfarin included risk factors for bleeding (cancer, predisposition to falls, previous hemorrhage, history of peptic ulcer, cirrhosis, renal dialysis, and psychiatric disease), hypertension, coronary artery disease, thyrotoxicosis, and age ≥60 years. Conclusions: Most of these patients with AF in Taiwan did not receive appropriate antithrombotic therapy over the period studied. Bleeding risk factors, hypertension, coronary artery disease, thyrotoxicosis, and older age were associated with low rates of warfarin use. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

College students often live stressful lives, yet some college students appear to adapt better than their peers in similar situations. Active coping appears to be a vital factor that contributes to a successful adaptation. This study explored relative effectiveness among stress, secure attachment, and the trait of resilience in predicting active coping in high, general, and low stress situations. General stress situations are referred to as a combination of high and low stress situations. Multiple regression were applied to explore effective predictors of active coping. Whereas stress was not significantly correlated with active coping, the trait of resilience was the most effective predictor of active coping in high, general, and low stress situations. Secure attachment was an effective predictor of active coping in general situations but not in high or low stressful situations. Two-way ANOVA was applied to detect interaction effect of stress and the trait of resilience on active coping. No interaction effect of stress and resilience on active coping was found. Findings suggest that counselors can help college students to actively cope with stressful situations by enhancing more students' resilience than their secure attachment, regardless of students' stress levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effects of two different display modes—head-up display (HUD) vs. head-down display (HDD) on the driving performance and psychological workload ratings of drivers operating commercial vehicles in Taiwan. Twelve commercial lorry drivers participated in a 2 (high/low driving load road)×2 (head-up/head-down display)×2 (different arrangements of display sequences used) mixed-factor driving simulation experiment. Participants were divided into two groups according to the level of driving load conditions within each driving load group; the participants were further divided into another 2 subgroups based on two arrangements of display sequences used. For each driving load condition, there were two 20-min driving simulation experiments, separated by a display sequence using head-up first and then head-down or vice versa. The subjects were asked to perform four tasks: “commercial goods delivery”, “navigation”, “speed detection and maintenance” and “response to an urgent event”. Results indicated that for the first task, commercial goods delivery, the two display types showed no significant performance difference in terms of average accuracy rate. However, in terms of response time to an urgent event, it was faster with the HUD (with a low driving load—head-up vs. head-down: 1.0073 vs. 1.8684 s; with a high driving load—head-up vs. head-down: 1.3235 vs. 2.3274 s) and speed control was more consistent (having low speed variations) than with the HDD. In addition, using the HUD caused less mental stress for the drivers than the HDD and was easier for first-time users to become familiar with; with a high driving load, however, the difference between the two displays was not significant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Heart disease is the second most common cause of mortality in Taiwan, mainly coronary artery disease (CAD).Quantitative coronary blood flow has been collected by dynamic single-photon emission computed tomography (Dynamic SPECT/CT) for CAD diagnosis in previous studies. However, few studies defined the extent of left ventricle (LV) ischemia on Dynamic SPECT/CT for predicting significant coronary artery stenosis. This study evaluates the extent of LV ischemic blockage in patients suspected of CAD who were referred by cardiologists. A total of 181 patients with suspected CAD were enrolled. They underwent 99mTc-Sestamibi (MIBI) Dynamic SPECT/CT survey before cardiac intervention. Dynamic SPECT/CT has better sensitivity (88%), specificity (96%), and accuracy (94%) compared with those of semi-quantitative MIBI MPI (more than 10%). Results indicated that5% of the LV ischemic extent can yield positive PCI results (>70% stenosis in coronary arteries) compared with the moderate abnormal extent of at least 15% of LV. When the percentage of combined moderate abnormal extent and ischemia extent of LV reaches 27.3%, positive PCI results may be indicated. This study revealed Dynamic SPECT/CT has greater sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy as compared with MPI. Thus, the severity of abnormal perfusion extent of LV on Dynamic SPECT/CT might be beneficial to predict positive PCI results in patients with significant suspicion CAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the short form of the Love Attitudes Scale developed independently in Taiwan in two studies using 460 graduate and undergraduate students. Background on the original Love Attitudes Scale presented by Hendrick and Hendrick (1986); Cross-cultural similarity in the validation and response to the short form of the scale.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the causative agent of acute hepatitis E. Genotype 3 (G3) and 4 (G4) HEV have recently been identified in and isolated from swine as the main HEV genotypes worldwide. However, there is limited information on HEV infection status among pigs in Taiwan, especially pigs in the stage before transportation to the slaughterhouse. To determine the frequency of HEV infection among pigs in Taiwan, we detected and quantified HEV RNA contained in 295 fecal specimens collected from 6-month-old pigs bred in 30 pig farms located in 8 counties. We found that 25.1% (74/295) of the fecal specimens were positive for HEV RNA by a quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and the copy number ranged from 2.3 × 103 to 2.08 × 107 copies/g. Amplification of a 338 bp sequence in ORF2 was achieved in 16 of 74 HEV RNA-positive samples, and their nucleotide sequences were determined. Two HEV sequences appeared to belong to subtype 3a of G3 and the remaining 14 HEV sequences belonged to subtype 4b of G4 (G4b). The entire genome sequence of two G4b HEVs was obtained by next-generation sequence analyses, and the phylogenetic analyses indicated that unique G4b HEVs were circulating in pig farms in Taiwan. In the present study, we found that both G3 and G4 HEVs were circulating in Taiwanese pig farms and G4b was the predominant subtype. In addition, the relatively high detection frequency of HEV RNA in the 6-month-old pigs indicated that Taiwanese pigs just before transportation to the slaughterhouse are at risk of carrying HEVs, and thus thorough cooking or heating of pork meat or organs is needed before consumption in Taiwan and possibly in other countries as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determined the incidence of percutaneous (needlestick and sharps) injuries among emergency medical technicians (EMT5) in one country in Taiwan, compared this with the official reporting rate, and sought reasons for non-reporting. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to all EMTs in that country, eliciting percutaneous injuries occurrences; reasons why, and reporting data. Data were analyzed by logistic regression. A total of 329 out of 353 EMTs completed the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 93.2%. Thirty-nine EMTs (11.9%) experienced at least one percutaneous injury in the preceding 12 months. Older, less experienced EMYs were at greater risk of percutaneous injuries. None of the EMTs officially reported their percutaneous injuries primarily because they thought reporting was not mandatory and that the reporting process was too complicated. About one in eight EMTs had experienced at least one percutaneous injury in the preceding year None of these injuries was officially reported to their organization. Ways to make reporting more user friendly are required, along with resources to minimize percutaneous injuries among EMTs in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Iron-based oxygen carriers were pneumatically circulated and reacted in a 30-kW th moving bed chemical looping system. • The concentration of CO 2 produced in the reducer was 95%, and H 2 produced in the oxidizer reached 90%. • Oxygen carriers were nearly completely oxidized by air in the combustor resulting in temperature increase. • Parts of the oxygen carriers in the reducer were reduced to Fe, showing the integrating conversion rate of 61.5%. • In the oxidizer, the oxygen carrier contained Fe 3 O 4 , and the integrating conversion rate was 22.2%. A 30-kW th moving-bed chemical looping system has been developed at the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan. In this system, methane is supplied as a fuel to a reducer, and steam enters an oxidizer to produce hydrogen under ambient pressure. An iron-based oxygen carrier is used and pneumatically transported in the system. In this study, a hydrogen production test was performed on the system, while the methane flow rate was 40 L/min according to the capacity requirement of a 30-kW th system, and the oxygen carrier circulation rate was 2100 g/min for 40-wt% Fe 2 O 3 content. The concentration of carbon dioxide produced in the reducer was 95 %, and the concentration of hydrogen produced in the oxidizer reached 90 %. Partially oxidized oxygen carriers then reacted with air in the combustor, leading to a temperature increase of approximately 120°C. The oxygen carriers in the reducer were reduced to Fe, and the integrating conversion rate was 61.5 %. In the oxidizer, the oxygen carrier contained Fe 3 O 4 , and the integrated conversion rate was 22.2 %. 75 % of the oxygen carriers in the combustor exhibited a conversion rate of 5.3 %, indicating a nearly complete oxidation state. By conducting the hydrogen production test while effectively removing small particles of worn oxygen carriers from the system, the moving-bed chemical looping system was evaluated for the circulation and reaction of oxygen carriers. The system development experience will be used for system scale-up design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author comments on the role Taiwan plays in e-commerce. Citing the Network Readiness Index, the author states that Taiwan is in the top ten of countries deriving economic and social benefits from the Internet. In addition, Taiwan has a manufacturing base for hardware that supports its e-commerce. Taiwan is the base for more than four million Internet web sites.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the frequency of oral abnormalities in newborns in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Methods: Study subjects were neonates born at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between January 2000 and April 2000 (inclusive). All subjects were examined within 3 days of birth. Babies with craniofacial anomalies and/or other systemic diseases requiring intensive care were excluded. A dentist examined newborns using mirrors, tongue blades, and a flashlight. Results: The authors examined a total of 420 neonates and found the frequency to be 94% for oral cysts and 1% for natal and neonatal teeth. Neither the frequency of palatal and gingival cysts of the newborn nor that of natal and neonatal teeth was associated with gender, body weight, and gestation age. Conclusions: Babies born at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital demonstrate a high rate (94%) of oral cysts of the newborns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We conducted an extensive study in Taiwan of Orientia tsutsugamushi (OT) infection in small wild mammals. Field trapping was carried out at six districts in eastern and western Taiwan as well as various offshore islands during the period 2006–2010. A total of 1061 specimens representing 11 rodent species were captured. The presence of OT infection was assessed by indirect immunofluorescence assay and polymerase chain reaction assays of 56-kDa type-specific antigen gene. The chigger infestation rate among the animals was 35% (371/1061). Among these, OT was detected in 64% (238/371) of the chiggers from the infested animals and in the spleens from 273 (34.3%) of 797 animals. Excluding animals in the Suncus murinus group, the antibody positive rate of scrub typhus was 69.1% (477 of 690 of serum samples). The prevalence of OT infection in animals from areas with a low incidence of human cases of scrub typhus was significantly lower than that in rodents obtained from regions with a high incidence of human cases of the disease (44.4%±4.0% vs. 71.2%±9.7%, p <0.001). In Taiwan, the prevalence of OT infection in wild rodents is considerably high and appears to correlate positively with the occurrence of scrub typhus in humans. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective Glycated albumin (GA) values reflect an average plasma glucose level over approximately 2–4 weeks, and the assay is stable and can be run on serum or plasma. The aim of this study was to determine the universality and the clinical utility of GA in screening for diabetes mellitus. Methods Subjects consisted of 2192 male and female residents in Yi-lan County, Northern Taiwan (mean age 60.1 years), of whom 54.2% (n = 1188) had previously been diagnosed and treated for diabetes. Fasting blood samples were obtained to measure HbA1c, plasma glucose, serum GA, insulin, and measures of kidney and liver function. The reference values for these parameters were determined. Data from patients with diabetes and non-diabetic controls were also compared. Results Mean GA values were 13.8% in controls and 18.1% in diabetic subjects (31.2% higher, p < 0.0001), while mean HbA1c values were 5.6% in controls and 7.2% in diabetic subjects (29.2% higher, p < 0.0001). The 95th percentile values for GA and HbA1c in controls were 16.1% and 6.2%, respectively. Our suggested GA and HbA1c cut-points for prediabetes at the 75th percentile of the normal population would be 14.6% and 5.8%, respectively. For both parameters, values greater than these cut-points provided a reasonable degree of specificity and sensitivity for risk of having diabetes, while a GA value of 16.5% corresponds to an HbA1c level of 6.5%, diagnostic of diabetes. Conclusion These data indicate that GA values can be used as a surrogate parameter for HbA1c in screening for prediabetes and diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hoping power plant (HPP), located on the northeastern coast of Taiwan, is considered an ideal site to test the accelerated weathering of limestone (AWL) technique for fossil fuel CO 2 mitigation because the required reactants, seawater and limestone, are readily available and inexpensive to obtain. In this study, we investigated the current status of chemical hydrography at two off-shore stations near the HPP, the results of which can provide a baseline for future evaluations of marine environmental changes arising from the potential implementation of AWL. Additionally, seawater samples collected around the HPP were used to evaluate the effectiveness of CO 2 absorption for the One-step and the Two-step AWL reactors, which were designed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan. The results demonstrate that the Two-step reactor is more effective than the One-step reactor in terms of CaCO 3(s) dissolution, thus implying conversion of more dissolved CO 2 into HCO 3 − balanced by Ca 2 + , which is environmentally benign and can be stored for the long-term in the ocean. The capacity of CO 2(g) absorption for the current Two-step reactor was estimated to be 121 μmol kg − 1 . However, more efficient conversion of CO 2 to ocean alkalinity using this method is possible with optimizing reactor designs and operating procedures. The impacts of the AWL effluent solution on pH and carbonate saturation state (Ω) in the receiving seawater were further examined by conducting a simple mixing simulation. The simulated result indicates that a 10-fold dilution would be sufficient to maintain the pH and Ω changes within a range of 0.2 and 0.8, respectively, which are regarded as constraints for safely discharging wastewater into the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic influenza A/H1N1 outbreak resulted in 18,449 deaths in over 214 countries. In Taiwan, the influenza rapid test, an in vitro diagnostic device (Flu-IVD), only requires documented reviews for market approval by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the analytical sensitivity and specificity of Flu-IVDs used in Taiwan. Analytical sensitivity and specificity tests were performed for influenza antigens A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) virus, A/Victoria/210/2009 (H3N2) virus, B/Brisbane/60/08 virus, and human coronavirus OC43. A total of seven domestic and 31 imported Flu-IVD samples were collected, of which, 20 samples had inadequate labeling, including those with removed package inserts or incorrect insert information. The analytical sensitivity of Flu-IVDs for A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and Flu B was 500–1000 ng/mL, 1000 ng/mL, and 1000 ng/mL, respectively. For the 50% cell culture infective dose (CCID50) label, the average A/H1N1 and A/H3N2 sensitivity for Flu-IVDs was log10 5.8 ± 0.5 and log10 6.6 ± 0.5 CCID50/mL, respectively. As to the specificity test, no product cross-reacted with human coronavirus OC43. This study provides important information on the Flu-IVD regulation status and can thus help the government formulate policies for the regulation of in vitro diagnostic devices in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to understand nutrition knowledge, attitude, and behavior in Taiwanese adults. Results indicated that adults' knowledge on "relationship between diet and disease" and "comparison of foods in terms of specific nutrients" is acceptable. However, they lack knowledge on "daily serving requirements" and "weight and weight loss". Although they recognize the importance of nutrition, nutrition was not the major concern of food selection. Significant differences were found among gender and age groups. Females of most age groups are better than males in many aspects of nutrition knowledge, attitude and behavior except emotional and external eating behavior. Young (age 19-30) and prime (age 31-44) adults have better knowledge than that of middle adults (age 45-64), while prime adults hold a more positive attitude than young adults. As for nutrition behavior, prime and middle adults are better than young adults. Nutrition knowledge and attitude of adults in urban areas is generally better than those in suburban and remote areas. However, adults in urban areas perform "emotional and external cued eating" more frequently than those in suburban and remote areas. There are significantly positive correlations among nutrition knowledge, attitude and behavior; and attitude has stronger correlation (r=0.42) with behavior than knowledge does (r=0.27). Therefore, to achieve desirable eating behaviors, the adult nutrition education program should include knowledge of what constitutes a balanced diet and what constitutes being overweight. Proper strategies to enhance the behavioral motivation of healthy food selection must also not be neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]