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Cigu wetland consists of industrial salt ponds and lagoon is situated at the coast in the southwestern of Taiwan which is demarcated as Coastal Nature Reserve. The salt ponds experienced declines in bird species diversity and population compared with those within the lagoon area due to the deeper water depths. Different kinds of measures to alter water depths of salt ponds by filling soil are proposed. The hydrodynamic simulations were conducted for studying the hydrodynamic response to proposed reconstruction alternatives. The potential waterbird abundance was then estimated for the alternative recommendation. The methodology proposed in this study can reduce the risk of unexpected results by implementing the reconstruction project directly.

Yi-Chia Su,1 Chip-Jin Ng,1– 3 Liang-Tien Chien,4,5 Li-Heng Tsai,1,2 Cheng-Yu Chien,1,2,6,7 Shou-Chien Hsu1,2,8 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou and College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Taipei Branch, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 4Graduate Institute of Management, College of Management, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 5Taoyuan Fire Department, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 6Department of Emergency Medicine, Ton-Yen General Hospital, Zhubei, Taiwan; 7Department of Senior Service Industry Management, Minghsin University of Science and Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 8Department of Occupational Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, Taoyuan, TaiwanCorrespondence: Shou-Chien Hsu, Department of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou and College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, No. 5 Fushing Street, Gueishan District, Taoyuan City, 333, Taiwan, Tel +886-3-3281200 &num; 2505, Fax +886-3-3287715, Email otsuka32@gmail.comPurpose: Various factors, such as event location and response time, influence the outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Very few studies have explored the delivery of basic life support (BLS) to patients having OHCA at health clinics or nursing homes—settings with professional BLS providers. Thus, in this study, we compared prognostic and survival outcomes between health clinics, nursing homes, and other public places (eg, workplaces and sports facilities/recreational areas) to offer insights for optimizing OHCA outcomes.Patients: This study included adults who had nontraumatic OHCA in Taoyuan City between January 2017 and December 2022.Methods: We collected data on patient characteristics, emergency medical service parameters, onsite patient management, automated external defibrillator (AED) locations, OHCA prognosis, and survival outcomes. Multivariate analyses were performed to predict survival to discharge (primary outcome) and neurological outcomes at discharge (secondary outcome).Results: During the study period, the numbers of OHCA events at health clinics, nursing homes, and other public places were 158, 208, and 1986, respectively. The mean age of OHCA in health medical clinics, nursing home and other public places were 63.4, 81.5 and 64.7, respectively (P value< 0.001). The proportion of witnessed events, rate of bystander resuscitation, and frequency of AED utilization were the highest for health clinics (53.2% (84/158), 83.4% (132/158), and 13.3% (21/158), respectively, P value< 0.001). The average AED–scene distances and response times were the lowest for health clinics (388.8 m and 5.4 min, respectively). In initial shockable rhythm group, the probabilities of survival to discharge at discharge were the highest for health clinics (aOR=1.41, 95% CI=1.04– 1.81, P value=0.041)) and lowest for nursing homes (aOR=0.84, 95% CI=0.76– 0.93, P value=0.024).Conclusion: Our research shows that OHCA patients at medical health clinics have higher rates of witnessing and bystander CPR and AED usage than other public places. However, while survival rates for patients with shockable rhythms are slightly better at health clinics, the neurological outcomes are not significantly different. The AED–scene distances are too far to be used effectively.Keywords: public access defibrillators, geographic information system, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, automated external defibrillators, emergency medical services

Abstract Background and Aims Multicomponent exercise interventions are recommended for older adults and for those with chronic diseases. While multiple programs have been tested, no one has yet explored how these programs were developed. This review set out to determine what development steps multicomponent exercise intervention studies that include older adults with multimorbidity have taken. Methods Systematic review and narrative synthesis. Results One hundred and thirty‐eight studies meeting review criteria (Population: adults ≥60 years with multimorbidity; Intervention: exercise interventions with ≥2 components; Comparator: any considered; Outcome: any considered) were retrieved. Most studies (70%) do not report intervention development actions as suggested by available guidance. Notable deviations from recommendations include limited performance of systematic review of previously published evidence, lack of engagement with theory, and few examples of design then refine. Conclusions Exercise interventions for older adults with multimorbidity do not appear to follow best practice in terms of their developing. Disregard of development recommendations risks contributing to research redundancy and/or avoidable waste, as important steps that make sure the intervention is warranted, suitable for the population in question, and tested using optimal methods and outcome measures are overlooked.

The discovery that polar order (1) and macroscopic chirality (2) appear spontaneously in fluid smectic liquid crystals (LCs) of achiral bent-core 'bow' or 'banana-shaped' molecules as a result of distinct [...], Any polar-ordered material with a spatially uniform polarization field is internally frustrated: The symmetry-required local preference for polarization is to be nonuniform, i.e., to be locally bouquet-like or 'splayed.' However, it is impossible to achieve splay of a preferred sign everywhere in space unless appropriate defects are introduced into the field. Typically, in materials like ferroelectric crystals or liquid crystals, such defects are not thermally stable, so that the local preference is globally frustrated and the polarization field remains uniform. Here, we report a class of fluid polar smectic liquid crystals in which local splay prevails in the form of periodic supermolecular-scale polarization modulation stripes coupled to layer undulation waves. The polar domains are locally chiral, and organized into patterns of alternating handedness and polarity. The fluid-layer undulations enable an extraordinary menagerie of filament and planar structures that identify such phases.

We explore flexoelectro-optic effect in polymer stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC) with uniform lying helix texture. A method to enlarge the flexoelectric response of the CLC mixture is demonstrated by mixing two nematic liquid crystal host materials with large and small effective flexoelastic coefficients. By a choice of material composition of CLC mixture, a large angle of flexoelectrically driven in-plane rotation of helical axis with a submillisecond response time is obtained. Our findings will be useful for material design of future CLC mixtures for applications in flexoelectro-optic displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal films to form gratings was investigated. Results from dynamical studies of gratings fabricated in polymer-dispersed liquid crystal films with different liquid crystal-polymer mixing ratios showed that a thermal grating effect dominated during the initial stages of formation. The photopolymerization effect eventually replaced the thermal grating effect in dominating and influencing the properties of the final grating.