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In response to the growing demand for high-resolution rainfall data to support disaster prevention in Taiwan, this study presents an innovative approach for downscaling precipitation data. We employed a hierarchical architecture of Multi-Scale Residual Networks (MSRN) to downscale rainfall from a coarse 0.25-degree resolution to a fine 0.0125-degree resolution, representing a substantial challenge due to a resolution increase of over 20 times. Our results demonstrate that the hierarchical MSRN outperforms both the one-step MSRN and linear interpolation methods when reconstructing high-resolution daily rainfall. It surpasses the linear interpolation method by 15.1 and 9.1% in terms of mean absolute error and root mean square error, respectively. Furthermore, the hierarchical MSRN excels in accurately reproducing high-resolution rainfall for various rainfall thresholds, displaying minimal biases. The threat score (TS) highlights the hierarchical MSRN's capability to replicate extreme rainfall events, achieving TS scores exceeding 0.54 and 0.46 at rainfall thresholds of 350 and 500 mm per day, outperforming alternative methods. This method is also applied to an operational global model, the ECMWF's daily rainfall forecasts over Taiwan. The evaluation results indicate that our approach is effective at improving rainfall forecasts for thresholds greater than 100 mm per day, with more significant improvement for the 1- to 3-day lead forecast. This approach also offers a realistic visual representation of fine-grained rainfall distribution, showing promise for making significant contributions to disaster preparedness and weather forecasting in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common life-threatening condition in critically ill patients. Itis also an important public health issue because it can cause substantial mortality and health care burden worldwide. The objective of this study was to investigate therisk factors that impact ARDS mortality in a medical center in Taiwan. Methods: This was a single center, observational study thatretrospectively analyzed data from adults in 6 intensive care units (ICUs) at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan from 1st October, 2018to30th September, 2019. Patients needing invasive mechanical ventilation and meeting the Berlin definition criteria were included for analysis. Results: A total of 1,778 subjects were screened in 6 adult ICUs and 370 patients fulfilled the criteria of ARDS in the first 24 hours of the ICU admission. Among these patients, the prevalenceof ARDS was 20.8% and the overall hospital mortality rate was 42.2%. The mortality rates of mild, moderate and severe ARDS were 35.9%, 43.9% and 46.5%, respectively. In a multivariate logistic regression model, combination of driving pressure (DP) > 14cmH2O and oxygenation (P/F ratio)≤150 was an independent predictor of mortality (OR2.497, 95% CI 1.201–5.191, p = 0.014). Patients with worse oxygenation and a higher driving pressure had the highest hospital mortality rate(p<0.0001). Conclusions: ARDS is common in ICUs and the mortality rate remains high. Combining oxygenation and respiratory mechanics may better predict the outcomes of these ARDS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mango (Mangifera indica) is a widely enjoyed tropical fruit that is rich in numerous nutrients, but it is also a common allergenic fruit that can induce anaphylactic shock in some mango-sensitized individuals. To protect allergic consumers, a TaqMan real-time PCR is developed herein by targeting the major mango allergen GAPDH gene to identify mango in foods. To prevent interference by other ingredients in the foods, an internal amplification control (IAC) is established and incorporated into the developed qPCR. Under the optimized assay conditions, the developed assay can detect mango genomic DNA down to 10 pg/μL and effectively differentiate mango from 21 other fruits and vegetables. In the incurred assay, the developed qPCR has a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 μg/g and 330 μg/g of mango powder in juice and cookie, respectively. The assay exhibits a board spectrum, successfully detecting six mango cultivars, and has good accuracy and precision as calculated intra- and inter-assay CV values < 10%. Forty commercial processed foods were simultaneously analyzed using the developed method and a qPCR method that is officially recognized by the Taiwan FDA. The sensitivity and specificity of this assay were estimated to be 85% and 100%, respectively, based on the ingredient labeling of these products. Hence, this developed qPCR is an effective method for screening mango in processed foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Restorative Justice," firstly a research concept and later a criminal justice practice, was introduced into Taiwan at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This paper reviews how RJ grounded in the Taiwanese district prosecutors' offices and gradually grows into a grassroots social movement. We propose that the RJ advancement benefits from open-minded policymakers, dedicated academics, and innovative facilitators. The facilitators trained from 2011 to 2012 became key players to spread the RJ practices to other criminal justice sectors and beyond. In addition, the third wave of judicial reform further enabled the embedding of the RJ procedure in the Juvenile Justice Act, the Code of Criminal Justice Procedure, the Prison Act, and the Detention Act. We compare the discourse of RJ advocacy in the east and the west and address the importance of cultural sensitivity, terminology translation, and the meaning of localized practice. In conclusion, we reflect on the existing evaluation reports of the Taiwanese RJ model and provide recommendations for future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friendship networks are relevant to adolescent weight status and lifestyle, but little is known about their relationship in an East Asian setting. Using a longitudinal cohort of Taiwanese adolescents, we studied how weight status and lifestyles might influence friendship. Simultaneously considering the influence of friendship networks, we further examined the effects of peers' lifestyles on the body weight status of adolescents. Data were retrieved from the first three waves of the Taiwan Youth Project (N = 2409; 51 % boys). Participants were asked to nominate their friends at school and to report their lifestyle factors (e.g. sleep habits, internet use, and athletic performance). Weight status was proxied by body mass index calculated from self-reported weight and height. Stochastic actor-based modeling was used for the friendship network analyses. Considering network structure, adolescents selected friends based on similarities in weight status (β = 0.147 [standard error = 0.044], p < 0.001) and lifestyle factors, such as athletic performance (β = 0.181 [0.034], p < 0.001), internet use (β = 0.156 [0.039], p < 0.001), and social jetlag (β = 0.055 [ ± 0.022], p < 0.05). In the behavior dynamics model, we did not observe any peer influence on changes in adolescents' weight status. These findings suggest a pervasive homophilic friendship selection explained by weight and lifestyle-based similarities, despite no evidence of peer influence on weight status. Stakeholders and care providers of adolescent health should be aware of the social network processes that underlie weight problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asset-based youth development has been proposed to be associated with health behaviors and psychological well-being in adolescents. This study aims to extend the current knowledge regarding the effects of positive youth development on weight status and psychosocial health outcomes in young adulthood using a large representative longitudinal sample. Data were retrieved from the Taiwan Youth Project that comprised a longitudinal cohort of adolescents (N = 2688) surveyed at grades 7, 8, 9, and 12, and at age 22. Principal component analysis was used to construct developmental asset scores based on 35 items selected from the relevant questions at wave 1. Outcomes were standardized scores of body mass index, self-rated healthiness and happiness, depressive symptomology and deviant behaviors in the subsequent waves. Generalized estimating equation analysis was applied to assess the impact of developmental assets on these repeatedly measured outcome variables. As compared to those with the highest quintile level of developmental assets, individuals with the lowest quintile level were more likely to rate themselves unhealthy (β = 0.33 [95% confidence interval 0.26, 0.40]) and unhappy (β = 0.47 [0.41, 0.54]) and report more depressive symptomatology (β = 4.18 [3.35, 5.01]) and deviant behaviors (β = 0.63 [0.44, 0.81]). No association was found between body mass index and developmental asset scores. The results concluded a longitudinal association between adolescent developmental assets and psychological and behavioral health outcomes. Further research may be required to investigate whether positive youth development could be translated into long-term benefits in adult physical conditions, such as obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to propose a strategy to optimize the performance of the Support Vector Machine (SVM) scheme for extreme Meiyu rainfall prediction over southern Taiwan. Variables derived from Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) dataset are the candidates for predictor selection. A series of experiments with different combinations of predictors and domains are designed to obtain the optimal strategy for constructing the SVM scheme. The results reveal that the accuracy (ACC), positive predictive values (PPV), probability of detection (POD), and F1-score can exceed 0.6 on average. Choosing the predictors associated with the Meiyu system and determine the domain associated with the correlations between selected predictors and predictand can improve the forecast performance. Our strategy shows the potential to predict extreme Meiyu rainfall in southern Taiwan with lead times from 16 h to 64 h. The F1-score analysis further demonstrates that the forecast performance of our scheme is stable, with slight inter-annual fluctuations from 1990 to 2019. Higher performance would be expected when the north of the South China Sea is characterized by stronger southwesterly flow and abundant low-level moisture for a given year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operational monsoon moisture surveillance and severe weather prediction is essential for timely water resource management and disaster risk reduction. For these purposes, this study suggests a moisture indicator using the COSMIC-2/FORMOSAT-7 radio occultation (RO) observations and evaluates numerical model experiments with RO data assimilation. The RO data quality is validated by a comparison between sampled RO profiles and nearby radiosonde profiles around Taiwan prior to the experiments. The suggested moisture indicator accurately monitors daily moisture variations in the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal throughout the 2020 monsoon rainy season. For the numerical model experiments, the statistics of 152 moisture and rainfall forecasts for the 2020 Meiyu season in Taiwan show a neutral to slightly positive impact brought by RO data assimilation. A forecast sample with the most significant improvement reveals that both thermodynamic and dynamic fields are appropriately adjusted by model integration posterior to data assimilation. The statistics of 17 track forecasts for typhoon Hagupit (2020) also show the positive effect of RO data assimilation. A forecast sample reveals that the member with RO data assimilation simulates better typhoon structure and intensity than the member without, and the effect can be larger and faster via multi-cycle RO data assimilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) is used to simulate the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) over the 2011–2020 winter. The 45 day hindcasts are made with 30 km horizontal resolution and constructed to a time-lagged ensemble system. The climatology, the major modes of EAWM variability, and the blocking activities are examined. The evaluation results reveal that MPAS can simulate the climatologic characteristics of EAWM reasonably, with a surface cold bias of 4% and a positive rainfall bias of 9% over East Asia. MPAS can perform skillfully in the forecasts of surface temperature probability of East Asia and is more reliable in detecting below normal and above normal events. The features that influence the EAWM variability are also analyzed. MPAS simulates reasonably in the occurrence frequency of blocking high in both locations and duration time. The empirical orthogonal function analysis also shows that MPAS can capture the two major modes of the surface temperature of EAWM. On the other hand, it is also found that a biased sea surface temperature may modify the circulations over the Western Pacific and affect the simulated occurrence frequency of cold events near Taiwan during winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategies of the extrapolation adjusted by model prediction (ExAMP) blending scheme, which trusts the field pattern predicted by extrapolation and allows the field intensity to be adjusted by numerical weather prediction (NWP), for rainfall nowcasting are analyzed in this study. The McGill algorithm for precipitation nowcasting by Lagrangian extrapolation (MAPLE) and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model serve as the extrapolation and NWP models, respectively. Seven 150-min rainfall nowcasting experiments with different strategies are carried out for 37 sampled periods from seven heavy rainfall events in Taiwan in 2019. The results of the overall statistics indicate that, for the extrapolation component, extrapolating the current rainfall rate estimated from the lowest dual-polarimetric radar observations is a superior strategy. The ExAMP scheme that blends the MAPLE and WRF forecasts can surpass both components in 150-min rainfall nowcasting, and an empirical limitation on the innovation of intensity during the blending procedure is found unnecessary in this study. Moreover, the spatial performance for two contrasting events reveals the ability of ExAMP in grasping the rainfall strengthening and weakening in different areas. The skill statistics separately at rainfall strengthening gauges and weakening gauges further prove the effectiveness of ExAMP even though it is effective in intensity correction instead of pattern correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report obstetric outcomes in pregnant women with previous pelvic ring injury (PRI) and investigate the correlation between residual pelvic deformity and the mode of delivery., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Setting: Single medical centre in Taiwan., Population: Forty-one women with PRI histories from 2000 to 2021 who subsequently underwent pregnancy and delivery., Methods: All patients had complete PRI treatment and radiological follow up for at least 1 year. The demographic data, radiological outcomes after PRI and obstetric outcomes were collected to investigate the potential factors of delivery modes using non-parametric approaches and logistic regression. Caesarean section (CS) rates among different subgroups were reported., Main Outcome Measures: Comparisons of demographic data and radiological outcomes (Matta/Tornetta criteria and Lefaivre criteria) after PRI among patients who had subsequent pregnancy and underwent vaginal deliveries (VD) or CS., Results: There were 14 VD and 27 CS in 41 patients. Nine patients underwent CS because of their PRI history, 12 patients underwent CS for other obstetric indications and 20 underwent trial of labour. Based on the logistic regression model, retained trans-iliosacral implants did not significantly increase the risk of CS (odds ratio [OR] 1.20; 95% CI 0.17-8.38). Higher pelvic asymmetry value by Lefaivre criteria was a potential risk factor for CS after previous PRI (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.043-2.213)., Conclusions: VD is possible after PRI. Retained trans-iliosacral implants do not affect the delivery outcome. Residual pelvic asymmetry after PRI by Lefaivre criteria is a potential risk factor for CS., (© 2023 The Authors. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) have an increased risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. This study aimed to assess the incidence, persistence, and clearance of anogenital HPV infections among MSM and the correlates in a 3-year community cohort study., Methods: From 2015 to 2019, MSM were recruited and followed up at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months in Taiwan. Questionnaires and anogenital swabs were collected at baseline and each follow-up visit. Thirty-seven HPV genotypes were tested and genotyped using the linear array HPV genotyping test. The incidence, persistence, and clearance rates of anogenital HPV infection and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through Poisson regression. Correlates of the incidence and clearance rates were examined using a generalized estimating equations (GEE) model., Results: A total of 201 MSM were retained in the cohort study with a median age of 27 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 24-32) at baseline. The incidence, persistence, and clearance rates of any anal HPV infection among MSM were 43.6 (95% CI: 33.7-55.6), 23.4 (17.7-30.2), and 58.3 (45.1-74.1) per 1,000 person months (pms), respectively. The incidence, persistence, and clearance rates of any penile HPV infection among MSM were 26.8 (20.1-34.9), 13.4 (8.0-20.9), and 51.5 (37.8-68.5) pms, respectively. MSM who did not consistently use a condom in receptive sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.06, 95% CIs: 1.14-3.72) were more likely to acquire any anal HPV infection. Age at recruitment (1.05, 1.01-1.09) was positively associated with any penile HPV incidence. MSM with over one sex partner in receptive anal sex (0.53, 0.30-0.94) were less likely to clear any anal HPV infection. MSM who were unemployed/students (0.55, 0.30-0.98) were less likely to clear any penile HPV infection., Conclusion: High incidence and low clearance of anogenital HPV infection among MSM in the study serve as a reminder that this population needs to be targeted for HPV vaccination. It is essential for MSM to scale up HPV screening and adhere to safe sex., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhou, Tian, Lu, Yu, Li, Zhou, Lin, Strong and Zou.)

Abstract: Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is critical for the Emergency Medical Services System. When compared to other developed countries, Taiwan has lower rate of ROSC in OHCA patients.We conducted a retrospective study of cardiac arrest using The Emergency Medical Service Dispatching Center in Northern Taiwan and The Prehospital Care System of New Taipei City Paramedic Service. Patients suffering from nontraumatic OHCA between August of 2019 to February of 2020 were included. We analyzed the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality parameters such as chest compression interruptions, bystander CPR, shockable rhythm, CPR interruption, chest compression fraction (CCF) average, patient transportation in buildings, and adrenaline injection during CPR. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between potential independent variables and ROSC.In our study, we involved 1265 subjects suffering from nontraumatic OHCA, among which 587 patients met inclusion criteria. We identified that CCF> 0.8, chest compression interruption greater than 3 times, and patient transportation in the building were the most critical factors influencing ROSC. However, patient transportation in a building was identified as a dependent predictor variable (P = .4752).We concluded that CCF > 0.8 and chest compression interruption greater than 3 times were essential factors affecting the CPR ROSC rate. The most significant reason for suboptimal CCF and CPR interruption is patient transportation in a building. Improving the latter point could facilitate high-quality CPR., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)