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The presence of the field border (FB), such as roadways or unplanted areas, between two fields is common in Asian farming system. This study evaluated the effect of the FB on the cross-pollination (CP) and predicted the CP rate in the field considering and not considering FB. Three experiments including 0, 6.75, and 7.5 m width of the FB respectively were conducted to investigate the effect of distance and the FB on the CP rate. The dispersal models combined kernel and observation model by calculating the parameter of observation model from the output of kernel. These models were employed to predict the CP rate at different distances. The Bayesian method was used to estimate parameters and provided a good prediction with uncertainty. The highest average CP rates in the field with and without FB were 74.29% and 36.12%, respectively. It was found that two dispersal models with the FB effect displayed a higher ability to predict average CP rates. The correlation coefficients between actual CP rates and CP rates predicted by the dispersal model combined zero-inflated Poisson observation model with compound exponential kernel and modified Cauchy kernel were 0.834 and 0.833, respectively. Furthermore, the predictive uncertainty was reducing using the dispersal models with the FB effect.

Debates regarding the most beneficial medical or surgical procedures for patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) are still ongoing. We aimed to evaluate the risk of subsequent vascular disease and mortality in patients with sICH treated with and without surgical intervention, in a large-scale Asian population. Patients hospitalized within 2000 to 2013 who were newly diagnosed with sICH were identified using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. Neuroendoscopy and craniotomy groups comprised patients who underwent surgical treatment within 1 week, while those in the control group did not undergo early surgical treatment. Outcomes included subsequent hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke, following acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and mortality. After propensity score matching, there were 663 patients in each group. Compared to that in the control group, the neuroendoscopy and craniotomy groups had a significantly higher risk of secondary vascular events at 1 to 3 months of follow-up (adjusted HR, 2.08 and 1.95; 95% CI, 1.21–3.58 and 1.13–3.35; p

Background The cropping area of genetically modified (GM) crops has constantly increased since 1996. However, currently, cultivating GM crops is associated with many concerns. Transgenes are transferred to non-GM crops through pollen-mediated gene flow, which causes environmental problems such as superweeds and introgressive hybridization. Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), which has many GM varieties, is one of the most crucial oil crops in the world. Hybridization between Brassica species occurs spontaneously. B. rapa grows in fields as a weed and is cultivated as a crop for various purposes. Both B. rapa weeds and crops participate in gene flow among rapeseed. Therefore, gene flow risk and the coexistence of these two species should be studied. Results In this study, field experiments were conducted at two sites for 4 years to evaluate gene flow risk. In addition, zero-inflated models were used to address the problem of excess zero values and data overdispersion. The difference in the number of cross-pollination (CP) events was nonsignificant between upwind and downwind plots. The CP rate decreased as the distance increased. The average CP rates at distances of 0.35 and 12.95 m were 2.78% and 0.028%, respectively. In our results, zero-inflated negative binomial models were comprehensively superior to zero-inflated Poisson models. The models predicted isolation distances of approximately 1.36 and 0.43 m for the 0.9% and 3% threshold labeling levels, respectively. Conclusions Cultivating GM crops is prohibited in Taiwan; however, the study results can provide a reference for the assessment of gene flow risk and the coexistence of these two species in Asian countries establishing policies for GM crops.

Background Aspirin has been found to lower the occurrence rates of some cancers through the inhibition of the cyclooxygenase enzyme. For example, there is a well-known association between aspirin use and the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers. However, the association, if any, between aspirin use and HCC in hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers is unknown. Therefore, this study compared the occurrence rates of HCC in HCV carriers treated with or without aspirin. Methods The participants in this retrospective cohort study consisted of people newly diagnosed with HCV in Taiwan from 2000 to 2012. Those who were treated with aspirin were defined as the control group, whereas those not treated with aspirin were defined as the comparison cohort. We used a 1:1 propensity score matching by age, sex, comorbidities, drugs, diagnosis year, and index year with covariate assessment. Results Our study sample consisted of 2980 aspirin-treated HCV carriers and 7771 non-aspirin-treated HCV carriers. After propensity score matching, each cohort consisted of 1911 HCV carriers. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of HCC incidence in the aspirin users (aHR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.43–0.72, p ) was significantly lower than that in the non-aspirin users. A Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that among the HCV carriers, the aspirin users had a lower cumulative incidence rate of HCC over the first 10 years of aspirin treatment (p ). Conclusions The HCC incidence rate was lower in the aspirin-using HCV carriers than in the non- aspirin-using HCV carriers, indicating that the effects of aspirin might occur through inhibition of the cyclooxygenase enzyme pathway. Moreover, protection from HCC was provided by less than a year of aspirin treatment, while treatment with aspirin for 1 to 2 years exhibited the greatest protective effect. We therefore encourage aspirin treatment to prevent HCC in HCV carriers.