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The use of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) has markedly increased worldwide; thus, it is important to monitor NPS-related effects. The Taiwan Emergency Department Drug Abuse Surveillance (TEDAS) project aims to assess the patterns of recreational drug use in patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) across the country. Here, we report the preliminary results of this project. This observational study included the collection and analysis of urine samples and assessment of the clinical presentation of patients from 79 EDs across Taiwan. Clinical features were recorded through a questionnaire filled by attending doctors or nurses who collected urine samples for clinical diagnosis. Urine samples were analyzed for 110 drugs and metabolites using electrospray ionization liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Between February and November 2019, a total of 2649 patients were enrolled for urine drug analysis. A total of 675 cases older than 12 years (males, n = 480) had NPS or other illicit drugs detected in their urine samples. Overall, 1271 counts of drugs, among which 717 (56.4%) were NPS. At least one NPS was detected in 340 patients (50.4%), and 292 cases were positive for multiple drugs. The most frequently detected drug was methamphetamine/amphetamine, followed by synthetic cathinones, ketamine and its two analogs, and opioids. The most common drug combination was cathinones plus ketamine and/or its analogs (n = 56). Younger patients (OR = 3.3, p≤.0001) and women (OR = 1.5, p =.01) were more likely to have NPS detected in their urine samples. NPS-positive cases frequently experienced chest pain (OR = 2.6, p =.03), tachycardia (OR = 2.6, p =.0002), and suicide attempt/non-suicidal self-harm (OR = 1.8, p =.004), whereas depressed consciousness (OR = 0.5, p =.001) was less frequent among NPS-positive cases than among other illicit drug-positive cases. The TEDAS project provides a nationwide epidemiological profile of recreational drug use in Taiwan. More than half of the recreational drugs were NPSs, which were comprehensively detected using LC-MS/MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed and psychometrically tested four scales for measuring the perceptions of parental smokers and family members’ influences on smoking behavior in the presence of children in Taiwan. Data were collected from 309 parental smokers with school-aged children. The results of factor analysis revealed two to three factors within each scale, and the reliability was between 0.63 and 0.91, based on Cronbach’s alpha. Our findings provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the scales. The collective application of the scales is comprehensive that may constitute a feasible approach for preventing parental smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Fishery products are one essential component of Taiwanese dietary consumption; however, a variety of sales channels of fishery products has rendered effective marketing a task of challenge. With considerations of the marketing characteristics for two types of market in Taiwan, i.e,. supermarkets and farmers' markets, this research drew up marketing strategies based on the 40 Principles of Invention according to the theory of inventive problem solving. Consumer behaviors in the different markets were analyzed in order to form alternatives of marketing for fishery products. Recommendations for supermarkets are (1) to understand consumers' needs through surveys; (2) selling supplementary products at the same location; (3) collecting and responding consumers' feedback. Three marketing strategies for farmers' market are suggested as: (1) implementing a reform of the products; (2) chatting with consumers; (3) providing information about the products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]