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Taiwan confronted the challenge of transitional justice when it underwent democratic transitions in the late 1980s. This article examines Taiwan's undertaking of transitional justice, the impacts of contextual dynamics on such undertaking, and the extent to which civic engagement and the incorporation of international human rights norms have facilitated transitional justice initiatives. The article argues that Taiwan's negotiation-based transition and authoritarian legacy have substantially shaped the limited development of transitional justice at the early stage of democratisation. Influenced by civic engagement and the domestic implementation of international human rights instruments, new transitional justice mechanisms have been initiated in recent years. These bottom-up mechanisms are examined and highlighted to offer insights for advancing transitional justice and democratic consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of illiberal constitutions has recently generated enormous scholarly interests. Few, however, have focused on whether democracies may still embrace constitutionalism mixed with illiberal elements. This article explores mixed constitutions of South Korea and Taiwan, the two democracies with vibrant civil societies in East Asia. Three distinctive features in both constitutions have demonstrated illiberal elements, including duty clauses imposed upon citizens, directives requiring the State to enact laws to fulfill the goals of governance, and constitutional cultures that exhibit high deference to political elites based on the Confucian tradition. This article further examines the impacts of such mixed constitutions on three challenging issues: managing pandemic crisis, applying artificial intelligence, and combating fake news. This article finds mixed features of illiberal and democratic constitutions in the two countries by giving their governments more space in managing urgent crises, showing higher deference to experts who are generally trusted by the public, and making compromises to individual rights for greater public good. However, this does not imply that the government is not made democratically accountable, or rights and freedoms are not asserted or valued by individuals. To the contrary, nongovernmental organizations and courts in the two countries continue to act as a counterbalancing force, challenging the government's policies and decisions if not reasonably balanced, weakening the tendency of power concentration that has been seen in other countries where democratic backsliding or authoritarian governance is gradually revived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In tuberculosis (TB) endemic areas, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an important but easily misdiagnosed pathogen in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, the occurrence of concomitant pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in hospitalized healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) has never been investigated. Methods and Findings: Seven hundred and one hospitalized HCAP and 934 hospitalized CAP patients from six medical centers in Taiwan were included in this nationwide retrospective study. Concomitant PTB was defined as active PTB diagnosed within 60 days of admission due to HCAP or CAP. The predictors for concomitant PTB and the impact of PTB on the outcomes of pneumonia were investigated. Among the enrolled subjects, 21/701 (3%) of the HCAP patients and 25/934 (2.7%) of the CAP patients were documented to have concomitant PTB. In multivariate analysis, a history of previous anti-TB treatment (OR = 5.84, 95% CI: 2.29-20.37 in HCAP; OR = 3.33, 95% CI: 1.09-10.22 in CAP) and escalated pneumonia severity index (PSI) scores (OR = 1.014, 95% CI: 1.002-1.026, in HCAP; OR = 1.013, 95% CI: 1.001-1.026, in CAP) were independent predictors for concomitant PTB in both CAP and HCAP patients. Regarding treatment outcomes, HCAP patients with concomitant PTB were associated with more acute respiratory failure within 48 hours of admission (47.6% vs. 22.6%, p = 0.008), higher intensive care unit admission rate (61.9% vs. 35.7%, p = 0.014), longer hospitalization (39.6±34.1 vs. 23.7±27 days, p = 0.009), and higher in-hospital mortality (47.6% vs. 26.3%, p = 0.03) than those without concomitant PTB. Exposure to certain groups of antibiotics for the treatment of pneumonia was not associated with the occurrence of concomitant PTB. Conclusions: In HCAP patients, the occurrence of concomitant PTB is comparable with that in CAP patients and associated with higher PSI scores, more acute respiratory failure, and higher in-hospital mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Double-triggering (DT) is a frequent type of patient-ventilator asynchrony and has potentially severe consequences, such as alveolar overdistention or the generation of intrinsic PEEP. However, the first breath of DT could be patient-triggered (DT-P), auto-triggered (DT-A), or ventilator-triggered (DT-V). OBJECTIVE: To differentiate DT-P, DT-A, and DT-V using airway pressure or flow changes during the trigger-delay phase in ventilated patients. METHODS: Fourteen mechanically ventilated patients with DT were included. All patients were on flow-triggered ventilation modes and received either continuous mandatory ventilation or pressure support ventilation. Breaths in which the first breath was associated with an esophageal pressure drop of > 1 cmH2O were categorized as DT-P. Breaths in which the first breath occurred at the ventilator set cycle were categorized as DT-V. Breaths in which the first breath occurred earlier than the ventilator set cycle without esophageal pressure drop were categorized as DT-A. The pressure drop and flow change at 0.13 s (PD0.13 and F0.13, respectively) in the trigger-delay phase were calculated from the nadir. RESULTS: There were 507 double-triggered breaths: 271 DT-V (53%), 50 DT-A (10%), and 186 DT-P (37%). The PD0.13 for DT-V, DT-A, and DT-P were 0.16 0.12 cm H2O, 0.25 0.17 cm H2O, and 1.34 0.67 cm H2O, respectively. The F0.13 for DT-V, DT-A, and DT-P were 2.11 2.31 L/min, 2.64 2.07 L/min, and 16.51 8.02 L/min, respectively. The best discriminatory criteria for differentiating DT-P from DT-V and DT-A, based on the Youden index (sensitivity specificity - 1) was PD0.13 > 0.49 cm H2O, which had a Youden index of 95%. CONCLUSION: DT-P can be distinguished from DT-V and DT-A by using airway pressure deflections in the trigger-delay phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Sensitization to an aeroallergen is known to diminish pulmonary function in young children and adults; however, it remains unclear whether it produces similar effects in adolescents. This study, therefore, examined the relationship between serum allergen-specific IgE levels and pulmonary function in adolescents. Design: Middle-school children were invited for a physician's evaluation and pulmonary function test when not experiencing an asthma attack and for the determination of serum levels of specific IgE to common allergens. Setting: National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Taiwan. Subjects: Middle-school children in southern Taiwan, who had completed both a nationally administered Chinese version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire and a pulmonary function test in October 1996. Results: Forty-two then currently asthmatic children, 38 children with asthma in remission (no reported attack for > 12 months), and 69 children without asthma completed the study. Children with asthma had a significantly lower adjusted forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of FVC (FEF[sub 25-75%]) and FEV[sub 1]/FVC than children without asthma. A greater percentage of children with asthma were more sensitized to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p), Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f), and German cockroach but not eat dander or dog dander. Children with asthma with Der f-specific IgE > 100 IU/mL, or cockroach-specific IgE > 0.7 IU/mL showed lower pulmonary function. No such association was found in children without asthma. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that sensitization to Der f and German cockroach was a critical factor for the lower pulmonary function observed in middle-school children with asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]