Search

In recent years, PM2.5 has become a critical factor as an environmental indicator, causing severe air pollution that has negatively impacted nature and human health. This study used hourly data gathered in central Taiwan from 2015 to 2019 and applied spatiotemporal data analysis and wavelet analysis methods to investigate the cross-correlation between PM2.5 and other air pollutants. Furthermore, it explored the correlation differences between adjacent stations after excluding major environmental factors such as climate and terrain. Wavelet coherence shows that PM2.5 and air pollutants mostly have a significant correlation at the half-day and one-day frequencies, while the differences between PM2.5 and PM10 are only particle size; hence, not only is the correlation the most consistent among all air pollutants but also the lag time is the most negligible. Carbon monoxide (CO) is the primary source pollutant of PM2.5 as it is also significantly correlated with PM2.5 at most timescales. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) are related to the generation of secondary aerosols, which are important components of PM2.5; therefore, the consistency of significant correlations improves as the timescale increases and the lag time becomes amplified. The pollution source mechanism of ozone (O3) and PM2.5 is not identical, so the correlation is lower than for other air pollutants; the lag time is also obviously influenced by the season changes that have significant fluctuations. At stations near the ocean such as Xianxi station and Shulu station, PM2.5 and PM10 have a higher correlation in the 24-h frequency, while the SO2 and PM2.5 at Sanyi station and Fengyuan station, which are close to industrial areas, have significant correlations in the 24-h frequency. This study hopes to help better understand the impact mechanisms behind different pollutants, and thus construct a better reference for establishing a complete air pollution prediction model in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Penghu Marine National Park, Taiwan experienced severe coral bleaching in 2020 that may lead to coral mortality. Corals are important animals that enrich marine biodiversity, but several studies have shown that the range of sea surface temperature (SST) corals can survive is narrow, and recovery time can be as long as 10 years. The influences of climate change induced extreme weather should not be underestimated, and it is critical to accurately predict SST variations. In this study, a deep learning model, convolutional long short-term memory (ConvLSTM), which is a newer model suitable for estimating autocorrelated sequences, was built to predict daily SST for the next day, next week, and next two weeks, with the highest achieved 99.22% accuracy and a RMSE values of 0.2579. On the other hand, Penghu was not directly impacted by tropical cyclones in 2020; hence the lack of typhoon-induced SST cooling could be one of the reasons for extensive coral bleaching. The wind intensity, speed, as well as the thickness of ocean mixed layer all affect the variation of SST cooling. The results show that the degree heating weeks (DHWs) near Penghu achieved its highest level in 2020, and according to the analysis of the study, there is a clear association between climate change and coral bleaching risk increase in recent years. Therefore, we applied Random Forest to establish a machine learning model to classify whether a typhoon can trigger significant cooling. Model accuracy achieved 92.90% in the testing set, and empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis contributed the most to the SST cooling pattern among typhoons. This study provides a predictive contribution to global coral conservation for relevant institutions to know the risk beforehand, and they can discuss corresponding strategies and early warnings. • ConvLSTM is used to accurately predict SST and DHW with very high accuracy 99.22%. • SST increasing by 0.024 °C per year around South Penghu Marine National Park. • Coral bleaching risk has increased over the last 15 years with climate change. • We analyzed factors related to coral bleaching, including typhoon characteristics. • Random forest is used to predict the coral bleaching risk with different factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the paucity of scientific evidence, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used for the prevention and treatment of chronic illness, holistic care, and counteracting the adverse effects of conventional therapies. This study aims to determine the prevalence of CAM use and its associated factors among patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) in Taiwan., Methods: This quantitative study was conducted from August 2022 to July 2024 in the HD unit at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. Face-to-face questionnaire-based interviews were held with 154 of 163 eligible patients (response rate, 94.5%) at the bedside during HD. The completed questionnaires were entered into a secure computer database. Data was performed by descriptive analysis, Chi-square, and Fisher tests., Results: More than half of the patients were CAM users (n = 86; 56%), and women was associated with significantly more usage of CAM. Fifty-six CAM users took Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), 52.3% (n = 45) used dietary supplements, and 19.8% (n = 17) used acupuncture. The benefit in the effectiveness of CAM was the main reason for use, the need of CAM to improve the well-being and HD-related complication was high. 32.7% of patients had used CAM based on recommendation from their family and friends. More than one-third (33.7%) of patients did not disclose their use of CAM to their doctors, most of them think it is unnecessary., Conclusions: The use of CAM by patients with maintenance HD was relatively frequent. Of these, most used CHM, of which are shown to the trend into routine HD care is inevitable by high coverage and utilization in Taiwanese national health insurance system. These findings indicate that it is important for health care providers working in dialysis to assess CAM use., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate The study was approved by the Ethics Committee at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (registration number 202200422B0) as well as each research facility. This study was performed in accordance with the tenets set forth in the Declaration of Helsinki. All enrolled patients provided informed written consent prior to participation. Consent for publication Not Applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is frequently used in the general population, yet only limited data are available regarding the prevalence of these medications in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Hence, our study aimed to explore the prevalence and types of CAM in Taiwanese patients with CKD., Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted by face-to-face interview of 275 pre-dialysis patients without dialysis treatment or kidney transplant at an outpatient nephrology clinic in Taiwan from March 2021 to June 2023. The study outcomes were the prevalence of CAM, CAM types, reasons for using CAM, and sources of information about CAM., Results: Overall, 128 patients (46.5%) were using CAM, but no significant differences from non-CAM users in the various CKD stages (p = 0.156) were found. CAM usage was high in the age range of 20-60 years and duration of CKD ≤ 5 years (p < 0.05). The most commonly used type of CAM was nutritional approaches (79.7%), followed by other complementary health approaches (26.6%). The most commonly utilized modalities of CAM were vitamins and minerals (38.3%), and only 27.1% of patients disclosed their CAM use to their physicians. The most common sources of information about CAM were family and friends, cited by 66% of the participants. Health promotion and a proactive attitude were reported by 40% of users as the reasons for using CAM., Conclusions: The present study provides data on the CAM usage among CKD patients and adds to the increasing evidence on CAM use. Because some of these practices have safety concerns, better education from healthcare providers on the risks and benefits of CAM therapy is needed by CKD patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In recent years, PM 2.5 has become a critical factor as an environmental indicator, causing severe air pollution that has negatively impacted nature and human health. This study used hourly data gathered in central Taiwan from 2015 to 2019 and applied spatiotemporal data analysis and wavelet analysis methods to investigate the cross-correlation between PM 2.5 and other air pollutants. Furthermore, it explored the correlation differences between adjacent stations after excluding major environmental factors such as climate and terrain. Wavelet coherence shows that PM 2.5 and air pollutants mostly have a significant correlation at the half-day and one-day frequencies, while the differences between PM 2.5 and PM 10 are only particle size; hence, not only is the correlation the most consistent among all air pollutants but also the lag time is the most negligible. Carbon monoxide (CO) is the primary source pollutant of PM 2.5 as it is also significantly correlated with PM 2.5 at most timescales. Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen oxide (NO x ) are related to the generation of secondary aerosols, which are important components of PM 2.5 ; therefore, the consistency of significant correlations improves as the timescale increases and the lag time becomes amplified. The pollution source mechanism of ozone (O 3 ) and PM 2.5 is not identical, so the correlation is lower than for other air pollutants; the lag time is also obviously influenced by the season changes that have significant fluctuations. At stations near the ocean such as Xianxi station and Shulu station, PM 2.5 and PM 10 have a higher correlation in the 24-h frequency, while the SO 2 and PM 2.5 at Sanyi station and Fengyuan station, which are close to industrial areas, have significant correlations in the 24-h frequency. This study hopes to help better understand the impact mechanisms behind different pollutants, and thus construct a better reference for establishing a complete air pollution prediction model in the future., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The aim of this project was to improve the handling of cases of domestic violence by a local hospital. Through the project, medical personnels may gain an improved understanding of this problem and increase their ability and knowledge in relation to domestic violence. The hope was to provide professional medical services while protecting the personal privacy of the patients who needed to be helped. Our previous observations had led us to note that there was inadequate recognition of domestic violence, inadequate keeping of medical records, no standardized working protocol and an environment that was not sufficiently secure and safe for victims of domestic violence. During the project, several improvements were made, including the setting up of a one-stop service counter, a standard working protocol, a design for a safer environment and advanced training for medical personnel dealing with cases of domestic violence, and the creation of a special form of medical document for domestic violence. The results showed improved understanding of the problem among nursing staff, from an initial 58% to 97%. The satisfaction rate among patients was also elevated, from 55% to 85%. Thus with this project, we hope to help victims of domestic violence to banish their unpleasant memories early on, to obtain proper medical care both physically and psychologically, and finally to benefit from an improved quality of service provided by a local hospital, the professional image of whose nursing stuff has also been enhanced.