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This study explored 1) whether there were any differences in the way medical students used library resources under problem-based learning (PBL) and scenario-based learning (SBL) curricula; and 2) what improvements the library could make to facilitate its use by medical students using the different curricula. Twenty medical students selected from two different medical universities in different countries were interviewed in depth. The study found that a) PBL and SBL students used the library significantly differently; b) SBL students presented a wider range of demands and behaviors in seeking information; c) more PBL students preferred using solely electronic resources to solve PBL problems; and d) more SBL students preferred using textbooks in their study and to solve the problems. It is concluded that the characteristics of the two learning approaches affect the medical students in their uses of library resources. The library staff must interact differently with students depending on the curriculum they are following. The study suggests several directions ("SHELTER") to the library and recommends it to provide service targeting students' needs after exploring the following three dimensions of the curriculum: students' perceptions of the library's collection related to the curriculum, course requirements for gathering information, and the librarian's role in the curriculum. When new reforms are initiated it is necessary for the library to undertake a comprehensive review and to gain understanding of the curriculum at the outset. (Contains 1 figure.)

The study explored whether the growth of food-delivery services has affected motorcycle accident patterns. When riders check their phones for directions and orders, safety risks rise. The study conducted analysis on the spatial pattern of motorcycle accidents. Separate models for food delivery and non-food delivery motorcycle accidents (FDMAs vs. NFDMAs) were built to detect differences, and the relative importance of spatial features particular to FDMAs is discussed. Trends in motorcycle accidents in Taiwan changed from 2012 to 2019. The cross-sectional analysis revealed that hotel and restaurant density along with FDMAs reported in the previous year can predict the number of FDMAs; whereas the number of NFDMAs can be determined by population density and the number of 3-legged intersections. The spatial analysis of motorcycle accidents help increase couriers' risk awareness in specific workplaces, provide insurance companies with a benchmark for regional pricing differentiation, and offer support for distracted riding regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses a capacitated vehicle routing problem with time windows and simultaneous pickup and delivery (VRPTWPD) for scheduling bus-type taxis formerly served by regular buses. The effects of varying the maximum number of passenger seats on service quality and costs are investigated. Taiwan's government has subsidized public transport in order to ensure consistency between service shifts and demands, improve the efficiency of public transport operations, and maintain an ongoing supply of services while reducing the number of scooters and/or private cars on roads to minimize traffic congestion. Ultimately, the intent is to reduce government subsidies further and maintain service quality at reasonable levels. Transit planners have also introduced the Demand Responsive Transit System (DRTS) to connect routes. Particularity in rural areas, local transit planners have replaced buses with taxis to form a bus-type taxi service that increases efficiency. As a consequence, the transit service in low-density or rural areas has not been abandoned. The study acknowledges that optimal routes for successful bus-type taxis services vary by area. Routing and scheduling results will assist route planners' efforts to provide sufficient transit services in rural areas. The study results also suggest that further reductions in government subsidies are possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to demonstrate that the high-density 7-Eleven c-stores in Taiwan benefit from economies of scale in distribution and can, therefore, leverage the logistics costs; and to decide the proper locations for the future inauguration of c-stores. Design/methodology/approach: The study spatially analysed the c-stores located in Tainan, Taiwan and examines the influence of spatial configuration on c-store revenue. This study developed models to quantify the revenue and logistics costs that the 7-Eleven convenience store (c-store) chain encountered when adopting a high-density expansion strategy. The revenue models' parameters were calibrated utilizing data collected from financial statements in 7-Eleven chains' 2015 corporate annual reports and modelling was used to quantify the influence of agglomeration forces and the distance separating c-stores on revenue. Findings: Positive agglomeration forces increased 7-Eleven's company-wide sales and the average daily revenue of its individual c-stores, and decreased those of competitors. The study findings demonstrate the high-density 7-Eleven c-stores in Tainan benefit from economies of scale in distribution and can, therefore, leverage their logistics costs. The spatial analysis concluded that higher-density and higher-revenue c-stores were spatially clustered. Originality/value: The study extends the use of analytical revenue and spatial models to decide the proper locations for the future inauguration of c-stores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study collected the annual revenue data of the top three supermarket chains in Taiwan (PX Mart, Simple Mart, and Wellcome), shopping frequency in supermarkets, and the average expenditure of the general public in order to construct models for simulating supermarket revenue by calibrating model parameters to the actual data. This study employed the competing destinations model (CDM) to designate supermarket shoppers' shopping areas and simulate supermarket sales. The CDM calculated the probability of consumers selecting each supermarket, simulated the total revenues of supermarkets and the average daily revenue of a single store using the expenditure equation, and added spatial competition and agglomeration effect parameters to the model to observe variations in revenue with changing parameter values. The study results revealed profitable expansion opportunities and highly competitive locations not advised for new outlets. Beitou district had the lowest population density in Taipei City yet a high-sales cluster, making it an area suitable for new PX Mart stores. Shilin and Xinyi districts could also be considered suitable areas for new stores because they had insignificant distributions of stores, high-sales clusters, and competition was not yet severe. The study extends the use of analytical revenue and spatial models to empirically study the agglomeration forces between supermarket chains, analyzes the influence of distance variation on supermarket revenues, and determines the most suitable locations for the future inauguration of supermarket stores in Taipei City. • This study collected the annual revenue data of the top three supermarket chains in Taiwan. • The agglomeration forces between supermarket chains were investigated. • This study constructed models for simulating supermarket revenue by calibrating parameters to the actual data. • The study analyzed the influence of distance variation on supermarket revenues. • The study results revealed profitable expansion opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on evaluating the criteria used to select suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables in the supermarket retail chains in Taiwan via direct purchasing. The research sample consisted of procurement managers from supermarket retailers. Interviews with these managers were conducted to produce the first stage expert questionnaire. Following this, the fuzzy Delphi method was adopted to screen the preliminary criteria and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was then used to discover the relative importance of each criterion. Research results revealed the most important supplier selection attributes to be procurement price, product quality, product consistency, and food safety. For suppliers of fresh produce, seeking to develop more collaborative relationships with retailers characterized by mutual advantages and trust need to understand how retailers choose their suppliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon mitigation strategies are an urgent and overdue tourism industry imperative. The tourism response to climate action has been to engage businesses in technology adoption, and to encourage more sustainable visitor behaviour. These strategies however are insufficient to mitigate the soaring carbon footprint of tourism. Building upon the concepts of optimization and eco-efficiency, we put forward a novel carbon mitigation approach, which seeks to pro-actively determine, foster, and develop a long-term tourist market portfolio. This can be achieved through intervening and reconfiguring the demand mix with the fundamental aim of promoting low carbon travel markets. The concept and the analytical framework that quantitatively inform optimization of the desired market mix are presented. Combining the "de-growth" and "optimization" strategies, it is demonstrated that in the case study of Taiwan, great potential exists to reduce emissions and sustain economic yields. The implications for tourism destination managers and wider industry stakeholders are discussed. • Optimizing the demand mix to promote low carbon travellers has a great potential for carbon mitigation. • A methodological and analytical framework is presented to inform optimization of the desired market mix. • Combining the "de-growth" and "optimization" strategies is an efficient approach to reduce CO2 and sustain economic yields. • Destinations are encouraged to pro-actively determine, foster, and develop a long-term tourist market portfolio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study ranked the significant threats and human errors affecting aviation safety. Two-phase questionnaires were used to elicit experts'' views on four categories of human errors and threats comprising twenty-three criteria. The analytical hierarchy process was used to calculate the weight for each criteria which were then ranked in order of importance. The study indicated that flight crew errors are the most important threats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Patients with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma than the general population. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) might be beneficial for patients with type 2 diabetes. We investigated whether TCM use was associated with a reduced risk of respiratory hospitalizations in patients with type 2 diabetes. Conducting a retrospective cohort study, we used data retrieved from the NDCMP database. Among 56,035 patients, 5226 were classified as TCM users; 50,809 were classified as TCM nonusers. Both groups were analyzed until the end of 2011 to examine the incidence of respiratory hospitalizations by using a Cox proportional hazards model to evaluate effects of TCM use on respiratory hospitalizations. During the 6-year study follow-up period, the incidence density rates of COPD- and asthma-related hospitalization were estimated to be 13.03 and 4.47 per 10,000 patient-years for TCM nonusers and 10.08 and 3.28 per 10,000 patient-years for TCM users, respectively. The HR of COPD-related hospitalization in TCM users was 0.88 (95% CI = 0.79-0.99); and the HR of asthma-related hospitalization in TCM users was 0.81 (95% CI = 0.66-1.00). Stratified analyses revealed that effects of TCM use were stronger among individuals who had diabetes for <3 years. As a part of Integrative Medicine, our study results demonstrate that TCM use was associated with a significant reduced risk of respiratory hospitalizations, especially in patients with diabetes for <3 years., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Purpose: To report an outbreak of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis resulting from a swimming pool in Taiwan., Design: Retrospective case series., Methods: The records of 13 teenagers (15 eyes) contracting microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis after swimming in a local swimming pool were reviewed. Corneal scrapings were collected in all eyes at a tertiary referred hospital in June 2017. Gram stain, modified Kinyoun acid-fast stain, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and gene analysis of the microsporidian 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) were examined in all 15 cases., Results: Symptoms occurred 1-12 days after the water contact. At presentation, all eyes showed nonpurulent conjunctivitis and small, plaque-like epithelial lesions peripherally (n = 6), centrally (n = 3), both peripherally and centrally (n = 5), or centrally with superficial punctate keratopathy (n = 1). During the follow-up period, 10 eyes developed central superficial punctate keratopathy (n = 6) or subepithelial haze or infiltrates, which were distributed centrally (n = 2) or peripherally (n = 3), following development of plaque-like epithelial lesions. The results of Gram stain and modified Kinyoun's acid-fast stain were confirmatory in 10 cases (67%). All 15 cases yielded positive PCR results and were all identified to be Vittaforma corneae. All followed-up eyes healed without sequelae using topical levofloxacin and betamethasone eye drops., Conclusions: Microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis can develop from contact with swimming pool water. The clinical course initially manifested as rapidly resolving conjunctivitis and peripheral plaque-like epithelial lesions, followed by paracentral or central plaque-like epithelial lesions, which evolved into subepithelial haze or infiltrates., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study is to estimate the incidence of the gastrointestinal stromal tumor after the previous diagnoses were confirmed and/or revised by both immunohistochemical and mutational analyses. We reviewed 17,858 surgically excised gastrointestinal lesions in our hospital from 1998 to 2004. All mesenchymal tumors were examined for CD117 expression by immunohistochemistry, and every CD117-negative mesenchymal tumors were further subjected to mutational analysis for KIT and PDGFRA exons. The results showed that approximately 35% of gastrointestinal stromal tumors were misdiagnosed if immunohistochemical analysis of CD117 expression was not performed; and approximately 15% misdiagnosed if mutation analysis was not available. Because approximately 4.72% of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies in Taiwan were treated in our hospital and the average of newly diagnosed gastrointestinal stromal tumors in our hospital was 14.33 cases per year, the estimated annual incidents of gastrointestinal stromal tumor in Taiwan were 303.60. Therefore, the annual incidence of gastrointestinal stromal tumor is 13.74 per million Taiwanese.