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Background: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have replaced vitamin K antagonists as the standard of care for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, DOAC prescriptions at dosages that do not adhere to labeling are common in daily practice. This analysis from the observational Global Edoxaban Treatment in routiNe clinical prActice (ETNA)-AF program focuses on edoxaban-treated patients from South Korea and Taiwan to identify patient baseline characteristics that may be associated with non-recommended dosing. Methods: We report baseline data from ETNA-AF, including patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and bleeding/stroke history of patients receiving recommended or non-recommended edoxaban dosing. Results: A total of 2677 patients were enrolled. Among 1543 patients who did not meet dose-reduction criteria, 1033 (66.9%) were prescribed the recommended 60-mg dose, and 510 (33.1%) were prescribed the non-recommended 30-mg dose. Among 1134 patients meeting ≥1 of the dose-reduction criteria, 863 (76.1%) were prescribed the recommended 30-mg dose; 271 (23.9%) were prescribed the nonrecommended 60-mg dose. Compared with the recommended 60-mg group, the nonrecommended 30-mg group had a higher proportion of patients aged ≥75 years, higher stroke and bleeding risks, and a history of major bleeding. The non-recommended 60-mg group had a lower proportion of patients aged ≥75 years, a higher history of stroke, and lower history of bleeding compared with the recommended 30-mg group. Conclusion: The baseline data from ETNA-AF indicate that physicians take patient clinical characteristics (e.g., bleeding risks) into consideration when deviating from the dosing recommendation per label. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrant entrepreneurship prompts a series of fascinating research questions on the nature, culture, and interconnectedness of migrant situations within host settlements. The rise of migrant entrepreneurship is the outcome of the integration of these cultural-structural elements in order to mobilize resources to fulfill the demands of entrepreneurship and to obtain competitive advantages in business. This paper describes how the symbiotic relations between migrants and their socio-cultural conditions shape the patterns of Indonesian entrepreneurship in Taiwan. In practice, Indonesian migrant entrepreneurship in Taiwan involves entrepreneurs applying local values or customs in the host society and then (re) produce them in their business activities, expecting profit from customers without losing the social cohesion of their business operations. Two interactive model apply in this practice: first accommodate the basic social and economic needs of migrant workers and develop social cohesion among them; second, entrepreneurs engage in mutual relationships in their developing social networks in Taiwan. Indonesian migrant entrepreneurships are not independent economic business operations; rather, they are strongly linked to the social and cultural conditions of migrants. Entrepreneurs often play the role of "friends" in need, acting as a third-party resource to migrants so they can find help and selfactualization, as well as acting as patrons and brokers to migrants in trouble. The data on which this paper is based was collected in Taiwan from June to December 2014 using participation observation and in-depth interviews as the basic research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edoxaban is approved for stroke prevention in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) patients in numerous countries. Outcome data are sparse on edoxaban treatment in AF patients from routine clinical practice, especially in Asian patients. Global ETNA (Edoxaban in rouTine cliNical prActice) is a noninterventional study that integrates data from patients from multiple regional registries into one database. Here, we report the 1-year clinical events from AF patients receiving edoxaban in South Korea and Taiwan. Clinical events assessed included bleeding, strokes, systemic embolic events, transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), and all-cause and cardiovascular death. Overall, 2677 patients (mean (range) age 72 (66–78) years, male 59.7%, mean CHA2DS2-VASc score ± standard deviation 3.1 ± 1.4) were treated with 60 or 30 mg edoxaban and had 1-year follow-up data. The annualized event rates for major bleeding and clinically relevant non-major (CRNM) bleeding were 0.78% and 0.47%, respectively. Annualized event rates for ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke were 0.90% and 0.19%, respectively. Event rates for major and CRNM bleeding and rates of ischemic stroke and TIA were higher in Taiwanese patients than in Korean patients. Event rates were low and similar to those found in other studies of edoxaban in Korean and Taiwanese AF patients, thus supporting the safety and effectiveness of edoxaban in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEO), alkylphenols combined with ethylene oxide, are a class of nonionic surfactants. APEO have been widely used for industrial, agricultural and household applications, and are biodegraded to more persistent and estrogen-active products, namely, nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), butylphenol (BP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO) and nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO). This study determined NP levels in commonly consumed foodstuffs to assess daily intake of NP in a Taiwanese population. This study analyzes 318 of samples from 25 types of commonly consumed foodstuffs in northern, central, southern and eastern regions of Taiwan and estimates daily intake of NP in 466 subjects. Moreover, daily NP intake for 3915 additional subjects was estimated by analyzing data from the Nutrition and health survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT). The foodstuff samples were analyzed for five alkylphenol compounds simultaneously by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Additionally, the average compositions of typical foods consumed in Taiwan were investigated. In combination with alkylphenol levels in these foodstuffs, daily intake of NP in Taiwanese was calculated. The average daily intake of NP for the 466 subjects was 28.04±25.32 μg/day. Estimated daily intake of NP, based on NP levels in this study as well as the NAHSIT data, was 31.40 μg/day. Rice was the most commonly consumed source of NP, the proportion was 21.46% among daily intake of NP and the following were aquatic products and livestock, which percentage were 17.97% and 17.38%, respectively. Additionally, oysters had the highest NP levels (235.8±90.7 ng/g) in four regions of Taiwan, followed by salmon (123.8±116.2 ng/g). This study suggested that the average daily NP intake in Taiwan is 4-fold and 8.5-fold higher than daily intake in Germany and New Zealand, respectively and rice was the major source of NP intake. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]