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This interview study takes translingual identity as its theoretical framework and a sociocultural linguistic approach as an analytical tool to examine how two Western-educated Taiwanese professors of English writing (Beth and Nita) construct a translingual professional identity. While Beth presented herself as a competent writing instructor beyond the binary of native- and nonnative-English-speaking teachers (NESTs or NNESTs) to help students develop both descriptive grammar and pragmatic knowledge of how to write, Nita saw herself as superior to not only NESTs for her knowledge in second language (L2) writing but also NNESTs for her teaching of fluency over accuracy. These complex negotiations for a translingual identity and professional legitimacy contribute to our understanding of how translingual identity can be used as a lens to understand Western-educated teachers' identity negotiation in the EFL context beyond the confined categories of NEST and NNEST.

The introduction of plant pathogens can quickly reshape disease dynamics in island agro-ecologies, representing a continuous challenge for local crop management strategies. Xanthomonas pathogens causing tomato bacterial spot were probably introduced in Taiwan several decades ago, creating a unique opportunity to study the genetic makeup and adaptive response of this alien population. We examined the phenotypic and genotypic identity of 669 pathogen entries collected across different regions of Taiwan in the last three decades. The analysis detected a major population shift, where X. euvesicatoria and X. vesicatoria races T1 and T2 were replaced by new races of X. perforans. After its introduction, race T4 quickly became dominant in all tomato-growing areas of the island. The genomic analysis of 317 global genomes indicates that the Xanthomonas population in Taiwan has a narrow genetic background, most likely resulting from a small number of colonization events. However, despite the apparent genetic uniformity, X. perforans race T4 shows multiple phenotypic responses in tomato lines. Additionally, an in-depth analysis of effector composition suggests diversification in response to local adaptation. These include unique mutations on avrXv3 which might allow the pathogen to overcome Xv3/Rx4 resistance gene. The findings underscore the dynamic evolution of a pathogen when introduced in a semi-isolated environment and provide insights into the potential management strategies for this important disease of tomato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study aims to explore how the production of language learning materials using spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) affords pre-service teachers multiliteracy development while also attempting to discover their perceptions toward adopting this emerging technology for future language teaching. Data from multiple sources was collected from pre-service English teachers enrolled in a TESOL graduate program in Taiwan, including video-recordings of the participants' presentations on their final SVVR projects and their self-generated VR teaching materials/artifacts, with two one-to-one semi-structured interviews further analyzed based on thematic analysis. The major findings demonstrate that through conducting the SVVR project, participants learned: (1) to compose multimodal lessons; (2) to concretize intangible contexts for learning; and (3) to use space as a mode for teaching and learning. The authors presented insights into affordance of SVVR material production for their multiliteracy development of engaging pre-service English teachers, as well as their perceptions with regard to this SVVR hands-on experience. Moreover, the authors offer recommendations for putting such experience into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Taiwan's society ages, Tribal Cultural Health Stations serve as in situ long-term care centers that are committed to building a long-term care service model for indigenous peoples based on cultural care. The cultural sensitivity, cultural ability, and tribal ability of long-term care planners and professional helpers remains insufficient, making it difficult to achieve the policy goals of "designing for the tribes and for the locals" and "creating a cultural care mechanism". However, based on a foundation of local blood and geo-relationship and through the care expertise and interpersonal network established through long-term tribal cultivation and service, a cultural care mechanism that meets local awareness, local needs, and human trust has been formed by expanding linkages among the resources of all local stakeholders. During the COVID-19 epidemic, this has helped facilitate the recovery of the emotional and physical health of older tribal adults. For example, caregivers have been able to help ease the anxieties among older adults in indigenous communities regarding vaccination, fear of infection, isolation, and interpersonal suspicions. In addition, the positive role of the tribal cultural care mechanism as a social safety valve during the pandemic has been demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are limited real-world data to guide the sequencing of targeted therapies in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). The objective of this study was to characterize real-world treatment patterns (primarily second line [2L]) after prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) targeted therapy in an unselected mRCC population from Taiwan between 2013 and 2017. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) and their management were also evaluated (NCT03633579). Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients who had received prior VEGF-targeted therapy and were treated at the National Taiwan University Hospital or the Taipei Veterans General Hospital between June 2013 and December 2017. Outcomes were characterized using descriptive statistics. Results: Overall, 27 patients were included: 22 (81.5%) male; mean standard deviation (SD) age, 63.1 (11.1) years; 18 (66.7%) initiated targeted therapy during the year immediately following mRCC diagnosis. All patients received sunitinib as their first-line (1L) targeted therapy, with a median (range) treatment duration of 10 (1.8-65.8) months. The most common reason for discontinuing 1L sunitinib was disease progression (88.9% of patients). Everolimus was the most common 2L targeted therapy, in 23 patients (85.2%); 4 patients (14.8%) received 2L axitinib. Median (range) duration of 2L therapy was 4.0 (0.1-30.5) months for everolimus and 4.2 (0.5-9.2) months for axitinib. Ten TRAEs were reported among seven patients receiving 2L everolimus: hypertension (n = 5), hand-foot syndrome (n = 2), hyperglycemia (n = 1), renal failure (n = 1), and interstitial pneumonitis (n = 1). The majority (80%) of TRAEs were managed in the outpatient setting. No TRAEs were reported in the axitinib group. Conclusion: Real-world management of patients with mRCC in Taiwan broadly aligned with clinical guidelines and national reimbursement policy at the time of the study. These findings may be a useful reference for assessing the implications of evolving mRCC management approaches in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In vitro studies have confirmed that cardiac glycosides can induce apoptosis in both hormone-dependent and -independent prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of PCa among patients treated with and without digoxin using a nationwide population-based database in Taiwan. Methods: We retrieved data of men aged 30 years or older who were newly diagnosed with heart failure between January 1998 and December 2003 from the National Health Insurance program database in Taiwan. We divided the patients into digoxin users and non-digoxin users. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard analysis were used to examine the risk of subsequent PCa between the digoxin and non-digoxin groups. Results: The mean ± SD follow-up (years) periods in the digoxin and non-digoxin groups were 8.6 ± 1.78 and 8.3 ± 1.75, respectively. The cumulative incidence of PCa during the follow-up period was 3.5% (147/4233) in the non-digoxin group compared with 3.0% (65/2154) in the digoxin group. The log-rank test revealed that the digoxin group had a similar incidence of PCa to the nondigoxin group (p = 0.18). After adjusting for age, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and comorbidities, Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that digoxin was associated with a significantly decreased risk of developing PCa (hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.548-0.993; p = 0.045). Moreover, logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of PCa decreased with a longer duration of digoxin use during the study period compared to those who had never used digoxin (p = 0.043). Conclusion: The cardiac glycoside digoxin had significant effects on reducing the incidence of PCa in a time-dependent manner. Our findings may imply the potential application of cardiac glycosides in the prevention and management of PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical Device Related Pressure Injury was incorporated into the redefinition of pressure injuries during the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel 2016 Staging Consensus Conference. It is evident that this type of iatrogenic injury is gradually receiving more attention. Unlike pressure injuries over a bony prominence, which may be alleviated by repositioning different body parts, injuries that require non-retractable medical devices to be securely fastened to an injury site carry a higher risk of causing pressure injuries and of requiring subsequent care in a clinical setting. Furthermore, facial skin and mucosal membranes are the most common sites of Medical Device Related Pressure Injuries. Once these injuries occur, they easily result in damage to appearance, loss of function, and even bone exposure and infection, which may lead to medical disputes. Therefore, in recent years, research and exploration in this field has increased in many countries. However, discussions regarding Medical Device Related Pressure Injuries in Taiwan are still lacking. Thus, the aim of this article is to discuss the definition, risk factors, damage classification, and prevention strategies of Medical Device Related Pressure Injuries by combining domestic and international literature reviews and clinical verifications for the purpose of providing knowledge to medical staffs in hopes of reducing the incidence of Medical Device Related Pressure Injuries and degree of damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paper which examines the nature of ghosts from the perspective of materialization and as an aspect of material religion in general, is presented. Topics covered include spatial separation between people and ghosts in the village of Wannian in Taiwan, conceptualization of ghosts in terms of the tripartite souls of the deceased, and how human can coerce ghosts for selfish reasons in the incident of a mother ghost seeking a son in law which is then compared with the practice of spirit marriage.

The official analytical method of the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare for testing for veterinary drug residues in foods is the multiresidue analysis of β-agonists. Samples are pretreated through liquid--liquid extraction and solidphase extraction. This method is time consuming and requires the intensive use of solvents. To improve analytical efficiency and reduce costs, our study incorporated QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) techniques to establish a new method of multiresidue analysis of β-agonists in animal muscle and viscera. The pretreatment time was shortened and solvent usage was minimized. The modified analysis was conducted using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC--MS/MS) and quantification was performed using multiple reaction monitoring. The results demonstrated that the correlation coefficients of the tissue calibration curve were higher than 0.99 and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 1 ppb. The average recoveries in spiked samples varied from 70% to 120%, and the relative difference between duplicated analysis results was lower than 10%. On the basis of the results, the proposed method was concluded to be an appropriate procedure for determining the presence of β-agonists, and demonstrated the advantages of high recovery rates in spiked samples, high precision, reduced analysis time and solvent usage, and lower costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: There is little information about the burnout and wellbeing of institutional caregivers working for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; information is particularly limited in the understanding of experiences of direct care workers. OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to provide a profile of self-perceived burnout and wellbeing of direct-care caregivers working in disability institutions, and to compare the difference between native- and foreign caregivers. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. We recruited 46 female living assistants of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in two disability institutions in Taiwan. There were 23 subjects who were local residents and 23 subjects who were foreign providers of labor.Aself-administered questionnaire which included scale of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were employed in the survey. RESULTS: Findings revealed the local caregivers were slightly higher than foreign caregivers in personal burnout score (PBS) and work-related burnout score (WBS), although there were no significant differences. Those caregivers from foreign countries seem to be slightly happier and have higher life satisfaction than native caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: In order to decrease the burnout and improve wellbeing of caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, service providers should understand the experiences which caregivers encounter in their work places. Caregivers can benefit if they receive appropriate support to improve positive health while working for their service clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Outbreaks of low and high pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI, HPAI) H5N2 in chickens have occurred in Taiwan since 2003 and 2012, respectively. Fully understanding the different awareness, attitudes and protective behaviors adopted by workers in live-poultry markets (LPMWs) and local community residents (CRs) to face the challenges of LPAI and HPAI is very important to minimize viral adaptations to human populations. Methods: A structural questionnaire containing information on respondents' occupation, personal risk awareness, attitudes toward different policies, and preventative measures was administered. The two-stage survey (before and after HPAI H5N2 outbreaks) was conducted from 2007 to 2012, including: (1) 430 LPMWs and 418 CRs at LPMs from different geographical areas of Taiwan after the government announced outbreaks of LPAI H5N2 during 2007-2009, and (2) 73 LPMWs and 152 CRs at two LPMs in central Taiwan after the HPAI H5N2 outbreaks in 2012. The chi-squared test and logistic regression were applied for univariate and multivariate analyses, respectively. Results: Before HPAI-H5N2 outbreaks, higher educated respondents demonstrated greater risk awareness and concerns regarding AI. However, LPM-workers protected themselves less from AI viruses (AIVs) and had lower acceptance of human or avian influenza vaccines. Most importantly, the participants who opposed (versus agreed with) the policy on banning live-poultry slaughtering at LPMs reported lower awareness of government prevention and control policies [Odds Ratio (OR): 0.76, 95 % Confidence Interval (CI): 0.56-1.01] or practiced preventive measures (OR: 0.42, 95 % CI: 0.25-0.70). After HPAI-H5N2 outbreaks, the risk awareness about AI in central Taiwan significantly increased [LPAI to HPAI LPMWs: 34.6 to 65.6 %, p < 0.05; CRs: 44.0 to 76.5 %, p < 0.05] and LPMWs' belief in the effectiveness of vaccination to prevent human or avian influenza virus infection strikingly decreased (92.3 to 68.5 %, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Risk awareness depends on high or low pathogenicity of AIVs, working in LPMs, levels of education, age, and proximity to the sites of severe AI outbreaks. Regardless of novel LPAI or HPAI virus reassortants that pose public health risks, prompt and clear risk communication focusing on both correct information about AIVs and the most appropriate preventive measures are important for effective prevention of human infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study to evaluate the relationships among work environment, psychosocial factors, and physical activity (PA) among information technology (IT) professionals. A survey of 576 IT professionals was undertaken. The study concluded that work environment and psychosocial factors are both important. Workplace PA interventions directed towards individuals' self-efficacy and outcome expectations in the context of supportive environments may be useful.

Background: It was reported that 35.5% of tuberculosis (TB) cases reported in 2003 in Taipei City had no recorded pre- treatment body weight and that among those who had, inconsistent dosing of anti-TB drugs was frequent. Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have taken actions to strengthen dosing of anti-TB drugs among general practitioners. Prescribing practices of anti-TB drugs in Taipei City in 2007-2010 were investigated to assess whether interventions on dosing were effective. Methodology/Principal Findings: Lists of all notified culture positive TB cases in 2007-2010 were obtained from National TB Registry at Taiwan CDC. A medical audit of TB case management files was performed to collect pretreatment body weight and regimens prescribed at commencement of treatment. Dosages prescribed were compared with dosages recommended. The proportion of patients with recorded pre-treatment body weight was 64.5% in 2003, which increased to 96.5% in 2007-2010 (p<0.001). The proportion of patients treated with consistent dosing of a 3-drug fixed-dose combination (FDC) increased from 73.9% in 2003 to 87.7% in 2007-2010 (p<0.001), and that for 2- drug FDC from 76.0% to 86.1% (p = 0.024), for rifampicin (RMP) from 62.8% to 85.5% (p<0.001), and for isoniazid from 87.8% to 95.3% (p<0.001). In 2007-2010, among 2917 patients treated with either FDCs or RMP in single-drug preparation, the dosage of RMP was adequate (8-12 mg/kg) in 2571(88.1%) patients, too high in 282(9.7%), too low in 64(2.2%). In multinomial logistic regression models, factors significantly associated with adequate dosage of RMP were body weight and preparations of RMP. Patients weighting ,40kg (relative risk ratio (rrr) 6010.5, 95% CI 781.1-46249.7) and patients weighting 40-49 kg (rrr 1495.3, 95% CI 200.6-11144.6) were more likely to receive higher-than-recommended dose of RMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mutations in the PRRT2 gene have recently been identified in patients with familial paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia with infantile convulsions (PKD/IC) and patients with sporadic PKD/IC from several ethnic groups. To extend these recent genetic reports, we investigated the frequency and identities of PRRT2 mutations in a cohort of Taiwanese patients with PKD/IC. Methodology and Principal Findings: We screened all 3 coding exons of PRRT2 for mutations in 28 Taiwanese patients with PKD/IC. Among them, 13 had familial PKD/IC and 15 were apparently sporadic cases. In total, 7 disparate mutations were identified in 13 patients, including 8 familial cases and 5 apparently sporadic cases. The mutations were not present in 500 healthy controls. Four mutations were novel. One patient had a missense mutation and all other patients carried PRRT2 mutations putatively resulting in a protein truncation. Haplotype analysis revealed that 5 of the 7 patients with the PRRT2 p.R217Pfs*8 mutation shared the same haplotype linked to the mutation. Conclusions and Significance: PRRT2 mutations account for 61.5% (8 out of 13) of familial PKD/IC and 33.3% (5 out of 15) of apparently sporadic PKD/IC in the Taiwanese cohort. Most patients with the PRRT2 p.R217Pfs*8 mutation in Taiwan likely descend from a single common ancestor. This study expands the spectrum of PKD/IC-associated PRRT2 mutations, highlights the pathogenic role of PRRT2 mutations in PKD/IC, and suggests genetic heterogeneity within idiopathic PKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT2) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of inherited axonal neuropathies. The aim of this study was to extensively investigate the mutational spectrum of CMT2 in a cohort of patients of Han Chinese. Methodology and Principal Findings Genomic DNA from 36 unrelated Taiwanese CMT2 patients of Han Chinese descent was screened for mutations in the coding regions of the MFN2, RAB7, TRPV4, GARS, NEFL, HSPB1, MPZ, GDAP1, HSPB8, DNM2, AARS and YARS genes. Ten disparate mutations were identified in 14 patients (38.9% of the cohort), including p.N71Y in AARS (2.8%), p.T164A in HSPB1 (2.8%), and p.[H256R]+[R282H] in GDAP1 (2.8%) in one patient each, three NEFL mutations in six patients (16.7%) and four MFN2 mutations in five patients (13.9%). The following six mutations were novel: the individual AARS, HSPB1 and GDAP1 mutations and c.475-1G>T, p.L233V and p.E744M mutations in MFN2. An in vitro splicing assay revealed that the MFN2 c.475-1G>T mutation causes a 4 amino acid deletion (p.T159_Q162del). Despite an extensive survey, the genetic causes of CMT2 remained elusive in the remaining 22 CMT2 patients (61.1%). Conclusions and Significance This study illustrates the spectrum of CMT2 mutations in a Taiwanese CMT2 cohort and expands the number of CMT2-associated mutations. The relevance of the AARS and HSPB1 mutations in the pathogenesis of CMT2 is further highlighted. Moreover, the frequency of the NEFL mutations in this study cohort was unexpectedly high. Genetic testing for NEFL and MFN2 mutations should, therefore, be the first step in the molecular diagnosis of CMT2 in ethnic Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a study of the effects of thinning on East Asian subtropical plantation forest diversity, using a comparison of spider communities and guild composition in Chamaecyparis formosensis forests in central Taiwan. It says that thinning practices alter the understory vegetation structures in a subtropical C. formosensis plantation, despite not increasing its species richness. Moreover, this alteration can increase habitat heterogeneity and spider diversity.

Considering the contribution of labor migration to the reemployment of the unemployed and the fact that there is a paucity of studies on this in existing literature, this research studies the connections between the primary, return, and onward migrations and the reemployment of unemployed labor in Taiwan. The distinction among these three types of migration is essential for avoiding ambiguous and misleading empirical findings. A motivation for this research is the desire to obtain insights into the apparent contradiction between the relatively high geographical mobility of the unemployed and the persistence of a high unemployment rate in Taiwan since the mid-1990s. Based on the 1991-2006 "Quasi-Longitudinal Manpower Utilization Survey", the research goals are threefold: (1) to assess the effectiveness of the "disappointment hypothesis", "chronicity hypothesis", and "responsiveness hypothesis" in explaining repeat (i.e. onward and return) migration behaviors of the unemployed; (2) to ascertain the relationship between migration of the unemployed and reemployment; (3) to distinguish the relative effectiveness of primary, onward, and return migrations in promoting reemployment of the unemployed. Major research findings are as follows: (1) the three hypotheses all gain partial support, and none could exclusively explain the repeat migration behaviors of the unemployed; (2) past migration experiences, individual characteristics (gender, age, education, etc.), business cycle, availability of labor market information, and ties to and strength of kinship-friendship networks are crucial in explaining the migration behaviors of the unemployed; (3) a change in labor force status tends to trigger labor migration, and relative to the employed workforce, the unemployed are more prone to choose return migration than onward migration; (4) once the decision of repeat migration has been made, the unemployed who eventually get reemployed are more likely to engage in onward migration than the unemployed who do not successfully acquire a new job; (5) although the business cycle exhibits the expected negative effect on return migration for the unemployed, the positive association between the business cycle and migration of the unemployed is mainly shaped by its effect on primary and onward migrations amongst the unemployed; (6) in contrast to its primary and onward counterparts, return migration of the unemployed is selective of those with less human capital and lower in the occupational hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study to estimate the age and growth of blacktip sawtail catshark, Galeus sauteri, that inhabits in the northeastern waters of Taiwan. The study collected 739 specimens of Galeus sauteri from November 2007 to October 2008, in which the age was known through band-pair reading of vertebrae while growth was determined through von Bertalanffy function. Findings showed that Galeus sauteri's ages at maturity were approximately 9.14 years for females and 7.57 years for males.

mong nine endemic Lucanus beetles in Taiwan, L. datunensis is the island's smallest and most threatened species. It currently exists as only one population located in tall grasslands of Mt. Datun in the Yangmingshan National Park. Given the isolated population, unique subtropical grassland, and the threats resulting from human activities, L. datunensis raises immediate conservation concern for its long-term survival. Phylogenies reconstructed from combined mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (1310 bps) and nuclear wingless (436 bps) genes were resolved and placed L. datunensis as a phylogenetically distinct species sister to L. fortunei from China. All 13 examined individuals of L. datunensis shared just one mitochondrial haplotype suggesting extremely low mitochondrial DNA diversity and a small effective population size. L. datunensis and morphologically closest L. miwai were distantly related and appear to have evolved in parallel the life history traits of a small body size and diurnal mate-searching behavior. We hypothesize that these habitat-associated characters are convergent adaptations that have evolved in response to shifts from forests to grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pleistocene glacial oscillations have significantly affected the historical population dynamics of temperate taxa. However, the general effects of recent climatic changes on the evolutionary history and genetic structure of extant subtropical species remain poorly understood. In the present study, phylogeographic and historical demographic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences were used. The aim was to investigate whether Pleistocene climatic cycles, paleo-drainages or mountain vicariance of Taiwan shaped the evolutionary diversification of a subtropical gossamer-wing damselfly, Euphaea formosa. Results: E. formosa populations originated in the middle Pleistocene period (0.3 Mya) and consisted of two evolutionarily independent lineages. It is likely that they derived from the Pleistocene paleo-drainages of northern and southern Minjiang, or alternatively by divergence within Taiwan. The ancestral North-central lineage colonized northwestern Taiwan first and maintained a slowly growing population throughout much of the early to middle Pleistocene period. The ancestral widespread lineage reached central-southern Taiwan and experienced a spatial and demographic expansion into eastern Taiwan. This expansion began approximately 30,000 years ago in the Holocene interglacial period. The ancestral southern expansion into eastern Taiwan indicates that the central mountain range (CMR) formed a barrier to east-west expansion. However, E. formosa populations in the three major biogeographic regions (East, South, and North-Central) exhibit no significant genetic partitions, suggesting that river drainages and mountains did not form strong geographical barriers against gene flow among extant populations. Conclusions: The present study implies that the antiquity of E. formosa's colonization is associated with its high dispersal ability and larval tolerance to the late Pleistocene dry grasslands. The effect of late Pleistocene climatic changes on the subtropical damselfly's historical demography is lineage-specific, depending predominantly on its colonization history and geography. It is proposed that the Riss and Würm glaciations in the late Pleistocene period had a greater impact on the evolutionary diversification of subtropical insular species than the last glacial maximum (LGM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The East Asian region is experiencing rapid aging process. The traditional filial norm often confronts with the modernization impact which results in structural changes in the family and in the intergenerational interaction. Data are taken from the 2006 East Asian Social Survey. This study investigates what are types of intergenerational interactions for adult children who do not co-reside with parents in four East Asian countries, China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Relying on intergenerational solidarity theory, this study uses latentclass analysis (LCA) to develop a typology based on two dimensions of intergenerational solidarity: Associational solidarity (frequency of contact) and functional solidarity (instrumental and financial support exchange). This study compares the types of intergenerational interactions between China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and describes the geographic distance between generations , resources of adult childrenand parental needs in the types of intergenerational interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited attention has been paid to the issue of reproductive health as it affects women with intellectual disabilities, despite reproductive health being a vital issue in public health policy for women in the general population. This paper describes caregiver awareness of reproductive health issues relative to women with intellectual disabilities who are being cared for in welfare institutions in Taiwan. Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study which recruited 1,152 caregivers (response rate = 71.87%) from 32 registered disability welfare institutions in Taiwan. We classified their understanding/awareness of reproductive health issues into four domains: menstrual (1) and menopause (2) issues, sex education (3), and reproductive health services (4). Each domain had five associated yes/no questions and the total score for the four domains was out of a maximum of 20. Data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 software. Results: We found that most of the caregivers were familiar with matters concerning sex education, menopause, and reproductive health services, but they lacked adequate understanding of issues associated with menstruation in women with ID. Many aspects of reproductive health such as "menstrual pain", "age at menarche", "masturbation", "diet during perimenopause", and "publicly available reproductive health services" were issues in which caregivers lacked adequate knowledge and required further instruction. Logistic regression analysis revealed that female caregivers with a university degree, and those who had experience assisting with reproductive health care were more inclined to have higher reproductive health awareness scores than their counterparts. Conclusions: This study highlights that service providers should offer appropriate reproductive health education to institutional caregivers, and that more attention be focused on the personal experiences and concerns of intellectually disabled women in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research studies the reproductive contributions of Taiwan's foreign wives from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, based on applications of the multinomial logit model to the micro data of the 2003 Census of Foreign Spouses. The wives from China are found to have the lowest lifetime fertility of 1.4 children, mainly because they were more prone to marry later, have a very large spousal age gap, be separated or divorced, and have their current marriage as their second marriage. The effect of wife's educational attainment on lifetime fertility turned out to be either modest or nonexistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subalpine forest and grassland ecosystems at Tatajia in Yushan National Park, Taiwan, at an elevation of 2,700 m, mean annual precipitation of 4,100 mm, mean annual temperature of 9.5°C, and soil pH near 3.5, represent land types whose bacterial communities have not been previously characterized. To this end, small subunit (SSU) rRNA libraries were prepared from environmental DNA, and 319 clones were sequenced and characterized. Despite differences in vegetation, Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the most abundant phyla in soil communities from the forest and grassland. Although not significantly different, on the basis of Chao1, Shannon and other indices and rarefaction analyses, the diversity of the bacterial community of grassland appeared higher than that of the forest. The composition of the most abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) also differed between the grassland and forest communities. Because the grassland was formed by fire 30 years ago from forest, these results indicated a different bacterial community could form within that time. Moreover, most of the OTUs abundant in Tatajia soils had been previously detected in other studies, but in lower numbers. Therefore, the bacterial communities in Tatajia differed in relative abundance but not in types of bacteria present. However, one acidobacterial OTU abundant in Tatajia had previously been found to be abundant in soils from around the world. Thus, this OTU may represent a particularly abundant and cosmopolitan bacterial phylotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a cross-sectional study conducted at 30 worksites in Taiwan which suggested that companies that initiates health promotion programs need to conduct a detailed assessment of nature of the workplace settings and the perceptions of employees. It states that Taiwan Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) Initiatives helped employees to improve their personal health skills. It informs that health services and health environment domains agreed to health promotion effectiveness.

The article presents an examination of the impact that popular religion can have on the interpretation of history. The author draws on the interpretation of local history in Taiwan in order to show how different people can have different understandings of history. The author examines how religious narratives, spirit mediums and the governance of temples can all hold different meanings locally that may be in opposition to larger, society-wide views. The article examines how the reconstruction of temples in Taiwan is viewed by communities that house the temples as well as how China views the movement of temple restoration.

To uncover the effectiveness of human resource strategy for emotional labor, this study was designed to explore the relationships between human resource management practices and the consequences of emotional labor of service agents in Taiwan's service industry. Results indicated that all human resource practices (recruitment, selection, socialization and training, performance appraisal, and reward systems) can reduce emotional exhaustion and enhance the feelings of personal accomplishment for service agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the intergenerational relationships in an East Asian society, Taiwan. Types of relations from children's perspective are used to illustrate the dynamics between adult children and their parents. Due to the rapidly declining co-residence between generations, it is assumed that those who do not practice co-residence with parents will become the majority and thus, will become the focus of analysis. Data are taken from the 2006 Taiwan Social Change Survey (Phase 5 Wave 2). The sample is constituted by 756 adults with at least one parent alive but who are not co-residing at the time of the survey. The intergenerational solidarity model proposed by Bengtson is used as the theoretical framework. The analysis first presents the difference between the co-resident and the non-co-resident groups. Then the Latent Class analysis is performed to derive five types of relations with the Normative type being the highest, followed by the Detached and the Tight-knit, then the Sociable, and lastly the Intimate but Distant type. The final analysis focuses on mechanisms accounting for different relational types. Preliminary result from Multinomial Logistic Regression indicates that the relational types derived may be an outcome of the interplay between individual resources and patriarchal norms. Most importantly, gender differentials appear to follow the prescribed cultural norm in that married Sons are likely to endorse the filial norm and to fall into the Normative type, while married daughters tend to enjoy close emotional relationships and to engage in functional exchanges with parents. The paper concludes that future intergenerational relationships in Taiwan may continue to be of the strong Normative type, but at the same time, the Tight-knit type between generations may be observed. The cultural implication of possible future development is briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Divergence in the acceptability to people in different regions of naturally ventilated thermal environments raises a concern over the extent to which the ASHRAE Standard 55 may be applied as a universal criterion of thermal comfort. In this study, the ASHRAE 55 adaptive model of thermal comfort was investigated for its applicability to a hot and humid climate through a long-term field survey performed in central Taiwan among local students attending 14 elementary and high schools during September to January. Adaptive behaviors, thermal neutrality, and thermal comfort zones are explored. A probit analysis of thermal acceptability responses from students was performed in place of the conventional linear regression of thermal sensation votes against operative temperature to investigate the limits of comfort zones for 90% and 80% acceptability; the corresponding comfort zones were found to occur at 20.1–28.4°C and 17.6–30.0°C, respectively. In comparison with the yearly comfort zones recommended by the adaptive model for naturally ventilated spaces in the ASHRAE Standard 55, those observed in this study differ in the lower limit for 80% acceptability, with the observed level being 1.7°C lower than the ASHRAE-recommended value. These findings can be generalized to the population of school children, thus providing information that can supplement ASHRAE Standard 55 in evaluating the thermal performance of naturally ventilated school buildings, particularly in hot-humid areas such as Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical study aims to examine the effects of explicit and long-term collocation instruction on the development of reading proficiency of EFL vocational high school students in Taiwan. Vocational high school students are generally low-proficiency English learners, yet in addition to regular English courses, they have to learn ESP courses such as tourism English, nursing English, and technology English. Without sufficient collocation competence, they often have difficulties learning the formulaic expressions or language chunks in these courses. Based on Lewis' (2000) lexical approach and van Lier's (1996) 3A curriculum design, the author designed and implemented her collocation instruction in two vocational high school classes for six months. The results showed that the experimental class made significantly more progress than the control class in their English reading proficiency. Statistical analysis also indicated that a significant positive correlation exists between the students' collocation competence and their English reading proficiency. The pedagogical implications of this study include adding explicit collocation instruction to vocational high school English curriculum, raising EFL learners' awareness of collocations, and providing students with systematic and repetitive practice of collocation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The tuberculosis reporting enquiry system was launched in Taiwan in 2001. Tuberculosis has been categorized as the third most important notifiable disease in Taiwan and the time required for reporting has been shortened to 7 days. Methods: A total of 114,827 cases were reported using the Taiwan enquiry system between 2002 and 2006; of these, 26,027 (22.7%) were finally diagnosed as not being tuberculosis, 7,005 (8.2%) were diagnosed as extra-pulmonary tuberculosis and 3,677 (3.2%) were not a first-time diagnosis of tuberculosis, and these cases were hence excluded. Diagnosis time was defined as the length of time between the first medical examination (including chest radiography, sputum smear or sputum culture) to the diagnosis of PTB; treatment time was defined as the period from the diagnosis of PTB to the initiation of treatment. Using the cut-off at the 75th percentile, a period of longer than 9 days was defined as a diagnosis delay and a period of longer than 2 days as a treatment delay. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the risk factors associated with these delays. Results: During the five-year study period, among the 78,118 new PTB patients reported in Taiwan, the mean diagnosis and treatment times were 12 and 5 days and the median times 1 day and 0 days, respectively. In total, 24.9% of the new PTB patients' diagnosis time delays were longer than 9 days and 20.3% of the patients' treatment time delays were longer than 2 days. The main factors associated with diagnosis delay included age, reporting year, living with family and a positive sputum culture (p < 0.0001); the risk factors significantly associated with treatment delay were increased age, an aboriginal ethnic background, a positive sputum culture and diagnosis at a nonmedical center (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The Taiwan TB reporting enquiry system has successfully increased the confirmed PTB reporting rate from 64.4% to 71.5%. Greater age and a positive sputum culture were both found to significantly increase both diagnosis and treatment delays; treatment delay is also significantly affected by the patient having an aboriginal ethnic background and being diagnosed at a non-medical center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features and visual outcomes of non-traumatic suprachoroidal haemorrhage (SH) in Taiwan. Methods: We report a retrospective, non-comparative, interventional case series study carried out in an institutional setting. Thirty-nine eyes with non-traumatic SH were studied using a new system for grading the severity of SH. The aetiologies of SH were analysed. The correlations between grades and prognoses of SH were studied. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with final visual outcome. Results: Conditions causing SH in the eyes considered in this study included cataract surgery (43.59%), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (17.95%), filtering operation and vitrectomy (both 10.26%), scleral buckling (5.13%) and others. Twelve eyes (12/39, 30.77%) had a final visual outcome of no light perception. Only 12 eyes (12/39, 30.77%) had final visual acuity (VA) > 4/200. Grade of SH correlated significantly with need for surgical drainage and with final visual outcome (Spearman rank correlations 0.313 and − 0.408, p = 0.010 and p = 0.00317, respectively). ‘Good’ and ‘poor’ final VA was significantly associated with VA at the time of SH (multiple logistic regression coefficients 2.132 and − 2.809, p = 0.015 and p = 0.008, respectively), as well as initial retinal detachment (multiple logistic regression coefficients − 2.267 and 2.223, p = 0.036 and p = 0.006, respectively). Higher grades of SH and increased age were associated with poor final visual outcome (multiple logistic regression coefficients − 1.332 and − 0.122, p = 0.013 and p = 0.022, respectively). Conclusions: Suprachoroidal haemorrhage is a devastating ocular problem. Complications of intraoperative surgery and AMD are common causes. The new SH grading system provides a simple method for evaluating the need for drainage and for predicting visual prognosis. Visual acuity and retinal detachment at the time of SH are major factors associated with good and poor final VA, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long-term field experiment project has been launched to investigate thermal comfort requirements for classrooms, dormitories and outdoor spaces of universities in Taiwan. This study presents the research findings achieved in Phase II of this research project. Data for the experimental survey are gathered from two student dormitories of two universities in Central Taiwan, one of which is naturally ventilated and the other is air-conditioned. Results obtained from logistic regression analysis reveal that, despite different thermal conditions in the two dormitories, all students report similar neutral temperature, preferred temperature and upper limit of thermal acceptability. The operative temperatures of thermal neutrality and thermal preference for student dormitories fell at 25.4 and 24.8°C respectively. The upper limit of thermal acceptability obtained via indirect investigation is almost identical with that suggested in ASHRAE Standard 55. However, direct investigation observed an upper limit of 28.2°C, which is 1.0°C higher than that recommended in ASHRAE. From the cross analysis on student responses in the thermal dissatisfaction and thermal sensation scales, it can be inferred that students in Taiwan prefer a cooler-than-neutral thermal condition in the dormitory. Comparison with research findings achieved in Phase I indicates similar neutral temperature and preferred temperature for classroom and dormitory environments. However, the upper limit of thermal acceptability for classrooms is 1.6-1.1°C higher than that for dormitories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of god icons created by the Chinese villagers in Taiwan. The villagers believed that making god icons will maintain their relationships with the people and places as they symbolize the meeting ground of the human and the god-like agencies. They created these icons through figurines and statues. The villagers also conceived that spirit mediums mutually inflect and share their powers. Their belief is that gods inhabit icons, as well as talk to and through the villagers.

Abstract  Bioclimate conditions at Sun Moon Lake, one of Taiwan’s most popular tourist destinations, are presented. Existing tourism-related climate is typically based on mean monthly conditions of air temperature and precipitation and excludes the thermal perception of tourists. This study presents a relatively more detailed analysis of tourism climate by using a modified thermal comfort range for both Taiwan and Western/Middle European conditions, presented by frequency analysis of 10-day intervals. Furthermore, an integrated approach (climate tourism information scheme) is applied to present the frequencies of each facet under particular criteria for each 10-day interval, generating a time-series of climate data with temporal resolution for tourists and tourism authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 1994, a hazardous waste site, polluted by the dumping of solvents from a former electronics factory, was discovered in Taoyuan, Taiwan. This subsequently emerged as a serious case of contamination through chlorinated hydrocarbons with suspected occupational cancer. The objective of this study was to determine if there was any increased risk of breast cancer among female workers in a 23-year follow-up period. Methods: A total of 63,982 female workers were retrospectively recruited from the database of the Bureau of Labor Insurance (BLI) covering the period 1973-1997; the data were then linked with data, up to 2001, from the National Cancer Registry at the Taiwanese Department of Health, from which standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for different types of cancer were calculated as compared to the general population. Results: There were a total of 286 cases of breast cancer, and after adjustment for calendar year and age, the SIR was close to 1. When stratified by the year 1974 (the year in which the regulations on solvent use were promulgated), the SIR of the cohort of workers who were first employed prior to 1974 increased to 1.38 (95% confidence interval, 1.11-1.70). No such trend was discernible for workers employed after 1974. When 10 years of employment was considered, there was a further increase in the SIR for breast cancer, to 1.62. Those workers with breast cancer who were first employed prior to 1974 were employed at a younger age and for a longer period. Previous qualitative studies of interviews with the workers, corroborated by inspection records, showed a short-term high exposure to chlorinated alkanes and alkenes, particularly trichloroethylene before 1974. There were no similar findings on other types of cancer. Conclusion: Female workers with exposure to trichloroethylene and/or mixture of solvents, first employed prior to 1974, may have an excess risk of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which investigated the association between alcohol drinking and smoking, aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) status, alcohol dehydrogenase-2 (ADH2) status and hepatitis B and C viral infection among Taiwanese workers. Methods and materials; Characteristics of the study population; Genotypes of ALDH2 and ADH2; Results and discussion.

Presents a study which characterized and interpreted patterns of labor migration in Taiwan. Data and definitions of migrants; Patterns of lifetime labor migrations; Patterns of labor migration from 1985 to 1990.

Background and Objectives: Huddles among members of interdisciplinary medical teams involve short stand-up sessions and allow team members to focus on existing or emerging patient safety issues, thereby facilitating team communication. Hospital managers are able to recognize the current situation of the organization through patient safety attitudes, strengthen team members' awareness of patient safety, and improve the quality of health care. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of huddles on improving team members' attitudes toward patient safety. Methods: We used a quasi-experimental design and selected 2 adult wards with similar properties as the experimental and comparison groups by convenience sampling. Data collection was from December 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, at a teaching hospital in central Taiwan. Team members of the ward performing huddles formed the experimental group, and they participated 2 times per week in 15-minute huddles from 8:15 to 8:30 AM for a total of 4 weeks. The comparison group adopted the routine team care process. Both groups completed the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire during the pre- and post-tests of the study. Results: The experimental group scored significantly higher in the post-test than in the pre-test in all aspects of safety attitudes, with the exception of stress recognition. These improved aspects were teamwork climate (76.47 ± 15.90 vs 83.29 ± 13.52, P < .001), safety climate (75.94 ± 16.14 vs 82.81 ± 13.74, P < .001), job satisfaction (74.34 ± 20.22 vs 84.40 ± 17.22, P <.001), perceptions of management (78.02 ± 19.99 vs 85.51 ± 15.97, P < .001), and working conditions (78.85 ± 17.87 vs 86.81 ± 14.74, P < .001). Conclusion: Through the huddles, clinical team members improved their understanding of different aspects of safety attitudes. Such a study provided ward units with real-time improvement and adjustment in terms of patient safety during their medical work processes with better patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Renal replacement therapy-requiring acute kidney injury frequently occurs in ICUs, which require evidence-based medical attention. However, in the postacute kidney injury patient population, the evidence regarding effective therapies to improve patient outcomes is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockade is effective in improving renal outcomes in postacute kidney injury patients who experienced temporary renal replacement therapy and have hypertension.Design: A retrospective cohort study.Setting: A nationwide database in Taiwan.Patients: From January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2013, we identified 8,558 acute kidney injury patients with hypertension in the national registry database. All these patients experienced an acute kidney injury episode, which required temporary renal replacement therapy for at least once.Interventions: Users (n = 3,885) and nonusers (n = 4,673) of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers.Measurements and Main Results: We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to analyze hazard ratios for the commencement of end-stage renal disease and all-cause mortality for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker users (n = 3,885) and nonusers (n = 4,673).In a median follow-up of 4.3 years, 5,880 patients (68.7%) required long-term dialysis, and 4,841 patients (56.6%) died. Compared with postacute kidney injury patients who did not use angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker users are marginally less likely to progress to end-stage renal disease (adjusted hazard ratio 0.95; 95% CI 0.90-1.01; p = 0.06) and significantly less likely to suffer from all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.87-0.98; p = 0.011).Conclusions: In patients who experienced renal replacement therapy-requiring acute kidney injury and have hypertension, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker use is associated with better survival outcomes compared with nonuser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Markus and Kitayama's (1991) theory, this study was conducted to examine whether the association between emotional suppression and interpersonal harmony would be moderated by cultural group (i.e., Chinese and European Americans) and an Asian cultural value (i.e., emotional self-control). A total of 451 college students (205 Chinese and 246 European Americans) participated in this study. As expected, results indicated that the association between emotional suppression and interpersonal harmony was significantly positive for Chinese but not significant for European Americans. Similarly, when emotional self-control was examined as a moderator, the results still confirmed our hypotheses. That is, the association between emotional suppression and interpersonal harmony was significantly positive for those with stronger endorsement of emotional self-control but not for those with weaker endorsement of emotional self-control. Furthermore, we examined whether the above results could be replicated when forbearance (a construct similar to suppression) and distress disclosure (a construct opposite to suppression) were examined. The results showed the same pattern for forbearance and distress disclosure when cultural group or emotional self-control served as the moderator. The convergence of findings increased the robustness of our results. Finally, our data suggest that individuals from Eastern, interdependent cultures (e.g., Chinese) tend to value emotional suppression to preserve interpersonal harmony; individuals from Western, independent cultures may or may not necessarily suppress their emotions for this purpose. A comprehensive understanding of the different meanings of a specific strategy (i.e., emotional suppression) in different cultural contexts is important to promote effective cross-cultural counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) is a rare autosomal dominant peripheral neuropathy. We report a case series of Malaysian FAP patients. Methods. Patients with definite (genetically confirmed) FAP seen at the University of Malaya Medical Centre between 2008 till 2019 were included in the series. The patients' demographic and clinical features and investigations including nerve conduction studies and electromyography (NCS/EMG), echocardiography, sural nerve biopsy and hATTR mutation are reported. Results. A total 21 index cases were seen. Nineteen (90%) were ethnic Chinese, one ethnic (5%) Malay and one (5%) ethnic Indian; Fourteen (67%) were men. Mean age of onset of symptoms was 56.1 ± 10.5 years (range: 31-73). Nineteen (90%) patients presented with numbness and weakness of the limbs while two had postural hypotension. Fifteen (71%) patients had positive family history. NCS/EMG showed sensorimotor polyneuropathy in 19 (90%) patients; fifteen (71%) showing axonal neuropathy. Amyloid deposits were seen on nerve biopsy in ten patients and rectal, leptomeningeal and endomyocardial biopsies in 1 patient respectively. The latter was diagnosed as familial amyloid cardiomyopathy (FAC). Sixteen patients (76%) had abnormal cardiac echocardiogram with amyloid deposits. Fifteen Chinese patients (71%) carried the Ala97Ser hATTR mutation while the FAC patient has Asp39Val mutation. Our Malay patient had Glu54Lys mutation and Indian patient had Gly67Val mutation. Two patients carried Val30Met mutation. Autonomic function test was abnormal in all 7 patients in whom they were carried out. Conclusion. FAP in Malaysians is seen mainly among ethnic Chinese, in whom Ala97Ser may be a common mutation. This is also the reported "hotspot" mutation for FAP reported in Taiwan but not in China. Similar to Taiwan, Chinese-Malaysians are descended from immigrants from Southern China. Similar to Taiwanese patients, our FAP patients with Ala97Ser mutation, present with late-onset progressive sensorimotor polyneuropathy and cardiac involvement was common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]