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"With a global rising trend in prevalence of allergic diseases, more attention has been paid to investigation of environmental risk factors. Many risk factors have so far been identified. However, novel risk factors specific to Taiwanese environment and lifestyle were still relatively unknown.~Background~Background~To investigate the potential effects of a number of little-known indoor risk factors on the frequency of doctor's visit for respiratory problems in context of Taiwanese environment and lifestyle.~Objective~Objective~A cross-sectional, population-based study was performed on a 861 participants around Kaohsiung area, Taiwan. Survey investigation was employed to assess the household environment and the frequency of doctor's visit for respiratory problems.~Methods~Methods~Participants who performed ""daily cleaning"" was shown to have a significantly (p=0.007) higher mean number of doctor's visits in comparison to those who did not. Similar observation was made for participants who periodically took out beddings (p=0.042). Age had a significant positive correlation (linear regression ß 0.089) with frequency of respiratory problems.~Results~Results~The habit of daily cleaning was implicated as a potential indoor risk factor due to the unique nature of Taiwanese cleaning habit and close contact with cleaning supplies, which could serve as chemical irritants. Bedding takeout was predicted to be an indicator of chronic allergies rather than an actual risk factor. However, both were controversial in their role as potential indoor risk factor, and required further examination.~Conclusion~Conclusions" [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite growing evidence that an educational anaesthesia video can effectively reduce perioperative anxiety, the ideal medium for addressing perioperative anxiety is unclear.Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of viewing an anaesthetic patient information video on anxiety levels in patients scheduled to undergo surgery.Design: A randomised controlled trial.Setting: Pingtung Christian Hospital (PTCH), Taiwan.Patients: One hundred patients were randomised to either an experimental group (n = 50) or a control group (n = 50).Interventions: At the preoperative clinic, the experimental group watched the an 8 minute educational anaesthetic video, whereas the control group received a standard 8-min verbal briefing on anaesthesia after preoperative assessment.Main Outcomes Measures: The Chinese version of the Spielberger state trait anxiety inventory, which included a state scale (STAI-S) and a trait scale (STAI-T), was performed in the preoperative clinic (T1) before anaesthetic preassessment, at the preoperative holding area just before surgery (T2) and again on the third day after surgery (T3). Scores for overall satisfaction with medical care were obtained on the third day after surgery. For two time interval comparisons, effect size was used to standardise the extent of change as measured by STAI-S.Results: After the educational intervention, state anxiety was lower in the experimental group than in the control group at both T2 (42.9 ± 6.5 vs. 45.0 ± 12.7) and T3 (40.2 ± 5.3 vs. 48.8 ± 8.5). Compared with control group, the experimental group had a larger effect size at T2 and T3 (-0.65 and -0.36, respectively). Overall satisfaction was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Perioperative anxiety was significantly reduced and overall patient satisfaction increased after viewing a preoperative educational anaesthesia video compared with a standard verbal briefing on anaesthesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hospice care is important for patients with terminal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially in endemic areas of viral hepatitis. Differences between hospice care and usual care for geriatric HCC inpatients have not yet been explored in a nationwide survey. Objective: The study's purpose was to analyze differences between hospice care and usual care for geriatric HCC inpatients in a nationwide survey. Methods: This nationwide, population-based study used data obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database. Patients with terminal HCC who were ≥65 years old and received their end-of-life care in the hospital between January 2001 and December 2004 were recruited. The comparison group was selected by propensity score matching from patients receiving usual care in acute wards. Results: We enrolled 729 terminal HCC patients receiving inpatient hospice care and 729 matched controls selected from 2482 HCC patients receiving usual care. Hospice care patients were treated mainly by family medicine doctors (36%) and oncologists (26%), while usual care patients were treated mainly by gastroenterologists (60.2%). The natural opium alkaloids were used more in the hospice care group than in the usual care group (72.7% versus 25.5%, P<0.001), whereas the length of stay (8±7.7 days versus 14.1±14.3 days, P<0.001), aggressive procedures (all P<0.005), and medical expenses (all P<0.001) were significantly less in the hospice care group. Conclusion: HCC patients in hospice wards received more narcotic palliative care, underwent fewer aggressive procedures, and incurred lower costs than those in acute wards. Hospice care should be promoted as a viable option for terminally ill, elderly HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses recycled green building materials based on a Taiwan-made recycled mineral admixture (including fly ash, slag, glass sand and rubber powder) as replacements for fine aggregates in concrete and tests the properties of the resulting mixtures. Fine aggregate contents of 5% and 10% were replaced by waste LCD glass sand and waste tire rubber powder, respectively. According to ACI concrete-mixture design, the above materials were mixed into lightweight aggregate concrete at a constant water-to- binder ratio (W/B = 0.4). Hardening (mechanical), non-destructive and durability tests were then performed at curing ages of 7, 28, 56 and 91 days and the engineering properties were studied. The results of these experiments showed that, although they vary with the type of recycling green building material added, the slumps of these admixtures meet design requirements. Lightweight aggregate yields better hardened properties than normal-weight concrete, indicating that green building materials can be successfully applied in lightweight aggregate concrete, enabling an increase in the use of green building materials, the improved utilization of waste resources, and environmental protection. In addition to representing an important part of a "sustainable cycle of development", green building materials represent a beneficial reutilization of waste resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the epidemiology of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) population from Taiwan, the area with the highest incidence and prevalence of ESRD. A total of 98 out of 10 890 ESRD patients were referred for management of TCC between 2000 and 2008. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected and patient mortality and tumour recurrence rates were analyzed. TCC patients were aged 61.4 ± 10.2 years and 66.3% were female. The average time from initiation of dialysis to tumour detection was 51.2 ± 36.4 months. Hypertensive nephrosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, chronic glomerulonephritis and unknown aetiology accounted for 25.5%, 20.4%, 22.4% and 31.6% of the causes of renal failure, respectively. The aetiology of renal failure for the 31.6% of patients was unclear, but chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis following long-term consumption of Chinese herbs (19.4%) or analgesic compounds (3.1%) was considered in some patients. Almost all (98.0%) patients presented with gross haematuria. Most TCC were in early stage (stage 0, 3.1%; stage I, 56.1%) during diagnosis. At the end of this study, 17 of 98 (17.3%) patients died. Multivariate Cox regression analysis found that age (odds ratio = 1.140, 95% confidence interval = 1.049-1.239, P = 0.002) and tumour pain (odds ratio = 0.234, 95% confidence interval = 0.057-0.961, P = 0.044) were significant risk factors for all-cause mortality. Furthermore, 35.7% of TCC recurred during follow up. The 5 year patient and tumour-free survival rates were 72.4% and 14.4%, respectively. The data shows that Taiwanese patients with ESRD had high incidence (0.9%) and recurrence (35.7%) of TCC. Taiwanese patients with ESRD had high incidence (0.9%) and recurrence (35.7%) of transitional cell carcinoma. Interestingly, nearly one-third of the patients with unknown aetiology of ESRD, but chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis following long-term consumption of Chinese herbs or analgesic compounds was considered in parts of the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain management (SCM) systems implementation has become a fashion due to advances in information technology and pressures of market competition. Unfortunately, successful implementation was rare. In this article, the concept of usability was extended in an explorative case study to crystallize design for usability (DFU) principles in a large-scale SCM systems implementation project at a leading semiconductor manufacturing company in Taiwan. Proposed was a holistic usability framework to guide the analysis of DFU as well as the compilation of an evidence database composed of design documentation, post hoc evaluation, semistructured interviews, and participant observation. This research revealed a set of usability needs and coping strategies found throughout a series of systems design and redesign processes at the case company. As a result, an emergent usability framework in the form of ICOM (Input, Control, Output, and Mechanism) dimensions was proposed to guide the implementation of SCM systems. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odor is one of the most distinctive characteristics of wood. Woods in the family Taxodiaceae and Cupressaceae often emit fragrant odors. In this study, the fragrance compounds of six coniferous woods grown in Taiwan, namely Chamaecyparis formosensis, Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana, Calocedrus macrolepis var. formosana, Taiwania cryptomerioides, Cunninghamia lanceolata, and Cryptomeria japonica, were studied by solid-phase microextraction and GC/MS. A non-biased overall profile of the fragrance compositions of the woods was obtained. The major aroma compounds were: β-elemene (15.8%), γ-cadinene (12.1%), α-pinene (11.1%), and limonene (10.8%) in C. obtusa; myrtenol (27.0%), myrtenyl (19.2%), and γ-cadinene (11.4%) in C. formosensis; β-cedrene (22.3%), δ-cadinene (17.6%), and widdrene (11.4%) in T. cryptomerioides; β-cedrene (26.2%) α-pinene (19.7%) and limonene (13.2%) in C. lanceolata; 3-carene (21.0%), p-cymene (11.0%), and limonene (9.5%) in C. japonica; and p-cymene (24.4%), terpinen-4-ol (16.6%), and α-terpineol (12.5%) in C. macrolepis. The results may provide useful information for future studies on chemotaxonomy and metabolomics of conifers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antcins are unique phytosterols isolated from A. cinnamomea and A. salmomea, which are the endemic fungus of Taiwan. A. cinnamomea has long been highly valued medicinal mushroom in Taiwan and traditionally used as a folk remedy for various human illness. Recent scientific explorations claimed that the pharmacological activities of A. cinnamomea and A. salmomonea are gone beyond their original usage. The therapeutic efficacy of these medicinal mushrooms was attributed to their high content of unique bioactive secondary metabolites, including terpenoids, benzenoids, ubiquinol derivatives, polysaccharides, lignans, nucleic acids, steroids, and maleic/succinic acid derivatives. Antcins is a group of steroids in Antrodia spp. with ergostane skeleton received much attention in Taiwan's academic circle due to their broad-spectrum of biological activities. At present, twelve antcins, i.e. antcin A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, M, and N along with twelve derivatives/epimers (25R/S-antcin A, B, C, H, I and K) and seven analogs (methyl antcinate A, B, G, H, K, L and N) were identified. Several studies have demonstrated that antcins possessed anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-aging, immunomodulation, hepatoprotection, and hypolipedimic activities. The main goal of this review is to define the chemistry, isolation, advances in production, and biological activities of antcins and their derivatives/analogs. Special attention has been given to a detail view of their biological activities in vitro and in vivo and their pharmacological potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antcins are unique phytosterols isolated from A. cinnamomea and A. salmomea, which are the endemic fungus of Taiwan. A. cinnamomea has long been highly valued medicinal mushroom in Taiwan and traditionally used as a folk remedy for various human illness. Recent scientific explorations claimed that the pharmacological activities of A. cinnamomea and A. salmomonea are gone beyond their original usage. The therapeutic efficacy of these medicinal mushrooms was attributed to their high content of unique bioactive secondary metabolites, including terpenoids, benzenoids, ubiquinol derivatives, polysaccharides, lignans, nucleic acids, steroids, and maleic/succinic acid derivatives. Antcins is a group of steroids in Antrodia spp. with ergostane skeleton received much attention in Taiwan's academic circle due to their broad-spectrum of biological activities. At present, twelve antcins, i.e. antcin A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, M, and N along with twelve derivatives/epimers (25R/S-antcin A, B, C, H, I and K) and seven analogs (methyl antcinate A, B, G, H, K, L and N) were identified. Several studies have demonstrated that antcins possessed anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-aging, immunomodulation, hepatoprotection, and hypolipedimic activities. The main goal of this review is to define the chemistry, isolation, advances in production, and biological activities of antcins and their derivatives/analogs. Special attention has been given to a detail view of their biological activities in vitro and in vivo and their pharmacological potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]