To effectively distribute resources and formulate policies, governments and enterprises usually need to obtain accurate geographical information about housing transaction volumes. In this study, the ...data of counties and cities in Taiwan from 2009 to 2018 were used for the analysis. First, Moran’s I was adopted to test the degree of spatial autocorrelation of the housing transaction volumes of the counties and cities, and GeoDa, a piece of spatial statistical software, was utilized to draw the spatial distribution and local indicators of spatial association cluster of the housing transaction volumes of the counties and cities in Taiwan. After the explanatory comparison between the panel data model and multiple spatial economic models, the Spatial Durbin Model was employed to explore the direct effects on local housing transaction volumes and the spillover effect of neighborhood on the housing transaction volumes at different geographical locations, especially the spatial spillover effect of local fiscal expenditures and the regulations for planned urban environments. Finally, policy implications were offered as reference for the governance of the authorities.
The infectious activity of coxsackievirus B1 (CV-B1) in Taiwan was high from 2008 to 2010, following an alarming increase in severe neonate disease in the United States (US). To examine the ...relationship between CV-B1 strains isolated in Taiwan and those from other parts of the world, we performed a phylodynamic study using VP1 and partial 3Dpol (414 nt) sequences from 22 strains of CV-B1 isolated in Taiwan (1989-2010) and compared them to sequences from strains isolated worldwide. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by neighbor-joining, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov Chain methods. Four genotypes (GI-IV) in the VP1 region of CV-B1 and three genotypes (GA-C) in the 3Dpol region of enterovirus B were identified and had high support values. The phylogenetic analysis indicates that the GI and GIII strains in VP1 were geographically distributed in Taiwan (1993-1994) and in India (2007-2009). On the other hand, the GII and GIV strains appear to have a wider spatiotemporal distribution and ladder-like topology A stair-like phylogeny was observed in the VP1 region indicating that the phylogeny of the virus may be affected by different selection pressures in the specified regions. Further, most of the GI and GII strains in the VP1 tree were clustered together in GA in the 3D tree, while the GIV strains diverged into GB and GC. Taken together, these data provide important insights into the population dynamics of CV-B1 and indicate that incongruencies in specific gene regions may contribute to spatiotemporal patterns of epidemicity for this virus.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Gut retention time (GRT), defined as the time needed for seeds to pass the digestive tracts of consumers, can affect the germination rates of ingested seeds. GRT can vary with the amount of dietary ...fiber consumed by primates. We investigated how dietary fiber affects GRT in captive individuals of four hindgut-fermenting primate species: macaques (
Macaca cyclopis
and
Macaca fascicularis
), gibbons (
Hylobates lar
), and orangutans (
Pongo pygmaeus
). We used
Hylocereus undatus
seeds as markers to measure GRT in each species when fed high- (18–22%) and low- (14–16%) fiber diets. We also examined the effect of GRT on seed germination in
Ficus septica
and
Trema orientalis
(germination time: mean ± SE = 10.4 ± 0.3, 86.9 ± 2.5 days, respectively) by comparing these seeds with the pulp removed, as a control. We found that GRT was longer when gibbons and orangutans fed on a high-fiber diet than on a low-fiber diet, but this was not the case for macaques. The percentage germination of ingested
F. septica
seeds was lower and germination time was longer than the control.
T. orientalis
seeds were less likely to germinate than control seeds were but did so more quickly if they did germinate after passing through
M. cyclopis
and
P. pygmaeus
. GRT decreased the germination rate of seeds of
F. septica
, but not seeds of
T. orientalis
. Together our results suggest that the effect of dietary fiber on GRT differs among primate species, and that the effect of such differences in GRT varies with the seed species they swallow.
Aims and objectives
This study identified the factors that affect health‐related quality of life at one and six months post‐stroke in women who have undergone a mild stroke and that affect their ...informal caregivers’ psychological health status.
Background
Middle‐aged women perform the main care roles in a family. When they suffer a stroke, it upsets the equilibrium of their family life.
Design
This is a longitudinal design.
Methods
This prospective follow‐up study recruited 41 middle‐aged women stroke survivors (mean age = 54·95, SD = 9·63) and their informal caregivers (mean age = 41·56, SD = 15·93). The Short‐Form Health Survey (SF‐36) was used to assess stroke survivor's health‐related quality of life, and the Chinese Health Questionnaire was used to measure the level of depression of the stroke survivor's informal caregiver. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests and the generalised estimating equation approach for modelling repeatedly measures.
Results
All stroke survivors showed significant improvement in the physical component summary of the health‐related quality of life at one and six months after stroke, but there was no significant difference in the mental component summary. In addition, there was no significant difference in the health of the informal caregivers of the women over time. Generalised estimating equation analysis showed that the most important determinant of mental component summary of health‐related quality of life among women stroke survivors was cognitive appraisal. The informal caregivers’ most important determinants of health status, as measured by level of depression, were their sense of coherence, burden and patients’ mental component summary of the health‐related quality of life.
Conclusion
This study highlights the impact of cognitive appraisal in determining health‐related quality of life of women stroke survivors and how it affects their caregivers’ mental health.
Relevance to clinical practice
The findings of this study may contribute to home care nurses’ understanding the importance of the psychosocial impact of the stroke for the survivor and their ability to help the surviving women to promote the confidence needed for self‐care, which will contribute to their quality of life and affect their caregivers’ health.
Objective: The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of different colors produced by light emitting diode (LED) on Brown Tsaiya ducks.Methods: A total of 144 female Brown Tsaiya ...ducks were randomly allocated into three individual cage rearing chambers with different LED illumination colors as treatments. Three different treatments were: i) white color, ii) blue color, and iii) red color. The experiment periods were from ducks 21 to 49 weeks of age, determined traits included i) egg laying performance, ii) feed intake, iii) egg shell breaking strength, iv) egg shell thickness, v) egg Haugh unit, vi) egg weight, vii) serum Estradiol and Progesterone concentration, and viii) behavior pattern.Results: The results indicated that when compared with white and blue color, red color could stimulate ducks sexual maturation and raised the egg laying performance. The red light group was also observed to have the highest feed intake among three treatments. The blue treatment had the lowest egg shell breaking strength and the highest egg weight among three treatments, nevertheless, no significant difference was observed among three treatments on egg shell thickness and egg Haugh unit. The red light group had higher serum estradiol concentration than the white and blue groups, but no significant difference among treatments on the serum Progesterone concentration was found. The results of behavior pattern indicated that red light group showed more feeding and less resting behavior compared to the blue light group.Conclusion: We found a potential of applying red light illumination in the indoor laying duck raising system with positive results on egg laying performance and acceptable egg weight, equivalent egg qualities compared to white and blue light.
This study attempts to investigate if suicide is interlinked with unemployment in Mexico by making use of a recently developed Bootstrap ARDL bound test over the years of 1981-2016. To avoid omitting ...variable bias, we use economic growth rate as a control variable. The empirical results indicate that no co-integration among these three variables and there is a positively bidirectional causality between suicide rate and the unemployment rate. This study will showcase that the economic growth rate negatively affects unemployment rate and unidirectional Granger causality running from economic growth rate to the unemployment rate in Mexico. The findings presented in this study could provide with valuable information for society and health policy makers to formulate the policies on suicide prevention in Mexico.
Aims
To explore perceptions of low‐literate older adults with heart disease about their eating experiences.
Background
Heart disease has been closely linked with nutrition, and nutritional status is ...poor in patients with limited education, but no studies have explored the eating experiences of low‐literate adults with heart disease.
Design
Qualitative descriptive study.
Methods
Data were collected in tape‐recorded semi‐structured interviews from March ‐ June 2012. A convenience sample of 13 low‐literate older adults with heart disease was recruited from a cardiovascular ward of a medical centre in northern Taiwan. Participants were recruited until findings reached saturation and data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.
Findings
Analysis of participants' interview data on eating experiences identified three main categories: (1) eating‐related hardships because of low literacy; (2) eating adjustments due to low literacy; and (3) misinformation about dietary modifications for heart disease.
Conclusion
Because of their low literacy, these older adults had difficult life experiences, gained inappropriate or inadequate eating information and held a passive, fatalistic perspective about eating with heart disease. Healthcare practitioners caring for this population need to appreciate their unique eating challenges and respect their eating customs. Nurses could play a greater role in educating and supporting low‐literate older adults in selecting appropriate foods and preparing meals. Strategies to help this population learn to select, prepare and cook their food should be easy and practical, using specific symbols, concrete signs and simple labels.
Three deep-blue fluorescent 9,10-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)phenanthrenes with diphenyl, -naphthyl, and -pyrenyl moieties at C3 and C6 positions were synthesized and used as the host for doped blue ...fluorescent devices; one of these devices reveals excellent external quantum efficiency of 7.7% and current efficiency of 9.8 cd A(-1) with low efficiency roll-off, deep-blue color coordinates (0.14, 0.14) and long operational lifetime.
Objectives: The dissemination of cephamycin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae and its correlation with a transposon-like DNA element consisting of a specific tnpA-blaCMY-2-blc-sugE structure were ...investigated. Methods: A total of 140 enterobacterial isolates belonging to 17 species (10 genera) of Enterobacteriaceae phenotypically characterized as putative AmpC-producers were evaluated. The isolates were examined by PCR analysis, DNA–DNA hybridization and nucleotide sequencing. Results: The blaCMY-2-carrying element was detected in 34 isolates from 10 species (9 genera), including all 14 Salmonella and 4 Shigella isolates as well as 7 of the 10 Escherichia coli isolates tested. The remaining 9 isolates were from 112 isolates of the other 14 species tested. The genetic structure of the blaCMY-2-carrying element was identical in 29 isolates, while in 3 E. coli and 2 Citrobacter isolates an additional insertion sequence IS1 was found inserted at various nucleotide positions close to the 3′ end, either within or downstream, of tnpA. In 12 of the 14 representative isolates examined, the blaCMY-2-carrying element was found inserted in the finQ gene of various-sized plasmids with highly conserved 8 bp direct repeats flanking the junction regions. Among the other 106 non-CMY-2-producing isolates, plasmid-mediated ampC genes were found only in one isolate of Enterobacter aerogenes which carried a blaDHA-1-like gene. Conclusions: blaCMY-2 is the most prevalent plasmid-mediated ampC gene among Enterobacteriaceae. All the blaCMY-2 genes identified in the present study were associated with a specific transposon-like element that may be responsible for the spread of blaCMY-2 among Enterobacteriaceae.
Studies regarding coxsackievirus (CV) tend to focus on epidemic outbreaks, an imbalanced topology is considered to be an indication of acute infection with partial cross-immunity. In enteroviruses, a ...clear understanding of the characteristics of tree topology, transmission, and its demographic dynamics in viral succession and circulation are essential for identifying prevalence trends in endemic pathogens such as coxsackievirus B2 (CV-B2). This study applied a novel Bayesian evolutionary approach to elucidate the phylodynamic characteristics of CV-B2. A dataset containing 51 VP1 sequences and a dataset containing 34 partial 3D(pol) sequencing were analyzed, where each dataset included Taiwan sequences isolated during 1988-2013.
Four and five genotypes were determined based on the 846-nucleotide VP1 and 441-nucleotide 3D(pol) (6641-7087) regions, respectively, with spatiotemporally structured topologies in both trees. Some strains with tree discordance indicated the occurrence of recombination in the region between the VP1 and 3D(pol) genes. The similarities of VP1 and 3D(pol) gene were 80.0%-96.8% and 74.7%-91.9%, respectively. Analyses of population dynamics using VP1 dataset indicated that the endemic CV-B2 has a small effective population size. The balance indices, high similarity, and low evolutionary rate in the VP1 region indicated mild herd immunity selection in the major capsid region.
Phylodynamic analysis can reveal demographic trends and herd immunity in endemic pathogens.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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