Understorey plant community and light availability in conifer plantations and natural hardwood forests in Taiwan

Questions: What are the effects of replacing mixed species natural forests with Cryptomeria japonica plantations on understorey plant functional and species diversity? What is the role of the understorey light environment in determining understorey diversity and community in the two types of forest? Location: Subtropical northeast Taiwan. Methods: We examined light environments using hemispherical photography, and diversity and composition of understorey plants of a 35‐yr C. japonica plantation and an adjacent natural hardwood forest. Results: Understorey plant species richness was similar in the two forests, but the communities were different; only 18 of the 91 recorded understorey plant species occurred in both forests. Relative abundance of plants among different functional groups differed between the two forests. Relative numbers of shade‐tolerant and shade‐intolerant seedling individuals were also different between the two forest types with only one shade‐intolerant seedling in the plantation compared to 23 seedlings belonging to two species in the natural forest. In the natural forest 11 species of tree seedling were found, while in the plantation only five were found, and the seedling density was only one third of that in the natural forest. Across plots in both forests, understorey plant richness and diversity were negatively correlated with direct sunlight but not indirect sunlight, possibly because direct light plays a more important role in understorey plant growth. Conclusions: We report lower species and functional diversity and higher light availability in a natural hardwood forest than an adjacent 30‐yr C. japonica plantation, possibly due to the increased dominance of shade‐intolerant species associated with higher light availability. To maintain plant diversity, management efforts must be made to prevent localized losses of shade‐adapted understorey plants

A factor analysis based selection process for predicting successful university color guard club members

The purpose of this paper is to determine how to place students in the most appropriate club, to save training time and expenses, and maximize club performance. To this end, this research utilizes the example of the color guard club at Chienkuo Technology University (CTU). First, the authors researched the characteristics needed to be a color guard member. Second, a series of tests for measuring these characteristics was designed. Third, the authors administered the tests to all the club members and recorded the results. Fourth, after the club members had received one year of training, the authors ran regression analysis by using data from the tests of those who successfully passed the training. From this, the authors obtained a regression model. The authors then ran logistic regression analysis and discriminant analysis oil the test data of all initial color guard club members, including those who eventually passed the training and those who eventually withdrew, to establish screening norms. Last, using factor analysis, the authors found the latent factors. These factors, along with the screening norms, call serve as a foundation for future selection of color guard members. This process of selecting club members scientifically may be adopted by other clubs in order to match students and clubs most effectively. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Delays in service for non-emergent patients due to arrival of emergent patients in the emergency department : a case study in Hong Kong

Background: In Hong Kong Emergency Departments (EDs), the timeliness of providing high-quality services has been compromised by the increasing attendance of non-emergent patients in addition to the unpredictable arrival of emergency patients. Objectives: We sought to quantify the impact of the presence of emergent patients and other related factors on the delay in service for non-emergent patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in patients who visited the ED of a large hospital in Hong Kong from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. We estimated waiting and length of stay (LOS) for individual non-emergent patients registered during day and evening shifts. Using multiple linear regression, we estimated waiting time and LOS as a function of the presence of emergent patients and other related factors such as patient demographics and clinical factors. In particular, we evaluated the influence of the arrival or presence of emergent patients on the odds of violating the 120-min waiting time target for semi-urgent patients. Results: The arrival of a new emergent patient prolonged the waiting time and LOS of a non-emergent patient by 14.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 14.2-15.5) and 10.8% (95% CI 10.6-11.0), respectively. An additional patient-hour needed for an emergent patient increased the probability of violating the waiting time target for non-emergent patients (odds ratio 2.3, 95% CI 2.2-2.4). Conclusions: The arrival of an emergent patient significantly prolonged the waiting time and LOS for non-emergent patients. Discouraging non-urgent ED utilization and building a real-time decision-support system are critical methods needed to relieve staff pressure and guide contingent resource reallocation when emergent patients arrive. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. Printed in the USA. All rights reserved

Ecophysiology and plant size in a tropical epiphytic fern, Asplenium nidus, in Taiwan

Recent studies indicate that, especially in epiphytes, plant size has a strong influence on the ecophysiology of individual leaves of a plant. Extensive data sets that address this phenomenon, however, are limited to a few taxa of flowering plants. It was the purpose of this study to examine numerous physiological parameters in individuals of varying sizes of Asplenium nidus, a widespread epiphytic tropical fern, in a rain forest in northeastern Taiwan. Although stomatal dimensions and frond thickness did not vary with plant size, frond stomatal densities were higher in larger plants. Frond elemental concentration did not vary with plant size for nitrogen, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium, while the concentrations of carbon, calcium, and potassium changed with plant size, though in different ways. The osmotic concentration of liquid expressed from the fronds did not change with plant size, nor did chlorophyll concentrations and chlorophyll a/b ratio. Fronds excised from smaller plants contained more water yet lost water at lower rates in laboratory drying experiments. Although rates of net CO2 exchange of the fronds measured in situ in the field appeared to increase with plant size, this increase and other size-related differences in gas exchange parameters were not significant. Although some aspects of the ecophysiology of this epiphytic fern varied with changes in plant size, most physiological parameters did not. Thus, the results of this study lend only little support to past findings that plant size is an important consideration in ecophysiological studies of plants

Berberine Induced Apoptosis via Promoting the Expression of Caspase-8,-9 and-3, Apoptosis-inducing Factor and Endonuclease G in SCC-4 Human Tongue Squamous Carcinoma Cancer Cells

Many phytochemicals have been recognized to have potential chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic efficacy in cancer treatment. In this study, we hypothesized that berberine would have anticancer activities in SCC-4 human tongue cancer cells. Results indicated that berberine reduced the viability of SCC-4 cells, which was initiated by the generation of reactive oxygen species, via an increase in cytosolic Ca(2+). Berberine-induced apoptosis was associated with a reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential associated with changes in the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and activation of down stream caspase-3. Real-time PCR showed that berberine stimulated gene expression of caspase-8, -9 and 3, apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G. The present study demonstrated that berberine-mediated apoptosis of SCC-4 cells is regulated by ROS, mitochondria, caspase-3-dependent and mitochondria-dependent pathways, suggesting that berberine may be considered for future studies as a promising therapeutic candidate for human tongue cancer