An Investigation of Working Holiday Experiences: A Means-End Analysis Approach

Once a marginal activity undertaken by backpackers, working holiday tourism has now gradually become accepted by young people. This study extends the means-end approach to examine the factors associated with the tourists’ experiences. The main purpose is to learn more about the role and meaning of the benefits from this type of travelling. By using the “laddering” technique, a total of 60 subjects participated in one-on-one in-depth personal interviews and the interviewing data were then analyzed. These outcomes generally referred to positive consequences or benefits. Of these benefits, those involving being independent in personal finances, escapism, experiencing a different culture, developing a range of skills, and making relationships have received the most prior research attention. The subjects provided information regarding the higher-level meanings related to these intermediated-level benefits, such as self-change and being open-minded. The results also highlighted several key personal values (in particular, accomplishment, self-confidence, unforgettable memories and satisfying one’s curiosity) that appeared to serve as the higher level “ends” of the experiences. The study’s findings have important implications for researchers and practitioners interested in the study of working holiday tourism

Recurrent disturbances and the degradation of hard coral communities in Taiwan

Recurrent disturbances can have a critical effect on the structure and function of coral reef communities. In this study, long-term changes were examined in the hard coral community at Wanlitung, in southern Taiwan, between 1985 and 2010. In this 26 year interval, the reef has experienced repeated disturbances that include six typhoons and two coral-bleaching events. The frequency of disturbance has meant that species susceptible to disturbance, such as those in the genus Acropora and Montipora have almost disappeared from the reef. Indeed, almost all hard coral species have declined in abundance, with the result that total hard coral cover in 2010 (17.7%) was less than half what it was in 1985 (47.5%). In addition, macro-algal cover has increased from 11.3% in 2003 to 28.5% in 2010. The frequency of disturbance combined with possible chronic influence of a growing human population mean that a diverse reef assemblage is unlikely to persist on this reef into the future

Multi-scale symbolic entropy analysis provides prognostic prediction in patients receiving extracorporeal life support

Introduction: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) can temporarily support cardiopulmonary function, and is occasionally used in resuscitation. Multi-scale entropy (MSE) derived from heart rate variability (HRV) is a powerful tool in outcome prediction of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Multi-scale symbolic entropy analysis (MSsE), a new method derived from MSE, mitigates the effect of arrhythmia on analysis. The objective is to evaluate the prognostic value of MSsE in patients receiving ECLS. The primary outcome is death or urgent transplantation during the index admission. Methods: Fifty-seven patients receiving ECLS less than 24 hours and 23 control subjects were enrolled. Digital 24-hour Holter electrocardiograms were recorded and three MSsE parameters (slope 5, Area 6–20, Area 6–40) associated with the multiscale correlation and complexity of heart beat fluctuation were calculated. Results: Patients receiving ECLS had significantly lower value of slope 5, area 6 to 20, and area 6 to 40 than control subjects. During the follow-up period, 29 patients met primary outcome. Age, slope 5, Area 6 to 20, Area 6 to 40, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score, multiple organ dysfunction score (MODS), logistic organ dysfunction score (LODS), and myocardial infarction history were significantly associated with primary outcome. Slope 5 showed the greatest discriminatory power. In a net reclassification improvement model, slope 5 significantly improved the predictive power of LODS; Area 6 to 20 and Area 6 to 40 significantly improved the predictive power in MODS. In an integrated discrimination improvement model, slope 5 added significantly to the prediction power of each clinical parameter. Area 6 to 20 and Area 6 to 40 significantly improved the predictive power in sequential organ failure assessment. Conclusions: MSsE provides additional prognostic information in patients receiving ECLS. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-014-0548-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Evaluation of Oral Antiretroviral Drugs in Mice With Metabolic and Neurologic Complications

Antiretroviral (ART) drugs has previously been associated with lipodystrophic syndrome, metabolic consequences, and neuropsychiatric complications. ART drugs include three main classes of protease inhibitors (PIs), nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Our previous work demonstrated that a high risk of hyperlipidemia was observed in HIV-1-infected patients who received ART drugs in Taiwan. Patients receiving ART drugs containing either Abacavir/Lamivudine (Aba/Lam; NRTI/NRTI), Lamivudine/Zidovudine (Lam/Zido; NRTI/NRTI), or Lopinavir/Ritonavir (Lop/Rit; PI) have the highest risk of hyperlipidemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Aba/Lam (NRTI/NRTI), Lam/Zido (NRTI/NRTI), and Lop/Rit (PI) on metabolic and neurologic functions in mice. Groups of C57BL/6 mice were administered Aba/Lam, Lam/Zido, or Lop/Rit, orally, once daily for a period of 4 weeks. The mice were then extensively tested for metabolic and neurologic parameters. In addition, the effect of Aba/Lam, Lam/Zido, and Lop/Rit on lipid metabolism was assessed in HepG2 hepatocytes and during the 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation. Administration with Aba/Lam caused cognitive and motor impairments in mice, as well as their metabolic imbalances, including alterations in leptin serum levels. Administration with Lop/Rit also caused cognitive and motor impairments in mice, as well as their metabolic imbalances, including alterations in serum levels of total cholesterol, and HDL-c. Treatment of mice with Aba/Lam and Lop/Rit enhanced the lipid accumulation in the liver, and the decrease in AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and/or its downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) protein expression. In HepG2 hepatocytes, Aba/Lam, Lam/Zido, and Lop/Rit also enhanced the lipid accumulation and decreased phosphorylated AMPK and ACC proteins. In 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte differentiation, Aba/Lam and Lop/Rit reduced adipogenesis by decreasing expression of transcription factor CEBPb, implicating the lipodystrophic syndrome. Our results demonstrate that daily oral administration of Aba/Lam and Lop/Rit may produce cognitive, motor, and metabolic impairments in mice, regardless of HIV-1 infection

Serologic and Molecular Biologic Methods for SARS-associated Coronavirus Infection, Taiwan

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has raised a global alert since March 2003. After its causative agent, SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), was confirmed, laboratory methods, including virus isolation, reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and serologic methods, have been quickly developed. In this study, we evaluated four serologic tests ( neutralization test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA], immunofluorescent assay [IFA], and immunochromatographic test [ICT]) for detecting antibodies to SARS-CoV in sera of 537 probable SARS case-patients with correlation to the RT-PCR . With the neutralization test as a reference method, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 98.2%, 98.7%, 98.7%, and 98.4% for ELISA; 99.1%, 87.8%, 88.1% and 99.1% for IFA; 33.6%, 98.2%, 95.7%, and 56.1% for ICT, respectively. We also compared the recombinant-based western blot with the whole virus–based IFA and ELISA; the data showed a high correlation between these methods, with an overall agreement of >90%. Our results provide a systematic analysis of serologic and molecular methods for evaluating SARS-CoV infection

Mixed Infections of Helicobacter pylori

Background. Persistent Helicobacter pylori infection may induce several upper gastrointestinal diseases. Two major virulence factors of H. pylori, vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) and cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA), are thought to be associated with the severity of disease progression. The distribution of vacA and cag-pathogenicity island (cag-PAI) alleles varies in H. pylori isolated from patients in different geographic regions. Aim. To assess the association between mixed infection of H. pylori clinical isolates from Taiwanese patients and the severity of gastrointestinal diseases. Methods. A total of 70 patients were enrolled in this study. Six distinct and well-separated colonies were isolated from each patient and 420 colonies were analyzed to determine the genotypes of virulence genes. Results. The prevalence of mixed infections of all H. pylori-infected patients was 28.6% (20/70). The rate of mixed infections in patients with duodenal ulcer (47.6%) was much higher than that with other gastrointestinal diseases (P<0.05). Conclusions. H. pylori mixed infections show high genetic diversity that may enhance bacterial adaptation to the hostile environment of the stomach and contribute to disease development

Protective effects of Scoparia dulcis L. extract on high glucose-induced injury in human retinal pigment epithelial cells

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a major cause of vision loss in diabetic patients. Hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and the accumulation of inflammatory factors result in blood-retinal barrier dysfunction and the pathogenesis of DR. Scoparia dulcis L. extract (SDE), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been recently recognized for its various pharmacological effects, including anti-diabetic, anti-hyperlipidemia, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative activities. However, there is no relevant research on the protective effect of SDE in DR. In this study, we treated high glucose (50 mM) in human retinal epithelial cells (ARPE-19) with different concentrations of SDE and analyzed cell viability, apoptosis, and ROS production. Moreover, we analyzed the expression of Akt, Nrf2, catalase, and HO-1, which showed that SDE dose-dependently reduced ROS production and attenuated ARPE-19 cell apoptosis in a high-glucose environment. Briefly, we demonstrated that SDE exhibited an anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory ability in protecting retinal cells from high-glucose (HG) treatment. Moreover, we also investigated the involvement of the Akt/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway in SDE-mediated protective effects. The results suggest SDE as a nutritional supplement that could benefit patients with DR

Uncoupling Protein-4 (UCP4) Increases ATP Supply by Interacting with Mitochondrial Complex II in Neuroblastoma Cells

Mitochondrial uncoupling protein-4 (UCP4) protects against Complex I deficiency as induced by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), but how UCP4 affects mitochondrial function is unclear. Here we investigated how UCP4 affects mitochondrial bioenergetics in SH-SY5Y cells. Cells stably overexpressing UCP4 exhibited higher oxygen consumption (10.1%, p<0.01), with 20% greater proton leak than vector controls (p<0.01). Increased ATP supply was observed in UCP4-overexpressing cells compared to controls (p<0.05). Although state 4 and state 3 respiration rates of UCP4-overexpressing and control cells were similar, Complex II activity in UCP4-overexpressing cells was 30% higher (p<0.05), associated with protein binding between UCP4 and Complex II, but not that of either Complex I or IV. Mitochondrial ADP consumption by succinate-induced respiration was 26% higher in UCP4-overexpressing cells, with 20% higher ADP:O ratio (p<0.05). ADP/ATP exchange rate was not altered by UCP4 overexpression, as shown by unchanged mitochondrial ADP uptake activity. UCP4 overexpression retained normal mitochondrial morphology in situ, with similar mitochondrial membrane potential compared to controls. Our findings elucidate how UCP4 overexpression increases ATP synthesis by specifically interacting with Complex II. This highlights a unique role of UCP4 as a potential regulatory target to modulate mitochondrial Complex II and ATP output in preserving existing neurons against energy crisis

Bimolecular fluorescence complementation analysis of eukaryotic fusion products

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90391/1/BC20100033.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90391/2/boc_525_sm_suppl.pd