Physical outdoor activity versus indoor activity: their influence on environmental behaviors

There are strong evidences linking physical outdoor activity and health benefits; however, little is known about the impact on environmental behaviors. Thus, this study aims to close this gap by investigating the influence of physical outdoor activity on environmental behaviors. A total of 416 surveys were distributed to students in eight public primary schools located near the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan. Findings from the analysis revealed that subjective norms had a more influential effect on environmental behaviors for participants who engaged in physical activity at outdoor parks. In contrast, descriptive norms had a direct predictive impact on environmental behaviors for participants whose main physical activity venue was at the indoor after-school centers. Research results also highlighted attitude as the strongest predictive variable influence on environmental behaviors for children who engaged in physical indoor and outdoor activities

Political and social determinants of life expectancy in less developed countries: A longitudinal study

EstE livro corrEspondE à primeira experiência didática do Grupo de trabalho desenvolvimento Urbano do conselho latinoamericano de ciências sociais (clAcso), que reúne cerca de quarenta pesquisadores de diferentes instituições da região. Esta experiência tornou-se possível, graças ao fato da proposta deste curso ter sido aprovada no âmbito da cátedra Florestan Fernandes do conselho. completamente desenvolvida através do campus virtual do clAcso, teve, por principal objetivo, estimular a reflexão sobre alguns dos principais eixos teórico-conceituais e empíricos orientadores da análise da urbanização latino-americana

Estimating quality weights for EQ-5D (EuroQol-5 dimensions) health states with the time trade-off method in Taiwan

Background/PurposeEQ-5D (EuroQol-5 dimensions) is a preference-based measure of health, which is widely used in cost–utility analyses. It has been suggested that each country should develop its own value set. We therefore sought to develop the quality weights of the EQ-5D health states with the time trade-off (TTO) method in Taiwan.MethodsA total of 745 respondents consisting of employees and volunteers in 17 different hospitals were recruited and interviewed. Each of them valued 13 of 73 EQ-5D health states using the TTO method. Based on the three exclusion criteria for valuation data, only 456 (61.21%) respondents were considered eligible for data analysis. The quality weights for all EQ-5D health states were modeled by generalized estimating equations (GEEs).ResultsOver half of the responses were given negative values, and the medical personnel seemed to have a significantly higher TTO value (+0.1) than others after controlling for other predictors. The N3 model (level 3 occurred within at least 1 dimension) yielded an acceptable fit for the observed OTT data [mean absolute error (MAE) = 0.056, R2 = 0.35]. The magnitude of mean absolute differences (MADs) between Taiwan data and those from the UK, Japan, and South Korea ranged from 0.146 to 0.592, but the rank correlation coefficients were all above 0.811.ConclusionThis study reaffirms the differences in health-related preference values across countries. The high proportion of negative values might indicate that we have also partially measured the intensity of fear in addition to the utility of different health states

Determinants of pro-environmental behavior among excessive smartphone usage children and moderate smartphone usage children in Taiwan

Introduction Although there is evidence linking the relationships between smartphone usage with health, stress, and academic performance, there is still inadequate knowledge about the influence on pro-environmental behaviors. This study seeks to bridge this gap by adapting the theory of attribution framework to examine the effects of personal norms, social norms, perceived behavioral control on pro-environmental behavior of smartphone usage in children. Methods A total of 225 children aged between 11 to 12 from eight selected public primary schools at the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan were surveyed. Two distinct groups (excessive versus moderate usage) were purposefully selected for comparison, of which 96 participants were excessive smartphone users while the remaining 129 were moderate smartphone users. Results Findings revealed significant differences between excessive and moderate smartphone usage children groups in personal norms (p  0.05), as well as social norms and pro-environmental behavior for moderate smartphone usage children (β = 0.181, t = 1.924, p > 0.05), but such a relationship could be developed through the mediating effect of perceived behavioral control (β = 0.497, t = 4.471***, p < 0.001). Discussion The results suggested that excessive smartphone usage children lack positive perceived behavioral control, and their pro-environmental behavior could only be predicted through explicit social norms, whereas pro-environmental behavior of moderate smartphone usage children was implicitly influenced by personal norms through perceived behavioral control

TABLE OF CASES

<p>Main effects: trial: p<.001; time: p<.001; interaction: p<.001. **p<.01; ***p<0.01.</p

Impacts of increasing typhoons on the structure and function of a subtropical forest: reflections of a changing climate

Due to their destructive and sporadic nature, it is often difficult to evaluate and predict the effects of typhoon on forest ecosystem patterns and processes. We used a 21-yr record of litterfall rates to explore the influence of typhoon frequency and intensity, along with other meteorological variables, on ecosystem dynamics in a subtropical rainforest. Over the past half century there has been an increasing frequency of strong typhoons (category 3; >49.6 m s-1; increase of 1.5 typhoons/decade) impacting the Fushan Experimental Forest, Taiwan. At Fushan strong typhoons drive total litterfall mass with an average of 1100 kg ha-1 litterfall typhoon-1. While mean typhoon season litterfall has been observed to vary by an order of magnitude, mean litterfall rates associated with annual leaf senescence vary by <20%. In response to increasing typhoon frequency, total annual litter mass increased gradually over the 21-year record following three major typhoons in 1994. Monthly maximum wind speed was predictive of monthly litterfall, yet the influence of precipitation and temperature was only evident in non-typhoon affected months. The response of this subtropical forest to strong typhoons suggests that increasing typhoon frequency has already shifted ecosystem structure and function (declining carbon sequestration and forest stature)

Genetic variation analysis of reemerging porcine epidemic diarrhea virus prevailing in central China from 2010 to 2011

Porcine epidemic diarrhea has re-emerged with devastating impact in central China since October 2010. To investigate and analyze the reason of this outbreak, the M and ORF3 genes of 15 porcine epidemic diarrhea viruses (PEDV), which were collected from different areas of central China during October 2010 and December 2011, were amplified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, cloned, sequenced, and analyzed. Sequence analyses showed that the nucleotides and amino acids were changed at some sites in the M and ORF3 genes of the 15 PEDV strains compared with those genes of CV777 reference strain. Based on the phylogenetic analyses, PEDVs in central China and reference strains could be separated into three groups: G1, G2, and G3. The 15 PEDV strains belonged to G3 group and showed a close relationship with Korean strains (2007), Thai strains (2007–2008), and partial other Chinese strains (2010–2011), but differed genetically from European strains (Br1/87) and the vaccine strain (CV777 vs) being used in China. Furthermore, all 15 PEDV strains from central China and some other isolates in China from 2003 to 2007 (LJB-03, QH, and LZC) belonged to different group. Therefore, PEDV exhibits rapid variation and genetic evolution, and the currently prevailing PEDV strains in central China are a new genotype

Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in Pathogens Causing Nosocomial Infections at a University Hospital in Taiwan, 1981-1999

To determine the distribution and antimicrobial drug resistance in bacterial pathogens causing nosocomial infections, surveillance data on nosocomial infections documented from 1981 to 1999 at National Taiwan University Hospital were analyzed. During this period, 35,580 bacterial pathogens causing nosocomial infections were identified. Candida species increased considerably, ranking first by 1999 in the incidence of pathogens causing all nosocomial infections, followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Candida species also increased in importance as bloodstream infection isolates, from 1.0% in 1981-1986 to 16.2% in 1999. The most frequent isolates from urinary tract infections were Candida species (23.6%), followed by Escherichia coli (18.6%) and P. aeruginosa (11.0%). P. aeruginosa remained the most frequent isolates for respiratory tract and surgical site infections in the past 13 years. A remarkable increase in incidence was found in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (from 4.3% in 1981-1986 to 58.9% in 1993-1998), cefotaxime-resistant E. coli (from 0% in 1981-1986 to 6.1% in 1993-1998), and cefotaxime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (from 4.0% in 1981-1986 to 25.8% in 1993-1998). Etiologic shifts in nosocomial infections and an upsurge of antimicrobial resistance among these pathogens, particularly those isolated from intensive care units, are impressive and alarming

Mozart K.545 Mimics Mozart K.448 in Reducing Epileptiform Discharges in Epileptic Children

Mozart K.448 has been shown to improve cognitive function, leading to what is known as the Mozart Effect. Our previous work reveals positive effects of Mozart K.448 in reducing epileptiform discharges in epileptic children. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Mozart K.545 and compared the effects with those of Mozart K.448 on epileptiform discharges in children with epilepsy. Thirty-nine epileptic children with epileptiform discharges were included in the study. They received electroencephalogram examinations before, during, and after listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545, one week apart, respectively. The frequencies of epileptiform discharges were compared. There was a significant decrease in the frequency of epileptiform discharges during and right after listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545 (reduced by 35.7±32.7% during Mozart K.448 and 30.3±44.4% after Mozart K.448; and 34.0±39.5% during Mozart K.545 and 31.8±39.2% after Mozart K.545). Spectrogrammatic analysis of the two pieces of music demonstrated that both share similar spectrogrammatic characteristics. Listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545 decreased the epileptiform discharges in epileptic children. This suggests that Mozart K.448 is not the only piece of music to have beneficial effects on children with epilepsy. Other music with lower harmonics may also decrease epileptiform discharges in epileptic children