A WORLD OF PARADOX: IS THAT THE PUBLIC STATEMENT OR PRIVATE TALK IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITY?

Past studies mostly suggest that virtual community be the platform especially applicable for private exchange because people express themselves through hiding their real images and identities in online interaction. On the other hand, the anonymously private opinions at cyberspace are easily cited and forwarded as public ones because of the powerful search engines and hyperlink connections of internet. We consider that both public and private aspects coexist in the interaction of virtual community. This study is conducted as an interpretive research and uses the views of “front region” and “back region” in dramaturgical theory to unobtrusively observe a virtual community. We analyze the data upon hermeneutic circle to find out that the point of reference of the stage in virtual community is shaky. The virtual community can be both public and private channel at the same time just as the front region and back region overlapping. We also expect that the administrative team of every virtual community recognize the subject matter and elaborate an appropriate online environment for their members

The Volcanic Earthquake Swarm of October 20, 2009 in the Tatun Area of Northern Taiwan

On October 20, 2009, a series of felt earthquakes with local magnitudes ranging from 2.8 - 3.2 occurred in the Tatun volcanic area off the northern tip of Taiwan. Although there was no damage caused by those earthquakes, many residents in the Taipei metropolitan area, particularly for people who live near the Yangminshan National Park, felt strong ground shaking. In order to know what the possible mechanisms were that generated those earthquakes, we carefully examined seismic data recorded by a dense seismic array in the Tatun volcanic area. During the period between October 18 and 22, 2009 we detected at least 202 micro-earthquakes. Most of the earthquakes were relocated using the double-difference method and were clustered in the shallow crust beneath the Dayoukeng area, which is the strongest fumarole in the Tatun volcanic area. Among these earthquakes, 72 focal mechanisms were determined by polarizing the first P-wave motion. Most earthquakes belonged to normal faulting. An extremely high b-value of 2.17 was obtained from those earthquakes. Based on the seismic variations in both the temporary and spatial distribution as well as an extremely high b-value, we conclude that the earthquake sequence on October 20, 2009 was a typically seismic swarm associated with possible active volcanism in the Tatun volcanic area

Persistent and multisite homophobic harassment during childhood and adolescence and its association with school difficulties in gay and bisexual men in Taiwan

Background: Homophobic harassment can compromise mental health of sexual minority youths. Objectives: This study examined the rates of persistent and multisite homophobic harassment and their associations with school difficulties during childhood and adolescence among gay and bisexual men in Taiwan. Methods: Participants were recruited through advertisements on the Facebook, Bulletin Board Systems, and the home pages of health promotion and counseling centers for the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community. The experiences of traditional and cyber harassment based on gender role nonconformity and sexual orientation of 500 gay or bisexual men were examined. The associations of multisite and persistent harassment victimization with school difficulties were evaluated. Results: A total of 239 (47.8%) and 131 (26.2%) participants experienced persistent and multisite harassment victimization, respectively. Harassment victimization was significantly associated with low satisfaction with academic performance in any stage of study. Moreover, the participants who were harassed in senior high schools were more likely to miss classes or be truant than those who were not harassed. The victims of multisite harassment at senior high schools were more likely to miss classes or be truant than those of school-only harassment. Discussion: Prevention and intervention programs are warranted to reduce homophobic harassment in sexual minority youths

Removing Infragravity‐Wave‐Induced Noise from Ocean‐Bottom Seismographs (OBS) Data Deployed Offshore of Taiwan

Vertical ocean‐bottom seismograph (OBS) data at frequencies below 0.05 Hz are contaminated by noise induced by infragravity waves. We constructed the transfer function between pressure and velocity data from OBSs deployed in Taiwan waters to remove the wave pressure‐induced noise from seismic recordings. Data were analyzed from five portable broadband OBSs deployed each for 10 months at water depths from 1740 to 4600 m and from a cabled, shallow‐buried seismograph (EOS1) installed on the seafloor at 300 m depth. Removing long‐period noise from these OBS data improves the identification of teleseismic phases such as P, S, SS, Pdiff, and PKIKP that are otherwise ambiguous or unidentifiable. For EOS1, infragravity‐wave signals completely mask the P and S waveforms in the 10–50 s period band suitable for centroid moment tensor (CMT) solutions for most of the local events. Application of the transfer functions to predict and remove wave deformation yielded clean prominent P and S waveforms at these periods and aided in the CMT determination for small events jointly with land stations. The relative amplitudes of the wavenumber‐normalized transfer function for some of the OBSs are mostly determined by the thickness of the sediment at the OBS site

Sleep disruption in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3: A genetic and polysomnographic study

Background: Sleep structure disruption and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorders (RBD) have been previously reported in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. However, similar studies have rarely been quantitatively conducted in type 3 spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA3). Methods: Fifteen patients with SCA3 and 16 healthy controls were recruited and evaluated by clinical history, International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS), Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), and polysomnography. Results: Patients with SCA3 had reductions in sleep efficiency and percentage of REM sleep, which were negatively correlated with the severity of ataxia as evaluated by ICARS. REM sleep reduction occurred regardless of the presence of RBD, and severe reduction of REM sleep may significantly disturb the assessment of RBD. Conclusion: Poor sleep efficiency and REM sleep aberrations are the characteristics of sleep structure disruption in SCA3 as the disease progresses. The incidence of respiratory disturbance during sleep or excessive daytime sleepiness was not significantly higher in SCA3 patients than controls

Long-term outcomes of surgical treatment for intravascular leiomyomatosis

Background: Intravascular leiomyomatosis (IVL) is relatively rare. The optimal surgical method and long-term outcomes are not completely understood. Methods: Medical records between 2007 and 2017 in our hospital were analyzed to identify IVL cases with surgical intervention. Their medical records, operative details, and follow-up were collected by chart review and telephone communication. Results: Eight patients with IVL were included in the study, accounting for 0.26% of all uterine leiomyoma cases. Primary IVL was confined to pelvic cavity in three patients, extended to the inferior vena cava (IVC) below renal vein in one, reached IVC and right atrium in three, and reached main pulmonary artery in one. One-stage operation was performed for seven patients. Cardiopulmonary bypass was done in four patients, and aortic cross-clamp and temporary circulatory arrest was performed in two patients. None of the four patients with intrapulmonary tumors received concomitant pulmonary tumor resection. There was no operative mortality and four morbidities, including ureter injury (2), bladder injury (1), and femoral vein thrombosis (1). During follow-up, two patients exhibited local recurrence of the tumor in the pelvis, and one patient had rapidly growing intrapulmonary tumor three months post-operatively. Intrapulmonary tumors in the other three patients remained stationary at 6, 84, and 120 months post-operatively. Conclusion: One-stage operation to completely remove IVL is feasible and with good long-term outcomes, which is recommended if the patient can tolerate the operation. Concomitant intrapulmonary tumors can be followed up watchfully except when associated with pleural effusion or the pathology indicating trend of increasing malignancy. Keywords: Intravascular leiomyomatosis, Intracardiac leiomyomatosis, Cardiac tumor, Surgery, Cardiopulmonary bypass, Follow-u