Climatic factors associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a spatial analysis from

Taiwa

The utilization of hospice care among patients with motor neuron diseases: The experience in Taiwan from 2005 to 2010

AbstractBackgroundThe nature and extent of how patients with motor neuron diseases (MNDs) utilize hospice care in Taiwan remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the use of hospice care in Taiwan by patients with MND, and those factors that affect the extent, the cost, and the quality of their hospice treatment and care.MethodsWe analyzed data from hospice care inpatient claims of MNDs, using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan during 2005–2010.ResultsThirty patients and 58 related discharges were enrolled into our study, which consisted of 13 males and 17 females, with a mean age 58.3 years. Of that total, 27 of them (90%) had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and four (13.3%) had comorbid cancers; 17 died during hospice care. Acute low respiratory conditions (31.0%) accounted for the most common acute comorbidity. Noninvasive ventilation care was performed in only 13 (22.4%) of the discharges. In contrast to nasogastric intubation (40 discharges, 69.0%), no gastrostomy/jejunostomy was noted. These procedures bore no relationship to results observed in the discharges. Family physicians provided most inpatient hospice services (74.1%). Respiratory problems were the major causes of death (70.6% of decedents). The mean inpatient costs of hospice care were noticeably reduced from previously established nationwide mean costs.ConclusionHospice care can save costs for patients with terminal MNDs, and family physicians play a valuable role in caring for these patients. However, respiratory and feeding problems are prevalent, yet there are proven benefits when noninvasive ventilation care and gastrostomy/jejunostomy are promoted

BN-embedded monolayer graphene with tunable electronic and topological properties

Finding an effective and controllable way to create a sizable energy gap in graphene-based systems has been a challenging topic of intensive research. We propose that the hybrid of boron nitride and graphene (h-BNC) at low BN doping serves as an ideal platform for band-gap engineering and valleytronic applications. We report a systematic first-principles study of the atomic configurations and band gap opening for energetically favorable BN patches embedded in graphene. Based on first-principles calculations, we construct a tight-binding model to simulate general doping configurations in large supercells. Unexpectedly, the calculations find a linear dependence of the band gap on the effective BN concentration at low doping, arising from an induced effective on-site energy difference at the two C sublattices as they are substituted by B and N dopants alternately. The significant and tunable band gap of a few hundred meVs, with preserved topological properties of graphene and feasible sample preparation in the laboratory, presents great opportunities to realize valley physics applications in graphene systems at room temperature

A novel mutation in the WFS1 gene identified in a Taiwanese family with low-frequency hearing impairment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Wolfram syndrome gene 1 (<it>WFS1</it>) accounts for most of the familial nonsyndromic low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (LFSNHL) which is characterized by sensorineural hearing losses equal to and below 2000 Hz. The current study aimed to contribute to our understanding of the molecular basis of LFSNHL in an affected Taiwanese family.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Taiwanese family with LFSNHL was phenotypically characterized using audiologic examination and pedigree analysis. Genetic characterization was performed by direct sequencing of <it>WFS1 </it>and mutation analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pure tone audiometry confirmed that the family members affected with LFSNHL had a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss equal to or below 2000 Hz. The hearing loss threshold of the affected members showed no progression, a characteristic that was consistent with a mutation in the <it>WFS1 </it>gene located in the DFNA6/14/38 locus. Pedigree analysis showed a hereditarily autosomal dominant pattern characterized by a full penetrance. Among several polymorphisms, a missense mutation Y669H (2005T>C) in exon 8 of <it>WFS1 </it>was identified in members of a Taiwanese family diagnosed with LFSNHL but not in any of the control subjects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We discovered a novel heterozygous missense mutation in exon 8 of <it>WFS1 </it>(i.e., Y669H) which is likely responsible for the LFSNHL phenotype in this particular Taiwanese family.</p

Second-Order Time-Dependent Mild-Slope Equation for Wave Transformation

This study is to propose a wave model with both wave dispersivity and nonlinearity for the wave field without water depth restriction. A narrow-banded sea state centred around a certain dominant wave frequency is considered for applications in coastal engineering. A system of fully nonlinear governing equations is first derived by depth integration of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation in conservative form. A set of second-order nonlinear time-dependent mild-slope equations is then developed by a perturbation scheme. The present nonlinear equations can be simplified to the linear time-dependent mild-slope equation, nonlinear long wave equation, and traditional Boussinesq wave equation, respectively. A finite volume method with the fourth-order Adams-Moulton predictor-corrector numerical scheme is adopted to directly compute the wave transformation. The validity of the present model is demonstrated by the simulation of the Stokes wave, cnoidal wave, and solitary wave on uniform depth, nonlinear wave shoaling on a sloping beach, and wave propagation over an elliptic shoal. The nearshore wave transformation across the surf zone is simulated for 1D wave on a uniform slope and on a composite bar profile and 2D wave field around a jetty. These computed wave height distributions show very good agreement with the experimental results available

The utilization of hospice care among patients with motor neuron diseases: The experience in Taiwan from 2005 to 2010

Abstract Background: The nature and extent of how patients with motor neuron diseases (MNDs) utilize hospice care in Taiwan remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the use of hospice care in Taiwan by patients with MND, and those factors that affect the extent, the cost, and the quality of their hospice treatment and care. Methods: We analyzed data from hospice care inpatient claims of MNDs, using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan during 2005e2010. Results: Thirty patients and 58 related discharges were enrolled into our study, which consisted of 13 males and 17 females, with a mean age 58.3 years. Of that total, 27 of them (90%) had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and four (13.3%) had comorbid cancers; 17 died during hospice care. Acute low respiratory conditions (31.0%) accounted for the most common acute comorbidity. Noninvasive ventilation care was performed in only 13 (22.4%) of the discharges. In contrast to nasogastric intubation (40 discharges, 69.0%), no gastrostomy/jejunostomy was noted. These procedures bore no relationship to results observed in the discharges. Family physicians provided most inpatient hospice services (74.1%). Respiratory problems were the major causes of death (70.6% of decedents). The mean inpatient costs of hospice care were noticeably reduced from previously established nationwide mean costs. Conclusion: Hospice care can save costs for patients with terminal MNDs, and family physicians play a valuable role in caring for these patients. However, respiratory and feeding problems are prevalent, yet there are proven benefits when noninvasive ventilation care and gastrostomy/ jejunostomy are promoted

OMAE2006-92088 WAVE TRANSFORMATION AND SOIL RESPONSE DUE TO SUBMERGED PERMEABLE BREAKWATER

ABSTRACT This study reports the experimental results of the wave transformation and the wave-induced soil response when the waves pass through the submerged permeable breakwater. The model of the submerged breakwater was built on a horizontal sandy bottom. The experimental results of the spectrum of the wave transformation and the wave-induced pore-pressure are first analyzed in this paper. It is found that the wave spectrum is similar to the condition of the impermeable bottom that the higher harmonic mode appears when the waves pass over the submerged structure. However, the higher harmonic mode is not found in the spectrum of the wave-induced pore pressure, showing that the nonlinearity of the pore pressure is damped by the porous bed. The influences of the geometry of the submerged breakwater to the transformation of the wave height and the pore-pressure are also investigated. Based on the experimental results, the regression formulas for the coefficients of the wave reflection, the wave transmission and the wave energy dissipation are obtained in the paper

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ABSTRACT. Objective. To investigate whether development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), its clinical manifestations, and autoantibody production are associated with polymorphisms of the mannose-binding lectin Conclusion. A significantly increased prevalence of anti-Smith antibody was associated with the heterozygous genotypes A/B and A/C. Although MBL structural gene polymorphism was not a risk factor for SLE development in this study population, homozygosity of MBL variant alleles may be a weak disease-modifying factor, particularly for renal involvement, in North American patients with SLE

Naturally Acquired Human Plasmodium knowlesi Infection, Singapore

Naturally Acquired Human Plasmodium knowlesi Infection, Singapor