Investigating Thermal Comfort and User Behaviors in Outdoor Spaces: A Seasonal and Spatial Perspective

Numerous studies have examined the correlation between the number of attendants in a given outdoor environment and thermal indices to understand how the environmental planning has an impact on the users. However, extensive observations should be conducted to examine the detailed static and dynamic behavior patterns of users. We conducted dynamic observations at a stepped plaza to perform on-site measurements of the physical environment and observations of users behaviors, including their resting positions, movements, and stay durations. The results indicated that more people rested on the steps during the cool season than hot season. Compared to neutral temperatures, people demonstrated higher heat tolerance to the hot season. The results indicated that more than 75% of users preferred to remain in shaded areas and stayed longer than in the sunlight. The people tended to engage in static activities in environments that exhibit sufficient shading. The shaded areas were conducive to static activities as the summer grew hotter. The results verified that the people of Taiwan would avoid sunlight and desire shaded spaces based on their previous climate experiences and expectations, which can serve as a reference for outdoor space design to improve the usability and quality of open urban spaces

Understanding the Intention of Giving Information in Virtual Communities

The major activity in a virtual community is information exchange among members. However, even in busy virtual communities, usually only a small fraction of members post information actively. Our interest in this study was seeking a better understanding of the psychological determinants that drive people to give information actively and voluntarily. An empirical study was conducted and 273 responses that have experiences in virtual communities were collected. The research model was mainly evaluated and validated with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)-LISREL. The results suggest that members’ perceived self-efficacy, perceived soft rewards, trust to other members, social identity, and positive anticipated emotions have positively effects on intention of giving information through the mediation of desire

Focal foveal atrophy of unknown etiology: Clinical pictures and possible underlying causes

Background/PurposeFocal foveal atrophy is defined as the presence of a small, focal, ill-defined, hypopigmented foveal or juxtafoveal lesion, with the remaining retina unaffected. The purpose of this study was to report the clinical characteristics and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with focal foveal atrophy of unknown etiology.MethodsThe study was a retrospective observational case series. Data collected included complete ocular examination results for best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ophthalmoscopy, fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, color sense discrimination tests, visual field tests, and OCT examinations.ResultsTwenty-three eyes in 21 patients were examined. The mean patient age was 49.2 ± 15.4 years. The mean BCVA was 20/25. The 21 patients were divided into three groups according to OCT results. Group 1 eyes (n = 10) had intact inner and outer hyperreflective layers (HRLs), with the signal of the inner HRL corresponding to the junction between the inner and outer photoreceptor segments and the outer HRL corresponding to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Group 2 eyes (n = 9) had small hyporeflective defects with defects in the inner HRL at the fovea but an intact outer HRL. Group 3 eyes (n = 4) had small hyporeflective defects in both the inner and outer HRLs at the fovea. Groups 3 eyes had significantly lower visual acuity compared to Group 1 eyes and Group 2 eyes. There was no significant difference in visual acuity between Group 1 and Group 2 eyes. There were no significant differences among the groups with respect to color vision or foveal thickness.ConclusionThis is the first report of clinical presentations for patients with focal foveal atrophy of unknown etiology. OCT aided in the diagnosis and assessment of the degree of retinal structural abnormalities, but the real etiology of foveal atrophy remains unclear

Investigation of the association between the genetic polymorphisms of the co-stimulatory system and systemic lupus erythematosus

Human leukocyte antigen genes have been shown to have the strongest association with autoimmune disease (AD). However, non-HLA genes would be risk factors of AD. Many genes encoding proteins that are related to T- and B-cell function have been identified as susceptibility genes of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study, we explored the correlation between SLE and the genetic polymorphisms of co-stimulatory/co-inhibitory molecules, including CTLA4, CD28, ICOS, PDCD1, and TNFSF4. We found that there were nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with SLE, namely, rs11571315 (TT vs. CT vs. CC: p < 0.001; TT vs. CT: p = 0.001; p = 0.005; TT vs. CT +CC: p < 0.001; TT+CT vs. CC: p = 0.032), rs733618 (CC vs. CT vs. TT: p = 0.002; CC vs. CT: p = 0.001; CC vs. TT: p = 0.018; CC vs. CT + TT: p = 0.001), rs4553808 (AA vs. AG: p < 0.001), rs62182595 (GG vs. AG vs. AA: p < 0.001; GG vs. AG: p < 0.001; GG vs. AG+AA: p < 0.001), rs16840252 (CC vs. CT vs. TT: p < 0.001; CC vs. CT: p < 0.001; CC vs. CT + TT: p < 0.001), rs5742909 (CC vs. CT: p = 0.027; CC vs. CT + TT: p = 0.044), rs11571319 (GG vs. AG vs. AA: p < 0.001, GG vs. AG: p < 0.001; GG vs. AG+AA: p < 0.001), rs36084323 (CC vs. CT vs. TT: p = 0.013, CC vs. TT: p = 0.004; CC vs. CT + TT: p = 0.015; CC +CT vs. TT: p = 0.015), and rs1234314 (CC vs. CG vs. GG: p = 0.005; CC vs. GG: p=0.004; CC+ CG vs. GG: p=0.001), but not in CD28 and ICOS by using the chi-square test. Additionally, rs62182595 and rs16840252 of CTLA and rs1234314 and rs45454293 of TNFSF4 were also associated with SLE in haplotypes. These SLE-related SNPs also had an association with several diseases. It was indicated that these SNPs may play an important role in immune regulation and pathogenic mechanisms

AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Activation during Cardioplegia-Induced Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Injury Attenuates Cardiomyocytic Apoptosis via Reduction of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Cardioplegic-induced H/R injury results in cardiomyocytic apoptosis. AMPK has been shown to reduce ER stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR). Whether AMPK activation can attenuate cardiomyocytic apoptosis after cardioplegia-induced H/R injury is unknown. Cardiomyocytes were exposed to simulated ischemia by incubation in a hypoxic chamber with intermittent cold cardioplegia solution infusion at 20-minute intervals and subsequently reoxygenated in a normoxic environment. Various doses of AMPK activators (AICAR or metformin) were given 2 days before H/R injury. The cardiomyocytes were harvested after reoxygenation for subsequent examination. With both AMPK activators, the antiapoptotic genes of ER stress and UPR, the subsequent production of proapoptotic proteins was attenuated, and the antiapoptotic proteins were elevated. The activity of the apoptotic effectors of ER stress was also reduced with AMPK activation. Moreover, TUNEL staining showed that AMPK activation significantly reduced the percentage of apoptotic cardiomyocytes after cardioplegia-induced H/R injury. Our results revealed that AMPK activation during cardioplegia-induced H/R injury attenuates cardiomyocytic apoptosis, via enhancement of antiapoptotic and reduction of proapoptotic responses, resulting from lessening ER stress and the UPR. AMPK activation may serve as a future pharmacological target to reduce H/R injury in the clinical setting

The susceptibility of single nucleotide polymorphisms located within co-stimulatory pathways to systemic lupus erythematosus

IntroductionAutoimmune diseases result from the loss of immune tolerance, and they exhibit complex pathogenic mechanisms that remain challenging to effectively treat. It has been reported that the altered expression levels of co-stimulatory/inhibitory molecules will affect the level of T/B cell activation and lead to the loss of immune tolerance.MethodsIn this study, we evaluated the gene polymorphisms of the ligand genes corresponding co-stimulatory system that were expressed on antigen-presenting cells (CD80, CD86, ICOSLG, and PDL1) from 60 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and 60 healthy controls.ResultsThe results showed that rs16829984 and rs57271503 of the CD80 gene and rs4143815 of the PDL1 gene were associated with SLE, in which the G-allele of rs16829984 (p=0.022), the A-allele of rs57271503 (p=0.029), and the GG and GC genotype of rs4143815 (p=0.039) may be risk polymorphisms for SLE.DiscussionThese SNPs are in the promoter and 3’UTR of the genes, so they may affect the transcription and translation activity of the genes, thereby regulating immune function and contributing to the development of SLE

Use of electroporation and reverse iontophoresis for extraction of transdermal multibiomarkers

Congo Tak-Shing Ching1,2, Lin-Shien Fu3-5, Tai-Ping Sun1, Tzu-Hsiang Hsu1, Kang-Ming Chang21Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chi Nan University, Puli, Nantou County, 2Department of Photonics and Communication Engineering, Asia University, Wufeng, Taichung, 3Department of Pediatrics, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, 4Institute of Technology, National Chi Nan University, Puli, 5Department of Pediatrics, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung City, TaiwanBackground: Monitoring of biomarkers, like urea, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and osteopontin, is very important because they are related to kidney disease, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer, respectively. It is well known that reverse iontophoresis can enhance transdermal extraction of small molecules, and even large molecules if reverse iontophoresis is used together with electroporation. Electroporation is the use of a high-voltage electrical pulse to create nanochannels within the stratum corneum, temporarily and reversibly. Reverse iontophoresis is the use of a small current to facilitate both charged and uncharged molecule transportation across the skin. The objectives of this in vitro study were to determine whether PSA and osteopontin are extractable transdermally and noninvasively and whether urea, PSA, and osteopontin can be extracted simultaneously by electroporation and reverse iontophoresis.Methods: All in vitro experiments were conducted using a diffusion cell assembled with the stratum corneum of porcine skin. Three different symmetrical biphasic direct currents (SBdc), five various electroporations, and a combination of the two techniques were applied to the diffusion cell via Ag/AgCl electrodes. The three different SBdc had the same current density of 0.3 mA/cm2, but different phase durations of 0 (ie, no current, control group), 30, and 180 seconds. The five different electroporations had the same pulse width of 1 msec and number of pulses per second of 10, but different electric field strengths of 0 (ie, no voltage, control group), 74, 148, 296, and 592 V/cm. Before and after each extraction experiment, skin impedance was measured at 20 Hz.Results: It was found that urea could be extracted transdermally using reverse iontophoresis alone, and further enhancement of extraction could be achieved by combined use of electroporation and reverse iontophoresis. Conversely, PSA and osteopontin were found to be extracted transdermally only by use of reverse iontophoresis and electroporation with a high electrical field strength (>296 V/cm). After application of reverse iontophoresis, electroporation, or a combination of the two techniques, a reduction in skin impedance was observed.Conclusion: Simultaneous transdermal extraction of urea, PSA, and osteopontin is possible only for the condition of applying reverse iontophoresis in conjunction with high electroporation.Keywords: electroporation, reverse iontophoresis, nanochannels, noninvasive, urea, prostate-specific antigen, osteoponti

Validation of the Action Research Arm Test using item response theory in patients after stroke

Objective: To validate the unidimensionality of the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) using Mokken analysis and to examine whether scores of the ARAT can be transformed into interval scores using Rasch analysis. Subjects and methods: A total of 351 patients with stroke were recruited from 5 rehabilitation departments located in 4 regions of Taiwan. The 19-item ARAT was administered to all the subjects by a physical therapist. The data were analysed using item response theory by non-parametric Mokken analysis followed by Rasch analysis. Results: The results supported a unidimensional scale of the 19-item ARAT by Mokken analysis, with the scalability coefficient H = 0.95. Except for the item pinch ball bearing 3rd finger and thumb'', the remaining 18 items have a consistently hierarchical order along the upper extremity function's continuum. In contrast, the Rasch analysis, with a stepwise deletion of misfit items, showed that only 4 items (grasp ball'', grasp block 5 cm(3)'', grasp block 2.5 cm(3)'', and grip tube 1 cm(3)'') fit the Rasch rating scale model's expectations. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that the 19-item ARAT constituted a unidimensional construct measuring upper extremity function in stroke patients. However, the results did not support the premise that the raw sum scores of the ARAT can be transformed into interval Rasch scores. Thus, the raw sum scores of the ARAT can provide information only about order of patients on their upper extremity functional abilities, but not represent each patient's exact functioning