Experimental Study of Demolding Properties on Stereolithography Tooling

Direct tooling using stereolithography (SL

Association between Organochlorine Pesticide Levels in Breast Milk and Their Effects on Female Reproduction in a Taiwanese Population

Only few studies have focused on organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in breast milk and the related health risks for women in Taiwan. Our goal is to examine breast milk OCPs and their associations with female reproductive function (infertility, gynecological diseases, and menstruation characteristics) as well as their correlation with sociodemographic parameters (age, pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI), annual incomes, population, birth year, and parity) and dietary habit. The breast milk samples were collected in southern Taiwan (n = 68) from 2013 to 2016 and the OCP residues were analyzed using high resolution gas chromatography with low resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/LRMS). The results show that the most abundant OCP residues in the breast milk was ΣDDT with the geometric mean ± standard deviation of 9.81 ± 7.52 ng−1 lipid−1 followed by ΣHCH (0.539 ± 0.557 ng−1·lipid−1). In the principal component analysis, cis-chlordane (cis-CHL) and γ-HCH were found to be related to participants who received medical treatment for infertility, and 4,4′-DDT was associated with those who received gynecological surgery. The logistic regression showed that the odds ratio (OR) of log γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) was higher for mothers who had received medical treatment for infertility than for the normal group (OR = 25.6, p = 0.035) after adjustments for age, pre-pregnant BMI, annual income, population (i.e., native-born Taiwanese), birth year, and parity. Cow milk and beef consumption as well as menstruation characteristics such as average menstrual period (>5 days), shortest menstrual period (<3 days), and women who had taken hormonal drugs were significantly associated to several OCP residues in the breast milk. In addition, ΣHCH including β-HCH and γ-HCH was correlated with annual family income and gravidity as well as cow milk and beef consumptions. Overall, γ-HCH exhibited a probable association with the infertility diseases of Taiwanese women, and dietary habit might play an important role in the female Taiwanese exposure to OCPs

First tidal volume greater than 8 mL/kg is associated with increased mortality in complicated influenza infection with acute respiratory distress syndrome

Backgrounds: Severe influenza infection causes substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide and remains an important threat to global health. This study addressed factors related to treatment outcomes in subjects of complicated influenza infection with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) during the Taiwan epidemic in the Spring of 2016. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted by Taiwan Severe Influenza Research Consortium (TSIRC), including eight tertiary referral medical centers. Patients with virology-proven influenza infection admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) between January and March 2016 were included for analysis. Results: We identified 263 patients with complicated influenza infection who fulfilled ARDS criteria; the mean age was 59.8 ± 14.6 (years), and 66.1% (166/263) were male. Type A influenza (77.9%, 205/263) virus was the main pathogen during this epidemic. The 30-day mortality rate was 23.2% (61/263). The mean tidal volume (VT) in the first three days after intubation was greater than 8 mL/kg of predicted body weight (PBW). Patients whose first measured VT was >8 mL/kg PBW had an increased 30-day mortality (p = 0.04, log-rank test). In a multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model, an increase of 1 mL/kg PBW of first VT was associated with 26.1% increase in 30-day mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.261, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.072–1.484, p < 0.01). Conclusion: First tidal volume, shortly after intubation, greater than 8 mL/kg PBW is an independent risk factor for mortality in complicated influenza infection with ARDS. Timely recognition of ARDS with strict adherence to protective ventilation strategy of lowering VT may be important in reducing mortality. Keywords: Influenza, Acute respiratory distress syndrome, Tidal volum