Surgical management of long-segment congenital tracheal stenosis with tracheobronchial malacia.

Objectives: Slide tracheoplasty has become the mainstream treatment for long-segment congenital tracheal stenosis (LSCTS). However, technical improvements are still needed to improve the clinical outcomes of patients exhibiting LSCTS with tracheobronchial malacia.

Methods: LSCTS patients who underwent tracheoplasty from January 2010 to December 2020 were reviewed.

Diet-induced microbiome shifts of sympatric overwintering birds.

Gut microbiota have a significant impact on host physiology and health, and host genetics and diet are considered as two important factors, but it is difficult to discriminate the influence of each single factor (host or diet) on gut microbiota under natural conditions. Moreover, current studies of avian microbiota mainly focus on domestic or captive birds, and it is still uncertain how host and diet take part in changing avian gut microbiota composition, diversity, and function in the wild. Here, high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA was used to identify the gut microbiota communities for sympatric wintering Great Bustards and Common Cranes at different diets.

Effects of Sex and Diet on Gut Microbiota of Farmland-Dependent Wintering Birds.

Gut microbiota plays an important role for bird biological and ecological properties, and sex and diet may be important intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing gut microbial communities. However, sex difference of gut microbiota has been rarely investigated in free-living birds, and it remains unclear how sex and diet interactively affect avian gut microbiota composition and diversity, particularly under natural conditions. Here we used non-invasive molecular sexing technique to sex the fecal samples collected from two wintering sites of Great Bustard, which is the most sexually dimorphic among birds, as well as a typical farmland-dependent wintering bird.

Population demographic history and adaptability of the vulnerable Lolokou Sucker Frog.

Amphibians are experiencing worldwide declines due to increasing anthropogenetic disturbances. However, the genetic variability and hence adaptability are still unknown for most frogs. We integrated the mitochondrial (ND2 gene), nuclear (TYR gene) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci, to clarify the demographic patterns and immune-gene diversity of the Lolokou Sucker Frog (Amolops loloensis).

A Performance-testing Platform for a Conduction Micropump with an FR-4 Copper-clad Electrode Plate.

Here, a conduction micropump with symmetric planar electrode pairs prepared on flame-retardant glass-reinforced epoxy (FR-4) copper-clad laminate (CCL) is fabricated. It is used to investigate the influence of chamber dimensions on the performance of a conduction micropump and to determine the reliability of the conduction pump when acetone is used as the working fluid. A testing platform is set up to evaluate conduction micropump performance under different conditions.

The effects of a self-esteem program incorporated into health and physical education classes.

Background: Self-esteem, a key construct of personality, influences thoughts, actions, and feelings. Adolescence is a critical stage to the development of self-esteem. Taiwan currently offers no self-esteem building curriculum in the public education system.