[Impact of different activity modes and durations on immediate serum glucose response among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients].

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of different activity modes and durations on glucose response among type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients. Twenty-one subjects who met the selection criteria were selected by purposive sampling. A subject's serum glucose level was determined by using the mini Accutrend monitor before, and then 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and 40 minutes after three kinds of activities, which included rest, hospital routines (such as registering, getting medication, waiting in line, etc.

Dry deposition (downward, upward) concentration study of particulates and heavy metals during daytime, nighttime period at the traffic sampling site of Sha-Lu, Taiwan.

Downward, upward dry deposition fluxes and total suspended particulate of particulate heavy metals (Fe, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mg and Mn) were measured in daytime and nighttime period in Sha-Lu, a small city in the central Taiwan during summer period of 2003. The results showed that the total suspended particulate concentrations of particulate mass in the daytime period (averaged 996.2 g/m3) were higher than in nighttime period (averaged 560.

Estimation of PAHs dry deposition and BaP toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) study at Urban, Industry Park and rural sampling sites in central Taiwan, Taichung.

The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in gas phase and particle bound were measured simultaneously at industrial (INDUSTRY), urban (URBAN), and rural areas (RURAL) in Taichung, Taiwan. And the PAH concentrations, size distributions, estimated PAHs dry deposition fluxes and health risk study of PAHs in the ambient air of central Taiwan were discussed in this study. Total PAH concentrations at INDUSTRY, URBAN, and RURAL sampling sites were found to be 1650 +/- 1240, 1220 +/- 520, and 831 +/- 427 ng/m3, respectively.

Risk factors of mortality among the home-based disabled patients in central Taiwan.

The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that affected mortality 1 year after an intensive service program among the disabled. Three hundred and twenty-two disabled subjects were selected from communities in central Taiwan. Sixty-six percent of the participants had cerebral vascular accident (CVA) followed by hypertension (28%) and diabetes mellitus (20%).

Estimating the emission source reduction of PM10 in central Taiwan.

Three theoretical parent frequency distributions; lognormal, Weibull and gamma were used to fit the complete set of PM10 data in central Taiwan. The gamma distribution is the best one to represent the performance of high PM10 concentrations. However, the parent distribution sometimes diverges in predicting the high PM10 concentrations.

Effects of a nursing intervention program on disabled patients and their caregivers.

This study evaluated a continuous home-visiting program designed for disabled patients. An intervention program was also designed for caregivers that included education and disabled care skills training, and emotional support over a 22-week period. The criteria for the disabled patients were as follows: (1) aged 18 years or older, (2) Barthel activity of daily living (ADL) score of <80 on the first visit, and (3) onset of disability prior to study was less than 2 years.

Assessment of occupational health hazards in scrap-tire shredding facilities.

Occupational hygiene conditions in scrap-tire shredding facilities were assessed to identify potential health risk factors for workers and provide a basis for developing future control measures. Specifically, noise, volatile organics and particulate levels were measured at two plants. Particulate/dust levels were measured via filter collection, and were analyzed gravimetrically.

The application of diffusive sampling combined with thermal desorption in occupational exposure monitoring--field evaluation.

Diffusive sampling combined with thermal desorption (DSTD) is considered useful in monitoring workers' exposures to organic vapors, not only due to its simplicity of operation in the field but, also, its simplifying the sample treatment, eliminating the use of extracting solvent, and increasing analytical sensitivity. Herein, the feasibility of applying DSTD in field conditions was assessed through a comparison of the results with those from the well-accepted active/charcoal method. Side-by-side active and diffusive (tube-type, Tenax TA as the adsorbent) samples, both personal and area, were collected and analyzed for xylenes, ethyl acetate, styrene, and n-butyl acetate in four different industrial settings.

Characterization of particulate, metallic elements of TSP, PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10) aerosols at a farm sampling site in Taiwan, Taichung.

Atmospheric aerosol particles and metallic concentrations were monitored at the Experimental Farm of Tunghai University (EFTU) sampling site in this study. Total suspended particulate matter (TSP) was collected by using a PS-1 sampler at the farm-sampling site, in central Taiwan, from July 2001 to April 2002. At the same time, PM(2.

The measurements of ambient particulates (TSP, PM2.5, PM2.5-10), chemical component concentration variation, and mutagenicity study during 1998-2001 in central Taiwan.

During June 1998 and February 2001, the experiments of this study were conducted at four sampling sites (THUPB, THUC, HKIT and CCRT) with different characters (suburban, rural and traffic). The chemical components (Cl-, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe, Zn, Pb, Ni) in suspended particle were also analyzed simultaneously. The particulate mass concentrations are higher in the traffic site (CCRT) than the other sampling sites in this study.

Suspended particulate variations and mass size distributions of incense burning at Tzu Yun Yen temple in Taiwan, Taichung.

Ambient suspended particulate concentrations were measured at Tzu Yun Yen temple in this study. This is characteristic place of incense burning and indoor air pollution sampling site. A universal sampler, micro-orifice uniform deposited impactor (MOUDI) sampler and dry deposition plate were used to measure particulate concentrations.

Unmet nursing care needs of home-based disabled patients.

Background: In Taiwan, family members care for 80-90% of disabled people, but most have no professional training or knowledge of care for the disabled. Therefore, the adequacy of care received by the disabled needs to be assessed.

Aims: To evaluate the unmet nursing care needs of physically disabled patients and determine the relevant factors.

Fetal axillary hemangiolymphangioma with secondary intralesional bleeding: serial ultrasound findings.

A case of fetal axillary hemangiolymphangioma coexisting with intralesional hemorrhage is presented. At 27 weeks' gestation, the fetus was found to have a 52 x 43-mm left axillary multilocular cystic mass which showed no signals on color Doppler. The mass was composed mostly of sonolucent spaces.

Concentration of atmospheric particulates during a dust storm period in central Taiwan, Taichung.

In this study we monitored concentrations of particles in central Taiwan using PS-1 (GPS1 PUF Sampler) and Model 310 Universal Air Sampler (UAS) from 02/23/2001 to 03/12/2001 at two sampling sites. During this period, an Asian dust storm moved across central Taiwan from 3/3 to 3/6. The total ambient air particle concentrations during the dust storm period were than compared with previous data from this region.

Effectiveness of family care intervention program on activity of daily living among disabled patients.

The objective of this prospective study was to compare the improvement of activity of daily living (ADL) scores between two groups of disabled patients who participated in a family care intervention program. 137 patients were selected from health stations and Activity of Daily Living (ADL) scores were assessed eight times over a period of 22 weeks. Family caregivers were trained to provide home nursing care for the disabled.

[Illness knowledge, social support and self care behavior in adolescents with beta-thalassemia major].

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among illness knowledge, social support and self-care behavior in adolescents with beta-thalassemia major. The subjects were 58 beta-thalassemia major adolescents recruited from the pediatric hematology outpatient departments of three hospitals in North Taiwan. All data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, t-test, Pearson correlation, and stepwise multiple regression.

[Developing a scale of self-management behaviors of parents with asthmatic children in Taiwan through triangulation method].

The purposes of this study were to develop a scale of self-management behaviors for parents with asthmatic children by qualitative and quantitative methods. This research included two phases: (1) to explore the self-management behaviors of successfully managing parents with asthmatic children by in-depth interviewing method. (2) To examine the reliability and validity of self-management behaviors by the quantitative survey of 133 outpatient parents with asthmatic children.

The study of Central Taiwan particles concentration variations during earthquake period.

Ambient particle concentration was taken on the traffic sampling site over the Chung-Chi Road over the bridge (CCROB) in front of Hungkuang Institute of Technology (HKIT). The sampling time was from August 1999 to December 1999. During the sampling period, Taiwan's biggest earthquake in more than a century registered 7.

Use of isomalto-oligosaccharide in the treatment of lipid profiles and constipation in hemodialysis patients.

Chronic constipation and hyperlipidemia, one of the many atherogenic risk factors, were common complications in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The present trial evaluates the therapeutic efficacy of isomaltose-oligosaccharide (IMO) in the treatment of chronic severe constipation and its effect on lipid profiles in 20 HD patients. After a 2-week basal period, these patients were allocated to receive 30 g of IMO for a 4-week period.

Assays for angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity.

A colorimetric method and a capillary electrophoresis procedure were developed for quantifying histidyl-leucine and hippurate, respectively. The colorimetric method is sensitive (extinction coefficient = 7.5 mM(-1) cm(-1)) and reproducible (CV = 1.

The study of TSP, PM(2.5-10) and PM2.5 during Taiwan Chi-Chi Earthquake in the traffic site of central Taiwan, Taichung.

Ambient particle concentration was taken on the traffic sampling site over the Chung-Chi Road over bridge (CCROB) in front of Hungkuang Institute of Technology (HKIT). The sampling time was from August 1999 to December 1999. During the sampling period, Taiwan's biggest earthquake in more than a century registered 7.

Comparison of particulate mass, chemical species for urban, suburban and rural areas in central Taiwan, Taichung.

Aerosol samples for PM2.5, PM(2.5-10) and TSP were collected from June to September 1998 and from February to March 1999 in central Taiwan.

The study of fine and coarse particles, and metallic elements for the daytime and night-time in a suburban area of central Taiwan, Taichung.

Daily average concentrations of fine and coarse particulates, and TSP samples have been measured simultaneously at daytime and night-time periods by using Universal and PS-1 sampler in a suburban area of central Taiwan from June to August 1998. The samples were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry to determine the fine and coarse particulate concentrations of metallic elements (Ca, Fe, Mn, Pb, Cu, Zn and Cr). The concentration of PM2.

Characterization of chemical species in PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols in suburban and rural sites of central Taiwan.

Aerosol samples for PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 microns), PM2.