Variations in microbial community compositions and processes imposed under contrast geochemical contexts in Sicilian mud volcanoes, Italy.

Terrestrial mud volcanoes represent surface features of channels for subsurface methane transport and, therefore, constitute an important source of methane emission from natural environments. How microbial processes regulate methane emissions in terrestrial mud volcanoes has yet to be fully addressed. This study demonstrated the geochemical characteristics and microbial communities of four mud volcano and seep sites in two geological settings of Sicily, Italy.

The Association Between Dissemination and Characteristics of Pro-/Anti-COVID-19 Vaccine Messages on Twitter: Application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model.

Background: Messages on one's stance toward vaccination on microblogging sites may affect the reader's decision on whether to receive a vaccine. Understanding the dissemination of provaccine and antivaccine messages relating to COVID-19 on social media is crucial; however, studies on this topic have remained limited.

Objective: This study applies the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to explore the characteristics of vaccine stance messages that may appeal to Twitter users.

Aeromonas hydrophila Induces Skin Disturbance through Mucosal Microbiota Dysbiosis in Striped Catfish ().

Bacterial pathogens are well equipped to adhere to and initiate infection in teleost fish. Fish skin mucus serves as the first barrier against environmental pathogens. The mucus harbors commensal microbes that impact host physiological and immunological responses.

Understanding Changes in the Topology and Geometry of Financial Market Correlations during a Market Crash.

In econophysics, the achievements of information filtering methods over the past 20 years, such as the minimal spanning tree (MST) by Mantegna and the planar maximally filtered graph (PMFG) by Tumminello et al., should be celebrated. Here, we show how one can systematically improve upon this paradigm along two separate directions.

Pressure induced superconductivity in MnSe.

The rich phenomena in the FeSe and related compounds have attracted great interests as it provides fertile material to gain further insight into the mechanism of high temperature superconductivity. A natural follow-up work was to look into the possibility of superconductivity in MnSe. We demonstrated in this work that high pressure can effectively suppress the complex magnetic characters of MnSe, and induce superconductivity with T ~ 5 K at pressure ~12 GPa confirmed by both magnetic and resistive measurements.

Delta Shock Index During Emergency Department Stay Is Associated With in Hospital Mortality in Critically Ill Patients.

Delta shock index (SI; i.e., change in SI over time) has been shown to predict mortality and need for surgical intervention among trauma patients at the emergency department (ED).

In-Hospital Outcomes in Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit after a Return Visit to the Emergency Department.

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) admission following a short-term emergency department (ED) revisit has been considered a particularly undesirable outcome among return-visit patients, although their in-hospital prognosis has not been discussed. We aimed to compare clinical outcomes between adult patients admitted to the ICU after unscheduled ED revisits and those admitted during index ED visits.

Method: This retrospective study was conducted at two tertiary medical centers in Taiwan from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2017.

Public Health Interventions for the COVID-19 Pandemic Reduce Respiratory Tract Infection-Related Visits at Pediatric Emergency Departments in Taiwan.

Public health interventions such as social distancing, wearing surgical or N95 masks, and handwashing are effective in significantly reducing the risk of infection. The purpose of this article is to analyze the effect of public health interventions on respiratory tract infection-related visits to pediatric emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Pediatric emergency department visits between January 1 2020 and April 30 2020 were included for trend analysis and compared to the same period during the past 3 years.

Temporal variation in daily temperature minima in coral reefs of Nanwan Bay, Southern Taiwan.

Temporal variation in seawater temperature plays a crucial role in coral reef ecology. Nanwan Bay, Southern Taiwan is home to well-developed coral reefs, which frequently experience cold-water intrusions caused by internal wave-induced upwelling, that manifest in distinct daily temperature minima. These temperature minima and their associated sources were studied by recording in situ bottom temperatures and sea levels observed at depths of 5 and 30 m from May 2007 to September 2008.

Deep Eutectic Solvent-Assisted Synthesis of Ternary Heterojunctions for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction and Photocatalysis.

Hierarchical nano-/microstructured photocatalysts have drawn attention for enhanced photocatalytic performance. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been used as a green sustainable media to act as both solvent and structure-inducing agent in the synthesis of hierarchical nanomaterials. In this work, the DESs-assisted synthesis of flower-structured BiOCl/BiVO (BOC/BVO) with g-C N (BOC/BVO/g-CN) ternary heterojunctions was achieved by using a simple wet-chemical method, providing good acidic and alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts.

Seasonal and diurnal variations of greenhouse gas emissions from a saline mangrove constructed wetland by using an in situ continuous GHG monitoring system.

Wetland systems play important roles in the issues of global warming. That is because wetlands can not only intake carbon and nitrogen in the plants and sediments, but could also release carbon dioxide (CO), methane (CH), and nitrous oxide (NO) to the atmosphere during the microbial decomposition processes in the water. In the past, greenhouse gases (GHGs) were measured mostly by using the manual sampling technique; however, it is difficult to measure the diurnal variation of greenhouse gas emissions.

Temporal variations of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration and stock from a tidal constructed mangrove wetland.

This study used a self-developed a NDIR monitoring system to continuously monitor GHG emissions from a tidal constructed mangrove wetland at three typical habitats (mudflat, mangrove, and water surface) in four seasons. The NDIR monitoring system is able to explore the diurnal and seasonal variation of GHG emissions from the tidal constructed mangrove wetland and to estimate more precisely for the GHG emission based carbon budget of the wetland. The continuous monitoring technique is feasible and valuable for assessing the temporal variation of GHG uptake/emission to/from the wetland.

Genetic alterations in primary melanoma in Taiwan.

Background: Acral melanoma (AM) is the most common histopathological subtype of malignant melanoma in Asians. However, differences in the mutational profiles underlying AM and nonacral cutaneous melanoma (NAM) in Asians are not well understood.

Objectives: To augment the understanding of the prevalence, patterns and associations of various mutations between different subtypes of melanoma.

Predicting the Functional Outcome of Adult Patients with Status Epilepticus.

Patients that survive status epilepticus (SE) may suffer from neurological and cognitive deficits that cause severe disabilities. An effective scoring system for functional outcome prediction may help the clinician in making treatment decisions for SE patients. Three scoring systems, namely the Status Epilepticus Severity Score (STESS), the Epidemiology-Based Mortality Score in Status Epilepticus (EMSE), and the Encephalitis-Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus-Diazepam Resistance-Image Abnormalities-Tracheal Intubation (END-IT), have been developed in the past decade to predict the outcomes of patients with SE.

Analysis of carbon sink effects for saline constructed wetlands vegetated with mangroves to treat mariculture wastewater and sewage.

In this study, two saline mangrove artificial wetlands, Datang Saline Constructed Wetland (DSCW) created for treating mariculture wastewater and sewage, vegetated with Avicennia marina, and Mangrove Wetland Park (MWP) created for mangrove conservation, vegetated with Rhizophora stylosa, were selected for assessment of carbon sequestration and carbon budget based on measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and net primary productivities. The average GHG flux and net carbon sequestration flux as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO eq.) were measured.

Baroreceptor Sensitivity Predicts Functional Outcome and Complications after Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Autonomic dysfunctions including impaired baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) can develop after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and may predispose patients to subsequent cardiovascular adverse events and serve as potential indicators of long-term mortality. This study aimed to determine the potential short-term prognostic significance of BRS after AIS. All patients admitted to Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital within 72 h after onset of first-ever AIS between April 2008 and December 2012 were enrolled.

Chemical characteristics, source apportionment, and regional transport of marine fine particles toward offshore islands near the coastline of northwestern Taiwan Strait.

This study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal variation, chemical composition, and source apportionment of marine fine particles (PM) as well as their regional transport toward the Matsu Islands located near the coastline of northwestern Taiwan Strait. Four offshore island sites located at the Matsu Islands were selected to conduct both regular and intensive sampling of marine PM. Water-soluble ionic species, metallic elements, and carbonaceous contents were then analyzed to characterize the chemical characteristics of marine PM.

Association between heavy metal levels and acute ischemic stroke.

Background: Few studies have examined the relationship between the amounts of heavy metal and stroke incidence. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between levels of heavy metals, including Pb, Hg, As, and Cd, in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

Methods: We selected patients with first-ever AIS onset within 1 week as our study group.

Sponge Prokaryote Communities in Taiwanese Coral Reef and Shallow Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems.

Previously, it was believed that the prokaryote communities of typical 'low-microbial abundance' (LMA) or 'non-symbiont harboring' sponges were merely subsets of the prokaryote plankton community. Recent research has, however, shown that these sponges are dominated by particular clades of Proteobacteria or Cyanobacteria. Here, we expand on this research and assess the composition and putative functional profiles of prokaryotic communities from LMA sponges collected in two ecosystems (coral reef and hydrothermal vent) from vicinal islands of Taiwan with distinct physicochemical conditions.

Diurnal variation of CO, CH, and NO emission fluxes continuously monitored in-situ in three environmental habitats in a subtropical estuarine wetland.

Wetlands play a crucial role in modulating atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO), methane (CH), and nitrous oxide (NO). The key factors controlling GHG emission from subtropical estuarine wetlands were investigated in this study, which continuously monitored the uptake/emission of GHGs (CO, CH, and NO) by/from a subtropical estuarine wetland located in the Minjiang estuary in the coastal region of southeastern China. A self-designed floating chamber was used to collect air samples on-site at three environmental habitats (Phragmites australis marsh, mudflats, and river water).

Effects of antiepileptic drugs on thyroid hormone function in epilepsy patients.

Purpose: Patients with epilepsy are frequently required to take antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for a long period of time. Many studies have shown that AEDs have a negative influence on endocrine function including the thyroid gland, however the risk factors for the development of low thyroid function in these patients are unclear. This study aimed to determine the potential risk factors of low thyroid function in patients with epilepsy.