Application of remodeled glove puppetry for children with developmental disabilities: A randomized controlled trial.

This study aimed to improve hand performance and play behavior in children with developmental disabilities (DD) using a remodeled glove puppetry approach. Overall, 62 children with DD were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups ( = 31 each). The experimental group underwent a 12-week rehabilitation program by playing with the remodeled glove puppetry, while the children in the control group played with non-remodeled glove puppetry.

Effects of Conscious Control of Scapular Orientation in Oral Cancer Survivors With Scapular Dyskinesis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: Spinal accessory nerve dysfunction is one of the complications of neck dissection in patients with oral cancer. This study aimed to explore the effects of long-term scapular-focused exercises and conscious control of scapular orientation on scapular movement and quality of life (QoL).

Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis.

Association of Osteoarthritis With Increased Risk of Parkinson's Disease: A Population-Based, Longitudinal Follow-Up Study.

Objective: To investigate whether patients with osteoarthritis (OA) are at a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. We enrolled 33,360 patients who were 50-64 years old and had OA in 2002-2005 to form the OA group.

Nurses' perceptions on and experiences in conflict situations when caring for adolescents with anorexia nervosa: A qualitative study.

Anorexia nervosa (AN), which primarily affects adolescent girls and young women, is characterized by excessive dieting, leading to severe weight loss and a pathological fear of becoming overweight, or unhealthy behaviours that hinder weight gain. Caring for patients who have AN is particularly challenging for nursing staff, who are on the front line and have the closest contact with patients. However, little is known about how nursing staff care for adolescent patients with AN in Taiwan.

Pharmacologic intervention for prevention of fractures in osteopenic and osteoporotic postmenopausal women: Systemic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Emerging evidence has indicated a role for pharmacologic agents in the primary prevention of osteoporotic fracture, but have not yet been systematically reviewed for meta-analysis. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacologic interventions in reducing fracture risk and increasing bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women with osteopenia or osteoporosis but without prevalent fragility fracture.

Method: The Medline, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases were searched from inception to September 30, 2019.

Plasma-activated medium as adjuvant therapy for lung cancer with malignant pleural effusion.

This study compared effects of plasma-activated medium (PAM) with effects of conventional clinical thermal therapy on both lung cancer cells and benign cells for management of malignant pleural effusion (MPE). For MPE treatment, chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, and thermal therapy are used but caused systemic side effects, patient photosensitivity, and edema, respectively. Recent studies show that plasma induces apoptosis in cancer cells with minor effects on normal cells and is cost-effective.

Association between exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and metabolic syndrome and related outcomes among older residents living near a Science Park in Taiwan.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are an emerging class of artificial environmental chemicals that have multiple potentially harmful effects on health. The largest Science Park in Taiwan discharges wastewater containing PFASs into the Keya River, and a high concentration of PFASs has been found in this river and its aquatic creatures. We conducted a cross-sectional study from 2016 to 2017 of 397 subjects aged 55-75 years living near the river and evaluated the association of PFASs with metabolic syndrome and related outcomes.

Changes in alcoholic beverage preference and consumption in Taiwan following accession to the World Trade Organization.

Background And Aims: Given the growing concerns that international trade agreements may increase the supply of health-harming commodities, including alcohol, this study aimed to investigate the changes in alcoholic beverage preference and consumption after Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Design: A before-and-after comparison analysis using data from two waves (1993-1996 and 2005-2008) of the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT), before and after Taiwan's accession to the WTO in 2002.

Setting: Taiwan.

The relationship between atrial fibrillation and frailty in community-dwelling older adults.

Objectives: (1) To compare the frailty status between community-dwelling older adults with and without atrial fibrillation (AF) in Taiwan and (2) to test the hypothesis that AF is associated with frailty in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in several communities in Taipei. AF was confirmed by electrocardiogram recordings or medical diagnosis.

Characterization of biofilm production in different strains of and the effects of chemical compounds on biofilm formation.

, an important emerging pathogen of nosocomial infections, is known for its ability to form biofilms. Biofilm formation increases the survival rate of on dry surfaces and may contribute to its persistence in the hospital environment, which increases the probability of nosocomial infections and outbreaks. This study was undertaken to characterize the biofilm production of different strains of and the effects of chemical compounds, especially antibiotics, on biofilm formation.

Modified Bidirectional Encoder Representations From Transformers Extractive Summarization Model for Hospital Information Systems Based on Character-Level Tokens (AlphaBERT): Development and Performance Evaluation.

Background: Doctors must care for many patients simultaneously, and it is time-consuming to find and examine all patients' medical histories. Discharge diagnoses provide hospital staff with sufficient information to enable handling multiple patients; however, the excessive amount of words in the diagnostic sentences poses problems. Deep learning may be an effective solution to overcome this problem, but the use of such a heavy model may also add another obstacle to systems with limited computing resources.

Common mental disorders in Taiwanese consumers of commercial low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening: Comparison with a nationally representative sample.

Background/purpose: We examined the prevalence of probable common mental disorders (CMDs) in commercial low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening consumers relative to the general population and to determine the correlates of probable CMDs among screening participants.

Methods: Commercial LDCT lung cancer screening consumers (N = 1323) were compared with a nationally representative sample from the Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) (N = 2034). Respondents scoring ≥3 on the Chinese Health Questionnaire were classified as having a probable CMD.

The impact of early comprehensive geriatric screening on the readmission rate in an acute geriatric ward: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: Unplanned readmission is an important healthcare quality issue. We studied the effect of a comprehensive geriatric screen (CGS) in the early admission course followed by a comprehensive geriatric assessment on readmission rates in elderly patients.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study with a historical comparison group was conducted in the geriatric ward of a referral centre in northern Taiwan.

The updated PIM-Taiwan criteria: a list of potentially inappropriate medications in older people.

Background: Explicit criteria for potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) developed for other countries are difficult to apply to a specific territory. This study aimed to update the PIM-Taiwan criteria from a qualitative review of several published PIM criteria, followed by consensus among regional experts in Taiwan.

Methods: After a review of the literature, we selected four sets of published PIM criteria to construct preliminary core PIMs.

Effects of depression, dementia and delirium on activities of daily living in elderly patients after discharge.

Background: The three geriatric conditions, depression, dementia and delirium (3D's), are common among hospitalized older patients and often lead to impairments of activities of daily living. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of depression, dementia and delirium on activities of daily living (ADLs) during and after hospitalization.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted between 2012 and 2013 in a tertiary medical center in Taiwan.

[The Development and Application of Drug Review Tool: Potentially Inappropriate Medication-Taiwan Criteria].

The absorption, action, and metabolism characteristics of drugs change in older adults due to factors including the normal process of aging and the impacts of disease on organ functions. Changes in the profile and proportions of drug use among older adults increase with increases in the severity of functional decline and the prevalence of chronic diseases. Drugs that are classified as "potentially inappropriate medications" (PIMs) carry a higher risk of causing adverse reactions in older adults, provide uncertain therapeutic benefits, or may be substituted by alternative drugs that are generally safer to use.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Molecular Epidemiology of Isolates from Three Hospitals in Northern Taiwan.

Of all the spp., is the most common species identified in clinical specimens and is a leading agent of complicated urinary tract infection. This study was undertaken to understand the antimicrobial susceptibility, prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes, and molecular typing of isolates collected from three hospitals in northern Taiwan.

Comparison of Transforming Growth Factor-Beta1 and Lovastatin on Differentiating Mesenchymal Stem Cells toward Nucleus Pulposus-like Phenotype: An In Vitro Cell Culture Study.

Study Design: In vitro cell culture study.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impact of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) and lovastatin on differentiating human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) toward nucleus pulposus (NP)-like phenotype.

Overview Of Literature: MSCs offer a cell source to the cell-based therapy for intervertebral disc degeneration.

Consensus Statement on the Use of Bone Turnover Markers for Short-Term Monitoring of Osteoporosis Treatment in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Osteoporosis is a major health issue. By 2050, a greater than 2-fold increase in patients number with hip fractures will occur in Asia representing 50% of all hip fractures worldwide. For the Asia-Pacific (AP) region, more efforts on controlling osteoporosis and the subsequent fractures are crucial.

A method to assess influence of different medical tubing on biofilm formation by Acinetobacter baumannii.

In this study, we developed a method to assess influence of different medical tubing on biofilm formation by A. baumannii. The results of biofilm quantification and scanning electron microscopy showed that the biofilm formation susceptibility of different tubing materials was rubber latex > polyvinyl chloride > silicone.

The development of Taiwan Fracture Liaison Service network.

Osteoporosis and its associated fragility fractures are becoming a severe burden in the healthcare system globally. In the Asian-Pacific (AP) region, the rapidly increasing in aging population is the main reason accounting for the burden. Moreover, the paucity of quality care for osteoporosis continues to be an ongoing challenge.

Chronic kidney disease predicts a lower probability of improvement in patient-reported experience measures among patients with fractures: a prospective multicenter cohort study.

Unlabelled: Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are integral component of care for fracture patients. Using a multicenter cohort, we showed that the presence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) attenuated the probability of PREM improvement in fracture patients.

Introduction: Assessing PREM can assist physicians in improving patients' experiences.

Prescription of potentially inappropriate medication to older patients presenting to the emergency department: a nationally representative population study.

Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) was associated with adverse clinical outcomes and higher healthcare resource utilization among older patients. In order to investigate the prevalence of PIM use based on three different sets of criteria and their associated factors among older patients in the emergency department (ED) in Taiwan. The National Health Insurance Research Database was used for this cross-sectional study.

Fracture liaison services improve outcomes of patients with osteoporosis-related fractures: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the outcomes of patients with osteoporosis-related fractures managed through fracture liaison services (FLS) programs.

Methods: Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched (January 2000-February 2017 inclusive) using the keywords 'osteoporosis', 'fractures', 'liaison', and 'service' to identify randomised controlled trials and observational studies of patients aged ≥50years with osteoporosis-related fractures in hospital, clinic, community, or home-based settings who were managed using FLS. Risk of bias was assessed at outcome level.