Identifying factors associated with changes in physical functioning in an older population.

Aim: The present study evaluated the association between changes in physical functioning and a variety of factors in an older population in Taiwan.

Methods: The data of 907 participants were derived from a three-wave cohort study of aging, the Functioning and Aging Study in Taipei, with a study period from 2005 to 2009. Functional status was assessed using activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living and mobility tasks, and classified as being normal, with mild disability, moderate disability, and severe disability.

Older patients' depressive symptoms 6 months after prolonged hospitalization: course and interrelationships with major associated factors.

The aim of this study was to examine the course of depressive symptoms in older patients 6 months following a prolonged, acute hospitalization, especially the interrelationships among depressive symptoms and its major associated factors. For this study, we conducted a secondary analysis of data from a prospective cohort study of 351 patients aged 65 years and older. Participants were recruited from five surgical and medical wards at a tertiary medical center in northern Taiwan and assessed at three time points: within 48 h of admission, before discharge, and 6 months post-discharge.

Health-related services use and the onset of functional disability: 10 year follow-up study.

This study aimed to examine the effect of health-related service use on the development of functional disability in an older adult Taiwanese cohort. The sample population consisted of 871 participants without Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) disabilities, 1061 participants without Activities of Daily Living (ADL) disabilities and 817 participants without IADL and ADL disabilities at baseline. The onset of IADL and ADL disabilities were estimated as the follow-up survey year that these functional disabilities were first noted, or the follow-up survey year that the participant was noted as having died.

The longitudinal relationship between depressive symptoms and disability for older adults: a population-based study.

Background: Although depressive symptoms in older adults are common, their relationship with disability and the influence of disability on the development of depressive symptoms over time is not well understood. This longitudinal study investigates the change trajectories of both depressive symptoms and disability, as well as their associations over time.

Methods: Participants included 442 community-dwelling older adults living in Taiwan, aged 65 years or older, who completed six waves of survey interviews.

Aliidiomarina taiwanensis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from shallow coastal water.

A Gram-negative, heterotrophic, aerobic, marine bacterium, designated AIT1(T), was isolated from a seawater sample collected in the shallow coastal region of Bitou Harbour, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Cells grown in broth cultures were straight or slightly curved rods that were motile by means of a single polar flagellum. Strain AIT1(T) required NaCl for growth, grew optimally at 30-40°C and with 1.