BACKGROUND:Aboriginal people (AP) are a minority group in Taiwan. Little information on their perspectives on organ transplantation (OT) is available. Their rights for organ donation (OD) and as OT recipients (OTR) are constrained as a vulnerable population in society. This research sought to explore various Highland Aborigine Tribes beliefs systems and concepts related to OT.METHODS:We employed a qualitative design on a purposive sample including seven categories of Taiwanese AP. Data collected by face-to-face interviews were evaluated by content analysis.RESULTS:Seventy-five informants (45 female and 30 males) of 18 to 82 years from seven tribes completed interviews: Bunun (n = 20), Shao (n = 18), Tsou (n = 15), Amis (n = 12), Truku (n = 4), Rukai (n = 3), and Puyuma (n = 3). Of there, 33% had no idea of OT. All informants reported lack of knowledge of OD, organ procurement, and OTR. Eighty percent (45-82 years) had no willingness for OD or OTR; others might consult family members and health professionals (HP) to learn about OT. Seven hindering factors were identified: (1) having no background of OT; (2) limited impressions obtained from television news reports; (3) negative concepts of donating one's organs to others; (4) OT concepts contrast with cultural meanings of death; (5) possibility of being stigmatized; (6) fear of being rejected by others; and (7) HP had never mentioned OT.CONCLUSIONS:Taiwan APs' perspectives of OT concepts showed the majority to be unfamiliar with the concept and benefits of OT. Future research is necessary to explore the possible avenues to facilitate communications between HP and AP leaders, as well as elders in each AP category in Taiwan.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to estimate the quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) and the expected lifetime utility loss of patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV).Methods: PMV was defined as more than 21 days of mechanical ventilation. A total of 633 patients fulfilled this definition and were followed for 9 years (1998-2007) to obtain their survival status. Quality of life of 142 patients was measured with the EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) questionnaire during the period 2008 to 2009. The survival probabilities for each time point were adjusted with a utility measurement of quality of life and then extrapolated to 300 months to obtain the QALE. We compared the age-, gender-matched reference populations to calculate the expected lifetime utility loss.Results: The average age of subjects was 76 years old. The life expectancy and loss of life expectancy were 1.95 years and 8.48 years, respectively. The QALE of 55 patients with partial cognitive ability and the ability to respond was 0.58 quality-adjusted life years (QALY), whereas the QALEs of 87 patients with poor consciousness were 0.28 and 0.29 QALY for the EQ-5D measured by family caregivers and nurses, respectively. The loss of QALE for PMV patients was 9.87 to 10.17 QALY, corresponding to a health gap of 94% to 97%.Conclusions: Theses results of poor prognosis would provide stakeholders evidence for communication to facilitate clinical decisions. The estimation may be used in future studies to facilitate the cost-effectiveness and reduction of the health gap. Copyright (C) 2011, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc.

The developmental expression of calbindin (CalB), calretinin (CaR) and parvalbumin (PV) was followed in Macaca monkey retina using single and double immunolabeling to identify which proteins provide distinctive labels for specific cell types and to clarify the role of these proteins during development. Ganglion cells (GC) expressed PV at fetal day (Fd)55 and CaR and CalB by Fd85. CaR was downregulated after birth. Separate subsets of amacrine (AM) cells expressed CaR and CalB at Fd65–70. After Fd115, many CaR+ AM coexpressed CalB. After Fd120 a few AM expressed PV and these added CaR and CalB after birth. A subset of horizontal cells (HZ) expressed CaR and CalB at Fd70. Slightly later all HZ express PV and CaR while the early subset is CalB+/PV+/CaR+. CaR downregulates in all HZ after birth. The DB3 cone bipolar cells (BP) under the HZ label for CalB by Fd90–110 while a probable OFF BP cell body just above the AM layer becomes CaR+ near birth with labeling increasing after birth. All cones outside of the fovea label for CalB by Fd125. Foveal cones, rods, most BP and Müller glia do not label for these proteins at any age. The complex patterns of up- and down-regulation found in Macaca retina are similar to previous reports of expression in human retina, but in many instances are quite different than earlier reports of CaR, CalB and PV expression patterns in monkey central visual centers. This makes it highly likely that each protein plays a specific but undetermined role(s) in each visual center, and that its expression is controlled at a given stage of retinal development by multiple intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

The 1.0-7.6 GHz global and detailed (fine structure - FS) radio spectra are presented, which were observed in the NOAA 9077 active region for the Bastille-Day ( July 14, 2000) flare at 10:10-11:00 UT. Besides broadband radio bursts, high-resolution dynamic spectra reveal decimetric type IV burst and various decimetric and microwave FSs, such as type III bursts, type U bursts, reverse-slope (RS)-drifting burst, fibre bursts, patch and drifting pulsation structure (DPS). The radio emission in the range of 1.0-7.6 GHz reached to maxima first at the higher frequency, then drifted to the lower frequency. It is suggested that the flare included three successive processes: firstly the radio emission began and rose slowly accompanying with the fine structures only in the range 2.6-7.6 CHz-, secondly the microwave radio emission reached to maxima accompanying with many fine structures over the range 1.0-7.6 GHz at 10:23-10:34 UT; then a decimetric type IV burst and its associated FSs (fibres) in the range 1.0-2.0 GHz appeared after 10:40 UT.

The purpose of this paper is to derive a systematic procedure to decide the optimal location and size of compensation shunt capacitors for distribution systems with harmonic distortion. A set of indices determined by the sensitivity of voltage variation, real power loss and harmonic distortion to the reactive power source is used to decide the optimal location of the shunt capacitors. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear programming of the minimization of real power loss and capacitor cost under the constraints of voltage limits and total harmonic distortion. A practical power system is selected for computer simulation to test the efficiency of the proposed method. It is found that both the system loss and harmonic distortion can be reduced very effectively by this method.