University students are regarded as future decision-makers in society and have a high likelihood of becoming opinion-shapers in terms of the environment. Their awareness of the marine environment will therefore have a significant effect upon sustainable marine development. This study examines Taiwanese university students' marine environmental awareness, focusing on environmental attitudes, understanding of marine and coastal issues, and environmental behavior. A total of 825 valid samples in a questionnaire survey are used for the analysis. Overall, respondents possess a highly positive attitude towards the marine environment and a moderate self-reported level of marine knowledge, but are not actively engaged in environmental protection endeavors, particularly ones involving spending personal income and taking legal or political action. Experience in marine-related activities and marine knowledge are important in fostering marine environmental awareness, particularly in regard to environmental behavior. This study addresses the gap between widespread environmental concerns and low engagement in environmental actions by proposing a multimodal approach: improving marine knowledge and experience in marine-related activities, creating safe recreational spaces at seasides, and reinforcing legal education. This study concludes by highlighting the importance of marine environmental awareness in the development of ocean citizenship as well as the sustainability of the marine environment.

Antithyroid drugs are widely used to treat hyperthyroidism, especially Graves' disease, but they tend to cause agranulocytosis, which increases the mortality rate. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor decreases the duration of recovery from agranulocytosis. We retrospectively studied cases of antithyroid drug-induced agranulocytosis over the past 10 years in a northern Taiwan medical center. A clinical evaluation was conducted, including a review of complete blood cell counts and differential counts. Four cases were included in this analysis. Agranulocytosis persisted in 2 cases despite a change in therapy from propylthiouracil to methimazole. Fever, sore throat, and diarrhea were common symptoms of agranulocytosis. Initial white blood cell counts ranged from 450 to 1,710/microL. Only 1 case had a positive result from a throat swab culture (Staphylococcus aureus). Three of 4 cases received granulocyte colony-stimulating factor therapy, and the recovery time ranged from 3 to 13 days. All of the patients recovered from agranulocytosis. We concluded that: (1) conducting a routine complete blood cell count is beneficial in alerting caregivers to the possibility of agranulocytosis; (2) educating patients about the common symptoms of agranulocytosis may contribute to an early diagnosis; (3) providing granulocyte colony-stimulating factor therapy to patients results in good prognosis; and (4) monitoring for cross-reactions between drugs should be performed to prevent further episodes of agranulocytosis.

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