By considering literature review, the management mechanisms of Taiwan Occupational Safety and Health Management System, and local regulations, the study proposes dimensions for the analysis of overall safety performance in the semiconductor industry, establishes three principal factors and 25 safety performance dimensions, and develops a questionnaire on safety performance. Three Taiwan semiconductor plants were selected as the subject for the quantitative analysis of the questionnaire and the current safety performance of the semiconductor industry was thoroughly investigated. The study extensively discusses a case study of three semiconductor plants showing highly significant differences in their "technical factor," "organizational factor," and "human factor" through an analysis of variance of safety performance. From the analysis, it was determined that 22 safety performance dimensions, with the exceptions of "selfinspection," "emergency response," and "safety audit," demonstrate significant differences.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of cantharidins, a traditional Chinese medicine, in chemotherapy for the treatment of hepatoma. From August 2011 to December 2012, 96 patients with hepatoma, who were eligible for transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization and received cantharidins, were selected for comparison with the control group of 95 patients without cantharidins. The treatment effect, clinical symptoms and adverse effects were analyzed. The results of the study showed that the cantharidins group had a higher overall efficient rate than the control group (p < 0.001). The improvement rate of the Karnofsky score in the cantharidins group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p = 0.014). In the cantharidins group, there was a decrease in white blood cell (WBC) count and gastrointestinal response rates were lower than those of the control group (p < 0.05). Therefore, the traditional Chinese medicine cantharidins showed effects of easing the progress of liver cancer, relieving side effects of chemotherapy and improving the quality of life in the treatment of hepatoma.

The clinical phenotypes and disease course in our cohort were consistent with that reported in previous studies. However, the proportion of point mutations or small deletions or insertions in our study was considerably higher than that in reports from other populations. Cardiac ejection fraction was found not a reliable biomarker for identifying cardiac problems, discovering a better parameter is necessary.

The antiemetic efficacy of ultralow-dose naloxone combined with PCA morphine is limited by a cut-off ratio of naloxone to morphine of 1:10,000.

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Background: Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) is a genetically heterogeneous, hereditary disease characterized by limb-girdle weakness and histologically dystrophic changes. The prevalence of each subtype of LGMD varies among different ethnic populations. This study for the first time analyzed the phenotypes and genotypes in Taiwanese patients with LGMD in a referral center for neuromuscular diseases (NMDs). Results: We enrolled 102 patients clinically suspected of having LGMD who underwent muscle biopsy with subsequent genetic analysis in the previous 10 years. On the basis of different pathological categories, we performed sequencing of target genes or panel for NMDs and then identified patients with type 1B, 1E, 2A, 2B, 2D, 2I, 2G, 2 N, and 2Q. The 1B patients with LMNA mutation presented with mild limb-girdle weakness but no conduction defect at the time. All 1E patients with DES mutation exhibited predominantly proximal weakness along with distal weakness. In our cohort, 2B and 2I were the most frequent forms of LGMD; several common or founder mutations were identified, including c.1097_1099delACA (p.Asn366del) in DES, homozygous c.101G > T (p.Arg34Leu) in SGCA, homozygous c.26_33dup (p.Glu12Argfs*20) in TCAP, c.545A > G (p.Tyr182Cys), and c.948delC (p.Cys317Alafs*111) in FKRP. Clinically, the prevalence of dilated cardiomyopathy in our patients with LGMD2I aged > 18 years was 100%, much higher than that in European cohorts. The only patient with LGMD2Q with PLEC mutation did not exhibit skin lesions or gastrointestinal abnormalities but had mild facial weakness. Muscle imaging of LGMD1E and 2G revealed a more uniform involvement than did other LGMD types. Conclusion: Our study revealed that detailed clinical manifestation together with muscle pathology and imaging remain critical in guiding further molecular analyses and are crucial for establishing genotype-phenotype correlations. We also determined the common mutations and prevalence for different subtypes of LGMD in our cohort, which could be useful when providing specific care and personalized therapy to patients with LGMD.

The Trachway is a new device which provides better glottic view than conventional direct laryngoscopy during tracheal intubation. This intubating stylet consists of a camera on the distal tip of the style, with a monitor attached to the rechargeable handle, so that it can overcome the difficulty of limited neck motion and mouth opening in tracheal intubation. We present here a 54-year-old man with ankylosing spondylitis, scheduled to undergo total hip replacement. Pre-operative airway assessment revealed a recognized difficult airway. The Trachway was successfully used for oral tracheal intubation at the first attempt. The Trachway can be an alternative choice for intubation in ankylosing spondylitis patients.

A study of reducing nitrogen oxide (NO) emission by using different fuel oil/hydrogen-rich refinery gas ratios (FO/RG) of the volumetric flow rate in a 130-ton/hr, full-scale, mediumpressure boiler was carried out. The influence of the FO/RG ratio on boiler outlet temperature, flue -gas flow rate and temperature, and O 2 concentration in the excess air was also investigated.Test results show that by adjusting the FO/RG volumetric flow rate ratio from 5:1 to 1.8:1, fuel cost was reduced by as much as $33 million NT (~$1.1 million US) per year. Concentration of NO was lowered from 167 to 152 ppm, reducing NO emission a total of 72 tons per year. The air pollution fee was cut as much as $860,000 NT (~$27,000 US) each year. Hence, changing the FO/RG ratio of the volumetric flow rate can not only save fuel costs, but can also greatly reduce NO emission and air pollution fees. Results of this study can help to develop boilers that operate more economically and efficiently.