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Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency predisposes affected individuals highly susceptible to oxidative stress, which is one of the risk factors for diabetes. To evaluate the relationship between blood level of G6PD activity and diabetes in Taiwan, blood G6PD activity was analyzed among 237 patients with diabetes and 656 healthy subjects. A significant difference in the distribution of G6PD activities as grouped by an increment of 100 U/10(12) red blood cells (RBCs) was observed between diabetic patients and healthy subjects. The odds ratio for diabetes was 1.46 (95% confidence interval = 1.11-1.92) for every decrement of 100 U/10(12) RBC G6PD activities in these subjects. The data indicate that low G6PD activity is another risk factor for diabetes.

In Taiwan, the prevalence of circulating anti-HCV is 2 percent among first-time voluntary Chinese blood donors, 10 percent among donors with elevated ALT levels (greater than 45 IU/L), and higher among older men. The carrier rate for HBsAg was 18.6 percent and the frequency of positive HBV marker(s) (HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HBs) was 86.4 percent among first-time donors. There is no significant correlation between HBV and HCV infections in Taiwan, because there is no significant difference in the frequency of anti-HCV among donors with or without HBV markers. The frequency of anti-HCV among qualified donors in Taiwan (ALT less than 45 IU/L, not tested for anti-HBc) is 1.8 percent, which is not significantly different from the frequency (1.6%) in donors with normal ALT and negative for HBV marker(s) (qualified donors by Western Standards). Therefore, ALT is the most important surrogate marker for HCV infection in Taiwan.

We explored the symbiotic relationship of villages on the Jimei Peninsula from the perspective of new human ecology adopting literature analysis and field investigation, and the four steps of reading, sorting, analysis, and induction for qualitative research. Two stages of Jimei Peninsula's development from natural areas to human ecosystems were analyzed by using the survey data in this research, and the spatial evolution process of Jimei Peninsula's development from a fishing village to a Jimei School Village was analyzed. The key factors in the formation of natural areas were political rather than economic, and the human ecosystem is determined by the spatial pattern embedded in the village and the school. After adaptation, growth, and evolution, Jimei School Village and the environment of the peninsula formed a symbiotic relationship of convergence and complementarity.