Kaohsiung Research Articles

Housing Renovation Evaluation in Perspective Landscape Conservation Zone for Preservation of Historical Neighborhoods and Landscapes: A Case Study of Qishan Old Street in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

The preservation and remodeling of buildings have been contradictory issues all the time in Taiwan, and preservation oftentimes means a smaller floor-area ratio and less economic benefit. Thus, house owners are generally against building preservation policies. In order to eliminate the opposition of house owners whose buildings have higher floor-area ratios and cannot make use of them for preservation, we look into the possibilities of developing the houses of different historical significance in the“perspective landscape conservation zone” for a maximal volume of each building. We aim to enable each building to make full use of its floor-area ratio and, at the same time, to maintain the streetscape. Several types of remodeling for single or semi-detached structures are recommended by taking into consideration the needs of daily life in modern times as well as the appearances of the old street. Based on the abovementioned remodeling approach, the findings of the current study are as follows: (1) it helps to keep the minimal preservation of facades and arcades, (2) it appears to maintain the maximal preservation of facades, arcades, and atrium of the first layer of compounds, (3) the depth of the building sites must not be shorter than 16.5 m to make full use of the 240% floor-area ratio, (4) 62 out of the 95 simulated cases of the study are able to make full use of the floor-area ratio, and (5) the building sites with larger depth ratios (two layers of compounds with an atrium in between) are able to have physical preservation as well as the lifestyle and images of the sites. As the floor area is not used up, it is recommended to transfer the development rights to the remaining floor area or to another place for avoiding the loss of the original housing economic benefits. At last, a timely, flexible, and diverse option for volume controlling is set up so the street is preserved in time through appropriate approaches. Hopefully, the partial preservation and remodeling approach allows the preservation of the historical environment in practice without sacrificing the floor areas that the house owners would like to preserve in general.

The impacts of supervisor support, role perception, and emotional exhaustion on the turnover intentions of real estate brokers

This study investigated the factors affecting turnover tendency of real estate brokers. The impact of individual-level factors (role conflict, role ambiguity, interpersonal conflict, and emotional exhaustion) and organizational-level factors (supervisor support and group trust) on turnover intentions was assessed. A hierarchical linear mediation modeling approach was used. A questionnaire was administered to real estate brokers working at real estate companies in Kaohsiung City. Ten questionnaires were administered to each of the selected 97 branch offices. Of the 970 questionnaires, 393 were recovered from 71 branches, and after omitting 43 invalid responses, there were 350 valid questionnaires from 59 branches, indicating an effective response rate of 36.1 %. The empirical results showed that interpersonal conflict mediated the impact of supervisor support on emotional exhaustion, with a full mediating effect being observed. Group trust did not mediate the impact of supervisor support on turnover tendency, which was direct, negative, and statistically significant. Job satisfaction partially mediated the impact of emotional exhaustion on turnover intentions. Our results suggest that supervisor support and emotional exhaustion, at the organizational and individual level, respectively, had the greatest impacts on turnover intentions. This demonstrates the importance of supervisor support and emotional exhaustion when researching turnover intentions.

Forecasting and controlling of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, by using system dynamics modeling

Forecasting and controlling of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, by using system dynamics modeling

Community Innovation and Regional Sustainability: A Case Study of Environmental Health Education in Siaogang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University

Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital is located in southern Kaohsiung City, a major nexus of land, sea, and air transportation. Thus, the hospital is on the frontlines of strengthening Kaohsiung International Airport's epidemic prevention measures and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other epidemic viruses to Taiwan from other countries. Kaohsiung Medical University integrates on-campus academic research, teaching services, and medical institution resources and has long promoted community care plans in conjunction with the public sector. A disused public sector space repurposed by the university into a distinctive day care center is being further used as a service-learning platform linking medical education to communities, allowing university students to enter the community and apply what they have learned to improve quality of life, community health, and well-being. "Happy Kaohsiung Healthy City-Siaogang District Environmental Education and Health Promotion Sustainable Development Plan", which responds to the issues and needs of air pollution and health promotion in the city's Siaogang District, designates Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital as the core base of local practice, connecting multidisciplinary schools and units as well as cross-regional resources to promote practical programs such as air quality talent education, environmental testing and research, campus health education and publicity, air pollution syllabus, and community care and care, fulfilling the university's social responsibilities.

Dynamic Routing Algorithm for Hazmat Transportation Problems

After a series of gas pipeline explosions in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, in 2014, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) issued regulations in 2017 requiring all chemical tank trucks to be equipped with GPS for real-time monitoring and control. Hazmat transportation problems, along with solution algorithms and applications, have been studied extensively. However, most of the research has focused on the route planning level. Dynamic characteristics should be incorporated to reflect possible dynamic traffic situations with more advanced information and communication capabilities for chemical tank trucks. This research formulates a bi-objective dynamic model and proposes a solution algorithm based on a genetic algorithm (GA) for dynamic hazmat route optimization. A dynamic bi-objective model, including transportation cost and risk, is developed to reflect time-varying traffic conditions. Dynamic traffic characteristics are reflected through traffic volume and travel time, simulated from simulation models. Numerical experiments are conducted in the Kaohsiung City network. The results show that dynamic routes for hazmat transportation vary with respect to traffic flow conditions. The discussions of this research are expected to provide some insights into policy implications.

The Effects of Leader Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Styles, Organizational Commitment, and Trust on Job Performance in the Real Estate Brokerage Industry.

This study examines the effects of leader emotional intelligence, leadership styles (transformational and transactional), organizational commitment, and trust on job performance. A questionnaire was administered to the participants, who were real estate brokers in Kaohsiung City. Of the 980 questionnaires administered, 348 valid responses were received, indicating an effective response rate of 35.5%. Structural equation modeling was used for the analysis. The results show that leader emotional intelligence has a significant and positive effect on trust in supervisors, and transformational leadership and trust within a team have significant and positive effects on job performance. In addition, organizational commitment has a significant and positive effect on job performance. Trust within a team mediates the significant and positive effect of leader emotional intelligence on job performance. Although transactional leadership has no direct, positive, and significant effects on employee job performance, trust in the workplace shaped by a leader’s leadership style will empower a team’s spirit and boost their morale, thereby indirectly affecting their job performance in a positive manner.

Participation in Sports Clubs during College Is an Important Factor Associated with School Counselors' Participation in Leisure Time Activities.

This study explored the physical activity participation, barriers to physical activity, attitudes toward physical activity, and physical activity levels of full-time school counselors at junior high schools in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire. A total of 156 questionnaires were distributed, 137 were returned, and 130 were valid. The reliability and constructed validity of the questionnaire were analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and factor analysis, respectively. The participants’ International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) scores were estimated to assess their physical activity levels. Simple and multiple regression analyses were performed to analyze the effects of independent variables on the respondents’ physical activity levels and attitude toward physical activity. Of the respondents surveyed, 44.6%, 36.9%, and 18.5% had low, moderate, and high levels of physical activity according to their IPAQ scores, respectively. In total, 55.4% of the school counselors met the World Health Organization criteria for physical activity. Moreover, the results of the Kruskal–Wallis test showed that respondents with high levels of physical activity, aged ≥41, and who perceived themselves to be healthy were more likely to have participated in sports clubs during their college years. Furthermore, participation in sports clubs during college years and self-perceived health were significant predictors of attitude toward physical activity. In conclusion, participation in sports clubs during college was an important factor related to school counselors’ physical activity.

First Report of Colletotrichum fructicola Causing Anthracnose on Indian Jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) in Taiwan.

Ziziphus mauritiana Lamarck known as Indian jujube is one of the most popular and delicious fruit crops in Taiwan. This crop is mainly planted in southern Taiwan and their fruit are harvested for providing fresh fruit. In March 2015, an anthracnose-like disease was observed on Indian jujube fruit (cv. Candied date) planted in an orchard in Yanchao District (22°46'33" N, 120°21'37" E) in Kaohsiung City. The disease was quickly distributed around the orchard after rain and caused great loss (around 40% of fruit infected). The diseased fruit would completely rot and lose its market value. Symptoms could be observed on all the developmental stages of fruit. On ripe fruit, symptoms were round, brown, water-soaked lesions covered with salmon-colored spore masses. Four fungal isolates from diseased fruit in the same orchard were collected by single spore isolation with hand-made glass needle. They were grown on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 24 to 28°C with diffused light. All four strains produced white to gray, aerial, and cottony mycelia scattered with abundant salmon-colored conidial mass on the center of the colony on PDA. The conidia were hyaline, single celled, round cylindrical on both ends, thin walled, and the contents guttulate. The sizes of conidia were 15.2 (17.5 to 13.0) × 5.0 (5.5 to 4.5) μm (length/width ratio = 3.03, n = 40). DNA was isolated from JC1 and used for amplification of partial sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), actin (ACT), β-tubulin 2 (TUB2), chitin synthase 1 (CHS-1), manganese-superoxide dismutase (SOD2) and the intergenic region of apn2 and MAT1-2-1 gene (ApMat) genes (Silva et al. 2012; Weir et al. 2012). A BLAST search against the NCBI database revealed that JC1 gene sequences [GenBank accession nos. MT197188 (ITS), MT199871 (GAPDH), MT199872 (ACT), MT199870 (TUB2), MT815918 (CHS-1), MT815919 (SOD2) and MT221653 (ApMat)] displayed 100.0, 100.0, 99.1, 100.0, 99.7, 99.5 and 99.8% nucleotide identity to the respective gene sequences of Colletotrichum fructicola ICMP 18581 (JX010165, JX010033, FJ907426, JX010405, JX009866, JX010327, and JQ807838). Conidial suspension (1 × 106 conidia/mL) was prepared from JC1 isolate of C. fructicola and inoculated by spraying onto detached, ripe, healthy, non-wounded and surface-disinfected jujube fruit (cv. Candied date, n = 4). Four control fruit were sprayed with sterile water. Fruit were kept in a moist chamber (greater than 90% relative humidity, 24 to 28°C) for 24 h and maintained in the lab for additional 5 days. The inoculated fruit initially showed small light-colored spots in 5 to 7 days, which eventually developed into brown, sunken, water-soaked lesions 8 to10 days after inoculation, similar to the symptoms in the orchard. C. fructicola was re-isolated from symptomatic fruit showing similar morphological characteristics to those collected from the field, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. No symptom was observed on fruit treated with water and no pathogen was re-isolated. The experiment was performed twice. The JC1 isolate of C. fructicola with the identification number BCRC FU31437 has been deposited at Taiwan Bioresource Collection and Research Center. This pathogen has been found in many plant species in various countries (Weir et al. 2012). To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. fructicola causing Indian jujube fruit anthracnose in Taiwan and worldwide.

Aerosol emissions and gravity waves of Taal volcano

The Taal volcano (14.0 N, 121.0 E) in Philippines erupted in January–February 2020, with a part of aerosols drifted northward and detected by a lidar system at Kaohsiung city (22.37 N, 120.15 E), Taiwan. The aerosol observed on Feb 11 is special for its high-altitude distributions at 4–7 km with discrete structures which can be resolved into a sinusoidal oscillation of ~ 30 min period, suggesting a case of wave event caused by the eruptions. We report in this paper the gravity wave generated by the volcanic eruptions and its effects on aerosol emissions. By studying the temperature and pressure data in the Taal region using radiosonde data, we found atmospheric gravity waves with powers correlated with the optical thickness (AOD) at 550 nm measured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) satellite. This study presents the first observation of modulation of the aerosol emissions by the volcanic gravity waves and a case of coupling of dynamics and chemistry.

Distribution patterns and transportation behavior of alkylphenol polyethoxylate degradation metabolites among river, port area, and coastal water bodies of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

In this study, we conducted a comprehensive study of the distribution, transportation behavior and potential ecological risk of alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APnEOs) in the aquatic environments of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan because little information is available regarding the fate of APnEOs in the water bodies of a total environment. At Love River, APnEOs concentrations were much higher at upstream of interception stations L15 (27.33 ± 1.22 μg/L) and L16 (6.31 ± 0.14 μg/L) than at downstream of interception stations L1–L14 (0.69–2.54 μg/L). Additionally, the average ethoxy (EO) chain lengths of APnEOs at L15 and L16 were longer than at L1–L14. These observations were attributed to the sluice between L14 and L15 that intercepts and accumulates untreated sewage from upstream areas and to the infrastructure of the sewage system that prevents domestic sewage from flowing downstream in the river and to the Kaohsiung Port Area. At Kaohsiung Port Area, APnEO concentrations ranging from 0.63 to 6.50 μg/L were measured. The concentration range and average EO chain length of these APnEOs were similar to those of the downstream stretch of the river, which was attributed to the mixing efficiency of the Kaohsiung Port Area and Love River through tidal exchange. At Cijin Coastal Area, APnEO concentrations ranged from 0.14 to 18.77 μg/L. Notably, the APnEO concentration of surface waters was much higher than that of bottom waters. This observation was attributed to the sewage discharged from the ocean outfall buoying up to the surface instead of mixing with surrounding bottom waters. In potential ecological risk, 19 of 39 sampling points exceeded toxic equivalency of 1 μg/L, and approximately 48.7% of the sampling points would exceed the threshold. The result provides insight into the environmental implications of APnEOs contamination in aquatic environments and useful information for environmental policy and ecological risk assessments.

The influence of ethical climate and personality traits on the performance of housing agents

This study examines the factors (ethical climate, personality traits, and trust in supervisors) influencing the job performance of real estate brokers. The participants in this study consisted of real estate brokers employed at the branch offices of large-scale real estate franchises in Kaohsiung City. Four hundred ninety six questionnaires were returned by 69 branch offices, of which 472 were valid. According to the empirical results, the trust in supervisors mediated the influence of ethical climate on job performance. Personality traits had a significant, positive, and direct influence on job performance, in addition to having an indirect influence on job performance through the mediating effect of trust in supervisors. With regard to the total effect of ethical climate and personality traits on job performance, personality traits had a greater influence on job performance than ethical climate.

Validation of the Double Mediation Model of Workplace Well-Being on the Subjective Well-Being of Technological Employees.

In recent years, workplace well-being has been a popular research topic, because it is helpful to promote employees’ welfare, thereby bringing valuable personal and organizational outcomes. With the development of technology, the technology industry plays an important role in Taiwan. Although the salary and benefits provided by the technology industry are better than other industries, the work often requires a lot of time and effort. It is worth paying attention to whether a happy workplace will bring subjective well-being for the technology industry in Taiwan. This study explored the influence of workplace well-being, job involvement, and flow on the subjective well-being. The research was conducted by a questionnaire survey. A total of 256 employees in the technology industry in the Nanzi Processing Zone in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan were surveyed. Collected data were analyzed by statistical methods, such as multivariate and structural equation models. The study results indicated that workplace well-being, flow, and job involvement have a positive and significant impact on the subjective well-being. In addition to having a direct impact on subjective well-being, flow is also a significant variable to mediate the impact of workplace well-being to subjective well-being. In addition, job involvement also affects subjective well-being through flow, which means that the state of selflessness at work is the most important factor affecting subjective well-being. Finally, based on the research findings, the researcher provided practical suggestions to the government and the technology industry.

Real-time image-based air quality estimation by deep learning neural networks

Air quality profoundly impacts public health and environmental equity. Efficient and inexpensive air quality monitoring instruments could be greatly beneficial for human health and air pollution control. This study proposes an image-based deep learning model (CNN−RC) that integrates a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a regression classifier (RC) to estimate air quality at areas of interest through feature extraction from photos and feature classification into air quality levels. The models were trained and tested on datasets with different combinations of the current image, the baseline image, and HSV (hue, saturation, value) statistics for increasing model reliability and estimation accuracy. A total of 3549 hourly air quality datasets (including photos, PM2.5, PM10, and the air quality index (AQI)) collected at the Linyuan air quality monitoring station of Kaohsiung City in Taiwan constituted the case study. The main breakthrough of this study is to timely produce an accurate image-based estimation of several pollutants simultaneously by using only one single deep learning model. The test results show that estimation accuracy in terms of R2 for PM2.5, PM10, and AQI based on daytime (nighttime) images reaches 76% (83%), 84% (84%), and 76% (74%), respectively, which demonstrates the great capability of our method. The proposed model offers a promising solution for rapid and reliable multi-pollutant estimation and classification based solely on captured images. This readily scalable measurement approach could address major gaps between air quality data acquired from expensive instruments worldwide.

Spatiotemporal Variation and Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Industrialized Urban River Sediments: Fengshan River in Southern Taiwan as a Case Study

The sediment pollution index acts as a useful indicator for assessing anthropogenic pollution within river drainage basins. An industrialized urban river, Fengshan River in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan has been suffering heavy metal pollution from surrounding factories. In this study, spatial and seasonal variations in heavy metals in sediments from seven sampling sites of Fengshan River were determined to assess sediment pollution status and potential ecological risk using multiple sediment pollution indices. Results showed that the heavy metal concentrations displayed large spatial variations. Severe contamination of heavy metals, especially for Cr, Hg, and Zn in the lower reaches of Fengshan River, may attribute to wastewater discharges from leather processing and metal finishing factories along the river drainage basin. An increase in metal concentrations from upstream to downstream indicated that heavy metals tend to accumulate in tidal reaches, probably as a result of the flocculation effect. Frequent heavy rainfall in the wet season can enhance surface runoff to discharge metal pollutants from non-point sources (scattered factories) into the river. Assessment of multiple pollution indices showed moderately polluted (mCd = 3.9, PLI = 2.6) and considerable ecological risk (RI = 540, mERMQ = 0.55), indicating Fengshan River sediments, particularly in the lower reaches, are considered toxic and can cause adverse effects to benthic organisms. Organic matters showed a good correlation with heavy metals, which play an important role in the spatiotemporal variations in heavy metal pollutants in the Fengshan River sediments. This study can provide valuable information for river pollution remediation, and urban planning and management.

Portosystemic Shunt in Pediatric Living Donor Liver Transplant

To evaluate the significance of portosystemic shunts and associated long-term outcomes in living donor liver transplant (LDLT) among pediatric patients. Retrospective review of 121 pediatric patients who underwent LDLT between May 1994 and December 2015 at Taiwan Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Pre- and postoperative computed tomography images of the liver were reviewed, and portal vein complications were assessed. Ninety-seven pediatric patients were included in the study, and 70 had portosystemic shunts before transplant. Thirty-three patients have portal systemic shunt (PSS) 6 months after transplant (mean [SD] shunt size, 4.59 [1.98] mm). Thirty-seven patients' portosystemic shunts closed spontaneously (mean [SD] shunt size, 3.14 [1.06] mm). Smaller PSSs tend to close spontaneously with a cutoff point of 3.35 mm by receiver operating characteristic curve (P=.01). Patients with PSS have more portal vein complications than those without PSS (44.3% vs 11.1%, P=.02). Among PSS recipients, patients with portal vein complications tend to have larger PSS size (mean [SD], 4.14 [1.96] mm vs 3.59 [1.48] mm), although the difference is not statistically significant (P=.19). In pediatric patients, preoperative portosystemic shunts are significantly correlated with portal venous complications, some of which require minimal interventions after LDLT with good outcomes. Shunts larger than 3.35 mm tend to persist after transplant with increased portal venous complications.

Water table response to rainfall and groundwater simulation using physics-based numerical model: WASH123D

Study regionFour districts (Meinong, Qishan, Dashu, and Daliao) of Kaohsiung city, Southern Taiwan Study focusThe understanding of aquifer recharge in terms of water table response to rainfall is of critical importance to groundwater systems management and various endeavors have been made to estimate the amount of recharge using rainfall data. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the groundwater level response to rainfall and determine the recharge potential for shallow aquifers. We showed a simple approach to estimate specific yield (Sy) and hydraulic conductivity (k) as functions of rainfall and water level data. New hydrological insights for the regionCorrelation method is applied to investigate groundwater level response to associated rainfall and it was found that the rise in water table linearly depends on the rainfall amount per event. Results show the annual recharge rates of 244–1472 mm year─1, which represent 12–43% of rainfall in the study area. The estimated k (order of 10─4 to 10─5 m s─1) and Sy (0.20–0.51) were used as prior values to setup groundwater numerical modeling using WASH123D. The real-time case scenario simulation using pumping and rainfall data indicated the reasonable hydrological response of groundwater levels to rainfall. The long-term simulations should be performed with WASH123D to deal with the subjectivity of sustained groundwater pumping and sustainability of aquifers for better groundwater resource planning and management.

Water Infrastructure and the Imaginary of Unfinished Urban Modernity in Taiwan

This study suggests that water infrastructure is an important site to uncover “sociotechnical imaginaries” of society. Drawing on two case studies of Taipei and Kaohsiung, our analysis demonstrates how problems of water quality were conceived by Taiwanese state actors as an “unfinished” status of urban modernity. This imaginary of urban modernity has driven state actors to launch particular infrastructural improvement projects. With the aspiration to “catch up” Western modernity, the state has prioritized aesthetics and performances, choosing to make convenient fixes to acquire immediate effects in an attempt to ease public concerns. This only downplays root causes of urban metabolic challenges and diverts public attention from those fundamental solutions that entail persistent and long-term efforts. In the capital city of Taipei, the Drinking Straight from the Tap (DST) project focused more on public performance than taking measures such as pipe replacement, which would bring actual water quality improvements. In the industrial city of Kaohsiung, state actors pursued large-scale projects of upgrading water treatment plants to improve water quality and change citizens’ perceptions of water while downplaying the more fundamental solution of pollution control.

Association between Air Pollution and Risk of Hospital Admission for Pediatric Pneumonia in a Tropical City, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Recent evidences have shown that particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants are associated with pulmonary and systemic inflammation; however, the relationship between air pollutants and the risk of admission for pediatric pneumonia has not been well surveyed. This study aimed to estimate the hazards of air pollutants on the risk of pediatric pneumonia emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization. Data on PM2.5 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm), PM10 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 μm), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) in each of the 11 air monitoring stations in Kaohsiung city were collected. The medical records of non-traumatic patients under 17 years of age who had visited the ED between 2008 to 2013, with a principal diagnosis of pneumonia were extracted. We evaluated the relationship between air pollutant exposure and the risk of admission and length of hospital stay (LOS). An interquartile range increments of PM2.5 (odds ratio [OR]: 1.677, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.381–2.041), PM10 (OR: 1.568, 95% CI: 1.312–1.880), NO2 (OR: 1.383, 95% CI: 1.179–1.625), SO2 (OR: 1.261, 95% CI: 1.170–1.361), and O3 (OR: 1.182, 95% CI: 1.024–1.366) were statistically significantly associated with the risk of pediatric pneumonia hospitalization on lag 0–3. In the two-pollutant model, after adjusting for NO2 (OR: 1.534, 95% CI: 1.206–1.958), SO2 (OR: 1.534, 95% CI: 1.206–1.958), or O3 (OR: 1.741, 95% CI: 1.385–2.196), PM2.5 was still statistically significantly associated with pediatric pneumonia hospitalization. Furthermore, higher PM2.5 concentration (> 45 μg/m3) was associated with prolonged hospital LOS (OR: 0.217, 95% CI: 0.03–0.404, P = 0.023), especially for younger children (≤ 5 years). In conclusion, we found that PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 exposure were risk factors for hospitalization due to pediatric pneumonia.

Case Study of Local Revitalization in Indigenous Areas of Taiwan: Using the Namasia District as an Example

This study aims to analyze the operational model of the local revitalization plan implemented in the indigenous tribes in Taiwan. It treated Namasia District of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan as the subject, and conducted an investigation by qualitative research. According to the findings, the practices of local revitalization are based on the following conditions: 1) local government leads the plan of revitalization; 2) it finds DNA to develop local revitalization; 3) it seeks investment from enterprises; 4) it accepts the assistance from academic and professional teams for the integration and development of innovative and creative products; 5) it reinforces the ethnic consciousness, supports local residents and industries, and participates in the execution of plans.

Comparison of the incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in Northern Taiwan and Southern Taiwan (2000–2015)

Background: The aim of the study is to compare the incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in Northern and Southern Taiwan, areas with different levels of air pollution. Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, 15-year nationwide study of SSNHL diagnoses between 2000 and 2015 in Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Results: In total, 12,497 patients were included, 5584 in Northern Taiwan and 2532 in Southern Taiwan. In Northern and Southern Taiwan, the mean patients' age was 50.94 ± 16.62 and 50.70 ± 15.86 years, respectively; males (53.56% vs. 53.48%) were more frequently diagnosed than females (46.44% vs. 46.52%). The crude incidence was 41.13/100,000 and 49.45/100,000 in Northern and Southern Taiwan. The increasing trend was significantly higher in Southern than in Northern Taiwan. The maximal difference between Northern and Southern Taiwan, 44.31 versus 77.01/100,000 people/year, occurred in 2012. Mean particulate matter (PM2.5) annual concentration steadily decreased from 25.5 μg/m3 in 2010 to 19.20 μg/m3 in 2015 in Northern Taiwan, 37.10 μg/m3 in 2010 to 26.50 μg/m3 in 2015 in Southern Taiwan, Tainan City area, and 38.20 μg/m3 in 2010 to 25.10 μg/m3 in 2015 in Southern Taiwan, Kaohsiung City area. Cumulative PM2.5 exposure (PM2.5-year) from 2000 to 2015 was 441.1 μg/m3 × year in Northern Taiwan, 563.3 μg/m3 × year in Southern Taiwan – Tainan City area, and 684.3 μg/m3 × year in Southern Taiwan – Kaohsiung City area. Conclusion: SSNHL incidence increased from 2000 to 2015 and was higher in Southern than in Northern Taiwan. Cumulative PM2.5 exposure was higher in Southern than in Northern Taiwan. The relationship between cumulative PM2.5 exposure and SSNHL pathogenesis needs further investigation.