Nantou County Research Articles

First Report of Leaf and Stem Downy Blight of Longan Seedlings Caused by Peronophythora litchii in Taiwan.

Fruit downy blight caused by Peronophythora litchii Chen ex Ko et al. is an important disease of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) in Taiwan, especially in rainy seasons. Previous records indicate litchi as the only natural host of P. litchii, but this pathogen was found on seedlings of longan (Euphoria longana Lamarck) in 2000. Young seedlings of longan that had emerged in a litchi orchard near Caotun, Nantou County, showed symptoms of droopy leaves and leaf blight. Water-soaked lesions appeared on young leaves, which turned into brown, round or irregular lesions (about 3 to 5 cm long). Diseased leaves withered and collapsed eventually. Dark brown lesions were found on stems of some infected seedlings but none of the infected seedlings were killed. Also, no symptoms were found on mature leaves. The pathogen produced numerous sporangia on sporangiophores on diseased leaves under humid conditions. The disease on young seedlings was observed again in another litchi orchard at Caotun, Nantou County, in 2003. P. litchii was consistently isolated from diseased leaves. Two isolates from colonized longan seedlings, Tari 20250 collected in 2000 and Tari 23301 collected in 2003, were used for further studies. Both isolates produced large numbers of sporangia on long sporangiophores when cultured on 5% V8 agar (5% V8 juice, 0.02% CaCO3, and 1.5% agar). Sporangia produced on the same sporangiophores matured almost simultaneously. Sporangiophores 240 to 1,600 μm (mean 623 μm) branched dichotomously two to eight times. Sporangia were oval or lemon-shaped with semispherical papilla and deciduous with very short pedicels (2 to 5 μm). The dimension was 25 to 55 (35.25) × 15 to 27.5 (21.2) μm for sporangia and 0.5 to 1 (0.55) μm for pedicels. The length/breadth (L/B) ratio of sporangia was 1.3 to 2.14 (1.67). Both isolates produced numerous oospores on 5% V8 agar cultures in darkness. Artificial inoculation tests were done by spraying 5 mL of sporangial suspension (1,000 sporangia/mL) on each longan seedling without wounding. Results showed that both longan isolates of P. litchii were pathogenic on young longan seedlings, causing symptoms similar to those observed on leaves and stems of naturally infected longan seedlings in litchi orchards. Also, both longan isolates of P. litchii caused downy blight on fruits of litchi (L. chinensis var black leaf) by artificial inoculation tests. Moreover, a P. litchi isolate from litchi caused symptoms of leaf blight on young longan seedlings. P. litchii was reisolated from the infected longan tissues. The ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence confirmed that the longan isolate Tari 20250 (GenBank Accession No. JQ814693) was 100% identical to other P. litchii isolates (GenBank Accession Nos. Gu111613 to Gu111615). To our knowledge, this is the first report of longan as a natural host of P. litchii. The study also suggests that P. litchii on volunteer longan seedlings in litchi orchards may be a potential source of inoculum for fruit downy blight of litchi.

Landslide and basin self-organized criticality in the Lushan Hot Spring area

Defining a basin under a critical state (or a self-organized criticality) that has the potential to initiate landslides, debris flows, and subsequent sediment disasters, is a key issue for disaster prevention. The Lushan Hot Spring area in Nantou County, Taiwan, suffered serious sediment disasters after typhoons Sinlaku and Jangmi in 2008, and following Typhoon Morakot in 2009. The basin’s internal slope instability after the typhoons brought rain was examined using the landslide frequency-area distribution. The critical state indices attributed to landslide frequency-area distribution are discussed and the marginally unstable characteristics of the study area indicated. The landslides were interpreted from Spot 5 images before and after disastrous events. The results of the analysis show that the power-law landslide frequency-area curves in the basin for different rainfall-induced events tend to coincide with a single line. The temporal trend of the rainfall-induced landslide frequency-area distribution shows 1/f noise and scale invariance. A trend exists for landslide frequency-area distribution in log-log space for larger landslides controlled by the historical maximum accumulated rainfall brought by typhoons. The unstable state of the basin, including landslides, breached dams, and debris flows, are parts of the basin’s self-organizing processes. The critical state of landslide frequency-area distribution could be estimated by a critical exponent of 1.0. The distribution could be used for future estimation of the potential landslide magnitude for disaster mitigation and to identify the current state of a basin for management.

Fuzzy regression decision systems for assessment of the potential vulnerability of bridge to earthquakes

This paper presents an innovative fuzzy regression approach for the assessment of the potential vulnerability of bridge to earthquakes. Taking the Mao-Luo-Hsi Bridge in Nantou County of Taiwan as an example, structural models representing vulnerable sections of the bridge are established and updated by ambient vibration tests. Because of uncertainties in the structural models and ambient vibration data preprocessed by wavelet filtering, the fuzzy regression approach is adopted to synthesize the maximum displacements of the bridge sections so as to develop a bridge alert–action principle. The fuzzy regression model can be achieved by the fuzzy blending of each individual input–output realization for the critical sections D, E, and F of the bridge subjected to various earthquake intensity scales ranging from one to seven. Verification of the resulting fuzzy regression models along the longitudinal and transverse directions of the bridge reflects on the high R 2 values of the models being 0.7317 and 0.8401, respectively. The developed decision systems suggest that the action value can be determined for the location of the bridge site when the earthquake intensity reaches scale 6 corresponding to the maximum slopes of the resulting fuzzy regression curves, and the next one lower scale 5 refers the alert value.

Occurrence and genotype of Giardia cysts isolated from faecal samples of children and dogs and from drinking water samples in an aboriginal area of central Taiwan

To investigate some aspects of Giardia infection, we performed a cross-sectional study on schoolchildren from an aboriginal area of Nantou County in central Taiwan. Faecal samples from 209 participants and samples of dog faeces and of water from mountain springs found in the area were collected. The participants also filled a questionnaire pertaining to demographic data. Giardia duodenalis was detected in eight of the 209 participants, and all positive isolates belonged to assemblage A. In addition, assemblage A isolates were obtained from four of the 22 water samples, and assemblage C or D isolates were obtained from four of the 42 canine faecal samples. Our results suggest that the risk of Giardia transmission is greater from waterborne than canine transmission in this study area.

A hydrochemical study of Hungtsaiping landslide area, Nantou, Taiwan

The Hungtsaiping landslide was triggered by the Chi-Chi earthquake (Mw = 7.6), which occurred on September 20, 1999 near the town of Chi-Chi in Nantou County in central Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between geochemical characteristics and the landslide in the Hungtsaiping area. Water samples were collected from springs, creeks, ponds, groundwater and the Yonglu stream once every month from May 2008 to May 2009. Oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes, ionic concentrations, electrical conductivities, and pH values were analyzed. The results show that the ionic concentrations display a significant spatial variation. For instance, calcium and magnesium bicarbonate-rich water was found on the top and the middle part of the slope. In addition, sodium bicarbonate-rich water with exceptionally high sulfate concentration was found on the foot of the slope. The sulfate content decreased with increasing elevation along the slope. Finally, a conceptual model was established by summarizing the hydrogeochemical analyses. After a scientific understanding of the mechanism of the Hungtsaiping landslide, all of the analytical information can be integrated for hazard prevention in the future.

Use of electroporation and reverse iontophoresis for extraction of transdermal multibiomarkers

BackgroundMonitoring of biomarkers, like urea, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and osteopontin, is very important because they are related to kidney disease, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer, respectively. It is well known that reverse iontophoresis can enhance transdermal extraction of small molecules, and even large molecules if reverse iontophoresis is used together with electroporation. Electroporation is the use of a high-voltage electrical pulse to create nanochannels within the stratum corneum, temporarily and reversibly. Reverse iontophoresis is the use of a small current to facilitate both charged and uncharged molecule transportation across the skin. The objectives of this in vitro study were to determine whether PSA and osteopontin are extractable transdermally and noninvasively and whether urea, PSA, and osteopontin can be extracted simultaneously by electroporation and reverse iontophoresis.MethodsAll in vitro experiments were conducted using a diffusion cell assembled with the stratum corneum of porcine skin. Three different symmetrical biphasic direct currents (SBdc), five various electroporations, and a combination of the two techniques were applied to the diffusion cell via Ag/AgCl electrodes. The three different SBdc had the same current density of 0.3 mA/cm2, but different phase durations of 0 (ie, no current, control group), 30, and 180 seconds. The five different electroporations had the same pulse width of 1 msec and number of pulses per second of 10, but different electric field strengths of 0 (ie, no voltage, control group), 74, 148, 296, and 592 V/cm. Before and after each extraction experiment, skin impedance was measured at 20 Hz.ResultsIt was found that urea could be extracted transdermally using reverse iontophoresis alone, and further enhancement of extraction could be achieved by combined use of electroporation and reverse iontophoresis. Conversely, PSA and osteopontin were found to be extracted transdermally only by use of reverse iontophoresis and electroporation with a high electrical field strength (>296 V/cm). After application of reverse iontophoresis, electroporation, or a combination of the two techniques, a reduction in skin impedance was observed.ConclusionSimultaneous transdermal extraction of urea, PSA, and osteopontin is possible only for the condition of applying reverse iontophoresis in conjunction with high electroporation.

Long term trend analysis of geographical disparity in aging and disability: Taiwanese population approach

Purposes of the present paper were to describe the overtime change of disability prevalence among the elderly (65 years and older), and to analyze the geographic disparity of the disability prevalence during the year 2000-2010 in Taiwan. Study data mainly come from two public web-access information: (1) The physically and mentally disabled population by age and grade, 2000-2010; (2) Taiwan general population by age, 2000-2010. We used statistical methods include number, percentage and geographical information system (GIS) to describe the disability prevalence among the elderly people by year and administrative area, and a trend test was conducted to examine the overtime change of disability prevalence in the elderly people. The results found that the mean of disability prevalence rate in the elderly population was 14.8% and it was significantly increased during the past 11 years (R(2) = 0.901; p < 0.0001). With regards to the elderly disability prevalence disparity in administrative areas, those areas of higher elderly disability prevalence were more likely to occur in east-mountain areas-Taitung County (24.2%), Yilan County (21.0%), Hualien County (20.3%), and central-agricultural counties such as Yunlin County (21.8%), Nantou County (17.6%) and Chiayi County (17.3%). The most relative change areas of disability prevalence rate in the elderly population during the past 11 years were more likely to occur in central or east areas in Taiwan. The present study highlights the authorities should pay much attention to increasing rate and the geographical disparity of disability prevalence in the elderly population, to allocate appropriate health and welfare resources for this vulnerable population.

Three Lactarius (Russulaceae) species from Taiwan.

This paper described and illustrated three ectomycorrhizal Lactarius species (Basidiomycetes), Lactarius piperatus, L. deliciosus, and L. chrysorrheus collected from a mixed-forest of Abies kawakamii, Tsuga chinensis, and Yushania niitakayamensis in Mt. He-Huan in Nantou County, Taiwan. Lactarius chrysorrheus is new reported from Taiwan.

Information-based system identification for predicting the groundwater-level fluctuations of hillslopes

The analysis of pre-existing landslides and landslide-prone hillslopes requires an estimation of maximum groundwater levels. Rapid increase in groundwater levels may be a dominant factor for evaluating the occurrence of landslides. System identification—use of mathematical tools and algorithms for building dynamic models from measured data—is adopted in this study. The fluid mass-balance equation is used to model groundwater-level fluctuations, and the model is analytically solved using the finite-difference method. Entropy-based classification (EBC) is used as a data-mining technique to identify the appropriate ranges of influencing variables. The landslide area at Wushe Reservoir, Nantou County, Taiwan, is chosen as a field test site for verification. The study generated 65,535 sets of numbers for the groundwater-level variables of the governing equation, which is judged by root mean square errors. By applying cross-validation methods and EBC, limited numbers of validation samples are used to find the range of each parameter. For these ranges, a heuristic method is employed to find the best results of each parameter for the prediction model of groundwater level. The ranges for governing factors are evaluated and the resulting performance is examined.

Morphological and molecular characteristics, host plants and natural enemies of the recently recognized &lt;em&gt;Tetranychus okinawanus&lt;/em&gt; (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Taiwan

Tetranychus okinawanus Ehara have recently been found in Taiwan. To date they have only been collected by the authors from several locations in the counties of Pingtung, Taitung, and Hualien and from one spot in Nantou County by Takafuji, all from non-crop plants. The authors examined the specific characteristics and made sketches of the leg chaetotaxy, the palpal terminal of both sexes and the male aedeagus. Collection records and observations of body color variations as well as a list of natural enemies are also provided. The ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of this mite was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. The sequences are extremely rich in AT content (67.7%), and are identical among the tested individuals and identical to the neucleotide sequence of the ITS2 region of Tetranychus okinawanus reported from Japan.

Wolbachia in field populations of Forcipomyia taiwana (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Taiwan

Wolbachia pipientis is an endosymbiotic alpha-proteobacterium that is found in numerous insects and arthropods. Only a few studies have been made on Wolbachia in blood-sucking midges. In this study, we identified and determined the molecular characteristics of Wolbachia strains in Forcipomyia taiwana (Shiraki), a blood-sucking midge found in Taiwan and southern China. Our results indicate that all F. taiwana individuals captured in Nantou County, Taiwan were infected with Wolbachia strains closely related to the A-supergroup wAlbA. Moreover, 2 individuals captured at low-abundance locations were also infected with a B-supergroup Wolbachia strain. We observed that 63% F. taiwana individuals captured at the low-abundance locations harbored the wAlbA-like strain which has a particular substitution pattern (D51G, T84A, and A85V) in the Wolbachia surface protein. Taken together, our results indicate that distinct Wolbachia strains exist in F. taiwana populations in the field.

Rainfall-induced landslide risk at Lushan, Taiwan

Landslide is a frequently encountered problem in Taiwan during the heavy rainfall and typhoon seasons (July to September). Assessing the risk of landslide is a challenging task facing both the engineering communities and local authorities. In this paper we present a framework for analyzing the rainfall-induced landslide risk and demonstrate it with a case study of Lushan hot-spring district in Nantou County in central Taiwan. This framework consists of three parts: (1) an approach for determining the conditional probability of landslide under different scenarios, (2) a procedure for estimating the landslide-induced losses, and (3) a procedure for computing the total landslide risk. The results of the detailed case study of the total landslide risk in the Lushan hot-spring district show that the proposed methodology is an effective approach for landslide risk assessment. Use of the methodology for assessing the cost-benefit of an engineering mitigation work proposal is also presented.

First Report of Bidens mottle virus Infecting Calendula in Taiwan

In March of 2010, calendula (Calendula officinalis L.), a perennial herb known as the pot marigold, showing chlorotic spots on leaves, chlorosis, and stunting were collected from Puli Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. The disorder occurred in more than 50% of the calendula plants in the field. A virus culture isolated from one of the symptomatic calendulas was established in Chenopodium quinoa through triple single-lesion isolation and designated as TwCa1. With transmission electron microscopy (TEM), negatively stained flexuous filamentous virions approximately 12 × 720 nm were observed in the crude sap of TwCa1-infected C. quinoa leaves and pinwheel inclusion bodies were found in the infected cells. On the basis of the sizes of the viral particles and inclusion bodies, isolate TwCa1 was a suspected potyvirus. By reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and potyvirus degenerate primers (Hrp5/Pot1) (1,2), a 0.65-kb DNA fragment, which included the 3'-end of the NIb gene and the 5'-end of coat protein (CP) gene of the virus, was amplified from total RNA isolated from TwCa1-infected plants. The amplified DNA fragment was cloned and sequenced. A homology search indicated that the new calendula-infecting virus in Taiwan might belong to Bidens mottle virus (BiMoV) because its partial genomic sequence shared 94.9 to 97.3% nucleotide and 96.6 to 98.1% amino acid identity with 11 BiMoV isolates available in NCBI GenBank. Primer pairs Hrp5/oligo d(T) were used to amplify the 3'-end genome of BioMV TwCa1 including the 3'-end of the NIb gene, the full-length CP gene, and the 3'-nontranslatable region of the virus. The 807-nt CP gene of TwCa1 (Accession No. HQ117871) shared 97.3 to 98.6% nucleotide and 98.5 to 98.9% amino acid identity with those of 11 BiMoV isolates available in GenBank. Results from TEM observations and CP gene sequence analysis indicated that TwCa1 is an isolate of BiMoV. BiMoV was later detected by RT-PCR in eight symptomatic calendulas collected from the same field. To our knowledge, this is the first report of BiMoV infecting calendula in Taiwan. This newly identified calendula-infecting BiMoV could have a direct impact on the economically important vegetable and floral industry in Taiwan.

First Report of Gummosis Disease of Japanese Apricot Caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea in Taiwan.

Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) is an economically important fruit crop grown on more than 10,000 ha in Taiwan. During May 2008, twigs of Japanese apricot trees in the commercial farms of Renai Region (Nantou County) showed symptoms of gummosis disease, with 12 to 18% of the trees affected. The disease was more severe on trees weakened by drought stress. Limb and twig infections began around lenticles as small, sunken, discolored lesions at the margins of wounds. Following infection, cortical cells collapsed, bark became depressed, and blisters developed, which were often cracked with whitish gummy exudation. Necrotic areas were seen on the cortical tissues. Leaves showed yellowing and drooping. In winter months, numerous black pycnidia or perithecia formed on infected twigs. Single conidial isolates of the pathogen were obtained from diseased twigs on acidified potato dextrose agar (PDA) incubated at 25 ± 1°C for 3 days. On the basis of morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Botryosphaeria dothidea (3). Conidia (17 to 22.6 × 4.3 to 6.0 μm) were hyaline, unicellular, and spindle shaped. Asci (78 to 125 × 15 to 17 μm) were hyaline, bitunicate, clavate, and eight spored. Ascospores (18 to 22 × 7.0 to 8.2 μm) were hyaline and spindle shaped or fusoid. The pathogen identity was further confirmed by PCR amplification and sequencing of ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer from the fungus with the primers ITS5: 5'-GGAAGTAAAAGTCGTAACAAGG-3' and ITS4: 5'-TCCTCCGCTTATTGATATGC-3' (4), and a representative sequence was deposited in NCBI GenBank (Accession No. GU594225). The sequence showed 99 to 100% homology with previously characterized strains of B. dothidea (GenBank Accession Nos. EU441944, DQ177876, and AY786320). Pathogenicity tests were conducted with inoculum prepared by culturing the fungus on PDA under a continuous photoperiod of 128 ± 25 μE·m-2·s-1 at 25°C for 3 days. Shallow cuts (3 × 3 × 3 mm) were made on 12- to 15-month-old healthy twigs with a scalpel and inoculated with either a 5-mm mycelial disc or 0.5 ml of conidial suspension (105 conidia/ml) of the fungus. Two twigs on each of six trees were inoculated. Inoculated areas were covered with moist, sterile cotton and the entire twigs were enclosed in plastic bags. Twigs were inoculated with 5-mm PDA discs or sterile water for controls. The symptoms described above were observed on all inoculated twigs 14 days after inoculation, whereas control twigs remained healthy. Reisolation from the inoculated twigs consistently yielded B. dothidea. In Taiwan, B. dothidea has been reported as the causal agent of gummosis of peach (1) and fruit ring rot of pear (2); however, to our knowledge, this is the first report of B. dothidea causing gummosis on Japanese apricot.

Mortality and suicide after self-harm: community cohort study in Taiwan

Little is known about outcomes after self-harm in East Asia. To investigate mortality after self-harm in a Taiwanese population. Between 2000 and 2003, 1083 individuals who self-harmed were identified through a population self-harm register in Nantou County, Taiwan, and followed until 2007 for date and cause of death on a national mortality database. In total, 145 individuals died, 48 through suicide. The risks of all-cause and suicide mortality in the first year were 4.7% and 2.1% respectively, representing 8- and 131-fold age- and gender-standardised increases. Male gender and older age were independent risk factors for both suicide and non-suicide mortality. Use of more lethal methods in the index episode was associated with higher mortality but this was accounted for by gender. Results in this sample support the recommendation that people with a history of recent self-harm should be a major target for suicide prevention programmes.

A study of rationality of slopeland use in view of land preservation

In recent years, frequent attacks of heavy rain and typhoon have severely devastated the vulnerable mountains of Taiwan; slopelands are artificially disturbed by improper development and utilization. People are getting more aware of the importance of slopeland preservation as well as disaster prevention and mitigation. The government, realizing the criticality of gradually worsened land safety issues, has also set forth the “Draft of National Land Planning Act” and the “Draft of Regulations on Land Preservation Act” in the purposes of rehabilitating the excessively explored ecosystems and diminishing the development extent of environmentally susceptible areas, so as to effectively preserve soil, water, and organism resources and to achieve perpetual development of national lands. “Classification of Slopeland Utilization Limitations” is a critical link to national land preservation. The classification is based on four factors, namely average slope, effective soil depth, soil erosion, and parent rock, with different utilization zones defined as bases of landuse planning. However, current classification results of the environmentally susceptible and disaster-prone mountain lands are mostly defined as suitable for forestry or husbandry. Scattered allocation of these lands results in critical issues such as segmented landuse and impaired landscape and ecotype. It is necessary to re-adjust land resources planning and usage management. Therefore a review of the current standards for classifying slopeland utilization limitations is proposed to facilitate rational allocation of slopeland use. Jhuoshuei River is selected as the scope of the case study, with data of debris flows induced by the typhoon Toraji in 2001 as the training data. Eight susceptibility factors, which include form factor of watershed, integral hypsometric, slope of main stream, density of stream network, density of road network, area ratio of historical landslide, and area ratio of triggered landslide, together with the total rainfall of the storm event as the triggering factor, are selected for creating the debris flow susceptibility model by employing the logistic regression within the multivariate geostatistics analysis. This model interprets the curve of success ratio of debris flows triggered by typhoon Toraji, of which the area under the curve is as high as 74.3%. The debris flow susceptibility model created in the study takes the Feng-Chiu section of Sinyi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan within the Jhuoshuei River as the scope of research. GIS technology has been applied in the feasibility study of classification standards. New concepts have been further proposed in view of national land preservation addressing the medium and high elevation disaster-prone areas that are not suitable for agricultural use, for standard revision reference.

Forecasting groundwater level fluctuations for rainfall-induced landslide

Groundwater plays a critical and important role in many landslides. Heavy precipitation can raise the groundwater level within a hillslope and lead to instability. The purpose of this paper is to present a model by means of continuity equation to predict groundwater level fluctuations in hillslope in response to hourly precipitation rates. The linear reservoir method is employed to describe the travel time distribution of infiltration, and Darcy’s law is then used to establish the groundwater flux rate of control volume. The governing equation shows that the changing rate of groundwater level fluctuation can be interpreted by two new defined variables (Sink Number and Rise Number) in this study. The application of the model is demonstrated using the rainfall-induced landslide at Lu-Shan, Nantou County, Taiwan. Data from one storm event are used to calibrate the model and estimate parameters by using the heuristic algorithm. Post-storm rainfall data from another storm event are employed to verify the calibrated parameters. The contribution of this study shows that a small Sink Number results in a fast recession and a large Rise Number yields a fast rise of groundwater level. This method may be practical to have better understanding on the rainfall-induced landslide.

Remote Monitoring of Health Status of the Elderly at Home in Taiwan

This case involves a B2B2C model (service provider to community to the elderly) of innovative tele-care services. The service provider under study is Chu-Shan Show-Chwan Hospital, a district hospital in Nantou County, Taiwan. The community comprises social welfare institutions such as temples, community care centers, and nursing homes. Finally, the elderly individuals who are the ultimate targets of the service are either community residents or residents of nursing homes. The community, as a service promoter, contributes to the increased acceptance of the newly introduced tele-care service compared with the traditional B2C model. Numerous communities under study and some social welfare organizations are extremely interested in providing healthcare services to the elderly and will support future operations provided satisfactory results are achieved. This project can help district hospitals extend their primary care function to communities, build trust, and improve relationships between physicians and patients.

First Report of Tomato spotted wilt virus in Sweet Pepper in Taiwan.

A new disorder on pepper showing symptoms of chlorosis and chlorotic spots on leaves was observed in sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum cv. Andalus) fields in Ren-Ai Township, Nantou County in July, 2009. The disorder occurred in more than 30% of the pepper plants, with a height of approximately 40 cm (1.5 feet), which was approximately one-half the size of the asymptomatic ones. Symptomatic plants bore much smaller fruits with abnormal shapes. Three symptomatic sweet pepper plants were collected and tested for potential viruses. Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR was performed for the detection using three degenerate primer pairs, gL3637/gL4435c for tospoviruses (2), Hrp5/Pot1 for potyviruses (1,3), and Tob-Uni1/Tob-Uni2 for tobamoviruses (4), and specific primers, FJJ2001-7/FJJ2001-8 (5'-TATGTCCATGGACAAATCCGAATCA and 5'-TCTCTGGATCCACGAGTTCAAACTGGGAG) for the coat protein gene of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). An 819-nt DNA fragment containing the partial L RNA of tospovirus was amplified from the total RNA isolated from each of these three samples by RT-PCR with primer pair gL3637/gL4435c. One amplified fragment was cloned and sequenced. A homology search in GenBank indicated that the new pepper-infecting virus in Taiwan was Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) since the partial L RNA shared more than 94.5% nucleotide and 98.2% amino acid identity with five TSWV isolates (Accession Nos. AB190813, AB198742, AY070218, D10066, and NC_002052). No DNA fragment was obtained by RT-PCR using primer pairs for CMV, potyviruses, or tobamoviruses. A virus culture (TwPep1) isolated from one of the symptomatic sweet pepper plants was then established in Nicotiana tabacum cv. White Burley and N. benthamiana through triple single-lesion isolation. TWPep1 reacted positively only to the antiserum against TSWV by indirect-ELISA but not to those of Watermelon silver mottle virus, Capsicum chlorosis virus, Tobacco mosaic virus, Tomato mosaic virus, and CMV. Partial L RNA and the full-length nucleocapsid (N) gene of TWPep1 were obtained by RT-PCR with primer pairs gL3637/gL4435c and FJJ2002-74/FJJ2002-75 (5'-GCGCGCGGATCCTAATTTAACTTACARCTGCT 5'-TGCTGCCTCGAGCATACGGTCAAAGCATATAA), respectively. The 819-nt L RNA conserved region of TwPep1 (Accession No. GU222652) shared 94.4 to 97.7% nucleotide and 98.2 to 100% amino acid identity with those available in GenBank. The 777-bp N gene of TwPep1 (Accession No. GU222651) shared 96.7 to 99.1% nucleotide and 97.3 to 99.6% amino acid identity with 37 TSWV isolates available in GenBank. Sequence comparisons indicated that TwPep1 is an isolate of TSWV. TSWV was later detected by RT-PCR in all 10 symptomatic samples of sweet pepper plants collected from five fields in August 2009. To our knowledge, this is the first report of TSWV in sweet pepper in Taiwan. This is also the first demonstration of isolation and characterization of TSWV in Taiwan although TSWV was once detected in lisianthus (Eustoma rusellianum) by RT-PCR (1) but the isolation was not successful then. The occurrence of TSWV in pepper will have a direct economic impact on the important vegetable and floral industry in Taiwan because TSWV reportedly comprises a wide host range.

Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon Lake

Once a year during the festival of Sun-Moon Lake in Nan-Tou County, Taiwan, a long-distance swimming mass gathering (LDSMG) event takes place. This event, in which participants swim an estimated 30 km, is very popular; the total number of spectators and participants at the 2002 festival was 15,189. This study, the first pertaining to the LDSMG, aimed to review the effect of the environmental factors at this particular mass gathering event, with mass being defined here as more than 1,000 people, upon the event's patient presentation rate (PPR). This was done to provide improved medical services at this event in future years The study also aimed to collect patient data from the two medical stations (one upstream and one downstream) and analyze the differences between them. In 2002, the number of patients requiring first aid treatment was determined from data gathered on-site. A total of 63 presented at on-site medical stations (PPR, 4.15 per 1,000 attendees), where 14 patients presented to a downstream medical station and 49 to an upstream medical station. The mean age of the patients was 35.46 ± 15.14 years; ages ranged from 1 to 65 years. Forty-nine of the patients (78%) were male. Fifty-nine patients were treated with medication (3.88 per 1,000 attendees), and two were taken to hospital (0.13 per 1,000 attendees). Injuries sustained included trauma (71%), such as impact, fall, sprain, stabbed laceration and burn, hypothermia (5%), and foreign bodies (3%). The PPR at the LDSMG was related to factors including the presence or absence of seating, whether the event was outdoors or indoors, mobility of the crowd, whether the activity was contained within a boundary, attendance figures, and humidity level. The weather, particularly the relative humidity (81%), was also positively correlated with an increase in the number of presentations at the medical stations.