Pingtung County Research Articles

An Integration of Logistic Regression and Geographic Information System for Development of a Landslide Hazard Index to Land Use: A Case Study in Pingtung County in Southern Taiwan

In Taiwan, mountainous areas account for approximately two-thirds of the total area. The steep terrain and concentrated rainfall during typhoons cause landslides, which pose a considerable threat to mountain settlements. Therefore, models for analyzing rainfall-induced landslide hazards are urgently required to ensure adequate land use in mountainous areas. In this study, focusing on Pingtung County in southern Taiwan, we developed a landslide hazard index (IRL) to land use. Using FORMOSA-2 and SPOT-5 satellite images, data were collected before and after four typhoons (one in 2009 and three in 2013). The ArcGIS random tree classifier was used for interpreting satellite images to explore surface changes and disasters, which were used to analyze slope disturbances. The product of the maximum 3-h rolling rainfall intensity and effective accumulated rainfall was used as a rainfall trigger index (IRT). Considering environmental and slope disturbance factors, an index of slope environmental strength potential (ISESP) was developed through logistic regression (LR). Landslide hazard to land use was estimated using IRT and ISESP. The average coefficient of agreement (Kappa) was approximately 0.71 (medium to high accuracy); the overall accuracy of slope environmental strength potential analysis was approximately 80.4%. At a constant ISESP, IRT increased with the increasing hazard potential of rainfall-induced landslides. Furthermore, IRT and ISESP were positively correlated with landslide occurrence. When large ISESP values occur (e.g., fragile environment and high land development intensity), small IRT values may induce landslides.

First report of a Kudoa lutjanus outbreak in farmed Chicken Grunts Parapristipoma trilineatum.

As part of the National Disease Surveillance Program for Taiwanese Aquaculture, we investigated the causative agent of disease outbreaks in farmed Chicken Grunts Parapristipoma trilineatum. In this study, outbreak cases on two separate farms were noticed in coastal Pingtung County, Taiwan. In total, 50 juvenile fish showing clinical signs (such as emaciation and erratic swimming behavior) and broodstock (two females and two males) from both farms were collected to perform gross lesion assessment, histopathological examination, and molecular identification of the pathogen. Clinical symptoms were infected fish exhibited erratic swimming behavior, such as whirling and floating on the surface of the water. In the following months, cumulative mortality had reached 19% and 24%, respectively. The gross lesions in the infected fish included white oval cysts in the muscle, serosa of the internal organs, sclera of the eyes, and cerebral meninges. After conducting a wet mount examination of cysts using a light microscope, we observed a significant quantity of spores with morphological characteristics, suggesting their affiliation with the Myxosporea group. The spores were semiquadrate, with four tiny suture notches at the periphery; the mean spore length was 7.3 μm (SD = 0.5), and the mean spore width was 8.2 μm (SD = 0.6). The mean length and width of the pyriform polar capsules (nematocysts) were 3.6 μm (SD = 0.5) and 2.2 μm (SD = 0.5), respectively. The 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA sequences of these specimens were identical to those of Kudoa lutjanus. As this was the first time an outbreak of K. lutjanus in Chicken Grunts was confirmed, its reappearance with substantial mortality should serve as a warning to the aquaculture industry.

First report of a 'Candidatus Phytoplasma australasiaticum'-related phytoplasma strain associated with shoot proliferation disease of variegated croton in Taiwan.

Codiaeum variegatum (family Euphorbiaceae) is a leaf ornamental commonly known as variegated croton, which is often found in gardens or grown as indoor plants. In December of 2022, two cutting-propagated variegated croton plants exhibiting abnormal shoot proliferation and little leaf symptoms (Fig. S1) were found in a nursery owned by a private breeder in Wanluan Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan. The plants were propagated from a single stock plant, which died during transplanting from a commercial nursery in Changzhi Township, Pingtung County. To determine the potential cause of such symptoms, leaf tissues were collected from the center of the two symptomatic plants. Their DNA were extracted with a Synergy 2.0 Plant DNA Extraction Kit (OPS Diagnostics, Lebanon, NJ) and used for further testing. As controls, two symptomless stock plants were collected from the commercial nursery in Changzhi Township and used to produce cutting-propagated plants; leaf DNA was extracted from each plant as described above. The DNA samples were subjected to PCR testing using the phytoplasma-specific primer pair P1/P7 (Schneider et al. 1995), and only DNA from the symptomatic plants produced the expected 1.8-kb amplicon. The two phytoplasma isolates detected in the plants were designated as CvaA and CvaB. After sequencing and analyzing the data using the iPhyClassifier program (Zhao et al. 2009), both CvaA and CvaB were classified to subgroup 16SrII-A (GenBank accession no. L33765) with a similarity coefficient of 1.0. The near-full-length 16S rDNA fragments of the detected isolates (GenBank accession no. OR794242) were also identical (1,463/1,463 bp) to that of NCHU2014 (GenBank accession no. CP040925, bp 537768-539230), a reference 'Ca. Phytoplasma australasiaticum'-related strain (16SrII-A) found in Taiwan (Chang et al. 2015; Rodrigues Jardim et al. 2023). To validate the results, the DNA samples were also tested with 16SrII group-specific semi-nested PCR targeting the elongation factor Tu gene. The outer and inner primer pairs used were TUF-II-F1/TUF-II-R1 and TUF-II-F2/TUF-II-R1, respectively (Al-Subhi et al. 2017). An expected amplicon was detected in the symptomatic samples but not in the symptomless counterparts. The amplified fragments' sequences (GenBank accession no. OR634931) were identical to that of the elongation factor Tu gene of the 'Ca. Phytoplasma australasiaticum'-related strain NCHU2014 (989/989 bp; GenBank accession no. CP040925, bp 139344-140332). The protein translocase gene secY of the detected phytoplasma was also amplified and sequenced using semi-nested primers SecYF1(II), SecYF2(II) and SecYR1(II) (Lee et al. 2010). Again, the sequences of the detected isolates (GenBank accession no. OR862773) were identical to that of NCHU2014 (1,263/1,263; GenBank accession no. CP040925, bp 192846-194108). The quality of the DNA samples was confirmed by PCR targeting the plant host's 28S rDNA using primer pair 28KJ/28C (Cullings 1992) and all symptomatic and symptomless samples produced the target amplicon (0.7 kb). 16SrII phytoplasmas have been detected in different host plants in Taiwan (Chang et al. 2015). To our knowledge, this is the first record of this group of pathogens infecting variegated croton in Taiwan. Branch-inducing phytoplasma has been used to improve the ornamental values of poinsettias, another Euphorbiaceae species (Lee et al. 1997). Further testing is needed to determine whether the phytoplasma detected in this work could be used for similar purposes.

Fluvial flood adaptation using nature-based solutions: A comprehensive and effective assessment of hydro-meteorological risks

The growing prominence of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for disaster risk reduction (DRR) has sparked increased interest. This study is motivated by the need to establish a quantifiable and standardized method for assessing the risks mitigated by NbS in engineering applications. The goal is to establish a comprehensive and effective system framework for assessing hydro-meteorological risks related to NbS in engineering applications. The proposed framework considers flood disaster mechanisms, uncertain factors, and ecosystem services, integrating them to comprehensively assess the benefits of NbS. Specifically, 2-D hydraulic analysis and an in-house adaptive Kriging-based reliability analysis are developed and applied to establish flood prevention standards for NbS. Additionally, the InVEST toolkit is utilized to evaluate ecosystem services. To demonstrate the applicability of the framework, the Baoli River Watershed located in Pingtung County of Taiwan is selected as a case study. It is found that NbS can effectively withstand a 25-year return period flood and reduce flooding on agricultural land by 46.03 %. Furthermore, the probability of flooding decreased from 100 % to 27 % for a 20-year return period flood. NbS was found to provide approximately NT$1.20–4.65 million more in total benefit value compared to the engineering governance strategy. The supporting source codes are available at https://github.com/johnthedy/Adaptive-Kriging-Using-PSO-HHs-in-HECRAS3D.git.

Analysis of the positioning factors affecting the sustainable fishing gear-Set net

Using a passive method to catch fish, the set-net fishery is an environmentally friendly fishery posing little risk to the marine ecosystem. To date, no studies have been conducted by industry, government, or academia to formulate a set of physical selection criteria for the installation of set nets. In this study, meteorological and sea condition data were collected around existing set-net fishing grounds in Taiwan, and binary logistic regression analysis and sequential logistic regression methods were used to determine the factors that affect the installation of set nets to confirm the future development of this fishery. According to the results of binary logistic analysis and comparison of physical factors in the waters near Xiaoliuqiu, Pingtung County, Nanliao City, Hsinchu City, Qixingtan City, and Hualien City, where there are set-net fishing grounds, ocean temperature (OCT) and sea surface factors, namely, maximum wind speed (OSWm), wave (WV), air temperature (TEMP) and air pressure (PRES), are the primary factors affecting the installation of set-nets. The results of sequential logistic regression and odds ratio analysis were also used to verify the degree of influence of the determinants of these three sea areas on the nearby set-net fishing grounds. The fish catch data from the fishing grounds studied fitted very well to the examined physical factors in different regions.

The impact of river and mountainous terrain on the spread of Formosan ferret-badger (Melogale moschata subaurantiaca) rabies in Taiwan

Since the initial epizootic of the Formosan ferret-badger (FFB) rabies outbroke in 2013, the enzootic area of the FFB rabies has always been limited to six counties and three cities in Taiwan. These six counties and three cities, from north to south, are Taichung City, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, Tainan City, Kaohsiung City, Hualien County, Taitung County, and Pingtung County. They are located south of the Daan River and the Heping River, the latter is on the east side of the Daan River. In January 2023, ten years after 2013, under the annual Surveillance Program for the Detection of the FFB rabies instituted by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIA), Ministry of Agriculture, it was found that the FFB rabies virus had spread across the Daan River and entered Miaoli County, which is located in the north side of the Daan River. The previously naïve populations of FFBs in Miaoli County were infected; therefore, another initial massive epizootic of the FFB rabies cannot be ruled out in areas north of the Daan River and the Heping River in the future.

Reflective and Cooperative Learning for Understanding Sustainability through an Eco-Innovation Strategy in Rural Travel and Hospitality: A STEAM Case Study

Eco-innovation denotes developing green practices using environmentally friendly innovative approaches or technologies. Although eco-innovation has been broadly applied in different industries, such as low-carbon production and manufacturing, how to implement such innovation in education for sustainable development (ESD) has rarely been studied. Therefore, this research considered a reflective and cooperative learning approach to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) education. A case study examined Wanluan Township of Pingtung County in southern Taiwan. Four departments’ students and lecturers at Meiho University were involved in situated learning. Hospitality management students played farm owners who engaged in organic agriculture to produce food and beverages. These agricultural products were farm-to-table, cooked, and served to customers in a natural dining setting through the students’ teamwork. Tourism, sports and leisure management, and food science and nutrition students played tourists in a self-guided travel context, who engaged in acts such as visiting buildings to understand heritage while observing that the houses were still in use as dwellings. This encouraged reflection on the importance of cultural preservation. The results showed that eco-innovation can represent a sustainable marketing strategy for improving the local community economy and can be implemented in a practical situation in STEAM. The ESD goal for 2030—societal transformation—is to foster students’ responsible behavior and attitudes in a personally authentic manner, thereby fostering sustainable learning and understanding.

University Departments as Change Agents in the Organic Waste Management Sector: Lessons from Action Research Initiatives in Thailand and Taiwan

Abstract Due to the concentration of people and industries, cities are the main human habitats where residents can create opportunities for flourishing economic, political and social lives. However, these diverse anthropogenic activities also create flows of material and energy within cities that are inevitably produced and wasted. In order to investigate how cities can better reduce and repurpose the flows of material and energy, this paper adopts the urban metabolism approach to frame cities as a complex socio-ecological system where natural and human systems co-produce the environment the urban population depends on. To illustrate urban metabolism at work, we have selected Thaklong municipality in Thailand and Pingtung county in Taiwan as case studies to compare different innovative measures taken by university departments to reduce organic waste through action research oriented repurposing experiments. Although the size of the cities, the type of targeted organic waste varies and local culture differs, the case studies of Thaklong and Pingtung show that the university departments as change agents and the stakeholders as recipients of proposed change face similar opportunities and challenges.

Application and Research of Hakka Building Codes in Cultural and Creative Product Design

In the development of the cultural and creative industry, popular cultural and creative attractions are reviewed for integrating local architecture, history, and culture into products to promote local economy and culture. We conducted a field investigation at the Xiaojia ancient house in Jiadong Township, Pingtung County, and found that there was a cultural cognitive gap between local cultural and creative products and consumers, which was a dilemma in promoting the development of the local cultural and creative industry. Through the design thinking of cultural and creative products, the spirit of Hakka culture can be delivered and expanded into local specialty products. In the design of cultural and creative products, we used the KJ method to analyze, summarize, and extract the most representative architectural features as the source of design elements. At the same time, combined with the principles of design semiotics, deep cultural symbols were integrated into the product design of the pen holder with richer local spiritual meaning. The traditional and modern elements of the Xiao family’s ancient house were combined to design a multi-functional cultural and creative pen holder. It brought a unique cultural experience and promoted the local cultural and creative industries and the Hakka culture of Xiaojia Ancient House to develop related culture and tourism. Semiotics and the KJ method in theory and practice were useful in product design and programming to develop local cultural and creative products. In the future, we apply this design method to different cultures and cross-domains to achieve wider research and application.

Standardized rate of hospitalization for violent injuries among different generations in counties and cities in Taiwan from 2000 to 2015.

This study aimed to understand the distribution of the standardized rate of hospitalization for violent injuries in counties and cities in Taiwan. The ICD-9 diagnosis code N-codes 995.5 (abused child) and 995.8 (abused adult) or E-code E960-E969 (homicide and intentional injury by others) were defined as research cases. The study analyzed the standardized medical treatment rate of children and adolescents aged 0 to 17, adults aged 18 to 64, and older adults over 65 years old suffering from violence for the first time. During the 15-year period, the counties and cities with the highest rate of medical treatment for violent injuries among children (unit: per 105 people) were Pingtung County (33.1 males, 22.9 females), Lienchiang County (8.8 males, 9.8 females), and New Taipei City (8.2 males, 8.8 females). For adults, Pingtung County (73.2 males, 36.8 females), New Taipei City (26.0 males, 14.3 females), and Yunlin County (19.7 males, 7.7 females) registered the highest rates. For older adults, Pingtung County (33.6 persons), New Taipei City (12.5 persons), Yun Lin County (11.2 persons), and Taichung City (9.2 persons) registered the highest rates. The highest rates of older female adults receiving treatment were recorded in Pingtung County (15.1 persons), Yunlin County (9.0 persons), Taichung City (5.5 persons), and New Taipei City (5.1 persons). With the Poisson regression model, the relative risk ratio of seeking medical care owing to violence in Pingtung County (reference: Taipei City) was 25.1 times for children, 20.1 times for adults, and 11.7 times for older adults. The counties and cities with higher rates of violent medical treatment for adults and older adults during the 15-year period were Pingtung County, New Taipei City, and Yunlin County. For children and adolescents, Pingtung County, Lienchiang County, and New Taipei City recorded the highest rates. Pingtung County had the highest risk of sexual violence. These results may be related to the local industrial structure, demographic composition, and other characteristics explained in the text.

Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment of Offshore Wave Heights for Southern Region of Pingtung County in Southern Taiwan

This study applies the unit tsunami method and probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis to investigate the tsunami hazard for the southern region of Pingtung County in southern Taiwan. The FUNWAVE-TVD model is used to calculate the aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. The aleatory uncertainty is analyzed using a comparison of simulated and observed maximum tsunami wave heights and the epistemic uncertainty is evaluated using a scenario caused by earthquakes in the Manila and Ryukyu subduction zones according to probabilistic seismic hazard analysis in Taiwan using Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee Level 3 methodology. A unit tsunami method database is established for the Manila and Ryukyu subduction zones and used to carry out a probability-based offshore tsunami wave height simulation for the southern region of Pingtung County. A hazard map for tsunamis caused by earthquakes in the Manila and Ryukyu subduction zones is also derived.

Lethal Lesions Caused by Propeller Cuts on the Endangered Green Turtle Chelonia mydas on Liuchiu Island, Taiwan

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is the most common sea turtle species in Taiwan. The coastal waters of Taiwan are known to contain foraging grounds for green turtles. Boat strike has been identified as the most common causes of sea turtle mortality in several sea turtle habitats worldwide. However, no relevant studies have investigated wild green turtles with boat strike injuries in Taiwan. In this field study, we conducted morphometric characteristics of 6 endangered green turtles (C. mydas) with boat strike injuries in Liuchiu Island of Pingtung County, Taiwan. This is the first report of its kind on the prevalence of documented boat strike lesions on stranded wild green turtles at their near shore foraging habitat. In 2019, a total of 14 stranded green turtles were dead when first found in Liuchiu Island of Pingtung County, Taiwan. Of these 14, 6 (42.8%) turtles showing evidence of propeller impacts. Conservation strategies including speed limits in key turtle neritic foraging habitats are required to improve their survival in Taiwan.

Exploring Public Participation and Views on Social Media regarding the Conservation of Cultural Heritage in the Pingtung Tobacco Factory

文化資產永續保存是目前國際間重視的議題，其中民眾參與更是文化資產永續保存不可或缺的部分。民眾參與的首要目的是讓民眾了解文化資產場域保存的意義與價值，因此，民眾對文化資產保存的觀點成為了重要的觀察指標。再者，具文化資產價值的保存與經營，體現在根源於文化資產有形及無形文化資源的應用。本研究的動機，起因於屏東縣政府目前正積極地進行工業遺產屏東菸葉廠文化資產保存的相關工作，因此籌劃了展覽活動，讓民眾有機會進入昔日不易進入菸葉生產場域，促成本研究欲探討該場域文化資產民眾參與的議題。工業遺產是其中一個需要被積極守護的文化資產類別。許多民眾第一次參加體驗屏東菸葉廠這類工業遺產的空間與活動，民眾參加體驗的意見，正好成為本研究可觀察屏東菸葉廠保存是否可提升民眾對於菸葉廠保存的意識，進而分析民眾對於屏東菸葉廠保存再利用的觀點，此為本研究主要目的。當今民眾普遍應用社群媒體發表意見，恰能提供做為民眾體驗文化資產保存的意見發表媒介。<br>本研究將以屏東菸葉廠作為研究場域，並以2019臺灣設計展的舉辦為研究對象，應用質性研究方法中的文獻分析法及觀察研究法，探討當時活動在屏東菸葉廠的民眾體驗情形。本研究使用社群媒體Google Maps蒐集民眾對於屏東菸葉廠的評論（包含照片及文字），並進行編碼分析，探討2019臺灣設計展的舉辦是否能協助民眾了解屏東菸葉廠的文化資產價值，以及民眾對於屏東菸葉廠保存再利用的看法。本研究發現，2019臺灣設計展的舉辦有助於民眾認識屏東菸葉廠的文化資產保存意義與價值。而在民眾表達的意見上，本研究也整理出民眾對於屏東菸葉廠的介紹、民眾的感受、正面評語、負面評語，以及民眾的期許等訊息與建議。針對民眾的意見，本研究認為在屏東菸葉廠內活動舉辦地點，要以能協助民眾認識該場域的文化資產保存意義與價值為原則，並且可適時地運用屏東菸葉廠的有形與無形文化資源，強化屏東菸葉廠文化資產價值的詮釋（interpretation），這樣才有助於民眾了解文化資產。另外，針對民眾所提出的意見，本研究也提出幾點建議。在廠區的保存規劃上，在修復上須適時保留工廠昔日作業設施與標語以傳遞工廠氛圍，同時兼顧民眾參觀安全。而在導覽解說方面，可針對導覽志工加強培訓。最後在消息的公告上，可再加強推廣，讓更多人認識屏東菸葉廠及其相關資訊，並且也可以多舉辦與屏東菸葉廠規劃相關的講座及說明會等，讓民眾有更多的機會參與保存。此外，目前屏東菸葉廠的民眾參與，對於包容性的原則著墨較少，未來屏東縣政府在規劃屏東菸葉廠的活化再利用，應適度考慮族群、性別等議題，以強化包容性的文化資產保存永續目標。Sustainable conservation of cultural heritage is a crucial topic that currently receives substantial attention from international communities. Particularly, public participation is an indispensable part. To facilitate public participation in such conservation, the conservation value of cultural heritage fields must be introduced to the public. Therefore, the public’s views regarding the conservation of cultural heritage become an important indicator that is worthy to observe. Furthermore, the conservation and management of cultural heritage value is embodied in the application of tangible and intangible cultural resources rooted in cultural heritage. This motivation of study is that the Pingtung County Government has been actively engaging in the conservation of the industrial heritage in the Pingtung Tobacco Factory, and accordingly designed an exhibition to provide the public with an opportunity to visit the tobacco production factory that could not be easily accessed previously. This prompted this study to explore the issue of public participation in the cultural heritage site. Industrial heritage is a type of cultural heritage that requires protection. Numerous people visited this type of industrial heritage (i.e., the Pingtung Tobacco Factory) for the first time. These people’s views of an experience tour can be used to understand whether the conservation of the Pingtung Tobacco Factory raises the public’s awareness of preserving tobacco factories and that how the public think of reutilization of the factory. This is the main purpose of this study. The public commonly express their views on social media, including their cultural heritage conservation experience.<br>In this study, the Pingtung Tobacco Factory served as the research setting and that Taiwan Design Expo’19, along with the qualitative research methods including documental analysis and observation research methods, was used as an example to explore the public’s experience in visiting the Pingtung Tobacco Factory. The social media adopted in this study were Google Maps. By collecting people’s comments about the Pingtung Tobacco Factory (including photos and texts) and coded them, we analyzed whether Taiwan Design Expo’19 facilitated people’s understanding of the conservation value of the cultural heritage and examined their views regarding preserving and reutilizing the factory. The research results revealed that Taiwan Design Expo’19 did facilitate people’s understanding of the conservation value of the Pingtung Tobacco Factory. In addition, this study presented how people introduced the factory, their positive and negative comments, and their expectations and suggestions. According to visitors’opinions, this study considered that the locations for holding activities in the Pingtung Tobacco Factory must be those that can assist people in understanding relevant conservation value of cultural heritage; tangible and intangible cultural resources in the locations to strengthen the interpretation of the cultural heritage value of Pingtung Tobacco Factory. This should also be adequately utilized to facilitate people’s understanding of cultural heritage. Moreover, on the basis of the public views, this study proposed several suggestions. In the restoration, the old operating facilities and slogans of the factory must be kept in a timely manner to convey the factory atmosphere and that people’s safety during their visit must be considered. Regarding visit guidance, volunteer guides should be provided with intensified training. Finally, the Pingtung Tobacco Factory and relevant information should be publicized to help people learn about the factory. Related forums and seminars can also be held to provide people with opportunities to participate in the conservation of the factory. In addition, the current public participation of Pingtung Tobacco Factory pays little attention to the principle of inclusiveness. In the future, when planning the revitalization and reuse of the Pingtung Tobacco Factory, the Pingtung County Government should appropriately consider issues such as ethnicity and gender in order to strengthen the sustainable goal of inclusive cultural heritage conservation.

Macrophomina phaseolina causing charcoal rot on soybean (Glycine max) in Taiwan

Plants of soybean (Glycine max) exhibiting charcoal rot were observed in Wandan Township of Pingtung County in Taiwan, in Sep 2019. The diseased plants displayed symptoms of root rot and leaf blight, as well as black microsclerotia were visible in the roots and lower stem of the infected plants. Based on cultural, morphological and DNA data, the pathogen was identified as Macrophomina phaseolina. Pathogenicity of M. phaseolina on soybean was confirmed by Koch's postulates. This fungus has been proposed to produces the mycotoxin (-)-botryodiplodin, and therefore, may produce a potential impact on food and feed safety in Taiwan.

Rapid Control of a SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Community Outbreak: The Successful Experience in Pingtung County of Taiwan.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was an outbreak in December, 2019 and rapidly spread to the world. All variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the globally and currently dominant Delta variant (Delta-SARS-CoV-2), caused severe disease and mortality. Among all variants, Delta-SARS-CoV-2 had the highest transmissibility, growth rate, and secondary attack rate than other variants except for the new variant of Omicron that still exists with many unknown effects. In Taiwan, the pandemic Delta-SARS-CoV-2 began in Pingtung from 14 June 2021 and ceased at 11 July 2021. Seventeen patients were infected by Delta-SARS-CoV-2 and 1 person died during the Pingtung outbreak. The Public Health Bureau of Pingtung County Government stopped the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 outbreak within 1 month through measures such as epidemic investigation, rapid gene sequencing, rapidly expanding isolation, expanded screening of the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 antigen for people who lived in regional villages, and indirect intervention, including rapid vaccination, short lockdown period, and travel restrictions. Indirect environmental factors, such as low levels of air pollution, tropic weather in the summer season, and rural areas might have accelerated the ability to control the Delta-SARS-CoV-2 spread. This successful experience might be recommended as a successful formula for the unvaccinated or insufficiently vaccinated regions.

Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 delta variant outbreak, Pingtung, Taiwan, June 2021

BackgroundAn outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infection occurred in Pingtung, Taiwan, in June 2021. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of the Delta-variant SARS-CoV-2 infection and the treatment outcome of antiviral agents in patients from Pingtung County in Southern Taiwan.MethodsA total of 11 patients with Delta-variant COVID-19 were consecutively admitted to a governmental hospital in June 2021. Baseline characteristics and treatment outcome were evaluated.ResultsAll patients were symptomatic. The most common symptoms were cough (72.7%), followed by fever (54.5%), headache (18.2%) and dysosmia/dysgeusia (18.2%). Two patients developed pneumonia without mechanical ventilation requirement. Compared to patients without pneumonia, those with pneumonia had higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (21.0 vs. 126.0 IU/L, P = 0.03) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (143.1 vs. 409.0 IU/mL, P = 0.03), and ferritin (0.2 vs. 2.0 mg/L, P = 0.046) levels. Pneumonia improved after 2-week treatment, and no mortality occurred after 30 days of diagnosis. The median duration of viral shedding duration of viral shedding was 16.5 days (range 11–42 days) (defined by time to repeated negative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or a cycle threshold (CT) value ≥ 30).ConclusionWe demonstrated the clinical characteristics of Delta-variant COVID-19 and treatment outcome of antiviral agents. The risk factors attributed to pneumonia were higher serum AST, ferritin, and LDH levels.

A Study on Heat Storage and Dissipation Efficiency at Permeable Road Pavements.

The main contributing factor of the urban heat island (UHI) effect is caused by daytime heating. Traditional pavements in cities aggravate the UHI effect due to their heat storage and volumetric heat capacity. In order to alleviate UHI, this study aims to understand the heating and dissipating process of different types of permeable road pavements. The Ke Da Road in Pingtung County of Taiwan has a permeable pavement materials experiment zone with two different section configurations which were named as section I and section II for semi-permeable pavement and fully permeable pavement, respectively. The temperature sensors were installed during construction at the depths of the surface course (0 cm and 5 cm), base course (30 cm and 55 cm) and subgrade (70 cm) to monitor the temperature variations in the permeable road pavements. Hourly temperature and weather station data in January and June 2017 were collected for analysis. Based on these collected data, heat storage and dissipation efficiencies with respect to depth have been modelled by using multi regression for the two studied pavement types. It is found that the fully permeable pavement has higher heat storage and heat dissipation efficiencies than semi-permeable pavement in winter and summer monitoring period. By observing the regressed model, it is found that the slope of the model lines are almost flat after the depth of 30 cm. Thus, from the view point of UHI, one can conclude that the reasonable design depth of permeable road pavement could be 30 cm.

Genotype distribution, clinical characteristics, and racial differences observed in chronic hepatitis C patients in Pingtung, Taiwan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) set out to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by 2030, a goal Taiwan might achieve before 2025. Using effective direct antiviral agents (DAAs) against chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in Taiwan, the treatment of CHC has been initiated in rural areas. Here, we aimed to elucidate the clinical and virological characteristics of HCV infection, and the treatment efficacy of DAAs in patients from Pingtung county in southern Taiwan. A total of 152 chronic hepatitis patients treated with DAAs were consecutively enrolled. Baseline characteristics and therapeutic efficacy were evaluated. HCV genotype 2 was the most common viral genotype (39.5%), followed by 1b (36.8%), 6 (10.5%), and 1a (9.2%). The sustained virological response (SVR) rate was 98.7%. Hakka patients accounted for 22.4% of the study cohort, of which 14.7% had HCV genotype 6. There were no differences in clinical characteristics between Hakka and non-Hakka patients. Patients with HCV genotype 6 were younger in age (OR/CI: 0.95/0.91-1.00, p = 0.04) and composed of more people who inject drugs (PWID) (OR/CI: 17.6/3.6-85.5, p <0.001), when compared with other patients. We demonstrated that DAA therapy can achieve a 98.7% SVR rate among CHC patients in Pingtung county of southern Taiwan, with a relative higher prevalence of genotype 6. The most important factor attributed to genotype 6 infection was PWID.

Emergence of Burkholderia pseudomallei Sequence Type 562, Northern Australia.

Since 2005, the range of Burkholderia pseudomallei sequence type 562 (ST562) has expanded in northern Australia. During 2005–2019, ST562 caused melioidosis in 61 humans and 3 animals. Cases initially occurred in suburbs surrounding a creek before spreading across urban Darwin, Australia and a nearby island community. In urban Darwin, ST562 caused 12% (53/440) of melioidosis cases, a proportion that increased during the study period. We analyzed 2 clusters of cases with epidemiologic links and used genomic analysis to identify previously unassociated cases. We found that ST562 isolates from Hainan Province, China, and Pingtung County, Taiwan, were distantly related to ST562 strains from Australia. Temporal genomic analysis suggested a single ST562 introduction into the Darwin region in ≈1988. The origin and transmission mode of ST562 into Australia remain uncertain.

&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Sanghuangporus vitexicola sp. nov.&lt;/em&gt; (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) from tropical Taiwan&lt;/strong&gt;

Sanghuangporus vitexicola (Hymenochaetales) is described as a new species based on collections made from Pingtung County, tropical South Taiwan. All studied basidiocarps grew on living trunks of Vitex negundo. This new species is characterized by having perennial, pileate basidiocarps; pore surface yellowish brown, pores 6–8 per mm; context 0.7–1.5 cm thick; setae ventricose to subulate, dark brown, 17–30 × 5–8 μm; basidiospores broadly ellipsoid, brownish, smooth, 4.2–4.8 × 3.2–3.7 μm, with 0.2–0.5 μm thick walls. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference phylogenies inferred from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA indicated that six strains of Sanghuangporus viexicola formed a monophyletic group which is sister to S. zonatus. An identification key to known species of Sanghuangporus is provided.