The trends and associated factors of preterm deliveries from 2001 to 2011 in Taiwan.

The rate of preterm birth has been increasing worldwide. Most preterm babies are at increased risk of central nervous system impairments as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the trends in preterm birth and associated factors contributing to preterm delivery in Taiwan. Information on obstetric antecedents and risk factors of preterm birth of pregnant women was obtained from the Taiwan National Medical Birth Register database. All live births from 2001 to 2011 in Taiwan were included in this study. A total of 2,334,532 live births from 2001 to 2011 were included in this study. Overall, the proportion of preterm deliveries increased by 11.1% (from 8.2% in 2001 to 9.1% in 2011). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that nulliparity, multiple births, maternal medical complications, maternal age <20 years or ≥40 years, and medical indication for earlier delivery were positively associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery. Nulliparous women aged younger than 20 years and older than 40 years should be recognized as at-risk for preterm birth.

Microbial communities and bacterial diversity of spruce, hemlock and grassland soils of Tatachia Forest, Taiwan.

To evaluate the bacterial diversity of Tatachia Forest soils, 16S rDNA clone libraries of the spruce, hemlock and grassland soils were constructed. Further, the influence of physicochemical and biological properties of soil on microbial ecology, pH, moisture content, microbial population and biomass were also analyzed. The soil pH increased with the increasing of soil depth; whereas the microbial population, biomass, moisture content, total organic carbon and total nitrogen were reverse. Microbial populations were the highest in the summer season which also correlated with the highest moisture content. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that the clones from nine 16S rDNA clone libraries represented Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, candidate division TG1 and candidate division TM7. Members of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria constituted 42.2, 35.1 and 7.8 % of the clone libraries, respectively; whereas the remaining bacterial divisions each comprised <3 %. The spruce site had the highest bacterial diversity among the tested sites, followed by the hemlock sites and the grassland sites with the least. The bacterial community is the more diverse in the organic layer than that in deeper horizons. Further, bacterial diversity through the gradient horizons was different, indicating that the bacterial diversity in the deeper horizons is not simply the diluted analogs of the surface soils and some microbes dominate only in the deeper horizons.

Methane and carbon dioxide emissions from closed landfill in Taiwan.

The atmospheric concentrations and emission rates of CH(4) and CO(2) were studied at three sites of the Fu-Der-Kan closed landfill and after as the multi-use recreational park in northern Taiwan. Atmospheric CH(4) and CO(2) concentrations of closed landfill were 1.7-4.6 and 324-409ppm, respectively. CH(4) and CO(2) emission rates ranged from 8.8 to 163mg m(-2)h(-1) and from 495 to 1531mg m(-2)h(-1), respectively. Diurnal variation was noted with higher values at night than those in daytime. After creation of the park, atmospheric CH(4) and CO(2) concentrations were 1.8-3.1 and 332-441ppm, respectively. CH(4) and CO(2) emission rates ranged from -1.1 to 2.3mg m(-2)h(-1) and from -135 to 301mg m(-2)h(-1), respectively. There were no notable diurnal variations in either atmospheric concentrations or emission rates.