Hsing Jasmine Chao

Hsing Jasmine Chao
Taipei Medical University | TMU · School of Public Health

Sc.D.

About

72
Publications
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise

Publications

Publications (72)
Article
The spatial distribution of fungal spores varies seasonally and regionally based on meteorological conditions and surrounding land use patterns. To investigate the variation in ambient fungal spore concentration, this study is the first of its kind to develop geospatial-artificial intelligence (Geo-AI) models for estimating total fungal spore varia...
Article
Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a valuable biomarker for evaluating chronic stress in preschoolers. However, few studies have explored early life HCC and its associated factors. This prospective cohort study analysed the HCC in children aged 6–48 months and its associations with parental HCC as well as positive and negative parental mental hea...
Chapter
The rate of respiratory system diseases in humans is continually increasing worldwide. This increase correlates with a decline in air quality. Increased air pollution worldwide is a major contributing factor to air pollution affecting the human respiratory system, resulting from both human and natural activities. However, in the modern era, air pol...
Chapter
Air pollution, a significant global challenge, hinders economic growth, exacerbates poverty and inequality, poses risks to human health, and contributes to climate change. This issue is frequently observed in densely populated urban areas, primarily because of lower atmospheric diffusion capability and the accumulation of air pollutants. Industrial...
Chapter
Weather and climate are related but separate meteorological concepts. Weather involves daily atmospheric conditions, including temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, and pressure. Solar energy distributions, atmospheric circulation patterns, and land–ocean interactions determine weather patterns. Weather forecasting can benefit industries such...
Chapter
Adverse health outcomes from exposure to air pollution have been documented for decades. Not only outdoor air pollution but also indoor air pollution also has harmful effects. Indoor air pollution significantly affects occupants’ health as people spend most of their time indoors performing activities of daily living, working, and sleeping. Numerous...
Chapter
Bioaerosols are crucial indoor air pollutants often neglected by occupants unless serious contamination exists. They originate from living organisms, including microorganisms (i.e., fungi, bacteria, and viruses), arthropods (i.e., dust mites, cockroaches), house pets, and humans. Fungi and bacteria are common bioaerosols observed in the indoor envi...
Article
Full-text available
Studies have evaluated the impact of environmental exposure to neurotoxic metals on developmental delays (DDs). However, comprehensive understanding regarding the associations between parental and postnatal exposure to metal mixtures and the occurrence of DDs in offspring is limited. In this study, we assessed the relationships between parental and...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Although mobile devices are used ubiquitously, studies on their detrimental effects on preschoolers are limited. Furthermore, no study has considered shared reading and mobile device usage simultaneously. Therefore, this study examined the effects of mobile devices and shared reading on preschoolers’ development along with the effects...
Article
Indoor air quality and home environmental characteristics are potential factors associated with the onset and exacerbation of allergic diseases. Our study examined the effects of these factors on allergic diseases (i.e., asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis) among preschool children. We recruited a total of 120...
Article
Background: Although studies have reported the effects of inadequate sleep on maternal health, few have examined the relationships of maternal sleep patterns with fetal health and early childhood development. This study investigated maternal sleep duration patterns from early pregnancy to 3-years postpartum and their effects on birth outcomes and...
Article
Abstract People spend most of their time indoors, where they may be exposed to various microorganisms and allergens. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the relationship between indoor microbial and allergen levels and indoor and outdoor household environmental characteristics. Participants were recruited from an ongoing cohort study in...
Article
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Background Depressive symptoms are associated with both long-lasting and short-term repetitive mood disorders and affect a person’s ability to function and lead a rewarding life. In addition to predisposing genetic causes, other factors such as socioeconomic and demographic factors, and chronic diseases have also been reported to associate with dep...
Article
Air pollution, outdoor residential environment, indoor household characteristics, and parental mental health are potential factors associated with child development. However, few studies have simultaneously analyzed the association between the aforementioned factors and preschool child (aged 2–5 years) development. This study investigated the effec...
Article
Full-text available
Understanding the factors associated with the adoption of contraceptive methods among women of childbearing age is imperative to improving maternal health outcomes. This study aimed at exploring the association between history of abortion and contraceptive use among Mongolian women. We analyzed cross-sectional data of 8373 women aged 15–49 years fr...
Chapter
Indoor air pollutants in certain environments, such as a damp home or a low-ventilation office, are more concentrated indoors than outdoors. As people spend most of their time indoors, there is a high chance that they are exposed to indoor air pollution. This exposure might lead to adverse health outcomes such as allergies, infection, and respirato...
Chapter
Bioaerosols, in addition to common gaseous or particulate pollutants, are also important air pollutants that deteriorate indoor air quality. Bioaerosols are the airborne particles present as or originating from living organisms such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses and include toxins, fragments, or waste product from various organisms. In this chapt...
Article
Although studies have investigated the individual effects of air pollution, land use types, and parental mental health on children's respiratory health, few studies have examined the effects of these risk factors simultaneously in children aged <2 years. We investigated the effects of exposure to air pollution, land use types surrounding residences...
Article
Meteorological conditions change substantially during rainstorms, potentially affecting ambient concentrations of fungal spores. Exposure to ambient fungal spores during rainstorm periods may result in adverse health outcome such as thunderstorm asthma and allergic symptoms. This study investigated the ambient concentrations of culturable fungi dur...
Article
Introduction Few studies have investigated the associations of child development with air pollution, land-use type, and maternal mental health simultaneously. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of exposure to air pollutants during several critical periods of life, with adjustment for land-use type and maternal mental status, on child development at...
Article
Sleep is essential because it promotes good health and increases productivity. People spend most of their time indoors, and much of that time is spent sleeping. Thus, indoor environments may affect sleep quality. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the association between sleep quality and bedroom characteristics among residents living i...
Article
Background Understanding the effects of environmental factors on birth outcomes is crucial for public health because newborns' birth size affects their likelihood of childhood survival, risk of perinatal morbidity, and subsequent health and growth. Therefore, we investigated the associations of birth outcomes with prenatal air pollutant exposure an...
Article
Kriging interpolation and land use regression (LUR) have characterized the spatial variability of long-term nitrogen dioxide (NO2), but there has been little research on combining these two methods to capture small-scale spatial variation. Furthermore, studies predicting NO2 exposure are almost exclusively based on traffic-related variables, which...
Article
This study investigated the associations between residential characteristics and building-related symptoms (BRSs). Individuals who resided in an apartment-type building in the Bangkok area were recruited. Residential characteristics, activities, and BRSs were assessed using questionnaires. Airborne fungi were collected using an electrostatic dust c...
Article
Background: Approximately 45% of all children's deaths are associated with malnutrition, and sub-Saharan Africa is hardest hit by this phenomenon. However, information on geographical variations of malnutrition in developing countries is limited. This study examined the geographical distribution and community characteristics associated with child...
Article
Full-text available
Bioaerosols are major air pollutants commonly found both indoors and outdoors. High exposure levels may result in various adverse health outcomes. Laboratories, which are indoor environments carefully designed for specific purposes, may contain high levels of bioaerosols, which may threaten worker’s health, and contaminate experimental results. Thi...
Article
Full-text available
Geographical variations in teen birth rates (TBR) still persist despite controlling for contextual factors. The aim of this research was to identify spatial patterns of TBR in Taiwan and to examine spatial relationships among different contextual factors. Using townships as the unit of analysis (N=359), this research used social and demographic var...
Article
Full-text available
Allergic diseases are prevalent worldwide and may result from exposure to various substances. Exposure to ambient bioaerosols is a potential risk factor for allergic diseases; however, accurate exposure assessment is challenging due to the limited number of outdoor monitoring stations. In this study, the relationships between ambient bioaerosol exp...
Article
Full-text available
Ambient particles comprise approximately 25% of fungal spores, which cause adverse health outcomes such as respiratory diseases, allergy, and infection. In this study, we investigated temporal variations and distributions of ambient fungal spores in an urban area of the Taipei metropolis for over 1 year. A Burkard 7-day volumetric spore trap was us...
Article
Workers from specific occupational settings may be exposed to high fungal bioaerosol concentrations, causing detrimental health effects. Therefore, we conducted a study to evaluate the characteristics and health effects of fungal bioaerosols present on agricultural farms. By using IOM inhalable dust samplers, personal and area samples of airborne f...
Article
Allergic skin diseases may result from various types of chemical and biological allergens. This study investigated the association between ambient bioaerosol exposure and allergic skin diseases by using the exposure data obtained from land use regression models and interpolated data. Data on daily average outpatient visits for atopic dermatitis (IC...
Article
This study evaluated whether exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is associated with cardiovascular effects by examining a panel of 89 healthy subjects in Taipei, Taiwan. The subjects received two health examinations approximately 8months apart in 2013. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a physiological in...
Article
Full-text available
Ambient bacteria and endotoxins are components of bioaerosols, which are abundant in ambient air. Exposure to ambient bacteria and endotoxins has been associated with respiratory symptoms. We monitored the spatiotemporal distributions of ambient bioaerosols in the Greater Taipei area by using multisite sampling and developed regression models for a...
Article
Full-text available
The prevalence of asthma in Taiwan is one of the highest in Asia. Mold exposures have been linked to the development and exacerbation of asthma. A pilot study of mold populations in homes in Taipei, Taiwan, was conducted in the spring of 2014. Dust and air samples were collected from five homes with an asthmatic child and five from control homes. A...
Poster
Full-text available
Fungi are ubiquitous in our daily environments and may cause infection, allergy, and respiratory diseases. Workers of specific occupational settings, such as agricultural farms and composting facilities, may be exposed to high levels of fungal bioaerosols and result in increased respiratory symptoms and decreased lung function. The purpose of this...
Article
Airborne fungal spores, a type of bioaerosols, are significant air pollutants. We conducted a study to determine the spatiotemporal distributions of ambient fungi in the Greater Taipei area and develop land use regression (LUR) models for total and major fungal taxa. Four seasonal sampling campaigns were conducted over a year at 44 representative s...
Article
Full-text available
Ambient bioaerosols are ubiquitous in the daily environment and can affect health in various ways. However, few studies have been conducted to comprehensively evaluate personal bioaerosol exposure in occupational and indoor environments because of the complex composition of bioaerosols and the lack of standardized sampling/analysis methods. We cond...
Article
Full-text available
Ambient bioaerosols are ubiquitous in the daily environment and can affect health in various ways. However, few studies have been conducted to comprehensively evaluate personal bioaerosol exposure in occupational and indoor environments because of the complex composition of bioaerosols and the lack of standardized sampling/analysis methods. We cond...
Article
Full-text available
Background Assessment of health effects of a forest environment is an important emerging area of public health and environmental sciences. Purpose To demonstrate the long-term health effects of living in a forest environment on subclinical cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) compared with that in an urban envi...
Article
Background In our previous longitudinal study, we found that exposure to current levels of ambient total fungal spores was related to a reduction of childhood lung function. However, the biological properties of various taxa of fungal spores varied greatly, as well as their health effects. In this study, we aimed to determine whether any specific f...
Article
Full-text available
The presence of visible mold in households is associated with asthma. However, the role of "classroom fungus" in the development of childhood asthma, as well as the fungal species that may lead to asthma, remains controversial. This nationwide school survey was conducted to investigate the correlation between fungal spores in classrooms and asthma...
Article
In our previous longitudinal study, we found that exposure to current levels of ambient total fungal spores was related to a reduction of childhood lung function. However, the biological properties of various taxa of fungal spores varied greatly, as well as their health effects. In this study, we aimed to determine whether any specific fungal spore...
Article
This study used a longitudinal dataset and lagged dependent-variable panel regression models to examine whether political and economic characteristics directly predict under-5-year mortality rates (U5MR), and moderate the effects of health services and environment on U5MR. We used a sample of 46 less-developed countries from 1980 to 2009. Our resul...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Ambient biological particulates (bioparticles) are important air pollutants including pollens, fungal spores, bacteria, viruses, and biological debris originating from plants and animals. The associations between exposure to ambient bioparticles and adverse health effects such as exacerbation of asthma, allergies, and respiratory diseases have been...
Article
We conducted a study to investigate the characteristics and determinants of ambient bacteria in Taipei, Taiwan from August 2004 to March 2005. We monitored ambient culturable bacteria in Shin-Jhuang City, an urban area in the Taipei metropolitan areas, using duplicate Burkard Portable Air Samplers with R2A agar. The average concentration of total b...
Article
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of transported Asian dust and other environmental parameters on the levels and compositions of ambient fungi in the atmosphere of northern Taiwan. We monitored Asian dust events in Taipei County, Taiwan from January 2003 to June 2004. We used duplicate Burkard portable air samplers to collect ambient...
Article
Full-text available
Studies examining the combined health effects of both have been relatively lacking. We conducted a longitudinal study to investigate whether exposure to air pollutants and fungal spores might exacerbate childhood respiratory health. Study participants were 100 elementary and middle-school students in Taipei County, Taiwan. A structured respiratory...
Article
Objectives: This study investigated the characteristics and determinants of airborne bacteria in long-term care facilities in Taiwan. Methods: We did intensive environmental samplings, including airborne culturable bacteria and major indoor air quality factors, in five long-term care facilities in Taipei. We used statistical models to evaluate the...
Conference Paper
Diagnosis for systematic defects is very critical for yield learning in nanometer technology. This paper presents a bridging fault diagnosis which identifies a single layer of systematic defects (LSD), where more than expected numbers of bridging faults are located. The proposed technique is a layout-aware diagnosis which contains bridging pair ext...
Article
This study was conducted to investigate the temporal and spatial distributions, compositions, and determinants of ambient aeroallergens in Taipei, Taiwan, a subtropical metropolis. We monitored ambient culturable fungi in Shin-Jhuang City, an urban area, and Shi-Men Township, a rural area, in Taipei metropolis from 2003 to 2004. We collected ambien...
Article
Full-text available
We assessed direct effects of neighborhood-level characteristics and interactive effects of neighborhood-level characteristics and individual socioeconomic position on adult smoking and drinking, after consideration of individual-level characteristics in Taiwan. Data on individual sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, and drinking were obtaine...
Article
Data pertaining to head injuries in adolescents in Taiwan are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the trend and pattern of head injuries in adolescents in both urban and rural areas in Taiwan. We collected data from major hospitals in the urban (20) and in the rural (4) areas of Taiwan for a period of 3 years. Data were obtained fr...
Article
Infant exposure to lead through breast milk is of special concern because breast milk is considered the best food source for infants under 6 months. In this study, a total of the mothers provided colostrum samples once in the early postpartum period, but only 16 of them provided breast milk weekly at 1-60 days postpartum. The geometric mean of lead...
Article
Characteristics and determinants of ambient aeroallergens are of much concern in recent years because of the apparent health impacts of allergens. Yet relatively little is known about the complex behaviors of ambient aeroallergens. To address this issue, we monitored ambient fungal spores in Hualien, Taiwan from 1993–1996 to examine the composition...
Article
Full-text available
Characteristics and determinants of ambient aeroallergens are of much concern in recent years because of the apparent health impacts of allergens. Yet relatively little is known about the complex behaviors of ambient aeroallergens. To address this issue, we monitored ambient fungal spores in Hualien, Taiwan from 1993-1996 to examine the composition...
Article
Full-text available
We conducted a 1-year epidemiologic study in Boston, Massachusetts, beginning May 1997, to examine the associations between environmental factors and office workers' health. We recruited 98 subjects (81 females and 17 males) in 21 offices in four office buildings. We conducted environmental sampling every 6 weeks and concurrently administered detai...
Article
Full-text available
Bioaerosol concentrations in office environments and their roles in causing building-related symptoms have drawn much attention in recent years. Most bioaerosol studies have been cross-sectional. We conducted a longitudinal study to examine the characteristics of airborne fungal populations and correlations with other environmental parameters in of...
Article
Fungi are ubiquitous in our daily environments. However, their effects on office workers' health are of great interest to many environmental health researchers. Dust has been considered an important reservoir of indoor fungi from which aerosolization and exposure could occur. We have examined the characteristics of dustborne fungal populations reco...

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