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BackgroundPeriodontitis can lead to systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, contributing to the development of various diseases. Periodontitis could also be associated with several ocular diseases.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan to evaluate the risk of cataract in people with and without periodontitis. We established a periodontitis cohort and a non-periodontitis cohort, which included 359,254 individuals between 2000 and 2012. Age, gender, and enrolled year were matched. All participants were monitored until the end of 2013. Cox proportional hazard models were applied to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsPatients with periodontitis had a significantly higher risk to develop cataract than those without periodontitis [10.7 vs. 7.91 per 1,000 person-years, crude HR = 1.35 (95% CI = 1.32–1.39), and adjusted HR = 1.33 (95% CI = 1.30–1.36)]. The significant levels remained the same after stratifying by age, gender, presence of comorbidity, and use of corticosteroid. In addition, we found that diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia had a synergistic effect in the interaction of periodontitis and cataract development.ConclusionPatients with periodontitis have a higher risk of cataract development than those without periodontitis. Such patients may request frequent ocular health check-up. Further studies should be performed to confirm the association and to understand the mechanisms.

We analyze the international output patterns with Taiwan’s energy service companies (ESCOs) investigated in 2016~2019. Due to the finite demand in Taiwan energy-saving market, half of Taiwanese ESCOs develop Asia Pacific markets with international trade, alliance and enterprises group. We derive and confirm some hypotheses about international developing patterns of Taiwanese ESCOs. The First is that those firms with more specific resources will be easier to promote the internationalization of energy-saving businesses. The specific resources are confirmed as firm capital, annual ESCO sales, net income ratio, annual growth rate, energy saving rate. Secondly, if the degree of internationalization of ESCOs is greater, the overall profitability is also relatively higher. The third, the relationship between internationalization and profitability of ESCOs displays a non-linear trend which means when the export ratio is low, the profit from energy service projects increases; however, when the ratio exceeds the optimal point, about 49.584%~54.323%, it will reveals a reversed phenomenon due to high overseas operation costs.

Exactly how corporate boards influence their firms’ performance remains a puzzle. We construct a mediational model to observe the paths that board capitals affect firm’s key strategies (as R&D and leverage). Furthermore, we can estimate the direct and mediational influent level of board capitals on financial performance. For confirming those hypotheses in our study, the financial data of listed companies in Taiwan and Mainland China are collected. This study confirms that the education level and seniority of firm’s directors significantly influence the R&D intensity and financial leverage of corporates, furthermore affect firm performance. This mediational effects from R&D intensity and debt ratio are estimated about 22.31%~35.65% in Taiwan, and 25.46%~39.47% in Mainland China. We also find that the higher education level and the less seniority of the Boards lead to the more R&D intensity and the less debt ratio, then the better financial performance.