Preventable hospitalizations through ED: does the number of hospital beds matter under the global budget in a single-payer system in Taiwan?

Background: Taiwan implemented global hospital budgeting with a floating-point value, which created a prisoner's dilemma. As a result, hospitals increased service volume, which caused the floating-point value to drop to less than one New Taiwan Dollar (NTD). The recent increase in the number of hospital beds and the call to enhance the floating-point value to one NTD raise concerns about the potential for increased financial burden without adding value to patient care if hospitals expand their bed capacity for volume-based competition.

Trends in blood transfusion and causes of blood wastage: a retrospective analysis in a teaching hospital.

Background: Blood is a vital medical resource that is sourced from primarily nonremunerated donations. As Taiwan faces an aging population, increasing medical demands pose new challenges to blood resource management. Trend analysis can improve blood supply chain management and allocate blood resources more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Exploring the Relationship Between Transitional Object Attachment and Emotion Regulation in College Students.

: Transitional attachment objects, such as blankets, play a critical role in childhood by helping children manage separation anxiety and regulate emotions. Although attachment to these objects often decreases as children grow older, it may persist into adulthood and influence emotion regulation and stress responses. Their influence on emotion regulation in adulthood remains uncertain.

Using network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, proteomics and experiments were used to verify the effect of Yigu decoction (YGD) on the expression of key genes in osteoporotic mice.

Background: Yigu decoction (YGD) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription for the treatment of osteoporosis, although many clinical studies have confirmed its anti-OP effect, but the specific mechanism is still not completely clear.

Methods: In this study, through the methods of network pharmacology and molecular docking, the material basis and action target of YGD in preventing and treating OP were analyzed, and the potential target and mechanism of YGD in preventing and treating OP were clarified by TMT quantitative protein and experiment.

Results: Network pharmacology and molecular docking revealed that the active components of YGD were mainly stigmasterol and flavonoids.

[Alkaloid compounds in Nelumbinis Folium and their hypolipidemic effect].

Four alkaloid compounds including one new compound and three known ones were isolated and extracted from the 70% ethanol extract of Nelumbinis Folium by silica gel column chromatography, octadecylsilyl(ODS) column chromatography and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Their structures were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, circular dichroism and other methods. Compound 1 was identified as a new compound and named as lotustine B(1).

Hypersine H, One Undescribed Xanthone From the Hypericum elodeoides Choisy With Anti-Neuroinflammation Activity.

One undescribed xanthone, hypersine H (1), together with three known analogs, 3,7-dihydroxy-1-methoxyxanthone (2), 1,7-dihydroxy-5,6-dimethoxyxanthone (3), and 1,5-dihydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyxanthone (4), were isolated from the whole plant of Hypericum elodeoides Choisy. Their structures, including absolute configurations, were unambiguously elucidated by HR-ESI-MS, extensive NMR spectroscopy, and quantum chemical calculation of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) method. Moreover, the anti-neuroinflammation activities of isolated compounds were evaluated.

Overexpression of OsSTP1 increases grain yield via enhancing carbohydrate metabolism and transport in rice.

Overexpression of OsSTP1 enhances the non-structural carbohydrate remobilization in the source, starch accumulation in grains, and the transportation of carbohydrates from source to sink during the filling stage. The sugar transporter protein (STP) is the best-characterized subfamily of the monosaccharide transporter (MST) family and plays critical roles in regulating plant stress tolerance, growth, and development. However, the role of STPs in regulating rice yield is poorly understood.

Analysis of serotype distribution and characteristics of nonhemolytic and nonpigmented strains among group B Streptococcus isolates in a southern Taiwan local hospital.

Purpose: Group B streptococci (GBS) are Gram-positive bacteria that are a leading cause of neonatal infections. Most invasive isolates are β-hemolytic, and hemolytic activity is critical for GBS virulence. Although nonhemolytic GBS strains are occasionally isolated, they are often thought to be attenuated in virulence.

Cost-Effectiveness of Nonoperative Management vs Upfront Laparoscopic Appendectomy for Pediatric Uncomplicated Appendicitis Over 1 Year.

Background: Non-operative management (NOM) with antibiotics alone for pediatric uncomplicated appendicitis is accepted to be safe and effective. However, the relative cost-effectiveness of this approach compared to appendectomy remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of non-operative versus operative management for pediatric uncomplicated acute appendicitis.

Between Living and Non-living: Materiality of the Placenta in Ming China.

This study explores materiality and material cultures of human placenta in Ming China (1368-1644), for it perfectly displays Chinese ambiguous attitudes towards the human body parts between living and non-living. For a long time, the Chinese had widely applied human body parts in medical treatments and ritual healings. Numerous evidences in relation to their collection, production, efficacy and application are widely recorded in medical works, in particular those found in materia medica.

Tumor-Selective Nano-Dispatcher Enforced Cancer Immunotherapeutic Effects via Regulating Lactate Metabolism and Activating Toll-Like Receptors.

The development of tumors relies on lactate metabolic reprogramming to facilitate their unchecked growth and evade immune surveillance. This poses a significant challenge to the efficacy of antitumor immunity. To address this, a tumor-selective nano-dispatcher, PIMDQ/Syro-RNP, to enforce the immunotherapeutic effect through regulation of lactate metabolism and activation of toll-like receptors is developed.

Drude2019IDPC polarizable force field reveals structure-function relationship of insulin.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) lack stable tertiary structures under physiological conditions, yet play key roles in biological processes and associated with human complex diseases. Their conformational characteristics and high content of charged residues make the use of polarizable force fields an advantageous for simulating IDPs. The Drude2019IDP polarizable force field, previously introduced, has demonstrated comprehensive enhancements and improvements in dipeptides, short peptides, and IDPs, achieving a balanced sampling between IDPs and structured proteins.

CPEB2-activated Prdm16 translation promotes brown adipocyte function and prevents obesity.

Objective: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays an important role in mammalian thermogenesis through the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Our previous study identified cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 2 (CPEB2) as a key regulator that activates the translation of Ucp1 with a long 3'-untranslated region (Ucp1L) in response to adrenergic signaling. Mice lacking CPEB2 or Ucp1L exhibited reduced UCP1 expression and impaired thermogenesis; however, only CPEB2-null mice displayed obesogenic phenotypes.

Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the Academic Resilience Scale-30 (C-ARS-30) in college students.

Background: Amidst the expansion of student enrollment in higher education, the well-being and retention rates of students have emerged as important concerns. Resilience, especially academic resilience, a multidimensional construct that can lead to academic success in adversity, is pivotal in enabling students to successfully cope with academic challenges. While the Academic Resilience Scale-30 (ARS-30) has been validated as an effective instrument in various languages, its applicability for Chinese students in higher education remains unexplored.

Sciatic nerve stimulation alleviates neuropathic pain and associated neuroinflammation in the dorsal root ganglia in a rodent model.

Background: Satellite glial cells (SGCs) in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) play a pivotal role in the formation of neuropathic pain (NP). Sciatic nerve stimulation (SNS) neuromodulation was reported to alleviate NP and reduce neuroinflammation. However, the mechanisms underlying SNS in the DRG remain unclear.

What is the best predictor of mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease: mean, variability of HbA1c or HbA1c-Hemoglobin ratio?

Aim: Limitations in the measurement of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) result in uncertainty about the best predictor of mortality among these patients. Our study aimed to determine the association between the mean and average real variability (ARV) of HbA1c, as well as HbA1c-hemoglobin (HH) ratio with mortality among patients with T2D and CKD.

Materials And Methods: We identified 16,868 T2D patients with stage 3 or above CKD from outpatient visits during 2003-2018.

Granulomatous lobular mastitis treated by a combined internal and external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine: A case report.

Background: Granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM) is a rare benign inflammatory disease of the breast and is classified under comedo mastitis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The etiology of this disease is unknown, and it mainly occurs in women of childbearing age. The diagnosis depends on histopathological biopsy.

LncRNAs and asymmetric cell division: the epigenetic mechanisms.

Asymmetric cell division (ACD) plays a pivotal role in development, tissue homeostasis, and stem cell maintenance. Emerging evidence suggests that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are key regulators of ACD, orchestrating the intricate molecular machinery that governs cell fate determination. This review summarizes current literature to elucidate the diverse roles of lncRNAs in modulating ACD across various biological contexts.

Team interaction behaviors correlates with team creativity among nursing students: Canonical correlation and moderation analyses.

Background: Prior studies have indicated team members' interaction behaviors may predict creativity among nursing students.

Methods: This study investigated the correlation between interaction behaviors and creativity, both individual- and team-level, among nursing students. In this cross-sectional quantitative study, data were obtained from self-reported questionnaires.

The Association Between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Mobile Phone Addiction Among Overseas Chinese Students During COVID-19: The Mediating Roles of Perceived Stress and Rumination.

Purpose: This study investigated the mechanism underlying the association between intolerance of uncertainty and mobile phone addiction among Chinese overseas students during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the mediating roles of perceived stress and rumination.

Patients And Methods: An online questionnaire survey was distributed via social media platforms popular in mainland China. The items collected demographic information and assessed intolerance of uncertainty, perceived stress, rumination, and mobile phone addiction.