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Effective physician-patient communication builds robust physician-patient relationships and reduces medical disputes. However, much is unknown about the differences that exist in the communication behaviors of physicians in different departments. Using a mixed-methods research approach, the researchers used Roter Interaction Analysis System to uncover the communication behaviors of internists, surgeons, family physicians, and emergency physicians at a regional hospital in Taiwan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the communication experiences of 20 physicians from the internal medicine, surgery, family medicine, and emergency departments. The characteristics were presented through descriptive statistics, bar charts, and dendrograms. Physician-patient communications consisted of four dimensions, 10 factors, and 31 behaviors. The characteristics are as follows: (1) Internists need to improve their overall performance in terms of physician-patient communication behaviors; (2) Surgeons performed well in building relationships through non-verbal methods; (3) Family physicians excelled in facilitation and patient activation. (4) Emergency physicians performed well in patient education and counseling. The characteristics of the aforementioned communication behaviors among internists, surgeons, family physicians, and emergency physicians can be used to construct indicators of physicianpatient communication in each department and to develop patient-centered healthcare services in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seneca Valley virus (SVV), a member of the Picornaviridae family, may cause serious water blister diseases in pregnant sows and acute death in newborn piglets, which have resulted in economic losses in pig production. The 3C protease is a vital enzyme for SVV maturation and is capable of regulating protein cleavage and RNA replication of the virus. Additionally, this protease can impede the host's innate immune response by targeting the interferon pathway's principal factor and enhance virus replication by modulating the host's RNA metabolism while simultaneously triggering programmed cell death. This article reviews recent studies on SVV 3C functions, which include viral replication promotion, cell apoptosis modulation and host immune response evasion, and provides a theoretical basis for research on preventing and controlling SVV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swine acute diarrhoea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV), which is a recently discovered enteric coronavirus, is the major aetiological agent that causes severe clinical diarrhoea and intestinal pathological damage in pigs, and it has caused significant economic losses to the swine industry. Nonstructural protein 5, also called 3C-like protease, cleaves viral polypeptides and host immune-related molecules to facilitate viral replication and immune evasion. Here, we demonstrated that SADS-CoV nsp5 significantly inhibits the Sendai virus (SEV)- induced production of IFN-b and inflammatory cytokines. SADS-CoV nsp5 targets and cleaves mRNA-decapping enzyme 1a (DCP1A) via its protease activity to inhibit the IRF3 and NF-kB signaling pathways in order to decrease IFN-b and inflammatory cytokine production. We found that the histidine 41 and cystine 144 residues of SADS-CoV nsp5 are critical for its cleavage activity. Additionally, a form of DCP1A with a mutation in the glutamine 343 residue is resistant to nsp5-mediated cleavage and has a stronger ability to inhibit SADSCoV infection than wild-type DCP1A. In conclusion, our findings reveal that SADS-CoV nsp5 is an important interferon antagonist and enhance the understanding of immune evasion by alpha coronaviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The qualitative study explored the online learning experiences of older adults during the Covid-19 pandemic, including their feelings, learning difficulties, and coping strategies. This study collected the experiences of 7 older adults who participated in online learning courses at the Active Aging Learning Demonstrating Centers in Taiwan through semi-structured interviews. The findings were as followings: 1. Initially, older adults felt nervous and somewhat resistant when they participated in online learning. However, to ensure uninterrupted learning during the Covid-19 pandemic and with encouragement from family members and institutional staff, they were willing to try to learn new things. 2. Problems concerning the use of digital equipment, problems with interface control, memory or vision problems, distraction caused by external environmental factors during class and challenges regarding teacher and student interaction were the main difficulties for older adults to participate in online learning. 3. Older adults tried to solve their online learning difficulties by participating in the organization's online course operational training in advance, looking for friends or classmates to guide and share learning information, taking notes and pictures of themselves, and asking teachers for instant feedback and suggestions. Finally, the results of this study can provide government and education-related institutes to develop online learning courses as a reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Berberine(BBR) is an isoquinoline alkaloid that can be extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine Huang Lian. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, protection of nerves, hypoglycemic, blood lipid, anti-oxidation, antibacterial and other effects. It can be used clinically to treat chronic colitis, bacterial vaginitis, rheumatoid arthritis, breast cancer, liver cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, obesity and other common diseases. This paper reviews the pharmacological effects of berberine and the research progress of effective drug carriers in order to provide new ideas for the clinical application of berberine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAim:To investigate a potential association between SNP rs10494366 in the neural nitric oxide synthase adaptor protein (NOS1AP) and efficacy of repaglinide (an insulin secretagogue) in newly diagnosed Shanghai Chinese type 2 diabetes patients.Methods:A total of 104 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients (69 men, 35 women) were recruited and treated with repaglinide for 24 weeks. Anthropometric measurements, clinical laboratory tests were obtained at baseline and after 24-week treatment. Genotyping was performed by sequencing.Results:The baseline value of BMI, HOMA-IR, HOMA-B, and fasting insulin level were significantly different between GG, GT, and TT genotypes (P=0.024, 0.030, 0.005, and 0.007, respectively). Carriers of TT genotype were in significant insulin resistance at baseline. After 24-week repaglinide monotherapy, the Δ value of fasting insulin (P=0.019) and HOMA-IR (P=0.011) were significantly different. TT carriers had the least insulin resistance after treatment. The mixed model analysis showed that the variation had an interaction effect with repaglinide treatment only on HOMA-IR (P=0.013).Conclusion:A common variant in rs10494366 is associated with repaglinide monotherapy efficacy on insulin resistance in newly diagnosed Shanghai Chinese type 2 diabetes patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]