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Employing both computational and manual content analysis, the study examined how then-President Donald J. Trump weaponized his rhetoric before the Capitol storm on January 6, 2020. The authors analyzed 19 speeches (N = 19), resulting in 801 paragraphs (N = 801), of Trump from November 7, 2020, to January 6, 2021, collected from the White House and his campaign platforms. Within 19 speeches, the most frequently used words centered around achievements of Trump's administration and alleged election fraud. Eight hundred-one paragraphs further identified Trump's rhetoric style, using the frameworks of weaponized communication and bonding-bridging rhetoric. Over half of the 801 paragraphs contained weaponized communication cues, while 296 paragraphs used bonding tactics. There were indeed differences in the rhetoric employed between the White House speeches and the campaign ones.

Chong-Bin Tsai,1,2 Chien-Liang Fang,3,4 Ming-Shan Chen,5,6 Min-Yueh Yen,1 Chi-Yen Yeh,7 Zhi-Ming Lai,7 Mei-Ling Hsu,7 Shan-Tair Wang8 1Department of Ophthalmology, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital, Chiayi City, Taiwan; 2Department of Optometry, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; 3Division of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery, Department of Surgery, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi City, Taiwan; 4Department of Food Nutrition and Health Biotechnology, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung City, Taiwan; 5Department of Anesthesiology, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital, Chiayi City, Taiwan; 6Department of Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung City, Taiwan; 7Department of Information Technology, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital, Chiayi City, Taiwan; 8Department of Medical Research, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital, Chiayi City, TaiwanCorrespondence: Chong-Bin TsaiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital, No. 539 Zhongxiao Road, East District, Chiayi City, 60002, Taiwan, Tel +886-5-2765041 ext 8503, Fax +886-5-2774511, Email cbtsai@gmail.comPurpose: Modern cataract surgeries aim to treat impaired vision and also improve quality of life. An appropriate pre-operative selection of the intraocular lens is important to post-operative quality of life. Patients often have difficulty in choosing the best fit for individual needs. Patient decision aids (PDAs) are useful tools to assist patients in such decision-making process. However, most PDAs are paper-based and lack user interaction. This study is aimed to develop and evaluate an interactive computerized patient decision aid (cPDA) to help patients in the selection of an appropriate intraocular lens model before cataract surgery.Materials and Methods: Patients and their families who were making the decision regarding intraocular lens selection before cataract surgeries were eligible to participate in this study. A cPDA was built on an interactive robot, to help the patients in the decision-making process. The usefulness of the cPDA was measured with the Decision Self-Efficacy (DSE) scale and Preparation for Decision Making (PrepDM) scale.Results: A total of 50 participants (18 men and 32 women) were enrolled in the pilot test. The mean pre-cPDA DSE score was 46.5 ± 13.6, and the post-cPDA DSE score was 72.6 ± 12.8. The average gain score on DSE was 26.1, and the standard deviation was 8.0. The gain score on DSE was statistically significant, and the effect size was bigger than 3. The patients with junior or senior high degrees had the highest gain score on DSE, and the ones with college or above degrees had the lowest. The patients with college or above degrees had the highest PrepDM score, and the ones with elementary school or below had the lowest. Age and sex were not significant correlates of PrepDM. The patients with college or above degrees had the highest preparedness, but the lowest gain on DSE.Conclusion: Education levels are associated with the usefulness of cPDA, both for the preparedness and decision efficacy of patients. The results provide insight into the feasibility of cPDA for the decision-making of pre-operative intraocular lens selection.Keywords: decision making, preparedness, decision self-efficacy, education level

Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is an epigenetic reader that binds to methylated CpG dinucleotides and regulates gene transcription. Mecp2/MECP2 gene has 4 exons, encoding for protein isoforms MeCP2E1 and MeCP2E2. MeCP2 plays key roles in neurodevelopment, therefore, its gain- and loss-of-function mutations lead to neurodevelopmental disorders including Rett Syndrome. Here, we describe the structure, functional domains, and evidence support for potential additional alternatively spliced MECP2 transcripts and protein isoforms. We conclude that NCBI MeCP2 isoforms 3 and 4 contain certain MeCP2 functional domains. Our in silico analysis led to identification of histone modification and accessibility profiles at the MECP2 gene and its cis-regulatory elements. We conclude that the human MECP2 gene associated histone post-translational modifications exhibit high similarity between males and females. Between brain regions, histone modifications were found to be less conserved and enriched within larger genomic segments named as “S1–S11”. We also identified highly conserved DNA accessibility regions in different tissues and brain regions, named as “A1–A9” and “B1–B9”. DNA methylation profile was similar between mid-frontal gyrus of donors 35 days–25 years of age. Based on ATAC-seq data, the identified hypomethylated regions “H1–H8” intersected with most regions of the accessible chromatin (A regions).

Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is an epigenetic reader that binds to methylated CpG dinucleotides and regulates gene transcription.

DNA methylation, one of the most well-studied epigenetic modifications, is involved in a wide spectrum of biological processes. Epigenetic mechanisms control cellular morphology and function. Such regulatory mechanisms involve histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation, non-coding regulatory RNA molecules, and RNA modifications. One of the most well-studied epigenetic modifications is DNA methylation that plays key roles in development, health, and disease. Our brain is probably the most complex part of our body, with a high level of DNA methylation. A key protein that binds to different types of methylated DNA in the brain is the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2). MeCP2 acts in a dose-dependent manner and its abnormally high or low expression level, deregulation, and/or genetic mutations lead to neurodevelopmental disorders and aberrant brain function. Recently, some of MeCP2-associated neurodevelopmental disorders have emerged as neurometabolic disorders, suggesting a role for MeCP2 in brain metabolism. Of note, MECP2 loss-of-function mutation in Rett Syndrome is reported to cause impairment of glucose and cholesterol metabolism in human patients and/or mouse models of disease. The purpose of this review is to outline the metabolic abnormalities in MeCP2-associated neurodevelopmental disorders that currently have no available cure. We aim to provide an updated overview into the role of metabolic defects associated with MeCP2-mediated cellular function for consideration of future therapeutic strategies.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a common and deadly disease globally. Approximately two billion people are latently infected with TB, and there are almost two million deaths annually due to active disease. In 2009, there were 9.4 million new TB cases, of which 3.3 million (35%) occurred in the South-East Asia region.1 Of all reportable infectious diseases in Taiwan, TB has for decades been the most prevalent and significant.2 From 1990 to 2005, TB incidence in Taiwan almost doubled, from 40 cases per 100 000 population to 72/100 000,2 and over 60% of TB treatment ‘failures’ were shown to be caused by death during treatment rather than defaulting on treatment.2 After the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the ‘Plan to Stop TB’ in 2006,3 with proposals to halve TB incidence by 2015, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) adopted an aggressive strategy for TB control centred firmly on the implementation of directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) in the hope that increased monitoring would reduce both transmission of new cases and TB mortality.2 Directly observed treatment (DOT) was not previously a component of TB control policy in Taiwan, and when the DOTS strategy was implemented by the Taiwan CDC, TB patients at greatest risk for transmitting TB and with the most severe disease (e.g., those with positive acid-fast bacilli [AFB] smear or TB culture) were initially preferentially assigned to DOT.2 While the WHO endorses DOT, which stipulates that every dose of TB medication be observed by a health professional or designee to increase adherence, it has had variable effectiveness on TB treatment outcomes when put into practice.4–12 A Cochrane review of DOT in 2009 concluded that there were no statistically significant differences in treatment outcomes between TB patients on DOT and those using self-administered therapy (SAT).13 While the studies reviewed controlled for potential confounders, some null findings could have resulted from selection bias and residual confounding. To determine whether patients receiving DOT had lower all-cause mortality than those treated with SAT, we compared all-cause mortality rates among TB patients receiving TB treatment via DOT vs. SAT between 2006 and 2008 in Taipei City, the second largest city in Taiwan. We hypothesised that after accounting for confounding variables, patients on DOT would have lower all-cause mortality than those on SAT.