Taiwan, located at the northernmost extent of Huxley’s Line, marks the furthest point along this biogeographic boundary where exchanges of flora and fauna occur. The genus Piper , a globally distributed and taxonomically complex group of both economic and evolutionary importance, has a convoluted taxonomic history in this transitional zone that requires comprehensive study. Here, we integrate morphological, molecular, and dist...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a major public health issue worldwide. It not only causes an increased socio-economic burden, but also negatively affects personal lives. It has been shown that depression leads to impairments in synaptic plasticity, such as impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). A recent study reported that administration of agomelatine, a melatonin receptor agonist and 5-hydro...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder, is characterized by synaptic dysregulation as its underlying pathophysiological mechanism. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an intracellular energy sensor, plays a pivotal role in regulating synaptic integrity and function. Current treatments for ASD exhibit limited benefits in alleviating the core symptoms of ASD. Consequently, we investigated the therapeutic...

Objective Diabetes and hypertension pose significant health risks, especially when poorly managed. Retinal evaluation though fundus photography can provide non-invasive assessment of these diseases, yet prior studies focused on disease presence, overlooking control statuses. This study evaluated vision transformer (ViT)-based models for assessing the presence and control statuses of diabetes and hypertension from retinal image...

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a formidable challenge in pediatric oncology due to its intricate molecular landscape, necessitating multifaceted therapeutic approaches. ONC201 is an imipridone antibiotic compound with a promising drug candidate leveraging its potent anticancer properties against the mitochondrial proteases ClpP and ClpX. Despite demonstrating early clinical promise, particularly in MYCN -amplified NB, its efficacy in n...