Can herbal extracts be used as skin penetrating agent

Chung, Leung Ping,Xin, Zhao,Tak, Law Wai,David, Lau Tai Wai Kyung Hee Oriental Medicine Research Center 2007 Oriental pharmacy and experimental medicine Vol.7 No.3

Swollen and painful extremities have been treated with herbal baths in attempts to alleviate the symptoms. A popular herbal bath used in China, contains a component called 'bone-penetrating herb' which is believed to facilitate the penetration of herbal substances across the skin to the swollen site, so swollen site, so that pain and swelling will be improved. A search from the Chinese pharmacopedia revealed that 22 different herbs have been traditionally used as 'bone-penetrating herb'. Five of these herbs were available in market and were chosen for experimental studies. Standard diffusion experiments were done to identify the most effective herb among the five, in the penetration facilitation. Glechoma longituba at a concentration of 20% was found to give the best results in the facilitation of Bromophenol blue diffusion across artificial and biological membranes. When compared with one commonly used diffusion facilitator, viz. azone, azone was found to be more effective than glechoma longituba. The encouraging observations support future studies on the basic science behind the use of herbal components as topical agents to treat pain and swelling.

Design of an Integrated Multimedia Portable Noise Monitoring System

Wai Leung CHUNG,Chi Wing LAW,Chee Kwan LEE 한국소음진동공학회 2003 한국소음진동공학회 국제학술대회논문집 Vol.2003 No.8

Focal Nasopharyngeal Activity Detected on [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT: Clinical Implications and Comparison of Metabolic Parameters for Prediction of Malignancy

Wai‑Chung Wong 대한핵의학회 2022 핵의학 분자영상 Vol.56 No.6

Purpose We aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical significance of incidental focal nasopharyngeal uptake on [18F]FDG PET/CT and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of various metabolic parameters to differentiate between benignand malignant nasopharyngeal lesions. Methods A total of 63 consecutive patients with incidental focal nasopharyngeal uptake on [18F]FDG PET/CT and subsequentnasopharyngeal biopsy were retrospectively enrolled. In addition, baseline pretherapeutic [18F]FDG PET/CT imagesof 59 patients with newly diagnosed pathologically proven nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) were reviewed. Maximumstandardized uptake value (SUVmax), mean SUV (SUVmean), nasopharynx-to-palatine tonsil ratio (NPR), metabolic tumorvolume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of the nasopharyngeal lesions were determined. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the metabolic parameters. Results Incidental focal nasopharyngeal uptake in two patients (3.2%, 2/63) was pathologically confirmed to be NPC. Allthe metabolic parameters (SUVmax, SUVmean, NPR, MTV, and TLG) demonstrated significantly greater values in patientswith NPC compared with patients with benign or physiological nasopharyngeal uptake (p < 0.001). Among the metabolicparameters, NPR demonstrated the greatest area under the curve of 0.992 (p < 0.05), with a sensitivity of 96.7% and a specificityof 93.4% when a cut-off of 1.1 was used. Similar results were seen in nasopharyngeal lesions without morphologicalabnormality. Conclusion NPC is an infrequent but important cause of incidental focal nasopharyngeal uptake on [18F]FDG PET/CT. Metabolic parameters were shown to be useful to differentiate between benign and malignant nasopharyngeal lesions, andNPR showed the best diagnostic performance.

Corporate Governance and the Global Reach of Chinese Family Firms in Singapore

Henry Wai-chung Yeung,Tse Min Soh 서울대학교 경제연구소 2000 Seoul journal of economics Vol.13 No.3

The emergence of Chinese business conglomerates in recent decades has spurned a lot of interesting literature in the field of Chinese business. Much has been attributed to the "bamboo networks" in explaining the entrepreneurial success of ethnic Chinese outside China. In this paper, we examine the international linkages of 157 public-listed Chinese family firms in Singapore. We show that although they conform to some of the characteristics mentioned in the existing literature, public-listed Chinese family firms have forged global linkages directly by means of overseas principal bankers and auditors. These global linkages help to influence the corporate governance practices of Chinese family firms. We conclude the paper with some implications for future research and management policies.

Can herbal extracts be used as skin penetrating agent

Leung Ping Chung,Zhao Xin,Law Wai Tak,Lau Tai Wai David 경희대학교 융합한의과학연구소 2007 Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine Vol.7 No.3

Swollen and painful extremities have been treated with herbal baths in attempts to alleviate the symptoms. A popular herbal bath used in China, contains a component called ‘bone-penetrating herb’ which is believed to facilitate the penetration of herbal substances across the skin to the swollen site, so that pain and swelling will be improved. A search from the Chinese pharmacopedia revealed that 22 different herbs have been traditionally used as ‘bone-penetrating herb’. Five of these herbs were available in market and were chosen for experimental studies. Standard diffusion experiments were done to identify the most effective herb among the five, in the penetration facilitation. Glechoma longituba at a concentration of 20% was found to give the best results in the facilitation of Bromophenol blue diffusion across artificial and biological membranes. When compared with one commonly used diffusion facilitator, viz. azone, azone was found to be more effective than glechoma longituba. The encouraging observations support future studies on the basic science behind the use of herbal components as topical agents to treat pain and swelling.

Incidence and Risk Factors for Implant Failure in Spinal Metastasis Surgery

Wong Yu Chung,Chau Wai Wang Jacky,Kwok Kin On,Law Sheung Wai 대한척추외과학회 2020 Asian Spine Journal Vol.14 No.6

Study Design: Retrospective study.Purpose: To investigate the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic implant failure in spinal metastasis surgery and identify potential risk factors.Overview of Literature: Surgical stabilization with instrumentation is an established method for the treatment of spinal metastasis. However, very few studies have investigated the incidence and risk factors for implant failure after spinal instrumentation surgery for the treatment of spinal metastasis.Methods: This study recruited 88 patients who received surgical stabilization with instrumentation for the treatment of spinal metastasis. Their medical records and postoperative X-rays were reviewed for evidence of implant failure. Statistical analysis with logistic regression was performed to assess nine potential risk factors for the development of implant failure, including patient’s age at operation, gender, survival, primary tumor, spinal level involved, construct length, decompression levels, fusion material utilization, and radiotherapy application either before or after surgery, to identify potential contributing risk factors.Results: Implant failure was identified in nine out of 88 cases (10.2%) with two cases requiring implant removal: one case included a progressive kyphosis that resulted in nonhealing sore and the other involved a deep-seated wound infection that spread to the implants. Another case required wound debridement due to superficial wound infection. The remaining six cases were asymptomatic, despite postoperative X-rays demonstrating evidence of implant failure. No patient required implant revision. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that patients who received radiotherapy either before or after surgery were less likely to develop implant failure.Conclusions: The development of radiological implant failure following surgical treatment of spinal metastasis is common. However, symptomatic implant failure leading to revision surgery is uncommon. Our findings suggest that radiotherapy, either before or after spinal surgery, is not associated with the development of implant failure.

Effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine in Treating Clinical Symptoms of Substance Abuse and Dependence: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Chung-Ting Chang,Pei-Ju Hsieh,Hsin-Chien Lee,Chun-Hong Lo,Ka-Wai Tam,El-Wui Loh 대한정신약물학회 2021 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.19 No.2

Objective: Treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is believed to reduce the clinical symptoms among individuals with substance abuse or dependence. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effective-ness of NAC in treating substance abuse and dependence. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov registry, and the Cochrane Library were searched for trials published before June 2020. Results: A total of 16 trials were analyzed. The treatment effectiveness domains assessed in this study were craving and depressive symptoms, withdrawal syndrome, adverse events, and smoking frequency. Standardized mean difference (SMD), weighted mean difference (WMD), and odds ratio (OR) were used for evaluation where appropriate. A significant decrease in craving symptoms was observed in the NAC treatment group compared with the control group (SMD, −0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], −1.21 to 0.21). When withdrawal and depressive symptoms were considered as a single domain, the NAC treatment group demonstrated a significantly higher overall improvement than the control group (SMD, −0.35; 95% CI, −0.64 to −0.06). No between-group differences in term of the OR of adverse events (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.68 to 2.06) and a non-significant trend toward reduction in smoking frequency was observed in the NAC treatment group compared with the control group (WMD, −3.09; 95% CI, −6.50 to 0.32). Conclusion: NAC provides certain noticeable benefits in attenuating substance craving and might help alleviate depres-sive symptoms and withdrawal syndrome. Precautious measures should be considered when using NAC although no difference in adverse effects was found between NAC treatment and control group.

Measurement of retropubic tissue thickness using intrapartum transperineal ultrasound to assess cephalopelvic disproportion

Chung Ming Chor,Wai Yin Winnie Chan,Wing Ting Ada Tse,Daljit Singh Sahota 대한초음파의학회 2018 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.37 No.3

Purpose: First, to describe a new method of assessing cephalopelvic disproportion by measuring the retropubic tissue thickness (RTT), and second, to determine whether RTT was associated with an eventual delivery by cesarean section. Methods: Three-dimensional transperineal ultrasound scans were performed on 129 laboring nulliparous women to obtain 3-dimensional volume datasets for assessing RTT. RTT was measured off-line by three operators (A, B, and C) as the shortest distance between the capsule of the pubic symphysis and the outer border of the fetal skull. The intraoperator repeatability of operator A and the interoperator reproducibility among A, B, and C were determined. The RTT in women who were delivered by cesarean section due to failure to progress was compared to that of women who had a vaginal delivery. Results: The intraoperator repeatability for RTT was 1.2 mm. The overall RTT interoperator interclass correlation was 0.97 (0.95-0.98). The RTT in women who had a spontaneous, instrumental, or cesarean delivery was 1.16±0.32 cm, 1.12±0.25 cm, and 0.94±0.25 cm, respectively. Women who were delivered by cesarean section had a significantly smaller RTT than women who had a spontaneous delivery (P=0.008). There was no statistically significant difference in RTT between patients who had a normal vaginal delivery and patients who had an instrumental delivery (P=0.990), or between those who had an instrumental delivery and those who had a cesarean delivery after the Bonferroni correction (P=0.120). Conclusion: RTT can be measured with satisfactory intraoperator repeatability and interoperator reproducibility. RTT was significantly smaller in women who eventually had a cesarean delivery than in those who had a vaginal delivery.

Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine harmonising two approaches

Chung, Leung Ping,Wai, Lau Tai,Sang, Woo Kam Kyung Hee Oriental Medicine Research Center 2008 Oriental pharmacy and experimental medicine Vol.8 No.1

While full recognition of the practical value of Traditional Chinese Medicine is being endorsed, the current stand on the research methodology of this field should be worked out. Since modern medicine has already developed a logical system of research methodology basing on the principles of deduction, any research on any system of medicine need to take reference to what is most popularly used and commonly recommended. The best way to approach research on Chinese Medicine, therefore, would be one that would take full reference to the methodology being used in modern medicine, while at the same time respecting the traditional approach. This would enable traditional medicine to be elevated to the level of general modern recognition. Nevertheless, innate problems in traditional medicine are making its research difficult. The problems lie in difficulties to achieve uniform herb supply, principles of randomization and placebo arrangements, uncertain chemical structures and toxicology etc. A practical approach centered on carefully planned evidence-based clinical trials, with parallel studies on biological activities and herb authentication is being recommended.

Effect of Post-Weld-Annealing on the Tensile Deformation Characteristics of Laser-Welded NiTi Thin Foil

Chi-Wai Chan,Hau-Chung Man,Tai-Man Yue 대한금속·재료학회 2012 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.18 No.4

Laser welding is an important process for fabricating complex components involving NiTi shape memory alloy. As welding is a thermal process, the amount of heat input and the rate of cooling have significant impact on the microstructure and hence the resultant characteristics of NiTi. In this study, the effect of laser welding and post-weld-annealing from 573 K to 1173 K on the thermal phase transformation behaviors,tensile deformation and micro-hardness characteristics of the laser-welded NiTi thin foils were investigated. It was found that the as-welded sample exhibited inferior super-elasticity compared to the base material, and the super-elasticity could be partially restored by annealing at 573 K. On the other hand,annealing of the weldment above the recrystallization temperature would lower the super-elasticity.