Carbon disulfide induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in Sertoli-germ cells coculture

Wei Wang,Zhen Zhang,Yinsheng Guo,Yu Dong,Xiaoyu Huang1,Yijun Zhou,Guoyuan Chen 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2015 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.11 No.2

Carbon disulfide (CS2), a common organic solvent, induces a variety of adverse effects in the male reproductive system. In this study, we investigated the cytotoxicity, ultrastructural changes, and potential apoptotic induction mechanisms of CS2 in mixed cultures of Sertoli and germ cells. Sertoli and germ cells were cocultured and treated with CS2 for 24 h. Growth rates were noted, and apoptotic cells were identified by Hoechst 33258 staining. Ultrastructure changes were observed via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Mitochondrial membrane potential and expressions of apoptosis-related factors (cytochrome c, Bax, Bcl- 2, caspase-3 and caspase-9) were examined by JC-1 staining, western blot, and real-time PCR. The results showed that CS2 treatment was associated with reduced growth rates of Sertoli-germ cells. Ultrastructure changes in Sertoli-germ cells treated with CS2 were typical of apoptosis. In addition, CS2 treatment depolarized mitochondrial membrane potential, upregulated Bax levels and downregulated Bcl-2 levels, released cytochrome c from the mitochondrial intermembrane space to the cytosol, and triggered mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Subsequently, caspase-9 and caspase-3 were activated, resulting in Sertoli-germ cells apoptosis. The above data suggest that CS2 has adverse effect on the viability of Sertoli-germ cells and induces apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway.

The association of ambient air pollution with airway inflammation in schoolchildren.

Chen, Bing-Yu,Chan, Chang-Chuan,Lee, Chung-Te,Cheng, Tsun-Jen,Huang, Wen-Chuan,Jhou, Ji-Ci,Han, Yueh-Ying,Chen, Chu-Chih,Guo, Yue Leon School of Hygiene and Public Health of the Johns H 2012 American Journal of Epidemiology Vol.175 No.8

<P>The biologic mechanisms involved in airway inflammatory response to air pollution are not clearly understood. The authors conducted a longitudinal study to investigate whether exposure to ambient air pollutants affected inflammatory cells and mediators from nasal lavage in schoolchildren. Study participants were 100 elementary and middle-school students in New Taipei City, Taiwan. A structured respiratory health questionnaire was administered in September 2007, followed by monthly measurement of nasal inflammation from October 2007 to November 2009. During the study period, daily concentrations of air pollutants were obtained from the Environmental Protection Administration monitoring station and the Aerosol Supersite. Mixed-effects models were applied to examine the association between air pollution and nasal inflammatory cells and mediators, including percentages of neutrophils, eosinophils, and monocytes in lavaged cells and interleukin-8. A total of 824 measurements were obtained from 100 participants over a period of 10 months. The level of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM(2.5)) was found to be associated with percentage of neutrophils (β = 3.45%, 95% confidence interval: 0.89, 6.01) and interleukin-8 level (β = 29.98 pg/mL, 95% confidence interval: 3.26, 56.69) in the nasal lavage on the day of exposure. In this longitudinal cohort study of schoolchildren, results indicated that exposure to PM(2.5) might induce nasal inflammation.</P>

Family History of Cancer and Head and Neck Cancer Risk in a Chinese Population

Huang, Yu-Hui Jenny,Lee, Yuan-Chin Amy,Li, Qian,Chen, Chien-Jen,Hsu, Wan-Lun,Lou, Pen-Jen,Zhu, Cairong,Pan, Jian,Shen, Hongbing,Ma, Hongxia,Cai, Lin,He, Baochang,Wang, Yu,Zhou, Xiaoyan,Ji, Qinghai,Zho Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.17

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether family history of cancer is associated with head and neck cancer risk in a Chinese population. Materials and Methods: This case-control study included 921 cases and 806 controls. Recruitment was from December 2010 to January 2015 in eight centers in East Asia. Controls were matched to cases with reference to sex, 5-year age group, ethnicity, and residence area at each of the centers. Results: We observed an increased risk of head and neck cancer due to first degree family history of head and neck cancer, but after adjustment for tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking and betel quid chewing the association was no longer apparent. The adjusted OR were 1.10 (95% CI=0.80-1.50) for family history of tobacco-related cancer and 0.96 (95%CI=0.75-1.24) for family history of any cancer with adjustment for tobacco, betel quid and alcohol habits. The ORs for having a first-degree relative with HNC were higher in all tobacco/alcohol subgroups. Conclusions: We did not observe a strong association between family history of head and neck cancer and head and neck cancer risk after taking into account lifestyle factors. Our study suggests that an increased risk due to family history of head and neck cancer may be due to shared risk factors. Further studies may be needed to assess the lifestyle factors of the relatives.

Using the Juice of Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) as Culture Medium to Increase the Cell Density and the Production of Microbial Lipid

Yu-Hsien Lien,Fu-Yao Liu,Jyy-Ning Chen,Yu-Shan Huang,Yu-Hong Wei,Chiyang Yu,Che-Chi Shu 한국생물공학회 2019 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.24 No.2

Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) is one of the most well-known aquatic weeds as it causes problems in watercourses all over the world. This invasive species is fast-growing and thus has the potential for its use in preparing growth medium of microorganisms. Toward it, the pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification are positively the decisive processes. But there are other crucial processes, which are usually ignored by researchers. To the best of my knowledge, this presented work is the first time discovering that the juice obtained from water lettuce is valuable. Except for sterilization, no treatment is needed for the water lettuce’s juice and it can be directly served for cell growth. For Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, Bacillus subtilis, Lactococcus Lactis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Lactobacillus plantarum, the cell density in the broth of water lettuce’s juice as the only carbon source is 10-60% higher than that in LB, YPD, BHI, M17, MRS. We then examined the production of microbial lipid by YM prepared in the juice of water lettuce. In comparison to commercial medium YM broth, the YM with juice caused 84% increase in the production of microbial lipid. A simple process of collecting juice notably increased productivity.

Competitive Hydrogen-Bonding-Induced Microphase Separation in Thermosets with Triblock Copolymer

Chen-Yu LIAO,Wen-Hua CHEN,Yeo-Wan CHIANG,Chih-Feng HUANG 한국고분자학회 2016 한국고분자학회 학술대회 연구논문 초록집 Vol.41 No.2

The Blood Oxygenation T2* Values of Resectable Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinomas as Measured by 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Association with Tumor Stage

Yu-lian Tang,Xiao-ming Zhang,Zhi-gang Yang,Yu-cheng Huang,Tian-wu Chen,Yan-li Chen,Fan Chen,Nan-lin Zeng,Rui Li,Jiani Hu 대한영상의학회 2017 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.18 No.4

Objective: To explore the association between the blood oxygenation T2* values of resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs) and tumor stages. Materials and Methods: This study included 48 ESCC patients and 20 healthy participants who had undergone esophageal T2*-weighted imaging to obtain T2* values of the tumors and normal esophagi. ESCC patients underwent surgical resections less than one week after imaging. Statistical analyses were performed to identify the association between T2* values of ESCCs and tumor stages. Results: One-way ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls tests revealed that the T2* value could differentiate stage T1 ESCCs (17.7 ± 3.3 ms) from stage T2 and T3 tumors (24.6 ± 2.7 ms and 27.8 ± 5.6 ms, respectively; all ps < 0.001). Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis showed the suitable cutoff T2* value of 21.3 ms for either differentiation. The former statistical tests demonstrated that the T2* value could not differentiate between stages T2 and T3 (24.6 ± 2.7 ms vs. 27.8 ± 5.6 ms, respectively, p > 0.05) or between N stages (N1 vs. N2 vs. N3: 24.7 ± 6.9 ms vs. 25.4 ± 4.5 ms vs. 26.8 ± 3.9 ms, respectively; all ps > 0.05). The former tests illustrated that the T2* value could differentiate anatomic stages I and II (18.8 ± 4.8 ms and 26.9 ± 5.9 ms, respectively) or stages I and III (27.3 ± 3.6 ms). ROC analysis depicted the same cutoff T2* value of 21.3 ms for either differentiation. In addition, the Student’s t test revealed that the T2* value could determine grouped T stages (T0 vs. T1–3: 17.0 ± 2.9 ms vs. 25.2 ± 6.2 ms; T0–1 vs. T2–3: 17.3 ± 3.0 ms vs. 27.1 ± 5.3 ms; and T0–2 vs. T3: 18.8 ± 4.2 ms vs. 27.8 ± 5.6 ms, all ps < 0.001). ROC analysis indicated that the T2* value could detect ESCCs (cutoff, 20 ms), and discriminate between stages T0–1 and T2–3 (cutoff, 21.3 ms) and between T0–2 and T3 (cutoff, 20.4 ms). Conclusion: The T2* value can be an additional quantitative indicator for detecting ESCC except for stage T1 cancer, and can preoperatively discriminate between some T stages and between anatomic stages of this tumor.

Molecular Identification of Diphyllobothrium latum from a Pediatric Case in Taiwan

Yu-Chin An,Chia-Cheng Sung,Chih-Chien Wang,Hsin-Chung Lin,Kuang-Yao Chen,Fu-Man Ku,Ruei-Min Chen,Mei-Li Chen,Kuo-Yang Huang 대한기생충학열대의학회 2017 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.55 No.4

A Digital Controlled of Duty-ratio Feedforward for Four-level Flying Capacitor Boost PFC

Yu-Chen Chung,Hung-Yu Wang,Huang-Jen Chiu,Yu-Chen Liu,Yi-Feng Lin 전력전자학회 2023 ICPE(ISPE)논문집 Vol.2023 No.-

This paper proposes a flying capacitor multilevel (FCML) power factor correction (PFC) with phase-shifted pulse width modulation (PSPWM) technology to achieve voltage balance of the flying capacitors and increase the equivalent frequency of the inductor. Under the rated current ripple, a smaller inductance can be used to reduce the size of the inductor. With an FCML architecture design, the voltage rating of the power devices can be reduced, which decreases the switching loss. Based on PSPWM control, the small-signal model is a detailed analysis, and the compensator is designed considering the phase delay caused by digital control. The duty-ratio feedforward (DFF) control reduces the harmonic distortion of the inductor current. Finally, the 350 W four-level flying capacitor boost PFC with DFF control is implemented with an inductor current frequency of 500 kHz, an input voltage of 90-264 Vac, and an output voltage of 390 V.

Validation of the Chinese Version of Penn Alcohol Craving Scale for Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder

Yu-Yu Ko,Su-Chen Fang,Wei-Chien Huang,Ming-Chyi Huang,Hu-Ming Chang 대한신경정신의학회 2024 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.21 No.2

Objective The Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) is a five-item, single-dimension questionnaire that is used to measure a patient’s alcohol craving. We sought to develop the Chinese version of the PACS (PACS-C) and assess its reliability and validity.Methods A total of 160 Taiwanese patients with alcohol use disorder were enrolled in this study. The internal consistency and concurrent validity of the PASC-C with the visual analogue scale (VAS) for craving, the Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for heavy drinking (YBOCS-hd), and the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ) were assessed. The test–retest reliability of the PASC-C was evaluated 1 day after the baseline measurements. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to examine the psychometric properties of the PACS-C.Results The PACS-C exhibited good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=0.95) and test–retest reliability (r=0.97). This scale showed high correlations with the VAS (r=0.81) and YBOCS-hd (r=0.81 and 0.79 for the obsession and compulsion subscales, respectively), and moderate correlation with the SADQ-C (r=0.47). Furthermore, CFA results revealed that the PACS-C had good fit indices under various models.Conclusion The PACS-C appears to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing alcohol craving in patients with alcohol use disorder in Taiwan.

Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir plus ribavirin for Child-Pugh B and Child-Pugh C hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis

( Chen-hua Liu ),( Chi-yi Chen ),( Wei-wen Su ),( Chun-jen Liu ),( Ching-chu Lo ),( Ke-jhang Huang ),( Jyh-jou Chen ),( Kuo-chih Tseng ),( Chi-yang Chang ),( Cheng-yuan Peng ),( Yu-lueng Shih ),( Chia 대한간학회 2021 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.27 No.4

Background/Aims: Real-world studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) plus ribavirin (RBV) for Child-Pugh B/C hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis are limited. Methods: We included 107 patients with Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis receiving SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks in Taiwan. The sustained virologic response rates at off-treatment week 12 (SVR₁₂) for the evaluable population (EP), modified EP, and per-protocol population (PP) were assessed. The safety profiles were reported. Results: The SVR₁₂ rates in the EP, modified EP and PP were 89.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 82.5-94.2%), 94.1% (95% CI, 87.8-97.3%), and 100% (95% CI, 96.2-100%). Number of patients who failed to achieve SVR₁₂ were attributed to virologic failures. The SVR₁₂ rates were comparable regardless of patient characteristics. One patient discontinued treatment because of adverse events (AEs). Twenty-four patients had serious AEs and six died, but none were related to SOF/VEL or RBV. Among the 96 patients achieving SVR₁₂, 84.4% and 64.6% had improved Child-Pugh and model for endstage liver disease (MELD) scores. Multivariate analysis revealed that a baseline MELD score ≥15 was associated with an improved MELD score of ≥3 (odds ratio, 4.13; 95% CI, 1.16-14.71; P=0.02). Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 1 had more significant estimated glomerular filtration rate declines than patients with CKD stage 2 (-0.42 mL/min/1.73 ㎡/month; P=0.01) or stage 3 (-0.56 mL/min/1.73 ㎡/month; P<0.001). Conclusions: SOF/VEL plus RBV for 12 weeks is efficacious and well-tolerated for Child-Pugh B/C HCV-related cirrhosis. (Clin Mol Hepatol 2021;27:575-588)