Real-World Evidence for the Association Between Pneumonia-Related Intensive Care Unit Stay and Dementia

Chun-Han Wu,Chung-Kan Peng,Chi-Hsian Chung,Wu-Chien Chien,Nian-Sheng Tzeng 대한신경정신의학회 2022 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.19 No.4

Objective There is limited clarity concerning the risk of dementia after pneumonia with intensive care unit (ICU) stay. We conducted a nationwide cohort study, which aimed to investigate the impact of dementia after pneumonia with and without intensive care unit admission.Methods Data was obtained from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2015. A total of 7,473 patients were identified as having pneumonia required ICU stay, along with 22,419 controls matched by sex and age. After adjusting for confounding factors, multivariate Cox regression model analysis was used to compare the risk of developing dementia during the 15-years follow-up period.Results The enrolled pneumonia patients with ICU admission had a dementia rate of 9.89%. Pneumonia patients without ICU admission had a dementia rate of 9.21%. The multivariate Cox regression model analysis revealed that the patients with ICU stay had the higher risk of dementia, with a crude hazard ratio of 3.371 (95% confidence interval, 3.093–3.675; p<0.001).Conclusion This study indicated that pneumonia with ICU stay is associated with an increased risk of dementia. A 3-fold risk of dementia was observed in patients admitted to the ICU compared to the control group.

Nucleophosmin modulates the alleviation of atopic dermatitis caused by the marine-derived compound dihydroaustrasulfone alcohol

Han-Chun Hung,Chien-Wei Feng,Yen-You Lin,Chun-Hong Chen,Kuan-Hao Tsui,Wu-Fu Chen,Chieh-Yu Pa,Jyh-Horng Sheu,Chun-Sung Sung,Zhi-Hong Wen 생화학분자생물학회 2018 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.50 No.-

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, and its prevalence is increasing. AD usually elicits skin barrier dysfunction, dry skin and itching. As the mechanisms of AD remain unknown, there is an urgent need to find effective therapies. Because of the diversity and complexity of marine environments, the discovery of drugs from marine organisms as novel therapeutic agents for human diseases has seen renewed interest. Dihydroaustrasulfone alcohol (WA-25), the synthetic precursor of austrasulfone, which is a natural product isolated from a Formosan soft coral, has been shown to possess many therapeutic effects in our previous studies. However, the detailed mechanisms and therapeutic effects of WA-25 on AD are incompletely understood. We performed in vitro and in vivo studies to examine the effects of WA-25 on AD. We showed that WA-25 blocks inflammation and oxidative stress. Simultaneously, we also found that WA-25 reduces the AD scores and AD-induced transepidermal water loss (TEWL), scratching behavior, and alloknesis. WA-25 is more effective in cases of AD than are the drugs that are currently used clinically. Importantly, we also found that when nucleophosmin (NPM) was inhibited or when its expression was reduced, the anti-inflammatory and anti-AD effects of WA-25 were blocked. These data suggest that NPM plays dual roles in inflammation and AD. Overall, these results suggest that WA-25 is a potential anti-inflammatory and AD therapeutic agent that is modulated by NPM.

Systematic Review on Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) DNA in Diagnosis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Asian Populations

Han, Bao-Lin,Xu, Xiang-Ying,Zhang, Chun-Zhi,Wu, Jian-Juan,Han, Chun-Feng,Wang, Hui,Wang, Xuan,Wang, Guang-Shun,Yang, Shu-Juan,Xie, Yao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.6

Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the value of EBV DNA in diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) in Asian populations, and provide important evidence for screening. Methods: Prospective or respective case-control or cohort studies regarding the detection role of EBV DNA for NPC were included in our study. We conducted a comprehensive literature search in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM database between January 1980 and March 2012. Results: A total of 18 studies with 1492 NPC cases and 2641 health controls were included. Almost of the included studies were conducted in China, and only one other conducted in Thailand. The overall results demonstrated that the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood (+LR) and negative likelihood (-LR) were 0.73 (0.71-0.75), 0.89 (0.88-0.90), 8.84 (5.65-13.84) and 0.19(0.11-0.32), respectively. The overall EBV DNA detection showed the largest area of 0.932 under the summary receiver operator curve (SROC). The accuracy of detection by plasma for NPC (0.86) was higher than in serum (0.81), with largest areas under the SROC of 0.97 and 0.91, respectively. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated the EBV DNA detection in plasma or serum has high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of NPC, especially in Chinese populations with a high risk of cancer.

Case Reports : Rosai-Dorfman Disease with Massive Cutaneous Nodule on the Shoulder and Back

( Han Ma ),( Yue Zheng ),( Guoxing Zhu ),( Jie Wu ),( Chun Lu ),( Wei Lai ) 대한피부과학회 2015 Annals of Dermatology Vol.27 No.1

Rosai-Dorfman disease is a rare, idiopathic, benign, andself-limiting histiocytic proliferative disorder. A 26-year-oldman presented with a single massive cutaneous nodule(reaching 30 cm in diameter) on the left shoulder and back for15 months. The routine hematological and biochemical testswere normal. Magnetic resonance scanning showed the lesioninvolved the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and subjacent musclegroup, accompanied by obvious lymph node enlargement inthe left part of the neck, supraclavicular fossa, and axillaryfossa. The histopathology of the left cervical lymph noderevealed diffuse effacement of the normal nodal architecture,with patchy chronic inflammatory cell infiltrates comprisinglymphocytes and sheets of histiocytes. Some histiocytescontained lymphocytes within their pale cytoplasm. Manymultinucleated giant cells were found; however, caseatinggranulomas were not seen. The skin and muscle biopsyspecimen obtained from the back revealed infiltratinglymphocytes and histiocytes diffusely distributed in thedermis, subcutaneous tissue, and crevices of the muscle fibers. The phenomenon of emperipolesis and the presence ofmultinucleated giant cells were also seen. Immunohistochemicalstaining revealed that the histiocytes were positivefor S-100 protein and CD68 but negative for CD1a. Immunophenotyping of the infiltrating lymphocytes indicatedpositive reactions to CD3, CD45RO, CD5, CD7, CD4, CD8(partly), CD79a, CD20 (partly), and Ki-67 (<1%). The finaldiagnosis was Rosai-Dorfman disease. Owing to the extensiveand deep involvement of the subcutaneous tissue and muscles,the patient did not undergo surgery to excise the massive skinnodule. The lesion showed no obvious change at the 12-monthfollow-up. (Ann Dermatol 27(1) 71∼75, 2015)

Lattice Relations and Solidification of the Complex Regular Eutectic (Cr,Fe)-(Cr,Fe)23C6

Hsuan-Han Lai,Chih-Chun Hsieh,Chi-Ming Lin,Weite Wu 대한금속·재료학회 2017 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.23 No.3

The eutectic (Cr,Fe)-(Cr,Fe)23C6 showed a triaxial fishbone structure and could be categorized as a “complexregular structure”. In this study, the lattice relations of the fishbone (Cr,Fe)23C6 were examined and the solidificationprocess was observed using a transmission electron microscope and a confocal laser scanning microscope. Forone of the three fish bones in a eutectic cell, parallel (Cr,Fe)23C6 lamellas at one side of the spine had the samelattice direction, as did those in the (Cr,Fe) phase. The lattices of neighboring (Cr,Fe)23C6 and (Cr,Fe) phases werenot coherent. Lamellar (Cr,Fe)23C6 on opposite sides of a spine had different lattice directions, and their latticeboundary was in the spine. By using the confocal laser scanning microscope, the solidification of lamellar eutecticstructure could be observed. At the low cooling rate of 5oC·min-1, parallel lamellas would grow thick blocksinstead of thin plates. To obtain a thin lamellar eutectic structure, the cooling rate should be higher, likethe rate in welding.

Impact of Obesity on a Chinese Population with Erosive Esophagitis and Barrett`s Esophagus

( Shou-wu Lee ),( Han-chung Lien ),( Teng-yu Lee ),( Chun-fang Tung ),( Hong-zen Yeh ),( Chi-sen Chang ) 대한간학회 2017 Gut and Liver Vol.11 No.3

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between obesity and erosive esophagitis (EE) or Barrett`s esophagus (BE) in a Chinese population. Methods: Data from subjects were retrospectively collected from 2006 to 2009. Individuals with BE were identified and age- and sex-matched at a 1:2 ratio with normal esophagocardial junction and EE patients. The subjects were stratified into two groups: the normal weight group and overweight/ obesity group (body mass index ≥25 mg/m2) or the normal waist group and abdominal obesity group (waist circumference ≥90 cm for men and ≥80 cm for women). Results: Overall, 45%, 72%, and 52% were overweight/obese and 23%, 65%, and 18% had abdominal obesity in the normal, EE, and BE groups, respectively. Positive associations were identified between EE and overweight/obesity (odds ratio [OR], 3.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.75 to 5.66) and abdominal obesity (OR, 6.22; 95% CI, 3.34 to 11.57); however, the associations were nonsignificant between BE and overweight/obesity (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.67 to 2.61) or abdominal obesity (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.31 to 1.73). Female BE patients had a significantly increased rate of being overweight/obese. Conclusions: Obesity is a contributing factor in EE. The association of BE and obesity was not significant, with the exception of female BE cases. (Gut Liver 2017;11:377-382)

Research on Near Infrared Spectroscopy Application for Aflatoxin Testing on Rice

( I-chun Tung ),( Tsung-hsin Wu ),( Han-chun Hsu ),( Suming Chen ),( Chao-yin Tsai ),( Yung-kun Chuang ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Rice is one of the most important staple food in the world. In many countries, environments with high temperature/humidity may provide favorable conditions for fungal propagation and production of aflatoxins during rice storage. Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), one of the secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, is particularly carcinogenic to humans. People might very likely cause severe illness once rice is contaminated by aflatoxins. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a nondestructive method for rapid and accurate detection of the AFB₁ content in rice. In the present study, evaluation of AFB₁ contaminated rice were conducted by using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique with chemometrics. NIR Spectra and the AFB₁ contents of the artificially contaminated rice samples were measured by FOSS NIRS 6500 spectrometer and LC-MS/MS, respectively. Modified partial least square regression (MPLSR), a commonly used multivariate analysis method was then used to build calibration models. In summary, NIRS associated with chemometrics could provide a useful tool for rapid and accurate detection of AFB₁ content in rice.

Effects of Vanadium Content on the Microstructure and Dry Sand Abrasive Wear of a Eutectic Cr-Fe-C Hardfacing Alloy

Hsuan-Han Lai,Chih-Chun Hsieh,Chi-Ming Lin,Weite Wu 대한금속·재료학회 2016 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.22 No.1

In this study, the effects of vanadium on the morphology and wear behavior of a eutectic Cr-Fe-C hardfacing alloy were discussed. The alloys tested contained different amounts of vanadium, ranging from 0 to 2.39 wt%. A fibrous V4C3 was found when the alloy contained 0.93 wt% vanadium. The addition of vanadium was found to decrease the fraction of eutectic M23C6 and increase the width of the interspaces between the eutectic cells. The DTA results revealed that V4C3 formed just before the eutectic α+M23C6 during solidification. The surface hardness was shown to increase with increasing vanadium content, which also caused the hardness deviation and wear loss to decrease; however, the addition of vanadium was not shown to affect the hardness of eutectic α+M23C6. The V4C3 could be scratched off during the wear test due to the increase in the width of the interspaces between the eutectic cells; therefore, the alloys that contained 0.93 and 2.39 wt% vanadium exhibited similar wear loss results.

A Vision-Based Collision Warning System by Surrounding Vehicles Detection

( Bing-fei Wu ),( Ying-han Chen ),( Chih-chun Kao ),( Yen-feng Li ),( Chao-jung Chen ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2012 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.6 No.4

To provide active notification and enhance drivers` awareness of their surroundings, a vision-based collision warning system that detects and monitors surrounding vehicles is proposed in this paper. The main objective is to prevent possible vehicle collisions by monitoring the status of surrounding vehicles, including the distance to the other vehicles in front, behind, to the left and to the right sides. In addition, the proposed system collects and integrates this information to provide advisory warnings to drivers. To offer the correct notification, an algorithm based on features of edge and morphology to detect vehicles is also presented. The proposed system has been implemented in embedded systems and evaluated on real roads in various lighting and weather conditions. The experimental results indicate that the vehicle detection ratios were higher than 97% in the daytime, and appropriate for real road applications.

Electronic properties of few-layer graphene on cubic-SiC

Victor ARISTOV,Han-Chun WU,Olga MOLODTSOVA,Sergey BABENKOV,Alexei ZAKHAROV,Yuran NIU,Dmitry MARCHENKO,Partha MANDAL,Jaime SANCHEZ-BARRIGA,Andrei VARYKHALOV,Andrea LOCATELLI,Alessanro SALA,Tevfik MENTE 한국진공학회 2016 한국진공학회 학술발표회초록집 Vol.2016 No.8