Facile hydrophilic modification of polydimethylsiloxane-based sponges for efficient oil–water separation

Chao-Jen Wang,Wei-Fan Kuan,Hui-Ping Lin,Yury A. Shchipunov,Li-Jen Chen 한국공업화학회 2021 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.96 No.-

In this study, an eco-friendly fabrication process for the hydrophilic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-basedsponge was proposed with the assistance of sugar templates and poly(dimethylsiloxane-b-ethyleneoxide) (PDMS-b-PEO) block copolymer additives. The effects of sugar loadings and sugar particle sizes onsponge structure and separation performance were investigated. Manipulating sugar loadings exhibiteda unique control over the porosity of sponge, which further influenced the absorption capacity and oil–water separation speed. Additionally, the surface modification of PDMS sponge from hydrophobic/oleophilic to hydrophilic/underwater oleophobic was achieved by incorporating PDMS-b-PEO. Suchmodified sponge demonstrated an underwater oil contact angle of 154 and a stable separation efficiencygreater than 99.9% in the gravity-driven cycledfiltration tests. The hydrophilic PDMS-b-PEO modifiedsponges highlighted herein reveal a promising potential for novel separation materials with energyefficientand cost-effective features, which are ideal for oil spill clean-up events and wastewatertreatment application.

Isolating and Concentrating Rare Cancerous Cells in Large Sample Volumes of Blood by Using Dielectrophoresis and Stepping Electric Fields

Guang-Hong Chen,Chun-Ping Jen,Ching-Te Huang,Hsin-Hui Wu,Tatyana N. Zamay,Anna S. Zamay 한국바이오칩학회 2014 BioChip Journal Vol.8 No.2

Detecting rare cells, such as circulatingtumor cells (CTCs), circulating fetal cells, and stemcells, is vital during medical diagnostics and characterization. During carcinogenesis, cancer cells detachfrom the primary tumor into the blood stream, becomingCTCs. Typical rare cell samples are consideredany sample that contains less than 1000 target cellsper milliliter. The volumes of microfluidic devicestypically range from several microliters to nanoliters;this is excessively small for experimenting using lowconcentrationsamples. This study involved isolatingcancerous cells in an open-top chamber with sub-millilitervolumes (0.1 mL) of blood samples by using alysis buffer solution for red blood cells (RBCs), as wellas concentrating cells employing the dielectrophoreticforce generated using stepping electric fields,which were produced using a handheld electric modulethat comprised a voltage-frequency converterand an operational amplifier. To increase the samplevolume, an open-top chamber was fabricated on andbonded to a glass substrate by using circular microelectrodes. The concentrations of cancer cells andRBCs were adjusted to 500 cells/mL and 4×105 cell/mL, respectively, for the experiments. To reduce theinterference of blood cells during detection and isolateCTCs, the RBCs in the sample were lysed in alysis buffer solution before the proposed chip wasused to dielectrophoretically manipulate the rare cancerouscells. The findings indicated that the lysis bufferlysed the erythrocytes and the survivability levelsof the cancerous cells (HeLa and MCF-7) remainedhigh in the lysis buffer. The positive dielectrophoreticcancerous cells were guided based on the direction ofthe stepping electric field because of movement in thehigh-electric-field region; hence, the cancerous cellsconcentrated and collected at the central electrode.

Doxorubicin Promotes Migration and Invasion of Breast Cancer Cells through the Upregulation of the RhoA/MLC Pathway

Chien-Liang Liu,Ming-Jen Chen,Jiunn-Chang Lin,Chi-Hsin Lin,Wen-Chien Huang,Shih-Ping Cheng,Shan-Na Chen,Yuan-Ching Chang 한국유방암학회 2019 Journal of breast cancer Vol.22 No.2

Purpose: Cancer cells develop acquired resistance induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. In this study, we investigated the effects of brief treatment with cytotoxic drugs on the phenotype of breast cancer cells. Methods: Breast cancer cells MCF7 and BT-474 were briefly treated with paclitaxel or doxorubicin. Clonogenic, migration, and invasion assays were performed on the treated cells. Western blot analysis and RhoA activity assay were also performed. Results: Breast cancer cells when briefly treated with paclitaxel or doxorubicin showed reduced clonogenic ability. Doxorubicin, but not paclitaxel, augmented cell migration and invasion. The invasion-promoting effects of doxorubicin were lost when the two drugs were sequentially used in combination. Myosin light chain (MLC) 2 phosphorylation and RhoA activity were upregulated by doxorubicin and downregulated by paclitaxel. Pretreatment with RhoA inhibitors abolished the migration- and invasion-promoting effects of doxorubicin. Conclusion: Doxorubicin activates the RhoA/MLC pathway and enhances breast cancer cell migration and invasion. Therefore, this pathway might be explored as a therapeutic target to suppress anthracycline-enhanced tumor progression.

Antioxidation and Antiglycation of 95% Ethanolic Extracts Prepared from the Leaves of Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum)

Tsung-Han Hou,Jen-Ping Chung,Shang-Shan Chen,Tsu-Liang Chang 한국식품과학회 2013 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.22 No.3

Hyperglycemia results in the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGE), resulting in an inflammatory response that induces insulin resistance. Evidence indicates that antioxidants can suppress the formation of reactive oxygen species, decrease levels of AGEs by inhibiting glycation. Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) can be used as a medicinal food for improving blood glucose; however, the identities of the active compounds and how they counteract diabetes remain unknown. This study demonstrate that 95% ethanolic extracts of black nightshade exerted significant antioxidative activity compared with 50% ethanolic extracts and aqueous extracts. Moreover,95% ethanolic extracts of black nightshade produced antiglycative activity, which contributed to the inhibition of fructosamine and generation of α-dicarbonyl compounds. The concentrations of solasonine and solamargine in the 95% ethanolic extracts were 0.484 and 0.183 mg/mg,respectively. These results suggest that black nightshade might serve as a novel source of functional ingredients that exert antiglycation and anti-diabetes activities.

Preconcentration-enhanced Immunosensing for Whole Human Cancer Cell Lysate based on a Nanofluidic Preconcentrator

Hsuan Franziska Wu,Tamara G. Amstislavskaya,Pin-Hsuan Chen,Ting-Feng Wu,Yu-Hung Chen,Chun-Ping Jen 한국바이오칩학회 2016 BioChip Journal Vol.10 No.3

Sample preconcentration is an important step that increases the accuracy of subsequent detection, especially for samples with extremely low concentrations. Due to the overlap of electrical double layers in a nanofluidic channel, the concentration polarization effect can be generated by applying an electric field. A nonlinear electrokinetic flow is induced, which results in the fast accumulation of proteins in front of the induced ionic depletion zone, the so-called exclusion- enrichment effect. In this way, a protein sample can be driven by electroosmotic flow and accumulated at a specific location. In the present study, a nanofluidic preconcentrator fabricated with the help of junction gap electric breakdown was integrated with microelectrodes for immunoassay. The preconcentration chip for proteins was fabricated using simple standard soft lithography with a polydimethylsiloxane replica. Human galectin-1 proteins from the cell lysate of T24 cells were concentrated and immunoassayed in the proposed microchip. The capability of the proposed microchip for concentrating multiple proteins from cell lysates and immunoassays after preconcentration was demonstrated. Immunosensing was evaluated by measurements of both fluorescence intensities and impedance, which proved the enhancement of preconcentration for immunoassay.

Multimorbidity Pattern and Risk for Mortality Among Patients With Dementia: A Nationwide Cohort Study Using Latent Class Analysis

Che-Sheng Chu,Shu-Li Cheng,Ya-Mei Bai,Tung-Ping Su,Shih-Jen Tsai,Tzeng-Ji Chen,Fu-Chi Yang,Mu-Hong Chen,Chih-Sung Liang 대한신경정신의학회 2023 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.20 No.9

Objective Individuals with dementia are at a substantially elevated risk for mortality; however, few studies have examined multimorbidity patterns and determined the inter-relationship between these comorbidities in predicting mortality risk.Methods This is a prospective cohort study. Data from 6,556 patients who were diagnosed with dementia between 1997 and 2012 using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database were analyzed. Latent class analysis was performed using 16 common chronic conditions to identify mortality risk among potentially different latent classes. Logistic regression was performed to determine the adjusted association of the determined latent classes with the 5-year mortality rate.Results With adjustment for age, a three-class model was identified, with 42.7% of participants classified as “low comorbidity class (cluster 1)”, 44.2% as “cardiometabolic multimorbidity class (cluster 2)”, and 13.1% as “FRINGED class (cluster 3, characterized by FRacture, Infection, NasoGastric feeding, and bleEDing over upper gastrointestinal tract).” The incidence of 5-year mortality was 17.6% in cluster 1, 26.7% in cluster 2, and 59.6% in cluster 3. Compared with cluster 1, the odds ratio for mortality was 9.828 (95% confidence interval [CI]=6.708–14.401; p<0.001) in cluster 2 and 1.582 (95% CI=1.281–1.953; p<0.001) in cluster 3.Conclusion Among patients with dementia, the risk for 5-year mortality was highest in the subpopulation characterized by fracture, urinary and pulmonary infection, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and nasogastric intubation, rather than cancer or cardiometabolic comorbidities. These findings may improve decision-making and advance care planning for patients with dementia.

Professionals’ experiences and attitudes toward use of Traditional Chinese Medicine in hospice palliative inpatient care units: A multicenter survey in Taiwan

Yu-Jia Lin,Hsiao-Ting Chang,Ming-Hwai Lin,Ru-Yih Chen,Ping-Jen Chen,Wen-Yuan Lin,Jyh-Gang Hsieh,Ying-Wei Wang,Chung-Chieh Hu,Yi-Sheng Liou,Tai-Yuan Chiu,Chun-Yi Tu,Yi-Jen Wang,Bo-Ren Cheng,Tzeng-Ji Ch 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.2

Background: Medical staff may have difficulties in using conventional medicine to manage symptoms among terminally ill patients, including adverse effects of the treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is regarded as a complementary or alternative medicine, and has been increasingly used in the field of palliative medicine in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of and attitudes toward using TCM among palliative care professionals, and to provide preliminary information about its use in palliative care. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey study conducted in eight inpatient hospice wards in Taiwan between December 2014 and February 2016. The questionnaire was self-administered, and was analyzed with descriptive statistics including Pearson’s Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Results: A total of 251 palliative care professionals responded to the questionnaire, of whom 89.7% and 88.9% believed that the use of TCM could improve the physical symptoms and quality of life in terminally ill patients, respectively. Overall, 59.8%, of respondents suggested that TCM had rare side effects, and 58.2% were worried that TCM could affect the liver and kidney function of patients. In total, 89.7% and 88.0% of professionals agreed there were no suitable clinical practice guidelines and educational programs, respectively, for TCM use in palliative care. Conclusions: Most of the respondents agreed there was insufficient knowledge, skills-training, and continuing education on the use of TCM in terminally ill patients in Taiwan. These results show that to address patient safety considerations, guidelines about use of TCM in palliative care should be established.

Association of Interleukin-10 A-592C Polymorphism in Taiwanese Children with Kawasaki Disease

Kai-Chung Hsueh,Ying-Ju Lin,Jeng-Sheng Chang,Lei Wan,Yu-Hsin Tsai,Chang-Hai Tsai,Chih-Ping Chen,Fuu-Jen Tsai 대한의학회 2009 Journal of Korean medical science Vol.24 No.3

Elevated serum levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) have been reported in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD). IL-10 reduces the inflammatory actions of macrophages and T cells and it may play a significant role in the regulation of inflammatory vascular damage associated with systemic vasculitis. The aim of this study was to examine whether -592 IL-10 promoter polymorphism is a susceptibility or severity marker of KD in Chinese patients in Taiwan. The study included 105 KD patients and 100 normal controls. Genotype and allelic frequencies for the IL-10 gene polymorphism in both groups were compared. There were no significant between-group differences in the genotype distribution of IL-10 A-592C gene polymorphism (P=0.08). However, the frequency of the -592*A allele was significantly increased in the patients with KD compared with controls (71.9% vs. 61.0%, P=0.019). The odds ratio for developing KD in individuals with IL-10 -592*A allele was 1.64 (95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.52) compared to individuals with the IL-10-592*C allele. No significant difference was observed in the genotype and allelic frequencies for the IL-10 A-592C polymorphism between patients with and without coronary artery lesions. The IL-10-592*A allele may be involved in the development of KD in Taiwanese children.