128 results on '"Hong PY"'
Search Results
2. Flow-accelerated corrosion assessment for SA106 and SA335 pipes with elbows and welds
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Dong-Jin Kim, Sung-Woo Kim, Jong Yeon Lee, Kyung Mo Kim, Se Beom Oh, Gyeong Geun Lee, Jongbeom Kim, Seong-Sik Hwang, Min Jae Choi, Yun Soo Lim, Sung Hwan Cho, and Hong Pyo Kim
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Flow-accelerated corrosion ,Pipe corrosion ,Orifice ,Elbow ,Weld ,Complicated fluid ,Nuclear engineering. Atomic power ,TK9001-9401 - Abstract
A FAC (flow-accelerated corrosion) test was performed for a straight pipe composed of the SA335 Gr P22 and SA106 Gr B (SA106-SA335-SA106) types of steel with welds as a function of the flow rate in the range of 7–12 m/s at 150 °C and with DO
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- 2021
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3. Crack growth and cracking behavior of Alloy 600/182 and Alloy 690/152 welds in simulated PWR primary water
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Yun Soo Lim, Dong Jin Kim, Sung Woo Kim, and Hong Pyo Kim
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Nuclear engineering. Atomic power ,TK9001-9401 - Abstract
The crack growth responses of as-received and as-welded Alloy 600/182 and Alloy 690/152 welds to constant loading were measured by a direct current potential drop method using compact tension specimens in primary water at 325 °C simulating the normal operating conditions of a nuclear power plant. The as-received Alloy 600 showed crack growth rates (CGRs) between 9.6 × 10−9 mm/s and 3.8 × 10−8 mm/s, and the as-welded Alloy 182 had CGRs between 7.9 × 10−8 mm/s and 7.5 × 10−7 mm/s within the range of the applied loadings. These results indicate that Alloys 600 and 182 are susceptible to cracking. The average CGR of the as-welded Alloy 152 was found to be 2.8 × 10−9 mm/s. Therefore, Alloy 152 was proven to be highly resistant to cracking. The as-received Alloy 690 showed no crack growth even with an inhomogeneous banded microstructure. The cracking mode of Alloys 600 and 182 was an intergranular cracking; however, Alloy 152 was revealed to have a mixed (intergranular + transgranular) cracking mode. It appears that the Cr concentration and the microstructural features significantly affect the cracking resistance and the cracking behavior of Ni-base alloys in PWR primary water. Keywords: Alloys 600/182, Alloys 690/152, Welding, PWSCC, Crack growth rate, Crack propagation
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- 2019
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4. Lecithin nano-liposomal particle as a CRISPR/Cas9 complex delivery system for treating type 2 diabetes
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Eun Yi Cho, Jee-Yeon Ryu, Han A. Reum Lee, Shin Hee Hong, Hye Sun Park, Kwan Soo Hong, Sang-Gyu Park, Hong Pyo Kim, and Tae-Jong Yoon
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CRISPR-Cas system ,Nanoliposome ,Type 2 diabetes mellitus ,Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 gene ,Biotechnology ,TP248.13-248.65 ,Medical technology ,R855-855.5 - Abstract
Abstract Background Protein-based Cas9 in vivo gene editing therapeutics have practical limitations owing to their instability and low efficacy. To overcome these obstacles and improve stability, we designed a nanocarrier primarily consisting of lecithin that can efficiently target liver disease and encapsulate complexes of Cas9 with a single-stranded guide RNA (sgRNA) ribonucleoprotein (Cas9-RNP) through polymer fusion self-assembly. Results In this study, we optimized an sgRNA sequence specifically for dipeptidyl peptidase-4 gene (DPP-4) to modulate the function of glucagon-like peptide 1. We then injected our nanocarrier Cas9-RNP complexes directly into type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) db/db mice, which disrupted the expression of DPP-4 gene in T2DM mice with remarkable efficacy. The decline in DPP-4 enzyme activity was also accompanied by normalized blood glucose levels, insulin response, and reduced liver and kidney damage. These outcomes were found to be similar to those of sitagliptin, the current chemical DPP-4 inhibition therapy drug which requires recurrent doses. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that a nano-liposomal carrier system with therapeutic Cas9-RNP has great potential as a platform to improve genomic editing therapies for human liver diseases.
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- 2019
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5. Active Turnover of Heme in Hibernation Period in Mammals
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Phil Jun Lee, Namki Cho, Hee Min Yoo, and Hong Pyo Kim
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heme biosynthesis ,pre-hibernation ,mammals ,heme oxygenase (HO)-1 ,calorie restriction ,sirt1 ,Physiology ,QP1-981 - Abstract
Heme oxygenase (HO)-1 plays an important role during hibernation by catalyzing the degradation of heme to biliverdin/bilirubin, ferrous iron, and carbon monoxide, which activates the protective mechanisms against stress. In this context, it was important to analyze the metabolic processes of heme. Nevertheless, to date, no study has approached on biosynthesis of heme. Therefore, our study aims to understand the process of heme biosynthesis, which regulates cell survival in conditions of hypothermia and calorie restriction (CR). During hibernation, the mRNA levels of enzymes responsible for de novo heme biosynthesis were increased in the liver tissue of a Syrian hamster model of hibernation. Moreover, heme trafficking and iron metabolism were found to be more active, as assessed based on the changes in the levels of heme transporter and ferroportin mRNA. The levels of HO-1, a powerful antioxidant, were also upregulated during hibernation. Additionally, increased levels of Sirt-1 mRNA were also observed. These enzymes are known to act as cellular metabolic sensors that activate the cytoprotective mechanisms. These results indicate that HO-1 induction, brought about by the upregulation of heme during the pre-hibernation period, may protect against external stress. Here, we describe heme catabolism during hibernation by analyzing the regulation of the key molecular players involved in heme metabolism. Therefore, this study offers a new strategy for the better regulation of intracellular heme concentrations during hypothermia and other stresses.
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- 2020
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6. Bisdemethoxycurcumin Induces Apoptosis in Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells via Cannabinoid Receptor 2
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Phil Jun Lee, Seung Je Woo, Jun-Goo Jee, Sang Hyun Sung, and Hong Pyo Kim
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bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) ,curcumin ,hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) ,liver fibrosis ,cannabinoid receptor (CBR) 2 ,death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) ,adenosine triphosphate (ATP) ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells (HSCs), major fibrogenic cells in the liver, undergo apoptosis when liver injuries cease, which may contribute to the resolution of fibrosis. Bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) is a natural derivative of curcumin with anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. The therapeutic potential of BDMC in hepatic fibrosis has not been studied thus far in the context of the apoptosis in activated HSCs. In the current study, we compared the activities of BDMC and curcumin in the HSC-T6 cell line and demonstrated that BDMC relatively induced a potent apoptosis. BDMC-induced apoptosis was mediated by a combinatory inhibition of cytoprotective proteins, such as Bcl2 and heme oxygenase-1 and increased generation of reactive oxygen species. Intriguingly, BDMC-induced apoptosis was reversed with co-treatment of sr144528, a cannabinoid receptor (CBR) 2 antagonist, which was confirmed with genetic downregulation of the receptor using siCBR2. Additionally, incubation with BDMC increased the formation of death-induced signaling complex in HSC-T6 cells. Treatment with BDMC significantly diminished total intracellular ATP levels and upregulated ATP inhibitory factor-1. Collectively, the results demonstrate that BDMC induces apoptosis in activated HSCs, but not in hepatocytes, by impairing cellular energetics and causing a downregulation of cytoprotective proteins, likely through a mechanism that involves CBR2.
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- 2015
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7. Differential Mechanism of ATP Production Occurs in Response to Succinylacetone in Colon Cancer Cells
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Phil Jun Lee, Seung Je Woo, Hee Min Yoo, Namki Cho, and Hong Pyo Kim
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succinylacetone ,colon cancer cell lines ,apoptosis ,atp ,oxidative phosphorylation ,pyruvate dehydrogenase ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
Our aim was to verify the potential ability of succinylacetone (SA) to inhibit mitochondrial function, thereby suppressing cancer cell proliferation. SA treatment caused apoptosis in HCT116 and HT29 cells, but not in SW480 cells, with mitochondria playing a key role. We checked for dysfunctional mitochondria after SA treatment. Mitochondria of HT29 cells were swollen, indicating damage, whereas in HCT116 cells, several mitochondria had a diminished size. Damaged mitochondria decreased ATP production and induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cells. To understand SA-induced reduction in ATP production, we investigated the electron transfer chains (ETC) and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) activity, which prevents the transfer of acetyl-CoA to the TCA (tricarboxylic acid) cycle by inhibiting PDH (pyruvate dehydrogenase) activity. In each cell line, the inhibitory mechanism of ATP by SA was different. The activity of complex III consisting of the mitochondrial ETCs in HT29 cells was decreased. In contrast, PDH activity in HCT116 cells was reduced. Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT)-removing reactive oxygen species (ROS) was upregulated in HT29 cells, but not in HCT116 cells, indicating that in HT29 cells, a defense mechanism was activated against ROS. Collectively, our study showed a differential mechanism occurs in response to SA in colon cancer cells.
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- 2019
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8. Aquaporin 11-Dependent Inhibition of Proliferation by Deuterium Oxide in Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells
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Phil Jun Lee, Hye-Jin Park, Namki Cho, and Hong Pyo Kim
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hepatic stellate cell ,deuterium oxide ,aquaporin 11 ,AQP11 ,heme oxygenase 1 ,HO-1 ,bisdemethoxycurcumin ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
Deuterium oxide (D2O) has been reported to be active toward various in vitro cell lines in combination with phytochemicals. Our objective was to describe, for the first time, the effect of D2O on the proliferation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). After D2O treatment, the p53-cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) pathway was stimulated, leading to inhibition of the proliferation of HSCs and an increase in the [ATP]/[ADP] ratio. We also evaluated the role of aquaporin (AQP) 11 in activated HSCs. We found that D2O treatment decreased AQP11 expression levels. Of note, AQP11 levels elevated by a genetic approach counteracted the D2O-mediated inhibition of proliferation. In addition, the expression levels of AQP11 negatively correlated with those of p53. On the other hand, cells transfected with an AQP11-targeted small interfering RNA (siRNA) showed enhanced inhibition of proliferation. These findings suggest that the inhibition of cell proliferation by D2O in activated HSCs could be AQP11 dependent. Our previous studies have documented that bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) induces apoptosis by regulating heme oxygenase (HO)-1 protein expression in activated HSCs. In the current study, we tested whether cotreatment with BDMC and D2O can modulate the AQP11-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation effectively. We observed that D2O cotreatment with BDMC significantly decreased cell proliferation compared to treatment with D2O alone, and this effect was accompanied by downregulation of HO-1 and an increase in p53 levels.
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- 2018
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9. DDQ-Promoted Mild and Efficient Metal-Free Oxidative α-Cyanation of N-Acyl/Sulfonyl 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroisoquinolines
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Hong Pyo Kim, Heesun Yu, Hyoungsu Kim, Seok-Ho Kim, and Dongjoo Lee
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tetrahydroisoquinoline ,oxidation ,C(sp3)-H activation ,α-cyanation ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
A mild and highly efficient metal-free oxidative α-cyanation of N-acyl/sulfonyl 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQs) has been accomplished at an ambient temperature via DDQ oxidation and subsequent trapping of N-acyl/sulfonyl iminium ions with (n-Bu)3SnCN. Employing readily removable N-acyl/sulfonyl groups as protecting groups rather than N-aryl ones enables a wide range of applications in natural product synthesis. The synthetic utility of the method was illustrated using a short and efficient formal total synthesis of (±)-calycotomine in three steps.
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- 2018
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10. Salicortin-Derivatives from Salix pseudo-lasiogyne Twigs Inhibit Adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 Cells via Modulation of C/EBPα and SREBP1c Dependent Pathway
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Hong Pyo Kim, Young Choong Kim, Sang Hyun Sung, Eun Ju Jeong, Jimmy Kang, Heejung Yang, Sang Hoon Lee, and Mina Lee
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Salix pseudo-lasiogyne ,Salicaceae ,3T3-L1 ,adipogenesis ,adipocyte differentiation ,C/EBPα ,SREBP1c ,obesity ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
Obesity is reported to be associated with excessive growth of adipocyte mass tissue as a result of increases in the number and size of adipocytes differentiated from preadipocytes. To search for anti-adipogenic phytochemicals, we screened for inhibitory activities of various plant sources on adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Among the sources, a methanolic extract of Salix pseudo-lasiogyne twigs (Salicaceae) reduced lipid accumulation in a concentration-dependent manner. During our search for anti-adipogenic constituents from S. pseudo-lasiogyne, five salicortin derivatives isolated from an EtOAc fraction of this plant and bearing 1-hydroxy-6-oxo-2-cyclohexene-carboxylate moieties, namely 2′,6′-O-acetylsalicortin (1), 2′-O-acetylsalicortin (2), 3′-O-acetylsalicortin (3), 6′-O-acetylsalicortin (4), and salicortin (5), were found to significantly inhibit adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells. In particular, 2′,6′-O-acetylsalicortin (1) had the most potent inhibitory activity on adipocyte differentiation, with an IC50 value of 11.6 μM, and it significantly down-regulated the expressions of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα) and sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP1c). Furthermore, 2′,6′-O-acetylsalicortin (1) suppressed mRNA expression levels of C/EBPβ during the early stage of adipocyte differentiation and stearoyl coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD-1), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), and fatty acid synthase (FAS) expression, target genes of SREBP1c. In the present study, we demonstrate that the anti-adipogenesis mechanism of 2′,6′-O-acetylsalicortin (1) may be mediated via down-regulation of C/EBPα and SREBP1c dependent pathways. Through their anti-adipogenic activity, salicortin derivatives may be potential novel therapeutic agents against obesity.
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- 2013
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11. A REVIEW ON THE ODSCC OF STEAM GENERATOR TUBES IN KOREAN NPPS
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HANSUB CHUNG, HONG-DEOK KIM, SEUNGJIN OH, MYUNG HWAN BOO, KYUNG-HWAN NA, EUNSUP YUN, YONG-SEOK KANG, WANG-BAE KIM, JAE GON LEE, DONG-JIN KIM, and HONG PYO KIM
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SG ,Tube ,ODSCC ,Microstructure ,Residual Stress ,Sludge ,Alloy 600(HT)MA ,Nuclear engineering. Atomic power ,TK9001-9401 - Abstract
The ODSCC detected in the TSP position of Ulchin 3&4 SGs are typical ODSCC of Alloy 600MA tubes. The causative chemical environment is formed by concentration of impurities inside the occluded region formed by the tube surface, egg crate strips, and sludge deposit there. Most cracks are detected at or near the line contacts between the tube surface and the egg crate strips. The region of dense crack population, as defined as between 4th and 9th TSPs, and near the center of hot leg hemisphere plane, coincided well with the region of preferential sludge deposition as defined by thermal hydraulics calculation using SGAP computer code. The cracks developed homogeneously in a wide range of SGs, so that the number of cracks detected each outage increased very rapidly since the first detection in the 8th refueling outage. The root cause assessment focused on investigation of the difference in microstructure and manufacturing residual stress in order to reveal the cause of different susceptibilities to ODSCC among identical six units. The manufacturing residual stress as measured by XRD on OD surface and by split tube method indicated that the high residual stress of Alloy 600MA tube played a critical role in developing ODSCC. The level of residual stress showed substantial variations among the six units depending on details of straightening and OD grinding processes. Youngwang 3&4 tubes are less susceptible to ODSCC than U3 and U4 tubes because semi-continuous coarse chromium carbides are formed along the grain boundary of Y3&4 tubes, while there are finer less continuous chromium carbides in U3 and U4. The different carbide morphology is caused by the difference in cooling rate after mill anneal. There is a possibility that high chromium content in the Y3&4 tubes, still within the allowable range of Alloy 600, has made some contribution to the improved resistance to ODSCC. It is anticipated that ODSCC in Y5&6 SGs will be retarded more considerably than U3 SGs since the manufacturing residual stress in Y5&6 tubes is substantially lower than in U3 tubes, while the microstructure is similar with each other.
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- 2013
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12. SUSCEPTIBILITY OF ALLOY 690 TO STRESS CORROSION CRACKING IN CAUSTIC AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
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DONG-JIN KIM, HONG PYO KIM, and SEONG SIK HWANG
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Stress Corrosion Cracking ,Alloy 690 ,Lead Oxide ,Passive Film ,Nuclear engineering. Atomic power ,TK9001-9401 - Abstract
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behaviors of Alloy 690 were studied in lead-containing aqueous alkaline solutions using the slow strain rate tension (SSRT) tests in 0.1M and 2.5M NaOH with and without PbO at 315°C. The side and fracture surfaces of the alloy were then examined using scanning electron microscopy after the SSRT test. Microstructure and composition of the surface oxide layer were analyzed by using a field emission transmission electron microscopy, equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Even though Alloy 690 was almost immune to SCC in 0.1M NaOH solution, irrespective of PbO addition, the SCC resistance of Alloy 690 decreased in a 2.5M NaOH solution and further decreased by the addition of PbO. Based on thermodynamic stability and solubility of oxide, high Cr of 30wt% in the Alloy 690 is favorable to SCC in mild alkaline and acidic solutions whereas the SCC resistance of high Cr Alloy 690 is weakened drastically in the strong alkaline solution where the oxide is not stable any longer and solubility is too high to form a passive oxide locally.
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- 2013
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13. ROLE OF GRAIN BOUNDARY CARBIDES IN CRACKING BEHAVIOR OF Ni BASE ALLOYS
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SEONG SIK HWANG, YUN SOO LIM, SUNG WOO KIM, DONG JIN KIM, and HONG PYO KIM
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PWR ,PWSCC ,Ni Base Alloys ,Alloy 600 ,Grain Boundary Carbides ,Nuclear engineering. Atomic power ,TK9001-9401 - Abstract
The primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) of Alloy 600 in a PWR has been reported in the control rod drive mechanism (CRDM), pressurizer instrumentation, and the pressurizer heater sleeves. Recently, two cases of boric acid precipitation that indicated leaking of the primary cooling water were reported on the bottom head surface of steam generators (SG) in Korea. The PWSCC resistance of Ni base alloys which have intergranular carbides is higher than those which have intragranular carbides. Conversely, in oxidized acidic solutions like sodium sulfate or sodium tetrathionate solutions, the Ni base alloys with a lot of carbides at the grain boundaries and shows less stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance. The role of grain boundary carbides in SCC behavior of Ni base alloys was evaluated and effect of intergranular carbides on the SCC susceptibility were reviewed from the literature.
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- 2013
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14. 3,5-Diethoxy-3′-Hydroxyresveratrol (DEHR) Ameliorates Liver Fibrosis via Caveolin-1 Activation in Hepatic Stellate Cells and in a Mouse Model of Bile Duct Ligation Injury
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Phil Jun Lee, Hye-Jin Park, Namki Cho, and Hong Pyo Kim
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hepatic stellate cell (HSC) ,3,5-diethoxy-3′-hydroxyresveratrol (DEHR) ,caveolin-1 (CAV1) ,heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are involved in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. Resveratrol, 3,5,4′-trihydroxystilbene, is a dietary polyphenol found in natural food products. Here, we evaluated the anti-proliferative effects of a synthetic resveratrol derivative, 3,5-diethoxy-3′-hydroxyresveratrol (DEHR), on HSCs. Flow cytometry and Western blot analyses showed that DEHR induces apoptosis through the upregulation of cleaved caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase expression and reduction in the level of an anti-apoptotic protein B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2). As caveolin-1 (CAV1), a competitive inhibitor of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), is related to apoptotic proteins in hepatic cells, we focused on the role of CAV1 in DEHR-induced apoptosis in HSCs through Western blot analyses. Our results showed that the inhibitory effect of DEHR on cell viability was stronger in HO-1 siRNA-transfected cells but weakened in CAV1 siRNA-transfected cells. Collagen concentration was significantly reduced, whereas CAV1 expression increased after treatment of a bile duct ligation injury-induced liver fibrosis model with DEHR for four weeks. We confirmed that DEHR treatment significantly reduced fibrous hyperplasia around the central veins, using hematoxylin and eosin and Sirius red staining. DEHR ameliorates liver fibrosis in vitro and in vivo, possibly through a mechanism involving CAV1.
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- 2018
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15. Identifying targets for COPD treatment through gene expression analyses
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Zhi-Hua Chen, Hong Pyo Kim, Stefan W Ryter, and Augustine MK Choi
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Diseases of the respiratory system ,RC705-779 - Abstract
Zhi-Hua Chen1, Hong Pyo Kim1, Stefan W Ryter1, Augustine MK Choi21Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 2Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USAAbstract: Despite the status of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a major global health problem, no currently available therapies can limit COPD progression. Therefore, an urgent need exists for the development of new and effective treatments for COPD. An improved understanding in the molecular pathogenesis of COPD can potentially identify molecular targets to facilitate the development of new therapeutic modalities. Among the best approaches for understanding the molecular basis of COPD include gene expression profiling techniques, such as serial analysis of gene expression or microarrays. Using these methods, recent studies have mapped comparative gene expression profiles of lung tissues from patients with different stages of COPD relative to healthy smokers or non-smokers. Such studies have revealed a number of differentially-regulated genes associated with COPD progression, which include genes involved in the regulation of inflammation, extracellular matrix, cytokines, chemokines, apoptosis, and stress responses. These studies have shed new light on the molecular mechanisms of COPD, and suggest novel targets for clinical treatments.Keywords: COPD, gene expression, therapeutic targets
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- 2008
16. Egr-1 regulates autophagy in cigarette smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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Zhi-Hua Chen, Hong Pyo Kim, Frank C Sciurba, Seon-Jin Lee, Carol Feghali-Bostwick, Donna B Stolz, Rajiv Dhir, Rodney J Landreneau, Mathew J Schuchert, Samuel A Yousem, Kiichi Nakahira, Joseph M Pilewski, Janet S Lee, Yingze Zhang, Stefan W Ryter, and Augustine M K Choi
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease characterized by abnormal cellular responses to cigarette smoke, resulting in tissue destruction and airflow limitation. Autophagy is a degradative process involving lysosomal turnover of cellular components, though its role in human diseases remains unclear.Increased autophagy was observed in lung tissue from COPD patients, as indicated by electron microscopic analysis, as well as by increased activation of autophagic proteins (microtubule-associated protein-1 light chain-3B, LC3B, Atg4, Atg5/12, Atg7). Cigarette smoke extract (CSE) is an established model for studying the effects of cigarette smoke exposure in vitro. In human pulmonary epithelial cells, exposure to CSE or histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor rapidly induced autophagy. CSE decreased HDAC activity, resulting in increased binding of early growth response-1 (Egr-1) and E2F factors to the autophagy gene LC3B promoter, and increased LC3B expression. Knockdown of E2F-4 or Egr-1 inhibited CSE-induced LC3B expression. Knockdown of Egr-1 also inhibited the expression of Atg4B, a critical factor for LC3B conversion. Inhibition of autophagy by LC3B-knockdown protected epithelial cells from CSE-induced apoptosis. Egr-1(-/-) mice, which displayed basal airspace enlargement, resisted cigarette-smoke induced autophagy, apoptosis, and emphysema.We demonstrate a critical role for Egr-1 in promoting autophagy and apoptosis in response to cigarette smoke exposure in vitro and in vivo. The induction of autophagy at early stages of COPD progression suggests novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of cigarette smoke induced lung injury.
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- 2008
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17. High-yield, plant-based production of an antimicrobial peptide with potent activity in a mouse model.
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Chaudhary S, Ali Z, Pantoja-Angles A, Abdelrahman S, Juárez COB, Rao GS, Hong PY, Hauser C, and Mahfouz M
- Abstract
Plants offer a promising chassis for the large-scale, cost-effective production of diverse therapeutics, including antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). However, key advances will reduce production costs, including simplifying the downstream processing and purification steps. Here, using Nicotiana benthamiana plants, we present an improved modular design that enables AMPs to be secreted via the endomembrane system and sequestered in an extracellular compartment, the apoplast. Additionally, we translationally fused an AMP to a mutated small ubiquitin-like modifier sequence, thereby enhancing peptide yield and solubilizing the peptide with minimal aggregation and reduced occurrence of necrotic lesions in the plant. This strategy resulted in substantial peptide accumulation, reaching around 2.9 mg AMP per 20 g fresh weight of leaf tissue. Furthermore, the purified AMP demonstrated low collateral toxicity in primary human skin cells, killed pathogenic bacteria by permeabilizing the membrane and exhibited anti-infective efficacy in a preclinical mouse (Mus musculus) model system, reducing bacterial loads by up to three orders of magnitude. A base-case techno-economic analysis demonstrated the economic advantages and scalability of our plant-based platform. We envision that our work can establish plants as efficient bioreactors for producing preclinical-grade AMPs at a commercial scale, with the potential for clinical applications., (© 2024 The Author(s). Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
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- 2024
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18. Causal associations of obstructive sleep apnea with Chronic Respiratory Diseases: a Mendelian Randomization study.
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Hong PY, Liu D, Liu A, Su X, Zhang XB, and Zeng YM
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- Humans, Male, Female, Middle Aged, Bronchiectasis genetics, Bronchiectasis epidemiology, Genome-Wide Association Study, Body Mass Index, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis genetics, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis epidemiology, Aged, Chronic Disease, Mendelian Randomization Analysis, Sleep Apnea, Obstructive genetics, Sleep Apnea, Obstructive epidemiology, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive genetics, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive epidemiology, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive complications, Asthma genetics, Asthma epidemiology
- Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to elucidate the causal relationship between Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRDs), employing Mendelian Randomization (MR) to overcome limitations inherent in observational studies., Methods: Utilizing a two-sample MR approach, this study analyzed genetic variants as instrumental variables to investigate the causal link between OSA and various CRDs, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, bronchiectasis, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Data were sourced from the FinnGen Consortium (OSA, n = 375,657) and UK Biobank, focusing on genome-wide associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the diseases. Instrumental variables were selected based on strict criteria, and analyses included a random-effects inverse-variance weighted method supplemented by several sensitivity analyses., Results: The study suggests a protective effect of OSA against COPD (OR = 0.819, 95% CI 0.722-0.929, P-value = 0.002), which becomes non-significant after adjusting for BMI, indicating a potential mediating role of BMI in the OSA-COPD nexus. No significant causal links were found between OSA and other CRDs (asthma, IPF, bronchiectasis) or between COPD, asthma, and OSA., Conclusions: Our findings reveal a BMI-mediated protective effect of OSA on COPD, with no causal connections identified between OSA and other CRDs. These results emphasize the complex relationship between OSA, BMI, and COPD, guiding future clinical strategies and research directions, particularly in light of the study's genetic analysis limitations., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
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- 2024
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19. A solar-driven atmospheric water extractor for off-grid freshwater generation and irrigation.
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Yang K, Pan T, Ferhat N, Felix AI, Waller RE, Hong PY, Vrouwenvelder JS, Gan Q, and Han Y
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Solar-driven atmospheric water extraction (SAWE) is a sustainable technology for decentralized freshwater supply. However, most SAWE systems produce water intermittently due to the cyclic nature, with adoption hindered by complex design requirements or periodic manual operations. Herein, a fully passive SAWE system that can continuously produce freshwater under sunlight is presented. By optimizing the three-dimensional architecture to facilitate spontaneous mass transport and efficient energy utilization, this system can consistently produce 0.65 L m
-2 h-1 of freshwater under 1-sun illumination at 90% relative humidity (RH) and functions in arid environments with an RH as low as 40%. We test the practical performance of a scaled-up system in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia over 35 days across two seasons. The system produces 2.0-3.0 L m-2 per day of freshwater during the summer and 1.0-2.8 L m-2 per day of freshwater during the fall, without requiring additional maintenance. Intriguingly, we demonstrate the system's potential for off-grid irrigation by successfully growing cabbage plants using atmospheric water. This passive SAWE system, harnessing solar energy to continuously extract moisture from air for drinking and irrigation, offers a promising solution to address the intertwined challenges of energy, water, and food supply, particularly for remote and water-scarce regions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2024
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20. Assessing causality between obstructive sleep apnea with the dyslipidemia and osteoporosis: a Mendelian randomization study.
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Hong PY, Liu D, Liu A, Su X, Zhang XB, and Zeng YM
- Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to assess the causal relationship between Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), dyslipidemia, and osteoporosis using Mendelian Randomization (MR) techniques., Methods: Utilizing a two-sample MR approach, the study examines the causal relationship between dyslipidemia and osteoporosis. Multivariable MR analyses were used to test the independence of the causal association of dyslipidemia with OSA. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected as instrumental variables based on genome-wide significance, independence, and linkage disequilibrium criteria. The data were sourced from publicly available Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) of OSA ( n = 375,657) from the FinnGen Consortium, the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium of dyslipidemia ( n = 188,577) and the UK Biobank for osteoporosis ( n = 456,348)., Results: The MR analysis identified a significant positive association between genetically predicted OSA and triglyceride levels (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.04-1.26, p = 0.006) and a negative correlation with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.77-0.93, p = 0.0003). Conversely, no causal relationship was found between dyslipidemia (total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and OSA or the relationship between OSA and osteoporosis., Conclusion: The study provides evidence of a causal relationship between OSA and dyslipidemia, highlighting the need for targeted prevention and management strategies for OSA to address lipid abnormalities. The absence of a causal link with osteoporosis and in the reverse direction emphasizes the need for further research in this area., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Hong, Liu, Liu, Su, Zhang and Zeng.)
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- 2024
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21. Maximizing the Impact of Research Featuring Nucleic-Acid Sequencing Methods in Environmental Science & Technology and Environmental Science & Technology Letters .
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Boehm AB, Raskin L, Alvarez P, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Sequence Analysis, DNA, Nucleic Acids, Environmental Science
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- 2024
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22. Clinical characteristics and removal approaches of tracheal and bronchial foreign bodies in elders.
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Hong PY, Wang L, Du YP, Wang M, Chen YY, Huang MH, and Zhang XB
- Subjects
- Humans, Aged, Male, Female, Aged, 80 and over, Retrospective Studies, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, Foreign Bodies surgery, Foreign Bodies diagnosis, Foreign Bodies diagnostic imaging, Bronchi diagnostic imaging, Bronchi pathology, Trachea diagnostic imaging, Bronchoscopy methods
- Abstract
The symptoms of tracheobronchial foreign body in the elderly are not typical, so they are often missed or misdiagnosed. This study aims to depict the clinical characteristics of tracheobronchial foreign body inhalation in the elderly. We retrospectively analysed the clinical data of elder patients (age ≥ 65 years) diagnosed with tracheal and bronchial foreign bodies. The data included age, sex, clinical symptoms, type and location of foreign bodies, prehospital duration, Chest CT, bronchoscopic findings, and frequencies and tools for removing these elderly patients' tracheal and bronchial foreign bodies. All patients were followed up for a half year. Fifty-nine cases were included, of which only 32.2% had a definite aspiration history. Disease duration > 30 days accounted for 27.1% of the patients. 27.1% of the patients had a history of stroke, and 23.8% had Alzheimer's Disease. Regarding clinical symptoms, patients mainly experience cough and expectoration. The most common CT findings were abnormal density shadow (37.3%) and pulmonary infiltration (22.0%). Under bronchoscopy, purulent secretions were observed in 52.5% of patients, and granulation tissue hyperplasia was observed in 45.8%. Food (55.9%) was the most common foreign object, including seafood shells (5.1%), bones (20.3%), dentures (18.6%), and tablets (20.3%). The success rate of foreign body removal under a bronchoscope was 96.7%, 28.8% of the foreign bodies were on the left and 69.5% on the right. 5.1% of the elderly patients required rigid bronchoscopy, and 6.8% required two bronchoscopies. In elderly cohorts, tracheal foreign bodies are obscured by nonspecific clinical presentations and a paucity of aspiration history, challenging timely diagnosis. Predominantly constituted by food particles, with a notable predilection for the left bronchial tree, these cases demand skilled bronchoscopic management, occasionally requiring sophisticated approaches for successful extraction., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
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- 2024
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23. Assessing causality between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with depression: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.
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Liu A, Hong PY, Su B, Wu JH, and Chen ZY
- Subjects
- Humans, Genome-Wide Association Study, Mendelian Randomization Analysis, Causality, Depression epidemiology, Depression genetics, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive epidemiology, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive genetics
- Abstract
Purpose: Our investigation utilized a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach to explore the ambiguous bidirectional relationship between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and depression, furthering insights from existing observational studies., Methods: In this study, we conducted a bidirectional Mendelian randomization using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) datasets. We initially analyzed depression data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and the UK Biobank (n = 500,199), alongside COPD data from the FinnGen Consortium (n = 329,552). The second phase involved comparing depression data from FinnGen (n = 372,472) with COPD data from the UK Biobank (n = 361,194). Our Mendelian analysis employs various methods to guarantee a comprehensive and rigorous investigation., Results: In the initial analytic phase utilizing the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, COPD does not significantly contribute to the incidence of depression (IVW odds ratio (OR) = 0.989, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.895 to 1.092, P = 0.824). Conversely, the data suggested a statistically significant association where depression may precipitate the development of COPD, with a notable increase in risk (IVW OR = 1.421, 95 % CI = 1.149 to 1.756, P = 0.001). Subsequent validation through a second-step analysis reinforced the hypothesis that depression elevates the likelihood of COPD onset (IVW OR = 1.002, 95 % CI = 1.0003 to 1.0046, P = 0.028)., Conclusion: Our study, utilizing Mendelian randomization analysis, determined that COPD does not escalate the risk of depression. Conversely, our analysis suggests that depression may elevate the risk of developing COPD. This insight underscores the importance of enhancing prevention, screening, and treatment strategies for COPD in individuals with depression., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this study., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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24. The antibiotic crisis: On the search for novel antibiotics and resistance mechanisms.
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Van Goethem MW, Marasco R, Hong PY, and Daffonchio D
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- Humans, Bacteria genetics, Drug Resistance, Microbial, Agriculture, Anti-Bacterial Agents pharmacology, Ecosystem
- Abstract
In the relentless battle for human health, the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has emerged as an impending catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude, potentially driving humanity towards the brink of an unparalleled healthcare crisis. The unyielding advance of antibiotic resistance looms as the foremost threat of the 21st century in clinical, agricultural and environmental arenas. Antibiotic resistance is projected to be the genesis of the next global pandemic, with grim estimations of tens of millions of lives lost annually by 2050. Amidst this impending calamity, our capacity to unearth novel antibiotics has languished, with the past four decades marred by a disheartening 'antibiotic discovery void'. With nearly 80% of our current antibiotics originating from natural or semi-synthetic sources, our responsibility is to cast our investigative nets into uncharted ecological niches teeming with microbial strife, the so-called 'microbial oases of interactions'. Within these oases of interactions, where microorganisms intensively compete for space and nutrients, a dynamic and ever-evolving microbial 'arms race' is constantly in place. Such a continuous cycle of adaptation and counter-adaptation is a fundamental aspect of microbial ecology and evolution, as well as the secrets to unique, undiscovered antibiotics, our last bastion against the relentless tide of resistance. In this context, it is imperative to invest in research to explore the competitive realms, like the plant rhizosphere, biological soil crusts, deep sea hydrothermal vents, marine snow and the most modern plastisphere, in which competitive interactions are at the base of the microorganisms' struggle for survival and dominance in their ecosystems: identify novel antibiotic by targeting microbial oases of interactions could represent a 'missing piece of the puzzle' in our fight against antibiotic resistance., (© 2024 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by Applied Microbiology International and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
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- 2024
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25. Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate inhibits tumor growth via miR-138 upregulation in intermittent hypoxia-induced xenograft mice.
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Zhang XB, Gan QF, He XZ, Yuan YT, Ling-Wang, Huang MH, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Humans, Mice, Animals, Up-Regulation, Heterografts, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A metabolism, Hypoxia metabolism, Neoplasms, MicroRNAs genetics, Sleep Apnea, Obstructive, Phenanthrenes
- Abstract
Purpose: We studied the functions of sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (TSA) in inducing tumor growth in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)-mimicking intermittent hypoxia (IH) xenograft mice and the underlying potential molecular mechanism., Methods: RNA sequencing was conducted to screen the differentially expressed microRNAs in cell lines exposed to IH with or without TSA treatment. As part of the 5-week in vivo study, we treated xenograft mice with 8-h IH once daily. TSA and miR-138 inhibitors or mimics were administrated appropriately. In addition, we performed real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunohistochemistry (IHC), microvessel density (MVD), and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assays., Results: RNA sequencing and RT-PCR results demonstrated that TSA increased the levels of miR-138 under IH conditions in vitro . TSA reduced the IH-stimulated high levels of hypoxia-induced factor-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor. Furthermore, IH contributed to high tumor migration, invasion, MVD, and low apoptosis. TSA attenuated IH-mediated tumor proliferation, migration, invasion, MVD, and increased apoptosis, whereas miR-138 inhibitor interrupted the effect of TSA on treating IH-induced tumor behaviors., Conclusions: OSA mimicking IH facilitates tumor growth and reduces miR-138 levels. TSA inhibits IH-induced tumor growth by upregulating the expression of miR-138.
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- 2024
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26. Predicting Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Performance Using Flow-Cytometry-Derived High and Low Nucleic Acid Content Cells.
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Cheng H, Medina JS, Zhou J, Pinho EM, Meng R, Wang L, He Q, Morán XAG, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Anaerobiosis, Flow Cytometry, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S genetics, Bioreactors, Waste Disposal, Fluid, Methane, Nucleic Acids analysis, Nucleic Acids metabolism
- Abstract
Having a tool to monitor the microbial abundances rapidly and to utilize the data to predict the reactor performance would facilitate the operation of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). This study aims to achieve the aforementioned scenario by developing a linear regression model that incorporates a time-lagging mode. The model uses low nucleic acid (LNA) cell numbers and the ratio of high nucleic acid (HNA) to LNA cells as an input data set. First, the model was trained using data sets obtained from a 35 L pilot-scale AnMBR. The model was able to predict the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency and methane production 3.5 days in advance. Subsequent validation of the model using flow cytometry (FCM)-derived data (at time t - 3.5 days) obtained from another biologically independent reactor did not exhibit any substantial difference between predicted and actual measurements of reactor performance at time t . Further cell sorting, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and correlation analysis partly attributed this accurate prediction to HNA genera (e.g., Anaerovibrio and unclassified Bacteroidales) and LNA genera (e.g., Achromobacter , Ochrobactrum , and unclassified Anaerolineae). In summary, our findings suggest that HNA and LNA cell routine enumeration, along with the trained model, can derive a fast approach to predict the AnMBR performance.
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- 2024
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27. Evaluation of protein extraction methods to improve meta-proteomics analysis of treated wastewater biofilms.
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Almulhim F and Hong PY
- Abstract
Metaproteomics can be used to study functionally active biofilm-based bacterial populations in reclaimed water distribution systems, which in turn result in bacterial regrowth that impacts the water quality. However, existing protein extraction methods have differences in their protein recovery and have not been evaluated for their efficacies in reclaimed water biofilm samples. In this study, we first evaluated six different protein extraction methods with diverse chemical and physical properties on a mixture of bacterial cell culture. Based on a weighting scores-based evaluation, the extraction protocols in order of decreasing performance are listed as B-PER > RIPA > PreOmics > SDS > AllPrep > Urea. The highest four optimal methods on cell culture were further tested against treated wastewater non-chlorinated and chlorinated effluent biofilms. In terms of protein yield, our findings showed that RIPA performed the best; however, the highest number of proteins were extracted from SDS and PreOmics. Furthermore, SDS and PreOmics worked best to rupture gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial cell walls. Considering the five evaluation factors, PreOmics obtained highest weighted score, indicating its potential effectiveness in extracting proteins from biofilms. This study provides the first insight into evaluating protein extraction methods to facilitate metaproteomics for complex reclaimed water matrices., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)
- Published
- 2023
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28. Immobilization of BoPAL3 Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase on Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Nylon 6/Chitosan Crosslinked with Dextran Polyaldehyde.
- Author
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Hsieh CY, Hong PY, and Hsieh LS
- Abstract
Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.24) is common in plants and catalyzes the formation of trans -cinnamic acid and ammonia via phenylalanine deamination. Recombinant Bambusa oldhamii BoPAL3 protein expressed in Escherichia coli was immobilized on an electrospun nanofibrous membrane using dextran polyaldehyde as a crosslinker. The immobilized BoPAL3 protein exhibited comparable kinetic properties with the free BoPAL3 protein and could be recycled for six consecutive cycles compared with the free BoPAL3 protein. The residual activity of the immobilized BoPAL3 protein was 84% after 30 days of storage at 4 °C, whereas the free BoPAL3 protein retained 56% residual activity in the same storage conditions. Furthermore, the resistance of the immobilized BoPAL3 protein to chemical denaturants was greatly increased. Therefore, the BoPAL3 protein can be immobilized using the natural dextran polyaldehyde crosslinker in place of the conventional chemical crosslinker. Nanofibrous membranes made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), nylon 6, and chitosan (CS) are incredibly stable and useful for future industrial applications.
- Published
- 2023
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29. Determination of exciton binding energy using photocurrent spectroscopy of Ge quantum-dot single-hole transistors under CW pumping.
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Hong PY, Lai CC, Tsai T, Lin HC, George T, Kuo DMT, and Li PW
- Abstract
We reported exciton binding-energy determination using tunneling-current spectroscopy of Germanium (Ge) quantum dot (QD) single-hole transistors (SHTs) operating in the few-hole regime, under 405-1550 nm wavelength (λ) illumination. When the photon energy is smaller than the bandgap energy (1.46 eV) of a 20 nm Ge QD (for instance, λ = 1310 nm and 1550 nm illuminations), there is no change in the peak voltages of tunneling current spectroscopy even when the irradiation power density reaches as high as 10 µW/µm
2 . In contrast, a considerable shift in the first hole-tunneling current peak towards positive VG is induced (ΔVG ≈ 0.08 V at 0.33 nW/µm2 and 0.15 V at 1.4 nW/µm2 ) and even additional photocurrent peaks are created at higher positive VG values (ΔVG ≈ 0.2 V at 10 nW/µm2 irradiation) by illumination at λ = 850 nm (where the photon energy matches the bandgap energy of the 20 nm Ge QD). These experimental observations were further strengthened when Ge-QD SHTs were illuminated by λ = 405 nm lasers at much lower optical-power conditions. The newly-photogenerated current peaks are attributed to the contribution of exciton, biexciton, and positive trion complexes. Furthermore, the exciton binding energy can be determined by analyzing the tunneling current spectra., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)- Published
- 2023
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30. Understanding the role of sorption and biodegradation in the removal of organic micropollutants by membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) with different biofilm thickness.
- Author
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Sanchez-Huerta C, Medina JS, Wang C, Fortunato L, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Bioreactors microbiology, Biofilms, Biodegradation, Environmental, Waste Disposal, Fluid, Acetaminophen
- Abstract
The role of sorption and biodegradation in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) were investigated for the removal of 10 organic micropollutants (OMPs) including endocrine disruptors and pharmaceutical active compounds. The influence of the biofilm thickness on the mechanisms of removal was analyzed via kinetic test at three different stages. At all biofilm stages, biodegradation was demonstrated to dominate the removal of selected OMPs. Higher OMPs rates of removal via biodegradation (K
biol ) were achieved when biofilm increased its thickness from (stage T1) 0.26 mm, to (stage T2) 0.58 mm and (stage T3) 1.03 mm. At stage T1 of biofilm, heterotrophs contribute predominantly to OMPs degradation. Hydrophilic compounds removal (i.e., acetaminophen) continue to be driven by heterotrophic bacteria at the next stages of biofilm thickness. However, for medium hydrophobic neutral and charged OMPs, the combined action of heterotrophic and enriched nitrifying activity at stages T2 and T3 enhanced the overall removal. A degradation pathway based on heterotrophic activity for acetaminophen and combined action of nitrifiers-heterotrophs for estrone was proposed based on identified metabolites. Although biodegradation dominated the removal of most OMPs, sorption was also observed to be essential in the removal of biologically recalcitrant and lipophilic compounds like triclosan. Furthermore, sorption capacity of apolar compound was enhanced as the biofilm thickness grew and increased in EPS protein fraction. Microbial analysis confirmed the higher abundance of nitrifying and denitrifying activity at stage T3 of biofilm, which not only facilitated near complete ammonium removal but also enhanced degradation of OMPs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2023
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31. SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology in an enclosed compound: A 2.5-year survey to identify factors contributing to local community dissemination.
- Author
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Wang T, Wang C, Myshkevych Y, Mantilla-Calderon D, Talley E, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Humans, Communicable Disease Control, RNA, Viral, Retrospective Studies, SARS-CoV-2, Wastewater, Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring, COVID-19 epidemiology
- Abstract
Long-term (>2.5 years) surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater was conducted within an enclosed university compound. This study aims to demonstrate how coupling wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) with meta-data can identify which factors contribute toward the dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 within a local community. Throughout the pandemic, the temporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations were tracked by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and analyzed in the context of the number of positive swab cases, the extent of human movement, and intervention measures. Our findings suggest that during the early phase of the pandemic, when strict lockdown was imposed, the viral titer load in the wastewater remained below detection limits, with <4 positive swab cases reported over a 14-day period in the compound. After the lockdown was lifted and global travel gradually resumed, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was first detected in the wastewater on 12 August 2020 and increased in frequency thereafter, despite high vaccination rates and mandatory face-covering requirements in the community. Accompanied by a combination of the Omicron surge and significant global travel by community members, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in most of the weekly wastewater samples collected in late December 2021 and January 2022. With the cease of mandatory face covering, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in at least two of the four weekly wastewater samples collected from May through August 2022. Retrospective Nanopore sequencing revealed the presence of the Omicron variant in the wastewater with a multitude of amino acid mutations, from which we could infer the likely geographical origins through bioinformatic analysis. This study demonstrated that long-term tracking of the temporal dynamics and sequencing of variants in wastewater would aid in identifying which factors contribute the most to SARS-CoV-2 dissemination within the local community, facilitating an appropriate public health response to control future outbreaks as we now live with endemic SARS-CoV-2., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2023
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32. Impact of electrochemically generated iron on the performance of an anaerobic wastewater treatment process.
- Author
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Hu Z, Hu S, Hong PY, Zhang X, Prodanovic V, Zhang K, Ye L, Deletic A, Yuan Z, and Zheng M
- Abstract
Anaerobic treatment of domestic wastewater has the advantages of lower biomass yield, lower energy demand and higher energy recover over the conventional aerobic treatment process. However, the anaerobic process has the inherent issues of excessive phosphate and sulfide in effluent and superfluous H
2 S and CO2 in biogas. An electrochemical method allowing for in-situ generation of Fe2+ in the anode and hydroxide ion (OH- ) and H2 in the cathode was proposed to overcome the challenges simultaneously. The effect of electrochemically generated iron (e‑iron) on the performance of anaerobic wastewater treatment process was explored with four different dosages in this work. The results showed that compared to control, the experimental system displayed an increase of 13.4-28.4 % in COD removal efficiency, 12.0-21.3 % in CH4 production rate, 79.8-98.5 % in dissolved sulfide reduction, 26.0-96.0 % in phosphate removal efficiency, depending on the e‑iron dosage between 40 and 200 mg Fe/L. Dosing of the e‑iron significantly upgraded the quality of produced biogas, showing a much lower CO2 and H2 S contents in biogas in experimental reactor than that in control reactor. The results thus demonstrated that e‑iron can significantly improve the performance of anaerobic wastewater treatment process, bringing multiple benefits with the increase of its dosage regarding effluent and biogas quality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2023
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33. Growth dynamics and transcriptional responses of a Red Sea Prochlorococcus strain to varying temperatures.
- Author
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Labban A, Shibl AA, Calleja ML, Hong PY, and Morán XAG
- Subjects
- Indian Ocean, Temperature, Carbon, Cell Size, Prochlorococcus genetics
- Abstract
Prochlorococcus play a crucial role in the ocean's biogeochemical cycling, but it remains controversial how they will respond to global warming. Here we assessed the response to temperature (22-30°C) of the growth dynamics and gene expression profiles of a Red Sea Prochlorococcus strain (RSP50) in a non-axenic culture. Both the specific growth rate (0.55-0.80 day
-1 ) and cell size (0.04-0.07 μm3 ) of Prochlorococcus increased significantly with temperature. The primary production released extracellularly ranged from 20% to 34%, with humic-like fluorescent compounds increasing up to fivefold as Prochlorococcus reached its maximum abundance. At 30°C, genes involved in carbon fixation such as CsoS2 and CsoS3 and photosynthetic electron transport including PTOX were downregulated, suggesting a cellular homeostasis and energy saving mechanism response. In contrast, PTOX was found upregulated at 22°C and 24°C. Similar results were found for transaldolase, related to carbon metabolism, and citrate synthase, an important enzyme in the TCA cycle. Our data suggest that in spite of the currently warm temperatures of the Red Sea, Prochlorococcus can modulate its gene expression profiles to permit growth at temperatures lower than its optimum temperature (28°C) but is unable to cope with temperatures exceeding 30°C., (© 2022 Applied Microbiology International and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)- Published
- 2023
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34. Novel Use of a Ferric Salt to Enhance Mainstream Nitrogen Removal from Anaerobically Pretreated Wastewater.
- Author
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Hu Z, Hu S, Ye L, Duan H, Wu Z, Hong PY, Yuan Z, and Zheng M
- Subjects
- Denitrification, Nitrogen, Anaerobiosis, Bioreactors microbiology, Oxidation-Reduction, Wastewater, Sewage microbiology
- Abstract
This study aims to demonstrate a new technology roadmap to support the ongoing paradigm shift in wastewater management from pollutant removal to resource recovery. This is achieved by developing a novel use of an iron salt (i.e., FeCl
3 ) in an integrated anaerobic wastewater treatment and mainstream anammox process. FeCl3 was chosen to be dosed in a proposed sidestream unit rather than in a primary settler or a mainstream reactor. This causes acidification of returned activated sludge and enables stable suppression of nitrite-oxidizing bacterial activity and excess sludge reduction. A laboratory-scale system, which comprised an anaerobic baffled reactor, a continuous-flow anoxic-aerobic (A/O) reactor, and a secondary settler, was designed to treat real domestic wastewater, with the performance of the system comprehensively monitored under a steady-state condition. The experimental assessments showed that the system had good effluent quality, with total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of 12.6 ± 1.3 mg N/L and 0.34 ± 0.05 mg P/L, respectively. It efficiently retained phosphorus in excess sludge (0.18 ± 0.03 g P/g dry sludge), suggesting its potential for further recovery. About half of influent organic carbon was recovered in the form of bioenergy (i.e., methane). This together with low energy consumption revealed that the system could produce a net energy of about 0.11 kWh/m3 -wastewater, assessed by an energy balance analysis.- Published
- 2023
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35. Efficient in planta production of amidated antimicrobial peptides that are active against drug-resistant ESKAPE pathogens.
- Author
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Chaudhary S, Ali Z, Tehseen M, Haney EF, Pantoja-Angles A, Alshehri S, Wang T, Clancy GJ, Ayach M, Hauser C, Hong PY, Hamdan SM, Hancock REW, and Mahfouz M
- Subjects
- Animals, Anti-Bacterial Agents biosynthesis, Anti-Bacterial Agents pharmacology, Mammals, Plants, Nicotiana chemistry, Nicotiana genetics, Drug Resistance, Bacterial drug effects, Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides biosynthesis, Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides pharmacology, Antimicrobial Peptides biosynthesis
- Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising next-generation antibiotics that can be used to combat drug-resistant pathogens. However, the high cost involved in AMP synthesis and their short plasma half-life render their clinical translation a challenge. To address these shortcomings, we report efficient production of bioactive amidated AMPs by transient expression of glycine-extended AMPs in Nicotiana benthamiana line expressing the mammalian enzyme peptidylglycine α-amidating mono-oxygenase (PAM). Cationic AMPs accumulate to substantial levels in PAM transgenic plants compare to nontransgenic N. benthamiana. Moreover, AMPs purified from plants exhibit robust killing activity against six highly virulent and antibiotic resistant ESKAPE pathogens, prevent their biofilm formation, analogous to their synthetic counterparts and synergize with antibiotics. We also perform a base case techno-economic analysis of our platform, demonstrating the potential economic advantages and scalability for industrial use. Taken together, our experimental data and techno-economic analysis demonstrate the potential use of plant chassis for large-scale production of clinical-grade AMPs., (© 2023. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2023
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36. Nitrification potential of daily-watered biofiltration designs for high ammonium wastewater treatment.
- Author
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Prodanovic V, Zhang K, Zheng M, Hu S, Hong PY, Yuan Z, and Deletic A
- Subjects
- Nitrification, Denitrification, Nitrogen Dioxide, Bioreactors microbiology, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Oxidation-Reduction, Ammonium Compounds, Water Purification
- Abstract
The vegetated biofiltration systems (VBS), also known as bioretentions or rain gardens, are well-established technology for treatment of urban stormwater and recently greywater, offering multiple benefits to urban environments. However, the impact of high ammonium strength wastewater (60 mg/L) on the nitrification process in these systems is not well understood. Hence, a laboratory-based column study was conducted to uncover dominant nitrification mechanisms, based on the learnings from similar onsite wastewater treatment systems. The experimental columns tested the effect of contact time (filter media depth, 150 mm, 300 mm and 700 mm), media oxygenation (active and passive) and alkalinity/pH (marble chips 5 % weight), as well as optimal operational conditions (inflow loading, concentrations, and dissolved oxygen (DO)). All nitrogen species (NH
4 + , NO3 - , NO2 - ), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and physical parameters (DO, pH, electrical conductivity) were monitored across seven events over thirteen weeks. The results show that dosing with 30 and 60 mg/L of NH4 + resulted in 700 mm sand column depth to perform almost complete nitrification of NH4 + to NO3 - (< 90 %), while 300 mm designs achieved partial nitrification of NH4 + to NO2 - , likely due to limited contact time and inefficient nitrite oxidizing bacteria activity. Nitrification potential of all designs further supported that appropriate aerobic contact time is necessary for effective nitrification. Inflow concentration of NH4 + and DO did not significantly impact nitrification performance, while reducing daily volume loading reduced NO3 - and NO2 - leaching. Active and passive aeration and alkalinity buffering did not positively affect ammonium removal. While there is a potential to apply both nitrification-denitrification and anammox processes to future VBS design, further understanding of aeration and alkalinity on microbially driven nitrification processes is needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2023
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37. Biomass generation and heterologous isoprenoid milking from engineered microalgae grown in anaerobic membrane bioreactor effluent.
- Author
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de Freitas BB, Overmans S, Medina JS, Hong PY, and Lauersen KJ
- Subjects
- Anaerobiosis, Carbon Dioxide, Biomass, Terpenes, Bioreactors microbiology, Methane, Waste Disposal, Fluid, Microalgae
- Abstract
Wastewater (WW) treatment in anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) is considered more sustainable than in aerobic reactors. However, outputs from AnMBR are a mixed methane and carbon dioxide gas stream as well as ammonium- (N) and phosphate- (P) containing waters. Using AnMBR outputs as inputs for photoautotrophic algal cultivation can strip the CO
2 while removing N and P from effluent which feed algal biomass generation. Recent advances in algal engineering have generated strains that produce high-value side products concomitant with biomass, although only shown in heavily domesticated, lab-adapted strains. Here, it was investigated whether engineered Chlamydomonas reinhardtii could be grown directly in AnMBR effluent with CO2 concentrations found in AnMBR off-gas. The strain was found to proliferate over bacteria in the non-sterile effluent, consume N and P to levels that meet general discharge or reuse limits, and tolerate cultivation in modelled (extreme) outdoor environmental conditions prevalent along the central Red Sea coast. In addition to ∼2.4 g CDW L-1 biomass production in 96 h, a high-value heterologous sesquiterpene co-product could be obtained from 'milking' up to 837 µg L-1 culture in 96 h. This is the first demonstration of a combined bio-process that employs a heavily engineered algal strain to enhance the product generation potentials from AnMBR effluent treatment. This study shows it is possible to convert waste into value through use of engineered algae while also improving wastewater treatment economics through co-product generation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2023
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38. Case series: Montgomery T-tube placement for subglottic tracheal stenosis: a report of 3 cases.
- Author
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Hong PY, Huang MH, Zhan FF, Lin YL, Qiu SZ, and Zhang XB
- Subjects
- Humans, Trachea surgery, Constriction, Pathologic complications, Acute Disease, Intubation, Intratracheal adverse effects, Postoperative Complications, Tracheal Stenosis etiology, Tracheal Stenosis surgery, Pancreatitis complications, Laryngostenosis etiology
- Abstract
Rationale: Subglottic tracheal stenosis is stenosis of the trachea between the vocal cords and the lower margin of the cricoid cartilage. The Montgomery T-tube is used as a tracheostomy tube and a combined tracheal stent to avoid postoperative tracheal stenosis., Patient Concerns: Because the stenosis is close to the glottis, surgical treatment is complex, and many complications may arise., Diagnoses: Subglottic tracheal stenosis., Interventions: The patients underwent endotracheal intubation or tracheotomy because of acute pancreatitis, laryngeal malignancy, or cerebral hemorrhage after endotracheal intubation or tracheotomy and presented with varying degrees of tracheal stenosis and dyspnea. We relieved airway stenosis and improved dyspnea in these 3 patients by placing a Montgomery T-tube., Outcomes: None of the 3 patients had intraoperative complications. In 2 of the cases, airway secretions were stored after surgery., Lessons: Montgomery T-tube placement is safe and effective for patients with complex subglottic tracheal stenosis., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
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39. Gorham-Stout syndrome: A chylothorax disease with bony destruction: A case report.
- Author
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Hong PY, Zhang XB, Zeng HQ, Zhao YL, and Huang MH
- Subjects
- Male, Humans, Aged, Zoledronic Acid therapeutic use, Vena Cava, Superior, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, Chylothorax diagnostic imaging, Chylothorax etiology, Chylothorax therapy, Osteolysis, Essential complications, Osteolysis, Essential diagnostic imaging, Osteolysis
- Abstract
Rationale: Gorham-Stout syndrome is a sporadic condition characterized by a tumor-like lesion with extensive osteolysis, severe symptoms, and a poor prognosis. Poor prognostic indicators include osteolytic lesions of the spine and pleura effusion., Patient Concerns: A 67-year-old Chinese man with five months history of chest tightness presented to our institution with aggravated shortness of breath. Ultrasonography demonstrated hydrothorax on the right side. The patient's imaging studies (computerized tomography [CT] scan, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography [PET]/CT) revealed osteolytic lesions (the skull, several spines, several ribs, both shoulder blades, and the pelvis)., Diagnoses: Gorham-Stout syndrome. (4) Interventions: We advised the patient to follow a low-fat diet. On the patient, we performed a superior vena cava angiography. The injection of zoledronic acid was used to prevent bone loss., Outcomes: We found resolution of chylothorax after a low-fat diet, superior vena cava angiography and injection of zoledronic acid., Lessons: The possibility of Gorham -Stout syndrome should be ruled out in patients with clinical chylothorax. The relief of chylothorax requires comprehensive treatment., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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40. Investigation of Antibiotic Resistome in Hospital Wastewater during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Is the Initial Phase of the Pandemic Contributing to Antimicrobial Resistance?
- Author
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Wang C, Mantilla-Calderon D, Xiong Y, Alkahtani M, Bashawri YM, Al Qarni H, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Humans, Wastewater, Pandemics, Genes, Bacterial, Drug Resistance, Bacterial genetics, Hospitals, Anti-Bacterial Agents pharmacology, COVID-19
- Abstract
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, there has been much speculation about how COVID-19 and antimicrobial resistance may be interconnected. In this study, untreated wastewater was sampled from Hospital A designated to treat COVID-19 patients during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside Hospital B that did not receive any COVID-19 patients. Metagenomics was used to determine the relative abundance and mobile potential of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs), prior to determining the correlation of ARGs with time/incidence of COVID-19. Our findings showed that ARGs resistant to macrolides, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines were positively correlated with time in Hospital A but not in Hospital B. Likewise, minor extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and carbapenemases of classes B and D were positively correlated with time, suggesting the selection of rare and/or carbapenem-resistant genes in Hospital A. Non-carbapenemase bla
VEB also positively correlated with both time and intI1 and was copresent with other ARGs including carbapenem-resistant genes in 6 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). This study highlighted concerns related to the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) during the COVID-19 pandemic that may arise from antibiotic use and untreated hospital wastewater.- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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41. Electrochemical iron production to enhance anaerobic membrane treatment of wastewater.
- Author
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Hu Z, Zheng M, Hu S, Hong PY, Zhang X, Prodanovic V, Zhang K, Pikaar I, Ye L, Deletic A, and Yuan Z
- Subjects
- Wastewater chemistry, Waste Disposal, Fluid methods, Iron chemistry, Sewage chemistry, Bioreactors, Anaerobiosis, Biofuels, Chlorides, Salts, Phosphorus, Sulfides, Methane, Hydrogen Sulfide, Caustics
- Abstract
Although iron salts such as iron(III) chloride (FeCl
3 ) have widespread application in wastewater treatment, safety concerns limit their use, due to the corrosive nature of concentrated solutions. This study demonstrates that local, electrochemical generation of iron is a viable alternative to the use of iron salts. Three laboratory systems with anaerobic membrane processes were set up to treat real wastewater; two systems used the production of either in-situ or ex-situ electrochemical iron (as Fe2+ and Fe2+ (Fe3+ )2 O4 , respectively), while the other system served as a control. These systems were operated for over one year to assess the impact of electrochemically produced iron on system performance. The results showed that dosing of electrochemical iron significantly reduced sulfide concentration in effluent and hydrogen sulfide content in biogas, and mitigated organics-based membrane fouling, all of which are critical issues inherently related to sustainability of anaerobic wastewater treatment. The electrochemical iron strategy can generate multiple benefits for wastewater management including increased removal efficiencies for total and volatile suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand and phosphorus. The rate of methane production also increased with electrochemically produced iron. Economic analysis revealed the viability of electrochemical iron with total cost reduced by one quarter to a third compared with using FeCl3 . These benefits indicate that electrochemical iron dosing can greatly enhance the overall operation and performance of anaerobic membrane processes, and this particularly facilitates wastewater management in a decentralized scenario., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2022
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42. Insights into the microbial life in silica-rich subterranean environments: microbial communities and ecological interactions in an orthoquartzite cave (Imawarì Yeuta, Auyan Tepui, Venezuela).
- Author
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Ghezzi D, Foschi L, Firrincieli A, Hong PY, Vergara F, De Waele J, Sauro F, and Cappelletti M
- Abstract
Microbial communities inhabiting caves in quartz-rich rocks are still underexplored, despite their possible role in the silica cycle. The world's longest orthoquartzite cave, Imawarì Yeuta, represents a perfect arena for the investigation of the interactions between microorganisms and silica in non-thermal environments due to the presence of extraordinary amounts of amorphous silica speleothems of different kinds. In this work, the microbial diversity of Imawarì Yeuta was dissected by analyzing nineteen samples collected from different locations representative of different silica amorphization phases and types of samples. Specifically, we investigated the major ecological patterns in cave biodiversity, specific taxa enrichment, and the main ecological clusters through co-occurrence network analysis. Water content greatly contributed to the microbial communities' composition and structures in the cave leading to the sample clustering into three groups DRY, WET, and WATER. Each of these groups was enriched in members of Actinobacteriota , Acidobacteriota , and Gammaproteobacteria , respectively. Alpha diversity analysis showed the highest value of diversity and richness for the WET samples, while the DRY group had the lowest. This was accompanied by the presence of correlation patterns including either orders belonging to various phyla from WET samples or orders belonging to the Actinobacteriota and Firmicutes phyla from DRY group samples. The phylogenetic analysis of the dominant species in WET and DRY samples showed that Acidobacteriota and Actinobacteriota strains were affiliated with uncultured bacteria retrieved from various oligotrophic and silica/quartz-rich environments, not only associated with subterranean sites. Our results suggest that the water content greatly contributes to shaping the microbial diversity within a subterranean quartzite environment. Further, the phylogenetic affiliation between Imawarì Yeuta dominant microbes and reference strains retrieved from both surface and subsurface silica- and/or CO
2 /CO-rich environments, underlines the selective pressure applied by quartz as rock substrate. Oligotrophy probably in association with the geochemistry of silica/quartz low pH buffering activity and alternative energy sources led to the colonization of specific silica-associated microorganisms. This study provides clues for a better comprehension of the poorly known microbial life in subsurface and surface quartz-dominated environments., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ghezzi, Foschi, Firrincieli, Hong, Vergara, De Waele, Sauro and Cappelletti.)- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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43. Use of low molecular weight heparin and hemoglobin fall in COVID-19 patients: A STROBE-compliant study.
- Author
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Hong PY, Huang MH, Hu AK, Lai YT, Zeng HQ, and Zhang XB
- Subjects
- Anticoagulants therapeutic use, Cytokines, Hemoglobins, Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight therapeutic use, Humans, Pneumonia drug therapy, COVID-19 Drug Treatment
- Abstract
In patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), anticoagulation was suggested as a mitigating strategy. However, little research has been conducted on the adverse consequences of anticoagulant medication. This study aimed to investigate the adverse effect of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) on hemoglobin fall in COVID-19 treatment. The electronic medical records of COVID-19 patients with pneumonia were collected (including clinical characteristics, vaccination status, complete blood count, coagulation profile, inflammatory cytokines, serum biochemical indicators, and computerized tomography imaging score). Whether they received LMWH, patients were divided into the LMWH group and the control group. Count data were represented as frequency distribution, and a 2-tailed test was used to compare the 2 groups. Spearman rank correlation was used to evaluate the interrelation between changes in hemoglobin and LMWH. The confounding factors were excluded by logistic regression analysis. A total of 179 COVID-19 pneumonia patients were enrolled (81 in the LMWH group and 98 in the control group). The change in hemoglobin was -6.0g/L (IQR -10.8 to 1.0) in the LMWH group and -2.0g/L (IQR -7.0 to 4.0) in the control group (P < .001, between-group difference, -5.0 g/L; 95% confidence interval, -7.0 to -3.0, calculated with the use of the Mann-Whitney U test and the Hodges-Lehmann estimate of confidence intervals for pseudo-medians). The results of multivariate regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, LMWH use was not associated with a decrease in hemoglobin (P > .05). In nonsevere COVID-19 patients with pneumonia, the preventive use of LMWH did not lower hemoglobin., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)
- Published
- 2022
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44. Influence of biofilm thickness on the removal of thirteen different organic micropollutants via a Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR).
- Author
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Sanchez-Huerta C, Fortunato L, Leiknes T, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Bacteria, Biofilms, Humans, Nitrification, Waste Disposal, Fluid methods, Water, Bioreactors microbiology, Wastewater chemistry
- Abstract
The presence of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in natural water bodies has become an emerging concern due to their fast dissemination into natural water sources, high persistence, ubiquitous nature, and detrimental impact on the environment and human health. This study evaluated the Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) efficiency in the removal of 13 OMPs commonly reported in water. Results demonstrated that OMPs removal is dependent on biofilm thickness and bacterial cell density, microbial community composition and physicochemical properties of OMPs. Effective removals of ammonium and organic carbon (COD, >50%), acetaminophen (70%) and triclosan (99%) were obtained even at early stages of biofilm development (thickness < 0.33 mm, 2.9 ×10
5 cell mL-1 ). An increase in biofilm thickness and cell density (1.02 mm, 2.2 ×106 cell mL-1 ) enhanced the system performance. MABR achieved over 90% removal of nonpolar, hydrophobic and hydrophilic OMPs and 22-69% removal of negatively charged and acidic OMPs. Relative abundances of Zoogloea, Aquabacterium, Leucobacter, Runella, and Paludilbaculum bacteria correlated with the removal of certain OMPs. In addition, MABR achieved up to 96% nitrification and 80% overall COD removal by the end of the experiment. The findings from this study demonstrated MABRs to be a feasible option to treat municipal wastewater polluted by OMPs., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Digital E. coli Counter: A Microfluidics and Computer Vision-Based DNAzyme Method for the Isolation and Specific Detection of E. coli from Water Samples.
- Author
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Rauf S, Tashkandi N, de Oliveira Filho JI, Oviedo-Osornio CI, Danish MS, Hong PY, and Salama KN
- Subjects
- Computers, Escherichia coli genetics, Fluorescent Dyes chemistry, Microfluidics, DNA, Catalytic
- Abstract
Biological water contamination detection-based assays are essential to test water quality; however, these assays are prone to false-positive results and inaccuracies, are time-consuming, and use complicated procedures to test large water samples. Herein, we show a simple detection and counting method for E. coli in the water samples involving a combination of DNAzyme sensor, microfluidics, and computer vision strategies. We first isolated E. coli into individual droplets containing a DNAzyme mixture using droplet microfluidics. Upon bacterial cell lysis by heating, the DNAzyme mixture reacted with a particular substrate present in the crude intracellular material (CIM) of E. coli . This event triggers the dissociation of the fluorophore-quencher pair present in the DNAzyme mixture leading to a fluorescence signal, indicating the presence of E. coli in the droplets. We developed an algorithm using computer vision to analyze the fluorescent droplets containing E. coli in the presence of non-fluorescent droplets. The algorithm can detect and count fluorescent droplets representing the number of E. coli present in the sample. Finally, we show that the developed method is highly specific to detect and count E. coli in the presence of other bacteria present in the water sample.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. Recent Update on UV Disinfection to Fulfill the Disinfection Credit Value for Enteric Viruses in Water.
- Author
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Augsburger N, Rachmadi AT, Zaouri N, Lee Y, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Disinfection, Humans, Hydrogen Peroxide, Ultraviolet Rays, Virus Inactivation, Water, Viruses, Water Purification
- Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation alone or in combination with other oxidation processes is increasingly being considered for water disinfection because of stringent regulatory requirements for pathogen inactivation. To fulfill this requirement, an appropriate UV dose or fluence (mJ/cm
2 ) is applied to combat enteric viruses in surface or treated water. There is a need for a cumulative review on the effectiveness of current and emerging UV technologies against various types of human enteric viruses. We extracted the kinetics data from 52 selected experimental studies on enteric virus inactivation using low pressure (LP-UV), medium pressure (MP-UV), UV-LED, and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and applied a simple linear regression analysis to calculate the range of UV fluence (mJ/cm2 ) needed for 4-log10 inactivation. The inactivation of adenoviruses with LP-UV, MP-UV, and UV/H2 O2 (10 mg/L) required the highest fluence, which ranged from 159 to 337, 45, and 115 mJ/cm2 , respectively. By contrast, when using LP-UV, the inactivation of other enteric viruses, such as the Caliciviridae and Picornaviridae family and rotavirus, required fluence that ranged from 19 to 69, 18 to 43, and 38 mJ/cm2 , respectively. ssRNA viruses exhibit higher sensitivity to UV radiation than dsRNA and DNA viruses. In general, as an upgrade to LP-UV, MP-UV is a more promising strategy for eliminating enteric viruses compared to AOP involving LP-UV with added H2 O2 or TiO2 . The UV-LED technology showed potential because a lower UV fluence (at 260 and/or 280 nm wavelength) was required for 4-log10 inactivation compared to that of LP-UV for most strains examined in this critical review. However, more studies evaluating the inactivation of enteric viruses by means of UV-LEDs and UV-AOP are needed to ascertain these observations.- Published
- 2021
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47. Production of Trans -Cinnamic Acid by Immobilization of the Bambusa oldhamii BoPAL1 and BoPAL2 Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyases on Electrospun Nanofibers.
- Author
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Hong PY, Huang YH, Lim GCW, Chen YP, Hsiao CJ, Chen LH, Ciou JY, and Hsieh LS
- Subjects
- Plant Proteins metabolism, Recombinant Proteins metabolism, Bambusa enzymology, Cinnamates metabolism, Enzymes, Immobilized metabolism, Nanofibers chemistry, Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase metabolism
- Abstract
Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) catalyzes the nonoxidative deamination of phenylalanine to yield trans -cinnamic acid and ammonia. Recombinant Bambusa oldhamii BoPAL1/2 proteins were immobilized onto electrospun nanofibers by dextran polyaldehyde as a cross-linking agent. A central composite design (CCD)-response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized to optimize the electrospinning parameters. Escherichia coli expressed eBoPAL2 exhibited the highest catalytic efficiency among four enzymes. The optimum conditions for fabricating nanofibers were determined as follows: flow rate of 0.10 mL/h, voltage of 13.8 kV, and distance of 13 cm. The response surface models were used to obtain the smaller the fiber diameters as well as the highest PAL activity in the enzyme immobilization. Compared with free BoPALs, immobilized BoPALs can be reused for at least 6 consecutive cycles. The remained activity of the immobilized BoPAL proteins after storage at 4 °C for 30 days were between 75 and 83%. In addition, the tolerance against denaturants of the immobilized BoPAL proteins were significantly enhanced. As a result, the dextran polyaldehyde natural cross-linking agent can effectively replace traditional chemical cross-linking agents for the immobilization of the BoPAL enzymes. The PAL/nylon 6/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/chitosan (CS) nanofibers made are extremely stable and are practical for industrial applications in the future.
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
48. Germanium Quantum-Dot Array with Self-Aligned Electrodes for Quantum Electronic Devices.
- Author
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Wang IH, Hong PY, Peng KP, Lin HC, George T, and Li PW
- Abstract
Semiconductor-based quantum registers require scalable quantum-dots (QDs) to be accurately located in close proximity to and independently addressable by external electrodes. Si-based QD qubits have been realized in various lithographically-defined Si/SiGe heterostructures and validated only for milli-Kelvin temperature operation. QD qubits have recently been explored in germanium (Ge) materials systems that are envisaged to operate at higher temperatures, relax lithographic-fabrication requirements, and scale up to large quantum systems. We report the unique scalability and tunability of Ge spherical-shaped QDs that are controllably located, closely coupled between each another, and self-aligned with control electrodes, using a coordinated combination of lithographic patterning and self-assembled growth. The core experimental design is based on the thermal oxidation of poly-SiGe spacer islands located at each sidewall corner or included-angle location of Si
3 N4 /Si-ridges with specially designed fanout structures. Multiple Ge QDs with good tunability in QD sizes and self-aligned electrodes were controllably achieved. Spherical-shaped Ge QDs are closely coupled to each other via coupling barriers of Si3 N4 spacer layers/c-Si that are electrically tunable via self-aligned poly-Si or polycide electrodes. Our ability to place size-tunable spherical Ge QDs at any desired location, therefore, offers a large parameter space within which to design novel quantum electronic devices.- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
49. UV and bacteriophages as a chemical-free approach for cleaning membranes from anaerobic bioreactors.
- Author
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Scarascia G, Fortunato L, Myshkevych Y, Cheng H, Leiknes T, and Hong PY
- Subjects
- Anaerobiosis, Bacteria virology, Biofilms radiation effects, Membranes radiation effects, Membranes virology, Wastewater chemistry, Bacteriophages physiology, Biofilms growth & development, Biofouling prevention & control, Bioreactors microbiology, Membranes chemistry, Ultraviolet Rays, Water Purification methods
- Abstract
Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) for wastewater treatment has attracted much interest due to its efficacy in providing high-quality effluent with minimal energy costs. However, membrane biofouling represents the main bottleneck for AnMBR because it diminishes flux and necessitates frequent replacement of membranes. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of combining bacteriophages and UV-C irradiation to provide a chemical-free approach to remove biofoulants on the membrane. The combination of bacteriophage and UV-C resulted in better log cells removal and ca. 2× higher extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) concentration reduction in mature biofoulants compared to either UV-C or bacteriophage alone. The cleaning mechanism behind this combined approach is by 1) reducing the relative abundance of Acinetobacter spp. and selected bacteria (e.g., Paludibacter , Pseudomonas , Cloacibacterium , and gram-positive Firmicutes) associated with the membrane biofilm and 2) forming cavities in the biofilm to maintain water flux through the membrane. When the combined treatment was further compared with the common chemical cleaning procedure, a similar reduction on the cell numbers was observed (1.4 log). However, the combined treatment was less effective in removing EPS compared with chemical cleaning. These results suggest that the combination of UV-C and bacteriophage have an additive effect in biofouling reduction, representing a potential chemical-free method to remove reversible biofoulants on membrane fitted to an AnMBR., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
50. Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) for SUD recovery: A promising practice innovation to combat the opioid crisis.
- Author
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P Hong PY, Kim SH, Marley J, and Park JH
- Subjects
- Employment, Humans, Opioid Epidemic, Substance-Related Disorders therapy
- Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the psychological self-sufficiency (PSS) process among low-income individuals participating in the Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program and explore the implications of TIP as a SUD recovery intervention. A sample of 622 individuals from 9 local job training programs in a large Midwestern city was used to examine the group differences in substance abuse barrier and employment hope as they relates to economic self-sufficiency (ESS). Individuals in the TIP program (n = 315) had statistically significant path coefficients between substance abuse barriers, employment hope and ESS while the non-TIP counterpart (n = 307) showed a significant path only between employment hope and ESS. Also, the time difference score in substance abuse barrier and ESS was greater for the TIP group compared to the non-TIP comparison group. Results provide implications for social work practice among persons with SUDs. While the traditional employment programs focused only on the interview and job skills, TIP allowed participants to discover their resources to address the inner obstacles that have been holding them back. TIP could serve as a promising model to treat SUDs and support the recovery process.
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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