1
|
Tsai CH, Chen TS, Lai MC, Huang CW. Unilateral non-lesional temporal lobe epilepsy presenting as isolated ictal vertigo: a case report. J Int Med Res 2023; 51:3000605231187801. [PMID: 37548224 PMCID: PMC10408343 DOI: 10.1177/03000605231187801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Temporal lobe epilepsy is the most common focal epilepsy syndrome and has a broad spectrum of presentations. Nevertheless, isolated vestibular symptoms without other symptoms typical of temporal lobe seizures are relatively rare. Here, we report one female patient who suffered from chronic refractory vertigo and had inappropriate pharmacotherapy for several years. Eventually, epileptic vertigo and dizziness (ictal vertigo) were accurately diagnosed by detailed history taking and serial examinations assisted by sphenoid electroencephalography. Awareness of this unique syndrome is important in the diagnosis of patients with epileptic vertigo and dizziness.
Collapse
|
2
|
Tsai CH, Lin YH, Li YS, Ho TL, Hoai Thuong LH, Liu YH. Integrated Medicine for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22179257. [PMID: 34502166 PMCID: PMC8430591 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common side effect of typical chemotherapeutics among cancer survivors. Despite the recent progress, the effective prevention and treatment strategies for CIPN remain limited. Better understanding of the pathogenesis of CIPN may provide new niches for developing a new ideal therapeutic strategy. This review summarizes the current understanding of CIPN and current recommendations along with completed/active clinical trials and aims to foster translational research to improve the development of effective strategies for managing CIPN.
Collapse
|
3
|
Tsai CH, Huang CC, Ho CC, Claretti M. Echocardiographic parameters and indices in 23 healthy Maltese dogs. J Vet Sci 2021; 22:e60. [PMID: 34423598 PMCID: PMC8460461 DOI: 10.4142/jvs.2021.22.e60] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Echocardiography is a primary tool used by veterinarians to evaluate heart diseases. In recent years, various studies have targeted standard echocardiographic values for different breeds. Reference data are currently lacking in Maltese dogs and it is important to fill this gap as this breed is predisposed to myxomatous mitral valve disease, which is a volume overload disease. OBJECTIVES To establish the normal echocardiographic parameters for Maltese dogs. METHODS In total, 23 healthy Maltese dogs were involved in this study. Blood pressure measurements, thoracic radiography, and complete transthoracic echocardiography were performed. The effects of body weight, age and sex were evaluated, and the correlations between weight and linear and volumetric dimensions were calculated by regression analysis. RESULTS The mean vertebral heart size was 9.1 ± 0.4. Aside from the ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and the left atrial to aorta root ratio, all the other echocardiographic parameters were significantly correlated with weight. CONCLUSION This study describes normal echocardiographic parameters that may be useful in the echocardiographic evaluation of Maltese dogs.
Collapse
|
4
|
Kumar S, Tsai CH, Fu YP. A multifunctional Ni-doped iron pyrite/reduced graphene oxide composite as an efficient counter electrode for DSSCs and as a non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide electrochemical sensor. Dalton Trans 2020; 49:8516-8527. [PMID: 32525193 DOI: 10.1039/d0dt01231a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Nickel-doped FeS2/rGO composites were synthesized as multifunctional materials via a facile hydrothermal method. The synthesized materials were characterized with XRD, FESEM, XPS, and TEM-SAED for structural, morphological and chemical studies. To study their electrochemical properties, all the synthesized composites were subjected to cyclic voltammetry tests. The optimum composite revealed high catalytic activity with high peak current density, limiting current, and efficiency of 7.60% for DSSC, which surpassed that of a platinum-based counter electrode (6.69%). The efficiency of the DSSC was significantly supported by interfacial studies and electron lifetime studies, and it exhibited lower charge transfer resistance and higher electron lifetime, respectively. Moreover, the fabricated DSSCs with high efficiency were subjected to transient photo-response studies and showed a stable current response with multiple photo-ON and OFF cycles for a period of 600 s. To broaden the application of the synthesized material, it was used as an electrochemical sensor for the efficient sensing of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The sensing electrode was modified with the optimum Ni-doped FeS2/rGO composite, and voltammetric detection was carried out in the hydrogen peroxide concentration range of 4-100 μM. Thus, the synthesized material can be applied in DSSCs and as an electrochemical H2O2 sensor.
Collapse
|
5
|
Yu YH, Wang WS, Hu YC, Lin XY, Tsai CH, Shih CJ, Huang WC, Peng SM, Lee GH. A frontier Zn- and N-rich complex grafted onto reduced graphene oxide for the electrocatalysis of dye-sensitized solar cells. Dalton Trans 2020; 49:9035-9047. [DOI: 10.1039/d0dt01191f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
A soluble small molecule nitrogen-rich zinc-organic framework for a graphene-based high-efficiency electrocatalytic electrode.
Collapse
|
6
|
Chen SG, Tsai CH, Lin CJ, Lee CC, Yu HY, Hsieh TH, Liu HL. Transcranial focused ultrasound pulsation suppresses pentylenetetrazol induced epilepsy in vivo. Brain Stimul 2019; 13:35-46. [PMID: 31575487 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2019.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by abnormal neuron discharge, and one-third of epilepsy patients suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). The current management for DRE includes epileptogenic lesion resection, disconnection, and neuromodulation. Neuromodulation is achieved through invasive electrical stimulus including deep brain stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, or responsive neurostimulation (RNS). As an alternative therapy, transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) can transcranially and non-invasively modulate neuron activity. OBJECTIVE This study seeks to verify the use of FUS pulsations to suppress spikes in an acute epileptic small-animal model, and to investigate possible biological mechanisms by which FUS pulsations interfere with epileptic neuronal activity. METHODS The study used a total of 76 Sprague-Dawley rats. For the epilepsy model, rats were administered pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) to induce acute epileptic-like abnormal neuron discharges, followed by FUS exposure. Various ultrasound parameters were set to test the epilepsy-suppressing effect, while concurrently monitoring and analyzing electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Animal behavior was monitored and histological examinations were conducted to evaluate the hazard posed by ultrasound exposure and the expression of neuronal activity markers. Western blotting was used to evaluate the correlation between FUS-induced epileptic suppression and the PI3K-mTOR signaling pathway. RESULTS We observed that FUS pulsations effectively suppressed epileptic activity and observed EEG spectrum oscillations; the spike-suppressing effect depended on the selection of ultrasound parameters and highly correlated with FUS exposure level. Expression level changes of c-Fos and GAD65 were confirmed in the cortex and hippocampus, indicating that FUS pulsations deactivated excitatory cells and activated GABAergic terminals. No tissue damage, inflammatory response, or behavioral abnormalities were observed in rats treated with FUS under these exposure parameters. We also found that the FUS pulsations down-regulated the S6 phosphorylation and decreased pAKT expression. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that pulsed FUS exposure effectively suppresses epileptic spikes in an acute epilepsy animal model, and finds that ultrasound pulsation interferes with neuronal activity and affects the PTZ-induced PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway, which might help explain the mechanism underlying ultrasound-related epileptic spike control.
Collapse
|
7
|
Lin CY, Tsai CH, Feng LY, Chai WY, Lin CJ, Huang CY, Wei KC, Yeh CK, Chen CM, Liu HL. Focused ultrasound-induced blood brain-barrier opening enhanced vascular permeability for GDNF delivery in Huntington's disease mouse model. Brain Stimul 2019; 12:1143-1150. [PMID: 31079989 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2019.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the gene encoding the huntingtin (Htt) protein, which results in a protein containing an abnormally expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) sequence. The expanded polyQ in the Htt protein is toxic to brain cells. No therapy exists to delay disease progression. METHODS This study describes a gene-liposome system that synergistically applied focused ultrasound (FUS)-blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening for rescuing motor and neuropathological impairments when administered from pre to post-symptomatic transgenic mouse models of HD. DPPC liposomes (LPs) are designed to carry glia cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) plasmid DNA (GDNFp) to form a GDNFp-liposome (GDNFp-LPs) complex. Pulsed FUS exposure with microbubbles (MBs) was used to induce BBB opening for non-viral, non-invasive, and targeted gene delivery into the central nervous system (CNS) for therapeutic purposes. RESULTS FUS-gene therapy significantly improved motor performance with GDNFp-LPs + FUS treated HD mice equilibrating longer periods in the animal behavior. Reflecting the improvements observed in motor function, GDNF overexpression results in significantly decreased formation of polyglutamine-expanded aggregates, reduced oxidative stress and apoptosis, promoted neurite outgrowth, and improved neuronal survival. Immunoblotting and histological staining further confirmed the neuroprotective effect from delivery of GDNF genes to neuronal cells. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that the GDNFp-LPs plus FUS sonication can provide an effective gene therapy to achieve local extravasation and triggered gene delivery for non-invasive in vivo treatment of CNS diseases.
Collapse
|
8
|
Tsai HC, Tsai CH, Chen WS, Inserra C, Wei KC, Liu HL. Safety evaluation of frequent application of microbubble-enhanced focused ultrasound blood-brain-barrier opening. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17720. [PMID: 30531863 PMCID: PMC6286368 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35677-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Focused ultrasound (FUS) with the presence of microbubbles induces blood brain barrier (BBB) opening in targeted areas and facilitates drug delivery. However, recent studies have indicated that FUS-BBB opening with excessive exposure levels may be associated with inflammatory response and cellular/tissue damage. Multiple weekly FUS exposures have been shown to be safe for human subjects. However the effect of more frequent FUS exposures is still unknown. This study examines whether frequent focused ultrasound blood brain barrier opening is associated with aggravated behavioral, histopathologic change or brain tissue damage. Two protocols of focused ultrasound blood brain barrier opening were devised using different microbubble doses (0.15 µl/kg and 0.4 µl/kg). Focused ultrasound exposure at a threshold level of BBB-opening, below-threshold level, or above level for intracerebral hemorrhage were delivered every 2 days. Animal behavioral and physiological changes were examined and recorded. Brain tissue was examined for hemorrhage and apoptosis. Results indicate that frequent exposure of excessive focused ultrasound (1.4 mechanical index) produced minor and short-term behavioral changes despite significant tissue damage, while frequent BBB opening with threshold or below-threshold FUS exposure (0.33-0.8 mechanical index) did not cause behavioral or histological change. Immunofluorescent examination of rat brain tissue indicated that excessive doses of microbubble administration induce an apparent cellular apoptotic response, which may be exacerbated by intracerebral hemorrhage. Experimental results suggest that frequent focused ultrasound blood brain barrier opening with sufficient ultrasound exposure level and a microbubble dose can be safe and pose minimal risk to brain tissue.
Collapse
|
9
|
Liu HL, Tsai CH, Jan CK, Chang HY, Huang SM, Li ML, Qiu W, Zheng H. Design and Implementation of a Transmit/Receive Ultrasound Phased Array for Brain Applications. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS, FERROELECTRICS, AND FREQUENCY CONTROL 2018; 65:1756-1767. [PMID: 30010555 DOI: 10.1109/tuffc.2018.2855181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Focused ultrasound phased array systems have attracted increased attention for brain therapy applications. However, such systems currently lack a direct and real-time method to intraoperatively monitor ultrasound pressure distribution for securing treatment. This study proposes a dual-mode ultrasound phased array system design to support transmit/receive operations for concurrent ultrasound exposure and backscattered focal beam reconstruction through a spherically focused ultrasound array. A 256-channel ultrasound transmission system was used to transmit focused ultrasonic energy (full 256 channels), with an extended implementation of multiple-channel receiving function (up to 64 channels) using the same 256-channel ultrasound array. A coherent backscatter-received beam formation algorithm was implemented to map the point spread function (PSF) and focal beam distribution under a free-field/transcranial environment setup, with the backscattering generated from a strong scatterer (a point reflector or a microbubble-perfused tube) or a weakly scattered tissue-mimicking graphite phantom. Our results showed that PSF and focal beam can be successfully reconstructed and visualized in free-field conditions and can also be transcranially reconstructed following skull-induced aberration correction. In vivo experiments were conducted to demonstrate its capability to preoperatively and semiquantitatively map a focal beam to guide blood-brain barrier opening. The proposed system may have potential for real-time guidance of ultrasound brain intervention, and may facilitate the design of a dual-mode ultrasound phased array for brain therapeutic applications.
Collapse
|
10
|
Wu SY, Phan NN, Ho SH, Lai YH, Tsai CH, Yang CH, Yu HG, Wang JC, Huang PL, Lin YC. Metabolomic assessment of arsenite toxicity and novel biomarker discovery in early development of zebrafish embryos. Toxicol Lett 2018; 290:116-122. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2018.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
|
11
|
Tsai CH, Nam P, -Chang Lin Y. Fucoidan and Fucoxanthin Ameliorate Cardiac Function of Aging Canine. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.3923/ajava.2017.294.301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
|
12
|
Lee TH, Yeh JC, Tsai CH, Yang JT, Lou SL, Seak CJ, Wang CY, Wei KC, Liu HL. Improved thrombolytic effect with focused ultrasound and neuroprotective agent against acute carotid artery thrombosis in rat. Sci Rep 2017; 7:1638. [PMID: 28487554 PMCID: PMC5431649 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-01769-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Accepted: 03/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Combination therapy with focused ultrasound (FUS) and a neuroprotective agent, BNG-1, was examined in an acute carotid thrombotic occlusion model using LED irradiation in rat to improve the thrombolytic effect of rt-PA. Seven treatment groups included (A) intravenous bolus injection of 0.45 mg/kg rt-PA, (B) intravenous bolus injection of 0.9 mg/kg, (C) sonothrombolysis with FUS alone, (D) oral administration of 2 g/kg BNG-1 for 7 days alone, (E) A + D, (F) A + C, and (G) A + C + D. Four comparison groups were made including (H) 0.45 mg/kg rt-PA 20% bolus +80% IV fusion + FUS, (I) 0.9 mg/kg rt-PA with 10% bolus + 90% intravenous fusion, (J) B + C, (K) B + D. At 7 days after carotid occlusion, small-animal carotid ultrasound and 7 T MR angiography showed the recanalization rate of ≤50% stenosis was 50% in group B and 83% in group I, but 0% in groups A and C and 17% in group D. Combination therapy improved recanalization rate to 50–63% in groups E and F, to 67–83% in groups J and K, and to 100% in groups G and H. Our study demonstrated combination therapy with different remedies can be a feasible strategy to improve the thrombolytic effect of rt-PA.
Collapse
|
13
|
Wu SK, Chu PC, Chai WY, Kang ST, Tsai CH, Fan CH, Yeh CK, Liu HL. Characterization of Different Microbubbles in Assisting Focused Ultrasound-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Opening. Sci Rep 2017; 7:46689. [PMID: 28425493 PMCID: PMC5397978 DOI: 10.1038/srep46689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbubbles (MBs) serve as a critical catalyst to amplify local cavitation in CNS capillary lumen to facilitate focused ultrasound (FUS) to transiently open the blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, limited understanding is available regarding the effect of different microbubbles to induce BBB opening. The aim of this study is to characterize different MBs on their effect in FUS-induced BBB opening. Three MBs, SonoVue, Definity, and USphere, were tested, with 0.4-MHz FUS exposure at 0.62–1.38 of mechanical index (MI) on rats. Evans blue, dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI and small-animal ultrasound imaging were used as surrogates to allow molecule-penetrated quantification, BBB-opened observation, and MBs circulation/persistence. Cavitation activity was measured via the passive cavitation detection (PCD) setup to correlate with the exposure level and the histological effect. Under given and identical MB concentrations, the three MBs induced similar and equivalent BBB-opening effects and persistence. In addition, a treatment paradigm by adapting exposure time is proposed to compensate MB decay to retain the persistence of BBB-opening efficiency in multiple FUS exposures. The results potentially improve understanding of the equivalence among MBs in focused ultrasound CNS drug delivery, and provide an effective strategy for securing persistence in this treatment modality.
Collapse
|
14
|
Chen BW, Chang TC, Chang KC, Hung YJ, Huang SP, Chen HM, Liao PY, Lin YH, Huang HC, Chiang HC, Yang CI, Zheng YZ, Chu AK, Li HW, Tsai CH, Lu HH, Wang TTJ, Chang TC. Surface Engineering of Polycrystalline Silicon for Long-Term Mechanical Stress Endurance Enhancement in Flexible Low-Temperature Poly-Si Thin-Film Transistors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2017; 9:11942-11949. [PMID: 28177598 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b14525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The surface morphology in polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) film is an issue regardless of whether conventional excimer laser annealing (ELA) or the newer metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) process is used. This paper investigates the stress distribution while undergoing long-term mechanical stress and the influence of stress on electrical characteristics. Our simulated results show that the nonuniform stress in the gate insulator is more pronounced near the polysilicon/gate insulator edge and at the two sides of the polysilicon protrusion. This stress results in defects in the gate insulator and leads to a nonuniform degradation phenomenon, which affects both the performance and the reliability in thin-film transistors (TFTs). The degree of degradation is similar regardless of bending axis (channel-length axis, channel-width axis) or bending type (compression, tension), which means that the degradation is dominated by the protrusion effects. Furthermore, by utilizing long-term electrical bias stresses after undergoing long-tern bending stress, it is apparent that the carrier injection is severe in the subchannel region, which confirms that the influence of protrusions is crucial. To eliminate the influence of surface morphology in poly-Si, three kinds of laser energy density were used during crystallization to control the protrusion height. The device with the lowest protrusions demonstrates the smallest degradation after undergoing long-term bending.
Collapse
|
15
|
Lo CY, Kumar D, Chou SH, Chen CH, Tsai CH, Liu SH, Chou PT, Wong KT. Highly Twisted Dianchoring D-π-A Sensitizers for Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2016; 8:27832-27842. [PMID: 27671011 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b10162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Two new organic dyes-BPDTA and BTTA-possessing dual D-π-A units have been synthesized, characterized, and employed as efficient sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells. The two individual D-π-A, which are based on (E)-3-(5'-(4-(bis(4-(hexyloxy)phenyl)amino)phenyl)-[2,2'-bithiophen]-5-yl)-2-cyanoacrylic acid unit (D21L6), are connected directly between phenylene or thiophene within linear π-conjugated backbone to constitute a highly twisted architecture for suppressing the dye aggregation. The new dianchoring dyes exhibited pronounced absorption profile with higher molar extinction coefficient, which is consistent with the results obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The theoretical analysis also indicated that the charge transfer transition is mainly constituted of HOMO/HOMO-1 to LUMO/LUMO+1 that were found to be located on donor and acceptor segments, respectively. Theoretical calculations give the distance between two binding sites of 19.50 Å for BPDTA and 12.04 Å for BTTA. The proximity between two anchoring units of BTTA results in superior dye loading and, hence, higher cell efficiency. The BTTA-based device yielded an optimized efficiency of 6.86%, compared to 6.61% for the BPDTA-based device, whereas the model sensitizer D21L6 only delivered an inferior performance of 5.33% under similar conditions. Our molecular design strategy thus opens up a new horizon to establish efficient dianchoring dyes.
Collapse
|
16
|
Lin CY, Hsieh HY, Chen CM, Wu SR, Tsai CH, Huang CY, Hua MY, Wei KC, Yeh CK, Liu HL. Non-invasive, neuron-specific gene therapy by focused ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier opening in Parkinson's disease mouse model. J Control Release 2016; 235:72-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.05.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2016] [Revised: 04/28/2016] [Accepted: 05/24/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
|
17
|
Masim FCP, Hsu WH, Tsai CH, Liu HL, Porta M, Nguyen MT, Yonezawa T, Balčytis A, Wang X, Juodkazis S, Hatanaka K. MHz-ultrasound generation by chirped femtosecond laser pulses from gold nano-colloidal suspensions. OPTICS EXPRESS 2016; 24:17050-17059. [PMID: 27464156 DOI: 10.1364/oe.24.017050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Strong absorption of femtosecond laser pulses in Au nano-colloidal suspensions was used to generate coherent ultrasound signals at 1-20 MHz frequency range. The most efficient ultrasound generation was observed at negative chirp values and was proportional to the pulse duration. Maximization of a dimensionless factor A ≡ αc0tp defined as the ratio of pulse duration tp and the time required for sound at speed c0 to cross the optical energy deposition length (an inverse of the absorption coefficient α) given by 1/(αc0). Chirp controlled pulse duration allows effective enhancement of ultrasound generation at higher frequencies (shorter wavelengths) and is promising for a high spatial resolution acoustic imaging.
Collapse
|
18
|
Tsai CH, Fordyce RE. Archaic baleen whale from the Kokoamu Greensand: earbones distinguish a new late Oligocene mysticete (Cetacea: Mysticeti) from New Zealand. J R Soc N Z 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2016.1156552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
19
|
Tsai CH, Zhang JW, Liao YY, Liu HL. Real-time monitoring of focused ultrasound blood-brain barrier opening via subharmonic acoustic emission detection: implementation of confocal dual-frequency piezoelectric transducers. Phys Med Biol 2016; 61:2926-46. [PMID: 26988240 DOI: 10.1088/0031-9155/61/7/2926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Burst-tone focused ultrasound exposure in the presence of microbubbles has been demonstrated to be effective at inducing temporal and local opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which promises significant clinical potential to deliver therapeutic molecules into the central nervous system (CNS). Traditional contrast-enhanced imaging confirmation after focused ultrasound (FUS) exposure serves as a post-operative indicator of the effectiveness of FUS-BBB opening, however, an indicator that can concurrently report the BBB status and BBB-opening effectiveness is required to provide effective feedback to implement this treatment clinically. In this study, we demonstrate the use of subharmonic acoustic emission detection with implementation on a confocal dual-frequency piezoelectric ceramic structure to perform real-time monitoring of FUS-BBB opening. A confocal dual-frequency (0.55 MHz/1.1 MHz) focused ultrasound transducer was designed. The 1.1 MHz spherically-curved ceramic was employed to deliver FUS exposure to induce BBB-opening, whereas the outer-ring 0.55 MHz ceramic was employed to detect the subharmonic acoustic emissions originating from the target position. In stage-1 experiments, we employed spectral analysis and performed an energy spectrum density (ESD) calculation. An optimized 0.55 MHz ESD level change was shown to effectively discriminate the occurrence of BBB-opening. Wideband acoustic emissions received from 0.55 MHz ceramics were also analyzed to evaluate its correlations with erythrocyte extravasations. In stage-2 real-time monitoring experiments, we applied the predetermined ESD change as a detection threshold in PC-controlled algorithm to predict the FUS exposure intra-operatively. In stage-1 experiment, we showed that subharmonic ESD presents distinguishable dynamics between intact BBB and opened BBB, and therefore a threshold ESD change level (5.5 dB) can be identified for BBB-opening prediction. Using this ESD change threshold detection as a surrogate to on/off control the FUS exposure in stage-2 experiments, we demonstrated both excellent sensitivity (92%) and specificity (92.3%) in discriminating BBB-opening occurrence can be obtained in animal treatments, while concurrently achieving a high positive predicted value (95.8%). Wideband ESD was also highly correlated with the occurrence and level of erythrocyte extravasations (r (2) = 0.81). The proposed system configuration and corresponding analysis based on subharmonic acoustic emissions has the potential to be implemented as a real-time feedback control structure for reliable indication of intact FUS-BBB opening for CNS brain drug delivery.
Collapse
|
20
|
Chuang TL, Wang YF, Tsai CH, Chiu JE, Lee MS, Chiou WY, Lin HY, Tsai WT, Hung SK. Evaluation of salivary function by sialoscintigraphy in locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer patients after intensity modulated radiotherapy. Indian J Cancer 2016; 52:398-401. [PMID: 26905151 DOI: 10.4103/0019-509x.176733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to evaluate the salivary gland function changes by sialoscintigraphy in locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) after intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Salivary function was assessed by sialoscintigraphy. Quantitative sialoscintigraphy was performed in 24 NPC patients prior to and after IMRT. Results were categorized in four groups according to the duration of treatment. The sialoscintigraphy parameters were examined. RESULTS Sialoscintigraphy showed a significant difference in the secretion of each interval groups. The parameters of scintigraphy, except maximum accumulation (MA) of submandibular glands, decreased first after radiotherapy, and then recovered. However, the MA of submandibular glands was continuously downhill after radiation. CONCLUSIONS The sialoscintigraphy parameters of each gland changed with the different radiation dose and follow-up intervals. The salivary function was influenced after radiotherapy in locally advanced NPC, especially, in the submandibular gland. Strategies to improve the salivary function should be assessed.
Collapse
|
21
|
Tsai CH, Fei PH, Chen CH. Investigation of Coral-Like Cu2O Nano/Microstructures as Counter Electrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. MATERIALS 2015; 8:5715-5729. [PMID: 28793531 PMCID: PMC5512654 DOI: 10.3390/ma8095274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Revised: 08/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In this study, a chemical oxidation method was employed to fabricate coral-like Cu2O nano/microstructures on Cu foils as counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The Cu2O nano/microstructures were prepared at various sintering temperatures (400, 500, 600 and 700 °C) to investigate the influences of the sintering temperature on the DSSC characteristics. First, the Cu foil substrates were immersed in an aqueous solution containing (NH4)2S2O8 and NaOH. After reacting at 25 °C for 30 min, the Cu substrates were converted to Cu(OH)2 nanostructures. Subsequently, the nanostructures were subjected to nitrogen sintering, leading to Cu(OH)2 being dehydrated into CuO, which was then deoxidized to form coral-like Cu2O nano/microstructures. The material properties of the Cu2O CEs were comprehensively determined using a scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer, Raman spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscope, and cyclic voltameter. The Cu2O CEs sintered at various temperatures were used in DSSC devices and analyzed according to the current density–voltage characteristics, incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency, and electrochemical impedance characteristics. The Cu2O CEs sintered at 600 °C exhibited the optimal electrode properties and DSSC performance, yielding a power conversion efficiency of 3.62%. The Cu2O CEs fabricated on Cu foil were generally mechanically flexible and could therefore be applied to flexible DSSCs.
Collapse
|
22
|
Lee MT, Wang CL, Chan CS, Fu CC, Chen CC, Lin KH, Huang WC, Tsai CH, Weng ZX, Chan CC, Lin YL, Huang TY, Lin PY, Lu HH, Lin YH. 64.4L:Late-News Paper: Symmetric Panel Stacking Design for Achieving 3mm Rolling Radius in Plastic-based AMOLED Display. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/sdtp.10272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|
23
|
Tsai CH, Chen CH, Fei PH, Hsu YK. Novel Semiconductor-Liquid Heterojunction Solar Cells Based on Cuprous Oxide and Iodine Electrolyte. Electrochim Acta 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2015.03.158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
24
|
Tsai CH, Fei PH, Wu WC. Enhancing the Efficiency and Charge Transport Characteristics of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Adding Graphene Nanosheets to TiO2 Working Electrodes. Electrochim Acta 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2015.02.241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
25
|
Huang HY, Liu HL, Hsu PH, Chiang CS, Tsai CH, Chi HS, Chen SY, Chen YY. A multitheragnostic nanobubble system to induce blood-brain barrier disruption with magnetically guided focused ultrasound. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2015; 27:655-61. [PMID: 25472627 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201403889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2014] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
A novel magnetically guidable nanobubble is designed for disrupting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by combining magnetic guidance with focused ultrasound in vivo. The magnetic-nanobubble platform also demonstrates the potential to serve as a unique theranostic tool via performing focused ultrasound (FUS)-induced BBB disruption and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/ultrasound dual-modality contrast-agent imaging to improve the drug delivery of therapeutic substances or gene therapy into the central nervous system.
Collapse
|