Publications by authors named "Weijen Chang"

Article Synopsis
  • Nano-engineering in dentistry has improved dental implants through advanced surface modifications, enhancing bone cell interaction and osseointegration.
  • The study involved modifying zirconia implants with allylamine and fibronectin nanoproteins, tested on rabbits over 12 weeks for stability and bone integration.
  • Results showed significant stability and new bone formation in treated implants, indicating that nanoparticle modifications effectively boost dental implant performance.
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This short communication presents an audit of anesthetic gas usage at National Taiwan University Hospital from 2018 to 2023. Using descriptive statistics and trend analysis, the data reveals trends in the consumption of sevoflurane and desflurane, associated costs, and their corresponding carbon emissions. A significant decrease in desflurane usage contributed to a 42.

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Background/purpose: Dental plaque is the main cause leading to the dental caries and periodontal diseases. The main purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of oral spray containing the antimicrobial peptide P-113 on the reduction of oral bacteria number and dental plaque formation in a randomized clinical assessment.

Materials And Methods: This study was divided into two parts.

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: Guided bone regeneration (GBR) uses bone grafts and barrier membranes to block soft tissue invasion and eventually create a new bone. Some studies indicate that a porcine bone graft demonstrates excellent biocompatibility and holds promise as a xenograft for GBR. However, only a few studies have investigated the effectiveness of this biomaterial after magnesium coating in improving osteoblast performance.

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Background: Post natal adaptation syndrome is well reported but early presentation of neurological symptoms severe enough to warrant detailed neurological work up is rare. Our aim was to evaluate and describe abnormal early neurological symptoms in infants following in-utero exposure to a varying combination of selective serotonin uptake inhibitor medication and other psychotropic medications, with negative seizure work-up.

Method: Descriptive case series of infant exposed to selective serotonin uptake inhibitor medication and other psychotropic medications, presenting with early neurologic signs and symptoms within the first 24 hours of life concerning for seizures, who underwent an extensive neurologic evaluation.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study explores the development of a novel three-dimensional (3D) cell-culture model using a unique magnetic nanostructure designed to enhance cell organization and mimic complex environments.
  • The magnetic crown of thorns (MCT) nanostructure was able to quickly isolate cells, specifically Jurkat cells, and encouraged them to form uniform spheroids within just 30 minutes by using mild magnetic forces.
  • The resulting cell clusters not only maintained their structural integrity after separation but also exhibited strong growth and survival rates for up to 96 hours, showcasing the MCT's potential in improving 3D cell-culture models and applications in magnetic tissue engineering.
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Two important factors affecting the progress of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are the S-protein binding function of ACE2 receptors and the membrane fluidity of host cells. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of static magnetic field (SMF) on S-protein/ACE2 binding and cellular membrane fluidity of lung cells, and was performed in vitro using a Calu-3 cell model and in vivo using an animal model. The ability of ACE2 receptors to bind to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on host cell surfaces under SMF stimulation was evaluated using fluorescence images.

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Objectives: The glow discharge plasma (GDP) procedure has proven efficacy in grafting allylamine onto zirconia dental implant surfaces to enhance osseointegration. This study explored the enhancement of zirconia dental implant properties using GDP at different energy settings (25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 W) both in vitro and in vivo.

Materials And Methods: In vitro analyses included scanning electron microscopy, wettability assessment, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and more.

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Background/purpose: The diagnosis of peri-implantitis using periapical radiographs is crucial. Recently, artificial intelligence may apply in radiographic image analysis effectively. The aim of this study was to differentiate the degree of marginal bone loss of an implant, and also to classify the severity of peri-implantitis using a deep learning model.

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Background/purpose: Oral health is related to general health and a person's overall well-being. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between oral health status and bite force among young adults.

Materials And Methods: Maximum bite force (MBF) was measured using Dental Prescale II in conjunction with a pressure-sensitive film and bite force analyzer in 40 young adults aged 20 to 40.

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Background/purpose: 3D-printed bone tissue engineering is becoming recognized as a key approach in dentistry for creating customized bone regeneration treatments fitting patients bone defects requirements. 3D bioprinting offers an innovative method to fabricate detailed 3D structures, closely emulating the native bone micro-environment and better bone regeneration. This study aimed to develop an 3D-bioprintable scaffold using a combination of alginate and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) with the Cellink® BioX printer, aiming to advance the field of tissue engineering.

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Understanding the influence of oxygen tension on cellular functions and behaviors is crucial for investigating various physiological and pathological conditions. cell culture models, particularly those based on hydrogel extracellular matrices, have been developed to study cellular responses in specific oxygen microenvironments. However, accurately characterizing oxygen tension variations with great spatiotemporal resolutions, especially in three dimensions, remains challenging.

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Tetrahymena are ciliated protists that have been used to study the effects of toxic chemicals, including anticancer drugs. In this study, we tested the inhibitory effects of six pyrimidine analogs (5-fluorouracil, floxuridine, 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine, 5-fluorouridine, gemcitabine, and cytarabine) on wild-type CU428 and conditional mutant NP1 Tetrahymena thermophila at room temperature and the restrictive temperature (37°C) where NP1 does not form the oral apparatus. We found that phagocytosis was not required for pyrimidine analog entry and that all tested pyrimidine analogs inhibited growth except for cytarabine.

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The market for orthopedic implant alloys has seen significant growth in recent years, and efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of medical treatment (i.e., green medicine) have prompted extensive research on biodegradable magnesium-based alloys.

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Background/purpose: Artificial Intelligence (AI) can optimize treatment approaches in dental healthcare due to its high level of accuracy and wide range of applications. This study seeks to propose a new deep learning (DL) ensemble model based on deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) algorithms to predict tooth position, detect shape, detect remaining interproximal bone level, and detect radiographic bone loss (RBL) using periapical and bitewing radiographs.

Materials And Methods: 270 patients from January 2015 to December 2020, and all images were deidentified without private information for this study.

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Background: Tricalcium phosphate (TCP, Molecular formula: Ca(PO)) is a hydrophilic bone graft biomaterial extensively used for guided bone regeneration (GBR). However, few studies have investigated 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) combined with the osteo-inductive molecule fibronectin (FN) for enhanced osteoblast performance in vitro, and specialized bone defect treatments.

Aim: This study evaluated PLA properties and efficacy following glow discharge plasma (GDP) treatment and FN sputtering for fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printed PLA alloplastic bone grafts.

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Background: Modern technological advancements have led to increase in the development of surgical robots in dentistry, resulting in excellent clinical treatment outcomes.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the accuracy of automatic robotic implant site preparation for different implant sizes by correlating planned and posttreatment positions, and to compare the performance of robotic and human freehand drilling.

Method: Seventy-six drilling sites on partially edentulous models were used, with three different implant sizes (Ø = 3.

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To overcome the genuine bioinert properties of zirconia ceramic, functionalization of the surface with the bioactive protein fibronectin was conducted. Glow discharge plasma (GDP)-Argon was first used to clean the zirconia surface. Then allylamine was treated at three different powers of 50 W, 75 W, and 85 W and immersed into 2 different fibronectin concentrations (5 µg/ml and 10 µg/ml).

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Manufacturing three-dimensional (3D) objects with polymers/bioceramic composite materials has been investigated in recent years. In this study, we manufactured and evaluated solvent-free polycaprolactone (PCL) and beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) composite fiber as a scaffold material for 3D printing. To investigate the optimal ratio of feedstock material for 3D printing, the physical and biological characteristics of four different ratios of β-TCP compounds mixed with PCL were investigated.

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Background: Bamlanivimab and etesevimab had been granted emergency use authorization in children under 12 years who are at risk of progression from mild/moderate coronavirus disease 2019 to severe disease and hospitalization.

Case Report: We report on a 5-year-old white male with preexisting conditions, predisposing him to severe disease, who developed hypoxia and flushing 3 minutes into his infusion, thus meeting the criteria for anaphylaxis.

Conclusions: We believe this patient developed either an immunoglobulin E-mediated anaphylactic or a non-immunoglobulin E-mediated anaphylactoid reaction to bamlanivimab and etesevimab, which is an important possibility to consider on administration.

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Preserving the marginal bone level (MBL) is essential for the long-term success of dental implant therapy, and bone remodeling around dental implants is considered to vary with time. Numerous studies comparing the platform-switching (PS) and platform-matching (PM) dental implants have indicated that PS dental implants showed a lesser reduction for the MBL, and the majority of them had a relatively short period. This study aimed to evaluate vertical and horizontal bone defects by using digital periapical radiographs to examine the changes in MBL around PM and PS dental implants over 5 years after functional loading.

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Periodontitis is a common oral disease mainly caused by bacterial infection and inflammation of the gingiva. In the prevention or treatment of periodontitis, anti-bacterial agents are used to inhibit pathogen growth, despite increasing levels of bacterial resistance. (SM) seed oil has proven anti-bacterial and anti-inflammation properties.

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Background: The maintenance of marginal bone levels around dental implants is an important criterion for evaluating the success of implants. Although computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) customized abutments (CAs) provide more flexible solutions, compared with the original preformed stock abutments (PAs), there are dimensional tolerances and underlying drawbacks in the production of CAD/CAM CAs, which may change the tightness and seamless connection between fixtures and abutments set by the manufacturer and then affect the long-term stability of the abutments. This study aimed to examine the change in both mesial and distal bone levels using digital periapical radiographs to evaluate the difference between CAD/CAM CAs and original PAs.

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Titanium is widely used in medical implants despite the release of heavy metal ions over long-term use. Zirconia is very close to the color of teeth; however, its biological inertness hinders bonding with bone tissue. Alkaline treatment and coatings of calcium phosphate can be used to enhance bone regeneration adjacent to dental implants.

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Background: Dental caries and periodontal disease remain the most prevalent oral health problems in the world. Chewing xylitol gum may help reduce the risk of caries and periodontitis for dental health benefits. However, little evidence has shown healthy food estimation by sequencing 16S rDNA in oral microbial communities.

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