Publications by authors named "Yujen Shih"

High-strength wastewater containing elevated levels of chloride salt and N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent was collected from manufacturing of sunscreen cream (for UVA/UVB protection) at a cosmetic factory. In evaporation process, precipitates, formed due to the high chloride content (around 160 g/L), clog the pipeline, seriously reducing the treatment efficiency. This study aimed to develop a two-stage process integrating chemical precipitation and electrochemical oxidation to specifically remove the concentrated chloride salt and organic compounds (COD >100 g/L).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nitrate-containing wastewaters have been recognized as an important source for recovering valuable ammonia. This work targets integrating a series of transition metals (M = Fe, Co, Ni, and Zn) onto Cu crystallites through a layered-plating method. The strategy to promote the nitrate reduction reaction (NORR) involves tuning M surfaces in specific ratios for the hydrogenation of nitrogenous species on MCu electrodes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The indirect chloride-mediated ammonia oxidation encounters challenges in maintaining the effectiveness of metal oxide anodes when treating wastewaters with complex compositions. This study aims to develop a highly stable anode with RuO-SnO coatings for treating an etching effluent from semiconductor manufacturing, which majorly contains NH and organic compounds. The RuSnO/Ti electrode was synthesized using wet impregnation and calcination processes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

BACKGROUND An ipsilateral fracture of the midshaft clavicle with dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) is a rare combination injury and almost always occurs following high-energy trauma. Currently, there is no optimal surgical approach for this kind of rare injury. We present a 60-year-old man with a traumatic combined linear midshaft clavicle fracture and ACJ injury simultaneously treated with Knowles pin fixation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Osteoporosis has been associated with several disorders; however, there have been only a limited number of reports on heroin-induced osteoporosis. We report a rare case presented with bilateral femoral neck insufficiency fractures without trauma history, caused by heroin-induced osteoporosis. We collect sufficient clinical data and further shed light on the potential mechanism of how heroin affects bone formation and decreases bone density.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The strong oxidant, persulfate (PS, SO), was applied to treat the synthetic wastewater of benzoic acid (BA) under UV irradiation. UVC light initiated a chain reaction that derived the sulfate radical (SO•) and hydroxyl radical (HO•) from SO ion. The experiment parameters, including light irradiation (UVA and UVC), pH, dose ratio ([PS]/[BA]), initial concentration ([BA], mg/L), was optimized based on degradation efficiency and total organic carbon (TOC) removal of BA, which reached up to 100% and 96%, respectively, under pH 3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The composite electrode of NiCo oxide supported by porous carbon was synthesized for nitrite oxidation and nitrate electro-sorption. The crystal structure and chemical state of the Co and Ni oxyhydroxides which were precipitated on loofah-derived activated carbon (AC) using hypochlorite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and BET surface area. The voltammetry showed that the redox couple of Co(II)/Co(III) and Ni(II)/Ni(III) as the mediator catalytically transferred the electrons of NO/NO; the Ni site had a relatively high transfer coefficient and diffusive current, while the Co site was better in the capacitive removal of the nitrite and nitrate compounds.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Patients in Taiwan receiving bivalent freeze-dried neurotoxic antivenom show higher survival rates after snake bites but also experience necrotic wound changes.
  • The study aimed to evaluate antivenom effectiveness in preventing necrosis based on the minimum necrotizing dose (MND) of venom and to identify the venom components causing necrosis.
  • Results indicated that cytotoxins (CTXs) are the primary factors inducing necrosis, while the antivenom did not effectively neutralize venom-induced necrosis as the MND could not be identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

. Lymph node status is the most important prognostic factor in cutaneous melanoma patients. Recent studies showed that indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence lymphography helps locating sentinel nodes better.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The reconstruction of defects of the lateral malleolus involving the exposed fibular bone or tendon is challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical application of the peroneal artery perforator flap with or without split-thickness skin grafting for soft tissue reconstruction of the bony defect of the lateral malleolus of the ankle joints. Reconstruction using a peroneal artery perforator flap with or without split-thickness skin grafting was performed for 15 patients (10 men, 5 women) between January 2007 and December 2018.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dyes are hazardous compounds commonly found in industrial wastewaters. Efficient and inexpensive removal of dye molecules from the water matrix has been demonstrated by adsorption processes. Magnetic nano-adsorbents, such as metal ferrites, can be efficiently recovered from the reaction mixture after treating the pollutant.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nanocomposite materials can enhance the capabilities of water treatment processes such as photocatalysis. In this work, novel light-driven nanocatalysts were synthesized by using nickel ferrite (NiFeO) to nanoenable graphene oxide (GO) substrates. GO is an emerging 2D nanomaterial with high conductivity and adsorption properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A review of the literature published in 2019 on topics related to hazardous waste management in water, soils, sediments, and air. The review covered treatment technologies applying physical, chemical, and biological principles for the remediation of contaminated water, soils, sediments, and air. PRACTICAL POINTS: This report provides a review of technologies for the management of waters, wastewaters, air, sediments, and soils contaminated by various hazardous chemicals including inorganic (e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study proposed a method for analysis of 10 phthalate esters compounds from wastewater treatment plant sludges. The analytical efficiency of GC-MS for of target compounds was verified by a standard mixture of phthalate esters. The response factors related to the respective internal standards from a five-point calibration curve quantified the phthalate esters in individual compounds.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This work recovered the dredged sediment around Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan, for preparing lightweight aggregates (LWA), of which physicochemical properties as affected by the addition of basic-oxygen-furnace (BOF) slag and waste glass were investigated. LWA properties included water absorption, particle density, compressive strength, shrinkage, and microstructure of sintered pellets were evaluated to ensure feasibility of dredged harbor sediment reutilization technique. Results showed that adding appropriate amount of glass powders (~7%) to the mixtures of sediment and slag significantly reduced the water absorption (as low as 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Various surfactants, such as nonionic Triton X-100 and Simple Green™ (SG), and anionic sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) were utilized to remove polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from heavily contaminated harbor sediments dredged from Kaohsiung Harbor in Taiwan. Desorption/re-sorption equilibrium, kinetics, and washability of PAHs using the selected surfactant were evaluated under different critical micelle concentrations (CMC). Experimental results revealed that the desorption rate of high molecular weight PAHs was greater than those of low molecular weight PAHs, and the anionic SDS was relatively effective in the removal of total PAHs (>50%) compared to the other surfactants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Activated carbon (AC), prepared from dried loofah sponge, was supported on nickel foam to fabricate AC/Ni electrodes. The characteristics of ammonium electrosorption on AC/Ni electrodes was studied. Results showed that AC prepared in one-step activation (without pre-pyrolysis), i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This is a review of the literature published in 2018 on topics related to hazardous waste management in water, soils, sediments, and air. The review covers treatment technologies applying physical, chemical, and biological principles for contaminated water, soils, sediments, and air. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The management of waters, wastewaters, and soils contaminated by various hazardous chemicals including inorganic (e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ruthenium (Ru) is a rare-earth metal, which is employed widely in metal-processing industries. This study recovered Ru from the wastewater of an IC foundry by cementation using metallic aluminum (Al) powder as the sacrificial agent. Ru ions were efficiently reduced to the metal and coagulated with the derived aluminum hydroxide flocs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Manganese dioxide incorporated activated carbon (MnO/AC) was synthesized and used to electrochemically degrade oxalic acid in aqueous solutions. The highly porous carbon provided reactive sites for the electro-sorption of oxalic acid and MnO, with a specific polymorphism efficiently mediating the electron transfer between the electrode and organic pollutants. The activated carbon, made from the pyrolysis of dry loofah sponge using ZnCl as activating agent, exhibited a high double-layer capacitance dependent upon the heating temperature (100 F/g at 800 °C).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An electrode made of loofah sponge derived activated carbon supported on nickel foam (AC/Ni) was successfully fabricated and used to remove ammonium ion (NH) from aqueous solution. A multilayer adsorption isotherm was used to describe ammonium electro-sorption on AC/Ni electrodes at different temperature, initial NH concentration, and electrical field. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) results suggested that the electrical capacitance of AC/Ni electrodes, with the AC being prepared without preheating (OAC) or with low temperature heating (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tetrafluoroborate anion (BF) is found in the streams of flue-gas desulfurization and borosilicate glasses etching which deteriorates water quality through slow hydrolysis into boric acid and fluoride. Decomposition and electrocoagulation (EC) of BF were studied using metallic aluminum as the sacrificial electrode. The dissolved Al(III) from the anode could efficiently decompose BF in forms of fluoroaluminate complexes, and the derived boric acid and fluoride ion were removed by sweep flocculation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Ischial pressure ulcers are considered the most difficult type of pressure ulcers (PUs) to treat.

Objective: The authors report the use of a pedicled anterolateral thigh (pALT) myocutaneous flap as an alternative for covering an ischial PU.

Materials And Methods: The authors retrospectively collected the data of 21 patients with an indurated recurrent ischial ulcer or a fresh ischial ulcer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The accumulation of halogenated organic contaminants in estuaries near harbor areas has been receiving increasing attention. This work demonstrates the reductive treatment of trichloroethene (TCE) within seawater and freshwater using a polymeric surfactant (polyvinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate-coitaconic acid) modified nanoscale zero-valent iron (GnZVI). Experimental parameters included the ratio of seawater to freshwater, reaction pH, dosage of GnZVI and initial TCE concentration.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite advances in reconstruction techniques, ischial pressure ulcers continue to present a challenge for the plastic surgeon. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate outcomes of using an oblique downward gluteus maximus myocutaneous (GMM) flap for coverage of grade IV ischial ulcers. Data regarding defect size, flap size, operation time, duration of wound healing, and surgical outcome were abstracted from the medical records of patients whose ischial pressure ulcers had been reconstructed using GMM island flaps between January 2010 and December 2015.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF