Mei-Hui Li

• Ph D.
• Professor (Full) at National Taiwan University

Social and ecological factors for infectious diseases have received much attention in public health science. This chapter adopted an integrated approach to understand the effects of COVID-19 on public health policy amid climate change. First, a brief history of the one health approach, syndemic theory, and a socio-ecological model were analyzed. Th...

After nearly COVID-19 pandemic-mitigation success of 2020, Taiwan experienced its first major domestic outbreak in mid-May, 2021. Taiwan entered a nation-wide level 3 epidemic warning, one step away from a potential national lockdown, on May 19, 2021. Systems thinking is an effective tool to help policymakers better understand the complex COVID-19...

Aim Freshwater planarians may have a wide geographical range despite their assumed low vagility. Found across four continents, Dugesia may have either an ancient origin on a large palaeo landmass, followed by colonisation in different regions before continental fragmentation, or a more recent origin and subsequent transoceanic dispersal. We seek to...

When the first case of coronavirusCoronavirusdiseaseCovid-19 2019 (COVID-19) infection occurred in ChinaChina in late 2019, TaiwanTaiwan was predicted to be one of the most affected countries because of its economic activities and transportation exchanges with ChinaChina. On January 20, 2020, the activation of Taiwan’sTaiwan Central Epidemic Comman...

Because of its bio-accumulative and toxic characteristics, the applicable remediation approach is required. The aim of this study is to identify the microbial community from soil with HBCD degradation ability. The soil suspension and soil samples from Chiang Chun Soil and River Bank Soil showed to degrade HBCD by 60% 4 days after treatment, the deb...

The effects of 25 chemicals used in personal care products, including benzophenone-type UV filters, paraben preservatives, and surfactants, on freshwater planarian locomotion were examined using an automated video tracking system during the second 5-min period exposure. The slope of the linear regression for second 5-min EC50 and 24-h median lethal...

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are commonly detected in aquatic environments and can endanger aquatic life. The responses of enzymatic biomarkers in asexual freshwater planarians (lactate dehydrogenase, glutathione S-transferase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and isocitric dehydro-genase) were evaluated after 7-day exposure to en-docrin...

Although many epidemiological studies have been conducted on Yucheng cohorts, this incident has rarely been examined from social–ecological perspectives. This study adopted a social–ecological model as a framework to provide a more complete description of Yucheng in order to understand its effects on affected individuals, communities, and society....

In this study, epidemiological studies on the effects of temperature-related and water-related extreme events on health in Taiwan were reviewed. Results of studies on the effects of temperate-related extreme events on health have varied because of the different indices used and diseases targeted; however, overall, these studies suggest that extreme...

Adult odonate biodiversity was investigated to understand their relationship with pond management practices and environmental conditions in a rapidly urbanized landscape. Twenty-four farm ponds in Taoyuan City were selected and classified into five pond groups based on pond management practices. In total, 21 species, 17 genera, and 6 families of od...

Owing to their widespread use in wooden products, industrial products, cosmetics, and personal care products, biocides are frequently detected in wastewater and surface water. In this study, I examined the acute toxicities of 10 commonly used biocides, namely methylisothiazolinone, benzisothiazolinone, octylisothiazolinone, dichlorooctylisothiazoli...

Regarding the humane use of animals in scientific research, invertebrates are often recommended in toxicological studies. "Freshwater planarians" refers to numerous free-living freshwater members of the Class "Turbellaria" of the phylum Platyhelminthes. This group of invertebrates has received extensive attention from biologists for many years beca...

The interactions among climate change, air pollution, and human health are multiple and complex. Many epidemiological studies in Taiwan have consistently demonstrated the effects of short-term exposures to extreme weather events, particulate matter, and traffic-related air pollutants on a variety of health effects. However, these findings might not...

Although a freshwater planarian is proposed as a potential model for studying toxicities of environmental pollutants, they are less sensitive to metal exposures, compared to other freshwater invertebrates. We hypothesised that the metal uptake is low in treated planarians, which may lead to their higher tolerance to metals. The acute toxicities of...

The development of a high-throughput tool is required for screening of environmental pollutants and assessing their impacts on aquatic animals. Freshwater planarians can be used in rapid and sensitive toxicity bioassays. Planarians are known for their remarkable regeneration ability but much less known for their metabolic and xenobiotic biotransfor...

Effects of climate change on human health become increasingly a growing concern. Especially, the worldwide risk of vector-borne diseases, such as dengue fever, could be strongly influenced by meteorological conditions. Taiwan is unique in terms of its geographical location and abundant ecological environments. It makes Taiwan an unusual epidemic re...

Regeneration is a vital physiological process for survival of adult organisms. Bisphenol A (BPA), diethystilbestrol (DES), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), and 17β-estradiol (E2) were examined for their effects on head formation in decapitated freshwater planarians (Dugesia japonica). The median lethal concentration of the test chemicals and the median...

Although freshwater planarians are evolutionarily primitive, they are some of the simplest bilateral animals possessing integrated neural networks similar to those in vertebrates. We attempted to develop planarian Dugesia japonica as a model for investigating the neurotoxicity of environmental pollutants such as cadmium (Cd). This study was therefo...

Pharmaceutically active compounds are produced worldwide and consumed in large quantities, so these chemicals are frequently detected in limnic environments posing potential ecological risks. Thirty pharmaceutically active compounds were selected for examination of their acute toxicity for freshwater planarians (Dugesia japonica). Among the 30 comp...

Many chemicals commonly occurring in surface water are found to be hormonally active. Fourteen compounds including four sex hormones, three synthetic hormones, one non-steroidal anti-androgen, and six industrial endocrine-disrupting chemicals were selected to examine their acute toxicities on the freshwater planarian, Dugesia japonica. Among all te...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as brominated flame retardants and have been found in human milk in recent years. This study investigates whether prenatal exposure to decabrominated diphenyl ether (BDE-209) induces sperm dysfunction in male offspring. Pregnant CD-1 mice were gavaged once daily with corn oil (control), 10, 500, and 1...

Differences in intertidal assemblages between artificial structures and natural rocky habitats require further investigation, so that the potential effects of artificial structures on coastal intertidal community can be better understood. We examined the intertidal assemblages on breakwaters, seawalls, and natural rocky shores in the Linshanbi and...

Although toxic responses of freshwater planarians after exposure to environmental toxicants can be observed through external toxicological end points, physiological responses inside the bodies of treated planarians have rarely been investigated. The present study was designed, using cadmium (Cd) as a reference toxicant, to determine its bioaccumula...

Surfactants are a major class of emerging pollutants widely used in large quantities in everyday life and commonly found in surface waters worldwide. Freshwater planarian was selected to examine the effects of different surfactants by measuring mortality, mobility, and membrane-bound enzyme activities. Among the 10 surfactants tested, the acute tox...

Fourteen benzophenone-type UV filters and four paraben preservatives were selected to examine their acute toxicities on Dugesia japonica. The 48-h LC50 values for planarians exposed to benzophenone-type UV filters can be ranked as oxybenzone > mexenone > 5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzophenone > 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone > 2-hydroxybenzophenone > dioxybenzo...

Free-living freshwater planarians are considered to have the potential for development as an experimental model for toxicological studies on xenobiotics, including metals. However, little was known about the distribution patterns of metals in the body of treated planarians. This study was conducted to determine the tissue distribution patterns of c...

The objective of this study was to investigate effects of ammonium perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) on cholinesterase (ChE) and carboxylesterases (CbE) activities of male guppies in both in vivo and in vitro experiments. Neither in vivo nor in vitro exposure to PFOS significantly altered ChE or CbE activities in male g...

Perfluorinated compounds are widespread in the environment, animals, and humans, and have been proposed to be included in the list of persistent or- ganic pollutants that have the potential to cause a global pollution problem similar to that caused by ex- isting persistent organic pollutants. Daphnia magna was used to evaluate the chronic effects o...

One closed uncontrolled landfill, the Neihu garbage dump, and one active controlled landfill, the Sanzhuku sanitary landfill, were selected for investigation of their leachate characteristics and effects on adjacent river water quality before and after rainfall in northern Taiwan. A total of seven samplings were made during February and June 2007,...

Acute toxicities of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were tested on four freshwater species and three plant species. PFOS was more toxic than PFOA for all species tested in this study. Similar time-response patterns of PFOS and PFOA toxicity were observed for each tested species. Values of the 48-h LC(50) of PFOS f...

Compared to the estrogenic effects of 4-nonylphenol (NP), there is little data available on other potential toxic effects of NP in aquatic animals. The effects of NP on cholinesterase (ChE) and carboxylesterase (CbE) activities of male guppies exposed to 10, 60, 150, or 300 μg L(-1) NP were examined after 1, 2, 4, and 7 days of treatment. A signifi...

Eight widely used surfactants (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide; CTAB, benzethonium chloride; Hyamine 1622, 4-nonylphenol; NP, octylphenol ethoxylate; Triton X-100, dodecylbenzene sulfonate; LAS, lauryl sulfate; SDS, pentadecafluorooctanoic acid; PFOA, and perfluorooctane sulfonate; PFOS) were selected to examine their acute toxicities and effects on...

Decabrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE 209) is the second most used brominated flame retardant (BFRs). Many studies have shown that some of the BFRs act as endocrine disruptors via alterations in thyroid hormone homeostasis and affect development. Little is known about the effect of prenatal exposure to PBDE 209 on the development in male offspring. U...

Acute toxicity of 4-nonylphenol (NP) was examined in six freshwater species from three phyla - platyhelminthes, arthropoda and mollusca. Values of the 48-hour LC(50) of NP for six species ranged from 20 to 508 ug/L and values of the 96-hour LC(50) for four species ranged from 120 to 457 ug/L. The most sensitive species tested was a water flea, Ceri...

2,2',3,3',4,4',5,5',6,6'-Decabrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE 209) is the second most used brominated flame retardant (BFRs) in constructed materials because it is considered less toxic than others, though other fire retardants, some congeners of PBDE 209, are reported to be toxic. This combined the fact that PBDE 209 has been found in high levels i...

Adult male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) were exposed to 4-nonylphenol (NP) at nominal concentrations of 10, 60, and 150 microg/L for 7, 14, or 21 days. Significant induction of vitellogenin (VTG) was found in male guppies exposed to 1 microg/L of 17beta-estradiol and 60 or 150 microg/L of NP after 7, 14, or 21 days. Maximum induction was seen afte...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are considered potential endocrine disruptors due to their ability to act as estrogens, antiestrogens and goitrogens. The aim of this study is to ascertain whether acute postnatal treatment with 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (CB 77) affects sperm function and hormone levels in adult rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats re...

Urban air pollution is a serious problem in both developing and developed countries, and antioxidant enzyme activities in plants have been suggested as a useful bioindicator of air pollution. In this study, the seasonal and spatial variability of peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities were measured in leaves of Ficus microcarpa at eight sam...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are known to affect reproductive system in animals and in accidentally or occupationally exposed humans. Information is lacking on effects of non-dioxin like chlorinated biphenyls (CB) congeners on male reproduction. The aim of this study is to determine whether treatment of postnatal non-dioxin like CB congeners af...

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is defined as small, random deviation from perfect bilateral symmetry of morphological trait and an increase of FA is proposed to be caused by genetic and environmental stress. In this study, measures of FA in the shore crab, Grapsus albolineatus, were used to investigate the impact of a municipal landfill on the surround...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with the liable 2,3,6-substitution are important components of certain commercial mixtures and frequently detected in biota, but little is known about their enzyme induction abilities and possible endocrine-disrupting effects. CB 132 (2,2',3,3',4,6'-hexachlorophenyl) and CB 149 (2,2'3,4',5',6-hexachlorophenyl) were...

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners which do not persist in homeothenns are often unreported in epidemiology studies because they occur at low frequencies in single-time samples and are sometimes considered nontoxic. They occur at high proportions in exposure sources such as air, plants and fish so it is important to determine if episodes of b...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with the labile 2,3,6-substitution are important components of atmospheric and certain food chain exposures, but little is known about their biological activities. Chlorobiphenyl 110 (2,3,3',4',6-pentaCB) was investigated in weanling female rats dosed ip on days 21 and 22 and killed on day 23 of age. The initial pre...

Polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDEs) are industrial byproducts found in many ecosystems at low levels. PCDEs are not markedly toxic to adult rodents, but their developmental toxicity has not previously been examined. We evaluated the maternal and perinatal toxicity of nine PCDE congeners to outbred mice when compounds were administered from gest...

An extract of landfill soil containing high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was refined by alumina-charcoal column chromatography to remove coplanar PCBs and high relative levels of PCDFs. Both extracts were administered ip in corn oil to immature female rats on Days 21 and 22 of age. Rats were terminated on Day 23 and organ weights, enz...

An extract of landfill soil containing high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was refined by alumina–charcoal column chromatography to remove coplanar PCBs and high relative levels of PCDFs. Both extracts were administered ip in corn oil to immature female rats on Days 21 and 22 of age. Rats were terminated on Day 23 and organ weights, enz...

Air, subsurface soil, and superficial dust from a National Priorities List landfill located in southern Illinois were sampled to determine their potential toxicities. The major components of these landfill extracts were polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), with significant amounts of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and small amounts of polychlor...

Subsurface soil from a National Priorities List landfill containing about 2.5% polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was extracted and the extract cleaned by Florisil slurry and alumina column chromatography. The refined extract contained 48 mg/mL PCB, mainly trichlorobiphenyls and tetrachlorobiphenyls, traces of polychlorinated naphthalenes, 125 microg...

Perinatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixtures or to certain ortho-substituted PCB congeners dramatically reduces circulating thyroxine (T4) concentrations. It is not clear whether perinatal exposure to coplanar PCBs or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) has a similar effect. In this study, time-mated Sprague-Dawley rats were...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are among the ubiquitously persistent chemicals possessing endocrine-disrupting effects. Most of the environmentally abundant CB congeners have one or more ortho chlorines in the biphenyl ring. Because ortho-chlorinated CB congeners do not avidly bind to the aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor, this clearly suggests that...

Perinatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixtures or to certain ortho-substituted PCB congeners dramatically reduces circulating thyroxine (T4) concentrations. It is not clear whether perinatal exposure to coplanar PCBs or2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) has a similar effect. In this study, time-mated Sprague-Dawley rats were...

Without Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixtures and individual chlorobiphenyl (CB) congeners have various endocrine-disrupting effects, but ultimate responses may be altered by concurrent effects on enzyme levels and enzyme activities. The toxicodynamics of estrogenic PCBs and metabolites have been studied in vitro, but nonlinear dose-response relationship...

Accurate assessment of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) hazards remains a challenge because of multiple effects and multiple components of PCB mixtures. A given chlorobiphenyl (CB) in an environmental residue may antagonize and/or potentiate the effects of other CBs in the mixture; furthermore, PCBs can induce biotransformation enzymes which can qual...

Recently, investigators have reported bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in insects collected at hazardous waste sites. Little is known about differences in bioaccumulation of particular PCB congeners in insects. The authors report on the toxicokinetics of a non-coplanar ortho substituted congener, 2,2',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PC...

o-, m- and p-Nitrophenol induced mortality and affected head and tail regrowth in Dugesia dorotocephala over narrow concentration ranges of a few mg/L. LC(50)s generally decreased as the temperature increased from 19 degrees C to 27 degrees C. The effect of temperature on induction of abnormalities differed for each compound. Concentration-response...

Printout. Vita. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-198).

"Department of Zoology." Research paper (M.S.)--Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1991. Non-circulating archival copy. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-50).