Abstracts : Session 5 ; Disease Related Insights of Skin Barrier-1 : Corticosteroids, Psychological Stress, and Dermatitis

( Tzu Kai Lin ),( Juan Luis Santiago ) 한국피부장벽학회 2013 한국피부장벽학회지 Vol.15 No.2

Dry environmental conditions induce a variety of pathological modifications in skin such as epidermal proliferation and inflammation, which are involved in the physiopathology of atopic dermatitis. Environmental dryness also induces cortisol secretion in the epidermis, which correlates with IL-1β synthesis in keratinocytes. This local production of cortisol might modulate inflammation and content the flares in chronic dermatitis. In fact, corticosteroids are widely used in the treatment of different inflammatory dermatoses by dermatologists. Psychological stress (PS) is well recognized to increase the plasma glucocorticoid (GC) levels in humans. Not only the stress-induced delay of barrier repair, but also the increase in plasma GC could be blocked by pretreatment with chlorpromazine, a tranquilizer. When mice were treated with the GC receptor antagonist, RU-486, baseline TEWL or barrier recovery rate were not altered. These results suggest that the stress-induced increase in GC might explain the impairment in skin barrier. Since increased endogenous GC production is induced by a variety of different stressors, including trauma, surgery, infection, and inflammation, it is likely that barrier homeostasis will be compromised in a wide variety of situations. Because PS has been preserved along evolution, there should be some advantage on health and survival. In fact, acute PS might provide some benefits decreasing the intensity of the early inflammatory response. Atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and irritant dermatitis are the most common inflammatory dermatoses. All of them have been recently characterized as skin barrier disorders with a primary or secondary skin barrier defect. On the other hand, PS has been associated with exacerbation and propagation of some of them, such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis. PS compromises both epidermal permeability and the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMP). Systemic or topical corticosteroid (TCS) also decrease AMP levels in the epidermis, explaining the pathological mechanism involved in PS-induced skin barrier defects. According to these results, we should consider these negative effects on skin barrier when we use TCS in inflammatory dermatoses. In fact, even a short-term administration of either systemic or TCS to mice induced not only a delay in barrier recovery, but also abnormal stratum corneum integrity and cohesion. Thus, TCS might affect skin making it more vulnerable to a new inflammatory flare (e.g., rebound phenomenon), remarking the new interest about a more physiological approach in the management of chronic inflammatory dermatoses with skin barrier-repair therapies.

Photocatalytic study of Zinc Oxide with bismuth doping prepared by spray pyrolysis

Lin, Tzu-Yang,Hsu, Yu-Ting,Lan, Wen-How,Huang, Chien-Jung,Chen, Lung-Chien,Huang, Yu-Hsuan,Lin, Jia-Ching,Chang, Kuo-Jen,Lin, Wen-Jen,Huang, Kai-Feng Techno-Press 2015 Advances in nano research Vol.3 No.3

The unintentionally doped and bismuth (Bi) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) films were prepared by spray pyrolysis at $450^{\circ}C$ with zinc acetate and bismuth nitrate precursor. The n-type conduction with concentration $6.13{\times}10^{16}cm^{-3}$ can be observed for the unintentionally doped ZnO. With the increasing of bismuth nitrate concentration in precursor, the p-type conduction can be observed. The p-type concentration $4.44{\times}10^{17}cm^{-3}$ can be achieved for the film with the Bi/Zn atomic ratio 5% in the precursor. The photoluminescence spectroscopy with HeCd laser light source was studied for films with different Bi doping. The photocatalytic activity for the unintentionally doped and Bi-doped ZnO films was studied through the photodegradation of Congo red under UV light illumination. The effects of different Bi contents on photocatalytic activity are studied and discussed. Results show that appropriate Bi doping in ZnO can increase photocatalytic activity.

Corticosteroids, Psychological Stress, and Dermatitis

( Tzu Kai Lin ),( Juan Luis Santiago ) 한국피부장벽학회 2013 한국피부장벽학회지 Vol.15 No.2

Dry environmental conditions induce a variety of pathological modifications in skin such as epidermal proliferation and inflammation, which are involved in the physiopathology of atopic dermatitis. Environmental dryness also induces cortisol secretion in the epidermis, which correlates with IL-1β synthesis in keratinocytes. This local production of cortisol might modulate inflammation and content the flares in chronic dermatitis. In fact, corticosteroids are widely used in the treatment of different inflammatory dermatoses by dermatologists. On the other hand, psychological stress (PS) is well recognized to increase the plasma glucocorticoid (GC) levels and exacerbate inflammatory dermatoses in humans. PS has been shown to impair skin barrier in murine model. Not only the stress-induced delay of barrier repair, but also the increase in plasma GC could be blocked by pretreatment with chlorpromazine, a tranquilizer. When mice were treated with the GC receptor antagonist, RU-486, baseline TEWL or barrier recovery rate were not altered. These results suggest that the stress-induced increase in GC might explain the impairment in skin barrier. Since increased endogenous GC production is induced by a variety of different stressors, including trauma, surgery, infection, and inflammation, it is likely that barrier homeostasis will be compromised in a wide range of situations. Because PS has been preserved along evolution, there should be some advantage on health and survival. In fact, acute PS might provide some benefits decreasing the intensity of the early inflammatory response.

Fabrication of alignment layer free flexible liquid crystal cells using thermal nanoimprint lithography

Tzu-Chieh Lin,Shao-Chi Yu,Pei-Shiang Chen,Kai-Yuan Chi,Han-Chang Pan,Chih-Yu Chao 한국물리학회 2009 Current Applied Physics Vol.9 No.3

In this article, thermal nanoimprint lithography (thermal-NIL) has been utilized to transfer the microgroove pattern onto the plastic substrate. Without coating alignment polymer, the microgrooves on the flexible substrates can align liquid crystals (LCs) directly. The flexible LC cell is shown to maintain comparable electro-optical properties while bending. The plastic film and the alignment layer integrated into an alignment substrate could effectively prevent cracks of the additional polymer alignment layer during the bending process. This method is applicable to the roll-to-roll process to increase the production efficiency. In this article, thermal nanoimprint lithography (thermal-NIL) has been utilized to transfer the microgroove pattern onto the plastic substrate. Without coating alignment polymer, the microgrooves on the flexible substrates can align liquid crystals (LCs) directly. The flexible LC cell is shown to maintain comparable electro-optical properties while bending. The plastic film and the alignment layer integrated into an alignment substrate could effectively prevent cracks of the additional polymer alignment layer during the bending process. This method is applicable to the roll-to-roll process to increase the production efficiency.

User Identification Design by Fusion of Face Recognition and Speaker Recognition

Chao-Yu Lin,Kai-Tai Song,Yi-Wen Chen,Shuo-Cheng Chien,Sin-Horng Chen,Chen-Yu Chiang,Jyh-Her Yang,Yi-Chiao Wu,Tzu-Jui Liu 제어로봇시스템학회 2012 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2012 No.10

Intelligent human-robot interface helps a mobile robot to extract external information and interact with a user. User identification information allows a robot to generate appropriate behaviors and make personalized human-robot interaction (PHRI) more natural and safe. Most of service robots move around in various application settings, and biometric features always change during relative movements. In this work, a fusion recognition system based on face and speaker classifiers is designed to achieve the user recognition in various environments. We propose a method to fuse face and speech recognition results based on the concept of confidence indices. Through the derived confidence indices, the system combines the two classifiers and gives improved recognition results. Experiments on a laboratory home service robot show that person recognition rates in 15 environmental situations all outperform those of using single modality.

To stay or leave: a multiple-case study of the retention of native English-speaking teachers in Taiwan

Fang, Ting,Wang, Li-Yi,Lin, Tzu-Bin,Huang, Chia-Kai 서울대학교 교육연구소 2022 Asia Pacific Education Review Vol.23 No.2

The spread of English as a global language has contributed to the trend of recruiting native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) through government-funded schemes around the world, particularly in East Asia. In Taiwan, the NEST scheme has been recently expanded because of the national policy for a bilingual Taiwan in 2030. However, the NEST scheme in Taiwan has the strictest selection criteria and the least attractive incentives in the region. As these unfavorable conditions could affect the recruitment and effectiveness of the NEST scheme, this study explored the advantages and challenges perceived by NEST participants through in-depth interviews with 24 NESTs working in Taiwanese public schools to identify the factors that could influence their attrition and retention. It was found that most advantages were associated with the participants’ schools, such as the provision of resources and a sense of achievement, rather than from outside the schools. However, most of the perceived challenges also occurred inside the schools, such as the lack of collaboration with colleagues and class sizes. These findings suggested that the issues and agendas at the participating schools had the greatest influence on NEST decisions to stay or leave Taiwan. The implications for policymakers and school leaders are discussed and relevant suggestions are made.

Angelica dahurica attenuates melanogenesis in B16F0 cells by repressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Fang Chien-Liang,Goswami Debakshee,Kuo Chia-Hua,Day Cecilia Hsuan,Lin Mei-Yi,Ho Tsung-Jung,Yang Liang-Yo,Hsieh Dennis Jine-Yuan,Lin Tzu-Kai,Huang Chih-Yang 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2023 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.19 No.1

Background Melanogenesis is a complex process which is tightly regulated by several enzymes. However, abnormal melanogenesis can cause severe dermatological problems. Roots of Angelica dahurica have been used for skin care as a part of traditional Chinese medicine for many generations. However, the role of A. dahurica in melanogenesis remains unclear. Objective Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that NK-1R exerts positive effects in melanogenesis via the Wnt/βcatenin signaling pathway. In this study, we investigated the effects of A. dahurica ethanol extract (ADE) on NK-1R and Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and evaluated the effect of NK-1R on melanogenesis in B16F0 cells. Results Angelica dahurica ethanol extract efficiently downregulated Neurokinin-1 receptor and Wnt/β-catenin signaling by decreasing the expression of β-catenin, MITF, LEF-1, TYR, TRP1, and TRP2 and increasing the expression of GSK3β, which resulted from the weakened expression of the Neurokinin-1 receptor inhibitor [Sar9,Met(O2 )11]-Substance P (SMSP). Furthermore, the intracellular melanin assay and cellular tyrosinase activity confirmed these findings. Conclusion This study suggests that ADE has potential to downregulate Neurokinin-1 receptor in SMSP-induced B16F0 cells, thereby repressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling and reduces melanin production.