Browsing by Author "Chang, Ching-Wen"

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Exposure to Mono-n-Butyl Phthalate in Women with Endometriosis and Its Association with the Biological Effects on Human Granulosa Cells
(2020-03-01)
Chou, Ya-Ching
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Chen, Yu-Chun
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Chen, Ming-Jer
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Chang, Ching-Wen
;
Lai, Guan-Lin
To study the association between urinary phthalate metabolite levels, endometriosis, and their effects on human granulosa cells, we recruited patients who underwent laparoscopy to confirm endometriosis (n = 123) and control patients (n = 78). Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure the following five urinary phthalate metabolites: mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, monobenzyl phthalate, mono(2-ethyl-5-oxo-hexyl) phthalate, and mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate. Urinary MnBP levels were higher in patients with endometriosis than in controls after multivariable logistic regression including the number of deliveries, body mass index, and use of medicine as covariables. MnBP correlates with other phthalate metabolites. Previous studies found that endometriosis was a detrimental condition for granulosa cells. In our study, we observed whether MnBP affected granulosa cells. MnBP treatment altered the gene expression of BIRC5, BUB1B, CDC20, cyclin B1, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, inhibin-B, StAR, and P450ssc and attenuated the ratio of the mitochondrial membrane potential in human granulosa cells. Moreover, MnBP decreased the expression of the anti-Mullerian hormone. These findings suggest that MnBP concentration is associated with endometriosis and may affect the health and steroidogenesis of human granulosa cells.
Fabrication and characterization of back-side illuminated InGaN/GaN solar cells with periodic via-holes etching and Bragg mirror processes
(2014-08-25)
Chang, Yi-An
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Chen, Fang-Ming
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Tsai, Yu-Lin
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Chang, Ching-Wen
;
Chen, Kuo-Ju
In this study, the design and fabrication schemes of back-side illuminated InGaN/GaN solar cells with periodic via-holes etching and Bragg mirror processes are presented. Compared to typical front-side illuminated solar cells, the improvements of open-circuit voltage (V-oc) from 1.88 to 1.94 V and short-circuit current density (J(sc)) from 0.84 to 1.02 mA/cm(2) are observed. Most significantly, the back-side illuminated InGaN/GaN solar cells exhibit an extremely high fill factor up to 85.5%, leading to a conversion efficiency of 1.69% from 0.66% of typical front-side illuminated solar cells under air mass 1.5 global illuminations. Moreover, the effects of bottom Bragg mirrors on the photovoltaic characteristics of back-side illuminated solar cells are studied by an advanced simulation program. The results show that the J(sc) could further be improved with a factor of 10% from the original back-side illuminated solar cell by the structure optimization of bottom Bragg mirrors. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America
Highly sensitive/selective 3D nanostructured immunoparticle-based interface on a multichannel sensor array for detecting amyloid-beta in Alzheimer's disease
(2018-01-01)
Liu, Ta-Chung
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Lee, Yi-Chao
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Ko, Chiung-Yuan
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Liu, Ren-Shyan
;
Ke, Chien-Chih
Accumulation of beta-amyloid (A beta) peptides is highly associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression in prevailing studies. The successful development of an ultrasensitive detection assay for A beta is a challenging task, especially from blood-based samples. Methods: We have developed a one-step electrophoresis/electropolymerization strategy for preparing a CSIP hierarchical immunoelectrochemical interface that is easily integrated into a PoCT device. The interface includes conductive silk fibroin-based immunoparticles (CSIPs) via electropolymerized Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) bridging to enable on-site electrochemical detection of serum amyloid-beta(42) (A beta(42)) and -beta(40) (A beta(40)) peptides from an AD blood test. In addition, micro-positron emission tomography (microPET) neuroimaging and behavioral tests were simultaneously performed. Results: This nanostructured conductive interface favors penetration of water-soluble biomolecules and catalyzes a redox reaction, providing limits of detection (LOD) of 6.63 pg/mL for A beta(40) and 3.74 pg/mL for A beta(42). Our proof-of-concept study confirms that the multi-sensing electrochemical immunosensor array (MEIA) platform enables simultaneous measurement of serum A beta(42) and A beta(40) peptide levels and is more informative in early stage AD animals than amyloid-labeling A beta plaque PET imaging and behavioral tests. Conclusion: We believe this study greatly expands the applications of silk fibroin-based materials, is an important contribution to the advancement of biomaterials, and would also be valuable in the design of new types of multichannel electrochemical immunosensor arrays for the detection of other diseases.
Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and human leukocyte antigen-C (HLA-C) allorecognition patterns in women with endometriosis
(2020-03-17)
Chou, Ya-Ching
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Chen, Chi-Huang
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Chen, Ming-Jer
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Chang, Ching-Wen
;
Chen, Pi-Hua
Endometriosis shares similarities with several autoimmune diseases. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-C genotype is associated with several human autoimmune diseases. HLA-C is a ligand of killer cell immunoglobulin receptors (KIRs) and is an essential regulator of natural killer cell activity, which is associated with endometriosis progression. Polymorphisms in HLA-C and KIR affect the activity of NK cells and susceptibility to several diseases. Therefore, we attempted to investigate an association between HLA-C genotype and KIR polymorphism and the occurrence of endometriosis. We tested the association of certain KIR and HLA-C combinations and the development of endometriosis by characterizing both KIR and HLA-C genes in 147 women with endometriosis and 117 controls. The HLA-C genotypes and KIR polymorphisms were analyzed via DNA-based method for higher-resolution genotyping. We found that the occurrence of HLA-C*03:03*01 was increased in endometriosis than in control groups. Analysis of various KIR haplotypes revealed differences between the endometriosis and control cohorts. The number of KIR centromeric A/A haplotypes was increased in the endometriosis group than controls. Moreover, the endometriosis cohort was characterized by reduced number of KIR2DS2-positive individuals in the Han Chinese population. Our current findings suggest that the KIR and HLA-C genotypes are associated with the pathogenesis of endometriosis.
Robustness of a Topologically Protected Surface State in a Sb2Te2Se Single Crystal
(2016-11-18)
Lee, Chao-Kuei
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Cheng, Cheng-Maw
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Weng, Shih-Chang
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Chen, Wei-Chuan
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Tsuei, Ku-Ding
A topological insulator (TI) is a quantum material in a new class with attractive properties for physical and technological applications. Here we derive the electronic structure of highly crystalline Sb2Te2Se single crystals studied with angle-resolved photoemission spectra. The result of band mapping reveals that the Sb2Te2Se compound behaves as a p-type semiconductor and has an isolated Dirac cone of a topological surface state, which is highly favored for spintronic and thermoelectric devices because of the dissipation-less surface state and the decreased scattering from bulk bands. More importantly, the topological surface state and doping level in Sb2Te2Se are difficult to alter for a cleaved surface exposed to air; the robustness of the topological surface state defined in our data indicates that this Sb2Te2Se compound has a great potential for future atmospheric applications.
Type II GaSb quantum ring solar cells under concentrated sunlight
(2014-03-10)
Tsai, Che-Pin
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Hsu, Shun-Chieh
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Lin, Shih-Yen
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Chang, Ching-Wen
;
Tu, Li-Wei
A type II GaSb quantum ring solar cell is fabricated and measured under the concentrated sunlight. The external quantum efficiency confirms the extended absorption from the quantum rings at long wavelength coinciding with the photoluminescence results. The short-circuit current of the quantum ring devices is 5.1% to 9.9% more than the GaAs reference's under various concentrations. While the quantum ring solar cell does not exceed its GaAs counterpart in efficiency under one-sun, the recovery of the open-circuit voltages at higher concentration helps to reverse the situation. A slightly higher efficiency (10.31% vs. 10.29%) is reported for the quantum ring device against the GaAs one. (C)2014 Optical Society of America