Integrating Science, Culture in Osaka

Posted: October 24, 2006

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Over the three days of conferences, sessions spanned skin, formulation technology and hair care, evaluation methods, sunscreens, psychology and skin condition, and vehicles. Hot topics raising audience interest included salicyloyl phytosphingosine and its repair effects on photoaged skin; cloning strategies to produce proteins from sea anemone for DNA repair; capsaicin activity and sensitive skin; p. atropurpureus for the treatment of the basement skin layer; combinatorial formulation; a new tool for the measurement of SPF and UVA protection; psychological evaluation of fragrance in menopausal women; sensory acoustics in the assessment of personal care washes; and prefrontal brain activity for the prediction of acne, among others.

Social functions: Attendees were welcomed at a social reception themed “Japan Night,” held Oct. 17, 2006, featuring musical performances, a Bunraku puppet doll performance, a live Rakugo stage artist presenting in English for the first time, a twelve-layered ceremonial robe show and traditional Japanese clothing fashion show and a Danjiri-bayashi music ensemble performed on traditional instruments. The evening’s festivities were hosted at Taiko-en, which highlighted the Yodogawa mansion, an example of traditional Japanese architecture. Guests were invited to remove their shoes to stroll through many rooms displaying artwork, pottery and more. The mansion was nestled within Japanese botanical gardens.

Gala banquet, award presentation ceremony: After three days of concentrated science, the IFSCC congress closed with a formal gala banquet and awards presentation ceremony, spiced with intermittent drum and theatrical performances by Osaka Dadada-dan Tenko and Partner Robot, a robot designed by Toyota with artificial lips and agile fingers to play the trumpet.

Opening remarks and a sake breaking ceremony were given by incoming IFSCC President Kumano. Awards were presented for best poster, scientific research and best research. The poster award was presented to Toshii Iida, Yuji Katsuta, Kiyotaka Hasegawa, Mitsuhiro Denda and Shinji Inomata (Shiseido Research Center, Japan) for their poster: “How can we improve the appearance of conspicuous facial pores?” The scientific research award was presented to Josette Peguet-Navarro (University Lyon, Dermatology Unit, France), for the paper: “Differential toxicity on monocytes and monocyte-derived dendritic cells: A new tool to differentiate allergens from irritants.”

Finally, awards were presented for best research. As an honorable mention, Joke Bouwstra (LACDR/DDT, Leiden University, the Netherlands), was recognized for her paper, “A novel stratum corneum substitute mimics the barrier properties of dry and normal skin: A convenient and efficient approach for screening of active ingredients.” And the best research award went to Chika Katagiri (Shiseido Research Center, Japan), for her presentation, “Identification of a regulatory molecule in keratinocyte denucleation and its relevance to barrier disruption.”