BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Cryogen spray cooling (CSC) is used to pre-cool the epidermis during dermatological laser procedures such as treatment of port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks, hair removal, and non-ablative photorejuvenation. Thus far, heat transfer studies related to CSC optimization have assumed a flat surface but clinical observation suggests that human skin indents due to the force of...

As software is getting more valuable, unauthorized users or malicious programmers illegally copies and distributes copyrighted software over online service provider (OSP) and P2P networks. To detect, block, and remove pirated software (illegal programs) on OSP and P2P networks, this paper proposes a new filtering approach using software birthmark, which is unique characteristics of program and ...

Background—Pulsed dye laser (PDL) is a commonly utilized treatment for port wine stain birthmarks (PWS) in the United States; however, results are variable and few patients achieve complete removal. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is commonly used in China, but treatment associated photosensitivity lasts several weeks and scarring may occur. We propose an alternative treatment option, combined PDT+P...

Laser dermatological surgery (LDS) is the preferred therapeutic modality for various dermatoses, including port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks. LDS is commonly used in conjunction with cryogen spray cooling, which is an auxiliary procedure that pre-cools the superficial skin layer (epidermis) prior to laser irradiation to avoid non-specific and excessive epidermal heating. Clinical observations sh...

Systematic work in the mouse and chicken has mapped out two neural crest-derived pathways of melanocyte precursor migration. With these in mind, this study reappraises the patterns of congenital pigmentary disorders in humans and identifies three recurrent patterns consistent across genetically different diseases. Only two of these are seen in diseases known to be melanocyte cell-autonomous. Th...

Cryogen spray cooling (CSC) has been used for selective epidermal cooling of human skin during laser therapy of patients with port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks. Unfortunately, current commercial CSC devices do not provide optimal cooling selectivity and, therefore, provide insufficient epidermal protection for some PWS patients. To assist in the development of improved atomizing nozzle designs, ...

The epidemiological studies presented in this paper refer to the association between agricultural occupation of parents and the incidence of infertility, congenital malformations, miscarriage, low birthweight, small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth, preterm delivery and stillbirth. The results of the analyses showed that employment in agriculture increases the risk of specific morphological abno...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Previous in vitro studies demonstrated the potential utility of benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring A (BPD) photodynamic therapy (PDT) for vascular destruction. Moreover, the effects of PDT were enhanced when this intervention was followed immediately by pulsed dye laser (PDL) irradiation (PDT/PDL). We further evaluate vascular effects of PDT alone, PDL alone and P...