BACKGROUND A serum-free in vitro model was used to determine the effect of combined carbon dioxide (CO2) and erbium (Er):YAG laser (Derma K; ESC/Sharplan Medical Systems, Yokneam, Israel) irradiation on keloid-producing fibroblasts (KFs) from 2 distinct facial sites. Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) play an integral part in wound healing and...

Body piercing appears to be gaining in popularity and social acceptance. With the increase in the number of piercings, it is likely that health care providers may see an increase in the complications resulting from these piercings. These may include the transmission of hepatitis viruses and bacteria at the time of the piercing or in the course of wound care. We review the infectious complicatio...

OBJECTIVES To survey the prevalence of body art (body piercing and tattooing) in university undergraduate students and to determine the incidence of medical complications from these procedures. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Between February and May 2001, students were offered the opportunity to complete an anonymous, voluntary survey at the beginning of class or organizational meetings. The survey ins...

PURPOSE To study the feasibility of performing retinal endovascular surgery with a microfabricated needle-based cannulation system at the level of the retinal microvasculature. METHODS A total of 40 retinal vein vessels, and 40 porcine eyes were used, and the eyecups were prepared under an operating microscope. Twenty retinal veins each were pierced with a microfabricated needle having an out...

The case presented is designed to draw attention to the increasingly common occurrence of tooth fracture as a result of trauma incurred from a barbell inserted during tongue piercing. Oral piercing is on the rise. Of concern to health personnel are the associated risks, which include damage to dentition, infection, speech impediment and nerve damage. Also of concern is the belief that in some c...

The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of including cosmetic body-piercing and tattooing in HIV prevention and education. Little information about risks associated with tattoos or having one's body pierced is evident in the health promotion and disease prevention literature, particularly among adolescents, ethnic groups, and incarcerated populations. It is incumbent that pre...

We consider the p-piercing problem for axis-parallel rectangles. We are given a collection of axis-parallel rectangles in the plane, and wish to determine whether there exists a set of p points whose union intersects all the given rectangles. We present eecient algorithms for nding a piercing set (i.e., a set of p points as above) for values of p = 1; 2; 3; 4; 5. The result for 4 and 5-piercing...

The complexity of two related geometrical (indeed, combinatorial) problems is considered, measured by the number of queries needed to determine the solution. It is proved that one cannot check in a linear in N number of queries whether N intervals cover a whole interval, or whether for N pairs of intervals on two lines there is a pair of points intersecting each of these pairs of intervals (" p...

Ear or nose are quite vulnerable to foreign bodies. Foreign bodies cause various side effects in the body. A special category consists of that introduced for aesthetic purposes, particular piercing products. Decoration implanted tissues ear is a body and field increased contamination reproduction pathogenic opportunistic microorganisms. The aim study was determine infectious forms complications...