Background: Some studies have reported the use of 308-nm excimer laser therapy for treating alopecia areata (AA); however, the effectiveness of this therapy on a theoretical basis has not yet been comparatively analyzed. Objectives: To determine the therapeutic effect of excimer laser therapy on AA. Methods: One alopecic patch was divided into control and treated sides in 10 patients with AA. Then, 308-nm excimer laser therapy was administered twice a week for 12 weeks. Photograph and phototrichogram analyses were performed. Results: Photographic assessments by both dermatologists and individuals of the general population showed objective improvements after excimer laser therapy. On the treated side, the hair count and hair diameter had statistically increased after treatment. However, only the hair diameter was found to be significantly high in the treated half when it was compared with the control side. Conclusion: The 308-nm excimer laser has a therapeutic effect on AA, which is proven by photograph and phototrichogram analysis by a side-by-side comparison.

Sweet syndrome (acute, febrile, neutrophilic dermatosis) is characterized by the acute onset of an eruption of painful nodules or erythematous or violaceous plaques on the limbs, face and neck. These symptoms are accompanied by fever. The diagnostic features include histopathological findings of dermal neutrophilic infiltration without leukocytoclastic vasculitis or peripheral blood leukocytosis. Sweet syndrome is associated with infection, malignancies, autoimmune disease, pregnancy, and drugs. Patients with Sweet syndrome demonstrate a complete and rapid response to systemic steroid administration. Recently, a distinct variant of Sweet syndrome was reported, termed “histiocytoid Sweet syndrome”, in which the infiltration of myeloperoxidase-positive histiocytoid mononuclear cells are observed (in contrast to the infiltration of neutrophils). The other clinical features are similar to those of classic Sweet syndrome. Pediatric Sweet syndrome is uncommon, and the histiocytoid type is even rarer. To date, four cases of histiocytoid Sweet syndrome have been reported in children. Herein, we describe a case of histiocytoid Sweet syndrome in an otherwise healthy 10-year-old boy with no underlying systemic disease in whom non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug treatment was successful.

Age-related changes in skin bio-mechanical properties: the neck skin compared with the cheek and forearm skin in Korean females. Skin Res Tech-

BackgroundContact immune modulating therapy with diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) is a topical treatment option for extensive alopecia areata (AA). Because the response to DPCP treatment varies according to the patient, and it takes several months to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the treatment, it is necessary to identify the factors that can predict the prognosis of the disease while treating with topical DPCP.ObjectiveIn this study, cytokine levels in the scales of alopecic patches were investigated to identify whether they could predict response to DPCP during the early treatment period.MethodsScale samples were taken from the alopecic patches in eight AA patients at 1 week, 2 months, and 4 months after DPCP sensitization. The patients were divided into responders and non-responders according to the clinical responses of DPCP treatment. Interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12 and IL-10 levels of the subjects were compared in several perspectives.ResultsCytokine levels after 1 week of DPCP sensitization showed no statistically significant difference between two groups. After 4 months of treatment, IFN-gamma levels were significantly lower in responders than in non-responders.ConclusionThe results of this study show IFN-gamma levels in the scales of alopecic patches might possibly reflect the clinical response in AA patients treated with DPCP. However, initial cytokine levels could not predict the treatment response.

Recently it is important to understand service supply chain because the economy moves from manufacturing to services. However, most of existing supply chain research focuses exclusively on the manufacturing sector. To overcome this situation, it needs to investigate and analyze service supply chain. Simulation is one of the most frequently used techniques for analysis and design of complex system. Service supply chain is complex and large systems that require an accurate designing phase. Especially, it is important to examine closely the dynamically interactive behavior of the different service supply chain components in order to predict the performance of the servcie supply chain. In this paper, we develop a conceptual model of service supply chain. Then, we present a new procedure to develop simulation model for the developed conceptual model of service supply chain, based on the UML analysis and design tools and on the ARENA simulation language. The two main characteristics of the proposed procedure are the definition of a systematic procedure to design service supply chain and of a set of rules for the conceptual model translation in an ARENA simulation language. The goal is to improve the knowledge on service supply chain management and support the simulation model development efficiency on service supply chain.