Skin Cancer Prevention

Skin cancer is the most common cause of cancer in the United States. Many forms of sunscreen help prevent
against UV-B radiation which has been linked to basal and squamous cell carcinoma. Most sunscreens,
however, notably lack any protection from UV-A radiation which is known to cause a more severe form of skin
cancer known as malignant melanoma. Zinc oxide based compounds have shown efficacy at repelling UV-A
radiation, thus decreasing the risk of malignant melanoma.

One dermatologist is in the process of developing a new form of sunscreen that incorporates zinc oxide to
protect against UV-A and UV-B radiation. She has designed an experiment where half of the subjects apply her
novel sunscreen while the other half apply standard sunscreen every day for four and a half years. Following
the study, she finds that 2\%2%2, percent of the subjects applying her novel sunscreen developed malignant
melanoma while the occurrence was 8\%8%8, percent in those applying the standard sunscreen.
How to Remove a Tattoo
In addition to its use in diagnosis, radiation has several applications for medical therapy. Most notably,
radiation is used to target and treat inoperable cancers that are otherwise unresponsive to chemotherapy.
Additionally, light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (or more commonly known as L.A.S.E.R.) is
a tool frequently used in surgical resection, dental procedures, refractive eye surgery, and cosmetic surgery.

When using lasers, the operator must consider three parameters: the wavelength of light, fluence (or amount
of laser emitted), and the duration of the pulse. Commonly, the wavelength of a laser is fixed. Fluence and
pulse duration, however, can be adjusted by the physician. The energy emitted by the laser is absorbed by a
chromophore or particle that absorbs a specific wavelength of light. Careful balance of these three parameters
is essential to accurately and selectively target chromophores while sparing the surrounding tissue. Lasers
deliver a concentrated beam of energy to a chromophore resulting in photothermolysis where the heat
produced from the transfer of energy will cause denaturation. Inadequate fluence or pulse will cause no effect
while inappropriately high fluence or prolonged pulse can result in thermal injury to nearby structures or
scarring.

To remove tattoos, Q-switched lasers are used to deliver high-intensity energy over a short period of time,
usually picoseconds. Based on the absorption spectrum, certain wavelengths of light are employed for certain
chromophores (Figure 1). Tattoo pigments
have a variety of colors and therefore
require lasers with specific wavelengths
that allow for optimal absorption for
photothermolysis. A physician selects a
laser emitting light of a certain wavelength
that yield a greater absorption coefficient
to maximize absorption by the targeted
chromophore to ensure optimal
photothermolysis while minimizing
damage to adjacent tissue. Tattoos with
red pigment, for instance, are best
removed using lasers emitting green light
within the range of 492-577 nm.
Dermoscopy: Looking skin deep (Chemical & Physical Foundations)
Dermoscopes are specialized microscopes used to examine the skin. Skin has several layers, and
viewing one layer is difficult if another lies above it (see Figure 1). The corneal layer (corneum) is
made primarily of the protein keratin. The corneum has many randomly oriented surfaces at air-tissue
boundaries formed by air pockets between keratin surfaces. When light passes between two
materials (e.g. air and keratin) with indices of refraction n1 and n2 the fraction of light reflected, R, is
predicted by (Equation 1) and the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence. Non-polarizing
dermoscopes (NPDs; Figure 1A) counteract this reflected “glare” by introducing a refractive index
matching immersion fluid to make features in the pigmented epidermis visible. Indices of refraction
for various substances are included in Table 1.

Polarizing dermoscopes (PDs; Figure 1B) shine linearly

polarized light to display structures that lie deeper
than those usually visible with NPDs. Most of the
photons that enter tissue will scatter at surfaces
between materials with different refractive indices.
Each scattering interaction carries a probability of
changing the polarization of the photon. Photons
returning to the light detector with randomized
polarization likely went through 10 or more scattering
interactions and penetrated 50-100μm into the skin.
Light returning to the detector passes through a
second linear polarizing filter that is orthogonal to the
incident beam’s polarization, largely absorbing photons
that have not penetrated deeply into the tissue.

Figure 1. Photon Paths in Non-Polarizing and

Polarizing Dermoscopes

A. Non-polarizing dermoscope B. Polarizing dermoscope:

immersion fluid permeates corneum heavily scattered light predominates in detector
Testing New Suture Materials
Researchers are interested in developing a new type of suture for in-combat medical emergencies. They are
tasked with developing a strong, flexible, and versatile thread for this purpose. The lead researcher suggests
using a hybrid string composed of various materials. This idea is based on the strength of spider webs, which
contain many different types of silk. The combined qualities of the silks allow for extraordinary amounts of
flexibility and strength in the webs. The researcher proposes that the same might hold true for combat
sutures.

The research team develops a thread that combines polyester, silk, and nylon. They then test this polyfilament
by developing an apparatus to determine its strength. A box of mass 4.0 kg hangs from rest from two of these
strings as seen in Figure 1. String A is horizontal and connected to the wall. String B is connected to the ceiling
at an angle of 30 degrees. For all of the following questions, assume that g = 10 m/s^2
Selective pressures on cacti needle length
The Cylindropuntia bigelovii cactus, also called the teddy-bear cholla plant, is a species of cactus found in the
water deplete Sonoran Desert. One form of physical variation between the cacti is needle length, which can
vary 1cm to up to 5cm in length. It is known that selective pressure from lack of water in the desert keeps the
needles quite short to minimize surface area and therefore losses of water in the hot environment. 5000 cacti
were examined to determine the average needle length amongst teddy-bear cholla. The results are
summarized in Table 1.

In a follow-up study, it was shown that the Neotoma Lepida or the Desert Woodrat, is the primary teddy-bear
cholla predator. It was also shown that the rats are best warded off from eating cacti that have needles longer
4.2 cm. It was also observed that Sand Flies also consume teddy-bear cholla; however they only seem to target
infant cacti that have yet to grow needles longer than 0.5 cm.