Changes in skin tanning attitudes. Fashion articles and advertisements in the early 20th century.

Historical reviews suggest that tanning first became fashionable in the 1920s or 1930s. To quantitatively and qualitatively examine changes in tanning attitudes portrayed in the popular women's press during the early 20th century, we reviewed summer issues of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar for the years 1920, 1927, 1928, and 1929. We examined these issues for articles and advertisements promoting skin tanning or skin bleaching and protection. We found that articles and advertisements promoting the fashionable aspects of tanned skin were more numerous in 1928 and 1929 than in 1927 and 1920, whereas those promoting pale skin (by bleaching or protection) were less numerous. These findings demonstrate a clear shift in attitudes toward tanned skin during this period.

Molecular microbiology: new dimensions for cutaneous biology and wound healing.

The role of bacteria in the pathogenesis of chronic, nonhealing wounds is unclear. All wounds are colonized with bacteria, but differentiating colonizers from invading organisms is difficult, if not impossible, at the present time. Furthermore, robust new molecular genomic techniques have shown that only 1% of bacteria can be grown in culture; anaerobes are especially difficult to identify using standard culture methods. Recent studies utilizing microbial genomic methods have demonstrated that chronic wounds are host to a wide range of microorganisms. New techniques also show that microorganisms are capable of forming highly organized biofilms within the wound that differ dramatically in gene expression and phenotype from bacteria that are typically seen in planktonic conditions. The aim of this review is to present a concise description of infectious agents as defined by new molecular techniques and to summarize what is known about the microbiology of chronic wounds in order to relate them to the pathophysiology and therapy of chronic wounds.