Comparison of the Posterior Capsule Rupture Rates Associated with Conventional (Start to Finish) Versus Reverse Methods of Teaching Phacoemulsification.

Purpose: Comparison of the rates of posterior capsule rupture (PCR) associated with conventional versus a reverse method of teaching phacoemulsification.

Methods: Trainees were taught conventional (start-to-finish) phacoemulsification beginning with an incision (tunnel construction) to capsulorhexis, sculpting, nucleus cracking, segment removal, cortex aspiration, intraocular lens implantation, and viscoelastic removal. In the reverse method, after incision and capsulorhexis, the trainees were progressively taught viscoelastic wash, cortex aspiration, segment removal, nucleus cracking, sculpting, and intraocular lens implantation.

Near-IR absorbing solar cell sensitized with bacterial photosynthetic membranes.

Current interest in natural photosynthesis as a blueprint for solar energy conversion has led to the development of a biohybrid photovoltaic cell in which bacterial photosynthetic membrane vesicles (chromatophores) have been adsorbed to a gold electrode surface in conjunction with biological electrolytes (quinone [Q] and cytochrome c; Magis et al. [2010] Biochim. Biophys.

Silica-dendrimer core-shell microspheres with encapsulated ultrasmall palladium nanoparticles: efficient and easily recyclable heterogeneous nanocatalysts.

We report the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic properties of novel monodisperse SiO(2)@Pd-PAMAM core-shell microspheres containing SiO(2) microsphere cores and PAMAM dendrimer-encapsulated Pd nanoparticle (Pd-PAMAM) shells. First, SiO(2) microspheres, which were prepared by the Stöber method, were functionalized with vinyl groups by grafting their surfaces with vinyltriethoxysilane (VTS). The vinyl groups were then converted into epoxides by using m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid.