Digital Volumetric Measurements Based on 3D Scans of the Lower Limb: A Valid and Reproducible Method for Evaluation in Lymphedema Therapy.

Background: Exact quantification of volumetric changes of the extremities is difficult and often error-prone. The aim of this study was to establish a standardized method based on 3-dimensional (3D) scans. Furthermore, this study tests the method in terms of reproducibility and evaluates volume changes after surgical therapy in patients suffering from lymphedema on the lower extremity.

Factors influencing the shape, size, symmetry and scar of the nipple-areola complex after bilateral reduction mammoplasty.

Background: Asymmetry and scar formation of the nipple-areola complex (NAC) after reduction mammoplasty with periareolar suture are common complications and can significantly affect patient satisfaction.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate possible procedure-specific influencing factors on asymmetry and shape disturbances of the nipple-areola complex to optimize postoperative outcome and thus improve patient satisfaction.

Methods: 78 patients were followed-up after a 5-year period as part of a retrospective cohort study.

Comparing the effectiveness of novel high-end compression garment with common compression garment and kinesio tape in preventing edema and improving tissue perfusion in lower extremities.

Context: Global sales of compression garments have risen sharply in recent years. Due to the availability of a wide range of compression garments, this study aims to evaluate the effect of two types of compression garments and kinesio tape on edema formation and tissue perfusion in the lower extremities. Over-the-counter compression knee stockings and kinesio tape were compared with a prototype of high-end compression stockings that combine kinesio tape and a common knee bandage.

Temperature Dependence of Photoluminescence Intensity and Spin Contrast in Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers.

We report on measurements of the photoluminescence properties of single nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond at temperatures between 4 K and 300 K. We observe a strong reduction of the PL intensity and spin contrast between ca. 10 K and 100 K that recovers to high levels below and above.

Surface imaging of breast implants using modern high-frequency ultrasound technology in comparison to high-end sonography with power analyses for B-scan optimization1.

Aim: This study aims to evaluate optimized breast implant surface-structure analysis by comparing high-end ultrasound technology with a new high frequency technique. This comparative study used new breast implants with different surfaces in an in vitro setting.

Methods: Nine idle silicon or polyurethane (PU) breast implants were examined by two investigators in an experimental in vitro study using two high-end ultrasound devices with multi-frequency transducers (6-15 MHz, 9-16 MHz, 12.

Quality of life evaluation and lack of correlation with volumetric results after lymphovenous anastomoses in lymphedema therapy of the lower extremity.

Objective: Chronic primary or secondary lymphedema has huge effects on patients' quality of life (QOL) because of the associated swelling and pain, decreased range of motion, and depression and anxiety and generally requires numerous adaptations. Many studies have shown a positive objective effect of lymphovenous anastomoses (LVAs) on chronic lymphedema. In the present study, we assessed the effect of LVAs on QOL in patients with primary or secondary lymphedema of the lower extremity at 6 months after surgery and examined the correlation between changes in the QOL and volumetric measurements.

Single-charge transport through hybrid core-shell Au-ZnS quantum dots: a comprehensive analysis from a modified energy structure.

We examined the modified electronic structure and single-carrier transport of individual hybrid core-shell metal-semiconductor Au-ZnS quantum dots (QDs) using a scanning tunnelling microscope. Nearly monodisperse ultra-small QDs are achieved by a facile wet chemical route. The exact energy structures are evaluated by scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) measurements at 300 mK for the individual nanoobjects starting from the main building block Au nanocrystals (NCs) to the final Au-ZnS QDs.

The influence of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMFT) on cutaneous blood flow in healthy volunteers1.

Background: The biophysical interaction induced by low energy pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMFT) on the capillary microcirculation is not well understood. Several studies indicate a significant effect of PEMFT in patients with chronic medical conditions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of PEMFT on skin microcirculation in healthy volunteers.

New light on ancient enzymes - in vitro CO Fixation by Pyruvate Synthase of Desulfovibrio africanus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius.

Two variants of the enzyme family pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR), derived from the anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio africanus and the extremophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, respectively, were evaluated for their capacity to fixate CO in vitro. PFOR reversibly catalyzes the conversion of acetyl-CoA and CO to pyruvate using ferredoxin as redox partner. The oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate is thermodynamically strongly favored, and most previous studies only considered the oxidative direction of the enzyme.

Energy scales and dynamics of electronic excitations in functionalized gold nanoparticles measured at the single particle level.

The knowledge of the electronic structure and dynamics of nanoparticles is a prerequisite to develop miniaturized single-electron devices based on nanoparticles. Low-temperature transport measurements of individual stable metallic nanoparticles enable unravelling the system specific electronic structure while ultrafast optical spectroscopy gives access to the electron dynamics. In this work, we investigate bare and thiol-functionalized gold nanoparticles.

Creation of equal-spin triplet superconductivity at the Al/EuS interface.

In conventional superconductors, electrons of opposite spins are bound into Cooper pairs. However, when the superconductor is in contact with a non-uniformly ordered ferromagnet, an exotic type of superconductivity can appear at the interface, with electrons bound into three possible spin-triplet states. Triplet pairs with equal spin play a vital role in low-dissipation spintronics.

Single-electron transport through stabilised silicon nanocrystals.

We have fabricated organically capped stable luminescent silicon nanocrystals with narrow size distribution by a novel, high yield and easy to implement technique. We demonstrate transport measurements of individual silicon nanocrystals by scanning tunnelling microscopy at a low temperature in a double-barrier tunnel junction arrangement in which we observed pronounced single electron tunnelling effects. The tunnelling spectroscopy of these nanocrystals with different diameters reveals quantum confinement induced bandgap modifications.

Signature of magnetic-dependent gapless odd frequency states at superconductor/ferromagnet interfaces.

The theory of superconductivity developed by Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) explains the stabilization of electron pairs into a spin-singlet, even frequency, state by the formation of an energy gap within which the density of states is zero. At a superconductor interface with an inhomogeneous ferromagnet, a gapless odd frequency superconducting state is predicted, in which the Cooper pairs are in a spin-triplet state. Although indirect evidence for such a state has been obtained, the gap structure and pairing symmetry have not so far been determined.

Seroepidemiology of leptospirosis in Minnesota wolves.

Serum samples (n = 457) from wolves (Canis lupus) in northern Minnesota were collected from 1972 through 1986 and were tested for antibodies against Leptospira interrogans using a microtiter agglutination test. Twelve serovars included in the study were: australis, autumnalis, ballum, bataviae, bratislava, canicola, copenhageni, grippotyphosa, hardjo, pomona, pyrogenes, and tarassovi. Fifty-two (11%) sera had antibody titers of greater than or equal to 1:50 against one or more serovars of L.

Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas hydrophila in Minnesota frogs and tadpoles (Rana pipiens).

In 222 Rana pipiens frogs and 34 tadpoles captured in and near Minnesota, Aeromonas hydrophila and 29 species of Enterobacteriaceae, including yersinia enterocolitica and Salmonella arizonae, were isolated from intestines. The prevalence of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae was lowest in frogs captured in early spring and highest in frogs captured in late summer.

Aeromonas hydrophila in wild-caught frogs and tadpoles (Rana pipiens) in Minnesota.

Frogs and tadpoles were captured at 14 sites in and near Minnesota during 1978-79 and nearly all appeared healthy. Aeromonas hydrophila was isolated from 94 of 294 (32%) juvenile and adult frogs and from 66 of 104 (63%) tadpoles. Of the isolates from frogs and tadpoles respectively, 68% and 47% were from the intestine only, 12% and 32% were from the intestine and the other sites, and 20% and 21% were from extraintestinal sites only.