Tailoring Plasmonic Fields with Shape-Controlled Single-Crystal Gold Metasurfaces.

Geometry and crystallinity play a critical role in the wavelength-dependent optical responses and plasmonic local near-field distributions of metallic nanostructures. Nevertheless, the ability to tailor the shape and position of crystalline metal surface nanostructures has remained a challenge that limits control of their enhanced local fields and represents a barrier to harnessing their individual and collective responses. Here, we describe a solution deposition method in the presence of anionic additives, which yields shape-controlled, single-crystal plasmonic gold nanostructures on Ag(100) and Au(100) substrates.

High performance, single crystal gold bowtie nanoantennas fabricated via epitaxial electroless deposition.

Material quality plays a critical role in the performance of nanometer-scale plasmonic structures and represents a significant hurdle to large-scale device integration. Progress has been hindered by the challenges of realizing scalable, high quality, ultrasmooth metal deposition strategies, and by the poor pattern transfer and device fabrication yields characteristic of most metal deposition approaches which yield polycrystalline metal structure. Here we highlight a novel and scalable electrochemical method to deposit ultrasmooth, single-crystal (100) gold and to fabricate a series of bowtie nanoantennas through subtractive nanopatterning.

Scalable, Green Fabrication of Single-Crystal Noble Metal Films and Nanostructures for Low-Loss Nanotechnology Applications.

The confinement of spatially extended electromagnetic waves to nanometer-scale metal structures can be harnessed for application in information processing, energy harvesting, sensing, and catalysis. Metal nanostructures enable negative refractive index, subwavelength resolution imaging, and patterning through engineered metamaterials and promise technologies that will operate in the quantum plasmonics regime. However, the controlled fabrication of high-definition single-crystal subwavelength metal nanostructures has remained a significant hurdle due to the tendency for polycrystalline metal growth using conventional physical vapor deposition methods and the challenges associated with placing solution-grown nanocrystals in desired orientations and locations on a surface to manufacture functional devices.

Shape control of electrodeposited copper films and nanostructures through additive effects.

The use of electrolyte additives to affect nanocrystallite shape and film morphology in electrodeposited copper films is presented. Linear sweep and cyclic voltammetry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods are employed to investigate the effects of alcohol additives and the organic additive malachite green (MG), on copper electrodeposited onto polycrystalline gold electrodes. The use of additives affects the deposition process by increasing cathodic peak potentials and decreasing corresponding peak currents.

A randomized, controlled clinical trial of a novel intravesical pressure attenuation device for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

Purpose: In this clinical trial we evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of a novel pressure attenuation device for the reduction or elimination of female stress urinary incontinence using a prospective, randomized, single-blind, multicenter design.

Materials And Methods: A total of 166 female patients with stress urinary incontinence were randomized 2:1 to treatment with an intravesical pressure attenuation device (112) or sham procedure (54). In the treatment arm the device was replaced every 90 days and in the sham arm device replacement was simulated every 90 days.

Large scale crystallinity in kinetically stable polythiophene-based Langmuir-Blodgett films.

The first direct observation of large scale molecular level ordering in a complex poly(3-alkylthiophene)-based thin film is reported. The fabrication and characterization of highly ordered thin films made from the regioregular, amphiphilic polythiophene derivative poly(3-(11-(2-tetrahydropyranyloxy)undecyl)thiophene) (PTHPUDT) are described. PTHPUDT affords kinetically stable, high optical quality films deposited layer-by-layer using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method.

Role of invasive urodynamic testing in benign prostatic hyperplasia and male lower urinary tract symptoms.

The role of urodynamics in the evaluation of lower urinary tract symptoms in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia is controversial despite the additional information regarding bladder function and outlet obstruction it provides. This controversy is primarily based on outcome studies that suggest men without proved bladder outlet obstruction may benefit from outlet reduction with medication or surgical resection. The aim of this article is to describe the role of urodynamic studies in the evaluation of benign prostatic hyperplasia, including illustration of existing urodynamic techniques, reviewing best practice guidelines and current literature, and providing recommendations for use of urodynamics in clinical practice.

A low temperature phase transition in Langmuir-Blodgett films.

The influences of temperature on the SFG spectra of Langmuir-Blodgett films of cadmium stearate, ferric stearate, stearic acid and octadecanamide are reported. Upon cooling, all films display reversible discontinuous shifts of approximately 8 cm (-1) in the r+, r- and rfermi modes of the terminal methyl groups at approximately 150 K. Reversible changes in the relative intensities of these methyl group peaks, most pronounced in the PPP spectra, are also observed and attributed to a change in the environment of the methyl group that accompanies a discontinuous transition in the ordering of their alkyl chains.

Current evaluation and management of female urethral diverticula.

The identification of female urethral diverticula remains a challenging problem for many clinicians. Many of these patients are often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to a clinical presentation that frequently mimics other pathologic processes. There can be significant variation in the urethral diverticular anatomy in terms of size, location, and configuration.

Optical second-harmonic generation study of exfoliated MoS2-malachite green inclusion materials.

We have examined the properties of exfoliated and restacked MoS(2)-malachite green (MG) inclusion compounds to provide insight into the MG-MoS(2) interactions that characterize these materials. The results of X-ray diffraction experiments indicate that MG included into the restacked structure adopts a flat orientation approximately parallel to the MoS(2) sheets. Second-harmonic generation experiments conducted on the exfoliated and restacked materials provide information regarding the averaged orientation of the MG.

Initial experience with rectocele repair using nonfrozen cadaveric fascia lata interposition.

Objectives: To describe a rectocele repair reinforced with solvent-dehydrated, gamma-irradiated, human fascia lata and report our early results with a technique we are confident will have a greater, more durable success rate, with a lower incidence of dyspareunia, than the classic repair.

Methods: A total of 73 patients, aged 31 to 86 years, with symptomatic (stool trapping and/or vaginal/perineal splinting or postural modifications to facilitate stool evacuation) rectoceles underwent a site-specific repair reinforced with cadaveric fascia. Perioperative questionnaires, retrospective chart review, and telephone interview by a blinded third-party reviewer and physical examination was conducted.

Cadaveric prolapse repair with sling: intermediate outcomes with 6 months to 5 years of followup.

Purpose: We present the prospective, intermediate-term results for cadaveric prolapse repair with sling as combined treatment of stress urinary incontinence and cystocele.

Materials And Methods: A total of 251 of 295 (85%) patients undergoing cadaveric prolapse repair with sling (CaPS) had at least 6 months of questionnaire and pelvic examination followup. All patients had objectively demonstrated stress urinary incontinence and grade 2 to 4 cystocele before surgery.

Osseous complications after transvaginal bone anchor fixation in female pelvic reconstructive surgery: report from single largest prospective series and literature review.

Objectives: To report, from our prospective database and review of published studies (including primary reported patient series and case reports for osseous complications after transvaginal bone anchor fixation in female pelvic reconstructive surgery), our results and those from previously reported patient series to determine the incidence of osteitis pubis and osteomyelitis.

Methods: A total of 440 patients from our database of cadaveric transvaginal sling (n = 127) and cadaveric prolapse repair with sling (n = 313) procedures had at least 3 months of examination follow-up and were included in this report. We found 15 primary reported patient series involving transvaginal bone anchor fixation in published studies, for a total of 788 patients.

Abdominal sacral colpopexy for repair of neovaginal prolapse in male-to-female transsexuals.

Penectomy, bilateral orchiectomy, and penoscrotal flap vaginoplasty are procedures that increase the psychosocial well-being and enhance body acceptance of male-to-female transsexuals. The incidence of neovaginal prolapse is not known but is believed to be relatively rare. We report 2 cases of neovaginal prolapse that were successfully treated with abdominal sacral colpopexy at our institution.

Azines possessing strong push-pull donors/acceptors.

Azines (R(2)C[double bond, length as m-dash]N-N[double bond, length as m-dash]CR(2)) are 2,3-diaza analogues of 1,3-butadiene. In this report we show that strong polarisation of the azine imparts structural features consistent with delocalization within the azine fragment; NLO properties for the azines are also reported.

Transvaginal surgery in the octogenarian using cadaveric fascia for pelvic prolapse and stress incontinence: minimal one-year results compared to younger patients.

Objectives: To evaluate prospectively our transvaginal surgery experience in octogenarian women and compare the results with those in younger patients. As our population has aged, the treatment of incontinence and prolapse in women older than 80 years, known as octogenarians, has become a significant clinical issue.

Methods: To date, our prospective database includes 455 women who have undergone transvaginal sling surgery using nonfrozen cadaveric fascia lata with or without concurrent prolapse repair.

Urethrolysis with Martius labial fat pad graft for iatrogenic bladder outlet obstruction.

This article evaluates treatment outcomes of urethrolysis with the Martius labial fat pad graft for patients with outlet obstruction after incontinence surgery. A total of 23 women were diagnosed with iatrogenic bladder outlet obstruction by urinary retention, urodynamic criteria, physical examination findings, and/or temporal relation of voiding dysfunction to anti-incontinence surgery. The urodynamic definition of female outlet obstruction was a maximum flow rate <12 mL/sec and a detrusor pressure at maximum flow >20 cm of water.

Long-term safety of extended-release oxybutynin chloride in a community-dwelling population of participants with overactive bladder: a one-year study.

In this multicenter, open-label study of extended- and immediate-release oxybutynin chloride, community-dwelling participants were studied for up to 12 months to evaluate the long-term safety profile of extended-release oxybutynin. Quality-of-life assessments designed to measure the impact of incontinence and evaluate treatment outcome were used to study subjective improvement. A total of 904 women and 163 men (mean age 64 years, range 29-91 years) were enrolled.

Needle suspension procedures for female incontinence.

In the past, needle suspensions were considered a viable option to treat female stress urinary incontinence. There have been many modifications since the first needle suspension over 40 years ago. Despite these modifications, the long-term outcome data does not support the efficacy of needle suspension procedures, with only a 67% cure/dry rate at > 48 months.

Continued multicenter followup of cadaveric prolapse repair with sling.

Purpose: Since our initial description of the technique of combining a transvaginal sling with a cystocele repair using solvent dehydrated cadaveric fascia lata and bone anchors we have continued to follow our outcomes closely to determine long-term results. We present the updated, multicenter results of the cadaveric prolapse repair with sling.

Materials And Methods: A total of 172 patients 35 to 90 years old (mean age 62.