[Carbon/carbon implants in oral and maxillofacial surgery--Part 2].

In their previous report, the authors presented observations regarding the long-term application of carbon/carbon implants. After evaluating the good functional and aesthetic results, the effect of the human body on the structure and morphology of the implants was investigated with state of the art methods. An implant retrieved from the body after eight years was compared to implants which were sterilized but not implanted (reference).

Localization factor: a new parameter for the quantitative characterization of surface structure with atomic force microscopy (AFM).

In this work we present the possible application of a new parameter called localization factor for the quantitative characterization of surface structures with atomic force microscopy (AFM). For this purpose contact mode AFM images were taken from technologically different polycrystalline gold thin films and were evaluated according to the following parameters: surface roughness (R(a), R(RMS)), roughness factor (f(r)) and localization factor. The localization factor was compared with the other surface parameters.