e., with more levels of bifurcation. Diminishing returns are reached in both directions, decreasing phi and increasing complexity. For example, when phi=0.02 the minimized peak stress of a design with one bifurcation level is only 0.2% greater than the peak stress in the optimized vascular design with two levels of bifurcation.”
“We describe a simple method for evaluating the adequacy of the capsule for implantation of a foldable intraocular lens (IOL) during phacoemulsification complicated by a posterior capsule tear. After

cortical lens material clean-up and anterior vitrectomy (if required), 3 knots of 10-0 nylon are tied to the trailing haptic of the IOL using a 3/1/1 configuration. Then, the IOL is inserted into the sulcus. If it is unstable when the surgeon tries to deepen or shallow the buy NVP-BSK805 INCB024360 anterior chamber, gently pulling the nylon thread will prevent posterior IOL dislocation. Two further attempts to implant the IOL in the other meridians of the capsule are made. The results of using this technique in 10 eyes of 10 patients are reported. Optic decentration occurred in 1 case (10%). No postoperative dislocation was observed, and no patient required surgery for IOL decentration during the follow-up.”
“Polypropylene (PP) has wide applications in various

areas, but its low-temperature brittleness and low moduli have limited its applications in engineering areas. This article reported micro-/nanoscale combinational inorganic fillers (CIFs) to reinforce PP-matrix composites as the first example. The CIFs consisted of plate-like talc (T), needle-like wollastonite (W), and nano-Al(2)O(3) (N). The PP/CIFs specimens were fabricated via a process of twin-screw extrusion and screw-type injection molding. The mechanical properties and thermal deflection temperature (HDT) of the PP/CIF composites were tested according to the corresponding standards, and the morphologies of the tensile-fractured sections were observed using FE-SEM. The PP/WT composites

had higher mechanical properties and HDTs than those of either PP/W or PP/T. Small amounts of Al(2)O(3) nanocrystals together with WT simultaneously strengthened and toughened the PP-matrix composites. The PP/WTN composite with 2.6% of nano-Al(2)O(3) had well-balanced properties, enhanced by a large increment when compared with the PP matrix or PP/WT selleck kinase inhibitor composites. The enhancements should be attributed to the synergistic effects of the CIFs not only in the aspect of various shapes (plate-like, needle-like, and spherical) but also in hierarchical size-levels (microscale and nanoscale). The novel strategy overcame the limitation of conventional rigid modification and solved the problem of uniform dispersion of nanocrystals. in polymer matrices. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 115: 624-634, 2010″
“Background Identifying psychosocial needs and satisfying them are important issues to many cancer patients.