A Suspended Nanogap Formed by Field-Induced Atomically Sharp Tips

A sub-nanometer scale suspended gap (nanogap) defined by electric field-induced atomically sharp metallic tips is presented. A strong local electric field (\u3e109 V=m) across micro/nanomachined tips facing each other causes the metal ion migration in the form of dendrite-like growth at the cathode. The nanogap is fully isolated from the substrate eliminating growth mechanisms that involve substrate interactions. The proposed mechanism of ion transportation is verified using real-time imaging of the metal ion transportation using an in situ biasing in transmission electron microscope (TEM). The configuration of the micro/nanomachined suspended tips allows nanostructure growth of a wide variety of materials including metals, metal-oxides, and polymers. VC 2012 American Institute of Physics

How Many Presentations Are Published as Full Papers?

BackgroundThe publication rate of presentations at medical international meetings has ranged from 11% to 78% with an average of 45%. To date, there are no studies about the final rate of publications at scientific meetings associated with plastic surgery from Korea. The present authors investigated the publication rate among the presentations at meetings associated with plastic surgery.MethodsThe titles and authors of the abstracts from oral and poster presentations were collected from the program books of the Congress of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (CKSPRS) for 2005 to 2007 (58th-63rd). All of the abstracts presented were searched for using PubMed, KoreaMed, KMbase, and Google Scholar. The titles, key words from the titles, and the authors' names were then entered in database programs. The parameters reviewed included the publication rate, type of presentation including running time, affiliation, subspecialty, time to publication, and publication journal.ResultsA total of 1,176 abstracts presented at the CKSPRS from 2005 to 2007 were evaluated. 38.7% of the abstracts, of which oral presentations accounted for 41.0% and poster presentations 34.8%, were published as full papers. The mean time to publication was 15.04 months. Among journals of publication, the Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons was most used.ConclusionsBrilliant ideas and innovative approaches are being discussed at CKSPRS. The 38.7% publication rate found from this research appeared a bit lower than the average rate of medical meetings. If these valuable presentations are not available as full papers, the research would be a waste of time and effort

Analysis of the predictive role and new proposal for surgical strategies based on the modified Tomita and Tokuhashi scoring systems for spinal metastasis

BACKGROUND: We sought to identify preoperative factors significantly correlated with survival. We also aimed to evaluate the validity of the prognostic scores in the Tomita and Tokuhashi systems and discuss several aspects to improve the predictive accuracy of these systems. Moreover, we suggest modified criteria for selecting treatment strategies. METHODS: In total, the outcomes of 112 patients with spinal metastasis who underwent surgery between January 2006 and June 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. The validity of the prognostic scores was assessed on the basis of their correlation with survival. For various primary malignancies, new scoring criteria were applied in each system according to the survival results obtained in this study. Each revised scoring system was adjusted with a similar principle of scoring as described previously. Patient survival according to each preoperative factor was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. The predictive value of each scoring system was evaluated by the log-rank test and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The interval from the diagnosis of the primary malignancy to that of spinal metastasis (p = 0.023) and the interval from the diagnosis of spinal metastasis to surgery (p = 0.039) were significantly correlated with survival. Regarding Tokuhashi scores, the correlation coefficient was 0.790 before adjustment (p = 0.001) and 0.853 after adjustment (p < 0.001). For Tomita scores, the correlation coefficient was -0.994 (p < 0.001) both before and after adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Tomita scores more accurately predicted survival than Tokuhashi scores. It is helpful to evaluate both scoring systems with adjustment for primary malignancy depending on the clinical setting. Patients with Tomita scores less than or equal to 8 and Tokuhashi scores greater than or equal to 6 are recommended to undergo surgical management