Bactericidal action of positive and negative ions in air

In recent years there has been renewed interest in the use of air ionisers to control of the spread of airborne infection. One characteristic of air ions which has been widely reported is their apparent biocidal action. However, whilst the body of evidence suggests a biocidal effect in the presence of air ions the physical and biological mechanisms involved remain unclear. In particular, it is not clear which of several possible mechanisms of electrical origin (i.e. the action of the ions, the production of ozone, or the action of the electric field) are responsible for cell death. A study was therefore undertaken to clarify this issue and to determine the physical mechanisms associated with microbial cell death. In the study seven bacterial species (Staphylococcus aureus, Mycobacterium parafortuitum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii, Burkholderia cenocepacia, Bacillus subtilis and Serratia marcescens) were exposed to both positive and negative ions in the presence of air. In order to distinguish between effects arising from: (i) the action of the air ions; (ii) the action of the electric field, and (iii) the action of ozone, two interventions were made. The first intervention involved placing a thin mica sheet between the ionisation source and the bacteria, directly over the agar plates. This intervention, while leaving the electric field unaltered, prevented the air ions from reaching the microbial samples. In addition, the mica plate prevented ozone produced from reaching the bacteria. The second intervention involved placing an earthed wire mesh directly above the agar plates. This prevented both the electric field and the air ions from impacting on the bacteria, while allowing any ozone present to reach the agar plate. With the exception of Mycobacterium parafortuitum, the principal cause of cell death amongst the bacteria studied was exposure to ozone, with electroporation playing a secondary role. However in the case of Mycobacterium parafortuitum, electroporation resulting from exposure to the electric field appears to have been the principal cause of cell inactivation. The results of the study suggest that the bactericidal action attributed to negative air ions by previous researchers may have been overestimated

Rekonstruktion von Oberkieferdefekten mit einem freien Skapula-angle-Lappen

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Neben der prothetischen Versorgung von Maxilladefekten gibt es Möglichkeiten der chirurgischen Rekonstruktion: die Weichgeweberekonstruktion mit einem Radialis- oder Latissimus-dorsi-Lappen und die knöcherne Rekonstruktion mittels Fibula, Beckenkamm oder Skapulalappen. Die Rekonstruktion mit einem Skapulalappen wird unterteilt in den traditionellen Skapulalappen mit der A.scapularis circumflexa und den Skapula-angle-Lappen mit der A.angularis aus der A.thoracodorsalis als versorgendem Gefäß. Material und Methoden: Wir berichten über 4Patienten, die zwischen 2009 und 2011 aufgrund von malignen Tumoren der Maxilla nach erfolgter Resektion eine Rekonstruktion mit einem freien Skapula-angle-Lappen erhalten haben. Ergebnisse: Die Möglichkeit vertikaler Positionierung des Skapula-angle-Lappens erlaubt die Rekonstruktion der fazialen Kontur. Bei horizontaler Ausrichtung des mikrovaskulär anastomosierten Skapula-angle-Lappens ist eine zusätzliche knöcherne Rekonstruktion des Gaumens möglich. Schlussfolgerung: Der Skapula-angle-Lappen eignet sich wegen seiner Variabilität, geringer Donormorbidität und aufgrund seiner Form, die der des Hartgaumens ähnelt, gut zur plastischen Rekonstruktion. Die knöcherne Beschaffenheit für eine dentale Rehabilitation mithilfe von Implantaten wird kontrovers diskutiert. Er stellt eine Alternative zur Versorgung ausgewählter Maxilladefekte ≥ GradI nach Okay mit einer Obturatorprothese da

Spatial Graphs with Local Knots

It is shown that for any locally knotted edge of a 3-connected graph in $S^3$, there is a ball that contains all of the local knots of that edge and is unique up to an isotopy setwise fixing the graph. This result is applied to the study of topological symmetry groups of graphs embedded in $S^3$.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures; in v. 2 the proof of Theorem 1 has been clarified, and other minor revisions have been mad

Finding cactus roots in polynomial time

A cactus is a connected graph in which each edge belongs to at most one cycle. A graph H is a cactus root of a graph G if H is a cactus and G can be obtained from H by adding an edge between any two vertices in H that are of distance 2 in H. We show that it is possible to test in O(n4)O(n4) time whether an n-vertex graph G has a cactus root

Singularities in the Fermi liquid description of a partially filled Landau level and the energy gaps of fractional quantum Hall states

We consider a two dimensional electron system in an external magnetic field at and near an even denominator Landau level filling fraction. Using a fermionic Chern--Simons approach we study the description of the system's low energy excitations within an extension of Landau's Fermi liquid theory. We calculate perturbatively the effective mass and the quasi--particle interaction function characterizing this description. We find that at an even denominator filling fraction the fermion's effective mass diverges logarithmically at the Fermi level, and argue that this divergence allows for an {\it exact} calculation of the energy gaps of the fractional quantized Hall states asymptotically approaching these filling fractions. We find that the quasi--particle interaction function approaches a delta function. This singular behavior leads to a cancelation of the diverging effective mass from the long wavelength low frequency linear response functions at even denominator filling fractions.Comment: 46 pages, RevTeX, 5 figures included in a uuencoded postscript file. Minor revisions relative to the original version. The paper will be published in the Physical Review B, and can be retrieved from the World Wide Web, in http://cmtw.harvard.edu/~ster

Rekonstruktion von Oberkieferdefekten mit einem freien Skapula-angle-Lappen [Reconstruction of maxillary defects using a free scapular angle flap].

BACKGROUND: In addition to prosthetic rehabilitation, maxillary defects can also be surgically reconstructed. Soft-tissue reconstruction employs a radial forearm or latissimus dorsi muscle flap, while bony reconstruction can be achieved using a fibula, iliac crest, or scapular flap. Reconstruction using a scapular flap is further divided into two subgroups: the traditional scapular flap with the circumflex scapular artery as the donor vessel and the scapular angle flap with the angular artery originating from the thoracodorsal artery as the donor vessel. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We report on four patients who underwent successful reconstruction with a free scapular angle flap between 2009 and 2011, following maxillary resection due to malignancy. RESULTS: Vertical positioning of the scapular angle flap enables reconstruction of the facial contour, whereas its horizontal alignment and microvascular anastomosis makes a bony reconstruction of the hard palate possible. CONCLUSIONS: The versatility, low rate of donor site morbidity and shape of the scapular angle flap--which resembles that of the hard palate--render it ideal for plastic reconstruction. The suitability of bone quality for dental rehabilitation with implants is a topic of controversial discussion. The scapular angle flap represents an alternative to obturator prosthesis for the reconstruction of maxillary defects ≥ grade I according to Okay et al

Correlation Functions for Diffusion-Limited Annihilation, A + A -> 0

The full hierarchy of multiple-point correlation functions for diffusion-limited annihilation, A + A -> 0, is obtained analytically and explicitly, following the method of intervals. In the long time asymptotic limit, the correlation functions of annihilation are identical to those of coalescence, A + A -> A, despite differences between the two models in other statistical measures, such as the interparticle distribution function