Laparoscopy in Trauma Patients

The burden of major trauma, predominantly blunt in nature, continues to rise in most countries. More often the young are affected with lifelong debilitating consequences. Minimally invasive techniques, such as laparoscopic procedures, have become standard for the treatment of many surgical conditions, being able to minimize the impact of surgery, to reduce postoperative pain, time in hospital, time to recover, and to improve cosmetic outcomes

Preparation of small silicon carbide quantum dots by wet chemical etching

Fabrication of nanosized silicon carbide (SiC) crystals is a crucial step in many biomedical applications. Here we report an effective fabrication method of SiC nanocrystals based on simple electroless wet chemical etching of crystalline cubic SiC. Comparing an open reaction system with a closed reaction chamber, we found that the latter produces smaller nanoparticles (less than 8 nm diameter) with higher yield. Our samples show strong violet-blue emission in the 410–450 nm region depending on the solvents used and the size. Infrared measurements unraveled that the surface of the fabricated nanoparticles is rich in oxidized carbon. This may open an opportunity to use standard chemistry methods for further biological functionalization of such nanoparticles