The nanowires’ protrusion from the film surface enables it to conform to the surface roughness to make a better thermal contact. This resulted in a 61% reduction in thermal

impedance when compared with blank polymer. An similar to 30 nm Au film on the top of the composite was found to act as a heat spreader, reducing the thermal impedance further by 35%. A contact impedance model was employed to compare the contact impedance of aligned silver nanowire-polymer composites with that of aligned carbon nanotubes, which showed that the Young’s modulus of the composite is the defining factor in the overall thermal impedance of these composites.”
“Background We measured the prevalence of stigma, self-blame, and perceived blame from others for RSL3 price their illness among Selleck MEK162 men with colorectal cancer (CRC) and examined whether these factors were associated with depressive symptoms, independent of clinical and sociodemographic factors. Methods Self-administered questionnaires were returned in the fall of 2009 by 1109 eligible male US veterans who were diagnosed with CRC at any Veterans Affairs facility in 2008. Questionnaires assessed stigma, feelings of blame, and depressive symptoms as well as other facets of health, cancer characteristics, and quality and type of medical care. We report the prevalence of cancer stigma, self-blame, and perceived

blame from others. We used multivariate linear regression to assess the association between these factors and a measure of depressive symptoms. Covariates included several measures of overall health, cancer progression, symptom severity, and sociodemographic factors. Results Thirty one percent of respondents endorsed at least one item in a measure of cancer stigma and 25% reported feeling that it was at least a little true that they were to blame for their illness. All three independent variables were associated with depressive symptoms in bivariate models; cancer stigma and self-blame were significantly associated

with depressive symptoms in the multivariate model. Conclusions Cancer stigma and self-blame are problems for a significant minority of men with CRC and are independent see more predictors of depressive symptoms. They may represent an important source of stress in men with CRC. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.”
“The aim of this study was to compare outcome and quality of life of tension-free vaginal tape “”inside-out”" (TVT-O) and Monarc transobturator tapes after 2-4 years.

The method used was a prospective comparative study. Participants (n = 191) were assigned to either a TVT-O (n = 93) or a Monarc (n = 98) procedure. Cure of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) was defined as the statement of the woman of not experiencing any loss of urine upon physical exercise.

Cure rates after 2-4 years were 72% for TVT-O and 65% for Monarc, while improvement was observed in, respectively, 12% and 21% (p = 0.3).