The vibration of robot joint reducer is the main factor that causes vibration or motion error of robot system. To improve the dynamic precision of robot system, the cycloid ball transmission used in robot joint is selected as study object in this paper. An efficient dynamic modelling method is presented—lumped stiffness method. Based on lumped stiffness method, a translational–torsional coupling dynamics model of cycloid ball transmission system is established. Mesh stiffness variation excitation, damping of system are all intrinsically considered in the model. The dynamic equation of system is derived by means of relative displacement relationship among different components. Then, the natural frequencies and vibration modes of the derivative system are presented by solving the associated eigenvalue problem. Finally, the influence of the main structural parameters on the natural frequency of the system is analysed. The present research can provide a new idea for dynamic analysis of robot joint reducer and provide a more simplify dynamic modelling method for robot system with joint reducer. The main inducement of vibration of high-speed robot is robot joint reducer, and therefore, the dynamic research for robot joint reducer is necessary. At present, domestic and overseas scholars have made many deeply research on cycloid ball planetary transmission, including structure principle , 2, engaFor the moment, the dynamic models of planetary gear mainly include purely rotational model , 9 and tIn view of that, this paper uses the effectively and simple modelling method—lumped stiffness method to establish the translational–torsional coupling model of cycloid ball planetary transmission. Then, the natural frequencies and vibration modes are revealed by solving dynamic equations of system with the purpose of providing guidance for system design.The structure of cycloid ball planetary transmission is shown in Fig. This paper uses cross-ball equal-speed mechanism as output structure for the requirements of robot joint. Cross-ball equal-speed mechanism is made up with the horizontal taper grooves in the right end face of planetary disc, the horizontal taper grooves in the left end face of cross-disc, the taper grooves in the left end face of cross-disc, the taper grooves in the right end face of end cover disc, and balls among three discs. In this paper, cross-ball equal-speed mechanism is proposed, and centre disc is treated as output disc.To simplify the dynamic model, an efficient dynamic modelling method—lumped stiffness method is proposed based on the lumped mass method. The basic thought of lumped stiffness method is as follows: first, the total meshing component force along axis direction will be obtained through mechanical analysis; second, the maximum deformation of meshing point is considered as global deformation, and the component of global deformation along axis direction can be presented; finally, the ratio of total meshing component force to global component deformation along axis direction will be obtained. Obviously, the ratio is lumped stiffness. Compared with the traditional modelling method, the advantages of lumped stiffness method are as follows: nonlinear stiffness, time-varying curvature, and time-varying load have been integrated into the lumped stiffness model and not directly reflected in the dynamic model; the dynamic model will be established and solved easily. The lumped stiffness model of cycloid ball meshing pair and cross-ball meshing pair is, respectively, solved using lumped stiffness method.y axis is zero, but the total meshing force of x axis exists. Therefore, only the lumped stiffness model of x axis is needed.The mechanical model of cycloid ball engagement pairs is shown in Fig. According to the mechanical model, the stiffness model of cycloid ball meshing pairs can be established as shown in Fig. x axis isi meshing point and the y axis. According to the thought of lumped stiffness method, the lumped stiffness of x axis.In addition, the torsional angular displacement of discs in cycloid ball meshing pair is generated by meshing displacement. More importantly, the direction of meshing displacement and meshing force are identical. Hence, for the convenience of calculation, the torsional angular displacement is substituted by torsional linear displacement along the direction of meshing force. The lumped torsional stiffness is substituted by lumped stiffness of Figure x axis and y axis of cross-ball meshing pair is zero. Hence, there is no need to obtain corresponding lumped stiffness except lumped torsional stiffness. The solution thought is shown as follows: the maximum torsional angular displacement is divided by resultant moment. The stiffness model of cross-ball meshing pair is shown in Fig. The force analysis shows that the total meshing force along Specifically, the lumped torsional stiffness of cross-ball equal-speed mechanism isBalls are regarded as elastic element because of the small quality;Balls are pure rolling in the grooves, and the influence of friction force is ignored;The backlash can be eliminated by clearance screw mechanism, and the influence of backlash nonlinearity is ignored;The cross-disc is in a floating state, and the effects of cross-disc are not counted.To press close to the physical reality and avoid the complexity of mathematical treatment, the following simplifications and assumptions are made in the dynamic modelling:x axis. End cover disc has one translational degree of freedom. In total, the model has seven degrees of freedom. Figure For the convenience of description of the relationship between the components of cycloid ball planetary transmission, this paper adopts a servo reference system of eccentric shaft (input shaft). Thus, the geometric centre of the input shaft is the coordinate origin. The coordinate system rotates at the speed of input shaft. According to the force analysis, a planar problem is considered where input shaft, centre disc, and planetary disc have two degrees of freedom: one translational around its own axis and one rotational along the Relative displacement between centre disc and planetary discRelative displacement between end cover disc and planetary discRelative displacement between planetary disc and input shaftThe relative displacement between components is clear because the system has fewer components. The specific contents are shown as follows:The differential equation of system can be obtained using Newton’s second law:Cmx and The formula  is arranThe time-varying element of formula  is omittIn addition, the mechanical model and stiffness modelling method in this paper are different from Refs. , 14, buti order natural circular frequency of system; i order principal mode of system, The natural characteristic of cycloid ball planetary transmission can be presented by solving the eigenvalue problem of derivative system. The eigenvalue problem of formula  is12\docr/min; the meshing stiffness of single cycloid ball meshing pair is 2.87 × 107 N/m; the meshing stiffness of single cross-ball meshing pair is 4.44 × 107 N/m, and the deformation coefficient a is 0.9978. Other basic parameters are shown in Table Without loss of generality, take the cycloid ball planetary transmission used in robot joint as an example, the dynamic characteristics are simulated and analysed. The cross ball equal-speed mechanism is arranged in front of the cycloid ball meshing pair in the prototype. In other words, end the cover disc is fixed and the central disc is used as output component. The speed of input shaft is 1000 By solving the formula , the natIt is necessary to analyse the change regulation of natural frequency relative to parameters of system with the purpose of avoiding vibration. In this paper, based on translational–torsional coupling model, the natural frequency curves of each order are obtained by calculating eigenvalue problem with consideration of main parameters, as shown in Fig. As shown in Fig. As shown in Fig. 7 N/m, the sixth order natural frequency remains constant, but the seventh order natural frequency rises dramatically.As shown in Fig. 8 N/m, the natural frequencies increase obviously with the increase in bearing support stiffness, especially the fifth order; when the bearing support stiffness is greater than 1 × 108 N/m, the sixth- and seventh-order natural frequencies increase significantly. Modal transition phenomenon occurs in the fifth- and sixth-order natural frequencies when bearing support stiffness is 1 × 108 N/m, which should be avoided in the optimization design of system.As shown in Fig. To improve the motion accuracy of robot system, the cycloid steel ball planetary transmission used in robot joint is selected as research object. An efficient dynamic modelling method is presented—lumped stiffness method. A translational–torsional coupling model is modelling, and the natural characteristics of system are revealed.All natural frequencies of system are single. The first-order natural frequency is 0, which represents the rigid motion of system. The vibration modes corresponding to the other six-order natural frequencies are both translational vibration and torsional vibration.The number of eccentricity distance and bearing support stiffness may lead to the modal transition phenomenon. The sensitive points of parameters should be avoided as far as possible in the optimization design of system.


Brachypodium distachyon is a useful model system for stem pith parenchyma biology. Brachypodium can be grown under condition where it resembles the growth patterns of important crops in that it produces large amounts of stem material with the lower leaves senescing and with significant stores of photosynthate located in the stem parenchyma cell types. We further characterize stem plastid morphology as a function of tissue types, as this organelle is central for a number of metabolic pathways, and quantify gene expression for the four main classes of starch biosynthetic genes. Notably, we find several of these genes differentially regulated between stem and leaf. These studies show, consistent with other grasses, that the stem functions as a specialized storage compartment in Brachypodium.Stem parenchyma is a major cell type that serves key metabolic functions for the plant especially in large grasses, such as sugarcane and sweet sorghum, where it serves to store sucrose or other products of photosynthesis. It is therefore desirable to understand the metabolism of this cell type as well as the mechanisms by which it provides its function for the rest of the plant. Ultimately, this information can be used to selectively manipulate this cell type in a controlled manner to achieve crop improvement. In this study, we show that  In many grasses, the stem parenchyma cells function as a heterotrophic tissue for the deposition of excess photosynthate for medium- to long-term storage –3. This Rht1 and Rht2 in wheat [Medium- to long-term carbon storages may consist of fructans, sucrose, hexoses and starch. It has also been proposed that mixed-linkage glucan, in some cases such as leaf of barley seedlings, functions as a storage polymer . Storagein wheat , while min wheat . These sin wheat , 14, 15.Sugarcane represents one of the most successful examples of commercial application of grass stem parenchyma for photosynthate accumulation. Though there are indications that the system has further potential for increases in both sucrose production via photosynthesis and storage via stem parenchyma, over the recent years plant breeders have been unsuccessful in furthering increases of sucrose content in the culm. The specific reasons for the lack of progress are unresolved but evidence exists for inhibitory mechanisms that may exert this apparent roadblock, e.g. source-sink feedback signaling, end-product inhibition of photosynthesis, and/or non-optimal phloem loading and unloading processes , 17. OthBrachypodium distachyon as a model system for studying medium- to long-term carbon storage in heterotrophic stem pith parenchyma cells. Brachypodium is smaller in statue, has a shorter generation time and transformed plants are more readily obtained than in case of maize, sorghum or sugar cane, for instance [We propose the use of instance , 19. HenBrachypodium distachyon Bd21-3 were germinated in 42 x 42 mm peat pellets  and transferred to 10 x 10 x 14 cm pots with SureMix soil  after one week. In case of “stem-elongating” conditions, the environmental growth conditions were kept at 200 μEm-2s-1 light, 16-hour day and 8-hour night, 21°C day and 20°C night, and 60% relative humidity throughout, while pots were placed with no spacing in between them resulting in approximately 10 cm spacing from plant to plant. As an example of more commonly used growth chamber conditions [Seeds of nditions , 19, a tt-Test, assuming a two-tailed distribution and two-sample equal variance.The probability of significant differences between two sets of measurements was determined by the Student’s The aerial vegetative organs of 12-week-old plants were harvested in liquid nitrogen and freeze-dried for 48 hours. Dry weight of the material was determined immediately after the freeze-drying process.https://secure.megazyme.com/; Product no. K-TSTA and K-GLUC). Middle and bottom stem fractions represent stems of 12-week-old plants divided in thirds by length, the cuts being approximately at the S-02 and S-03 positions. Iodine staining was performed on 0.3 to 1.0 mm thick hand-cut sections using Lugol solution . More than ten individual plants from several growth batches were investigated by iodine staining and showing similar results.Starch and sucrose content was determined on 10 mg aliquots  of freeze-dried and homogenized plant material using coupled enzyme assays from Megazyme (http://www.olympusamerica.com/) on 0.3 to 1.0 mm thick hand-cut sections from one of the main stems on three individual plants showing similar results.Chloroplast auto-fluorescence was observed by excitation at 488 nm and collecting the 650–700 nm emission interval. Microscopy was performed using a laser confocal scanning microscope  as imbedding resin and viewed by transmission electron microscopy .For transmission electron microscopy samples were prepared as described by Turner and Somerville  using Po2. The precipitated RNA was subsequently retrieved by centrifugation and purified using the RNeasy Micro Kit and RLT buffer  with DNase treatment  as per manufacturer’s protocol.Total RNA was extracted from four biologically independent replica samples of stem and leaf by a modified version of a protocol developed for pine tree . After ehttps://www.thermofisher.com; Product no. 18080093). qPCR was performed using Fast SYBR Green Master Mix . Reverse transcriptase reaction was performed using 1 μg total RNA per reaction, oligo dT primer and SuperScript III Reverse Transcriptase . A comparison of the dry weight of senescent and green leaves shows that about half of the total leaf material is senescent at the 12-week stage.We measured the mass of stem and leaf for Bd21-3 plants grown for 12 weeks under stem-elongating conditions . Of the To assess the degree of stored carbon in the stem we measured the amounts of starch and sucrose for the middle and bottom thirds of the stem and compared it to green leaf . Plants Cells in the stem storing starch were identified by iodine staining of stem sections at S-01 to S-04. Areas of dark staining with iodine indicate starch accumulation. At each location sections showed extensive staining of dark granules, particularly within the pith parenchyma cells of the stem . Some daWe observed that stem color changed with the age of the plant. As seen in In higher plants, four classes of enzymes, i.e. ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, starch synthase, starch branching enzyme, and starch debranching enzyme, are essential for starch biosynthesis. ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase performs a key function in directing photosynthate towards starch accumulation. The other three classes of enzymes are involved in determining starch primary structure, as well as granule size, shape and crystallinity . In BracTo gain further insights into starch biosynthesis in the stem compared to green leaf in Brachypodium we compared the expression levels of the four classes of genes involved in starch biosynthesis  along wiWe show that Brachypodium can be used as a model for the study of grass stem physiology and development in general. By manipulating growth conditions, an extended vegetative period can be obtained where tiller formation has essentially ceased and continual growth occurs only by formation of additional internodes and corresponding leaves. Under these conditions, the stem portion continues to increase compared to the green leaf portion, as leaf senescence is balanced with the new leaf formation, resulting in a constant level of 2–3 adult green leaves per stem. Hence, for 12-week-old plants the stem portion comprises approximately 40% of the aerial green tissue of the plant. From cross-sections  it is evWe find that 3.8 percent or more of the stem dry weight is composed of starch and sucrose . These sStarch accumulated mainly in the stem cortex in regions of internodes extending above the leaf sheath. It appears that these parenchyma cells have significant photosynthetic capacity, evident by chloroplast auto-fluorescence and abundant thylakoid membrane stacks, while the plastids in the pith parenchyma in older plants resemble amyloplasts; as these have few or no thylakoid membrane stacks, no chloroplast auto-fluorescence, and prominent starch granules. The cortex parenchyma constitutes a smaller fraction of the stem tissue than pith parenchyma, hence the bulk of carbon stores in the stem likely originate from sucrose supplied by another organ producing excess fixed carbon, whereof leaf is a likely possibility.The specialized function of the stem as a carbon storage compartment is reflected by the differential regulation of starch synthesis genes between stem and leaf. Several of these genes are found expressed higher in stem than in leaf, while in all cases a close homolog is present that is expressed in both stem and leaf at comparable levels or at higher levels in leaf. The latter group could be associated with transitory starch synthesis in photosynthetic cells, including stem cortical parenchyma, and the former associated with storage in heterotrophic cells. The most abundantly expressed stem specific starch genes encode the ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase small (Bradi4g27570) and large (Bradi2g14970) subunits, the latter being expressed more than 1000 fold higher in the stem than leaves. These enzymes regulate the metabolic flux into the starch synthesis pathway by catalyzing the first enzymatic step in the pathway. Accordingly, these have been selected as target genes for up regulation in cereals  and dicots (potato and cassava) with the aim to increase starch accumulation in seed or tuber –32. In BThe isolation of promoter fragments that specifically drive gene expression in stem pith parenchyma would be of great value as a biotechnological tool. Genes such as Bradi2g14970 (ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase large subunit 3), which display high expression in the stem and not in leaf, are likely associated with cis regulatory elements that confer such desired expression characteristics, and so such genes serve as target regions for further investigations.Engineering grasses to accumulate hexoses or other compounds in the pith parenchyma cells at high levels would likely provide improved bioenergy crops. To address these and other objectives we need a more comprehensive understanding of stem parenchyma metabolism, primarily through metabolomics and transcriptomics in both applied and model systems. The Brachypodium growth conditions for Bd21-3 described here are a prerequisite to obtaining enough stem material for some of these analysis, while at the same time, having the experimental advantages of a model system.S1 Fig(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S2 Fig(PDF)Click here for additional data file.S1 File(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.S1 Table(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.


European Journal of General Practice (EJGP) from 1995 to 1999 [www.woncaeurope.org/content/fons-sips-2016, http://vdgm.woncaeurope.org/content/memory-fons-sips, www.bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i4892), the picture emerges of a passionate general practitioner who developed into an international advocate for the cause of high-quality general practice/family medicine (GP/FM) across Europe. He was acknowledged and valued by many.The subtitle of this paper refers to an Editorial by Fons Sips, who was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the When you read his Editorials, it is clear that Sips was a promoter of patient-centred family medicine, delivered by personal doctors, who were trained by qualified teachers, using evidence-based knowledge, provided by general practice research. He regarded science to be an international means of bridging differences between cultures and healthcare systems and at the same time raising the status of general practice across Europe. Sips saw this journal as a unifying medium connecting the worlds of researchers, teachers, and practitioners of family medicine in Europe. Consequently, he wrote about ‘the European dimension’ as a criterion for acceptance of a manuscript to be published in this journal. Authors should be challenged to answer the question what their situation had in common with their European colleagues, or how their particular setting could inspire others working under different circumstances ,2.Index Medicus/Medline – the ‘maturity test,’ Sips called it – was in progress. Sips acknowledged the constructive contributions of referees in the review process. He appreciated ‘their dedication to set up a quality standard for the journal.’ He saw their efforts as an illustration of ‘the European-wide involvement of general practitioners and family physicians in fostering GP/FM as a scientific discipline’ [In his farewell editorial , Sips cocipline’ .Index Medicus/Medline (‘PubMed’) in 2003 and in the ScienceCitation Index Expanded  in 2012. The journal is published online since 2006, and from this year on, 2017, the journal will provide ‘gold’ open access to all its readers.Reading these editorials, I felt reassured: we still act in the same spirit! The current team of EJGP editors shares the same passion for effectively communicating relevant research findings of high quality from and to our colleagues across Europe and beyond. We too rely heavily on the goodwill and the quality of our reviewers. And finally, I recognize how the ‘intensive collaboration’ of many colleagues – authors, editors, reviewers, the Wonca Europe Executive – and the publisher, continues to be an essential condition for this journal to flourish. Only by these joint efforts could the EJGP successfully adapt to changes in society (‘internet’) and the world of scientific publishing. Since 1999, this journal has passed not one but two ‘maturity tests’: its indexation in I hope that many readers agree with me, that this is a historic step forward. In a previous Editorial, I have written about the inevitability of open access publishing, and about its opportunities and challenges . I suggeThe Wonca Europe executive, the publisher and the editors of this journal hope that researchers in the field of GP/FM will not only consider but also choose the EJGP as the medium for their message. Imagine that all colleagues in Europe (and the rest of the world) now can read and use your article, provided they have an internet connection. Your message is available to all colleagues, students, vocational trainees, teachers, fellow researchers and even interested patients; it is at their fingertips, on their smartphones, tablets, laptops and office computers. Moreover, you can bring your article to their attention using Twitter and other social media: it is merely one click away. Thus, we hope that the intended readership of the EJGP – colleagues, students, vocational trainees, teachers, fellow researchers and interested patients – will soon discover that for them there are no barriers anymore in viewing, downloading, reading, forwarding, and citing our full-text articles.European Journal of General Practice now can try to achieve its ambition of becoming ‘the’ scientific medium connecting the worlds of researchers, teachers, and practitioners of family medicine in Europe. Together we can build that European community of ‘authors’ and ‘readers’ in general practice/family medicine. Submit! Tweet us! Like us! Cite us! Use us!In the spirit of Fons Sips, the We look forward to a great twenty-third volume of the EJGP!


The intra-operative death of a liver transplant recipient is a devastating complication that occurs very infrequently. If the liver graft is exactly procured from the living donor at the same time, it is impossible to transplant this graft to the intended recipient; this liver graft is called an “orphan graft”  The apprOur first potential recipient was a 65-year-old woman who had end-stage liver disease due to cryptogenic cirrhosis. Her Child-Turcotte-Pugh and MELD scores were C13 and 27, respectively. The other intended recipient was a 41-year-old man, also with end-stage liver disease due to hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis. His Child-Turcotte-Pugh and MELD scores were C12 and 21, respectively . Both paLiving donors underwent our standardized multistep evaluation protocol for the right lobe liver donation. The donors, 22- and 24-year-old healthy individuals, were properly informed of the risks of both surgical procedures (donor and recipient) and also of potential complications.The donors and recipients operations were performed according to the techniques already described by our group. The donors hepatectomy and the recipients total hepatectomy were completed almost simultaneously by two surgical teams.Almost 1600 liver transplantations were performed at Liver Transplantation Institute of Inonu University between 2002 and 2015; 329 (20.5%) of them were cadaveric liver transplantation and the remaining 1270 (79.5%) were living-donor liver transplantations. There were only two orphan grafts that were used according to the legal procedures.Two recipients died during the anhepatic phase, of myocardial infarction even though we did not observe any significant cardiopulmonary diseases during preoperative evaluation period. In fact, both of the recipients were found to be suitable candidates for liver transplantation. Review of the preoperative evaluation and of the intraoperative anaesthesia records for each recipient showed nothing abnormal until the time of cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, after all the efforts made to keep them alive we could not make it. At the same time, donor hepatectomy operation was completed and we had two suitable grafts.Should we use these orphan grafts for other suitable patients? First of all, we talked to the recipients and donors families. They accepted to utilize the orphan grafts for other patients waiting in the transplant list. After taking the written informed consents of the families, we informed the national organ network sharing system about the situation who told us to use the grafts for patients waiting in our list because there were no urgent cases on the national waiting list at the same time. We then used the orphan grafts for two suitable recipients from our waiting list.et al, reported the first orphan graft in Mexico in 1999 [Fernando, et al, reported a study about orphan grafts. They asked 22 transplant surgeons and four hepatologists that “what should we do when orphan graft occurs?” Twenty-six of the interviewed surgeons (100%) said that the surgical team should reallocate the graft [Siegler, et al, reported four healthy donors having the rare condition of hepar divisum after intraoperative death of the intended recipients during right lobe adult liver transplantation [Nadalin, antation . Death oantation .et al, reported that a simple solution for the problem of orphan grafts is to avoid this situation [Wachs, ituation . It is cWe have gained some important information after orphan grafts. Preoperative donor approval against the possibilty of orphan graft formation should be undertaken. Detailed preoperative evaluation for the recipient should be performed. Donor and recipient surgery should be performed simultaneously. Surgery and anesthesia team should be experienced. Finally, if an orphan graft occurs, we should take approval from the donors and recipients families for allocation.


The current issue of the International Journal of Telerehabilitation (IJT) contains original work that explores the feasibility of telerehabilitation for a diversity of purposes: a health and wellness program for caregivers; a phonological awareness program for children with hearing loss; telepractice in a school setting for at-risk youth; occupational therapy home visits employing mHealth to facilitate discharge from the acute admission back to the community; speech and language intervention for primary school-aged children; and a commentary on the status of telerehabilitation in Pakistan. The issue’s lead article, “Privacy and Security in Multi-User Health Kiosks,” offers an audit-based protocol that can be used to assess whether a multi-user health kiosk is meeting privacy and security regulations such as HIPAA and HITECH.A note about the high value that the IJT places on diversity, and how the editors actualize those values. The IJT encourages contributions from international contributors and honors dialectal differences. There are also differences in the terminology used between and within professions. In this issue, different authors variously refer to: telerehabilitation, telepractice, telehealth, and mHealth. Again, we respect such differences. The choice of terms is often particular to a profession’s preferred, or even mandated usage. These differences sometimes require negotiation when authors from different professions collaborate on a scholarly work.Word usage that the IJT editors do attempt to discourage is use of the phrase “face-to-face” to denote communication that occurs within the same physical site. This is because videoconferencing enables face-to-face interactions to occur through video. The term “in-person” is therefore preferred to describe interactions within the same site. The use of the terms in-person to describe a ‘traditional’ therapy model and ‘face-to face’ to describe a telehealth model using videoconferencing seems to be gaining traction across the literature.The next volume of the International Journal of Telerehabilitation will be published in Fall, 2017. We cordially invite your submissions by September 1, 2017, and accept original research, case studies, viewpoints, technology reviews, book reviews, and country reports that detail the current status of telerehabilitation.ecohn@pitt.edu.Our peer reviewers constitute a multi-disciplinary group, and include researchers and clinicians from each of the major rehabilitation disciplines, rehabilitation engineers, health information managers, information technologists, and others. We welcome new peer-reviewers and invite guest editors with ideas for special, thematically focused issues. The IJT publication team is agile and can add additional issues as warranted to ensure currency. Please contact Editor Ellen Cohn, PhD if you are interested: Sincerely,Ellen R. Cohn, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA-F,IJT EditorJana Cason, DHS, OTR/L, FAOTA,Senior Associate Editor


Clinically stable and satisfactory results were achieved in the four cases examined. Cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT) imaging revealed that there was no degradation of the graft up to 2 years after surgery. The use of a modified Turkish Delight method using hydroxyapatite granules promises to be a valuable option for the correction of nasal dorsum deficiency.Nasal dorsum augmentation is commonly performed using autologous cartilage grafts, also in the Turkish Delight technique. The aim of this study was to describe a modification of the Turkish Delight technique for dorsal augmentation consisting of small hydroxyapatite-calcium carbonate granules (0.5–1 mm) that were wrapped in layers of oxidized cellulose and glued with 1–2-cm Augmentation of the nasal dorsum has been achieved using various techniques and materials –3. AutolWe used a modified Turkish Delight method using ProOsteon® 200R , which is a resorbable, osteoconductive, hydroxyapatite-calcium carbonate matrix, as an alloplastic graft material instead of diced autologous cartilage. Small matrix granules 0.5–1 mm) were first wrapped in layers of Surgicel® until a sausage-like shape was obtained; the Surgicel® was then moistened with 1–2 ml Tisseel® , a two-component fibrin sealant consisting of fibrinogen and thrombin . However, while the fragility of the structure necessitated the preparation of a wide surgical access to the recipient bed, the use of an endonasal approach was still feasible according to the authors.In 2000, Erol , 4. Wrapwrapping . Althougwrapping  developeUsing readily available hydroxyapatite granules (ProOsteon), a fibrin sealant, and the Surgicel® wrap, the advantages of some of the above-mentioned techniques can be used. The porosity of the granules allows fibro-vascular ingrowth to enhance stabilization and vascularization of the implant. ProOsteon does not require special handling or reconstitution, and is shipped sterile and ready-to-use. A second surgical site can be avoided by respecting the algorithm proposed by Bohluli et al., who suggested the use of easier and more conservative techniques first before considering secondary donor sites in cases where no suitable result can be achieved . The man


Xiangyinsuo 1 hao (X1) starch, which originated from Xinglong in Hainan province, China, had special physicochemical properties, which were ascribed to its lower amylopectin Mw, smaller particle size, and perfect amylopectin structure. The results showed that the most important intrinsic factors that could determine the physicochemical properties of starch were its molecular structure, including the Mw of amylose and AP as well as a fine AP structure.The molecular structure of starches isolated from five jackfruits  and its relationship with physicochemical properties were investigated. Although they had uniform amylose (AM) content, the five jackfruit starches displayed different physicochemical properties, including their pasting, thermal, crystal and texture properties. Furthermore, differences in the molecular structure  of amylose and amylopectin (AP) as well as the same AP fine structure) were also found in the five jackfruit starches. The results indicated that jackfruit starch with a larger Mw of amylose and proportions of DP 25–36, DP ≥ 37 and chain length had a lower peak viscosity, breakdown, final viscosity, setback and adhesiveness, but a higher pasting and gelatinization temperature, gelatinization temperature range, gelatinization enthalpy and relative crystallinity.  Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam) is one of the most common evergreen trees found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and is widely cultivated for its large edible fruit. The varieties grown in China include some originating from Malaysia, such as Malaysia No. 1–6, as well as local varieties such as XingLongBenDi1. Jackfruit is currently cultivated in the provinces of Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan, and the total plantation area is more than 15,000 hectares. Jackfruit is composed of rind, edible yellow flesh, procarp and seeds. Jackfruit seeds which represent 8–15% of the fruit weight2 have a short shelf life because of their high carbohydrate content  and could thus be used as good culture for microorganism3. Although they contain a large amount of potentially useful starchy material, the seeds are usually discarded as a waste in jackfruit processing, thus contributing to environmental pollution4. Due to their high starch concentration, the best way to preserve the seeds is to extract the starch, which is used in different industries based on its suitability.Jackfruit  of amylose and amylopectin, and the amylopectin fine structure) of jackfruit starches is still unknown. In addition, the differences in the molecular structures between different jackfruit species are unclear. Furthermore, the relationship is not clear between the physicochemical properties and the molecular structure for the different jackfruit species.There are a few studies on the physicochemical properties of a variety of jackfruit, mainly concerning seed composition, starch chemical composition, swelling power and solubility, pasting, gelatinization, crystallization and digestibility properties. Tulyathan 10. Jane et al.11 indicated that starches with a short average amylopectin branch chain length had a low gelatinization temperature. Pinhão starches contain amylopectin with a larger proportion of medium-short branch-chains  and an average branched chain-length of 19.7–21.4 anhydrous glucose units12. It was reported that a smaller-sized AP with a higher average external chain length (ECL) and a higher proportion of DP >37 had a higher final viscosity (FV) of the starch10. Compared to AP fine structure studies, there are few reports on the molar masses of amylose and amylopectin separated from starch14. The various average weight-average molar mass (Mw) of amylose (AM) and amylopectin and the corresponding branch chain-length distribution of amylopectin from the same AP sample are still unknown. To the best of our knowledge, the relationship between the physicochemical properties and the molecular structure of amylopectin, including the molecular weight distributions and branch chain-length distribution, is still unclear.The amylopectin (AP) fine structure is of great interest to food scientists and technologists since it profoundly affects the physicochemical and functional properties of starch, including the branch chain length distribution and chain length (CL)Malaysia No. 2 (M2), Malaysia No. 3 (M3), Malaysia No. 4 (M4), Malaysia No. 8 (M8), and Xiangyinsuo 1 hao (X1)] from China are used as raw materials in this study, which aims to investigate their molecular structure and the physicochemical properties of AP and AM. In addition, a relationship between the molecular structure  and the physicochemical properties  is preliminarily studied.Five new jackfruit species 16, which were higher than the values for rice starches (0.28–0.42 × 106 g/mol) but lower than those for potato starch (19.6 × 106 g/mol)18.M3 amylose had the smallest Mw, Mn and Rg  lower Mw, Mn and Rg than did the other amylopectin samples , amylomaize , and barley starches , and relatively similar values were reported for tapioca , and rice starches 16.As shown in Table es Table . The PI 11.Figure According to the characterizations of both the molecular weight distributions and branch chain-length distributions of amylopectin, the five jackfruit seed starches can be divided into three groups: M8; X1; M2, M3, and M4.10. The PV differences in this study could be due to the lower Mw, and Rg of amylopectin from M8 compared to M2, M3, and M4. In addition, starch M8 had the smallest proportion of DP 6–12 and the highest proportion of DP 25–36, DP ≥ 37, and CL as Table 12. StarchX1 had a lower proportion of very long amylopectin branch chains and CL (15.59) and was expected to have a higher PV, but it was found to be lower PV for X1. Based on previous reports19, this result could be due to a lower Mw of amylopectin and particle size of X1  varied significantly from 167 to 1079 cp in jackfruit starches M8 and M4, respectively. The lower BDV observed for starches M8 and X1 suggested its higher shear resistance compared to the group containing M2, M3, M4 and indicated strong cohesive forces within the starch granules and a high thermal stability21. The differences of FV in the five jackfruits could be due to variations in the amylose weights  of the jackfruit starches ranged from 3055 cp to 4665 cp , but the opposite result was observed in this study. If a shoulder was found in the amylopectin chromatogram, it indicated that the short chains formed defective crystallites11. The fact that X1 did not show a shoulder in the chromatogram suggested a perfect crystalline structure, which could have contributed to the very high pasting temperature  reflects the loss of the ordered double helices26. As Table 26, this would lead to the formation of the most perfect but the smallest amount of crystalline structure for X1 compared to the other starch samples. Furthermore, X1 had a better orientation of the double helices within the crystalline lamella when it was examined under an X-ray beam. This was also demonstrated by the pasting and gelatinization temperatures reflected by the RVA and DSC results  parameters of five jackfruit seed starches are shown in Table 27. In addition, it was indicated that hardness of rice starch was caused mainly by retrogradation of starch gels, which was associated with crystallization of amylose for a short time26. Starches with harder gels tended to have longer and a higher proportion of amylopectin chains, which might explain the present observation for M8. The starch with smallest particle size had the highest FV and setback viscosity, which could result in harder gelatinization, based on the results of Zhang et al.9. With the smallest particle size and a perfect amylopectin shoulder structure  and amylopectin (AP) and the fine structure of the same AP.18. These results implied that the molecular size increased with the increasing molecular weight of amylose and amylopectin, or vice versa. However, the prevalent AP molecules were of increased molecular sizes, the amylose molecules were of decreased molecular sizes. Except for X1, the Mw of the amylose displayed a significant positive correlation with the proportion of very long amylopectin branch chains  and CL  but was correlated negatively with short average amylopectin branch chains (DP 6–12) . The Mw of the amylopectin displayed significant positive correlation with short average amylopectin branch chains (DP 6–12)  but was negatively correlated with the proportion of very long amylopectin branch chains (DP 25–36) and CL . A higher proportion of amylopectin fractions  had significant positive relation with the average chain length . These results indicated that a higher proportion of very short chains could form a more compact structure in larger AP but smaller amylose. In addition, a higher proportion of long chains were associated with a high average chain length.Significant positive relationships were observed between Mw and Mn, Rg of the amylose and amylopectin . However, the Mw, Mn, and Rg of the amylose had a significant negative correlation (r = −0.93) with those of amylopectin. Similar result have also been reported in previous studies20, because it had the highest proportion of DP 6–12, the smallest proportion of DP 25–36, DP ≥ 37, and the shortest chain length, the X1 starch was expected to have a higher peak viscosity, breakdown, final viscosity, setback, R, adhesiveness and lower pasting temperature, gelatinization temperature, hardness than the other starches. However, the opposite result was observed for X1. The PV and BDV results could be ascribed to the lower Mw of amylopectin (3.61 × 107 g/mol), its smallest particle size (7.63 μm) and its Rg (94.6 nm). The FV and setback results were caused by the higher Mw of amylose (2.61 × 107 g/mol). For the PV, BDV, FV and setback results from pasting properties, the molar mass (Mw) and molecular size (Rg) had a more significant effect than did the chain profile distribution for X1. Based on previous results26, with its perfect amylopectin shoulder structure, smallest amylopectin size (Rg) and highest proportion of short amylopectin branch chains, X1 can form the most perfect and smallest amount of crystalline structures compared to the other starch samples. As a result, X1 could break down the much less ordered double helices when it was gelatinized. It also had a lower enthalpy (ΔHg) and relative crystallinity than did the other starches. Based on the pasting and gelatinization temperatures, a perfect crystalline structure was found for X1, when Fig. 28, the higher Mw of amylose and the smaller amylopectin and starch particle size could lead to a higher pasting and gelatinization temperature, which might have implicated with the present observations for M1. For the hardness and adhesiveness results based on its textural properties, X1 had more consistent gelatinization after the retrogradation of amylose and amylopectin because of its smallest particle size and perfect amylopectin shoulder structure  and the CL  but had a significant positive correlation with the Mw of amylopectin and the proportion of short and medium average amylopectin branch chains . These results were also generally consistent with previous reports that Mn in AP was positively correlated with the peak viscosity of wheat and rice starch36. However, the opposite result was reported that the Mw of amylopectin was negatively correlated with the peak viscosity and setback of long-grain rice starches37. The discrepancy could be ascribed to the higher Mw of amylopectin (1.21–1.53 × 107 g/mol), the proportion of DP 13–24 (52.1–53.1%), DP ≥ 37 (9.8–10.4%) and the lower amylose content (18.6–22.1%), DP 6–12 (23.8–24.4), 25–36 (13.2%) for the long-grain rice starches than the jackfruit starch used in this study. The Mw of AP was reported to be negatively correlated with the setback but not with the peak viscosity of cassava starches38. It was reported no correlations between Mw and the pasting properties of Taiwanese waxy rice starches39. These results for starches of different origins could be explained by the particle size distribution, morphology, average Mw of amylose and amylopectin, and branch chain-length distribution of amylopectin. The pasting temperature had an inverse relationship with the Mw of amylose and amylopectin, the proportion of short, medium, long amylopectin branch chains and the CL . This result agreed with previous results38. The PV had a significant correlation with BDV, FV, setback and pasting temperature  based on the molecular structural properties of the jackfruit starches. In contrast, rice starch had a lower PV and BDV and tended to have a higher FV and setback. The shape of those AP molecules was probably closer to the AM molecules, which easily formed associations between themselves and significantly contributed to network formation, resulting in higher values of FV and SB during cooling10. In this study, the Mw of jackfruit amylose was lower than that of amylopectin, and the proportion of DP 25–36, ≥37 was higher than that of rice starch , which might have implicated with the present observation. Except for X1, the temperature parameters  had a significant positive relationship with the Mw of amylose, proportion of very long amylopectin branch chains  and CL  but showed a significant negative correlation with the Mw of amylopectin and proportion of short average amylopectin branch chains (DP 6–12) . This generally agreed with previous results for sweet potato starch40, waxy maize starch41, barley starch42, amaranth starch43 and wheat starch24, which indicated that a higher proportion of short chains of DP 6–12 resulted in a lower gelatinization temperature and enthalpy, whereas a higher proportion of chains of DP 24–36, ≥37 was correlated with a higher gelatinization temperature. The enthalpy (ΔHg) and relative crystallinity had a significant correlation with short, long, very long amylopectin branch chains and CL . The thermal and crystal properties were in accordance with the pasting properties based on the molecular structure. This finding was in accordance with previous studies on amaranth starch42 and wheat starch24 but was not with cassava starch38. A possible explanation may be that cassava starch granules have a highly homogeneous and ordered structure with a larger granule size and higher entanglement of amylopectin with higher proportion of low molecular weight amylopectin than jackfruit starches do.Many studies have reported on the relationship between all kinds of physicochemical properties, such as the proximate composition, size distribution, morphology, swelling power, solubility, and pasting, thermal, crystal, textural, digestion, and retrogradation properties45.Except for X1, gel hardness had a significant positive correlation with the Mw of amylose and the proportion of very long amylopectin branch chains  and the CL  but showed a significant negative correlation with the Mw of amylopectin and proportion of short average amylopectin branch chains (DP 6–12) . The opposite relationship was observed between adhesiveness and the starch molecular structure. The textural properties were in accordance with the pasting, gelatinization and crystal properties, as the hardness was positively correlated with the pasting temperature, gelatinization temperature, ΔHg and relative crystallinity  but was negatively correlated with the PV, BDV, FV, setback, R and adhesiveness  on basis of molecular structure of jackfruit starch. This was similar to previous results for rice starchArtocarpus heterophyllus Lam.), planted in China, were isolated and characterized in terms of their molecular structure for the first time. A relationship was built between molecular structure and the physicochemical properties. The M8 had a higher amylose Mw, proportion of DP 25–36, DP ≥ 37, and CL, but M2, M3 and M4 had higher amylopectin Mw, and X1 had a higher proportion of DP 6–12 and a perfect amylopectin structure. A shoulder at DP 14–18 was observed for all amylopectin samples except X1. For a similar amylose content, the textural properties were in accordance with the pasting, gelatinization and crystal properties because the hardness was positively correlated with the pasting temperature, gelatinization temperature, ΔHg and relative crystallites  but negatively correlated with the PV, BDV, FV, setback, R and adhesiveness  on the basis of the molecular structure of jackfruit starch. These results demonstrated that the molecular structure of starch plays a role in determining their physicochemical properties. These results could be used as a reference to further analyse the starch structure and the relationships between the starch structure and the physicochemical properties in the future.The starches of five varieties of an untraditional source, jackfruit , Malaixiya No. 3 (M3), Malaixiya No. 4 (M4), Malaixiya No. 8 (M8). The last was the local cultivar Xiangyinsuo 1 hao (X1).Five jackfruits cultivars were harvested in May 2016 from the garden of the Spice and Beverage Research Institute , and the seeds were obtained from the bulbs. All five jackfruits cultivars came from plants of the same age, harvest stage, climatic and agronomic conditions. Four exotic jackfruit cultivars were et al. with some modifications9. The jackfruit seeds were stored at −40 °C for 3 hours and then dried at 60 °C for 45 min. The arils and thin brown spermoderms could be easily removed manually. The remaining pieces of spermoderms were removed by washing several times with distilled water.Starch was extracted using the method described by Zhang The seeds were mixed with triple distilled water and broken in a colloid mill for 10 min. The seed fibres were eliminated by passage through a 200 mesh sieve after homogenization. The residual mixture was centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 30 min and the supernatant was discarded. The precipitate was re-suspended in a 0.5 M solution of sodium thiosulfate  for 36 h, during which it was stirred at regular intervals. It was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 min. The supernatant was removed, and upper brown sediment was manually scraped. The sediment was neutralized until the pH reached 7.0. The residual was further washed with 50% ethanol three times. The white starch cake was dried at 50 °C until the moisture content was less than 13 g/100 g. The starch was ground and passed through a 100 mesh sieve. The prepared starch was packed in an aluminium foil bag until further analysis.et al. with some modifications14. The jackfruit seed starch was mixed with water to a concentration of 3% (w/v), then placed into a bath shaker  until the temperature reached 100 °C, where it was held for 1 h with continuous stirring. The samples were centrifuged at 5000 g/min for 10 min using a centrifuge . The supernatant was mixed with 1/2 volume of absolute ethanol. The mixture was centrifuged after standing for 12 hours. The precipitate was amylose. To remove the remaining amylose completely, the precipitate from the first centrifugation was heated, stirred, and centrifuged again. The new precipitate was mixed with methanol to a concentration of 80% (v/v), vortexed  for 2 min, and centrifuged. The precipitate was amylopectin. The amylose and amylopectin were vacuum freeze-dried  to produce the samples for testing.The amylose and amylopectin were separated by the method of Zhong 46.The average particle size and range of starch in solution were determined with a Nicomp 380/ZLS Zeta potential/Particle sizer  based on dynamic light scattering (DLS). The solutions were diluted to a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL with deionized water, and all measurements were obtained at 25 °C. The amylose content of starches defatted with 85% methanol solution was quantified using methods from the literatures14. The HPSEC-MALLS-RI consisted of a LC-20AB Pump , a HP1050 injector, a Waters 2414 differential refractometer , and a Dawn DSP-F Multi-angle Laser Light-scattering Detector . High-performance Liquid Chromatographic Columns  were connected in series for the SEC analysis. DMSO/NaNO3 (50 mM) was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. The mobile phase was degassed for 20 min using ultrasonic and filtered through a 0.45 μm PTFE filter. The temperatures of the RI and LS detectors were maintained at 40 °C and 55 °C, respectively. A dextran standard  was used to normalize the multi-angle photodiode detector in the MALLS.Amylose and amylopectin Mw, Mn, Rz, and polydispersity  were determined by HPSEC-MALLS-RI systems3), and the concentration was brought to 2 mg/mL. The mixture was stirred for 20 h in a magnetic agitator at 90 °C. All solutions were filtered with a 0.45 μm PTFE filter before the MALLS measurement.The samples were dissolved in a DMSO solution (50 mM)  was used for data acquisition and analysis. A second-order Berry method was used for curve fitting and to calculate the molecular weight, mean square radius of gyration and polydispersity index.47. The sample (40 mg) was mixed with 2 mL of acetic acid buffer  in a test tube with a plug and cooked in a boiling water bath with stirring for 30 min. After the mixture was cooled to 55 °C, 10 μL of pullulanase was added, and the mixture was stirred for 15 h in a magnetic agitator at 55 °C. The solution was placed in a boiling water bath for 20 min, and an aliquot of the mixture was centrifuged at 5000 g for 10 min. The supernatant was filtered through a 0.45 μm filter and diluted 10-fold before injection for analysis. The HPAEC system consisted of an ED50 electrochemical detector and the CarboPac PA200 column . The mobile phase was a gradient eluent with 150 mM NaOH and 500 mM sodium acetate in 150 mM NaOH, and the flow rate was set as 0.5 mL/min.The amylopectin fine structure of the jackfruit starches was determined by high performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection The pasting properties were studied with a Rapid Visco Analyzer . An aliquot of 3.0 g of starch sample was mixed with 25.0 mL water and stirred in an RVA container initially at 960 r/min for 10 secs and then at 160 r/min for the remainder of the procedure. The temperature-time conditions included a heating step from 50 to 95 °C at 6 °C /min (after an equilibration time of 1 min at 50 °C), a holding phase at 95 °C for 5 min, a cooling step from 95 to 50 °C at 6 °C/min and a holding phase at 50 °C for 2 min. The parameters recorded were peak viscosity, breakdown, final viscosity, setback viscosity, and pasting temperature. All measurements were replicated three times.26. A aliquot of 2 mg sample (dry basis) was loaded into a 40 mL aluminium pan, and distilled water was added to achieve a starch-water suspension containing 70% water. The samples were hermetically sealed and allowed to stand for 24 h at room temperature before heating in the DSC. The sample pans were heated from 20 to 100 °C at a rate of 10 °C /min. Indium and an empty aluminium pan were used as reference to calibrate the DSC. The onset temperature (To), peak temperature (Tp), conclusion temperature (Tc) and gelatinization enthalpy (ΔH) were calculated by a Universal Analysis Program (TA Instruments). The analyses were performed in triplicate.The thermal properties were determined using a differential scanning calorimeter , equipped with a thermal analysis data station 26. All measurements were replicated three times.The crystal structure of starch was determined with a Di System X-ray diffractometer  equipped with a copper tube operating at 40 kV and 200 mA, producing CuKα radiation at a 0.154 nm wave length. Diffractograms were obtained by scanning from 4° to 40° (2θ) at a rate of 4°/min, a divergence slit width of 1°, a step size of 0.02°, a scatter slit width of 1° and a receiving slit width of 0.02 mm. The relative crystallinity of starches was calculated as the area ratio of the crystalline sharp peak over the total area using peak-fitting software 27. Starch  mixed with distilled water was cooked for 30 min in a boiling water bath with moderate mechanical agitation then cooled in a mold. The texture of the starch gel was determined using a texture analyser  with a 50 kg load cell with a two-cycle compression. The analyser was linked to a computer that recorded the data via the Texture Expert Excede Version 1.0 software package (Stable Micro Systems Software). A P/0.5 R cylinder probe was used to carry out the TPA pattern with 40% strain, a pre-test speed of 1.0 mm/s, a test speed of 2 mm/s and a post-test speed of 10 mm/s. Hardness, adhesive force, springiness, gumminess, cohesiveness were determined, and the values reported were the mean of ten replications.The textural profile analysis (TPA) of starch samples was performed according to literature methods with some modificationsThe mean, standard deviations and significant differences between the values and the correlation between parameters were calculated using SPSS 12.0.1 . Tests of significant differences between means were determined by Duncan’s multiple range tests at a significance level of 0.05. The data reported in all of the tables were the average of triplicate observations.Supplementary Tables


The editors of Dentistry Journal would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015.We greatly appreciate the contribution of expert reviewers, which is crucial to the journal’s editorial decision-making process. Several steps have been taken in 2015 to thank and acknowledge reviewers. Good, timely reviews are rewarded with a discount off their next MDPI publication. By creating an account on the submission system, reviewers can access details of their past reviews, see the comments of other reviewers, and download a letter of acknowledgement for their records. In addition, MDPI has launched a collaboration with Publons, a website that seeks to publicly acknowledge reviewers on a per journal basis. This is all done, of course, within the constraints of reviewer confidentiality. Feedback from reviewers shows that most see their task as a voluntary and mostly unseen work in service to the scientific community. We are grateful to our reviewers for the contribution they make.Ajay Sharma, LavanyaBerron, Brad J.Crowther, MarkArduino, Paolo G.Charalampakis, GeorgiosDalessandri, DomenicoAzuma, KazuoCho, Sang-ChoonDavis, Graham R.Baik, Hyoung-SeonChrcanovic, BrunoDouglass, JoannaBasrani, BettinaChu, Chun-HungEisenbeiss, Anne-KatrinBecker, KathrinCooper, PaulFirth, NormanFleisher, KennethGomes, BrendaGüldner, ChristianHalazonetis, Demetrios J.Hirshberg, AbrahamHofer, DeborahHorowitz, Robert A.Jaquiéry, ClaudeKao, Daniel W.K.Kapellas, KostasKeeling, David M.Keller, Mette K.Khambay, Balvinder S.Kitamura, ChiakiKremer, UrsLang, ChristineLin, Yng-TzerMacEntee, MichaelManfredi, MaddalenaMarsich, EleonoraMazor, ZivMilosevic, AlexMonje, AlbertoNadjmi, NasserNascimento, CassioNibali, LuigiParnanen, PirjoPommer, BernhardPotluri, AnithaSahrmann, PhilippSato, TakuichiSchmidlin, PatrickSchroth, Robert J.Shapira, YehoshuaShimauchi, HidetoshiSimon, Stephane R.J.Sinon, SurayaSuzuki, NaoTadinada, AdityaThikkurissy, SaratTroedhan, AngeloVan Ryn, JoanneWalenga, Jeanine M.Warnakulasuriya, SamanXi, TongYakin, MumammedZaslanky, PaulZhao, Linping


Over the past two decades, Snodgrass tubularized incised plate (TIP) urethroplasty has become one of the dominant surgical techniques with wide applications and excellent cosmetic results. However, TIP has many limitations. We performed a retrospective study at our department and assessed the outcome of the inlay internal preputial graft for extending the applications of TIP.P < 0.05 indicating significant differences.Between January 2009 and December 2013, we performed a retrospective study consisting of approximately 508 primary distal and moderate cases. Patients with primary distal hypospadias who had mild or no chordee and good penile development were divided into the following 3 groups based on their procedures: (1) classic TIP hypospadias repair group (n = 198); (2) inlay buccal mucosa graft group (n = 150); and (3) inlay internal preputial graft group (n = 160). The median age was 1.6 years (range 1–4 years). Our data were analyzed statistically by the Chi square test with The mean follow-up period was 18 months (range 6‒24 months). In the classic TIP group, the incidence of urinary fistula and meatal stenosis were both 3.0 % (6/198); in the inlay buccal mucosal graft group, the incidence of urinary fistula was 3.3 % (5/150), and the incidence of stenosis was 2.7 % (4/150); and in the inlay internal preputial graft group, the incidence of urinary fistula was 3.1 % (5/160), and the incidence of meatal stenosis was 4.4 % (7/160). The success rates of each group were as follows: the classic TIP group has a success rate of 93.9 % (186/198); the inlay buccal mucosa graft group had a success rate of 94.0 % (141/150); and the inlay internal preputial graft group had a success rate of 92.5 % (148/160). There were no statistically significant differences between the 3 groups with respect to complication rates.As the inner foreskin Snodgraft does not appear to be worse than the buccal mucosa graft, it is a good method for hypospadias repair, and this method is not inferior to TIP. In 1994, Snodgrass . The uroP < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). It has once again been shown that the Snodgraft procedure had significant advantages. The inlay buccal mucosa graft urethroplasty was also used in failed cases or complex urinary fistula repair and also produced satisfactory results . Written informed consent was obtained from the parents of all of the patients and control subjects before the initiation of the study. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Renji Hospital, which was affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.Between January 2009 and December 2015, we performed a retrospective study consisting of approximately 508 cases of primary surgery with distal and moderate type hypospadias identified by the urethral meatus during surgery . For data analysis, our hospital used SPSS 13.0 software for statistical inspection. The rate comparison of urethral meatus and the outcome were performed by Chi square test, and d et al. ]. The scA successful outcome was defined based on the presence or absence of complications, including fistula , diverticula (which could affect the urine stream and required surgery), meatal stenosis/stricture (with stricture apparent on a urethrogram requiring subsequent intervention), recurrent curvature greater than 30-degrees, glans dehiscence and/or skin reoperation with some bleeding, and a loss of stent ; the surgery success rate and complication rates showed no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05)  .Our results show that the incidence of urinary fistula was 3.0 % (6/198), and the incidence of meatal stenosis was 3.0 % (6/198) in the TIP group; the incidence of urinary fistula was 3.3 % (5/150), and the incidence of meatal stenosis was 2.7 % 4/150) in the inlay buccal mucosa graft group; and the incidence of urinary fistula was 3.1 % (5/160), the incidence of meatal stenosis was 4.4 % (7/160) in the inlay internal preputial graft group . It had been proven that the Snodgraft procedure has significant advantages. Acimovic M reported their overall success rate was 90.6 % on re-operative patients with anterior urethral strictures   , 94.0 % (141/150), and 92.5 % (149/160). Compared to the TIP group, the inlay buccal mucosa graft and the inlay internal preputial graft groups did not show any statistically significant differences in surgical success and complication rates (47) Fig.  had repoBuccal mucosa and internal preputial grafts share many advantages, such as a strong anti-infection ability, rich capillary beds, high survival rates, and abundant graft sources  For the re-operative cases, the internal preputial graft and the original urethral plate have been commonly damaged; therefore, it is hard to obtain a satisfying outcome. (2) For patients who need to transect the poor urethral plates with width less than 5 mm (measured in operation), bad quality and serious fibrosis, the internal preputial graft cannot fully play the role of re-epithelialization on the transected plate. The graft is only used as a patch for the hypospadias urethra instead of tubing into the urethra. The inlay internal preputial graft Snodgrass is rarely preferred for these groups.Our study has many limitations as follows: (1) Patients selection as we only selected patients with distal and moderate primary hypospadias, good penile development, and mild or no curvature and (2) a short follow-up period. A short follow-up period may exert a great effect on the complication rates (Spinoit et al. In general, the Snodgrass inlay internal preputial graft could be used for patients with normal penile development, mild or no chordee, poor urethral plate development and distal or moderate types of hypospadias except for the re-operative patients, which could be used to avoid the damage of harvesting the donor area of the oral mucosa and produce the advantages of the classic snodgrass procedure. The Snodgrass inlay internal preputial graft has a high success rate, favorable cosmetic outcomes, and no extra damage. Because our study has a short follow-up period, we will investigate a longer outcome in our next study.As the Snodgraft inner foreskin does not appear to be worse than the buccal mucosa graft, this may be a good method for hypospadias repair, and this method is not inferior to TIP.


FEVAR) is increasingly being used for juxtarenal aortic aneurysms. The aim of this study was to review long‐term results and assess the importance of changing stent‐graft design on outcomes.Fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR within a single unit over 12 years (February 2003 to December 2015). Kaplan–Meier analysis of survival, and freedom from target vessel loss, aneurysm expansion, graft‐related endoleak and secondary intervention was performed. Comparison between outcomes of less complex grafts (fewer than 3 fenestrations) and more complex grafts (3 or 4 fenestrations) was undertaken.This was a retrospective review of all patients who underwent FEVAR; median age was 76 (i.q.r. 70–79) years and 90·2 per cent were men. Median aneurysm diameter was 63 (59–71) mm and median follow‐up was 34 (16–50) months. The adjusted primary technical operative success rate was 95·4 per cent. The in‐hospital mortality rate was 5·2 per cent; there was no known aneurysm‐related death during follow‐up. Median survival was 7·1 (95 per cent c.i. 5·2 to 8·1) years and overall survival was 60·1 per cent (104 of 173). There was a trend towards an increasing number of fenestrations in the graft design over time. In‐hospital mortality appeared higher when more complex stent‐grafts were used . Graft‐related endoleaks were more common following deployment of stent‐grafts with three or four fenestrations .Some 173 patients underwent Fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair for juxtarenal aneurysm is associated with few aneurysm‐related deaths in the long term. Significant numbers of secondary interventions are required, but the majority of these can be performed using an endovascular approach. Prevents aneurysm rupture The treatment of a juxtarenal aortic aneurysm by fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) was first reported in 1999FEVAR stent‐graft design has changed over the past decade, with a trend towards a more proximal seal zone, necessitating more fenestrations or scallops to maintain visceral perfusion. Although this may allow the treatment of more complex aneurysms, it is perceived by the authors that it is also being applied to juxtarenal aneurysms that were previously treated using less complex grafts.BSET GLOBALSTARThe aim of this study was to assess the overall long‐term outcomes following FEVAR for the treatment of juxtarenal aortic aneurysms in a single centre, and to observe the effect of changes in stent‐graft design.Data for all patients undergoing FEVAR for juxtarenal aortic aneurysm in the Liverpool Vascular and Endovascular Service between February 2003 and December 2015 were included in the analysis. Patients who underwent an endovascular repair involving branched components or fenestrations with a proximal thoracic extension were excluded as these procedures were deemed to represent thoracoabdominal aneurysm repairs. Information was obtained by retrospective review of institutional data including patient demographics, aneurysm characteristics, operative details and postoperative surveillance. Confirmation of mortality data were obtained from National Health Service (NHS) institutional information. Cause of death was obtained from patient's general practitioners or death certificates.U‐shaped gap in the proximal fabric of the graft’A target vessel was defined according to a previously published reportTwo subgroups were created, divided by the median number of fenestrations in implanted stent‐grafts. This created a group of grafts with no, one or two (fewer than 3) fenestrations and a group with three or four fenestrations. Clinically, this relates to patients who would normally undergo stenting of a mesenteric vessel (3 or 4 fenestrations) or not (fewer than 3).The primary endpoint was overall survival. Secondary endpoints were freedom from target vessel loss, aneurysm growth, graft‐related (type I or III) endoleak and secondary intervention. Definitions of success, complications and other events associated with endovascular repair were in accordance with accepted reporting standardsPreoperative renal function was calculated as creatinine clearance, using the Cockcroft–Gault formula. All calculations were based on ideal bodyweight calculated from the patient's sex and preoperative height.A standardized post‐FEVAR surveillance protocol was developed including plain abdominal X‐ray before discharge, duplex ultrasonography and single arterial‐phase CT angiography (CTA) after 1 month, with clinical review 6 weeks after surgery. Abdominal X‐ray, duplex ultrasonography and CTA were repeated after 6 months, then annually. If complications or potential problems were identified, patients were discussed at a multidisciplinary team meeting. Further imaging in the form of triple‐phase CTA or contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography was performed if deemed appropriate, and secondary intervention was undertaken if indicated clinically. Loss of a target vessel was defined as complete occlusion of the target vessel main stem.Continuous data are presented as median (i.q.r.). Overall survival, target vessel loss, graft‐related endoleak and secondary intervention were all subject to Kaplan–Meier analysis and log rank comparison using RStudio® version 0.99 . Median follow‐up was determined by means of the reverse Kaplan–Meier technique. All other statistical analysis was done using SPSS® version 22 .Table  During the 12‐year study interval, some 209 patients underwent a branched and/or fenestrated procedure in the authors' institution, of whom 174 were eligible for inclusion in this analysis. One patient in whom the operation failed was excluded from the analysis. The device could not be introduced past a stenotic aortic bifurcation and the procedure was abandoned. This patient remained alive 34 months after the failed operation. Baseline data for the remaining 173 patients are summarized in Table  Fig.  versus 4; Z‐score = 4·64, P < 0·001, Mann–Whitney U test). Aneurysm and stent‐graft D1 (neck) diameter did not display any trend over time and are presented as surrogate markers of aneurysm morphology .All patients were treated with fenestrated stent‐grafts produced by a single manufacturer . The stent‐graft configuration was recorded for all patients Table  . The mosThe fenestrated device was introduced successfully in 173 patients. Two target vessels (0·3 per cent) were lost during surgery, in separate patients; both were renal arteries. There were 35 patients with a graft‐related endoleak (type I or III) on completion of the procedure. The primary technical success rate was 79·2 per cent (137 of 173 patients). Twenty‐nine of the 35 graft‐related endoleaks identified on completion angiography had resolved without intervention by the 1‐month surveillance imaging. This gave an adjusted primary technical success rate of 95·4 per cent (165 patients).versus 360 (300 to 485) min; P < 0·001). Some 29 unplanned intraoperative manoeuvres were required to ensure adequate aneurysm treatment in 29 patients (Table  The median duration of operation was significantly shorter for stent‐grafts implanted with fewer than three fenestrations than those with three or four fenestrations (285 (95 per cent c.i. 240 to 330) There was a total of 572 target vessels. Of these, 126 (22·0 per cent) were preserved with a scallop and 446 (78·0 per cent) with a fenestration. It was routine practice to place a stent in all fenestrations; however, this was not possible in four instances.Of the 126 vessels preserved with a scallop, ten (7·9 per cent) required a stent . In total 452 vessels were stented. The stent type was known in 419 procedures. Bare metal stents were used in 80 target vessels . Covered stents were used in 339 target vessels .A total of nine patients (5·2 per cent) died during the primary hospital admission. The cause of death was embolic ischaemia of abdominal viscera (3), myocardial infarction (2), multiple organ failure (2), retroperitoneal bleed from a target vessel (1) and aspiration pneumonia (1). Of those who died from abdominal viscera ischaemia, one patient had a stent‐graft with four fenestrations, and the remaining two patients had stent‐grafts with three fenestrations and a scallop for the coeliac axis.P = 0·059).Mortality rates according to stent‐graft complexity were similar: 2 of 83 patients (2 per cent) who received devices with fewer than three fenestrations died in hospital, compared with seven of 90 (8 per cent) whose stent‐grafts had three or four fenestrations  had 53 primary complications which prolonged hospital stay (P = 0·476).Median length of hospital stay was 7 (5–11) days (167 patients), and did not differ between stent‐graft complexity groups (Table  Three patients (1·7 per cent) required temporary dialysis, but none needed new permanent dialysis Table  . Forty‐sFig.  Figs S3–S7 (supporting information).Median follow‐up was 34 (i.q.r. 16–50) months. All‐cause survival was 59·4 per cent (95 per cent c.i. 50·7 to 69·5) years at 5 years. Overall median survival was 7·1 (95 per cent c.i. 5·2 to 8·1) years. Sixty‐nine patients died during follow‐up (versus fewer than three fenestrations (12 of 90 (13 per cent) versus 6 of 83 (7 per cent) respectively; P < 0·001) ; P = 0·508) ; P = 0·160)  and freedom from loss of a target vessel (84 of 90 (93 per cent) versus 78 of 83 (94 per cent); P = 0·272) . Survival was similar in the groups with more and less complex stent‐grafts (72 of 90 (80 per cent) versus 32 of 83 (39 per cent); P = 0·264) ,Rates of graft‐related endoleak were higher in patients who received stent‐grafts with three or four fenestrations 2 of 90 1 per centThirty‐four patients required a secondary intervention during follow‐up. The first secondary intervention was endovascular in 30 patients and four required open surgery. Most interventions were on target vessel stents (19) or limbs (8), and were indicated by endoleaks or stenosis. Six patients required more than one secondary intervention, which resulted in a total endovascular rate of 82 per cent (36 of 44) for all secondary interventions.FEVAR is an effective and safe method for treating aneurysms not suitable for standard endovascular repair, in the short to medium term. These observations were confirmed in the present cohort. The inpatient mortality rate of 5·2 per cent in this series is higher than the GLOBALSTAR rate of 4·1 per centOne of the difficulties associated with reporting of outcomes of patients with aortic aneurysms is the lack of standard reporting criteria. No clear guidance exists to define juxtarenal aneurysm. A number of terms are used in everyday clinical practice, including juxtarenal, pararenal and suprarenal aneurysm. It would help greatly in comparing the outcomes of different interventions if these were defined consistently. The present series demonstrated a trend towards higher hospital mortality after deployment of more complex stent‐grafts (3 or 4 fenestrations) and this may simply be a reflection of the more complex aortic morphology. Over time there has been an increasing use of more complex stent‐grafts to deal with juxtarenal aneurysms in the author's centre, and anecdotally among other centres. The advantage of using more complex stent‐grafts is that the sealing zone is generally pushed higher in the aorta, thus offering a potentially more durable proximal seal in relatively healthy aorta. More complex stent‐grafts may come at a cost of increasing operating time and rates of graft‐related endoleak because of the larger number of fenestrations. The lack of difference in rates of aneurysm expansion, secondary interventions and all‐cause mortality between stent‐grafts of varying complexity may simply be due to the relatively small numbers of patients.The primary technical success rate in this series of 79·2 per cent on completion angiography was relatively lower than in other contemporary series 96·8 per cent) per centFreedom from target vessel loss was 90·1 per cent at 5 years in this series. The attrition rate of target vessels is therefore surprisingly low even in the long term, and none of the target vessels that occluded resulted in serious clinical consequences for any patient. This is within the context of a robust surveillance programme which identifies and can act upon threats to target vessel patency. These results are in line with those of another long‐term studyThe present data appear to confirm the benefit of fenestrated EVAR technology for juxtarenal aneurysm repair in the long term. There were no aneurysm‐related deaths in longer‐term follow‐up and the overall survival was encouraging for a population of patients with aortic aneurysm. A significant number of complications were identified during postoperative surveillance; however, interventions to deal with these seemed effective. Secondary interventions performed after discharge were, in the main, endovascular procedures. The frequency of secondary intervention (37·2 per cent over 5 years) confirms the need for continued stent‐graft surveillance.Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article:Fig. S1 Aneurysm diameter by calendar year (Word document)Fig. S2 Stent‐graft D1 diameter (neck diameter) by calendar year (Word document)Fig. S3 Freedom from mortality  for 10 years following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (Word document)Fig. S4 Freedom from graft‐related endoleak following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (Word document)Fig. S5 Freedom from abdominal aortic aneurysm growth (more than 5 mm) following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (Word document)Fig. S6 Freedom from secondary intervention following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (Word document)Fig. S7 Freedom from loss of any target vessel following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (Word document)Fig. S8 Freedom from abdominal aneurysm growth (more than 5 mm) following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair in relation to number of fenestrations in stent‐graft (Word document)Fig. S9 Freedom from loss of a target vessel following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair in a single UK centre in relation to number of fenestrations in stent‐graft (Word document)Fig. S10 Freedom from mortality  following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair in relation to number of fenestrations in stent‐graft (Word document)Fig. S1 Aneurysm diameter by calendar year. Median value (bold line), i.q.r. (box), and range (errors bars) excluding outliers (circles) are shownFig. S2 Stent‐graft D1 diameter (neck diameter) by calendar year. Median value (bold line), i.q.r. (box), and range (errors bars) excluding outliers (circles) are shownFig. S3 Freedom from mortality  for 10 years following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair, with 95 per cent confidence intervalsFig. S4 Freedom from graft‐related endoleak following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair, with 95 per cent confidence intervalsFig. S5 Freedom from abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) growth (more than 5 mm) following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair, with 95 per cent confidence intervalsFig. S6 Freedom from secondary intervention following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair, with 95 per cent confidence intervalsFig. S7 Freedom from loss of any target vessel following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair, with 95 per cent confidence intervalsFig. S8 Freedom from abdominal aneurysm (AAA) growth (more than 5 mm) following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair in relation to number of fenestrations in stent‐graft. P = 0·160 (log rank test)Fig. S9 Freedom from loss of a target vessel following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair in a single UK centre in relation to number of fenestrations in stent‐graft. P = 0·272 (log rank test)Fig. S10 Freedom from mortality  following fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair in a single UK centre in relation to number of fenestrations in stent‐graft. P = 0·264 (log rank test)Click here for additional data file.


Site-controlled epitaxial growth of InAs quantum dots on GaAs substrates patterned with periodic nanohole arrays relies on the deterministic nucleation of dots into the holes. In the ideal situation, each hole should be occupied exactly by one single dot, with no nucleation onto planar areas. However, the single-dot occupancy per hole is often made difficult by the fact that lithographically-defined holes are generally much larger than the dots, thus providing several nucleation sites per hole. In addition, deposition of a thin GaAs buffer before the dots tends to further widen the holes in the [110] direction. We have explored a method of native surface oxide removal by using indium beams, which effectively prevents hole elongation along [110] and greatly helps single-dot occupancy per hole. Furthermore, as compared to Ga-assisted deoxidation, In-assisted deoxidation is efficient in completely removing surface contaminants, and any excess In can be easily re-desorbed thermally, thus leaving a clean, smooth GaAs surface. Low temperature photoluminescence showed that inhomogeneous broadening is substantially reduced for QDs grown on In-deoxidized patterns, with respect to planar self-assembled dots. The use of self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) has been suggested as a promising approach in applications as building blocks in single-photon sources and novel quantum computer architectures ,2. Such 0.5Ga0.5As QD stacks on IAD patterns were assessed by low-temperature Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy.In this work, we have used surface exposure of nanopatterned GaAs surfaces to indium beams as a valid alternative to Ga and H, since In sources are a standard component of III/V MBE systems, and excess In can be easily removed thermally at low enough temperatures (about 550C), due to its higher vapor pressure with respect to Ga ,10. This0.33Ga0.67As superlattice (SL), and further 200 nm GaAs were deposited as a buffer to improve surface quality. Growth is performed in a Gen II solid-source MBE system , with growth rates of 1 µm/h for GaAs and 0.5 µm/h for AlAs, a V/III ratio of about 20 for GaAs and a growth temperature of 580 °C.Substrates for synthesis of site-controlled QDs were pre-grown by MBE on semi-insulating (001) GaAs substrates on which 200 nm GaAs, 200 nm GaAs/Al2 areas for research purposes, to regions of several cm2, which would be required for broad-area optoelectronic devices based on site-controlled nanostructures. A Si mold with a 2D square array of cylindrical pillars of about 90 nm height, 64 ± 6 nm diameter and a period of 300 nm, fabricated in our lab . Among the patterning techniques, NIL has been recently employed thanks to its high throughput and low cost for manufacturing of miniature devices . This te our lab a, was us3PO4:H2O2:H2O solution. Resist residuals were removed by solvent baths and oxygen plasma cleaning. Before introduction into the MBE chamber, patterned samples were dipped in a HCl:H2O solution (1:5) for 30s to thin down the surface oxide layer. The pattern was then transferred to the GaAs substrate by wet chemical etching in a 1:1:25 Het al.  direction could be due to a small residual presence of InAs in the holes, which would hinder successive GaAs nucleation inside the holes themselves, due to strain induced by InAs. This mechanism can be formalized in terms of the chemical potential on a non-uniform surface profile, which for our growth environment can be written as o is the chemical potential on a flat, uniform surface; the second term is the chemical potential variation due to non-uniform surface strain, with στ the tangential stress and E the elastic modulus; the third term is the surface energy contribution to the chemical potential, where γ is the surface free energy, Ω the atomic volume and κ(r) the surface curvature, and reflects the tendency of adatoms to migrate towards concave regions (capillarity). During In-assisted oxide desorption, In atoms diffuse preferentially into the holes due to capillarity. This In accumulation could prevent a complete material desorption inside the holes during annealing, differing from the planar areas, and results in the formation of a thin InAs layer upon exposure to arsenic. The strain induced by this InAs would then hinder GaAs nucleation in the holes, due to the second term of the equation above, and thus help to preserve the hole shape, which would be altered by asymmetric incorporation of GaAs. This explanation is confirmed by a test sample in which an IAD pattern was annealed for much longer times (10 min) in As4 flux before depositing the GaAs buffer, with the intent to desorb any possible residual In inside the holes. In such sample (upper right inset in 2), suggesting that the different hole shapes between the GAD and IAD procedures is actually due to residual In in the holes, which gets desorbed with longer annealing. The reduced deposition of GaAs into the holes, in the case of IAD, is confirmed by their larger depth after deposition of 10nm GaAs, with respect to GAD. Patterned samples were then overgrown with a 10 nm GaAs buffer at 460 °C, leading on both cases to a sharp (2 × 4) RHEED pattern. exposure , as a reexposure . In the 2+γΩκ(r) . Here, µThe hole shape has a deep influence on the spatial distribution of overgrown InAs QDs. We have deposited on both patterns either a single layer of InAs (1.8 ML thickness), or a tenfold stack of 1.8 ML InAs separated by 10 nm GaAs spacers. Such spacer thickness was chosen as the highest which would guarantee a 95% vertical pairing probability between dot stacks through strain propagation .In the case of GAD, due to the much larger size of the holes in the [110] direction with respect to the lateral dot dimensions (around 30nm), one hole provides nucleation sites to accommodate several dots in such orientation. Due to the difficulty of depositing exactly the InAs amount giving the correct equivalent planar density corresponding to the density of the holes , this rei.e., slightly smaller and more uniform than in the equivalent GAD case; this could be possibly due to a more closely packed and uniform arrangement inside the holes. Despite of the initial multiple occupancy, the spatial distribution of the first QD layer favors the nucleation of single dots in the subsequent layers. This can be seen in the SEM image of single dots-per-hole only, was found to be 7.1 ± 0.6 nm, corresponding to an 8.5% dispersion. The single dot uniformity is thus very close to the record height uniformity of ±7.2% reported by Kiravittaya et al. for optimized single dots on patterns defined by electron beam lithography (EBL) , their strain fields propagate separately through successive layers, and QD distribution mimics the one of the initial seed layer. In the IAD case, QD distribution in the round holes is largely symmetrical, thus a considerable part of neighboring dots will merge their strain fields and evolve into single dots in the following layers.Since the growth parameters and QD density in the first layer (about 3.1 dots per hole) are the same for the two deoxidation procedures, it is evident that the preponderant establishment of single dots per hole in the case of IAD is due to the different arrangement of the dots inside the holes in the first layer. In particular, such different arrangement should originate a different evolution of the strain fields above the dots in the two cases. Namely, the more symmetrical hole shape induced by IAD, should favor an intermixing of the strain fields of neighboring dots, which eventually join to form more localized single strain minima atop of most of the holes. An asymmetry in the strain energy density distribution was evidenced by calculations performed on QD bimolecules aligned either along [110] or [11¯0] . Consist0.5Ga0.5As QDs, followed by a single layer of InAs QDs and a GaAs cap of 40 nm , thus we expect that a good part of the inhomogeneous broadening we observe is related to the residual presence of multiple dots in part of the holes. Regarding site-controlled QDs grown on NIL-defined hole patterns, slightly larger linewidths have been reported in Reference [Low temperature PL emission from this sample is shown in eference , where Reference . In facteference , where heference , the sliWe have shown that In-assisted deoxidation is an effective method to yield clean and smooth GaAs surfaces, in accordance with previous observations . Further