Accelerated growth of a molecular-based material that is an active participant in its continuing self-propagated assembly has been demonstrated. This nonlinear growth process involves diffusion of palladium into a network consisting of metal-based chromophores linked via palladium.

We investigated the influence of nipple areolar complex (NAC) sparing in mastectomy, on patient satisfaction with cosmetic results, body-image, sexuality and psychological well-being. We developed a specific questionnaire and compared two groups of women who underwent radical mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction (IBR). Between 2004 and 2006, 310 women with NAC preservation and 143 patients with successive NAC reconstruction were mailed the questionnaire at follow-up 1 year after definitive complete breast reconstruction surgery. 256 questionnaires was available. Our results showed significant differences in favour of the NAC sparing group regarding body image (difficulty in looking at themselves naked and being seen naked by their partners after surgery, P = 0.001 and P = 0.003, respectively); regarding satisfaction with the appearance of the nipple (P \ .0001) and with the sensitivity of the nipple (P = 0.001); regarding the feeling of mutilation (P = 0.003). NAC sparing in mastectomy has a positive impact on patient satisfaction, body image and psychological adjustment.

High-efficiency, solid-state thermoelectric energy conversion requires materials with a large thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT), defined as [1] rS 2 T/j, in which S is the Seebeck coefficient, r the electrical conductivity, j the thermal conductivity, and T the absolute temperature. The state of the art materials for thermoelectric cooling applications are alloys based on Bi 2 Te 3 /Sb 2 Te 3 and Bi 2 Te 3 /Bi 2 Se 3 with ZT ∼ 1, while a value of ZT ∼ 4 is necessary to surpass competing technologies.[2] Nanostructuring these thermoelectric materials has recently emerged as a successful strategy to gain factorial enhancements in ZT, [3][4][5][6] owing to quantum and classical size effects of the charge and heat carriers, respectively. [2,5] Quantum confinement of the charge carriers is believed to enhance the Seebeck coefficient S and electrical conductivity r owing to an increased density of states at the Fermi level. [7][8][9] . Moreover, intense boundary and interface scattering of heat carriers decreases thermal conductivity, [2,5,[10][11][12][13] exemplified in the Bi 2 Te 3 /Sb 2 Te 3 nanolayer superlattices [3] exhibiting ZT ∼ 2.3.Further increases in ZT are expected due to the presence of stronger quantum confinement and thermal conductivity reduction effects as the dimensionality of the nanostructures is decreased. Sub-nanometer-diameter nanorods of bismuth telluride are predicted to yield ZT values as high as 14, which is nearly threefold higher than the value predicted for two-dimensional (2D) quantum wells. [14][15][16] However, if the diameter is > 5 nm the electrical transport properties of the nanorods approach bulk properties. These studies have sparked a flurry of activity to produce nanorods and nanowires with small diameters from materials that have high ZT values in the bulk form. Most work to date on synthesizing nanorods or nanowires of bismuth telluride based materials has been by surfactantmediated solvothermal techniques [17][18][19] [27]Here, we describe a simple one-step, template-free, lowtemperature (100°C), aqueous-phase synthesis approach to obtain single-crystal bismuth telluride nanorods with diameters in the range 27-130 nm. These diameters are smaller than previously reported, and can be controlled by adjusting the reaction time and the molecular passivating agent, offering promise for realizing high-ZT thermoelectric nanostructures.In a typical synthesis procedure, either thioglycolic acid or L-cysteine was added to bismuth chloride solution, transforming the initially transparent solution to a yellow color due to thio-ligation of the bismuth ions. This solution was mixed with orthotelluric acid in water preheated to 80°C and then refluxed with excess hydrazine monohydrate at 100°C. The reaction was quenched with water at different time intervals to extract 5 mL of the refluxed mixture for microanalysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images in Figure 1 reveal the bismuth telluride nanorods obtained from a 5 h synthesis. The rods are straight with curved tips; there is no...

Here we present the critical role of the molecular structure and reaction parameters on the nature of thin-film growth, using a versatile two-step assembly method with organic and metal-organic chromophores cross-linked with palladium. It was found that the polypyridyl complexes exhibit exponential growth, whereas, under identical conditions, the organic systems exhibit linear behavior. The internal film morphology plays a pivotal role in the storage and usage of the palladium, where a more porous structure results in exponential growth. Interestingly, through proper tuning of the reaction conditions, the growth of the molecular assemblies can be controlled, resulting in a changeover from exponential to linear growth. These findings unequivocally demonstrate the importance of both the internal film structure and deposition conditions on the assembly of molecular-based films.