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ACL reconstruction significantly improves clinical results and stability of the knee. Difference in Lysholm score and stability between groups was not significant. Neither group showed higher tendency to graft failure within two years. Graft choice for reconstruction in female patients should be surgeon specific and individualised, as both grafts studied achieved comparable results.

Thematic maps are becoming increasingly important in the current information age, and therefore they have become part of the everyday life of the wider public. Given the number of mapping methods used in thematic cartography, the question arises of what extent the utilized method influences a user’s map use level. For this reason, research has been undertaken with 392 students in the 17–20 age group with the aim of identifying and clarifying the influence of the mapping methods used (specifically choropleth mapping, diagram mapping, qualitative and quantitative line symbols, and area shading). The results have shown that the students were less successful with maps that used quantitative mapping methods than with maps using qualitative or both qualitative and quantitative mapping methods. The differences were most significant in the case of the cognitively demanding map interpretation skill, especially due to the students’ problematic understanding of the very essence of the quantitative methods. The different natures of the tested mapping methods also probably accounted for the identification of various factors explaining the differences in the levels of the work with the given thematic maps among the individual tested students.

Bulk single crystals of multicomponent garnet scintillators Lu3–x Gd x Ga y ­Al5–y O12:Ce exhibit much improved scintillation properties in optimized composition islands (x = 2–3, y = 2–3) compared to the simple Lu3Al5O12:Ce one. Namely, a much higher light yield, less intense slow component in the scintillation response, and better energy resolution have been achieved. This work shows that comparable enhancement of the scintillation performance can be reached also in the case of epitaxial garnet films of similar composition though the nature of trapping states acting in the transfer stage of the scintillation mechanism may be different. This is the first time that excellent scintillation properties were reproduced in epitaxial films. Lu3–x Gd x Ga y Al5–y O12:Ce samples were grown by liquid phase epitaxy from BaO-B2O3–BaF2 flux and quantitatively compared with top performance bulk crystals as concerns light yield, energy resolution, scintillation decay, and afterglow characteristics. Reported characteristics point to the potential of such thin film scintillators in high resolution two-dimensional imaging and particle beam diagnostics.

Optical and luminescence properties were studied in the Ce3+ doped yttrium and lutetium aluminum garnets (YAG, LuAG) admixed by Gd3+ and Ga3+ ions. The single crystalline films were grown by liquid phase epitaxy. Energy transfer from Gd3+ sensitizer to Ce3+ activator ions was established. This energy transfer was observed in a broad range of Gd concentrations which may point to longer range interaction between Gd3+ and Ce3+ ions. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)