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The Seebeck coefficient S and the electrical resistivity ρ of single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) films were investigated as a function of the SWCNT diameter and carrier concentration. The S and ρ significantly changed in humid environments through p-type carrier doping. Experiments, combined with theoretical simulations based on the non-equilibrium Green’s function theory, indicated that the power factor P can be increased threefold by the enrichment of semiconducting SWCNTs, but the nanotube diameter has little effect. The improvement of the film resistivity strongly enhances the film thermoelectric performance, manifested as increasing the value of P above 1200 µW/(m·K2).

Indications for autotransplantation Autotransplantation is defined as the transplantation of embedded, impacted or erupted teeth from one site into extraction sites or surgically prepared sockets in the same person. 3 Autotransplantation has been used to replace missing teeth and teeth of poor prognosis. 4-10 The etiology of tooth agenesis is largely unknown. Vastardis 11 presented supporting evidence of a genetic etiology for tooth agenesis. He also reported the most frequently absent teeth are third molars followed by mandibular second premolars. 11 There are reports of associations of tooth agenesis and other congenital tooth anomalies to certain malocclusions. 12 The treatment plan for missing teeth cases should be based on a comprehensive evaluation of the age, occlusion, and space requirements of the patient as well as the size and shape of the adjacent teeth. 13 If extraction has been planned in the maxilla for the correction of crowding or reduction of a overjet, a maxillary premolar may be transplanted to the second premolar site in the mandible (Fig 1). In most cases, the tooth or teeth to be extracted due to caries or periodontal disease are the first molars. In this case, transplantation of third molars to the first molar site may be considered. 4,6,10 Maxillary incisors are the teeth most frequently involved in trauma. Zachrisson 14 reported autotransplantation of the developing mandibular second premolar to the avulsed maxillary incisors. Autotransplantation may provide a simplified and faster treatment option for patients with ectopically positioned teeth. The optimal treatment for ectopically positioned

During the serial passage of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in different countries after initial seed distribution from the Pasteur Institute, specific insertions and deletions in the genome among BCG substrains were observed and speculated to result in differences in immunological activities. 'Early-shared strains' of BCG (Russia, Moreau, Japan, Sweden, Birkhaug), distributed by the Pasteur Institute, which conserve three types of mycolate (alpha, methoxy, keto) in cell wall, exhibited stronger activities of induction of nitric oxide, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, IL-8, IL-12 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, from human epithelial cell line A549, human myelomonocytic cell line THP-1 and mouse bone marrow cells in the presence of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) than did 'late-shared strains' of BCG (Danish, Glaxo, Mexico, Tice, Connaught, Montreal, Phipps, Australia, Pasteur). The stronger induction of IL-12 and TNF-alpha in the presence of IFN-gamma was also observed by trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate (TDM) extracted from BCG-Japan than by TDM from BCG-Connaught, which lacks the methoxymycolate residue. These results suggest that 'early-shared strains' are more potent immunostimulating agents than 'late-shared strains', which could be attributed partially to methoxymycolate. Our study provides the basic information for immunological characterization of various BCG strains and may contribute to a re-evaluation of them as a reference strain for vaccination against tuberculosis.

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