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Bioresorbable silicon electronics technology offers unprecedented opportunities to deploy advanced implantable monitoring systems that eliminate risks, cost and discomfort associated with surgical extraction. Applications include postoperative monitoring and transient physiologic recording after percutaneous or minimally invasive placement of vascular, cardiac, orthopaedic, neural or other devices. We present an embodiment of these materials in both passive and actively addressed arrays of bioresorbable silicon electrodes with multiplexing capabilities, which record in vivo electrophysiological signals from the cortical surface and the subgaleal space. The devices detect normal physiologic and epileptiform activity, both in acute and chronic recordings. Comparative studies show sensor performance comparable to standard clinical systems and reduced tissue reactivity relative to conventional clinical electrocorticography (ECoG) electrodes. This technology offers general applicability in neural interfaces, with additional potential utility in treatment of disorders where transient monitoring and modulation of physiologic function, implant integrity and tissue recovery or regeneration are required.

Objective: To investigate the impairment patterns in peripheral vestibular organs in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) with and without vertigo. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Single tertiary medical center. Methods: Data from 165 SSNHL patients in a tertiary referral center from January 2017 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent a video head impulse test, vestibular evoked myogenic potential test, and pure‐tone audiometry. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to investigate vestibular impairment patterns. The prognosis of the hearing was determined using American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery recommendations. Results: After excluding patients with vestibular schwannoma and Meniere's disease, 152 patients were included in this study. A total of 73 of 152 patients were categorized as SSNHL with vertigo (SSNHL_V) and showed an independent merge of the posterior semicircular canal (PSCC) in cluster analysis. A total of 79 of 152 patients were categorized as SSNHL without vertigo (SSNHL_N) and showed an independent merge of saccule in cluster analysis. The PSCC (56.2%) and saccule (20.3%) were the most frequently impaired vestibular organs in SSNHL_V and SSNHL_N, respectively. In terms of prognosis, 106 of 152 patients had partial/no recovery and showed an independent merge of the PSCC in cluster analysis. A total of 46 of 152 patients had a complete recovery and showed an independent merge of the saccule in cluster analysis. Conclusion: A tendency of isolated PSCC dysfunction was seen in SSNHL_V and partial/no recovery. A tendency of isolated saccular dysfunction was seen in SSNHL_N and complete recovery. Different treatments might be needed in SSNHL depending on the presence of vertigo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical-response properties of nitrogen(N)-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) films are investigated by means of a combination of ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and first-principles density-functional calculations. The TiO2 films were epitaxially grown on the sapphire substrate by the pulsed laser deposition method. The doping of N atoms was achieved by 70 keV of N+ ion implantation, followed by postirradiation heat treatment at 550 °C for 2 h in air. We find that when 5×1016 (1×1017) N ions/cm2 were implanted into the epitaxially grown TiO2 film, the absorption edge is reproducibly shifted to lower energy by about 0.06 (0.12) eV together with a significant optical absorption extending into the visible-light region. These experimental data can be explained by our calculated band structure of N-doped TiO2, where the bands originating from N 2p states locate above the valence band edge, while the band gap narrowing due to the mixing of N with O 2p states is 0.04 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using first-principles density-functional calculations we predict a self-directed growth of benzonitrile molecular line on a H-terminated Si(001) surface. The C=N bond of benzonitrile reacts with a single Si dangling bond which can be generated by the removal of a H atom, forming one Si–N bond and one C radical. Subsequently, the produced C radical can be stabilized by abstracting a H atom from a neighboring Si dimer, creating another H-empty site. This H-abstraction process whose activation barrier is 0.65 eV sets off a chain reaction to grow one-dimensional benzonitrile line along the Si dimer row. Our calculated energy profile for formation of the benzonitrile line shows its relatively easier formation compared with previously reported styrene and vinylferrocene lines.© 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]