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Temporal bone trauma can cause hearing loss and in case of prolonged conductive hearing loss, traumatic ossicular injury should be considered. Separation of the incudostapedial joint is the most common lesion, and stapediovestibular dislocation is relatively rare but can easily cause perilymphatic fistula. Here, we report a very rare case of external stapediovestibular dislocation after trauma, ending up with successful surgical outcome. A 27-year-old man with non-progressive hearing loss on the right side since childhood visited the clinic. Audiogram showed a conductive hearing loss with air-bone gap of 55 dB on the right side. Temporal bone CT revealed the disruption of ossicular chain. An exploratory tympanotomy identified multiple ossicular disruptions including external stapediovestibular dislocation with shiny fibrous membrane sealing the oval window. Ossicular chain reconstruction was performed using the total ossicular replacement prosthesis of titanium. A postoperative audiogram showed a recovery of air-bone gap less than 10 dB. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of external long-standing stapediovestibular dislocation, with oval window completely sealed with fibrous membrane, ending up with successful hearing recovery by surgery. This case would help dealing with such condition which can be encountered in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Othematoma is a condition in which blood collects beneath the perichondral layer of the pinna. Recurrent auricular hematoma can be a challenging medical problem, with complications resulting in ear deformity, therefore, appropriate management is important. Improper treatment can result in a deformity known as ‘cauliflower ear’ or ‘wrestler’s ear.’ We report a case of othematoma that was inappropriately treated and present a review of current treatment options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe the feedback and tunneling operations of a dual top gate field-effect transistor (FET) with a p+-i-n+ doped silicon nanowire channel. The transistor functions selectively in either a feedback FET (FBFET) or a tunneling FET mode by modulating the source-to-drain voltage, and it features an outstanding subthreshold swing characteristic of 6.15 mV dec–1 with an on/off current ratio (Ion/Ioff) of approximately 106 in the feedback operating mode and of 41.3 mV dec–1 with Ion/Ioff of ∼107 in the tunneling operating mode. Moreover, our device in the FBFET operation mode has memory characteristics with a retention time of 104 s and a program/erase endurance up to 103 cycles owing to the positive feedback loop in the channel region. This study demonstrates the promising potential of our devices in the development of multifunctional electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we investigate the influence of substrate materials on the electrical characteristics of feedback field-effect transistors (FETs) when subjected to bending fatigue. Each of our transistors are composed of a p+–i–n+ doped silicon nanowire and dual-top metal gates. Feedback FETs on Ecoflex substrates feature outstanding stability compared to those on polyethersulphone and polydimethysiloxane substrates, even at a bending strain of 11.67%. The threshold voltage shift is within the range of 0.3 V, and the on-current only decreases by 15.5% (or less), when compared to the initial flat conditions. Moreover, our devices have outstanding reliability, even after 5000 cycles of repeated bending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we propose newly designed feedback field-effect transistors that utilize the positive feedback of charge carriers in single-gated silicon channels to achieve steep switching behaviors. The band diagram, I–V characteristics, subthreshold swing, and on/off current ratio are analyzed using a commercial device simulator. Our proposed feedback field-effect transistors exhibit subthreshold swings of less than 0.1 mV dec−1, an on/off current ratio of approximately 1011, and an on-current of approximately 10−4 A at room temperature, demonstrating that the switching characteristics are superior to those of other silicon-based devices. In addition, the device parameters that affect the device performance, hysteresis characteristics, and temperature-dependent device characteristics are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we demonstrate nondestructive readout memory characteristics of a bistable resistor (biristor) with an n+-p-n+ Si nanowire (SiNW) channel on a bendable substrate. The SiNW channel is fabricated using a top--down route, which is compatible with the current complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. The SiNW biristor shows the outstanding memory characteristics such as a retention time of 10 s and a current sensing margin of ~23-μA at room temperature. These memory characteristics originate from a positive feedback process resulting from impact ionization near the p-n junction. Moreover, the positive feedback mechanism is comprehensively investigated using device simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]