Structural and Electrical Characterization of SiO Gate Dielectrics Deposited from Solutions at Moderate Temperatures in Air.

Silicon dioxide (SiO) is the most widely used dielectric for electronic applications. It is usually produced by thermal oxidation of silicon or by using a wide range of vacuum-based techniques. By default, the growth of SiO by thermal oxidation of silicon requires the use of Si substrates whereas the other deposition techniques either produce low quality or poor interface material and mostly require high deposition or annealing temperatures.

ZnO-based thin film transistors employing aluminum titanate gate dielectrics deposited by spray pyrolysis at ambient air.

The replacement of SiO2 gate dielectrics with metal oxides of higher dielectric constant has led to the investigation of a wide range of materials with superior properties compared with SiO2. Despite their attractive properties, these high-k dielectrics are usually manufactured using costly vacuum-based techniques. To overcome this bottleneck, research has focused on the development of alternative deposition methods based on solution-processable metal oxides.

Organo-erbium systems for optical amplification at telecommunications wavelengths.

Modern telecommunications rely on the transmission and manipulation of optical signals. Optical amplification plays a vital part in this technology, as all components in a real telecommunications system produce some loss. The two main issues with present amplifiers, which rely on erbium ions in a glass matrix, are the difficulty in integration onto a single substrate and the need of high pump power densities to produce gain.

Effect of type I tympanoplasty on the resonant frequency of the middle ear: comparison between chondrotympanoplasty and temporalis fascia grafting.

Aims: To evaluate the effect of type I chondrotympanoplasty on the resonant frequency (RF) of the middle ear and compare it to the respective outcomes of type I tympanoplasty using temporalis fascia grafting (TFG). Hearing results and respective graft integration rates were also assessed.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective comparative study was conducted of patients who had undergone type I tympanoplasty at a tertiary university hospital.

Partial laryngectomy after irradiation failure.

Introduction: Radiation therapy is often the first method of treating patients with early cancer of the glottis. There is a substantial failure rate among these patients. Total laryngectomy has usually been the means of treating patients with failure after radiation.

Chondrotympanoplasty: a modified technique of cartilage graft tympanoplasty.

Background: Although the temporalis fascia has been widely used since 1957as a graft in tympanoplasty, it can eventually become thin and atrophic. In addition, due to the lack of elasticity and resistance to pressure changes in the external ear canal, secondary perforations may also develop. Therefore, several authors have suggested that temporalis fascia should be strengthened by periosteum or replaced by cartilage.

Cochlear dysfunction in patients with mitochondrial myopathy.

The present study investigates cochlear function in a group of 11 patients suffering from mitochondrial myopathy with normal or near normal audiometric pure tone thresholds, in most of whom diagnosis was histologically confirmed. A complete ENT, neurologic and audiological work-up, including transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions, was performed in all patients in order to estimate cochlear function. Compared to control subjects, most patients had absent otoacoustic emissions (OAE) in spite of normal hearing, indicating cochlear dysfunction.

Otoacoustic emissions for monitoring aminoglycoside-induced ototoxicity in children with cystic fibrosis.

Objective: To investigate whether transient-evoked and distortion-product (DP) otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are more sensitive than pure-tone audiometry (PTA) in revealing gentamicin-induced ototoxicity in children with cystic fibrosis (CF).

Design: Prospective case-control study.

Setting: Tertiary referral audiologic center in conjunction with an academic pediatric CF unit.

Periodic alternating nystagmus associated with Arnold-Chiari malformation.

The Arnold-Chiari malformation type I is a rare congenital condition characterized by herniation of the cerebellar tonsils into the upper cervical spinal tract. Various otoneurological manifestations occur in patients with the disease, which has usually been associated with a downbeat type of nystagmus. In this paper a case with this condition is reported presenting with periodic alternating nystagmus (PAN), which is a rare type of nystagmus observed in diseases of the central nervous system of different pathologies.

Effect of the number of averaged responses in transient evoked otoacoustic emissions on the results of neonatal hearing screening.

This study examined the effect of the number of accepted responses in transient evoked otoacoustic emissions on the results of neonatal hearing screening programmes. The ILO88 Otodynamics Analyzer Quickscreen programme was used for all testing, and a three-stage procedure was adopted by averaging 20, 30, and 260 low-noise samples in total. The results were recorded after each stage of the testing in those cases in which, after the first 20 accepted responses, the "pass" criteria were met.

Prognostic significance of p53, bax and bcl-2 gene expression in patients with laryngeal carcinoma.

Aim: This study was designed to examine the prognostic significance of the coexpression of three genes (bax, bcl-2 and p53) which play a critical role in the apoptotic mechanisms in patients with squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: The immunohistochemical expression of bcl-2, bax and p53 genes was retrospectively examined in 38 patients with squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma and in five controls (necrotomic tissue). Tissue specimens were obtained both during the diagnostic biopsy and at the time of surgery.

A neurilemmoma of the parotid gland: report of a case.

Benign primary tumors of the facial nerve are frequently misdiagnosed because of the variety of their clinical manifestations. Much attention has been paid to neurilemmomas in the recent otolaryngologic literature, but far less has been focused on intraparotid facial nerve neurilemmomas. In this article, we describe a new case of this truly rare tumor, and we review its diagnosis, pathology, and treatment.

Evoked otoacoustic emissions--an approach for monitoring cisplatin induced ototoxicity in children.

Objectives: Cisplatin chemotherapy is associated with an increased risk of ototoxic changes. The incidence of hearing loss after the 1st cisplatin-infusion session is only scarcely mentioned in the international literature. With increasing survival rates, prevention and/or early detection of ototoxicity are important for providing management options.

Pleomorphic adenoma of the nose.

Pleomorphic adenoma is the most frequent tumor of the major salivary glands. It is rarely located in the lacrymal glands and is unusual in the nasal cavity. A rare case of a pleomorphic adenoma of the nose is presented along with a review of the literature.

How significant is sensorineural hearing loss in primary Sjögren's syndrome? An individually matched case-control study.

Objective: We evaluated whether sensorineural loss and vestibular abnormalities are common in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and whether such abnormalities are clinically significant.

Methods: In an individually matched case-control design, 48 patients with pSS underwent complete audiovestibular evaluation along with 48 age and sex matched individuals without otologic problems. Differences of > 20 dB between patient and control ears at any frequency tested were considered to be significant.

p53, p21 and p27 protein expression in head and neck cancer and their prognostic value.

Histological specimens from 62 laryngeal and 31 oral carcinomas were immunohistochemically assessed for p53, p21 and p27 proteins; cases with > 10% labelled nuclei were considered as positive. p21 showed higher expression in patients > 65-years-old (P = 0.04), in chemotherapy responders (P = 0.

Isolated inverted papilloma of the sphenoid sinus.

Inverted papilloma is a rare benign sinonasal tumour, characterized by a potentially invasive nature. The lateral nasal wall represents the most common site of origin, whereas paranasal sinuses are quite frequently found to be involved by extension. In contrast, primary sinus inverted papillomas have rarely been reported.

Intramasseteric metastasis of renal cell carcinoma.

In this case report, we present a solitary metastasis of renal cell carcinoma inside the masseter muscle. To our knowledge, it is the very first case ever encountered.

Management of bilateral vocal fold paralysis: experience at the University of Athens.

The treatment of patients with vocal fold paralysis presents a challenge to the otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon. Many techniques have been proposed to manage individuals with unilateral or bilateral vocal fold paralysis. We herein describe the experience of our department in dealing with bilateral vocal fold paralysis.

Correlation of tumor markers p53, bcl-2 and cathepsin-D with clinicopathologic features and disease-free survival in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Various recognized prognostic factors in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx influence the therapeutic options offered to an individual patient in order to extend the survival expectancy. Additional prognostic indicators are required in specific patient subgroups. The present study used a standard immunohistochemical technique in order to retrospectively evaluate the accumulation of p53 gene product and the immunoreactivity of bcl-2 protein and cathepsin-D as possible prognostic markers of laryngeal SCC.

Modified supracricoid partial laryngectomy with cricohyoidopexy: series report and analysis of results.

Aiming to improve voice quality and to facilitate swallowing rehabilitation, we modified the supracricoid partial laryngectomy with cricohyoidopexy by preserving the posterior segment of the true vocal cord on the less involved side of the larynx. Between 1983 and 1994, 13 patients with supraglottic cancer were treated with this modified procedure. The possibility of incomplete tumor excision was eliminated by careful patient selection and intraoperative reconfirmation of tumor extent with frozen sections.

Stapedotomy in osteogenesis imperfecta patients.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by osseous fragility, blue sclerae and hearing loss. In order to assess the impact of stapedotomy on improving hearing on OI, a retrospective, one-group, pre-test-post-test design was used to compare the pre-operative and post-operative audiograms of nine OI patients, treated with stapedotomy for their mixed hearing loss. Operative findings included fixation or thickening of the stapes footplate with normal superstructure configuration and hypervascularization of the promontory mucosa.