Ultrahigh Throughput Silicon Nanomanufacturing by Simultaneous Reactive Ion Synthesis and Etching

One-dimensional nanostructures, such as nanowhisker, nanorod, nanowire, nanopillar, nanocone, nanotip, nanoneedle, have attracted significant attentions in the past decades owing to their numerous applications in electronics, photonics, energy conversion and storage, and interfacing with biomolecules and living cells. The manufacturing of nanostructured devices relies on either bottom-up approaches such as synthesis or growth process or top-down approaches such as lithography or etching process. Here we report a unique, synchronized, and simultaneous top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication approach called simultaneous plasma enhanced reactive ion synthesis and etching (SPERISE). For the first time the atomic addition and subtraction of nanomaterials are concurrently observed and precisely controlled in a single-step process permitting ultrahigh-throughput, lithography-less, wafer-scale, and room-temperature nanomanufacturing. Rapid low-cost manufacturing of high-density, high-uniformity, light-trapping nanocone arrays was demonstrated on single crystalline and polycrystalline silicon wafers, as well as amorphous silicon thin films. The proposed nanofabrication mechanisms also provide a general guideline to designing new SPERISE methods for other solid-state materials besides silicon

SodiUm SeleniTe Adminstration IN Cardiac Surgery (SUSTAIN CSX-trial): study design of an international multicenter randomized double-blinded controlled trial of high dose sodium-selenite administration in high-risk cardiac surgical patients

Abstract Background Cardiac surgery has been shown to result in a significant decrease of the antioxidant selenium, which is associated with the development of multiorgan dysfunction and increased mortality. Thus, a large-scale study is needed to investigate the effect of perioperative selenium supplementation on the occurrence of postoperative organ dysfunction. Methods/Design We plan a prospective, randomized double-blind, multicenter controlled trial, which will be conducted in North and South America and in Europe. In this trial we will include 1,400 high-risk patients, who are most likely to benefit from selenium supplementation. This includes patients scheduled for non-emergent combined and/or complex procedures, or with a predicted operative mortality of ≥5% according to the EuroSCORE II. Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to either the treatment group (bolus infusion of 2,000 μg sodium selenite immediately prior to surgery, followed by an additional dosage of 2,000 μg at ICU admission, and a further daily supplementation of 1,000 μg up to 10 days or ICU discharge) or to the control group (placebo administration at the same time points). The primary endpoint of this study is a composite of 'persistent organ dysfunction’ (POD) and/or death within 30 days from surgery (POD + death). POD is defined as any need for life-sustaining therapies (mechanical ventilation, vasopressor therapy, mechanical circulatory support, continuous renal replacement therapy, or new intermittent hemodialysis) at any time within 30 days from surgery. Discussion The SUSTAIN-CSX™ study is a multicenter trial to investigate the effect of a perioperative high dosage sodium selenite supplementation in high-risk cardiac surgical patients. Trial registration This trial was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT02002247 ) on 28 November 2013