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In this work, we adopt a low-temperature sustainable plasma treatment approach for the fabrication of ferroelectric memory devices. From our experimental results, we found that the ferroelectric polarization characteristics of HfAlO _x ferroelectric device could be further improved by using low-temperature nitrogen plasma treatment on bottom TiN electrode for surface modification. The low-temperature nitrogen plasma treatment on TiN bottom electrode not only prevent electrode oxidation, but also lowers the generation of defect traps at the interface between ferroelectric HfAlO _x and TiN bottom electrode during high-temperature ferroelectric annealing process. Besides, the nitrogen-treated bottom electrode also can improve bias-stress induced instability and cycling endurance of HfAlO _x ferroelectric devices due to the effective suppression of randomly distributed defect traps or oxygen vacancies near the surface of bottom electrode.

Background: Distal radius fractures are highly prevalent among older adults. Ulnar styloid fractures frequently accompany distal radius fractures, raising concerns about treatment outcomes due to the risk of distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) instability. This study investigated the necessity of surgical intervention (open reduction internal fixation; ORIF) for distal radius fractures in very old patients with coexisting ulnar styloid fractures. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 96 patients aged ≥ 80 years with AO classification 23-A2 to 23-B3 distal radius fractures with concomitant ulnar styloid fracture between 2019 and 2022 was performed. Patients were excluded if they were aged < 80 years, had a preinjury Barthel index of < 90, or had high-energy multiple trauma. The primary outcome was the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months. We compared the DASH score and their trajectories between the ORIF and conservative treatment groups. Results: ORIF group demonstrated significantly better DASH functional scores (25.31 ± 4.71) at the 12-month follow-up compared with the conservative group (34.42 ± 8.03; p < 0.001). Treatment choice was identified as a significant predictor of DASH scores at 12 months, with ORIF significantly improved patient's wrist function and demonstrated a β coefficient of − 9.11 (95% confidence interval: −11.95 to − 6.27, p < 0.001). The other factors investigated, namely age, lowest T-score, and medical history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular accidents, cancer, and dementia, did not exhibit a significant association with the 12-month DASH scores in the adjusted model (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that very old patients with distal radius fracture accompanied by ulnar styloid fractures may benefit from ORIF to achieve optimal long-term functional recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we investigate the ferroelectricity of stacked zirconium oxide and hafnium oxide (stacked HfZrO) with different thickness ratios under metal gate stress and simultaneously evaluate the electrical reliability of stacked ferroelectric films. Based on experimental results, we find that the stacked HfZrO films not only exhibited excellent ferroelectricity but also demonstrated a high performance on reliability. The optimized condition of the 45% Zr proportion exhibited a robust ferroelectric polarization value of 32.57 μC/cm2, and a polarization current with a peak value of 159.98 μA. Besides this, the ferroelectric stacked HfZrO also demonstrated good reliability with a ten-year lifetime under >−2 V constant voltage stress. Therefore, the appropriate modulation of zirconium proportion in stacked HfZrO showed great promise for integrating in high-performance ferroelectric memory.

Byline: Hsun-Wen Chang, Hao-Wen Chen To reduce the interfering among transmitters, any two 'close' transmitters, with distance no more than d2, must receive frequencies at least l2 apart, and any two 'very close' transmitters, with distance no more than d1, must receive channels at least l1 apart. The assignment problem is to assign a frequency to each transmitter such that total bandwidth of assigned frequencies can be minimised. In this paper, we present upper and lower bounds of the minimum bandwidth of cycles and powers of cycles. We also show the corresponding assignment functions. And then we partially solve the assignment problem of cycles Cn and their powers such as: (i) 3 ≤ n ≤ 2d1+1; (ii) 2d1 + 2 ≤ n ≤ 2d2 + 1, q1 ≠ 0 and l1 ≤ m1l2; (iii) 2d1 + 2 ≤ n ≤ 2d2 + 1, q1 ≡ 1(mod m1) and l1 > m1l2; (iv) 2d1 + 2 ≤ n ≤ 2d2 + 1, q1 = 0 and l1 ≥ (m1 + d1 − 1)l2 or l1 ≤ (m1 − 1)l2; (v) n ≥ 2d2 + 2 and l1 ≤ ⌊(d2 + ⌊q2/m2⌋)/(d1 + 1)⌋l2; and (vi) n ≥ 2d2 + 2, q1 ≡ 1(mod m1), and l1 > m1l2, where n = mi(di + 1) + qi and 0 ≤ qi ≤ di.