Abstract: An apparatus for scattering light may include: an optical fiber having a first length; and a sleeve, having a second length shorter than the first length, around the optical fiber. The optical fiber may include: a core; and cladding around the core. The sleeve may include fiber-optic material. The fiber-optic material may be substantially polymer-free. An outer surface of the sleeve may be roughened to scatter the light out of the sleeve through the roughened surface. A method of forming an apparatus for scattering light may include: providing a sleeve having a first length, the sleeve having inner and outer surfaces; providing an optical fiber having a second length longer than the first length; passing the sleeve around the optical fiber or threading the optical fiber through the sleeve; and roughening at least a portion of the outer surface of the sleeve.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods related to enhancement of audio content are provided. An example method includes receiving, by a computing device and via a communications network interface, a compressed audio data frame, wherein the compressed audio data frame is received after transmission over a communications network, The method further includes decompressing the compressed audio data frame to extract an audio waveform. The method also includes predicting, by applying a neural network to the audio waveform, an enhanced version of the audio waveform, wherein the neural network has been trained on (i) a ground truth sample comprising unencoded audio waveforms prior to compression by an audio encoder, and (ii) a training dataset comprising decoded audio waveforms after compression of the unencoded audio waveforms by the audio encoder. The method additionally includes providing, by an audio output component of the computing device, the enhanced version of the audio waveform.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for operating an LED display are provided. The method includes: storing Nth scan line data in a line buffer; storing the Nth scan line data in a frame buffer; displaying the Nth scan line data stored in the line buffer; during the displaying of the Nth scan line data stored in the line buffer, storing (N+1)th scan line data in the line buffer; storing the (N+1)th scan line data in the frame buffer; displaying the (N+1)th scan line data stored in the line buffer; repeating the above steps until (N+M)th scan line data stored in the line buffer is displayed; and displaying scan line data stored in the frame buffer from the Nth scan line data to the (N+M)th scan line data.

Abstract: A new acoustic technique, tensile acoustic rheometry (TAR) for performing rheology measurement of a soft viscoelastic material sample is provided. In TAR, an excitation acoustic pulse is applied using a focused ultrasound transducer to a sample material to induce oscillatory motion of the sample. To track this induced motion, high repetition frequency ultrasound pulse-echo technique is used using a co-linear, con-focal ultrasound transducer that detects the backscattered echo signal from a surface or an interface of the sample. The detection ultrasound transducer system converts the echo signals to an electrical signal, and a processor determines a displacement of the interface of the sample as a function of time. The processor also determines the spectrogram, or the frequency spectrum of the dynamic surface movement of the sample material as a function of the time. Viscoelastic properties of the material are then determined from the displacement and the spectrogram measurements.

Abstract: Provided herein are IL-2 muteins, IL-2 mutein Fc-fusion molecules, anti-IL-2 antibodies, and complexes comprising an anti IL-2 antibody bound to an IL-2 cytokine that preferentially expand and activate T regulatory cells and are amenable to large scale production. Also provided herein are variant human IgG1 Fc molecules lacking or with highly reduced effector function and high stability despite lacking glycosylation at N297. Also provided herein are linker peptides that are glycosylated when expressed in mammalian cells. Also provided herein are methods of making and using the compositions of the present invention.

Abstract: Apparatus include a first laser diode situated to emit a beam from an exit facet along an optical axis, the beam as emitted having perpendicular fast and slow axes perpendicular to the optical axis, a first fast axis collimator (FAC) optically coupled to the beam as emitted from the exit facet and configured to direct the beam along a redirected beam axis having a non-zero angle with respect to the optical axis of the first laser diode, a second laser diode situated to emit a beam from an exit facet of the second laser diode along an optical axis parallel to the optical axis of the first laser diode and with a slow axis in a common plane with the slow axis of the first laser diode, and a second fast axis collimator (FAC) optically coupled to the beam as emitted from the exit facet of the second laser diode and configured to direct the beam along a redirected beam axis having a non-zero angle with respect to the optical axis of the second laser diode.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for depositing a transition metal nitride film on a substrate by atomic layer deposition in a reaction space defined by an at least one chamber wall and showerhead is disclosed. The apparatus may include, a substrate support disposed within the reaction space, the substrate support configured for supporting at least one substrate and a temperature control system for controlling a temperature of the at least one chamber wall at those portions of the at least one chamber wall that is exposed to a vapor phase reactant. The apparatus may also include a temperature control system for controlling a temperature of the showerhead, wherein the temperature control system for controlling a temperature of the showerhead is configured to control the temperature of the showerhead to a temperature of between approximately 80° C. and approximately 160° C.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for multi-domain, multi-modal data segmentation, and automatically generating and refining hypotheses. The method receives data from a plurality of data sources; synthesizing the receive data; identifying trigger event data based on the synthesized data; generating an episode based on a segmentation of the synthesized data and trigger event data; and identifying at least one set of observational features associated with the episode based on the synthesized data and a relevancy metric. The method also includes iteratively generating a hypothesis based on the observational features using machine learning, predicting an outcome based on the hypothesis using machine learning, generating an outcome measure, and validating the hypothesis based on the outcome measure.

Abstract: A conductive terminal includes a conductive base substrate and a plating layer structure plated on the conductive base substrate. The plating layer structure includes a nickel plating layer located outside the conductive base substrate, a silver plating layer located outside the nickel plating layer, and a platinum-based polymetallic plating layer located outside the silver plating layer.

Abstract: Presented herein are altered polymerase enzymes for improved incorporation of nucleotides and nucleotide analogues, in particular altered polymerases that maintain low error rate, low phasing rate, or increased incorporation rate for a second generation ffN under reduced incorporation times, as well as methods and kits using the same.

Abstract: A system and method for treating a deposition reactor are disclosed. The system and method remove or mitigate formation of residue in a gas-phase reactor used to deposit doped metal films, such as aluminum-doped titanium carbide films or aluminum-doped tantalum carbide films. The method includes a step of exposing a reaction chamber to a treatment reactant that mitigates formation of species that lead to residue formation.

Abstract: A display may have a pixel array such as a liquid crystal pixel array. The pixel array may be illuminated with backlight illumination from a direct-lit backlight unit. The backlight unit may include an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on a printed circuit board. The display may have a notch to accommodate an input-output component. Reflective layers may be included in the notch. The backlight may include a color conversion layer with a property that varies as a function of position. The light-emitting diodes may be covered by a slab of encapsulant with recesses in an upper surface.

Abstract: Detecting analytes using proximity-induced tagmentation, strand invasion, restriction, or ligation is provided herein. In some examples, detecting an analyte includes coupling a donor recognition probe to a first portion of the analyte. The donor recognition probe includes a first recognition element specific to the first portion of the analyte, a first oligonucleotide corresponding to the first portion, and a transposase coupled to the first recognition element and the first oligonucleotide. An acceptor recognition probe is coupled to a second portion of the analyte. The acceptor recognition probe includes a second recognition element specific to the second portion of the analyte and a second oligonucleotide coupled to the second recognition element and corresponding to the second portion. The transposase is used to generate a reporter polynucleotide including the first and second oligonucleotides. The analyte is detected based on the reporter including comprising the first and second oligonucleotides.

Abstract: A multi-phase buck-boost converter includes a first half-bridge circuit, a second half-bridge circuit, a third half-bridge circuit, and a control circuit. The first half-bridge circuit is coupled to a first inductor terminal. The second half-bridge circuit is coupled to a second inductor terminal. The third half-bridge circuit is coupled to a third inductor terminal, a system voltage terminal, and a battery terminal. The control circuit is coupled to the first half-bridge circuit, the second half-bridge circuit, and the third half-bridge circuit. The control circuit is configured to transition the first half-bridge circuit, the second half-bridge circuit, and the third half-bridge circuit from operation in a buck mode to operation in a buck-boost mode based on an off-time of the first half-bridge being less than a particular time.

Abstract: A bipolar electrosurgical device including an outer shaft, an inner shaft, first and second electrode surfaces, and an irrigation channel. The outer shaft defines a lumen, a proximal end and a distal end forming a cutting window. The inner shaft is rotatably disposed within the outer shaft, and defines a distal portion forming a cutting tip. The cutting tip and the cutting window combine to define a cutting implement. The first and second electrode surfaces are electrically isolated, and are formed at the cutting implement. The irrigation channel extends parallel to the outer shaft, and terminates in at least one outlet port. The outlet port is proximally spaced from the cutting window and is located radially outside of the outer shaft. Fluid (e.g., saline) is emitted at the exterior surface of the device near the cutting window and is readily present for interacting with the electrode surfaces.

Abstract: A method for programming and controlling of a plurality of slave devices serially connected in a daisy chain configuration using a master device includes assigning a unique slave address to each slave device in the plurality of slave devices by sending an initialization data packet from the master device serially through the plurality of slave devices; storing, in each of the plurality of slave devices, the assigned slave address; defining a data packet; and transmitting the data packet serially to one or more of the plurality of slave devices. The data packet has a target slave address, a read/write command, a start address, and optionally a register address and an increment value.

Abstract: An engine component comprises one or more thermal barrier coatings applied to one or more areas of the engine component. The thermal barrier coatings reduce the temperature rate of change of the areas to which the thermal barrier coating is applied. Reducing the temperature rate of change can help reduce lattice structure damage caused by different temperatures in different areas of the engine component. The thermal barrier coating can be applied as a monolithic layer on a surface of the engine component or can be applied in different areas using patterns. The patterns allow for the tuning of the performance characteristics (temperature rate of change) of the areas of the engine component and can help reduce defect propagation, such as cracks, in the thermal barrier coating from one area of the thermal barrier coating to other areas of the thermal barrier coating.

Abstract: A method and structures are used to fabricate a nanosheet semiconductor device. Nanosheet fins including nanosheet stacks including alternating silicon (Si) layers and silicon germanium (SiGe) layers are formed on a substrate and etched to define a first end and a second end along a first axis between which each nanosheet fin extends parallel to every other nanosheet fin. The SiGe layers are undercut in the nanosheet stacks at the first end and the second end to form divots, and a dielectric is deposited in the divots. The SiGe layers between the Si layers are removed before forming source and drain regions of the nanosheet semiconductor device such that there are gaps between the Si layers of each nanosheet stack, and the dielectric anchors the Si layers. The gaps are filled with an oxide that is removed after removing the dummy gate and prior to forming the replacement gate.

Abstract: DCAF15 is a substrate recognition (adaptor) protein of E3 ubiquitin ligase. Disclosed herein are compounds that recruit ubiquitin ligase CRL4DCAF15, to a target RNA recognition motif (RRM), causing its degradation. Also disclosed herein are compositions and methods of use in treating associated disorders and diseases.