Abstract: A sweetener additive for use with consumable products, such as foods and beverages, to sweeten the consumable product and provide health benefits to a consumer who consumes a consumable product. The sweetener additive has a sweetener base and one or more of selected flavonoids. The sweetener base has one or more sweeteners commonly utilized to sweeten consumable products. The flavonoids may be extracted from plants chosen from the genus Hovenia, such as the Japanese raisin tree. The selected flavonoids provide various health benefits, including stimulating naturally occurring enzymes in the consumer's body. One or more aldehyde reducing enzymes, one or more glucose reducing enzymes and/or one or more alcohol reducing enzymes may be added to the sweetener additive to supplement naturally occurring enzymes in the consumer's body to reduce the deleterious effects of aldehydes, glucose and/or alcohol on the consumer. The flavonoids will also stimulate the added enzymes.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a composite electrode for an electrochemical cell that cycles lithium ions. The composite electrode includes a first electroactive material having a first specific capacity and a first average particle size, and a second electroactive material having a second specific capacity and a second average particle size. The first specific capacity is larger than the second specific capacity. For example, the first specific capacity can be greater than or equal to about 1,000 mAh/g to less than or equal to about 3,600 mAh/g, and the second specific capacity greater than or equal to about 250 mAh/g to less than or equal to about 400 mAh/g. The second average particle size is comparable with the first average particle size. For example, the second average particle can be no less than half the first average particle size and no greater than twice the first average particle size.

Abstract: A method includes receiving training data that includes unspoken textual utterances in a target language. Each unspoken textual utterance not paired with any corresponding spoken utterance of non-synthetic speech. The method also includes generating a corresponding alignment output for each unspoken textual utterance using an alignment model trained on transcribed speech utterance in one or more training languages each different than the target language. The method also includes generating a corresponding encoded textual representation for each alignment output using a text encoder and training a speech recognition model on the encoded textual representations generated for the alignment outputs. Training the speech recognition model teaches the speech recognition model to learn how to recognize speech in the target language.

Abstract: During operation, an electronic device may obtain feedback associated with communication performance between the electronic device and a second electronic device, where the feedback includes one or more features including: a channel frequency response, a compressed beamforming report, an error vector magnitude and/or a relationship between at least two of the features. Then, based at least in part on the feedback, the electronic device may dynamically adjust a transmit polarization state and/or a receive polarization state by selecting antennas in a first set of antennas and a second set of antennas in the electronic device, where a given first antenna in the first set of antennas has a first predefined polarization and a given second antenna in the second set of antennas has a second predefined polarization, and the second predefined polarization is different from the first predefined polarization.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure provide a method and an apparatus including processing circuitry that obtaining prediction information indicating whether a current block is coded in a subblock-based temporal motion vector prediction (SbTMVP) mode. If the current block is coded in the SbTMVP mode, whether a subblock in a plurality of subblocks of the current block is bi-predicted is determined. If the subblock is bi-predicted, motion information of the subblock is determined based on the SbTMVP mode. At least one of (i) a bilateral matching (BM)-based motion vector (MV) refinement and (ii) a bi-directional optical flow (BDOF) mode is applied to the subblock to refine the motion information of the subblock. The current block is reconstructed based on refined motion information corresponding to one or more subblocks in the plurality of subblocks. The refined motion information corresponding to the one or more subblocks includes the refined motion information of the subblock.

Abstract: There is disclosed herein a method of providing customer service, including receiving a customer service request from an autonomous vehicle (AV), the customer service request comprising sensor data collected by the AV; selecting a standard operating procedure (SOP) for responding to the customer service request, the SOP selected from a data store comprising a plurality of SOPs, wherein selecting the SOP is based at least in part on the sensor data from the AV, and wherein the SOP includes a human-usable resolution script; and handling the customer service request, including displaying the human-usable resolution script to a human customer service agent to assist the human customer service agent in handling the customer service request.

Abstract: The apparatus includes processing circuitry that receive a bitstream including a picture. The processing circuitry applies one or more first fixed filters with constant filter coefficients to samples in the picture to obtain one or more respective first filtered outputs of the samples in the picture. Subsequent to applying the one or more first fixed filters, the processing circuitry applies one or more second adaptive filters with changeable coefficients to the one or more first filtered outputs to obtain a second filtered sample of a current sample in the samples and decodes the picture based at least on the second filtered sample of the current sample in the picture. Each coefficient of the second adaptive filter can be applied to a corresponding one of the one or more first filtered outputs.

Abstract: Pool equipment for swimming pools and spas may include pumps, heaters, filters, pool lights, sensors, automatic pool cleaners, and/or other pieces of equipment. Such pool equipment may include a near-field communication chip, and near-field communication may be used to send information to the pool equipment (including energizing the pool equipment) and/or to receive information from the pool equipment.

Abstract: A vehicle includes a cabin interior, at least one seat located in the cabin interior, a support structure located near the at least one seat, and a workstation coupled to the support structure. The workstation includes a desk having a first desk panel and a second desk panel that moves relative to the first desk panel, a display screen, and a pivot mechanism coupled to the desk and the display screen and configured to allow the desk and the display screen to pivot relative to the support structure, wherein the desk and the display screen are configured to pivot to a vehicle downward position folded together and upward deployed use positions such that the desk may extend substantially horizontal in the use position and the display screen may extend upward relative to the desk.

Abstract: A method for controlling an operation of an agricultural vehicle comprising: receiving a geo-fencing plan for the agricultural vehicle, determining an allowed area for executing an agricultural action based on the geo-fencing plan, determining a current location of the agricultural vehicle, comparing the current location of the agricultural vehicle to one or more predetermined locations to determine whether the agricultural vehicle is in the allowed area for executing the agricultural action, and in response to determining that the agricultural vehicle is not in the allowed area, executing an action to prevent the agricultural vehicle from executing the agricultural action.

Abstract: Vehicles and related systems and methods are provided for controlling a vehicle in an autonomous operating mode. One method involves a controller associated with a vehicle identifying a visual attention state associated with a driver of the vehicle based at least in part on output of an imaging device onboard the vehicle, determining, based at least in part on the visual attention state, a driver lane preference corresponding to an adjacent lane in a visual attention direction relative to a current lane of travel for the vehicle, adjusting a priority associated with the adjacent lane corresponding to the driver lane preference and autonomously operating one or more actuators onboard the vehicle to initiate maneuvering the vehicle from the current lane in a manner that is influenced by the adjusted priority associated with the adjacent lane.

Abstract: Drop lines are supported and routed from a an ADSS trunk cable to designated users. Each of a number of non-metallic elongated support members has a main passage, and a first slit for enabling the cable to be urged into the passage from outside. Each member also has a number of aligned outer passages, and associated second slits for enabling a drop line to be urged into a given outer passage from outside. A band may be applied about each support member to prevent the cable and the drop lines from escaping the member through the slits. One end of each drop line is connected to the cable fibers inside a closure fixed at one end of a cable span. A drop line exiting an outer passage in a given support member is routed either through an outer passage in a successive member, or away from the cable to a designated user.

Abstract: A fluid connector is provided. The fluid connector can include a first connector having a first passageway and a second passageway; and a second connector having a third passageway and a fourth passageway. The first connector can be attracted to the second connector through a magnetic force, thereby forming the fluid connector. Moreover, when the first connector abuts the second connector, the first passageway together with the third passageway can form a first fluid path, and the second passageway together with the fourth passageway can form a second fluid path that is different from the first fluid path.

Abstract: The claimed material relates to a composite of an interfacial modified fiber and mixed or combined polymer composite having enhanced impact, and modulus properties.

Abstract: A portal gear box assembly for an off-road vehicle that includes a housing that defines an input gear subassembly indent, an output gear subassembly indent, and one or more idler-gear subassembly indents. The assembly includes an input gear subassembly positioned in the input gear subassembly indent with an input gear connected to an input shaft, an output gear subassembly positioned in the output gear subassembly indent with an output gear connected to an output shaft, and an idler-gear subassembly positioned within the one or more idler-gear subassembly indents to connect the input and output gears with a removable adaptor that is selectively positionable in more than one configuration to alter the transmission ratio between the input and output gears.

Abstract: A device may identify a plurality of sources for outputs that the device is configured to provide. The plurality of sources may include at least one of a particular application in the device, an operating system of the device, a particular area within a display of the device, or a particular graphical user interface object. The device may also assign a set of distinct voices to respective sources of the plurality of sources. The device may also receive a request for speech output. The device may also select a particular source that is associated with the requested speech output. The device may also generate speech having particular voice characteristics of a particular voice assigned to the particular source.

Abstract: A load control device may be configured to turn on lighting loads to obtain a fast turn-on time that may be substantially consistent across lighting loads that have different load voltages. The load control device may comprise a power converter circuit configured to produce a voltage across a capacitor, and a control circuit configured to control the power converter circuit to generate the voltage across the capacitor. The control circuit may determine a learned voltage from the magnitude of the voltage across the capacitor. For example, the control circuit may measure the magnitude of the voltage and store the measured voltage as the learned voltage. The control circuit may determine an operating parameter for the power converter circuit as a function of the learned voltage, and control the power converter circuit according to the operating parameter to charge the capacitor until the magnitude of the voltage exceeds a threshold.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods of identifying a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a sample wherein the methods involve detecting a S. aureus-specific nucleic acid sequence, mecA and mecC, in the sample. Kits for determining the presence of MRSA in a sample are also provided.

Abstract: Shunt truck-dock safety systems are disclosed. An example shunt truck-dock safety system may include a shunt truck interlock element configured to selectively prevent and/or allow operation of at least one operable component of a shunt truck and/or a shunt truck controller configured to direct operation of the shunt truck interlock element based at least in part upon a dock condition.

Abstract: An implantation system for placing an implant into a patient during a surgical procedure wherein the implant is sterile is described. The implantation system can include: (a) a first container with a first side and a second side and configured to hold the implant inside the first container; and (b) a funnel with a first end and a second end. An inner surface of the first container and an inner surface of the funnel are sterile. The first end of the funnel is coupled to the second side of the first container such that the implant can move inside the funnel from the first container and the funnel is further configured such that the implant can be removed from the funnel at the second end of the funnel. The first container and the funnel are configured such that the sterility of the implant is maintained until the implant is removed the second end of the funnel. Other embodiments are disclosed.