Abstract: An electrode includes an electrically conductive substrate with a coating containing boron-doped diamond (BDD) nanoparticles. Fabricating the electrode can include dispersing BDD nanoparticles in a solvent to yield a suspension, coating a conductive substrate with the suspension, and drying the suspension to yield the electrode. In some cases, fabricating the electrode includes combining BDD nanoparticles with a polymeric resin precursor to yield a mixture including a metal oxide, coating a conductive substrate with the mixture to yield a coated substrate, and calcining the coated substrate to yield a metal oxide coating including BDD nanoparticles.

Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein include a semiconductor device. In an embodiment, the semiconductor device comprises a first transistor strata. The first transistor strata comprises a first backbone, a first transistor adjacent to a first edge of the first backbone, and a second transistor adjacent to a second edge of the first backbone. In an embodiment, the semiconductor device further comprises a second transistor strata over the first transistor strata. The second transistor strata comprises a second backbone, a third transistor adjacent to a first edge of the second backbone, and a fourth transistor adjacent to a second edge of the second backbone.

Abstract: Provided are an electronic device and method for managing the perceived loudness of an input audio signal. The electronic device includes a communication unit configured to communicate with internal units and external devices and receive an audio source signal; a loudness adjustment unit configured to receive the audio source signal from the communication unit and obtain an input audio source signal from the audio source signal; a noise separator configured to separate noise from the input audio source signal; a voice booster configured to boost an output audio signal received from the loudness adjustment unit; a storage unit storing instructions; and at least one processor configured to communicate with the communication unit, the loudness adjustment unit, the noise separator, the voice booster, and the storage unit and control operations thereof by executing the stored instructions.

Abstract: Systems and methods for enabling access to dedicated resources in a virtual network using top of rack switches are disclosed. A method includes a virtual filtering platform encapsulating at least one packet, received from a virtual machine, to generate at least one encapsulated packet comprising a virtual network identifier (VNI). The method further includes a TOR switch: (1) receiving the at least one encapsulated packet and decapsulating the at least one encapsulated packet to create at least one decapsulated packet, (2) using the VNI to identify a virtual routing and forwarding artifact to determine a virtual local area network interface associated with the dedicated hardware portion, and (3) transmitting the at least one decapsulated packet to the dedicated hardware portion based on at least one policy provided by a controller, where the at least one policy comprises information related to a customer of the service provider.

Abstract: An embodiment may involve a database containing a first user profile that specifies a first preferred language of a first user and a second user profile that specifies a second preferred language of a second user. The embodiment may also involve one or more processors configured to: receive, from the first user and within a chat session, a first set of messages in the first preferred language; cause the first set of messages to be translated into the second preferred language; provide, to the second user and within the chat session, the first set of messages as translated; receive, from the second user and within the chat session, a second set of messages in the second preferred language; cause the second set of messages to be translated into the first preferred language; and provide, to the first user and within the chat session, the second set of messages as translated.

Abstract: Transaction requests may be ordered in a distributed database according to an independently assigned sequence. Different distributed system nodes, such as a transaction coordinator and a storage node may independently assign sequence numbers to requests to access a distributed database. A storage node may receive the request from a transaction coordinator with an assigned sequence number and another request to which the storage node may assign a sequence number. The storage node can then order performance of the requests based on the sequence numbers.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to the use of “pseudo-images” to perform image recognition, e.g., to perform facial image recognition. In an embodiment, the pseudo-image is obtained by starting with a real world image and, after optional preprocessing, subjecting the image to a non-linear transformation that converts the image into a pseudo-image. While real world objects (or, more generally, real world patterns) may be perceivable in the starting image, they cannot be perceived in the pseudo-image. Image recognition takes place by comparing the pseudo-image with a library of known pseudo-images, i.e., image recognition takes place in pseudo-image space without a return to real world space. In this way, robust image recognition is achieved even for imperfect real world images, such as, real world images that have been degraded by noise, poor illumination, uneven lighting, and/or occlusion, e.g., the presence of glasses, scarves, or the like in the case of facial images.

Abstract: Computer-implemented methods for rendering a volumetric dataset and a surface embedded in the volumetric dataset are described. One method includes performing a volume rendering process to generate a volume rendering of the volume. Based on the volume rendering process, depths of respective locations in the volume rendering are determined, and the depths stored in association with the respective locations. A surface rendering process generates a surface rendering of a surface using the depths and respective locations. The volume rendering and the surface rendering are combined into a combined rendering of the volume and surface. In another method, depths of the surface at respective locations with respect to the volume are determined and the depths are stored in association with the locations. A volume rendering process includes a shading process which uses the depths of the surface and the respective locations.

Abstract: The disclosure illustrates systems and methods for removing at least some excess gate material of a FinFET transistor. A FinFET transistor with the excess gate material removed may include a gate with a T-shaped cross-section. The narrower portion of the cross-section may be processed using backside wafer processing. The width of the narrower portion may be defined by a spacer.

Abstract: A method for facilitating communication between resources in different virtual networks includes creating a first virtual network and a second virtual network within a cloud computing system and creating a first subnet within the first virtual network and a second subnet within the second virtual network. The method also includes mapping the first subnet to the second subnet such that the resources in the first subnet and the second subnet are able to communicate with each other using private address space. The method also includes routing data packets between the first subnet and the second subnet.

Abstract: Metallization structures under a semiconductor device layer. A metallization structure in alignment with semiconductor fin may be on a side of the fin opposite a gate stack. Backside and/or frontside substrate processing techniques may be employed to form such metallization structures on a bottom of a semiconductor fin or between bottom portions of two adjacent fins. Such metallization structures may accompany interconnect metallization layers that are over a gate stack, for example to increase metallization layer density for a given number of semiconductor device layers.

Abstract: A method to provide network connectivity to a virtual machine hosted on a server computer system includes detecting a change in a configuration of a software-defined network to which the server computer system provides access; issuing a network configuration update (NCU) for consumption by the virtual machine, the NCU including a data structure reflecting the change in the configuration; and providing a link-state notification (LSN) to a virtual network interface card of the virtual machine pursuant to the change in the configuration, the LSN including data indicating a state of network connectivity of the virtual machine. Receipt of the LSN triggers a dynamic host-configuration protocol (DHCP) handshake by the virtual machine; the NCU is received by the virtual machine pursuant to the DHCP handshake.

Abstract: A virtual network comprising virtual machines executing at a computing environment is implemented. A software defined networking (SDN) appliance is configured to provide a connection to computing resources via a virtual network of a virtual computing environment. The SDN appliance is configured to apply policies of the virtual computing environment to data traffic on the virtual network. The SDN appliance is operable to interact with multiple network devices that are configured to act as a hardware acceleration device for processing data traffic. Virtual addresses are assigned to the network devices. The SDN appliance executes a virtual switch configured to identify data traffic sent to or received from a host and act as a proxy for the network devices and respond on their behalf.

Abstract: Virtual networks located in different regions of cloud provider are peered using unique regional identifiers for the virtual networks. The regional identifiers and other information are pushed down a network management stack to implement the peering.

Abstract: Methods and systems for learning policies using sparse and underspecified rewards. One of the methods includes training the policy jointly with an auxiliary reward function having a plurality of auxiliary reward parameters, the auxiliary reward function being configured to map, in accordance with the auxiliary reward parameters, trajectory features of at least a trajectory to an auxiliary reward value that indicates how well the trajectory performed a task in response to a context input.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided which comprises: a source and a drain with a semiconductor body therebetween, the source, the drain, and the semiconductor body on an insulator, a buried structure between the semiconductor body and the insulator, and a source contact coupled with the source and the buried structure, the source contact comprising metal. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.

Abstract: Semiconductor nanowire devices having cavity spacers and methods of fabricating cavity spacers for semiconductor nanowire devices are described. For example, a semiconductor device includes a plurality of vertically stacked nanowires disposed above a substrate, each of the nanowires including a discrete channel region. A common gate electrode stack surrounds each of the discrete channel regions of the plurality of vertically stacked nanowires. A pair of dielectric spacers is on either side of the common gate electrode stack, each of the pair of dielectric spacers including a continuous material disposed along a sidewall of the common gate electrode and surrounding a discrete portion of each of the vertically stacked nanowires. A pair of source and drain regions is on either side of the pair of dielectric spacers.

Abstract: An electronic device stores a plurality of vector representations for respective media content items in a vector space, where each vector represents a media content item. The electronic device receives a first set of input parameters representing a previous session of a user of the media-providing service where the previous session included two or more of the respective media content items. The electronic device then receives a second set of input parameters representing a current context of the user and provides the first set of input parameters and the second set of input parameters to a neural network to generate a prediction vector for a current session. The prediction vector is embedded in the vector space.

Abstract: An embodiment may involve a server device obtaining an audio file containing a story. The server device may determine a mood of the story. The server device may select an audio file containing music, where the audio file containing the music is associated with a music attribute that is indicative of the mood. The server device may generate a playlist for the client device, where the playlist includes (i) a reference to the audio file containing the music, and (ii) a reference to the audio file containing the story. The server device may transmit the playlist, over a wide area network, to the client device. Reception of the playlist at the client device may cause an audio player application to retrieve and play out each audio file therein.